Shopping for a New Church? Your Politics May Determine Which Pew Fits

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December 12, 2022

(RNS) — When Andre Audette first arrived at Notre Dame for grad school, he got a brochure about living in South Bend, Indiana.

That brochure included a section on churches and advice on which Catholic parish to attend if you were conservative and which to attend if you were liberal.

While Audette ignored the brochure’s advice — choosing a different parish altogether — the link between church shopping and politics stuck with him.

“I found that kind of fascinating,” said Audette, now an assistant professor of political science at Monmouth College in Central Illinois.

Audette is co-author of a new study on the role politics plays in finding a church, published in “Religion and Politics,” a journal of the American Political Science Association. The study — based on a survey of 2,000 Americans — found about half of those surveyed said they had gone shopping for a new church. The survey also found about 1 in 10 Americans (11.1%) said they’d left a church for political reasons, with another 7% saying they’d “seriously considered” leaving their church over politics.

Evangelical Christians (81%) were most likely to have shopped for a new church.

Mainline Protestants (30%) and atheists (32%) were most likely to say they’d left a church or thought about leaving over politics. Atheists (16%) were least likely to have shopped for a new church, while Black Protestants (13%) were least likely to have left a church due to politics.

When it comes to politics, Mainline Protestant churches are in a difficult spot, because they are more politically diverse than either evangelical churches or Black Protestant churches. In the 2020 election, 91% of Black Protestant voters supported Democratic candidate Joe Biden, while 84% of white evangelical voters voted for Republican candidate Donald Trump, according to analysis by Pew Research.

Mainline Protestants, which Pew described as “white, non-evangelical” Christians, were split — with 43% voting for Biden, 57% for Trump.

When they are shopping for a new church, evangelicals go looking for another conservative evangelical church like the one they left, where most people vote Republican, said Audette.

“Democrats are mostly just leaving the more liberal denominations,” he said. “It’s a hard time to be a mainline Protestant right now.”

Christian Actor Neal McDonough Became Typecast as a Villain To Avoid Doing Kissing or Sex Scenes

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Jessica Mouser

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December 12, 2022

The career of actor Neal McDonough is something of a paradox: He has often been cast as a villain in movies and TV shows, yet in real life is a devout Christian who refuses to compromise his values. McDonough, who has appeared in the movies “Minority Report” and “Band of Brothers,” refuses to do kissing or sex scenes out of respect for his wife.

“I won’t do kissing scenes,” McDonough said in an interview with actor and podcaster Michael Rosenbaum. “I’ve never wanted to do it, and you know, I got crucified about 10 years ago where they thought I was this religious zealot that I wouldn’t do sex scenes. It was really because I love my wife more than I love my craft, and people couldn’t understand that.”

Neal McDonough’s Hollywood Journey

Neal McDonough is known for appearing in films such as “Star Trek: First Contact,” “Band of Brothers” and “Minority Report,” as well as for his roles in television series including “Justified, “Desperate Housewives,” “Suits, “The Flash,” and “Yellowstone.”

The actor grew up in Boston and was raised Catholic. On “Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum” in 2021, McDonough shared that in his youth he attended mass with his father, which was a bonding time for them, and grew close to God in high school. McDonough is now the father of five children with his wife, Ruvé, a model from South Africa.

McDonough’s passion is to make films that reflect his values, but it is only recently in his career that he has had the opportunity to do so. The actor, who regularly prays and attends church, told Rosenbaum that he was fired from the series, “Scoundrels,” (in 2010) for refusing to do a sex scene and that he “lost basically everything” for his dedication to his principles and his faith. McDonough has also told Fox News Digital that he refuses to take parts where he would be required to take God’s name in vain.

It was getting cast as a villain in the hit series, “Justified,” that revived his career and helped him fall “in love with acting again,” said McDonough. “I had to become the best bad guy because I had to provide for my five kids and a beautiful wife.”

McDonough says that he can now create the movies he wants to, ones that “talk about God and talk about how we are flawed and how we all make mistakes and how it’s that you get up after you make a mistake, not wallowing in your mistake.” Examples include the 2016 faith-based film, “Greater,” which McDonough starred in and executive produced, as well as 2022’s “Boon,” which is about a “hitman who has to find his placement with God.”

In a recent interview with The Christian Post, McDonough shared that he and his wife have started the McDonough Company, a film company that will allow them to create movies that reflect their faith and their values. McDonough said that he and Ruvé are “so blessed to have companies that support us and back us and want to make more films and TV shows, or reality shows or any kind of show that gives glory to Him. Not just to make a movie, but to do a movie that actually gives Him glory — that’s our goal. And that’s what we’re after, and we’re very fortunate to be able to do it.”

Danica McKellar Stands Up for Candace Cameron Bure While Affirming the LGBT Community

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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December 12, 2022

Earlier this year, “Wonder Years” star Danica McKellar gave a testimony of her newly found faith in Christ to her social media followers.

“Hey everyone! I went live today to share the journey I’ve recently embarked on….🙏,” McKellar said in an April Instagram post. “I’m not here to preach, but I have so much love in my heart I just had to share what I’m experiencing, and to share a little why I believe it’s taken me up to this point to begin this journey. ❤️”

McKellar went on to share how Candace Cameron Bure sent her a Bible and invited her to church.

“In my life, starting in childhood, I had been made aware of all the hypocrisy in the various religions of Christianity, it being used for evil, power & control throughout history, and that had definitely biased me. But that’s just people, that doesn’t represent God’s actual love for us,” McKellar recounted.

“And I can tell you I’m experiencing a relationship with God and Jesus that I’ve never had before, and it feels miraculous,” McKellar continued. “And it all started one evening when I was struggling with the idea of forgiveness and DM’d my good friend @candacecbure about a passage from the Bible she had read on her Instastories, and then she sent me a Bible, and invited me to church…🥰 I am wishing all of you the love and freedom I feel in my heart on this journey, and a beautiful Sunday!! ❤️🙏❤️”

Bure, who recently joined Great American Family as Chief Creative Officer after spending the last 10 years at the Hallmark Channel, received criticism for her comments regarding the network’s stance on depicting traditional marriages in movies and shows.

“I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core,” Bure said when asked to comment on Hallmark’s LGBTQ love story, “The Holiday Sitter.”

While others were quick to accuse Bure of being a “bigot” and “disgusting,” McKellar, who is one of Bure’s fellow actresses on the Great American Family network, expressed how she felt about the situation in a post on Instagram right before Thanksgiving.

“Wishing you all a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving tomorrow, filled with joy and connection to those you love. 🧡💛🤎,” McKellar said. “And…I’d like to set the record straight about something. I’m a new Christian, and I’m so grateful for that. 🙏 As I always have, I celebrate all forms of healthy love between adults, and I support representation.”

“I was thrilled to have a role in a couple episodes of Home Economics earlier this year, and my husband and I were privileged to attend my good friend’s beautiful wedding to his husband earlier this year in Mexico,” McKellar continued. “At the time, we commented that it was one of the purest expressions of love we had ever seen.”

Pastor Cuddles Mannequin in Bed During Sermon on Relationships

By

Stephanie Martin

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December 12, 2022

Pastor Michael Todd, whose previous object lessons have raised eyebrows, recently jumped in a bed on stage during a sermon about relationships. While warning about the consequences of making “counterfeit connections,” he cuddled with a female mannequin torso, adding pieces to the body.

Todd, who co-pastors Transformation Church near Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his wife, Natalie, was trying to keep the message “as PG-rated as possible.” But he admits he “might have to do an uncut version.”

Pastor Michael Todd: ‘Cuddling’ Can Kill

Since May, Pastor Michael Todd, author of “Relationship Goals: How to Win at Dating, Marriage, and Sex,” has been preaching a series titled “Cuffing Season.” The slang phrase can refer to hooking up or getting handcuffed or tied down to a partner. Todd defines it as loving things that don’t love you back but instead hold you back from God’s best.

On November 27, in his fourteenth installment of the series, the pastor discusses being “Cuffed to the Cuddle.” The deep-dive on relationships might be the most important message in the series, he says, because the body of Christ often seeks comfort in ungodly sources, “cuddling with things that have the power to kill.”

As an object lesson, Todd climbs into an on-stage bed filled with fluffy pillows. When objects don’t fulfill us, “we invite people into our beds,” he says, “and they can be fake.” Tucking a mannequin torso under the covers with him, the pastor says, “We don’t care who we cuddle with, if it makes us feel comfortable. It don’t matter when it’s convenient.”

Eventually we realize we have only “a piece” of that person and want more. Todd brings out an arm and then legs, constructing the mannequin while describing our desire for connection. The problem, he says, is that “most cuddles are a counterfeit connection” and leave people “compromised.”

Churches Fix the Consequences of Cuddles, Says Pastor Michael Todd

The closeness that occurs behind closed doors leads to connections and the desire to create something more, warns Todd. “But the truth of the matter is, many of the problems that we deal with in the church is fixing consequences that started as a cuddle.”

Because humans are selfish, we’re “looking for the cookie,” he says, throwing small packs of snacks out from under the sheets. “It can be different mannequins, different cookies. Bragging about how many different types of cookies you’ve had.” The truth, says the pastor, is that “most of [your] kids started with a cuddle.”

Testimony Calls Into Question How Early Brian Houston Knew About His Father’s Child Sex Crimes

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Dale Chamberlain

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December 12, 2022

As the trial of former megachurch pastor Brian Houston continues, the testimony of two key leaders who informed Houston of his father’s abuse has revealed that each had the impression that they were the first to break the news to him, despite their conversations with him coming roughly one month apart.

Hillsong general manager George Aghajanian also revealed that the reasoning behind the church’s failure to report the sexual abuse of late pastor Frank Houston was because the abuse was not a “current matter.”

According to the Guardian, Aghajanian, who joined the church that would become Hillsong in 1994 and apparently is still part of the church’s leadership, told the court that while it was his job to ensure that the church complied with relevant laws, he did not inform authorities about the disciplinary action taken against Frank Houston in 2000 in response to credible allegations of child sex abuse.

At the time, Brian Houston forced his father to retire for the alleged abuse the elder Houston committed 30 years prior. Frank Houston was previously the pastor of the Sydney church that merged with Brian Houston’s congregation to become Hillsong, and Frank Houston served as a leader in the Assemblies of God denomination for many years.

Frank Houston had multiple victims.

Testimony has established that the younger Houston knew about his father’s abuse as early as 1999, but did not provide authorities with any helpful information until after his father’s death in 2004.

Following a two-year investigation, Houston was charged with concealing the serious indictable offense of another person, a crime that carries as much as a five year prison sentence. Houston has pleaded not guilty, and the trial, which is expected to span multiple weeks, began roughly a week ago.

During the hearing, when Aghajanian was questioned by the defense as to whose job it was to report abuse, he conceded, “Ultimately, the buck would have stopped with myself.”

“Our understanding of our requirements was to report something that could be potentially an imminent danger,” Aghajanian nevertheless explained, which was the reasoning behind the church not reporting the abuse that took place in the 1970s and predated Hillsong’s existence itself.

“There wasn’t a cover up. I received an allegation and I reported it to my boss,” he said. “We had no evidence of Frank Houston offending in this manner prior to receiving that allegation.”

SPU Board Members Seek Dismissal of Lawsuit Over LGBTQ Exclusion

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Alejandra Molina

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December 12, 2022

(RNS) — Members of Seattle Pacific University’s board of trustees are asking a Washington state court to dismiss a lawsuit brought against the body by a group of students and faculty at the school, arguing that the suit is an effort to “intimidate and punish leaders of a religious institution for the exercise of protected First Amendment rights.”

Seattle Pacific is a 130-year-old private Christian university associated with the Free Methodist Church, which teaches that “homosexual behavior cannot be seen as part of God’s intended role for human sexual expression, regardless of a person’s attraction, and which does not accept marriage between people of the same sex.”

The faculty and students sued the board in September in Washington’s superior court for continuing to uphold a policy that bars people in same-sex relationships from being hired to full-time positions at the school. The plaintiffs claim the policy threatens to harm SPU’s reputation and worsen an already shrinking enrollment. By possibly jeopardizing the school’s future, they argue, the board is breaching its fiduciary duty.

The board members said the lawsuit constitutes nothing more than an attempt to punish them for exercising their duties as trustees, which includes “assembling and speaking about institutional religious beliefs, policies, and church affiliations.”

They noted that three board members are volunteers “with clear statutory immunity.” The fourth, the school’s interim president, Pete Menjares, is a former volunteer “who accepted the call to lead SPU as interim president during a difficult season.”

“For their service, they are being targeted for litigation to punish them for the ‘wrong’ religious beliefs and to send a message to other potential volunteers: the wrong religious beliefs will get you sued,” they said in their filing.

Meanwhile, a collective of students, alumni, faculty and staff known as Seattle Pacific LGBTQ+ Protest, are continuing to raise money to fund the lawsuit.

So far, more than $75,000 has been raised, with funds going to the alumni-organized Our Community LLC that was created to pay legal fees for this case, according to the GoFundMe site.

“This began as a community protest, and we have to keep it going as a community. That means that we are all fighting for queer rights, together,” the group said.

The motion for dismissal was filed Nov. 28 by board members Matthew Whitehead, Mark Mason, Dean Kato and Menjares. A court date has been set for Feb. 17.

This article originally appeared here.

Music Minister Walks for 24 Straight Hours To Raise Money for Missions

By

Timothy Cockes

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December 12, 2022

walking_missions — Photo courtesy of Baptist Press.

PENSACOLA, Fla. (BP) – For Jon Tyner, minister of music at Olive Baptist Church, worship and missions go hand in hand. That’s why Tyner and three friends took on the challenge of walking for 24 straight hours to raise money for missions.

On a Thursday in late October, the four began walking at 7 a.m., traveling from one end of Pensacola Beach to the other and then back to where they started by 7 a.m. the next day.

The group, made up of Tyner as well as Olive’s associate pastor and two choir members, walked 66 miles in total.

All of this was done to raise money for an evangelical organization called Next Level Worship, which seeks to train and resource Christians around the world in biblical worship. The money goes to fund missions projects the organization does throughout the year.

Each October, the organization hosts a Walk for Worship fundraiser, where participants from across the world walk miles to raise money. People can sign up to donate for each mile someone walks.

In total, Tyner and his group raised more than $8,000 for Next Level Worship during their one day of walking. He hopes this act of walking itself will serve as an act of worship.

“Worship is something we do with our mouths and with music, but it’s about our lips and our lives,” Tyner said.

“It’s about what we proclaim with our mouths about who God is, but also should come out in our actions and the way that we live every day. All of our actions should be acts of worship. If those two don’t line up then it’s not true worship.”

Tyner has been in music ministry for over 20 years, nine of which he’s spent at Olive Baptist.

He’s worked with Next Level Worship the last few years and has even traveled to Africa three times with the organization.

When it comes to the Walk for Worship fundraiser, Tyner decided to walk 50 miles to raise money in 2021, but wanted to take things to the next level this year.

Endurance challenges are a hobby of Tyner’s, who has completed events like long hikes, marathons and triathlons.

Tyner often does these events with these three friends, so when he proposed the 24-hour walking idea there was no hesitation.

Completing these types of events together has formed a deep friendship amongst the group.

“There is a bond that forms with anybody that you have a shared experience with that is out of the ordinary,” Tyner said.

“You will always have that thing you connected over. When you do these endurance events, you did a lot of mountaintops and valleys just like in life. When you walk with them and watch them overcome obstacles, it helps you get to know them and build respect for them.”

The group traveled with backpacks containing snacks and a lot of water. They only made brief stops to eat meals throughout the day.

“It was extremely tiring and one of the most difficult things was just being up for 24 hours,” Tyner said. “Your feet are killing you at the end of the day. It was pretty grueling to just keep moving, but you just have to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.”

The four weren’t alone on their journey, as many fellow church members joined them during the day, including all of their spouses.

Others heard of the group’s endeavor, and joined in by walking several miles wherever they were around the world.

Many of these fellow walkers joined the group by Zoom chat for a few minutes each hour as they were walking.

Tyner said there were people from nearly 10 different countries that joined them while walking via Zoom, including India and Zambia.

All of this encouragement helped the group push forward, because they knew the adventure was serving an eternal purpose.

“I’ve met many people that have really been impacted by the ministry of Next Level Worship,” Tyner said. “It was important for me to raise money on their behalf, so NLW can continue to make a difference.

“I think missions and worship go hand in hand. We do missions so that God will be worshipped all over the world. I then think worship fuels missions in that we get closer to God’s heart and His heart is for the nations. One feeds the other to accomplish the Great Commission.”

Tyner hopes the group’s journey will encourage churches to be creative in funding Great Commission work.

“I hope it will inspire people to do whatever they do wholehearted unto the Lord. I think all of us have something that we can leverage for the Lord, and churches have the opportunity to creatively bring attention to what God is doing and how He is working.”

This article originally appeared at Baptist Press.

With Warnock’s Win, Democrats Eye Faith as a Pathway to Victory in the South

By

Jack Jenkins

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December 12, 2022

WASHINGTON (RNS) — When Sen. Raphael Warnock walked to the podium in Atlanta on Tuesday night (Dec. 6) to celebrate his election to a full term as a U.S. Senator, it was mere moments before he brought up a subject close to his heart and key to his win: God.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and to God be the glory,” he declared to thousands of supporters, “for the great things God has done.”

The crowd erupted in jubilation and kept cheering as Warnock, senior pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, a historic Black congregation once led by Martin Luther King, Jr., referred to “that American covenant: E Pluribus Unum” and described voting as a “certain kind of prayer.”

They were lines Warnock has used for years, sometimes from the pulpit, other times from political podiums, often both.

But his rhetoric seemed to hit differently that evening, bringing not only raucous applause from the crowd but also praise from liberal media observers. As Warnock finished his speech, MSNBC hosts Joy Reid and Rachel Maddow lauded his soaring oratory, with Maddow merrily suggesting that perhaps Democrats should elect more Baptist ministers — or at least ones who speak like Warnock.

The quip may surprise some, as liberal Democrats are commonly cast as “godless” by their conservative opponents. Warnock not only rebuts that kind of talk, he represents a particular brand of social justice-focused Christianity that favors voting rights and prioritizes the poor. By couching those issues in his faith, he offers a prominent counter to the religious right and appeals to the Democrats’ historic base among Black Protestants.

FILE - Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., who is the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, campaigns at a church by the same name in Eatonton, Ga., on Aug. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Bill Barrow)

FILE – Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., who is the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, campaigns at a church by the same name in Eatonton, Ga., on Aug. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Bill Barrow)

Warnock is someone who “embodies the best vision of progressive faith in America,” said Joshua DuBois, who oversaw faith outreach for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and in his administration. Dubois noted that Warnock — whose “pro-choice pastor” identity resonates with many liberals, be they religious or otherwise — has also been active in the Progressive National Baptist Convention as well as in ecumenical and interfaith circles.

“He’s someone who not only understands the perspective of progressives of faith and really lives in that space, but also will elevate that perspective in the halls of power,” said DuBois, who now runs the consulting firm Values Partnerships.

Now that Warnock, who has held onto his pulpit at Ebenezer, is freed from what seemed like a perpetual campaign for his seat, he stands to serve as both a champion for the resurgent religious left and as a model for Democrats seeking to expand their influence in the South.

Many on the left are watching to see what Warnock does now that he has a full term in the Senate. Just a few years ago, Warnock was walking through the halls of Congress in handcuffs, arrested for protesting Republicans’ proposed Medicaid cut with a group of Black clergy.

“I have a feeling that in a few days I’m going to meet those Capitol Hill police officers again, and this time they will not be taking me to central booking — they can help me find my new office,” he said just before winning his last runoff, in 2021.

In 2014, he was one of dozens detained at the Georgia State Capitol as part of a “Moral Mondays” demonstration urging local legislators to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Texas Church Bus Accident Injures 16, Including 13 Kids

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AP News

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December 12, 2022

texas church — Harris County Courthouse — in Houston, Harris County, Texas. i_am_jim, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

HOUSTON (AP) — Sixteen people, including 13 children, were injured on Sunday after a small church bus overturned near a Houston area apartment, according to authorities.

The bus, belonging to a Baptist church, rolled over and landed on its side after the driver tried to make a left turn in a northeast Harris County neighborhood around 12:30 p.m., said Lt. Simon Cheng, with the county’s sheriff’s office.

“We’re thankful that no one was seriously injured,” Cheng said.

Witnesses from an apartment complex told investigators the bus appeared to be speeding, Cheng said.

The 16 people on board the bus — 13 children and three adults — were taken to hospitals. The children were between the ages of 1 and 16.

It’s unclear how fast the driver was going, but the speed limit on the road was 30 mph (48 kph), Cheng said.

The driver is likely to be issued a citation but investigators are still determining if any charges could be filed in the case, Cheng said.

This article originally appeared on APNews.com.

Serving the Least of These: New Church Merger Drawn To Dying Town

By

Diana Chandler

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December 12, 2022

church_merger — Amos Crews baptizes a new believer at Pillar of Hope Church. Submitted photo

TARRANT, Ala. (BP) – Amos Crews, senior pastor of new merger Pillar of Hope Church, took a drive through the deteriorating Tarrant community that is the church’s newfound home.

“This community, quite frankly, looks like a war zone,” Crews told Baptist Press. “Abandoned properties, burned out houses. And our wheelhouse of ministry has been the hopeless, the helpless, those folks (some) would cross the street to get away from.

“That was who Jesus reached out to throughout His ministry, was the least of these. Those are the people when they receive Christ, run the hardest for Christ. And they deserve to know the goodness of God and a second chance in life, and that’s what we do.”

Crews was drawn to the neighborhood because Robinwood Baptist Church is closing its doors Dec. 18 after dwindling to about seven active members, all retired and some with challenging medical issues. Robinwood is deeding its building to the Birmingham Metro Baptist Association (BMBA), which will in turn sell it to Pillar of Hope at a deep discount and establish a fund for the building’s repair and upkeep.

“Tarrant is one of the most impoverished communities in Jefferson County, Alabama. It’s in bad shape,” Crews said. “While many would run from this community and its people, God has given us a great vision to love, reach and serve the least of these.”

John Roland, a Samford University advancement officer serving as Robinwood’s interim pastor, said the church realized it could no longer meet the community’s needs.

“We’re going to cease to exist,” Roland said of Robinwood. “We’ve decided the need is so big in that community, we just can’t reach it. The church is surrounded by 60 vacant properties … made up of drug dealers; they have a really high rate of registered sex offenders – I know it’s over 30 – that surround the church.

“These senior adults have given their blood, sweat and tears. The only thing that would prevent them from continuing is just their health.”

Adding to the community’s woes is a decades-long battle over environmental pollution from the iron and steel industry that gave Birmingham the name of “Magic City” in the 1800s. Many of the plants that manufacture coke, or hard coal, a main component in the manufacture of steel and iron, have closed, but the ABC Coke plant owned by the Drummond Company remains active in Tarrant. The pollution has driven many away from the town of 6,000; those who remain suffer a 32 percent poverty rate, according to City-Data.com.

Most recently in 2019, an agreement including a $775,000 settlement and emissions monitoring was reached to address cancer-causing benzene pollution from ABC Coke, but environmental activists have called it inadequate.

Josh Cook, BMBA church revitalization specialist, has worked with the churches to smooth the transition. He said the need for revitalization is becoming more common, especially after the slowdowns suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What we’re seeing, at least here in Birmingham, is that there are a lot of churches in communities that, the communities have transitioned, and the churches are struggling to reach the people in the community,” Cook said, “and they see it as almost a failure to stop existing as they are as a church, even though they’re not being really effective.

“What we’re trying to go is get them to see it’s not a failure to hand off your church to somebody else. That it is just the natural process of the body of Christ as Christ works from one church to another,” Cook said. “We talked to Robinwood and they finally came to the place where they would rather see a vibrant church there, than to continue on until the last person turned out the lights.”

Chicago Priest Michael Pfleger Cleared of Abuse Charges, Reinstated to St. Sabina

By

Bob Smietana

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December 12, 2022

(RNS) — A prominent Roman Catholic priest has been reinstated to his south Chicago parish after an investigation found that abuse charges against him were not credible.

The Rev. Michael Pfleger, longtime pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church, was suspended in October after the Archdiocese of Chicago received an allegation of abuse against him.

The archdiocesan Independent Review Board and Office of Child Abuse Investigation and Review, with help from outside investigators, reviewed the allegations against Pfleger, Cardinal Blase Cupich told St. Sabina parishioners in a letter Saturday (Dec. 10).

“The Review Board has concluded that there is no reason to suspect Father Pfleger is guilty of these allegations,” he wrote.

Plefger had been accused of abuse once before and was suspended as the charges were investigated, then reinstated. His most recent suspension was based on alleged events from three decades ago.

The 73-year-old priest, known for his activism against gun violence and for social justice, appeared at 5:00 p.m. Mass at St. Sabina, a prominent Black Catholic congregation, on Saturday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

“This has been very painful,” Pfleger told the congregation. “Thank you for your love, for your support and your prayers.

Members of St. Sabina and Pfleger had vehemently denied the allegations against him. Church members labeled the allegations as a spiritual attack.

Before his first sermon back at St. Sabina on Sunday (Dec. 11), Pfleger thanked the congregation for standing by him during his suspension.

He referred to the charges against him as “a bunch of garbage” and claimed that for years people have conspired against him because of his activism.

“You got the wrong one,” he said in a video of the sermon posted on the church website.

Despite the troubles he’s faced, Pflger said he has no plans to slow down.

“I keep saying, you are 73, what are you doing? Why are you working so hard?” he said. “But until God tells me—I’m going to do what I was called to do and believe I was born to do.”

Eugene Hollander, the lawyer for the alleged abuse survivor, told the Sun-Times that the review board’s finding was hurtful to his client.

“We think that the review board’s finding that the allegations were unfounded will discourage other victims,” Hollander said.

Cardinal Cupich acknowledged that Pfleger’s suspension had been hard on St. Sabina.

Four Opportunity Killing Mistakes Young (and Old) Leaders Make

By

Geoff Surratt

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December 12, 2022

I love investing in younger leaders, and as I get older almost every leader I meet with is a younger leader. Younger leaders are the ones who change the culture, change the trajectory and change the world. They are less afraid to fail and more likely to try things that seem impossible. Younger leaders don’t know that “we already tried that and it didn’t work”. Younger leaders have passion and energy, what they need is opportunity and experience.

It is that lack of experience, however, that often trips up young leaders. I see them making the same mistakes, easily correctible mistakes, over and over again. My fear is that these mistakes may cause young leaders to lose confidence in their own ability, or become jaded about the organizations where they have leadership roles. My goal is not to poke fun at a young leaders’ naiveté, but to shine a light on the obstacles and lend a helping hand. Its not that I am a better or wiser leader, its just that I’ve been down the path before and I know where the bumps are.

So here are four mistakes I often see younger leaders make:

Mistaking Passion for Opportunity

A few years ago a young man asked for my opinion, “Do you think churches are looking for full time youth counselors?” He had just graduated from seminary with a counseling degree and he was looking for a job. I was honest but overly blunt with my response, “No.”

“You mean churches don’t care about the mental health of teenagers?”, he asked.

“You didn’t ask me if they care, you asked me if they would pay someone a full-time salary to counsel young people. Based on what I know about the priorities, budgets and needs of most churches I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

I don’t think he ever found the job he was looking for. He made the mistake that many young leaders make, that passion equals employability. The reality is that early on in our careers almost all of us worked in jobs we weren’t particularly passionate about, and to this day I’ve never had a job that was made up entirely of things I love doing.

Its important to understand what you’re passionate about, but the question is; will anyone pay you for your passion? You may have to work in an area that you aren’t that fired up about as you build your skills, your network and your bank account. Your opportunity may come, but it will likely be later. Don’t give up on your dreams, but work with all your heart at what you have in front of you today.

Mistaking Accountability for Mistrust

Some young leaders bristle at the adage, “Don’t expect what you don’t inspect,” They label oversight as micromanagement, and feel accountability is a sign of mistrust. “Just tell me what you want accomplished and then leave me alone” is the sentiment.

We have all worked for a manager who leads out of a need for control, but that isn’t the case every time a leader asks for a progress report. Growth in leadership skills comes through input and correction, so accountability is the vehicle for that growth. Even an overly controlling manager presents an opportunity to learn. Rather than avoid measurement and reporting, young leaders can embrace accountability as a stepping stone to increased responsibility.

Mistaking Ideas for Execution

While debriefing a leadership conference we attended a resident from the local seminary said he was appalled by Andy Stanley’s statement, “Recruit doers, not thinkers. It’s much easier to educate a doer than it is to motivate a thinker…rent a thinker, higher a doer.” He was highly offended that Andy didn’t value thinkers like him. Unfortunately I don’t know how things turned out for the thinker because we had to let him go a few months later. It turns out he didn’t do anything.

An executive pastor said it like this, “Good ideas are everywhere; everyone has a good idea. I’m not impressed by good ideas, I’m impressed by great execution.” The world is seldom changed by leaders with great ideas, it is transformed by leaders with good ideas who can execute a strategy.

Make Christianity Beautiful Again

By

Scott Sauls

-

December 12, 2022

These days, the name “Christian” seems to evoke as many negative reactions as it does positive ones.

This bothers me.

Does it bother you?

Critics might summarize their feelings about Christians as Gandhi did when he allegedly said, “I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

More recently, San Francisco journalist Herb Caen said, “The trouble with born-again Christians is that they are an even bigger pain the second time around.”

Painfully, and from the vantage point of a Christian convert who had become disenchanted with her church, Vampire Chronicles author Anne Rice wrote:

For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being ‘Christian’ or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.

Deservedly infamous. Ouch!

As a forgiven, loved, and Spirit-filled people, we can do better than this.

Can’t we?

Having been a Christian for over thirty years and an ordained minister for over twenty-five, I can sympathize with these sorts of anecdotes. As the people of Jesus, we have not always represented him well, and in our poor representation have created a public relations nightmare for the movement that he began through his death, burial and resurrection. In the eyes of a watching world, many would say our lives have been more lackluster than compelling, more ugly than appealing, more pharisaical than winsome, more contentious than kind, more self-centered than servant-like, more sexually inappropriate than sexually pure, more consumeristic than covenantal, more fickle than faithful, more greedy than generous, more proud than humble, more biblically disinterested than biblically anchored, more distracted than purposeful, more bored with Christ than alive to Christ.

My 4-Step Method for Outlining Sermons

By

Lane Sebring

-

December 12, 2022

Recently I received a question from a reader regarding outlining sermons and what I use for notes while I preach. I want to share his question and my answer with you. He wrote:

Good morning Lane,

First off want to thank you for all of the work put into the blog and podcasts. I’ve personally found a lot of the content very helpful. I preach on close to a monthly basis and am a volunteer youth leader, so I teach youth on a monthly basis as well. I was interested in learning more about your method of outlining your sermon. I’ve been following a manuscript method because that’s how I’ve learned, however I find I never really stay on it and have a difficult time finding my place afterward. So my question is, what do you find to be the most useful outlining method? What do you take into the pulpit with you? Also, do you have an example of your outline you preach from? Thanks!

I appreciate this question because I am always curious when I watch someone preach what their method is behind the scenes. What do they take to the pulpit with them? How do they decide where to begin and end? Do they write out a manuscript or just outline the main points? To get started, I will address his question about developing an outline.

Two things to keep in mind regarding outlining sermons

You should outline in a way that fits you. Your method should accommodate your distinct personality, style and comfort level. For example, I have never used a manuscript because they would not work with my personality and style, but I know preachers who use them well. The key is to find what works for you.

Each sermon is different so the approach varies. Some sermons are in a series where a major idea is being threaded through each sermon. Other sermons are more stand-alone topical sermons that deal with a given issue. Still, others may answer a question or explain an aspect of doctrine.

My 4-Step Method for Outlining Sermons

I don’t have one method that I use every time. Each sermon calls for something slightly different. But I do have a preferred method I enjoy using when it fits with the sermon. This method did not originate with me. I have adopted it from a variety of techniques that I’ve observed and read about over the years. It has four basic steps:

1. Build tension and create interest. This is a concept that Andy Stanley developed (and I wrote about in this article). Put simply, building tension involves getting my listeners interested in the content before I start teaching it. This takes creativity and hard work to think through exactly how to foster interest in my content. Before I begin teaching through a text, I want to get my listeners on the hook for what I am about to preach.

2. Resolve the tension with the text. After I have built tension by presenting a problem or question or struggle that everyone can relate to, I point people to the text for the solution to the problem or answer to the question. When I present the text as the answer it teaches people to look into the Word of God to find answers in life. Ultimately, the answer is Jesus. He is the solution, the answer, the relief, the healing and the savior that everyone needs. Taking people to the text empowers them to know the heart of God, understand the gospel and live in light of it.

3. Teach and illustrate how to apply it. After walking through the text my goal is to teach how to apply it. This section is where I make my point or points and give illustrations that help make sense of them. This is not a list of possible applications. Rather, my points tend to be action oriented so that the points themselves are applications. Everything in this section demonstrates how to apply what the text teaches. My aim in this step is to be drop-dead practical and teach how living out the text enables us to experience the hope, healing, answers or solution that everyone was on the hook for at the beginning of the sermon.

4. Cast vision and inspire. This is where I cast a vision of what it would look like if we all applied the principle. This involves painting a picture of how different our church would be or how much freer we would feel or how much more of an impact we could make on our community.

Again, I did not develop this out of thin air. Rather, this method is an adaption of what others have taught. There are two that I should cite because they are so similar and were around first: Andy Stanley’s method of “Me, We, God, You, We” which he teaches in Communicating for a Change and “Hook, Book, Look, Took” from Creative Bible Teaching. Check those out if you want to do some further reading on this topic.

Next week I’ll answer the second part of his question about what notes I take to the pulpit with me and how I structure them. I’ll also provide an example pdf of the sermon notes I have in the pulpit with me.

I want to hear from you, what is your outlining sermons method? What have you found that works for you?

This article about outlining sermons originally appeared here.

50% of Pastors Don’t Believe They Have Strong Preaching

By

Gavin Adams

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December 12, 2022

strong preaching — Adobestock #329770666

This headline on Barna’s site caught my attention: “49% of U.S. pastors say the preaching at their church is ‘strong’.” Two quick observations about strong preaching before we address the content.

They asked pastors if they believed THEIR preaching was strong. I don’t know about you, but I’m the worst evaluator of myself. Asking pastors how they feel about their preaching seems like an odd sample.
More alarming, only 49% of pastors believe they have strong preaching! That’s the worst part. If we surveyed the congregations in their churches, I suspect that number wouldn’t be higher. Odds are 49% is an exaggerated metric of success.

The question is what can be done about this? How can pastors who feel they aren’t strong in the pulpit get stronger, and how can the pastors who wrongfully evaluate their strength improve?

The secret to strong preaching is found in the purpose of preaching.

Let’s start with this question:

What is the purpose of preaching?

Ask 10 pastors, and you might get 10 different answers. But, ask a typical congregant, and I wonder what you’d hear.

From my years leading in the church and hearing a lot of sermons, I’m not sure pastors see sermon success in the same way as their congregation.

Pastors tend to major in the details: theology, hermeneutics, exegesis, original languages, and plenty of conviction. You see this all around the church world.

I have no research to back up what I’m about to say, but I’ll say it anyway. I suspect attendees are much more concerned with improving their lives than understanding Greek or Hebrew.

Digging below “a better life,” what people want is peace. They want hope and help in the areas that create stress.

Information alone is relatively unhelpful. But it is the first step to giving people what they want and need.

Rick Warren: 4 Habits For Spiritual Growth

By

Rick Warren

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December 12, 2022

habits for spiritual growth — Adobestock #129083488

There’s no such thing as instant spiritual growth; it’s a gradual process of development. The Bible says, “So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding” (Hebrews 6:1 NLT). Spiritual growth is a journey, and that means it takes time. Sure, we want to speed up the process, but we can’t. It’s a lifetime journey where God teaches us habits for spiritual growth to develop our character so we become more like Jesus.

At the core of this journey are disciplines that help us grow spiritually. These disciplines—or habits—aren’t new; they’ve been around for thousands of years.

We are the sum of our habits. Here’s the truth: You can preach the greatest sermons in the world, but your congregation won’t grow deeper spiritually until you help people learn how to practice spiritual habits on their own.

At Saddleback, we focus on spiritual habits in CLASS 201. We teach four specific habits that are essential to every growing Christian. These aren’t the only habits that help you grow spiritually, but they are the most important.

You won’t see any surprises on this list. They’re tried-and-true disciplines that have helped Christians grow for generations:

4 Habits For Spiritual Growth

1. Read the Bible Daily.

The people in our churches desperately need truth. Truth sets us free—free from worry, free from the expectations of others, and free from guilt. Jesus said this in John 8:31-32, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (NLT).

2. Pray Daily.

Disciples spend time with Jesus. God’s Word tells us in John 15:7-8, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it…and in this way you become my disciples” (GNT).

C.S. Lewis Speaks to Small Groups

By

Chet Gladkowski

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December 11, 2022

C.S. Lewis Small Groups — Pixabay, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

There is an overlooked insight into Small Groups that Clive desperately wants us to get.

The Chronicles of Narnia books by C.S. Lewis have sold over 100 million copies in 47 different languages, The three movies released by Disney have grossed over half a billion dollars. So yes, I’m going to assume that you know something about it.

And by a wide margin, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is the most popular of the seven novels. When you watch or read this story, I bet you do what the rest of us do. You pick a character that you most identify with. Or, should I say, which character you most want to be like.

No matter if you’re male or female, young or old, many of us want to be Lucy. She’s the most optimistic, cheerful, kind, and brave. For most of the story, she’s the main character until Aslan arrives on the scene. She’s the one who first discovers Narnia. She’s more loving and sensitive towards Aslan. She’s the most spiritually mature of the four Pevensie children.

Isn’t that who you want to be? The spiritually sensitive and senior in your part of God’s family. The one who immediately responds to God’s voice. God’s call. God’s command. After all, isn’t that why you’re involved with Small Group Network and the Small Groups within your community?

And then there’s Susan. The one who’s always sticking her nose into everybody else’s business. Mothering and smothering them. She’s totally insensitive to everyone. She’s the most cautious, the least adventurous. She’s very apprehensive about the unknown. She’s concerned with her own comfort and shows her selfishness, especially toward Lucy.

Lucy, Susan, and Small Groups

As you reach out and connect with people about Small Groups, you quickly discern if they are a Lucy or a Susan. Between Lucy and Susan, it’s a slam dunk to choose Lucy. Isn’t Lucy the one that you want in your Small Group? You pray to God for more and more people like Lucy while ignoring people like Susan. You quickly return any and all communications from Lucy types while giving low priority to people like Susan.

Of course, Lucy’s the one we’re immediately drawn to when it comes to finding and developing Small Groups. It’s easier to talk with the Lucy kind of people. Their heart’s softer towards the things of God. They respond with kindness and warmth to our emails. Their encouragement fires us up with energy and enthusiasm.

But the Susans we connect with do just the opposite. They seem to drag us down. They exhaust us. They get excited and then, nothing but crickets rubbing their legs together. They don’t return our communications. They are frustrating as they seem to do nothing but waste our precious time and energy.

Yes, we all want Lucy’s in our Small Groups. On our team. On our side. We want to be close to the Lucy’s in life. But is that who Aslan wants us to be closest to? Does God want us to spend more time reaching out to the Lucy’s of the world? Or the Susan’s?

How to Help our Teens Deal With LGBTQ Issues

By

Greg Stier

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December 11, 2022

There is a lot of confusion in this culture today over gender and sexual identity issues. There is a lot of head scratching in the church, as well. But God’s Word brings clarity where the world and religion often bring a fog. So how do we help our teenagers deal with LGBTQ issues (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning). How do we help them navigate their own identity issues, as well as those of their peers? How do we do it in a way that strikes that balance between conviction and compassion? And how do we equip our teenagers to share the Good News of Jesus with others in a Good News way?

5 Truths as you Help Your Teenagers Deal With LGBTQ Issues:

1. Love, not hate must be our posture.

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8).

These are strong words from God’s Word. If we hate anyone, we have alienated the One who is defined by love…God Himself.

When Christians yell, scream, point, and damn, they are nothing like God. When Jesus said, “For God so loved the world,” He didn’t quantify or qualify. He loved the world and everyone in it. He loved straight, bi, trans, gay—anyone and everyone—because God is the essence of love. He came to bring the best of the best to the worst of the worst.

Heck, that’s the only reason I made it in!

“God is love.” That’s who He is. It’s what describes and defines the person of God.

Yes, He is holy, just, righteous and so much more. But this passage narrows one of His many descriptions as a primary one…love.

God doesn’t wait until we clean up our act to save us. He saves us and then begins the process of cleaning up our act. Romans 5:8 asserts the shocking, “But God demonstrates his love for us in this, while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” This is true for everyone, no matter who they are attracted to sexually or how they self-identify.

We must help our teenagers to love everyone…no matter what. May we self-identify as those who have an irrepressible love for everyone, because we’ve been relentlessly loved by God. May we forever drench our theological convictions with biblical compassion.

2. The Bible, not culture, must be our authority.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 3:16-4:2).

God’s Word originated from the mind of God and landed on paper (or papyrus) through the pens of the men who wrote it. Because it was inspired (“breathed out”) by God Himself, it is as perfect as God Himself. It must be taught, read, respected and obeyed by those of us who claim to be His followers.

The Word of God is our handbook and guide and provides us with God’s “house rules.” My own kids don’t always understand or agree with their mom and dad’s house rules, but that doesn’t change the fact that our rules are our rules. Whether my kids like, understand or agree with our rules makes no difference, because they are our rules and they must be obeyed.

What’s true in our house is even more true in God’s household. His Word must be read, respected and obeyed, whether we like what it says or not, whether culture disagrees with it or not, whether it brings mockery and marginalization or not.

And the Bible is crystal clear on issues of gender identity and sexual practice.

Genesis 1:27 reminds us that sexual identity was determined by God when He made Adam and Eve in the beginning, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

And whatever He made us to be, male or female, was a hands-on miraculous process that God personally oversaw in our mothers’ womb: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Instead of railing against our Creator, we must know that He loves us, cares for us and crafted us as a male or female. That has nothing to do with our choice or feelings or doubts, but everything to do with His love for us.

When it comes to sexual practice we, once again, must go back to the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:18-25 paints a clear picture of God’s original design for sexuality,

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

The original design God made for humanity to follow was man and woman, husband and wife. Once again, these are “house rules” that we may not like or understand, but as followers of Christ, we must follow what He says, whether we like it or not.

Of course, there are very specific Scriptural passages that make it clear homosexual sex is a sin (Romans 1:26-27). But I think it is enough to know that God is for marriage (between one man and one woman), rather than trying to perpetually unpack one of the things He is against (homosexual sex).

But Christian teenagers also need to be reminded that heterosexual sex outside of marriage is also a sin and so is heterosexual lust (or lust of any kind). So we have no right to be arrogant in our biblical stance. As Jesus told the Jewish leaders accusing the woman caught in adultery, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”

As we teach these truths to our teenagers, we must do so knowing the tendency of teenagers to be on one side of the pendulum or the other. For many of our teenagers, the tendency will be accommodation. They may have friends who are gay, bi, or trans…or just questioning. To say that being transgender is unnatural and homosexual sex is a sin may cause some to be angry and accuse you of being judgmental. Once again, we must remind them of the “house rules.”

On the other side of the equation, there will be those who want to pick up stones with the Pharisees and “pelt the sinners.” We must remind them that we are no better than the worst of sinners. Romans 3:9-12 makes this clear,

What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”

Every single one of us was born into the sin tribe and are spiritually depraved and morally deprived. Those of us who have been born again have been renewed, not by our goodness, but by the grace of Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). We have nothing to brag about but Jesus.

I am Compelled: Setting Aside Your Rights For The Gospel

By

Christina Embree

-

December 11, 2022

The words in this title are not mine; they are the Apostle Paul’s.

These words come in the middle of what I can only call a full-fledged rant. Paul, having dealt with some unfair treatment and feeling very frustrated about it, basically just goes off and vents his frustration to the Corinthians. Essentially, he felt as though his rights were being violated. He sees the way that the Corinthians treat other preachers and teachers and shares his frustration that he and Barnabas not only don’t receive equal treatment but are criticized because they don’t share the same life experience.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:3-6, 11-12,

This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don’t we have the right to food and drink? Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living?…If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?

Focusing on Rights and Fair Treatment

I feel like this is quite similar to the conversations I hear circulating in certain Christian circles these days; conversations focused on rights and questioning if fair treatment is taking place.

But this is where the conversation diverges. Because Paul doesn’t stop there.

Paul follows this line of questioning with a very important statement:

“But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 9:12b)

He goes on to say, “But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast. For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach.”

How Being Less Responsible Can Grow Responsibility in Others

By

Gavin Adams

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December 10, 2022

Could your strong sense of responsibility increase your team’s irresponsibility?

If you’re a leader, I suspect you possess a strong sense of responsibility. Taking on a leadership role or receiving a leadership promotion would only be possible if you were persistently responsible.

I love working with people with a high sense of responsibility. Responsible people see problems as opportunities, push for solutions, and own setbacks without making excuses.

The higher up an organization you look, the more responsibility you typically find.

So, if taking responsibility is an element of successful leadership, giving responsibility is a leadership development opportunity.

Ironically, What I Often See Are Overly Responsible Leaders.

Because leaders are typically very responsible, they tend to act responsibly. When a problem needs to be solved, a decision needs to be made, or a system needs to be implemented, the responsible leader jumps right in. It’s just natural.

But consider this: If you always step in to take care of problems, your team will let you. Worse, they’ll eventually expect you to take on all the responsibility. I hate to say it, but you can be too responsible. That sounds like an oxymoron, but I see it all the time. If you take on all the responsibility, your team won’t fight you for it, and you will grow increasingly frustrated with your staff.

Specifically, if you constantly hog all the responsibility, you will:

Become frustrated by what you perceive as staff laziness.
Stagnate the leadership development of your staff.
Lose your best leaders.

It may be time for you to be more responsible with how you take responsibility.

Managing your sense of responsibility is a classic tension to manage.

Here are 4 strategies to spread the burden of responsibility.

1. Delegate More Than You Do.

I’ve written several posts on delegation systems, so I will keep this short.

Please read the posts linked above if you need help with effective delegation. As you do, consider how much you’re currently delegating versus doing. No leader is skilled enough to be the best at everything. However, the people on your team have diverse skill sets that can and should be utilized responsibly.

Neal McDonough’s Hollywood Journey

Pastor Michael Todd: ‘Cuddling’ Can Kill

Churches Fix the Consequences of Cuddles, Says Pastor Michael Todd

Mistaking Passion for Opportunity

Mistaking Accountability for Mistrust

Mistaking Ideas for Execution

Two things to keep in mind regarding outlining sermons

My 4-Step Method for Outlining Sermons

The secret to strong preaching is found in the purpose of preaching.

Let’s start with this question:

4 Habits For Spiritual Growth

1. Read the Bible Daily.

2. Pray Daily.

Lucy, Susan, and Small Groups

5 Truths as you Help Your Teenagers Deal With LGBTQ Issues:

1. Love, not hate must be our posture.

2. The Bible, not culture, must be our authority.

Focusing on Rights and Fair Treatment

Ironically, What I Often See Are Overly Responsible Leaders.

Here are 4 strategies to spread the burden of responsibility.

1. Delegate More Than You Do.

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