Another Texas Execution Delayed on Religious Freedom Claims

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September 17, 2021

HOUSTON (AP) — Another Texas inmate has had his execution delayed over claims the state is violating his religious freedom by not letting his spiritual adviser lay hands on him at the time of his lethal injection.

Ruben Gutierrez was set to be executed on Oct. 27 for fatally stabbing an 85-year-old Brownsville woman in 1998.

But a judge on Wednesday granted a request by the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office to vacate the execution date. Prosecutors said the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming review of similar religious freedom issues made by another inmate, John Henry Ramirez, whose execution the high court delayed last week, will impact Gutierrez’s case.

“As the Ramirez matter may be dispositive of any issue related to Gutierrez’s religious liberty claim, it is in the best interest of the state, the family of the victim of Gutierrez’s crimes, that his execution be delayed,” prosecutors said in a motion filed Tuesday.

Gutierrez was previously an hour away from execution in June 2020 when the Supreme Court granted him a stay because his spiritual adviser was not allowed to accompany him in the death chamber.

Last month, Gutierrez’s attorneys filed a complaint in federal court alleging the Texas Department of Criminal Justice was violating his right to practice his religion by denying his request to have his priest touch his shoulder, pray out loud and perform last rites when he was executed.

Gutierrez, 44, said that these three things need to be done “to ensure my path to the afterlife,” according to his complaint.

His attorneys cited the Constitution’s First Amendment and a federal statute that protects an inmate’s religious rights. Ramirez made similar claims when he was granted a stay.

The Supreme Court has dealt with the presence of spiritual advisers in the death chamber in recent years but has not made a definitive ruling on the issue. That could change after it hears oral arguments in Ramirez’s case on Nov. 1.

The court was criticized after it declined to halt the February 2019 execution of Alabama inmate Domineque Ray over his request to have his Islamic spiritual adviser in the death chamber, but then a month later granted a stay for Texas inmate Patrick Murphy, who wanted his Buddhist spiritual adviser in the chamber.

Since then, the Supreme Court has delayed several executions over requests for spiritual advisers.

After the court halted Murphy’s execution, the Texas prison system banned all clergy from the death chamber. Texas previously allowed state-employed clergy to accompany inmates, but its prison staff included only Christian and Muslim clerics.

In April, the Texas prison system reversed its two-year ban. The new policy allows an inmate’s approved spiritual adviser to be in the chamber, but the two cannot have any contact and vocal prayers are not allowed during the execution. Texas prison officials say direct contact poses a security risk and vocal prayer could be disruptive.

Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said the Ramirez case is an opportunity for the Supreme Court to determine if inmates have the right to a spiritual adviser in a death chamber and if so, what is permitted in exercising that right.

“The fact this case can provide the court with an opportunity to lay out a blueprint for what is and what is not acceptable, that’s not a guarantee that they’ll do it,” said Dunham, whose group takes no position on capital punishment but has criticized the way states carry out executions.

If the Supreme Court doesn’t provide clear guidance, this issue will continually come up, Dunham said.

Gutierrez has long maintained he didn’t kill Escolastica Harrison during what prosecutors say was an attempt to steal more than $600,000 that the elderly woman had hidden in her home.

His attorneys have requested DNA testing they say could point to the real killer.

Prosecutors have said that request is a “ruse” and that Gutierrez was convicted on various pieces of evidence, including a confession.

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Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70

This article originally appeared here.

NY Governor Vows to Fight Lawsuit Over Vaccine Mandate

By

Marina Villeneuve

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September 17, 2021

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed this week to fight a lawsuit launched by a group of Christian health care practitioners who argue that New York’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for many health care workers is unconstitutional because it lacks a religious exemption.

A federal judge temporarily blocked the state Tuesday from enforcing any part of its mandate that prohibits religious exemptions for healthcare workers. The court will hold arguments in coming weeks.

The judge’s order means healthcare workers must still get vaccinated before Sept. 27 — but for now, they can ask for religious exemptions.

Hochul said Wednesday she’s not aware of any major religious group that has prohibited adherents from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Everyone from the Pope on down is encouraging people to get vaccinated,” she said, referring to Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

The nurses, doctors and other New York health care workers in the lawsuit say they don’t want to be forced to take any vaccine that employs aborted fetus cell lines in their testing, development or production.

Fetal cell lines were used during research and development of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines, and during production of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Thomas More Society senior counsel Stephen Crampton, who’s representing the anonymous group of nurses, doctors and other health care workers, said he’s confident the courts will find that people have a right to refuse the vaccine on religious grounds, even if they are part of a religious group that is endorsing the shots.

Catholic Orphanage’s Ex-Residents Ask Church to Fund Therapy

By

Wilson Ring

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September 17, 2021

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Some of the residents of a long-closed Vermont orphanage want the Catholic Church to pay for therapy as they continue to recover from what they described as abuse at the hands of the nuns and priests who were supposed to care for them.

The youngest members of the group that calls itself The Voices of St. Joseph’s Orphanage are in their late 50s. The oldest are pushing 80.

They held a meeting Thursday at a South Burlington hotel where they looked for ways to continue their recovery from the abuse that many say they suffered at the hands of the staff.

“It has been a long and oftentimes painful process to achieve some of the healing in our lives and to feel we are making a difference in our society,” said Brenda Hannon, 68, of Williston who lived at the orphanage from 1959 to 1968. “One of our greatest accomplishments is that we are now visible to all of you and we are now believed, as to what was done to us.”

During a news conference, some of the former residents called upon the church to do more to help them recover, including paying for their therapy. They said that in some cases the diocese has been willing to pay for therapy, but only with therapists of the diocese’s choosing.

In a Thursday statement, the diocese said its representatives, including Bishop Christopher Coyne, have been meeting with former residents of St. Joseph’s Orphanage one-on-one and they will continue to do so.

“Each meeting is unique, each person’s story is unique, and the help we offer each former resident is specific to them,” the statement said. “If the person feels they would be helped through counseling, we would work with them as needed.”

The group was formed in the aftermath of a 2018 report in Buzzfeed News about the Burlington orphanage that included allegations of a boy being thrown from a window to his death, a girl forced to slap herself 50 times and children being locked in an attic. There were also allegations of sexual abuse.

The article sparked Vermont’s law enforcement community to investigate the allegations. Last year, Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan said the investigation could find no evidence of murder. But it found that children were abused at the orphanage, which closed in 1974, and the Vermont law enforcement community failed to protect the children who lived there.

Over the years since its foundation the orphanage group held meetings where they shared stories and learned that many of them had similar experiences. They published an anthology of their experiences that was on sale at the meeting.

“Before I joined this group I never really thought about what happened, I buried everything down, the only thing that I knew was that I hurt and I didn’t know quite why,” said Debi Gevry-Ellsworth, now of Pomfret, Connecticut, who arrived at the orphanage when she was 2 in 1964 and lived there until 1974.

She has a poem in the book entitled “Bricks and Mortar” that begins, “If bricks were scales and mortar flames, this monstrosity of a building would be a dragon burning children that wear no cross.”

The group also encouraged the Vermont Legislature to pass a law earlier this year to eliminate the statute of limitations in civil cases of childhood physical abuse.

When it opened in the mid-1850s the orphanage was operated by a Canadian religious order and then until its closure by Vermont Catholic Charities, a part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington.

This article originally appeared here.

Voices With Ed Stetzer: 20 Truths from ‘Known’: How Believing Who God Says You Are Changes Everything

By

Ed Stetzer

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September 17, 2021

I am glad to feature Aubrey Sampson’s new book, Known. As I wrote in my endorsement, if you ever wanted to explore your identity and family name as a child of God, this is the book to pick up. In such a personal, authentic, vulnerable, yet biblical, way Aubrey emphatically and comprehensively declares how you are known by God. My prayer as you read Known, not only will you come to know who God says you to be, but you (as the title says) will come to believe who God says you are—and that, my friends, will change everything, not only how you live for him but how you live on mission to make him known.

20 Truths—Known: How Believing Who God Says You Are Changes Everything

By Aubrey Sampson

Our names have the power to be badges of honor or badges of heartache.
What if, in place of the negative names in your story, God wants to speak a new name, a better name, a healing name, a loving name, a freeing name over you? And what if he already has? In God, you are named—perfectly and truly—because in him, you are known completely.
This is the universal human longing; to be known.
God loves you and speaks goodness and delight over you, not because you have earned it or achieved it. Because you exist, you are worthy of love.
Sometimes God meets our false names with such powerful redemption that they become the very place of our renewal.
. . . suffering leads to a greater unveiling of Jesus’ image in us.
Because of God’s love, my wounds are not my identity. I will keep on sharing that until I die.
God is aware that our names, whether true or false, can become self-fulfilling prophecies with the power to dictate the way we live. So when he gives his children new names, God isn’t being cute.
. . . we are called to honor and affirm the image of God in all people. This requires intentionality, humility, awareness, repentance (in many cases), and godly love.
When we live in the confidence and flourishing of our true identity, we can’t do anything but scatter that goodness to the people around us.
We serve a God who knows the wastelands we are in.
Even in the scariest of pandemics, even in the face of injustice and evil, even when we are far from him in the loneliest of places, this is the God who sees, the God who pursues, the God who shows up, the God who repurposes, the God who finds us in our small corners of the world, while holding the entire world in his hands.
What you do for Jesus, in each and every new life circumstance, may not even be noticed by many. But God will notice.
At the end of the day, the things we achieve, the positions we lead, are not as important as the One we serve.
From the beginning of time, the presence of God was always intended to be revealed and intermediated through humanity.
As God’s royal priest, you are meant to, very intentionally, share the love and presence of Jesus with every person you come into contact with—be it a friend, stranger, or enemy—by name them well.

17. Your beingness, your namedness, is essential to your doingness.

You are invited to participate with God in making your world into a garden-like, shalom-like place where others are empowered to flourish. This has been your mandate since the Garden of Eden. You are here to work for the prosperity and peace of wherever God has you.
The God who breathed the world into existence, the God who knows every piece of who we are, also wants to be known and heard by us. What a gift. What a grace. What a thing.
In Jesus, we find the one name, the true name, the exalted-above-every-other name, the name that holds all things together, the name that has no beginning and no end, and the name that is the beginning and the end. While most names are a proclamation, or a statement of identity, Jesus’ name is the only name that does something—a lot of somethings.

Meet Anne Wilson, a 19-Year-Old Singer Behind ‘My Jesus,’ a Surprise Christian Hit

By

Bob Smietana

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September 17, 2021

(RNS) — Nineteen-year-old Anne Wilson loves the stars, the television show “The Walking Dead” and her morning cup of vanilla iced coffee from Dunkin’.

“I feel like it’s just straight from God,” she said. “It’s like he blesses that coffee in particular.”

More than anything, Wilson says, she loves Jesus — as the teenager from central Kentucky explains in “My Jesus,” her debut recording that recently hit No. 1 on the Billboard chart for Christian music.

The bluesy gospel ballad’s success doesn’t end there: The official video has been viewed 6 million times on YouTube. A live version of the song, with co-writer and Christian artist, Matthew West, has been viewed more than 2.5 million times on Facebook.

A live EP from Wilson, which includes “My Jesus,” has been streamed more than 37 million times, according to a press release from her record company.

But though full of full-throated praise, “My Jesus” is not a triumphal call to follow the Lord. Written after Wilson’s brother was killed in an accident four years ago, the song reaches out to those who are going through difficult times. In that, it may be a hit for the COVID-19 era.

Are you past the point of weary?” the opening lines of the song ask. “Is your burden weighing heavy? Is it all too much to carry? Let me tell you ’bout my Jesus.”

Wilson, who co-wrote the song with West and Nashville songwriter Jeff Pardo, said her rapid rise to stardom began on a dark day.

After hearing the news of her brother Jacob, who was 23, Wilson said she went to a piano and began to play “What a Beautiful Name,” a popular Hillsong Worship anthem. Her parents eventually asked her to play the song at Jacob’s funeral.

The then-15-year-old, still in braces, later recorded a video of the song with some friends and posted it on YouTube.

“This song is dedicated to the loving memory of my beloved big brother, Jacob,” Wilson wrote in the video’s caption. “Thank you Jacob for always encouraging us to praise God, work hard, and always be kind. We love and miss you more each and every day.”

That YouTube video, which itself has been viewed a quarter million times, caught the attention of a producer in Nashville and eventually led to Wilson signing with Capitol Christian Music.

“The unprecedented success of ‘My Jesus’ is just the beginning, and we cannot wait to see what is to come for Anne,” Capital Christian Music co-presidents Brad O’Donnell and Hudson Plachy said in a statement.

Wilson grew up in a Christian home, attending a Presbyterian church for most of her childhood. Her parents taught her about faith in God, and she says that she made that faith her own as a teenager.

Her parents also introduced her to country music, especially the songs of Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton. She remains a huge Dolly fan, citing Parton’s 1980 hit “9 to 5” as her current favorite.

Though Wilson started playing the piano at a young age, she said that she had never sung in public before her brother’s funeral. An astronomy and science buff, she said her childhood dream was to work for NASA.

Being a professional musician had never crossed her mind, she said.

In a phone interview, Wilson said she hopes Jacob is proud of her. The two were close growing up and she recalled his sense of humor and kindness. She recalled one day when, knowing that Wilson had stayed home from school because she was feeling sick, her brother decided to go out and hunt some squirrel for her.

Jacob took his hunting dog Sally out to the backyard, shot a squirrel and cooked it up for lunch. The meal made her laugh and was surprisingly tasty.

“We put powdered sugar on it and we dipped it in barbecue sauce, and whatever that combo is, it was so good,” she said.

Wilson has spent the last two years honing her skills as a musician and writer and learning the craft of singing for a living. She’s also moved away from her family’s home, settling in Franklin, Tennessee, a Nashville suburb that’s home to Christian music stars such as Amy Grant.

When not on the road, Wilson is working on songs for her album, due out next year.

The success of “My Jesus” caught her by surprise. She knew the song was good but was taken aback by how well it connected with listeners. Most of all, she said, she feels grateful.

“It’s been a whirlwind of emotions,” said Wilson. “Just thankfulness and gratefulness, watching God take my story, which was something so broken, and turning it into something so beautiful.”

This article originally appeared at Religion News Service.

Survey: Who Americans Blame for Insurrection Depends on Their Faith

By

Jack Jenkins

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September 17, 2021

Supporters of President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

(RNS) — A new survey finds white evangelicals are far more likely than most other religious groups to blame left-wing activists for the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Other white Christian groups are split on the question, which allowed for multiple answers, while Black Protestants are more likely to point to white supremacists and former President Donald Trump.

According to a survey released by the Public Religion Research Institute on Thursday (Sept. 16), small minorities of white evangelical Protestants said Trump (26%) and Republican leaders (16%) bear “a lot” of responsibility for that attack.

Slightly more were willing to point to white supremacist groups (37%) and conservative media platforms that spread conspiracy theories and misinformation (34%) as the cause for the assault.

Meanwhile, white evangelicals were the faith group most willing (57%) to blame “liberal or left-wing activists (e.g. Antifa)” for the attack, referring to left-wing anti-fascist or “antifa” groups. This conspiracy theory was repeated in the days after the attack by evangelical Christian leader the Rev. Franklin Graham and by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani but has been refuted by FBI officials and the rioters themselves.

Support for the idea appears to have increased since the conservative American Enterprise Institute conducted a separate poll in February, which found that 49% of white evangelical Protestants believed the antifa claim was completely or mostly true.

In the PRRI poll, very few evangelicals blamed white Christian conservative groups (8%) for the attack, despite the preponderance of Christian imagery and religious expression visible during the insurrection.

Their views most closely resembled that of Republicans overall. A majority (61%) blame liberal or left-wing activists for the attack, whereas minorities of the group blame white supremacist groups (30%), conservative media platforms that spread conspiracy theories and misinformation (27%), Trump himself (15%), Republican leaders (9%) or white conservative Christian groups (8%).

The results were roughly reversed among Democrats, 89% of whom blamed Trump.

White nonevangelical Protestants, who are also categorized as mainline Protestants, were more split on the question of who was responsible for the insurrection. Roughly half (49%) blamed white supremacist groups, with slightly less pointing to conservative media platforms that spread conspiracy theories and misinformation (45%), liberal or left-wing activists (44%) and Donald Trump (43%).

White Catholics were similarly divided, with a slight majority saying the cause was white supremacist groups (54%) and conservative media platforms that spread conspiracy theories and misinformation (54%). Exactly half (50%) cast blame on Trump, and 44% listed liberal or left-wing activists as culpable.

The responses differed sharply from that of Black Protestants, a full 80% of whom blamed white supremacists for the insurrection. So too did majorities of Hispanic Catholics (73%), Hispanic Protestants (59%), Jewish Americans (69%), religiously unaffiliated Americans (65%) and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (56%).

Black Protestants were also the religious group most likely to lay responsibility for the attack at the feet of Trump (79%). They were followed by other Christians (74%), religiously unaffiliated Americans (69%), Hispanic Catholics (69%), Hispanic Protestants (64%), other non-Christian religious Americans (64%) and Jewish Americans (57%). Latter-day Saints were split, with 48% blaming Trump.

Several groups were keen to blame the attack on conservative media platforms that spread conspiracy theories — namely, religiously unaffiliated Americans (67%), Black Protestants (66%), other Christians (65%), Hispanic Catholics (59%), other Protestants of color (58%), Jewish Americans (55%) and Latter-day Saints (51%).

The only religious category to resemble the white evangelical tendency to accuse liberal or left-wing groups for instigating the insurrection were other Protestants of color (54%), but that group was even more likely to blame Trump and white supremacist groups (65%).

This article originally appeared on Religion News Service.

The Number One Small Group Transparency Killer

By

Joel Comiskey

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September 17, 2021

What’s a transparency killer? Steve Cordle nailed one of the culprits recently when he talked about people hiding behind generalities rather than talking about their own personal lives. Another transparency assassin is trying to impress others by only sharing positive things. But perhaps the number one transparency killer is asking questions that are closed-ended and don’t allow people to share.

Closed questions have one correct answer. When a leader uses too many of them, he positions himself as the Bible expert who’s trying to discover the brightest, most biblically literate students. Open-ended questions, on the other hand, elicit discussion and sharing. There is more than one right answer. Open-ended questions stir small group members to apply the biblical truths to their own lives.

The Number One Small Group Transparency Killer

*Open Versus Closed Questions*
Open	Closed
What are you going to do differently as a result of hearing these verses? Share your experiences concerning… How has God spoken to you?	Do you agree with this passage? Who is the main character in this passage? What does this passage say about _____?

Several years ago, I visited a small group that was discussing the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:21-35. The small group leader asked question after question about what the text said (closed ended), but not once did he ask the people to apply these verses to their own lives.

He missed a perfect opportunity. He could have said: “Share an experience when you felt bitterness toward another person.” He could have followed with: “Share how you overcame those feelings and were able to forgive that person.” Most likely there were people that very night who needed freedom from pent-up bitterness and who were longing to share with others.

I like sermon-based small group lessons. It makes sense for small group facilitators to get a head-start on the lesson as they hear the pastor’s message, take notes and prepare their questions. I encourage churches to send the lesson to the leaders in advance of the Sunday preaching to give them plenty of time to prepare. I tell small group facilitators not to mention “what the pastor said” during their lesson, but rather to talk about what the Bible teaches.

But I’ve also noticed that many sermon-based lessons are too complicated and have too many questions. The lesson gets bogged down in closed observation questions that don’t apply God’s Word to daily living. It’s easy for facilitators to forget that the main principle of an effective lesson (Word time) is how the Bible passage applies to daily life and to help members to share transparently.

I’ve been working with a group right now in which we only use three questions:

What does this passage say?
How is God speaking to you right now from this passage?
How can you apply/obey this passage during the week?

We believe that the simplicity of these three questions will make the sermon-based lessons more transferable and easier for leaders to help their members to become more transparent in the process.

The good news is that we can fight back against the transparency killers and by God’s grace, even overcome them.

This article about the number one transparency killer originally appeared here.

8 Reasons It’s Harder to Raise PK’s Today

By

Chuck Lawless

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September 17, 2021

Pam and I are not parents, so I’m always hesitant to write about parenting. Nevertheless, I want you to know what I hear anecdotally about the difficulty of raising PK’s today. At the end of this post, though, I’m also asking pastors to let us know what’s worked well as they’ve parented their kids.

8 Reasons It’s Harder to Raise PK’s Today

1. The local church often still implicitly expects the pastor’s kids to be almost perfect.

Nobody I know would say it that clearly, but they sometimes act that way. They hold PKs to standards they’d never require of their own kids—and they blow the faults of PKs far out of proportion.

2. Social media has made stupid decisions a lot more public.

Even PK’s in their youthfulness sometimes post things they come to regret. The problem is that the Internet makes it possible for others to magnify and distribute their mistakes.

3. The Internet has sometimes exposed PK’s to painful internal church conflict.

More than one pastor has faced opposition spread through the Internet and social media. No matter how hard pastors try to shield their families, it’s almost impossible to protect them completely.

4. Pastors and their families tend to be isolated—even at times from their own congregation.

When pastors isolate themselves, they move away not only from potential friends, but also from others who’ve already walked in their shoes. That is, they distance themselves from veteran parents who can help them in our own parenting.

5. PK’s have ready access to temptation and sin via the Web.

Our generation faced similar issues, but the access to trouble seems much more available now. Now, it’s almost as if temptation chases us without our even intentionally looking for it.

6. Many churches give children and teens few places to ask honest (but hard) questions of faith.

That’s largely because churches haven’t created good discipleship pathways that provide a place for honest discussion. And, PKs who do have those kinds of questions are often afraid to admit them or ask them anyway, lest they bring embarrassment to their parents.

7. Increasingly, cultural changes compete with church attendance and participation.

Gone are the days when sports and school events were never scheduled on Sundays, and pastor families must make hard decisions when their children are left out of some of these events.

8. Preachers are much more accessible now via email, texts, etc.—which only creates more tension with finding family time.

We pastors have always been “on call,” but it used to be that people had to call us on the telephone to reach us. It’s still our decision when we respond to emails and texts, but it’s tempting to let continual electronic conversations get in the way of focused parenting.

Pastors, help us here. What steps have you taken to parent well?

This article about raising PK’s originally appeared here.

Worldly Person: A Bible Study From the Book of James

By

Jeff Baxter

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September 16, 2021

This is part of a Bible study series on the book of James, from Foothills Bible Church in Littleton, Colorado. James 4:1-5:6 explores the drastic difference between the mind of a worldly person and a heaven-focused person. James encourages readers to fully trust in God.

In chapter 4 and early into chapter 5, James lets us have it. It appears on the surface that James has a pretty low view of these believers. He addresses issues such as wars, fighting, self-indulgence, prayerlessness, lust, adultery, envy, pride, slander and murder. What a list! What a warning to the worldly person!

This section is an in-depth treatment of the havoc that results when worldly wisdom, rather than heavenly wisdom, dominates life. Worldliness expresses itself in three ways: choosing pleasure as life’s aim, harshly criticizing fellow Christians, and arrogance against God.

Remember, it’s natural for someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus as Savior to have a worldly mind and to be a worldly person. But it’s unnatural for a believer to live with a worldly mind. James calls these Christians to task.

3 Descriptions of a Worldly Person

1. A worldly person has a passion for personal pleasure (4:1-10).

The Westminster Catechism (written in the 1640s by Scottish and English Reformers) says the most important thing for man is to “glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” But our world says the most important things in life are personal pleasure and entertainment. According to the world, seeking pleasure is the highest goal. In other words, mankind’s ultimate mission is self-gratification, not God-glorification.

The English word for selfish philosophy is hedonism. It shows up in verses 1 and 3 and can be translated as lusts, passions, pleasures, or desires.

James says 4 things about this worldliness:

Worldliness is the cause of wars and fighting (vs. 1-2).

James asks two rhetorical questions (vs. 1). The first question is about the source of conflicts in the Christian community. The word for “wars” is chronic fighting, but the word for “fighting” is a one-time event. We don’t know what the specific conflicts were about. The context doesn’t say. The second question gives the answer to James’ first question. These “lusts” can mean pleasures, enjoyments, passions, or cravings. In Scripture, this is always seen as sinful pursuits.

James speaks of the “battle within you” or “war.” As in 1 Peter 2:11, we are to stay away from these fleshly lusts, which “war against your soul.” In verse 2, James points out what happens in any Christian community that chooses “selfish pleasure” over “God’s glory.” You end up sinning against God and hurting people. James is saying, “You want this selfish stuff and are seeking pleasure for yourself, but in the wrong places. You should be looking for it in your relationship with God. Ask. Pray. Look to God and not to the world.”

Worldliness cuts off effective prayer (vs. 3).

Sometimes we take our requests to God and don’t seem to get an answer. I’m sure these believers felt the same way. James probably felt this way too, but he has something to say about this. These “worldly” believers were “asking with the wrong motives” or “asking for the wrong things.” They had a selfishness about the request. Their requests (like ours sometimes) were honest but with a bent toward cravings, pleasure, comfort, or the like. They were motivated not for the glory and delight of God but for selfish intent. These scattered believers wanted only to pamper their own selfish passions. As a result, these kinds of prayers insult God, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Worldliness angers God (vs. 4-6).

James says fights occur among believers due to individual desire for pleasure and selfishness. In addition, this kind of behavior makes prayer ineffective for the believer. Now James calls these followers of Jesus adulterous people. Not literally (cheating on spouse), but figuratively. They’re “committing spiritual infidelity” against God by being worldly. James calls them “Unfaithful People.” They are unfaithful to their lives with God. “Friendship with the world means enmity against God.” You can’t be a worldly person and be in good standing with God.

Now, I don’t believe James is saying friendship with the world means we all need to become hermits and escape to caves. “We are in the world, but not of the world.” Earth is not our home. Just don’t get too comfortable here. When we do, we become too cozy with the sinful desires the world pushing God out of our lives.

This angers God Almighty. Why? Because God is a jealous God. He loves us enough to want all of us for Himself. He wants all of you. In the rest of verse 6, God makes great provision for his people. He never leaves us on our own. Instead, he “gives more grace.” God gives gracious and effective help to people with “abundant grace.” The answer for us is to be “humble” because God hates pride.

Worldliness needs repentance (vs. 7-10).

Like military commands, these verses are short exhortations of how to handle this desire to give in to selfish living. There is urgency. It’s a call back to God. Come home. Submit means to put yourself back under God’s control. This is the key idea in verses 7-10. God is against those who do not get under Him, so get under! Let him be your Lord, Boss, Pilot, Leader, Commander in Chief. After submitting to God, we can fully “resist the devil.”

To be for God means you are coming against the enemy (Satan). James promises if you do this, he will “flee from you.” If you never give into his tempting, slandering, or desiring. He will leave you alone. Like a dog at the table who never gets scraps will eventually leave. He will give a “seah” and leave. Jesus in the desert with the devil is an example. He was tempted, and eventually the devil left Him.

In verse 8, James says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” The closer we live to God, the more we know of his comfort, support, and power, and easier it is to resist the devil. James gives us a twofold plan: Resist Devil. Then come near to God. Submission to God involves purity. Like the priests in the Old Testament before offering sacrifices, they washed their hands confessing sin to become pure. But James says your hearts need to be pure. Outward cleansing with the hands is not good enough. There must be inward cleansing of the heart. Psalm 24:3-4 says, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.”

James is referring to this audience as “sinners” or “double-minded.” These are “Mr. and Mrs. Facing-both-ways” kinds of people. In verse 9, James calls this type of worldly person to have “deep repentance” to “grieve, mourn and wail.” He wants them to be deeply saddened by your sin before a Holy, Holy, Holy God. James isn’t against joy. In fact, he speaks about it in James 1:2. But he emphasizes the importance of becoming “humble before the Lord.” Plus, here is the promise: If we humble ourselves in true repentance, “God will lift us up.”

Friend, do you have a high view of God? Do you see Him as King? Are you in awe of his majesty? If not, you’re setting yourself up for a fall. If so, this causes deep humility.

2. A worldly person criticizes other believers of Jesus (4:11-12).

James might be giving an example of what happens when we aren’t humble. Being critical of others is prideful. When we criticize others, we set ourselves up against them and God’s Divine Law. This section is also connected to the whole section. This is what a worldly person does: criticize others and have a passion for self-pleasure.

In verse 11, “to slander, “to speak evil,” “talk against,” “to pronounce a negative opinion about,” or “judging” all have the same thought. Jesus was against it (Matthew 7:1). Paul was against it (Romans 14:4,10,13). If you do this you are speaking against the law saying, “I am above this law” and this is pride. In verse 12, God is the only “Lawgiver” and “Judge.” God does not allow people to be in the judicial role. God is the inventor of the Law and holds people to it, because God alone saves and destroys. God is Lord of life and death.

Then in verse 12, James asks a strong question: “But you, who are you, to be condemning your neighbor?” If you do this, you’re setting yourself up against God because you are taking his place as Judge by being critical and mean against your fellow brother and sister in Christ.

3. A worldly person has an arrogant disregard for God (4:13-5:6).

Two sections of these verses are examples of living as a worldly person:

Planning without God (4:13-17)

Arrogance exists when a believer (or unbeliever) plans their future without consulting the God of the Universe who knows everything past, present and future. Remember the context of the book of James. He writes to believers who are dispersed because of persecution (probably after Stephen’s death in Acts 5). Many went from farming to merchants and bankers now. So as they planned their future business endeavors, they’re in trouble for not consulting God.

This section is not against planning, goal-setting and future eyesight. Instead, God is against these things when you “go it alone” without His help. That is arrogance. Instead, we should say, “If it is the Lord’s desire, I will do it.” Verse 17 is the kicker verse of the whole section and even the Book of James. If you’re now aware of what you should do and don’t do it, it’s against God. It’s sin. When you know the right thing and choose to do otherwise, you’re fully accountable.

Abusing wealth and oppressing the poor (vs.5:1-6)

We’re still talking about arrogance and self-centered living. James says judgment is coming to the “rich.” There were different kinds of wealth in the ancient world: food, costly garments, and precious metals. But the stock market is crashing fast for these wealthy folks. This section is another example of not fulfilling the “law of love,” loving your neighbor as yourself and caring for others. Judgment is coming, not because they’re rich but because of what they’re doing with their money. This was against Mosaic Law (Deuteronomy 24:14,15; Leviticus 19:13). So these rich people were guilty.

Many theologians believe the “innocent one” in verse 6 refers to Jesus, whom they murdered.

Instead of being a wandering, worldly person, glorify God and stay focused on him! How will you apply these principles of Scripture to your life this week?

Al Mohler Calls ELCA’s Transgender Bishop Installation ‘A New Religion’

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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September 16, 2021

al mohler — Pax Ahimsa Gethen, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) installed its first openly transgender bishop, Rev. Megan Rohrer, at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, California, last weekend. President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Al Mohler condemned the ELCA’s actions and called the move “a new religion.”

The newly installed bishop will oversee close to 200 congregations and lead the church’s 65 synods. Rohrer was ordained by the estimated 3.3 million-membered Evangelical Lutheran church in 2010 when it expanded its leadership to allow LGBTQ pastors.

The married Rohrer, who has two children, once identified as lesbian but now is non-binary and prefers to go by “they/them” pronouns. The bishop will serve a six-year term and said, “My installation will celebrate all that is possible when we trust God to shepherd us forward.”

In an interview with Fox News, Mohler said the transgender movement is an “intentional subversion of the creation order.” Unpacking the biblical worldview and the distinction God made between male and female, he said, “The entire transgender revolution is a revolt against the order of God in creation and God’s intention for humanity.”

“The ELCA isn’t just trying to preach the old gospel with a new bishop. It’s a new religion,” Mohler said. “It’s a new religion that is trying to inhabit the space of traditional Christianity, trying to claim the titles, to claim ownership of the buildings, and to take ownership of the institutions while representing a religion that is at virtually every point contradictory to biblical Christianity. The gospel of Jesus Christ in biblical terms is left far behind.”

The domination is preaching a different gospel than the one found in the God-breathed scriptures, Mohler told Fox News. “When I speak of the gospel, I’m speaking of the good news that God saves sinners through the atonement accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ. This comes to those who repent. That’s a very different message than what is being preached by the ELCA.” Mohler says ELCA is redefining what the Bible calls sin in redefining “the saving word of Christ.”

Others Agree With Mohler

David Closson, director of the Center for Biblical Worldview at the Family Research Council, says the ELCA appointing a transgender Bishop shouldn’t be shocking news. “The denomination has been in lockstep with the moral revolution for over a decade.”

NFL Players Kneel in Prayer, ‘Deflect the Glory’ to God

By

Stephanie Martin

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September 16, 2021

After Pittsburgh notched its first victory of the 2021 NFL season on Sunday, team chaplain Kent Chevalier tweeted a photo of players kneeling midfield. But the group of Steelers, joined by members of the opposing team, the Buffalo Bills, weren’t protesting anything. Instead they were praying together, and Chevalier added the hashtag #DeflectTheGlory.

Comments on social media were overwhelmingly positive. “Now that’s what knees are for,” writes one person. Another notes, “The only reason you should take a knee is to honor our Heavenly Father.” On the Western Journal website, Jack Davis expresses relief that the tweeted photo wasn’t “just one more snippet of the social justice shenanigans that have become a hallmark of the NFL.”

Those comments refer to players in numerous sports who have kneeled during the national anthem, protesting police brutality against black Americans.

Chaplain Urges Steelers to Play for God, Not Themselves

Chevalier, who served as a pastor for more than two decades before joining the Steelers staff, says prayer permeates the team environment, both on and off the field. Before games, uniformed players are often “holding hands in the shower” area to pray, a visual the chaplain says he never could have imagined.

While talking with players, Chevalier encourages them to focus on spiritual obedience, not on scores or individual accolades. He reminds the Steelers “they are playing for God’s glory, not for the name on the back of their jerseys,” according to an interview with Steelers Takeaways.

As a chaplain, Chevalier says he’s there “to love and serve,” not to “push my faith on you” or to “be a Bible thumper.” Instead, he strives to help players “use their platform to share their faith.”

Much of Chevalier’s ministry with the team occurs during private, one-on-one times that he describes as “Nicodemus moments.” Referring to Jesus’ nighttime encounter with a Pharisee in John 3, the chaplain says that just as Nicodemus didn’t want anyone to know he was talking to Jesus,” some players “don’t want to be seen with me.” So he often receives “late-night texts or calls asking to meet me at night to talk about things,” and “that’s where most of my ministry is done.”

The Love and Support Go Both Ways

When Chevalier’s brother died from COVID-19 complications last November, he discovered that the love he feels for the Steelers is mutual. Grief left him “too messed up to even lead chapel” for a while, so tight end Vance McDonald filled in.

McDonald, who has since retired, tells Sports Spectrum that even though Chevalier had been the team chaplain for just two years at that point, he’d already “done amazing things for each of us individually” and helped form a “strong brotherhood of Christians on this team.” Chevalier says the outpouring of love and support was humbling—and reinforced the feeling that the Steelers are a family.

After his brother died, Chevalier posted a video saying, “I grieve with hope.” The chaplain admits having lots of questions for God but says he thinks God is okay with—and not afraid of—our questions. He encourages people who are struggling with grief to reach out and to accept other people’s acts of ministry.

“It’s okay to not be okay,” says Chevalier. “It’s okay to ask for help. I’ve been seeking out Godly counsel and [have] great brothers around me. But there’s some stuff I’m realizing that’s being unearthed by this grief that they really can help me with.”

‘The Voice’ Fans Question Aussie Winner’s Hillsong Ties

By

Stephanie Martin

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September 16, 2021

After a member of the embattled Hillsong Church won the latest season of “The Voice Australia,” social media buzzed with allegations that the show is rigged and promotes the evangelical megachurch. Meanwhile, supporters of the singing competition and its latest winner, Bella Taylor Smith, say she had the “best talent” and her faith is irrelevant.

Smith, a 23-year-old singing teacher, was coached by Guy Sebastian, who also has links to Hillsong and whose brother previously won the contest. For winning “The Voice Australia,” Smith receives $100,000 plus a recording contract with EMI Records. She says she plans to continue teaching, calling it “one of my passions.”

Some Viewers Question Hillsong’s Role

After Smith was crowned the winner Sunday evening, social media users expressed suspicions about the connections. “Yet again you cheated the system,” one person tweets at Hillsong. “Let’s face it,” another writes, “the real winner here is Hillsong.” Another person says, “Hillsong Church member auditions for a Hillsong coach, then Hillsong coach has to act like the Hillsong connection isn’t there until grand finale night but okay.”

Other social media comments accuse “The Voice Australia” of being “a vehicle” for the church’s musicians and of being overly religious. “The Pentecostal symbolism is barely subtle with this song choice,” one person writes about Smith’s performance of Andrea Bocelli’s “The Prayer.” The comment continues: “I hate to see [that song] used so blatantly for Hillsong-related purposes like this.”

Sydney-based Hillsong has faced several recent scandals. Carl Lentz, the church’s New York City pastor, was ousted last year for “breaches of trust” and “moral failures,” including an extramarital affair. Hillsong Dallas closed earlier this year after its pastors resigned for misusing funds. And Brian Houston, Hillsong’s co-founder, now faces charges in Australia for allegedly failing to report his father’s sexual abuse of children during the 1970s.

Supporters: ‘There Is Nothing Wrong With Having Faith’

Smith’s fans clapped back, saying she has a “fantastic voice” and that the “conspiracy theorists” should back off. They also say Bella’s faith and church connections are irrelevant. “Doesn’t matter what religion she is,” one writes. “Bella was amazing,” says another. “She deserved to win. She was the best talent.”

Another supporter writes, “Don’t bring religion into this,” adding, “I don’t think Bella won because she sang the religious song. We knew all along because of her big, beautiful voice that she would be the winner, even if she sang another song.”

About Smith’s beliefs, one person writes, “There is nothing wrong with having faith.” Another says, “I really appreciate how open she is about her faith. A winner in every sense.”

About the church connection, one fan notes, “I don’t recall Hillsong being mentioned during the finals and even if it was, so what? Bella wowed everyone with her voice and she gave thanks to the one who ultimately graced her with the gift!”

After the finale aired, Smith expressed gratitude to her supporters, her “church community,” and to Jesus. “I absolutely cannot wait to continue to share and celebrate with you,” she writes on Instagram.

Manny Pacquiao Sues Popular Filipino Pastor in Libel Case

By

Joseph Hammond

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September 16, 2021

(RNS) — Manny Pacquiao, the world champion boxer-turned-politician, is suing a popular evangelist in his native Philippines for libel. The lawsuit targets Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, a preacher popular with millions of Filipinos, who accused Pacquiao of embezzling public funds in building a sports complex that has been labeled a “white elephant.”

“He used this deliberate falsehood to brainwash the minds of the Filipino public,” Pacquiao said of Quiboloy in announcing his lawsuit, in which he is seeking $2 million in damages.

“He even had the audacity to quote the Holy Scripture in furtherance of his lies, misleading his flock and confusing the public, with the end view of blackening (my) reputation,” the lawsuit claims.

Quiboloy is the executive pastor of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, a restorationist church in Davao City, in the southern Philippines. The church is believed to have 4 million followers in the country and another 2 million among the Filipino diaspora. His followers refer to the septuagenarian preacher as “Owner of the Universe” and “Appointed Son of God,” among other titles.

The accusations arise from Pacquiao’s role in the building of the Sarangani Sports Training Center, which he sponsored as a senator. Though senators are elected at-large in the Philippines, Pacquiao was a congressional representative for Sarangani from 2010-2016. The district often ranks as one of the poorest regions of the Philippines.

In 2018, Pacquiao sponsored a bill to develop the sports center, and President Rodrigo Duterte signed it into law the following year. Though the budget for the facility is 200 million Filipino pesos, a social media campaign claimed that 3.5 billion pesos were committed to the project. (An investigation by Rappler, a local media outlet, determined the higher cost to be false.)

Lawyers for Quiboloy maintain that the pastor made no specific claims and only raised questions.

Though he has yet to officially announce his intentions, Pacquiao has emerged as the likely front-runner in the 2022 presidential election to succeed Duterte, who is term limited.

Quiboloy is a close associate of Duterte. During the latter’s 2016 presidential campaign, Quiboloy loaned Duterte a private jet and helicopter to support his campaign. All three men hail from Mindanao, the populous island in the southern Philippines, the second-largest in the country.

Until earlier this year, Pacquiao and Duterte were close political allies. Yet Pacquiao has criticized Duterte’s rapprochement with China and accused Duterte of corruption.

The rumors of malfeasance spread wildly online as Pacquiao, 42, prepared for his Aug. 21 fight with Cuba’s Yordenis Ugas in a welterweight world title fight. Pacquiao lost the fight via a close but unanimous decision. He says the accusations were distractions but the lawsuit, according to Quiboloy, may be intended as a well-timed political counterpunch.

“The complaint of Sen. Manny Pacquiao may be considered as retaliatory and a political move on his part, considering that the elections is upcoming,” Dinah Marie Tolentino, Quiboloy spokesperson regarding the case, told a Filipino media outlet.

The boxer is expected to return to the ring in December or January before retiring from boxing to focus on politics.

This article originally appeared at Religion News Service.

Actress Jessica Chastain Looked at More Than ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’ for New Movie

By

Adelle M Banks

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September 16, 2021

tammy faye — Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, left, in Aug 1986. Actors Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain as the famous televangelist couple in 2021. (AP Photo/Lou Krasky, left; Photo courtesy Searchlight Pictures)

(RNS) — Jessica Chastain remembers the “media sensationalism” that surrounded the larger-than-life image of the woman she portrays in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.” But years before deciding to produce and star in the biopic, the actress realized she never came close to knowing who the person long known as Tammy Faye Bakker was at heart.

“The reality that I discovered is she was such a compassionate person, filled with love and empathy for others,” Chastain told Religion News Service in a recent interview.

“It was important for me to tell that true story of her, not just for her legacy, and for her children, but also for the LGBTQ community that she supported when others in the conservative evangelical community were turning their backs on them.”

“The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” set to release in theaters on Friday (Sept. 17), is based on the 2000 documentary of the same name. Chastain, who portrays Bakker and is an executive producer of the new film, purchased the rights to the documentary to tell a fuller story.

Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, whose “Praise the Lord” or PTL show was a fixture on television for much of the 1970s and 1980s, became examples of the dangers of success and of leveraging faith to make enormous sums. At the height of their popularity, the PTL empire suddenly foundered on financial scandals, rumors of Tammy Faye’s drug addiction and accusations of sexual abuse against Jim Bakker by a New York church secretary named Jessica Hahn.

Both Chastain and Andrew Garfield, who plays Jim, said their research led them to a deeper understanding of the couple.

Unlike Chastain, the British-American Garfield knew little at first about the person he would portray.

“I came kind of fresh, without any preconceived ideas or judgments,” he told RNS in a separate interview. “So I was able to really just dive into researching him and his life and watching footage and meeting and talking to people that have known him and gathering my own instincts.”

As they became more familiar with the religion and the roles each of the Bakkers played in their rise and fall, the actors said they sought to humanize two people who had been caricatures, filling print and broadcast media with headlines about sex and money scandals.

The movie highlights both the trademarks and the traditions of the Bakkers, opening with the long-term emphasis on Tammy Faye’s heavy makeup. In one of her first lines, Chastain declares her exceptionally long eyelashes “my trademark.”

Later there are scenes where she stands by her husband as he urges increased pledges to keep their failing ministry in operation.

The movie shows a young Tammy Faye being moved by the Holy Spirit when she ventures into the Pentecostal church her mother, who considered Tammy Faye a shameful reminder of her mother’s past divorce, had forbidden her to attend.

In the early 1960s, Tammy Faye met Jim at North Central Bible College in Minneapolis and they soon married. Their work as traveling evangelists, with handmade puppets crafted by Tammy Faye, was a simpler version of the ministry they would eventually build into the Heritage USA headquarters comprising the PTL TV studio, a fancy Christian hotel and an amusement park near the border between North and South Carolina.

“We don’t deserve it, but yet we are blessed,” Tammy Faye sings in the mid-1970s.

“God loves you, he really does!” is the couple’s on-air refrain.

As COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates Rise, Religious Exemptions Grow

By

AP News

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September 16, 2021

religious exemptions — FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2020, file photo, a woman holds a sign during a protest at the state house in Trenton, N.J. Religious objections, once used only sparingly around the country to get exempted from various required vaccines, are becoming a much more widely used loophole against the COVID-19 shot. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

(AP) — An estimated 2,600 Los Angeles Police Department employees are citing religious objections to try to get out of the required COVID-19 vaccination. In Washington state, thousands of state workers are seeking similar exemptions.

And in Arkansas, a hospital has been swamped with so many such requests from employees that it is apparently calling their bluff.

Religious objections, once used sparingly around the country to get exempted from various required vaccines, are becoming a much more widely used loophole against the COVID-19 shot.

And it is only likely to grow following President Joe Biden’s sweeping new vaccine mandates covering more than 100 million Americans, including executive branch employees and workers at businesses with more than 100 people on the payroll.

The administration acknowledges that a small minority of Americans will use — and some may seek to exploit — religious exemptions. But it said it believes even marginal improvements in vaccination rates will save lives.

It is not clear how many federal employees have asked for a religious exemption, though union officials say there will be many requests. The Labor Department has said an accommodation can be denied if it causes an undue burden on the employer.

In the states, mask and vaccine requirements vary, but most offer exemptions for certain medical conditions or religious or philosophical objections. The use of such exemptions, particularly by parents on behalf of their schoolchildren, has been growing over the past decade.

The allowance was enshrined in the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, which says employers must make reasonable accommodations for employees who object to work requirements because of “sincerely held” religious beliefs.

A religious belief does not have to be recognized by an organized religion, and it can be new, unusual or “seem illogical or unreasonable to others,” according to rules laid out by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. But it can’t be founded solely on political or social ideas.

That puts employers in the position of determining what is a legitimate religious belief and what is a dodge.

Many major religious denominations have no objections to the COVID-19 vaccines. But the rollout has prompted heated debates because of the longtime role that cell lines derived from fetal tissue have played, directly or indirectly, in the research and development of various vaccines and medicines.

Roman Catholic leaders in New Orleans and St. Louis went so far as to call Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 shot “morally compromised.” J&J has stressed that there is no fetal tissue in its vaccine.

Moreover, the Vatican’s doctrine office has said it is “morally acceptable” for Catholics to receive COVID-19 vaccines that are based on research that used cells derived from aborted fetuses. Pope Francis himself has said it would be “suicide” not to get the shot, and he has been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer formula.

In New York, state lawmakers have attempted to make the vaccine mandatory for medical workers, with no religious exemptions. On Tuesday, a federal judge blocked the state from enforcing the rule to give a group of workers time to argue that it is illegal because it lacks the opt-out.

“Fear Not”: The Signpost of Another World

By

Sam Luce

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September 16, 2021

In a culture where fear is ever-present and all-pervasive, we turn to almost anything to find comfort and to find help. There are a million things to be afraid of thanks to the Internet and COVID; and that number has tripled. One of the most repeated phrases in scripture is fear not — do not be afraid. It’s almost as if the God who created us knows us and knows that much of what we do is driven by the blasphemy of pessimism. This idea is that things are worse than we imagine that things will not end well and that the worst possible thing that can happen will happen. We are plagued by these doubts all the time. Daily we read of people who are being oppressed and killed around the world we know people around us who are struggling with addictions and sorrows. People we love dying of covid, cancer, and suicide takes a toll on our soul.

“Fear Not” vs False Optimism

The answer that we are given to combat this fear is false optimism. We are told to think happy thoughts, to avoid people with negative energy. In the church, it isn’t much better. Many famous churchmen say that positive confession changes things that our words create in the same way God created the world with his word. We are given the same false optimism the world offers only in attractive wrapping paper called faith.

The problem with the false optimism the world offers us is that it avoids the difficulty through distraction. The problem with the false optimism the church offers as Chesterton says is that it tries “to prove that we fit in to the world.” We have an idea of how the world should be and to avoid the blasphemy of pessimism we settle for a cheap false optimism. We see the broken world needing mending a world and a life that if not cared for can be lost. We fail to see and understand that this world and this life were never ours they were never our possessions.

“Fear Not” – the Signpost of Another World

Gerard Manley Hopkins says it this way:

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
    It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
    It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
    And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
    And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

Our world is filled with the grandeur of God, charged with his glory. It isn’t great because He created it but because it continues to carry the beauty and glory of who he is from beginning to end. Its job is to point us to what can really help us in the middle of pandemics and pain. We are not citizens of this world. We were made for another world. This world despite the evil that men have done that despite the world bearing the smell of man and his sinful self-inflicted pain.

Hopkins finishes his poem this way:

And for all this, nature is never spent;
    There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
    Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
    World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

Two Reasons to Fear Not

Hopkins says despite our best attempts to destroy the world we live in God’s creation is “never spent.” We have hope in two things. The first is that the God who created this world broods over it saturates it with his grace. God is watching over our world he is not distant he is close he is “bent over” not standing afar off and he ordains all things according to the counsel of his will. You are not your own, and you are not alone.

In his book Orthodoxy Chesterton helps us from 100 years ago, telling us that we were made for another world.

“The optimist’s pleasure was prosaic, for it dwelt on the naturalness of everything; the Christian pleasure was poetic, for it dwelt on the unnaturalness of everything in the light of the supernatural. The modern philosopher had told me again and again that I was in the right place, and I had still felt depressed even in acquiescence. But I had heard that I was in the wrong place, and my soul sang for joy, like a bird in spring.”

The second is this world is not our home and our lives are not our own. When I heard I was in the wrong place my soul sang for joy. So powerful. If you have put your faith in Christ you are in the wrong place. So much of the fear we experience comes from a fear of losing was is temporal and failing to see that our lives are eternal. The revelation that this world is not our home and our lives are not our own should produce in us contentment in this life and at the same time discontented homesickness for the next.

This article about the biblical encouragement to fear not originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Transgender Peer Pressure: Is Your Child Vulnerable?

By

Megan Briggs

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September 16, 2021

A study published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS) explores the link between social media and peer group influence and rapid onset gender dysphoria (perhaps brought on by transgender peer pressure) among pre- and post-pubescent children. The conclusion of the study indicates there is an observable link between the two and gives parents more cause for concern over the friends their children keep and the media they consume.

“The onset of gender dysphoria seemed to occur in the context of belonging to a peer group where one, multiple or even all of the friends have become gender dysphoric and transgender-identified during the same timeframe. Parents also report that their children exhibited an increase in social media/Internet use prior to disclosure of a transgender identity,” the study reads.

The study was conducted between June and October 2016, by surveying parents of adolescents and young adults who were currently displaying symptoms of gender dysphoria. The study defined gender dysphoria as “an individual’s persistent discomfort with their biological sex or assigned gender.” The survey included six DSM-5 diagnostic indicators for gender dysphoria that parents were asked to identify in their children. (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—DSM-5—is the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals in the U.S.). If parents could identify two of these indicators, their children were classified as displaying symptoms of gender dysphoria and were included in the results. 256 survey responses were used.

The report on the study is quite lengthy. Below, we’ve summarized some of the information that caught our attention and would be of interest to those working with children or those with children of their own (in other words, practically the entire church!).

What Do We Know About the People Surveyed on Gender Dysphoria?

The sample of parents were predominantly mothers (91.7 percent) between the ages of 45 and 60. Most respondents were White (91.4 percent), non-Hispanic (99.2 percent), and lived in the United States (71.7 percent). Most respondents had a Bachelor’s degree (37.8 percent) or graduate degree (33.1 percent). The vast majority of parents surveyed favored gay and lesbian couples’ right to marry (85.9 percent) and believed transgender people deserve the same rights and protections as other people in their country (88.2 percent).

The Adolescents and Young Adults Represented

The adolescents and young adults (AYAs) represented by their parents were predominantly female at birth (82.8 percent) with an average current age of 16.4 years. Along with the rapid onset of gender dysphoria, 86.7 percent of parents noticed a “social influence,” or transgender peer pressure, that appeared to affect their child’s symptoms, such as having one or multiple friends become gender dysphoric or come out as transgender during a similar time period as their child, as well as an increase in their social media/Internet use.

Almost half (47.4 percent) of the AYAs represented had been formally diagnosed as “academically gifted”, while only a small percentage (4.3 percent) had a learning disability, 10.7 percent were both gifted and learning disabled, and 37.5 percent were neither. Forty-one percent of the AYAs expressed a non-heterosexual sexual orientation prior to announcing a transgender identification.

5 Big Feelings Our Kids Are Feeling Right Now

By

Jenny Funderburke Smith

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September 16, 2021

We all have experienced a wide range of emotions during this time of dealing with Covid-19. Our kids have dealt with a lot as well. Kids rarely express their true feelings, but it is our job to discern what is going on in their hearts. I have heard five statements from my kids and friends’ kids that I feel express five big feelings (significant emotions) that many children are dealing with.

5 Big Feelings Our Kids Are Feeling Right Now

1. Frustrated – “I don’t want to be muted!”

Schools and kids’ ministries alike have done our very best to help kids feel connected via digital means. But even at it’s best, technology is an insufficient substitute for everyday, normal interaction. After weeks of online class meetings and online kids’ ministry groups, my first grader declared that she didn’t want to participate because she wanted to talk. We’ve done a great job of teaching kids to hit that mute button. But, our kids are ready to talk whenever they want to. They are tired of just looking at friends’ faces. A big part of a being a kid is saying all of those words to their friends.

What opportunities can you create that allow kids the freedom to just be with friends and talk? At the beginning of our ministry video calls, we let kids who are on early do “show and tell” or tell everyone something that they have been dying to say. As gatherings become more commonplace, what fellowship opportunities can you plan where kids can spend time with friends?

2. Grief: “It didn’t even feel like summer.”

Our kids have sacrificed so much. Kids have missed end-of-year parties, field trips, yearbooks, special school traditions, birthday parties, vacations, and more. Many of those things may seem trivial to us as adults and we also can recognize that their sacrifice is for a greater good, they are still legitimate losses for our kids. Last Spring, when my middle schooler finished her schoolwork for the year and commented that not much was going to feel different. Her camps have been canceled. Sports aren’t happening. Her “normal” summer was gone before it even starts.

3. Boredom: “Do I have to watch it? How long is it?”

Kids and parents are done with virtual everything. DONE! Now, kids will watch YouTube all day long, but required screen time has become exhausting. We took away all of the fun parts of school, such as talking to friends and playing on the playground. We replaced their social interaction with worksheets and screens.

As you plan for the coming months, plan for as little virtual as possible. Think creative. Think fun. Think unique experiences. Help kids create new, fun memories in real life, positive big feelings.

4. Anxious: “School is still awkward.”

Everything has been so different. Kids have gone from being anxious about an invisible virus to now being anxious about returning to normal life. We have all encountered one unknown after another. Kids, understandably, may be nervous about what’s around the next corner. They worry about if school will resume and how strange it will be. They worry about if their friendships will remain and if they will remember all the math they were supposed to.

Keep this emotion in mind as you plan curriculum for the coming months. God’s word has much to say about anxiety and peace. Be intentional in what you teach to address their fears and anxiety with Christ at the center.

5. Anger: “I don’t even have any friends!”

Kids’ relationships depend primarily on day-to-day routines. This is especially true for younger kids. Friendships live on the playground and in the lunchroom and playing games in P.E. Add in the occasional playdate and sleepover. All of this has been gone. Some kids in some families have felt this isolation to the point that it has been traumatic. They are lonely and sad. Those types of feelings often are expressed as anger.

Think about kids who may have been especially isolated during this season. Only children or kids with much older siblings may not have had other kids around. Think about the kids in your ministry that are quieter or don’t connect easily. Is it possible for you to give them some extra attention? Is there another family you could connect them with to encourage some interaction? As you gather again, be intentional to watch out for kids who express hard emotions.

Psalm 34:18 is such an encouraging promise. It says, “The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit.” Whenever we emerge from quarantine life, let’s continue to pray for God to heal the hearts of our children and these big feelings.

This article about kids’ big feelings originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

The Social Media Illusion of Safety and Privacy

By

Jonathan Smith

-

September 15, 2021

The place of social media in our culture has taken a dramatic turn over the past few years. What seemed safe now seems insecure, and privacy that we took for granted now seems as though it never existed. Call it the social media illusion.

So what happened and why should we care? There were two big revelations that led to Facebook’s CEO testifying before Congress. First, it was revealed that a firm specializing in data analysis allowed a political organization access to Facebook data. The firm, Cambridge Analytica, had access to Facebook data for research purposes and it appears one of their employees shared that data with a political organization for them to use for their objectives.

Second, as a result, it becomes apparent that Facebook is collecting our data and sharing it with others as a part of how they make money. This left many with a lot of questions about online privacy and who has access to our data. While this sounds complex, it really isn’t. Let me try to answer many of the common questions.

The Social Media Illusion

What is Data Analysis?

Wikipedia defines data analysis as “the process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming and modeling data with the goal of discovering useful information, suggesting conclusions and supporting decision-making.” English translation: using data to make money. This is the core of how Facebook and many other social media networks make money. While we may take social media services for granted, let’s remember that they have to make money. Facebook doesn’t allow us to use their website out of the goodness of their hearts. The community they have built and the tools we all use for connection, communication and ministry all exist to make money. Server farms cost money to operate and software engineers want their salary direct deposits to happen every month.

Data analysis has been part of Facebook since the beginning. Their ability to analyze data on the demographics of those using their platform allowed them to target advertising and marketing in a unique, powerful and lucrative way. As another way to monetize their data, they licensed other firms to use their data for similar purposes. Enter Cambridge Analytica.

Is my data safe online?

That depends on how you define safe. If by safe you mean that you have complete control over who can see your data and that your data is strictly controlled by the privacy settings of any social media website, then no.

If by safe you mean that your data and privacy settings apply to individual users and user groups accessing your data, but that others are able to use your data as a part of research and data analysis as per the terms of service of a particular social media platform, then yes. But if you’re still skeptical, you can always turn to solutions like a temp mail.

Notice the difference: Facebook and other sites do a good job of allowing you to control, on a user or user group basis, who can see your data. For example, if you want to block me from seeing your post on Facebook (or any other platform) you can do that with tremendous ease. However, if you want to prevent a contract firm like a Cambridge Analytica or a university research program from seeing your data, whether anonymously or not, you do not have that control.

What brought all this to light was one of those researchers who shared Facebook data beyond the scope of their research and outside of the licensing agreement with Facebook for using that data. The fact that it was shared with a political organization only fueled the fire, but whether it was shared with Donald, Hillary or Bob the Builder doesn’t matter. The fact is the data was shared in violation of the data sharing agreement, in this case between Facebook and Cambridge Analytica.

The Social Media Illusion – Is Online Privacy Dead?

No, in so much as saying online privacy in terms of you having complete control over your data never really existed. Since the first day, Facebook came online, their terms of service have been pretty clear about how they will use your data. What amazes me is that there is any real surprise here. This is how social media makes money to exist and what makes it so powerful. When I read that Cambridge Analytica had access to Facebook data my initial response was, “Duh.” Don’t be so naïve as to think that you have complete control of what you post online. There is no such thing as complete control over anything in the digital realm.

The story in all of this was the breach of contract between Cambridge Analytica and Facebook when the data was shared with someone not licensed to have it. Think of it in terms of a copyright violation when you make copies of a song or book for all of your friends. That’s illegal, and so is what the Cambridge Analytica employee did in sharing the information with those not licensed to have it.

The Social Media Illusion – What does this mean to church leaders?

Several things come to mind. First, the Bible is clear about how we are to live our lives, and what the Bible says applies to how we live our lives in both the real world and the virtual world, despite being written thousands of years before Al Gore invented the Internet. 1 Cor. 10:31 says, “Whether therefore you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” This is why I don’t care if Cambridge Analytica, Donald, Hillary or Bob the Builder have access to what I post. My goal is to do my posting “for the Lord and not for men,” as Colossians 3:23 tells us to do.

Second, I’ve known since the beginning that this is how social media works. They make their money on our data, so everything I post I know is part of their money-making machine. Again, applying 1 Cor. 10:31 and Col. 3:23 to what you post makes some anonymous data analysis company also seeing my data less important to me. I’m OK with everyone seeing my age, my religious background, my political affiliations, my relationship status and more. If I didn’t want anyone to see that, whether you or a data analysis firm, I wouldn’t have posted it in the first place.

Third, this doesn’t mean I’m going to go off the grid. I realize that some may take this as a wakeup call and want to get their data offline. I get that and understand that each person and organization will have to decide if they want to be part of an online community, understanding that their data is what pays for that community to exist, or if they want to go offline.

The Social Media Illusion – Is there any good news?

Absolutely! First, I don’t think the users or the social media providers, like Facebook, are going to be as naïve as they have been. Hopefully, users are paying more attention to user agreements, and providers like Facebook are making those agreements easier to read and understand.

Second, many new tools, which should have already been in place, are being released. Some have already existed, like the ability to download everything Facebook knows about you. It’s a powerful tool and it will surprise you what they know. At least now, more people know this exists.

Other new tools are coming to keep users more informed of who is using their data and even who provides some of the content on their services. Many of these new tools, like publishing who is responsible for a political ad or news story, seem common sense but are now being enabled as a result of the naiveté on both sides being shattered.

When it comes to the social media illusion, none of this surprised God or His Word. Data stewardship is something we should all take seriously, especially as we manage data in ministry. Stewarding data is not only an organizational task but also an individual responsibility.

The Worst Icebreaker Question – Ever!

By

Jim Egli

-

September 15, 2021

It all started innocently enough. I had gone to the dentist and later that day went to my small group. I happened to mention my dentist visit before the meeting itself began and people started telling dentist horror stories. So I said, “Let’s make that our icebreaker question this evening, ‘What’s the worst experience you have ever had at the dentist?’” Big mistake! This was an intergenerational small group and as each adult told their horrific and painful story, the look of terror in the children’s eyes, some who had never been to a dentist before, grew greater and greater! Oops! Besides terrifying small children, I’m sure I made some parents’ and dentists’ lives more difficult that day! That’s not the worst icebreaker question I’ve ever heard, however.

If you’re someone who gets nervous at the dentist, it can be helpful to find a practice that focuses on making their patients feel comfortable. One such practice is Dental Made Easy Forest Hills. They specialize in providing a relaxing and calming environment for their patients, and they offer a range of services to help alleviate anxiety, such as sedation dentistry. Their team is also highly skilled and experienced, so you can feel confident that you’re in good hands. Finding a dentist who prioritizes your comfort and well-being can make a big difference in your overall dental experience.

My Nominee for Worst Icebreaker:

A friend related to me that in his small group, the leader once asked, “What is the biggest secret you have ever kept from your spouse?” An intriguing question, to be sure, but your typical small group is not the place to ask this. One person’s honest answer totally shocked their spouse and actually led to their divorce. I doubt if that was what the small group leader was aiming for.

From Worst Icebreaker to Great Opener:

What makes for a great icebreaker or opening question? Use a question that can be answered easily, fairly quickly, and that invites your group members and guests to get to know one another better.

Avoid questions that create a negative atmosphere. I’m not saying every question needs to be cheery. You can ask, “What has been a recent disappointment in your life?” Or, “What has been a recent high point and low point for you?” But don’t use questions like, “What is the worst vacation that you have ever taken?” Or, “Tell us one thing you really hate about your job.” You are wanting to pull people together, not create a bad vibe!

To share my favorite icebreakers with you I created an icebreaker page where I’ve posted great opening questions for you to use. Right now there are dozens of them listed; by the end of the year I’ll have posted hundreds. To make it easy for you to find just the right one, I’ve designed the page so that they can sorted by depth (light, deeper, deep), by category tags, or by ratings. You can suggest your own great icebreakers by adding ones in the comments and I’ll post new ones from there. Check it out and rate a few questions while you are there.

Also, I’ve posted a lot of free small group resources and articles at Small Groups, Big Impact.

What is the worst icebreaker question that you have ever asked? What thoughts do you have on choosing great questions to open a small group meeting?

20 Truths—Known: How Believing Who God Says You Are Changes Everything

The Number One Small Group Transparency Killer

8 Reasons It’s Harder to Raise PK’s Today

1. The local church often still implicitly expects the pastor’s kids to be almost perfect.

2. Social media has made stupid decisions a lot more public.

3. The Internet has sometimes exposed PK’s to painful internal church conflict.

4. Pastors and their families tend to be isolated—even at times from their own congregation.

5. PK’s have ready access to temptation and sin via the Web.

6. Many churches give children and teens few places to ask honest (but hard) questions of faith.

7. Increasingly, cultural changes compete with church attendance and participation.

8. Preachers are much more accessible now via email, texts, etc.—which only creates more tension with finding family time.

3 Descriptions of a Worldly Person

1. A worldly person has a passion for personal pleasure (4:1-10).

James says 4 things about this worldliness:

2. A worldly person criticizes other believers of Jesus (4:11-12).

3. A worldly person has an arrogant disregard for God (4:13-5:6).

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The Adolescents and Young Adults Represented

5 Big Feelings Our Kids Are Feeling Right Now

1. Frustrated – “I don’t want to be muted!”

2. Grief: “It didn’t even feel like summer.”

3. Boredom: “Do I have to watch it? How long is it?”

4. Anxious: “School is still awkward.”

5. Anger: “I don’t even have any friends!”

The Social Media Illusion

What is Data Analysis?

Is my data safe online?

The Social Media Illusion – Is Online Privacy Dead?

The Social Media Illusion – What does this mean to church leaders?

The Social Media Illusion – Is there any good news?

My Nominee for Worst Icebreaker:

From Worst Icebreaker to Great Opener:

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