For decades, Pastor Darrell Boyce has worked to rid his San Antonio community of gang and gun violence. But this week the vigil he attended was for his own son, 19-year-old Avante.
On March 31, Avante Boyce was fatally shot in a parking lot on the city’s East Side. No arrests have been made, but police are searching for a specific suspect. As Pastor Boyce mourns, he’s also speaking out about God’s peace and the need to end senseless violence.
Darrell Boyce: Let’s Work To Save Lives
At a prayer gathering and balloon release for Avante yesterday, his father, pastor of Deliverance Community Church, told the crowd, “It’s time for us to come together and be one and really stop what’s going on. We have to teach our young men and women that it’s not worth it.” Not being able to save his son’s life “hurts me,” Boyce added, “but our goal today is to save a life. It couldn’t be my son, but it could be your son and your daughters.”
Pastor Boyce urged the shooter to turn himself in, calling him a coward. “One of the things I’m dedicated to now is making sure that [my son’s] killer is brought to justice,” he said. Boyce also requested prayers for his family, including Avante’s two young sons.
Longtime friend Pastor Royce Sullivan says he and Darrell Boyce have done community work together since high school. “For years Darrell Boyce has worked to make a difference, since the late ’90s at least,” Sullivan tells a local TV station. “Darrell Boyce goes all the way back to a group called Ganging Up For Christ. We would stump. We would step. We would sing. We had praise dancing.” Those activities occurred “year-round because violence goes on year-round,” Sullivan adds. “Unfortunately, [violence] finally hit a person that has had all hands on deck to stop this very thing.”
Following two tough years of pandemic-related isolation, Sullivan says, people need to learn to work together again. “Let’s not have a town hall meeting, but let’s have community incubators,” he says. “We need somewhere to share and hear what people are feeling. … We are all hurting the same way, and we are all wanting to grow together.”
Grieving Father Finds God’s Peace in the Storm
In a video posted to Facebook early Tuesday, Pastor Boyce shared a brief but powerful testimony. Before heading to a pre-dawn dialysis appointment, he thanked God for providing peace even amid this latest storm.
Left: Maverick City Music performing live at the Grammys (via Twitter); Right: Maverick City Music accepting a Grammy alongside Elevation Worship (via YouTube).
Sunday was an historic evening for Maverick City Music, as they not only won their first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album but also became the first Christian or Gospel group in 20 years to perform during the live broadcast of the awards ceremony.
The group performed “Jireh” during the live broadcast, a worship song written and recorded in collaboration with Elevation Worship about resting in the promises of God.
“FAM! It brings us so much joy to share that we’re taking the stage for the first time at the @RecordingAcad #GRAMMYs this Sunday,” the group said on Twitter last week. “All the glory and praise goes to Jireh!”
While fans were excited to see the group perform on one of music’s biggest nights, some expressed disappointment that the broadcast cut to commercial in the middle of the song.
“The Grammy’s cut out a performance by Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music,” tweeted one fan. “Pretty disappointed that Christian artists get axed.” Nevertheless, others took the fact that Maverick City Music got to perform live on television at all as a victory, with another fan tweeting, “Maverick city music took us to church!”
In addition to performing at the awards show, Maverick City Music also received a Grammy alongside Elevation Worship in the category of Best Contemporary Christian Music Album for “Old Church Basement,” an album released jointly by the two groups in April of 2021.
Speaking on behalf of Maverick City Music, Chandler Moore said, “We just want to thank God. Maverick City was a space created by our founders Tony Brown and JJ—Jonathan Jay—for those who are marginalized, unheard, rejected in this space to be heard and to have a space.”
“All of us on this stage represent that,” Moore said, motioning to the rest of the members of Maverick City Music and turning over the mic to Elevation Worship’s Chris Brown.
“Hey, I just want to say that I will never forget that little basement where this beautifully wild season between our…two groups began,” Brown said. “And this has been the most amazing thing watching our two ministries create something together that we could have never created separately.”
Listen to “Jireh” by Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music below.
A Vermont nun who served as a college president, worked in Washington to ban land mines and served as a deputy commissioner of the state Department of Corrections has died.
Sister Janice Ryan died at a residential care facility in Winooski on March 30. She was 85.
Ryan’s death was confirmed Monday by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington.
Vermont U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy said he and his wife Marcelle visited Ryan shortly before her death.
“Sister Janice was a force of nature. She was a human dynamo,” Leahy said in a statement. “She made it her job to make policymakers uncomfortable as her way to achieving real change to help those who struggle. And indeed she made a real difference.”
Ryan was born in Fairfield, Vermont, on Sept. 14, 1936. She graduated from high school at the Mount Saint Mary Academy in Burlington and then received a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College in Burlington. In 1957, she professed her vows as a nun with the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.
She began her career as an elementary and junior high school teacher. She went on to receive a master’s degree in special education, did other graduate studies and received honorary degrees.
“She was a champion for access to quality education for all, particularly those with special needs, an advocate for the incarcerated, a peacemaker who fought for the banning of land mines around the world and so much more,” Bishop Christopher Coyne, of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, said in tribute on the diocese’s website. “Her legacy will live on through the many lives she touched.”
From 1979 to 1996, Ryan served as president of Burlington’s Trinity College, which closed in 2000 after financial difficulties. After leaving Trinity, Ryan became Project Director of the Catholic Campaign to Ban Landmines in Washington.
She worked for a time for former Vermont Sen. James Jeffords. In 2003, Ryan became deputy commissioner of the state Department of Corrections.
Ryan is survived by two sisters, a brother and numerous nieces and nephews and “her sisters in religion,” the Sisters of Mercy, her obituary says.
Ukrainian refugees take shelter at a church in Tulcea, Romania. Photo courtesy of Baptist Press.
BUCHAREST, Romania (BP) – Baptist churches in Romania had been saving for months just to pay their heating bills. Then Russia invaded Ukraine.
For the more than 1,500 Baptist churches in Romania, the decision to sacrifice their resources for the safety of neighbors was automatic, Romanian Baptist pastor, educator and leader Daniel Fodorean told Baptist Press.
“We’re facing an economic crisis. Usually God does not ask us to help because we are rich. God asks us to help because we are the children of God,” Fodorean said. “I think this is the fact here in Romania. We help not because we are rich. We help because it’s a need and we want to share love.”
Fodorean is European strategist for Romanian-American Mission (RAM), a U.S.- based missions organization that has planted more than 400 churches in Europe, beginning first in Romania 28 years ago. In his RAM position, Fodorean helps coordinate humanitarian aid for Ukrainian refugees and undergirds pastors in their work.
“I see it was a miracle here,” Fodorean said. “God really helped us to manage.”
In addition, as academic dean of the Baptist Theological Institute in Bucharest, he has been able to house as many as 40 refugees at a time, helping them complete crucial paperwork and secure transportation to other countries.
Rob Jackson, director of church health for the Alabama State Board of Missions, is RAM president, leading the missions organization founded by his late father.
The war has energized churches in humanitarian and Christian outreach, pastors in Romania have told Jackson.
“Before the war, there was almost a complacency among our Baptist churches,” Romanian pastors have told Jackson. “But this war is bringing about revival, not only a revival, but it’s bringing about unity in our Baptist churches.
“It’s a beautiful partnership between Baptists, both Southern Baptists, Alabama Baptists, European Baptists, Romanian Baptist unions all coming together, and other denominations as well,” Jackson said. “When there’s war, we unite.”
An Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief team of six will travel to Romania in late April to help, the International Mission Board continues to help refugees in Poland, and several Southern Baptist churches have responded with prayer, financial aid and other support.
Gospel outreach is complicated by language barriers.
“Sharing the Gospel is not easy, having in mind the problem with translation,” Fodorean said. “The translation is the most difficult part.”
If English cannot be used, Romanian Baptists seek translators who speak Russian, Ukrainian and Romanian, but translators are rare. Romanians try to bridge the gap through the use of Gospel tracts, New Testaments and Bibles in Ukrainian, and are making plans for a Bible app in Ukrainian. A church in Bucharest has launched a worship service for Russian speakers to reach Ukrainians.
Of the more than 10 million displaced Ukrainians, 600,000 or so had fled to Romania and nearly 400,000 others had made it to Moldova by the end of March, the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees reported. Another 13 million, UNHCR estimated, are stranded in affected areas of Ukraine and unable to leave because of security risks, destruction of bridges and roads, and lack of resources or information.
Romania’s government is providing aid to refugees, but Fodorean said the work is mostly done by churches and the private sector.
The latest survey from the Pew Research Center has found that about as many churchgoers who had returned to in-person attendance six months ago are about the same number attending now. In other words, although the situation improved in relation to all things COVID — vaccinations available, mask mandates dropped, case numbers plunged — there has been no appreciable change in the number of people who have returned.
About two-thirds (64%) had returned by September 2021, and now, in March 2022 (67%), it’s still right at about two-thirds.
As my friend Carey Nieuwhof wrote at the start of the year, “2021 had many leaders clinging to the idea that the next season — Easter, the new school year, Christmas, etc. — would bring attendance back to 2019 levels. For most churches, that ‘magic season’ never materialized.”
He’s right. They haven’t come back. And they aren’t coming back. The church you now have is the church you now have.
There are several reasons why embracing this is important. First, because it will help you realize that you are not in a season of regaining your attender/volunteer base but a season of rebuilding it. It is critical for leaders to invest their energies accordingly.
Second, it will help you realize that you must embrace the hybrid model of church. Specifically, the hybrid of being both physical and digital.
Speaking in very broad terms, there are two types of churches operating at the moment: those that reopened and almost immediately scaled back on all things online, and those who have reopened for in-person services but have maintained an online constituency. (Some, such as the church I lead, go beyond merely maintaining an online presence to encouraging online attenders by offering a full online campus, which you can read in previous blogs I’ve written titled “The Most Overlooked Place to Plant a Church” and “The Importance of Affirming Online Attendance.”)
The first type of church assumed that reopening for in-person services and the demise of all things COVID were all it would take for the return of pre-pandemic attendance levels. The problem, after all, was the pandemic.
They assumed wrong.
There were broader issues at hand that were simply accelerated by the pandemic. Church attendance had been in decline for some time. Further, the broader cultural realities — namely a post-Christian world and a digital revolution — had changed both the nature of our mission field and the means by which we reach it. Simply going back to a “business as usual” approach is not the solution.
Churches that went hybrid and stayed hybrid found that while in-person attendance has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, the overall attendance and health of the church has not only been maintained but has also grown. In other words, because of a hybrid model, diminished in-person numbers do not reflect an overall diminishment of the church. Further, that giving people the freedom to attend in person or online increased overall engagement with the church.
Sometimes, my church feels like the triage wing of a hospital.
To my right, I see the pain in a visitor’s eyes as he lamented the stain on the gospel his previous church had become. To my left, a few of our members—who themselves had left a large toxic church over their former pastor’s egregious moral failures—are praying over another couple who only now have come to reckon with those same discoveries. I turn yet again to greet some new faces and discover they’re here because they too can no longer attend their previous church that may have been a toxic church. The leaders have become too corrupt. One of them shared a few thoughts, but it was difficult for him to speak. Two others seemed to communicate nonverbally that if they uttered even a few words, they wouldn’t be able to compose their grief.
I wish I could say I’ve not seen this before. But our congregation is rife with these stories of people who dealt with a toxic church. One couple began attending our church so that they could recover from money-hungry, abusive leaders who had convinced the rest of the congregation to shun this family once they had decided to leave. They lost their friends. Another woman left when she discovered her previous church peddled the prosperity gospel. Her own family told her that by coming to our church she was joining a cult. Another was asked by his church to quit his job so that he could lead worship for them at a new church planting effort. He quit his job and packed his boxes for the move. Then the church cut him loose. He was too old, they said.
It agonizes me that so many churches with such great resources and strengths go the way of Samson, doing what’s right in their own eyes. In the process, they leave behind heaps of bleeding Christians, leg upon thigh (Judg. 15:8). Recovery for genuine believers who have been damaged by failed churches is a grueling process.
Perhaps you’ve experienced the loss of a church you love. Perhaps they were absorbed by a larger church entity that has taken it in a radically different direction. Maybe the leadership as a whole has failed in substantial ways and it’s difficult to imagine the church recovering. It may be that structural systems of governance are in place such that wayward leadership cannot be deposed.
Whatever happened, you now find yourself in a place where you no longer recognize the church you have called home—and you feel a little lost as you navigate a whirlwind of emotions. What follows are six pieces of biblical guidance to help you re-establish you bearings.
1. If you leave, leave for the right reasons.
You don’t want to leave out of spite, and you don’t want to leave simply because working through difficulties is too taxing. In fact, I’ve encouraged some visitors to go back to their former churches to work things out. We want to receive the broken and the hurting but we don’t want to enable those who turn away from good churches simply because they’ve had a disagreement. It takes courage, but you need to have the conversations necessary to make peace with whomever has offended you (Rom. 12:16–18). But if the lampstand is out due to seemingly irreversible doctrinal or moral failure, then leaving might be the best way to protect yourself and your family. Just make sure you have done your part to maintain unity (Ephesians 4:2–3).
2. Leaving a churchcan be the right move, but dropping church altogether is always the wrong move.
While legitimate reasons can be found to appropriately leave a given church, it’s never appropriate to drop the local church completely. God has positioned the local church as the place to find healing even when the wound is from another church. Yes, there are unhealthy churches, but there are healthy churches as well.
In Revelation 2–3, we see Jesus threaten and commend local churches. Even while he sternly admonished a church like Sardis, which was virtually dead, he also commended the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia. Some churches—like Pergamum and Thyatira—had issues, but still hoped to work through them. Not every church is a snuffed-out lampstand. Giving up on “organized” church is to give up on the Jesus who has organized it (Ephesians 4:11–16). Let’s not abandon what Jesus himself prescribes (Matthew 18:17). After all, the gathering of believers is where you will find the encouragement you need—and that’s precisely why you must go (Hebrews 10:25). Find a place where the leaders are worthy of remembering and imitating (Hebrews 13:7). I know of many.
“She was scared. Her parents thought her boyfriend was the father, but the baby wasn’t his… Jesus was born to a teen mom. He gets us. All of us.”
No, this is not from a new reality show or a new docuseries on Netflix. Instead, it is from a video ad produced by an outreach campaign called He Gets Us. Since it was posted on November 29, 2021, the video has surpassed 5 million views on YouTube alone. It is a unique approach, to say the least. Other content produced by He Gets Us contains statements such as, “Jesus suffered anxiety, too” and, “If you’ve ever had relationship problems, you’re in good company. Jesus did too.”
Statements like these can make some Christians uneasy or even upset. Yet, they seem to be extraordinarily impactful to those who are skeptical, but curious about Jesus.
Approaches to connect with the unchurched may actually offend Christians.
But here’s the thing: sometimes the best approaches to connect with non-Christians will make some Christians uneasy. Why is this the case? Because approaches like the one above break the mold of what most Christians think of when they think of evangelism. In fact, the term evangelism sometimes has a negative connotation because it conjures images of people who are so focused on the truth of the gospel that they don’t empathize with the hearer of the gospel.
When some think of personal evangelism, they may picture a Christian talking to someone they don’t really know, presenting Jesus to them as briefly as possible—and with great urgency—and immediately asking them to make a decision. They’ve done their part if the person responds (and thankfully, some will!).
And if the person doesn’t respond immediately, they move on.
This approach that savors strongly of ‘closing a deal’ isn’t the pattern of sharing faith that we see in the New Testament. Still, many who talk about Jesus with others are driven more by the truth they tell than by a love for those listening. But when communicating the components of a message becomes more important than how we share, we’ve lost sight of the goodnews of Jesus’ life, and ultimate death, for all humanity.
It’s true that if you invite people to meet Jesus frequently enough, you will see some people come to Christ. I am for that—sharing Jesus’ story broadly and in many ways. But, I also think that helping people have conversations about Jesus can ultimately lead to productive conversations.
And, that helps us see that we need more than one approach.
When you focus on empathizing with, and hearing the stories of those who are skeptical about Jesus, some Christians will be offended—you aren’t “standing for truth” by giving them the whole story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. I get it.
Yet, on the other hand, if you focus solely on getting out a “full presentation,” non-Christians can end up feeling treated like another potential notch on a Belt of Truth. They may feel it’s safer to turn away from the beautiful love story of the Bible, instead of drawing closer. In only “standing for truth,” Christians can be seen as having a lack of genuine interest in people and the reality of their life circumstances.
But research from Don Everts and Doug Schaupp, outlined in their book I Once Was Lost, show that building relational trust with a Christian is often the first and most important step many people take in a process toward developing a personal relationship with Jesus. This sort of relational rapport happens, not primarily through hearing a speech on a milk crate on a street corner, but through time and proximity with followers of Jesus.
Again, we need more than one way.
He Gets Us is starting conversations about Jesus
The best way to share the story of Jesus is one that, well, will help someone engage. We want people to want to talk about Jesus, knowing that most don’t, and one way is to help people find common ground in His life and ministry. Sharing the love of God can be done in a variety of different ways, but the law of love is key.
When this law guides us as Christians to share the good news of Jesus with others, we will approach people as friends we genuinely desire to know rather than receptacles of information we desire to impart. The difference is in the starting point. The starting point in Jesus’ own approach is the otherperson and their story, much like Paul did when he spoke at Mars Hill (Acts 17:22-31).
But be forewarned—when you dare to lead with love and show patience with people as they consider the life-altering implications of Jesus’s life and teachings, you’re likely to unnerve some Christians. You can be accused of being “soft on truth” or lacking urgency. And you just might be offensive to some believers in your desire to be gracious to those who are skeptical.
But that is precisely the risk Jesus calls us to, and one He modeled Himself (Luke 7:34).
A Lesson from a Shoemaker
Samuel Moor Shoemaker III (1893-1963) served in New York City and was considered one of the best preachers of his time. Rector of Calvary Episcopal Church from 1925-1952, Shoemaker was one of the early supporters of Alcoholics Anonymous. Calvary Church offered refuge for alcoholics, and he showed great care for the people who were often rejected by others.
Shoemaker wrote a poem near the end of his life called “I Stand By the Door” that epitomized his ministry:
I stand by the door. I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out, The door is the most important door in the world— It is the door through which people walk when they find God. There’s no use my going way inside, and staying there, When so many are still outside, and they, as much as I, Crave to know where the door is. And all that so many ever find Is only the wall where a door ought to be. They creep along the wall like those who are blind. With outstretched, groping hands, Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door, Yet they never find it . . . So I stand by the door.
We need a generation of Christians who stand by the door, caring for people, loving those often ignored or dismissed, and walking with them as they seek answers.
Some practical ideas
Here are three ways to help people meet Jesus, and be there for them as they are ready to hear and explore more:
Host a community event at your church or home, like a cookout or dessert night. Whether you are a lay leader or are on staff in ministry, get your community involved. Go to your neighbors’ houses with an invitation in hand, knock on their door, and invite them personally to your event. At the end of the first event, plan a second and ensure people are invited before they leave. This will discipline your community members’ schedules to make time to build authentic relationships with the people in your proximity. You don’t have to drop the entirety of Jesus’ life on them on the first visit. Show them Jesus’ values through your hospitality, empathy, and kindness, as you get to know them and listen to the Spirit.
Spend time meeting people where they live, work, study, or play. This might mean shifting some of your daily rhythms, like moving non-sensitive staff meetings to a coffee shop for example. Between meetings, you can stop and talk to the barista. Or, go to the same restaurant consistently, get to know the wait staff, and tip well. When coming home, park outside of your garage and make a point to speak to your neighbors. On weekends, do your outdoor chores during a time when your neighbors will be outside, making it a point to dialogue with them about their lives. It will take more intentionality to change your usual routines, but the opportunities to engage with people about Jesus will multiply.
In your conversations, anchor in values that Jesus’ life represents. You’ve been on the journey yourself—meeting and discovering Jesus for who he really is. As you interact with others, see yourself as a translator of the values and teachings that Jesus embodied. If a friend is surprised by how well you tip, for example, you could share that the generosity flowing from you, also came from Jesus in the way He lived and ultimately died for others. If someone you know tells you they have anxiety, you might share the story of Jesus, who at one point in His ministry became so anxious that His “sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44). It’s a great way for us as Christians to revisit Jesus’ life and ministry and ask ourselves, what did Jesus experience in His life that relates to the challenges we experience every day?
He Gets Us is helping people find the door
Jesus is the door, so how can we help those who want help finding that door?
We need to think more about whether we are helping people discover Jesus—fully and for themselves—and less about whether the way we do it will impress the Christians who are already near to Him.
As for me, I’m willing to risk offending some Christians if that means helping more people know and develop for themselves a personal, transformational relationship with Jesus.
That seems in line with the life and mission of Jesus.
(L) Denzel Washington (R) T.D. Jakes. Screengrab via YouTube @T.D. Jakes
Two time Oscar winner Denzel Washington joined best-selling author and The Potter’s House’s bishop T.D. Jakes for a Master Class session at his International Leadership Summit last week.
Before Rock presented an award, he made a joke directed at Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who was seated in the front row near the center of the stage. Rock joked that he was looking forward to Jada’s role in “G.I. Jane 2,” referencing her bald hairstyle. Jada struggles with an auto-immune condition that causes hair loss called alopecia.
The cameras showed Smith first laughed at the joke while his wife expressed her displeasure. The movie superstar who played Muhammad Ali in 2001 then uninvitedly walked up to center stage during a live broadcast and struck Rock with a slap across his face. As a shocked Rock attempted to professionally regain his composure, Smith returned to his seat and yelled at the presenter to “keep my wife’s name out your [expletive] mouth.”
During a commercial break, both Washington and Tyler Perry could be seen counseling Smith. Before the night was over, Smith took home his first Oscar after winning Best Actor for his role in “King Richard.” In his acceptance speech, Smith thanked and referenced Washington’s words to him.
“Pastor Washington,” Jakes said, “you stepped in the middle of World War III. We were looking at Ukraine and it happened on the Oscars.”
“When Will [Smith], who I love, smacked Chris [Rock], who I love, you came in as a senior statesmen into that situation,” Jakes said, pleading with Washington to explain what happened to these legendary icons who got into a fight in front of the world.
Washington replied, “There’s a saying when the devil ignores you then you know you’re doing something wrong.” As the audience gasped, like a preacher, Washington told them, “Wait a minute. I’m not done now.”
“You know, the devil goes, ‘Oh no leave him alone, he’s my favorite,’” Washington explained. “When the devil comes at you, maybe it’s because you’re trying to do something right and, for whatever reason, the devil got a hold of that circumstance that night. Fortunately, there were people there—not just me, but others in the gap—Tyler Perry came immediately over there with me.”
Washington shared that they prayed with Smith but kept what they said confidential.
“There but for the grace of God go any of us,” the actor told Jakes. “Who are we to condemn?”
Days after disclosing, via video message, that a former deacon at his church had “committed a sexual sin that could also be described as abusive,” Pastor Willy Rice addressed the controversy during Sunday worship. During his April 3 sermon at Calvary Church in Clearwater, Florida, Rice emphasized that the man had repented and that Jesus’ blood washes away sins. “The world cancels people,” Rice said. “Jesus cancels sin. There’s a difference.”
On Friday, April 1, Rice, one of several candidates to be the next Southern Baptist Convention president, described a past incident that led church leaders to “reevaluate” the deacon’s role. The pastor emphasized that for years, the layperson had shown “genuine fruits of a repentant life.”
According to Baptist News, the deacon was a high school teacher and coach in Tampa Bay in 2005. He admitted to having an inappropriate sexual relationship with an 18-year-old female student. No criminal charges were reportedly filed. Rice, in his video, emphasized that the man didn’t serve in children’s or student ministries at Calvary.
Pastor Willy Rice: Some People Are ‘After Me’
During worship Sunday, Rice brought up the topic right before communion. “This week I had to share with you a tough announcement,” he said, referring to Friday’s video. “At some point I’ll tell you the whole story,” he added, assuring congregants that people are “not after our church; they’re just after me.”
Rice said, “Some people outside our church identified one of our brothers who’s serving in a role in our church” in an effort to “score some points.” Although the behavior in question occurred “almost 20 years ago” and “doesn’t involve children,” the pastor admitted it “was awful.”
He then asked attendees: “You ever thought about your worst moment being put in the newspaper? I’m glad they didn’t put all my bad moments in the newspaper, because they’d have to sell a lot of papers!”
When the man came to Calvary more than a decade ago, Rice said, he had “repented of that sin” and had changed his life thanks to “the grace of God.” The pastor told worshipers, “I want you to know this about my brother: … If he’s not saved, I’m not saved. If he’s not forgiven, I’m not forgiven. If the blood of Jesus Christ is not enough to save him, then it’s not enough to save me. And I’ll tell you what else, it’s not enough to save you either! But I want you to know that it is enough.”
Willy Rice Should Withdraw From Race, Say Some SBC Pastors
Reaction to Rice’s video announcement was swift, with several SBC pastors encouraging him to withdraw his name from the slate of presidential candidates. Indiana Pastor Todd Benkert tweeted Friday: “In this moment in SBC life, it is imperative that we elect a president who has a proper understanding of abuse and is able to show himself trustworthy to SBC abuse survivors.” Benkert added that he had several follow-up questions for Rice, including whether “grooming” was involved.
“If you did not consider his sexual sin abuse, why the restriction on ministering to youth and children?” Benkert asks. He concludes by saying the video “raises some concerns about whether or not Rice has the right understanding of abuse dynamics to be the one who leads our convention in this moment.”
After Rice’s sermon was posted, Benkert tweeted: “No one is after you. We were planning to vote for you 3 days ago. No one is questioning [the deacon’s] conversion or God’s forgiveness of his sin. No one is canceling anybody. The issue is whether you understand the dynamics of abuse and its disqualification for leadership in the church.”
Should Christians boycott Disney? The Conservative Baptist Network (CBN), Franklin Graham, and others are warning believers against the Walt Disney Company’s recent public stances on gender and sexuality.
“When I was young, my father @BillyGraham took me to visit Mr. Walt Disney,” said Samaritan’s Purse president Franklin Graham in a tweet on April 2. “We weren’t allowed to watch many TV programs growing up, but because of Mr. Disney’s commitment to wholesome entertainment, parents had confidence in their content. That has sure changed!”
Graham linked to a Fox News article titled, “Woke Disney: 10 families who are swearing off Disney due to its left-leaning politics,” and continued, “Today, Disney is indoctrinating children w/the LGBTQ agenda—& they don’t try to hide it. I hope parents wake up to what Disney is trying to do & protect their children & grandchildren from the lies this once-great company is now so willing to promote.”
Boycott Disney: CBN Decries ‘Radical Sexualization of Children’
“Please join us in expressing to Disney that its abandonment of family values and embrace of the radical sexualization of children will not be condoned by those committed to following Jesus Christ,” said the CBN in a statement dated April 1. The CBN is a grassroots organization launched in February 2020 to address what its members see as a trend towards liberalism in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The group listed several reasons for its call to boycott Disney, one being the company’s opposition to Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed into law.
Disney drew sharp criticism from the LGBTQ community for at first remaining silent about the bill, but the company has since denounced it.
The portion of the bill that has received the most attention states: “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” The bill’s supporters say that it protects children and the rights of parents, while opponents say it censors and otherwise infringes on the rights of those who identify as LGBTQ.
CBN also mentioned the fact that Disney has eliminated “ladies and gentlemen” and “boys and girls” in greetings to park guests, a decision the company made in the summer of 2021. Other reasons CBN listed for its statement referred to company executives’ overt support of LGBTQ representation in children’s entertainment.
CBN noted that at the upcoming 2022 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention that will take place in Anaheim, Calif., this June, the SBC is offering discounted tickets to Disneyland, which is near where the meeting will be held. “The Conservative Baptist Network urges Southern Baptists to choose another family activity rather than support the anti-biblical agenda now clearly present within the Disney corporation,” says the statement.
After a weeklong trial in Jacksonville, FL, former youth pastor Ronnie Hyde (65) was convicted in the case of the 1994 murder of 16-year-old Fred Laster on Friday and has been sentenced to life in prison. Deliberations for the jury took less than three hours. Hyde opted to receive sentencing immediately. Hyde also faces 25 charges of child pornography, for which he will be tried later this year.
Disclaimer: some of the details of this story are graphic and disturbing. Discretion advised.
While Laster’s dismembered torso was found in the dumpster behind a Florida gas station in 1994, it was not identified as Laster’s remains until 2016 when investigators were able to match the contents of the dumpster with Laster’s DNA.
Jurors were shown video footage from the grisly crime scene, as well as the physical evidence discovered by police near Laster’s remains.
After Laster’s sister told police that Hyde was the last person to see Laster alive, investigators turned their attention toward him as a suspect. At one point, Hyde had served as a foster parent for Laster, as well as his sister and brother. Police obtained a sample of Hyde’s DNA from his garbage and were able to connect it to a shirt that was found near Laster’s remains.
Upon obtaining a warrant and searching Hyde’s home, police discovered child pornography, which resulted in 25 charges for sex crimes in addition to being charged for Laster’s murder.
Laster’s sister had previously reported an incident wherein she awoke to find Hyde nude and standing over Laster, attempting to wake him. Police suspect that Hyde may have victimized other underaged people.
Further, Hyde had previously taken nursing classes, which would have given him anatomical knowledge that would prove useful when attempting to dismember a body. Forensic anthropologist Heather Walsh-Hayney testified that multiple knives were used to dismember Laster’s body, and knives similar to those found near Laster’s remains were found in Hyde’s home. Police also recovered a mattress topper similar to the bloodied mattress topper at the crime scene.
We recently released the 2022 World Watch List, the annual report on the 50 places around the world where it’s most dangerous to follow Jesus. The list is full of data, statistics and examples about these countries and the dangers Christians face just living in them each day. But the information can be overwhelming and heavy. So we put together a list of the top five trends and takeaways from this year’s World Watch List. We hope you’ll carry these trends in your heart throughout the next year, and join your sisters and brothers in prayer.
Source: Open Doors USA
1. A new No. 1 tops the list
North Korea has been at (or near) the top of the World Watch List for the past 20 years, but this year the country lost its top spot to Afghanistan. To be clear, this doesn’t mean things are improving for Christians in North Korea; it means things have gotten worse in Afghanistan.
With the Taliban takeover in August, Afghanistan has become a hunting ground for Christians. Christians dare not go out in public to meet, shop or get medical treatment. They’ve been driven underground simply to survive. The Taliban has acquired lists of Christians in the nation and are going town to town, trying to flush them out.
Many Christians have fled the country to protect their children, but some have remained, trusting they’ll still see the goodness of the Lord. Those who remain are considered traitors; enemies of the state, their tribe and their community. Punishment for being found out is often death.
Across all the top 10 countries in this year’s World Watch List, there’s an overarching rise in pressure and persecution. It’s a worrisome trend for the places where it’s most difficult to be a Christian.
Source: Open Doors USA
3. The deadliest place in the world for Christians gets deadlier
Last year, to our best estimate, 4,761 Christians were killed for their faith. This year, that number increased by nearly 24% to 5,898 (in actuality, this number is probably much higher). 4,650 of those killings took place in Nigeria—that’s 13 Christians martyred every day.
In much of northern Nigeria, Christians live their lives under the constant threat of attack from Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Fulani militants and criminals who kidnap and murder with few consequences. ISWAP and Boko Haram want to eliminate the Christian presence in Nigeria, and Muslim Fulani militants attack Christian villages specifically. In addition to violent risk, Christians in some of Nigeria’s northern states also live under Shariah law, where they face discrimination and treatment as second-class citizens. Christians who’ve converted from Islam also face rejection from their families and are often pressured to recant their faith in Jesus or face the consequences.
Nigeria accounts for nearly 80 percent of Christian deaths worldwide, but violence against Christians continues to spread rapidly throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Out of the top ten most violent countries against Christians, this part of Africa retains seven of those: Nigeria, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Source: Open Doors USA
3. Constantly being watched while worshiping
For a long time, China’s surveillance system has encroached on the religious freedoms of Christians and other religious minorities. But it’s only gotten worse.
There are reports from two provinces that cameras are present in all state-sanctioned religious venues. In 2021, some Bible apps were taken down from online stores, Christian content was taken off social media and the restrictions of online life have grown tighter. China has also implemented a program where average citizens can access security cameras and report anything “suspicious” to police.
In some places in China, cameras and reporting have meant rapid discovery and detainment. Recently. an online church service was interrupted by authorities and the pastors arrested. As China’s technology continues to spread to places like Laos, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and even countries in the West, the possibility of further persecution against the Church continues to rise.
Source: Open Doors USA
4. Are the extremists … winning?
When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in September, it was a victory for Islamic extremists. The country had been in tumult for 20 years, and the violent radicals were overjoyed to retake the capital city of Kabul, flying their flag above government buildings and erasing the rights of women and religious minorities.
But the Taliban weren’t the only extremist group to make strides in 2021: in Nigeria and Cameroon, Boko Haram continues to wreak havoc, the Islamic State group is active in West Africa and Mozambique and al Shabab controls large portions of Somalia. Islamic extremism continues to spill from one country to the next.
We know what radical Islamic ideology looks like for believers, because we’ve seen it in Iraq and Syria. When ISIS took over parts of the Middle East, Christians were executed, abducted, sexually assaulted and hunted. Where groups like Boko Haram and al Shabab are active, similar threats are inevitable. When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, they tried to appear moderate, but there’s no sign Christianity will be anything other than a death sentence.
Even though it may seem hopeless and that the extremists are winning, God continues to be a source of never-ending hope. Just as we’ve seen what brutality is possible, we’ve also seen what hope is possible. Christians are rebuilding and their faith is growing; not only that, they’re continuing to bring people to Jesus.
God’s Church can never be destroyed, even by Islamic extremism. The Church might go underground, but it continues to grow outward, attached to Jesus at the root.
Source: Open Doors USA
5. Countless people driven out of their homes for Jesus
In many countries around the world, Christians have literally been displaced and become refugees, driven from their homes by persecution. In many African countries, like Nigeria and Mozambique, where extremist military groups are heavily active, it is safer for believers to flee than to stay, knowing one slip up or call from a neighbor could mean their family’s lives. In Eritrea, Christian women flee to avoid obligatory military service, where they could be beaten, assaulted or worse.
After last year’s military coup, Christians in Myanmar face increased danger—and more and more Christians are forced to run for their lives. With the fighting taking place in many Christian provinces, believers and their families have no choice but find safety in camps for displaced people; in these camps, Christians are often deprived food and healthcare because of their faith.
Knowing their names are on a list, many Christians have fled Afghanistan, leaving anything they have ever known, including their Christian support networks. In Iran, it’s much of the same: the radical Islamic government raids the houses of Christians, then sentences them to prison for “crimes against national security.” Believers are left with a choice: Stay in Iran, and keep quiet about Jesus; be thrown in prison; or run across the border.
In countries where tradition and culture are highly valued, like parts of Colombia, Mexico and Vietnam, some Christians are targeted for going against customary practices. They’re seen as cultural and family traitors. If these Christians don’t flee, their houses could be burned and their families kidnapped or worse.
There are many takeaways from this year’s World Watch List, but these are the five that jumped out to us. The Church is under attack all over the world, and Christians remain persecuted solely because they follow Jesus.
But these trends should not discourage us, or make us despair of God’s action in the world. If anything, what’s happening to God’s people should drive us to prayer—and deepen our faith as we watch our brothers and sisters follow Him, no matter what.
Download the 2022 World Watch List prayer booklet, and pray through the World Watch List over the next 52 weeks. You’ll find a prayer prompt for each day. Lift up God’s people and see how He changes their lives—and yours.
The Tar Heels’ last tournament finals appearance was in 2017 when they beat the Gonzaga Bulldogs to become national champions under head coach Roy Williams.
Davis, who played all four years of his basketball career at North Carolina, was drafted by the by the New York Knicks in 1992. He returned to the Tar Heels in 2012 as an assistant coach and was named the Tar Heels’ head coach in 2021 after Williams announced his retirement.
At the press conference when Davis was introduced as head coach, he spoke openly about his faith. “[My] foundation is firmly in my relationship with Jesus,” he told reporters.
Coach Davis explained how his mother used to beg him to go to church growing up but that he had no interested in Christianity. “My mom always used to always say that Jesus had a plan for me—plans for my hope and my future not to harm you. Plans to prosper you,” Davis shared, referencing Jeremiah 29:11.
Davis didn’t understand what his mother was telling him at the time, nor did he listen to her. When she passed away right before his junior year of high school, Davis said he grew “a tremendous hate toward God” that continued into his collegiate playing years. He couldn’t understand how God could take my mom away.
When Davis played at North Carolina, the legendary Dean Smith was his head coach. Davis shared that Smith required all of the freshman go to church, and it was then that Davis started to understand what his mother was talking about.
“I started to understand the sacrifice that Jesus has made for me and how much he loves me,” Davis explained. “Two days before my junior year of college, I became a Christian and instead of being upset that Jesus is taking away the most beautiful person in my life—my mom—I’m thankful every day that He gave me the best mom that I could ever have for sixteen years.”
My faith in Christ is the foundation of who I am,” Davis said.
Davis was asked how he is able to keep God at the center of the tournament’s journey when the pressure to perform is so high.
“It’s a place of thankfulness, humbleness, [and] humility to be able to be in this position to be their head coach. I’ve often said that my job is like I’m on a mission field,” Davis said. “This is service. I’m trying to help these kids and I’m just trying to give back everything that coach Smith and Guthrie gave to me. So whether it’s on the court or in the classroom or in the community—that’s my job. If I’m only coaching basketball then I’m not doing my job.”
“I know that Jesus allowed me to be in this position and He’s put me in this position and He’s put me in this position to be a light and that’s what I want to do,” Davis said.
The coach’s missionary comments have been a theme at his press conferences. After North Carolina gave Davis his first tournament win as their head coach in this year’s first round, Davis told the media during a press conference, “As I’ve said before, I look at this job as missionary work. I’ve been given an opportunity to be the head coach of this program and be a part of this program for the last 10 years—and having a chance to play here. Every day I get a front-row seat to be able to help out these kids, and it puts me in a place of humbleness and thankfulness and appreciation to be a part of their lives. I don’t feel any personal validation at all. This is 100 percent absolutely, nothing about me.”
The village of Kulyenchikov gathers in to read an urgent letter to the schoolteacher in a scene from "Fools," produced March 24-27 by the Missouri Baptist University theatre department.
ST. LOUIS (BP) – “Fools” is a comedy play and “one long-running gag,” said Kasey Cox, director of theatre and dance for Missouri Baptist University. From March 24-27, though, Cox and her crew used it to raise $3,146.49 for a serious subject, sending those funds through Send Relief to aid Ukrainian refugees.
Following each of its four productions, Cox urged attendees after the curtain call to give toward the effort as they exited the theatre. The final tally was announced on the @mbutheatre Instagram account March 27.
“When we announced this show a year and a half ago, we had no idea that we would be doing a comedy set in Ukraine at the same time as a military conflict in the same country,” it read. “Your generosity reminds us that God always has a plan and, this weekend, He let us be a part of it.”
Cox was in a production of “Fools” as a 16-year-old at the Salem (Ill.) Community Theatre, playing the role of Sophia.
“It was a fun role,” she said. “I remember it very well. The whole show is an exercise in hilarity and it’s really fun to hear the audience respond to it.”
When Neil Simon wrote “Fools” in 1981 about a Ukrainian village with a 200-year curse of stupidity, he couldn’t have imagined that 40 years later
the country would be staving off an invasion from Russia, its neighbor. Cox was in the same predicament in February after rehearsals for the play had begun.
“I originally picked it because I felt peopled needed to be in the same room and laugh,” said Cox, a 2010 MBU graduate who has led the theatre department for six years.
Given the current days’ events, a slight acknowledgement of the war was given in one actor’s line. But overall, the 10-member cast kept to the script.
“It’s just a funny show,” she said. “I wanted to give a little nod to current events, but also wanted people to rest and have some fun.”
A tree crushed three cars and damaged a house after a tornado touched down in Simsboro March 30, 2022. Rolling Hills Ministries photo
NASHVILLE (BP) – Several Southern Baptist Disaster Relief units were called in to respond as a series of storms swept through the south central and southeastern United States.
Oklahoma Disaster Relief teams completed their work Thursday (March 31), reported Director Don Williams, following damage from a March 21 EF2 tornado.
“In our response, we helped 40 homeowners with property damage,” he told The Baptist Messenger. “We provided Madill [and] Little City with about 500 meals to feed their community. We made 200-plus chaplain contacts. Because of the generosity of Oklahoma Baptists, we provided financial assistance to Kingston, Texoma Southern; Madill, Little City; and six church members that will aid them in paying their insurance deductibles to move forward.”
More than 40 homeowners felt the storm’s effects, with as many Oklahoma churches represented by the resulting Disaster Relief response.
Arkansas Disaster Relief is still responding to needs from a March 30 EF3 tornado in the northwest part of the state, the Arkansas Baptist News reported.
Parts of Fayetteville and Springdale bore the brunt, with the Northwest Baptist Association’s Recovery unit mobilizing volunteers soon after the early morning storms. Volunteers from Grand Avenue Baptist in Fort Smith joined in the recovery efforts as did units from Balboa Baptist Church in Hot Springs Village.
Cross Church in Springdale is serving as a coordination site and hosting the Incident Management Team, ABN said.
A series of strong storms across central and north Alabama March 29 damaged at least three church buildings, the Alabama Baptist reported, but brought no deaths.
The damage to the side of Pine View Baptist Church in Brent should be a quick fix, said Pastor Mark Lovett.
Mark Wakefield, disaster relief and chaplaincy ministries strategist for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, said cleanup and recovery efforts are being handled on the local level.
A close call with a tornado still fresh in the memory of Scott Peters, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Bibb County, left him anxious throughout the night.
“This time last year, a tornado came very close to the church,” Peters said. “As it passed the church, it lifted and turned, missing the church. … It was very close.”
Irina Moss addressed her church family at Trinity Baptist Church in Lake Charles, La. The church has helped Moss ship more than 1,000 pounds of supplies to her hometown of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Photo courtesy of Baptist Press.
LAKE CHARLES, La. (BP) – With many of her family members experiencing the devastating effects of the crisis in Ukraine, Irina Moss is partnering with her Trinity Baptist Church family to send medical supplies directly to her hometown in the country.
Upon hearing updates about how bad the situation in the country was, Moss told Baptist Press she knew she had to do something.
“It felt very bad to sit here comfortably and have normal life when people’s lives in Ukraine are just being destroyed over the course of a day,” Moss said. “It felt awful that we were sitting here and not doing anything and not helping.”
Moss partnered with other friends throughout Lake Charles, including others from Ukraine, to collect medical supplies to be sent to the country to provide immediate relief.
She sent supplies, including formula, diapers, clothes and medication, to her hometown of Zaporizhzhia, a city in the southern region of Ukraine near the border with Crimea. Sending them there directly will allow them to be distributed immediately to her former townspeople, rather than their having to wait for supplies to be delivered from other parts of the country.
Moss had already collected and sent several boxes of supplies to Zaporizhzhia before approaching her pastor at Trinity Baptist, Steve James, to see if the congregation could help. The responded in a big way, she said. Thus far, Moss and her partners have shipped 24 boxes containing more than 1,000 pounds of supplies.
Moss said she has been a part of Trinity since coming to the U.S. in 2006, and was even baptized at the church several years ago. She said seeing her church family support her efforts has been extremely uplifting.
“I feel very grateful,” Moss said. “It was very heartwarming because a lot of people talk about things and will pray for you, but Trinity was actually able to provide supplies and things to help. People being understanding of what’s going on is one thing, but to meet somebody who actually wants to help and do whatever they can is beyond amazing.”
Although several of her family members and friends have stayed in Zaporizhzhia to help with relief efforts, Moss said many have fled to surrounding countries.
Moss’ mother, sister, brother-in-law and 6-year-old triplet nieces decided to flee Zaporizhzhia after Russian forces bombed a nearby nuclear power plant.
The family traveled three days by car to Poland, then eventually made their way to Spain where they stayed for a couple weeks. After their time in Spain, the family traveled to Germany where they found a more permanent location where the girls will be able to attend school in the fall.
The remaining family members staying in Zaporizhzhia include Moss’ father, aunt and uncle, all of whom are helping in the city in different ways.
Her father assists refugees (according to Moss there are more than 45,000 in the city), while her uncle works in a meat factory producing food and her aunt serves as a volunteer hairdresser.
Moss’ parents celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary on Feb. 22, just before the invasion began on Feb. 24. Though they are now separated, Moss’s father was adamant he and his wife would meet again, hopefully back in Ukraine rebuilding the country when the crisis is over.
Members of the Assembly of First Nations perform in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday, March 31, 2022. Pope Francis has welcomed First Nations delegations to the Vatican. They are seeking an apology for the Catholic Church's role in running Canada's notorious residential schools for Indigenous children. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Friday made a historic apology to Indigenous peoples for the “deplorable” abuses they suffered in Canada’s Catholic-run residential schools and said he hoped to visit Canada in late July to deliver the apology in person to survivors of the church’s misguided missionary zeal.
Francis begged forgiveness during an audience with dozens of members of the Metis, Inuit and First Nations communities who came to Rome seeking a papal apology and a commitment from the Catholic Church to repair the damage. The first pope from the Americas said he hoped to visit Canada around the Feast of St. Anna, which falls on July 26.
More than 150,000 native children in Canada were forced to attend state-funded Christian schools from the 19th century until the 1970s in an effort to isolate them from the influence of their homes and culture. The aim was to Christianize and assimilate them into mainstream society, which previous Canadian governments considered superior.
The Canadian government has admitted that physical and sexual abuse was rampant at the schools, with students beaten for speaking their native languages. That legacy of that abuse and isolation from family has been cited by Indigenous leaders as a root cause of the epidemic rates of alcohol and drug addiction now on Canadian reservations.
After hearing their stories all week, Francis told the Indigenous groups that the colonial project ripped children from their families, cutting off their roots, traditions and culture and provoking inter-generational trauma that is still being felt today. He said it was a “counter-witness” to the same Gospel that the residential school system purported to uphold.
“For the deplorable conduct of those members of the Catholic Church, I ask forgiveness of the Lord,” Francis said. “And I want to tell you from my heart, that I am greatly pained. And I unite myself with the Canadian bishops in apologizing.”
The trip to Rome by the Indigenous leaders, elders and survivors was years in the making but gained momentum last year after the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves outside some of the residential schools in Canada. The three groups met separately with Francis over several hours this week, telling him their stories, culminating with Friday’s audience.
The president of the Metis National Council, Cassidy Caron, said the Metis elder sitting next her burst into tears upon hearing what she said was a long-overdue apology.
“The pope’s words today were historic, to be sure. They were necessary, and I appreciate them deeply,” Caron told reporters in St. Peter’s Square. “And I now look forward to the pope’s visit to Canada, where he can offer those sincere words of apology directly to our survivors and their families, whose acceptance and healing ultimately matters most.”
First Nations’ Chief Gerald Antoine echoed the sentiment, saying Francis recognized the cultural “genocide” that had been inflicted on Indigenous peoples.
“Today is a day that we’ve been waiting for. And certainly one that will be uplifted in our history,” he said. “It’s a historical first step, however, only a first step.”
He and other delegates said there was far more for the church to do on the path of reconciliation, but that for now Indigenous leaders insisted on being involved in organizing the papal visit to make sure Francis stops in places that hold spiritual importance to their people.
FILE - In this June 19, 2015 file photo, police tape surrounds the parking lot behind the AME Emanuel Church as FBI forensic experts work the crime scene, in Charleston, S.C.Convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof was given nine consecutive life sentences in prison after he pleaded guilty to state murder charges Monday, March 29, 2021 leaving him to await execution in a federal prison and sparing his victims and their families the burden of a second trial.(AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, File)
NEWBERRY, S.C. (AP) — Newberry College is holding a forum on the aftermath of the 2015 racist massacre at a Charleston church, from the perspectives of the church and of the officers who responded and investigated the shooting.
Five Charleston police officers will be at the college for the event at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The officers will talk about what they experienced in the hours and days after a gunman killed nine Black people worshiping at Emanuel AME church in Charleston in June 2015.
A pastor of a local AME church will talk about what the shootings did to the denomination as a whole and a psychology professor will also be on the panel, the college said.
The forum will be held at Newberry College’s Center for Teacher Education.
This November Kaye and I will celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary. We took our honeymoon to a family friend’s condo in Missouri (we were college students with very little money). The next year we went to Cancun, which was our wedding gift from my parents. After those two trips, we decided we would not stop taking a trip away every year. For the last 22 years, in the midst of graduate degree programs and toddlers, Kaye and I have taken a trip together every year. We regularly encourage other couples to do the same for the following five reasons.
1. Reconnection
Time away with your spouse is not the only way to reconnect in your marriage, but it is a great way. We spend focused time together every week, but spending a week together alone provides a deeper level of reconnection. Pressing pause on the hustle of life back home allows us to focus on each other and our marriage with significantly less distractions.
2. Reprioritization
Kaye and I have dreams and goals for our marriage, our lives, and our family. The struggles and challenges of life can beat vision out of you, so it is important to find ways to bring yourself back to the goals you have set. Time alone and time away gives us lots of time to remember what we are committed to and reprioritize. After every trip, we make adjustments, sometimes small and sometimes large, to our schedules and rhythms when we return home.
3. Deeper Discussion
The biggest life decisions Kaye and I have made, including the last two times we have transitioned to new roles and moved, have happened on our annual getaway. Some decisions take lots of time and processing, and time away provides the time for that wrestling.
4. Fun together
During a normal week, it is possible to not have much fun together. A couple can make decisions together, raise kids together, and grow together without having much fun together. But we want to have fun together. Time away has given us many opportunities to do so. Exploring new places, new restaurants, and trying some new adventures is a ton of fun for us.
5. Memories
Spending time away together has given us a large cache of memories, of times we can look back on and tell our kid about, of times we can remind each other about. Having those times have provided great discussions with each other and our kids.
Is it easy to get away together? No! With kids it takes even more planning and coordination. This year Kaye flew our kids to my folks house and then flew back home before our getaway.
Is it costly? Yes. It does not have to be expensive, but it does cost money to get away. But an investment in your marriage is a wise investment. A healthy marriagegives a beautiful picture of God’s gracious love to His people. A healthy marriage is a gift to your kids. A healthy marriage provides encouragement for you.
This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.
Recently, I’ve had several questions sent my way on the practicality of having all ages in communal worship together with adults. While some of the questions pertained to older generations participating in church, most of them were focused on the challenge of having children in the church service.
But after conversing for a bit, it was evident that no one needed to be convinced that children should be there at some point (that reconciled fairly quickly after some theological, developmental, and sociological evidences of the benefits of intergenerational worship); the bigger felt need was just for some practical and simple ways to make it possible for children to be integrated into the service.
Our traditional service structures often make it difficult to extend the hand of welcome to the next generation and it can be difficult to maneuver within those confines and find ways of incorporating all generations.
With that in mind, here are some practical tips and tools for Intergenerational Worship Services that might be useful for your faith community. I’ve shared these in the past and have had a lot of great feedback from multiple churches and denominations. I’d love to hear what your church is doing to make room for all ages to find a space to worship together.
1. Kid’s Worship Team – Let’s redefine worship as more than singing before the sermon. Worship seeks to put the attention on God and give Him the honor that is due. And kids are amazing at doing this. A Kid’s Worship Team doesn’t necessary lead “singing” but they worship through hospitality (holding doors, handing out bulletins, etc), prayer (they go forward during prayer time and pray for themselves and others) and generosity (they take up the communion and pray over it).
For our team, the kids followed a weekly schedule, just like the adult worship team, and if they missed their Sunday, they had to get someone to take their spot. They also had to go through a training on worship with me before they could serve.
2. Sermon Notes – There are a lot of great templates out there for sermon notes and for older kids, it’s a great way to keep them involved with the service. In one church, if a child completed their sermon notes, they could get something out of a treasure box and the completed form was given back to their parents so the parents could have a follow-up conversation with their kids at home.
3. Call Out the Kids – Kids love to get attention and they love when they get to be drawn into “adult” things like the sermon. We often asked whoever was speaking to at some point in the sermon just say something like, “Hey kids, have you ever seen this?” or something else that would be appropriate to the text to help draw the kids into the story. It’s amazing how just that little comment really drew them in and helped redirect their attention to the service.
4. Interactive Teaching and Learning – Anything interactive is great! One of the ways our current church engages the kids is if there is a topic that involves a story from the Bible, the pastor will have the kids help act out the story. Everyone loves it—it’s spontaneous so things definitely go wrong, but the whole congregation gets involved and no one forgets the Scripture we studied that week.
5. Busy Bags – Busy bags get a bad rap, mostly because people don’t understand the developmental science behind them. Have “busy bags” but explain to parents and other church members that these activities aren’t intended to distract the kids but rather to help the kids use all of their developing senses; studies show if their hands and eyes are busy, their ears will be listening.
Quiet activities like lacing cards, stickers scenes, foam craft kits, beads and pipe cleaners, small puzzles and coloring are all great ways to engage your kinesthetic and visual learners.
Joby Martin joins “The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast” to discuss what happens when a church leader has truly been run over by the “grace train" and understands the profound love and grace of God.
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