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‘It Was a God Thing’—Franklin Graham Discusses Trump’s ‘Near Death Experience’ Ahead of Prayer at RNC

Franklin Graham
Screengrab via X (formerly Twitter) / @Franklin_Graham

Evangelist Franklin Graham is set to offer a prayer at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee on Thursday evening. On Wednesday, Graham spoke with Newsmax’s Greta Van Susteren about his hope for Donald Trump’s faith following a failed assassination attempt against the former president. 

Graham, the 72-year-old son of famed evangelist Billy Graham and president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, is a longtime supporter of Trump. 

On Saturday (July 13), Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt while at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a gunman took aim at him from a nearby roof, striking the upper part of his right ear. 

RELATED: ‘He’s Wrong’—Trump Reveals Franklin Graham Told Him His Speeches Would Be Better If He Didn’t Cuss

Trump was quickly rushed to safety by Secret Service officers, and the would-be assailant was shot dead. One rally attender, Corey D. Comperatore, was killed during the attack, and two other bystanders were injured. 

“This is such an important issue,” Graham said in reference to his upcoming prayer at the RNC. “Last week, the president had a near death experience. You know, and near death experiences sometimes change people.”

“When I say change,” Graham continued, “we begin to look at our lives and kind of measure our lives and realize, you know, time may be short. And sometimes people change…their priorities and those types of things.”

“And I would just hope that the president every morning, or President Trump, when he gets up, would just kneel beside his bed and just say, ‘God, thank you for giving me another day,’” Graham added. “Because he came that close, Greta, to having his brains [blown out].”

Commenting on how he believes Trump’s faith has deepened over the years, Graham said, “He said that it was God and God alone that saved his life.”

“And I believe that. When you look at the pictures of how close that bullet came to his head—and I mean actually cutting his scalp and his ear,” Graham said. “It’s just God. It was a God thing.” 

RELATED: Franklin Graham, Russell Moore, Sean Feucht Among Many Weighing In on Trump’s Verdict

When Van Susteren asked Graham if he was ready for his appearance on the stage at the RNC, Graham chuckled and said, “I hope.”

Why I Believe Kids Should Be Still and Quiet in Church

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When you read the title of this article, you may have been surprised. Kids need to sit still at church? Kids need to be quiet at church?

Doesn’t sound like the best strategy, does it?

I mean…kids are wired to move. Kids are wired to be active. Kids are wired to make noise. Kids are wired to play games. Kids are wired to talk.

This is all true and our programs should be a reflection of this.

But yes…being still and quiet should be part of our kids’ services, classes, programs, etc. as well.

Here’s what I mean.

We should create an environment where kids have an opportunity to get still and quiet before God. An opportunity for them to listen quietly and hear the still, quiet voice of the Holy Spirit. An opportunity to talk with God and commune with Him.

If you will block out some time for this, you will be amazed how they will engage. Here are a few tips for this.

Have the kids bow their heads and close their eyes.

Explain that it is important to do this so that they won’t get distracted. If their eyes are open, they will have a hard time focusing on talking to and listening to God.

Play some gentle music in the back ground that will help them settle down for a few minutes.

Then have total silence. No one moving around. No one talking. No one with their eyes open. No one causing a stir.

Give kids a minute or so to silently talk with God.

Have the kids simply listen in the quietness of the moment.

Finally, have a few kids share what God spoke to them about. You will be amazed at what they say.

I believe a great kids’ service will blend both silence and noise into a great worship service.

Yes…I know today’s kids have extremely short attention spans. But I have also seen them respond in reverence and focused attention when you invite them to connect with God through prayer.

4 Critical Roles of Church Administration

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Just Google the phrase “church administrator responsibilities” and you’ll find no shortage of opinions about what constitutes good church administration. It seems that as churches embrace technology in an effort to run efficiently, they are at risk of becoming just another non-profit agency, running the church according to business “best practices.”

But the Lord’s church is called to something greater. Church administration is the place where the church demonstrates their gospel message and priorities. Church administration is where the church walks the walk in a way that supports the gospel talk. How’s that going at your church? Perhaps your church needs to revisit the high-calling and tasks of church administration.

4 Critical Roles of Church Administration

1. Church Administration Supports the Mission of the Church.

From the earliest days of the church, the tasks of church administration have threatened the mission of the church. Acts 6 tells us this tension was present in the very first church! The Apostles made this determination, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word of God in order to wait on tables” (v. 2) The mission of the church was the proclamation of the gospel of God’s Kingdom; waiting on tables was only one part of how the church demonstrated God’s kingdom. The Apostles knew the difference between capital-M Mission and lower case-T tasks. Church administration tends to tasks; apostolic leadership sees to mission.

2. Church Administration Holds Every Budget Accountable.

Once upon a time there was an executive pastor who borrowed from Peter to pay Paul. (Actually, not once upon a time—it happens all the time.) He figured if the children’s ministry was over budget then he would move funds from the worship ministry, which was under budget. That worked just fine—until the worship minister needed to spend her money! A church administrator knows when to say “no” to well-meaning requests that are over the line.

3. Good Church Administration Asks the Hard Questions.

Another word for church administration is stewardship. Of course, this means tending to budgets, but it’s more than that. Someone has to make sure that the business of the church is done with transparency and integrity. And there’s no getting around it; that means asking everyone on the team tough questions about equity and fairness as well as balancing numbers.

4. Church Administration Breaks Down the “Silo Mentality.”

Once upon (another) time an executive pastor asked the deacon in charge of evangelism how his team coordinated with the deacon in charge of discipleship and education. The first deacon replied, “That’s not my department.” The problem with organizational charts and spreadsheets is that they give the impression that ministries are separate from one another. They’re not. A skillful church administrator reminds everyone that they’re on the same team! The church speaks to the watching world with one voice, and that means that unity within the church authenticates the visible ministry of the church. A wise church administrator pastors the staff.

What To Do if You Struggle With Making Decisions

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Over the years, one of the biggest mistakes I’ve encountered with leaders is the inability to commit—or put another way, the inability to make a decision.

I understand. After all, for many decisions, a great deal of money is hanging in the balance. In other cases, the wrong decision might damage a relationship. But the truth is, not making a decision is actually making a decision.

With our team at Cooke Media Group, we’ve done presentations to churches, ministry organizations, and nonprofits. Those presentations were usually received very well, and the potential client was very excited at the possibility of us working together.

But the leader just couldn’t make a decision, and we never heard from him or her again.

Sometimes, the leader is distracted. Other times, there are dissenting voices in the organization. But usually, it’s simply a leader who can’t decide. I actually had one CEO tell me privately, “When I make a decision, I feel guilty.”

Whatever the decision is about, if that’s ever happened to you, here are a few things to consider:

1) Delaying the decision won’t make it easier. The budget rarely changes, the timing gets worse, and the pressure grows. Pull off the bandaid quickly. It may hurt, but progress will happen.

2) How bad can it be? Most decisions aren’t rocket science, and even if it involves significant money, there can be off-ramps in the agreement. At least give it a shot. The vast majority of these decisions won’t crash the company, and who knows how positive it could be?

3) In today’s fast-moving world, the ability to make immediate decisions matters more than ever. I believe that one of the core competencies of future leaders will be the ability to make a decision under pressure. It’s one of the reasons I wrote my book, “Ideas on a Deadline: How to Be Creative When The Clock Is Ticking.” So order the book and start practicing.

The bottom line? Go ahead.

Commit.

Make the decision.

This article originally appeared here and is used by permission. 

The Sleepy Leader’s Brain

sleepy leader's brain
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God created sleep not only to cure fatigue, but to serve our bodies and brains in many beneficial ways. Unfortunately, many leaders, especially pastors, try to lead without getting adequate sleep and live with a sleepy leader’s brain. When we don’t get enough, our brains don’t work as well. Thus, we don’t lead at our best. No wonder products like the best heated mattress pad can be of great use.

Here’s what the experts tell us happens to our brains when we don’t get adequate sleep.

  • Our memory is impaired. Sleep helps turn short term memory into long-term memory (called consolidation) by strengthening memory traces. Lack of sleep hinders this process.
  • We don’t learn as well. Related to memory, when our memory is impaired, learning suffers.
  • We can’t control our emotions as well. Emotional control (called emotional regulation) best happens when we think most clearly. Any lack keeps our executive thinking center (called the pre-frontal cortex) from operating most effectively.

10 Characteristics of Jesus: Key Traits His Followers Should Emulate

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What 10 characteristics of Jesus can his followers try to…follow? Christians and non-Christians alike usually agree that Jesus is the best role model. From His faith, perseverance, generosity, and even His intelligence, Jesus displayed the best qualities that mankind can possess.

The Bible teaches everyone to become more like Jesus every day. Although we are sinful and He was not, we can keep growing in our Christian walk. So it’s helpful to learn about some characteristics of Jesus. The following list features 10 characteristics of Jesus that everyone should try to live out.

10 Characteristics of Jesus for Christians to Practice

1. Compassionate

Jesus never looked away from people. He always looked on them and had compassion (Matthew 9:36). Whenever people were nearby, Jesus understood their real needs and worked to address them. For some, physical healing was necessary; for others, the root issue was spiritual. But in all cases, Jesus took the time to actually notice that people were hurting. And His compassion drove Him to help them.

2. Servant

Without a doubt, Jesus was the ultimate servant. Although people praised Him as a great teacher and followed Him, Jesus taught servanthood by modeling it. In Mark 10:45, Jesus says, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.” Despite having the authority to get anything He wanted and to have people praise and pamper him, Jesus did the exact opposite. He lowered himself and served others.

3. Loving

Obviously, Jesus loved others. If He didn’t, He wouldn’t be compassionate or a servant. Jesus said there is no greater love than to die for a friend (John 15:13). And He did just that. If anyone doubts Jesus’ love, all they have to do is look at the cross and see the agony Jesus bore for their sake. He experienced that horrible death to make salvation available for everyone. That, very clearly, is true love at its finest.

4. Forgiving

One of the most startling things in Scripture is in Luke 23:34. While on the cross, Jesus proclaims, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Even while bleeding and experiencing pain, Jesus set His heart on forgiveness—even forgiving those who put Him there in the first place!

This is definitely contrary to the everyday mantra of looking out for number one and obtaining personal justice. Jesus was by no means concerned for His own life. All He wanted was to provide a way for forgiveness.

5. Committed

Jesus had no lack of commitment whatsoever. He was always fully in the moment and fully committed to His goals. Despite praying fervently in the Garden of Gethsemane to avoid having to bear the cross and all that physical torture, He knew it was the only way to pay for everyone’s sins. So He stayed completely committed to His goal. Certainly many obstacles occurred during Jesus’ ministry, but He stayed on track and finished strong.

First Day of Sunday School Ideas: 7 Ways to Welcome Kids Back

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First day of Sunday school ideas welcome kids to another year of learning. This fall, plan fun back-to-school lessons, games, and crafts for students. To start, check out the 7 great first day of Sunday school ideas below.

School bells are ringing! So tap into kids’ excitement. Offer practical faith activities to transform everyday life into higher learning.

Many children are excited to join new classes and make new friends. Others may face the school year with anxiety. You, too, may feel a quiver in your stomach, trying to plan great new ways to engage kids. But don’t fear! We’ve assembled seven tried-and-true first day of Sunday school ideas.

7 First Day of Sunday School Ideas

Step back into class with these kickoff ideas:

1. Lifelong Bookmarks

First, start your back-to-school activities by building community in the congregation. Have kids create bookmarks using 2×6-inch pieces of cardstock. Attach one child’s photograph and write the child’s first name on one side of each bookmark. Have kids decorate their bookmarks and write the following poem on the side opposite their photo:

Pray for me in what I’ve sown. Pray for me until I’m grown.
In what I do, in what I say, Please pray for me every day.

Laminate the bookmarks so they’ll last for years.

Then ask congregation members to become a lifelong prayer sponsor of a child in your ministry. Have them choose a bookmark. Instruct them to keep the bookmark in a Bible or devotion book and to pray for that child every day until the child reaches adulthood.

This is a great way to support children and keep them in the hearts and minds of congregants.

2. Lion Locker Magnets

Starting a new school year can be scary for kids. But you can help them learn to rely on God for strength and confidence. These reminders recall how God protected Daniel in the lions’ den.

You’ll need:

  • felt
  • scissors
  • fine-tipped permanent markers
  • glue
  • magnets
  • a Bible

Have kids cut out a sun-shaped piece of yellow or tan felt for the lion’s mane. Then have them cut out a face shape from a lighter-colored piece of felt. Glue the face shape onto the center of the mane and allow to dry. Then have kids draw eyes, a nose, mouth, and whiskers on the face shape. Finish the lions by gluing magnets to the back of the felt.

Read aloud Daniel 6:16-23 and 1 John 4:4. Ask kids to brainstorm times they’ll rely on God to protect them.

Kids can use their magnets inside their school lockers or as refrigerator magnets at home.

3. Labor Day Sunday

Ask everyone—kids and adults—to wear the clothing they’d normally wear to work or school on the Sunday before Labor Day.

Encourage conversations about careers and education. Hang posters with question prompts such as, “What’s your career? What school do you attend? What do you want to do when you grow up? How do you like your job? How does God use you in your job or at school?”

Coordinate with your senior pastor to incorporate sermon lessons about being a laborer for God. After church, your children’s ministry can sponsor a special greeting and snack time with the Labor Day Sunday theme.

4. Do-It-Yourself Choice Maker

Use back-to-school activities to help young children, or kids with special needs, choose self-directed activities.

You’ll need:

  • a large poster board
  • cardstock
  • markers
  • clear self-adhesive vinyl covering
  • self-adhesive Velcro strips
  • a large resealable plastic bag
  • scissors

Cut 8×8-inch pieces of cardstock. On each piece, use markers to draw an activity kids can choose. Examples include puppets, beanbag toss, music, blocks, crafts, reading, or puzzles. Cover the cards with clear, self-adhesive vinyl covering.

Place 1-inch self-adhesive Velcro strips 10 inches apart on the poster board in rows. Then place the corresponding 1-inch self-adhesive Velcro strips in the center back of each activity card. Attach the cards to the poster board.

Give kids the option of choosing one or two of the activities. Use the plastic bag to store choices that aren’t available on certain days.

New RNC Position on Life Is a ‘Tragic Retreat,’ Says Albert Mohler, Which Could Result in Losing ‘The Entire Society’

albert mohler
Dr. Albert Mohler. Screengrab from YouTube / @TonyPerkinsChannel

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Dr. Albert Mohler called the new Republican Party platform “one of the greatest disappointments of this season of my life” in a conversation with Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. During the conversation, Mohler exhorted Christians that their commitment should be to truth over a single political party.

“I fear for what this means longterm for what we really care about in the future of the Republican Party,” said Mohler after noting that the Democratic and Republican Parties still have key differences in their stances on abortion. “If everything’s just going to be a matter of political transaction and it’s just a matter of calculating some kind of winning strategy, then honestly we’re going to lose the entire society.” 

“It starts with the most fundamental issue, which is the sanctity of human life,” Mohler said. “I see this as a tragic retreat, and I have to hope and pray that it’s an aberration.”

Albert Mohler and Tony Perkins Discuss Cultural Engagement

Albert Mohler joined Tony Perkins Monday on Perkins’ show, “Washington Watch.” Perkins was speaking from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump became the official nominee of the party that day following an assassination attempt on his life Saturday, July 13. Also on Monday, delegates approved the new platform that was adopted by the Republican National Committee (RNC) on July 8. 

The platform, which comes from former President Donald Trump, is the first new platform from the party since 2016. It has drawn sharp criticism from Christian leaders for softening the Republican Party’s stance against abortion.

Following the RNC’s adoption of the platform, Perkins issued a statement criticizing the fact it was pushed to a vote without debate and said that ahead of the convention, “We have submitted a minority report to supplement that campaign’s platform.” 

However, after Trump narrowly survived being shot Saturday evening, Perkins said it was “not the time” to “fight” over the platform, although he emphasized that “there will be further conversations” about it and the manner in which it was adopted.

Perkins began his conversation with Mohler referencing an article Mohler wrote in WORLD magazine, asking for his thoughts on the assassination attempt and how Christians should respond in “these uncertain times.” The two men agreed Trump’s narrow survival was a reminder of the gift and brevity of life.

“What a sobering moment,” said Mohler, crediting the “providence of God” for the fact that Trump is alive. Mohler said that everyone, including progressives, “spoke of this immediately in terms of good and evil” and of “objective reality and moral responsibility. I think that tells us a lot.”

RELATED: ‘It Was God Alone Who Prevented the Unthinkable From Happening,’ Donald Trump Says Following Assassination Attempt

Perkins said he messaged Trump, telling the former president he appreciates the fact that Trump acknowledged “God’s hand of protection. I’m hoping and praying this is a turning point for the president understanding and seeing God’s hand upon his life.”

Mohler echoed those sentiments. “I’m praying the Lord uses this,” he said, and that Trump “realizes how close he came to meeting his Maker. I can only pray that will be a spiritually healthy turning point in the president’s life.”

Another point Mohler emphasized was the importance in our troubled times of being able to have civil conversations with those with whom we disagree. This posture of “basic civility” is necessary both in politics and for evangelism.

“How in the world are we going to win people to Christ if we never have conversations with, say, non-Christians?” Mohler asked. “And by the way, non-Christians think in non-Christian terms. We need to be the people who lean into these conversations.” 

Mohler said this behavior is something he tries to model himself. “We want people to winsomely be drawn to Christ, and we want them also winsomely to be drawn to our own convictions,” he said. To do so, we need to have conversations that take “risk and relationship.”

RELATED: Should We Take a ‘Winsome Approach’ to Culture? Christians Debate If Tim Keller’s ‘Moment Has Passed’

Perkins voiced similar thoughts. “We should not be operating out of desperation. We should be coming from a place of confidence and truth and hope,” he said. “We should be leading the way in having conversations with those we disagree with, cooling this anger and angst that’s out there in our society today.”

The Village Church Releases Statement Regarding 2007 Hiring of Matt Chandler’s Dad, Who Previously Confessed to Child Sex Abuse

Matt Chandler
Matt Chandler screengrab via YouTube / @The Village Church - Flower Mound

Former members of the The Village Church Denton (TVCD), who identified themselves as Chris and Anna, spoke with “The Bodies Behind The Bus” podcast to discuss how Matt Chandler‘s father, Steve Chandler, who previously confessed to child sex abuse, was hired as a custodian at TVCD in 2007.

Until it became an autonomous church in 2015, TVCD was a campus of The Village Church (TVC), which has been pastored by Matt Chandler 2002.

According to the married couple, Chris, who served as a lay elder at TVCD, and Anna, who served in the children’s ministry and is a “mandatory reporter,” are now sounding the alarm because they saw TVC fail to prioritize the protection of the children.

RELATED: Matt Chandler’s The Village Church Settles Abuse Case, Admits No Wrongdoing

“I literally spend almost 24/7 making sure children are safe and protected [and] I didn’t feel that was being upheld at the church I attended,” Anna said. “That was a big red flag for me.”

The couple shared their displeasure that TVC and its campuses were part of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Anna commented, “When look back on our time there and think about my regrets, I have a lot of them and I think that there should have been red flags going up more.”

“But then I have to remind myself that no one stood at the welcome table and said, ‘Hi, welcome! We are an SBC church. We were formed because we wanted to keep our slaves,’” she added. “I tried to give myself grace because there were things that were intentionally not led with and not very forthcoming.”

Chris shared that he first heard about Steve’s past in 2019 after Chris’ pastor at TVCD confided in him. The pastor did so after news came out that the SBC had a sexual abuse crisis within some of its churches.

The TVCD pastor told Chris that the church had hired Matt Chandler’s father as a custodian from 2007 to 2012 and that Steve “knowingly admitted to child sex abuse.” Chris said that the TVCD pastor claimed he was unaware of Steve’s past admission when Steve was hired.

RELATED: Matt Chandler To Take Leave of Absence Following Inappropriate Online Behavior; Chandler ‘In Glad Submission’ to TVC Elders

Chris recalled that the elders later met for a special meeting to discuss the fact that they had hired someone who had confessed to child sex abuse.

“The overwhelming conscience in the room was we got to share something,” he said. “We have to tell the congregation something.”

Chris shared that he was encouraged by the elders’ actions. The elders felt they needed to disclose the information now, over six years after Steve was no longer the church’s custodian, because “it’s the right thing to do” and so that “any potential victim could feel safe to come forward.”

RELATED: SBC Abuse Survivor Shares How Survivors Can Be ‘Triggered’ by News of Matt Chandler’s Inappropriate Online Behavior; Boz Tchividjian Agrees

However, Chris felt that as subsequent meetings took place, the “primary purpose” shifted to “we just need to share this thing and get out of it unscathed.”

Some of the elders became concerned about how Steve would react. “Not a ton of concern for any potential victim,” Chris said.

Chris indicated that he was told that Steve “confessed in California, had intensive court ordered therapy, and he had gone through steps in recovery. It was at one of those recovery meetings that he confessed that he had been a perpetrator of sexual abuse.”

Chris said he was tasked by his pastor to find Steve’s court records but was unable to find anything that substantiated the Steve’s claims. “He turned himself in and therefore wasn’t indicted,” Chris was told. “It didn’t make sense to me legally.”

Chris also said that when Steve was hired, his hiring would have taken place at TVC main campus. He then would have assigned to a campus.

RELATED: Matt Chandler Returns to Pulpit, Received Neurological Exam After ‘Unguarded and Unwise’ Relationship

According to Chris, leadership from both TVC and TVCD met 13 days prior to the TVCD members’ meeting in which the congregation would be informed about Steve’s past. Chris said TVC’s lawyer led the leader meeting and asked TVCD leadership why they wanted to inform the congregation of Steve’s past.

‘More Victims Are Believed To Exist’—Former MI Pastor Arrested for Sexual Misconduct With Children Under the Age of 13

Michael Ronald Goble
Photo Max Fleischmann (via Unsplash)

Former Michigan pastor Michael Ronald Goble was arraigned in court this week on charges of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree. Two victims, who are both minors, came forward accusing Goble of misconduct.

Michael Ronald Goble Accused of Molesting 2 Young Boys

Local law enforcement received accusations of sexual misconduct from two victims, both minors. The suspect, Michael Ronald Goble, was arrested on Saturday, July 13.

Court documents reveal that the victims were “younger than age 13” and that “the specific offenses occurred in November 2021,” said the Toledo Blade.

“Based on the totality of investigation thus far, more victims are believed to exist that have not yet been identified,” the Toledo Blade reported from a police statement.

The Adrian Police Department and the Lenawee County Sheriff’s Office are working together on the case. They have urged the public to contact them directly with any information or to report a crime.

“Locations of significance may include the Maurice Spears Juvenile Campus, Church of the Good Shepherd, and his home,” Adrian police said in a press release, according to local news.

An initial hearing is scheduled for July 18. The presiding judge also scheduled a “probable-cause conference” on July 22 and a “preliminary examination” on July 29.

Disgraced Pastor Johnny Hunt Tells His Side of the Story in Deposition, Offers His Own Definitions of ‘Adultery,’ ‘Sexual Abuse’

Johnny Hunt
Screengrab via YouTube / @Northside Church

Disgraced pastor and former Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) denominational leader Johnny Hunt recently sat for a deposition in his defamation lawsuit against the SBC Executive Committee and Guidepost Solutions. During the deposition, Hunt told his side of the story, also offering his own definitions of “sexual abuse” and “adultery.” 

The deposition was recorded on April 18 but was recently made public. 

Hunt filed the lawsuit after the 2022 release of a Guidepost Solutions report that implicated him as credibly accused of sexual assault during his tenure as SBC president in 2010. 

The Executive Committee contracted Guidepost Solutions to conduct a third-party investigation into whether the committee had mishandled allegation of sexual abuse across a period of two decades. Since the SBC president is an ex officio member of the Executive Committee, the allegations against Hunt were included in the report. 

As a result of the report, Hunt resigned his position as Senior Vice President of Evangelism and Leadership at the SBC’s North American Mission Board (NAMB). He was also terminated from his role as pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Georgia, a church where he served as lead pastor for three decades. 

Hunt had vehemently denied the allegations against him. Now, he is seeking damages from the SBC Executive Committee and Guidepost Solutions. 

Throughout the deposition, Hunt was questioned by Scarlett Nokes, a lawyer representing the Executive Committee. 

At one point, Nokes sought to gain clarity on what Hunt saw as the difference between being “unfaithful” to one’s spouse and committing “adultery.”

Nokes asked, “What do you consider being unfaithful to one’s spouse?”

“To be unfaithful, to me, in my heart, would have been to have gone to another lady’s room,” Hunt replied. “But that is not adultery.” To Hunt, an act is considered adultery only when “you have sex with her.” 

Hunt also indicated his belief that “the Bible would counsel that.” 

“The Bible speaks of adultery in the sense of David,” Hunt said. “And David had a relationship with Bathsheba and she bore a son. But if she hadn’t borne a son, she still had had sex and he had committed adultery.”

When asked his view on emotional affairs, Hunt said, “It would just be that a person had deep feelings for someone other than their spouse…It would be unfaithful but not adultery.”

Hunt seemed to indicate a similar belief when it came to sexual abuse. 

“To use sexual abuse would be in the context of intercourse, at least, and I know in the state of Florida, and I think in Georgia and Tennessee,” Hunt said when asked to define sexual abuse. “So I see it in that context, but definitely not consensual.”

Nokes asked, “So I want to be clear, you think in order for there to be sexual abuse, there has to be intercourse? Under a legal definition?”

“That would be part of it,” Hunt replied.

When asked how many Southern Baptist pastors he knew who had been unfaithful to their spouses, Hunt said, “I would be guessing. I have been a pastor for 46 years. I would have to go back and think.”

Digital Expert Brad Hill Shares With Ed Stetzer What ‘Spiritually Open’ People Are Searching for on Google

Brad Hill
Image courtesy of Brad Hill

Brad Hill is chief solutions officer at Gloo, a tech platform that provides churches with the tools and resources they need to build a more connected ministry. Brad joins us to share how churches can embrace our new era of digital outreach so they can meet the needs of their communities.

“The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast” is part of the ChurchLeaders Podcast Network.

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Transcript of Interview With Brad Hill

Brad Hill on The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast.mp3: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

Brad Hill on The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast.mp3: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Voice Over:
Welcome to the Stetzer Church Leaders Podcast, conversations with today’s top ministry leaders to help you lead better every day. And now, here are your hosts, Ed Stetzer and Daniel Yang.

Daniel Yang:
Welcome to the Sister Church Leaders Podcast, where we help Christian leaders navigate and lead through the cultural issues of our day. My name is Daniel Yang, national director of Churches of Welcome at World Relief. And today we’re talking to Brad Hill, Brad’s chief solutions officer at glue, a tech platform that provides churches with the tools and resources needed to build a more connected ministry. Brad joins us today to share how churches can embrace this new era of digital outreach so they can meet the needs of their communities. Now let’s go to Ed Stetzer, editor in chief of Outreach Magazine, in the dean of the Talbot School of Theology.

Ed Stetzer:
Well, and it’s good to have a conversation with Brad in just a moment. I know Brad for a few years and, you know, he works at glue. Some of you probably see me on the internet sometimes talking on the way in the interwebs, as the kids say. Uh, talking about some of the things that glue does. I function as a consultant with glue. And so I’m excited to kind of talk about some of the questions. I think glue is like this mystery to a lot of people. But also we’re going to talk about reaching people. So so again, let’s just stay with us because I think you’ll find this conversation really interesting. I want to start with a stat. So um, data from Barna showing. Well, Brad, you tell it to tell us about it. It’s, uh, the percentage of pastors who say their church is very effective at outreach to Non-churchgoers. What’s happened with that stat and why did it catch your attention?

Brad Hill:
Yeah, this is pretty pretty startling. Alarming, I might say. And Daniel, the state of pastor study that Barna recently put out, uh, they had previously asked pastors, does your church have an effective model or method for reaching people outside and back? In 2015, serving close to 1000 pastors, 13% said, yes, I have an effective strategy that that was kind of bad news enough. Fast forward to the recent update in the same study, similar methodology that 13% saying yes has now dropped to 1%. Uh, so, you know, we talk about the one, the 99, we’re we’re down basically nowhere to go but up territory for churches saying like, hey, we need to rethink the way that we’re reaching reaching folks outside. And so that’s I think that’s a great fodder for conversation. Yeah. And I think it’s.

Ed Stetzer:
Interesting to think that, um, you know, 2015 to 2023, there’s only an eight year difference. Of course, COVID’s in the middle of that 2023 would be after Covid. But um, and I think, you know, I think for I think a lot of people have kind of lost their, their confidence, maybe lost their focus, lost their way on this. Because if you went back to, you know, we’re old enough, maybe Daniel’s not, but we’re old enough to remember the seeker movement. And again, I had questions about it, critiques, that kind of stuff. But certainly people were working hard to say our church is effective at outreach to Non-churchgoers. The unchurched became a defining reality of planning. And but I think I think as those well, first of all, as the seeker movement sort of waned, I think in part because everyone who was going to be reached by a church like that was or most were, and culture shifted. I think people were like, well, what now? And they’re a little bit unsure. So I sort of feel the uncertainty with a lot of pastors. Any thoughts on what they were doing effectively, um, that they considered effective outreach. And now what people are thinking about what outreach might look like in the future.

Brad Hill:
I mean, I’m no sociologist, but I really think, you know, in the back of my mind is, is some other research you guys know well, which is the spiritually open generation. And I think you have to think through generational shifts here. We continue to see data that boomers are the ones that are most rapidly leaving church down at, like Gen Z, Gen Alpha. There’s openness, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re coming to church. It just means that they’re spiritually open. And so I think understanding how to speak the language, you know, I mean, at your missiologist. So it’s like understanding the people we’re trying to reach. And I think for a lot of pastors, technology, phones, social media, Google still feels maybe like a how instead of a where. And you know, one of the things I see so plainly in the churches that are doing this well is they’ve really embraced the internet, social media as a valid playground for how do we reach people. And it’s a place it’s it’s a mission field very every bit as much as a physical one would be. And I think the churches that are embracing that mindset, um, are, are seeing success and are actually seeing traction. Um, but I think if you couple that pastor stat, we talked about the 13% down to the 1% with churches that might say, yeah, we feel like we have an effective digital strategy, not just broadcast, but we’re actually doing ministry online. I think there’s correlation there. And I think that’s that’s the place where that’s the opportunity for churches and pastors to grow is using technology, which is, you know, the natural native tongue of today’s generation.

Daniel Yang:
Yeah, we definitely want to push into that a little bit more. But before we do that, Brad, I’m curious from your perspective, do you do you feel like, uh, this is more of a strategy issue or is this more of a priority issue? Um, I know those that are jumping into digital ministry, uh, and not just streaming, but actually online engagement. You know, it’s a strategy. But if we back up a little bit more, are you sensing that this is actually much more than just a strategy issue?

Brad Hill:
Yeah, I, I think strategy is a good word, Daniel. I might also just say almost a mindset issue. Um, you know, my family just recently did a, um, a fun trip to Europe, first time a lot of us got to go to several countries, and we were in Athens, and, uh, I was we got to go stand on Mars Hill and do that whole all the touristy stuff there. But it was it was a good moment. I, I’ve always been fond of that passage where Paul is, you know, a student of the culture, right? And he talks about the unknown God and really learned this pagan culture and how how they thought. I think that mindset is one that we’re seeing laid bare right now with technology. And in my opinion, too few pastors really are, uh, seeking to understand those that we want to reach. Like, are you curious enough to understand the people that, um, are sort of outside the four walls? And what is it that you can learn about them and know about them? Uh, for example, one of the things we observe a lot with things flowing through glue here is just simple Google data.

Brad Hill:
What are people searching for on Google every single day? And if and that that data is publicly available, you know, we we look at it a lot. We aggregate it. And you’re going to see some pretty startling trends in most US cities about what’s really on the minds and the hearts of people. And yet when we go out on the street and ask people, do you know, do you think the church has answers for these issues? Normally people are like, think we’re crazy? They’re like, what do you mean? The church can help my relationships? What do you mean the church cares about me if if I’m dealing with anxiety. So there’s a disconnect there between, um, what we sort of believe in practice. And to your point, Daniel, even our strategy, uh, versus what’s on the hearts and minds of those we’re trying to reach. So I think, at minimum, a healthy dose of curiosity. And yes, we’re blessed these days that there is data and we can actually know more about our communities. And as one pastor said, we can exegete our communities and know exactly what’s on the minds of those we’re trying to reach.

Ed Stetzer:
Oh, you’re warm in my heart with those exegetes. I thought you’d like that. So, as one pastor once said, I like what one pastor is saying. That that’s a good sign. Um, so. But I guess let’s kind of walk through some of that stuff that you talked about because you, you know, you work at Glue Technology company. Um, and you started with what people Google and so, so what are people what are spiritually open people googling. And let’s just start there. Then I want to talk about, you know, other ways to respond to that. But I think that might even be news to some people because because I think I think what, uh, what a lot of pastors are sort of thinking is maybe they’re googling, where can I find a great church where I can get involved in a small group and tithe? But maybe that’s not what they’re googling that are open opportunities. What are they?

Brad Hill:
Yeah, we can we can dream that. Maybe we’ll get there. But now I will start on a good news point. We consistently see in most cities in the US, um, that among the top three things people are googling, uh, in the in the themes we care about, we’re dismissing things like politics and news, but, you know, issues of life. People are, um, quite hungry for prayer. And they have a just a general desire to connect. You know, it doesn’t mean connect with a church, but they they hunger for connection. I think that’s great news for pastors and leaders to know that once you get past those, however, then the list starts to become a little bit more sobering pretty fast. So what we see as top trends. Uh, loneliness. Anxiety is almost always in the top three. Currently it’s number one. As we’re recording this, I just check, um, and anxiety can be in a range of things, right? It could. It doesn’t always mean like clinical. It could just mean like, I’m wondering, do I have anxiety? Uh, we’ve actually seen success People actually want to take a quiz online to find out if they have anxiety.

Brad Hill:
Uh, toxic relationships, uh, grief. Um, there’s a there’s a long kind of diminishing list from there. The only exception to those trends I just said would be in, uh, in a time period where maybe there’s a geopolitical event. Um, it could be a storm, a natural disaster, a school shooting. Any time one of those types of issues flares up, you see a very strong and, uh, correlated pattern to changes on Google. And as pastors and leaders, we haven’t really had access in generations before to that sort of real time data. But, I mean, imagine as a pastor, if you knew literally last 30 days, what’s on the hearts and minds of people in my community, would that change the way you preach? Would it change the way you think about programs? And so we we hope that, you know, in the next generation, every church is using Google and whatever else comes next as a way to, you know, keep a finger on the pulse of what’s going on in our community.

Daniel Yang:
You know, earlier you made a slight distinction between technology as how and then, but also as a as a where. And I think that’s a really important distinction. I think a lot of times when people think about digital ministry, they’re thinking primarily broadcasting, um, and streaming. How might they think differently about digital ministry beyond just the streaming and the broadcasting?

Brad Hill:
Yeah, I think and that’s one of we have a short list of questions. We always like to sort of put in front of pastors to just get the frame of mind right. And that’s one of those is, um, has your team really thought through a strategy for digital ministry, not just digital broadcasting? So when we use the word ministry in that context, we are thinking about using every available digital tool available to reach someone, to engage with someone, communicate with them, you know, a little bit tongue in cheek. I’ll sometimes ask a pastor like, hey, if I pray for someone over text, does that count? And by the way, I strongly believe, yes. Um, you know, but that’s that that itself is an interesting question that challenges some mindsets. Um, can we do ministry without having in the flesh, face to face? Now, what we also know about Gen Z, Gen Alpha, anyone you know, born in recent decades. Um, for them, relationships are fluid. It’s not binary. Where, hey, I only have an on screen relationship with this person, or I’m only. I’m only in the flesh and the person incarnate with this person, it can flow back and forth. So for some churches and pastors, we see really effective strategy where we get introduced to someone digitally and we might communicate text chat for a while and then we meet for coffee. But then it goes back to texting, and it might be eight, ten, 25 steps before they’re ready to come visit us on Sunday morning. But that whole process of engaging and developing trust and relationship can very much happen online. And by the way, for those of us that are growing churches, we always think about scale. It’s incredible. You know how much you can get done online, digitally. And it’s also an answer to how do we how do we engage more people more effectively, more volunteers, all those things. So there’s tremendous possibility here. But for a lot of churches, I think it starts with, hey, are we going to get beyond just streaming and marketing and really use these digital channels as a way to actually minister to people.

Ed Stetzer:
Yeah. So you said there were a series of questions to ask. Just go go through those questions quickly as you’re asking pastors about their digital ministry.

Brad Hill:
Yeah, I think one is, is our church a place that someone would feel at home or welcome if they’re, quote, kind of turned off to church? Um, that’s that’s a big theme that we see a lot for folks online is they, they have experienced church in the past. They may have preconceived notions about church. Um, so creating creating an environment, creating an attitude in our people where we seek to, you know, serve and minister to the person before. We’re just trying to make it about us. Uh, another question would be, um, and this is this is honestly one of my favorite, more compelling ones. Would we be okay doing ministry, even ministering to a person digitally if that person never darken the door of our church? Because I think a lot of pastors believe digital ministry is an on ramp. And it you know, every funnel needs to end with them sitting in the pew Sunday. But the question is, would we would we be open to doing ministry if it meant they never come to our church? Uh, even if we maybe minister them into a different church or it takes two years. Um, and then that digital ministry question about digital ministry versus digital broadcast. Um, so there’s, there’s some mindset shifts in there, but that usually gets a lot of conversation going. Just those those three points. Yeah.

Ed Stetzer:
I think one of the things that’s worth noting too is, you know, because I’ve, you know, been working with glue now for, I don’t know, a couple of years and kind of seeing under the hood. And I know one of the things that we’ve done is referred to about, well, almost 300 to 400,000 people to churches to receive help. And and the help is not I mean, we say help today we might think of food pantries. Not generally that. But I remember you got to go back a little bit back in the day. We did this, we started this church and I wanted to reach a lot of seekers. And so we sent out this this we started our church with this marriage series. And it was a church. This was in the 90s. So it’s a church. The town didn’t have a contemporary church. We were pretty I don’t know, I don’t know how edgy we were, but maybe for then. And so we basically said, we’re going to launch this series, and we were trying to have over 200 people at our first service. You have to be a certain age to remember when churches did these things. We did mailers. And people still do mailers work differently today, but still work, that kind of stuff anyway. So what surprised me was because everyone kept I kept going to these conferences and people said we had 200 people at our first service, and then we dropped down to about 100 and we were off to the races. Well, so we had 234 people show up at our first service, which was great, but they overwhelmingly came because of our mailers. And our mailers basically told them, we’re going to do a marriage series, they’re going to help save your marriage. The sets are Church leaders.

Ed Stetzer:
Podcast is part of the Church Leaders Podcast Network, which is dedicated to resourcing church leaders in order to help them face the complexities of ministry. Today, the Church Leaders Podcast Network supports pastors and ministry leaders by challenging assumptions, by providing insights and offering practical advice and solutions and steps that will help church leaders navigate the variety of cultures and contexts that we’re serving in. Learn more at Church leaders.com/podcast network. So we ended up with about 200 people who were in marital crisis because, I mean, if you’re sitting at home and you’re so like, right, well, man, if my marriage is in such a rough spot that if I got a mailer from a church I didn’t know at a place I’d never been to, I’d go to that to save my marriage. So what happened is all of a sudden we had, like, I mean, our church became a marriage counseling place, like, all of a sudden, because I was our mailers, our everything else. So I think that, um, I’d gone to the church planning conferences and what I was thinking was going to happen was because I was young and naive, was that 200 plus people were going to show up. They were all going to receive Jesus, and many of them did. We baptized two thirds of the adult attendees at our church and within a year. But what happened was a lot of people with a lot of issues needed a lot of ministry. And I think that’s a lot like what we experienced through these references where, where you know with and give me the number how many, how many glue, how many have we have we sent to churches thus far? And am I accurately portraying what the kind of ministry we’re doing is?

Brad Hill:
Yeah. You are, I mean, yeah, as we sit here today, it’s about 380,000 connections that have been made. That means someone started on Google or they started at a, uh, Christian concert, or they heard it on Christian radio and they reached out for a connection, glues a switchboard in this sense. So we made a connection of that person to one church that’s happened 380,000 times. And you’re right, a lot of times the thing that they’re most hungry for is help in an area of their life. Um, and everything you just illustrated, I think is a great it can initially feel like a point of concern for a pastor like man, Uh, these feel like a lot of again, I’ll use my one pastor reference. One pastor said it feels like a lot of messy people out there, which I, I a little bit, um, sort of smile at because, like, yeah, I’m a mess. I think a lot of us, we all have life coming at us, but, um, there may be an oversampling, let’s just say, of folks who have, as you said, need counseling, need help. Um, what we see, too, is this is an opportunity for us to decide, uh, do we really want to tackle head on the the issues and the, the life that people are dealing with? And is that does that responsibility rest on our church’s shoulders alone? How might we, for example, bring in other ministries or other community partners we have who are narrowly expert at one area of life that I’m not as a pastor or leader, but not give up the opportunity to share the gospel, to build trust, to build relationship.

Brad Hill:
So what’s happening here digitally, in a sense, is also a little bit of a what we call a glue. A collective might opportunity where, you know, if we can marshal, if I’m a normal church of 190 or 100 people, I probably don’t have all the fancy programs and resources to deal with mental health and marriage and all those things uniquely well, but there are ministries who can. And we we try to like forge partnerships where that pastor, that leader has the primacy of relationship and then can reach out for help. Mental health’s a great example of that. So in those 380,000 connections we’ve made, you do get people who very legitimately need counseling or need even, you know, some psychiatric help. So we partner with key ministries in this process who can can be inserted in the process or can be kind of like first responder, if you will, and get that person to a loving, trusting, but biblical place of stability so that a church can then really carry that relationship long term, that’s proven to be a very effective strategy, better than what else they would get on Google, by the way, where they’re going to get referred outside of this to secular psychology resources, Doctor Phil, secular self-help apps, whatever else is out there, we really, you know, our call is the church should put itself in the pathway.

Ed Stetzer:
Yeah. And I think that’s I mean, I’m for that what you’re describing. We want to we’re for all kinds of mental health resources that would help people at their point of need. But having that supportive church community, I think makes makes all the difference.

Daniel Yang:
Brett, I want to come back to something because, I mean, I think we all believe in personal interactions. I mean, that that is, uh, sort of an ultimate goal in some ways. Um, but, you know, you mentioned something earlier that people are increasingly looking first for that digital connection first. And so, you know, for pastors and church leaders listening to this, and they’re thinking about like developing their digital strategy. And why do you why do you think the shift towards digital first interactions is happening? Like, what are some of the reasons driving the people feeling nervous about, like not doing an in-person first and they want to check out the digital, whether it’s a podcast, whether it’s downloading a sermon or even having an email relationship with somebody from the church.

Brad Hill:
Well, I think, you know, you have to look really at our culture and where we are as a society. I mean, stepping into a strange church you’ve never visited with a bunch of people you don’t know. That’s a big step. Um, and it’s not it’s not dissimilar to many other areas in our lives where we’re researching a product to buy a vacation, to go on whatever I think most of us and, you know, we’ve we’ve tracked with a lot of great research on this point. We trust now our own research and our own experiences online more than we would trust what a marketing message would say on a commercial. Um, certainly we’re going to do our homework before we step into anything that feels like commitment. Um, so you kind of set that that point at one side of this, the other. We’ve spent a lot of time out literally on the street doing videos, doing a lot of just guerrilla research with people. And when we say, like, hey, if you had a challenge in your life, if you had a spiritual question or if something went on in your marriage or relationships, where would you turn for help? And I would tell you this, don’t quote me statistically here. Editor. Um, no.

Ed Stetzer:
No, not me.

Brad Hill:
But but I would just tell you. I’ll just say vast, vast majority. Like, it feels like nine out of ten. Maybe it’s less than that. But vast majority of people, when we say, where would you turn for help? Number one answer Google. Um, they don’t turn to their pastor. They don’t turn. Some people said their mom. But I mean, searching online is by far everyone’s first reach when they they have a question, they need help. And they’re going to trust those five star reviews before they trust what the marketer said. So we need to understand that as churches that we are in the field of play right alongside every other commercial consumer, uh, marketplace offering that’s out there, and all of the folks who are trying to reach are trained to search to trust those reviews. I mean, heck, people, you know, I’ve got two teenagers. They they would trust what a TikTok video tells them is real, uh, like it or not. So we’re we’re in that that’s the mission field that we’re operating in in 2024. Yeah.

Ed Stetzer:
They would trust their, uh, their, their research on YouTube more than maybe an expert in the field. I mean, it is the reality. But that does I mean, so the assumption that the front door to your church is the front door is that that people will literally go in, which I think was a big part of the assumption of the entire seeker movement, was that, you know, make it the front door welcoming, and people will come in and experience that. I mean, the front door now certainly is the online engagement. And and I don’t think a lot of churches have fully caught up to that. And that’s multifaceted. So certainly you should have your someone to see what your service looks like online, someone to see what your building looks like online, someone to see the you know what? What will you know here. Plan your first visit. Here’s what it’s going to be like. Certainly. But I think where a lot of it lags is using that evangelistic connection. That’s one of the reasons I connected with glue is I think a lot of it lags in that space because because, you know, as people are less likely to come to a church as their first front door experience, then what is it? As you said, it might be a Google search. Then we can respond to that Google search and more. So it gets a little it gets a little trickier. All right. When in the data research analysis I’ll let you answer it anecdotally or with data. What’s the top reason why people want to connect with the church. What are you seeing in the research or top reasons if that’s helpful?

Brad Hill:
Uh, in a word, it’s community. I mean, you said it a moment ago, and this, I think, is both, um, a little bit of a blind spot, but a giant opportunity we have right now in the, in the local church is to I don’t want to say reposition, but I think it’s it’s maybe we’ve buried some of the lead in that. The church is such a rich, deep place of community and relationship, even, by the way, a number of secular sociologists, journalists, researchers we’ve been tracking published articles everywhere from New York Times, Washington Post, uh, CNN and the like who are saying things right now in articles like we have searched high and low, uh, for anywhere in, in culture. And we cannot find a place better than the local church that provides the type of wraparound support and community that folks most hunger for. And so when we think, you know your question, like, what’s the number one thing that causes people to come or engage in church? Uh, we even saw this during Covid and you did some great work on, you know, church trends through the pandemic. The churches that seem to have the highest degree of stickiness and retention tended to be, on balance, the ones who had really emphasized community relationship in a legitimate way.

Brad Hill:
Not just like, oh, we’re going to put you in a room in a Sunday school class, but we really see our church as a place to foster community and relationship. That has to be a set of values that we live out and don’t just give lip service to. But, you know, imagine if we could position our churches as, uh, not come to church, but come to community, come, come to find your tribe, find people to belong to. And as I said a moment ago, even in our Google tracking studies, we see always a desire to connect as one of those top three themes that leads people through. So as a pastor, as a leader, that’s the good news you need to know is people are hungry for connection. And we’ve likely got, uh, you know, the product for them, if you will. And I hate to put it in such commercial terms, but we have an answer to one of the greatest needs in society. And of course, we all know that that’s all infused with the power, life saving power of the gospel. But for the world outside, it might just be like, we’ve got community here, like the one you’ve been searching for and haven’t found.

Daniel Yang:
Brad, if I’m leading a church that, um, you know, we’ve got YouTube and we’ve got a Facebook. Um, and, uh, we have social media presence, but really need to go to that next level in terms of our digital ministry presence and digital ministry like engagement. Um, and again, not a large staff, you know, maybe 2 or 3, you know, pastors on staff with some administrative help. What would your advice be to the church leadership in order to increase their digital ministry?

Brad Hill:
Well, I think 2 or 3 things, Daniel, you know, what we just talked about to me is a is an important mindset or strategy, which is, you know, thinking about how we’re fostering relationship. We have a saying a glue relationship catalyzes growth. So which surprises some people because they’re like, I thought you were a tech company. And we are. But what we’ve what we clearly know and understand is technology programs, content should always be in support of the relationship, should never seek to replace it or be a shortcut around it. So the more you see your church as as a place to foster community and relationship, that’s step one, I think. Step two, um, we see on a very practical level the way you communicate in your church. Um, there’s simple technology answers today that can dramatically improve and increase the way you engage with people. I’ll give you a real simple one. A lot of us still send weekly emails around in our church. You know, those Thursday announcements or the Monday bulletin? Whatever. Um, if you do any degree of tracking, what you’ll find is on a on the best of days, maybe 40% of people read that email. The vast majority of your church does not. On the flip side, texting just making that simple switch from email to texting will typically double or more your engagement with people. Um, and the great thing about texting is it’s it’s kind of weird to say, but it feels more intimate than email. It’s something more personal. It’s also, incidentally, a great way if your church is one that’s trying to cultivate a culture of inviting, where you’re trying to get people to invite their neighbors, invite their coworkers, their fellow students, texting is a great way to maybe set up a seven day, 30 day series or devotional to that end.

Brad Hill:
Um, last thing, I’ll just share a point of data with you guys. We were talking about Google a minute ago and the searching, um, patterns that we see. We. This will have to be anecdotal again, but, um, we’ve seen pretty strong evidence to suggest that when we find people searching online for things like loss, depression, anxiety that I listed a moment ago, as many as 30 to 40% of the people who are reaching out to Google for help are already in a church. In other words, the way I the way I interpret that is a lot of people feel more comfortable reaching Google for help than reaching their pastor, even if they’re already churched. And what that tells me is that we have an equal opportunity inside our four walls to think about reaching people and making them feel comfortable, making them aware. It’s I think a lot of repetition is good here, that, hey, if you have something going on in your life or if you just need to reach out for connection, we want to prioritize that here in our church. If that’s you, or if that’s someone you know and you know, we we’ve set up all these methods for you to communicate with us, whatever is most comfortable for you, but for people to understand that their church is a safe place, I think is is great work for us to do because otherwise, as I said, we’re seeing literally people go out of the building to get help when we really would desperately want them to, to get that help inside.

Daniel Yang:
We’ve been talking to Brad Hill. You can learn more about glue and take advantage of a variety of ministry resources at gluas. Thanks again for listening to the Setzer Church Leaders podcast. You can find more interviews, as well as other great content for ministry leaders at church Leaders compered cast. And again, if you found our conversation today helpful, I’d love for you to take a few moments. Leave us a review that will help other ministry leaders find us and benefit from our content. Thanks for listening. We’ll see you in the next episode.

Voice Over:
You’ve been listening to the Stetzer Church Leaders podcast for more great interviews as well as articles, videos, and free resources, visit our website at Church leaders.com. Thanks for listening.

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Key Questions for Brad Hill

-What might outreach look like in the future?

-What are spiritually open people googling?

-How might pastors think differently about digital ministry beyond just streaming and broadcasting?

-What’s the top reason why people want to connect with a church?

Key Quotes From Brad Hill

“We’re down to basically nowhere to go but up territory for churches [who are] saying, ‘Hey, we need to rethink the way that we’re reaching folks outside.’”

“We continue to see data that Boomers are the ones that are most rapidly leaving church. Down at, like Gen Z, Gen Alpha, there’s openness, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re coming to church. It just means that they’re spiritually open.”

“I think for a lot of pastors, technology, phones, social media, Google still feels maybe like a ‘how’ instead of a ‘where.’” 

“One of the things I see so plainly in the churches that are doing this well is they’ve really embraced the internet, social media as a valid playground for [reaching] people. And it’s a mission field every bit as much as a physical one would be.” 

“That’s the opportunity for churches and pastors to grow is using technology, which is, you know, the natural native tongue of today’s generation.”  

In ‘Disciples in the Moonlight,’ US Christians Are Persecuted and the Bible Is Banned

Disciples in the Moonlight
"Disciples in the Moonlight" film still. (Photo courtesy Pinnacle Peak Pictures)

(RNS) — In the dead of night, a team of seven races across the midwestern U.S., risking their lives to smuggle rare contraband: The Holy Bible.

In this version of America, depicted in the new film “Disciples in the Moonlight,” Christians are persecuted, the Bible is banned hate speech and the government has issued its own “inclusive, welcoming” and censored version of the Bible.

The film, set to hit theaters July 17, isn’t set in an unrecognizable dystopia, but in an eerily familiar not-too-distant future. Though its Christian filmmakers describe the movie as a thought experiment — what if the Bible were illegal? — and not a prediction, director Brett Varvel, who also stars in the film, said it depicts a reality that’s not entirely implausible.

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“Christian persecution is very much a reality that a lot of people live in in other countries,” Varvel told Religion News Service. “We haven’t seen it near that level here in America, and we’re not saying that’s the case right now, but I believe that we are headed that direction.”

Varvel pointed to the burning of a trailer of Bibles in Tennessee on Easter this year, a Houston mayor’s 2014 subpoena of sermons dealing with sexual orientation or gender identity and the Supreme Court case involving football coach Joseph Kennedy, who was restricted from praying on the field after his public school team’s games. In 2022, Kennedy won his case.

Brett Varvel. (Courtesy photo)

Brett Varvel. (Courtesy photo)

The movie has earned an endorsement from former Vice President Mike Pence, who called the film a “cautionary tale” that should “inspire people of faith to do even more to protect religious freedom in America.” But not all feedback has been positive, according to Varvel.

“Even with the trailers that we’ve released and the clips that we’ve released online, we’ve already seen a tremendous amount of hate and mockery and pushback from people online claiming that we’re Christian nationalists, claiming that we are hypocrites, claiming that we have a persecution complex, and we like to victimize ourselves,” Varvel said.

Josh Strychalski, a screenwriter for the film who also stars in it, said stoking a persecution complex isn’t at all the intent of the filmmakers. He wants Christians to exit the film empowered by the freedoms they do have and inspired by the hope they have in Christ.

“I’m not a political guy at all,” Strychalski told RNS. “From day one, I have never attempted to say I believe this is what is happening in the U.S., or this is what will happen.”

Still, Diane Winston, the Knight Center chair in Media and Religion at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, said the film speaks to longstanding Republican fears. She referenced a 2004 Republican mailing campaign that said “liberals” would try to ban the Bible, and some Republican politicians’ claims that the Antisemitism Awareness Act voted on earlier this year would censor the Bible. She also pointed to a 2020 survey that found 1 in 5 Americans believe a Democratic president is likely to ban the Bible.

“This is something that’s been going on for 20 years now, pushing this fear that really touches Christians, that their holy book will be taken away from them,” said Winston, author of the 2023 book “Righting the American Dream.” “I’ve never seen a liberal or Democratic politician ever speaking about banning the Bible. In fact, many of them are Christians or Jews or Muslims who see the Bible as part of their holy books.”

"Disciples in the Moonlight" film poster. (Courtesy image)

“Disciples in the Moonlight” film poster. (Courtesy image)

If the film’s trailer struck audiences as a Christian action film, that’s intentional. Strychalski first developed the concept for the film in 2013 and said part of his goal was to create the kind of Christian movie he would want to watch.

“I felt like guys like me were a bit of an underserved audience. I like action and thinking movies, heist-type movies, comedies. I didn’t really see that within faith-based spaces,” he told RNS.

Featuring a stirring soundtrack, “Disciples in the Moonlight” is darker than your typical family-friendly Christian fare, with car chases, night missions and interrogation scenes aplenty.

Though Varvel and Strychalski, who are longtime friends, spent years shopping the idea around to different studios and distributors, it wasn’t until 2022 that a group of roughly 20 private investors came together to fund the movie, which was largely filmed in Indiana that same year. Fathom Events, which helped bring the wildly popular Jesus series “The Chosen” to theaters, and Pinnacle Peak Pictures, the faith-based production and distribution studio behind “God’s Not Dead” and “The Case for Christ,” have since come onboard to bring the movie to more than 1,000 theaters.

United Methodists Elect a Third Openly Gay, Married Bishop

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The Rev. Kristin Stoneking speaks after being elected bishop of the United Methodist Church’s Western Jurisdiction on July 12, 2024, in Spokane, Washington. (Video screen grab)

(RNS) — The first two openly gay and married bishops in the United Methodist Church were elected to their positions under a cloud. The denomination’s rulebook did not allow LGBTQ+ people to be ordained, much less consecrated as bishops.

But for the first time in its history, the United Methodist Church has elected a third openly gay and married bishop — this time in the clear light of day.

Kristin Stoneking, an ordained pastor and the associate professor of United Methodist Studies and Leadership at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, was elected bishop last week in the Western Jurisdiction of the church. Her election comes three months after the United Methodists voted at their General Conference to eliminate all restrictions on the full participation of queer members.

Stoneking will oversee some 300 churches in the denomination’s Mountain Sky Conference, which includes congregations in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and a small part of Idaho. She will be based in Denver.

“We’re not done trying to make sure that the world is a welcoming and caring place for everyone, and that includes LGBTQ persons,” Stoneking said.

Following the departure of 25% of its U.S. churches who left over disagreements over LGBTQ+ inclusion, the United Methodist Church agreed at its General Conference it would not add any more bishops over the next four years. But in the weeks following the convention, one bishop decided to retire and another took long-term disability, leaving two unexpected vacancies.

The Western Jurisdiction of the church had two already planned bishop retirements in need of replacement and had hoped for a transfer of two bishops from other regions. But when it became apparent the denomination was down two additional bishops, the Western Jurisdiction decided to elect two new bishops:  Stoneking and Sandra K. Olewine. Olewine will serve the California-Nevada Conference. Stoneking will replace Bishop Karen Oliveto, the denomination’s first openly gay married bishop, who, at age 66, is retiring.

The Western Jurisdictional Conference elected the Rev. Karen Oliveto

On the 17th ballot, the Western Jurisdiction elected the Rev. Karen Oliveto to the episcopacy of the United Methodist Church in 2016. (Photo by Patrick Scriven, United Methodist Church PNW Conference)

Oliveto was elected to the Western Jurisdiction in 2016 in defiance of denominational rules that did not allow LGBTQ+ ordination. Then, in 2022, the Western Jurisdiction, the most liberal in the denomination, once again defied church rules and elected an openly gay married bishop — Cedrick D. Bridgeforth. He serves the Greater Northwest Conference that spans Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and small parts of Montana and Canada.

At April’s General Conference meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Methodists voted to repeal their denomination’s condemnation of homosexuality from its rulebook. For 52 years, the rulebook had stated that the practice of homosexuality was “incompatible with Christian teaching.”

At that same meeting, it dropped a ban on the ordination of gay clergy and eliminated a provision that forbade its ministers from officiating at same-sex marriages.

Stoneking is among the first to benefit from the lifting of all those restrictions. An estimated 324 UMC clergy or candidates for ordination are gay. Of those, about 160 are in same-sex marriages — many of them performed outside the church and in private because of the restrictions.

The Rev. Kristin Stoneking was elected bishop in the United Methodist Church on July 12, 2024, and will serve in the Mountain Sky Conference beginning Sept. 1. (Courtesy photo)

The Rev. Kristin Stoneking was elected bishop in the United Methodist Church on July 12, 2024, and will serve in the Mountain Sky Conference beginning Sept. 1. (Courtesy photo)

Stoneking is married to Elizabeth Campi, and they have two children. The two met at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, and have been together as a couple for 32 years.

At RNC, an Uneven, Awkward Embrace of Religious Pluralism

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Harmeet Kaur Dhillon offers a Sikh prayer at the Republican National Convention, Monday, July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wis. (Video screen grab)

(RNS) — Connecticut businesswoman and former U.S. Senate candidate Leora Levy’s prayer before this year’s Republican National Convention was filled with distinctive Jewish references. After thanking God on Monday night (July 15) for former President Donald Trump, Levy, who is on the national leadership of the Republican Jewish Coalition, prayed for Corey Comperatore, who was killed during the assassination attempt on Trump’s life over the weekend, saying, “May his memory always be a blessing.” She referenced the Hebrew Bible, citing Deuteronomy 31:6, which begins, “Be strong and courageous.” She prayed for Jerusalem and for “all the children of Abraham.”

But as Levy spoke, the wall of giant screens behind her projected images of American flags flying next to Christian crosses and churches.

The scene was similar later that evening, when what appeared to be the same images flashed behind Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, a National Committeewoman of the Republican National Committee for California, as she led the assembly in prayer. She, too, lauded Trump and thanked God for protecting him from harm, but hers was a Sikh prayer, during which she also thanked God for “creating America as a unique haven on this earth, where all people are free to worship according to their faith.”

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The awkward visual contrast encapsulated the sometimes fragile alliance the modern Republican Party hopes to assemble this election cycle, when forms of Christian nationalism are ascendant in the GOP even as it is also seeking to widen its tent and rally more voices — and votes — around Trump.

Leora Levy, of Connecticut, prays at the Republican National Convention, Monday, July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wis. (Video screen grab)

Leora Levy, of Connecticut, prays at the Republican National Convention, Monday, July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wis. (Video screen grab)

To be sure, explicitly Christian prayers were also in ample supply throughout the evening. Archbishop Elpidophoros, an Greek Orthodox bishop, and Archbishop Jerome Listecki, who oversees the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, both offered broad, more general prayers.

But when politicians invoked the divine — specifically, the Christian God — virtually all of their orisons had the same focus: Trump.

Many suggested God protected Trump from harm during the assassination attempt on his life. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, one of two members of Congress who openly identifies as a Christian nationalist, told the assembly, “I thank God that his hand was on President Trump.”

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When Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina referenced God while celebrating what he framed as Trump’s courage during the attack, he appeared to link Trump’s survival with the belief that the U.S. is a distinctly Christian country.

“If you didn’t believe in miracles before Saturday, you better be believing right now,” said Scott, an evangelical Christian. “Thank God Almighty that we live in a country that still believes in the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, the Alpha and the Omega. Our God — our God — still saves. He still delivers. And he still sets free.”

Have You Come To Know Jesus as Your Savior and Lord and Best Friend?

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The battle for human souls pivots on the issue of Christ’s identity. He’s the watershed, the dividing line between Hell and Heaven. Jesus made that clear when He asked His disciples about His divinity: “‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ ” (Matthew 16:15).

That question is the most important one we will ever answer. Our own eternity hangs in the balance. Who do you say Jesus is? Who do you believe, in your mind and deep in your heart, that He really is? Every person must give an answer—and whether our answer is right could not be more consequential.

When Peter identified Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus said to him, “ ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven’” (Matthew 16:17 TJB). Happy is the person who recognizes the real Jesus! It was true of His disciples then, and it’s true of us now.

I was asked what I would say to someone who has not yet made the decision to follow Jesus. Here was my answer:

Biblical Christianity is fundamentally not simply a religion about Christ, but a relationship with Christ. If we get it right about Jesus, we can afford to get some minor things wrong. But if we get it wrong about Jesus, it won’t matter in the end what else we get right.

The Bible reveals that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, in a supreme act of love became a man to deliver us from sin and suffering (John 3:16). Jesus lived a sinless life (Hebrews 2:17-184:15-16). He died to pay the penalty for our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21). On the cross, He took upon Himself the Hell we do deserve in order to purchase for us the Heaven we don’t deserve. At His death He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), using the Greek word for canceling certificates of debt—meaning “paid in full.” Jesus then rose from the grave, defeating sin and conquering death (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 54-57).

Christ offers freely the gift of forgiveness and eternal life: “Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17).

Besides knowing His name, have you come to know Jesus as your Savior and Lord and best friend? “Come and see what God has done,” the psalmist says, “his awesome deeds for mankind!” (Psalm 66:5). “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).

Scripture gives us many invitations to come to God and personally experience Him. Open the Bible and learn about Jesus. Set aside all other arguments and study the person of Christ. Read of His life in the Gospels, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Listen to His words. Ask yourself who He is and whether you could believe in Him. If you hold Him at a distance, you will never see Him for who He is. Philip simply invited his friend Nathanael to “come and see” Jesus (John 1:45-46).

Have you come? Have you seen Him? If not, brace yourself. Because once you see Jesus—I mean see Him as He really is—you, your worldview, goals, affections, and everything will change. I am one of countless people whose life Jesus has radically changed. I don’t mean simply that the teachings of Jesus have changed me; I mean that Jesus Himself, the real and living Jesus, came into my life as a teenager and, over fifty years later, continues to transform me!

This article originally appeared here and is used by permission. 

7 Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry

communicating with the unchurched

The seven deadly sins is a familiar idea. And originally, the seven sins referred to were actual sins and supposedly unforgivable. So are there seven deadly sins of small group ministry? And are they unforgivable?

I believe there are at least seven deadly sins of small group ministry. I also believe they are forgivable, but there is a consequence. In this case the consequences almost always affect unconnected people, group leaders and group members.

Here are the Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry

Allowing the Senior Pastor to delegate the champion role (to the small group pastor).

While one of the seven deadliest may not seem worse than another, this is an especially egregious sin.

Small group ministries have the greatest potential to thrive when the senior pastor owns the champion role. When the senior pastor delegates or deflects the role to anyone else, maintaining the status quo feels like progress.

Small group pastor not sharing the care and development load.

Another especially egregious sin, holding onto the role of caring for and developing group leaders leads to inadequate care and nonexistent development.

Jethro’s admonishment to Moses (Exodus 18) offers a clear example and pattern for developing healthy span of care. As the number of groups and leaders grow, small group pastors must focus sufficient time and energy on identifying, recruiting and developing leaders of leaders (coaches). When this doesn’t become a high priority small group ministries remain stuck and growth in the number of leaders and groups is limited.

Paying too much attention to the needs and interests of existing group leaders and members.

The two most recognizable indications of this sin are (a) when excess attention is paid to the curriculum and topic interests of “mature” believers and, (b) when requests for replacement members become expected and commonplace.

Healthy small group ministries train leaders and members to “fish for themselves” and learn to invite potential members to join the group. Curriculum and topic interests take a backseat when necessary to the needs and interests of unconnected people.

Not prioritizing the launch of new groups.

This sin is most common when groups are emphasized annually (i.e., “our fall groups launch”) and take a backseat the rest of the year. It’s also prevalent when the small group model emphasizes the maintenance of existing groups.

5 Keys to Intimacy With God and Others

communicating with the unchurched

Intimacy with God isn’t just a nice idea. It’s not icing on the cake. Humans are made for intimacy with God — and others. It’s deeply knit into the fiber of who we are. But so often, it seems like a mystery and something that either happens or doesn’t. But what are some of the components of intimacy, and how do we cultivate it?

5 Keys to Intimacy With God and Others

1. Time Spent

The book of Mark talks about Jesus’ intentional pursuit of intimacy through time spent.

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

It’s in these intimate moments that we come to discover who we are and what our purpose is. The next verses of this story speak of Simon coming to get Jesus to talk to the crowds who have gathered to hear him. But Jesus says “no” and that there are other plans for the day. Jesus wasn’t distracted by the lure of fame or the expectations of his friends and these strangers. In this time spent with God, Jesus increased in wisdom and a deeper understanding of his purpose.

In time spent together, we become like one another.

I remember watching Curb Your Enthusiasm for the first time. Larry David, the main character, has a set of rules by which he lives his life, and he spends much of his time attempting to conform others to his rules. It’s funny. But one word that can accurately describe Larry is “obnoxious.” The thing is, I have some Larry David tendencies, and I was noticing that I was being a little louder than usual about my opinions and expectations as I watched the show.

The simple fact is this … we become like those we spend our time with. Time spent is a key factor to deepening relationships—both with God and with others.

2. Stirred Affections

Sometimes, we have a tendency to downplay our emotional engagement with God. I’ve heard people at many times dismiss a time of worship or a group of people because “Oh, they’re just too emotional.”

But we see powerful and stirring moments in the lives of the people of the Bible all the time. Moments that surely affected their emotions. Moses encountering God in the form of a not-burning bush. Later encountering his glory as it passed by. Jacob wrestling with God and changing his name to Israel. Saul encountering Jesus on a road, being blinded and being healed again. I can’t imagine any of these moments being discounted as “simply emotional experiences.”

The reality is that emotional engagement is key to any healthy relationship.

The same is true for our relationship with God. Just look at Psalms and we begin to see the value of stirred affections as we see the psalmist compose.

3. Openness and Vulnerability

Recently, I heard a pastor talk about the fact that we often discuss “knowing God,” but we rarely discuss “letting God know us.” But something powerful happens to our intimacy when we allow someone to see the depths of who we are. Sure, God could technically rip open our chest and force us to bear our lives to him. But what kind of intimacy is that?

In Matthew 7:22-23, Jesus says,

Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

These people “knew” God to the point that they could do immensely powerful things in His name. But, they didn’t allow God to know them. “I never knew you.” The thing is,

In openness and vulnerability, we rely on one another.

How to Defeat Your Distractions

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Distraction is not defeated in a few fell blows, but by many small, habitual ones. Therefore, I will not promise to provide you in a thousand words a magical sword that can slay the Dread Dragon Distraction in three or four simple hacks. I have discovered no such sword and do not believe one exists. But you can defeat your distractions.

How to Defeat Your Distractions

What makes me any authority on how to defeat your distractions in the first place? Not my expertise in focus, but my expertise in being distracted. If my observations and self-assessments are accurate, I’m on the “above average” side of the distractible spectrum. I know this struggle from the inside and fight it daily.

Expecting to fight it daily is a necessary mindset if the fight is to be won. Distraction is not a simple foe; it must be fought on numerous fronts. Victory is achieved not by one glorious coup d’état of resolve, but by the slow insurgency of developing distraction-reducing habits.

The Speed of God

However, this likely requires an expectation recalibration on our part. We children of the high-tech/information age, and grandchildren of the manufacturing and industrial ages, find it increasingly hard to appreciate the speed of God. We have learned to value efficiencies in quickness, quantity and cost. Produce something desirable fast, scalable and cheap, and the outcome will be success. We’ve also learned to value disposability and devalue durability.

But when God builds things, he often takes a long time (at least from our perspective) to do it. And what he builds, he builds to endure. Consider how he designed us. We require roughly nine months from conception to the point where we can survive outside the womb. Then we require roughly two additional decades before we acquire sufficient developmental maturity, knowledge and skills to live independently from our parents.

And how are our developmental maturity, knowledge and skills acquired during those two decades? Through rigorous repetition. Muscle and information memory are developed and sustained through the arduous process of daily, habitual practice.

The Slow, Everyday Miracle

Now, we know that God at times employs miraculous power to bring about instantaneous change in people’s lives. Deliverances and gifts of healings are very real aspects of the kingdom of God in this age. The Bible even commands us to earnestly desire them and seek them (1 Corinthians 12:31). I believe if we desired them and sought them more, they would occur more often.

Pastors, Trust in the Providence of God

providence of God
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Pastor, are you trusting in the providence of God in your life and ministry? Providence is God’s guidance and protection in our lives and ministries.

Pastors teach about God’s providence to His people regularly. With a deep belief and conviction, we counsel people about God’s guidance and protection through life. Yet, when it comes to our own lives and ministries, do we believe it with the same level of conviction and operate our lives and ministries accordingly? God will guide and protect you in your life and ministry.

I Have Struggled With God’s Providence. Have You?

There have been many times I have struggled with understanding God’s work in my own life and ministry. I have even wondered why certain doors have closed when I thought they would be open.

Conversely, I have often been overwhelmed with God’s gracious blessing, opening doors for me that I know I do not deserve. God always knows what is best for me. Therefore, He protects me from things I may think are best, but in reality, God knows they are not best for me. Thank you, Lord, for loving me and protecting me.

Are You Trusting in God’s Sovereign Will?

God also desires to work through us. People, places, provisions and experiences are all under His guidance and care. When He desires to intersect them into your life, you will see His sovereign will fulfilled.

By faith we trust in God’s sovereign will. We join Him in all He is doing. As He invites us to join Him, trust Him. He is worthy to be trusted.

How Do We Trust in the Providence of God in Ministry?

1. Trust in God’s providence even when things are not going well.

There is nothing easy about ministry. It is not an easy calling in life. Most pastors I know are continually under scrutiny. Pastors are weary from constant criticism and cutting cynicism. Many pastors have questions about their future, and at times sense their ministry is in jeopardy. They are hoping and praying for revival in the church or deliverance from the church.

Pastor, God has not forgotten you. He is with you. He wants to teach you.

I will never forget one of the most challenging times I ever faced in ministry. Through that experience, God showed me that He had me in that particular place in life to teach me. God had me there for me more than for the church! This overwhelmed me with conviction from the Spirit of God. I learned through that experience, and many times since, that He guides, protects and provides even when things are not going well. Trust in God’s sovereign will for your life and ministry.

2. Trust in His providence even when you may not want to.

So many times in life, we want to take our life and ministry in our own hands. We want to manipulate the circumstances or spin our own reality. If we want to be honest with one another, there are times when we struggle with anger about what we are experiencing and even with where we may be serving. In the ministry, jealousy can even override our judgment because others are receiving recognition that we believe we are more worthy to receive.

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