Cardinal: Pope Ordered Auditor to Resign Over Spying Charge

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May 20, 2022

Cardinal: Pope Ordered Auditor to Resign Over Spying Charge — FILE - Cardinal Angelo Becciu talks to journalists during press conference in Rome, Sept. 25, 2020. A Vatican cardinal testified Wednesday, May 18, 2022 that Pope Francis himself ordered the ouster of the Holy See’s auditor general, shedding light on a scandal that had sparked questions about the Vatican’s commitment to financial transparency and accountability. Cardinal Angelo Becciu opened a second day of questioning in the Vatican’s big financial fraud trial by saying Francis had recently authorized him to reveal the details of Milone’s 2017 departure as the Vatican’s first auditor-general. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A Vatican cardinal testified Wednesday that Pope Francis himself ordered the ouster of the Holy See’s auditor-general, turning the tables on a scandal that had sparked questions about the Vatican’s commitment to financial transparency and accountability.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu opened a second day of questioning in the Vatican’s big financial fraud trial by saying Francis had recently authorized him to reveal the details of Libero Milone’s 2017 departure as the Vatican’s first auditor-general. He did so to clarify his previous testimony, during which he declined to respond to questions about Milone “out of love for the Holy Father.”

The Vatican announced June 20, 2017 that Milone had resigned two years into his mandate, without providing details. His ouster, as well as the removal of PriceWaterHouseCoopers as Vatican auditors, had long been cited by Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican’s former financial czar, and others as evidence of possible shady dealings by Becciu and the secretariat of state and a step back in the Vatican’s efforts at financial transparency and reform.

Three months after he left, Milone claimed in media interviews that he had been forced out after he uncovered evidence of possible illegal activity in the Vatican.

Becciu made clear Wednesday that it was Francis who ordered Milone out, because Milone had hired an outside investigative firm to spy on Vatican hierarchs like himself. He said Francis summoned him June 7, 2017 and asked him to tell Milone “that as of today he no longer had the trust of the Holy Father” and to ask him to submit his resignation.

“I have no responsibility concerning the resignation of Dr. Milone,” Becciu said. “I merely followed an order received by the Holy Father, that was taken in full autonomy without any involvement.”

It was the latest incidence in the Vatican‘s sprawling financial trial of defendants asserting that Francis had approved every major undertaking related to the Vatican’s financial decisions and the scandal concerning the secretariat of state’s 350-million-euro ($367 million) investment in a London property, which is at the center of the trial.

Reassess, Be Vigilant, Church Security Experts Advise Following Latest Shooting

By

Scott Barkley

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May 20, 2022

Church Security — Photo via Unsplash.com @Flex Point Security

NASHVILLE (BP) – Churches are taking another look at their security plans after a weekend when 10 died in a shooting at a Buffalo, N.Y., grocery store and another the next day at a California church.

While variables can exist from church to church in establishing or modifying those plans, the concerns and preparation are largely consistent, one expert said.

“It’s a matter of scope, of scale,” said Mike Everett, director of security services for Bellevue Baptist Church near Memphis. “With churches it’s the same way. We all face the same issues, whether it’s budgetary or congregation size or the number of people you have to serve on your security ministry.”

Everett was working with a company that had given a security assessment at Bellevue before the church approached him with a job offer that he accepted in September 2021. Prior to that, he had served 23 years in law enforcement in southern Illinois as a patrolman and three-term sheriff.

Bellevue already had an established security team before Everett’s arrival. In 2016 that team took action in subduing a heavily armed man who entered the sanctuary during the church’s 11 a.m. Easter service. An alert greeter had noticed a pistol sticking out of the man’s jacket. Upon being interrogated by Bellevue’s then-director of security Andy Willis, a reserve officer with the Memphis Police Department, an automatic rifle and “lots of ammo” were found in the man’s backpack.

Both Everett and Ben O’Neal, who leads seminars and training for church security and safety through the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, point to the 2017 shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, as a turning point of consciousness on the discussion.

“It taught us some things about layering security,” O’Neal said of the shooting that left 26 dead, including an unborn child. It’s important, he said, to have security in the parking lot as well as at the door to provide as many eyes as possible looking out.

“You need to identify potential threats as they pass through various levels,” said O’Neal, who had 23 years of active duty in the Army before retiring with the rank of major. Degrees in criminal justice and security management have helped him in security training for more than 600 Georgia Baptist churches. He also speaks to more than 200 groups a year through regional seminars.

Layering is only one part of beginning a security plan. Two of those killed at Sutherland Springs were outside the building, but most died when the shooter entered the building. Therefore, it’s important to limit the number of accessible doors going into the building, O’Neal said.

The concept applies to churches of all sizes. A small church could have a couple of volunteers in the parking lot and two more at the main entrance. Many churches have started locking those front doors once the service starts. But that doesn’t mean they have to be unwelcoming.

“Always have someone at the door ready to open it for those who are late,” O’Neal said.

Such measures don’t make a church cold, just cautious. And, it protects the ministry in the long term.

“If someone gets inside and causes a crisis, it’s going to hurt your ministry and outreach,” he said.

An intrusion doesn’t have to involve a gun. Recently, pro-abortion protestors disrupted the services of a Catholic church in Colorado over the leaked Supreme Court opinion pointing to the possible overturn of Roe vs. Wade.

Insurers Suddenly Raise Stakes on German Churches’ Sex Abuse Response

By

Tom Heneghan

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May 20, 2022

sex abuse germany — A carnival float depicting a sleeping cardinal, reading “11 years of relentless processing of cases of abuse,” is set in front of the Cologne Cathedral to protest against the Catholic Church in Cologne, Germany, March 18, 2021. Faced with accusations of trying to cover up sexual violence in Germany’s most powerful Roman Catholic diocese, the archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, ordered an independent investigation. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

(RNS) — Germany’s Catholic and Protestant churches have been criticized for their handling of clergy sexual abuse for years now by victims, believers and the media. Now they face new pressure from an unexpected corner: the insurance industry.

VBG, a national association of accident insurance providers, recently complained to the two predominant church bodies in the country that they had not been notified of the thousands of sexual abuse cases that have been found in the church groups’ ranks.

According to German law, sexual abuse cases can fall under the rules governing the churches’ insurance policies. Policyholders must inform the company of known cases and help insurers determine how much compensation they should pay.

Church insurance policies, the VBG lawyers have determined, cover both paid employees and volunteers at church-run activities such as liturgies, youth groups or outings.

“If an altar boy is abused during work, that is a work accident,” VBG spokesman Pierre Stage told Die Zeit, the weekly that broke the story. “Those affected in the context of church volunteer work have our fullest sympathy.”

The surprised churches have responded to the VGB’s letter with an almost audible gulp. “It is undergoing careful scrutiny, which is still ongoing,” the spokesman for the Catholic bishops conference said.

The Evangelical Church in Germany, a federation of 20 Lutheran, Reformed and United regional churches, indicated it was “in contact with the VBG about this.”

The churches have good reason to tread carefully. In the dozen years since the abuse scandal broke in a Berlin Catholic school, Germany has mostly left it to them to investigate the problem and indemnify the victims.

They have issued several headline-grabbing reports, apologized profusely and offered compensation up to 50,000 euros per person.

But victims complain that this procedure is too slow, compensation is sometimes not enough, decisions on cases are made in secret and they cannot be contested in court.

A participant of a rally of the initiative Maria 2.0 holds a poster with the inscription 'No offices for cover-ups' in front of the cathedral in Cologne, Germany, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021 before the beginning of a penitential service of the archdiocese of Cologne in the course of coming to terms with sexual violence. (Henning Kaiser/dpa via AP)

A participant of a rally of the initiative Maria 2.0 holds a poster with the inscription “No offices for cover-ups” in front of the cathedral in Cologne, Germany, Nov. 18, 2021, before the beginning of a penitential service of the Archdiocese of Cologne in the course of coming to terms with sexual violence. (Henning Kaiser/dpa via AP)

In VBG, one of Germany’s biggest trade associations, with 1.5 million member companies — from banks to railways to architectural firms, as well as the churches — and representing 10 million insured people, the churches suddenly have a powerful critic with deep pockets and highly paid lawyers.

Its letter, sent in late April, clearly outlined what those lawyers thought victims deserved. “The earlier the accidents are reported, the earlier we can care for victims and try to lessen their psychic pain through therapy,” it said.

Pressure and Shame From the Increasing Paradox Surrounding Our Bodies

By

Eric Geiger

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May 20, 2022

thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Joey Chestnut is the most dominant person in his field. People marvel at his ability and his dedication. He is consistently the national champion in the Nathan’s Annual Hotdog Eating Contest. He won again last year by downing 71 hotdogs (with buns) in ten minutes. 25 years ago, it took 20 hotdogs to win the hotdog eating competition. You can watch the competition on ESPN. Also, on ESPN, but very different, is the CrossFit Games – where athletes compete against one another. Hotdog eating and CrossFit competitions, broadcast on the same sports channel, illustrate the paradox we find ourselves in.

On one hand, we are eating more and eating less healthy as a culture. Doctors agree that this is a serious health problem but researches debate the root of the problem. Some point to how we can eat so much, so cheaply in comparison to other nations and believe that raising prices or taxes on food is the solution. Others point to longer work hours and less time for exercise. Some point to convenience as the culprit. Others point to our increasing portion sizes. There is more to eat and it is easier to eat more than ever before.

But on the other side of the paradox the fitness industry is steadily growing. According to the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association, Americans with gym memberships have increased from 19.5M to 62.5M in the last thirty years. There are CrossFit boxes, boot camps, fitness centers that provide massages and smoothies, boutique fitness centers, streaming services, and equipment that virtually connects to others around the world as you exercise.

We can feel this personally with our own bodies. It is easier than ever to bounce back and forth between the two sides of the paradox. We are constantly tempted to not take care of the one body the Lord has given us or to make our body the focus of our lives. We live in a world where it is easier to both abuse and adore our bodies. The result is a lot of pressure and a lot of shame. Both body abuse and body adoration fail us for these two reasons:

1. Both Body Abuse and Body Adoration Make Gods out of Good Gifts.

Food is a good gift from God. He gave us taste buds to savor and enjoy the food and He is pleased when we enjoy each other and enjoy a great meal together. Jesus is the only person in the New Testament accused of being a glutton because the religious leaders saw him enjoying meals “those sinners and tax collectors.” Food is a good gift but we abuse food when our stomach bosses us around as our god. Our bodies are a good gift too, and any movement we can make is a gift. But our body is a terrible god. When we make food or our bodies our gods, they fail to satisfy us. There will always be another “must have meal” and another goal for our bodies. We will never look in the mirror and declare, “it is finished.” Whether our stomach or our bodies, when we glory in something other than Christ, our glory is always our disappointment and shame (Philippians 3:18).

2. Both Body Abuse and Body Adoration Focus on the Temporary.

When we abuse our bodies with food or drink, we are focused on temporary pleasure and not considering the long-term implications to our bodies. But when we adore our bodies, we are also focused on the temporary. Our earthly bodies are not going to last us forever. We can exercise and eat clean, but we are fighting the inevitable. Our bodies will fail us.

Gearing up for the Fall 2022 Small Group Boom

By

Allen White

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May 20, 2022

Fall 2022 promises to be the largest small group launch season you’ve ever seen. Now that COVID is behind you for the most part and the weather is warming up, people are gone. Don’t believe me? Go price an airline ticket right now. For more on this prediction, go here.

Now that you are convinced, partially convinced, or skeptical that this small group boom is a few months away, how do you prepare? What do you need to have in place? Here are some things to consider:

Maximum Groups Require Maximum Leaders

If you want to launch a group, you have to have a leader. No leader means no group. It’s as simple as that. This reminds me of a conversation back when our church was on-boarding a new children’s pastor. I said, “There are two parts to children’s ministry: (1) Recruiting the leaders, and (2) Keeping the leaders happy.”

Our new children’s pastor asked, “But, when do I get to work with the kids?”

I replied, “You weren’t listening.” He chose to invest his time and energy into leading the kids instead of leading the leaders. His children’s leaders weren’t happy and started quitting. We hired a new children’s pastor not long after that.

You could say the same for small groups. There are two parts to small group ministry: (1) Recruiting group leaders, and (2) Supporting those leaders. Don’t get bogged down trying to find groups for people. Don’t hold the hand of every person who fills out a sign up card for groups. To put it bluntly: this is a waste of your time. Put your effort into recruiting leaders, and then teach the leaders to gather their groups.

Don’t Worry About Connecting 100% into Groups

In the early days of church-wide campaigns, this was the rallying cry: Connect Your Entire Congregation into Community! Been there. Done that. What we discovered was that connecting 100% of a church’s adult attendance into groups is too small of a goal. The more significant metric is the percentage of your congregation LEADING groups.

Our family moved back to my hometown of Topeka, Kansas last summer. We attend the church where I grew up. I get to sit next to my dad every Sunday. It’s nice. But, the church is probably 10% of the attendance it was back in the day. On a good Sunday, there are about 50 people there.

When I showed up, the pastor said, “Well, we’re doing pretty good with small groups. We have one group. That takes care of everyone who wants one.”

I wanted to grab him by the lapels and yell, “You’re looking at this all wrong. You don’t want 50 people in groups. You want 50 people leading groups!” But, I refrained, primarily because he wasn’t wearing lapels, and I promised my wife that I wouldn’t wear my consulting hat to church. I just sit there biting my tongue (until I’m asked). This is also a good marriage lesson for some.

How do you launch 100 groups in your church?

You don’t need 1,000 people to start 100 groups. You need 100 people willing to lead a group. If you have a leader, then you have a group.

How to Identify ‘People Helpers’ in Your Church

By

Eric Scalise

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May 20, 2022

There’s no doubt pastors today have more on their plates than they can get to, and the escalating mental and emotional health needs related to COVID have only exacerbated this problem. Thankfully, there is help for pastors in this area. Studies have shown that individuals in need of mental and emotional health assistance can be helped just as well by lay counselors and caregivers as by professionals in these areas, so gifted church members can be a resource to pastors in sharing this load.

How can a pastor recognize which church members might be specifically called and equipped to serve in this area? Below is a list of 10 key characteristics pastors can look for to determine if a lay leader might qualify as one of these “people helpers.”

1. First, they should be spiritually mature Christians and committed Christ followers themselves (see Galatians 6:1), with a thorough knowledge of Scripture and wisdom in applying it to daily living. They should be someone known by church leadership who has a healthy prayer life, respect for spiritual authority, and a strong moral and ethical reputation. It would be beneficial if they have been involved in the life of the local congregation for at least one year.

2. Those under consideration should be stable psychologically – not emotionally volatile, but open and vulnerable. They should have no serious psychological disorders, marital conflicts, or addictions. If they are in recovery from an addiction, I recommend that they have been in recovery for a minimum of two years.

3. Potential caregivers should have a love for and interest in people. They should be warm, caring, and genuine, with true concern for others’ welfare.

4. They should exhibit a few key spiritual gifts, such as exhortation, wisdom, knowledge, discernment of spirits, mercy, and healing (see Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12).

5. They should have some life experience under their belt – that they not be too young to understand multiple relational contexts. Younger people are especially passionate about helping others, but we need to make sure their zeal doesn’t outweigh their maturity.

6. Previous training or experience in helping people would be extremely beneficial. Academic or formal training isn’t necessary, as that can be provided.

7. The person should exhibit availability and teachability. They should be willing to spend several hours a week in training, and be open to being supervised in their ministry. They should be responsive and open to learning a biblical approach to helping people.

8. They must be able to maintain confidentiality. Ministry guidelines are very specific about the need to protect privacy of individuals seeking counseling, so anyone being considered for the role of lay counselor or caregiver should exhibit the utmost respect for people’s privacy and confidentiality.

9. One commonsense aspect to selecting people helpers that pastors will want to take into account is the person’s willingness to submit to a complete and thorough background check.

10. Pastors also should seek individuals from a variety of age, sex, education, and socioeconomic statuses as well as ethnic/cultural backgrounds. This will be helpful so that those in need of assistance can have a lay counselor or caregiver with whom they feel most comfortable and relatable.

By finding a few key individuals within a congregation who fit these criteria, pastors can ensure that they are equipped and trained with the necessary people helping skills to become fully qualified lay counselors and caregivers. Often, church members experiencing mental or emotional distress just need someone to talk to and to know that they are being looked out for – someone with whom they can get coffee once a week and it doesn’t need to feel like a formal counseling session. Having a team of people empowered to serve in this way will not only help the congregation but will also take a huge load off of overburdened pastors’ shoulders.

Adapted from Lay Counseling: Equipping Christians for a Helping Ministry (revised & updated) by Siang-Yang Tan & Eric T. Scalise, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 106–107.

Fun Bible Activities for Kids: 3 Easy Devotions for Elementary Kids

By

ChildrensMinistry.com

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May 19, 2022

Fun Bible activities for kids hold their interest and boost their learning. Object lessons and active experiences are especially powerful for elementary-age students.

If you need great ideas for Bible activities and devotions, check out the three below. Children will learn about forgiveness, spiritual gifts, and committing their plans to God.

Enjoy trying out these fun Bible activities for kids!

Fun Bible Activities for Kids

1. Pong

Use this game to help kids think about forgiveness.

You’ll need:

a Bible
4 ping-pong balls per child
paper
markers

Form two lines. Give the first player in each line four ping-pong balls, two to hold in each hand. Place paper and markers on the opposite side of the room.

Say: When I say “go,” those holding the balls must run to the paper and write their full names while still holding the balls. Then they’ll run back and hand the balls to the next person in line. The first team to get everyone to the opposite wall and back wins.

Collect the balls. Then repeat the relay. This time kids will write “forgive.”

Ask:

Talk about the difference between the relays.

Read aloud Ephesians 4:32.

Ask:

How is holding on to the balls in our race like holding on to unforgiveness?
Why might you forgive even when you don’t feel like it?

Sharon Carey
Washington, Illinois

‘Future Church Co.’ Founder Will Mancini Resigns Due to Infidelity; Seeking Restoration

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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May 19, 2022

Will Mancini, founder and Chief Vision Officer (CVO) of the church consulting agency Future Church Co., has resigned due to infidelity, according to a statement sent to the company’s current clients.

Mancini pastored until 2001 before he began church consulting and coaching full-time. He holds a Master’s Degree in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, and has authored a number of books.

While serving at Clear Creek Community Church in Houston, Texas, Mancini was recruited to “build a vision clarity process for their church clients to go through before providing typical marketing services,” Mancini’s website, which is no longer accessible, had said.

Mancini’s website explained that Mancini followed God’s leading “to set up a ministry that would reach more churches than just those interested in marketing services,” which eventually gave birth to Auxano (meaning “to cause to grow”) in 2004. The company is designed to help local churches grow in their disciple-making effectiveness.

In August 2020, Mancini left Auxano and launched Future Church Co. alongside Kelly Kannwischer (cofounder and CEO) and Dave Rhodes (cofounder and Chief Training Officer). According to Future Church Co., the company consists of three interconnected organizations that help the church embody the movement Jesus started: Youinque, Pivvot, and Denominee.

“The paradigm for church we’ve embraced—that has arisen as a result of the last 40 years of church history in North America—is perfectly designed to produce the limited results we’re getting,” Mancini says on the company’s website. “We can do better.”

The statement sent from Kannwischer and Rhodes shared that “as leaders of Future Church Co., we are grateful to serve the faith-based community in empowering followers of Jesus to maximize their God-given potential and develop God-inspired plans for the future.”

“Today we need to share news that Will Mancini has resigned from the Future Church Co. due to infidelity,” the company’s cofounders went on to say.

Future Church Co. asked their clients to join them in prayer for their former CVO while “he focuses his attention on his marriage and cares for his family as he enters a restoration process” through the guidance of a professional ministry.

Kannwischer shared with ChurchLeaders that Mancini voluntarily came forward, confessed his infidelity, is showing repentance, and is in the process of seeking reconciliation with his wife.

Future Church Co. also asked for prayer as they “elevate our commitment to serving the church.”

The Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) North American Mission Board (NAMB) has terminated most of their agreements with Mancini’s companies due to his resignation. NAMB had used Future Church Co. and Denominee to help equip SBC pastors, state conventions, and local associations.

Kirk Cameron Hosts Disgraced Pastor James MacDonald To Talk Biblical Illiteracy

By

Dale Chamberlain

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May 19, 2022

This week, James MacDonald appeared on an episode of TBN’s “Takeaways with Kirk Cameron” to discuss the problem of biblical illiteracy.

“For 30 years, Doctor James MacDonald served as founding and senior pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, and for more than 20 years, he was the Bible teacher of the broadcast ministry ‘Walk in the Word,’” Cameron said to introduce MacDonald. “He’s a prolific author of more than 15 books, and he joins us today to talk about the crisis of biblical illiteracy.”

MacDonald was fired by Harvest Bible Chapel in 2019 amid ongoing controversy surrounding an allegedly abusive leadership style, as well as financial improprieties.

In 2019, MacDonald was also accused of attempting to put a hit out on the life of Chicago radio host Mancow Muller.

Muller had previously spoken out against MacDonald for creating “a culture of authoritarianism, secrecy, intimidation, outlandish fundraising expectations, poor financial controls, and debt” at Harvest Bible Chapel. Muller also exposed an audio recording wherein MacDonald can be heard talking about planting child porn on the computer of a Christianity Today editor as retaliation for negatively reporting about him.

MacDonald subsequently sued Muller and the parent company of his radio station for defamation. Though parts of that lawsuit have been dismissed, the legal dispute is ongoing.

The former pastor has been known for his vitriolic and often expletive laced attacks on public enemies, which include his former Harvest Bible Chapel elders and Julie Roys, an investigative reporter who broke much of the news regarding his improprieties.

MacDonald has continued to publicly criticize his former elders as recently as Thursday (May 19), when he tweeted about his ongoing legal disputes with Harvest Bible Chapel, referring to the leaders of his former church as pathetic and Julie Roys as “an abuser.”

When Cameron asked MacDonald why he thinks biblical illiteracy in America is at an all time high, even though access to the Bible has never been easier, MacDonald said, “The Bible is seen as material that could be reviewed and considered, but it’s certainly not seen as authoritative.”

“I had a bunch of pastors here, Kirk, in my house recently. I was training them in what we call ‘Better Biblical Preaching.’ And it was remarkable to me when I asked them, ‘what is the goal of preaching,’ they really—seminary-trained guys—they just kind of didn’t know,” MacDonald said. “And I took the time, several hours, to teach them from the word of God that the endgame of preaching is a higher view of Scripture.”

Willow Creek Community Church Forced to Cut $6.5 Million in Staffing Due to Decreased Giving

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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May 19, 2022

Willow Creek Community Church founder and senior pastor Bill Hybels announced his resignation in 2018 after being accused of sexual misconduct by current and former leaders at the well-known church. Since then, the Chicago megachurch has seen its once 25,000 weekly attendance drop to under 18,000.

Willow Creek Community Church’s attendance drop can be attributed to the scandal that hit their senior pastor and which led to the church’s entire senior leadership and elder board resigning, as well as Hybels’ named successors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also played a role in the church’s dwindling numbers. In a church update released this week, Willow Creek Community Church shared that although they have witnessed an increase in attendance since the end of last year, average attendance is below 50% of their pre-pandemic numbers. Further, tithing is still down.

According to Ministry Watch, Willow Creek Community Church received between $5-10 million in COVID-19 government relief funds (Paycheck Protection Program).

“We teach our congregation to be good stewards of all that God has given them: their time, talents, and treasure,” the church’s statement reads. “We, as a church, want to do the same. We want to operate with a balanced budget, in confidence that God will provide all we need to do the work He has called us to. As we projected into 2023, we identified a significant gap between our expenses and our reality. We have healthy financial reserves for emergencies, but do not want to fund ministry with reserves.”

Leadership explained church staffing costs should be at or below 50% for a multi-site campus of their size. The church staffing costs are currently at 72% of their overall budget. This is “too high to be sustainable,” leadership said.

In a video posted on May 9, 2022, senior pastor Dave Dummitt shared that Willow Creek Community Church had to eliminate positions across their campuses and ministries. The update explained that cuts reduced the church’s 2023 staff expenses to 52% of the overall budget, saving an estimated $6.5 million.

The decision to cut staff was “extremely difficult,” leadership said.

Reporting the generosity of Willow Creek Community Church’s worshipers, leadership shared the encouraging news that “more than $1.5 million was given in the last few weeks through Celebration of Hope, designated for our global partnerships; more than 4,700 people gathered earlier this month to assemble one million seed packs that will grow up to 150 million pounds of vegetables in villages in South America and Zambia; last Sunday 650 people signed up to run the Chicago Marathon to raise money for clean water in India.”

The update also shared that for the past two months, the church has witnessed baptisms during their Sunday morning worship services.

Leadership ask the congregation to pray for the staff and their families as they navigate the days ahead.

‘They Stick to Your Soul.’ Pro-life Outreaches Serve Mothers, Babies

By

Diana Chandler

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May 19, 2022

pro-life outreaches — Ashland Avenue Baptist Church in Kentucky is displaying 2,500 crosses on its front lawn in memory of the approximately 2,500 babies aborted daily in the U.S. as recently as 2019.

DALLAS (BP) – Crediting God’s tenderness and compassion, Leanne Jamieson says pregnant women in crisis often stick to her very soul, causing her to take their concerns to God’s altar.

The executive director of the Prestonwood (Baptist Church) Pregnancy Center meets hundreds of such women each year.

“I will sit with a client and so often, they stick to your soul and then you have to leave them at the altar, because you fall in love with them, and you realize that the world is a broken place, that God allows us to see them like He sees them, and that tenderness and compassion,” Jamieson said.

“I guess when I sit with a young woman, I guess I know I could have been one decision or, have a different family, or not (have) been raised in the church – there’s a whole host of things where I could have been that client, even though I’m not.”

Jamieson spoke to Baptist Press while preparing for the May 31 opening of the Prestonwood Family Resource Center that will allow expanded and extended care for mothers, fathers and children, with pertinent resources through perhaps the fifth year of life.

“What I love about the resource center is it really is a flag to the world that the accusation that we are merely, as believers, pro-birth is not true, that we are pro-life in both word and action,” Jamieson said. “And that when we say to a young woman or a young couple that we are there to support them and to walk alongside them and to equip them through this parenting journey, should they decide to parent that child themselves rather than looking at adoption, this is just very … tangible proof of that.”

As the U.S. Supreme Court seems primed to return abortion law to the purview of state legislatures, Jamieson suspects the Prestonwood ministry will attract more women in crisis. Texas is among 13 states with laws on the books that will immediately outlaw abortion if the decision is returned to the states.

Prestonwood, under the leadership of senior pastor Jack Graham, is among numerous churches continuing various pro-life outreaches.

Ashland Avenue Baptist Church in Kentucky, where most abortions would also become illegal if Roe v. Wade is overturned, is displaying 2,500 crosses on its front lawn in memory of the approximately 2,500 babies aborted daily in the U.S. as recently as 2019, senior pastor David Prince told Baptist Press.

Ashland Avenue asked its members to give at least $4 per cross for the display, raising $14,000 to give to a local crisis pregnancy center in Lexington. The church borrowed the white crosses, each about 2 feet tall, from Arkansas Right to Life. Children helped their parents and other members plant the crosses on Ashland Avenue’s front lawn May 15 for a two-week public display.

“We hope it reminds Christians and even those who are not Christian who understand the value of human life to speak and to call to an end to Roe v. Wade,” Prince said. “We hope it helps remind Christians to pray to that end, but also to serve those who are in the midst of precious pregnancies.

“So we want to be a voice in our city to speak about issues of unrighteousness and this is …one of the most significant of those issues that we speak to,” Prince said. “And we also wanted to accomplish our continued support of the local … crisis pregnancy center.”

Ashland Avenue’s members are active in fostering and adopting, and many have thanked Prince for the church’s work.

SBC Executive Committee Leadership: ‘It’s a Time for Lament and a Time for Change’

By

Baptist Press

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May 19, 2022

Ecclesiastes, one of the great wisdom books in the Old Testament, contains a familiar passage ascribing times for everything and seasons for every activity under the heavens.

Among them, there are times to weep, to mourn, to search and to uproot.

These are the times in which we find ourselves in the Southern Baptist Convention as it regards sexual abuse in our network of churches.

Scripture is to guide our lives as believers, and it should also guide our thinking, our actions and our posture as we anticipate this weekend’s release of Guidepost Solutions’ independent, third-party investigation into allegations of mishandling of sexual abuse claims by former members and staff of the SBC Executive Committee.

This is a time and season to search out our shortcomings, a time to embrace the findings of the report, a time to rebuild the trust of Southern Baptists, and a time to heal by meeting the challenges required with the necessary changes expected in the forthcoming report.

The messengers to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting in Nashville—as well as many state convention meetings last fall—were crystal clear about their direction and desire to enter a season of searching for allegations of abuse, mishandling of abuse, mistreatment of victims, patterns of intimidation of victims or advocates and resistance to sexual abuse reform initiatives.

The subsequent report, which we have not seen and which will be released Sunday, is the result of months of hard work by countless individuals focused on a common cause: shedding light on how Southern Baptists have handled allegations of sexual abuse in the past.

Under the terms of the motion, all Executive Committee members and staff serving from January 2000 to June 2021 were subject to the investigation. The Sexual Abuse Task Force reported that Guidepost conducted more than 300 interviews with current and former SBC Executive Committee members, current and former SBC Executive Committee staff, and other persons who may have information relevant to the investigation.

Later in Ecclesiastes, the writer reminds us that “God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.”

That time is upon us.

The SBC Executive Committee has opened its books before Southern Baptists. While the time for the investigation may be over, this is now a time to humble ourselves, to accept the findings of the report, to listen, to work cooperatively and to find new ways to engage the hearts of the wounded among us so that they may feel heard and protected.

We would ask Southern Baptists to join us in a season of earnest corporate prayer, confession and lament as we approach the release of the report as well as next month’s SBC annual meeting.

Only when we do that which we are called to do will it be a time to build, a time to laugh, and a time for peace.

This article originally appeared at Baptist Press.

Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Funds Ultrasound Placements in State

By

Tom Strode

-

May 19, 2022

HOUSTON (BP) – The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC) presented a gift of $228,000 to the Southern Baptist Convention’s ethics entity Tuesday (May 17) for the placement of six ultrasound machines at pregnancy resource centers in the state.

The SBTC grant was made to the Psalm 139 Project, a ministry of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) that provides ultrasound technology to pregnancy centers and trains staff members in its use. The donation will cover the placement of the six machines, as well as staff training. Locations for three of the machines already have been selected, according to the ERLC.

Including the three pregnancy resource centers already chosen in Texas, the ERLC has now placed or committed to centers to place 36 ultrasound machines toward its goal of 50 placements between December 2020 and January 2023. The 50^th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion throughout the United States will be Jan. 22 of next year.

A Texas law that prohibits the abortion of an unborn child whose heartbeat can be detected went into effect Sept. 1 of last year. By definition, the Texas Heartbeat Act (S.B. 8) bans abortions as early as five to six weeks into pregnancy. Pregnancy resource centers in the state have reported a dramatic increase in the number of clients since the law became effective, including a center in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex that experienced a 48 percent surge from the previous year, according to the Southern Baptist Texan, the SBTC’s official magazine.

Rachel Wiles, the ERLC’s director of Psalm 139 placement, told Baptist Press, “We are so grateful for this partnership with the SBTC and know the Lord will use these funds to save lives.

“The ERLC continually seeks to save lives and serve mothers, especially in partnership with pro-life clinics,” Wiles said in written comments. “Since the passing of S.B. 8, the Psalm 139 Project has been contacted by several Texas pregnancy centers requesting updated ultrasound machines. Improved technology in newer machines provides much earlier heartbeat detection and allows a woman to see the growing life inside her.”

Tony Wolfe, the SBTC’s associate executive director, described the presentation to the Psalm 139 Project as “one of many examples of the SBTC’s commitment to supporting pro-life initiatives in our state. Through cooperation with the ERLC and other pro-life organizations, SBTC churches are consistently working to make abortion not only illegal in our lifetime, but unthinkable and unnecessary as well.”

Nathan Lorick, the SBTC’s executive director, presented the gift Tuesday to Elizabeth Graham, the ERLC’s vice president of operations and life initiatives. The presentation occurred during a private gathering for Texas pastors and ministry leaders hosted by the ERLC at Northeast Houston Baptist Church.

Wolfe urged churches to prepare for what could soon be a post-Roe America. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue an opinion in the next several weeks in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, which regards a Mississippi ban on abortion after 15 weeks’ gestation.

In early May, Politico published a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that, if it becomes final, would strike down the 1973 Roe decision. Four other members of the high court have joined Associate Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the draft opinion, in support of reversing Roe, according to Politico. If a majority of the Supreme Court follows through in its final opinion by overturning Roe and the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey ruling that affirmed its 1973 decision, the action would return abortion policy to the states. About half of the 50 states will have laws prohibiting abortion or restricting it at some stage if Roe is overturned.

With what could be Roe’s reversal near, “churches need to be more involved now than ever in ministering to families in the pro-life space,” Wolfe said. “Yesterday’s grant is intended to spur along this conversation and effort across the Lone Star State and, prayerfully, the nation.

Lawsuit Accuses ACNA Church of Negligence That Resulted in Child Sexual Abuse

By

Kathryn Post

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May 19, 2022

acna church — Booking photos of Mark Rivera. Photos courtesy of Kane County Sheriff’s Office

(RNS) — When Cherin Marie joined Christ Our Light Anglican Church in 2013, she couldn’t imagine filing a lawsuit against the close-knit Anglican church plant in Big Rock, Illinois, where many of her relatives attended. But three years after her then 9-year-old daughter first said she was sexually abused by Mark Rivera, a lay minister at the church, Cherin feels she has no other option.

Cherin, who declined to use her last name to protect her daughter’s privacy, filed a lawsuit Wednesday (May 18) in Kane County, Illinois, against Christ Our Light Anglican Church. The lawsuit argues that Cherin’s daughter, who is referred to as Jane Doe, has experienced mental anguish and emotional and physical pain because of the church’s negligence, and it requests over $50,000 in damages. The case will be co-counseled by longtime sexual abuse attorney Boz Tchividjian and local counsel Evan Smola.

“My biggest hope is that by raising public awareness through this suit, any survivors that haven’t been reached might be made aware of safe avenues to reach out to and get help,” Cherin told Religion News Service. She hopes the lawsuit will hold the church accountable, adding, “I don’t see any other means to do that at this point.”

The Anglican Church in North America’s Upper Midwest Diocese, where the Christ Our Light Anglican church plant was located, has been publicly grappling with accusations of mishandling abuse allegations since last summer. The diocese is undergoing two parallel outside investigations — one into the accusations against Rivera and the diocese’s response and another into allegations of abuse of church power.

Rivera has been charged with felony sexual assault and predatory abuse of a victim under 13 years of age in connection with his alleged crimes against Cherin’s daughter, and in December he was charged with two felony counts of criminal sexual assault in connection with multiple alleged rapes of his former neighbor, Joanna Rudenborg.

According to the lawsuit, Cherin’s daughter disclosed Rivera had been “sexually victimizing her for months” on May 17, 2019. That day, Rivera had volunteered to watch Cherin’s daughter while she attended a “church-related prayer meeting” at the home of Rivera’s neighbor. The lawsuit states that at least one individual reported concerns to the church rector about “inappropriate physical affection” between Rivera and children in the church community. The rector, the Rev. Rand York — who is also Cherin’s great-uncle — dismissed the complaints, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also claims that Christopher Lapeyre, another lay leader at the church, failed to disclose knowledge that Rivera had sexually assaulted Rudenborg in 2018. It argues that church leaders’ silence and failure to act allowed Rivera to groom and abuse a number of children, including Cherin’s daughter. To date, at least 10 individuals have said they were victims of Rivera.

“As a direct and proximate result of Defendant CHRIST OUR LIGHT ANGLICAN CHURCH, INC.’s acts and omissions, Mark Rivera was able to sexually abuse multiple minors, including JANE DOE,” the lawsuit says. York, Lapeyre and ACNA spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.

In the wake of her daughter’s disclosure, Cherin pushed to hold Rivera accountable but said she didn’t feel supported by her church community. It wasn’t until Rudenborg came forward in November 2020 with her allegations that Cherin said she found allies willing to advocate for change within the church. “We wanted to encourage them to do the right thing and to set safe measures in place so more survivors could come forward, and so anyone who had been abused by Mark had a safe place to go,” said Cherin.

Preservationists Seek to Acquire Beloved Hollywood Home to Cloistered Nuns

By

Alejandra Molina

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May 19, 2022

LOS ANGELES (RNS) — Fearing the Monastery of the Angels could be sold for private use or redevelopment, Los Angeles preservationists and advocates are forming a nonprofit as they seek to acquire and take responsibility for the beloved Hollywood home to cloistered Dominican nuns.

Over the years, the community has been dwindling as the nuns age and after some died from COVID-19 and other causes, making it difficult to sustain the monastery’s “democratic way of life.” The Dominican nuns have devoted themselves to studying Scripture and to praying for those who come to them for guidance and penance.

An online petition to “Save the Monastery of the Angels” emerged last year, with LA residents referring to the four-acre property as a “retreat” and an “oasis” amid the clamor of the city. It has garnered more than 4,200 signatures as of Wednesday (May 18).

Local prioress Sister Maria Christine — president of the Association of North American Dominican Monasteries — said in December that no decision had been made to sell, adding that the Dominicans were “looking at many options and trying to find the best suitable resolution.” One of those options included seeking other religious communities who could manage the monastery.

“We continue to wait for the official canonical permissions in order to proceed. Our goal is to retain the beauty of the property and continue to be a source of spiritual enrichment for all who come to pray,” she told Religion News Service in an email Friday.

“The world needs prayer and we keep everyone in our prayer intentions,” she added.

But preservationists aren’t taking any chances.

Founded in 1924 by a New Jersey nun, the Monastery of the Angels is home to a community of cloistered Dominican nuns who devote their lives to Scripture and prayer. RNS photo by Alejandra Molina

The Monastery of the Angels Foundation of Los Angeles, the nonprofit that’s in the process of incorporating, wants to acquire the monastery to care for and maintain the property “as a Catholic sacred space,” according to the Save The Monastery Of The Angels website that went live on Thursday.

“Losing the monastery to non-Catholic redevelopment will both deprive Catholics in Los Angeles of the ability to take spiritual nourishment from its grounds and also remove a place of prayer from a community that badly needs it,” according to the website.

Behind that effort are Kim Cooper and Richard Schave, LA historians and preservationists who run a tour company exploring the city through an architectural, historical and spiritual lens; Rob Hollman, a nonprofit consultant whose clients have included PBS SoCal, Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation and Preserve Orange County; and Brody Hale, president of the St. Stephen Protomartyr Project, an organization that works to preserve historic Catholic churches and sacred spaces.

“We need to be proactive,” Schave said.

Schave said he agrees with Sister Maria Christine that the monastery should remain a space for spiritual enrichment, but “if we just let this go and put our faith in the Dominican Federation and the Holy See,” he said, “I do not believe we will achieve that goal.”

Don’t Put off Making a Necessary but Hard Decision

By

Phil Cooke

-

May 19, 2022

There are business, nonprofit, and church leaders who at this moment have one major obstacle standing between them and success: The inability to make a hard decision.

Hard decisions come in all shapes and sizes. They could be a policy that needs to be changed, an approval that needs to be made, an approval that needs to be declined, or an employee that needs to be fired. It could be delaying a new product launch, or re-arranging the leadership team.

The list goes on and on, but all these and other difficult decisions have one thing in common:

You won’t be liked.

And as a result you will generate criticism. Sometimes, a lot of criticism.

But on the other side of that criticism is a new start. On the other side of that criticism, is a better future. You know this, but you refuse to face the decision.

I know it’s hard, but that’s why you’re the leader. It’s your job to make the difficult decisions no one else wants to make.

The question is: What’s the hard decision you’ve been putting off?

This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.

Between Legalism and Antinomianism

By

Wyatt Graham

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May 19, 2022

Protestant legalism imposes the law of Moses on Christians even though it’s abrogated.

But Peter wisely says: “Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ” (Acts 15:11).

Protestant antinomianism denies an ongoing role for the law in the Christian life.

But Paul rightly says: “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise)” (Eph 6:2).

Between the two extremes, the reformers emphasized the law of nature, perceived in the moral laws of Moses such as the Ten Commandments. That law still guides us to live wisely and well.

But we do not do so under Protestant legalism because Christ is the end of the law; nor do we reject the law because loving God and neighbour as ourselves marks the Christian. Instead, we live under the law of Christ, allowing the law to wisely shape our lives.

The Mosaic Law Is Abrogated

The Civil and Ceremonial components of the Mosaic Law are abrogated. As John Calvin notes, “Therefore, as ceremonies might be abrogated without at all interfering with piety, so, also, when these judicial arrangements are removed, the duties and precepts of charity can still remain perpetual” (Inst. 4.20.15).

The reformers emphasized the ongoing validity of the moral laws within because they correspond to natural law. Yet when it comes to the Mosaic law in general, Scripture is clear: “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom 10:4).

More than that, the first church council declared that gentiles may be saved without observing the laws of Moses. As Peter asks, “Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” (Acts 15:10).

Hebrews ties the priesthood to the law of Moses because, presumably, the priesthood maintained the possibility of the entire nation’s relationship to God and his covenant. Hebrews 7:11 and 12 say:

“Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.” (Heb 7:11–12)

Jesus is the new Melchizedekian priest who therefore brings in a new law. The whole old covenant has been fulfilled or has ended in Christ: “In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete” (Heb 8:13).

Paul makes the point crystal clear in his paradoxical statements about circumcision:

For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. (1 Cor 7:19)
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (Gal 5:6)
For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. (Gal 6:15)

Since circumcision is part of the law (Lev 12:3), it seems entirely odd for Paul to say that circumcision counts for nothing in contrast to “keeping the commandments of God”! Unless we admit that the Mosaic law no longer is in force for Christians because we are under the law of Christ.

For the sake of evangelism, Paul says: “To those outside the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law” (1 Cor 9:20). He claims instead to be “under the law of Christ” (1 Cor 9:21). That law has its fulfillment in love (Gal 5:14).

Ongoing Role of the Law

While the law of Moses has been abrogated, Jesus and the Apostles still read it as authoritative Scripture, and so should we. The entirety of the Old Testament either provides wisdom for life or prophetic texts about Christ. Insofar as the Old Testament republishes natural law, then it also exists as a universal standard of righteousness.

Hence, the moral laws of Moses carry ongoing authority, while the ceremonial and civic laws wisely preserve holiness and charity for Israel in her specific time and place. Insofar as these laws are wise and good, we can learn from them. But we do not sacrifice animals, inspect houses for spots, kill witches, or kill adulterers.

These arrangements for Israel in the ancient world and under the unique and temporary covenant of God with Israel showed blessed wisdom. But Christ came and fulfilled the law by his own person (Matt 5:17 with 2:15, 17, 23; 3:15; 4:4). He fulfills the ceremonies and priesthood; he applies the new covenant to sojourners within nations and not as to one nation itself. Therefore, the ceremonial and civil laws of Moses no longer have force as laws over us. In a sense, even the moral aspects do not have force over as per se; yet because they represent natural law—an expression of God’s eternal law—they have ongoing force in our lives.

Natural law refers to observable laws in nature such as: “do not murder” or “up is not down.” Everyone can by observation see these publicly accessible laws. As Paul notes, “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law” (Rom 2:14). The conscience as well condemns or excuses on this basis (Rom 2:15–16).

While the conscience exists, we do not have the power to accomplish what we should via the faculty of synderesis (the desire to do good). Paul makes this case in Romans 1:18–32. Yet Paul also calls civil government “God’s servant for your good” (Rom 13:4) and “there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Rom 13:1). For this reason, Christians can speak of civic good. The ability of leaders to adjudicate right from wrong and administer justice on behalf of God.

We might call this civic good or images of virtue as Calvin does, but we can have confidence that God’s providence guides affairs. Through his common grace, we can at least expect the possibility of just administration of civil affairs. The public mechanism for civic change then is natural law.

Such a perspective prevents us from legalism—applying the whole Mosaic law directly to today’s affairs even after Christ. It also stops us from becoming antinomians by seeing no ongoing relevance for the law. The golden mean is to adopt natural law as the reformers did and all Christians before them.

By forgetting that, we have tacitly implied that God did not create the world. But every effect in creation traces back to its Cause, who is God. As the Lord of Order, he has imposed order on the universe. We can see it everywhere if we only look. Due to sin, we misuse this order and even deny its true meaning. But God’s good guidance of history and his application of common grace allow us to see pockets of his order in the world around us.

Conclusion

The fact that we have streets, running water, doctors, judges who administer justice, and much more evince this truth. So we must put away our legalism and our antinomianism. We must agree with Scripture, nature, and most of the reformers. Both legalism and antinomianism must be rejected for the sake of truth.

This article originally appeared here.

Church Website Content Ideas – Does Your Site Have Great Ideas?

By

Brandon Cox

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May 19, 2022

You’ve worked hard to develop online church website content ideas, but now you need to consider content marketing. Okay, content marketing might be a new term for you. Here’s a definition from Joe Pulizzi, Founder of the Content Marketing Institute…

“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

Church Website Content Ideas

Let me make two observations about the relationship between the church and content marketing.

1. The church was the first great content marketing institution.

How do I know? As I pointed out in my book, Rewired, the early church used papyrus for publishing, the Roman roads for traveling, and the Greek language (almost universally used for written communication) to get the good news about Jesus out to the ends of the earth.

Then, the church used the printing press to distribute Bibles. The Bible was the first book printed on one, and is the most widely published book in history for a reason.

2. We’ve fallen behind.

Where once the church was innovative in finding new means of spreading the gospel, now we’re skeptical of technology, scared to engage the world around us, and our view of “secular” culture is flawed. Instead of creating culture, we’re hiding from it.

So I believe we ought to get back to our roots and become leaders in the field of content marketing, not to combat everything secular, but rather to influence the secular with sacred truth.

Two Big Truths About Church Content Website Ideas

Let’s acknowledge two other big truths about content marketing and the church.

1. We MUST have the world’s best content.

We’ve been handed the very revelation of God’s mind and heart in the form of the Bible, the written Word. It’s printed and bound in leather, sold in dozens of translations and study editions, and available in digital formats.

LifeChurch.tv has done an amazing, Kingdom-minded thing with the development of YouVersion, which puts the Bible into dozens of languages, socializes it, and spreads it all over the world. They don’t have the only Bible app (which is another positive), but they’ve done probably the most aggressive work in terms of marketing it.

We can do even better getting the word out about the Word. LifeChurch.tv and a handful of online Bible publishers can’t do it alone. We need to tell everybody about the availability of eternal truth.

But it isn’t just the Bible. We’ve preached hundreds of thousands of great sermons, produced amazingly creative videos, written tens of thousands of valuable books, and authored too many devotional works to count.

We have the content with which to fill the world with encouraging, life-saving truth.

**2. Our message is worth marketing.**

You wanna argue about whether the church should be in the “marketing” business or not? You’ll have to argue with someone else, cause I ain’t got time f’dat!

Every church leader I know is a marketer. And those who are opposed to “using marketing in the church” are usually some of the best at marketing their anti-marketing message.

Maybe we just need better jargon. Know what marketing really is?

Marketing is getting the word out.

That’s it. It’s spreading the message. And I’m pretty sure we were commissioned to get the word out (marketing) about the truth and saving grace of Jesus (message).

So, how can you have better church website content ideas? Here are a dozen from-the-hip ideas:

Use social media in supernaturally natural ways (point people to Jesus in natural, relational ways).
Remove the imaginary barrier between the sacred and the secular.
Don’t be awkwardly religious all the time.
Be personal. Share your life in pictures, videos, and status updates. Not everything, but some highlights.
Build friendships and relationships.
Sprinkle in divine truth.
Be funny in appropriate ways. Humor is relatable and Jesus-like.
Break your sermons into easily sharable portions – blog posts, tweets, images with quotes, etc.
Point back sometimes to ancient things – old hymns, creeds, and quotes from leaders already in heaven.
Demonstrate the relevance of Scripture to everyday issues and problems.
Get artistic. Use your creative gifts to adorn God’s truth in beautiful ways.
Tell stories of life change.

Our message never changes. Ever. But our church website content ideas will change with every generation. And this generation needs Jesus, so let’s do this!

This article about church website content ideas originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Two Small Group Trends That Are Changing Church Leadership

By

Chet Gladkowski

-

May 19, 2022

It used to be that only a few people at the top had all the power. Those living in the rarified air near or at the top of an organization chart, the greater the weight of their opinions and influence. Only leaders at the top, the people in front, had both authority and power to impact. I’m sure that we’ve all experienced this with varying degrees of effectiveness. Our church was in the midst of raising money for a large construction project. We were still considering our part and hadn’t put in our commitment card yet. In the middle of talking with friends after worship one Sunday, the Senior Pastor came up and told us to, in his words, “Get on board.” (I’ll let you imagine how we felt about this.) But two significant small group trends are changing the leadership landscape.

But the days when high-ranking leaders had all the influence are rapidly going away. Those days are not only setting sail, but they’re headed over the horizon.

Two Small Group Trends That Are Changing Church Leadership

“Trust in many old, centralized institutions is declining rapidly, eroding their authority and gatekeeping roles (1).”

Structured, formal power is being replaced by informal power. Instead of influence coming from people at the top, it’s coming from peers, people who can reach out to neighbors and friends. It’s moving from pyramid hierarchies down to flat networks. Where people connect. Where the rubber meets the road.

“Networked, decentralized, autonomous, and collaborative models of power” will become the norm. “Power is already shifting dramatically—but so much more lies ahead”(2).

This is one of the reasons that Small Groups are the most effective and influential forces for God. And as more and more people move away from traditional power structures, the greater the role that Small Groups will play in the church of Jesus Christ.

And with this seismic shift, many things are changing. Here are four practical tips for increasing your influence within your small group ministry.

4 Tips for Leadership Facing Small Group Trends

Tools – most of the traditional, foundational tools of leadership are changing. What used to work no longer gets results. It’s less about force & more about being friendly, gentle, persuading. In the words of Billy Welu, “It’s not always the heavy hand, but the tender touch.”
Communication – conventional wisdom and tools for connecting with people are in a state of flux. What used to work now just falls on deaf ears or winds up in a Spam folder. Use short, and memorable instead of wordy tomes. Include images that will generate an emotional response.
Relationships – It’s always been about people. But now, the additional dimension of depth has been added. Building deep, lasting, trustworthy relationships is job number one. You have to earn the right to be heard, and this comes through transparency.
Speed – it used to be all about getting things done quickly, at the speed of authority. Now, it’s all about getting things done at the speed of community. Sharing authority and responsibility. Giving people information and time to come to their own conclusions

I think Esther Chapter 2 is a great illustration of these principles at work. Mordecai certainly could have pulled out the old, authoritarian model of leadership. He could have tried to guilt her into doing something. After all, he had adopted and raised her. He could have tried to force her to something “NOW.”

But instead, Mordecai gives Esther more than just information. He gives her time. Time to receive the news. It didn’t come in one, long email. She had time to process it. Time to react to it. Time to have her questions and concerns answered. It’s only after she commits herself to it that she those memorable words, “And if I perish, I perish.”

The easy thing to do is just follow the well-worn path of the past. But it will cost us and the church dearly. We’ll continue to lose younger generations who’ve grown up with strong collaborative, power-sharing models.

Given these small group trends we have to do the moving. We have to shift our weight. We have to start, sharing power, information, and authority. That’s how we truly increase power. And the best place to do all of that is in Small Groups.

(1) Leading Through an Age of Discontinuity, by Eamonn Kelly and Jason Girzadas

(2) CEO Daily by Alan Murray, April 4, 2022

This article on small group trends originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

‘There Is No Shame in Divorcing Josh,’ Says Anna Duggar’s Cousin in Open Letter

By

Jessica Lea

-

May 18, 2022

Anna Duggar should feel “no shame” about divorcing her husband, Josh Duggar, says Anna’s cousin, Amy King. Federal prosecutors are seeking a 20-year prison sentence for Josh Duggar, who in December 2021 was convicted of receiving and possessing child pornography.

“Anna, I feel for you,” wrote Amy King on Instagram. “No woman wants to be in your shoes. You’re faced with an impossible decision and you’re being surrounded by the wrong kind of support. You’ve been taught since you were a child that marriage is forever and you prayed for God to send you a partner. You’ve constructed a life and a family with him. You didn’t choose any of this, and your kids certainly didn’t either. I’m not coming after you with some sort of tough love thing. This is what’s simply on my heart and I can’t help but to express it.”

Anna Duggar Stands by Her Man

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and their children were stars of TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” until 2015 when TLC canceled the show after allegations surfaced that their oldest, Josh Duggar, had molested five young girls, including four of his own sisters.

Jim Bob and Michelle told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly that Josh had indeed confessed to this, and Josh’s sisters Jill (Duggar) Deckard and Jessa (Duggar) Seewald came forward as two of the girls Josh inappropriately touched. That same year, hackers exposed Josh as a user of Ashley Madison, a site for people seeking to have affairs; Josh said a pornography addiction had led him to become unfaithful to Anna.

Currently, Josh Duggar, whose lawyers have requested acquittal or a new trial, awaits sentencing. Anna Duggar, her father Michael Keller, Josh’s mother Michelle, and Josh’s brother-in-law David Waller (who is a pastor) have all written to Judge Timothy L. Brooks, asking him to consider Josh’s good character when sentencing him.

King said to Anna, “I cried as I read the letter your own father wrote in support of your husband this week. It’s no wonder you’re struggling to know what to do to protect your own kids… you’ve obviously never had an example there. That’s awful and I’m so sorry for that.”

“But my Mom was a fierce protector and so am I,” said King. “She showed me how to stand up and speak up. If no one else in your life is saying it, I need you to understand that there is no shame in divorcing Josh.” King continues:

Someday your kids will be old enough to understand what kind of guy their father really is. You can’t protect them from the truth for forever! I’m saying all of this publicly so that when they do grow up, they will also know that they had family members shouting from the rooftops that they were worth protecting all along. Your children look up to you so much… Please be the role model they need in their life. Dillon and I are more than willing to help you. Josh has chosen how history will remember him. By staying and supporting him you’re allowing him to choose that for you, too. And I know standing up to all of this seems impossible now, but as a Mama, your instinct to protect your kids always has to be stronger than your fear.

1. Both Body Abuse and Body Adoration Make Gods out of Good Gifts.

2. Both Body Abuse and Body Adoration Focus on the Temporary.

Maximum Groups Require Maximum Leaders

Don’t Worry About Connecting 100% into Groups

How do you launch 100 groups in your church?

Fun Bible Activities for Kids

1. Pong

The Mosaic Law Is Abrogated

Ongoing Role of the Law

Conclusion

Church Website Content Ideas

1. The church was the first great content marketing institution.

2. We’ve fallen behind.

Two Big Truths About Church Content Website Ideas

1. We MUST have the world’s best content.

2. Our message is worth marketing.

Two Small Group Trends That Are Changing Church Leadership

4 Tips for Leadership Facing Small Group Trends

Anna Duggar Stands by Her Man

New Articles

New Podcasts

**2. Our message is worth marketing.**