9 Lessons on Worship EVERYONE Need to Learn

October 9, 2023

There are 9 key lessons on worship I think every young worship leader needs to learn.

I remember the day like it was yesterday. I remember my heart racing, tears flowing and my life changing. It was the day I experienced the presence of God for the first time. Sure, I had been in church many times before. But this time was different. This time I felt the love of God sweep over me like never before. I could sense His presence. I caught a glimpse of His glory.

And I’m not one to get emotionally overwhelmed by things. I’m much more analytical. But this was different. This was the call of God. This was an awakening from death to life. When I think on that moment, it reminds me that those moments are happening all the time. This is why we all need lessons on worship, because with every song we choose, every word we speak, every service we lead, destinies can be altered.

These are the kinds of things I wish I was told when I started leading worship. Which is why I compiled this list. If you’d like, share this with the young worship leaders you’re working with.

Nine Lessons on Worship

1. You Don’t Need to Make Something Happen

Powerful worship doesn’t depend on your ability to work up a room and be a charismatic leader. The Holy Spirit is moving. Jesus is glorious. All you need to do is highlight that. And get out of the way.

2. Worship Leading Is About Worship and Leadership

You need to be a worshiper. But that’s not enough. The stage isn’t the place for your own personal worship. You need to lead people and facilitate others’ encounters with God.

3. Serve Your Church, Not Your Ego

You are a part of a local church. It’s not a place to trumpet your own awesomeness or to do what you want. You’re there to serve a lead pastor’s vision and to passionately be a part of it.

4. Choose Songs That Are Good for Your People

Don’t just choose songs you like or even just songs that are popular. Choose songs based on what they say and the faith they build in people. Think pastorally. What do your people need to say and sing?

3 Mindsets for Leaders and Money—And the Truth About Materialism

Dan Reiland

October 8, 2023

How a leader relates to money is contagious. Whether you lead a small group or the entire church, how you handle money influences others and impacts your ministry.

Money is highly spiritual in nature. Scripture speaks about money hundreds of times and it is directly connected to the disposition of our heart. We cannot lead well without engaging finances on God’s terms.

Interestingly, we sometimes attach personality traits to money and people. Leaders say of themselves things such as:

“I’m definitely frugal.”
“I love giving.”
“I’m really cautious about money.”
“I’m strong at raising money for vision.”
“I’m not good with money.”
“I’m a high faith risk-taker with money.”
“Generosity is a core value for me.”

How would you describe your personality as it relates to money? Do you relate to any of these or something different?

3 Mindsets for Leaders and Money

Allow me to present three (admittedly generalized and broad) categories I have seen leaders and in many cases their churches live in. Of course, there are varying degrees in each one.

Note: Please resist attaching any one of these to a particular group. Any of these can be in any leader or any church.

1. Scarcity Mindset

The scarcity mindset inherently believes there aren’t enough financial resources to meet the needs, the ability to develop resources is unlikely and therefore rejects the idea of materialistic gain. And some believe that having little or less helps you be humble and Godly.

Possessions and material blessing are seen as a burden and often unnecessary.

Key tenants: Scarcity & Austerity

Churches with a scarcity mindset are protective of money, reluctant to take a risk, live within a framework of austerity, and though they would value helping those in need, the practice of austerity leaves them with little to nothing to give. They would typically not have confidence that resources can be cultivated or that God will provide.

2. Prosperity Mindset

The prosperity mindset adopts the belief that material blessing and financial success is the will of God for those with great faith and who are generous toward the church. In some cases, the belief is that if you lack blessing, you lack faith.

Possessions and material blessing are seen as a promise from God.

Key Tenants: Faith & Blessing

Churches with a prosperity mindset often focus on a platform of health, wealth and happiness. If you are generous with the church God is generous with you. These churches believe big for God’s blessings and miracles, adopting positive thought and declarations as a pathway.

3. Stewardship Mindset

The stewardship mindset believes that material blessings are given by God and we are the managers (or stewards) not owners, who are trusted to use them wisely. On a personal basis possessions are to be enjoyed and held loosely rather than coveted. The expectation is that gifts and talents are utilized to be industrious for Kingdom purposes.

Possessions and material blessing are seen as a gift from God.

The Secret of Gentle Confrontation

Clint Archer

October 8, 2023

It was on a family fishing trip where I learned an object lesson about gentle confrontation.

I was recently reminded about the time I went fishing with my sons. I must admit I am someone who gets grossed out very easily. Touching bugs, snakes, and sadly even fish, grosses me out a bit. But not my oldest son. Unlike his dad, he’s courageous when it comes to touching animals. But it was his tender care that really struck me that day.

Like most children he has a soft spot in his heart for animals. He doesn’t like stepping on bugs and would rather relocate them than exterminate them. When we caught the fish, we had a dilemma. We weren’t going to keep him. So, we had agreed that if we caught something we would remove the hook and throw him back in the water. My son wanted to be the one to remove the hook. Probably because he thought I would do it as quickly as possible (to minimize the contact with the fish) and would not do it well.

So, against all odds I caught a fish. It wasn’t a huge guy, but it was big enough to have had his mouth caught on the hook. I watched as my son, who had never done it before, carefully and gently remove the hook from the mouth of the fish. He had to manage to keep the fish’s mouth open, and gently push the hook down deeper in his mouth, in order to cause the least amount of damage as possible. And he did it with such tenderness and such care that it moved me emotionally.

Not too long after that I preached Galatians 6:1

Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness…

And immediately I was reminded about my son, that fish, and the secret of gentle confrontation.

It is imperative to confront.

Too many Christians are scared to say something. They don’t want to get their hands dirty. They don’t want to ruin a relationship. They don’t want to do the hard work of church discipline or help a brother or sister overcome an addiction. Or they don’t want to even do the work of keeping a brother or sister accountable. Too many Christians are cowardly when it comes to the vital task of gentle confrontation.

Maybe they think it is the pastor’s job. Maybe when they read this verse and see the word spiritual, they think it’s talking about super Christians or Christians who’ve been saved for decades. But the clear meaning of the text is talking about a person who possesses the Holy Spirit. In other words, anyone who is saved and walking in obedience to scripture.

One who is obeying scripture can’t hold back the truth. The person who is in sin needs to know the consequences of their sin. They need to know that God hates sin. They need to be reminded about the danger of an unrepentant heart. They might need to be reminded about the danger of hell and that unrepentance might mean that they might still be unregenerate.

I mean the fish caught in the hook is in grave danger! They desperately need the hook to be removed, and the situation is so drastic that they need a brother or sister to come and help them.

Gentle Confrontation is our imperative.

Obviously the one being confronted can’t sit there and assess whether the confronter is being gentle enough or not. His role is to listen and be humble. Because of his love for Christ and his understanding that he or she has blind spots they are open to confrontation by fellow believers.

That said, it is imperative that we have gentleness as we confront. Too many times, especially in our circle, we can be rough with the truth. We can come too strong and our tact in the counseling room can be terrible. Gentleness is of course a fruit of the Spirit. And the one who has been transformed by the Holy Spirit will grow over time in his ability to deliver the whole truth and nothing but the truth, in a gentle way.

Gentleness does not mean withholding truth. But gentleness does mean that the delivery will be different because of the indwelling Holy Spirit in the deliverer’s life.

Obviously, a lot of the time when the confronter isn’t gentle it is because the confronter is approaching the sinner with the wrong theology. Paul deals with the theology of the “spiritual” person who is helping his brother in sin.

The Heart of Gentle Confrontation

In verses 1 and 2 he gives to attitudes that the confronter must possess to aid us in our responsibility to provide gentle confrontation.

Humility of knowing that my heart is capable of much worse, as we see in Galatians 6:1 and a servant’s heart ready to carry the sinner’s burden with them in Galatians 6:2. These attitudes when accompanying the confrontation, will assist the confronter in being gentle.

If we are not gentle, we might even successfully remove the hook from the mouth, but we will perhaps cause irreparable damage to the one who was confronted.

It is unacceptable to not confront a brother or sister in sin. Obviously, there is need for much wisdom to know when and what sins we must confront but we must for the church’s spiritual health and for their own spiritual health, confront them and try to rescue them.

At the same time, it is unacceptable to confront that person without gentleness.

So, as we do our God ordained job of confronting a brother or sister in need of rescuing, we must be gentle. Out of love for them and love for their soul we must go to them delivering the entire truth, but we must do so in a way that pleases the Lord.

Let me also say that even though somethings will not be repaired in this life, that nothing is irreparable. If you have confronted harshly nothing is holding you back from going to the person and asking for forgiveness. Remind them of your love for them and that the reason why you went to them in the first place was because of concern but ask them for forgiveness for the way you confronted them and ask them to pray for you to learn to be gentler in the future.

This article about gentle confrontation originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

The Power of a Praying Pastor

Scott Attebery

October 8, 2023

The Power of a Praying Pastor

In Mark 9:14-29, Christ’s disciples encounter a boy who has been plagued with demons. As a result, the boy was blind and mute. He frequently was thrown to the ground in violent fits. He would foam and the mouth and grind his teeth down. The demons would even cause him to fall into water and fire in an attempt to kill him.

The boy’s father brought him to the disciples for healing. Yet, the disciples could not help. The demons remained and the boy’s afflictions continued.

Jesus heard the commotion and asked what was happening. The boy’s father explained the situation to Jesus. After a short conversation, Christ healed the boy and removed the evil spirits.

Later, when they were alone, the disciples asked Jesus why they were not able to heal the boy. I imagine, as pastors, we can relate to the disciples’ question.

We all have evil within our churches. Believers continue to deal with the effects of indwelling sin and the desires of the flesh. Meanwhile, Satan’s rule over the present world works to woo believers into temptation.

Although every pastor experiences some “ministerial victories” from time to time, it is disconcerting to watch the couple in which he has invested so many hours continue with divorce proceedings. It is painful to see a young boy go to prison while recalling all of the hours that have been invested in discipling him and keeping him off of the streets.

“What went wrong,” the pastor asks himself.

When the disciples asked the same question, Jesus remarked, “This kind can only be healed by prayer.”

Prayer submits to the source of all power: Christ alone. That’s why we typically end our prayers with the words “In Jesus’ name.”

‘Israel Is at War’—Netanyahu on ‘Gruesome’ Surprise Attack by Hamas

Jesse T. Jackson

October 7, 2023

Israelis near the Gaza Strip were awakened by war sirens Saturday morning (Oct. 7) after Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists launched a surprise attack on southern Israel.

Israel Hit by Land, Sea, and Air in Surprise Attack by Hamas

The attack came the morning after the last day Jewish people in Israel were celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles.

“Citizens of Israel, we are at war—not in an operation, not in rounds—at war.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message addressing his nation.

“This morning, Hamas launched a murderous surprise attack against Israel and its citizens. We have been in this since the early morning hours,” said Netanyahu. He added, “The enemy will pay an unprecedented price.”

“In the meantime, I call on the citizens of Israel to strictly adhere to the directives of the army and Home Front Command. We are at war and we will win,” Netanyahu stated.

According to reports, thousands of rockets were fired by Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip, killing at least 300 Israelis and injuring at least 1,500.

Barbaric images and video clips have flooded social media showing Hamas terrorists executing Israeli civilians, dragging them out of vehicles, and taking women and children as hostages.

ChurchLeaders reached out to a contact in Israel, who said, “Everyone is praying that [the hostages] would come out of this alive.”

The source told ChurchLeaders that Hamas is attempting to get “West Bank Palestinians, Arab Israelis, and Hezbollah to join the war. Israel is working to block that move.”

“Pray through Psalm 122:6,” the source asked. “We want to see them come to faith in Yeshua. And then, the obvious, that God would cause the hostilities to cease.”

The United States National Security Council (NSC) released a statement condemning the “unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians.”

The NSC said there is never any justification for terrorism and that the United States stands “firmly with the Government and people of Israel and extend our condolences for the Israeli lives lost in these attacks.”

Israel right now. pic.twitter.com/zEWSwHIPSj

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 7, 2023

President Joe Biden called the attacks “horrific” and said “the United States unequivocally condemns this appalling assault against Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, and I made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support to the Government and people of Israel.”

“Terrorism is never justified,” he added. “Israel has a right to defend itself and its people. The United States warns against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation. My Administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering.”

Biden shared that he and the First Lady were praying “for all of the families who have been hurt by this violence” and said that they are “heartbroken by the lives that have been tragically cut short and hope for a swift recovery for all those who have been wounded.”

“I woke up this morning to hear the shocking news. Israel is at war,” Harvest Christian Fellowship senior pastor Greg Laurie posted. “They have been attacked by the terrorist organization, Hamas, which is backed by Iran…many Israelis taken hostage as thousands of Hamas terrorists stormed across border into Southern Israel.”

Laurie called the attack “an act of pure evil” and said “Israel has every right to defend herself. The Jewish people are back in their homeland as a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. The Bible tells us to ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem’ (Ps.122:6).”

“Pray for the citizens of Israel as well as for the many tourist groups that are there from around the world,” he added. “May God protect them and give wisdom to their Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.”

Jack Graham, senior pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church, said, “This is a call to prayer for Israel and the people in the region. A horrendous situation perpetrated by terrorists and resourced by the terrorist state Iran. War is now declared and the nations of the world are at risk.”

Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) International Mission Board (IMB) president, Paul Chitwood posted, “Approximately 10 million souls in Gaza and Israel today find themselves in a war zone. Most are innocent of the ongoing atrocities. Few are prepared to face eternity. Pray for peace. Pray for the gospel to be proclaimed and believed.”

Trevin Wax, Vice President of Research and Resource Development at the SBC’s North American Mission Board (NAMB), said, “I won’t link here out of respect to the dead, but the videos and pictures coming out of Israel right now… Scenes of terror and carnage. Horrifying and gruesome. Lord, have mercy, and bring justice.”

10 Ways We Create an Unhealthy Culture

Ron Edmondson

October 7, 2023

No leader sets out to create an unhealthy culture, but I know some keys to creating one.

There are things which injure the health of any team. I am not sure we do them with ill intentions. Sometimes we simply are doing what we know to do or what has been modeled for us by other leaders.

But if we aren’t careful, we unwillingly create an unhealthy culture.

Perhaps understanding how it develops can help. Just as with a healthy team environment, creating an unhealthy culture doesn’t happen without intentionality. We almost have to work at it – even when we don’t realize we are doing so.

10 Ways to Create an Unhealthy Culture:

Make people question their role or performance on the team. Make them wonder if what they do matters.
Avoid all conflict.
Pretend things are okay when they are not. Exaggerate the positives and avoid the negatives.
Add rules which impact everyone, rather than dealing with the real issue.
Never applaud people or celebrate wins. Only critique and find fault.
Keep people wondering what the leader is thinking. Under-communicate.
Allow passive aggression to govern decision-making.
Hold mistakes against people rather than using them as a learning experience.
Limit the control of decisions made to a few people. Don’t make people feel “included”.
Have no clear purpose for the team.

Again, most leaders aren’t setting out to create an unhealthy culture. But these actions certainly welcome one.

This article on creating (or avoiding) an unhealthy culture originally appeared here, and is used by permission. Check out Ron’s leadership podcast where we discuss issues of leadership in a practical way. Plus, check out the other Lifeway Leadership Podcasts.

Essential Advice on How to Write a Bible Study

Paul Sheneman

October 7, 2023

When teenagers get lost or bored during a youth Bible study, that defeats the whole point. If the lesson seems to wander pointlessly from one topic to the next, kids are apt to become confused or completely check out. If you’re wondering how to write a Bible study that’s meaningful and keeps young people engaged and interested, you’ve come to the right place.

Learning how to write a Bible study and create lesson plans is a basic skill that some youth workers seem to lack. The skill is essential if you’re creating your own Bible studies for teens but even more critical when you’re evaluating resources to use with them. (After all, if you don’t know the basics, then how can you evaluate a resource?)

So I’ve put together this simple guide on how to write a Bible study.

Step 1: Study the Bible.

That may sound like an obvious starting point, but it’s key. For example, let’s say you’re going to teach on Mark 16:1-8. The point of first studying that passage is to help figure out the lessons for your group. When I do this, I list ideas as bullet points. Here are some of my comments from studying the passage:

Doubt is a part of resurrection faith.
The central question in the passage is “What happened to Jesus’ body?”
The women are presented with an explanation: “Jesus is raised from the dead.”
One could answer the central question in multiple ways.
The point is that we need to answer the question for ourselves.

Step 2: Determine a learning objective.

Start the writing of the Bible study with clearly defined objectives. This gives you a goal to work toward with every aspect of the lesson. Without learning objectives, your time can be prone to wander. Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t go off script if an unexpected learning moment presents itself. Just try to maintain an overall focus and purpose from the beginning that holds the whole study together.

My two learning objectives for the Mark passage are:

to understand that doubt is a part of faith, and
to commit to a personal answer to the question “What happened to Jesus’ body?”

Teens With Special Needs: Minister Effectively & Make a Difference

Youth Ministrycom

October 6, 2023

Churches often overlook teens who have special needs. “Special needs ministry” is a huge topic in the world of children’s ministry. If your focus is grade-school kids, you can find dozens of books, workshops, articles, and digital resources to help you come alongside youngsters with developmental disabilities. But a “glass ceiling” persists once you move it up a notch into youth ministry. There the conversation seems muted, at best.

Our publishing team at Group was considering a book proposal. A youth worker wrote a guide for ministering to teens with special needs. We liked the book but couldn’t agree on how broadly its appeal would be for the average youth worker. We talk with youth pastors all over the world, all the time. Yet we don’t often hear about ministry to special-needs teens. So we asked our team of youth ministry advisers to “peg” how big this issue is for them.

And we discovered a sleeping giant in youth ministry. Addressing the needs of teens with special needs is a much bigger issue than the public conversation would indicate.

Here’s how two veteran youth workers lean into a major but underemphasized challenge…

Ministering to Teens With Special Needs

1. Be on their team.

Liz Simmonds—We currently have teens with special needs who are all along the spectrum. Kids have ADHD, ODD, Selective Mutism, processing disorders, speech disorders, FAS, anxiety, vision issues, muscular issues, hearing issues, and depression. The key is to educate yourself. Understanding how these students think and process information will help you in ministry. The student and his or her parents are your best resource! I have parents who can tell me what cues their student needs to refocus. They also know what classroom-management styles will help their student succeed.

I had a junior high student who wore hearing aids. He finally told me the soundtrack we ran to create atmosphere in the room made it nearly impossible to hear what people were saying. When the first student with autism joined my ministry, I checked out every book on ASD/Asperger’s from the local library. From there, I pursued learning about Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), then Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), and then Selective Mutism.

For teens with special needs, and their parents, the biggest thing we can do is let them know we’re on their team. Are we willing to do the work necessary to reach their kid? Are we willing to go above and beyond the job description to meet their needs? Sure, our job is to stretch all kids. But we can’t hold all students to the same standards of behavior or processing. That’s the rub—and the opportunity!

2. Individualize their experience.

Yes, one ASD student “gets” to have his iPad out to doodle when no one else does. But he’s likely paying better attention because of it. And one student who has texture issues doesn’t eat what the retreat dining hall offers. Instead, he “gets” to eat a sleeve of Ritz crackers for lunch. We aren’t going to “fix” something like this on a weekend retreat when his parents have been working on it for years.

Loren Cunningham, Founder of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), Has Died

Jesse T. Jackson

October 6, 2023

Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), peacefully passed away in his home early Friday morning (Oct. 6) at the age of 88.

Cunningham and his wife, Darlene, started YWAM in 1960 with the goal of helping youth get involved in missions. Cunningham was 26 at the time. According to its website, YWAM is a “global movement of Christians from many cultures, age groups and Christian traditions, dedicated to serving Jesus throughout the world.”

Over the years, YWAM has reached into every nation in the world, growing its team to tens of thousands of full-time staff participants, known as YWAMers, who are located all throughout the world.

In a statement released on Friday, YWAM said, “Loren was the first person in history to travel to every sovereign nation on earth, all dependent countries, and more than 100 territories and islands for the sake of Christ and the Great Commission (Mark 16:15).”

“Now he has added one more ‘stamp’ to his well-worn passport: HEAVEN,” the statement continued.

“Loren is often called the ‘de-regulator of missions’ because he broke the 1960s missionary paradigm by creating opportunities for Youth to serve short-term, globally, and unsalaried,” YWAM said. “This foresight opened the floodgates so that millions could come FROM everywhere and go TO everywhere as missionaries around the globe to proclaim the truth of God and display His love.”

Cunningham was known to say that God used Jesus’ words in Mark 16:15 to speak to him and call him to the Great Commission at the young age of 13.

Less than 10 years later, Cunningham felt that God confirmed his calling while he was praying before he preached in the Bahamas—a memory he shared his book, “Is That Really You, God?”

“Suddenly, I was looking at a map of the world, only the map was alive and moving,” Cunningham said. “I could see all the continents, and waves were crashing onto their shores. Each wave went onto a continent, then receded, then came up further until it covered the continent completely. The waves became young people—kids my age and even younger—covering all the continents of the globe.”

He continued, “They were talking to people on street corners and outside bars. They were going from house to house and preaching the Gospel. They came from everywhere and went everywhere, caring for people. Then, just as suddenly as it had come, the scene was gone.”

Cunningham is survived by Darlene, his daughter Karen, his son David and daughter-in-law Judy, and his three grandchildren, Madi, Kenna, and Liam.

Preston Sprinkle Shares What He Appreciates About Andy Stanley’s Message and What Concerns Him

Jessica Lea

October 6, 2023

Dr. Preston Sprinkle, who has a ministry geared toward helping churches address questions on sexuality and gender, has joined the ranks of those responding to the recent controversy surrounding Pastor Andy Stanley and North Point Community Church.

Sprinkle, who serves as the president of The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender, said on Friday, Oct. 6, that he deeply appreciates what Stanley is attempting to do to serve the parents of LGBTQ+ children. But Sprinkle also observed that when Stanley attempted to take a position in favor of traditional marriage in his sermon last Sunday, the pastor demonstrated a “classic affirming line of reasoning.”

Preston Sprinkle: Stanley Demonstrates an Anemic Theology of Singleness

On Sunday, Oct. 1, author and pastor Andy Stanley used his preaching time to address controversy generated by the “Unconditional Conference,” an event his Atlanta-area church hosted on Sept. 28-29. The conference aimed to provide pastoral care to the parents of LGBTQ+ children and featured a number of affirming speakers, including two men who are married to other men. Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, criticized the conference as not “consistent with biblical Christianity.”

During his Oct. 1 message, Stanley referenced Mohler’s comments and said that Mohler’s “version of biblical Christianity…is the problem.” Mohler soon published a response to Stanley’s message, stating that it failed to mention “repentance from sin” and that Stanley was not presenting “the gospel as preached by the Apostles and held fast by the faithful Church.”

A variety of other ministry leaders have since published responses to Andy Stanley’s sermon, including Sam Allberry, who is a celibate, same-sex attracted pastor, and Biola professor Sean McDowell and Stand to Reason speaker Alan Shlemon.

In a bonus episode on his podcast, “Theology in the Raw,” Preston Sprinkle said he has “been hesitant about responding” to the controversy “for many reasons” but has been hearing from pastors saying the situation is impacting their congregations.

“The fact is North Point and Andy, they are playing some discipleship role in the lives of many people outside of their church and outside of the state,” said Sprinkle. “That’s just the fact of the matter.” Sprinkle said he knows little about Stanley but that he has agreed with the pastor at times while also wishing at times Stanley would be clearer about his positions.

Sprinkle went on to expound on what he sees as the positives and negatives of Stanley’s Sunday message. As far as what Sprinkle appreciated about it, the ministry leader said he agreed with about 90% of Stanley’s message and that he “was ‘amen-ing’ almost everything Andy was saying.”

“He was opening our evangelical eyes to some of the spiritual realities of LGBTQ people being raised in the church,” Sprinkle said, which is “what I’ve been trying to do for almost the same amount of time” (about 10 years).

V1 Church’s Mike Signorelli Wants People To See the ‘Real Jesus’ in New Film ‘The Domino Revival’

Jesse T. Jackson

October 6, 2023

Mike Signorelli Domino Revival — (L) Mike Signorelli photo credit: Jesse T. Jackson (R) Poster image courtesy of Fathom Events.

On Tuesday (Oct. 3), pastors, ministry leaders, filmmakers, and cast members gathered at the Regal E-Walk theater near New York City’s Times Square to celebrate the red carpet premiere of “The Domino Revival.”

The film, which will be featured in a one-night-only release in theaters across the nation on Oct. 24, spotlights the testimony of V1 Church founding pastors Mike and Julie Signorelli, Global Vision Bible Church founder and pastor Greg Locke, Trinity Church founder and pastor Mark Driscoll, Isaiah Saldivar, Alexander Pagani, Jenny and Stephen Weaver, Jeremiah Johnson, Andy Byrd, and Jessi and Parker Green, among others.

V1 Church was listed at No. 26 in Outreach Magazine’s “Outreach 100 Fastest-Growing Churches” in America this year and has been called the “fastest-growing church in America” by INJOY Stewardship Solutions. V1 Church has grown from one location in 2017 to three campuses nationally across Long Island, New York City, and Northwest Indiana, and includes over 100 home watch parties globally.

“The Domino Revival” explores how faith leaders have witnessed a spiritual awakening taking place in our nation during what they describe as “America’s darkest hour.”

Viewers of the film will hear powerful testimonies and eyewitness accounts of repentance and changed lives.

On the red carpet, Signorelli told ChurchLeaders that the goal of “The Domino Revival” is to make the real Jesus known to everyone around us. “Do you see the real Jesus in our midst? The one that walked the Galilee, who died and three days later was resurrected, and now his Holy Spirit is here on the earth—that’s what this film is really about.”

Signorelli stressed that “we cannot allow ourselves to become professional Christians, and professional pastors…We’ve got to be willing to disrupt all of it, break our alabaster box open and say God, ‘I don’t do ministry for the income. I do it for the outcome.’”

Signorelli admitted that some pastors who see the film might become uncomfortable because “it’s going to be a rebuke to many pastors who have settled into comfortability.”

“This is not a movie about methods,” he added. “It’s not a Pentecostal Charismatic movie. It’s literally just me saying what happens when I go to a church in Seattle and the lead pastor’s daughter is silently dealing with suicide and nobody’s addressed it. What happens when the Sunday school teacher is addicted to drugs and nobody knows it because you’re using her every Sunday to watch your kids, but you’re not watching her soul.”

Signorelli said that revival happens when pastors choose to “expose it all and break the box open” rather than being focused on what might happen to their income.

Greg Laurie’s New Film Shows Why Faith Matters More Than ‘Fame’

Stephanie Martin

October 6, 2023

In an upcoming film from Harvest Christian Fellowship, Pastor Greg Laurie explores the desire for worldly fame and the price people pay for it. In “Fame,” which premieres later this month, Laurie looks at the lives and Christian testimonies of rock star Alice Cooper, baseball player Darryl Strawberry, actor Steve McQueen, and country singer Johnny Cash.

The film, a companion to a book titled “Fame: Fortunes, Failure and Faith,” can be purchased for $8.99 on the Harvest website. “Everyone wants to be rich and famous, but at what cost?” reads the movie’s description. “Pastor Greg Laurie outlines the many tragedies that have resulted from the pursuit of fame, fame for money, fame for glory, fame for relevance, but something was always missing. That thing that was missing wasn’t something at all. It was someone. GOD.”

Other Harvest Films include “A Rush of Hope,” “Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon,” and “Steve McQueen: American Icon.” Laurie’s life story is featured in the spring 2023 movie “Jesus Revolution,” now available on Netflix.

Greg Laurie’s ‘Fame’ Explores the ‘Emptiness’ of Worldly Pursuits

In an October 6 social media post announcing the release of “Fame,” Pastor Laurie referred to a poll of young people about their goals and desires. Being rich and famous was the top answer. “This new film shows the emptiness of pursuing [notoriety] and forgetting about God in the process,” Laurie wrote.

We are premiering a brand-new film later this month titled, “FAME”. A recent poll was taken among young people and they were asked what they wanted most out of life.

The majority of them said, “Te be rich and famous”,

Is that the answer?

This new film shows the emptiness of… pic.twitter.com/fS85H277DN

— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) October 6, 2023

His post includes a sneak peek from the film in which he interviews rock icon Alice Cooper. The 75-year-old shock rocker, now an outspoken Christian, was recently dropped by a makeup-brand sponsor because of his stance on transgender children.

In the clip from “Fame,” Cooper said he grew up attending church three times per week, including all day on Sundays. But then he veered “as far away as you could get” from that God-honoring lifestyle, eventually getting addicted to drugs and alcohol.

Cooper said people will always try to fill the hole inside them with something, whether that’s drugs, fancy cars, houses, wives, or fame. “You’re never going to achieve it,” he said. “There comes that point in your life where you go, ‘What is this about? Is this really it? ’Cause it can’t be.’ And I think that’s when you start hearing the Lord knocking.”

Greg Laurie Highlights Life Change in ‘Fame’

Also featured are interview clips with former MLB great Darryl Strawberry, who rebounded from drug addiction and other struggles and is now a pastor. “Fame” also tells the stories of actor Steve McQueen and country singer Johnny Cash, both now deceased. Laurie has described being fascinated with their backgrounds, challenges, and journeys to faith.

Sean McDowell Shares He’s Been in ‘Intense’ and ‘Debilitating’ Pain in Recent Health Update

Jesse T. Jackson

October 6, 2023

Dr. Sean McDowell, associate professor of Christian Apologetics for Talbot School of Theology at Biola University and best-selling Christian author, shared a health update yesterday (Oct. 5), explaining that although his condition isn’t life-threatening, his pain has been “intense and debilitating.”

“Some of you have expressed recent concern about my health, so I wanted to give a public update,” McDowell posted on social media. “First, it is not life-threatening. Let me repeat myself for clarity: I am not experiencing anything life-threatening. I do not have cancer.”

McDowell, who is the son of well-known evangelist Josh McDowell, shared that he has been in “the most pain in my life over the past 6 weeks. It is intense, debilitating, and sometimes I have been on the floor taking a breath at a time to get through it. Through a friend, I was connected with a specialist in Orange County and am getting excellent care.”

“I had surgery last week and the recovery is slow and painful,” he added. The specialist “promises me that I will get better, but it’s just a matter of time and rest. So far, the pain has not subsided, but I am hopeful.”

The “Set Adrift: Deconstructing What You Believe Without Sinking Your Faith” author said that his recent health status has “made me cling to God’s promises—and in particular the promise of a resurrected body—like never before.” McDowell said that due to the effects of his ailment, he has had to “pull back quite significantly on some ministry responsibilities and just rest,” something he admitted isn’t easy for him.

After McDowell shared the news of his health, many of his social media followers expressed their sympathy and said that they are praying for him. McDowell personally replied to many of them to convey his gratitude.

And it has made me cling to God’s promises–and in particular the promise of a resurrected body–like never before. As a result, I have had to pull back quite significantly on some ministry responsibilities and just rest. This is not easy for me to do!

— Sean McDowell (@Sean_McDowell) October 5, 2023

‘Cancel Culture Is Honestly Just So Extreme’—Sadie Robertson Huff Defends Recent Trip to Disney World

Dale Chamberlain

October 6, 2023

Author and speaker Sadie Robertson Huff has responded to backlash she recently received for visiting Disney World with her family. The “Duck Dynasty” star discussed the controversy on her “WHOA That’s Good” podcast.

Huff had received criticism for giving money to Disney despite the media conglomerate’s outspoken support for the LGBTQ+ community and the LGBTQ+ themes that have appeared in some of its recent films geared toward children.

Huff prefaced her response by saying it would be “a messy conversation about cancel culture.”

She went on to mention that several of her recent Instagram posts were about the LO Sister Conference, a two-day Christian women’s event she recently led and which saw “over 300 girls baptized and lives changed and restored and redeemed.”

“So I’m posting about that on my Instagram and I’m posting all about the baptisms and how awesome it was,” Huff said. “And, of course, I get unfollowed by people, because I’m sitting here posting about Jesus and baptisms and just like the gospel. And people were like, ‘No, you know, too much.’”

Huff continued, “Well, then at the end of the week, I posted about going to Disney World.”

Huff expressed that after the busyness of LO Sister Conference, she and her husband, Christian, felt that they should do something special for their two-year-old daughter, Honey.

“We could have done something special for Honey anywhere, but she loves Disney princesses right now…loves pink castles, loves the magic—Ariel, Rapunzel, Moana,” Huff said, adding that it was “so special” to take Honey to the Disney theme park.

“We had the best time ever,” she remarked. But after she posted about the trip on Instagram, she was hit with a wave of backlash.

“Talk about getting unfollowed for something completely different,” she said. “I’m getting unfollowed because I’m too woke, I’ve gone crazy. People literally said, ‘You’re not even a Christian…How could you bring your family to such a horrible place?’” She added that the comment section was filled with people saying that they “have to unfollow” her.

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Black Churches Play a Key Role in Connecting Communities to Broadband Internet

Adelle M. Banks and Yonat Shimron

October 6, 2023

Black Churches Broadband Internet — The Rev. Barbara Williams-Skinner, center, teaches local clergy about the Affordable Connectivity Program during a training event in Jacksonville, Fla. Photo courtesy of Williams-Skinner

The nearly 14 million people of color who live in rural America face unique challenges that run the gamut — from navigating racism in real estate, environmental regulation and the justice system to gaining access to healthcare and broadband. This six-part series from the Rural News Network, made possible with support from the Walton Family Foundation, explores the issues these communities are facing and what some are doing to change their fates.

(RNS) — In the riverfront city of New Bern, North Carolina, Peletah Ministries, like many houses of worship since COVID-19 struck, offers Sunday services to those who can’t get to church for health or other reasons. But in these days of Zoom and other internet-based communications, the stay-at-home congregants still dial in to the service via a conference call on the ministry’s toll-free 800 number — a landline.

“People still call it, and they still do church services that way,” said Dawn Baldwin Gibson, the ministry’s executive director. “They still do their Bible studies that way. A lot of people just don’t have devices in their homes, or they don’t have access to the internet.”

Early in the pandemic, Black churches often struggled to make the switch to remote services for lack of broadband in their area. Even if a church had the wherewithal to livestream services or hold meetings on video platforms, congregants lacked the connections to take advantage. A 2020 Pew Research Center study showed that while 92% of evangelical Christians and 86% of mainline Protestants could watch services online, only 73% of worshippers in the historically Black traditions said the same.

Today in the rural South, 38% of Black households do not have access to broadband, compared with 23% of white households, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Black clergy and faith leaders in the rural South have been working for years to bridge the digital divide in their communities and congregations, and a pandemic-era federal program gave those efforts a boost by offering discounted internet access. But fewer than half of the estimated 49 million Americans who are eligible have enrolled, and now questions loom about the program’s long-term funding by Congress.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program offers discounted internet access and one-time discounts on laptop, desktop or tablet purchases. Any household whose income amounted to less than 200% of the Federal Poverty Line qualifies, as do those earning above that line but who receive any of a variety of public benefits. To date, more than 21 million households have enrolled in the program.

In North Carolina, the state’s Department of Information Technology has set a goal of enrolling 1 million state residents in the ACP by year’s end, said Cristalle H. Dickerson, spokesperson for the department’s Broadband and Digital Equity division. So far, more than 850,000 households have signed up.

To that end, it is partnering with faith-based organizations such as Peletah to get the word out. Other faith networks, including The Balm in Gilead and the National African American Clergy Network as well as national Black denominations are working on these efforts, which include pleas to members of Congress to replenish funding for the program, which could be depleted by early 2024.

Gov. Roy Cooper has also encouraged internet service providers in the state to lop an additional $30 from the monthly fees of individuals who qualify for the ACP.

In many areas, urban or rural, Black communities depend on their churches for more than spiritual uplift; members and nonmembers turn to local Black-led churches for everything from child care to medical services. During the pandemic, Black churches were crucial partners with government agencies in providing COVID-19 vaccines and testing.

Fallon Wilson, vice president for policy of the nonpartisan Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council, said that the model forged in the pandemic can be replicated to bridge some of the gaps in digital access that were exposed in 2020.

Vatican Synod on Synodality Signals Hope for Women’s Ordination Advocates

Claire Giangrave

October 6, 2023

Synod on Synodality women's ordination — Dozens of women march to the Vatican, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, calling for female ordination. RNS photo by Tom Reese

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Advocates for the ordination of women to the priesthood flocked to Rome this week as the Vatican hosts a historic monthlong gathering of faithful to discuss the future of the church.

Dozens of women holding banners calling for female ordination met on Friday (Oct. 6) at the church of St. Giovanni dei Fiorentini — which contains a relic of the foot of St. Mary Magdalene, who is sometimes described as the ‘apostle to the apostles’ — and from there they marched to the Vatican.

Faithful from all over the world, including bishops and cardinals, are gathered at the Vatican for the month of October for Pope Francis’ synod on synodality, born from a massive global consultation of Catholics at all levels, and are poised to discuss some of the most urgent issues in the church, including the ordination of women and the inclusion of LGBTQ faithful.

The Instrumentum Laboris, or working document guiding the discussions at the synod, makes ample reference to the requests by “most of the Continental Assemblies and the syntheses of several Episcopal Conferences” to address the female diaconate, which would allow women to oversee Mass but not sacraments such as the Eucharist and Confession.

“When we received the Instrumentum Laboris we were very hopeful,” said Kate McElwee, executive director of the international network Women’s Ordination Worldwide (or WOW), during an interview with Religion News Service on Friday (Oct. 6).

But women’s ordination advocates worry that limiting the discussion of female priests to only the diaconate, without any mention of the words “ordination” or “ministry,” was a way of “constraining the Holy Spirit.” Despite the obstacles, McElwee believes the event could be “a synod of surprises.”

In the period of consultation leading up to the summit, the Vatican’s synod office published WOW’s resources on their website. McElwee was also invited by the U.S. Bishops’ Conference to speak about female ordination to the U.S. delegates who would be attending the synod, even though, she admits, not many of them came to hear her talk.

“Invitations from the institutional church are new to our movement and signal a novelty,” she said, adding that the synod “not only looks different, but feels different.”

Among the surprises leading up to the synod was Pope Francis’ answer on Monday to the “dubia,” a series of questions submitted in July by conservative cardinals who are concerned the synod is a way of pushing a progressive agenda in the church. Whether the “sacramental ordination of women can be conferred” was among the questions.

In his answer, the pope underlined that the priesthood “should not be understood as a form of domination,” which would make it “difficult to accept that the priesthood is reserved only for men.” He acknowledged the importance of recognizing the rights of women “and the need for them to participate in various ways in the leadership of the Church.”

But he also clarified that there is no “clear and authoritative doctrine” on the question of ordination. “It is not a dogmatic definition, and yet it must be adhered to by all. No one can publicly contradict it and yet it can be a subject of study, as with the case of the validity of ordinations in the Anglican Communion,” he added.

The pope’s words remain ambivalent, but compared to his past pronouncements on the subject, Francis’ answer to the dubia signals an opening. Previously, the pope said his predecessor John Paul II had made the final pronouncement in 1994 when he wrote that the church “has no authority” to ordain women.

Give Young Leaders an Unreasonable Seat at the Table

Eric Geiger

October 6, 2023

In the marketplace, leaders of different departments and divisions often make the case to “have a seat at the table”—meaning that they, as the leader of the particular division, should be on the leadership team. By being “at the table,” they would be able to influence the direction of the overall team and give the overall team insight into their team’s challenges and opportunities. “It is reasonable that I would be at the table because of …” is often the argument.

When it comes to leadership development, give young leaders an unreasonable seat at the table. Meaning, put someone or multiple people on the team whose role or level of responsibilities would not warrant being “at the table.” An example: when I led in the marketplace, in publishing, I put future leaders on the leadership team though the portfolio they were responsible for, in terms of revenue and employees, was dwarfed by others on the team. By looking at employee headcount or a P&L statement, it made zero sense for them to be on the leadership team. It made zero sense except for leadership development.

Christians can uniquely appreciate the value of someone receiving an unreasonable seat at the table. As Christians, we are only at the table because our King has invited us into a relationship with Himself. Just as Jesus’s first disciples were viewed as uneducated and untrained (Acts 4:13), the Apostle Paul invited Christians in Corinth to “consider your calling.” Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many were powerful, and not many were of noble birth. “Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27). We are like Mephibosheth who, though crippled, always ate at the king’s table because King David invited him (2 Samuel 9:13). Our King has invited us and so by His grace we understand what it means to invite others.

Three outcomes from giving an unreasonable seat at the table…

1. A Seat at the Table Invites Younger Leaders Into Escalated Development.

A young leader who has a seat at the table is exposed to learning through the regular rhythms of the team’s work. The one being developed ends up being developed by the whole team rather than just the leader of the team. Returning to the example from my time in publishing: by giving an unreasonable seat at the table, the leaders were prepared when significant opportunities opened up. They were ready to move into a larger role because of all they had been exposed to—from the team dynamics, to P&L responsibilities, to an understanding of our values and strategy.

2. A Seat at the Table Sends a Strong Signal to the Whole Organization.

Young leaders at the table are a constant reminder to the whole team of the collective responsibility to raise up new leaders. Their presence sends a constant message to the whole organization that younger leaders have a place here.

3. A Seat at the Table Provides the Team With Learnings From Younger Leaders.

Including younger leaders makes the team collectively better. Yes, younger leaders can bring passion to the team, but young leaders also bring different perspectives, understand common worldviews from their generation, and have insights into opportunities to serve their generation.

It is often unreasonable to put a young leader at the table, but be unreasonable for the sake of leadership development.

This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.

15 Engaging Questions To Ask Your Kids After School

Andrew Linder

October 6, 2023

For many families, school has either just started or is about to get underway soon.

This means back to the hustle and bustle of getting up early, getting back into a scheduled routine, and living another round of the school year life with your family.

In the 365 days of the year, approximately 180 of those days for your kids will be spent in a classroom with authorities and friends other than you, their parents. That’s a lot of time and a lot of influence that other people are having in your children’s everyday life.

For the parent who wants to be intentional and stay engaged in their child’s day-to-day school life, it’s important that the conversation that follows each day of school is more than just “How was school today?”, and a robotic response of “Eh, it was okay.”

Yet, unfortunately, that’s often the extent of the conversation in many families. Little is said. Very little if anything is really known by the parent about what’s going on in their child’s daily life at school. And the gap of disengagement throughout the school year widens as oftentimes kids naturally develop stronger loyalties at school with their friends than they do at home with their families.

So here are 15 random yet engaging questions to ask your kids at the end of a school day throughout the year. They’ll help you keep your kids in check, keep yourself in check, and hopefully help you to get more of a response than, “Eh, it was okay.” 🙂

1. Who did you spend the most time with at school today, and how did you two become good friends?

2. What subject do you feel you are doing the best in, and which subject are you struggling in the most?

3. Are the other kids in your class showing respect for the teacher and their rules? What about you? How would your teacher respond to this question?

4. How do you decide who you’ll sit with during lunch? Who did you sit with at lunch today? Have you ever tried looking for someone else who might need a friend at lunchtime?

5. What were one or two favorite parts of your day today? Tell me specifically what you liked about them.

6. Is there anyone in your class that’s being treated unfairly? Have you been treating anyone unfairly?

7. Do you have any homework? If so, how much and in what subjects? Is it anything I can help you with?

8. What’s one way that you helped someone out, or showed kindness or respect for someone else in your school today?

9. Can you think of anything you did today that would make your teacher proud to have you in their class, or that would have made us proud of you?

10. If I were to ask your classmates to give me a description of you and how you treat others in the class, how do you think they would describe you?

11. What is one thing your teacher said today that you remember most?

5 Reasons Introverts Make Great Pastors

Dale Chamberlain

October 6, 2023

introvert pastors — Photo by Manuel Filipe (via Unsplash)

Many times, people think that being an extrovert is a prerequisite for being a good pastor.

In fact, when I was a pastor, most people assumed that I was an extrovert. They saw me speak from stage, lead ministries and events, and start conversations with church guests whom I did not know, and they assumed that it simply wasn’t possible for me to be an introvert. In fact, some would even argue with me whenever the topic arose, trying to convince me that I am, in fact, an extrovert.

Nevertheless, despite how introversion and extroversion are often described, “introverted” is not a synonym for “socially inept.” In fact, some of the most emotionally intelligent and relationally impactful people I know are introverts.

I am not, nor will I ever be, an extrovert. Ever since I was young, I have always enjoyed solitude. I have always preferred small gatherings to big parties. And while I have spent hundreds of hours of my life on a stage or behind a microphone, I don’t have any real emotional need to be the focal point of any social event.

For some time, I thought that in order to become a truly dynamic leader and pastor, I would need to turn myself into an extrovert—to become endlessly energetic, relentlessly optimistic, the life of the party. But at the end of the day, that just isn’t how God wired me.

For as much as we celebrate pastors who are extroverts (as well we should), we need to equally embrace and honor the ways God has uniquely equipped introverts for the task of pastoring. Here are at least five reasons why introverts make great pastors.

1. Introverts Are More Likely To Make Decisions Collaboratively.

The strength of any leader, and especially any pastor, is the team around him. And one of the best ways to attract great leaders to work alongside you is to give them influence and ownership over key decisions.

One of the strengths of introverts is that they are less likely to struggle with needing to be the one who solves a problem, comes up with the best idea, or outshines the rest of the team. This works to their advantage when they invite the input of other capable ministry leaders, whether it is their elders or deacon board, the ministry leaders who report to them, or trusted allies and confidants.

2. Introverts Don’t Micromanage.

Introverts have little patience for unnecessary interactions or unneeded conversations about the minutiae of life. This means that they will often mentally drift away from social interactions where the main topic of conversation is the weather, sometimes making them less than engaging dinner party guests. But it also means that they simply do not have the emotional energy to micromanage others.

No one, particularly not high capacity leaders, wants to be micromanaged. In fact, when pastors micromanage the ministry leaders on their team, they stifle growth and innovation, and themselves become the lid on the potential of the church in reaching the community for Jesus.

The best leaders are the ones who empower others and entrust them with responsibilities that are aligned with their gifts and passions. In a pastoral context, this is even more important, as our God-given calling is not simply to do the work of the ministry, but to equip and empower others to do so (Ephesians 4:12).

One Nun’s Mission To Save Souls, From Death Row to the Met Opera

Meagan Saliashvili

October 6, 2023

Joyce DiDonato as Sister Helen Prejean and Ryan McKinny as Joseph De Rocher in Jake Heggie’s “Dead Man Walking.” Photo by Karen Almond / Met Opera

NEW YORK (RNS) — With low ticket sales and changing tastes, New York’s Metropolitan Opera at times might sound like its future is all too well summed up by its season-opening “Dead Man Walking.”

But the new opera by the American composer Jake Heggie, with libretto by Terrence McNally, has been hailed as the first sign of the Met’s revival: newer productions pitched to a younger crowd. Fittingly, they’ve begun with a redemption story, of a nun vying to save a death row convict, first from execution, then from hell.

Opera is full of mayhem, but “Dead Man Walking” delivers it with HBO-like immediacy. The show begins with a violent sexual assault, filmed and depicted on a projected screen, and closes with an execution, clinically and silently. A nurse disinfects the title character’s arm with an alcohol wipe, then inserts a needle that injects lethal drugs in a moment both poignant and, by that point in his spiritual and political arc, absurd.

Since Sister Helen Prejean published her 1993 memoir about spiritually advising two death row convicts in Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, her story has been adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, and Prejean has become a leading advocate to abolish capital punishment. After a meeting with Prejean in 2018, Pope Francis announced new language of the Catholic Catechism that unequivocally condemned the death penalty as an attack on the dignity of a person.

The Met adaptation follows the story of convicted rapist and murderer Joseph (Ryan McKinny), who avoids admitting his crimes until shortly before his execution. Sister Helen (Joyce DiDonato) gently coaxes his confession — “the truth will set you free!” — finally allowing him to receive love and forgiveness from himself, God, Sister Helen and, with luck, the audience.

Heggie wrote “Dead Man Walking” in the late 1990s with the libretto by McNally. It has resonated with audiences worldwide since premiering 23 years ago in San Francisco.

But it has held up well through its various iterations and is as wrenching a story as any Romantic era classic. “It was incredibly powerful and very difficult to watch,” said Kathryn Reklis, associate professor of religion and culture at Fordham University, at a panel co-hosted by the Met Opera and the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture in New York on Sept. 25.

The topic has, if anything, become more urgent. Capital punishment is authorized in 27 states and by the federal government for serious offenses. Under the previous presidential administration, federal executions were conducted for the first time in decades. While support for the death penalty has steadily declined since the ’90s, a majority of Americans (55%) still favor the death penalty for convicted murderers, according to a 2022 Gallup poll.

Prejean believes most Americans would oppose the death penalty if they knew more about the issue and witnessed state executions. “When I had that experience of being brought to that first execution and here I see before my eyes this man was alive who I had known for two and half years, and I see him being killed … the first thing I did was throw up,” she said on stage at the Sheen Center. “And I remember thinking that people are never going to see this.”

Part of Prejean’s motivation to write her memoir was to provide an inside look at death row. While her book includes theological and political arguments about the morality of the death penalty, the opera consciously only raises questions — chiefly: Will Joseph’s death give the victims’ families peace?

Prejean has her own redemption as much as Joseph. In a pivotal courtroom scene, Joseph’s mother reads a letter Prejean helped her to write, asking the judge to appeal her son’s death sentence. Afterward, parents of the two teen victims ask Prejean why she wasn’t there for them. “We are all Catholics! We take the sacraments!” a mother sings defiantly. “It’s right or wrong, his side or ours!”

“I made a big mistake in the beginning when I took the first man on death row,” said Prejean, recalling the moment the scene is based on during the panel discussion. “I didn’t know what to do with the victims’ families. I stayed away from them. They were in such pain.”

Nine Lessons on Worship

1. You Don’t Need to Make Something Happen

2. Worship Leading Is About Worship and Leadership

3. Serve Your Church, Not Your Ego

4. Choose Songs That Are Good for Your People

3 Mindsets for Leaders and Money

1. Scarcity Mindset

2. Prosperity Mindset

3. Stewardship Mindset

It is imperative to confront.

Gentle Confrontation is our imperative.

The Heart of Gentle Confrontation

Israel Hit by Land, Sea, and Air in Surprise Attack by Hamas

10 Ways to Create an Unhealthy Culture:

Make people question their role or performance on the team. Make them wonder if what they do matters.

Avoid all conflict.

Pretend things are okay when they are not. Exaggerate the positives and avoid the negatives.

Add rules which impact everyone, rather than dealing with the real issue.

Never applaud people or celebrate wins. Only critique and find fault.

Keep people wondering what the leader is thinking. Under-communicate.

Allow passive aggression to govern decision-making.

Hold mistakes against people rather than using them as a learning experience.

Limit the control of decisions made to a few people. Don’t make people feel “included”.

Have no clear purpose for the team.

So I’ve put together this simple guide on how to write a Bible study.

Step 1: Study the Bible.

Step 2: Determine a learning objective.

Ministering to Teens With Special Needs

1. Be on their team.

2. Individualize their experience.

Preston Sprinkle: Stanley Demonstrates an Anemic Theology of Singleness

Greg Laurie’s ‘Fame’ Explores the ‘Emptiness’ of Worldly Pursuits

Greg Laurie Highlights Life Change in ‘Fame’

1. A Seat at the Table Invites Younger Leaders Into Escalated Development.

2. A Seat at the Table Sends a Strong Signal to the Whole Organization.

3. A Seat at the Table Provides the Team With Learnings From Younger Leaders.

1. Introverts Are More Likely To Make Decisions Collaboratively.

2. Introverts Don’t Micromanage.

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