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	<title>ReligionLink &#187; Congregations</title>
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		<title>God and Facebook: Is social networking changing religion?</title>
		<link>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_110125.php</link>
		<comments>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_110125.php#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Jan 2011 13:02:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arts, media & Web]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Congregations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Current edition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Doctrine & practice]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.religionlink.com/?p=6530</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Social networks like Facebook are all the rage, with some claiming that online communities are deepening our interpersonal relationships while others worry that they are undermining them -- and our spiritual lives. Pope Benedict XVI has weighed in on virtual friendships, while a new poll shows more churches are using Facebook.]]></description>
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		<title>Big-box Christianity: A guide to megachurches</title>
		<link>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_091201.php</link>
		<comments>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_091201.php#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:00:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Christianity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Congregations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Current edition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Protestants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion in American life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Source guides]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[megachurches]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Protestantism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.religionlink.com/?p=3900</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Twenty years ago, megachurches might have rated an asterisk in a journalistic overview of U.S. Christianity. Today, an estimated 12 million Americans consider one of these mammoth congregations to be their church home, making the megachurch phenomenon one of the most important for religion in modern times. Moreover, some of the most prominent pastors in [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Learning money skills in houses of worship</title>
		<link>http://www.religionlink.com/090505.php</link>
		<comments>http://www.religionlink.com/090505.php#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 05 May 2009 04:01:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Congregations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Current edition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money & giving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[debt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[money management]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.religionlink.com/?p=1485</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Religious teachings are full of warnings about money, if not outright suspicion of the ways of commerce. But in this recession, congregations are increasingly showing members how to navigate the choppy economic seas &#8211; and they&#8217;re finding this new type of aid in big demand. Although the recession is a national and global story, its [...]]]></description>
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		<title>As singles increase, ministries adapt and mature</title>
		<link>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_080114.php</link>
		<comments>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_080114.php#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jan 2008 04:35:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Congregations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[singles ministries]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.religionlink.com/?p=795</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[More people are spending more of their lives single, and married couples now are a minority among U.S. households. The average age at marriage is on the rise, and one in four households consists of people living alone. As these new dynamics create socio-economic shifts, religious organizations are scrambling to address the needs and realities [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Congregations learn to embrace disabled members</title>
		<link>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_071022.php</link>
		<comments>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_071022.php#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Oct 2007 00:06:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Congregations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disabilities]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.religionlink.com/?p=1044</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Some religious communities have made strides toward greater inclusion of people with disabilities, but the challenges continue and change: Religious groups are beginning to respond to the growth of autism and related disorders in young families. Military involvement since 2001 in the Middle East is producing thousands of young disabled veterans returning to their communities. [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Beyond VBS: The spiritual formation of children</title>
		<link>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_070529a.php</link>
		<comments>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_070529a.php#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 May 2007 02:20:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Congregations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marriage & family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Belief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Faith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Formation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marriage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Organized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.religionlink.com/?p=960</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[How do you get to heaven? For adults, that&#8217;s a theological question, but for kids, it might be a matter of transportation &#8211; as in, is there a special bus or elevator to the great beyond? Adults are paying increasing attention to what children think about spiritual matters, and that&#8217;s reflected in innovations in congregational [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Multicultural congregations multiply – intentionally</title>
		<link>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_070514.php</link>
		<comments>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_070514.php#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2007 01:26:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Congregations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[diversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Multicultural]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United States]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Worship]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.religionlink.com/?p=954</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Despite a lot of rhetoric about diversity, racially segregated worship is still a reality in most congregations. One study found that only 8 percent of Christian congregations in the U.S. are considered racially or ethnically &#8220;mixed,&#8221; meaning no one group makes up more than 80 percent of the congregation. At the same time, multicultural congregations [...]]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Pastoral leadership: crisis and opportunity</title>
		<link>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_070122.php</link>
		<comments>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_070122.php#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Jan 2007 02:29:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Clergy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Congregations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Episcopal Church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lutheran Church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Protestant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roman Catholic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United Methodist Church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United States]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.religionlink.com/?p=899</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Leadership &#8211; the ability to inspire, motivate, discern and envision in a faithful quest to follow God&#8217;s will &#8211; is the most critical issue facing churches today. Challenges abound in the number, quality, age and diversity of people pursuing &#8211; and staying in &#8212; pastoral ministry. The effects on communities across America are profound. They [...]]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>House churches gain ground</title>
		<link>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_061218a.php</link>
		<comments>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_061218a.php#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 Dec 2006 04:50:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Congregations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[house church]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.religionlink.com/?p=876</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[More Americans are choosing to worship in small, informal gatherings instead of attending traditional churches. Called “house churches,” “simple churches” or “organic churches,” they are a modern attempt to recapture the spirit of the first-century church, when small groups of Christians gathered in each other’s homes and each person – male or female – contributed [...]]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Church planting is top priority</title>
		<link>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_060116.php</link>
		<comments>http://www.religionlink.com/tip_060116.php#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jan 2006 22:35:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Congregations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Doctrine & practice]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wprl.debralmason.com/?p=80</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Americans are in the grip of a passion for starting or &#8220;planting&#8221; new churches. The movement is among the most active and passionate in American Christianity and includes a variety of denominations and faith traditions. The push promises to shape not just religious life, but society as a whole, as new congregations work to influence [...]]]></description>
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