Dr. Derwin Gray Condemns Slavery as ‘Evil’ With Regard to New Florida Standards

July 24, 2023

Among the critics of the newly revised Florida standards for teaching African American history is Dr. Derwin Gray, founding and lead pastor of Transformation Church near Charlotte, North Carolina. On July 24, Gray tweeted, “Slavery is evil. There is no benefit.”

Slavery is evil. There is no benefit.

“I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of the land. Between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible… pic.twitter.com/74crjhzhXP

— Dr. Derwin L. Gray (@DerwinLGray) July 24, 2023

With his tweet, Gray included a photo of Frederick Douglass and the abolitionist’s quote: “I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of the land. Between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference.”

Also on Monday, Gray, author of “How to Heal Our Racial Divide,” tweeted: “Slavery, the evil, demonic, dehumanizing of image bearers, did not benefit Black Americans. The African people, my enslaved ancestors, were strong and resilient. They themselves must be highlighted, not slavery.”

When asked for comment about his tweets, Gray told ChurchLeaders he wanted to emphasize that “slavery must be denounced as an evil institution.”

New Florida Standards: ‘Slaves Developed Skills’

On July 19, Florida’s Department of Education made public its updated standards for teaching Black history in K-12 classrooms. They include a focus on the contributions and resilience of Black Americans, but also contain some controversial language.

For example, about the early 20^th-century race massacres that occurred in the United States, one standard refers to “violence perpetrated against and by African Americans” (emphasis added). Another standard references “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

Members of the Florida standards workgroup said they’re proud of the outcome, calling the curriculum “factual and well-documented.” But some educators, historians, and Democratic lawmakers aren’t happy with the new wording. Albert Broussard, a professor of African American studies, said although it’s good to show that Black history isn’t just “tragedy and sadness and brutality,” Florida is overstepping by “sanitizing” what occurred.

During a speech in Florida on July 21, Vice President Kamala Harris asked, “How is it that anyone could suggest that in the midst of these atrocities that there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: Slaves ‘Parlayed’ What They Learned

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential race, is defending his state’s new teaching standards. “They’re probably going to show that some of the [enslaved] folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into doing things later in life,” he said on July 21. Although DeSantis wasn’t directly involved in revising the standards, he said the workgroup had “a lot of scholars” and built “the most robust standards in African American history probably anywhere in the country.”

DeSantis accused Vice President Harris of coming “to lie about Florida’s educational standards to cover for [the Biden administration’s] agenda of indoctrinating students and pushing sexual topics onto children.” The Florida governor has declared an “anti-woke” war, targeting critical race theory, certain library books, and LGBTQ initiatives.

Cedric Richmond, co-chairman of President Biden’s re-election campaign, called Florida’s revised teaching standards “disgusting” and “a symptom of the extremism that’s infected the Republican [presidential] candidates.”

‘You Gave Him to Us, and I Give Him Back to You’—Greg Laurie Grieves Loss of His Son, Christopher Laurie, 15 Years Ago

Janna Firestone

July 24, 2023

Greg Laurie / Christopher Laurie — Screengrab via Twitter / @greglaurie

Christopher Laurie, son of Greg and Cathe Laurie, was killed in a car accident in 2008. Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, continues to live in the tension of grief and hope even after 15 years.

“When I heard the news that our son had died, I went into a state of shock. I collapsed on the ground. I couldn’t stand. I couldn’t believe it was true,” Laurie said in a recent social media post commemorating the loss of his son. “I thought this is a dream. It’s a nightmare. And I’m going to wake up from it. I know I will. But, I didn’t.”

Even in the midst of the hardest, worst time of his life, Laurie was aware of another presence. “Strangely, in this dark place, God was there with me, and I sensed his presence.”

“I said to God, ‘You gave him to us, and I give him back to you,'” Laurie said.

It’s Been 15 Years Since Christopher Laurie’s Death

On July 24, 2008, Christopher Laurie died in an auto accident on his way to work at Harvest Christian Fellowship. He was just 33 years old. He was married with one daughter and another on the way.

Greg and his wife, Cathe, created a video, “Hope For Hurting Hearts,” with reflections and encouragement they found after the death of their son. Many grieving parents would agree with Laurie’s recollection: “You’re just numb.”

Cathe recalled, “He literally just slumped onto the floor. He just collapsed.” She continued, “I felt devastated myself, but I was so concerned by all the people that were surrounding me that I thought, ‘Look at my husband. What’s happening?'”

“I knelt down in front of Greg and I just grabbed his face and said, ‘Greg, we’re going to be okay. It’s going to be okay. We’ll be all right,'” Cathe said.

Laurie had trouble remembering what people said. Everything was a blur because of the state of shock he was in.

“When you have someone that you love go to heaven, you’re in pain. You don’t feel sorry for them. You feel sorry for you because you can’t talk to them,” Laurie recalled. “The first hours are just so, so hard.”

Laurie admitted to asking, “Why did this happen? Why? Why? Why? Why was it not me instead of him?”

“We all project our lives and what they will look like into the future,” Cathe explained. “And I felt as if someone had taken a big eraser to the chalkboard of my dreams and just erased everything and said, ‘It’s all going to be different.'”

‘I’ve Made America Great’—Trump Responds to Question About His Faith Journey

Dale Chamberlain

July 24, 2023

Former president Donald Trump was recently asked about how his presidency impacted his faith journey. His response was notably circuitous, leaving voters with a less than clear picture of his personal faith.

Trump’s remarks came in the context of a town hall gathering in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last week during a question and response session.

In one clip that has begun circulating on social media, a woman approached the microphone and asked, “How has your faith grown since you decided in 2015 to run for president, and who has mentored you on your faith journey?”

“Such a great question,” Trump responded. “You know, I’ve seen so much heartache and turmoil. I was a developer, and I did other things. And, you know, I had a wonderful—I had a wonderful life before all this stuff. I didn’t know what a grand jury was. I didn’t know what a subpoena—what is a subpoena? I had a wonderful life.”

“I’m so glad—they asked me the other day a little different question: ‘Are you glad you did it? You had a great life. Are you glad you did it?’” Trump continued. “I couldn’t be more glad. I am so happy I did it, because I’ve made America great. We can do it again. Right now…we are not a great country. We are not a great country.”

Turning to the matter of spiritual mentors, Trump said, “I’ve gotten to know, because of this, evangelicals. I mean, I know so many people, and they feel so good about themselves and their family. And they base it on religion.”

“I had never had that kind of an experience where I got to know so many,” Trump continued. “And Franklin Graham and Paula White. I mean, I’ve met so many people that are so incredible—religious people.”

“And not just Christians, not just evangelicals,” Trump noted. “You know, when I look at the Catholic faith, you take a look at what the FBI…is doing to Catholics. They made them, like, the enemy.”

Trump was apparently referring to reports from earlier this year that the FBI had sought to develop sources in local Catholic churches in the course of investigating far-right extremism.

“It’s horrible,” Trump said. “How could a Catholic ever vote for a Democrat or a guy like Biden again after the experience that they’re going through?”

Notably, President Biden is himself a devout Catholic.

Trump reiterated, “But I’ve met some of the finest people that I wouldn’t have had the privilege of meeting if I weren’t president. And they’re religious leaders, and they really are incredible people.”

After Troubled Decade, Kenya Methodists Elect New Presiding Bishop

Fredrick Nzwili

July 24, 2023

NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — After forcing out their leader three months ago, the Methodist Church in Kenya elected a new presiding bishop on Thursday (July 20), raising hopes for a denomination that has faced the threat of schism due to bitter disagreements within its leadership.

The Rev. Isaiah Deye, 61, was elected as the seventh presiding bishop at the 58th Annual Conference of the Church in Nairobi.

“I am greatly humbled and yet highly honored to be elected as the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church in Kenya and accept your decision that I should ascend to the office of the Presiding Bishop,” Deye said in his acceptance speech on Friday. “I pledge to be a leader who will seek to serve rather than to be served, and a role model for all the clergy and laity.”

The bishop has led the church in an acting capacity since April, when Bishop Joseph Ntombura was removed from office due to allegations of mishandling church funds and investments in a hospital, a resort and a national university.

The allegations had put Ntombura in conflict with other church leaders, leading Methodist churches across the country to begin moving to create their own autonomous conference.

Deye garnered 281 votes, a majority of the 366 ballots cast, in the race that had attracted three other candidates. His closest rival, the Rev. Catherine Mutua, garnered 35 votes.

Deye’s election defied a trend in which most leaders of the church have come from Meru, a region of Eastern Kenya. Deye is just the second presiding bishop from the country’s coast region, which includes the region’s capital, Mombasa.

Deye has said he hopes to be an example of Christian love and service in the church and asked for the church to unite behind him. “To succeed, I need your help in my efforts to bring unity in the church. For unity to take root there has to be harmony in the church,” said the bishop.

Earlier this month, Deye welcomed back to the church clergy and members who were ex-communicated or had left the church due to the disagreements with the former presiding bishop.

The British Methodist Church established Methodism in Kenya in 1862. In 1967, four years after the country won its independence from the United Kingdom, the church, too, became independent and known as the Methodist Church of Kenya.

By 2019, the church had eight synods (each headed by a bishop), 205 ministers and 1,000 congregations, with 300,000 registered members amid a broader Methodist community of 800,000. It sponsors 200 schools, a hospital, agricultural training institutes, youth polytechnic and technical schools, special schools for the physically disabled and vocational schools.

Frederick D. Haynes III on Succeeding Jesse Jackson, Marching and ‘Woke Preaching’

Adelle M Banks

July 24, 2023

Frederick Haynes III — The Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III. Video screen grab

(RNS) — The Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III, who has led a Black megachurch in Dallas for 40 years, has just been chosen to take the place of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was president of Rainbow PUSH Coalition for more than five decades.

Like Jackson, the senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church has been known for preaching and protesting, following in the footsteps of role models like the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

And Haynes, who is triply aligned with the National Baptist Convention, USA, Progressive National Baptist Convention and American Baptist Churches USA, also has made appearances across the country to discuss religious, political and business issues. After meeting briefly with the dozen or so staff of the Chicago-based coalition, whose annual convention concluded Wednesday, he spoke in Washington to U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., a Black business organization.

The son and grandson of Baptist preachers, Haynes, 62, talked by phone with Religion News Service about succeeding his mentor, “woke preaching,” and whether marching is still effective for a new generation.

The interview was edited for length and clarity.

What was your first thought when the Rev. Jesse Jackson asked you to succeed him?

Wow. I was blown away and greatly honored and humbled at the same time.

FILE – In this Monday, Aug. 2, 2021 file photo, the Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks to the crowd during a demonstration supporting voting rights, on Capitol Hill, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Rainbow PUSH Coalition has some of the same aims of other organizations including the Conference of National Black Churches, National Action Network, and the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, and you are a board member of all of them and a co-founder of the last one. Do you intend to see the coalition have a different role than these other organizations that also include many Black ministers?

Rainbow PUSH does have and will continue to have a faith-based approach to issues of justice. And one of the main differences in the lane of Rainbow PUSH has been the fight for economic justice that started with the roots of Rainbow PUSH in Operation Breadbasket. And so that particular fight we will continue to do in the unique way that Rainbow PUSH has done.

The beautiful thing about the organizations that you have referenced, the Proctor conference, National Action Network and the Conference of National Black Churches, is that because of the relationship, it will simply expand the coalition. And we, I believe, can get more work done together than we have apart even though there will be those areas in our respective organizations where we will, of course, continue on our respective missions, according to our different strategies.

There are some topics that the coalition has traditionally worked on such as voting rights and economic justice, as you just mentioned. Is there a particular area of concern you hope to add to its agenda?

Without question, environmental injustice plagues not only our communities but the planet. Climate change has our world on fire, almost literally. And on the frontlines, being most victimized by climate change are communities of color, Black and brown, Indigenous communities that often are in proximity to the kinds of emission-producing apparati that harm the environment and create the kind of climate that those communities have to suffer from and inhale. We will be involved in the fight to protect the environment, but at the same time we’re especially going to focus in on how climate change fueled by environmental injustice has done such harm to the most vulnerable communities. When we think about the water contamination from Flint (Michigan) to Jackson (Mississippi) to West Helena, Arkansas, those are vulnerable communities, and Rainbow PUSH will be on the frontlines of that fight for environmental justice.

How will you juggle leading the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and maintaining your role as a senior pastor at Friendship-West Baptist?

I don’t know that it will be that much of a new juggle because I’ve been blessed to pastor Friendship-West for 40 years, and we have built a solid infrastructure. I have a great staff, a wonderful church, quite supportive. And the work I’ll be doing at Rainbow PUSH is, in reality, a larger platform of work I’ve always been doing.

R.C. Sproul: Satan Does Not Hold the Keys of Death

R.C. Sproul

July 24, 2023

We have different vocations with respect to the jobs and tasks God gives us in this life. But we all share in the vocation of death. Every one of us is called to die. That vocation is as much a calling from God as is a “call” to the ministry of Christ. Sometimes the call comes suddenly and without warning. Sometimes it comes with advance notification. But it comes to all of us. And it comes from God.

I am aware that there are teachers who tell us that God has nothing to do with death. Death is seen strictly as the fiendish device of the devil. All pain, suffering, disease, and tragedy are blamed on the Evil One. God is absolved of any responsibility. This view is designed to make sure that God is free of blame for anything that goes wrong in this world. “God always wills healing,” we are told. If that healing does not happen, then the fault lies with Satan—Or with us. Death, they say, is not in the plan of God. It represents a victory for Satan over the realm of God.

Such views may bring temporary relief to the afflicted. But they are not true. They have nothing to do with biblical Christianity. They are intended to absolve God of any blame, but they contradict His sovereignty.

Yes, there is a devil. He is our archenemy. He will do anything in his power to bring misery into our lives. But Satan is not sovereign. Satan does not hold the keys of death.

When Jesus appeared in a vision to the Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos, He identified Himself with these words: “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forever-more. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death” (Rev. 1:17–18).

Jesus holds the keys to death, and Satan cannot snatch those keys out of His hand. Christ’s grip is firm. He holds the keys because He owns the keys. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. That includes all authority over life and death. The angel of death is at His beck and call.

Because of Christ, death is not final. It is a passage from one world to the next. World history has witnessed the emergence of many forms of religious dualism. Dualism affirms the existence of two equal and opposite forces. These forces are variously called good and evil, God and Satan, Yin and Yang. The two forces are locked in eternal combat. Since they are equal as well as opposite, the conflict goes on forever, with neither side ever gaining the upper hand. The world is doomed to serve as the eternal battleground between these hostile forces. We are the victims of their struggle, the pawns in their eternal chess game.

Dualism is on a collision course with Christianity. The Christian faith has no stock in dualism. Satan may be opposed to God, but he is by no means equal to God. Satan is a creature; God is the Creator. Satan is potent; God is omnipotent. Satan is knowledgeable and crafty; God is omniscient. Satan is localized in his presence; God is omnipresent. Satan is finite; God is infinite. The list could go on. But it is clear from Scripture that Satan is not an ultimate force in any sense.

We are not doomed to an ultimate conflict with no hope of resolution. The message of Scripture is one of victory—full, final, and ultimate victory. It is not our doom that is certain, but Satan’s. His head has been crushed by the heel of Christ, who is the Alpha and Omega.

Above all suffering and death stands the crucified and risen Lord. He has defeated the ultimate enemy of life. He has vanquished the power of death. He calls us to die, a call to obedience in the final transition of life. Because of Christ, death is not final. It is a passage from one world to the next.

God does not always will healing. If He did, He would suffer endless frustration, seeing His will being repeatedly thwarted in the deaths of His people. He did not will the healing of Stephen from the wounds inflicted by the stones that were hurled against him. He did not will the healing of Moses, of Joseph, of David, of Paul, of Augustine, of Martin Luther, of John Calvin. These all died in faith. Ultimate healing comes through death and after death.

Teachers argue that there is healing in the atonement of Christ. Indeed there is. Jesus bore all of our sins on the cross. Yet none of us is free from sin in this life. Likewise, none of us is free from sickness in this life. The healing that is in the cross is real. We participate in its benefits now, in this life. But the fullness of the healing from both sin and disease takes place in heaven. We still must die at our appointed times.

This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.

Composing Music: How to Broaden Your Songwriting

Bobby Gilles

July 24, 2023

How do you keep from composing music that sounds just like every other song you’ve composed, especially given all the strictures of congregational song?

First, if you always write in the same key, try writing in a different one. Try different tempos and rhythms, too. Most contemporary worship songs are in 4/4 time—try 3/4, 6/8 or 7/8.

Composing Music: How to Broaden Your Songwriting

Broaden your range of listening experience by searching for music outside of your immediate preference. In an interview here at My Song In The Night, Stephen Altrogge of Sovereign Grace said,

“I listen to a lot of different music—Coldplay, the Beatles, Matt Redman, Mumford and Sons, the Police, Mutemath. I’d say that the main thing I’ve learned is that a good song is good no matter what the production, and a bad song can’t be saved by good production. When I listen to The Police, they have a distinctly ′80s sound. But their songs are just incredible. So if you’re going to write songs, make sure that they’re good songs. Don’t count on the music or the production to save you.”

Effective Churches Change, But Here Are 7 Signs Your Church Will Never Change

Carey Nieuwhof

July 24, 2023

There’s a very good chance you’re trying to change something in your church or organization. There’s even a decent chance some of you are trying to change everything. I’ve been there. Just because God never changes doesn’t mean your church shouldn’t. In fact, the most effective churches change constantly. But effective churches never change the mission or the message (those are eternal).

But effective churches always change the methods to make sure the mission stays alive and the message gets heard. And that means change.

Change is at the heart of effective churches because a leader’s job is to take people from where they are to where they need to be. You can’t do that without ushering in change. And yet, trying to engineer change can be one of the most difficult things you’ll ever do as a leader.

How do you know when your church is simply so resistant to change that it isn’t going to budge? How do you know the problem is so deep that radical intervention is required?

7 Signs Your Church Is Never Going to Change

1. You keep having the same conversation over and over (and over) again.

Ever have that feeling like no meeting is ever a new meeting—that you’re talking about the same issues month after month, year after year?

Far too many church leaders have that feeling, actually.

Without getting into specifics, I worked a report on church growth 15 years ago for a church group experiencing decline. Last year, I saw the same group of people table an almost identical report addressing the exact same issue. By all accounts, they had made no progress on the issue despite studying it for a decade and a half.

The only thing that changed, of course, is that now the problem is far worse than it was before. The attendance decline they were experiencing has morphed into a free fall.

Talking about about an issue—even talking passionately about an issue—and doing nothing about it is a complete waste of time.

Awareness doesn’t solve problems.

Discussion doesn’t solve problems.

Insight doesn’t solve problems.

Action does.

In my latest book, Lasting Impact: 7 Powerful Conversations That Will Help Your Church Grow, I devote an entire chapter to how to lead your board through a productive conversation that leads to actual change. (You can download a sample chapter for free here.)

The Total Package: Church is More than a Sermon

Christina Embree

July 23, 2023

For those of you who follow are friends with me on Facebook, you know that I just got back from an epic trip to New York where I got to see, not one, but two Broadway shows. My musical theater bucket is full!

While there, I couldn’t help but notice that at both shows, a number of parents had chosen to bring their kids. I overheard one mom saying this was what her child had asked for for her birthday. Another explained he wanted his kids to have exposure to the theater as they grew. Another couldn’t help asking her middle-school aged kids what they thought of the seats, the costumes, the actors, etc. And, as one might expect, the kids acted like kids at the show. Some cheered a bit too loud. There were definitely potty breaks. Lots of questions being asked. A few outbursts or muffled conversations.

Interestingly, I didn’t see any adults get visibly upset. No ushers came over to ask the parents to remove the children from the performance. I did see a few people greet the kids, smile at the parents, ask the kids what they thought, and otherwise interact with the children, but no overtly negative reactions.

It reminded me of when my oldest daughter went with her dad one year to see The Nutcracker Ballet at Christmas. She was quite young at the time. but she and her dad dressed in their finest; she even got put her hair in an up-do, and off they went. It was a long show. There were many in attendance, almost all older than her. While she loved being with her dad and seeing the show, she was also a preschooler so she wiggled and squirmed and squealed and giggled. She had to go to the bathroom. She got hungry and wanted snacks.

But when she got home, she beamed.

I asked her to tell me about it and all she could remember was the scene with The Rat King (Oooo…scary!). I asked my husband to tell me about it and much of what he could remember was her wiggliness. But then I asked if people seemed bothered by her and he said, “No. Actually I had a few people compliment me on bringing her to the ballet.” I posted an adorable picture of their date on Facebook and many similar comments were posted, things like, “So good that you are giving her this experience at such a young age” and “This is exactly what kids should be experiencing.”

Surprisingly, not one person commented, “Hmm, seems like a waste of money to me. I mean, did she even understand anything?” Nobody criticized us for forcing her to sit through a long performance filled with imagery and dialogue she couldn’t follow. No one complained about her fidgeting or her outbursts. And nobody questioned whether this was beneficial for her.

Because everyone recognized, it wasn’t about her understanding the “story” of The Nutcracker or her watching the ballet with a critical eye or even her sitting still through the performance.

Just like those parents who brought their kids to a Broadway show last week, it was about giving her an experience, a total package, filled with sights and sounds and smells and stories that could be felt and experienced even if they couldn’t be understood or comprehended.

I once had a mom share with me that the reason her kids didn’t always join us in Kids Church is because she wants to them to get to experience the traditional service at church, to hear the liturgy, to listen to the hymns, to be a part of a service that replicates the services that she grew up in and that have been part of their family’s tradition.

4 Layers To Gaining Wisdom

Dan Reiland

July 23, 2023

“I’m not sure what to do.”

A phrase spoken by leaders more commonly than ever.

Part of this is natural; of course, we don’t always know what to do. Leaders create change and make progress. We live in new territory. We navigate uncharted waters in an ever-changing culture.

But Scripture says that if we lack wisdom and ask God for it, He will give it to us.

That’s true; He will.

Then why doesn’t it seem that simple?

It’s difficult to discern and apply truth.
The application of Scripture is challenged.
Agenda and opinion rule the day.

So, where do we start? Let me first offer the foundational building blocks of wisdom.

Humility

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, which is based on humility. (He is God, and we are not.) Therefore, when we take control and lead on our own, we communicate we do not need wisdom.

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2)

Maturity

A major element of wisdom is connected to maturity. Godly wisdom cannot be trusted with an immature adult who uses it for selfish purposes or out of alignment with the purpose of God.

..until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13)

Practicality

When you gain wisdom, the question becomes, “What will you do with it?”

Wisdom that remains a lofty thought in the clouds and never gets its feet on the ground is still true but not helpful. What will you do with the wisdom you receive?

Is it possible that wisdom is slow to come to those who don’t apply it?

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. (James 3:13)

4 Layers to Gaining Wisdom

1. Slowing Down

Wisdom is rarely gained on the run, skimming the surface, in the autopilot nature of daily life.

Should Our Joy Depend on Our Circumstances?

Steve Bateman

July 22, 2023

When I was a young pastor, a church elder detected my discouragement one day and gently said, “It will look better in the morning.” This simple advice has helped me countless times since. Often after I’ve experienced a good night’s sleep and a brisk run, God has felt nearer, my problems smaller, the solutions clearer, and my future brighter.

By changing my circumstances, I increased my joy.

At this point, many evangelicals will rush to correct me: “No. You increased your happiness, not your joy. Happiness depends on circumstances; joy does not. The world experiences happiness, but only Christians experience joy.”

This popular distinction between happiness and joy hasn’t always existed in the church. Randy Alcorn makes a convincing case that the two biblical terms are interchangeable, and he traces the artificial distinction at least back to Oswald Chambers in the mid-20th century. If Alcorn is right (I think he is), then either joy and happiness both depend on circumstances or both don’t. What’s true of one will be true of the other.

2 Kinds of Circumstances

“Circumstance” literally means “to stand around.” Imagine yourself at the center of a circle, and certain objective facts stand around the circumference. Four facts surround you: you got a good night’s sleep, you’ve had a strong cup of coffee, your daughter just made the dean’s list, and your boss just gave you a raise. The normal response to these objective facts is genuine joy. You’ll feel happy—whether you’re a Christian or not.

Now imagine the circumstantial facts are these: your allergies kept you up all night, you spilled your coffee while driving, your daughter is failing a class, and your boss just fired you. The normal response to these objective facts is genuine sorrow. You’ll feel sad—whether you’re a Christian or not.

Believers share these kinds of circumstances with unbelievers. Because of common guilt, children of God aren’t immune from the sorrow produced by the fall; because of common grace, children of wrath aren’t deprived of the joy preserved in the imago Dei. Unbelievers experience genuine joy as they receive the Creator’s good gifts, even if they don’t acknowledge him who satisfies their “hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17).

Beyond the facts of this immediate circle, there’s another circle with different circumstances—ultimate ones. These are the attributes, acts, and promises of God. For the unbeliever, such ultimate circumstances are bad news: God’s omniscience means every secret sin is fully known; his holiness ensures judgment is inevitable; his omnipresence renders judgment inescapable. These objective facts create a terrifying ring of circumstances for the unbeliever.

How does the unbeliever emotionally cope with these traumatic circumstances? By worshiping creation rather than the Creator and pursuing happiness in the gifts, not the Giver. Through spiritual blindness and willful denial, he cannot see beyond his immediate circumstances. Sure, replacing the living God with lifeless idols may bring joy for a season—yet with diminishing returns. His idols eventually fail him.

For the believer, the ultimate circumstances are happy facts. God’s omniscience means he knows our needs; his omnipotence ensures he can meet them; his compassion moves him to care about them; his providence confirms that every unmet need has a loving (even if hidden) purpose. Facts like the immutability of God, the substitutionary atonement and triumphant resurrection of Christ, justification by faith alone, and the promise of eternal life are firmly and forever standing their ground in a circle around me. My joy is completely dependent on these ultimate circumstances.

As Milton Vincent put it, “The gospel is one great permanent circumstance in which I live and move; and every hardship in my life is allowed by God only because it serves his gospel purposes in me.”

God of Hope

To be sure, we can often find joy in the happy facts of our immediate circumstances, since they’re kindly ordered by God. He “richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17): food and drink, family and friends, houses and health, Bibles and bikes, music and sports. The believer is free to have as much fun as legally possible while cheerfully obeying the laws of God and promoting the joy of others. While unbelievers hope for happiness from the world, believers hope for happiness in the world as they enjoy God’s good gifts with grateful hearts.

Students Need Adults Who Offer These Important Qualities

Youth Ministrycom

July 21, 2023

Students need adults who can step into their lives. But teens need specific things from those adults. So read on to discover what to look for in youth ministry volunteers.

Once you become a youth worker, it won’t take long for you to discover. You. Need. Help! One key ingredient in a healthy youth ministry is a team of caring adults. For the longest time, we tried to recruit young, funny, musical, athletic, attractive, cool, wealthy volunteers with big swimming pools and lots of free time.

Then we learned the hard way that our list was both shallow and impossible to find. As we’ve grown, we’ve matured our criteria to recruit the kind of volunteers that students really need.

Why Students Need Adults—and What They Need From Adults

Consider these traits when you’re recruiting youth ministry volunteers at church:

1. Students need adults who aren’t afraid to wade into the mess.

Plenty of adults are willing to point out students’ failures. But not as many are willing to walk with students through the aftermath. Failure is uncomfortable, painful, and messy. Healthy youth ministries have adults who aren’t fazed by the chaos. They’re willing to love teens before, during, and after their failures.

2. Students need adults who offer real, legitimate encouragement.

Many teenagers hear little-to-no positive words on a daily basis. What they do hear is often superficial and performance-related. In healthy youth ministries, adult volunteers offer students the kind of encouragement that gives them courage to take on Kingdom-of-God-sized risks. Then we need to dare kids to follow Jesus in their messy and overwhelmingly critical world.

Mark Dance: How To Finish Well in Ministry

Jason Daye

July 21, 2023

None of us start off in ministry thinking, “You know what, I’m going to burn out”…yet burnout happens. So what can we incorporate into our lives and ministries to help us not only lead well, but also finish well? In this week’s conversation on FrontStage BackStage, host Jason Daye is joined by Mark Dance, Director of Pastoral Wellness at GuideStone Financial Resources. For 27 years, Mark served as a pastor and church planter and also helped launch Lifeway Pastors and the Care4Pastors Network. His latest book is entitled, “Start to Finish.” Together, Mark and Jason look at some important practices we can incorporate into our lives to help ensure that we do not veer off course in our ministries. Mark also shares some fresh insights about how neighboring well helps us flourish in both life and ministry.

FrontStage BackStage Podcast Mark Dance

View the entire podcast here.

Keep Learning

Looking to dig more deeply into this topic and conversation? Every week we go the extra mile and create a free toolkit so you and your ministry team can dive deeper into the topic that is discussed. Find your Weekly Toolkit here… Love well, Live well, Lead well!

Podcast Links

Video links to this week’s episode – easily share with the ministry leaders in your church
Audio links to this week’s episode – easily share with the ministry leaders in your church
Additional resource links from this week’s conversation – so you and your team can easily find what is mentioned or referenced
Ministry Leaders Growth Guide – key insights and concepts from this week’s conversation as well as engaging questions for you and your team to consider and process
Full-text transcript of this week’s episode – review something you heard, pass along snippets, post tweets, create presentations to share, or use in whatever way you find most helpful in developing your ministry leaders
Shareable Social Graphics – Feel free to post them on your church social accounts, your personal accounts, or use them as graphics in your communications

Louisiana Pastor Locks Himself in a Prayer Room in the Hopes of Combating Crime

Jesse T. Jackson

July 21, 2023

Dwight Pate prayer room — Screengrab via YouTube @WAFB

Dwight Pate, senior pastor of Church Point Ministries in North Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has locked himself in a prayer room in the hope that his prayers will help combat crime throughout Louisiana’s capitol city.

“It’s impossible for someone to really be sincere by seeking God without drawing other men and women to pray,” the 68-year-old Pate told WAFB News.

Pate believes Baton Rouge’s crime problem can only be solved by the church.

“So I believe that prayer can change the hearts of the individuals that’s creating all the violence,” he said.

This isn’t the first time Pate has locked himself in the prayer room. When he first opened it in 1994, the pastor locked himself inside the room for almost eight months in order to draw people to the building to receive prayer and holy oil.

In 2000, Pate locked himself in the room again, this time for five months, in order to identify with the pain and suffering of the elderly.

This time around, Pate is praying for a “spirit of peace” to be spread all over Baton Rouge, creating “a new standard of what I call righteousness and brotherly love.”

“There’s gonna be such a move of God among people,” Pate said. “There’s gonna be such a move with some of the most violent people in this city.”

“Instead of [people] out here killing and robbing and hurting people, [there will be people] bringing peace and joy and victory and forgiving and love, [and] you’re gonna have to come out and report it,” Pate went on to tell WAFB.

Pate posted video to Facebook on May 3, the day he locked himself in the prayer room, emotionally sharing what it means for him to be able to be in the prayer room. “What it means to be in the prayer house is that I can just spend 24 hours a day talking to my God—just being with my God and seeing the fruit of God touching your life.”

Respect for Family Is Great American Media CEO Bill Abbott’s Top Priority Following Pure Flix Merger

Stephanie Martin

July 21, 2023

Following the recent merger of Great American Media (GAM) with the Pure Flix platform, media executive Bill Abbott is pledging to remain a leader in high-quality, positive content that’s suitable for family viewing. Abbott, CEO of Great American Media, said the goal is to align “mission-driven people and brands” at the two companies.

As part of the merger, GAM and Pure Flix will share content across their platforms. GAM’s brands include Great American Family, which ended 2022 as the fastest-growing cable network.

Last year, actress and outspoken Christian Candace Cameron Bure ended a decade-long partnership with the Hallmark Channel to join Great American Family. Abbott left Hallmark’s parent company in 2020 over objections to content featuring storylines about gay couples.

Bill Abbott: People of Faith Shouldn’t Be ‘Derided’

Speaking to The Christian Post, Abbott said he plans to keep providing top-notch content that respects “faith, family, and country.” In a culture that’s “very, very dark” and filled with “negativity,” Abbott said, Christians want wholesome movies and TV shows that reflect their values. Yet “the vast majority of content [that’s out there] is salacious and is not appropriate for any member of the family, really.”

Abbott objects to how the entertainment business tends to portray religious beliefs in a negative light. “People of faith [are] more put down and derided than celebrated” on the big and small screen, he said.

Pure Flix, the faith-based streaming service of Sony Pictures Entertainment, streams the hit TV series “The Chosen.” Pure Flix plans start at $7.99 per month.

About the Pure Flix merger with GAM, Sony’s Ravi Ahuja, chairman of global television studios and corporate development, said, “Family-friendly entertainment remains an important segment of the industry, and merging these two entities will create the greatest opportunity to achieve more scale for Pure Flix as it continues to build its subscriber base.”

High Standards Lead to Careful Gatekeeping

GAM’s Abbott touts the reliable quality of his company’s content, saying it all must be 100% family-friendly and appropriate for viewers of all ages. Teams consider every project through that lens to ensure they don’t end up “presenting situations that are uncomfortable for the family,” he said.

“We scrutinize every piece of content,” Abbott told The Christian Post. “We create every word, every sentence, every way in which a person either respects their family and their elders or interacts with them. Those are very important elements for us that are supportive of an overall culture structure and belief system.”

Jim Caviezel: ‘I’m Still Jesus,’ but Trump Is ‘The New Moses’

Dale Chamberlain

July 21, 2023

In a recent television appearance, “Sound of Freedom” star Jim Caviezel expressed his belief that former president Donald Trump is “the new Moses,” who, if elected in 2024, will spearhead a liberation movement for victims of child sex trafficking.

Known for his portrayal of Jesus in the 2004 film “The Passion of the Christ,” Caviezel has made waves in recent years for his support of the QAnon community and QAnon-related conspiracy theories, some of which include the accusation that “global elites” are involved in a coordinated effort to kidnap children, have sex with them, and harvest their blood.

Though Caviezel’s characterization of Trump as a Moses-type figure appeared to be made somewhat in jest, his support for the former president and his belief that a future Trump Administration would be pivotal in the fight against human trafficking seemed sincere.

The comments came in the context of an interview on “Fox and Friends,” in which Caviezel sat down alongside “Sound of Freedom” producer Eduardo Verástegui with Fox News personality Brian Kilmeade to promote the film.

When asked if he has been surprised by the success of “Sound of Freedom,” which has grossed over $100 million, Caviezel said, “Well, you expect success. You want to make something that’s a phenomenal piece of work, but the timing has to be right, as well.”

Caviezel was referencing the fact that while “Sound of Freedom” was released earlier this month, the film was completed more than four years ago. It was originally set to be distributed by 20th Century Fox, but when Disney bought the studio, “Sound of Freedom” was shelved.

After the filmmakers bought the distribution rights back from the newly minted 20th Century Studios, they eventually struck a distribution deal with Angel Studios, a faith-based studio best known for its partnership with the critically acclaimed show “The Chosen.”

Verástegui noted that a number of studios declined to distribute “Sound of Freedom,” including Netflix and Amazon.

“And when this was finished back in [2018], we had it ready to go in [2019], and then COVID hit, and of course there were other things that occurred,” Caviezel said. “But the timing has to be there. And, right now, the American people are pretty much fed up with quite a bit—a lot of stuff. And one [issue] is the soft border wall.”

When discussing his portrayal of Tim Ballard, a former federal agent depicted in the film as rescuing child sex trafficking victims in South America, Caviezel noted that Ballard himself signed off on Caviezel playing the role.

How Many People Leave Their Childhood Religion?

Ryan Burge

July 21, 2023

childhood religion — Adobestock #607426782

(ANALYSIS) Being an academic is an exercise in the absurd. That’s what I’ve realized after doing this for the better part of two decades.

For instance, I have devoted thousands upon thousands of hours to trying to untangle a very difficult puzzle: When people are asked about their current religion on surveys, what is the mental process they go through to arrive at an answer?

For some, it’s pretty straightforward. They go to Mass every Sunday and have for years. They are a Catholic. On to the next question.

But what about the person who was raised Southern Baptist and used to go twice a week as a kid, but now hasn’t darkened the church door in a few years? Are they still a Southern Baptist or are they a none? I mean, it’s up to them to decide, not anyone else. And, my basic premise in social science is simply this: When people tell you who they are, you have to believe them.

That’s what makes religious switching such a fascinating topic. It’s happening every single day, thousands of times. Without any fanfare or big declarations, people leave religion behind or chose a different faith when taking a survey. And yet we only have a very basic understanding of the mechanisms that make all that happen.

Just how often is switching happening? And are there certain traditions that seem to be more porous than others? I used the General Social Survey to answer those questions. Luckily, since the very beginning of the GSS in 1973, they have been asking, “In what religion were you raised?” That means that we can track switching over nearly the last 50 years.

In the 1970s and 1980s, switching was pretty rare. Nearly 85% of folks who were raised Catholic were still a member of that faith group when they were interviewed. For Protestants it was even higher – over 90%. Christians just didn’t move around a whole lot back in those days. However, among those who were raised without religion, the vast majority picked a faith tradition as they moved into adulthood. That was the case for two-thirds of those raised nones in the 1970s.

However, those trends lines have not stayed flat over the last five decades. Retention is down for all Christians, but at different rates. For Catholics, it dropped below 80% somewhere in the early 1990s, and it fell below 70% in the early 2010s. For Protestants, it’s still fairly high but is clearly down from the 90% reported in the 1970s. Today, about 80% of folks raised Protestant are still Protestant as adults.

The nones are a different story entirely, though. It used to be that two-thirds of those raised nones identified with a religion as adults. Now, about two-thirds of those raised with no faith group are still nones into adulthood. In other words, most people raised none are still a none now. That wasn’t the case 40 years ago.

Let’s get a bit finer grained, though. I broke Protestants up into three traditions (evangelical, mainline and Black) and then calculated the retentions rates of several other major groups from the 1970s through the 2010s. Retention here is defined as being in the same tradition. So, someone who was born evangelical but became mainline would not be retained in this definition, despite the fact that they are still Protestant.

Evangelicals have very good retention rates — even in the last decade nearly three quarters were still part of the same faith tradition as adults. The overall retention decline for evangelicals is just five percentage points. For mainline it’s much worse. They started right around the same level as evangelicals (76%), but now it’s just 58%. That means that if you found five people who were raised in the mainline, two of them would no longer be mainline today.

Meet the Christian Creators Designing Chatbots ‘With a Biblical Worldview’

Fiona Andre

July 21, 2023

(RNS) — From a very young age, Nils Gulbranson remembers asking a lot of questions during Bible studies. Gulbranson describes spending his free time as a teen googling Christian scholars’ views on different topics, digging through sermons and scouring YouTube videos until he found satisfying answers.

With the release of Chat GPT, the former computer science student turned finance intern saw an opportunity to build the resource he wished he’d had as a young evangelical Christian in Minnesota. About three months ago, Gulbranson, 23, started work on Biblemate.io, a “Christian ChatGPT” to help interrogative minds who are looking for biblical answers to life’s difficult questions.

“The big difference from ChatGPT is that it’s a model grounded in a biblical and theological view of the world,” Gulbranson, now a finance intern in Boston, said about his version of the chatbot, which relies on an ever-growing database of sermons, books and academic articles to inform the answers it offers.

The launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 by the research laboratory OpenAI has spurred both excitement and trepidation among Christians, forcing existential questions on the level of what it means to be human, along with ethical dilemmas — such as, how much is too much help from a chatbot when writing a sermon? What about leading a whole worship service, like a ChatGPT avatar did in early June at a Lutheran church in Germany?

Nils Gulbranson. Courtesy photo

Gulbranson sees a number of uses for Biblemate.io in a church context: for pastors doing sermon research, for church volunteers drafting a Bible study guide, for curious teens like he once was who want to go deeper in youth group. But he also hopes non-Christians will use the chatbot for their questions about God. He pointed to one of his favorite features, the “explain to me like I’m 5″ tool.

“You type a hard-to-understand theological concept, and it would dumb it down and explain it the way you would to a 5-year-old kid,” he said.

“The goal is to give responses rooted in unwavering biblical truth,” said Gulbranson, who said he tried to generate sources from “well-respected scholars” for his database, citing William Lane Craig and C.S. Lewis. Of course, Gulbranson acknowledged, not every Christian agrees on just what is biblical truth.

For example, he explained, on a question such as whether Christians should speak in tongues, the chatbot should pull out what the Scriptures say and then offer perspectives from different denominations.

“The app is just a medium, a platform for the Bible to say what it says. The app itself is neutral in that sense, but the Bible takes clear stances on certain issues,” he said.

Texas Baptists Affirm Women in ‘Ministerial’ Roles as SBC Debate Moves to States

Adelle M Banks

July 21, 2023

Texas-Baptists-affirm-women-in-‘ministerial’-roles-as-SBC-debate-moves-to- — Hannah Coe, senior pastor of Calvary Baptist in Waco, Texas, speaks during the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting, July 18, 2023, in McAllen, Texas. Photo © 2023 Texas Baptists

(RNS) — A month after Southern Baptists confirmed the expulsion of churches from their denomination for allowing women to serve as pastors, the Baptist General Convention of Texas adopted a statement on Tuesday (July 18) urging its staff to continue to affirm women in “ministerial and leadership roles.”

After half an hour of debate, the BGCT became the first state convention of Southern Baptists to weigh in on the issue since the annual meeting of the national Southern Baptist Convention in June, when two churches with women pastors, including California’s Saddleback Church, lost appeals to be reinstated.

At that meeting, Baptists took the first step toward amending the SBC constitution to state that only men can be pastors. A second vote to adopt the amendment is required at the 2024 meeting for the change to take effect.

The vote by the BGCT, the more progressive of Texas’ two state Baptist conventions, showed there is at least qualified support for women to act as leaders in their churches. Importantly, the motion didn’t use the word “pastor,” instead commissioning the convention’s executive board to support “developing more strategies, resources, and advocacy initiatives to assist churches in affirming, appointing, and employing women in ministerial and leadership roles.”

Meredith Stone, executive director of Texas-based Baptist Women in Ministry, who presented the motion, had sought to affirm “women in all ministry and pastoral roles” and “instructed” rather than offered a “request” for BGCT staff action on ways to affirm them. But the language was changed to “leadership roles” in the final version.

Stone, a messenger, or delegate, from a Waco church, told Religion News Service in an email on Thursday that this was a crucial difference.

“The SBC is specifically targeting women who have ‘pastor’ in their title which was why including pastoral roles was so important to include as a part of the motion,” she wrote. “Without it, women who are serving as pastors of all kinds are left wondering if the BGCT actually supports them and if they have a home with the BGCT.”

Her organization issued a statement expressing its disappointment that stronger language had not been approved. “Women are not a secondary issue and are worthy of knowing that they have a home and value among Baptists,” said Baptist Women in Ministry.

In the debate, according to a BGCT news article, Dustin Slaton, senior pastor of a Round Rock church, proposed the amendment, saying the original language would send an “unkind” and unwelcoming message to churches that “hold a conviction that the Bible provides clear gender distinctions when it comes to church leadership.”

Pastor Dwight McKissic, who preached at a BGCT gathering the evening before the vote was taken, later expressed his support for the language as it was passed.

“It respects autonomy & diversity and that’s all I’ve wanted on this issue,” said McKissic, pastor of an Arlington church, in a text message to RNS.

Jonathan Howe, vice president for communications for the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, the national denomination’s governing body, confirmed that this was the first action taken by a related state convention since the SBC meeting, pointing out that it is the first convention to meet since June.

Most state Baptist conventions affiliated with the SBC meet in the fall, but since 2013, the BGCT holds its annual meeting in the summer every five years “so that the Hispanic Baptist Convention, African American Fellowship, and other ethnic and cultural fellowships of the BGCT family can enjoy a joint meeting, or as we call it, a family gathering,” said Aimee Freston, its associate director of communications.

National African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Convention Vice President Jerome Coleman, from left, SBC President Bart Barber and NAAF President Gregory Perkins together in a video. Video screen grab

This week, leaders of the National African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Convention also gathered, for a meeting with SBC President Bart Barber in Ridgecrest, North Carolina, after Black ministers expressed concern about how the recent SBC votes could affect women in ministry in Black churches.

12 Ways to Grow Your Worship Ministry

Mark Cole

July 21, 2023

I love to help worship leaders and worship pastors grow and become all that God has called them to be. I hope these 12 keys to growing your worship ministry challenge you like they challenge me. I have been leading worship and pastoring for over 30 years, but I still go back to this list to see what I need to work on!

12 Ways to Grow Your Worship Ministry

12. Develop your administrative skills

Are you creating timely schedules for your musicians and planning ahead on the church calendar?
Are your worship sets and services well-organized?
Do your worship teams get their music well in advance so they can be excellent?

11. Learn to run highly effective rehearsals

Are you spending enough time with the music to get past it and worship?
Are you giving your team all the tools they need to be successful?
Are you and your team memorizing the songs?

10. Learn to pick great worship songs

Are you teaching your congregation the great songs from around world?
Do you ever go outside your preferences in musical styles?
Are you developing a balanced repertoire of fast, medium and slow songs?

9. Develop a strong team

Do you have a system for bringing along new musicians?
Are you developing multiple musicians for each position?
Are you helping your team grow spiritually?

8. Be a great worshipper

Are you keeping it real? Be authentic; are you the same on and off the stage?
Are there areas in your life that are holding you back from God’s richest blessings?
Do you love the Lord with all your heart and are you a passionate worshipper?

7. Never stop growing

Are you practicing your singing and playing on a daily basis?
Are you taking lessons and improving your craft and leadership?
Are you changing and growing with the new trends, styles and songs?

6. Keep your heart soft and pliable before God

Have you learned to forgive and forgive again?
Do you have good friends who can speak into your life?
Do you have safeguards to keep you from falling into temptation?

5. Develop a good relationship with your pastor

Do you have a weekly or bi-weekly meeting with your pastor?
Are you supporting your pastor in private and public?
Have you ever had your pastor and his wife over for dinner?

4. Mentor the next generation of leaders

Are you looking for and developing the potential leaders on your team?
Are you giving room for new leaders to lead a song or worship time?
Jesus spent over three years developing His team; are you following His example?

3. Love the church like Jesus loves the church

Are you building God’s kingdom or yours?
Do you love the people you are leading?
Jesus laid down His life for us, are you willing to lay down your life?

2. Love your spouse and family

Are you carving out regular time in your schedule for your spouse and family?
Are you taking one day off per week?
When is the last time you had a date with your spouse?

1. Love and spend time with God daily

Are you reading your Bible daily?
Where is your secret place to meet with God?
How is your daily prayer life? Are you praying and obeying?

Check out my new book, Leading Worship ~ Notes from a Grand Adventure, available in Kindle or Soft Cover Editions. This is a great gift for the musician or worshipper in your life.

This article on growing your worship ministry originally appeared here.

New Florida Standards: ‘Slaves Developed Skills’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: Slaves ‘Parlayed’ What They Learned

It’s Been 15 Years Since Christopher Laurie’s Death

What was your first thought when the Rev. Jesse Jackson asked you to succeed him?

There are some topics that the coalition has traditionally worked on such as voting rights and economic justice, as you just mentioned. Is there a particular area of concern you hope to add to its agenda?

How will you juggle leading the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and maintaining your role as a senior pastor at Friendship-West Baptist?

Composing Music: How to Broaden Your Songwriting

7 Signs Your Church Is Never Going to Change

1. You keep having the same conversation over and over (and over) again.

Humility

Maturity

Practicality

4 Layers to Gaining Wisdom

1. Slowing Down

2 Kinds of Circumstances

God of Hope

Why Students Need Adults—and What They Need From Adults

1. Students need adults who aren’t afraid to wade into the mess.

2. Students need adults who offer real, legitimate encouragement.

FrontStage BackStage Podcast Mark Dance

Keep Learning

Podcast Links

Bill Abbott: People of Faith Shouldn’t Be ‘Derided’

High Standards Lead to Careful Gatekeeping

12 Ways to Grow Your Worship Ministry

12. Develop your administrative skills

11. Learn to run highly effective rehearsals

10. Learn to pick great worship songs

9. Develop a strong team

8. Be a great worshipper

7. Never stop growing

6. Keep your heart soft and pliable before God

5. Develop a good relationship with your pastor

4. Mentor the next generation of leaders

3. Love the church like Jesus loves the church

2. Love your spouse and family

1. Love and spend time with God daily

New Articles

New Podcasts