By Christy Barritt

Trends in Christian Culture

According to Ed Stetzer, the president of LifeWay Research, there are several future trends he sees in the Christian community. 

First, Stetzer feels that the word Christian will become less used and more clear. He identified three different types of Christians: Cultural (those who identify as Christians mostly just because of their background), Congregational (those loosely connected to church), and Convictional (those who orient their life around their faith). Stetzer predicts that fewer people will call themselves Christians, but those who do will take it more seriously.

Second, as Cultural and Congregational Christians realize they’re only claiming the name Christian for survey reasons but rarely consider their faith, they will eventually become a None. As None responses rise in number, Christian influence on the culture will wane.

Finally, Stetzer thinks that Christians will become a minority and will find it challenging to fight the cultural war. In other words, Christians will be seen as the enemy of progressive thinking.

U.S. Workplace Survey

The Pew Research Center conducted a study to discover what tools American employees feel are most crucial in the workplace. 

For the survey, adult Internet users were asked what technologies they think are most critical at their jobs. At the top of the list was email, which 61 percent of those surveyed said is “very important.” The Internet came in second, with 54 percent saying it’s also “very important.”

Social media, however, was not as crucial. Only 4 percent said social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are important. Surprising to some was the fact that landlines rated “very important” to 35 percent of those polled—more important than cell phones, which were only important to 24 percent.

Better Sleep, Better Work 

A study by Pennsylvania State University explored the effects of changing workplace culture so that employees would sleep better at night. 

Hundreds of randomly selected employees took part in a three-month program designed to alleviate conflicts that occur between work life and family life. One year later, participants reported sleeping an average of one hour longer per week—they said they felt more rested and more productive at work.

“Work can be a calling and inspirational, as well as a paycheck, but work should not be detrimental to health,” said Orfeu Buxton, lead investigator.

Children at Higher Risk for ID Theft

According to a report by Carnegie Mellon CyLab, kids under the age of 18 are 51 times more likely to become victims of identity theft than adults.

One reason the identities of minors are vulnerable is because children usually don’t have credit checks, which means that the theft can go undetected for years. According to the credit reporting agency TransUnion, all it takes to open a bank or credit account is a social security number. Thieves can also apply for government benefits or loans using minimal information. Many youth do not discover the fraud until after being denied for a student loan, job, or living space after high school.

Experts with the Federal Trade Commission recommend checking for a credit report for your child. Seeing that one has been done can be a sign that your child’s information is being misused.

Christy Barritt is an award-winning author in Chesapeake, Virginia (christybarritt.com). She and her husband, Scott, have two sons.