Christian Author Jen Hatmaker Argues Overturning Roe Will Harm Women—‘Reproductive Rights Belong to Women’

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May 6, 2022

New York Times bestselling author, podcaster, and mother of five, Jen Hatmaker, who has given advice to Christians about “Raising Jesus Kids,” as the title reads from her 2015 Christianity Today piece, shared this week that the possible “overturning of Roe is a shocking, unprecedented repeal of women’s rights, and it will not be the end.”

Who Is Jen Hatmaker?

In 2014, Hatmaker and her family starred in an HGTV reality series titled “My Big Family Renovation” after her blog went viral in 2013 because of an interview she did with the Today Show about the struggles moms have at the end of the school year.

In 2015, Hatmaker was featured on the ChurchLeaders Podcast and spoke about changing the tone of our cultural engagement, adoption, and women’s ministry, as well as her family’s intentional fight against excessiveness.

However, Hatmaker’s books were pulled from the Southern Baptist Convention’s Lifeway Christian Resources in 2016 after the author decided to affirm same-sex relationships. She explained in a lengthy Facebook post that her affirmation of the LGBTQ community wasn’t to gain the approval of more people but because Jesus tells Christians to love others.

“I don’t love the approval of people, but I do love people,” Hatmaker wrote. “I love them because Jesus’ love for us is so insane and big and outside our templates and it reaches and reaches and reaches past our comforts to draw people to Him, and He does this with or without our permissions and sanctions and rules and hierarchies, and He has done it for all of time and will continue to do it for all of time. We are standing outside the city gates with people He asked us to stand with, and that is the beginning and end of it.”

The popular podcaster had her oldest daughter Sydney, who is now in her early twenties, join her on the “For The Love With Jen Hatmaker Podcast” in June 2020 to share how Sydney is gay. On the episode they did “in honor of pride month,” the mother and daughter encouraged Christians “to look at what it means to really love our LGBTQ+ family—recognizing them wholly as God’s children, who are wholly loved by God.”

Hatmaker announced on Facebook that on August 21, 2020 she and her husband Brandon were getting a divorce after 27 years of marriage. The couple met at Oklahoma Baptist University, where Brandon went into ministry as a pastor after he graduated. Hatmaker didn’t disclose why the parents of five were divorcing. Rather, she asked that her followers would hold their family dear to their hearts and pray for them.

Hatmaker Gives Her Thoughts on Roe v. Wade Reversal

The adoptive mother of two shared in a May 4, 2022 blog post how she feels about the possibility of Roe being overturned, a turn of events that was forecasted by the leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion earlier this week.

Hatmaker believes that if Roe is overturned, it will cause women emotional, physical, and legal harm. “There are a dozen terrifying implications here (the destabilization and politicization of the Supreme Court overturning settled law with double precedence stands out),” she said. “But what I want to focus on is the immediate, disproportionate harm this will cause women. And not just emotional harm; physical and legal harm.”

Making abortion illegal doesn’t lower the abortion rates, Hatmaker argued, saying, “It simply makes them more dangerous.”

‘Public Enemy No. 1’—Kirk Cameron’s New Documentary Takes on Public Education

By

Jessica Lea

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May 6, 2022

A new documentary from actor and filmmaker Kirk Cameron will release exclusively in theaters on June 13 and 14. The trailer for the film, “The Homeschool Awakening,” contrasts homeschooling with the public school system and emphasizes the important role parents play in their children’s education.

“The pandemic made parents grossly aware of what public schools are teaching our kids,” said Cameron in a press release for the documentary. “It’s up to us, the parents, to cultivate the hearts, souls and minds of our children, and today’s public-school systems are not working for us, they are actively working against us. Public education has become Public Enemy No. 1.”

Kirk Cameron’s ‘The Homeschool Awakening’

“The Homeschool Awakening” is not Kirk Cameron’s first documentary. Cameron, who is known for playing Mike Seaver on “Growing Pains” and has also starred in “Fireproof” and “Left Behind: The Movie,” produced the 2012 documentary, “Monumental: In Search of America’s National Treasure.”

The trailer to “The Homeschool Awakening” begins with various public figures, including “The 1619 Project”’s Nikole Hannah-Jones, expressing that parents should not have a say in their children’s education. To this idea, Cameron says, “Give me a break.”

The trailer goes on to focus on parents and families interviewed in the documentary, some of whom said they initially thought of homeschooling as “weird,” “abnormal,” or “somewhat of a cult.” But after parents began questioning why they were keeping their kids in public school, several expressed that homeschooling is worth it because of the freedom it gives their families and because it enables them to fulfill their calling from God to be stewards of their children.

Homeschooling has become more widespread in the U.S. since the COVID-19 pandemic forced students into hybrid or remote learning. In March 2021, the United States Census Bureau published survey data that found a “substantial increase” in homeschooling since the start of the pandemic in the spring of 2020. The Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University did a study on the impact of remote and hybrid learning during the pandemic and found the following:

The shifts to remote or hybrid instruction during 2020-21 had profound consequences for student achievement. In districts that went remote, achievement growth was lower for all subgroups, but especially for students attending high-poverty schools. In areas that remained in person, there were still modest losses in achievement, but there was no widening of gaps between high and low-poverty schools in math (and less widening in reading).

In addition to the negative effects on students who went to remote learning, some American parents are concerned about what their children are being taught in schools, particularly on the topics of critical race theory and sexuality (these topics were not specifically mentioned in the trailer for Kirk Cameron’s documentary).

Biden Says a ‘Child of God’ Has a Right to an Abortion; Psaki Calls Mohler’s Opposition to Roe ‘an Outlier Position’

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Dale Chamberlain

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May 6, 2022

abortion biden psaki — Left: Press Secretary Jen Psaki responding to reporter's question (screengrab via Twitter); Right: President Joe Biden responding to the possible overturn of Roe (screengrab via YouTube)

Earlier this week, a draft opinion authored by Supreme Court Justice Alito in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked to the public. The draft indicated that an overturn of the landmark Roe v. Wade case, which made elective abortion a constitutionally protected right, was likely.

Since then, conversation has exploded across both sides of the issue, with pro-life advocates cautiously celebrating the victory until the decision is finalized, and pro-choice advocates scrambling to respond to what they see as the rollback of an essential right.

During a question and answer period following his prepared remarks on the state of the American economy on Wednesday (May 4), President Biden was asked for his thoughts on the possible overturn of Roe.

“This is about a lot more than abortion,” Biden said. “This reminds me of the debate with Robert Bork. Bork believed the only reason you had any inherent rights is because the government gave them to you.”

Robert Bork, who died in 2012, served as the 35th Solicitor General of the United States before going on to serve as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

“If you go back and look at the opening comments…when I was questioning him as chairman, I said, ‘I believe I have the rights that I have not because the government gave them to me, which you believe, but just because I’m a child of God. I exist,’” Biden recounted. “I delegated, by joining this Union here, to delegate some rights I have to the government for social good. So the idea that somehow…there is no right of privacy, that there is no right—And remember the debate we had.”

“We had a debate about Griswold v. Connecticut. There’d be a law saying that a married couple could not purchase birth control in the privacy of their own bedroom and use it. Well, that got struck down,” Biden said. “Griswold was thought to be a bad decision by Bork, and, my guess is, the guys on the Supreme Court now.”

“What happens if you have—a state changes the law, saying that children who are LGBTQ can’t be in classrooms with other children. Is that legit, under the way the decision’s written? What are the next things that are going to be attacked,” Biden went on to say. “Because this MAGA crowd is really the most extreme political organization that’s existed in American history—in recent American history.”

In response to Biden’s remarks, evangelist and Samaritan’s Purse CEO Franklin Graham tweeted, “Yesterday @POTUS Biden said that the right to an abortion comes from being a ‘child of God.’ Mr. President, that is just not true. Being a child of God does not give you the right to take the lives of the innocent. Abortion is a sin—simply put, it’s murder.”

Regarding the concern that the overturn of Roe would necessarily threaten other Supreme Court precedents like Obergefell v. Hodges, which gave constitutional rights to same-sex marriage in 2015, legal expert David French wrote in a recent column, “Alito argues that abortion is dramatically different from cases involving marriage, because abortion involves harm to a non-consenting party, the ‘potential life’ (to use the language from Roe) of the unborn child.”

SBC Elections Feature Broad Range of Candidates

By

Timothy Cockes

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May 6, 2022

SBC Elections Feature Broad Range of Candidates — Southern Baptists will vote for president, first vice president, second vice president, third vice president and recording secretary at the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim. Bart Barber (left), Robin Hadaway (center), and Tom Ascol (right) are the known candidates for SBC president. Baptist Press file photo

NAHEIM, Calif. (BP) – Southern Baptists will have a variety of candidates to choose from when electing officers during the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting June 14-15.

A list of candidates for each elected position is below:

President

After SBC President Ed Litton announced earlier this year that he will not seek a second term, several candidates have announced their intention to seek run for the office. The three announced candidates are:

Tom Ascol, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral (Florida) and founder of Founders Ministries, announced his intention to run on March 22.

Robin Hadaway, a former International Mission Board missionary, was announced as a candidate March 23. Hadaway will be nominated by fellow former IMB missionary Wade Akins.

Bart Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church, Farmersville, Texas, announced on April 7 he intends to accept a nomination from 2022 SBC Pastors’ Conference President Matt Henslee. Barber will also be serving as the chairman of the Committee on Resolutions at this year’s annual meeting.

A fourth candidate, Florida pastor Willy Rice, announced his candidacy in early March, but withdrew his candidacy April 6^.

First Vice President

Victor Chayasirisobhon, president of the California Southern Baptist Convention and pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Anaheim, was announced as a candidate for first vice president on February 15. Chayasirisobhon will be nominated by Abel Galvan, senior pastor of Faith Fellowship church in La Palma, Calif.

Second Vice President:

South Carolina pastor Alex Sands will be nominated for second vice president by fellow South Carolina pastor Josh Powell. Sands is the founder and pastor of Kingdom Life Church in Simpsonville, S.C., and in 2021, he became the first African American to serve as president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

Testifying at Vatican Megatrial, Cardinal Rebuts Claims That He Paid to Trap Rival

By

Claire Giangrave

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May 6, 2022

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Cardinal Angelo Becciu laid out his version of events at the heart of the Vatican‘s megatrial about the purchase of real estate in London using a charitable fund, touching in his testimony on his rivalry with Cardinal George Pell and his relationship with Italian political analyst Cecilia Marogna.

As he has over the past two years, Becciu, formerly the Vatican’s third-highest-ranking official and the first cardinal in memory to face trial at the Vatican, claimed he is bewildered by the accusations against him of embezzlement, witness tampering and abuse of office.

“I was thrown on the front page of newspapers, almost like a monster,” Becciu said. “For over a year and a half I am tormented by one question: Why? Why have these defamatory things been said to the pope?”

Besides the charges in the real-estate matter, Becciu faces accusations that he misdirected funds belonging to the Italian bishops’ conference and the Secretariat to a charitable organization in Sardinia run by his brother Antonino. It’s also been alleged that he sent thousands of dollars to Australia to spur on charges of sexual abuse against Pell, whom Pope Francis had appointed as a financial watchdog. (Pell was eventually acquitted on appeal.)

Becciu denied both accusations, saying, “None, not even one of my relatives enriched themselves” with the money sent to Sardinia.

He said the payment that went to Australia was used to buy an internet domain and showed the court a letter signed by Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin to support his claim. Becciu also claimed that Pell himself signed the authorization for the payment, adding that he was “sorry that Cardinal Pell has stumbled into this misunderstanding.”

It was the accusation about Sardinia, Becciu said, that Francis primarily confronted him about during the audience that led to Becciu’s being stripped of all but his title of cardinal in September 2020 — “the mother of all my misfortune,” he termed it.

Becciu served as substitute, equivalent to deputy chief of staff, in 2014 when the Vatican’s Secretariat of State embarked on the purchase of an apartment complex in London’s Chelsea neighborhood, using funds from Peter’s Pence, comprising contributions from Catholics around the world to the pope’s charitable work.

The deal proved ruinous, losing a staggering $384 million, according to Vatican prosecutors. Becciu is among 10 defendants at trial, who prosecutors say had a part in the purchase and who have been accused of crimes ranging from misuse of their offices to money laundering.

Becciu’s testimony lasted for more than two hours, much of it revealing the inner workings of the Secretariat of State’s financial operations and the thinking behind the deal.

SBC Cooperative Program Stage To Encourage a ‘Laser Focus’ on Unity, Generosity, Diversity

By

Scott Barkley

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May 6, 2022

SBC Executive Committee leaders hold a panel discussion on the CP Stage at the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting in Nashville. Photo courtesy of Baptist Press.

ANAHEIM (BP) – A drive toward unity in the Gospel and taking the Great Commission to the nations will permeate the presentations and discussion at the Cooperative Program Stage at the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting, organizers say.

“It will be an opportunity for messengers to hear firsthand reports about a variety of SBC missions and ministries, and ‘listen in’ on hard-hitting and relevant panel discussions which orbit around important issues for Southern Baptists,” said Willie McLaurin, interim SBC Executive Committee president and CEO. “The 2022 Cooperative Program stage has been designed to put a laser-sharp focus on unity, generosity and diversity.”

The theme of the annual gathering, held this year at the Anaheim Convention Center, is “Jesus: The Center of It All.” Due to shifting personal schedules, messengers are encouraged to monitor the Annual Meeting app for the latest information on CP Stage speakers and times.

Both the International Mission Board and North American Mission Board will feature prominently, with the latter hosting various panel discussions ranging from the future of the SBC to church planting and adoption and foster care.

First Baptist Church, Cleveland, Tenn., Pastor Jordan Easley will moderate several of those discussions. The first will be “Creating A Church Culture That Looks Like & Ministers To Your Community” on June 13. It will be followed by “Forecasting the Future of the SBC: What Are The Main Things We Need To Focus On As We Move Forward To The Future?”

National Next Gen Director Shane Pruitt and NAMB National Collegiate Director Paul Worcester will discuss student and collegiate ministry issues with “Reaching the Next Generation.” NAMB President Kevin Ezell – who alongside his wife, Lynette, has raised six children, three of them adopted – will lead a panel on adoption and foster care.

Sessions commence each day at 8:30, with the June 13 slate beginning with “Making Disciples Who Live on Mission” led by Sandy Wisdom-Martin, Woman’s Missionary Union executive director-treasurer. Later, the National African American Fellowship will host a panel on “Finishing Well” and that afternoon McLaurin will be interviewed about his new book “The Winning Way.”

“We all have lessons that we pick up along the way,” McLaurin said. “Those lessons have shaped our philosophy on how we engage and develop others. The lessons deepen our faith and challenge us to think and live differently. The set of working principles in this book were derived from such a lesson.”

IMB President Paul Chitwood will be on stage as well for at least two of the entity’s three sessions. Those sessions will cover the importance of having an ongoing Southern Baptist missionary presence around the world as well as how the IMB is sending more missionaries and opening more pathways for Southern Baptist churches to participate in short-term and long-term missions work.

The IMB and Send Relief have been active in ministering to those impacted by the war in Ukraine since the beginning. Another session will address how the IMB has used digital strategies for Gospel engagement in and around the country during the conflict.

Earlier this year Gateway Seminary President Jeff Iorg testified to what is special about ministry in California in a Baptist Press First Person. Those points are certain to resurface in the panel he will lead in the final Monday session – “As California Goes.”

In ‘Search,’ a Church Committee Plots Over Fiesta Chicken and Cookies

By

Bob Smietana

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May 6, 2022

Author Michelle Huneven, left, and her book "Search." Photo by Courtney Gregg

(RNS) — Finding a new minister is a bit like online dating.

You look at their online profile, chat on Zoom and hope for a bit of magic.

Often things do not turn out the way you hoped.

That mix of discovery and disappointment is at the heart of “Search,” a new comic novel about the search for a minister at a Unitarian church near Los Angeles. The story reveals the dynamic of human foibles, kindness, ambition and friendship that keeps the machinery of organized religion going — and features surprise twists, political machinations and, of course, lots of food.

Among the characters are Dana, a food writer and author, who hopes to write a book about the experience; Belinda, the 80-something former church president, and her co-conspirator, Charlotte, who is three decades sober and a master of church bureaucracy; Jen, a young mom and rabble-rouser; Curtis, the new member, who was rejected by his past church because he’s gay; and Riley, the polyamorist, 20-something aspiring bartender who runs the church handbell choir.

This diverse group finds itself trying to sort through an eclectic mix of ministerial candidates: a Unitarian-Buddhist teacher who hates pets and has a sketchy past; a Wiccan, newly divorced, Southern songwriter; an urban pastor who bakes bread and makes beer; an older, renowned Black woman preacher looking for one last challenge; and an up-and-coming young minister who seems vapid but has steel in her spine.

“Search” was inspired by an experience that author Michelle Huneven, a novelist, former seminarian and award-winning food writer, had on a search committee at Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church, her home congregation in Pasadena, California. She was intrigued by the work involved in getting past the shiny, public profiles of potential pastors to the real person. Though that search went well, she also saw how a search committee could go awry and reveal something about the human side of faith.

The book also features a set of recipes for the food the committee shares, from the Pledge Drive’s Fiesta Chicken — Huneven’s favorite — and one grandmother’s Lamb Nihari to Jennie’s Midmorning Glory Muffins and whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, described by one character as “wonderfully gritty, buttery, and salty-sweet.” However when you make a mistake and hurt someone you care about, it takes some distance for both of you to heal. But it’s best to reconcile quickly, you can send Chocolate Shipped Cookies mails cookies to that someone you hurt to repair that connection.

Released in late April, “Search” has earned rave reviews and has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post and NPR. Huneven spoke to Religion News Service recently about the ways going to church shaped her life, how food creates community, and what a search committee can reveal about the challenges facing congregations.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I saw a profile recently that described you as a prodigal daughter turned church lady. Is that fair?

I don’t know how prodigal I really was, but it was sort of funny that I began going to church. I’m a sober alcoholic and like other sober people, I got very spiritual. That’s what led me to try and find a community I could be a part of and that’s where I found Neighborhood Church.

I think that like Dana in the book, finding a church kind of finished me as a person. There were just so many women there who took me under their wing and came to my cooking classes and welcomed me onto their committees and really approved of me in a way my sort of critical, disapproving mother never did. I mean, my mother loved me and I loved her like crazy, but I could always be improved in her eyes.

SBC Messengers Long Resolved To Overturn Roe v. Wade

By

Timothy Cockes

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May 6, 2022

Roe — Messengers vote at the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting in Nashville. Photo courtesy of Baptist Press.

NASHVILLE (BP) – A leaked copy of a Supreme Court opinion that would essentially overturn 1973’s Roe V. Wade decision has prompted Southern Baptists to reflect on their pro-life history.

The draft was originally published by Politico and was later confirmed to be authentic by Chief Justice John Roberts in a press release issued by the Supreme Court.

The leaked document suggests the SCOTUS is set to overturn not only the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, but also 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision. Overturning these decisions would essentially return the determination of abortion law to state-level governments.

Brent Leatherwood, acting president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), called the leak of the SCOTUS draft “the most consequential leak of our lifetime,” in a first-person piece released this week.

He said if the decisions are in fact overturned, it would be an incredible step in developing “a culture of life.”

“Overturning the Roe-Casey precedents will mark massive progress toward this goal as the jurisprudence stemming from these cases has been the number one factor inhibiting pro-life laws from taking effect,” Leatherwood said.

“It will mark a hopeful and substantial step toward establishing a true culture of life in our nation by giving states the freedom to pursue policies that protect preborn children. Christians should be in earnest prayer for such a moment.”

Leatherwood referenced an SBC Resolution from 2003, ‘On Thirty Years Of Roe V. Wade,’ which called for not only overturning Roe v. Wade, but striving for a society that would consider the act of abortion “unthinkable.”

“RESOLVED, That we pray and work for the repeal of the Roe v. Wade decision and for the day when the act of abortion will be not only illegal, but also unthinkable.”

Leatherwood said the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade will hopefully serve as a step in that direction for society.

“This leaked draft opinion would indicate we are closer than we have ever been to that reality,” Leatherwood said. “When that day is upon us, we will enter a time when the inherent rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are finally extended to our most vulnerable neighbors.”

This 2003 resolution is not the only time Southern Baptists have stood in opposition to Roe. After a somewhat uncertain start in 1971 and 1974, they solidified their stance with resolutions passed in 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979.

In 1980, they took on the challenge of legalized abortion on demand for the first time. They were resolved saying, “That we abhor the use of tax money or public, tax-supported medical facilities for selfish, non-therapeutic abortion,” calling “for appropriate legislation or a constitutional amendment prohibiting abortion except to save the life of the mother.”

Resolutions calling for the end of legalized abortion followed in 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1987.

In 1989, messengers passed a resolution on encouraging laws regulating abortion, and in 1993 messengers passed a resolution regarding The Freedom of Choice Act.

More recently, the convention based a 2015 resolution on the sanctity of human life, and in 2021 passed two resolution on both abolishing abortion and on taxpayer complicity related to The Hyde Amendment.

Bart Barber, chair of 2022 SBC Committee on Resolutions, said the committee had already been working on a resolution calling for the repeal of the Roe v. Wade decision before this week’s news, and will now be reworking that resolution in case the opinion reflected in the leaked draft becomes finalized.

Florida Churches Among First to Begin Exit From UMC to New, Conservative Denomination

By

Emily McFarlan Miller

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May 6, 2022

Florida UMC Foundation in Lakeland, Florida. Screenshot from Google Maps

(RNS) — A statement posted on Facebook Tuesday (May 3) by the Wesleyan Covenant Association’s Florida chapter caught the attention of the Florida bishop for the United Methodist Church: “107 Florida Methodist Churches Depart United Methodist Church,” it began.

The Facebook post came just a few days after the launch of the Global Methodist Church, a new conservative Methodist denomination formed, in part, by the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a coalition of self-described “orthodox, evangelical” United Methodists.

“We are not leaving The United Methodist Church. The United Methodist Church has left us,” Jay Therrell, president of the WCA-Florida, said in a written statement, blaming a “decades-long rise of theological liberalism, the selective enforcement of our denominational laws, and a strong surge in the promotion of partisan politics.”

But the bishop of the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church took to Facebook the next day to remind Florida United Methodists that leaving is not that simple. The departure of any church or clergy from the denomination is not instantaneous, he said, but must first go through its annual conferences.

“No significant changes occur in our relationship apart from the actions of these authorized bodies,” Bishop Ken Carter said in a letter posted on the Florida conference’s Facebook page.

Florida’s annual conference will meet June 9-11 in Lakeland, Florida — the first time it’s gathered in person since the COVID-19 pandemic began two years ago.

Bishop Ken Carter. Photo via FLUMC.org

In the past three years, about 1% to 2% of churches in the Florida and Western North Carolina conferences have formally started the process to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church, according to Carter, who is resident bishop of both conferences.

“We’ve had a small number of churches that have done the work to disaffiliate from the denomination — and every church is important,” he told Religion News Service.

“We anticipate there will be more churches who will disaffiliate, and we’ve worked hard to send a message that all are welcome in the church and that the processes are intended to be open, public and transparent.”

As past president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, Carter was one of 16 United Methodist bishops and advocacy group leaders who negotiated a proposal to split the denomination after decades of debate over the ordination and marriage of LGBTQ United Methodists.

Delegates were expected to vote on that proposal, called the Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation, at the 2020 General Conference.

Surviving Cultural Changes in Ministry

By

Allen White

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May 6, 2022

thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

In the last two years, you’ve experienced about a decade’s worth of cultural change. Organizations that were breaking quickly broke. Some startups and skunk works quickly accelerated. Just to give you an example. You probably thought the legalization of gay marriage in 2015 appeared rather quickly. Now with the promotion of non-binary designations and transgenderism, gay marriage seemed simple. Western culture has become very complicated to say the least.

You might have jumped onto the darlings of the pandemic like Peloton, Netflix, and Zoom. But, now that much of Coronavirus has subsided, these online platforms are losing value. Has everyone forsaken digital? Considering that the average adult touches their smartphone 2,600 times per day, I don’t think so.

This is the tip of the iceburg of complex cultural change. Add in inflation, a pending recession, war, and a heavy dose of politics and you have a recipe for much stress and apprehension. Easter wasn’t what you expected. That’s okay. You are not your numbers. Church ministry isn’t working the way that it used to work. But, some things are working. How do you discern what to invest your life and ministry in at this point? Here are some things to consider in navigating cultural changes in ministry.

First, Look at God‘s Word

The Bible has stood the test of time and has been applied in every culture for the last 2000 years. Whether the church was under Roman oppression, living in the Dark Ages, or embracing the Enlightenment, the Bible clearly explains the church’s mission.

I know that you know and understand God’s Word. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be in ministry, right? But, stick with me. This next part is a little more like Vince Lombardi saying, “Gentlemen, this is a football.”

Consider the commands of Jesus (Matthew 28:20). The Great Commission is the same: Go and make disciples…baptizing them…teaching them to obey…” (Matthew 28:19-20). You only have one job: Go and make disciples. Loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself hold true just as Jesus gave in the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40). That’s the summary of the commands we are called to obey. And what about the Great Compassion (Matthew 25:45)? How are you serving the “least of these?” You may think of some other things as part of your mission, but these are the big ones.

If you created three buckets labeled: Great Commission, Great Commandment, and Great Compassion and assigned the various activities of your church to a bucket, where would those activities fit? What wouldn’t fit? What would you need to add?

In planning ministry for a changing culture, start with the church’s mission as articulated by Jesus Himself. The methods have changed, but the message is consistent.

Next, Look at Best Practices

Over the last 18 years, I’ve had the privilege of working with over 1,500 churches across North America in the areas of small groups and disciple-making. While the last two years were vastly different than the previous 16 years, practices in small groups and disciple-making are working very well. What is struggling right now are worship attendance and other centralized events, voluntary serving especially in children’s ministry, and bringing new people through the traditional front door of the church.

Digital ministry is a new frontier, but it’s not the answer for everybody. Don’t write it off. There is much to be explored. The church needs to enlist digital missionaries to this growing culture. Online small groups are the pits compared to in-person small groups, but if your only option is online, then it’s a great option.

In the Christian Life, the Name of Jesus Is Everything

By

J.D. Greear

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May 6, 2022

There are a number of times throughout Scripture where someone has an encounter with God’s glory. As I’ve written previously, nearly every time the scene begins with abject terror, not with warm fuzzies. For sinners to stand in the presence of God is so overwhelming that the usual response is, “I think I’m about to die!” One of these encounters stands out to me as unique—when Moses met with God on Mt. Sinai. After receiving the 10 Commandments, Moses asks to see God’s glory. God reminds Moses that if he were to meet him face-to-face, Moses would be a dead man. So he offers to hide Moses in a cleft of the rock while his glory passes by. Even though this is an Old Testament encounter, we can learn from it that the name Jesus is everything.

Most of us miss the significance of what happens next. When God’s glory and presence pass in front of Moses, it doesn’t say that Moses saw a brightness or a dazzling light. It says that he heard something—the declaration of a name:

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty.” (Exodus 34:6-7)

The Name of Jesus is Everything

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that there is no passage of Scripture where you see more clearly what it is like to be in the presence of God. He puts us in a place of safety and declares his name to us, a name of covenant love. But for the believer, instead of putting us into a rock, God places us into the safety of Christ. And instead of just proclaiming steadfast love, he proclaims the covenant love of a Father for his sons and daughters.

A couple years ago, my wife’s wedding ring went missing. For months I saved up to surprise her with a new one on our anniversary. I even re-enacted the whole proposal. (She said yes.) Now, legally speaking, giving her a new wedding ring didn’t make her any more my wife. But it made the sense of my love for her more real. That’s what it’s like to hear God’s name declared over your life. It’s a promise of the gospel that renews your relationship with God, the Spirit washing over you saying, “You are my beloved son, my beloved daughter!” (Romans 8:15).

Strike While the Iron is COLD

By

Bill Seaver

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May 6, 2022

What does strike while the iron is hot mean? It means we should take advantage of an opportunity while the opportunity before us. It makes sense for sure but I wonder if we can get stuck waiting for hot irons when there are things we could (and should) be doing while the iron is cold. After all, the iron is cold a lot more often than it’s hot.

What does strike while the iron is hot mean? Striking while the iron is hot is about being ready when opportunity knocks. That’s necessary for sure but we can’t sit around waiting on it. We need to be striking while the iron is cold. It’s what we’re doing most of the time.

The Cold Iron of Social Media

In the world of social media there are some people who emphasize “hot iron” kinds of things like creating viral videos or diving headfirst into the latest social network. It’s great to aspire to be on the cutting edge or wish for your latest video to get a million views but most of us don’t need to be on the cutting edge and don’t know what we’d really do if that video got a million views.

There are also viral videos that are available online which will make you curious to watch. Check out some videos like this Jimmy John Shark video and find out what made it viral!

Rather than pursing the next big web video, we would be a whole lot more successful using the things around us a little bit better than we are today. That takes work and commitment and patience and consistency, but it’s worth it. It’s the stuff we probably already know how to do. It’s the stuff we know we should be doing. Striking while the iron is cold doesn’t mean it’s ineffective. It just means you’re being proactive when there’s not an obvious opportunity.

Some examples of striking while the iron is cold are:

Responding to a question on Twitter that was meant for anyone to answer.
Creating yet another blog post that your audience will find valuable.
Monitoring what’s being said about your industry on Facebook.
Checking discussion boards (use BoardReader) to see what’s being said about your competitors.
Adding something to a discussion happening in a LinkedIn group.
Sharing a link for your Facebook fans to a news story they’ll find interesting.
Commenting on a blog and adding value to that conversation.

In practical terms, though, what does strike while the iron is hot mean — because the fact of the matter is most days the iron isn’t hot. It’s usually cold but that doesn’t mean you’re not doing the things you should be doing. The only people who don’t need to strike while the iron is cold are blacksmiths. The rest of us should be doing it every day. You’ll probably find that some cold irons turn hot pretty quick. It’s funny how it works out that way.

This take on what does strike while the iron is hot mean also appeared here, and is used by permission.

Glenn Packiam: Prophetic Worship Leaders

By

Glenn Packiam

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May 6, 2022

Writing on the worship leader as a spiritual guide made me want to explore what prophetic worship leaders as prophet and as pastor might look like. Let’s look at the “prophet” first.

Prophetic Worship Leaders

Our impression of a prophet is one who predicts the future. But in more fully Biblical sense, a prophet is one who sees what God sees (one of the Hebrew words for prophet is literally, “seer”), and then “speaks” to God on the people’s behalf and to the people on God’s behalf (the other Hebrew word for prophet means “spokesperson.”) The venerable Old Testament scholar, Walter Brueggemann, in his classic book, “Prophetic Imagination”, describes the prophet as one who sees an alternate vision of reality. That vision, then, leads to both criticizing and energizing.

First, the criticizing. We don’t like this word, but in the “prophetic tradition” in Scripture, the prophet brings a word of criticism against the “Empire.” Moses looms large in Israel’s story as the greatest prophet because he confronted the mighty Pharaoh and led God’s people out of bondage and oppression. Following in this great “prophetic” tradition, many of the prophets to Israel and Judah confront the kings of Israel and Judah who have, in a shocking turn of events, have become just like the Pharaoh they were saved from– they were Empire-building kings who exploited the poor and oppressed the needy for the sake of building an “economy of affluence” and a “religion of satiation.” (All of this sounds familiar, I know.)

How does the prophet bring this word of criticism? Primarily, Brueggemann says, through the “language of grief.” Jeremiah is a prime example of this. By refusing to buy the party line of “Peace, peace”, Jeremiah weeps over the people of God– for their sin, for their stubbornness, for their rejection of him as God’s messenger (See: Jer. 20). Jesus does a similar thing when, arriving in Jerusalem near His death, he weeps over the city. Tears have a long heritage in the prophetic tradition of the Scripture.

Now, the energizing. Here, the prophet is not addressing the powers that be– the rulers and Empires– but the pushed down. He is speaking to the marginalized and the oppressed. In fact, he is often speaking on behalf of them to God.

What does he say to energize them? The prophet, based on the alternate vision of reality that he sees, energizes the people of God through the language of hope. The example in the Old Testament that Brueggemann uses is Isaiah (or, more technically: “Second Isaiah”– the scribe/author who wrote Isaiah 40-55 or more). “Comfort, ye, comfort ye, my people,” the prophet declares. Jesus does this, famously, in His beatitudes, where He pronounces the poor and powerless to be the ones who are blessed (LUCKY?).

So, what does all this mean for the worship leader?

1. Prophetic Worship Leaders are a poet-prophets.

Art is a prophetic language. The language of grief and the language of hope are languages of poetry not prose. The prophets are not giving details or writing history books; they use imagery and metaphor and hyperbole to paint a vivid picture of what they see. Or they simply just weep. Or they walk with the weak and lift up the broken. Through poetic language and symbolic actions, the prophet speaks the language of grief and the language of hope. The poet can be a prophet.

2. Prophetic Worship Leaders can give voice to grief.

Do any of the songs we write or services we lead give room for people to grieve? The Sunday after the wildfires that destroyed over 300 homes in city, our worship leader gave people space to cry out to God, to place their burdens and sorrows at His feet. The temptation in the aftermath of loss and tragedy is to try to explain. Christians in Colorado were fumbling over each other in the blogosphere to “explain” why things like the Aurora massacre happen. But, I wonder, did we give voice to grief?

Mother’s Day Ideas: 4 Quick, Easy Activities for Children’s Ministry

By

ChildrensMinistry.com

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May 5, 2022

Mother’s Day is approaching quickly. But it’s not too late to help kids create a special memento for mom. Check out these four fun Mother’s Day ideas for children’s ministry. They’re perfect for helping kids of all ages express their love for mom and other special women!

4 Mother’s Day Ideas for Children’s Ministry

We’ve found some of the best Mother’s Day craft ideas out there. And we’re going to share them with you now! We hope you find these crafts useful and that kids (and moms) love them.

Feel free to adapt each craft to fit your needs and children’s ages. And use them to brainstorm other creative ideas for celebrating special women in your church. (Pro Tip: Keep these ideas in mind for Grandparents Day. Or for cheering up homebound or sick church members!)

Here are four Mother’s Day crafts your kids will love to make and give. Share them with all the teachers and volunteers in your children’s ministry program. Then in the comments, let us know about your favorite kid crafts for honoring parents!

1. Flower Pot Cards

Your preschoolers will love making these adorable flowerpot cards. Best of all: They take just five minutes to make. Yet moms are sure to keep them for years.

2. Handprint Bouquets

This flower-powered craft from Mrs. Stanford’s Class is hands-on…literally. Just gather some paint, ribbon, and paper. Then have your older kids get busy making these cute cards for mothers. Moms will display and cherish them!

3. Mums for Moms

If you have a little more time for crafts, this is an amazing one to try. These flowers come to life with color, thanks to coffee filters and spray bottles. Bonus: They’re a blast for kids to make!

4. Personalized Puzzles

If flowers aren’t your thing, try this fun puzzle. Its message lets kids tell parents they would “go to pieces” without them. What a sweet keepsake!

Looking for even more great Mother’s Day ideas? Check out all these Mother’s Day posts.

This article originally appeared here.

Youth Pastor ‘Betrothed’ to 14-Year-Old Girl With Parents’ and Church Leaders’ Blessing Charged With Sexual Abuse

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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May 5, 2022

Robert Fenton was a 26-year-old youth pastor at Abide In The Vine church in Owego, New York, when he was given approval to betroth a 14-year-old congregational member by her family and church leadership.

Fenton convinced the teenage girl’s parents and leadership at the non-denominational church to allow him to betroth the underage girl, telling them he had a vision “declaring that God wanted the victim to be his spouse.”

The youth pastor was granted permission to betroth the 14-year-old under the condition that no sexual activity would take place. But according to his now 40-year-old victim, Fenton “frequently” assaulted the underage girl during his two years at the church in the late 90’s.

Last week, Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced charges against Fenton for assaulting a 14-year-old.

“I want survivors to know—we believe you. We will not let predators get away with the sexual assault of children,” Shapiro said.

In the affidavit, the victim recalled that Fenton would visit her parents’ house in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, two to three times a week (about a 30 minute drive from the church) in order to see her. They where not allowed to date due to their age difference. It was during those visits that Fenton began to sexually assault her.

Their relationship ended in 1998, two months after the then 16-year-old called off the wedding while Fenton was in the hospital for an illness. They were scheduled to be married in June of 1998.

Fenton told his teenage victim that “she ruined his ministry” before moving to Australia.

The victim’s mother, Susan Dewing, told investigators that on more than one occasion, fellow church members told her that their son was meant to marry her daughter. So she saw it as “just a little strange” and not “that strange” when the youth pastor suggested something similar about himself.

When Fenton approached his victim’s parents to tell them how he felt about their daughter, they took it to the church. The church’s leadership—which included Fenton’s father, who was a church elder—told them it was “more of a courtship rather than dating.”

Leadership explained that courtship would not involve any physical contact between the youth pastor and their daughter, which included holding hands, kissing, touching, and instructed the two never to be alone together without an adult present.

Russell Dewing and his wife were unaware of any sexual activity between Fenton and their daughter until a few years ago.

The pastor’s son, Paul Hoover, shared in the affidavit that his father Fredrick P. Hoover, who is still pastoring Abide In The Vine church today, was not on board with the Fenton during the time of the courtship request.

John Cooper: Christian Left Is ‘Remarkably Silent’ on Good News About Possible Roe Reversal

By

Stephanie Martin

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May 5, 2022

christian left — Screenshots from YouTube / @Cooper Stuff

Monday’s SCOTUS leak about the possible overturning of Roe v. Wade is “such huge news,” says Skillet frontman John Cooper, that he had to post a brief “Daily Coop” message even though he’s on vacation. In the video, also available on YouTube, the Christian musician wonders why believers he categorizes as part of the “Christian left,” who “are never quiet online about anything,” have gone “remarkably silent” since Monday.

That evening, Politico published a leaked draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson, the closely watched Mississippi case that challenges both 1973’s landmark Roe decision and 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

Cooper, an outspoken critic of “woke theology,” questions the motives of people on the so-called Christian left—and even names some names. He wonders why social-justice advocates can’t at least speak up to praise God for this “groundbreaking” good news. After all, he notes, it’s “something that Christians have been praying about literally for 50 years…begging and pleading God to intervene.”

John Cooper to the ‘Christian Left’: What Happened to ‘Silence Is Violence’?

In the 13-minute video, Cooper says people on the Christian left tend to be “the first ones to tweet you and say that you are not loving justice because you are not speaking out. Silence is violence. Say what we tell you to say, or you’re not being a good Christian.”

Cooper then reads a tweet from Christian author and podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey, calling it “exactly what I was thinking.” Stuckey wrote: “You should ask yourself why most of your favorite social justice Christian influencers, who all have Micah 6:8 in their bios, posted a black square & are constantly chastising the church to ‘do better,’ rarely have anything to say about abortion.”

Cooper says, “The Christian left is always saying they’re not political; they’re just apolitical. It’s people like me—I’m a Christian nationalist, apparently, because I talk about politics.” The left say they’re pro-life but then add “we think there’s lots of other ways we can help, too.” So it’s really “the perfect time” for the Christian left to speak out, Cooper says, because they can “have their cake and eat it too.” In other words, they can vote for politicians on the left and Roe may get overturned.

Naming Names: John Cooper Questions Specific Faith Leaders

Cooper asks, “My friends in the Christian market that are always yelling at me because apparently I don’t love justice…because I’m anti-CRT…how come you aren’t saying anything about the possibility of Roe v. Wade getting overturned?”

Then he calls out people by name, saying he hasn’t seen any comments yet from them on the topic. (If he’s wrong, or if they do post something, he says, “Let me know.”) First, Cooper points to Beth Moore, who “hasn’t said a peep on Twitter” about the SCOTUS leak and its implications—yet tweets a lot about masks and vaccines.

He wonders why Phil Vischer hasn’t addressed the topic on Twitter, although Vischer did retweet this from Kaitlyn Schiess: “Today would be a great day, regardless of what the Supreme Court does or how you feel about it, to think about what it could look like for you and your community, church, and family to support vulnerable children and parents.”

As for Vischer’s Holy Post podcast co-host Skye Jethani, Cooper gives him a “five out of 10” for this tweet: “Overturning Roe is good news. But it’s only 1 piece of what should be a holistic & compassionate response to abortion. I hope this decision from SCOTUS doesn’t make anyone ignore the less hyped, practical needs of women, families, & kids that have proven to reduce abortions.”

New Study Finds Majority of Americans Report Same Religious Faith As Their Mother

By

American Bible Society

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May 5, 2022

PHILADELPHIA, PA – American Bible Society today released the second chapter of the 12th annual State of the Bible report, which highlights cultural trends in the U.S. regarding spirituality and Scripture Engagement. Today’s release shows that the majority of Americans maintain the same faith as their mother and that while the landscape of faith is changing, people are reporting high levels of curiosity about the Bible.

The data also indicate that American mothers (women with children at home) are collectively at the lowest levels of Scripture Engagement in three years. The first two chapters are available to download at StateoftheBible.org.

“It’s a sad irony that in the month we highlight the influence of mothers on their children’s faith, we also report that the level of Scripture Engagement for women with children in the home has dropped from 27 percent in 2021 to 15 percent in 2022. The past few years have taken a real toll on parents. They have been forced to balance schooling from home on top of chaotic schedules and devastating loss. Our research shows that many Americans—particularly parents—are struggling to rebuild spiritual routines,” said John Farquhar Plake, PhD and Director of Ministry Intelligence for American Bible Society. “This is a call to church leaders and communities to check in on parents and to help them rebuild practical spiritual habits like reading the Bible with their children. Millions of Americans—moms included—are curious about what the Bible has to say to them in this season. We need to help them discover its life-changing message.”

The State of the Bible findings come from a survey in January 2022 conducted by American Bible Society in collaboration with NORC at the University of Chicago, which produced 2,598 online or telephone responses from American adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Key findings analyzed in Chapter 2: Changing Faith

The faith of our mothers

The challenges of parenting through the pandemic have had an impact on the faith of mothers with children at home. Scripture Engagement for women with children at home plummeted from 27 percent in 2021 to 15 percent in 2022—lower now than it was during the disruptive onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 (16%).
Five in eight Americans (63%) say their religious faith is the same as their mother’s was when they were ten years old. A look at the current religious identity of the respondents reveals further details about whose faith has changed from their childhood influences. Non-religious groups, those who are now Agnostic-Atheist-None (40%), exceeded all other groups in changing from the faith of their mothers (pages 36-37).
The two middle groups—Movable Middle and Non-Practicing Christian—show a very low amount of change from the mother’s faith. This is potentially due to maintaining a religious identity but not adopting the practices of actively living out their faith (pages 39-40).

‘You Can Be Angry and Sin Not’: Terry Crews Talks to Trevor Noah About Overcoming His Anger, Racial Reconciliation

By

Dale Chamberlain

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May 5, 2022

Actor Terry Crews was a recent guest on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” wherein he discussed his personal journey with unhealthy anger and how that journey has affected the way he now approaches situations where he has been wronged, whether personally or as part of a broader trend of injustice in society.

As a devout Christian, Crews peppered the discussion with biblical references.

Crews’ interview with Trevor Noah centered on the release of Crews’ new book “Tough: My Journey to True Power.” In the memoir, Crews recounts growing up in a troubled household, wherein his father regularly physically abused his mother.

“I had to redefine what tough was,” Crews told Noah. Crews went on to explain that his goal as a young man was to become as strong as possible, because he felt one day that he would have to kill his father.

One Christmas, when Crews, along with his wife and children, were visiting his parents, his father hit his mother to the point where she needed dental attention. In response, Crews met with his father alone and physically assaulted him.

“I beat him from downstairs all the way up to his room. He’s bleeding. He’s screaming,” Crews remembered. “And all I could think about was, ‘This is revenge. This is what I always wanted. This is what you made us go through.’”

Explaining that the revenge he always wanted didn’t satisfy him the way he anticipated, Crews said, “I felt nothing.” In fact, the encounter left him feeling emptier than before.

Crews went on to express that it was difficult for him to come to terms with his anger issues, because anger was bound up in his notion of what it means to be a man. Recounting an incident where he got into a physical altercation with a man who disrespected his wife, Crews recalled feeling, “This is what I’m supposed to do. This is what I’m put on earth to do.”

Crews and his wife temporarily separated in 2010 due to his pornography addiction and anger issues.

“And this is the thing. I was very successful,” Crews said, recalling that he was a popular actor by this point in his career. “And my trick to life was ‘fake it till you make it.’ But the problem is you make it, and you’re fake.”

It was then that Crews started going to therapy, where he learned how to deal with his anger in a healthy way.

“You can be angry and sin not,” Crews said. “It’s a biblical phrase. And the whole thing was, righteous anger is a good thing.”

Barna Announces First-of-Its-Kind Global Study on Teens’ Views of Jesus, the Bible, and Justice

By

Barna Group

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May 5, 2022

The company’s biggest research study to date will be released this year and includes compelling perspectives from more than 25,000 teenagers ages 13 to 17.

VENTURA, Calif. – Barna Group, a social research company based in California, announced that it will be releasing a first-of-its-kind international research study focused on teenagers. “The Open Generation” is the largest study conducted by Barna in its 38-year history and the first global study to cover members of Generation Z on this level. More than 25,000 teens, ages 13 to 17, were included, with responses gathered from 26 countries.

The goal of the study is to provide an understanding of how teens around the world think, feel, and behave as it relates to three key areas: Jesus, the Bible, and justice. The study will reveal notable differences in Gen Z’s faith perspectives and practices when compared to those of the generations before them.

“As the global Church seeks to support, lead, and reach teens, it’s important that we gauge where they’re at — how they are doing emotionally, what they believe, and what they hope for the future,” said David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna Group. “As we explore the results of this study, we’re seeing some remarkable differences between teens today and other generations. There is a clear sense of optimism, confidence, and community found in the responses of teens globally. We’ve also seen some concerning perceptions and gaps in knowledge of foundational principles of Christianity that will challenge Church leaders as they engage with this generation.”

The study was developed and conducted by Barna in partnership with Alpha, Biblica, and World Vision, with additional support from Christian Vision, Bible Study Fellowship, Christ in Youth, and the Association of Christian Schools International. The support and global reach of this collective of organizations help to position findings from the study for international and long-term application.

“When we compare this study with our research on the Millennial generation, we’ve observed a significant shift in the way Gen Z teens approach faith. Some of these distinctions are encouraging — like teens’ openness to faith and making a difference in the world. Others, however, will cause us to pause and reconsider the way we connect with and meet the needs of teens in our lives,” said Kinnaman. “Barna, along with our partners in this study, are excited for this ground-breaking research to serve as a unique resource for Church leaders and others involved in teens’ lives to understand them and identify how to best come alongside this next generation.”

Satanic Temple Asks Boston to Fly Flag After Court Ruling

By

Philip Marcelo

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May 5, 2022

BOSTON (AP) — The Satanic Temple is requesting to fly a flag over Boston City Hall after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that the city violated the free speech rights of a conservative activist seeking to fly a Christian flag outside the downtown building.

The Salem-based group tweeted a request filed Tuesday with the city property management department to raise a flag marking “Satanic Appreciation Week” from July 23-29.

Mayor Michelle Wu’s office declined to comment on the group’s request other than to say it’s reviewing the high court’s decision while also evaluating its flag-raising program.

Lucien Greaves, the organization’s co-founder, said in an email Wednesday that the group wants to show that religious liberty must mean respect for “all forms” of religious practice and religious opinion.

“When government officials are able to impose arbitrary restrictions on claims of conscience, or to abridge the civic capacities of some based on their religious identity, we fail to be a free, democratic republic,” he wrote in part.

The organization hasn’t decided which of its official flags it will ask the city to fly, Greaves said, but one likely option echoes the American flag, only with black and white stripes and an emblem of a pentagram and goat skull where the 50 stars would be.

The Satanic Temple is separate from the Church of Satan, which was founded in the 1960s. Founded in 2013, the Satanic Temple doesn’t believe in Satan and describes itself as a “non-theistic religious organization” that advocates for secularism.

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Kirk Cameron’s ‘The Homeschool Awakening’

I saw a profile recently that described you as a prodigal daughter turned church lady. Is that fair?

First, Look at God‘s Word

Next, Look at Best Practices

The Name of Jesus is Everything

The Cold Iron of Social Media

Some examples of striking while the iron is cold are:

Prophetic Worship Leaders

1. Prophetic Worship Leaders are a poet-prophets.

2. Prophetic Worship Leaders can give voice to grief.

4 Mother’s Day Ideas for Children’s Ministry

1. Flower Pot Cards

2. Handprint Bouquets

3. Mums for Moms

4. Personalized Puzzles

John Cooper to the ‘Christian Left’: What Happened to ‘Silence Is Violence’?

Naming Names: John Cooper Questions Specific Faith Leaders

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