I love to help worship leaders and worship pastors grow and become all that God has called them to be. I hope these 12 keys challenge you like they challenge me. I have been leading worship and pastoring for over 30 years, but I still go back to this list to see what I need to work on in order to stay a successful worship pastor!
Countdown: 12 Keys to Being a Successful Worship Pastor
12. Develop your administrative skills
Are you creating timely schedules for your musicians and planning ahead on the church calendar?
Are your worship sets and services well-organized?
Do your worship teams get their music well in advance so they can be excellent?
Controversial pastor Mark Driscoll (founding pastor of the now defunct Mars Hill Church and founding and current pastor of The Trinity Church) addressed whether a Christian can attended a gay wedding in a recent Instagram video.
“There is only one acceptable answer for a Bible-believing, Spirit-filled Christian,” the caption read beside Driscoll’s video.
Driscoll told his followers that a Bible-believing, Jesus loving, faithful Christian should not attend a gay wedding for a family member or a friend.
The “Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together” author also listed going to a “strip club,” a “drug den,” or a “progressive, woke church” that flies a rainbow flag as things Christian shouldn’t do.
“Those are all places that are not best for God’s people,” Driscoll explained.
“I know we love people, and if they don’t know Jesus, we want to build a relationship [with them],” Driscoll shared. But “if somebody claims to be a Christian and they’re getting into a same-sex marriage, then you for sure can’t go, because what you’re doing then [is] you’re agreeing with apostasy and false teaching.”
Driscoll believes that anyone who attends a same-sex wedding is publicly endorsing something that God is against. Driscoll further said that he wouldn’t officiate a wedding for a same-sex couple, “so why would I attend one?”
“Whether you’re up front [officiating] it, or you’re sitting in the pew, [you’re] endorsing it. The question is, if God isn’t for it, how can you be? If God isn’t excited about it, how can you pretend to be,” Driscoll asked.
Explaining that his answer applies to same-sex couples who claim to be Christian as well as those who don’t, Driscoll asked, “Does God show up” for a same-sex wedding?
“Why would he show up for something that he’s not for,” Driscoll concluded. “If he’s not going to be there, [then] why should you?”
Driscoll has been accused of being an abusive leader during his time at The Trinity Church, as well as when he was at Mars Hill Church. His alleged abuses at Mars Hill were documented at length in Mike Cosper’s podcast series “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill.”
The viral Instagram post was liked by controversial pastor Greg Locke, and it received some 200 comments.
“I can agree with this policy, unless it were one of my children,” one follower said.
“I don’t think I could damage my relationship with them to that extent,” she continued. “If that other person ends up being their life long partner, I could alienate myself from them forever. Then not only would I be heartbroken, they would too, and it would close the door on me ever being able to convert them to becoming Christians and living a life God is honored by.”
Another wrote, “If I were to stay away from sinners, I would have to be a hermit. We all fall short of the glory of God. God sees all sin as sin. One never knows what others have gone through to get where they are. I can only hope to love as God loves. I am not by far perfect but I do try to be the best I can and hope my love helps by not judging. Until you experience situations you do not know how you will feel or react.”
Dolly Parton released a new song last week that she says is based on a dream she had about God. The country music legend dropped the single on Jan. 19, which was her birthday, saying she wanted to give and not receive on her special day.
“Well, today is my birthday,” says Parton at the beginning of a video on her Instagram page. After singing “Happy Birthday” to herself and pointing out her birthday flowers, Parton, who turned 77, says the new song “kind of came to me in a dream, and I felt like it’s worth putting out there, something special—well, it’s special to me.”
Dolly Parton’s new song is called, “Don’t Make Me Have To Come Down There.” In her brief video, she explains, “I had a dream about God standing on a mountain looking down at us, saying, ‘Don’t make me have to come down there.’ And then, it woke me up.” So Parton got up and began writing a song about her dream, a process that took her “a period of weeks and months.”
“And just felt like I should drop it on my birthday,” she concludes, “so I hope you enjoy it.”
The lyrics to Parton’s song portray God admonishing his children to obey him or to face the consequences. He is looking down from a mountain “in such dismay” and says, “Don’t make me have to come down there / My children, you had best beware / If you don’t pay attention, consequences will be dire.” The lyrics continue:
I’ve told you time and time again You can’t disobey and hope to win I am still the boss here in case there’s any doubt You know I put you in this world and I can take you out
Don’t make me have to come down there You’ve always been my cross to bear I’ve let you try my patience as all good Fathers do You’re on my last nerve, I have had it up to here with you
I gave you a book, you didn’t read it I gave you my Word, you didn’t heed it Gave you a map, you said you didn’t need it And now you’ve lost direction and you’re wandering aimlessly
In the song, God’s children respond poorly to major world events, such as war, natural disasters, and pandemics. “Turn a deaf ear, a blind eye,” God says. “I am wondering whether I should take my Bible belt and whip you into shape.”
U.S. Senator Kamala Harris speaking with attendees at the 2019 California Democratic Party State Convention at the George R. Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California. Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
During a speech marking the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris left out the words “life” and “Creator” from the Declaration of Independence. The vice president’s Sunday address sparked backlash, even from some progressives.
Last June, the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe decision, which legalized most abortions nationwide. Harris used Sunday’s speech to criticize Congressional Republicans, saying some want to ban abortion “even from the moment of conception.” She added, “The right of every woman in every state in this country to make decisions about her own body is on the line.”
Kamala Harris Lists ‘Liberty,’ ‘Happiness,’ But Not ‘Life’
“So we are here together because we collectively believe and know America is a promise,” Harris said in prepared remarks. “It is a promise of freedom and liberty, not just some but for all. A promise we made in the Declaration of Independence that we are each endowed with the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
The original text reads: “…that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Reaction was swift, from people in both parties. “Hey @VP, It’s LIFE, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” tweeted Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert. “We have the right to LIFE.”
Republican communicator Matt Whitlock retweeted video of Harris’ speech, writing, “This point is obvious but when the ‘right to life’ blows up your message so bad you have to pretend it doesn’t exist then maybe your message isn’t very good.”
Tony Perkins, founder of the conservative Family Research Council, also retweeted video of the speech, asking if the vice president’s omissions were “[uninformed] or intentionally deceptive?”
LifeNews.com tweeted: “It’s no surprise Kamala Harris left God and the right to life out of the Declaration of Independence. She worships abortion.”
Pro-Life Democrat Calls Kamala Harris ‘A Traitor to Our Party’
Kamala Harris’ wording also sparked anger from within her own party. Terrisa Bukovinac, former Democrats for Life of America president, says, “Few people in Washington [are] more complicit in the mass murder of the unborn that Kamala Harris.”
Bukovinac, an atheist who founded Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, calls Harris “a traitor to our party and to the values of non-violence and non-discrimination.” In a statement to The Christian Post, she adds that her organization “will continue to fight for a future where [Harris’] treachery is remembered with contempt and shame.”
Pro-life Democrats may feel discouraged by their party’s extreme abortion stance, says Katie Glenn of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. According to one recent poll, a majority of Americans who favor significant restrictions on abortion are Democrats.
A Mississippi school district has reversed its policy prohibiting students from wearing face masks emblazoned with religious messages after a legal dispute that began in the Fall of 2020 when third grader Lydia Booth was required to remove her “Jesus Loves Me” mask in favor of a school-provided mask with no imagery.
Booth, who was nine years old at the time the dispute began amid school re-openings after the temporary shutdown brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, was told that her protective mask violated a Simpson County School District policy barring masks that included “political, religious, sexual or any inappropriate symbols, gestures or statements that may be offensive, disruptive or deemed distractive to the school environment.”
However, Booth’s parents, Matthew and Jennifer, claimed that the policy was changed to include such language only after they objected to their daughter being prohibited from wearing her mask.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) represented the Booths in the federal lawsuit against the school district.
In 2020, ADF senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer said of the case, “When the school is discriminating against individuals who want to wear masks expressing religious beliefs but are allowing students and faculty to wear masks expressing messages with other beliefs, that’s not allowed by the First Amendment.”
“[Lydia] told her parents she wants to be a missionary, and that’s why she wants to wear this mask,” Langhofer said. “It made her really sad when she was forced to remove this mask because the message means something to her, and it’s her choice to wear it.”
Despite the dispute, Lydia said at the time that her stand against religious discrimination had sparked curiosity among her classmates about Christianity, even inspiring an older sister of one of her classmates to embark on a journey to read the entire Bible.
The suit argued that Simpson County School District had allowed students “to wear masks and other clothing with a wide variety of expressive messages during school, including ‘Black Lives Matter’ and masks and shirts promoting many sports teams,” but specifically singled out Lydia for her Christian beliefs.
Eleven people were killed and nine other injured when a gunman opened fire at a Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park, Calif. Screen capture from The Washington Post
MONTEREY PARK, Calif. (BP) – Pastor Victor Chayasirisobhon likens the Asian Lunar New Year to the traditional American Thanksgiving, complete with “extremely important” family gatherings of love and prayer.
A mass shooter’s choice of Lunar New Year’s Eve to kill 11 and injure nine others is a wound particularly painful for East Asian communities, including Christians and nonbelievers, Chayasirisobhon told Baptist Press after the tragedy.
Churches seeking to comfort the community would benefit from knowing the communities’ cultural customs, said Chayasirisobhon, Southern Baptist Convention first vice president and senior pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Anaheim, about 30 miles south of the crime.
“I think that it’s always good for churches as a whole in the current climate to reach out and express their condolences and their care whenever anything like this happens,” he said. “Sometimes in Asian communities (we’ve) not always felt like we’re seen. So when people of many different cultures, particularly of church culture, reach out and express their sympathy and their condolences in times like these, it is well received and appreciated.
“Typically at times when something happens in our community, depending on which culture of Asia you’re dealing with, it’s typically handled within that particular community; but it’s handled as a community.”
Chayasirisobhon has reached out to Southern Baptist pastors in Monterey Park, but said typically the community will craft a response by first learning the names of the victims and their immediate families.
“I think this is a very sensitive time, and I think that helping in the appropriate moment is more important than just jumping in without knowing what’s really happening,” he said. “Typically the way we would help is (by asking) does anyone know anyone who’s related to any of those people that were murdered, and we would try to reach out through those networks first.
“We’re a quieter culture. But that’s where food will show up. We’ll send food. We’ll send money. If these people went to church and are part of the church community, all of those services and resources and care will be given through that way.
“Finding a church or a ministry that’s connected to some of the victims of the shooting is typically how we would do that,” he said, “rather than some sort of big, visible campaign.”
Peter Yanes, associate vice president of Asian American relations for the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, expressed condolences.
“This tragic and senseless killing shouldn’t be happening to anyone. My heart goes with the families of the innocent victims and everyone affected — those grieving losses and healing as a community,” Yanes told Baptist Press. “As churches lock arms together to pray for the Monterey Park community, the assurance of comfort, peace and hope may be found in Jesus Christ in these troubling times.”
Snakes aren't the focus of Believe Pest Control, but can be removed if Jay Sloan is already responding to a call, as was the case here in the company's early days. Looking on is his wife, Ronda. Photo courtesy of Jay Sloan
SPRING HILL, Kan. (BP) — Jay Sloan had a calling so clear, it bugged him into doing something about it.
Sloan has spent more than a year getting inside homes as the owner/operator of Believe Pest Control. At a client dinner last week, he formally announced the official launch of Believe Church this Easter. It wasn’t a surprise, as Sloan and his wife of 28 years, Ronda, have been active in the community with Believe Church’s launch team.
However, relationships established over a pesky wasp nest or safeguarding against termites will no doubt go to a deeper level. He’s learned some things in more than 15 years in pest control through lessons that prove quite beneficial for someone in a pastoral role.
“The need is universal,” he said. “Everybody at one time or another has had problems with a pest.
“It’s also an intimate problem. People are inviting you into their home to show something that they typically don’t want others to know about. They’re letting you into their world.”
Years ago as a 34-year-old pastor in California, Sloan needed another income stream to provide for his wife and four kids. That led to part-time work with some pest control companies.
Six years later he started his own. Sloan’s father took a second home mortgage to help get it off the ground. A year later Sloan had paid him back.
From there, things got busy. Seven years with no vacation while serving as a pastor, worship leader and running a full-time pest control business led to burnout and Sloan stepping away from ministry in 2017.
He focused on recovery and work. While the pandemic in 2020 shuttered many businesses, it provided a boon for Sloan. Pests can’t run rampant and infestations need to be dealt with, so companies like his received the crucial “essential” label from the government.
“People were working from home and they noticed more ants and spiders,” he said. “Our business doubled.”
Eventually, he eased back into volunteering for ministry. In 2021 the opportunity opened up to move to the Kansas City area and near family, so he sold his business.
They launched Believe Pest Control in Spring Hill, the town’s first locally owned pest control company, and spent a year building inroads as well as financial security for his family. The family also attended New City Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in Shawnee.
Soon, discussions were happening about New City helping start a church in Spring Hill, south of Shawnee, with Sloan as the pastor.
New City Church and Believe Church are both Send Network churches with the North American Mission Board. New City is also the sending church for Believe Church.
In recent months, Believe Church has put itself in the community through outreaches like a block party and fall carnival. The Sloans’ work through their ministry as well as their company is notable.
“Jay and Ronda are a model for future planters concerning how to plant a church in a sustainable way in an underserved community,” said Matt Maestas, Send Network church-planting catalyst for Kansas City. “By first engaging their city through starting a business, they added value and addressed a real need before they ever thought of having a worship service.
“My hope is that increasing numbers of planters will see what Jay and Ronda are doing and consider it a preferred way of planting in the future.”
The couple respond to calls together, so clients get to know them both. They’ve also experienced the job together, as in stubborn wasp nests, spiders, ants, mice and SWAT teams.
Pope Francis delivers his blessing at the end of a Mass for the Congolese community in St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, July 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
ROME (RNS) — Embarking next week on his 40th apostolic visit abroad, Pope Francis hopes to bring “a word of peace” and consolation during his long-awaited visit to Congo and South Sudan, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.
However, a recent surge in violence in Congo has raised concerns about the pope’s safety when he touches down in the capital city of Kinshasa on Tuesday (Jan. 31).
Upon arrival, Francis will meet with civil and religious authorities in the country. He will remain in Kinshasa until Feb. 3, then will visit Juba, South Sudan, before returning to Rome Feb. 5.
During the second leg of his trip, the pope will be accompanied by Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, leader of the Anglican Communion, and the Rev. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Despite concerns for the pope’s safety on the trip, Bruni told journalists during a news briefing Tuesday that “there was no specific threat” to the 86-year-old pontiff.
“There is a great effort by the local authorities to ensure security,” he said.
The visit was originally scheduled for July 2021 but was postponed after doctors recommended the pontiff reschedule “in order not to jeopardize the results” of therapy he was undergoing for his persistent knee pain, the Vatican said.
The Vatican released an updated schedule of his visit in December, with the most notable change being the removal of a Mass in the eastern Congolese city of Goma, which has been at the center of a conflict between the Congolese military and the M23 (March 23 Movement) rebels. Instead, he will meet with victims from Goma at the apostolic nunciature in Kinshasa.
In an interview published Jan. 14 with Mundo Negro, a magazine run by the Comboni missionaries, Francis said it was impossible to visit Goma “due to the fighting.”
“It’s not that I’m not going because I’m afraid, but with this (volatile) atmosphere and seeing what is happening,” it was important to minimize the risk of attacks on those attending, he said.
According to a report Tuesday by the U.N. refugee agency, an estimated 2.1 million men, women and children have been internally displaced due to the conflict in Congo.
Most recently, the so-called Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Jan. 15 bombing of a Pentecostal church in the eastern city of Kasindi that left 17 dead and dozens wounded.
In a Jan. 17 telegram to the Rev. André Bokundoa-Bo-Likabe, president of the Church of Christ in Congo, the pope said he was “saddened to learn of the attack on a Pentecostal church in Kasindi, which caused the death of innocent people,” and he expressed his “compassion and closeness” to the victims.
During an online meeting with journalists on Wednesday, Congolese Bishop Félicien Mwanama Galumbulula of Luiza said the violent attacks in the east have “worried us because it is the second time (this year) that a sacred place was attacked by bombing.”
“The pope has spoken about a world war fought in pieces,” Galumbulula said. “In Congo, at least in the east, people are used to this violence.”
Nevertheless, the bishop said he hopes that the pope’s visit will “have an impact in the hearts, the culture and the society of Congo.”
Nick Fuentes, center right in sunglasses, greets supporters before speaking at a pro-Trump march, Nov. 14, 2020, in Washington. Former President Donald Trump had dinner Nov. 22, 2022, at his Mar-a-Lago club with the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who is now known as Ye, as well as Fuentes, who has used his online platform to spew antisemitic and white supremacist rhetoric.(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
(RNS) — As midnight Eastern time approached on Tuesday (Jan. 24), far-right political operative Nick Fuentes shouted into his virtual megaphone — returned just hours earlier by Elon Musk’s Twitter — “I’m back! … ready for WAR!”
Twitter first banned Fuentes, a Holocaust denier and self-described neo-Nazi, in 2021 for “repeated violations.” In October 2022, Fuentes opened a new account but was quickly banned. His reinstatement Tuesday morning came amid Twitter’s attempts to bring back users who had been banned before billionaire Musk’s Oct. 27 takeover, in an effort to reform what the new CEO and owner has described as inconsistent policies on hate speech. By Wednesday morning, Fuentes’ account was again suspended.
In his brief Twitter comeback tour, Fuentes reveled in his new freedom by spouting late-night obscenities and conspiratorial, antisemitic musings into Twitter Spaces, an audio feature of the social media platform.
“Jews run the news. … Jews run the media. Back on Twitter, let’s f—ing go,” Fuentes said, mocking critics, including Ben Shapiro, the Jewish founding editor of the conservative media company The Daily Wire.
For about 20 minutes, more than 3,000 listeners tuned in to the 24-year-old’s rambling speech. Fuentes railed against Jews and “Israel first” policies, saying, “Israel did 9/11, and we love Hitler.”
He also called for more Christians to become world leaders and said he’s “ride or die” for Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, who in recent years has doubled down on branding himself as a Christian. Fuentes now consults for Ye’s 2024 presidential campaign, having shifted his loyalty away from former President Donald Trump.
“I’m not just another grifter,” Fuentes said, explaining that he’s loved Ye since he was a kid and will not bail on him after the rapper’s recent spew of antisemitic remarks, “like the other grifters” who condemned Ye. The musician’s talent agency dropped him, as did Adidas, Gap, Balenciaga, JPMorgan Chase and others.
A few days into Ye’s announcement that he planned to run for president, Ye and Fuentes dined with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club. Trump claimed he knew nothing about Fuentes before meeting him and did not denounce either man’s past hate speech.
In December, Fuentes sat next to Ye when Ye said he sees “good things about Hitler” on the Alex Jones show “Infowars,” and “I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis.” Jones raised his eyebrows and looked at Fuentes, who showed support for Ye.
“Ye loves Hitler, and I love Hitler too!” Fuentes said during his Twitter broadcast.
Fuentes also described how, even though he had hoped for years for podcaster and YouTuber Tim Pool to invite him onto his show, when Ye walked off the show on Nov. 29, Fuentes followed. “I’m loyal to Ye,” he said. “I work for him now.”
President Joe Biden speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast, Feb. 3, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The National Prayer Breakfast is under new management, distancing the decades-old event from the secretive organization that founded it after years of controversy and a scandal that showed the yearly gathering in the nation’s capital is vulnerable to espionage.
According to a statement sent to reporters by former Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor, the prayer breakfast, whose highlight is typically a speech from the sitting U.S. president, is no longer run by The International Foundation, a Christian group more familiarly referred to as “The Family.” Instead, the 2023 breakfast, to be held this year on Feb. 2, has been coordinated by the newly created National Prayer Breakfast Foundation, which emerged “following numerous meetings in 2022,” according to Pryor’s statement.
“As with many other things in our country, the COVID years allowed the Members to hit the reset button and organize a working group to fulfill this longtime vision,” the statement read.
Unlike past versions of the breakfast, which were hosted in a sprawling hotel ballroom with hundreds of attendees from all over the world, the new version of the gathering will only include members of Congress “plus one’s spouse, family member, or constituent guest,” wrote Pryor.
In a Wednesday (Jan. 25) interview with Religion News Service, Pryor, board president of the National Prayer Breakfast Foundation, said the breakfast is the new organization’s sole event. He anticipates the expected 200 to 300 participants will bring a spouse, significant other or “their pastor or priest from home.” He added that the breakfast will not be a sit-down affair as it has been in the past. Attendees will be offered bagels, coffee and tea before they take their seats in an auditorium at the Capitol Visitor Center in the U.S. Capitol.
“That’s what Congress wants, they want to take it back to its origins and in the early days it really was just the Congress and the president,” said Pryor, who expects President Joe Biden to attend and called the plans “a little bit of a back-to-basics movement.”
The International Foundation plans to hold a separate assembly at the same time as the prayer breakfast called “The Gathering.” The event appears to resemble older versions of the prayer breakfast, with attendees observing the National Prayer Breakfast via video as part of a two-day convention with what organizers expect will feature “significant international participation.”
A. Larry Ross, media representative for The International Foundation, confirmed that its event “will be interrupted to carry the President’s message into the ballroom via livestream in real time,” he told RNS via email.
“The planned NPB Gathering at The Washington Hilton currently has well over 1400 attendees registered for the two-day event, including 2/3 domestic and 1/3 international Fellowship friends from around the world.”
The Young Turks were the first to reveal the changes to the event on Tuesday.
Representatives for Delaware Democrat Sen. Chris Coons, who helped coordinate previous iterations of the prayer breakfast, confirmed the leadership change to RNS on Tuesday. Last year, Coons similarly cast the 2022 prayer breakfast, which was also scaled down and took place at the Capitol, as a kind of “reset” for the event.
The changes follow years of controversy surrounding the prayer breakfast, whose origins date back to President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration.
The breakfast first came under widespread scrutiny in 2009 after journalist Jeff Sharlet published the book “The Family,” detailing his experience with the organization that runs the event. The event was hit with scandal in 2018, when the Department of Justice charged Russian national Maria Butina with attempting to exploit the National Prayer Breakfast as part of a larger “conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation.”
It was once a lot easier to be a Christian who experienced unity in community. At least it seemed that way as a kid.
I always seemed to have an instant connection or bond with even a stranger when I found out they were a Christian. We knew many of our principles, morals, and ethics were similar. We knew our perspectives on the world and our role in it were very similar. It’s very possible that I was just naive and this never existed, but there was often a sense of camaraderie when I encountered another Christian rather than a hesitancy or reservation.
Not only is our culture in America changing, but so is our culture within the church. Hostility is on the rise and sides are being taken. It’s no longer about the blood of Jesus binding us together, but about what your stance is on today’s critical issues.
Both sides are yelling at each other, “Do your research” and “Don’t be blind.” We’re at a stalemate, and Christians are refusing to listen to other Christians. On some days, I too fear I’ve fallen into the hostility and tension swirling around us.
I genuinely believe most Christians on both sides of every issue are doing their best to think through each topic with a sense of spiritual maturity and biblical foundation. But it’s so easy to lose sight of the desires of people’s hearts when they’re full of rage and fear.
Over the past year and half, there have been a number of topics we’ve approached on this blog that have left Christians disagreeing with us and being outright furious with us. This has become a very normal experience for anyone wading into the waters of hot topic issues. We truly believe it’s important for these types of conversations to be had in general, but also publicly.
As you continue to have these difficult conversations publicly and privately, here are four common missteps that contribute to the deterioration of Christian unity.
1. Rage First, Love Later
The strategy of shoot first and ask questions later might be wise during combat. But it’s less useful when trying to engage in meaningful and healthy relationships. When it comes to the way we share our thoughts, beliefs, and conclusions on any given topic, the way we do it matters.
Each and every person, regardless of their religion, gender, ethnicity, or status is created in the image of God. They have intrinsic value and worth. Whether the person disagreeing with you is a loved one in the room with you or a stranger on the internet, you simply must engage with them as a person with great value and worth.
It’s no secret that Christians are called to love the world in the same way Jesus has loved it. Everyone knows this. And yet, our love for one another is the first thing to go when we enter contentious conversations. We simply must not let our rage and passion conceal our love for other people, Christian or otherwise. When we begin name calling, accusation hurling, and being downright rude, we’ve allowed our rage to take control and love is nowhere to be found.
If everyone who had dropped out of our congregations in the past decade returned, the typical church would triple in worship attendance. Read that previous sentence carefully. One of the most significant reasons for stagnating and declining attendance is church dropouts. The most challenging problem is that church dropouts rarely return. Since reclamation ministry is exceedingly difficult, it is better to engage in prevention.
Recognize Church Dropouts Before They Leave
Stemming the tide of church dropouts begins before they dropout. And we have an abundance of information that informs us about those who are in danger of dropping out. Here are six of the most common early warning signs, with suggestions to address the issues early rather than later.
1. Decreased frequency in attendance.
If your small group or Sunday school class does not keep attendance records, please begin doing so. It’s not about the numbers per se; it’s about ministry to the body of Christ.
With good records, you can tell when a person begins to attend less frequently. And you can contact the member to ask if there is anything you can do for him or her. Decreased worship attendance is more difficult to discern because records are rarely kept. However, it is not unusual to hear church members say that they aren’t seeing someone as much as they once did. Those casual comments are a call to action.
2. No longer attending a small group.
If someone stops attending altogether, there is an urgent need to contact him or her to see how you might minister to that person. Those who drop out of small groups typically leave the church completely within three months.
3. Decreased giving patterns.
Most pastors and church staff do not have access to members’ giving records. But those leaders can ask the person or persons who do see the records to let them know if a member has a significant decline in giving.
When I was a pastor, our financial secretary did an excellent job of keeping me informed of potential needs. I would typically take the person to lunch. In every case, I did not bring up the giving issue. But in every case, I discovered the ministry need that precipitated the decline in giving.
4. Major participant in a church conflict.
There are, unfortunately, some church members who are constant complainers and conflict creators. Still, if you notice church members get involved in a conflict for the first time, watch them carefully.
If you serve in a church, criticism comes with the territory. I doubt that any pastor or leader likes it. But, we must deal with it in a God-honoring way. One way to do that is to understand why people criticize us. I’ve listed below what I believe are seven reasons why church people criticize pastors with a suggested response to each.
Why church people criticize pastors
1. They lack spiritual maturity.
Some people criticize pastors because they think it’s part of a Christian’s job description. After all, “Pastors need to avoid pride and some good healthy criticism can keep ’em humble.”
• Response: Don’t be surprised that you get criticized. Make sure that your church has an intentional spiritual formation strategy to help people think and act more biblically.
2. They feel they are losing the church they once knew.
As we get older, we must deal with the inevitable results of aging, slowing cognitive function, and reduced flexibility and resilience. Seniors in your church may feel that changes you are bringing are taking away the church they grew up in. Guess what? Unless we stay resilient as we age, when we get older we’ll probably feel the same way.
• Response: Give a gracious listening ear to seniors and seek to empathize with them by stepping into their shoes. Try to see their concerns from their perspective.
3. They don’t feel they have a voice.
Some church people can feel that their opinions don’t matter and so criticize pastors to get their voice heard.
• Response: Provide opportunities that give people a way to give input. I’ve heard Patrick Lencioni, leadership author and guru, often say that people will support you if they feel that they’ve been truly heard.
Meeting with small group leaders is one of the most impactful things you can do as a small groups point-person. Group leaders need care, coaching, and encouragement to stay in the game. While we all know this to be true, have you ever walked away from a one-on-one meeting with a leader and though, “did that even accomplish anything?”
In order to ensure that you make the most of the time spent with a leader, it is important to go in with a game plan. How will you make sure they are alright? Can you get a sense of how their group is doing? What particular skill do they need to be coached in?
Vital Questions for Small Group Leaders
Here are some impactful questions to have prepared to ask when checking in with a small group leader.
Personal Questions
Before you start talking about their small group be sure to check in on them personally. It is easy for us to get straight to business and explain our latest strategy but their health is the priority. So goes the leader, so goes the small group! So start your meeting with them by asking two or three questions like these:
How are you doing?
How is your family doing?
How has God been working in your life?
What Scripture is currently shaping you?
What has your attention, thoughts, and energy?
What relationships are you currently investing in?
Who are you helping to take one step closer to Jesus?
Leadership Questions
Now it is time to dive into topics related to their small group! Asking good questions about their small group will do two things. Good questions will allow you to get a good picture of where they need coaching and they will also provide stories about how God is working in their small group! Try asking three to five of the questions below, depending on what season the leader is in—asking too many may overwhelm them.
A while back, a reader named Brad sent me this question: We seem to be developing a debate at our church in regards to turning down the house lights to “set the mood” for better worship. What is your take on that for church lighting? Later I received this about church lighting philosophy from another reader, Jeremy:
I was wondering if you could offer any commentary regarding the use of lights at any of the WorshipGod conferences. I have memories going back to the “Psalms” conference [in 2008]. In each of the conference settings, it has struck me that the lights in the house are left active during the music-worship time of gatherings. Is that intentional? Is that unintentional? Is it because no one is available to run a lights scheme?
Glad you asked. Yes, we do have someone available to run a lights scheme, and yes, leaving the lights up is intentional.
But we don’t.
More and more churches have chosen a church lighting philosophy to turn down the house lights when the congregation sings. Search for “worship” in Google images, and the majority are mostly dark or shadows.
For a number of years I’ve wondered why. This is my attempt to share some of my thoughts. To be clear, I’m not going to address production lighting in general. On that topic, we should pursue what John Piper terms undistracting excellence—doing what we do so skillfully that people aren’t even aware of it. In this post I want to focus on the level of lighting for a congregation.
The Good Stuff About Church Lighting
I think I understand at least some of the reasons for turning the lights down.
It keeps people from being distracted.
It focuses people on the front.
People feel more comfortable and less conspicuous.
Screens and videos are easier to see when the room is dark.
Lights can be used to direct people’s focus.
Lights on the stage are less effective when the rest of the room is fully lit.
These are legitimate reasons for lowering the house lights. But I want to ask whether we should still consider turning the lights up. Or even on.
I recognize this issue falls far down the scale when it comes to crucial topics for the church to consider. But perhaps low lights can have unintended consequences.
The Not So Good Stuff About Church Lighting
Brad asked me what my take was on turning “the house lights down to set the mood for better worship.” His questions beg a few more questions.
Why does not seeing the congregation make for “better worship?”
What is the best “mood” for worship?
Should we be trying to set a mood through lighting?
When we start quantifying worship by the church lighting and mood, we’re already in trouble. We’ve slipped from viewing worship as a Spirit-enabled response to God’s self-revelation in the gospel to seeing it as an emotional experience that can be humanly produced and manipulated. Worship is not simply a mood. Aesthetic elements should support and complement our response to God’s Word and the gospel, not overpower it, distract from it or be the foundation for it.
God has given us means to motivate and affect people—the Word, prayer, the gospel. He’s given us the Lord’s Supper and baptism as visual and sensory ways to remember the gospel and its implications. Aesthetics like church lighting philosophy are important, but secondary. Every time in history the church has overly emphasized aesthetic and artistic elements, the gospel has suffered. So here are:
Church Lighting Philosophy – Turn the Lights Up
1. We’re speaking to one another.
When I go to a movie with Julie, I don’t mind that the theater is completely dark. I have zero interest in what the people around me are doing. I just want to see what’s on the screen. But a movie theater is not the church. The church is Christians meeting with God and each other around the gospel.
We’re commanded twice in the New Testament to speak to or teach and admonish one another as we sing (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). That involves not only hearing others, but seeing them. When I’m not leading, I’ll look around a few times just to take in the fact that I’m singing God’s praise with other saints Christ has redeemed. I’m encouraged by their participation and the reality that I’m not alone!
Valentine’s Day snack ideas for kids remind me of growing up. In our house, my mom always made the holiday special. We had decorations, candy, cards, and a red and white dinner (i.e., spaghetti, lasagna, etc.). I’ve tried to make new traditions with my family for Valentine’s Day. And we all enjoy sweet treats!
Are you looking for Valentine’s Day snack ideas for kids? Maybe you need treats for children at your church or Sunday school? Then check out six of my favorite Valentine’s Day snacks, courtesy of Pinterest. (As always, be aware of any food allergies.)
Have kids put wooden sticks into fresh-from-the-oven sugar cookies. Then they can decorate the cookies with icing and fun sprinkles and candies. This Valentine’s Day snack is great for preschoolers and school-age children.
This snack features fruit. But you can use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut many foods. Examples include apples, pineapple, mango, kiwi, bananas, strawberries, cheese, bread, brownies, and cookies. This snack is great for toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children.
What are spiritual works of mercy? And how can students in your church youth group participate? Read on for insights about servanthood and selflessness—and how teens can play a key role.
John Wesley believed that Christians practice certain works as a response to God’s grace. He called these works means of grace, or means of participating in God’s gracious presence in our life. Wesley taught about works of piety and mercy. Works of piety include prayer, reading and hearing the Scripture, Christian baptism, and communion.
Jesus summarizes spiritual works of mercy when he says to the righteous on Judgment Day: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”[1]
Echoing the prophet Micah, Wesley wrote:
Thus should he show his zeal for works of piety; but much more for works of mercy; seeing “God will have mercy and not sacrifice,” that is, rather than sacrifice. Whenever, therefore, one interferes with the other, works of mercy are to be preferred. Even reading, hearing, prayer are to be omitted, or to be postponed, “at charity’s almighty call;” when we are called to relieve the distress of our neighbor, whether in body or soul.[2]
Discipleship Remix: Spiritual Works of Mercy
Wesley emphasized spiritual works of mercy not to degrade works of piety. Instead, he pointed out that love of God and neighbor are at the center of what faith is all about. To emphasize loving our neighbors is to emphasize the love of God and vice versa. Thus, spiritual works of mercy reveal our true motivation.
Or as Bernard of Clairvaux writes, “He who fears God will do good, but something further has been said about the one who loves, that is, that he will keep God’s word. Where is God’s word to be kept? Obviously in the heart, as the prophet says: I have hidden your words in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.”[3] And the “word” that Bernard is referring to is both the word of God (scripture) and Word of God (Jesus Christ).
As those who carry the Word of God in our midst, the church is to be a merciful community. The church reveals the love of God as we feed the hungry. God’s loving presence is seen when the prisoner is freed to be fully alive in Christ. God is known in our midst when the stranger feels at home.
And what better part of the body of Christ than our youth to start a revolution of mercy! Perhaps because teens and young adults tend to take risks, the Spirit can work through their active faith to inspire the rest of the body of Jesus to spiritual works of mercy.
1. Clip grocery coupons (online or from Sunday’s paper) and put them beside the items at the store.
2. Take a home-cooked meal to a family in need.
Thirsty
3. Buy a bottled drink for someone who looks thirsty (homeless person, construction worker, mail carrier, police officer, bus driver, etc.).
4. Instead of skipping your daily coffee (or other drink) for Lent, consider doing it for 40 days starting now. Donate the proceeds to charity.
5. Donate bottled water to a local disaster relief agency. Or give funds to support disaster relief through American Red Cross. Visit http://www.redcross.org for more information.
Stranger
6. Hug someone you normally wouldn’t.
7. Invite neighbors over for dessert or host a party for the whole block.
8. Babysit for a Parent’s Day Out or Date Night Childcare event at church. If you collect donations, consider the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Visit http://www.davethomasfoundation.org/ to learn more.
Breuer was introduced by country music superstar John Rich (Lonestar, Big & Rich) as one of the “bravest guys in all of entertainment, because he decided he was through with the industry. He was going to say what he wanted to say and do it his way and be an American, and they could just deal with it.”
Rich told the crowed tent at Global Vision Bible Church that Breuer continues to get “bigger and bigger” because of that decision. Rich further called the former “Saturday Night Live” comedian a “patriot and a God-fearing man.”
During his routine, which lasted about 25 minutes, Breuer mocked people who have been vaccinated and boosted for COVID-19, as well as 24-year-old NFL player Damar Hamlin, who suffered a cardiac arrest on the playing field on Jan. 2 after being hit in the chest during a game.
“My in-laws are like ‘We got to get our flu shot, then a booster, then another booster.’ Then I say, ‘Well people are starting to die,'” Breuer said. Switching to a mocking tone, Breuer continued, “‘Where’d you’d hear that?!! What are you, one of those conspiracy theorists? What are you a cult member? Extremist? One of them?’”
Letting out a laugh, Breuer said, “Here in the NFL,” before falling to the floor in an attempt to reenact Hamlin’s medical crisis on the field.
The comedian then arose to his feet amid roaring applause and laughter and said, “Crazy conspiracy theorists.”
“Did you see the poor lady on the news in Canada,” Breuer continued, referring to the 22-year old Canadian news reporter Jessica Robb. The comedian then starting mocking Robb, shaking before collapsing. Like Hamlin, Robb shared in a statement that her on-air collapse was not a result of the COVID-19 vaccine.
In addition to mocking the COVID-19 pandemic, which by some estimates has claimed the lives of over 1.1 million Americans, Breuer took shots at Mark Zuckerburg, Anthony Fauci, people who still wear masks, the World Economic Forum, George Soros, Albert Bourla, and even the fact organizers were holding the event inside a tent in the rural location of Global Vision Bible Church.
“Look at us hanging in a tent on a cold day. This is how bad we want to get things straightened out,” Breuer said, “because, first of all, if you’ve never been here, this ain’t the easiest place to get to. I was convinced I was gonna get whacked today. My Waze was like, ‘Go up some dirt road.’ I saw people five miles away from Walmart just walking around with American flags.”
Breuer closed his act by saying, “When I finally said, ‘I got God behind my back and I don’t know how long my journey is,’ … when I said no to it all and I said that’s my only ruler [pointing up to God] and that’s the only direction, look what it’s put together.”
“Don’t stop believing in yourself. Use God. Not the experts. Not the politicians. Not anyone that pretends they’re higher than God and your family,” Breuer concluded.
It’s unknown whether Breuer would consider himself a born-again Christian, but he speaks often about following God in his ReAwaken America Tour routines.
For example, Breuer credits his wife’s faith for the fact that they have been married for 29 years.
“So one of the reasons my wife and I are going to be married so long is because she found Jesus. I’m being dead honest—saved our marriage,” Beurer shared at one of the events.
Pictured (left to right): Ava Luplow, Suzy Prime, Magdalene Franco, Andrea Prime, Salomon Correa; screengrabs via KARK
The close-knit community of Sherwood, Arkansas, is mourning the loss of five young people, including two high school students, who were fatally injured in a multi-car collision on Sunday (Jan. 22) while on their way back from a church-sponsored trip to Jackson Hole Bible College in Wyoming.
Suzy Prime and Ava Luplow were students of Sylvan Hills High School, and Salomon Correa, Magdalene Franco, and Andrea Prime were graduates of the same. They attended Faith Bible Fellowship Church together.
The five young people are being remembered by their church and community for their strong faith and positive presence in Sherwood.
Quint Scruggs, a fellow graduate of Sylvan Hills High School, told KATV, “I didn’t believe it until I got all over social media and that’s all I saw. I told everybody, there’s no way—I don’t believe it.”
“Always joyful, I mean there was never a dull moment, always made you laugh,” Scruggs said of the group. “We can’t take it back, you know, they’re gone and in a better place.”
Lydia VanderVate, who grew up going to church with the group, told KARK, “It feels like my heart is broken…They all had such bubbly personalities, could get along, always laughing with each other.”
On Monday, a vigil was held at Faith Bible Fellowship Church in remembrance of the five, where over 100 people gathered to mourn.
“Our fellowship is mourning the loss of five of our young adults—Salomon Correa, Magdalene Franco, Andrea Prime, Suzy Prime, and Ava Luplow,” the church said in a Facebook post. “After spending a week in Jackson Hole visiting Jackson Hole Bible College, they were involved in a multi-vehicle collision on an interstate in Wyoming.”
The collision occurred when another motorist crossed over onto the wrong side of the highway.
“Preliminary information has revealed that a Dodge Ram 3500 was headed east on Interstate 80 on the wrong side of the interstate. The Dodge collided with a commercial truck and a passenger car. As the Dodge truck collided with the passenger car, a driver of a second commercial truck attempted to avoid the approaching truck by driving into the median,” said Wyoming Highway Patrol in a statement posted to Facebook. “This commercial truck exited the median and entered the eastbound travel lanes, where it collided head-on with a Ford F-150. The second commercial truck and passenger truck immediately became engulfed in flames.”
Dr. Holly Catterton Allen is Professor of Family Studies and Christian Ministries at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. Her areas of scholarly interest are children’s spirituality and intergenerational issues, and she leads two national, ecumenical conferences. Holly’s new book is “Forming Resilient Children: The Role of Spiritual Formation for Healthy Development.”
Other Ways To Listen to This Podcast With Holly Catterton Allen
-What do we need to consider about children’s spirituality, and what misconceptions do Christians have of it?
-What’s your definition of resilience? What is the relationship between resilience and spirituality?
-What are practices churches and church leaders should be engaging in to help children be resilient?
-Can you give us some practical ideas for how pastors might better think about crafting a worship service so that it applies to all generations, but specifically, so that it is meaningful to children?
Key Quotes From Holly Catterton Allen
“We often have not had a good definition of what we mean by ‘children’s spirituality.’”
“Children are born as spiritual beings. They are created in the image of God and they are endowed from birth with the capacity to relate with others, with God and with themselves.
“We’ve had an ambiguous theology of what we think of children before that time [when they can choose to follow Jesus].”
“Children are spiritual because they’re created by God as spiritual beings all around the world. All children are spiritual.”
“All children everywhere are being formed spiritually, maybe not in a positive way, but are being formed in that we are nurturing our children in their relationship with themselves and with others and with a transcendent other.”
“I think one of the gaps we have in Christianity is we’ve tended to equate teaching children and nurturing them spiritually with learning information.”
Joby Martin joins “The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast” to discuss what happens when a church leader has truly been run over by the “grace train" and understands the profound love and grace of God.
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