Longtime Couple Passes 15 Hours Apart—God Called Them ‘In a Beautiful Way’

July 27, 2021

After a 73-year marriage based on love and faith, Wanda and Jim Wold of Garner, Iowa, died hours apart last week. Family members say they’re comforted by knowing that God had a hand in the couple’s July 20 deaths.

Wanda Wold, 96, died early in the morning at Concord Care Center, where she had previously worked as a registered nurse. Hours later, Jim Wold, 94, died in the same nursing home, soon after learning that his wife had passed away.

Wanda and Jim Wold—‘God Was Up to Something’

In a Facebook post last Tuesday evening, Dan Engstler, one of the couple’s nine grandchildren, posted a tribute to his grandparents. “God was up to something today,” he writes, “calling them both to heaven 15 hours apart.”

Candy Engstler, Dan’s mother and one of the couple’s three children, describes receiving an early-morning call Tuesday, informing her of her mother’s death. When she and her sister went to the care center to comfort their father, she says, “He folded his hands with both of us on either side and said, ‘Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for taking her, and would you please take me.’”

That evening, Engslter received another call from the center, about the death of a second parent in one day. Despite her grief, she says she’s grateful that God “allowed them both to go on the same day.” Engslter adds, “I feel it was their time. The Lord called them, and he called them in a beautiful way, so I will just hang onto that.”

A Love Story ‘About God’s Love for Them’

A joint funeral for Jim and Wanda, who’d been married since May 1948, was held yesterday at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Garner. Military rites also were conducted for Jim, who’d served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. According to Candy Engstler, her father faced several health challenges, and her mother had Alzheimer’s disease for years.

Tributes and condolences are pouring in, with many people focusing on the couple’s lengthy love story and same-day deaths. Their grandson Nicholas Thackery, a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod pastor in Fort Dodge, Iowa, writes that while those things are “pretty amazing,” we should “remember that if this is a love story, it is about God’s love for them. … This is about God and the love that he gave to them, the forgiveness that he gave to them. Grandpa and Grandma showed that love to each other, our families, and their friends.”

During a recent visit, Thackery says he thanked his grandfather for his lifelong support. “He told me that he could not take the credit, for it was God at work in and through him,” the grateful grandson writes.

Thackery credits his grandparents with trying to always “instill in our families…the importance of Jesus, faith, and the hope of eternal life.” He invites everyone who’s moved by this story to “Join me in praising and giving thanks to God for the faith he gave [Jim and Wanda] to remind all of us how great a God we have. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”

Children’s Ministry in a World That Promotes Two Dads

Dale Hudson

July 27, 2021

There is an avalanche of LGBTQ propaganda coming at the next generation. Seems these days there is a big increase in the number of LGBTQ theme and representation in many commercials, TV shows, social media, movies and all other things media. The concerning thing is this – they are targeting children at younger and younger ages. Here’s an example. A new children’s show called Ridley Jones features a nonbinary dinosaur and a character with two dads.

The producer has already dropped two episodes on YouTube, which have racked up 17 million views.

What can we do as children’s minister leaders? How can we speak the truth in love and help the next generation see that this is not a lifestyle that Jesus condones? How can we help them see that 2 dads is contrary to what the Bible proclaims. You’ve heard the expression – God created Adam and Eve…not Adam and Steve. And when Jesus spoke about marriage, He always clarified it as being between a man and woman.

Children’s Ministry in a World That Promotes Two Dads

Partner with parents.

We obviously can’t directly talk with preschool and elementary children about an issue like two dads. That’s not our job. But our job, as children’s ministry leaders, is to equip parents to have these critical conversations with their child. Parents are the biggest influence in a child’s life and they should be the one to initiate these type conversations. Partner with them and set them up for success.

Set them up for success by providing resources and training that will help them engage their children with confidence.

Pass them to student ministry with a solid faith foundation built on the authority of Scripture.

When it comes to how we live, the Bible is the sole source of truth in matters such as these. You’ve heard the expression – God created Adam and Eve…not Adam and Steve. And when Jesus spoke about marriage, He always clarified it as being between a man and woman.

And you can’t truthfully tweak, change or interpret it to bless a LGBTQ lifestyle. There’s no way to avoid the idea of two dads. The Bible is very clear in these matters. One man. One woman. Married in a union that is blessed by God.

Pray for them.

The biggest thing we can do is pray. Pray that those trapped in a LGBTQ lifestyle will have their eyes opened to the truth and ask Christ to be their forgiver, leader and friend. Pray for our children as they grow up in a post Christian culture.

I often think of this piercing quote by George Barna: In the race to a child’s heart the first one there wins.

We are in a race to capture the heart of the next generation. We must determine that we will get there first and help kids know and live the truth of God in every area of their life.

If this post offends you…I will offer no apologizes when it comes from the truth of God’s Word. I didn’t “wrote” it…I just “quote” it.

If God’s Word is the final authority, then we cannot back down or apologize for standing for the truth. So much is at stake.

This article about two dads originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Dr. Tony Evans: Critical Race Theory? God Is Calling Us to ‘Kingdom Race Theology’

Stephanie Martin

July 26, 2021

In a recent sermon to his Dallas congregation, Dr. Tony Evans proposed a biblical alternative to critical race theory (CRT), saying Christ has set new rules and made us new people. Speaking at the July 14 midweek meeting at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, Evans defines CRT, describes why it’s become such a hot-button topic, and offers insights from Scripture about how God wants us to live as members of his kingdom.

Dwight McKissic used Twitter to encourage people to listen to Evans’ message, titled “The Truth About Critical Race Theory.” McKissic, senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, writes, “Do yourself a favor & hear this message from Dr. Tony Evans on Critical Race Theory. The body of Christ is divided over this topic. God has given Dr. Evans a message on this topic that can bring healing & unity to the body. You won’t regret the investment.”

Dr. Tony Evans: The CRT Social Construct Has Become ‘Convoluted’

CRT and the firestorm over it have exploded, Evans says, leaving everyone confused about various terms. “So much has gotten attached to [CRT] and convoluted it,” he says, but it boils down to “a post-Civil Rights social construct” about “how unjust laws that were racist in nature filtered themselves into the operating system of the culture,” becoming “a way of life.” As a result, even after well-meaning laws such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voters Rights Act passed, society itself didn’t change because “the system had already been infiltrated with the previous unrighteous laws and unjust laws” such as Jim Crow.

Evans says CRT attempts “to track how the legal implications of the unjust laws manifest themselves today,” such as through the discriminatory practice of redlining. The pastor points out that CRT is concerned about “racism infiltrating the structures and the systems of society,” not about whether an individual person is racist.

As an example, Evans points to the nearby golf course his church now owns. At one point, it had a whites-only policy before becoming member-owned. After that, though, members set up a system that essentially barred African Americans from the course because they had to be voted in. An individual member could claim that they, as a person, weren’t racist, Evans says, “But the system that you are a part of is.”

Recent debates about the 1619 Project, slavery reparations, police violence, Black Lives Matter, and the Marxist framework of various iterations all end up putting a different spin on CRT, Evans says. That leads to a “lack of clarity” and confuses Christians, he says. “My phone’s blowing up. … My congregation is divided. … And now it’s interfered with our personal relationships.” And while “everybody talks about critical race,” people are talking about so many different things, “which means they’re never gonna agree.”

Dr. Tony Evans Introduces ‘Kingdom Race Theology’

To sort through all the confusion and use God’s Word as a guide, Evans proposes the KRT theory: Kingdom Race Theology. He defines it as “the reconciled recognition, affirmation, and celebration of the divinely created…ethnic differences through which God displays his multifaceted glory, as his people justly, righteously and responsibly function personally, and corporately, in unity under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.”

Evans says KRT is based on Ephesians 2:11-22, in which Paul discusses the reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles that Jesus made possible. Paul’s letter describes how the circumcision debate led to division and name-calling, even among people attending the same church. In that society, the Jews were privileged, and then the Gentiles entered in. Paul has to spell it out: “Y’all are now Christians,” says Evans. “You’re going to the same church. So it’s time for new rules.”

Verse 13, which begins “but now,” indicates there’s a new “Christo-centric perspective,” Evans says. And verses 14 and 15 sum that up: “For [Christ] himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace.”

“If you’re spending more time discussing CRT than you are KRT, then you’ve been tricked by the world,” Evans says. “Now in Christ, there are new rules. And if you will abide by the new rules of Christ, we will create something new. So while they’re fighting out there, we have peace in here. Because we’re operating on one new man.”

Race becomes an idol, Evans says, when you spend more time focusing on it than on God’s Word. And Christians who fight about CRT may never get around to KRT. The pastor also reminds Christians not to jump to conclusions because of their historically based “racial sensitivities.” Instead, he says, let’s take time to seek clarity.

Sparked by Pandemic Fallout, Homeschooling Surges Across U.S.

David Crary

July 26, 2021

Jennifer Osgood, center, poses with her children Lily, 7, left, and Noah, 12, right, at their home in Fairfax, Vt., on Tuesday, July 20, 2021. The Osgood children will continued to be homeschool this upcoming school year. As the pandemic took hold across the United States in the spring of 2020, it brought disruption and anxiety to most families. Yet some parents are grateful for one consequence: they are now opting to homeschool their children even as schools plan to resume in-person classes. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Although the pandemic disrupted family life across the U.S. since taking hold in spring 2020, some parents are grateful for one consequence: They’re now opting to homeschool their children, even as schools plan to resume in-person classes.

The specific reasons vary widely. Some families who spoke with The Associated Press have children with special educational needs; others seek a faith-based curriculum or say their local schools are flawed. The common denominator: They tried homeschooling on what they thought was a temporary basis and found it beneficial to their children.

“That’s one of the silver linings of the pandemic — I don’t think we would have chosen to homeschool otherwise,” said Danielle King of Randolph, Vermont, whose 7-year-old daughter Zoë thrived with the flexible, one-on-one instruction. Her curriculum has included literature, anatomy, even archaeology, enlivened by outdoor excursions to search for fossils.

The surge has been confirmed by the U.S. Census Bureau, which reported in March that the rate of households homeschooling their children rose to 11% by September 2020, more than doubling from 5.4% just six months earlier.

Black households saw the largest jump; their homeschooling rate rose from 3.3% in the spring of 2020 to 16.1% in the fall.

The parents in one of those households, Arlena and Robert Brown of Austin, Texas, had three children in elementary school when the pandemic took hold. After experimenting with virtual learning, the couple opted to try homeschooling with a Catholic-oriented curriculum provided by Seton Home Study School, which serves about 16,000 students nationwide.

The Browns plan to continue homeschooling for the coming year, grateful that they can tailor the curriculum to fit their children’s distinctive needs. Jacoby, 11, has been diagnosed with narcolepsy and sometimes needs naps during the day; Riley, 10, has tested as academically gifted; Felicity, 9, has a learning disability.

“I didn’t want my kids to become a statistic and not meet their full potential,” said Robert Brown, a former teacher who now does consulting. “And we wanted them to have very solid understanding of their faith.”

Arlena Brown, who gave birth to a fourth child 10 months ago, worked as a preschool teacher before the pandemic. Homeschooling, she says, has been a rewarding adventure.

“In the beginning, the biggest challenge was to unschool ourselves and understand that homeschooling has so much freedom,” she said. “We can go as quickly or slowly as we need to.”

Race played a key role in the decision by another African American family to homeschool their 12-year-old son, Dorian.

Angela Valentine said Dorian was often the only Black student in his classes at a suburban Chicago public school, was sometimes treated unfairly by administrators, and was dismayed as other children stopped playing with him.

Former Mars Hill Elders Plead For Mark Driscoll to Resign Immediately

Jesse T. Jackson

July 26, 2021

Mars Hill Church’s former elders have released a statement to Christianity Today pleading with their former lead pastor, Mark Driscoll, to resign from The Trinity Church in Arizona, which Driscoll planted in 2016. Driscoll previously co-founded Mars Hill Church in 1996 and pastored it in Seattle, Washington, until his resignation in 2014 following an investigation accusing Driscoll of bullying.

Driscoll Planted The Trinity Church

Driscoll founded The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Ariz., and held the first service in February 2016. Driscoll currently serves as senior pastor alongside several members of his family. His wife Grace leads women’s ministry; his son-in-law Landon Chase holds the title “pastor of fun.” Landon’s wife and the Driscolls’ daughter Ashley is executive director of the online ministry “Real Faith,” and the Driscolls’ son Zac serves as Trinity’s director of interns.

Former Elders Say They See Driscoll’s Similar Sin Pattern

“We are saddened to learn that Mark Driscoll has continued in a pattern of sinful actions toward staff members and congregants as he pastors The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona,” the former Mars Hill elders said in the statement. They said leadership behaviors that have been recently reported “appear similar” to what was experienced at Mars Hill Church.

The Trinity Church’s former head of security Chad Freese said Driscoll berated staff during meetings and has compared what he witnessed to a cult. “Everything is about the Driscolls” at the church, Freese said.

Mars Hill’s former elders said the news about Driscoll troubles them and states that he continues to be “unrepentant despite the fact these sins have been previously investigated, verified and brought to his attention by his fellow elders.”

The 39 people who attached their name to the statement said Driscoll is “unfit for serving the church” as a pastor. The former elders recognized they have no authority over Driscoll or at The Trinity Church, but are asking their former pastor to voluntarily resign as The Trinity Church’s senior pastor immediately. They also encouraged those close to him to persuade him to the same.

“Mark left deep pain in the lives of many,” Mars Hill Church’s former elders wrote, because he wasn’t willing “to seek restoration and reconciliation with those he has sinned against.”

Brian Houston Calls Vaccine a ‘Personal Decision’ After Death of Unvaxed Member

Jessica Lea

July 26, 2021

Hillsong pastor Brian Houston has said that getting the COVID-19 vaccine is a “personal decision,” even as he recommended people follow the advice of their doctors. Houston made his comments in a statement addressing the death of Hillsong member Stephen Harmon, who passed away from COVID-19 after making a series of posts mocking the vaccine.

“The death of Stephen Harmon was a sad day for those who knew him and called him a friend,” said Houston in a statement provided to CBS Los Angeles, which continued:

Any loss of life is a moment to mourn and offer support to those who are suffering and so our heartfelt prayers are with his family and those who loved him. As a church, our focus is on the spiritual well-being of the people in each of our local communities. On any medical issue, we strongly encourage those in our church to follow the guidance of their doctors. While many of our staff, leadership and congregation have already received the COVID-19 vaccine, we recognize this is a personal decision for each individual to make with the counsel of medical professionals.

Stephen Harmon’s Tragic Passing

Houston issued his statement to media outlets that included CNN after publishing a now-deleted post on Stephen Harmon’s passing on Instagram and Twitter. In it, Houston, who had kept in contact with Harmon during the hospitalization, said, “Stephen was just a young man in his early 30s. He was one of the most generous people I know and he had so much in front of him.”

An ABC News affiliate reports that Harmon attended Hillsong in Los Angeles. Prior to his death and even during his hospitalization, he was outspoken against the COVID-19 vaccine. On May 26, Harmon tweeted, “When you can’t trust the Bible cause it was written by man, but you trust the CDC/Fauci guidelines cause they were written by man. Makes total sense.”

A tweet from June 3 reads, “If you’re having email problems, I feel bad for you, son. I got 99 problems but a vax ain’t one.” Harmon was hospitalized by at least June 30 due to contracting COVID-19 and pneumonia, and even after he was hospitalized, he said he would not get the vaccine.

On Sunday, July 18, Harmon said, “Please pray y’all, they really want to intubate me and put me on a ventilator. Even the slightest movements and my heart rate skyrockets and oxygen dependency increases. and please, I’m not asking for anyone’s opinion on intubation, I’ll make my own choice, I’m asking for prayer.” He added, “If you don’t have faith that God can heal me over your stupid ventilator then keep the Hell out of my ICU room, there’s no room in here for fear or lack of faith.”

Three days before he died, Harmon posted that he had agreed to intubation: “I’ve fought this thing as hard as I can but unfortunately it’s reached a point of critical choice and as much as I hate having to do this I’d rather it be willingness than forced emergency procedure.”

Harmon passed away on Wednesday, June 21. His Instagram account was made private after his death, and his Twitter account is now private as well.

At Tokyo Olympics, Even Faith Events Look Different as COVID Spikes. Here’s How.

Emily McFarlan Miller

July 26, 2021

Tokyo Olympics — The Fellowship of Christian Athletes Olympics pins include, from left: Faith （信仰）, Hope（希望）, and Love（愛）. Photo courtesy of FCA

(RNS) — It’s been dubbed the first “no-fun” Olympics.

Athletes have been asked to eat alone and maintain distance in the dining hall at the Olympic Village in Tokyo, and compete in empty stadiums.

Even chaplains looking after athletes’ spiritual health largely have gone virtual.

Amid the changes at the Tokyo Olympics — which kicked off Friday (July 23) after a yearlong delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, still devastating many participating countries — are adjustments to the way the Games are accommodating athletes’ religious needs, as well as to the way outside groups are able to share their faith with Olympians and their fans.

Those changes come as Japan declares a fourth state of emergency in the Tokyo area as COVID-19 infections continue to climb there.

Will Thompson, Japan director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, explained why those accommodations are important for athletes, who he said are “created as physical, mental, and spiritual beings.”

“When failure, injury, disappointment, or unfulfillment comes, there is rarely appropriate support for these athletes to truly relate to them in a way that fully ministers to them,” Thompson said, “not a fan or asking anything of them as they so often experience. To meet them as they are, where they are, as a fellow human in need of spiritual encouragement and direction, is very important, and can greatly impact their lives on and off the field of competition.”

At the last Summer Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the Olympic Village featured a multifaith center with chaplains and prayer spaces representing Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism.

Tokyo’s Olympic Village also will include a multifaith center, the Tokyo 2020 International Communications Team confirmed.

“The Villages will include a multi-faith centre to provide athletes with suitable facilities for religious services and prayers,” it said in a statement provided to Religion News Service. “Tokyo 2020 is liaising with the local faith and religious groups for planning and resourcing the multi-faith centre.”

But accommodations provided by the center will look different from those in past Olympic years in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

28 Abducted Students From Baptist High School Freed in Nigeria

AP News

July 26, 2021

abducted students — Parents are reunited with released students of the Bethel Baptist High School in Damishi, Nigeria, on Sunday, July 25, 2021. Armed kidnappers in Nigeria have released 28 of the more than 120 students who were abducted at the beginning of July from the Bethel Baptist High School in the northern town of Damishi. Church officials handed those children over to their parents at the school on Sunday. (AP Photo)

KANO, Nigeria (AP) — Armed kidnappers in Nigeria have released 28 of the more than 120 students who were abducted at the beginning of July from the Bethel Baptist High School in the northern town of Damishi.

Church officials handed those children over to their parents at the school on Sunday. But the Rev. Israel Akanji, president of the Baptist Convention, said more than 80 other children are still being held by the gunmen.

So far 34 children kidnapped from the school on July 5 have either been released or have escaped from the custody of the gunmen. It is unclear when the other children will be released. The gunmen have reportedly demanded 500,000 Naira (about $1,200) for each student.

Akanji said the church did not pay any ransoms because it is opposed to paying criminals, but he added the church was unable to stop the children’s families from taking any actions they deem fit to secure their release.

A spokesman for the Nigerian Police, Mohammed Jalige, said security forces and civilian defense forces were on a routine rescue patrol July 12 around the forests near the village of Tsohon Gaya when they found three exhausted kidnapped victims roaming in the bush. Two other students escaped on July 20 when they were ordered to fetch firewood from a nearby forest. Jalige said they were undergoing medical examinations.

Gunman called bandits have carried out a spate of mass abductions from schools in northern Nigeria this year, mainly seeking ransoms.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who won election on hopes that he would tackle Nigeria’s security challenges, has not been able to do much in addressing the growing cases of mass abductions from Nigerian schools.

This story originally appeared here.

Divine Transformation: Ex-Alaska Strip Club Becomes Church

Mark Thiessen

July 26, 2021

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A popular strip club that once beckoned customers off a busy highway leading into Anchorage is now a church offering salvation — instead of temptation — thanks to a daughter of a former exotic dancer.

Linda Dunegan believes divine intervention played a hand in transforming the building that housed Fantasies on 5th into the start-up Open Door Baptist Church, turning the show floor into a sanctuary and trading the dancer’s pole with a pulpit.

“This church came about because I prayed for five years,” said Dunegan, who tried to buy the building before but walked away — for good, she thought — when she and the owner couldn’t come to terms. Then the owner gave a real estate agent a week to sell it and suggested the agent call Dunegan. This time, the deal went through.

“God has been very good to me,” Dunegan said, “to give me a family, a wonderful husband, food on the table, a place to live.”

The journey to savvy real estate investor with 19 properties in three states seems implausible for a girl barely surviving on a daily bowl of rice in her native Vietnam.

Dunegan grew up in a small village near the Cambodian border, where most homes were on stilts and the surrounding water was everyone’s fishing grounds — and toilets.

Her mother and father had an arranged marriage that Dunegan said failed when her mother didn’t produce a male heir and was sent back to her village with her two daughters. With no other skills, her mother took a job as a waitress in a bar, where she met an American who would become her husband and help the family flee the war-ravaged country in April 1975 on a military transport when Dunegan was 8.

The family struggled financially and moved around a lot, flitting from Los Angeles to Hawaii, Florida, Arizona and all over the East Coast.

In the early 1980s, her mother and stepfather divorced. Friends encouraged her mother to move to Anchorage, where they said there was good money to be made working as a waitress in the bars filled with oil industry workers.

Once in Alaska’s largest city, her mother quickly found out that there was better money to be made dancing at different bars, though Dunegan wasn’t sure if Fantasies on 5th was one of them. She and her mother had a falling out recently, and attempts by The Associated Press to contact her for comment were unsuccessful.

As a child, Dunegan said she escaped into literature, reading a book a day. She studied hard, made the National Honor Society and went to college, eventually earning a doctorate. She also had a nearly three decade military career with service in the Air Force and Navy reserves and the Alaska Air National Guard.

Ed Stetzer: The Importance of Volunteer Leaders in the Church

Ed Stetzer

July 26, 2021

Volunteers who are leaders are essential to the life and growth of a church.

Most of us know how essential a role volunteers play in the life and growth of our church. Healthy churches develop an ethos of valuing volunteers as a vital part of overall effectiveness. But in order for churches to thrive, they would do best to give special attention to volunteers who are leaders and choose leaders who serve as volunteers.

Volunteer leaders come through stages of a ministry.

When I look for either a leader to oversee volunteers or a leader to oversee leaders, ideally I look for someone who has gone through all the stages of the ministry he or she will be leading—someone who has set up the chairs if we’re starting a new church, led a Bible study, or worked in the children’s ministry. Then, once that person has volunteered in those positions, I say, “Let’s see if you can oversee others to do that.”

Furthermore, I love to challenge volunteers to go a little deeper. Challenging volunteers who show a potential for leadership to oversee other volunteers is a great way to do that. If I’ve found a volunteer who has gone through the different stages of the ministry he or she will be leading, then I want to be sure to equip the person with some training. Many people do not know how to delegate well. Have your leaders read a simple book on delegation. Send them to training opportunities and give them the tools they need to do well as a volunteer leader. Treat them as a valuable part of the leadership of the church, because they are.

Volunteers are a vital part of our churches running smoothly. Something that makes them even more remarkable is that they often go unrecognized. Volunteers must be willing to humbly serve Christ and their brothers and sisters without ever expecting to shine in the spotlight.

Volunteer Leaders — A Good Example

One such volunteer I knew who embraced this humble servitude is Dale.

You wouldn’t have heard of him, but he was a guy in my church. One of the key ministries we needed to develop was small-group ministries. He was a new believer — in fact, I had baptized him. I asked him to be the champion of small groups in our church. I asked him to learn more than I knew about it and paid to send him to a conference on small groups.

He went off to the seminar and came back with five or six books he bought on his own. He sat down and made a plan. We went through that plan together and I modified it here and there based on what I knew from seminars I had attended. Then, I had him go and do it.

Not only did he champion small groups in our church, but he led the leaders of small groups as well. He was the perfect picture of this model: He started as a new believer in a small group, he led a small group, he then oversaw small groups in a group zone, and finally he oversaw all of our small groups. And he did all this while working full time at his job.

Tired of Outrage? Let’s DO Something!

Christina Embree

July 26, 2021

If you’re tired of outrage, let’s do something.

“Top 5 Reasons People are Leaving the Church”

“Church, Why the Younger Generations are Leaving You”

“An Open Letter to the Church: Why I am Done with You”

While these may not be actual titles of the articles I’ve been reading lately, they are quite similar. Reasons for the decreasing population of twenty- and thirty-somethings has been repeatedly linked to everything from the “showiness” of church to the lack of outward focus and the commercialization of church organization. And lest you think that this article is just going to offer yet another reason (and yes, I have my thoughts on the “whys” as well), be at ease because that is not my intent.

Not because I want to bury my head in the sand and pretend that nothing is happening to the church today (I’m tired of outrage, too). Not because I disagree with the other bloggers and articles that choose to address the topic head on. Not because I think the situation doesn’t deserve attention or has legitimate evidence behind it.

In fact, I actually agree with most of them. I think it’s very telling that in a recent survey of 5,000 people, over 72% of White Evangelicals indicated that being an American held the same importance to them as being a Christian. If that’s the message we are giving our kids and youth, guess what happens when they get disillusioned with something in America? Their faith is attached to it. It’s not Jesus. It’s something else. And it’s not okay.

But it’s not the end of the story.

You see, when we simply blame the institution, we negate all the good that comes with it too. When we blame big churches, we miss the big things those churches are doing for the Lord. When we blame denominations, we disregard entire segments of the church who are serving Jesus.

The reality is that many people are leaving the church. But there is another generation quickly coming into adulthood (Generation Alpha) and if we spend all of our time, energy, and study on figuring out what reforms we need to get those who have lost back, we could very easily neglect the generation following closely behind.

My website is named REFOCUS, and as the name indicates, I firmly believe we need to refocus. I’m less concerned with the size of church building and their multiple worship formats as I am about how they are discipling the next generation.

If You’re Tire of Outrage, Here Are a Few Questions

What is church to our kids, the ones inside the walls of the church right now?

Is it a place you go or is it a life you live as a member of Christ’s body?

What is Christianity to our kids?

Is it being a good American or being a follower of Christ?

**What is faith to our kids?**

Is it a denominational label you wear with pride or hope realized in serving as the hands and feet of Jesus?

**Who is God to our kids?**

Is He a Santa Claus type being in the sky who loves you and wants to give you things or is He the Triune God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Creator and Lord of All?Are we so busy discovering what’s wrong with the church that we neglect to instill in our children what is right with Jesus and the Body of Christ?

The other day I told a friend that I am tired of outrage. I’m tired of laying blame. I’m tired of dissecting and analyzing and judging and criticizing. Not because there aren’t serious issues that need to be addressed. Not because there aren’t legitimate concerns that need to be heard. But because I think we need to be more than outraged. We need to actually be living out what it means to be the church in our own neighborhood, our own communities and our own homes.

Because I have three children who are almost grown and they don’t need to hear what is wrong with the institution of the church; they need to hear what is right about Jesus. They need me to live Jesus in front of them, share Jesus everyday with them, and be Jesus to the world around them. Whether I am walking into a multi-million dollar facility on Sunday morning or into a living room in someone’s home, they need to see, hear, touch, and know Jesus, not what is wrong with the church next door.

We can either spend the next few years being outraged or we can choose today, that “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Let’s choose to invest in parents/caregivers so they can pour Jesus into their kids. Let’s invest in our church, no matter what it looks like, so our children grow up in a community of fellow believers.

It’s time to stop the blame game and start living church like it’s for real and not a game.

Because no matter what, a new generation is growing quickly, and they have not left us yet. Start fighting for them now so we don’t have to blame the church later when they leave. Our God is big enough, strong enough, and amazing enough to show each one His Love as long as we consistently point our children to Him.

This article for those tired of outrage originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Carey Nieuwhof: 5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Copy a Megachurch

Carey Nieuwhof

July 26, 2021

If someone asked you who you’re following in today’s church landscape, you could probably answer with a list of three to five church leaders and perhaps three to five organizations to whom you’re paying close attention. Even if you say you don’t have a list, chances are you do. Your list might simply consist of critics of megachurch leaders or megachurches. We all follow someone. Especially in our hyper-connected era. I am actually exceptionally grateful for what God is doing in many megachurches and have deep respect for many megachurch leaders. Critics who say “all megachurches are ______” in my view simply haven’t done their research. In addition, we should be examining church models as well — not just churches and leaders.

I’m also a massive advocate of adopting best practices from anyone and anywhere (business, church, thought leaders, etc.). After all, no one learns in isolation. Very few of us ever come up with an idea ‘no one has ever thought of before.’

In fact, the church at which I serve is a megachurch strategic partner. We have borrowed a TON of insight, strategy, and branding directly from North Point and a few others.

And it works. Even in Canada.

So why this article, then? Because there’s a world of difference between adopting best practices from church models and blindly copying megachurches. Here’s the difference.

So, why wouldn’t you blindly copy a megachurch?

You Will Fail Sometimes. Don’t Quit

Melissa Edgington

July 26, 2021

It was a short conversation. I was checking on her father-in-law because I heard he was sick, and she was so appreciative and encouraging. During the quick exchange, she told me that I’m sweet and called me a prayer warrior. And, almost instantly I felt the weight of the very real knowledge that I am neither sweet nor a prayer warrior. In fact, I have a very difficult time taming my own tongue. I find myself struggling with selfish and unkind thoughts and words on the regular. And, I have never in my life been one that could be accurately described as a prayer warrior. In reality, there are days when I don’t breathe a single prayer. And some days, when I do pray, it feels robotic and unfeeling–And I’m a pastor’s wife. But I don’t quit.

I used to think that there is some point in the Christian life when you arrive, when you finally see that your heart and head and spirit align in some sort of beautiful sphere of sincerity and goodness and true devotion to Christ. But the older I get and the more I have begun to understand why the Bible teaches that we need armor. Most often when we think about the armor of God, we think about attacks from the world around us, about the very real battle that we fight against ideologies that defame our Savior, against the pretty-sounding worldly wisdom that would cause us to turn our backs on the truth of Scripture. But we may be missing an important point when we think of the armor of God as weapons only for a battle against what is outside of us. We prefer not to think about the war that we should be waging daily against our own sin. Our pride. Our complacency. Our tendencies to exaggerate. Our desire for glory. Our rebellion. Our jealousy. Our selfishness. The list could go on and on. In truth, we are called to fight daily against what is inside of us. Paul puts it this way: “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature…” (Col. 3:5)

The Bible teaches that when we are in Christ, we are truly a new creation. But sin doesn’t magically disappear from our lives. We have to be vigilant, with the help of the Holy Spirit, in keeping our minds focused on what is good, noble, right, and lovely. And when we aren’t on guard against temptation, when we aren’t actively partnering with the Holy Spirit in killing sin, when are neglecting the reading of God’s word, when we don’t take the time to pray, then we are dropping large sections of our armor and leaving ourselves vulnerable to attacks and temptations from without and from within.

So, what is my point? Living the Christian life has to be an honest endeavor. One where we admit that we stink at some of the things we’re supposed to be good at. One where we ask God to examine us, to show us our true struggles, to change us by His power. And when we feel like complete phonies, when we know that we’re failing on multiple fronts, when we feel guilty just hearing a kind person’s praise that we know we don’t deserve, we don’t have to despair. Because sanctification is a long road with lots of twists and turns. There are pot holes. Our own hearts have dug plenty of deep, dark pits to wander into. But every day is a new opportunity to examine ourselves, to put on the armor that God has mercifully provided, to rely on His perfect strength, to do battle against our own lying hearts.

You see, there is no moment of arrival. At least, not on this side of Heaven. But on any given day, in any given moment, we can become a little more like Christ. We can become a little more devoted. We can have moments of sincere adoration and awe for who God is. Don’t quit: We can grow. And, before we know it, if we establish these patterns of putting another sin to death, of taking one more step toward God instead of away from Him, we’ll wake up one morning and realize that we are a whole lot more like Jesus than we were twenty years ago. Don’t quit: Growth is slow. But He is patient.

So if you, like me, are painfully aware of your own shortcomings, take heart. He knows you, and He loves you anyway. Don’t quit. Keep fighting.

This article originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

No One Has Scored At Least 10/15 In This Tricky Jesus Test

Rochelle Dorsey

July 26, 2021

100 college students were given this 15-question tricky Jesus test and no one got at least 10/15 correct. Can you?

Check out these other quizes in ChurchLeaders.

A Quiz on the Doctrine of Salvation

How familiar are you with the doctrine of salvation? At the heart of the Christian faith is this statement: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Christians are those who have been saved. But how well do you know what that means? This quiz is designed to help you find out.

Can You Pass Pew’s Religion Quiz? Most Americans Can’t

A new religion quiz from Pew Research indicates Americans have some catching up to do about world religions. The average score for the religious knowledge quiz was a failing grade of just 14 correct answers out of 32 questions.

Are You a Sleep Deprived Pastor? Take This Quiz and Find Out

Ministry demands never seem to end. There’s always one more person to serve and reach. If you’re a pastor or work in a church in any capacity, our days often don’t end at 5 pm. Meetings and emergencies can take us into the late hours. Even if nothing specific demands our attention, in our off hours our minds often ruminate about the church. Unfortunately, this causes many pastors to be sleep deprived. In fact 1/3 of all Americans are sleep deprived. I imagine pastors exceed that percentage. Take this quiz and discover if you’re sleep deprived. Mentally check below the statements that apply to you.

NBA Wisdom: 8 Giannis Antetokounmpo Quotes

Brian Dodd

July 24, 2021

If you have a problem with being not focused in the present, or too much focused on the past, the following Giannis Antetokounmpo quotes are for you. With 1:23 left to go in Game 4 of the NBA Finals and the Milwaukee Bucks clinging to a 101-99 lead over the Phoenix Suns, Suns point guard Chris Paul brought the ball down the court for the potential tying or go-ahead basket. As shown in the video above, the ensuing play resulted in Devin Booker throwing a lob pass for a certain Deandre Ayton dunk. However, out of nowhere, 2-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo came out of seemingly nowhere to block the dunk attempt. His effort resulted in what is now considered one of the top three defensive plays in NBA Finals history. Giannis’s block helped secure the team’s victory as the series is now tied at 2-2. In a news conference documented in this ESPN article, Giannis gave his thoughts on the play. From these Giannis Antetokounmpo quotes we learn life-changing leadership lessons every leader can apply.

8 Giannis Antetokounmpo Quotes on Leadership

1. Trust Your Training In High-Pressure Situations

Giannis said, “It’s incredible what your body is [able] to do.” As you develop deep practice habits and muscle memory, your training will take over in difficult situations. When it does, trust it.

2. The Difference Between Successful And Unsuccessful People Is Executing In High-Pressure Situations

Tom Brady once said, “To me what separates really good players from great players – executive well under pressure. The biggest game. The biggest stage. That’s what playing quarterback is all about.” So is leadership and basketball. Giannis added, “When you think about winning, you go to the extreme.” Great leaders simply find a way while others make excuses.

3. Let Your Past Inform You, Your Present Instruct You, And Your Future Inspire You.

The past is simply a data point. It should give you confidence and/or instruction but your focus as a leader needs to be on what is next. Giannis noted, “I got to move on. I got to keep making winning plays. I got to keep competing. I got to keep finding ways to help my team be great. Great moment. I appreciate the moment. Great moment. [But] we got to move on.” So do you.

4. Your Ego Focuses On The Past

Yesterday ended last night. A leader’s windshield (what lies ahead) should always be larger and more pronounced than your rearview mirror (what’s in the past). As Babe Ruth said, “Yesterday’s home run won’t win today’s game.” Giannis would have liked Babe. He said, “I cannot explain the play. But, at the end of the day, that’s in the past. When you talk about the past, that’s your ego talking. It’s in the past. It’s over with.”

5. Your Pride Predicts The Future

Leaders are not promised anything in the future. The future is an opportunity which must be seized. Giannis understands this. He said, “I figured out a mindset to have that when you focus on the past, that’s your ego. ‘I did this. We were able to beat this team 4-0. I did this in the past. I won that in the past.’ When I focus on the future, it’s my pride. ‘Yeah, next game, Game 5, I (will) do this and this and this. I’m going to dominate.’ That’s your pride talking. It doesn’t happen. You’re right here.”

6. Your Humility Focuses On The Moment

As mentioned earlier, your ego focuses on the past. Your pride predicts the future. But your humility allows you to focus on the moment. Your humility allows you to be where your feet are and be in the moment. Giannis said, “I kind of try to focus on the moment, in the present. That’s humility. That’s being humble. That’s not setting no expectation. That’s going out there, enjoying the game, competing at a high level.”

7. Being In The Moment Often Requires Accountability

As talked about in the opening paragraph, we are a distracted society. We have so many options and so many messages coming at us, it is hard to stop, focus, and concentrate. Many of us need help doing so. Giannis acknowledged, “I think I’ve had people throughout my life that helped me with that.” If the two-time NBA MVP needs help, perhaps you and I do as well.

8. Focus Is A Skill Which Can Be Mastered

Great leaders make no excuses. You can beat the problem of distraction. Giannis concluded, “But that is a skill that I’ve tried to, like, kind of … master it. It’s been working so far, so I’m not going to stop.” Focus is not just a state of mind, it is a skill. And skills can be mastered.

There is so much leadership wisdom you can draw from Giannis’s analysis of this historic play. What is one thing you learned which will make you a better leader?

This article on Giannis Antetokounmpo quotes originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

UMC Edges Toward Historic Split Over LGBTQ Inclusion. This Church Showed the Way.

Emily McFarlan Miller

July 23, 2021

sexuality — LGBTQ advocates react to the Traditional Plan being passed by the UMC General Conference on Feb. 26, 2019. RNS photo by Kit Doyle

(RNS) — When Asbury Memorial Church in Savannah, Georgia, announced its disaffiliation from the United Methodist Church last year, Asbury said in a press release that it believed it was “the first church in the USA to leave the United Methodist denomination due to its unequal treatment of LGBTQ people.”

The church’s claim points to the sense of historic justice many United Methodists feel in the denomination’s proposed split over LGBTQ issues, awaiting a vote delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But United Methodists’ debate over sexuality did not begin with the ban on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ ordination the denomination’s global decision-making body reaffirmed at its 2019 special session. It has been a topic at every quadrennial General Conference since 1972, when delegates edited the Book of Discipline to call homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching.”

And Asbury Memorial isn’t the first church to disaffiliate from America’s second-largest Protestant denomination over its official stance toward its LGBTQ members. Before the current wave of churches disaffiliating from the United Methodist Church, there was Community of Hope in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Community of Hope’s story begins before its founding pastor, the Rev. Leslie Penrose, 69, had thought much about LGBTQ issues. Or about ministry.

While traveling in Central America in the mid-1980s, Penrose met a gay man who told her he felt a call to ministry he couldn’t follow because of his sexuality, she said. His story raised so many questions for her that she enrolled at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, hoping to find answers.

A semester into her studies, a nurse at a local hospital asked if Penrose would be willing to visit a young man dying of AIDS who was scared and alone.

“Oh, don’t even bother. My church has already told me I’m going to hell,” the young man told Penrose when she stopped by, she recalled. She told the man she didn’t believe that and asked if they could talk.

She ended up visiting him almost every day until he died weeks later, then holding a memorial for him at a park at his friends’ request, she said.

After that, Penrose said, “all of a sudden, things just exploded.” A doctor working with HIV/AIDS patients invited her to do some chaplaincy work in his office. She talked with them, baptized them, made hospital calls — “anything that would help them be less anxious about what was going on in their life,” she said.

Many of them began attending the Memorial Drive United Methodist Church in Tulsa, where she had begun working as associate pastor after her ordination in 1986. There didn’t seem to be any other clergy in the area ministering to people with HIV and AIDS, she said.

The first two or three gay men were welcomed, she said, but once they began to fill a whole row of seats during services, “the church got really threatened.”

The pastor at the time allegedly sent a letter to one couple telling them they couldn’t drink out of the water fountains, go into the kitchen and children’s Sunday school classrooms or serve the homeless ministry — “just this brutal, horrible example of what it meant to be the church,” Penrose said.

(The former pastor could not be reached for comment, and messages left at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church were not returned.)

In 1993 — with a candle and chalice to their name, and the support of Bishop Dan Solomon, who headed the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church at the time — Penrose and 16 others started Community of Hope at another United Methodist church in Tulsa, an outreach from the church to “people on the margin.” About half of the congregation was LGBTQ, she said, many living with HIV or AIDS.

Homeschoolers Face Off With the Government in ‘God’s Not Dead: We the People’

Jessica Lea

July 23, 2021

The newest installment in the “God’s Not Dead” franchise is set to release to theaters this fall. “God’s Not Dead: We the People” will focus on educational and religious liberties, specifically as they pertain to homeschooling.

“The God’s Not Dead franchise continues in God’s Not Dead: We the People as Reverend Dave …is called to defend a group of Christian homeschooling families,” said a July 13 announcement on the God’s Not Dead Facebook page. “He finds himself taken aback by the interference of the government, and believing that their right to educate their own children is a freedom worth fighting for, Reverend Dave is called to Washington DC to testify in a landmark congressional hearing that will determine the future of religious freedom in our country for years to come.”

God’s Not Dead: We the People

“God’s Not Dead: We the People” is the fourth film in the “God’s Not Dead” franchise. “God’s Not Dead,” released in 2014, told the story of a Christian college student who stood up to his aggressively atheistic philosophy professor. In “God’s Not Dead 2,” a high school teacher faces a court case because of how she answered a question about Jesus in class. The third film, “God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness,” follows the conflict between a church mentioned in the previous two films and the university campus where the church is located. The popular Christian band Newsboys appeared in all three films and wrote the song, “God’s Not Dead,” which also appears in the movies.

David A.R. White, who stars in the franchise, was a founding partner in the streaming service Pinnacle Peak Pictures (formerly Pure Flix Entertainment), which has produced all of the “God’s Not Dead” movies. The newest film also stars Christian singer Francesca Battistelli and actor Antonio Sabato, Jr., who told Variety he was blacklisted in Hollywood after he publicly supported Donald Trump for president in 2016.

The “God’s Not Dead” films have been widely panned by critics, but have done well with their base of evangelical Protestants. The franchise has earned over $100 million worldwide to date.

Oh Baby, Baby: Amy Grant’s Biggest Hit Turns 30

Bob Smietana

July 23, 2021

(RNS) — Thirty years ago, Amy Grant was on top of the world.

After years of topping Christian music charts, Grant had caught the mainstream industry’s eye and began finding success on secular radio. In the 1980s, she had teamed up with Peter Cetera of the band Chicago for a No. 1 hit, “Next Time I Fall in Love,” winning several Grammys and performing on ” Late Show With David Letterman ” and ” The Tonight Show.”

Then in 1991, her album “Heart in Motion” went platinum, selling more than 5 million copies thanks to hits like “Baby, Baby,” “Every Heartbeat,” “Good For Me” and “That’s What Love Is For.” The success of “Heart in Motion” made her a household name and worldwide star — an experience that was both joyful and overwhelming.

“It’s like the jumping through the ring of fire,” Grant recalled in a recent interview, adding, with a perspective on fame gained from some 40 years of living inside it: “Pretty hot when you’re in the middle of it, but it doesn’t last that long.”

A newly remastered 30 anniversary “Heart in Motion” appeared this month, just in time for Grant, who had heart surgery last fall and calls herself fully recovered, to hit the road for a post-COVID, coast-to-coast tour, ending with a series of Christmas shows with her husband, the country music star Vince Gill, at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

Grant was recently named to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, which she said was “beautiful and encouraging” and just the motivation she needed to start writing more songs.

When work began on rereleasing “Heart in Motion,” Grant hadn’t listened to the album for years. The songs, she discovered, don’t sound 30 years old, partly because their heavy reliance on synthesizers and studio techniques of the time have come back in style.

But listening to the songs brought back memories for Grant. When it came out she had young children at home and was still learning to balance the life of a pop star with being a mom. One of her four, her daughter Millie, who inspired the words to “Baby, Baby,” made a surprise appearance at the Grammys as a toddler in 1992. By the end of that heady decade, Grant had gone through a painful, public divorce.

“I was picturing all of my family at a much earlier version,” she said. “And those are always tender memories. You remember all good stuff, not the hard stuff.”

The best-known songs on “Heart in Motion” are filled with infectious joy, but the album also includes “Ask Me,” which Grant wrote after hearing the stories of friends who survived childhood sexual abuse.

When her band started that song in concert, most people would be sitting down. Then Grant would look out over the sea in the audience and see someone way in the back stand up. Then another person would stand. And another.

Ex-Youth Pastor at FL Megachurch Allegedly Molested Girl for Five Years

Stephanie Martin

July 23, 2021

Former pastor Jeffrey Bedwell, who’s being held in a Jacksonville, Fla., jail on a $500,000 bond, has been accused of grooming and molesting a girl from 2013 to 2018, starting when the victim was 12 and continuing until she was 17.

Bedwell, who was arrested July 8 and is scheduled to appear in court next week, faces charges of unlawful sexual activity, lewd and lascivious molestation of a minor between ages 12 and 16, lewd and lascivious sexual battery on a minor between ages 12 and 16, and transmitting harmful material to a child.

Police initially said Bedwell worked at multiple churches, but the only one that’s been confirmed so far is Chets Creek Church, a Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) megachurch with four campuses in the Jacksonville area. According to reports, Bedwell was a youth pastor at the church’s Southside campus from 2013 to 2018, when the abuse allegedly occurred. He was promoted to campus pastor in 2018 but was terminated a year later “for issues unrelated to the current charges now made against him,” says Senior Pastor Spike Hogan.

In a statement, Hogan says the church was “shocked and devastated” by the arrest. He adds that the church will cooperate with the investigation and work to provide support and improve safety.

What Jeffrey Bedwell Is Accused of Doing

The arrest report indicates that Jeffrey Bedwell “became close” to a 12-year-old girl, initially communicating with her through text messages and Snapchat. Eventually, it says, he began grooming her for abuse, engaging in explicit conversations and requesting and sending inappropriate photos and videos.

Bedwell allegedly sexually assaulted the girl twice when she was 14 and continued the abuse for three more years. Authorities say the illegal activities took place in the pastor’s home and vehicle, adding that one time he locked himself and the victim in a closet and touched her inappropriately.

Authorities haven’t revealed how they learned about Bedwell’s alleged acts. They also haven’t ruled out additional crimes and are asking the public to come forward with any tips.

An internet search reveals that Bedwell attended the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, obtaining a master’s degree in theological studies and counseling.

Neighbors told reporters they were surprised by news of Bedwell’s arrest. An attorney for the girl says, “Unfortunately, these types of cases result in trauma to victims and the community.”

How Chets Creek Church Is Responding

In a statement, Pastor Hogan indicates that Bedwell “was subjected to the same thorough vetting and background-check process that we require of all leaders, and there was no hint of criminal activity.” He adds, “Had we learned of, or had any reason to believe there was wrongdoing, we would have reported it to law enforcement immediately.” Local news reports reveal that Bedwell had no criminal history beyond traffic violations.

Guest Preacher Accused of ‘Homophobic,’ ‘Transphobic’ Comments in Series Focusing on ‘Uncensored Truth’

Jesse T. Jackson

July 23, 2021

David Mahan, who is the director of policy with Center for Christian Virtue (CCV), was the guest speaker at Crossroads Church’s Oakley campus in Cincinnati, Ohio, on July 18, 2021, for its sermon series titled “This Week’s Special Guest: Powerful stories. Uncensored truth.” Mahan has been accused of making “homophobic” and “transphobic” comments during his sermon for addressing what he has seen regarding gender identity.

David Mahan has testified before Congress about how God helped his family overcome poverty, addiction, and abuse. He travels around the country speaking to audiences about human trafficking prevention, gender identity, abortion, sexual risk avoidance, and fatherless homes. His appearance followed Brian Welch, guitarist from the hard rock band Korn, who spoke the prior week.

A press release from CCV said, “Navigating the controversial cultural and political divides today is not easy for Christians.” It added that Mahan will be “encouraging the body of Christ to go ‘upstream’ in our cultural and political engagement.”

Crossroad’s Church has deleted Mahan’s sermon from its YouTube page, but you can listen to it here.

David Mahan: ‘Uncensored Truth’

David Mahan said, “We need to delineate a difference between those kids who are struggling…who are hurting legitimately. Maybe it’s gender dysphoria. Whatever it is, we need to delineate them from the radical activists who are using them as human shields to push an agenda that I think most people in this room would disagree with.”

“But as long as they keep the human shield of the child who’s hurting and suicidal before us,” Mahan continued, “the church will stay silent in the name of love and righteousness because you can’t even talk about this topic without getting cancelled.”

David Mahan: ‘I’m Not a Hater’

Mahan told the congregation that he knows some of them think he’s a “hater,” but he said he’s ministered face-to-face and wept with kids who identify as homosexual. Mahan said pop culture backed by many millions of dollars and media push an identity on children and never allow them to get the help they deserve.

After reading Jude 1:3, Mahan said he wanted to be the evangelist who preaches the gospel that morning, but sometimes, “When you’re the only one seeing this stuff…and you got people raising money on the LGBT side and you got people trying to raise money on the anti-LGBT side. But there’s a real story to be told, real kids to be helped, and nobody’s telling that story. That is why Dave is at Crossroads. That’s why I am up here putting my family at risk.”

Mahan recounted a story about a fellow employee who was assaulted in the parking lot while coming into the office. The young lady was hit in the mouth by someone who disagreed with the awareness and work Mahan’s ministry does. Mahan said the employee is still getting medical services for the assault. “This is what we deal with everyday,” he said. “I’m putting my neck on the line. My wife’s neck on the line. My children’s necks on the line [who are at home without their father right now]. So please, even if you disagree with me, please honor the fact that I’m not a hater…I love people and I love you and I’m trying to help us.”

Wanda and Jim Wold—‘God Was Up to Something’

A Love Story ‘About God’s Love for Them’

Children’s Ministry in a World That Promotes Two Dads

Partner with parents.

Pass them to student ministry with a solid faith foundation built on the authority of Scripture.

Pray for them.

Dr. Tony Evans: The CRT Social Construct Has Become ‘Convoluted’

Dr. Tony Evans Introduces ‘Kingdom Race Theology’

Driscoll Planted The Trinity Church

Former Elders Say They See Driscoll’s Similar Sin Pattern

Stephen Harmon’s Tragic Passing

Volunteer leaders come through stages of a ministry.

Volunteer Leaders — A Good Example

If You’re Tire of Outrage, Here Are a Few Questions

What is church to our kids, the ones inside the walls of the church right now?

What is Christianity to our kids?

What is faith to our kids?

Who is God to our kids?

8 Giannis Antetokounmpo Quotes on Leadership

1. Trust Your Training In High-Pressure Situations

2. The Difference Between Successful And Unsuccessful People Is Executing In High-Pressure Situations

3. Let Your Past Inform You, Your Present Instruct You, And Your Future Inspire You.

4. Your Ego Focuses On The Past

5. Your Pride Predicts The Future

6. Your Humility Focuses On The Moment

7. Being In The Moment Often Requires Accountability

8. Focus Is A Skill Which Can Be Mastered

God’s Not Dead: We the People

What Jeffrey Bedwell Is Accused of Doing

How Chets Creek Church Is Responding

David Mahan: ‘Uncensored Truth’

David Mahan: ‘I’m Not a Hater’

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**What is faith to our kids?**

**Who is God to our kids?**