‘Meanness’ Has Gotten More Amens Than ‘Meekness’—Greg Locke Apologizes, Deletes Viral Facebook Content

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July 5, 2023

Global Vision Bible Church senior pastor Greg Locke is known for his controversial political stances and provocative preaching. But on Sunday, July 2, Locke gave what he called the most vulnerable, real, raw and honest message he has ever preached.

“This is a declaration, an apology, and a biblical life lesson all in one,” Locke wrote above the video of his message, which he posted on Facebook. “You may think you know about me and our church. Well, watch this and find out the truth, the revelation, and the journey that led us to…THE HEART OF JESUS.”

For nearly an hour, Locke preached from Matthew 11:29, focusing on Jesus’ description of himself: “For I am gentle and lowly in heart.”

Locke shared that he used to define meekness “as strength under control.” While he still believes that is a valid description, Locke said that the Holy Spirit revealed to him a “better, more biblical, applicable definition”: Meekness is “ability robed in wisdom.”

“I’ve got the ability to crush you, but in wisdom, I reserved myself. I’ve got the ability to show strength, but wisdom tells me to slow my roll,” Locke said.

Today’s generation has been raised to believe that meekness is a sign of weakness, Locke argued. “Matter of fact, [it is] men especially that are consumed with a lack of meekness are the weakest people in society,” Locke said.

An emotional Locke told the congregation that “God will take you through seasons to season you” before discussing his years of ministry and how God has matured him, especially in this last few months.

Locke, who started Global Vision Bible Church 17 years ago, admitted he has said some “dumb stuff” throughout his years in ministry, even thanking God that YouTube didn’t exist when he was in his 20s.

”I don’t demonize our past,” Locke reflected. “I just question some of the methodology we used to get there.”

The pastor gave God the credit for what Global Vision Bible Church has become, but Locke shared that his big personality has often gotten in the way of what God was doing.

‘Jesus Revolution’ Is Coming to Netflix; ‘Let’s All Be Praying,’ Says Pastor Greg Laurie

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Jessica Mouser

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July 5, 2023

“Jesus Revolution,” a movie based on the life of Pastor Greg Laurie and set during the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, is coming to Netflix on July 31. Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, encouraged his followers Monday, July 3, to pray for the new viewers who will see the film.

“BIG NEWS!” said Laurie in a tweet on Monday. “@JesusRevMovie coming to @netflix July 31st, 2023! A whole new audience is going to see this film now. Let’s all be praying that God uses it to touch lives.”

BIG NEWS!@JesusRevMovie coming to @netflix July 31st, 2023!
A whole new audience is going to see this film now. Let’s all be praying that God uses it to touch lives. pic.twitter.com/iz05n8CuN8

— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) July 4, 2023

‘Jesus Revolution’ Strikes a Chord

“Jesus Revolution” (starring Kelsey Grammer, Jonathan Roumie, Joel Courtney, Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Anna Grace Barlow) dramatizes the events of the Jesus People Movement and is based on the book, “Jesus Revolution: How God Transformed an Unlikely Generation and How He Can Do It Again Today,” by Greg Laurie and Ellen Vaughn. The movie focuses on the lives of Calvary Chapel pastor Chuck Smith, hippie evangelist Lonnie Frisbee and Pastor Greg Laurie.

Brent McCorkle and Jon Erwin directed the film. Brothers Jon and Andrew Erwin are known for films including “I Can Only Imagine,” “I Still Believe,” “October Baby” and “Mom’s Night Out.”

“Jesus Revolution” released in theaters on Feb. 24, after which it received an A+ from CinemaScore and earned over $15.8 million on its opening weekend. The movie grossed over $52 million domestically and earned an additional $312,000 internationally.

On April 25, “Jesus Revolution” released on Blu-ray and DVD and subsequently took the No. 1 spot on Amazon’s Movies & TV chart. In that position, it beat “John Wick: Chapter 4,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” and “Super Mario Bros.” The movie was nominated for a 2023 K-Love Fan Award, but was beaten by the series “The Chosen.”

Kasey Moore, who tracks what is streaming on Netflix, says that the film’s debut there will mark the first time it has been featured on such a platform. “Jesus Revolution” is not listed on Netflix’s upcoming July titles as of this writing.

In an interview on “The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast,” Laurie described how the film was a tool for evangelism during its run in theaters. “We had people accepting Christ in the theaters,” he said. “I had one person say, ‘I heard people around me praying out loud asking Jesus to come into their life.’ We had pastors on hand. We had Bibles on hand…I’ve never heard of anything quite like this, doing evangelism in movie theaters on this scale.”

From Barbie’s Dreamhouse to Narnia—Greta Gerwig To Direct ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ Series

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Janna Firestone

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July 5, 2023

Golden Globe Award-nominated director Greta Gerwig is set to begin her work on “The Chronicles of Narnia” for Netflix. Fans have long awaited the reboot of this classic story by C.S. Lewis.

Greta Gerwig Chosen To Write and Direct ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’

The New Yorker recently reported that Gerwig will write and direct at least two films based on “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis. It’s unclear at this point which specific stories will be selected for the reboot.

“The Chronicles of Narnia,” comprised of seven books, tell the stories of a group of children—particularly the four Pevensie siblings: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy—as they enter and navigate the fictional land of Narnia.

In 2019, Netflix obtained the rights to create new content from the classic book series. In the same year, Matthew Aldrich was chosen as the series’ creative architect. Since then, there’s been little to no public updates on the project.

Netflix is officially rebooting ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ with ‘Barbie’ director Greta Gerwig set to write and direct at least two films in the franchise. pic.twitter.com/T2h6d0nTeU

— Pop Base (@PopBase) July 3, 2023

The news has been met with mixed reactions from fans. While some are tired of rebooted content, others chimed in on Gerwig as Netflix’s choice for writer and director.

One commenter remarked, “Nobody can possibly believe this will turn out a faithful adaptation to [the] C.S. Lewis classic.” Conversely, others have shared their excitement and said they’d be watching the series.

Before agreeing to write and direct “Barbie,” Gerwig visited the Design Center of Mattel in El Segundo, California. An exclusive invitation to the toy workshop is reserved for celebrities and directors who are seeking to learn all they can about the toys and games at the center of future films. After her work on “Barbie,” Gerwig said she is not willing to work on another project with such involved “brand immersion.”

When talking about future projects, Gerwin told The New Yorker, “It would have to be something that has some strange hook in me, that feels like it goes to the marrow.”

Greta Gerwig’s Notable Career as a Writer and Director

Gerwig is known for her work on and off screen. She has acted in several independent films such as “Hannah Takes the Stairs” and “Nights and Weekends.” After many collaborations, Gerwig directed two films—”Lady Bird” and “Little Women”—on her own.

When asked about her influence on the film “Little Women,” she told Time Magazine, “If you strip away this pre-Victorian morality, what you have is ambitious, passionate, angry, sexual, interesting women who don’t fit into the boxes the world has given them.”

Not the Bee commented on Gerwig’s background and experience influencing the content of “The Chronicles of Narnia,” saying, “The Barbie movie isn’t out yet, but a woman who sees a movie about dolls for little girls as ‘the opposite of the creation myth in Genesis’ might be the last person that C.S. Lewis would have picked to adapt his books.”

“In fact, she might be the exact type of person his books warn about,” the article continued.

Damar Hamlin, Other Buffalo Bills Players Participate in Student ‘Fields of Faith’ Event

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Stephanie Martin

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July 5, 2023

Six months ago, Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin was fighting for his life. Now the football player is helping young athletes find new life in Christ. Hamlin, who went into cardiac arrest during an NFL game in January, recently partnered with some teammates to share the gospel at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) event.

At the Fields of Faith celebration on June 13, almost 1,300 people—half of them student-athletes—heard about Jesus and had the opportunity to give or rededicate their lives to him. The event marked a culmination of a three-month student discipleship program. It also was the first time an FCA Fields of Faith event has been held in an NFL stadium.

FCA Official: ‘There Was a Party in Heaven’

At the Bills’ home field—Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York—young people enjoyed fellowship, heard inspiring messages, and prayed together. They also received awards and nabbed autographs from Hamlin and Bills teammates Von Miller and Dawson Knox.

Fields of Faith served as a graduation ceremony for 252 student-athletes from local middle schools and high schools who finished a three-month discipleship program. During that time, participants committed to read more than 2,300 verses from 65 Bible chapters.

Jake Hannon, director of FCA Buffalo, said, “This event was an opportunity to celebrate this accomplishment and give the student-athletes the opportunity to invite a non-FCA teammate to come to the stadium to hear the gospel.”

Near the end of Fields of Faith, seven young people dedicated their lives to Jesus for the first time, Hannon said. Many others responded to an altar call by rededicating themselves to Christ, he added, saying, “We know there was a party in heaven on June 13.”

FCA Gives Pro Athletes a ‘Platform To Share Their Faith’

In an interview with The Christian Post, Hannon described FCA’s impact on young people as well as on the pro athletes who partner with the organization. “Student-athletes get to hear practical lessons from NFL players, such as what it takes to make it to that level, if that’s their goal in life,” he said. “And they also get to hear the NFL players share their Christian faith, and it really helps these young Christian student-athletes feel like they’re not alone.”

By helping student-athletes “build that rhythm of being in God’s Word and in his presence early on, it will only help them in their futures,” Hannon added.

Sarah Jakes Roberts and Touré Roberts Appointed Assistant Pastors at T.D. Jakes’ The Potter’s House Church

By

Dale Chamberlain

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July 5, 2023

Bishop T.D. Jakes has installed Touré Roberts and Sarah Jakes Roberts as assistant pastors at The Potter’s House Church in Dallas, Texas, a first in the church’s 27-year history. The daughter and son-in-law of Bishop Jakes, Touré and Sarah stepped into their new roles during a special anniversary service at the church on Sunday, July 2.

The couple also co-pastors two branches of The Potter’s House Church, one in Los Angeles and another in Denver. Although the Denver church took its weekend services completely online in 2022 following a drop in giving, the congregation still operates a local food bank and offers community groups.

Last year, Bishop Jakes appointed Sarah to be his successor in leading his women’s empowerment ministry.

Also during the service, the church’s chief operation officer, Frank Dyer, was promoted to executive pastor; church elder Oscar Williams was promoted to dean of worship arts at Jakes Divinity School; and associate pastor Joel Tudman was promoted to the church’s corporate leadership team.

Speaking to those who were being appointed to new roles, Jakes said, “You might be surprised to be here, but God is not.”

“What truly sets you apart is not where you went to school or what you wear or what you know or what you think or what you heard. But what sets you apart for service is the anointing of the Holy Spirit,” Jakes later said.

Dressed in all white in contrast to the others on stage, who were wearing all black attire, Sarah and Touré knelt alongside the other ministers being consecrated. Amid cheers from the congregation, Jakes said, “We have never had an assistant pastor at this church, but together, you can. You absolutely can.”

Addressing all those being consecrated, Jakes said, “To all of you, I charge you, minister of the word and sacrament, brother or sister in Christ, you have been called of God. You have been called by God, through the leading voice of this congregation, to be its minister.”

“You have been called to help lead these people in the way of Jesus Christ. Within the common ministry of all of us, you have been set apart for special service, each one unique in its own way, to equip the body of Christ for its ministry of reconciliation in the world,” Jakes continued. “As you embark on this chapter of your life and your ministry, I charge you: Remember always that Jesus came not to be served, but to serve. I charge you to seek to live with the joy and confidence that comes from being rooted in the gospel and in knowing the giftedness of life.”

What Singer Shannon Harris, Ex-Wife of Joshua Harris, Hopes Evangelical Women Will Take From Her Memoir

By

Jessica Mouser

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July 5, 2023

Shannon Harris, a singer, actor, composer and writer, as well as the ex-wife of “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” (IKDG) author Joshua Harris, is releasing a memoir about her experience inside evangelical Christianity and her journey out of it. Shannon says that she hopes her memoir, titled “The Woman They Wanted: Shattering the Illusion of the Good Christian Wife,” helps other women find themselves again.

“I wrote the book because I wanted to contribute my story to the conversation about churches who abuse their authority and power,” Shannon said in a statement to ChurchLeaders. “I also wanted to be a voice of permission to women and others who are wanting to reclaim their connection to themselves, their values and dreams.”

“It’s strange that I wrote a book, and I feel like it is behind me, and no one has even read it yet,” she wrote in an Instagram post in October. “I poured my heart and soul into it. I labored over every sentence. I tried to tell my story in a way any other person could understand.”

“I share my opinion but don’t demand you agree with me,” Shannon continued. “I tried to inspire you to stay connected to yourself, your values and dreams. Hopefully it will make you cry and make you laugh. My mother was a big part of it! I am so proud of what we have done and I think you’re going to love it.”

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A post shared by S H A N N O N B O N N E (@shannon.bonne)

Shannon Harris on Leaving and Finding Herself

Shannon Harris was married for 19 years to Joshua Harris, an influential evangelical pastor who became famous for “I Kissed Dating Goodbye,” a book which advocated for courtship over dating and which was emblematic of the purity culture movement of the 1990s.

Joshua pastored at a Sovereign Grace church in Maryland and was mentored in ministry by C.J. Mahaney. The Sovereign Grace network has faced controversy due to allegations that leaders, including Mahaney, concealed sexual abuse for years. Joshua implied in an interview with The Washington Post that concerns over Sovereign Grace leaders’ handling of sexual abuse allegations contributed to him stepping away from the church.

In 2015, Joshua left the pastorate to attend seminary, where he encountered people who shared with him how his books had harmed them. In 2016, he publicly addressed the idea that he was wrong about some of his past teachings and in 2018 released a documentary exploring the impact “IKDG” had on people. Joshua apologized for the damage his book had caused and stopped publication of it.

In July 2019, Joshua and Shannon Harris announced that they were separating. Days later, Joshua announced that he was no longer a Christian.

Shannon, whose stage name is Shannon Bonne and who has released a self-titled EP and a single, says that she had originally planned to share her story as a musical. On her website, she describes her book as the story of “a young woman who makes a series of choices that gradually change her into someone she doesn’t know. It is not a book about religion so much as it is a woman’s story, my story within a church and within patriarchy.”

Danielle Treweek: Why the Early Church Would Be Surprised at How We View Singleness

By

Jessica Mouser

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July 5, 2023

The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast · Danielle Treweek: Why the Early Church Would Be Surprised at How We View Singleness

Dr. Danielle Treweek is the founding director of Single Minded and an ordained deacon within the Anglican Diocese of Sydney. She has served on the ministry team of a number of different churches and speaks regularly at various conferences, events, churches and podcasts. Her new book is, “The Meaning of Singleness: Retrieving an Eschatological Vision for the Contemporary Church.”

Other Ways To Listen to This Podcast With Danielle Treweek

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Key Questions for Danielle Treweek

-Why does the contemporary church need to recover a vision for singleness?

–You describe a diversity among singles that the term “single” fails to adequately capture. Could you explain that for us?

-How can pastors who want to teach a robust theology around singleness celebrate it without sounding condescending?”

-How would you encourage pastors, the vast majority of whom in American and western culture are married, to find ways to make their churches thriving places for singles and for married people?

Key Quotes From Danielle Treweek

“There’s a lot of Christians who are single and there’s a lot of Christians who will be single again.”

“I’m convinced who we are as the body of Christ is married and single together—we actually need each other to inhabit our identity as the body of Christ…So I think a theology of singleness is not just really essential for single Christians, but is actually essential for the church as a whole.”

“We seem to have an absence of a robust theology of singleness in a way that the early church particularly would have been very surprised at, I think.”

“The word ‘single’ in our day does a lot of heavy lifting. It kind of encapsulates a whole lot of things that we may not be aware of or we might be talking at cross-purposes about as well…And so the word singleness really is a very loaded one that we have to unpack carefully.”

“Throughout church history, we’ve kind of swung wildly from one end of the spectrum to the other on marriage and singleness.”

“Most of the early church fathers before Augustine actually thought that marriage and sex were realities that came in after the Fall, that they were God’s concession to fallen humanity rather than created goods.”

“Those who are husbands and wives now will not be husbands and wives in the resurrection. The ultimate marriage will have come. And so that has actually been a very orthodox exegesis throughout most of church history.”

Christian in Pakistan Charged With Blasphemy for Bible Post

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Morning Star News

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July 5, 2023

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – Police in Pakistan charged a Christian with blasphemy on Friday (June 30) after he posted Bible verses on Facebook that infuriated Muslims, causing dozens of Christian families in a village near Sargodha city to flee their homes.

Tensions flared in Chak 49 Shumaali village, Punjab Province, after 45-year-old Haroon Shahzad on Thursday (June 29) posted on his Facebook page 1 Corinthians 10:18-21, regarding food sacrificed to idols, as Muslims were beginning the four-day festival of Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice), which involves slaughtering an animal and sharing the meat.

A Muslim villager took a screenshot of the post, sent it to local social media groups and accused Shahzad of disrespecting the Abrahamic tradition of animal sacrifice and likening Muslims to pagans. Eid al-Adha commemorates God providing a lamb for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son. In the passage posted from 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul states that pagan sacrifices are offered to demons.

Shahzad made no comment in the post, inflammatory or otherwise, said Sargodha resident Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, a Christian and former lawmaker.

“The post began circulating in Muslim circles on Thursday, but the situation became tense after the Friday prayers when announcements were made from mosque loudspeakers asking people to gather for a protest,” Chaudhry told Morning Star News.

Chaudhry said that he and other local Christian leaders began monitoring tensions on Thursday evening (June 29) and were in contact with the district administration and police authorities. When they heard that mobs from other villages had begun gathering after the mosque announcements, they informed Sargodha District police, which sent a large contingent to protect the 250-300 Christian families in the village, he said.

“The police reached the village in time and prevented any attack on the Christians or damage to property,” Chaudhry said. “However, the police presence did not deter the mobs from raising inflammatory slogans. Fearing that the situation could get out of hand, a majority of the Christian families fled their homes, leaving everything behind.”

Chaudhry, an attorney and head of his own political party, said that Shahzad went into hiding on Thursday evening (June 29) along with his wife and six children.

“The police registered a case against Haroon on Friday under Sections 295-A and 298, under the pressure of the mobs backed by the extremist Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan [TLP],” he said. “The FIR [First Information Report] is unwarranted, because Haroon had only shared a biblical verse and had made no personal comment that could be deemed blasphemous or inflammatory.”

Section 295-A relates to “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs” and is punishable with imprisonment of up to 10 years and fine, or both. Section 298 prescribes up to one year in prison and a fine, or both, for hurting religious sentiments.

Chaudhry said that on Friday night police took two sisters-in-law of Shahzad into custody in an effort to pressure him to surrender himself. Shahzad’s six brothers also had gone underground, fearing for their lives.

“The two women were left behind to take care of their elderly parents-in-law, both of whom are paralytic and could not leave with their sons,” Chaudhry said. “After much effort, the women were finally freed from custody on Sunday night [July 2] after one of Haroon’s brothers and two other youths presented themselves for detention.”

Shahzad’s youngest brother, Irfan Shahzad, spoke to Morning Star News from an undisclosed location.

“Haroon deleted the post when we heard that some people were using it to stoke religious sentiments in the village,” he said. “Some friends later advised him to leave the village in case the situation worsened, so he took his family and left.”

Irfan Shahzad said that he and his other brothers decided to go into hiding when they heard the mosque announcements after Friday prayers.

Pope Francis ‘Outraged and Disgusted’ by Burning of Quran

By

Claire Giangrave

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July 5, 2023

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Asked about the burning of the Quran in Sweden, Pope Francis, in an interview excerpt published Monday (July 3), underlined that freedom of expression must never be used against others and encouraged interfaith dialogue.

A 37-year-old man with Iraqi origins, Salwan Momika, kicked the Quran and placed a slice of bacon on it before burning it in front of a mosque in Stockholm, Sweden, on June 28, causing an uproar from the Muslim community in Europe and beyond. Asked for a reaction to the event by Al-Ittihad, a newspaper in the United Arab Emirates, Pope Francis said he is “outraged and disgusted by such actions.”

The interview with Pope Francis will be published in its entirety on Tuesday (July 4).

“Any book that is considered sacred to its authors must be respected out of respect for its believers and freedom of expression must never be used as an excuse to undermine others,” the pope said. Anyone who allows these acts must be “refuted and condemned,” the pope said.

The burning of the Quran had been initially allowed by the local government, but Swedish authorities have now taken a step back and condemned the act as “Islamophobia.”

The Organization for Islamic Cooperation, which represents Muslims from 57 countries, publicly condemned the act and asked the Swedish state to take action to prevent such events from happening again.

In 2019, Pope Francis, along with the Sunni Grand Imam of Al Azhar, cosigned a Document on Human Fraternity, promoting tolerance and peace among people of faith. It was considered a watershed moment for relations between the two religions.

“Human fraternity is the antidote that the world needs to heal from the poison of these wounds,” Francis said in response to the Quran burning.

“The future of interreligious cooperation is founded on the principle of reciprocity, of respect for one another and of truth,” he added.

This article originally appeared here.

The United Church of Christ Elects First Woman — And First Woman of African Descent — To Lead Denomination

By

Emily McFarlan Miller

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July 5, 2023

(RNS) — The United Church of Christ elected its first female general minister and president on Monday (July 3) at its 34th General Synod in Indianapolis.

The Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson’s election also makes her the first woman of African descent to lead the mainline denomination.

“Today, United Church of Christ, we created a first together. It won’t be the last first,” Thompson, dressed in white, told delegates afterward.

Those delegates overwhelmingly approved Thompson’s nomination to a four-year term as general minister and president of the UCC on Monday morning, breaking into song and applause as the results of the vote — 626 yeses to 43 no’s — were announced.

Thompson is the third woman to be nominated to lead the UCC, which celebrated its 66th anniversary days before General Synod began.

While neither the Rev. Yvonne Delk (nominated in 1989) nor the Rev. Barbara Brown Zikmund (1999) ultimately were elected to lead the denomination, Thompson said Friday during her nomination speech, “Their ministries have individually and collectively shaped the UCC and paved the way for women to serve in ministry in the UCC, opening wide the doors of this denomination.”

That Thompson is the first woman to lead the denomination may be surprising to some given the denomination’s progressive stances on women’s rights and many other issues.

For instance, General Synod attendees took part in a prayer walk Saturday to the Indiana State Capitol to protest legislative efforts to ban gender-affirming care and restrict abortion services. Delegates also are expected to vote on resolutions expressing support for reparations for African Americans, calling on local churches to declare themselves “white supremacy-free” zones and launching a study of the denomination’s relationships with boarding schools that separated generations of Indigenous children from their families and cultures in the U.S.

“I want to hold value to the moment and to what it has taken to get to this place, because, as I’ve said before, it’s not just me — there are others who came before me — and perhaps this is a right time for the denomination,” Thompson told Religion News Service before the vote by delegates to the biennial meeting.

She pointed to Delk and Zikmund’s nominations throughout her candidacy and again in her acceptance speech Monday, because, she said, “I think when we talk about being progressive, we need to remember our own history that this has been tried and done — and without success.”

Thompson is associate general minister for the UCC’s wider church ministries and co-executive for its global ministries, and she recently was elected to the executive committee of the World Council of Churches, according to the denomination. She has served the UCC for 14 years: previously as minister for racial justice and minister for ecumenical and interfaith relations.

Before Monday’s vote, the Rev. Noah Brewer-Wallin, chair of the search committee that recommended Thompson, praised the “unique and intimate perspective” she brings to the role of general minister and president from those previous roles within the denomination.

After graduating from Brooklyn College, Thompson earned a Master of Public Administration from North Carolina Central University, a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary and a Doctorate in Ministry from Seattle University, according to the UCC. She wrote her dissertation on the “religious multiplicity” of African Caribbean people, which includes practices from both African Traditional Religions and Christianity.

Born in Jamaica, she said she brings “a global view to the church.”

7 Unique Traits of Spiritual Leaders

By

Dan Reiland

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July 5, 2023

spiritual leaders — Adobestock #521565952

It’s not uncommon to hear a phrase like, “He’s not a very spiritual leader.” Or, She’s a strong spiritual leader.”

These may be reasonable observations, but they’re not necessarily clear. What do they mean?

What does it mean to be a spiritual leader?

Does it suggest pious and pure?

Does it hint at potentially pretentious?

Of course, these can’t be the goal.

It may be obvious to most who are reading this post, but for clear context, we need to add Christian to the equation. For example, I have friends who consider themselves to be very spiritual, but acknowledge that they are New Age by belief and practice.

A spiritual leader is more like this: an authentic human being, who genuinely seeks to live their life by Jesus’ example, filled by the Spirit, and leading in alignment with God’s will, purpose and plan.

So, what are the unique distinctives of a Christian spiritual leader?

Let’s start with some traits that are not unique to Christian leaders, but often considered to be.

Here are a few examples:

Loving and kind
Serving others putting them first
Generous and helpful
Moral and of good character

These are practiced by spiritual leaders but also by many secular leaders.

The potential for spiritual leadership is established in transformation to new life in Christ. The process of spiritual maturity, in combination with spiritual gifting, leads, over time, to influence of an eternal nature.

Spiritual leadership isn’t something better than, or above others, it’s a humble recognition that all of our efforts and outcomes are based on the favor, power and authority of Christ, not our own.

7 Unique Traits of Spiritual Leaders

1. They Submit Their Will to the Will of God.

Jesus modeled submission to the Father’s will in His prayer on the Mount of Olives. “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

Jesus submission was greater than anything we’ll be asked to do, but the example is still clear.

Can you think of a time where God wanted you to do a certain thing, like leave a church and move to another state, and you didn’t want to, but you did anyway?

When it comes to the major decisions in life, it’s not always easy. In fact, its easier to rationalize why we don’t need to or shouldn’t.

Submitting our will to God’s will has three parts:

Hearing God’s will. (Are we listening?)
Agreeing with God’s will. (Are we aligned?)
Obeying God’s will. (Will we do it?)

At any point in this process, submission can easily be abandoned in the absence of deep resolve.

How to Become a Better Electric Guitarist

By

Bob Kauflin

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July 5, 2023

I first met guitarist Ben Gowell when he played on our Worship God Live album back in 2005. As an electric guitarist he regularly plays for Paul Baloche and Sara Groves and tours with Michael W. Smith. In other words, he’s pretty good.

I’ve always been struck by Ben’s humility, his love for the church and his family, and his commitment to playing skillfully for the glory of God. So I asked him recently if he had any thoughts on how an electric guitarist might improve his skills, especially if he wanted to play in the studio. While an electric guitarist in church isn’t going to end up on professional recordings, learning to play like a studio guitarist will benefit any player. Here’s what Ben sent me about becoming a better electric guitarist.

How to Become a Better Electric Guitarist

1. Grow in your appreciation for many different styles of music.

Styles like country and R&B were not things that I naturally gravitated towards in high school and college, but in the interest of trying to make myself a more well-rounded guitarist, I sought out a country guitar teacher, purchased Country and R&B albums, and focused in on what the guitar players were doing on those albums. One of the most beneficial things you can do to grow as a player is try to emulate what guitarists are doing in different styles. Although guitar lessons were a big part of my learning as a player, equally important was the process of listening to a lot of stuff and copying it. This develops your ears and gets you thinking more like a musician/arranger than just a guitar player.

2. Play as much as you can with good musicians.

There’s something to be said for ‘woodshedding’ by yourself in your own practice space, but there’s just no substitute for playing with other people. This is where you develop a few different important things, like learning to listen to what’s going on in the rest of the band, so that what you play complements and doesn’t compete with everyone else or the vocalist. Often times in a session, I’ll just sit and listen through a song a few times before I even touch my strings. I want to know, “What is the mood/vibe of the song? What is the style of the song? What is the message of the song?” These are all important questions to ask before you just start noodling around on the guitar. Again, this gets you thinking more like a musician and less like just a guitar player.

Eric Geiger: My 3 Goals in Preaching

By

Eric Geiger

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July 5, 2023

In the last decade I have invested a lot of time in public speaking. With employee meetings, plenary sessions, breakouts at conferences, consulting ministry leaders and speaking on books I have written, I have given hundreds and hundreds of leadership and ministry presentations. I have also preached weekly for the last several years as teaching pastor, interim pastor and now a bi-vocational senior pastor. Preaching is different. In both the burden of responsibility and the eternal impact, preaching the Word of God to a congregation of His people far outweighs speaking on other subjects. Preaching differs from other speaking in that the message we deliver is the only message that will endure forever (Isaiah 40:8), the only message that brings someone to saving faith (Romans 10:17), and the only message that can transform the human heart (1 Peter 1:23).

So what is my aim in preaching? My good friend Ed Stetzer asked me that recently and it caused me to jot down some of my thoughts. One way to describe this sacred stewardship is “Teach Christ and the text in their context.” The aim is three-fold:

1. Teach Christ . . .

The apostle Paul reminded those he ministered to in the city of Corinth that he decided to know nothing among them “except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). It is possible to teach a passage and not teach Christ’s work for us, but doing so isn’t faithful to the whole story of Scripture and fails to change hearts with the grace of Jesus. Of his preaching, Charles Spurgeon said, “I take my text and make a bee-line to the cross.” In other words, he would walk through the text while simultaneously moving people to Christ and the cross as quickly as possible.

5 Tips for Broken Relationships in the Church

By

Scott Thomas

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July 5, 2023

Church planting is still one of the most effective ways to make disciples. According to Bruce McNichol, in an article for Christianity Today, new church plants baptize twice as many converts per attendee than existing churches. Jesus called the local church to make disciples of all nations. Those orders from the Head of the church motivate pastors to start churches all over the world. But where many planters fail to prepare is the enemy attack as they lead others to follow the Great Commission. Relational casualties, broken relationships, will come with close friends, board members, core group participants, and treasurers, and sometimes from their own children. The Apostle Paul speaking to the elders in Ephesus said, “From among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” (Acts 20:29 ESV)

5 Tips to Handling Broken Relationships

“Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (James 1:19-20 ESV)

1. Be Slow to Speak.

Make a decision not to react without thinking. People make foolish comments all of the time. A friend confronted me about something I did, and my response was that I had no idea why I did that. I did not have malice or intent, and my actions were completely contrary to my value system. I didn’t make excuses (oh, I had a few), and I didn’t attack his actions. Instead, I asked forgiveness, and he extended it immediately.

Jesus and Church Strategies

By

James Emery White

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July 4, 2023

church strategies — Adobestock #579041522

It’s very common to hear people critique various strategies, and simultaneously advance others, based on their observations of the ministry stylings of Jesus.

For example, some will point to Jesus’ selecting 12 disciples (and among those, seemingly, focusing on three), doing life with them as a group for three years, and from that, draw conclusions about how best to not only disciple but to “do” church. The usual translation is to eschew anything related to larger groups, carefully curated events or services, and to instead roll up your sleeves to plunge into little more than a small group-based ministry.

After all, that’s what Jesus did.

Except He didn’t. At least that wasn’t all that He did. Yes, in terms of preparing the initial, future leadership of the church, there were the 12, then the 70, then the 120, and on from there. But was that intended to serve as a timeless model for discipleship, much less church growth?

Apparently not.

First, because Jesus also incorporated very large gatherings. His three-fold ministry was essentially preaching, teaching and healing (cf. Mt. 4:23-24). All three of these were done, almost always, in large group settings.

Another reason we can question a small group-based ministry approach as the “Jesus” approach comes from continuing to read the biblical narrative beyond the biographical accounts of His life into the Acts. As in what the Holy Spirit did at Pentecost, which included dropping thousands of new believers onto the laps of those initial 12.

This simple observation is why I have long resisted those who place large, carefully curated large-group services up against individual discipleship, as if this is an “either-or” dynamic. Biblically, it isn’t. It is a “both-and.” Jesus did a lot of individual discipleship, but He also did a lot of large-group gatherings.

Further, the early church was birthed through a large-scale evangelistic gathering that, again, dumped thousands of converts on a handful of “discipled.” If the 12 strapped on the 3,000 men (that’s not even counting women and children) baptized on Pentecost in groups of 12, they would only have been able to start discipling 144 of them. That is only 4.8%.

According to Acts, they didn’t do that. Instead, they brought in deacons to share the leadership load, and they devoted themselves to teaching. Large group discipleship teaching (cf. Acts 2:42). The Holy Spirit, through Pentecost, seemed to force them away from the so-called “Jesus model” of discipleship (three, then 12, then 70, then 120) into a larger-scale model.

Was there individual discipleship? Of course. That’s not the point. The point is that individual discipleship alone, along the lines of what Jesus did with the 12, was not considered the only model to follow. Or even the primary model to follow.

One of the most important lessons of biblical interpretation is not to confuse narrative material with didactic material. Narrative material is simply describing something that happened or a series of events. It’s informative but not normative. Didactic material is intended teaching.

Why Christians Can Be Calm in a Crazy World

By

Matt Brown

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July 4, 2023

For the Christian, there should be an overwhelming and pervasive sense of well being and peace, no matter what goes on in our crazy world.

Here are four good reasons why Christians can stay positive and calm even when our crazy world seems to be falling apart:

1. God is sovereign.

Over the chaos of our world, God will always reign Sovereign.

God’s Sovereignty won’t always make sense to us, but the truth of God’s Sovereignty should serve to remind us the world will never spin out of God’s control.

We need to return to Isaiah’s vision of God high and lifted up: Our holy God, high and mighty, who is not surprised when the world rages (Psalm 2:1-6). He alone is holy. He alone is worthy. He alone rules over all.

2. We already know how the story ends.

We already know how our story ends. We have an inheritance because of what Christ has done for us. We are headed for glory.

Eric Geiger wrote:

“God has designed the end and the in between. The end is people from every tribe, tongue and nation gathered around the throne worshipping Him because they were purchased with the blood of Christ (Rev. 5:9–10).

Regardless of what happens this week, what unfolds in the news, the ending has already been made clear: God is redeeming for Himself a people from all peoples.”

3. God calls us to walk in His peace.

Jesus says in the midst of every season:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Judah Smith writes: “How much of the pain and suffering in the world is caused by humans willfully pursuing their own desires? Peace—that essential, elusive, universal need of mankind—is restored to us in Jesus. God’s peace is first and foremost peace with him. It is an internal, spiritual wellness that is the foundation for peace in every other area.”

God calls us to walk in His peace, not add our voices to the world’s chaos. Now this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t speak truth to culture. There are times for this, but our tone, motivations and heart should be completely opposite of this world.

4. We believe in a God who redeems the very worst hearts.

We serve a God who turns things around. A God of the comeback. A God of the resurrection. And His resurrection power lives and dwells inside of us. Our hope knows no bounds, because it rests in a boundless God!

Half of our New Testament is written by Paul who did worse things than almost anyone in our world today. And God redeemed Him. This is the God we serve!

Throughout human history, God has worked on behalf of His people whose hearts were His. He has done mighty wonders. He has turned nations around. He has moved in power as His gospel was proclaimed. He has built His church, and the gates of hell have not, nor will ever, prevail against it.

A different way forward

What if we walked in the peace of God. A calm and stillness in a time where it seems we should be doing anything but this. How would God’s peace in us shine the glory of God in a dark world?

This article about how to be calm in a crazy world originally appeared here.

Catechism Use Can Help Parents Develop Their Children’s Faith

By

Jonathan Cliff

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July 3, 2023

How can families incorporate a catechism into their faith-based teachings? Read on to learn the ins and outs of using catechisms at home.

My kids are learning so much! The three range in age from 9 to 12 and are tackling subjects like electricity, comparative adjectives, geology, pre-algebra, and Revolutionary War history. They’ve written papers on historical figures such as Pocahontas, George Washington, and even the ancient math-whiz Archimedes.

So much learning, so much content. Yet this is only the beginning! Our children have had to learn how to use the multiple remotes in our living room. That the milk goes back in the fridge when you’re done with it. And that you never hug Mom before brushing your teeth in the morning!

With all this memory work happening in young brains, where do we begin faith conversations? How can parents capitalize on children’s impressionable minds with something that ties them to the faith your family holds dear? How can you make the Gospel truths something kids can quickly recall and use for everyday life?

The Importance of Catechism

Devotions are a great place to start. But with upper-elementary kids and preteens, I want a great foundation that we can build devotions on as they mature and age. I’ve found something that works great for the brains of the three growing kids in our house. Catechism. That’s right.

The word “catechism” comes from the Greek katacheo, which means “to teach, to instruct.” The word appears in Bible passages like Luke 1:4 and Acts 18:25. It can reference any kind of teaching or instruction, but it came to refer to a specific type of teaching very early in church history. In the early church, new converts learned the basics of Christianity by memorizing a series of questions and answers.

A catechism is just that: Q&As that teach Bible truth. For example, here are some lessons we’ve learned this year from a catechism:

Who made you and everything? God made everything and me.
What is God like? God is our holy and almighty Creator. He cannot be seen, but he has made everything we can see.
Why did God make you? God made us to enjoy him and show his glory to others.
What is the gospel? The gospel is the good news that we enter God’s kingdom through God’s cross by God’s grace.
Why does God tell us, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy”? So we will rest in God and remember the finished work of Jesus.

We’ll learn many more Bible truths from catechism in the years to come. We’ve added a few catechism words to the kids’ weekly spelling and vocabulary lists. I’ve also thrown them into a few special “get rewarded with ice cream real quick” scenarios I create on a whim.

‘God’s Children Are Not for Sale’—Jim Caviezel Says Mel Gibson Wept While Viewing ‘Sound of Freedom’

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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July 3, 2023

On Independence Day (Tuesday, July 4), Angel Studios is releasing the film “Sound of Freedom,” which is based on an incredible, true story about the fight against human trafficking.

The film will be featured on the big screen throughout the country, taking on the newly released blockbuster film “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” which stars Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas, Mad Mikkelsen, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

“Sound of Freedom” stars Jim Caviezel (“The Passion of the Christ”) as Tim Ballard, a United States federal agent who quits his job to find the sister of a young boy he rescued from child traffickers.

Caviezel’s character decides to leave his family at the urging of his wife—played by Academy Award-winning actress Mira Sorvino—to traverse the depths of the child sex trafficking world in the Columbian jungle in the hope of finding the young girl who was stolen from her family and sold into sex slavery.

The film’s reenactment of true events attempts to bring awareness to the $150 billion human trafficking business. It also reminds the church and American citizens of the unfortunate reality that the United States is one of the top destinations for human trafficking and is among the largest consumers of child sex.

“By the time Ballard left Columbia, he and the team had rescued over 120 victims and arrested more than a dozen traffickers,” the film’s description states, adding that there “are more humans trapped in slavery today any other time in history…including when slavery was legal.” Unfortunately, “millions of these slaves are children.”

During the film, Caviezel’s character is asked why he would risk his life to rescue a child he doesn’t even know. He replies, “Because God’s children are not for sale.”

In a recent interview, Caviezel shared that “The Passion of the Christ” director Mel Gibson wept when he saw the film.

“I showed this movie to two Academy Award-winning film directors,” both of whom are brutally honest critics, Caviezel said. “Both of them were absolutely stunned. One of them is my good friend, Mel Gibson. The other one likes to remain anonymous. Mel was weeping.”

In a promotional clip for the film, Gibson said that “one of the most disturbing problems in our world today is human trafficking, and particularly the trafficking of children. Now, the first step in eradicating this crime is awareness. Go see ‘Sound of Freedom.'”

Caviezel went on to say, “In a fair world, [“Sound of Freedom”] would hands down the best picture, but like ‘The Passion,’ they won’t touch this one.”

Proud Boys Must Pay $1 Million to D.C. Black Church for Burning Its BLM Banner

By

Stephanie Martin

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July 3, 2023

On June 30, a judge ruled that the Proud Boys organization must pay $1.03 million to a historic Black church in Washington, D.C. During a December 2020 protest about outcome of the U.S. presidential election, members of the far-right Proud Boys tore down and burned a Black Lives Matter (BLM) banner at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in the nation’s capital.

In his ruling, D.C. Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz referenced the “emotional trauma” that church members endured because of the incident. He also banned the Proud Boys from going near Metropolitan AME and from making derogatory statements or threats against the church and its leaders for five years. Because the defendants were no-shows in court, the ruling was a default judgment. Another hearing in the case is scheduled for August.

Judge Described ‘Attack’ on Black Church

Metropolitan AME displayed its BLM banner in June 2020, following the murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis. Later that year, during a rally by supporters of former president Donald Trump, Proud Boys members tore down and burned the banner. According to the church’s lawsuit, members of the hate group also left threatening voicemail messages for the church.

In his 34-page ruling, Judge Kravitz said the “attack” on Metropolitan AME “resulted from a highly orchestrated set of events focused on the Proud Boys’ guiding principles: white supremacy and violence.”

Metropolitan AME sued the Proud Boys to recoup the costs of replacing its BLM banner and hiring additional security. Although those items amounted to about $36,600, the judge noted that “compensatory damages alone will not address the defendants’ reprehensible conduct or the extraordinary emotional trauma suffered by the church and its congregants.”

Kravitz added,

To the members of the church, the burning of the Black Lives Matter sign represented a complete negation of their right to worship as they please and, more fundamentally, to participate fully in the life of the community—and forced them to harken back to the long and painful history of white supremacists committing wanton acts of violence against Black churches.

D.C. Pastor Calls Lawsuit ‘a Beacon of Hope’

Metropolitan AME, which just celebrated its 185^th anniversary, “refused to be silenced in the face of white supremacist violence,” according to its pastor. In a statement following Friday’s ruling, the Rev. William Lamar IV said, “Our courage and and determination to fight back in response to the 2020 attack on our church is a beacon of hope for our community and today’s ruling showed us what our collective vision and voice can achieve.”

The congregation’s courage, however, “does not mean real trauma and damage did not occur,” the pastor added. “Merely that congregants and the church have and will continue to rise above it.”

‘I Am Really Fascinated By You’—Simon Cowell Praises Seminary Student on ‘America’s Got Talent’

By

Janna Firestone

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July 3, 2023

Lachuné Boyd Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary — Screengrabs via NBC

As a part-time voice teacher and student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS), Lachuné Boyd broke out of her shell. She took some initiative as she auditioned for “America’s Got Talent.”

As Boyd took to the stage and shared that she was a voice teacher, judge Simon Cowell quickly prompted, “Tell me why you’ve waited so long to do something like this. Because something obviously has held you back.”

She responded, “I grew up in a singing family and spent most of my years observing them actually having the moment to be on stage and things like that, so that held me back.”

“But I started teaching,” Boyd continued. “I learned that if you can’t do the thing, try to work close to it. So that kept the spark alive.”

Boyd explained, “As a teacher, you’re always sitting on the opposite side of the piano, and you’re always pouring into them and saying, ‘Take the initiative. Don’t get too comfortable. Go for it. Be yourself.'”

That’s just what Boyd did as she auditioned in front of a live audience and celebrity judges.

Lachuné Boyd Stuns the Judges of ‘America’s Got Talent’

Boyd chose a moving rendition of “Yellow” by Coldplay for her audition. Her soft, soulful voice was pitch-perfect throughout the song.

“Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you…and everything you do,” the song begins.

After the performance—and after both the audience and judges stood in ovation—Boyd humbly appreciated the judges’ comments.

“You have a beautiful, beautiful voice and I am really fascinated by you,” shared Simon Cowell. “It was a fantastic audition.”

“You showed us that these walls that people feel like they’re stuck behind, you make them yourself,” Judge Howie Mandel said. “You tore down that wall, and luckily you did, because you made your way right here, and your life is about to change.”

Judges Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara chimed in with praise for Boyd and her performance. Vergara called the audition “perfect.” The four judges unanimously voted for Boyd to advance to the next round of the competition.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Keeps Lachuné Boyd in High Regard

Boyd is a Master of Music student at SWBTS, with a concentration in voice, according to the school’s news blog. Among her rigorous studies, she participated in both the Cowden Hall Band and Southwestern A Cappella Choir. With just one semester left of her degree, Boyd has made an impression on students as well as faculty.

“Lachuné is nearly finished with her master’s in vocal performance,” mentioned SWBTS Dean of the School of Church Music and Worship Joseph Crider. “And not only is she gifted as a singer, she is a deep well in her understanding of aesthetics and the biblical foundations of her art as a singer/musician.”

Crider continued, “Her versatility as a singer will serve her well in the future as she continues to teach and perform as a Christian deeply rooted in her faith.”

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How to Become a Better Electric Guitarist

1. Grow in your appreciation for many different styles of music.

2. Play as much as you can with good musicians.

1. Teach Christ . . .

5 Tips to Handling Broken Relationships

1. Be Slow to Speak.

Here are four good reasons why Christians can stay positive and calm even when our crazy world seems to be falling apart:

1. God is sovereign.

2. We already know how the story ends.

3. God calls us to walk in His peace.

4. We believe in a God who redeems the very worst hearts.

A different way forward

The Importance of Catechism

Judge Described ‘Attack’ on Black Church

D.C. Pastor Calls Lawsuit ‘a Beacon of Hope’

Lachuné Boyd Stuns the Judges of ‘America’s Got Talent’

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Keeps Lachuné Boyd in High Regard

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