Anglican practices and rituals are primarily found in the Book of Common Prayer, the prayer book of Anglicanism, which helps define Anglican beliefs and worship practices on every level. The book is almost as important as the Bible itself to Anglicans. The Book of Common Prayer, which defines the “common”
The Baptist denomination is the largest free church denomination in the world with 43 million members. It is one of the largest Protestant Free Church denominations. More than 75 percent of all Baptists – about 33 million – live in America. There are about 216,000 Baptists in Great Britain, 850,000
The Catholic Church, known as the Roman Catholic Church, has well over one billion members, about one-sixth of the world’s population. It’s the world’s largest Christian denomination. It’s also the largest organized body of any world religion. Catholics are led by the Pope, also known as the Bishop of Rome,
Lutheranism is not a single entity. It is organized in autonomous regional or national churches. Globally, there are some 150 such Lutheran church bodies. Lutheranism is one of the largest Protestant denominations. It is also the oldest Protestant denomination. Lutheranism retains much of the tradition of the ancient and medieval
There are Methodist Churches in nearly every country in the world and global membership numbers about 70 million in 138 countries. The World Methodist Council (WMC), an association of churches in the Methodist tradition, comprises more than 40.5 million Methodists. There are at least 19 Wesleyan Methodist denominations in the
Sometimes people complain about beautiful churches, saying, “That money could have been used to feed the poor!” They have a point. When the multitude was hungry, Jesus gave them bread. When people were physically sick, he healed their bodies. He addressed immediate, material needs, and instructed his followers to do the
It is an unbending law of the universe—as necessary as gravity, and as obdurate as diamond—that, the more real a thing becomes, the more it reflects a light not its own. Call it the Law of the Mirror. A mirror works to the effect that it captures light; a broken,
“I can’t!” four-year-old Jensen said to his mother when he was told to clean up his toy room. Was Jensen’s statement true? Was he making an excuse? Or did he simply not know that he was capable of doing the task? Sometimes children say they can’t do a task when
Academies of Life by Stephen Rankin The philosopher and spiritual writer, Dallas Willard, of blessed memory, wrote the following exhortation in the introduction to his book, The Spirit of the Disciplines: “Our local assemblies must become academies of life as it was meant to be.” That phrase, “academies of life,”
“For what shall we pray?” is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You
Brentwood Baptist is sending two more of our own into the world. Drew Benward is headed to The Point Church in Vancouver, Canada, and Elizabeth Harris is headed to Cape Town, South Africa, to serve with Living Hope. Both have spent years walking toward this moment: Drew since a high
Kew Gardens What the Unchurched Really Think About Your Church Thom and Jess discuss what research reveals about the unchurched and why many churches misunderstand the people living around them. What Everyone Gets Wrong About the Unchurched – Webinar The unchurched population in the United States is undergoing significant changes.
Is Scripture one Book or a collection of many books? If the Bible is one Book, then it has to have one subject, one unifying center. According to the New Testament, that one subject is Christ, who is foreseen, spoken of, and even active, in the many books of the