10 Discipleship Questions for the Coming New Year

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December 20, 2023

For years, during December I have set goals for the coming new year. Setting goals this next week will give me time to pray about and prepare for meeting those goals. Maybe these discipleship questions will help you in setting goals for 2023:

10 Discipleship Questions for the Coming New Year

1. What will be my Bible reading plan for 2023?

Like me, you may still be trying to decide. What suggestions do you have?

2. What specific step will I take in the new year to love my family better?

If I don’t make intentional plans, I’ll let my relationships slide into mediocrity.

3. On what nonbeliever(s) will I focus my prayers and evangelistic efforts in 2023?

For years, my first focus has been my mother and sister. They will remain at the top of my list this next year unless God saves them in the next few weeks. I’m not giving up hope.

4. In whom will I invest my life as a disciplemaker this next year?

I always want to have at least two to three particular mentee possibilities in mind as I start a new year.

5. What sin will I fight the hardest to overcome in the new year?

I’m hardly perfect, but I can’t allow that admission to lessen my commitment to live in obedience. Every year should begin with repentance and end with my being more like Christ.

How Event Evangelism Helps People Share the Mission

By

Ed Stetzer

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December 20, 2023

One of the tools we can use for training people to get comfortable talking with others, inviting them to our weekend worship gatherings, and eventually sharing their faith is through special events. Event evangelism can include the more popular ones like Easter and Christmas, but also can include Parent/Child Dedications, Mother’s and Father’s Day, and the beginning of a new sermon series.

How Event Evangelism Helps People Share the Mission

There are at least three reasons why special events can help people move toward becoming comfortable sharing their faith.

1. Special events provide a natural opportunity to invite.

The “salesman” approach to evangelism or inviting someone to church is rejected by many believers and unbelievers alike. Such “cold call” presentations seem fake, insincere and rehearsed. However, a special event can provide a natural way for people to invite their friends, family, co-workers and neighbors. Given that special events can provide a natural opportunity to invite others, churches should take advantage of special events by offering invitation tools for their people to use.

For example: A church beginning a series on “Making Sense of Our Decisions” can create materials to promote the series topic and main idea. As people naturally engage others in their day-to-day life, they will encounter friends, family, co-workers or neighbors who are in the middle of making some pretty important decisions. When important decisions arise in conversation, church members can give the promotional materials, inviting them to the new series on decision-making.

If people can learn how to naturally invite others to special events, and are intentional about making sure they attend, eventually those believers can learn how to naturally invite their friends, co-workers, etc., to Jesus.

2. Special events provide people with a small win.

Most people who attend a church do so because of a personal invitation, and it remains the case that many people are open to an invitation. However, due to fear, uncertainty or outright disobedience, very few believers, or even churchgoers, ever extend an invitation in a given year.

One of the reasons why people keep their faith, or their invite, to themselves is they fear rejection. This fear prevents them from ever experiencing the exhilaration of someone responding affirmatively.

Also, for many, when it comes to sharing their faith or inviting people to church, they don’t know where to start. It may be they don’t know where to begin the conversation, or what to say after the conversation gets started. As a result, they stay silent. Moreover, intimidation may be a factor. For many—especially introverts—the thought of talking to, sharing with and inviting others really is intimidating.

What Are Reasonable Worship Leader Expectations?

By

Kade Young

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December 20, 2023

worship leader expectations — Adobestock #207711813

I thought the congregation expected a full band, lights and the whole shebang every week or they would not come back. Turns out, I was wrong. What are reasonable worship leader expectations?

Not too long ago, my church lost the place we called home. The building we rented was scheduled to be torn down to make way for bigger and greater things.

An endless search for a new building yielded no results. So we went mobile and are now meeting in a hotel conference room.

What are Reasonable Worship Leader Expectations?

In an effort to keep weekly setup simple, we ditched the vibrant LED lights and modern stage background. I thought the church would care that this was missing…but they didn’t.

We continued to set up a complete sound system and use a full band. I thought if we didn’t have at least this, the congregation would complain and eventually leave.

Fruit of the Spirit for Kids: 5 Lesson Ideas for Sunday School

By

David Jennings

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December 19, 2023

Teaching the fruit of the Spirit for kids is a joyful experience! These fruits, found in Galatians 5:22-23, are gifts that God gives Christians. They help us live God-pleasing lives and share his love with other people. With this fruit of the Spirit for kids material, students learn how God blesses and uses them. Children of all ages can be instruments to show God’s love to others.

Jesus is the ultimate expression of God’s love, and all the qualities of God that make Jesus who he is—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—become qualities in us as we grow in our relationship with Jesus.

This lesson on the fruit of the Spirit for kids is thorough. But you can pick and choose from the activities to enhance your programming. Enjoy using this fruit of the Spirit for kids lesson!

KidMin Lesson: Fruit of the Spirit for Kids

1. Pray about the fruit of the Spirit.

Items needed: Bibles

Introduce the fruit of the Spirit for kids through this prayer. Have children form a circle and number off, one through nine. Repeat the numbering if you have more than nine kids. It isn’t necessary to end at nine. Give each child a Bible. Then have kids locate Galatians 5:22-23a. Explain that you’ll go around the circle and after you pause, the child who called out number one will say aloud the first quality (love). Continue around the circle, pausing for children to say the remaining eight qualities.

Pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the fruit of the Spirit. We ask you to help us live each quality of the fruit of the Spirit. Help us show (pause for child to say “love”) and (joy) and (peace) and (patience) and (goodness). God, help us demonstrate (faithfulness) and (gentleness). Finally, help us have (self-control). Please help us show others your love by teaching us your ways and growing us as your children. Help us, Lord, to show love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in our daily lives. Help us use the fruit of the Spirit to show others what your love looks like. In Jesus’ name, amen.

2. Fruit Filling

Items needed: two large sheets of butcher paper, markers, scissors, masking tape, construction paper fruit shapes, Bible

This activity demonstrates to kids how Christ’s character traits grow inside them as they grow closer to God.

Spread out two large sheets of paper, and choose a tall child to lie down, arms at their sides, on one sheet. Choose a smaller child to lie down, with arms extended overhead, on the other sheet. Have the other students trace around the two children on the paper. Attach both tracings, side by side, to a wall. Explain that the smaller child’s outline represents each of us and the taller child’s outline represents Jesus.

Stand in front of the two body outlines and say: We’re going to spend some time learning about gifts from God called “fruit of the Spirit.” But first we need to understand what that is! What do you think of when you hear “fruit of the Spirit”? Allow children to guess. Say: Those are all good answers! These gifts, the fruit of the Spirit, are seeds God grows inside of us to show others what his love looks like. They are seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Jesus modeled all these for us to show us what they look like.

And the cool thing is, when we believe in Jesus, God plants those seeds and they begin to grow! Think about how each of those things shows up in your life. Are you patient when you have to wait your turn in line? Do you show love to people who may not be so easy to love sometimes? Let’s think of some ways we show those gifts in our lives.

Before children arrive, cut out enough fruit shapes from construction paper for each child to have two. Write one fruit of the Spirit on each cutout. Set out markers for children to share. Have each child read which fruit is on his or her cutout. Have older kids assist younger children with reading. Encourage kids to write words or draw pictures of ways they show their assigned qualities to others.

For example, if a student has “joy” on his or her cutout, the student could write or draw about encouraging someone who’s sad by sharing about Jesus, or by drawing that person jumping for joy or singing praise songs. When kids finish, have them attach their completed cutouts to the smaller child’s outline.

Say: Wow! You all have so many awesome ways to show others that the fruit of God is growing in you! One way the fruit of the Spirit grows in our lives is when we see it growing in the lives of others. Then we know what it’s supposed to look like and how we should behave. And when other people see those gifts growing in your lives, you’re showing them how God wants us to behave. God sent his Son, Jesus, to show us what our fruit should look like when it’s fully grown. When we read our Bibles, we can see the perfect example of what our fruit should look like and how we should live for God.

Encourage children to read the quality written at the top of their fruit cutouts. Have older kids assist younger children with reading. Then have the kids write words or draw pictures that show how Jesus might have shown the assigned quality of the fruit of the Spirit. For example, if the quality listed is “love,” children can show Jesus hugging a child or write about his death on the cross. When they finish, have kids come up to the Jesus outline and attach their cutout inside the outline.

Say: Those are all great things we can learn about the fruit of the Spirit by looking at Jesus! Remember, God sent Jesus to earth to teach us how to live and to show us how to please God. That means the more we learn how to follow Jesus’ example—the more we get to know about him, the more we learn to love him, and the more we try to be like him—the more God’s love becomes part of us!

Open your Bible to Galatians 5:22-23a, and say: The apostle Paul tells us in Galatians, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” All these fruit describe God’s love. And as we’ve just learned, the closer we become with Jesus every day, the more God’s love becomes part of us. And God’s love shows itself in us through…what is it called? Allow children to respond. Say: The fruit of the Spirit! The fruit of the Spirit grows in us, just as fruit we eat grows on trees!

Use a green marker to draw a rough outline of a treetop at the top of the smaller child’s outline. Turn the outline of the student into a tree, using the child’s body as the trunk and his or her outstretched arms as branches. Then have each child carefully remove the fruit they’ve just placed on the Jesus outline and place it on the “tree,” in the branches of the smaller child’s outline.

Say: The fruit of the Spirit grows in us. Say that with me! (Lead children in repeating the phrase.) Say: Now we can see by looking at our two outlines how those parts of Jesus—God’s love—become part of us as we become closer to him. But why? Why would God want us to have parts of Jesus inside of us? (Allow children to respond.) Those are all good answers. The main reason is that God gives us the fruit of the Spirit to help us show others what his love looks like.

Choose a child to read aloud John 15:4-5.

Have kids form pairs or trios to discuss the following questions:

• What do you think Jesus means when he says to “remain in me”?

• What kind of fruit do you think Jesus is talking about? Have you seen those kinds of fruit in your lives? When?

• Why can’t we grow the fruit by ourselves? Why do we want the fruit Jesus talks about?

Say: Our purpose here on earth is to love God and to show God’s love to others. God gives us the fruit of the Spirit to help us show others what his love looks like. The fruit of the Spirit is made up of various gifts that help us do a good job for our Father. Let’s find out what each gift does!

Max Lucado Preaches Christmas Sermon at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church

By

Jessica Lea

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December 19, 2023

Author and pastor Max Lucado gave a sermon at Lakewood Church, led by Joel and Victoria Osteen, on Sunday, Dec. 17. Lucado used the imagery of the Christmas tree to illustrate how God works in our lives, and he ended with an invitation to repent and trust in Jesus.

The pastor, who has preached at Lakewood before, greeted the congregation, saying, “May God’s richest blessings be upon you.” Lucado said he loved the church and the Osteens and that “it’s just an honor to be here.” He opened his sermon with prayer, thanking God and asking him to speak to those gathered.

Lucado also prayed for God’s mercy on the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as on people experiencing famine throughout the world. Confessing his own sins, Lucado asked that God would “help us to see Jesus, just Jesus.”

Max Lucado: The Greatest Gift and the Greatest Tree

Max Lucado is teaching minister at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio and the author of more than 145 million products in print. His latest book is “God Never Gives Up on You: What Jacob’s Story Teaches Us About Grace, Mercy, and God’s Relentless Love.”

Lucado titled his sermon, “You, Me, and the Christmas Tree,” and observed that while Christmas trees are special, it is difficult to set one up without it leaning to one side. “It dawned on me that God has to deal with this on a daily, hourly, continual basis,” he said. “For don’t we have our share of unattractive bents? Doesn’t our character get tilted and crooked? And so God in his sovereign hand and tender care sets about the task of straightening us out and straightening us up.”

In his sermon, the pastor laid out three commonalities believers have with Christmas trees. The first is, “We are picked.”

“Did you know that God selected you with a place in mind?” Lucado asked. “He selected you with a service in mind. He selected you on purpose for a purpose.” Another word for God giving us a purpose is “calling.” There are places in the world that need light and joy, and God calls each of us to provide his light to those places.

For example, in Jeremiah 1:5, God tells the prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” Lucado said that that Sunday morning might be the first time people in the congregation had heard this truth: “When you were in your mother’s womb, God called you.”

“You have been picked,” the pastor said.

Another example from the Bible is in Acts 26:16, where Paul recounts the moment God called him. “One of the most disastrous lies that comes into our world,” said Lucado, “is that we are the result of an accidental combination of chromosomes and circumstance.” He suggested that is why the suicide rate is so high, as well as why anxiety and depression are high among young people.

30-Year-Old Gospel Singer Tragically Dies During Live Performance

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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December 19, 2023

On Wednesday (Dec. 13), Brazilian Gospel singer Pedro Henrique tragically died onstage while performing at a private event in Feira de Santana, Brazil. He was 30 years old.

The event was broadcast live on social media platforms. During the livesteam, viewers witnessed Henrique collapse without warning as he was singing “Vai Ser Tão Lindo.” Video shows Henrique standing near the edge of the stage, interacting with those at the event—singing back and forth—before losing balance and falling backwards.

People in the shocked crowd rushed to assist Henrique. However, he never regained consciousness. He was was transported to a nearby medical center where he was later pronounced dead of a massive heart attack.

The gospel singer is survived by his wife, Suilan Barreto, whom he married in 2018, and his 2-month-old daughter, Zoe.

Todah Music, Henrique’s music label, shared a tribute to Henrique on the day after his death.

“There are very difficult situations in life for which we have no explanation,” Todah Music said. “We just need to understand that God’s will prevails! Pedro was a happy young man, a friend to everyone. Only child. A present husband and a super dedicated father.”

“Pedro is simple, he is a believer! What a smile! How nice! What voice! The kind of people that are great to have around! We believe that Pedro will have a prominent place in the great Celestial Choir,” the statement continued.

“The songs in his voice will not die and his legacy will remain through his wife, his little daughter Zoe and so many lives that were and will be reached by Christ through the records of his voice,” Todah Music added. The music label then expressed its commitment to helping Henrique’s family in “all areas” it is able, adding, “We have rejoiced so many times together, and now we weep with those who weep.”

Expressing hope that heaven is now welcoming Henrique into its presence, the statement concluded, “See you soon dear brother!!! See you soon! May the Holy Spirit comfort everyone!”

C.S. Lewis’ Spoke of a ‘Post-Christian’ World With ‘No Objective Right or Wrong’ in 80-Year-Old Christmas Sermon

By

Janna Firestone

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December 19, 2023

In 1946, theologian and author C.S. Lewis was said to be “the most entertaining missionary of our time.” As the world was recovering and healing from World War II, Lewis wrote “A Christmas Sermon for Pagans.” And after nearly 80 years, his words still ring astonishingly true.

Originally published by Strand Magazine (Vol. 112, Issue 672, December 1946), the sermon stated that post-Christians believe that “whatever may be amiss with the world, it is certainly not we, not the ordinary people.”

The relevance of Lewis’ sermon from 1946 is remarkable.

‘A Christmas Sermon for Pagans’ (1946) by C.S. Lewis Is Still Relevant Today

As Lewis introduced his completed sermon to Strand Magazine, he reflected on how he responded “lightheartedly” to the writing prompt invitation. Lewis quickly found the task to be difficult. He wondered if there were any “pagans” left in England.

He went on to explain that “pagan” and “heathen” were often synonymous and referred to a “rustic” or a “yokel.”

“They date from the time when the larger towns of the Roman Empire were already Christianised, but the old Nature relations still lingered in the country,” Lewis said. “Pagans or Heathens were the backward people in the remote districts who had not yet been converted, who were still pre-Christian.”

“To say that modern people who have drifted away from Christianity are Pagans is to suggest that a post-Christian man is the same as a pre-Christian man,” Lewis continued. “And that is like thinking that a woman who has lost her husband is the same sort of person as an unmarried girl.”

Lewis then went on to explain how a pagan is different from a post-Christian. The pagan was “too religious” in that he was reverent not toward God but toward the earth and nature. The pagan also had developed an “‘objective’ right or wrong,” “something which existed independently of human opinions.”

A third difference between the pagan and post-Christian is self-awareness, said Lewis. “The Pagan code may have been on some points a low one: but it was too high for the Pagan to live up to,” he wrote. “Hence, a Pagan, though in many ways merrier than a modern, had a deep sadness. When he asked himself what was wrong with the world he did not immediately reply, ‘the social system,’ or ‘our allies,’ or ‘education.’ It occurred to him that he himself might be one of the things that was wrong with the world.”

Some Chick-fil-A Locations Would Be Required To Open on Sundays If Proposed New York Bill Passes

By

Stephanie Martin

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December 19, 2023

chick fil a — J. Reed, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

New York State Assemblyman Tony Simone, a gay man and LGBTQ+ rights advocate, has introduced a bill requiring that rest-stop restaurants throughout the state be open seven days a week. The Democrat’s legislation targets fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, which has always been closed on Sundays.

As the bill’s sponsor, Simone said it is “not in the public good” to have eateries along the New York State Thruway that are shuttered on a busy travel day. The lawmaker, who represents part of Manhattan, said in a statement, “Not only does Chick-Fil-A have a long, shameful history of opposing LGBTQ rights, it simply makes no sense for them to be a provider of food services in busy travel plazas.”

He added, “A company, that by policy, is closed on one of the busiest travel days of the week should not be the company that travelers have to rely on for food services.”

Bill Aimed at Chick-fil-A Would Affect Future Projects

The New York Thruway has been undergoing major renovations of most of its 27 rest stops. Chick-fil-A is in 10 of those locations and has already signed a 33-year contract with the state’s highway system. As a result, Simone’s bill would affect “all future contracts at transportation facilities owned by the Thruway Authority, as well as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.”

The bill reads, in part:

While there is nothing objectionable about a fast-food restaurant closing on a particular day of the week, service areas dedicated to travelers is an inappropriate location for such a restaurant. Publicly owned service areas should use their space to maximally benefit the public. Allowing for retail space to go unused one-seventh of the week or more is a disservice and unnecessary inconvenience to travelers who rely on these service areas.

Simone, who fought for marriage equality in New York and is married to a man, said, “You know, we get hungry when we’re traveling. We may not like our brother-in-law or sister-in-law’s cooking and want to get a snack on Christmas Eve” (which is on a Sunday this year). “To find one of the restaurants closed on the Thruway is just not in the public good.”

Lawmaker: Chick-fil-A Is Welcome If They Open on Sundays

New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey, a Democrat who is sponsoring Simone’s bill in the senate, said, “We need to ensure that [rest stops] remain reliable hubs, especially on the busiest travel days of the year.” She added, “If one of the main food options closes for just one day, it not only inconveniences travelers but also puts a significant strain on the food spots that are open, leading to longer wait times.”

The proposed bill must pass both houses of the New York Legislature, which are controlled by Democrats, and then receive a signature from Gov. Kathy Hochul, also a Democrat.

Opposition to Chick-fil-A’s role in the revamped rest stops dates back to July 2021. Several state lawmakers opposed the inclusion of the chain, which has been the target of boycotts led by LGBTQ groups.

SBC President Bart Barber Emphasizes Unity, Provides Updates on SBC Committee Appointments in Written Address

By

Dale Chamberlain

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December 19, 2023

Bart Barber update — Pastor Bart Barber preaches at First Baptist Church of Farmersville, Texas, on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022. Barber, the new president of the Southern Baptist Convention, has pastored the Texan congregation of about 320 people since 1999. A staunch theological conservative, Barber touts biblical inerrancy, opposes women serving as pastors and supports abortion bans. (AP Photo/Audrey Jackson)

Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) president Bart Barber offered a midterm update on his work as the leader of the nation’s largest protestant denomination on Monday (Dec. 18), unveiling the theme for the SBC’s 2024 annual meeting and providing a report on the various committee appointments for which he is responsible.

A new SBC president is elected at the denomination’s annual meeting every June. Presidents serve one-year terms and can serve two consecutive terms. Barber was re-elected for his second term at the SBC annual meeting in New Orleans in June. His second term will expire in six months when the SBC holds its annual meeting in Indianapolis in June 2024.

To begin his update, Barber revealed that he has chosen to center the theme of the Indianapolis meeting on Romans 15:5-6, which says, “Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.”

Explaining that the section of Scripture in which these verses are found focuses on “how we should treat brothers and sisters in Christ with whom we have theological differences,” Barber expressed his belief that the most important task set before Southern Baptists right now is fastening themselves “to the truth with chains that cannot be broken without abandoning the biblical mandate to ‘please [our] neighbor,’ ‘live in harmony,’ ‘welcome one another,’ and ‘overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit’ (all these are quotes from this section of Romans 15).”

Later in his report, Barber said that he is recommending an extra session be added to the 2024 annual meeting, as “three ad-hoc committees [are] reporting to the messenger body in addition to all our normal business.”

“It is my belief that we will find it difficult to conduct all our work within the time afforded by only four business sessions,” Barber wrote.

Barber also provided updates on these “ad-hoc” SBC committees, starting with the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force (ARITF), which is being led by North Carolina Pastor Josh Wester.

“Since assuming the role of SBC president, I have learned on nearly a weekly basis, including in recent weeks, of the great need our churches and institutions have for meaningful assistance with preventing and responding to sexual abuse,” wrote Barber. “The work of the ARITF is aimed at providing long-term solutions to meet these needs to ensure our churches and entities have proactively sought to prevent abuse and are prepared to care and respond appropriately in light of any instance of abuse.”

Directing Southern Baptists to the ARTIF’s “Ministry Toolkit,” Barber said, “I urge every pastor and every church to look carefully at this material, which contains helpful guidance for your church related to abuse prevention and response.”

The second “ad-hoc” committee for which Barber has been responsible is the Cooperation Group, which has been asked to “study and make recommendations regarding the meaning of ‘friendly cooperation’ in the Convention’s governing documents.”

How a Remnant Group of United Methodists Is Making a New Church Home

By

Yonat Shimron

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December 19, 2023

Grace United Methodist Mission members sing during their first Advent service on Dec. 3, 2023, in Advance, North Carolina. (RNS photo/Yonat Shimron)

ADVANCE, N.C. (RNS) — The new church meets in what used to be a dog kennel.

A floor drain in the middle of the worship area is a reminder of its former use. But over the past few months one of the two metal garage doors was replaced with large glass windows. The concrete floor has been refinished, the walls repainted, curtains hung, the bathrooms renovated.

Here, in the middle of a bland industrial park that looks like a self-storage facility, a new church is emerging.

Its 40-plus members think of themselves as “the remnant.” For years, they belonged to various United Methodist churches in Davie County, North Carolina. But over the past four years, a majority of the county’s 24 United Methodist churches voted to disaffiliate from the denomination. Only 11 remain, most of them on the outskirts of this rural county located in the state’s Piedmont region, about 65 miles north of Charlotte.

The members of Grace United Methodist Mission — they are not formally a church yet — were blindsided by their different congregations’ sudden push to sever ties with the denomination they had grown up in and worshipped with their entire lives. They came together as a group like refugees often do, with one thing in common — a profound grief at losing their church home and a resolve to remain United Methodist.

“We were broken when we came here — I’m telling you we all were broken!” said Lois Steelman, formerly of Bethlehem United Methodist Church. That church, a few miles down the road, had a heritage stretching back to John Wesley, the 18th-century founder of Methodism. Steelman and her husband Joe were members for 50 years.

But under the leadership of the Rev. Suzanne Michael, an enterprising United Methodist pastor with a Dolly Parton-like accent and blond hair to match, these remnant United Methodists are trying something new.

They want to complete the renovation of their rental space, especially to add a small children’s play area. But they have no desire to buy land or build a church. In the pioneering spirit of the early Methodists, the members of Grace want to keep things simple.

“All they wanted was a place to meet to start serving the world,” said Michael, who serves as the emerging community pastor for Davie County in addition to leading Grace.

In the past five years, more than 7,600 churches have cut their ties to the United Methodist Church, the nation’s second-largest Protestant denomination — about 25% of its 30,000 churches have broken away. That five-year window that allowed churches to leave with their properties ends this month, and the denomination’s legislative arm will meet in Charlotte in April to chart a new way forward for those that remain.

Davie County, red, in North Carolina. (Map courtesy Wikipedia/Creative Commons)

In the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, a region that spans the 47 Western counties, the vast majority of the churches that broke away were small and rural, politically and theologically conservative.

They did not want to see the denomination loosen its rules to allow the ordination and marriage of LGBTQ people. And many were wary of seemingly far-away institutions that required annual apportionments to fund the work of the denomination around the world.

“It’s hard to be a connectional church when there’s a culture that focuses on the local,” said Bishop Ken Carter of the Western North Carolina Conference.

Pope Francis Condemns Saturday’s Israeli Attack on Christian Church as Act of Terrorism

By

Claire Giangrave

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December 19, 2023

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — In his weekly Sunday prayer service, (Dec. 17), Pope Francis condemned Israeli sniper attacks on a Christian church in Gaza on Saturday that killed two women and wounded many others.

“I keep receiving very grave and painful news from Gaza,” Francis told faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square. “Helpless civilians are victims of bombings and shootings. It’s war, it’s terrorism.” The pope called the international community to strive for peace in the world.

On Saturday, Nahida Khalil Anton and her daughter Samar Kamal Anton were shot by snipers as they walked to a bathroom at the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza, where they had sought refuge from the fighting. According to reports by parishioners, the two women were active members of the Christian community.

Seven other people in the church were wounded, according to a statement by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem on Saturday. “No warning was given, no notification was provided,” the patriarch’s statement read, adding that the two women “were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the Parish, where there are no belligerents.”

The pope seconded the claim that there were no terrorists in the church, “only families, children, sick and disabled people, nuns.”

The Israeli military said it was “taking the matter seriously” and has opened an investigation into the attack. They claimed that soldiers believed Hamas terrorists had sought refuge in the area of the Christian church.

Earlier Saturday morning, a rocket targeted the convent of the sisters of mother Theresa, where 54 disabled persons reside, the patriarch reported. The building’s generator was destroyed and the convent was rendered uninhabitable, leaving its residents displaced.

“Together in prayer with the whole Christian community, we express our closeness to the families affected by this senseless tragedy. At the same time, we cannot but express that we are at a loss to comprehend how such an attack could be carried out, even more so as the whole church prepares for Christmas,” the patriarch said.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, led by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, represents the Catholic community in the Holy Land.

Speaking to Italian media outlets, the Custody of the Holy Land, a Franciscan order charged with overseeing religious sites of historical importance to Catholics in Jerusalem, called the use of force against the church “absolutely unjustifiable.”

In a statement on Saturday, the U.S. Bishops’ Conference reacted to recent events with “great sadness and horror” and called for a cessation of the violence and a commitment to negotiating a peace. “We resolutely join our voices with the Holy Father, Pope Francis, reminding all parties in this conflict, that war is never the answer but always a defeat. We plead, ‘peace, please peace!’” the statement read.

Francis had previously characterized the violence between Hamas and Israel as terrorism, stating that it had gone “beyond war. It’s terrorism.”

Israeli representatives have balked at the pope’s equating the acts by Israeli forces with those of Hamas militants. Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See, Raphael Schutz, said the statement by the patriarchate “is to be condemned in the harshest terms as a blood libel,” calling the death of the two Christian women a “terrible mistake.”

This article originally appeared here.

5 Things The Catholic Church’s Document on Same-Sex Blessings Does (And Doesn’t) Say

By

Claire Giangrave

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December 19, 2023

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — In an unprecedented opening by the Catholic Church toward welcoming LGBTQ people, the Vatican‘s Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith approved the blessing of same-sex couples on Monday (Dec. 18) in a document titled “Fiducia Supplicans,” or “Requesting Trust.”

Pope Francis approved the document, formally called a declaration—a term that signals that its contents carry doctrinal importance and were written in consultation with experts and theologians. But the document, like many of Francis’ pronouncements on topics where doctrine clashes with culture war issues, hedges its seemingly progressive leap forward with assurances that nothing has really changed.

What’s clear is that gay couples, but also those living outside of the traditional understanding of marriage in the Catholic faith—”couples in irregular situations”—can now be blessed by a priest. But there are a few caveats. Here are some main takeaways from the historic document:

Doctrine on Marriage and on Homosexuality Has Not Changed

The declaration states at several points that the blessing of irregular or same sex-couples does not constitute a wedding and that it does not “legitimize anything.” Any prayers that could create confusion on that score, it says, “are inadmissible.” The point of the blessing, the document states, is to invoke the Holy Spirit to intercede in helping individuals live more faithfully and in grace, and not to approve the union itself.

It also reaffirms that marriage is the “exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to the generation of children,” and only in marriage do “sexual relations find their natural, proper, and fully human meaning. The Church’s doctrine on this point remains firm.”

Same-Sex Blessings Must Not Be Ritualized

To avoid confusion among the faithful, the Vatican’s doctrinal department stated that the blessings should be performed “spontaneously” and not from the Book of Blessings, a collection of liturgical prayers for various occasions and people, especially for events centered on parish life.

Nor can there be set prayers established for the purpose of these blessings. They “should not be fixed ritually by ecclesial authorities to avoid producing confusion with the blessing proper to the Sacrament of Marriage,” the document reads.

“In a brief prayer preceding this spontaneous blessing, the ordained minister could ask that the individuals have peace, health, a spirit of patience, dialogue, and mutual assistance—but also God’s light and strength to be able to fulfill his will completely,” the document reads.

New Study Finds Christian Nationalists To Be More Complex Than Media Portrayals

By

Jack Jenkins

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December 19, 2023

(RNS) — A new study estimates that about 30% of Americans are open to the ideas associated with Christian nationalism, but the study’s authors say those who adhere to or sympathize with the ideology are a more complex group than media portrayals and even other studies have found.

“Christian Nationalism: A New Approach” is the work of Neighborly Faith, an organization founded to help evangelical Christians build stronger relationships with people from other religious groups. In a webinar on Monday (Dec. 18), Neighborly Faith researchers said they took a more detailed look at Christian nationalism than previous efforts, beginning with the criterion typically used to identify Christian nationalist leanings. Where most surveys ask six questions, the Neighborly Faith survey asked 14.

The six-question rubric, Neighborly Faith Director Chris Stackaruk said, makes it “very difficult to differentiate what is Christian nationalism versus what is socially or theologically conservative Christianity.”

In addition to the original six questions, Neighborly Faith asked respondents whether they believed America has a “special God-ordained purpose,” whether U.S. culture is “fundamentally Christian” and whether “Christian values” should be “solely and explicitly endorsed by the government.”

Neighborly Faith split respondents into six categories: Christian nationalist “Adherents” (11%) and “Sympathizers” (19%); Christian “Spectators” (18%) who sympathize with “traditional Christian views” but are less likely to engage politically; “Pluralistic Believers” (19%) who are more religious than the average American but oppose government endorsement of Christianity; “Zealous Separationists” (17%) who “strongly oppose” commingling of church and state; and “Undecideds” (16%).

The researchers acknowledged that some of their data closely matches a 2023 PRRI/Brookings survey that estimated that 10% of Americans are Christian nationalist adherents and 19% are sympathizers. But Neighborly Faith’s methodology, its researchers said, allowed for a more nuanced look at Christian nationalism using a definition calling it “a movement advancing a vision of America’s past, present, and future that excludes people of non-Christian religions and non-Western cultures.”

Kevin Singer, Neighborly Faith’s president, said its study showed that Christian nationalists often “romanticize Christianity’s influence on America’s development” and believe the U.S. benefits from “God’s special favor.”

Other definitions of Christian nationalism take a harder line. Samuel Perry and Andrew Whitehead, authors of “Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States,” defines Christian nationalism as “a cultural framework that blurs distinctions between Christian identity and American identity, viewing the two as closely related and seeking to enhance and preserve their union.” Amanda Tyler, of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, has charged that it “carries with it assumptions about nativism, white supremacy, authoritarianism, patriarchy, and militarism.”

But Singer noted that the Neighborly Faith study revealed adherents of Christian nationalism show surprising levels of support for some pluralistic ideals. While adherents were less likely overall to support the idea that the U.S. should take in refugees “even if I do not share the same beliefs as them,” for instance, more than half (51%) nonetheless supported welcoming refugees at some level.

What’s more, Christian nationalist adherents and sympathizers were roughly as likely as any other group (around 50-55%) to say they are moderately or very likely to participate in or attend events encouraging interfaith dialogue or understanding.

In a virtual panel discussion about the study, Kaitlyn Schiess, author of the forthcoming book “The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here,” framed those findings as a hopeful sign for critics of Christian nationalism. They point to “real inroads,” she said, for pastors and others concerned about the ideology to tap into a shared “desire to work across lines of religious belief for the common good.”

Even so, Singer was quick to note that troubling trends are disproportionately present among Christian nationalist sentiments and adherents. “Our study is, by no means, saying that Christian nationalism is a preferable worldview to have or to endorse,” said Singer.

5 Ways To Battle Insecurity as a Pastor

By

Ron Edmondson

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December 19, 2023

How do you battle insecurity as a pastor?

This post developed after talking with a young pastor overwhelmed with the responsibility he’d been given. It was his first church out of seminary. His church expected a lot from him—leading the church, preaching great messages, visiting the sick (and the well), managing a budget, and seeing the baptistry consistently in use—just to name a few things.

He realized the weight of his position, but much of it he didn’t feel qualified to deliver. Seminary didn’t give him all the training he needed. He accepted the position knowing there would be challenges and knew he would have to walk by faith, which he wanted to do—but when we talked he was wondering if he was in over his head.

I realized he was dealing with a huge dose of insecurity. It caused me to ask myself, so I could coach him:

What’s the best way to deal with insecurity in leadership?

Here are some places I landed.

5 Ways To Battle Insecurity as a Pastor or Leader

Avoid Comparisons

Insecurity often develops when a person compares his or herself to another. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. Be yourself. Realize who God designed you to be is not a mistake. Obviously, someone believed in your abilities as a leader. You need to stop comparing and start living in your own skin.

And that goes for the church also. All the things that are working in another church may not work in yours. They might. And there might be principles that will work. Be open to learning from others. Of course you should want the church to grow. But your church is a unique body of believers.

Concentrate on Your Abilities

What are you good at doing? Make a list of your good qualities. You probably have more than you think you do. This is where people who know you well can probably help. They see things in you that you can’t see or haven’t realized.

In times of feeling insecure we often forget who we are and how God has shaped us through experiences of life. (God told Gideon to “go in the strength you have.”) We would never tell a church member they aren’t gifted—why would we believe this about ourself?

Keep your list handy. It will help you to feel more confident if you focus more on your positives than your negatives.

Surround Yourself With People Who Complement Your Weaknesses

Part of having a healthy church or organization is the strength, which comes from different people. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are probably people who can do things you don’t feel comfortable doing. It’s not a sign of weakness to get others involved. It’s actually a sign of strength as a leader. (And it’s the more Biblical model of the church.)

What Does It Actually Mean To Just Preach the Bible?

By

Tamara Chamberlain

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December 19, 2023

The way our Sunday worship services look today is certainly not what the first century church experienced. There was no stage, podium, band, or designated building. Even the concept of Sunday as the only or primary day of worship would be foreign to the earliest generations of the church.

So are we doing it wrong today? Do we need to return to house churches, with no production of any kind, and conversational preaching?

Though there is much to learn from the early church, one of the pillars of the evangelical movement is the authority of Scripture over the authority of tradition. So we must be careful not to allow tradition to adjudicate the will of God. We have to always be willing to check our own gauges and determine whether the expectation placed upon the current church comes from tradition or Scripture.

One particular area where many Christians seem to get these lines crossed is in regards to preaching. Often, preachers and pastors are judged on whether they “just preach the Bible.”

There is a lot packed into this one phrase, and depending on who you talk to, it might mean something different.

I imagine just about every preacher’s desire is to convey scriptural truth. But what does it mean for someone to actually preach the Bible? Are there clear indicators when someone is or isn’t preaching the Bible?

Most often when someone levies the claim that a preacher doesn’t preach the Bible, they are merely disagreeing with the preaching style. So it’s helpful to understand the different styles of preaching that are most common today in order to assess whether style alone makes a sermon biblical or unbiblical.

Topical/Themed Preaching

Let’s start with the most highly disputed style of preaching first.

Topical preaching is essentially taking a topic or theme and preaching on what the Bible has to say about it. Oftentimes, a church will decide on a themed series that will run a few weeks, and each sermon will relate to the overall theme. This has become a very popular approach to Sunday morning preaching, particularly in larger churches. This style of preaching will typically pull from several different passages where the selected theme can be found.

The critique of this style of preaching is that it’s “not expository” and “human-centered.”

However, I won’t list expository preaching as a style, because it’s not so much a style of presenting a sermon as it is the way you look at the biblical text. Expository preaching has one goal in mind: make the message of scripture clear. That can be done topically.

John Stott describes the goal of expository preaching as, “…[expounding] Scripture is to bring out of the text what is there and expose it to view. The expositor opens what appears to be closed, makes plain what is obscure, unravels what is knotted, and unfolds what is tightly packed.”

7 Ways To Lose Ministry Volunteers

By

David Manner

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December 19, 2023

thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Do you have a hard time retaining ministry volunteers? Is it possible the reason they aren’t staying isn’t their lack of commitment or conviction, but instead something you as their leader are or aren’t doing? If you want to regularly replace volunteers in your children’s ministry, worship team, or tech team, then try some of the following.

7 Ways to Lose Ministry Volunteers

1. Compare them with others

Are you critical when volunteers can’t imitate a worship model you consider successful? Is it evident you are disappointed when they don’t measure up to your expectations? How well would comparisons like that work in your marriage?

2. Come to meetings unprepared

Your lack of preparation indicates either laziness or arrogance. Both reasons convey that your time is more valuable than theirs. And being an artist and a leader doesn’t give you permission for either one.

3. Treat them like extras

Why wouldn’t they assume expendability if you treat them like they are the undercard to your main event? You might have enough talent to succeed alone, but that is not what you have been called to do.

4. Consider them as “just ministry volunteers”

Serving as a ministry volunteer is their response to a divine invitation. Since volunteers serve because of calling they should never be treated as just volunteers filling a vacancy. Your worship volunteers are instead ministers fulfilling their mission.

5. Never affirm them publicly or privately

Yes, it’s true their service is for God, not you. But they still need you to affirm them regularly, intentionally and meaningfully. They need to know their contributions are fulfilling expectations, are valued multilaterally and are making an eternal difference.

6. Never give them a break

Don’t forget volunteers also have jobs and families when you are scheduling them for multiple services every week and rehearsals that always run long. Enlist a large enough pool of volunteers for a rotation to give them a break.

Make all decisions for them

Leading like you alone have the ability, creativity and even right to be the sole proprietor means you are guarding your status, not leading others. Entitlement and control may achieve compliance for a short time but rarely the buy-in of a long-term commitment.

If ministry volunteers aren’t validated in the ministry you lead, they will look for another place where they are.

This article on losing ministry volunteers originally appeared here.

2 Common Email Scams Your Church Should Guard Against

By

Nick Nicholaou

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December 19, 2023

There are two common email scams occurring with increasing frequency. These scams hurt churches in two ways, by stealing finances and by breaking congregational trust. What are these common email scams? What can or should you do about them? What should you do if you find yourself a victim of a scam?

2 Common Email Scams

Each one of the two common email scams appear to come from the pastor or a trusted member of church leadership.

The first scam directs emails at church staff. In it, “the pastor” requests the recipient to send funds or gift cards with PINs. This has been going on for a few years and has caught many churches by surprise. The good news, if there is any, is that the scam is usually only targeted at staff.

The second scam is worse because it targets congregants. Seeming to be from “the pastor” or a trusted church leader, congregants are asked to wire funds or send gift cards with PINs. This one hurts more because it becomes more widely known in your congregation than the first type of scam. It can break the trust that congregants have in the church’s communication systems. It is such a serious threat that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission posted a blog about it on July 29, 2019.

How Do the Scams Happen?
Churches want to be open and welcoming communities, especially for those who they are trying to reach. So churches publish staff structures and biographies on their websites. This is a good thing that can unfortunately also arm predators with the details needed to launch a valid-appearing campaign. A predator might even email the pastor to try and get a response–and thus capture the pastor’s email signature!

Questions About Faith: 8 Tips for Responding to Children

By

Jenny Funderburke Smith

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December 18, 2023

Questions about faith and deep topics may arise at the weirdest times. Kids will pop out with inquiries that you just didn’t see coming. One minute they’ll be telling you about “Paw Patrol.” Then the next minute they’ll ask a deep question about the Trinity.

These questions about faith can be deep and theological. For example, “Where did God come from?” They can be questions you aren’t ready for. “Where do babies come from?” or “What does (fill-in-the-blank) mean?” Kids can ask questions that can shock you. For example, “Is there really a God?” or “How do we know that Jesus was real?”

Kids’ questions about faith tend to scare us for multiple reasons. We fear that we’ll answer poorly and wreck their theology forever. We’re afraid of what could possibly be going through their minds to ask such things. We’re quite nervous about having “those” types of conversations. Quite frankly, we just don’t want to mess up.

But it’s a great thing when kids ask questions, especially questions about faith. First, it shows they’re thinking. Second, if they’re asking you, that signifies a great level of trust. So…how do we not blow it?

8 Tips for Responding to Kids’ Questions About Faith

Here are my basic guidelines for answering tough questions about faith:

1. Don’t panic!

When we freak out, we communicate that it isn’t safe to ask questions. Yet we want to be the safest place for children to turn. First, take a deep breath. Then prevent yourself from saying, “Why would you ask that?” or “How could you think that?” or “Why would you be thinking about that?”

2. Clarify what they’re actually asking.

I loved the TV show Everybody Loves Raymond. One of my favorite episodes is when the daughter asks, “Why are there babies?” The dad flips out. He elaborately prepares to answer, only to discover she wasn’t even asking what he thought. You can watch the clip here. Take the time to make sure you know what kids are really asking. Ask clarifying questions before launching into your answer. You may be relieved!

3. Answer according to age and maturity.

A 3-year-old can’t handle the same depth of answer as a 10-year-old. Some 5-year-olds are much more mature than others and require deeper answers.

4. Answer according to your relationship with the child.

If you’re a church leader or volunteer, you need to pass some questions off to parents. You should not answer “Are Santa and the Tooth Fairy real?” That’s true no matter how passionate you might be about the subject. Always bring parents in on any topic that might be controversial.

5. Always be honest.

It’s easiest to answer with a vague, quick, pat answer—even if it’s not entirely true. Our goal is not easy. Our goal is for kids to know Christ and have a biblical worldview.

‘Trump Comes Up Short’—Former Trump Supporter Wayne Grudem Now Calls for Him To ‘Back Out Now’

By

Janna Firestone

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December 18, 2023

Wayne Grudem Donald Trump — Left: Wayne Grudem, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Right: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

After supporting and voting for former president Donald Trump in the past two elections, theologian Dr. Wayne Grudem is now suggesting that the candidate “drop out of the current presidential race.”

Grudem published an article in Newsweek citing his reasoning. A self-described conservative, “lifelong Republican,” Grudem is looking for the best possible candidate to represent the political party and win the general election. “A candidate will have to win a majority of Independents in order to win the election. And that is where Trump comes up short,” said Grudem.

“Yes, dropping out would require a dose of humility, a quality not common among politicians. But humility is frequently recommended in the Bible: ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’ (James 4:6; also 1 Peter 5:5),” explained Grudem.

Wayne Grudem Encourages Former President Donald Trump To ‘Drop Out Now’

An author of 22 books, Dr. Wayne Grudem is also Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies at Phoenix Seminary. His most recent book, “Christian Ethics,” was published in 2018 and focuses on “helping readers apply a biblical worldview to difficult ethical issues.”

Since Trump has been accused of and charged for various ethical issues, one might assume that the topic of ethics would be at the top of Grudem’s list. However, that’s not the case. In fact, Grudem recently disagreed with Pastor John Piper when the two “reached different conclusions about [the 2020] presidential election.”

At the time, Piper wrote,

I remain baffled that so many Christians consider the sins of unrepentant sexual immorality (porneia), unrepentant boastfulness (alazoneia), unrepentant vulgarity (aischrologia), unrepentant factiousness (dichostasiai), and the like, to be only toxic for our nation, while policies that endorse baby-killing, sex-switching, freedom-limiting, and socialistic overreach are viewed as deadly.

In response, Grudem argued that when choosing government leaders, “policies and laws are not the only consideration, but they are the most important consideration,” even more important than the leaders’ character.

One of the first among the list of evangelical leaders and scholars to influence the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, Grudem advocates for the biblical and traditional views of men, women, and marriage.

Throughout his Newsweek article, Grudem expanded on his argument that Trump should “drop out of the current presidential race.” He contended, “He is a weaker candidate than in 2016.”

A Republican candidate would need not only to win the votes of Republican voters but he or she would also need to win over independent voters. Grudem just doesn’t think Trump will do so.

7 Factors That Have Reduced Trump’s Support

Within his Newsweek article, Grudem outlined seven aspects that have had a direct impact on how voters on both sides view the former president.

Trump didn’t admit that he lost the 2020 election. Many Trump supporters still think the election was “stolen.” “I’m concerned that endlessly repeating this claim quickly turns off many independent voters,” claimed Grudem. “What they see is a sore loser.”
When the Jan. 6 demonstration became violent, Trump didn’t urge participants to stop. Grudem recounted the timeline of that disastrous day and pointed out that the president of the United States at that time, Donald Trump, “did nothing for more than 1 1/2 hours.”
Trump endorses weak Republican Senate candidates. To retain a majority in the Senate, Grudem claimed that Trump could have backed much stronger Republican candidates.
Trump has a long list of legal issues. Grudem referred to the more than 90 counts of felony charges against Trump. Whether or not voters feel these are legitimate claims (and Grudem thinks they’re “a malicious misuse of the courts”), the allegations raise doubts about the candidate.
He’s not getting any younger. Especially compared to the younger Democratic candidates, Trump is closer to Biden’s age—which presents the risk of unexpected health issues.
Voters are increasingly concerned about Trump’s character. While it’s not at the top of Grudem’s list, many voters are questioning Trump’s morals and behavior.
Even Republicans are tired of defending Trump. Grudem admitted that he will “support any Republican candidate because the policies supported by Republicans are more consistent with the overall teachings of the Bible.” However, many Republicans agree that “having to defend Trump again and again for another year produces in me a great feeling of weariness,” said Grudem.

Christian Parents Who Lost Custody of Transgender Teen Appeal Case to U.S. Supreme Court

By

Stephanie Martin

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December 18, 2023

Mary and Jeremy Cox, a devout Christian couple in Indiana, lost custody of their biological son in June 2021. The reason? They refused, on biblical grounds, to affirm the 16-year-old’s decision to start identifying as a girl.

During a lengthy investigation and legal battle, the Coxes failed to convince a state agency and lower courts that they deserved custody of the teen, who has now aged out of the foster system. With the assistance of the Indiana Family Institute (IFI), the couple has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case. They expect to hear in April 2024 if that will happen.

Indiana Court Calls This an ‘Extreme Case’

The teen, identified in legal documents as A.C., was removed from Mary and Jeremy Cox’s home after the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) warned a county court the teen was in physical and emotional danger. According to court records, A.C. had developed an eating disorder, was self-isolating, and was in danger of self-harm. A DCS investigator alleged the teen endured abuse from the parents, which they denied.

In accordance with a DCS recommendation, a county judge ordered that A.C. be placed in a foster home that affirmed the teen’s chosen gender identity. The judge also prohibited the Coxes from discussing faith-based beliefs during visits with their teen.

Upon appeal, the Indiana Court of Appeals admitted that a parent-child disagreement usually doesn’t warrant a child’s removal. But “this is an extreme case where Child has reacted to a disagreement with the Parents” in such a way that “seriously endangers Child’s physical, emotional, and mental well-being.”

Although the DCS eventually dropped the abuse allegations, A.C. was never returned to the Cox home. The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that the couple’s rights weren’t violated, because although they “have the right to exercise their religious beliefs…they do not have the right to exercise them in a manner that causes physical or emotional harm” to their child.

Indiana Couple Cites ‘Government Muzzle’ on Rights

In the Coxes’ petition to the Supreme Court, they describe their case as “novel and chilling,” saying their “deeply held religious beliefs and best judgment” about parenting shouldn’t be subjected to a “government muzzle.”

IFI attorney Joshua Hershberger, who is representing the couple, wrote, “Fit parents have the right to raise their children according to their beliefs.” Urging SCOTUS to hear his clients’ case, he wrote that the “rights of parents everywhere in the United States are at risk.”

A.C. is now a legal adult and can’t be forced to return home, but the Coxes said they fear the state will come after their other children. In a video posted to YouTube in January 2023, the couple described how they “had to become reluctant warriors” to try to safeguard their teen.

10 Discipleship Questions for the Coming New Year

1. What will be my Bible reading plan for 2023?

2. What specific step will I take in the new year to love my family better?

3. On what nonbeliever(s) will I focus my prayers and evangelistic efforts in 2023?

4. In whom will I invest my life as a disciplemaker this next year?

5. What sin will I fight the hardest to overcome in the new year?

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Doctrine on Marriage and on Homosexuality Has Not Changed

Same-Sex Blessings Must Not Be Ritualized

5 Ways To Battle Insecurity as a Pastor or Leader

Avoid Comparisons

Concentrate on Your Abilities

Surround Yourself With People Who Complement Your Weaknesses

Topical/Themed Preaching

7 Ways to Lose Ministry Volunteers

1. Compare them with others

2. Come to meetings unprepared

3. Treat them like extras

4. Consider them as “just ministry volunteers”

5. Never affirm them publicly or privately

6. Never give them a break

If ministry volunteers aren’t validated in the ministry you lead, they will look for another place where they are.

2 Common Email Scams

8 Tips for Responding to Kids’ Questions About Faith

1. Don’t panic!

2. Clarify what they’re actually asking.

3. Answer according to age and maturity.

4. Answer according to your relationship with the child.

5. Always be honest.

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