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How to Know You Know God

By
Clint Archer
-
communicating with the unchurched

How to Know You Know God

One of the most recognizable images of WW2 is the iconic photograph of six Marines planting the American flag on the island of Iwo Jima. That famous picture was circulated in many newspapers in 1945. One morning airman Ed Block was on leave and was reading the newspaper in the home of his mother, Belle. As Belle walked by, she glanced at the newspaper photograph, pointed to the Marine who was thrusting the flagpole into ground, and declared matter-of-factly, “That’s your brother, Harlon.”

That man had his back to the camera, was wearing a uniform, and a helmet. No part of his face or body was visible and he had no distinguishing marks. Ed patiently pointed this out to his mom, and added that no one knew where Harlon was stationed, nor if he was anywhere near Iwo Jima. Belle declared simply, “I know my boy.”

Later, the men in the photograph were identified by the press. The one thrusting the pole into the ground was identified as Henry Hansen, not Harlon Block, who was killed in action on Iwo Jima. But even after this news, Belle maintained that the newspapers were mistaken. Her son may be dead, but he died after he planted that flag.

Two years later, after additional testimony had been gathered about the famous photograph, a correction was published. Harlon Block had indeed been the marine who planted the flag. When Belle heard this, she wasn’t in the least surprised. All she said was, “I know my boy.”

There is something very precious and unmistakable about the bond that is forged by an intimate love relationship.  A mother and her boy, a husband and his bride, or as we shall see in our text, a believer and his God.

I’m concerned about people who know about God but do not know him. I also feel sympathy for true believers who could enjoy the security of their salvation but are not sure that they know God in a saving way.

Psalm 116 illuminates this topic.

4 ASPECTS OF AN INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

1. RELATIONSHIP OF LOVE AND PRAYER

Psalm 116: 1I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. 2Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

The psalmist’s opening declaration is: “I love the Lord.” He can’t contain his heart’s cry.

And the love he feels is not based on a warm and fuzzy sentimentalism, or a burning in the bosom; his relationship of love is based on a knowledge of God’s saving, merciful, forgiving character.

Those God has saved are in a two-way, dynamic, living relationship with him. He is not a dumb idol that we carved out of wood, chose to bow down to, and have an imaginary friend relationship with. No, we love him because he hears us, he saves us, we experience his response to our prayers.

Even in the midst of chaotic distractions, I know my God and I know he hears me when I cry…

Psalm 116: 3The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. 4Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”

God hears and answers the prayers of his children as a sign of his caring relationship with us. There may be prayers that you are praying that God does not seem to be answering, and there are a number of reasons for this, (e.g. your unrepentant sin, God’s better will for your life). But one of the ways we know we are in a real, saving, intimate relationship with God is that we pray to him and we see him answer our prayers. If this is absent from your life, you may lack assurance of your relationship with him, you may doubt at times whether God even exists.

But a healthy prayer life is only one trait of intimacy with God…

2. REST IN TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS

Psalm 116: 5Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. 6The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. 7Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. 8For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; 9I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. 10I believed, even when I spoke, “I am greatly afflicted”; 11I said in my alarm, “All mankind are liars.”

Don’t you feel this cynicism these days? When you encounter fake news, read false claims, discover hidden agendas of politicians, scientists, and journalists, don’t you want to cry out “All mankind are liars”?

But in the milieu of death and tears, and the mayhem of affliction and falsehood, the psalmist exhibits one of the most telling characteristics of a person who knows God: peace.

He is at rest, secure, confident—in life, in death, in trials and tribulations—because of his knowledge of God.

A restful, peaceful spirit in the eye of a storm of life’s stress and anxiety and threats and chaos, is a sure sign of knowing God. When you know his strength and wisdom, then fear doesn’t drag you around like a frightened horse; fear is easy to rein in.

What about you? Do you know God well enough to let that knowledge calm your spirit? Are you sure in your relationship with him, enough to believe he is able and willing to help you, and that he is on your side?

 

 

If not, you need to talk to yourself, reining in your fears, and stop listening to your frenetic riderless thoughts. Recall God’s works, his promises to you, and his character.

3. RESPONSE OF GIVING AND SERVING

Psalm 116: 12What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? 13I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, 14I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.…17I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. 18I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, 19in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!

These phrases—render, lift up, call on, pay vows, offer—are all from the language of response.

When you are in relationship with someone, and they do something for you, you naturally respond to them.  Different people have different ways they like to be loved…quality time, words of affirmation, gift-giving, and others. But God’s love-language is obedience.

1 John 2: 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

To know God is to love him and to love him is to obey him.

Anyone who calls themselves a Christian but refuses to repent of what Jesus hates, like premarital sex, adultery, lying, laziness, gossip, greed, selfishness, and the other sins mentioned in Scripture, cannot be sure that they are in a saving love relationship with Jesus.

In a relationship with God, our obedience expressed through our financial offering, our serving in his kingdom, our participation in his work of evangelism and missions and church and worship is not payment, it’s an expression that is an overflow of our hearts.

4. REJOICING IN THIS LIFE AND THE NEXT

Psalm 116: 9I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.…  15Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. 16O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.

When you love your pet, there is always the nagging reality that pets tend not to live as long as their owners. Usually one spouse will die before the other. Chrildren will bury their parents and sadly, sometimes, the other way around.

The unique aspect of our relationship with God is that it will never ever end. In fact, your relationship with God grows stronger and closer every year you are alive and then suddenly, in death, receives a massive upgrade!

Death is the most ominous, inescapable enemy of life. Every day that we live is one day closer to our expiry date. Death is something we try desperately to stave off with diet, medication, exercise, and seatbelts. But in the end death comes to all.

And yet, for believers, death only brings us to the object of our deepest love and affection, our Lord and Savior. This begets rejoicing in this life and the next. Paul, who understood this reality better than anyone, seemed positively schizophrenic when it came to his excited anticipation of death.

Phil 1: 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. …23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

The death of saints is a precious thing in God’s sight because it is a homecoming to the one we love.

CONCLUSION

If you realize you do not know Christ. Or you are not sure….you can either…

– Ignore that dissonance in your soul, close down this blog, have dinner, watch TV, and tomorrow you will get back on the treadmill of work, parenting, hobbies, and entertainment. This option is a devastatingly common and perilous choice. It will culminate on Judgment Day, where you will call out to Jesus with a list of reasons why you should go to heaven, and he will reply with a chilling finality, I never knew you, depart from me.

OR…

– Cry out to Jesus. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Call to him and say: “you are the only hope I have of having my sins forgiven. I trust in you Jesus to save me from my sins.”

And then you will start to notice changes in your life…you will have: a relationship of love and prayer, rest in trials and tribulations, a response of giving and serving and rejoicing in this life and the next.

This article originally appeared here.

Sadie Robertson: Time Doesn’t Heal Wounds—Jesus Does

By
Megan Briggs
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communicating with the unchurched

Most people have heard the popular phrase, time heals all wounds. The principle of the phrase seems logical because some of the hurt that we experience runs deep and the deeper the hurt the more time that is needed to move on. But is this true? Sadie Robertson, of the reality series Duck Dynasty, certainly disagrees in the following video.

Time was never created to heal because only Jesus can truly heal us. The passing of time can fog things up a little bit and we may forget about things, but this is only fleeting. All it takes is something done or something said that triggers hard memories that point out ever present, low-level hurt. Robertson, who in recalling advice from a mentor, reminds us that we may have to go directly to the source of the hurt. If we want God to cover the situation with His truth then we are going to have to speak out the lies. The process may be painful but the beauty of God working in the pain is so worth it!

https://www.facebook.com/sadiecrobertson/videos/692662837601984/

Sadie Robertson (born June 17, 1997) is a reality television star on the A&E show Duck Dynasty. She is the granddaughter of Phil Robertson, founder of Duck Commander. … She sang “Away in a Manger” with Alison Krauss for her family’s bestselling album, Duck The Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas.

6 Tips to Overcome Virtual Meetings Fatigue

By
Chris Surratt
-
communicating with the unchurched

Most of us are still adjusting to a world where screen captures of Zoom meetings have become the new selfie. In this time of social distancing, our only social contacts—outside of our households—are through a camera lens and a video screen. In so many ways, we should be thankful that the technology of virtual meetings has allowed us to stay somewhat connected to the world around us. But at the same time, we’re starting to feel the fatigue that comes with staring at tiny boxes of people on our computers.

  • Small groups now meet online.
  • Work meetings are online.
  • Worship on Sunday is streamed to TVs, laptops, and mobile devices.
  • Extended family chats are facilitated through Zoom.

So, what do we do when our minds and bodies start shutting down from virtual meetings overload? Here are six tips to overcome your Zoom/Hangouts/WebEx/Skype/FaceTime fatigue.

6 Tips to Overcome Virtual Meetings Fatigue

1. SCHEDULE BREAKS BETWEEN VITUAL MEETINGS.

It’s tempting to schedule back-to-back virtual meetings because the travel time is eliminated. We can easily jump to the next Zoom link instead of taking the elevator to the 5th floor conference room.

However, we need those few minutes to reset and refresh our brain for the next task. Build in a buffer of at least 10-20 minutes between your online meetings, and you’ll notice the difference.

2. USE THE PHONE OCCASIONALLY.

As an introvert (Chris) and an Enneagram 5, talking on the phone is not one of my top 100 things to do in a day.

I’m normally a text-first kind of guy, and if absolutely necessary, I make a quick, 30-second phone call, but even I’m seeing the need for connecting with people in one-on-one conversations.

Picking up the phone to find out how someone in your small group is doing can actually be revitalizing instead of draining.

You can also occasionally call in to that virtual meeting instead of videoing in. That gives you the opportunity to walk around and even step outside during it.

3. BUILD IN BREAKS DURING LONGER MEETINGS.

It’s amazing how much concentration it takes to engage in an online meeting. There are so many more distractions and things to look at than an in-person meeting in a conference room or someone’s living room.

Normal meeting actions, like looking out of the window while someone else is talking, can seem very disengaging on a video call.

You feel the need to focus on the screen the entire time. That makes a two-hour virtual meeting feel more like four hours.

It’s important to schedule in five- to 10-minute breaks every hour for participants to use the restroom or just disengage from a screen.

Make sure you use that time to look at something other than a computer monitor. Don’t use the break to check your email or update your calendar.

4. SCHEDULE SHORTER MEETINGS.

We know virtual meetings always feel longer than physical meetings, so plan for it and keep most of your meetings shorter. This applies to online church services as well.

If your normal Sunday service is an hour and a half, consider cutting the online version to an hour. Staring at a screen is not the same as participating in a gathering.

Instead, encourage participation by offering resources for families to use for a post-service discussion.

5. KEEP A “ZOOM SABBATH.”

Having a day scheduled each week for no meetings is good advice anytime, but especially now with everything taking place in one location. As this isolation goes on, lines drawn in our lives will begin to blur.

In this time it will be easy—and unhealthy—for the office to take over too much of our homes. Because of this you might consider, as a team, making certain days “meeting free” or giving team members the right to decline meetings for various reasons.

Etiquette would warrant always giving an explanation with any decline.

6. SCHEDULE TECHNOLOGY BREAKS.

Everyone’s calendars are different, and there will be some of us who have more meetings throughout the day than others.

Increasingly it’s going to be necessary that we manage our own days and do our best to keep healthy boundaries between home, family, and the workday.

Just like how there’s such a thing as “Zoom fatigue,” there’s also such a thing as too much technology and screen time.

Our new way of life, at least for the near term, necessitates we engage screens at a higher percentage than usual.

It’s crucial we put our devices away, step outside, maybe take a few minutes to breathe the air, go for a walk or a run, or even work on professional reading assignments.

It’s for this reason we recommend regular breaks from all technology throughout the day. If it helps, put yourself on a timer. These breaks are as important as your next task.

This article originally appeared on smallgroupnetwork.

CHRIS SURRATT (@ChrisSurratt) is the discipleship and small groups specialist for LifeWay Christian Resources, a ministry consultant and coach with more than 20 years of experience, and the author of Leading Small Groups: How to Gather, Launch, Lead, and Multiply Your Small Group.

BRIAN DANIEL (@bcdaniel) is manager of short-term discipleship resources at LifeWay Christian Resources. Surratt and Daniel co-host the Group Answers podcast

Carrie Underwood to Release Gospel Album This Easter

By
Bri Lamm
-
communicating with the unchurched

Though the holiday season is well behind us, Carrie Underwood is looking to continue spreading joy and light in this next year.

Following the release of My Gift, her first ever Christmas album in September, the 37-year-old singer revealed her plans to release a gospel album later this year, titled, My Savior.

A companion piece to her Christmas album, Carrie says she recorded the gospel project last year. The album is near and dear to her heart because it is full of hymns she “grew up singing in church.”

“Both of those projects were bucket list projects for me,” Carrie told PEOPLE Magazine of the two albums. ”With everything I do, I just want to be positive.”

“Last year was a tough year for everybody, and I think just wanting to be positive in this world and sing these songs that bring me so much joy, hopefully, others can be like that as well and these songs can bring others joy,” she continued. “That goes back with everything that I do … I just want to do positive things.”

Carrie first announced the upcoming album in an Instagram post last month.

“I am very blessed and very lucky because I have basically been living in Christmasland all of 2020, which was a great place to be for this year. I’ve been making music that I love and been just giving my heart to the Lord with My Gift, which you guys have been so wonderful to support,” she said. “Lots of love and support and I have felt it every step of the way, so thank you so much for that.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood)

Carrie says that in the process of crafting My Gift, she was inspired to continue making the kind of music that was fueling her throughout 2020.

“When I was making this music, I felt like my soul was in such a great place. I wanted to keep making music like the music off of My Gift,” she said. “… I went ahead and made more music. I made an album called My Savior which is hopefully just a little companion to My Gift.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood)


“… I feel like you guys have been asking me for a while to make an album like that because I’ve been lucky enough to do songs like that here and there along the way in my career. So that’s what I did,” she added. “… Again, it’s just been such a blessing to make music like this, music that is near and dear to my heart. I hope you guys enjoy listening to it as much as I loved making it.”

Carrie has always been open about her Christian faith and trust in the Lord. Earlier in 2020, Carrie and her husband Mike Fisher sat down with I Am Second to create a series of videos about their faith and family.

She and Mike both shared in detail how heavily they leaned on God through three miscarriages between 2017 and 2018.

This won’t be the first time the superstar has released faith-based music. “Jesus, Take the Wheel” and “Something in the Water” both topped the country charts in 2006 and 2014.

My Savior is expected to be released around Easter.

This article originally appeared on ForEveryMom.com.

Ministry Leaders Apologize for Prophesying Trump Win

By
Jessica Lea
-
Jeremiah Johnson
United States Federal Government, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Several church leaders issued apologies last week for prophecies they made that Trump would win the 2020 presidential election. These leaders include Bethel’s Kris Vallotten, R. Loren Sanford, and Jeremiah Johnson—the latter of whom was entirely unprepared for the vitriol he has received in response to his apology. 

“Over the last 72 hours, I have received multiple death threats and thousands upon thousands of emails from Christians saying the nastiest and most vulgar things I have ever heard toward my family and ministry,” said Jeremiah Johnson in a Facebook post published yesterday. “I have been labeled a coward, sellout, a traitor to the Holy Spirit, and cussed out at least 500 times. We have lost ministry partners every hour and counting.”

Johnson said that he did expect some people to attack him for his apology, but he never anticipated the hostility people have directed at him: 

After publicly repenting on January 7th, I fully expected to be called a false prophet etc in some circles but I could have never dreamed in my wildest imagination that so much satanic attack and witchcraft would come from charismatic/prophetic people. I have been flabbergasted at the barrage of continued conspiracy theories being sent every minute our way and the pure hatred being unleashed.

To my great heartache, I’m convinced parts of the prophetic/charismatic movement are far SICKER than I could have ever dreamed of. I truthfully never realized how absolutely triggered and ballistic thousands and thousands of saints get about Donald Trump. It’s terrifying! It’s full of idolatry!

Jeremiah Johnson Says He Is ‘deeply sorry’

Jeremiah Johnson is the founder of Heart of the Father Ministry and is an “end time messenger” at Jeremiah Johnson Ministries. In a Nov. 7 Facebook post, Johnson said he was waiting for the election results to be finally determined in January. He seemed to critique people accusing him at that time of making a false prophecy when he said that critics of prophets should consider whether they should have voted for a candidate who supports policies that dishonor God.

After being interrupted by the violent riots that took place at the Capitol Wednesday, Congress certified Joe Biden’s election as president early Thursday morning. That same day, Johnson published a public apology for incorrectly prophesying that Donald Trump would win. Said Johnson,

First, I would like to repent for inaccurately prophesying that Donald Trump would win a second term as the President of the United States. I refuse to blame the saints and say, “It didn’t come to pass because they did not pray enough.” Nor will I proclaim, “Donald Trump actually won, so I was right, but now it has been stolen from him.” I believe the first statement seeks to alleviate the prophetic messenger from the responsibility of what he prophesied, and the second statement is filled with potential pride and an unwillingness to humble himself and admit he was wrong. 

Johnson expressed remorse for potentially hurting people’s faith in God by his inaccurate prediction:

I want to go on record: “I was wrong, I am deeply sorry, and I ask for your forgiveness.” I specifically want to apologize to any believer in whom I have now caused potential doubt concerning the voice of God and His ability to speak to His people. As a human being, I missed what God was saying; however, rest assured, God Himself is NOT a liar and His written Word should always be the foundation and source of our lives as Christians.

Johnson went on to explain at length his “prophetic journey” with Donald Trump. In his conclusion, he said, “A humbling has come and is coming to the American Church like never before. How we choose to respond to this correction and judgment from the Lord will determine many outcomes in the years ahead…May humility and repentance be our resolve in the days ahead.” 

Watch: ‘Desperate Benediction’ by Steven Curtis Chapman Will Help Your Soul Right Now

By
Megan Briggs
-
communicating with the unchurched

Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman shared a video of a new song, a “Desperate Benediction” as he referred to it, the same day rioters stormed the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. After seeing the troubling events unfold, Chapman shared a song he’d been working on for a year but waiting to release until the timing was right.

“I’m so heavy hearted at the brokenness and division that we are witnessing and experiencing in our world today, and I am processing in the way most natural to me as a singer-songwriter: with a song,” Chapman wrote in a Facebook post on January 6, 2021.

The word benediction usually refers to the blessing a clergy member prays for the congregation before dismissing them from a worship service, but it can also mean “something that promotes goodness or well-being” and “an expression of good wishes,” according to Merriam-Webster.

Read Chapman’s beautiful lyrics below:

Peace on the mountain
Peace in the valley
Peace on the bulls on Wall Street
And the lost sheep in the alley
Peace on the painted desert
And down the Mississippi River

Peace on the takers
Peace on the givers
Peace in the blessing and the cursing

Oh let there be
Peace on Earth
Oh let there be
Peace on Earth

Peace on the lovers
Peace on the believers
Peace on the doubters
Peace on the true believers

The star in the spotlight
The addict in the shadows
The divers in the deep end
The drowners in the shallows
For all I’m not and all it’s worth

Oh let there be
Peace on Earth
Oh let there be
Peace on Earth

Peace on the poor man
Peace on the king
Radio fliers and the broken wings
Let there be peace
Oh let there be peace on

The babies being born
And the rose on the grave
The loser and the winner
And the fearful and the brave
We’re all brothers and sisters
Crying to the Father for

Peace on Earth
Oh let there be
Peace on Earth

And let it start with me

Along with the video, Chapman wrote the following words, expressing his “sadness” related to the events that unfolded at the Capitol:

Words can’t describe the sadness that I feel as I watch the events currently unfolding in our country. I’m so heavy hearted at the brokenness and division that we are witnessing and experiencing in our world today, and I am processing in the way most natural to me as a singer-songwriter: with a song. I actually started writing this song about a year ago with my brilliant songwriter friend Tom Douglas, but have been waiting for the right time to share it, and I feel like now is that time. Now more than ever before, it seems like the soul of our world (& our nation) is aching, longing and desperate for PEACE. Whoever & wherever we are, I’m convinced that at our core we are all brothers and sisters crying out for the same thing, what the bible calls “shalom”… a Hebrew word meaning peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness. And ultimately, I believe that true peace…the peace that transcends all understanding and guards our hearts and minds…comes from the Prince of peace, Jesus Christ. So it is with a heavy yet hopeful heart that I share this new song with you…as a prayer…a cry…a Desperate Benediction for all of us….praying for peace, and praying that it starts with me, with you, with each of us.

(Thank you to my son Caleb and daughter-in-law Jillian for joining me on this song.)

Peace be with you,

scc

How the House Chaplain Ministered During the Capitol Siege

By
Jack Jenkins
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communicating with the unchurched

WASHINGTON (RNS) — As Rear Adm. Margaret Grun Kibben, the chaplain to the U.S. House of Representatives, made her way through the echoing halls of the U.S. Capitol Wednesday (Jan. 6), she could feel a charge of anticipation in the air. It was an auspicious day: Lawmakers were meeting in joint session to formally approve President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, a historic moment — and, thanks to the outgoing president’s refusal to concede, an atypically contentious one.

But Kibben had her own reason for feeling an unaccustomed excitement: It was her third day on the job.

As she walked through the Capitol, Kibben, 60, a Presbyterian Church (USA) minister who had been sworn in Sunday, peeked out a window and saw a swelling crowd of Trump supporters massing at the East front of the building. She thought little more about it than what she’d said in her prayer before the House that morning: America is enduring a time of “great discord, uncertainty and unrest.”

She hurried on to the House Chamber for the joint session, where she found a seat on the right side of the main aisle.

Her placement didn’t represent any particular political leaning. “When I go to church, that’s where I usually sit,” she told Religion News Service on Friday (Jan. 8). She wasn’t even supposed to be sitting there: She was so new, no one had told her that she and her Senate counterpart, the Rev. Barry Black, have designated seats during joint sessions of Congress.

It was from there, about an hour later, she observed a “flurry of activity” around House leadership as House members, now separated from their Senate colleagues into their respective chambers, debated the election results. Within seconds, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others on the dais were whisked away.

Then, word came: The crowds outside had turned into a violent mob. The Trump-supporting extremists had overpowered police and were storming into the U.S. Capitol. It was time to evacuate.

As the work of lawmakers ground to a halt, Kibben’s began in earnest: A House clerk looked over at the chaplain and asked if she could offer a prayer.

“I thought: ‘Well, I’ve been praying all along,’” she said.

For Kibben, who previously served as the U.S. Navy’s chief chaplain before becoming the first female chaplain to serve the House, it was an opportunity to do what she does best: offer comfort to those in crisis.

Kibben told RNS she doesn’t remember the exact details of her initial prayer. The room, she said, was buzzing with a “great sense of alarm” as lawmakers scrambled in preparation to leave.

The Emotional But Rational Decisions Good Leaders Make

By
James Emery White
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communicating with the unchurched

The Emotional But Rational Decisions Good Leaders Make

IKEA has quietly engaged in a stunningly strategic move.

As reported by INC.: “After 70 years, hundreds of millions of copies, and countless hours of inspiration to armchair interior designers… It has decided to kill its beloved catalog.”

In a statement, the company said, “Over the years it has become an iconic and beloved publication, and it has been an important success factor for IKEA to reach and inspire the many people across the world.”

And then added these telling words:

“But times are changing. IKEA has become more digital and accessible while embracing new ways to connect with more people. Customer behavior and media consumption has changed, and the IKEA Catalog has been less used. [IKEA has] therefore taken the emotional but rational decision to respectfully end the successful career of the IKEA Catalog, both the print and digital versions—and look to the future with excitement.”

If you are a leader, it’s hard to end something you created and invested in that yielded success (and likely that you were emotionally attached to) simply because you were astute enough to realize that it had run its course. In fact, ending such things for that reason may be the single-hardest thing a leader can actualize.

Hence the insight into the four words IKEA used to describe the decision, noting that it was an “emotional and rational decision.”

Yes, such decisions always are. And the dynamic present between the “emotional” and the “rational” is critical to understand. It’s not like saying, “We used to ship by FedEx, but now will be going with UPS.”  It’s more like saying, “We are ending a way of doing things, a shared experience and fond memories, and venturing into an emotional vacuum.”

This is also why such decisions are seldom made, and when they are made are so fiercely resisted by those with an emotional investment. It’s simply too easy to reject “emotional and rational” and cling to “emotional and irrational.”

Why? For church members:

… you’re not just closing a site, you’re ending a community;

… you’re not just ending Sunday School, you’re changing what “going to church” on Sundays has meant to you;

… you’re not just moving to a new location, you’re taking away my memories of all that took place there;

… you’re not just changing the music, you’re changing how I’ve worshiped;

… you’re not just… well, you get it.

Back to IKEA. Imagine how emotional it must have been to end a catalog that was first put together in 1951 by the founder, Ingvar Kamprad. At its peak in 2016, IKEA distributed 200 million copies in 32 languages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But notice, again, the reasoning:

“But times are changing. IKEA has become more digital and accessible while embracing new ways to connect with more people. Customer behavior and media consumption has changed, and the IKEA Catalog has been less used.”

That is an understatement. IKEA.com’s worldwide online retail sales increased by 45% last year alone. They have needed to pivot, along with the rest of the retail world, to a digital strategy that includes a “continuously improving company website, a suite of apps and social media.” So yes, the resources once used to promote the catalog were much better spent in new and more strategic ways. That is the rational speaking to the emotional, which, I might add, is the heart of emotional intelligence.

What if more church leaders (and the people in those churches) chose emotional intelligence over mere emotion? What if they made more “emotional but rational” decisions regarding ministry, outreach and organization? What if they looked at the digital revolution that has taken place and evaluated previous strategies accordingly?

Someone recently asked me about our church’s decision to end the multi-site approach to outreach in order to pursue a more digitally based approach. While it was a lengthy process of prayer and reflection, evaluation and dialogue, I remember a watershed moment. It was during our annual budget development process, and we needed to bring all that we wanted to do in line with our best projections of what we would actually have to spend.

This is an annual exercise, of course, but this year was different. I had long been wrestling with the effectiveness of our sites as an outreach tool as compared to the potential the digital revolution was offering. Suddenly, in those budget meetings, they came into stark contrast: We were locked in to spending enormous amounts of money on rental facilities and staff-intensive weekend services at various locations around the city and, in doing so, didn’t have the resources to continuously improve our website, invest in digital marketing, take our app to a new level and make our Online Campus state of the art in terms of outreach potential.

Like never before, I was confronted with where our money was going and where it could go, and having to say “no” to what I knew would bear more fruit made me want to throw up in the corner. But close the sites? Are you kidding me?

The emotional was running headlong into the rational.

I’ve written more about our decision in “Why We’re Ending Our Multi-Site Approach” and “Update on Meck’s Big Decision.” But in truth, I made the decision then and there. For one strategy to be less effective than another and to continue to invest in it would have prohibited us from having the available resources to invest in what would be clearly better.

The “rational” has to win, no matter how emotional the decision to close the sites was for everyone involved in starting and sustaining them.

(And after all things COVID, we are only more grateful for the decision we made.)

So here are three key lessons for every leader:

  1. The times are always changing. Time doesn’t just change once, and then you are set for a lengthy season of doing things the same way. The times are always changing. So what works now will almost certainly not be what will work then.

  2. You must acknowledge that you have emotional attachments to things that can cloud your objectivity in terms of their effectiveness and ongoing strategic worth. Please reread that sentence.

  3. Emotional intelligence is acknowledging the emotion involved, but letting the facts speak to the matter and then making the hard, necessary, “emotional but rational” decisions that will ensure your ongoing vibrancy.

Sources

Justin Bariso, “Ikea Just Quietly Killed Its Famous Catalog. It’s a Brilliant Lesson in Emotional Intelligence,” INC., December 31, 2020, read online.

“After 70 successful years, IKEA is turning the page on the Catalog,” Ikea.com, read online.

This article originally appeared here.

Will COVID Cost Us a Generation of Kids?

By
Dale Hudson
-
communicating with the unchurched

Will COVID Cost Us a Generation of Kids?

I was consulting with a church a few months ago.  It’s a great church that reaches thousands of people each weekend with the Gospel.

Pre-Covid-19 they were ministering to over 600 children each weekend.  The Sunday I was there, they had 100 kids.

This story could be told again thousands of times in churches across our nation.

Covid-19 has affected all of us in one way or another when it comes to attending church.

One thing that burdens me heavily right now is the thousands of kids who are no longer attending church on a consistent basis.  As weeks turn into months and months turn into an entire year, I have been thinking of the spiritual ramifications.

Is this generation of children going to grow up without any spiritual foundation to build their lives upon?  Yes, I know many churches are doing their best to keep kids engaged through online content, social media and other inventive ways.  That is all well and good, but I personally believe it can’t replace or have the effect that comes from personal relationships and caring leaders at church.

We know that discipleship happens through relationships. It happens not just by throwing content at children, but it also comes through being personally discipled by someone.  And for kids, these relationships normally happen in person…at church. Without this, I ponder what will happen to this generation of kids who are growing up without that close connection.

Yes.  Parents are the primary influencers of kids.  But they need tools and ideas on how to do this.  Can we challenge parents to live this out through a Zoom call?  Maybe, but I personally believe this needs to be done in person to be the most effective.

And it’s not just the kids.  Thousands of volunteers across the country have stepped back from serving.  This has made things even more challenging.

There is a verse in Judges that haunts me.  Here’s what it says.

“All the people of that day died. The children who came after them did not know the Lord. They did not know about the things He had done for Israel.”

An entire generation was lost spiritually.  Why?  Because they didn’t hear about God or know about the things He had done in the past.

Will this verse be true for the generation following us?  Will they not know about God and His Word because it simply wasn’t passed down to them?

We know now that 13% of Gen Z kids are atheists.  This is more than double the amount of adults who claim to be atheists.  As many kids don’t come back to church, will this be their story as well as they grow up?

Yes, great steps are being taken to get vaccines out to people.  Hopefully, we can see Covid-19 under more control in the upcoming months.  But the tension is going to be getting the many families who have stopped attending to re-engage with in-person worship and discipleship.

We have challenging days ahead.  We need wisdom and discernment as we help kids and families re-connect with their local church.  If we want to reach the next generation, then this must be one of our top priorities.

Your turn.  

What has been your experience through Covid-19?  

Are kids and families starting to come back to your church?

What percentage of the kids and parents have not come back yet?  

What are your doing to re-engage kids and families?

This article originally appeared here.

Lessons From Hybrid Youth Ministry

By
Rena Black
-
communicating with the unchurched

Maybe you’ve heard the buzzwords from our colleagues in education (or the talking heads talking about education) this past year: Hybrid Scheduling, Synchronous/Asynchronous Teaching, Flipped Classrooms, Blended Learning.

Maybe you jumped in and tried ALL THE THINGS. Maybe you heeded my advice from earlier in 2020 to Keep It Simple. Or maybe you’re still feeling overwhelmed with the mechanics of Zoom or Google Meet.

After (quite frankly) too much deliberation on my part, this fall, we rolled out our teen faith formation/youth ministry/Confirmation prep calendar using what I’ve learned is technically a “concurrent” model: families would opt to have their teens participate in the appropriate gathering either in person or virtually, but both in-person and virtual participants met at the same time.

How did it go? Well, here are my big takeaways:

Simultaneous scheduling has big pros AND big cons.

One of the reasons I decided to have in-person and virtual groups participate simultaneously was that it provided what seemed to be the simplest fix to the problem that most vexed me: what happens when (not if) a participant has to quarantine due to Covid-19 symptoms or exposure? And what happens if we have to pivot (again) to all-virtual ministry quickly?

Like the engine in a hybrid vehicle, having two ministry modes allows instant “plan B.” If a teen (or our state) suddenly needs to participate virtually, we make the shift. No one skips a beat because virtual participation in the Sunday evening gathering (for example) is already a normal option, even if the same faces show up differently sometimes.

Inevitably, though, having multiple groups meeting in different “places” means divided attention. You literally can’t be fully present to those in person and those online, which presents a serious problem because…

Virtual participants can’t be second class citizens.

While you could, technically, run a Zoom meeting and an in-person meeting simultaneously, both groups will suffer. The participants receive less than half your attention, and virtual participants will always receive the lesser share because of in-person communication’s immediacy (one of the reasons that the Incarnation is such a big deal!).

Your virtual participants are likely to be living a nearly all-virtual existence. The gift of connecting online is wonderful, but in my experience, many of my virtual participants are struggling. They feel unseen. They need a genuine connection, not just another screen.

So How Do You Manage To Honor The Presence Of Christ In Your Virtual “Least Of These”? It’s simple: just like in pre-covid ministry, you are not enough.

Without a doubt, The Most Successful Virtual Elements Of Our Ministry This Fall Were The Virtual Groups Who Had Dedicated, Creative, And Skilled Adult Leaders Leading Virtually — In Other Words, Leaders Leading From Home.

The least successful were those virtual elements that had minimal adult leadership actually participating within the videoconferencing system. I always had enough leadership for “coverage,” but one of the ways I know I need to improve for 2021 is to pour even more of my best (human) resources–my volunteers–into the places where they can do the best.

When virtual participants feel more like they are watching a live stream than like they are full participants who happen to be sitting in a different “spot” in the room, concurrent scheduling loses a lot of its power. Make a videoconference feel more like a small group meeting, and you’re getting somewhere!

Flexibility is key, but you’ve got to know WHERE to flex.

The choice to have virtual and in-person meet concurrently allowed participants to have an opportunity to participate in the same formation, regardless of health status, exposure, or family comfort level.

But to effectively plan, I asked families to commit to a “mode” (either in-person or virtual) for the fall duration. They needed to ask me before making any change in mode (whether temporarily due to quarantine or some other reason, or more permanently). That meant that I only had a handful of teens who might shift from one to the other for any given gathering – not enough flux to warrant any major changes in setup, leadership, or supplies.

In addition to the appropriate paperwork and attendance logs, I kept a running list of which teens were supposed to “show up” were, which my volunteers could access as well as the families themselves (in case they’d forgotten their “mode”).

One of the things that made all this possible for us was the decision to…

Use living (rather than static) documents whenever possible.

The Holy Spirit taught me this one. As we were preparing for a concurrent, offsite Confirmation day retreat in September, I was about to email the meeting login information to families when it occurred to me that I could put the information into a Google Doc instead. Lo and behold – the moment after I pressed “send,” the meeting login information had to be changed. Rather than having to send a second email apologetically, I changed the information in the Google document!

That running list of which teens were participating in which “mode” worked similarly. And our “curriculum” materials were also housed online, allowing for last-minute adjustments to outlines if needed. By Making It Possible To Tweak Our Plans Without Redistributing Information, We Were Free To “Build The Ship While We Sailed” When Necessary.

The tech is important, but it’s a means, not an end.

If you’re going to do concurrent scheduling work, You Need To Set Up The Tech So That Virtual Participants Can Not Only See And Hear What’s Happening On-Site But So That Those On-Site Can See And Hear Your Virtual Participants. 

We tried so many configurations of laptops, microphones, projectors, speakers, and other devices before hitting the sweet spot. The only advice I have here is to do as much trial and error as possible before “showtime,” and ultimately to fall back on some foundational principles which we used to define our ministry’s goals this fall:

  • Do The Teens Feel Safe Here?
  • Do The Teens Know That It Matters That They Are Here?
  • Do The Teens Know That God Is In Their Story Right Now?

If the technology you are using helps you and your team accomplish those goals, it’s working correctly. If it gets the way, ditch it and try something else. Keep trying, and eventually, you’ll find something that works for your community!

What do you find works in your ministry?

Looking For A Community To Share Ideas? Join MYM U To Receive Coaching And Connect With Other Lay Ecclesial Ministers To Help You Lead A Stronger And Smarter Ministry. 

This article originally appeared here.

13 Signs People Are Excited to Attend Your Church

By
Brian Dodd
-
communicating with the unchurched

I love where I go to church. My family can’t wait for Sunday mornings. Each one of us serves, even my 12-year-old daughter. We faithfully support our church with our time, energy, money, and prayers. I absolutely adore my pastor, Crawford Loritts. But this is not about my home church. Like many churches, we do not have a Sunday evening service. Therefore, my family often visits Passion City Church (PCC) in downtown Atlanta on Sunday evenings. (For those of you unfamiliar with PCC, this church is pastored by Louie Giglio and is where Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels and Kristian Stanfill among others lead worship.) I have been attending church for 30+ years and have never seen the level of energy, expectation and excitement that I’ve seen from the tribe at PCC. People cannot wait for the church service to begin. Therefore, I want to walk through what I experience at PCC and use it as a template for measuring how excited people are to attend your church.

 

13 Signs People Are Excited to Attend Your Church

1. People Bring Their Friends

The ultimate measurement of whether your people are excited to attend your church or not is do they bring their friends.

2. The Parking Team

The parking team at any church provide you a picture of what is to come on the inside of the building. Are they excited, having fun and very engaging? If they are, it’s likely your church will be as well.

3. The Line Formed to Enter the Building

The PCC service begins at 6:00 p.m. We always arrive at 5:00 p.m. and are probably 50 deep in the line waiting to get in. That number swells to several hundred by the time we finally enter the sanctuary. How early are your people arriving?

4. The Greeters

Similar to the parking team, this group gives the attenders a picture of your church. At PCC, there is a good diversity of age groups, genders and races. Once again, all are very energetic and thrilled to be there.

Pope Says Women Can Read at Mass, But Still Can’t Be Priests

By
Nicole Winfield
-
lectors
Pope Francis holds his pastora staff as he arrives to celebrate Mass the day after he raised 13 new cardinals to the highest rank in the Catholic hierarchy, at St. Peter's Basilica, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, Pool)

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis changed church law Monday to explicitly allow women to do more things during Mass, granting them access to the most sacred place on the altar, while continuing to affirm that they cannot be priests.

Francis amended the law to formalize and institutionalize what is common practice in many parts of the world: Women can be installed as lectors, to read Scripture, and serve on the altar as eucharistic ministers. Previously, such roles were officially reserved to men even though exceptions were made.

Francis said he was making the change to increase recognition of the “precious contribution” women make in the church, while emphasizing that all baptized Catholics have a role to play in the church’s mission.

But he also noted that doing so further makes a distinction between “ordained” ministries such as the priesthood and diaconate, and ministries open to qualified laity. The Vatican reserves the priesthood for men.

The change comes as Francis remains under pressure to allow women to be deacons — ministers who perform many of the same functions as priests, such as presiding at weddings, baptisms and funerals. Currently, the ministry is reserved for men even though historians say the ministry was performed by women in the early church.

Francis has created a second commission of experts to study whether women could be deacons, after a first one reported on the history of women deacons in the early church.

Advocates for expanding the diaconate to include women say doing so would give women greater say in the ministry and governance of the church, while also helping address priest shortages in several parts of the world.

Opponents say allowing it would become a slippery slope toward ordaining women to the priesthood.

Phyllis Zagano, who was a member of the pope’s first study commission, called the changes important given they represent the first time the Vatican has explicitly and through canon law allowed women access to the altar. She said it was a necessary first step before any official consideration of the diaconate for women.

“This is the first codification of allowing women inside the sanctuary,” said Zagano. “That’s a very big deal.”

Noting that bishops have long called for such a move, she said it opens the door to further progress. “You can’t be ordained as deacons unless you’re installed as lectors or acolytes,” said Zagano, an adjunct professor of religion at Hofstra University.

Lucetta Scaraffia, the former editor of the Vatican’s women magazine, however, called the new changes a “double trap.” She said they merely formalize what is current practice, including at papal Masses, while also making clear that the diaconate is an “ordained” ministry reserved for men.

“This closes the door on the diaconate for women,” she said in a phone interview, calling the change “a step backward” for women.

This version corrects to say that women can read Scripture, not Gospel.

This article originally appeared on APNews.com.

Russell Moore Warns Against Capitol Conspiracy Theories: ‘We know who was there’

By
Jessica Lea
-
communicating with the unchurched

The riots at the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 were not the result of antifa or any other type of conspiracy, says Dr. Russell Moore. While it is understandable that people might be confused about what happened, Moore emphasized that believers must love the truth, be reasonable, and not have an “unhealthy craving for controversy.”

“There are sometimes things that happen where we have a fog of not knowing exactly what took place,” said Moore in a webinar Friday entitled, “Chaos at the Capitol: A Conversation about Conspiracies and Violence.” Moore, who is the president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, noted that during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, “There were at least a couple hours there where people were saying, ‘Where is this coming from? Who is it that has attacked us?’” But, he said, “That’s not the case here.”

“The people that were storming the United States Capitol in many cases gave their names and addresses to reporters and filmed themselves as they were doing it,” said Moore. “We know who was there. So there really isn’t a question of that.” 

Chaos at the Capitol: A Conversation about Conspiracies and Violence from ERLC on Vimeo.

Violence at the U.S. Capitol Building

On Wednesday as members of Congress convened in the U.S. Capitol building to count the electoral college votes from the November election, religious and non-religious protesters rallied in the area to support President Trump and object to Joe Biden’s election. Trump himself gave a speech at the rally, during which he encouraged his supporters to march on the Capitol. The rally attendees did so, and then the protest turned violent. Participants clashed with police and made their way inside the Capitol, vandalizing the building and prompting authorities to evacuate Congress members and put the area on lockdown. 

Shocking images of the riot show people swarming into the Capitol. Some wore Trump hats and some carried Trump, Confederate, and American flags. Police ended up deploying tear gas and flash-bang grenades into the crowd gathered in front of the building in order to get protesters to disperse. Five people have died as a result of Wednesday’s violence, and U.S. Capitol police officer Howard Liebengood, who responded to the riot, died by suicide Saturday.

Trump has drawn widespread criticism for his initial response to the riot. In a video, he told his supporters, “I know your pain, I know your hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us…but you have to go home now. We have to have peace, we have to have a law and order…we don’t want anybody hurt.” The president said, “There has never been a time like this where such a thing happened, where they could take it away from all of us, from me, from you, from our country.” 

“We love you, you’re very special,” Trump told his supporters. “I know how you feel, but go home and go home in peace.” 

At least seven Republican senators who had planned to challenge the certification of Joe Biden as president changed their minds after seeing Wednesday’s violence. Moore has joined others in calling the president to resign, and House Democrats are moving forward with an attempt to impeach him. Multiple social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, have now banned Trump. 

Pastor Walks Back Claims of Antifa Involvement in Capitol Riot

By
Stephanie Martin
-
communicating with the unchurched

Saying he needs to “right the wrong,” Tennessee Pastor Steve Berger admits he referenced “incorrect reporting” about the U.S. Capitol breach on January 6. In a statement Saturday, the leader of Grace Chapel in Franklin first acknowledges misstating the age of a victim of last Wednesday’s violence.

He then notes, “There was additional incorrect reporting that a facial-recognition system had identified Antifa activists in the Capitol. That report has since been shown to be false.” Berger continues, “Also, there was reporting about Antifa being bussed into the [Capitol], a report that has now been retracted.”

On Friday, the FBI said there is “no indication…at this time” that anti-fascist activists, known as Antifa, were disguised as Trump supporters during the unrest. News organizations also have debunked various claims of Antifa’s involvement. 

Pastor Steve Berger: No Intention to Mislead

As ChurchLeaders reported last week, several pastors were among the pro-Trump crowds who gathered in Washington, D.C., as Congress was certifying the election of Joe Biden. In a Facebook Live video Wednesday evening, Berger describes attending to pray. He said that though not all “the troublemakers” were Antifa, “They were there, they were present, and they were identified.” His comments made headlines because Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee attends Grace Chapel.

Berger’s statement from Saturday notes: “I apologize for sharing things that were wrongly being reported by multiple outlets. I, in no way, intentionally misled or would mislead anyone.” The pastor adds that since Wednesday he’s faced “hateful accusations…that have no basis in reality.” Berger concludes by condemning the violence, calling it “tragic, deadly, and unpatriotic.”

Faith Leaders Pressure Gov. Lee to Denounce Berger 

In response to Berger’s original comments, the Southern Christian Coalition (SCC) asked Gov. Lee to publicly reject his pastor’s views. The group of faith leaders, which opposes political “ideology in the guise of Christian theology to push [harmful] policies,” says pastors must “act with integrity and honesty” and “not use their public profiles for political gain or to spread conspiracies.”

Pastor Chris Williamson of Nashville’s Strong Tower Bible Church says Pastor Berger, Gov. Lee, and Tennessee’s two U.S. senators “must look in the mirror, repent, and be held accountable for their role in not accepting the results of a presidential election.” Their lies, he adds, “have fanned the flames of fear and distrust among their base, which is what helped produce the violence we saw” at the Capitol.

Another Pastor Preaches About Freedom, ‘bad actors’

Brian Gibson, a Kentucky pastor who spoke at pro-Trump events in D.C. last week, said in a sermon yesterday that he represents Jesus and intends to “keep this nation a free nation.” As Christianity Today reports, Gibson referred to Trump’s ban from Twitter as well as ongoing pandemic-related worship restrictions.

Gibson, who denies being present when violence erupted, repeated now-debunked claims of Antifa’s involvement. “I also know that some Trump supporters followed their lead without a shadow of a doubt,” he said, “because you don’t get 2 million people together without having some radicals in the crowd or some simple people in the crowd that you could lead anywhere, right?”

Gibson tells local media he’s been receiving death threats since Wednesday but is “not afraid” because he’s “a man of God.”

Caught on Camera: Congresswoman Prays From House Floor as Rioters Enter Capitol

By
Jesse T. Jackson
-
communicating with the unchurched

Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) shouted out a prayer as she and other lawmakers took shelter while rioters broke through police barriers and into the Capitol building last week.

In a video that has been circulating the internet, the sound of glass breaking and shouts of “Stay down” can be heard. Intermingled with these noises, Rochester can be heard pleading for God to heal America and asking for protection for those police officers trying to protect lawmakers, as well as for her fellow congress men and women.

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by NBC News (@nbcnews)

 

Here is her full prayer that was caught on camera from the floor of House of Representatives:

“Father God you are all-powerful. We know all things work together for the good. So we trust in you right now in the name of Jesus, that you have this under control.

Right now in the name of Jesus! All things work together, all things! 

PEACE! Peace in the land… Peace in this country… Peace in this world…

Lord we ask you for a healing. Right now. Right now in the name of Jesus.

Lord protect (unknown) Protect those who are trying to protect us…

Protect all of our brothers and sisters in this Congress who protect America Lord.

We just thank you. We praise you. We give you all honor and glory because you you are powerful! Above all… 

We thank you right now. In this MOMENT!”

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Carlos Whittaker (@loswhit)

As violence overshadowed the peaceful Jericho March that occurred last Wednesday, January 6th, 2021, evangelical leaders quickly reacted to events that claimed five people’s lives, one of whom was a Capitol police officer who was struck in the head with a fire extinguisher during the Capitol riots. It has been reported that sixty Capitol police were injured.

Pastors, faith leaders, and other Christians have explained why they attended the D.C. rallies and what they experienced.

One attendee was LifeSiteNews.com Vice President Gualberto Garcia Jones reporting, “What I saw was a lot of people who love God and love their country. And the vast, vast majority of them truly were overwhelmingly peaceful…I saw a portrait of middle America: overwhelmingly Christian but racially diverse, with people of every age group and from every corner of the country… looked like they wouldn’t much mind a brawl with Antifa, but I did not see a single Trump supporter calling for chaos and mayhem.”

However, other faith leaders in proximity to the rallies, including the pastor of Capitol Hill United Methodist Church, saw the events differently and feared for the safety of not only the church building, but more importantly the members who live in the area.

Bishop Latrelle Easterling of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church called the riots that resulted from the rallies a “perversion of the Gospel”:

The rioters who climbed the steps and walls of the Capitol sought to overturn the law, a fair election, and justice, and claimed their motivation was to defend God and their freedoms. They waved banners emblazoned with the words, “Jesus Saves,” but this is not what Emmanuel came to earth to embody. This is a perversion of the Gospel. This should drive all of us to our knees.

As far as Rochester is concerned, the events at the Capitol that led to her prayer highlight the need to remove President Trump from office. “He’s long been unfit for office. Now he’s a clear and present danger to the country,” Rochester says.

SBC Leaders Apologize for Not Including Black Leaders in CRT Discussion

By
Adelle M Banks
-
communicating with the unchurched

(RNS) — Southern Baptist Convention officials admitted it would have been better if they’d contacted Black leaders of their denomination before issuing a statement decrying critical race theory, which led to the departure of several Black pastors.

In response to weeks of reaction to the statement and a request for a meeting from the SBC’s National African American Fellowship, the denomination’s seminary presidents and fellowship leaders met on Wednesday (Jan. 6).

In late November, the leaders of the six SBC seminaries — all of them white men — declared  critical race theory, a set of ideas about systemic racism, was not compatible with the statement of faith of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

After the presidents issued their statement, several Black church leaders announced they were leaving the mostly white denomination.

The only Black person to serve as the denomination’s president, New Orleans pastor the Rev. Fred Luter, signed a statement on justice and repentance on Dec. 18. That document, initially issued by 20 Black and white SBC leaders, noted SBC progress on becoming more inclusive but added that “some recent events have left many brothers and sisters of color feeling betrayed and wondering if the SBC is committed to racial reconciliation.”

Later in December, the seminary presidents told The Washington Post they regretted that the statement “inadvertently caused significant hurt among some black brothers and sisters.” That was not their intention, they said, “even as we expressed our genuine concern about what we see as dangerous ideologies.”

Following Wednesday’s meeting, in a joint statement on Friday, leaders of the SBC’s National African American Fellowship and Council of Seminary Presidents said they had an “honest and open conversation” during the virtual meeting. They discussed “our various perspectives on all these issues” and vowed to continue talking.

“All of us acknowledge that conversations of this nature should have happened ahead of time,” they said in the statement. “The Council of Seminary Presidents regrets the pain and confusion that resulted from a lack of prior dialogue. Together, all of us are committed to condemn and fight racism in every form, personal and structural, in consistency with the 1995 SBC Resolution on Racial Reconciliation and the Baptist Faith and Message.”

The discussion included joint plans to sustain and increase Black student enrollment at the seminaries.

“The seminary presidents shared the conviction that CRT will not be taught at their seminaries,” the Rev. Marshal L. Ausberry Sr., president of the African American fellowship, told Baptist Press. “That’s their role to make those decisions, and we can respect that.”

Danny Akin, chairman of the seminary council, told the denomination’s news service that the meeting demonstrated the “love and respect each has for one another.”

SBC Executive Committee President Ronnie Floyd and SBC President J.D. Greear also joined the meeting, which Baptist Press reported lasted for about three hours.

Greear had affirmed the seminary presidents’ original statement but also urged Southern Baptists to consider the later “Justice, Repentance, and the SBC” statement, which argued that “(s)ome in the SBC appear to be more concerned with political maneuvering” than racial diversity.

He told Baptist Press these discussions “need nuance, grace and better efforts at mutual understanding” and expressed regret for the timing of the conversations.

“Our brothers and sisters of color absolutely should have been at the table — from the beginning — as we consider questions about what a Gospel-based response to racism in our country looks like,” Greear said. “I apologize for how this whole situation has made many of our brothers and sisters feel. Your voices are important in shaping our shared future.”

During the meeting, the leaders learned of the riots that had broken out when supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol. The Baptist leaders paused and prayed for the country.

This article originally appeared on ReligionNews.com.

How to Use Exercise as One of Your Leadership Tools in 2021

By
Eric Geiger
-
communicating with the unchurched

Exercise is one of the important tools in a leader’s toolbox. Exercise increases the longevity of the leader. Exercise helps the leader fight stress and anxiety so that the leader is emotionally healthy for people he or she leads. Exercise helps the leader sleep better at night. Exercise increases the leader’s energy and mental acuity. Exercise helps the leader develop mental grit and perseverance as the leader learns he or she can keep going when feelings are telling the leader to quit.

For the last decade exercise has been an important tool for me. Not because I am trying to look a certain way (I am not), but because I have learned the mental and energy benefits of exercise. On a normal week, I will exercise between 7-10 hours. That includes walks with Kaye, mountain-biking, and lifting weights. When I don’t exercise, I notice within a few days. My frustration tends to rise and I feel sluggish. Here are 5 lessons I have learned about establishing and keeping an exercise rhythm.

1. Find something you enjoy or people you enjoy exercising with.

When you discover different yoga classes or engage in a sport you enjoy, the time goes by so much faster. In some ways, it does not even feel like exercise. This is one reason I love Southern California so much. There are so many amazing things to do. The same is true if you enjoy the people you are with. I don’t really like walking that much but I love being with Kaye, so that time doesn’t feel like exercise either.

2. Do something you don’t enjoy too.

I am sure some people don’t agree with this, but here is my thinking. By doing something you don’t enjoy, you train your mind to keep going even when you don’t feel like it. I don’t really like lifting weights, but every time I go into the garage to lift, I am training my mind to keep going.

3. Schedule your exercise each week.

Each week I will take the note section on my phone and map out my plan for exercise. For years basketball was part of my plan, and I hope to add it back soon. But for now, the plan is mainly lifting weights, walking, mountain biking, and sometimes road biking and paddle boarding. Setting the plan each week also dictates how early I will need to wake up on certain days and what Kaye and I will do on my day-off. Here was last week’s plan.

4. Use your exercise time for other important moments too.

You may be thinking, “That is a lot of time!” It is, but the time is also used for more than one purpose. I walk with Kaye and enjoy that time with her. I mountain bike with friends (have planned worship services on a mountain bike) or use that time to pray through my upcoming sermon and for the people I will be preaching to. I listen to sermons while I lift weights. Rarely do I just exercise. Exercise is coupled with something else that is important.

Start again when you stumble.

This is another reason I believe exercise actions are more important than exercise aspirations. If you fall behind in your goal, you can get demotivated and give up. If you are more focused on the right rhythms, then you can just start again when you stumble. There are weeks where my exercise plan gets completely blown up. It is not good and I feel it, but it happens. Start again next week.

Reading has been one of the other important tools in my leadership tool box. Community with other leaders I trust and respect has been important. But exercise has been too. It is a gift and I am grateful the Lord has given it.

This article originally appeared here.

COVID Didn’t Break Your Small Group Ministry

By
Allen White
-
communicating with the unchurched

COVID has done a lot of things in 2020. The pandemic has caused people to lose their jobs and pivot their business trajectories. It has created economic uncertainty for many and fueled political polarization. COVID has caused people to rethink what they do and how they do it. It’s done a lot of things, but COVID didn’t break your small group ministry.

That doesn’t mean that small groups haven’t suffered in 2020. Groups have suffered Zoom Fatigue. Group members have become overwhelmed by working at home while their children are doing school online. Or even more stressful, group members are in health care or other essential work and face the tragedies of the pandemic every day on top of everything else. Sometimes it’s hard to gather a group meeting in-person or online. But, while some churches are seeing a decrease in small groups, others are increasing their groups by 50-211% in 2020. Here is what I’m seeing:

Groups that Broke Were Already Breaking

Like most things in 2020, the businesses that went bankrupt were already on a downward slide. That restaurant you never frequented went out of business. That place you rarely shopped had to close their doors. Century-old institutions like JCPenney filed for bankruptcy when it was once the king of mail order. Do you see the irony there?

Similarly, your groups that struggled the most in 2020 were struggling before. This is not to place blame, but it is a wakeup call. If all of your groups had ended when the pandemic hit, then you could blame the pandemic. But, when you look at the groups that have struggled this year, what was particular about them that caused them to end? What was the quality of their relationships? What was the group’s level of commitment? Were you aware of how the group was struggling?

I don’t mean to blame the group. People have faced devastating circumstances in 2020. But, the groups that fell apart already had cracks in their relationships. When things got harder, the group got worse. For those who didn’t connect with the group regularly, they just disappeared. For leaders who didn’t regularly check up on their group members outside of the group meeting, relationships continued to fray. The bottom line is what held the group together previously wasn’t sufficient to keep the group together during a crisis.

If It Was Hard for You to Connect with Leaders Before…

…Then trying to connect with group leaders during 2020 has seemed nearly impossible. Churches as a whole have depended far too much on the weekend service as a place for connection, discipleship, evangelism, worship, and everything else. The church is more than a worship service. This year has demonstrated that more clearly than ever. Yet by relying on chance meetings in the lobby with group leaders to take the temperature of groups is an insufficient measure of the health of groups anyway. Once that was gone, small group pastors began to realize how little connection they had with their groups.

The churches who have communicated best with their leaders in 2020 have a coaching structure in place. They never relied on leader meetings, reports, or lobby conversations to gauge the health of their groups. Coaches are the glue that holds these small group ministries together. If you’ve followed my blog for any amount of time, you know I’m a huge advocate for coaching. Here’s why.

It would be easy to assume that the solution for connecting with leaders will come in six months or so when everything is back to normal and you can go back to bumping into your leaders in the lobby. If you don’t hear anything else in this post, please here this: COVID didn’t kill the communication with your leaders. The lack of a coaching structure was already working against you. You didn’t have as much of a grasp on the health of your groups that you thought you did. If your leaders aren’t calling you back, there is a problem, but this problem didn’t just happen.

You don’t need a coaching structure to prepare for the next national crisis. (Let’s hope there isn’t one soon). You need a coaching structure for the health of your groups and the benefit of your leaders. If you are personally trying to coach more than eight leaders, you are beyond your capacity already. Get started on your coaching structure ASAP!

If It was Hard to Train Your Leaders Before…

…Training feels nearly impossible now. Whether you’re attempting to gather leaders in-person or online, it’s hard to get people together. But, the reality is that it was hard to get everyone to training before.

Years ago, a pastor asked me why I thought his leaders didn’t attend his training meetings. I told him it was because his training was boring and irrelevant. He was more than a little offended and shot back with “How would you know? You’ve never been to my training.” I told him I knew because that’s why my leaders didn’t attend my training meetings – they were boring and irrelevant.

Training that works is centered around what small group leaders tell you they need. Otherwise, to attempt to train all of the leaders together will result in either being over the heads of new leaders or taking experienced leaders back to Kindergarten. Poll your leaders and ask them what they’re dealing with, then select three topics and publish the agenda for your next training meeting. Better yet, create two-minute videos with training on each of those topics and send them out to your leaders. You don’t need a meeting at all.

In both coaching and training, it’s best to determine the least amount of structure needed to keep your leaders and groups healthy and to help them succeed. Now, by “least amount of structure” I don’t mean you doing it by yourself. You don’t want a structure that’s too cumbersome, but you do need something that’s flexible and scalable.

If It was Hard to Track Your Groups Before…

…It’s doubly hard to get reports from your groups now. COVID didn’t break your report-taking. The disruption to the normal pattern of ministry has revealed the weakness in regular reporting and your group metrics. Nobody’s report-taking is perfect. There are always those group leaders who will never complete a report. If they’re good at relationships and bad at reporting, then consider yourself blessed.

If group leaders aren’t task-oriented and won’t complete reports, then designate someone else in the group to give a report. Use a database like ChurchTeams.com that sends report reminders automatically and notifies you when reports are completed.

Reports are only one metric. If you’re waiting for a report to understand the health of your groups, then you’re already in the weeds. This is why coaching is so important.

Concluding Thoughts

The stresses of 2020 have revealed many weaknesses in small group ministry. That’s a good thing, because now you know what you need to work on. When COVID subsides, don’t expect your prior small group ministry to just snap back into place. The problems will still be there.

Make a plan and begin to work on the weaknesses in your ministry now. Build a coaching structure. Align your metrics. Make your training more relevant. Deepen your leaders and your groups. Once you have these things in place, your small groups will be stronger for it.

This article originally appeared here.

To the Pastor About to Preach With Kids in the Room

By
Jenny Funderburke Smith
-
communicating with the unchurched

To the Pastor About to Preach With Kids in the Room

Many of our “normal” modes of operation have greatly shifted over the past couple of months. Pastors have not received the credit they deserve for how incredibly flexible they have been. Almost overnight they had to transition from everything that was routine and completely revamp. Whether they previously had an online presence or not, all pastors had to figure out how to best minister to their congregation via screens. Pastors have had to lead their staffs virtually. They have had to figure out how congregational care happens in a season of social distancing. Pastors receive much credit for working extensively to still proclaim the Word of God in a time when it is most needed.

Now as we begin re-opening, another shift must occur. Nothing is going to be normal quickly. The majority of churches that I have talked to are beginning with worship and no kids’ ministry. I believe this is wise as the requirements for social distancing and safety are beyond what is feasible for kids’ ministry leaders and volunteers.

Jana Magruder, Director of Lifeway Kids, tweeted this:

PASTORS, AS YOU PREPARE (MAYBE FOR THE FIRST TIME) TO WELCOME CHILDREN OF ALL AGES INTO YOUR SERVICES, REMEMBER THE WORDS OF SPURGEON, ‘THERE SHOULD BE PART OF EVERY SERMON AND SERVICE THAT WILL SUIT THE LITTLE ONES. IT IS AN ERROR WHICH PERMITS US TO FORGET THIS.’ NO, THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO HAVE A “CHILDREN’S SERMON” PORTION, BUT IT DOES MEAN YOU NEED TO “SPEAK AS TO BE UNDERSTOOD BY A CHILD!”

Pastors, let me join Jana in challenging you to think differently about your worship services which now include your entire congregation.

  1. Adding the kids is a blessing, not a burden. I know, I know. They will be noisy. Some will cry. Some will be distracting. It may seem like adding kids will take away from the “excellent experience” you strive for. But what if this is an opportunity to create a different kind of excellent? What if in this case the excellence is the beauty of every age group worshipping the same God? What if the excellence is a modern picture of the scene from Mark 10 when Jesus receives the children? I’m sure it was loud. I’m sure it was not “perfect”. But it pleased Jesus. I love this picture that helps me re-envision what that scene might have looked like.
  2. You aren’t preaching in spite of the kids. You are also preaching to the kids. My goal is not to increase the burden of the weight that I know you already feel when preparing sermons, but just to remind you that the kids in your congregation are growing disciples too. Our best plan is not to just give the kids some things to keep them busy so that they don’t distract the grown ups. Our best plan is to ask God provide messages that engage as many age groups as we can.
  3. Everyone has to adapt. You have to adapt the service for families. Families will also have to adapt to being together in the service. Make your service more family-friendly, but at the same time families will have to adapt to having their kids with them. You’re both making sacrifices. Cheer families on for being there and make it as easy on them as possible.
  4. You can get away with some things you maybe have wanted to try. You likely experienced this during this quarantine season. You’ve probably had more freedom in ministry because everything is so different. With kids in the room, you still have a lot of flexibility to be creative. What can you do differently that can engage kids, but also can add some new creative elements to your services?
  5. Choose songs the kids might know. Coordinate with your children’s ministry and identify songs that kids will know. You can also put out playlists each week for parents to help prepare their kids for worship.
  6. Keep sermons short. Your greatest challenge is going to be taking the awesome word that God has given you and keeping your words condensed. I know it is hard. Include illustrations that make your point clearly. Cut out anything that is “extra”. Anything that you can leave out and your point can still be made, do it.
  7. Don’t be boring. You will never engage every kid in the audience. (Most preachers don’t engage every adult either, but we won’t talk about that.) Think outside the box.
  8. Don’t sacrifice deep truth for entertainment. The flip side is that in an effort to be engaging, sermons become heavier on entertainment and light on truth. Kids can handle deep truth, but it just has to be shared in simpler ways. Kind of like most adults.
  9. Evaluate what this means for your church going forward. I believe you will find value in families worshipping together. I think you will also more deeply appreciate the availability of children’s ministry. What is the right balance for your church? How is God using this time to change and shape your congregation?

After twenty years in ministry, I honestly never envisioned a time where the majority of Sunday morning children’s ministry would be put on pause. I cannot wait to see what God does through this in both our churches and our families.

This article originally appeared here.

Commemorating the Service of Single Female Missionaries Over 175 Years

By
IMB Staff
-
communicating with the unchurched

Commemorating the Service of Single Female Missionaries Over 175 Years

Throughout the International Mission Board’s 175-year history, single women have played groundbreaking, vital and pivotal roles in the advance of the gospel around the globe.

Though we have many stories to tell, journey with us through a brief history of single women who have served with the IMB.

The 1840s

In 1849, the Foreign Mission Board’s first single female missionary, Harriet A. Baker, was appointed to China. Her term was tumultuous, and she returned to the U.S. within a few years. For the next two decades, the FMB (now the IMB) asserted single women were not fit to serve overseas.

Though single women in missionary service had a rocky start, in the 1870s their role in fulfilling the Great Commission would surge and continue to accelerate throughout the decades to come.

The 1870s

Lula Whilden was a gifted evangelist who shared the gospel with thousands during her 45 years in China.

The 1870s ushered in the explosion of the women’s missionary movement. By the 1870s, many Baptist women were anxious to go overseas, and, as one of his final acts, the FMB leader at the time, James B. Taylor, appointed Lula Whilden to China in 1871.

Whilden was most drawn to China’s destitute women. She spent endless days ministering among women who lived on tiny boats along the Pearl River. Lula also started a home and school for blind girls, who were treated as slaves. Redeeming them for as little as $10, Lula provided more than freedom. She gave them endless love and care and the opportunity for eternity with Jesus.

In 1872, FMB leader Henry Allen Tupper was eager to appoint women, both married and single, for they could minister in lands where women were not permitted to associate with

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

men outside their families. In 1872, Edmonia Moon (sister to Southern Baptists’ beloved missionary, Lottie Moon) went to China, and Lottie followed a year later.

The Foreign Mission Board appointed Charlotte D. “Lottie” Moon to China in 1873. Her heroic service and challenging letters home over the next four decades rallied Southern Baptists to the cause of missions.

Because the FMB, still recovering from the financial devastation of the Civil War, could not afford to support the Moon sisters, Tupper encouraged churches and women’s societies to raise funds for their salaries. This began the long-standing tradition of women’s missionary groups supporting missionaries through prayer, fundraising and advocating for overseas needs.

The 1880s

Forced out of China due to malnutrition and sickness, Lottie Moon’s 50-pound frame could not survive the journey back to the United States. Though thousands mourned her passing, her life’s work in China represented eternity to many.

The women’s missionary movement that began in the 1870s continued gaining force in the 1880s. In 1888, the Woman’s Missionary Union officially formed as an auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. The organization became an essential force for missions education, support and prayer among Southern Baptists.

That same year, WMU leader Annie Armstrong instituted a Christmas offering for foreign missions, which missionary Lottie Moon had proposed in a letter the year before. Armstrong penned one thousand letters and sent out 30,000 offering envelopes to promote that first Christmas offering.

The 1900s

In the 1900s, the FMB began regularly appointing nurses, including Jessie Pettigrew, the first FMB nurse.

Women educated at the WMU Training Center in Kentucky started community centers in China, Japan and other nations. As women and children attended tutoring programs, exercise gyms and parenting classes, female missionaries developed deep relationships that allowed them to naturally share the gospel.

The 1910s

Attie Bostick grew her giving to FMB to the amount of one month’s salary each year.

On Christmas Eve 1912, beloved missionary Lottie Moon died aboard a ship bound for the United States. Four years later, the annual missions offering instituted by Annie Armstrong was renamed the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering® in honor of the woman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

who gave 40 years of her life to the people of China.

Today, almost 60% of the mission board’s income is from this annual offering.

Attie Bostick began serving with the FMB in 1916. In the previous organization Bostick served with, she received $290.37 for an entire year. The FMB was in considerable debt, so Southern Baptist missionaries in northern China sacrificed their own allowance for Bostick’s first six months’ salary. Bostick divided what she received to send to her family and gave to the FMB to help off-set the debt.

God used Bostick’s sacrificial spirit in China. She cared for the sick, repaired houses and churches, and even served others during her year-and-a-half-long internment by the Japanese.

The 1920s

Within 25 years of Agnes Graham’s arrival in Chile, the number of Chilean churches had jumped to more than 50.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the 1920s, FMB missionaries experienced what some consider the greatest revival in Baptist church history. In China’s Shantung province, missionaries had been disheartened because of the lack of progress. Missionary Mary Crawford said groups began earnestly praying for revival. In 1927, a decade-long revival spread from Shantung province in the north throughout the entire country.

Agnes Graham was the first single FMB missionary to Chile. Agnes immersed herself in Spanish and the heavily Catholic Chilean culture. When Colegio Bautista was founded in Temuco in 1922, Agnes became the director.

The Commission magazine stated in 1940, “The intense evangelistic spirit of Agnes Graham has permeated every phase of the life and activity of this school, until it has become one of the most fruitful evangelistic agencies in all Chile.”

The 1930s

Bertha Smith first served in China. In 1948, she moved to Taiwan to continue another decade of service in Asia and a lifelong commitment to prayer.

The Shantung Revival continued through the next decade and encouraged FMB missionary Bertha Smith to stand firm in ministry, even as Japanese forces invaded China at the beginning of World War II. She kept the local church open for services, started new Bible studies, and faithfully ministered at the hospitals, which were quickly overflowing with wounded. Her prayer life remained strong, even during a year in a Japanese internment camp. In 1948, she moved to Taiwan to continue another decade of service in Asia.

 

 

Nurse Ruth Kersey started the Home for Motherless Children to care for babies whose mothers died or could not care for their infants because of leprosy.

Nurse Ruth Kersey started the Home for Motherless Children in Nigeria to care for babies whose mothers died or could not care for their infants because of leprosy.

Missionary Ruth M. Kersey wrote about the staggering reality that many women die in childbirth in Nigeria. Southern Baptist women in Virginia donated money to build a home for the orphans. In 1935, the WMU of Virginia took on full support of Kersey’s ministry.

 

 

 

 

 

The 1950s

Catherine Walker

Catherine Walker stayed on the mission field 35 years. She then served four more years as special assistant to the president for intercessory prayer at the Foreign Mission Board.

Just six weeks after arriving in China, Catherine Walker received a letter from the American consul advising all Americans to leave the Community-threatened area. After much prayer, Catherine chose to stay in China. Walker later served in Indonesia and taught at the Indonesian Baptist Theological Seminary. Catherine wrote seven seminary textbooks. Her Bible Workbooks, Volumes 1 and 2, are still being used.

 

 

 

 

Hattie Gardner loved the villages that were far away from towns and cities. She felt happy in the “bush” regions and she loved the people she met there.

 

Hattie Gardner was willing to travel miles, even on horseback if necessary, to reach remote areas. She was determined to do what some thought would be impossible for the five-foot woman. After more than a decade in Nigeria, Hattie moved to the bush to live and work among the Batonu people. Living for years in a trailer pulled by her Land Rover, Hattie opened a school for children, taught the Bible and planted churches.

 

 

 

The 1960s

Mary Sue Thompson, a highly educated schoolteacher, wanted to teach in Nigeria and build a ministry that would support FMB’s missionary work in Africa.

 

Before Mary Sue Thompson’s appointment in 1967, it had been more than 80 years since the FMB had appointed any African Americans for career missionary service. She received a warm reception from the Nigerians among whom she served.

“Nigerians, other Africans and people around the world have asked me, ‘Why don’t Southern Baptists have more black missionaries?’”

 

 

The 1970s

Mavis Pate served in a Baptist hospital in Gaza. She died in an attack while traveling to Tel Aviv, Israel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1972, missionary nurse Mavis Pate traveled by van with a missionary family to Tel Aviv, Israel. Their van was hit with heavy automatic weapon fire. More than 50 shots were fired at the vehicle, a violent attack by the Palestine Liberation Organization. Mavis was critically wounded and lived only three hours after the attack.

Former patients, fellow missionaries, hospital staff and national friends joined embassy representatives and United Nations relief workers to mourned her death.

 

The 1980s

A native of Jamaica and a naturalized U.S. citizen, Yvette Aarons first applied to the FMB for missions service in 1985.

In 1989, the FMB’s first Deaf missionary, Yvette Aarons, was commissioned for a four-year special assignment to Trinidad. She was appointed as a career missionary to Trinidad in 1993 and also served in St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Grenada, Indonesia and Thailand before retiring in 2016.

Aarons’ tireless efforts allowed her to cross many bridges in Jesus’ name. As a result of Yvette’s willingness to obey the call of God on her life, many Deaf people from all tribes, peoples and languages will one day join in worship before the throne.

 

 

The 2000s

Martha Myers served in Yemen for 25 years as a doctor and delivered hundreds of babies, but she was even better known for her love for the Yemeni people, her late-night village visits and her unending pursuit to love and care for the people. This endeared her to many, but also made her a target of Al-Qaeda extremists. In 2002, Myers was martyred. Her casket was built by Yemenis, and more than 40,000 Yemenis filed past her body during her funeral.

Single female missionaries continue to advance the gospel around the globe. The IMB honors and celebrates their invaluable contribution to fulfilling the Great Commission. For more on IMB’s 175-history of taking to the gospel to the nations, visit imb.org/175.

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