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Sharing Jesus in a Post Christian Culture – 5 Keys

By
Michael Harrington
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communicating with the unchurched

Let me tell you about an experience I had with sharing Jesus in a post Christian culture. I once gathered with a group of new acquaintances to discuss the rich meaning of a French word bonheur, which conveys happiness, joy, and a deep sense of contentment. We shared our ideas, discussing the role that religion, friends, and family play in our happiness and peace. We debated, we laughed, and some shared personal stories in tears, while others simply shrugged and declared bonheur to be an impossibility in this life. Then, late into the night, we broke for a sort of intermission.

I’d been welcomed into this group as an American in France, a new resident who enjoys philosophical discussions. During the pause in the discussion, the questions came quickly: Who are you? What do you do? What is a Baptist pastor? What do evangelical Christians believe?

Suddenly the room became quiet as all eleven people waited for me to respond. I shared about the life of Jesus and his death on a cross. Then an older gentleman in the group jumped in with where he thought my story was going: “to save us!”

An Open Door to God’s Story

I asked him what that meant, and he admitted he had no idea. So I talked about a relationship with God enabled by Jesus’s righteousness and not our own. I said that I believe Jesus is able to transform our lives when we turn to him.

“People want to know that faith means overcoming doubt, not eliminating it.”

I blundered in French plenty during that talk. But eleven people—including ten self-declared agnostics or atheists—heard a bit of my story and God’s story. They now know there’s an evangelical church in town. And they’ve heard one Baptist minister’s belief in the existence of bonheur in this life. Later, one of the members of the discussion group recognized me at an event in town and asked to grab a coffee a week later.

5 Keys to Sharing Jesus in a Post Christian Culture

As it turns out, sharing Jesus in a post Christian culture isn’t all that scary or difficult. It may require some patience, it will require getting to know people, and it will require faith, real and honest. I’m not a sociologist, and I can’t claim thousands of hours of research into postmodernism or post-Christianity. But I do live in a country described by both secular and Christian sociologists as one among the most post-Christian in the world.

Here’s a short list of key behaviors I’ve found helpful when it comes to sharing Jesus with people in a post Christian culture.

1. Don’t Assume an Antagonistic Viewpoint.

If you’re truly in a post Christian culture, then most people view Christianity as an idea from the past. Basic Christian beliefs have been forgotten through decades of exodus from the church. Most people in post-Christian contexts know as much about the church as you probably know about Egyptian hieroglyphics. They might, in principle, be against the church and organized religion because they were taught that it’s a manmade entity for primitive minds. But most likely, many are agnostic—or indifferent—about spirituality and may be curious about Jesus. Be encouraged by that fact.

2. Model How Life and Faith Intersect.

I’ve often been told by friends within the post Christian culture that an eye-opening moment for them was hearing the simplicity of our prayers (such as before a meal in our home). They had no idea that we talk to God as a living being about our daily lives. We try and demonstrate in natural ways that it is in Christ and through Christ that “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28 ESV). Don’t make a show of your faith, but don’t compartmentalize or hide it. Let people in, and live your life in the open. Value vulnerability.

3. Allow others to belong to community before they believe the gospel fully.

Purely attractional church models have little to no place in a post Christian culture, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be a community of believers and invite in others. When watching a game or hanging out with your Christian community, bring along a new friend. Introduce them to your church friends. Some might find the fellowship strange and walk away. But some might be longing for community. We have seen time after time the progression of people finding acceptance by a church community before they fully self-identify with Christ.

4. Share your story.

I’ve heard it said that Jesus should be more like backyard fence gossip than the canned sales pitches we’ve turned him into. If you want to tell people about what Jesus can do in their lives, they’re going to want to know what he’s done in yours. Your answer to this question—if honest—will carry far more weight in a post-Christian context than any well-reasoned arguments or philosophical proofs. People want to know that faith means overcoming doubt, not eliminating it. The blind man in John 9 said, “I was blind and now I see.” He shared his testimony, and people turned to Christ. Your story matters because it’s true, and it’s deeply personal.

5. Pray.

I thought about making this the first key, because, well, it’s the most important. But I feared you’d roll your eyes and stop reading. So I’m making it the last point instead. And I mean it; you have to pray. The more we pray, the more we develop real relationships with people needing Christ in their lives. The more we pray for people by name, the more opportunities we have to speak of Jesus with them. The more time we spend with the Father, the more his presence is evident in our lives. More than anything, pray.

For more information on working among post-Christian cultures, particularly European cultures, check out the IMB’s  European peoples page.

 

This article on sharing Jesus in a post Christian culture originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Ed Litton Plagiarism? New SBC President’s Church Deletes Over 100 Sermons After Accusations

By
Jesse T. Jackson
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communicating with the unchurched

A video arose over the weekend accusing new Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) President and senior pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Alabama, Ed Litton of sounding a little too much like former SBC President J.D. Greear in a sermon he delivered on Romans back in January 2020.

The sermon, which Litton “borrowed” from Greear was originally heard at The Summit Church in January 2019.

The YouTube video shows clips from Greear’s sermon on Romans 1, then from Litton’s sermon on Romans 1 allowing viewers to witness how eerily similar the two SBC Presidents’ sermons sound.

Comparing Litton’s Sermon to Greear’s Sermon

The Romans’ sermon Litton gave was not word-for-word, but it followed the delivery of Greear’s 2019 sermon, even using the same type of opening and a similar mission-trip story. Below is the written comparison of the first released YouTube video:

Greear (2019): “Everybody turn right now to your neighbor. Look them in the eyes. If you know them put your hand on their shoulder and say, ‘This is going to be a really tough week for you. Okay. Tell them, say, ‘I’m praying for you to have the faith and humility to receive this word.’”

Litton (2020): “I want you to turn to your neighbor right now and I want you to say, ‘I know this sermon is going to be really tough for you, but I’m here praying that you will listen and obey whatever God says.’ Go ahead and do that right now.”

Greear (2019): “We believe that God’s Word is good, do we not…”

Litton (2020): “You see, we believe that God’s Word is good.”

Greear (2019): “In some of my travels overseas, I’ll go into these temples that are erected to a foreign god. I remember being in one of them a while ago…somewhere in Asia. I go into this temple, it was gigantic, I mean beautiful temple and right in the middle of it is about a 25-foot statue of a goddess who has multiple breasts and multiple arms. I watched these worshippers come in and they would prostrate themselves before the statue, and many of them were very emotional. Many had traveled a lot of miles to get to this. Very poor [were] some of them, and taking the little money they had and poured out an offering before this statue of this god. Later, finding myself just going back over that incident in my mind and feeling sorry for the people there and thanking God, in my heart, that I wasn’t like them. Then, in the middle of that thought it just occurred to me. I had a whole list of things in my heart that have taken God’s place just like that statue had.”

Litton (2020): “Paul David Tripp is a favorite pastor of mine to read. He’s a pastor in Philadelphia. He was on a mission trip to Nepal and he was taken by a missionary into a temple. And he said, I will not go into details, but he does explain it that there was an idol in the center of this temple. He said it was one of the most grotesque things he’s ever scene. But what really turned his stomach wasn’t the shape of the idol, it was how people were bowing down to it, kissing it, putting money on it. He met a family that had walked for four months to get to this idol. He walked out of that temple, saying ‘Thank God, I’m not like them’. Then the Spirit of God said, ‘Paul, you are exactly like them.’”

Greear (2019): “I compared it to, if the earth were to say to the sun, ‘I am sick and tired of you being in the middle of the solar system.’ The sun might just say to the earth, ‘Alright have it your way.’ The earth is 30,000 times smaller than the sun and would not have the ability to keep all the planets in orbit, and so the solar system would begin to unravel simply because the sun gave to the earth what it asked for. ”

Litton (2020): “If the earth were to ask the sun in our solar system, ‘I’m sick and tired of floating out here in nothingness, surrounding you constantly. I want to be the center of this solar system.’ Folks, our entire solar system would fall apart…Why?…because the earth doesn’t have the power of light and it doesn’t have the power of gravitational force to hold this solar system in existence.”

Greear (2019): “Sexual disorder, that was the first thing, verses 26-27, now we’ve got economic disorder. Social disorder, just think Facebook. Then you’ve got spiritual disorder…you can think of that as family disorder.”

Litton (2020): “There’s economic disorder, look at verse 29. He says there’s social disorder…that’s just on Facebook. There’s spiritual disorder…and there’s family disorder. They disobey their parents.”

Greear (2019): “You see, there are three ways I really see us going wrong with this in the church at large. Number one, we believe that God doesn’t really care about this. The Gospel message is not let the gay become straight, the Gospel message is let the dead become alive. Which leads me to the second way that I see us going wrong here. Number two, we think it’s the worst sin.”

Litton (2020): I’ll tell you three ways I think we’ve gone wrong. First one, is we don’t think God cares about this issue. The Gospel message is not let the gay get straight, the Gospel message is let the dead come to life. Here’s the second thing I think we do…we go wrong…and that is thinking homosexuality is the worst of all sins.”

Pray for Surfside—Ministries Offer Aid After FL Condo Disaster

By
Jessica Lea
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champlain towers
A view of the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South condo building, with rescue workers visible on the ground.

Local and out-of-state ministries are coming together to pray for and support those impacted by the partial collapse of a Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Fla. As of this writing, 11 have been confirmed dead and at least 150 people remain missing. 

“As we learn more about this terrible tragedy, our hearts are broken for the residents of this condo who experienced such a devastating event,” said Josh Holland, assistant director for the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (BG-RTT), a chaplain ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). “Our crisis-trained chaplains are available to listen, and we want all of those who were impacted—including the first responders who are part of the search-and-rescue efforts—to know that God still loves them and cares about them, even in the midst of such pain and sadness.”

Champlain Towers South Condo: Tragedy Strikes Surfside

In the early morning hours of Thursday, June 24, part of a Champlain Towers South condo, a 12-story building just north of Miami Beach, collapsed. “It felt like an earthquake,” said one survivor. The last people found alive were discovered hours after the collapse took place, and the odds that rescue teams will find any more survivors are grim as crews must search through complicated layers of debris and five days have now passed since the tragedy occurred. At least two class-action lawsuits have been filed against the Champlain Towers South Condominium Association on the grounds that the association failed to keep the building safe and in good repair. 

In the wake of the devastation, churches and ministries are holding prayer vigils, taking up donations, providing food, and otherwise offering what support they can for those whom the disaster has impacted. “Pray for the family members of those who lived in the building waiting to hear if their loved ones are safe or not,” BGEA president Franklin Graham posted on Facebook the day of the collapse. “Our Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains are there to minister to and pray with people in the community and first responders. The Bible tells us, ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble’ (Psalm 46:1).”

Luis Acosta pastors Pines Baptist Church in Pembroke Pines, Fla., about 20 miles northwest of Surfside. The day after the condo’s collapse, he and a group with Florida Baptist Convention (FBC) Disaster Relief visited the site of the disaster to evaluate the needs there. FBC Disaster Relief then put out a call for 50 chaplains and a combination laundry-shower unit.

Acosta told the Baptist Press (BP) that when he was at the site, the family members of the missing conveyed “desperation, the need for hope, the need to hear their loved ones are safe. I’ve been reading into their looks they’re probably wanting any word. It’s a search and rescue now, but sooner than later it’s going to be a recovery.” Acosta said that “barring a miracle…I am expecting the death toll to begin to rise.”

David Coggins, director of FBC Disaster Relief, said that the chaplains’ ministry will “mainly be a ministry of presence…Our main objective is to provide comfort and support. We want the people, the families especially, to know that they’re cared for. We want to provide scriptural support for them when they get news about their loved ones, when that comes. And also if we have opportunities, we want to be able to support the search and rescue, and the first responders.”

Belen Jesuit Preparatory Schools and Christopher Columbus High School each held prayer vigils following the collapse; some of the missing people are part of the community of Belen Jesuit. Casa Church, which is less than a block away from the Champlain Towers condo, called on its members the day of the tragedy, requesting prayer and donations of drinks and snacks. The church also offered its building for use by law enforcement. 

Church by the Sea in Bay Harbor Islands held a prayer service Sunday at 10:30 a.m. The church said, “We have set up a donation button on our website and all of the monies collected will go directly to victims. We have also assisted in several other ways and continue to be in touch with authorities regarding assistance. This will be a long process of healing and long after the news cycle ends, we will be there.” The church asked people to reach out if they or anyone they know is in need.

In a post the morning of the collapse, Calvary Chapel Miami Beach in Miami Beach said, ”Saints! We need you to lift up prayers right now! Merciful Abba Father we humbly seek you and call on Your Name. We need Your Mighty Hand to intercede. We ask for miracles that further glorify Your Name. We need your wisdom. Lead and guide us, show us how to be Your Hands and Feet and bring blessing in the midst of suffering. In Jesus Name! Amen.” 

The church held a prayer service later that evening and invited congregants to volunteer Friday to pray for and hand out snacks to first responders. The church held additional prayer services Saturday and Sunday and is also taking donations for the victims. Assistant Pastor J.P. Funk told Christianity Today, “You can see the smoke from smoldering ruins reminiscent of 9/11.”

Millions Skipped Church During Pandemic. Will They Return?

By
AP News
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skipped church
Minister Greg Foster delivers a sermon at Waldoboro United Methodist Church, Sunday, June 20, 2021, in Waldoboro, Maine. Millions of people stayed home from places of worship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The deepening slide in attendance at the Waldoboro church forced its closure. The last sermon was on June 27. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

WALDOBORO, Maine (AP) — With millions of people having stayed home from places of worship during the coronavirus pandemic, struggling congregations have one key question: How many of them will return?

As the pandemic recedes in the United States and in-person services resume, worries of a deepening slide in attendance are universal.

Some houses of worship won’t make it.

Smaller organizations with older congregations that struggled to adapt during the pandemic are in the greatest danger of a downward spiral from which they can’t recover, said the Rev. Gloria E. White-Hammond, lecturer at the Harvard Divinity School and co-pastor of a church in Boston.

On the Maine coast, the pandemic proved to be the last straw for the 164-year-old Waldoboro United Methodist Church.

Even before COVID-19 swept the world, weekly attendance had dipped to 25 or 30 at the white-clapboard New England church that could hold several hundred worshippers. The number further dwindled to five or six before the final service was held Sunday, said the Rev. Gregory Foster.

The remaining congregants realized they couldn’t continue to maintain the structure, and decided to fold the tent, Foster said.

“We can’t entirely blame everything on COVID. But that was just the final blow. Some people have not been back at all,” he said.

In Virginia, the Mount Clifton United Methodist Church experienced a similar fate. The church can seat more than 100 but the number of weekly worshippers dwindled to 10 to 15, even before the pandemic.

The small white church built on a hill in the Shenandoah Valley in the 1880s may be rented to another congregation, or it may be put up for sale.

“It’s a complicated picture overall, but the pandemic was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said the Rev. Darlene Wilkins, who oversaw Mount Clifton. “It just became next to impossible to sustain.”

In the United States, the latest challenge for places of worship comes against a backdrop of a decadeslong trend of a smaller share of the population identifying as religious.

It’s too early to know the full impact of the pandemic. Surveys do show signs of hopefulness — and also cause for concern.

About three-quarters of Americans who attended religious services in person at least monthly before the pandemic say they are likely to do so again in the next few weeks, according to a recent AP-NORC poll. That’s up slightly from the about two-thirds who said in May 2020 that they would if they were allowed to do so. But 7% said they definitely won’t be attending.

Those findings are in line with a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. residents last summer. It found that 92% of people who regularly attend religious services expected to continue at the same or higher rate, while 7% say they will attend in-person services less often.

As Southern Baptists Begin to Grapple With Sexual Abuse, Looming Challenges Remain

By
Yonat Shimron
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sexual abuse
Messengers vote during the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting at Music City Center, Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Nashville. RNS photo by Kit Doyle

(RNS) — At their recent annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, Southern Baptists spoke loud and clear about sexual abuse.

Messengers at the 2021 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting directed the convention’s new president to set up a task force to address reports that Southern Baptist leaders have mistreated abuse victims and mishandled allegations of abuse.

The local church delegates also approved a resolution stating that “any person in a position of trust or authority who has committed sexual abuse” should be permanently barred from being a pastor or church leader — a zero tolerance policy that is the standard in the scandal-weary Catholic Church.

Putting that nonbinding resolution in practice, however, will be difficult for the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Every SBC church is autonomous and chooses its own leaders. And many rely on part-time staff or volunteers in leadership roles, often without much vetting.

As if to punctuate the moves made at the annual meeting, an advocate for sex abuse survivors posted to a blog a week afterward that a registered sex offender has been preaching at a Dallas Southern Baptist church.

Adat Shalom Messianic Church, a Southern Baptist church, allowed Chad Michael Hutchins, a registered sex offender who was convicted for possession of child porn, to teach during services, Amy Smith, of the Watchkeep blog, had discovered.

In a recording of a phone call posted to the blog, Pastor Robin David Rose of Adat Shalom defended Hutchins, saying he had served prison time for his actions. He told Smith that Hutchins’ crime had involved pornography, not harming children, and that Hutchins was not involved in children’s ministry.

Rose also said that God can change people’s hearts and that those who have committed crimes in the past can still serve in the church.

“People can change and people can commit themselves to lives that are… godly and good, and contribute to society,” he told Smith, according to the recording. “And they don’t need to be torn down by people for something that they’ve done years ago.”

Rose told RNS in an email, “Chad Hutchins is NOT a Pastor nor is he in any type of leadership position in our church, nor has he ever been.” He declined further comment.

Whether an occasional preacher is a church leader as was outlined in the resolution adopted by the SBC should not be debatable, said Smith.

“The hypocrisy of it is stunning given the praise that’s been heaped on the Southern Baptist Convention for just passing a motion to begin to appoint a task force,” said Smith. “What’s happening on the ground is situations like this.”

Evangelical Covenant Church Joins List of Protestant Denominations Rebuking Doctrine of Discovery

By
Emily McFarlan Miller
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doctrine of discovery
The Rev. TJ Smith, addresses the 135th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church, June 25, 2021. Video screengrab

(RNS) — The Evangelical Covenant Church became the latest Protestant denomination in the United States to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery, the theological justification that allowed the discovery and domination by European Christians of lands already inhabited by Indigenous peoples.

Delegates at the Covenant Annual Connection voted overwhelmingly (84%) on Friday (June 25) to approve a resolution acknowledging the damage done to Indigenous peoples in the Americas by taking their land and rights and lamenting the church’s complicity in the continuing effects of that history.

“After 125 years, the healing is beginning in the Evangelical Covenant Church, and I’m grateful to be starting this journey with you today,” the Rev. TJ Smith, president of the Indigenous Ministers Association, said in an emotional speech after the vote was taken.

While the Evangelical Covenant Church has been working on its resolution for the past five years, its action came the day after the Cowessess First Nation announced it had found indications of at least 751 unmarked graves near the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan.

Weeks earlier, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation had used ground-penetrating radar to confirm the remains of 215 children as young as 3 years old on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia. Kamloops was opened by the Roman Catholic Church in 1890 and became the largest school in Canada’s Indian Affairs residential school system, with enrollment peaking at 500 students in the early 1950s, according to the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc.

Smith, who is Lakota, and others drew a line from the Doctrine of Discovery to what were known as Indian residential schools in Canada and Indian boarding schools in the U.S.

“Please understand this isn’t just Canada,” he said.

The Doctrine of Discovery began as a series of 15th-century papal edicts and later was enshrined in the 1823 Supreme Court decision Johnson v. M’Intosh, which established that the U.S. government, not Native American nations, determined ownership of property.

That doctrine led to practice, including the “violent assimilation of Native children in Indian boarding schools,” added Lenore Three Stars, a Lakota speaker and public theologian who shared remarks with the Evangelical Covenant Church gathering by video. Those children were removed from their homes to attend boarding schools operated under the motto “kill the Indian, save the man.”

“Over time, practice affected institutionalized injustice, which persists today,” Three Stars said.

It’s important for the church to know and lament that history, said Curtis Ivanoff, an Inupiat and superintendent of the Evangelical Covenant Church’s Alaska Conference.

The Language of Tears

By
Mark Loughridge
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communicating with the unchurched

I came across a set of photographs of tears taken using a microscope. They are fascinating to look at; vastly different in their detail and patterns, like looking down at changing landscapes from an aeroplane.

The photographer, Rose-Lynn Fisher, has pictures of tears from all sorts of circumstances: tears of happiness, grief, pain, reminiscing, tears caused by irritation or for lubrication, and many other sorts—each like a unique work of art. Some are jagged and angular, some are densely detailed, like an aerial view of the Amazon rainforest. Other pictures are sparse in their detail, yet others square and block-like like a city plan. I love how she describes them as “aerial views of emotion terrain.”

Our tears are mostly salt water but contain a variety of substances—including enzymes, oils, antibodies, hormones and even natural painkillers the body releases under stress. Each of these seems to impact the detail. (Although another photographer seems to think these additives are less of a factor.)

All this came to mind because I was preaching last Sunday on Psalm 6. The songwriter is at the end of his tether, he says, “I flood my bed with weeping…my eyes grow weak with sorrow”. Perhaps you know that feeling.

But what really struck me was what he said next: “The Lord has heard the sound of my weeping”

The Hebrew language is picturesque. The word translated ‘sound’ also means ‘voice’—the Lord heard the voice of my weeping. I think there is a rich tenderness to that. It’s as if he’s saying, “God is fluent in the language of your tears.” They speak to him—when words won’t come. Of course, as God, he knows all things instantly, but there is something richer, closer, more personal about this way of putting it. And perhaps we need reminding of that.

For it is when we are at the end of our tether, or can’t see past the tears, that Satan whispers to us, “He doesn’t care,” “He doesn’t see,” “Your problems aren’t worth his attention.” In those moments we can feel that God is cold, distant, aloof. Perhaps like that detached and pristine parent who when their child comes with tears running down their cheeks pushes them away so they don’t mess up their own clothes. As if God isn’t interested in the mess and messiness of our lives.

But Psalm 6 paints a different picture. The tears of God’s people speak with an eloquence and a clarity that he hears. Here is the God we can come to, tears and all—a soggy mess of emotion and pain—and he won’t push us away. Do you need reminding of that?

And his fluency in the language of tears is not textbook learning; it comes from experience. For in a richer way than even David knew when he penned these words in Psalm 6, we know that he knows. God the Son became “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). And as our High Priest he is able to sympathize with our weaknesses and so provide what he knows we need. He understands the accent of our tears.

So “let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Let your tears bring you to Christ.

Vision: The Crucial Difference Between Managing and Leading

By
Rick Warren
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communicating with the unchurched

It’s been said many times by many different people that everything rises or falls on leadership. I don’t think that’s ever truer than in ministry. Charles McKay, a former professor at California Baptist College, used to tell us if you want to know the temperature of your church, put the thermometer in your mouth. That’s a good statement. You can’t ever take people farther than you are yourself, spiritually or with vision.

I remember when I was interviewed on the Acts television network by Jimmy Allen, and he asked me about starting new churches. He said, “How important is location?” I said it’s very important, the second most important thing. But the most important thing is not location, but leadership in a church. I see churches in great locations that aren’t doing anything and I see churches with good leadership in poor locations doing great things.

Leadership is the key.

You don’t have to be a charismatic leader (in the emotional sense) to be a great leader. Some of the greatest charismatic leaders of this century were also the worst—Stalin, Mao, Hitler. They were all very charismatic people, so personality has nothing to do with dynamic leadership.

Leadership and Vision

It’s not the charisma of the leader that matters; but the vision of the leader. Whatever your assignment may be in your church, no matter what your ministry concentration may be, your number one responsibility of leadership in that area is to continually clarify and communicate the vision of that particular ministry. You must constantly answer the question: Why are we here? If you don’t know the answer, you can’t lead.

As a senior pastor, my job is to keep us on track with the original New Testament purpose of the church. That gets much more difficult as the church grows larger and larger. When we were very small, the only people who wanted to come were non-Christians. We didn’t have a lot of programs. We didn’t have a children’s ministry or a music ministry or a youth ministry. The people who wanted all those things went to churches that had them. Now I meet people coming over from other churches every week. This new dynamic presents an acute problem. Every one of these people carries in a load of cultural baggage. They expect Saddleback to be like the church they left. The first words off their lips can be, “At our old church, we did it like this …”

Object Lessons on Attitude: Free KidMin Materials

By
Stephanie Martin
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communicating with the unchurched

For children as well as adults, keeping our attitude in check can definitely be a challenge. But with God’s strength and the Bible’s guidance, we can learn to maintain a Godly and God-pleasing attitude in all situations. These free object lessons on attitude will help kids discover the importance of having a joyful, grateful attitude, no matter the circumstances.

Use these resources in a variety of settings, from Sunday school and children’s church to vacation Bible school and camp. In age-appropriate ways, kids will discover why our attitude reflects our heart and even can help direct other people to Jesus.

This assortment of free object lessons on attitude includes:

1. Children’s Sermon

With this prepared message, titled “The Bee-Attitudes,” children learn that true happiness is found only in Jesus. Contrary to what the world teaches, happiness isn’t a feeling that results from our possessions or accomplishments. Instead, it’s an attitude based on what—and Who—we have in our heart. Like the bees God made, we can “buzz” happily through life because Jesus loves us so much that he died and rose again for us.

2. Coloring Page

Have children color this illustration of Jesus giving the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-12). They can display the finished drawing as a reminder to have Godly and God-pleasing attitudes each and every day.

3. Word Search

Keep your little bees busy with this word search. Kids need to spot 15 words from the Bible passage about the Beatitudes.

4. Group Activity

These free object lessons on attitude contain games, crafts, a snack idea, and song suggestions.

Games:

  • Happy Game Run
  • Happy Bee Buzzing
  • Hiding Bees

Crafts:

  • Bee Attitude Bees Booklet
  • Bee Cup
  • Collage
  • Happy Heart
  • Flower Pots and Bees

Snack:

  • Happy Bee Snack Sack

Songs:

  • “If You’re Saved and You Know it”
  • “I’m Happy All the Time”
  • “If You’re Happy”

5. Maze Activity

In this fun maze, kids try to help the bee find its way back to the hive and its honey. Try not to get stuck!

Enjoy using these object lessons on attitude—and “bee” sure to share them with friends!

Youth Ministry Summer Strategy: 4 Scheduling Tips for Intentionality

By
Leneita Fix
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communicating with the unchurched

An age-old debate in youth ministry is whether to take the summer off. I’ve always landed on the side of NO! The caveat is that you need to carefully consider your youth ministry summer strategy.

For example, when I recently asked some students if they’d like to have an intentional “leadership” group over the summer, it was crickets. Then came the typical excuses of impending vacations, family reunions, sports, camps and, of course, summer jobs. But when I asked who might like to help with some elementary day camps we run, they all clamored to be included.

This triggered an important realization: The decision isn’t if you should offer activities during the summer; it’s what you do for the summer.

Be intentional with your youth ministry summer strategy by considering these four factors:

1. Take a Breath

What I love most about summer is that fewer stressors compete for teenagers’ energy. While scheduling still may be an issue, I feel like I get a more laid-back version of my youth. This is why I love to take the time to teach life lessons in action. Rather than simply sitting for a study, we serve together. Yes, we do take a mission trip. However, we also find other ways to give to our community as well. Amid all of the projects, we talk about the Bible, life lessons and accountability.

2. Reinforce and Build

Over the course of the school year, we focus on some key themes during our Bible lessons. Then in the summer I come at those same ideas but from a new fresh angle. I love planning activities that back up lessons we’ve been talking about. Then at the end we sit down and discuss what kids keep learning. As we strengthen the learning, it provides building blocks to new lessons about the Lord.

3. Stop the Fun

Here’s what I mean: Saying that summertime activities should be more “fun” is like saying the youth program is boring the rest of the year. Yet summer does offer some space to be more creative in some instances. During these months, ask parents to host a dessert or open their home. Ask students to “plan the summer.” This is the time when they have the bandwidth to try. Could they come up with games, activities or ideas? It will take some guidance. But make efforts to include kids not only in brainstorming but in taking ownership of the program.

4. Focus Down

Many times we talk about how we want summer to deepen our relationships with students. Yet merely “hanging out” doesn’t always make that happen. Be purposeful in all your relational time. Focus on ways you can get to know young people deeply, and also allow them to get to know you.

To be honest, I still have a love/hate relationship with summer programming. Maybe that’s because what I always think will be the “easiest” time of the year inevitably turns out to be the busiest. However, the “lazy” days of summer are ideal for helping kids know Jesus better than ever before. Having a youth ministry summer strategy is essential for making that happen.

At 71, Christian Author Philip Yancey Still Believes in Amazing Grace, Despite the Country’s Divisions

By
Bob Smietana
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communicating with the unchurched

(RNS) — When he first moved to the Rocky Mountains in the early 1990s, bestselling author and speaker Philip Yancey set a goal of climbing all the 58 peaks in Colorado that are over 14,000 feet tall.

Now 71, Yancey has accomplished that goal. He and his wife, Janet, still enjoy hiking and mountain climbing. But their focus has changed.

“We’ve gone from trying to check off the peaks to enjoying the wildflowers along the way,” said Yancey.

“Maybe that is part of the maturing process.”

Yancey is perhaps best known for his 1997 book, “What’s So Amazing About Grace?,” a look at Christian teachings on forgiveness and how grace plays out in people’s lives. A new video curriculum of the book has just been released, with updated stories and a series of talks from Yancey. A new memoir from Yancey, called “Where the Light Fell,” is due this fall.

Yancey’s books — with titles like “Where Is God When It Hurts?,” “The Jesus I Never Knew,” “Church: Why Bother?” and “Finding God in Unexpected Places” — have sold millions of copies since the 1970s, drawing readers to his thoughtful take on the Christian life. That take is a far cry from his youth, where he grew up in a fundamentalist, King James-only church near Atlanta that often viewed the outside world with fear.

Nearly 25 years after “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” was first published, its message remains relevant, said Yancey.

“We all felt if there’s ever a time for the message of grace, now is the time,” he said. “It’s such a divided country, and the church has not been a helpful part of that. “

Religion News Service national writer Bob Smietana spoke to Yancey recently by Zoom. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What do you think people are missing about grace right now?  

You know, I coined the word “ungrace” in the book. And it seems to me “ungrace” is always present, it just takes different forms. When I was growing up in a very fundamentalist, rigid, legalistic, hellfire brimstone church, the ungrace was mostly about behavior. There were all these rules — don’t go mixed swimming, don’t go bowling, don’t go dancing, don’t go to movies, you know, all that. That was a form of ungrace that I encountered in adolescence and childhood.

TN Pastor Calls Biden ‘Demon-Possessed,’ Threatens to Sue Media Outlets

By
Stephanie Martin
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communicating with the unchurched

Pastor Greg Locke, who’s known for making strong political statements, used yesterday’s sermon to claim that Donald Trump is still America’s “legitimate” president and to warn of child-trafficking tunnels underneath the White House. Locke, pastor of Global Vision Bible Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, also says he intends to sue the “pants off” CNN and Newsweek for their coverage of him and his church.

Pastor Greg Locke Insists Trump Remains in Power

In his June 27 sermon titled “When God Brings Down the House,” Locke reiterates claims that President Joe Biden is “demon possessed,” that Vice President Kamala Harris is a “Jezebel demon,” and that former President Donald Trump “is the legitimate president of the United States of America.” Locke says, “You’ve got to smoke a lot of dope in your mom’s basement not to believe that fact.”

Congregants stand and applaud as Locke says, “I don’t care what you think about fraudulent ‘Sleepy Joe.’ He’s a sex-trafficking, demon-possessed mongrel. He’s of the Left. He ain’t no better than the Pope [Francis] and Oprah Winfrey and Tom Hanks and the rest of that wicked crowd. God is going to bring the whole house down!” A clip from the sermon posted by Right Wing Watch received more than 1.8 million views by Monday morning.

The pastor’s comments echo the unproven conspiracy theories of QAnon, but he refuses to back down or to admit Trump’s defeat. When people ask Locke whether he’s a false prophet, he responds by calling Biden a “fake president,” asking “When y’all going to get the memo that I didn’t get it wrong?”

Throughout the pandemic, Locke, 44, made headlines for telling people to remove their “stupid masks” and for calling the COVID-19 vaccine “sugar water.” After Twitter suspended his account for seven days in May, Locke wrote that “being censored only gave me more resolve.” His recent tweets include “Mike Pence is a Judas” (June 3) and “STOP LISTENING TO [Dr. Anthony] FAUCI. He is a lying, genocidal psychopath” (May 28).

Pastor Greg Locke Isn’t Happy With Media Coverage

Although Locke’s comments seem tailored to attract attention, he’s not a fan of recent media reports. CNN recently described Locke as a pastor who preaches “the big lie” and taps into the “pro-Trump vein of Christian nationalism.” In response, Locke tweeted that CNN “painted an entire narrative that is made up.” The pastor adds that he’s “emboldened” by CNN’s “trashy documentary calling me and others insurrectionists.”

Newsweek also is in Locke’s crosshairs for its frequent articles about him. In a June 25 video posted to Twitter, Locke says the magazine “totally crossed the line” with its “libel, slander [and] deceptive nonsense.” By misquoting him, the pastor claims, Newsweek “put a massive target on my back…and on the backs of our church people.”

Locke, who says “fake news devils” are “trying to destroy us,” told congregants Sunday that “one of the best defamation lawyers on the planet” just took up the church’s “slam dunk case” against CNN and Newsweek.

On the “Friendly Atheist” blog, Hemant Mehta writes that Locke “likes whipping people into a frenzy, not ministering to them.” He adds, “It’s hard to ‘defame’ someone whose entire schtick is saying the most awful things imaginable to a congregation full of ignorant people. It’s hard to make Locke look worse than he really is. You don’t need to defame someone when quoting his own rhetoric does plenty of damage to his reputation and faith.”

AP-NORC Poll: Most Say Restrict Abortion After 1st Trimester

By
AP News
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abortion
FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2005 file photo, an anti-abortion supporter stands next to a pro-choice demonstrator outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. The new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds 61% of Americans say abortion should be legal in most or all circumstances in the first trimester of a pregnancy. However, 65% said abortion should usually be illegal in the second trimester, and 80% said that about the third trimester. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

NEW YORK (AP) — A solid majority of Americans believe most abortions should be legal in the first three months of a woman’s pregnancy, but most say the procedure should usually be illegal in the second and third trimesters, according to a new poll.

The poll comes just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving a currently blocked Mississippi law that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, two weeks into the second trimester. If the high court upholds the law, it would be the first time since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision confirming a woman’s right to abortion that a state would be allowed to ban abortions before a fetus can survive outside the womb.

The new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds 61% of Americans say abortion should be legal in most or all circumstances in the first trimester of a pregnancy. However, 65% said abortion should usually be illegal in the second trimester, and 80% said that about the third trimester.

Still, the poll finds many Americans believe that the procedure should be allowable under at least some circumstances even during the second or third trimesters. For abortions during the second trimester, 34% say they should usually or always be legal, and another 30% say they should be illegal in most but not all cases. In the third trimester, 19% think most or all abortions should be legal, and another 26% say they should be illegal only in most cases.

Michael New, an abortion opponent who teaches social research at Catholic University of America, predicted the findings regarding second- and third-trimester abortions will be useful to the anti-abortion movement.

“This helps counter the narrative that the abortion policy outcome established by the Roe v. Wade decision enjoys substantial public support,” he said.

David O’Steen, executive director of the National Right to Life Committee, said the findings suggest that abortion rights advocates are “way out of the public mainstream” to the extent that they support abortion access even late in pregnancy.

But Dr. Daniel Grossman, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, San Francisco, who supports abortion rights, cited research showing that Americans viewed second-trimester abortions more empathetically when told about some of the reasons why women seek them.

These include time-consuming difficulties making arrangements with an abortion clinic and learning during the second trimester that the fetus would die or have severe disabilities due to abnormalities, Grossman said.

“More work needs to be done to elevate the voices of people who have had abortions and who want to share their stories to help people understand the many reasons why this medical care is so necessary,” he said via email.

Majorities of Americans — Republicans and Democrats alike — think a pregnant woman should be able to obtain a legal abortion if her life is seriously endangered, if the pregnancy results from rape or incest or if the child would be born with a life-threatening illness.

Americans are closely divided over whether a pregnant woman should be able to obtain a legal abortion if she wants one for any reason, 49% yes to 50% no.

Jenny Ma, senior staff attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights, said women seeking second-trimester abortions included disproportionately high numbers of young people, Black women and women living in poverty. Some had not learned they were pregnant until much later than the norm; others had trouble raising the needed funds to afford an abortion, Ma said.

She noted that Republican-governed states have enacted numerous restrictions in recent years that often complicated the process for getting even a first-trimester abortion.

“Removing the many existing barriers to earlier abortion care would reduce need for second- and third-trimester abortions,” Ma said.

Abortions after the first trimester are not rare, but they are exceptions to the norm. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in its most recent report on abortion in the U.S., estimated that 92% of the abortions in 2018 were performed within the first 13 weeks of pregnancy.

The poll also shows how opinions on abortion diverge sharply along party lines. Roughly three-quarters of Democrats think abortion should be legal in all or most cases; about two-thirds of Republicans think it should be illegal in all or most cases.

But most Americans fall between extreme opinions on the issue. Just 23% say abortion in general should be legal in all cases, while 33% say it should be legal in most cases. Thirty percent say abortion should be illegal in most cases; just 13% say it should be illegal in all cases.

Respondents from three major religious groups — white mainline Protestants, nonwhite Protestants and Catholics — are closely divided as to whether abortion should usually be legal or illegal in most cases. It was different for white evangelicals — about three-quarters of them say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.

Dave Steiner, a hotel manager from suburban Chicago, was among those responding to the AP-NORC poll who said abortion should be legal in the first trimester but generally illegal thereafter.

“I was raised a very strict Catholic — abortion was just no, no, no,” said Steiner, 67. “As I became more liberal and a Democrat, I felt the woman should have the right to choose — but that should be in the first trimester.”

“Abortions are going to happen anyway,” he added. “If you’re making it illegal, you’re just chasing it underground.”

___

Fingerhut reported from Washington. Associated Press video journalist Hilary Powell in Washington contributed to this report.

___

The AP-NORC poll of 1,125 adults used a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

This article originally appeared here. 

Religion and Free Speech Among Cases Justices Could Add

By
AP News
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free speech
FILE - In this Nov. 4, 2020 file photo, the Supreme Court is seen in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A closely watched voting rights dispute from Arizona is among five cases standing between the Supreme Court and its summer break. But even before the justices wrap up their work, likely later this week, they could say whether they’ll add more high-profile issues to what already promises to be a consequential term, beginning in October.

This month, the court has already issued big decisions on health care and religious freedom. And next term, the high court has agreed to take on cases about abortion and guns. The court on Monday passed on two potentially big cases but was still considering others. Here are the issues the court declined and others the court has not yet acted on:

DECLINED: TRANSGENDER RIGHTS

The court on Monday declined to take an appeal by a Virginia school board asking the justices to uphold a policy that prohibits transgender students from using school bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. Lower courts had struck down the policy. The case has been around for six years, since then-high school student Gavin Grimm filed a federal lawsuit over the Gloucester County board’s refusal to allow him to use the boys’ bathroom.

DECLINED: ABU GHRAIB

Seventeen years after shocking photographs of prisoners being abused at the U.S.-run prison in Abu Ghraib were first made public, Iraqis who claim they were victims of torture are still seeking their day in court against a U.S. defense contractor that supplied the military with interrogators. On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to take an appeal by the company, CACI Premier Technology of Arlington, Virginia. It was appealing to the court on a technical legal issue that could have delayed or even prevented a trial. The inmates say they were beaten and tortured by military police officers who were acting at the direction of civilian interrogators who wanted the inmates “softened up” for questioning. CACI says none of its interrogators is linked to the abuse suffered by the men who are suing.

STILL PENDING: RELIGION

The justices just wrapped up a case involving a church-affiliated foster care agency that declined to work with same-sex couples, ultimately siding with the agency. Now they’ll have to decide whether to hear other cases involving religious freedom claims. Alternately, they could send the cases back to lower courts for review in light of their recent decision.

The pending cases include a dispute out of Washington state involving a florist who refused to provide arrangements for a same-sex wedding. The Supreme Court already sent that case back once to lower courts to be revisited after the court’s 2018 ruling involving a Colorado baker who declined to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

Also waiting is a case involving a Catholic hospital in Maryland sued by a transgender man who sought to have a hysterectomy. The hospital canceled the procedure, saying it was contrary to its Catholic faith, after learning the reason for it.

STILL PENDING: PROPERTY RIGHTS

A chocolate company’s expansion plans are at the heart of what could be the court’s biggest case about property rights in years, if the justices take it. The case involves a property the city of Chicago took by eminent domain in order to allow the Blommer Chocolate Company to expand.

Agreeing to hear the case would give the court the opportunity to overturn a 2005 case that has been roundly criticized by conservatives. In that case, the court divided 5-4 to say that the city of New London, Connecticut, could use eminent domain to take private property and then sell it to private developers as part of an attempt to revitalize the city. The decision was written by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who acknowledged it was the most unpopular opinion he ever wrote. Justice Antonin Scalia, who dissented, ranked it among the court’s biggest mistakes. Only two justices who decided the case remain on the court: Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Stephen Breyer. Stevens died in 2019 and Scalia in 2016.

STILL PENDING: FREEDOM OF SPEECH

A book that became the Hollywood movie “War Dogs” is at the center of what could become a landmark First Amendment case. Shkelzen Berisha, the son of the former prime minister of Albania, says the book harmed him by falsely linking him to would-be arms dealers from Miami.

He sued for defamation and wants the justices to revisit the high bar the court has set for public figures to win defamation lawsuits. Berisha’s complaint stems from a landmark civil rights-era case, New York Times v. Sullivan. As a result of Sullivan and cases that followed, public figures can win defamation lawsuits only if they can prove that the person publishing the falsehood knew the statement they made was false or made it with reckless disregard for the truth. Former President Donald Trump has complained about the high bar, and Thomas has said the court should consider overturning the case.

This article originally appeared here.

Wives and Porn and Busy Church Leaders

By
Ellen Mary Dykas
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communicating with the unchurched

Wives and Porn and Busy Church Leaders

Just heard it again. Another wives and porn story. A sad and frustrating story from a wife who discovered her husband looking at porn again. She had hoped for the best, believing he had been walking out a path of faith and repentance and was “doing OK” (his consistent answer when she asked him).

But then, a quick slam shut of his iPad when she unexpectedly walked in on him. Porn. Again.

But then the story went from wives and porn to busy church leaders. I celebrated her courage to approach her pastor and ask for help, confide in him about her hurting heart, and to open a window for him to see into a very broken and fragile part of her life: her marriage. Thankfully, he listened, he prayed, and then he told her he’d leave it in her court if she needed anything else.

Yes, this pastor did enter in, he did listen, and he did make himself available for a 10-minute conversation after church. But then he left her on her own.

It’s hard enough for many women to approach male pastors for help, but it’s worse when they do and are given little time and dismissed afterward on their own.

First, let’s be fair and honest. Church leaders are busy and overwhelmed with the needs of the sheep under their care. There are dramatic and complicated things happening in the lives of people in our churches, and pastors are typically on the front line of being asked to help. Pressured by crises and meetings and other commitments, church leaders can come across as disinterested, uncompassionate or dismissive. Sometimes these perceptions are true, but not always.

In this context of seeking help, a wife who is sleep deprived and emotionally beaten down will struggle to feel safe approaching a church leader who seems to only have five minutes to spare.

Secondly, another more disheartening reality is when wives are under the authority of church leaders who preach an anti-biblical message about husbands who struggle with lust. It’s just what men do. It’s just who they are. Wives need to trust the Lord and get on board with what he wants to do in their husband’s lives. Get behind his recovery and help him however she can.

Of all the hundreds of wives I’ve gotten to sit with, not one of them feel safe (or cared for) in churches where that message (of minimizing the effect of porn use or ungodly sexual behavior) is taught or implied by church leaders.

Third, I’ve read how many wives manifest symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the aftermath of a husband’s sexual betrayal. It’s important to keep in mind that when wives come to us for help, that the teary or paralyzed or embittered (or all of the above) woman sitting in front of us may not be her true self. Traumatic experiences have the power to reshape people as pain washes over every aspect of life.

“PTSD identifies traumas that don’t seem to fade. Although many difficult events in life such as the death of a loved one don’t really fade, PTSD is used to describe events that intrude into daily life by way of complex emotions rather than simple grief. You can feel numb, you avoid anything that could possibly be similar to the inciting event, you feel depressed and hopeless, or you feel restless, irritable, hyper-vigilant, anxious and over-reactive. And you can feel all these things at once.”

These are the behaviors and emotions I see time and again in working with wives whose husbands have betrayed their vows by habitually looking at porn or have been involved in an emotional or sexual affair.

Now, imagine all of these scenarios converging. A busy pastor (or a church leader) getting a phone call from a wife who is in the throes of a PTSD-ish response to her husband’s sin. She’s anxious, brokenhearted, unable to accurately form her thoughts, and breaks into sobs with no warning. Her heart has been shattered, her thoughts are a scrambled mess, and most likely she is exhausted. And she’s asking you for help, but she probably doesn’t even know what she needs.

Honestly, it doesn’t surprise me that church leaders, even those who are well-meaning, just don’t know how to engage a wife when she’s in this state. Seminaries don’t train future pastors how to do triage counseling, much less how to walk with a hurting wife over the long haul.

Here’s some steps to help you grow in wise, effective pastoral care for a hurting wife.

  1. Learn. Read books, blogs (check out our Harvest USA resources!) and articles that will educate you in what sexual betrayal feels like and the impact it has on a wife.
  2. Ask. Whether you are a woman or man in leadership, ask women to submit anonymous stories about their experience in seeking help. What helped them? What didn’t?
  3. Teach. Use your platforms of influence (the pulpit, the Bible study podium, the home group, etc.) to teach Christ’s heart for hurting women, including wives betrayed by their husbands.
  4. Hope. Yes! There is real, transformative, life-changing and healing hope through Jesus for couples impacted by sexual sin. Don’t give up, don’t grow weary in well doing when it comes to resting in the comfort of Christ and then offering that same comfort to hurting wives.
  5. Engage. Move towards hurting wives, listen, ask questions and connect her with others who can encourage her and provide the support and counsel she needs.

This article originally appeared here.

Former Megachurch Pastor and Obama Presidential Adviser Kirbyjon Caldwell Enters Prison

By
Adelle M Banks
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communicating with the unchurched

(RNS) — Kirbyjon Caldwell, the former United Methodist megachurch pastor and presidential adviser who was found guilty of being involved in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme, has begun his six-year prison sentence.

Caldwell, who had been scheduled to arrive in prison on Tuesday (June 22), is listed on the Bureau of Prisons website as an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution, Beaumont, a low security facility in Eastern Texas with more than 1,500 inmates.

Caldwell, 67, was sentenced in January but the judge deferred his report date by about five months. At the time of sentencing, the former pastor’s lawyer requested that Caldwell serve his time in home confinement because his client was at high risk for COVID-19 complications because of his hypertension and prostate cancer.

The former senior pastor of Houston’s Windsor Village United Methodist Church  appeared at Washington National Cathedral inaugural prayer services for President Barack Obama and President George W. Bush.

Caldwell was among key faith leaders Obama turned to for prayer and discussions about politics and religion. And Caldwell officiated the wedding of Jenna Bush and called her father “ Brother President.”

Caldwell, who earned a master’s degree from the Wharton School of Business, was known for his affinity for both business and religion and had been called the “ Minister of ‘Good Success.’”

But in 2018, he and Louisiana financial adviser Gregory Alan Smith were indicted by federal officials after selling $3.5 million in bonds. Those bonds, which have no value, were issued by the Republic of China before the Communist takeover in 1949, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Louisiana.

“This defendant used his status as the pastor of a mega-church to help convince the many victim investors that they were making a legitimate investment but instead he took their hard-earned money from them and used it for his own personal gain,” said acting U.S. Attorney Van Hook in a Jan. 13 statement when Caldwell was sentenced.

In addition to his prison sentence, the former senior pastor was ordered to pay restitution totaling $3,588,500, along with a fine of $125,000.

On Wednesday, Caldwell was still listed on the Windsor Village United Methodist Church’s website as “lay preacher.” His wife, Pastor Suzette Caldwell, who is listed as associate pastor, was appointed to lead the 18,000-member congregation as its interim senior pastor after he surrendered his credentials.

As recently as the first weekend in June, Kirbyjon Caldwell preached a virtual sermon on the biblical story about Jesus feeding the multitudes with five loaves of bread and two fish — with examples of that food sitting on a table next to him.

“Get down on your knees, lift up your empty hands and say, God bless,” he preached, encouraging those who may have become full of themselves or “proud of your degrees.” “Bless this test to become a testimony. Bless these lemons to become lemonade. Bless this mess to become a message.”

A Pair of Hillsong Docuseries Planned, Examining the Megachurch’s Culture, the Fall of Carl Lentz

By
Roxanne Stone
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communicating with the unchurched

NEW YORK (RNS) — The streaming channel Discovery+ has announced plans for a documentary series on Hillsong Church and its disgraced former pastor, Carl Lentz, according to a report Monday (June 21) from the entertainment news website Deadline.

But Discovery+ is not the only production company with an eye on the controversy-laden megachurch and its trendily tattooed former pastor. In February, Deadline also signaled that “Queer Eye” producer Scout Productions was working on a limited documentary series examining Hillsong.

Both docuseries are planned in partnership with separate news organizations and based on their respective coverage of the ongoing scandals plaguing the church, founded in Australia by Brian Houston and his wife, Bobbie, in the 1980s. Now a multimedia company, it has 130 worship centers around the globe.

Discovery+ will base its three-episode series, “Breaking Hillsong,” on a series of articles by Hannah Frishberg that appeared in the New York Post, covering primarily the downfall of Lentz as the head pastor of Hillsong New York City after revelations of his extramarital affairs.

According to Deadline, the series will include multiple exclusive interviews, including with Ranin Karim, a Brooklyn-based jewelry designer whose alleged five-month “tequila-drenched love affair” with Lentz came to light not long after Lentz’s termination from Hillsong in November.

The series, produced by Breaklight Pictures, part of The Content Group, in association with New York Post Entertainment for Discovery+, will also include interviews with current and former Hillsong NYC churchgoers and volunteers, who “share harrowing stories of trauma, abuse, financial and labor exploitation, homophobia and racism that created a culture of chaos at Hillsong,” according to Deadline.

Scout Productions’ Hillsong series will be based on the magazine exposé “American Pastoral” by Vanity Fair contributing editor Alex French and staff writer Dan Adler, which chronicled both Lentz’s rise and fall and the culture at Hillsong NYC and Hillsong Global that insiders say brought it about.

Lentz, 42, who established Hillsong’s Manhattan church with the Houstons’ son Joel, was fired in November for “moral failings” and he later admitted to an adulterous affair. Soon after, Karim discussed her relationship with Lentz on “ Good Morning America.” The following month, comments from Brian Houston, in which  he called  Lentz “a narcissist,” suggested the affair was not Lentz’s only transgression.

In December, the New York law firm Zukerman Gore Brandeis & Crossman, hired to investigate Hillsong East Coast’s leadership, recommended protocols to prevent similar situations, and Houston apologized “unreservedly” for his lack of oversight.

Lentz, one of several pastors GQ Magazine once described as “hypepriests” for their fashionable attire and celebrity congregants, was perhaps best known for baptizing Justin Bieber in NBA player Tyson Chandler’s bathtub. But since Lentz’s firing and subsequent move to California with his wife and children, he has been little heard from, and Hillsong has portrayed his pastorate as a one-time mistake.

In an exclusive interview with Religion News Service in May, Leona Kimes, a former Hillsong NYC staff member, came forward with allegations that Lentz subjected her to “bullying, abuse of power and sexual abuse” over the course of seven years as she worked as a nanny in his home. Legal representatives for Lentz and his wife, Laura, deny the allegations.

Meanwhile, in January, Reed and Jess Bogard, lead pastors of the Dallas location, abruptly resigned  during a Sunday morning service. Houston later said the couple, who had served in New York with Lentz, “failed to meet the commitments and standards of Hillsong Church,” and the Dallas location has been shuttered for the foreseeable future.

In April, Darnell Barrett, a pastor for the Montclair, New Jersey, Hillsong campus,  resigned  after sharing revealing photos of himself on Instagram stories to a group of friends that included a woman who once volunteered for him at the New Jersey church.

This article originally appeared here.

Florida Pastor, Son and Congregant Face Federal Charges for Capitol Riot

By
Stephanie Martin
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communicating with the unchurched

On June 24, three people associated with the Global Outreach Ministries church in Melbourne, Florida, were arrested and charged for their involvement with the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Pastor Jim Cusick, 72, his son and church official Casey Cusick, 35, and church member David Lesperance, 69, were charged in federal court with entering restricted grounds, disorderly conduct, and violent entry of the Capitol building. They were released on $25,000 bond each while they await future court appearances.

Florida now accounts for the most arrests stemming from the Jan. 6 uprising, which left five people dead. Of the 500 arrests made so far, 46 have been Floridians.

Tips, David Lesperance Lead to FBI Arrests

The arrest affidavit indicates that the FBI received an initial tip about the Cusicks’ involvement on Jan. 22. Two months later, another anonymous source indicated that David Lesperance had been with the father-son pair. When the FBI spoke to Lesperance at his Florida home, he “admitted that his pastor was also present at President Trump’s speech and then at the U.S. Capitol afterwards,” the affidavit notes, but he didn’t provide the pastor’s name.

Lesperance also told investigators he had erased photos and videos he’d taken on Jan. 6 because he feared “negative repercussions.” But by accessing the cloud and cell-carrier data, the FBI identified geo-tags from inside the Capitol.

Authorities also obtained surveillance video showing Lesperance and the Cusicks among the crowd that breached the building. The three men traveled to Washington, D.C., to listen to then-President Donald Trump speak at a “Stop the Steal” rally outside the Capitol before allegedly entering the building.

None of the three men has commented about the charges, and the Global Ministries Outreach Facebook page has been taken down. One article about the case describes the church’s location as a house in a gated, upscale Melbourne neighborhood. Pastor Jim Cusick founded the church, and his son is listed as a vice president. Both men are graduates of an Oklahoma Bible college.

Officials Address the Events of Jan. 6

In a statement Thursday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that riot-related arrests had topped 500. He thanked Americans for submitting more than 200,000 tips, saying, “The Department of Justice will continue to follow the facts in this case and charge what the evidence supports to hold all Jan. 6 perpetrators accountable.”

Also on Thursday, former Vice President Mike Pence said he’ll “always be proud” of his role in certifying the election hours after the uprising. Though he didn’t mention Trump by name, Pence took issue with the former president, who continues to claim election fraud.

Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, the former VP said, “The Constitution affords the vice president no authority to reject or return electoral votes submitted to the Congress by the states.” Although some “in our [Republican] party” believe “any one person” can pick the commander in chief, Pence said, “there is almost no idea more un-American.”

Last month, Congressional Republicans blocked the creation of an outside commission to investigate the riot. Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced plans for a select committee to examine the events of Jan. 6, which she called a “day of darkness for our country.”

Matthew West to Critics of ‘Modest Is Hottest’ Video: ‘The Song Was Created as Satire’

By
Jesse T. Jackson
-
communicating with the unchurched

Christian singer and Dove Award winning ‘Songwriter of the Year’ Matthew West took to social media to clear the air regarding his recent “Modest is Hottest” video, which has since been scrubbed from all platforms.

The song was written as a “light-hearted take on an age-old struggle,” West said in a Tweet that has been deleted. He introduced the song as a “ridiculously silly way” of reminding his daughters their appearance doesn’t “define them.” As the world tends to focus on the appearance on the outside “the Lord looks at the heart. Regardless, [my daughters] are beautiful inside and out! (Even in turtlenecks).”

Matthew West Explains It Was Satire

West told his followers the video about his two amazing daughters was “created as satire” poking fun at himself as an “over-protective dad,” but he has taken to heart the feedback it received, a lot of which was negative. West said to offend was not his intention.

The “Broken Things” singer wrote: “The last thing I want is to distract from the real reason why I make music,” which is “to spread a message of hope and love to the world.”

Here is Matthew West’s full response on Instagram:

“I’m blessed to be the father of two amazing daughters. I wrote a song poking fun at myself for being an over-protective dad and my family thought it was funny. The song was created as satire, and I realize that some people did not receive it as it was intended. I’ve taken the feedback to heart. The last thing I want is to distract from the real reason why I make music: to spread a message of hope and love to the world. Proud #girldad.”

Read: Is Matthew West’s ‘Modest Is Hottest’ Video Really a ‘Lighthearted Take’ on Modesty?

Many Questioned West’s Song

One commenter who was troubled by the song wrote, “How do you think your daughters feel? The start of the song says that boys are looking at your daughters only because they’re beautiful. What about their love of Jesus? Or their personality? I’m saying that you have told your daughters that the only reason that boys want them is because of their bodies.”

Another commenter wrote, “This is triggering for me. Purity/modesty culture is toxic in so many ways.”

Oklahoma pastor Jeremy Coleman explained his concerns with West’s song in Newsweek, saying he has “the same concern with purity culture as a whole. We are telling our daughters and young women that their body image should be defined by someone else’s opinion. Women should feel confident, comfortable and free to dress and express themselves however they want. Telling them to dress a certain way to be ‘less attractive’ is reverse body shaming. We are in essence telling them that they should be uncomfortable with who they are because of what others, namely men, think of their body.”

Followers Respond to West’s Explanation: “We Love the Song!”

Mark Hall from Casting Crowns commented on West’s post, saying, “Anyone who knows you, your family, and your music, knows that you have a heart for Jesus and the church and people. @matthewjwest I want to thank you for your ministry and for your humor. We love the song! And we love you!”

New York Bestselling Christian author Karen Kingsbury commented, “Who in the world could have a problem with that?? Stay you, Matthew!!! The song is hilarious and brilliant!!”

Bestselling author and speaker Jon Gordon said, “You are the best and have an amazing heart. You are a great father! You are a great musician. You have led and continue to lead many to Jesus, and the world is better because of you.”

Emmy award-winning director Will Stewart wrote, “That was a great song! People are offended too easily. I hope you didn’t take it down. It was clearly satire.”

Matthew’s wife Emily West told her husband, “You’re the best father to our girls and husband. Let’s get back to focusing on what matters most. Love you!”

Annie F. Downs, who is a New York Times bestselling author and a popular podcaster, made the comment, “You’re a good man, Matthew West.”

West’s Other Satire Video

This isn’t Matthew West first satire video. In the year of the pandemic 2020, the West family released a video titled “Quarantine Life” that provided some comic relief for those who could relate to the pause on normal life the year brought.

In his song that has been viewed over 40k times he says,

Last night I dreamed I went to Starbucks
I heard ’em say “Welcome back”
Then I woke up and drank a bad cup of coffee
Through a homemade mask

Quarantine life, quarantine life
Friday night toilet paper shopping online
Quarantine life, quarantine life
Made the Tiger King famous overnight

I wanna leave my house
I wanna touch my face
I wanna hug my friends
I never thought I’d say
I wanna go to work
I wanna wear some pants
Kids to go to school
I love ’em but, oh man!

Rachel Held Evans’ Widower: If I Ever Believe Again, It Will Be in the God Rachel Understood

By
Jessica Lea
-
communicating with the unchurched

Daniel Jonce Evans, widower of the late Rachel Held Evans, has shared publicly that he is agnostic. But even so, Dan Evans says he hopes for the existence of a God like that portrayed in his late wife’s newly published children’s book, “What Is God Like?”

“I’m agnostic,” wrote Evans in a tweet. “I think God is unlikely. I don’t believe prayer heals. If it did, sick people prayed for would be healed more often than those who aren’t. It’s testable. But if I ever believe again, it will be in the God Rachel understood. I hope for the God of ‘What Is God Like?’”

Dan Evans: A ‘Gaping, Raw Wound’

Rachel Held Evans passed away at age 37 on May 4, 2019, after a sudden, brief battle with her health. On April 14, 2019, she told her Twitter followers that she had been hospitalized due to the flu, a urinary tract infection and an allergic reaction to antibiotics. By April 19, Dan Evans said that his wife had been placed in a medically induced coma because her brain was experiencing constant seizures. 

Rachel passed away weeks later, leaving behind her husband and two young children, one less than a year old. In the announcement of his wife’s death on her website, Dan said, “This entire experience is surreal. I keep hoping it’s a nightmare from which I’ll awake. I feel like I’m telling someone else’s story.” 

As a voice for progressive Christians and someone who questioned the evangelical status quo, Rachel Held Evans was a controversial figure. But she also was a voice for Christians who wrestled with doubt and who struggled to reconcile their faith with the brokenness they saw and experienced. The American church can be quick to offer simple answers to complex realities and is often uncomfortable with doubt and with nuance. Rachel was known for her compassion and for being a safe space for those who questioned their faith.

Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil told Religion News Service (RNS), “There are some people, I think, who would credit her as being the person who made it possible for them to come back to God again, to believe God again, to believe there were Christ followers who were worthy to be trusted.”

“She had little time for pettiness and a big heart for people,” Dan said in an interview with Slate magazine several weeks after Rachel’s death. He described his grief to The Today Show as a “gaping, raw wound” and told TIME magazine:

Occasionally I have small blocks of time between diaper changes, bath times, meal times and story times. In those fleeting minutes, my mind churns away at my family’s loss. Rachel shouldn’t be dead. Some things are wrong and they won’t ever be right. I try to find meaning outside of my loss. What can I do now? What can we do now? 

Dan recently celebrated the publication of the children’s book, “What Is God Like?,” co-authored by his late wife and her friend, Matthew Paul Turner. The book, which made the number one spot on the New York Times bestseller list in the “Children’s Picture Books” category, refers to God as “three dancers, graceful and precise.” It also uses different pronouns for God, portraying him as mother, father, and a rainbow. 

Dan Evans told RNS that he resonates most with the following words in the book’s closing paragraph: “Whenever you aren’t sure what God is like, think about what makes you feel safe, what makes you feel brave, and what makes you feel loved. That’s what God is like.”

He said, “I think that’s what I hope for, but it’s hard to believe sometimes because Rachel is still dead. And so all of these words and all of this hope, personally, I still hope it’s all true, but I don’t know.”

While evangelicals may disagree on the book’s theology and with Evans’ views, hopefully we can all recognize the importance of offering compassion, not criticism or trite answers, to someone enduring indescribable pain from the loss of a loved one. One person responded to Evans on Twitter, “Honestly, I think even the most devout believers are agnostic sometimes, especially when we face great loss. It reminds me of the guy who told Jesus, “I believe! Help my unbelief!” and Jesus was still so kind to him. That’s what I cling to, because I have nothing else.”

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