Israeli PM: No Change to Ban on Jewish Prayer at Mosque

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July 19, 2021

ban on Jewish prayer — Israeli police officers stand guard as Jewish men visit the Dome of the Rock Mosque in the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, during the annual mourning ritual of Tisha B'Av (the ninth of Av) -- a day of fasting and a memorial day, commemorating the destruction of ancient Jerusalem temples, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, July 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is not changing the norms at a contested site in Jerusalem to allow Jewish prayer there, his office said Monday, walking back comments that sparked angry reactions a day earlier.

Bennett, Israel’s new premier, had raised concerns on Sunday when he said Israel was committed to protecting “freedom of worship” for Jews at the hilltop compound. Under a long-standing practice, Jews are allowed to visit — but not pray — at the site, which they revere as the Temple Mount and which Muslims hold sacred as the home of the Al Aqsa Mosque.

Palestinians and the site’s Islamic authorities fear that Israel is slowly trying to take control of the area and have complained in the past that Jews continued to pray at the site. Friction remains high there after unrest helped spark the 11-day Israel-Hamas war in May.

Despite Bennett’s phrasing, the status quo holds, according to an official in the prime minister’s office who was not authorized to speak publicly and demanded anonymity.

The clarification came after a tense day in which hundreds of Jewish pilgrims visited the compound under heavy police guard to mark Tisha B’Av, a day of mourning and repentance when Jews reflect on the destruction of the First and Second Temples. The hilltop compound, they believe, is where the biblical Temples once stood and is the holiest site in Judaism.

Muslims revere the site as the Noble Sanctuary, home to the Al Aqsa Mosque and the third-holiest site in Islam. Earlier Sunday, Muslim worshippers briefly clashed with Israeli security forces at the flashpoint shrine.

No injuries were reported, but the incident again raised tensions. It came just days before Muslims celebrate the festival of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice.

This article originally appeared here.

John Piper: How to Overcome Sexual Sin

By

Andrew Hess

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July 19, 2021

John Piper discusses how, in attempting to how to overcome sexual sin, many of us miss the point. In this six-minute video, Piper described the current struggle in stark terms. In his response, Piper described the current struggle, “Our people are laid waste with sexual temptation. Why? Because our souls have shriveled up …”

Piper offers hope to those struggling to learn how to overcome sexual sin, emphasizing his core belief: “Theology with passion for Jesus can conquer biology.”

Watch the entire clip here.

His message opens with a passage from King’s David’s great Psalm of repentance: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.” (Psalm 51:12) In the video he says, “If you can keep your hand off that mouse, guys, the world will open up to you . . . ”

Although he’s in favor of safeguards as protections provided by accountability software and guardians, he urges us to look deeper and to consider the source of our troubles. Learning how to overcome sexual sin is about more than staying away from porn: “that’s not the main point. If that’s where you fight the battle continually you’re not getting to the root of the problem.”

How to Overcome Sexual Sin

For years ChurchLeaders has provided many resources regarding overcoming sexual sin. With John Piper’s video as a starting point, here are a few follow-up possibilities:

7 Easy Ways to Ruin a Great Sermon (and How to Fix It)

By

Carey Nieuwhof

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July 19, 2021

If you’ve ever spoken in front a group, tried to motivate a team or if you prepare a message almost every week like many of us do, you’ve probably wondered what makes for a great talk. In fact, you’ve probably asked questions like these: What’s the difference between a talk that flops and a talk that people still buzz about years later? What’s the difference between a merely good message and incredibly great message? What’s the difference between a sermon that changes someone’s life and one that no one can remember even as they drive out of the parking lot?

If you’re like me, those questions might even bother you. I hope they do. They haunt me.

And yet every week gifted communicators kill the sermon they bring by making at least seven predictable, fixable mistakes. The good news is that once you identify the mistakes, you can address them.

7 Easy Ways to Ruin a Great Sermon

I’m writing from the perspective of a Christian who speaks. And as I wrote about here, I realize that the Holy Spirit is involved in a special way when we speak. He redeems terrible talks and converts people through his power, not our persuasive words. I get that.

But that shouldn’t be your fall back week after week. The Holy Spirit’s work is not an excuse for laziness. It’s also no excuse for failing to develop a skill set that supports your gifting. So if you’re at all interested in honing your gift set, identify and then address the seven mistakes communicators make that almost always ruin a sermon:

1. Inadequate preparation

Here’s a tension every communicator faces: People will only ask you to do things that take away the time you’ve set aside to prepare your message; then they’ll criticize you for not being prepared.

I’m not slamming people. It’s just human nature.

That’s why you have to be exceptionally self-disciplined in setting aside time free from interruption to work on your sermon. Yes, your inbox will fill up. Yes, the people who want to meet with you will be disappointed. And no, nobody is ever going to email you and ask you, “Did you take eight hours today to work on your message?”

So grow up. And take responsibility for becoming an excellent communicator. Eventually, people will thank you and understand you are making a valuable investment.

2. Poorly constructed introductions

Too many sermon introductions begin with a “Good morning,” and then maybe a weather report and some banter that’s supposed to create rapport. I used to do this too until I realized that as natural as it is, it’s not nearly the best way to connect with your audience (unless maybe you’re a guest preacher and need to connect with people you don’t know).

You’ve got about 30 seconds to capture people’s interest or lose them. The best way to do this is to establish common ground.

Lifeway: Most Pastors Feel Encouraging Support From Other Local Ministers

By

Aaron Earls

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July 19, 2021

The vast majority of pastors say they feel support from other ministers in their communities, but that encouragement is less prevalent in some places. According to a study from Lifeway Research, 82% of U.S. Protestant pastors say they feel supported by other local pastors in their area, with 44% strongly agreeing. Few (14%) disagree, while 4% aren’t sure. “Nobody can identify with a pastor like another pastor. That’s why relationships between pastors are so vital,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “It’s one thing to be aware and know the names of other pastors who are sharing the same gospel message in your community. It’s another to invest in supporting and encouraging each other.”

Large church pastors, those with weekly worship service attendance of more than 250, are the most likely to say they feel supported by other local pastors (89%). In the Northeast, where there are traditionally fewer Protestant churches, pastors are less likely to agree they feel supported by other pastors (75%) than pastors in the Midwest (84%).

Restorationist movement pastors (68%) are less likely to feel encouraging local pastor support than Lutheran (88%), Pentecostal (87%), Baptist (83%), or Presbyterian/Reformed pastors (83%). A Lifeway Research study on denominations found Restorationist movement pastors are also the least likely to say they or their congregation considers it vital to be part of a denomination or denomination-like group, while Lutheran pastors are the most likely to see such denominational connections as important.

A 2015 Lifeway Research study on pastors leaving the ministry found about 1% leave the pastorate prior to retirement each year, but more than 1 in 3 (35%) agree they feel isolated as a pastor.

Encouraging Pastor Connections

While a large majority of pastors say they feel encouraging support from other local ministers, most are getting that support from only a handful of area pastors. Slightly more than half of U.S. Protestant pastors (54%) say they personally know and spend time with fewer than 10 other local pastors.

One in 20 pastors (5%) aren’t connected with any area pastors, while 8% only have relationships with one to two other ministers. A quarter of pastors (24%) say they know three to five, and 18% spend time with six to nine other pastors.

Candice Gulley, Survivor of Wreck That Killed 8: ‘I’m Not Strong. My God Is’

By

Kim Chandler

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July 16, 2021

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — A girls home director who was driving a van that crashed in Alabama, killing two of her own children, two nephews and four other youths, wept Thursday at a remembrance where she said religious faith has sustained her since the wreck.

Standing before a crowd of hundreds, Candice Gulley, the only person to survive in the van, cried as she said each of the young victims was a “blessing to my life.”

“They were my children whether they shared my blood or they didn’t,” Gulley said in her first public comments about the wreck. “To be around these kids was to be around encouragers … They sought out people who were sad and they encouraged them,” she said.

Tears and laughter filled the Church of the Highlands in Auburn for the memorial service, as speakers remembered the eight children. The crowd at the service included young women who had grown up at the girl’s home and the law enforcement officers and rescue workers who responded to the deadly crash.

The van from the youth home for for abused or neglected children was part of a fiery multi-vehicle crash June 19 on a wet interstate that also killed a Tennessee man and his baby in another vehicle. The pileup was the most devastating blow from a tropical depression that claimed 13 lives in Alabama as it caused flash floods and spurred tornadoes that destroyed dozens of homes.

Expressing thanks for support she’s received from across the country in the weeks since the crash, Gulley said she did not have the strength to get through the ordeal on her own.

“I’m not strong. My God is,” she said. “I have lost my children here on Earth but they were immediately in our savior’s presence.”

Gulley had taken the group to the Alabama coast for an annual trip sponsored by the girls ranch, which cares for abused and neglected girls and is located about 60 miles (nearly 100 kilometers) northeast of Montgomery. The van was returning to the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch when it wrecked during a tropical storm last month.

The van was carrying eight children ages 3 to 17 when the crash occurred about 35 miles (55 kilometers) south of Montgomery on Interstate 65.

Why Some Younger Evangelicals Are Leaving the Faith

By

Beth Daley

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July 16, 2021

The extent to which the number of white evangelicals have declined in the United States has been laid bare in a new report by the Public Religion Research Institute’s 2020 Census on American Religion.

The institute’s study found that only 14% of Americans identify as white evangelical today. This is a drastic decline since 2006, when America’s religious landscape was composed of 23% white evangelicals, as the report notes.

Along with a decline in white evangelicalism, the data indicates a stabilized increase in the number of those who no longer identify as religious at all. Scholars of religion refer to this group as “nones,” and they make up about a quarter of the American population. These statistics are even more drastic when considering age. In short, older Americans are much more religious than younger Americans, while millennials are likely to not practice or identify with religion.

This data is significant. Even though white evangelicals tend to be politically vocal and influential, several are known to be leaving the faith.

Increasingly, scholarship is tracking the emergence of those defecting from religion. Religious studies scholar Elizabeth Drescher’s 2016 book, “Choosing Our Religion,” examines numerous cases in which people transition away from their faith. She notes that people leaving evangelicalism “tended to express anger and frustration with both the teachings and practices of their childhood church.”

Although the statistics are sure to capture the attention of various readers, the data can give only limited insights into the more nuanced perspectives specific to critiquing white evangelicalism.

Over the past six years, I have been part of a team of scholars from various disciplines and universities examining the hesitancy and rejection of younger individuals either leaving or attempting to reform evangelicalism in America. Some younger evangelicals are disenchanted with their faith traditions’ staunch and divisive political positions and how theology has been used to prop up these positions.

A.R. Bernard: Promise Keepers Can Help ‘Bring Clarity’ to Our Confusion Over Race, CRT

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Stephanie Martin

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July 16, 2021

For the first time in 20 years, the Promise Keepers men’s ministry is holding a large conference, where attendees will learn about becoming godly leaders in their homes and communities. The Colorado-based parachurch organization, founded by football coach Bill McCartney in 1990, is gathering today and tomorrow at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the 80,000-seat home of the Dallas Cowboys. The event is also being simulcast across the globe.

Keynote speakers include Dallas Cowboys chaplain Jonathan Evans (son of Pastor Tony Evans), “Life Without Limbs” author Nick Vujicic, Jerry Boykin of the Family Research Council, and the Rev A.R. Bernard, leader of the Christian Cultural Center megachurch in New York City. Christian music artists Tauren Wells and Cody Carnes also are on the conference lineup.

Promise Keepers encourages men to commit to seven Bible-based principles: honor, brotherhood, integrity, family, serving, unity and obedience. The group is a frequent target of criticism because of its traditional, conservative values. Earlier this year, a USA Today columnist urged AT&T Stadium to cancel the July event, accusing Promise Keepers of being anti-LGBTQ.

Promise Keepers, Reconciliation, and Revival

Ken Harrison, who’s been chairman and CEO of Promise Keepers since 2018, says this week’s event in Texas is “a platform for equipping men to function as ambassadors of reconciliation and service as a result of an authentic encounter with Jesus.” As Promise Keepers itself is being revived, its leaders are praying “for massive revival and transformation in our nation by 2025.”

A major part of that transformation, according to Promise Keepers, is racial healing. Following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020, the group launched “Promise 6 Sunday” to focus on “building unity in the body of Christ.”

Pastor Bernard recently spoke to The Christian Pos t about Promise Keepers’ role in fostering racial reconciliation. In 1997, when the group held a massive march on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., he reveals that Promise Keepers “almost” got then-President Bill Clinton to issue a formal apology for slavery within the United States.

The pastor describes a “spirit of reconciliation, repentance, confession, redemption that Promise Keepers reflected in the global culture” back in the 1990s. From the organization’s very beginnings, McCartney was interested in crossing racial divides, Bernard says, but he admits that not everyone was comfortable tackling issues such as race.

More than three decades later, race continues to be a flashpoint in American society. Racial injustice, police violence, voting rights, slavery reparations and critical race theory (CRT) are regularly in the news, and Bernard says Promise Keepers can address those issues “yet carry the DNA” of the group’s “vision and mission.”

At a recent community event in Knoxville, Tennessee, for example, the audience was diverse and the conversations were honest, says Bernard, which proves that it’s possible to “have a civil conversation and tackle the hard issues.”

UPDATE: Kentucky Contracts With Baptist-Affiliated Children’s Agency

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AP News

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July 16, 2021

Baptist-Affiliated Children's Agency — A sign for Sunrise Children's Services sits in front of the agency's Mount Washington, Ky., location on May 26, 2021. A cultural clash pitting religious beliefs against gay rights has jeopardized Kentucky's long-running relationship with a foster care and adoption agency affiliated with the Baptist church, Sunrise Children’s Services, which serves some of the state's most vulnerable children. (Brandon Porter/Kentucky Today via AP)

UPDATED July 16, 2021: FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky reached a contract deal Thursday to continue placing youngsters with a Baptist-affiliated children’s agency, coming after the Democratic governor’s administration removed LGBTQ anti-discrimination language that the agency steadfastly refused to sign.

The agreement continues the state’s long relationship with Sunrise Children’s Services, which provides foster care, residential and therapeutic services to children and families. It serves some of the most vulnerable children in a state with consistently some of the nation’s worst child abuse rates.

Those contractual ties had been jeopardized by a cultural clash pitting religious beliefs against gay rights. But on Thursday, the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services said in an email it entered into the new one-year contract agreement to continue placing children with Sunrise.

Sunrise’s attorney, John Sheller, said the agreement includes language protecting his client’s “sincerely held religious beliefs.” It reflects what Sunrise had requested, he said, adding the agency “is grateful that the commonwealth has decided to follow the law” after prolonged uncertainty.

Sunrise officials say the disputed nondiscrimination language would have compelled them to violate deeply held religious principles by sponsoring same-sex couples as foster parents. Sunrise is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention, consisting of nearly 2,400 churches. That faith views homosexuality as a sin.

Gay rights supporters said removing the LGBTQ-inclusive language would sanction discrimination.

Responding to the state’s decision to keep contracting with Sunrise, gay rights advocate Chris Hartman said: “It’s disappointing and disheartening that they would allow this discrimination to continue.” Hartman is executive director of the Louisville-based Fairness Campaign.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear acknowledged recently that the state agreed to remove the LGBTQ anti-discrimination language from the contract following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

In the Pennsylvania case, the high court sided with a Catholic foster care agency that said its religious views prevented it from working with same-sex couples as foster parents.

Sheller had said the high court ruling applied fully to the Sunrise dispute, and warned if Kentucky failed to follow it, the state would “invite litigation which the governor is sure to lose.”

Hartman on Thursday disputed that the Supreme Court ruling had a direction application, and said gay rights advocates will keep pushing for the nondiscrimination language in state contracts.

“We’re going to continue conversations and continue advocating for no discrimination in any state-contracted services with anyone for any reason,” he said in a phone interview. “We don’t believe that state dollars should be utilized in the efforts of discrimination.”

Kentucky officials said Thursday that Sunrise agreed to refer any “service applicants who identify as LGBTQ to another provider in good standing” with the state’s health and family services cabinet.

Sheller previously said that Sunrise already offers to help steer same-sex couples to other child services agencies that are a “better fit.” Sheller has said that Sunrise “willingly and gladly” accepts LGBTQ youths and does not put children in conversion therapy, which tries to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Like many other states, Kentucky contracts with private agencies like Sunrise for some of its child welfare services. Beshear’s administration had set a June 30 deadline for Sunrise to sign a new contract, threatening to stop placing children with the agency if it refused. But the governor said recently that children were still being placed with Sunrise.

Sunrise traces its roots to caring for Civil War orphans. It has contracted with the state of Kentucky for more than 50 years.

“Sunrise has been a place of refuge for hurting children since 1869, we are proud that we will now be able to continue to serve as needed,” Sunrise President Dale Suttles said Thursday. “We are ready to move forward and to be part of the solution in a dynamic way.”

The dispute has had political fallout. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican, and GOP state lawmakers had pressed Beshear’s administration to renew Sunrise’s contract.

Responding to Sunrise’s new contract, Cameron said: “I’m glad to see the Beshear administration follow the law and do what governors of both parties have done for decades — work with Sunrise so that the organization can continue the important work of serving Kentucky’s children.”

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press

AP original article written on July 14, 2021, below:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A cultural clash pitting religious beliefs against gay rights has jeopardized Kentucky’s long-running relationship with a foster care and adoption agency affiliated with the Baptist church that serves some of the state’s most vulnerable children.

The standoff revolves around a clause in a new contract with the state that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and that Sunrise Children’s Services is refusing to sign.

It’s another round in a broader fight in states and the courts over religious liberty and LGBTQ rights, including whether businesses can refuse to provide services for same-sex weddings. An upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision in a Pennsylvania case could be decisive in the Kentucky clash; it’s reviewing a refusal by Philadelphia Catholic Social Services to work with same-sex couples as foster parents.

In the Kentucky contract, Sunrise officials are concerned the disputed clause would compel them to violate deeply held religious principles by sponsoring same-sex couples as foster or adoptive parents. Supporters of the provision see it as a crucial safeguard against discrimination.

Child welfare advocates worry that losing Sunrise — which also offers residential treatment programs — would further strain a state system struggling to keep up with demand. Kentucky consistently has some of the nation’s worst child abuse rates.

“You cannot pivot from losing such a large provider of child welfare services … and not anticipate some degree of disruption,” said Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates.

The state set a June 30 deadline for Sunrise to sign. If it refuses, the state has threatened to stop placing children with the agency. Formerly called Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children, Sunrise’s history dates to caring for Civil War orphans. It has contracted with the state for 50-plus years, becoming one of Kentucky’s largest service providers for abused or neglected children.

Sunrise’s supporters say the agency is the target of a political correctness campaign. Critics say allowing exceptions to the LGBTQ-inclusive clause would sanction discrimination.

“If Sunrise doesn’t want to abide by that, that’s fine. They shouldn’t have access to state money, state contracts or children in the state’s care,” said Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign, a Louisville-based gay rights advocacy group.

Hartman said he worries LGBTQ children in Sunrise’s care are “deeply closeted,” hiding their sexual orientation out of fear of “indoctrination and proselytization.”

A long-running federal lawsuit has alleged that Sunrise imposed religious indoctrination on children. Sunrise’s attorney, John Sheller, calls it an “outrageous accusation.”

Sheller said Sunrise “willingly and gladly” accepts LGBTQ youths and does not put children in conversion therapy, which tries to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Sunrise’s focus is on finding good homes for children and treating mental health, substance abuse or other problems they are battling, he said.

When same-sex couples contact Sunrise about becoming foster parents, the agency offers to help steer them to other child services agencies that are a “better fit,” Sheller said. He was aware of a handful of such instances.

“There is clearly a tension between LGBT issues and traditional Christian values,” Sheller said. “And it does not have to be winner-take-all. There is room for both principles to survive and thrive in our pluralistic society, and we can accommodate both.”

Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services says it hopes for a “positive resolution.” Sunrise President Dale Suttles says he wants the relationship to continue.

“Sunrise would act on a contract today that allows them to care for Kentucky’s needy and abused children while protecting their deeply held religious beliefs,” said Todd Gray, executive director-treasurer of the Kentucky Baptist Convention.

Like many other states, Kentucky contracts with private agencies like Sunrise for some of its child welfare services. Overall, about 5,000 of the 9,100 children in Kentucky’s care are in foster homes or other placements managed by the state. About 4,000 receive care through private agencies.

Sunrise, which only operates in Kentucky, says it currently cares for nearly 800 children. The state reimburses Sunrise for about 65% of its costs, with private donations covering the rest.

The state insists it’s bound by an Obama-era federal rule to include the contract clause Sunrise opposes. The rule included sexual orientation as a protected class under anti-discrimination provisions.

“It would be a mistake not to place kids with wonderful couples that want to be foster parents that are gay,” Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said this week. “People make wonderful foster parents in all types of couples, and we shouldn’t be eliminating or discriminating against any of them.”

Sunrise argues that the federal rule was invalidated under former President Donald Trump, giving the state leeway to exclude the clause. Sheller said the agency is “open to any reasonable process” as long as it’s “not compelled by that language to violate its faith principles.”

“The state’s position is that it’s going to try to compel Sunrise to sign the same form contract that it uses with secular providers,” Sheller said. “And Sunrise cannot and will not sign that form contract by July 1st or any other date.”

Sunrise is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention, consisting of nearly 2,400 churches with a total membership of about 600,000 people. The faith views homosexuality as a sin.

If Sunrise loses its state contract, it would have to change its model and raise new capital to continue its services, said Suttles, the agency’s president.

“We do know that there are many children in need of help that are not in state custody,” he added.

The dispute has had political fallout. Kentucky House Republicans and state GOP officials have urged Beshear’s administration to maintain ties with Sunrise. Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron said the administration was forcing Sunrise to “choose between continuing to serve Kentucky children or abandon its religious beliefs.”

Meanwhile, other agencies contracting with the state welcome LGBTQ people as foster or adoptive parents.

“Gay-lesbian families want to grow their families just like heterosexual families do,” said Grace Akers, CEO of St. Joseph Children’s Home in Louisville.

She applauded Beshear’s administration for taking a stand she said will benefit children.

“There are children in Kentucky who are not just working through their trauma, but they’re working through who they are as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender,” Akers said. “And for us to celebrate those children, I just think is critical.”

If it cuts ties to Sunrise, the state must be prepared to fill the gaps if it loses some foster parents in the agency’s network, said Brooks of Kentucky Youth Advocates. His biggest concern is ensuring a smooth transition for the children who require “intense and specialized treatment” that Sunrise now provides.

Brooks said he’s confident the state can move children to other agencies but added that “the challenge cannot and should not be minimized.”

This article originally appeared here.

Greg Locke + Proud Boys + Counter-Protesters = Two Arrests at The Church at Planned Parenthood

By

Jessica Lea

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July 16, 2021

Two men were arrested after tensions escalated at an event held the evening of July 13 in Salem, Ore. by The Church at Planned Parenthood (TCAPP). Present at the event were counter-protesters, the Proud Boys, and Pastor Greg Locke of Global Vision Bible Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

“CNN contacted me today to ask about what happened in Salem,” said Ken Peters, pastor of The Church at Planned Parenthood, in a post on Facebook. “It was nuts. While we were worshiping at Planned Parenthood on Tuesday Night… Pastor Greg Locke came up to me and pointed at a large mob of leftists coming towards us…The Salem police described it, ‘they arrived carrying bats, paintball guns and armor’. DID YOU GET THAT… A leftist mob coming after singing Christians praying for the end of abortion with Bats, Paintball Guns and Armor!!! The world has gone mad with evil.”

The Church at Planned Parenthood on July 13

Ken Peters pastors a church in Washington called Covenant Church, which has campuses in Spokane and in Moses Lake. He founded The Church at Planned Parenthood in October 2018 and, as the name suggests, members meet outside of Planned Parenthood facilities, where they hold worship services. At its inception, the church met primarily in front of the Planned Parenthood in Spokane, but now the group travels to Planned Parenthood facilities throughout the country.

TCAPP states on its website that each of its meetings is “NOT a protest,” but is rather “a worship service at the gates of Hell.” The site explains, “The Church at Planned Parenthood is a gathering of Christians for the worship of God and the corporate prayer for repentance for this nation, repentance for the apathetic church and repentance of our blood guiltiness in this abortion holocaust.” You can read more about TCAPP here.

Pushback from local authorities and a lawsuit from Planned Parenthood has not stopped the church from continuing to meet. A post advertising Tuesday’s event, scheduled for 6 p.m., said that Peters and Pastor Greg Locke would be guest speakers. Locke is known for promoting conspiracy theories and for making inflammatory statements, such as when he referred to former vice president Mike Pence as “Judas” or said that President Biden is “demon-possessed.” Locke also made headlines this past Easter for telling his congregation to remove their “stupid masks.”

A news release from the Salem Police Department (SPD) about Tuesday’s incident said:

Just before 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, between 50 and 70 people were in attendance for the protest billed as The Church at Planned Parenthood at 3825 Wolverine ST NE. Within the large group were approximately 20 individuals dressed in Proud Boys attire, apparently acting as security. Some of these individuals carried visible sidearms, paintball guns, bats and body armor.

At approximately 6:20 p.m., a group of about 40 counter-protestors arrived on foot carrying bats, paintball guns and armor.

The Proud Boys are a controversial group that got national attention during one of the presidential debates leading up to the 2020 election. During one of those debates, Biden asked Trump to denounce white supremacists and named the Proud Boys specifically. In his response, Trump said, “Stand back and stand by.” You can read more about that story and the Proud Boys here.

SPD explained that officers trained in crowd management, known as the Mobile Response Team (MRT), were on hand to monitor the gathering due to the fact that “recently confrontations have escalated” at TCAPP events, which “occur with some regularity.” The statement continued:

An initial scuffle between opposing groups occurred early on, yet MRT officers were able to intervene to separate those involved. As the team became outnumbered, an emergency request for additional law enforcement resources was issued. Other Salem Police patrol officers and Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies quickly responded.

When All Things Are Made New

By

R.C. Sproul

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July 16, 2021

As a pastor and theologian, I’ve had to think about a lot of hard questions over the years. Truth be told, however, the most difficult problem I’ve faced is the problem of suffering. We all face suffering in some way, and we all know people who’ve lived such painful lives that we wonder how they can go on.

We don’t ever want to downplay or deny the pain that suffering brings. Christianity isn’t a system of Stoic denial wherein we pretend that everything is OK even when we are enduring the worst things. At the same time, we dare not forget the Christian hope that one day suffering will be gone forever. When we deal with suffering, we tend to have our gaze completely locked on the present, but the Christian answer to suffering, while making it incumbent upon us to alleviate present suffering as much as we are able, looks beyond the present to the future.

The very essence of secularism is the thesis that the hic et nunc, the here and now, is all there is. There is no realm of the eternal. But as Christians, we are called to consider the present in light of the eternal. This is what Jesus preached again and again. What does it profit a man if in this time and in this place he gains the whole world, but he loses his own soul (Luke 9:25)?

Scripture says that the end defines the significance of the beginning (Eccl. 7:8). God alone knows the end from the beginning comprehensively, but in His Word, He gives us a glimpse of the end toward which we are moving. And if we can focus our attention on the end and not merely on the now and the pain we experience here, we can begin to understand our pain in the right perspective.

In unfolding the new heaven and the new earth, Revelation 21–22 gives us one of the clearest glimpses of the future. Let me touch on a few of the highlights.

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (21:3–4). When I was a little boy, life was tough. There was a boy in our community who was much bigger than I was, and he was a bully. Sometimes he would beat me up, and I would run home crying. And my mother would be in the kitchen, and she’d have her apron on, and she’d say, “Come here.” I’d come in, and then she’d lean over and wipe away my tears—one of the most tender forms of communication—with the edge of her apron. When my mother wiped away my tears, I was truly comforted, and I was encouraged to go back into the battle. But I’d go back out, and sooner or later I’d get hurt again, and I would cry again, and my mother would have to wipe my tears away again. But when God wipes away our tears, they will never flow again for all eternity. (Unless, of course, they are tears of joy.)

That’s the eternal perspective. That’s the end from the beginning. Right now we live in the valley of tears, but that situation is not permanent because God will wipe away our tears.

John also says, “Death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying” (v. 4). Death, sorrow, crying, pain—these all belong to the former things that will pass away. I can imagine having conversations with you in the new Jerusalem, and you’ll say, “Remember back then when we used to worry about the problem of suffering?” And I’ll say, “I hardly remember what that was.”

Then, in verse 22, we read about something else that will be missing. Not only will there be no sorrow or death, but there will be no temple in the new Jerusalem of the new heaven and earth. But how can the new Jerusalem be the holy city without a temple? Well, John means that there will be no temple building. There will be another kind of temple, John says—“the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.” The most beautiful earthly sanctuary in this world will be passé in the new Jerusalem because we’ll be in the presence of God and of the Lamb.

“No longer will there be anything accursed” (22:3). You know that song “Joy to the World”? I love the line in the song that ends with “far as the curse is found.” How far is that? In this present darkness, the curse extends to the end of the earth— to our lives, to our labors, to our businesses, to our relationships. All suffer under the pangs of the curse of a fallen world. That’s why there’s a cosmic yearning, where all of creation groans together waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, waiting for that moment when the curse is removed (Rom. 8:19). There won’t be any weeds or any tares in the new Jerusalem. The earth won’t resist our plows because the curse won’t be found. “But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him” (Rev. 22:3).

And then we get the highest hope, the most incredible promise in the New Testament—we will see God’s face (v. 4). All of our lives we can come close to the Lord, we can sense His presence, and we can talk with Him, but we cannot see His face. But if we persevere through the pain and the suffering of this present world, the vision of God waits for us on the other side. Can you imagine it? Can you imagine looking into the unveiled glory of God for one second? It will make every pain I’ve ever experienced in this world worth it to see that.

“These words are trustworthy and true” (v. 6)—not salve or opium to dull our present pain but the truth of Almighty God, who made us, who knows us, who by the suffering of His Son has redeemed His people. He has now guaranteed that if we are in Christ by faith alone, we are bound for glory, and nothing can derail that train. So these former things that cause us so much grief will pass away, and He will make all things new.

This article originally appeared here.

7 Ways to Hurt Your Pastor

By

Thom Rainer

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July 16, 2021

If you really want to hurt your pastor, then this article is for you. Here are ways church members hurt their pastor.

This past week alone, I had conversations with dozens of pastors. These pastors love their churches and the church members. They are really committed to their callings.

But they are real people who can really be hurt.

The pastors I spoke with this past week shared with me seven common themes of the things that hurt them the most.

So, if you really want to hurt your pastor, follow these guidelines carefully.

7 Ways Church Members Hurt Their Pastor

1. Criticize the pastor’s family.

Few things are as painful to pastors as criticizing their families, especially if the criticisms are related to issues in the church.

2. Tell the pastor he is overpaid.

Very few pastors really make much money. But there are a number of church members who would like to make the pastor feel badly about his pay.

3. Don’t defend the pastor.

Critics can be hurtful. But even more hurtful are those who remain silent while their pastor is verbally attacked.

Silence is not golden in this case.

4. Tell your pastor what an easy job he has.

It can really sting when someone suggests that the pastor really only works about 10 hours a week. Some actually believe that pastors have several days a week off.

5. Be a constant naysayer.

Pastors can usually handle the occasional critic. But the truly painful relationships are with church members who are constantly negative.

How do you know you’ve succeeded in this regard? The pastor runs the other way when he sees you.

6. Make comments about the pastor’s expenditures.

I heard it from a pastor this past week. A church member asked, “How can you afford to go to Disney World?” Wow.

7. Compare your pastor’s preaching and ministry unfavorably to that of another pastor.

Many times, the member wants you to know how much he or she likes that pastor on the podcast compared to you. If you really want to hurt your pastor, you can make certain he knows how inferior he is.

So, if your life’s goal is to hurt your pastor, one or more of these approaches will work just fine.

But if you are like most good church members, you want the best for your pastor. So just do the opposite of these seven.

And if you are worried that your pastor will not remain humble unless someone puts him in his place, don’t worry. There will always be plenty of those other church members around.

Do you identify with these seven items for ways church members hurt their pastor? What would you add to the list for ways church members hurt their pastor?

The Healing Impact of Small Group Leaders

By

Sean Buono

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July 16, 2021

Anyone who’s been a part of a small group can all relate to the anxious feelings of the first few nights. Right from the start of the very first group meeting, we begin assessing the environment of our small group as we gauge whether or not it’s a safe environment to be vulnerable within. And within the traditional forming, storming, norming, and transforming stages of group formation, it may take a few meetings for small group leaders and the group to navigate through the “forming” stage of group formation process.

If this is the case, it’s possible that group members may keep their hearts under lock and key until after the “storming” stage passes. Yet this does not always need to be the case. As a follow up to our previous article “The Healing Support of Fellow Small Group Members,” let us explore a few ways on how the small group leader can play a key role in speeding up the group’s ability to be comfortable with one another and to be more open to the stages of inner healing.

Self-Care and Personal Development

For the small group leaders who work full-time jobs, who are raising families, who enjoy various hobbies, and who also decide to serve elsewhere within the church, life can suddenly become very busy. Indeed, the more we fill our calendars, the more likely we may find ourselves sacrificing our personal time with Jesus for the next event or activity on the never-ending list of things to do.

It is here where Dr. Terry Wardle in his book Healing Care, Healing Prayer draws our attention, reminding us caregivers to not only ensure that we remain tethered to the word of God, but to also stay connected to other Christians who are committed to the ministry of the Holy Spirit (I would add that in this context, this would be a group of Christians outside of the small group that the individual leads).

While these two activities may be shrugged off as collateral damage under the busyness of the daily grind, they are actually critical for the small group leader. After all, if we do not spend time in the Scriptures, the world will distract us from keeping the Lord’s teachings and commandments at the forefront of our minds. And if we do not engage in community with the body of Christ, we may find ourselves experiencing burnout as we neglect the relationships that can pour life back into us and sharpen our hearts (Proverbs 27:17).

The Wounded Healer

In her book Leaders Who Last, Margaret Marcuson says “we cannot lead others further than we are willing to go ourselves. If we want people to go deeper in the spiritual life, if we want them to grow up emotionally, if we want them to be more authentic, we have to show the way. Leadership starts with us.”

Author and leadership expert John Maxwell defines this principle as the “Law of the Lid,” where an organization’s reach and influence can’t go beyond where the leader wants to go (or more likely, where the leader decides to stop). This concept can be applied to small groups as well, where individuals may find it difficult to be led to a place of inner healing if the leader has not first been there themselves. Just as we see in 2 Corinthians 12:10, Wardle refers to this as the role of the “wounded healer.” He elaborates, “Only in weakness can the strength of Christ flow through a caregiver to the people who turn to him for help. The wounded caregiver must be touched by the Wounded [Christ] to offer healing to the wounded.”

Wardle’s words here are encouraging, for it is when a small group leader experiences inner healing first that they can then be a powerful conduit for the comfort of God that then flows to the others who are placed in their care. By offering one’s testimony of their own journey of inner healing, the small group leader can effectively establish themselves as a “wounded healer.” By sharing their heart, the degree of the leader’s own display of vulnerability can help encourage the other group members to be vulnerable and courageous as well within future gatherings.

Discernment in Sharing

But how much of our story do we leaders offer? If we air out too much of our dirty laundry, does that cause us to lose credibility? Since every situation is different, it is here where the utilization of a mentorship program at the church can help. One popular method of organizing a mentorship program within the church’s small group ministry is referred to as the Jethro model (Exodus 18), where a coach (who isn’t a small group leader) is assigned to serve and be a guide for a collection of small group leaders.

If unsure as to whether a certain testimony or story is safe to share, running it upline to one’s coach or church staff member can help provide the clarity or guidance that is needed on the matter. If it is an experience that highlights victory in Christ, than it will likely be a positive story to share. Indeed, it is through a celebration of finding new life in Christ where we can establish close connections with one another and support each other through the seasons of life where community and Jesus can impact us the most.

This article originally appeared here on smallgroupnetwork.com.

UPDATE: Pastor’s Wife Not Charged in the Shooting of Her Husband

By

Stephanie Martin

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July 16, 2021

UPDATED July 16, 2021: Gabriella “Gabby” Shepherd, the wife of a pastor who was shot and killed on July 12, 2021, has been released and not been charged “at this time” in the shooting of her husband, Noah Shepherd.

“There was just no indication that anything was other than good,” said Erik O’Dell, who attended seminary with Noah Shepherd, to NBC 7. “They just welcomed their second boy not too long ago.”

Gabby Shepherd was arrested following the shooting of her husband, which she allegedly claims was an accident. San Diego County District Attorney’s Office public affairs officer Tanya Sierra said, “We are not filing charges at this time. The investigation is ongoing, and we will review the case as we get more information.”

ChurchLeaders original article written on July 14, 2021, below:

A church community in southern California is requesting urgent prayers after its pastor, the father of two children, was shot and killed Monday evening. Noah Shepherd, the 29-year-old leader of San Diego Reformed Presbyterian Church, died after allegedly being shot by his wife, 26-year-old Gabriella “Gabby” Shepherd.

Authorities say Gabby Shepherd called 911 to report accidentally shooting her husband when he entered their Lemon Grove house through the back door. Emergency personnel found Noah injured in the back yard, and he later died at a hospital.

Gabby Shepherd was taken into custody and is being held without bail. She awaits arraignment on Thursday and faces a first-degree murder charge. Police haven’t revealed a motive or additional details, and they’re requesting tips from the community as the investigation continues.

Noah Shepherd’s Church Community Mourns

Noah Shepherd’s congregation, located in San Diego’s Rolando neighborhood, belongs to the Pacific Coast Presbytery. On Tuesday, the presbytery issued an “urgent prayer request” on the RP (Reformed Presbyterian) Global Alliance website and expressed “heartbreaking sorrow over the passing of our brother and fellow-laborer.”

The statement continues, “We will remember Rev. Shepherd for the hope of the gospel message he not only preached but believed. We mourn, not as those without hope, but as those eagerly awaiting eternal life. This was Noah’s hope, and we rejoice that he is with his crucified and risen Savior, Jesus Christ, whom he loved and proclaimed. Out of respect for the grieving, we ask on behalf of the family and church members that they be permitted to grieve in peace.”

After studying at Providence Christian College and then Westminster Seminary California, Shepherd was ordained in November 2020. Pastor Nathan Eshelman, who preached at the ordination service, describes Shepherd as “brilliant, a true scholar of the Bible…a godly man, a good dad and husband, and extremely humble.”

Friends Are Raising Funds for Noah Shepherd’s Funeral and Family

A Caring Bridge page has been set up to share information with Noah Shepherd’s loved ones. The administrator writes that “Noah Shepherd was taken from his earthly home” just days before turning 30. Ahead of the memorial service, which is pending, people are encouraged to provide sympathy notes and Scriptures “to bolster this dear family and congregation” as they grieve.

United Church of Christ Declares Racism a Public Health Crisis

By

Emily McFarlan Miller

-

July 15, 2021

racism a public health crisis — Photo by Rolande PG/Unsplash/Creative Commons

(RNS) — The United Church of Christ kicked off its Special Edition General Synod on Sunday (July 11) by passing a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis.

Delegates to the mainline denomination’s biennial meeting, held virtually this year, approved ” A Resolution to Declare and Respond to Racism as a Public Health Crisis ” with 96% of the vote during the opening plenary. The resolution was submitted by the UCC’s Council for Health and Human Service Ministries and the Council on Racial and Ethnic Ministries.

The Rev. Elyse Berry, associate for advocacy and leadership development for the Council for Health and Human Service Ministries, told the denomination the resolution’s approval “set the tone” for the General Synod, which runs through next Sunday (July 18).

“Racial justice is intentionally woven throughout this Synod,” Berry said.

The resolution notes that research shows racism “undermines the physical, emotional, spiritual, and relational health and wellbeing of People of African Descent, Indigenous Peoples, and other People of Color.” It points out how the COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the “racial health disparities and the social and political conditions that created them,” with Black, Indigenous and Hispanic communities recording a mortality rate more than 2.7 times the rate of white people.

The resolution also calls on UCC churches to educate their members and advocate for public policies that work toward health equity. And it calls on Congress to pass the Anti-Racism in Public Health Act, which would create a Center on Anti-Racism in Health and Law Enforcement Violence Prevention Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“This resolution is incredibly important especially in light of the conversations being had under critical race theory,” said Andrew Roblyer, a delegate from the UCC’s South Central Conference who spoke in favor of the resolution, according to the denomination.

“Racism is absolutely a public health crisis and we should do everything we can to speak out against it.”

Unlike other denominations meeting this summer, the 715 voting delegates participating in the United Church of Christ’s General Synod do not plan to debate critical race theory, an academic approach to examining systemic racism.

That’s because the UCC settled those questions years ago, declaring itself an “anti-racist church” in 2003, the Rev. Traci Blackmon told Religion News Service before the General Synod began.

“The United Church of Christ recognizes the importance of everyone’s human dignity and everyone’s story, and we also recognize racism as a sin. And so we don’t wrestle in ways that some denominations do,” said Blackmon, associate general minister of justice and local ministries for the UCC.

Other resolutions already passed in the first few days of the General Synod include recognizing the United Nations’ International Decade for People of African Descent and calling for the UCC to foster spiritual practices as a church of “contemplatives in action.”

Also at the General Synod, the denomination is launching an initiative called Join the Movement, part of its ongoing commitment to racial justice.

This article originally appeared here.

First Responders Praised for Pastor’s Recovery From Stabbing

By

AP News

-

July 15, 2021

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Rev. Russ Smethers was bleeding in the street when he fully understood the seriousness of his situation. He became aware again in a trauma room with metal tables and hospital lights.

“This is real, you know, and everybody’s saying, ‘You’re going to be OK,’” Smethers recalled Tuesday, adding that he believed the repeated assurances might mean he might not be fine after all. “Everything goes through your head.”

Smethers, 54, associate pastor at Abundant Peace Church in Las Vegas, was inside his home when an assailant stabbed him with a butcher knife 21 times on March 8.

After five days in University Medical Center’s trauma center and multiple surgeries, Smethers is well on the road to recovery.

“I shouldn’t be here,” he told reporters. “God’s will put me here and put the skill into the hands of the doctors and nurses so that I could be here.”

Smethers shared his harrowing experience while Las Vegas City Councilwoman Victoria Seaman presented a certificate of recognition to the hospital for saving Smethers’ life.

“People say, yeah, first responders are important, and that’s about all they say,” Smethers said. “There’s no meaning behind it. And I think all of us need to be reminded every once in a while exactly how important those first responders are.”

Smethers’ wife escaped the attack while Smethers fended off the man, whom they knew.

The assailant had been on methamphetamine and was recently sentenced for the crime, Smethers said, without sharing details.

The attack left Smethers with skull and facial fractures, sliced eyelids, a punctured lung and many stab wounds to his torso. He nearly lost his left thumb, and the tip of the knife broke off in his skull, which he describes as “a souvenir for the rest of my life.”

Smethers joked with paramedics in the street and in the ambulance, saying humor was an important coping mechanism just after the attack.

He remembers a surgeon sewing up his facial wounds and later a registered nurse holding his hand, praying over him. The nurse did that multiple times throughout Smethers’ stay.

“He says, ‘You’re going to be OK, pastor, we’ve got this,’” Smethers recalled.

He said he owed his life to the skill and compassion of nurses and surgeons.

“This is our sole purpose, is to save the lives of those in our community,” said Dr. Douglas Fraser, the hospital’s trauma medical director.

While Smethers’ physical healing continues, he said the emotional recovery will take longer. He is seeing a psychologist and has forgiven his assailant. But the experience has not shaken his religious beliefs.

“During the struggle, when I was being attacked, God did tell me, ‘You’re going through some stuff right now, but you’re not going to die tonight,’” Smethers said.

This article originally appeared here.

Would Your Church Pay Off Your Entire State’s Medical Debt? This Church Did.

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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July 15, 2021

St. Bede’s Episcopal Church in Santa Fe, New Mexico, made 782 households’ medical debts within the state vanish overnight.

“I don’t know if this parish has ever funded a program with such a great impact. We were able to do it because every week we set aside 10% of donations to the church for outreach. Prioritizing service to others is our gospel imperative,” Rev. Catherine Volland said.

By partnering with the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt, St. Bede’s raised over $1.3 million that paid off the entire state of New Mexico’s household medical debt and even a few Arizona counties’ medical debt. The nonprofit buys debt for a fraction of the cost and pays it off with the help of donations, similar to a collection agency. RIP Medical Debt also contacts credit agencies after paying off debts which clears the credit history of those in debt.

The debtors will receive a letter letting them know that St. Bede’s donation helped erase their medical debt with no strings attached.

“I was having a hard time trying to figure out how I was going to pay all this amount of money and it’s not been easy finding a job especially when you have two kids and with this pandemic going on,” a recipient of the church’s generosity responded after receiving the paid-in-full letter. “It has really been a very hard year for me and for everyone. I would love to thank personally that special person that helped me with my account. I am so thankful and I just want to say God bless you always.”

St. Bede’s is a church that’s known for taking care of its community. One of the church’s regular attenders said, “It’s great to know that we do more with our donations than just serve our own church. We reach out to our local community and all over the world. In a time when so many are struggling with medical concerns and costs, this partnership with RIP Medical Debt seems so in tune with our mission to ‘Celebrate God’s Love for All.’ ”

The church is hoping its example encourages other churches to do the same.

St. Bede Follows Other Churches’ Lead

Other churches like St. Bede have partnered with RIP Medical Debt to help pay off people’s in their community and state medical debts. Covenant Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas, helped erase $10 million of medical debt for people in the area. Crossroads Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, erased 45,000 families’ medical debts after paying off $46.5 million. Grand Rapids First in Wyoming, Michigan, used $15,000 to pay off over 1,800 people’s medical debt. And $15,000 from a Maryland church, Revolution Annapolis, freed 900 people from their medical debts. Covenant Church in Carrollton, Texas, paid $100,000 covering almost 5,000 families’ medical debts. An evangelical Presbyterian congregation in Columbia, Missouri, The Crossing, wiped out $43 million in medical debt for thousands of people throughout their state. These are just a few stories of this effort in recent years.

It’s estimated that 79 million American’s struggle to pay medical bills or have medical debt.

‘Theology Matters’—Why One Worship Leader Can No Longer Support Hillsong, Elevation, Bethel

By

Stephanie Martin

-

July 15, 2021

Screen grab from Facebook: @Mackenzie Morgan Holloway

A July 12 Facebook post about “false teachings” in some popular Christian music is striking a chord. The statement by Tennessee recording artist and worship leader Mackenzie Morgan, who says she can no longer “stay silent” about heretical lyrics, already has more than 7,000 likes.

After lots of studying, Morgan writes, she “was met with a terrible feeling of grief and sadness for what I was supporting”—specifically naming Hillsong, Elevation and Bethel Music. “Maybe it’s time we start looking at the Scriptures to see what God truly calls for in worship and get over what we want,” she adds.

Mackenzie Morgan: Why Pay for Falsehoods?

Although Morgan says the problems with some modern worship music are “too numerous” for her post, she elaborates on “churches such as Elevation and the teachings of Steve Furtick,” pointing to “his belief in modalism, which is…heresy.” She adds, “As for Bethel, that one should be pretty obvious.”

Elevation, a North Carolina megachurch, is organized around a vision that founder Furtick says he received from God. California-based Bethel Church has been controversial partly because of its focus on supernatural ministry. Hillsong, a global megachurch based out of Australia has faced controversy in recent months most famously for Hillsong East Coast’s pastor Carl Lentz‘s firing due to infidelity, but also for alleged spiritual abuse and for promoting a celebrity culture. Former Hillsong Dallas pastors Jess and Reed Bogard have been accused of mishandling church funds, and Hillsong has launched an investigation into allegations of financial abuse that have been levied at the church as a whole.

“Theology matters,” Morgan writes. “I can’t even stress that enough. It matters if a song is weak in theology and is not accurately displaying the Holiness of our God. It matters if churches are spreading a prosperity Gospel that is different from the Gospel found in Scripture. It MATTERS that each Sunday churches pay royalties to these churches in order to be able to sing their music, furthering [their] outreach and their false gospel message.”

The 24-year-old worship leader indicates regretting that she had “supported these churches” with her money and time while “opening up the doors for others to discover their false teachings.” Morgan initially wondered if she was “overthinking” the debate, but now she asks, “What if the majority of the church is leading its people astray singing music that is less than worthy of a Sovereign and Holy God?” As an example, she points to God’s fiery disapproval of worship offered by Aaron’s sons in Leviticus 10:1-3.

Instead of judging music by its popularity or your church’s traditions, says Morgan, “Compare it with Scripture…. There are no gray areas in God’s Word.” She recommends using songs from sources such as CityAlight and Sovereign Grace Music. (Sovereign Grace Churches, however, have their own controversial history.)

We Need to Discuss This Lovingly, Says Mackenzie Morgan

In a Facebook Live video on July 13, Morgan expresses gratitude for the unexpected response to her post. She says she was “mentally prepared” for more people to disagree with her and has been energized by discussing these very “real concerns” with fellow Christians.

Because of the “overwhelming response” to her comments, Morgan says she’s working with her church—Refine Church in Lascassas, Tennessee—to help answer questions and “be a reliable source” about worship music. “Something’s gonna be coming,” she promises, adding that it’s important for Christians to talk about this issue “lovingly” and with grace.

This worship debate isn’t new, writes Dallas Pastor Todd Wagner on The Gospel Coalition website. For centuries, Christians have had to make decisions about “false or errant theology and practices,” he says.

A 2020 video from Texas Pastor David Henneke explaining why his church no longer uses Bethel, Hillsong or Elevate music has been viewed more than 3.5 million times.

12 Things TEDx Speakers Do That Preachers Don’t

By

Nicholas McDonald

-

July 15, 2021

Ever seen a TEDx talk? TEDx speakers are pretty great. Here’s one I happen to enjoy, and have used in a couple of sermons.

I’ve wondered for a long time, “How in the world do each of these talks end up consistently blowing me away?”

So I did some research and found the TEDx-talk guidelines for TEDx speakers. Some of the advice was basic—but some of it was unexpected. Much of it, I think, is a welcome wake-up call to preachers who are communicating in a 21st-century, postmodern, post-Christian context. Obviously, some of this doesn’t fit with a preacher’s ethos—but much of it does.

That said, here are 12 things TEDx speakers do that preachers usually don’t:

1. Present one great idea.

“An idea isn’t just a story or a list of facts. A good idea takes evidence or observations and draws a larger conclusion.”

Of course, TEDx speakers often have multiple points, but they always have direction: They’re always moving forward to a set conclusion (and that’s all big-idea preaching is, for all the flack it gets).

They also suggest to the speaker: “Get your idea out as quickly as possible.”

2. Set a time limit.

“Shorter talks are not lesser talks. It may only take five minutes to make your point unforgettably.”

Ouch—yes, I often speak too long. Like Pascal in his letter, most of us preach long sermons because we don’t have time to prepare short ones—certainly not 20 minutes—but we could all stand to lose a few.

Here’s how they approach this: “Make a list of all the evidence you want to use. Think about items that your audience already knows about and the things you’ll need to convince them of. Order all of the items in your list based on what a person needs to know before they can understand the next point, and from least to most exciting. Now cut out everything you can without losing the integrity of your argument. You will most likely need to cut things out you think are important.”

3. Collaborate.

On the above suggestion: “Consider making this list with a trusted friend, someone who isn’t an expert in your field.”

During rehearsal stage, the guide recommends “listening to criticism.” Calvin made it a rule for pastors in his region to collaborate on their texts before preaching.

Personally, I wish we didn’t see the sermon prep as a lone-ranger event: Why not ask the perspectives of people who represent those who will be listening to this thing, believers and nonbelievers alike?

4. Put time into visuals.

“Note anything in your outline that is best expressed visually and plan accordingly in your script.”

In the section regarding the question, “What goes in my slides?” the guide states: “Images and photos: To help the audience remember a person, place or thing you mention, you might use images or photos. … Use as little text as possible—if your audience is reading, they are not listening. Avoid using bullet points. Consider putting different points on different slides.”

We might not have time every week to come up with captivating visuals, but check out some websites like prezi.com—you’d be surprised how quickly you can put together an amazing presentation.

5. Practice.

“Once you’re settled on your outline, start writing a script. Be concise, but write in a way that feels natural to you. Use present tense and strong, interesting verbs.”

After the script is finished, the guide implores: “Rehearse, rehearse rehearse! We can’t stress this enough. … If someone says you sound “over-rehearsed,” this actually means you sound stilted and unnatural.”

6. Stay away from notes.

“TED discourages long talks, podiums or readings.”

This isn’t for everybody—but it’s certainly worth noting that according to the best TEDx speakers in the world, notes are considered to be a thing of the past.

Intergenerational Ministry: Wonder, Community, and a Great Big God

By

Christina Embree

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July 15, 2021

The God I gave my kids was too small. Way too small.

He was wrapped up in stories that didn’t allow their minds to imagine His greatness, crafts that were easily discarded, and memorized verses that lacked the context of His vastness.

It wasn’t that I wanted to do that or even tried to do that. But the resources at my fingertips, the church programs I could plug my kids into, and the avenues I thought needed to be taken to teach my kids about God were just too small.

It was like trying to teach them about the world with a map of our state.

In 2013, our family moved from our home in Pennsylvania to seminary in Kentucky. We moved into seminary housing with other families who were attending seminary. These families were from all over the United States and more importantly, all over the world.

And suddenly, within mere months, the God of my children grew bigger and stronger and wider than they could have ever imagined. This God they had been taught about with a certain accent, a certain slant, and a certain view was suddenly met by a global expression of faith and experience that exceeded their understanding.

They were introduced to viewpoints and ideas that they had never heard. They watched their Kenyan friends worship alongside their Singaporean friends in vastly different ways that were nonetheless sincere and real. They interacted with elders and children, adults and teens, who all followed their God but in different ways. They heard theology debated, viewpoints expressed, and denominational differences discussed in a way that didn’t diminish their faith but opened it up wider. Hearing the same verses shared in different ways, listening to the Bible stories take on new meaning in different cultural contexts, and watching interactions with individuals that believed in Jesus differently than them but with fervor and grace that can only be described as holy offered my kids a much bigger God.

I often look at children in church and wonder, “Are we giving them a big enough God?” If their world of imagination is so big, are the stories we tell them, big enough to fill the space?

A lot of the Bible stories I hear in church are just that…stories. They have a limited scope, beginning and end. They have limited heroes and villians like David and Goliath and Daniel and the lions and Jonah and the Whale. They have limited life lessons like “Be brave because God is with you” and “Be obedient when God tells you what to do.”

“We tend to give kids superficial lessons in the Christian faith but we’ve found that superficial teaching leads to superficial Christians. The formula for teaching Scripture to kids has become a biblical value + a verse to back it up + a song to make it memorable”.

PHIL VISCHER

Teamwork – The Cure for Most Bad Decisions

By

Rodger Otero

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July 14, 2021

Rash decisions are almost always bad decisions. When I am overly hasty in coming to some conclusion, in choosing a direction, in weighing A and B, it’s usually because I am uncomfortable. Discomfort rushes me into some decision—any decision—as a means of remedying the discomfort as quickly as possible. The relief is real, but momentary. But I’ve discovered at least one major cure for rash decisions: teamwork.

Good decision-making the discomfort caused by teamwork. Teamwork takes time, and good decision-making takes time. Good decision-making allows time to stretch on as long as is needed. Every decision is different. I must learn to listen to the question being asked. The question itself will give clues as to how long is needed to come to a sense of completion.

The bigger the decision is, the more far-reaching and long-term the impacts may be, the greater is the need for teamwork and patience. The higher the stakes are, the longer the process may need to be.

Teamwork Will Slow You Down

Don’t rush it. There’s a perfect way to slow down and avoid bad decisions: it’s teamwork, because teamwork will slow you down. And that’s a good thing. Unless you’re the kind of person who values speed and efficiency. The kind of person who likes quick decisions and quick actions and quick outcomes. The kind of person who is just ready to get on with it and get things done. In that case, the slowness that comes with a team will feel to you like a bad thing — But it’s still a good thing.

Group discernment—decision-making as teamwork—is helpful in slowing us down. In a culture that has us constantly running at 65mph, group discernment requires us to pump the brakes a bit. To take note of where we are on the road. To read the street signs. To admire the scenery as we pass by. To roll the windows down and hear the sounds of the surrounding world.

By nature, groups make decisions much more slowly, which is why so many people avoid it. Group discernment drags out the discomfort. In fact, it can often—especially early in the process—amplify the discomfort. It gets under our skin when we’re overly eager for progress and production.

Slowness is a gift—a gift most of us don’t usually ask for. At slower speeds we are able to listen more carefully to others, to God, and to our own selves. And listening is vital to making good decisions.

Slower decisions are often better decisions. If you feel the tendency to make a quick decision, (especially in something high-stakes), do yourself a favor and embrace teamwork. Let the team you down. You can thank them later.

This article on teamwork appeared here, and is used by permission.

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