The Benefits of Online Small Groups

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August 23, 2022

thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

While some people may feel forced into their groups meeting online, there are some definite benefits of online small groups. Online small groups aren’t new. After all, I started my first online group on CompuServe in 1994. They aren’t new, but online small groups are next.

Apart from the technology, there are many commonalities between online small groups and offline small groups, yet they are not exactly the same. In both types of groups, the members want to become more Christlike, seek spiritual answers, or find support and recovery. Most small groups are formed around a Bible study with a focus on applying the truth of God’s Word to their lives. The members are there to deepen their relationships with each other, serve together, and reach others for Christ. Online or offline these group purposes are very similar.

There are some distinct difference, however. In an offline group, there are usually side conversations before or after the meeting, where in an online group, everyone is all in one video conference, conference call, or other format. All of the conversation involves everyone. Of course, group members can discuss things offline as well.

The Benefits of Online Small Groups

1. Online small groups are portable.

Group members can gather regardless of their geographical location. They can become a group even if they live in different cities, states, or countries. And, if the group members move or have to travel, the group is still available to them wherever they go.

2. Online small groups can keep snowbirds connected.

A snowbird in the U.S. is someone who spends the summers in a northern state and the winters in a southern state. Having worked with churches both north and south over the years, often the arrival or departure of their snowbirds factors into their small group launches. With online groups, snowbirds can stay connected to their northern or southern group regardless of their location.

3. It’s a great way for people to dip their toe into small groups.

They might start with an online asynchronous group, like a private Facebook group, where they communicate with the group through a message board. Eventually they may warm to the idea of meeting via audio or video. But, initially the anonymity helps them get started.

4. Online small group meets are typically shorter than offline groups.

There is no travel time to the group meeting or back home afterward. Groups can meet at various times of day. Group members may want to meet a little later in the evening after their children have gone to bed. That takes care of the childcare issue. The only downside is that members will have to bake their own brownies.

5. Online small groups shouldn’t be limited to meeting online only.

Groups can meet offline for socials, service projects, or open houses to invite new members, if they live in the same geographic area. If group members have only known each other online, then the first offline meeting could be a little awkward, but they will get over that awkwardness quickly. They know each other!

Some people complain of Zoom fatigue. We’ve heard this a lot during the Coronavirus pandemic. Part of me wonders if Zoom fatigue is the replacement for the old “I don’t have time for a small group” excuse. The good news is that online groups can meet on video platforms, audio platforms, or asynchronous message boards. If members just can’t look at another computer, they could talk on the phone. If they are tired of video conference, then they could write back and forth in a private Facebook group. Most people are on Facebook anyway, why not use it for their spiritual growth.

The Coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying quarantine showed churches that there is a whole world they can reach online. An online group can provide community to people who participate in the church’s online worship services. Several ministries like Celebrate Recovery at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California and the Alpha Course at Holy Trinity Brompton in London, England have reported increased participation from a more diverse group of people once they put their groups online.

Whether an online small group is a necessity or an opportunity for you, you will discover a new way to serve others and to grow with your online group. Online small groups are not perfect, but then again, no small group is perfect – online or offline.

This article originally appeared here.

Celebrate Recovery for Youth: How This Program Helps Students

By

Dennis Beckner

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August 22, 2022

Is Celebrate Recovery for youth? Will high schoolers (or even junior highers) benefit from the program? I hear those questions often from adults who attend Celebrate Recovery (CR). The format of our church’s small groups is similar to CR, with a large-group and small-group session. But the curriculum is written specifically for students. It features the same guidelines and principles, just a different delivery.

What I think people really wonder is this: Can the small-group sessions really work for students?

Why I Love Celebrate Recovery for Youth

While leading junior high girls, I’ve learned so much from them. For example, no differences exist between the hurts, hang-ups, and habits of adults and teens. Actually, the only difference is that kids are finding healing earlier in their lives. They’re desperately looking for an outlet to express their pain and emotions.

The sharing in small groups is honest and deep. Confidentiality allows students to share issues they feel they can’t share elsewhere. Many times I openly cry with girls as they tell their story. Their problems and pain are very real. This may be hard for adults to accept. But youth are very aware of everything that goes on in their environment, and it deeply affects them.

The best part about Celebrate Recovery for youth is seeing the life transformation. Out of all this pain, I see students forgive others and makes amends to people they’ve hurt. They break off unhealthy friendships, break addictions, and experience victory and joy. This is proof that the program works for kids who stay with it.

A Firm Foundation

In Celebrate Recovery for youth, teens learn how to process their feelings and understand their actions. They gain a firm foundation on God’s truth for the rest of their lives.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that they won’t experience pain and problems as they enter adulthood. However, I hope they’ll always take the tools they’ve learned and apply them to their lives. So, yes! A Celebrate Recovery for youth program is very appropriate and relevant. It works for both junior high and high school students.

I became a leader to serve and be a blessing to others. But my students have blessed me much more than they could ever know.

I’ll end with this verse: “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12

Thanks for letting me share.

Torie

Bio Hi, I’m Torie and I lead the Jr. High girls for The Landing at Saddleback Church. I’m so excited to be part of this great ministry. Before this, I had been attending Celebrate Recovery for over a year and had just completed a step study. I think I was the only brave soul who wanted to lead the Jr. High girls! I can honestly say Jr. Highers are the best! It’s been a wonderful blessing to be part of God’s plan in changing students’ lives. God bless!

‘Love Kept Me Going All These 43 Years of Painful Preaching,’ Rick Warren Shares During His and Kay’s Farewell Message

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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August 22, 2022

rick warren — Screenshot via YouTube @Saddleback Church

On Sunday (August 21), Rick and Kay Warren, founders and pastors of Saddleback Church for the past 43 years, delivered a farewell message as they prepared to pass the baton to Andy and Stacie Wood.

“It’s been our privilege to love you, and to pray for you, and to serve you all these years,” Rick told Saddleback Church, which has 14 California campuses and averages 23,000 worshipers a week.

Rick explained that as he and his wife got ready for their last sermon together, it had been the hardest message they ever prepared, because they have too much to say and share. Rick will give his last sermon as Saddleback Church’s senior pastor next week.

Rick shared that he visited his archives on “Life Lessons,” which he had written down but hadn’t looked at in awhile. The senior pastor discovered that he had written over 6,500 sermons, Bible studies, devotionals, small group messages, and video studies.

A “Lessons Learned” folder on Rick’s computer has over 16,000 documents. Kay labeled the abundance of lessons as a lot of “future books.”

Kay Warren’s Message

Kay shared “the bedrock of her personal adventure” in being a Christ follower, saying, “If I never got to say anything else to you, it would be this: say yes to God—That’s it.”

Kay taught out of Mark 8, where Jesus told His followers to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. Kay shared that comfort, control, and fear get in the way of her saying “Yes” to God, pointing out that many others can probably relate.

“Somewhere in my growing up, I grew up with the fear that if I really said yes to God, I mean if I really just sold out to him and said, God, you can have everything there is to have; I’m yours and you can do with me as you want; I was really afraid that if I ever did that kind of a level of commitment, that the bottom would fall out,” Kay said.”That would be the day that I’d get the call about my health or that would be the day that some tragedy would happen.”

Kay shared that she has had cancer, her mother had Alzheimer’s, her daughter-in-law had a brain tumor, and she lost her son. But none of that happened because she said “Yes” to God. These things happened because we live in a world where evil exists.

Quoting Beth Moore, Kay said, “Evil will come because evil will come. And those who have not withheld any part of themselves will find that God is enough when evil comes.”

Human Remains Found in Abandoned Milwaukee Church Building

By

Stephanie Martin

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August 22, 2022

human remains Milwaukee church — Screengrab via FOX6

At a long-abandoned building that was once the site of Milwaukee’s Genesis Missionary Baptist Church, a “mostly skeletonized” body was discovered earlier this month. YouTube vlogger Matthew Nunez, who had been filming deserted structures in the area, called police after finding the human remains on August 10.

Investigators are now asking for the public’s help in identifying the individual. And neighbors are urging community leaders to prevent future tragedies and make good use of empty church buildings.

Authorities Seek Help Identifying Human Remains

According to investigators, the body is of a 5-foot, 9-inch African American man. He had been wearing multiple layers of clothes, including two jackets. No weapons, drugs, or injuries were evident. The medical examiner’s office has been unable to pinpoint a time of death.

Although most of the man’s body was mummified, investigators were able to identify several tattoos, including the word “KING” & the letters “SAVA.” No matches have yet been made with missing-persons or tattoo databases.

The man was also wearing a red allergy alert bracelet and five rings. Authorities have shared photos of the jewelry, hoping to secure some leads on the man’s identification.

Although the YouTuber found a cellphone in the building, investigators determined that it belonged to someone who is still alive.

“We’d like to be able to provide some type of closure to that family that we have here,” says Amy Michalak, lead forensic investigator at the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office. “We have found their loved one.”

Anyone with information about the individual is asked to call the ME at (414) 223-1200 or local police at (414) 935-7360.

Neighbor: Use Old Buildings to ‘Benefit Our Community’

The building, located in Milwaukee’s Harambee neighborhood, was zoned for multiple use. The church occupied the ground floor, while the second floor apparently contained bedrooms or apartments. Neighbors say the building had been abandoned for about 15 years.

Investigators describe the structure as “disgusting,” unsafe, and in an “extreme state of disrepair.” The building’s walls and ceiling were reportedly crumbling, and garbage was scattered throughout the property.

‘Manhood Will Not Be So Easily Shaven’: Desiring God Article Advocating for Beards Met With Humor, Criticism

By

Dale Chamberlain

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August 22, 2022

greg morse desiring god — Photo by Srdjan Popovic (via Unsplash)

On Monday (August 22), Desiring God published an article titled “O Beard Where Art Thou,” wherein Greg Morse argued that growing a beard is a matter of theological significance. Morse is a staff writer for the John Piper founded media nonprofit and a graduate of Bethlehem College & Seminary, where Piper serves as chancellor.

Morse Argues for the Theology of Beard Growing

Morse began his argument for beards by recounting a story from the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel in which Joab, the general of King David, prepared for battle against the Ammonites.

The reason for the battle was the newly crowned King Hanun of the Ammonites having rejected David’s offer of a diplomatic relationship between the two nations. The manner in which Hanun rejected the offer was particularly offensive. He cut the clothes of David’s messengers in half, from top to bottom, also shaving off half their beards.

In the Ancient Near East, shaving off half a man’s beard was not merely a hurtful prank. Rather, it was symbolic of an all out assault on his very manhood. To David, this was a direct challenge to his throne, an act of war.

“First, in Israelite culture, the beard served as a sign of mature masculinity. All Israelite men grew beards; God commanded it, ‘You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard’ (Leviticus 19:27),” Morse wrote. “Beards were a facial billboard for manhood, distinguishing men, at first glance, from boys and women.”

Reflecting on the legacy of beards from the time of David onward, Morse went on to say, “The connection between manhood and unmown cheeks today has flowed down through church history, like oil running down the beard of Aaron (Psalm 133:2).”

Morse then quoted Saint Augustine, Charles Spurgeon, and C.S. Lewis, citing their love of beards as evidence for his belief that beard-growing is and ought to be normative masculine behavior. (Notably, Lewis was known as a clean shaven man.)

Conceding that even “the shaved can be saved,” Morse offered condolences and reassurance to men who are unable to grow full beards. He also made it clear that some men who grow beards are “living in basements, addicted to video games and porn.”

“But here we walk a fine line,” Morse nevertheless argued. “Does this then relegate the beard, that ancient landmark, to a matter of obsolete decoration, of mere preference?”

Morse went on to argue that beards are a vital aspect of the God-given distinction between men and women, a distinction that today’s culture all too often seeks to muddle.

Former Missouri Church Elder Convicted in Wife’s Killing

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AP News

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August 22, 2022

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A former elder in a Kansas City, Missouri, church was convicted Friday of killing his wife four years ago.

Robert Lee Harris was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 38-year-old Tanisha Harris at the couple’s home in Overland Park, Kansas.

The couple was active in Repairers Kansas City, a nondenominational church. where Tanisha Harris was an associate pastor.

Police went to the couple’s apartment in Overland Park on Jan. 8, 2018, to investigate a report of a domestic disturbance.

Officers found Robert Harris alone in the apartment and left. They returned when he reported his wife missing. Her body was found later near Raymore, Missouri.

The couple had been married 18 months when Tanisha Harris was killed.

Harris will be sentenced Nov. 3.

This article originally appeared on APNews.com.

California Church Shooting Suspect Pleads Not Guilty

By

Amy Taxin

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August 22, 2022

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A Las Vegas man pleaded not guilty in a California court on Friday to charges that he killed one person and wounded five in a shooting at a Taiwanese American church meeting.

David Chou, 68, was ordered held without bail by Orange County Superior Court Judge Cynthia M. Herrera.

Chou is charged with murder with an enhancement for a hate crime in the killing of a 52-year-old doctor who sought to stop the attack on a May lunch gathering of largely older members of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church. He is also charged with five counts of attempted murder.

Authorities have said Chou was motivated to attack the gathering of churchgoers in Laguna Woods by hatred of Taiwan stemming from the years he lived there as a boy after his family was forced from mainland China when Communists took control.

During his arraignment, Chou appeared in a caged section of the courtroom wearing black rimmed glasses, a face mask and yellow jail jumpsuit.

Chou spoke with the assistance of a Mandarin interpreter using a headset.

At times, he told the judge in English he couldn’t hear through the headset and was unsure what she wanted him to do. She repeated her questions, which the interpreter relayed and he responded through the interpreter.

The district attorney’s office declined comment after the hearing and so did Chou’s attorney.

He is due back in court for a pre-trial hearing on Oct. 21.

This article originally appeared here.

Demolition of Shuttered Church Begins After Long Battle

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AP News

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August 22, 2022

philadelphia church — FILE - This Feb. 23, 2016 file photo shows the St. Laurentius Roman Catholic church in Philadelphia. Demolition of a shuttered 19th-century church in Philadelphia has begun following a yearslong battle by some neighbors to save the crumbling structure. Crews last week surrounded the 140-year-old St. Laurentius Church in Fishtown with scaffolding, fencing and barricades. Neighbors gathered Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022 to get their final look at the structure. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Demolition of a shuttered 19th-century church in Philadelphia has begun following a yearslong battle by some neighbors to save the crumbling structure.

Crews last week surrounded the 140-year-old St. Laurentius Church in the Fishtown neighborhood with scaffolding, fencing and barricades. Neighbors gathered Wednesday to get their final look, taking pictures and pointing to the huge cross, once affixed to the building, that lay against a fence, KYW reported.

“I don’t want to see a church, regardless of denomination, to come down,” Margaret Ann Ramsey told KYW. “It’s always been part of the area, so it’s sad, especially for the people who belong to this parish.”

Michael Johnson of HC Site Construction told WTXF-TV that the work to dismantle the 150-foot spires is being done by hand, with material dropped through chutes to the basement to prevent vibrations from truck activity.

The city’s department of licenses and inspections issued a demolition permit almost a year ago, but officials said relocating utility poles and wires ringing the property took longer than expected. Crews also were told to wait until summer because of classes at a Catholic school next door, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

St. Laurentius is on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, and the Philadelphia Historical Commission has ordered the developer to preserve or rebuild the church’s front face in any new development. A zoning permit for a proposed eight-story 49-unit multifamily residential building is being appealed, the newspaper reported.

The church was built in 1882 with the donations of Polish immigrants. In 2014, the archdiocese of Philadelphia announced its closure, citing “vertical cracks” and a “heavily deteriorated” facade that threatened collapse absent a $3.5 million restoration. Supporters said their estimates totaled only $700,000. The historical commission added the church to the city’s historic register in 2015.

Concerns arose in 2019, when pieces of the facade crumbled, in one case with 6,000 pounds (2,720 kilograms) of rock breaking off a spire, puncturing steel scaffolding and falling into a fenced safety zone around the church, prompting closure of the nearby school for two days.

The archdiocese spent $135,000 to stabilize the building, and city inspectors said it appeared to be in better shape, but later two engineers hired by the new owner concluded that St. Laurentius had decayed substantially, with one predicting “at least partial collapse” within a decade. A structural engineer hired by the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia said the building had remained standing despite dire assessments by a number of engineers.

This article originally appeared on APNews.com.

Afghanistan Christians in Hiding, Denied Aid Year After U.S. Withdrawal

By

Diana Chandler

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August 22, 2022

KABUL, Afghanistan (BP) – Christians in Afghanistan are forced into greater secrecy and largely cut off from humanitarian aid, International Christian Concern (ICC) said in its report on the first anniversary of U.S. withdrawal from the Muslim country.

ICC’s estimate of 10,000 to 12,000 Christians in the country is the same as estimates immediately before the Taliban gained rule there, despite early reports of a mass exodus of Christians who already worshiped in secret there.

With adherence to Christianity and other minority religions punishable by death under the Taliban’s strict Sharia law, many Christians would like to leave the country but have no safe way out, ICC said in its report that urges a long-term strategy in international humanitarian aid.

“Most Christians see no future inside Afghanistan. Emigration is a highly restricted privilege enjoyed only by a select few,” ICC said in the report. “Widows, unmarried women, and the elderly are among those with the least opportunity to leave, creating an untenable environment where they must choose between staying at risk of their lives or fleeing illegally.”

Christians, though ostracized by family and friends, enjoyed limited freedom to serve their immediate communities under U.S. occupation, ICC said, but are further ostracized in the current climate.

“Whether they remain inside Afghanistan or migrate elsewhere, Afghan Christians cannot seek out humanitarian aid at the same capacity and through the same channels as other Afghans,” ICC Senior Association Manager Claire Evans said upon the release of the report. “Consequently, providing humanitarian assistance to Afghan Christians requires a long-term strategy that matches the fluidity of the situation on the ground.”

Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), a global ministry to persecuted Christians, said many Christians have intentionally remained behind.

“You might have heard, a year ago after the fall of Kabul, that every follower of Christ in Afghanistan had fled the country, been killed or was hiding while trying to get across the border,” VOM spokesperson Todd Nettleton told Baptist Press. “This is simply not true. Bold believers in Christ intentionally made the decision to stay in the country – knowing full well their lives were at risk – to serve their countrymen and to continue to share the Gospel.”

VOM encourages prayer for Christians remaining in Afghanistan.

In other advocacy, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), will host a virtual hearing Aug. 24 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern, focused on religious persecution in Afghanistan, U.S. policy and recommendations for U.S. government action.

“The Taliban’s imposition of their narrow interpretation of Sunni Islam on all of society poses a grave threat to Afghans who interpret Islam differently, who hold a different faith, or who choose to have no faith at all,” USCIRF said in announcing the webinar. “In addition, despite continued promises to protect all ethnic and religious communities residing in Afghanistan, the Taliban de facto government has been unable to protect religious minorities against attacks from Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K). While some religious minority communities face the threat of extinction, others struggle to practice their faith in hiding due to fear of reprisal.”

In addition to death for apostasy, Sharia law imposes harsh punishments for other actions deemed criminal, including stoning to death or a specified number of lashes by flogging for adultery; crucifixion, death, amputation or exile for highway robbery; flogging or beating for immodest dress; and execution by various means for murder and homosexuality, USCIRF reported.

3 Principles for Partnership from the Bible Translation Movement

By

Vicky Mixson

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August 22, 2022

I have always enjoyed African proverbs, and one thing I have noticed is that there are a lot of African proverbs about collaboration:

If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.

Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable.

A boat doesn’t go forward if each one is rowing their own way.

As we all know, the concept of partnership is also very biblical. It is core to who God is as He works in partnership as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the rebuilding of the wall in Nehemiah 4, God’s people worked together. In Ecclesiastes 4, we are told that a cord of three strands is “not easily broken” and that “two are better than one.” Romans 12 tells us about the many parts of the body all working together. And of course, Jesus Himself chose to live life with His disciples, in community, even when it slowed up the journey or put a pause on the important mission of proclaiming the coming Kingdom of God.

Collaboration is a call to relationship and to see and invest in the Imago Dei in others. Yes, we partner for the mission we are on as God’s people. But equally, we partner because God has partnered with us simply because of who we are — His children. We are not just objects to be used; we are children whom He wants to spend time with. Collaboration is more than working together toward a common mission — it is working together because we see value in how God has wired other people.

I can think of many incredible examples of God’s people partnering together — in business, in church planting, in education and the arts, and in community activism and seeking justice and shalom for our world. But it is in the area of Bible translation where I have encountered collaboration that transcends anything I could have even hoped for this side of heaven. Partnership across ethnicities and races and cultures and geographic settings can be challenging, and yet the rewards far outweigh the slower pace involved in a partnership-driven mission.

Below are three partnership principles I’ve learned throughout my years at Wycliffe that I believe can work for any organization.

1. Find the Third Space.

Each of us comes to a partnership or venture from a certain background that we often feel comfortable or familiar with. This could be our language, our talents, our organizational power, our theology, etc. Years ago, I was part of a Wycliffe USA delegation invited to South Africa to meet with leaders of other Bible translation agencies who serve in various African countries.

We all liked each other, but we soon realized that we were working in proximity, not necessarily in partnership. We were each operating from our own safe place based on our organizational histories, values, and perspectives. We knew we needed to find that third space where interdependent cooperation is encouraged. The third space is where all parties demonstrate mutual respect, learning, influence, and benefits.

As we each shared our concerns, trust and confidence were deepened. We learned that transparency needs to exist, true relationship and reflection need to happen, we must be committed to mutual learning and interaction, and we must have ample joy and laughter.

2. Multiply Your Reach.

When collaboration is done well and the third space is created, our goals have no limits! Those of us in the Bible translation movement see this all the time as different people from different backgrounds work together to get the Bible into complex and varied languages. In 1975, Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC, now Cru) created the Jesus Film with the goal that everyone who watched it would understand the love of Jesus. Ten years into that effort, Wycliffe partnered with CCC to have local speakers help translate the film into their context.

Today, the Jesus Film has been translated into more than 1,900 languages. Through the collaboration, both organizations have been able to reach more people with the gospel message than either could have done alone. Multiplying never happens in isolation, and the more we work together, the more likely we can do even more than we could have imagined.

Devotions for Church Leadership Teams – A 3-Part Plan

By

David Santistevan

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August 22, 2022

Worship leader, when you hear “team devos,” what comes to mind? Devotions for church leadership teams? If I’m honest, I cringe a little. It’s not that I don’t love Jesus or don’t love learning or discussing. It’s just that devotions for church leadership teams can be just plain awkward.

Oftentimes, it’s a leader launching off into a monologue that no one understands while the rest of the team daydreams of when it’s over.

But I’m not content to leave it at that. I crave to know God deeper. I long for my team to grow. I look forward to discussions around what God is showing us.

So I’m going to share with you a three-part strategy for devotions for church leadership teams I’ve been using recently in hopes that if your team devos are stale, it can fuse some life into them. Scheduling devotions for church leadership teams isn’t enough. It needs to be structured in a way that keeps God’s Word at the center and fosters conversation around what He is saying.

Devotions for Church Leadership Teams

This plan is meant to be short—no more than 15 minutes. The shorter and more strategic your devo plan is, the more likely it will be retained in the hearts and mind of your team.

1. Debrief

The first thing I like to do when it comes to devos is to debrief the worship service we just lead. I lead with the question: “What did you notice God was doing in the room?” This forces your team to think beyond music to the moving of the Holy Spirit. Ideally, this works best when you have devos right after a worship service. But even if this is during a midweek rehearsal, you can still debrief the previous weekend or simply ask, “What have you been noticing about our worship services?”

2. Dive

The next section is about taking a “dive” into Scripture—allowing God’s Word to speak. Choose a Scripture verse or a Scripture passage and read it. Maybe you want to do a systematic reading of a certain book of the Bible, or just a random selection of Scriptures. In this moment, I’m trying to connect what we do as a worship team with the Word of God.

3. Discuss

The final section is all about discussion. I find the best team devos are when the team talks together rather than the leader delivering a sermon. Based on the Scripture passage, select a discussion question that is easy to answer and allow your team to dialogue. Resist the urge to talk the whole time. Allow people to share their hearts, no matter how brilliant or insightful their response is.

How do you approach devotions for church leadership teams?

5 Ways To Know You Are Ready To Lead This Fall

By

Dan Reiland

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August 21, 2022

Are you feeling rested, refreshed, and ready for the fall ministry season?

Over many conversations, it seems like there is a mixed bag of responses such as:

I tried to get a break over the summer but didn’t really get one, and I’m tired.
I sense God’s presence, and we are ready!
I’m looking forward to the fall, but I have some big problems to face.
I’m rested but feeling unclear about our direction for the fall.

How would you respond?

As a leader, it’s important to have trusted confidants to talk to, a few people who are safe, smart, and strong. Advisors you know you can be honest with. At times they are literally a lifeline to you.

It’s good to get benchmarks from other trusted leaders; that helps clarify your perspective but be careful of comparison. You need to be solidly in touch with how you and your ministry are doing and focus there.

The fall season will soon be here, and we all want to see life change and growth. But while your programs are important, they are not the primary driving factor. Instead, God’s presence and your leadership make the difference.

There are many things you will encounter this fall.

Here’s a short list.

Problems to solve
Volunteers to recruit
Vision to cast
Resources to raise
Guests to care for
Conflict to resolve
Initiatives to launch

These things require your attention, but don’t get sucked into pouring all your energy there; save some energy for you.

The following 5 “inner readiness indicators” will help you focus on what will truly help you achieve your ministry desires and goals.

5 Inner Readiness Indicators:

1. Anticipation Over Uncertainty

We all have areas of uncertainty that we think about, and that’s ok if our anticipation of the future is stronger and more positive than our concern about the unknown.

As a leader, it’s important that you can see the good now and, in the future, no matter how difficult things get.

This allows you to possess authentic anticipation, a sense of looking forward to what’s next, like your ministries, this fall. A leader’s positive vision-focused anticipation of the near future is the beginning of momentum.

You are praying for it, looking for it, anticipating it.

Can you “see” in advance the good that will happen as you and your teams engage the people you serve?

This is the activation of your divine partnership with God.

Anticipating progress toward your vision and life change in people demonstrates your faith that God is with you.

This is not a cousin to “name-it-and-claim-it,” and it doesn’t wipe away difficulties.

It is about trusting God and maintaining a hopeful spirit that mirrors the promise of Scripture.

Rick Warren Successor Andy Wood Apologizes for 2021 Mark Driscoll Interview; Critics Push Back

By

Jessica Lea

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August 19, 2022

Andy Wood, named as Rick Warren’s successor at Saddleback Church after Warren retires, has apologized for inviting Mark Driscoll to speak at the 2021 Echo Leadership Conference. In July, Saddleback said Wood was cleared of allegations of abusive leadership, but critics say there are still too many unanswered questions.

“In the past I interviewed Mark Driscoll to help pastors learn from his mistakes,” Wood tweeted on Friday, Aug. 12. “Since then additional controversy and pain has come out. My choice hurt and confused many people. I regret the pain, confusion & distraction this caused. I humbly apologize for my mistake and error.”

Andy Wood’s Interview With Mark Driscoll

On June 2, Rick Warren, founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, announced that he would be retiring and passing the baton to Andy Wood in September. At the time, Wood was the lead pastor of Echo.Church in San Jose, California.

Following that announcement, former staffers at Echo.Church publicly alleged that Wood was guilty of abusive leadership. On June 12, Saddleback announced that the Vanderbloemen Search Group, which did the initial background check on Wood, had conducted a follow-up review on the pastor and had cleared him. In an elder email sent July 11, Saddleback said that Vanderbloemen and another firm called Middlebrook & Goodspeed had both cleared Wood of the allegations against him.

More recently, some have raised concerns regarding the appearance of disgraced pastor Mark Driscoll at the Echo Leadership Conference held May 20, 2021. Driscoll resigned from Mars Hill Church in Seattle in 2014, avoiding a restoration process proposed by his elders, and the church disbanded months later. Christianity Today’s popular podcast “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” documents the church’s story, along with many accounts of abusive leadership on the part of Driscoll.

Two years after leaving Mars Hill, Driscoll founded The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, and reports again surfaced of Driscoll being an abusive leader. In July 2021, 39 former elders at Mars Hill released a statement exhorting Driscoll to step down from leadership at his new church. “We are saddened to learn that Mark Driscoll has continued in a pattern of sinful actions toward staff members and congregants as he pastors The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona,” they said.

Former Echo.Church staffer Jason Adams-Brown speculates Wood’s statement that “additional controversy and pain has come out” since the 2021 Echo Leadership Conference, refers to “the podcast” and implies that Andy Wood was unaware of Driscoll’s abusive leadership prior to the release of the series. Adams-Brown is most likely referring to “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill”; the first episode was released on June 21, 2021. However, media outlets had reported on the allegations from Trinity Church members against Driscoll at least by May 10 before the conference took place.

Bob Smietana, national religion writer for Religion News Service, reported on Aug. 1 that during Driscoll’s interview with Wood at the Echo conference, Driscoll “described the troubles at his former church as a ‘board war’ and blamed the devil, social media and secular culture for causing church conflict.” According to Smietana, Driscoll supported the idea that certain church leaders should be free of elder or board oversight. Wood praised this concept, as well as Driscoll’s ministry, describing the pastor as a mentor.

Brooklyn Pastor Challenges Comedian D.L. Hughley to Boxing Match, Vows To Knock Him out ‘In the Name of Jesus’

By

Dale Chamberlain

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August 19, 2022

Lamor Whitehead D.L. Hughley — Left: screengrab via Instagram; Right: Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Flashy Brooklyn pastor Bishop Lamor Whitehead continues to make headlines nearly a month after he and his wife were robbed of $1 million in jewelry during a church service, a crime that was captured on video via the church’s livestream.

Since the time of that robbery, it has come to light that Whitehead has been accused of stealing $90,000 in retirement savings from one of his own congregants, according to a lawsuit filed last year. Whitehead previously served five years in prison for identity theft and grand larceny.

Whitehead has publicly defended himself against the accusations of fraud. He has also responded to ongoing criticism regarding his lavish lifestyle, growing visibly upset with media outlets and personalities that have commented on his expensive attire and alleged financial misgivings, rather than focusing solely on the robbery he and his wife endured.

In one such exchange, Whitehead joined the Instagram live stream of pastor and media personality Larry Reid to take him and his guest Geneses Warren to task for making fun of the backdrop on his church’s stage, which they saw in the now infamous live stream wherein Whitehead was robbed.

During that heated exchange, Whitehead employed homophobic language to insult Reid. He insulted Warren on the basis of her weight.

Now Whitehead has challenged comedian D.L. Hughley to a prize fight in the boxing ring following a radio interview in which he felt disrespected. Hughley had apparently criticized Whitehead for his expensive clothes, jewelry, and car.

Whitehead took to Instagram to deliver the challenge.

“Let me tell you this: this bishop here, you will not walk over me. You will not villainize me. And you will not disrespect me,” Whitehead said.

Referring to Hughley, Whitehead continued, “I call him Napoleon, because I guess he’s short, right, and he’s got a Napoleon complex. And all he did was just come at me, come at me, come at me with disrespectful tone.”

Despite a ‘Messy’ Ministry Path, Beth Moore Says Quitting Isn’t an Option

By

Stephanie Martin

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August 19, 2022

beth moore — Screenshot from YouTube / @Preston Sprinkle

For the 1,000^th episode of his podcast “Theology in the Raw,” biblical scholar and author Preston Sprinkle had a candid conversation with Beth Moore, calling her the “queen of evangelicalism.” Moore, a prolific author and Bible teacher, publicly left the Southern Baptist Convention last spring, citing sexism and misogyny as key factors.

The title of the episode, “On ‘Going Home,’” refers to a 2019 incident, when Pastor John MacArthur indicated Moore should “go home” because women preachers aren’t biblical. The spat was part of an ongoing debate about complementarianism and women’s roles in the denomination.

Beth Moore’s Journey From Safety to ‘Outsider’

During their candid hourlong conversation, Preston Sprinkle asks Beth Moore about her upbringing and turning points in her life and ministry. Moore, whose new memoir is slated for an April release, admits to being on a “messy” and “rocky path” but credits Jesus with saving her life. “I absolutely know that I should’ve been in a ditch,” she says, citing an “extremely unstable” home life growing up in Arkansas.

Moore, 65, describes being “very happily Southern Baptist all my life,” saying her home church “was my harbor, my safe place.” Though she wasn’t “blind” to some issues and frustrations within the church, Moore was happy with her faith heritage, which taught her to love missions and Scripture. That’s why recent upheavals have “felt like free-falling,” she tells Sprinkle, because “you do think you know your people.”

During her mid-30s, Moore’s Living Proof Ministries exploded, taking off in a way she “had not planned—and didn’t want.” With that success came scrutiny, she says, throwing her into “situations where I became very aware of being an outsider” and being “in way over my head.”

Moore realized she wasn’t academically trained and was an easy target for criticism. “I’m a mess! I’ll say things I wish I didn’t,” she says. “I’m so easy to make fun of because I’m so much! I’m easy to ridicule, easy to imitate.” (Just this week, for example, Twitter erupted when Moore described having “a crush” on Jesus. “You’re gonna have to learn to lighten up a little bit,” she responds to one critic, Josh Buice.)

As she became a public figure, Moore also was introduced to situations where not all the men wanted her there, which made her self-conscious. She says she went out of her way to avoid being “threatening” to people, such as wearing flats, not heels, when appearing on stage with a shorter man.

Throughout the podcast, Moore emphasizes that her ministry had always been to women, and she had “never ever pursued a pulpit.” She continues to have “confidence” in God’s “calling,” she says. “I’m so positive of what he’s called me to do…not necessarily where and how; I have to navigate that all the time.”

Uvalde Shooting Survivors Receive Scholarships to Attend Local Catholic School

By

Riley Farrell

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August 19, 2022

(RNS) — Catholic Extension, a grant-giving nonprofit that finances impoverished parishes, announced it has endowed 30 full scholarships for students wounded in the Robb Elementary School mass shooting. These funds will allow students to attend Sacred Heart Catholic School for multiple years, according to a statement from the Chicago-based organization.

The announcement Monday (Aug. 15) comes as the school year begins for SHCS and three months after the shooting at Robb Elementary on May 24 killed 19 children and two adults.

Uvalde, a town of approximately 15,000, is in the Texas Hill Country about 50 miles east of the border separating Mexico and the United States. The town, which is 78% Hispanic, has a close-knit Catholic community, according to Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, whose San Antonio Diocese includes Uvalde. García-Siller was “delighted” to learn of the monetary gift to students, he told Religion News Service in an email.

“I know that this financial commitment will help provide a top-notch education, along with accompanying these children and their families pastorally as we move forward in hope,” García-Siller said. “We are offering our students love and hope for the future.”

Catholic Extension said about 80 Robb Elementary families are attempting to transfer their children to Sacred Heart Catholic School. The number would represent a significant exodus of Robb Elementary’s 538 student enrollment. The nonprofit said that it is seeking assistance via donations to meet the demand and that scholarships are determined by financial need and extenuating injuries due to the shooting. At SHCS, annual tuition costs around $4,000 per student, and total tuition through sixth grade, including book costs and technology fees, is $33,590.

“The tuition assistance means everything to my son and our family,” said Oscar Orona, the father of a Robb Elementary shooting survivor, in a statement. “My son has gone through a lot and still has a long road to recovery ahead. At the very least, he deserves to go to a school where he feels safe.”

More than a century ago, Uvalde was one of the first communities Catholic Extension supported, helping build Sacred Heart Church in 1906 and Sacred Heart Catholic School in 1912. Today, Catholic Extension supports 1,400 church communities in rural Texas.

The Catholic Church’s response in Uvalde has been key to starting the healing process in Uvalde, said Joe Boland, vice president of missions at Catholic Extension.

Boland visited SHCS on Monday, its first day back in session. There, he witnessed an “icebreaker” exercise in which the Robb Elementary transfers, now fifth graders, introduced themselves, including one student who was shot when his teacher was trying to shield him. The teacher was killed.

‘Navigating the SBC’ Received as ‘Great Apologetic’ on SBC Cooperation

By

Diana Chandler

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August 19, 2022

NASHVILLE (BP) – Church planter and pastor Cameron Triggs became familiar with the Southern Baptist Convention while serving under such SBC stalwarts as H.B. Charles and J.D. Greear.

Three years after planting Grace Alive in Orlando through the North American Mission Board’s Send Network, Triggs encountered at the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting “Navigating the SBC,” a new resource from the SBC Executive Committee.

“I think it’s a great apologetic for pastors to use on why we cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention,” Triggs told Baptist Press, “and I also think it simplifies the complexity for your typical lay member to understand the great landscape of what the Southern Baptist Convention is.”

Triggs describes Navigating the SBC as a great resource to help church planters and lay members learn how the SBC advances the Kingdom.

“It’s been a great resource for us, and we’ve been utilizing it to give to other church planters to learn about the SBC and to help our members as well to learn about the SBC and the many various capacities that it helps to advance the Kingdom,” Triggs told Baptist Press.

“I was quite aware of it,” he said of the SBC’s structure, protocol and heartbeat. “I think what (Navigating the SBC) helped do was to systematize the complexity. And it also made it very simple to actually share the teaching of what the SBC is as well.

“In explanation, I think it’s hard to get all those intricacies across to different people, because there are so many different entities. I also think the resource itself provides a visual guide that I think is helpful for many people to understand in a shorter process.”

SBC EC executive Charles Grant, who compiled Navigating the SBC as a collaborative work to help mobilize the SBC’s ethnic diversity in cooperative ministry, has found the resource attractive to the full spectrum of SBC life.

“What was the clincher, that I needed to do this for everyone, not just the ethnic groups, was when I got feedback from an associational missionary who said there’s a need to train pastors (of all ethnicities) in our association,” said Grant, SBC EC executive director of African American relations and mobilization.

“I believe there is evidence of it being received well on various levels, from pastors all the way to the state conventions,” Grant said, “and even more recently, new EC members as a part of their orientation.”

Navigating the SBC, originally launched at the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting, continues to garner positive feedback from pastors and leaders utilizing the resource in training and in personal edification, Grant said.

Available online at sbc.net, the 32-page publication expounds on navigating the SBC foundationally, structurally, cooperatively, beneficially and practically.

Pastor Back on His Feet After Being Struck by Vehicle 7 Months Ago

By

Timothy Cockes

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August 19, 2022

Pastor-back-on-his-feet- — Pastor Kevin Cummings, seen here with his wife Terri, underwent four surgeries to place 21 screws and two plates in his leg. Submitted photo courtesy of Baptist Press.

FINCASTLE, Va. (BP) – When pastor Kevin Cummings stood to preach his sermon this past Sunday (Aug. 12), it was no ordinary feat for him.

It was his first time preaching standing up since he experienced a catastrophic leg injury after being by an SUV in January.

Cummings, senior pastor at Fincastle Baptist Church in Virginia was helping his son and daughter-in-law relocate from Virginia to Little Rock, Ark. It was a Tuesday morning in early January when Cummings and his son met at the apartment complex to begin unloading belongings into the apartment they were renting.

For the first time in seven months, Kevin Cummings stood on his own to feet to preach a sermon at Fincastle Baptist Church Aug. 12.

While he was standing behind the U-Haul trailer, an SUV struck Cummings from behind, pinning him in between the back of the trailer and the vehicle. It is still unknown why the SUV driver hit him.

Cummings said he knew one or both of his legs were broken as he collapsed to the ground and began to scream in pain. Even during this traumatic moment, his instinct was to praise through the pain.

“It was the most pain I’ve ever felt in my life,” Cummings said. “When I fell to the ground I just keep saying over and over again, ‘God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.’ I just keep repeating that over and over as I waited for the ambulance to come for what seemed like a long time, but was really only a few minutes. I just held onto that.”

Immediately upon arriving at a local hospital, Cummings, who said he had never been in the hospital as a patient, underwent the first of what would ultimately be four surgeries on his right leg. His injuries included multiple breaks and a compound fracture.

After the surgeries, Cummings’ leg now has two plates and 21 screws permanently placed. The incisions left him with 50 stitches. He described his leg immediately after the accident as looking like a jigsaw puzzle. Doctors told him the breaks he endured were the worst they could be.

All of his doctors have told him they don’t understand how his injuries were not more severe. They don’t understand how he did not break both legs, and only needed a few stitches in his left leg. They also don’t understand how he avoided hitting his head on the pavement, how he didn’t lose consciousness, or even how he survived the accident at all.

Cummings and his wife ended up staying in Arkansas about a month due the surgeries and the immediate rehab. Through the incredibly painful experience, Cummings said he has never been more thankful for support from the family of God.

Australian Anglicans Split Over Same-Sex Marriage

By

Kathryn Post

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August 19, 2022

anglican church split — Head of the Anglican Church of Australia, Primate Geoffrey Smith, left, and Glenn Davies, right, the newly appointed bishop of the new Diocese of the Southern Cross. Smith photo via Anglican.org/au; Davies photo via Gafcon.org

(RNS) — A conservative splinter group opposed to same-sex marriage announced the formation this week of a new Anglican diocese in Australia, triggering an apparent split in the church in that country. The launch of the Diocese of the Southern Cross prompted the head of the Anglican Church of Australia, Primate Geoffrey Smith, to issue a statement Thursday (Aug. 18) characterizing it as a “new denomination.”

“This company, while established by some members of the Anglican Church of Australia and structured to mirror some of the characteristics of an Anglican diocese, has no formal or informal relationship or connection with the Anglican Church of Australia,” Smith said in the statement. Smith could not be reached for comment in time for publication.

Glenn Davies, former archbishop of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia, was appointed as bishop of the new diocese Thursday at the Gafcon Australasia Conference, a gathering of conservative Anglicans from Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific that met in Canberra, Australia, this week.

“This is a sad day, in many ways,” Davies told The Guardian. “If the leadership would repent and turn back to the teachings of the bible, we wouldn’t need the Diocese of Southern Cross. I’d shut it down and come back.”

This split is the latest in a series of fissures over LGBTQ inclusion that have bifurcated Anglican denominations in New Zealand, Canada, Brazil and the United States.

According to its website, the Diocese of the Southern Cross views itself as a “separate and parallel Anglican Diocese” bound by theology, rather than geography. The number of churches in the diocese remains unclear, but the Australian-wide group promises on its website to “hold to biblical convictions” and hopes “many new Anglican churches will be established.” Leaders of the new diocese could not be reached for comment in time for publication.

The diocese is a byproduct of GAFCON — the Global Anglican Future Conference — a conservative movement within the Anglican Communion formed in 2008 to “retain and restore the Bible to the heart of the Anglican Communion,” according to its website.

Leaders of the Australian iteration of GAFCON have been planning on launching a conservative Anglican diocese since at least 2021 in response to the Anglican Church of Australia’s murky position on same-sex marriage.

In 2020, the highest court in the Australian Anglican Church, the Appellate Tribunal, allowed clergy to bless same-sex civil marriages. In May of this year, a motion celebrating same-sex marriage failed to pass at the Anglican Church of Australia’s General Synod but won support from nearly 40% of voters. Bishops at the General Synod also voted against a statement defining marriage as only between a man and a woman and condemning same-sex marriage blessings, but approved a separate resolution recognizing that the denomination’s marriage rites currently affirm marriage as between a woman and a man.

“The issue for us is the authority of the Bible,” Richard Condie, chair of GAFCON Australia, said in a statement. “The decisions at the recent General Synod, the 2020 Appellate Tribunal opinion that opens the way to blessings for same-sex marriages, and the watering down of standards of behaviour in changes to Faithfulness in Service are examples of this. The Diocese of the Southern Cross provides an Anglican home for those who feel they need to leave their current Dioceses.”

Pastor Motivates Las Vegas Toward the Gospel, Moment by Moment

By

Scott Barkley

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August 19, 2022

vegas_pastor — Heiden (center) and Neena (right) Ratner are interviewed by news anchor Alyssa Deitsch on KVVU in Las Vegas. Courtesy of Baptist Press.

LAS VEGAS (BP) — There are similarities to how Heiden Ratner leads WALK Church and his style on the basketball court from college and a year as a professional in Israel.

Energetic. Excited. Passionate. Competitive.

“I mean that in a healthy way,” he told Baptist Press. “We’re competing against the devil and lostness. I like to think there’s something in our church’s culture that has an energy that says, ‘We’re a part of something and we’re in this game together.’”

KVVU-TV Fox 5 wanted to be part of it, or more to the point, wanted it to be part of them. It has led to Ratner’s leading brief segments called Motivational Moments that bring viewers a Gospel-centered message during the station’s Friday morning show.

Ratner and his wife, Neena, talked about the segments recently with Fox 5’s morning show. Both grew up in Las Vegas, and getting to contribute in a positive way that also connects the audience to their faith excites them.

“I wanted to be the change that I didn’t have when I was [growing] up,” Heiden said on his return to Vegas the summer after becoming a Christian while a freshman playing for James Madison University. “That led to a calling that the Lord put on my life to start teaching the Bible and sharing about what God has done in my life.”

A marketing coordinator for the station noticed WALK Church and the work the young congregation did in the area. She also noticed how the church reflected Vegas’ diversity in its combination of young and old and various ethnicities.

“She thought that was valuable,” Ratner said. “Our church reflected our city, and she loved that we are a church that’s passionate about serving our city not just on Sunday.”

Fifteen Motivational Moments have been recorded at the Fox 5 studios, with 11 more scheduled. In a city not known for its warmth toward the Bible, Ratner made it understood that it would be central in his messages.

“We wanted to make it clear up front that my motivational messages were going to have a foundation in the Word,” he said.

“The response has been really good. More people than I realized are seeing them and are being encouraged by them, even the people at the station.”

Part of the deal also secured a 30-second TV spot every Sunday morning for the church that includes an invitation by Ratner.

“We’ve seen people respond to that as well, he said. “One guy was kind of debating whether to go or not one morning when he turned on the TV and saw the ad with me inviting viewers. He was like, ‘All right, I’m getting up.’”

Competition can bring negative connotations. But it also brings to mind identifying an objective and pushing toward it relentlessly. Each step – or moment – is one closer to that goal.

“We are a church that’s in the city, for the city,” Ratner said. “These types of moments are big for us because we want to give the Gospel message in a relevant and fresh way to as many people as we can. If there is a large audience that watches the morning shows on Fridays, well, this is an opportunity to get in front of them with the Good News.”

This article originally appeared at Baptist Press.

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