Change in giving to religious organizations and churches in 2008: +5.5 percent (a total of $106.89 billion)

Change in overall charitable giving in 2008: –2 percent (a total of $307.65 billion, the first decline in overall giving since 1987)

Recently I spoke with a friend named Carol (name changed) who had just returned from a difficult ocean cruise. She works for an organization that was helping to sponsor the getaway for a group of more than 1,000 people. In the middle of winter, Carol flew with her colleagues from Chicago to Mobile, Alabama, where they were to board the ship. As she and hundreds of other excited vacationers waited ...

Paul said, "See that you also excel in this grace of giving" (2 Corinthians 8:7). Like piano playing, giving is a skill. With practice, we get better at it. We can learn to give more, give more often, and give more strategically. We teach the pursuit of excellence in our vocations. Why not make giving something we study, discuss, and sharpen, striving for excellence?

The Macedonian believers gave "as ...

Luis Palau, the Argentine-born international evangelist, describes his conversion to Christ as a young man:

I met a young Jewish Christian from England, about 20, by the name of Charlie Cohen. He led me to Jesus Christ at a summer camp. For the next year or so, while at boarding school, I went to really good Bible studies at Cohen's house. But I began to drift away—stupid teenager, me. I lost ...

Since the 1940s, the Ad Council has been the leading producer of public service announcements. Of the thousands of commercials they have produced, their work for the "Don't Almost Give" campaign has been particularly powerful.

One ad shows a man with crutches struggling to go up a flight of concrete stairs. The narrator says, "This is a man who almost learned to walk at a rehab center that almost got ...

As our Bible study group began focusing on the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, I felt pretty smug. After all, I didn't worship more than one God, steal, commit adultery or murder, lie about my neighbors, or plot to cheat them out of what was rightfully theirs. But one evening we came to the command to honor our father and mother (v. 12). Against my will, I thought of my mother, who'd passed away ten ...

In March of 2009, Dutch artist Johan van der Dong decided God needed a telephone number. So, he got him one. A cell phone number to be exact—to show that God was "available anywhere and anytime." "In earlier times you would go to a church to say a prayer," Dong said in an interview, "and now [this is an] opportunity to just make a phone call and say your prayer in a modern way."

It seems a lot ...

Kathy Lang's first day on the job was met with angry stares, bitterness, and harsh words.

"I hate you!" one girl shouted.

"I love you," Kathy replied.

So it goes when your workplace is a prison, a place Kathy never thought she'd be. But God clearly had other plans.

A veteran surgical nurse for over 25 years, Kathy was looking for a new job. An agency that staffs nurses offered her a position at a prison. ...

Australian Ian Usher is so disappointed with his current life that he is selling it in an eBay auction beginning June 22, 2008. Usher decided on the auction in an effort to rid himself of all memories of life with his ex-wife. He expects to make at least $390,000 in a sale that will include a furnished 3-bedroom house, a car, a motorcycle, and a jet ski. He's even throwing in a one-time introduction ...

In March of 2008, I did something stupid. I fell on ice and ruptured the ligament that connects the kneecap to the thigh. The moment I hit the ground I knew my right leg was inoperative. My first thought was, I guess I won't be running tomorrow.

Dragging my useless leg, I crawled to the back door of our home and finally got the attention of my wife, Gail. With her assistance I managed to get inside ...