How Evangelical Christian Writer Jemar Tisby Became a Radioactive Symbol of ‘Wokeness’

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May 31, 2023

(RNS) — Over the past decade, Jemar Tisby’s life has largely been shaped by two forces: the Bible, and the deaths of young Black men, often at the hands of law enforcement.

About a decade ago, Tisby, then a seminary student in Jackson, Mississippi, helped start a new group called the Reformed African American Network — an offshoot of the “Young, Restless, and Reformed” movement that had spread like wildfire among evangelical Christians in the first decade of the 21st century.

The group hoped to write about racial reconciliation from the viewpoint of Reformed theology, the ideas most closely associated with the ideas of John Calvin and popularized at the time by preachers and authors such as John Piper. But amid this resurgence of Reformed thought, there were few resources to be had on race issues.

Then, in 2012 in Florida, Trayvon Martin, a Black teen, was killed by the neighborhood watch coordinator of a gated community. All of a sudden, people in the movement were listening.

At the time, Tisby said in an interview, he and others raised their hands and said they had something to offer. The mostly white leaders of the Reformed movement, he said, welcomed them. “I believed them,” he said. “I thought, we are here, they must want us here.”

Over the next few years, Tisby, a former pastor turned history professor, became a leading voice on race among evangelicals through his writing and as co-host of “Pass the Mic,” a popular podcast.

He wrote op-eds on race and faith for The Washington Post and published the bestselling “The Color of Compromise,” which details the long history of racism in American Christianity. “How to Fight Racism,” a 2021 follow-up, was named Faith and Culture Book of the Year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

But Tisby’s success has since collided with conservative concerns about “wokeness” — a byword that encapsulates liberal critiques of systemic racism, America’s racial history and other social justice themes.

In recent months two college English professors at Christian colleges — one in Florida, the other in Indiana—have been dismissed for allegedly talking too much about race in their classes. In both cases, critics pointed to the appearance of Tisby’s work on class syllabuses to claim the professors were undermining their students’ Christian faith.

“I’ve become, for the far right, a symbol of everything that’s wrong with how people who they call the left are approaching race,” Tisby told Religion News Service.

The “woke war” playing out in school boards, on college campuses and in church pews has been driven by activists like Christopher Rufo and by conservative evangelical authors and preachers who warn that wokeness and academic notions such as critical race theory are heresy.

Women of Welcome Looks to Evangelical Women To Change the Conversation on Immigration

By

Emily McFarlan Miller

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May 31, 2023

Bri Stensrud joins a group from Women of Welcome, which aims to teach community members about immigration through a biblical lens. Courtesy of Stensrud

(RNS) — Sarah Jackson remembers being pregnant with her second child in 2014 and hearing stories about “gangs of immigrants coming across the border and attacking ranches in New Mexico or something.”

Those stories made Jackson — who now has three children between the ages of 3 and 10, one of whom she and her husband adopted from foster care — feel fearful as a mom. But none of that seemed to fit with her evangelical faith, which she said taught her that Christians “are called to be wrung out for one another.”

Then she encountered Women of Welcome.

“What I learned really felt more in line with where my heart is with foster care, where I just feel like Christians are called to compassion and to do something,” she said.

Women of Welcome is a collaborative partnership between the National Immigration Forum and World Relief, one of six faith-based agencies contracted with the U.S. government to resettle refugees in the country, aiming to help evangelical women understand immigration and refugee resettlement from a biblical perspective.

As attention turns to the border with the end of Title 42 and with new policies restricting U.S. entry for asylum-seekers, the head of the organization says she believes those women are changing the conversation among evangelicals.

“This is why I am confident that this community of women is going to change the dynamic in the immigration space — I’m 100% sure of it — because of the women who are in our community and the growth that has happened with the women in the community,” said Bri Stensrud, director of Women of Welcome.

A group from Women of Welcome joins together for a conversation about immigration at the southern border of the United States. Courtesy of Stensrud

The organization was founded in 2017 after rhetoric around immigrants and refugees became “inflamed” and “dehumanizing” during former President Donald Trump’s first campaign for office, Stensrud said. Previous polling by Lifeway Research showed evangelicals’ views about immigration were being shaped more by the media than by the Bible, she pointed out.

Research also showed evangelical women were more supportive than their male counterparts of policies impacting immigrants and refugees, said Matthew Soerens, U.S. director of church mobilization for World Relief. Women also expressed more ambiguity — voicing concerns about security alongside values like hospitality and compassion, Soerens said.

Plus, said Jennie Murray, president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum, “It’s really clear that what’s very important in many evangelical communities, and the glue that often brings together really wonderful efforts, are the women that lead those efforts.” Many connect care for immigrants and refugees with their beliefs about protecting life or with support for children in foster care, Murray said.

Nobody was speaking to those women, according to Stensrud.

So Women of Welcome created a free Bible study looking at immigration through the story of Ruth and Naomi in the biblical Book of Ruth. To date, it has been downloaded more than 135,000 times, she said.

Mister Rogers Lego Prototype a Tribute to His ‘Deep Spiritual Resonance’

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Kathryn Post

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May 31, 2023

A preview look at the Lego set inspired by Mister Rogers. Lego Ideas, courtesy of Matt Smith

(RNS) — When Matt Smith introduced his toddler to television in 2022, he selected the show that brought him warmth and comfort when he was growing up in the 1990s: “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

Now, the long-running children’s show that once graced the screens of more than 3.5 million televisions a week could again become a household fixture, this time in the form of a Lego set.

Smith, a 31-year-old alumnus of Princeton Theological Seminary currently on sabbatical from his PhD program in American history, built a Mister Rogers Lego prototype that features Mister Rogers’ living room and kitchen on one side and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe on the other. The design includes exactly 1,968 pieces in honor of the show’s 1968 premiere, complete with a red trolley, fish tank, King Friday’s Castle and a green sweater hanging in a closet.

“Mister Rogers brings out the best in humanity,” said Smith, who told Religion News Service he hopes his design is a tribute to Roger’s cross-generational, nondenominational appeal. “He had a gift for meeting each person where they were and giving everything he had to them in their interaction.”

Matt Smith. Courtesy of Smith

During the pandemic, Smith turned to Legos as a safe, tactile creative outlet. After he introduced his 3-year-old to Mister Rogers, Smith’s wife suggested the idea of a Mister Rogers Lego design. Beginning in August 2022, Smith used Lego bricks from existing sets to design a physical prototype, watching episodes of the show in the background and using photos of the set for reference. He completed the design using Lego’s free digital design software, and after roughly 125 hours, Smith launched the prototype as a project idea on the Lego website on May 16.

“Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” which ran from 1968 until 2001, included 895 episodes hosted by Fred Rogers, who also created the show’s hundreds of original songs and 14 puppet characters. The show was groundbreaking both for taking children seriously and for tackling taboo topics, including divorce, death and war.

Smith’s design pays homage to the show’s bold approach by including the kiddie pool that Fred Rogers and officer François Clemmons soaked their feet in during a now-famous 1969 episode. The episode was shot during a time when racially integrated pools were controversial; it was only in December of that year that the Supreme Court ruled swimming pools couldn’t be segregated by race.

“It is undeniable that he contributed to the cultural conversation around race at pools,” said Smith. He added that while Rogers isn’t responsible for the Supreme Court decision, “I don’t think it’s an accident that seven months after the face of white, wholesome children’s television did this subversive act … that the Supreme Court ruled you cannot deny pool access based on race.”

Smith’s design includes other Easter eggs for the Mister Rogers mega-fans, including a blue-tipped paintbrush that nods to when the show’s living room set was repainted from brown to blue, as well as the show’s signature red trolley. Turning a small crank sends the trolley through the walls of the living room to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, which is on the reverse side of the Lego set.

The Power Is in the Message

By

Greg Stier

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May 31, 2023

I hear it again and again: So many Christians think they can’t share the Gospel until they’ve built a strong friendship with someone over time and “earned the right to be heard.” They’ve subconsciously bought Satan’s lie that the power to save is in the strength of their relationship with the person they’re seeking to reach.

It’s not.

The power is in the message, not the messenger. This is why the apostle Paul described the Gospel as “the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes….” (Romans 1:16).

Building a deep relationship with the unreached people we know is important. It creates opportunities to share the Gospel naturally along the way. But many Christians end up waiting and waiting for “just the right time” that never actually comes.

How To Naturally Bring up the Gospel

Of course, this doesn’t mean we should be pushy. But we should be intentional with every relationship and every conversation. We should look for that natural “fork in the road” in every conversation to turn it toward spiritual things. This could come by simply asking a question, such as: “Is there anything I can be praying for you about?” or “Do you happen to go to church anywhere?”

I’ve used questions like these to open countless Gospel conversations with friends and strangers alike. Some people start sharing their prayer requests or spiritual background right away. Others don’t. Either way, I want to try to take the Gospel conversation as far as it can go without unnecessarily turning that person off.

But it’s been my experience that most people are open to talking about God and their spiritual beliefs when approached in genuine kindness, authenticity, and humility. Of course, not everyone puts their faith in Jesus on the spot, but my goal is to, at the minimum, nudge them that much closer to faith in Christ.

You Won’t Know if You Don’t Try

I remember a speaker once lecturing me at a youth leader event, explaining to me how evangelism didn’t work in the current culture. A crowd gathered as he went on and on, telling me that people weren’t open to hearing about Jesus unless a long-term relationship had first been built and firmly established over time.

While I agreed that we must build relationships with people, I told him it’s weird to bring Jesus up later in the relationship, not early on—that it’s a bit disingenuous to do so. After all, you naturally talk about what you love. And if we truly love Jesus, we can’t help but talk about Him early on.

I also pushed back on his assertion that you can’t just talk about Christ to random strangers you may encounter in everyday life.

I pointed to Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Within a minute of meeting her, He had segued the conversation into a spiritual one. In a matter of minutes, she was on her way back to town to share her testimony with her fellow Samaritans.

As this speaker and I bantered back and forth, a crowd of youth leaders grew. They were locked into our conversation, because they had felt that same tension in their hearts when it came to evangelism.

Are “Christian” Songs that Don’t Glorify God False Worship Songs?

By

Ethan Renoe

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May 31, 2023

Are “Christian” songs that don’t glorify God false worship songs?

There is a strict dichotomy drawn between the art of most Christians in the public sphere and the art of non-believers. TobyMac makes Christian music, but Drake does not. Darren Wilson makes Christian movies, but Chad and Carey Hayes (screenwriters of The Conjuring) do not. When Five Iron Frenzy sang about the “Blue Comb,” was that a Christian song? Was it in the category of false worship songs? Or was it just a group of Christians singing a silly song?

Ever since an interview I read with Jon Foreman of Switchfoot, something has bugged me about this binary. Jon said, “I am a Christian and I make music. The music is not saved. It is not Christian.”

In other words, Jesus did not come and die to save songs. He did not suffer in order to bring Oceans 11 out of the flames of hell. “Christian” is a noun, not a verb.

It refers to a person who has put their faith in the man Jesus of Nazareth. Acts 11 points out that the word was first employed in Antioch, and it was an insult more than a descriptor. The accusers said of the Christians, you just want to be like your master, Jesus Christ. You are Little Christs. And the term was born.

Are “Christian” Songs that Don’t Glorify God False Worship Songs?

For the first 300 years of her existence, Christianity suffered brutally at the hands of the Roman Empire until 313, when Constantine declared Christianity legal. Soon after, the persecution let up and the empire converted to Christianity. You may have heard of a little thing called The Holy Roman Empire. This was a marriage of religion and politics, from which the Western church has never fully recovered. We see signs of its recession now, but we are very much still in the paradigm of Christendom. Christendom is a fancy word for a “Christian culture.” It accurately describes things like the Bible Belt, and the fact that politicians still appeal to Christian values when making speeches. Christianity is not persecuted in the west because of what Constantine did 1700 years ago, and we are only now beginning to see signs of its fading.

When Christianity became widely accepted across western culture and Christendom became the predominant form of belief and action, this made room for “Christian things” to emerge.

For instance, in the 13th century during the fourth crusade, there are stories of western marauders breaking into eastern churches and stealing holy artifacts and relics. Were these things actually ‘holy’ and did they contain special power from the divine? Perhaps, but probably not. They were merely “Christian things.” They were elevated to a position of holding some sort of essence borne of man’s perception more than divine origin.

And we fall into the same traps today.

I catch myself creating this false dichotomy between Christian things and secular things; holy spaces and unholy spaces. How many times have you heard someone crack a dirty joke only to have someone else say “Dude! You can’t say that in a church! Not in here!”

It’s a Christian space.

5 Times When It’s Difficult to Lead

By

Ron Edmondson

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May 31, 2023

Sometimes change is more difficult to lead than other times. This is where leadership is tested most, tensions mount and people are more likely to object. In my experience, if a leader knows these times it helps prepare to approach the change.

Change is necessary. While change may produce conflict, without change there will also be conflict. When people sit still – when growth stalls – people complain. A very seasoned leader friend of mine says, “Two things I guarantee. People are going to complain about change. And, people are going to complain if things remain the same.”

Therefore, since change is necessary and inevitable, understanding these scenarios – before we attempt change – may help us lead change better.

5 Times Change is Difficult to Lead:

1. When there hasn’t been any change in a very long time.

Change becomes more comfortable when it occurs regularly. When nothing has changed for a period of time, people feel even more uncomfortable and are likely to resist more.

Leaders in this scenario should make smaller changes to get small wins to hopefully spur hunger for more change – or at least stretch the comfort level for change again. Ease into it.

2. When there isn’t a culture for change.

Sometimes people are conditioned against change. Imagine a work environment where everyone wears the same colored pants and shirt every day – maybe black pants and white shirt uniforms. Remember IBM? I was raised to believe they had “uniforms” of black suits and white shirts. Since then I’ve read that they never had a policy of a strict dress code. It just sprang up as culture. I also read that changing the IBM culture took years.

Now obviously that was more of a style culture than a change culture, but when any culture is sameness leaders often have to address culture before they address change.

Lauren Daigle Says Her Song ‘Rescue’ Was Inspired by a Vision; Years Later, She Met the Person It Was About

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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May 30, 2023

Two-time Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum artist Lauren Daigle told thousands K-Love fans Saturday (May 27) that “God will literally do the most amazing things through music and through songs.”

During the “Songwriters Showcase” at the K-Love Fan Awards weekend experience in Nashville, Tennessee, Daigle joined Steven Curtis Chapman, Bart Millard, Anne Wilson, Matthew West, and Michael Cochren onstage to share the stories behind some of their songs.

Each artist performed three songs. Daigle chose to sing “Rescue” from her 2018 critically-acclaimed album “Look Up Child.”

“God will do something amazing with songs,” Daigle said. “I got this picture of this girl that I didn’t know—hadn’t met her—but it was a very clear, clear vision of someone that was experiencing drug addiction.”

Saying that the whole story was laid out before her, Daigle reiterated, “I didn’t know this person.”

Years later, a woman approached Daigle and shared, “I ended up going through rehab, and I used your song ‘Rescue’ to carrying me through.”

“I remember seeing this person and thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, she doesn’t even know that this is exactly how the song was written,’” Daigle said, explaining that God gave her the story of this woman, whom she didn’t know, in order to impact her life for his glory.

“Rescue” was Daigle’s third single from the album and talks about how God will send an army to find his hurting and lost child.

Some of the lyrics are as follows:

I hear you whisper underneath your breath. I hear your SOS, your SOS. I will send out an army to find you. In the middle of the darkest night, I will never stop marching to reach you. In the middle of the hardest fight, it’s true, I will rescue you.

Daigle is up for multiple K-Love Fan Awards. Tune in Friday, June 2, on TBN to watch her perform and see who wins.

Rick Warren Argues That Infighting, ‘Contempt Toward Women’ Are To Blame for SBC’s Decline

By

Stephanie Martin

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May 30, 2023

Rick Warren, who recently explained why Saddleback Church is challenging its recent removal from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), posted a video about “The SBC at the Crossroads.” In the first of what he says will be several videos, Saddleback’s founder and former lead pastor addressed the denomination’s continuing decline and the reasons behind it. Warren also referenced his deep Southern Baptist roots and his love for its people.

The pastor said revitalization begins with personal renewal and “falling in love with Jesus all over again.” Instead of “arguing and debating and getting distracted by secondary issues,” Warren said, Southern Baptists must care about what God cares about: “He wants his lost children found.”

Rick Warren on the SBC’s ‘Devastating, Historic Loss’

In the 38-minute video posted on May 25, Warren expressed sadness and grief about the recent news that the SBC decreased by almost half a million members in one year. “That is a devastating, historic loss,” he said, “and nobody’s talking about it. It’s the largest single decline in the past 100 years of Southern Baptist history…and should be the number-one topic of discussion at the New Orleans convention,” he said, referencing the denomination’s upcoming Annual Meeting (June 11-12).

If that rate of loss continues, Warren warned, “there will be no Southern Baptists left in just 27 years.” Because of the rapid decline, he added, the SBC is the same size as it was in 1979, when infighting made national headlines. “Today we’re losing more churches than we start, and over 10,000 churches in our convention baptized no one last year,” Warren said, adding that the rate of church planting also has declined.

Ignoring or minimizing the decline won’t work, Warren said. The loss of SBC members and resources isn’t a temporary blip, anomaly, or glitch, he added, but reason for concern—and the reason he decided to post videos.

Pastors Are Asking, ‘What Happened to My Denomination?’

During the pandemic, as Warren tried to persuade discouraged pastors from resigning, he said he heard a familiar theme: “What in the world has happened to my denomination? It used to be fun to go to convention; now it’s angry factions led by prideful leaders fighting each other. What’s the fun in that? What is causing all this decline?”

Saddleback, the SBC, and the Truth about Egalitarians

By

Todd Korpi

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May 30, 2023

Saddleback Egalitarian — FILE - Pastor Rick Warren speaks during the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, June 14, 2022. On Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, the Southern Baptist Convention ousted its second-largest congregation — Saddleback Church, the renowned California megachurch founded by Warren — for having a woman pastor. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

In a recent exclusive with ChurchLeaders, Rick Warren offered five reasons for challenging the ruling of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention to oust Saddleback Church. Over the last couple years Saddleback has made several shifts in its approach to empowering women including ordaining three women in 2021, giving them each the title of pastor, installing Stacie Wood as teaching pastor, and announcing Katie Edwards as the campus pastor of Saddleback’s Lake Forest campus.

I am an egalitarian and a Pentecostal, and therefore an outsider to the SBC. The SBC is not my house, but we do live in the same evangelical neighborhood together. It’s quite a lively few months living next door to the SBC house ahead of its annual convention every year. Whatever issues and hot topics will be addressed at the convention itself annually circulate the news and in the Baptist corners of Twitter.

While this year’s SBC gathering will certainly center in no small part around Saddleback and while I can respect Warren’s decision to challenge the EC’s decision and to reinstate Saddleback, I would be remiss if I did not propose an alternative:

Join an egalitarian denomination instead.

I recognize that too many SBC brothers and sisters, calling for Saddleback and for Warren to join an egalitarian denomination is akin to Emperor Palpatine attempting to convince Anakin Skywalker to join the dark side of the force in Star Wars. But allow me to dispel improper assumptions with four key truths about egalitarians, inspired by the reasons Warren is challenging the EC’s ruling.

1. Egalitarians Love the Gospel.

Warren stated that “We cannot finish the task Jesus gave us, with 50% of the church forced to sit on the bench.” Egalitarians agree, which is why we don’t bench women. The Great Commission requires us all. It is precisely because egalitarians believe that the Spirit has been poured out on both our sons and daughters to proclaim the truth of the gospel, in fulfillment of Joel chapter 2.

There is no doubt that the Pentecostal empowerment of women has contributed to its exponential growth—from less than a million in 1900 to 650 million globally today.¹ Like our Baptist neighbors, we have a long history of prominent women who have done just that. For every Lottie Moon there has been an Aimee Semple McPherson, for every Annie Armstrong an Agnez Ozman. In my new book, Your Daughters Shall Prophesy: Amplifying the Voice and Place of Christian Women, I say this:

When we place barriers in front of women walking out their calling, when we discourage them, when we put them in a corner, we inhibit their participation in the missio Dei. We become stumbling blocks instead of steppingstones. When we discourage women from seeking theological education, when we limit the places and times and audiences in which they can speak…we pump the brakes on the steady advance of the gospel message. It is not enough for men to be proclaimers of the gospel because the truth of the gospel is not male by design. It is, for all who call upon the name of the Lord (Joel 2:32), male and female alike. If its truth be for both male and female, so must its proclamation be.²

It is because egalitarians love the gospel that we empower women in ministry.

2. Egalitarians Have a Big Tent.

While complementarianism is in the decline, egalitarianism is growing and is exceedingly diverse. There is a smörgåsbord of egalitarian denominations to choose from, each just as great as the last and each who permit women to flourish in the call that God has placed on their lives. The Wesleyan Church, the Church of the Nazarene, and the Free Methodists are just a couple of examples. If one wants to add a little spice to ecclesial life, then join us Pentecostals, including the Foursquare, the Church of God, and the Assemblies of God. Saddleback would undoubtedly find open arms awaiting them.

¹ Bryant L. Myers, Engaging Globalization: The Poor, Christian Mission, and Our Hyperconnected World, Mission in Global Community (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2017), 198–99.
² Todd Korpi, Your Daughters Shall Prophesy: Amplifying the Voice and Place of Christian Women (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2023), 122.

Megan Danielle Shoots Down Allegations that ‘American Idol’ was ‘Rigged’—‘God Made All of This Happen for a Reason’

By

Janna Firestone

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May 30, 2023

As a contestant on “American Idol,” Megan Danielle won over the hearts of millions around the country. She has often spoken about her dedication to Jesus Christ.

Even judge Luke Bryan called out her boldness in sharing her faith. “What I love about you—I mean, we’re way beyond loving your voice—is you’re never scared to tell everybody about your faith,” said Bryan.

As with previous seasons, each episode includes performances from each of the contestants. Viewers and fans are able to vote for their favorite via the show’s website, “American Idol” app, or using text.

Iam Tongi, from Hawaii, won this season’s “American Idol.” While Danielle won second place, her fans are calling the competition “rigged.”

Megan Danielle Addresses Allegations of a Rigged Competition

In a recent interview with New York Post, Danielle opened up about her “American Idol” experience and the most recent accusations from her loyal fans that the competition was “rigged.”

“I would say that it isn’t [rigged] just because, you know, I feel like God made all of this happen for a reason,” Danielle said. “Even if I was first, second, last, whatever … I feel like any of us really deserved it.”

Further, the worship artist from Georgia recently posted on Facebook, saying, “Just wanted to come on and say THANK YOU ALL!”

Danielle continued, “I couldn’t be more proud of myself for how far I’ve come! From being a little girl who never believed in herself to now knowing I can be the ONE PERSON to touch lives and share the love of Jesus. What a blessing 🙌🏻.”

She didn’t stop there. Danielle had to give another shout out to the winner of the completion, adding, “Iam Tongi deserved every bit of this!”

Megan Danielle Said She Was ‘Super Proud’ of American Idol Winner, Iam Tongi

Among the rising stars on “American Idol,” Iam Tongi continued to belt out riveting performances week after week. After Tongi was announced as the top winner of the completion, fans across the country shared their opinions.

Nevertheless, some fans thought that Tongi received “sympathy votes” after recently losing his father. However, Danielle continued to sing praises for Tongi, both for his ability and his heart. She said, “I feel like Iam was deserving, and he’s so humble and so talented.”

Danielle continued, “And this was his time, and I’m just super proud of him.”

As part of the show’s finale, Tongi teamed up with James Blunt to sing “Monsters.” Tongi continued to wipe his eyes throughout the emotional performance.

“It is amazing how many times this video is STILL playing, and none of us are getting tired of it,” one person posted. “I think many of us have ‘Iam Tongi Fever!’ He is a gift so many of us love and moreover, been missing! No doubt he is going to be around for a long time! GO IAM!”

Another shared how this performance hits close to home. “Lost my dad in 1988, this song gets me every time. No matter how many times I hear it. Iam’s sweet soul, pure emotion and angelic voice is why I am so happy he won!! God bless him & family.”

Clayton Kershaw Won’t Boycott Dodgers LGBTQ+ Pride Night, Announces Christian Faith Day Instead

By

Dale Chamberlain

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May 30, 2023

Clayton Kershaw Christian Faith Night — Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw looks out of the dugout during the first inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays Friday, May 26, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

As controversy continues to swirl around the religious overtones of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night, star pitcher and outspoken Christian Clayton Kershaw has stepped into the fray to voice his disapproval and announce the return of a separate celebration in which the team will honor the Christian faith.

The Dodgers’ Pride Night, which is set to take place on June 16, will honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group that satirically refers to itself as “a leading-edge Order of queer and trans nuns.” The decision to host the group has been sharply criticized by conservatives—particularly Catholic faith leaders who feel the group mocks their deeply held beliefs and traditions.

Members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence regularly dress as nuns in drag at demonstrations and community events. On Easter, the group hosted a “Hunky Jesus Contest,” which featured sparsely dressed contestants, including a pro-choice Mary of Nazareth.

After receiving pushback from conservatives and faith leaders, the Dodgers announced on May 17 that they had rescinded their invitation to the group. However, after a subsequent wave of backlash from LGBTQ+ advocates, the Dodgers announced on Monday, May 22, that they would rescind the rescission, offering apologies to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and reinviting them to the event.

Four days later on Friday, May 25, Kershaw announced that the team would host Christian Faith and Family Day in July.

“Excited to announce the relaunch of Christian Faith and Family Day at Dodger Stadium on July 30th,” Kershaw tweeted. “More details to come—but we are grateful for the opportunity to talk about Jesus and determined to make it bigger and better than it was before COVID. Hope to see you on July 30th!”

The Dodgers organization retweeted Kershaw’s announcement, adding, “Join us at Dodger Stadium on 7/30 for Christian Faith and Family Day. Stay after the game to celebrate and be part of a day of worship. Stay tuned for more details.”

The event is being revived after the COVID-19 pandemic forced a three-year hiatus.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Kershaw revealed that his announcement of Christian Faith and Family Day was a direct response to the team’s decision to invite, and then re-invite, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to LGBTQ+ Pride Night.

“I think we were always going to do Christian Faith Day this year, but I think the timing of our announcement was sped up,” Kershaw told the Los Angeles Times. “Picking a date and doing those different things was part of it as well. Yes, it was in response to the highlighting of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence [by the Dodgers].”

Chair of NC Baptist Children’s Homes Resigns After Arrest for Animal Cruelty

By

Yonat Shimron

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May 30, 2023

Chair-of-NC-Baptist-Children-s-Homes-resigns-after-arrest-for-animal — Agnes and James Goldston. Photos courtesy Wake County Sheriff

(RNS) — Southern Baptists have been dogged by leadership scandals for years.

Now they have a different kind of abuse scandal on their hands.

A Baptist leader in North Carolina resigned this week after he and his wife were charged earlier this month with three counts of felony animal cruelty and a misdemeanor offense of communicating threats.

James David “Jim” Goldston III, 71, and his wife, Agnes, 73, are accused of poisoning their neighbor’s three dogs. Two of the dogs, Labrador retrievers, died. A veterinarian confirmed that all three dogs were poisoned, according to the Wake County Sheriff’s Office.

Goldston had been chairman of the board of trustees for the Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina, a well-known faith-based nonprofit. He was also a board member of an animal rescue organization.

The Goldstons are also accused of threatening their neighbor. A handwritten letter tossed into their neighbor’s yard read “Your Daughter is Next. B Careful,” arrest warrants obtained by The News & Observer newspaper showed.

Goldston had served on and off the board of the Baptist Children’s Home of North Carolina since 1990, a spokesperson for the Baptist State Convention said. He resigned as chair on May 21.

In a statement, Goldston said that he and his wife had been falsely accused.

“After more than 35 years of involvement with Baptist Children’s Homes of NC, and personally investing and helping raise millions of dollars to further this great ministry, I sadly hereby resign as a BCH Trustee,” Goldston wrote in a statement to the Biblical Recorder, the Baptist State Convention media site. “My wife and I have been falsely accused of some horrible acts and I do not want this to be a distraction or hindrance to the work done on behalf of BCH as the truth plays out within the justice system.”

The Christian children’s home, which is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, operates group homes for children as well as a foster and adoption ministry.

The Goldstons attended Bay Leaf Baptist Church in Raleigh. The couple runs a family foundation that contributed $40,000 in 2019 to various Baptist churches, as well as Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The foundation’s biggest charitable gift — $10,000 — was to Saving Grace Animals for Adoption in Wake Forest, North Carolina. The Goldston’s daughter, Molly, is the founder and owner of Saving Grace.

James Goldston also served on the animal rescue’s board since at least 2017 but has since resigned, The News & Observer reported.

The Goldstons each posted a $30,000 bond.

The couple was allegedly having a dispute with their neighbor, Philip Ridley, according to local news reporters. One of those letters, shared with WRAL News, read, “If one or both of these dogs put their paws on my property I am going to blow their brains out.”

This article originally appeared here.

Catholic Church in California Grapples With More Than 3,000 Lawsuits, Alleging Child Sex Abuse

By

Alejandra Molina

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May 30, 2023

Roman Catholic lawsuits — FILE - This Jan. 21, 2013 file photo shows the entrance to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, the headquarters for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. California Roman Catholic bishops are asking a judge to throw out a 2019 law that allowed alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse to sue even if they were molested decades ago. Motions filed this month in southern and northern superior courts ask judges to rule Assembly Bill 2018 unconstitutional. California is one of several states that have repeatedly extended the window for people to sue institutions over long-ago abuse, leading to thousands of new cases. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

(RNS) — At least a third of the 12 Roman Catholic dioceses in California have either filed for bankruptcy or are contemplating doing so to deal with an influx of lawsuits filed by survivors of childhood sexual abuse after a state law opened a three-year window in which cases were exempted from age limits.

More than 3,000 lawsuits have been filed against the Catholic Church in California under a 2019 state law that allowed alleged victims to sue up to the age of 40.

Advocates have been stunned by the number of cases that surfaced during the window, which closed at the end of December.

The Diocese of Santa Rosa, which is facing more than 200 lawsuits, filed for bankruptcy in mid-March. In its bankruptcy petition, it claimed assets valued between $10 million and $50 million. It estimated its liabilities in the same dollar range.

The Diocese of Oakland, grappling with about 330 sexual abuse lawsuits, filed for bankruptcy in early May. It claimed assets valued between $100 million and $500 million with estimated liabilities in the same dollar range, according to its bankruptcy petition.

Oakland Bishop Michael C. Barber, in a letter, said, “worship sites” will close, and the diocese will have to “re-imagine” how other locations are used.

“I ask for your commitment to work with me and our pastors in the upcoming months as we determine how best to address the outcome of the bankruptcy process and how to ‘right-size’ our parishes to serve the faithful and all who come to us seeking Christ’s tender love,” Barber said.

The Diocese of San Diego made the decision earlier this month to file for bankruptcy sometime this fall, said Kevin Eckery, spokesman for the diocese.

Cardinal Robert McElroy, bishop of the Diocese of San Diego, announced in early February the possibility of bankruptcy as the diocese faces “staggering” legal costs in dealing with some 400 lawsuits alleging priests and others sexually abused children. Most of the alleged abuse cited in the suits took place 50 to 75 years ago, and the earliest claim dates back to 1945.

FILE – Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland Bishop Michael Barber, center, listens to a presentation alongside fellow bishops at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual fall meeting in Baltimore, Nov. 12, 2013. On Monday, May 8, 2023, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland filed for bankruptcy due to hundreds of new child sex abuse claims, becoming the second diocese in California to do so. The San Francisco Bay Area diocese faces more than 330 lawsuits brought under a California law allowing claims that would have otherwise expired, Barber said in a letter posted to the diocese’s website. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Most of the diocese’s assets, McElroy said in a letter, were used to settle previous allegations, ending in a $198 million payout in 2007. Eckery has predicted the cost of settling the outstanding cases against the diocese could amount to $550 million.

The dioceses in Stockton, Fresno and San Jose did not answer a query from Religion News Service to learn of their plans to deal with the lawsuits. The Diocese of Orange said it had not yet finalized the number of pending lawsuits and that it was not considering bankruptcy. Deacon David Ford with the Diocese of Monterey said the diocese prefers “not to make a statement right now,” regarding any potential plans for bankruptcy.

Bishop Jaime Soto, in a statement in late February, said bankruptcy could be an option for the Diocese of Sacramento as it grapples with more than 200 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Spiritual-Warrior Style a Bid for Support From Like-Minded Pastors

By

Jack Jenkins

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May 30, 2023

(RNS) — On Monday (May 22), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis strode onstage in Orlando and stood before a podium, silhouetted against a giant American flag. The crowd, attendees at a gathering of the National Religious Broadcasters, a Christian group, leapt to their feet. Some applauded, while others held up cell phones to record the moment.

DeSantis began with a line he uses often — “Welcome to the free state of Florida!” — before launching into a stump speech recounting his proudest accomplishments as governor, such as removing books from public libraries and “waging a war on woke.” In a nod to his audience, he sprinkled his remarks with religious references, lauding churches that refused to close during the pandemic and encouraging listeners to “put on the full armor of God.”

As he closed, DeSantis gripped the podium and leaned forward.

“We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished in Florida, but I can tell you this: I have only begun to fight,” he said.

Technically, it wasn’t a presidential campaign announcement — that would happen two days later, when DeSantis joined Elon Musk for a glitch-ridden appearance on Twitter Spaces. But it was telling that DeSantis, who is Catholic, chose to speak to a largely evangelical Christian audience the same week he launched his White House bid. With growing uncertainty surrounding evangelical support for former President Donald Trump, DeSantis is courting one of the Republican Party’s most sought-after constituencies using a message that frames himself as a sort of spiritual warrior — a move that may attract faith leaders who traffic in similar rhetoric.

DeSantis beta-tested this approach in November, when the governor’s wife, Casey, tweeted out an advertisement that framed him as a “fighter.” The ad featured images of DeSantis and his family while a narrator — who, observers noted, had the feel of a mid-20th-century Protestant preacher — declared: “On the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a protector.’ So God made a fighter.”

Nothing similar has been produced by DeSantis’ fledgling presidential campaign, which, only a few days old, does not appear to have launched a robust faith outreach effort as of yet. His team also has not assembled a list of religious advisers or endorsers, nor is there a sizable outside effort to drum up support among conservative Christians, such as the “Pastors for Trump” group that formed around the same time the former president announced his 2024 bid.

But as the primary season begins in earnest, DeSantis may lean on an emerging group of culture-warrior religious leaders and influencers who, while not yet endorsing him, have shown affinity for his approach to politics in the past.

Among the governor’s more vocal religious fans is Tom Ascol, a firebrand, media-savvy figure known for leading a conservative wing of the Southern Baptist Convention. In November, Ascol tweeted out footage of himself leading a prayer at a DeSantis event alongside the caption “God has blessed the state of Florida by placing him in this office as His servant for our good.”

Ascol, who pastors a church in Florida, later wrote about the prayer on his blog. He again heaped praise on DeSantis, saying he stands “against the woke crowd and the intimidation and overreach of various federal officials over the last 4 years.” He publicly lauded DeSantis again in February, tweeting out a video of him standing in front of a podium with a placard that read “Government of laws, not woke politics.”

“We need more governmental leaders like” the Florida governor, Ascol tweeted.

The two men share a similar disdain for what they deem to be “woke.” Ascol, head of Founders Ministries, has pushed back on what he sees as liberal ideologies in the SBC, and when he launched an unsuccessful bid to become the denomination’s president last year, his supporters issued a statement in which they declared “God is not Woke.”

2 Mistakes Christians Make During LGBTQ+ Pride Month

By

Dale Chamberlain

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May 30, 2023

Pride Month Mistakes — Photo by Carlos de Toro (via Unsplash)

June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month, and every year seems to turn into more of a spectacle than the last. With seemingly every major corporation changing their social media favicons to a version of their logo with rainbow colors and releasing statements about their commitment to equity, no one wants to be seen as retrograde.

That is, except for those who actually are retrograde.

As someone who holds to a traditional view of sexual ethics and runs in circles with people with similar theological positions, I’ve noticed an unsettling uptick in vitriol and harmful language against the LGBTQ+ community this time of year, along with an ample about of fear mongering and political punditry.

To be sure, I’m not suggesting that we have nothing to be concerned about. This conversation is happening everywhere. Contention over LGBTQ+ Pride has even become a point of conflict in Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, raising concerns about public decency, as well as religious liberty for players and team employees who wish to opt out.

Many everyday citizens face similar pressures at their places of employment. These are real and legitimate concerns.

Nevertheless, as someone who holds to the historic Christian faith and its view of sexuality, but also as someone who understands that we live in a pluralistic society where my view is no longer the majority view, navigating a month like June can feel incredibly complicated.

Layer onto that complexity a personal relationship you may have with someone who identifies as LGBTQ+, and it can feel nothing short of paralyzing.

No matter what you say—or don’t say—you’re likely to draw criticism from either “camp.” And if you’re anything like me, you’re just trying to enjoy the warmer weather and longer hours of sunlight that come with June, not actively lob grenades into important relationships in your life.

Be that as it may, because this issue is a fulcrum in defining so many other aspects of our lives and society, it’s important to stay engaged. And while I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have all the answers, here are at least two mistakes I see Christians make that I think we should avoid.

Mistake 1: Seeking To Overcorrect for the Prominence of LGBTQ Messaging.

Pride Month, like so many other things in our society, has become deeply commoditized. There is money to be made, merch to be sold, customers to attract. And whenever that’s the case, we find no shortage of empty virtue signaling.

For example, Burger King’s Austria marketing department announced that the fast food chain would be selling “Pride Whoppers” last year, which are Whoppers with either two top buns or two bottom buns.

The level of frivolity required for such a marketing stunt feels more fit for a Saturday Night Live sketch than at the center of the PR strategy for a global corporation. I don’t imagine anybody who thinks seriously about these issues would consider “Pride Whoppers” to be a genuine act of advocacy.

5 Questions for Great Stage Communication

By

Dan Reiland

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May 30, 2023

As a leader, you must have good communication, it may be to 30, 300, or 3,000, but there simply is no option.

How effective you are is up to you.

Some leaders are more gifted in communication than others, but great communication is never limited to only the superstars. You don’t have to be in the top-rated Ted Talk speakers to be a highly effective leader.

Here’s more encouraging news, regardless of the level of your natural talent, if you focus on intentional practice, you can improve. I list some tools and practices for improvement at the end of this post.

Former President Ronald Reagan was known as The Great Communicator. That title wasn’t an award; it was just true.

President Reagan was optimistic when he spoke, had a quick wit and sense of humor, gave hope, and had a deep belief in what he spoke about. He possessed a natural connection with people that allowed him to speak truth with folksy wisdom that captured young and old alike.

How about you, what distinguishes you as a communicator?

Before I take you through five helpful questions, I’d like to encourage you with three spiritual insights about your communication potential as a church leader:

1) The size of your stage doesn’t determine the size of your gift.

God may have chosen you for a smaller platform, but that does not limit your ability to develop your skill.

Don’t seek a larger stage; strive to develop your ability.

2) The size of your gift doesn’t determine the scope of your reach.

The power of prayer will always trump eloquence and skill. Your eternal impact can be greater than your skill when you bathe your communication in prayer.

3) The scope of your reach doesn’t determine the value of your ministry.

If you never speak to large crowds, you can still rock the gates of heaven with staggering stories of life change.

5 questions that provide insight to great communication:

1) Are you comfortable in your own skin?

The best communicators are at ease with who they are as a person. They don’t try to look, sound, or speak like other people. They are comfortable being themselves.

Great communicators are self-aware, genuine, and have found their own voice. Finding your voice is the combination of being yourself and using your unique style.

When you know your own voice, you can communicate with poise, confidence, and personal authority rather than insecurity.

Insecurity is the number one detractor of effective communication.

If the insecurity is minimal, it barely seeps through. That’s common and not an issue. If there is significant insecurity, it screams through your communication and makes it difficult for people to hear from you.

Insecurity in communication shows up in ways such as wanting people to like you more than respect you, lacking confidence about the content, wanting praise for being a good speaker more than wanting stories of life change, or trying to be funny to get a laugh rather than using humor to help land a point.

Security is developed through confidence in your identity in Christ, your calling to leadership, and self-awareness.

Be yourself and enjoy the art of communication. You don’t have to be perfect to be effective, being real wins every time.

2) Do you connect at a heart level?

All great communicators connect with people; their authenticity gains them an innate trust from the listeners.

Great communication is without pretense, which brings a higher level of heart connection.

Though your topic may be serious, a light-hearted approach and natural sense of humor will always help you connect. This allows you to engage the emotions of your listeners.

A good way to think of this is that you take God seriously, but you don’t take yourself so seriously.

Tell stories that reach people where they are. Appropriate levels of vulnerability will also help you connect as well as addressing relevant and current life issues.

3) Do you read the room quickly?

Knowing your audience is essential, but there’s more to it. Great communicators can sense if the people are engaged and responsive.

If you see that the room is not engaged, can you change your approach in the moment?

It might be as simple as slowing down and cutting content or something more complex, like adding a personal story on the fly to recapture the room.

The purpose of reading the room is always to maintain connection and put the people before your content. Your message is important, but if you lose the people, your content doesn’t matter.

The goal is not to fill in the blanks and finish the talk; it is to add value to and grow the people.

4) Do you make people think?

Jesus made people think; from the Pharisees and Roman leaders to his own beloved disciples, he challenged them with questions and made them think by telling stories in parable form.

His approach was simple but profound. For you and me, there is simply no substitute for substantial preparation.

We’ve addressed engaging the heart, the closely connected idea of causing someone to think is about engaging their mind. In most cases, this does not suggest a purely academic moment.

The idea is to create a practical and real-life tension, or dilemma, or choice, etc., that inspires toward a decision of some kind. This decision usually requires change.

5) Do you know how to land the plane?

This is the leadership moment, the moment that captures why you are teaching.

Be strong, clear, concise, and bold.

Don’t circle the runway when it’s time to land the plane. Know the point of your message and stick to it.

There are two questions that will help your message land in a way that makes a difference.

What do you want each person to know?
What do you want each person to do?

Here are some great tools and practices for improvement:

Watch your “game film.” Study the videos of your communication. This practice is essential for growth. Pay attention to where you are strong and where you need to improve.
Work with a communication coach. You can hire a professional, but candidly, there are coaches right in your church who could help you.
Read a book such as Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently by John Maxwell.

I pray the Holy Spirit anoints and adds favor to your teaching!

This article originally appeared here.

Discipling the Next Generation

By

Joel Comiskey Group

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May 30, 2023

The Bible only gives two mandates for discipling the emerging generation.

Discipling the Next Generation

1. One Generation is responsible for the next.

(Psalm 145:4)

We are all responsible for the emerging generation, for discipling and passing on all that God has given to us. Discipleship is a close relational experience with someone who knows them well, who models Godly principles and can lead them to encounter the living God on a day to day, moment by moment basis. There are too many children and young people without Godly role models and disciplers. This tremendous privilege and responsibility cannot be left to a few. To take a nation we must take the next generation and discipleship is the way Jesus told all of us to do it.

2. Parents are responsible for their children.

(Deuteronomy 29:29)

We are commanded to pass on a passionate love for God to our own children in the manner of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and out of the abundance of our own love for Him to spill that passion all over our children. It is not the task of the cell, or the church to disciple children from Christian families. The vision of God is that every home is intentional in discipling their children in an environment of a passionate and obedient love for God. Malachi 2:15

Bodily Spirituality: Why Our Bodies Matter

By

Full Strength Network

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May 29, 2023

bodily spirituality — Lightstock #223275

We are well aware that the Holy Spirit indwells our bodies, but do we consider what that means about taking care of our bodies? Our physicality relates directly to what we typically think of as our spiritual well-being. It is through our bodies that we do God’s will in the world. They are very integral to our spirituality. Body and spirit are connected, integrated, and united. What happens to one affects the other. How aware are you that your bodily experiences are integral to your spiritual life? Take five minutes to read and reflect on how God might be speaking to you about your physical well-being. The following five thoughts are adapted from Ruth Haley Barton and Dallas Willard.

1. Caring for Our Body Leads to Stamina for Life’s Journey.

Elijah was the recipient of God’s care for his body (1 Kings 19:7). At a point of physical and emotional exhaustion, the angel told him explicitly that taking care of his body was necessary for his long journey.

The same is true for you as a pastor. A healthy body helps ensure stamina for the heavy demands of ministry over time. Our spirit needs our body even as our body needs our spirit. God knows this. Do you? Is your body in need of rest? Nutrition? Do you consider caring for your physical needs less important than your “spiritual” needs?

2. Spiritual Formation Requires Transformation of the Body (Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart, p. 165).

Our bodies only do what we give consent to over time. They reflect the quality of our internal life with Christ. Our outward life flows from the inward quality of our soul and out through our bodies. Bringing our bodies in alignment with the Spirit of God so we do God’s will in the world is possible as we cooperate with God’s grace.

How aware are you of your bodily impulses and tendencies, e.g. food, workaholism, sexuality? Or do your bodily impulses and feelings control you?

3. Life Lived Through Our Bodies Provides Unique Ways To Glorify and Experience God.

Paul stated that in the “earthen vessels” of our bodies we carry the potential to glorify God (2 Cor. 4:7). We may experience God uniquely through eating meals, our sexuality, social relationships, exercise, and more.

Caring well for our bodies can heighten the quality and variety of ways we experience life with God and others. How aware are you of the variety of ways to experience God in and through your body?

4. God Speaks to Us Through Our Bodies.

Our bodies are often barometers of the health of other aspects of our lives. Joy, contentment, peace, depression, disappointment, and anxiety are all registered in our bodies. Our bodies often provide a dashboard of indicators of where we might need to pay attention to other aspects of our lives. We do well to care for them when they speak to us, and we do well to care for the other aspects of our lives that our bodies speak to us about.

What is your body telling you right now about other aspects of your life? Is your body telling you that it needs tending to? What can you do today to tend to your body’s needs?

7 Practices To Help Keep Your Aging Church Young

By

Dan Reiland

-

May 29, 2023

All churches become chronologically older every year, but why does an aging church remain young, vital, and more spiritually fruitful than others?

There is a lifecycle to all churches, but intentional leadership can make a huge difference.

The point here is not to select and preserve modern-day cathedrals, but we do have a responsibility to lead churches that are vibrant, flourishing, and bring life change through the person and power of Jesus for as long as we can.

There are several things you can do to help your church remain young, alive, and vibrant, even though the lifecycle process eventually continues.

This post doesn’t promise an ecclesiastical fountain of youth. However, if your aging church is becoming weaker, it can pivot to maturing and becoming stronger. It can have a greater impact by making a few key decisions and commitments toward staying young.

Here are 7 ways to keep your aging church young.

1) Think multiplication and reproduction.

Life produces life; that truth is woven into God’s creative design. My daughter and son-in-law are having a baby soon, life continues, and we pass on family values. Grandchildren keep us young!

The same idea holds true in the church. Leading the way for the birth of new campuses and planting new churches breathes new life into the existing “parent” church.

The birth of a new church is inspiring!

Church growth is good, but it can be focused on only adding people. Adding people can be accomplished merely through events and programs with more people attending. That’s oversimplified, but you get the idea. And again, this is a good thing, but there is more.

Reproduction is the next step, where believers are discipled and become more mature in their faith.

Church multiplication, then, is focused on developing disciples to become leaders who can help launch and plant new churches.

There is, of course, much more to this, but for now, I just want to make the connection to a life-giving church environment that helps keep your aging church young. (Or support other churches who plant churches.)

2) Focus on the future.

Thinking young always looks to the future, and equally important, a better future.

Let’s keep the family analogy going. There are two things essential for any aging person who wants to remain as youthful as possible.

First, they need to keep moving; a sedentary lifestyle is harmful to good health. Second, they need a reason to keep moving, a goal, a dream, or something to look forward to.

For the local church, it’s a bold, clear, and compelling vision. It’s the reason to exist and keep going. Purpose is powerful. It keeps us moving forward with the anticipation of a better future. It keeps the aging church young and forward focused.

Status quo, doing the same things week after week, is draining and demotivating. Focus on what’s new and next for the future.

3) Empower young staff and volunteer leaders.

The importance of selecting, developing, and empowering young leaders has always been true. But now more than ever, with so many leaders who are part of the boomer generation, it’s important to learn how to pass the baton.

That is not always easy, and it’s different for every church. But begin with this question. Are you developing and empowering young leaders?

Organizationally it can get complicated but start with the foundation. Can you name the young leaders in the church and on staff that you are selecting and developing?

Invest in them, train them, and develop them into strong spiritual leaders. Then as appropriate, empower them to actually lead.

4) Place a premium on children’s ministry.

If you want your aging church to remain young, a strong children’s ministry is non-negotiable.

Hire great staff, invest significant time and energy, and be as generous as you can with the budget.

Without this, you are absolutely capping your ability to reach young families in your community.

To reach kids with the gospel message, it’s important to understand and keep up with the world they live in.

That world is fast-paced and built around technology. When you add to that mix loving adult leaders who genuinely care about children, you create a winning environment that the kids want to be part of.

There are few things more heart-warming than children beginning to understand who Jesus is and becoming a Christian at a young age. As they mature in their faith, their potential is incredible.

5) Keep up with technology.

A key to thinking about technology and churches is knowing where you want your church to lie on the innovation S-curve.

Not every church needs or should be spending to innovate in the technology space, but any basic interaction that can be made easier with technology should be implemented.

There is a subconscious level of expectations when it comes to the user experience that everyone has now. If our churches don’t meet them, we are likely communicating irrelevance.

Websites should be extremely easy to use and answer key questions within seconds: for example where your church is located and times for your services.
Child registration and event check-in should be digital.
Online Giving became a standard about 5 years ago now.
Social media has become the preferred and primary method for people to interact with your church.
We should have a database that knows and understands our congregation.

When I started in ministry we used cassette tapes. Remember those? Gen-Z has not even had much interaction with CD’s, much less the preceding cassette tapes.

Far too many churches have a cassette tape mindset in an instantly responsive digital world. You don’t have to be a mega-church to leverage technology for the sake of the gospel.

If you’re a smaller church and you have just a few young adults, you’d be amazed at what they can do with only a laptop and a smartphone. Ask for their help.

6) Design your Sunday morning service with a fresh and culture-connecting feel.

So how do you know what is young and relevant? That’s a subjective issue.

But here’s where you can start as it relates to your worship service, if you are still doing pretty much what you did ten years ago, the way you did it ten years ago, you are not keeping up.

Are you playing new music? Who is choosing your music? That can be a sensitive subject but have the conversation.

Remember, it’s not about being different for the sake of being different. It’s about what will engage a post-Christian culture most effectively with the gospel message.

Are you inviting young leaders onto the platform? Young musicians and singers will lead you to younger music and a younger vibe overall. This helps to attract young people to your aging church.

If you are thinking, “What about the older people, don’t they matter?” Of course, they do. I am one, and I still make a difference. But we should be more mature.

We know that it’s not about us, the mission is to reach the lost, and if you reach the next-gen, other generations will follow.

How about your primary communicators? We need the wisdom of age and experience, but we also need young voices in the mix. How are you doing there?

Think through all the components from language to video and think young.

If you focus on a younger crowd, the older generations with join in. If you lean toward older, the young will often leave.

7) Invest in the next generation.

Raise up and train young leaders perhaps through an internship, invest in student ministries, and champion the call to vocational ministry among your young adults.

Communicate that you believe in the next gen! They are the future!

The vision of the church needs to be captivating to the next generation, and at the same time, be compelling enough that older generations get excited about the vision in such a way that they will invest their heart, time, and resources.

Let’s face it, middle-aged and older generations have no trouble loving and believing in kids; just watch a grandparent with their grandchildren!

This article about keeping an aging church young originally appeared here.

Going to Church Can Be Such a Hassle: 7 Reasons to Fight for It

By

Geoffrey R Kirkland

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May 29, 2023

Fight? Going to Church? Weekly? Church member? Yes, indeed! We live in such a swirlingly busy age with countless distractions and endless entertainments and overly-busy schedules. How easily and how quickly it can be that the gathering together with the people of God in your local assembly can be missed one week because of a scheduling conflict. And then it becomes easier the next week. And the next. And so on. So the title is intentional and the motive of this essay is pastorally & compassionately exhortational: FIGHT to make going to church a priority to attend your local church on a weekly basis.

Going to Church Can Be Such a Hassle

I understand things come up. Illness happens. Vacations occur. There are providential workings of God that may cause a child of God to miss church. But please hear this: missing church should not be the norm; it should be the exception. It is your local church where Christ promises to walk amidst His people and bless them by speaking to them and ministering to them in very real and special ways.

Additionally, this essay is for the true Christian. This is not just another paper urging the unsaved to just ‘get to church’. This essay is for those whom God has saved and who have obediently committed themselves to a local church and submitted themselves to the leadership of that church. This is an essay for the saved to reorient the focus on the Lord and on His church because this in our culture can distract and disrupt and cloud our minds at times.

7 Reasons to Fight for It

My argument? Fight with all your might for going to church weekly. I’ll provide seven simple reminders.

1. For the sake of your HEART.

Dear Christian, bought with the precious blood of Christ, as a newborn baby long for the pure milk of the Word so that you may grow in respect to salvation (1 Peter 2:1-2). O child of God, have you tasted the kindness of the Lord? Have you partaken of the sweetnesses of His love for you? Do you hunger for Him and thirst for righteousness? Attend church for the sake of your heart so that you can grow as you receive the food of the Word. No matter what you tell yourself and how you seek to justify it, it’s impossible for you to grow spiritually if you continually find yourself absent from the body of Christ. For the sake of your heart, attend your church to be fed God’s Word through the preaching and to hear Christ address you and the Spirit to mold your heart through the truths heralded.

2. For the sake of your CONGREGATION.

Dear Christian, Christ never called you to a life of lone-ranger isolationism. Christianity is never my Christianity. It’s always a community, joint, shared journey. And that journey is with other predestined travelers who are progressing and traveling to glory just as you are. Don’t neglect them! No matter what you tell yourself, private times in the Word (as important as that is!), and family worship (as important as that is!), and listening to sermons online (as helpful as that can be!) is not a substitute for actually going to the gathering with your fellow believers to worship the crucified and risen and interceding Christ together. Your fellow believers who have covenanted together love you. When you’re not there, they wonder where you are (at least, they *should*). They care for you and wonder if everything’s OK. We minister together as a body. A body has many members. When one member is absent, there’s something incomplete about the body. So make it a point, a deliberate point: going to church with your congregation.

How To Naturally Bring up the Gospel

You Won’t Know if You Don’t Try

Are “Christian” Songs that Don’t Glorify God False Worship Songs?

5 Times Change is Difficult to Lead:

1. When there hasn’t been any change in a very long time.

2. When there isn’t a culture for change.

Rick Warren on the SBC’s ‘Devastating, Historic Loss’

Pastors Are Asking, ‘What Happened to My Denomination?’

1. Egalitarians Love the Gospel.

2. Egalitarians Have a Big Tent.

Megan Danielle Addresses Allegations of a Rigged Competition

Megan Danielle Said She Was ‘Super Proud’ of American Idol Winner, Iam Tongi

Mistake 1: Seeking To Overcorrect for the Prominence of LGBTQ Messaging.

1) The size of your stage doesn’t determine the size of your gift.

2) The size of your gift doesn’t determine the scope of your reach.

3) The scope of your reach doesn’t determine the value of your ministry.

5 questions that provide insight to great communication:

1) Are you comfortable in your own skin?

2) Do you connect at a heart level?

3) Do you read the room quickly?

4) Do you make people think?

5) Do you know how to land the plane?

Discipling the Next Generation

1. One Generation is responsible for the next.

2. Parents are responsible for their children.

1. Caring for Our Body Leads to Stamina for Life’s Journey.

2. Spiritual Formation Requires Transformation of the Body (Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart, p. 165).

3. Life Lived Through Our Bodies Provides Unique Ways To Glorify and Experience God.

4. God Speaks to Us Through Our Bodies.

Here are 7 ways to keep your aging church young.

1) Think multiplication and reproduction.

2) Focus on the future.

3) Empower young staff and volunteer leaders.

4) Place a premium on children’s ministry.

5) Keep up with technology.

6) Design your Sunday morning service with a fresh and culture-connecting feel.

7) Invest in the next generation.

Going to Church Can Be Such a Hassle

7 Reasons to Fight for It

1. For the sake of your HEART.

2. For the sake of your CONGREGATION.

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