How To Leave Your Church Well

June 26, 2024

My final message as pastor at Cross Church became a love letter to this beloved church. Because I love this church I reflected on something every pastor should consider: how to leave your church well. Playing off of Paul’s example in Acts 20 when he met the leaders of his beloved church at Ephesus on the shores of the Mediterranean and gave them one final word of encouragement, I wanted to leave Cross Church with one final word based on “things I have learned in my time at Cross Church.” In reality the list is LONG. But I gave them the short list:

God can use anybody.
If you deepen your walk, God will broaden your ministry.
The church is God’s number one instrument to change the world.
Relationships are the secret to life.
We have to fight for the Bible.
The Gospel story must constantly be retold.
Jesus changes the conversation.

(Those are just the highlights and the whole message can be heard here.)

How to Leave Your Church Well

I’ve seen staff pastors come and go across many years of ministry. I’ve seen staff leave well and I’ve seen staff leave poorly. (And let me say that there is definitely a “right” way on how to leave your church well.) In my case, I was determined from the beginning, before I even knew for certain that I would be leaving, that I was going to leave well.

I told my senior pastor when another church had reached out to me.

Let me caveat that churches have periodically reached out to me and I did not take every one of those to my pastor. That’s an unfair burden he does not need, especially when I know that there’s a 99.9 percent chance it will come to nothing. But Grace coming toward me was different on multiple levels and my pastor deserved to know. I told Pastor Floyd that I would only come back to him should Grace Church decide that I was their one and only candidate. He did not need the added burden of “updates.” What he DID need was to know I was focused on Cross Church.

I prayed about it, and then shelved it.

I did not live with eyes for another ministry. I was happy where I was planted with MUCH to do in ministry. I knew Grace Church might go another direction, and that God was ultimately in control, so there was really nothing more for me to do.

I coordinated between the two churches

The moment Grace Church confirmed that God had singled me out as their one and only candidate, I went back to Pastor Floyd and shared honestly my heart that this was something we felt we needed to search out and see if God was in it for us. This involved a site visit to the church and to the city of Knoxville.

After the visit, the invitation was on the table for me to say yes, or no, to go in view of a call to be the next senior pastor of Grace. My wife and I determined to take one week to pray matters through and to then say yes or no. I met with Pastor Floyd immediately after the visit and shared my heart and plan. I was NOT going to leave him or Cross Church hanging.

Once we said yes, I worked with my pastor and with Grace Church to work a common timeline so as to protect and benefit both churches. On the Cross Church side, I let my pastor steer the ship on when and how he wanted to communicate matters to the church.

In ALL of this, I lifted high publicly and privately my church and my pastor.

I believe that in doing all of this, it allowed the church, my church, to send me off well and to bless me and my family as we move on to our new place of ministry. I will never forget the moving moment when Pastor Floyd prayed over and blessed us and commissioned us for our sending to Grace this past Sunday after I preached.

My friends, ministry is a small world. My best word: Don’t ever burn a bridge. Give careful thought on how leave your church well. You never know when you might want to cross it again.

16 Things People Never See About the Role of a Pastor

Ron Edmondson

June 26, 2024

People often wonder about the role of a pastor.

What is it you have to do when you’re not preaching?
Must be nice to only work one day a week.
I’d like to come see you this afternoon. Since it’s not Sunday I’m assuming you’re free.

Believe it or not, I’ve heard all of those. Most are simple misunderstandings. Sometimes people are just trying to be funny. I must admit. It’s not always funny—not laugh out loud funny at least, because the jokes have grown stale by now. They are still new to someone, I suppose.

But, especially when it’s said as an indictment that pastors have it “easy” it can even hurt. That’s probably true even more for my pastor friends in smaller churches where they carry the weight of multiple staff positions.

What is the role of a pastor when he’s not preaching?

That is a valid question. This is not meant to seem as a complaining post, but an informational post. You only know what you know. I don’t know what the doctor does when not seeing patients, or all the things that a teacher does when not in the classroom. Every job has its own responsibilities that are [not] clearly known until you do the job.

The answer for pastors is—lots of things. Lots. A day is seldom the same.

The pastor wears many hats. The role of a pastor includes some activities you might not even be aware.

The Role of a Pastor: 16 Little Activities

1. Counselor

All pastors do some counseling. Many pastors—I might add, most pastors—are not qualified to do extensive counseling. They can’t commit the required time, nor do they have the expertise. Still, some counseling is a part of nearly every pastor job.

2. Career coach.

One of the most frequent requests for my ministry help has to do with people’s career steps—from school to employment. And I’ve heard similar from other pastors. Because work—or lack of work—greatly impacts a person’s life, it is a huge part of the pastor’s life. In fact, I keep a file of people in our church who are looking for work or looking for someone to hire.

God’s Promises Give Us Everything We Need

Ray Hollenbach

June 26, 2024

My daughter still believes in the sanctity of the pinky-swear, in which we lock our fingers in solemn promise. I don’t blame her: Most promises need some kind of reinforcement. Promises are not very good currency these days. In nearly every area of life, promises, it seems, really were made to be broken. In business, politics, marriage, and the innocence of childhood, the promises we hear (and the promises we speak) are not worth the paper they’re written on. In modern life, we have trained ourselves to discount promises as nothing more that echoes in the wind. The one great exception is when it comes to God’s promises.

That’s why the passage below is so arresting. Apparently there is Someone capable of keeping promises, and more than that, these promises are capable of lifting us into eternity. See if you can catch what Peter says about God’s promises, and what they can do:

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” (2 Peter 1:3-4)

God’s Promises Help Us Share His Divine Nature

Did you take note of that? I don’t even know what the phrase means, “participate in the divine nature,” but whatever it means, it’s got to be good! Note, too, the strange connection: God makes promises to us, and his promises lift us up to participate in his nature.

Have you ever taken a personal inventory of God’s promises? My personal inventory includes two kinds of promises from God: those I find in the Scripture and those he has spoken to me directly. Let’s look at both.

From Genesis to Revelation, the Scripture is filled with promise. The Creator stakes his relationships and reputation on his promises. The Bible teaches that through his promises nature is protected, families pack up and move, nations are birthed. All because of God’s promises. Throughout the Scripture, our Lord promises his presence, sends his Spirit, and etches each of our names forever in the white stone of eternity. Through his promises, each child of God is born into a family older than any nobility, wealthier than a Bezos or a Buffett.

God’s promises are written plain for us all in the Scripture, so why should we be ignorant of our heritage? No list written here can do justice to the bounty of his promises: his goodness and mercy endures forever; that same mercy triumphs over judgment; it’s his good pleasure to give us the Kingdom; he will never leave us or forsake us. Seriously, how could any follower of Jesus get through life without such treasures? And this list is the merest start.

“But these are at-large Bible promises,” you protest. “They are generalizations, abstractions meant to describe the Almighty, little more than church words spoken into the air as comfort from a distant God.”

The second aspect of God’s promises is that his words are not confined to the inspired Scripture; he speaks to you and me, personally. What has saved me from ignoring all of God’s promises are the times his Spirit has visited me up close and whispered promises so intimate and specific they could only be meant for me.

What personal promises have you received from God? The same One who created you, body-and-soul in the secret place of your mother’s womb, has spoken promises to you—just to you. Have you heard them? It’s vital that each one of us hears his voice and discover his promises to us.

Finally, the reason they are promises (and not prophesies) is because a promise is an invitation. He invites us into deeper trust and relationship with each promise. What we hear and how we respond shape our spiritual formation. He uses his promises to transform us into his likeness.

I’m finished, but before you go, consider:

Can I hear God’s promises?
Will I remember God’s promises?
How can I live into God’s promises?

This article on God’s promises originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Youth Ministry Network: 11 Keys for a Youth Leader Support System

Mike De Vito

June 25, 2024

A youth ministry network is an often-overlooked but essential part of youth ministry. Learn 11 tips for building and growing a youth worker support system in your area.

“Build it, and they will come.” That may be a great movie tagline. But it doesn’t necessarily work for building a healthy youth ministry network in your community.

For a youth ministry network to grow, it’s not enough to just open our doors once a month. We can’t just invite a bunch of youth workers, set up chairs, and expect more excellent ministry to youth. We must give leaders a good reason to come share their lives and ministries, becoming part of a community-wide vision.

I’m confident we can strategically plan meetings that interest youth workers and have a greater impact on them and, ultimately, on students. Networking meetings must provide a safe place for youth workers to develop friendships built on trust.

You need to plan ministry networking meetings built on prayer, relationships, creative resourcing, and strategic planning. Follow these guidelines.

Youth Ministry Network: 11 Meeting Tips

Here’s how to start:

Ground Rules

First, networking meetings must begin and end on time.

2. Location, location, location!

This is crucial. Meeting in restaurants is usually distracting. Moving from church to church also can be challenging. Finding one location and staying there for six months seems to work best.

3. Assess the atmosphere.

This is really important. Leaders must be ready when youth workers arrive! Greet them and make them feel welcomed. Do signs give direction to the location of the meeting?

4. Is the room arranged to optimize communication?

For example, round tables facilitate better discussion and prayer.

5. Is a display table set up to share resources?

6. It’s possible to provide a free meal for every meeting.

Ask someone to donate the meals, or have different churches provide funds for food. Then youth workers can go straight to the meeting, knowing that a meal will be available.

7. Finally, remember name tags. (Permanent ones you can later collect are best.)

Content

Allow minimal time for announcements about events people are sponsoring.

This has become a sore spot for plenty of youth ministry networks. Provide a resource table, if possible.

2. Ask the group what topics they’ll find most helpful and who they suggest for speakers.

If you provide other creative program ideas, you’ll need only five to six speakers.

3. Provide creative ideas.

These include a panel discussion with youth workers’ spouses, student panels, senior pastor panels, and times of prayer and sharing.

4. Next, have some fun!

Local amusement facilities love to host youth workers. They want to show off their facilities and frequently will provide a meal.

Actor Kevin Costner, Who Grew Up Baptist, Says ‘Church Has Always Been a Part of My Life’

Jesse T. Jackson

June 25, 2024

Kevin Coster — Screengrab via YouTube @The Christian Post

Two-time Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Costner shared recently that church and faith have always been a part of his life.

Costner’s comments came during an interview for his upcoming film “Horizon: An American Saga.” The film is scheduled to be released on June 28.

Costner not only stars in the film but also co-wrote the screenplay and directed it. “Horizon: An American Saga” is a four-part film that Costner has been working on since the 1980s. It tells the story of the Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West.

While discussing his reasoning for including Scripture throughout the film, Costner told The Christian Post’s Leah MarieAnn Klett that “faith is what guided people out there to the unknown.”

“They just leaned on it,” he said. “There was this promise but, you know, the promise was not enough. You had to go on faith, and people brought their religion with them [as they headed out] west.”

Costner explained that growing up going to church impacted him deeply. “I grew up a Baptist, and church has always been a part of my life, my grandmother, the whole thing, so I don’t mind it bleeding into a movie,” he said.

“I don’t force it in,” Costner told Klett.

“But when I think about why people went west, when they said goodbye to people back east—they never saw them again—there was some kind of trust that people needed to lean on,” he continued, “because they were often times in situations where they didn’t even know what they were doing.”

Boxing Legend Roy Jones Jr. Shares Son Died by Suicide, Thanks God for Final Night With Him

Jessica Mouser

June 25, 2024

Boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. revealed on Monday, June 24, that his son, DeAndre, had died by suicide. Jones expressed gratitude toward God for the final hours he had with his son and encouraged people that, despite how difficult life might be, nothing is worth ending it.

“Unfortunately, my son DeAndre took his life on Saturday,” said Jones in a social media post Monday afternoon. “I’m so thankful that God allowed me to come Friday night to spend the last night of his life with me and the family.”

“I know a lot of people are going through tough times right now, but nothing is worth taking your own life,” he continued. “God gives it and God should be the one to take it away.”

pic.twitter.com/cMuahnWp6A

— Roy Jones Jr. (@RealRoyJonesJr) June 24, 2024

Roy Jones Jr. Asks for Privacy

Roy Jones Jr., 55, was born on Jan. 16, 1969. He has won world titles in four different weight divisions and became the second light heavyweight boxer in history to win a heavyweight title, as well as the first middleweight champion in 106 years to do so. Jones has a record of 66-10, which includes 47 knockouts.

Before turning pro in 1989, Jones represented the United States in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, where he won a silver medal. The award was the result of a highly controversial decision from the judges, and many agree that Jones should have won gold.

For a period of time in the 1990s, Jones was “widely considered the best boxer of his generation,” according to Brittanica, which notes that Jones “was quickly recognized as a unique talent—an extremely skillful boxer with great speed, exceptionally quick reflexes, and the ability to put his punches together in seamless combinations.” He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2022. Jones is also a rap artist and has appeared in various TV shows and films.

Roy Jones Jr. is married to Natlyn, and together they have three children: Roy Jones III and DeShaun and DeAndre, who were twins. DeAndre was 32 at the time of his passing. Jones concluded his post, “Please respect our privacy while my family and I process this loss. Thank you for the love and support.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal ideation, call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.

Douglas Wilson Argues That Giving Women the Right To Vote Is the Result of ‘Men Becoming Spiritual Eunuchs’

Dale Chamberlain

June 25, 2024

Pastor Douglas Wilson of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, made waves online after arguing against women’s right to vote in a video last week.

In the video, Wilson seemed to frame the ratification of the 19th Amendment as a repudiation of the institution of the family and a man’s duty to represent his family in the public sphere.

Wilson has long been a controversial figure—both inside and outside the evangelical movement—for his charitable views of Christian nationalism and American chattel slavery, how his church has handled allegations of sexual abuse, and his methods for engaging culture, referred to by some as the “Moscow mood.”

“The problem can be called by many names,” Wilson said at the beginning of the video. “The men of our generation have had a failure of nerve. They have abdicated their responsibilities, and we are consequently in the midst of a crisis of leadership.”

“Men have fallen, to use the biblical term, into the sin of unbelief,” Wilson added. Wilson said that men have not kept God’s covenant and thus “have no way of comprehending the cultural chaos, which surrounds us.”

Wilson went on to argue that “God always deals with men by way of covenant.”

“These covenants are a solemn bond, sovereignly administered with attendant blessings and curses,” Wilson said before highlighting the covenants God made with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David in the Hebrew Scriptures.

“[These covenants] are all part of the one great, unfolding covenant of grace, which finds its final, great fulfillment in the passion and work of the Lord Jesus Christ,” Wilson said. He then argued that humanity is fundamentally oriented to operate by means of covenants—particularly the covenant of marriage, the “institution of the church,” and the “civil order.”

Wilson said that these institutions have been established “by the hand of God” and that “the covenanted institutions of church and civil society are made up of covenanted family units.” He further argued that families “constitute a molecular strength in the makeup” of the institutions of church and civil government.

“Because of the crisis of masculinity in the home, that representation is not being offered by our households, and if it were being offered, it would be received by our civil order only with laughter and by an ignorant theological indignation in our churches,” Wilson said. “In short, we all, from top to bottom, are in high rebellion against God’s design for family and culture.”

Conservative Prelate Warns That Excommunicating Viganò Will Lead to Further Division

Claire Giangrave

June 25, 2024

Carlo Maria Viganò — Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, left, and Bishop Athanasius Schneider, right. (Left: AP Photo/Patrick Semansky; Right: video screen grab)

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — An outspoken critic of Pope Francis, the Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Astana, Kazakhstan, said that while Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s public opposition of the pope “is irreverent and disrespectful,” the Vatican should think twice before excommunicating him.

“I think the pope would be wise and prudent if he were to not excommunicate Archbishop Viganò,” Schneider told Religion News Service in an interview on Monday (June 24), adding that, “with this act, the Holy See will increase divisions even more.”

The Vatican Department for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly known as the Vatican’s Inquisition, summoned Viganò to trial on June 28 under charges of schism, which can incur the penalty of excommunication. Viganò wrote in a public statement that he has no intention of attending the “fake trial” and doubled down on his criticism of the pope and the Vatican.

Schneider said Vatican officials should invite Viganò privately, and not in a judicial setting, to smooth over differences. “I lament that Archbishop Viganò uses disrespectful language,” he said, adding that “it’s not edifying or helpful to anyone.”

Viganò, who was papal nuncio to the United States, rose to fame in 2018 when he published a lengthy letter accusing Pope Francis of covering up reports of sexual abuse of minors by the influential U.S. ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick. In the letter he asked the pope to resign from his position.

In the following years, Viganò’s positions became increasingly radical, criticizing the Second Vatican Council, condemning the COVID-19 vaccines and praising Russian President Vladimir Putin as the savior of Christianity.

The archbishop also claimed Pope Francis’ election was illegitimate, leading many conservative prelates to distance themselves from Viganò.

“He is in error, because he is voicing a new theory of the probably invalid theory of Francis’ illegitimate election,” Schneider said, adding that Viganò’s positions have “no foundation.” Schneider also claimed to have asked Viganò, who has been living in hiding since he published his public statement in 2018, to avoid using disrespectful language concerning the pope.

Regardless, the Kazakh bishop believes Viganò should not be excommunicated. “I think that today the church has so much internal division that it would be imprudent, even if there is some canonical ground to judge Archbishop Viganò.”

Schneider is the latest among a number of conservative papal critics who have disassociated themselves from the fiery archbishop. Conservative Italian pundits welcomed the pope’s decision to finally take action on Viganò, while the traditionalist Society of Pius X, founded in 1970 by the schismatic Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, stated that they do not support Viganò’s claims that Francis’ election was illegitimate.

An ethnic German raised in Kazakhstan under the Soviet Union, Schneider emigrated to Germany with his family to escape the communist repression of Catholicism. He has criticized Pope Francis’ limitations on the Latin Mass and his decision to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion. When Pope Francis prayed with Indigenous people at the Vatican gardens during the 2019 summit of bishops on the Amazon region, Schneider said it constituted “implicit pantheism.”

He has also criticized the pope’s ecumenical and inter-religious efforts to foster dialogue, claiming they undermined the “one true religion.” His diocese was the first to reject the application of the 2023 Vatican declaration “Fiducia Supplicans,” allowing priests to bless same-sex and irregular couples.

Anglican Church in North America Elects Steve Wood as Archbishop

Chloë-Arizona Fodor

June 25, 2024

(RNS) — On Saturday, June 22, The Rt. Rev. Steve Wood of St. Andrews Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, was elected the next archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America.

The election results came after ACNA’s College of Bishops met in a conclave from June 20-22 in the St. Vincent Basilica’s crypt at St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. As ACNA’s third elected archbishop, Wood will replace exiting archbishop The Most Rev. Foley Beach, who has held the position since his election by the college in 2014.

ACNA is a theologically conservative denomination formed in 2009 after a split from the Episcopal Church and Anglican Church of Canada over the latter two’s acceptance of LGBTQ+ clergy and marriage for same-sex couples. Since its founding in 2009, ACNA has grown to more than 128,000 members in over 1,000 congregations.

Wood’s leadership at St. Andrews, and as the first bishop in the Diocese of the Carolinas, grew the church to a membership of more than 3,000 and saw the establishment of new churches in Goose Creek, downtown Charleston, and the Park Circle area of North Charleston. Adam Parker, of Post & Courier, described it as “one of the Lowcountry’s biggest church success stories.”

As Beach’s second term as archbishop comes to a close, Wood will assume authority on June 28, at the closing Eucharist of the assembly. Beach commented positively after the election, saying, “Bishop Wood is an incredible leader and the ACNA is going to be blessed in this next season of our life together.”

According to the Rev. Canon Andrew Gross, spokesperson for ACNA, the transfer will officially occur during the “Transfer of Spiritual Authority,” a moment when the previous archbishop hands the Provincial Cross to the new archbishop. After the transfer of authority, Beach plans to take a sabbatical before continuing his work in the denomination as bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the South.

Wood expressed surprise at the election result. “Who expects to be elected the archbishop of the Province? It is overwhelming, humbling, and I am in need of God’s grace and mercy,” Wood said in a press release from ACNA.

Wood was chosen from a pool of around 28 bishops. To be eligible for election, one must be a “bishop with jurisdiction,” meaning the lead bishop of a diocese — a group of regional Anglican parishes. Wood will go on to serve a five-year term, with the potential of reelection and a second term.

With ongoing controversies around women’s ordination and clergy misconduct, some observers are wondering how Wood will steer the church. Commenters online, some of whom claim to be members of Wood’s home diocese, say they don’t expect his election to signal significant changes, calling him “centrist” and “moderate.”

Marissa Burt, an ACNA layperson and clergy spouse in the Seattle area, told RNS that she doesn’t believe the new archbishop’s personal stances will change the diocese’s stance. “In the ACNA constitution, due integrity means that it is up to each diocese to decide whether they will ordain women … not the archbishop.”

Burt added that some in the more traditionalist corners of ACNA were “hoping for a shift” with the new archbishop and may be disappointed. On the whole, however, she was optimistic. “Yes, there will be people with thoughts in every direction,” she said. “But the sense is that the Province (the denomination) as a whole is going to be happy with the election, that they will be pleased. I think that this choice probably represents the majority energy and direction of the Province.”

This article originally appeared here.

What You Read Builds Who You Are

Randy Alcorn

June 25, 2024

In God’s common grace, He shares insights even with those who don’t know or trust Him. For example, Oscar Wilde was not a good role model (to say the least). But he spoke these amazingly true words that I have seen confirmed in my life, and Nanci’s, and in the lives of many others: “It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.”

Sending Our Roots Deep

Every morning during her cancer battle, Nanci read Scripture, Spurgeon, The Valley of Vision (a book of Puritan prayers), Paul Tripp’s New Morning Mercies, and books by J. I. Packer, A. W. Tozer, and John Piper. She placed herself by the stream of God’s Word and great books, and she sent her roots deep by contemplating His holiness, grace, justice, mercy, and every facet of His being revealed in Scripture. As we discussed what we were learning and prayed together, I saw in her a profound “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” that “will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

Isn’t there room in life for movies and TV and kicking back and enjoying a lightweight novel? Sure, I enjoy these things myself, and Nanci and I certainly had fun watching movies together (while exercising wisdom about what to watch, and using VidAngel to filter out what’s objectionable). But I believe in an era dominated by superficial popular culture, there’s real value in expanding our thinking to God’s glory, and not just going broad but going deep. Deep is where the roots are, and they’re what keeps the tree or vine standing during storms that would otherwise erode and topple it. Likewise, deeply rooted beliefs—specifically a worldview grounded in Scripture—will allow us to persevere and hold on to a faith built on the solid rock of God’s truth.

What We Read Matters

Jon Bloom writes, “What you read will shape you. It will shape not only what you think, but how you think. Your life is short. You can only read a relatively small amount in the time you have.”

Bad books are poor companions; good books are great friends. The fact is, we will inevitably adopt the morality of the books we read (as well as the magazines, music, Internet sites, and conversations we consume). GIGO—garbage in, garbage out; or godliness in, godliness out. We become what we choose to feed our minds on:

Sow a thought, reap an action;

Sow an action, reap a habit.

Sow a habit, reap a character.

Sow a character, reap a destiny.

“Above all else, guard your heart [mind, inner being], for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). If someone wants to pollute water, he pollutes it at its source. If he wants to purify water, he purifies it at its source. Our thoughts are the source of our lives. All our lives flow from our mind, and through the choices we make every day we program our minds, either for godliness or ungodliness. Suffering will come; we owe it to God, ourselves, and those around us to prepare well for it.

As part of my research for my book If God Is Good, I interviewed and exchanged correspondence with many people who shared their stories and perspectives. One of those people was Darrell Scott, whose daughter Rachel Joy Scott was the first person killed at Columbine High School in the 1999 shooting.

When Darrell looked back at his daughter’s murder, he said that years before, God had prepared him. He’d read Norman Grubb’s writings about the eye of faith that allows us to see through our worst circumstances to God’s purpose.

5 Differences Between a Critical Mind and a Critical Spirit

Eric Geiger

June 25, 2024

There is a massive difference between a critical mind and a critical spirit. The former builds up; the latter tears down. Having a critical mind is a terrific thing. It results in healthy self-reflection, learning, and evaluating the why beneath everything one does. Having a critical spirit is a terrible thing. It results in pushing people away, mistrusting everything and everyone, and constantly looking for things to be broken instead of rejoicing in the good things the Lord has done and is doing. Here are five differences between a critical mind and a critical spirit:

1. A critical mind is filled with humility; a critical spirit is filled with hubris.

It takes a humble posture to have a critical mind, a posture that does not assume you have all the answers and is willing to reflect on issues through the lens of the wisdom and experience of others. A critical spirit is filled with pride and wrongly assumes that people who do not hold the same views as you on every single issue are idiots.

2. A critical mind is inquisitive; a critical spirit is indifferent.

A critical mind is curious and inquisitive, always seeking to understand how the truth can be applied and communicated. Having a critical mind does not mean a person changes or compromises his or her view on an important issue or views Truth as relative, but it does mean that one continually evaluates how to place the truth in an ever-changing context. A critical spirit is indifferent to people and context.

3. A critical mind can unite; a critical spirit only divides.

A critical mind can unite people as people gather and discuss important topics with the intent of learning and growing. I am not naively suggesting that a group of people with critical minds will always walks out of the room unified. A critical mind does not guarantee unity but a critical spirit guarantees disunity. When people with a critical spirit are united around something, they are typically united around their disdain and their frustration for something they are against. In time, they turn on one another as they only know how to be at war.

4. A critical mind is expressed with gentleness; a critical spirit with anger.

Those with a critical mind often disagree with others, but they express their disagreement with gentleness or they don’t express it all because they have concluded they don’t want to spend their life expressing disagreement with every single thing! Those with critical spirits are always angry and always looking for something to express disagreement towards – and their constant cynicism is expressed in anger.

5. A critical mind is content; a critical spirit is bitter.

People with critical spirits are miserable people. They spew words of misery from a miserable place. A critical mind does not have to be proven right every time because their identity is not bound to being right before people. They are content because Christ has made them right before God, therefore they don’t live with angst to prove themselves right on every issue.

God, deliver us from a critical spirit and help us to possess a critical mind.

This article originally appeared here.

Is Facebook Discipling Your Church Members?

Jason Thacker

June 25, 2024

Over the last few weeks, there have been a number of concerning reports about how social media—Facebook, in particular—is having extremely negative effects on our society, especially among teenagers. It is even shaping the content that Christians are exposed to on the platform as well. According to a Wall Street Journal investigation, the issues range from certain high-profile accounts being shielded from standard content guidelines to how the company has known that Instagram is toxic for many teenage girls. The Wall Street Journal also reported that in 2018 the company tweaked its content algorithms, which drive our news feeds, in hopes of fostering greater community and user engagement, but the effects were more dangerous than initially thought. The report shows that these changes actually exacerbated tensions and divisions with more inflammatory and objectionable content being highlighted for users, yet leadership failed to act.

On top of these reports from the Wall Street Journal, which were gleaned from various internal research reports, online employee discussions, and draft presentations to senior management, MIT Technology Review recently showed that troll farms had reached over 140 million users on Facebook before the 2020 election. A troll farm is an organized group of users (or even bots) who intentionally craft content to exploit division and sow discord in society. Of particular interest to Christians is that these troll farms — often based in Eastern Europe — operated all 15 of the top Christian American pages on Facebook in October 2019. The largest of the Christian pages on the platform reached 75 million U.S. users monthly. Ninety-five percent of that engagement came from users who never chose to follow the pages but were still exposed to the content crafted by these non-Christian groups.

Jeff Allen, a former senior-level data scientist at Facebook who authored the 2019 report in the MIT story, stated, “Our platform has given the largest voice in the Christian American community to a handful of bad actors, who, based on their media production practices, have never been to church.” This means that millions of Christians throughout our society are likely being exposed daily to messages from troll farms, which often design messages for higher engagement, financial gain, and to negatively alter one’s outlook on the world rather than point people back to Christ and the gospel.

It is obvious from these reports that Facebook needs to immediately address these concerning ethical issues for the sake of public safety, health, and our public discourse. But another big takeaway is that these issues are not limited to Facebook; rather, they are symptomatic of the larger issues with technology in our society today. In reality, we are often being discipled more by our technologies than we are the Word of God.

More than a tool

One of the most common understandings of technology, especially in Christianity, is that it is simply a tool that we choose to use for good or evil purposes. But others insist that technology is a larger social force that is basically unstoppable in altering society for ill. In his book The Technological Society, French sociologist Jacques Ellul says technology is much more than a simple tool or machine because its purpose is to shape every aspect of our society and culture toward greater efficiency—at any cost. While Ellul didn’t exactly have a hopeful outlook for our technological society, one aspect of his philosophy is prescient in that it pushes us to consider the larger ways that technology shapes our culture and alters our perception of reality.

As technologist and theologian John Dyer puts it in his book From the Garden to the City, “Both [views] have elements of truth to them, but we cannot reduce all discussions about technology in either direction.” He goes on to say, “People are culpable for their choices, but technology still plays a role in influencing the decisions they make.” A Christian philosophy of technology seeks to balance the two prevailing views of technology by providing an active framework of agency and accountability, alongside an expanded view of technology that sees the larger societal effects of these tools.

The Church has long promoted the idea that technology is a tool that can be used for good by God’s people to connect with others, build communities, shape the worldview of our churches, and influence the wider culture as we harness it to proclaim the gospel. At the same time, we must heed the words of theologian and ethicist Jacob Shatzer, who warns in his book Transhumanism and the Image of God that “each tool pushes us toward the goal that the tool is best made for” and that we must be “aware of this, unless we think that our goals in life will always align with the goals that tools were made for.” Amid the good, Christians need to recognize the ways that technology expands our moral horizons by opening up options we never thought possible and allowing our sinful hearts to use these technologies to exploit others, manipulate truth, and stoke division.

What Makes a Great Discussion Question?

Roger Carr

June 25, 2024

What makes a great discussion question? nThe quality of your questions can have a significant impact on the quality of the resulting conversation. There are some general guidelines you can apply to each discussion question. Here are eight guidelines you can start applying today.

A Great Discussion Question Is . . .

1. Open-Ended

Ask a question with a “yes” or “no” answer and that may be all you get. Little discussion means little is learned. Don’t depend on impromptu follow-up questions. Ask a question that will result in a lively conversation right from the start. Use open-ended questions.

2. Understandable

Have you ever been asked a question and didn’t have a clue what was being asked? If it happens to a group, the members will look back and forth at each other in silence (hoping someone knows how to answer the question). These situations happen when we get wordy, lazy or use uncommon words.

Concise questions are less confusing. Jargon and uncommon words may make you appear smart, but is that your primary goal? Don’t get lazy and start reviewing your questions. Read them out loud. Make changes if it reads awkward or can be misinterpreted.

Helmet of Salvation Object Lesson: 10 Armor of God Activities

Stephanie Martin

June 24, 2024

A helmet of salvation object lesson is key to the armor of God. In Ephesians 6:10-18, the apostle Paul describes what Christ’s followers should “put on” to defend against Satan and his evil schemes. Thankfully, God doesn’t leave us to fend for ourselves. Instead, he provides us with all we need to stand strong in faith.

For younger children, learning about the armor of God might seem scary. So use age-appropriate descriptions and activities. Emphasize that God protects us when we trust in him and his power.

Thanks to Paul’s vivid imagery, it’s exciting to teach (and learn) about the helmet of salvation and God’s armor. The Bible passage is essentially an object lesson built into Scripture. So Sunday school teachers have many opportunities to add visuals and illustrations.

To get started, use these helmet of salvation for kids activities.

Helmet of Salvation Object Lesson: 10 Sunday School Activities

These creative ideas are very versatile. Try them for children’s church, small groups, and family devotions.

1. God’s Protective Gear

First, try this kidmin object lesson. It features something children can relate to: protective gear for riding a skateboard. Bonus: For older kids memorizing the Ephesians 6 Bible passage, use this fill-in-the-blank worksheet.

2. God’s Armor: Helmet of Salvation

This lesson plan explains why guarding our thoughts and minds is so important. At the end are questions for small-group discussions, plus a Bible verse challenge.

3. Protect Your Head

Use this brief video to remind kids why the helmet of salvation is so crucial. It’s the last item soldiers put on before heading into battle. Plus, the helmet protects our mind from Satan’s many attacks.

4. Salvation Hats

Play this active game in an open area. It’s a version of Freeze Tag and comes with discussion points for an Armor of God lesson.

5. Nature Walk

When weather permits, use this helmet of salvation nature walk. Teach kids about God’s amazing (and free!) gift.

Youth Group Ideas for Small Churches: Help Your Ministry to Teens Thrive

Jacob Eckeberger

June 24, 2024

Youth group ideas for small churches are always a big need. Discover how to lead an effective small-church ministry to teens.

For three decades, Stephanie Caro has helped youth workers through her books and her work with Ministry Architects. In this YS Idea Lab, the ministry veteran shares some of her best youth group ideas for small churches:

Don’t have time to watch the full interview? Then explore a few key points from the conversation about small-church youth ministry.

Youth Group Ideas for Small Churches: 5 Key Reminders

1. Most churches are small.

First, know that if you’re a small-church youth worker, you’re not alone. In America, 90% of churches have fewer than 299 members. The average youth group in America has seven to eight students.

The good news is that lots of small churches know how to do sustainable youth ministry as a natural part of their DNA. Some of the many benefits of small church youth ministry include:

You can know every teenager’s name.
You can be present on every kid’s turf (school, programs, sporting events, etc.).
Quick, last-minute changes are easier.
You might be able to fit the entire youth group into one church van.
You can integrate student events into the larger church calendar.

2. Focus on doing a few things really well.

Next, realize the temptation of trying to keep up with the programming of larger churches. Unfortunately, you’ll then do things in a fairly mediocre fashion. But if you scale back and focus on a handful of things you can execute well? Then you can deliver a quality event or program despite limited resources.

Russell Brand Invites ‘The Chosen’ Star Jonathan Roumie on His Show

Janna Firestone

June 24, 2024

Screengrab via X (formerly Twitter) / @rustyrockets

Podcaster and new Christian Russell Brand has shared his initial steps of Christianity with his followers through social media. The actor has recently committed to having more “Christian friends” on his podcast, starting with “The Chosen” star Jonathan Roumie.

Russell Brand Interviews Jonathan Roumie on ‘Awakened Wonders’

Brand was recently baptized and has celebrated being “surrendered in Christ.” As Brand continues to learn more about his newfound Christian faith, he hasn’t been shy about sharing his thoughts, questions, and discoveries on his podcast, “Awakened Wonders,” housed on the subscription-based Locals. Brand has discussed atheism, meditation, and random thoughts on culture.

This time, he invited his former coworker and friend, Jonathan Roumie, who stars in “The Chosen” as Jesus Christ.

“It’s an impossible acting job,” Roumie said about playing the role of Jesus on “The Chosen.”

In a previous post, Brand spoke of his past working relationship with Roumie, describing Roumie as “righteous, clearly connected to Christian values.” Brand went on to talk about “‘The Chosen,’ which is a retelling of gospel stories, and as a side note, stars my friend Jonathan as our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But [he] was also my body double when I acted in HBO’s show with The Rock, ‘Ballers.'” Brand concluded, “So, I’m able to say that Jesus was my body double.”

Roumie confirmed the connection and referred to Brand as “my brother from another mother.”

“I was Russell’s body double/stand-in (where an actor basically “stands in” for the main actors while the crew lights and gets the shot ready so that the main actor can spend time doing his work prepping for the scene to be filmed),” Roumie said, “for two seasons on HBO’s ‘Ballers’ as one of the many side-gigs I hustled to pay my bills.”

The two actors clearly connected from the beginning, and Roumie remains friends with “this lyrical lad,” Roumie said, referring to Brand. “Russell, you’re an innovator and a truth-teller, but if you ever wanted to return the favor and be Jesus’ body-double, I gotchu, and it’d make a great story.”

It was only fitting for Brand to choose Roumie as his first guest for a podcast episode focused on Christian topics and values.

“I’ve been a Christian for a little while now, so I think it’s time to have some Christian friends on the show,” said Brand.

Roumie reposted Brand’s link to the interview on X and said, “The interview I’ve been looking forward to…since we last worked together.”

Brand has more than 11 million followers on X, and thousands have interacted with his post. One said, “I love your passion. It’s so inspiring to watch somebody who first discovers their faith and the passion that comes with it. A rebirths brings a new, young, fresh energy.”

https://t.co/A6WA0qXAmC

— Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) June 22, 2024

Supreme Court Denies Josh Duggar’s Appeal in Child Sex Abuse Materials Case

Jessica Mouser

June 24, 2024

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) declined to hear an appeal from Josh Duggar regarding his conviction for receiving child sex abuse materials (CSAM). The nation’s highest court offered no comment on its decision but simply listed Duggar’s case as one in a number of petitions that it denied Monday morning.

Josh Duggar SCOTUS Appeal Denied

Josh Duggar was sentenced in May 2022 to over 12 years in prison for his conviction on a charge of receiving child pornography. Duggar is the oldest child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, whose large, homeschool family was featured in TLC’s reality show, “19 Kids and Counting” (2008-2015) and in the spin off, “Counting On” (2015-2020). Josh Duggar is married to Anna Duggar, and they have seven children.

TLC canceled “19 Kids and Counting” after news broke that Duggar had molested five girls, including four of his sisters. The network later canceled “Counting On” after Duggar was charged with receiving and possessing CSAM. Duggar was convicted of that crime on Dec. 9, 2021.

Duggar has also confessed to a pornography addiction and to being unfaithful to his wife, Anna Duggar. The Duggar family has close ties to Bill Gothard and the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) and was recently the subject of the docuseries, “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets.”

In August 2023, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Duggar’s conviction. On Feb. 16, Duggar’s counsel filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, an option where legal parties dissatisfied with a lower court’s ruling can request that the nation’s highest court hear their case. SCOTUS announced its denial of Duggar’s request in its Monday order list.

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

Jesse T. Jackson

June 24, 2024

Donald Trump Franklin Graham — Screengrab via YouTube @The Times and The Sunday Times

During a rally in Philadelphia over the weekend, presidential candidate Donald Trump said that Franklin Graham recently told him that his speeches would be better if he stopped using “foul language.”

Graham, who is the son of the late evangelist Billy Graham and the president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, has been a vocal Trump supporter since 2016.

While giving his speech, Trump started to call President Joe Biden’s recent executive order on immigration “bulls**t” but stopped himself short of swearing.

Trump proceeded to share that he doesn’t “want to use bad language” because Graham, whom Trump said he “likes so much,” wrote him a letter, saying, “Mr. President, I love your speaking. Your ability to speak is incredible. Your storytelling is great, but it could be so much better if you didn’t use foul language.”

Without hesitation, Trump said that Graham’s assessment was “wrong.”

At a rally in Philadelphia, Trump tells crowd that Franklin Graham wrote him a letter telling him his speeches would be better if he didn’t use “foul language.” Trump says Graham is “wrong!” @Franklin_Graham #trump pic.twitter.com/1zfMKpL9a3

— Jesse Jackson (@JesseTJackson) June 23, 2024

“But I have been working so hard and it’s not that hard,” Trump added. “The problem is, if you don’t interject every once in a while—I’m only talking about one or two times during an entire [two-hour] speech.”

“One or two,” Trump said. “Franklin, give me one or two words.”

Trump shared with the crowd that he was “really good” at a “Faith and Freedom” rally earlier that day. “I didn’t interject, [but] it could have been better if I used a couple of bad words,” he said. “When I see people start to walk out, then we’ll stop, okay?”

Again saying that he likes Graham, Trump proceeded to swear, saying, “So I’m not going to use the word ‘bulls**t.’”

“I refuse to use it,” he added, telling everyone that “it’s not that bad of a word.”

SBC Pastor Arrested on Child Sex Abuse Material Charges

Dale Chamberlain

June 24, 2024

A Florida pastor was arrested and charged with four counts of possession of child pornography on Friday (June 21). Jonathan Elwing, now-formerly of Palm View First Baptist Church in Palmetto, Florida, resigned from the church before being taken into custody.

Elwing was arrested after an investigation revealed that he allegedly used cryptocurrency to purchase child sex abuse material. Law enforcement executed a search warrant on Friday at the church and Elwing’s home and found child sex abuse material on Elwing’s phone.

In response to the shocking news, Larry Bianchi, the chair of Palm View’s deacon board, told WWSB that “the people of the church are the church.”

“The pastor may be the front man, he may be the leader of the church—and we need a new one,” Bianchi said. “But Palm View Baptist Church will go on because of the strength of the congregation.”

The congregation is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).

The church also appears on Founders Ministries’ list of “gospel-preaching, Christ-exalting” churches. Led by Florida SBC Pastor Tom Ascol, Founders is “committed to encouraging the recovery of the gospel and the biblical reformation of local churches.”

Notably, Ascol has expressed suspicion regarding the SBC’s sexual abuse reforms, which Southern Baptists overwhelmingly voted to adopt. Ascol has cited the cost of reforms relative to what he believes to be their effectiveness, as well as his concern for false allegations, in his arguments against reform.

“The Houston Chronicle report on sex abuse in the SBC found that, over a 20 year period, for every 125,000 Southern Baptists, 124,999 were never convicted of any sex crimes,” Ascol said in a social media post on April 16. “Interesting study in narrative constructions.”

In an email to ChurchLeaders, Ascol said, “I am deeply grieved to read about Jonathan Elwing’s arrest and the charges filed against him.”

“Pornography is wicked and a scourge on our nation. It should be outlawed at every level of our society. Child pornography is a compounded wickedness because it necessarily involves the abuse of the most vulnerable among us,” he continued. “Those who engage in it should be punished to the full extent of the law.”

Per Founders Ministries’ website, churches that appear on its recommended list of “healthy, biblically-grounded” churches “are listed voluntarily, and Founders Ministries is not able to evaluate and endorse each church individually.”

Gateway Church Elder Expresses ‘Personal Compassion’ to Cindy Clemishire Following Robert Morris’ Resignation

Jesse T. Jackson

June 24, 2024

As a small group of protestors gathered outside of Gateway Church this past weekend, church elder Tra Willbanks addressed the congregation regarding the allegations that Robert Morris sexually abused a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s.

According to the church’s website, Willbanks is the founder and CEO of Anchor Investments, “a management company that oversees a family of manufacturing companies specializing in heavy and light metal fabrication.” He has served as a non-staff Gateway Church elder since 2014. Willbanks and his wife have seven children, six of whom are girls.

During his nearly 10-minute speech, Willbanks paused multiple times, expressing his sadness about the situation involving Morris’ past alleged sexual abuse. Gateway Church elders claim they only became aware of the details of Morris’ “inappropriate relationship” with a “young lady” after abuse survivor Cindy Clemishire‘s testimony went viral on June 14.

“I really wish that I could sit down with each one of you individually and talk to you one-on-one,” Willbanks said to the attendees, who average 100,000 weekly—a statistic that was recently removed from the church’s website. “Standing before you right now may be the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do.”

Willbanks said that as a “father, what has happened is extremely disturbing and I’m experiencing a wide range of emotions like you.” After he reiterated that he did not know about the allegations against Morris, Willbanks added, “Like so many of you, my wife and I are shocked, devastated, and grieving.”

Posting by request, the entirety of Gateway Church Elder Tra Willbanks's message to the congregation on Saturday apologizing to them and Cindy Cleminshire following allegations of Robert Morris' sexual abuse pic.twitter.com/N0YpqVPnyN

— Protestia (@Protestia) June 24, 2024

He then expressed his “personal compassion for Cindy Clemishire.” Personally addressing her, he said, “I can’t imagine carrying a burden like that for so many years. And I want to say to you, Cindy, I’m so sorry.”

Willbanks continued by telling anyone else “who has experienced abuse” that he is “so sorry. I’m just so sorry.”

“I cannot imagine the pain and the emotions [that] this past week has stirred inside of you, as you felt betrayed. On behalf of the elders, we’re sorry,” he added.

The tagline at Gateway Church is “we’re all about people,” Willbanks said. “And you can’t be all about people if you aren’t committed to protecting people. We are committed to protecting people. First and foremost, children and the most vulnerable.”

“Simply put,” Willbanks continued, “abuse in any form cannot be tolerated. And we as elders have the responsibility to do whatever it takes to learn the truth.”

How to Leave Your Church Well

I told my senior pastor when another church had reached out to me.

I prayed about it, and then shelved it.

I coordinated between the two churches

In ALL of this, I lifted high publicly and privately my church and my pastor.

What is the role of a pastor when he’s not preaching?

The Role of a Pastor: 16 Little Activities

1. Counselor

2. Career coach.

God’s Promises Help Us Share His Divine Nature

Youth Ministry Network: 11 Meeting Tips

Ground Rules

Content

Roy Jones Jr. Asks for Privacy

Sending Our Roots Deep

What We Read Matters

1. A critical mind is filled with humility; a critical spirit is filled with hubris.

2. A critical mind is inquisitive; a critical spirit is indifferent.

3. A critical mind can unite; a critical spirit only divides.

4. A critical mind is expressed with gentleness; a critical spirit with anger.

5. A critical mind is content; a critical spirit is bitter.

More than a tool

A Great Discussion Question Is . . .

1. Open-Ended

2. Understandable

Helmet of Salvation Object Lesson: 10 Sunday School Activities

1. God’s Protective Gear

2. God’s Armor: Helmet of Salvation

3. Protect Your Head

4. Salvation Hats

5. Nature Walk

Youth Group Ideas for Small Churches: 5 Key Reminders

1. Most churches are small.

2. Focus on doing a few things really well.

Russell Brand Interviews Jonathan Roumie on ‘Awakened Wonders’

Josh Duggar SCOTUS Appeal Denied

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