Rick Warren: 4 Reasons to Show Mercy to Others

August 28, 2023

God wants you to be an agent of mercy in the world. Everyone needs mercy because everyone has messed up. We’ve all hurt other people and made mistakes. We’ve all sinned and we all have hurts, habits and hang-ups as a result of the mistakes we’ve made. Mercy changes the lives of people who have made mistakes, and we who have received mercy freely can change the world around us when we show mercy to others.

4 Reasons to Show Mercy to Others

1. Show mercy to others because God has been merciful to you.

The Bible says that God is merciful. It is emphasized all through the Bible. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of verses that talk about God’s mercy and his love, his compassion, and his grace.

Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “God’s mercy is so abundant, and his love for us is so great, that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience he brought us to life with Christ. It is by God’s grace you have been saved” (GNT).

The point of that Scripture is this: God wants me to act in the same way to other people.

2. Show mercy to others because God commands you.

In Micah 6:8, God speaks through the prophet to give us three big instructions for our lives. “The LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (NLT).

God says if you want a summary of what life’s all about, and if you’re going to be in his family, this is what’s required of you: You need to do what is right with others, to love being merciful to others and to live humbly in fellowship with God.

One third of God’s requirement for you on this planet is to learn mercy. Why? Because God is merciful.

3. Show mercy because you’re going to need more mercy in the future.

You’re not going to be perfect between now and when you get to Heaven. The Bible tells us we cannot receive what we are unwilling to give.

James 2:13 says, “You must show mercy to others, or God won’t show mercy to you… But the person who shows mercy can stand without fear at the judgment” (NCV).

Don’t you want to be able to do that on judgment day? To be able to stand without fear on judgment day? It says the person who shows mercy can stand without fear on the judgment day.

It isn’t the people who have kept more rules than anyone else who get to face their eternity with the greatest confidence. It is believers who have shown mercy to other people.

4. Show mercy because it causes happiness.

To show mercy is to bring happiness. The Bible teaches over and over that the more merciful I am, the happier I’m going to be.

Proverbs 14:21 says, “If you want to be happy, be kind to the poor; it is a sin to despise anyone” (GNT).

Being kind to other people actually blesses you and makes you happier in life. And mercy certainly produces greater joy in those to whom you’ve shown it.

Would you rather live in a world that is harsh or a world where the people around you value mercy?

You get to help shape a world of mercy around you and allow more people to find freedom from their past when you’re willing to show mercy.

This article originally appeared here.

How to Fix a Mediocre Worship Music Mix

Chris Huff

August 28, 2023

worship music mix — Adobestock #628064072

Does your mix suffer from these four common mix maladies? If it does, that’s OK because there is a remedy for each one. The next worship service could be your best worship music mix.

There are different mixes a sound tech must create depending on the congregational preferences and pastoral requirements. Using an example with a very wide mix difference, a mix for a “hip” youth group will be much different than a mix for a church with an older congregation and traditional music. This is simply part of the job. It doesn’t mean one mix is better or worse as they each meet the existing needs.

Regardless of the mix requirements, there are four signs your mix is suffering. The biggest problem in recognizing these signs is getting over your own bias for your mix. It’s your mix, so it’s perfect, right? I thought I used to get a great snare drum sound until another sound tech showed me what I was missing. Before you ignore these signs, try the fixes during your next sound check and listen to the difference.

4 Signs of a Mediocre Worship Music Mix

1. Mix lacks low-end emphasis and energy

The bass, the lower-end drum toms and the kick drum play a huge role in filling in the low-end sound while also giving the music the right amount of energy. A mix that doesn’t have these properly pulled in will get you an overall sound that lacks energy and feeling. Or, as I like to call it, vibe.

Start by adding “too much” of the kick drum into the mix. Once you find it overpowering the overall mix, start cutting back the volume. If you have an electric drum kit all on one channel, use the low-end EQ to control the kick’s presence in the mix. Listen for a spot where the kick drum gets you the right vibe. I was at a church where I could set the kick volume by my ability to feel it in the floor of the sound booth.

Use the above for all the low-end instruments. Traditionally, you bring up the volume until it’s where you want. However, you’ll find you can often find a better volume spot by pushing the channel much hotter and then pulling back.

2. All channels have the same volume level in the mix

A mediocre worship music mix is easy to spot when all the instruments and the vocals sound like they are at the same volume level. The mix lacks depth. There is no subtlety to any part of the mix. There is no leading instrument or vocal.

Honestly, I’m not sure why this problem is so prevalent, but I have an idea. During the process of setting the gain structure, most of us get the volumes in the same range on the mixer meter. As this point, you should then set all the volumes in the right relationships to each other. It seems, the problem occurs when that last part isn’t done.

Start your next sound check by bringing in the drums to the level that fits the room, then bring in each instrument that’s higher in frequency. Then bring in the vocals until you end with the lead vocalist, which should be on top of the mix. You can check out these articles for more information on volume balancing:

3. Instruments and vocals lack clarity and distinction

Each instrument and each vocal needs to fit in the mix so the best qualities of each are present in the worship music mix. It’s like my grandmother’s cooking: She had all the right ingredients, but she couldn’t season a dish to save her life. The EQ process is the seasoning. I’ll be honest: I used to sneak in a bottle of hot sauce on the days she made her chili.

Let’s say you have two singers, an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, a bass and a drum kit. The default “noon” position on the channel EQ’s isn’t going to help your mix. Decide what you want your mix to sound like, and then start making EQ changes. For instance, if you want the acoustic guitar to have a bright feel, then cut a bit of the lows, boost a bit of the highs and then work out the mid-range frequencies to give you the right amount of presence and body from the guitar.

Creating clarity in any one instrument is more than this article could cover so consider these articles:

4. Music doesn’t fill the frequency range

I hear this when a mix is lacking in the higher and lower frequencies. The first sign mentioned was surrounding the low frequencies. Let’s look at how a mix might not have enough high frequencies.

High frequencies can come through high vocals, bright sounds like high strings on a guitar and cymbals, just to name a few. This isn’t to say you have to push high frequencies just for the sake of filling in frequencies in the high end. Consider it like this: Mute the cymbals in your mix. How does that sound? Turn them up to the right volume. How does that sound? If you have a lively energetic song, you’ll likely want a nice, bright-sounding mix. Push the highs up a little on the cymbals. Now, how does the whole mix sound?

Listen to your whole worship music mix, and listen for frequency holes where you can fill in the frequency. It’s like an example I’ve used before: You are painting a picture with music. You need to fill the whole canvas with color. You can use pastels, earth tones, whatever color selections you like. But you can’t paint a picture with all red tones or all blue tones. A picture painted with many similar colors gets you a picture that’s hard to interpret. It’s a cow, no, it’s a house, no, it’s a VW microbus. By using a wide range of colors (frequencies), you can create a variety of beautiful musical paintings with depth and feel and emotion.

The Takeaway

The best way for quickly improving your worship music mix is listening to it objectively and comparing it to the above four signs. Mixing is a wonderful creative process, but it’s also a process that takes time, skill, patience and evaluation.

Seriously: You Should Love God’s Wrath

Stephen Altrogge

August 28, 2023

Do you love the wrath of God? That sounds like a somewhat deranged question, right? I mean, when was the last time you had a conversation about how beautiful God’s wrath is? I don’t think I’ve ever had that conversation.

Or when was the last time you sang a worship song that focused on the wrath of God? It’s not quite as catchy to sing about the furious wrath of God as it is to sing about the reckless love of God.

Have you ever read a book extolling the glorious virtues of the wrath of God? Survey says, “Probably not.” I certainly haven’t.

The simple truth is that we (myself included) don’t really like to talk about God’s wrath. It makes us moderately uncomfortable. It doesn’t jive well with our modern sensibilities. We prefer to talk about how God is loving, kind and merciful, all of which are gloriously true.

If you talk about God’s wrath on a regular basis, people start avoiding you at parties and giving you the distant side eye—the look that says, “Stay far away from this strange person.”

But it’s equally true that God is wrathful, and the wrath of God is just as glorious as his love and mercy.

Wait, what? The wrath of God is just as glorious and beautiful as God’s love?

Yes, it is. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but we should prize and treasure the wrath of God just as much as any other part of God’s character.

Here are three reasons why.

What Is God’s Wrath?

First, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page regarding the wrath of God. Depending on your background, you may have all kinds of unhelpful preconceived notions that keep you from truly treasuring God’s wrath.

So what is God’s wrath?

The wrath of God is God’s holy, righteous, absolutely morally pure opposition to and punishment of unrighteousness.

God is not like a semi-unhinged guy with a hair-trigger temper. He doesn’t randomly lash out when something happens that he doesn’t like.

No, God is gloriously holy and righteous. His wrath flows out of his holiness, obliterating all wickedness and leaving righteousness and justice in its wake. The wrath of God is just as steadfast as the love of God.

10 Traits of Post-Pandemic Churches With Growing In-Person Attendance

Brian Dodd

August 27, 2023

post-pandemic churches — Lightstock #644464

COVID-19 and the year 2020 changed everything, especially what is involved in growing a church. As an employee of INJOY Stewardship Solutions, an organization who helps churches with capital campaigns and expanding their cultures of generosity, I have a unique job in that I only talk with growing churches. Churches who are plateaued or declining do not have a need for our services. Therefore, my conversations consists of a distinct audience.

I will have approximately 100+ individual calls each month with the pastors, executive pastors, administrators, or volunteer leaders discussing their resource challenges and expansion opportunities. For my own insight, I always make it a point in each conversation to ask, “I know it’s the goodness of God, but in a world where basically nine-out-of-ten churches are plateaued or declining, what are you doing to cause the growth.”

As a result of thousands of conversations the last couple of years, the following are 10 traits of post-pandemic churches with growing in-person attendance I have gleaned from these incredible leaders. These are observations and the accumulation of significant amounts of information.

1. Post-Pandemic Churches With Growing In-Person Attendance Are Led By Spiritually Growing Pastors

Does the Attractional Model still work since COVID? Yes and No. No in that big productions, light shows, hazers, great bands, opulence, and all the bells and whistles no longer are keys to being a growing church. COVID stripped away all non-essentials. Glitz and glamour no longer satisfy. People want to know what is real. They have lost loved ones, careers, income, stability, and hope. Their world was shaken to the core. They need something of essence which cannot be shaken.

But the Attractional Model still works when those in attendance look at the preacher and say, “That man has spent time with God and he can tell me what God says about the issues of my life.” People are being attracted in large numbers to an authentic Man of God who has spent time with Him and speaks on His behalf.

This reveals a consistent theme throughout this list: You still must deliver ministry with excellence but who you are is more important than what you do which leads to the following point.

2. Post-Pandemic Churches With Growing In-Person Attendance Are Led By Pastors Who Have Their Own Personal Tent Of Meeting

Pastors of post-pandemic churches are not preaching someone else’s material or recycling old messages. The world is different and a fresh word from God is required. In fact, it always has been but is just more obvious today.

Exodus 33:7-11 says,

Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.

Here’s the picture: Moses would separate from the crowd and go spend personal time with God. This is a modern-day pastor’s personal worship, prayer, and Bible-study time. God would speak directly to him as a friend talks to a friend. The people would get so excited that they would collectively worship waiting for Moses to return with the message of what God said about the issues of their lives (think Sunday sermon).

In today’s growing churches, people are excited and collectively line up to hear a pastor who has spent time with God and then delivers a fresh message from Him about the issues of their lives.

3. Post-Pandemic Churches With Growing In-Person Attendance Have Staff Who Are Hired For Calling More Than Skill

Just because you can play an instrument and/or sing does not mean you should be a post-pandemic worship leader. Just because you have great organizational, speaking, and leadership skills does not mean you should be a post-pandemic campus pastor. Just because you have a business background doesn’t mean you should be a post-pandemic executive pastor or administrator.

To Learn Well, Leaders Need To Be Proficient at Unlearning

Dr. James Scott, Jr.

August 27, 2023

For some people, learning comes easily.

Take, for example, Hoagy Carmichael, a popular composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader, who one day decided to take up the sport of golf. His start with his newfound interest was told in Bits & Pieces …

Finally, after a half hour of this, the instructor felt Carmichael was ready to drive a few toward the first hole. The ball was teed up. Hoagy stepped up to it, swung, then watched the ball sail down the fairway, bound onto the green, and roll into the cup; a hole in one!

The instructor was dumbfounded. Hoagy flipped the club to a caddy with a jaunty motion, then turned to the still speechless instructor. “OK,” he said casually, “I think I’ve got the idea now.”

If learning came so easily to everyone, we would all be committed lifelong learners!

But for many it doesn’t, and so many are not.

However, the process of learning isn’t just about acquiring new knowledge, it also includes an ongoing process of “unlearning” things that may not be true anymore … or perhaps never was!

A few examples …

For many years, we’ve heard from pulpits across America, and from a plethora of others sources, that about 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce. What a negative, discouraging message that is!

It’s also not true.

It never was true!

There’s never been a time in our history that the divorce rate was anywhere near 50 percent.

We know about this myth from rigorous research conducted by people like Shaunti Feldhahn, a Harvard-trained researcher who is also a Christian, who has documented her significant exploration into this and other claims and has not only revealed they aren’t true, but helps to explain how some popular myths got started in her book, “The Good News About Marriage: Debunking Discouraging Myths About Marriage and Divorce” (you can read my original review of the book by clicking here).

When leaders contribute to furthering this kind of myth, they paint a discouraging picture of marriage to those who are single. If half or more of all marriages fail, why even try?! BUT, if the actual success rate for marriage is much greater than that, the TRUTH becomes an encouraging message. Unlearning false narratives when they’re discovered is important, especially for leaders.

There’s another myth that the divorce rate is as great inside the church as it is outside the church. Not true. This is another myth Feldhahn debunks in the same book already mentioned. Imagine how discouraging it is for church leaders to persistently tell their congregations that not only do about half of all marriages fail, but the same is true about marriages among Christians. Now imagine how encouraging it would be for leaders to unlearn those myths and learn the real outcomes that sound research reveals.

Let’s do one more.

There’s the myth that most marriages “are just hanging on.”

How terribly discouraging!

Fortunately, that isn’t true, either.

How encouraging might it be if leaders reported that a hefty majority of people say they’re happy in their marriages? Most do!

Yet, for many years, church leaders and others have perpetuated these (and other) myths by repeating them over and over and over again as if they were true. This terrible practice among leaders will continue among all those who don’t “unlearn” while continuing to learn.

As we learn such things are not true, we need to eject such ideas from our teaching (“unlearn” it), and replace it with truth.

To be a proficient unlearner, apply the following tips:

- Don’t repeat something as a fact just because you’ve heard others repeat it, possibly several times. Do the work of checking statements to make sure they’re true before repeating them. If you cannot determine for sure if something is true, don’t repeat it. And if you discover something really is not true, “unlearn” it and replace it with the truth.
- Don’t use the unsubstantiated statements of others as your source for truth.
- Remind yourself that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but others change, and sometimes quite often! What may have been true about something or someone in the past may not still be true today. Unlearn as your learn!
- As you mature and gain greater knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, you’ll likely discover some things you’ve been teaching that may not have been fully accurate. Again, as you learn, unlearn and teach the truth you’ve now learned.

Unlearning is an important part of learning, and both are important for good leadership.

This article originally appeared here.

Church Volunteer Burnout: Why It’s NOT Their Fault

Dale Hudson

August 27, 2023

Church volunteer burnout is real, and it’s costly. When a children’s ministry helper asks to speak with you in private, your heart sinks. You know what’s coming. You listen as the volunteer says:

“I’m going to have to stop serving. My life is just too busy right now, and I can no longer commit to this. I’m sure you’ll find someone else to take my place.”

Sound familiar? I’ve experienced this many times. Though the volunteer doesn’t actually use the word burnout, that’s what they’re feeling. And if finger-pointing is called for, it should be pointed at me. Church volunteer burnout often comes back to poor leadership.

How KidMin Leaders Can Avoid Church Volunteer Burnout

Consider these seven reasons that children’s ministry leaders cause volunteer burnout:

1. Volunteers burn out because I place them in the wrong serving role.

When I first met with them about serving, I asked where they would like to serve. They said, “Wherever you NEED me.” And that’s exactly where I placed them…where I needed them. The problem? It wasn’t in a role that aligned with their gifts, talents, personality, and passion. As a result, serving became a burden rather than a blessing for them. It became a chore rather than a cherished hour, and a duty rather than a delight.

If you want volunteers go the distance with you, don’t place them where you need them. Place them where they need to be. Do this by asking one simple question. Read more about it in this post.

2. Volunteers burn out because I don’t set them up for success.

I shoved them into the role without providing adequate training. I should have provided them with a clear job description. To succeed, they needed hands-on training for several weeks with an experienced volunteer and the proper resources. Rather than just saying “good luck” I should have provided them with “good training.”

3. Volunteers burn out because I don’t help them connect.

I just assumed they would establish relationships. But I should have provided opportunities to connect with other volunteers outside the classroom. I should have invited them over for dinner with other volunteers. And I should have grabbed coffee with them and other volunteers with no agenda but to spend time together.

4. Volunteers burn out because I demand too much of their time.

I required them to attend too many teachers meetings. And I made the meetings way too long. Then when VBS rolled around, they were the first person I asked about giving some additional time. They finally stepped back and looked at how much time I was asking. Then they decided the cost was too high to pay.

What One of the World’s Smartest Leaders Taught Me

Charles Stone

August 26, 2023

Some time back, I heard Malcolm Webber speak about leadership. With a PhD in organizational leadership and author of over 30 books, he understands the current leadership culture like few others I’ve heard. He leads an organization called LeaderSource and speaks to and trains leaders all around the world on the subject. As one of the brightest and most innovative leaders/leadership consultants today I had difficulty taking notes fast enough because most everything he said was worth remembering. Here are some highlights.

Great leaders must say yes to the right things.
Leaders must not confuse activity with results or size with success.
Leadership development is not discipleship. A discipled leader is assumed.
The three parts of the leadership process are:
- Identification (what John Maxwell calls Discovery)
- Development
- Deployment
The biggest problem in leadership today is working with the wrong people (a paraphrase from the great missiologist, Ralph Winter)
Jesus’ men did not sign up. They were chosen.
Damaged leaders damage others.
There are two fundamental, foundational issues that must be in place for prospective leaders:
- They can think. They…
  1. explore
  2. think ahead and outside normal patterns
  3. learn from mistakes
  4. remain teachable and adaptable
  5. think conceptually and holistically
  6. embrace ambiguity.
- They act. They…
  1. don’t wait for someone else to act
  2. are probably already leading somewhere
  3. take responsibility and initiative
  4. challenge the status quo
  5. energize others.
When choosing leaders, keep these four ideas in mind.
1. Look for people who think.
2. Look for people who act.
3. Look for people about whom you can observe their lives.
4. Look for people who deeply depend on God.
Potential is not performance.

What insights about leadership have helped you lead well?

This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.

Living in Serious Times

James Emery White

August 26, 2023

“My friend,” John Adams wrote to Thomas Jefferson toward the end of both their lives, “you and I have lived in serious times.”

Indeed, they had.

The American colony was embroiled in a contentious relationship with its mother country, Britain, which would erupt into a declaration of independence and eventual war. Instead of swift and immediate defeat at the hands of the British, the conflict birthed a new nation that in just over two centuries would be unrivaled in power and influence.

But I will confess to being equally taken by another dynamic: that Adams, Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers led serious lives. Had they not, the course of history would have taken an altogether different turn.

John Adam’s life was integrally involved with the Continental Congress, the American Revolution, the writing of Massachusetts’ constitution and the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris. He served as the first American vice-president under George Washington and then became the nation’s second president. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence and then served as the country’s first secretary of state, second vice-president and third president. He fashioned the Louisiana Purchase and founded the University of Virginia. It is fitting that these Founding Fathers of America – Adams and Jefferson – died on the same day, July 4, 1826, the fledgling country’s 50th anniversary.

Serious times met with serious lives. This is the anvil on which history is forged. More important, it is the means by which the Kingdom of God is advanced and the life of a Christ follower measured. Paul Helm rightly notes that according to Scripture, “the whole of a person’s life is fundamentally serious, something for which he is responsible before God, and for which he will have to give an account…He is individually responsible to God for what he ‘makes’ of it.”

This brings me to a confession.

I’m taken by this because there is nothing that I want more than for my life to matter.

I want to be used profoundly by God, to be seized by His great and mighty hand and thrust onto the stage of history in order to do something significant. With as pure of a heart as I can muster, this isn’t about fame or prestige. It’s about wanting my life to count where it is needed most. There is a great movement of God that has been set loose in this world, and I want to be on the front lines.

Between college semesters in the summer of 1980, I went out to Colorado to work on a project for a company my father was managing. I took some time off one weekend and went into the city of Fort Collins. I walked around the campus of Colorado State University and then made my way to a theater. A new movie had just been released—the second installment of the original Star Wars trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back.

As I am sure you know, the entire Star Wars saga is about the cosmic battle between good and evil, with the first three films focused on a young farm boy named Luke who becomes swept up in a galactic rebellion against an evil empire.

Seeing that movie long, long ago in a city far, far away at the tender age of 18 was a defining moment for my life. I walked out of the theater profoundly moved. I remember sitting in my car in the parking lot, overwhelmed with a single thought: That’s what I want for my life. To be caught up in the sweep of history. To be in the center of things. To be making a difference. To be at the heart of the struggle between right and wrong, good and evil. My heart was almost breaking at the thought of a life of insignificance. Then I recall thinking, But where can that happen in the real world? How can I be a part of something that is bigger than I am? Where in life can something so grand be found?

The Preacher’s Guide To Preparing Sermons With a Team

Lane Sebring

August 26, 2023

The Preacher’s Guide to Preparing Sermons With a Team

Preachers do weird things. One weird thing we do is prepare our sermons alone. Every week you have to get up in front of a group of people and say words. Those words have to be engaging, powerful, motivating, encouraging, accurate, practical and spiritual all at the same time.

Every. Single. Week.

And you prepare alone. All by yourself. I think this started with Moses. He went up on a mountain and heard from God. He came down and told the people, “This is what God said.” We’ve never really changed the model. Preachers have been preparing sermons alone ever since.

I used to prepare my sermons alone. I would read commentaries, watch sermons and research articles, but it was mostly just me, by myself.

If you’re like most preachers, you prepare alone. The problem is, you are not Moses. You are not an Old Testament prophet. There is nothing requiring you to use this method. I’m not saying God can’t speak to you in your study. You should hear from God as you prepare. If you’ve been preaching for any length of time, you know how exhilarating it is to spend time in prayer and study and hear from God. There is nothing like it. But this should not lead you to think that you must prepare every sermon alone.

Why you prepare alone

Why do you prepare your sermons alone? I can’t get inside your head, but I do know what I have thought from time to time. And you and I probably have some things in common. Here are four reasons why you might prepare your sermons by yourself:

1. Your pastor used to go hide in a room for 20 hours. Maybe your pastor was committed to spending several hours a week hidden “in his study” to hear from God. This was the assumed method in seminary. You don’t see any need to change things up.

2. You see it as a more spiritual experience. You are “God’s man,” and it needs to come from you or it won’t have the right amount of pastor sauce. After all, if you were to prepare with others, then wouldn’t that cheapen the process?

3. You want to take all the credit. If you hole yourself up for days in a room with books and come up with the most profound truths anyone has ever heard, then you can bask in the glow of your insights. Everyone will be in awe, and you will be the star. If you develop content collectively, others may find out that every insight didn’t originate with you.

4. You think your ideas are the best. Why talk to anyone else? It’s not like they’re going to contribute something you don’t already know. Why ask what the interns think of your content? You’re the one with the graduate degree in theology. Why ask a group of people to give you feedback before you complete your sermon? They haven’t been preaching for years like you have.

Perhaps you prepare alone for no other reason than it is just what you do. What could be wrong with that? Obviously, this is a matter of preference, but I have found that it is far more beneficial to prepare sermons (at least in part) in teams.

What could be wrong with this model?

So, what’s wrong with preparing sermons alone? If almost everyone does it this way, how could it be so bad?

If you prepare your sermons alone week after week, you draw from the same well, and eventually it runs dry. You start to tell the same stories, use the same examples, select the same Scriptures and teach in the same way. You alone prepare sermons that you would like on topics that interest you for the benefit of others. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it is the standard method of many pastors.

What happens when, week after week, you’ve prepared your sermons sitting in a room with books and a computer? What happens after years and years of limited input from anyone but you? There are three primary outcomes of preparing alone:

1. Your sermons lack relational depth. Your sermons should be rich with relational insight. The stories, examples and applications you use should come from a variety of relational experiences. This only happens when you bring other people into the process. The more input you receive from different kinds of people in different life situations, the more likely you’ll connect with more people. I benefit tremendously by getting input from people who are not like me. I’ll talk to a single mom and ask for her feedback on something I’m planning to preach on family. Or I’ll run a concept by a senior citizen to see if it will connect with them.

2. You miss your blind spots. You have blind spots in your life and ministry. We all do. These blind spots show up in your preaching. Developing sermon content can be one of the most vexing things we do as preachers. You can be so consumed in study and excited about the material that you don’t realize that it will make no sense to most of your listeners. Including others in the process of your preparation keeps you from running with an idea or concept that won’t work.

3. It all depends on you hearing from God. Way too much pressure is put on you when you have to come up with all of the content every week. You’re not infinitely wise. You can’t possibly know every week exactly what needs to be said. Preparing in a team draws from a pool of greater wisdom. Instead of it being just you who needs to hear from God, why not have a team of people hearing from God?

Continue

Fall Festival Planning: 6 Tips for a Successful KidMin Harvest Event

ChildrensMinistry.com

August 25, 2023

Fall festival planning is key to an outreach event that families love. Use these time-proven tips to plan a wildly successful carnival or harvest event. Planning your children’s ministry fall festival can be simple and fun!

How to Plan a Wildly Successful Fall Festival

1. Choose a director.

First, it makes sense to have one go-to person for the event. Choose someone who can delegate tasks and lead a team. The director is responsible for:

managing the budget (talk with church leaders about money that’s available from an outreach budget and/or children’s ministries),
asking for donations (have church members donate candy or supplies),
leading in recruitment, and
collecting supplies.

2. Form a leadership team.

The director won’t be acting alone. So you’ll also need a leadership team for this event. They’ll help with things such as:

Publicity: Let your church and community know the Fall Festival is coming and that they’re invited.
Outreach: Prepare information about your church to give visitors at the Fall Festival.
Booths and games: Brainstorm, create, and build games for the event.
Follow-up: Make contact with visitors who attended your Fall Festival. Be sure to invite them back to your church. Then make them feel welcome when they do return!
Evaluation: After the event, debrief with the leadership team. Take notes on what went well and what to avoid next year.

As you plan the event, involve leaders and volunteers in the decision-making and brainstorming process. By asking leaders for feedback, ideas, and suggestions from the start, you’re encouraging them to offer their input throughout the planning. You’re also making yourself more approachable. Leaders need to know you’re interested in their ideas and support their actions.

In addition, encouraging leaders to share feedback and allowing them to act on their ideas builds their confidence as they interact with children at the event. By giving leaders freedom and flexibility, you equip and motivate them to change kids’ lives through a Fall Festival.

3. Recruit volunteers.

Recruiting volunteers may not be as hard as you think. It may sound basic, but if you want volunteers, you need to ask. Asking is the missing step in most volunteer recruitment efforts. Sometimes we’ll announce a need, create posters or bulletin boards, and post sign-up sheets. Yet we don’t look potential volunteers in the eye and ask, “Will you help?”

If you settle for publicizing your event in the hope that publicity will generate volunteers, you’ll be disappointed. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Most people are eager to roll up their sleeves and work together to serve the community with a fun outreach event.

You may also be surprised at how few volunteers you’ll need for a Fall Festival. Depending on your church size, you may need only a few volunteers to pull off a truly dynamic event. One church had 800 kids attend a Fall Festival but only four leaders and 20 volunteers to run the booths and activities. And they pulled it off!

When recruiting volunteers, involve parents wherever possible. Parents play a significant role in kids’ spiritual lives.

For a fall festival, parents can:

lead a game or assist at a booth,
donate candy or supplies,
invite (and encourage) families in their neighborhood to attend,
dress in costume and be a greeter, or
help during registration.

Remind volunteers what an honor it is to work for God. As volunteers and leaders, you may be teaching and guiding kids, but you’re also serving the Lord. You have an opportunity to serve God in a special way. You’ll show kids who Jesus really is and encourage them to follow him.

Commitment

Full Strength Network

August 25, 2023

Commitment in Marriage — Source: Lightstock

We place a high value on commitment. Whether it be in our churches, our relationships, our ministry, or our marriages, commitment is a trait we applaud. Perhaps this is because it’s a necessary ingredient for long-lasting relationships! We can see this played out most clearly in marriage relationships.

Traditional marriage vows echo a line of “forsaking all others” when it comes to committing to a spouse. But what does that mean? What does it look like practically? Beyond the things forsaken, true commitment in marriage is about the things chosen. It’s a life-long pursuit and process of choosing your loved one again and again, regardless of how you feel or if he or she deserves it.

We can pinpoint the power behind successfully loyal relationships. According to commitment researcher Carol Rusbult, it’s the daily choice of your loved one over and over! We as humans in long-term committed relationships are interdependent. We value the committed relationship to find and share love and trust. And losing the relationship would be traumatic.

In healthy, committed relationships, couples cherish one another. There is a fondness when thinking of the other, especially when apart. There is a sense of gratitude for what the partner brings to the relationship. So the idea of “forsaking all others” becomes less of a duty and more of a sacrificial desire, based on love.

In marriage, commitment promotes emotional safety, and emotional safety promotes intimacy. We can find so many metaphors for God’s covenant with us when we look closely. That’s why we’d like to camp on this idea of commitment and provide five thoughts to consider about commitment to those you love. As Paul writes in Romans 12:10, “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Let’s take a practical look:

Examine your heart. What kinds of words and stories come into conversations with others when it comes to your loved one? Do you speak about his or her positive traits? How often do you make negative comments? The Bible has a lot to say about the words we use and the power of our mouths for good or evil. One helpful prayer to pray in regard to examining your heart is inviting the Lord into the process. Psalm 139:23-24 says, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” A regular examination of your heart will be beneficial in making sure you’re aligned with God’s heart when it comes to the commitment in your relationships.
Express appreciation, admiration, and gratitude. Cultivate an attitude of cherishing the positive qualities of those you love instead of complaining about their qualities that annoy you. Express your appreciation, admiration, and gratitude for those you love to those you love. Which mindset—cherishing or trashing—seems to predominate your thinking? Guess which one promotes love, trustworthiness, and commitment? It’s almost embarrassing to think of how easy it is to express appreciation for others. Oftentimes we may be thinking it, but the action of expressing gratitude will go a long way in your committed relationships.
Begin relationship building conversations. This step alone takes commitment! You will need to carve out and protect time in your busy week to open your heart to your loved one. But it’s so worth it. Making time for each other is a huge part of showing commitment. Even if you have to start with some help or prompts, make sure you’re devoting time to quality conversation with each other. Eventually, you’ll come to crave this time and depth, and the process of going deep will be second nature to you.
Do “little things.” While the intentional deeper conversations have their place, so do “little things” throughout the day to show your love and commitment. You can start by making a long list of small actions you can take that, when you do them, your loved one actually feels loved. What communicates love to your spouse may not be the same thing as what communicates love to you. Find the small ways to “outserve” the other. It becomes a fun challenge when you’re both participating. But even if it starts with you, you’ll find it’s worth it!
Revamp your calendar. Commitment-building behaviors will take time. But the ways we spend our time will show what we value. The truth is, your calendar reflects your commitments. What does your calendar say about your commitments? What can you put in your calendar today that will reflect your commitment to those you love?

It’s not news to anyone that this kind of commitment takes time. It takes effort. But God has many things to show us and teach us if we’re willing to invest the effort to live committed lives for his glory. Take time today to examine where you can put commitment into practice in a way that will allow God to shape you more into who He’s created you to be!

This article originally appeared here.

Russell Moore, Karen Swallow Prior Spark Outrage for Saying They Don’t Enjoy ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’

Jessica Mouser

August 25, 2023

pilgrims progress — Screenshots from YouTube / @ChristianityTodayMagazine

Some Christians are reacting with indignation after Dr. Russell Moore and Dr. Karen Swallow Prior said that they do not enjoy “The Pilgrim’s Progress,” a 17th century Christian allegory written by Puritan preacher John Bunyan. The work is one of the bestselling books of all time, at one point coming in second only to the Bible.

“I have written extensively of my admiration for Bunyan in two books,” said Prior, pushing back on the controversy in a Thursday post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “So you can listen to a very clipped clip that’s circulating, or you can read the books. (Yeah, we know what the click-baiters will choose.)”

I have written extensively of my admiration for Bunyan in two books. So you can listen to a very clipped clip that’s circulating, or you can read the books. (Yeah, we know what the click-baiters will choose.) pic.twitter.com/RXg05wf9h9

— Karen Swallow Prior (Notorious KSP at The Priory) (@KSPrior) August 25, 2023

Moore and Prior on ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’

“The Pilgrim’s Progress” is an allegory, meaning that characters, places and events are symbols that directly represent something else. The first half of Bunyan’s story tells how a man named “Christian” leaves the City of Destruction to embark on a journey to the Celestial City while his wife and children remain behind.

Along the way, Christian encounters challenges that include the Slough of Despond, Mr. Worldly Wiseman, and the Giant Despair. He receives encouragement as well, however, from different sources such as the Delectable Mountains and his companions, Faithful and Hopeful.

The second part of the book recounts how Christian’s wife, Christiana, and his sons decide to embark on the journey as well.

Prior, a professor and author, joined Moore, editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, on “The Russell Moore Show” to discuss Prior’s new book, “The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis.”

During the conversation, as the two were discussing similarities between the challenges social media presents and the advent of the printing press, Moore commented, “I don’t like John Bunyan.” He then clarified, “I like the person of John Bunyan, I like the life of John Bunyan, but ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ leaves me cold, and ‘Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners’ even more so.”

Moore went on to explain that the reason why he dislikes Bunyan’s works is likely because he’s “seen so many people who started reading some Puritan literature from that time period who became so morose and so introspective and believing there’s no way they could really be a Christian.” He observed that in her new book, Prior discusses “just how significant” “The Pilgrim’s Progress” was “in terms of shaping everything around us.”

“I’m going to be completely honest here,” Prior replied. “‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ is kind of a drag to read.” Her students, she said, “love to hate it, and I love to teach it to try to, you know, hate it with them and help them see it.”

Prior said she is glad she discovered Bunyan’s work as a student of literature. “Seventeenth century literature is tough,” she said, but pointed out that “The Pilgrim’s Progress” was a product of the fact that Bunyan “luxuriated in his imagination. He let it sort of influence him and lead him to the Lord, to the source of that imagination.”

Moore and Prior went on to discuss the significance of imagination, with Prior expressing that the evangelical movement has emphasized the rational mind, but has “failed to take enough account of aesthetic experience, the imagination, the heart,” as well as “the body.”

‘God Wants Me To Prosper Financially,’ Say 76% of US Churchgoers

Stephanie Martin

August 25, 2023

During the past five years, belief in the prosperity gospel has climbed among Protestant church attendees in the United States. That’s according to a new survey released this week by Lifeway Research.

In response to the statement, “God wants me to prosper financially,” 76% of U.S. Protestant churchgoers agreed or strongly agreed. That’s up from 69% five years ago.
In response to the statement, “My church teaches that if I give more money to my church and charities, God will bless me in return,” 52% of U.S. Protestant churchgoers agreed or strongly agreed. That’s up from 38% five years ago.
In response to the statement, “To receive material blessings from God, I have to do something for God,” 45% of U.S. Protestant churchgoers agreed or strongly agreed. That’s up from 26% five years ago.

Lifeway Research conducted its new survey of 1,002 adults last September. The organization’s researchers compared those results to a similar survey they conducted in 2017.

The Prosperity Gospel and Churchgoers’ Changing Beliefs

Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, said, “In the last five years, far more churchgoers are reflecting prosperity gospel teachings, including the heretical belief that material blessings are earned from God.”

As for the reason behind the trend, McConnell noted, “It is possible the financial hits people have taken from inflation and the pandemic have triggered feelings of guilt for not serving God more. But Scripture does not teach that kind of direct connection.”

Teachings of the prosperity gospel do not match up with scriptural teachings, said McConnell. “Pursuing holiness was never designed by God to be a plan for financial riches. The size of one’s finances is not the measure of anyone’s service to God nor relationship with him.”

Demographic Breakdown of Lifeway’s Survey

A closer look at the new survey reveals that younger churchgoers are more likely than their older counterparts to adhere to prosperity gospel teachings. That may be because “biblical teachings were poorly heard by more young adults,” McConnell admitted, “but they definitely have experienced a lack of clear biblical teaching on the reason for generosity.”

Although “Scripture teaches God gives good gifts to those he chooses…large numbers of young adults attending church regularly still believe their good deeds can tilt God’s gifts in their direction,” added McConnell.

Less educated churchgoers, those with evangelical beliefs, African American churchgoers, and people who attend church less than four times per month also are more likely to embrace prosperity teachings. Among Protestant denominations, members of Methodist and Restorationist movement churches are more likely to agree with prosperity teachings.

In addition to its faith-related impacts, the prosperity gospel has possible psychological impacts as well. Research shows that it tends to make people more optimistic, happier, and even a little irresponsible with their money.

Virginia Beach Pastor Caught in Underage Prostitution Sting Gets Record Expunged

Dale Chamberlain

August 25, 2023

Virginia Beach pastor John Blanchard has been granted his request for his criminal record to be expunged after he was caught in a police sting targeting predators soliciting sex from minors online in October 2021.

Blanchard originally filed for expungement in December 2022. The ruling comes after a lengthy legal battle over whether Blanchard should be prosecuted.

Blanchard, who serves as lead pastor of Rock Church International, was one of 17 men arrested after they corresponded online with detectives from the Chesterfield County Police Special Victims Unit, who were posing as minors, and solicited sex. The suspects were arrested upon arriving at an agreed upon meeting place.

Blanchard preached at Rock Church two days later and did not disclose the charges pending against him. It was only after his arrest became publicly known through news reports that he agreed to temporarily step aside from his pastoral duties.

Rock Church has continued to support Blanchard throughout the legal process, which on more than one occasion has resulted in protests being held outside the church.

In October 2022, the charges against Blanchard were tentatively dropped, with prosecutors having the ability to refile if they felt they had a strong enough case.

Following their decision to drop charges, the Chesterfield County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office became the subject of criticism, both from legal experts, one of whom argued there was “no excuse not to prosecute,” and the local police chief, who continues to stand by the work of Chesterfield County detectives in the case.

For his part, Blanchard made a defiant return to the pulpit at Rock Church in December 2022, telling the congregation, “Over the past several months, I’ve been the subject of vicious and inhuman accusations. These statements are demonstrably false. You can dress up a lie, you can twist it, you can misrepresent it, but I’m sorry—a lie is still a lie.”

Blanchard vowed to take “legal action” to recover his “good name.”

Though Blanchard was originally granted his expungement request in December 2022, that decision was overturned in February of this year following a public outcry.

Artificial Intelligence Program Poised To Shake up Catholic Education, Doctrine

Claire Giangrave

August 25, 2023

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — A new Catholic program using artificial intelligence, Magisterium AI, is promising to revolutionize academic research in Catholic education and holds the potential to disrupt long-held doctrines and beliefs.

Created by the U.S.-based company Longbeard, Magisterium AI uses artificial intelligence technology like the one used by the now-famous ChatGPT to provide information for users on everything relating to Catholic doctrine, teachings and Canon law. Unlike other AI programs, which have access to vast swaths of ever-evolving data, the information used by Magisterium AI is limited to official church documents and is carefully curated.

“This way, it avoids the pitfalls of the use of AI,” said Fr. Philip Larrey, who teaches philosophy at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome and is chair of the Product Advisory Board at Magisterium AI, in an interview with Religion News Service on Wednesday (Aug. 23).

Artificial intelligence programs can sometimes “hallucinate,” meaning they will assemble incorrect or partially incorrect information in order to provide an answer to a query. “Magisterium is trained to only use official documents of the Catholic Church, which is a very small, consistent and narrow documentation,” Larrey said.

“It’s never going to give you a wrong or false answer,” he added.

With a simple interface, where users can type in questions that will be answered by the artificial intelligence, Magisterium AI hopes to be a helpful service for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. The project can be used by priests seeking to write a homily, canon lawyers looking for the latest updates and researchers wishing to access Catholic documents from the ancient past.

Magisterium AI is already used in 125 countries and is currently available in 10 languages, but its creators hope to add even more. Every day, more information is being entered into the program’s database drawn directly from Catholic resources.

Fr. David Nazar, the rector of the Pontifical Institute for Eastern Churches, believes AI technology has the power to revolutionize research in Catholic academia by providing scholars with access to large amounts of data. Eastern Christian Churches spread all over the world, from Russia to Ethiopia and India, rely on extremely ancient and diversified documents.

Magisterium AI “shortens the time and refines your research,” Nazar told RNS in an interview Wednesday. Research that has been ongoing for 10 years over 400 documents and manuscripts could be done in a month or a week, he explained.

The institute is currently digitizing 1,000 documents from its archives and adding them to the Magisterium AI database. This includes one of the largest collections of Syriac manuscripts outside of Syria, which were brought over to Rome after the start of the war in the Middle Eastern country. While the program has the scope of “preserving and researching history with precision,” Nazar said, it also has the potential to be a powerful tool for promoting ecumenism and addressing ancient doctrinal questions.

“The early church councils were as concerned about defining principles — the number of the Trinity, the nature of Jesus etc. — as they were about excluding false expressions of the faith,” he said. The varied amount of languages and cultures that convened at these ancient councils meant participants “often misunderstood one another, and some people were called heretics for the wrong reason.”

Nazar brought up the example of Nestorius, a bishop who was deemed a heretic after the Council of Ephesus in 431. Research conducted at the institute over years led to the conclusion that Nestorius was actually largely misunderstood in his beliefs and wrongly condemned. This understanding promoted communion between the Catholic Church and his remaining followers today.

With tools like Magisterium AI this kind of research could happen in much less time, Nazar said. He acknowledged that as more data from the church’s vast and ancient documentation is inserted into the program, researchers might uncover uncomfortable facts about the church’s doctrine on hot-button issues like married priests and the role of women in the church.

Esau McCaulley Remembers His Past, Dreams of the Promised Land in New Book

Bob Smietana

August 25, 2023

(RNS) — Esau McCaulley was almost another statistic.

As a teenager in Huntsville, Alabama, he was sitting at home watching television when a drive-by shooter opened fire on his family’s house. One of the bullets passed a few inches from his head. Had he moved a muscle, his life might have been over.

In his new book “How Far to the Promised Land,” due out in early September, McCaulley imagines what the headlines in the newspapers might have said if he had died that day: “Black Youth Killed in Drive-by Shooting: Crime Out of Control in Northwest Huntsville.” He would have just been another nameless Black victim of gun violence.

“People would have known exactly what my story was about,” McCaulley said in a recent interview. “But they would have been wrong. That’s not the whole of who I was.”

In a follow-up to his award-winning book, “Reading While Black,” McCaulley, a New York Times columnist, New Testament scholar and theologian in residence at Progressive Baptist Church in Chicago, tells the story of growing up in a poor neighborhood in Huntsville, where he dreamed that football would offer him a way out.

When a knee injury derailed his major college scholarship hopes, McCaulley ended up playing at Sewanee, a Division III school known for its beautiful campus in the mountains of Middle Tennessee. There he met his wife, discovered his calling to ministry and found a life different than he could have imagined growing up.

But his success left him troubled.

“I felt trapped by the story that people were telling about me — this kid who escaped poverty and made it to the middle class,” he said. “That was the story people wanted to hear. But I felt like that wasn’t true. Because it made it seem like the only people who mattered were the people who succeeded.”

In his new book, inspired by the death of his father in 2017, McCaulley said he set out to find the beauty in the stories of broken and complicated people, including many in his family and the neighborhood. Their struggles, even if they did not end well, can still be filled with glory, he said. And they tell us something about America.

McCaulley spoke to Religion News Service in late August. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How do you describe your dad — given all he went through? At one point in the book, you talk about his own childhood trauma, including being raised by a father who had lost two children in a house fire before your dad was born.

In part one of the book, he’s a villain. That’s how I talk about him. He’s the man who became an addict. He’s the one who stole from my family. He’s the one who is abusive to us. He’s the one who came home was on drugs and was punching holes in the wall while I was hiding in my sleeping bag, praying that the police come to keep our family safe.

That’s who he was.

Then I began to understand that he was someone who had his own trauma. One of the last things his father says to him before he dies is that he is no good, that he would never be anything as good as the kids who died in the fire. That marks him. But it puts him in context.

At the end of his life, he’s searching. He’s searching for a way to be the man he never could be. So, he’s kind of a tragic figure. I describe him in that way, as someone who is very easy to hate — but who is complicated.

Not to give away the ending, but there’s a change late in his life, right before he dies. How do you make sense of that?

Toward the end, there was, not a reconciliation, but the beginning of something. I found it profoundly meaningful that he died in California, far from home. He was still making the same promises and saying, “I’m going to come home.” When I was a kid, and my father would leave, I would take it personally — as if he left because he hated me and was making promises on purpose to make our lives harder. When I got older, I began to understand that every time he made those promises, he wanted to keep them. His failed promises, I began to see, were striving towards something that he never could quite obtain. I would describe my father as someone who reached for something. And who, by the time he really figured out what it was he was looking for, literally ran out of road.

3 Questions for Church Leaders to Ask NOW

Ron Edmondson

August 25, 2023

I think there are three questions for church leaders to ask NOW – and regularly. If I were to come alongside of your church, (and I’m certainly happy to do that through my coaching ministry), I would help your staff or leadership think through each of these in a brainstorming session. But this is certainly something you do on your own.

Make one person the facilitator – one who will keep conversation flowing – make sure everything is allowed to be said that needs to be said.

3 Questions for Church Leaders to Ask NOW

1. What is working well and needs more energies/resources?

There may be things you added the last few years that worked better than you thought and now they are here to stay and may even need more attention.

For example, I know churches that quickly say “let’s church make that a Zoom call”. It’s not that they don’t do in-person meetings, but if you can’t get the finance team together in one room one month, you have another option. When someone is sick they can still be connected. That’s a keeper.

Prior to the pandemic, we didn’t have a YouTube channel. Now it will never be the same. It’s a huge part of how we communicate with our church. We need to put even more energy and resources into this part of our ministry.

I worked with four churches on a contract or full-time basis through Covid. In all of them the way change was introduced is worth keeping. Churches were forced to make changes quickly. What are some changes you need to make, but didn’t feel the freedom to do prior to this time? You may be able to “keep” some of the atmosphere of change you have created. Maybe it’s time to finally update the bylaws or reduce the number of committees you have.

There could be many other things that are working well and you need to take advantage of that energy. It could be children’s ministries, missions, parking lot ministry or your hospital care plan. If the general consensus of the room is that is where some energy is happening – put extra fuel behind it. Leverage what’s working for Kingdom growth.

There could come a day in a future session like this where that thing that’s working lands in one of the other categories. Be willing to move it when needed.

2. What needs tweaking?

This gets harder, because you have to name programs and ministries that may have been long loved by the church. But they’ve simply grown tired, changed leadership, or don’t get the focus they once did.

They aren’t broke, but they need tweaking.

This could be a long list of things. If children’s or student ministries aren’t growing like they once did – you likely aren’t ready to close them down, but leaving them the same isn’t likely to help them grow either. This is the same with missions or worship or Bible study ministries.

The Parable of Sugar Cookie Hope

Chet Gladkowski

August 25, 2023

Here’s the real-life parable of sugar cookie hope. I wanted to do something special for my wife, Mary Ann. I started to go through all the “normal” things that normal husbands normally do. So, because I know she likes cookies, I started thinking about what kind of cookies to make. My favorite are huge, thick, and gooey chocolate cookies. They have to be underdone to assure that gooey, chewy feeling in my mouth. There should also be lots, and lots, and lots of both dark and white chocolate chips.

But then the strangest thought came into my head. Was I making these cookies for myself or for Mary Ann? And since I knew the answer to that question was Mary Ann, another thought came into my head.

Since I was making cookies for Mary Ann, I needed to make cookies that she likes. Making them the way she likes.

Sugar Cookie Hope

The simple answer is that small and brown sugar cookies are far and away Mary Ann’s favorite cookies.

Now if you compare Mary Ann’s favorite cookies to mine, you quickly come to the conclusion that it’s almost the exact opposite. I want them huge, underdone, and chewy. She likes them small and cooked till they are brown and crispy.

Share Your Faith: 7 Steps for Equipping Teens for Evangelism

Andy Blanks

August 24, 2023

Do your teens know how to share their faith? And do they actually do so? Read on for insights about student evangelism and how to make that a reality.

Study after study makes the same point: This generation of teenagers, and the ones following on their heels, are coming of age in a culture that is less religious than previous generations. Although this no doubt presents significant challenges, it also presents awesome opportunities. Teenagers who are Christ-followers find themselves in a great position to impact the world around them by sharing the Gospel. As Jesus said, the field is ripe.

Yet many Christian teenagers struggle to talk to others about the foundational truths of their faith. When findings of the National Study of Youth and Religion (the most wide-sweeping study on religion and teenagers) were published in Dr. Christian Smith’s book Soul Searching (2005), one valuable finding was that American teenagers are extremely inarticulate about their faith. Many kids in our youth ministries struggle to put their faith-essentials into words and share them. Faith makes a difference in their lives; they just have a hard time explaining why.

In our current cultural climate, the inability of Christian teens to clearly talk about faith basics hampers their chance to help others come to know Christ. So youth workers must do a more effective job of two things: teaching students the foundational distinctives of their faith and equipping them to share these basic faith elements.

Here are 7 steps for accomplishing those important goals.

7 Ways to Help Teens Share Their Faith

1. Remind teens that evangelism isn’t about being perfect or closing the deal.

First, realize that a culture of excellence permeates the world of many students. Athletic excellence. Academic excellence. Excellence in the image they craft. So much pressure exists to be not only good but great at whatever you do.

I think this trickles into their thoughts on sharing their faith. Many teenagers are terrified of not having all the answers, of being wrong, or of “failing” to lead someone to Christ. Relieve this pressure by reminding teens that, for most people, believing in Christ is a process that happens over many interactions.

Regardless of how effective teens think they are in the moment, God will use their faithfulness to make Himself known. Most importantly, remind students that we don’t save anyone. Encourage them by reminding them that God does the saving. Our role is to be faithful, resting in the knowledge that God is at work and His plans are bigger than us.

2. Make knowing God and his ways the center of youth ministry.

God’s main way of making Himself known to us is through the Bible. Seeing God’s story of redemption through the Bible is an amazing gift we can give our students. Leading them to see God’s character, to love and seek Christ, and to grasp what it means to live as imitators of God are key aspects of faith ownership. This happens through a passion for meeting God in Scripture. A youth ministry in which God’s Word is valued deeply is a great foundation on which to build.

3. Provide students with basic phrases that articulate core theology.

What if you took a page out of the more liturgical-based denominations and crafted some really simple phrases that capture the basic biblical concepts you want students to know? Phrases such as, “There is one God who exists and is the Creator of all things.” Easy, right? Yet it’s a core faith distinctive.

As these themes come up in youth Bible studies, take the opportunity to reaffirm them. Encourage students to familiarize themselves with the phrases so when it comes time to talk about their faith, they can do so through simple phrases backed by deep biblical truth.

Tim Tebow Shares Video of Human Trafficking Survivors Being Baptized

Jesse T. Jackson

August 24, 2023

Former football star and popular ESPN college football analyst Tim Tebow shared a video Wednesday, Aug. 23, of three human trafficking survivors getting baptized.

The video, which he shared from his Tim Tebow Foundation’s social media, showed a video taken by Her Song in Columbus, Ohio. Her Song is part of Tebow’s foundation and helps “women who are survivors of human trafficking with residential support, programs, and spiritual growth opportunities.”

Tebow showed his excitement for the baptisms by writing, “Thank you Lord!”

On its post, Her Song shared the verse, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. – Galatians 2:20.”

The video shows the women getting baptized in a pond. “The team arranged a beautiful pond baptism to celebrate these ladies as they publicly declared Jesus as their Lord and Savior,” Her Song said and shared how people gathered to celebrate the women’s decision. The group asked social media followers to pray for the women as they “continue their healing journeys.”

SURVIVORS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING GET BAPTIZED!

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Galatians 2:20 pic.twitter.com/2lKMnYGCKg

— Tim Tebow Foundation (@tebowfoundation) August 23, 2023

Last month, Tebow announced that his foundation launched a fundraiser called “unKNOWN” in honor of his 36th birthday in the hopes of raising $1 million to protect children from the horrific evil known as human trafficking.

“We have to do everything we can to continue identifying and protecting victims, caring for survivors, and working to prevent it from happening in the first place,” Tebow said in a video post for his unKNOWN campaign. To date, the campaign has raised over $1.3 million.

The campaign is called “unKnown” because boys and girls all over the world are being abused and tortured and we don’t know their names, Tebow explained. “Their identity is unknown.”

Tebow said that “there are over 50,000 children’s images that sit in a global database.” He added, “We don’t know who they are, but we do know that God knows.”

4 Reasons to Show Mercy to Others

3. Show mercy because you’re going to need more mercy in the future.

4. Show mercy because it causes happiness.

4 Signs of a Mediocre Worship Music Mix

1. Mix lacks low-end emphasis and energy

2. All channels have the same volume level in the mix

3. Instruments and vocals lack clarity and distinction

4. Music doesn’t fill the frequency range

The Takeaway

What Is God’s Wrath?

1. Post-Pandemic Churches With Growing In-Person Attendance Are Led By Spiritually Growing Pastors

2. Post-Pandemic Churches With Growing In-Person Attendance Are Led By Pastors Who Have Their Own Personal Tent Of Meeting

3. Post-Pandemic Churches With Growing In-Person Attendance Have Staff Who Are Hired For Calling More Than Skill

How KidMin Leaders Can Avoid Church Volunteer Burnout

1. Volunteers burn out because I place them in the wrong serving role.

2. Volunteers burn out because I don’t set them up for success.

3. Volunteers burn out because I don’t help them connect.

4. Volunteers burn out because I demand too much of their time.

Why you prepare alone

What could be wrong with this model?

How to Plan a Wildly Successful Fall Festival

1. Choose a director.

2. Form a leadership team.

3. Recruit volunteers.

Moore and Prior on ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’

The Prosperity Gospel and Churchgoers’ Changing Beliefs

Demographic Breakdown of Lifeway’s Survey

How do you describe your dad — given all he went through? At one point in the book, you talk about his own childhood trauma, including being raised by a father who had lost two children in a house fire before your dad was born.

Not to give away the ending, but there’s a change late in his life, right before he dies. How do you make sense of that?

3 Questions for Church Leaders to Ask NOW

1. What is working well and needs more energies/resources?

2. What needs tweaking?

Sugar Cookie Hope

7 Ways to Help Teens Share Their Faith

1. Remind teens that evangelism isn’t about being perfect or closing the deal.

2. Make knowing God and his ways the center of youth ministry.

3. Provide students with basic phrases that articulate core theology.

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