Andy Squyres: My Ash Wednesday Playlist

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February 20, 2023

Ash Wednesday playlist — Andy Squyres // Facebook

I’m a Low Church man in a High Church world, a backwoods Pentecostal who only knows enough about the liturgical church calendar to prove my ignorance. But what I lack in education, I make up for in experience. When I was introduced to Ash Wednesday it was partially explained to me as the rehearsal of my own funeral and I was immediately moved. So moved I developed my own Ash Wednesday playlist.

As I’ve grown in my understanding of liturgical observances, Ash Wednesday stands out to me as a particularly significant memento mori, and through its observance my heart has experienced relief, consolation, and even power against my own personal arch enemy: the fear of death.

From my earliest memories, I have always been obsessed with the brevity of life. The knowledge that life is finite discomforted me even from a very young age. Ash Wednesday has the potential to take us from paralyzing fear to awestruck wonder. As we wallow in the brutal realities of this life we can be taught to sing a song of praise, even in the very worst of troubles. Even in the face of death. The songs on this Ash Wednesday playlist have helped me face my own mortality and moved me to sing a grateful song that goes like this: “Life is terrible, life is beautiful, God is good.”

Andy Squyres’ Ash Wednesday Playlist

Fool’s Gold by Sandra McCracken

I’ll never forget the first time I heard this tragic song. It instantly stopped me in my tracks. I was weeping by the end of the first verse. I have a very short list of perfect songs but this one is on it. Not a wasted word or note. Pure heartbreak magnificence.

Keep Me In Your Heart by Warren Zevon

Zevon wrote this song while standing on the edge of his own terminal cancer diagnosis. It’s a song that boldly faces the abyss and I listen to it often when I am feeling anxious about my own mortality.

What Nobody Should Know by Andy Squyres

It’s hard to tell from the lyrics of this song what exactly precipitated them and if it is vague at least the images feel like daggers. I rarely perform this song because it’s too painful, but I’m glad I wrote it. Sometimes poetry can help us endure what our rational minds cannot make sense of.

Cathedrals by Jump Little Children

I perpetually live with a foreboding sense of homesickness and it is both exacerbated and relieved by this song. Longing for home and wholeness is the cry of every human whether they know it or not, and I believe Cathedrals perfectly exudes that longing.

Tom Rainer: Autopsy of a Dead Church

By

Thom Rainer

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February 20, 2023

thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

It’s not pleasant to perform an autopsy of a dead church. I was their church consultant in years ago. The church’s peak attendance was 750. By the time I got there the attendance had fallen to an average of 83. The large sanctuary seemed to swallow the relatively small crowd on Sunday morning.

The reality was that most of the members did not want me there. They were not about to pay a consultant to tell them what was wrong with their church. Only when a benevolent member offered to foot my entire bill did the congregation grudgingly agree to retain me.

I worked with the church for three weeks. The problems were obvious; the solutions were difficult.

On my last day, the benefactor walked me to my rental car. “What do you think, Thom?” he asked. He could see the uncertainty in my expression, so he clarified. “How long can our church survive?” I paused for a moment, and then offered the bad news. “I believe the church will close its doors in five years.”

I was wrong. It was sooner. Like many dying churches, it held on to life tenaciously. This church lasted ten years after my terminal diagnosis.

My friend from the church called to tell me the news. I took no pleasure in discovering that not only was my diagnosis correct, I had mostly gotten right all the signs of the impending death of the church.

Together my friend and I reviewed the past ten years. I think we were able to piece together a fairly accurate autopsy of a dead church.

After the autopsy of a dead church, I learned:

1. The church refused to look like the community.

The community began a transition toward a lower socioeconomic class thirty years ago, but the church members had no desire to reach the new residents. The congregation thus became an island of middle-class members in a sea of lower-class residents.

2. The church had no community-focused ministries.

This part of the autopsy may seem to be stating the obvious, but I wanted to be certain. My friend affirmed my suspicions. There was no attempt to reach the community.

Why We Must Put an End to the Stigma of Mental Illness

By

Rick Warren

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February 19, 2023

Everyone is broken.

It’s a fact of life that’s not only clear from the pages of the Bible but also from the practical reality of what we see around us and in our own lives. Our bodies are broken. Our emotions are broken. Guess what? Our minds are broken, too.

Why We Must Put an End to the Stigma of Mental Illness

If your liver stops working, you can go to a doctor to get it fixed. If you have a broken bone, you can get it set.

We don’t look down at people who get sick. We don’t second-guess the fact that they need medicine. We don’t tell them they need to pray harder.

But what do we say to people with mental health challenges?

We’ve stigmatized mental health for far too long. But the truth is, your brain is just another organ. It’s not a sin to be sick. Your character isn’t defined by your chemistry. Your identity is not your illness.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 1 in 5 Americans experiences mental illness, and nearly 10 million Americans live with a serious mental illness.

Every single one of us knows someone with a mental illness.

Yet, for some reason, the stigma surrounding mental illness is profoundly and deeply ingrained in our culture. It’s even in our churches.

Stigmatizing mental illness isn’t just unkind. It can be lethal. Many people believe they have to hide their mental illnesses from their church families, who should be loving and accepting of them. That just makes the problem worse. It leads to despair.

So what can we do about this awful stigma?

1. We can constantly tell the stories of how God is using people with mental illnesses. Many of you know that my son Matthew struggled with mental illness for 27 years before he lost his battle in 2013. I received probably 35,000 letters of condolences after his passing. Honestly, it was quite overwhelming. But of all the letters I received, it wasn’t any from kings, queens and presidents that meant the most to me. The most meaningful letters came from people Matthew led to Christ. People would tell me, “I’m going to be in heaven because your son told me about Jesus.” I remember getting those letters and then writing in my journal, “In God’s garden, even broken trees bear fruit.” If God only used perfect people, nothing would ever get done. God uses all of us in spite of our struggles. To end the stigma of mental illness, we must constantly tell the story of people with mental illnesses whom God is using. I have them in my church. You have them in yours. Let’s tell people their stories.

2. As leaders, we must be honest about our own mental health challenges. We struggle with mental health just like anyone else. Becoming a leader certainly doesn’t insulate you from depression, anxiety or any other mental health challenges. Honestly, I was depressed my entire second year as pastor of Saddleback Church. My goal wasn’t, “God, build a great church.” My goal was, “God, get me through Sunday.” But I never gave up. More importantly, God didn’t give up on me. God used that time in my life as a leader. Some of the most significant developments of my ministry at Saddleback can be traced back to that period. God never wastes a hurt. Leaders should never shy away from showing people this truth. When leaders begin to show their own frailty with mental illness—and how God has used their struggles to make them better—it’ll wipe out the stigma.

3. We need to provide a safe place for people to talk about their mental health challenges. This is how Celebrate Recovery® can play a huge role in eliminating the stigma of mental illness. At Celebrate Recovery you know how to provide a safe place for people to openly share about their struggles. You do it every week. When people come to CR, they’re not identified by their habit. They identify with Jesus. The same needs to happen with mental illness. The people who come to your church with a mental illness shouldn’t be defined by it, either. In Celebrate Recovery, you have an opportunity to lead the way in providing a safe place for those with mental illness. As you model this behavior to other areas of your church, this dangerous stigma will fall.

It’s time for us to end the stigma of mental health. It’s time for the church to take the lead in helping people with mental illnesses. Jesus cared about the mental health of people. He ministered to those with mental illnesses.

If Jesus thought it was important to minister to those with mental illnesses, shouldn’t we do whatever we can to end the mental health stigma in our churches so we can be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community today?

This article originally appeared here.

Happiness: Good News Worth Sharing

By

Randy Alcorn

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February 19, 2023

G. K. Chesterton has been widely credited with saying, “Jesus promised His disciples three things—that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy, and in constant trouble.” It might be argued that most Western Christians aren’t any of these three . . . but least of all “absurdly happy.”

We tend to perceive Christianity as being about tradition and morality, not happiness. I make no apology for believing in morality. But some Christians, in the name of moral obligation, wear frowns, dutifully living a paint-by-the-numbers religious existence, and proudly refraining from what “lesser” people do to be happy. They seem to wear their displeasure as a badge of honor.

Gloomy Christians Don’t Win Friends or Invite Gospel Curiosity.

Hannah Whitall Smith, author of long-time bestseller The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, was raised in a religious home. She recorded these thoughts about churchgoers in her journal, years before coming to Christ:

Some look almost as if they think it is a sin to smile or speak a pleasant word. It appears to me that religion is supposed to make one happy, not miserable and disagreeable. . . . Instead of a cheerful voice there is a long, drawing, melancholy whisper . . . instead of love and concern for those who have not yet found the path of life . . . there is a cool standoffishness, a feeling of “I’m better than you”— that effectually closes off the slightest opening… And so, instead of the noble, beautiful, humble, liberal-minded, and happy religion I have so often pictured to myself, I see it as cross, gloomy, proud, bigoted, and narrow minded.

Sadly, some people still misrepresent Christianity this way, and equally sadly, some attempt to solve the problem not by drawing near to Christ but by watering down biblical truth to make it more appealing. The gospel is attacked on both fronts—on the one hand, stripped of its intrinsic happiness and on the other, stripped of its holy uniqueness and ability to deliver happiness.

After her conversion, Smith wrote to her son, “The Gospel is good news, something to make people happy; not a law to bind them.”

Unbelievers Have Valid Reasons To Fear That Becoming a Christian Will Result in Their Unhappiness.

They’ve known—as many of us churchgoers have also known—professing Christians who go out of their way to promote misery, not gladness.

I’ve seen Bible-believing, Christ-centered people post thoughts on a blog or on social media only to receive a string of hypercritical responses from people who wield Scripture verses like pickaxes, swiftly condemning the slightest hint of a viewpoint they consider suspicious. How is it that perpetual disdain, suspicion, unkindness, and hostility are seen as taking the spiritual high ground? If I were an unbeliever reading such responses, I certainly wouldn’t be drawn to the Christian faith.

In refreshing contrast, J. C. Ryle said, “I assert without hesitation, that the conversion described in Scripture is a happy thing and not a miserable one, and that if converted persons are not happy, the fault must be in themselves. . . . I am confident the converted man is the happiest man.”

Charles Spurgeon loved to connect the gospel and happiness: “There is nothing that more tends to strengthen the faith of the young believer than to hear the veteran Christian, covered with scars from the battle, testifying that the service of his Master is a happy service…”

Believers Too Often Reinforce the Grumpy Christian Stereotype.

Some professing Christians feel morally superior to those who engage with culture, and as a result, they major on making world-condemning judgments. They refrain from laughing not just at immoral jokes but any jokes. They assume that barbecues and ball games are the spawn of sin. Grim-faced pharisaical “Christians” make Satan’s propaganda campaign far easier by undermining the Good News and promoting a negative view of happiness.

“Affirming that by transgression of God’s commandments [Adam and Eve] might attain to felicity and joy . . . [the devil] caused them to seek life where God had pronounced death to be,” wrote John Knox. God created the physical world and happiness. But the devil doesn’t have a single shred of happiness to give. He specializes in rearranging price tags, making the cheap look valuable and the miserable appear happy.

Teens Ministries: A Look at Kids Taking the Leadership Reins

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Youth Ministrycom

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February 17, 2023

Teens ministries aren’t limited to adults ministering to teenagers. Youth ministry also can mean teens minister to other people, living out their faith. Check out this excerpt from Jonathan McKee’s book Ministry By Teenagers: Developing Leaders From Within.

Meet Heather

I once met a girl at my church named Heather. During Heather’s eighth-grade year, she introduced five of her school friends to Jesus. Five! How many friends have you introduced to Jesus this year? Yeah, Heather has me beat, too. Those five girls brought even more friends to youth group.

My wife and I helped in teens ministries at the time. So my wife began discipling Heather and several others in this growing group of girls. About eight became regulars at our church. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what happens when eight girls start going to church and youth group Yup. Guys started coming too—even those who’d never thought about it before.

By the end of Heather’s eighth-grade year, about 10 to 15 of her friends were regular attendees, and seven gave their lives to Jesus. Several went to Christian colleges after high school. One was Heather’s college roommate at Point Loma Nazarene University. For many youth workers, 15 kids is an entire youth group. For Heather, 15 kids was the result of her heart to see her non-Christian friends find hope. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a Heather in every church?

Meet Aaron

Aaron was the first person to greet me when I walked into the youth ministry office at a small church in the Bible Belt. A youth pastor from the church, Brian, had booked me to speak and train for the weekend. Aaron asked about my flight, and we made small talk. I quickly discovered Brian was out running errands. No worries. Aaron was warm and engaging.

“We’ve been praying about this weekend for a long time,” Aaron offered. “We’re really excited for what God has planned.” Aaron and I talked about the weekend’s plans as he stapled packets. Brian and I had reviewed the schedule multiple times, but it was interesting to hear Aaron’s perspective and expectations. (I’m always intrigued to hear what’s been communicated to other leaders in the ministry.)

“Do you see the focus of this weekend as outreach or spiritual growth?” I asked Aaron. After pondering the question, he said, “I think we’re starting with more of an outreach focus, but then we’ll slowly move toward spiritual growth.” I nodded in agreement.

Empowering Youth in Teens Ministries

“Tonight all the kids are bringing their friends,” he continued, “and you’ll present the gospel. That’s outreach. But it’s also a step of growth for many of the kids because they’ve been praying for this night for a long time. And they’ve each invited friends they’ve been praying for.”

Aaron picked up a stapled packet. “Tomorrow morning you’ll train the leadership team with your workshop. That’s also an opportunity for spiritual growth as we’ll learn how to do better ministry.” He placed the packet neatly with the others. “And finally, on Sunday morning I think your preaching in the services will focus on helping the congregation grow as well.” He raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. “Right?” I smiled. “I think that’s the plan.”

Brian, the youth pastor who was still AWOL, had verbalized the weekend’s focus to me over the phone. But his assistant, Aaron, articulated it better than I’d heard yet. I was helping Aaron staple the remaining packets when Brian finally arrived, apologetic about getting stuck in a line.

Children’s Sermon for St. Patrick’s Day: The Story of the Shamrock

By

ChildrensMinistry.com

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February 17, 2023

This children’s sermon for St. Patrick’s Day also works great as a family devotion or Sunday school lesson. Kids will learn how St. Patrick used a shamrock to teach about the Trinity.

St. Patrick’s Day Children’s Sermon

Scripture: Romans 8:15; John 3:16; John 20:21-22

You’ll need:

Bible
3 heart stickers per person
picture of a shamrock

The Story of St. Patrick

Say: I’d like to tell you about a boy named Patrick. He was born in Great Britain, and his dad and grandfather both worked in a church. When Patrick was about 16, pirates captured him! The pirates took him to Ireland and sold him! Captured by pirates and enslaved—can you imagine? I’m guessing that Patrick’s life didn’t turn out the way he’d planned.

Ask:

Tell us about a time things didn’t go the way you’d planned.

Say: After six years, Patrick escaped and decided to follow God. During the six years he’d been enslaved, Patrick never lost faith. In fact, he prayed every day.

Ask:

What do you pray about every day?

Say: Even though his entire life changed, Patrick wasn’t angry or hateful toward the people of Ireland. Instead, he wanted to teach them about God! Legend says one clever way he did that was by using things they were familiar with. Patrick wanted people to understand how God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one.

The Significance of the Shamrock

Hold up a picture of a shamrock. Explain that a shamrock in Ireland would be as common as a blade of grass to us.

Read aloud Romans 8:15. Hand each child a heart sticker, and have kids place the sticker on the back of their hands. Explain that this sticker represents God, our Father.

What Is Happening at Asbury University Wasn’t Planned—Is This the Start of Widespread Revival?

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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February 17, 2023

Asbury Revival — Photo by Jesse T. Jackson

On Wednesday, Feb. 8, following an ordinary morning chapel service led by Rev. Zach Meerkreebs in Hughes Auditorium at Asbury University, students were encouraged to stay after chapel if they wanted to continue worshiping God.

More than a week later, that worship service hasn’t stopped. As news has spread, Christians from across the country have made pilgrimages to witness what God is doing at the small, multi-denominational university located in Wilmore, Kentucky.

Sarah, a student who attends Asbury University, described the sermon as a “really encouraging and challenging message about love from the book of Romans.”

Meerkreebs encouraged students to sit in the love of God—to taste, see, and experience the power of the Holy Spirit.

“If you want to become love in action, you start by prostrating yourself before the love of God. If you want to become love in action, you have to experience the love of God,” Meerkreebs said. Directly addressing those who are preparing to graduate this year, Meerkreebs added, “Do not graduate and think you are going to do all this stuff in your own strength. Do not leave here before you learn about the love of God and experience the love of God, so you can pour it out, and he will fill you back up.”

“Asbury,” Meerkreebs said, “the world needs this kind of love. Syria and Turkey needs this kind of love. Your mom and dad need this kind of love. The teammates on your team, the people on your floor, Wilmore, Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, the United States need this kind of love. They need a bunch of Christians to experience the love of God so they can pour out the love of God—not through their own efforts and not through their own knowledge—but because they are filled with his love.”

“I pray that this sits on you guys like an itchy sweater. And when you got an itch, you got to take care of it,” Meerkreebs said.

Sarah shared with ChurchLeaders that she was one of the students who stayed after the chapel service and continued to worship, adding, “Something felt different and I couldn’t leave just quite yet.”

Describing what happened next, Sarah said that despite having class right after chapel, she took off her backpack and decided to stay.

“There were maybe 20 students who were there just worshiping Jesus with everything they had, and it was beautiful,” she said, explaining that students “began to pray over each other, and my friends brought in their guitars and started playing and singing too.”

“Jesus has been moving in beautiful ways since the very beginning. The time just absolutely flew that day. I ended up being there for 13 hours straight, not once leaving, because I just couldn’t get enough of it,” Sarah added.

53 years ago, on Feb. 3, 1970, something similar took place in the same auditorium—an event now known as the Asbury Revival of 1970. It began when Dean Custer B. Reynolds invited students to share their testimonies during a chapel service. That revival lasted for 144 hours and resulted in the university canceling classes for a week.

The Spillover Effect of True Revivals

By

Greg Stier

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February 17, 2023

Revival is in the air!

Reports from Asbury University are so very encouraging! Since last Wednesday, there’s been 24/7 prayer, worship, testimony, confession of sin, Scripture reading, silence, and more in the chapel at this Kentucky school. People from across the United States are flocking to the campus to experience what God is doing.

One of those who attended is evangelist Jon Burdette, my good friend and co-conspirator in the advancement of the Gospel.

He told me this:

Attending the revival at Asbury was an unforgettable experience. We could literally feel the ‘weighty’ presence of God as soon as we walked into the building. Sensing God’s presence in that way, and knowing that this was an unplanned service that had continued since Wednesday morning, I got emotional within the first few minutes of being there.

There was passionate, authentic worship, brokenness, people praying at the altar, people praying at their seats, and people praying with each other in groups around the room. For this particular segment of the service, there was just one person leading worship on a piano. No microphone, no words on a screen, no service rundown. Just Spirit-led worship that ranged from calm, quiet harmonies to eruptions of loud singing, clapping, and testifying.

RELATED: What is Happening at Asbury University Wasn’t Planned—Is This the Start of Widespread Revival?

My daughter Shailynn was there with me, and she said she couldn’t describe it in words. She wanted to stay all day!

The best way I can describe it is that you felt a sense of tranquility all throughout your being that made it difficult to leave the room. No programs, but complete peace. There were no ‘rules,’ but it was totally in order. There was lots of emotion, but no emotionalism. I can’t wait to see how God uses this to advance the Gospel near and far.

WHAT NOW?

Social media is abuzz with stories from those who’ve experienced what’s now tagged #asburyrevival. And the reports give me hope that we could once again see a sweeping awakening across this nation.

But throughout church history, there’s always been a spillover effect of true revival. What is it? Evangelism!

We see this spillover effect in the Welsh Revival of 1904; in the spiritual movement that happened in and through the Moravians; in the 1st Great Awakening, led by George Whitefield and John Wesley; and in the Jesus Movement, just 50 years ago in the United States. Every significant spiritual movement results in evangelism.

A BIBLICAL PRECEDENT

In Acts 4:31, we get a clear glimpse of the spillover effect in the midst of a powerful move of God:

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

1. The power of prayer shook the building.

“…the place where they were meeting was shaken…”

As exciting as being in the chapel at Asbury University is right now, imagine what it would be like to be in the room when the hand of God literally shook the building in response to the early believers’ prayers. Talk about an amen! Talk about a literal move of God. He moved the building!

2. The power of the Spirit shook the believers.

“…they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…”

The early believers in this passage prayed in unity and got filled with the Holy Spirit simultaneously. God was doing something special in that room 2,000 years ago.

From every report I’m getting about the Asbury Revival, the exact same type of thing is happening. Believers are praying and praising in unity. It’s not an out-of-control show. It’s not hype. It’s a Spirit-orchestrated meeting with Spirit-filled believers, with the focus on Jesus—and Jesus alone.

Woman Experiencing Homelessness Targeted by Hit-and-Run Driver While Walking to Church

By

Stephanie Martin

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February 17, 2023

california woman — Screenshots from Facebook / @Alameda County Sheriff's Office

A 77-year-old woman in Castro Valley, California, was hospitalized after being targeted by a hit-and-run driver in a church parking lot. Authorities say the elderly California woman, who is hearing-impaired and experiencing homelessness, was walking to First Presbyterian Church the evening of Feb. 11 with her cane and a shopping cart. Camera footage shows several tense encounters between her and a motorist, who eventually strikes the woman and then drives away.

A church employee who witnessed the attack says the woman attends worship services and meals at First Presbyterian. She sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Authorities are asking for the public’s help to identify and locate the suspect, who faces several charges.

Disturbing Incident Caught on Tape

Surveillance video posted by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office shows an unsettling sequence of events that occurred about 7:30 p.m. After nearly hitting a woman who was walking through the parking lot, the driver of a white Nissan Altima exchanges words with her. Then he circles and sideswipes the woman, knocking her cane from her hand. “The suspect may have brushed against the victim with his vehicle, which caused her to yell at him,” according to sheriff’s officials.

Again the driver circles, then backs up and rear-ends a parked vehicle. Before leaving the scene, the motorist seems to intentionally hit the woman, who lands on the car’s hood and then falls to the ground. Bystanders offered aid, and the woman was taken to a local hospital. She reportedly suffered bruises and head lacerations.

Aaron Horner, the church’s community outreach director, says the victim ended up about 30 feet from where she was struck. He heard the car “revving…like [the driver] was trying to intimidate somebody.” Of the victim, Horner tells a local reporter: “She’s already struggling, so to see her treated like that, that was just rough.” To the person responsible, Horner says, “Hope you get the help you need. Hurting other people is not it.”

After visiting the woman in the hospital, church program manager Saundrea Mabrey described her as being in good spirits despite her injuries. “I was stunned,” says Mabrey. “The fact that it was intentional, that hurt.”

Authorities: Suspect Has a ‘Disregard for Life’

First Presbyterian, which has an active community outreach program, hosts a nightly meal at its facilities. The church shares a parking lot with a grocery store, and some residents say the area has become so “dangerous” they no longer shop there.

Other online comments about the hit-and-run video express disgust, with several people suggesting the incident should be considered attempted murder.

Sheriff’s Lt. Tya Modeste says the California woman is fortunate to be alive, saying the “disgusting” attack was committed by “someone who is lawless, someone who does not have compassion or empathy for anyone else, disregard for life.” Modeste adds, “We want to bring this [suspect] to justice to have them be held accountable for it.”

Bringing ‘The Real, Authentic Jesus’ to the Marketplace—He Gets Us Responds to Criticism of Its Super Bowl Ads

By

Jessica Lea

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February 17, 2023

He Gets Us has responded to criticism some people have vocalized following the airing of its two ads during the Super Bowl last Sunday. In a statement to ChurchLeaders, He Gets Us explained its strategy and addressed the idea that the money spent on the ads should have gone toward helping people in need.

“He Gets Us is actively connected to thousands of churches and ministries, which each follow their own missions to help people in need,” said a spokesperson for He Gets Us. “We’ve seen many of these either extend current efforts or even begin new ones, as a result of the messages that He Gets Us is sharing publicly. These include efforts to address human trafficking, poverty, illiteracy, education, and many others.”

He Gets Us: Creating a ‘Cascade of Love’

He Gets Us is a national campaign addressing the fact that “the story of a man who taught and practiced unconditional love” has become “associated with hatred and oppression.” On its website, the campaign says its “agenda” is “to move beyond the mess of our current cultural moment to a place where all of us are invited to rediscover the love story of Jesus. Christians, non-Christians, and everybody in between. All of us.”

During the Super Bowl, He Gets Us aired two ads, the first titled, “Be Childlike,” and the second titled, “Loved Your Enemies.” The ads reportedly cost $20 million.

Among the criticisms the campaign has received is that so much money would have been better spent on alleviating problems like hunger and oppression.

He Gets Us, however, says that cultivating conversations about Jesus will help to address those very issues. HeGetsUsPartners.com says that over 113,000 people have been connected to local churches through the campaign, and He Gets Us notes that these churches are working to fight a variety of social ills. The statement continues:

We believe it’s more important now than ever for the real, authentic Jesus to be represented in the public marketplace as he is in the Bible. We believe that investing in efforts to ensure more people consider his life and movement as inspiration for their own, will in turn, help improve the lives of those listening — and begin to create the kind of cascade of love Jesus himself sought to generate.

One great example is the He Gets Us gear program, which asks people to choose an act of radical love to perform in exchange for a hat, shirt, water bottle, etc. We regularly hear from people who are motivated to forgive, serve, and show other confounding acts of love because of the encouragement from He Gets Us.

Pastor Dies Attempting 40-Day Fast Modeled After Jesus’ Wilderness Temptation

By

Dale Chamberlain

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February 17, 2023

Francisco Barajah dies attempting 40 day fast — Artistic depiction of Jesus' wilderness temptation (Ary Scheffer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

A 39-year-old Mozambican pastor has tragically died after attempting to go without food or water for 40 days in the hopes of following the model set by Jesus Christ’s time in the wilderness as recorded in Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, and Luke 4:1-13.

Francisco Barajah, who was pastor of Santa Trindade Evangelical Church in the city of Chimoio in Mozambique, perished after 25 days of self-deprivation.

After going without food or water for well over three weeks, Barajah developed a case of acute anemia, which is characterized by an abrupt drop in red blood cells, according to Mozambique new outlet Noticias Online.

Barajah had grown so weak that he could no longer stand or bathe himself and was taken to the hospital at the insistence of those close to him.

While at the hospital, doctors attempted to rehydrate the pastor, but his digestive system had so badly deteriorated that attempts to nourish him were unsuccessful. Barajah reportedly experienced pain when attempting to intake any food.

Though the New Testament records that Jesus fasted for a period of 40 days while he was tempted by Satan in the Judean wilderness, it does not specify that Jesus abstained from drinking water.

Dehydration in combination with starvation likely dealt the fatal blow to Barajah, who in addition to serving as a pastor was a French teacher at a secondary school.

Neighbors, though dismayed, did not reportedly express surprise at the news of Barajah’s death. They had previously expressed concern for the pastor after seeing that he had dropped an alarming amount of weight.

Barajah died in the hospital earlier this week.

Grace Community Church Let Her Down. Now She Is Standing in the Gap for Women.

By

Karen Swallow Prior

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February 17, 2023

(RNS) — Eileen Taylor’s 20-year-old self could never have imagined her life today.

At age 20, Eileen — known to many by her previous, married name of Eileen Gray — knew nothing about Christianity, and she was on the fast track to a successful career in banking and finance.

Then she met Jesus.

Not long after, she met a man in church who also claimed to have a newfound faith. They married and later headed to seminary, where her husband enrolled as a student and Eileen took advantage of the opportunity the school offered wives of seminarians to attend classes.

Those were the happiest years of the marriage, Eileen told me recently, as she shared about the circumstances that led to her becoming headline news throughout the past year, after she reluctantly came forward to share how her former church dealt with her family after the church elders learned of her husband’s abuse of their children. (Eileen’s then-husband, who eventually divorced her, was convicted of aggravated child molestation, corporal injury to a child and child abuse. He is serving a prison sentence of 21 years to life.)

Eileen never planned to come forward about her experience with Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California. On the contrary, she moved away and worked for many years to build a quiet life for herself and her children.

Then, in 2017, another woman from Eileen’s former church reached out to her, asking Eileen to share her story in order to help other women who had experienced similar treatment from the church.

Eileen’s children were young adults, and she was battling cancer for a second time. She wasn’t ready. But she continued to hear of more cases of abused women receiving spiritually abusive counseling. Some of these cases were detailed last week in a report from Christianity Today.

Now Eileen can’t help but think, “If only I had spoken up sooner.”

These days, Eileen hangs out with cops and criminals.

As a certified law enforcement chaplain with the Tehama County Sheriff’s
Office in California, Eileen serves inmates and law enforcement in countless ways: from serving as a community call-out chaplain, to teaching regular Bible studies in the jail, to running a 24-hour hotline out of her home, to placing releasees in rehabilitation out-programs, to mentoring women charged with or convicted of drug crimes, assault, embezzlement, murder and a host of other charges. She maintains these relationships with these women whether they are behind bars or back outside.

Southern Baptists Passed Abuse Reforms Last Year. Now They Have To Make Them Stick.

By

Bob Smietana

-

February 17, 2023

(RNS) — For decades, leaders of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination mistreated survivors of sexual abuse, labeling them as troublemakers and enemies of their church while claiming there was little the leaders could do to address abuse in local congregations, often in the name of protecting their vast missionary operations.

Then, in the summer of 2021, Southern Baptists had had enough.

Angered over a groundbreaking newspaper investigation of abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention and over concerns that SBC leaders continued to mistreat survivors despite promising to do better, Southern Baptists overruled their leaders, called for an in-depth investigation into their actions and, after receiving the report of that investigation in 2022, passed a series of reforms aimed to help prevent abuse and to care for survivors.

Among those reforms: building a “Ministry Check” database to track abusive pastors, providing care for survivors, training churches on how to prevent abuse and resourcing a committee charged with expelling congregations that knowingly mishandle abuse allegations.

Putting those reforms into practice will be difficult and will take decades of rebuilding trust, something abuse survivors have long known.

“I have understood from the beginning that this is a long game,” said Jules Woodson, an abuse survivor who has spoken to the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force, charged with implementing reforms in the SBC.

That task force has come under fire recently for a lack of transparency over a temporary hotline, set up to collect reports of abuse, and for the slow pace of implementing reforms. That’s raised questions of whether a volunteer committee — made up mostly of pastors, often from larger churches — has the capability to get the job done.

In early February, the task force — which is due to make recommendations to the SBC’s annual meeting in June — released an update saying it will likely need more time.

“Given the scope of its assignment, we do anticipate and have begun discussions about the need to extend the ARITFs work beyond the 2023 annual meeting in New Orleans,” the task force said in a statement posted on its website. “We are acutely aware of the depth of process we must undergo and vigilantly follow-through.”

South Carolina pastor Marshall Blalock, who chairs the task force, told Religion News Service in an interview that he’s increasingly aware of the complexity of addressing sexual abuse — and that it is a long-term project.

Blalock served on a previous abuse task force from 2021 to 2022. That task force had a more straightforward task — choosing a firm to investigate SBC leaders and then delivering a report, along with recommendations for reform, to the annual meeting. That previous task force’s work ended in June 2022 after a report from Guidepost Solutions was delivered to the convention.

“Last year we had one main objective,” he said. “We had to be careful in how we did it, but it was pretty forthright.”

At the annual meeting, a set of reforms was approved by an overwhelming majority. Then a new task force was set up, with Blalock staying on to provide some continuity.

The biggest task — and the one getting perhaps the most attention — is setting up a “Ministry Check” website, a database to track pastors who were convicted or credibly abused of abuse.

“On the surface, it sounds pretty simple,” said Blalock.

As the task force has dug in, things have become more complicated. The task force needed to find a firm to build the site that had a trauma-informed approach to working with the stories of survivors and needed to make sure only credible accusations and convictions were added to the database. The task force also needed cybersecurity expertise — to make sure any data on the site is safe from hacking and no private information about survivors could be made public.

‘We Cannot Walk With You Unless You Repent,’ African Archbishops Tell Church of England

By

Fredrick Nzwili

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February 17, 2023

NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — Conservative Anglican archbishops in Africa are challenging a decision by the Church of England to allow clergy to bless same sex couples’ marriages, warning that the move puts the worldwide Anglican Communion in further jeopardy.

The leaders are reacting to the Feb. 9 vote at the Church of England’s General Synod to permit the offering of prayers and liturgies at civil marriages. The compromise measure included the church’s desire to “lament and repent” its failure “to welcome LGBTQI+ people and for the harm that LGBTQI+ people have experienced — and continue to experience — in churches.”

The church has not changed its doctrine that marriage is a lifelong union between one man and one woman, but the archbishops of Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria are rejecting the decision to bless the unions as contrary to the teaching of the Bible.

The Church of England joined the Episcopal Church of America, the Anglican Church of Canada, the Church in Wales, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Church of Brazil and a few other member churches in recognizing all civil marriages.

The archbishops, who together represent more than 35 million Anglicans, posted their responses to the Church of England’s decision on their diocesan websites.

“The Church of England is very good at making contradictory statements and expecting everyone to believe both can be true at the same time. That’s what they have done with this decision,” said Archbishop Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu of Uganda in his statement.

Kaziimba said that despite the English church’s insistence that it was not changing its doctrine on marriage, it is doing exactly that, the only significant difference being the terminology of wedding versus a service of blessing.

“The Church of England … has now departed from the Bible and their message is the opposite,” said Kaziimba. “They are even offering to bless that sin. That is wrong. As the Church of Uganda, we cannot accept that. God cannot bless what he calls sin.”

After the Episcopal Church in America supported the installation of Bishop Gene Robinson, a gay man, as a bishop of New Hampshire, Kaziimba said, the Uganda province broke fellowship with the American church and has since maintained it was the latter that left the Anglican Communion.

7 Characteristics of Songs That Preach

By

David Manner

-

February 17, 2023

Preaching is the act of publicly proclaiming, teaching, or making something known. It exhorts, exposits, affirms, corrects, advocates, instructs, responds, and applies. The act of preaching communicates to us, for us, and through us. A sermon is preached to address and expound on the biblical, theological, doctrinal, and moral issues that impact every generation of every congregation each and every day. And this connectional discourse is intended to challenge those congregants not only to embrace these truths individually but also corporately. So if the worship songs we select aren’t complementing, resonating, and emulating these same characteristics, we probably need to select different songs. In other words, we need songs that preach.

7 Characteristics of Songs That Preach

1. Our Songs must reflect and respond to biblical text.

Scripture must organically yield our songs instead of just fertilizing our own contrived language. We must constantly ask if our song text is theologically sound and if it affirms Scripture as central. Songs that do not provoke a response to the Word don’t preach.

2. Our Songs must connect the Word of God to the people of God.

The dialogue of worship through our songs is formed when God’s Word is revealed. This revelation causes the people of God to respond through the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The result is a vertical conversation with God and horizontal communion with others. Our songs are the communally uttered words of God.

3. Our Songs must speak the Gospel.

Every song we sing must invite the congregation and guests to be a part of God’s story through Jesus Christ. Our songs should help us understand what God is up to in and through our lives in the name of Jesus. Those songs must sing of the ongoing and enduring work of God through his son, Jesus Christ. And they must constantly remind us that Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again.

4. Our Songs must be easy to follow and understand.

If congregants can’t follow our songs, then they have difficulty finding value in those songs and consequently can’t be influenced and moved to respond to them and through them. Archaic or colloquial text should be filtered and melodies should be evaluated for singability. Songs that are difficult to follow contribute to ineffectual song sermons.

5. Our Songs must be sung with integrity.

Songs that preach communicate biblically, theologically, and doctrinally. Our songs must be sung with the integrity of adequate external preparation that springs forth from internal conviction. It must be evident that our songs reflect what we believe and practice. Lives must replicate the texts we sing even when we aren’t singing them. Songs sung with integrity engage and express biblical text with inspiration and conviction.

6. Our Songs must engage more than emotions.

Scripture encourages us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Songs that just stir the emotions are incomplete; Songs that do not begin from the depth of our soul are often trite; Songs that don’t require us to think are shallow; and Songs that don’t ask us to use our bodies as a living sacrifice in acts of service are selfish. So our songs must be sung from our entire being.

7. Our Songs must encourage action.

Songs must not only inspire us through our hearing but also challenge us in our doing. They must not only inform the congregation but also engage them. Singing our songs should cause us to ask what is going to change as a result of singing them. Singing in here is not enough until our songs also impact who we are out there. So the songs we sing in our worship service must lead us to acts of service as worship.

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” Colossians 3:16

This article about songs that preach originally appeared here.

John MacArthur on Creation: Darwin Was an Agent of Satan

By

Andrew Hess

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February 17, 2023

john macarthur on creation — Screengrab via YouTube / @gracetoyou

In a sermon titled “The Eyewitness Account of Creation,” John MacArthur challenged every Christian who believes in evolution that science has nothing to say about creation. Preaching out of the early chapters of Genesis, MacArthur showed how God alone was witness to the beginning of the universe. He emphasized the biblical account over scientific theories, like evolution. The John MacArthur on creation message emphasized: “The Bible is not theory, it is not, as such; it is history, it is fact, it is reality, it is truth.

MacArthur illustrated this point:

“If God came to you and said, ‘I made everything in six days.’

What would you say? ‘Well you see God there are some things you need to know about science.'”

MacArthur continued to poke holes in the credibility of evolutionary science,

“Science came into existence as a result of creation. Science has nothing to say about creation. All science is based on observation, verification by repetition. You observe it, you verify it by repeating it. Creation had no observers. It can’t be verified because it can’t be repeated. It is not observable; it is not repeatable. It did not happen according to any laws that we know about. It did not happen by a way that is predictable, repeatable or fixed. In a word, creation was a massive, supernatural miracle. And if you just let it be what it is, you’re going to get science out of it; and science belongs out of it.”

Later in the sermon, MacArther reminded his listeners how God might respond to those who believe in evolution, quoting Job 38:

“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know!”

‘This Is Us’ Star Chrissy Metz Releases Children’s Book Focused on Prayer

By

Jesse T. Jackson

-

February 16, 2023

Actress and singer Chrissy Metz, whose character Kate Pearson in NBC’s Emmy Awarding winning television series “This Is Us” captured viewers’ hearts throughout its six seasons, released a children’s book on Valentine’s Day that encourages prayer.

Titled “When I Talk to God, I Talk About You,” Metz wrote the book with her boyfriend, songwriter Bradley Collins, whom she met on a dating app during the pandemic. The book is written in rhyming verses and is illustrated by Lisa Fields, a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Both Metz and Collins were brought up being taught about the importance of church and prayer, Metz told ChurchLeaders.

“My grandmother instilled a routine of prayer in my life at a very young age,” she said.

The two describe the book as a “journey through the dream of raising a child and watching them grow right before your eyes all while supporting their unique path with love and guidance through a tender introduction to prayer.”

“Prayer was always something really important for me, and I realized that you could do it anywhere at any time,” Metz shared, noting that this truth is at the center of “When I Talk to God, I Talk About You.”

Metz said that her and Collins’ desire for the book is to help foster the idea that prayer creates a connection between a parent and their child, whether biological, adoptive, or foster.

“There’s something really special when you basically can teach a child how to pray. And since a book like this is a gentle introduction to prayer, it was just something that we just felt really encouraged to do—really inspired to do,” Metz said.

“Tonight as you sleep, so cozy and still, God hears your prayers and always will.” (When I Talk to God, I Talk About You)

Collins told ChurchLeaders that he was introduced to prayer at a young age when he prayed for his grandfather who was sick.

Brian Houston Served as Lone Witness in His Own Defense, Reveals Bobbie Houston

By

Janna Firestone

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February 16, 2023

Bobbie Houston gives update on Brian Houston Trial — Screengrab via Facebook @pastorbrianhouston

Brian Houston, former pastor of Hillsong Church, stood trial in December 2022 for allegedly covering up his father’s sexual abuse. He told the courts he first learned of his father’s abuse from a general manager with the church back in 1999. Brian pled “not guilty” and continues to claim innocence of the allegations.

The trial lasted 13 days and included eight prosecuting witnesses. On the defense side, just one witness—Brian Houston himself—spoke up.

As part of the trial, the prosecution questioned when Brian had learned of his father’s abuse. Hillsong general manager George Aghajanian testified that when he told Brian of the abuse, he had “a shocked expression on his face.”

However, when John McMartin, another pastor, confronted Brian with the same news just a month later, Brian reacted with the same apparent element of surprise as when Aghajanian told him.

Brian didn’t go to the authorities with the information until after his father’s death in 2004.

Bobbie Houston Posts Trial Update on Instagram

According to Brian’s wife, Bobbie, court is adjourned until June. The world waits for final arguments and the magistrate’s ruling. Due to legal mandates, Brian is prevented from speaking publicly about the trial.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bobbie Houston🌼 (@bobbiehouston)

Bobbie began her post by tagging her husband and captioning the attached photo, “@brianchouston surrounded w street kids from Vision Rescue, India.”

She went on to pledge her unwavering love and support of her husband, writing, “As a wife of near 46yrs I’m weary of the relentless assault on this man, weary of the unchallenged, uncontained narratives left to fester. I vowed to him last yr that if no one stands up & vindicates his integrity, character & worth, I will. And I’ll die on my sword if need be. That might sound dramatic but I have no reason to say otherwise.”

“Modern day persecution is accusatory, cowardly & appalling. Those who perpetrate it should be sued for defamation & damaging bullying, but because that isn’t the nature of Christ, we will continue to pray for you,” Bobbie continued. “Just remember dear ones, that the Courts of Heaven exist & no action or word or ill-intent goes unobserved. Whilst it is still ‘Day’ there is grace to recover & change your ways, but a day will come when that day may expire. Don’t risk that, nor boast of tomorrow, for none of us know what a day will bring. His Grace is all sufficient but it has to be embraced.”

“For those curious but uninformed about the Court Case last Dec – Brian can’t speak of it for legal reasons, but I can,” the post read.

“FIRSTLY, thankyou to all who prayed. Thousands around the world,” Bobbie recounted. “We endured 13 days in court. The Crown Prosecution presented eight witnesses. Our Defense presented one – Brian Houston. All evidence was heard, all evidence is recorded. Now the case is adjourned till June for oral & written summaries, final arguments & then the Magistrate alone will rule.”

“My husband is a champion…and to endure this after 24yrs says much about his stoic spirit.”

“As a family we Thank you for your love & concern. I’m only posting this because many are unaware. Some media outlets report with integrity, others don’t.”

“There are no restrictions on Brian. Again, we are grateful for those who prayed & ask that you continue. In the meantime, we soldier on alongside our King, believing that the finest days for the Body of Christ are before us all – days for boldness & courage; for living in the Truth of who Christ is; for knowing the power of His Spirit; and for loving not ones life even unto death (Rev); days of great harvest in Jesus dear & glorious Name!”

‘The Thorn’: A Case Study in Using the Arts To Spread the Gospel

By

Stephanie Martin

-

February 16, 2023

Evangelism and Christian outreach can occur in many formats and settings. But the experiences of John and Sarah Bolin, creators of “The Thorn,” prove that the performing arts offer unique opportunities for sharing the salvation message. Their brainchild, which began as a youth group presentation, has blossomed into a 25-year project and thousands of commitments for Christ.

This spring, “The Thorn” ventures into 12 Broadway-quality performing arts centers throughout America. It also will debut on the big screen, with a movie airing nationwide March 6 and 7. Amid all this success, the goal of The Thorn” remains the same: to share Jesus’ love and the good news of his resurrection.

‘The Thorn’: Visually Conveying God’s Supernatural Power

ChurchLeaders recently spoke to John Bolin, CEO of Bridgehouse Media, about using the arts to share the Gospel. The producer and author, who has a background in marketing and creative arts, describes how the concept for “The Thorn” originated in the mid-’90s.

Back then, the Bolins served as youth pastors at New Life, a megachurch in Colorado Springs. The student ministry program had grown to about 1,000 kids, but the struggles of one particular teen alarmed the couple.

One Wednesday evening, a 16-year-old girl rolled up her sleeves and admitted she’d been cutting herself. John Bolin remembers telling her she didn’t need to inflict pain like that because “Jesus did it for you.” That spurred the youth pastor, who wasn’t a natural at preaching, to develop a visual message that communicated the Gospel and the “power of the supernatural.”

Although the production values of the first iteration of “The Thorn” left much to be desired, God blessed and grew the outreach. For a decade, Bolin staged the live-action show about Jesus’ Passion each spring at New Life. The quality and attendance both grew, and on performance nights cars lined up outside the church’s parking lot for a quarter-mile or more.

Soon requests came in for special appearances of “The Thorn” at churches throughout America. And when the Bolins briefly relocated to South Carolina, they ran two productions simultaneously. Because that wasn’t sustainable, the idea of a tour was born. The couple sensed God calling them to focus on three main areas: the page, the stage, and the screen.

John Bolin: All Artists ‘Bear the Image of the Creator’

Bolin also credits a Cirque du Soleil show for opening his eyes to the power of visual storytelling. In Las Vegas, he attended “O,” which incorporates water, hydraulics, music, movement, and costumes—but no words. “Imagine what we could do with the Gospel!” thought Bolin, recalling that emotionally moving performance.

Through open casting calls for “The Thorn,” many non-Christian performers have been introduced to the Gospel and have started following Jesus. Some arrive to rehearsals in tears, saying they had no idea a Christ-honoring show like this existed. After an intense two weeks of practice, the cast hits the road and the tour begins.

“Even secular artists are bearing the image of their Creator because he’s in them,” Bolin says. “We have the opportunity to steward these performers for a month or two, and then we send them back to shine their light in the secular world,” whether that’s Broadway or Disney or Cirque du Soleil. Some “Thorn” participants formed an alumni group online so they can disciple and encourage one another in the faith journey.

Nikki Haley Praises Controversial Pastor John Hagee at Presidential Campaign Rally

By

Stephanie Martin

-

February 16, 2023

L: Nikki Haley speaking at an event in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Oct. 12, 2020. Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons R: John Hagee preaching in a sermon dated Jan. 31, 2023. Screenshot from YouTube / @Hagee Ministries

One day after officially announcing her candidacy for the 2024 U.S. presidential race, Republican Nikki Haley held her first campaign rally on Wednesday (Feb. 15). The former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador chose John Hagee, televangelist and pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, to give the invocation.

Hagee has generated controversy over the years for comments considered to be anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic, anti-Islamic, and anti-LGBTQ. The 82-year-old writes about end-times prophecies and has indicated the Antichrist will be a gay German of Jewish ancestry.

Nikki Haley to John Hagee: ‘I Want To Be You When I Grow Up’

As the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley spoke at a summit for Christians United for Israel, a group John Hagee founded. The two visited Israel in the same delegation in 2021. After Hagee gave the invocation at her rally Wednesday, Haley took to the stage and said, “To Pastor Hagee, I still say I want to be you when I grow up.”

Haley, the child of Indian immigrants, is the first woman of color running for the GOP presidential nomination. At her rally, the 51-year-old said the Republican party needs a new generation of leaders. Haley also emphasized that Americans aren’t hateful or racist but “full of love” and “sustained by faith.”

Throughout his ministry, Hagee has made headlines for questionable statements—some of which he later apologized for or walked back. The televangelist has called the Roman Catholic Church the “great whore,” said Adolf Hitler had Jewish and Catholic backgrounds, and indicated that God used Hurricane Katrina to punish New Orleans for its plans to hold a gay pride parade.

During the pandemic, Hagee initially said Jesus Christ was the only vaccine for Covid-19; later the pastor clarified that he would receive the shots. At a right-wing event held at Cornerstone Church in 2021, some attendees started chanting “Let’s Go Brandon,” a derogatory dig at President Biden.

Is Haley Trying to Impress the GOP Religious Base?

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Arizona Sen. John McCain embraced Hagee’s support until deciding the pastor was too extreme. In 2018, President Trump tapped Hagee to offer the benediction when a new U.S. embassy opened in Israel. Former Vice President Mike Pence, rumored to be considering a 2024 presidential run, visited Hagee’s church last month—as well as the Dallas-area megachurch of Robert Jeffress.

Political science professor Kirk Randazzo tells Newsweek that Nikki Haley might help the Republican party with its “reputational problem,” citing issues such as abortion. The candidate offers the promise of maturity, calmness, and cooperation, he says, “which is vastly different from the current image” of female GOP politicians.

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1. The church refused to look like the community.

2. The church had no community-focused ministries.

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7 Characteristics of Songs That Preach

1. Our Songs must reflect and respond to biblical text.

2. Our Songs must connect the Word of God to the people of God.

3. Our Songs must speak the Gospel.

4. Our Songs must be easy to follow and understand.

5. Our Songs must be sung with integrity.

6. Our Songs must engage more than emotions.

7. Our Songs must encourage action.

The following article about songs that preach is an excerpt from David Manner’s book, Better Sundays Begin on Monday: 52 Exercises for Evaluating Weekly Worship, Copyright ©2020 by Abingdon Press.

Bobbie Houston Posts Trial Update on Instagram

‘The Thorn’: Visually Conveying God’s Supernatural Power

John Bolin: All Artists ‘Bear the Image of the Creator’

Nikki Haley to John Hagee: ‘I Want To Be You When I Grow Up’

Is Haley Trying to Impress the GOP Religious Base?

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