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USA: "Year of the Study Bible"

Christianity Today reviews Bible publishing in 2008:

In some ways, 2008 was a year of the Same Old Thing in Bible publishing. Marketing teams somehow thought up more niches to target... 

In another way, though, it was a year when Christian publishers remembered their first love and provided a new set of study tools for serious miners of God's Word.

... study Bibles may soon follow the "one-per-household" trend seen with the NIV and KJV in the U.S.

Only time will tell how evangelicals' Bible-reading and -buying habits will change in coming years, but it's hard not to notice the swell of study Bibles in 2008, and indeed, applaud it.

Read the article here.

Minute Spirituality

How do you reach a public that lacks time to read Christian books? For some, the answer lies is formatting books in bite-size chunks. In "A Closer, Faster Walk With Thee," the Los Angeles Times describes a trend in titles for people who are pressed for time:  

The American style of worship, like everything else in people's overloaded lives, is speeding up.

This hurried search for the Almighty partly explains the rise of a niche industry of books, DVDs, podcasts, text messages and e-mail blasts that distill the essentials of faith, from creation to the crucifixion.

The materials offer bite-sized spiritual morsels that can be digested in minutes, or even seconds, on the daily commute, aboard airplanes or at the dinner table.

China: Shortages of Christian Books

CBN News reports,

The dramatic rise of Christianity in China is straining the resources of churches there to meet the spiritual needs of the people.

... Shortages in Christian books have hit house churches hard especially in the countryside [where 70 percent of Chinese Christians live, and] where Christians seldom have access to government-printed religious materials, including Bibles.

CBN interviewed Rev. Gao Feng, president of the China Christian Council, "one of the most influential religious organizations ... in China." In the video,   

Feng worries that Christianity is growing too fast in his country.

"We cannot catch up with the growth of the quantity of the believers," he said. "That is a very big challenge."

Cook International is working with CCC and other organizations to meet the needs for Christian literature to disciple and train believers. Learn more about our efforts in China here.

 

Spirituality Makes Children Happy

Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) conducted a study measuring the factors that affect children's sense of happiness.

“Our goal was to see whether there’s a relation between spirituality and happiness,” [says  Mark Holder, Associate Professor of Psychology at UBC Okanagan, who conducted the study with graduate student Judi Wallace]. “We ... took multiple measures of spirituality and happiness in children.”

The results were a surprise – 6.5 to 16.5 per cent of children’s happiness can be accounted for by spirituality.

In contrast, prior research shows that spirituality typically accounts for four or five per cent of adults' happiness. "From our perspective, it’s a whopping big effect,” says Holder.

USA Today reports more research is sought "to see whether children score similar results in a country not dominated by Christianity." The findings were presented at the 2008 World Congress on Psychology and Spirituality in India in January, and

“People from Portugal, Australia and India are interested in our research and possibly trying to duplicate it in their own countries,” says Wallace.

USA: Trends Changing Church in Next 10 Years

How will ministry change in the next 10 years? Alan Nelson, executive editor of Rev! Magazine  (Group), lists trends that will impact U.S. churches in 2018. These include:

1. Fewer Brick-and-Mortar Mega-Campuses (But Not Mega-Ministries)
2. E- and Free Publications and Resources
3. Diminishing Christian Orientation / Declining Church Attendance
4. Simplification and Focus of Mission
5. Hospice Care for Denominations
6. Discipleship and Outreach Through Service / Incarnational and Team Ministry
7. Morphing of House Churches
8. Growing Ethnic Diversity
9. Decentralized Training
10. Mergers and Release of Physical Assets
11. Family Ministry Emphasis
12. The Spiritual Tipping Point Away from America

The article also includes responses from a number of Christian thinkers who identify several additional trends:

1. Rise of "Missional" (or Apostolic) Movements / Increase of Neo-Denominations
2. Broadening of the Church's Understanding of Ministry and Leadership
3. Environmental Concerns
4. Growing Impact of Technology - Shift from Media-Hit to Digital-Niche Culture
5. Expansion and Influence of User-Generated Content and Creativity
6. Increasing Antagonism/Hostility Toward Christianity

Nelson also includes links to several recent studies of U.S. churches. Read "Ministry in 2018" and responses here.

Most Religious Nations

The Bertelsmann Foundation just released the results of a study conducted with 21,000 adults in 21 nations. Findings include:

• Nigeria, Brazil, India and Morocco had the highest percentages of people describing themselves as religious or deeply religious.
• Some 89 percent of Americans consider themselves religious.
• Russia, Thailand and France had the smallest percentages of religious people.
• Spirituality Rising Among Young Germans
• Religion Remains Important for Swiss

Why the Hard Copy Version of the Bible Matters

Writing in the Fall 2007 issue of the Denver Seminary magazine, professor Douglas Groothuis makes a compelling argument:

Computer technologies make access to the Bible fast and simple. We can search for Bible texts, import them into sermon outlines, and generally find what we need through quick searches online or through Bible software. While I am happy to use these technologies, they have a down side that may compromise our integrity as Bible-believing Christians.

Groothuis tells the story of a seminary student whose reliance on Bible software led him to treat the Bible as a collection of verses on various doctrines rather than as a book telling the story of God’s work from Creation to redemption. He continues,

Some… claim they do not need to memorize where key Scriptures are located—the book, chapter, and verse—since a laptop can find this in a flash. But knowing where a text can be found is an integral part of being biblically literate, of having God’s truth at our command...  Even though I can access any biblical text electronically, I meditate and memorize Scripture in its context, and challenge my students to do this as well.

Though it is certainly possible to study the Bible on screen, what format is more likely to help us internalize the Word of God and get a sense of its continuity? Groothuis does not say it (and you can download his article here,) but his article suggests there is definite value in using print. The hard copy of the Bible still matters.