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What are you waiting for?

Preacher Mark Brouwer tells about hearing a motivational speaker begin his presentation with some audience participation: “Raise your hand if you would like to make a real difference with your life. How many of you would like to have such a significant life that, when you’re gone, you’ll leave this world a better place?” Nearly everyone in the audience raised their hands. “Now, raise your hand if you have a plan for how you’re going to do that.” There was nervous laughter, but in a room filled with hundreds of people, only two hands went up. The Apostle Paul knew what he ...

Syria’s Christians mark a decade since a horrific IS attack and worry about their future

TEL TAL, Syria (AP) — It was a mournful moment for Christians in Syria. A bell that once summoned residents to worship rang out, but the church was no longer there. The Saint Odisho church was blown up by the Islamic State group a decade ago, leaving Tel Tal village almost empty of residents. A local Christian who fled the attack, Ishaq Nissan, walked the streets and pointed to uninhabited homes, explaining where families had gone: U.S., Australia, Canada or Europe. This month, northeast Syria’s remaining Christians will mark the 10th anniversary of the IS attack on over 30 ...

The gift of work

Author Richard Foster tells how, as a teenager, he signed up for an internship in Alaska, thinking he would have the adventure of “working on the first high school above the Arctic Circle.” The adventure turned into hard work, however, and Foster found himself digging a sewer line through the frozen tundra. An Aleut native who stopped by for a few minutes commented to Foster, “You are digging a ditch to the glory of God.” Those words changed Foster’s perspective; every chunk of earth became progress “to the glory of God.” Caught up in mundane tasks, humanity sometimes ...

A fire at Buddhist temple in New York killed 2 people, including a monk

A fire at a Buddhist temple in New York City has left two people dead, including a Buddhist monk. New York City fire officials say the fire broke out around 6 a.m. Wednesday in the Bronx. “We had fire throughout two buildings, and unfortunately, we did have two fatalities,” FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said. FDNY and police officials have not released the names of the victims as of Thursday morning. An NYPD spokesperson said families were still being notified. The fire damaged the small temple, located inside a white, two-story townhouse, and a residence for monks ...

Congolese church leaders meet Rwanda-backed rebels in the east in latest push for peace

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s largest church organizations met Wednesday with Rwanda-backed rebels in the country’s east in the latest push for peace and dialogue after weekslong fighting that saw the rebels seize the region’s largest city of Goma. A joint delegation from the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) and the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC) – two of the largest church organizations in the country – arrived in Goma on Wednesday and met with Corneille Nangaa, who has emerged as the M23 rebels’ political leader since they seized Goma in late January during ...