The painstakingly crafted world that J.R.R. Tolkien created for The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion is so vivid that it’s easy to briefly imagine Middle-earth as a real place—even Tolkien himself had said it existed somewhere on Earth. From the languages spoken and the cr...

“Said plainly, churches are in trouble. All churches are, but certainly Churches of Christ. Whether or not they recognize the threats they are facing is a different matter. The future is fraught with dangers. Many won’t make it.”   On New Year’s weekend, 1831–32, two churches came togethe...