In his book Organic Church, Neil Cole describes a number of missional communities that go where the people are, rather than have the people come to them. Such church communities meet in various places, including pubs, community centers, and simple living rooms. One particular church Cole describes meets in a coffeehouse. After the small band of people experienced some growth, they immediately decided ...

Fans of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will do anything they can to help their team get an edge on their bitter rival. It's not uncommon for some to attempt to put a jinx, either seriously or jokingly, on the opposing team.

Exhibit A is Gino Castignoli. When the Yankees were building a new stadium in 2008, Gino—a Red Sox fan—was a construction worker on the project. He decided ...

Pastor Mike Breaux tells the following story of when his daughter Jodie answered God's call to go into missions work:

During her junior year of high school, Jodie struggled to find a faith of her own. She wanted to know in her heart that all of what she'd been taught to believe was true and that Jesus Christ was real. Honestly, she was headed down a dark road. But God pursued her down that road. She ...

Anne Rice, whom the media has called the Queen of the Occult, has sold millions of novels about vampires and witches. Several of her books have also been made into movies, even starring Hollywood big-shots like Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. But since a near-death experience in 1998, Anne has had a change of heart—she's turned to Christ.

In 2005, she stunned her fans by declaring, "I promised from ...

According to a June 2005 Gallup poll, about three quarters of Americans believe in the paranormal. The percentage of those who believe in:

Extrasensory perception: 41

Haunted houses: 37

Ghosts: 32

Telepathy: 31

Astrology: 25

Communication with the dead: 21

Reincarnation: 20

Now and Then, with Melanie Griffith and Demi Moore, is a coming-of-age movie of four girlfriends who reunite as adults and reminisce about an eventful summer in their lives 20 years ago when they were all about 12. For part of their summer, they became curious about the tombstone of a murdered 12-year-old boy and conducted séances in the cemetery to try to communicate with the boy. The scene begins ...

In Today's Christian Woman, Kimberly Shumate tells how she became a Christian after living as a witch. We pick up the story as she, after coming to the end of herself, walks into a church:

As I sat down, I silently shot up a desperate prayer: God, please give me someone in this crazy crowd I can relate to. If you don't give me someone, I'm walking out of here. At that moment, the pastor told the congregation ...

In George Lucas' The Empire Strikes Back, which has a pervasive new-age worldview but illustrates some biblical principles, 900-year-old Master Jedi-Knight Yoda counsels Jedi-hopeful Luke Skywalker on how to use the Force so he can be victorious in the ongoing battles against the evil Darth Vader and the imperialistic Empire. While teaching Luke to use the Force on the isolated planet Degobah, Yoda ...

Great Britain's Pagan Federation, which represents druids and witches, is claiming that the TV shows "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" have fueled a rapidly growing interest in witchcraft among children. The organization averages 100 inquiries a month from kids who want to become witches. Last month it appointed its first-ever youth officer to counsel young people.

A spokesman ...

Belief in several paranormal experiences has increased significantly in the last 11 years:

Psychic or spiritual healing: 46 percent believed in this in 1990; 54 percent believed in this in 2001 Houses can be haunted: 29 percent in 1990; 42 percent in 2001 Ghosts: 25 percent in 1990; 38 percent in 2001 The power of the mind to know the past and predict the future: 23 percent in 1990; 32 percent in ...