5 Bad Ideas That Will Make Your Service Fake

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August 30, 2023

We have all been there. Everything may sound fantastic, look attractive and was planned with purposeful intent. But, something just doesn’t seem right. You feel fake vibes when hoping for authentic ones. Regardless, what makes a worship service fake might be boiled down to a few things even though there may be many things we can put on a list. Here are five bad ideas that promote the “fake factor” in church worship services.

The Bad Ideas Fake Factor Five:

1. The worship team is performing like they are in a stadium and only 200 people are in the worship center.

Bad ideas include over-scaling your team, sound, and presentation might not be helping you. The energy put into production shouldn’t outweigh the value of building relationships with the people in the congregation you serve. Your haze machine cannot fill that gap.

2. There is no context of God’s character, just our experience.

We can sing “we worship You” all we want, but who is “You”—a fuzzy God who just makes us feel fuzzy, or an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God who is jealous of us loving anything or anyone more than Him? Do we go for a God-or-girlfriend emotion or promote confession and celebration?

(3 more bad ideas on page two)

The Most Dangerous Sentence You’ll Hear in Ministry

By

Craig Thompson

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August 30, 2023

“I wish my husband was more like you.” This is the most dangerous sentence I have heard (in one form or another) multiple times throughout my ministry.

Sometimes it is worded differently because it comes from a single woman who “would love to meet someone like you.” Sometimes the scary sentence is actually made up of a series of compliments over weeks or months—“Your sermons mean so much,” with a gentle touch on the shoulder. Rarely, the statements come in the form of a full-out assault from a young woman who looks for opportunities to compliment you and hug you in front of your wife (but yes, we actually experienced that one time).

Now, I know that as I write this some hear me saying that women are evil manipulators, but that is not my intention at all. In fact, I would say that most of the women who have ever put me into awkward situations with their compliments or actions have done so without ill intention. Often they are hurting women in troubled marriages that perceive the preacher on a stage as the embodiment of much that they are missing. Regardless of the intention on the part of those expressing gushing compliments, a man can find himself in the middle of a conundrum.

As men, we enjoy having our egos stroked. As leaders, we are encouraged when people respond well to our leadership. As a result, we must be aware that the weaknesses that our biology and our positions leave us with make us vulnerable to temptation from those who look up to us. Our flesh is often weak even when our spirit is willing.

There are steps that every minister should take to protect himself and those around him from moral failure. They include accountability in counseling, never being alone with people of the opposite sex in a room without a window, etc. However, I’ve found a few steps that are important in situations where boundary lines have potentially been crossed (intentionally or unintentionally, by the most dangerous sentence).

How to Respond to the Most Dangerous Sentence

1. Tell your wife.

When I counsel with women, I share with them that I plan to share their situation with my wife. I trust her counsel for the lives of others and I trust her to hold me accountable. (Of course, my wife also keeps me humble by reminding me in these situations that I am not God’s gift to women.)

‘God Is Good,’ Says Rams Receiver Cooper Kupp, a ‘Thankful’ Dad of 3

By

Stephanie Martin

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August 29, 2023

NFL star Cooper Kupp had an eventful off season, welcoming his third child. This summer, the L.A. Rams wide receiver, an outspoken Christian, celebrated the birth of son number three with wife Anna Marie.

On social media in June, the Kupps announced the arrival of Solas Reign, using a sun emoji next to his name, which means “light.” Solas joins big brothers Cooper Jr., 4, and Cypress, 2.

Cooper Kupp, named MVP of Super Bowl XVI, had season-ending ankle surgery in 2022 but has said he’s “feeling really good” about his rehab and return. The 30-year-old wide receiver missed some preseason activities with the Rams because of his new son’s arrival. “I love these guys here,” Kupp said in June of his teammates, “but I had to be with my family. I’m very glad to be back, but I have no regrets” about taking time off.

L.A. Ram Cooper Kupp on the ‘Blessing’ of aThird Child

The Kupps shared news of Solas’ arrival with a black-and-white photo on Instagram captioned: “Born into his mother’s arms, we are so thankful for the blessing of this third little soul we get to raise up into a man of God!” The post concluded with the words of benediction from Numbers 6:24-26.

The Kupps, who were high school sweethearts, have been married since 2015. Last year Cooper Kupp described the challenges of raising young children in an NFL family. He told People magazine that his wife has to bear “the brunt of the mornings” during the demanding football season.

In previous interviews, Kupp has credited his wife with making his pro football career possible. During their college years at Eastern Washington, Anna Marie worked full-time so Cooper could concentrate on the gridiron. In an Instagram post to celebrate their eighth anniversary in March, Kupp called his wife his “greatest feat and most prized treasure.”

Cooper Kupp Prays To ‘Be a Light in This World’

Last June, the Rams converted most of Kupp’s $15 million base salary into a signing bonus. The standard move freed up more than $10 million in salary cap space for the team. When the deal was finalized, Kupp took to social media to thank the Rams for their “continued faith” in him. He expressed gratitude for ownership, coaches, teammates, fans, his family, and God.

Kupp said he appreciated his family’s willingness to make sacrifices so he could “compete at the highest level.” He continued the post by writing that “God is good,” staying with him “every step of the way…on the mountains and in the valleys.”

Carlos Santana Apologizes for Telling Concertgoers God Made Them Either Men or Women

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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August 29, 2023

Multi-platinum, multi-award-winning guitarist Carlos Santana apologized on Friday (Aug. 25) for comments he made during a July concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey, that have been labeled by some as transphobic.

Last week, a clip of Santana (76) went viral. In the clip, Santana can be seen telling concertgoers, “There is no virtual reality. When God made you and me—before we came out of the womb—you know who you are and what you are.”

“Later on, when you grow up and you see things, and you start believing that you could be something that sounds good, but you know it ain’t right,” he continued. “Because a woman is a woman and a man is a man. That’s it. Whatever you wanna do in the closet, that’s your business. I’m okay with that.”

The Kennedy Center Honors recipient (2013) used Facebook to post an apology to his 7.8 million followers.

“I am sorry for my insensitive comments,” Santana said. “They don’t reflect that I want to honor and respect all person’s ideals and beliefs. I realize that what I said hurt people and that was not my intent. I sincerely apologize to the transgender community and everyone I offended.”

Santana told his social media followers that his daily personal goal is to “honor and respect all person’s ideals and beliefs whether they are LGBTQ or not.”

“This is the planet of free will and we have all been given this gift,” the “Supernatural” musician added. “I will now pursue this goal to be happy and have fun, and for everyone to believe what they want and follow in your hearts without fear.”

“It takes courage to grow and glow in the light that you are and to be true, genuine, and authentic. We grow and learn to shine our light with Love and compliments. Have a glorious existence,” he concluded.

Santana turned off comments for his apology post. However, fans commented on Santana’s follow-up post, which said, “Everyone is significant meaningful and priceless.”

Covenant School Parents: Tennessee Lawmakers Are ‘Doing Nothing’ About Guns

By

Stephanie Martin

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August 29, 2023

A contentious special session of the Tennessee General Assembly ended “in chaos” Tuesday, Aug. 29, with shoving between lawmakers and shouting by constituents. Some tearful parents chanted “Vote them out!” while others bowed their heads in prayer.

Following the March shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, called the special session to focus on public-safety measures. But the Republican-led House and Senate took little action on gun-related bills. During the special session, which began Aug. 21, more than 100 bills related to public safety were introduced, but few passed.

Covenant School Parents Shocked by Lack of Legislative Action

After a former student killed three adult staff members and three 9-year-old students at The Covenant School on March 27, parents formed two nonprofit organizations aimed at protecting children from gun violence. Parents have been praying, marching, holding signs, and testifying before legislative committees, demanding change to prevent future violence.

A group of parents met with more than 60 lawmakers, they said, trying to “sit down at the table with everybody in a respectful way” and “find meaningful solutions.” But mother Sarah Shoop Neumann described the impasse between the State House and Senate as like being “caught in the middle of a Cold War.”

When several Covenant School mothers spoke to reporters on Aug. 28, they expressed disappointment, shock, and frustration at the lack of progress. “We came into this [special session] thinking, ‘Well, we’re not going to get everything we want,’” said mother Melissa Alexander, a self-described conservative. “We endorsed several bills. But we didn’t come into this thinking that [lawmakers] weren’t going to do anything.”

By “doing nothing,” Alexander said, Tennessee’s legislators show they don’t care. “This lack of action is a choice they are making and speaks volumes about their lack of compassion and their priority of personal agendas over the people of Tennessee—even their own Republican constituents, including myself,” she said Monday from the State Capitol.

Due to the many demonstrators, parts of the building were cordoned off. After a new sign ban was enacted, some protesters wrote messages about gun control on their clothing and bodies. Rep. Justin Jones, a Democrat who was expelled from the State House earlier this year, was “silenced” by lawmakers on Monday.

Families Are ‘Still in the Trenches of Trauma’

The Covenant School mothers, who’ve spent hours at Tennessee’s capitol, emphasized that “some of our friends will never see their children again” because of gun violence. Mary Joyce, a school parent, said students “are really struggling, and it’s hard for them to talk about” the shooting. “To everyone else, you’ve moved on,” she said, but “we are still in the trenches of this trauma.”

As new classroom rosters were released for the upcoming school year, Joyce said, her daughter was crushed to realize her three murdered friends aren’t listed. To legislators, Joyce had this message: “We’re not leaving. You’re gonna see these faces again and again. And we will use this time to learn from others who have been in this fight much longer than us.”

Becky Hansen said her young son and his Covenant School classmates still experience panic attacks and “horrible nightmares” from the shooting. Through her lobbying work, she said, “It has been clear to me that several of these elected officials are not here to serve the people of Tennessee. They are here to serve themselves and to try and improve and increase their own power, not to do what is best for the people, and that is incredibly discouraging after all that we have been through.”

Tennessee Titans Kneel in Prayer Following Death of CB Caleb Farley’s Father in Home Explosion

By

Dale Chamberlain

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August 29, 2023

Tennessee Titans Caleb Farley — Screengrab via X / @FOXNashville

Tragedy struck the North Carolina home of Tennessee Titans cornerback Caleb Farley late in the evening of Monday, Aug. 21, when a house explosion took the life of his father, Robert Farley.

The explosion, which is believed to be the result of a gas leak, also injured a family friend, who is expected to recover. Farley was not present when the explosion took place.

“My father was a stand-up guy,” Farley, who has been vocal about his Christian faith on social media and in interviews, told Queen City News. “He raised me to be a stand-up guy.”

On Tuesday, players and coaches for the Titans knelt in solidarity on the practice field to offer their prayers for Farley in the midst of this tragedy.

Members of the Titans organization also offered their support and condolences to Farley through public comments.

During a press conference, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said, “We’re going to do everything we can to support Caleb, his family. We’re going to do everything we can to be there for him, support him. That’s the most important thing is to focus on him…Everything else is pretty trivial.”

Teammate Derrick Henry said that he was praying for Farley and his family.

“We [were] probably one of the last ones in the locker room last night, just hanging around,” Henry recounted. The home explosion occurred mere hours later. “I just found out the news, but prayers for him. Keep him in our prayers. I’m praying for his family.”

“It’s a tragic situation,” Henry continued. “I can’t describe the way he probably feels right now. Just let him know we’re praying for him, we love him, and we’re all here for him if he needs someone to lean on.”

Teammate Kevin Byard told reporters, “We’re thinking about him, praying for him. And, you know, Caleb’s a big believer, he has a lot of faith, and I just kind of told him to lean into his faith as hard as he’s ever done before.”

White Christians Think Too Many People See Racism When It’s Not There, New Survey Finds

By

Bob Smietana

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August 29, 2023

(RNS) — Three years after a national racial reckoning that followed the death of George Floyd — and 60 years after the March on Washington — Americans remain divided on issues of race and discrimination. That’s especially true for religious groups, according to newly released data from the Pew Research Center.

In April, Pew asked Americans which was the bigger problem facing the country when it comes to matters of race: People overlooking racism when it exists or seeing racism in places where there is none.

Overall, just about half (53%) of Americans said people not seeing discrimination where it does exist was a bigger problem. Just under half (45%) said people seeing discrimination where is does not exist is the bigger issue.

Among religious groups, however, white Christians are most likely to say claims about non-existent racial discrimination is the biggest problem, including majorities of white Evangelicals (72%), white Catholics (60%) and white Mainline Protestants (54%), according to data provided to Religion News Service from Pew Research.

Few Black Protestants (10%), unaffiliated Americans (35%) or non-Christian religious Americans (31%) agreed.

Conversely, Black Protestants (88%), non-Christian religious Americans (69%), unaffiliated Americans (64%) and Hispanic Catholics (60%) were more likely to say that people not seeing racism when it exists is the bigger problem. Fewer white evangelicals (27%), white Mainline Protestants (44%) and white Catholics (39%) agreed.

While a majority of unaffiliated Americans, also known as Nones, say that not seeing racism is the bigger problem, there were differences when it came to race, according to Pew.

“Among White unaffiliated adults, 61% say people not seeing racial discrimination where it does exist is the larger problem for the country, while 39% say the opposite,” a Pew spokesperson said in an email. “Among Non-White unaffiliated adults, 71% say overlooking racial discrimination is the bigger issue, compared with 29% who give the opposite answer.”

Divides over issues of race have heated up among American Christians in recent years, as the so-called woke war has pitted those who do believe systemic racism is an ongoing issue against those who don’t. That divide has fueled conflicts in the Southern Baptist Convention and other evangelical groups, led to feuds in local churches and Christian colleges, become a major debate during school board meetings and been a major talking point in the current race for U.S. president. The issue of race also led to concerns about the rise of white Christian nationalism in churches.

Pew’s study suggests those divides are unlikely to go away.

Overall, more than half of White Americans (54%) said people seeing non-existent racism was the bigger problem. Eighty-eight percent of Black Americans, along with 58% percent of Hispanic Americans and 66% of Asian Americans, say people not seeing racism when it exists is the bigger problem.

Most Republicans and those who lean Republican (74%) said that people seeing non-existent racism is a bigger problem, while 80% of Democrats say the bigger problem is people not seeing racism that exists.

A similar survey in 2019 found that 57% of Americans said that not seeing racism is the bigger problem, while 42% said that seeing non-existent racism is the bigger problem.

Police in India Press Churches To Provide Information on Activities

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Morning Star News

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August 29, 2023

HYDERABAD, India, (Morning Star News) – Police in India have issued questionnaires to at least 40 churches in Indore, Madhya Pradesh state seeking information that Christians fear will be used by Hindu extremists to attack them, sources said.

The questionnaires are intrusive and discriminatory, as they were sent only to Christians, church leaders said.

“We contacted the police commissioner and told him that it is an unjust order and very discriminatory – why only Christians?” Indore Catholic Diocese Bishop Chacko Thottumarickal told local media. “The questions in the letter are also very suspicious. This is not in good spirit.”

The 16-point questionnaire issued by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Information Centre of Indore, addressed to all police stations, seeks information about Christians’ activities in the city over the three months prior to its issue date of July 7. It has had a chilling effect, with many churches stopping in-person worship and going to online services, sources said.

“Although the police commissioner had stated that they withdrew the alleged notices, the police are still approaching the churches and enquiring about the same details and asking the pastors to fill out the document,” a source who spoke on condition of anonymity told Morning Star News.

Police are obtaining information about evangelization and other activities, and since then, most of the churches have been meeting online, the source said.

“This information would be shared with the anti-Christian elements who will storm into churches and cause a ruckus,” the source told Morning Star News. “It clearly shows the police and the Hindutva [Hindu nationalist] groups are operating hand-in-glove.”

The questionnaire asks about the objectives of Christian activities and if church leaders have noticed any suspicious conversions. It also asks if Christians are running any Non-Government Organizations and if they are receiving funding from abroad.

After Christians and media questioned Indore Police Commissioner Makrand Deoskar, he told the reporters in mid-July that the notices were actually sent to station house officers of all police stations in the city, and that officers may have sent them to the churches by mistake.

“The notices have been withdrawn after opposition by the Christian community members,” Deoskar told reporters. “We have not issued the notice to the community members. The letter has been written by the ACP [Assistant Commissioner of Police] and addressed to the TIs [police chiefs]. It is an internal letter. The TIs may have mistakenly sent it to some Christian missionaries.”

The questionnaire is related to police officers’ routine tasks and doesn’t target any community, Deoskar said.

“There are law-and-order problems related to religious conversions that often happen, so these details are being collected and processed to timely address communal problems,” he said.

Indore-based Pastor Baljit Singh said the notices have driven his church underground.

“We are not gathering on the church premises on Sundays,” he told Morning Star News. “Until the situation gets better, we will continue the services online.”

Some attacks on churches have been reported in the past few weeks, and local media have been falsifying information about them to stir up anti-Christian sentiment, he added.

A recent video of Hindu extremists storming into a home church in Sharda Nagar and scattering members has appeared with a voice-over alleging that large numbers gathered at the site to carry out forced conversions but were dispersed by the Hindu nationalists.

“Christian leaders have cautioned churches to be vigilant and conduct services with large congregations only after the situation improves,” Pastor Singh told Morning Star News. “Right now, the mainline church buildings only are conducting offline services. The rest of the small churches and home churches have been conducting online worship services.”

Area residents have been brainwashed to believe that if they allow Christian worship and activities, the British will take them over, he said.

Another anonymous source said elections to be held in December are spurring efforts to polarize Indian society, including attacks on Christians, for political goals.

R.C. Sproul: Zeal Without Knowledge

By

R.C. Sproul

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August 29, 2023

Many people are surprised, and some are shocked, when they hear of my involvement in the charismatic movement years ago.

It began in 1965, shortly after I returned from graduate study in Holland to teach philosophy and theology at my alma mater. Some of my senior students who were preparing for ministry kept talking to me excitedly about their experiences with the Holy Spirit and about receiving the gift of tongues. My first response was profound skepticism, because my only previous experience had been with hardcore Pentecostals whose views of sanctification I deemed aberrant. Soon, however, the sheer number of my students involved in this phenomenon, coupled with their high level of competence as students, provoked me to give them the “philosophy of the second glance.” I also saw reports that tongues-speaking was breaking out in mainline denominations such as the Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopalian, and Lutheran churches. Reports of outbreaks at Notre Dame and at Duquesne University also piqued my curiosity.

I began meeting with my students to discuss the matter at my home. These meetings became regular times of prayer that lasted several hours or, on at least one occasion, all night. Because of the marvelous ardor for prayer these students displayed, I began to wonder whether I was missing something in my own spiritual life.

My attention then turned to the New Testament, particularly to Paul’s teaching on tongues in 1 Corinthians. In chapters 12–14, Paul deals with abuses of tongues in the Corinthian church and rebukes those who had elevated their gifts over those of others. It was clear that Paul did not put tongues, or glossolalia, at the apex of gifts and did not teach tongues as an indispensable sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul gives detailed instructions about the use of tongues. Though he warns sharply against many abuses of tongues, he does not outlaw their use. Indeed, he explicitly says, “do not forbid to speak with tongues” (1 Cor. 14:39b). Paul also writes: “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied” (1 Cor. 14:4–5a). Paul clearly is teaching the comparative superiority of prophecy over tongues. But he is comparing the good and the better, not the good and the bad.

Two things struck me in this passage. The first is that Paul says tongues are edifying for the individual. As a Christian, I certainly wanted everything the Holy Spirit had available to me. Second, the apostle says he wishes all the Corinthian Christians speak with tongues. Even though he also expresses his preference for prophecy, he still asserts his desire that all speak in tongues. Finally, in verse 18, Paul says, “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all.”

Since Paul was a tongues-speaker and expressed his desire for all to speak in tongues, I took this to mean that I should pursue this spiritual gift.

The major obstacle I still faced was the question of whether what was happening in the contemporary charismatic movement was indeed a revival of the New Testament gifts. That is, was the modern outbreak of glossolalia the same thing that was practiced in the apostolic church? I found this to be an extremely difficult question to answer given the paucity of references to the phenomenon throughout church history, save for its dawn among deeply heretical groups such as the Montanists.

In any case, I sought the gift and soon was able to join my friends in praying in tongues. But I found no great edification from it and still preferred to pray with understanding.

In the meantime, I continued to investigate the question of whether this was the New Testament phenomenon. As the movement expanded, reports began to come in of people in non-Christian religions practicing “tongues.” There were also reports that tongues had been identified as known foreign languages, but none of these reports was verified.

As time passed, several things became clear. First, a neo-Pentecostal theology was becoming popular. Though not monolithic among charismatics, it stressed tongues-speaking as a necessary and indispensable sign of the Biblical concept of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It also was marked by fantastic claims of miracles and supernatural prophecies with new revelation. The more interpretations of tongues-speaking and prophecies I heard, the more false doctrine and false prophecy I heard. Several people spoke “prophecies” to me about specific things that would occur within a specific time period. Every single prophecy of that sort failed to materialize. I heard manifestly false doctrine, doctrine in clear antithesis to Scripture, being urged upon people via tongues interpretations. Extravagant claims of miracles that I was able to investigate proved to be unfounded. Something obviously was deeply wrong with the picture. In short, the charismatic movement was not delivering the goods.

No Time To Make Disciples?

By

Christina Embree

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August 29, 2023

Last week, this blog focused on the importance of the faith community joining parents and caregivers in the work of intentional discipleship. That stirred up a pretty robust conversation with a few people and one thing that was brought up is something parents and caregivers ask me a lot: “How?” Usually, the question also includes an explanation of something like this:

We are so busy (tired, full schedule) that we are barely home (awake, together) and when we are, we just want to rest (relax, watch TV) not try to have church (do a family devotion, have a faith talk).

The conclusion usually sounds something like, “I know that’s not right but I just don’t even know where to start.”

I feel that I truly do. Our family like many of yours also lives a busy life. Currently, all of us, from the youngest to the oldest are students, in five different schools, doing activities ranging from musical to yearbook and three of us are gainfully employed to boot. Our calendar is a veritable rainbow of appointments, events, and practices.

And the thought of having to add something else to it, especially something as intentional as a family devotional time or a faith talk, can feel absolutely overwhelming.

It’s at this point though that it is tempting to say, “Forget it. The kids will just have to get the Jesus stuff at church.” And that kind of thinking leads to a relinquishing of our unique responsibility to raise our children in the faith as well as a willingness to overlook the very real fact that parents and caregivers, not ministers, have the greatest influence on their child’s faith whether they are intentional about it or not.

May I offer a different perspective; another way of thinking?

Could it be that when the charge to “impress these things upon your children” was given in Deuteronomy 4, it wasn’t a just call to family devotions? That perhaps what God had in mind was a bit more involved than that?

What if instead of adding another thing to our calendar, we sought ways to intentionally invite God into what we are already doing?

What if instead of saying, “There’s no time to do more” we started saying “We are going to let God do more with our time.”

In that famous Deuteronomy passage, there are four discipleship moments mentioned: Getting up in the morning, going to bed at night, sitting down at home, and leaving the home (along the road). Throughout the world, these things happen every. single. day. We all wake up, we all sleep, we all sit, we all go.

I find it so interesting that these are the times that God said, “Talk to your kids about Me.”

The most ordinary, normative moments of the day become extraordinary moments to disciple our kids in the faith.

So, back to that original question of “How?”

By simply inviting Christ into your calendar, into each moment, into each activity. It starts with just one comment, one reflection, one pause to turn our focus from the temporal to the eternal.

At a workshop I once did for family ministers, I had people write down some everyday activities they do during these four moments. For instance, what do they do each morning when they wake up? Then I asked them, “Now consider, how can you invite God into those moments?” A lady piped up, “I don’t think Jesus can join me while I brush my teeth?” I challenged her to get creative and see if there was anything she could think of to invite Christ into that most ordinary moment.

A few months later, I bumped into her and she said, “Oh, I just have to tell you. I took you up on your challenge. I had the idea to start writing Bible verses and encouraging notes to my family and using post-its to hang them on the mirror in the bathroom. Now every day when they brush their teeth, they are reading God’s word to them for the day. We all do it now. It’s become a ‘thing’ in our house. Thanks for pushing me to think about how to invite God in.”

Wow. Brushing teeth as discipleship. If there could be a more mundane, non-spiritual activity on the planet, I can’t think of what it would be. And yet, when Christ is invited into that space, it becomes extraordinary.

What about us? Where in our daily lives can we invite God in? Could we talk about a verse as we drive to soccer practice? Could our dinner conversation open doors to discuss how God loves us and lives through us? Could movie night be a chance to impress God’s commands upon their hearts? Could God meet us as we tuck our kids into bed each night?

Discipleship at home isn’t about doing more; it’s about inviting Christ into what you are already doing.

It’s about impressing the heart of God into our children’s hearts in the everyday moments so that being a Christian isn’t about going to church or managing sin or even reading the Bible but rather about living each moment with hearts turned to God and lives reflecting His love. It’s about creating disciples.

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time” Eph. 5:15, 16a (ESV)

This article originally appeared here.

How to Plan Daily Prayer Time With God

3 Things I Taught My Children About Daily Time With God

20 Great Digital Pastoral Tools

By

Brandon Kelley

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August 29, 2023

In a world full of smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops, we have the opportunity to utilize many pastoral tools for the glory of God. In fact, there are so many great pastoral tools that it may seem a little overwhelming, but I hope to break them down into some helpful categories and give you some thoughts on each one.

20 Great Digital Pastoral Tools

1. SERMON PREPARATION (6 Resources)

Google Docs are great because they sync across your devices and they are very useful for collaborative projects. So if you have a sermon planning team and want to be able to work on a document at the same time, Google Docs offer you what you need. Multiple people can edit the same document at the same time. You can also work offline on Google Docs if you use the Google Chrome web browser. As soon as you get Internet connection back again, your document will be synced. You can also use Google Docs to write your sermon.

Evernote is a powerful note-taking application that allows you to organize notebooks or notebook stacks around topics that are important to you. It also has tagging capabilities so you can organize your notes in an even deeper way. As far as sermon preparation goes, you can make a stack of notebooks for each series you will preach in 2016 and add notes for each series as you come up with ideas and research. If you’re just getting started with Evernote or want to take it to the next level, check out my article on the essential notebooks every pastor needs. I give away two great templates for Evernote in that article as well. The Evernote Web Clipper is a great tool to take things off the web and put them straight into your Evernote. If I read a good blog post, I clip it and put it in my research stack -> articles notebook.

Pages is my alternative to Microsoft Word. I have a MacBook Pro and Pages came with it. I love this word processor for all my writing except for books (I use a great Word template from Redeeming Press). I love Pages because it’s less clunky than Word. It feels substantially more minimal.

BibleHub is a powerful, free Bible study site. It’s great to look at the original language of a passage, and they even have a substantial library of online commentaries. It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing, but it’s very functional.

BibleGateway is my go-to Bible study site for looking up passages outside of my main text. I also go here to grab the text to copy and paste into my sermon slides.

TinyPDF is what I upload my completed preaching notes to. I preach from an iPad Mini and this app is a great tool to hold and display my preaching notes. It has a lot of capabilities that I don’t use, but it does a great job. I’ve never had an issue with it while preaching. They recently updated the app and changed the way you go to the next page. It used to be that you swiped horizontally like you would with a book, but now it’s vertical which I’m not sure I like. Nonetheless, it works great, but I may look for another solution.

2. TEAM MANAGEMENT (3 Resources)

Zoom Video Conferencing is what Joe and I use to record the Rookie Preacher Podcast. Most times it’s high quality, but there have been a few times when we’ve had issues with recorded sound quality. Regardless, if you work in an environment where your fellow staff members are not all in one place, this is a great tool to host meetings. You could also use this to host meetings between yourself and other ministry leaders, or really anyone.

Google Hangouts went through an overhaul somewhat recently. It offers a great way to connect with your team through video conferencing and offers some powerful tools within the video conference that may be helpful for your virtual meetings. You may find that Google Hangouts can be utilized for a Video Blog solution where people can join you live, and then it automatically gets uploaded to YouTube.

Dropbox is a powerful file sharing solution for your team. Dropbox is a cloud solution for personal and shared folders and files. They have recently done an upgrade that allows you to see who else is looking at a document along with you, and when you make an edit, it updates it for everyone.

3. PRODUCTIVITY (4 Resources)

Early Morning Alarm (you should have one of these on your phone already). Wayne Cordova, a.k.a. Geek Pastor, says that the number one productivity boost you can do is to get up early. I can attest to this. Running two blogs, both with podcasts, and with two books in the pipeline, I wouldn’t be able to do a fraction of what I do without waking up early in the morning before everyone else wakes up.

Task Manager – I use Evernote for its simplicity, but many people recommend other apps for task management. Many people recommend Todoist. My weekly productivity template is actually one of the templates I give away for free when you subscribe to RookiePreacher.com.

Pomodoro Challenge Timer takes the Pomodoro technique and gives you a challenge-based app that will help you get more done. Don’t know what the Pomodoro technique is? Read this. For the quick explanation, you’ll focus on one thing for 25 minutes without doing ANYTHING else. I just installed this app and am excited to see what it does for my productivity.

IFTTT is a very powerful automation tool. If This Then That has a lot of pre-made recipes of actions or you can make your own. I haven’t tapped into the depth that many people have, but I use this primarily for automation of my Twitter account. I have identified a number of bloggers who always produce great content. So I automated a recipe that says if they post something it is added to my buffer account that schedules a tweet. More on Buffer below. I also have a recipe that whenever someone uses the #sermonprep on Twitter, they are added to a Twitter list called Preachers. You can subscribe to that list to connect with other preachers.

4. SOCIAL MEDIA (3 Resources)

HootSuite is a powerful social media management tool. I use this to manage all of the social media accounts for The Crossing. If you have multiple social media accounts to keep track of, give Hootsuite a try.

Buffer is my favorite social media management tool. I use this to manage my personal Twitter account and Facebook page. What I love about Buffer is that it will maximize your scheduling of posts in light of when your followers are most active. A new upgrade they just did now allows their Chrome browser extension to identify pictures within blog posts when you go to share them so you can add the picture to your Tweet, which increases engagement. It doesn’t allow as many accounts as Hootsuite under the free version, but I think it offers more power than Hootsuite.

Canva is a great graphic design tool for people who aren’t graphic design savvy — like me. I use this to create quote graphics from Sunday sermons, Scripture quotes, and all the blog graphics on my blog posts on here and my personal blog. If you like to make engaging slides for your sermons, there is a setting for that as well.

5. PERSONAL GROWTH (4 Resources)

Kindle App is available on every device you have and allows you to read great books wherever you are. I have an actual Kindle, but also use the app on my iPad, smartphone and laptop. There’s a great way also to utilize your highlights and add them to Evernote for later use. See this article on how to do so.

Podcast Republic is my podcasting app of choice. I have a Samsung Galaxy so, in other words, I don’t have an iPhone. If you are an iPhone user, you should have the Podcast app on your device already. Podcast Republic gives you access to the entire iTunes library and allows you to subscribe to podcasts, see the show notes and much more.

Digg Reader is the way I keep up with all the blogs I follow. It is an RSS reader where you can upload blog feeds to. You can read and share blog posts without ever having to leave the Digg Reader. I also have an IFTTT recipe setup to where anytime I “digg” a post, it adds that post to my Buffer account.

YouVersion is my Bible reading app of choice along with millions of others. It offers a great number of reading plans. You can connect with friends on the app and see what they are reading as well.

One Final Thought:

Pastoral tools are only tools — it’s what you do with them that counts.

6 Ways to Improve Communication via Digital Signage

By

OptiSigns

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August 29, 2023

Clear messages are more important than ever. Digital signage can greatly improve your communication and help your congregation to navigate in your church. You can communicate safety expectations, guidelines, information on where things are, what’s new, what has changed.

6 Ways to Improve Communication via Digital Signage

1. Keep your content up to date.

Using digital signage you can remotely update, schedule your contents, so your messages, events information, will never be out of date. Even when there’s last minute changes, you can keep them updated with ease.

With COVID-19 still lurking, safety procedures, guidelines may be required to change often based on your local government guidelines. Use of digital signs can make this process much easier.

You can also plan and schedule your content out so you don’t have to be around the day of events just to update some signs.

With simple, cost effect devices like Amazon FIre Stick or Raspberry Pi, you can turn any TV into digital signs.

2. Collaborate with others to update your signs.

Almost any digital signage solution can helps you do #1, but more often than not, your signs are the collaboration results of multiple people. If you are the one who’s responsible for setting up the systems, training everyone, provisioning access, password, this task can be daunting. On the other hand, from the content collaborator point of view, no-one wants to learn a whole new system, remember more passwords just to edit a few slides.

There’s a few simple solutions for that:

Google Slides: it is already a common slides creation tool and many people already know how to use it. For those who never use it, they may be already familiar with Microsoft PowerPoint, and Google Slides is pretty similar. And even if you never use it before, the tool is very easy to pick up.

With Google Slides, your slides store on the cloud, multiple people can access, edit it at the same time. The slides are already in a format that perfectly fits for TV screens. So for collaborating on your digital signage it is a great tool.

For digital signage admin, you just need to put the Google Slides on to you signs, when changes are made on Google Slides, your signs will be automatically updated. You can also mix Google Slides with your other normal image, video, social media content in your playlist.

This way, your content collaborator can contribute to the slides design without having to log in or learn another tool.

Dropbox, Google Drives, OneDrive: Sometimes Google Slides is not the ideal solution because your sign is in a spot with flaky WiFi connection, or you need a simple way for people to share a bunch of photos quickly. In this case, Dropbox, Google Drives, OneDrive would be a great solution. Most people already have one and are familiar with using them. You can create a shared folder, share it with your collaborator. They can just put in images, photos, PDF documents that they want to share, and the content will be displayed on your screens. Unlike Google Slides, the files will be stored locally on the players so if you lose internet connection the content will still be playing.

Prayer and Birthday Blessings for Teens in Your Youth Ministry

By

Building Faith

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August 28, 2023

Prayer and blessings are the best birthday gifts you can give to teenagers. After all, birthdays are gifts from God. For Christians, every birthday is a time to celebrate God’s gift of life.

Saying a birthday prayer or bestowing a birthday blessing is a reminder that all life comes from God. Think about it: Every person is literally a gift from God!

In addition, a birthday is an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to God. We begin another 365 days ready to love and serve God and others. Remind kids about the heavenly significance of every birthday by using a prayer and blessing from the suggestions below.

How to Do a Birthday Blessing

1. Declare God’s love.

First, birthdays are a great time to say I love you, especially to kids. But also say, “God loves you,” and “Jesus loves you.” This is a theological affirmation: the God of the universe loves YOU!

2. Give thanks for the birthday person.

Language is important here. It’s not, “God, we thank you for Tanya’s birthday today.” But rather, “God we thank you FOR Tanya, your beloved child. Thank you for the gift of her life.”

3. Bless the birthday person.

This is all about making a big deal. Stand up, lay your hands on the birthday person’s head or shoulders. Say one of the birthday prayers or Scripture blessings below. Then bless the person!

You can say, “I bless you… (or, you are blessed…) in the name of God OR in the name of Jesus OR in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

Birthday Prayers for Teens

A Prayer for a Birthday

God of all creation, we offer you grateful praise for the gift of life. Hear the prayers for __________, your servant, who recalls the day of his/her birth and rejoices in your gifts of life and love, family and friends. Bless him/her with your presence and surround him/her with your love, that he/she may enjoy many happy years, all of them pleasing to you. We ask this through Christ our Savior. Amen.
(Printed in the United Methodist Book of Worship)

Our Times Are in Your Hand

O God, our times are in your hand. Look with favor we pray, on your servant _________, as he/she begins another year. Grant that he/she may grow in wisdom and grace, and strengthen his/her trust in your goodness all the days of his/her life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(By Charles Price, Episcopal Book of Common Prayer; Presbyterian Book of Common Worship)

Oliver Anthony Hates That #1 Song Is Being ‘Weaponized’ by Politicians, Believes ‘Divine Intervention’ Put Him in This Position

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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August 28, 2023

The Billboard Hot 100’s No. 1 singer, Oliver Anthony, who is known for his viral rise to fame over the last month, has cleared the political air regarding who is actually the subject of his song “Rich Men North of Richmond,” denying that he resides in one particular “political bucket.”

Anthony has been open about his past struggles with addiction, mental health, and religion.

“I was obviously introduced to the concept of God and religion as a kid, and I think I was turned off to it growing up,” he said. Anthony explained that the reason he was so “reluctant to accept God as God is because it meant I had to accept all those people…I falsely associated man-made religion and some of the things that go along with the concept of Jesus Christ and God in general.”

A month before Anthony’s song became a hit, he cried out to God promising that he’d get sober if God would help him follow his dream of being a musician.

In front of thousands, Anthony opened his first concert since releasing “Rich Men North of Richmond” by reading Psalm 37:12-20.

Anthony’s success attracted millions of fans and earned the independent singer a certain reputation among media outlets and politicians—a reputation he doesn’t feel fairly represents him. Anthony described the misinterpretation of him and his song as bothersome, disappointing, and aggravating.

“I feel thankful to be given this opportunity,” Anthony told his followers on YouTube. Although he has no idea what the future holds for him, Anthony says he’s not really a concerned about it because he is choosing “living in the present.”

“I just have to have the discernment to make the right decisions from here on out…I don’t want to go on some roller coaster ride and come off a different person,” he added.

“Rich Men North of Richmond” has thrust Anthony into the political arena due to the song’s anti-big government lyrics. Anthony’s song was even featured as one of the questions during last Wednesday’s Republican presidential candidate debate in Wisconsin.

In his song, the former factory worker doesn’t hold back words, even cursing at times, speaking of how he has been selling his soul by working all day and putting up with “overtime hours for bulls**t pay.”

Anthony relates to his listeners, telling them that the working class in America lives in a world where the government just wants to have “total control” by monitoring everything they do and think.

Good Business or Discrimination? Bank of America Closes Accounts of Christian Ministry

By

Janna Firestone

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August 28, 2023

For nearly 10 years, Indigenous Advance Ministries in Memphis, Tennessee, has focused on “giving people an opportunity to thrive in good soil,” according to its website. But after several years with the banking institution, Bank of America (BofA) has closed the ministry’s accounts, citing reasoning the ministry believes is vague.

In a letter to Tennessee’s attorney general, board members Steve Happ and Bob Phillips said that they were “concerned that Bank of America cancelled our and our partners’ accounts because it disagrees with our religious views.”

After numerous alleged attempts by the ministry to obtain further clarification regarding the closure, a representative of BofA explained to the Daily Mail that the reason for closing the accounts was due to the ministry practicing debt collection.

Bank of America Closed Accounts of a Memphis Christian Ministry

Indigenous Advance Ministries serves those living in the most impoverished areas of Uganda by digging wells and providing education, food, and clothing.

“Our mission and work, supporting Ugandan children and families through indigenous Ugandan Ministries, has remained the same since we were founded and first opened our accounts with Bank of America,” shared board members Happ and Phillips.

After several years of banking, the ministry received written notification from BofA in April. “We have determined you’re operating in a business type we have chosen not to service,” the letter from BofA said.

Another letter, dated May 24, said, “After careful review of your banking relationship, we closed this account, as well as your corporate business card relationship and any other associated accounts because your risk profile no longer aligns with the bank’s risk tolerance.”

According to the Daily Mail, Happ and Phillips wrote to the attorney general’s office, saying, “Being forced to transition so quickly caused a great deal of trouble for us. It also disrupted our mission to Uganda in June and we were temporarily unable to pay salaries in Uganda. And we were left very confused.”

Fox News interviewed Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) senior counsel Jeremy Tedesco on the case. “They stonewalled our client, like I said, for four months while he tried to get a reason. All they would do is read the letters they had already sent him with the vague explanations that said nothing and provided no reason,” Tedesco explained.

After reading the notifications from BofA, Happ was shocked that the bank listed “business type” as the reason. “I asked them, ‘What type of business do you think we are?’ and they couldn’t answer me,” explained Happ. “They said, ‘I’m sorry, we cannot give you that information.'”

“But, when Daily Mail, an international media organization, called them four months after they closed the accounts and asked them why did they do it, suddenly they had loose lips,” Tedesco continued. “They were coming up with a lot of explanations for the media. It’s pretty amazing to me that they started talking with the media—giving them the reasons for why they closed the accounts—and they never once told our client.”

Tedesco said, “These are obviously after-the-fact excuses for what they did—none of which stand up to the simplest scrutiny.” According to the ADF, the ministry had more than $270,000 in its deposit account.

The Bank of America cannot cancel religious nonprofits based on vague policies and rulings.

This is blatantly wrong.

No one should be de-banked because of their beliefs.

WATCH NOW ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/0Pawf6TAkO

— Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) August 28, 2023

Christian Shock Rocker Alice Cooper Dropped by Make-Up Brand Because He Does Not Support ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ for Children

By

Jessica Mouser

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August 28, 2023

Vampyre Cosmetics has canceled its collaboration with shock rocker and Christian Alice Cooper after Cooper said that people who identify as transgender are part of a “fad.” The musician also expressed concern that encouraging children and teenagers to identify as trans is “confusing” for them.

“I’m understanding that there are cases of transgender, but I’m afraid that it’s also a fad, and I’m afraid there’s a lot of people claiming to be this just because they want to be that,” Cooper said in an Aug. 23 interview with Rachel Brodsky of Stereogum. “I find it wrong when you’ve got a 6-year-old kid who has no idea. He just wants to play, and you’re confusing him telling him, ‘Yeah, you’re a boy, but you could be a girl if you want to be.’”

Alice Cooper: We’re at ‘The Point of Absurdity’

“Alice Cooper” is the stage name of Vincent Damon Furnier, who has been called “the godfather of shock rock” for pioneering theatrical heavy metal performances influenced by vaudeville, horror, and garage rock. Cooper, whose career has spanned more than five decades, is known for singles including, “I’m Eighteen,” “No More Mr. Nice Guy” and “School’s Out.”

Those familiar with the Alice Cooper persona know that the musician wears heavy eye makeup and costumes featuring top hats and skulls. He has also performed with a live boa constrictor around his neck. People might be surprised, therefore, to know that Cooper is a Christian who prays and reads the Bible every day. The shock rocker, who says that he is merely playing a character when he performs, credits God with enabling him to break free of his previous addictions to drugs and alcohol.

“I never went to AA,” Cooper told Page Six in 2021. “Everyone said, ‘Oh you have such great willpower,’ I said, ‘No, God has great willpower. He took it from me.’”

Cooper shared that his father and grandfather were pastors and that his wife’s (Sheryl) father was also a pastor. “I had such strong prayer for me,” Cooper said. “Even the doctor said, ‘This is an absolute miracle.’ I said, ‘Why?’ They said, ‘Well, you should be hiding bottles all over the house and you should be sneaking drugs.’ I said, ‘I have absolutely no desire for that at all.’”

Cooper just released “Road,” which is his 29th studio album, not counting albums he has made with Hollywood Vampires. On Aug. 18, he announced his partnership with Vampyre Cosmetics on his website. “This collection will exude Alice’s style,” said the announcement, “and feature guitar and amp shaped makeup palettes, microphone styled lipsticks, and a major highlight for Alice Cooper and makeup fans to look forward to is a new version of Alice Cooper’s iconic Whiplash mascara.”

However, on Aug. 24, Vampyre Cosmetics, which describes itself as “proudly women owned, disabled owned and LGBT+ owned,” issued a statement saying, “In light of recent statements by Alice Cooper we will no longer be doing a makeup collaboration. We stand with all members of the LGBTQIA+ community and believe everyone should have access to healthcare. All pre-order sales will be refunded.”

After Racially Motivated Shooting, Jacksonville Pastor Admits, ‘My Heart Is Tired’

By

Stephanie Martin

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August 28, 2023

Three Black people were killed on Aug. 26 in Jacksonville, Florida, during what authorities say was a racially motivated shooting. After being turned away from a historically Black university, a 21-year-old white gunman opened fire Saturday at a nearby Dollar General store, fatally shooting one woman and two men before killing himself.

The Jacksonville shooting occurred as people gathered in America’s capital to mark the 60^th anniversary of the March on Washington and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

On Sunday, Jacksonville residents and political leaders gathered to show unity and to pray for the community. Through tears, Mayor Donna Deegan told a crowd, “It feels some days like we’re going backward.” She admitted feeling “a sense of personal failure” about the violence. “We have to create a place and space for all of us to see each other’s humanity, for us to meet each other where we are,” Deegan said.

Jacksonville Shooting: Pastor Must Bury Another Murder Victim

Shooting victim Jerrald Gallion, 29, attended St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Jacksonville. He’s the 33^rd person from that church to be murdered during the 27 years that Bishop John Guns has presided there.

“In two weeks, I have to preach a funeral of a man who should still be alive,” Guns told vigil attendees. “He was not a gangster; he was not a thug. He was a father who gave his life to Jesus and was trying to get it together.” The bishop added, “I wept in church today like a baby because my heart is tired. We are exhausted.”

At Jacksonville’s St. Paul AME Church on Sunday, the Rev. Willie Barnes told congregants, “Our hearts are broken. If any of you are like me, I’m fighting trying to not be angry.” His church held a special prayer service, with Barnes calling prayer “necessary today” but not the only thing people must do.

“Faith without works is dead,” Barnes said. “We need to reach each other. We need to heal each other. We need to reach across the lines. We need to have integrated church services. We need to come together as a community.” The pastor also encouraged people to commit to dialogue and “meaningful action” across all types of dividing lines “to really make our community more loving, just, equitable, safe, and the list goes on.”

Jacksonville, Florida’s most populous city, has a history of racially motivated attacks. Sixty-three years ago this week, Ax Handle Saturday occurred, with KKK members attacking young Black people who were protesting Jim Crow laws. The gunman in Saturday’s attack at Dollar General reportedly referenced a shooting that occurred exactly five years ago at a video-game tournament in Jacksonville.

Jacksonville Shooting: Politics & Racism Enter the Debate

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination, was initially booed Sunday at a vigil in Jacksonville. City Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman asked for calm, telling the crowd, “It ain’t about parties today. A bullet don’t know a party.”

As governor, DeSantis has loosened gun laws in his state and fought against “wokeness.” One recent controversial move involves new standards for teaching Black history in Florida. DeSantis, who called Saturday’s gunman a “major league scumbag,” said violence and race-based targeting are “unacceptable.”

But State Rep. Angie Nixon, a Jacksonville Democrat, blamed the governor’s policies. “We must be clear, it was not just racially motivated, it was racist violence that has been perpetuated by rhetoric and policies designed to attack Black people, period,” she said at a vigil at St. Paul AME Church.

Over Half of Protestants Say They Have Interacted With Dead Relatives: Report

By

Dale Chamberlain

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August 28, 2023

dead relatives — Photo by Dhivakaran S (via Pexels)

A new study published by Pew Research has found that moderately religious Americans, including Christians, are among the likeliest to attempt to communicate with dead relatives.

The survey was conducted in March and April of this year and included 5,079 adults from various faith traditions and with varying levels of religiosity.

“While the survey asked whether people have had interactions with dead relatives, it did not ask for explanations,” researchers explained. “We don’t know whether people view these experiences as mysterious or supernatural, or whether they see them as having natural or scientific causes, or some of both.

More than half of all those surveyed (53%) said that they have been “visited by a dead family member in a dream or some other form.”

A considerable portion (44%) claimed to have interacted with a dead family member in the past 12 months, with 34% saying they have “felt the presence” of a deceased loved one, 28% saying that they have told a dead relative about their life, and 15% saying that a dead family member had communicated with them.

When looking at those who identified as Protestant Christians, the numbers were similar, with 51% of Protestants saying that they have communed with a dead loved one in a dream or another form in the last 12 months. Nevertheless, while 58% of mainline Protestants and 67% of Black Protestants claimed to have communicated with a departed loved one, that number was only 42% among evangelicals.

Evangelicals were more likely than atheists (26%) and agnostics (34%) to say that they had interacted with a dead relative but less likely than Roman Catholics (66%) to make the claim.

Of note is that religiosity played as much of a factor in the survey as religious affiliation.

Individuals with “medium levels” of religiosity were more likely than both highly religious and nonreligious people to report having felt the presence of a deceased loved one or to say that they have communicated with a deceased loved one in the past year.

While 63% of moderately religious individuals said that they had communicated with dead relatives, 41% of highly religious people and 39% of people with low religiosity said they had.

Harvard Divinity School Selects First Black Woman as Dean

By

Yonat Shimron

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August 28, 2023

Harvard-Divinity-School-selects-first-Black-woman-as — Marla Frederick. Photo courtesy Emory University

(RNS) — A cultural anthropologist of the Black religious experience has been named dean of the Harvard Divinity School beginning Jan. 1.

Marla Frederick, a professor of religion and culture at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, will succeed David Hempton, who has served as dean of the divinity school since 2012.

Frederick will become the first woman and the first Black woman to lead the school in its 207-year history. (Preston N. Williams, acting dean from 1974-75, was the first African American to lead the school.)

For Frederick, it is a return of sorts. She previously served on the Harvard faculty for 16 years as a professor in the Department of African and African American Studies.

“I am thrilled to welcome Marla back to Harvard,” said Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard, in an email to the Harvard Divinity School students and alumni. “I am confident that Marla’s leadership qualities, her academic stature, her wide-ranging curiosity, her collaborative mindset, and her thoughtful and caring approach to all she does will combine to make her an excellent new dean.”

The author or co-author of four books, Frederick’s expertise has been in religion and media, religion and social activism in the U.S. South and the sustainability of Black institutions.

She recently served as president of the American Academy of Religion in 2021 and has been president of the Association of Black Anthropologists.

A native of Sumter, South Carolina, Frederick earned her bachelor’s degree from Spelman College and her Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from Duke University.

Harvard Divinity School, the first nonsectarian theological institution in the country, was established in 1816. For the 2022-23 school year, it enrolled some 333 full-time students in five degree programs. It has 34 full-time faculty, according to the Association of Theological Schools, its accrediting body.

Frederick is the author of the book “Colored Television: American Religion Gone Global,” “Televised Redemption: Black Religious Media and Racial Empowerment” and of an ethnography of Black women churchgoers in North Carolina, “Between Sundays: Black Women and Everyday Struggles of Faith.” A 2007 book, a collaborative examination of American democracy in an ordinary North Carolina community written with six other academics, “Local Democracy Under Siege: Activism, Public Interests, and Private Politics,” won the book prize of the Society for the Anthropology of North America in 2008.

“I am honored to return to Harvard as the next dean of Harvard Divinity School,” Frederick said in a news release. “It is a place bustling with conscientious faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends who are committed to the work of justice and human flourishing informed by deep study.”

David F. Holland, a professor of New England church history, will serve as interim dean from Sept. 1 until Dec. 31.

This article originally appeared here.

Federal Judge Denies Religious Parents’ Request To Opt Kids out of LGBTQ+ Lessons

By

Fiona Andre

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August 28, 2023

LBGTQ Maryland — Photo by Jose Pablo Garcia/Unsplash/Creative Commons

(RNS) — On Thursday, a U.S. District Court dismissed a request by parents whose children attend public schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, to let their kids opt out of classes where books on LGBTQ+ issues are read and discussed.

“The plaintiffs have not shown that MCPS’s use of the storybooks crosses the line from permissible influence to potentially impermissible indoctrination,” read the judge’s opinion and order document.

Last fall, MCPS’s announcement of a new inclusive English/Language arts curriculum for its pre-K to 5th-grade students caused a public uproar, drawing criticism from school principals and parents. On May 24, three Muslim and Christian families sued the district, claiming that teaching the new material without giving parents the chance to excuse their children infringed on their religious freedom.

MCPS allows parents to opt their kids out of specific units of its Family Life and Human Sexuality classes, but that rule doesn’t apply to the English/Language Arts curriculum books.

Thursday’s decision is a preliminary injunction in response to parents’ request to be able to opt out before students return to class Aug. 28. The judge still needs to hear the full case before making a final decision.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the legal group representing the parents, said it would appeal the decision. “The School Board should let kids be kids and let parents decide how and when to best educate their own children consistent with their religious beliefs,” wrote Becket Vice President Eric Baxter in a statement.

After the judge ruled, MCPS issued a statement reaffirming its commitment “to cultivating an inclusive and welcoming learning environment and creating opportunities where all students see themselves and their families in curriculum materials.”

David Fishback, Maryland’s advocacy co-chair for PFLAG — Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays — called the court’s decision a victory. This inclusive curriculum could make a difference in the lives of children struggling with depression, suicide and loneliness because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, he explained.

“Children should not feel that there is something wrong with them,” said Fishback, whose kids were MCPS students in the late 1990s and came out as gay in their teenage years.

The books introduced in the 2022-23 curriculum were meant to honor “the perspectives and experiences of students, staff, and community members who are part of the LGBTQ+ community,” according to MCPS.

One of the books included in the Pre-K curriculum, “Pride Puppy!,” tells the story of a family celebrating Pride Day while teaching students terms related to the LGBTQ+ community. The 2020 book “My Rainbow” tells the story of a mom creating a rainbow-colored wig for her transgender daughter.

Soon after the curriculum was made public in October 2022, school principals in the county shared their concerns about the age-appropriateness of the books in a letter addressed to the school district’s officials. Families who felt the books ran counter to their religious beliefs also requested the option to remove their children from classes using the material. Some school principals extended families at their schools the opportunity to opt out of the instruction. But when MCPS ended this option in March, tensions between the school board and the families rose.

The Bad Ideas Fake Factor Five:

1. The worship team is performing like they are in a stadium and only 200 people are in the worship center.

2. There is no context of God’s character, just our experience.

(3 more bad ideas on page two)

How to Respond to the Most Dangerous Sentence

1. Tell your wife.

L.A. Ram Cooper Kupp on the ‘Blessing’ of aThird Child

Cooper Kupp Prays To ‘Be a Light in This World’

Covenant School Parents Shocked by Lack of Legislative Action

Families Are ‘Still in the Trenches of Trauma’

May I offer a different perspective; another way of thinking?

What if instead of adding another thing to our calendar, we sought ways to intentionally invite God into what we are already doing?

The most ordinary, normative moments of the day become extraordinary moments to disciple our kids in the faith.

Discipleship at home isn’t about doing more; it’s about inviting Christ into what you are already doing.

20 Great Digital Pastoral Tools

1. SERMON PREPARATION (6 Resources)

2. TEAM MANAGEMENT (3 Resources)

3. PRODUCTIVITY (4 Resources)

4. SOCIAL MEDIA (3 Resources)

5. PERSONAL GROWTH (4 Resources)

6 Ways to Improve Communication via Digital Signage

1. Keep your content up to date.

2. Collaborate with others to update your signs.

How to Do a Birthday Blessing

1. Declare God’s love.

2. Give thanks for the birthday person.

3. Bless the birthday person.

Birthday Prayers for Teens

A Prayer for a Birthday

Our Times Are in Your Hand

Bank of America Closed Accounts of a Memphis Christian Ministry

Alice Cooper: We’re at ‘The Point of Absurdity’

Jacksonville Shooting: Pastor Must Bury Another Murder Victim

Jacksonville Shooting: Politics & Racism Enter the Debate

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