TobyMac Tells Good Morning America His Son’s Death ‘Rocked’ His Faith, but God Has ‘Been Kind’

September 6, 2022

While publicizing “Life After Death,” his first new album in four years, Christian musician TobyMac (Toby McKeehan) is opening up about the October 2019 death of son Truett Foster McKeehan. Truett, also a musician, died at age 21 from an accidental overdose of fentanyl and amphetamines.

In an interview that aired August 22 on “Good Morning America (GMA),” TobyMac tells ABC’s Chris Connelly that his firstborn son’s drug use “was maybe a bit of a secret life struggle,” but “it wasn’t like he had gone to rehab.” TobyMac adds, “This was his first time, that I know of, buying something from the streets. But it feels like one fatal mistake to me.”

TobyMac Finds ‘Beautiful Assurance’ in Son’s Faith

“Life After Death,” TobyMac’s first album since Truett’s death, features the January 2020 single “21 Years.” The only way to create that emotional song so quickly, says TobyMac, was to view it as a tribute to his son. “I wanted to create a sort of monument to how amazing he was,” he says.

Just days before he died, Truett performed his “first and only show as an artist,” with his father in the audience. “He crushed it,” says TobyMac. “He knocked it out of the park.” In front of the Franklin, Tennessee, theater afterward, TobyMac told Truett he loved him and was proud of him. That turned out to be the last time the two saw each other.

News of Truett’s death arrived while TobyMac was on a tour bus, where he “fell to my knees” and asked “about 25 times” if people were “sure” about the report. “I couldn’t believe my amazing son was gone,” he says.

In the GMA interview, the musician recounts his final text from Truett: “Dad, you’ve always made me feel like a superhero.” TobyMac says, “You couldn’t ask for more than that. I’m so grateful that he knew I loved him with everything in me.” He adds, “I have no doubt about him walking with God, and that brings me such beautiful assurance.”

Music, Faith, Community Help TobyMac Recover

When asked how he made it through the first days after the tragedy, TobyMac credits music. And when asked about the impact on his own faith, he admits his son’s death “rocked it for a while.”

Although TobyMac “didn’t walk away” from God, he says he kind of “made a deal” with him. “I’m gonna trust you through this” and give you a chance, the musician told God—not meaning to be “dishonoring.” The result? “In that time, [God] was kind.”

TobyMac also points to the community of people who “loved us unconditionally” during their grief. GMA’s Connelly cites these words from TobyMac’s wife, Amanda: “God loves the wild ones.”

TobyMac describes “Life After Death” as his “journal over the last three years” and “the journey from where I was to where I am.” Making the album was “a step of faith,” he says, and required recognizing that “God might have a bigger plan than I do.” The artist adds, “The reason I got into music from day one was my hope that this music would turn people’s eyes to God.”

Franklin Graham Calls Out Evangelical False Teachers in Pastor Survey

Jesse T. Jackson

September 6, 2022

In a Twitter thread posted on Monday (September 5), Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham condemned pastors who where surveyed by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University for its American Worldview Inventory 2022 report.

The survey found that only one out of every three Christian pastors polled in the United States possessed a biblical worldview. The percentage was even lower for teaching pastors.

“I don’t know which 1,000 pastors this group surveyed, but the results are concerning. 39% of ‘evangelical’ pastors they asked said there is no absolute moral truth and that ‘each individual must determine their own truth.’ What a lie,” Graham said.

Graham blasted the one-third of surveyed evangelical pastors who believe that people who do enough good things for others will “earn a place in heaven,” labeling them false teachers.

“The survey also said that 30% of evangelical pastors do not believe that their salvation is based on having confessed their sins and accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior,” Graham said. “This kind of false teaching is what is leading people and churches astray.”

“The Bible is God’s Word, from cover to cover. It is the absolute truth—it is what counts, not our opinion,” Graham’s thread concluded.

Another result from the survey showed that 30 percent of the evangelical pastors polled believe that “reincarnation is a real possibility,” and 60 percent said they believe that a person’s success in life is determined by their obedience to God.

The survey also revealed that at least one-third of senior pastors polled believe that sexual relations between an unmarried couple who love each other is morally acceptable; the Holy Spirit is only a symbol of God’s power, presence, or purity rather than a living divine Person; a person can reach complete spiritual maturity during their lifespan on earth; and the “Bible is ambiguous in its teaching about abortion, enabling you to make a strong argument either for or against abortion based on biblical principles.”

Mississippi Minister Admits to Killing Man Missing Since 2019, Says He Found Faith After Fatal Altercation

Dale Chamberlain

September 6, 2022

On August 30, 37-year-old James Crisp walked into the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office in Mississippi to confess to the killing of Roger Taylor of Sulligent, Alabama, who disappeared in 2019. Crisp, who was struggling with drug addiction at the time, has since come to faith and become a minister at God’s House of Hope, the Christian recovery center where he received court ordered rehabilitation treatment.

“James Eric Crisp walked into my office, of his own free will, and confessed to having killed Mr. Taylor,” Monroe County Sheriff Kevin Crook told WCBI. “By his own testimony he got saved three years ago, was in a recovery center—we sent him there—he is now a teacher and preacher in that program.”

Crisp confessed to killing the 48-year-old Taylor on March 10, 2019 during a “physical altercation” and disposing of the body. Taylor’s truck was discovered in Monroe County a couple of days after he was reported missing.

While the case had gone cold after police were unable to find Taylor’s remains or any other substantial evidence, Crook said that Crisp “began to come under heavy conviction about the incident.”

Taylor’s daughter, BreAnn, told The Independent that while Crisp and her father did not have a close relationship, Crisp had joined the search party when Taylor went missing in 2019.

“He helped me look for my dad,” BreAnn said. “He knew when he was helping me look for my dad what he had done.”

Shortly following Taylor’s disappearance, Crisp was arrested on drug charges.

BreAnn expressed that she had treated Crisp “like he was a member of my family. Even after he was in prison, I picked him up from a bus station so he didn’t have to spend the night [there] when he got out of prison.”

Eventually, Crisp turned his life around, overcoming his addiction and becoming a minister at God’s House of Hope. His story of recovery was featured in a report by WCBI in 2021.

Nevertheless, BreAnn is not convinced that Crisp is entirely remorseful.

Shattered Innocence: Childhood Sexual Abuse and How the Church Can Help

Diane Langberg, Ph.D.

September 6, 2022

Childhood sexual abuse—what a tangle of words! A child: little one; not mature; malleable; one in need of protection, nurture, and training. Now think of that child misused; treated with cruelty or violence; purposely injured by sexual means. Research done by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)1 indicates that one in six boys and one in four girls are sexually abused by the age of 18. In a 2012 maltreatment report, of the victims who were sexually abused, 26% were between 12 and 14, and 34% were younger than nine. Nearly 70% of all reports of sexual assault (including adults) occur to children ages 17 and under.

Child sexual abuse is a criminal offense and punishable by law. It includes any sexual act perpetrated by an adult on a minor or between two minors when one exerts some kind of power (e.g., size, position, age, etc. over another or any forcing or coercing a child to participate in a sexual act). Sexual abuse can also occur without physical contact, such as in voyeurism, exhibitionism, exposure to pornography or communicating via Internet or phone in a sexual manner. Most child sexual abuse occurs in the context of a relationship with an adult from whom the child had every reason to expect protection, warmth, and care. It is usually perpetrated by a family member or someone known to the child. Sexual abuse can be a one-time occurrence or span many years. A child is considered unable to consent due to developmental immaturity and an inability to understand sexual behavior.

The average age for abuse to begin is six for girls and 10 for boys. For a smaller sample, it begins before age six. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)2 says that 14% are abused prior to age six. The majority of abusers are male (3-7% female). Please note that means there are female abusers. Most perpetrators are considerably older (though there is an increase in younger perpetrators). Law enforcement officials said that in 1995, 33% of all those arrested for sex crimes nationwide were younger than 18 (Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/98).

Years ago, child sexual abuse was believed to impact mostly female victims. More recently, we are learning new details about male victims as they are speaking out at higher rates. An article in the AMA Journal3 says boys born in poverty and raised in homes without a father are at greater risk for rape. By age 12, the rate of using alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, and IV drugs was 25-50 times higher for boys who have sexually abused. Abused boys have 12 times the normal suicide rate and go on to have higher rates of mental illness. Recent research regarding men who are in and out of homeless shelters suggests a 40% rate of child abuse of some kind. Research shows that male prisoners have been assaulted prior to prison, usually during childhood, at staggering rates. Prisons, homeless shelters, and rehab centers show elevated numbers of a history of child abuse. When I have spoken in homeless shelters or residential rehab centers, I have been told that 50% or more of the males there have a history of sexual violation. The reality surrounding abuse of males has left an untold number to suffer in silence.

What Do We Know About Sex Offenders?

Although not without some controversy, research done by Dr. Gene Abel in the 1980s asked voluntary sex offender clients how many total offenses they had committed.4 Confidentiality was guaranteed. The results stunned the professional community. Two hundred thirty-two child molesters reported 55,000 attempted incidents, claiming success in 38,000 cases with 17,000 total victims. Those male offenders who molested out-of-home female victims averaged 20 victims each, and those male offenders who molested out-of-home males averaged 15 each. In his research, Dr. Abel computed the chances of being caught. It was three percent.

Dr. Anna Salter, author of Predators, says such things exist because of the problem of deception.5 Decades of research shows that people cannot reliably tell who is lying and who is not, yet most people believe they can. It is a very threatening idea to think we cannot really know whether or not someone is trustworthy.

Living a double life is a powerful strategy. Socially responsible behavior in public causes people to drop their guards and allow access to children. The ability to charm, be nice, and be likeable is critical to gaining access. Author of The Gift of Fear, Gavin de Becker, said the following: “Niceness is a decision… a strategy of social interaction; it is not a character trait.”6 It is a misconception to think child molesters are somehow different from the rest of us. They can be good friends, loyal employees, and responsible citizens. The difference between a child molester and other people is this—they have sex with children. There are often no telltale signs in their public behavior. This is a critical truth for churches to grasp. We think we can tell good people from bad. Yet, God tells us we are such deceived creatures we cannot know our own hearts. We say, “I know him; I trust him.” Jesus said, “I know him; I don’t trust him” (John 2:24).

You’ve Seen ‘The Rings of Power,’ but Have You Heard of This Tiny Museum Housing J.R.R. Tolkien’s Treasures?

Emily McFarlan Miller

September 6, 2022

Wheaton College has an open library commemorating Tolkien and the "Lord of the Rings" universe, formally known as the Marion E. Wade Center, at the college in Wheaton, Illinois. RNS Photo by Emily Miller

WHEATON, Illinois (RNS) — It started with an inkling.

It was the 1950s. Clyde S. Kilby, then an English professor at Wheaton College, had a feeling about a British author he’d been reading named C.S. Lewis — that he was “probably going to be famous one day,” according to Crystal Downing, co-director of Wheaton’s Marion E. Wade Center.

So Kilby wrote to Lewis and started collecting books and letters written by the author. He met some of Lewis’ friends and family.

Years later, he was traveling to England to work with Lewis’ Oxford University colleague J.R.R. Tolkien on “The Silmarillion,” a collection of stories that fill in the background of Tolkien’s beloved “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

Decades later, the professor’s collection of letters and books has grown to become the Marion E. Wade Center, one of the foremost research centers not only on Lewis, but also Tolkien and five other British Christian authors who had influenced Lewis’ work.

Now the Wade Center is preparing for an influx of archival materials and interest as Tolkien and his fantasy world of Middle-earth have once again grabbed the spotlight.

After years of speculation, the first two episodes of “The Rings of Power” — the multimillion dollar prequel series produced by Amazon Studios and inspired by the appendices to Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” novels, debuted Thursday night (Sept. 1) on Prime Video, Amazon’s streaming service.

“Tolkien probably would never have gotten published if it weren’t for Lewis,’” Downing said.

“And, of course, Lewis wouldn’t be famous if it weren’t for Tolkien because Tolkien is the one who convinced him he could be a Christian.”

The Wade Center can feel like the evangelical Christian college’s best-kept secret, housed in a cozy building that looks like a stone English cottage nestled into Wheaton’s suburban Chicago campus.

Laura Schmidt, archivist and Tolkien specialist at the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College. RNS Photo by Emily Miller

But Laura Schmidt, archivist and Tolkien specialist at the center, said, “Tolkien knew about Wheaton College. He knew about the Wade Center.”

Pre-pandemic, the Wade Center welcomed about 10,000 people a year, ranging from elementary students from Chicago-area school districts to scholars from around the world.

Its archive includes books belonging to authors Lewis, Tolkien, Dorothy Sayers, George MacDonald, G.K. Chesterton, Owen Barfield and Charles Williams (including more than 2,400 from Lewis’ personal library alone). It also includes original manuscripts of their work, letters they wrote and oral history recordings of people who knew them.

Among its treasures are rare, autographed first editions of Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “The Hobbit,” all featuring cover artwork designed by the author himself.

Marion E Wade Center, home to the Tolkien Library, is housed on the campus of Wheaton College in Illinois. RNS Photo by Emily Miller

An exhibit in the museum shows how those covers have changed over time, from Tolkien’s artful eye of Sauron circled by Elvish script to a 1980s paperback featuring an Olan Mills-style portrait of the dwarf Gimli and elf Legolas with flowing, romance-novel hair.

Another exhibit atop the dining room table from Lewis’ house displays merchandise that accompanied the popular “Lord of the Rings” films released in the early 2000’s and more recent films based on “The Hobbit.” There is a Lego scene of The Shire; a letter opener made to look like Bilbo Baggins’ Elven sword, Sting; even a board game.

U.N. Report: China Guilty of Serious Violations

Tom Strode

September 6, 2022

U-N-report-China-guilty-of-serious-violations — Photo courtesy of Baptist Press.

GENEVA, Switzerland (BP) – A United Nations report that found China has committed “serious human rights violations” and possibly “crimes against humanity” toward the Uyghur people and other ethnic minorities confirms the authenticity of the evils previously reported, a Southern Baptist ethics leader said.

The assessment of the Chinese government’s practices in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region – which two United States administrations and Southern Baptist Convention messengers have declared as genocide – came Aug. 31 in a 48-page report from the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Among its recommendations, the U.N. office called on China’s government to release those “arbitrarily deprived of their liberty” in camps and other detention facilities, to provide the locations to families of individuals who have disappeared at the hands of officials and to investigate allegations of such human rights violations as forced labor, sexual violence and torture in those locations.

The OHCHR report, issued despite China’s protests, is the second in recent weeks that found human rights violations by China. Tomoya Obokata, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, announced Aug. 16 the release of a report that found it is “reasonable to conclude” forced labor by Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities has taken place in Xinjiang and some of the coercion “may amount to enslavement as a crime against humanity.”

The OHCHR findings, announced on the final day of Michelle Bachelet’s four-year term as high commissioner, followed news reports in recent years that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has carried out a brutal campaign against the Uyghurs, predominantly Muslims in China’s largest and westernmost region, and other minorities. According to the reports, China’s actions have included widespread detention in “re-education” camps, forced labor and a coercive population control program of abortion and sterilization.

The Trump administration announced on its last full day in January 2021 its decision that China is guilty of genocide in Xinjiang, and the Biden administration affirmed that determination weeks later. In June 2021, messengers to the SBC’s annual meeting passed a resolution that made the convention the first Christian faith group to denounce China’s campaign against the Uyghurs as genocide.

“We now know exactly why the Chinese government did not want this report published,” said Brent Leatherwood, acting president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). “It contains ironclad confirmation about their heinous actions and enslavement of the Uyghur people.

Kendrick Brothers’ ‘Lifemark’ Spotlights Beauty of Adoption

Diana Chandler

September 6, 2022

lifemark — Photo courtesy of Baptist Press.

NASHVILLE (BP) – When David Scotton’s birth mother contacted him 18 years after placing him for adoption, the first thing he wanted to do was thank her for giving him life.

She made it as far as the operating table in an Indiana abortion clinic in 1993 before deciding to carry him to term.

The story is told in the latest Kendrick Brothers film “Lifemark,” based on Scotton’s true story he first depicted in the short documentary “I Lived on Parker Avenue.”

“But Lifemark doesn’t focus in on the dark side of abortion, it focuses in on the positive beautiful side of adoption,” Stephen Kendrick told Baptist Press. “And you see how adoption can actually be a beautiful picture of the love of God when we show the love and provision of the Lord to those who are most vulnerable among us.”

Releasing in theaters months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned rulings that had effectively legalized abortion nationwide, Lifemark was not made in anticipation of the June ruling, Alex Kendrick said.

“We did not know that the year we had completed it and were planning to release it that Roe v. Wade was being overturned. We had no idea,” Alex said. “We hope that it paints a picture of adoption and choosing life as honorable and beautiful choices. We look forward to seeing what the Lord does with this film.”

The Kendrick Brothers have long focused on themes of life, repentance and second chances in their filmmaking, based on the grace and hope of the Gospel.

“This movie though, we have an opportunity to shine the message that children are made in the image of God, and God knows them in the womb,” Stephen said. “And we should not only show compassion for a teenage girl and an unwanted pregnancy who’s afraid to have a baby, but also for that baby who has its own fingerprints and blood type and DNA and brain and beating heart, it has its own identity as given to it by God. But it has no voice.”

Alex describes the movie as 90 to 95 percent accurate, and “startlingly close” to I Lived On Park Avenue.

“When you see the interaction between the biological mother meeting David and interacting with him, it’s almost word-for-word exactly what actually happened. And that was important for us because we wanted to tell the story as close as we could to what actually happened, because it’s hard to argue with a true story,” Alex told Baptist Press. “We let the truth speak for itself.

“We hope when people see this it will inspire them, it will give them hope for their own journey. Especially those that find themselves with situations like this, maybe an unplanned pregnancy or should I consider adoption and pray through that. We hope this movie inspires them.”

Stephen and his wife Jill are themselves parents to six children, including a daughter they adopted from China. Stephen appreciates the literal adoption and God’s adoptive grace in their daughter’s life.

“When my wife and I adopted a baby girl from China, we saw her go from being in an unwanted burden in a Communist country to being a beloved blessing in a Christian home in America,” Stephen said. “We saw her identity change. We saw that now she has the education that she needs, the medical support that she needs. She now has come to Christ and even shared the Gospel with other people. And so it’s just beautiful when believers really just trust the Lord by faith. And so I think James 1:27 communicates to the whole church that we need to be supporting the widows and the orphans in our communities.”

Made in association with Kirk Cameron Entertainment, Lifemark is the first Kendrick Brothers film the brothers did not direct, instead mentoring director and cowriter Kevin Peeples. Along with Kirk Cameron, both brothers serve as executive producers along with their brother Shannon Kendrick. Cameron portrays Scotton’s adoptive father Jimmy, with Alex portraying Shawn, the husband of Scotton’s birth mother.

The moviemakers partner with Lifeline Children’s Services, Focus on the Family, Care Net, National Day of Prayer, Answers in Genesis and others in the production. A companion Bible study and video are available through Lifeway Christian Resources, with educational resources and a novel based on the movie available at popular retailers.

Sexual purity is not an explicit theme of the movie, the Kendricks said, but its importance is implied along with the power of God’s redemptive grace.

“The pain of a young couple that has to go through an unplanned pregnancy when they’re not ready for it, were they using wisdom to not get involved sexually, then this pain would never have happened for them,” Stephen said. “We do believe in pointing people toward biblical principles, because when we follow the Lord’s biblical principles it is a life more fulfilled.”

The Kendricks promote the movie as a family product that, although rated PG-13, has no profanity nor sexual content.

“We tell people if you’re OK with your child seeing a scene where they’re discussing not having an abortion,” Stephen said, “then you can take them to see the film.”

Lifemark releases Sept. 9 for a one-week run in about 1,500 theaters spanning 48 states. Tickets and more information are available here.

This article originally appeared at Baptist Press.

Christian Author Shares Stories From the Ukrainian Border

Timothy Cockes

September 6, 2022

author_shares_Ukraine — Ukrainians hold a protest at Krakow Square in Poland. Photo from Kyle Duncan.

MEDYKA, Poland (BP) – Ever since the beginning of Russia’s war on Ukraine, Christian author Kyle Duncan knew he had to do something.

The terrible things Ukrainians have endured are deeply personal to Duncan, as his 21-year-old son was adopted from the country.

After much contemplation, Duncan’s plan materialized – he would journey to the Ukrainian border to hear and document stories from survivors of the conflict. Those stories have been compiled into a book – “Hope For Ukraine,” which releases Tuesday, Sept. 6.

“I just felt helpless and was thinking what I could do for my son and for the situation,” Duncan told Baptist Press.

“God just put it on my heart to write a book of stories, and rather than it be my opinion or views, that I would use my storytelling skills to have people from Ukraine tell their story.”

In Duncan’s more than 30-year career as an editor and author, he’s helped people tell their stories, both individuals like artist TobyMac and author Gary Chapman as well as organizations like Voice of the Martyrs.

He wanted to take that writing experience and use it to chronicle people’s experiences during the conflict in Ukraine, which had been important to him even before it officially began.

For Duncan, the personal connection to Ukraine started many years ago with the adoption of his son Jhenya in 2007.

He and his wife have three biological daughters and a son who died a few days after he was born. Starting in early 2007, Duncan said his wife felt God telling her that they should adopt a young boy.

“I eventually realized this was not a suggestion, but an assignment from God, and we needed to be obedient,” Duncan said.

Jhenya was adopted into their family in the summer or 2007 when he was 6 years old.

As Jhenya grew, Duncan said the family would consistently keep up with the news regarding the relationship between Russia and Ukraine, culminating in Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country this February.

Duncan said Jhenya had a very intense response to the invasion, even wanting to jump on a plane to fight in the conflict.

After talking him out of that, Duncan said he knew the journey he had to take.

After flying into Poland, Duncan made his way to the border of Ukraine and Poland, near the Polish city of Medyka. He worked a few connections to find a translator with a car, who helped him navigate during his time there from March 28 until mid-April.

What he found at the border was a mass of Ukrainians who had fled to Poland. Most of the people he talked with were women, children and the elderly, as men were required to stay and fight.

With the help of his translator, Duncan conduced more than 20 interviews with people who had fled Ukraine as well as humanitarian workers serving refugees.

Duncan even took one day to cross into Ukraine, calling it “the most impactful experience I had over there.”

He crossed the border on foot, and when we returned the same day, he had to wait in line more than nine hours to enter back into Poland because of all the people waiting. As he waited, he saw a pile of hundreds of kitchen knives at the Polish border, representing that families had made it to safety and could discard their only form of protection.

Despite all of the devastation and sadness he observed, the takeaway from all of his conversations with Ukrainians struck a much different tone.

She Was an Early Church Deacon. Catholic Women Now Want To Reclaim Her Example.

Yonat Shimron

September 6, 2022

deacon_church — Members of Discerning Deacons attended Pope Francis' Wednesday audience and presented him with an image of St. Phoebe by the African American artist Laura James. Photo courtesy of Ellie Hidalgo

(RNS) — Lisa Amman is a cradle Catholic who attended parish schools through 12th grade and then worked at her St. Paul, Minnesota, church for 15 years.

She would likely never have learned about St. Phoebe, however, had her then-6-year-old daughter, Evelyn, not begun asking questions at Mass one Sunday three years ago.

At one point in the service, Evelyn turned to her and asked, “Why are we here?” Amman recalled.

“I said, ‘We’re here to learn about Jesus and pray to God.’ And she said, ‘No, why are we here? This is for boys,’” Amman said.

On Saturday (Sept. 3) Amman and 55 other pilgrims from four countries gather in Mexico City at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe to celebrate St. Phoebe’s feast day. In the presence of an archbishop, several priests and nuns and a host of Catholic lay women, the pilgrims will honor the little-known saint who makes a solitary appearance in the New Testament’s Letter to the Romans as an associate of St. Paul and a female deacon of the early church.

Deacons in today’s Catholic Church are ordained clergy who preach and minister in the community but can’t celebrate Mass. Like priests and bishops, they are always men. But Amman, a stay-at-home mother of Evelyn and her sister and now the deputy director of engagement for a group called Discerning Deacons, plans to pray for Phoebe’s intercession to restore Catholic women to the diaconate.

“Phoebe represents hope and evidence that women have been in service to the church since the beginning,” said Amman. “This isn’t new. It makes me feel that it can happen in the future.”

The prayer service, which will be streamed live, will open what Discerning Deacons calls the “Year of St. Phoebe,” part of a churchwide consultation process known as the Synod on Synodality. The three-year synod process began last fall as dioceses around the world collected responses from their individual congregations on how to better structure church life. The bishops of each country are now reporting back to Rome on what they are hearing.

Discerning Deacons are hoping the synod, which concludes with a summit of bishops in 2023, might lead to reforms that will welcome women as deacons.

A groundbreaking study by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, or CARA, confirms that more than 70% of young women in the United States were drifting away from the Catholic Church, a much higher rate than men.

Seeing her daughter’s crisis of faith, Amman at first considered leaving the Catholic Church. Then she learned about Synod on Synodality and saw in it hope that the church might discern a way forward for women who feel called to leadership positions in the church.

Canon law defines deacons as clergy who minister to the people of God in “word, liturgy and charity.” To some extent, women fulfill those roles already but without the ability to minister to people in places, such as immigrant detention centers, hospitals and prisons, that don’t allow unordained people to serve. Joining the diaconate would also allow women to proclaim the Gospel and preach during Mass.

As Amman recently learned, until the 12th century, the Catholic Church ordained women deacons. In his Letter to the Romans, Paul introduces Phoebe as a “deacon of the church” and entrusts her to deliver his letter to the Romans.

Greek Officials, Church, Condemn Ex-Bishop’s Remarks on Rape

AP News

September 6, 2022

remarks-on-rape — FILE - Chrysostomos, Metropolitan Bishop of Dodoni ordains a priest at Athens Cathedral, Greece, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2019. Chrysostomos' statement in a TV interview Friday, Sept, 2, 2022 that a woman is not raped without her consent and that there can be no conception from a rape have been widely condemned by politicians and by the Greek Orthodox Church itself. (Xristos Bonis/Eurokinissi via AP, File)

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek politicians and the country’s powerful Orthodox Church joined in condemning a retired bishop who claimed Friday that women aren’t raped “without wanting it.”

In an interview with private Skai TV, Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Dodoni supported the Church’s official position against abortion, but added that there should be no abortion even in the case of rape.

He then proceeded to question the notion of rape itself, saying: “A woman does not sit and get raped without wanting it.” He added that there can be no conception as a result of rape.

Chrysostomos called abortion a “crime.”

Politicians of all stripes condemned his remarks on rape.

“The Metropolitan of Dodoni’s statement about rape is inconceivable and is to be condemned,” Education and Religious Affairs Minister Niki Kerameus tweeted. “It brutally insults society and does not agree with the position of the Church, which supports women victims of abuse and rape.”

“We support victims of rape unconditionally,” added government spokesman Yannis Oikonomou.

The Church of Greece’s ruling body, the Holy Synod, also condemned Chrysostomos’ remarks as “unacceptable for an Orthodox cleric and offensive for human beings and especially for women and victims of rape.”

“The treatment of women, without exception, as equal to men and their protection from any abuse are the Church of Greece’s official position,” a Holy Synod statement said.

Chrysostomos, 83, retired from active duty in 2011, and his title is honorific. While an active bishop he was known for his strong views. He once told a fellow bishop disagreeing with him during a Holy Synod meeting to “Go play with your dolls.”

This article originally appeared here.

The Cross Illuminates God’s Attributes

Erik Raymond

September 6, 2022

thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Many have said that it is a study of the attributes of God that has been most impactful in their spiritual walk. No doubt it is when we, with eyes full of grace, look at God as he presents himself in his revelation that we are truly humbled and God himself is exalted in accordance with true knowledge of him.

I share these same sentiments. Several years ago, I began a home Bible study on the attributes of God. But a funny thing happened to me in this study. In preparing to teach on God’s holiness, I searched for the supreme representation and/or demonstration of divine holiness, and I graciously stumbled upon what appeared to be the power cord that illuminated the divine perfections without rival.

As I studied the attributes of God’s holiness I found the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ to be the supreme demonstration of this eternal perfection of God. The same thing happened as I studied God’s righteousness, his love, his mercy, his wisdom, his sovereignty and so on. This birthed a wonderful study that focused specifically on the attributes of God in light of the cross. God has used this study to change my life and compel worship and awe. The cross of Jesus is indeed the supreme demonstration of the divine attributes.

Consider God’s holiness. Where do we find God distinguished as holy more than through the transcendent requirements and achievement of perfection? Surely the priests in Leviticus knew much of God’s holiness, but they merely looked in a glass dimly, but when we see with spiritual 20/20, we behold the holiness of God in HD. We see holiness incarnate nailed to a wooden tree by the demands of divine holiness that he might make unholy people holy and blameless. Indeed this is magnificent!

Consider also God’s love. You may say you see God loving in creation or through the giving of life, and you are right. However, this pales in comparison to the Son of God, the very object of the Father’s affections, yes even the supreme delight and satisfaction of God, Jesus Christ himself, offered up to redeem rebels. Can you find God’s love more vividly, more beautifully, more heavenly than this?

Consider also God’s righteousness. Oh yes, the inflexible divine attribute that has been plaguing consciences throughout history. God’s righteousness is not seen supremely in the threatenings of the Law or the thunders of Sinai, but rather upon the hill of Calvary. For it is here that we see God’s infinite and unflinching righteousness relentlessly pursuing its vindication in the unleashing of all that is right, good and just upon the substitute for all that is wrong, bad and filthy. Yes, here in the shadow of the cross we see righteousness supremely demonstrated and vindicated. There is nothing like it.

Stand with me in the shadow of the cross and see God’s attributes perfectly illuminated. Tremble at his holiness in the demands of his sacrifice, be convicted and comforted by the unfathomable love that demanded and accomplished Calvary, feel your knees knock as you behold the gasping Son drink dry the eternal vat of condemnation that was due you as he bears all of the burden of divine righteousness.

Stand in the shadow of the cross to learn of God, for it is here where the Son of God was set forth to amplify and supremely demonstrate all of the divine perfections.

Stand here and fall in love with this dangerously lovely God and his supremely beautiful Son. Stand here and marvel. Stand here and worship. Stand here and don’t move, you are right where God wants you.

10 Facts About People Who Experience Success or Failure in Life

Brian Dodd

September 5, 2022

Don’t you just grow tired of people who always have an excuse for their failures or blame someone else for their lot in life? Even the most compassionate leaders have a breaking point.

The picture shown above is one of my favorite images. It illustrates the differences between experiencing success or failure as much as anything I have seen.

As we study the picture, we discover 10 Facts About People Who Experienced Success Or Failure In Life:

A short cut today is the fastest way to ensure failure tomorrow.
The difference between success and failure is often not a large gap, it is often just a few inches.
People who experience success are often more willing to pay a greater price than those who fail.
Ironically, as shown in the picture, more people are positioned for success in life than failure. They often just don’t know it.
Everyone in this picture had the same opportunity to succeed or fail. Some chose to not pay the price or take advantage of their opportunity, one in particular.
Talent is not enough. Everyone in this picture is talented.
Someone is always watching you. Be sure your sins will find you out.
Your public success is determined by the price you are willing to pay in private.
Everyone has to make or remake the decision every day and every rep to not cut corners.
You should never make excuses if you experienced failure while not giving your absolute best. You know if you cut corners or not. Accept responsibility.

What lessons about success or failure did you glean from the picture provided?

This article originally appeared here.

Hey Pastor, You’re Doing It Wrong

Geoff Surratt

September 4, 2022

What a crazy time to be a pastor. The only thing you can be absolutely sure of is no matter what you do, or don’t do, church people will tell you you’re doing it wrong. If you ask the church to abide by your state’s health orders you are bowing down to Caesar, if you ignore the guidelines you don’t care if people die. If you express support for President Trump you don’t care about character, if you disagree with Republicans you don’t care about unborn babies. If you speak about racial reconciliation you are pushing a far left agenda, if you don’t you’re a racist.

To make it even more challenging, people have more channels than ever before to express their disdain for your decision making.

Verbal attacks on Sunday morning between services
Passive aggressive emails, voicemails or posts on Facebook
Tried but true gossip with like-minded church goers

And it goes well beyond the personal attacks; it is heart-breaking to see people you have cared for for years not only leave your church, but act and speak in ways that are clearly not what you’d expect to see in a maturing disciple. We are seeing people mold their faith into whatever best fits their personal beliefs and political persuasion, while high profile leaders egg them on.

It is not surprising we are seeing pastors leave their churches and, in some cases, leave vocational ministry entirely. There comes a point where the hurt is too much and the disappointment is too painful. Surely you can follow Jesus without ending every day feeling like you’ve been run over by an 18-wheeler. It is easy to relate to Elijah, who must’ve heard others say “you’re doing it wrong” when he ran from Jezebel.

‘Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”’ 1 Kings 19:10 (NLT)

That last line feels personal, “I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.” It was in that moment that God showed up for Elijah in a gentle whisper. Elijah wasn’t the only one left, and God was not done with him. God told Elijah to go back the way he came and he gave him important work to do on the way.

God is not done with you either. Sure, people are displeased, but that has always been the hazard of ministry. None of the Old Testament prophets won popularity contests, and Paul likely won “Most Likely to be Beheaded” at the first annual Apostle’s Conference.

The reality is God is using this pandemic to sift the church, to separate wheat from the chaff. I have no doubt when we emerge from this mess many of our churches will be smaller in attendance, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As painful as it is, I feel like we are getting a “do-over”, a second chance at leading people toward true discipleship.

So after hearing “you’re doing it wrong” again and again, where do we start? I wonder if we begin where the Reformers began when they looked at a church that had wondered far off the path of discipleship, the five solas of the Reformation. As a refresher, here is my crude synopsis, and recommendation:

Answer “You’re Doing It Wrong” With The Five Solas

1. Sola Scriptura

(“Scripture alone”): Our faith is not based on what we think is right or what we feel is fair and just, our faith is based on careful examination of God’s will as revealed in scripture. I recently saw a comment to a pastor’s post that we pray for President-elect Biden that said, “I know the Bible says we should pray for our leaders but…” We’ve lost sight of the fact there is no “but” in that sentence. We need to return to an understanding that scripture cannot be bent to our worldview.

2. Sola Fide

(“Faith alone”): We are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ. Our people need to understand there is no litmus test between the sinner and the cross; there is no political test to pass. Paul said if we confess with out mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead we will be saved. Full stop. The sentence “you can’t be a Christian if you [fill in the blank]” has no place in the church. Paul’s harshest words (see Galatians 5:12) were reserved for those who created hurdles to salvation.

3. Sola Gratia

(“Grace alone”): We are saved by the grace of God alone. We have to reorient our people to the concept of true grace rather than a merit-based ladder. A grace where black and white, rich and poor, Democrats and Republicans stand shoulder to shoulder “without God and without hope”. Ephesians 2:13 (NLT)

4. Solus Christus

(“Christ alone”): Jesus Christ alone is our Lord, Savior, and King. Our hope is not in charismatic pastors, powerful Presidents or political parties. Our hope is not in Carl Lentz, Jerry Falwell or Donald Trump. Our hope is in Christ alone. We need to help people understand that people will fail, but God will not.

5. Soli Deo Gloria

(“To the glory of God alone”): We live for the glory of God alone. We do not live to please people, to grow churches or to obtain fame. We do not live to promote an agenda or protect a legacy. If we are truly Christ-followers everything we do is only for the glory of God. If our words and actions do not reflect glory back to God we are way off track.

As difficult as it is to be a pastor right now, I wouldn’t want to live at any other time. God is trusting us to take up the mantle of Luther, Calvin and Zwingli. While we may hear “you’re doing it wrong,” we are called to defeat anger and meanness with love and compassion. To gently lead the sheep back to the sheepfold and to once again focus on becoming the perfect bride of Christ.

This article appeared here.

How Guilt and Shame Can Bring Us Closer to God

Scott Sauls

September 3, 2022

When Adam and Eve rejected God’s goodness and authority by eating the forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened and they suddenly recognized that they were naked. This new, hyper-self-conscious reality set in motion a series of actions, each one a strategy to hide the shame that they felt over what they had done.

The more they hid themselves, the more distant our first parents became from God and each other. Their nakedness, once a symbol of freedom, self-expression, and mutual enjoyment, suddenly became a symbol of shame. No longer feeling safe about being seen, they sewed together fig leaves to cover themselves.

To keep up the façade, Adam ran and hid from God. When God found him, Adam proceeded to make excuses and shift blame toward both God and Eve. To God, he says, “I was afraid when I heard your voice, so I hid.”

Quite audaciously, Adam continued, “The woman you gave me, she presented me with the fruit, and so I ate it.”

Eve also deflected responsibility, declaring that she ate the forbidden fruit because the serpent deceived her (see Genesis 3:1-13).

This theme of deflecting, blaming, and hiding has remained with us since Eden. Painfully aware of our own nakedness and shame, we, too, have become masters at cover up. Instead of fig leaves, we use other, more sophisticated strategies to cover the things about ourselves that we don’t want others to see. If anyone really gets to know us, if the real truth about us is exposed, surely no one—not even God—will love or desire us. If we let our guards down, we will surely be found out, abandoned, and forgotten.

And yet, we may be surprised to find an opposite dynamic also occurring in Scripture. Instead of running and hiding and creating masks with which to cover their nakedness, the Bible’s most exemplary saints shed their masks in favor of transparency and self-disclosure. Not only do they confess their sins, blemishes, and weaknesses privately to God; they also openly confess the worst things about themselves to each other and the world.

In the telling of his own story, Jonah reveals himself to be a grumpy, entitled, selfish, and hate-filled man (Jonah 1-4). Paul shares openly about his ongoing battle with coveting, bellowing out, “Wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:21-24) He also reflects on his prior life of being a blasphemer, persecutor, and violent man and concludes that he must be the worst sinner in the world (1 Timothy 1:12-17). Psalm 51, a beautiful and painfully transparent confession of sin, is introduced with the words, “A Psalm of David…after he had gone in to Bathsheba.” With these words, David admits his lust for Bathsheba and how he had adulterous intercourse with her while she was the wife of one of his most loyal soldiers and friends.

Jonah, Paul, and David were not seeking attention through melodramatic over-sharing. Rather, they saw the value of sometimes putting their worst foot forward as a way to show a watching world how long, high, wide and deep is the love of God. They wanted their readers, whoever they would be throughout the world and through the centuries, to become convinced that where sin abounds, the grace of God abounds even more (Romans 5:20). In other words, they viewed the transfer of grace as not only something that happens between a people and God, but also between people and people. It’s a community affair, not a private affair.

What Is a Disciple? 4 Transformations That Show the Way

Ray Hollenbach

September 3, 2022

What is a disciple? Dallas Willard provided one of the finest explanations I have ever seen: “A disciple is a person who has decided that the most important thing in their life is to learn how to do what Jesus said to do.” Argentinian pastor Juan Carlos Ortiz provided another great answer to “What is a disciple” when he said, “Discipleship is more than getting to know what the teacher knows. It is getting to be what he is.” Both these definitions are good news! We can be trained in discipleship.

Becoming a disciple of Jesus should bring four transformations: we are born from above; we are transformed by grace, we acquire his character; and we imitate his works. And look at the results that follow when believers learn the biblical answer to “What is a disciple?” The gospel stories reveal a ragtag group of Jesus-followers beset with infighting and petty pride. These flawed, fighting men became the apostles who turned the world upside down! (“Apostle” usually refers to the original band who followed Jesus. “Disciple” can refer to anyone who embraces Jesus as the Master Teacher of Life.)

The first believers demonstrated they were up to the task—not because they had their act together, but because the life of Jesus had been planted in them as an imperishable seed (1 Peter 1:23). Many Christians today think that being a disciple is a special calling set aside for super-saints. They have been led to believe that there is a difference between being a Christian and being a disciple. But Acts 11:26 reveals that the first disciples were so Christlike that other people began to call them “Christians.”

The seed would grow within them in at least four ways. We can learn the answer to “What is a disciple?” by looking at the transformation of Jesus’ first followers.

What Is a Disciple? 4 Transformations That Show the Way

1. Transformed by New Birth

The first disciples found themselves transformed by their new birth. They really were a new creation. Heaven’s DNA altered their very being. Formerly timid, self-absorbed, working-class, they became men who threatened the Roman Empire, just as their Master had done. So many modern Christians are troubled by their past, troubled by their sin, and troubled by their future. They’ve experienced little or no change. But if the power of God can assure our eternal destiny, shouldn’t it be able to impact our thoughts and actions here and now? That was the record of the early church.

2. Transformed by Grace

Most Christians see grace as a repeatable, sin-cleansing bargain. They find themselves repeating the sin-forgiveness-sin cycle over and over because they’ve missed God’s transforming grace. God’s grace is practical empowerment for discipleship. Titus 2:11-12 tells us that grace not only saves, it also transforms us by teaching us a new way to live.

3. Transformed in Character

The first disciples found themselves transformed in character. They demonstrated the character of Christ to a degree not possible by their own good intentions or human effort. Today, we are tempted to think we should “act better” because we are Christians. It’s a trap: we will only “act better” as long as our willpower holds up. (Just ask anyone who’s ever started a diet!) Eventually mere willpower fails us, even as it failed the apostles the night Jesus was arrested. True character change flows from the new birth the way spring water flows from the source. The transformation of new birth finds its way into our character by the hunger and thirst for the stuff of heaven. If a newborn child without hunger or thirst is desperately ill; why should it be any different in our life with Christ?

4. Transformed by Receiving Power for Ministry

The Apostles found themselves transformed by power for ministry. In John 20:22 Jesus filled them with the Holy Spirit, and as a result (over time) they became startlingly like Jesus in thought, word, and deed. Ordinary people declared the message of the Kingdom of God (as Jesus had done) and demonstrated the coming of that Kingdom with powerful actions—just as Jesus had done. By the Holy Spirit, the first believers discovered a transformation from the impossibilities of the flesh to the possibilities of heaven. What does it mean to do the works of Jesus? How we answer that question reveals our understanding of what it means to live “in Christ.” In his day, Jesus had a high view of his followers. He believed in them more than they believed in themselves. It’s still his day if we will let him have his way.

What is a disciple? Anyone who is willing to learn from Jesus Christ, the gentle and humble teacher. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) The first disciples accepted that yoke. They received forgiveness—and something more: they learned a new way to live, taught by the Master himself. The question is whether we receive the yoke as well.

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Is Your Church Committing Pastor Abuse? 5 Warning Signs

Nicholas Batzig

September 3, 2022

While busy exposing “pastoral abuse,” well-meaning believers may fall into the snare of “pastor abuse.” As one pastor recently observed: “For all the prominent ‘pastoral abuse’ cases, I hear far more about abusive congregations who chew up pastors.”

God has appointed pastors to carry out the weighty role of shepherding the souls of the people of God in the local church (Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 5:1–3). In one sense, there is no more important work to which God may call a man. Pastoral ministry is a high and noble calling. A reporter once asked Martyn Lloyd-Jones about all that he left behind in the medical field in order to become a minister of the gospel. Lloyd Jones responded, “I gave up nothing; I received everything. I count it the highest honor that God can confer on any man to call him to be a herald of the gospel.” That is the high view that believers are to have with regard to pastoral ministry.

No doubt, there are grave challenges and dangers associates with pastoral ministry. A pastor may professionalize ministry to such an extent that he functionally sets himself up as the CEO of a church. In turn, he may become heavy-handed in his leadership. A minister may ignore the needs of his own soul by so investing himself in the busyness of ministry. In turn, he will not be in a place to truly care for the people of God. Pastors may be put on a pedestal in a way that overshadows Jesus Christ, the only King and head of the Church. Additionally, pastors and elders can err in any number of decisions that they make. Even with a plurality of elders, church leaders will make mistakes, fail to act in the wisest manner possible, and even falter at times. Pastors are sinners with finite wisdom. There is only one sinless Shepherd. Nevertheless, God has appointed them to care for the flock by faithfully ministering His word, leading them in prayer, and administering the sacraments to them. As undershepherds, God has appointed pastors to be requisite to the health and well-being of the flock of the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:24).

Excoriating pastors for being abusive seems to have become par for the course these days. Much of this is in reaction to a failure on the part of churches to hold their leaders accountable. Usually, charges of abuse come in the context of a pastor who has supposedly bullied his elders, staff, or members of the church. Sometimes it is in relation to a pastor who is charged with covering sexual abuse in the church and has not done his utmost to defend the accuser and bring it to the proper authorities. Still, at other times, it may come in response to the perception of hyper-masculinity or oppressive patriarchalism that is said to foster a culture in which women are oppressed in the church and their gifts asphyxiated. In whatever legitimate form it may arise, Christians should be ready to decry pastoral abuse. However, as finger pointing commences online, the opposite danger inevitably surfaces. Under the notion of exposing “pastoral abuse,” well-meaning believers imperceptibly begin to fall into the snare of “pastor abuse.” A fellow pastor recently made the following important observation: “For all the prominent ‘pastoral abuse’ cases,” he said “I hear far more about abusive congregations who chew up pastors.”

While not all criticism of pastors is unjustified, “pastor abuse” is the unjustified criticism of and attack upon ministers of the gospel. In order to adequately warn against the danger of “pastor abuse,” we have to acknowledge some of the general ways in which such abuse occurs. Consider the following five realities about pastor abuse.

1. “Pastor abuse” may involve implicit or explicit disrespect for the God-ordained officers of a church or denomination.

This comes across in the way in which some speak demeaningly in public about church officers or denominational leaders on the whole. If the majority of what we say or write about pastors is negative or hyper-critical in nature, we have probably fallen into the snare of pastor abuse. If we incessantly criticize pastors–either in local or denominational settings–without praying for them and seeking their good, we may be abusing pastors. Biblically faithful pastors are constantly under the attack of the evil one. They need the prayers of the people of God. If we are intent on bringing down every pastor in a public exposé when we disagree with something they have said or done rather than seeking their good in prayer, we may be fueling pastor abuse. Again, pastors are to be held accountable; however, they are not to be perpetual objects of attack.

2. “Pastor abuse” may include demanding of pastors what one desires to see in the church (e.g., programs, meeting times, certain music, etc) in a way that undermines their role or delegated biblical authority.

In many cases, when such individuals don’t get their way they proceed to blame the pastor for every perceived deficiency in the church. It is common for discontent congregants to take out their frustrations on the pastor or pastors of the church. They will sometimes threaten to leave the church if they don’t get their way. Sadly, many professing believers want a church that will live the Christian life for them. When there is a spiritual deficiency in their own souls, they can easily begin to blame those in positions of spiritual authority. If we find ourselves giving pastors ultimatums about what we want to see in the church, we may be engaging in pastoral abuse.

Pastors have a clearly defined vocational description in Scripture. They are not called to solve everyone’s problems or cater to the whims and desires of the congregants. Certainly, they are called to listen to the flock. However, they have the arduous task of carrying a local church forward through prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:1–4). Whatever practical decisions they may make for congregational needs are adiaphora. In those cases, most congregants have taken vows to support the government of the local church and to study its peace and purity.

Additionally, when a pastor caters to the wants of a congregant or congregants, he will set himself up to be the object of disdain when the same individuals come to him with moving desires or complaints. We can be sure that if congregants make unreasonable or subjective demands of their pastors, they will continue to do so even after getting some of what they want. The adage, “never negotiate with terrorists,” is apropos in these settings. Even when pastors take a firm but loving stand, they are still the target of discontented and agenda driven congregants.

At Dave Ramsey’s Company, Some Sex Outside Marriage Was OK, Court Documents Show

Bob Smietana

September 2, 2022

(RNS) — In early 2019, Dave Ramsey, the finance guru and national radio host, began to think that he’d made a terrible mistake.

For months he and other leaders at Ramsey Solutions had been backing Chris Hogan, a bestselling author and speaker for the Franklin, Tennessee, media and publishing company, in a dispute with Hogan’s wife, who had accused him of adultery.

Ramsey had learned of the allegations against Hogan in the fall of 2018, on the eve of a major tour planned for Hogan’s “Everyday Millionaire” book. For Ramsey Solutions, the allegations presented a particularly thorny problem. Founded by Ramsey in 1992, the company offers financial advice — famously, stern warnings to avoid debt — with a Christian foundation. Much of its revenue comes from the personal finance courses and books it sells to churches and from his daily radio show.

The biblical ethic extended to Ramsey Solutions’ employees: Ramsey personally enforced the company’s “righteous living” rules, which, among other things, bar premarital and extramarital sex. Ramsey Solutions has been sued by former employees; one who was fired after higher-ups learned she was pregnant without being married, and another who alleges she was terminated for being a lesbian. (In the latter case, the company settled.)

But Hogan was a star, with his own slot on the company’s radio programming and multiple books. Rather than fire Hogan, Ramsey and other leaders let Hogan go out on the tour while setting up a “restoration plan” for his marriage.

That plan failed. And Ramsey began to worry that Hogan had been lying to him.

“I am afraid we are being played after we were warned that he is a world class liar and manipulator,” Ramsey wrote other leaders at his company in an email dated Feb. 25, 2019. The email was part of a trove of documents recently filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee for the lawsuit filed by Caitlin O’Connor, the former Ramsey employee who claims the company fired her for being pregnant and not married.

“We owe God to steward a huge situation with wisdom and thoroughness,” he went on to write. “If it breaks that he has done some huge things and it looks like we did not dig for truth, and checked boxes, we will not only have lost (name redacted), but will also have a legitimate PR problem of scale, because we covered up a horrible act to line our own pocketbooks.”

In this July 29, 2009, file photo, financial guru Dave Ramsey sits in his broadcasting studio in Brentwood, Tennessee. (AP Photo/Josh Anderson, File)

In this July 29, 2009, file photo, Dave Ramsey sits in his broadcasting studio in Brentwood, Tennessee. (AP Photo/Josh Anderson, File)

The email did not mention Hogan by name but described a situation identical to his. Hogan’s former wife, Melissa Hogan, confirmed in a phone call with Religion News Service that the email referred to her former husband, who later left Ramsey Solutions for violating company policy.

Ramsey Solutions did not respond to requests for comment. Neither did Chris Hogan.

The company had argued O’Connor was fired for having premarital sex in violation of Ramsey Solutions’ “righteous living” rule. The documents also include depositions of Ramsey and other company leaders, providing insight into the scrutiny that Ramsey’s nearly 1,000 employees are subjected to about their sex lives.

Lawyers for Ramsey Solutions and O’Connor have fought in court for months over the documents, with Ramsey lawyers arguing that they all should be sealed. O’Connor’s lawyer argued that she needed to refer to the depositions and other documents in responding to Ramsey’s motion for summary judgment in the case.

He Didn’t ‘Stop Believin.’ Journey’s Jonathan Cain Says God Inspired His Most Famous Songs

Jessica Lea

September 2, 2022

Singer and songwriter Jonathan Cain of the band, Journey, credits the title of the hit song, “Don’t Stop Believin,’” to his father. But it wasn’t until later in his life that Cain realized God was the true inspiration behind his life’s work.

Jonathan Cain’s Journey

While Jonathan Cain has played in a number of bands, he is arguably best known for being part of Journey and for co-writing, “Don’t Stop Believin,’” as well as “Faithfully,” “Open Arms,” and “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart).” Cain leads worship at his church and is married to Paula White, senior pastor of City of Destiny Church in Apopka, Florida, and spiritual advisor to former president Donald Trump.

In an interview with I Am Second, Cain said his “story begins” with his father. “When I was very young, I would go to church with him and watch him pray and he would pray so fervently that tears would come down his cheeks.”

Cain said he “wanted that so badly,” so he asked his dad, “Can I go with you to Jesus?” His dad explained that Cain needed to get his own relationship with Jesus.

The songwriter recounted several milestone moments in his childhood. Once, he almost drowned in a lake in Arkansas, but someone rescued him. Cain credited God with saving his life, adding, “It was also a wake-up call that God was preparing me to face life.”

When he was in third grade, Cain survived a fire in a Catholic school. “I watched 92 children die right next to the house of God and three nuns,” he said, “and I felt just so lost.” That tragedy was extremely confusing to Cain, leaving him wondering, “Did Jesus abandon us that day? What happened?”

After this, Cain’s father put him in music school, believing his son was “saved for something greater.”

“Music seemed to be a redemption for me,” said Cain, who found some initial success after joining the band, the Babys. But his dad saw each of his successes at the time as a “stepping stone to something greater,” to a place where Cain had not yet arrived.

At one point, Cain’s dog was hit by a car and the musician called his father to ask for money to pay the vet. During the call, Cain asked if his dad thought he should give up on “this music dream.” His father replied, “This is your vision. No, you’re not coming home. Stay the course. Don’t stop believing.”

Cain wrote the phrase in his lyric book. Five years later, he looked in his book for inspiration for a song, and “it was history.”

20 Truths About the Strength of Small Churches

Ed Stetzer

September 2, 2022

My friend Ron Klassen leads a key ministry to rural North America, the Rural Home Missionary Association. As you may know, we host the Rural Matters Institute at the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center. We’ve partnered together on a few things, and I had the privilege of speaking at their annual meeting a few years ago. So, I was glad to endorse his new book, “Maximize: Leveraging the Strengths of Your Small Church.”

Here is my endorsement:

There are healthy large churches and healthy smaller churches. There are also unhealthy examples of each. Yet it is true that although the vast majority of churches are small, the largest churches typically provide the examples we see expressed for effective ministry. Ron Klassen, a longtime advocate for small and rural churches, shows the hope we have in the small church by describing what a healthy small church looks like, what effective preaching sounds like, and what relational Christianity could be like when lived out in the context of a small church. It’s an excellent book and worth your time!

And, here are 20 curated quotes (truths) that will give you a feel for the book.

Introduction to Section One:

“The vast majority of pastors will never serve a church larger than 150 people. Perhaps this means we are mislabeling—maybe, instead of small-size churches, we should call them normal-size churches. For sure, if many of us are in it for life, we do well to make sure we have right thinking about small-church ministry. And, we do well to work at becoming small-church specialists.” (11)

Chapter 4:

“Perhaps the most noteworthy strength of a healthy small church, commonly acknowledged by many, is that it is personal and relational. Relationships are highly valued in the small church.” (38)

“Relationships matter. We are designed by God to live in healthy relationships. Outside of our homes, where might this better happen than in a small church?” (41)

Chapter 5:

“The small-church pastor preaches to faces he knows. The big-church pastor looks out on a sea of faces, most of whom he doesn’t know personally. Small-church pastors don’t preach to crowds; they preach to individuals.” (44)

“Youth ministry is one example of many of the personal kinds of ministry that can be done in a small church. I am suggesting that we maximize this relational strength—leverage it into a ministry for youth that in turn becomes a strength of the church.” (46)

Chapter 6:

“[I]n small-church ministry, we do well to make relationships a higher value than programs. We do well to be more relationship-driven than program-driven.” (48)

“A small-church pastor said, ‘It took me a long time to realize that interruptions don’t take me from ministry; they are opportunities for ministry.’ Being available like this requires working ahead on sermons and such, so that interruptions don’t put you in panic mode or pressure you into declining an invitation for coffee.” (49)

“How do we care for people’s lost souls? The gospel can be communicated through a program, or by attracting people to a church building, impressive worship service, or special event. Or, it can happen relationally.” (52)

Satan Impregnates Woman, Has Antichrist Daughter in New Disney Distributed FX Animated Series ‘Little Demon’

Jesse T. Jackson

September 2, 2022

little_demon_screengrab — Screengrab via YouTube @FX Networks

“Little Demon,” a new animated series on FX, which is distributed by Disney and streamed on Hulu, sets out to normalize paganism.

“13 years after being impregnated by Satan, a reluctant mother, Laura, and her Antichrist daughter, Chrissy, attempt to live an ordinary life in Delaware, but are constantly thwarted by monstrous forces, including Satan, who yearns for custody of his daughter’s soul,” the show’s description says.

The trailer shows images of hell, demons, and satanic imagery.

Parks and Recreation star Aubrey Plaza, who voices Laura, shared in an interview at San Diego’s Comic Con that she loves “that we are normalizing paganism. Laura is a pagan. She’s a witch. She’s jacked. She’s got to protect her daughter from demons. And she’s got to get her house in order. And so the combination of that is really fun.”

Award winning actor Danny DeVito voices Satan, and his daughter Lucy is an executive producer on the show, also voicing Chrissy.

Lucy said her favorite thing about her 13-year-old antichrist character in “Little Demon” is how “close to home you can take it and that like we were using it as like a metaphor for like real growing up. And I think that it’s really fun to like be all crazy and then, you know, take it down and sweet and sincere. So we were able to deal with both of those aspects of the character.”

Her father, Danny, described his Satan character as someone who picked a really “wonderful, sexy, outrageous, smart woman to have my baby with.” Danny said that, as Satan, he thinks it’s wonderful that Laura is allowing him to spend time with his daughter after 13 years of hiding her.

Creator Kieran Valla shared why they landed on the antichrist character being 13, saying, “We eventually found that 13 was like the best place to kind of center the story just because it was like the most thematically rich area to kind of go into.”

Creator Seth Kirschner shared the intentionality they took to ensure the pagan animated series was focused on the family dynamic.

“It’s really always about them,” he said. “We just found like somehow having that in the comedic and horror world would just be such a really fun blend.”

TobyMac Finds ‘Beautiful Assurance’ in Son’s Faith

Music, Faith, Community Help TobyMac Recover

What Do We Know About Sex Offenders?

Answer “You’re Doing It Wrong” With The Five Solas

1. Sola Scriptura

2. Sola Fide

3. Sola Gratia

4. Solus Christus

5. Soli Deo Gloria

What Is a Disciple? 4 Transformations That Show the Way

1. Transformed by New Birth

2. Transformed by Grace

3. Transformed in Character

4. Transformed by Receiving Power for Ministry

1. “Pastor abuse” may involve implicit or explicit disrespect for the God-ordained officers of a church or denomination.

2. “Pastor abuse” may include demanding of pastors what one desires to see in the church (e.g., programs, meeting times, certain music, etc) in a way that undermines their role or delegated biblical authority.

Jonathan Cain’s Journey

Introduction to Section One:

Chapter 4:

Chapter 5:

Chapter 6:

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