Research Study Uncovers the "Ikea Effect'

A team of researchers from three universities have identified a phenomenon that they call "The Ikea Effect." The name derives from the love ...

Christians Can Give Church the "Tourist Treatment"

A number of years ago, my husband and I had the wonderful opportunity to vacation in Europe. In about three and a half weeks we visited thirteen different ...

Professionals Have Taken the Roles Once Filled by Family and Friends

In his book Bad Religion, Ross Douthat argues that as families have weakened and true friendships have waned, we have tried to fill the vacuum by relying ...

Fire Ants Float by Becoming One Super-organism

For years scientists were baffled by the mystery of floating fire ants. When placed in water, an individual fire ant will flounder, struggle, and then ...

More Americans Are Living Alone

In his book Going Solo, sociologist Eric Klinenberg noted the following statistics about the new trend of living alone:

• 32 million Americans live alone, representing 28 percent of all households.

An Orchestra Needs the Authority of the Conductor

In his book Up with Authority, Victor Lee Austin uses the analogy of an orchestra to explain why we need human authority. Orchestras need conductors because ...

Experiment Shows Our Reluctance to Get Involved in Uncomfortable Situations

The Nobel Prize winning psychologist and economist Daniel Kahneman recounts the story behind a famous experiment conducted at New York University:

Participants ...

What Church Membership Looks Like

In his book The Pastor, Eugene Peterson describes his wife Jan's understanding of what it means to be a pastor's wife. As I read Peterson's words, I was ...

Worshipping with People We Didn't Hand-Pick

Writer and NPR commentator Heather King, a recovering alcoholic who has come to faith in Christ, reflected on her initial experience with the church:

My ...

The Early Church Grew by Caring for the Sick

Sociologist Rodney Stark has written a brilliant book, The Rise of Christianity, in which he describes how Christianity arose from a small group … ...