Karen Swallow Prior: We Can Be an Army of Wounded Warriors — Or a Collective of Wounded Healers

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October 20, 2022

wounded healers — Photo by Rosie Fraser/Unsplash/Creative Commons

(RNS) — This summer, I learned — quite accidentally — that I’m a Highly Sensitive Person. I had never heard of such a thing. I was reading a book about another subject altogether, and the book mentioned this trait in passing.

Now, it’s not a big deal. Lots of people, I learned, are HSPs. Even so, upon reading more about it and taking the test, a great deal of my life suddenly made sense, even parts that I didn’t know could make more sense.

The people in my life have long made peace with my aversion to bright lights, synthetic material, and long trips away from home, for example. But what I now better understand is my constant feeling of being overwhelmed, especially over the past few years as my life has grown increasingly public in the midst of, and in part as a result of, ongoing controversies within my denominational and professional life.

I’m not in any of this alone, of course. The church at large and my denomination specifically are going through a reckoning unlike any that has taken place for generations, so it makes sense that many of us are distressed, disoriented or deconstructing.

Everywhere we turn — on social media, in the news, in our own families, among friends and in the church (especially in the church) — wounded people are crying out, voicing hurts and revealing pains that often have been carried and hidden for years.

This airing of wounds breaks longstanding, often unspoken, rules of an American culture characterized by a stoic stick-to-itiveness, one often translated by the church into a façade of happy-clappy, shiny people.

But, while I’m glad to see this new and brave vulnerability, bearing witness to these walking wounded brings wounds of its own — in the way a stone cast into the waters ripples out into eternity.

It hurts to see others hurt. It hurts to feel helpless, or worse, unwittingly complicit in another’s pain.

It hurts to see the long effects of abuse, of racism, of misogyny. It is painful to witness brothers and sisters fighting one another instead of serving, helping and loving one another. The polarization and division both in the church and out of it that we see played out in the news and on social media deliver fresh pain daily as the demonization of and by each side seems to ever intensify.

It’s hard at times not to despair.

My deepest desire on most days is simply to retreat. Yet, I can’t make myself not care. (Empathy is also linked to Highly Sensitive Persons.)

A close friend recently urged me to read Henri Nouwen’s “The Wounded Healer,” which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and is now a classic work of Christian literature.

Study: Religion and Spirituality Can Aid Youth Mental Health Crisis

By

Kathryn Post

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October 20, 2022

mental health — Photo by Ümit Bulut (via Unpslash)

(RNS) — It’s no secret America’s youth are in crisis.

Born into a tech-saturated world shaken by domestic terrorism, ecological devastation and economic instability, Gen-Zers are more likely to report mental health concerns like anxiety and depression than older generations. In many ways, the pandemic has forced mental health discourse into the limelight, prompting the U.S. surgeon general to issue an advisory last December on COVID-19’s “devastating” impact on youth mental health.

A new study of 13–25-year-olds, from Springtide Research Institute, suggests spirituality could be part of the remedy — though for some young people, it also contributes to the problem.

“I think religion … is a place to find belonging. It’s a place to connect with a higher purpose, which is a calling from God in my understanding,” said Mark, 22, an interviewee cited in the report. “I think it’s also, for many people, a restriction of freedom and sort of obligation, which creates a lot of shame in people’s lives.”

In general, the report — which is based on qualitative interviews as well as fielded surveys — finds that having religious/spiritual beliefs, identities, practices and communities are all correlated with better mental wellness among youth.

A majority of all young people (57%) and nearly three-quarters of religious young people (73%) surveyed agree their religious or spiritual practices positively impact their mental health. Many participants cite prayer as playing a role in their spiritual practice — 51% said they started praying regularly during the pandemic — and 74% of participants who pray daily say they are flourishing, compared to 57% who never pray.

"how often do you engage in the following as religious or spiritual practices?" Graphic courtesy of Springtide Research

“How often do you engage in the following as religious or spiritual practices?” Graphic courtesy of Springtide Research

Spiritual beliefs and community identity also correlate with positive mental health. Seventy-four percent of young people who identify as “very religious” say they agree or strongly agree that they are “in good physical and emotional condition,” compared to 42% of non-religious young people. Seven in 10 young people (70%) currently connected to a spiritual or religious community report having “discovered a satisfying life purpose,” as compared to 55% of those who used to be connected to such a community.

Forty-two percent of those who feel highly connected to a higher power report they are “flourishing a lot” in their emotional and mental health, compared to 16% of those who say they do not feel at all connected to a higher power.

Still, findings are complex — 27% of religiously affiliated youth say they are “flourishing a lot,” but 28% also say they are “not flourishing,” a finding that suggests simply being affiliated with a religion is not a mental health cure-all.

In interviews, participants also spoke about how religion can negatively impact their mental health.

“(Y)oung people make it clear that religion feels toxic when it is primarily presented as a pressure to live up to difficult expectations, rather than a vehicle for helping them navigate their current difficulties,” the report says.

In Branson, God and Country Serve as Red, White and Blue Comfort Food

By

Bob Smietana

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October 20, 2022

BRANSON, Mo. (RNS) — A night at the Dolly Parton Stampede is a microcosm of life in these polarized United States.

For nearly two hours, on a hot August night, a capacity crowd divided by North and South, Red and Blue, tried to outshout the other side, egged on by leaders who referred to the other side by creative, G-rated terms of derision.

The tension ramped up as two teams of riders dressed as cowboys and pioneers of the Old West competed to show which side could ride fastest, dodging obstacles and the occasional ring of fire — then breaking into songs or corn-pone jokes, while the audience cheered and devoured Cornish hens, biscuits and corn on the cob by the truckload.

At the end of the night, out came the American flag for a parade with a Dolly Parton soundtrack, designed to remind everyone that no matter where they came from, they all bleed red, white and blue.

“There really is no North or South, no East or West — because we are the United States of America” said the show’s emcee, decked out in a star-spangled outfit. “United under one flag.”

Then he asked the crowd, “Are you proud to be an American?” as Dolly Parton’s voice rose in “America the Beautiful.”

“America, America, God shed his grace on thee. And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.”

Welcome to Branson, Missouri, where the holy trinity of faith, flag and family reign supreme and where an inspirational, God-and-country style of Christian nationalism serves as comfort food for the American soul. For more than a century, weary pilgrims have sought spiritual renewal and rest from the troubles of modern life here in the heart of the Ozarks — hoping to find a nostalgic vision of a beautiful America.

St. Louis tourists were first drawn to Branson as a refuge where they could hunt and fish in its pristine wilderness. The area became filled with spiritual meaning after the 1917 publication of “The Shepherd of the Hills,” a bestselling novel by Disciples of Christ minister Harold Bell Wright, a tale of romance and redemption set in the hills of the Ozarks.

The popularity of “Shepherd of the Hills” eventually inspired an outdoor dinner-theater version of the story, which remains a popular tourist attraction in Branson, though the site of the show has been updated with zip lines and the mammoth Inspiration Tower, the highest point in the city.

Wright was a proponent of a conservative version of the social gospel, where a person’s loving actions on behalf of those in need matter more than their doctrine or prayers, said Aaron Ketchell, author of “Holy Hills of the Ozarks,” a history of religious tourism in Branson.

Wright’s dream of a nostalgic, nondenominational, inspirational holy space remains part of the soul of Branson, said Ketchell. While the message is Christian, he said, it’s not doctrinaire or evangelistic. Instead, the message is aspirational, focused on hope and love rather than conversion.

After Horrific Brain Injury, Running to a Reaffirmed Faith

By

Scott Barkley

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October 20, 2022

After-horrific-brain-injury-running-to-a-reaffirmed-faith — Erica Baggett holds the medal as the first woman to finish the Shepherd Center 5K held Oct. 4. Courtesy of Baptist Press.

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (BP) – Four years ago Erica Baggett nearly lost her life. She also marks it as the day she received a great gift.

An avid runner, Erica completed the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in Nashville last April. She had already finished her first half-marathon the year before in Kentucky and wanted to accept a greater challenge. With a goal of one day participating in the Boston Marathon, she is signed up for the upcoming Thanksgiving Turkey Burn, a half-marathon in Spring Hill, Tenn.

That would make you wonder why she was so emotional after finishing a fairly nondescript 5K earlier this month.

It’s because that race was hosted at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, which treats those with traumatic brain injuries. It’s the place where not that long ago Erica’s family was told to be ready; she likely would need help for the rest of her life with simple tasks like showering and brushing her teeth.

In the same way she has exceeded that prognosis, Erica not only finished the 5K that day. She was the first woman to cross the finish line.

An unforgettable day

“I remember nothing,” Erica said.Erica Baggett makes the final turn in April 2021 to finish the Kentucky Derby Festival Half-Marathon, held in Louisville. It was her first half-marathon.

She doesn’t recall the drive with her husband, Josh, and little boy, Hall, to Oxford, Miss., to watch their Ole Miss Rebels play Auburn on Oct. 19, 2018. She doesn’t remember unbuckling her seat belt and turning around to try and calm Hall, fussy like toddlers get on a road trip.

She doesn’t remember the semi-truck striking their Nissan Rogue on the passenger side nor getting thrown through the window and landing about 40 feet away. The next two months were spent at the Memphis ICU trauma center before being transferred to Shepherd, where she began to emerge from a two-month coma.

“Bits and pieces,” she said. “I remember some things from that time.”

Josh and Hall were injury-free from the wreck. Erica, however, had experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI), occurring when a sudden, external, physical assault damages the brain. She also suffered from a level 3 diffuse axonal injury (DAI).

A level 3 DAI happens when the brain shifts or rotates inside the skull. It includes focal lesions to the brainstem as well as the corpus callosum, a bundle of some 200 million nerve fibers that allows the left and right sides of the brain to communicate. It is the connector for physical coordination and the taking in of complex information that requires both hemispheres to work in harmony.

Also, it must be noted, corpus callosum is Latin for “tough body.”

The old Erica

“Help yourself to a navy outfit.”

It goes without saying that brain injuries are different than those requiring a bandage or cast. They affect a myriad of motor and cognitive functions. One of the big worries was even if Erica were to heal, would she still be Erica?

That answer came the day her father walked into her room at the Shepherd Center wearing a polo shirt and shorts of the same navy blue hue. It demanded commentary.

“I hated it and have always been sarcastic,” Erica told Baptist Press.

Josh was there as a witness.

“He had been coming in and asking how she was, but she wouldn’t reply with anything that really made sense,” he said.

But that day, “never has a daughter roasted her dad so good. He recognized it was the old Erica.”

Progress came, but was measured differently. She learned how to talk and swallow. Eventually the danger of her falling subsided. But confusion remained.

Biden Pledges To Make Abortion Rights No. 1 Priority in Congress

By

Tom Strode

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October 20, 2022

WASHINGTON (BP) – Pro-life leaders expressed their strong objection to President Biden’s promise Tuesday (Oct. 18) to make enshrining Roe v. Wade in law his legislative priority if Democrats control Congress in January.

If voters elect more Democrats to the U.S. Senate and keep his party in the majority in the House of Representatives, the “first bill” he will send to Congress will be “to codify Roe v. Wade,” Biden said in a speech dedicated to the abortion issue. If Congress approves the legislation, the president said he will sign it into law in January, 50 years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe ruling legalized abortion nationwide.

Biden’s pledge is the latest evidence of the devotion of his administration and party to protect expansive abortion rights, especially in the wake of the high court’s June opinion that overruled Roe and returned abortion regulation to the states.

“The ability to take innocent life should not be part of anyone’s governing agenda,” said Brent Leatherwood, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). “Despite the prevailing narrative, Americans do not support the abortion regime and its abortion-on-demand vision.

“Instead of catering to those extremes, the president and whichever party controls Congress should work together to prioritize saving defenseless lives, serving mothers and helping ensure that families can be formed and flourish,” he told Baptist Press in written comments.

“Not only is that fertile ground for solutions that would speak to the vast majority of Americans, it would advance a vision consistent with our nation’s founding promise, namely that each person is guaranteed the unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

The Nov. 8 elections in the middle of his first term as president will determine whether Biden once again will have a Democratic Congress or whether he will face a Republican or divided legislature. Democrats have a 220-212 advantage in the House currently and control the Senate despite a 50-50 split between the parties.

In races for control of the Senate, some Democratic candidates have refused to name any limitation they would place on abortion, while some Republican candidates have been hesitant to offer a robust defense of abortion bans.

Biden has endorsed the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), an abortion rights bill that supporters of the proposal have described as a codification of the Roe opinion. The WHPA, however, would eclipse the 1973 ruling by prohibiting federal and state regulations of the procedure that were permitted by the Supreme Court under Roe.

Pro-life advocates have pointed out the WHPA would eliminate such pro-life protections as state bans on abortions based on the sex of the preborn baby and those after 20 weeks because of evidence the child feels pain by that point. It also would annul parental involvement laws, as well as longstanding bans on taxpayer funding of abortion and conscience protections for pro-life health care workers, they say.

Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life of America, said the president’s “disingenuous and dangerous pledge to prioritize abortion over all the other issues facing this nation shows desperation about the mid-terms and a grave misunderstanding of mainstream America’s views on the issue of abortion.”

Building a Small Group Ministry is Like Building a House

By

Jeremy Sauve

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October 20, 2022

Here’s a parable about building a small group ministry: We are blessed to own an older single-family home in a lovely suburb in Ottawa, Ontario. On the surface, it truly is a beautiful place to raise our family. On the outside, everything looks perfect. But I’m going to let you in on a little secret. It isn’t. This home was built in 1970, and over time the previous owners completed several major and minor renovations. Their work presents an interesting challenge because while everything might look great, you never know what you will find underneath the surface.

Let me give you an example.

A few years ago, we experienced issues along an exterior wall where ice would build up on the floor during winter. Ice. Inside. On the floor. I’m not kidding. When the ice thawed, it created moisture which, in turn, caused mould to grow. So we decided to fix it. The plan was to pull the drywall off, identify the issue, add insulation and build some shelves.

Simple right? Nope.

Once the drywall came down, I encountered several significant issues (electrical, framing, insulation etc.) that extended the project into weeks instead of days. It was a learning experience for me. Here’s the thing. The more projects I complete, the more I learn, and those lessons have been invaluable as I navigate new projects.

The Challenges of Building a Small Group Ministry

Does building, changing or expanding a small group ministry feel like that to you? Whether you are walking into an existing system with the task of renovating or charged with building one from scratch, you can often face significant challenges that, on the surface, weren’t apparent. Still, once you get into it, surprises await.

Perhaps you’ve said, “I wish I had known.”

I know, over the past three years, I have said those words as I worked towards building a small group ministry (or in my case, re-building). During that time, I learned several important lessons about building a small group ministry.

1 – It Will Always Take Longer Than You Think

This one caught me off guard. It shouldn’t have, but it did.

When I started building a group ministry I thought I could finish everything (vision, pathways, systems, training, resources) in a few months. And so I launched a public campaign that had people sign up to express their interest in being part of what we were building. It was exciting!

And premature.

After a few months, I realized that the original targets were impossible and unrealistic. An anticipated few months became over a year and the constant delays were difficult to manage.

I am proud of where we have arrived at in building a small group ministry but because of my earlier miscalculations, I had to do “damage control” with those left waiting in the queue for far longer than they expected.

Always plan for more time than you think.

2 – You Cannot Do It Alone

I mean, you CAN, but you shouldn’t.

We can become so focused on connecting with others that we forget or sacrifice our created need for connection. The most valuable thing for me over the past three years has been getting in a room with others passionate about small groups and engaged in the same work as me.

The most life-giving moments have been hearing others express emotions, challenges and frustrations, that I thought were unique to me.

Satan has such a knack for convincing us that we are alone in what we are experiencing, doesn’t he?

3 – Expect Pushback

When you finally are finished building a small group ministry expect comments, emails or feedback that will be difficult to read or hear. Not everyone is going to like, agree with or appreciate the direction you are heading. It won’t matter how much you’ve prayed, or planned, or prepared. It won’t matter how excited you are.

Youth Ministry in the Church Is the World’s Most Important Job

By

Benjamin Kerns

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October 19, 2022

thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

How’s that for a title? Is youth ministry in the church really that vital? To me, I don’t think the headline is an oversell. I truly believe this with all my heart. I’ve always thought youth ministry was the best job in the entire world. But more and more, I’m convinced it’s also the most important.

You see, we live in a culture that has totally abandoned kids. Chap Clark has been talking about this for years. But now we’re realizing the full ramifications.

Clark argues that adults have abandoned kids, who now occupy the “world beneath.” All the organizations that were supposed to come alongside families and support the character development and care of kids have abandoned kids as well. Teachers teach to the test, coaches coach for the win, and even youth workers plan for the numbers. And in all of this, kids go unseen. Teens are living in this hidden world where it is truly the Lord of the Flies.

What none of us realized is that this world beneath has become the world above. The cloud has become the center of life for all of us but the center of reality for students. And now, more than ever, they feel abandoned. Parents are just as distracted on their phones as kids are. Except parents are fully formed adults, while kids are half-cooked.

We’re seeing the fruit of this abandonment with the astronomical rise in anxiety, depression and suicide. We see teens self-medicating with anything they can get their hands on. They’re trying to be distracted by as much technology as they can consume between dopamine hits from social media platforms.

This Is Where Youth Ministry in the Church Comes In

Students are abandoned. They live in the cloud and are being destroyed internally. Yet they’re still human beings whom God made in his image. Teenagers desperately need human interaction, human connection, and human care.

That’s why youth ministry in the church is so crucial. When you step in, slow down, and actually see a kid, you make a true impact on them. By acknowledging young people’s humanity, seeing them through the lens of Christ, and speaking words of love and affection on them, you’re actually changing their lives.

This requires you to not be on your phone. Don’t buy into the dopamine rush and trick yourself that you’re actually connecting with kids because you’re present in their online world. Those things are important, but that’s not where transformation happens.

Life change occurs in actual human interaction. And it’s that human interaction and empathy that builds the strands in kids’ hearts so they can actually encounter God and experience the love, grace, and empathy found in Christ.

In this brutal culture, you’re one of the only adults in these kids’ lives who actually sees them. You’re one of the only people who doesn’t need anything from them, who doesn’t need them to perform. You only need to make eye contact with them and remind them of their true humanity and true worth. And because you’re one of the only adults who do this, this makes your job and calling the most important job on the planet!

So don’t slack off. And don’t lose heart! Embrace your calling to do youth ministry in the church. And work with all your might to love your kids…right into the kingdom of God!

As Brian Houston’s Court Case Nears, Houston Announces Evening of ‘Connection, Fellowship, Community’

By

Jessica Lea

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October 19, 2022

brian houston — Screenshot from Facebook / @Brian Houston

Brian and Bobbie Houston, former leaders of Hillsong Church based in Sydney, Australia, will be holding an event called “An Evening with Bobbie and Brian” in Sydney on Wednesday, Nov. 9. The event will take place shortly before Brian Houston is scheduled to appear in court to face charges that he concealed his father’s sexual abuse.

“Well, big hello,” said Houston as he began the video, adding that “Bobbie and I are excited” about the upcoming event. The pastor said the evening would be “all about connection, fellowship, community. And of course, Bobbie will share some thoughts. As always, I’m sure there will be a prophetic edge to that. I’m going to preach a message, we’ll pray for people. We’d really love to see you come, so come along and, of course, we’ll also be livestreamed on all available platforms. So don’t miss the night. We’re really looking forward to it.”

“An Evening with Bobbie and Brian” will take place at the Pioneer Theater in Castle Hill, a suburb of Sydney. Brian Houston, who resigned as global senior pastor of Hillsong Church earlier this year, said in the video that the initial announcement about the event (which is free and was scheduled for 7 p.m. AEDT) was met with such enthusiasm that available seats were filled in under two hours. As a result, organizers changed the time to 7:30 p.m. and added another slot at 5:30 p.m.

Brian Houston To Face Court Hearing

Brian Houston’s past few years have been tumultuous, to say the least. On Aug. 5, 2021, Houston was charged by New South Wales (NSW) Police Force for allegedly concealing child sex offenses. The allegations are that he knew that his father, Frank Houston, sexually abused a seven-year-old boy during the 1970s and failed to report the abuse. Brian Houston has denied the charges.

In September of 2021, Houston announced that he had stepped aside from Hillsong Church boards, and in January 2022, he announced that he would be stepping aside from leadership at Hillsong for all of 2022 in order to focus on the court proceedings. Further surprising news followed in March when the Hillsong Global Board revealed there was more to Houston’s sabbatical than the charges against him. According to a statement, the pastor was also placed on leave due to his past inappropriate behavior toward two women, as well as substance abuse. Days after this news broke, Hillsong announced that Houston had resigned as global senior pastor.

In an Instagram post in May, Bobbie Houston shared that she and her husband were “pressing on” and trusting the “righteous courts of heaven.” She said, “Regardless of current narratives running havoc, we still care for Thy Kingdom Come, the Body of Christ, our Psalm 92 convictions .. & will remain within integrity & obedience to His heart in all we do.”

Brian Houston was back in the pulpit by August, preaching a sermon at Christian Faith Center in Seattle. On Sept. 27, Houston shared that he and Bobbie had wrapped up six weeks in the U.S., where he had preached in eight cities. “We’ve had so much wonderful time with pastor couples and we are feeling the love,” he said. “The body of Christ at large have proved themselves to be just that. Grace-filled, loving and overwhelmingly supportive. Pray for me with a court case looming. Love and grace to you all.” Houston’s court hearing, which has been delayed several times, will take place before the end of the year.

New Orleans Pastor Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Donors, Laundering Nearly $900K

By

Dale Chamberlain

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October 19, 2022

On Tuesday (October 18), Charles Southall III, who has served as pastor of First Emanuel Baptist Church in Louisiana for more than 30 years, pleaded guilty to money laundering and obtaining $889,565 through fraud. Southall had been charged with defrauding his church, which has locations in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, the church’s housing ministry, a charter school, and individual donors.

Who is Rev. Charles Southall III?

A graduate of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS), Southall lives in Baton Rouge, having moved there from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. He was installed as pastor of First Emanuel Baptist Church in 1989. He had apparently been able to hide his fraud by virtue of being a real estate investor in addition to his pastorate.

Southall was charged following an investigation involving the FBI.

According to prosecutors, Southall abused his position as pastor, over the course of years, to solicit and then steal donations from members of his church, at one time coercing $10,000 out of one congregant and then diverting the funds for personal use. In another instance, Southall stole the donations of another congregant given over the course of four years and meant for charity work and capital improvements to the church’s facility. The sum of that theft was $106,408.

Southall also stole money from the church’s housing ministry, which owns rental properties, taking roughly $150,000 in rental payments for himself. He also stole more than $500,000 during the sales of certain properties.

Further, while Southall was the board president of Spirit of Excellence Academy, a charter school in New Orleans he helped found, he secured funding to build a sister academy in Baton Rouge. While the new school never opened, according to prosecutors, Southall hired an employee for the new location. Southall diverted more than $220,000 of that person’s pay to an account owned jointly by himself and the employee over the course of four years.

Spirit of Excellence Academy in New Orleans has since closed its doors due to academic and financial problems.

Two days before entering his guilty plea, Southall could be seen preaching at First Emanuel Baptist Church, delivering a message titled “The Crown Jewels of Grace.”

“When I was watching the funeral procession of Queen Elizabeth, I was looking at that crown,” Southall said at one point. “And it had all these diamonds and different other types of rare jewels in it. And when I saw that, I thought about when we get to heaven.” Southall went on to discuss how followers of Jesus will be crowned with righteousness.

Southall also led a Facebook Live Bible study on Tuesday evening, the same day prosecutors announced his guilty plea. The theme of the study was “planting the seeds” that God has given you.

Beth Moore on the ‘Most Important Part of the Process’ of Teaching God’s Word

By

Jessica Lea

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October 19, 2022

The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast · Beth Moore on the ‘Most Important Part of the Process’ of Teaching God’s Word

Beth Moore is an author, speaker and Bible teacher and the founder and visionary of Living Proof Ministries based in Houston, Texas. Beth has written numerous bestselling books and Bible studies, many of which have been translated into over 20 languages, reaching people in countries all across the world. Her latest, co-authored with her daughter, Melissa Moore, is “The Surpassing Value of Knowing Christ: A Study of Philippians.”

Other Ways to Listen to This Podcast With Beth Moore

► Listen on Apple
► Listen on Spotify
► Listen on Stitcher
► Listen on YouTube

Other Episodes in the Great Communicator Series

Rick Warren on the Kind of Preaching That Changes Lives

Wilfredo de Jesús: How (Not) To Turn Your Sermon Points Into Stop Signs

Charlie Dates: Why Your Church Needs To Identify and Raise Up Young Preachers

J.D. Greear: How Your Sermons Will Benefit From a ‘Multitude of Counselors’

Ralph Douglas West on the Benefits of Being Shaped by Black and White Preaching Traditions

Andy Stanley: Are You Missing This Key Part of Your Sermon Prep?

Max Lucado: ‘The One Thing That Has Helped Me More Than Anything Else’ as a Preacher

Sam Chan: How the Topical Preacher Can Avoid Getting on a Hobby Horse

Priscilla Shirer: ‘Message Preparation Is the Hardest Thing I Do in Ministry’

Key Questions for Beth Moore

-As you prepare to teach the Bible, what is your philosophy of studying so that you can teach what you learn?

-As we grow as skilled and effective communicators, how can we guard against using that skill to manipulate people?

-What is your preparation process?

-What advice would you give to preachers and teachers who want to be more faithful and fruitful as they communicate their messages?

Key Quotes From Beth Moore

“I want so much for that listener or that reader to catch that fire for the love of Scripture and for the love of Christ. So one of the things that has been probably the most important part of the process has been just loving it myself.”

“I want so much when I speak or when I teach, I want that listener or that reader or that viewer to be helped.”

“It’s absolutely critical that [people] know that although this is a timeless Word and it’s been on the page beginning to end, complete in every way for centuries, that it still has a living aspect. The Spirit of God who brought it into being, who breathed it on the page, is still breathing it. And so it’s still relevant for what we’re living through now.”

John MacArthur’s Grace To You Executive Director Kicked Off Twitter for Drag Queen Comment

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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October 19, 2022

Phil Johnson, Grace To You’s executive director and Grace Community Church elder, shared earlier this week that he was kicked off Twitter for making a comment regarding a drag queen working as an elementary school crossing guard.

The drag queen, who goes by the name Dixie Krystals, was featured as one of Denver Public Schools’ celebrity crossing guards for their National Walk & Roll to School Day, which took place on October 12.

The school celebrated the drag queen by featuring an image of the 20-plus year entertainer handing out raffle tickets to young children.

“Meet some more of the Denver #CelebrityCrossingGuards that kept our students safe at our schools this morning for National Walk & Roll to School Day. Thank you! #PedestrianSafetyMonth,” the school tweeted.

Johnson told his Facebook followers, “I got kicked off Twitter for saying that the stationing of drag-queen crossing guards at elementary schools is state-sponsored grooming.”

John MacArthur‘s fellow church elder uploaded a screenshot of the tweet that Twitter deemed as “hate speech,” which said, “…gr**ming your kids, actually,” and linked to a Libs of TikTok tweet. The post included a video of a teacher sharing “five things you can do to make spaces more inclusive for LGBTQ+ students this year” and included the caption, “These are the people teaching your kids.”

“I’m refusing to admit that this constituted harassment or a threat of violence against anyone,” Johnson said. “It was a statement of my moral convictions regarding a news story.”

“This is the first time Twitter’s woke police have harassed me. But it will constitute a permanent ban from Twitter if they persist in demanding that I plead guilty to the charge of hate speech,” Johnson said to conclude his Facebook post.

‘Birthed out of Prayer’: First Orlando Intercessor Leads Life of Prayer

By

Diana Chandler

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October 19, 2022

ORLANDO, Fla. (BP) – Pauline Dawkins-Cole, volunteer leader of the intercessory prayer ministry of First Baptist Church of Orlando, considers her very life a product of prayer.

As she tells the story to Baptist Press, her parents – the late Frederick Augustus Dawkins, who pastored Baptist churches in Jamaica for 70 years, and Dorcas Deltora Dawkins, a missionary and teacher – prayed eight years to conceive a child. When Pauline’s mother became pregnant with her, doctors first diagnosed the pregnancy as a tumor.

In addition to leading a prayer ministry at First Baptist Orlando, Pauline Dawkins-Cole serves as vice president of Dawkins International Ministries, Inc., founded by her father Frederick Augustus Dawkins, who died in 2019 at age 101.

But her parents prayed through the ordeal, gave birth to Pauline and seven additional children while leading ministry in Jamaica that was partly supported by the Home Mission Board, the precursor to the North American Mission Board.

God made clear the importance of prayer in Dawkins-Cole’s life, she told Baptist Press, as she prepared to speak on prayer at a women’s conference years ago.

“Your life was birthed out of prayer,” she heard in her spirit. “If it wasn’t for prayer, you would never have been conceived, been born, married, have a daughter and do all that you’re doing. Your life is based in prayer. Those were the words I heard.

“But because your parents prayed for you,” she sensed the Lord telling her, “I answered their prayer and I pulled you out of the womb of nothing through prayer.”

She joined First Baptist Church of Orlando in March of 2006. There, she helped found an intercessory prayer ministry that originally focused solely on praying for pastors. First Baptist Pastor David Uth expresses appreciation for Cole’s ministry.

“Sister Pauline is the epitome of a faithful and fervent prayer warrior,” Uth told Baptist Press Oct. 17. “In my 46 years as a pastor, I’ve never known a more powerful woman of prayer. Every pastor needs someone just like her in his church.”

In 2019, Dawkins-Cole began focusing more on community and international prayer concerns and outreaches while remaining active at Orlando First.

She’s active in several prayer and evangelistic initiatives under the auspices of Dawkins International Ministries, Inc. (DIMI), founded in Jamaica and the U.S. by her father long before his death in 2019 at the age of 101. As DIMI vice president, she leads the group in several in-person and virtual prayer outreaches weekly, utilizing a prayer conference telephone line, Zoom and WhatsApp. The group has mobilized participants from as many as 50 countries, Dawkins-Cole said.

She prays in the official prayer room at Southern Baptist Convention annual meetings, having begun at the 2010 meeting in Orlando, and prayer walks the halls of annual meeting venues, praying for those she encounters. Unable to attend the 2022 meeting, she recruited her brother Samuel Dawkins, pastor of Westside Baptist Church in Fontana, Calif., to serve in Anaheim.

She volunteers as a National Day of Prayer ambassador-at-large for the state of Florida, leading prayer emphases throughout the year.

Local Associations Key to Southern Baptist Credentialing, Cooperation

By

Scott Barkley

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October 19, 2022

NASHVILLE (BP) — Earlier this year, then-candidate Bart Barber received a question at a forum hosted by First Baptist Church in Keller, Texas, for those to be nominated as Southern Baptist Convention president.

What should the Credentials Committee be doing? Are its actions currently outside the scope of what it was designed to do? What should they do if a church is accused of operating outside of the Baptist Faith and Message? How do you determine if that church is still considered in fellowship with the SBC?

So yes, it wasn’t a single question but a series of them. That pattern of trying to clarify the group’s responsibilities has remained since the Credentials Committee was repurposed by messengers in 2019.

No longer would it function only during the annual meeting to ensure messengers were from churches in “friendly cooperation” according to Article III of the SBC Constitution. The group – now a standing committee – would be tasked with considering whether a church remained in friendly cooperation based on allegations related to sexual abuse, discriminatory behavior based on ethnicity and other matters related to faith and practice.

But such a process on a national scale can be cumbersome. Cooperation was simpler 120 years ago, Barber said, because local associations were closely involved, and this involvement is still crucial.

“If you want it to work better today,” Barber said, pointing to the crowd, “you can do more about it than the president of the SBC can.”

Local associations “leaned in” to credential messengers and churches, Barber said, providing a boots-on-the-ground verification of their commitment to Southern Baptist distinctives. If that role is diminished or abdicated, consequences follow.

“When local associations are weak and refuse to assure that the doctrinal parameters that make us Southern Baptists are enforced in the local association, that just creates these problems of scale where you have a Credentials Committee at the national convention level with 47,000 churches trying to figure out what to do all across the fruited plain,” he said. “It’s unmanageable.”

More than 1,100 associations operate across the national convention, according to the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders (SBCAL). Focused on local churches, they also often serve as a connection point with state conventions and national entities.

The ones leading those associations are pivotal in existing credentialing procedures, said Ray Gentry, SBCAL president/CEO and associational mission strategist for Southside Baptist Network in McDonough, Ga.

“They know pastors and churches personally,” he said. “Depending on the size of the association’s credentials committee, they may or may not know details of a pastor’s theology, but they would know something about it.”

An advantageous position

That relationship, Gentry added, positions associations to “check in with a pastor and church leaders in a winsome but more thorough way than a state or national credentials committee could.”

Barber agreed in a recent interview with Baptist Press.

When It Comes to Halloween, Pastors Have Opinions, According to New Survey

By

Emily McFarlan Miller

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October 19, 2022

(RNS) — How do Christians celebrate Halloween?

It might depend on their pastor, according to a survey, released Tuesday (Oct. 18), by Lifeway Research of Protestant Christian pastors from all across the United States.

More than 90% of pastors encourage their congregations to observe Oct. 31 in a particular way, but that ranges from avoiding Halloween completely to inviting people to Halloween-adjacent events at their churches, the survey found.

“Few pastors simply ignore the fact that so many Americans participate in Halloween celebrations,” Lifeway Research Executive Director Scott McConnell said in a written statement. “Most pastors focus on the social nature of these celebrations, encouraging their congregations to engage with others outside their church.”

Many children across the U.S. celebrate Halloween by dressing in costumes and walking door to door to neighbors’ houses requesting candy with a cheerful, “Trick or treat!” Carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, watching horror films and visiting haunted houses are other popular pastimes during the spooky season.

Some pastors (13%) discourage their congregations from participating in the holiday in any way, according to the survey. This could be because some Christians consider the day’s festivities to be evil — or, at least, to glorify evil.

But a growing number of pastors are encouraging their congregations to engage with the celebration, mostly by inviting their friends and neighbors to church events on and around Halloween. Those events can include fall festivals; “trunk or treat” gatherings that allow kids to collect candy from cars parked in the church parking lot; or judgement houses, also known as hell houses, that aim to scare the hell out of visitors by depicting its horrors.

“Whether it comes from a desire to reconnect with their community after the pandemic prevented much of this or from deepened convictions about the holiday itself, pastors appear more resolute in their convictions around Halloween,” McConnell said.

"What do pastors encourage their church members to do at Halloween?" Graphic courtesy of Lifeway Research

“What do pastors encourage their church members to do at Halloween?” Graphic courtesy of Lifeway Research

The number of Protestant pastors encouraging congregants to invite others to church events has risen from 67% of pastors in 2016 to 71% in 2022, according to Lifeway.

Many pastors (58%, compared to 52% in 2016) also are talking with members of their churches about building relationships with neighbors who trick or treat, the survey shows. Those numbers are highest among the youngest pastors, ages 18 to 44 (66%), and among Methodists (68%) as opposed to Pentecostals (42%).

For Father James Martin, Ministry Means Going Wherever the People Are

By

Joshua Stanton and Benjamin Spratt

-

October 19, 2022

Examples of the Rev. James Martin's presence on social media, including Instagram, from left, Facebook and Twitter. Screen grabs

(RNS) — The Catholic Church in America is experiencing great flux — with profound potential and the pain of reckoning and responsibility. Thirteen percent of Americans, according to Pew Research, are former Catholics, while the parish Masses are filled with growing numbers of immigrants from Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa.

Women are rising to new roles of leadership as directors of religious education and pastoral associates, even as the top leadership roles remain reserved for male priests. Likewise, Pope Francis has officially supported ministering to LGBTQ people and encouraged their embrace within Catholic families — creating new possibilities for in-reach.

This time of great change affords Catholic clergy the chance to adapt to new needs and serve people in new ways. Even as some may feel constrained by vows of obedience that obligate leadership to line up with papal directives, others are finding support for new areas of ministry and outreach to underserved and marginalized groups.

Few have done so with the success of the Rev. James Martin, S.J., who serves as editor-at-large of “America” magazine and is a public theologian who encourages and serves millions online, in print and in person. Martin brings a sense of Catholic belonging to many who had been disaffected or unchurched, particularly LGBTQ people.

With more than 645,000 followers on Facebook, 309,000 on Twitter and 81,000 on Instagram, Martin ministers to people wherever they are — through social media, bestselling books and frequent television appearances. Martin also leads smaller in-person trips to the Holy Land with leaders from “America” magazine.

With this multifaceted approach, Father Martin brings his ministry outside the traditional institutional framework to directly reach the people he seeks to serve. His work provides a new model for clergy leadership within the Catholic Church, modeled on the example of Jesus.

Stephen Colbert, left, interviews the Rev. James Martin, Feb. 3, 2021, on “A Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on CBS. Video screengrab via CBS

Stephen Colbert, left, interviews the Rev. James Martin, Feb. 3, 2021, on “A Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on CBS. Video screen grab via CBS

At a time when most teachers would wait for students to come to them, said Martin, Jesus went out into the community of Nazareth to call his first disciples. A similar approach works today.

“Maybe they’re not on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, so you go somewhere else,” he said. “They’re on Facebook, they’re on Instagram, they’re on Twitter. That’s where I go.”

But that’s just a first step.

“When you go there, you speak in their language, Martin said, adding that Jesus took the same approach. When he met Peter, Andrew and James, who were fishermen, he used terms they would understand rather than the language of a carpenter.

“He doesn’t say ‘Let us lay the foundations of God’s reign’ or ‘Let us build the reign of God,’” said Martin. “He doesn’t say ‘Let us construct the House of Mercy.’ Instead, Jesus says ‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of people.’”

Jesus wanted to help people understand God, said Martin, and doing that meant using images from first-century Jewish and agrarian culture.

Grow Your Ministry by Growing Your Leaders

By

Small Group Network

-

October 19, 2022

Leaders are Built not Found

I first heard that quote from Craig Groeschel, lead pastor of LifeChurch. He brought it up in the context of turning the congregation into leaders for Christ in the community. Like so many other great nuggets we get from pastors like Craig, Rick Warren and more, I immediately applied it to my lens and the ever-present need for more small group leaders.

Before that key moment, my radar was always set to detect the born-leaders. The sort of take charge, on fire for Christ types that are often all too few and far between in the church lobby between services.

Once I applied the leader building lens, however, I found myself in a very target rich environment, as hunters often say.

To quote another leadership guru, John Maxwell, “Leadership is influence, nothing more.” So, who was influencing those around them? Who, through conversation, did I discover held influence in other areas of their life? The answer was pretty simple: just about everyone.

Growing a Follower Into a Leader

I first met Tony through a mutual youth sporting event where both of our sons wound up on the same team. After some quick get to know each other discussion, we found out not only did we go to the same church, but our boys were already friends – our wives were as well.

Small world.

As we got to know one another better, I quickly saw the influence Tony held – and was acutely aware of the fact that not only did he not see it in himself, he rejected the very notion it was there. And, this became a theme I would encounter again and again and again with others.

Like so many of us, Tony had been the victim of negative talk from people in his life. Those who had influence on him at a young age failed to build him up, but instead tore him down. I’m sure you can either think of someone you know who had the same experience, or maybe you did yourself. Once those negative voices speak into our lives, we often allow them to navigate our future – erecting road blocks between us and the good deeds God prepared in advance for us to do.

Once this became apparent, I felt a nudge in my spirit. An irresistible urge to speak life and encouragement into Tony’s world. I didn’t have any illusions that I could overcome the years of negative reinforcement he’d endured, but I promised God I would, at very least, be a conversational light for him.

At the time, Tony worked at what he described as a dead-end job. He’d been passed over for promotions and simply accepted his lot in life – since it aligned with the negativity he’d been fed about himself.

It was then that I challenged him to start a small group. To take the lead. To be the man God designed him to be, not the failure so many humans told him he was.

In-Person Experiences – What the Church Can Learn From the NFL

By

Gavin Adams

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October 19, 2022

in-person experiences — Adobestock #39819903

Football is back, baby! If you’re not a football fan (or sports fan), stick with me for a minute. I think, at least at this moment in time, football is attempting to teach us all an invaluable lesson about the future of in-person experiences.

So, back to football for a minute: While football literally never left, the 2020 football season did not give us fans the complete football experience. The 2020 pandemic year did that to everything, right?

You see, the game of football is more than the game of football. It provides in-person experiences. Not to wax poetic, but if you’re a fan, you know exactly what I mean. Football is about the game and everything around the game. In 2020, the games were mostly played, but the experience surrounding the games was lackluster at best.

Stadium capacities were significantly limited. Some games required masks. Tailgating wasn’t allowed. There were very few bars and restaurants to gather and watch with friends and fellow fans. There were no pre or postgame parties of substance.

The players played games. But that’s about it. Something big was clearly missing.

I have a son who attends Auburn University (War Eagle!). He attended all the AU home games last year — spread out, with 20% capacity, and void of the AU football experience.

Two weeks ago, football returned to the plains of Auburn, but this time, the game came with all the trimmings. My son was able to tailgate and sit in a packed student section (he’s vaccinated, so that feels mostly safe). The band participated, the players ran onto the field to screaming fans, and the eagle mascot flew into the stadium. The pomp and circumstance was back in full force. And his experience was completely different.

Just like last season, there was a game. But this time, in-person experiences were back.

Understanding In-person Experiences: Football & Your Church

As a leadership coach primarily working with pastors and churches, the juxtaposition of packed football stadiums and partially full sanctuaries creates a strategic crisis. And it should.

For most of the pandemic, it was easy to justify and excuse a lack of attendance and engagement. People are still nervous about the virus. You can just as easily watch online. We have CDC guidelines limiting our physical growth. All of that was true. In some situations, it may still be valid. Or partially true. Before we go any further, hear me loud and clear: I’m not a fan of recklessness in the name of attendance. I believe digital church experiences play an essential role in every local church. But, I emphatically believe that local churches must provide physical gatherings because in-person experiences create better authentic spiritual community and connection. Not to suggest digital expressions can’t foster community, but face-to-face is better than face-to-screen when both are available. There’s a reason people meet on dating apps but progress to an in-person experience.

Now that in-person experiences are available in most churches, where are all the people?

Why Are Stadiums Sold Out?

That’s the core question we must answer if we want to learn from the football experience.

Why are hundreds of thousands of church people jamming into football stadiums with rabid enthusiasm yet skipping church almost every Sunday?
What is the in-person football experience offering that the church is not?
What did people miss about football?

And perhaps the most painful question:

What did church people NOT miss when they missed church for a year?

That question should haunt every single pastor.

Before we start making excuses, let’s acknowledge that football has similar in-person issues as your local church. Watching the game on television is better if the game is the draw. The camera angles, instant replays, and ongoing commentary available on a screen create a better experience if the game is all that matters.

With church, rolling out of bed, grabbing a cup of coffee, and watching online is certainly easier than getting dressed, getting the kids up, and fighting traffic if worship and sermons are the draws.

These packed stadiums should be a wake-up call to every pastor and church. If the game alone were the goal for football fans, stadiums would be mostly empty. They are not, because the draw of the game is more than just the game.

In your church, a welcome, some worship, and a sermon can no longer serve as the draw of the gathering. The gathering facilitates an opportunity for corporate worship and collective learning, but that alone is not enough. People will no longer attend impersonal, in-person experiencess if the experience is relatively equal on a screen. Your church remains partially full because people missed it for a year and didn’t really miss it.

It’s painful to admit, but for most church attenders, they stopped “attending,” and their life didn’t get worse. Let’s admit it: Church people missed gathering with fellow football fans more than with fellow Jesus-followers.

The Time for Action is Now

Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets. It’s time we collectively admit that we, as church leaders, created the problem we are experiencing today. We saw declining in-person worship attendance trends in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and we made excuses. We blamed the people for choosing not to attend rather than looking in the mirror at why they weren’t attending. We waited for some other leader to be bold and course correct so we could mimic their model. It’s unacceptable.

Our mission matters too much to sit idly by worshiping our past models without an honest assessment of our guilt.

I know the passages like you. I believe with all my heart that the “gates of Hades” will never overcome the movement of the body of Christ. Equally, I think church leaders and pastors who refuse to acknowledge the reality of our recent results aren’t helping those gates remain in their place.

We can’t expect what wasn’t working well before the pandemic to be today’s model of choice. The pandemic accelerated the trends. Your ministry model is perfectly designed to get the results it gets. If you’re unhappy with your results, take responsibility for changing it.

It is time to evolve our approach and create something worth not missing.

This article on in-person experiences originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Youth Group Regulars: The 14 Types of Kids You’ll Meet in Ministry

By

Stephen Altrogge

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October 18, 2022

Ahh, youth group. That sweet collection of awkwardness and overpowering body odor. If you’ve spent any length of time in church, you’ve probably attended or sent your kids to youth group. If so, you know it’s a perfect microcosm of both the church and society. You also know it requires a huge dose of humor.

Here are 14 types of kids you’ll find in every youth group. (FYI: I was a terrible combination of #1, #2, #3 and #4.)

14 Typical Youth Group Attendees

1. The Pastor’s Kid

The pastor’s kid is usually either a hyper-pharisaical annoying moralist who knows all the answers (me) or a rebel without a cause who listens to death metal, smokes weed, and leads the smoke breaks at youth group. In rare “flip-flop” cases (technical term), he/she can be both during a four-year youth group career. The even rarer “Two-Faced Pastor’s Kid” can pull off both simultaneously, though this requires a near sociopathic personality.

2. Guitar Guy

Guitar guy does everything, including volleyball and using the restroom, with a cheap acoustic guitar around his neck. Because he’s been playing the guitar for only six months, he almost always plays Green Day songs. (They have somewhere between one to two chords per song.) Depending on his personality, he will almost always evolve into “Beautiful Voice Heartthrob Guy” or “Greasy-Haired Speed Metal Guy.”

3. Answer Girl

Answer Girl knows it all and ensures that everyone knows that she knows it all. She has the unique ability to raise her hand before a question is even asked. Kids always pick her first for Bible Trivia and last for just about anything else.

4. Homeschool Kid

The Homeschool Kid has the social skills of a highly trained manatee. But they manage to overcome this deficiency with stunning amounts of enthusiasm. No, they can’t sustain a conversation or eye contact for more than four seconds, but they go absolutely bonkers during youth group games. Their enthusiasm is primarily due to ecstasy over getting to interact with other humans.

5. Early Puberty Guy

By age 10, Early Puberty Guy had a full beard, rippling muscles, and sung bass in the choir. He usually has the hygiene skills of a howler monkey, leading him to douse his body in copious amounts of Axe body spray. At least once per youth group, you can count on him hitting a 40-pound girl in the face with a dodge ball thrown at 140 mph. Youth group attendees either hate Early Puberty Guy or are in awe of him.

6. Harmony Diva Girl

Harmony Diva Girl never misses an opportunity to sing harmony during worship. She likes to hold the final note of a song at least three minutes after it has ended. Her parent is always a singer, and it’s not uncommon for them to deliver the special music at church functions. Harmony Diva Girl and Guitar Guy often team up to deliver an incredibly vocally rich acoustic cover of “Time of Your Life.”

7. Short Shorts Girl

Despite having sat through 4,391 talks (not sermons) on modesty and wearing a purity ring since age 4, Short Shorts Girl still pushes the boundaries of racy fashion. She wears the short shorts for one of two reasons: She is either blissfully unaware or fully aware that every youth group guy is staring at her.

11 Christian NFL Players Who Give God All the Glory

By

Stephanie Martin

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October 18, 2022

On any given Sunday (or Monday night, or Thursday night), it’s now quite common to hear Christian NFL players and coaches mention God and their faith. As a result, millions of sports fans hear their gridiron heroes praise and glorify Jesus as Savior.

Christians abound in every sport, and Church Leaders has profiled numerous faith-filled athletes. Here’s an updated “roster” of several God-honoring NFL players:

Christian NFL Players

Russell Wilson

Although his debut with the Denver Broncos has been rocky so far, quarterback Russell Wilson is standing up against criticism and standing firm on Jesus, the Rock. On social media, the 2020 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year winner frequently thanks God and shares inspirational messages with followers. “Keep Praising Jesus in the midst of the storm!” he tweeted last week. “Your Breakthrough is coming!” Earlier in October, Wilson tweeted: “New Day! Jesus YOU still get ALL the Glory! In the good and the bad. I Praise YOU!”

Frustrated by their team’s disappointing start this season, some Broncos fans are taking jabs at Wilson and his faith. “Jesus has been through enough dude,” reads one comment. “Don’t drag him into this mess with you.” Others are offering support, with one tweeting: “Amen man…..keep your head up and things will turn around.”

Dutch Bros Drive-Thru Workers See Woman Crying—When She Tells Them About Her Husband, They Reach Out Their Hands

By

Kelsey Straeter

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October 18, 2022

dutch-bros-drive-thru-pray — Screengrab via Facebook / @lovewhatreallymatters

A powerful Facebook post shared by Barbara Danner has captivated the hearts of many across the web.

If your average picture is worth a thousand words, this breathtaking moment must be worth a million:

Barbara Danner

The day after losing her husband, Adam, to heart disease, Alisha Wisbey went to get a coffee at Dutch Bros., Vancouver, a place she regularly visited. When these Dutch Bros Coffee workers saw that the woman in the drive-thru was “falling apart,” they decided to extend their hands out to her car and pray for her.

“They wanted to let me know that I’m not alone and they feel my pain,” Alisha explained to Fox 12. “And that no matter what faith you are, what color you are, who you are, other people can feel your pain and they’re there for you.”

However, they didn’t realize that a customer behind them had taken a photo and posted it to social media, where it went viral.

Along with the picture above, Barbara shared these words detailing the emotional encounter:

Dear Dutch Bros Coffee, snapped this picture while waiting in line at the Dutch Bros on 138th Avenue today. Turns out the young lady in line ahead of us lost her 37-year-old husband last night. When the DB guys & gals noticed she was falling apart, they stopped everything and prayed with her for several minutes, invited her to come back for prayer and support, as well as anything else that she might need. Prayers for the young family, and you know where to stop for coffee!

Pierce Dunn and Evan Freeman were the two Dutch Bros workers praying for her.

The Challenges of Building a Small Group Ministry

1 – It Will Always Take Longer Than You Think

2 – You Cannot Do It Alone

3 – Expect Pushback

This Is Where Youth Ministry in the Church Comes In

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Who is Rev. Charles Southall III?

Other Ways to Listen to This Podcast With Beth Moore

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Key Quotes From Beth Moore

An advantageous position

Growing a Follower Into a Leader

Understanding In-person Experiences: Football & Your Church

Why Are Stadiums Sold Out?

What did church people NOT miss when they missed church for a year?

The Time for Action is Now

It is time to evolve our approach and create something worth not missing.

14 Typical Youth Group Attendees

1. The Pastor’s Kid

2. Guitar Guy

3. Answer Girl

4. Homeschool Kid

5. Early Puberty Guy

6. Harmony Diva Girl

7. Short Shorts Girl

Christian NFL Players

Russell Wilson

If your average picture is worth a thousand words, this breathtaking moment must be worth a million:

Barbara Danner

Along with the picture above, Barbara shared these words detailing the emotional encounter:

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