Before Shane Hipps became a Mennonite pastor, he was a former strategic planner in advertising. In both vocations, he has learned a great deal about how technology quietly shapes people. His latest book, Flickering Pixels, helps Christians understand some of the spiritual dimensions of that shaping. In an interview with Christianity Today magazine, Hipps discussed the damage being done by the internet. ...

To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.

A common theme in modern Christianity has been that head knowledge is how one becomes more adept at following Christ: the more you know, the better you'll do. But in fact, that hasn't proven to be true.

Instead, it seems the Christian life is more like being a baseball shortstop: A young player can watch videos, read books by the greatest shortstops of all time, and listen to coaches lecture on what ...

The following statistics are from the Pew Research Center's 2008 survey on marriage and parenting:

• Forty-one percent of American adults said children are very important to a good marriage. This represents a sharp decline from the 65 percent who offered the same conviction in a 1990 survey.
  
  
• By a margin of nearly 3 to 1, Americans say the main purpose of marriage is the "mutual fulfillment" of adults rather than the "bearing and raising of children."
  

I read a story in the L. A. Times a long time ago. A guy goes to the house where he grew up and knocks on the door. Because he hadn't been there for 20 years, he finds himself getting sentimental. He asks the owners if he can walk through the house, and they let him. While in the attic, he finds an old jacket of his. He puts it on, reaches into the pocket, and pulls out a stub. It's a receipt from ...

Mark DeYmaz, pastor of the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas, is passionate about building a multi-ethnic and economically diverse church. In his book Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church, DeYmaz stresses the church—especially the American church—ought to reflect the many colors and cultures that dot our landscape. The diversity this requires is not an easy task. Nonetheless, the church ...

I saw a sign on a strip of highway once that I would like to have copied on my gravestone. It said, "End of construction. Thank you for your patience."

—Ruth Bell Graham, poet, writer, and wife of evangelist Billy Graham (1920–2007)

A young man was appointed president of a bank. Intimidated by his new responsibilities, he nervously sought the advice of his gray-haired predecessor: "Sir, what has been the secret of your success?"

"The secret, young man, is two words: right decisions!" replied the older man.

"But how do you make right decisions?"

"One word: experience."

"But how do you get experience?"

The old man smiled. "Two words: ...

Children will play with virtually anything they get their hands on. It's no surprise, then, that when Dutch children in the town of Barneveld uncovered an unexploded World War II artillery shell, they played with it. In fact, they had games with it for several months.

That shell was still live and contained high explosives. Thankfully, the deadly plaything did not explode in the Barneveld playground ...

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Vinny says he is not a preacher. He is a self-described "working stiff from Independence, Missouri." But Vinny hopes that he can help end the murders and crime—"the kind of bloody violence that he saw as a kid and that is consuming Kansas City's east side." He believes that "if people come to know Christ in a personal way, they not only won't want to commit any violence, they're not going ...