Newsletters
Home Blog Page 702

“ALL OUR DEBT IS GONE!” Strangers’ Generosity Changed Carlos Whittaker’s Family Forever

By
Jesse T. Jackson
-
communicating with the unchurched

Best selling author, worship leader, and “hope dealer” as he calls himself, Carlos Whittaker posted on his Instagram page the whirlwind of events he called an attack from the enemy.

Explaining what the last week has looked like for his family, Whittaker posted a video revealing that his daughter Sohaila got in a car wreck on Wednesday, their house in Nashville flooded on Saturday, an owl attacked their chicken coup and killed the family’s favorite chicken, Monday night he took his dog Pope to the vet cause he hadn’t been eating all day, they rescued the owl that killed their favorite chicken, and made the hard decision to put down their dog Pope.

It doesn’t end there. While rushing to their gate in Atlanta to board their connection flight, his wife Heather was upended at the bottom of a long airport escalator by a hard-shell suitcase that fell out of someone’s hands. She had to  be rushed to the hospital because the fall broke her wrist.

“I honestly believe that the enemy is scared of us. He is intimidated of the work that [my family] is doing and we’re not going to let him stop us,” Whittaker said.

A few hours later after sharing the update video that has been watched over 155k times, Whittaker vulnerably told his 163k followers that he has never asked for help regarding any financial hardship…”Ever” Then he shared that his friend Sharon McMahon changed his family’s life–forever.

McMahon is the woman on the popular social media accounts: Sharonsaysso. The former high school government and law teacher currently combats political misinformation on her social media channels. She has a faithful following on Instagram of 593k #Governerds as she calls them. And McMahon decided on her own to share the Whittakers’ “crappy week” with a link to his Venmo account.

Whittaker said that within hours, all of their home flood bills from the Nashville floods (they have no flood insurance), his daughter’s medical bills from 2019, their dog’s emergency room visits and hospitalization, his wife’s ambulance ride and hospitalization, and so much more financial hardships had been paid through people generously giving money to help with their needs.

Whittaker pinned a tribute to McMahon: “You showed up. @sharonsaysso is empathy and grace with skin on. She shared our story, and the combination of my Hope Dealers and her Governerds turned our tears of sorrow into tears of joy.”

“I honestly don’t know what to say,” he said (which is a rarity for him). “While we were having one of the worst weeks of our lives…You guys had no idea you were going to infuse Hope into our lives like never before…I’m humbled.”

Looking back on the series of events, Whittaker said, “We were confused. But confusion does not mean truth is still not truth.” He cited 2 Corinthians 4:7-9: “This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.”

“Our lives are completely changed,” he said. All of their debt has been financially covered, Whittaker shared, “Medical debt. Student loan debt. Flood damage debt. Vehicle debt. ALL THE DEBT IS GONE? We no longer owe a penny to anyone.”

Appearing with McMahon in a video on her Instagram page, Whittaker told her, “People keep asking me ‘Did you win the lottery?’ ” His response to them is, “No, I didn’t win the lottery. Strangers lifted my family up and the goodness of the planet came to rescue my family…I’m forever indebted to every single person that did that.”

McMahon told Whittaker that this is just an encouraging example of how people “want to give” and they want “to make a difference for other people.” She thanked Whittaker for accepting the help without asking for it and said, “Receiving is a form of generosity.”

McMahon is no stranger to helping others in need. In December, she and her Governerds raised $50,000 to help others. McMahon says, “I really believe to whom much is given, much is expected. And if I’ve been given this platform, I would love to be able to use it to impact the world for good.” 

Barna: What People Missed Most at Church This Last Year

By
Stephanie Martin
-
communicating with the unchurched

During the past year of upended church gatherings, what did you miss the most about “regular,” in-person worship services? If you’re like the Christian churchgoers surveyed by the Barna Group, tactile actions—or “items often difficult to replicate digitally”—top your list.

For the study, titled “What Churchgoers Missed Most About In-person Services,” Barna asked 600 U.S. adults about pandemic-related disruptions at their churches. People say they miss receiving communion the most (24 percent), followed closely by socializing with other congregants before and after worship (23 percent). Other activities making the list include listening to a live service or homily (21 percent), the chance to connect with like-minded people (19 percent), greeting others or passing the peace during service (17 percent), Sunday school/small groups/Bible study (10 percent), corporate prayer (eight percent), and having childcare during the service (four percent).

Churchgoers’ Answers Vary by Generation

When categories are grouped into social and nonsocial aspects of attending in-person worship, 85 percent of people admit they miss social aspects of gathering (such as corporate prayer, greeting and socializing), while 90 percent say they miss nonsocial aspects (such as receiving communion and listening to live sermons).

Based on generational breakdowns of the data, Baby Boomers are more likely to miss taking communion (31 percent) and socializing (27 percent), while Millennial churchgoers are more likely to miss the chance to connect with like-minded people (23 percent) and listening to live music (20 percent).

“In a season that continues to force church leaders to shift, innovate and stretch, it’s important for pastors to continue checking in with their people on a regular basis to see how congregants are doing and what they’re missing or needing from their church experience,” researchers note. “Gathering information is vital for church leaders to know how to effectively engage with and disciple the people in their care.”

What This Means for the Future

These findings about the importance of participatory worship may point to long-term implications for congregations and what they offer. Because fewer survey respondents mention missing in-person educational opportunities, studies and classes might continue trending toward virtual options.

“Small groups can be replicated online, and they are probably not coming back” to in-person strength, says Bill Wilson, founder and director of the Center for Healthy Churches. He tells Baptist News Global, “Many churches have seen their small-group and Sunday school attendance increase when they count online and in-person participants.”

Digital options allow “many more people” to participate in church activities, Wilson adds. “Often people can’t come because they are out of town or medically unable to attend. One woman told me she has one hour when she can be at church, and she wanted that hour to be worship. She could go to Sunday school online.”

On the other hand, says Wilson, “We know that 70 percent of communication is nonverbal. When I am in a room with other people who are being engaged in worship, there is a feeling in that space that they miss and can’t get virtually.”

For church leaders, the pandemic is a valuable reminder that worship isn’t a one-size-fits-all experience. “COVID has raised awareness that we need to examine everything we do through the lens of relevance to those around us and to our own people,” Wilson says.

Korie Robertson on Raising a Biracial Son: ‘You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know’

By
Bri Lamm
-
communicating with the unchurched

In their new series, At Home With the Robertsons, Willie and Korie Robertson are tackling the difficult issues our country is facing—one hard conversation at a time.

The series premiere, which debuted Monday on Facebook Watch, featured Love and Hip Hop stars Yandy and Mendeecees Harris. The Black couple shared their perspectives on racial tension, and parenting a child of color with Korie, Willie, and their 19-year-old son Will, who is biracial.

Will was adopted by Korie and Willie when he was just 5 weeks old. His biological father is Black while his biological mother is white.

Willie said when he and Korie first started looking into adoption they were told there was a wait list of 1-2 years, unless they were willing to adopt a child of color because they are so difficult to place, specifically in the south. The Monroe, Louisianna couple just wanted a baby to love as their own and were able to adopt Will right away.

“We didn’t think about [race] until the show happened,” Korie explained, “and people said, ‘Wait. Who’s the Black kid? Who does he belong to?’”

The Robertsons first became a household name in 2012 with their hit reality show, Duck Dynasty, which followed their adventures of running Duck Commander, the best-selling duck call brand in the United States. At that time, Will was 10 years old, and people made a lot of “ugly comments” about him.

“I was one of the only Black kids in my grade,” Will said. “My friends were white, so I didn’t, like, get the notion that I was … different. I would look at myself in the mirror and be like, ‘Oh, I’m just a little bit darker.”

It wasn’t until he got older that Will realized he was “a lot different” than the rest of his family, and the friends he grew up with.

Yandy, who has two children with Mendeecees and shares two of his children from previous relationships, told Will that it’s important for him to learn about his culture.

“Your heritage is mixed, so it can’t just die because you’ve been brought up in a different place or, you know, with a different group of people that love you,” she said, “because you have to be able to pass down your heritage as well.”

She encouraged Will to be connected both to his family, who are mostly white, but also to the Black culture in part as well.

The five spoke candidly about the racial tension that’s very present in the deep south.

“To me, it’s always shocking,” Korie said of encountering racism. “I remember when the Charlottesville thing happened. It’s just so sad to me and, you know, having a son that’s Black and biracial, just to, you know, have to explain that to him, you wanna just say, ‘Oh, no, no, no … that’s in the past. But whenever it’s right there in your face, you’re like, ‘No, it’s not in the past‘.”

Mendeecees asked Korie and Willie whether or not they worry about Will being pulled over by the police. “Did you teach him how to conduct himself if that happens?” he asked.

Willie said he’s never worried about that circumstance with any of his kids, adding that they raised them to be respectful to any type of authority.

But Yandy pushed back, telling Willie that there’s a difference between respecting authority, and being Black in the face of authority.

“You haven’t had to think about that, but these are the kinds of conversations that [Mendeecees] has to have with his sons,” Yandy said. “We can cut off the beard. We can not get tattoos, and we can prevent those things from happening but you can’t wash off your skin.”

Mendeecees said he stresses that his sons should simply comply with orders from law enforcement.

Yandy added: “It’s not what your education level was, it’s not if you’re in the process of committing a crime, it’s not always even what you’re wearing. Your skin color, your hair texture precedes all of that, unfortunately, in America. There’s kind of just an unspoken law, unspoken way you conduct yourself so that you won’t get murdered or get beat up or get arrested.”

The Robertsons were encouraged by the exchange.

“I did not necessarily have a talk with Will about police,” Willie said, “because I felt like I covered that his whole life about respecting authority. However, that’s why we brought Yandy and Mendeecees here. They had a different perspective.”

Korie said that conversation was an important one for her son to have with a Black man.

“As parents of a child of color, you don’t know what you don’t know,” she said.

You can catch the full conversation on Facebook Watch. 

This article originally appeared here.

Black and Asian Christian Leaders on Racism: Our Oppression and Liberation Are Linked

By
Emily McFarlan Miller
-
communicating with the unchurched

CHICAGO (RNS) — In the summer of 2020, as the death of George Floyd shined a spotlight on racism and violence against Black Americans, the Asian American Christian Collaborative marched for Black lives.

Months later, leaders of the Black and Asian American churches involved in that march began to plan a second event uniting their communities against racism.

In the midst of planning the event, Black & Asian Christians United Against Racism, organizers learned that eight people were shot and killed in spas in the Atlanta area, including six women of Asian descent, and the spotlight turned on the recent explosion of violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders amid scapegoating for the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In the wake of the surging violence against Asian Americans … and as the Derek Chauvin trial is taking place in the murder of George Floyd, an event like this is needed more now than ever,” said Pastor Raymond Chang, president of the Asian American Christian Collaborative.

“But, more than this event, a commitment to an enduring partnership is needed.”

Panelists at Black and Asian Christians United Against Racism, livestreamed Monday night (April 5) from Apostolic Faith Church in Chicago, discussed the histories, struggles and contributions of each community and the importance of creating that partnership between them.

They included Charlie Dates, pastor of Progressive Baptist Church; Soong-Chan Rah, professor at North Park Theological Seminary; and Waltrina Middleton, executive director of the Community Renewal Society, among others.

In his remarks, the Rev. Otis Moss III, senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, recognized the “unique thread” of racism that ties Black and Asian Americans together in the United States.

The 1854 California Supreme Court decision People v. Hall, which ruled an Asian American could not testify against a white American, provided a blueprint years later for the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision, which ruled the U.S. Constitution did not extend citizenship to Black people, Moss said. The Chinese massacre of 1871 in California, one of the largest mass lynchings in U.S. history, gave the “green light” to lynchings of Black people across the country, he added.

“Our oppression is linked together, but also our liberation is connected at the same time,” he said.

The church gives a template for what that liberation can look like, according to Moss. He pointed to the example of the famous 1906 Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles — led by Black, Asian and Latino Christians — as proof “the Spirit functions in a way that white supremacy could not control.”

Panelists discussed how racism is experienced differently by men and women — and how Black and Asian American women can find commonalities in each other’s experiences.

“White supremacy has often treated us in similar ways, and I think that when women share their stories and experiences with one another and hear the pain in each other’s stories as well as the resilience in one another’s stories, we can enter in a place of true solidarity with one another — solidarity that frightens white supremacy,” said Juliet Liu, pastor of Life on the Vine Church in suburban Long Grove, Illinois.

They also addressed tension between Black and AAPI communities and ways the two historically have been pitted against each other.

Gregory Lee, an associate professor at Wheaton College, an evangelical Christian school in suburban Wheaton, Illinois, explained the “myth of the model minority” started by white opponents of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

“We’ve been trying to play to the power structures instead of opposing them,” Lee said.

Many Asian Americans have realized “we’re being used in this game to hold down Black and brown folks,” he added. After the shootings in Atlanta, he said, they’re also realizing how vulnerable the AAPI community is.

“Asians are increasingly turning to African American sources to see how have they done it — what can we learn from them?” he said.

Several speakers at Monday’s event pointed to a passage from the biblical Book of Ephesians saying their battle was not against one another — “not against flesh and blood” — but rather a spiritual battle.

A battle, they agreed, they’d continue to fight together in both prayer and protest.

“I think it’s a shame that we even have to ask this question why we need to care about anti-Asian racism or why we need to say that Black lives matter. The fact we have to argue about those things at all is a sad state of affairs,” said Gabriel J. Catanus, pastor of Garden City Covenant Church in Chicago.

“At a basic level, we are human beings. We bear the image of God, and God doesn’t just love human beings, he hates murder. If we are the people of God, that should also characterize us.”

This article originally appeared here.

Tony Evans: On Male Leadership, Grieving His Wife and Correcting Kirk Franklin

By
Adelle M Banks
-
Tony Evans
Dr. Tony Evans in 2020. Courtesy photo

(RNS) — Pastor Tony Evans was mentored by male elders early in his life and is now a father figure himself to younger men.

The radio broadcaster and leader of Dallas’ Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship has written a new book, “Kingdom Men Rising: A Call to Growth and Greater Influence.”

The pastor of the predominantly Black megachurch outlines in the volume, released Tuesday (April 6), his belief that Christian men are responsible for changing themselves, their families, their churches and their communities — with divine assistance.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Evans, who is “definitely on the mend” from a February coronavirus diagnosis, turns his attention to other crises, including issues of racial justice, and writes about the spiritual roles he thinks men should have in addressing them.

Evans, 71, spoke with Religion News Service about the death of his wife, Lois, less than two years ago, possible succession plans and how he advised gospel artist Kirk Franklin after a family dispute became public.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Your book is about what you believe should be the role of men in church and society. But you start by remembering your wife, Lois, who you said was ready for her death in 2019 even if you were not. How has coping with her loss changed you as a man?

It’s caused me to go deeper in my faith, in my responsibility. I still have four children, 13 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. And I want to reflect my love for her in how I lead them and continue the legacy she left behind. Her fingerprints are all over my life, my ministry, and my family and I want to keep that legacy so I am going deeper with God. What I’m calling men to do, I want to be doing myself at a deeper level.

You say more than once in your book that going to church isn’t enough and there needs to be action and not just talk, that “God is still waiting for men to take the first steps of faith.” What steps are you hoping men will take?

When it comes to church, they must not only attend. They must serve. What area are you serving in your church that ministers to somebody else outside of you? You can’t be just a taker in and not a dispenser of God’s goodness.

In these days with much controversy and debate about women’s roles in the church and elsewhere — such as Beth Moore’s recent departure from the Southern Baptist Convention — where do you see women fitting in the picture as you write about “Kingdom Men Rising”?

First of all, we must recognize the equality of women in God’s created order. Women should be honored, they should be valued. They should not be abused or misused or downgraded by men. At the very same time, the Bible does give a distinction in roles, just like there is in the Trinity between God the Father and God the Son. So, we should utilize and recognize, appreciate and value the gifts, the talents, the skills and the calling of women, as they have been given by God. But what we should not do is allow those things to take away from what men have been called to do. There is this downgrading of men in society, much to our fault, of course, because of our failure, which has opened the door for a lot of the criticism of men, but men need to still own their role while recognizing and appreciating the creative genius God has given women.

Pastor Greg Locke’s Fiery Easter Sermon–‘Take Them Stupid Masks Off’

By
Jesse T. Jackson
-
communicating with the unchurched

Pastor Greg Locke of Global Vision Bible Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind, and his church’s Easter service on Sunday was no exception. In fact Locke felt like it was a perfect opportunity to tell the “sheep” in the congregation to “take them stupid masks off!!!”

Preaching a sermon titled “Signs of a Lukewarm Heart” to a packed crowd outside under a large tent, Pastor Locke spoke on Isaiah 53. He said the people the prophet was talking to were like our culture of chaos and confusion today. The Tennessean pastor said, “The whole world can reject Jesus. The world can say that we have lost our mind and that we have gone stark raving crazy for being in a tent with this many people with no masks and no social distancing and having our church open and preaching the Bible.”

While boldly preaching the gospel and calling out other preachers who waste their platform by staying silent about the truth of the Bible, Locke shared that he is scheduled for “a lot of interviews coming up.” He said he would give them up for five minutes on The View with Whoopie Goldberg. “I’d give up CNN, I’d give up NewsMax. I’d give up Fox. I’d give up all of them for five minutes…Man, me and Whoopi got some stuff to talk about on TV. Just one time can one of us preachers say ‘Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father.’ “

After joking he wasn’t going to get political anymore, Pastor Locke started to read Isaiah 53:6 where God’s prophet says “All we like sheep…” Then he couldn’t seem to help himself and said “It’s interesting that God calls us that. Not much has changed…has it?” Sarcastically the pastor recalled how the government a year ago told churches they couldn’t meet on Easter or they “would kill everybody.”

Locke, whose church never shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, said, “We ain’t killed nobody yet…by the way.” Saying the media infuses fear tactics and must know Isaiah 53:6 because “they know people that are ignorant of Scripture willfully will obey any ridiculous mandate that the media gives them because it makes them feel better about themselves.”

“They will roll up in tanks…they will drop down from helicopters, and I promise you it won’t be a dozen police out there from Wilson County and from Mount Juliet,” a reference to the officers who greeted him as he rolled into Global Vision Bible Church’s parking lot Sunday morning. “It’s going to take the entire United States military to roll up into this parking lot and tell us that we can’t worship Jesus…that we got to shut our church down…that we can’t preach…we can’t pray…you have lost your mind if you think I’ve given into that…We are staying open forever,” he said.

The pastor recorded a video on his Facebook page last year which received over 238k reactions and over 192k comments where he explained passionately how he felt about wearing masks, calling them “gags” and “idols” and “the dumbest thing that has ever been created by humanity.” He shared in the video that he feels masks have divided the body of the Lord Jesus Christ so it wasn’t a surprise that during his sermon Locke told his congregants to “take them stupid masks off!”

Locke said, “Unless you’re under a doctor’s orders and a few of you are. Take them stupid masks off when you come to Global Vison [Bible Church]…There! I said it on Easter….Take them stupid masks off!”

“Call me crazy?…You can pull in the parking lot wearing two masks in a car by yourself [and you] call me crazy?” The pastor clarified the kind of crazy he was talking about saying, “That’s crack smoking crazy is what that is.”

Closing the service Locke gave an altar call telling everyone they have a “choice today…You can declare Jesus Christ as Lord of your life right now because you want to. Or you can declare Jesus Lord of your life in the day of judgement because you have to…but make no mistake: You will call Him King of Kings and Lord of Lords one day, there is no doubt about that fact.”

Watch the entire Global Vision Bible Church service here.

La Verne Ford Wimberly Dresses Up for Online Church Every Sunday … and the Internet Can’t Get Enough

By
Christine Yount Jones
-
communicating with the unchurched

Not since the Royal Ascot or the Kentucky Derby have women’s hats gotten this much publicity, but 82-year-old La Verne Ford Wimberly has captured the internet’s attention with her church hats and outfits.

No pandemic could stop Wimberly of Tulsa, OK, from showing up in her finest for church in the last year. Not even online church could stand in the way of her dressing up! According to Fox 4 KDFW of Tulsa, since March 2020, the retired educator has dressed up just to watch the service from Metropolitan Baptist Church in Tulsa from her home on Zoom. She posted pics of her outfits and shared encouraging words on social media for 52 weeks beginning in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic. 

Wimberly says getting dressed up helped lift her spirits during lockdowns and while she couldn’t attend her church. “I just decided (at) that point, I was just going to get dressed as if I was going to church so I would not get in the habit of just slouching around,” Wimberly told CNN affiliate KTUL.

Each week, she posted a selfie on her Facebook page along with a devotional message. “I decided to take a selfie of myself and post it to my church members on Facebook and just kind of offer words of encouragement,” Wimberly said. “That if we continue to believe in ourselves, network together, trust in God, keep the faith then we will be okay.”

Her “Messages of Hope” included Scriptures and inspiring words for her friends and family on Facebook.” Wimberly’s church posted on their Facebook page: “So proud of our member, Dr. LaVerne Ford Wimberly.”

And the internet is cheering! Peg Keffer posted “You are such a beautiful inspiration. People have become too casual in their dressing. We used to dress up to go to the theatre, downtown and especially to church. Thank you for being such a good example of how we need to behave and dress to honor our Lord.”

Marcy Black posted “I would love to see these selfies each week! What a wonderful uplifting spirit this lady brings! I certainly enjoy her sense of style. This is the way ladies should dress for church, to look your best as you present yourself before the Lord. The young gals need a role model, and that is YOU, Dr. La Verne Ford Wimberly! I hope I can find your Facebook page so I can be reminded that I, too, should dress appropriately for church each Sunday. If I set out my outfit the evening before (like you do), I can easily accomplish that. Thank you for bringing brightness and cheer with your elegant photos!”

Thank you for making all of us smile, Dr. Wimberly!

College Basketball Champs Give Glory to God: ‘Our Joy Is Jesus’

By
Stephanie Martin
-
communicating with the unchurched

The NCAA has two new basketball champions, with the Stanford women’s team beating Arizona on Sunday and the Baylor men’s team beating Gonzaga on Monday. Players from both victorious teams, such as Anna Wilson and Jared Butler, have spoken openly about their Christian faith and praised Jesus in post-game interviews.

Stanford’s Anna Wilson: “Jesus You Always Come Through”

In a thrilling finish Sunday, the Stanford Cardinal women’s team defeated the Arizona Wildcats 54-53, clinching the school’s first championship since 1992. Stanford defensive standout Anna Wilson, who lists Colossians 3:23 in her Twitter bio, tweeted before tipoff: “You can do all things! Jesus you always come through.”

Wilson, a fifth-year senior, has been vocal about her faith. Last March, in a first-person piece for ESPN, she described the pain of losing her father when she was 12 and dealing with a severe concussion as a college freshman. She emphasized that faith gives her life purpose.

“When things aren’t going my way and it’s tough on the court,” Wilson wrote, “I always whisper, ‘He must increase, I must decrease.’ That’s John 3:30. … For me, that means minimizing myself—to put others first, and Jesus first, is more important than anything else. My faith has helped me with my definition of success. It’s definitely not all about me.”

By speaking about her faith, Wilson is following in the footsteps of her older brother, NFL star quarterback Russell Wilson. After watching his sister hoist the championship trophy Sunday, Russell tweeted out love for Anna, writing, “You’ve earned it all through hard work, leadership, prayer, & immeasurable Faith.”

Baylor Men: A Culture of J.O.Y.

Monday night’s anticipated matchup of two number-one men’s seeds turned into a rout by Baylor. The Bears beat previously undefeated Gonzaga 86-70 to claim the first men’s basketball championship in school history.

Baylor, a private Christian university in Waco, Texas, had a scandal-plagued team back in 2003, when current head coach Scott Drew took the reins. After a post-game prayer Monday night, Drew told an interviewer what makes his team special. “We play with a culture of J.O.Y.,” he said. “That’s Jesus, Others, then Yourself.”

Later, Drew said the locker room was filled with joy, “but our joy is Jesus, Others, Yourself. It’s so tough to put other people in front of you, and teams that do that are obviously more successful.”

Baylor guard Jared Butler, named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, led the Bears with 22 points. When asked about his accomplishments after Monday’s victory, he said, “I’m not trying to preach a prosperity gospel, but our Lord and Savior, I say it all the time: He gets us through everything. Jesus Christ, man, he’s the truth. He was with us tonight, he was with us all season, he’s with us wherever we go. He just sustained us. He brought us together.”

Of Baylor’s J.O.Y. mindset, Butler says he’s grateful to play at a school where Jesus permeates the entire culture. The athlete, who teaches Sunday school at a local church in his free time, also says it’s a blessing to share the joy of Jesus and the Gospel message with children.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson Vetoes Transgender Youth Treatment Ban

By
AP News
-
FILE - In this July 20, 2020 file photo, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson removes his mask before a briefing at the state capitol in Little Rock. Gov. Hutchinson on Monday, April 5, 2021 vetoed legislation that would have made his state the first to ban gender confirming treatments or surgery for transgender youth. (Staci Vandagriff/The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP, File)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday vetoed legislation that would have made his state the first to ban gender confirming treatments or surgery for transgender youth, though lawmakers could enact the restriction over his objections.

The Republican governor rejected legislation that would have prohibited doctors from providing gender confirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18 years old, or from referring them to other providers for the treatment.

“If (the bill) becomes law, then we are creating new standards of legislative interference with physicians and parents as they deal with some of the most complex and sensitive matters involving young people,” Hutchinson said at a news conference.

The Republican Legislature could still enact the measure, since it only takes a simple majority of the House and Senate to override a governor’s veto in Arkansas. Hutchinson said he believed an override was likely.

Hutchinson’s veto follows pleas from pediatricians, social workers and the parents of transgender youth who said the measure would harm a community already at risk for depression and suicide. Hutchinson said he met with doctors and transgender people as he considered whether to sign the measure.

He said he would have signed if it had just focused on gender confirming surgery, which currently isn’t performed on minors in the state. He noted it wouldn’t have exempted youth who are already undergoing treatment.

“The bill is over broad, extreme and does not grandfather those young people who are currently under hormone treatment,” he said “In other words, the young people who are currently under a doctor’s care will be without treatment when this law goes into effect.”

Sponsors of the measure did not say when they planned to seek an override or whether they had enough votes secured to enact the measure despite Hutchinson’s objection.

“These children need to be protected,” Republican Rep. Robin Lundstrum told reporters.

Hutchinson said he hopes lawmakers would come up with a “more restrained approach.” Conservative groups urged the legislature to enact the ban.

“The Arkansas Legislature needs to step up and override the governor’s veto to make sure this good bill becomes law,” Family Council President Jerry Cox said.

Arkansas is one of a handful of states where it only takes a simple legislative majority to override a governor’s veto. The only veto override attempt this year — over a bill Hutchinson rejected that would have required the state to refund fines levied on businesses for violating coronavirus safety rules — failed last month.

The treatment ban was the latest measure targeting transgender people that easily advanced in the Arkansas Legislature and other states this year. Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee’s governors have signed laws banning transgender girls and women from competing on school sports teams consistent with the gender identity.

In South Dakota, a transgender sports bill died after Republican Gov. Kristi Noem issued a partial veto. She issued an executive order immediately after the bill died that pushed public schools to issue bans, but critics say the order is merely a recommendation intended to salvage her reputation with social conservatives. Noem has promised to call a special legislative session to have lawmakers take up the issue again.

Hutchinson recently signed a measure allowing doctors to refuse to treat someone because of moral or religious objections, a law that opponents have said could be used to turn away LGBTQ patients.

The head of the nation’s largest LGBTQ rights group said Hutchinson’s veto should be a “warning” to other states considering similar bans. Similar treatment bans have proposed in at least 20 states.

“The repercussions were too much for Arkansas, and they will be just as severe for any state weighing this type of legislation,” Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David said in a statement.

It isn’t the first time Hutchinson has pushed back on measures targeting the LGBTQ community.

In 2017, he opposed legislation that would have prohibited transgender people from using government bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. That bathroom bill, which was opposed by tourism groups, never advanced beyond a Senate committee.

Hutchinson in 2015 urged lawmakers to rework a religious objections measure criticized by some of state’s largest employers as anti-gay. The governor ultimately signed a version of the measure that was revised to address those concerns.

__

Associated Press Writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report from Sioux Falls, South Dakota

This article originally appeared here.

After SBC President J.D. Greear Got Vaccinated, Evangelical Vaccine Skepticism Was on Display

By
AP News
-
FILE - In this Wednesday, June 12, 2019 file photo, J. D. Greear, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, talks about sexual abuse within the SBC on the second day of the SBC's annual meeting in Birmingham, Ala. On March 30, 2021, Greear posted a photo on Facebook of him getting the COVID-19 vaccine. It drew more than 1,100 comments — many of them voicing admiration, and many others assailing him. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

The president of the Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest evangelical denomination, posted a photo on Facebook last week of him getting the COVID-19 vaccine. It drew more than 1,100 comments — many of them voicing admiration for the Rev. J.D. Greear, and many others assailing him.

Some of the critics wondered if worshippers would now need “vaccine passports” to enter The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina, where Greear is pastor. Others depicted the vaccines as satanic or unsafe, or suggested Greear was complicit in government propaganda.

The divided reaction highlighted a phenomenon that has become increasingly apparent in recent polls and surveys: Vaccine skepticism is more widespread among white evangelicals than almost any other major bloc of Americans.

In a March poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 40% of white evangelical Protestants said they likely won’t get vaccinated, compared with 25% of all Americans, 28% of white mainline Protestants and 27% of nonwhite Protestants.

The findings have aroused concern even within evangelical circles. The National Association of Evangelicals, which represents more than 45,000 local churches, is part of a new coalition that will host events, work with media outlets and distribute various public messages to build trust among wary evangelicals.

“The pathway to ending the pandemic runs through the evangelical church,” said Curtis Chang, a former pastor and missionary who founded ChristiansAndTheVaccine.com, the cornerstone of the new initiative, With white evangelicals comprising an estimated 20% of the U.S. population, resistance to vaccination by half of them would seriously hamper efforts to achieve herd immunity, Chang contends.

Many evangelical leaders have spoken in support of vaccinations, ranging from Dallas megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress to the Rev. Russell Moore, head of the Southern Baptists’ public policy arm.

Jeffress believes a majority of his congregation at First Baptist Dallas welcome the vaccines, while some have doubts about their safety or worry they have links to abortion. Jeffress is among numerous religious leaders who say the leading vaccines are acceptable given their remote, indirect links to lines of cells developed from aborted fetuses.

Moore expressed hope that SBC pastors would provide “wise counsel” to their congregations if members raise questions about vaccinations.

“These vaccines are cause for evangelicals to celebrate and give thanks to God,” he said via email. “I am confident that pastors and lay members alike want churches full again and vaccines will help all of us get there sooner rather than later.”

Other evangelical pastors have been hesitant to take a public stance.

Aaron Harris, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas, hasn’t discussed the vaccine from the pulpit or decided whether he’ll be vaccinated.

“We don’t believe that this is a scriptural issue; it is a personal issue,” said Harris, who estimates that 50% of the congregation’s older adults have been vaccinated, while fewer younger members plan to do so.

“We shouldn’t live in fear of the virus because we do have a faith in eternity. However, just because we aren’t in fear of it, where is the line of what we ought to do?” he asked. “I’m not going to lay down in front of a bunch of alligators to show my faith in that way.”

Some Christians say they prefer to leave their fate in God’s hands, rather than be vaccinated.

“We are going to go through times of trials and all kinds of awful things, but we still know where we are going at the end,” said Ron Holloway, 75, of Forsyth, Missouri. “And heaven is so much better than here on earth. Why would we fight leaving here?”

John Elkins, pastor at Sovereign Grace Fellowship in Brazoria, Texas, about 50 miles south of Houston, said only one person in his SBC congregation of about 50 has been vaccinated.

“We’re in a very libertarian area. There’s a lot of hesitancy to anything that feels like it’s coming from the federal government,” said Elkins, who is also forgoing the vaccine, at least for now, along with his wife.

Elkins, whose father was a professor of gynecology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said his congregants’ doubts are not theologically based.

“It’s skepticism about effectiveness,” he said. “People are concerned it was rushed out too quickly.”

Phillip Bethancourt, another Southern Baptist pastor in Texas, has encouraged his congregation at Central Church in College Station to get the vaccine and believes most will. The church hosted a vaccine drive for staff and volunteers at other churches; 217 people got their first doses March 22.

“Even people who might be skeptical from a medical standpoint can understand it from a missional standpoint,” he said. “If it helps more people be able to serve at their church again, so more children can learn about Jesus, that’s a good thing.”

Bethancourt, a former vice president of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, has spoken with congregants who spurn the vaccine and say they’re unafraid of dying if that’s God’s will.

“The sentiment doesn’t trouble me on the face of it, but there’s inconsistency,” he said. “We don’t adopt that mentality in other aspects of our life, like not wearing a seat belt.”

Chang said that as a former pastor, he understands why some whose congregations are mistrustful of the government and the vaccines muzzle themselves rather than risk backlash if they urge their flock to get vaccinated.

“There’s going to be some courage required,” he said.

His initiative includes a toolkit for pastors offering suggestions for how to address — within a Christian framework — the various concerns of skeptical evangelicals. They range from the extent of the vaccines’ link to abortion to whether they represent “the mark of the beast,” an ominous harbinger of the end times prophesized in the New Testament’s Book of Revelation.

Partnering in the initiative is the Ad Council, known for iconic public service ad campaigns such as Smokey Bear and “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk.”

“We know the important role faith plays in the lives of millions of people throughout the country,” Ad Council president Lisa Sherman said, expressing hope that the campaign could boost their confidence in the vaccines.

As the vaccines first became available, there was widespread concern that many Black Americans would be hesitant to take them due to historic, racism-related mistrust of government health initiatives. But recent surveys show Black Protestants are more open to vaccinations than white evangelicals.

“This pandemic has hit our community like a plague — and that’s made our job easier,” said Bishop Timothy Clarke of First Church of God, a Black evangelical church in Columbus, Ohio. “We’ve done a tremendous job of educating.”

___

Associated Press writer Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri, contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared here.

Carrie Underwood Raises More than $100,000 for Charity in Live Streamed Easter Concert

By
Bri Lamm
-
communicating with the unchurched

Carrie Underwood took to the stage at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium yesterday to give fans their very own Easter service, with a performance of songs from her new gospel album, My Savior.

The Easter concert, “My Savior: Live from The Ryman,” was live streamed on Facebook, and Carrie performed classic hymns like “Softly and Tenderly,” ”I Surrender All,” and ”Amazing Grace.” The concert also featured special guests, gospel legend CeCe Winans and NEEDTOBREATHE frontman Bear Rinehart, who both appear on the new album.

In conjunction with the Facebook Live event, Carrie’s Easter performance aimed to raise money for humanitarian organization Save The Children, which “works in over 100 countries to make sure children all over the world grow up healthy, educated and safe.”

As of Monday afternoon, the performance had raised over $105,000 for the organization.

“It means so much to be able to bring this event to people in their homes on a day that holds so much meaning for us spiritually and to be able to raise much needed funds and awareness for the incredible work of Save the Children as we celebrate the importance of family,” Underwood said in a news release.

My Savior, which hit stores and streaming services on March 26th, is inspired by the Christian hymnals Carrie says she grew up singing in church.

For the 38-year-old songstress, singing gospel songs like the ones she intentionally chose for My Savior, carry a much different significance for her than the ones she performs on the country music stage.

“When I made this album, I’m performing for an audience of one,” she told Noel King. “I’m gonna cry talking about it, but… The whole time I was in the studio, any time I get to sing these songs, I close my eyes and I’m the only person in the room. It’s my heart for God. And I love that. It is a different feeling. It’s happy and it’s deep. And I feel like I’m making my relationship better and deeper with God when I’m singing these songs. So they’re just so important for my heart.”

You can catch Carrie’s full Easter performance on Facebook until Tuesday.

Justin Bieber’s Surprise ‘Easter’ Album Includes Judah Smith, Tori Kelly, and an Explicit Warning Label

By
Jesse T. Jackson
-
communicating with the unchurched

The multiplatinum Grammy Award winning artist and global phenom Justin Bieber, who says “I am a Jesus Guy” but makes sure you know he’s “not a religious man,” released a surprise faith-centered EP on Easter titled Freedom.

The EP features six brand new songs and includes collaborations with Christian and Grammy Award winning singer Tori Kelly, worship leader and Maverick City Music‘s Chandler Moore, and Churchome‘s Pastor Judah Smith–the church Justin now attends and promotes.

It isn’t abnormal for Bieber’s Instagram page to be filled with faith-based messages, quotes from pastors, a worship song, or Scripture from the Bible.

In 2017, Bieber was in a downward spiral that resulted from drugs, public meltdowns, and a 2014 DUI arrest. The singer was taken in and mentored at the time by Hillsong’s Pastor Carl Lentz where Justin rededicated his life to Christ. In 2020, Lentz was fired from Hillsong for ‘moral failure.’

In January, Bieber posted a picture of his arrest and stated that it wasn’t his “finest hour” and that at the time he was “hurting, unhappy, confused, angry, mislead, misunderstood and angry at God.” He gave all credit to God for where he is now and let his fans know that God never left him. Bieber encouraged those reading to “let your past be a reminder of how far God has brought you. Don’t allow shame to ruin your ‘today.’ Let the forgiveness of Jesus take over and watch your life blossom into all that God has designed you to be.”

His Easter release Freedom boasts gospel centered lyrics like “On the third day…you rose up…And you beat death once and for all…Once and for all…There’s nobody like You…Sometimes this world is feeling crazy…At times my mind is feeling hazy…But, Lord, You always come and save me…God Almighty, my safety…You’re my end, you’re my new beginning…You’re my home, the One I confide in…You’re the very air I breathe…The reason that I sing,” from the song Where you Go I Follow.

Bieber even has a song about cancel culture titled Afraid to Say where he says “We can’t write people off…God never writes us off…Even in our darkest days, even when we least deserve it…Even when we’re doing that stupid thing we wish we weren’t doing…God never writes us off, ever.”

The new EP comes with some questionable lyric choices reminiscent of his newly released album from a few weeks ago titled Justice. That album features his #1 song Peaches, which is an ode to his wife Hailey but uses explicit words throughout its entirety. In the song All She Wrote off the Freedom EP, he is less explicit but still chooses to swear, likewise using the rated-R version of ‘crap’ in his song We’re In This Together.

As all of us are, Bieber displays his imperfections while maturing in Christ, but his new EP won’t be left unnoticed at your next youth gathering.

Anyone who reads his posts on Instagram can’t say he doesn’t love Jesus, and it appears he isn’t Afraid to Say it. Telling his followers that God is in control, he said, “Are you tired of trying to be perfect? Are you tired of trying to please everyone? Are you tired of feeling not good enough? Do you feel alone? Afraid? Look around at all of the wonder of God’s creation. The sky, the mountains, the trees, the ocean HOW BIG AND HOW VAST, and remember the goodness of God and his magnificent ways. The pain you are facing will not last forever. GOD IS IN CONTROL.”

The Power and Wisdom of Confessional Discipleship

By
Nicholas Batzig
-
communicating with the unchurched

In Pleading for a Reformation Vision, David Calhoun recounts a story about the late Dr. William Childs Robinson’s high esteem for the Westminster Standards. “Occasionally,” writes Calhoun, “a student was bold enough to ask Dr Robinson if he thought the Westminster Standards were perfect. He would reply, ‘No, but their exposition of the faith is better than yours, and you can improve yours by studying theirs.’” One can just as rightly note that the Westminster Standards—while not a perfect guide of Christian discipleship—are a better guide for Christian discipleship than any a minister could devise on his own; and we can improve ours by studying theirs.

While engaged in the work of church planting in the PCA, I led a men’s theology group every other week for nearly seven years. We worked through the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF), the Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC), and the Westminster Larger Catechism (WLC)—followed by the Belgic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism. While we delved deeply into the Christian theology taught in the Standards, we also worked through the implications of that theology for aspects of everyday life. During those meetings, I came to realize how valuable the Westminster Standards were for discipleship and not simply as a guide for denominational worship and discipline. I came to understand that they provide a better framework for discipleship than any I could have ever come up with on my own. Over the years, many have expressed how formative those times were for their spiritual growth as believers, church members, husbands, and fathers—as well as in their particular callings.

It is my desire to now encourage other pastors to make use of our confessional documents for Christian discipleship in the context of the local church. To that end, I want to highlight the usefulness of the Westminster Standards as a tool for discipleship, and then offer a few practical suggestions and recommended books that assist pastors in using the Standards as a tool of discipleship.

A Biblical Foundation

Significantly, the WCF does not start with a statement about the importance of creeds and confessions; rather, it begins with statements about the nature and importance of Scripture. As WCF 1.6 states,

The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any times is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.

This is paramount to our understanding of the role that the Westminster Standards can play in Christian discipleship. The members of the Assembly were first and foremost men of the Word of God. From the outset, they advanced the Reformation principles of sola Scriptura and tota Scriptura. In so doing, they were defending the sufficiency of Scripture as the solid foundation of Christian worship, witness, and discipleship. Edmund Clowney explained the significance of the opening chapter of the Confession, when he wrote,

The whole Westminster Confession depends upon its teaching about the Bible itself. . .That teaching has vast practical as well as theological consequences. Indeed, the recovery of the teaching of the Bible about itself was the key to the liberation brought about by the Protestant Reformation. Does the final authority rest in the church or in the Bible? The first chapter of the Westminster Confession presents its clear witness to the authority of Scripture out of a sense to answer that question biblically. The chapter is the Magna Carta of Christian liberty, sweeping away every claim of men to rule over the consciences of other men. At the same time, it is an act of devotion, rendering full submission to the immediate authority of God.[1]

The divines proceeded to explain how Scripture is the final authority in all controversies of religion. The last paragraph in chapter 1 states,

The supreme judge by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined; and in whose sentence we are to rest; can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture.

This is vital for discipleship in a day of heated theological and societal controversy and debate. An aspect of making Christian disciples involves training other believers how to test all things by the God-breathed Scriptures. God calls Christian disciples to scrutinize every statement of councils, theologians, movements, or individuals by the authoritative voice of the Spirit of God in all the Scriptures.

Additionally, the Confession gives interpretive principles for training disciples how to read the Scriptures. It is not enough for ministers to teach congregants that they need to read their Bibles—they also need to teach them how to read their Bible. We find one such principle in chapter 1, where we read,

The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself: and when, therefore, there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not manifold but one), it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.

This is the principle of the analogia fidei (the analogy of faith). Since the Holy Spirit is the interpreter of His own word, Scripture is the interpreter of Scripture. This plays an important role in discipleship insomuch as pastors are called to teach congregants the means by which they can understand and resolve difficult passages they stumble across in Scripture.

While the Westminster Standards teach so much more about the nature and meaning of Scripture, these principles are a few of the more foundational principles for Christian discipleship.

A Theological Foundation

In addition to laying a biblical foundation, the Standards lay the theological foundation for Christian discipleship. Although the Westminster Standards are not a systematic theology per se, they do contain the essential systematic-theological categories of essential Christian doctrines. Since discipleship is built on the foundation of Scripture, a working knowledge of the essential doctrines of Scripture is vital to our growth as disciples. To that end, the WCF and WLC supply a rich doctrinal exposition of the following essential theological doctrines:

  • The triune God (WCF ch. 2; WLC 7–11)
  • The decree of God (WCF ch. 3; WC 12–14)
  • Creation (WCF ch. 4; WLC 15–17)
  • Providence (WCF ch. 5; WLC 18–20)
  • The Fall, sin, and punishment (WCF ch. 6; WLC 21–29)
  • God’s covenant (WCF ch. 7; WLC 30–36)
  • Christ the Mediator (WCF ch. 8; WLC 36–57)
  • The will of man (WCF ch. 9; WLC 21)
  • The benefits of redemption (WCF chs. 10–13; WLC 66–75, 77–79)
  • Faith and repentance (WCF chs. 14–15; WLC 72–76)
  • Good works (WCF ch. 16; WLC 73, 78)
  • Perseverance (WCF ch. 17; WLC 79–80)
  • Worship (WCF ch. 21; WLC 104, 105, 108, 109, 117, 151, 179)
  • The sacraments (WCF chs. 27–29; WLC 35, 161–177)
  • Church discipline (WCF ch. 30)
  • The last things (WCF ch. 32; WLC 84–90)

The chapter “Of Christ the Mediator”—together with Larger Catechism questions 36–57—offers one of the richest Christological formulations in church history. While embracing Chalcedonian Christology, the divines set down a Reformed exposition of the offices, states, person, natures, work, and reward of Christ. It summarizes the biblical teaching about redemption accomplished and applied. There is no more important subject with which the mind of a Christian disciple can be occupied.

A Practical Foundation

Among the many topics of practical consideration addressed in detail in the Westminster Confession of Faith and Larger Catechism are the following:

  • Christian liberty (WCF 20)
  • Worship (WCF 21; LC 105, 108–110, 117)
  • Assurance of salvation (WCF 14.3; 16.2; 18; WLC 87, 167, 191, 194, 196)
  • Prayer (WLC 178–196)
  • Giving (WLC 141)
  • Work (WLC 115, 117, 138, 142)
  • Rest (WLC 117, 120)
  • Sexuality (WLC 138–139)
  • Marriage and divorce (WCF 24; WLC 139)
  • Parenting (WLC 125)
  • Material and financial ethics (WLC 141–142)

As ministers work through these and other important subjects with congregants, dozens of interrelated questions will necessarily arise. Though we may not have all the answers for every question of situational ethics, of this much we can be sure: The Westminster Standards address many of the significant theological and practical matters for Christian discipleship better than we could on our own.

The Practice of Discipling

Pastors need a robust and secure theological foundation. But they also need the skill to best to teach those truths to the people of God in a Christian discipleship context. For this reason, we now need to turn our attention to some practical approaches to carrying out confessional discipleship and offer some recommended resources that will help pastors along the way.

A Long-Term Approach

As has been noted above, I had the privilege of leading a men’s discipleship group for six or seven years while laboring as a PCA church planter. Without desiring to draw attention to the length of time we met for any self-aggrandizing purpose, I merely wish to encourage pastors to think about playing the long game. As the well-known and oft-repeated maxim goes, “People tend to overestimate what can be done in one year, and underestimate what can be done in five or ten years.” We live in a culture of “bigger, faster, stronger.” On the contrary, much of what has a lasting impact is that which took the longest to accomplish. I have a mentor who often reminds me, “It’s hard to derail a slowly moving train.” Those ministers who move patiently and intentionally often have the greatest lasting influence. We should enter in on the work of Chrstian discipleship with a view to laying a solid foundation for a building that will last.

If we adopt the long–term approach to discipleship, we will be less compelled to rush through the content of what we are teaching. At the outset of a discipleship group, a pastor may simply take the first section of the opening chapter of the Westminster Confession of Faith, or he may work through the first three or four questions of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. I discovered that when I was teaching through the Westminster Confession or Catechisms at a slow pace, the men in the group raised many thoughtful questions. Over a period of about a year, this pattern developed week by week. A slow approach allows a pastor to answer questions regarding personal devotions, family dynamics, parenting, apologetics, evangelism, worship, and much more. The men in the group will begin to see that the truths of God’s Word have a bearing on every aspect of their lives. A slow and steady approach to discipleship gives a pastor more time to bring biblical and theological truth to bear on the everyday aspects of lives of those in the group. A rushed approach will demand a more surface application.

At the end of each meeting, the men in the group spent time in prayer together. These were special times of opening our hearts to one another. We learned to bear one another’s burdens, we knew better how to pray according to the truths we had just considered, and we were encouraged to pray for one another throughout the week. If the end of Christian discipleship is knowing God and serving one another, then spending time praying with and for one another is a vital yet practical act toward that end.

The Service Effect

Christian service will also flow out of Christian discipleship. If we merely program service in the local church, we will end up creating a church full of Martha’s (Luke 10:38–42)—men and women who are torn in every direction and overwhelmed by the desire to serve others. As Burk Parsons has helpfully explained, “Many churches have programmed the life out of people that they barely have time left for their own families, let alone widows and orphans.” One of the practical benefits of a confessional discipleship group is that the pastor can encourage service among the members of the group at the right time and in the right way. In almost every meeting we had, the needs of the church plant arose. One or more of the men in the group would either volunteer to serve in a needed capacity or would offer suggestions about who might be a good fit for meeting a particular service need in the church. The biblical and confessional truths we considered in our meetings helped us identify and prioritize actual needs and areas of service in the church. This, in turn, will provide a platform for pastors to encourage service—in a non-programmatic or guilt-driven way—in the local church.

Resources

A pastor may find himself overwhelmed when thinking about starting a confessional discipleship group for a number of reasons. First, the Westminster Standards cover massive amounts of theological ground. Then there is the issue of language. Some of the language in the Standards (particularly in the Larger Catechism) is archaic. Finally, there is the challenge of the historical context. The historical context of the debates around particular doctrinal formulations taught in the Standards is not always evident. These three things pose a challenge for any pastor. I recently had a fellow PCA pastor reach out and ask if I could recommend a book on the historical background of the Standards because he was discouraged over how many young men were coming into his Presbytery who showed little-to-no knowledge about the basic historical background of the Assembly. While many books cover the historical background and exposition of the Westminster Standards, the following are some of the helpful works available:

A pastor doesn’t have to spend an inordinate amount of time preparing to lead a group through the Westminster Standards. Choosing one or two of the resources above should suffice in being prepared to lead a discussion on a small section or a few catechism questions.

As we plan for confessional discipleship in the life of the local church, may the Lord grant us wisdom and grace to do so patiently, prayerfully, and purposefully for the long-term and lasting fruitfulness of all those involved. If we are to equip congregants to be sound in the faith, fruitful in every good word and work, and to be prepared for potentially difficult days ahead, we should consider using the Westminster Standards as a guide in Christian discipleship.

*This post is the combination of a series of posts originally published at the Gospel Reformation Network.

This article originally appeared here.

How to Develop a Great Administrative Assistant

By
Katelyn Masyga
-
communicating with the unchurched
The role of an administrative assistant is about more than checking emails, answering phone calls, and managing a calendar. A great administrative assistant can become your partner and one of your most powerful assets as a leader when you work as a team. As an administrative assistant for 7 years in the Vineyard church in Duluth, here are 5 ways I’ve noticed you can maximize the potential of your assistants.

How to Develop a Great Administrative Assistant

Encourage them to work inside their giftings and personality make-up

It takes more than someone who is organized to be a great assistant. Understanding your administrator’s gift mix and personality will help you utilize them to their maximum potential. Have your administrative assistant take Strengthsfinder 2.0, Myers Briggs, or read material on the Enneagram and discuss how it applies to their role. Early on in my development as an administrative assistant, my boss, Michael Gatlin, had our staff complete the Myers Briggs and Strengths Finder assessments. I learned that I’m an ENTJ and a few of my strengths are Achiever, Ideation, Communication, and Responsibility.

These helped me identify who God made me to be—a detailed-oriented, problem solver, who can help make decisions and identify strengths in others. They made me more confident in my role as an assistant. I began to see my role in the kingdom as someone who comes alongside others to help them succeed.

It also helps to be open about your personal strengths and weaknesses. A properly trained administrative assistant can help you maximize your strengths and fill the gaps of your weaknesses. Be open about your skills with your assistant and share with them your shortcomings.

Beware of burn-out

Just like pastors, administrative staff can burn out. Encourage your administrative assistant to practice regular self-care and receive spiritual direction. It’s also important to make time and budget for them to attend conferences and events that connect them with Jesus and the wider church community. Oftentimes, assistants are the ones behind the scenes helping plan conferences and events like these. Throughout my experience as an assistant, I’ve been given the opportunities to simply attend some of these conferences. It’s at these times where I’ve felt God speak more clearly to me about my role in his kingdom and given me vision for the future.

Invest in long-term skill development

It’s important to invest significant time and energy into skill development and training in order to develop a great administrative assistant. Allow them to spend time with you in important meetings, so they can understand the skills of others you work with as well as the language that your teams use. This will result in more confident communication from your assistant on your behalf.

Empower them to make decisions

Once trust has been established in your relationship, empower your assistant to make decisions on your behalf, so you avoid becoming a bottleneck. Rather than telling your assistant how to respond, ask them, “How would you respond to this email?”

When I first started my job, I would take lots of notes when I was reviewing emails with Michael. As the trust in our relationship began to develop he would ask me to write up emails and he would review them, and provide constructive feedback. Before too long, I was able to speak on his behalf.

Some leaders work with an administrative assistant simply to manage details in their life. Yet, many leaders have folks next to them supporting their work because the assistant himself wants to learn. That is a lot like what the disciples did with Jesus. The young leaders around him got to hear the vision, to take care of tasks, and to jump out of the boat with him. Think of your administrative assistant as someone whom you are discipling, and also as someone whose work can complement and improve your own. Who wouldn’t want more productivity, more growth, and more kingdom stuff happening in their office?

If you are at a place where you feel stuck with your administrative assistant or you are considering hiring your first administrative assistant, consider utilizing the following resources: The Ministry of Administrative Assistants by Sue Thompson and Adam Hamilton and Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky

 

This article on a great administrative assistant originally appeared here, and is used by permission. Expand your imagination for multiplication. Learn more about church planting with the Vineyard Movement in this free eBook that covers the different models, methods, and people that make up Vineyard Churches.

Expensive New Sound System – and Lousy Sound?

By
Don Chapman
-
communicating with the unchurched

Here’s an interesting story I’ve heard told several times by several different churches over the past month. A church invests in a brand new sound system (one church spent $125,000!) and everyone unanimously agrees on one thing: The sound is horrible.

You can imagine the drama of spending a ton of money on a new sound system only to have what you spent it on work 10 times worse than what you had before. What’s going on?

Growing pains.

The first lesson: You can’t have a new mixing console that resembles the cockpit of the space shuttle and expect a volunteer to (ever) be able to get it to work right.

Here’s a potential scenario: A church of 500 managed just fine on their less-than-cutting-edge sound system. Rotating volunteers could easily manage the knobs and sliders to get a decent sound. Then the church starts growing into megachurch territory—shooting up to 2,200, maybe moving into a new building. The state-of-the-art new sound system is rolled into the new church, and on the grand opening they end up with music that sounds like it came out of a tin can. They haven’t yet realized they can’t invest in pro equipment without hiring a pro to run it.

Sound techs are a hot commodity in the megachurch world. I know of one megachurch that just hired an excellent sound man away from another megachurch—they’re paying him $60,000 a year and he was making $30,000.

And, boy, does a pro make a difference. I visited a local megachurch a few years ago on Easter Sunday and heard absolutely the worst sound I’d ever heard in a church. A ministry of this size should have known better—tinny, bright frequencies that hurt my ears and no bass. A few years later, they hired a worship leader who “gets it”—one of the first things he did was hire a full-time sound tech. The next time I visited, I was stunned—I experienced the best church sound mix I’ve ever heard, and they were using the exact same equipment—only run by someone who knew what he was doing.

Bottom Line: Megachurch worship costs more than you think: especially for staffing a sound tech for your new sound system.

Sen. Warnock Deletes Easter Tweet After Being Accused of ‘Heresy’

By
Jessica Lea
-
communicating with the unchurched

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), senior pastor of historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, drew backlash on Easter for posting a now-deleted tweet that many labeled “heresy.” 

“The meaning of Easter is more transcendent than the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” Warnock said in the tweet. “Whether you are a Christian or not, through a commitment to helping others we are able to save ourselves.”

The tweet started quite a discussion about the true meaning of the gospel and what the pastor meant by those words. Many people condemned Warnock’s statement as antithetical to Christian beliefs, while some of Warnock’s defenders shot back with their own accusations that true heresy is “idolatry of a cult leader” like former president Donald Trump. 

Sen. Raphael Warnock’s Easter Controversy

Sen. Raphael Warnock recently won a run-off election in Georgia and made history by becoming the state’s first Black senator. His church, Ebenezer Baptist, was formerly pastored by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and subscribes to liberation theology. 

Many of Warnock’s critics took his tweet as directly contradicting the Bible’s teaching that Jesus’ death and resurrection (events specifically commemorated on Easter) are the only way for people to be saved. Examples of Scriptural teachings on salvation include John 14:6, which says, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” In 1 Corinthians 15:14-18, the Apostle Paul writes of the pointlessness of Christian faith if Jesus did not rise from the dead:

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.

One user responded to Warnock’s tweet, saying, “You know this is literal heresy, right?” Darrell B. Harrison, who serves as Dean of Social Media at John MacArthur’s ministry, Grace to You, tweeted, “This is what the heresy of liberation theology does—reduces the significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to self-salvific moralism and thereby making ourselves God.” 

David Brody, Chief Political Analyst for Christian Broadcasting Networkn (CBN), said, “This is 100% theologically WRONG. We can’t save ourselves. That’s the WHOLE POINT of why Jesus came to this Earth. He came so we have a way to Heaven to be with him. Shame on the, ‘Reverend.’” 

Jenna Ellis, who represented Donald Trump in his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, has commented extensively on Warnock’s tweet, calling the reverend a “false teacher.” 

UPDATE: Judge Orders Lil Nas X’s ‘Satan Shoe’ To Stop Shipment

By
Kelsey Straeter
-
communicating with the unchurched

UPDATED April 5, 2021: Nike’s temporary restraining order against MSCHF, the company known for “creating some of the most absurd, cynical, and viral projects and products that have spread across the internet” including the recent Lil Nas X “Satan Shoes,” has been upheld by New York U.S. District Court Judge Eric Komitee last Thursday.

The order immediately stops the shipment of any orders involving the controversial MSCHF Nike branded Air Max 97 “Satan Shoe.”

The judge heard from Nike’s lawyers as they submitted evidence that claimed “even sophisticated sneakerheads were confused” causing consumers to boycott the popular sneaker brand because people thought Nike was behind and supporting the devil shoe. The attorney said, “We have submitted numerous evidence that some consumers are saying they will never buy Nike shoes ever again.”

Nike told CBS News, “We do not have a relationship with Lil Nas X or MSCHF. The Satan Shoes were produced without Nike’s approval or authorization, and Nike is in no way connected with this project.”

It was revealed to the court that all 665 sold-out “Satan” shoes had been shipped to their customers while the remaining 666th pair was scheduled to be given away to a fan through a Twitter giveaway. That has now been put on indefinite hold, according to an MSCHF statement.

Lawyers for MSCHF called the shoes art and referenced the “Jesus Shoes” their company also created that sold for $4,000. Those shoes contained holy water from the River Jordan and they argued that they didn’t face a lawsuit then. MSCHF told CBS News, “Heresy only exists in relation to doctrine. Who is Nike to censor one but not the other?”

The Hollywood Reporter uploaded a copy of the Judge’s written order and reported that an additional hearing will consider a “longer-lasting preliminary injunctive” that would ensure that no more “Satan Shoes” using the Nike shoe could be sold.

Lil Nas X posted on Twitter saying, “Sorry guys I’m legally not allowed to give the 666th pair away anymore because of the crying nerds on the internet.”

The day the shoes went on sale, on Franklin Graham’s Facebook page,  he called the marketing endeavor dangerous and that the morals in our country have fallen fast. Then he followed up his comments by saying, “The Word of God says, ‘And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell’ (Matthew 10:28). Hell is a real place, and so is the eternal torment of those who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.”

ChurchLeaders original article written on March 30, 2021 below:

Rapper Lil Nas X, famous for his song “Old Town Road” with Billy Ray Cyrus, is stirring up a viral controversy over his latest partnership with MSCHF. Lil Nas X is collaborating with the New York corporation to release a limited edition line of “Satan Shoes.” The shoes will reportedly contain a drop of human blood mixed with 66CCs of red ink in the sole of the shoe. Precisely 666 pairs will be made available, representing the sinister mark of Satan. And the rapper didn’t stop there. On the side of each shoe, there will also be a scripture reference to Luke 10:18, a verse referring to Satan’s fall from heaven. The Satan Shoes will be adorned with upside-down crosses along with a pentagram fixed to the shoelaces. MSCHF is apparently known for “creating some of the most absurd, cynical, and viral projects and products that have spread across the internet.” When questioned, the company’s CEO Gabriel Whaley couldn’t even describe MSCHF, but he did explain what differentiates them from other companies:

“Being a company kills the magic,” Whaley recently told Business Insider. “We’re trying to do stuff that the world can’t even define. Our perspective is everything is funny in a nihilistic sort of way. We’re not here to make the world a better place. We’re making light of how much everything sucks.”

Unsurprisingly, news of the satanic shoe collaboration has created an uproar. Even Nike disapproves of the endeavor. “We do not have a relationship with Little Nas X or MSCHF,” Nike Media Relations told CBN. “Nike did not design or release these shoes and we do not endorse them.” A tweet from former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence captured more than 96,000 likes and 16,000 shares since it was posted yesterday afternoon.

 

Lawrence simply wrote, “Line has to be drawn somewhere. Smh.” 

Fans emphatically agreed with his blatant disapproval. Lawrence is expected to be drafted No. 1 overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2021 NFL draft, but his passions run much deeper than football. In the past, the quarterback has been very outspoken about his Christian faith and has taken a stand on various social issues. The shoe controversy also elicited a response from Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota. “Our kids are being told that this kind of product is, not only okay, it’s ‘exclusive.’ But do you know what’s more exclusive? Their God-given eternal soul,” Noem tweeted. “We are in a fight for the soul of our nation,” she added. “We need to fight hard. And we need to fight smart. We have to win.” Lil Nas X fired back, tweeting, “ur a whole governor and u on here tweeting about some d*mn shoes. do ur job!’ Clearly undaunted by the criticism, Lil Nas X released an “apology” video featuring him giving Satan a lap dance while singing, “f— it. Let’s ride.” The rapper’s Satan Shoes will be available to interested buyers starting on March 29 for $1,018 a pair. This article originally appeared here.

‘Wisdom Gushing Out of Him’: A Remembrance of Robert E. Cooley

By
Religion News Service
-
communicating with the unchurched

(RNS) — If you met Robert E. Cooley, you remember his arresting handshake. If you sat in a meeting with him, you recall a brilliance that stopped committee chatter or — more improbably — made sudden sense of it. If you worked with him, you remember a measured decisiveness that could pull your organization back to its mission or lead a whole new movement.

Cooley, a Near Eastern archaeologist and former president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, died Thursday (April 1) at age 91.

Best known for his presidency of the seminary from 1981 to 1997, Cooley spent much of his earlier career at archaeological sites in Israel and Egypt. His most important discoveries were made at Tel Dothan, in the West Bank, where he brought to light the burial rituals of 288 of the ancient city that speak volumes about how they lived. He played a key role in the founding of the Near East Archaeological Society.

His later research of 106 Native American sites while director of the Center for Archaeological Research at Missouri State University became central for the U.S. government’s “cultural resource management studies.”

But it was in higher education that he had his greatest impact on American religious life, much of it after he retired from Gordon-Conwell. He helped Tim Laniak, then-dean of the Charlotte, North Carolina, campus, develop that campus and plant a satellite school in Jacksonville, Florida. “Those who knew Dr. Cooley,” Laniak said on Thursday, “assumed the whole world did.”

In 2008, Cooley helped to reorganize the governance of Oral Roberts University at a time when the school had fallen into debt and was on the brink of closing. Mart Green, a co-owner of the Hobby Lobby stores who brought Cooley in to help rescue the school, recalled, “I first met Bob when he was in his late 70s, and wisdom was gushing out of him.”

The son of an Assemblies of God minister, Cooley was instrumental in the 2011 consolidation of three of the denomination’s schools — Central Bible College (his alma mater), Evangel University and the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri.

Cooley, a past president of the Association of Theological Schools in the U.S. and Canada, also served as a senior editor for Christianity Today magazine and worked for the World Evangelical Alliance. He served as a founding board member for the Museum of the Bible.

His last lecture, in November 2019, was at the Charlotte campus, where he retired. Titled “Household Archaeology: My Career Is in Ruins,” it was the first he delivered seated, Cooley explained, noting that he was approaching “the 90-yard line of life.”

Cooley was a man of great personal strength and he aged gracefully — at 84 years, he could grab a 100-pound bag of golf clubs in one hand from his trunk, and carry it some distance.

In 2014, he gave a lecture in Springfield, Missouri, at a traveling exhibit of the Museum of the Bible, speaking for more than an hour to a standing room only crowd, no notes in hand, and gave a detailed and memorable talk on archaeology and the Bible. The Q&A was wide-ranging and even more riveting. Afterward, he withstood a long line of people waiting to chat.

Seeing that image of him leaning slightly on the rostrum was a freeze-frame moment. He told me beforehand it was his last special lecture away from home as “my youth is leaving me.”

He lived fully, and purposefully. As he lost the ability to get around and eventually the ability to breathe, he never lost the strength to invest in others, and to live with the belief of heaven. He took pride in not being “the last of the conservatives,” but a mentor to future generations.

Green said the news of Cooley’s passing, and his life at large, brought to mind a verse from the Book of Job: “Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?”

(Jerry Pattengale is the inaugural University Professor at Indiana Wesleyan University and a founding scholar of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. He is the author most recently of “Inexplicable: How Christianity Spread to the Ends of the Earth” and is co-author of the accompanying TBN docuseries. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.) 

This article originally appeared here.

At Second Easter Under Pandemic Rules, Christians Glimpse Church’s Future

By
Religion News Service
-
Easter under pandemic
Photo by Tucker Good/Unsplash/Creative Commons

(RNS) — Last year on March 3, the Rev. Wolfgang Herz-Lane got a call at home from a member of his congregation.

“That guy they’re talking about in the news,” the congregant said, “that’s me.”

He was referring to news reports about the first North Carolinian to be diagnosed with COVID-19. That person, who declined to be identified, is a member of Herz-Lane’s church, Christ the King Lutheran in Cary, a town west of Raleigh, the capital.

Herz-Lane said the man recovered and is doing well.

So is the church.

The congregation held its last indoor service a few days after that call. But it has not spent the past year standing still. The pandemic has transformed the 1,570-member church.

A few months into the pandemic, the congregation decided it would transition permanently to a “hybrid” model, conducting online worship that will continue even after in-person worship returns April 25 for 50 preregistered congregants.

A few weeks ago, it welcomed its first nonresident member, a Maryland woman who does not expect to worship in person but was able to attend the required new-member class online.

There’s also a new prayer garden and a labyrinth  walk— for those who live nearby but don’t want to risk an indoor service.

The coronavirus has “redefined for me what church is going to be like and what the definition of membership is,” said Herz-Lane.

Exactly how the COVID-19 pandemic has reconfigured American religion is not yet clear. A recent Gallup poll suggested the virus was at least partly responsible for pushing formal church membership past what some regard as an alarming tipping point: Fewer than half of American Christians, Gallup reported, now belong to a church.

But as U.S. Christians celebrate a second Easter under pandemic rules — their own or those imposed by government or denominational guidelines — churches are reckoning with new ways of volunteering, stewardship and, above all, worshipping. Many will be looking at Easter services this year and wondering if they are not glimpsing the future of the church.

“The truth is, those numbers have been declining for 50 years,” said Herz-Lane. “The pandemic accelerated trends that are already there.”

Some churches are not giving in to any new normal quite yet. The nearly 300-year-old Old South Union Church, a United Church of Christ outpost in Weymouth, Massachusetts, has gone back and forth over the past year, both meeting online and holding hybrid services, with a fraction of their 500 members in the pews, with most watching from home.

On Easter, however, Old South Union will go back to online only, ceding the sanctuary to a full-blown Easter service with traditional choirs, including a bell choir and brass ensemble. “One of our deacons put it well,” said the Rev. Jennie Barrett Siegal, the senior pastor. “We wanted to have a service that felt like Easter, not just another service that happened to fall on Easter.”

Other congregations have no choice but to improvise their celebration. Before the pandemic, the Anthology Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles, had been meeting in a local community center on Sundays. With the center still closed despite the gradual lifting of restrictions by the city, Anthology’s pastor, the Rev. D.J. Jenkins, began scouting for a church where his flock could hold an outdoor service.

All of the churches he called declined. Undaunted, he reached out to the rabbis at two synagogues that participate with Anthology in a local interfaith food pantry. This Sunday, Jenkins will lead an Easter service on the grounds of Temple Beth Hillel, a Reform congregation.

Though Easter normally draws about 200 worshippers, Sunday’s gathering will be limited to about 50, with masks and temperature checks required. The hymns will be played on a single guitar and a cajón, a box-shaped percussion instrument.

As unfamiliar and modest as Easter will be, Jenkins will be grateful just to be together. “It’s going to be, ‘Oh my gosh, we are all together and we are singing,’” he said. “It’s going to be therapeutic in that regard.”

Different doesn’t always mean diminished; the pandemic has pushed some churches to broaden their appeal. St. John’s Lutheran Church in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, part of Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ, has found glimmers of hope in the church’s annual Easter egg hunt.

Normally an Easter-morning affair that brought out a few dozen families from the congregation to search for prize-filled plastic eggs, this year’s hunt has turned into a weeklong text message-based scavenger hunt that has pushed congregants out into the community and involved people who had never come to the church.

A banner outside St. John’s gives the first clue to the Easter Jam Family Egg Hunt, explained Stephen Quist, who co-leads the church’s children and family ministry with his wife, Cassie. By texting clues to a phone number on the banner, participants are led to a dozen or so locations around town and eventually back to church, where they get a prize pack full of Easter eggs and candy, as well as information about the church’s Easter Sunday services — online, outdoors and in the sanctuary.

Quist said a couple dozen families, including some who don’t attend St. John’s, already had participated in the scavenger hunt as of Tuesday morning (March 30).

St. John’s already was thinking of moving away from its traditional Easter egg hunt to try new things when COVID-19 hit last year, he said. Now it has found a new activity that involves the whole community. “I would say that COVID has maybe expedited, forced our hand in the direction we’re probably headed anyway,” Quist said.

Dave Ramsey’s Company Dropped From ‘Best Workplaces’ List by Inc. Magazine

By
Bob Smietana
-
Dave Ramsey
People attend a worship service entitled “Watch the Darkness Flee,” Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021, at Ramsey Solutions headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee. RNS photo by Bob Smietana

NASHVILLE (RNS) — The company owned by Christian financial guru and radio host Dave Ramsey is no longer one of the best places to work in America, according to Inc. magazine.

The national business publication dropped Franklin, Tennessee-based Ramsey Solutions from its 2020 “Best Workplaces” list after the company was sued by a former employee, Caitlin O’Conner, for discrimination. O’Connor claims she was fired from Ramsey Solutions after applying for family leave because she was pregnant.

Her lawsuit claims Ramsey Solutions “discriminates against employees who do not strictly adhere to Ramsey’s interpretation of ‘Judeo-Christian’ values for non-work related behavior.”

In court documents, Ramsey Solutions said O’Connor, who is not married, was fired for having premarital sex, which violated the company’s “righteous living” policy.

“There is no dispute that Plaintiff was aware of this rule and terminated for violating it,” Ramsey’s lawyer said in a March filing. The company also said that, since 2016, it has disciplined eight other employees, both men and women, for having premarital sex.

After learning of the lawsuit, Inc. dropped Ramsey Solutions from the “Best Workplaces” list.

“Ramsey has the right to manage its business in accordance with its values, and the court system will determine the merits of the lawsuit,” Inc. assistant editor Sophie Downes wrote in announcing the decision. “Upon learning about the company’s ‘righteous living’ policy and how it is applied, we believe that it is incompatible with our standards of organizational excellence and have made the editorial decision to remove the company from our 2020 Best Workplaces list.”

About 3,000 companies applied to be included on Inc.’s annual Best Workplaces list. The list seeks to recognize companies where people love to work, one that sets the standard for excellence in company,” according to Inc.

Ramsey Solutions did not reply to a request for comment. The company, which employs about 900 people, has received millions in tax breaks for expanding its headquarters and promising to create hundreds of new jobs.

Dave Ramsey and other leaders have told employees the company relies on being named to the “Best Workplaces” list as a recruiting tool, according to a recording of a staff meeting discussing the surveys, obtained by Religion News Service. Leaders also warned employees that if they can’t answer surveys that put the company in a positive light, they should leave.

Ramsey, whose Financial Peace University materials are used by thousands of churches, has been at the center of controversy over the past year for his comments about the COVID-19 pandemic. From the beginning, he has downplayed the threat of the coronavirus and called mask-wearing a sign of fear and required all employees to work in the office. During a staff meeting last year, Ramsey also threatened to fire an employee who filed an OSHA complaint against the company’s response to COVID-19. The company held a large-scale, mostly maskless, in-person Christmas party.

Ramsey recently filmed a video in support of a law that would label mask mandates as discriminatory. His company is also suing a Florida resort, claiming the hotel’s enforcement of mask bans cost Ramsey millions in revenue when they had to cancel a conference.

The financial guru has long defended his company’s moral code, saying it is needed to create a godly work atmosphere.

Ramsey Solutions recently cut ties with Chris Hogan, a high-profile employee who was seen as a possible successor to Ramsey. In a video announcement posted in March, Hogan said he had “done some things personally that are not in line with Ramsey Solutions” and had left the company.

“This week, new information came to light that Chris Hogan has recently done some things personally that are not in line with Ramsey Solutions’ core values,” the company said in a statement after Hogan left. “As a result of his current actions and behavior, Chris Hogan is no longer a team member at Ramsey or a Ramsey Personality. ”

Before his firing, Ramsey and other company leaders had long known of allegations of misconduct against Hogan. In an interview with RNS, Hogan’s ex-wife said she came to Ramsey leadership in November 2018 with allegations Chris had been unfaithful to her.

Hogan has since admitted having at least two affairs, including one with a coworker at Ramsey Solutions.

At a May 2019 staff meeting, Ramsey told his employees, “If you are worrying about our integrity in leadership and are we covering up for (Hogan) because he is a big brand, the answer is no. No.”

But the situation drew criticism that the company’s moral codes were selectively enforced.

Hogan left the company not long after O’Connor’s attorney had requested copies of his personal file as part of the discovery for the lawsuit.

This article originally appeared here.

1...701702703...1,194Page 702 of 1,194
855,266FansLike

New Articles

New Podcasts

Joby Martin

Joby Martin: What Happens When Pastors Finally Understand Grace

Jessica Lea -
Joby Martin joins “The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast” to discuss what happens when a church leader has truly been run over by the “grace train" and understands the profound love and grace of God.
Jennie Allen

Best of 2024—Jennie Allen: Why Church Leaders Need To Pay Attention...

Jon Acuff

Best of 2024: Jon Acuff—How To Pursue Success Without Destroying Your...

Libin Abraham

Libin Abraham on God’s Surprising Job Description for the Pastor

ChurchLeaders.com is dedicated to resourcing, informing, and connecting a community of church leaders for greater Kingdom impact worldwide.
Contact us: support@churchleaders.com

Company

Trending

Popular Categories

© ChurchLeaders