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Layoffs, Upheaval at Zacharias Ministry Reeling From Scandal

By
AP News
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Zacaharias Ministry
FILE - In this March 30, 2016 file photo, Ravi Zacharias, center, speaks during the Society of World Changers induction ceremony at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind. On Wednesday, March 10, 2021, the Ravi Zacharias International Ministries says it will suspend fundraising, lay off 60% of its staff and overhaul its mission in the wake of revelations that Zacharias, who died in May 2020, engaged in sexual misconduct with massage therapists and carried on many amorous extramarital relationships via texts and email. (Jeff Morehead/The Chronicle-Tribune via AP)

The global Christian ministry founded by the late Ravi Zacharias said Wednesday it will suspend fundraising, lay off 60% of its staff and overhaul its mission in the wake of revelations that he engaged in sexual misconduct with massage therapists and carried on many amorous extramarital relationships via texts and email.

Ravi Zacharias International Ministries CEO Sarah Davis announced the organization will shift away from its current mission as a global team of speakers making the case for Christianity. It will become a grant-making entity with funds directed to two areas: RZIM’s original mission of preaching the Gospel, and the prevention of sexual abuse and caring for its victims. Previously the organization had said it would change its name.

“RZIM cannot — indeed should not — continue to operate as an organization in its present form,” said Davis, the eldest daughter of the author and speaker who died last May before his misconduct came to light. “Nor do we believe we can merely rename the organization and move forward with ‘business as usual.’”

“We anticipate this transition to grant-making will be complete in four to six months, and when completed will be accompanied by leadership changes,” she added.

RZIM had experienced a steady decline in financial support in recent months, according to Davis, and had decided to stop soliciting or accepting contributions at least temporarily.

Citing “current economic realities,” she said the organization’s global staff — which included scores of traveling speakers — would be reduced by about 60% beginning Thursday. She said employees who are laid off will receive severance pay and will not be asked to sign nondisclosure agreements.

Allegations of sexual misconduct by Zacharias began to surface last fall in social media and news outlets, notably a Sept. 29 article in the evangelical publication Christianity Today. It asserted that over about five years, he sexually harassed three women who worked as massage therapists at two day spas he co-owned in an Atlanta suburb.

RZIM’s leadership initially challenged the claims, saying they “do not in any way comport with the man we knew for decades — we believe them to be false.”

However, in October it hired an Atlanta law firm which in turn engaged the services of a private investigation company comprising former federal law enforcement officers. The law firm, Miller & Martin, issued a scathing report last month based on interviews with more than 50 people, including more than a dozen massage therapists.

Five of the therapists said Zacharias touched them inappropriately, and one said she was raped, according to the report. It said investigators searching Zacharias’ mobile devices found more than 200 photographs of younger women, including nude images of a salon employee in Malaysia.

Zacharias, who died of cancer at the age of 74, was widely popular and counted many celebrities and prominent Christian leaders among his admirers. Then-Vice President Mike Pence spoke at his memorial service in May.

Zacharias founded his international ministry in 1984 with a mission to engage in “Christian apologetics” — defending Christianity through intellectual arguments. Based in suburban Atlanta, RZIM has operations in about 20 countries and scores of traveling speakers.

After release of the law firm’s report, RZIM’s board said it was hiring a consulting firm, Guidepost Solutions, to conduct an independent assessment of the organization. It also hired lawyer Rachael Denhollander, a prominent advocate for survivors of sexual abuse, to serve as a confidential liaison with survivors of abuse related to RZIM.

RZIM also said it is removing Zacharias’ publications and videos from its website and social media platforms.

This article written by David Crary originally appeared here.

Should Churches Mandate COVID Vaccines for Their Staff?

By
Stephanie Martin
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communicating with the unchurched

As vaccines for COVID-19 become more widely available, churches, institutions and organizations are discussing whether to mandate COVID vaccines for employees. Debates are underway in venues hit hardest by the pandemic, including school districts, cruise-line companies, nursing homes, and churches.

The debate involves federal and state laws, FDA wording, and numerous exemptions and accommodations. Although mandating vaccines can result in costly litigation, legal experts say employers can take steps to encourage and even reward compliance. In addition, churches and ministries can emphasize that getting immunized against COVID-19 is an easy, practical way to resume normal operations and express love for the entire community.

What the Law Says About Whether Your Church Can Mandate COVID Vaccines

The COVID vaccines currently being administered in the United States have received “emergency use authorization” (EUA), not licensure, from the federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Clinical trials, which typically take about two years, must be completed in order for the FDA to take the final step of licensing each vaccine.

Under federal law, individuals have “the option to accept or refuse” any EUA product or medication. According to the CDC, under the EUA, “vaccines are not allowed to be mandatory”—not even in hospital settings. (When licensing is complete, however, some health care settings that serve medically vulnerable patient populations can mandate certain vaccines.)

Vaccine providers and recipients must receive fact sheets that clearly state the COVID-19 immunization is optional—and that if you refuse to accept it, “your standard of medical care” won’t be affected.

Although state laws vary, they usually protect employees who are covered under federal statutes. In 23 states, legislators who cite concerns about personal freedom are trying to ban employers from being able to mandate COVID vaccines. State laws that require schoolchildren be vaccinated contain opt-out provisions for medical, religious, and philosophical objections.

In December, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said employers can mandate COVID vaccines but must accommodate religious objections and can’t discriminate against employees with disabilities. Examples of accommodations include altering someone’s job duties and allowing remote-working options.

Attorney Melissa Gonzalez Boyce recommends that workplaces tread carefully and take the pulse of employees. Consider their responses to safety protocols that went into place during the past year, she says. “If a large segment of your workforce resisted wearing a mask or resisted social distancing…that should give a clear indication as to where your workforce falls on the vaccine front,” she notes.

Employers Can Strongly Encourage But Not Mandate COVID Vaccines

Experts who say COVID-19 vaccines most likely can’t be required are quick to point out that employers can strongly encourage them—and even offer incentives to increase worker compliance. They recommend that organizations ramp up communications and other educational efforts to tout the shots’ importance, safety, and efficacy. As long as those efforts aren’t considered coercive and as long as employees understand that their compliance is voluntary, employers will likely remain within their legal bounds.

Employment lawyer Lindsay Ryan recommends that accommodations be offered whenever possible. Otherwise, she says, “pushback from fearful employees” is likely. Attempts to make COVID-19 vaccines a requirement could lead to low employee morale and even the loss of employees, she adds. After all, some people have allergies or reactions to immunizations, and groups such as pregnant women may have legitimate safety concerns.

It’s possible to achieve high vaccination rates without forcing the issue, says Dr. Howard Forman of Yale University. He tells CNBC about once agreeing to receive a flu shot in exchange for a slice of cake. “You can create small financial incentives,” says Forman. “You can give people discounts on co-pays. You can do things with insurance that would make getting a vaccine better than free.”

Good Friday Family Experience

By
Jenny Funderburke Smith
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communicating with the unchurched

Good Friday Family Experience

This past Easter our church wanted to provide a family event that allowed families to talk about the gospel. We created an event prior to our churchwide Good Friday service. Families walked through at their own pace. They had 10-12 activity and prayer stations where they read scripture, did an activity and talked about it. Parents were able to adapt for the age of their kids.

My friend Kenny Conley did something similar several years ago and you can find his details on his blog.

I wanted to share our stations too in case any other kidmin needed a gospel-centered Easter experience.

Summary of Event:

  • Parents and children will walk through activity/prayer stations. These stations will walk families through the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Christ with an emphasis on reflecting on our sins and His taking the punishment for our sins.

Station 1: The Fall

  • Stand at the blue line. Your task is to jump from the blue line to the red line with one jump.
  • What happened? Did you miss?
  • Read Romans 3:23.
  • Ask: What is sin? (Knowing the right thing to do and not doing it)
  • We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. We all mess up. This sin separates us from God. Sin is a problem for all of us. God sent His son Jesus to take the punishment for our sin.
  • Read Romans 6:23.
  • Tonight we are going to focus on that punishment Jesus took for us.
  • If you are able, put the rock inside your shoe for the remainder of the journey. This rock represents our sin. Walking around with our sin is not how we were created to be. Sin separates us from God because He is holy. Sin doesn’t go away on its own, but like a pebble in your shoe will continue to hinder and bother you. And even worse, it will separate you from God. Tonight we are focusing on how Jesus died for these sins.

Station 2: Judas Agrees to Betrayal

  • Say: Judas was one of Jesus’ closest friends. The religious leaders were mad and jealous of Jesus and wanted to get rid of Him.
  • Read Matthew 26:14-16.
  • Sin is when we do things our way instead of God’s way. How did Judas choose himself over God?
  • Count out and stack up 30 of the silver coins. For each coin, name something that we do that is our way instead of God’s way.
  • Talk: Share about a time you know you did things your way instead of God’s way. Did you know it right away? Did you feel bad right away or later?

Station 3: Jesus’ Arrest

  • Matthew 26:47-56
  • Use the legos to set up a scene like you just read about.
  • As you build your scene talk about:
  • What emotions do you think Jesus’ friends were feeling? How do you know?
  • What did one of them do out of fear and/or anger? (Cut off someone’s ear)
  • Do we ever sin out of fear or anger? What are some examples?

Post Pandemic…Get Ready for the Church Attendance BOOM, New Study Says

By
Stephanie Martin
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communicating with the unchurched

As America marks one year of pandemic-related shutdowns this week, new research offers encouragement for pastors wondering whether in-person church attendance will eventually bounce back. Churches, along with almost every other sector of society, had to drastically alter their operations because of COVID-19. But as vaccination percentages increase and the virus threat decreases, worship services are likely to fill back to pre-pandemic numbers.

That’s a key takeaway from a recent Lifeway Research study of 1,000 Protestant churchgoers. When gathering in large groups is deemed safe again, 91% of respondents say they plan to worship in person as frequently as they did before March of 2020. Of those, 23% indicate they expect to attend services more than they did prior to the pandemic. By contrast, only six percent of churchgoers say they’ll attend less than before, and only one percent say they won’t return to in-person worship at all.

Churchgoers ages 18 to 29 top the list of survey respondents who say they’re most likely to attend church more frequently when COVID-19 is no longer a concern, at 43%. Among evangelical Christians, 28% say they’re likely to attend in-person worship more often than they did before the pandemic, compared to 19% of non-evangelical Protestants.

Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, says that after a sharp decline in church attendance this January, many pastors were “wondering if those who haven’t returned ever will.” Two-thirds of U.S. churches that offered in-person worship in January 2021 reported church attendance figures of less than 70% of their January 2020 totals, McConnell says. But hearing that 91% of worshipers plan to return “when it is safe to do so,” he adds, should offer church leaders some much-needed hope after such a tumultuous year.

Church Attendance Through Livestreaming

Regarding church involvement during the yearlong pandemic, 87% of the churchgoers surveyed report staying with the same congregation, and 83% say they watched a livestreamed or online worship service at least once during 2020.

Back in September 2019, the number of churchgoers who said they participated in a virtual church service rather than in-person worship at least 18 times or more in the past year was just four percent. In the new study, however, 32% report that’s been the case.

“Churches livestreaming services during COVID-19 has made this experience commonplace among churchgoers,” says McConnell. “Despite the increased exposure to this concept, however, relatively few have made this a weekly habit.”

The forced suspension of large gatherings seems to have instilled a deeper appreciation for in-person worship. Ninety-four percent of respondents report that they “greatly value the times they can attend worship services in person with others from their church.”

Faith Growth Is Trending Too

Amid all the disruptions caused by the coronavirus, one bright spot seems to be the way this pandemic has impacted people’s faith. More than half (54%) of churchgoers surveyed by Lifeway indicate that the life-altering events of 2020 led them toward a closer relationship with God; half of those (27%) say they’re now “much closer” to him. About one in 10 (11%) admit that they are now questioning their Christian faith.

Again, young adults top both lists: More than one-third (37%) of respondents from the 18-to-29 age group say their faith grew during the pandemic, but almost one-quarter (24%) say they’re now questioning their beliefs.

McConnell notes, “The faith of most churchgoers remains resilient despite a year filled with much uncertainty and fewer options for meeting in person with others from church. During these trying times, churchgoers were almost eight times more likely to relate to God more than less.”

Other Church Attendance Impacts From COVID-19

Lifeway’s study also explores how the pandemic has affected churchgoers’ general interactions, jobs, and health. As recently as January, 36% of respondents indicate maintaining a limited number of interpersonal contacts. Seven percent report having contact with no one during that entire month.

On the employment front, six percent of respondents say they lost a job because of the pandemic, and 15% say their income has decreased. Ten percent say other church members have assisted with their day-to-day needs. “Like other Americans,” says McConnell, “churchgoers have seen the effects of COVID-19 firsthand. Many churchgoers have also felt the benefits of being part of a church as members checked on them or provided assistance.”

Evangelism opportunities also have reportedly increased during the past year, despite the physical distancing that’s been the norm. Fifteen percent of people surveyed say they have been able to share the gospel message with someone during this unprecedented time.

Health-wise, eight percent of respondents say they’ve received a COVID-19 diagnosis. Forty-two percent say a church member has tested positive, and 18% say someone in their congregation has died as a result.

According to a previous Lifeway Research study, 88% of Protestant pastors reported that a church attendee had tested positive for COVID-19, and 29% said a church member had died from the virus or from complications related to it.

Prepare for Outreach Opportunities

“Between now and June will be a tremendous outreach opportunity for churches as millions of people will be looking to go back to church and will be more open to trying new churches,” says Scott Evans, founder and CEO of Outreach Inc. “Easter is the start of this trend, but churches should plan on conducting outreach and extra communication after Easter into summer.”

To help churches welcome back members—and reach out to other people in the community—Outreach created a variety of outdoor banners, some with an Easter theme and others with messages such as “Together Again.” Currently, 3′ x 8′ customized outdoor banners are half off at www.Outreach.com. “We’re definitely seeing churches begin to communicate that they’re open again, and we expect this trend to continue after Easter,” says Evans.

Tim Downs, an Outreach VP who monitors trends, says church-signage needs during the bulk of the pandemic had been geared toward safety messaging, social distancing, and managing traffic flow. “As the public-health threat decreases and higher church occupancy is safer,” he says, “churches will need to clearly broadcast that they’re open, safe, and welcoming people back indoors.”

Downs adds, “We’re seeing outdoor services trending like never before. At many churches, ‘drive-in’ services are now popular. People will return to the sanctuary in great numbers once they feel the doors are open again, but we believe many churches will continue to offer multiple ways for congregants to engage; for example, indoor services and online access will be much more prevalent than they were before the pandemic.”

Today’s Rising ‘Secular Couples’ Are Asking, “Who Needs the Church?”

By
Laycie McClain
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communicating with the unchurched

Fewer couples are turning to the church today and that’s a pressing concern for church leaders. An in-depth study performed by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) offers a statistical glimpse into current trends of religion in America. Focusing on the study’s findings about families and marriage, families being the foundation of any society, provides key data for answering the question of what these trends may mean for the church for years to come.

Secular Couples Experience Faith Decline at Home

According to the AEI study, 22 percent of young adults in America report a home life without the influence of any formal religion, compared with only three percent of senior Americans. Alongside the rise in “unaffiliated” homes are homes with parents of differing religious backgrounds. One in five Americans are raised in interfaith home environments and it is becoming more common. The study results also show that American children whose parents have differing faiths are significantly less likely to be active in faith during their formative years.

This decline in young families attending church may go even deeper as a result of the pandemic. In his article “The Two Largest Groups Who Have Not Returned to In-Person Worship Since COVID,” Thom Rainer writes, “As a rule, parents whose children are back in school classrooms are likely to be comfortable bringing those children to in-person church gatherings. But if the child is younger than school age, the hesitancy to return is greater. The entire family typically does not return to church.”

Secular Couples Are Avoiding Church Weddings

The AEI study suggests “the shifting religious landscape is also affecting the role religion plays in important life moments.” For Americans age 65 or older, it was much more common to have been married in a religious location such as a church or had the ceremony officiated by a minister—even if the wedding venue was not also a venue dedicated to worship. Among senior Americans, 60 percent described their wedding incorporating their faith either by venue, officiant, or both. 

In contrast, only 36 percent of younger Americans are opting for weddings in venues of worship or officiated by a religious official. Much more common for young Americans, nearly 48 percent, are marriage ceremonies performed in a venue and by an officiant that does not involve a faith element. Additionally, 56 percent of young Americans who have not yet been married say they would choose a nonreligious ceremony.

Couples choosing “secular” weddings could be a big missed opportunity for the church. Brandon Hilgemann writes that “performing a wedding is both a great honor and a heavy responsibility. The last thing you want is to ruin a wonderful couple’s perfect day.”

But if you haven’t been invited to be a part of a couple’s wedding, you and your church are missing out on speaking into the couple’s life, bringing God into every part of the day, and earning the privilege of being a part of each young marriage from the beginning.

Younger Americans choosing to begin marriages without the involvement of faith is likely tied back to the role faith played, or did not play, in their upbringing. It stands to reason that young adults raised in nonreligious homes would choose a nonreligious wedding, but 36 percent of young adults in America raised in religiously affiliated homes are choosing secular wedding ceremonies as well.

The Growth of Secular Couples…and Secular Homes

The data shows something of a snowball effect at play. Fewer children being raised in homes where faith is a foundation is resulting in fewer marriages that make faith a priority–for a rise in secular couples. The growing number of religiously unaffiliated couples, married or unmarried, raising children in homes much like their own where faith was left out is becoming more common. 

This shift has happened relatively quickly. According to the AEI study’s findings, “in the 1970’s only about one-third (34 percent) of married Americans who were religiously unaffiliated reported that their spouse was also unaffiliated.” In the span of half a century to today’s young adult Americans, those numbers have shifted to 78 percent of religiously unaffiliated people having a spouse or partner who is also unaffiliated.

The study’s findings provide the basis for some powerful inferences for the future, but they also reveal an equally powerful glimpse into where churches can focus attention in ministry to turn the tide—young couples and the families they are raising or will raise.

The Biggest Story in American Religion? The Unceasing Rise of the “Nones”

By
Religion News Service
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communicating with the unchurched

(RNS) — I became the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Mount Vernon, Illinois, in 2006, at the tender age of 23, with less than a year of experience in the pulpit. First Baptist had once been one of the largest and most influential churches in the community. In 1968, we had more than 300 members and had recently dedicated a brand-new facility on the edge of town.

By the late 1990s, there were about 100 in the pews on a good Sunday. When I took over the pastorate, we’d see about 50 souls for a typical service. Nearly 15 years later, we’ve had attendance in the single digits on more than one occasion.

What’s happening to my church is occurring in hundreds of churches across the United States. Large numbers of adults have left organized religion behind, and in their wake churches are faced with difficult questions. How long they can endure? Should they continue to exist as the expenses of maintaining large buildings mount and the membership declines?

While pastoring my small American Baptist church in rural Illinois, I completed a doctorate in political science and began publishing papers on trends in American religion and politics over the last five decades. One of my primary focuses is religious demography, which is the change in size and composition of faith traditions over time — the data behind what had happened to my church.

With due respect to the evangelical Christians who have swayed Republican politics over the past 40 years, there’s no bigger story in American religion than the persistent and unceasing rise of the “nones” (people who do not identify with any religious tradition).
In 1972, just about 1 in 20 Americans said that they were associated with no religion when asked by a pollster. That figure climbed just 2 percentage points in the next 20 years. From that point forward, however, the nones enjoyed what venture capitalists like to call “hockey stick” growth.

In 1996, about 12% of Americans were nones. By 2006, it was 16%. In the latest data, collected in 2018, nearly 24% of Americans had no religious affiliation — an increase of 50% in just 12 years.

I don’t need to show that graph to many of my ordained friends who stand before smaller and smaller congregations each Sunday in rural America. It’s happening right before their eyes.

Just a few years ago, my congregation of retirees and widows decided it didn’t make sense anymore to worship in a sanctuary that was built to accommodate 300 people. We now meet in a large classroom that fits about 30 chairs. For nearly two years we tried to sell our building, but we eventually gave it away in trade for a promise that we could worship there as long as we are physically able.

As I write in my new book, The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, And Where They Are Going, the most likely reason for the dramatic rise in the religiously unaffiliated is simple secularization — the theory that as nations become more educationally advanced and economically prosperous, they will become less religious.

Of course, there have always been educated and prosperous Americans, but as that class grew, the growing tide of secularization was likely hidden by the patina of generic Christianity in the United States. President Dwight Eisenhower famously stated in 1952, “Our form of government has no sense unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious faith, and I don’t care what it is.” Civic religion just bought us time, however.

Many pastors, discussing the rise of the nones, talk as if secularization is an easily solved problem: Filling the pews back up is a matter of a few outreach programs or a better children’s ministry. In reality, turning the tide on secularization with more of the same is as effective as tamping down a forest fire with a garden hose.

In many ways, secularization is like globalization. Both began to slowly transform the American way of life and before most of us were aware had built up so much momentum that they became impossible to stop. It’s foolhardy to think that the emptying of churches that was occurring all over Europe would not find its way to American shores.

For decades, politicians have tried to stem the tide of globalization by enacting tariffs on imported goods and providing incentives to keep workers in the United States. All it’s done is temporarily delay the jobs from moving offshore.

Churches have similarly tried to keep more people on the membership rolls by installing state-of-the-art sound systems and lights shows. They invested millions into custom graphics, branding strategies and streaming technology. Yet the nones continue to increase in size and influence every year.

The skyrocketing rates of disaffiliation are not entirely inevitable. White American churches have alienated some with their increasing linkage with the Republican Party. For instance, 40% of people who identify as “very liberal” today count themselves as a none; just 10% of “very conservative” people do.

Some pastors have managed to retain or reduce their potential audience by being expressly partisan from both the pulpit as well as their social media accounts. When Michael Jordan was asked by a reporter why he wasn’t more political, he famously answered, “Because Republicans buy shoes, too.” Pastors would do well to heed Jordan’s advice.

But it should be some comfort to pastors that what has occurred in American religion over the last 30 years is largely outside their control. The rightward political drift probably only had a marginal effect on the American religious landscape. There are larger forces at play — and no matter how well they preach, how many gymnasiums they build or how many outreach programs they orchestrate, the nones will continue to grow.

Jesus tells a story about a farmer in the Gospel of Matthew who throws seed on all kinds of ground. Most of it falls on inhospitable soil and never grows to its full potential. Some seeds, however, find fertile ground and grow to an abundant harvest.

Secularization has left a soil that is rocky and shallow — but many churches continue to throw seeds. If Christianity maintains its place in American society in the future, it will depend not on those throwing the seeds, but on the hospitality of the soil.

(Ryan Burge is an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, a pastor in the American Baptist Church and the author of ” The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, And Where They Are Going.” He can be reached on Twitter at @ryanburge. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)

This article originally appeared here.

Son of Slain Alabama Preacher Arrested in Texas for His Father’s Murder

By
AP News
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communicating with the unchurched

BUTLER, Ala. (AP) — The son of a slain Alabama preacher has been arrested on a murder charge in the killing of his father and the attempted slaying of his mother, authorities said.

Shannon Xavier Pearson, 25, was arrested Monday by federal marshals in Plano, Texas, the Choctaw County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release posted on social media. He was being held on a cash bond of $1 million in the shooting death of his father, the Rev. Tim Pearson.

Pearson also is charged with trying to kill his mother, Melony Pearson, who was seriously injured, the statement said.

Deputies were called about the shooting around midnight on Jan. 8. Melissa Breauna Hill, 18, surrendered to authorities on the day of the shooting and was charged with murder and attempted murder, authorities said. Her bail also was set at $1 million cash.

An attorney representing Hill, Erica Kemmer, said she and her client were pleased Pearson had been charged. “We have faith in the criminal justice system and the people of Alabama to ensure that justice is served in this matter,” she said.

Court records weren’t yet available to show whether Pearson had a lawyer.
Pearson’s father was pastor of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, located in Melvin near the Mississippi state line.

Beth Moore Leaves the SBC, Saying ‘I Can No Longer Identify With Southern Baptists’

By
Jesse T. Jackson
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communicating with the unchurched

New York Times bestselling author, speaker, teacher, and Living Proof Ministries founder Beth Moore told Religion News Service (RNS) that she is “no longer a Southern Baptist.” The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is the largest Protestant denomination in the United States with more than 14.5 million members in a little over 47,500 churches.

Moore says that she is “still a Baptist, but I can no longer identify with Southern Baptists. I love so many Southern Baptist people, so many Southern Baptist churches, but I don’t identify with some of the things in our heritage that haven’t remained in the past.”

“At the end of the day, there comes a time when you have to say, this is not who I am,” she said after sharing that she and her husband Keith thought about joining another denomination but explained that in her heart she remains Baptist.

“I still love the things Southern Baptists believe,” she said and hopes the SBC will turn away from what she calls the nationalism, sexism, and racial divides the public is witnessing and return to core values she partnered with for the last 25 years when LifeWay published A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place.

Beth Moore’s Views Conflict With Those of the SBC

The Houston based Moore has been a predominant female voice speaking out against misogyny and sexism within the church. She has shared her story of sexual abuse in the hopes of helping others tell their story as she seeks to not just expose the abuse, but for healing as well. She once shared her story at Saddleback Church saying, “The truth will set you free, but it will make you miserable first.”

The 63-year-old mother of two grown daughters, was also very critical of the 45th President Donald Trump and tweeted in December, “I have never seen anything in these United States of America I found more astonishingly seductive & dangerous to the saints of God than Trumpism. This Christian nationalism is not of God. Move back from it.”

Moore told The Atlantic in 2018 that she believes “that an evangelical culture that demeans women, promotes sexism, and disregards accusations of sexual abuse enabled Trump’s rise.”

She sparked a controversial debate within the SBC and evangelical church about whether women should be allowed to preach in church in May of 2019 when she tweeted that she was preaching at a SBC church on Mother’s Day, something that she now says was “really dumb.”

Explaining why she called it “dumb” and how much the reaction affected her, she said, “We were in the middle of the biggest sexual abuse scandal that has ever hit our denomination…and suddenly, the most important thing to talk about was whether or not a woman could stand at the pulpit and give a message.”

In response to Moore’s role in the above egalitarian/complementarian issue, Pastor John MacArthur told Beth Moore to “go home” after he was asked about her at the Truth Matters Conference. MacArthur said, “There’s no case that can be made biblically for a woman preaching….end of discussion.”

At the Southern Baptist Convention’s Caring Well Conference in 2019, Moore addressed complementarian theology saying “Complementarian theology became such a high, core value that it inadvertently…became elevated above the safety and wellbeing of many women. So high a core value has it become, that in much of our [Southern Baptist] world, complementarian theology is now conflated with inerrancy.”

Why Is Retirement So Different for Ministers?

By
Clergy Advantage
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communicating with the unchurched

Every minister should have a clergy-specific 403(b) retirement plan to preserve and maximize their housing allowance and preserve it through out retirement. Ministers have amazing benefits and ways to use them that the average employee does not. These clergy specific plans offer unique tax advantages available only to ministers. A clergy-specific 403(b) retirement plan will save a minister thousands and thousands of dollars not available through any other retirement plan. A clergy 403(b) retirement plan is not a new idea. Many denominations have offered them to their ministers for decades. Unfortunately, some non-denominational churches are not aware of why it’s so important and miss out on its benefits. Here’s what you need to know about retirement planning:

What Is a Clergy Specific 403(b) Plan and How Do They Work?

  • A clergy 403(b) plan is a particular type of retirement plan created to preserve and utilize the minister’s tax benefit of the housing allowance. A clergy 403(b) is often confused with the secular 403(b) offered by hospitals or schools. A secular 403(b) does not offer any tax advantages to a minister.
  • Contributions into a clergy 403(b) plan are not subject to federal income tax, social security tax, or state tax. Consequently, ministers save significant tax by putting money into a clergy 403(b) plan.
  • What’s more, there are amazing strategies available to ministers that are not available to secular employees that a qualified clergy tax or retirement specialist can show you.
  • Distributions out of a clergy 403(b) plan are tax-free as housing allowance. Ministers can take money out of a clergy 403(b) tax-free up to the amount of their housing expenses.
  • Money contributed into a clergy 403(b) plan AND money distributed from a clergy 403(b) can both be tax-free unlike any other retirement plan. Additionally, the money grows tax-free inside the retirement plan until distributed. This is a huge advantage for ministers.

Other Retirement Plans

  • Many churches use traditional, secular retirement plans, often at the advice of a well-meaning financial planner, such as 401(k)s, SEP IRAs, secular 403(b)s, or allow their ministers to contribute to a gold ira in the usa. These plans are great options for secular employees but completely miss the tax advantages of the clergy 403(b) costing the ministers tens of thousands of dollars (for some it can be a 6 digit sum) of unnecessary tax over the course of their careers.
  • Traditional, secular retirement plans typically cost more in administrative fees and time for the church. These plans are subject to ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) rules which impose additional restrictions. Churches are specifically exempt from ERISA rules unless they opt for a secular employer sponsored plan.

Clergy 403(b) Advantages

  • When set up properly, a clergy 403(b) stays with the minister, meaning that even if the minister changes churches or separates service.
  • As long as the funds stay in the clergy 403(b), the minister can take the funds out of the clergy 403(b) tax-free as housing allowance even if the minister leaves the ministry altogether.
  • The funds in a clergy 403(b) are accessible when the minister separates service from the current church, or when the minister turns 59 ½ just like other retirement plans.
  • The Clergy Advantage 403(b) is free for the church to set up (which is not the case for most 403(b) accounts and almost no 401(k) accounts). It also works exactly the same way a 401(k) does for their secular employees, so a church can offer a clergy 403(b) to their entire staff without the need for a separate clergy plan.
  • There are a number of strategies available only to ministers that are often overlooked. Don’t lose your housing allowance in retirement or miss opportunities to save. Schedule a free consultation or be our guest and find great resources to help you learn about your amazing retirement benefits.
  • It pays to have a free conversation with a qualified clergy retirement specialist who understands your benefits. Click here to learn more.

Use This Strategy to Get Lots of Extra Volunteers This Easter

By
Dale Hudson
-
communicating with the unchurched

Easter is just around the corner and for most churches this means extra services, lots of guests and all the members showing up on the same day.  And in many cases, you’re also having an Easter egg hunt or other special event on top of it all.  This means you need extra volunteers to adequately care for all the kids and families who will be there.  This can be challenging since many people want to be free to spend the day with their family unhindered.

But what can be a volunteer challenge can also be one of the greatest new volunteer enlistment opportunities of the year.  If you have the right strategy in place, you can get lots of extra volunteers this Easter.  Here’s how to do it.

Although I normally discourage using mass volunteer appeals from the pulpit, Easter is one of the times it can work very well.  Here’s how to approach it.

The Pastor or another staff member should get up and remind the congregation that Easter is coming.  Share the vision of what a great opportunity it will be to reach new people for Christ and reach out to those who only occasionally attend.  But in order for it to be effective, the church needs many people who have never served, to step up and serve one time at Easter.  Remember, you’re simply asking for a one-time commitment.  Give people the opportunity to then immediately sign-up to serve by using a response card or texting to a designated number or stopping by a booth, etc.

Next steps…

  • Take great care of the one-time Easter volunteers.  Communicate with them.  Give them clear instructions.  Make it easy for them to sign in.  Feed them.  Treat them like royalty.
  • Place the one-time Easter volunteers with your rock star volunteers.  In other words, place them with your best, most enthusiastic, committed volunteers.  You want their energy, excitement and vision to rub off on the one-time volunteers.
  • Put your one-time serve volunteers in roles that will make it easy for them to succeed and have a great experience.  An example would be placing an Easter volunteer as a greeter or helping hide eggs rather than shoving them in a room with 30 preschoolers.
  • The week after they serve, contact them and ask if they would like to join your team on a regular basis.  If you’ve given them a great first serving experience, I’ve had as high as 70-80% of the people decide to join the team on a regular basis.

Let me give you a real-time example to show you this is not just theory.  A few years ago, we invited people to serve one time in an event we were having.  The week after the event, we divided up the names of the people who had served for the first time and begin calling them.  One of names on my list was a couple named Charles and Jessica.  I called and asked if I could meet with them about joining our team on a regular basis.  Long story short, they began serving on a regular basis.  Fast forward a few years and now they are both on staff and are making a huge impact.  And it all started from a one-time ask to serve at a special event.

You can get this and more proven strategies for building a great volunteer team in my new book “The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams.”  It is available in both print and ebook format at this link. 

Timothy Keller: How to Know If You Are a Christian Nationalist

By
Jason Daye
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communicating with the unchurched

Dr. Timothy Keller is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, which he started in 1989 and grew to exceed 5,000 in weekly attendance. He’s also the chairman and co-founder of Redeemer City to City, which starts new churches in New York and other global cities. Tim is a New York Times bestselling author whose books have sold more than two million copies and been translated into 25 languages. His latest is entitled, “Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter,” and is being released in early March 2021. Tim is married to Kathy, and they have three children and seven grandchildren.

Other Ways to Listen to this Podcast with Timothy Keller

► Listen on Apple
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► Listen on Stitcher
► Listen on YouTube

christian nationalism

Other Podcasts in the Christian Nationalism Series

Samuel Perry: Are All White Evangelicals Christian Nationalists?

Glenn Packiam: The Bible Leaves No Room for Christian Nationalism

Franklin Graham: We Have Never Been a Christian Nation

Key Questions for Timothy Keller

-How have you seen evangelical church leaders buy into the Christian nationalist agenda? 

-Do you see a correlation between support for President Trump and Christian nationalism in the evangelical church? 

-How can pastors steer their congregations away from Christian nationalism?

-Where is the line between patriotism and nationalism?

Key Quotes from Timothy Keller

“C.S. Lewis said the very first sign that you are moving into idolatry of your country is when you whitewash—that’s his term—your history, and you just look away from the bad things and you don’t admit that they happened.”

“What’s scary to me is…we are moving somewhat toward that in this country. There are people who feel like to be a patriot means, ‘I don’t want to hear bad things about my country’s past. I don’t want to hear about Jim Crow laws and slavery and stuff like that. That was in the past, we’ve gotten over it, it’s ok now.’’’

Why The Post-COVID Church May Surprise You

By
Phil Cooke
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communicating with the unchurched

There’s no question that the year-long church shutdown because of the COVID-19 virus changed a lot about doing church. Pastors who had never taken live-streaming seriously were suddenly asking about video cameras and the best streaming platforms. Pastors who had never looked twice at social media started connecting regularly with their followers. In the last 12 months I’ve personally taught more than 1,000 pastors from around the world how to make online worship services more effective. But the conversation at the forefront of church leaders today is “What will the post-COVID church look like?” When this is all over for good, will things change? The good news is that pastors and church leaders discovered two important themes over the last year:

1. Church doesn’t just happen in a building. It happens anywhere and anytime.

2.  Instead of spending so much money and effort getting the community to come to the church, maybe it’s time the church went to the community.

The Post-Covid Church

Live-streaming has changed everything and will continue.

Certainly we want to meet physically, but we’ve discovered that we can have small groups made up of people around the world, not just in our neighborhood. We’ve discovered that people can enjoy worship online. And we’ve discovered people will continue to support the church financially – even when they’re not in the building.

Sunday services are about to undergo a shakeup.

I’m talking to numerous pastors who have no intention of going back into the building every week. Instead, they’ll connect online at least 2 Sundays a month, and then physically meet once or twice a month. But those physical meetings will be more like a “boot camp” where believers get far more serious about seeking God.

Churches are moving into the communities.

Churches across the country are becoming COVID vaccination centers. Some churches (like The Dream Center in Los Angeles) have been a vital link for food, paper supplies, and other necessities during the shutdown. Baptist churches across Texas stepped up during the recent freezing temperatures to help deliver food and water. We’re about to shift from “church” being all about a building, to “church” being all about the community.

The post-COVID church will never look at the government the same way again.

Pastors happily went the extra mile when politicians asked them to shut down for a period, but when it went on for months and months, we knew something was up. Over and over governors and mayors had no problem with people loitering in shopping malls, or packing into casinos, but they kept churches closed. If you don’t think we live in a secular society, then it’s time to think again. Moving forward, we must be more vigilant than ever to protect our right to worship.

The best way to protect that right is to become essential to our communities.

Far too many churches have devolved into social gatherings where like-minded people enjoy each other and make no effort beyond the doors. But to make a real impact we need to become a blazing fire that changes the world. It’s time we re-kindled the New Testament church passion – not just for evangelism and sharing the story of Jesus – but for ministering to every need in a person’s life. People don’t need to be church members for us to help – we just need to step out there and make it happen.

The future of the post-COVID church will not be the status quo, and that’s a good thing. Which is why it’s the perfect time to show the world what we can become. 

 

This article on the post-COVID church originally appeared here, and is used by permission. 

Pro-Life Evangelicals Who Supported Biden Are Upset

By
Laycie McClain
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communicating with the unchurched

Pro-life evangelicals are not happy that the new White House administration under President Biden has included a change to taxpayer funding of abortions as part of the American Rescue Plan. The broad piece of legislation is likely to pass the House today which will put it on course for Biden to sign it into law later this week.

While many Americans enduring deep financial impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic look forward to the economic relief included in the package, there is much more to the legislation being passed by budget reconciliation. The measure taking aim at removing a statute of limitation for taxpayer dollars going toward abortions is a point of contention and the group Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden are voicing their collective discontent.

“We are very disappointed about the Covid-19 relief package’s exclusion of the Hyde Amendment, a longstanding bipartisan policy that prevents taxpayer funding for abortion. We’re even more upset that the Biden administration is supporting this bill.”

Who Are the Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden?

They are a collection of evangelical Christians who risked political fallout through the polarized 2020 presidential campaign and election by declaring support for Biden. The group includes but is not limited to Richard Mouw, President emeritus of Fuller Seminary; John Huffman, board chair emeritus at Christianity Today; and Jerushah Duford, the late Billy Graham’s granddaughter.

According to a short biography on Calvin University’s website (where Richard Mouw is a senior research fellow), “Dr. Mouw served for many years as a panelist for the Washington Post’s online forum ‘On Faith.’ He received the Abraham Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2007. Dr. Mouw has also participated on many councils and editorial boards, serving a term as president of the Association of Theological Schools, spending six years as cochair of the official Reformed-Catholic Dialogue, and is a leader in interfaith theological conversations, particularly with Mormons and Jewish groups.”

Christianity Today offers a glimpse of who John Huffman in this in-depth interview. The interview chronicles Huffman’s relationship with Billy Graham as well as his keen interest in journalism and political activism. Huffman said, “I was deeply committed to encouraging top level theological education for Christian leaders. I knew I wanted to do something in world issues so I accepted the invitation to join the World Vision board when it came along. And my lifelong interest in journalism made joining the CT [Christianity Today] board a natural. I felt the magazine was the most responsible of the various theological journals at that time. Now my ministry outside the local church and Presbyterian denomination was targeted into my primary interests of theological education, world concerns and journalism.”

Jerushah Duford, niece of Franklin Graham and granddaughter of Billy Graham, shares in her family’s faith heritage while diverging from her uncle politically. In a feature published by Newsweek last year, she is quoted telling Forbes that in her joining the Lincoln Project she is, “speaking to the woman who has always voted Republican but is not sure if they can anymore, but they’re also not sure how they feel about voting Democrat because they’ve never done it. I’m speaking to the woman who feels that tug in their spirit. We want to empathize with them that we know you feel this tug, and you feel uncomfortable voting Democrat because you never have. But at the same time, it’s OK to follow your conscience.”

In a statement published on the organization’s website, the group explains feeling betrayed by Biden and his administration. (Read the full statement here.)

The statement claims: “As pro-life leaders in the evangelical community, we publicly supported President Biden’s candidacy with the understanding that there would be engagement [with] us on the issue of abortion and particularly the Hyde Amendment. The Biden team wanted to talk to us during the campaign to gain our support, and we gave it on the condition there would be active dialogue and common ground solutions on the issue of abortion. There has been no dialogue since the campaign.”

The Hyde Amendment

Originally passed in 1976, the measure is renewed yearly but its list of exceptions can be changed with each renewal. Since its passage, both those who oppose and support taxpayer funding for abortions (via Medicaid) have cited the measure’s large impact on the number of abortions performed. According to the New York Times, “In a 2016 report, the Charlotte Lozier Institute, which opposes abortion, cited studies showing a 13 percent increase in births among Medicaid recipients after the amendment was enacted, and estimated that it prevented more than 60,000 abortions per year.”

What If the American Rescue Plan Passes Without Hyde Amendment Renewal?

The American Rescue Plan has come under fire in Congress. As noted by USA Today last week while the package was in deliberations in the Senate, “Democrats want it passed soon, but little to no Republican members of Congress have so far voiced support.” The party line division in Congress may soon make the American Rescue Plan the only stimulus package passed during the coronavirus pandemic without bipartisan support.

The broader Congressional divide aside, the Hyde Amendment’s repealing is a major sticking point for many evangelical Christians of both parties. While not unreasonable that other budgetary pieces would be included in legislation being passed through budget reconciliation, the impacts of not renewing the Hyde Amendment are weighty enough for the Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden to reconsider a place in the democratic party.

Issuing a call to action for President Biden and specific members of Congress, the group is pushing for the inclusion rather than exclusion of the Hyde Amendment language in the final version of the American Rescue Plan that is signed into law. They close their statement with, “If it is not done it will raise the question of whether or not we are still welcome in the Democratic Party.”

Disney+ Removes ‘Dumbo,’ ‘Peter Pan,’ and Other Classics From Children’s Profiles Over Racist Stereotypes

By
Bri Lamm
-
communicating with the unchurched

Disney+ has removed several classic titles from children’s profiles this week over what the streaming service has identified as racist stereotypes.

Among the disappearing titles are “Dumbo,” “Peter Pan,” “Swiss Family Robinson,” and “The Aristocats.”

The Walt Disney Company had previously begun placing content warnings on the films back in October for “negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people and cultures.” Now the company has removed access to the films altogether from any profiles of children under the age of 7.

Adults with Disney+ profiles can still access the classic films with the content warnings.

On their website, Disney emphasized its commitment to continued awareness on critical issues and shifting perceptions, adding that the four classic titles were removed for the following reasons:

“Dumbo” (1941)

“The crows and musical number pay homage to racist minstrel shows, where white performers with blackened faces and tattered clothing imitated and ridiculed enslaved Africans on Southern plantations. The leader of the group in Dumbo is Jim Crow, which shares the name of laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States.”

“Peter Pan” (1953):

“The film portrays Native people in a stereotypical manner that reflects neither the diversity of Native peoples nor their authentic cultural traditions. It shows them speaking in an unintelligible language and repeatedly refers to them as ‘redskins,’ an offensive term. Peter and the Lost Boys engage in dancing, wearing headdresses and other exaggerated tropes.”

“Swiss Family Robinson” (1960):

“The pirates who antagonize the Robinson family are portrayed as a stereotypical foreign menace. Many appear in ‘yellow face’ or ‘brown face’ and are costumed in an exaggerated and inaccurate manner with top knot hairstyles, queues, robes and overdone facial make-up and jewelry, reinforcing their barbarism and ‘otherness.’”

“The Aristocats” (1970):

“The (Siamese) cat (Shun Gon) is depicted as a racist caricature of East Asian peoples with exaggerated stereotypical traits such as slanted eyes and buck teeth. He sings in poorly accented English voiced by a white actor and plays the piano with chopsticks.”

Disney is committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe.

“As storytellers, we have the power and responsibility to not only uplift and inspire, but also consciously, purposefully and relentlessly champion the spectrum of voices and perspectives in our world.”

To learn more, visit www.Disney.com/StoriesMatter.

This article originally appeared here.

How to Use “Amazing Race” Ideas for a Youth Group Event

By
Steve Cullum
-
communicating with the unchurched

I’m a huge fan of The Amazing Race. My wife and I have talked about applying to the TV show for years but have never tried signing up (yet). It’s such a great idea, filled with physical challenges, mental puzzles, and teamwork. Now you can use the show’s concepts to create Amazing Race ideas for youth group. You’ll get teenagers out of the house and participating in something fun together, yet they can remain socially distanced (COVID-19 times still).

Here’s how to pull off an Amazing Race event for youth group:

Location

While the TV show takes people around the world, we decided to keep it all in the same town as our church. Participants also used their own vehicles (one per team) to transport themselves. If you live in a city, consider using public transportation if you want to get closer to how the show operates.

Logistics

The show takes a few weeks, but we decided on three hours. Participants arrived at the church parking lot around 9:45 am, the race began at 10, and it ended at 1 pm. The minimum team size was three, and the maximum was the number of teenagers who could safely fit in your team’s vehicle.

Checkpoints

You need enough checkpoints for teams to fill the time, but you don’t want to give them too many, or no one will finish in time. We had everyone begin at the church with some “spot-it” type puzzles. Once a team finished, they received a clue to take them to their first checkpoint. They then journeyed to each checkpoint around town before ending at the finish line in the church parking lot.

Clues

To get to each checkpoint, teams need to solve a clue. Each clue was printed out and placed in an envelope with our Amazing Race logo on it (to make it look official). Some clues required kids to decipher a code to get an address. Others showed latitude and longitude coordinates. Some were riddles. And others involved identifying the location from a set of photos. You can allow teams to ask for hints via text, but how much help you offer is up to you. Remember: You want everyone to be challenged, but you also want them to keep having fun.

Challenges

The challenges at each checkpoint varied. Some involved eating, others were a physical challenge, and others required solving a mental puzzle. Once a team solved one challenge, they received an envelope containing a puzzle or riddle that led them to the next checkpoint. We purposely spaced out checkpoints around town, often having teams double-back, which helped fill the time. Some locations were at church members’ houses, some were at local businesses, and others were in public parks. Personalize this for your community as much as possible. Challenge ideas include: Make five free-throws at a park, thaw and put on a frozen T-shirt at the church, drink a cup of salsa at a Mexican restaurant, and make five paper airplanes that each fly 5 yards at the airport.

Volunteers

An event like this has lots of moving pieces and requires lots of people! Don’t try to do this alone. You’ll need help with all the prep work, plus a host of assistants on the event day — including a few people at each checkpoint. Volunteers need specific information about what to do at their checkpoints. Make sure to over-prepare and over-communicate.

The Race

Instead of sending everyone to the first checkpoint, we split teams up so each checkpoint started with no more than four teams. This also meant we didn’t need to have enough resources for all the teams at each checkpoint. All teams had to complete all the checkpoints, but they didn’t all start in the same location. For example, as one team finished their initial set of puzzles at the church, their first clue sent them to checkpoint one. Another team, however, received a clue sending them to checkpoint five. While the first team will end up going from one to 10, the second team will go from five to 10 and then one to four.

Finish Line

Once a team completed their final checkpoint, they received their clue, which led them back to the finish line at the church. Because each team had a different starting and ending checkpoint, we couldn’t simply have the final clue at our final checkpoint. So volunteers were instructed about which envelope to hand to which team. Using the example above, the first team would receive their final clue after completing checkpoint 10, while the second team would receive it after completing checkpoint four. To help with this, we gave a list of all teams to checkpoint volunteers and also added team names to the final clue envelopes, so they made sure to get the correct one. In the future, we might put team names on all the envelopes. If you don’t split up the teams as we did, you can simply give the final clue at the last checkpoint and avoid this potential confusion.

Prizes

We gave a prize to the winning team as well as prizes for the best team name, best team spirit, and best singing/dancing team (one checkpoint required them to sing a song from memory). Because we did this race during COVID-19, we had opening and closing ceremonies outside in the church parking lot, and we asked only the winning teams to come up and claim their prizes when announced, to maintain safe distances.

Other helpful tips

  • Practice the race at least once! Make sure each challenge is possible and doesn’t take too long to complete. Also make sure the entire race fills your time adequately. You don’t want everyone done too early, but you also want to make sure teams can complete the race in the allotted time. For a three-hour race, I recommend making sure the race can be completed in about two-and-a-half hours. Not all teams will complete by then, but you want to make sure it’s possible.
  • Keep the race as simple as possible; for example, don’t include things like Speed Bumps, Detours, Road Blocks, Switchback, or any additional types of tasks or clues. They can certainly add to the fun but make the race more complicated.
  • It’s okay to have teams zigzagging across town. Just remind them they must do their checkpoints in order. Even if they pass another checkpoint on the way, they must not stop, or it will really mess things up. To help, consider having numbered signs at each checkpoint.
  • You’ll need a way to communicate with volunteers and teams. We used a mass texting service and had two groups (one to send messages to volunteers and one to send to  participating teams). This service also allowed people to text us, which helped when teams got stuck and needed help.
  • Start as early as possible when putting together your plan, gathering volunteers, and organizing the entire race. It takes more time than you think but is worth the investment. We started planning about six weeks out. Two months would be even better. Leave enough time to rework things, as needed.
  • Be as specific as possible with checkpoint volunteers about what exactly they’re required to do, especially if you stagger the teams like we did.
  • Our race began at 10 am, so checkpoint volunteers arrived at 9:15 to grab all their items (supplies, tables, tents, water, etc.). Then participants arrived by 9:45.
  • Our race ended at 1 pm, so we sent out a mass text message to all teams at 12:40 pm, saying that even if they hadn’t finished everything, they should complete their current checkpoint and then head back to the church for closing ceremonies.
  • While this is a fun event for youth group, consider hosting it for the entire church. Mixed-age teams of kids and adults will have a blast too. As the event grows beyond your youth group, you probably can find more helpers, too.)
  • Create your own logos for advertising. Please don’t get yourself or your church in trouble for using original Amazing Race images without permission.

Someday, I hope to compete in the actual Amazing Race. In the meantime, I’ve really enjoyed creating miniature versions. I hope these tips help you have a fun event as well!

This article originally appeared here.

Trump Prophet Jeremiah Johnson Ends Ministry, Saying, ‘We Need to Humble Ourselves’

By
Emily McFarlan Miller
-
communicating with the unchurched

(RNS) — Jeremiah Johnson, the self-described prophet who faced backlash from fellow evangelical Christians after publicly apologizing for prophesying former President Donald Trump would be reelected president, is ending Jeremiah Johnson Ministries.

The announcement comes “after much prayer and the clear direction of the Lord,” Johnson said Monday (March 8) on his Facebook page.

It also comes after his abrupt two-week hiatus in the middle of a YouTube series he titled “I Was Wrong.”

Johnson said during the series, which he described as a money loser, that apologizing wasn’t enough.

“I believe that it is a tremendous mistake to take the next four years to argue and debate and cause division and grow more prideful talking about how we think the election was taken from Donald Trump. I actually believe we need to take the next four years and humble ourselves,” he said.

“We need to recognize that God is up to something far greater in the prophetic, charismatic movement that I believe is beyond what many even recognize. We need to stop, we need to take a breather and we need to come back to a place where we can begin to dialogue about these issues rather than be so triggered.”

A recent report by The New York Times noted that Johnson had built an audience on social media as one of the first evangelicals to take Trump’s candidacy seriously in 2015.

In one YouTube video, he said he had heard from thousands of people after the first episode of “I Was Wrong” and that 90% of that feedback was negative.

He admitted Monday on Facebook that he expects ending Jeremiah Johnson Ministries will mean “tremendous financial loss and the removal of influence that has been well established over the last decade.

“We fully understand what a shock this will be to many on numerous levels. However, we are choosing to radically obey Jesus over any other voices in this season,” he said.

Johnson said on Facebook he plans to delete all social media accounts associated with Jeremiah Johnson Ministries over the next week.

But it’s not the last people can expect to hear from Johnson.

His new website outlines plans for a ministry called The Altar Global.

Instead of offering what Johnson called “prophetic commentary” on current events, The Altar Global will “help prepare the Bride of Christ for the return of our glorious Bridegroom King Jesus,” according to the website.

That includes a one-year intensive program called The Altar School of Ministry, based in Concord, North Carolina, where Johnson and others will train students “on the lifestyle of an end-time messenger and the return of the Lord.” It also includes local and national conferences, monthly Zoom calls with supporters and books and other resources.

“This is not a name or brand change but rather a complete shift of our ministry’s identity and focus,” Johnson wrote on Facebook.

He added: “I am not discouraged nor am I drawing back from my calling. Quite the opposite. I feel God is launching me, my family, and our ministry team further into His purpose for us. In response to God’s gracious correction, refinement, and empowerment, I am choosing to refocus my gaze upon Jesus and the eternal realities of His Kingdom like never before.”

This article originally appeared here.

T.D. Jakes and 6.2 Million Others Fight for Okla. Death Row Inmate

By
Adelle M Banks
-
Supporters of Julius Jones, who has been on death row in Oklahoma for two decades, march to the offices of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, in Oklahoma City, where they presented a petition with over 6.2 million signatures, calling for Jones’ death sentence to be commuted. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

(RNS) — An Oklahoma parole board has voted to grant Julius Jones, an inmate who has been on death row for two decades, an additional hearing to determine if he should gain clemency.

The Justice for Julius campaign, a group that has been advocating for his release, announced Monday (March 8) on its Instagram account that the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, by a vote of 3-1, advanced Jones’ case to a “stage two” hearing.

“We are thrilled that the Board has agreed to consider the growing body of evidence that Julius is innocent, and convinced that any fair and impartial review of the facts of the case will result in the commutation of his sentence and his release from prison,” said Dale Baich, Jones’ attorney, in the announcement.

The Rev. Cece Jones-Davis, Justice for Julius’ campaign director, said she was “deeply grateful” for the decision, which comes nearly 20 years after Jones’ 2002 death sentence.

“It has been a long journey for Julius Jones and his family and for all of us who have been standing in support in one way or another,” she told Religion News Service. “I just believe that we’re on God’s side around this. We really are. And I’m excited that this man could have another opportunity to fulfill his destiny.”

She said Jones, 40, could have a commutation hearing in June, when board members could determine if they will recommend to Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt that Jones’ sentence be changed to time served — the coalition’s hope — or to a life sentence.

Jones’ case has drawn attention from faith leaders — including Dallas megachurch pastor and author Bishop T.D. Jakes and Sojourners founder Jim Wallis — who ramped up their support for the inmate as Monday’s hearing neared. Some expressed concern that racism and false testimony may have figured in Jones’ case.

Jones, a Black man, was convicted in the death of a prominent, white Edmond, Oklahoma, businessman who was killed during a carjacking. Two people have signed sworn affidavits, and a third, an inmate in Arkansas speaking via a video released March 1, have said that someone else is responsible for the crime.

In a recent letter to the board, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater urged its members to deny Jones’ application for commutation and said the prisoner is “fueling a media circus with outright lies,” The Associated Press reported.

Jones-Davis, a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) minister, founded a coalition of supporters for Jones after learning about his case when she watched Viola Davis’ ABC documentary series “The Last Defense,” which featured his story.

The minister, who is not related to Jones, said Oklahomans, including people of faith who took part in a prayer rally about Jones on Feb. 25, eventually became part of a national campaign. Rally participants delivered 6.2 million petition signatures to the board that day in support of Jones.

“I think that the 6.2 million is really an amazing testament to the power of the people,” said Jones-Davis, who added that she hoped the petitions influenced the four-member board. “The 6.2 (million) lets them know that we’re watching, that we care, that the eyes of the country are upon them.”

This article originally appeared here.

Most Churches Never Train Members to Share the Gospel. Here Are Some of the Reasons Why

By
Dr. James Scott, Jr.
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communicating with the unchurched

Evangelism has been one of the specific focuses of my ministry for more than three decades, so I’ve been aware of the sad fact that most churches don’t do anything to equip their members to be able to effectively share the Gospel with non-Christians.

A couple years ago I spent a year as consultant for John Hendee in his position as Chair of world evangelism for Hope International University in Fullerton, California. The fact that most churches do nothing — n o t h i n g! — to equip members in personal evangelism was a central focus for John and the first question he raised with church leaders as he engaged with them across the country and around the world.

If the Great Commission of the church is to go make disciples (Mt. 28:18-20), and every Christian is an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:18-20), and a primary responsibility of leaders is to equip the saints to do the work God has for us (Eph. 4:11-12), you would think church leaders would make training Christians to effectively share the Gospel a top priority. Many not only make it a lesser priority, but don’t provide any such training at all!

Why?

Here are some reasons (certainly not an exhaustive list):

1. The pastor doesn’t have a personal interest in evangelism. For some of you, that may be a shocking statement, but I’ve sat with many ministers who have stated clearly that they personally had little interest in evangelism. That doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t care about people coming into a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ, they just don’t see themselves as being the ambassador to vigorously seek the lost specifically to share the Gospel.

2. Pastors/church leaders are untrained themselves. Most ministers go to some type of Bible college to prepare for ministry, and some continue their education in seminary. But that doesn’t mean they were ever personally discipled prior to such formal education, or during it! Many church leaders have never had a mature Christian train them how to effectively share the Gospel with someone one-on-one, and have had to stumble their way through the times when their pastoral vocation have called on them to do so.

3. Leadership has other priorities for the church. It’s not uncommon to hear that one of the key interests of the church is reaching the lost with the Good News of Christ, but for many, in reality it is not a leading interest. For example, many leaders make an excuse that they first need to disciple their current members … even though they don’t include in that discipleship any training for how to share the Gospel! In fact, years later the members of that congregation are often just as biblically illiterate — and undiscipled — than when the excuse began.

4. Few in the congregation are interested. Whether or not a pastor is interested in evangelism is sometimes muted by the fact that few members of the congregation are. Church leaders can get discouraged with this lack of interest and use it as an excuse not to equip members to share the Gospel. A better answer? Go with the go-ers! Train any who are interested, and run with them; in the meantime, keep teaching over and over again the mission of the church and our appointment as Christ’s ambassadors.

5. Blindly committed to the attractional model. For a few decades now, people in the church have been taught the attractional model of trying to “grow the church” (attendance) by inviting spiritually dead people to attend a religious service in a building somewhere. The data shows that while you can sometimes increase attendance, it usually doesn’t result in any significant outcomes of making new disciples. But that’s all the church leaders have seen, and what they’ve been modeled and taught for years. Leaders can be just as difficult about change as their most entrenched members.

You cannot reach the lost of this world by inviting them to church. That’s why Christ commissioned His church to GO and make disciples (Mt. 28:18-20); that’s why God has appointed us as ambassadors for Christ, so that He could make His appeal through us (2 Cor. 5:18-20)! Yet the church is doing little to nothing to equip the saints to make disciples and be ambassadors.

If you’re a disciple of Jesus who would like to be trained in a highly effective method for sharing the Gospel with non-Christians, click here to learn more about being trained to use an evangelistic tool called “It’s All About Relationship.” Many thousands around the world have come to know Christ by someone using this evangelistic tool, with a simple method, to share the Gospel with them.

If we’re serious about reaching the lost for Christ, we must be serious about equipping the saints to be able to effectively share the Gospel with non-Christians.

This article originally appeared here.

‘The Voice’ Winner Jordan Smith Drops Holy-Spirit Inspired Album as His Gift to God

By
Kelsey Straeter
-
communicating with the unchurched

Singer Jordan Smith electrified the judges and audience alike with a powerhouse voice that crowned him “The Voice” Season 9 champion in 2015.

That same year, Smith became the “best-selling artist in the history of The Voice,” but he refuses to take credit for his wild successes. He’s always made an effort to put God center stage, both through singing worship songs to the masses and speaking openly about his Christian faith.

Smith recently shared that he’s “returning” his gift back to God through the release of his first Christian single and album.

“It’s really special for me to take this moment and say back to the Lord, let everything I am declare your glory, to help tell your story, the story of your Gospel,” he told the Christian Post. “Let everything I am point the world back to you.”

After signing a deal with Provident Label Group/Sony Music, the 27-year-old has dropped the highly anticipated Christian single, “Great You Are.”

Since the beginning, Smith’s faith has been the “DNA of his music,” even when competing in the pop mainstream music area; but now, he’s ready to share his passion for Jesus in a bolder way.

“When we wrote this song…I knew it was special,” said Smith. “But I didn’t take a moment and stop and think about how special it was for me as an artist and the journey that I’ve been on since ‘The Voice.’”

“The song itself just says, ‘Everything I am I lay it down here at your feet, and I’m returning this to you,’” he explained of the new single.

“It’s really special for me to be able to have the moment to return my gift to the Lord and to point the glory back to Him,” the Kentucky songwriter continued. “We are all just that; we’re just reflections of God’s love to the world.”

Smith wrote “Great You Are” in conjunction with Matt Armstrong and Jeff Soika. The riveting lyrics were inspired by the Bible reference that declares how the rocks will cry out and praise Jesus if people refuse to do so.

Instagram/@jordansmithlive

The Christian artist explained that the last year-and-a-half trademarked by the COVID pandemic has been a time of increased distraction, fear, and anxiety—both in his own life, and for society at large.

With ramped up chaos and uncertainty, Smith has felt even more compelled to keep his eyes fixed on God:

“The last year, year-and-a-half, it’s been so easy to be distracted by the waves, by the things that are going on, by the political climate. It’s just easy to get sucked in and become so fearful and worried,” said Smith. “Anxiety is at an all-time high. Even in my own life, I find myself feeling anxious and concerned about things that are happening. I’m feeling a bit out of control because I don’t have control over everything that’s going on. I’m kind of a control freak, so that’s an issue for me.”

“But just in that time of feeling out of control and feeling anxious and feeling worried about all of this — that’s coming at us constantly — I think it’s so important to slow down for a moment and say, ‘Wait, I can experience heartbreak, I can experience failure, I can experience bad things. I can experience blessing and success and good things. Yet all of it fits into God’s plan, and all of it is in His hands. It doesn’t change who He is.”

Though we may ride a wave of emotions, along with hills and valleys, Smith asserts that God is unwavering through it all:

“He’s always faithful, He’s constant, He’s good, and He loves us unconditionally. It’s important to stop and remind ourselves of just how good He is and how faithful He is in our lives. Whenever we lay down all of those heartbreaks, all of those trials, all of those, even blessings, down to Him, it’s just refreshing. It brings new life to our spirit, and I hope that that’s what the song can do for people.”

The powerhouse vocalist prays that his new album will help the world experience the presence of the Holy Spirit.

“I have constantly tried to create moments in music where people can experience the Holy Spirit, and the closeness of God, even if maybe they don’t know that’s what they’re feeling,” expressed Smith.

“I just want people to feel that I know the power of the feeling of the Holy Spirit whenever God is at work in your life, and He reminds you that He loves you, and He wants the best for you,” he added. “I want as many people as possible to be able to experience that feeling and that connection with Him.”

Watch the video below for Jordan Smith’s full interview on how he’s using his gift to glorify God:

This article originally appeared here.

Emmanuel Acho: Dear White People, This Is How You Can Help

By
Jessica Lea
-
communicating with the unchurched

Former NFL player Emmanuel Acho has started a video series he is calling “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man,” which he is posting across his social media channels. Acho filmed the first installment of the series as a response to his white friends, many of whom have asked him what they can do to help bring racial healing and unity in the U.S. 

“I created this for you,” said Acho, “because in order for you to stand with us, with people that look like me, you have to be educated on issues that pertain to me and fully educated so that you can feel the full level of pain, so that you can have full understanding.”

Emmanuel Acho Answers 4 Questions White People Ask

Emmanuel Acho said he hopes what he has to say will help his “white brothers and sisters” to have increased compassion so they can bring about change to a problem caused by their own community. In his video, Acho responded to four questions that his white friends have been asking him.

The first is, “Why are people rioting instead of protesting peacefully?” To answer this, Acho quoted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, who said, “a riot is the language of the unheard.” Black people have tried peacefully protesting throughout the years, but have not been successful in achieving the change they were seeking, said Acho, citing the Selma marches in 1965 and Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand at the national anthem in 2016. People are rioting now because they are trying to draw attention to the oppression of black people.

“I don’t condone rioting,” said Acho, “and I’m sure you don’t either.” But anger is part of the five stages of grief, so it’s not surprising that we are witnessing people’s anger manifest in this way. He said, “Sometimes pain and hurt, it doesn’t know how to express itself.”

The second question the former NFL player addressed was, “Why do you think white privilege exists?” Acho used a metaphor of two people running a race to answer this question. White people are like a person who has been running since the very start of the race, and black people are like someone who has been held back 200 meters after the race begins. Just because both people are free to run at a certain point does not mean that the race is fair. It’s as though in the 1960’s we said, “Ok, black people, you can go now.” 

“That’s not a fair race,” said Acho. “White privilege is having a head start due to hundreds and hundreds of years of systematic and systemic racism. It’s having a head start intrinsically built into your life.”

This does not mean your life hasn’t been hard, he said. It means your skin color hasn’t made it harder. Acho described scenarios in his daily life, like going to the mailbox or getting on an elevator, where he does his best to avoid being alone with a white person in order to avoid the other person seeing him as a threat. “At any point in time,” he said, “whiteness can be weaponized.” A recent example of this was Amy Cooper, the woman in Central Park who called the police on a black man who asked her to put her dog on a leash. This incident, said Acho, hearkened back to the murder of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy who was lynched by two white men when a white woman falsely said that Till had flirted with her. 

“I as a black man have to calculate every move I make from the second I walk outside my house,” said Acho. In contrast, white privilege is “the ability to live life unconsciously.”

The next question Acho hears is, “How come black people can say the ‘n-word,’ but we can’t?” He said he had to do some research to answer this question, but concluded the answer lies in the fact that the word is “synonymous with oppression, execution, and subordination.” The n-word epitomizes slavery, so when a white person uses it, it evokes a “visceral reaction” that reminds black people of that oppression. Black people have co-opted that word for themselves now, and Acho believes white people should never use it, even when quoting someone. 

The last question Acho answered was, “How come black people care more about white on black crime than black on black crime?” Black people do care about black on black crime, said Acho. They know that all crime matters and that all lives matter. The difference between the two types of crime is that when white on black crime occurs, white people get away with what they’ve done. The shooting of Ahmaud Arbery is a recent example of this. 

“So if you want to know how you can help,” Emmanuel Acho concluded, “you must first educate yourself so you know exactly what you’re standing for and why you’re standing. Because the only way we can solve this issue is through exposure, through education, through compassion, and through empathy.”

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