If Your Kids Say This Phrase, They’re More Entitled Kids Than You Realize

July 26, 2018

thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

There is a phrase in our vocabulary that nobody has to teach us to say. It’s a phrase kids say very quickly in childhood. And it’s a phrase you should ban in your household because if your kids say it, that means they are entitled kids.

The #1 Phrase Entitled Kids Say: ‘That’s not fair.’

It sounds innocent enough. Everybody wants life to be fair, right?

But this is an insidious phrase, revealing a sin so bankrupt it goes back to the very beginning, back to the Fall of Man. It’s essentially what Eve was told by the serpent. “You’re getting a raw deal. You’re entitled to more. God is holding out on you.”

If you read Paul’s account of the Fall in Romans, you’ll discover that it was this attitude—ingratitude and entitlement—that lit the match of sin, plunging Creation into darkness. And it’s a surefire way to test your own heart, to see where the idols are.

Maybe it seems a bit melodramatic to bring all of this up to my four children, ages 2, 4, 5 and 9. But I fear that if I allow them to embed entitlement in their little hearts right now, their first reaction to someone else getting an extra dessert, a gift from a friend, a new pair of shoes, is “That’s not fair.”

And so we don’t allow this entitled phrase in our home. And when it comes up and my children act like entitled kids, they know they are in for some form of punishment, which usually involves a long-winded soliloquy from Dad that goes something like this:

First, you are right in saying that life isn’t fair.

Because it’s not fair that little children go to bed hungry this very night, having eaten nothing but a handful of rice, and here you’ve just had seconds on french fries. It’s not fair that some boys and girls grow up without a mother and father, orphaned by a war they didn’t start. It’s not fair that some children won’t even see many birthdays, succumbing to diseases we treat with immunizations and routine trips to the doctor.

So if there is a complaining about being fair, it’s you and me and all of us in prosperous, free America on the other side of “Not fair.” So in the line of people complaining about a bad lot in life, we are several zip codes away from the front.

Most of the world is pointing to us and saying, “Life isn’t fair,” and they have a much better case.

Second, you really don’t want life to be fair.

We all have a scale of what is just—but the problem is that we are human and not God. He actually holds the scale and the Bible says to us that it’s weighed down heavily in favor of His mercy.

Listen to the words of the prophet, Jeremiah, “It is of his mercies we are not consumed” (Lamentations 3:22).

Can a Christian Drink Alcohol?

Barry Cameron

July 26, 2018

This question—Can a Christian drink alcohol—has been asked through the ages and will continue to be asked.

It wasn’t that long ago that news broke that Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Shaun White had been charged with vandalism and public intoxication. On my Facebook wall, I posted the following comment: “This just in…and the gold medal for character enhancement, once again, goes to alcohol.”

Can a Christian Drink Alcohol?

For years, well-meaning, sincere Christians have debated the subject of drinking).

The Bible is also clear that mature Christians should avoid causing others to stumble by drinking (Romans 14:21.)

I have yet to hear from anyone who drinks how alcohol enhances anything or blesses anyone. Max Lucado said, “One thing for sure, I have never heard anyone say, ‘A beer makes me feel more Christlike… Fact of the matter is this: People don’t associate beer with Christian behavior.”¹ I’ve yet to see how it improves someone’s testimony or makes anyone a more effective witness for Christ.

Quite the contrary, like Shaun White mentioned above, or Richard Roberts, Oral Roberts’ son, who was arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma, driving under the influence, the result doesn’t enhance your testimony. Rather, it takes away from what testimony you had.

Should a Christian Drink Alcohol?

Recently, a friend of mine, former megachurch Pastor John Caldwell, wrote an article in Christian Standard magazine called To Drink or Not to Drink? John’s article explained why he has personally abstained from drinking alcohol and dealt with the bigger issue of the contemporary church becoming more and more like the world.

3 Things Every Kids’ Pastor Wants Their Youth Pastor to Know

Sam Luce

July 25, 2018

One of the things our church has always been blessed with is youth pastors who really get the value of kids’ ministry. The more I talk with kids’ pastors from around the country I have come to find out that is far from the norm. I have heard stories that would make you laugh, stories that would make you cry, and everything in between.

The past 10 years the word that has dominated in kids’ and youth ministry culture is “family ministry.” A family pastor is something that previously never existed in title, although it did in function in a few churches. I believe the drive and passion for family ministry have had a powerful effect on the focus of churches when it comes to next generation ministry. The beautiful side benefit of this approach has been a much-needed closing of the relational gap between youth pastors and kids’ pastors. It is by no means complete, but is far closer today than it was even eight years ago.

That being said here are three things I think every kids’ pastor wants their youth pastor to know.

1. The success of my ministry is determined by the health of yours. One of the biggest mistakes any church can make is creating ministry silos. Ministry happens best in healthy, highly relational environments. Too many kids’ pastors try to keep kids longer than they should, and too many youth pastors try to attract kids sooner than they should. If the goal of our environments is solely numbers, you will manipulate people and figures to get what you want. If the ultimate goal is life change and gospel proclamation, you will care just as much about the health of the environment the kids you pastor will transition into.

2. I want the same things as you. Rather than fight for cool points (a fight most kids’ pastors will lose to a youth pastor every time), how about sitting down sharing a cup of coffee and share with each other what your dream for your kid is? In most cases, you will find that you are both fighting for the same thing. If you both equally value the gospel, you will celebrate and even learn from the differing methods to communicate and transfer that value to the kids and families you serve.

3. My job is just as hard as yours just in a different way. Being a kids’ pastor is hard. Being a youth pastor is hard. They are both hard in a different way. The children’s pastor must ground children biblically. They must do so at multiple age levels at once, and as a result, learn to manage multiple environments and multiple groups of volunteers. Kids’ pastors have to balance safety, fun, security and gospel clarity. Kids’ pastors understand that the issues youth pastors face are very serious, but youth pastors need to understand that to a kid losing a pet is as serious of a loss as losing a girlfriend or boyfriend is to a 15-year-old. Preparing to speak to teenagers every week is difficult, but so is preparing four to 20 people to speak each week.

When our focus becomes the gospel of the Kingdom rather than the propagation of our own kingdom, Jesus is magnified. Kids’ Pastors and Youth Pastors, let’s work together, let’s talk to each other, let’s make much of Jesus.

This article originally appeared here.

Women in the Storyline of Redemptive History

Eric Schumacher

July 25, 2018

The #MeToo movement has sparked some good conversations about the value and significance of women, a conversation that has moved into the church in helpful ways (#ChurchToo). A friend’s tweet got me thinking about the significant role women in the Bible play in God’s storyline of redemption.

Women in the Bible

So, for my own benefit, I started jotting an off-the-cuff list of notable places women show up. I stopped at 20 examples of women in the Bible.

I ended up posting it to Twitter as “Twenty observations of women in the storyline of redemptive history from Genesis to Revelation.”

A friend suggested I post it on the blog. So, here it is!

Update:

I’ve updated this list to 21 observations. The new #4 was just too good to leave off!

(Download a printable PDF of this list.)

Update 2:

The Gospel Coalition invited me to turn this into an article for their site, available here.

Update 3:

Front Porch with the Fitzes invited me to discuss this post on their podcast. Listen to our discussion on Episode 214.

Twenty-one observations of women in the storyline of redemptive history from Genesis to Revelation:

A woman’s absence is the first thing to be declared “not good” in creation (Genesis 2:18).
The woman is specifically named as having enmity with the serpent (Genesis 3:15).
A woman will give birth to the serpent-crushing seed—the Messiah (Genesis 3:15).
A woman is the first and only character—male or female—in the Old Testament to confer on God a name (Genesis 16:13).
Women—often brave, vulnerable and oppressed—often act at decisive moments in redemptive history to preserve the endangered line of the seed (e.g., Tamar, Genesis 38; the Hebrew midwives, Ex 1:15-21; Rahab, Joshua 2; Ruth; Esther; et al).
Women were the first to believe the announcement that Jesus and his forerunner (John) soon would be conceived (Luke 1:5-38). Likewise, they were the first to speak aloud of it.
A woman and her (in utero) child are the first recorded people to recognize the arrival of the Messiah on earth (Luke 1:39-45).
A woman is the first recorded to verbally declare the Messiah’s presence on earth (Luke 1:39-45).
A woman voices the first song/poem of the New Testament, praising God for the arrival of the Messiah (Luke 1:46-55).
A woman is the first to expect and request a miraculous sign (John 2:1-11).
A woman is the first recorded “non-Jewish” person (a Samaritan) to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. She is also the first to go tell a community of others about him (John 4:4-42).
Women are the only people mentioned to give general, regular financial provision (out of their own means) to Jesus and the Twelve (Luke 8:3). We are told elsewhere that the disciples had a common moneybag to pay for their needs; this is the only insight into the underwriting of their itinerant ministry.
A woman is never recorded (in any of the Gospels) as acting against Jesus. His recorded enemies were exclusively men.
Women were the last to be noted to stay with Jesus at the cross (along with one disciple, John) (John 19:25).
A woman is the last to be directly ministered to by Jesus before his death (John 19:26-27).
Women were the first tasked with proclaiming the news of the resurrection (Matt 28:7).
A woman is the first to see the resurrected Lord Jesus and also the first to touch his resurrected body (Mt 28:9; John 20:14).
A woman is the first to hear the resurrected Lord’s voice—and a woman’s name is the first name uttered by the risen Jesus (John 20:14-18).
Women (mistreated and overlooked) were the impetus for the appointing of the first deacons (Acts 6:1)—one of which, Stephen, became the first martyr (Acts 7).
A woman’s name is the first listed in three of the four times that Paul greets people by name (Romans 16:1, 3; Colossians 4:15; 2 Timothy 4:19). In the fourth instance, the first mention is a couple, with her name coming second (1 Corinthians 16:10, “Aquila and Prisca”). These are the only greetings in the Epistles to feature specific names.
A “woman’s” voice (aside from John as the author of Revelation) is the last to be quoted in the Bible (Rev 22:17).

This article about women in the Bible originally appeared here.

The Importance of Doctrine

Paul David Tripp

July 25, 2018

“Daddy, did God make telephone poles?”

It was another one of those endless and seemingly unimportant questions that a kid will ask at the end of a long day that makes a parent go slightly insane.

Luella and I had been teaching our children that God created the world and everything in it, and as our family drove to Burger King, my son looked out the window at the telephone poles that lined the street, mulling over the “doctrine of creation” in his little brain. Justin was very young at the time, so he didn’t actually know anything about doctrine, at least at an academic level. But his question was still deeply theological.

Why was our little philosopher thinking about those telephone poles? Because he was a human being; he was simply doing what God designed us to do.

DESIGNED TO THINK

You may be a plumber, a Fortune 500 CEO, a housewife and stay-at-home mom, a music teacher, or a professional athlete, but you’re also a full-time thinker. Some of us think improperly and inconsistently, and some of us reveal our thinking more publicly than others, but if you’re a person, you think. You’ve never had a thoughtless day in your life.

Little children, like my Justin, never quit asking questions. Teenagers constantly obsess over what’s fair and unfair. Husbands and wives argue because they’ve interpreted a particular situation differently. Older people look back over the years and try to make sense of it all, often paralyzed by regret.

You see, we all do it—we think.

Thinking about life, and our desire to understand, is a deeply and uniquely human thing to do. It gets to the heart of how God wired us to operate, yet it tends not to get the publicity that it should. Most of the time we don’t realize that we’re thinking, and we fail to understand the profound significance it has on our lives.

Every day, at some point and in some way, we’ll try to make sense out of our lives. Some will dig through the mound of artifacts from our past, looking back on their journey and trying to figure out “if only” they had or hadn’t done this or that. Others will endlessly toss around their current situations, locations and relationships, evaluating certain responses compared to others. Still more will gaze into the future, hoping to somehow divine what’s to come and prepare themselves for it.

Chances are, you’ve probably done all three already today. Or, if you’re reading this in the morning, it won’t be long before you do.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THINKING

Every human being has constructed a superstructure of life assumptions that functions as the instrument they use to make sense of life. It can be the result of a combination of things, such as upbringing, education, life experiences and personality traits, but we all look at life through this interpretive grid.

This is vital to understand: Thought always precedes and determines activity.

I want you to stop and write down that sentence. If there’s only one thing you take away from this long article, it needs to be this concept.

Make it personal: My thoughts always precede and determine my activity.

It’s crucial that you become more conscious of the vibrant mental activity that so influences the choices you make, the words you speak and the things you desire.

You and I don’t act out of instinct like the rest of the creatures in the animal kingdom. We don’t do what we do because of what we’re experiencing in the moment. Rather, we think, speak and act based on the way we’ve thought about and interpreted what we’re experiencing.

Social experiments have proven this time and time again. If you place three different people in the very same situation, they can have three remarkably different reactions. Why? Because each individual has interpreted that situation through their personal thinking grid.

A variance in interpretation will always lead to a variation in response.

THE IMPORTANCE OF DOCTRINE

Let me connect all that about thinking with the importance of doctrine.

The God who designed you to be a thinker is the same God who inspired the writers of the Old and New Testaments to pen his truths. God hardwired us to view life through an interpretative grid, and he also gave us his Word to shape that grid.

The Bible is a book, filled with doctrine, that defines what is good, right and true. A loving Creator gave it to his dependent creatures so they would know how to properly make sense out of life. Or, to phrase it differently, the Bible is the tangible result of the “Meaning Giver” explaining foundational truths to the “meaning makers” he created.

Every person who has ever lived exists in desperate need of the unfolded mysteries that make up the content of Scripture. Without it, we wouldn’t know how to think about life. We wouldn’t know for sure if what we knew was true, and we wouldn’t know if what we thought we knew was good and morally right!

When you understand the Bible in this way, it no longer becomes relegated to the hallowed and separate corridors of institutionalized religion. No, on the contrary, the Bible is a life book given for life purposes, so that everybody everywhere would use it to understand life, and ultimately the Author of Life.

Naturally, since Scripture contains doctrines, these doctrines shouldn’t be reserved for academic seminarians. They’re living and divine tools of salvation, transformation, identity and guidance.

That’s why I’m writing this series. I want to help you think about the complex doctrines of the Bible and help you see how they impact your everyday thoughts, words and actions.

God’s Promises in Adversity

Adam Weber

July 25, 2018

When it comes to the future being uncertain, that pretty much sums up life, doesn’t it? We need God’s promises.

It’s possible that you’re in a place of uncertainty right now.

Finances are easy one minute and tight the next.
Your job and career just feel unsteady.
Relationships, family, kids, trying to have kids, it all seems to change on any given day.
What, if anything, does the future hold?

I never cease to be amazed by how quickly things can change. Who knows what tomorrow might bring. So what are we supposed to hold on to? What can we count on? Who can we trust?

When facing an uncertain future, here are three of God’s promises, three truths we can remember when our lives get crazy:

The future might be uncertain, but God’s love isn’t.

Our job, our relationship status, our popularity, our friends, they all might change moment to moment, and yet “the loyal, unfailing love of God is as vast as the heavens” (Psalm 36:5).

God’s love might sound cute and fuzzy and empty, but I’ve found that there is nothing better than to know that we are loved by God.

When life hits the fan.
And after our biggest screw-ups.
When the person who said they’d love us till death walks away.
And when we feel like we’ve totally failed.

Our God is still there, and His love for us is unfailing.

The future might be uncertain, but God’s protection isn’t.

The future might be unknown, but through it all God is faithful. He’s our shelter. He’s our refuge. He will protect us (Psalm 36:7).

Maybe it’s obvious, but we wouldn’t call God “Our Shelter” if there weren’t going to be some storms in life.

And the storms of life, they typically come out of nowhere, don’t they? Storms that often don’t seem to end. And yet, in all the uncertainty, if we don’t know, God wants and He offers to be our shelter.

No matter the storm, He will protect us. And unlike some of the people in our life, He won’t leave us when things get bad. Instead He is faithful, and He remains by our side.

Are you walking through a storm today? Hold on to God!

The future might be uncertain, but God’s provision isn’t.

One of the specific things Jesus tells us in the Bible is that we don’t have to worry. Why? Because our Heavenly Father, He knows all our needs, and He loves to provide for us (Psalm 36:8, Matthew 6:8).

I don’t know about you, but in my life there is so much I don’t understand. There are so many things I have questions about. And yet God’s track record in my life is perfect. Just looking back, His provision has always been there.

When it comes to God providing, yes, He provides for us physically, but He also provides for us spiritually.

What does this mean? It means He gives us His peace when we’re restless and anxious, and nothing can help us physically. It means He gives us His joy and His goodness when we’re jaded and angry at life.

It seems like the older I get, the less and less the physical things in life mean to me, while the spiritual things—like joy, hope, gentleness and peace—mean more and more and more.

Our God is a great provider.

…

Here’s the truth: When we say that God is faithful, this simply means that God does what He says He’s going to do. What God says, it happens.

To be clear, this doesn’t mean that life will be great. Jesus himself actually said here on Earth you will have many trials and sorrows. My translation: In this life, at times things will suck. But Jesus goes on to say, take heart because I have overcome the world. Be encouraged, I have overcome all things (John 16:33).

Even when the future is uncertain, when everything in life is completely changing, the people around us are wishy-washy and they say one thing and do another—even in the midst of all this, God is faithful.

Our God is steady.
He’s reliable.
And He’s constant.

In the midst of life itself God’s promises remain true and they can be trusted. In all the uncertainty we can still hold on to God. His promises will remain ever the same.

This article originally appeared here.

Fun Small Groups: 3 Reasons Your Groups Must Include This Element

Chris Surratt

July 25, 2018

The process of leading a small group can sometimes take all of the fun out of it. After all, think about all of the administration details you have to deal with.

Where will the group meet?
What day of the week will it meet?
Who will be invited?
Who will bring the food?
How many members are gluten-free?
What will the study be?

I happen to enjoy putting those details together, but most people don’t. If you’re not careful, your group can quickly become a list of tasks to complete, not a community to be enjoyed. I believe that your group can and should be fun, and here are three reasons why.

1. Everyone likes fun!

Quickly think through your top five memories in life. I bet they all involved something fun. We were designed by God to enjoy life and the people around us. Why would we not include it in a weekly gathering of friends at our home?

2. Fun will make them come back.

Most people will not return to a boring group—no matter how great the study is. I always judge how healthy a small group is by how much laughter there is during a group meeting. If you want people to go from visitors to members, make sure there’s something to enjoy at the meeting.

3. Biblical community is supposed to be fun.

You can see fun and laughter throughout the Bible. They were constantly throwing feasts to celebrate something God had done for them! That’s another reason to always have good food at your group. Nothing brings people together faster than a great meal.

So, now that we know there should be fun in our groups, how do we go about making that happen. Here are a three tips to get the fun back in.

1. Set the expectation for fun.

You can kick off the group by planning something fun at the beginning. Meet at a restaurant or a TopGolf for your first meeting. That will let the group know that this group is not just about the study. You can also spell it out in your group covenant at one of your first meetings. A line item can be something like, “This group will value having fun together.”

2. Plan for fun.

Go ahead and set aside at least one meeting a quarter for just having fun. This could going to a ballgame, having a picnic, going river rafting or having a game night. A healthy amount of competition can bond a group for a long time! You will also want to build time into the weekly meeting for fun. The first and last 20 minutes of the group time should be for just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company.

3. Be a fun person to be around.

The tone of fun starts with the leader. If you are too tied up in the details of pulling a group off every week, the group members will follow your lead. The fun starts with the hospitality displayed. Are you a smiling face at the door, or a stressed out group host? That attitude will set the atmosphere for the entire night.

This article originally appeared here.

Christ-Centered Intentionality

Jennifer Slattery

July 25, 2018

Are you feeling squeezed and overwhelmed? Like you have more to do than time to do it? Do you ever feel a strong desire to chuck it all—your computer, day planner, every clock in the vicinity?

Life rarely plays out as we plan, and sometimes we’re forced to scramble, but hectic, over-scheduled living should be a season, not a way of life. If we’ve become comfortable multi-tasking on high doses of caffeine, chances are we’ve taken on more than God has assigned.

The Christ-centered life should be characterized by joy and peace, not frantic stress.

I’m an easily bored doer by nature, which means it’s easy for me to jam my schedule full of all kinds of wonderful things. Very good, kingdom building things. Things that, if not done in obedience to Christ, leave me enslaved to my schedule and thus crowding out what’s most important—surrender.

Because even good things can keep us from God’s best—for us, our ministries and our families.

So what do we do when we begin to feel as if life, rather than Jesus, has taken control?

1. We begin with prayer.

We pray for clarity and the courage to follow through—for the courage to listen for God’s guidance with a heart set on obedience.

Isaiah 30:21 says, “Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”

In other words, God will guide you toward His will, and His will for us is better than anything we can dream up on our own. His role is to guide, and ours is to “carefully determine what pleases the Lord” (Eph. 5:10), “not acting thoughtlessly, but rather, understanding what the Lord wants you to do” (Eph. 5:17) and doing it.

I suspect, as many of us evaluate our schedules, our thoughts will narrow on certain responsibilities—commitments made from guilt or obligation rather than Christ-focused obedience.

2. Determine to put our desire to please Christ above people-pleasing.

Are you attempting to gain value apart from your identity in Christ? Have you allowed your children’s schedules, and thus unhealthy focus on them, to dominate? (Our kids are meant to be blessings, not gods. Moreover, we’re responsible for teaching them well—showing them, in what we allow and say no to, how to prioritize time with Christ. If their schedule prevents us from having a daily quiet time with Jesus or engaging in faith-building activities, we’re sending them the wrong message.)

3. Schedule the most important things into our day.

Why is it when time is short, my top priorities—time with Jesus and my family—seem to slide. Prayer, Bible reading, building into my most important relationships, and developing a listening ear with a surrendered heart—those things don’t simply happen. I need to make room for them. I need to intentionally schedule them into my day or they won’t happen.

4. Be persistent in prayer.

Some answers take time. When prayerfully evaluating our schedules, some things, like cutting out (or cutting in half) that hour we spend scrolling through Facebook each night, might seem obvious. Determining other changes may take time, prayer and the input from wise counsel.

But God is faithful, and He will guide us toward His very best at any moment. That best will lead to increased joy and peace.

What about you? Have you allowed the good to crowd out God’s best? Are you intentional with your time, your relationships and your faith? Or are you chasing after whatever screams the loudest or flashes the brightest but fails to truly nourish your soul?

If today’s post resonated with you, make sure to pop by Wholly Loved’s Facebook page to find more inspiration on moving past our fear of rejection and living in freedom. And visit our website to read about moving past our fear of rejection to live in obedience. You can read that HERE. I also encourage you to sign up for my free quarterly newsletter to receive great content (a short story, devotional, recipe and more!) sent directly to your inbox. You can do that HERE.

This article originally appeared here.

America’s Economy (and Social Programs): Fueled by Faith

Bob Ditmer

July 25, 2018

The Bible tells us that without faith we cannot please God. Here’s something else the loss of faith would do: leave a $1.2 trillion hole in the U.S. economy.

Religion in the United States is worth $1.2 trillion a year, making it equivalent to the 15th largest national economy in the world, according to a study out of Georgetown University.

The numbers alone are staggering but here’s a correlation that can’t be ignored—the faith economy has a higher value than the combined revenues of the top 10 technology companies in the U.S., including Apple, Amazon and Google.

To arrive at the valuation, researchers Brian Grim of Georgetown University and Melissa Grim of the Newseum Institute made three estimates of the quantitative economic value of faith to American society.

The first estimate took into account only the revenues of faith-based organizations, which came to $378 billion annually. The second estimate, $1.2 trillion, included the fair market value of goods and services provided by religious organizations and included contributions of businesses with religious roots.

The third, higher-end, estimate of $4.8 trillion takes into account the household incomes of religiously affiliated Americans, assuming that they conduct their affairs according to their religious beliefs.

More than 150 million Americans, almost half the population, are members of faith congregations, according to the report titled “Socioeconomic Contributions of Religion to American Society: An Empirical Analysis.” Although numbers are declining, the sums spent by religious organizations on social programs have tripled in the past 15 years.

Twenty of the top 50 charities in the U.S. are faith-based, with a combined operating revenue of $45.3 billion.

Economic Impact of Religion Helps Whole Society

The study’s authors emphasize that “religion is a highly significant sector of the American economy” because it “provides purpose-driven institutional and economic contributions to health, education, social cohesion, social services, media, food and business itself.”

“Perhaps most significantly,” the study adds, “religion helps set Americans free to do good by harnessing the power of millions of volunteers from nearly 345,000 diverse congregations present in every corner of the country’s urban and rural landscape.”

The research used findings from the Pew Research Center that show two-thirds of highly religious adults had donated money, time or goods to the poor in the previous week, compared with 41 percent of adults who said they were not highly religious.

The authors conclude: “The faith sector is undoubtedly a significant component of the overall American economy, impacting and involving the lives of the majority of the U.S. population.”

Rich Stearns: World Vision Is the Emergency Room of the Planet

Jason Daye

July 25, 2018

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Rich Stearns is the president of World Vision United States, a Christian relief charity based in Federal Way, Washington. He is the former CEO of Parker Brothers Games and Lenox. Rich holds a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Following the calling he felt from God, he resigned from Lenox in 1998 to lead World Vision U.S., after more than 20 years in corporate America.

Key Questions for Rich Stearns:

– Why does World Vision focus on a long term view of helping those in need?
– What are some of the most important leadership lessons you’ve learned over the years?

[SUBSCRIBE] For more ChurchLeaders podcasts click here!

Key Quotes from Rich Stearns:

“You can characterize our work as talking about relief and development. Most people understand emergency relief, it’s kind of like the emergency room of the world. A little bit like the world’s firefighters we rush into the traumas of our world…we try to help people in their desperate hour of need.”

“World Vision has become one of the largest relief providers in the world. In fact last year we responded to more than 150 humanitarian disasters all over the world.”

“We like to say we don’t give people handouts we give people a hand up.”

“Communities that are poor have been poor for centuries so the causes are deeply ingrained in the culture. The solutions are also long term.”

“Water wells and schools are important but they’re not nearly as important as what goes on between the two ears of the people who live in the community. How they are working to solve their own problems.”

“A church that is ready to go the long haul with a community is the church that will see change and impact.”

“World Vision is one of the few organizations that wants to say goodbye.”

“Our goal should be to have the communities we work with be fully functioning and no longer need our help.”

“Leadership is like trying to drive a car in a blizzard at night with no lights or windshield wipers.”

“As a leader, surround yourself with wise, godly, smart people and give them permission to disagree with you.”

“Never believe that the outcome of your ministry depends on you.”

Links Mentioned by Rich Stearns in the Show:

World Vision

Matthew 25 Challenge

Rich Stearns on ChurchLeaders:

Arbiter for the Poor: Rich Stearns and World Vision

This is Your Greatest Asset

Jonathan Pearson

July 24, 2018

Sometimes, we’re best known for what we didn’t have to do.

We all have responsibilities. Let’s face it, adulting is tough work. There are bills to pay, children to care for, responsibilities at work, volunteer responsibilities, and the list goes on and on. However, much of that stuff is expected. It’s maintaining, not groundbreaking. It’s keeping things going, not necessarily moving ahead.

Often times, the thing that makes the great people great and the thing that makes the world-shapers the way they are isn’t the day to day stuff, it’s the stuff they don’t have to do. It’s the extra mile when they could have stopped. It’s going from just being a parent keeping their children alive to being a purposeful parent instilling values in the home. It’s going from being an employee that wants to keep their job to figuring out a new and more efficient way to do what you do.

Our greatest asset is what we do after we do what we’re supposed to do.

Take for instance, Thomas Edison. Edison is always credited with inventing the light bulb. That’s partly true. He did invent the modern light bulb and deserves credit. What we often don’t know about Edison is that he wasn’t the first. He was just the first to perfect the filament that was used to make the bulb light up. Before Edison, the light bulb burnt out so fast, it was useless. Edison went the extra mile. He went beyond what was common and known and still gets the credit for it. We’re still using his work every day.

What can you do?

What does it look like for you to go the extra mile today? Maybe you change how you do what you do. Maybe you chase a dream you’ve been putting on the back burner. Maybe you start something over, with more purpose. Maybe you reschedule your day for more margin.

Your greatest asset is what you don’t have to do… but you’ll be glad you did.

The original article appeared here.

8 Attributes of Spiritually Safe Environments

Jenny Funderburke Smith

July 24, 2018

At the end of a special event, a Christian dressed as a superhero calls for kids to come forward if they want to know Jesus. Dozens and dozens of kids, primarily preschoolers, come forward. They are counted and the church celebrates the high number of “salvations” from this event.

Following the traditional VBS gospel presentation, an opportunity to pray to receive Christ is given, and then kids are asked to respond by raising their hands and then coming forward. A couple of fourth graders respond. Others notice their friends are moving forward and they go to the front as well. Soon the majority of the fourth-grade class is standing there. They are given a card to fill out and the church celebrates the number of decisions.

If you’ve been in church for a while, it is possible that you’ve seen similar situations. These are actual situations that I observed many years ago. I believe with all my heart that children can understand and receive the good news of Jesus. That’s why I am in kids’ ministry. However, I also know that right after Jesus told His disciples that “whoever welcomes one child like this in my name welcomes me,” He also warned with very strong language of the danger for those who cause kids to fall away from Him (Matthew 18:6). It is critical that we create spiritually safe environments for every kid who enters our church.

We talk a lot in next generation ministry about creating environments that are physically safe, as we most certainly should. Thankfully, background screens and two adult rules have become the norm. We give attention to bullying and making sure we have emotionally safe environments. These are important topics, but since our number one mission should be to train children spiritually, it is imperative that our environments are spiritually safe.

What do spiritually safe environments look like?

The gospel is primary. In spiritually healthy environments, kids are consistently taught that Jesus died for their sins and rose from the dead, providing a way to Heaven through faith alone. When we implicitly or explicitly emphasize anything else, we are potentially harming kids spiritually. If kids leave our classrooms with the impression that they only have to be “good” kids or they have to work to earn salvation, we are setting them up for spiritual harm.
The gospel is communicated clearly. I believe that Jesus is clear that a child is capable of saving faith, and in fact uses a child’s faith to define what saving faith is like (Matthew 18:3). Our responsibility is to communicate in ways that they understand. We do this by explaining church-y or theological terms in kid-friendly and age-appropriate ways.
Decisions for Christ are not made based on guilt, fear or peer pressure. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict and draw kids to God. It is our job to share the gospel. Years ago I asked my friend and associate pastor to talk with a child about salvation. He used a popular evangelism tool that just happened to highlight a large picture of fire. Yes, hell is a biblical reality and kids need to understand that separation from God has eternal consequences. However, guess what that unchurched kid was totally freaked out about? It is our responsibility to share the gospel in a way where kids are responding to the grace of Christ, not trying to please adults or do what their friends are doing or because they are scared of the fire picture.
Kids are not pressured or put on the spot to make a spiritual commitment A well-meaning volunteer once went around his circle of kids asking each to say out loud whether or not they had trusted in Christ. His intentions were good, but unfortunately, his methods made kids feel uncomfortable and put on the spot to respond like he wanted them to. We owe kids the honor of letting God work in their hearts privately. Following a gospel presentation, we do not have kids make public commitments. Instead, we allow them opportunities to respond privately via a card that they fill out or by encouraging them to approach their leader to start the conversation.
The emphasis is on gospel conversations, not counting decisions. Every child who expresses an interest in following Christ has a one-on-one conversation with a decision counselor. As often as possible we include the parents. The purpose of the conversation is to walk through the gospel again and try to gauge the student’s understanding and interest. We are not the judges of kids’ salvation, but it is our responsibility to help make sure they have a clear understanding.
Every effort is made to make sure concepts are understood, not just repeated. Kids can repeat a prayer. Kids can answer yes or no questions. Kids can parrot back what you’ve said. Salvation through Christ is more than repeating words. Kids need to understand what sin is, that they are sinners in need of forgiveness, that Jesus came, died and rose again to provide a way to heaven. They need to understand that salvation comes only through Him.
Salvation is not a prayer of magic words. I believe we have raised generations that have equated salvation with just saying a prayer and you get zapped into heaven. I also believe that this practice has led to lots of spiritually confused adults. Salvation is believing in Christ and confessing Him as your Lord. Repenting of sin and making Him the Lord of your life is a lot bigger than just saying some words. In spiritually healthy environments, kids understand that salvation is a surrendering of one’s life to God. In kid-terms we say God is the boss of their life and we do things his way instead of ours.
Kids are loved unconditionally regardless of their background or their behavior. We model who Christ is by loving kids as He loves us. Kids know that the people who are sharing Christ with them are legit and truly care about them.

Sharing the greatest news in the world is a high responsibility, but what an incredible privilege! My prayer is that God uses each of us to spread His gospel to this generation with much integrity and much care so that this next generation grows up with a rock solid faith.

This article originally appeared here.

How to Break Free From Church Politics

Dan Reiland

July 24, 2018

Workplace politics are frustrating.

Steve and Jennifer were up for the same promotion and Jennifer was clearly more qualified for the position. But Steve got the job. It turns out that Steve’s father-in-law was the CEO of the company. Enough said.

Workplace politics is the process and behavior within human interactions involving power and authority.

When this influence is used to promote personal agendas over the mission, it divides the organization’s mission. Divided interests cause the organization to become “political” in nature, and its effectiveness quickly declines.

Churchplace politics are similar and equally frustrating.

A church of about 500 in attendance was in a building campaign. Everyone had agreed on chairs in the worship space instead of the pews they had always known. Except for one board member who had personally pledged an amount equal to all the rest of the pledges combined. The board member threatened the pastor and board to remove his pledge if they didn’t install pews.

Not all politics are negative. In a positive nature, politics are how you get things done in your church. Politics are the lubricant that oils your church’s organizational gears. It’s about people working together and setting their preferences aside for the greater good.

When this process becomes corrupted, that’s when trouble begins, and your culture can become divided and even toxic.

Indicators that the climate has become political:

People work hard, but sideways energy wastes time and erodes progress.
It’s difficult to get a decision because of divided interests.
Gossip overtakes open and honest conversations.
Trust is low.
Perspective overtakes truth.
Personal agendas compete with the purpose of the church.
Staff begin to look out for themselves and volunteer leaders become discouraged.

Politics are agenda driven, meaning somebody wants something.

The major complication is that the agendas are often personal and sometimes selfish, but get communicated as if they are purely about the cause of Christ.

This is further complicated because it’s rarely malice that drives the personal agenda. It’s more often good people who genuinely believe that what they are doing (what they want) is right.

The problem is those good people who are attempting to do good things can lose sight of the big picture and begin to justify their idea (their part of the mission) as the entire mission.

5 things you can do as a leader help break your church free from politics:

1) Never put your leadership up for sale.

It’s obviously not always about money, but “selling out” is easier than it may appear.

The pressure may come related to hiring someone, starting or stopping a ministry, or looking the other way when it comes to one of your biblical convictions. The possibilities are endless.

When the leaders around you sense that you don’t hold firm to your convictions, you open the door to church politics because options are now up for grabs. When you stay firm, even if leaders don’t always agree, trust increases because they know where you stand.

2) Insist on a culture of no pretense.

The founding and senior pastor at 12Stone, Kevin Myers, has done an incredible job to lead the element of no pretense into the culture of our church.

If you or I pretend to be something or someone other than who we really are, we present a divided authenticity. Let’s assume pure motives; we still must burn energy to keep up two fronts.

The same is true with the church. When reality is covered up, and you pretend everything is fine, the church is no longer real. This invites a divided agenda. One that invests energy into communicating everything is fine, and the other frantically working to make things better.

We know there is no such thing as a perfect leader or perfect church, but it’s startling how many attempt this pretense anyway. This divided energy is a door to side agendas taking over.

The first step is authenticity among the key leaders.

3) Refuse to engage in gossip.

If you refuse to gossip, others around you will get the message. You don’t have to be militant about it. Kindness is always appropriate.

You can lead the way or at least be a significant influencer toward a gossip free culture.

The first step is that you don’t take part in any gossip. Second, you gently but firmly call it out when it happens. Just say something like: “Hey I’m not sure that’s true, and if we’re going to have this conversation, we need to go have it with the person you’re talking about.”

It need not be more complicated than that. This also increases trust and a healthy culture.

4) Commit to being part of the solution.

Solve the problem rather than make it worse.

Gossip is like gas on a fire; it makes the problem bigger. A solution not only helps you put the fire out, but it’s also the foundation for regaining progress.

Anyone can spot a problem, and unfortunately more than enough people can cause a problem, but leaders solve problems.

The unity required to solve problems, get things done and make progress shuts down the time-wasting effect of politics.

5) Remain fiercely aligned to the mission.

It’s healthy and natural for people to have different opinions, ideas and passions for specific ministries. But you won’t make progress unless the church and staff agree and fully align together in one direction.

This begins with a shared commitment to God, then to each other as a community of believers, and finally a willingness to practice mutual voluntary submission (MVS).

MVS essentially means that individuals set aside their personal agendas for the sake of the greater good, seek alignment as a team, and ultimately measure success by reaching more people for Jesus.

This article originally appeared here.

Can Your Soul Survive Facebook and Twitter?

Russell Moore

July 24, 2018

I sometimes post pictures on Instagram of books that I’m reading, usually just a stack on my table to let my followers know what I’m thinking about at the moment. The stack is almost always very heavily redacted. It’s not (necessarily) a list of recommendations, but a real-time rundown of what I’m consuming. Even so, I would never include in the stack Why I Don’t Believe in God or Beyond Good and Evil or Why Country Music Is Awful, for fear that some might think I agree with those ridiculous arguments. There was one book that I didn’t post on Instagram though for an entirely different reason; I didn’t want to be thought a hypocrite. I still don’t, but the case was so compelling that I’ve decided I don’t care.

The book, Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, by Silicon Valley scientist and entrepreneur Jason Lanier, was, in some ways, dealing with predictable issues familiar to the genre: on addiction, attention spans, bullying and so forth. What caught my attention though was the section dealing with something approaching a disturbing account of human nature, an account that rings true with what I’ve seen both in the digital and the real ecosystems.

We all know that social media platforms amplify the voices of “trolls,” those extraordinarily wounded psyches who seek out such venues to vent their inner demons with anger. Lanier’s argument, though, is not just that social media give a hearing to trolls but that these media are making us all, a little bit, into trolls. He uses a word that is less-than-evangelical-friendly, but that is synonymous with a boorish, mean-spirited jerk, and says that social media actually can make us into people like this.

PERSON OR TRIBE?

To make his case, Lanier compares human nature to that of wolves, arguing that in every human personality there is the mode of the solitary and that of the pack. When our “switch” is set to “Pack,” he contends, we shift into emergency mode, to the protection of the real or imagined “tribe.” This mode is necessary, he contends; think of when individuality should essentially evaporate into the larger collective, say, in a time of military attack. This should be rare, though, and the “switch” should usually be kept in the “Solitary Wolf” mode.

“When the Solitary/Pack switch is set to Pack, we become obsessed with and controlled by a pecking order,” Lanier writes. “We pounce on those below us, lest we be demoted, and we do our best to flatter and snipe at those above us at the same time. Our peers flicker between ‘ally’ and ‘enemy’ so quickly that we perceive them as individuals. They become archetypes from a comic book. The only constant basis of friendship is shared antagonism toward other packs.”

This is why, he argues, nonsense is a more useful tool of building online “viral” content than is reason or imagination or truth. When “truth” is defined by what is useful or “memeable,” one’s embrace of that “truth” is a signal not that it is based in reality but instead that it makes one part of the digital “pack.” Those who fall repeatedly for what are self-evidently absurd concepts they latch onto on the Internet are not necessarily stupid (though they may be). They are looking for a place to belong, and that’s the price.

Lanier argues that capitalism and democracy cannot survive while the “Pack” mode is permanently switched to “on.” He writes: “Tribal voting, personality cults and authoritarianism are the politics of the Pack setting.” The solitary wolf is forced to care about the larger reality more than the perceptions of the tribe. That leads to the qualities of the scientist or the artist as opposed to what happens when social status and “intrigue” become more important, a situation that forces one to act more “like an operator, a politician or a slave.”

INDIVIDUALS IN COMMUNITY

He’s right not only about the economic or democratic conditions around us, but also about a reality he doesn’t examine at all: that of the church. The church requires a balance between individuality and community. When individuality becomes disconnected from community, one refuses to submit to one another or to serve one another. But the opposite is also true. If I find my identity in the community, or in the community’s perception of me, I am no longer free to serve the community.

I can only do that if I bring to the community the gifts God has given to me, anchored in an identity that is found in Christ. That’s why the Spirit uses the analogy of the body and the organs of the body for life in the church—organically connected but distinguishable. Indeed, when the personal is absorbed into the raw rush to the collective, we end up with angry tribes within the church (“I am of Peter; I am of Apollos…” 1 Cor. 1:12). Those who do so are not selflessly serving the whole; they are instead seeking to selfishly find themselves, in a tribe they can war against another. This leads, the Apostle Paul tells us, to an animalistic biting and devouring of one another (Gal. 5:15).

Church splits and Twitter wars aren’t really all that different. Joining a cult and spending time wondering what people think about you online are different in degree, but maybe not that much in kind.

I’m not arguing that we all should delete our social media accounts. I am, though, wondering if you should spend some time asking whether your social media account is leading you places you can’t handle. Do you find yourself given over more to anger or to anxiety or to envy or to pack thinking? Then maybe it’s time to step back, or even to leave for a while.

After all, you weren’t created for a hive or a pack. You were created for a church. And, for that, you need more than a tribe. You need a soul. Your church needs that from you, too.

This article originally appeared here.

One Size Does Not Fit All – Background Screening Policies are a MUST

Daniel Raley

July 24, 2018

One size DOES NOT fit all!

Background Screening Policies Are a MUST for Churches.

When I talk or visit with a church, one of the first things I ask is whether or not they have a background screening “policy” in place. I often receive a look of bemusement and an, “Of course!” response. As we talk further, I find that they really have some type of Child Protection Policy but not necessarily a Background Screening Policy. There is a difference.

My goal today is to lend some advice on creating a background screening policy that everyone in your organization can utilize and share. Let’s start by considering the key elements in the policy or strategy for effective screening.

WHO to screen is always the first criterion. Many churches think in silos when thinking about who to screen. An example of this would be to only screen the nursery, children’s ministry and student/youth ministry volunteers. My recommendation is much broader in nature.

Screen everyone that represents your organization in any capacity.

Right now many of you are thinking about the cost, resistance from staff and volunteers and possibly scoffing at the suggestion because you’ve known everyone forever! My suggestion comes not from distrust of those that work with you, but of protection of your organization in a legal sense. One misstep by any staff member or volunteer can result in a huge financial impact on your church when you can’t prove you’ve conducted your due diligence. There are many ways to offset the cost of background screening and overcoming objections, however, if screening everyone is not supported, consider the impact of those that have a position of trust or power with a child, student or any vulnerable adults:

Pastors, greeters at the front door, anyone with a name tag or “uniform” of any kind (i.e. flower, cloak, button, etc.), janitorial staff, along with the worship/music members and team (critical and exploited opening for sex offenders). You should also include minors working with children and outside contractors/vendors.

WHAT is the second criterion. What should be considered diligent in terms of a proper background screening for each person? That really depends on their roles and responsibilities. Do they work with children? Do they handle money? Do they have keys to the building? Do they travel as a chaperone? One size does not fit all! You must tailor your screening program to their roles. You may need to order a driving history (MVR) for chaperones that drive; or a credit report on those that handle finances. Consider Federal Court searches for crimes like embezzlement, trafficking, drug charges, and kidnapping to name a few. Consider the responsibilities for each title, thinking about each area of your organization they will be involved in to decide on the appropriate services for each. A company with a sound reputation and knowledgeable staff, such as Protect My Ministry, will have recommendations to provide.

HOW often? I have always recommended that churches run annual searches on their staff and volunteers and now many insurance companies are making it mandatory for coverage. Many things can happen in a 12 month period, at home or away. It is your responsibility to ensure the staff and volunteers are always clear of potential risk to your church. The only way to ensure your volunteer is still “clear” is to re-screen on a consistent basis. If budget is a concern, know that Protect My Ministry is one of the only background check companies that provides a FREE re-verification of records from the national criminal database for volunteers.

The last thing to consider when creating your policy is a screening provider. One Size Does Not Fit All also applies to background screening providers and their services. For the last 3 years, Protect My Ministry has been partnering with churches to help them effectively screen their volunteers and staff. Now serving over 25,000 churches, schools and nonprofits, we have become the go-to source for background checks and child safety training, online training, and instructional videos.

Our background check services include:

SSN Verification
National Criminal Database Search
National Sex Offender Search
Re-verification of criminal records
Alias names

(1) county or statewide criminal court search (plus mandatory fees)

Our integration with Elexio, ShelbyNext, FellowshipOne, ParishSoft, and many other Church Management platforms streamlines your screening process. Our approach to customer service, screening services and technology is not a One Size Fits All. We take a holistic approach to background screening that promotes confidence and peace of mind.

Daniel Raley is a Marketing Director for Ministry Brands, a software company dedicated to empowering faith-based organizations in a digital world.

Why I Don’t Always Give People an Answer

Ron Edmondson

July 24, 2018

I have a theory, which I practice often.

I’ve been using it for many years—as a leader, father, a friend and a pastor. It’s not always what people come looking to me for, but I think it’s the best practice.

I don’t always give people answers.

As a pastor, people came to me for answers.
As a dad, my boys, now grown, often still come to me for answers.
As a friend, people come to me for answers.
As a counselor, people came to me for answers.
As a leader of a team, people come to me for answers.

In either case, I don’t always give people answers.

I don’t try to solve their problems for them. I know that seems hard to understand, maybe even cruel of me, unless you understand why I don’t.

Now, if there is a clear biblical answer for their problem or issue, I give it to them, as I understand it. And, there are certainly things which are my responsibility and I have to make a decision. I make dozens of these type of decisions every day. I’m not afraid to be the deciding voice when one is required of me.

I’m talking about decisions which are the responsibility of other people to make. These are the issues more difficult to discern. Things such as career choice decisions, the calling in life decisions, who to marry, how to respond to a marriage conflict, how to deal with difficult parents or children or friends, etc.—the unwritten answer type decisions. When there are multiple, seemingly good options available, I don’t try to solve their problem.

For those type of issues, I probably have an opinion, but I almost never “have” the answer.

Instead…

I help people discover a paradigm through which to make the decision.

I help them see all sides of an issue.
I ask probing questions to spur bigger picture thoughts about an issue.
I share Scriptures, which may speak to both sides of a decision.
I serve as an outside voice and become an objective listener.
I connect them with people who may have experienced similar issues.
I often diagram the problem, as I hear it, so they can see an issue on paper. (This is one of my favorites.)
I help them learn to pray and listen for the voice of God.

And then I release them to make a decision.

Here is my reasoning…

If I solve the problem for them (or attempt to):

I’m just one opinion—and I am often wrong.
They’ll resent me if it proves to be a wrong decision, and trust me less the next time.
They may never take ownership of the issue.
They’ll likely do what they want anyway.
They won’t learn the valuable skills of listening to the voice of God.
They won’t learn from personal experience. (And, that’s the best way we learn.)
They will only rely on someone giving them the answer next time, failing to develop real wisdom, which comes through years of wrestling through the hard decisions of life.

My advice—for leaders, parents, pastors and friends:

Don’t always have an answer—or at least not THE answer.

Help people form paradigms through which to to solve problems and make wiser decisions.

Ideally we want people to develop healthy decision-making skills. We want them to gain dependence on God and the acquired ability to seek and discern wisdom. If we always make the decisions for them—if we always tell them exactly what they should do—they become too dependent on others and may never develop fully into who God has designed them to be.

Are you too quick to have an answer sometimes?

This article originally appeared here.

Vatican Warns of Prosperity Gospel Spreading Like a Noxious Weed

Bob Ditmer

July 24, 2018

The Vatican is warning about the perils of the prosperity gospel, the belief that true followers of God are rich, healthy and happy.

The prosperity gospel has been around since the 19th century but the continuing global growth of Pentecostalism, especially in Catholic dominated regions of the world, could be one of the reasons why the Vatican is being more vocal about this “pseudo-gospel.”

In the latest edition of the Vatican-approved Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, two of the pope’s communication advisers wrote an article about the damage caused by the prosperity gospel, “a well-known theological current emerging from the neo-Pentecostal evangelical movements.”

“The risk of this form of religious anthropocentrism, which puts humans and their well-being at the center, is that it transforms God into a power at our service, the Church into a supermarket of faith, and religion into a utilitarian phenomenon that is eminently sensationalist and pragmatic.”

Antonio Spadaro and Marcelo Figueroa trace the history of the movement in America, its spread globally and its relationship to the “American Dream.”

The authors point out that such a theology makes God “in the image and likeness of the people and their situation, and not according to the biblical model” and causes its adherents to view poverty, sickness and unhappiness as a lack of faith.

They contend that such beliefs foster pride in those who have succeeded materially or physically and condemnation of those in poverty or poor health.

“On the contrary, poverty hits them with a blow that is unbearable for two reasons: first, the person thinks their faith is unable to move the providential hands of God; second, their miserable situation is a divine imposition, a relentless punishment to be accepted in submission.”

Prosperity Gospel Harms the Church

They warn the belief can “overshadow the Gospel of Christ.”

Spadaro and Figueroa also see the “heresy” infecting the church. They quote Pope Francis who told the bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean that “a sort of prosperity gospel” at the level of pastoral work creates churches “concerned with efficacy, success, quantifiable results and good statistics. The Church ends up being run like a business in a misleading way that keeps people away from the mystery of faith.”

In Korea, the pope told bishops, “The devil must not be allowed to sow these weeds, this temptation to remove the poor from very prophetic structure of the Church and to make you become an affluent Church for the affluent, a Church of the well-to-do—perhaps not to the point of developing a ‘theology of prosperity’—but a Church of mediocrity.”

While the authors point out that the origins of the prosperity gospel are complex, they see its roots in America, specifically in positive thinking, exceptionalism and admiration of those who have success stories over compassion for the poor.

Priests Tie Prosperity Gospel to Evangelicalism

While Spadaro and Figueroa acknowledge that the prosperity gospel has been harshly criticized by most Evangelicals, they suggest evangelicalism as a whole has been infected with the theology by mixing it with economics and politics. The claim also helps them differentiate evangelicalism from catholicism.

“One of the conclusions made by exponents of this theological tradition is geopolitical and economic in nature, and tied to the place of origin of the prosperity gospel. It leads to the conclusion that the United States has grown as a nation under the blessing of the providential God of the Evangelical movement. Meanwhile, those who dwell south of the Rio Grande are sinking in poverty because the Catholic Church has a different, opposed vision exalting poverty. From political connotations, it is even possible to verify the link between these positions and the integralist and fundamentalist temptations.”

Meanwhile, in many parts of the world, where Pentecostals are gaining in number to Catholics, the Catholic church is attempting to appeal to people by mixing in charismatic components of Pentecostalism that have more emotional elements and catchier music but devoid of the dangers of the health and wealth theology.

They Used to Be a Christian Band. And Then Christians Failed Them

Megan Briggs

July 24, 2018

Editor’s Note: This video contains a curse word at about the 2:22 mark. We still feel the video provides valuable insight into someone who is “done with church” over an issue of community (or lack thereof) and therefore recommend you watch it, despite the inappropriate language.

“If I were still a Christian, I’d probably be dead,” Spencer Chamberlain says at the beginning of a short video interview. With bandmate Aaron Gillespie at his side, the Underoath frontman shared his view of the “unwelcoming” nature of the Christian community.

“Everything that Christianity was built on was essentially rebellious,” Gillespie explains, noting the “fringe” nature that has been a hallmark of Christianity since its inception. Consider the facts, Gillespie says, that Jesus was “not a white man. He was not a Christian—he was a Jewish man. He essentially got thrown out of his home town, and then he was murdered.” However, Gillespie says, somewhere along the way “modern Christianity became synonymous with being conservative,” a fact that Gillespie has a hard time understanding.

No Longer Christian

Underoath is a heavy metal band that once was Christian and whose songs explored issues of faith through metal music. Disbanded in 2015, the band made a come back in 2018 with their album “Erase Me”. However, they no longer consider themselves a Christian band. And lead singer Chamberlain does not consider himself a Christian anymore. In another interview, Chamberlain says the change was good for the band. “Erase Me” represents the most “blunt and transparent” album the band has created.

Chamberlain believes modern Christianity feels like a sales pitch more than anything else. “It’s like they’re selling a product: The really good looking pastor with his wife and his beautiful kids and they seem so happy…It’s almost like they’re selling ‘If you buy into these rules and you do what we do, you can also be like this.’”

Gillespie believes that the reason religion is so fragile is because it’s manmade (all modern religion is, he argues). Because of this fact, the only thing religion has to offer, essentially, is “the rules”. “Which you’re not allowed to question,” Chamberlain interjects. Furthermore, when a Christian starts questioning his or her faith, that person is seen as lost.

“When you believe in the rules and not the reason [behind them], then you got an issue,” Gillespie agrees.

Spencer Chamberlain Feels the Christian Community Failed Him

“The Christian community is what ruins Christianity for me,” Chamberlain says. Recalling his own experience with drug addiction, Chamberlain says inside the Christian community it’s very alienating to be a leader or role model with a problem. It’s hard to talk about these issues with the people who are supposed to be looking up to you as an example. Alluding to his own experience, Chamberlain says the people he confided in while on the road touring with the band were the non-Christians who also struggled with things. On the other hand, the Christian community were writing articles pointing to Chamberlain’s addiction as the reason for the band’s decline and break up. He did not find an understanding, accepting community in the church. And so he left. Now, after 10 years of drug use, Chamberlain is sober and ready to sort through some things.

“Doesn’t that seem opposite?” Chamberlain asks about the fact that he was able to receive support and help from non-believers than believers.

Concluding the interview, Gillespie appears to be clarifying what the pair are trying to say: “Belief isn’t the prison; expectation is the prison.” By expectation, one has to assume that is the expectation placed on Christians to know what to do when they are in trouble and, perhaps more pointedly, to avoid that trouble in the first place.

The Pastor’s Dilemma With Email

Josh Weidmann

July 23, 2018

I remember when email first came onto the scene. Wait, I can send this message and my friend will get it right away? It’s like writing letters, but without the lag-time!

Fast forward to now, and there are few pastors, including me, who don’t wrestle with how to manage email in a way that prevents it from controlling our lives.

Think about it, we can get in the rut of doing nothing but responding to hours of emails every day. It can rob us of our sermon prep time, our staff nurture time and all around productivity. As fast as I return one email, two to three (literally) come in to replace it before I push “send”—often requiring some action on my part. Or, if they don’t “require” it, it is frequently “expected” due to the nature of being a pastor.

The Pastor’s Dilemma With Email

A few years ago I came across a website calling for a disciplined way of dealing with email. I took the challenge. The idea was simple: keep email replies to five sentences or less. Short replies are the way to keep up with the onslaught of emails we receive in a day. While some emails require many more than five sentences, the majority can be kept short-and-sweet to save time for both the sender and the receiver. I implemented this system for a while, but have since gotten away from it, only to find my previous email overwhelm quickly return, so I’m re-implementing this system into my life and encourage you to give it a try too!

I realize that sometimes short can seem impersonal and not pastoral. I try to be sensitive if the reply calls for a more personal (and longer) dialog. However, I know that if I stay in my email all day I will neglect my primary calling to be with people and to study my Bible well.

Here are some reasons I recommend short replies for most pastor emails:

1. Short emails allow you to give people the “bottom line” quickly. Most of the time people just need a quick piece of advice or an approval of some kind. To keep the momentum moving, get to the bottom line and allow yourself and the recipients to keep moving forward.

2. Short emails don’t feel overwhelming to read or write. When you see over 200 actionable emails in the inbox (which often happens in a week), you’ll be more able to sit and knock them out in an hour or so.

3. Short emails can help you get to “Inbox Zero” quickly. Personally, it is my goal to get a cleaned out inbox every day. That doesn’t mean that every email is replied to, but it is filed correctly (I have a “24 Hour Response” and a “25-72 Hour Response” folder that I use primarily). I strive to reply to emails I can handle in two minutes with five sentences or less, never filing them for a later reply.

4. Short emails will keep you out of your inbox. You need to be out working on things proactively, not just responding to things reactively. If you keep the emails short, you will spend less time in your inbox and more time leading, shepherding and preparing to preach.

Five or Less

To uphold these ideas, you may have to free yourself from a few mental roadblocks, as I have had to do. Here are a couple of the mental roadblocks I faced when I finally accepted that “Five or Less” would be my new norm:

Your reply doesn’t have to match the length of the original email received. Sometimes I receive very long emails. I used to feel like my reply had to match the length of their original email. I don’t feel that way anymore. That was probably a people-pleasing expectation I put on myself. I’ve never had someone say, “Your reply was way shorter than my original email.” As long as they get what they were looking for, they are happy.
You can’t feel that “short” is harsh or mean. I make sure to say, “I am not trying to be terse, but efficient…” in my auto signature for “Five or Less” replies. I had to release the personal pressure to be fluffy and long for the sake of avoiding being sharp. I can be kind and quick at the same time (it is a good discipline and challenge). I was typing thousands of words of fluff just to say something I needed to say in a few sentences; this needed to stop.
So here is what my email signature looks like for “Five or Less”:

Simple and to the point. Strive to keep moving and not let the urgent replace the important things in your daily life.

If you want to create a signature like this, you are welcome to link to this post or use http://five.sentenc.es

So here’s to getting out of our inboxes and using our time to lead, counsel, shepherd, sermon prep and pray for the people in our sphere of care.

This article originally appeared here.

Jesus More Than Likes You

Jared C. Wilson

July 23, 2018

Christian, God takes pleasure in you.

It’s such a simple claim, but such a difficult thing to believe, isn’t it? Especially when it seems nobody else does.

Words sting. I have trouble to this day remembering encouragement given to me, even though I know I receive it regularly. I don’t think this problem is all that rare. You likely suffer from it too. I can list quite easily the words that still haunt me:

A female classmate in my elementary school days calling me a “stuttering wimp” on the playground. A bully demanding I meet him after school to fight. A ministerial superior who once suggested that I wasn’t cut out for pastoral ministry. A worship leader at a conference where I was speaking informing me for some reason in the green room before I went out to preach that I wasn’t the first choice for speaker. I could list an entire catalog of insults, accusations and false claims accumulated from my 15 years writing online.

And then there are the ones that really hurt. Some are too painful to share publicly. Some are too profane. Some are water under the bridge and forgiveness in these instances means not reminding people who may be reading of the pain caused. Some are just none of your business. But there’s lots more, lots worse. And I’m sure you’ve been thinking of some things said to you too.

Some of the painful things said to us are malicious and some are not. Some are true things, some half-true, some not-at-all true. But they all hurt in their own ways, don’t they? And the devil does one thing with these words: He turns them into fear and shame. The devil can turn even constructive criticism into a false accusation.

And then comes along this simple declaration from the one whose voice ultimately and sovereignly matters:

[B]ut the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Ps. 147:11)

The gospel clears the air. The gospel overturns the lies. The gospel wipes away the accusations. They may sting, but his word will endure forever.

The idea, in fact, that the holy God of the universe, the only one who has the absolute right to condemn us and dismiss us, declares his approval over us because of Jesus’ taking our sin and shame is so wonderful, so hope-giving, so steadying. The almighty God takes pleasure in me. And you too. He more than likes us. He delights in us!

Let them come with their words, then. Let the devil come with his barrage of lies, even his truths-turned-lies. We rebuke him. We confound him. We throw Psalm 147:11 at his sniveling little face.

The enemy comes with his wounding, haunting words, and I stand behind my advocate, Christ the Lord. He gives me more words, better words, truer words.

As Luther reminds us:

The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

Christian, the Lord’s favor is on you. Ever and always. I won’t tell you that what others say doesn’t matter. You feel on the welps of your skin and the pain in your heart that they do. But we do know that ultimately, God’s word matters more. And he will have the final say. He takes pleasure in you.

This article originally appeared here.

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First, you are right in saying that life isn’t fair.

Second, you really don’t want life to be fair.

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Update 2:

Update 3:

DESIGNED TO THINK

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THINKING

THE IMPORTANCE OF DOCTRINE

When facing an uncertain future, here are three of God’s promises, three truths we can remember when our lives get crazy:

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Links Mentioned by Rich Stearns in the Show:

Rich Stearns on ChurchLeaders:

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1) Never put your leadership up for sale.

2) Insist on a culture of no pretense.

3) Refuse to engage in gossip.

4) Commit to being part of the solution.

5) Remain fiercely aligned to the mission.

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INDIVIDUALS IN COMMUNITY

I don’t always give people answers.

I help people discover a paradigm through which to make the decision.

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[B]ut the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Ps. 147:11)

The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him.

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[B]ut the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Ps. 147:11)

The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.