Archive for the 'Current Events' Category

Have you ever wanted to know how many people use the Internet, what they use it for, etc?  Well, in less that four minutes, you can watch this well done video and get a great summary of what happens online on a daily basis:

Are you looking for opportunities to learn more about online education, network with other instructors, or get some practical tips for improving your online teaching techniques?  If so, why don’t you attend a conference this year?

Go to eLearning Conferences: eLearning Technology for a comprehensive list of 2009 conferences.  Happy learning (and happy travelling)!

For those of you who like to plan in advance … the University of Northern British Columbia has recently announced the next two classes in the Certificate in Christian Studies program:  Christian Spirituality, starting in September 2009, and Life and Teachings of Jesus, starting in January 2010 (I will be teaching both).

More information and details about how to register for either class can be found here, and any questions about the course content can be directed to me.  Thanks!

Have you ever wanted to tell the church what you really thought?  But who do you talk to?  Who is listening?  Well … here is your opportunity!  The church that I am a part of is working through a refocusing process (I like to think of it as keeping the edge of our knife sharp – a dull knife is pretty useless), and has come up with four simple questions to help get a sense of what people in a community really think about the churches in their community.

So … regardless of where you are in the world right now, would you like to tell the church what you think?  If so, click on this short, four-question survey, and express yourself!  Spread the word, and have others give their opinions too. 

Thanks for your help!

The third American Religious Identification Survey has just been released, and it shows some interesting trends.  In terms of percentage, overall self-identification as “Christian” has stayed about the same as it was in 2001 -  76%, but there have been a couple of areas of significant change:

• Non-denominational Christians have tripled in size (as a percentage) to just over eight million.
• Evangelical Christians have doubled in size (as a percentage) to over two million.
• Mainline Christians appear to have dropped the most, down to twenty-nine million.

US Population by Religious Tradition

Using the religious tradition categories above, how do you identify yourself?

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I’ve been doing some reading about “mission” this week, as I prepare for a teaching time about one of the core elements of a Christian’s “call” to follow God.  What is our purpose, our mission, our calling, etc?  At a high level, it seems threefold – all followers of God are called to holiness, to community, and to mission (which, not surprisingly, is also how our series is unfolding!).  But what is “mission”?

This is where my reading comes in.    Over at Christianity Today, there is a brief article called “The Greatest Social Need” that explores various social needs and concerns, but does so by asking the question of what the root problem is.  The author concludes, and I would agree, that the greatest social problem is

Have you ever wondered which translations of the Bible into English are the most popular?  If so, click on this chart to see the current statistics for Bible sales in the United States.

Depending on the context and intended use, some of my favourites are the TNIV, NET, and NLT.  How about you?

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According to my site statistics, the majority of you are using Internet Explorer 6 to look at this posting right now (just over half of you, actually).  Then comes Firefox 3 and Internet Explorer 7.  After that it drops off dramatically to Firefox 2, Safari, Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Explorer 8, in that order.  Personally, I use Firefox 3 (I love the speed and add-ons), except for about two specific sites that look (and function) better with Internet Explorer 8.

(If you are interested, you can check out a very cool graphical timeline of Internet browser history.  And if you are somewhat geeky like me, you’ll remember using Lynx, Mosaic/Navigator, SlipKnot, etc.)

Now that tells me what you are using, but I want to know what you like to use.  So … what is your favourite web browser?

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On yesterday’s CNBC Mad Money, Jim Cramer interviewed the CEO of American Public Education (the parent company of AMU).  Watch this video recap for some of the lastest thinking about invesments and the future of online education (and of AMU in particular).

The Centre for Research on Canadian Evangelicalism just released a report that analyzes recent trends in Canadian giving, volunteering, and participating.  Given the media’s propensity to portray evangelical Christians as intolerant, politically threatening and divisive, the report’s conclusions are particularly timely and intriguing.  You can access the full report here.

Read the report and post some comments and observations …