Bible teacher Beth Moore shared that she is in urgent need of surgery, news that she received after meeting with one of the top neurosurgeons in Houston on Friday, June 14. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Moore said she has essentially exhausted the options for addressing the severe pain she is in.

“You marvelous loved ones who’ve been praying for me, I was at the Texas Medical Center much of the day and got to see one of the most highly recommended neurosurgeons in Houston,” said Moore. “No surprise that I seriously need surgery but the ball is rolling. It will probably take till mid August to do all the things required for it but I am deeply grateful.”

You marvelous loved ones who’ve been praying for me, I was at the Texas Medical Center much of the day and got to see one of the most highly recommended neurosurgeons in Houston. No surprise that I seriously need surgery but the ball is rolling. It will probably take till mid…

— Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM) June 14, 2024

Beth Moore Gives Health Update

Beth Moore is an author, a Bible teacher, and the founder of Living Proof Ministries. In a social media post in May, Moore told her followers that she was in a high degree of pain because of a “years-long” back condition. She requested prayer and said she expected that her spinal issues would require surgery.

RELATED: Please Pray for Beth Moore’s Ongoing Back Pain, Decisions About Next Steps

Now, that expectation is confirmed. “When [the neurosurgeon] showed me the images, I nearly fainted. It’s no wonder the pain has been unrelenting,” Moore said. “I’ll not get into what surgical measures are anticipated because, the thing is, I don’t have a lot of options. I have practically tried it all.”

“This has gone on so long, I can’t even imagine being out of pain,” she continued. “I’m so happy and full of hope that I won’t have to live like this forever!!”

Moore said she would not “carry on about it” and that she would let everyone know when she sets a date for the surgery. “Until then, just pray for me as the Lord leads and know that he is my joy and keeps my spirit buoyed and my frame strong,” she said. “He is well able to get me through 8 more weeks! I love you guys in our active little community so much. Thank you for your prayers! They are gold!!! God bless you back 100-fold.”

Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) messengers concluded their 2024 annual meeting in Indianapolis on Wednesday, June 12. Women’s ordination and addressing the sexual abuse crisis continued to loom large over messengers, who elected Clint Pressley as their new president.

Here are highlights from the annual meeting of the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.

SBC 2024 Annual Meeting

‘Dread, No Hope’—Sexual Abuse Survivor Tiffany Thigpen Describes Heading Into SBC 2024 Annual Meeting

Sexual abuse survivor and advocate Tiffany Thigpen spoke to ChurchLeaders prior to the annual meeting and said that she no longer has faith in the leadership of the SBC. Thigpen was 1 of 10 survivors named in the SBC’s apology given in a resolution titled “On Lament and Repentance for Sexual Abuse” at the annual meeting in June 2022.

“I seriously walk into this convention feeling dread, no hope,” Thigpen said. “I have no expectation of anything good happening even IF the messengers vote yes for it.” Thigpen said she was optimistic in 2022 but that hope has since waned in the wake of “brutal, empty promises and excuses.” 

Church Led by SBC Candidate Clint Pressley Reports Volunteer to Police for Alleged Abuse

Before the start of the annual meeting, news broke that Hickory Grove Baptist Church, pastored by then-SBC presidential candidate Clint Pressley, had reported a volunteer to the police for sexual abuse. The report led to the arrest of Jeffrey Riesenberg, who had coached at the church’s Christian school and volunteered in Hickory Grove’s student ministry.

Riesenberg’s daughter is a student at the Christian school and said that Riesenberg had assaulted her.

“We do not tolerate abusive behavior of any kind,” Pressley said. “Sexual abuse is especially heinous. It is a despicable injustice that we condemn in the strongest terms. Any victim should feel they can talk about it, freely report, and be listened to and cared for.”

‘Southern Baptists Are a Force for Good’—Jeff Iorg Addresses SBC Executive Committee for First Time as New President

On Monday, June 10, the day before the meeting officially began, the SBC’s Executive Committee (EC) met, and newly appointed EC President Dr. Jeff Iorg addressed the committee for the first time. Iorg follows interim President Willie McLaurin, who resigned in 2023 after it came to light he had lied on his resume.

Prior to McLaurin, Dr. Ronnie Floyd had resigned in 2021 amid debate among EC members over waiving attorney-client privilege during Guidepost Solutions’ third-party investigation into whether the EC had mishandled sexual abuse allegations.

Leaders of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) voted this week to investigate whether Sarah Young’s book, “Jesus Calling,” is appropriate “for Christians in general and PCA members and congregations in particular.”

At the denomination’s 51^st General Assembly on Thursday (June 13), church leaders known as commissioners approved an amended measure, or overture, by a vote of 947-834. It directs two PCA committees to research the book and then issue reports.

Young’s 2004 devotional “Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence,” published by Thomas Nelson, has sold more than 45 million copies. Because the book is written in Jesus’ voice, some critics have called it misleading, dangerous, and even idolatrous.

Young, who died in August 2023 at age 77, had a master’s degree from the PCA’s Covenant Theological Seminary. Her husband, PCA elder and missionary Steve Young, was among her defenders at this week’s General Assembly, held in Richmond, Virginia.

PCA Leaders Vote for Inquiry Into ‘Jesus Calling’

The original overture regarding Sarah Young’s book came from North Carolina Pastor Benjamin Inman, who has condemned “Jesus Calling” as idolatrous. According to Christianity Today, a committee toned down some language in Inman’s overture, which might have improved its chance of passing.

The two committees directed to investigate the book’s history with the PCA and its “appropriateness for Christians” are the Committee on Discipleship Ministries, which withdrew the book from its inventory, and Mission to the World, through which the Youngs worked.

Church leaders who supported the overture said it’s important to examine such a widely read book. Although “Jesus Calling” wasn’t published by the PCA, South Carolina Pastor Zachary Groff noted that its popularity warranted the investigation. “Our committees exist in part to help us, as an assembly, to evaluate things of national import that affect the church as a whole,” he said.

Chuck Williams, a teaching elder in Florida, said “Jesus Calling” has had “destructive effects” on some PCA members. “This book defiles the sufficiency of Scripture very clearly,” he added. Williams also expressed concerns about the author “claiming an immediate revelation from God”—something the book’s editors have denied.

Sarah Young’s Widower Defends ‘Jesus Calling’

At this week’s PCA gathering, Steve Young defended the work of his late wife. “Her writings did not add to Scripture but explain it,” he told attendees. Young described Sarah as someone who “meditated day and night” on the Lord’s law and “was led to share her meditations with the world.”

“Sarah was a humble servant of Jesus who did not seek self-glory and prayed for her readers to know and deeply love the only Savior, Jesus Christ,” Young added. “She would stand with Martin Luther and declare that her conscience was captive to the Word of God.”

While most expected the battles over women’s ordination and sexual abuse reform to continue at this year’s meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), another debate emerged, revealing mixed feelings among the denomination’s ranks about the Nicene Creed. 

First adopted at the Council of Nicaea in 325 and amended and expanded during subsequent ecumenical councils, the Nicene Creed has served as a unifying document throughout the centuries, defining Christian orthodoxy across the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions.

This year, a grassroots movement sought to add the creed to the SBC’s own unifying statement of faith, the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 (BFM). During the annual meeting of the denomination in Indianapolis this week, three SBC delegates, called messengers, brought separate motions to the floor to that effect. 

In the run-up to the meeting, discussion swirled online about the necessity of such an action, given that the BFM is already compatible with the Nicene Creed and is meant only to express the distinct convictions of Southern Baptists. 

RELATED: ‘I Have Lots of Confidence’—New SBC President Clint Pressley Offers Perspective on Abuse Reform, Women’s Ordination

Others, such as Dr. David Allen, dean of the Adrian Rogers Center for Preaching at Mid-America Baptist Seminary and 2024 SBC presidential candidate, seemed to question some of the theology of the creed itself. 

During a presidential forum on Monday (June 10), Allen expressed concern that Southern Baptists would be so quick to amend their unifying statement of faith via motions on the floor, as happened in New Orleans in 2023 when the BFM was updated to add more robust language to describe the office of pastor. 

“I do think it’s wise to take a step back and not be able to amend our doctrinal statement so quickly,” Allen said. “I think we need the time, and I think it’s a good recommendation to step back and allow us to have that time of reflection and evaluation.”

On Tuesday, an ad hoc committee called the Cooperative Group, which had been tasked with evaluating what it means to be “in friendly cooperation” with the denomination per the SBC’s bylaws, recommended to messengers that any change to the BFM require a two-thirds vote at two consecutive meetings of the denomination. 

The recommendation was adopted. 

RELATED: SBC Clarifies Pro-Life Position With Resolution on IVF

Nevertheless, Allen’s concerns about the SBC adopting the Nicene Creed went beyond mere matters of procedure. 

(RNS) — In the past five years, the Reformed Church in America, one of the oldest denominations in the U.S., has lost almost half its membership and nearly a quarter of its churches. Some members see in the collapse an opportunity to reinvent the 400-year-old church, founded by Dutch settlers in the mid-1600s.

“There’s a potential to form a new cloth,” said Michelle Chahine, an RCA elder from Lansing, Michigan, who is one of 13 national and regional leaders preparing to present recommendations for the restructuring of the RCA at the denomination’s General Synod beginning Thursday (June 13). “The cloth is no longer Dutch immigrant. The cloth is woven with texture and color, and the texture is the cultures, the things that we can learn from.”

If passed, the 10 proposals, which aim to concentrate finances and staffing resources at the local church level, streamline governing models, reduce overhead costs and update how denominational decisions are made, could, church leaders argue, chart a path toward renewal.

“We need to be brave enough to step out in faith and believe God is bringing people to us for that very reason, to grow in our ministry,” said Chahine.

Fewer than 700 congregations remain in the RCA as long-standing theological differences regarding same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy have accelerated a decline in attendance that has affected nearly every Christian group in recent years. Attempting to move past the gridlock over LGBTQ issues, the General Synod in October 2021 affirmed that local jurisdictions, called classes, could continue to make their own decisions. The synod also created an off-ramp for churches that wanted to leave the denomination.

Many conservative RCA congregations had already done so, and the off-ramp streamlined the process for joining splinter groups or other denominations altogether. Since December 2019, nearly 250 churches have left or have begun the process of leaving. Individuals have also chosen to exit: More than three-quarters of RCA churches today report average attendance of fewer than 100 people on Sundays, resulting in financial challenges at all levels of the denomination.

If there’s good news, it’s that the RCA is also growing in some places as it diversifies. Christina Tazelaar, chief operating officer of the RCA, said the denomination’s two newest classes are made up largely of Latino churches and leaders. One of them, a Texas classis that started with three churches in December, is expected to have 23 by the end of next week.

To get a handle on these changes, a restructuring team was appointed in 2022. After a year of spiritual discernment, the team introduced draft recommendations at General Synod last June and released three subsequent drafts in response to feedback from thousands of people across the denomination.

“It coalesced into a labor of love,” said Chahine, a member of the restructuring team. “It took over that first year for people to trust us. But when we acknowledged that we needed to rework things, people started to trust us more.”

Perhaps the most ambitious proposal envisions removing a level of governance by combining regional synods with classes to reduce bureaucracy and redundancy. If approved, these hybrid groups would be called “middle assemblies.” While the restructuring team anticipates that most middle assemblies would be organized by geography, churches could opt to join ones based on theological convictions or other traits.

“It’s not just a reshuffling or just a renaming, it’s a mission opportunity. It allows a middle assembly or classis to identify who they are, become clear about what their context is, shape themselves around that context, strengthen it,” said Chahine.

Other proposals are aimed at ensuring proportional representation of church groups at General Synod and paving the way for more equitable decision-making and leadership. One asks General Synod to experiment with consensus decision-making, rather than Roberts Rules of Order; another asks the Pastoral Formation Oversight Board to develop guidelines for welcoming ministerial candidates with credentials from outside the U.S. and Canada.

(RNS) — Joseph Josselyn remembers being fascinated by the 1977 drama “Jesus of Nazareth” — but as a Deaf child, he had to rely on closed captions to catch the dialogue.

“I had this thought: I wonder what it would be like if this film was completely in sign language,” Josselyn said in a recent interview over Zoom facilitated by an American Sign Language interpreter.

His career since could arguably be described as a journey to finding out. On June 20, a movie telling the story of Jesus entirely in American Sign Language will become the first all-ASL feature film to debut in theaters, according to Josselyn, the film’s producer.

“Jesus: A Deaf Missions Film,” which carries the tagline “for Deaf, by Deaf,” stars Gideon Firl as the Messiah who, like all of the primary cast, signs his way through the role.

Deaf Missions is an international Christian ministry that serves people in more than 100 countries, with the goal of creating high-quality videos and visual tools in sign language. Josselyn, who joined in 2006, began with shorter projects before producing the 2018 film “The Book of Job,” an earlier all-ASL movie with an all-Deaf cast and production team that was released on video and streaming.

After the Job project, Josselyn returned to his dream of telling the gospel story in an ASL feature. That dream was shared by producer Michael Davis, who joined on in 2022. Together, the duo pitched the idea to Deaf Missions CEO Chad Entinger, estimating that the project would require $4.8 million to fund.

“Our passion was really to see high-quality, Deaf film to be produced. We couldn’t do that with a low budget,” said Josselyn.

The funds secured, Josselyn and Davis had to decide how to frame their adaptation. Perhaps appropriately for a film about breaking language barriers, they chose to bookend the narrative with Pentecost, a moment described in the New Testament’s Book of Acts when the Holy Spirit descends on the disciples so their preaching can be understood by a crowd that speaks many languages.

Peter, whose Pentecost testimony leads to thousands being baptized, serves as the supporting lead in “Jesus,” as he does in the Gospels.

While the plot’s points are familiar to even casual Christians, the film’s use of ASL makes for particularly embodied expression. Every townsperson, priest, Christ follower and zealot is filmed in full view, so that their signing remains visible.

“Even hearing people who don’t know sign language will be able to connect, not just through the subtitles, but how expressive it is,” Davis said. “You listen to a lot with your eyes as well.”

The filming required some adaptations on set. Ryan Schlecht, who portrays Caiaphas in the film, said that because he and the other actors couldn’t hear “cut,” Josselyn and the assistant director would throw objects like hats and pillows into the scene to signal when to stop.

The team was also often communicating primarily through text, rather than via walkie-talkie as on many sets. Though partly filmed in California and Iowa, some of the movie was shot in Bulgaria, and wherever they were they were often in remote locations with poor internet and cell service. Other scenes in ASL elicited rare questions, such as: How does Jesus sign during his crucifixion?

The cast and crew, supernaturally, according to Schlecht, found every solution. “It’s been such a huge blessing to see how God has provided every step of the way, from the cast, from the crew, from the team, from behind the scenes,” he said. “Trying to get to the finish line was a challenge, but it was a journey of faith that carried us to the end.”

Not all of those working on the film were Christian, though the immersion in the drama of the Gospels, Josselyn said, led at least one cast member to an embrace of Christianity. For the Christians on the project, the impact was often profound.

Originally envisioned as a film without sound, the final version of the film includes a soundtrack created by two music producers — one Deaf, the other hearing — as well as background noises and sound effects to create a more immersive experience. Deaf viewers will be able to hear the music through the vibrations, said Josselyn, and some Deaf audience members can hear some sounds too, Davis added. For nonsigning viewers, there are English subtitles.