Former Atheist Shares One Easy Way to Grow Your Church

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August 16, 2022

As an atheist, I was convinced that God did not exist. It was all made up by emotionally-needy people.

Then I met a Christian who was secure, smart, loving and seemed to have a sense of purpose in her life. She did not fit my mold.

I began challenging her. She patiently listened to my questions, even went to the effort to find answers for me. She actually never thought I would believe in God. But as my friend, she wanted to help. This went on for a year and a half.

Then one day my friend gave me a book by Paul E. Little. It had a powerful impact in my life for two reasons:

The content provided convincing evidence for God.
Away from my friend, I didn’t have to defend my atheism, focus on rebuttals. No one was challenging me. Alone with the book, my defenses could come down. I could be very honest and seriously consider the facts, the evidence for God.

Soon afterward I asked Jesus into my life with these words, “Ok, you win….”

This same experience is happening with millions of people throughout the world on websites and apps. People are open to considering God…they’re hungry for Him…but they want to consider His message on their terms. Under their control.

God led me on staff with Cru, with a desire, a calling, to reach as many people as possible through media.

In 2000, a webmaster and I created Cru’s evangelistic website, EveryStudent.com. (It is also available as EveryPerson.com.)

The site is now in many languages, visited by over 50 million people each year, throughout the world. God is speaking to people through it.

More than 2,500 people each day are asking Jesus into their lives while on the site.

How This Can Advance Your Church

The best way for any church to grow is when church members are leading people to Christ.

However, with all that is riding on your shoulders in keeping your church going right now, evangelism training isn’t likely high on the list. And not many church members are interested in becoming evangelists anyway.

However, Christians might feel very comfortable mentioning a website to someone.

It’s as easy as saying, “Hey I know a great site that takes on the hard questions about life and God…like why is life so hard, and how do you know God exists? May I give you a card to it?” (or “text it you?”)

There’s a Very Surprising Aspect to This.

Allow me to explain.

You’re probably aware that many Christians are hesitant to get into spiritual conversations, let alone try to share the gospel with someone.

It’s understandable. The conversation could get awkward. They worry they might come across as intrusive or imposing. If it’s with a close friend, family member, coworker or neighbor…the risk just increased.

This leaves the Christian with a very silent, private faith. “They can ask me if they become interested. They know I’m a Christian.” But rarely does this help anyone.

But if the Christian could generously offer something, that significantly helps the nonbeliever move toward God? And which causes the person to respond with a sincere, “Thanks very much.” Then what??

Look at Google, Amazon and Netflix. They are all successful for the same reason. A person can get what they want, when they want it, without effort and in private where they are in control.

What if we give nonbelievers the same opportunity to find God? Where it’s private, under their control, and they can explore whatever questions they have about life and God?

Until people find Jesus, they are still searching. It doesn’t mean they’ll be open about their deepest thoughts, but they might share about some struggles in their life, problems they’re trying to solve.

It just takes a simple statement. “Hey, I know a great site that takes on the hard questions about life and God. May I give you a card to it?”

The person feels that you care, that you’re not controlling them, but simply resourcing them. Most will say, “Thanks very much.”

Pastor Condemns Beyoncé’s ‘Church Girl’; R&B Singer Comes to Her Defense

By

Dale Chamberlain

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August 16, 2022

Beyoncé’s latest album, titled “Renaissance,” was released on July 29. Since that time, the music icon has found herself embroiled in a number of controversies surrounding the record.

Within a week of the album’s release, Beyoncé changed two of the tracks in light of criticism. One song, “Energy,” included a sample that was an interpolation of Kelis’ 2003 hit “Milkshake,” which Kelis did not approve.

“My mind is blown too because the level of disrespect and utter ignorance…is astounding,” Kelis commented. “Nothing is ever as it seems, some of the people in this business have no soul or integrity and they have everyone fooled.”

That same week, Beyoncé came under fire for her song “Heated,” which contained the word “spazz,” a term that is considered by many to be an ableist slur. Earlier this summer, fellow musical artist Lizzo also came under scrutiny for using the word in her single called “Grrrls.”

Both songs have been updated and re-released.

Beyoncé’s new album has also become the subject of criticism among certain faith leaders, particularly her track titled “Church Girl.”

The song, which says in one lyric, “Church girls actin’ loose, bad girls actin’ snotty,” contains sexually suggestive language throughout. The message of the song appears to be about the sexual liberation of a woman who formerly considered herself a “church girl.”

The song also takes samples from “Center of Thy Will,” which was written and performed by gospel group The Clark Sisters.

Given the song’s title and message, the track caught the attention of Bishop Patrick L. Wooden Sr., pastor of Upper Room Church of God in Christ in Raleigh, North Carolina, who condemned it during a Sunday sermon.

“Beyoncé just released sacrilege,” Wooden said. “The only thing I can account for some of this stuff is somebody done sold their soul to the devil.”

“Now, all I can say to you is this: when you sell your soul to the devil, you get the short end of the stick,” Wooden went on to say. “Because you’re not going to live but so long. And when you leave here, where you’re going, you’re going to be there forever.”

‘About 400’ Baptist Churches Lost in Russia’s War on Ukraine

By

Diana Chandler

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August 16, 2022

LVIV, Ukraine (BP) – About 400 Ukrainian Baptist congregations have been lost in Russia’s war on Ukraine, said Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary President Yaroslav Pyzh, who is working to restore pastoral leadership to impacted cities.

While volunteers at six humanitarian relief We Care Centers across Ukraine are helping internally displaced people winterize their homes, replacing roofs, windows and doors, Pyzh said the real challenge for UBTS is to rebuild pastoral leadership in places pastors have been displaced.

“Since the war started, six months already, we lost about 400 Baptist churches. And so the real build is the rebuilding of leadership capacity, because if you rebuild buildings and you have no pastors to lead churches, I don’t think it’s going to do any good,” Pyzh, a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, told Baptist Press Aug. 12. “So the real challenge is not so much rebuilding walls and windows and doors.

“The real challenge is similar to Nehemiah’s challenge,” he said, referencing the biblical story of Nehemiah. “It’s not only rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. It’s rebuilding the nation of Israel, of worshiping God. … That’s the same thing here in Ukraine.”

Many pastors were displaced from war-torn areas, Pyzh said, leaving no one to bring godly hope in the midst of fear and hopelessness. About 2300 Baptist congregations existed across Ukraine before the war began in February, according to the All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists.

“Our main challenge in the future, when the war will be over, is to bridge the gap in leadership that we lost,” Pyzh said. “And sadly, the longer the war goes, the more the gap’s going to be. The church is not buildings. It’s people leaving that place and relocating to the United States, and with people relocating to Germany, or people relocating to other places. And with those people, pastors left too.”

While the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates a third of Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes, many pastors have remained and churches have responded greatly to war-time needs, Pyzh said.

“The biggest thing the community has in these moments of being destroyed and bombed is fear; it’s hopelessness,” Pyzh said. “And the only one who can relieve and bring hope to the hopeless are pastors, churches, Christians.”

Pyzh estimates that as many as 150 UBTS graduates and students are working at the We Care Centers that he said will need to bring spiritual light and salt to the war-ravaged communities while also helping structurally rebuild communities and provide needed supplies. UBTS is training volunteers to serve as counselors to internally displaced residents and those who have remained.

Southern Baptist donations are helping fund the support of We Care Centers, but Pyzh said donations have greatly diminished as the war has continued. Care Centers grew from local church ministry outreaches established in concert with local governments, and are housed in buildings governments are providing at no cost.

Lifeway Research: Pastors Encourage Single Adults, Some Provide Targeted Ministries

By

Marissa Postell Sullivan

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August 16, 2022

As the number of single adults in the United States continues to grow, so does the need for ministry to single adults in churches.

According to a 2020 profile of single Americans by Pew Research Center, nearly 1 in 4 (23%) U.S. adults ages 30-49 are single—not married, living with a partner or in a committed romantic relationship. And the 2021 U.S. Census Bureau data on America’s Families and Living Arrangements reveals many of these have never been married. More than 2 in 5 (43%) U.S. adults ages 30-34 have never been married, which means that adults in the U.S. are waiting longer to get married. In fact, the median age at first marriage has been on the rise since the mid 1900s. In 2021, the estimated median age to marry for the first time was 30.4 for men and 28.6 for women, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

An increase in the number of single adults, and particularly single adults over the age of 30, brings with it a need for increased intentionality toward single adults in churches. A study from Lifeway Research asked Protestant pastors how their churches specifically minister to single adults ages 30 and older. Most pastors encourage these single adults to serve in leadership (92%) and volunteer (91%) roles. Some offer small group Bible studies and classes specifically for them (45%) or plan social events for them (43%). Fewer than 1 in 3 (30%) offer large group Bible teaching times specifically for them. Another 5% of pastors say they do not specifically minister to single adults in any of these ways, and 2% say they minister in other ways.

“Clearly, pastors want single adults integrated into the life and ministry of their churches,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “However, less than half of churches have programs in place to address the unique needs of single adults.”

Some Churches More Likely to Provide Specific Single Adult Ministries

Larger churches tend to do more to specifically minister to their single adults. Pastors of the largest churches, those with more than 250 in attendance, are the most likely to say they offer small group Bible studies and classes (68%), plan social events (65%) and offer large group Bible teaching times (47%) specifically for them. And pastors at the smallest churches, those with fewer than 50 in attendance, are least likely to say they offer small group Bible studies and classes (29%) or large group Bible teaching times specifically for them (19%).

Although the majority of pastors in churches of every size say they encourage their single adults to serve in volunteer roles, larger churches emphasize this more than smaller churches. Pastors at churches with attendance of more than 250 (98%) or 100-249 (94%) are more likely than those at churches with 50-99 (89%) or fewer than 50 (85%) to encourage single adults to serve in volunteer roles.

“Normative churches with fewer than 100 in attendance typically only have a few adult Bible study classes,” McConnell said. “They must make a strategic choice about how those groups are organized. Some churches may organize Bible studies and fellowship times around marital status, but others may group by age, geography, gender or content being studied.”

See also 5 Ways to Knit Single Adults into the Church Community

According to the Pew profile of single Americans, there are a higher percentage of single Black adults (47%) in the United States than single white adults (28%). This breakdown is reflected in the Lifeway Research data, as white pastors are least likely to offer some ministries specific for single adults. White pastors are the least likely to offer small group Bible studies and classes (42%) or to offer large group Bible teaching times (26%) specifically for single adults over the age of 30. African American pastors (70%) are the most likely to say their churches plan social events for these single adults.

Geographical demographics also signal how likely a pastor is to say their church specifically ministers to single adults over the age of 30 in particular ways. Pastors in the South are among the most likely to say their churches offer small group Bible studies and classes (52%), offer large group Bible teaching times (38%) or plan social events (47%) for them.

Pastors of some denominations are more likely than others to provide specific ministries for the single adults in their churches. Pentecostal (66%), non-denominational (57%) and Baptist (50%) pastors are among the most likely to say their churches offer small group Bible studies and classes for them. Pentecostal (49%) and non-denominational (41%) pastors are also more likely than Lutherans (25%) and Presbyterian/Reformed (21%) to offer large group Bible teaching times specifically for single adults over 30 years old. And Pentecostal (65%), non-denominational (55%) and Baptist (48%) pastors are among the most likely to plan social events for them.

California Church Partners With Peruvian Church in Multiplication Efforts

By

Timothy Cockes

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August 16, 2022

peruvian church — Members of First Baptist Hesperia, Calif., join members of Morada de Dios in Lima, Peru.

LIMA, Peru (BP) – An ongoing partnership between First Baptist Church Hesperia, Calif., and Morado de Dios in Lima, Peru, has been a blessing for both churches, First Baptist Pastor Richard Spring said.

First Baptist’s most recent trip resulted in 102 salvations.

Spring said his congregation has been traveling to work in Peru for many years, but has only been visiting the capital city of Lima for the past five.

Pastor Richard Spring (center) is among members of First Baptist Hesperia, Calif., who partner with church planter Ariste Perez and his wife Marylin. The Perezes fled turmoil in Venezuela and now minister in Lima, Peru.

The COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to the trips, and also devastated Lima. Spring said during the church’s first post-pandemic trip to the country this summer, he could sense the great need.

“I didn’t talk to one person who didn’t lose somebody that they loved dearly. A mother, father, brother, sister or child,” he said.

“I would use COVID as way to make a connection and ask them how it affected them and their family. We focused on conversations not on any religious debates, but on if a person has a relationship with Jesus and if they would like one.”

During the trip, First Baptist worked with one of the church plants it has partnered with before. The combined groups would serve, share the Gospel and invite people to the local church’s worship service. The goal on each trip is for the local church to take the lead and to connect those who make decisions with believers in their own community.

“We don’t want to do anything where we just come and then leave the churches with nothing or abandon them” Spring said.

“The locals are the ones they can connect with about the church and spiritual growth. We let them do the sharing a lot of the times. For us, it’s as much about teaching those in the Peruvian church plants to share the Gospel as much as it is about us sharing the Gospel.”

After making trips to various areas in Peru for years, Spring said the church wanted to expand its ministry into the capital city, so it reached out to an International Mission Board missionary couple stationed in Lima. The missionaries had once served in Venezuela and knew of a church planter named Ariste Perez who had fled Venezuela, along with his wife Marylin, and was now ministering with and working with Pastor Pepe Lopez at Morada de Dios in Lima.

Lopez had mentored Perez, and the two realized they shared a strong passion for multiplication. Together, they developed a goal of planting 20 churches in Lima out of Morada de Dios.

After making the connection through the missionaries, First Baptist began partnering with Morada de Dios, taking trips that included evangelism training, times of worship and service projects.

ERLC, Others Promote Way for Afghans To Gain Permanent Status

By

Tom Strode

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August 16, 2022

erlc afghans — Afghanistan tops the 2022 World Watchlist from OpenDoors. The list reveals the country's with the highest rates of persecution toward Christians. (Photo submitted from OpenDoors)

WASHINGTON (BP) – The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has joined other evangelical Christian organizations on the occasion of the first anniversary of Afghanistan’s fall to the Taliban in calling on Congress to enable Afghans evacuated to the United States to seek permanent residency.

The ERLC and other members of the Evangelical Immigration Table (EIT) asked senators and representatives in an Aug. 10 letter to approve legislation that would permit Afghans living in this country on temporary humanitarian parole to request permanent legal standing. The United States admitted most of those who fled Afghanistan upon the government’s overthrow as parolees rather than refugees, thereby leaving them with “no direct path to pursue permanent residency,” according to the letter.

The Afghan Adjustment Act, which would provide a pathway toward permanent legal status after additional vetting to Afghans admitted under temporary parole, gained introduction in both the Senate and House of Representatives Aug. 9. Senators and representatives from both political parties are original co-sponsors of the Afghan Adjustment Act.

The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan when the capital of Kabul fell Aug. 15, 2021. The Islamic terrorist organization, which ruled the Central Asian country from 1996 to 2001, routed the Afghan military when the United States withdrew its troops after a nearly 20-year mission following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

Particularly vulnerable as targets of the militant Islamic organization during and after its takeover were Afghans who assisted the U.S. effort, Christians, other religious minorities and women.

“I cannot imagine the horror of watching as your society collapses all around you and having to flee for safety with loved ones,” said Brent Leatherwood, the ERLC’s acting president, in written comments for Baptist Press. “Yet that is what so many Afghans faced one year ago.

“Unfortunately, the heartache of that nightmare has been compounded because of our national government’s unwillingness to fully embrace them,” he said. “Many of these individuals bravely served American service members in Afghanistan under the premise we would protect them.

“Because these neighbors of ours would no doubt face persecution or worse back home, we should keep that promise by now offering them full refugee status and giving them the opportunity to pursue flourishing lives here in America.”

More than 79,000 Afghan nationals have arrived in this country as part of the effort to resettle vulnerable citizens of Afghanistan, including those who aided the United States during its mission, the departments of Homeland Security and State reported in mid-June.

Report: Catholic Clergy’s Unquestioned — and Uneducated — Power Spurs Abuse

By

Alejandra Molina

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August 16, 2022

catholic clergy — Catherine Coleman Murphy, center, and Jack Wintermyer, right, protest along with others outside Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul before an Ash Wednesday Mass in Philadelphia on March 9, 2011. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

(RNS) — A new report based on interviews with some 300 Catholic priests, nuns and laypeople concludes that clergy aren’t adequately prepared to wield the power they exercise and need more education on questions of sex and gender.

The report, “Beyond Bad Apples: Understanding Clericalism as a Structural Problem & Cultivating Strategies for Change,” released Monday (Aug. 15), explores the links between clericalism — clergy’s focus on its authority — and clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse.

The study’s authors, Julie Hanlon Rubio and Paul J. Schutz, both professors at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit institution in Northern California, initially intended to survey 600 respondents, drawn proportionally from lay, religious (those who take vows but are not ordained to the priesthood) and priests, but were turned away by five of the six dioceses and diocesan seminaries they approached.

The authors admit that this “likely means that our respondents are biased towards agreement with our theory of clericalism” and that “our data leans in one direction.”

Nearly half (48.4%) of the 300 who participated were lay Catholics, 22% were nuns, 16% were priests and 6% were men in formation for the priesthood. More than two-thirds of their responses from priests came from those educated in Jesuit institutions.

The report was funded by a grant from Fordham University as part of a project dubbed, “Taking Responsibility: Jesuit Educational Institutions Confront the Causes and Legacy of Sexual Abuse.”

Rubio and Schutz wanted to move away from asking, “Is he a good priest or a bad priest?” and ask instead, “What are the underlying reasons that this priest is acting in this way?”

Existing studies, said the authors, “have focused on individuals who engage in abuse due to personal weakness, psychosexual vulnerabilities, the influence of broader historical movements, or poor theology and training.”

Schutz told Religion News Service that their aim was to understand how “structural clericalism operates in the church,” comparing clericalism to the way structural racism shapes the lives of people of color.

Rubio said, “When you blame ‘bad apples,’ then everybody else is sort of innocent, as long as we go after the bad apples. But when you say there’s a problem with the structure, that’s a much bigger problem, and we’re all implicated.”

The authors said their data shows that sex, gender and power are all components of structural clericalism, which in turn keeps priests above and apart from the rest of the church and potentially enables abuse.

Nearly half (49%) of priest respondents and 73% of those in formation said that they were told repression or sublimation were strategies for dealing with their sexuality (how one lives as a sexual person), according to the report. This number increases to 83% among non-Jesuit-educated priests.

The report also noted that 70% of those in formation and 51% of priests said it was difficult to talk about their sexuality. More than 75% of all respondents said the church would be a healthier institution if priests spoke openly about their own sexuality.

Frederick Buechner, Popular Christian ‘Writer’s Writer’ and ‘Minister’s Minister,’ Dies at 96

By

Emily McFarlan Miller

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August 16, 2022

(RNS) — Frederick Buechner was asked on numerous occasions how he would sum up everything he had preached and written in both his fiction and nonfiction.

The answer, he said, was simply this: “Listen to your life.”

That theme was constant across more than six decades in his career as a “writer’s writer” and “minister’s minister” — an ordained evangelist in the Presbyterian Church (USA) who inspired Christians across conservative and progressive divides with his books and sermons.

Buechner died peacefully in his sleep on Monday (Aug. 15) at age 96, according to his family.

Born Carl Frederick Buechner on July 11, 1926, in New York City, he moved frequently with his family in his early childhood as his father searched for work, settling in Bermuda after his father’s death by suicide when he was 10.

His studies at Princeton University were interrupted by World War II, but he completed his bachelor’s degree in English in 1948. He quickly achieved fame with the 1950 publication of his first novel, “A Long Day’s Dying.”

When his second novel, in his own words, “fared as badly as the first one had fared well,” he moved to New York City to lecture at New York University and focus on his writing.

Bruxy Cavey Credibly Accused in 3 Cases of Sexual Abuse and 1 Sexual Misconduct

By

Yonat Shimron

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August 16, 2022

(RNS) — Soon after Bruxy Cavey was forced to step down and admitted to a years-long sexual relationship with a member of his Toronto-area megachurch The Meeting House, some of his supporters contested the suggestion his behavior was sexual abuse, insisting it was a consensual affair.

But the latest set of church investigations may put that argument to rest.

In an email sent to church members on Saturday (Aug. 13), The Meeting House leadership said the recent independent investigations had found two additional claims of sexual abuse against Cavey to be credible. It also found a fourth claim amounted to “sexual misconduct.” In addition, the church acknowledged that one of the victims was a minor when Cavey abused her.

For the first time, the church’s overseers, or board of trustees, said Cavey’s behavior in three of the cases amounted to sexual abuse, not just sexual harassment or abuse of power as it had previously maintained.

The outside investigator hired by the church also found that a former pastor of The Meeting House, Tim Day, had committed sexual abuse. (Years ago, two former youth pastors were also charged with sexual assault or sexual exploitation.)

“We’re aware that not using more defined language signaled to some that we weren’t willing to name the abuse for what it was or that it was downplaying the findings,” said Jennifer Hryniw, a member of the board of overseers, during an Aug.14 town hall meeting. “We apologize sincerely for the harm this has caused. It was never our intention.”

They also apologized to the first woman for not previously characterizing Cavey’s actions toward her as abuse.

“We have now concluded as a board that the actions substantiated in the first investigation constitute sexual abuse by a church leader,” the overseers said in Saturday’s email. “We truly apologize to the first victim for the length of time this has taken.”

The church, part of Be In Christ, an Anabaptist denomination, is henceforth adopting the definition of sexual abuse used by the Mennonite Central Committee, another Anabaptist denomination, the overseers said.

The overseers said the church was now working to put in place policy statements and trainings for all staff and volunteers on sexual abuse. In addition, it was committed to reorganizing.

“Power should never be top-down,” said Nour Aziz, one of the church overseers. “We want to reorganize our accountabilities so there’s a shared power approach.”

The church overseers declined to offer more details about the nature of the abuse. In response to a question about why Cavey has not been allowed to publicly answer to allegations, Hryniw said: “Unless someone fully admits and fully repents we’re not giving an opportunity to speak to our community.”

Pastor Bruxy Cavey. Video screen grab

4 Differences Between Being Prophetic and Just Being a Jerk

By

Dale Chamberlain

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August 16, 2022

The Church needs prophetic voices.

Throughout the bible, prophets have always boldly spoken truth to power, calling their people to repent of the systemic sins of their time and to turn toward God in renewed faith and devotion. And throughout the history of the Church, we have benefited greatly from such prophetic voices, which have been pivotal in starting reformations, revivals, awakenings, and civil rights movements.

Given the moral, political, and ideological upheaval that the American Church is currently experiencing, we could really use some prophetic voices in our time. Voices that can cut through the noise, courageously call out our collective sins, and inspire us in the direction of greater faithfulness to Jesus.

But there’s a not-so-subtle distinction between being a genuinely prophetic voice and being divisive and problematic.

That distinction just isn’t obvious to everyone. There is no small number of church leaders and Christian influencers who use their platforms to bully others, heap shame on them, or even to lead them into the direction of their idols rather than away from them.

To state it more directly, they are not prophets. They’re just jerks.

While Jesus was never one to beat around the bush to spare anyone’s feelings, the intent behind his words was always kindness and grace, as well as righteousness.

That can be a difficult needle to thread, and some of us do it better than others. In fact, we might even just do it better on some days than on others.

But if you have a public platform, or follow Christian leaders who do, here are four signs that reveal when someone has left the realm of being a prophetic voice and ventured into jerk territory.

1. Prophetic People Purposefully Engage With Conflict. Jerks Just Perpetuate Division.

In many ways, a person with a prophetic voice is born for conflict. A prophet necessarily stands in opposition to the status quo of sin, injustice, and complacency. What’s more is that they oppose the power structures and traditions that are serving to maintain that status quo. Having the courage to do so quickly creates enemies.

Jesus said it himself. Standing for what is good, pure, and true can be incredibly costly.

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:34-38)

Even still, while the person with a prophetic voice is always willing to meaningfully engage with the conflict their words invite, they aren’t stirring up division simply because they enjoy the drama.

Only jerks do that.

Prophets speak plainly and directly, because they are burdened for the truth. Jerks are intentionally inflammatory, because they know that controversy will grow their platform. Prophets are ultimately looking to end the conflict for the sake of both righteousness and unity. Jerks are in it for the pageantry of war.

2. Prophetic People Speak to the Sins of Their Own Tribe. Jerks Judge Others.

While there are certainly instances where God called the prophets of old to speak messages of repentance to other nations, most of them spent their time speaking out against the ills of their own people.

R.C. Sproul: What Does It Mean to Call God “Father?”

By

R.C. Sproul

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August 16, 2022

One of the most well-known statements of the Christian faith is the Lord’s Prayer, which begins with the words “Our Father which art in heaven.” This is part of the universal treasury of Christendom. When I hear Christians in a private gathering praying individually, almost every single person begins their prayer by addressing God as Father. There’s nothing more common among us than to call God our Father. So central is this to our Christian experience that in the nineteenth century, there were some who said the basic essence of the whole Christian religion can be reduced to two points: the universal brotherhood of man and the universal fatherhood of God. In that context I am afraid we have missed one of the most radical teachings of Jesus.

A few years ago, a German scholar was doing research in New Testament literature and discovered that in the entire history of Judaism—in all existing books of the Old Testament and all existing books of extrabiblical Jewish writings dating from the beginning of Judaism until the tenth century A.D. in Italy—there is not a single reference of a Jewish person addressing God directly in the first person as Father.

There were appropriate forms of address that were used by Jewish people in the Old Testament, and the children were trained to address God in proper phrases of respect. All these titles were memorized, and the term Father was not among them. The first Jewish rabbi to call God “Father” directly was Jesus of Nazareth. It was a radical departure from tradition, and in fact, in every recorded prayer we have from the lips of Jesus save one, He calls God “Father.” It was for that reason that many of Jesus’ enemies sought to destroy Him; He assumed to have this intimate, personal relationship with the sovereign God of heaven and the creator of all things, and He dared to speak in such intimate terms with God. What’s even more radical is that Jesus says to His people, “When you pray, you say, ‘Our Father.’” He has given to us the right and privilege to come into the presence of the majesty of God and address Him as Father because indeed He is our Father. He has adopted us into His family and made us coheirs with His only begotten Son (Rom. 8:17).

“What does it mean for us to call God our Father?” and other questions can be found in our Questions Answered section. Learn more by watching R.C. Sproul’s video The Privilege of Addressing God as “Father.”

This article about what it means to call God Father originally appeared here.

ASK God to Help You—and Expect Him to Answer Your Prayers

By

Greg Stier

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August 15, 2022

Do you ASK God to help you? And when you pray, do you trust and expect him to answer?

“So I say to you: ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Luke 11:9-10

In this Bible passage, Jesus tells us to pray with expectance. He shows us how to ASK God for what we want and need: Ask. Seek. Knock.

ASK God to Help You: 3 Steps From Scripture

1. “Ask and it will be given to you.”

This is praying in a bold way. When we ask God for something, we’re letting him know we believe he can answer our request. That takes boldness.

2. “Seek and you will find.”

This is praying in an even bolder way. It’s the next level up from asking. Seeking requires effort and takes time.

3. “Knock and the door will be opened to you.”

This is praying in the boldest way. Knocking at a door is interruptive and takes persistence. It puts you in a position where you risk rejection. Or people might ignore you.

Be Persistent & Bold

In Greek, ask, seek, knock are in the present, active, imperative tense. This means they could read, as the NLT writes, “Keep asking…Keep seeking…Keep knocking.” God wants us to pray with persistence and boldness. He wants us to habitually ask until he answers.

How many prayers are unrealized due to a lack of ASKing? How many times do we give up too soon and miss out on the blessing of God’s “yes”?

We must be like the persistent widow. She kept coming to the judge until he caved and granted her request (Luke 18:1-8). We must be like the bold man who kept knocking on his neighbor’s door in the middle of the night with an emergency request until his neighbor finally answered (Luke 11:5-8).

What’s your request? Maybe you need healing. Perhaps it’s physical, emotional or relational, but you’re in desperate need. ASK God to help you. Don’t give up!

Maybe you need money. Bills are piling up. Creditors are knocking. You don’t know what to do or who to talk to. Talk to God about it. He can’t wait to hear from you.

Maybe you need hope. Turn upward to heaven and ASK God to help you.

Children’s Ministry Checklist: 19 Items You Need to Keep Handy

By

Linda Weddle

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August 15, 2022

A children’s ministry checklist is usually topped with patience, wisdom, and many volunteers. We know we need lots of prayer, leaders who love the Lord, and helpers who love kids.

This isn’t that kind of “need” list. Instead, this children’s ministry checklist contains items that are good to keep nearby…just in case.

Must-Have Children’s Ministry Checklist

How many of the items on this children’s ministry checklist are in your Sunday school classroom? If they’re missing, stock up before the fall programming year kicks off!

1. Self-stick notes

These are ideal for jotting a quick note to a parent. You can quickly attach a note to a children’s book, paper, or coat.

2. Bibles in the version you use

Sometimes classes have a good supply of Bibles. Other times they have a conglomeration of Bibles in every version imaginable. You need Bibles in the version you use! That way, children can follow along when you teach.

3. First-aid kit

Yes, your church hopefully has one somewhere. But it’s good to keep handy bandages for an “owie” you can’t see without a microscope.

4. Kleenex

Little kids’ noses. Need we say more?

5. Tape

You’ll need tape to put a picture on a wall, fix a torn paper, and for that self-stick note that’s lost its stickiness.

6. Changes of clothes

If you’re teaching early elementary, keep on hand an extra pair of kids sweatpants/shirt (because they stretch to many sizes). Usually preschool classes have children bring their own set of extra clothes. But sometimes older kids have accidents, or fall in the paint, or …

7. Pens

Keep a good supply handy because they “walk away.” Then you spend lots of time looking for something to write with.

8. Pencils

You want the kids to do an activity sheet but don’t have enough pencils to go around. So then you have to wait while kids share.

9. Camera

(Or someone who’s always there with a good camera phone.) You never know when a silly or cute moment will happen. You need to be ready!

10. Flashlights

Who wants to be in a room with a bunch of 3-year-olds (or 13-year-olds) when the electricity goes out and thunder is booming?

The Most Viewed Sermons on YouTube From the Past Year Include Only Four Names—And a Woman Tops the List

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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August 15, 2022

Have you ever wondered which sermons have the most views on YouTube? Well, ChurchLeaders did a query and found that, in the past year, only four names are on that list—one of which isn’t even a pastor at a church.

While a woman takes the number one spot, there is one pastor who claimed seven of the top 10 positions. Every pastor on the list leads a megachurch averaging between 10,000 and 45,000 weekly attenders.

All but one of the pastors on the list have, at one point or another, been accused of being prosperity gospel preachers.

The Ten Most Viewed Sermons on YouTube in the Last Year

1. Author, speaker, and evangelist Priscilla Shirer’s sermon titled “You’re Right Where You Need to Be,” which was given at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church, has been viewed over 5,063,920 times on YouTube. Shirer, who is the daughter of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church senior pastor Tony Evans, encourages others to “trust that God has you where you’re meant to be today, and will lead you to where you’re meant to be tomorrow.”

2. T.D. Jakes, bishop of The Potter’s House in Dallas, Texas, currently has 3,894,157 views on his sermon titled “Delayed Gratification.” In the sermon, Jakes defined delayed gratification as being “when you acknowledge the value in something and act patiently to receive it. You must wait in the Spirit, work in the flesh, and watch how God will elevate you higher than you ever thought possible. The cost to get it includes submission, strategy, surrender, and suffering.”

“Your better isn’t far off, but what price are you willing to pay to get there,” Jakes asked. Jakes originally delivered the sermon on September 20, 2020, and used scripture taken from Luke 22.

3. Bishop Jakes’ sermon “Timing Is Everything” ranked next with over 2,771,940 views. The bishop spoke from Mark 13:24-30, encouraging people to “hold on a little while longer—you’re coming into your harvest season, and you have to believe timing is everything!”

4. “When God Is Up to Something” has more than 2,299,500 views and was also delivered by Bishop Jakes. The sermon was given in March and is about Genesis 26.

“In times of famine, distress, heartache, and pain, we often ask, ‘Where is God,’” Jakes said. “God is still working and still moving in a way that transcends generations, for His plan must come to fruition. When God moves, we ought to move as well, because God has a place that’s perfect for us to receive His provision. It may be dead, but God’s so good that He will provide for you even in the midst of it. Get ready, because God is about to prosper you in a way you never saw coming!”

5. Dr. David Jeremiah’s “The Decision That Can Save Your Life” comes in fifth with 2,256,898 views. Jeremiah’s message came from Romans 12:1, and he discussed the most important decision one can make in their lifetime.

Pastor Ed Young Calls ‘Wokeism’ a Cult and a ‘Seductive, Satanic Strategy’

By

Jessica Mouser

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August 15, 2022

An Aug. 14 sermon that Pastor Ed Young of Fellowship Church in Texas preached on “wokeism” has generated criticism online. In his sermon, Young offered his own definition of “wokeism,” comparing the ideology as he defines it to a cult and calling it “a seductive, satanic strategy.”

“I would argue it’s sort of a religion,” said Young in a sermon titled, “What does it mean to be ‘Woke?’ | A Biblical Perspective.” “‘Wokeism’ takes terms that we’re familiar with and they redefine them because what is racist to a ‘woker’ would not be racist to those of us who are Christ followers. What is social justice to the ‘woker’ is not social justice to you and me. And here’s where it gets very, very confusing. Like any cult…they take terms that we’re very, very familiar with, they redefine them.”

Ed Young Warns Against ‘Wokeism’

Ed Young is senior pastor of Fellowship Church, which he cofounded with his wife, Lisa, and which is based out of the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Young started his sermon by contrasting eating soft serve ice cream with eating steak. There was a soft serve ice cream machine on stage with the phrase “Woke or Awake?” on it. The phrase “Woke or Awake?” was also on the screen behind the pastor, and the church’s website features “Woke or Awake?” coffee and mugs.

The latter part of this phrase appears to be an allusion to Ephesians 5:14-15, which Young referenced later in his sermon and which says, “This is why it is said: ‘Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise.”

Young helped himself to ice cream from the machine, explaining that a lot of people are “bypassing the beef and we’re just eating soft serve ice cream, especially when it comes to truth.” Fellowship Church, however, is not an “ice cream serving church,” he said. “We serve the beef.”

Young said he had taken a “deep dive” into “wokeism” over the past few months and that his initial Google search of the term, “woke,” led to the following definition: “Someone who is alert to injustice in society, especially racism.”

The pastor does identify as someone who is against injustice and racism—so does that make him “woke”? Young said no, it does not. Without explaining why he rejected this definition, he offered his own, which he had “come up with after reading a lot of brilliant Christian thinkers and also atheistic thinkers who are non-woke.”

Matt Chandler’s The Village Church Settles Abuse Case, Admits No Wrongdoing

By

Stephanie Martin

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August 15, 2022

the village church — Source: Google Maps

As Southern Baptists continue to face scrutiny—and now a federal investigation—for the handling of sexual abuse cases, a Texas megachurch within the denomination has angered victim advocates with recent comments. After The Village Church, a large Dallas-area congregation led by Acts 29 president Matt Chandler, settled a high-profile abuse case earlier this month, it released a statement emphasizing its innocence.

The church also makes claims that the family of the alleged victim calls “not fully truthful, transparent, or caring for the traumatized.”

The Village Church: Criminal Charges Had Been Dropped in 2020

As Church Leaders has reported, a young woman filed a civil lawsuit against The Village Church in 2019 for $1 million. Speaking to the New York Times, her mother described an alleged sexual abuse incident at a church camp back in 2012, when the girl was 11. In 2018, the daughter first told her mother about the incident, naming Village Church children’s pastor Matt Tonne. The family made immediate reports to the church and law enforcement.

Although Tonne insisted he was innocent, he was fired—but congregants were told the reason was alcohol abuse. Tonne was indicted in 2019, but a year later prosecutors dropped the charges. “The complainant cannot and has not positively identified [Tonne] as the person who committed this offense,” they noted.

In its August 1 statement about the civil-suit settlement in the “Kids Camp Case,” The Village Church says: “With the dismissal of both the criminal and civil case, litigation has now come to an end. The safety of our children and the vulnerable among us has been, and remains, our highest priority. After a thorough and lengthy legal investigation, we maintain and firmly believe that we committed no wrong.”

The church adds it “will continue to take accusations of or suspicion of abuse seriously” and it prays “the individual and their family continues to heal and receive care following this resolution.”

Family’s Attorney: Client’s Testimony ‘Never Wavered’

“The attempt to communicate care in one sentence followed by language that invalidates and dismisses the merits of the victim’s claims is not the way to express care, compassion, and truth,” said the family in a statement responding to The Village Church.

The family’s legal team also pushed back against the church’s content and tone. Plaintiff’s attorney Boz Tchividjian tells Christianity Today, “Our client’s testimony regarding the assault and who committed it has never wavered. It’s tragic that The Village Church never really seemed to grasp that. We are so grateful to our client for taking the profoundly difficult and brave step forward to bring darkness to light in this egregious matter.”

On August 5, Tchividjian tweeted: “It’s been a profound privilege to represent this amazing family as they’ve traveled to hell…and back.

Sexual abuse victims and victim advocates also are taking The Village Church to task for its settlement statement. Author Mary DeMuth tweets that the post “sounded more like slick PR wording than lament over a devastated Jane Doe One. Question: would Jesus write a letter like this?”

Woman ‘Intentionally’ Drives Vehicle Into Michigan Church, Crashing Into Classroom, Says Sheriff

By

Dale Chamberlain

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August 15, 2022

st. paul lutheran church and school — Photo via Facebook

A 56-year-old woman was transported to the hospital “for treatment and other evaluations” after crashing her 2007 Dodge Charger into the building of St. Paul Lutheran Church and School in Millington, Michigan, on Sunday night.

According to police, the driver “intentionally” drove into the church building around 10 p.m. on Sunday (August 14), crashing through the brick wall of a classroom building. In a picture posted by Tuscola County Sheriff’s Office, the vehicle can be seen stopped entirely inside the building.

It is unclear what the woman’s motivation for driving into the building may have been, or what she is being treated for. Police have not stated how they came to the preliminary conclusion that the collision was intentional.

Thankfully, the police stated that no injuries were reported in connection with the incident.

“The incident remains under investigation and information posted here is subject to change,” police said early Monday morning. “Deputy LaFlure extends a special thanks to Millington Fire/Rescue, MMR and the Vassar Police Department for their quick and professional service.”

In a statement made via Facebook on Sunday night, St. Paul Lutheran Church said, “Due to structural damage, the building will be closed until further notice. We will not have access to the phones, so please contact staff by cell phone or Facebook if necessary. Please watch this page for further updates.”

St. Paul Lutheran Church is celebrating its 125th anniversary, which the church has marked by celebrations throughout the year. A Teacher Rededication and Open House had been scheduled for Sunday, September 11.

What Most Fans Don’t Know About Actress Anne Heche’s Relationship With Faith, Fundamentalism, and Conversion Therapy

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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August 15, 2022

Anne Heche, the 53-year-old actress known for co-starring alongside Harrison Ford in the film “Six Days Seven Nights,” has died after suffering injuries from a car crash on August 5.

Heche had been in a coma after suffering an anoxic brain injury (wherein oxygen is cut off from the brain) after crashing her Mini Cooper Clubman into a Los Angeles home. The crash sparked a fire that not only cause major damage to the car but also the house. Although Heche was rescued less than an hour after the crash, she never left the hospital’s burn unit, having suffered smoke inhalation and severe burns.

Law officials, who are still awaiting the actresses toxicology report, believe she was under the influence at the time of the crash.

Substance abuse had plagued Heche’s life throughout most of her career. In 2000, she walked into a stranger’s home and asked to take a shower while high on ecstasy. After the homeowner called the authorities, Heche told police that she was “God, and was going to take everyone back to heaven in a spaceship.”

Heche is survived by two children, ages 20 and 13, one of which she shares with her husband James Tupper.

“Today we lost a bright light, a kind and most joyful soul, a loving mother, and a loyal friend,” the family said in a statement. “Anne will be deeply missed but she lives on through her beautiful sons, her iconic body of work, and her passionate advocacy. Her bravery for always standing in her truth, spreading her message of love and acceptance, will continue to have a lasting impact.”

“My brother Atlas and I lost our Mom,” her oldest son told People. “After six days of almost unbelievable emotional swings, I am left with a deep, wordless sadness. Hopefully my mom is free from pain and beginning to explore what I like to imagine as her eternal freedom. Over those six days, thousands of friends, family, and fans made their hearts known to me. I am grateful for their love, as I am for the support of my Dad, Coley, and my stepmom Alexi who continue to be my rock during this time. Rest In Peace Mom, I love you.”

According to California law, although Heche’s heart is still beating, she is legally dead. The actress will be taken off life support after recipients for her organ donations are found.

Heche’s Mother Lectured for Focus on the Family

Unbeknownst to many fans, Heche grew up in a Christian household, though not everything was always as it seemed.

Donald, Heche’s father, directed the choir at church, but hid many dark secrets from his wife and Heche’s mother, Nancy. Heche shared in multiple interviews that her father sexually abused her. He also was also secretly sexually promiscuous with other men.

He died from AIDS when Heche was 13 years old.

Republicans Keep Mostly Mum on Calls To Make GOP ‘Party of Christian Nationalism’

By

Jack Jenkins

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August 15, 2022

trump_greene — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., waves while former President Donald Trump points to her while they look over the 16th tee during the second round of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament in Bedminster, N.J., July 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

WASHINGTON (RNS) — U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has spent much of the summer calling on her fellow Republicans to become the “party of Christian nationalism,” even selling T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Proud Christian nationalist.” Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference’s meeting in Texas Aug. 5, she said the Christian nationalism label is nothing to be “ashamed” of and encouraged other members of her party to “lean in to biblical principles.”

Two other Republican politicians have disputed the principle of the separation of church and state. In late June Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, speaking at the Cornerstone Christian Center in Basalt, Colorado, proclaimed she is “tired of the separation of church and state junk that’s not in the Constitution.” Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano referred to church-state separation as a “myth” in a speech earlier this year.

Religion News Service reached out to more than 50 House and Senate Republicans seeking their response, questioning whether they support calls to make the RNC the party of Christian nationalism. The list ranged from hardline conservatives to more moderate Republicans who recently voted to codify the legalization of same-sex marriage into federal law.

Two Republicans responded: Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma and Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina.

Lankford, a stalwart conservative and Southern Baptist who earned a master’s of divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and still occasionally performs marriage counseling and weddings, answered by locating the separation of church and state in the Constitution.

“I took an oath to defend the US Constitution which states, ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’” Lankford said in a statement. “While my personal faith is firmly in Jesus Christ, our nation protects the right of each person to choose any faith, change their faith, or have no faith. That has been true from George Washington to the present.”

Mace, who attends services at Sea Coast Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, also attributed the principle to the founders of the federal government.

“The Republican Party has room for anyone that believes in the fundamental principles of limited government, federalism, and keeping taxes low for all Americans,” read her statement. “Our founders designed a nation that explicitly maintains the separation of Church and State, something which should continue to be a guiding principle of our Republic.”

A representative for Rep. Darrell Issa of California also responded, but only to convey that the spokesperson was “totally unfamiliar” with Boebert and Greene’s rhetoric. When House members voted to strip Greene of committee assignments in 2021, after old social media posts showed the congresswoman espousing conspiracy theories and antisemitic and anti-Muslim ideas, Issa was one of the few lawmakers to come to her defense, arguing members should not be judged for things done before taking office.

Fire at Cairo Coptic Church Kills 41, Including 15 Children

By

Samy Magdy

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August 15, 2022

CAIRO (AP) — A fire ripped through a packed Coptic Orthodox church during morning services in Egypt’s capital on Sunday, quickly filling it with thick black smoke and killing 41 worshippers, including at least 15 children.

Several trapped congregants jumped from upper floors of the Martyr Abu Sefein church to try to escape the intense flames, witnesses said. “Suffocation, suffocation, all of them dead,” said a distraught witness, who only gave a partial name, Abu Bishoy.

Sixteen people were injured, including four policemen involved in the rescue effort.

The cause of the blaze at the church in the working-class neighborhood of Imbaba was not immediately known. An initial investigation pointed to an electrical short-circuit, according to a police statement.

Weeping families waited outside for word about relatives who were inside the church and at nearby hospitals where the victims were taken. Footage from the scene circulated online showed burned furniture, including wooden tables and chairs. Firefighters were seen putting out the blaze while others carried victims to ambulances.

Witnesses said there were many children inside the four-story building, which had two day care facilities.

“There are children, we didn’t know how to get to them,” said Abu Bishoy. “And we don’t know whose son this is, or whose daughter that is. Is this possible?”

A total of 15 children were killed in the fire, according to Copts United, a news website focusing on Christian news.

A list of victims obtained by The Associated Press said 20 bodies, including 10 children, were taken to the Imbaba public hospital. Three were siblings, twins aged 5 and a 3-year-old, it said. The church bishop, Abdul Masih Bakhit, was also among the dead at the hospital morgue.

Twenty-one bodies were taken to other hospitals.

Mousa Ibrahim, a spokesman for the Coptic Orthodox Church, told the AP that 5-year-old triplets, their mother, grandmother and an aunt were among those killed.

Witness Emad Hanna said a church worker managed to get some children out of the church day care facilities.

“We went upstairs and found people dead. And we started to see from outside that the smoke was getting bigger, and people want to jump from the upper floor,” Hanna said.

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1. Prophetic People Purposefully Engage With Conflict. Jerks Just Perpetuate Division.

2. Prophetic People Speak to the Sins of Their Own Tribe. Jerks Judge Others.

ASK God to Help You: 3 Steps From Scripture

1. “Ask and it will be given to you.”

2. “Seek and you will find.”

3. “Knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Be Persistent & Bold

Must-Have Children’s Ministry Checklist

1. Self-stick notes

2. Bibles in the version you use

3. First-aid kit

4. Kleenex

5. Tape

6. Changes of clothes

7. Pens

8. Pencils

9. Camera

10. Flashlights

The Ten Most Viewed Sermons on YouTube in the Last Year

Ed Young Warns Against ‘Wokeism’

The Village Church: Criminal Charges Had Been Dropped in 2020

Family’s Attorney: Client’s Testimony ‘Never Wavered’

Heche’s Mother Lectured for Focus on the Family

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