The Kingdom and the NGO: Vatican Financial Trial Exposes Internal Rivalries

April 8, 2022

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The long-running prosecution of high Vatican officials for a real estate investment gone wrong has produced a few historic, shocking and even titillating moments, from Pope Francis’ decision to allow a cardinal of the church to be indicted to the intimations, denied by that same cardinal, that his relationship with a female security consultant was more than advisory.

But some of the most intriguing testimony came last week as Monsignor Mauro Carlino, a former official of the Vatican’s powerful Secretariat of State, raised the veil on the widely known but rarely glimpsed rivalry between the Secretariat and the Vatican bank, involving secret surveillance, alleged blackmail and good old-fashioned backstabbing.

The monsignor admitted to Vatican judges that he had commissioned surveillance of important bank officials, as well as one of Pope Francis’ closest advisers.

Culturally the Secretariat and the bank are very different institutions. The Vatican bank, officially called the Institute for Religious Works, is run by laypeople and non-Italians at that, and has tried to shake off a well-deserved reputation for financial scandal in recent years by adopting global standards of transparency and accountability.

The Secretariat, the seat of the church’s secular sovereignty, is the province of cardinals, archbishops and other clerics. It handles relations with other states, Vatican diplomacy and the government of the departments and offices that make up the Roman Curia. Its decisions have largely yielded the scandal behind the current trial.

Carlino is among 10 defendants facing trial for their part in the controversial purchase of prime real estate in London’s Chelsea neighborhood that has cost the church well over $300 million from a fund earmarked for the pope’s charitable works. Among the others are Cardinal Angelo Becciu, a former sostituto, the secretary of state’s chief of staff, and Carlino’s onetime boss, and an Italian businessman named Gianluigi Torzi.

As the investment soured, Francis removed Becciu, who had overseen the purchase of a majority stake in a fund that owned the London property, replacing him with Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra. Pena Parra oversaw the Secretariat’s turbulent efforts to take full ownership of the property in Chelsea with the help of Torzi. But in brokering the deal, Torzi held onto 1,000 voting shares of the fund, giving him ultimate control over the property’s disposition.

In the spring of 2019, Pena Parra was frantically looking for a way to exit the arrangement with Torzi. He asked the Vatican bank for a loan to pay the businessman $17 million for his controlling shares as well as to pay off $120 million in debt on the London apartment house. Pena Parra’s request was seconded by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, in a letter to the bank.

In late May of 2019, the Vatican bank’s president, French investment banker Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, approved the loan, Carlino told the judges. “The pope approved, the sostituto was happy the affair was concluded,” he said, “and then a communication arrives stating that after all (the loan) wasn’t approved.”

Bible Engagement Drops 21 Percent Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Study Finds

Diana Chandler

April 8, 2022

Bible Engagement — Photo via Unsplash.com @Sixteen Miles Out

PHILADELPHIA, (BP) – Americans are less engaged with the Bible and are less likely to say the Bible influences their lifestyle than in previous years, the American Bible Society (ABS) said in its 2022 State of the Bible report.

Scripture engagement is down 21 percent from 2021. Only 49 million Americans fit the ABS criteria of Scripture engaged in 2022, down from 64 million in 2021 and 71 million in 2020.

On an ABS scale of 1-6, Americans’ perception of how much Scripture impacts their behavior has steadily declined since the early days of the pandemic, registering 3.35 in 2022, down from 4.13 in June 2020. Pre-pandemic, Americans registered 4.39 in Scripture-impacted behavior.

“Perhaps the Bible has been neglected or simply taken for granted as people dealt with the challenges of reassembling their lives after a disruptive pandemic,” the ABS wrote in the report released April 6. “A significant number of people say they ‘never seem to have enough time’ to read the Bible. But we also find that attitudes are changing. This year, more people say that America would stay “about the same” if no one read the Bible. This news provides a challenge for everyone involved in Bible ministry.”

Nearly 26 million Americans either stopped interacting with the Bible altogether or reduced their Bible usage, ABS said.

Christian leaders must recognize the implications of this unique moment in history and respond strategically, ABS Director of Ministry Engagement John Farquhar said in the report.

“The data (and our personal experiences as leaders) tell us that American adults – particularly Christian adults – are struggling to live out their faith in a social context that has been upended by the pandemic,” Farquhar said. “They do not see a way to connect their faith to meaningful action through generosity, community and relationships.”

He encouraged innovation, energy and deep compassion in ministry at this time, and work that reconnects people to Christ-centered relationships and service.

ABS will reveal the findings of the 2022 report in increments, releasing one additional chapter each month throughout 2022. Upcoming chapters will examine The Faith of our Mothers, Hope and Flourishing in America, The Bible and Society, Faith Across the Generations, Digging In (a deep dive into how people use the Bible), and A Generous Life, ending with a wrap up of findings and the research agenda for 2023.

“Every year the State of the Bible brings a fresh perspective on the reality God already knows,” ABS President and CEO Robert L. Briggs said. “Our purpose is not merely to satisfy curiosity, or to cause either panic or celebration. It’s a starting point. Where do we go from here? What is God calling us to do in response to this reality, to advance toward the future point God has in mind.”

The 2022 report, conducted in collaboration with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, is based on 2,598 responses from a representative sample of adults 18 and older in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The study was conducted online and on the telephone Jan. 10-28.

Chapter 1 of the report is available for free download here.

This article originally appeared at Baptist Press.

Anglicans Say Leaders Botched Response to Allegations Against DC Priest

Kathryn Post

April 8, 2022

(RNS) — On Tuesday (April 5), a group of self-identified survivors and advocates who attended an Anglican church in Washington, D.C., published an open letter saying diocesan leaders mishandled their allegations of spiritual abuse. The letter asks the leaders to apologize to the reported victims and discipline the accused priest, the Rev. Dan Claire.

“Rev. Claire betrayed pastoral confidences, misused his ecclesial authority to control and manipulate people under his pastoral authority, disclosed and misused mental health histories in order to discredit people, and ostracized and slandered parishioners who attempted to challenge any of his questionable behavior,” the letter on the anti-abuse platform ACNAtoo says. It also cites allegations of “victim blaming and defamation in cases of sexual impropriety.” Claire said he isn’t permitted to speak with Religion News Service due to the ongoing process.

RNS spoke with four reported survivors for this story. Due to fear of retaliation, they requested to be kept anonymous. RNS has confirmed their identities and association with the church.

The reported survivors are former members of Church of the Resurrection in D.C. — known as “Rez” — in the Christ Our Hope Diocese. They claim diocesan leaders, including Bishop Steven Breedlove, have failed to adequately hold Claire accountable and have not centered the needs of survivors. Breedlove did not respond to a request for comment.

“I can assure you that we have taken and will continue to take all accusations of abuse and the spiritual and emotional well-being of the accusers with full seriousness, and will persist in working towards a compassionate and God-pleasing resolution of this very painful situation,” the Rev. Arthur L. Going, canon for spiritual health, told RNS in an email.

With churches scattered between Maine and North Carolina, Christ Our Hope Diocese was originally a church planting network in the Anglican Church of Rwanda that joined the Anglican Church in North America in 2015. The ACNA split from the Episcopal Church in 2009, largely in dissent of the latter’s acceptance of LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriages.

According to the open letter, several unrelated spiritual abuse and pastoral misconduct allegations against Claire were submitted to Breedlove throughout 2020, prompting Breedlove to reach out to a bishop at another diocese, requesting help to “secure an investigation team” on Breedlove’s behalf, according to the open letter. Ten reported victims and additional witnesses were interviewed in the independent investigation from April-September 2021, resulting in a final report to the diocese that, the open letter said, was never shared in full with reported victims.

After the investigation, Breedlove, along with other diocesan leaders, presented seven “allegations” or “broad areas of complaint” to Claire in a November meeting, according to a December 9, 2021, email from Breedlove obtained by RNS.

But months later, a Feb. 12, 2022, letter sent from Breedlove and other diocesan leaders to reported survivors and advocates seemed to question the investigative process, saying it was “insufficient and incomplete.” The report itself, they said, “obscured the narrative of the events involved in the complaints and did not allow for adequate analysis” and “made it impossible to come to reliable conclusions.” As a result, the leaders had decided to “set it aside.”

The alleged survivors were stunned — after the diocese presented Claire with general allegations, they anticipated the investigation would yield tangible consequences.

“After the diocesan council reviewed this lengthy, in-depth report, even if it wasn’t quite all in the proper technical format, I don’t think there was a question that there were serious problems with this guy,” one former Rez employee who wished to remain anonymous told RNS. “To throw that out because of a technicality after the fact was pretty egregious.”

Church of the Resurrection purchased this historic church building in Washington, D.C., in January 2021. Image courtesy of Google Maps

The Rev. Matthew Wilcoxen, a former associate rector of Rez and a witness in the original investigation, said he believes the investigation was not fair to Claire. Though he hasn’t seen the final report, he told RNS he has seen parts of the report where his testimony was included and said his statements about Claire were “slanted’ and given a “negative interpretation.” He added that Claire wasn’t presented with the opportunity for counsel or an advocate and “was never presented with concrete allegations prior to the investigation, and so was not able to call relevant witnesses.”

Jesus: Forever the Easter Lamb of God

Bob Kauflin

April 8, 2022

thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Last month, churches throughout the world remembered and celebrated what is at the heart of the Christian faith: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Songs, sermons and liturgies reflected the fact that Jesus laid down his life as the Easter Lamb of God, the perfect atoning sacrifice for the sins of all those who would trust in him, and three days later was raised from the dead.

It’s worth noting that in the post-resurrection scenes of Revelation, Jesus is still referred to as the Lamb. In fact, of the 34 times Jesus is called the Lamb in the New Testament, 29 are in the book of Revelation. It’s a striking and unusual choice. When an elder tells the apostle John that “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered” (Rev. 5:5), John turns and sees a Lamb. In commenting on this passage, J.P. Love says:

None but an inspired composer of heavenly visions would ever have thought of it. When earth-bound men want symbols of power they conjure up mighty beasts and birds of prey. Russia elevates the bear, Britain the lion, France the tiger, the United States the spread eagle—all of them ravenous. It is only the Kingdom of Heaven that would dare to use as its symbol of might not the Lion for which John was looking but the helpless Lamb, and at that, a slain Lamb.”

Jesus is The Easter Lamb of God

Why continue to refer to Jesus as the Lamb, even after he has risen from the dead? Because it is as the sacrificial Lamb that Jesus is worthy of praise, satisfied God’s wrath against us, triumphed over Satan by removing his ability to accuse us and secured our reconciliation with God (Rev. 5:9; Rom. 3:21-26; Col. 2:13-15; Rom. 5:10). Because Jesus became our substitute and received our punishment at the cross, he fulfilled every sacrifice that had previously been offered in the Old Testament. His was the last and final sacrifice, the once and for all offering that will never have to be repeated. As the writer to the Hebrews puts it:

“For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:24 –28, ESV)

Last year Jason Hansen, David LaChance, Jr. and I tried to express some of these thoughts in a song we called “Lamb of God.” We wanted to capture a broader picture of Christ’s person and work as the Easter Lamb of God who was slain.

The song first appeared on our album Sooner Count the Stars: Worshiping the Triune God, but we recently recorded a more reflective version in the video below. I posted the lyrics here, but you can download guitar charts, lead sheets and piano scores at the Sovereign Grace Music website.

O Lamb of God, all worlds obeyed Your will
From dark and void their being came
O Lamb of God, Your glories echo still
Creation sings its Maker’s praise
Eternal God, One with the Father
Before all time You dwelt in love
Eternal God, unlike all others
Yet You descended unto us

O Lamb of God, in filthy manger lay
In humble dress You entered earth
O Lamb of God, Creator bows to save
The needy ones, helpless from birth
Incarnate Word, gift of the Father
To take our place and bear our sin
Incarnate Word led to the slaughter
You conquered death and rose again

O Lamb of God, now reigning on the throne
The Judge of all, faithful and true
O Lamb of God, You’ll make Your power known
When all Your foes receive their due
Victorious King, when history’s fading
You’ll call Your Bride to take her place
Victorious King, Creation’s waiting
For Your redeemed to see Your face

This article about the Easter Lamb of God is used by permission.

The Good News of Easter and Spiritual Warfare

Stephen Altrogge

April 8, 2022

Why is it that apocalyptic movies, books and video games are so popular right now? Every other day, a new zombie apocalypse video game is being released. Piles and piles of end-of-the-world novels have been written in recent years. The National Geographic Channel airs a show called “Doomsday Preppers,” in which men and women build bunkers and teach their children to fire semi-automatic rifles. The Left Behind series sold hundreds of millions of copies. Recently, Hollywood has released Contagion, World War Z, Battle: Los Angeles, Oblivion, Pacific Rim and countless other apocalyptic movies. Could there be good news in thinking about Easter and spiritual warfare?

The Good News of Easter and Spiritual Warfare

I think one reason the apocalypse is such a popular theme is that it doesn’t require a big stretch of the imagination. Face it: Life is really, really hard, people can be really, really bad, and it often looks like the world is falling apart. Russia is invading Ukraine. BP is pumping millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. A young man walks into a school and kills 20 young children. A friend gets cancer. A child is diagnosed with autism. We are constantly teetering on the edge of the apocalypse as it is.

The utter pervasiveness of evil is why Easter is such a precious holiday. Easter isn’t about candy, Sunday dresses, ham dinners or Easter egg hunts: better to think about Easter and spiritusl warfare.

Easter and Spiritual Warfare: declaring War on Satan and Evil

1 John 3:8 says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” When I read that verse, something surges within me. My heart says, “Yes! Finally! I cannot overcome the devil, but Jesus can, and has! Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. He came to obliterate evil. He came to crush sadness. He came to restore all that was lost at Eden. Jesus is the Holy Warrior and the sinner’s friend.”

Hebrews 2:14-15 says:

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

Death has been dethroned! Jesus Christ took on flesh and blood, submitted himself to the curse of sin and death, and then destroyed death from the inside out! Death may touch us, but it cannot take us. The stranglehold of death and sin and sadness and sickness and suffering has been broken. It’s not always winter and never Christmas. Spring has come.

Revelation 21:3-4 says:

Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

For those of who have trusted in Christ, this is what the end of the world looks like! Jesus Christ, risen from the grave, seated on the throne, will wipe away every tear, every sorrow, every pain. Satan will be vanquished. Death will be extinguished. All the sad, former things will pass away.

Now we are surrounded by death and sadness and pain and mourning. We get migraines and pinched nerves and breast cancer. We battle depression and schizophrenia and anxiety. Our bodies daily betray us. We lose friends and family and even children. We grieve and struggle and stumble our way through life.

But soon, mourning will be replaced by morning. The grave could not hold our Savior. He is risen. He is on the move. He is reigning. And soon he will be returning.

This article on Easter and spiritual warfare originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Work is Spiritual: 3 Ways to Serve at Work

Eric Geiger

April 8, 2022

A common misconception among Christians is they don’t believe their work is spiritual, that a regular 9-5 day cannot be sacred. If they’re going to do anything spiritual or ministry oriented, it’ll have to happen around these occupied time slots. But this implies that everybody needs to be a full-time pastor of some kind if they’re going to be spiritual for the better part of the day and week. The misconception that normal work is not spiritual is both inaccurate and damaging. Work is spiritual. In fact, God invented work. Work was present in the garden of Eden prior to the fall of humanity. Adam and Eve were given responsibility to tend the garden, and their work was enjoyable and honorable to God. When sin entered the world, yes—work became tainted with sweat, difficult bosses, Microsoft Excel and frustrating situations at the office, but still, the concept of work is spiritual. When we spend forever with God in heaven, we will have work and industry to accomplish.

So don’t ever give the impression that work is mundane and insignificant. God desires Christians to bring their best to their profession so the city and culture will benefit and its people will be served well. Martin Luther believed that all professions were sacred, that “God Himself was milking the cows through the profession of the milkmaid.”

In the workplace, believers are given an opportunity through the gospel to serve in several different directions—upward, downward and laterally.

Work is Spiritual: 3 Ways to Serve at Work

1. Serve Upward

Serving upward means consistently working hard, knowing you ultimately work for the Lord. Believers should be the best employees on the job because they realize their work is truly done for God’s glory. Serving one’s supervisor well is a means of serving Christ well. And if a believer works for another believer, he should serve that person even better (1 Tim. 6:1–2).

2. Serve Downward

Believers who are supervising others are given the opportunity to serve downward. By treating employees well and fairly, calling out the best of their gifts, the supervisor honors his or her ultimate Boss in heaven, who sees everything that’s done on the job … and who is not impressed with the lines and boxes on the org chart (Col. 4:1).

3. Serve Laterally

Most believers are also given the opportunity to serve laterally, assisting the colleagues who work alongside them. Because of the gospel, believers should encourage and serve these who are equal to them in responsibility, without being a burden to them, without being the slouch at the office who must continually be bailed out by others. One of the best ways a believer serves those who work alongside him is just to do his job well (1 Thess. 4:9–12). That alone is more spiritual and gospel-centric than many people realize.

This article about why work is spiritual originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Easter Community Outreach Ideas: Kids Can Share Food to Spare

ChildrensMinistry.com

April 7, 2022

Are you looking for last-minute Easter community outreach ideas? Here’s a simple, meaningful project for children of all ages.

Just as Jesus told Peter to feed his lambs, kids will do that for their community. First, they’ll dive into Scripture for a children’s ministry devotion.

To make this project easier, request donations from church members and parents. You might want to incorporate this idea with an Easter carnival or community festival.

Easter Community Outreach Ideas: Food to Spare

Scripture:

John 21:4-6, 12-13, 15-17

What you’ll need:

Bible
small, clean plastic jars
jelly beans
colorful paper
hole punch
markers
ribbons

What you’ll do:

In the weeks leading up to this Easter outreach project, collect small, clean jars. Remove all labels.

Gather your kids together. Say: After Jesus came back to life, he appeared to his disciples. He even made them breakfast!

Ask: Tell about a time you were really hungry.

Read John 21:4-6, 12-13.

Say: Then Jesus told Peter how to show he really loved Jesus. Read John 21:15-17.

Ask: Tell about a time you shared food with someone.

Say: People in our town would love us to share food or treats with them. And we can show Jesus’ love by feeding his lambs a special Easter treat—jelly beans!

For this Easter outreach, have kids fill the jars with jelly beans. Then have them write notes or poems on colorful paper. Punch a hole in the corner of each card.

Thank You Youth Worker: An Honest Letter From One Teen’s Mom

Youth Ministrycom

April 7, 2022

Need a dose of encouragement for youth ministry? Then check out this heartfelt letter from a parent. Discover why one mom felt it was so important to say, “Thank you youth worker!”

One Mom Says Thank You Youth Worker

Dear youth pastor of my son who’s getting ready to graduate from high school:

Forgive me for being so preoccupied right now, during the last weeks of high school. I’ve been meaning to reach out and express my gratitude. But I keep forgetting to say thank you youth worker for everything you’ve done for my son. So here’s my honest thank-you letter to let you know how much what you do matters.

I realize a lot of things have gone unsaid over the years. In case I don’t get the chance to say these things in person, I’m writing this letter to express what’s on my heart.

Forgive Me

Forgive me for the panicked phone call in the middle of the night back when my son was in 8^th grade. As you probably remember, he’d been crying himself to sleep for a week. I was so concerned I couldn’t stand it another minute. Even though my phone call woke you up (and your wife and newborn), you calmly took time to assess the situation and talk me off the ledge. And the next day, you took my son to breakfast and talked him off the ledge.

Forgive me for the time I got really upset after you took the kids paint-balling on the way home from the summer mission trip. I guess the giant welts and bruising on his torso threw my protective mama-bear instincts into overdrive and I complained.

I might have forgotten to say thank you youth worker then. But my son will always remember that trip. And I’m forever grateful that you ignited in him a genuine heart for service.

Forgive me for the times I was late picking him up from youth group and blamed you for the lack of communication. Amid my crazy-busy life juggling work and motherhood, I was the one to blame.

I might have forgotten to say thank you then. But he’ll always remember those nights. And I’ve never forgotten how grateful I am for how you spent time away from your kids each week to be with mine.

Anti-Abortion Group Claims It Obtained Remains of 115 Fetuses From DC Clinic

Stephanie Martin

April 7, 2022

During a press conference this week, members of the group Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU) described how they recently obtained the remains of 115 fetuses from a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic. After burying 110, they say they informed police about the remaining five, which were larger and more developed.

Police are investigating the claims, which came days after nine PAAU members were indicted on federal charges stemming from a 2020 protest. Meanwhile the hashtag #JusticeForTheFive is spreading, and abortion advocates are attempting to discredit the pro-life group.

Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising Founder: Unboxing Fetal Remains Was ‘Soul-Crushing’

Terrisa Bukovinac, an atheist and leftist who founded Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising last fall, says she and group member Lauren Handy set out to conduct advocacy work on March 25, the Day of the Unborn Child. Outside Washington Surgi-Clinic, they asked the driver of a medical-waste truck for a biohazard box he was loading. The driver appeared “visibly shaken” when they told him “dead babies” were inside, she says, and he agreed to hand over the box when they offered to provide proper burials.

At Handy’s apartment, with a Catholic deacon present, Bukovinac says they removed 110 “mostly first-trimester” aborted babies, plus five bigger bodies—including a “nearly full-term” baby boy. “Not even years of anti-abortion advocacy could have prepared us for that moment,” she says, calling it “the most soul-crushing experience of our lives.”

PAAU members believe the remains prove the clinic violated a law against D&X abortions, but they couldn’t find a private pathologist to confirm that. So they called in a whistleblower tip, and the local medical examiner collected the remains.

The Growing Contingent of Left-Leaning Abortion Foes

In a January Newsweek opinion piece, Bukovinac describes the “growing number of non-religious and progressive Americans who oppose abortion.” The pro-life movement meshes with the “core beliefs of millennials and Gen Z” in several areas, she writes. Those include modern science, the abortion industry’s “anti-feminist assumptions” and “economic interests,” and a commitment to non-discrimination and equity.

“Our quest for justice as a movement relies on our ability to mobilize enough people power to non-violent resistance,” Bukovinac writes. “We look forward to the day abortion is a distant memory of a late-capitalist past when profit mattered more than human lives.”

Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, introduced Bukovinac at Tuesday’s press conference, calling her “one of the most courageous people I have ever met.” He also lambasted Christians who don’t fight abortion, comparing them to the priest and Levite in Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. Bukovinac and Handy, says Terry, “are living, breathing, walking rebukes to the cowardice and the self-love of the Christian community at large and clergy and leadership in particular.”

‘Some Crimes Are Not Sins; Some Sins Are Not Crimes’: Tom Ascol on Forthcoming SBC Sex Abuse Report

Dale Chamberlain

April 7, 2022

Florida pastor, Founders Ministries president, and SBC presidential hopeful Tom Ascol released a video statement on Wednesday sharing his thoughts on what should be done in response to the forthcoming Guidepost Solutions report about whether the SBC Executive Committee has mishandled allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse.

“A couple of weeks ago, it was announced that I will be nominated as a candidate for the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention,” Ascol, who has been campaigning for Southern Baptists to “change the direction” of the denomination, said in the video statement. “Since that time, I’ve had several people reach out to me and asked me what my attitude was toward the sex abuse task force report that is forthcoming.”

At the 2021 meeting of the SBC, messengers approved a motion for a task force to be formed to oversee the execution of a third party investigation into the Executive Committee’s handling of sexual abuse allegations. The results of that investigation will be reported, along with Guideposts recommendations for next steps, at the 2022 meeting of the SBC in Anaheim, CA.

“Of course, nobody knows what’s in that report yet,” Ascol said. “But I do believe also that we ought to be praying for those who will release it and those who will have to respond to it. And all of us will in some degree or another, and we should all be prepared to respond to it.”

Ascol went on to express that Southern Baptists need not fear whatever the report contains, because “we have a Savior who already knows whatever is right and true in that report.” Ascol also emphasized the importance of both hope and humility in the process, and said that the denomination should follow the word of God “wherever it leads us, regardless of costs, or consequences.”

Ascol then turned his attention to defining terms, outlining the difference between a sin and a crime.

“In order to think more rightly about this thing, I believe it would be helpful for us to distinguish between sins and crimes, as the Bible does,” Ascol said. “Sin is any transgression of the law of God. A crime is in violation of the state that is ruling over a particular area.”

“Some crimes are not sins; some sins are not crimes. We all know about sins that are not crimes, like the sin of covetousness. We don’t want the state to legislate about that,” Ascol went on to say. “These realities highlight the importance of church membership for Christians and healthy churches so that they can deal appropriately with sin among their members.”

Ascol went on to stress the importance of “a righteous state with honest magistrates, who will enact just laws and enforce those laws,” saying that Christians must report crimes to the state but reiterating that the state does not handle sin. This is the role of the Church.

Willy Rice Withdraws His Name From Consideration for SBC President

Dale Chamberlain

April 7, 2022

Florida pastor Willy Rice has announced that he will not accept a nomination for president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Rice, who pastors Calvary Church in Clearwater, had come under fire after he revealed that his church knowingly installed a deacon who had “committed a sexual sin that could also be described as abusive.”

In a statement released to Twitter on Wednesday, Rice said, “I am hereby withdrawing my name as a candidate for the SBC Presidency this summer. The last few days have been very difficult and I’ve found myself in an untenable position of watching people I love in a church I love done immeasurable harm simply because my name was being considered for this office.”

“My calling is to my local church, my family and to the mission field God has given me. I wish to return my time and attention to those things,” the statement went on to say, with Rice adding that he hopes “another candidate will emerge whose ministry has been characterized by leading in the local church with a passion for the Great Commission.”

Rice had been an early favorite for the role until April 1, when he released a video statement regarding the deacon at his church with a history of sexually predatory behavior. The deacon had been a high school teacher and coach and had an inappropriate sexual relationship with an 18-year-old student in 2005. No criminal charges were filed.

In his statement, Rice emphasized that the deacon’s sexual misconduct had happened prior to his coming to Calvary Church and that the deacon had shown “genuine fruits of a repentant life” over several years of being at Calvary before taking on the role of deacon. Rice also emphasized that the deacon had never been allowed to serve in ministries involving children or students, and the church has now asked the deacon to step down.

“We’ve learned a great deal about what should be categorized as abusive behavior, and we grieve that we did not recognize some of these things sooner and apologize for our lack of compassion or concern for the victim,” Rice said regarding the church’s previous decision to ordain the deacon.

In the days that followed, a number of influential SBC pastors and church leaders called upon Rice to withdraw from the race for SBC president.

“I am profoundly grateful to the many people who encouraged me and supported me over the last few weeks,” Rice said in the statement announcing his withdrawal from consideration. “Your kindness was far more than I deserve and I regret that I cannot fulfill your hopes for me to serve as SBC President.”

“Willy, you are a good man,” said Land Center director Daniel Darling in response to the statement. “I hate that you had to endure this. Praying for you and your church.”

Texas Pastor Bart Barber Announced As Candidate for SBC President

Jonathan Howe

April 7, 2022

Bart Barber — Original photo courtesy of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

FARMERSVILLE, Texas (BP) – Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference president Matt Henslee announced his intention to nominate Texas pastor Bart Barber for the office of SBC president at the upcoming SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim, June 14-15, 2022.

Barber becomes the fourth announced candidate for the office this year but only the third candidate who will be considered by messengers for the position. Florida pastor Willy Rice was announced as a candidate last month but withdrew his candidacy Wednesday (April 6). Other announced candidates include Florida pastor Tom Ascol and Robin Hadaway, senior professor of missions at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Pastor of First Baptist Church, Farmersville, Barber will also serve as the chairman of the Committee on Resolutions at the June meeting – a position he was appointed to by current SBC President Ed Litton who opted not to seek a second term.

“Barber is what Southern Baptists are when they are at their best,” Henslee told Baptist Press in a statement. “As a church, First Baptist Farmersville gives generously through the Cooperative Program and directly supports missionaries and church planters. As a pastor, Barber is actively involved in the local association, state convention, and the national level of the Southern Baptist Convention. He preaches the Word faithfully, reaches the lost passionately, and truly believes Baptists are at their best when they are working together to advance the kingdom.

“Whether I was starting in ministry about 10 miles from him or pastoring churches 600 miles from him, Bart has been a phone call away for counsel or help as I navigated the ups and downs of ministry. Now as his associational missionary and fellow pastor, I have a front-row seat to a man who loves his family well, shepherds his church with care, and still finds time to encourage pastors and promote unity in our Convention.”

In addition to his leadership of the Committee on Resolutions this year, Barber served on the committee in 2021, preached at the SBC Pastors’ Conference in 2017, served as first vice president of the SBC from 2013 through 2014, served on the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention executive board from 2008 through 2014 (including serving as chairman and vice chairman), served as a trustee for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 2009 through 2019 and served on the SBC Committee on Committees in 2008. He also previously taught as an adjunct professor at SWBTS from 2006 through 2009.

Gunned Down Seminary Dean Was Trying To Walk to Safety, Friend Says

Diana Chandler

April 7, 2022

BUCHA, Ukraine (BP) – Evangelical seminary dean Vitaliy Vinogradov was fleeing Russian occupation of Bucha, attempting to walk 10 miles to safety in Kyiv, when Russian forces killed him and left his body on a local street, a close friend and ministry associate told Baptist Press.

Vinogradov had been missing since March 6 when he left his Bucha home attempting to walk to the office of All Together!, a Christian pro-family ministry in Ukraine where he served as a board member, said All Together! leader Ruslan Kukharchuk.

“It was really dangerous, at the beginning of March, because from the first of March, Bucha was totally occupied by Russian soldiers,” Kukharchuk said. “And almost all people who were trying to escape the city, to go out of city, was under a risk, because Russian soldiers did not allow anybody to move, even just to walk.

“On March 4, Vitaliy called me. He (was) leaving Bucha. He asked, if he were able … if he could walk from Bucha to Kyiv … about 10 miles … to move to our office to stay there, because it was really dangerous to stay in Bucha, which was already occupied by Russian troops,” Kukharchuk told Baptist Press days after Vitaliy’s body was found.

Vinogradov had limited options of walking to Kyiv or finding a car, because he had no personal transportation. He chose to walk, last communicating with friends as he left his home March 6.

“As we understand for now, and as he explained to us before, he was walking to Kyiv to our office to stay there during this occupation period of Bucha,” Kukharchuk said. “But unfortunately during this walk to Kyiv, he was killed and he was shot.”

All Together! had reported him missing March 10 after a lengthy search. Ukraine law enforcement officials found Vinogradov’s body April 1 after Ukraine’s military forced Russia out of the tri-city area of Bucha, Irpin and Gostomil near Kyiv.

His body lay on the street beside that of fellow believer and friend Oleg Grishchenko. Their bodies were among hundreds of tortured bodies found on roads, in parks and in hastily dug mass graves in the tri-city area, Kukharchuk said. The latest official count was 410 civilian casualties.

“This is just typical genocide. They just kill people who live in Ukraine, who are Ukrainian citizens … just because they are Ukrainian people,” Kukharchuk said, urging the foreign community to trust Ukrainians’ revelation that this is indeed genocide. “There is no other reason. When they see a man walking outside, they can just kill him. There is no explanation for that.

“It’s totally impossible to find any reason to explain what is happening right now. It’s a total evil spirit which moves the Russian troops which try to occupy Ukraine, an absolutely peaceful country. We pray for God’s mercy to stop this bloody process.”

Gateway Seminary Graduate’s Journey From Prison to Pastorate

Timothy Cockes

April 7, 2022

Kelvin Aikens Gateway Seminary — Kelvin Aikens (right), pastor of the South Campus of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, shares his testimony in a chapel service at Gateway Seminary. Jeff Iorg (left) is Gateway president and also a member of Aikens' church (photo via Baptist Press).

ONTARIO (Calif.) – For Gateway Seminary graduate Kelvin Aikens, the journey to becoming a pastor involved running an elaborate drug operation, serving two separate multi-year prison sentences and receiving God’s overwhelming grace.

A 2016 graduate of Gateway with a Doctor of Ministry degree, Aikens is now the pastor of the South Campus of Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Ontario, Calif. He shared much of his story during a recent chapel service at Gateway.

His miraculous journey includes turning to Christ in prison and eventually surrendering to a call to ministry many years later.

Before his first prison sentence, Aikens was involved with an operation in the ‘70s and ‘80s that produced and distributed illegal drugs, including PCP. There was so much money involved with the operation that Aikens said he began burying money in his mother’s backyard because he “didn’t know what to do with it.”

Aikens was eventually caught, arrested and sentenced to five years in prison. Upon his release, his plan was to continue to sell drugs under a lower profile while helping his wife in her real estate career.

Eventually, both Aikens and his younger brother were found out and arrested on drug-related charges. This time, he received an eight-year sentence.

Before moving to different permanent prison locations, Aikens and his younger brother stayed in the same local county jail.

The first day of their time in prison, Aikens describes the scene of his brother lying on the floor crying and repenting to God. His brother had become a Christian during his first prison sentence, but had severely backslidden after his release and once again went the wrong direction in life.

“Initially I was shocked because I’d never seen him like this,” Aikens told Baptist Press.

“Eventually I found myself on the floor with him, and I accepted Christ right in that moment. I was telling people in prison I was happier than I’ve ever been in my life. I had a peace above peace and a joy above joy.”

The two brothers spent their few months in the county jail reading and studying the Bible for eight to 10 hours a day.

Even the guards noticed the peace within the two, and would move the brothers around to other cells that were causing trouble in the jail.

“Before you know it everybody in the cell was studying the Bible with us,” Aikens said. “They moved us at least three times, and for those months that was one of the richest times for us.

“When I read the Bible before it was like a book, but when I would read the Bible after accepting Christ during my second time in prison, it was like the Holy Spirit had opened up my heart to receive what the Word had. During that time God really healed me up.”

After his release from his second stint in prison, Aikens encountered what he referred to as his most difficult time period. He had trouble finding a job because he lacked real work experience. A church friend helped him find a job as a contract worker at a hospital.

Aikens worked hard in various jobs and began going to school. He eventually earned a bachelor’s degree and got a better job. He received nine promotions over the next 10 years.

First Pope, Now US Churches Face Boarding-School Reckoning

Peter Smith

April 7, 2022

As Native Americans cautiously welcome Pope Francis’ historic apology for abuses at Catholic-run boarding schools for Indigenous children in Canada, U.S. churches are bracing for an unprecedented reckoning with their own legacies of operating such schools.

Church schools are likely to feature prominently in a report from the U.S. Department of the Interior, led by the first-ever Native American cabinet secretary, Deb Haaland, due to be released later this month. The report, prompted by last year’s discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential school sites in Canada, will focus on the loss of life and the enduring traumas the U.S. system inflicted on Indigenous children from the 19th to mid-20th centuries.

From Episcopalians to Quakers to Catholic dioceses in Oklahoma, faith groups have either started or intensified efforts in the past year to research and atone for their prior roles in the boarding school system, which Native children were forced to attend — cutting them off from their families, tribes and traditions.

While the pontiff’s April 1 apology was addressed to Indigenous groups from Canada, people were listening south of the border.

“An apology is the best way to start any conversation,” said Roy Callison, a Catholic deacon and Cherokee Nation member helping coordinate the Oklahoma Catholic Native Schools Project, which includes listening sessions for those affected by the boarding school legacy. “That’s the first step to trying to get healing.”

In his meeting with Canada’s Indigenous delegations, Francis asked forgiveness “for the role that a number of Catholics … had in all these things that wounded you, in the abuses you suffered and in the lack of respect shown for your identity, your culture and even your spiritual values.”

Francis “did something really important, which is name the importance of being indignant at this history,” said Maka Black Elk, executive director of truth and healing for Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

That history “is shameful, and it is not something we should accept,” said Black Elk, who is Oglala Lakota.

Red Cloud, affiliated with the Catholic Jesuit order, was for generations a boarding school for Lakota children. It’s now a day school incorporating Lakota leadership, language and traditions. Black Elk is guiding a reckoning process that includes archival research and hearing the stories of former students.

Canada underwent a much-publicized Truth and Reconciliation process in recent years. The issue gained unprecedented attention last year after a researcher using ground-penetrating radar reported finding about 200 unmarked probable burial sites at a former school in British Columbia.

That discovery, followed by others across Canada, prompted Haaland to commission her department’s report.

“This history in the United States has not been addressed in the same way it has been addressed in Canada,” Black Elk said. The Interior report “will be an important first step about the work that needs to happen in this country.”

Church leaders are getting ready. The report “will likely bring to light some very troubling information,” said a letter circulated last fall to members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops from two colleagues who chaired committees related to the issue. The letter urged bishops to build relationships with local Indigenous communities and engage “in a real and honest dialogue about reactions to the report and what steps are needed to go forward together.”

Conditions varied at boarding schools in the United States, with some described as unsafe, unsanitary and scenes of physical or sexual abuse. Other former students recall their school years as positive times of learning, friendship and extracurricular activities.

Indigenous groups note that even the better schools were part of a project to assimilate children into a predominately white, Christian society and break down their tribal identities, customs and languages — what many Indigenous groups call a cultural genocide.

“The very process of boarding schools is violent and damaging,” said Bryan Rindfleisch, an expert in Native American history at Marquette University who is helping Catholics in Oklahoma research their school legacy.

More Than $90 Million Missing From AME Pension Funds, Claim Class-Action Lawsuits

Bob Smietana

April 7, 2022

AME pension — The African Methodist Episcopal Church's annuity investment department location in Memphis, Tennessee. Image courtesy of Google Maps

(RNS) — Retired African Methodist Episcopal Church pastors have filed at least three federal class-action lawsuits alleging the church mishandled tens of millions of dollars in pension funds.

Last month, AME leaders stopped making payments to retirees after discovering alleged financial irregularities in the church’s pension fund.

According to a lawsuit filed in the Southern Division of the United States District Court of Maryland, the former leader of the church’s Department of Retirement Services “invested Plan assets in imprudent, extraordinarily risky investments that ultimately lost nearly $100 million of Plan participants’ retirement savings.”

Church officials allegedly gave sole authority over the pension fund to the former head of retirement services for the AME with little or no oversight, according to the lawsuit. That led to investments in the purchase of Florida land, a loan to a solar panel installer and investment “in a now non-existent capital venture outlet.”

The lawsuit alleges church officials have admitted the pension plan — which was valued at $126 million in June 2021 — has lost at least $90 million and that “no one connected with the Church” knew where the money had gone, except for the former head of retirement services.

The suit was filed on behalf of the Rev. Cedric Alexander, a retired pastor from Maryland, and names the former head of retirement services, the trustees of the retirement fund, the AME and its bishops, among others. Alexander is one of thousands of retired clergy and church workers affected by the pension plan crisis.

William Alvarado Rivera. Photo via AARP Foundation

“As a result of the African Methodist Episcopal Church’s gross financial mishandling, nearly 5,000 pastors, church elders, and other employees find themselves contemplating a future without the retirement funds they were depending on,” said William Alvarado Rivera, senior vice president of litigation at AARP Foundation, which is helping represent Alexander, in a statement this week.

In an interview, Rivera said the AARP Foundation has long been concerned about church pension plans, as many of them are not covered by federal legislation known as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, which covers most pension plans in the United States. The foundation is currently suing a Catholic diocese in New York over its pension plan.

Rivera said the focus of the lawsuit is the well-being of AME church retirees, many of whom rely on their church pension to pay their bills.

“Our focus is very much on making sure that the pension and retirement plan beneficiaries are made whole,” he said.

Similar lawsuits have been filed in Tennessee and Virginia.

In an update published in late March, AME church officials said they became aware of problems with the church pension plan after a leadership transition in 2021 revealed “possible financial irregularities.”

The God of Surprises

Melissa Edgington

April 7, 2022

Here I sit again, on my couch, writing in a little series of starts and stops. As I type, a tiny brown-eyed three month old sleeps at my elbow. The noisy breathing that she was born with became the soundtrack of my life when we took her in three weeks ago; in fact, dotted among the many kid activities scribbled onto my calendar are doctors’ appointments for this little one who isn’t big enough to even begin registering on the growth charts yet. She is a charming baby, mesmerizing most everyone who meets her with her big smiles and her love of conversation. When she starts talking one of these days, I predict she will fill the empty air with all kinds of observations and ideas. She’s a social baby. She’s too precious to even really describe with mere words.

I find myself playing a surprising role in her life. Surprising may not be the word: shocking feels more accurate. Three weeks ago, the two of us had no idea the other existed. I was in an interesting place in my life—that place where kids get older and life suddenly feels strangely easy. Motherhood shifts and changes, and moms have no choice but to ride each wave of change as it comes, accepting all of the phases, adjusting to new ways of relating to our kids, relating to our husbands, relating to the world. I was in a comfortable place.

I learned that this little one’s mother was going to prison on a Tuesday night at 10:30. By the next evening we had a baby living under our roof for the first time in almost ten years. This is the kind of adventure that sort of tumbles into your world without warning, and I wondered if I could remember how this goes, if the skills I had honed with my own children would come back to me. Surprise: they did. I feel like I’m 27 year old me, waking up at night with an infant, interpreting the cries, changing the diapers, making the bottles. Only I’m 44 year old me with a 17 year old and gray hair. And that is quite a different story.

One of my favorite things about knowing the Lord is the way He surprises me. I don’t know if we often think about God as surprising. We think of Him as mysterious maybe, somewhat enigmatic. But the truth is that the element of surprise is one of God’s specialties. In this moment of my life I feel like I can begin to identify with Moses at the burning bush (“Surprise, Moses! I choose you!”), Paul on the Damascus Road (“Surprise, Paul! I choose you!”), or Abraham standing under a blanket of stars (“Surprise, Abraham! I choose you!”). But maybe I most identify with Sarah in that moment when she was almost 100 and God said, “Surprise, Sarah! You’re getting a baby!” Do you remember what she did when she heard that? She laughed. She laughed out loud at such a notion. Then she denied laughing, but we all know she did, because that’s what you do sometimes when you are over the hill and God hands you a newborn. Trust me. It is.

How Dangerous Is Your Money?

Paul David Tripp

April 7, 2022

Money will either bless you or curse you.

It can be a rescuing blessing in the hands of your Savior. Your desires for and use of money can reveal what is ruling your heart (see James 4:1–3, Deuteronomy 15:10).

Money can also be an invitation to experience blessing by being a blessing. Generosity allows us to respond to others’ physical needs, and as we do, participate in activities that are literally of eternal consequence (see Acts 20:35, Malachi 3:10).

But money can also be spiritually dangerous and should be handled with extreme caution. Here are four reasons why:

1. Money can cause you to forget God. Physical neediness prompts us to cry out to God for help, and in so doing, we remember that we’re spiritually needy. A pastor of a church in an extremely affluent community told me that since his people can spend their way into or out of just about anything, it’s hard for them to think of themselves as spiritually destitute.

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

2. Money can change the way you think about you and cause you to look down on others. What’s the difference between a billionaire and a person in poverty? God made both in his image, both are sinners in need of redemption (which cash can’t purchase), and both are reliant upon God for daily breath and sustenance.

So why do those with money often look down on those without? There are too many answers for us to consider here, but generally speaking, money can redefine your identity outside of Christ and stimulate a prideful prejudice that lurks somewhere in the heart of every sinner.

Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. (Proverbs 16:8)

3. Money can weaken your resolve to fight temptation. For years, a friend told me that he prided himself on being committed to a simple, God-honoring lifestyle. Then he stumbled into a small fortune, and it quickly revealed that he wasn’t satisfied in God’s glory alone; he was living “content” because he couldn’t afford anything more!

Money can be dangerous because it removes a restraint—affordability. Most of us can’t afford to pursue every desire that pops into our hearts. It’s typically not because we have such a strong commitment to fight temptation and choose instead to live for the Kingdom of God.

Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. (1 Timothy 6:9)

4. Money can finance your allegiance to the kingdom of self. There is no neutrality when it comes to your finances; what you are doing is worship. I have rarely misused money because I was ignorant or without a budget. No, I dishonored the Lord with my wallet because, at that particular moment, I didn’t care what God or anyone else said. I wanted what I wanted, and if I had the resources to chase it, I did.

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24)

Now, it must be stated that there is no teaching in Scripture that would lead us to believe that poor people are better off spiritually than others. The Bible also emphasizes the tremendous good that can be done with accumulated wealth.

But in our daily experience with money, the Word of God alerts us to the many dangers that it poses. Our only defense is the powerful grace of the Redeemer. He comes and lives inside of us so that when desire within meets temptation without, we will have just what we need to fight the battle.

God bless,

Paul Tripp

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. When was the last time you asked God for provision or healing for a physical need or ailment? How can this prompt you to cry out to God regarding your spiritual poverty and sickness?

2. Is there someone (or a group of people) you look down on now, regardless of financial reason. What does this prejudice reveal about your spiritual pride?

3. What about this person (or group of people) makes you look down on them? How are you more like them than unlike them?

4. Regardless of your financial position, what rabbit trail of selfish desires have you gone down recently? How did Christ face similar temptation and defeat it on your behalf?

5. How can you steward the money God has entrusted to you—no matter how much—to serve him this week? Get specific in the ways that you can connect financially with the move of the Kingdom of God.

This article originally appeared here on PaulTripp.com.

Evaluate Your Summer Church Communication Strategy

Yvon Prehn

April 7, 2022

It doesn’t matter what you say in staff meetings. What does the voice of your church, your communications, say are your priorities? Especially summer church communications.

Jesus told us that “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, (Luke 6:45)” and we know that’s true. If we are angry with someone, it always comes out. Maybe in nasty, little snide comments, maybe in screaming. If we love someone, we can’t help but smile when we are with them or thinking about them.

We may want to hide either emotion, but it seldom works. No matter what we say, “I’m not angry, just frustrated” or “No, he’s really just a friend” our words and actions will always show what is in our hearts.

It’s the same with your church. You can have the most biblical, Great Commission-centered mission statement ever. Your leadership board can decide that this year the focus will be on outreach and discipleship and the congregation can agree those are great goals. But are these truly at the heart of your church? Do you honestly care about reaching unchurched people with the good news of Jesus and growing your current members into mature disciples? Do these convictions result in action?

Evaluate Your Summer Church Communication Strategy

This is very easy to evaluate. Look at the recent communications—your social media, newsletter, church bulletin. What are they about? As I write this, it’s summer and I had the opportunity to compare two sets of church communications from two churches where they talk about their communications. The defining details are changed so as not to embarrass any member of the Body of Christ, but here is a summary of each one from an overview of their summer communications.

I selected summer as a time to evaluate because we tend to be very intentional about this time. Churches have incredible opportunities to either make a great impact for the Kingdom of God or to be selfishly inward-focused. The following are true stories.

Keys to Summer Church Communication

Summer is the time where this church holds special outreach and training opportunities.

Once a week, they have a low-cost family meal at the church, free child care, and then different classes ranging from ones that are designed specifically for people not familiar with the church, “Why is the Bible different from any other religious book?” and ones for current Christians who want to grow in their faith such as “What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus in the secular workplace?” and theological classes such as “An overview of GRACE in the Old and New Testaments” taught by professors from the local seminary. They do an extensive amount of advertising to get people outside the church invited to these events and invitations and social media are created for church members to enable them to invite friends and neighbors. They look at summer as a time for intentional outreach to their community and a time to challenge church attenders to grow as disciples of Jesus.

Summer should consist of a series of fun events.

The church cancels all adult Bible classes and small groups for the summer. The fun events they focus on have been traditional at the church for many years and they are seen as “family times” meaning times for the church family to have BBQ’s, pie parties, and time together. The advertising for the events is primarily done through the church bulletin and member email. No communications are created to invite people outside the church or to encourage members to bring guests.

Both of these churches are in the same denomination, both would consider themselves biblical and evangelical.

But what do their communications say about what each church truly believes is important?

At the end of the summer, what do you imagine will be the results in each church in helping people come to know Jesus as Savior and grow as disciples?

Spend some time this week in a staff meeting looking at your current church communication.

Ask yourselves: If I didn’t know anything about this church, what would I consider their priorities? What are they doing now and in the coming weeks that is obedient to the Great Commission, to helping people outside the church come to know Jesus, and to help those who know him grow as disciples?

It doesn’t matter how up-to-date you are with your technology, if you’ve already mastered the latest social media format, or if your designs could win marketing competitions, or if your social media mix has extraordinary engagement by your members. What matters is what drives the heart of your church programming? If it doesn’t reflect obedience to the Great Commission, you need to work on that first.

Once obedience to the Great Commission is honestly at the core of your church and your actions, no matter how you choose to communicate it, no matter what your skill or technology expertise, you will have the Lord’s blessing and partnership in your work

What is your summer church priority, making yourselves comfortable and happy or fully fulfilling the commands of Jesus? What’s in your heart, personally or as a church will always come out in your words.

This article on summer church communications originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Controversial, Anti-Gay AZ Pastor and Family Victims of False Shooting Call

Jesse T. Jackson

April 6, 2022

Tempe, Arizona’s Faithful Word Baptist Church’s pastor Steven Anderson claims he was a victim of a false shooting call known as “swatting” this past Sunday.

Anderson started Faithful Word Baptist Church in 2005, a New Testament church of about 300 members aiming to reach the Phoenix area with the gospel of Jesus Christ. According to the church’s website, worshipers should not “expect anything contemporary or liberal. We are an old-fashioned, independent, fundamental, King James Bible only, soul-winning Baptist church.”

Police arrived at Anderson’s house, where it was reported that nine of his eleven children along with his wife were present, after a 9-1-1 call claimed there were multiple bodies at the house resulting from a shooting.

The prank potentially could have resulted in officers shooting one or more of the family members due the nature of the emergency call. Police were shouting at the Anderson family to come out with their hands up while banging on their front door.

Anderson shared that he thought it was his son joking until the pastor heard them say, “Steve, this is the police. The Phoenix police.”

If the person who called in the fake shooting was caught, a “swatting” offense only carries a misdemeanor charge for a first time offender.

A 12 News report shared that Anderson isn’t well perceived by the community due to his anti-homosexual preaching and showed a clip of a sermon where he said, “All homos are pedophiles,” and “No homos will ever be allowed in this church as long as I’m the pastor here.”

Anderson has racked up many viral videos on YouTube for his preaching antics, one of which he called a church member an “idiot” during a church service and kicked him out.

The church is also listed as a hate group on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Hate Map,” along with Alliance Defending Freedom.

In 2014, approximately 100 people peacefully protested outside the church a couple of weeks after Anderson told his congregation, “We can have an AIDS-free world by Christmas” if all gay people were executed. A video of the sermon has sense been removed by YouTube for violating their terms of service.

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REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Evaluate Your Summer Church Communication Strategy

Keys to Summer Church Communication

Summer is the time where this church holds special outreach and training opportunities.

Summer should consist of a series of fun events.

Spend some time this week in a staff meeting looking at your current church communication.

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