Online Church Events Are Here to Stay — 3 Keys to Success

May 18, 2021

A recently released report entitled The State of Virtual Events 2021 looked at the experiences of 100 leading brands that ran over 20,000 online events in the last year. This study explored these brands’ thinking around online events as they have made the “great pivot” to utilize this option more and more. We can learn a lot from this study about hosting online church events.

Like your church and mine, we are all trying to figure out how this new online world will impact our churches moving forward. As I delved into the report, I found there were a number of lessons that we could pull out to apply to our own operations as we look to the future. The report examined 100 leading brands and the lessons they have learned from running online events of various kinds over the last year. The events included webinars, online summits, online conferences, and various virtual sales, marketing, and communication efforts.

One of the things that jumped out at me in this report was that 51% of the respondents reported that they had hosted their first virtual event in the last 12 months. This made me lean in, because so many churches across the country have made their pivot to online church events for the very first time since the pandemic rolled out in March 2020. The entire world is figuring out how to work more online, and while some of us have been leading online church events for ten plus years, many churches are experiencing this new online reality for the first time.

58% of the people surveyed in this report believe that they will invest more in online events as they look to 2021 and beyond. That is probably due to the fact that these two statistics together led me to conclude that we need to extract lessons from the marketplace to apply to online church events.

As we continue to work out what it means to be a “hybrid church”, which many of us are leaning towards in this current culture, it really does feel like we have all made the pivot to online; but now we are asking ourselves, what next?

In those few days in March 2020, we jumped in and implemented a tremendous amount of infrastructure to work out how to present church online. Many churches started by adding midweek content, communication, and connection events, but have since dropped those or have experimented with new things. However, we are now at the stage where we are looking up over the horizon and trying to assess how to navigate the world into this next reality.

In the last week alone, I have held multiple conversations with church leaders around this issue. Recently, I was talking to a senior leader who wanted to get back to a world where they did not have to worry about online church events. After serving the church for multiple decades, this leader finds the recurrent nature of preparing timely messages for a mid-week video shoot unsettling, and even after a year has been unable to settle into the rhythm of creating online content.

I have also received feedback from an executive pastor who is attempting to balance the staffing and financial resources required to successfully present both online church and in-person services.As the pastor was trying to reorganize their team and think through priorities, they found it difficult to make effective leadership decisions in this intra-COVID-19 time.

I recall speaking to a staff leader who was passionate about the early gains they have seen in their particular ministry area because of their online offerings. Although online church events were reaching more people than ever before and seeing people take steps closer to Jesus, the staff leader was afraid that the church leadership was going to drop these learnings and new areas of ministry prematurely.

Online Church Events Are Here to Stay – 3 Keys to Success

So, what can we learn from these 100 leading brands and the 20,000 events that they have hosted over the last year? Here are three lessons taken from this report that I believe are particularly applicable to your church and mine.

1. Online Church Events Drive Both Engagement and Awareness

45.3% of the respondents believe that these online events create deeper engagement with their particular audience. Making up the second-largest category, 18.9% believe that these online events build stronger awareness in their market. Engagement is critically important when thinking about online church events. We have all realized that the vanity metrics of Facebook likes or YouTube views do not ultimately tell us if we are creating a deepening commitment with users.

We are attempting to drive engagement by encouraging people to take further steps like joining in the various chat environments or downloading a free resource. We want people to move beyond participating only as a passive viewer and to actively connect and engage with our online offerings. The businesses in the study saw this as a measurable way to continue engagement.

These businesses also believe that online participation is an important tool for building awareness. Building community awareness is not something that church leaders give much thought to. But in an increasingly online world, we must think very carefully about how we ensure that people are simply aware of who we are.

If people don’t know that we exist, they won’t take those first steps into our community.

Our online church events have always been a great way to build community awareness in the halo of people around our church. This will continue to be the case in the coming years as our churches look to reach people who are not yet connected with us.

Over this last year, many churches have reported to me that they have connected with new people who previously would not have come through their door, whether local or on the other side of the world. Part of the reason for this is that their online experience is driving more awareness in the community at large. As we look to the future, how can your online church events build more community awareness through deeply engaging experiences?

What Is Youth Ministry?: A Clear Biblical Community Definition

Andy Blanks

May 17, 2021

Scripture attests over and over again that the Christian life isn’t meant to be lived or cultivated in solitude. In fact, “incubator for discipleship” is the biblical community definition.

I’ve been revisiting a working biblical community definition I came up with a few years ago. I want to pass it along to help you evaluate the community you’re growing in your youth ministry. For me, one question is at the heart of it all:

How do we transform students from merely a bunch of disconnected people to a true, biblical community definition of church?

When I think of biblical community, I automatically turn to Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-35. These passages provide such a great view of the young Jerusalem Church. Through the example of these first believers, we see the amazing potential we have for developing real community.

I’ve developed a diagram that helps me think about a biblical community definition. Here’s the diagram followed by a short explanation:

Biblical Community Definition Starts With a Desire to Follow Christ

First and foremost, young people must have a desire and a commitment to actually grow as followers of Christ. As we think about community, this starts with a commitment to grow in knowledge of God, with spiritual growth coming from applying this knowledge.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.” (Acts 2:42)
“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.” (Acts 2:46, implied teaching)
“With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 4:33)

Students’ desire to grow spiritually must be the starting point of growing biblical community. Without it, you’re just hanging out together. You’re no different from any other group of people that gather.

Ask yourself:

How would you describe the level of desire your students have to follow Christ?
What can you do to help grow this desire?

Biblical Community Definition Includes Fellowship

Fellowship, or hanging out and doing life, is what biblical community is all about. If you think about it, it’s kind of both the means and the ends. Fellowship is the heart of community.

The believers were “devoted to fellowship.” (Acts 2:42)
They met “every day.” (Acts 2:46)

From these passages in Acts, you get the idea that fellowship has two aspects: proximity (literally being together) and frequency (being together often). Fellowship can’t happen unless we’re hanging out, doing life together, and doing it frequently.

Ask yourself:

Do your gatherings foster fellowship?
Is it enough to just meet with students formally? Or do you need to find ways to meet informally outside of your programmed meeting times?

Biblical Community Definition Requires Transparency, Accountability & Generosity

Although community probably has other characteristics, I see three main ones: Transparency, Accountability and Generosity. Acts 2:44-45 says, “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” Great transparency is involved here! The believers weren’t concerned about image. They didn’t hesitate to openly bring their needs to the group. Generosity is present here, as well. These believers put others’ needs above their own.

James 5:16 says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” Accountability can’t be forced; instead, it grows out of community. I can overcome my sin nature and talk to you about my sins only if we are “one in heart and mind.” We need a track record of fellowship. I have to trust you, and you need to have my best interests in mind.

Ask yourself:

Does your group value transparency and generosity?
Your students may not have physical needs the group can meet, but they have other needs. Is your group a place where students can openly bring spiritual and emotional needs to their friends?

Biblical Community Definition Includes Compassion

Over all these things flies the banner of compassion. Transparency, accountability and generosity are all contrary to our human nature. The temptation is to sit in judgment of each other when we’re transparent, or as people are holding us accountable. Compassion must rule! I think the best expression of this is Galatians 6:2-3: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

Without compassion, true transparency, accountability and generosity can’t exist. And ultimately, neither can fellowship.

Ask yourself:

Do you foster an environment of compassion within the youth group?
Are students sympathetic toward one another’s unique life situations?

Always remember: The goal of community is to grow together toward Christlikeness.

What did I miss? What would you add to the biblical community definition?

This article originally appeared here.

Vaxed and Unmasked: Will the Honor System Work in Churches?

Stephanie Martin

May 17, 2021

Last week’s surprise announcement from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) about face masks sparked reactions ranging from relief to fear. Many major retailers quickly loosened safety requirements, even though they are asking people to follow an honor system and there is no way to tell who’s been vaccinated against COVID-19.

On Thursday, the CDC declared that fully vaccinated individuals can resume pre-pandemic activities and don’t need to wear face masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors. Local and state ordinances remain in effect, however, as do requirements in settings such as health care and public transportation. Private businesses may set their own guidelines, leaving many venues—including churches—facing big decisions.

Depending on an Honor System

Enforcement of the new guidelines could get tricky, especially in the absence of so-called vaccine passports. “You’re going to be depending on people being honest enough to say whether they are vaccinated or not,” says Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser for President Biden.

Some experts warn that an honor system puts public health at the mercy of individuals during a time when interpersonal trust is already quite low. Dr. Kavita Patel calls an honor system “simply magical thinking,” noting that people tend to lie about health matters to avoid being judged.

“At least with mask mandates in place, we knew that everyone around us was doing something to help us reduce our risk,” says medical sociologist Andrea Polonijo, who is immunocompromised. Other concerned groups include frontline workers, communities of color, and parents whose children are too young to get vaccinated.

Relying on people’s honor will likely lead to “almost no one” wearing a mask, predicts epidemiologist Dr. Lisa Maragakis. As a result, she says, the infection risk for the two-thirds of Americans still unvaccinated will “dramatically increase.”

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who calls the CDC’s move a “critical error,” notes that wearing masks indoors “is so effective and it’s not that hard to do.”

How Should Churches Proceed?

For church leaders and churchgoers, experts recommend using caution while monitoring local guidelines and weighing individual risks. People should make decisions based on their circumstances and assume that not everyone around them is vaccinated.

Dr. Ada Stewart, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, suggests that in-person worshipers, regardless of vaccination status, “follow local public health measures as well as the rules put in place by the individual houses of worship.”

Experts also urge churches to continue best practices such as maintaining proper ventilation, cleaning pews, providing hand sanitizer, avoiding shared materials such as hymnals, and worshiping outside when possible. Other recommendations include sitting near a window or door, if you’re inside, and not singing. For classes, Dr. Leana Wen says Sunday school is similar to regular school, where “transmission can be quite low if the proper mitigation measures are followed.”

The mask move is simply a “first step,” emphasizes CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. “Not everybody has to rip off their mask because our guidance changed.” She adds, “Ultimately, we know that this virus is an opportunist, and where there are low rates of vaccination, it will emerge again.”

Franklin Graham Encourages All Pastors to Inform Their Congregations Where to Get the COVID Vaccine

Jesse T. Jackson

May 17, 2021

In the “Axios on HBO” report that aired Sunday May 16, 2021, interviewing Reverend Franklin Graham, it was revealed that 45% of white evangelicals say they will not get the COVID-19 vaccine. Graham tackled the topics of vaccines as well as some pointed questions about former President Donald Trump.

Graham Says It’s Pro-Life to Get the Vaccine

Host Mike Allen asked Graham if he considered getting the vaccine to be a pro-life decision. President and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said, “Of course. And I’m pro-life. I believe in saving the life of the unborn as much as those that are born…and medicine is pro-life.”

Graham said he believes so many Christians are reluctant to get the COVID-19 vaccine because, “Some people are just scared of needles. I was scared of needles as a younger person. I would encourage people to pray about it, to look into it, to investigate it.”

Graham Shares How He Navigated Vaccine Misinformation

When Allen outlined the pattern of misinformation being spread about the COVID-19 vaccine on the Internet, he asked Graham how he manages to find truth about the vaccine.

“I don’t listen to those people,” Graham said. He shared that during a meal with Dr. Ben Carson, Graham had asked the doctor whether he would take the vaccine when it became available. According to Graham, Carson responded, “Absolutely, I’m gonna take it.”

Graham also explained that he talked to other doctors and scientists who shared Carson’s positive response to getting the vaccine. “I’m not a doctor and I’m not a scientist,” Graham said, “and when you hear those who are and they have the comfort level in it—people I knew—there is no question it was safe.”

Referring to the lockdown policies the entire world has undertaken in an attempt to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Graham said he believes those polices will eventually “produce great harm.”

“The vaccine is a personal decision because this is going to affect your life whether you like it or not,” Graham said. “If you don’t take it, you could get COVID and really be sick and could really regret not having that vaccine.”

Graham Encourages Pastors to Inform Their Congregations

Graham told Allen he encourages all pastors to inform their congregations where they could get a vaccine. “We are leaders in a community,” he said, “and we have a responsibility to inform of the truth.”

After saying he hasn’t been contacted by President Biden’s administration or the CDC, Graham told Allen, “I would work with the Biden administration. I would work with the CDC. I would work with all of them to try to help save life.”

Allen said, “Rev. Graham, nothing’s more important to you than saving souls,” In which Graham replied, “Yeah,” then explained “I want people to know that God loves them. He will forgive you and God will accept you into his presence.”

“I want people to know that COVID-19 can kill you, but we have a vaccine out there that could possibly save your life,” he said. “And if you wait, it can be too late.”

Graham Answers Questions About President Trump

In another part of the interview, Graham was asked whether he thought it was a mistake for former President Trump to demonize the press. Without hesitancy, he responded, “No question about it.”

When asked if he could tell Trump hard truths, Graham said, “Yes,” but that sometimes he has walked out of the Oval Office thinking he’d never be invited back again.

Finally, as one of Trump’s most influential Christian supporters, Graham was asked whether he believes Joe Biden is the legitimate President of the United States (based on Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was massively fraudulent). Graham said, “Yes. He’s been sworn in.” Graham also told Allen he wasn’t sure whether the former president would run in 2024 and said he didn’t know if Trump would have a chance of winning if he did.

The full interview can be watched here.

Challenging Roe? Mississippi Abortion Case to Be Heard by Supreme Court

Jessica Lea

May 17, 2021

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has agreed to hear a Mississippi abortion case that could set the Court up to challenge its previous landmark decisions in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood vs. Casey.

“BREAKING: The Supreme Court agrees to take up a major abortion case that will give the court an opportunity to reconsider Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey,” announced the SCOTUSblog on Twitter. “The case involves the constitutionality of Mississippi’s ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.”

The Supreme Court will hear the case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, this October and will likely make a decision by June 2022.

SCOTUS to Consider Mississippi Abortion Ban

In 2018, the state Mississippi passed a law banning abortions after 15 weeks, except in the case of health emergencies or fetal abnormalities. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the state’s only licensed abortion clinic, sued to challenge the law on the grounds that Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey protect the right to an abortion prior to the viability of the fetus. In other words, the Court’s precedent indicates that if a baby is not developed enough to survive outside the womb, it can be aborted.

Fetal viability is generally accepted to occur around 24 weeks of pregnancy. However, a 2001 study notes, “Viability exists as a function of biomedical and technological capacities, which are different in different parts of the world. As a consequence, there is, at the present time, no worldwide, uniform gestational age that defines viability.” According to the study, the chance of a baby surviving outside the womb at 23 weeks is 10%, while the chance of survival at 24 weeks is “about 50%.”

Both a federal court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld the abortion provider’s position that SCOTUS has consistently supported a right to an abortion prior to fetal viability. Hillary Schneller, an attorney representing Jackson Women’s Health Organization, asked SCOTUS not to take the case, saying, “In an unbroken line of decisions over the last fifty years, this Court has held that the Constitution guarantees each person the right to decide whether to continue a pre-viability pregnancy…Nothing about this case warrants this Court’s intervention.”

For its part, the state is questioning viability as a standard for the permissiveness of abortion, arguing that it keeps states from defending the health of the mother and the life of the unborn child. Said the state, “This case presents a substantial and important question of federal law: Whether a law which bars some, but not all, abortions after a gestational age of 15 weeks, is categorically unconstitutional, without any comparison of the potential benefits and burdens.”

The state also said, “To be clear, the questions presented in this petition do not require the Court to overturn Roe or Casey,” but rather to “reconcile a conflict in its own precedents.”

It remains to be seen whether the Court’s decision about the Mississippi abortion case could lead to overturning Roe or Casey. To some, the very fact that fetal viability is in question means that it would do so. Another reason the case is significant because it is the first time the nation will see how Trump appointee Amy Coney Barrett will vote on a major abortion case. It will also be the first time all three Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices, (Barrett, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh) will decide a major abortion case together on a Court that has a 6-3 conservative majority.

In early 2019, when SCOTUS struck down a law that would have limited doctors in Louisiana to providing abortions only if they had “admitting privileges” to a hospital within 30 miles, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch dissented, voting to put the law into effect.

March for Life president Jeanne Mancini released a statement in response to the news about the Supreme Court’s decision to take the Mississippi abortion case:

March for Life works for the day when abortion is unthinkable, but currently the United States is one of only seven countries – including China and North Korea – that allows abortions through all nine months of pregnancy. An overwhelming majority of Americans agree that this goes way too far, in fact 70% think abortion should be limited to – at most – the first three months of pregnancy. States should be allowed to craft laws that are in line with both public opinion on this issue as well as basic human compassion, instead of the extreme policy that Roe imposed.”

PBS’ Billy Graham Documentary Captures Preacher’s Pull and Ambition

Religion News Service

May 17, 2021

(RNS) — How did Billy Graham become the most famous evangelist in America? Does he deserve blame for paving the way for the religious right? How should we see his place in America’s political and spiritual history?

The PBS series “American Experience” explores these questions in a fascinating two-hour documentary premiering Monday (May 17), offering an authoritative look at Graham’s life and ministry, from his beginnings as a dairy farmer’s son from Charlotte, North Carolina, to his death in February 2018 at age 99.

The historians and scholars in the film, including William Martin and Grant Wacker, the authors of two definitive Graham biographies, chronicle how Graham sought the ear of presidents, most notably Richard Nixon, and they agree that his cultivation of political power is a blot on his legacy (one that Graham, to his credit, confessed to in later years).

But director Sarah Colt, who devoted nearly two years to Graham, sifting through 300 hours of archival video and audio, looking at nearly 2,000 photographs and conducting 19 on-air interviews, could have spent more time with some of the 215 million people Graham preached to around the world. A film so rich in scholarship is diminished only by the missing voices of those whose lives Billy Graham made sweeter.

Colt introduces us to Billy at an age when he loved baseball and girls, but knew better than to miss his parents’ nightly Bible reading and prayer sessions. At age 16, for reasons Graham could not himself explain, he made his decision to accept Christ into his life at a revival held in Charlotte by traveling evangelist Mordecai Ham. Graham’s decision card, shown in one of the documentary’s grainy photos, is dated Nov. 1, 1934.

Already the Carolinas’ most successful Fuller Brush salesman, the teenage Graham unleashed his smooth-talking gifts “selling” Christ. In 1949, his tent revival drew the attention of newspaper mogul William Randolph, who figured he could sell papers by pushing Graham. In 1957, the evangelist’s New York crusade made him a star. He preached to 2 million people over 16 weeks. More than 56,000 made decisions for Christ.

The world had discovered what author Kenneth L. Woodward describes in the film as Graham’s animal magnetism. That long, lean frame. The trademark head of hair, distinctive even as it turned from golden to silver. A voice that Graham’s brother-in-law, evangelist Leighton Ford, likens to a train whistle on a prairie.

But the humility Graham projected hid a deep-seated ambition. Historian Randall Balmer claims in “Billy Graham” that its subject was drawn to politics as if it were a narcotic. In 1950, Graham nabbed an Oval Office audience with President Harry Truman. Truman didn’t care for Graham’s heavy-handed faith, but it was all the entree Graham needed. Mixing patriotism with Christian piety, he worked to align himself with politicians, and though he feigned impartiality he preferred conservative ones.

Ann Voskamp Spends 12 Scary Hours in ER for Unknown Bacterial Infection

Jesse T. Jackson

May 17, 2021

Bestselling Christian author Ann Voskamp was hospitalized this past week because of an unknown infection resulting in a fever that reached 103.1 Fahrenheit and, according to her sister Molly, wouldn’t stop climbing.

Sister to Ann Voskamp Asks for Prayer

Molly posted on Voskamp’s Instagram page asking her 318k followers to pray for Ann. Doctors conducted bloodwork, a cardiogram, and a COVID test. Ann Voskamp received IV antibiotics in an attempt to provide relief for full-body aches.

Wheaton College‘s professor and dean Ed Stetzer reposted Molly’s request for prayer and said he and her Wheaton family was praying for her.

Molly later posted that the “CT scan was clear. Just finished lumbar puncture. Waiting results to rule out meningitis. White blood cell count is elevated.” Molly asked for continued prayers as Voskamp continued to battle a high fever and joints that felt “like they are on fire,” adding, “The attack is real, but Jesus is everything.”

Molly later posted that after 12 hours in the emergency room, God “kindly broke” Ann’s fever and doctors sent her home on isolated bed rest. According to Molly, doctors do not believe Voskamp’s illness is anything viral, but that she instead has a bacterial infection due to her high white blood cell count. The source of the infection is still unknown. Voskamp’s family is currently waiting on test results and cultures to provide more clarity.

Molly thanked all of those who prayed and praised God for kind grace on Twitter:

“Your wildly generous prayers, (Ann just loves you all & can’t thank each of you enough) & God’s kind grace are carrying us through a deep valley of grief & pain & heartbreak that we are trusting is for His great glory & our genuine good. We couldn’t walk this dark vale without the saints upholding arms & our family deeply thanks you for loving us well through this brutal chapter in His story that will most assuredly end with a good and king last line.”

The Ann Voskamp Family Suffered the Death of Her Father Recently

Ann, a mother of seven, posted on Instagram at the beginning of May 2021 that she had lost her father Bryan Morton in a farming accident when he was crushed under a farm tire. His sudden death was reminiscent of Ann and Molly’s sister’s Amie death when Ann was 5 years old in the same farmyard. Voskamp wrote:

“My dear Dad was killed this past week the same way our sister was—both killed under a farm tire in the same farmyard. There are stories we find ourselves living that we’d never choose, but this I know in my bones: God is the Word, & He is more than good. He is kind, & He ultimately only writes good stories. This page of the story is not good. And this chapter feels pitch dark & nauseating & we are sorta just staggering through. But this page isn’t the end of the story. This chapter isn’t the final chapter. And the dark doesn’t write the last line. The Word does, the Light does, Love Himself does. So: we Stay in His Story, stay in The Story, stay & trust that there is only one Word that can re-story & restore all our busted hearts with His.“

Join with us in praying for a Ann’s full recovery and for peace for their recent loss in their family.

Transracial Adoption: Families Say Talking About Race Is Not a ‘Woke Test’

Bob Smietana

May 17, 2021

transracial adoption — Melissa and Cody Busby with their children. Courtesy photo

(RNS) — A dispute over a proposed change to a 1990s-era federal law has landed one of the nation’s largest evangelical adoption agencies in the middle of the “woke” wars.

A recent report from Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Bethany Christian Services suggests making changes to the “Multiethnic Placement Act.” Known as MEPA, the 1994 law bars adoption agencies or foster care programs that take government funds from “delaying or denying the placement of a child based on their race, color or national origin.”

While well-intentioned, the law hurts children of color, Bethany argues, by requiring a “colorblind” approach to adoption.

“We’re not saying there needs to be some type of ‘woke’ test,” said Cheri Williams, senior vice president of domestic programs at Bethany. “What we are saying is, it’s very harmful to children to go into this situation with a colorblind philosophy.”

Williams said the recent report was prompted by conversations with adoptive parents and adult adoptees in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

“We heard an outcry from Bethany families saying, ‘we don’t know how to talk about race with our child,’” she said.

Among the families looking for help were Bob and Sally Schmid, a white couple living in the Chicago suburbs. They have two adoptive children; one was born in Ethiopia and the other was born in China, and the racial reckoning that followed Floyd’s death really hit home.

“I don’t think anything could have prepared us for last year,” Bob Schmid said.

Schmid admitted it has been hard for him to talk about race with his kids. First and foremost, they are his kids and he loves them dearly. So he doesn’t always think about how the world sees them differently.

That’s something he has been working on. For support, Schmid said he and his family got help from Bethany. They also turned to their church. Some folks, he said, tried to be supportive. Others were not so understanding.

“Some people would just really push back hard and turn it into a political issue,” said Schmid, whose family has moved to a more diverse church in Chicago. “And that was really very discouraging.”

Nathan Bult, senior vice president of government affairs at Bethany Christian Services, said when it was first passed in 1994, MEPA permitted adoption and foster care agencies to consider the best interest of a child before placing them with a foster or adoptive family. That included the child’s race or ethnicity, the adoptive parent’s race or ethnicity, and whether an adoptive parent of one race was prepared to parent a child of a different race.

That “permissible consideration” was taken out of MEPA in 1996.

According to Bethany’s report, the Black children they serve had the lowest rate of reunification with their families. Most Black children adopted through Bethany are placed with white families, and the agency can do little to help those families “preserve Black children’s cultural heritage.”

Naomi Schaefer Riley, an author and resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, argued Bethany is more concerned about being “anti-racist” than caring for children.

“They want people to feel bad about transracial adoption,” Riley, who has been critical of Bethany, told Religion News Service in an interview.

Do People Really Become More Religious in Times of Crisis?

The Conversation

May 17, 2021

(THE CONVERSATION) Organized religion has been on the decline for decades in the United States. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers found that online searches for the word “prayer” soared to their highest level ever in over 90 countries. And a 2020 Pew Research study showed that 24% of U.S. adults stated their faith had become stronger during the pandemic.

I am a theologian who studies trauma and this shift makes sense to me. I often teach that traumatic events are, at their heart, crises of meaning that cause people to question assumptions about their lives, including their spiritual beliefs. The years 2020 and 2021 certainly fit that bill: The global COVID-19 pandemic has indeed led to traumatic experiences for many people, due to the isolation, illness, fear and death that it created.

Questioning Beliefs

People who experience traumas tend to question some of the assumptions they might have had about their faith – what pastoral theologian Carrie Doehring calls “embedded beliefs.” These beliefs may include ideas about who God is, the purpose of life or why evil events happen to good people.

So, for instance, many Christians may inherit an embedded belief from the tradition that God is all good and that evil emerges when God “rightly” punishes people for their sins. In other words, an all-good God would not punish someone without a reason.

Christians raised with that assumption might ask what made them incur God’s wrath if they contracted COVID-19. In such an event, the embedded belief in a punishing God may become something called a negative coping strategy – a coping strategy that has negative effects on a person’s life.

Here’s what this might look like practically: If a person believes they’re being punished by God, they may feel shame or despair. If they feel God is punishing them for no reason, they may feel confusion or try to identify something that is problematic or sinful about their identity. As a result, their faith becomes something that is a source of stress or cognitive dissonance rather than a source of comfort. If that happens, then the belief is functioning as a negative coping strategy that the person needs to address.

More Religious? Trauma and Religiosity

Mental health experts like Judith Herman have known for several decades that healing from trauma involves making meaning of the traumatic event. Traumatic events are often confusing for people because they don’t make much sense. In other words, traumas differ from the expectations of everyday life, and as a result, they seem to defy meaning or purpose.

Spiritually, individuals may begin to recognize that some of their beliefs got challenged by the trauma. This is the time when spiritual meaning-making occurs because people start to discern which embedded beliefs still make sense and which need to be revised.

During this stage of recovery, theologian and trauma expert Shelly Rambo explains that traumatized individuals may draw on prayers, personal reflections, rituals and conversations with spiritual experts such as chaplains, ministers and spiritual directors. These have been shown to function as positive coping mechanisms that help individuals feel more grounded in the aftermath of a trauma.

Over time, these resources help individuals develop more intentional beliefs, meaning consciously chosen beliefs that take their suffering into account. These might include reasons why the suffering occurred and what its significance is for the overall meaning of the person’s life. Doehring refers to these as deliberative, or consciously chosen, beliefs. Individuals have a sense of commitment to these beliefs because they make sense in light of the trauma.

So in the hypothetical case of someone who believes God is punishing them for contracting COVID-19, that feeling of shame and despair may result from a failure to understand why God would treat them that way. These negative feelings would then function as negative coping mechanisms that prevent healing, as psychologist Kenneth Pargament and his colleagues have observed about similar situations where people felt God was punishing them.

The person might then try to alleviate their distress by questioning the assumption that God punishes people with illness, thereby starting a kind of spiritual quest or reassessment of beliefs. They may even start to think differently about God being a punishing deity. The shift between what the person assumed about God and this new, consciously chosen belief, is an example of the shift between embedded and deliberative beliefs.

Trauma and Atheism

Some people may argue that suffering logically ought to turn people into atheists. After all, the horror of something like the COVID-19 pandemic could easily make someone question how it would be possible for any deity to allow such horrors.

It would make far more sense to reason that creation is random, chaotic and determined only by some combination of the forces of nature and human decisions. The agnostic philosopher Bertrand Russell crafted such a proposal when he argued that Christians should accompany him to a children’s hospital unit because they would inevitably stop believing in God once they saw such profound suffering.

The way humans experience suffering spiritually, however, may not necessarily lead to atheism or agnosticism. Indeed, research from experts who study the intersection of psychology and religion – including psychologists of religion and pastoral theologians – has found that events that could be labeled as traumatic do not necessarily destroy faith.

Indeed, they can also strengthen it because faith-based beliefs and practices can help individuals make sense of their life’s story. In other words, trauma challenges so many assumptions about who we are, what our purpose is and how to make sense of a traumatic event. Faith-based beliefs and practices offer meaningful resources to help navigate those questions.

This is why spiritual beliefs and practices across various religions can often lead to faith strengthening rather than weakening, following a trauma.

So even though people may have had limited access to buildings like churches or synagogues during the pandemic, they still had access to spiritual resources that can help them navigate traumatic events. This may explain data showing that some individuals are stating their faith is stronger than it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. The Conversation is wholly responsible for the content.

Written by Danielle Tumminio Hansen, Seminary of the Southwest

This article originally appeared here.

Jesus as Our Example: A Praying Life in the No-Man’s Land

Nicholas Batzig

May 17, 2021

No one has ever modeled what a praying life ought to look like so much as our Lord Jesus Christ. He was constantly pulling away from the crowds and from His disciples to have His soul strengthened in communion with His Father. Though He is the eternal Son—equal with the Father in divine power and glory—yet He is fully man and subject to all the needs of a human soul. Jesus needed to pray throughout His earthly ministry.

The Praying Life

And, while we can learn many things about our need to commit to a life of prayer from His example, there was something distinct about Jesus’ prayers—as is observed in the Garden of Gethsemane where He began His sufferings for our redemption.

No sooner had Jesus entered this familiar place of solitude with his disciples that “he told his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ There is a progress in Jesus pulling himself away from the disciples in the Garden. He separates from them, returns to them, and then goes back to prayer further away from them.

Though He expressed His need for their prayers for Him, He was left to pray alone while they fell asleep. This was a physical parable of sorts. Eric Alexander explains that as Jesus pulled away from the disciples to pray, “He moved out into the no-man’s land of human sin and shame, and the agony of bearing the burden of it, the spiritual distance was infinite.”

Jesus alone could accomplish redemption for us. He alone would drink the cup of God’s wrath in our place. The loneliness of Jesus in the Garden in prayer symbolized the singular task He had come into the world to accomplish.

Jesus’ prayer in the Garden reflected what was going on in His heart. The Savior was not recoiling from the eternal plan of redemption. He is not faltering at the thought of the physical suffering He was about to endure. His soul was weighed down with grief over the prospect of having the unbroken communion He had experienced with the Father every second of every day of His life broken when He would be forsaken under the wrath of God. It would have been sinful for the sinless Son of God to want to lose the sweet communion and fellowship that He had with His Father.

By this prayer, Jesus gained the strength He sought to go forward with the work the Father had given Him to do. The writer of Hebrews tells us that He was heard for His godly fear when He prayed with tears to Him who was able to save Him from death. The answer to Jesus’ prayer was His resurrection from the dead.

When we realize all that Jesus endured for us, how can we not thank Him for what He accomplished by His resolve to press through the agony of the loss of fellowship with His Father for our redemption. In turn, how can we not seek to grow in communion with Him. The example of Jesus’ prayer in the Garden is the most heart-stirring motivation for our prayer life.

*This is an edited version of a post that first appeared at “He Reads Truth.”

This article originally appeared here.

Christian Parents: 6 Keys to Discipling Your Children

Dr. James Scott, Jr.

May 15, 2021

If it is important to you at all that your children grow up to be authentic followers of Jesus Christ, then how do you think that will be accomplished?

How will your children hear the Gospel message and respond to it by surrendering their lives to Jesus?

How will your children be taught the Word of God so they can mature in Christ?

How will your children be equipped to be faithful and effective ambassadors for Christ?

You might be surprised at the number of Christian parents whose children are now teens, and these parents are “suddenly” facing real questions about the faith and behavior of their children. They “thought” their children were Christian, but now actual statements made by their own kids, along with their behavior, raise real doubts.

Yes, many parents blindly thought their children growing up to be a Christian would just “happen” without any specific role on their part. But it’s just the opposite that is true. When God gave you your child(ren), He also handed YOU the specific responsibility of forging from that life a mature, faithful ambassador of Jesus Christ.

The good news is that he didn’t leave it all up to you. The Holy Spirit is the one who does the transforming of lives and produces spiritual fruit, but as a parent, your role is the most critical human one when it comes to the spiritual formation of your children. So here are a few tips for how to disciple your own children …

First, to make disciples of your children you need to share the Gospel with them.

Your children becoming “born again” doesn’t happen by osmosis. It doesn’t happen by them parroting what you say or do. It doesn’t happen by just taking them to church. It doesn’t happen just because they’re “active” in a youth group. It doesn’t happen just by them having Christian friends. It doesn’t happen just by sending them to a Christian school. Like every other human being on the planet, for your children to become authentic followers of Christ, they need to hear the Gospel message and respond to it by surrendering their lives to Jesus Christ.

You might be amazed at how many Christian parents miss that point. Or how many Christian parents who never make sure they clearly, concisely, comprehensively share the Gospel with their own children.

I’ve written before about how several parents have come to me and asked that I share the Gospel with their children. My usual response is to suggest to the parents that I equip them in how to share the Gospel so they can present God’s “message of reconciliation” to their own children. The last time I made that suggestion to parents, the couple flatly said no. They were not interested in being equipped, they wanted me to make the presentation to their children for them!

If it isn’t your responsibility to share the Gospel with your own children, whose responsibility is it? It’s yours, and if you don’t know how, it’s a simple thing to equip you so that you can effectively share the Good News of Jesus with your children.

Second, help your children to mature in Christ by teaching them from the Bible.

Once you’ve led your children to Christ, it’s important to help them to grow up in Him. You are the greatest teaching influence in the lives of your children, and that includes spiritually. But to help your children grow in Christ, you’ll have to open your Bibles and teach from it. Your opinions cannot substitute for the Word of God. You need to build into your relationship with your children regular teaching from the Bible so that their faith can deepen and blossom.

Third, regularly pray with your children.

Yes, you need to pray for your children, and you need to pray for yourself as the pastors of your children, but you also need to pray with your children. Communing with God by coming before Him in conversation (prayer) together will teach your children how to develop an intimate relationship with God that revolves around unceasing conversation with Him.

The Biggest Issues in Children’s Ministry? Hint: It’s Not Parents

Christina Embree

May 14, 2021

While talking with some fellow kidmin leaders recently, the discussion turned to the greatest challenges and issues in children’s ministry. One answer showed up over and over again: Parents. The consensus was that the main obstacle facing children’s ministry is parents who are apathetic about spiritual formation and don’t prioritize church. In other words, they don’t take seriously their spiritual influence.

I did not and do not agree. To me, in fact, parents aren’t a challenge at all. I see them as tired, overwhelmed and under-supported. Parents tend to feel lonely and ill-equipped. And they’re doing their best to raise kids the same way their own parents raised them.

Most churches assign the work of discipleship to professionals (of which I’m one) and mandate it to parents (of which I’m one). But this approach overlooks relationships in community. People need a rich, nurturing web of intergenerational connections for daily life and spiritual growth. Without that, everyone’s tired from trying to carry their own load with little to no support.

The real issues in children’s ministry

A clarification is key: It isn’t the parent’s “job” to disciple their kids. Yes, parents and caregivers are significant for discipleship because they have the most influence. But the entire faith community has a role in discipling the next generation. It’s a misstep to place that task solely on parents.

Another area to re-evaluate is age segregation, which psychologist Mary Pipher blames for “a great deal of America’s social sickness.” Mixing age groups, she says, helps people “fall into a natural age hierarchy that nurtures and teaches them all. For our own mental and societal health, we need to reconnect the age groups.”

Age segregation creates homogenous environments where nearly everyone in a social circle is the same age. Rather than having a rich, supportive web of relationships with people at different life stages, we’re all grasping along with people just like us. Believe it or not, that actually increases feelings of isolation and helplessness.

Studies show that age homogeneity in social networks leads to isolation and loneliness. Younger people experience delayed socialization. Older people feel a lack of impact needed for positive cognitive health. Those things can show up as apathy, busyness and disconnection. Sound familiar?

Lifelong discipleship requires interactions among generations.

“Within many churches today, children and parents rarely share experiences,” notes Scottie May of Wheaton College. “This generational separation makes it difficult for parents to learn how to nurture their children spiritually.” Combine that with a lack of intergenerational relationships in the church, and we’re left with lonely, exhausted parents. Plus, pastors become disillusioned and congregants idly wait to be connected through relationship and mission.

Why meaningful relationships are the biggest issues in children’s ministry

The importance of intergenerational connectivity in meaningful relationships can’t be underestimated. It’s especially key for relationships within a faith community.

These bonds sustain us by combatting apathy with genuine care. They reduce the need to hide in busyness by creating safe spaces to learn and grow. Relationships nullify disconnection by making shared experiences the norm.

Of all the issues in children’s ministry, I believe that’s the biggest challenge. And the church in general faces it too. But this isn’t a “forever and always” issue. We can begin creating connections within our churches and homes. We can boost engagement among parents, kids and the congregation.

This requires us to move beyond our programs and buildings to forge space for meaningful relationships and community. But the payoffs in terms of discipleship are so worth it.

This article originally appeared here.

Solace and Outright Support — Here’s the Christian Leaders’ Response to the Mideast Explosion

Jennifer Hooks

May 14, 2021

response to Mideast — As Israel and Hamas inch closer to all-out war, critics wonder where some prominent Christian voices are. Since the explosion of long-simmering tensions, some are criticizing what they say is a tepid response—or even silence—from Christian leaders.

As Israel and Hamas inch closer to all-out war, some interfaith-alliance experts wonder where all the prominent Christian voices in America have gone in response to the Mideast. Riots that began in Jerusalem on May 10 have escalated into an aerial war over Gaza, leaving a swath of destruction, death, and civil unrest. Since the explosion of these long-simmering tensions, Christian leaders are responding with calls for peace, cheers for conflict, and silence.

The Islamic militant group Hamas has fired more than 1,000 rockets into Israel, many landing in civilian areas, according to reporting by the New York Times. The aggression has led to retaliatory airstrikes from the Israel Defense Forces, with civilian casualties on both sides and hundreds fleeing their homes, creating a humanitarian crisis.

Are Interfaith Relationships in Jeopardy?

While officials from the administration of former U.S. president Donald Trump such as Mike Pompeo blame President Joe Biden’s “ambiguous policy” toward Israel for the flared tensions, Christian leaders in the U.S. have responded tepidly to the events taking place.

Ingrid Mattson, a Muslim scholar and former president of the Islamic Society of North America, is discouraged with the lack of a forceful response from the interfaith community. Mattson tweeted that [Twitter]: “meaningful interfaith relationships” among U.S. Christians, Muslims and Jews are in jeopardy “if those involved continue to be silent on Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque” during the holy month of Ramadan.

Mattson noted in an Associated Press interview that some allies, such as Rabbis for Human Rights and Jewish Voice for Peace, have forcefully condemned Israeli policies and actions as cruel and unjust. But, she said, Western Christian denominations have been largely silent beyond calls for both sides to be peaceful.

“I feel like people should have learned something from the last year of public education about anti-Black racism and police violence against Black people in America — that you have to say what’s wrong,” she said.

Dr. Hatem Bazian, a professor and co-founder of Zaytuna College, said [Twitter]: “Silence is the US and Europe is not because they don’t see what is underway, on the contrary, they see and consider Israel and Zionism as a success and the needed prince to bring forth the only “true civilization” i.e. the European White Christian one.”

From Leaders, Calls for Conflict and Peace

So far, prominent Christian leaders like Al Mohler, Ed Stetzer, and Beth Moore have remained silent on the troubling events in the Middle East.

However, Pastor John Hagee, the leader of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), tweeted on Wednesday in favor of the conflict [Twitter]: “This time in world history Christians must not stand idly by. This time righteous people must take a stand against evil. This time we must circle the wagons and fight the battle against Jewish hatred. This time Christians and Jews must unite and win the war against antisemitism.”

By contrast, Pastor Tony Evans said [Twitter]: “My heart goes out to the people impacted through the heightened Middle East conflict. Having recently visited that region, I’m reminded of the many wonderful people I met, and request us all to pray for those who are suffering.”

Likewise, Ed Young, the pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, wrote [Twitter]: “Pray with me. For protection of the innocent. For peace. For loved ones lost. For our leaders. In Jesus name. #PrayForIsrael”

Franklin Graham said [Twitter]: “We pray for the many innocent people who are caught in the middle of this conflict. The Bible tells us to ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.’ “

As the escalation continues, there’s little doubt that those who have celebrated recent gains in Middle East peace talks and a burgeoning interfaith alliance are watching closely to see how U.S. leaders–both Christian and secular–will respond to the rapidly worsening situation.

Franklin Graham Urges Christians to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine Before It’s ‘Too Late’

Jesse T. Jackson

May 14, 2021

Rev. Franklin Graham will appear on an upcoming episode of “Axios on HBO” this Sunday May 16, 2021 urging Christians to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The notable son of the late Billy Graham hasn’t allowed the recent backlash from his evangelical supporters regarding his vaccine encouragement to detour him from continuing to speak out in favor of people getting it.

Axios’ journalist Mike Allen said, “Rev. Graham, nothing’s more important to you than saving souls.” In which Graham replied without hesitation, “Yeah,” then explained “I want people to know that God loves them. He will forgive you and God will accept you into his presence.”

“I want people to know that COVID-19 can kill you, but we have a vaccine out there that could possibly save your life,” he said. “And if you wait, it can be too late.”

The 68-year-old Samaritan’s Purse CEO and president received the COVID-19 vaccine along with his wife. He said, “I want to get as many more miles out of these old bones as possible!” Reiterating to his followers, “Vaccines have worked for polio, smallpox, measles, the flu and so many other deadly illnesses — why not for this virus?”

The Axios episode comes on the heels of a week were the CDC released new guidelines for those who have been fully vaccinated. The guidelines state that people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any setting except where required by law. President Joe Biden tweeted Thursday “The rule is now simple: get vaccinated or wear a mask until you do. The choice is yours.”

Graham’s Previous Stand Garnered Backlash

Sunday’s Axios interview won’t be the first time Graham has spoken in favor of the COVID-19 vaccines. In March 2021, he was interviewed by ABC’s Terry Moran and Graham said he believes “it is consistent with Scripture that we protect our lives and do whatever we can to save life. So I don’t have any problem with telling a person to take an aspirin or telling a person to have a vaccine.”

Graham took heat over a statement he made where he said, “I think if there were vaccines available in the time of Christ, Jesus would have made reference to them and used them.” Graham later clarified his bold statement, “Did Jesus need a vaccine Himself? Of course not. He is God.”

What Graham’s Critics Said

“STOP. It is NOT your job as a pastor to try and talk people into taking a vaccine that is considered experimental.”

You are a sad representation of leadership in Christian faith. Nothing like your dad.

Have lost considerable respect for the younger Graham.

God can heal us. No need for a vaccine, especially this shot. God warned me not to take this shot, so I never will. We all have a direct connection with God. I hope you all know that. Stay healthy and may you all be blessed.

Franklin your understanding of who JESUS is lacks credibility with me! JESUS is the Healer and does not need some satanic man/made vaccine!

Mr. Graham…YOU ARE WRONG! God gave each of us an immune system. I am not taking an experimental vaccine!

There is tremendous social pressure to get the vaccine – even in church. I survived the virus in December. I never intended to get the vaccine before I got sick and I still do not want the vaccine.

From Homeless to America’s Chess Master, Meet 10-Year-Old Christian Refugee Tanitoluwa Adewumi

Jesse T. Jackson

May 14, 2021

A homeless Christian refugee was recently crowned America’s newest national Chess Master after winning the Fairfield County Chess Club Championship tournament in Norwalk, Connecticut on May 1, 2021. The 10-year-old Tanitoluwa Adewumi was homeless in New York City after he and his family fled the Boko Haram terrorist group’s religious persecution in Nigeria.

Nigeria (after Iran) was listed as the 9th most difficult country to follow Jesus in the world by Open Doors in 2021. The report says, “More Christians are murdered for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country. Violent attacks by Boko Haram, Hausa-Fulani Muslim militant herdsmen, ISWAP (an affiliate of the Islamic State group) and other Islamic extremist groups are common in the north and middle belt of the country, and are becoming more common farther south.”

Adewumi Praises God After Winning Several Championships

Adewumi won the New York State K-3 Chess Championship two years ago while he was living in a homeless shelter and made national headlines. He is one of the youngest people to be named a Chess Master; there are only 27 total Chess Masters. Being named a Chess Master is beyond remarkable for someone who has only been playing chess for three years.

After being asked how his new title of Chess Master compares to winning the New York State Championship, Adewumi said, “It’s better, I would say. But I thank God for everything that he’s done for our family.”

Tanitoluwa’s father, Kayode Adewumi, posted on his Facebook page and gave credit to God for his son’s success. The father posted, “Our God has done it again today. Tanitoluwa won chess club of Fairfield Connecticut championship.”

Since the wins, the Adewumi family has been able to move out of the homeless shelter. And since winning the New York State Chess Championship, Tanitoluwa has written a book about his life titled My Name Is Tani . . . and I Believe in Miracles. Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show’s” Trevor Noah is considering making a film based on the book..

In Adewumi’s favorite chess match he’s ever played, he lost to Chess Grandmaster Hikaru Makamura. When recalling that match, the young Adewumi gave this sage-like advice: “I say to myself that I never lose, that I only learn, because when you lose, you have to make a mistake to lose that game. So you learn from that mistake, and so you learn [overall]. So losing is the way of winning for yourself.”

The national Chess Master now has his eyes set on becoming the world’s youngest Grandmaster. The current record holder is Sergey Karjakin who won the title at 12 years and 7 months.

LGBTQ Student Experiences Are Valid, but Lawsuit Is ‘Frivolous,’ Says CCCU

Jessica Lea

May 14, 2021

The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) has filed a motion to join the defendants in a class-action lawsuit brought by 33 current and former LGBTQ students at Christian universities. In addition to requesting to join the lawsuit, CCCU submitted a motion to dismiss it “based on the frivolous legal claims.”

“CCCU institutions subscribe to sincerely held biblical beliefs, which include specific religious convictions around human sexuality and gender,” said CCCU president Shirley V. Hoogstra in a statement. The colleges and universities “are transparent about their policies and behavior guidelines, which students voluntarily agree to when they choose to attend the institution. Campuses work hard to ensure that potential students understand their institution and its religious identity and want to be a part of that community.”

The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities Pushes Back

On March 29, 2021, 33 people who are current or former students at Christian universities filed the lawsuit, Hunter v. U.S. Department of Education, saying that their schools should be ineligible for federal funding because of policies that violate Title IX, specifically, by discriminating against LGBTQ students. The Religious Exemption Accountability Project (REAP) filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs, and the suit names 25 Christian institutions, including Liberty University, Baylor University, and Azusa Pacific University.

Title IX is a federal law that protects people attending federally funded educational institutions from discrimination based on sex, but which also includes religious exemptions. According to the lawsuit,

The U.S. Department of Education is duty-bound by Title IX and the U.S. Constitution to protect sexual and gender minority students at taxpayer-funded colleges and universities, including private and religious educational institutions that receive federal funding. The religious exemption to Title IX, however, seemingly permits the Department to breach its duty as to the more than 100,000 sexual and gender minority students attending religious colleges and universities where discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is codified in campus policies and openly practiced.

REAP has identified 200 Christian universities that receive federal funding, but have anti-LGBTQ policies.

The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities is an association of more than 180 Christian institutions of higher education whose “mission is to advance the cause of Christ-centered higher education and to help our institutions transform lives by faithfully relating scholarship and service to biblical truth.”

Faith-based institutions are important for diversity in higher education, said Hoogstra in her statement, adding that students in racial minorities will be disproportionately impacted if federal funding is withdrawn from Christian universities. She offered Pell Grants as an example, saying that in the 2015-2016 academic year, 72% of the students who received a Pell Grant were Black, while only 34% were white. If faith-based institutions lose federal funding, the decision “would restrict student choice in an unprecedented way, preventing middle- and low-income students from being able to take their federal aid to these institutions.”

Despite dismissing the legal merits of the lawsuit, Hoogstra validated the concerns of the students involved in it and cited data indicating that while LGBTQ students face challenges at all American universities, such students tend to have better experiences at faith-based institutions than at ones that are not faith-based. She said:

We are committed to learning, growing, and deepening our understanding of how we can provide and strengthen support for all students on Christian college and university campuses, as CCCU institutions should be places where all students feel safe, supported, and welcome. We know the college experience can be stressful, and even more so for LGBTQ students who are working to understand how their sexual orientation or gender identity intersects with their personal faith.

For further reading on this topic, see the following articles:

Mark Yarhouse: How to Pastor Someone Who Has Gender Dysphoria

Rachel Gilson: How Jesus Helps Me Say No to My Same-Sex Desires

Correction: The original article incorrectly stated that the CCCU had already joined the lawsuit.

Duck Dynasty’s Sadie Robertson Huff Calls Birth of First Child a ‘Miracle’

Bri Lamm

May 14, 2021

After a long 41 weeks of pregnancy, Duck Dynasty’s Sadie Robertson Huff finally got to meet her baby girl, Honey James Huff on Tuesday.

“We saw a million little miracles yesterday – the best one being this girl right here,” the 23-year-old captioned a series of photos of herself and husband Christian, snuggling their daughter for the first time.

“The pure goodness of God,” she wrote. “Story to come, but I’m way too occupied right now by cuteness.”

In a separate post, Sadie shared a photo of Honey wearing her personalized sweater (which all of the Robertson babies have had in recent years), writing, “Good morning world !!! I thought you might could use 9 pounds and 5 ounces of straight up goodness,” followed by a honey pot emoji.

Beaming grandma, Korie Robertson took to Instagram, with a tender recap of her experience watching her daughter give birth.

“Well, there are no words,” she wrote. “Honey James Huff you are a little miracle! We love you dearly and can’t get enough of every single detail of you. Your mom is absolutely, utterly amazing, and your dad is simply the best coach and encourager ever! There is nothing those two won’t do for you! You have a whole bunch of us that couldn’t be more excited that you’re here, and are going to be loving you and rooting you on your entire life. We can’t wait to see what God has planned for you! Welcome to the fam, Honey 💛 I love you!!”

The couple first announced the pregnancy news back in October, and have continued to share everything from their gender reveal to her growing bump and everything in between.

Last month, Sadie took to Instagram revealing their daughter’s name, and the precious meaning behind it.

“Going ahead and telling the world our sweet babies name because i would rather y’all hear it from me and christian then things going around,” Sadie began her Instagram caption. “This little girl and her name already mean the world to us.”

“Honey James Huff,” she wrote, followed by Proverbs 16:24.

“Gracious words are like HONEY, sweetness to the soul and health to the body,” she wrote, adding, “I’ve always loved this verse. Its made me have a love for the idea of all that honey is. It’s a sweet delicacy with a strong healing component.”

Sadie also explained how the word has been a constant in her and husband Christian’s relationship writing, “When Christian and I started dating we went through the book of Proverbs together and I remember getting to chapter 16 and as I read verse 24 i said to him, ‘you have words like honey. they are so sweet and are healing places in my heart I didn’t even know needed to be healed.’”

“On our first date we went to do pottery together and on my cup i simply wrote ‘honey’ because i called him the boy with the honey words,” she continued. “Fast forward 2 and a half years later and we have a daughter on the way who we so proudly get to name after one of the loveliest words. Not to mention this word reminds me of my great grandma who calls everyone she loves honey.”

On Mother’s Day, five days past her due date, Sadie shared photos of her and Christian still waiting in anticipation for the arrival of their baby girl.

In April, Sadie’s brother John Luke and his wife Mary Kate welcomed their second child, a baby girl named Ella Kathryn. Just over a month apart, these sweet little cousins are sure to be lifelong besties.

Congratulations to this “sweet” family of three, and to the village of Robertson’s surrounding their new life together.

This article originally appeared here.

China Challenges U.N. Event Focused on Its Uyghur Population

Religion News Service

May 14, 2021

(RNS) — China faced condemnation from the United States and a handful of other U.N. member states at a United Nations event on Wednesday (May 12) over treatment of its Uyghur minority and other Turkic Muslim groups in the Xinjiang province.

The event sought to pressure Beijing to allow a United Nations human rights representative to visit the region and conduct an independent investigation. China attempted to arrange a boycott of the event before ultimately deciding to make a last-minute appearance in which it challenged the widely reported characterization of Xinjiang in the international community.

“We will keep standing up and speaking out until China’s government stops its crimes against humanity and the genocide of Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang,” said U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield. She was joined at the event by her counterparts from the United Kingdom and Germany.

“Expressions of religion have been criminalized, and Uyghur language and culture have been discriminated against systematically,” said the United Kingdom’s Barbara Woodward during her remarks.

Uyghur activist Jewher Ilham offered a personal example of how edicts from China’s Communist Party are changing the Uyghur language. She recounted how in conversations with her own relatives, she found that instead of the common phrase “May God give you peace,” her relatives were using the phrase “May Xi Jinping give you peace,” referring to the president of the People’s Republic of China.

“The U.S. and its allies make a presumption of guilt and then fabricate so-called evidence,” said the Chinese diplomat in attendance who was Guo Jiakun, a member of China’s UN mission, according to Reuters. Guo argued that China was the victim of a campaign in which the plight of its 12 million Uyghurs was being used to destabilize the country. He used a short clip from a Ron Paul Institute event in 2018 to underscore his point.

Guo, who made clear his attendance was made in protest over the legitimacy of the event, offered blanket denials of the various charges made against China and argued that the world was afraid of the truth regarding Xinjiang, which is also known as East Turkestan to inhabitants of the region.

The event was jointly organized by 18 member states and a number of human rights groups. While that figure represented a fraction of the United Nations’ 193 member states, there are signs that concern about the situation in Xinjiang is growing. According to the organizers, members of 50 different delegations attended the event despite China’s effort to organize a boycott of the proceeding. In October 2020, a cross-regional working group that expressed worry about China’s “political reeducation camps” attracted 39 member states.

“There is extraordinary momentum as governments around the world seek to hold the Chinese government accountable for human rights violations. The U.N.’s leadership should follow their example, condemn China’s massive abuses, and publicly report on the rights situation in Xinjiang,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.

China has claimed its efforts are due to terrorism concerns. Roth argued it was more likely China’s efforts were linked to the $1 trillion Belt and Road Initiative. One of the goals of this effort is to better connect China’s interior with pan-Eurasian trade through a new Silk Road.

Fernand de Varennes, U.N. special rapporteur on minority issues, the sole United Nations bureaucrat to speak at the event, expressed frustration with China’s refusal to allow an independent inquiry into the situation. Varennes pointed out that in the recent past, both the United States and the Russian Federation, which like China are both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, cooperated with such investigations.

“Where there is smoke, there is fire, and (in Xinjiang) there is a heck of a lot of smoke,” Varennes said.

This article originally appeared here.

Mother’s Day Tragedy: Annette Odneal Was Struck and Killed by Stolen Car After Church Service

Jesse T. Jackson

May 14, 2021

After attending this year’s Mother’s Day service, Annette Odneal was driving alone to her daughter’s house for a Mother’s Day celebration when she was struck in her SUV. She was killed on impact by a 17-year-old who had stolen a vehicle. Annette, from Riverdale, Illinois, attended Abounding Life Church of God in Christ on Mother’s Day just like any other Sunday, except this was the first time in 36 years she went without her husband O.B.

Odneal was a mother of two, a grandmother of four, and was known as the matriarch of her family. She served her church as a nurse after she retired last year. Annette was 62 years old.

The Odneal Family Speaks Out

O.B. Odneal, her husband of 36 years, told WGN “What am I to tell my grandkids?…This is hard for me to explain.” O.B. said that people “don’t even understand that she was praying for them, and then she walked out of the church and lost her own life to foolishness.”

Odneal’s daughter Cierra Odneal said, “She was on her way to my house. I just saw her on Saturday, and I never thought it would be the last time seeing my mom. She didn’t deserve what happened to her.”

“She was very into church and the Lord,” Cierra told the Chicago Tribune. “She prayed for everybody, she loved everybody, she did right by everybody. She didn’t deserve that at all.”

Her son Anthony Odneal said his mother was rich in faith and often sent him text messages that included a short prayer followed by an “I love you” and “have a good day.”

Teen Driver Fled the Scene of the Deadly Accident

The teen driver was later found at the University of Chicago Medical Center after fleeing the scene of the accident. Two of his passengers carried him from the stolen car after the tragic collision and brought him to the hospital because he broke his femur. The stolen car was a Dodge Charger that was estimated to be traveling at least 80 mph.

City Mayor Frank Podbielniak said the driver will likely be charged with reckless homicide. Detective Sgt. Ryan Grab shared that both passengers have come forward and have been interviewed as witnesses.

Odneal’s Church Shares How They Will Miss Her

Abounding Life Church of God in Christ posted on their Facebook page how much they will miss Annette:

With deep regret, we announce the passing of our own beautiful sister in the Lord, Annette Odneal. Sister Odneal served faithfully as a professional nurse (inside and outside of the church), a dedicated choir member and just as a sweet church member of Abounding Life COGIC!! We will truly miss her unselfishness and love for her family, church and for all of humanity. Let’s keep her husband, Brother OB Odneal, children Ciera and Anthony and their children and the entire family in our prayers.

Coates, Pawlowski Are Not Following the Example of Jesus, Says Alberta Pastor

Jessica Lea

May 13, 2021

James Coates and Artur Pawlowski are two pastors in Alberta, Canada, who have gotten quite a bit of media coverage for holding large gatherings in defiance of public health orders. But Rev. Ray Matheson, another church leader in the province, believes the two are bad examples of what it means to follow Jesus.

“I feel very sad about what these pastors are doing,” said Matheson, a retired pastor who is now a congregational care associate at First Alliance Church in Calgary, Alberta. “I think it gives Christianity a bad name.” He explained, “I think those pastors believe they are doing the right thing, but I believe they’re misguided and they’re not following the principles of Scripture or the example of Jesus.”

Rev. Ray Matheson: This Is Not Persecution

Speaking to Postmedia’s Licia Corbella, Rev. Ray Matheson shared his thoughts on the actions of James Coates and Artur Pawlowski, who have generated a great deal of publicity over the past several months.

James Coates is the pastor of GraceLife Church in Spruce Grove, Alberta. He is facing one charge of violating the Public Health Act due to holding worship services in defiance of capacity and social distancing requirements. Coates was arrested in February, released on bail, and began undergoing a trial on May 3. Authorities shuttered his church last month, but the congregation has met at least once since then in an undisclosed location. Hundreds of people, many of whom were not connected with GraceLife Church, showed up on site April 11 to protest the church’s closing.

The behavior of Artur Pawlowski, pastor of the Street Church in Calgary, has been even more dramatic. He has called police and health officials “Nazis,” “brownshirts of Adolf Hitler,” “Gestapo,” and “communist fascists,” all while chasing them off his property. Moreover, the church is in a residential area, and on May 1, the congregation held a loud outdoor protest that hundreds of people attended. The Street Church’s neighbors say they want any protests moved to another location and have accused the members of being antagonistic toward them, so much so that some have filed a police report.

Pawlowski was arrested Saturday, although he has since been released. He is to appear in court on May 17 for charges of organizing an illegal in-person gathering and promoting and attending an illegal gathering.

Other churches in Canada have faced significant penalties for flouting COVID-19 restrictions. One church in Ontario was fined $83,000 for meeting for in-person worship. Church of God Restoration and Springs Church, both in Manitoba, received significant fines for holding drive-in church services.

Matheson particularly took issue with Artur Pawlowski’s verbal attacks and demeanor. “Our police officers risk their own lives for our safety,” said Matheson. “They need to be honoured rather than maligned.” As a basis for this point, he mentioned what was a much-cited Bible passage in 2020: Romans 13. Verse 1 says, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”

“To call [civil authorities] Nazis is not showing respect,” said Matheson. “The Bible calls us to be gracious and for no unwholesome words to come out of our mouths.”

Matheson does believe there is a time and place for Christians to refuse to obey government authorities, but he does not believe the COVID-19 pandemic has brought us to that time. “Our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ around the world would not call what is happening here persecution,” he said.

Instead of fighting back against the COVID-19 restrictions, Matheson observed that these pastors and their churches could use their circumstances to creatively serve people. For example, First Alliance decided to treat online church as a way to reach people who would not normally come to church in person.

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