Despite the Multiracial Congregations Boom, Some Black Congregants Report Prejudice

April 30, 2021

(RNS) — Most practicing Christians believe the church can enhance race relations in this country by welcoming people of all races and ethnicities, new research finds.

But 29% of Black practicing Christians say they have experienced racial prejudice in multiracial congregations, compared to about a tenth who report such an experience in monoracial Black churches. And a third of Black Christians say it is hard to gain leadership positions in a multiracial congregation.

The new report, released Wednesday (April 28) by Barna Group and the Racial Justice and Unity Center, examines the views of what researchers call “practicing Christians,” people who self-identify as Christians, say their faith is very important to them and say they attended worship in the past month.

The research included 2,889 U.S. adults, with1,364 of them meeting the definition of “practicing Christians.”

Even as the percentage of multiracial churches has dramatically grown, particularly in Protestant churches, there remain divisions on how to address racial justice among Christians as well as a willingness to do so, says the report, titled “Beyond Diversity: What the Future of Racial Justice Will Require of U.S. Churches.”

“Racial injustice is like a disease,” writes Michael Emerson, co-principal investigator, in the report’s welcome. “Our research has found that the disease has not gone away even as the supposed antibodies of multiracial churches have multiplied. Racial injustice has mutated into new forms, and it has proven highly resistant to the antibodies of multiracial church.”

Emerson, a sociologist and co-author of the 2000 book “Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America,” said both multiracial and homogeneous congregations “can make things better or worse.”

The report defines multiracial churches as congregations where no one ethnic or racial group comprises more than 60% of the congregation.

It notes a tendency in some multiracial congregations — many of which have leadership teams that are at least half white — to normalize white traditions and understandings while expecting congregants of color to assimilate.

“For attendees of color, joining diverse worship environments might mean ceding traditions, influence or preferences,” it says.

Emerson, a white man and longtime advocate of multiracial churches, acknowledged that “given our times, homogeneous congregations led by people of color can serve as a safe haven for people of color and be strong voices for justice.”

The report also found that Black practicing Christians (68%) are more than twice as likely as their white counterparts (32%) to link racial inequalities in housing, income and jobs to ongoing discrimination.

On the other hand, white practicing Christians (32%) are almost three times as likely as their Black counterparts (11%) to say such inequality occurs “Because many Black fathers leave their families.”

Glenn Bracey, a Black man and the other co-principal investigator for the research, said in the report’s introduction that the new study aims “to uplift the Church — not to shame it.”

But he said the differences between white and Black Christian views on historical oppression of people of color demonstrate “a pattern in which the powerful and advantaged deny or minimize the social structures that sustain their dominance.”

Bracey, assistant professor of sociology and criminology at Villanova University, added: “it appears that racial divisions and stereotypes in society are not only present, but often more concentrated, in the Church.”

The research also showed white practicing Christians in multiracial churches appeared to have a greater sense of awareness about past and present racial injustice and have more of a desire to deal with it.

The report said white churchgoers who attend multiracial congregations are more likely than those in monoracial congregations to agree that “Historically, the United States has been oppressive to minorities.” Almost half — 48% — of white practicing Christians in multiracial congregations agreed, compared with 38% of those who attend primarily white congregations.

About half (51%) of white practicing Christians attending multiracial churches say they are motivated or very motivated to address racial injustice, compared with 28% of those who attend primarily white congregations.

The report, which suggests resources for churches seeking racial progress, includes comments from other experts, including one who noted that just reading a report or attending a conference is not sufficient.

Barna Group, a California-based research firm, described itself in the report’s preface as having a “predominantly white team” that has sought out leaders and churchgoers of color as “a step in our own repentance toward segments of the Church we haven’t fully represented and served in our work.”

The overall sample of 2,889 respondents had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.

This article originally appeared here.

Al Mohler: The Current UMC Is Experiencing ‘Open Apostasy’ — Its Leadership Is Embracing Annihilation

Stephanie Martin

April 30, 2021

Because of “open revolt” occurring within its congregations and leadership, the historical United Methodist Church (UMC) has “basically embraced doctrinal annihilation.” That’s the verdict of Southern Baptist theologian Dr. Albert Mohler, who points to liberalism, sexual progressivism, and LGBTQ issues as culprits in the denomination’s demise.

Mohler, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president, devoted all three segments of his April 28 podcast to what he calls a “major crisis” in the UMC. The body’s expected schism has been delayed due to the pandemic with the next General Conference now bumped to September 2022.

Al Mohler: UMC Now ‘Two Different Religions’

The current situation in the UMC is “one of open apostasy,” says Mohler. Although the denomination’s official teachings on sexuality remain conservative, “the liberals have been living, ordaining, preaching and acting in revolt to the official doctrine,” he says, and they “want to see the conservatives pushed out.”

Because the UMC’s liberal wing intentionally refutes biblical teachings about sexuality, Mohler says, the denomination has become “two different religions” that “cannot possibly continue to exist in one church or in one denomination.” Most of the UMC’s “great churches” were built and paid for by conservatives, he says, but “once conservatives are out of the picture,” the pending schism “is only the start of where things will go in the future.”

To preserve the denomination’s conservative roots, a group of traditionalists recently announced the formation of the Global Methodist Church. Due to “unchecked defiance” now occurring within the UMC, says a spokesman, conservative leaders launched this new body “that will be true to its doctrine and teachings and end this endless conflict within the United Methodist Church.”

Two Examples of ‘Doctrinal Annihilation’

In his podcast Wednesday, Mohler mentioned two cases he says exemplify the UMC’s demise. The first is Mount Bethel, a 175-year-old suburban Atlanta congregation he calls “one of the most important churches in the denomination.” Pastor Jody Ray, who is theologically orthodox, recently rejected a liberal bishop’s attempt to move him to a bureaucratic position.

The motives of Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson are “transparent,” says Mohler, who praises Ray for denying the reassignment. During a recent sermon, Ray told his family, “Your daddy didn’t bow the knee or kiss the ring of progressive theology, that is, in fact, no theology at all.”

The other example Mohler cites is the ministerial candidacy of Isaac Simmons, an openly gay man who preaches in drag at Hope United Methodist Church in Bloomington, Illinois. As “Ms. Penny Cost,” Simmons recently preached about Jesus’ crucifixion “through a lens of queerness,” saying, “Your identity is not a sin.” He says he views his candidacy as “a sign of validation,” to which Mohler replies, “Make no mistake, that’s exactly what it is.”

For “centuries,” says Mohler, a drag queen preacher “would have been unthinkable,” not because Christians were out of date but because they were “operating out of a Christian biblical understanding.” He adds, “By the time any kind of church or church body reaches this point, it has already basically embraced doctrinal annihilation. There is virtually nothing left of the historic Christian tradition.”

WARNING: Mindfulness Meditation Is Now a Staple in Public Schools…But Prayer Is Still Forbidden

Yonat Shimron

April 30, 2021

(RNS) — Next week, 45 teachers from Atalaya Elementary School in Santa Fe, New Mexico, will hop onto a two-hour professional development session on Zoom in which they will sit in silence and learn how to regulate their emotions and pay attention.

They will, in other words, be learning the skills of mindfulness meditation — the secular version of the Buddhist practice that has skyrocketed in popularity to become America’s go-to antidote for stress.

This won’t be the teachers’ first exposure to the practice, either. The teachers from Atalaya have attended one-day in-person training annually at Santa Fe’s Rio Grande Mindfulness Institute, and many, if not most, of the teachers in this elementary school have gone on to incorporate mindfulness in their classrooms.

This past year, however, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, they are accessing mindful training online and taking advantage of multiple opportunities to meditate from the comfort of their homes.

“Switching from online, to in-person to hybrid, back to online has been super stressful,” said Kate Diaz, principal of Atalaya Elementary School, describing the past year of pandemic teaching. “This is keeping people sane in these insane times.”

Mindfulness meditation for public school teachers and their students has become a hot trend in American education. The National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, estimates 3.1 million U.S. children, aged 4 to 17, learned mindfulness meditation in school in 2017, the last year for which data is available. Five million practiced yoga.

Several nationwide programs, such as MindUP for Life (founded by actress Goldie Hawn), Mindful Schools, Calmer Choice and CARE for Teachers, have developed curricula for educators and classroom use.

But lots of smaller outfits, such as the Rio Grande Mindfulness Institute, have retooled their offerings for a wider online world. The institute, an offshoot of Sante Fe’s Mountain Cloud Zen Center, has been offering Zoom-based mindfulness instruction for public school teachers across the state. Recently it started online lunch-hour guided meditations for public school teachers, social service providers, lawyers and other caregivers.

The online offerings have helped Rio Grande broaden and expand its reach at the very time when there’s a growing demand for self-care.

“Since the pandemic I’ve seen a lot more interest in managing stress and understanding stress, on the part of folks we mix with in our network,” said John Braman, co-director of the institute. ”It feels like the pandemic has wrought a reevaluation collectively and personally and that includes a visit to the spiritual support system people are acquiring or investigating or being curious about.”

Across the country, opposition to mindfulness, as well as well as yoga, in public school settings appears to be lessening. Alabama legislators are considering a bill that would lift a quarter-century ban on yoga and meditation in public schools. In other parts of the South, such as neighboring Georgia, the Atlanta Public Schools have partnered with The Namaste Project to bring yoga and meditation to students each week.

Many Christians, especially evangelicals, worry that public school use of mindfulness practices that originate in Buddhism (or, in the case of yoga, Hinduism) remains inherently religious and may lead children to abandon their Christian faith. They say it’s hypocritical for public schools to offer such practices while maintaining a ban on school prayer and Bible readings.

But in many places, meditation advocates have reframed practices as secular to avoid any legal challenges. At the Rio Grande Mindfulness Institute, many Buddhist symbols have been dropped. There’s no bowing, no candles, no meeting of hands in a prayer position, no zafu (meditation cushions) required.

“Being in a public school, we have to be very careful. We have to keep it secular,” said Gina Rasinski, director of fine arts for the Albuquerque Public Schools. Raskinski has offered her 140 elementary art and music teachers professional development in mindfulness at Rio Grande.

She said she has encountered no opposition.

At a recent lunch-hour guided meditation for caregivers at Rio Grande, teacher Valerie Forstman touted mindfulness as a “self-care survival kit.” She then cited the Mayo Clinic, which recommends meditation as a way to “clear the information overload that builds up and contributes to stress.”

Before beginning the meditation, she elaborated on the emotional benefits of meditation for enhancing self-awareness, focusing on the present, reducing negative emotions and boosting creativity. She told participants to take what was useful and drop the rest.

“Find a comfortable position,” she then began. “Welcome yourself into a position of balance. Take deep breaths. Exhale any tension. Let go of static from the day. Trust yourself to this gathered silence.”

Extolling the scientifically proven benefits of mindfulness has become commonplace among the secular versions of meditation. It goes back to Jon Kabat-Zinn, who in 1979 founded the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and is credited with stripping mindfulness of its Buddhist roots and giving it a scientific sheen.

More recently, some studies show the science on meditation is not always that strong. Meta analysis of studies suggests mindfulness-based practices may be no more effective than other therapies (such as aerobic exercise or even napping) and in some cases could cause harm.

Candy Gunther Brown, a professor of religious studies at Indiana University, said mindfulness programs could benefit from an opt-in model of informed consent that gives participants an opportunity to evaluate competing scientific claims, as well as to ask questions about what has been changed to make a program secular rather than religious.

As she points out in her book, “Debating Yoga and Mindfulness in Public Schools: Reforming Secular Education or Reestablishing Religion?,” people presume meditation or yoga is either religious or secular, but it could have elements of both.

Teachers at Rio Grande are convinced their method works.

“We don’t have an agenda to convert,” said Henry Shukman, co-director of the institute. “What we do is a practice. We’ve got a great practice that’s very good for stress management and are happy to offer it where it’s urgently needed.”

Teachers and administrators at Atalaya Elementary School say it’s been a balm. Last year, at the height of the pandemic, one teacher started a 15-minute guided meditation for her colleagues on Zoom before the start of the school day.

“It’s been neat to watch people evolve with it,” said Diaz, the principal, who is a churchgoing Christian. “Eighty percent of the staff have grown into seeing and appreciating it, and 100% see how good it is for the kids. The idea of sitting, being peaceful and present and watching your breathing, it’s really powerful.”

This article originally appeared here.

Worship Etymology – And Why It’s Important

John White

April 29, 2021

As worshippers, we want to know all we can about worship; not only how to worship but what worship is all about. That’s why worship etymology is so important.

The problem is that beside a few scriptures indicating some of the physical reactions to a worshipper’s motivation like singing, dancing, raising your hands, jumping for joy and clapping your hands, the Bible does not give an explicit list of what worship is or how a non-worshipper can become worshipper. This is probably intentional. If God gave 7 steps to worship, you could bet that worshippers would do nothing more or less – worship would become mechanical obedience. So God said little more than, “Worship me and none other.” Most of us are not burdened with understanding the command to worship God but we do suffer an ignorance of how to worship God in ways that adequately expresses our love, thanksgiving and adoration. We know that the most important thing is not proper theology (although it is important), a good voice, or the right kind of songs; a heart filled with love for God is the key that unlocks worship in all its forms. Fortunately, the Bible is complete with many expressions of worship that can serve as a guide to unlocking our own creativity.

Below you will find a Greek and Hebrew worship etymology. If this is the first time you’ve studied worship etymology, you will be surprised at the number of words and the breath of their description of worship. If you have studied the words before, we recommend that you read through the list again and these words of worship fan to flames the creative gift of passion and commitment in you. These words, coupled with your heart’s devotion to God and worshiping Him, will expose unplowed depths of expression.

We are convinced that worship etymology will not only lay a Biblical foundation of worship, but it will release a new power for a deeper and more intimate worship. We encourage you to read interactively. By that we mean read the words and reflect on how you might worship in the way the words describe. Imagine yourself worshipping and dancing with David, consecrating the temple with Saul, being with Isaiah and John when they saw themselves with the throng of heaven hearing the angles cry “Holy, Holy, Holy…” Imagine yourself seeing the elders laying down their crowns saying, “Worthy is the Lamb…” Imagine that you just crossed the red sea and you’re with Israel when they sing “The horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.” What would it be like to hear Mary extol the Lord ending with “From generation to generation God’s favor is on those whom He loves.” Imagine the walls of Jericho falling with the shout of praise. In other words, the Bible is not written to entertain us or to simply gain spiritual knowledge. No, each word tells a story, a story about worshipers and how they communicated worship to the God they loved. And the “how” is more revealing to worship than the “what”. Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord!

States—Two in Particular—Are Tightening Their Abortion Restrictions

Jesse T. Jackson

April 29, 2021

Two states have tightened their abortion restrictions this week. Arizona and Oklahoma both passed laws making it illegal to perform an abortion if certain conditions are present.

State Abortion Restrictions: Arizona

Republican governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, who did not back presidential election fraud claims, signed what some are calling a “contentious” bill. The bill makes it illegal for an abortion to be performed based on a genetic disorder detected in the fetus. Down Syndrome and cystic fibrosis are two of the conditions that would make it a crime for a doctor to proceed with an abortion unless the condition is diagnosed as lethal.

A medical professional would be charged with a felony and could face jail time if convicted of performing an abortion solely based a genetic condition.

Senate Bill 1457 also makes it illegal to preform an abortion based on “the sex or race of the child or the race of the parent of that child.”

“Every life holds immeasurable value — regardless of genetic makeup,” Gov. Ducey posted on his Twitter page. “Today I signed legislation to prioritize life in our preborn children and protect those with genetic abnormalities. Arizona remains among the top pro-life states in the nation, and my sincere thanks goes to Senator Nancy Barto for her leadership and work on this life-saving issue and to those who supported this bill.”

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona intend to challenge the new law, which will take effect 90 days after the legislature adjourns for the year.

You can read the entire bill here.

State Abortion Restrictions: Oklahoma

Republican governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, posted on Twitter saying he was “keeping my promise” as he documented the signing of three bills Monday that impose heavy restrictions on abortions performed within the state.

House Bill 2441 states that it is illegal to perform or induce an abortion if the unborn child has a heartbeat, unless the mother’s condition medically warrants the pregnancy to be terminated. This provision does not include psychological or emotional conditions the mother might exhibit or be feared to exhibit after the birth.

A medical professional who violates this law will be found guilty of homicide according to the bill, which goes into effect Nov. 1, 2021.

The second bill [HB 1102] Gov. Stitt signed can take a doctors medical license away for a year if they perform an abortion outside of saving the mother from death or “to prevent substantial or irreversible physical impairment of the mother that substantially increases the risk of death.”

House Bill 1904 limits who can perform an abortion within the state lines of Oklahoma. Only a board-certified OB/GYN physician licensed in the state of Oklahoma will legally be permitted to administer an abortion. Anyone breaking this law would be guilty of a felony and could face up to three years in prison.

A spokesperson from Planned Parenthood Great Plains said, “The legislation that passed today is designed to punish abortion providers, shame women and block access to safe, legal abortion.”

Read the entirety of the bills here: HB 2441, HB 1102, HB 1904.

Abortion Killed Nearly 43 Million Worldwide in 2020

An estimated 42.7 million abortions were performed throughout the world in 2020. In a year the pandemic took center stage for death tolls, it is estimated that over 3,000 abortions took place per day in the United States alone.

To put that in perspective, Johns Hopkins University numbered the worldwide COVID-19 deaths in 2020 at 1.8 million.

Another Hillsong Leader Has Stepped Down Due to Infidelity

Jesse T. Jackson

April 29, 2021

Hillsong Church has lost another leader. Darnell Barrett, creative director of the Hillsong New Jersey Montclair campus, announced his resignation on Tuesday due to being unfaithful to his wife.

After being approached by DailyMail.com outside of his New Jersey home, Barrett said the reason for his resignation was “infidelity” and that he and his wife are in the process of working on “healing and repairing [our] marriage.”

Hillsong New Jersey Leader Resigns

Barrett said, “We thought it was best for me to move on. I don’t want to get into the details.” His announcement comes after sharing an inappropriate photo on Instagram with a 30-year-old former Hillsong female volunteer, which he claims was an accident.

The former creative director, who is married with two children, said he had no intention of meeting up with the former volunteer. The “gym photo,” as Barrett calls it, which highlighted his washboard abs and private parts [he had workout tights on], was sent to a private group on Instagram to encourage others to join a gym challenge.

The Hillsong New Jersey leader told the DailyMail.com that he wasn’t “trying to lure” the former volunteer, but he understands how she could take it that way, saying, “I get that she, within the context of what’s happening with Hillsong, that she would draw those conclusions, but I barely know her. That was not my intention.”

The former volunteer told DailyMail.com that it was no accident. She said Barrett contacted her earlier this year saying he was going to be near where she now lives and inquired about areas that were “off the grid” but still had a liquor store close. The unnamed female said she blocked his account after receiving the lewd photo, but grew angry and unblocked him to vent her frustration over the photo.

“I’m not the only person you’ve probably done this to,” she angrily messaged him and said, “I’m actually horrified by the thought of how many other innocent girls you’ve manipulated with this ploy of yours.”

Prior to Barrett joining Hillsong in January 2019, he made national headlines when he reconciled with his biological father in December of 2018. Because of their parents’ drug addictions, Darnell and his brother Daniel where adopted as infants. Appearing on the Steve Harvey’s talk show Barrett told Harvey that since his biological parents chose drugs over him, “I still struggle with this idea of being enough for someone to stay in my life. So it’s something I’m working on and I’m in therapy for and lots of prayer.”

Other Recent Hillsong Resignations

This past January, Reed Bogard and his wife Jess resigned as pastors of Hillsong Dallas after an investigation led to their pastoral duties being suspended due to allegations of inappropriate use of church funds. The result of their resignation led to the closing of the Dallas campus earlier this month after Hillsong’s global senior pastor Brian Houston decided to “pause all operations” for the time being.

In November 2020 Hillsong fired popular Hillsong East Coast Pastor Carl Lentz for what Houston called “moral failures.” Lentz was close friends with celebrities like Justin Bieber, Kevin Durant, and Tyson Chandler. The pastor was exposed for living a double life when his then girlfriend broke her silence, not even knowing he was a pastor. Lentz is still currently married to his wife Laura (17 years), and they have three children together.

Leadership Matters

Yet another headline about a church leader’s moral failure raises questions about what good Biblical leadership really means. Biblical leaders are not perfect leaders, but they are leaders that aim to live a life that reflects Jesus Christ. Leaders, as you disciple others so that they can then disciple others (as we are commanded to do in the Great Commission), please make sure you are investing in the only thing that matters: Jesus.

Alvin Love III on Pastoring a Half Black, Half White Church in 2020

Jessica Lea

April 29, 2021

“It was definitely a testing year,” says Pastor Alvin Love III.

As of January 2021, Love is the lead pastor of Nashville Life Church (NLC) in Nashville, Tenn. The church was co-founded by his parents, Alvin Love II and gospel legend CeCe Winans. Prior to assuming the role of lead pastor, Love served as executive pastor at the church.

Many pastors and churches had a difficult time in 2020, a year notable for its political, social, and racial unrest. Complicating the challenges that Love faced is the fact that the racial makeup of his congregation is about half Black and half white. This is something NLC is proud of, said Love, but the events of the past year “really challenged the unity of our church.” In a February interview with ChurchLeaders, the pastor explained, “This is the first time that one of our greatest assets ended up becoming one of our greatest challenges.”

As his church has been healing from the wounds of the past year, Love said he is seeing God do a lot of work among the members. But it has been hard. “I think when anything is shaky, it ends up being an opportunity to test where your foundation is,” he said. “I think our church really got a rude awakening of how planted we really were.”

Alvin Love III on NLC’s ‘Testing Year’

Multiple high-profile deaths of Black people at the hands of police officers have drawn national and international attention to the U.S. and led to rioting throughout the summer of 2020 and beyond. Many of the Black members in Pastor Alvin Love III’s church were shaken by these events, particularly if they had had bad past experiences with the police and with white people.

“Not everybody really knew how to deal with that while still calling people who look different than you your ‘brother’ and ‘sister,’” said Love. On the other hand, he said, “A lot of white people were feeling guilty, which made me upset.” Empathy is good, he explained, but self-condemnation is not, and Love was defensive of white church members who felt this way.

On the other hand, some of NLC’s white members would make comments that were unhelpful and uninformed in an attempt to defend themselves. Love found himself mediating between these various groups and faced pressure from each as far as what to address from the pulpit.

Race, however, was far from the only topic over which people were divided last year. There was the extensive political tension, for example, as well as the disagreements among people about whether or not to wear masks and follow other COVID-19 restrictions. “All of this has been happening right when I’m trying to make sure that I’m ready to take on the pastorship,” said Love.

Added to these challenges, of course, was the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the church from meeting in person. NLC members did not meet from mid-March of 2020 until the last Sunday in June of that year. Love believes the isolation made people vulnerable to doubt and negative thinking. “That was really tough,” he said. “I think we’re still recovering from that.”

Alvin Love III: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

So how did Love navigate these challenges as a pastor? It was important, he said, that he followed what God was calling him to do, not what various groups wanted from him. His preaching needed to be gospel-driven, not socially-driven. The result was that most of his pastoral decisions have simply focused on reminding his church members of what they already know to be true.

Love spent some time on Jesus’ parable in Matthew 7 about the house built on sand and the house built on rock, challenging his church members about where their feet were planted. It’s not news to most Christians that life will bring trials and storms, said Love, but it’s one thing to know this in theory and another to actually walk through a storm. “I wasn’t really saying anything new in 2020 as much as reminding everybody, ‘This is it. We are in that time when we have to stand on the rock.’”

John Piper: What Judas, Demas, and Hymenaeus Show Us About Ravi Zacharias

Stephanie Martin

April 29, 2021

Christians and church leaders continue to wrestle with the aftermath of the sex scandal that has rocked the legacy of Ravi Zacharias. Some, including those who came to faith through his teachings, say it’s wrong to “cancel” the late apologist. Others compare the Ravi Zacharias scandal to biblical figures such as King David, who was a great faith leader despite his salacious sins.

In a new “Ask Pastor John” episode on DesiringGod.com, teacher and author John Piper addresses the situation by providing biblical background and then sharing personal observations. Piper says he’s been “slow to speak” on the topic, despite receiving many emails about it, because he wanted to “know everything I should know” and “cannot imagine the sorrow” of Zacharias’s loved ones. However, he says people are right to ask, “You knew him, so how are you responding in your heart and mind?”

The Ravi Zacharias Scandal and 3 NT Ministers

For scriptural context, Piper discusses three “gospel ministers” in the New Testament “who, for a season, spoke the truth in useful ways and then made [a] shipwreck of their lives—indeed their faith.”

Judas, whom Jesus calls a “son of perdition” (John 17:12, KJV), was a thief and a “master of deceit,” says Piper. Yet until he betrayed Jesus, Judas was “preaching the truth” with his fellow apostles, who didn’t suspect anything was amiss.
Demas, whom Paul had referred to as a faithful partner, eventually fell in love with the world (2 Timothy 4:10) and deserted Paul. If Paul had questioned Demas’s work at any point, Piper notes, he would have sent him home. Only after the revelation of “Demas’s true colors”—his love of “what this age was offering him through religious work”—did he abandon the mission field.
Hymenaeus, Paul says, failed to cling to faith in a “good conscience,” leading to a spiritual “shipwreck” (1 Timothy 1:18-20). Piper says, “A double life, lived contrary to the Christian conscience, is a shipwreck about to happen.”

Lessons from these fallen ministers, according to Piper, include: “Soul-saving, Christ-exalting truth may be spoken by hypocrites. Forsaking a good conscience is prelude to moral disaster. [And] the amassing of money and the pursuit of lavish lifestyles in ministry are the alarm bells of the love of this age.”

John Piper Points to Pretense and Manipulation

Bringing the discussion back to the Ravi Zacharias scandal, Piper makes some observations about the apologist. “Ravi’s way of publicly narrating his past personal experiences really troubled me,” he says. Recalling encounters with what were presumed to be exact quotations “sounded careless to me at best, and dishonest at worse,” says Piper. “Looking back, I can’t help but wonder if it was a symptom of looseness with truth about his experience.”

More importantly, Piper says, is the “lesson to be learned from Ravi’s manipulation of people,” namely the need for sympathy to be “tethered to the truth.” Zacharias, he says, was able to “manipulate people into sinfully providing him with sexual stimulation” by portraying himself “as an embattled, burdened, wounded warrior in the righteous cause of the gospel.”

Piper says he’s seen that type of “demand and manipulation for untethered sympathy repeatedly among fallen Christian leaders” and that people’s response should be “My sympathy is not for sale; it’s tethered to truth and righteousness.”

To people “who came to Christ under Ravi’s ministry, or who had their faith mightily strengthened by what he taught,” Piper says, “don’t let the imperfections and failures of men turn you away from the perfections and the triumphs of Christ, who will never, never fail you.”

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

Margie Zacharias: There Is ‘Not One Whit of Evidence’ to Support Claims About Ravi

As Zacharias Institute Leaders Apologize, Ravi’s Son Still Pushing Back

‘Some Say I Am Filthy Now Because of My Name’—Naomi Zacharias

It Appears That Evangelicals Are Losing Their Climate Skepticism

Mark Silk

April 29, 2021

climate skepticism — Photo by Markus Spiske/Unsplash/Creative Commons

(RNS) — Let’s start with the numbers.

In 2014, Pew reported that just 28% of white evangelicals attributed global warming to human activity. Last October, by contrast, 44% of them said climate change was due “mostly to human activities,” according to a Climate Nexus poll.

Notwithstanding the difference in how the question was asked, white evangelicals have clearly become more willing to acknowledge anthropogenic climate change over the past decade. Indeed, while they remain less concerned about the issue than other major American religious communities, Climate Nexus found them to be closer to mainstream opinion than they used to be.

Thus, 63% of them (versus 74% of all adults) think climate change is happening. Fifty-six percent (versus 75%) said it’s best described as a crisis or a major problem. Sixty-seven percent (versus 71%) said they “strongly” or “somewhat” support government action to address climate change. And 56% (versus 70%) said they thought passing a comprehensive bill to address climate change should be a “top” or “important” priority for Congress and the president in 2021.

Those numbers are little short of astonishing, given the successful effort of evangelical leaders (backed by the fossil fuel industry) to turn climate change into a religious issue comparable to abortion and LGBT rights in the Great American Culture War.

That effort began in the 1990s as a means of combating a growing pro-environment movement within evangelicalism. The key figure then was theologian E. Calvin Beisner (who’s still at it as head of the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation ). With key allies such as Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, Beisner mobilized the religious right to prevent significant climate change legislation from being passed during the Obama years.

In her fine study, “The Gospel of Climate Skepticism,” Texas A&M’s Robin Globus Veldman demonstrates how, by the early 2010s, rank-and-file evangelicals had absorbed the message that skepticism is the correct biblical position on climate. Climate change as an existential threat to life on earth? That “leaves God out of the equation.”

And yet, a majority of them now think government action should be a priority. What happened?

Even amid four years of Trump administration climate denialism, the persuasive evidence has likely come from Mother Nature herself: catastrophic weather events, rising sea levels, earlier growing seasons, hotter and hotter temperatures.

These days, out-and-out denialism has all but disappeared, even among the likes of Beisner.

“I’m even happy to say, yeah, probably our addition of CO2 and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere makes the world a little warmer than it otherwise would be,” he told Family Research Council President Tony Perkins a couple of months ago. “But I am totally convinced that the emphasis is on ‘little.'”

UPDATE: Hate Crime Charged to Three Men Involved in the Death of Ahmaud Arbery

Jessica Lea

April 29, 2021

UPDATED April 29, 2021: On Wednesday, a Georgia federal grand jury charged three men with hate crimes in the Georgia shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man jogging in a neighborhood near Brunswick, Georgia, on February 23, 2020. The men chased Arbery down in a truck, attempted to unlawfully detain him, then fatally shot him.

Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael, who have said they suspected Arbery was the cause of recent burglaries in their neighborhood, grabbed their guns and chased him down in their truck. William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. also jumped in his truck to assist the McMichaels and allegedly hit Arbery with his truck. He then filmed the violent encounter that led to Arbery being shot at close range with a shotgun.

Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told CNN, “It’s one step closer to justice. They did the investigation properly and they came out with those indictments. So, my family and I were pleased.”

A video of the incident filled internet screens and news outlets for 10 weeks after the the attack took place. It was only after the video went viral that the assailants were charged.

All three men pleaded not guilty to the charges. They also face charges of murder, malice, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit a felony. Their next court appearance will be May, and they will remain in jail in the interim.

ChurchLeaders original article written on May 7, 2020 below.

Editor’s Note: Since the publication of this article, Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, have been arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault.

A graphic video has emerged this week of a Georgia shooting. Two white men, Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, cornered a black man named Ahmaud Arbery and shot him at point-blank range. The incident has provoked widespread outrage and grief from many, including Christian leaders, particularly from those in the African American community.

“To be black man in America is, still, to live without liberties,” tweeted Pastor John Onwuchekwa. In a separate tweet, he added, “And in the off chance that we ever forget, or begin to daydream that we’re somehow in less danger, we’re always reminded. Never gently, but forcefully. There’s no way to gently remind someone of horror. Lord, remind us of your goodness!! Please!”

As long as blackness is stigmatized:
– EVERY ONE us “fits the description”
– NOT ONE of us are truly safe.

To be black man in America is,still, to live without liberties.

No peaceful jogs.
No leisurely strolls.
No mindless movement.
Every step on high alert.#AhmaudArbery

— John Onwuchekwa (@JawnO) May 6, 2020

“His name is #AhmadArbery,” said Priscilla Shirer. “Say his name—out loud…We can’t ignore this. It’s wrong & devastating.”

His name is #AhmadArbery.

Say his name – out loud.

To our children.
To our grandchildren.
To our neighbors.
In our churches.
To your social media followers.

And out of respect for his mourning mother. 😢

We can’t ignore this. It’s wrong & devastating.

— Priscilla Shirer (@PriscillaShirer) May 6, 2020

Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile observed, “Grief this Mother’s Day is likely to be heightened for many. There are those who have lost mothers or children with COVID-19. And there are those suffering violent losses, like the mother of #AhmaudArbery.”

Grief this Mother’s Day is likely to be heightened for many. There are those who have lost mothers or children with COVID-19. And there are those suffering violent losses, like the mother of #AhmaudArbery. There are all of us watching it all unfold… often alone… confined.

— Thabiti Anyabwile (@ThabitiAnyabwil) May 6, 2020

Other Christian leaders of color weighed in on the Georgia shooting, including hip hop artist Propaganda and speaker and author Jackie Hill Perry.

You know how many “descriptions”
I’ve fit for crimes? And by fit the description I mean being a black man. #AhmaudArbery

— Prop (@prophiphop) May 6, 2020

Or in other words, murdered for being black and human… https://t.co/c5o0LNEtAG

— Jackie Hill Perry (@JackieHillPerry) May 7, 2020

What Happened in the Georgia Shooting of Ahmaud Arbery?

The Georgia shooting of Ahmaud Arbery occurred on February 23, although it is just now making widespread news because of the video. According to a police report, Arbery was going for a run in a suburban neighborhood near Brunswick, Georgia, when he was seen by former police officer and investigator, Gregory McMichael. McMichael thought Arbery looked like someone who had committed several burglaries in the area, so he called 911. He then called his son, Travis, and the two men armed themselves and followed Arbery down the road.

The video (supposedly filmed by a third person known to the McMichaels) shows Arbery jogging up behind a parked truck where the father and son were waiting [Note: The video contains content some may find disturbing]. One man was standing in the bed of the truck, and the other was standing outside of it. The video shows Arbery running around the right side of the truck and then appearing on the opposite side engaged in an altercation with the latter man. A gunshot rings out as the two struggle and then we hear two more shots before Arbery falls to the ground.

So far, neither Gregory McMichael nor his son have been arrested. Before he recused himself from the case, a district attorney assigned to it had argued there was insufficient evidence to make an arrest. The case has since been assigned to a new prosecutor, who has asked for assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and also wants it to go to a grand jury. Grand juries in Georgia are currently unable to meet through June 12, however, because of the coronavirus.

Don’t Avert Your Eyes

Christian leaders outside the African American community have also decried the incident. Prestonwood Pastor Jack Graham said, “The ongoing and outrageous violence in America against young African Americans must be stopped. My heart is broken for the family and friends of Ahmaud Arbery.”

Youth Leader Training That Meets Real Needs

Chris Folmsbee

April 29, 2021

Lately I’ve been intensely involved with youth leader training—both developing it and delivering it, throughout North America and other parts of the world. Recently, I’ve noticed a shift in how many people think about youth leader training. Many youth workers are recognizing the immediate need for training that is contextualized. The specific uniqueness of their individual culture and subculture has compelled these leaders to situate their training (in all forms—inspirational, informational, formational, and so on) directly amid the needs of their co-laborers.

While I wish organizations such as YouthFront were called on more often to develop and deliver training (that’s how we pay our bills, after all), I love that contextualized youth leader training is finding its way into the core of what church workers prioritize.

As you develop youth leader training for your particular context, I recommend following these 5 tips:

1. Know the need.

What is the need you’re trying to address? Specifically, what is the area of help you are attempting to provide? Is it theological, philosophical or both? Is it a practical matter such as building relationships, facilitating small groups or teaching Sunday school? Whatever the contextual need is that you’re attempting to address, it must be explicit in the training in order to be effective.

2. Know your objectives.

Addressing a specific need or set of needs is one thing; developing a set of objectives for both the presenter/facilitator and the learner are critical. Effective learning objectives allow training participants to have a clear understanding of what they can specifically do after the training gathering to implement or apply the concepts and ideas in the training. Clear objectives also allow for effective evaluation and revision of the material.

3. Know the type of training you’re offering.

For example, is the training a workshop or a seminar? There’s a dramatic difference between these two types of training. Seminars are specialized classes in which information is presented and seldom acted upon. Workshops, on the other hand, are typically more collaborative in nature and tend to be more creative in their delivery. Training workshops, as opposed to training seminars, most often offer actual examples or role-playing that helps apply the ideas and concepts within the training experience itself.

4. Know what the training’s ultimate purpose is.

In my opinion, the most effective training keeps the learner in mind. The most helpful youth leader training is not designed to prop up the abilities of the presenter. Instead, helpful training is intentional about finding ways to engage the learner at their own level of interest, desire and ability. Is the material you are training designed for inspiration, information, formation or all three? Determining the delivery purpose is essential to the laser focus that the training ought to provide for its learners.

5. Know the importance of evaluation and live by it.

For many trainers, the tendency after finishing a seminar or workshop is to simply be done with it. However, to develop the most effective youth leader training for your context, you must appreciate and engage intentional evaluation. Develop a structure for evaluation that allows the training participants to provide honest feedback and constructive input. Allowing the trainees to help craft high-quality training will enrich the learning of the entire community.

What other tips do you have for youth leader training? Share them in the comments below.

Is Bloom Where You’re Planted Advice From the Bible or Grandma?

ChurchLeaders

April 28, 2021

Some phrases are so familiar—and so often repeated in church circles—they are sometime mistaken for Scripture. That’s a good thing if the phrase underscores biblical teaching, but a bad thing if it is taken to hold the same authority as Scripture. That’s the case with bloom where you’re planted.

Bloom where you’re planted has the folksy appeal of Grandma’s loving advice. Its origins go back to a common French saying from the 16^th century. But is it God’s advice?

The Two Sides of Bloom Where You’re Planted

Bloom Where You Are Planted – The Good Side

Although this homespun phrase appears nowhere in the Bible, it certainly has godly overtones. After all, at the opening of Genesis, God himself planted a garden and blessed both the garden and those who tended it. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. “ (Genesis 2:15) We are garden people, connected to God’s good creation and charged with a holy stewardship of the earth. It’s not just a metaphor. Men and women are created in God’s image. Eden is the environment God planned for us. Now, millennia later, when we are in the place God has chosen for us, doing the work God has given us, it’s the best thing for us. We will bloom!

When we trace the garden theme throughout Scripture, we will discover time and again that the Creator has a place in mind for each of us. Finding and fulfilling that place causes the goodness of God to flower-forth. For example, check out these examples:

In Isaiah, God’s people are “the planting of the Lord.”
In Amos, God’s rescue results in God’s planting, “never to be uprooted.”
Jesus himself tells us that good seed, planted in the right place will bear fruit, “30, 60, or 100-fold.”

But it must be noted that these are metaphors, not commands, because when a perfectly biblical metaphor is misused, it casts an ungodly shadow.

Bloom Where You’re Planted – The Shadow Side

Sadly, throughout the centuries, in every age of the church, the godly image of bloom where you’re planted was also used to manipulate God’s people. America’s legacy of chattel slavery was justified by hired “preachers” who instructed Christian slaves to stay put in their condition. Paul’s letter to Philemon was often preached as proof that slaves should not seek their freedom—and that their lives on the plantation were evidence of God’s “planting” them there!

The Apostle Paul’s beautiful and nuanced words regarding singleness and marriage (1 Corinthians 7) have been used in cult-like situations to urge people to abandon hopes of marriage and family in order to “serve the Lord,” all the while pressing devout-but-gullible believers into service of a charismatic leader.

Bloom Where You’re Planted – Sweet Words, But Not Bible Words

We are called to read and apply the Bible with all the wisdom and imagination that the Spirit gives. But our starting point must always be to understand the Scripture as it presents itself. Properly understood, the Bible is filled words of life. Let’s embrace folk-wisdom and appreciate its insight, but let’s never mistake it for the authority of Scripture.

Harvest Bible Chapel Announces New Lead Teaching Pastor–‘A Day We Have Been Praying For’

Jessica Lea

April 28, 2021

Harvest Bible Chapel (HBC) has announced that the church has selected a new lead teaching pastor: Dr. Jeff Bucknam. In their announcement, leaders with the Chicago-area congregation said, “God moved and answered our prayers in an amazing way.”

“I’m super excited to come [to Harvest] because of the challenge that it is, to be honest with you, and the potential and how amazing it has been in the past,” said Dr. Jeff Bucknam in an April 25 announcement to the church. “And my desire to train leaders and to see churches planted and that kind of thing is exactly what Harvest has been about for so many years.”

Dr. Jeff Bucknam and Wife, Jeanne, Are ‘Thrilled’

“Harvest family, today is the day that we have been praying and fasting for,” said elder board chairman Brian Laird, speaking to the church body prior to the Bucknams introducing themselves in a pre-recorded video. The elders had called church members to prayer and fasting on April 14, said Laird, and that Sunday was the day they had been anticipating.

Bucknam, who was unanimously chosen by the selection committee and lay elders of HBC, said he and his wife were “thrilled” to be called to Harvest. “God really has moved in our lives to bring us to this point,” he said, although it’s been “kind of hard.”

Jeanne Bucknam explained that their three children are ages 20, 17, and 11, and the season of life the couple is in poses challenges to making a major life change. Nevertheless, she said that God was “moving in our hearts, warming our hearts to the idea”—so much so, said Bucknam, that if Harvest had ended up turning them down, “We would have been heartbroken.”

The pastor said he and his family were currently living in Canada, just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia, where they have been for the past 15 years. Prior to that, the Bucknams lived in New Zealand for seven years, and before that, the United States.

Harvest’s Difficult Season

Harvest Bible Chapel has had a tumultuous past few years. The church recently settled arbitration with former senior pastor James MacDonald, who was fired in February 2019 for “engaging in conduct that the Elders believe is contrary and harmful to the best interests of the church.” Prior to terminating MacDonald, HBC had defended him and even took legal action against his critics. The events surrounding MacDonald’s termination, both before and after, have been messy and extensive.

After finally concluding litigation with MacDonald last fall, the elders of HBC said in a statement that their “focus and full attention are on the [church’s] future.” That indeed seems to be the case as they move forward with hiring Dr. Jeff Bucknam, who will be preaching at HBC twice in May before coming on staff July 12.

“We just want to serve the Lord with you,” Bucknam told the church, “and we want to do the very best we can to serve you and to love you, and the pillars that the church are built upon are things that we share very much and have been committing our lives and our ministry to for all these years.”

For 70 Years the National Day of Prayer Was Held at the U.S. Capitol Building. Not This Year

Jesse T. Jackson

April 28, 2021

Christian Defense Coalition director Rev. Patrick Mahoney has been denied a permit to hold a prayer service at the U.S. Capitol during the National Day of Prayer on Thursday May 6, 2021. The U.S. Capitol building has been closed to the public since the day protestors breached the doors of the building back in January 2021, an incident that left five people dead and over 140 injured.

Rev. Patrick Mahoney: ‘Deeply Troubling’

Rev. Patrick Mahoney said, “For 70 years, there has been a public witness on the National Day of Prayer at the U.S. Capitol Building. Until today! Our request to have prayer service was denied.” He asked for people to pray for God’s wisdom moving forward.

Charisma News posted a statement given by Rev. Mahoney regarding the current denial for observing the National Day of Prayer 2021 on the U.S. Capitol grounds:

It is deeply troubling for the first time in 70 years, there will not be a public prayer service at the United States Capitol Building on the National Day of Prayer. Every American needs to be asking the question, “How is it possible to have public prayer prohibited at the Capitol on the National Day of Prayer?”—especially when it is a national observance designated by Congress. The “People’s House,” as the U.S. Capitol Building is so rightly called, must be a place where all Americans are afforded the right to come and peacefully celebrate and express their First Amendment rights. Tragically, those rights and freedoms are being denied and prohibited. I will continue to work to ensure the “People’s House” is returned to the people and the First Amendment is once again celebrated and honored at the United States Capitol.

This isn’t the first time this year Mahoney has been denied prayer on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. On March 27, 2021, Rev. Mahoney posted on his Facebook page letting his followers know that for the first time in 30 years they had been denied the right to pray at the U.S. Capitol. Mahoney setup a GoFundMe account for those willing to give financially so he could fight them in court.

After filing the lawsuit, Rev. Mahoney told Fox News that he believes “free speech is in danger all across America.” Discussing the suit during a Fox & Friends broadcast, he told co-host Ainsley Earnhardt, “There’s a misconception out there that many people think the Capitol is closed, and it’s not.” Rev. Mahoney cited the fact that members are voting, and other workers are allowed inside the U.S. Capitol building; therefore the only thing closed on the grounds are “peaceful First Amendment activities.”

“A Washington, D.C. federal court DENIED our right to have a Good Friday Service on the lower western terrace of the U.S. Capitol Building,” Rev. Mahoney posted after the lawsuit was heard. The reverend however let his followers know they would continue to “press on to open the ‘People’s House!'”

Rev. Patrick Mahoney is also known for his campaigning for the life of terminally ill baby Charlie Gard of the U.K. in 2017. ChurchLeaders.com reached out to Rev. Patrick Mahoney, but has not received a response as of the posting of this article.

Sean McDowell: How to Make Sense of All the Christians Deconstructing

Stephanie Martin

April 28, 2021

“Deconstructing,” a term often used to mean “leaving Christianity,” has become a hot topic in the wake of renunciations by people such as Paul Maxwell, Josh Harris, Marty Sampson, Jon Steingard and Abraham Piper. In an interview with Faithwire this week, apologist and author Sean McDowell, a professor at Biola University, offers insight and advice for Christians who feel shaken by those headlines—and who want to know how to react to the apparent rash of prominent Christians leaving the fold.

Sean McDowell: We’re in a ‘Cultural Moment’

People rejecting Jesus isn’t new, says Sean McDowell, but lately that phenomenon is being framed differently—as a “cultural moment” of declining religious identification. Not only does social media now provide a platform for people to share and access deconstruction stories, but American culture promotes self-expression and being true to oneself.

Media coverage also plays a role, McDowell says, noting that it’s “more salacious” for the press to cover John Piper’s son who criticizes and debunks Christianity than his son who follows God and conducts ministry. Likewise, McDowell adds, it’s more of a journalistic scoop when a prominent leader’s offspring breaks away from the faith (such as Tony Campolo’s son Bart) than when a prominent leader’s offspring follows in his or her steps (such as Josh McDowell’s son Sean).

America’s heated political climate might be another factor, McDowell says, because Millennials and Generation Z tend to be turned off by the conflation that you must be a registered Republican to be a follower of Jesus. “That doesn’t mean we’re not supposed to engage politics with our faith,” however, he adds.

Sean McDowell: Questions & Doubts Are Okay

It’s normal to feel “emotionally rocked” when people leave Christianity, McDowell says, but that also should motivate us to work on our own faith—which can’t be rooted in emotions. We need to ask ourselves why we believe, if that faith is our own or merely our family’s, who we think God and Jesus are, whether we consider the Bible to be true, and so on.

The next step, he says, is to apply that faith to our daily life and live it out in this fallen world. We’ll be “less tempted to jettison our faith because we have a good biblical theology,” he notes, “namely the sinfulness of human nature and our capacity for deception.”

McDowell, whose books include A New Kind of Apologist, reminds Christians that doubting is okay and is not the opposite of belief. Instead, as Jude 1:22 says, we should show mercy to people who doubt.

Questions are acceptable too, adds McDowell, and they offer opportunities to be curious and to dive deeper into our faith. “If there’s any religion that’s okay with questions,” he tells Faithwire, “it should be Christianity, because it’s actually true, and we have a powerful history of brilliant thinkers…offering thoughtful answers.”

How Christians Can Respond

Regarding how to proceed when loved ones deconstruct, McDowell advises Christians to “keep the main thing the main thing” and to focus on issues that are essential for salvation. For example, “You can be a Christian and not believe in [biblical] inerrancy,” he says. “You can know Jesus rose from the dead historically through a book that has some errors.”

“For me, the heart of the issue is who is Jesus,” says McDowell. And when that serves as your foundation, doubts and non-essentials won’t cause your faith to collapse. By contrast, people who have grown up hearing that the KJV Bible “dropped from heaven” without a single error are prone to having their “entire faith come crumbling down” when they encounter a sticking point.

Welcoming people’s doubts and letting them know you’ll “love them no matter what” is vital in today’s churches, McDowell says. “People don’t feel relationally safe, and that has devastating consequences.” Many people who leave Christianity suffer “emotional wounds” because of how they’ve been treated in church, he notes, so “relational healing” is often necessary before they’re ready to engage in faith-related conversations.

CDC Director: Masked, Fully Vaccinated People Can Safely Attend Worship Indoors

Jack Jenkins

April 28, 2021

WASHINGTON (RNS) — The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention loosened the agency’s social distancing recommendations on Tuesday (April 27), announcing that fully vaccinated people who wear masks can safely attend many indoor events such as worship services.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky made the announcement during a White House press briefing, where she outlined a number of indoor activities people who wear masks and have received vaccines against COVID-19 can participate in safely — including worship.

“As we gather more and more data on the real-world efficacy of vaccines, we know that masked, fully vaccinated people can safely attend worship services inside,” she said.

Walensky also said that masked, fully vaccinated people can safely go to an indoor restaurant or bar, and “even participate in an indoor exercise class.”

The CDC continues to recommend that fully vaccinated people use masks for indoor activities such as singing in an indoor chorus, going to a movie theater or eating indoors at a restaurant. As for outdoor activities, the CDC generally only recommends masks among fully vaccinated people if they plan on attending a crowded outdoor event such as a concert.

According to the CDC, people are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after they receive the second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines. They are also considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which only requires one dose.

“The examples shown today show that when you are vaccinated, you can return to many activities safely, and most of them outdoors and unmasked — and begin to get back to normal,” Walensky said.

Officials were quick to note they still recommend widespread mask use for people who are not fully vaccinated, and that many activities remain unsafe for those without the shots. A slide accompanying the announcement categorized many activities as “less” or “least” safe for people who are not fully inoculated against COVID-19. Attending a full-capacity indoor worship service or singing in a chorus, for instance, were among the actions designated as “least safe” for unvaccinated people.

Also, the CDC stressed that even vaccinated people should continue to take precautions such as generally wearing masks during indoor public settings, avoiding “large-sized” indoor gatherings and wearing “well-fitted masks when visiting indoors with unvaccinated people from multiple households.”

“Generally, for vaccinated people, outdoor activities without a mask are safe. However, we continue to recommend masking in crowded outdoor settings and venues, such as packed stadiums and concerts where there is decreased ability to maintain physical distance and where many unvaccinated people may also be present,” Walensky said. “We will continue to recommend this until widespread vaccination is achieved.”

It’s unclear how the recommendations will impact individual houses of worship, which are typically beholden to state laws as well as internal policies that can differ by denomination or regional group.

Evangelical Leader Jamie Aten Advocated for the COVID-19 Vaccine…and Got a Death Threat

Bob Smietana

April 28, 2021

(RNS) — Jamie Aten has spent years trying to help his fellow evangelicals deal with disasters.

In the past, when he wrote about hurricanes, floods and tornadoes — or even his personal battle with cancer — Aten’s work has been well received.

When Aten, executive director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College, began to urge his fellow evangelicals to get vaccinated, however, things got ugly.

“How’s your Monday going?” he tweeted on April 27. “Mine started with having to file a police report in response to the increasing number of threats I’m getting for encouraging white evangelicals to get vaccinated against COVID-19.”

How's your Monday going? Mine started with having to file a police report in response to the increasing number of threats I'm getting for encouraging white evangelicals to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

— Jamie Aten (@drjamieaten) April 26, 2021

Aten, who teaches at an evangelical college and identifies as an evangelical, told Religion News Service he’d filed a report with the sheriff’s office in DuPage County, Illinois, where he lives, after getting an email claiming his work on vaccines was “punishable by death.” The email was part of a pattern of emails and calls from people angry about Aten’s work helping Christian groups and churches respond to the COVID-19 vaccine. The threats intensified after he spoke to The New York Times about the need for evangelicals to be vaccinated.

One threat warned that encouraging white evangelicals to get vaccines would “eventually lead to the murdering of all mankind.”

“If I knew my stuff,” the email went on, “I would know not to encourage people to get vaccinated because that’s what’s going to take down humanity more,” Aten said.

White evangelicals are the religious group most hesitant to get COVID-19 vaccines, with just over half (54%) saying they are likely to get vaccinated, according to Pew Research. Faith leaders can play a key role in helping the United States reach “herd immunity,” a recent survey from the Public Religion Research Institute found. That’s especially true for white evangelicals, the survey found. And given the size of the evangelical population, getting them on board with vaccination is crucial.

“If we can’t get a significant number of white evangelicals to come around on this, the pandemic is going to last much longer than it needs to,” Aten told The New York Times.

Evangelical leaders who have been outspoken advocates of the vaccines haven’t always found a welcome audience. When well-known evangelical Franklin Graham, son of the late evangelist Billy Graham, posted on Facebook that Jesus would approve of the vaccine, a number of followers turned on him.

“I just lost all respect for you spreading such garbage as saying Jesus would have taken that vaccine, that is a devilish lie!” one wrote, as RNS reported.

Aten fears that, like masks before them, vaccines have become another symbol of the culture wars. Which he finds ironic, given that the vaccines were developed during President Donald Trump‘s administration.

“A year ago, masking was the new way to mark your tribalism — who you were, what you were for or against,” he said. “Now, the vaccine is becoming that for some people.”

This article originally appeared on ReligionNews.com.

UPDATE: Top Muslim Leader Arrested for ‘Aiding and Abetting’ Suicide Bombers in 2019 Easter Attack

Stephanie Martin

April 28, 2021

UPDATED April 28, 2021: Sri Lanka’s police arrested Rishad Bathiudeen, a top Muslim leader and All Ceylon Makkal Party leader, along with his brother, Riyaaj Bathiudeen, in connection with the country’s 2019 Easter attack killed 269 people. Suicide bombers targeted a Protestant church, two Roman Catholic churches, and three hotels.

A police spokesperson said the two brothers were arrested for allegedly “aiding and abetting the suicide bombers who committed the Easter Sunday carnage.”

Bathiudeen said the arrest of he and his brother is “unjust,” and his lawyer called it politically motivated.

Although most of those who were involved with the bombings have been arrested, Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has been vocal that the bombings couldn’t have been planned by one of the suicide bombers that died in the attacks. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith accuses the government of stalling investigations.

ChurchLeaders original article written on April 25, 2019 below.

A Sri Lankan man killed in one of the Easter Sunday suicide bombings is being credited with saving lives by following his instincts. Ramesh Raju, 40, denied a stranger entry into Batticaloa’s Zion Church, which was filled with about 450 people. The stranger Raju confronted turned out to be a suicide bomber. Shortly afterward, that “dangerous seeker” blew himself up outside the building, killing 28 people. If not for Raju’s perceptiveness and quick thinking, authorities say, the toll would have been much higher.

‘My husband sensed something was wrong’

After teaching Sunday school, Chrishanthini, Raju’s wife, accompanied a group of children—including her two—outside to enjoy snacks before Easter worship. As the family stood near the church entrance, a lone individual wearing everyday clothes and a large backpack approached them. “My husband sensed something was wrong,” Chrishanthini says. The stranger explained he was carrying a video camera and planned to film the worshipers. Raju told him he’d need permission first and “then forced him to leave,” Chrishanthini recounts. She went into the church with the couple’s children, but before Raju could join them, an explosion rocked the property. Amid the debris and chaos, it took hours for Chrishanthini to find Raju’s body: by the church door, right where she’d seen him last. As mourners paid their respects at the family’s home this week, Chrishanthini shared memories with a reporter, crying, “I love my Jesus, I love my Jesus.” Chrishanthini is no stranger to grief. Both her parents were killed during Sri Lanka’s civil war, and an aunt died in the 2004 tsunami.

As Mourning Continues, Investigations Intensify

The death toll from the bombings at churches and hotels has increased to 359. Sri Lankan officials have admitted to a “major intelligence lapse,” failing to heed warnings about potential attacks. Although ISIS has claimed responsibility, a local terrorist group may be involved. “It doesn’t add up whatsoever,” says professor C. Christine Fair. The Batticaloa bomber may have initially targeted a larger church, St. Mary’s Cathedral, but been thwarted by a bumped-up service time. Authorities believe the suspect missed his opportunity to strike there and headed to Zion instead.

Son of Zion’s Pastor Is Among the Young Victims

Like Ramesh Raju, Pastor Kumaran of Zion also encountered the bag-holding bomber before worship. “I greeted him as I thought he was a new member to the church,” he says. “I then asked him who he was, and why he was standing there, and invited him inside.” The pastor adds, “I identified him as a Muslim, but many Muslims come for our healing services, so I didn’t have any doubts or suspicions about him.” Kumaran was on his way to conduct worship at another church when he received word of the explosion at Zion. Upon returning, he learned his 14-year-old son, Shalom, was one of the 14 children killed there. The day after burying his son, Kumaran said, “As a nation we have to forgive and love each other. It is only then that we can build our community and country, and save it for future generations. This land is hurting. This has to be over.”

Ed Shaw: How God Has Used Same-Sex Attraction to Equip Me As a Pastor

Jason Daye

April 28, 2021

Ed Shaw is a church planter, the pastor of Emmanuel City Centre in Bristol, England, and the director of Living Out, a ministry that seeks to encourage Christians, equip churches, and engage the world with God’s plan for sexuality and identity. He is also an accomplished writer, and his latest book is titled, Purposeful Sexuality: A Short Christian Introduction. Ed loves his family and friends, his church and city, and music and books.

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Other Podcasts in the LGBTQ and the Church Series

Juli Slattery: This Is How the Church Can Begin the LGBTQ Conversation

Gregory Coles: It’s Possible to Be Same-Sex Attracted and Fully Surrendered to Jesus

Mark Yarhouse: How to Pastor Someone Who Has Gender Dysphoria

Sean McDowell: Scripture Is Very Clear About God’s Design for Sexuality

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

Caleb Kaltenbach: Do You See the LGBTQ Community Through God’s Eyes?

Preston Sprinkle: Jesus Left the 99 to Pursue the One—And That Means Trans People

Laurence Koo: A Call for the American Church to Welcome Single (LGBTQ) Believers

Key Questions for Ed Shaw

–What does it look like to provide good pastoral support to same-sex attracted individuals? How do churches fail to do this well?

-What is it like for you personally when you hear pastors or churches emphasize protecting the church from an “LGBTQ agenda” in society?

-What advice do you have for pastors and ministry leaders as far as how to be transparent with the people they are leading?

-Some Christians think that because God sanctifies us, if same-sex attracted believers are diligent to surrender their desires to God, those desires will eventually go away. What do you believe is the most accurate and helpful way for people to think about this?

Key Quotes from Ed Shaw

“For a pastor and for a leadership team in the church, thinking through these issues, one of the first things they need to think through is, we will probably already have people in our midst for whom same-sex attraction, questions around sexuality and gender identity are big things that they’ve perhaps never felt able to talk about in the context of an evangelical church.”

“A big thing to realize, if you don’t realize it already, is just [the LGBTQ community] will be thinking, ‘You are evangelical Christians; therefore, you hate us.’”

“We need to bridge a gap. And one of the best ways of bridging the gap would be just building friendships and often saying sorry for the missteps we’ve made in the past.”

12 Tips to Supercharge VBS

Dwayne Riner

April 28, 2021

Vacation Bible Schools, kids camps and sports camps are fabulous ways to reach out to your community, but they don’t just appear out of the sky. You know well (really well) that it takes a lot of sweat and hard work to make your summer event even happen. But, can you make your VBS the place to be this summer? The short answer is a resounding yes. You can have a supercharged VBS right now, in your church, with your current resources.

12 Tips to Supercharge VBS

As a children’s pastor, I’ve led a lot of VBS events and kids camps. For many years the events were good, but nothing spectacular. That’s when I changed my approach and implemented new principles. At one church I served in we went from around 80 kids per VBS to over 300 kids. Our VBS Family service actually beat our Easter attendance two years in a row. VBS became our church’s favorite week of the year.

Get the word out.

If they don’t know about your VBS they won’t come. So, how do you stand out in a city where 80 other churches are all hosting summer events? First of all, don’t promote like everyone else. Think differently.

Tip #1: Direct mail works. We used direct mailers to target specific neighborhoods, especially those close to our church with lots of families. By targeting specific rural routes you can avoid the high costs of sending to an entire zip code. Be sure to offer an online registration method so they can register as soon as the family receives the card.
Tip #2: Give back. One of our most popular methods was giving away free snow cones at a local Wal-Mart. We offered them free of charge to any adult, child, or employee who asked for one. If they wanted a flyer we would hand one to them and even had registration forms right at the table. It was a no strings attached gift.
Tip #3: Advertise clearly. Don’t use the banner offered by your VBS publisher. They’re too hard to read from the road. Print your own on a solid background with large block text. I often used white text on a blue background because it was so readable. Sometimes function wins out over design. Yard signs are also a great option for spreading the message.
Tip #4: Utilize social media. Run ads using Facebook or other social media sites. Create a graphic or video that’s easy for parents to share on their news feed. Build word of mouth. It’s still one of the most effective tools. Encourage parents to post once they’ve registered. You can even offer a freebie like a t-shirt to the first 10 kids who register and post about it online.

Get the whole church involved.

VBS is not just for the current children’s workers. We got everyone involved from youth to seniors. How? We made it the place everyone wanted be. If you missed that week, you missed out. Also, the pastor supported the vision of the ministry and that got people excited. At my current church, we had to create a waiting list of volunteers because we made the event such a joy to serve in. People even took their vacations to serve.

Tip #5: Create tons of volunteer jobs. Not everyone wants to lead a group. That’s great! Put them in registration, snacks, greeters or errand-runners. Give multiple opportunities for people to serve. Build a team bigger than what you think you need. At one church where I served as children’s pastor, our average attendance was around 325 on a Sunday but we recruited over 100 volunteers for VBS.
Tip #6: Encourage volunteers to recruit their friends to serve. People like to serve with people they know and that’s totally cool. Let them serve together and watch your volunteer numbers increase.
Tip #7: Get people talking on social media…and it doesn’t have to be your job. Recruit volunteers to take pictures and post them online. The more people talking, the more the word will get around. Don’t wait for the week of VBS, get them posting leading up to the event too.
Tip #8: Communicate! Communicate! Communicate! Keep your volunteers informed, trained and in the know. If they don’t feel confident, they’ll split. Make sure you’re not just staffing an event but building a team.

Get the parents to visit.

Our VBS family service was the capstone of our week. We got more visitors to our church on the Sunday following VBS than any other Sunday of the year. It gave the parents a chance to see our church, and gave us the opportunity to make strong connections with the families. My current church offered a kids camp instead of VBS, but we still made sure to create a family service because it gave us an opportunity to partner with parents and inspire them.

Tip #9: Create a service for the entire family. Don’t invite them back to see a service for adults. Gear the service toward kids, but do it in the main sanctuary. Keep the decorations up, use music from the VBS during worship, and teach a lesson related to what you learned during the week. My current church offered a kids camp, instead of VBS, and the Friday Night Finale was a huge priority. It’s the perfect opportunity to give parents a glimpse of their child’s week, and to partner with parents, inspiring them to take the lead in the spiritual development of their kids.
Tip #10: Bring your best. You have to make it a service people want to attend. I love making drama a big part of our VBS or kids camp services, so we always made sure to leave the drama on a cliffhanger at the end of final assembly. How will they know what happens next? Come to the family service and find out. From top to bottom, this service has to be the most excellent service you will do the entire year.
Tip #11: Give something away. I loved giving away a big gift at our family service, but something that was equally effective was giving away a small item to every child. It could be a silicone bracelet, sunglasses with the logo or a t-shirt. Don’t go to the VBS company to find these items. It can be really expensive. Instead, use your own imprint company to find the best deals.
Tip #12: Make your Senior Pastor shine. Ensure that your Senior Pastor has an opportunity to speak during the service. Best case scenario is have him be part of teaching the Bible story or at the very least greet the crowd. We sometimes had our Pastor interact with one of the puppets or characters from the VBS services. It’s important for visitors to connect with your pastor so they will be open to returning.

VBS or kids camp is likely your number one outreach of the year. Make every moment of VBS or kids camp count. Implementing these principles will help you supercharge your summer event.

This article originally appeared here.

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Don’t Avert Your Eyes

As you develop youth leader training for your particular context, I recommend following these 5 tips:

1. Know the need.

2. Know your objectives.

3. Know the type of training you’re offering.

4. Know what the training’s ultimate purpose is.

5. Know the importance of evaluation and live by it.

The Two Sides of Bloom Where You’re Planted

Bloom Where You Are Planted – The Good Side

Bloom Where You’re Planted – The Shadow Side

Bloom Where You’re Planted – Sweet Words, But Not Bible Words

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Sean McDowell: We’re in a ‘Cultural Moment’

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Other Ways to Listen to this Podcast with Ed Shaw

Other Podcasts in the LGBTQ and the Church Series

Key Questions for Ed Shaw

Key Quotes from Ed Shaw

12 Tips to Supercharge VBS

Get the word out.

Get the whole church involved.

Get the parents to visit.

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