States increasingly are enacting legislation to opt out of a provision in the new federal health care law that would require coverage for abortion in “insurance exchanges.” For Planned Parenthood in Michigan, however, the health care law is playing a role in the opening of a Detroit-area clinic where abortions likely will be performed. Regarding the “insurance exchanges,” the health care reform measure signed into law by President Obama in March requires each state to offer at least one plan that covers abortions and one plan that does not. The law, however, allows states to opt out and bar insurance […]

Fewer things influence our children more than the people they hang out with, their friends. Friendships have a powerful impact. Kids want to go where their friends want to go, do what their friends do, and think the way their friends think. Knowing the impact friends have on our children, you would think parents would want to be more proactive in the “friend selection process.” I can hear a parent groaning, “I’d love to help select who my kids befriend; but where do I begin? My kids are so private about their friends.” Friendships are environmental. Whether it is physical […]

If you have children, chances are that you have heard of the VeggieTales. Have you heard the statistic that there is a Bible in 92 percent of American homes? The most important question is: Do children really understand what is in the Bible? Realizing that the new generation learns more visually, Tyndale House Publishers presents a new 13-DVD series entitled What’s In The Bible? Aimed at children aged 5–11, this DVD set is led by VeggieTales legend, Phil Vischer, and puppet, Buck Denver. The goal of the series is to explore the Bible, from Genesis to Revelations, and to teach […]

Can you name 10 high school students in your local church? OK, five if your congregation is small. Go ahead; write down their names and picture them in your mind. Soon they will leave the nest to enter college or the work world. In the process, a significant number of them will drop out of church. Some will never return. Why? Life experts say there are many reasons, but they all point to deficiencies in the discipleship process of many churches. Specifically, churches are 1) failing to teach the Bible as historic and propositional truth and 2) neglecting to teach […]

One thing that often prevents us from being proactive with our family financial planning is that we perceive financial planning to be too complex.  The unlimited alternatives for spending our money often results in “analysis paralysis.”  The good News is that in the short term, there are basically only five spending objectives; in the long term there are only six. Every spending decision or use of money accomplishes one of these 11 objectives. We’ll focus on the five short term spending objectives in this article, and we will take a look at six long term objectives next month. Every short […]

  A deadly virus is sweeping through nations, killing millions, and if people don’t want to catch it, they must consider changing their sexual behavior, a Harvard researcher told Baptist Press. The public health establishment, meanwhile, has failed to recognize the obvious in assessing AIDS prevention methods because it fears endorsing a perceived religious conservatism related to abstinence and faithfulness, Edward C. Green, a research scientist at Harvard University and author of “Rethinking AIDS Prevention,” said. “It’s so insane that [abstinence and faithfulness] has not been part of the advice from the beginning,” Green said. The U.S. Agency for International […]

Walter L. Shaw died, at 10:30 in the morning, on July 21, 1996. Sadly, only 28 people showed up to the funeral for a man whose forward thinking mentality, combined with sheer brilliance, originality and talent, created innovations that many of us use on a daily basis. You might be asking yourself, “Who is Walter L. Shaw?” Upon learning the truth behind this man’s story, you will be asking yourself, “Why isn’t this man receiving the honor and credit that he so justly deserves?” Born in 1917, Walter L. Shaw was a man gifted with many talents. Shaw holds the […]

One summer evening, I was driving towards my small hometown on a quiet stretch of Texas highway. Just ahead of me in the next lane, traveling about 65 miles an hour, was a big yellow school bus. Suddenly, with no warning, both tires came off its left rear axle and one hurtled toward me Having no time to swerve or slow down, I ran over the top of it and literally went airborne. When my car landed, all four fenders were crunched and the front and back windshields were cracked. Although I was able to pull the car to a […]

A conservative group that monitors the Culture industry is applauding Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs for his pledge to keep porn applications off the iPhone. So-called “apps,” or programs, are wildly popular and can be downloaded through Apple’s iTunes store. There’s an application for nearly everything – including News, sports, maps and restaurants – but Jobs says the store won’t offer porn. Approximately 5,000 sexually explicit applications were removed from the store early this year after the conservative Parents Television Council (PTC), urged citizens to complain to Apple. The PTC noted that children often browse the store looking for games.  Apple’s […]

Arizona first to officially opt out of abortion coverage in health care EP News – Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill into law in April making Arizona the first state to opt out of the federal health care abortion mandate. The Legislature had already been working on language to keep abortion funding out of state plans. Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, said lawmakers took that language and tailored it to apply to the federal mandate. “Once Obamacare passed,” she said, “we were able to get an amendment on the bill that opts Arizona out of abortion […]