Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber Voices Recast in New VeggieTales Podcast

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May 18, 2022

VeggieTales is launching a new podcast, but Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber don’t quite sound like themselves. After three decades, the iconic characters have been recast by Big Idea Entertainment. Previously, Bob and Larry were voiced by VeggieTales creators Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki respectively.

VeggieTales voice actors fired?

In the trailer for the podcast, which is titled “Very Veggie Silly Stories,” the newly casted Bob asks, “Since when do we do podcasts, Larry?” Larry replies, “We’ve done TV shows, movies, the occasional dog show—why not a VeggieTales podcast?”

“Hosted by Bob the Tomato—that’s you, Bob—and Larry the Cucumber. That’s me, Bob,” Larry goes on to say in what seems like a meta commentary on the characters’ new voices.

Vischer tweeted a link to a trailer for the podcast on Tuesday, saying, “Ack! We’ve been REPLACED by IMPOSTERS!! The horror…the horror…”

“How did we get replaced after 32 yrs? Like this,” Vischer went on to say, summarizing his and Nawrocki’s conversation with Big Idea Entertainment.

Big Idea: “We’d like you and Mike to do the voices for our new podcast.”

Phil/Mike: “Actually, we’d like a larger role in guiding VT. Since we, you know, created it.”

Big Idea: “We’ll find new voices. Bye.”

“To be clear, Big Idea offered us the job doing voices for the podcast. We asked for a larger overall role in VT, and said we were tired of being treated like freelance [voice actor] talent when we’re the creators of the ding dang show. They said, ‘nope,’” Vischer continued. “And…now there are new voices.”

Noting that he was as surprised as anyone to hear the news, Vischer added, “I actually didn’t know they were recasting until this trailer hit YouTube. I was holding out hope that they’d call back and say, ‘Ya know, you and Mike ARE really important to VT. Let’s talk about giving you a bigger role.’”

Vischer, who originally had complete ownership over VeggieTales, founded a production company called GRAFx Studios in 1989, changing its name to Big Idea Productions in 1993. Big Idea produced the various iterations of VeggieTales, as well as “3-2-1 Penguins!” and the VeggieTales spinoff “Larryboy: The Cartoon Adventures.”

Despite the popularity of VeggieTales, financial troubles and legal disputes began to plague the company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2003. Classic Media purchased Big Idea in 2004, with Vischer and Nawrocki losing creative control over VeggieTales.

Though they had far less influence on the overall creative direction of VeggieTales projects moving forward, Vischer and Nawrocki had continued to voice the characters.

In 2012, Dreamworks purchased Classic Media, and Doug TenNapel of “Earthworm Jim” fame pitched the idea of a revived VeggieTales show, which would stream on Netflix. TenNapel went on to develop and produce “VeggieTales in the House,” which ran from 2014 to 2016, as well as “VeggieTales in the City,” which streamed for two seasons on Netflix in 2017.

Persecuted Christians Likely Hid in Massive, Newly Discovered Underground City

By

Stephanie Martin

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May 18, 2022

underground city — Midyat, old town. TobiasGr, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Archaeologists are sharing news and photos of an exciting recent find: a massive 4-million-square-foot underground complex below a historic city in southeast Turkey. Researchers say the underground city, first discovered in 2020, likely served as a refuge for persecuted believers in the early Christian church.

The below-ground site, known as Matiate (“city of caves”), came to light when scientists were restoring houses above ground and found a hidden entrance to a cave. Although previous underground cities have been discovered, excavation chief Gani Tarkan calls Matiate “the only one [of its kind] in the world.”

Local residents had known about various caves, he says, but had no idea they were walking above such a massive subterranean city.

Underground City: What Makes It Unique

Though archaeologists have already found 49 chambers, they estimate that’s only five percent of the total Matiate complex. The space could hold up to 70,000 people at once, they say.

Artifacts such as coins, lamps, silos, and bones (both human and animal) helped scientists date the location to the second and third centuries A.D. They also found areas that appear to be designated for worship, including one hall that features a Star of David symbol on the wall.

People likely lived in Matiate until about the sixth century, scientists say. After that, the underground space served as a wine-manufacturing area as well as a catacomb.

Author Will Hunt tells Live Science it’s not uncommon for residents of modern-day Turkey to find holes in their land—or even inside their homes—that lead to extensive tunnels. “Some go down more than 10 levels and have space for tens of thousands of people. They are like upside-down castles,” he says. Heading underground to defend against attack by enemies is “practically instinctual,” he adds.

Underground City Predates Legalization of Christianity

Tarkan says Matiate “was first built as a hiding place or escape area.” Because “Christianity was not an official religion in the second century,” he says, “families and groups who accepted Christianity generally took shelter in underground cities to escape the persecution.”

Early Christians faced persecution from Romans and then Persians, and soldiers sometimes reported finding whole cities cleared of people. Christianity wasn’t legalized until 313 A.D., when Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan. Before that, early Christians (most of whom were also Jews) had no legal protections when they refused to participate in widespread Roman pagan rituals.

Leonard Sweet: Church Leaders, God Has Given You This Moment—Don’t Miss It

By

Jessica Mouser

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May 18, 2022

The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast · Leonard Sweet: Church Leaders, God Has Given You This Moment—Don’t Miss It

Dr. Leonard Sweet is a preacher, teacher, theologian and scholar. He is the author of more than 70 books and 1,500 published sermons, and his recent publications include groundbreaking textbooks on preaching, evangelism, ecclesiology and discipleship. His book, “Rings of Fire: Walking in Faith Through a Volcanic Future,” looks at what the 21st century holds for us and how the church should respond.

Other Ways to Listen to This Podcast With Leonard Sweet

► Listen on Apple
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► Listen on Stitcher
► Listen on YouTube

Key Questions for Leonard Sweet

-What predictions have you seen fulfilled in the three years since you published “Rings of Fire”?

-How can church leaders engage biblical teaching on explosive issues like race and gender?

-How should church leaders and pastors see the human impulse towards franchise?

-What have you seen over the last few decades that you think is a part of building a hopeful future?

Key Quotes From Leonard Sweet

“There are volcanoes that are erupting in the culture that the church has got to contend with.”

“The lava that is produced by a volcano is some of the richest soil out there…So if you can handle the volcano, deal with the volcano, prepare for the volcano. What’s going to follow in the aftermath of that volcano can be some of the richest ground for church planting and doing new ministry.”

“Part of the challenge here is preparing. I don’t believe in planning. I’m not a planner, but I am a preparer. You can’t plan for the world of total serendipity.”

“I really believe that the way through all of these thorny thickets is not around the Scriptures, but through the Scriptures. And so part of the challenge is how do we locate ourselves biblically in the midst of all these volcanoes? And how do we have a biblical witness that can help us through it?”

“Our identity is not found in our gender. Our identity is not found in our race. Our identity is not found in our nationalism or nationality or our identity is not found in our education. Our identity is found in Christ.”

“Whoever is the author of your story is your authority—’author’ and ‘authority,’ that’s basically the same words. So part of the challenge then to the church is, first of all, know where your true identity is.”

$121.5M Settlement in New Mexico Clergy Sex Abuse Scandal

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AP News

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May 18, 2022

$121.5M Settlement in New Mexico Clergy Sex Abuse Scandal — FILE - Archbishop John C. Wester, head of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, N.M., tells reporters on Nov. 29, 2018, the diocese will be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection the following week as clergy sex abuse claims have depleted its reserves. The Archdiocese of Santa Fe, one of the oldest Catholic dioceses in the United States, announced a settlement agreement Tuesday, May 17, 2022, to resolve the bankruptcy case. “The church takes very seriously its responsibility to see the survivors of sexual abuse are justly compensated for the suffering they have endured,” Wester said in a statement. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — One of the oldest Catholic dioceses in the United States announced a settlement agreement Tuesday to resolve a bankruptcy case in New Mexico that resulted from a clergy sex abuse scandal.

The tentative deal totals $121.5 million and would involve about 375 claimants.

The proposed settlement comes as the Catholic Church continues to wrestles with a sex abuse and cover-up scandal that has spanned the globe. Some of the allegations in New Mexico date back decades.

The chairman of a creditors committee that negotiated the agreement on behalf of the surviving victims and others said it would hold the Archdiocese of Santa Fe accountable for the abuse and result in one of the largest diocese contributions to a bankruptcy settlement in U.S. history.

It also includes a non-monetary agreement with the Archdiocese to create a public archive of documents regarding the history of the sexual abuse claims, committee chairman Charles Paez said.

“The tenacity and courage of New Mexico survivors empowered us to reach a recommended settlement that addresses the needs of the survivors on a timely basis,” he said in a statement Tuesday.

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe filed the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case seeking protection from creditors in 2018.

The settlement still must be approved by the abuse victims. It includes funds from sales or property and other assets, contributions from parishes and insurance proceeds. It does not include settlement of any claims against any religious orders, lawyers for both sides said.

“The church takes very seriously its responsibility to see the survivors of sexual abuse are justly compensated for the suffering they have endured,” John C. Wester, archbishop of Santa Fe, said in a statement Tuesday.

Major Decline in Adoptions Accompanies COVID-19 Pandemic

By

Tom Strode

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May 18, 2022

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (BP) – A substantial drop in the number of adoptions in the United States coincided with the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report.

Intercountry adoptions declined by 45 percent from 2019 to 2020; private, domestic adoptions by non-stepparents by 17 percent; and public adoptions from foster care by 13 percent, the National Council for Adoption (NCFA) reported May 11.

The fall in adoptions by Americans during the pandemic followed a 16-year plunge in the number of children adopted from other countries. International adoptions plummeted by more than 90 percent from a peak of 22,989 in 2004 to 1,622 in the fiscal year that ended in September 2020, according to the U.S. State Department. Meanwhile, total domestic adoptions in the United States dropped from 133,737 in 2007 to 115,353 in 2019, the NCFA estimated.

Southern Baptist public policy specialist Hannah Daniel called it “deeply concerning to see the dramatic impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on all types of adoptions.”

“Jesus tells us that caring for orphans and vulnerable children is an essential part of living out the Christian faith,” said Daniel, a policy associate with the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), in written comments for Baptist Press. “It is critical that the Church continue loving and caring for these children through adoption and finding ways to enhance and grow these efforts. The ERLC is committed to advocating for policies that further that goal.”

Herbie Newell, president and executive director of Lifeline Children’s Services, said he thinks the pandemic “did a lot of things as far as motivation to adopt.”

During the pandemic, knowing “that kids were languishing and that kids were in need at the same time we were locking our homes down, we were putting on masks, we were talking about social distancing” proved a “confusing message” for many families, he told BP in a phone interview.

“One of the things I think internationally that definitely COVID has affected is travel,” Newell said. “Of course, there’s still 400 kids that have been matched with U.S. families that are waiting to come home from China, and we don’t know when the end of that will be.”

The fact few children from China – the leading sending country for intercountry adoptions in 2019 – were adopted in 2020 and none in 2021 and 2022 has definitely affected the number of international adoptions, he said. The Chinese government has prohibited travel by adoptive families into the country during the pandemic.

The State Department largely attributed the 45 percent decline from 2019 to 2020 in intercountry adoptions by Americans to the pandemic’s effect “on operations in countries of origin worldwide, travel restrictions” and its own “Do Not Travel” global advisory.

In its report, NCFA said the pandemic “upended nearly every aspect of life in the United States, and child welfare is not an exception.” While the federal government had reported the decline in intercountry and public adoptions, its new report is the first to demonstrate the drop in private, domestic adoptions, according to NCFA. No government agency or non-governmental organization other than NCFA reports on the number of private, domestic adoptions.

NCFA acknowledged the fall in intercountry and public adoptions could possibly reflect delays in adoptions that occurred after the federal fiscal year ended in September that might result in “a catch-up” later but said it would be “unlikely to be true” for private, domestic adoptions.

Former Pastor in 2 States Pleads Guilty to Child Sex Charges

By

AP News

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May 18, 2022

Former Pastor in 2 States Pleads Guilty to Child Sex Charges — Image via News Channel 3 WREG Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A former pastor in Tennessee and Indiana faces up to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to federal child sex abuse charges, prosecutors said.

Joshua Henley, 33, pleaded guilty Monday to producing, possessing and sending sex abuse material involving children and transporting a minor interstate to have sex, the U.S. attorney’s office in Memphis said.

Henley was the pastor at Holladay Church of Christ in Benton County, Tennessee, and coached the Holladay Elementary School girls’ basketball team, prosecutors said. Henley later went to work at a church in Evansville, Indiana, in April 2021, prosecutors said.

Henley drove to Tennessee in June to pick up a girl and brought her back to Indiana, where he had sex with her when she was 15, prosecutors said. Another girl later said Henley had asked her to create and send sexually explicit images, prosecutors said.

Investigators found sexually explicit images on Henley’s cell phone when was arrested in June as he was driving back to Tennessee, prosecutors said.

Henley faces 15 years to life in prison at sentencing in August.

This article originally appeared on APNews.com.

Not a Shell Game: Beach Baptism Opens Door for Public Witness

By

Scott Barkley

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May 18, 2022

CLEARWATER, Fla. (BP) – A public baptism including more than 130 changed lives is significant on its own. But an onlooker’s response may be the biggest memory for Matt Laughter, worship pastor for the East Lake campus of Calvary Church.

A heavily tattooed father of three approached Laughter during the morning setup May 15 at Sand Key Park for Calvary Church’s biannual beach baptism.

“He asked if we needed any help setting up, but we had it under control and he walked off with his family,” Laughter said.

The event has been taking place for at least a decade, Calvary Church pastor Willy Rice said. Since 2012, Calvary has recorded 2,882 baptisms, according to Annual Church Profile reports.

“Our normal rhythm is twice a year,” he said. “The May one is always a response to the build-up to Easter and then intentional evangelistic efforts afterwards.”

All four campuses of Calvary were represented, with some individuals joining in person who typically worship with the church online. Candidates ranged in age and background for the baptism event, one of church’s largest ever, said Executive Pastor David Rice.

“It was an accurate depiction of how the Lord continues to allow Calvary to enjoy a fruitful harvest in our community,” he said.

There is at least one example of Calvary’s digital outreach becoming in-person community, as a member participating online from Minnesota last year traveled to Clearwater to be in the baptism service. She has since moved to the area and is a regular attendee at Calvary’s Clearwater campus.

As Sunday’s event was wrapping up, a little girl approached Laughter with a handful of seashells. She was a daughter of the man from earlier, who Laughter later learned is named Mike.

“She so sweetly approached me with [the] gift [of seashells] and wanted me to have them,” he said. “I got down on her level, looked her in the eye and began to tell her how thankful I was to receive them. Unbeknownst to me, this began to tear down the hard exterior of Mike.”

Mike and his family began walking toward the ocean to fish, but had forgotten their fishing poles. Laughter volunteered to carry the poles and during the walk asked Mike about his story.

That story centered around Mike’s parents, charismatic pastors who loved Jesus. When Mike was in the sixth grade, however, his mother developed a tumor on the back of her neck. She died, and from that point he had questioned everything he had seen and heard about God. Specifically, it troubled Mike that God could allow an evil to exist that would take his mother.

Top 10 Children’s Bibles – Which Do You Use?

By

Dale Hudson

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May 18, 2022

Which Bible do you teach children from at church? Which Bible or Bible devotional do you recommend to parents for home discipleship? Here are my top 10 picks for best Children’s Bible.

10. The Adventure Bible. A child’s first “grown up” Bible. (elementary)

9. Adventure Bible for Early Readers (NIV). This best seller shows how every part of God’s Word points forward to Jesus.

8. The Action Bible presents 215 fast-paced narratives in chronological order, making it easier to follow the Bible’s historical flow—and reinforcing the build-up to its thrilling climax. (elementary)

7. The Beginner’s Bible: Story Bible for Kids. This is the classic preschool story Bible. (preschool and early readers age)

6. The Zondervan Kids’ Study Bible includes profiles of key people in the Bible, maps, charts, and diagrams. (NIV—great choice for pre-teens)

5. The KJV Study Bible For Kids is a good choice for the pre-teen age group, with over 10,000 notes written specifically for kids.

4. The ESV Holy Bible for Kids is an edition for young readers with 24 pages of illustrations depicting major scenes in the story of redemption as well as kid-friendly maps. (ESV)

3. The NKJV Study Bible for Kids. A kids Bible published with vibrant full-color features designed specifically for children to learn how to read and study God’s Word.

2. The Kids’ Life Application Bible is a fun-filled, feature-packed Bible that is designed to help children ages 8-12 get into Scripture.

1. Hands-On Bible. This is the Bible I use when teaching kids. This Bible is packed with activities and experiences that invite kids aged 6-12 to come inside the Scriptures and live out God’s Word!

Have you seen the awesome Bible Milestone Experience that is available for you?

One-time class that kids and parents take together, where they learn how we got the Bible, foundational truths about the Bible and how to make it an important part of their life.

Helps children see and understand God’s Big Story found in the Bible and how they are part of it.

Equips parents to lead their children to love God’s Word as they enter their elementary years.

Speaks into the lives of parents and helps them see why it’s important to raise their children in church and attend consistently.

A life-changing experience as parents present their child with a Bible and speak a blessing over them.

A time of prayer as parents pray over their children.

This Resource is Great For…

A milestone experience for children as they transition into your elementary ministry. Many ministries use this as children are moving into elementary ministry or right after they have transitioned.

A parent/child class for parents and their elementary children that takes their Bible knowledge and love for God’s Word to a deeper level.

A mid-week class for taking elementary children deeper into God’s Word.

You can get more information and order the kit with everything you need at this link.

This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.

Incognito: How I Caught a Glimpse of Jesus

By

Ray Hollenbach

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May 18, 2022

I caught a glimpse of Jesus a couple of years ago. He was hanging out in a dingy hospital room in Columbia, Kentucky.

A Glimpse of Jesus

His diabetes was acting up again, which was no surprise because dumpster-divers don’t have the best diet even on a good day. He had already lost a few toes here or there in the previous years, but this time he was facing the possible loss of his foot. (Spoiler alert: don’t worry—I prayed for him, his condition improved, and he ambled away from the hospital on both feet a few days later.)

I’d actually been hanging out with Jesus for a couple of months, but I’m a little slow to recognize old friends.

It started when a guy named Bill came to church. You couldn’t miss him: a rumple of a man well over six-foot tall, with shaggy wrinkled clothes topped off by a white beard and white hair, neither of which had seen a comb in weeks. Everything about him screamed homeless. Bill’s massive frame ambled along slowly as the result of his missing toes. The only thing more worrisome than whether he would make it to the coffee bar without falling was the possibly that he would make it to the coffee bar and then try to walk away holding his hot coffee.

Bill and his coffee made it safely to one of our café-style tables, so I introduced myself. I did so more out of a concern for other’s safety than to make him feel welcome. (When you see people like Bill your first thoughts are about the possibilities of what could go wrong.) I wanted to check him out first-hand. Everything about Bill was confusing. Where are you from? I used to drive a truck in the Northeast. How’d you hear about our church? I drove by the other day. Tell me about your family: I think they’re in Indiana, at least, they were the last time I talked to them. When the service started Bill worshipped the same way most of us did, except he was taller, shabbier, and scarier than the rest of us. He raised his hands and tilted his head upward, soaking in the genuine praise around him.

Bill became a regular among us. He introduced us to the people in his entourage. He took care of Roberta, 60-plus years old: short, loud, and extremely off-putting. Plus, she was pretty ugly. One week Bill pulled me aside and apologized for her behavior and explained that her family had thrown her out on the street. He said he was now her only protection. They lived together in an abandoned mobile home out in the county. There didn’t seem to be anything awkward about the arrangement because Roberta definitely needed protection, mostly from herself. A few weeks later Bill brought Doug and Maria, a thirty-something couple. Doug seemed almost normal and Maria was almost certainly mentally handicapped. They were both embarrassingly overweight. Bill told me they were down on their luck and needed a place to stay until they got up on their feet. Bill’s squatter mobile home didn’t have heat or electricity but it was safe and dry, so he opened his home to them.

Bill came to church early and loved to greet people. If they asked what he did for a living he smiled and said simply, “I’m a dumpster-diver.” Which was true—that’s how Bill cared for Roberta and provided shelter for Doug and Maria (although he once complained to me privately that Doug ate too much—especially the fresh produce he regularly scored at the supermarket dumpster.) The brave people who asked how Bill came into that line of work heard about the stroke he suffered while behind the wheel of a truck in downtown New York City. It seems Bill lost consciousness and drove the truck into the entrance of a Manhattan office building. That’s when he switched careers.

One day Roberta came to church alone. She told me Bill was in the hospital.

Small-town Kentucky hospitals can be pretty depressing places, but when I walked into his room Bill looked up and gave me a smile from his bed. The smile was his big mistake; that’s when I saw through his disguise and figured out I was seeing a glimpse of Jesus. I tried to play it cool and not let on. Bill asked about my family. He asked how the church was getting along. He put me completely at ease. There, in his hospital room, he was a gracious host.

The visit felt weird because I had come to pray for his foot. His circulation had failed. The foot was turning colors and he was likely to lose it above the ankle. He needed healing, but it’s difficult praying over his ankle because after all, I was ministering to the Lord of Glory. When we finished praying I asked him if he felt any better. He said, “I’m not worried. It’ll all work out.” It did. The circulation returned. He was discharged and came back to church just a few more times before he moved on to Indiana. He said he wanted to see his family.

A few months later I received a handwritten letter, blue ink on a notebook page. The ragged little pieces from where the page was torn out of the spiral notebook tickled the fingers of my left hand. Doug and Maria had found public-assisted housing. Roberta was ill and perhaps sick unto death. And Bill was finding riches in the dumpsters of southern Indiana.

He thanked me for the welcome he had received in Kentucky. I sat holding the letter, knowing I had caught a glimpse of Jesus, but I couldn’t recall if I had ever thanked him.

This article about a glimpse of Jesus originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Outdoor Games for Youth: 13 Activities Kids Will Love

By

Stephanie Martin

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May 17, 2022

Outdoor games for youth are a blast, especially during the summer. You’ve probably noticed that youth ministry games seem more adventurous when played outdoors. Plus, it’s easier to get messy or wet outside.

When weather permits, move your gathering outside. That way, kids get fresh air and can stretch their muscles and creativity. You’ll promote group bonding, spark laughter, and create good memories. Plus, you can convey important faith lessons in the process.

To help you begin, we’ve assembled this can’t-miss list of outdoor games for youth. Pick and choose what works best for your group. (Also see what meshes with your mess-tolerance.) Then get up and get out—outside, that is!

13 Outdoor Games for Youth

1. Mingle

This no-prep, no-prop outdoor icebreaker is ideal for large groups. As kids mingle around, call out “Mingle, Mingle” plus a number between 2 and 10. Then groups of that number must form. Through a process of elimination, you’ll end up with just two people as winners.

2. Lawn Twister

Put a fun twist on the teen-favorite Twister. First, create a game “board” (rows of colored circles) on grass with washable spray paint. Then have a Twister tournament and see who can get tied up in the craziest knots. This game also is a hit at carnivals or festivals, if your group organizes those events.

3. Frozen T-shirt Race

Cool everyone off—literally!—on a hot day with this wacky game. First, freeze a stack of wet youth ministry T-shirts beforehand. (Separate them with layers of wax paper.) Take the bundle of “brrr” outside. Then have kids race to see who can unfold and put on a shivery shirt first.

4. Giant Memory Match

Jump on the oversized-gameboard trend with this matching game. First, create pairs of squares that contain matching images or Scripture verses on one side. Mix up the squares and place them on the ground outside, blank side up. Next, have kids or pairs take turns “matching” wits with one another.

5. Everyone’s It!

This quick, easy outdoor game will help kids release lots of energy in a short time. Begin by having group members each put one hand on their head. Next, they try to get one another “out” by tagging with their elbows. Mark off the playing area so everyone stays within certain boundaries.

6. Temptation

Play this active game at a retreat or camp where you’re discussing temptation or peer pressure. Players hold hands and walk in a circle around an object. They try to push one another toward the source of temptation—and pull themselves away from it.

7. Flashlight Tag

Light up the night with this active game. Give each player a small flashlight or pen light. Then have them play Tag in the dark. The game makes a great object lesson about shining our light for Jesus.

Founder of ‘Pulpit & Pen’ JD Hall Arrested, Charged With DUI, Concealed Gun, Traffic Violations

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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May 17, 2022

JD Hall — (L) Photo via Unsplash.com @scottrodgerson (R) Screengrab via Gideon Knox Group

Jordan Daniel Hall, also known as JD, was arrested on the evening of May 11, 2022, by the Sidney Police Department in Montana for driving under the influence of drugs. Hall is the pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church (FBC), a 100+ member former Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) church in Sidney (according to their website the church left the SBC in 2018 after FBC believes the denomination started to “slide into liberalism and Critical Race Theory”).

Hall, who was also carrying a concealed handgun at the time of his arrest, tested 0.00 during the blood alcohol test administered at the stop. However, according to the police report, he performed “very poorly” during a Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST).

Sidney Police Department’s arrest report reads, “The Defendant proceeded past the white stop bar on the 100 block of East Holly Street and crossed into bicycle lane on West Holly Street. Upon contact, the Defendant was moving/speaking slowly, his eyes were closing slowly, and deliberately, he had slurred/mumbled speech at times, his eyes were watery, he stumbled, and had poor balance, etc. The Defendant performed very poorly on SFST’s PBT result 0.00 Blood draw.”

The report said that as Hall was taken into custody, he “was found to be in possession of a Smith and Wesson M2.0 Shield handgun. The weapon was secured in an in the waistband holster under a coat on the Defendant’s right waistline.”

Hall has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs, carrying a concealed weapon while under the influence of drugs, and multiple traffic violations.

The 40-year-old pastor pleaded not guilty to the charges the day after his arrest and is scheduled to appear in court on July 19, 2022.

Hall claims that the symptoms described in the police report were a result of a lack of vitamin D, and he denies being under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“They found no alcohol in my system because I was not using alcohol or any other kind of illegal narcotic or recreational drug,” Hall told a local news publication. “I was experiencing a known and medically documented severe vitamin D deficiency.”

Hall is the founder of “Pulpit & Pen,” the number one polemic website in the world, according to their Facebook page. (A polemic is defined as a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something.) Facebook banned Pulpit & Pen in 2020 after the site was labeled “false news.”

In order to get around Facebook’s ban, the site changed its name and is now called Protestia. The site is part of Hall’s Gideon Knox Group, a collaboration that includes Gideon Knox Consulting, SermonAudio, Polemics Report, Protestia, The Bible Thumping Wingnut, Bulldogmatic Bible Study, Montana Daily Gazette, and KHDN 1203AM.

“We are bulldogs for righteous causes, and aren’t afraid to admit it,” the site says. “We have a very particular set of skills and will use them to give you the edge.”

Protestia describes itself as “providing alternative Christian news in an age of widespread censorship.” The site is overseen by Fellowship Baptist Church. Protestia frequently criticizes fellow SBC churches and pastors, as well as leaders outside the denomination. Leaders the site has criticized include Beth Moore, Russell Moore, Julie Roys, Karen Swallow Prior, Danny Akin, Bart Barber, Ed Litton, David Platt, Jackie Hill Perry, Greg Locke, Andy Stanley, Ed Stetzer, J.D. Greear, and Tim Keller, to name a few.

‘Satan Is After the Children’—Christian Influencer Says ‘Yoga Barbie’ Can Lead to Demonic Possession

By

Jessica Mouser

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May 17, 2022

“Yoga Barbie” could lead to children being possessed by demons, says Christian influencer Yasmeen Suri in a May 3 Facebook post that has since gone viral. Suri shared in an interview with The 700 Club that, having previously been involved with the New Age movement (as well as the occult), she now feels called by God to warn others against it.

“‘Yoga Barbie’ is at Target on the shelf,” said Yasmeen Suri in her Facebook post. “Satan always comes as appearing innocent. He will never come with horns and a pitchfork. This Barbie has 5 guided meditations. Remember, Yoga IS Hinduism. You cannot separate the poses from the religion.”

‘Yoga Barbie’ and Yasmeen Suri’s Background

In its description of the “yoga Barbie,” which is actually called the Breathe with Me Barbie, Mattel says, “This meditation-themed doll celebrates one of her favorite ways to recharge using lights and sound—mindfulness meditation…Kids simply press the button in Barbie® doll’s necklace to activate one of five guided meditation exercises that use light and sound effects to inspire their own practice.” The Barbie comes with a puppy who has four thought bubbles to help kids visualize different emotions.

Suri’s post continues:

Each pose is designed to invoke a hindu deity in the spirit realm. I have seen children get possessed by demons. This Barbie also teaches you deep breathing(pranayama). Her pet is also involved. Satan is after the children. He wants to use them and indoctrinate them for his glory. Then, when he is done, he will destroy them. As your kids grow, they will get rebellious, depressed and many will be suicidal. You won’t understand what’s happening as a parent. God forbids all practices of eastern religion as a Christian. You must remove all toys and clean your children’s room of all demonic attachments. Deuteronomy 18:10-12.

Yasmeen Suri is a Christian influencer, author, speaker and singer. She shared on The 700 Club in a video dated Aug. 2, 2021, that she was involved in the New Age movement and the occult before Jesus saved her. Suri was born in India to a Sikh family and moved to America as a child. Being bullied as a child led to her wanting to gain control over her life and other people, and she thought spiritual experiences would provide this control.

“I started getting into horoscopes, I started studying about psychics and witchcraft,” said Suri. She said demons revealed themselves to her “on a continual basis,” telling her she had purpose for her life. But her experiences with the occult left her feeling empty. “It gave me power and a sense of control, but there was no answer for me,” she said

One year, Suri asked a friend of hers for a Shirley MacLaine book for her birthday. Her friend gave her a Bible instead, showing her Deuteronomy 18:9-14. The passage says:

When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD; because of these same detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the LORD your God.

The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.

“Those Scriptures jumped out at me from the Bible,” said Suri, “and they jumped off the pages, and they actually went right through my spirit, and I was convicted of sin for the first time in my life.”

At the time, Suri found herself encountering many Christians, who answered various questions about Christianity for her. Meanwhile, her boyfriend grew violent and she started having nightmares. A Christian friend warned Suri that her boyfriend would kill her and that God wanted her to leave him immediately. Suri broke down crying when she heard this message. She told The 700 Club, “I knew it was God even though I didn’t know God.” She left her boyfriend and moved in with her brother, who invited her to church. There, she realized how much God loved her and eventually trusted in Jesus.

Doctor, Baylor Grad ‘Sacrificed Himself’ To Save Others During Racially Motivated Church Shooting

By

Stephanie Martin

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May 17, 2022

Church Shooting — Orange County Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Steinle displays a photo of Dr. John Cheng, a 52-year-old victim who was killed in Sunday’s shooting at Geneva Presbyterian Church, during a news conference in Santa Ana, Calif., Monday, May 16, 2022. Authorities say a gunman in a deadly attack at the church was a Chinese immigrant motivated by hate for Taiwanese people. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

New details are emerging about Sunday’s fatal shooting at Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in Southern California. Authorities say the 68-year-old gunman, a U.S. citizen who grew up in Taiwan, was spurred to carry out the church shooting by hatred toward Taiwan. But he had no known direct connections to the congregation, which meets at Geneva Presbyterian in Laguna Woods.

A federal hate-crimes investigation is underway, and the suspect is being held on $1 million bail.

Church Shooting: Suspected Gunman’s ‘Absolute Bias’ Brought ‘Evil’ to Church

Officials say the suspect drove from his Las Vegas home to California Saturday, intent on killing everyone at Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church. Before his church shooting spree, which took place during a post-worship luncheon, the suspect hid explosive devices in the building, chained doors, and glued keyholes shut. Then he mingled for an hour among attendees, most of whom were elderly.

When gunshots erupted, the church’s former pastor—who was being honored at the luncheon—hit the suspect with a chair. Churchgoers were then able to tie up the gunman until police arrived. But during the chaos, the suspect’s bullets killed one person, Dr. John Cheng, and injured five others.

At a press conference Monday, Sheriff Don Barnes described the incident as “a meeting of good versus evil.” And Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, who indicated the suspect had “an absolute bias” against Taiwan and Taiwanese people, said, “I will tell you that evil was in that church.”

Both men praised the heroism of Dr. Cheng, a 52-year-old sports-medicine physician with martial-arts training. His preparedness and actions, Barnes says, saved “upwards of dozens” of lives. Spitzer says the doctor “sacrificed himself so that others could live,” adding, “That irony in a church is not lost on me.”

Baylor Grad Dr. John Cheng Was a ‘Protector’

Dr. Cheng, who is survived by a wife and two children, is a 1991 graduate of Baylor University. On Monday the school tweeted: “Dr. John Cheng died Sunday, literally taking the bullet for fellow congregants while heroically tackling the gunman at an Orange County church. … Please join us in praying for those who knew & loved him.”

Timothy Keller ‘Celebrating’ Two-Year Anniversary of Cancer Diagnosis, Shares Health Update

By

Dale Chamberlain

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May 17, 2022

Late last week, author, pastor, and theologian Timothy Keller shared a health update on the two-year anniversary of his pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

Addressing the Twitter thread to his “friends,” Keller said, “This month, I am celebrating the 2-year anniversary of my diagnosis with pancreatic cancer. I can call it a celebration with justification as the chemotherapies have reduced the stage 4 cancer that was found and God has seen it fit to give me more time.”

“However, we are also moving onto an immunotherapy trial at the National Cancer Center in Bethesda, MD as of June 1, 2022. This has shown great promise in potentially curing cancer, though it is a rigorous and demanding month-long program (that will need updates up to 6 months),” Keller continued.

Keller then asked for prayer as he looks ahead to the immunotherapy trial, saying, “Please pray for me and for our family. [My wife] Kathy and I will be displaced from our home and separated from one another, as I will be an inpatient. Your continued prayers for truly miraculous effects of the procedure and minimal side effects would be very much appreciated.”

Keller, who was the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, is the chairman of the church planting organization Redeemer City to City, and is a best-selling author multiple times over, has been open about his cancer diagnosis, regularly sharing health updates and discussing how he is processing his illness through the lens of his faith and theology.

In a 2021 interview with Russell Moore, Keller discussed the experience of he and his wife, Kathy, losing certain things they loved as a result of his cancer, such as being able to work on certain projects and travel to certain places.

“You reorder your loves. What Augustine would say, contrary to the Buddhist or the Stoic, which says you detach your heart from these things so they won’t hurt you when you lose them—or the modern person who says, ‘You only go around once in life, so you grab for all the gusto you can,” Keller said, referencing a fourth century work of theology alongside the slogan of a 1970s beer commercial.

“But what Augustine would say is: you don’t want to love anything here less, because these are God’s good gifts. You don’t want to harden your heart or detach your heart from them. But your problem is that you need to love God more in relation to them,” Keller went on to say.

Though Keller has been living with cancer for the past two years, he has continued to write and give interviews, authoring “Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter” in 2021. He has also remained active on social media, engaging in theological and philosophical discussions with fellow Christians.

Vatican Minister Visits Ukraine As Pope Toes Delicate Line

By

Nicole Winfield

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May 17, 2022

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, is heading to Kyiv this week as the Holy See seeks to balance its concern for Ukrainians amid Russia’s war with its efforts to keep open a channel of dialogue with Moscow.

Gallagher is due to arrive Wednesday and meet Friday with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, a visit that was originally scheduled for before Easter but was postponed after Gallagher came down with COVID-19.

The Vatican said that Gallagher would stop first in Lviv to meet with refugees and regional officials, and then move onto Kyiv for the meeting with Kuleba and to tour the destruction nearby.

The secretariat of state tweeted Tuesday that the visit would mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Ukraine and show the closeness of the pope and Holy See to Ukraine, “reaffirming the importance of dialogue to reestablish peace.”

The trip comes as the Holy See toes a delicate line in trying to keep alive newly improved ties with the Russian Orthodox Church while offering support to the “martyred” Ukrainian faithful. At the same time, the Holy See is reconciling Pope Francis’ frequent denunciation of the weapons industry and “crazy” recourse to rearming Ukraine with Catholic teaching that says states have a right and duty to repel an “unjust aggressor.”

“It has to be proportional,” Gallagher told RAI state television in announcing his trip. “Yes, Ukraine has the right to defend itself and it needs weapons to do it, but it has to be prudent in the way it’s done.”

Gallagher, a 68-year-old career Vatican diplomat from Liverpool, becomes the third papal envoy dispatched to the region by Francis, after two trusted cardinals went to Ukraine and bordering countries to assess the humanitarian needs of Ukrainian refugees and bring them the pope’s solidarity.

Francis has drawn criticism from some for refusing to condemn Russia or President Vladimir Putin by name, though he has stepped up his criticism of the “barbaric” war and recently met with the wives of two Ukrainian soldiers holding out at the besieged steel mill in Mariupol, a gesture of “our concern and participation in the suffering of these families,” Gallagher said.

Francis’ down-the-middle line is evidence of the Holy See’s diplomatic tradition of not calling out aggressors by name and its efforts to keep open paths of dialogue with both sides in a conflict. This so-called “Ostpolitik” dictated the Vatican’s Cold War policy of maintaining relations with the same Communist regimes that were persecuting the Catholic faithful on the ground.

In the case of Ukraine, the Holy See is keen not to sever newly improved relations with the Russian Orthodox Church, which took a big step forward in 2016 when Francis met in Havana with the Russian Patriarch, Kirill.

Francis has so far declined an invitation from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to visit Ukraine, recently saying he wants to go to Moscow first. Francis has said he asked early on to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but that the Russian leader hasn’t yet replied.

Faith on the Ground in Buffalo: Voice Buffalo Executive Director Denise Walden

By

Adelle M Banks

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May 17, 2022

(RNS) — Soon after a white 18-year-old shooter targeted Black customers of a community grocery store in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday (May 14), the Rev. Denise Walden, executive director of Voice Buffalo, a social justice and equity organization, was coordinating clergy to offer grief counseling and help families immediately and, she hopes, for the foreseeable future.

She was also grieving personally: She knows the families of most of the 10 people killed in the massacre.

“This is going to take more than a week, more than a month, more than six months,” said Walden, a member of the clergy team at First Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, a predominantly Black congregation in Buffalo. “We need long-term solutions and support.”

Walden’s 25-year-old organization is a local chapter of Live Free, a Christian organization that has in recent years focused on preventing community violence, which now has new questions to answer, Walden said, about “the hate that caused this person to come into this community and create such a horrible, violent violation to our community.”

She said more resources are needed to counter hate in general and to cope with the reaction from Buffalo’s Black community. “When tragedy strikes and those things are not in place,” Walden said, “we create an environment that can become even more dangerous because people don’t know what to do to process their grief and their trauma.”

Walden, 42, spoke with Religion News Service about her connections to the people who died on Buffalo’s East Side, who the community has lost and what it needs now.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Pastor Mike McBride, clockwise from top left, executive director of Live Free, the Rev. Julian Cook, of Macedonia Baptist Church in Buffalo, and the Rev. Denise Walden were among dozens taking part in a virtual Live Free “Buffalo Healing Space” event on Monday, May 16, 2022. Video screen grab

Pastor Mike McBride, clockwise from top left, executive director of Live Free, the Rev. Julian Cook, of Macedonia Baptist Church in Buffalo, and the Rev. Denise Walden, executive director of Voice Buffalo, were among dozens taking part in a virtual Live Free “Buffalo Healing Space” event on Monday, May 16, 2022. Video screen grab

The massacre on Saturday occurred at a grocery store in your neighborhood. How did you react to the violence that happened there?

I’m a seven-minute walk away from the grocery store. It’s our community store. We’re there regularly. As far as how I reacted, I think I’m still trying to figure that out. For me it was, how do I show up with and in my community, just being a resource and, hopefully, a person to bring some peace and love that are all much needed in this time. And just being as comforting to those who are closest to the pain from this as possible.

You were one of the officiants of a vigil on Sunday outside the Tops grocery store. What words did you find to say?

It was hard. I think we know that there’s a need for comfort. There’s a need for love in our community. And that was the word, reminding people that we are still a strong community; reminding those of us that live here that in spite of this heinous act that we’ve seen, this is still home. This is our home.

You helped notify family members of those who were killed. Was that an unexpected responsibility or have you done that in the past?

That is definitely an unexpected responsibility. I’ve done little bits of it in my clergy capacity. For our organization it’s completely different and completely new. And I’ve never had to show up that way in something so tragic, and also something that is so closely impacting me as well.

‘I Cried All Day’: Buffalo Church, Community Grieve Supermarket Massacre

By

Diana Chandler

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May 17, 2022

Supermarket Massacre — Buffalo TV station WGRZ honors the victims of a shooting at a Tops market Saturday (May 14). Screen capture courtesy of Baptist Press.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (BP) – Four miles from the Tops Friendly Markets mass shooting May 14, North Buffalo Community Church Pastor William Smith is comforting a crying community.

Church member Cashell Durham lost her baby brother Aaron Salter in the massacre – a 55-year-old retired Buffalo police officer and Tops security guard, who was among four employees killed. Smith’s daughter Lauren Smith is employed in Tops administration, but wasn’t at the 1275 Jefferson St. location.

“She said, ‘Daddy I cried all day yesterday (May 14),’” Smith told Baptist Press. “The impact rippled through all the city. … The church itself, we spent good time yesterday talking about violence and talking about pain.”

Durham is the widow of North Buffalo Baptist associate pastor Arriet J. Durham, who died in 2018.

“Cashell has been grieving now for quite a while. She’s had some help, but she’s still grieving from the loss of her husband,” Smith said. “And right now, she’s been bombarded with requests from different press agencies. … But she’s not really in any position to be able to speak with people. She’s just hurting so bad.”

The alleged shooter arrested at the scene of the crime, 18-year-old Payton S. Gendron, is accused of having driven 200 miles strategically to find a public location full of African Americans in what police are calling a racially motivated hate crime. Eleven victims were Black; two were white.

“We’re just trying to deal with the pain. So many of us Saturday were just crying. The pain was so hard,” Smith said. “And the Lord is the One who’s going to be near the brokenhearted. And when He’s near the brokenhearted, I really believe that that’s going to be what we need.

“We need the Lord’s guidance and we need prayer. Which was very encouraging, we got prayer from all over the country from people.” Many offered to help in any way needed.

Beverly Flannery, wife of Frontier Baptist Association Associational Missionary Mike Flannery, emailed 900 contacts predominantly in northeast New York asking for prayer for Buffalo. Hundreds responded. The Frontier association is mobilizing ministry to those impacted by the shooting.

“I am currently trying to organize churches to deliver food in this geographical area that is a food desert,” Mike Flannery said May 16. “The Tops store will be shut down probably several weeks because of federal investigations. I’m working with another organization, Saving Grace Ministries, that wants us to work with them to deliver food.”

Smith appreciates Southern Baptists’ compassionate response. He wants Southern Baptists to understand the pain.

“This shooting has added to the negative mental health of African Americans wondering who’s going to shoot next,” he said. “We have our own crime in the city. We have our own shooters in the city. And then to add this to that, it’s a painful thing for us, for little kids, because you never know when this is going to happen again. That’s why we need the Body of Christ.”

He mentioned widespread support from Southern Baptists across New York, including the Frontier association and the Baptist Convention of New York.

Pope’s Recipe to Heal His Painful Knee? A Shot of Tequila

By

Nicole Winfield

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May 17, 2022

ROME (AP) — Doctors have prescribed a wheelchair, cane and physical therapy to help heal Pope Francis’ bad knee. He has other ideas.

According to a viral video of the pope at the end of a recent audience, Francis quipped that what he really needs for the pain is a shot of tequila.

Francis was riding in the popemobile in St. Peter’s Square when he stopped near a group of Mexican seminarians from the Legion of Christ who asked him in his native Spanish how his knee was doing. After he replied that it was “capricious,” they told Francis that they admired his ability to smile despite the pain, and that he was an example for future priests like themselves.

“Do you know what I need for my knee?” Francis asked them from the popemobile. “Some tequila.” The seminarians laughed and promised to deliver a bottle to the Santa Marta hotel where Francis lives.

The 85-year-old Argentine pope has been suffering from strained ligaments in his right knee for months, and on doctors’ orders, recently has been using a wheelchair and a cane to get around so he can let it heal.

The limits on his mobility have spurred a predictable round of media speculation about his health and a future conclave, but a close collaborator recently said the pope is “better than ever” and is undergoing two hours of physiotherapy a day.

“He’s in very good health and the same lucid reflection as always,” La Plata, Argentina Bishop Victor Manuel Fernandez tweeted May 14 after seeing the pope. “(There’s) a problem in one of his knees, but every day he has more than two hours of rehabilitation, which is producing results. For everything else, he’s better than ever.”

Francis recently pulled out of a planned two-day trip to Lebanon next month, citing the knee problem, but the Vatican has confirmed he will travel to Congo and South Sudan, as well as Canada, in July.

This article originally appeared here.

24 Mistakes and Misplaced Missional Energy

By

James Emery White

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May 17, 2022

When the movie Skyfall released in 2012, it was the 23rd installment in the James Bond series that began 60 years ago in 1962 with Dr. No.

Skyfall was heralded as the best Bond film in years and Daniel Craig the best Bond since Sean Connery. It is, without a doubt, a Bond-lover’s feast. From the revival of Q to Miss Moneypenny, throwback villains to Aston Martins, it deserved its critical acclaim and box office success.

However, there are 24 mistakes in the film.

I know this because somebody poured over the film multiple times and counted them.

For example, when Bond drinks Macallan in M’s apartment and puts the bottle down, the label is facing away from the audience. A few scenes later, the label is facing toward the audience.

Gasp!

During the scenes on the London Underground, Bond gets on at Temple Station and gets off at Westminster, but Embankment, the station between these two stops on the District Line, is nowhere to be seen.

Oh, my!

Bond is seen driving down Whitehall in London. Behind him, the #38 bus is visible. However, the #38 bus does not travel down, nor is it particularly near, Whitehall.

Scandal!

When Bond is fighting on top of the train at the beginning of the film, his footwear changes from black lace up shoes to black slip-on ankle boots.

How dare they!

Of course, the 24 mistakes in Skyfall are nothing compared to the 395 found in Apocalypse Now nor the 310 found in The Wizard of Oz.

When I ran across the article on the 24 mistakes, I sat back and thought: Really? Who has the time to count such minuscule mistakes? Who has the kind of “life” or spirit that would want to?

Who looks at the larger-than-life story told through skillful acting, writing and cinematography in such a film – much less Academy Award winners such as Apocalypse Now and The Wizard of Oz – and walks away with bottle labels, Tube lines and bus schedules? Who wants to major on the minors?

Actually, I know. Most leaders do. They are the same kind of people who analyze any number of other people, places or things for mistakes. And I know at least one of the reasons why they do it, too. (We’ll bracket off personality for the moment.)

They have misplaced missional energy.

R.C. Sproul: A Snare in Your Midst

By

R.C. Sproul

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May 17, 2022

When is a church not a church? This question has received various answers throughout history, depending on one’s perspective and evaluation of certain groups. There exists no monolithic interpretation of what constitutes a true church. However, in classic Christian orthodoxy certain standards have emerged that define what we call “catholic,” or universal, Christianity. This universal Christianity points to the essential truths that have been set forth historically in the ecumenical creeds of the first millennium and are part of the confession of virtually every Christian denomination historically. However, there are at least two ways in which a religious group fails to meet the standards of being a church.

The first is when they lapse into a state of apostasy. Apostasy occurs when a church leaves its historic moorings, abandons its historic confessional position, and degenerates into a state where either essential Christian truths are blatantly denied or the denial of such truths is widely tolerated.

Another test of apostasy is at the moral level. A church becomes apostate de facto when it sanctions and encourages gross and heinous sins. Such practices may be found today in the controversial systems of denominations, such as mainline Episcopalianism and mainline Presbyterianism, both of which have moved away from their historic confessional moorings as well their confessional stands on basic ethical issues.

The decline of a church into apostasy must be differentiated from those communions that never actually achieved the status of a viable church in the first place. It is with respect to this phenomenon that the consideration of cults and heretical sects is usually delineated. Here again we find no universal monolithic definition for what it is that constitutes a cult or a sect. Both terms are capable of more than one meaning or denotation. For example, all churches that practice rites and rituals have at their core a concern for their “cultus.” The cultus is the organized body of worship that is found in any church. However, this cultic dimension of legitimate churches can be distorted to such a degree that the use of the term cult is applied in its pejorative sense. For example, the dictionary may define the term “cult” as a religion that is considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist. When we talk about cults in this regard, what comes to mind are the radical distortions in fringe groups, such as the Jonestown phenomenon. There, a group of devotees attached themselves to their megalomaniacal leader, Jim Jones, and illustrated their devotion to such a degree that they willingly submitted to Jones’ direction to take their Kool-aid laced with cyanide. This is cultic behavior with a vengeance. The same kind of thing could be seen among the Branch Davidians, the followers of Father Divine in Philadelphia, and other lesser groups that have come and gone over the course of church history.

It is noteworthy that almost any compendium that treats the history of cults will include within its studies large bodies of religion such as Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Nevertheless, the sheer size and endurance of such groups tend to give them more credibility as time passes and as more people associate with their beliefs. When we look at groups, such as the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses, we find elements of truth within their confessions. Yet at the same time, they express clear denials of what historically may be considered essential truths of the Christian faith. This certainly includes their unabashed denial of the deity of Christ. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons have this denial in common. Though both place Jesus in some type of exalted position within their respective creeds, He does not attain the level of deity. Both groups consider Christ an exalted creature. Following the thinking of the ancient heretic Arius, Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses argue that the New Testament does not teach the deity of Christ; rather, they argue it teaches He is the exalted firstborn of all creation. They say He is the first creature made by God, who then is given superior power and authority over the rest of creation. Though Jesus is lifted up in such Christology, it still falls far short of Christian orthodoxy, which confesses the deity of Christ. Passages in the New Testament such as Jesus being “begotten” and His being the “firstborn of creation” are incorrectly used to justify this creaturely definition of Christ.

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The massacre on Saturday occurred at a grocery store in your neighborhood. How did you react to the violence that happened there?

You were one of the officiants of a vigil on Sunday outside the Tops grocery store. What words did you find to say?

You helped notify family members of those who were killed. Was that an unexpected responsibility or have you done that in the past?

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