BBC is a very caring congregation, made up of families of all ages, that strongly believes in reaching out beyond themselves to spread and apply the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Pensacola Florida (FL)

Centennial Colorado (CO)

From its beginning, Accelerated Christian Education has maintained high Biblical and academic standards and remained committed to setting children on a path for success.

Lake Zurich Illinois (IL)

Regarding Outage

What The Bible Says - Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

What The Bible Says - Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

What The Bible Says - Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

What The Bible Says - Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

What The Bible Says - Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

Luke 22:35-38 And he said unto them, “When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing?” And they said ...

Acts 11:23 KJV — Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of ...

Acts 11:23 KJV — Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of ...

Acts 11:23 KJV — Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of ...

April 7, 2024 Hebrews 1 & 2.

In the uncanny valley of the shadow of data, we should fear no evil—and prepare for a very different future.This piece was adapted from Russell Moore’s newsletter. Subscribe here.In the past several weeks, two events occurred that are going to change our futures. One of them was the launching of OpenAI’s new artificial intelligence program, GPT-4o, just ahead of several competitors who will do the same in a matter of weeks. The other was the defrocking of a robot priest for teaching that baptisms could be done with Gatorade. I’m afraid the church is not ready for either.The more talked-about happening was the OpenAI announcement, complete with videos of the AI program laughing, seeming to blush, telling jokes, seeing and describing things in real time, and even singing songs made up on the spot (to whatever degree of emotion and enthusiasm was demanded).Far less culturally noticed was the fact that just a few weeks before, the Roman Catholic apologetics platform Catholic Answers reined in an AI chatbot called “Father Justin,” which was designed to help people through questions of doctrine and practice.People started to get upset when Father Justin started claiming to be an actual priest, capable of hearing confession and offering sacraments, and when it started giving unorthodox answers to questions, such as whether baptizing a baby with Gatorade would be all right in an emergency (the magisterium says no).Now Father Justin is just “Justin,” a “lay theologian.” Catholic Answers acknowledged to critics that they are pioneering a new technological landscape and learning—as the whole world will—just how difficult it is to keep an artificial intelligence orthodox. If my Catholic friends thought Martin Luther was bad, wait until the robots start posting theses to the ...Continue reading...

American Bible Society study finds majority don't trust technology with spiritual matters.Ask ChatGPT how to improve your spiritual life, and the natural-language processing artificial intelligence chatbot has plenty of suggestions.But Americans are skeptical that artificial intelligence, or AI, has much to offer in the way of reliable religious guidance.Sixty-eight percent of people don’t think AI could help them with their spiritual practices or “promote spiritual health,” according to the latest research from American Bible Society (ABS). Fifty-eight percent say they don’t think AI will “aid in moral reasoning” and only one out of every four people say they feel optimistic about the impact the technology will have.“Americans are more fearful than hopeful about artificial intelligence,” said John Farquhar Plake, an ABS program officer and editor-in-chief of the State of the Bible series. “People don’t know how AI will change the culture—but they’re mildly uneasy about it.”ABS surveyed about 2,500 people for its annual report on Scripture engagement and related topics. While technology has been a regular part of the survey, this is the first year ABS dedicated a set of questions to the topic of technology that performs tasks traditionally associated with human intelligence.AI is rapidly evolving, and currently includes everything from Amazon’s “virtual assistant” Alexa to chatbots running large language models that can pass the bar exam. People are pushing the technology further every day, and some Christians who work in tech are excited about the possibilities—dreaming of algorithms that might one day help people grow, learn, and go deeper in their faith.“It is not difficult to imagine how pastors and ...Continue reading...

We can humbly seek their wisdom without treating them as mascots for one position or another.On September 11, 2020, I found myself under a large tent, where 51 ministers of the Reformed Presbyterian Church had assembled for a COVID-era presbytery. They gathered to receive charges against me, initiating an ecclesiastical trial. I had published a book that affirmed the possibility of theistic evolution—a view regarded by some as dangerous.Through that process, I became personally (and painfully) aware of how heated Genesis 1 controversies continue to be. My trial was ultimately dropped, but I was compelled to resign my pastorate and leave that denomination.I still love the Reformed Presbyterian Church and am grateful for my decades as a student and minister among its people. But I grieve that such passions for certain interpretations of Genesis 1 lead to damaged relationships and truncated ministries. It should not be so.There are already plenty of Genesis 1 studies on offer (including my own, called The Liturgy of Creation). But what the church really needs are more resources to help us engage these discussions more responsibly. Andrew J. Brown’s latest book, Recruiting the Ancients for the Creation Debate, is just such a resource.Brown, an Old Testament lecturer at Melbourne School of Theology, takes no sides on the question of whether the six days of creation are literal or figurative days. Recruiting the Ancients is not an attempt to solve creation controversies. Instead, it surveys what historic church authorities had to say on the subject, arguing that they shouldn’t be enlisted as straightforward allies of this or that contemporary position.The book is based on Brown’s earlier book on the same topic (The Days of Creation: A History of Christian Interpretation of Genesis 1:1–2:3), ...Continue reading...

By calling or circumstance, millions in the “sandwich generation” feel the weight and cost of tending to aging relatives. Shanoah Bruner is among the quarter of American adults who find themselves in the “sandwich generation,” raising children under 18 and supporting aging parents.At her home in the Indianapolis suburbs, the 40-something mom lives with her husband, tween and teen daughters, mother-in-law, and biological father.The caretaking role comes naturally to Bruner. She was raised in a family that regularly opened their home to others and served their church and community. Plus, she worked in assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing for over 20 years.“I grew up in a very Christian home where, you know, people meant more than possessions,” she said. “So that’s just how I look at it, and it’s definitely rewarding for me, though that’s not the case for everybody.”As baby boomers descend into their twilight years, their kids are taking them in or helping manage care from afar. Sixty-six percent of caregivers are women like Bruner, most of them in their mid-to-late 40s, who also work outside the home.The demanding needs of caregivers and their loved ones offer believers a chance to provide support and gospel hope. Churches, nonprofits, and government and parachurch organizations have resources, and individual Christians can provide personal, tangible love in action.In 2022, the first Bible study specifically for dementia caregivers was published. Some churches are implementing caregiver workshops. The Caregiving Support Network hosts a program to “sponsor a caregiver,” and there’s even a dedicated “Caregiver’s Prayer.”Richard Gentzler Jr., an expert in ministry for aging adults, paraphrased former First Lady Rosalynn Carter when he wrote that ...Continue reading...

A historic German church in Heidelberg held worship services on Sunday featuring the music of pop artist Taylor Swift.