Mississippi Church Commits to ‘More Thorough Response’ for 1980s Abuse Case

November 1, 2022

MADISON, Miss. (BP) – In speaking to worshippers at Broadmoor Baptist Church yesterday (Oct. 30) Lead Pastor Josh Braddy presented several action steps toward addressing a decades-old case of sexual abuse to which he and other church leaders believe “a more thorough response was warranted.”

The case centers around a former member of Broadmoor’s youth group who approached church leaders recently over abuse she suffered from the youth minister during the 1980s.

Allegations include abuse and inaction by staff. Current church leadership has committed itself to investigating the charges, updating current policies and procedures and, if need be, assisting in the survivor’s legal defense should there be a lawsuit brought over violating a non-disclosure agreement with the alleged perpetrator.

“Many times we ask ourselves, ‘What in the world, God, do you want from me?’” Braddy said toward the end the morning worship service. “I always go to one verse that leads me to that place.

“It’s from the prophet Micah. He says, ‘Man, you have been told what the Lord requires of you. It is to do justice. It is to love mercy. And it is to walk humbly with your God.

“Today, I want to do that before you.”

In 1982, he said, 28-year-old married father David Ingram joined the church as youth pastor. Ingram served in that role until 1988, with his family remaining “active and engaged” members of Broadmoor until he was called to be the lead pastor of a nearby church in 2010.

“As a church family, we loved David, his wife and his children, and we still do,” said Braddy.

The survivor approached a former Broadmoor pastor shortly after Ingram was no longer the youth minister over the case and again in 2019 for assistance in warning Ingram’s church over the abuse. It is unclear, Braddy said, if any steps were taken beyond the former pastor expressing “acknowledgement and grief.”

“We recognize that this journey will be full of grief, and that many of you may also feel anger, confusion, loss and many other emotions,” Braddy said. “Our church family has strong relationships with both the survivor’s family and David’s and the wounds are and will be deep.”

Acknowledging that the news would bring “an intensely painful time” for those in the congregation who have also experienced abuse, Braddy announced several steps.

Ahead of Midterms, Faith Plays Central Role in Republican Efforts To Win Latino Votes

Alejandra Molina

November 1, 2022

latino voters — Pastor Luis Cabrera speaks during a recent tent revival in Dover, Delaware. Video screen grab

(RNS) — Pastor Luis Cabrera, who leads City Church Harlingen in South Texas, foresees a “godly wave” in next week’s midterm elections, particularly in his home state, where he has acted as a spiritual guide to a group of Latina Republicans seeking to flip congressional seats with a message of faith, family and country. Values, they say, that are central to Latino voters.

Values, they believe, that Democrats have abandoned.

“We’re going to take this country back for God and we’re going to fight for our piece of the land, for the American dream … for our principles, our values and our morals,” said Cabrera, 45, who as a child immigrated with his parents to the U.S. from Nicaragua.

“Make America Godly Again” is a phrase Cabrera uses often as part of a revival movement — which stands against abortion and advocates for Bibles in schools and more funding for law enforcement — that helps political candidates organize their campaigns around God. It’s a slogan Rep. Mayra Flores employed with success in her June special election campaign that made her the first Mexican-born woman to serve as a member of Congress. Flores is seeking to retain her seat.

As pastor of a Latino evangelical congregation, Cabrera said he sees church members struggling with rising gas and food prices. He blames the current White House administration for “putting a strain on our economy.” Inflation, he said, “is killing Latino families.” Cabrera said he educates congregants on their civic duties and biblical principles and tells them that as Christians they should vote because “you’re not only a godly citizen, but you’re a citizen of this country.”

In this Sept. 22, 2021, file photo, Republican congressional candidate Mayra Flores speaks at a Cameron County Conservatives event in Harlingen, Texas. Flores argues that Democrats are forcing Texans to choose between their energy sector jobs and curbing climate change. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

In this Sept. 22, 2021, file photo, Republican congressional candidate Mayra Flores speaks at a Cameron County Conservatives event in Harlingen, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Latinos are regarded as the fastest-growing racial and ethnic group in the United States electorate, and with the midterms just one week away, Republicans, conservative pastors and other right-wing organizations are centering faith as they escalate outreach to Latino voters in battleground states like Texas, Arizona and Florida.

Pew Research Center data looking at 2022 midterm election preferences of Latinos shows that some of the sharpest differences in candidate choice are by religion.

Half of Latino evangelical Protestants said they would vote for the Republican candidate for U.S. House, while a majority of Latino Catholics (59%) and the religiously unaffiliated (60%) said they would vote for the Democratic candidate, according to the Pew.

With Pew data showing U.S. Latinos are no longer majority-Catholic, recent election polls have highlighted a growing number of non-Catholic Latinos who were never Catholic to begin with. Some were raised Protestant, and, increasingly, many are raised nonreligious.

“As aggregate populations, religious nones will likely support more progressive political positions, while evangelicals will lean more conservatively,” said Jonathan Calvillo, an assistant professor of Latinx studies at Emory’s Candler School of Theology.

Religious and political affiliation, however, can also vary by where Latinos live, according to University of Nebraska Omaha religion professors Laura E. Alexander and Cristián Doña-Reveco in an essay published in The Conversation. The professors analyzed 2021 Pew data and found that Latino Protestants in the Midwest were more likely to identify as Democrat or Democrat-leaning than in other regions.

Calvillo notes that even as Latino Protestants don’t always lean Republican, particularly in specific regions, the voices that speak for them are often more conservative. He wonders: “To what extent are Latino Protestants being pushed in this direction?”

Pandemic, Migration, and Mission: Events Arising During the Pandemic, Part 2

Ed Stetzer

November 1, 2022

In the Summer of 2021, mission practitioners from around the world, including myself, gathered virtually for the Lausanne Diaspora Summit, to understand the impact of the pandemic on missional engagement around the world. Sam George and Bulus Galadima, who both serve as Catalysts for diaspora for the Lausanne Movement, edited the insights from that meeting into a new book called Pandemic, Migration, and Mission: Global Reflections for Christian Witness. Sam George is also serves with me at the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College as the Director of the Global Diaspora Institute.

The following is the second installment in a four-piece series containing excerpts from contributing chapter called “Impact of the Pandemic on Missions in North America.” In this piece I discuss some of the significant events that impacted both North American society as well as the church during the pandemic.

Make sure to read Part 1, Part 3, and Part 4 in this series, as well.

Events Arising During the Pandemic

In addition to the direct results of the coronavirus and our precautions, several landmark events took place or were highlighted during COVID-19. The first was a series of political events. In the United States, we also had two impeachments, disputed elections, and Capitol riot—all of which made news around the world. Add to that the confusion over information about the pandemic, inconsistent leadership and response, and a host of conspiracy theories related to politics and the pandemic, and we have seen more political angst in many years.

The second event related to race in America. The murder of George Floyd made global news and brought greater awareness of racial injustice in the United States. Many Evangelical leaders joined rallies, advocated for justice, and engaged in dialogs about Christianity and racism. An evangelical African American pastor in one of Wheaton College’s programs invited me to participate in a faith leaders’ prayer march through communities that were burned in riots. We walked together through the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. I was asked to walk at the front by my African American pastor friends, holding the sign with George Floyd’s name on it alongside them. We prayed for these communities and for those who burned them in the riots. The reality of racism took North America by storm. Several Christian books about racism went off the charts, and some even became New York Times best-sellers.

Of course, not all reactions to the increasing attention to racism were the same. In the United States and Canada, Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality quickly became popular topics. While some Christians argue for their helpfulness as a tool to illuminate oppression, others believe it is entirely untrue and ultimately harmful. Some turned CRT into the boogeyman of our time, seeing it virtually every time race was mentioned; others gave it too much credit. The issue of race is far more complex and nuanced than many realize. Along with the greater awareness of issues of race, North Americans— particularly Americans—also witnessed varying degrees of backlash, from banning CRT in schools to white nationalist movements.

The third event is the continuing polarization and tribalism which creates deeper divides than we have seen in most of our lifetimes. Civil discourse has become increasingly difficult as people are more likely to embrace fidelity inside their tribe than find empathy for those outside it. This is the day of canceling, anti-immigration rhetoric and sentiments, anti-Asian violence, anti-Asian discrimination, and more have become common today.

All these tensions followed in the wake of the coronavirus in 2020 and 2021. While most of this is taking place primarily in the United States, there is a rising sense of nationalism in Canada as well, as demonstrated by the nationalistic elections in Quebec in 2018. There, too, we see a rising anti-immigrant mentality, though it is not as active as the American movement. Ironically, during this same time of COVID-19 and rising nationalism, the world is in the midst of a global refugee crisis that the coronavirus only exacerbates by border lockdowns, food and supply shortages, and more.

5 Rhetorical Questions From Paul

Eric Geiger

November 1, 2022

thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

There are questions that are not really questions, but statements masked as questions. For example, when Kaye has said to me, “Are you going to wear that?” it has not really been a question. When you are at lunch with an ultra-healthy friend and you order a double patty burger and they order a kale salad and ask, “Are you going to eat that?” it is not really a question. The apostle Paul used this tactic, as he wrote Romans 8, to build the case that believers in Christ are never going to be separated from God’s enduring love. The rhetorical questions from Paul, and the answers he provides, profoundly confront the doubts we can have about the nature of God’s love.

Rhetorical Questions From Paul for Every Preacher

1. If God is for us, who is against us? [Romans 8:31]

If someone has 100 million dollars, it does not matter to them if the bottle of water at the grocery store is $1.69 or $1.39 because the 100 million is significantly greater than the cost of the water. If something could separate you from God, that thing would be God. But because no one or nothing is greater than God, if God is for you, what does it matter if other things are against you?

2. He did not even spare his own Son but offered him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything? [Romans 8:32]

If we ever worry that we have exhausted God’s mercy, we should just remember that He has already given His best. Everything else is nothing compared to his Son, and He offered Him for us, so how will He withhold other things from us? The Father did not withhold the Son from you and He will not withhold His blessings from you.

3. Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies. [Romans 8:33]

The Scripture teaches that Satan continually accuses those who belong to Christ (Revelation 12:10). You have heard the insults. “If you really loved God, you would not struggle with this.” “There is no way God can forgive you for what you have done.” “Do you really think God loves you?” But, the voice of our enemy is silenced by the loud and powerful voice of Jesus. God’s declaration over us silences Satan’s accusation against us. God is the One who justifies, and He has declared us holy and right.

4. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. [Romans 8:34]

In the midst of our struggles and sin, Jesus intercedes for us. Jesus is at the right hand of the Father constantly reminding the Father that our sin has already been condemned—not in us but in Him. And Jesus is not reminding a reluctant Father; He is interceding for you to the Father who sent Him to the world. His grace is amazing, and we don’t run from God when we understand His grace. We run to God when we understand His grace.

5. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? [Romans 8:35]

The rhetorical questions from Paul end with Paul’s answer at the end to Romans 8: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This article about rhetorical questions from Paul originally appeared here.

6 Things to Do When Prayer Doesn’t Work

Dan Reiland

November 1, 2022

What do you do when prayer doesn’t work? You know God loves you. You know He answers prayer. You know your eternal destiny is secured. But have you ever secretly, quietly, wondered, “God are you with me right now?”

Intellectually, biblically, you know He is, but in the quiet of the night, it might not always feel that way.

At times that is the life of a leader.

Perhaps you have someone you care about in the hospital.
Maybe you are concerned about the stability of your church this fall.
You might be troubled about where we are as a country.

Your personal stress levels are rising. You carry responsibility, you care, and you pray! Yet, at times it may seem like your prayers hit a wall. They don’t seem to be working.

Are they getting through? Are you praying the right things? You wonder what God has in mind. That’s natural, but here’s the danger.

When you wonder if your prayers are actually working, the enemy has you right where he wants you. Discouraged and maybe even ready to surrender your passion and love for ministry. Keep praying!

When things aren’t going well, when prayer doesn’t work (or so you think) that’s the time (now more than ever) to resist the idea. Keep praying. But how?

Let me push pause for a second and say, if you are personally in a really good place, great! But please know that many of your brothers and sisters who lead are struggling. Find them. Encourage them. Pray for them. Pray with them.

6 Things to Do When Prayer Doesn’t Work

1) Be honest with God.

Be honest with God about your concerns, your true emotions, especially if your prayers don’t seem to be getting through.

That’s the beginning of prayer in tough times and spiritual breakthroughs.

God will meet you where you’re at. You might be overwhelmed, overworked, bewildered, may be discouraged. But, God will meet you in your honesty. Or it might be a bunch of little things, but the cumulative effect is unrelenting and therefore exhausting.

Jesus knows what you feel; He’s felt it too; when you are honest, you connect with His Spirit in a way that you sense it. You may still wonder about the outcomes of prayer, but you know He is with you.

**2) Believe that God can move the mountain you need moved.**

There are times when our faith is challenged; we pray for the miracle but allow our human interpretation of the situation to dull our faith. Lord, teach us to pray with great faith.

Human circumstances are real, and they influence how we pray; we are not to pray flippantly or foolishly but still believe that God can.

The moment you stop believing that God can – doesn’t change God; it changes how you pray, and sometimes if you pray.

It’s easy to get stuck in that thin space between knowing God can but not believing He will. So don’t make up God’s mind for Him; pray your heart’s desire!

3) Ask God to reveal the bigger picture.

Who among us knows the mind of God? Yet, He gives us access to appeal to Him about what we don’t know or understand.

At times I’ve thought my prayers were a cop-out when I pray big and bold, but then I include, “If it’s your will.” But candidly, my prayers need to be in alignment with God’s will; He can’t go against His own nature.

And why would we pray differently than God’s will?

With that in mind. It’s better to start our prayers with “God, reveal your will to me” and “Jesus, teach me to pray.” Both of those work well for me and will for you too.

The point is that when we have a better idea of God’s purpose and plan, right where we are leading, we gain more confidence in our prayers.

God is not keeping secrets from us, but we are often not ready for all He knows. Still, there is always a little more we are ready for. Ask God for that.

4) Borrow someone else’s faith.

One of my favorite and spiritually encouraging stories is our founding, and senior pastor tells about the early history of 12Stone Church.

The early years of the church plant were tough; in short, it wasn’t working. Pastor Kevin (PK) was ready to give up. He talked with his friend and senior pastor of the church, who sent him out about maybe coming back. The pastor responded, “If you no longer have enough faith, borrow mine.”

The pastor, Wayne Schmidt, believed God was still in it and very much with Kevin. So, PK did just that; he “borrowed” Wayne’s faith and stayed with it for another year. Over thirty years later now, we are all so glad he did.

Do you need to borrow someone’s faith for a season?

That could radically impact your prayer life and leadership.

5) Recall and reflect on past miracles.

When I hit those moments or seasons when I’m not sure my prayers are working, I reflect on previous answers to prayer and especially the miracles.

I suppose we can say that every answer to prayer from God Himself involves the miraculous, but by miracle, I’m speaking of things that we know are not only impossible without God but defy human understanding or ability.

Reflecting on miracles reminds me that God is with me and fully engaged in my calling and role as a husband, father, and leader.

6) Pray with someone else.

Have you ever wondered about the prayers that have been lifted up on your behalf that you never knew about, and perhaps by people you’ve never met?

That thought encourages me about the power of the body of Christ and deeply humbles me that I have likely received many of those prayers.

Other people praying for you is incredibly powerful.

Praying with someone or a small group is equally, if not more so, powerful!

When the body of Christ prays together, physically in the same place, whether it’s two, twenty, or hundreds, the Holy Spirit invades that space, and Christ Himself is present – the power is transformational, and Heaven meets you there.

When prayer doesn’t work (or you are tempted to think so), ask someone to pray with you; together, your prayers make that physical place holy ground.

This article on when prayer doesn’t work originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

5 Ways to Use Church Metrics Review for Deeper Engagement

Aware3

November 1, 2022

When it comes to engagement, churches have a lot of data at their disposal and a slew of metrics to choose from. As Harvard Business Review puts it, “Metrics are what you measure. And what you measure is what you manage too.” That’s why it’s so important to stop and ask yourself: What church metrics review will help us more deeply connect + minister our people?

If the goal is to measure + facilitate church member engagement, connection, and spiritual growth, then we can’t just measure things like sermon views, attendance numbers, and Facebook likes. These kinds of metrics are only the tip of the iceberg–it’s helpful to see them but to get to the really substantial, meaningful stuff, you have to go deeper.

After all, we know that not every church member who tunes in or likes a social post is truly engaged, so how do we shift our church metrics review to tell us what we really want to know? Things like:

What church members are (or aren’t) actively participating? What members are showing interest in a small group? What types of sermon topics does my congregation need right now?

5 Ways to Use Church Metrics Review for Deeper Engagement

#1. Centralize for a more complete picture.

If you’re streaming from one place, communicating from another, and offering spiritual resources all over the place, it’s nearly impossible to get a full picture of engagement at your church. Centralizing your software not only makes it easier for your members to get everything they need in one place, it also puts all that data in one place, allowing you to “connect the dots” of engagement quickly and easily.

#2. Try advanced filtering.

Sometimes one metric alone is helpful, but other times it’s not quite enough. Having a system that provides advanced data collecting and filtering will help you dig deeper and answer those tougher, more specific questions.

Together+ powered by aware3 is a totally connected engagement platform that enables you to do just that. Specifically, the platform feature, Advanced People Filtering lets you see where different metrics overlap to get a more complete picture of where your people are and pinpoint opportunities for engagement.

#3. Ask for feedback.

Whether you want to get feedback from first-time visitors, do a mental health check in, or gauge interest in an upcoming volunteer opportunity, surveys and polls are a fast and easy way to collect valuable feedback and really focus your metrics (Ask the questions you really want to know!)

#4. Get a visual of your data.

Dashboards are a great way to visualize your data. They allow you to SEE breakdowns, key analytics, insights, and trends about a specific area of your church from one place. So instead of just seeing total giving numbers for the month, you can see giving trends over time, one-time or recurring giving trends, monthly giving breakdowns to see where people are engaging in giving, and more.

#5. Create digital pathways.

If you want people to do more than consume your content, if you want them to connect with each other, participate and take meaningful steps forward, you have to give them a clear pathway to do so.

Our church partner, Pastor Paul Little shares how his church uses text messaging to do just that. He says, “We use Text-to-act for what we call direct engagement. A website is something a little bit more secondary. You have to go to a particular site, click a button, search here, scroll here.

But, if we say, text the word “conference” to sign up for our Virtual Leadership Conference then you could send that text message in your own time at your own convenience and all the information is right there in your hands. Again, that takes engagement to a whole new level, because it is more convenient. It is more efficient. It limits me having to go through 2 or 3 steps to do 1 thing. Eliminating the steps really does help people to engage more. We’ve seen that in our congregation. We’ve seen that in other congregations and nonprofits and schools that we work with throughout the US. It’s the same conversation regardless of who you talk to.”

We know measuring + facilitating engagement is no easy feat. You don’t always get the face-to-face time with your people that you’d like, resources are tight, and many metrics lead to dead ends. Having the right platform and team to help you through it can make all the difference. If you’d like to talk through specific ways to use a church metrics review to deepen engagement at your church and see how Together+ can help, we’d love to chat with you.

Let’s chat!

CHECKLIST: A 10-Point Small Group Evaluation Form

Mark Howell

November 1, 2022

small group evaluation form — Adobestock #198389580

Everyone knows that before you take your car on a road trip, you really should do more than fill up the gas tank. You might check the tire pressure and take it in for an oil change. You might decide it’s time for new windshield wipers or even a new set of tires. Getting ready for the next leg in your small group ministry adventure? Maybe it’s time you took your ministry through my signature 10 point small group evaluation form.

Every ministry can benefit from an objective assessment. While there are other assessments available, here’s my 10-point small group evaluation form.

10-Point Small Group Evaluation Form

1. Review your small group ministry’s present state.

There are a number of ways you can think about the way things are right now. An accurate understanding of where you are right now is essential no matter where you want to go. See also,Diagnosing a Small Group Ministry and The Four Helpful Lists by Tom Paterson.

2. Review (or create) your end in mind for your ideal small group.

What kinds of groups do you want for every member of a group? Are there certain activities and habits? Are there certain experiences? What do you want it to feel like to be part of a small group in your system? See also, The End in Mind for My Ideal Small Group.

3. Review (or create) your preferred future for the kind of small group leader you dream of producing.

Spend some time thinking about the kind of leaders you will need to have in order to create the micro-environments that actually encourage life-change. See also, From Here to There: The Preferred Future for Small Group Leaders.

4. Review (or create) your annual grouplife calendar.

Have you planned to take advantage of the best opportunities to connect unconnected people? Have you built in the steps that will allow you to maximize impact? Or have you compromised and compressed timelines in a way that will lessen impact? See also, How to Build an Annual GroupLife Calendar.

5. Evaluate your current coaching team.

Do you have high-capacity, hundred and sixty-fold players on the team? Or have you compromised and added thirty-fold players who struggle to accomplish their mission? Have you settled for warm-and-willing when hot-and-qualified is needed? See also, Diagnosis: The Coaches in Your System.

See the rest of this small group evaluation form on page two.

‘The Chosen’ Director on How He Deals With ‘Toxic,’ Untrue Criticism

Jessica Lea

October 31, 2022

“The Chosen” director, Dallas Jenkins, once again addressed the recent controversy surrounding the Season 3 trailer and explained how he responds to criticism that is based on false assumptions. In an Oct. 28 video, Jenkins said he does not create the hit series out of a “fear of man” or desire to please people, and he does not believe viewers—despite what they might say—actually want him to do so.

Dallas Jenkins: Beware of ‘Mind Reading’

When the trailer for Season 3 of “The Chosen” was released (it premiered on YouTube Oct. 17), Dallas Jenkins said that the initial response to it was highly positive. But it soon began to draw negative attention for a scene where a Pharisee tells Jesus, “if you do not renounce your words, we will have no choice but to follow the law of Moses.” Jesus responds, “I am the law of Moses.”

Some people online observed that Jesus’ statement sounds similar to a verse in the Book of Mormon. 3 Nephi 15:9 says, “Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.” Controversy subsequently erupted, with many accusing “The Chosen” of promoting heresy. Jenkins has since clarified that the line is not a quote from The Book of Mormon, but that he does believe the concept is “theologically plausible.”

Jenkins has, however, suggested that he and his LDS friends “love the same Jesus,” despite having wide theological differences. “The Chosen” director stated further that it is incorrect for people to interpret him as saying, “All Mormons are evangelicals/Christians or believe the same Jesus.” He said, “I don’t speak for an entire LDS or Catholic church just like I wouldn’t speak for the entire evangelical church.”

“The Chosen” came under fire earlier this year due to being distributed by Angel Studios, a company co-founded by brothers who are part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Some claimed the show was produced by Mormons, but this is incorrect, as “The Chosen” is crowdfunded and the Harmon brothers do not control its content.

In his Oct. 28 video, Dallas Jenkins said he wanted to explain how he and “The Chosen” team handle criticism, first noting there are different types of criticism they receive. For example, there are people who disagree on a “daily basis” about how Jesus is portrayed in the series. Jenkins said this disagreement, which is “healthy,” is to be expected.

The director specifically wanted to address two types of situations that are problematic, one of which is when people make statements about the show that are untrue. Claiming that Jenkins quoted from The Book of Mormon is an example of criticism based on a falsehood. Another problem is “mind reading,” which Jenkins called, “extraordinarily toxic.” Mind reading is when people assume they know another person’s thoughts or motives for doing something. “Any time that someone is reading your mind or heart, it’s something that you really got to just ignore and make sure you never do,” he said.

Does Your Church Really Need an App?

Dale Chamberlain

October 31, 2022

Does your congregation really need a custom church app? The truth of the matter is that the answer is usually no.

Nevertheless, if you are someone who has worked in the communications department of your church, you may have spent some time trying to convince your lead pastor that your church needs an app. Perhaps it has been the other way around.

While a church app boasts features like push notifications and increased engagement—even higher giving numbers—you will want to think carefully about whether building an app for your church is really worth the investment.

This isn’t to say that there isn’t ever a situation that would call for your church to have a custom app developed. Nevertheless, given how much apps can cost, both financially and in terms of person-hours, the decision to create a church app ought to be highly intentional.

Here are some things to consider that might lead you to think about holding off on having a custom church app developed.

You Don’t Need a Church App If:

1. The App Does Not Contain Anything Not Already Available on Your Website

You don’t need a church app if your only vision for it is to be a one-stop shop to access everything that is already accessible on your website.

If your only goal is to give your church a high quality mobile experience when looking for your church’s resources, such as sermons, giving, and important information regarding upcoming events, it would be far more beneficial to take the resources that you would have spent on a mobile app, and invest them in designing a website that is optimized for mobile.

This will have the effect of increased usability for the people already at your church, and it will also allow prospective visitors of your church to get the same high quality experience. After all, someone looking to visit a church isn’t likely to download an app before visiting. However, they might do an online search for “churches near me.”

If your site is optimized for mobile and SEO, then not only will these seekers find your church’s website, they will also be more likely to feel comfortable attending in person after seeing your easy-to-use and informative website from their mobile device.

2. Your Budget and Time Are Limited

Building an app is expensive. Depending on your needs, creating a custom app for your church could cost tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. There are companies that provide template apps that can be customized, but many times, they offer little more than a regurgitation of your website content.

Beyond the financial commitment, the implementation process will also be a serious investment of time for more than one member of your team, and a church app will require routine maintenance and updating of content, in addition to the content updating you already regularly undertake on your website and social media channels.

Count the cost. If you don’t have that kind of time and money, it might not be the time for you to invest in an app for your church.

Pastor Robert Jeffress: If Voting One’s Values Is Christian Nationalism, ‘Count Me In’

Stephanie Martin

October 31, 2022

In a recent interview, Pastor Robert Jeffress addresses the hot topic of Christian nationalism, clarifying what it is and isn’t. Speaking to Tim Clinton on “Real America’s Voice,” the pastor of Dallas First Baptist Church emphasizes that Christians should vote and should love their country—but not more than they love God.

Regarding claims that he’s a Christian nationalist, which he has previously denied, Jeffress says the argument involves a straw man fallacy. If Christian nationalism is “simply loving your country more than you love God, then of course I’m not a Christian nationalist. No Bible-believing Christian is,” he says. “We always put our love for God above everything, even allegiance to our country.” But that’s not what his critics are talking about, says the 66-year-old pastor.

Pastor Robert Jeffress: The Left Imposes Their Values Via Elections

“Listen carefully,” Jeffress says. “They say they are opposed to people who say America was founded as a Christian nation, Americans who believe not only in the spiritual heritage of our nation, but believe that we ought to use elections to help return our country to its Christian foundation. If that’s Christian nationalism, count me in. Because that’s what we have to do.”

“And what’s so hypocritical about this,” continues the megachurch pastor, “is the left don’t mind at all imposing their values on our country through the election process. They don’t mind forcing their pro-abortion, pro-transgender, pro-open borders policy upon our nation. But they object when conservative Christians try to impose their values on society at large. It’s complete hypocrisy.”

That strategy, Jeffress adds, is “an attempt to try to intimidate Christians from participating in elections, and I think it’s going to backfire tremendously.”

‘You Bet’ Jesus Would Vote Today, Says Pastor Robert Jeffress

To be the salt of the earth, Christians need to vote and “engage in the culture,” Jeffress says. When asked what issues most pastors and Christians are concerned about ahead of the midterm elections, Jeffress points to many of the same things unbelievers are concerned about, from inflation and high interest rates to crime and border control.

“But then on top of that,” he adds, “for Christians and for pastors especially, I think there’s a complete disgust with what’s happening in the culture.” Though abortion is key, Jeffress says he thinks the “transgender movement is doing more to energize Christians to go to the polls than anything. Christians are sick and tired of having this godless agenda crammed down the throats not just of Americans but especially our children.” Jeffress predicts that next week’s poll results will largely be the “result of this transgenderism that is poisoning our country.”

Mark Driscoll Supports Gubernatorial Candidate Kari Lake at Freedom & Faith Concert in Scottsdale

Dale Chamberlain

October 31, 2022

mark driscoll kari lake — Screengrab via Facebook @pastormark

On Thursday (Oct. 27), Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake held a “Freedom & Faith” concert in Scottsdale, an event that was attended by notable evangelical leaders, including megachurch pastors Tommy Barnett and Mark Driscoll.

Lake, who has earned an endorsement from former president Donald Trump, has repeatedly stated her belief that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from Trump and that Joe Biden is an illegitimate president, even at one point suggesting that journalists who have said otherwise should be imprisoned.

In a video that began circulating on Friday, Lake can be seen surrounded by a group of men and women prior to the rally, as Barnett, pastor of Dream City Church in Phoenix, anoints her with oil. Driscoll, known for his brash demeanor and allegations of abusive leadership throughout his pastoral tenure across two megachurches, was among the leaders laying hands on Lake.

“The anointing is a very, very sacred thing,” Barnett can be heard saying in the video before leading the group in prayer.

“Great to hear your testimony re Jesus changing ur life (sic) in the past year,” Driscoll later wrote in a Facebook post alongside an image featuring himself, his wife Grace, and Lake. “Thanks for listening to sermons as you study the Bible. Grace & I love you. Our family is praying for your family.”

The event, which also featured an appearance by worship leader Sean Feucht and the worship band from Dream City Church, began with the national anthem before Feucht led the crowd in singing praise songs.

Lake, who later walked onstage as speakers blared “I’m Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and The Waves, said that during the pandemic, “I handed my life 100% over to God, truly, for the first time. And I can tell you, he has brought me on the wildest ride. When I said, ‘God you take me and do with me what you want,’ look what he brings us when we hand our life over to God.”

“We had some amazing pastors tonight—they led the most incredible prayer,” Lake said. “I know that prayer is just going to propel me through the next 12 days and beyond.”

Lake continued, “But if your pastor tells you to hand over your life to God; amazing things will happen, believe them, people. Amazing things will happen.”

Lake went on to credit God for the traction her gubernatorial campaign has gained, her endorsement from Trump, and for her ability to “expose the fake news media.”

Steven Curtis Chapman Bares Soul in Latest ‘I Am Second’ Film

Diana Chandler

October 31, 2022

PLANO, Texas (BP) – Halfway between Possum Trot and Monkey’s Eyebrow, Ky., – Paducah, that is – Steven Curtis Chapman grew up hearing his father intervene with prayer when family discord arose.

“I remember as a little boy hearing my dad pray prayers like, ‘God, I don’t know how to be a good father or a good husband ‘cause I didn’t have a dad in my life. But you’re my Father now, and will you please teach me how to do that?’

“And so, as a little guy,” Chapman said, “I got to see the change that Jesus would make in a heart, and in a life in my own dad and my mom, and my whole family. It didn’t fix everything, … we were still a mess. But there was this hope.”

Chapman shares a snippet of his journey in the latest “I Am Second” short film, a series of video testimonies featuring a diversity of Christian celebrities.

His testimony comes just weeks after the Oct. 14 release of “Still,” his latest album in a decades-long career distinguishing him as the most awarded artist in Christian music history.

Describing himself as a “fixer,” his testimony also comes 14 years after a personal family tragedy he couldn’t fix, the accidental death of his 5-year-old daughter Maria Sue, hit by an SUV driven by Chapman’s own teenage son on a roadway in front of the family’s Franklin, Tenn., home.

“It’s been 14 years of a journey with my family of grief and questions and confusion and anger and God are we going to survive this? How are we going to survive this?” Chapman said in the video. “For a guy who’s a fixer, to ultimately face the most unfixable thing you could ever imagine as a parent, as a husband – How am I going to lead my family through this – knowing that most marriages and families don’t survive the loss of a child, because grief and that kind of grief is so devastating?”

Maria Sue’s death had come at one of the highest moments in Chapman’s life in May 2008. Just hours previously, Chapman celebrated his oldest daughter Emily’s engagement. The family was planning to celebrate his son Caleb’s high school graduation. “Mountains and Valleys” is the video’s title.

He speaks of mountaintops beyond anything he “could have ever imagined” and “very, very, very deep valleys, deeper” than he “ever could have imagined.”

“Really my songs have just been kind of tearing pages out of my journal of my life and saying this is what I’m learning, this is what I’m struggling with,” Chapman said. “Taking three steps forward I take two steps back, some days 20 steps back. And I’m going to talk to you about that journey as honestly and as vulnerably as I can.”

Chapman’s songs include 49 No. 1 singles and have won him five Grammys and 59 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards. He’s sold 11 million albums, including 10 gold or platinum works. But his admirers view him as relatable.

As Christian Nationalism Digs in, Differing Visions Surface

Jack Jenkins

October 31, 2022

christian nationalism — Tennessee Pastor Greg Locke speaks at an event recently as part of the ReAwaken America Tour. Video screen grab

WASHINGTON (RNS) — When Tennessee Pastor Greg Locke took the stage at the ReAwaken America Tour in Pennsylvania over the weekend, the throngs who had come out to hear conspiracy theories and inflammatory rhetoric about Democratic candidates instead heard Locke aim some of his sharpest criticism at a surprising target: Pope Francis.

“If you trust anybody but Jesus to get you to heaven, you ain’t going,” Locke said, his voice rising. “You say, ‘Well what about the pope?’ He ain’t a pope, he’s a pimp … He has prostituted the church.”

It was an odd note to strike at a rally where perhaps the biggest name on the speaker’s roster was retired Gen. Michael Flynn, a Catholic who later made it a point to mention his faith while voicing support for Christian nationalism. “I’m a Christian — I’m a Catholic, by the way,” said Flynn.

Locke had aired his anti-Catholic position a few days before in a Facebook post advocating for burning rosaries and “Catholic statues.” When another user urged him to abandon the anti-Catholic rhetoric, Locke doubled down. “Catholicism is idolatry 100%” he wrote. “I will not be silent whether you follow or not. It’s a false pagan religion and so filled with perversity it’s ridiculous.”

Anti-Catholic rhetoric has long been a theme in nativist American thought, which includes some forms of extremist Protestant Christian agitators such as the Ku Klux Klan. But in the current Christian nationalist surge that fuels the ReAwaken gatherings and others like it, the ideology has served more as a glue holding together a wide range of right-wing coalitions. Locke’s remarks injected an uneasy tension, raising the prospect that what was once a unifying force is now prone to causing potential divisions in right-wing ranks.

Michael Flynn, a retired three-star general who served as Trump's national security adviser, speaks on stage during the ReAwaken America tour at Cornerstone Church, in Batavia, N.Y., Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. Thousands of people gathered to hear his message that the nation is facing an existential threat, and to save it, his supporters must act. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Michael Flynn, a retired three-star general who served as Trump’s national security adviser, speaks on stage during the ReAwaken America tour at Cornerstone Church, in Batavia, N.Y., Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. Thousands of people gathered to hear his message that the nation is facing an existential threat, and to save it, his supporters must act. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The theological differences among the hardline Christian nationalist groups — some now emboldened to the point of embracing the Christian nationalist label — have been present from the start. Texas Pastor Robert Jeffress, who rose to national prominence as an early supporter of then-candidate Donald Trump, is an ardent purveyor of Christian nationalism. As far back as 2018, Jeffress preached an Independence Day-themed homily titled “America is a Christian nation,” and he now sells a book of the same name.

Before then, the pastor was known for railing against the Catholic Church. In 2010 he argued it was little more than a “cult-like, pagan religion,” adding, “isn’t that the genius of Satan?” A year later, he also decried the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a “cult” and a “false religion.”

But Jeffress and other faith leaders’ sectarian rhetoric faded as they made common cause in support for the president. After Trump was voted out of office, Catholics and conservative Protestants were unified in the Stop the Steal movement. By the time the movement culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, a curious form of Trumpian ecumenism had taken hold, as rioters of several faiths prayed together as they led the assault.

In the aftermath of Jan. 6, several types of extremists gravitated toward Christian nationalism and claimed it as their own, some linking it to opposition to pandemic restrictions, masks and vaccines and others incorporating the ideology into attacks on LGBTQ people.

But within this cohort, the different variants of Christian nationalism began to show themselves and develop. Even as Locke was becoming a major Christian nationalist voice, Nick Fuentes, the white nationalist head of the group America First, and a Catholic, was on the rise as well. While Locke has advocated for burning rosaries, Fuentes has celebrated the idea of “Catholic Taliban rule.”

Meanwhile, Andrew Torba, the head of the alternative social media website Gab, which has been widely shamed for sharing antisemitic messages, has presented in a new book another form of Christian nationalism, one that rails against groups that center on End Times theology — particularly the belief that the Second Coming is imminent. Torba and his co-author refer to these ideas as “an eschatology of defeat” and blame their advocates for a moral decline of society.

“You cannot simultaneously hope for a revival of Christian faithfulness in our nation while expecting the world to end at any moment,” Torba and his coauthor wrote.

Baptist Seminary Professor Continues Musical Legacy as ‘The Ambassador’

Timothy Cockes

October 31, 2022

The Ambassador — Photo courtesy of Baptist Press.

NASHVILLE (BP) – Long before William Branch became a professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, he was known as one of the most influential Christian hip-hop artists of all-time, “The Ambassador.”

Branch’s music career carries on, as his new EP “The Invitation,” releases today Oct. (28).

He told Baptist Press the nine-track project’s title represents both an invitation from Christ and toward Christ.

“In a vertical sense we are inviting Christ to come back to the center of things as Lord, and in a horizontal sense, we are inviting our culture to come back close to Christ as Lord,” Branch said.

Branch was recently honored with the “Kingdom Legend Award” by the Kingdom Choice Awards, a ceremony dedicated to the Christian hip-hop and urban gospel genres.

The award recognizes artists who have left a lasting legacy on the genre over many years. Branch accepted the award and performed during the show Oct. 1 in his hometown of New York City.

“I just feel gratitude,” Branch said. “I’m just grateful that the Lord allowed the impact of things to resonate and reverberate for an extended period of time.”

Branch’s musical journey and Christian testimony are intertwined from his youth.

When he was a young man living in New York, Branch became a Christian and was discipled in evangelism by his father. At the same time, Branch was being introduced to the rap music genre and hip-hop culture which were becoming more commercially acceptable, particularly with young people.

As a teenager, Branch went through a season where he was rebelling against the Lord and not living as a Christian should.

During this time, he went to live away from his father in Virginia. It was there he was introduced to people who were incorporating Scripture into their rap music.

“It was in the late ‘80s that I started getting the sense that the Bible and hip-hop could go together, but I saw unbelievers doing it, and I didn’t see believers doing it,” Branch said.

He began to become convicted about his spiritual state as he was incorporating biblical lyrics into his own music. This spurred a change in Branch. As a young man, he attended a Bible college in Philadelphia where his “theological appetite went through the roof.”

It was in Philadelphia where the music connections he made would lead to a movement that changed Christian rap forever.

Branch would frequently perform evangelistic outdoor freestyle rap music around the area. Through these performances, Branch began meeting other men who had the same passion for rap music that was biblically and theologically saturated.

These connections would lead to frequent recording sessions in Philadelphia studios. Eventually, Branch led the way in establishing the group of young people with this passion as Cross Movement.

Cross Movement had various iterations, including being the name of the hip-hop group under which the artists would release their music as well as its own independent music label called Cross Movement Records.

Later, it took the form of Cross Movement Ministries, a non-profit based around the united mission of the artists.

Group projects released by Cross Movement, as well as solo records released under the CM label, would begin to make an impact around the country.

Branch would take on the name “The Ambassador,” in reference to 2 Corinthians 5:20.

“I wanted a name that came from the Scriptures that said something about me personally,” Branch said.

Presidential Standoff Becomes a Holy War in Brazil

Eduardo Campos Lima

October 31, 2022

SÃO PAULO (RNS) — In Brazil on Sunday, two titans of the country will face off in a presidential runoff election that observers within the country and around the world are calling the most consequential election in decades for Latin America’s largest country.

Former two-term president and beloved icon of the working class Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, commonly known as “Lula,” will face current incumbent president and right-wing firebrand Jair Bolsonaro after neither was able to claim a majority in the first round of the presidential elections on Oct. 2. Da Silva, who received 48% of the initial vote, has lost ground in the ensuing weeks as he works to overcome a corruption scandal that landed him in jail for more than a year. Bolsonaro, who claimed 43% of the first vote, is gaining on his opponent but faces frustration over his administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the faltering economy.

While issues surrounding the economy, high poverty rates and protection of the Amazon rainforest have been central talking points during their campaigns, both candidates have pivoted to social issues in the weeks since the first election. And the holy war rhetoric has escalated as supporters on both sides work ever harder to demonize the other.

“The biggest lie (Bolsonaro) tells each day is to evoke God all the time. He is lying. He uses the name of Jesus in vain to try to deceive the good faith of men and women,” Lula said on Sept. 4 during a meeting with housemaids at the Metalworkers Union in São Bernardo do Campo.

For his part, Bolsonaro continues to pound in a message that da Silva is connected with anti-religious Communist regimes, especially focusing on Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua.

“That criminal (da Silva) in the debate last Sunday did not mention his friend Daniel Ortega. His friend shuts down churches, arrests priests, forbids processions, does not respect religion, the same things PT (da Silva’s party) wants for Brazil,” Bolsonaro said during a rally on Oct. 18 in São Gonçalo, a city in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area.

While both men are Catholic, trading in spiritual language is somewhat unfamiliar for da Silva, who has always prioritized social and economic themes in his campaigns. Even so, his Workers’ Party (known as PT in Brazil) has historical ties with progressive Catholicism. Founded in 1980 by union leaders, left-wing activists and members of Catholic groups like the base ecclesial communities (known as CEBs), their efforts were inspired by the Liberation Theology movement.

But with Bolsonaro’s religious outreach looking more effective, members of da Silva’s campaign have clearly embraced a tactical change.

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro speaks during a ceremony at the Planalto presidential palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, July 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Bolsonaro has long courted both evangelicals and right-wing Catholics, with an emphasis on religious freedom, anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ issues. His wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, who is a member of a Baptist church, has been playing a fundamental role this year, making speeches during evangelical church services around the country, portraying Lula and his left-wing allies as diabolical forces that can only be defeated by Bolsonaro.

The religious attacks have been playing a central role in recent polls, according to demography expert José Eustáquio Diniz.

“Six months ago, surveys showed that Lula and Bolsonaro had almost an equal share of the evangelical vote. Now, Bolsonaro has almost 70% among them,” he said. Among Catholics, da Silva has 57% of their support, while Bolsonaro has 37%.

Marcelo Vitorino, an expert in political marketing who has led the campaign of major politicians in Brazil, told Religion News Service that “Bolsonaro has built a solid reputation among conservative Christians,” so attacks against him may not harm his image much in Christian segments.

Abortion-Related Initiatives on Ballot in Five States

Tom Strode

October 31, 2022

NASHVILLE (BP) – Southern Baptists and other citizens in five states will make decisions in the Nov. 8 elections on abortion policies that vary from proposals intended to protect preborn children to those that would guarantee far-reaching access to the lethal procedure.

The ballot initiatives have taken on heightened significance since the U.S. Supreme Court returned the regulation of abortion to the states in a June decision. In that ruling, the high court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion throughout the country.

Voters in Kentucky and Montana will cast ballots on pro-life measures, while citizens of California, Michigan and Vermont will determine the fate of proposed constitutional amendments that would protect abortion rights.

Decisions on these proposals will come in the wake of prohibitions on abortion taking effect in 15 states since the Supreme Court reversed Roe. It is anticipated about half of the 50 states will enact laws that prohibit abortion either throughout pregnancy or at a stage of pregnancy, although courts have blocked the enforcement of some for now.

Southern Baptist ethics leader Brent Leatherwood pointed to the role the church’s message can play in ballot proposals.

“Now as much as ever, our churches must continue proclaiming the truth about the dignity of every life, particularly the unborn,” said Leatherwood, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. “Doing so will stir the hearts of individuals to act on behalf of those who have no voice.

“These statewide initiatives and amendments present opportunities to apply those principles by either establishing a legitimate culture of life in our state laws or preventing them from becoming further entrenched as pro-abortion destinations,” he told Baptist Press in written comments.

“Voting in such a way that respects and protects the sanctity of life is one helpful avenue Baptists can engage what the [Baptist Faith and Message] calls ‘the means and methods for the improvement of our society (Article XV),’” Leatherwood said. “And what an improvement it would be when we reach a moment where each preborn life has the opportunity to take his or her first breath!”

In Kentucky, voters will have the opportunity to approve an amendment that will clarify the state constitution is not to be interpreted “to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the [public] funding of abortion.”

In an advisory regarding Amendment No. 2, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said the measure would not prohibit abortion in the state if passed. It “simply means that decisions on regulating abortion will be made” by legislators, not judges, Cameron said. Kentucky law currently prohibits abortion except to protect the mother’s life or to avert “the serious, permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ” in the mother.

Todd Gray, executive director of the Kentucky Baptist Convention (KBC), told Baptist Press, “Kentucky Baptists have an historic opportunity to vote our pro-life convictions on November 8^th.”

Amendment No. 2 “essentially protects the pro-life laws that have already been passed by our state lawmakers” and bans taxpayer funds from paying for abortions, Gray said in written remarks.

The KBC “is part of an alliance that is working to pass the amendment,” he said. “Legalized abortion is the greatest human rights atrocity of our day. We can protect children from abortion by voting ‘yes’ on Amendment 2.”

Montana’s citizens will vote on a referendum known as the Born-alive Infant Protection Act, which requires a child born alive, including one who survives an abortion, to “be treated as a legal person under the laws of the state.” The measure, which was approved by the legislature and sent to the voters, mandates a health-care provider “take all medically appropriate and reasonable actions to preserve the life and health of the infant.”

Barrett Duke, executive director of the Montana Southern Baptist Convention, said he is “delighted that the citizens of Montana will have the opportunity to mandate life-saving and life-sustaining medical treatment for every child born alive in this state, regardless of how that baby comes into the world.”

Before a Month Celebrating Adoption, a Day to Recognize Adoptees’ Trauma

Kathryn Post

October 31, 2022

(RNS) — As Adoption Awareness Month kicks off this November, social media sites will be plastered with posts from grinning Christian couples celebrating the joys of adoption.

But many adult adoptees say that too often, Adoption Awareness Month gets to only part of the experience of adoption.

“I personally became exhausted every November,” said Pamela Karanova, a 48-year-old adoptee living in Lexington, Kentucky. Karanova says the positive frame that religious groups assign to adoption as a God-honoring ‘win-win’ can overshadow the voices of those who struggled as adoptees.

Haley Radke, 39, agrees. “All month long, it’s ‘adoption is amazing! You should be adopting! Donate to this fundraiser to help me adopt!’ Where,” she asked, “are the fundraisers to keep families intact?”

A group of adoptees who felt tired of being sidelined have designated October 30 Adoptee Remembrance Day, dedicated it to recognizing the complexity of adoption. Karanova, who acted on the idea two years ago, said the intent is to hit the airwaves before the glossy, overly spiritualized adoption narrative starts in November.

“The primary voice I always heard about adoption growing up was a really Christian narrative with a nice, happy storyline,” Tatyana Russell-Chipp, 25, told Religion News Service. “I really believe Adoptee Remembrance Day is a key day for adoptees to get our voice back.”

A 2013 study conducted in Minnesota found that adoptees were four times as likely to report a suicide attempt than non-adoptees. A year earlier, a study of more than 18,000 adopted Swedish children found that 4.5% of adoptees struggled with drug abuse, compared to 2.9% of the wider population.

On Adoptee Remembrance Day, adoptees and advocates craft poems, articles, posts and podcasts that reckon with adoptee suicide, crimes against adoptees by adoptive parents and the loss that happens when adoptees are relinquished by their birth parents.

Adoptee Remembrance Day was born out of Adoptee’s Connect, a nonprofit Karanova founded almost five years ago.

“In the last decade I have connected with adoptees all over the world,” she told RNS. “Every single one has been brokenhearted and hurt by adoption in different ways.” Even those with “loving wonderful adoptive families,” she said, “have had pain, grief and loss associated with their adoption experience.”

The remembrance day is slowly gaining traction as adoptees around the globe commemorate it in person and on social media. Earlier this year, it was mentioned in a TedTalk at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and a Facebook page dedicated to the day has almost 2,000 follows. Adoptee Remembrance Day merch features the day’s yellow broken heart logo.

At noon Eastern on Oct. 30, participants are encouraged to pause for four minutes of silence for adoptees who have taken their own lives and are invited to light a candle of remembrance at 9 p.m.

Russell-Chipp told RNS she hopes Adoptee Remembrance Day can spur more truthful conversations about adoption. Raised in a Pentecostal tradition, she no longer identifies as a Christian, in large part because of how her faith community treated adoption.

“I’ve learned I don’t have space in the church to say that adoption is trauma, because it’s spiritualized and not accepted for me to have a voice that says anything other than, ‘This is awesome and God is good.’”

Tatyana Russell-Chipp. Photo by Rebecca Luffman

Russell-Chipp was adopted from Russia by a Canadian couple in 1998 at 9 months old. For most of her life, her adoption story was used as an evangelizing tool. “I felt like I had to hope people would see God, or see a redemption story of some sort through my story of adoption,” she said.

About two years ago, while working in ministry at a House of Prayer church in New Brunswick, Russell-Chipp began to examine the trauma she experienced as an adoptee. As the redemption story around her adoption began to unravel, she left her faith and her ministry entirely.

“The stories are too entangled for me to separate them right now,” she told RNS. “Might I return to some kind of faith at some point? Maybe, but I’m indifferent. These two things are so toxically intertwined.”

Entertainment Fatigue – Are People Tired of Church ?

Jeff Clarke

October 31, 2022

When a local congregation creates a culture of church entertainment in an attempt to build a congregation, it will only be a matter of time before they begin to experience the negative consequences that emphasis will bring.

Entertainment Fatigue — Are People Tired of Church?

Over the past number of years, I have observed that when a church centers their congregational structure on an entertainment model of ministry, where the Sunday morning service is organized in much the same way as a concert would be—including set lists, lighting design and stage presentation—the consistent result has been the creation of an ethos of entertainment that eventually permeates throughout the entire congregation.

The consequence of creating an entertainment-based church culture is that ministry practitioners are often seen to be the stars of the show, while those in the seats tend to view themselves as paying customers, waiting to be entertained. Yet, as Cheryl Bridges Johns said recently,“Those big stages and flashy lights have a way of honoring the wrong presence.”

An entertainment-based church culture sees its ministry practitioners as the stars of the show.

What will inevitably happen over time is that people will start to determine their attendance on the quality of the production, on what songs are chosen and how those in leadership make them feel, resulting in the cultivation of a consumerist-based mindset. However, as Alan Hirsch has so aptly observed, “you cannot build a church on consumers.”

The Effects of a Culture of Entertainment

When our church gatherings focus on how we can entertain the masses in order to create and maintain high attendance numbers, we know we have veered off course. It creates entertainment fatigue. When a church’s operating budget is consumed with the costs associated with trying to entertain the masses, we can be confident in saying we have missed the mark.

Living on a diet of entertainment is like feeding on candy—it may satisfy our sweet tooth, but we will soon become hungry for something more. A consistent diet of candy may taste good for a while, but will quickly lead to malnourishment. Over time, we will become pale, weak and unable to contribute. Entertainment fatigue.

Likewise, when we feed the church a consistent diet of entertainment, those feasting on our Christianized-candy will eventually become malnourished, weak and unable to contribute to the life of the body. As a result, their presence will add pressure on the remaining parts of the body because sugar-fed Christians always require more time and resources than well-fed Christians ever will.

The Top 3 Regrets of 95-Year-Olds and How They Help Us Get a Heart of Wisdom

Kevin Halloran

October 30, 2022

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

Gaining a Heart of Wisdom

One way to get a heart of wisdom is to learn from people more experienced from you and take to heart lessons they learned. There was a sociological study done several years ago that aimed at doing just that. This asked 50 people over the age of 95 this important question:

“If you could live your life again, what would you do differently?”

The question was left open-ended and a variety of answers poured in. After analyzing the results, sociologists found something very surprising.

Three answers constantly reemerged and dominated the study’s results:

1. If I could do it all over again, I would reflect more.

2. If I could do it all over again, I would risk more.

3. If I could do it all over again, I would do more things that would live on after I am dead.¹

It is striking that these three thoughts (or really regrets) were common among the group—which is to say that we will probably feel the same way if we live to 95. When I’m 95, I don’t want to look back with regret. I want to look back in thankful victory of what God did in me and through me and give praise to His Name for my life. I’m not sure that study had any ties to Christianity, but I do know that each of the answers are right in line with what Scripture has said all along. Here are a few thoughts on this study relating to the Christian faith:

Reflect

Scripture gives us many commands to reflect, remember and meditate on what God has done (for starters, see Deuteronomy 8 and Psalm 1). We are often so busy with our lives that we constantly are thinking of the needs of the present instead of learning from the lessons of the past.

Snap out of that habit. Live a reflective life that learns from mistakes, gives thanks to God for victories, and cultivates desires to live your remaining days with greater intentionality and purpose. One practical way I reflect is by journaling about experiences and relationships and then praying over them that God would teach me what He wants to from them. As the years go by (and assuming I keep up with that discipline!), I can look back at all the Lord has taught me along the way.

4 Church Frustrations That Can Get the Best of You (But Don’t Have To)

Dan Reiland

October 30, 2022

Frustrations are common in the church, just as in any organization. However, the way we see them and how we handle them can be a true game changer!

As leaders, you and I likely share a common love for the church.

Yet there are days, maybe seasons, where the flaws of the church feel particularly frustrating. But that’s no more problematic than someone saying that they love people, but on occasion, people can be frustrating.

It’s what we do with that frustration. And this includes both staff leaders and volunteer leaders. We’re in this together.

Some merely complain and criticize, while others seek solutions, serve, and lead the way to improvement. It really is that simple.

The human experience will always include imperfection; good leadership focuses on all the good the church can do and, in a constructive spirit, deals honestly with the flaws that merit attention.

4 Common Church Frustrations

1. Good Leaders Make Mistakes.

Good leaders, even great leaders, make mistakes. This isn’t an excuse; it’s reality. We know this is true, but sometimes have expectations of ourselves or others that leave little to no room for error.

Mistakes are part of the territory when we are making progress and taking new ground. (We’ve never been there before!) But candidly, I’d be more concerned if you never made mistakes because you would likely be playing it too safe.

Learning from our mistakes is how we grow as leaders and lead the church even better. The test for good leadership is not the absence of mistakes but that we are not repeating the same mistakes.

Mistakes can be very frustrating from any angle or perspective, but they are truly common to life and any organization.

2. Good Volunteers Can Let You Down.

I’ve known some of the most wonderful volunteer leaders who seemed to drop their responsibilities.

Yes, sometimes even the best of volunteers can let you down. That’s never easy, and it can be frustrating.

Events Arising During the Pandemic

Rhetorical Questions From Paul for Every Preacher

1. If God is for us, who is against us? [Romans 8:31]

2. He did not even spare his own Son but offered him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything? [Romans 8:32]

3. Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies. [Romans 8:33]

4. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. [Romans 8:34]

5. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? [Romans 8:35]

6 Things to Do When Prayer Doesn’t Work

1) Be honest with God.

2) Believe that God can move the mountain you need moved.

3) Ask God to reveal the bigger picture.

4) Borrow someone else’s faith.

5) Recall and reflect on past miracles.

6) Pray with someone else.

5 Ways to Use Church Metrics Review for Deeper Engagement

#1. Centralize for a more complete picture.

#2. Try advanced filtering.

#3. Ask for feedback.

#4. Get a visual of your data.

#5. Create digital pathways.

10-Point Small Group Evaluation Form

1. Review your small group ministry’s present state.

2. Review (or create) your end in mind for your ideal small group.

3. Review (or create) your preferred future for the kind of small group leader you dream of producing.

4. Review (or create) your annual grouplife calendar.

5. Evaluate your current coaching team.

See the rest of this small group evaluation form on page two.

Dallas Jenkins: Beware of ‘Mind Reading’

You Don’t Need a Church App If:

1. The App Does Not Contain Anything Not Already Available on Your Website

2. Your Budget and Time Are Limited

Pastor Robert Jeffress: The Left Imposes Their Values Via Elections

‘You Bet’ Jesus Would Vote Today, Says Pastor Robert Jeffress

Entertainment Fatigue — Are People Tired of Church?

The Effects of a Culture of Entertainment

Gaining a Heart of Wisdom

“If you could live your life again, what would you do differently?”

1. If I could do it all over again, I would reflect more.

2. If I could do it all over again, I would risk more.

3. If I could do it all over again, I would do more things that would live on after I am dead.1

Reflect

4 Common Church Frustrations

1. Good Leaders Make Mistakes.

2. Good Volunteers Can Let You Down.

New Articles

New Podcasts

**2) Believe that God can move the mountain you need moved.**

3. If I could do it all over again, I would do more things that would live on after I am dead.¹