In his recent article Leader's Insight: Real Christian Behavior on leadershipjournal.net, Gordon McDonald shares insight into three stories in the same news cycle: 1. Coverage of the late President Gerald Ford's funeral, 2. A story on Oprah Winfrey's school for girls in South Africa, and 3. Pat Robertson's prophesy that millions of Americans will die in a disaster in the year 2007. His point was this: "When I was a child, the people in my church would have disparaged a Gerry Ford who smoked a pipe and said 'damn' on occasion.... The people in my sub-culture would have put distance between themselves and Oprah citing a few aspects of her private life that they would have found totally unacceptable.... But many of them would have embraced the third because he espouses an essentially evangelical theology. And they would not have thought through what his "prophecy" means to a larger world where many people think evangelicals are fools and now have a bit more evidence for their opinion." McDonald goes on to say in his article: "When Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and Warren Buffet fork over billions (billions!) of dollars to deal with poverty, eradicate disease, find clean water, freshen the air, and educate the young, could God (just humor me here!) be saying to those who (like myself) claim an essential orthodox foundation of belief, 'If you will not be known for doing these things unto to the least of my brothers, then I will use others not of your fold to get the job done.'" What can the next generation of leaders do to change the public's image and understanding of Christianity (when all they see in the news cycle is evangelicals making radical prophesy?)

"Jesus loved and accepted others without approving of everything they did. That's our position too, but it upsets a lot of people..." - Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, responding to conservatives who criticized his invitation to Senator Barack Obama to attend an HIV/AIDS Conference Warren hosted at his church. Read the article here.

The Los Angeles Times recently ran a large feature on the growing trend of the "Hip-Hop Church." The story looks at how rap music and hip-hop style have fused in a new kind of church that is attracting thousands in L.A. and around the country. You can click here to read "Rap Gets Religion."

Young Americans, 13 to 18 spend more than 72 hours per week using electronic media (Internet, cell phones, TV, music and video games). These multitaskers use as many as 3 or 4 devices at once finds a Harrison Group study. It's estimated teens spend about $195 billion annually on everything from clothes to eating out to new devices. In '06, 33% of teens reported having an iPod, vs. just 1% in '03, and 75% play video games on a regular basis. Teens' love of music is second only to their love of family and friends. They spend roughly 2-3 hours per day downloading or listening to music online. 68% have profiles on social networks. The average teen chats with more than 35 people via IM for a total of 3 hours a week.

What happened? Where did we go wrong? How was Christianity co-opted by a political party? Why are Christians supporting laws that force others to live by their standards? The answers to these questions are integral to the survival of Christianity. Read what Jay Bakker and Marc Brown say here. What is your take on this commentary?