Don’t Get Through Your Singleness; Leverage It

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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

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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

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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

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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.

People Find Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Refusal to Define ‘Woman’ Controversial—But for Different Reasons

By

Jessica Mouser

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March 23, 2022

Wednesday is the third day this week that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden’s nominee for Supreme Court Justice, will spend in Senate Judiciary Committee hearings. One of several controversial moments from Jackson’s hearings so far was the judge’s response to whether or not she could define what a “woman” is.

“Can you provide a definition for the word, ‘woman’?” asked Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) on Tuesday near the end of a 13-hour session.

“Can I provide a definition?” repeated Jackson. “No. I can’t.”

“You can’t?” asked Blackburn. “Not in this context,” said Jackson. “I’m not a biologist.”

Blackburn expressed dismay at this response, as have several conservatives, but others believe that Jackson’s answer actually revealed a conservative view of gender.

Ketanji Brown Jackson Faces Senate Judiciary Committee

On Feb. 25, 2022, President Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court of the United States. If her nomination is successful, Jackson will be the first Black woman to sit on the nation’s highest court.

Before Sen. Blackburn began questioning Jackson, the senator commented that it is clear Jackson is likable, highly talented, and a good friend. Said Blackburn, “It’s why we continue to ask you about your views on issues because all of that goes into forming who you are and your worldview.”

Blackburn then introduced the topic of abortion, specifically trying to discern how Jackson views Roe vs. Wade, which the Supreme Court could overturn in the near future. The senator mentioned that earlier in the hearing, Jackson chose not to comment regarding on her views on abortion. Blackburn then quoted from a brief where Jackson had described pro-life women as a “hostile, noisy crowd of in-your-face protestors.”

Blackburn said she found it “incredibly concerning” for Jackson to have such a “hostile view” of pro-lifers. She asked if, when Jackson goes to church, she perceives the pro-life women around her in this way. After first answering by explaining why she wrote the brief, Jackson eventually said, “Senator, that was a statement and a brief made, an argument for my client. It is not the way I think of or characterize people.”

SoCal Christian School Teacher Under Fire for Leading Preschoolers in Anti-Biden Chant

By

Dale Chamberlain

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March 23, 2022

Turning Point Christian School, a private Christian school located in Norco, CA, has apologized to parents after a teacher led a group of preschoolers in an anti-Biden chant as part of a President’s Day lesson.

In a video captured by the unidentified teacher and shared on a messaging app used to communicate with parents, the group of preschoolers can be seen standing in a semi-circle and engaging in a call-and-response.

The teacher asks, “Who’s our president,” and the children respond, “Biden!”

“And what do we want to do with him,” the teacher asks. The children respond, “We want him out!”

“What,” the teacher responds, to which the children shout louder, “We want him out!”

Christina McFadden, mother of two, told KABC that she was “in shock” when she saw the video message wherein her daughter was participating in the chant, saying, “I had to watch it multiple times to realize, is this really happening?”

McFadden was further troubled by the fact that her daughter quickly referenced the chant upon being picked up from class.

“The first thing she said to me when I picked her up was ‘We want him out,’” McFadden said. “That was the great message she learned that day. Her first history lesson.”

After McFadden complained to the school, the video was taken down from the messaging app within three hours of it being posted. Turning Point Christian School’s administration released a statement to parents apologizing for “any misunderstanding” the video caused.

“An Eastvale mother is furious after discovering a video showing her daughter’s preschool teacher [Turning Point Christian School- Norco] leading a political chant in which 4 & 5 y/o students were calling for President Joe Biden to leave office.”

h/t @abc7robmcmillan (facebook) pic.twitter.com/VVraf8KMba

— InMinivanHell (@inminivanhell) March 19, 2022

Lance Witt: How to Handle the ‘Toughest Moment to Navigate Leadership in the Local Church’

By

Jessica Mouser

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March 23, 2022

The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast · Lance Witt: How to Handle the ‘Toughest Moment to Navigate Leadership in the Local Church’

Lance Witt is the founder of Replenish Ministries. He has served as senior pastor for three different churches and spent seven years as an executive and teaching pastor at Saddleback Church. He is often referred to as a pastor’s pastor and is the author of several books, including “Replenish” and “High-Impact Teams.” Lance’s latest book is “Your One Life.”

Other Ways to Listen to This Podcast With Lance Witt

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Key Questions for Lance Witt

-How can pastors evaluate whether they are living out the purpose God has for them?

-How can church leaders find a balance between not taking their lives for granted and not being paralyzed by the importance of using their time well?

-In your book, you talk about the “someday syndrome.” What is that and how does it rob us of purpose and satisfaction?

-What can we learn from the example of Jesus about how to live our lives with purpose?

Key Quotes From Lance Witt

“Pastors have never been this criticized and scrutinized. No matter what they say, it’s wrong, it’s upsetting. Somebody’s going to leave the church over it. So, yeah, I think this is at least in my lifetime, it has been the toughest moment to navigate leadership in the local church.”

“We are in a time of unbelievable confusion, disequilibrium. People seem lost at so many different levels.”

“A mantra I use in my ministry is we want to help people live well so they can lead well, and I think the order of that is important. Because I think for me, for so much of my ministry life, I was so focused on building the church, growing the church, preaching sermons, focused on everybody else’s sanctification, that sometimes I lost sight that my first place of leadership is to lead myself well.”

“The greatest gift you’re going to give those you lead is your own healthy soul.”

“I think the first thing you’ve got to do before you can even really get to the questions is you’ve got to create a little bit of space.”

“I’ve got to begin to take responsibility for where my time goes and the rhythm of my life. I’ve got to take responsibility for doing some of the hard internal work around issues of my soul.”

BREAKING: Brian Houston Resigns as Global Senior Pastor of Hillsong Church

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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March 23, 2022

Brian Houston Hillsong Church — One of last times Brian Houston spoke at Hillsong Church. Screengrab via YouTube @Hillsong Church

Less than a week after Hillsong Church’s board announced that Global Senior Pastor Brian Houston had “breached the Hillsong Pastor’s Code of Conduct” regarding two separate occasions involving inappropriate behavior toward two women, the board announced that Houston has resigned.

In a statement released on March 23, 2022, Hillsong Church’s board shared that they have accepted Houston’s resignation.

“We understand there will be much emotion at this news, and we all share these feelings,” the board said. “Irrespective of the circumstances around this, we can all agree that Brian and Bobbie have served God faithfully over many decades and that their ministry has resulted in millions of people across the world being impacted by the power, grace, and love of Jesus Christ.”

The board explained how grateful they are for Brian and his wife Bobbie’s obedience and commitment to God to build what Hillsong Church is today and asked for continued prayers for the Houston family as they navigate these challenging times.

Speaking to the future of Hillsong Church and its leadership, the board said, “As you can appreciate, there is still much to be done and our church leadership continues seeking God for His wisdom as we set the course for the future.”

The board acknowledged that change is needed and revealed they have asked an independent review for guidance, saying, “We have committed to an independent review of our governance structure and processes, understanding that this is a time of humble reflection and we are committed to doing what is necessary to ensure God is honored, and our eyes are fixed on Jesus.”

The statement concluded by asking for support and prayers from the Hillsong Church family.

Houston announced last September that he was stepping down from his role on the Hillsong Church boards so they could function at full capacity while he dealt with the allegations of concealing child sex offenses relating to his father that were brought against him by the New South Wales Police Force (NSWPF) following an investigation. Houston pleaded not guilty to the charges in October 2021.

Still preaching through the rest of 2021, Houston made an announcement during a Sunday morning worship service via video recording on January 30, 2022, that he would step aside as Hillsong Church’s pastor for the rest of 2022 in order to focus on the charges the NSWPF had brought against him.

Less than two months after Houston announced his 2022 sabbatical, the board shared why they didn’t release a statement regarding their global senior pastor’s announcement. They shared that although the reasons for Houston gave for his sabbatical were genuine, the board had been investigating two separate complaints from women that violated Hillsong Pastor’s Code of Conduct that had taken place in the last 10 years.

ERLC Applauds U.S. Genocide Designation in Myanmar

By

Tom Strode

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March 23, 2022

WASHINGTON (BP) – The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission welcomed the Biden administration’s determination that the Myanmar military has committed genocide against the Rohingya ethnic group.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Monday (March 21) the designation of “genocide and crimes against humanity” for the campaign against the Rohingya by Myanmar’s military forces, known as the Tatmadaw. It is the eighth time the United States has made a genocide determination since the Holocaust, Blinken said.

The military in Myanmar, a country formerly known as Burma, intensified its decades-long repression of the predominantly Muslim Rohingya in the southwestern state of Rakhine with a campaign of violent attacks in 2016 and 2017. Nearly 1 million registered refugees had fled to Bangladesh at the end of 2020, and others have escaped to Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) urged the Trump administration in August 2020 to designate the Myanmar military’s treatment of the Rohingya as genocide. In a letter to then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the ERLC led 31 other organizations in asking the State Department “to demonstrate international leadership in defending the lives, religious freedom, and property rights of the Rohingya people by designating the prolonged military aggression a genocide.”

Chelsea Sobolik, the ERLC’s director of public policy, described Blinken’s genocide designation for Myanmar’s military as “a critical moment in our nation.”

“The [Myanmar] government has repeatedly and systematically violated the human rights of ethnic minorities by suppressing religious freedom, arbitrarily arresting and torturing civilians, and attacking innocent women and children,” she told Baptist Press in written comments Tuesday (March 22).

“A genocide designation at this time, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, helps in bringing much-needed attention and humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya.”

USCIRF, a bipartisan panel that had called for a genocide designation since 2017, also praised the announcement.

“This determination provides recognition to the Rohingya and acknowledges the severity of the atrocities that occurred, which is an important step towards achieving justice,” USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza said in a written statement.

The Myanmar military, which began its repression of the Rohingya 60 years ago, intensified its attacks against them in recent years with “mass killings and rapes,” according to USCIRF.

A report compiled by the Biden administration shows “the abuses were not isolated cases,” Blinken said in a speech Monday at the U.S. Holocaust Museum. “The attack against Rohingya was widespread and systematic, which is crucial for reaching a determination of crimes against humanity.

“The evidence also points to a clear intent behind these mass atrocities – the intent to destroy Rohingya, in whole or in part.”

At Confirmation Hearing, Lindsey Graham Grills Ketanji Brown Jackson on Faith

By

Jack Jenkins

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March 23, 2022

WASHINGTON (RNS) — South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham grilled Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson about her faith on Tuesday (March 22), an uncomfortable exchange that confirmed Jackson’s status as a Protestant Christian and highlighted questions about the separation of church and state.

The line of questioning emerged during the second day of Senate hearings to determine whether to confirm Jackson to the Supreme Court, with Graham leveraging the moment to air grievances about how Democrats treated past Supreme Court nominees.

After noting Jackson had mentioned her faith during her opening remarks to the Senate Judiciary Committee the day before, Graham asked: “What faith are you, by the way?”

Jackson, who currently serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, replied cautiously: “Senator, I am Protestant,” she said, before adding, “nondenominational.”

Jackson has spoken publicly about her faith recently — both during her announcement as President Joe Biden’s nominee to replace Justice Stephen Breyer and before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday — but did not specify her faith tradition in either instance. However, her response to Graham revealed that, if confirmed, she would be one of possibly two Protestants on the court (Justice Neil Gorsuch was raised Catholic but attended an Episcopal church) and the only justice to identify as a nondenominational Christian.

Yet Graham blew past Jackson’s answer, quickly asking whether she could “fairly judge a Catholic.” When Jackson attempted to reply, he interrupted to say he assumed she could before pressing her again: “How important is your faith to you?”

“Personally, faith is very important. But as you know, there’s no religious test in the Constitution under Article Six — ” Jackson began, referencing the section of the U.S. Constitution that bars forcing public officials to submit to religious tests.

Graham interjected: “And there will be none with me.”

Jackson continued: “It’s very important to set aside one’s personal views about things in the role of a judge.”

Graham said he agreed, but continued to pepper Jackson with religion-related questions, such as asking her to rank “how faithful” she is on a scale of 1 to 10 and inquiring how often she goes to church. (“I go to church probably three times a year, so that speaks poorly of me,” Graham said.)

Pope Francis Talks to President Zelenskyy As War Rages in Ukraine

By

Claire Giangrave

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March 23, 2022

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Francis spoke over the telephone to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday (March 22), the second such call since the start of the war in Ukraine, this time addressing the need to help migrants fleeing the country.

Afterward, Zelenskyy tweeted about the phone call, writing that he “told His Holiness about the difficult humanitarian situation and the blocking of rescue corridors by Russian troops.” The Ukrainian president also thanked the pope for his prayers for Ukraine and his efforts for peace, after noting that the “mediating role of the Holy See in ending human suffering would be appreciated.”

The Vatican confirmed the conversation took place but did not share any additional information about the conversation, which was described as a personal phone call.

Talked to @Pontifex. Told His Holiness about the difficult humanitarian situation and the blocking of rescue corridors by Russian troops. The mediating role of the Holy See in ending human suffering would be appreciated. Thanked for the prayers for Ukraine and peace. pic.twitter.com/wj4hmrTRGd

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 22, 2022

“Today I spoke with Pope Francis,” Zelenskyy said in a videoconference with the Italian Parliament. “He said very important things.”

The Ukrainian president described the phone discussion to Parliament, saying the pope acknowledged the Ukrainian people’s desire for peace, as well as their urge to defend their country. “I answered: ‘Our people became an army when it saw how much evil, how much devastation the enemy brought,’” Zelenskyy said, detailing the atrocities in Ukraine targeting civilians and beseeching Italy and Europe to intervene for peace.

The Ukrainian representative to the Holy See, Andrii Yurash, also tweeted on the “new visible gesture of support” by Pope Francis. He said the conversation lasted several minutes and said the pope initiated the call, which was “very promising.”

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:

Ketanji Brown Jackson Faces Senate Judiciary Committee

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Key Questions for Lance Witt

Key Quotes From Lance Witt

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