Dante Bowe Apologizes for Behavior That Resulted in Maverick City Music ‘Pausing’ Their Relationship

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September 29, 2022

Grammy award-winning gospel singer Dante Bowe released a statement late Wednesday night (Sept. 29) apologizing for his behavior, which led to Maverick City Music “pausing” their professional relationship with him.

Maverick City Music announced on Tuesday (Sept. 27) that “due to behavior that is inconsistent with our core values and beliefs, we have decided to put a pause on our professional relationship with Dante Bowe. Decisions like these are not easy because of the level of nuance, both professionally and personally, but we felt it necessary to address.”

Dante Bowe Releases Statement

Bowe released his statement on Instagram, which he switched to private earlier this week after sharing he was taking a break from social media. Bowe’s account was subsequently changed back to a public account, so those who weren’t following him could see his apology.

“This platform of success I enjoy is a blessing that is both gifted to me and shared with YOU, my faith community, family, friends, supporters and fellow artists,” Bowe’s message read.

Referencing his recent online behavior, which has been the subject of criticism, Bowe wrote, “I sincerely apologize for the impact of my behavior and that it has offended many people on the platform we share together. This experience has been a very real reminder of the importance of being incredibly intentional with how I utilize and engage with the tools social platforms provide.”

“Throughout this process, I have received wise counsel which influenced my decision to take a step back and reflect about my actions so that I may recommit to living in the purpose God has for my life,” Bowe went on to say.

Bowe concluded, “I want to say thank you to Maverick City Music for their continued support now and always. Throughout this process they have remained by my side and for that I am truly grateful.”

Bowe’s apology has received thousands of supportive comments, including one from the daughter of Hillsong Church’s former Global Senior Pastors Brian and Bobbie Houston, Laura Toggs, who said, “You’re altogether wonderful Dante. Thank you for sharing your humanity with us. You didn’t have to. Your songs have blessed so many. No shame nor judgment. Just real, beautiful, compassionate grace, mercy and kindness from a God that has been SO gracious to us hey. Keep your head held high and stay away from the noise. Your best song is yet to be sung.”

Poor People’s Campaign Asks Congress To Vote on Wages, Voting Rights Before Midterms

By

Adelle M Banks

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September 29, 2022

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Clergy from across the country have joined the leaders of the Poor People’s Campaign in calling on Congress to vote on issues related to fair wages, voting rights and poverty reduction ahead of the midterm elections.

“Too many Americans are being negatively impacted by the lack of living wages, voting rights, and lack of policy support,” wrote the Rev. William Barber II and the Rev. Liz Theoharis, co-chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival in letters to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the minority leaders of the U.S. House and Senate.

“When we asked poor and low-income people who did not vote in the 2018 midterms why they did not turn out, the number one reason we heard was because they did not hear politicians speaking to them and the issues that impact their lives,” they wrote in the letters sent Tuesday (Sept. 27).

The letters were the latest plea for policy change by the movement that has since 2018 modeled itself on the original Poor People’s Campaign started by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. that brought together a wide range of activists to focus on what King called the “three evils” of racism, poverty and militarism.

Today’s Poor People’s Campaign, which also addresses environmental justice, focused on poverty in its letter to congressional leaders. While there was a decrease of millions of poor people after the American Rescue Plan was signed by President Joe Biden last year, “the failure of the Senate to extend those provisions and the pressure of inflation are together pushing more people to the edge,” it reads.

The co-leaders of the campaign and dozens of clergy from Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths gathered on Thursday in a Capitol Hill briefing room before half a dozen Democratic members of Congress for a discussion of how those issues are affecting their congregants and communities.

From left, Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill.; Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.; Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; Rep. Kathy Manning, D-N.C.; and Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., attend the Poor People’s Campaign’s congressional briefing on Sept. 22, 2022, at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington. RNS photo by Adelle M. Banks

Calling the current national situation a “moral emergency,” Barber said the three-point request aims to help voters know where members of Congress stand before they head to the polls for the Nov. 8 election.

Theoharis, likewise, urged action in the coming weeks.

“We’re not coasting into the midterm,” she said. “We’re asking Congress to put forward legislation that could lift the load of poverty, to do this before November,
and to show that if there are representatives, if there are senators who are willing to stand against lifting tens of millions of people out of poverty and economic precarity that it’s within the power of people, especially for low-income people, to vote those politicians out.”

Barber countered the notion that restricted voting rights — a concern since key provisions were removed by the Supreme Court in 2013 — affect only one group of people.

“Why do we keep framing voting rights as a Black issue only? Why?” he asked, saying tens of millions of people are facing voting restrictions “because for nine years we have not restored the Voting Rights Act.”

The Democratic representatives who attended the briefing seemed supportive of the campaign’s aims. They were addressed by speakers including Bishop Vashti McKenzie, interim president of the National Council of Churches; Rabbi Jonah Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; and Imam Saffet Catovic, leader of the Islamic Society of North America’s interfaith office.

Joni and Friends Helps Evacuate Families With Special Needs Out of War Zone

By

Timothy Cockes

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September 29, 2022

NASHVILLE (BP) – With the war in Ukraine continuing to make worldwide headlines, Joni and Friends, the ministry organization of Joni Eareckson Tada, is expanding its usual outreach to disabled persons by assisting them in evacuating the country.

In written comments to Baptist Press, Tada said the devastation caused by Russia’s invasion has left disabled persons among the most vulnerable.

“In-country senior services and disability support programs have been significantly damaged and special-needs families are struggling to survive,” Tada said. “The urgent plight of elderly and disabled Ukrainians is more desperate than ever.”

Tada, founder and CEO of Joni and Friends, has herself been a quadriplegic since the age of 17 after experiencing a pool diving accident. She established Joni and Friends in 1979 to minister to families affected by disability.

Over more than 40 years, the organization has ministered in a variety of ways including providing wheelchairs to those in need, hosting a nationwide radio program and holding ministry events.

Jason Holden, vice president for global operations, told Baptist Press that Joni and Friends has hosted many events in Ukraine over the years, and was even in the process of building a Joni’s House relief center in western Ukraine.

Some of the “legacy” programs the organization has held in the country include Wheels for the World and International Family Retreats.

When the conflict made events like these impossible to host in the country, the ministry began to shift its focus toward evacuations.

A hot-line was established stateside where displaced Ukrainians could call in and let the organization know where they were and what needs they had. Once the phone line was set up, the gravity of the situation became clear.

“We’ve received a lot of emails and phone calls and the stories are just of despair,” Holden said.

“People are living with disabilities in tall apartment buildings who were stuck because their caregivers did not come back once the invasion began. They are hearing all the bombs and explosions and not knowing what to do or who to call. They are fearful, scared and often trapped. There are many stories of great fear of the unknown and of who can come and help them.”

Working alongside one of the ministry’s international regional coordinators who lives in Ukraine as well other partners, Joni and Friends began to help transport people out of conflict zones in the western part of Ukraine to a safer location.

Once they got them to a safe place, volunteers helped evacuees fill out paperwork to cross the border into the nearby countries of Poland or Romania. Some went on to final destinations such as Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands.

In total, Joni and Friends has partnered with local ministry connections to help evacuate more than 600 people, made up of disabled Ukrainians and their families and caregivers.

“When we started receiving these calls we started to ask, who is doing this, and the answer was no one,” Holden said.

“We said, ‘Well then, we have to do this.’ It wasn’t a choice. This is what we were called to do because we knew if we didn’t do it, we didn’t think that anyone else would. We had the capability and the partnerships, so we just made it happen.”

One evacuated family was so inspired, they have continued to travel to other surrounding countries to help support other families with disabilities even after they became settled themselves.

Interfaith Group Hosts Hill Briefing on Christian Nationalism

By

Jack Jenkins

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September 29, 2022

WASHINGTON (RNS) — An interfaith group of activists and religious advocates voiced concerns about the rise of Christian nationalism on Wednesday (Sept. 28), arguing the ideology is a threat to democracy during a briefing on Capitol Hill.

“We are convening this Christian nationalism briefing because we feel it represents a clear and present danger to our democracy and to an inclusive vision of religious freedom,” said the Rev. Paul Raushenbush, head of the group Interfaith Alliance, which organized the event.

Speakers at the hourlong briefing outlined what they said were specific threats posed by Christian nationalism, a fusion of faith and national identity that swelled during the tenure of former President Donald Trump and has continued to gain steam ever since.

Author and lawyer Wajahat Ali noted the visibility of Christian nationalism during the attack on the U.S. Capitol that took place on Jan. 6, 2021. He said it has become common to hear versions of the ideology articulated by Republicans ahead of this year’s midterm elections.

“Christian nationalism was a major motivator for the violent coup that sought to overturn the free and fair election by any violent means necessary,” Ali said, referring to Jan. 6. “Fast-forward to today, and we have GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene openly embracing Christian nationalism and palling around with antisemitic white nationalist Nick Fuentes.”

Fuentes, a right-wing extremist who heads the group America First, has begun openly identifying as Christian nationalist, as has Greene. Meanwhile, Republican candidates such as Pennsylvania’s Doug Mastriano have given voice to versions of the ideology on the campaign trail.

Lawyer and author Wajahat Ali answers a question during the Interfaith Alliance’s talk about Christian nationalism and it’s impact on religion and democracy in America. RNS photo by Jack Jenkins

Ali, who is Muslim, noted members of his faith have long been targeted by Christian nationalists, and he referred to the ideology as the “greatest threat to our national security today.”

“Another word for this growing Christian nationalism movement is fascism,” he said. “Another word is national security threat. Another word, in specific contexts, is terrorism.”

Connie Ryan, who serves as executive director of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, specified more local concerns. Ryan argued Christian nationalism has driven efforts in her state to allow for Bible classes in public schools, as well as what she described as an overall “demonization” of public schools and the teachers who work there.

“We have legislators who would have been moderate five, six, seven years ago, and they are moving and shifting toward Christian nationalism,” she said.

Tayhlor Coleman, a voting rights advocate who has been touring Texas in a van converted into a “voter registration mobile,” said the rise of Christian nationalism and its impact on the Capitol insurrection reminded her of America’s racist past. She recounted when white racists stormed majority-Black voting precincts in Texas during Reconstruction, sparking violence that resulted in lynchings.

“When I look at the folks who are leading this (Christian nationalist) movement, I don’t see any Christianity,” Coleman said, adding that she was raised Southern Baptist. “What I do see is the very same racism we always have.”

After Supreme Court Backs Praying Coach, No Sweeping Changes

By

Luis Andres Henao

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September 29, 2022

praying_coach — FILE - Former Bremerton High School assistant football coach Joe Kennedy stands on the field at Bremerton Memorial Stadium, Nov. 5, 2015. After the June 27, 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of the high school football coach’s right to pray on the field after games, there were predictions of sweeping consequences from across the ideological spectrum. But three months after the decision, there’s no sign that large numbers of coaches are following Kennedy’s high-profile example. (Larry Steagall/Kitsap Sun via AP, File)

Across the ideological spectrum, there were predictions of dramatic consequences when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a public high school football coach’s right to pray on the field after games.

Yet three months after the decision — and well into the football season — there’s no sign that large numbers of coaches have been newly inspired to follow Joseph Kennedy’s high-profile example.

“I don’t think there has been a noticeable uptick in these sorts of situations,” said Chris Line, an attorney for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which advocates for the separation of church and state.

“But the real issue is not going to be the number, because there’s always going to be people like that who want to use their position to push religion on other people,” Line said. “The difference now is whether school districts are going to do the right thing about it.”

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 for Kennedy on June 27, saying the Washington state coach had a constitutional right to pray at the 50-yard-line. The conservative justices were in the majority and the liberals in dissent.

In a phone interview, Kennedy and his attorneys at First Liberty Institute, a Christian legal group, lauded the ruling. But the former assistant coach said he hasn’t seen “really any difference, good or bad” since June. As far as football games go, he said, “it seems to be pretty much the same.”

“I think everybody’s trying to figure out what’s next and especially at the high school level ’cause this came out right before the season,” he said.

A majority of U.S. adults approve of the Supreme Court’s decision, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The poll shows 54% of Americans approve of the ruling, while 22% disapprove and 23% hold neither opinion. The survey also shows that solid majorities think a coach leading a team in prayer (60%), a player leading a team in prayer (64%) and a coach praying on the field without asking the team to join in (71%) should all be allowed in public high school sports.

Kennedy began coaching at Bremerton High near Seattle in 2008. He initially prayed alone on the 50-yard line at the end of games. Students started joining him, and over time he began delivering short, inspirational talks with religious references. Kennedy did that for years and also led students in locker room prayers. When the school district learned what he was doing in 2015, it asked him to stop out of concerns of a possible lawsuit over students’ religious freedom rights.

Kennedy stopped leading prayers in the locker room and on the field, but wanted to continue kneeling and praying on the field after games. The school asked him not to do so while still “on duty” as a coach. When he continued, it put him on paid leave. The head coach of the varsity team later recommended he not be rehired because, among other things, he failed to follow district policy.

A Little Encouragement for the More Senior Pastor Who’s Been Doing It Right for Years

By

James Scott Jr.

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September 29, 2022

Nearly all of the attention and encouragement given to pastors in conferences, podcasts, books, videos, or otherwise, is pointed to a stereotype of a younger pastor who is out there trying to change the world.

A person who is often overlooked is that more senior pastors who has been out there ministering with excellence for at least a couple decades. The kind of pastor I’m talking about is the last guy described here in an insightful little story told by Jonathan Alexander which I shared recently, but this tidbit bears repeating here …

I remember having lunch with John for the first time. John was on our elder leadership team, and I had just arrived as the new Pastor of Community Life. So John and I are at lunch having some light conversation, and he says this to me: “You won’t be really effective until you’re in your 40s.” Mind you, I had just turned 30. And when I left my 20s behind I remember thinking, “Finally, I’m 30 years old … now people will take me seriously.” And here I have John telling me I have 10 more years before I can even be effective.

I’ll confess, I wasn’t too pleased in the moment. But instead of getting up and walking out (and stiffing him with the bill), I listened to what he had to say. He began to explain, “When you’re in your 20s, you’re trying to figure out who you are, what your gifts are, and what you’re good at. Then when you hit your 30s, you know 4-5 things that you’re good at and you hone in on them. And then finally, when you hit your 40s you know the 1 or 2 things that you are great at and you maximize those through your 40s and 50s. Then in your mid to late 50s, in your 60s and beyond, you’re figuring out how to pass those things on to the next generation.”

It’s these guys who have been ministering for so many years they have refined their ministry and they have been pouring into younger leaders for years. They have led their congregations with humility and excellence, and have made a real impact for the kingdom of God. These are the guys who have written the books all the other ministers read to learn from, and whose examples they reference. It’s these more senior leaders I’d like to take notice of and offer some encouragement with a pinch of challenge.

Even though these are the guys who have been blazing the trails, setting the examples, and providing encouragement for all the rest of us, they can use some of their own encouragement. Today’s church in Western culture is ageist, it worships young pastors who preach in skinny jeans and fitted shirts and are members of the same gym you are. Often overlooked are the men who have spent decades in their study and on their knees so they could competently lead all the rest of us. As churches search for “young ministers with young families” who can “attract” young families from the communities, these more senior of pastors can be overlooked and vastly under-valued. Here’s a few words of encouragement for them:

You’re not even close to being done, you’re just hitting your stride!
Now that you’re arriving at a place in your relationship with Jesus that you’re more mature in your faith than most everyone you lead and minister with, it’s not time to back off! Now is the time to bless your congregation, community, and the greater church with the wisdom you’ve gained through a longer, sustained journey of faith. While you encourage and support younger ministers coming up in the church, they’re still trying to figure out life (marriage, parenting, what servant leadership is) and they’re still coming to you for advice because you’ve “been there, done that,” there’s little they’ll experience you haven’t already been through. Reaching this level of maturity doesn’t mean it’s time to step aside, it means it’s time to step up even more! Unleash all that God has been teaching you for the benefit of everyone you serve, and let the church benefit from years of consistent excellence.

It’s time to raise the bar, not pass the baton. Growing wiser in the faith is an opportunity to grow deeper in Jesus. You know from decades of experience that everything you’ve accomplished really was achieved through Christ, and all for His glory. So use that depth you’ve gained to go deeper with Jesus, and then do what you’ve done for all these many years — pass on to everyone else an even deeper experience with the Lord.

9 Secrets Your Pastor’s Wife Won’t Say Out Loud

By

Christina Stolaas

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September 29, 2022

The pastor’s wife is always there. Sometimes in the background, sometimes with a welcoming smile up front, sometimes noticed and appreciated, sometimes being silently judged. Your pastor’s wife: the powerful force behind most church leaders often perceived as a mystery by the rest of the church. It doesn’t have to be that way.

What if we just asked our pastor’s wife to candidly, honestly, even anonymously, share some of their secrets? What if we invited them to share their hearts and tell us what they wished the church knew?

I posed a simple, open-ended question to a panel of pastors’ wives in different states, from different denominations, with various years of service: “If you could tell the church a few things about your role as a pastor’s wife, what would you say?”

The women selected are the wives of music ministers, children’s leaders, senior pastors and youth pastors. Some of them serve in churches with large staff and even larger budgets, others in newer church plants, and even some from old and barely surviving congregations. Despite such different backgrounds, their responses were strangely similar and in several cases, almost identical.

I’ve sat for coffee, exchanged emails and had lengthy conversations with many who freely shared their secrets with me in exchange for the promise of anonymity.

Understanding the Pastor’s Wife

What follows is a condensed collection of their words to help us understand our pastor’s wife.

1. “I wish people knew that we struggle to have family time.”

There was one common response that I received from every single pastor’s wife. Every. Single. One. Over and over again, many pastors’ wives shared numerous occasions where planned vacations had been cut short (wouldn’t that be hard?). They told me tales of family evenings being rearranged for crises of church members, middle of the night emergencies and regular interruptions. A true day off is rare; even on scheduled days off, their husbands are essentially on call 24/7.

2. “Almost every day, I’m afraid of screwing it all up.”

They don’t have it all together. They battle many of the same issues every other woman battles: marriage issues, extended-family difficulties, sickness, finances, children who make poor decisions, fear and insecurities. Some seasons of life are obviously harder than others; but remember, ministry wives are not Wonder Woman with special powers. Please have a little mercy and extend grace.

3. “Being a pastor’s wife is THE loneliest thing I’ve ever done and for so many reasons.”

Personally, I think this is surprising to many (it was to me). Several ladies shared the difficulties of finding friendships that are safe, being looked at (or treated) differently, and even the desire to be invited for an occasional ladies night out. One woman shared, “Invite us to something just to get to know us. We like being known.” People in the church often assume that the pastor’s wife is always invited and popular. In reality, for whatever reason, many ladies fear befriending them. On Sunday mornings, pastors’ wives are often sitting solo, and those with children are essentially single parenting.

Can Rich People Go to Heaven?

By

Randy Alcorn

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September 29, 2022

In the story of the rich young man, we’re told that he “ran up to [Jesus] and fell on his knees before him” (Mark 10:17, NIV). The man’s eagerness and sincerity are evident.

“Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” So far, so good. This man wants to live with God in Heaven forever.

After the rich young man spoke to Jesus, we read something remarkable that’s often overlooked: “Jesus looked at him and loved him” (Mark 10:21, NIV).

When you love people, you act in their best interests. What Jesus said next should be seen in light of the immediately preceding statement that Jesus loved him: “One thing you lack. . . . Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mark 10:21, NIV).

Unlike many of us, Jesus clearly grasps eternal realities, and that knowledge informs His love for rich people. He knew what stood between this young man and the good life God offers: his wealth. He wouldn’t have been seeking something more from Jesus if he already had the abundant life. His question suggests unease, dissatisfaction, and discontentment with the life he’d been living.

Because of His loving grace, God desires to remove any obstacle between us and eternal, abundant life. Sure, Jesus showed love for the poor by commanding the rich man to donate his wealth to them. But He simultaneously showed love for the man by offering him liberation from the false god of wealth.

Tragically, we’re told, “At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth” (Mark 10:22, NIV). What the rich man thought he owned actually owned him. Money was his god. “No one can serve two masters . . . You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24, NIV).

The rich young man thought he was acting in his own best interests by clinging to his wealth. He couldn’t have been more wrong. He didn’t understand that Jesus, by telling him to give it away, was actually offering him freedom, joy, and the life that’s truly life.

Seeing the rich young man’s unwillingness to be freed from the bondage of wealth, Jesus turned to His disciples and said with sadness, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! . . . It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:23, 25, NIV).

Many books and sermons, and even some commentaries, claim that there was a narrow passage or gate in Jerusalem called “the eye of a needle.” Supposedly camels had to be unloaded of everything they were carrying before they could fit through it. Some say the camels could enter on their knees. Therefore, rich people can enter God’s Kingdom, but only if they dump all their baggage and enter Heaven in humility.

This all sounds very spiritual, and indeed endless articles online suggest that such a gate existed. Commentator William Barclay is sometimes cited as a source for this idea, but Barclay doesn’t document this claim; he simply indicates, “It is said that . . .” which of course is no help. In fact, despite my extensive search for a credible historical reference to back this up, I have never seen any evidence there was actually a gate called by ancients the “eye of the needle.”

Jesus used the normal word for a sewing needle, and what’s translated “eye” means “hole.” We don’t have to come up with a creative way to negate the possibility of a camel going through a needle’s eye. Obviously a camel can’t go through a needle’s eye—and that’s the whole point, humorously pictured by Jesus. Apart from a miracle, rich people can’t stop trusting in their riches and instead turn to Christ. That’s what the disciples understood Jesus to be saying, which explains their shocked response: “They who heard it said, ‘Then who can be saved?’” (Luke 18:26, NASB).

Why their astonishment? Because in Jesus’ day, wealth was seen as a sign of God’s approval. The logic went like this: if the wealthy, whom God obviously approves of, have a hard time going to Heaven, how could the poor, whom God apparently disdains, ever make it?

But Jesus qualified His shocking statement by saying, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God” (Luke 18:27, amp). Just as it’s impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, it’s impossible with people—but not with God—for a rich man to enter Heaven. Jesus can and ultimately did provide a way for rich people—and all who believe in Him—to enter God’s Kingdom.

Peter seemed stunned by Jesus’ statement that it’s humanly impossible for the rich to inherit God’s Kingdom. He said, “We have left everything to follow you!” (Mark 10:28, NIV).

Instead of rebuking him, Jesus said to Peter, “Truly I tell you, . . . no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30, NIV).

Jesus indicated here that not just some but all of His followers must turn away from various forms of wealth that get in the way of following Him, whether that wealth comes in the form of money, property, security, family, prestige, or popularity. Short-term rewards and eternal ones await anyone who follows Christ. The life we obtain far surpasses anything we leave behind.

After saying we should take up our crosses to follow Him, Jesus taught, “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it” (Matthew 16:25, NLT).

At first glance, we might imagine Jesus calls us to utter disregard for our self-interests. In fact, His call is the opposite. Jesus supplies the reason we should give up our lives: to save them. We give up empty lives and grab hold of the good life. We give up an impoverished spiritual life to enjoy the abundant life in Christ. This is like being offered ownership of Coca-Cola in exchange for a sack of pop bottles. Only a fool would pass up the offer.

This article about the rich young man originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Four Leading Indicators of Small Groups That Make Disciples

By

Mark Howell

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September 29, 2022

Small Groups That Make Disciples — Adobestock #170970711

In the world of economics, leading indicators are “indicators that usually change before the economy as a whole changes. They are therefore useful as short-term predictors of the economy.” Stock market returns, building permits, and average weekly jobless claims are all leading indicators. Do you think there might be a set of leading indicators that are short-term predictors of small groups that make disciples? Take a look at this Dallas Willard definition of a disciple:

“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. A disciple is not a person who has things under control, or knows a lot of things. Disciples simply are people who are constantly revising their affairs to carry through on their decision to follow Jesus.” Rethinking Evangelism

Four Leading Indicators of Small Groups That Make Disciples

Here are what I think are four leading indicators of small groups that make disciples:

1. Following Jesus is recognized as the most important thing in life.

Modeled by pastors, coaches and leaders…nothing else is even close. How often do other things take precedence?

2. Learning how to do what Jesus said to do is always the emphasis.

Note: how, not what, is the point. How often does your ministry emphasize what, not how?

3. Discipleship is never described as a class to be attended or a course to be completed.

Do you offer classes or courses that emphasize completion or arrival?

4. Disciples are always characterized as pressing on and straining toward.

Do pastors and leaders acknowledge that they are works in process?

Do you see these leading indicators in your small group ministry, or are you seeing something less significant?

This article on small groups that make disciples originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Do a Fall Festival During Church: Try This Creative Approach

By

Brandon Horst

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September 28, 2022

Have you ever wanted to do a fall festival during church? Autumn seems to be extra-busy, especially for families of young children. With so many fall activities to enjoy and so many Fall Festivals to celebrate, schedules fill quickly. That’s why you might want to do a fall festival during church.

Every town, church, and county now seems to hold a harvest event, trying to outdo one another. Because so many Fall Festivals happen in our surrounding communities, we discovered we couldn’t compete. In the end, our Fall Festival was expensive. Plus, it drained a lot of volunteer energy going into the Christmas season. And we didn’t seem to be accomplishing our goal of bringing the community to our church.

So we decided to do a fall festival during church. It was smaller and focused on the families within our congregation. They also could invite families they know.

When you do a fall festival during church, the event is much less expensive. It also encourages personal evangelism within our membership. And it allows us to simply use the regularly scheduled volunteers for that day.

Even if cutting your current Fall Festival isn’t an option, you could easily do a fall festival during church as a bonus outreach.

To give you a feel for this idea, here’s what ours looks like:

3 Ways to Do a Fall Festival During Church

1. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Because we’re within the window of Thanksgiving, we watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and eat popcorn. It’s less than 30 minutes, teaches a good lesson, and the kids always enjoy movie day. We’re also providing apple cider.

2. Salvation Invitation

If this is the only time one of our guest kids ever comes to a church, we want them to have the opportunity to hear the gospel and be able to respond to it. We give a short, simple explanation and invite any kids who want to follow Jesus to do so.

3. Outdoor Activities

Our services are about an hour, so the second half is for fun time. We have four stations.

Station 1: Pumpkin Chuckin’

(If you don’t know what this is, just search YouTube. You won’t be disappointed!) We bought a giant water balloon slingshot on Amazon. We set up a big target about 100 feet away. Two leaders hold each side of the slingshot, while a kid launches an orange water balloon and tries to hit the target.

Brian Houston Asks for Prayers as Court Case Looms, Recently Preached in 6 US Cities

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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September 28, 2022

Brian Houston, former global senior pastor of Hillsong Church, asked his 691,000 followers on Instagram for prayer yesterday (Sept. 27) in regards to his upcoming court case.

Houston also shared that he and his wife, Bobbie, have spent the last six weeks in the United States where he has preached in eight different cities.

“Well we are still here and mostly smiling,” Houston said in his post. “We’ve had a wonderful last 6 weeks in USA and I’ve preached in 8 cities in that time. We’ve had so much wonderful time with pastor couples and we are feeling the love.”

Hillsong Church’s founder shared that he and his wife miss the Hillsong Church congregation enormously and said that “hopefully we’ll have the chance to tell our story sometime soon.” 2022 marked 50 years that Houston had pastored Hillsong Church.

“The body of Christ at large have proved themselves to be just that. Grace-filled, loving and overwhelmingly supportive. Pray for me with a court case looming. Love and grace to you all,” Houston’s message concluded.

Before Houston resigned earlier this year, Hillsong Church had campuses in over 20 countries, including locations in nine states in America. Hillsong Church’s estimated weekly attendance was just over 150,000 in-person attendees throughout all their physical locations. If they included their online attendance, their weekly attendance would be over 444,000 per weekend.

Phil and Lucinda Dooley, who pastored Hillsong South Africa, have remained Hillsong Church’s global senior interim pastors after stepping in for Houston when he made the announcement in January 2022 that he was stepping aside from Hillsong Church leadership until court proceedings were completed.

In March 2022, Houston announced he was resigning as Hillsong Church’s global senior pastor on the grounds he “breached the Hillsong Pastor’s Code of Conduct” that involved inappropriate behavior towards women on two separate occasions.

The upcoming court case Houston is asking prayer for is regarding the charges brought against him by the New South Wales Police Force in August 2021 for allegedly concealing child sex offenses involving his late father, Frank Houston. Brian Houston pleaded “not guilty” to the charges in October 2021.

‘God’s Smuggler,’ Anne van der Bijl, Known as ‘Brother Andrew,’ Dies at 94

By

Jessica Mouser

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September 28, 2022

Anne van der Bijl, commonly known as “Brother Andrew,” passed away Tuesday, Sept. 27 at his home in the Netherlands at the age of 94. He is the founder of the international nonprofit Open Doors and is known for his legacy of smuggling Bibles behind the Iron Curtain, for which he earned the nickname, “God’s Smuggler.”

“Brother Andrew was an ordinary man who chose to go to hard places and do amazing things for one reason: He was following Jesus,” said David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors USA, in a press release. “One of the most interesting and well-known Christian leaders of our time, his passing indeed leaves a great void. But we believe, as he did, that God will raise people up to continue His good work in the persecuted church, to be the Brother Andrews of our generation.”

Brother Andrew’s Life and Legacy

Anne van der Bijl was born in Sint Pancras, the Netherlands, in 1928. He was 12 years old when Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940, and during World War II, he hid in ditches to avoid being forced to fight for the Nazis, according to Christianity Today.

In 1950, Brother Andrew entrusted his life to God, a decision influenced by his experiences with the Dutch army in Indonesia, where he participated in killing an entire village of people. “There wasn’t much faith in my prayer,” he said. “I just said, ‘Lord if you will show me the way, I will follow you. Amen.’”

As he grew as a Christian, Brother Andrew determined to rely on the leading of the Holy Spirit, a decision that proved to be crucial in the dangerous work of smuggling Bibles into Soviet-occupied countries. Seeing a need for Bibles in Communist countries and believing God had called him to support the churches in those areas, Brother Andrew smuggled his first Bibles into Yugoslavia in 1957.

He said, “I promised God that as often as I could lay my hands on a Bible, I would bring it to these children of his behind the wall that men built to every…country where God opened the door long enough for me to slip through.”

In the book, “God’s Smuggler,” Brother Andrew tells a striking story of faith as he recounts his work smuggling Bibles into Communist countries for years. One famous story is of the time when he was attempting to cross the border of Romania in a car filled with Bibles when he saw that the guards were meticulously and thoroughly checking the vehicles ahead of him, even going so far as to disassemble one of the cars. “What am I going to do?” he prayed. He decided to take a radical step of faith by bringing some of the Bibles into the open when it was his turn to be checked. But when his turn arrived, the guard would not even allow him to get out of the car and waved him on in a matter of seconds.

Adam Greenway Hasn’t Felt the ‘Lord’s Peace’ Regarding IMB Position, Asks for Prayers

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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September 28, 2022

Adam Greenway announced his resignation last week (Sept. 23) as Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) president in a statement released by the seminary.

The statement shared that Greenway had accepted a role at the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) International Missions Board (IMB), but on Wednesday (Sept. 28) Greenway posted on his Twitter page that he has since decided not to take the position.

“Carla and I are grateful for the many expressions of care and concern that have come our way since our transition from service at @SWBTS was first announced,” Greenway said. “While we initially thought our path would take us to the @IMB_SBC. We have not been able to find the Lord’s peace to move forward in that direction. We covet your prayers for ourselves and for our children as we seek the Lord’s direction regarding His next vocational assignment for us.”

Adam Greenway Not To Join the IMB

IMB President Paul Chitwood directed his tweet, “Be assured of our prayers” toward Greenway’s after the announcement Wednesday morning.

The IMB released a statement after Greenway shared he was not moving forward in the direction of the IMB position saying, “The IMB respects the privacy of potential or active employment conversations, and this situation follows that practice. We are praying for the Greenway family.”

In SWBTS‘ statement last week Greenway explained, “We will continue to serve Southern Baptists as we have throughout the course of our lives and ministry,” while discussing his new position at the IMB.

“We believe our next assignment is not a departure from but a continuation along the journey God has always had us walk,” Greenway continued. “We are thrilled that we are going to help prepare Southern Baptist missionaries for their work of addressing the world’s greatest problem—spiritual lostness—with God’s solution, which is the gospel of Christ. As we look forward to beginning a new chapter with Southern Baptists’ favorite entity, the International Mission Board, we ask for your prayers for us in this season of transition, and we pledge our continued prayers and support for our beloved ‘crown jewel.’”

Jen Wilkin on the Biggest Obstacle Keeping People From Reading the Bible

By

Jessica Mouser

-

September 28, 2022

The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast · Jen Wilkin on the Biggest Obstacle Keeping People From Reading the Bible

Jen Wilkin is a Bible teacher and the author of several books, including, “Ten Words to Live By: Delighting in and Doing What God Commands” and “Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds.” Jen’s passion is to see others become articulate and committed followers of Christ with a clear understanding of why they believe what they believe, grounded in the Word of God.

Other Ways to Listen to This Podcast With Jen Wilkin

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Key Questions for Jen Wilkin

-What are the primary challenges that you’ve encountered when it comes to helping people engage Scripture?

-What do you say to young people who don’t see the relevancy of the Bible to modern life?

-How can we take the Bible seriously, yet find delight in it as well?

-How might church leaders nurture young women who feel called to dive deep into the Bible and even to be Bible teachers?

Key Quotes From Jen Wilkin

“I think the biggest challenge that we’re facing right now, which is just sort of a product of being in an instant gratification culture, is that people think that learning the Bible should be easy.”

“What we have a lot of times in Christian subculture is the mindset of, ‘If I start my day with my time in the Word, then my day will go well, and if I don’t do that, then my day will go poorly.’”

“This, like any other spiritual discipline, is something that we labor for. It’s something that requires effort on our part.”

“We know that to be a follower of Christ is to take up our cross and deny ourselves and follow him. We think that applies to things like giving our money and allocating our time in the day. And we don’t think that it will be hard for us to open the Scriptures and draw the necessary wisdom that we need from them.”

“Our M.O. has been to lower the bar at every turn with what we’re asking of young people instead of doing what everyone else is doing, and that’s raising the bar and requiring more of them. People run toward things that cost them something.”

New Dating Apps—And ‘In-Person’ Mixers—Target Religious and Political Niches

By

Kathryn Post

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September 28, 2022

daiting app — Photo via Unsplash.com @docusign

(RNS) — Dating today can be a bit like ordering at Chipotle. The universe of dating apps makes it easier than ever to custom-order a partner of your choosing — their height, their food preferences, their religion.

A new crop of dating apps aims to target the more picky consumer — narrowing the menu by prioritizing a “main ingredient.” Want to date someone who is Mormon? There’s an app for that. Want to date someone who is queer? Or gluten-free? Or over 50? There’s a site for that too.

“What you’re seeing now is that the market is segmenting more and more as it becomes mainstream,” said Eric Eichmann, CEO of Spark Networks, an umbrella dating company. “In our portfolio brand you have Silver Singles for people looking for love at a later stage in their life, we have Christian Mingle, we have Jdate, we have JSwipe too (both Jewish apps). It’s about people looking for other people who have that same criteria as their first criteria.”

This month, as Tinder celebrates its 10^th anniversary, two new niche dating sites are hitting the market, joining countless other apps promising that shared beliefs and values are key to long-lasting relationships. While skeptics grimace at some brands’ gimmicky — or, in extreme cases, offensive — advertising, some specialized apps have proved successful. Sites like Muzz, for Muslim singles, boast over 7 million users. Still, some app users say even the most selective dating site can still lead to burnout, “creepers” and catfishing.

Even before its official launch, the new site Dominion Dating has proved controversial. Its target audience is Christian singles who believe husbands should rule over their wives, women should be homemakers and Christians should have children to exercise “dominion over the world,” per the website. Its membership application requires users to both abstain from “dressing sensually or immodestly” and submit an endorsement from “the man you are submitted to for discipleship,” all of which has solicited eye rolls aplenty from the app’s many critics.

Another ultraconservative app, The Right Stuff, is also slated to debut this month. Co-founded by former Trump administration personnel chief John McEntee, the app is advertised as a “dating app for the Right wing” and a substitute for apps that have “gone woke.” Though The Right Stuff is more political than religious, McEntee told Religion News Service he expects most users will be Christian. He added that the idea for the invite-only app came from frustrations with existing options.

“Some of the current apps, it’s not just that the users are mean-spirited to conservatives. It’s that they make you agree to left-wing things, and it’s really in your face,” he said. “We’re just saying, ‘Why don’t we just create our own place where we know at least that one giant filter is done for us?’”

The site is backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, who is in a same-sex marriage, but it does not offer dating services for LGBTQ users.

Some of today’s most popular dating apps, including Hinge, allow users to filter based on religion or political identity, but others, like Bumble, require a premium subscription to do so.

According to John Angelis, 42, a college professor and app user who lives in Virginia, users often try to get around the cost of additional filters on mainstream apps by advertising their political preferences.

American Evangelicals Want Balanced Approach to Immigration

By

Aaron Earls

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September 28, 2022

Substantial majorities of evangelicals in the United States say they want an immigration solution that both secures the border and values those already in the country.

In a study sponsored by the Evangelical Immigration Table and World Relief, Lifeway Research surveyed both self-identified evangelicals and those who qualify as evangelicals by belief to determine their attitudes toward immigrants and refugees as well as their opinions on potential legislative actions addressing the issues surrounding immigration.

“Evangelical Christians should be looking to the Bible—not any political party’s platform, media personalities or even a survey of fellow evangelicals—to determine how they respond to the arrival of immigrants to their communities,” said Matthew Soerens, national coordinator of the Evangelical Immigration Table. “But as evangelical leaders seek both to disciple those under their care and to advocate for public policies consistent with biblical principles, this study allows leaders to verify the extent their positions are in line with the views of evangelicals ‘in the pews’ and to know how to better serve them.”

More than 4 in 5 evangelicals describe legal immigration as helpful to the U.S., and around 2 in 3 believe the country should at least maintain the current number of legal immigrants approved in a year. Specifically, 25% say legal immigration is helpful and we should increase the number allowed each year, 40% see it as helpful and say we should maintain the current number approved and 19% believe it is helpful but favor decreasing the legal immigrants approved each year. Fewer (17%) believe legal immigration is harmful to the U.S., with 10% saying we should decrease the number approved and 6% believing we should completely stop approving legal immigrants.

Evangelicals are most likely to see the number of recent immigrants to the U.S. as an opportunity, but significant numbers also view them as a threat. More than 2 in 5 say the arrival of immigrants is an opportunity to show them love (46%) and an opportunity to introduce them to Jesus (41%). A third (33%) say they are an improvement to America’s cultural diversity, and 19% say they provide a boost to entrepreneurial activity.

On the negative side, 33% of evangelicals say the recent number of immigrants is a threat to the safety of citizens, 32% say they’re a drain on economic resources, 31% see immigrants as a threat to law and order, and 26% view them as a threat to traditional American customs and culture.

“While fear of the volume of immigrants is not absent among evangelicals, the larger response is one of love for these individuals,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “More than four times as many evangelicals find legal immigration helpful to the United States than those who find it harmful.”

‘Odious Effects’ When Church, State Become Too Familiar With One Another, Andrew T. Walker Says

By

Brandon Porter

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September 28, 2022

Andrew T. Walker — Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill speaks at the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow. (YouTube screen capture)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) – A Southern Baptist theologian is pushing back against comments made by the leading Russian Orthodox priest as thousands of Russian men are fleeing the country in the face of a forced draft.

Earlier this week Patriarch Krill said, “Many are dying in the fields of internecine warfare. The Church prays that this battle will end as quickly as possible, that as few brothers as possible will kill each other in this fratricidal war.

“And at the same time the Church is aware that if someone, moved by a sense of duty, by the need to fulfill his oath, remains faithful to his calling and dies in the performance of his military duty, he is undoubtedly committing an act tantamount to sacrifice,” according to news.com.au.

“He sacrifices himself for others. And so, we believe that this sacrifice washes away all the sins one has committed.”

The comments come as Russian President Vladmir Putin scrambles to respond to Ukrainian forces driving back his army in the months-long invasion of Ukraine.

“The pronouncement of Patriarch Kirill is little different than the sort of indulgences that Martin Luther fought against in the Reformation,” said Andrew T. Walker, associate professor of Christian ethics at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “Whereas Luther was opposing indulgences for constructing buildings for Catholicism’s empire, Kirill’s indulgence is meant to bolster Russian empire.”

Walker takes offense with Kirill’s mingling Christian doctrine with war propaganda.

“It is also blasphemous to compare the meritorious sacrifice of Christ with the military operations led by a former KGB officer. Kirill’s pronouncement is as unbiblical as it is absurd,” he told Baptist Press in written comments.

More than 194,000 Russians have left the country to try to avoid Putin’s draft, according to the Associated Press.

The BBC reports Russia has carried out a “sham election” in parts of Ukraine this week to try to force Ukrainians to agree to the Russian takeover.

The remarks made by Kirill are being widely viewed as propaganda to Putin’s agenda.

Walker, who is a fellow at The Ethics and Public Policy Center at SBTS, says this is what happens when the church is run by the state.

“It is the worst sort of example of the odious effects that come when church and state get too cozy with one another – false promises, a corrupt church, and an empowered state.

“In this example and, virtually all others like it, the church ends up becoming a puppet for the state to consolidate its power. What’s left is a church with little prowess apart from the subservience it renders to the state.”

This article originally appeared at Baptist Press.

CenturyMen Disbanding After 53 Years of Choral Gospel Ministry

By

Diana Chandler

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September 28, 2022

LOUDON, Tenn. (BP) – John Condra recalls the first rehearsal of The CenturyMen, a 100-member male chorus organized in 1969 in the days of the Southern Baptist Radio and Television Commission (RTC).

“When we got through singing,” said Condra, who was then music minister at First Baptist Church of Montgomery, Ala., “normally you talk or something. Nobody said a word. We just kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Where in the world did that sound come from?’

“We had never heard anything like that before, and I had not. You think about 100 men with degrees in music and boy, and all of a sudden you hear it for the first time, it just blew me away.”

They sang such great hymns of the faith as “Oh God Our Help in Ages Past,” “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” and “His Name is Wonderful.”

The widely traveled group won a daytime Emmy Award in 1989 for a concert performed in China and featured on the NBC program “China: Walls and Bridges,” and was nominated for a Grammy in 1999 for its recording, “Beautiful Star: A Celebration of Christmas,” in the category of Best Classical Crossover Album. NBC has termed the group “The Finest Male Chorus in America.”

After 53 years of sharing the Gospel through song, the first 17 years as a ministry of the RTC, the group is disbanding. It performed its last concert Sept. 17 at First Baptist Church of Tellico Village in Loudon. It was also a reunion for the group, which had not gathered since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joe Fitzpatrick, music minister at First Baptist Church of Nashville, Tenn., and a member of the group since 1988, was one of 60 members that participated in the Sept. 17 concert.

He was accepted in the group in 1988 after the RTC was incorporated into the former Home Mission Board. Fitzpatrick was a graduate student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and knew of the group’s ministry through its many international broadcasts

“I heard them for the very first time in 1987 I believe it was,” he told Baptist Press. “I said man, that sounds like a group I would really enjoy being a part of. I auditioned in 1988, was accepted, and I’ve been a part of it for 34 years.”

The group formally voted Sept. 16 to disband, upon the recommendation of its Board of Directors, amid a changing church music ministry landscape.

“The aspiration was always that we would be 100 men strong,” Fitzpatrick said. With busy schedules, “it just got harder and harder for our group to get together. It became a challenge to be able to get new people to make the investment, for whatever reasons.

“They (the group) wanted to make sure that as the future went on, that we were representing the name of the CenturyMen in its full extent, and that became more and more challenging as the years went by.”

Buryl Red founded The CenturyMen in 1969 at the request of the RTC. He co-arranged and orchestrated the bulk of the group’s music until his death in 2013.

Red’s career generated more than 2,500 published compositions and arrangements and more than 4,000 CDs. He authored or edited more than 50 college and school music textbooks; supervised the music and/or musical arrangements for several hundred shows, documentaries and specials, many of them award-winning, according to TheCenturyMen.com.

Red befriended and recruited Joseph Joubert, the group’s associate music director and accompanist. Among Joubert’s extensive credits, he was the musical supervisor and arranger for the concert tours and PBS specials of Three Mo’ Tenors and Three Mo’ Divas. Joubert has collaborated with such diverse artists as Kathleen Battle, George Benson, Jennifer Holliday, Whitney Houston, Patti Labelle, Diana Ross and others.

Joubert, a Baptist composer based in New York, accompanied during the final concert. He termed his longtime work with the group a privilege. He opened the concert with his new arrangement of the hymn, “I Will Trust in the Lord” and “Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus,” and premiered “for the second time,” as he put it, his arrangement of “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.”

Condra, who was a charter member and first president of the group when it became independent of the RTC in 1986, never anticipated the final day.

He described the mood of the last event “as very upbeat and Christ-honoring, even though we felt deep inside some kind of regret that it was coming to an end.

Feds Want Psychological Tests for Parents of Separated Kids at US-Mexico Border

By

Lindsay Whitehurst and Sam Metz

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September 28, 2022

Feds-Want-Psychological-Tests-for-Parents-of-Separated-Kids — FILE - Immigrants seeking asylum who were recently reunited arrive at a hotel in San Antonio, July 23, 2018. The Biden administration is asking that parents of children separated at the U.S.-Mexico border undergo another round of psychological evaluations in an effort to measure how just traumatized they were by the Trump-era policy, court documents show. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is asking that parents of children separated at the U.S.-Mexico border undergo another round of psychological evaluations to measure how traumatized they were by the Trump-era policy, court documents show.

The request comes in a lawsuit filed by migrants seeking compensation from the government after thousands of children were taken from parents in a policy maligned as inhumane by political and religious leaders around the world. Settlement talks with attorneys and the government broke down late last year.

Justice Department attorneys are also reserving the right to have a psychologist examine the children who were separated, if necessary. The evaluations are routine in emotional-damages claims, but these cases are unusual because the government’s role in traumatizing parents and children by the separations has been well documented.

“President Biden called the Trump family separations criminal and a moral stain on the nation, but now his administration is hiring doctors to try and claim the families didn’t suffer all that much,” said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project and a lawyer for plaintiffs in the effort to compensate migrants.

Government attorneys argued that the migrants “allege that their mental and emotional injuries are ongoing and permanent in nature” and that their injuries are directly related to the government’s policy. They say it is necessary for the government to have its own opportunity to examine them.

The requests came in two cases filed by 11 families. There are nearly two dozen similar cases pending in other courts, and some have already submitted to government-requested psychiatric evaluations.

But the parents have already sat for hourslong depositions in which they recounted what happened in detail. Government investigators have said children separated from their parents showed more fear, feelings of abandonment and post-traumatic stress symptoms than children who were not separated.

Some children believed their parents had abandoned them or had been killed. For some, the mental trauma caused physical symptoms, like chest or heart pain, according to a 2019 report from the inspector general’s office in the Department of Health and Human Services.

Parents studied by Physicians for Human Rights, a nonprofit collective of doctors that works to document human rights violations, exhibited suicidal thoughts and suffered a raft of problems including nightmares, depression, anxiety, panic, worry and difficulty sleeping.

Biden administration officials have decried the Trump-era policies. Biden, a Democrat, said during his presidential campaign the policies were “an outrage, a moral failing and a stain on our national character.”

Churches Defend Clergy Loophole in Child Sex Abuse Reporting

By

Jason Dearen and Michael Rezendes

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September 28, 2022

Churches-Defend-Clergy-Loophole-in-Child-Sex-Abuse-Reporting — FILE - The angel Moroni statue atop the Salt Lake Temple is silhouetted against a cloud-covered sky, at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Feb. 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

It was a frigid Sunday evening at the Catholic Newman Center in Salt Lake City when the priest warned parishioners who had gathered after Mass that their right to private confessions was in jeopardy.

A new law would break that sacred bond, the priest said, and directed the parishioners to sign a one-page form letter on their way out. “I/We Oppose HB90,” began the letter, stacked next to pre-addressed envelopes. “HB90 is an improper interference of the government into the practice of religion in Utah.”

In the following days of February 2020, Utah’s Catholic diocese, which oversees dozens of churches, says it collected some 9,000 signed letters from parishioners and sent them to state Rep. Angela Romero, a Democrat who had been working on the bill as part of her campaign against child sexual abuse. HB90 targeted Utah’s “clergy-penitent privilege,” a law similar to those in many states that exempts clergy of all denominations from the requirement to report child abuse if they learn about the crime in a confessional setting.

Utah’s Catholic leaders had mobilized against HB90 arguing that it threatened the sacred privacy of confessions. More importantly, it met with disapproval from some members in the powerful Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known as the Mormon church, whose followers comprise the vast majority of the state Legislature. HB90 was dead on arrival.

In 33 states, clergy are exempt from any laws requiring professionals such as teachers, physicians and psychotherapists to report information about alleged child sexual abuse to police or child welfare officials if the church deems the information privileged.

This loophole has resulted in an unknown number of predators being allowed to continue abusing children for years despite having confessed the behavior to religious officials. In many of these cases, the privilege has been invoked to shield religious groups from civil and criminal liability after the abuse became known to civil authorities.

Over the past two decades state lawmakers like Romero have proposed more than 130 bills seeking to create or amend child sex abuse reporting laws, an Associated Press review found. All either targeted the loophole and failed to close it, or amended the mandatory reporting statute without touching the clergy privilege amid intense opposition from religious groups. The AP found that the Roman Catholic Church has used its well-funded lobbying infrastructure and deep influence among lawmakers in some states to protect the privilege, and that influential members of the Mormon church and Jehovah’s Witnesses have also worked in statehouses and courts to preserve it in areas where their membership is high.

In Maryland a successful campaign to defeat a proposal that would have closed the clergy-penitent loophole was led by a Catholic cardinal who would later be defrocked for sexually abusing children and adult seminarians.

In other states, such as California, Missouri and New Mexico, vociferous public and backroom opposition to bills aimed at closing the loophole from the Catholic and Mormon churches successfully derailed legislative reform efforts.

“They believe they’re on a divine mission that justifies keeping the name and the reputation of their institution pristine,” said David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, speaking of several religious groups. “So the leadership has a strong disincentive to involve the authorities, police or child protection people.”

Dante Bowe Releases Statement

Understanding the Pastor’s Wife

1. “I wish people knew that we struggle to have family time.”

2. “Almost every day, I’m afraid of screwing it all up.”

3. “Being a pastor’s wife is THE loneliest thing I’ve ever done and for so many reasons.”

Four Leading Indicators of Small Groups That Make Disciples

1. Following Jesus is recognized as the most important thing in life.

2. Learning how to do what Jesus said to do is always the emphasis.

3. Discipleship is never described as a class to be attended or a course to be completed.

4. Disciples are always characterized as pressing on and straining toward.

3 Ways to Do a Fall Festival During Church

1. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

3. Outdoor Activities

Brother Andrew’s Life and Legacy

Adam Greenway Not To Join the IMB

Other Ways to Listen to This Podcast With Jen Wilkin

Key Questions for Jen Wilkin

Key Quotes From Jen Wilkin

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