New Book Spotlights Influence of Pentecostalism on California’s Mexican Farmworkers

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January 23, 2023

mexican farmworkers — Salinas Apostólicos harvesting. Members of a Salinas, California, church gather for a quasi-staged photograph in the mid-1940s. Standing on the far right is Manuel Vizcarra, the eventual presiding bishop of La Asamblea Apostólica de la Fe en Cristo Jesús (AAFCJ). Photograph courtesy of Milca Montañez-Vizcarra.

(RNS) — The farm labor history of California has often been told through the plight of agricultural laborers during the Depression era and the efforts, beginning in the early 1960s, of the United Farm Workers to improve working conditions of Mexicans in the fields.

But to Lloyd Barba, a professor of religion at Amherst College, this history isn’t complete without factoring in religion, particularly the stories of California’s Mexican farmworkers who embraced Pentecostalism, a Christian movement generally seen at the time as a “distasteful new sect” with “cultish and fanatical tendencies.”

“I think about how often Latino history is told as labor history, and that makes sense … but where are the laborers going?” Barba said. “If we’re going to get a more balanced and accurate Latino history, we have to look at Latino religious life.”

In his recently released book, “Sowing the Sacred: Mexican Pentecostal Farmworkers in California,” Barba writes about the Mexican and Mexican American Pentecostal agricultural workers who built houses of worship in the state’s agricultural towns, who turned to “divine healing” for injuries they sustained working in the fields and whose worship style inspired civil rights leader Cesar Chavez to incorporate music and singing in his union organizing.

Barba also writes about the role of women in these church spaces “who were the foundation of the church,” despite not given ministerial credentials to become preachers. They raised money for the building of churches by selling food and made the worship spaces look holy through their handmade goods, such as doilies and fabric embroidered with biblical phrases, Barba said.

“To do a material history of this Mexican Pentecostal movement is to do women’s history,” Barba told Religion News Service.

The book traces the development of Pentecostalism among migrant laborers between 1916 and 1966, before the heyday of the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers. Barba felt it important to “describe a moment where the exploitation of Mexican workers is at its worst.”

Barba, in his book, recounts how “divine healing” was seen as a pragmatic way to care for impoverished workers who lacked regular access to medical care. For laborers working in tough conditions, it was about “hard work and fervent worship … work by day and worship by night,” Barba said.

“People are getting hurt. People are contracting tuberculosis. People are seeking out healing when there’s not a health care system in place to provide those kinds of services,” Barba said. “Whether we’re talking physical healing, or what we now refer to as mental health and counseling, these are spaces that offered respite in an otherwise punishing world.”

Worship services “would call for people who were sick to come up and to be healed,” Barba said. There was a “spectacle” side to it, he added, “in that it was a very public kind of ritual.”

In the book, Barba cites a flier distributed by La Iglesia Apostólica Cristiania del Pentecostés that invited residents in the Imperial County city of Calexico to revival services held “under the direction of the Holy Spirit.” These services were outdoor and presided by a Mexican orator and pastor who lived in Los Angeles. “All are invited. Bring your sick and God will bless them,” the flier declared.

First Post-Roe March for Life Marked by ‘Celebration and Resolve’

By

Tom Strode

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January 23, 2023

post_roe — Thousands participated in the 2023 March for Life Jan. 20, 2023. Photos by Eric Brown courtesy of Baptist Press.

WASHINGTON (BP) – Thousands of pro-life Americans gathered Friday (Jan. 20) for the 50^th annual March for Life to rejoice in a long-sought victory and to restate their commitment to protect preborn children and care for their mothers.

Initiated in 1974, the latest March for Life was the first to be held since the U.S. Supreme Court overruled in June of last year the Roe v. Wade decision. That 1973 ruling legalized abortion nationwide, ultimately resulting in the deaths of more than 60 million preborn children, and prompted the launch of the pro-life march a year later. The high court’s June ruling returned abortion regulation to the states.

Brent Leatherwood, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), and other staff members participated in the march and the rally that preceded it on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

“This year’s March for Life is one of both celebration and resolve,” Leatherwood said in written comments for Baptist Press. “It is an extraordinary reality that at what we thought would be the 50-year mark of the disastrous Roe decision, we are gathered here today in a post-Roe world.

“It is right and good to take a moment to celebrate that our nation has taken this first step towards protecting life,” he said. “But we know that more work remains.

“We will press on towards a day when both mothers and their children are fully valued as image-bearers of God. We are committed to establishing a true culture of life by developing innovative solutions and policies that actually serve mothers and help families flourish, and we will march until abortion is no more.”

The march came two days before Sanctity of Human Life Sunday and the actual date of the Roe opinion, Jan. 22. It will be the 38^th year for the observance on the SBC calendar, one many Southern Baptist churches commemorate.

In celebrating Roe’s reversal, March for Life President Jeanne Mancini expressed gratitude at Friday’s rally to the marchers and to longtime pro-life advocates, including the late Nellie Gray, the march’s founder. After Roe was reversed, the March for Life staff was often asked if the event would continue, Mancini said.

“[W]hile the march began as a response to Roe, we don’t end as a response to Roe being overturned,” said Mancini, March for Life’s president. “Why? Because we’re not yet done.

“While this year marks our most significant victory, the human rights abuse of abortion is far from over” she said. “We will continue to march until the human rights abuse of abortion is a thing of the past. We will march until abortion is unthinkable.“

The theme of this year’s march was “Next Steps: Marching Into a Post-Roe America.” Speakers addressed the future efforts of the pro-life movement, including through legislation, adoption and maternity homes.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, whose defense of the state’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks’ gestation led to Roe’s reversal, rejoiced in the Supreme Court decision and said, “But this is not the end of our journey.

“Until we can give women when they are most vulnerable what they need and what their children need to thrive, and until we can make changes in our laws that reflect our compassion for all life and until we can change hearts and minds in our fellow Americans, until then, life remains fragile and the embrace of human dignity remains aspirational,” she said at the rally.

Care for Life ‘That’s Already Been Born’ Can Be Expanded Post-Roe

By

Diana Chandler

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January 23, 2023

children — Photo via Unsplash.com @robbie36

WASHINGTON (BP) – The defeat of Roe v. Wade allows a broader focus on life outside the womb, a foster care and adoption leader told Baptist Press.

Concurrently, shifting the pro-life legislation fight to the state level has changed the way advocacy for unborn life must be conducted, said Herbie Newell, president and director of Lifeline Children’s Services, a Gospel-based pregnancy care, adoption and foster care agency with offices in 17 states.

Overturning the national law was necessary, but came as advocates sometimes overlooked needs related to foster care, adoption and other life issues, Newell said.

“We did it at the neglect of kids in foster care. We did it at the neglect of orphans, and the 153 million orphans in our world,” he told Baptist Press as he prepared to speak at the inaugural meeting of Stand for Life Jan. 18-19 in Washington. “Even in our country we have many individuals who are living with special needs. Families that are raising kids with severe special needs or disabilities.

“And I love the opportunity right now to even reshape the prolife message to say, again, this is not just about defeating abortion. This is about showing the world that we really believe that life – no matter what ailment, no matter what disability, no matter what circumstance – all life is made in the image of God and bears the image of its Creator.”

Children must be protected as image-bearers of God made in His image, Newell said.

“And I hope and I pray that the prolife movement will become so much more broad that we’ll also really step in and talk about racial injustice. We’ll talk about what we see with those that are hurting,” Newell said. “We’ll talk about the sex trafficking industry around the world and say it’s not right.

“It’s not prolife to turn a blind eye when women and children are being trafficked around the world. It’s not prolife to see injustice happening around us, because when we see life, we should see the image of our Creator.”

Lifeline, based in Birmingham, Ala., has seen more women choose life through Lifeline since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022. More expectant mothers are accessing Lifeline’s services and seeking help.

Interest in Lifeline’s services increased about 45 percent in 2022 over 2021, Lifeline’s figures show, with 742 women seeking help in 2022 compared to 512 in 2021. Lifeline conducted 307 face-to-face visits with expectant mothers in 2022, a 62 percent increase over the 189 visits conducted in 2021. Lifeline counseled women in more than 30 states and placed 75 children in homes through domestic adoption last year. It also is serving an influx of families wanting to adopt.

Expectant mothers must be encouraged earlier in their pregnancies to choose life, and varying laws among the states require more educational resources for women to navigate the landscape. Abortifacient drugs are being used more widely post-Roe, Newell said, and many states are more aggressively promoting chemical abortions.

“We see lots of different policy changes, law changes, that are happening on the local level and in states,” he said. “I think that has actually created even confusion for women in crisis pregnancy situations, some for the good and some for the bad.

“There are a lot of women in states I would say are more aggressive in their abortion stance, like New York, Illinois and California. There are certainly women in those states that think abortion is unattainable, even though they live in a state where abortions are readily available. I think we’ve also seen a huge influx of chemical abortions in all 50 states.”

Lifeline is addressing the changing landscape by placing counselors in major cities in the states they’re licensed to work. Lifeline’s Worthy program – a 10-session, Gospel-centered program teaching women their worth, the value of the child in their womb and their opportunities for livelihood – is already available in at least 20 states, and it is recruiting churches to participate in the program.

Among the 1,200 churches that partner with Lifeline, more than 100 have already signed up to participate in Worthy, Newell said, with registration information available here).

“We need to make sure that we’re reaching women at the moment that they find out they’re pregnant,” he said, “or even when they just have an inkling they might be pregnant. The decision periods for women are so much shorter, that we’ve got to make sure that we are giving them good information about life, helping them choose life and helping them to know that to choose life … gives them many options.”

Options include parenting, interim care to allow parents to stabilize their lives before the child comes into the home, marriage, connecting with extended family members or placing children in adoption.

Your Youth Ministry Philosophy Cheat Sheet

By

Greg Stier

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January 23, 2023

youth ministry philosophy — Lightstock #748936

The word philosophy may bring to mind heady scholars in stuffy lecture halls. But when applied to youth ministry, it’s an incredibly practical, transformational term. Having a clear philosophy enables you to focus on what’s truly important for your youth group and weed out what’s not.

Below is the Gospel Advancing, disciple-making philosophy I would embrace if I were blessed to be in the sacred role of youth pastor again. Feel free to adopt it as your own and adapt it to fit your own situation.

__________

Our youth ministry philosophy is built on the last and lasting mandate of Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20 to “go and make disciples.” We carry this out by instilling these seven biblical values into our strategies, programs, and people.

1. Intercessory Prayer Fuels Our Efforts (1 Timothy 2:1-8).

We pray for each other and for the lost, in every way we can. We believe we must talk to God about others before we talk to others about God.

2. Relational Evangelism Drives Our Efforts (Romans 1:16).

We believe that the Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. We instill in our teenagers: 1) Gospel urgency, helping them understand why it’s important to share the Gospel in their circle of influence; 2) Gospel fluency, equipping them to master the message of the Gospel; and, 3) Gospel strategy, training them to share the Gospel in a clear and compelling way.

3. Leaders Model and Set the Pace for Our Efforts (Luke 6:40).

We recruit, equip, and mobilize adult and student leaders who are willing to pray for the lost, live and give the Gospel, and make disciples in the power of the Holy Spirit. We believe that these leaders set the pace and create the culture for effective evangelism and disciple-making.

4. A Disciple-Multiplication Strategy Guides Our Efforts (2 Timothy 2:2).

We won’t stop until every unbeliever is a believer and every believer is a disciple-maker. When a teenager puts their trust in Christ, we want to see them grow in Christ. As much as possible, we will help teenagers reach and disciple their own friends, training them to also be disciple-makers.

5. A Bold Vision Focuses Our Efforts (Acts 1:8).

We have a bold vision that starts across the street, reaching teenagers at the schools near us (our “Jerusalem”). We will work to deploy teenagers at every school to be campus missionaries and reach their peers with the message of Jesus. We have a bold vision that extends “across the tracks” to socio-economic areas that are different than ours (our “Samaria”). We will send our teenagers out consistently to be ambassadors of hope to teens who are not like us but need the Gospel just the same. Finally, we have a bold vision that expands across the world. We will consistently challenge our teenagers to take the Gospel to different cultures in other parts of the world (“the ends of the earth”).

6. Biblical Outcomes Measure Our Efforts (Acts 2:41).

Just as the early church measured their impact through numbers of baptisms and new converts being made and multiplied, we gauge our effectiveness by both qualitative (deeper spiritual maturity, fruit of the Spirit) and quantitative (new converts, baptisms, number of Gospel conversations) measures.

7. Ongoing Programs Reflect the Goal of Our Efforts (Acts 6:1-4).

We will ensure that our weekly, monthly, and annual programs focus on intercessory prayer, evangelism, and disciple-multiplication, with the goal of advancing the Gospel in and through our teenagers. We will consistently proclaim the Gospel at our meetings and equip our students to do the same in their spheres of influence.

This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.

The Motivating Power of Grace

By

Mark Simpson

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January 23, 2023

thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

It is hard to imagine what it would be like to be singled out as the only person on earth for something. That is exactly what happened to Noah in his generation. After reading that God regretted and grieved creating humanity, deciding to blot out His creation, we also read that there was one man, Noah, who, instead of being subjected to the judgment of God, found favor in God’s sight.

Here is one man, among the whole of humanity at this time, whom God looks upon and lavishes grace. Since humanity had rebelled against God in the Garden the account of the beginning of history has been pretty dark and despairing.

The Motivating Power of Grace

From the snapshots provided us in Genesis to this point, it is not hard to get glimpses of why God would make the sweeping assessment that the earth is filled with corruption. Like lungs filled with fluid, the violence that has blanketed the earth is depriving humanity of oxygen and quickly choking out all of life.

The fact that a song celebrating the most violent aggressors is found right in the middle of the narrative, is proof positive that the view and practice of violence then, rivals our most gratuitous and grotesque horror flicks now. Against this bleak backdrop, we are introduced to Noah. A man who is described as righteous, blameless, and obedient.

What could be passed over as a mere footnote, a comment lost in the cacophony of corruption and violence, is a four-word description that is perhaps the most important characteristic of this man who went against the grain. Tucked in this narrative is the statement, “Noah walked with God.” In a culture of men who were the captain of their own ship, the master of their own domain.

Noah was courageous enough to walk the path that, we must assume, no one else was walking. Imagine the opposition this provoked. It would be like pushing against the flow of an ocean of gladiators moving with intensity and savagery that leaves one sapped of all reserves and battered by the onslaught of unending body blows. It is hard to comprehend the audacity, the resolve involved in Noah waking up each morning, bandaging his bruises, and stepping back into the fray he knew awaited him.

Perhaps that sounds futile to you. I believe what drove Noah to walk with God day after day, year after year, decade after decade is the same thing that can be the driving force for us to walk with God as well. “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” Before society around him, Noah found animosity, before God, he found grace. Through Christ, we can find favor in the eyes of the Lord. You may feel as though you are the only one walking with God in your world. Be encouraged to remain steadfast by the life of Noah. But be even more encouraged by the grace of God washing over you in Christ. Pause and pay attention to God’s grace in your life. That is the pathway to joy.

That is the motivating power of grace.

This article on the power of grace originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

The Importance of Taking a Break

By

Josh Weidmann

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January 23, 2023

Frankly, I don’t want to work. That is saying a lot from a guy who loves to work and loves my job. This past year has been so exhausting on several levels. I find myself not wanting to do anything that resembles “work.” I am learning the value of taking a break often.

I am napping, organizing spice cupboards, alphabetizing my library, and reading past issues of magazines I never had time for. The kids and I are cooking together and playing long drawn-out games of Stratego and Tipsy. I just want to turn my work-brain off.

Perhaps you feel the same way. Christmas feels like the finish line for the year. Once I cross it, I am not sure if I want to sleep, cry, or throw up. Living through 2020 was like running an Ironman competition; the end finally came, but I am not sure who won — the race or me?

So if you are able, try taking a break. If nothing else, at least slowdown. I have no idea if the future will be easier than 2020; I would not dare assume anything after the surprises of this year. Yet, we know that God sustained us, and He will do it again.

Psalm 116:7, “Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.”

As I reflect on this year, I can see the hand of God in your life and mine. He has dealt bountifully with us, hasn’t He? That is worth reflecting on. Sometimes we need a slow week to absorb the way He has given us grace.

We will fly again, mounting on high winds of excitement and productivity. For now, let’s return to our rest, Christ.

This article on the importance of taking a break originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Why Leadership Is Hard (and How to Find Your Balance)

By

David Santistevan

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January 23, 2023

If I know anything, I know that leadership is hard. I have a hard time leading myself, let alone being a catalyst for others to grow, get plugged in and develop. Sometimes I wonder, “Why am I qualified or called to be a leader?” I for sure don’t have it all together. I can’t remember if I brushed my teeth this morning, let alone where I see my ministry or business in five years.

Do you feel the same? In over your head? Overwhelmed?

Why Leadership Is Hard

Leadership is hard because it requires constant maintenance and attention. I wish vision could be cast once, team building could happen once a year, and everyone on the team would just buy in.

But that’s similar to a married couple confessing their love for each other on their wedding day and never again. If you’re married, you know that doesn’t work. Every day—rather, multiple times a day—commitment and care needs to be expressed for a relationship to work.

What The Prosperity Teachers Get Right

By

Stephen Altrogge

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January 23, 2023

I don’t think that prosperity teachers are helpful at all. In fact, I think that they’re downright dangerous and misleading. The gospel is not about health, wealth, vigor, and prosperity.

But . . .

What The Prosperity Teachers Get Right

I recently read Proverbs 11:24-25, which reads:

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.

God doesn’t promise prosperity and blessing in the way prosperity teachers teach it. He doesn’t promise sunshine and rainbows and Skittles. But on the flip side, God does reward those who give generously. He blesses those who delight to bless others. He pours out kindness on those who pour themselves out for others.

Those who are stingy will find that God is stingy toward them, and those who are generous will be on the receiving end of God’s generosity.

What Churchgoers Have To Say About Sunday Sermon Length

By

Phil Cooke

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January 22, 2023

According to Lifeway Research, churchgoers are six times more likely than the preacher to report that a typical sermon length at their church is over an hour. On the other hand, preachers are twice as likely to say their sermons are less than 15 minutes.

While complaining over sermon length seems to have accelerated in the last few decades, the truth is, the conflict has been going on since the Reformation. Back in those days, it wasn’t unusual for a sermon to last up to three hours.

Christianity Today magazine reports that back in those days in Britain, frustrated church members started setting hourglasses in the pulpits. However, even on this point, honesty seemed to be an issue. When more modern researchers recently examined the hourglasses, more than a few actually reported an “hour” as about 48 minutes. (Apparently those early clockmakers preferred shorter sermons.)

What do you think?

What’s the right length for a typical sermon?

Do you think most today are too long or too short?

This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.

6 Members Who Build Up the Church

By

Chopo Mwanza

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January 22, 2023

NOTE: I enjoy reading the insights of pastors and others who live in other cultures in different parts of the world. I really appreciated this fresh and thoughtful article by Chopo Mwanza, the pastor of Faith Baptist Church Riverside in Kitwe, Zambia, 6 Members Who Build Up the Church, partly because the American church can easily become its own self-preoccupied island where we either love or hate what’s familiar to us, and fail to see what God’s own cross-cultural and trans-cultural Word has to say to us in every place and time. — Randy Alcorn

6 Members Who Build Up the Church

Every local church is comprised of a diverse group of people who have been radically transformed by the power of God through the person and work of Jesus Christ. These diverse people have no reason to live and work together, let alone care for each other—and yet, they choose to live in love and unity together, to the praise and glory of the Lord’s name.

Healthy local churches make a powerful and attractive testimony to a watching world. This means that every member has to be devoted to building others up. (In another article, I discuss four types of church member that don’t build up the church.)

1. The member who attends.

Attending is the most basic way members build each other up. It’s the most obvious way to show commitment to the body. There’s something encouraging about knowing a brother or sister is simply going to be present at a church service, and you are going to worship God together.

The writer of Hebrews tells the believers to “stir one another up to love and good deeds” and to “encourage one another.” How are they to do this? By “not forsaking the assembling of the believers” (Heb. 10:23–25). You cannot build others up if you’re not meeting with them regularly and faithfully. It’s therefore no wonder that those who are regularly absent from the gathering often stagnate in their faith or become members who primarily grumble and complain.

Dear church member, church meetings are not about you or your convenience. Build others up by faithful attendance.

2. The member who encourages.

Consider Paul’s words about Tychicus in Colossians 4: “I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts” (Col. 4:8). Why does he send his friend? To encourage the Colossians. We should follow Paul’s model.

The encouraging member commends, recommends, praises, thanks, comforts, urges, supports, and compliments other members. We often think of encouraging as merely giving praise, like a spectator in the terraces. However, biblical encouragement is more than that; it’s a fellow teammate urging you to get to work.

Furthermore, encouragement is not mere flattery. It’s not just being nice or telling people what they want to hear. Rather, true encouragement is honest and sincere. It commends those who serve well, and it also urges those who are struggling in their walk with the Lord. Such kind of member is a great blessing to the body. Strive to be one.

3. The member who confronts without indulging gossip.

Churches are full of sinful people, which means church members sin against each other. This poses a challenge to the unity of the church, and it requires members to confront one another in love and gentleness.

The confronting member is the opposite of a gossip and slanderer. They obey the charge of Scripture to confront and restore people who are living in sin (Matt. 18:15–18, Gal. 6:1–2). What motivates the confronting member is not just that someone’s sin has offended them but that the Lord is offended by sin—particularly sin that is unresolved and left to fester and grow (1 Cor. 5). The confronting member confronts out of love for God and love for other believers.

4. The member who prays.

I’ve always been struck by Samuel’s statement to David: “Far be it from me that I may sin against you by not praying for you” (1 Sam. 12:23).

We have a responsibility to pray for each other. The best church members are devoted to prayer. They’ve learned to depend on God so they highly value praying to him. Typically, praying members learn to talk less to people and more to God about people. They’re a church’s unsung heroes. If prayer drives the church, then the praying member is essential to the health and growth of the church.

5. The member who serves.

Attendance is necessary, but members should do more than just attend. They should serve. They should “do the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:12). They use their gifts to serve God and other members, building up the church in the process.

Great encouragement comes from knowing you’re not the only one on the team. Great comfort comes from knowing you have teammates fighting with you and encouraging you as you go. People who are able to but don’t serve in the church tend to discourage the rest of the body.

6. The member who shows patience.

Patience is a vitally important both for the individual believer and the congregation as a whole. After all, the Christian life isn’t a sprint but a marathon. Our walk with the Lord is a process, and we won’t noticeably grow over night.

All this means we have to learn to endure with each other’s weaknesses and shortcomings. We have to learn to forgive without holding grudges and disciple one another with all patience. A patient member graciously puts up with other people’s failures. They realize that no church is perfect—and as a result, they are joyfully patient. A church with patient members is a church where members confront one another, encourage one another, confess sin to one another, and forgive each other.

Conclusion

Dear church member, pursue these qualities in your own life and encourage them in others. Pray for yourself and others. Pray that you will build up the church as faithful and patient members who attend, encourage, confront, pray, and serve. This builds up the church of Christ.

This article on members who build up the church originally appeared at 9Marks, then at Randy Alcorn’s site, and is used by permission.

Be Like the Bereans (Do Your Own Thinking)

By

Dr. James Scott, Jr.

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January 22, 2023

Most people are not leaders. There’s nothing wrong with that. But one of the most common and costly mistakes followers make is letting their leaders do their thinking for them. Don’t do that! Instead, be like the Bereans mentioned in the book of Acts.

All of us, in different ways and at different times, look to leaders to provide us with counsel — with leadership. But that should never be at the expense of not studying and learning for ourselves, and becoming wise so that our own judgment is beneficial and reliable for us. Failing to do our own homework with the resulting learning will bring great regrets.

Take, for example, the experience of Ronald Wayne, who was one of the three co-founders of Apple. On April 12, 1976 he sold his 10 percent share in the company for $800. He received an additional $1,500 because he was willing to give up all future rights in Apple. Today, Apple is the most valuable company in the world, worth $2 trillion. His 10 percent would now be worth $200,000,000,000 (two hundred billion dollars)!

Instead of sufficiently doing his homework on the value of making a long-term investment, Wayne lost out on one of the greatest fortunes anyone could have had.

He didn’t make a wise choice.

It’s no wonder that scripture places a high value of our individually developing wisdom …

“Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you can do, develop good judgment,” Proverbs 4:7.

Be Like the Bereans (Do Your Own Thinking)

Leaders rightly have their positions and influence in our lives, but you have to live your own life, and you need wisdom to make the right decisions as you do. One of the best illustrations for this that we have in the Bible is that of the people in Berea. Imagine having the opportunity to hear the Gospel preached by the Apostle Paul himself. What an awesome opportunity that would be! But after the Bereans heard Paul preach they didn’t let Paul do their thinking for them:

“That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men,” Acts 17:10-12.

The Bereans weren’t willing to let Paul, Silas, or anyone else do their homework for them. They were very responsive to the teaching provided, but they were wise enough to know their response to the teaching was something they would have to “own” for themselves. The Bereans were intense about searching the scriptures for themselves while they received great instruction.

It’s a great reminder for us to not let our leaders do our thinking for us.

Do you thoughtfully and purposely pursue growing in wisdom and developing good judgment?

This article about thinking like the Bereans originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Lost in the Wrong Details, or Leveraging the Right Details? (How You Can Know)

By

Dan Reiland

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January 21, 2023

A friend of mine has his private pilot license and loves flying his Cessna. He is also fond of saying “Don’t bother me with the details, I’m not a details kind of guy.” Until he gets in his plane, then he’s all about the details. In fact, he wisely obsesses over details like making the flight plan even before he gets in the plane.

The key is focusing on the details that matter.

When it comes to your:

Pilot
Surgeon
Restaurant chef
Real estate agent
Dentist
Plumber
Kid’s teachers

You get the idea, pretty much everyone—you care about certain details too.

There is a huge difference between details that are unimportant distractions, and details that can actually change a life. A good leader knows the difference.

Obsessing on the wrong details can make you a micro-manager, obsessing on the right details can make you an effective leader.

Do you get stuck in the wrong details?
Do you miss important details?

I’ll let you in on a surprising fact.

The best leaders I know are very detail-oriented in at least one specific area. They don’t necessarily love all the details, but they pay close attention, and they are good at it.

For example, some senior pastors know the financial details backward and forward. Other senior pastors care about and are involved in every minute of programming for a Sunday morning.

(This is not limited to senior pastors.)

What details are you paying close attention to?

Good leaders are not focused on all the details, but they are focused on the right details at the right time.

This is not limited to the strategic elements of leadership, but very much applies to the spiritual nature of your leadership.

Being sensitive to the prompts of the Holy Spirit, those small quiet prompts that could easily be missed or ignored, can often make a major difference in eternal outcomes.

5 Ways To Help You Leverage the Right Details:

1. Determining the Right Details Starts With Discerning the Right Voices

The pressures you face as a leader can cause you to focus on details that are not the best use of your time. Gaining relief from a pressure is not a good reason to handle a detail.

Every leader has certain voices in their life that bring asks, expectations, and requirements. You can’t do all of them and still lead well, therefore discerning the different voices makes a huge difference.

Discerning who and what to respond to is not easy, but it’s not a mystery. It requires a thoughtful and deliberate nature that can discern from the many organizational priorities and personal needs.

For example, in your church, which details will advance the mission and help make progress? Don’t follow the loudest voice, do what brings measurable progress.

Or it might be more personal, maybe one of your kids brings you something really small, nothing you think will change the world, but it may change their world, so that makes it a priority.

It’s an art, don’t give up. The more intentional we are, the better we get at discerning the right details.

Christian, Your Depression Is Real. So Is God’s Deliverance.

By

J.D. Greear

-

January 21, 2023

Can Christians find deliverance from depression? Should a real Christian even be experiencing depression in the first place?

A few years ago, I read a book about Ernest Shackleton’s failed mission to be the first explorer to cross Antarctica. His plan was to sail as far south as he could and then walk a hundred or so miles across the South Pole. But there was an early freeze, and the ship got caught and crushed in polar ice several hundred miles from their destination. For more than a year, Shackleton’s group fought to stay alive in subzero temperatures. But the worst thing for these men was not the temperature. It was the darkness. At the South Pole, you see, the sun goes down in mid-May and doesn’t come back up until August. Those who have experienced this say that there is no desolation so devastating as the polar night—darkness all the time. Weeks upon weeks of no light at all.

The prophet Jeremiah described how he felt driven to a place of “darkness without any light”:

I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long. He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago…though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer.

– Lamentations 3:1–8 ESV

Can We Find Deliverance From Depression?

No light. No hope. That’s how Jeremiah felt, and maybe you can relate. The “he” that Jeremiah is talking about is God. Maybe you’ve also felt like God is not listening—or, even more, you wonder, “God, are you behind this terrible circumstance? At the very least, you’re not doing anything to stop it.”

Jeremiah goes on to say, “My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, ‘My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord’… My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me” (vs. 17–20).

As you read those verses, you may think, “Is this the Bible? Shouldn’t an editor have weeded this out? This is Jeremiah, after all—the prophet of God! Jeremiah, this is not you at your best. Why don’t you take a nap and a shower and take another swing at this tomorrow?”

Jeremiah could have edited this out. Thank God he didn’t.

Christian, Your Depression Is Real. So Is God’s Deliverance.

You see, it’s easy to think that what we need is more positive and encouraging psalms like David’s about the Lord being our Shepherd and still waters and cups running over and lions lying down with lambs and stuff like that. That’s what the people like. That’s what sells.

But God put the book of Lamentations in the Bible, even though it’s depressing and most people will never memorize it, because he wants those of you who suffer in the darkness to know that he knows how you feel. And, like Jeremiah, it’s OK for you to express those emotions to God.

You see, this lament is honest, even though it is incomplete. It is an honest reflection of how Jeremiah feels, even if it doesn’t fully account for everything God was doing. When you cannot see or understand how God is working in your life—through your pain, even—it’s OK for you to be deeply honest with him.

Sometimes, I think we can be too quick with our answers in church: “Are you feeling sad? Life got you down? Well, that can’t be from God! Just pop on some K-love, ‘cause everything in the Christian life should be positive and encouraging all the time.”

8 Objections to Leading Small Groups (And How to Overcome Them)

By

Allen White

-

January 21, 2023

If people had no objections to leading small groups, your job would be very easy. They would just line up and sign up to lead a group. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. If you can help them overcome their objections, recruiting new leaders can get a whole lot easier. Here are some common objections and ways to overcome them:

8 Objections to Leading Small Groups

1. “I am not a leader.”

Most people don’t feel they are a leader. But, most people have more leadership ability than they give themselves credit for. When the word “leader” gets in the way, change the word. Twenty years ago when the 40 Days of Purpose launched, churches started using “host” instead of leader. Now if your church has used “host” for the last 20 years, well, the jig is up. People know you just mean “leader.” But, there are other ways to recruit “leaders.”

Instead of recruiting to a title, recruit to a role. Last Sunday when I was recruiting new leaders at Mount Hope Church where I serve as the outsourced Small Group Pastor, the senior pastor and I invited people to “start a group” and “get together with a group of friends and do the study.” We recruited for the role.

If people can gather their friends, even if it’s “you plus two” or “me plus three,” they have the ability to lead a group. John Maxwell says, “Leadership is influence.” If they have enough influence to gather the group, they can keep the group going.

2. “I don’t know enough about the Bible.”

This objection can be overcome in a variety of ways. The church can provide a video-based curriculum which is either purchased or created by the church. The new leader doesn’t need to be a Bible expert, because the expert is your pastor teaching on the video. That’s the quickest way to overcome this objection.

While the ultimate goal is to teach leaders to rightly divide the Word of Truth and lead a solid Bible discussion, a teaching video can help them get started. Once they start, then you can bring them along in their understanding of God’s Word. Think about Sunday school curriculum. Publishers created a teacher’s guide so that if at a minimum the person leading the class merely read the teacher’s quarterly, you would be assured the class would receive solid content. Teaching videos serve a similar purpose.

You’re not looking for teachers (because they will turn their groups into classes). If you don’t use a teaching video, then your new leaders will need to know the basics about the Bible. You could provide a short course on understanding the Bible either live or on-demand. Or the new leader could apprentice in a group for a while. This definitely lengthens the process of developing new leaders.

Leading small groups facilitates a discussion that leads to Bible application rather than to teach a lesson. You can provide a leader’s guide or leader notes in the lessons if that will help. You could send a coaching video to help the new leaders navigate the lesson topic or even meet with them weekly before their meeting to review the lesson. While I am partial to using a teaching video, these are several ways to prepare your leaders to facilitate a discussion.

3. “I don’t have time.”

Everybody has the same amount of time. When people say they don’t have time, what they are saying is that a small group is not a priority to them. Now, you could start hammering away on why a small group should be a priority to them. That might get a few more. But, how are your people spending their time?

Some churches offer Sunday school classes, midweek Bible studies, men’s prayer breakfasts, and women’s Bible studies. This might be their group. If it meets their needs for care, connection, and Bible application, then they might not need a group. In fact, you should count them as a group. More than likely they won’t double up and join a small group in addition to this class or Bible study. If their group or serving team doesn’t qualify as a ”small group” (What is your church’s definition of a small group?), then how could they become more “groupish.”

For people who are not in a group, class, or team, maybe you should ask, “Who do they spend time with?” Would they be willing to do a Bible study with the people they regularly spend time with? Many people will take you up on an offer to do a study with those they regularly spend time with– friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and others.

4. “I don’t want to meet with strangers.”

Then, gather a group of friends. After all, groups of friends tend to last longer than groups of strangers. Offer “Invitation Only” groups. In these groups the new leader invites 100% of the group. These groups aren’t advertised. They can do the study with people they are already comfortable with. The ultimate goal is not comfortable, but it comfort will help them start a group, then go with comfort.

5. “I don’t have my life together.”

Nobody has their life completely together. Look at the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11. You’ve got murderers, prostitutes, polygamists, and a whole cast of sinners. God used them. God will use imperfect, broken people to lead groups. After all, those are the only people God has to work with.

Now, if someone is going through a personal crisis, you should address their personal issue before you give them the green light to lead a group. People who are experiencing marital problems and are separated or divorced need care themselves before they’re ready to care for others. People who are living an on-going immoral lifestyle need spiritual guidance before they can guide others. People who struggle with a life-controlling problem need to seek help and recovery first. You never want to give the impression that you care more about people serving than you care about them. Give them help, then when the time is right, let them lead.

How do you discern these issues? Ask them, especially if they are leading a group that will be advertised in any way. On the new leader application, ask them what’s going on in their lives. Oftentimes, they won’t turn in the application, but if they do it, then follow up with a warm pastoral conversation about what help they are open to.

You are not looking for perfect people to lead groups. There are no perfect people. To help imperfect people lead groups, give them a coach to walk alongside them. These coaching relationships will go a long way in both developing them as a leader as well as guiding their spiritual next steps.

6. “There are too many requirements to lead a group.”

Your simple answer is to delay as many requirements as possible. This is not permanently “lowering the bar.” You are putting aside requirements to attract more new leaders. You will gain the maximum number of new leaders with the minimal amount of requirements that your church leadership will tolerate. Don’t push your leadership beyond where they’re willing to go. Some churches’ only requirements are people who are breathing and willing. Other churches require church membership to lead a group. Others might require training, apprenticing, coaching, co-leading, etc. What could you delay? Start thinking about gathering a group of friends as the first step in your leadership development process. The requirements will all be brought back in due time.

7. “My home is not big enough or nice enough to host a group.”

If people invite their friends, they won’t be uncomfortable about meeting in their home. Their friends have already been there! They may need to start a smaller small group. That’s okay. If they are really uncomfortable meeting in their home, or if there is a family situation that doesn’t allow it, give them options to be creative. Groups can meet in coffee shops, bookstores, breakrooms at work, outdoors, community rooms at apartment complexes, a friend’s house, or online. At our church in California, we had a group who met on a commuter train. Just give your new leaders permission and opportunity to start a group in a way that works for them.

8. For 2021: “I’m nervous about COVID.”

Much information and misinformation exists about COVID. You don’t need to wade into accommodating every position and opinion. But, in every church there are those who are convinced that COVID is a killer and others who are convinced that COVID is a conspiracy. Then, there are yet others who are just trying to live their lives. With differences of opinion and differences in information, there is no one solution to address every concern over COVID. The good news is that this isn’t your problem to fix.

To help your potential leaders navigate their concerns over COVID, give them permission and opportunity to gather of group of anyone, anywhere, and any time. They may want to meet online, but that doesn’t just mean Zoom. Groups meet on Facebook, Marco Polo, text message, Slack, and any other place where people gather online. Facebook friends have become Facebook groups. Here are a few more thoughts about online groups and COVID.

The big lesson in 2020-2021 is that even when the church building is closed, Jesus will continue to build his church. Here are the trends I’m seeing. Across North America, while in-person worship attendance is down, giving is steady and salvations and baptisms are up. Could the church be doing a better job of fulfilling the Great Commission amid all of the chaos?

For your groups, go back to the principles that help groups thrive anyway — release control. Encourage your people to invite like-minded people to join their groups. Gather friends, neighbors, co-workers, and others. You don’t need to worry about what group is wearing masks or is vaccinated or is meeting online. Let your people figure this out for themselves. The more permission you give for leading small groups (and the less involved you are), the stronger your groups will be.

Think About This

Most of your people are not chomping at the bit to add another responsibility to their lives. The easier you can make starting a group, the more groups you will have. And, once they get started, then you can develop them into the “qualified” leaders you desire.

This article about overcoming objections to leading small groups originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Are You Approaching Burn Out? Check These 4 Signs

By

Eric Geiger

-

January 20, 2023

approaching burn out — Adobestock #306960712

The pressure, responsibilities and pace placed on leaders can be immense. If leaders don’t care for themselves, burnout is inevitable. Sadly, many leaders struggle with reading the signs that they are approaching burn out. Despite all the advice, books and sessions calling leaders to care for themselves, many leaders struggle with slowing down. Many fail to listen continually to their bodies, their friends and their emotions.

I am not a medical doctor or counselor, but I have learned the rhythms in my own life and have sought counsel continually from leaders I respect. I have seen and also learned the hard way that pushing through seasons of exhaustion can backfire. Here are signs I look for and encourage other leaders to look for in their own lives.

Are You Approaching Burn Out? Check These 4 Signs

1. Frustration with people

If you feel you are continually mad or frustrated with people, you are quickly approaching burnout. You are in this for people. It is foolish to knock out tasks in perpetual frustration with the people you are ultimately here to serve.

2. Difficulty focusing

If you sense you are mentally having a difficult time focusing or are slowing mentally, you are likely exhausted. One day several years ago, while serving as an executive pastor, I was unable to focus on a simple report. I had been attempting to push through the exhaustion, and it was backfiring. I called Kaye (my wife), and she quickly set me up at a friend’s house out of town for several days of rest.

Consider two more signs of approaching burn out on page two . . .

Former Church Youth Leader Arrested and Charged With Child Molestation, Sexual Battery

By

Jessica Lea

-

January 20, 2023

A former church youth leader who was recently a PTA president in Tennessee has been arrested and extradited to Troup County in Georgia. Dustin Spillers, 34, has been charged with one count of aggravated sexual battery and three counts of child molestation.

Troup County Officers Arrest Dustin Spillers

Online records show that the Troup County Sheriff’s Office booked Dustin Spillers on Jan. 16 and that he is being held without bond. Sgt. Stewart Smith has said that the incidents for which Spillers was arrested allegedly took place in 2022 and involve two boys, 8 and 10 years old, who are relatives of Spillers. Attorneys for Spillers filed for bond on Wednesday, arguing that Spillers “poses no significant threat or danger to any person, property or the community” and that he “poses no significant risk of flight.”

Spillers, who lives in Ooltewah, Tennessee (about 20 miles outside of Chattanooga), was president of the PTA of Wolftever Elementary School in Ooltewah. He served in that position starting at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year and resigned over the Christmas holidays. The school’s principal, Gail Huffstutler, has said that the charges against Spillers “have no known connection” to the school.

Prior to serving as PTA president, Spillers was a volunteer youth leader at Abba’s House in Hixson, Tennessee. According to Fox Chattanooga, the church says that he passed a background check, was never an ordained pastor at Abba’s House, and left the church in 2015. Lead pastor Dr. Ronnie Phillips, Jr. said, “There were no inappropriate actions by Dustin Spillers known by Abba’s House while he attended here. We are praying for the Spillers family, any alleged victims, and all other churches, individuals, and families that may be affected by the alleged actions.”

For the past year and a half, Spillers and his family have attended City Church Chattanooga, where Spillers has volunteered on the worship team. The church’s pastor says there is no known connection between the church and the charges of which Spillers is accused.

Criminal Case Against Pastor John Blanchard To Be Reviewed by Special Prosecutor

By

Stephanie Martin

-

January 20, 2023

The criminal case involving Virginia pastor John Blanchard could be reopened, now that a special prosecutor is being appointed. At a press conference yesterday (Jan. 19), Stacey Davenport, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Chesterfield County, indicated that new evidence may lead to a trial in the once-dropped case.

Blanchard, pastor of Rock Church International in Virginia Beach, was one of 17 men arrested in a 2021 sex-sting operation. The pastor allegedly communicated with someone he thought was a 17-year-old girl and went to meet up at a hotel room, where he was arrested.

When Davenport’s office dropped the felony charges against Blanchard in October 2022, a feud ensued with Chesterfield County Police Chief Jeffery Katz. Questions also have been raised about Blanchard’s return to ministerial duties.

Other Officials Had Challenged the Decision to Drop Charges Against John Blanchard

As ChurchLeaders has reported, Katz publicly opposed the “bewildering” decision to drop charges against Blanchard. (Charges against three other defendants also were dropped.) The police chief defended the work of his force and demanded an explanation from Davenport. “I believe a jury of Chesterfield County residents deserves to weigh in on the matter of criminal culpability,” he said.

Following a Freedom of Information Act request by Virginia Delegate Tim Anderson, Katz released details of the investigation. That was prompted by Blanchard trying to get his police records expunged after his case was dropped.

“I’m not trying to say Pastor Blanchard’s guilty of anything,” said Anderson, who’s also an attorney. “But he was treated differently. That’s a fact, and that’s not something that we would want as lawyers or as public officials.”

Commonwealth’s Attorney Cites ‘Unfounded Political Attacks’

In her brief press conference Thursday, Davenport didn’t provide details about any new evidence. “Because this may once again become a future pending criminal case, I cannot make any further comments on the facts or the circumstances surrounding anything related to this matter,” she said.

Citing the rancor surrounding the case, she added, “Due to the repeated public comments and unfounded political attacks levied upon my office by both Chesterfield County Police Chief Jeffery Katz and Delegate Tim Anderson, I cannot ethically make any decisions on whether or not this new information should impact future prosecutorial decisions in this matter.”

After Davenport announced she would appoint a special prosecutor, Katz posted on Facebook: “Good. I have privately—and then publicly—requested reasonable answers to reasonable questions; questions many rightfully are asking…questions that now actually stand a chance of getting answered. If Ms. Davenport chooses to frame those questions as a political attack, so be it. The wheels of justice are back in motion. For whatever the motivation, thank you Stacey T. Davenport.”

Today (Jan. 20) Del. Anderson posted an interview Davenport conducted this morning. “She said some things that are shocking,” he writes. “She asked those of us not in Chesterfield to stop disseminating information. To honor that request I am re-releasing the police file in case you missed it earlier with two of my favorite pages highlighted below. Her statements that there was not enough evidence to move the case forward are false. Let me be more clear… it’s a lie. It’s corruption. Here is the full file obtained by FOIA from the Chesterfield Police Department: https://bit.ly/3UpDWim”

‘I’m No Longer Your Concern’—Beth Moore on Her Inclusion in Report on ‘Doctrinal Drift’ in SBC

By

Dale Chamberlain

-

January 20, 2023

Beth Moore CBN — Left: screengrab via YouTube @Living Proof Ministries with Beth Moore; Right: screengrab via Twitter @BaptistNetwork

Author and Bible teacher Beth Moore has publicly responded to her inclusion in the Conservative Baptist Network’s recent report on “doctrinal drift” in the SBC. While Moore was a longtime Southern Baptist and partner with Lifeway Christian Resources, she left the denomination in 2021.

The CBN, a grassroots collection of pastors and leaders in the SBC seeking to “change the direction” of the denomination away from what they believe to be a “liberal drift,” published a 49-page report titled “The Evidences of Concern Within the Southern Baptist Convention” on Wednesday (Jan. 18).

Included in their lengthy, though “not exhaustive,” list of grievances with the SBC was the fact that Moore had delivered sermons at SBC-affiliated churches in 2019 and 2021, which the CBN argues is out of alignment with the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, the unifying statement of beliefs for Southern Baptists.

Moore, in true Southern Baptist form, offered her response in the form of a Resolution.

“Resolved, Beth Moore departed the SBC in large part to distance herself from hyper fundamentalists on constant witch-hunts for liberal drifters among whom they ironically name many who love Jesus, the Bible & evangelism,” Moore tweeted.

“I’m no longer your concern & have no place in your report,” she added.

New Testament scholar Michael F. Bird jokingly added to Moore’s response, “Resolved, Beth Moore be declared the Anglican saint of lay Bible studies, and the Conservative Baptist Network be forced to listen to an audio version of Prince Harry’s ‘Spare’ on repeat.”

It was publicly revealed in Dec. 2021 that Moore and her husband had begun attending and serving at an Anglican congregation after departing the SBC.

Others weighed in with critical responses to the CBN’s report, including North Carolina pastor Bruce Frank, who led the SBC’s Sexual Abuse Task Force, which brought forth proposed reforms at the 2022 annual meeting of the Convention to address the sexual abuse crisis. Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of those reforms.

“When [Tony Evans] & [Al Mohler] are your examples of ‘liberalism’ you’ve lost all credibility,” Frank tweeted.

Voice of the Martyrs Prayer Guide Expands List of Nations Hostile to Gospel

By

Diana Chandler

-

January 20, 2023

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. (BP) – The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) 2023 Prayer Guide expands by four its list of “hostile” nations where Christians are regularly persecuted for their faith despite governmental efforts to protect them.

The African nations of Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mozambique and Niger join 19 additional nations globally where Christians are routinely persecuted by family, community members and/or extremist groups, VOM said in releasing its guide designed to mobilize prayer for persecuted Christians.

“The ongoing spread of radical Islam on the African continent is increasing the daily danger for our Christian brothers and sisters there,” VOM spokesperson Todd Nettleton said in announcing the release of the prayer guide. “The first thing that persecuted Christians ask Christians in free nations to do for them is to pray.

“With this newly updated VOM Global Prayer Guide, every Christian can be equipped to pray with a real understanding of the needs and specific ways to pray.”

Members of a church in Boga, DRC, raise their hands to indicate having lost a family member to Allied Democratic Forces attacks. VOM photo

In addition to the 23 nations classified as hostile, VOM’s prayer guide classifies 41 nations as “restricted,” where Christians face governmental as well as societal persecution.

The prayer guide, a free resource available here, provides in-depth information about the plight of persecuted Christians in designated countries, thereby equipping Christians to pray for specific and pertinent concerns.

“Every Christian should have a copy of the VOM Global Prayer Guide in their prayer closet or beside their Bible” Nettleton said, “where they will be reminded to pray for these brothers and sisters throughout 2023.”

VOM expanded its list of hostile nations to mobilize prayer for Christians in nations where radical Islam is driving increased persecution.

In Benin, which VOM said is considered the birthplace of voodoo, Christianity is seen in the north as a threat to traditional beliefs. The west African country of about 13 million people is about 30 percent Christian, 8 percent of whom are evangelical, VOM said.

In the DRC, Islamic groups “severely persecute” Christians, “raiding villages, destroying churches and brutally killing hundreds of believers,” VOM said in its press release.

Mozambique, an eastern African nation of 31 million, is suffering an Islamic insurgency that began in 2019 and “continues to create chaos and instability in the northern province of Cabo Del Gado,” VOM said.

Christian Broadcasting Network Towers Vandalized

By

Scott Barkley

-

January 20, 2023

radio towers vandalized — Stu Epperson, Jr., founder and CEO of Truth Network, sits on one of the felled radio towers in a photo that went with his Jan. 10 Facebook post. An FBI investigation is underway into the matter. Photo from Facebook

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (BP) — Local police and the FBI are investigating mysterious damage done to three radio towers belonging to a Christian radio network.

The founder/CEO of a North Carolina-based Christian broadcasting company reported in a Jan. 10 Facebook post that several of the company’s towers had been destroyed by an unknown party.

“Today has been one of the toughest days of my broadcasting life,” wrote Stu Epperson, Jr., of Truth Network. “…Criminal investigation is underway.”

The towers, located near Winston-Salem, were destroyed in a span of less than three weeks, COO Michael Carbone told Baptist Press.

The destruction comes amid nationwide concern over attacks on substations and the electric power grid. At least 10 occurrences have taken place in the Pacific Northwest in addition to a Dec. 3 attack on a Moore County, N.C., substation that left 45,000 customers without power.

Carbone, however, does not think those attacks are related to Truth Network’s vandalism.

“I don’t think they’re connected,” he said. “This seems to be a personal act of malice.”

The loss of the towers affected two signals – one AM and the other FM – to a Winston-Salem station. Temporary repairs are underway, with plans to build new towers in a different location.

Truth Network’s scope includes 20 radio stations in over a dozen cities. Programming is also available online at truthnetwork.com.

The first tower went out Dec. 22. The outage was initially attributed to weather as heavy rains delayed a personal inspection. When a second tower was lost on Jan. 5, Truth contacted local police and the FBI.

“We knew then it wasn’t an accident,” said Carbone.

Officials found that a guide wire at one of the anchor points has been sheared by a specialized cutting tool.

“This wasn’t kids having a good time,” Carbone said. “It was done at 10 in the morning with something you wouldn’t find in your daddy’s toolbox.”

The company hired police as security to watch over the last tower in the field. Hours after the police left on Jan. 10, it was also destroyed. No further information is available due to the ongoing investigation.

The company had not received any specific threats leading up to the damage, Carbone said.

In his Facebook post, Epperson, Jr. asked for readers to pray “for the person responsible to come to faith in Christ, for law enforcement and for our team as the rush to get us back on the air.”

In addition to founding Truth Network in 2000, Epperson, Jr., is on the board of directors for Salem Media Group, which was founded by his father, Stu Epperson, Sr., as Salem Communications.

This article originally appeared here.

1. Intercessory Prayer Fuels Our Efforts (1 Timothy 2:1-8).

2. Relational Evangelism Drives Our Efforts (Romans 1:16).

3. Leaders Model and Set the Pace for Our Efforts (Luke 6:40).

4. A Disciple-Multiplication Strategy Guides Our Efforts (2 Timothy 2:2).

5. A Bold Vision Focuses Our Efforts (Acts 1:8).

6. Biblical Outcomes Measure Our Efforts (Acts 2:41).

7. Ongoing Programs Reflect the Goal of Our Efforts (Acts 6:1-4).

The Motivating Power of Grace

Why Leadership Is Hard

What The Prosperity Teachers Get Right

6 Members Who Build Up the Church

1. The member who attends.

2. The member who encourages.

3. The member who confronts without indulging gossip.

4. The member who prays.

5. The member who serves.

6. The member who shows patience.

Conclusion

Be Like the Bereans (Do Your Own Thinking)

5 Ways To Help You Leverage the Right Details:

1. Determining the Right Details Starts With Discerning the Right Voices

Can We Find Deliverance From Depression?

Christian, Your Depression Is Real. So Is God’s Deliverance.

8 Objections to Leading Small Groups

1. “I am not a leader.”

2. “I don’t know enough about the Bible.”

3. “I don’t have time.”

4. “I don’t want to meet with strangers.”

5. “I don’t have my life together.”

6. “There are too many requirements to lead a group.”

7. “My home is not big enough or nice enough to host a group.”

8. For 2021: “I’m nervous about COVID.”

Think About This

Are You Approaching Burn Out? Check These 4 Signs

1. Frustration with people

2. Difficulty focusing

Consider two more signs of approaching burn out on page two . . .

Troup County Officers Arrest Dustin Spillers

Other Officials Had Challenged the Decision to Drop Charges Against John Blanchard

Commonwealth’s Attorney Cites ‘Unfounded Political Attacks’

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