The House of Representatives recently voted to defund all National Science Foundation funding of political science. The House also approved cutting the American Community Survey and the Economic Census, which together provide key economic data such as quarterly estimates of gross domestic product. Senate Democrats oppose the cuts, which are not expected to become law

(Editor's Note: Franchise owner Erik Devriendt and his wife, Kate, are members of Grace Community (PCA) in Mechanicsville, VA (Erik is a Deacon) and are - along with their two young children - part of the launch team that is planting a daughter congregation in the city to be known as Northside Church of Richmond

"The Kentucky Court of Appeals has issued a sweeping invalidation of seminary tenure in the Commonwealth of Kentucky," said Jones. “They have turned a CME layman and a Jewish academic into ministers of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).” That in itself, he said, violates religious freedom.

The church, which claims 15,000 regular attendees, posted a news release on its website stating that Schaap was dismissed "due to a sin that has caused him to forfeit his right to be our pastor. ... Our church grieves over the need to take this action and the impact it will have on our people."

In his chapter, Thomas outlines several bad homiletical models. Surprisingly, every model indicts our heroes. Thomas is quick to say that the model itself may not be the problem, but the use of it often is. Even our favorite preachers or favorite kinds of preaching carry with them great dangers, especially when they are held up as the way to do things.

I see the desire for a great leader to unite Christians as irrelevant, an imposition of Carlylean or celebrity culture thinking on the Bible. The New Testament knows of no such thing. When facing the end of the time of the apostles, Paul does not tell Timothy to look for the dynamic individual to whom all can look for leadership; rather, he tells him to appoint ordinary, respectable, competent members of the church community as overseers.

Unfortunately, instead of encouraging people to speak their thoughts, feelings, and opinions, we have discouraged people from speaking at all. We have encouraged “civil”–that is, noncontroversial–, conversations full of platitudes and qualifiers, devoid of feeling or passion, offending no one but saying nothing. We have squelched robust conversation for fear of offense or error, resulting in the suppression of both error and the truth.

In other words, I can hold to the value that other people have a right to their beliefs, without believing that all points of view are equally valid. Or be compelled to uphold the pursuit of such beliefs.

A specter now haunts the London Olympics: that of public indifference, bought at the cost of billions that future generations will struggle to repay.

Ruth and Karl Price said their son put God first, was unassuming and shied away from praises like being called a "hero."