While I'm here in Chicagoland, I wanted to take time to point you to a helpful website. Bill Yaccino shared this with me and I thought it was worth your time. Bill is the Executive Director of Catalyst, a network of congregations in Lake County, IL that collaborate towards greater Kingdom impact. (www.Catalystweb.org)

The site is a tool for organizing people to pray for their neighborhoods here in Chicago. You can also sign up and join others who are also praying for their block-- and you don't have to live here in Chicago. Take a minute to see how many people are praying for their neighbors all across northern Chicago at Pray4YourBlock.org

The guys behind it all want to encourage you to sign up at the website and...

1. Plant a virtual flag in your neighborhood.

2. Start a movement in your corner of the world by inviting dozens of others to do the same.

3. Use their attached bulletin insert to encourage your church or organization.

4. Finally, write about it and tell others.

Check it out here.

New Research from Barna on Green Evangelicals

Barna surveys evangelicals about their enviornmental views. Here are some excerpts:

One of the intriguing findings of the research is that millions of evangelicals - often perceived to be on the sidelines of the green movement - have become more environmentally conscious in the last year. Yet, evangelicals do so with some skepticism about the environmental movement, specifically the implications of climate change. Evangelicals are concerned about what they perceive to be media hype surrounding global warming, as well as skepticism about the role humans play in causing it. Moreover, evangelicals express strong concern that proposed environmental solutions would hurt the poor, particularly in developing nations...

What makes Americans skeptical about global warming? The survey explored five common objections and discovered that roughly half of Americans maintain some reluctance about climate change for each of the following reasons:

• 49% of Americans contend that some solutions proposed to help global warming would have a negative influence on the poor, especially in other countries
• 48% believe the earth has undergone climate change before and the current warming is not primarily caused by human activity
• 47% indicate the news media have made global warming a bigger story than it deserves
• 47% agree that the U.S. economy is not strong enough right now to take on the problem
• 46% say that if America leads the way tackling the problem other countries will not follow suit and it would hurt American businesses and workers

A majority of the Christian community, regardless of how it is defined, believes that global warming is happening. Still, only a minority of churchgoing Catholics (36%), non-mainline Protestants (36%), and mainline Protestants (45%) are very certain climate change is occurring...

Evangelicals are among the most skeptical population segments when it comes to global warming...

Click here for the full story.
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New Research from the Center for Latin American Studies, Univ. of California, Berkeley.

An important look at Global and U.S. Immigration: Patterns, Issues, and Outlook. Click here.
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New Megachurch (and other) Research from Baylor

Here are some excerpts:

American religion is remarkably stable and quite surprising in its diverse beliefs, practices and realities, according to the latest findings from the Baylor Religion Survey, one of the most extensive surveys ever conducted on American religious attitudes.

"None of the things we all believe about the megachurch is true," said Dr. Rodney Stark, Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences at Baylor and co-director of the ISR...

When compared to small congregations, the survey found that megachurch members display a higher level of personal commitment by attending services and a Bible study group and tithing. They also are more likely to accept that heaven "absolutely" exists and that God rewards the faithful with major successes, are more convinced of the reality of evil, are far more given to having religious and mystical experiences, are significantly younger in age and are remarkably active in volunteer work (as much or more so than tiny churches)...

During the past 63 years, several polls show the percentage of atheists has not changed at all, holding steady at only 4 percent of Americans who say they do not believe in God. Not only is atheism not growing in the United States, the majority of Europeans are not atheists (Ch. 14, "Atheism: The Godless Revolution That Never Happened"). Russia now claims 96 percent of its population believes in God, while a recent poll of China showed that atheists are outnumbered by those who believe in God(s)...

The survey found that 45 percent of Americans report having at least two religious encounters (Ch. 6, "Religious Experiences: God Told Me to Go to Church"). Denomination matters, too. Conservative Protestants are more likely than liberal Protestants, Catholics or Jews to report religious or mystical experiences. However, these experiences are not limited to conservative Protestants. They occur with considerable frequency in nearly all religious groups. The survey also showed that women, African Americans and Republicans are more apt to have religious and mystical experiences...

Among other interesting findings on paranormal or occult beliefs: People who have read The Purpose-Driven Life or any book in the Left Behind series are less likely to believe in the occult and paranormal, while those who have read any book on dianetics or The Da Vinci Code are more likely to believe.

Fascinating information.

Click here for their release.

Jacqui Salmon does a good job with the story in The Washington Post. Click here.
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Election Prayer Initiative

Check out the new prayer initiative called the 40/40 Prayer Vigil sponsored by the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and the North American Mission Board. From the website:

The 40/40 Prayer Vigil consists of 40 days of prayer from September 24 to November 2, 2008, culminating in 40 hours of around the clock intercession during the last 3 days of the Vigil. The Vigil focuses first on personal spiritual revival. It then covers an expanding circle of prayer concerns, from the church to the nation.

You can visit the website to sign up, get updates, and download a Prayer Guide.

This is an exciting political season, and we've all probably had solid discussions, heated arguments, or at least a few good laughs. Let's make sure we're praying as well.