‘I Wanted To Drink’—Pastor Perry Noble Is Transparent About Battle With Alcoholism

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June 19, 2023

Perry Noble, pastor of Second Chance Church in Anderson, South Carolina, continues to battle alcoholism. The senior pastor opened up recently about how he continues to fight the temptation, not just to drink, but to drink himself “into oblivion” as an escape.

“I’m so thankful for the amazing people the Lord has put into my life,” Noble wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday (June 18). As he continues to rely on Jesus’ power and grace on his recovery journey, Noble often reflects on the importance of a support system—family, friends, and his church community—to provide love, encouragement, and accountability.

Perry Noble Resists the Temptation of Alcohol—’We Can’t Do Life Alone’

After years of battling alcoholism, Noble continues to be transparent in his recovery journey. As a pastor and a friend, he has thousands of followers. Recently, Noble shared more of his struggle—even on an ordinary Sunday afternoon. He shared, “Something happened yesterday that caused my mind to spiral!!”

The professed alcoholic said, “And—I wanted to drink!!”

Knowing the range of interpretations that could be made from the brief statement, Noble wanted to clarify. He interjected, “Pause—not ‘have a drink,’ or ‘enjoy a cold one,’ but break open a bottle and drink until I literally passed out so that I did not have to deal with the emotions that hit me like a tsunami!!”

Celebrating a brief—and large—personal victory, he exclaimed, “But—I didn’t!!”

Noble continued, “And not because I am just ‘so dang strong!'”

The pastor, husband, and father of one went on to explain. “Two main reasons…
1—My wife (@repokis) was with me, listened to [me], held my hand and just kept telling me that she loves me!” Noble didn’t stop there. He also credited Second Chance Church, adding, “I had to be at church to preach the 5pm service—and I KNEW once I got around my people that I would be ok!!”

After rehab and counseling, Noble does not shy away from expressing a high level of self-awareness. “If I had been alone—there is no doubt I would have drank myself into oblivion!!!” he mentioned.

“But I didn’t—because of the power of Jesus through other people!!” Noble continued. “The statement ‘we can’t do life alone‘ is true!!! I’m so thankful for the amazing people the Lord has put into my life!”

Thousands have reacted to Noble’s post, and hundreds commented about their own stories.

“Stay strong, Pastor P. When everything came out about you no longer being at the church, my family also just found out that my dad was drinking again,” shared one person. “He had been in rehab a couple years before that. It was hard time for so many reasons. He still has not given up drinking. You can’t do [life] alone. We all need support from our loved ones.”

Another commenter, who attends Second Chance Church, wrote, “Praying over you, Pastor P…The Holy Spirit is doing great things in and through you and our Church.”

She continued, “By speaking truth, being transparent and vulnerable, and inviting others in, you are helping many with Christ win battles! Grateful that you were victorious yesterday, but even if you hadn’t been, we would love you and keep fighting alongside of you.”

‘God Is Greater Than the Southern Baptist Convention,’ Says Pastor Whose Church Was Ousted

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Stephanie Martin

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June 19, 2023

After the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) disfellowshipped her Kentucky church for having a female pastor, Linda Barnes Popham has been doubling down on her disagreement with the denomination’s interpretation of Scripture. At last week’s SBC annual meeting in New Orleans, almost 92% of messengers (or local church delegates) voted to expel Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, which Popham has officially pastored for 30 years.

Fern Creek and Saddleback, the California megachurch founded by Rick Warren, had both appealed their February expulsions from the SBC, and last week both were officially voted out of the denomination.

Also at the Annual Meeting, messengers voted to amend the SBC constitution to clarify that “only men” can serve as “any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.” That will need to be approved next year to take effect. The SBC Executive Committee has voiced opposition to the amendment, noting that similar language already appears in the Baptist Faith & Message 2000.

Fern Creek Pastor Linda Barnes Popham Asks, ‘Why Now?’

On Sunday (June 18), Rev. Popham appeared on CNN, answering questions from host Jim Acosta about her reaction to the church’s ouster. She admitted being “shocked” that it came 23 years after the adoption of the Baptist Faith & Message 2000. Another reaction the pastor mentioned is “anger, how this was handled, the hypocrisy of so many.”

But since last week’s meeting, Popham said, she also has felt “overwhelmingly loved” and has received “support from all over the world.” A woman in England contacted her with a reminder that “what really matters is that we are in the family of God,” Popham said. “So it doesn’t really matter about the Southern Baptist Convention so much.”

Moving forward, Popham said Fern Creek senses excitement and a spirit of revival, that “God’s gonna do a new thing,” as he promised in Isaiah. That is already happening, she added, noting that her church celebrated the baptisms of three children yesterday.

Acosta read a statement from newly re-elected SBC President Bart Barber: “We believe that every believer is a priest…it’s just the Scriptures say the office of pastor is limited to men.” The CNN host then said, “I wanna be respectful to folks and their faith, but it is the year 2023, for goodness sakes.”

In response, Popham said her church believes the Bible as much as other Southern Baptists do. But “we believe that we interpret differently because we believe that the Spirit can give illumination to our minds.”

Some of the uproar is “kind of amusing,” Popham told Acosta, “because some of the [Bible] verses they read out to us [to justify men-only pastors], if you just read, like, the verse before, it says women should not have braids or adorn themselves with jewelry, etc. etc. Well, I didn’t see too many women there without jewelry at the Southern Baptist Convention.” The pastor added, “So how they differentiate between those two verses in the same chapter, two verses apart, I’ll never understand that.”

Popham, a graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS), concluded by saying, “We look at these [Bible] verses in the context in which they were written, as well.” Notably, SBTS president Dr. Albert Mohler was the person who rebutted Popham’s appeal after she made it.

‘They’re Losing,’ Pastor Says of the SBC

Popham also has described her church’s expulsion as a betrayal, especially since the SBC viewed the congregation so favorably for so long. An evaluation of Fern Creek was triggered by an anonymous complaint submitted last year.

Juneteenth and the Great Commission

By

Sherelle Ducksworth

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June 19, 2023

Editor’s note from Ed Stetzer: A few years ago, I had the privilege of hosting this article at my old Christianity Today blog. With Dr. Ducksworth’s permission, I am sharing it again.

Holidays and missions are two things Christians and churches celebrate. We stand proudly on Memorial Day as we remember the sacrifice of soldiers. We listen to sermons on gratitude and praise God for his blessings on Thanksgiving. We watch videos about the legacy and impact of Lottie Moon and praise God for the fruitfulness of those on the mission field.

By now, many of us have heard of the holiday Juneteenth, though many Christians still don’t celebrate the day or recognize the fruitful mission work birthed out of the freedom of African American slaves. Though the liberation of the enslaved people is the only reason we need to celebrate Juneteenth, there is much to commemorate. I propose that we should also commemorate this day to recognize the missional fervor displayed by freed African Americans and the way they stewarded their freedom to continue a Christian legacy of fulfilling the Church’s mission.

What is Juneteenth?

In the midst of the Civil War, President Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which declared enslaved people in the Confederate states as free. Tragically, cities like Galveston, Texas, utilized legal barriers to withhold the news of freedom from enslaved people. However, on June 19, 1865, the day is known today as Juneteenth, two months after the ending of the Civil War on April 9th, General Gordon Grainger brought the news of freedom to the enslaved people in Galveston. For years, freed Black men and women and black enslaved people fought vigorously for the liberation of Black people, and finally, they were free. To be clear, many social, economic, and legal barriers would come during Reconstruction and eventually Jim Crow that suppressed the full freedom of African Americans but to the slave on Juneteenth, freedom seemed promising.

Nevertheless, one of the most remarkable things about Juneteenth is the missional zeal displayed by African Americans after they were liberated. Thus, Juneteenth demonstrates how important physical freedom is for missions.

Juneteenth, Missions, and Church Growth

A revisionist history tends to speak of the growth of African American church and missions between the 1700’s to the 1900’s as a product of the Great Awakenings, Quakers, and the evangelism by slave masters. However, the liberation of enslaved people brought a significant growth in conversions, church planting and domestic and international missions among African Americans.

Missions

It is undeniable that African Americans were involved on the mission field prior to Juneteenth. Missionaries such as Lott Carey, who helped establish the Richmond African Baptist Missionary Society in 1815 and Daniel Coker who organized the first AME church in Sierra Leone in 1820 were prominent black missionaries before Juneteenth. However, Juneteenth enabled African Americans to act on their convictions to serve God by carrying out the Great Commission both domestically and internationally.¹ To enslaved people, Juneteenth removed barriers to the mission field and as a result they moved with fervor to proclaim the gospel of the God of liberation and justice.

The international mission work among black Americans increased dramatically after the Civil War, which ended two months before Juneteenth, with the number of free Blacks between the ages 24 and 35 increasing from 86,000 to 665,000.² Many newly freed slaves were mobilized to take the Gospel to Africa and to black people throughout America, particularly in the South. Among those missionaries were black Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Pentecostals.

Between 1880 to 1883 the Baptist Foreign Mission Convention laid the foundations for future missionary endeavors and the movement for African missions gained momentum.³ From 1892 and 1900, the AME church planted a number of churches in South Africa. Similarly, “by the beginning of the 20th century, the AMEZ church had developed within its church a widespread interest in missionary expansion in Africa.⁴

African American missionaries also traveled to places such as Canada and the Caribbean islands.⁵ For example, the women’s missionary organizations such as the Woman’s Parent Mite Missionary Society in South Bend, Indiana began their mission work in places such as Haiti, Jamaica, and Sierra Leone in 1898.⁶ Missionaries like the reverend George Liele, a freed slave and missionary to Jamaica, and reverend Prince Williams, a freed slave from South Carolina and missionary to the Bahama Islands, both seized the opportunity to take the Gospel to the islands.

1 Vaughn J. Watson and Robert J. Stevens, eds., “African American Experience: In World Mission: A Call Beyond Community” (California: William Carey Library, 2002), 31.
2 Vaughn J. Watson and Robert J. Stevens, eds., “African American Experience: In World Mission: A Call Beyond Community” (California: William Carey Library, 2002), 56.
3 Ibid., 40.
4 Ibid., 35.
5 Ibid., 48.
6 Ibid., 32

Lawsuit Against David Platt’s McLean Bible Church Revived by Appellate Judge

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Dale Chamberlain

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June 19, 2023

David Platt McLean Bible Church — Pictured: David Platt preaching at McLean Bible Church (screengrab via YouTube / @McLean Bible Church)

A previously dismissed lawsuit against McLean Bible Church in Tysons Corner, Virginia, which is led by pastor and author David Platt, has been revived by an appellate judge who said in an opinion that “factual disputes” remain between the church’s current leadership and a group of disgruntled former members who allege that Platt and other church leaders violated the church’s constitution when appointing new elders.

The legal dispute began back in June 2021, shortly after a highly contested elder election, which needed to be conducted a second time after a failed attempt to confirm three new elders to the board.

According to Platt, an alleged whisper campaign conducted by a group of members within the congregation caused a number of church members to believe that Platt intended to sell the church’s property so that a Muslim mosque could be built in its place, among other allegations.

As a result, the three prospective elders that were set to be appointed by the church were voted down by the congregation for the first time in the church’s nearly 60-year history. Per the church’s constitution, three new prospective elders needed to be proposed to the church and a subsequent vote cast.

Between the two votes, Platt criticized the group allegedly spreading misinformation about him. Church leadership also became aware that inactive members of McLean Bible Church had allegedly been called upon to travel to the congregational meeting to scuttle the elder election. Thus, church leaders sought to restrict the subsequent vote to only active members, as defined by regular attendance.

After the second set of proposed elders was confirmed, a group of former members filed suit, alleging that Platt and the other elders had manipulated the vote to go in the church leaders’ favor by disallowing votes that would have otherwise been legitimately cast. The former members’ argument centered on the fact that active membership as defined by regular attendance was impossible to determine in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In May 2022, McLean Bible Church held another elder election that adhered to the demands of the lawsuit against them. As a result, the case was dismissed a month later.

However, in an opinion filed earlier this month, Judge Frank K. Friedman argued that even though the church amended its election processes, dismissing the case was an error as issues remain “regarding alleged ongoing member disenfranchisement.”

Friedman wrote, “We reverse the circuit court’s ruling that the entire case is moot. MBC bore the burden of establishing that appellants’ claims were moot. On this record, MBC’s evidence was insufficient to establish that the alleged ‘ongoing’ violations of MBC’s constitution failed to present a justiciable controversy.”

“We remand the case to permit the circuit court to address ongoing claims relating to disenfranchisement of members, transparency and notice, and the secret ballot dispute,” Friedman ruled.

Rick Boyer, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs in the case, celebrated the decision, telling WUSA9, “God through the Holy Spirit ought to be able to lead his people to vote their consciences and choose the direction of the church that way.”

Dwight McKissic and Rod Martin Are an Example of How Christians Can Strongly Disagree and Still Genuinely Love Each Other

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Jesse T. Jackson

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June 19, 2023

Dwight McKissic Rod Martin — L: Photo courtesy of Rod Martin; R: Screengrab via X (formerly Twitter) / @pastordmack

Social media, especially Twitter, can be a toxic place for conversations, specifically when it comes to people who have disagreements. Even pastors and church leaders often fall prey to this tendency.

Those who follow pastors on Twitter, especially Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) pastors, more than likely have seen the names Dwight McKissic and Rod Martin infiltrate their feeds in what would appear to be contentious disagreements—leading many to believe that these two dislike each other.

McKissic is the senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, and Martin is a former SBC Executive Committee officer and a co-founder of the Conservative Baptist Network.

Twitter disagreements between McKissic and Martin have have ranged from sexual abuse reform measures in the SBC to race-related issues. In the months leading up to this year’s SBC annual meeting, which took place last week (June 13-14), the two have sparred on the issue of women serving as pastors in the SBC.

In a tweet that has since gone viral, McKissic uploaded a photo while he was at the annual meeting.

“Recognizing this would be last time attending an SBC annual gathering,” he wrote, “my executive staff members who attended this meeting as messengers, thought we’d take a photo together, as we were departing the conversation floor after the vote to place [unbiblical] restrictions on women.

Martin expressed his sorrow toward McKissic’s announcement, writing, “Dwight, I’m very sorry to hear this. Christians don’t have to agree on every point to be brothers.”

“But you are correct that sometimes we have to agree on more than we do to be able to work together in certain ways,” Martin continued. “My prayers are with you, I wish you nothing but Gospel-centered success, and I will always be available to be helpful to you on the many, many things on which we do agree.”

Martin expressed his regrets for not being able to attend the SBC annual meeting, saying, “Very sorry to have missed you this year. But I’m recovering well from the surgery. Thank you for your prayers.”

Although McKissic and Martin don’t see eye to eye on every issue, especially when it comes to conversations on Twitter, McKissic made it clear that the he “genuinely” loves his brother in Christ.

“Often we saw things differently,” McKissic told Martin, “but I always believed you were sincere. You’re a warrior. But, you are also willing to reason and talk things out, whether agreement is reached or not.”

Bishops Begin Process That Could Ban Gender-Affirming Care in Catholic Hospitals

By

Jack Jenkins

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June 19, 2023

ORLANDO, Florida (RNS) — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted on Friday (June 16) to amend its directives for U.S. Catholic health care organizations, setting in motion a process that could bar Catholic hospitals and other church-affiliated institutions from providing gender-affirming treatment to transgender people.

The vote occurred during the USCCB’s spring meeting in Orlando. It passed via voice vote, with no audible dissenters or abstentions.

Technically, the procedural vote doesn’t specifically bar gender-affirming care but allows the USCCB’s Committee on Doctrine to begin the process of amending the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services—the “authoritative guidance on certain moral issues” for Catholic health care institutions.

Bishop Daniel Ernesto Flores of the Diocese of Brownsville, who chairs the USCCB’s doctrine committee, made the goal of the vote clear, however: In introducing the resolution, he said the doctrine committee desired to “incorporate” into health care directives arguments from a statement issued in March by the Committee on Doctrine discouraging Catholic health care groups from performing various gender-affirming medical procedures. Such procedures, it suggested, are “injurious” and do not respect the “intrinsic unity of body and soul.”

The statement, known as a doctrinal note, argued that while medical science should be used to “repair a defect in the body,” procedures that fall under the category of gender-affirming care are “not morally justified.”

During discussion before the vote on Friday, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of the Archdiocese of Newark urged fellow bishops to consult with transgender people in developing any new guidelines. Other prelates reminded their colleagues that Catholic hospitals serve a broad swath of populations, with Archbishop Paul Etienne of the Archdiocese of Seattle noting that 1 in 7 patients in the U.S. is served by Catholic hospitals.

At one point, Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, who also sits on the doctrine committee, said that “gender ideology” was “preying upon” transgender people.

Catholics for Choice, an activist group, was quick to condemn the vote.

“Amending the ERDs and rejecting gender-affirming healthcare, which nearly every mainstream medical and mental health organization recognizes as medically necessary, attacks the basic human rights of some of the most vulnerable and marginalized people in society—the very same people whose needs Jesus teaches us to put first,” Catholics for Choice President Jamie Manson said in a statement.

Manson also criticized the bishops’ earlier doctrinal note, calling it “outrageously transphobic.”

Christian Reformed Synod Orders Church to Rescind Deacon in Same-Sex Marriage

By

Grace Buller

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June 19, 2023

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (RNS) — The governing assembly of the Christian Reformed Church of North America, meeting in Grand Rapids this week, voted not to sustain the appeal of a church that petitioned to retain a deacon who is married to a person of the same sex, against the denomination’s doctrine.

The synod ordered the Neland Ave. Christian Reformed Church, which stands a few blocks from where church leaders are meeting, to immediately rescind the appointment of “any and all” officeholders in same-sex relationships.

The synod also voted to instruct all classes, as the CRCNA’s regional jurisdictions are called, to bring pastors, elders and deacons who publicly disagree with its stance on human sexuality into compliance.

The CRCNA, one of the oldest but smallest denominations in the Americas, with about 200,000 members across the United States and Canada, has navigated tensions over questions of sexuality since last year’s Synod 2022, when delegates voted to affirm the confessional status of its position that “homosexual sex” is sin.

Confessional status means that a position is considered part of the core beliefs of the CRCNA and that anyone holding office in the church is expected to uphold it.

Synod 2022 also ordered Neland Avenue to rescind its 2020 appointment of a deacon in a same-sex marriage. CRCNA General Secretary Zachary King was ordered to create an in loco committee to ensure Neland complied with the order.

It remains unclear from synodical proceedings, however, how the denomination will enforce this year’s decisions. In addition, the synod’s order is largely symbolic as Neland Avenue’s deacon has completed her three-year term and is no longer in office.

People attend the annual synod of the Christian Reformed Church at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Tuesday, June 13, 2023. Photo by Grace Buller

This year’s synod voted against the creation of a similar committee to ensure today’s decision is upheld. During discussion prior to the vote, Paul DeVries, chair of the previous committee, said that he recommended against creating a new one and that creating another committee would result in the removal of Neland.

“The previous in loco committee failed. We were not able to do what synod asked us to do,” said DeVries. “Another in loco committee will have no better success.”

The synod also voted to defer voting until Synod 2024 on decisions regarding the denomination’s gravamen process for expressing difficulties with an aspect of the church’s confessions.

‘Still Alive’: Pope Francis Leaves Hospital With Few Signs of Slowing Down

By

Claire Giangrave

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June 19, 2023

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — “Still alive,” Pope Francis reassured the world as he returned to the Vatican on Friday after a 10-day stay at the hospital following surgery to repair a hernia.

The pope will now resume his public schedule, beginning with his Sunday Angelus prayer overlooking St. Peter’s Square. The traditional Wednesday audience in the square next week, however, was cancelled “to safeguard the Holy Father’s post-surgery recovery,” the Vatican said in a statement.

Francis went to Il Gemelli Hospital in Rome on June 6 after doctors found a hernia related to an earlier abdominal surgery that had caused him severe recurring pain.

As many Catholics spent the days of the pope’s recovery concerned about the 86-year-old pontiff’s physical health, Francis continued to put the pieces in place for his succession.

While in the hospital, Francis named Bishop Josè Cobo to head the Archdiocese of Madrid in Spain, an important post that Spanish-speaking prelates around the world look to as a point of reference. Cobo is considered a supporter of Francis’ vision, and Vatican experts believe it won’t be long before he is made cardinal.

Francis has been intentional in his cardinal appointments, giving red hats to prelates who hail from a more diverse range of cultures and nationalities but who also reflect his plans for the future of the church. Francis has selected 63% of the cardinal electors who will vote at the next conclave. His successor will need 67% of the conclave’s votes to be named pope.

While actively shoring up his legacy, Francis has shown no signs that his health problems, which range from a balky knee to his recent abdominal pain, are slowing him down. He still plans to visit Portugal for World Youth Day in early August. September will find him visiting the Catholic community in Mongolia.

“The pope has confirmed all the trips,” said Dr. Sergio Alfrieri, who performed the pope’s surgery on June 7. “It will be easier for him to make them because he will no longer have the discomfort from the previous ailments. He will be a stronger pope,” he added.

In October, bishops from around the world, joined by first-time lay Catholics, will arrive at the Vatican for the opening of the Synod on Synodality. The Vatican summit is the culmination of a three-year global consultation of Catholics on issues ranging from how decisions are made to inclusivity in the church.

Francis has told journalists in interviews that he is open to the possibility of retiring if his health were to impair his ability to perform his papal ministry. But he has noted that he would not spend his retirement inside the Vatican as his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, has done. He would also choose the title of emeritus bishop instead of emeritus pope.

As he left the hospital, Francis passed a large white statue of Pope John Paul II, whose extended stays there during his long struggle with Parkinson’s disease earned Gemelli the sobriquet “Vatican II.” It was a reminder of the strains a pope’s health can put on the last years of his pontificate.

This article originally appeared here.

After Calendar Change, Many in Ukraine Are Looking Forward to a New Christmas

By

David I. Klein

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June 19, 2023

Christmas in Ukraine — Snow covers the city center and a Christmas tree with St. Sophia Cathedral, foreground, and St. Michael Cathedral, background, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Dec. 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

(RNS) — Nearly five years after the Orthodox Church of Ukraine was recognized as independent from the Russian Orthodox Church by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the OCU has further cemented its split from the Russian counterpart by adopting a new liturgical calendar.

“This is a decision that the majority of the faithful of our Church and the majority of Ukrainian society are waiting for from us,” the OCU said on its official Facebook page in late May, after its assembled bishops voted for the change. The decision still needs to be approved by the church’s ruling council in July, but it is expected to pass. The calendar shift is then slated to go into effect on Sept. 1 of this year.

The most palpable impact will be that millions of Ukrainians will celebrate Christmas with the Western world on Dec. 25, instead of the day two weeks later when Russian and other Eastern Orthodox churches, following the Julian calendar, mark Christ’s birth.

Westerners adopted the Gregorian calendar introduced by Pope Gregory XII in the 16th century.

Metropolitan Epiphanius, center right, and priests deliver an Orthodox Christmas service inside the nearly 1,000-year-old Pechersk Lavra Cathedral of Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. Hundreds of Ukrainians heard the Orthodox Christmas service in the Ukrainian language for the first time at Kyiv’s 1,000-year-old Lavra Cathedral on Orthodox Christmas Day, a demonstration of independence from the Russian Orthodox Church. (AP Photo/Roman Hrytsyna)

It’s not the first time an Orthodox church has shifted calendars; in fact, it’s almost exactly a century after a synod in Istanbul, known as the Council of Constantinople, voted for a similar change, which was adopted in 1924 by churches across Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Romania and elsewhere in the Balkans.

This time, however, the shift has a distinctly political character.

In its statement, the church described its decision to shift to using “the living Ukrainian language in worship instead of the traditional Slavic one” as a desire for the newly independent church to replace “centuries-old subordination.”

The “centuries-old subordination” refers to the 16th-century move to put Orthodox faithful in what is modern Ukraine under the purview of the Patriarchate of Moscow.

The church officially split from the Russian patriarch’s jurisdiction in 2019, when Bartholomew I, the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople — styled “the first amongst equals” among all Eastern church patriarchs and therefore the closest thing the Orthodox world has to a universally recognized authority — granted the church a “Tomos of Autocephaly,” or a decree of independence.

The decision was one of the most controversial in recent Orthodox history, and it put the Russian church, the largest in the Orthodox world, at odds with Constantinople, the church’s historical capital.

“In general Orthodoxy is divided in two big parts, represented by two leaders,” Metropolitan Yevstratiy, of the central Ukrainian city of Bila Tserkva, told Religion News Service in a recent interview. “One part, which is represented by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, is a contemporary type of Orthodoxy, which is open to the contemporary world and contemporary people, and has answers to real contemporary questions.”

Metropolitan Yevstratiy in Istanbul. Photo by David Ian Klein

Metropolitan Yevstratiy of Bila Tserkva, Ukraine, photographed in Istanbul. Photo by David Ian Klein

By contrast, said Yevstratiy, “Russia and specifically (Moscow Patriarch) Kiril Gundayev represent an attempt to reconstruct a medieval type of Orthodoxy, an Orthodoxy not contemporary but turned to the past, a part of Russia’s neo-Imperial project.”

4 Traits of Leaders Who Thrive in Developing Volunteers

By

Dan Reiland

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June 19, 2023

Why do some leaders seem to be more natural at developing volunteers while others struggle? The good news is that this is not a mystery, and the principles and skills can be learned.

Leading and developing volunteers isn’t as simple as “Do you want to be an usher?” It’s part of a spiritual process, a transforming process that moves a person from a predominantly natural worldview to a Kingdom mindset.

If we treat volunteers like a mere transaction, (we need you to fill this role,) rather than part of transforming a community, the end results will always be less than desired.

I’m not suggesting that any leader would treat volunteers poorly, isn’t appreciative or has the wrong motives. But issues of pace and pressure, (demands of ministry,) can cause us move more quickly than we are able to communicate our heart while building teams.

The following are three fundamental principles that help establish a strong foundation for leading and developing volunteers.

Our passion for building great people must be greater than our passion for building a great church.
People are not the means to an end in church ministry, they are the focus of our attention, and the purpose for which we serve.
Leaders and volunteers alike are human, the process is messy not perfect. Therefore, a measure of grace in both directions is essential.

4 Traits of Leaders Who Thrive in Developing Volunteers

1. They Demonstrate an Awareness and Understanding of Human nature in Contrast to Redeemed Nature.

Even the apostle Paul said about himself, “What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise” (The Message, see Romans 7:14-23).

This is true of all of us. And we’re aware of simple realities like the difference between those who sign up and those who show up. I’m obviously not suggesting that’s a sin, but it is human nature.

However, in order to avoid frustration and intentionally extend grace there are basic realities we need to understand.

Human nature does not naturally and consistently seek to serve others. Human nature tends to drift back to self and put self first.

I catch myself “drifting back” often, like in traffic or in line at a grocery store behind someone who is looking for their coupons. I can be far too impatient with others, and then I remember how patient God is with me.

There is good news.

4 Tools To Help Understand Your Church Data

By

Matt Engel

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June 19, 2023

According to the Barna organization only 35% of Americans attend church weekly. In the article Christian America is in Decline, authors, Anthony B. Pinn and Tom Krattenmaker explain, “One reason so many are opting out of religion, or never opting in to begin with, is that churches are addressing the wrong questions.” In short, members leave because they feel their church doesn’t provide enough spiritual engagement. Some want more opportunities to serve, while others look for ways to solve frustrations or doubts. Many even feel church is irrelevant, and list the struggle to connect as the primary reason they leave—or never get involved at all. It’s time to rethink the decline in church attendance, learn about data, and discover how you can use church data to reach your communities and retain congregants.

Churches that Adopt New Ways to Connect are Thriving

Not all churches are declining. Some churches are thriving as they discover new ways to meet the spiritual and communal needs of those in their congregations and communities. One of the newest ways churches can determine these needs is with church data.

Carl Kuhl, lead pastor of Mosaic Church writes in Outreach Magazine, “The typical church is not good at tracking data. We keep track of how big the offering is. We keep good track of attendance. But we honestly don’t use data well.” It’s understandable why many church leaders are skeptical about data. Measuring success in a spiritual environment can be tricky—especially when you’re working with various demographics and opinions. “However,” Khul shares, “what has happened is we have gone so far into the ‘numbers don’t matter’ realm that we don’t have enough helpful data.” This proves a need for a healthy balance and understanding of data usage in churches.

Patricia Lotich of Smart Church Management writes in her article, 7 Keys to Church Growth, “Church members are one of the key customer groups in a church. Understanding their unique needs and ensuring their needs are met—within the scope of the vision—is critical to church growth.”

Using church data is an accurate and efficient way to gain insights about your people and make confident decisions, but before we jump into the ways you can use data in your church, let’s take a minute to discuss how data became big data.

How Church Data Became Big Data

Google defines data as “facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis.” Similarly, Google defines big data as “extremely large data sets that may be analyzed to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behavior and interactions.”

Though the terms are relatively new, the idea of using data to guide decisions is not. In fact, data-informed decision-making dates back to ancient cultures. Ancient tribespeople tracked data by carving notches in bones or sticks, calculating trade activities, and determining how long their supplies would last.

In the 1660s, John Graunt collected mortality data and analyzed it to determine the frequency of various causes of death. He used that same data to refute the idea that the bubonic plague spreads by contagion. He even theorized an early warning system for the plague. Though mortality information had been collected for years, Graunt was the first to use the information to make connections to disease and population. The key here is that he used the data.

Today, analysts use data to predict heart disease or the spread of malaria and, of course, to track buying habits and encourage new purchases. But, just as John Graunt used data to draw conclusions to certain illnesses and disease, the data collected today does little good if it doesn’t drive action.

R.C. Sproul: God Is the Source

By

R.C. Sproul

-

June 18, 2023

During the nineteenth-century potato famine in Ireland, my great-grandfather, Charles Sproul, fled his native land to seek refuge in America. He left his thatched roof and mud floor cottage in a northern Ireland village and made his way barefoot to Dublin—to the wharf from which he sailed to New York. After registering as an immigrant at Ellis Island, he made his way west to Pittsburgh, where a large colony of Scots-Irish people had settled. They were drawn to that site by the industrial steel mills led by the Scot, Andrew Carnegie.

My great-grandfather died in Pittsburgh in 1910, but not until he instilled a profound love for the tradition and yore of Ireland in his sons and grandsons. Thirty years ago, one of my cousins made a pilgrimage to north Ireland to seek his roots in the town from which our great-grandfather came. As he inquired about the whereabouts of any Sprouls, he was told by an elderly gentleman that the last surviving member of our family had perished when he stumbled on his way home from the local pub in a profound state of inebriation. He fell into a canal and drowned.

This leaves us with the stereotype of the Irish as hard-drinking, two-fisted men, who consider bricks to be “Irish confetti.” This caricature of the Irish, however, obscures some very important dimensions of Irish history. In the eighth century, missionary settlers to Ireland were very important to the Christianization of the British Isles that had been inhabited largely by pagans and barbarians. The monasteries in Ireland were noted for their devotion to scholarship, for copying biblical texts, and especially for adorning the biblical texts with magnificent illuminations. Their passion for scholarship and art quickly spread to Great Britain where the codification of ancient law was established, which has made an impact even on our land to this day.

One of the most important scholars of this period was a man called Bede, known as the “Venerable.” He resided in England and is considered to be the first great European historian. The Irish also produced a masterpiece that combined scholarship and beauty in the famous Book of Kells.

But it was in the second part of the eighth century that the great impetus for a revival of scholarship took place. It was under the reign of Charles the Great (Charlemagne), crowned as the first holy Roman emperor, that a new revival of arts and sciences took place. This revival, called the “Carolingian Renaissance,” foreshadowed the great Renaissance that would sweep through Europe in the late Middle Ages, beginning chiefly with the work of the Medici patrons in Italy, which found its zenith in the labors of Lorenzo the Magnificent.

Since all truth is God’s truth, all aspects of scientific inquiry are to be within the province of biblical and Christian learning.

In the Holy Roman Empire of the eighth century, Charlemagne was determined to recover the best of classical and biblical learning. He became a patron of scholarship and appointed as his chief intellectual assistant Alcuin, who was from Great Britain. Charlemagne was one of the most illustrious members of the Carolingian dynasty that began with his father, Pepin the Short, and lasted until the tenth century. The Renaissance was a recovery of classical language and biblical truth. The later Renaissance at the time of the sixteenth century with its most famous personage, Erasmus of Rotterdam, found its motto in the words ad fontes, that is, “to the sources.” The motto declared the intent of the scholars of that day to return to the wellspring—“to the sources” of ancient philosophy, culture, and especially the biblical languages. So a renewed study of the Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, coupled with a zeal for the recovery of the biblical languages, spearheaded both the later Renaissance as well as the Carolingian Renaissance that came about under the leadership of Charlemagne.

5 Ways to Show Your Kids You’re in Love With Their Mother

By

Andrew Linder

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June 18, 2023

It has been rightly said that “one of the greatest gifts a father can give to his children is to love their mother.” I couldn’t agree more. The success of your children’s future marriages will in large part depend upon the example of yours.

So here are five practical ways to show your kids that you are madly in love with their mother:

Respect Her

…husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife… (I Peter 3:7)

Men, if we want our children to have great respect for their mother, we must start by having great respect for our wife. Find creative ways to honor your wife in front of your children. Speak highly of her, because your view of her will be reflected in your children.

Praise Her

Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. (Proverbs 31:28)

Learn to practice praising your wife…after a good meal, or…after a bad one. Praise her when she’s up; praise her when she’s down. Praise her in public; praise her in private. Believe me, your kids will notice and take note of how they are to treat both their mother and their future spouse someday.

Touch Her

Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice in the wife of thy youth. (Proverbs 5:18)

Physical touch speaks volumes to small watching eyes. Hold hands in the store. Put your arm around her while sitting in church. Kiss her when she brings dinner to the table. Hug her in the kitchen for no reason. Flirt with her in front of your children. Little eyes are paying close attention and taking mental notes for themselves someday. And although they may say, “that’s gross” what that really translates into is “that makes me feel loved and secure.”

Spoil Her

So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. (Ephesians 5:28)

God is very clear that once a man makes the marriage commitment, he is to care for and treat his wife as his own flesh. Men, this simply means that there is nothing that we should be doing for ourselves that we aren’t equally doing for our wives, and even more so. If anyone in the family gets the best, it ought to be Mom. If anyone in the family gets spoiled with the nicest things, it ought to be Mom. Our children need to see their mother as the queen of the family who is treated as such.

Prioritize Her

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it. (Ephesians 5:25)

Christ gave his Church utmost priority. And in doing so, he set the example for us as husbands to follow toward our wives. Show your children that you prioritize her by pursuing her, doing the dishes for her, spending time alone together, taking her out on dates, and allowing nothing less than respect for her in your home. Whatever you do, don’t ever apologize for letting your children know that mom comes first.

Can the Pastor Refuse To Do a Religious Task and Still Be a Servant?

By

Mike Leake

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June 17, 2023

A pipe busts in your house. You call the local plumber. He comes by, looks at the pipe, and bluntly says, “I’m not going to fix that for you. I don’t think you’ve properly cared for your pipes. And I’m not going to put another one in. That’ll be $80 for the house call.”

You’re pretty livid, right?

Plumbers fix pipes (usually for an exorbitant amount). You’re a plumber. Fix my pipes!!!

A dying man requests to receive the Lord’s Supper from a local Anglican clergyman. The pastor comes to his house, speaks to him for a bit, and rather uncomfortably informs the man that he cannot in good conscience administer the sacrament.

Isn’t this your job? How dare he refuse to give this solace to a dying man!?!?! Do your job!

That’s an actual historical situation, by the way. In 1765, John Newton (who had only been a curate for a year) was uneasy about administering the sacrament to Thomas Abbott. Abbott was a wealthy lace-maker and landowner and from what Newton says in his diary he “wants smoother doctrine than I can give him”.

We don’t know many more details but Newton refused to give him communion. Less than a week later, Mr. Abbott found another pastor to give him communion. The pastor was paid handsomely (for doing such a great job, I’m sure). As for Newton, he wrote in his diary that he was thankful to “the Lord that he enabled me to act according to my judgment and conscience in this business.” (Newton’s Diary, 1765, Oct 22)

What Would You Say You Do Here?

Now, the Book of Common Prayer does say that Newton had every right to refuse communion if he had good reason. In that regard Newton was not in any dereliction of duty. And more importantly, Scripture would be on his side. But this introduces an important discussion concerning the pastor’s duty. What does faithfulness look like?

We know that the work of a plumber can be important for human flourishing, as is also true of a pastor. None of this is to demean the work of a plumber or unduly elevate the work of the pastor. But it’s to acknowledge that it has a different shape, and when we fail to recognize this pastor and parishioner alike miss the mark.

Pastors aren’t being hired to do a service. In his book, Working the Angles, Eugene Peterson reflects upon the difference between the calling and “what people are asking me to do”. He reflects upon all of the things which he has done pastorally,

…solely because people asked me to do it and it didn’t seem at the time that it would do any harm and who knows it might do some good. Besides I think there is a pastor down the street who would do anything asked of him but whose theology was so wretched that he would probably do active harm in the process. My theology, at least, was evangelical and orthodox. (Eugene Peterson, Working the Angles, 13)

What is the job of the pastor? Do the directives come from the people or from another quarter? Some questions are easy to answer in theory, but more difficult in practice.

7 Creative Ways To Collect Offering at Church

By

David Jennings

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June 17, 2023

What would you do with $100,000? What would your kids do?

Baylor Bonham is a remarkable 11-year-old boy I read about this week. Despite his young age, this young man has a large heart. In 2011, he earned $27,000 at a national stock show. When asked what he was going to do with his winnings, Baylor said he was going to set some aside for college and give part of it to the children’s ministry at his church in Newcastle, Okla. His parents, who hadn’t told him what to say, were moved to tears by his willingness to give back.

In January of this year, Baylor’s hard work paid off again when another one of his steers earned him an astonishing $106,000 at the stock show. Once again, Baylor showed he had a heart for giving when he said he planned on tithing on his winnings to his church. In fact, his parents said he would give it all away if they let him.

What an amazing kid! To have giving back to his church be one of the first things that popped into Baylor’s mind after winning that much money tells me he is wise beyond his years. I think a lot of kids have giving hearts, and we should give them an opportunity to give not only their money but also their time and talents. Group’s Sunday school curriculum KidsOwn Worship gives kids a chance each week to give an offering to God. For those of you who give your kids a time for giving at your church, I want to share some creative ways to collect offering at church.

7 Creative Church Offering Ideas

Church Offering Idea

Say: One way to thank God for meeting our needs is to let him use us to meet the needs of others. We should look for ways to care for others as God cares for us. (Give each person a small envelope and a pencil.)

Ask: Why does God want to use us to meet needs? (Because we are Christians; because we are supposed to be a light to others.) How can we help meet the needs of others? (Give some of our things to charity; listen to a friend who is sad; share with others.) How does giving our offerings show God we’re thankful he meets our needs? (We are giving back to God; we are giving our extra money to help others.)

Say: On your envelope, list specific ways God has met your needs, or draw a picture of how God takes care of you. Then, if you brought an offering, place it in the envelope and seal it. As you put your envelopes in the bowl, thank God for meeting your needs.

Pass the offering bowl, and have children put their envelopes in it.

2. Church Offering Idea

Say: Today we’ve been talking about responding to God in worship. Our offering is also a way to worship God and to thank him. Second Corinthians 9:7 says, “God loves a cheerful giver.” Let’s give our offerings joyfully today. But before we bring our offerings, think of the one thing you love most about God. Praise God for that thing when the offering bowl comes to you.

Pass the offering bowls.

3. Church Offering Idea

Give each child a tissue. Have children tear the tissues into heart shapes. Tissues generally come in two-ply thicknesses. Have the children separate the layers of the tissues so they have a heart shape that’s only one ply thick.

Say: See how easily we can see through these hearts? The Bible tells us God sees inside our hearts. He knows what we’re thinking and feeling. He knows when we’re worshipping him with sincere hearts. And he knows when we’re just going through the motions. God has done so much for us, and he deserves our honest, sincere worship. As we take the offering this morning, talk to God. Think about promising God you’ll worship him with a sincere heart. If you’re ready, you can make that promise to God.

Take the offering. Have the children take their hearts home as reminders to worship God with sincere hearts.

4. Church Offering Idea

(This one is used with a lesson on the fruit of the spirit.)

Pass out small pieces of construction paper and pencils or markers to the kids.

Say: We’ve learned a lot today about God’s Spirit living in us. We learned when his Spirit lives in us, we become his children. We learned he wants us to grow to be like him. Think about the fruit of his Spirit that we talked about today. Which one do you need more of?

Take the paper I gave you and tear it into the shape of a fruit, such as a banana or an orange. Then write one word or draw a picture that represents what you want God’s Spirit to help you with. When the offering bowl comes to you, put your piece of fruit in the bowl along with money if you brought some. Ask God to help you grow this week in that area.

Give kids a few minutes to make their fruit. Then take the offering.

5. Church Offering Idea

Say: As Christians, we know everything we have really belongs to Jesus, our Lord. When we give a portion of what we have back to Jesus, we’re telling him we understand it all belongs to him. We’re telling him we’ll let him be in charge of what we do and how we spend what we have. Let’s give our gifts to Jesus. If you didn’t bring money for the offering, you can still tell Jesus he’s Lord of your life. When the offering bowl comes to you, you can pretend to put in your life as an offering to Jesus.

Take the offering.

6. Church Offering Idea

Hand each child a slip of paper and something to write with.

Say: Today as we take our offering, I want you to write the name of one person who has not been kind to you on your piece of paper. As the offering bowl comes by you, put the piece of paper in it, and ask God to help you love that person and treat him or her in a way that would honor God. Remember—as you show God’s love to that person, you are worshipping God in your everyday life. If you can’t think of a name to put on your paper, write the name of a friend who might need God’s help in a hard situation. If you have an offering today, put that in the bowl also.

Choose several children to help collect the offering. Encourage older children to assist younger children with the writing if necessary.

7. Church Offering Idea

Direct the children to sit in a circle on the floor.

Say: Let’s celebrate God’s love and care with a balloon offering! First we’re going to worship God by giving to him. God has given us so much. Let’s thank him with our gifts of money. Pass around the offering bowls.

Pray: Dear God, please accept these gifts. We know you can do all things, including taking away our fears. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pass around uninflated balloons, and have each child take one. Distribute permanent markers, and have the children carefully write their names on the balloons. Make sure older children help any younger children who need help writing their names.

Direct the children to blow up their balloons and hold on to the ends tightly. Have older children blow up balloons for younger children. Explain that, all together, children will thank God for releasing them from fear and will then release their balloons. Lead the children in thanking God for releasing them from fear, and let children release their balloons.

***

Many of these ask kids to make an offering of something besides money. That’s important. Some kids don’t have money to bring and shouldn’t feel left out and like they are not able to give to God. Give kids notecards and allow them to write down something they can give to God besides money, like volunteering their time or making a pledge to show love to someone who needs it. This way everyone can be involved, and kids learn that giving to God involves their whole life, not just their money.

Teen Marijuana Use: What Today’s Youth Leaders Need to Know

By

Stephanie Martin

-

June 16, 2023

Teen marijuana use has been on the rise for several reasons. Weed is now readily available and inexpensive. Plus, more than 20 states have legalized recreational marijuana for people age 21 and older. That also means teenagers and even preteens have more exposure and access to pot. One result is an increase in marijuana abuse and misuse among teens.

In fact, researchers found that cases of teen marijuana abuse increased 245% in 20 years. A recent study from Oregon Health & Science University reveals that while alcohol abuse has steadily declined among teens, cannabis abuse has soared. From January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2020, more than 338,000 cases of intentional marijuana misuse and abuse exposures occurred in children. More than four-fifths of those cases occurred in teenagers (ages 13 to 18).

The popularity and availability of edible marijuana products plays a key role. The study’s lead author, Dr. Adrienne Hughes, says, “These [marijuana] edible and vaping products are often marketed in ways that are attractive to young people, and they are considered more discrete and convenient.” The study’s findings, she adds, “highlight an ongoing concern about the impact of rapidly evolving cannabis legalization on this vulnerable population.”

Teen Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain

A spike in teen marijuana use and abuse has multiple consequences. Driving while high or impaired can lead to traffic accidents and fatalities. The potential for addiction exists as well. In fact, about one-third of marijuana users end up with “marijuana use disorder.”

Teen marijuana use can be the result of peer pressure, or desiring to fit in. Yet ironically it also can lead to problems with one’s social life and relationships. Plus, marijuana use negatively affects academic performance, which can ruin long-term educational plans. Weed also reduces coordination and hampers problem-solving and learning.

Church Journeys: Clear Communication Matters

By

Ed Stetzer

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June 16, 2023

Calvary Church in Westlake Village — Photo courtesy of Ed Stetzer

Now that I am (mostly) in Southern California, I’m getting to know some of the local churches in the area. One of them is pastored by my friend (and current DMin student) Shawn Thornton. It’s a church in a unique part of Los Angeles Country, in an area next to the more famous Malibu, but called Westlake Village.

Calvary Church in Westlake — Photo courtesy of Ed Stetzer

While I was there, I could see that the area is wealthy, like much of Southern California. Churches need to find ways to engage their community, but also challenge them not to be driven by wealth. One example of that might be the very message Shawn preached the week after I was there. It was about how God does not judge the outer appearance, but by the heart.

The church is engaged in its community and in global mission, reminding people that it is not all about us. I guess we all need that, but it is good to see a pastor speaking about such things.

The church is quite beautiful. It seats about the same number of people as Moody Church does, but it is designed in such a way that people feel close. It was a joy to preach there. The worship service was vibrant and encouraging.

Communication Is Key

As I often do, I made some observations about the church. Being at Calvary Church in Westlake Village inspired me to encourage you as you think about connecting with and communicating to those in your congregation and beyond.

It’s vital to maximize communication. George Bernard Shaw observed that the greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished. Churches are obviously in the communication business, because our mission is based on a message that we are called to communicate with one another and to proclaim to the world.

How often do you and your leadership team have discussions about connecting and communicating? One of the most glaring issues unearthed during the pandemic was how churches weren’t generally prepared to communicate outside the normal space of Sunday services and worship guides. Our digital age compels us—and allows us—to connect with people at a variety of levels through a number of tools.

There is still no replacement for being in the room to worship together. We all need the physical proximity of small group engagement. But we can amplify our community through technology.

Connection at Calvary Westlake

I loved how Calvary Church in Westlake Village made connection simple. Loretta Peña, who serves there as Adult Ministries Executive Director, walked us through the ways to connect. It was simple, so I clicked on the QR code, a common feature today. It took me to a simple webpage, and—this is key—Loretta walked through the key things that people could select. I’ve attached screenshots, but you can check it out yourself at calvarywestlake.org.

Service times on campus (with a virtual tour!) and online involvement are clear, as are links to sermons. The menu on the home page is very user-friendly. It’s easy to find key beliefs, core values, and the leadership team, things that are not always readily found on church websites.

Sean Feucht Responds to Announcement of Satanic ‘Let Us Burn’ Capitol Tour

By

Jesse T. Jackson

-

June 16, 2023

Sean Feucht — Screengrab via Instagram @seanfeucht

Lucien Greaves, cofounder and spokesperson for The Satanic Temple (TST), announced Tuesday (June 13) that his band, Satanic Planet, plans to mimic Sean Feucht’s “Kingdom to the Capitol” tour, a series of worship events visiting every state capitol in America.

According to its website, TST is the “only Satanic religious organization recognized as a church by the IRS and the Federal Court System” and claims the organization doesn’t believe in the “existence of Satan or the supernatural.”

Greaves wrote, “Special thanks to @seanfeucht and his state Capitol-wide ‘Let Us Worship‘ tour for paving the way for @satanicplanet’s ‘Let Us Burn‘ Capitol tour, coming soon.”

In a statement, Greaves said that his satanic, experimental, avant-industrial band is vowing to play at the same public venues that Feucht has played.

“According to law, the government must remain neutral regarding religious viewpoints when granting permission to parties seeking to take advantage of public accommodations,” the statement read. “For this reason, the fact that public representatives have allowed Feucht to perform openly Christian Nationalist events within state capitol buildings, leaves little in the way of a legal rationale whereby Satanic Planet might be denied.”

Satanic Planet has submitted a request to perform at the Indiana State Capitol on Aug. 12 and is raising money to begin its “Let Us Burn” Capitol tour. As of today, The Satanic Temple has only raised 13% of its $15,000 goal.

“We will not be able to sell tickets to the capitol grounds, we will surely draw protests, the stage and sound will likely be difficult, and the cost will not be insignificant,” Greaves said. “However, we can not stand by idly as theocratic extremists are given such an elevated public platform to spread their divisive message without reminding everybody that that stage is equally theirs as well.”

Greaves concluded by saying, “Feucht seeks to use the stage to announce a theocratic stranglehold over the United States government, and we seek to rectify that by re-establishing pluralism.”

If the request is denied to perform at the Indiana State Capitol, the money raised will be used to towards legally upholding what TST describes as “religious freedom.”

Feucht responded to Greaves’ announcement on Twitter, saying, “Imitation is the highest form of flattery. And Satan has never had creative ability. He only tries to pervert what has already been created. And guess what…it’s always weaker, a rip off and way more pathetic than the original 🤠.”

SBC Task Force Believes Database Helped Expose Sexual Abuser Before Its Launch

By

Jesse T. Jackson

-

June 16, 2023

ARITF — SBC's Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force (L-R) Mike Keahbone, Marshall Blalock, Rachael Denhollendar, and Dr. Heather Evans. Photo credit: Jesse T. Jackson

Earlier this week, nearly 19,000 people converged in New Orleans, Louisiana, over the course of two days for their annual meeting. 12,737 of those in attendance were representatives, called messengers, from Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) churches across the country—a considerable increase from last year’s annual meeting in Anaheim, California, which only reported 8,133 messengers.

During the meeting on Wednesday, which was led by SBC president Bart Barber (who is senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, Texas) the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force (ARITF) was given another year to carry out the mandates of SBC messengers in the regard to fighting sexual abuse within SBC churches.

An overwhelming majority of messengers raised their yellow ballots to recommit the denomination to the course of action set last year in Anaheim.

ARITF chairman Marshall Blalock and vice chairman Mike Keahbone, alongside task force advisors Rachael Denhollendar and Dr. Heather Evans, held a press conference after the chairman presented the task force’s report to the messengers.

“This was a historic day,” an emotional Blalock said during his opening remarks. “For many years, it was said that Southern Baptists couldn’t produce a database—couldn’t do what Southern Baptists have done today. So,” he paused, “today is an important day.”

Blalock commended those who have worked to get the denomination to the place it is today. “But no one has given what many survivors of sex abuse have given,” Blalock said, acknowledging the sexual abuse survivors in the room, who included Tiffany Thigpen and Jules Woodson.

“Our hearts are united to do all we can, by God’s grace [and] God’s mercy, to bless and to care, but also to act on behalf of survivors to keep this from happening again,” Blalock said.

Blalock stressed how complicated the role of the ARITF is because the SBC is a voluntary association of independent churches. “But today, what you saw was thousands of Baptist folks from around this country” affirm the work the task force and express their desire for it to continue. Blalock said, “Let’s keep going.”

The sbcabuseprevention.com website was designed to help churches respond to and prevent abuse by providing best practices.

The database is a work in progress and is currently populated with “dummy names,” Blalock informed. The reasoning for that is “because we are in the process of doing what Baptists expected us to do,” Blalock explained. “And that is to carefully vet every single name, including those names that were put on the website last year, who were apparently convictions in court.”

“We have to make sure, so we’re going back through now to make sure every name has been vetted carefully because we can’t afford to have a mistake on there,” Blalock said. “But they’re going on there.”

Closing Arguments in Brian Houston Case: A Cover-Up or ‘Reasonable Excuse’ Not To Report Dad’s Abuse?

By

Stephanie Martin

-

June 16, 2023

Closing Arguments in Brian Houston Case: A Cover-Up or ‘Reasonable Excuse’ Not To Report Dad’s Abuse? — Screenshot from YouTube / @JamesRiverChurch

In a Sydney courtroom this week, the Crown prosecutor and a defense attorney offered two contrasting versions of Brian Houston and how he handled knowledge of his father’s predatory behavior. During closing arguments, the two sides portrayed starkly different motives behind the actions of Houston, founder of the embattled Hillsong megachurch.

Houston, 69, has been on trial for allegedly failing to report sexual abuse by his now-deceased father, Frank Houston, from the 1970s. Brian Houston, who has pleaded not guilty, faces up to five years in prison if convicted. A judge will issue a ruling mid-August.

Prosecution: Brian Houston Covered Up Father’s Crimes

In closing arguments, Crown prosecutor Gareth Harrison portrayed Brian Houston as dishonest, controlling, and eager to “protect the reputation of the church and his father.” The entire Hillsong organization, Harrison said, maintained a culture of cover-up, and even when Houston did speak about his father’s abusive actions, he used vague terms such as “serious moral failure.”

Houston, Harrison added, intended to conceal “the true extent” of his father’s behavior rather than offer specific details. The prosecutor said people at Hillsong viewed Frank Houston with “entrenched reverence,” which “enforced a culture of silence.” As a result, Harrison said, Brian Houston was able to “control the narrative” and prevent people from reporting abuse to police.

Victim Brett Sengstock, now 61, went public with abuse accusations against Frank Houston on “60 Minutes Australia” in 2018. He claimed that Frank Houston raped him repeatedly between the ages of 7 and 12, later offering a cash settlement, but no apology. Sengstock said Brian Houston, while facilitating the settlement, told him he was at fault because he “tempted my father.”

Defense: Brian Houston Had ‘Reasonable Excuse’ of Protecting the Victim

Phillip Boulten, Houston’s attorney, called allegations of a cover-up “very unfair” and “so flimsy.” The defense case is based on the Australian legal concept of “reasonable excuse,” which allows some exceptions to reporting sexual abuse. One recently added exception is if the adult victim requests that the abuse not be reported.

During Boulten’s closing arguments, he said Sengstock insisted back in 1999 that Brian Houston not go public with details of the abuse. “There can be absolutely no doubt that [back then] Brett Sengstock did not wish a word of this to be published,” argued Boulten. “He was concerned that he might be portrayed as someone with inappropriate sexual attitudes.”

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