Cover Story
Cover Story
Community Is Their Middle Name
As Willow Creek Community Church turns 25, it is bigger than ever, drawing 17,000 a weekend. But what really makes Willow tick is what comes after the seeker services.
Features
Urban Outreach: Baptists Transform Kentucky Tavern
Quotations to contemplate on dying and eternity.
Trashy Talk
Former Indiana coach Bobby Knight provokes examination of current speech standards as he continues to rage against the dying light.
Pie-in-the-Sky Now
Two scholars argue that Pentecostalism, especially in Brazil, is not so otherworldly as many think.
Rock & Roll Apologetics
New and noteworthy books on the Beatles, hate, and other subjects.
’Gifting Clubs’ Shut Down
Prosecutors say the faithful are being fleeced in pyramid schemes.
Downsizing: Prison Fellowship Downsizing
Organization says closing 20 offices and eliminating 100 staff positions are part of attempt to involve churches and volunteers more directly in prison ministry.
Updates
Activists Respond on RU-486
The New Scarlet Letter
Call someone a fundamentalist and watch what happens.
Left Behind Series Puts Tyndale Ahead
Success leaves publisher wondering how to best steward the company’s increase.
Eight UMC Pastors Quit Denomination
Same-sex unions, bishop’s handling of power prompt the exodus.
Tajikistan: Church Bombing Kills 10
Bomb kills 10 Christians and hospitalizes 39 Dushanbe church members.
India: Justice Delayed for Dalits
Christian untouchable is murdered, but police stall investigation.
Ready to Stand on Their Own?
In the former Soviet Union, evangelical churches are growing but not yet mature.
Indonesia: Ambon’s Wounded
Governor, others decline to intervene in jihad attacks.
Urbanites: More Justice, Less Epistemology
The emerging urban class is targeting capitalism and Christianity—often for good reason.
Sort of Mellowing
After 25 years, Bill Hybels is less driven and intense, but still in love with the job
The Man Behind the Megachurch
There would be no Willow Creek—no small groups, no women in leadership, no passion for service—without Gilbert Bilezikian.
Willow Creek’s Place in History
It turns out that the church that made seeker-sensitive a part of our vocabulary is not as revolutionary as its critics have said.
Unprepared to Teach Parenting?
Two churches long associated with Babywise author Gary Ezzo denounce his character and fitness for Christian ministry.
The Antimoderns
Six postmodern Christians discuss the possibilities and limits of postmodernism.
What Exactly Is Postmodernism?
The often-maligned movement is today’s academic Rorschach blot.
Scientists: Just Leave Us Alone
Not all the academy is so taken with postmodernism.
Policy Wonks for Christ
At Civitas, grad students learn to think Christianly about public life.
Thanksgiving at Fair Acres
A meal with my mother and other nursing-home residents opened a small crack in their stony detachment, and gave a brief glimpse of the kingdom of heaven.
Lives Measured in Minutes
New legislation would offer greater care for premature newborns near death.
Souls on Ice
Junior hockey teams melt racial barriers and help prepare young skaters for all arenas of life.
A Lexicon of Death
In one decision, a British judge undermined two established values of Western Civilization.
No Sympathy for the Devil
How should Christians react to all this talk about exorcism?
Reviews
Review
Through a Glass Darkly
The Big Kahuna entertains and provokes with its treatment of Christian faith in the workplace.
Views
Quotations to Contemplate
Quotations to contemplate on listening
Furthermore: Nice Is Not the Point
Sometimes love is sharp, hard-edged, confusing, and seemingly unfair.
Neighborhood Outpost
Changing a culture takes more than politics.