Al Mohler Explains to a Podcast Listener How Baptism Doesn’t Bring Salvation

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March 25, 2022

briefing_Mohler — Al Mohler during "The Briefing" podcast. Screengrab via YouTube @Southern Seminary

This week, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Al Mohler took questions from listeners on his podcast “The Briefing.” One of the questions dealt with a listener’s mother, who is nearing the end of her life on this earth and believes she is saved because she was baptized as a teenager.

“My mom is now facing several health challenges and it looks as if her time on earth is short,” the listener wrote, expressing concern that his mother had placed her sense of eternal security in the ordinance itself. “Is she really going to hell because she thinks that one must also be baptized to go to heaven?”

Mohler answered, “No. No one’s going to hell for that.” The theologian then pointed out the fact that “theologically and biblically, just remember we go to hell as God’s just verdict on our sin, unless God’s just verdict on our sin falls on Christ rather than on ourselves.” Mohler explained that salvation comes through the substitutionary atonement which was achieved by Christ on the cross.

Salvation can only come from those who faithfully confess that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior and repent of their sins, Mohler shared.

Baptism is what takes place in a believers life after they decide to give their life to Christ and follow Him. Mohler explained, “Baptism itself is not the saving work.” It doesn’t regenerate and if someone places confidence in it doing so, it is “misplaced confidence.”

Jesus is the only thing a believer places their confidence in—”our understanding is that salvation comes by Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone,” he answered.

Mohler encouraged the listener to share the gospel with his mother in order to make sure she understands that baptism alone does not bring anyone salvation. “Bear witness to Christ to your mom and do everything you know to just repeat over and over again and emphasize in every way you know that salvation comes to those whose faith is in Christ,” Mohler concluded, “not whose faith is in baptism.”

Transgender Sports Ban Veto Likely To Be Overridden in Utah

By

Lindsay Whitehurst and Sam Metz

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March 25, 2022

Transgender Sports Ban Veto Likely to Be Overridden in Utah — FILE - Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during an interview at the Utah State Capitol, Friday, March 4, 2022, in Salt Lake City. Cox vetoed a ban on transgender students playing girls’ sports on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, becoming the second Republican governor to overrule state lawmakers who have taken on youth sports in a broader culture war over how Americans view gender and sexuality. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer ,File)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah’s Republican lawmakers were preparing for a Friday push to override Gov. Spencer Cox’s veto of legislation banning transgender youth athletes from playing on girls teams, a move that comes amid a brewing nationwide culture war over transgender issues.

Cox was the second GOP governor this week to overrule state lawmakers on a sports-participation ban, and his veto letter drew national attention with a poignant argument that such laws target vulnerable kids who already have high rates of suicide attempts. But 11 states have enacted similar bans, and they are a key topic for the party’s vocal conservative base.

In Utah, there are also fears that the law’s passage could scuttle the NBA All-Star game set for February 2023 in Salt Lake City. The owner of the Utah Jazz, tech entrepreneur Ryan Smith, tweeted: “The bill rushed, flawed and won’t hold up over time. I’m hopeful we can find a better way.”

The team is also partially owned by NBA all-star Dwyane Wade, who has a transgender daughter. NBA spokesman Mike Bass has said the league is “working closely” with the Jazz on the matter.

Leaders in the deeply conservative Legislature, though, say they need to pass the law to protect women’s sports. As cultural shifts raise LGBTQ visibility, the lawmakers argue that transgender athletes can have a physical advantage and could eventually dominate the field and change the nature of women’s sports.

Utah has only one transgender girl playing in K-12 sports who would be affected by the ban. There have been no allegations of any of the four transgender youth athletes in Utah having a competitive advantage.

A majority of the residents — and lawmakers — are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in what has historically been among the nation’s most conservative states. But an influx of new residents and technology companies coupled with the growing influence of the tourism industry often sets the stage for heated debate over social issues.

Friday’s deliberations come after more than a year of debate and negotiation between social conservatives and LGBTQ advocates over how to regulate transgender participation in school sports. A year ago, lawmakers scuttled a proposed ban amid concerns about lawsuits and pushback from Cox, who indicated he would veto the legislation if it landed on his desk.

The issue resurfaced when lawmakers reconvened earlier this year. Its primary sponsor, Republican Rep. Kera Birkeland, worked with Cox and civil rights activists at Equality Utah before introducing legislation that would require transgender student-athletes to go before a government-appointed commission, which would evaluate whether their participation would distort level playing fields.

Duo Kenny and Claire Reimagine Hymns That Helped Guide Them Through Trials

By

Timothy Cockes

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March 25, 2022

NASHVILLE (BP) – Music duo Kenny and Claire has spent the last several years modernizing and rewriting classic hymns as a way to reintroduce them to the Church.

Yet for the married couple, their own musical journey is deeply connected to how these hymns helped them through times of deep suffering.

Kenny and Claire Hilliard met in college at North Greenville University, where they quickly bonded over their love of music. Soon, they were writing music and traveling to various events to play together.

Kenny Hilliard said music was almost foundational for the couple’s relationship.

“We both grew up with music as essential to who we are and what we do,” he said. “Our personalities already went together so well, so when we started playing music together it was just natural. Music is one of the ties that binds us together.”

The two married in 2008 and have three children. Kenny enrolled in Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., with a plan to get some education before moving to Nashville to pursue music. But he ended up accepting a position as a pastor of a church in Wake Forest in 2014 while working on a Ph.D.

All of their plans came to a halt when Hilliard was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor on New Year’s Eve in 2015. At the time, the couple’s third child was a newborn. Hilliard described the doctor’s diagnosis as essentially saying “good luck.”

After a long and thorough search, the couple found a doctor confident that he could successfully remove the tumor, but there were no guarantees.

“For me the hardest moment was when I held our youngest child before they took me back for surgery, and there were no guarantees that I would come out, or that I would come out unchanged,” Hilliard said. “I was trusting that the Lord would either bring me through or bring me home.”

The doctor was able to successfully remove the brain tumor, but the family’s health complications were just beginning.

Hilliard already suffered from an auto-immune disorder called Elhers-Danlos syndrome, which causes a variety of difficult symptoms.

The surgery was successful in removing the tumor, but made the symptoms from Hilliard’s auto-immune disease get much worse. The effects of the disease eventually became so bad that Hilliard had to step down from his pastoral position.

A few years later the couple decided to move to Nashville, taking local jobs that were less physically demanding while teaching music students on the side. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, both Kenny and Claire lost their jobs and did not expect to get hired back.

The music teaching business they had started became their main focus, allowing them more time to work on their own music. They soon began taking classic hymns that had been a source of encouragement to them during hard times and rewriting and modernizing them for a modern audience.

“The things that would come to us during the dark times would be the lyrics from different old hymns that we knew,” Hilliard said. “They took on new meaning to me when I was walking through fear of dying, and a very invasive brain surgery. They brought things into perspective.”

The couple would release an EP titled “Are You Weary” in 2021, which contains several modernized and rewritten hymns including “Approach My Soul,” and “For the Beauty.”

Arizona Legislature Approves 15-Week Abortion Ban

By

Bob Christie

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March 25, 2022

Abortion Ban — FILE - A number of Arizona reproductive health, rights, and justice advocates protest an abortion bill at the Arizona Capitol on Monday, April 26, 2021, in Phoenix. The Arizona Legislature has approved a ban on abortion after 15 weeks. The House approved the measure Thursday, March 24, 2022, a month after the Senate gave its ok, and it now heads to Republican Gov. Doug Ducey for his expected signature. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Legislature on Thursday joined the growing list of Republican-led states to pass aggressive anti-abortion legislation as the conservative U.S. Supreme Court is considering ratcheting back abortion rights that have been in place for nearly 50 years.

The House voted on party lines to outlaw abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, mirroring a Mississippi law now being considered by the nation’s high court.

The bill explicitly says it does not overrule a state law in place for more than 100 years that would ban abortion outright if the Supreme Court overrules Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that enshrined the right to abortion in law.

The bill now goes to Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, an abortion opponent who has signed every piece of anti-abortion legislation that has reached his desk since he took office in 2015.

Florida lawmakers passed a similar 15-week abortion ban early this month that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign. A bill in West Virginia failed to pass the state Senate by the time its legislative session ended earlier this month after passing the House.

An Arizona proposal that would outlaw abortion after about six weeks has not advanced. A bill enacted in Texas last year allows private citizens to enforce the ban, and the Supreme Court refused to block it. Idaho’s governor signed a copycat bill this week. Those measures are unique in that they allow private citizens to file civil lawsuits against anyone who helps someone else get an abortion after six weeks. It has made legal challenges difficult because the government is not involved in enforcement.

The Arizona 15-week abortion ban bill contains no exceptions for rape or incest or for a medical emergency. It would also bar abortions for families that learn in pregnancy later on that a fetus is not viable.

The measure was pushed by the Center for Arizona Policy, a prominent social conservative group that pushes religious freedom, anti-abortion and parental rights bills that wields great power among Republican lawmakers.

Democrats criticized what they called GOP lawmakers’ disconnect between opposing abortion and refusing to provide more funding for the poor and uninsured.

Rep. Lorenzo Sierra, a Catholic from Cashion, said he was strongly in favor of abortion rights and called the abortion ban politically motivated and “dangerous to the women in our lives.”

“I wish we had the same fervency for the living as we do for issues like this. That we would offer the loving dignity, education, shelter, nourishment,” Sierra said. “Instead we’re doing this, and we’re getting in between a woman, her doctor and her God.”

Republican backers said little during the floor debate.

Minority Democrats have said the measure is unconstitutional and that any ban would disproportionally impact poor and minority women who won’t be able to travel to states without strict abortion laws.

But Sen. Nancy Barto, the Republican sponsor of the bill, has said she hopes the high court upholds Mississippi’s law banning abortion after 15 weeks.

“The state has an obligation to protect life, and that is what this bill is about,” Barto said during Senate debate last month.

The debate and vote on the 15-week abortion ban came the same morning that the House also passed a ban on transgender girls from playing on the high school or college sports team that aligns with their gender identity. The House voted Thursday to approved a bill banning gender reassignment surgery for anyone younger than 18. Both passed with no Democratic support.

Arizona already has some of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws, including one that would automatically outlaw it if the high court fully overturns Roe.

Republicans hope to put the 15-week ban in place so it takes effect quickly if the Supreme Court further limits abortion rights but stops short of fully overturning Roe. The measure closely mirrors the Mississippi law.

Under current abortion rulings, abortion is legal until the point a fetus can survive outside the womb, which is usually around 24 weeks.

Barto’s bill would make it a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion after 15 weeks but would prohibit the prosecution of pregnant people for receiving one. Doctors could face felony charges and lose their license to practice medicine. There is an exception for cases when the mother is at risk of death or serious permanent injury, but not for instances of rape or incest.

Of the 13,186 abortions performed in Arizona in 2020, 636 were after 15 weeks of pregnancy, according to the latest data from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

This article originally appeared here.

Pope Francis and Kirill Could Meet, Vatican-Orthodox Relations Expert Says

By

Claire Giangrave

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March 25, 2022

patriarch kirill — Pope Francis walks with his pastoral staff among Cardinals and prelates wearing FFP2 masks at the end of an Epiphany mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — War in Ukraine might have set back the clock on Vatican relations with the Russian Orthodox Church, but according to one expert on Catholic relations with Eastern churches a meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, originally planned for June is not yet off the table.

Since Russia invaded its neighbor on Feb. 21, Francis has strongly urged an end to the fighting, but he has not blamed Russian Vladimir Putin for the war, nor named Russia as the aggressor. The Vatican has remained above the conflict and has not taken an official position on whether Ukraine should join NATO and the European Union, become part of Russia or be an independent state.

In his speeches and sermons Francis has “never spoke clearly about Ukraine or Russia, he never even mentioned the Ukrainian Catholics,” said the Rev. Stefano Caprio, who teaches Russian history and culture at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome and served as a missionary in Russia between 1989 and 2002.

Nor did the Vatican release a statement after Francis spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday (March 22), as it did after his video call a week earlier with Kirill.

Francis’ dovish approach may also be explained in part by “the usual Ostpolitik,” Caprio explained, referring to the West’s Cold War foreign policy toward the Soviet bloc, “where doors are kept open to the enemy.”

But the Vatican “must be very careful,” he said, that Francis’ overture to Kirill is not interpreted as supportive of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to Caprio, Francis and Kirill are juggling relations with multiple political and religious actors. While their views of the conflict in Ukraine may seem at odds, the two religious leaders are attempting to court all sides in the conflict, and a meeting between the two in Kyiv would crown centuries-old ecumenical efforts, Caprio said.

The pope and the patriarch were scheduled to meet this summer in neutral territory until the crisis pushed back the date indefinitely. According to Caprio, the March 16 call between Francis and Kirill, who both had mediators present, “showed that the meeting, if it could not happen as scheduled in Canada this June, has already begun.”

Caprio said Kirill’s meetings with both Francis and the Church of England’s Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, soon after giving a fiery sermon against Western ideology justifying Putin’s holy war in Ukraine show that while the patriarch must support Russia’s military intentions, “he doesn’t want to break relations with the world.”

Kirill has mastered the art of “jumping from one side of the river to the other,” the priest added, “not unlike Pope Francis.”

In 2016, Francis and Kirill became the first heads of their respective churches to meet in person in 1,000 years when they sat down to talk at the airport in Havana. Together they signed a joint declaration, which among other topics addressed growing tensions in Ukraine.

$100 Million Media Campaign Depicts Human Side of Jesus in Outreach to Skeptics

By

Adelle M Banks

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March 25, 2022

(RNS) — A $100 million media campaign is attempting to attract people who are skeptical about Christianity but may relate to Jesus by highlighting his upbringing as a homeless, bullied son of a teenage mother.

The “He Gets Us” campaign, which launched in mid-March, is an initiative of The Signatry, a Christian foundation based in Kansas that is channeling more than $100 million in funding from what it describes as “like-minded families who desire to see the Jesus of the Bible represented in today’s culture with the same relevance and impact He had 2000 years ago.”

The Signatry has bought time for its advertisements on broadcasts of the NCAA’s popular March Madness basketball tournament as part of a blitz on TV, radio, billboard and social media.

Jason Vanderground, president of Haven, a creative hub based in Michigan that is working with The Signatry on the project, said the initiative is based on broad research.

“We talked to thousands of people who, while of course they have heard of Jesus, they don’t know the full extent of His ministry,” he said in a statement to Religion News Service. “We see a light go on for them when they begin to recognize that Jesus was fully human — and that carries them forward in being able to take in and understand that He was fully God, too.”

In a 15-second spot called “Anxiety,” black-and-white photos show people in despair, hands to their heads, before the words “Jesus suffered anxiety, too” appear on the screen. On YouTube, viewers are told in the video’s memo field: “Yet, despite this total failure to quell his anxiety, Jesus found the strength to face his accusers and submit to them willingly and without violence — knowing that his death would only further spread his message of radical love.”

He Gets Us social media posts. Courtesy images

The campaign’s website, offering alternatives to an “increasingly divisive and mean-spirited world,” gives visitors the option to chat online, to text to ask for a volunteer to “pray encouragement for you” or access a seven-day Bible reading plan. Gloo, the Colorado-based technology partner for the campaign, is training the volunteers who connect with those seeking to chat or receive prayer.

The Signatry, also known as Servant Foundation, defines itself as existing “to inspire and facilitate revolutionary, biblical generosity.” It reported gross receipts of more than $658 million on a 2020 tax form. In 2018, it reported having more than $1 billion in contributions.

Partners who have joined the initiative include the Luis Palau Association, the National Association of Evangelicals and Christianity Today magazine.

“I was grateful that the campaign is not designed to recruit for any particular church or denomination, but to simply encourage folks to explore faith in Jesus,” said Kevin Palau, president of the evangelistic association founded by his father, in a statement to RNS. “I think the ads themselves will provide the spark for a lot of interesting spiritual conversations, and that’s a good thing.”

Ed Stetzer. Courtesy photo

Last Friday (March 18), Ed Stetzer, a missiologist and board member of the National Association of Evangelicals, led an online briefing about the campaign to encourage participation from other faith leaders.

“We want people to be talking about Jesus and the gospel, and Christians having the opportunity to start conversations with people who’ve seen ads,” said Stetzer, who also is the executive director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College in Illinois.

“At a time when everyone seems to want to talk about everything but evangelism, this is going to be a kind of tool that helps us.”

The campaign was previewed for two months in 10 U.S. markets and drew more than 30 million YouTube views, more than 10 million prime-time TV ad views and 95 million outdoor impressions, according to its organizers. In addition, it said 10,000 people signed up for YouVersion Bible reading plans, 3,000 participated in live chat conversations and 1,000 made prayer requests.

High Court Ruling for Texas Inmate Praised

By

Tom Strode

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March 25, 2022

WASHINGTON (BP) – Southern Baptists at national, state and local levels commended the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday (March 24) in support of a condemned Texas inmate’s request to have his pastor lay hands on and pray aloud for him when he receives a lethal injection.

In an 8-1 opinion, the high court said John Ramirez, who was convicted of a 2004 murder, “is likely to succeed in showing [the state’s] policy substantially burdens his exercise of religion.” Ramirez had sued Texas prison officials for refusing to permit Dana Moore, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Corpus Christi, to minister to him as requested when he is executed.

With only Associate Justice Clarence Thomas dissenting, the Supreme Court reversed a decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans and returned the case to federal court. That court should issue an injunction requiring the state to grant Ramirez’s request if prison officials continue to refuse to allow Moore to touch and pray audibly for him at a rescheduled execution, the high court said in its opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts.

“This is a significant affirmation of religious liberty,” said Brent Leatherwood, acting president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). “The Supreme Court affirmed that religious freedom does not end at the execution chamber door.

“In the majority opinion, the court provided significant guidance about how this case should be handled moving forward,” Leatherwood said in an ERLC news release. “The state of Texas should accommodate Mr. Ramirez’s sincere requests based on his religious beliefs and allow Pastor Moore … to minister to Mr. Ramirez in his final solemn moments of life.”

Tony Wolfe, associate executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, called the decision “a win for religious liberty.”

“Baptists have long confessed their conviction toward ‘full freedom in the pursuit of spiritual ends,’ noting that such religious liberty ‘implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men’ (The Baptist Faith and Message 2000, the SBC’s confession of faith),” he said in written remarks.

“Even those among us who are convicted of the most heinous of crimes are to be cared for and ministered to by religious officials at their request and upon the church’s agreement,” Wolfe said. “A pastor’s presence and spiritual ministry at the moment of death [are] among the most solemn of ministerial occasions.”

Moore told Baptist Press, “It is a blessing that if John does receive a date and if he is executed, that at least I’ll be able to hold his hand [or otherwise touch him] and pray” with him.

It also is a blessing “from the precedent that we can practice our faith, even in the death chamber,” he said. “[A]s a Baptist, that’s important, to be able to practice our faith where and when we need to be allowed to do so. There’s nothing compelling to keep us from doing that, even in the death chamber.”

Though, Moore said, “the downside is this opens up the opportunity” for him to receive a new date for execution.

Don’t Get Through Your Singleness; Leverage It

By

J.D. Greear

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March 25, 2022

Those whom God has called to singleness — whether for a season or for their whole life—he will supply with all the necessary graces to live a happy and fulfilled life in it.

When Jesus taught about singleness in Matthew 19, he concluded by saying, “Let the one who is able to receive this receive it” (Matthew 19:12 ESV). The Greek “receive” is chōreō. It means “to make room” for something. Far too many unmarried believers are simply trying to get through singleness, rather than making room for what God will do through that singleness.

If God has called you to singleness, then he wants you to clear a path and make room for it in your life. Here are a few ways to do that.

1. Devote yourself to God.

Whether you’re married or not, you need God’s grace to make it, so look first to your relationship with the Lord. When the vertical is right, God gives the horizontal supply. When our relationship with God is broken, our earthly relationships will always suffer.

Now, I want to be clear about what this doesn’t mean: I’m not saying (as far too many Christian leaders sadly do) that God rewards all the faithful single people with spouses. Not only does life itself refute this careless thesis, but it also disparages those who aren’t married. So hear me: Singleness is not God’s punishment, nor is marriage God’s reward.

What I am saying is that God has given each of us everything we need for today, if we devote ourselves to him. Some of you may not like your singleness. Be honest with God about it. But remember that God means to use your circumstance, above all, to produce a love for Christ in you.

2. Lean into your forever family.

You need the church, and they need you. So get involved. Get to know people personally (and not just other singles). Invest in the younger people in your church. Find your place in ministry.

Your married friends have a key responsibility in this, too. For instance, we need to see our single friends as God’s treasures and not as projects we need to fix. (If you’re single, you know what I mean. If you’re married, stop it.)

We must also be aware that the particular calling of singleness has some of its own challenges. The more we recognize that, the more we can love single people well. This might look like inviting them into our everyday lives or to join our families for key moments (like vacations or holidays), especially if their extended families are unhealthy or far away.

3. Use this time to build your identity in Jesus.

Again, this is true for married people and single people. (Are you sensing a theme yet?) And it’s a wise approach whether you intend to get married or not. But I’d wager this is particularly needed if you ever plan to get married. Instead of obsessing about finding who is right for you, focus on becoming the person God has created you to be. As one pastor says, “Become the person that the person you are looking for is looking for.”

Does this guarantee that God will send you that perfect partner? Nope. But if God has marriage in your future, you’ll be glad your identity is bedrock solid on Jesus. Your spouse will thank you, too. And if you never marry, you’ll need this identity anyway.

Don’t wait for a future spouse to give you an identity. Build that identity on Christ today.

4. Leverage your singleness for all it is worth.

Don’t waste what makes singleness unique. You have more disposable time and (often) more disposable money than a family with young children. But your time and money aren’t yours; they’re things God has entrusted to you to use for his mission. If you have more of them, you have more flexibility to serve God and others. So don’t waste that chance.

We need a generation of singles in the church to rise up with the compassion of Jesus in their hearts, who will use both the advantages and the difficulties afforded by their singleness to open up their hands and hearts to the needs of the world.

Now is the time to make disciples for eternity. You may not know when or if you’ll get married and start a biological family, but you can invest in God’s forever family now—and that’s a decision you will never regret.

This article originally appeared here.

Bible Study on Crowns: Explore This Scriptural Theme With Teens

By

Josh Evans

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March 24, 2022

Rewards are a theme throughout Scripture. Numerous Bible verses mention crowns that faithful saints will receive. Throughout this Bible study on crowns, young people will discover God’s important promises. We receive some of these spiritual rewards here on earth and others someday in heaven.

For this Bible study on crowns, let’s look at 5 different crowns in Scripture.

A Bible Study on Crowns: 5 Scriptural References

1. The Incorruptible Crown – 1 Corinthians 9:19-27

Paul challenges the church about the Gospel and discovering their purpose on earth. He says his main goal was to share the Gospel. He would change his methods and approach, but the Gospel never changes. Paul mentions a reward or crown that Jesus will give out in heaven.

We will receive this crown at the judgment seat of Christ. The crown is imperishable and will last forever. Achieving this crown requires a great deal of dedication.

A sports team must be dedicated to excel. They must be in shape and practice. They must eat and drink right and have good character and attitude. Dedication is required. You are playing for the championship, and the end result is to win!

Paul is telling the church at Corinth they must play for the highest goal, which is eternity! We are not in this just for today or to feel good today. We’re in it for eternity. Therefore, we must discipline ourselves to put aside things that could hinder our future glorification.

Hebrews 12:1 says, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”

How disciplined are you as a believer?

2. The Crown of Rejoicing – 1 Thessalonians 2:19

Only two things will last forever: God’s Word and the souls of men! This crown and reward are for those who are faithful in sharing the Gospel with the world.

God holds you accountable for faithfully sharing His gospel!

Mark 1:17 says, “And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.”

You must go fishing to catch fish. And you must go soul-winning to be a soul winner.

Bobbie Houston Responds to Husband’s Resignation; Houston’s Daughter Says She Loves Her Father

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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March 24, 2022

houstons_bobbie_brian — Screengrab via Instagram @bobbiehouston

Bobbie Houston, the wife of Hillsong Church’s former Global Senior Pastor, Brian Houston, briefly commented about her husband’s resignation on Instagram.

Brian’s wife has stood by his side for over 45-years, and his resignation from Hillsong Church this week after the board found that he “breached the Hillsong Pastor’s Code of Conduct” won’t change that.

“I’m okay. It’s been a very cruel week,” Bobbie said. “But I will forever stand alongside the man I have loved and walked with for 45 years. I know his nature and character and integrity more than anyone.”

It is still unclear whether Bobbie will remain Hillsong Church’s Global Senior Pastor and carry that title alone, something they once carried together. Meanwhile, lead pastors of Hillsong Africa, Phil and Lucinda Dooley, were named Interim Global Senior Pastors in January when Brian announced he was taking the entire year of 2022 off to focus on his upcoming trial for charges brought against him, which involved him allegedly concealing information regarding his late father’s child sex offenses.

Their daughter, Laura Toggs, who serves as a pastor for Hillsong Church’s youth ministry alongside her husband, posted a message on Instagram after Hillsong Church’s board released their statement regarding her father’s inappropriate behavior towards two women.

Toggs posted an image of her daughter next to a coffee mural and wrote, “When you have a platform people grow from your suffering, because with a platform you suffer out loud. When you grieve, you grieve in front of everybody, when you hurt, you hurt in front of everybody. And there is no place to hide…and everyone inspects your wounds.”

“When you LOVE much, you grieve much, and there is no simple way around it,” Toggs wrote. “If we can be constantly humiliated publicly, then I am tempted to express my crushing pain publicly. But today, yet again, I choose to lay my deep anguish at the feet of Jesus, my Jesus who treasures my tears and will eventually heal this wounded spirit.”

Houston’s daughter shared that she chooses “deep compassion” for all the pain because Jesus is our healer. Toggs said she chooses coffee, her baby girl, her mom, a couple of her true friends, her brothers, and her “darling” husband.

Toggs’ said that she texted her father, “I love you,” a thousand times—like she’s done in the past. She also called her mom the “bravest of the brave.”

Taking the high road is exhausting, Toggs explained, but said that’s what she’s choosing. “[I will] keep my heart with utmost gentleness & humility & grace. Love I choose,” she wrote.

Liberty University’s William Byron Wins ‘Wild’ NASCAR Race in Atlanta

By

Stephanie Martin

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March 24, 2022

Driving a car sponsored by his school, Liberty University student William Byron claimed victory Sunday at the Folds of Honor Quiktrip 500 in Atlanta. Byron, 24, drives the No. 24 car, emblazoned with the word “Liberty.” The win was the third for the junior, who’s enrolled in Liberty’s online program and studying strategic communication.

It also marks another high-profile sports accomplishment for the university. Liberty quarterback Malik Willis, a top NFL draft prospect, continues to impress football scouts.

William Byron: ‘Crazy’ Race Was Exciting but Exhausting

Sunday’s race at the newly remodeled Atlanta Motor Speedway was a nail-biter, with 46 lead changes, plus collisions that involved 28 cars. On the final lap, a crash took place just behind William Byron’s vehicle.

“Pretty wild,” the driver said afterward. “I’m out of breath. It was crazy.” Byron praised his crew for making several last-minute adjustments to the Liberty-sponsored car. Although the race was “mentally taxing,” he said it was “super exciting” to get the checkered flag. Rick Fugle, crew chief for Byron’s car, said, “It’s tough to be the leader. We just had a lot of things go right for us.”

Byron has indicated he’s proud to represent “an institution like Liberty,” an evangelical Christian school in Lynchburg, Va. “They inspire a lot of people my age to pursue their passions,” he said last fall, “and I look forward to continuing to represent them on and off the racetrack.” Byron, named Sunoco Rookie of the Year in 2018, races next on April 3 and again on April 17, Easter Sunday.

Liberty has supported Byron’s racing efforts since 2014. Last year, the school entered a five-year sponsorship agreement with Hendrick Motorsports. The deal secures Liberty’s role as primary sponsor in 12 NASCAR Cup races every year through 2026.

University president Jerry Prevo says the school is “honored to partner with and support Hendrick Motorsports,” adding that “the partnership will benefit our students…in many ways.”

Jerry Falwell Jr. Celebrates NASCAR Victory, Liberty Success

On Twitter Sunday, former Liberty president Jerry Falwell Jr. congratulated Byron and the Hendrick team. “Many thought it was a long shot when I @LibertyU decided to sponsor @WilliamByron as a teenager in @NASCAR but he soon partnered with @TeamHendrick and the rest is history!” he wrote. “The big risk is bearing fruit beyond belief now.”

A sex scandal that led to Falwell’s resignation from Liberty in 2020 involved a racy photo taken aboard a boat owned by Hendrick Motorsports founder Rick Hendrick (who wasn’t present at the time). Subsequent allegations about Liberty mishandling other sex abuse claims led some people to question Hendrick’s relationship with Liberty.

Best-Selling Author Randy Alcorn Shares His Wife Doesn’t ‘Have Much Time Left in This World’

By

Jesse T. Jackson

-

March 24, 2022

Founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries, former pastor, best-selling author, and ChurchLeaders.com contributor, Randy Alcorn, announced some heartbreaking news regarding his wife Nanci on Monday.

Alcorn asked his 65,000 followers on Twitter to pray for his wife, who was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2018 and found out in 2019 it had spread to her lungs, because Nanci told him that she feels her time on earth is nearing to an end.

Alcorn shared that his two daughters, Karina and Angela, along with their families (the Alcorns have five grandchildren) were gathering at the house to spend time with their mother.

“If Nanci is right that not much time remains, then this will likely be the final gathering IN THIS WORLD of our tribe of 11,” Alcorn wrote. “Thankfully, eternal life transcends the grave. This world now under the Curse is a broken world waiting and longing to be redeemed (Romans 8).”

Alcorn said that Nanci is ready to be with Jesus, but before she leaves this earth, “she wanted, and of course I concur, to speak into the lives of our kids and especially our grandkids. I would deeply appreciate your prayers for her and for this unique and I suspect unforgettable family gathering.”

Nanci’s loving husband later thanked everyone who prayed for his family during their expect final gathering with their mother, grandmother, and wife, saying, “I seriously can’t imagine any family having a more Christ-centered sendoff and short-term goodbye of a loved one then we had. It was truly all I could’ve hoped for and prayed for.”

“Nanci heard words of deep love and respect from her children and grandchildren, sons-in-law, and husband,” Alcorn shared. “She spoke to us for maybe 15 or 20 minutes. It was remarkably clear, way longer than any period of time she has spoken with clarity since she was in the hospital.”

The time was emotional and will be something the entire family never forgets. Alcorn wrote that two of their grandsons said, “they would never forget this day,” as the others expressed mutual feelings. “Nanci’s desire was to have an eternal impact on the lives of her grandsons.”

Alcorn shared how weary his wife is and that the family is asking God to take her sooner than later while they trust and thank Him for every moment she remains with them on this earth.

“Thank you, King Jesus, for answering prayer in an even more powerful way than had you answered our prayer to cure her cancer. And we believe you will soon remove the cancer whenever you choose to take her home,” Alcorn said.

Alcorn expressed these comforting and powerful words in a journal entry after their family gathered with Nanci, what is a now a “temporary goodbye” will be followed by an “eternal reunion.”

Pastors’ Role in Education Funding Creates Uproar in Brazil

By

Diane Jeantet

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March 24, 2022

brazilian pastors — Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro looks at his cell phone as he arrives for a flag raising ceremony outside Alvorada palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, March 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Allegations that two evangelical pastors have used their influence with Brazil’s Education Ministry to steer federal funding to friends — and in at least one case seek a bribe — are causing a new election-year controversy for the government of President Jair Bolsonaro.

Major Brazilian news media published a series of stories and leaked audio recordings this week alleging that two pastors serving as unofficial advisers to the ministry were favoring municipalities run by their allies.

One of the pastors, the Rev. Arilton Moura, even asked for a kilogram of gold in addition to about $3,000 in exchange for funding of schools and nurseries, according to Mayor Gilberto Braga of the city of Luis Domingues, as quoted Wednesday by the newspaper Estado de S.Paulo.

The newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported this week that Education Minister Milton Ribeiro appeared to implicate Bolsonaro — who has tried to ally himself with evangelicals — in favoring the pastors by urging help for cities they back.

The newspaper posted a recording of Ribeiro telling several mayors that the government prioritized municipalities whose requests are backed by Moura and and the Rev. Gilmar Santos. Both pastors also attended the meeting, the newspaper reported.

“My priority is to first serve the municipalities that need it most and, secondly, to serve all those who are friends of Gilmar,” the voice identified as Ribeiro’s said in the recording. He added that this was “a special request of the president of the Republic.”

Neither the president’s press office nor the Education Ministry responded to requests for comment.

Ribeiro, himself a Presbyterian minister, acknowledged having met with the pastors and local mayors on several occasions and at the request of Bolsonaro, but he denied any wrongdoing in a Wednesday interview with CNN Brazil.

“I have neither the condition nor the competence to allocate anything because the criteria at the (ministry) are eminently technical,” Ribeiro said. “I may have sympathy for some pastor, or some mayor he brings along, but if he doesn’t reach that technical profile, nothing gets done.”

Ribeiro added that last year he asked the Office of the Comptroller General, the government’s anticorruption agency, to investigate possible malpractice inside the ministry.

The ministry did not respond to requests for contact information for the two pastors. Silva’s church in the state of Goias also did not respond to a request for comment and it was not immediately possible to locate Moura.

Disaster Relief Assessing Needs Following Texas, Louisiana Tornadoes

By

Scott Barkley

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March 24, 2022

JACKSBORO, Texas (BP) – Southern Baptist Disaster Relief assessment is currently taking place in several areas after tornadoes struck both rural and urban settings in the South, leaving two dead.

Northwest of Fort Worth, an EF-3 tornado caused heavy damage in the town of Jacksboro, Texas, including to the high school and elementary schools. No students were hurt, but Scottie Stice, Disaster Relief director for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, said a shower unit was to arrive in the town Wednesday (March 23), and a recovery unit had been activated. Live Oak Baptist Church will serve as the staging area.

Damage and needs are being ascertained in Round Rock, Elgin, Hutto, Taylor and the Texoma area, he added. In Gilmer, New Beginnings Baptist Church is hosting assessors and serving as a command post for recovery, shower units, generators and a bunk house. A shower unit has been requested by emergency management in Oregon City.

Texas Baptist Men of the Baptist General Convention of Texas deployed units to Jacksboro and Taylor this morning, with a team also serving in Gilmer, reported director David Wells in a Facebook post. Those responses come on the heels of assisting with wildfires near Eastland, which were put out by the storms.

Stan Statham, director for Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief, told Baptist Press that only one request for help came after a tornado struck Arabi, located in the east metro area of New Orleans. Celebration Church has requested supplies to feed those impacted, he said.

As for further dispatches, “We’ll know more by the end of the day,” he said.

Several tornadoes were reported around the Jackson, Miss., area, but most stayed in the air, said Mississippi Baptist coordinator Hubert Yates. Those that did touch down caused minor structural damage that resulted in no calls for Disaster Relief help.

Sam Porter, Send Relief national director for Disaster Relief, said the size of the storm system will require attention as it continues through the upper Midwest and Northeast.

“I’m proud of how Disaster Relief has responded so quickly,” he said. “They’re out there connecting with churches and Baptist associations, making a huge difference.”

This article originally appeared here.

Polish Catholic Community Houses Ukrainian Refugees as US Agencies Urge Action

By

Emily McFarlan Miller

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March 24, 2022

Ukrainian Refugees — Children from Ukraine sleep at a railway station in Przemysl, southeastern Poland, on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. More than 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the Feb. 24 invasion. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

(RNS) — Days after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, leaders of the Chemin Neuf Catholic Community outside Warsaw, Poland, got a call asking if it could take in a group of Ukrainian refugees.

The call came from a bus driver whose route usually took him between Warsaw and the Polish village of Mistow. But on that day he’d driven about 200 miles to Poland’s border with Ukraine, where nearly 2 million Ukrainians have arrived in recent weeks seeking safety from Russian attacks.

He had a bus full of Ukrainian women and children, he told the leaders of Chemin Neuf, and he wasn’t sure where else to go.

“For us it was really the Lord’s call to care for the least of these,” said the Rev. Marcin Borządek, who pastors Our Lady of Fatima, the small parish church the community leads in Mistow.

In a text message to Religion News Service, Borządek pointed to Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Matthew: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Since then, the Chemin Neuf Catholic Community has grown from one priest and two Catholic sisters to a household of 30, including 12 women and 15 children between the ages of 2 months and 15 years old.

Altogether the community house has sheltered as many as 50 people in the last few weeks, the priest said — Orthodox and Baptist, mothers and grandmothers whose husbands have stayed to fight, frightened children who arrived on a bus at 4 a.m. after 30 hours of travel.

The first child who came to them, Borządek said, was shoeless and offered him a piece of chocolate. He wept when he saw her.

The most recent joined them last week — a 15-year-old girl who is five months’ pregnant.

More than 3 million people total have fled the war in Ukraine into neighboring countries, according to the United Nations’ refugee agency, pouring over the borders of Poland, Romania, Moldova, Hungary and Slovakia. Many more need humanitarian assistance or have been displaced within Ukraine.

Ukrainian refugees share a meal at the the Chemin Neuf Catholic Community in Mistow, Poland. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Marcin Borządek

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, head of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, described it as the “fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War 2.”

Refugee resettlement agencies in the United States — many of them faith-based, like LIRS — are reaching out to help partners working in Ukraine and its neighboring countries. They’re also working to resettle Ukrainians who already had applied to reconnect with family in the U.S. under existing laws.

As the numbers increase, agency leaders are calling on the U.S. to do more.

“Countries beyond those neighboring nations — like Lithuania, Israel, the U.K. — are now accepting significant numbers of refugees, and I think that reflects an important growing dynamic, which is every nation able needs to play a part,” Vignarajah said.

“We certainly believe that the United States needs to continue to exercise its global humanitarian leadership.”

Krish O'Mara Vignarajah. Photo courtesy of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah. Photo courtesy of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service

LIRS is urging the U.S. to speed up efforts to rebuild its refugee resettlement system after years of cuts made by former President Donald Trump. That work already has begun: President Joe Biden has directed the U.S. to resettle as many as 125,000 refugees in the current fiscal year, though it had only resettled about 6,500 between November 2021 and the end of February 2022.

It also is recommending the U.S. expedite the process for Ukrainians who have applied for reunification with family through an existing program under the Lautenberg Amendment. Let them to come to the U.S. first, Vignarajah said, then finish their processing.

Former Missionary Robin Hadaway To Be Nominated for SBC President

By

Jonathan Howe

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March 24, 2022

Robin Hadaway — Photo courtesy of Baptist Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (BP) – Former International Mission Board missionary Wade Akins has announced he intends to nominate fellow former IMB missionary Robin Hadaway for SBC president at the upcoming 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim, Calif.

Hadaway becomes the third announced candidate for the office. Florida pastors Willy Rice and Tom Ascol have already been announced as candidates.

Hadaway began his ministry career pastoring churches in California and Arizona before serving with the IMB on the field in Africa and South America. While on the field, he was involved in church planting in Tanzania, starting churches among unreached peoples in Northern Africa and directing church planting efforts in Eastern South America. During his stint in South America, Hadaway served as a regional leader for the IMB leading more than 300 missionaries in the region.

“Robin Hadaway has a passion for missions, evangelism and church planting,” Akins told Baptist Press in a statement. “He believes thousands of Southern Baptists – men and women, pastors and laypersons – need to drop what they are doing and seek a career in home and foreign missions.”

Akins also said that, if elected, Hadaway would strive to “see 1,000 new WMU chapters started,” saying “WMU has the backs of our missionaries by providing what’s often lacking – prayer and financial support.”

Following his time with IMB, Hadaway spent nearly two decades at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary as a professor of missions and serving in a variety of administrative roles including interim president, dean of students, vice president for institutional initiatives, interim CFO and interim administrative vice president.

Prior to his call to ministry, Hadaway served four years in the U.S. Air Force as a pilot attaining the rank of captain, worked as military air traffic controller and finished his career as an administrative officer.

Hadaway is no stranger to service in the SBC having served on the 2000 SBC Credentials Committee, the 2005 and 2006 SBC Resolutions Committees, the 1981 Local Arrangements Committee and the planning committee for the 1984 Baptist World Alliance meeting in Los Angeles.

Hadaway and his wife, Kathy, returned to California after he retired from residential teaching a year ago. He now serves as MBTS’ senior professor of missions and resides in Oceanside, Calif. The Hadaways are currently members of New Song Community Church in Oceanside. According to its Annual Church Profile statistics, New Song reported 26 baptisms in 2021, undesignated receipts of $1,648,176.96 and giving through the Cooperative Program of $16,750.02 (1.02 percent of undesignated receipts).

Hadaway is a graduate of the University of Memphis, has an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and D.Min. from Gateway Seminary as well as a D.Th. from the University of South Africa. He and Kathy have three children and two grandchildren.

This article originally appeared at Baptist Press.

These 5 Clergywomen Found Each Other 12 Years Ago. They Still Text Every Day.

By

Yonat Shimron

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March 24, 2022

clergywomen — Kristin Adkins Whitesides, from left, Leah Davis, Theresa Thames, Jenny Cannon and Kate Payton pose together. Courtesy photo

(RNS) — Twelve years ago a group of young church leaders flew to Florida to observe ministry at a church there. Five women from the larger group arrived early at the Fort Lauderdale airport. They rented a car, drove to Miami for dinner and began to talk.

They haven’t stopped since.

The five, two Baptists and three Methodists, didn’t plan on forming a clergy circle. They were all Lewis Fellows at Wesley Theological Seminary, eager to develop their leadership skills and ready to break the proverbial glass ceiling at their respective congregations.

As women in a male-dominated profession, they recognized the need to find support — and sisterhood — if they were going to make it in ministry.

“I have friends from a lot of different areas of my life,” said the Rev. Kristin Adkins Whitesides, one of the women, now pastor of First Baptist Church in Winchester, Virginia. “But few of them understand what it means to be a pastor. This group is so important because they get it. We don’t have to explain the challenges of this calling.”

The others who came together that day in Florida are the Rev. Theresa Thames, now associate dean of religious life at Princeton University and its chapel; the Revs. Kate Payton and Jenny Cannon, both United Methodist pastors in Minnesota; and the Rev. Leah Davis, pastor of a Virginia church affiliated with the Alliance of Baptists and the American Baptist Churches USA.

At a time when reports of clergy burnout and clergy misconduct are soaring, the five women have been able to forge a tight collegial bond to help them navigate challenges, avoid pitfalls and find joy and fulfillment in their calling.

They meet less frequently in person than they used to, and for the past two pandemic years have gathered monthly for a Zoom chat. But they communicate daily through a shared group text. Messages might be as weighty as insights about a Lenten sermon or as light as what top best accommodates a clip-on microphone.

Over the years, they have stood side by side at each others’ highs and lows. They’ve preached and served Communion at each other’s installation services, celebrated weddings, learned how to juggle motherhood and ministry and grieved a divorce.

“Each of us has experienced personal and vocational change,” said Cannon, pastor of Christ United Methodist Church in Rochester, Minnesota. “Having people really good at listening, and being heard and understood, is a wonderful thing. I haven’t felt isolated in ministry because I’ve had these folks in my life.”

Over the past month, their group text messages have ranged from sharing sermon ideas for Lent to heaping praise on a new book they were all reading (Cole Arthur Riley’s ”This Here Flesh”). In Zoom sessions and group texts, they’ve gone over scripts for how to let go of an office assistant who wasn’t working out and shared resources for explaining to a confirmation class the theological concept of “Imago Dei.”

Religious Exemptions for Foster Care, Adoption Agencies Challenged

By

Diana Chandler

-

March 24, 2022

WASHINGTON (BP) – Religious exemptions for Christian adoption and foster care agencies are still being challenged litigiously, despite favorable precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court and district courts, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) said March 22.

In the latest favorable ruling, Catholic Charities West Michigan won the right March 21 in a Michigan federal district court to operate according to its guiding religious principles without government punishment. At issue was the agency’s rejection of foster care placements in LGBTQ-led households.

The Michigan ruling followed the June, 2021, U.S. Supreme Court decision in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, when the High Court upheld religious protections for Catholic Social Services of Philadelphia.

Jeremiah Galus, an ADF attorney who helped represent Catholic Charities West Michigan, said the issue is still being tested in courts.

“There is ongoing litigation. ADF has ongoing litigation,” Galus said. “What the Supreme Court has said is that all Americans have the freedom to live according to their religious beliefs, and adoption and foster-care providers are no different.”

Southern Baptist ethicist Jason Thacker said the ongoing litigation is evidence of the need for continued advocacy.

“Given the crucial role the Fulton v. City of Philadelphia decision played in this settlement, it is a reminder that we must continue to articulate a pro-life ethic throughout the public square, including the legal sphere,” said Thacker, director of the Research Institute at the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. “Religious belief animates every aspect of one’s life and cannot be simply put aside on a whim as the state sought to do here.

“These beliefs should be seen as fueling the mission to serve the most vulnerable among us, not as a liability to be mitigated by the government – especially one that seeks to deny the created realities of marriage and the family.”

Galus referenced active ADF cases in New York and Tennessee.

“The state of New York is insisting that a private adoption provider who takes no money from the state, does not contract with the state, make child adoptive placements that violate its religious beliefs about marriage and the family,” Galus said of New York Family Services v. Poole.

New York “is of course arguing that their policy is different than the policy that the Supreme Court ruled on in Fulton, but we feel confident that in the end,” Galus said, “that the rights of that private adoption provider will be protected.

“And really, that’s a good result, not just for our first freedom – the free exercise of religion – but it’s a good result for children and families who are in the system.”

In Catholic Charities West Michigan v. the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, MDHHS agreed its regulation would violate the First Amendment rights of Catholic Charities, and also agreed to pay $250,000 to cover Catholic Charities’ legal fees. The Michigan case was very similar to Fulton v. Philadelphia.

“What the Supreme Court said is that the government cannot require a faith-based organization to violate its religious beliefs based on this generalized idea of nondiscrimination.

“The contracts and policies that were at issue in that case (Fulton v. Philadelphia) were purported to prohibit discrimination, but yet it allowed exemptions for a whole host of reasons,” Galus said. “Pretty much any reason the government wanted to give for granting an exemption to that policy, they could. Yet they refused to grant a religious exemption to Catholic Social Services, and that’s what the state of Michigan was doing with Catholic Charities West Michigan.”

The Michigan ruling was the second favorable ruling on the issue this year in Michigan federal court. In January, St. Vincent Catholic Charities won the right to continue to place children in families without approving same-sex couples as parents. The case was Buck v. Gordon.

In the active Tennessee case Galus referenced, Holston United Methodist Home v. Becerra, the agency challenges a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regulation that requires Holston to abandon its religious principles in adoptions or lose federal funding.

This article originally appeared at Baptist Press.

Gabe Lyons: Engage Culture and Reverse Negative Cultural Stereotypes

By

Andrew Hess

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March 24, 2022

Gabe Lyons is the founder of Q Ideas, an organization that trains Christians to think well and lead well in our culture. He’s the author of The Next Christians and the upcoming book Good Faith.

Key Questions:

How can leaders engage culture?

Why is it so hard for Christians to engage culture?

What are some perceptions people have of Christians?

How can pastors lead in these difficult conversations and engage culture?

Key Quotes:

“We are called to be a part of salt and light and engage culture, which means we have to be informed and aware of what’s happening in the world, what’s unjust that’s going forward, and what are the areas of our world that are broken and are in need of redemption. We have to believe that God wants to work through us to be a part of this process of making things new and demonstrating the power of the gospel to transform peoples’ lives in any situation, but also to transform society to see products of redemption start to give root and birth in our society.”

“What does it mean for us as Christians to come into that and say “How can we be a positive force for good and shine light on things that are going wonderfully, but also roll up our sleeves and work in these areas through the power of the Spirit, to be a part of what we think God would want to do to redeem these structures, to redeem these parts of culture?” So I think it’s been hard for a lot of Christians just to find places to do that well, to see it modeled well, but I think that’s changing, so that’s what we’re excited about with Q as well as with other events and people within the Christian community thinking about that well now and that’s been very exciting to see.”

“Americans actually want to find a way for most of us to get along. There’s a small number of people that live on sort of the polar edges of these discussions, and they love to polarize them, to create caricatures of the other side, but when we actually have a relationship, when we sit and listen to the other, to the person who’s different than us, coming from a different perspective, oftentimes we can find ways to get along despite some of this disagreement, and I think that’s an area the church can lead in. It’s a real opportunity for the days ahead.”

Mentioned in the Show:

Q Ideas

Q Commons

Gabe Lyons and Andrew Sullivan Share an Apology

Good Faith

ENgage Culture Around the Web:

Gabe Lyons and the Next Christians

Gabe Lyons on Twitter

Gabe Lyons on Facebook

Qideas.org

Hillsong Atlanta Pastor Sam Collier Announces Resignation, Cites Recent Scandals as Reason

By

Dale Chamberlain

-

March 23, 2022

Sam Collier Hillsong — Screengrab from YouTube.

Within a day of the announcement that Hillsong Church global senior pastor Brian Houston had resigned following the determination that he “breached the Hillsong Pastor’s Code of Conduct,” Sam Collier has announced his own resignation as lead pastor of Hillsong Atlanta.

Collier’s final Sunday will be this coming weekend, March 27.

“It is with great sadness that I inform you of my departure from Hillsong,” Collier said in a statement released on Instagram. “I have appreciated the Hillsong family and want to thank the Houstons for the love they have shown [my wife] Toni and me.”

Collier specifically stated that the reason for his departure from Hillsong was the recent scandals that have rocked the Australian headquartered international church, saying, “My greatest reason for stepping down as Pastor of Hillsong Atlanta is probably not a secret to any of you.”

“With all of the documentaries, scandals, articles, accusations and the church’s subsequent management of these attacks it’s become too difficult to lead and grow a young Church in this environment,” Collier wrote.

Expressing that the decision was difficult, Collier said, “I have no shame in admitting I cried like a baby moments after I informed the Hillsong global pastor of my departure. I truly love the Hillsong family and believe they will get through this storm and come out better than they were before.”

Collier said that he would share more details about the new church he will be launching on Easter Sunday, (April 17), a congregation that will be called “STORY CHURCH.”

Collier’s resignation from Hillsong is the latest in a series of blows the church has experienced in the last two years. In November of 2020, the influential Hillsong East Coast pastor Carl Lentz was fired after an extramarital affair.

In January of 2021, Hillsong Dallas pastor Reed Bogard was fired for misusing church funds for personal expenses. The church location shuttered its doors three months later in April 2021. Bogard is currently the subject of rape allegations.

In September of 2021, Brian Houston announced that he would step down from all global Hillsong boards to focus on defending himself against legal charges that he covered up his father’s child sex abuses. Houston maintains his innocence in the case.

In January of 2022, Houston announced he would step aside as global senior pastor for the remainder of 2022, with his resignation coming this week after it was revealed that he acted improperly toward women in two separate instances.

1. Devote yourself to God.

2. Lean into your forever family.

3. Use this time to build your identity in Jesus.

4. Leverage your singleness for all it is worth.

A Bible Study on Crowns: 5 Scriptural References

1. The Incorruptible Crown – 1 Corinthians 9:19-27

2. The Crown of Rejoicing – 1 Thessalonians 2:19

William Byron: ‘Crazy’ Race Was Exciting but Exhausting

Jerry Falwell Jr. Celebrates NASCAR Victory, Liberty Success

Key Questions:

Key Quotes:

Mentioned in the Show:

New Articles

New Podcasts