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Is God Going to Wipe Out the Ocean?
I’ve only been to the ocean once in my life. And the particular beach that I went to isn’t one that is known for it’s beauty and grandeur. Yet, I was still taken aback. I’m not even a swimmer and I was captivated by this apparently only mediocre view of the ocean. I hope to see the ocean again. But if Revelation 21:1
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. –Revelation 21:1
is any indication I better do it now. One of the greatest elements of God’s creation is the sea, so why is he going to wipe it out? Has he got something against the ocean?
What Does the Sea/Ocean Symbolize?
It’s helpful, especially in a book like Revelation, to consider the importance of metaphor. All throughout the Scriptures the sea and the ocean is symbolic of chaos, danger, and evil. It’s not surprising, then, that the great beast will come out of the sea (Rev 13). This is the place where all that is unpredictable and chaotic comes from.
So it’s not surprising then that to a non-seafaring Israelite the sea would be happily eradicated. If God is going to create a new-heaven and new-earth where there isn’t going to be crying or death or mourning then it’s not surprising that he’d rid the earth of this nasty beast called the sea.
Philip Ryken’s words are helpful:
The sea represents everything that chafes and frets under the dominion of God; everything that is out of our control. But there is nothing like that in the new heaven and the new earth. Everything there is under the orderly blessing of God
But, Will It Be Literally Gone? Like, No Snorkeling In Heaven?
Some interpreters think the sea will be literally gone. John MacArthur actually goes further than any others I’ve read. He believes there won’t even be water but another substance in the river of life:
The sea is emblematic of the present water-based environment. All life on earth is dependent on water for its survival. . . . But believers’ glorified bodies will not require water, unlike present human bodies, whose blood is 90 percent water, and whose flesh is 65 percent water. Thus, the new heaven and the new earth will be based on a completely different life principle than the present universe. There will be a river in heaven, not of water, but of the “water of life” (22:1, 17).
While it’s certainly possible that there is literally no sea, it’s probably better, as R.D. Phillips so eloquently says, to take John’s statement here as “theological instead of topographical”.
Three Reasons I Don’t Believe It’s Literal
There are three reasons why I would lean towards viewing this as a non-literal removal of the sea.
First, consider what would happen if John had only said that we were getting a new heaven and a new earth? In a biblical worldview the cosmos is divided in three parts. The heavens (sky), the earth (land), and the sea. If God only redeems two of those three—and a great beast has already come out of sea to destroy the good—what would make us think this isn’t going to happen again? So it’s absolutely necessary that John has everything within his scope of redemption.
But what type of redemption is this? The second reason I would view this as not a literal removal of the sea has to do with the nature of the new heaven and the new earth. What God is doing is making all things new by means of renewal and restoration. So if the sea is no more, then the sea which is removed would be the old chaotic sea of the old order. Which leads to my third reason.
Consider the biblical storyline. Is there a literal sea in God’s good creation? Are ocean’s from after the Fall, or remnants of the flood? Consider Genesis 1:6
. “God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.” If God is restoring humanity to an Edenic paradise doesn’t it make sense that the flowing waters of Eden, untainted by human sin, would not also be present in the new creation?
Conclusion
We cannot be dogmatic on this point because Scripture is not explicit. There is enough within the text of Scripture to push us towards a more metaphorical reading of Revelation 21:1, but not enough to be definitive. Maybe there will not be a sea.
But one thing we can be certain of. Christ, our King, has conquered and all evil and chaos has been defeated. There’s no more uncertainty or pain or any other oceanic turmoil. It’s peace. And it’s beautiful.
I can’t swim well enough to snorkel in this fallen world. The ocean still symbolizes death for me. It’s beautiful, but it’s fearsome. But perhaps some day when the “sea is no more” I’ll be able to snorkel and swim with a glorified shark.
This article originally appeared here.
Francis Chan: If Everyone Knew How to Read the Bible, It Would Change Church as We Know It
If you’ve been wondering how to read Scripture, Francis Chan shares in the video about the best gift he’s been given. He received it when he was 15 when a pastor taught him “how to read the Bible for myself.” And now, Chan shares, he’s made major, life-altering decisions with just him and the book.
Tim Mackie of The Bible Project says something similar about the best gift he’s received. A teacher taught him to see how “every book of the Bible fits together as a unified story that leads to and points to Jesus.” This teacher also taught him to read the Bible for himself and learn from it.
Chan says he’s frustrated about all the talk surrounding different speakers and the words they’ve spoken and the lack of talk surrounding what someone has learned for him or herself from the Bible. What would the church look like, Chan asks, “if everyone who showed up on a Sunday morning actually spent the whole week, everyday, alone with God?” Chan believes that would change everything.
2020 – Your Year of Opportunity?
Would you regard 2020 as a year of opportunity? It feels more like a year of loss and disruption. How can we see a blessing in something that feels like a curse?
Children have lost close contact with their classmates. Adults have lost the feeling of getting ready to go to work in the morning. Parents have lost their sanity. Believers have lost their ability to gather in-person in some places. People have lost their jobs and lost income. As a society we’ve lost the sense of safety. We’ve lost the carefree ability to do anything we want whenever we want. We’ve also lost the notion that racism is not our problem. People have experienced a great deal of loss. You’ve lost too. Yet, there is something quite hopeful about 2020.
Back in the 80’s I attended a church growth workshop with Dr. Elmer Towns in Kansas City. The main crux of his talk was that people are open to change in periods of transition. When people graduate from high school, college, or grad school, they are open to change. When people get married, have a baby, change careers, or move to a new city, they are open to change. When people go through a divorce, become widowed, or retire, they are open to change. Dr. Towns encouraged us to figure out ways to connect with people during these times of transition and disruption in their lives. Do you see the gift of 2020? Everyone’s lives have been disrupted in some way.
All of this disruption – as painful and scary as it’s been – has made people ripe for the Gospel. Nothing in their lives is working exactly the way it used to work. Everyone has transitioned from the life they were used to, and the fact of the matter is that they will never see that life again. Some say the effects of Coronavirus on health and the economy will have implications for five years or more. People are ready for a change. You have the answer. But, if people weren’t going to church before COVID-19, why would they risk going now?
Finding the Solution in an Accident
On April 11, 1970, three brave astronauts launched into space aboard Apollo 13. Not long into their mission an accident caused damage to the capsule which compromised the ship’s cabin which began to fill with carbon monoxide. The astronauts wouldn’t make it back to earth. Engineers met in a conference room at mission control. In the movie with Tom Hanks, one of the engineers dramatically spills a box of supplies on the conference table and announces, “This is everything the astronauts have in the capsule. We have to figure out how to build the CO2 filter out of this.” They got to work. Using only what was available to the astronauts, the engineers created a CO2 filter. The astronauts arrived back to earth alive.
You as a pastor don’t have all of your normal resources at your disposal. While the church relied heavily on the weekend worship service to do more than it was capable of doing, quarantine quickly revealed that the church had to be more than a weekend service or a building. What do you have to work with? If you took the resources of your members’ lives and dumped them out on a conference table like those engineers from Apollo 13, what do they have at their disposal?
Most have a computer, a smartphone, social media, email, text messages, phones, pen and paper, and maybe a little time on their hands (maybe not). How can your church reach people whose lives have been disrupted and frankly are more than a little scared? (HINT: It’s not what most Christians are doing on Facebook and Twitter right now).
Reaching Your Community Digitally
How can you and your church staff equip your members to spread hope amid all of this disruption? Here are a few thoughts for you to bat around:
- Create social media and email invitations to online services.
- Offer Instagram and Pinterest posts with encouraging Bible verses or quotes from the sermon.
- Write sermon discussion questions so anyone can invite their Facebook friends into a Facebook group.
- Put your membership process or Growth Track online.
- Offer online small groups.
- Offer online on-demand training to equip people to serve.
- Encourage your members to find a need and fill it.
- Encourage members to offer their experience from online school or homeschooling to parents who are new at it.
- Offer support groups online – Celebrate Recovery, DivorceCare, GriefShare. Substance abuse and pornography use are at an all-time high.
- Offer online budgeting classes, marriage seminars, parenting courses, and stress management workshops to invite the community.
- Ask your members to record a short version of their testimony. Share these in your church’s social media and website.
- Create interactive online experiences – Bible studies that are a discussion rather than a lecture. Use Facebook Live and respond to the comments and questions.
Concluding Thoughts
Don’t waste the opportunity of 2020. Don’t sit around waiting for things to get back to normal. Normal is gone. Normal isn’t coming back. Embrace the disruption of 2020. The field is plowed. It’s time to plant.
For more information on using media to influence your community, I am hosting a webinar with Phil Cooke on October 1, 2020 at 2 pm Eastern. Phil is a PhD in Theology, a filmmaker, author, and media producer. His skill set is unique, and he has much to share with the church on getting the message of the Gospel out and maximizing your influence. Register Here [Here]
Tell me what your church is using to connect with lost people.
This article originally appeared here.
25 Ways to Honor Your Pastor During Pastor Appreciation Month 2020—a Really Important Year to Do So
This year has been a tough year for pastors and church leaders. The pandemic has changed almost everything we do, but pastors have pivoted quickly and worked hard to make adjustments. If ever they had earned appreciation, it’s this year. Here are some ways to show your gratitude during this Pastor Appreciation Month:
- Give your pastor and his family a weekend getaway. Give them a break on somebody else’s nickel – and make sure that time is not counted as vacation! These days, it may need to be a driving trip, of course. . . .
- Do some tasks for him and his family. Rake the leaves. Cut the grass. Wash the cars. Paint a room. Power wash the deck or the house. Do something that helps him.
- Catalog his books. Computer tools allow you to catalog books quickly, but somebody has to do the labor. Save your pastor the work.
- Provide gifts for his wife and children. The church that loves a pastor’s family will have a pastor who loves them.
- Prepare a notebook of “thank you” notes. I still have and cherish a notebook of notes that folks wrote to me as their pastor.
- Give him an Amazon tree. The “tree” might be only a big twig or an artificial plant, but the leaves are Amazon gift cards. Every pastor I know wants more books.
- Make a personal commitment not to speak ill of him—or listen to those who do. Support him in front of others.
- Update and upgrade his office. Paint the walls. Provide new furniture. Replace outdated wall paintings.
- Give him a new computer. If he’s like the rest of us, he’s used his current one for many, many Zoom meetings and recordings this year!
- If you’ve been sitting a while in church, start serving. I assure you he’ll appreciate every believer who gets more committed to God and His work.
- Provide a framed picture of your church building. I have pictures of both churches I pastored hanging on my office wall, and I’m grateful for those congregations every time I look at the pictures.
- Offer five nights of childcare over the rest of the month. Give your pastor and spouse the opportunity to have several date nights this month.
- Give him time and funds to attend a conference he wants to attend. Even if he already receives a conference benefit, increase it for this year.
- Set aside a special day to honor his wife. If you really want to make your pastor happy, focus on his wife instead. A great day for her is a great day for him.
- Send him a video-recorded thank you note from your family. Take a few minutes, record a short video greeting and “thank you,” and send it.
- When travel allows again, give him a trip to Israel. Your pastor will never approach the Bible or the pulpit the same way after walking in the Holy Land.
- Make a commitment to pay his costs to earn a doctoral degree. Make a long-term commitment to help your shepherd get that degree he wants.
- Give him and his family a local gym membership. Because you appreciate them, help them live longer by staying in shape.
- Help him participate in his hobby. If his hobby is golf, give him several rounds of golf. If it’s reading, give him Amazon cards. Give him something you know he’ll enjoy.
- Detail his car. Clean it. Wax it. Change the oil. Fill it with gas. Give it back to him with a few restaurant gift cards in the front seat.
- Give him a commentary set, one or two volumes per month. That way, this year’s appreciation gift keeps on giving.
- Have the church’s children write him notes. Few things melt a pastor’s heart like the simple, honest words of children.
- Give him an extra week of vacation. Even if it’s only for this year, he’ll be appreciative.
- Commit to praying for him daily—and then be sure to do it. Let him know you’re doing it, too. He’ll be grateful.
- Ask him, “What can I do to most help you?” You might be surprised by his answer. He might have immediate needs . . .
What other ideas would you add to this list?
This article originally appeared here.
Nobody Is Too Broken for the Grace of Jesus
I meet a lot of people who say they wouldn’t be caught dead inside of a church building, that their life is too messed up to be embraced by the arms of God, and that their previous failures are too monstrous to be forgiven by the grace of Jesus.
This false ideology that a human can be too broken for the all-consuming grace of our Lord and Savior is incorrect, and I pray that more churches will open up their doors to prove it so.
Nobody is too broken for the grace of Jesus.
We’ve all done things we aren’t proud of, said things that we wish we could take back, and been places we wouldn’t dare go visit again. And while many of us have found redemption through the sacrifice of Jesus, we must remember that there are millions of other people in this world who have yet to do the same.
The truth behind Paul’s words is revitalizing and scandalous—that even a man who once persecuted the church of Jesus Christ has now been redeemed and forgiven by His grace. This is revolutionary for all who hear it. The story of Paul is one we can all learn from. He is the pinnacle example of somebody who was far from God but found favor through the grace of Jesus. A second chance awaited him, and that second chance was discovered through seeking repentance, asking for forgiveness and allowing the spirit of Christ to transform him.
No matter what you’ve done in life, understand that the grace and love of Jesus is waiting for you with open arms. You don’t need to reach a certain level of “goodness” before you can pray, walk into a church or even read your Bible. God will take you where you are, but he loves you too much to leave you that way. Remember, nobody is too broken for the grace of Jesus.
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.” —Titus 2:11
How to Motivate Your Church to Worship God
If you read this blog regularly, you know I’m coming down to the wire on my “kind of” first draft for a book I’m writing for Crossway. THANK YOU to everyone who responded to my previous post asking about the challenges you face as a worship leader. Your thoughts are helping and guiding me as I write.
I had a fruitful day of writing yesterday and actually finished three chapters. I’ve been able to borrow from some of the posts I’ve written on this blog, as well as some material from my first draft of the book. I very much feel the effect of people’s prayers. I’m really enjoying the process of writing, which is completely God’s grace.
The book will contain four sections: What Matters, Your Call, Healthy Tensions, and Right Relationships. In the second section, I take a chapter to unpack each phase of this definition of a worship leader:
A faithful worship leader
magnifies the greatness of God
in Jesus Christ
through the power of the Holy Spirit,
skillfully combining God’s Word
with music,
thereby motivating the gathered church
to proclaim the Gospel,
cherish God’s presence
and live for God’s glory.
Here’s something I’ve included in the chapter on “motivating the gathered church.” When we lead corporate worship, we aren’t limited to simply singing songs. We can direct people to God’s truth in a number of ways. In this section I talk about using brief comments or exhortations to help them focus …
Have you ever noticed how easily your mind can drift when you sing?
I can be belting out biblical, powerful, brilliantly crafted lyrics while thinking about what I’m going to have for lunch, the movie I went to this past week or absolutely nothing at all. On the outside I look like I’m fully committed to worshipping God. On the inside I’m doing everything but.
The same can be true for the people we’re leading. So how do I help them focus on the words we’re actually singing?
At the very least, I have to be thinking about them myself. In my mind I’m constantly asking myself questions like:
- Why is this true?
- What difference does it make?
- What if it wasn’t true?
- What’s not being said here?
- What does that word mean?
- Why does this line follow the last one?
As I answer those questions specifically, it helps me interact more with what I’m singing, and it has a greater impact on my soul. When I’m leading, I’ll simply share some of the answer to those thoughts with the congregation through spoken or sung fills.
For instance, Darlene Zschech’s song “Shout to the Lord” contains a break after the line, “All of my days I want to praise the wonders of your mighty love.” What makes the Lord’s love mighty?
Well, a number of things.
No More Arrests as ID Church Continues Psalm Sing Events
The Moscow, Idaho, church led by Pastor Douglas Wilson has continued to hold “psalm sings” in protest of the city’s mask mandate, even though five people were cited and three of the five arrested when Christ Church held its first event on Sept. 23. Before the church’s third psalm sing on Wednesday, Oct. 7, President Trump retweeted a video of one of the Sept. 23 arrests, posted by a man who presented the incident as an example of religious persecution.
DEMS WANT TO SHUT YOUR CHURCHES DOWN, PERMANENTLY. HOPE YOU SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING. VOTE NOW! https://t.co/dqvqz6b1WD
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020
“We had another successful psalm sing yesterday, with hundreds in attendance,” said Pastor Douglas Wilson in a blog post Thursday. “It was glorious, and the Lord was kind as always. Thanks to all of you who prayed for us, and who have supported us in various ways from around the country. The fact that President Trump retweeted a reference to one of our recent psalm sings just made things just a little extra festive.”
Douglas Wilson, Christ Church Continue Protesting Mask Mandate
On Sept. 23, Christ Church hosted a “flash psalm sing” in front of Moscow’s city hall in protest of a mask mandate that had been set to expire on Oct. 6. City council leaders, however, unanimously extended the order to Jan. 5. Pastor Douglas Wilson called the mandate a “hypocritical and nonsensical law” on the grounds that Latah County has seen no deaths or hospitalizations because of the virus. This claim appears to be accurate, although data shows that COVID-19 cases have spiked recently, including within the past couple of weeks. KLEW News reports that Latah County recorded 96 new COVID-19 cases between Oct. 2 and Oct. 6. Wilson has also claimed that city leaders have not followed the mask mandate themselves and that Christians have a responsibility to protest the “high hypocrisy” of the situation.
The church’s psalm sings are brief events at which attendees, who have not been wearing masks or practicing social distancing, sing a few hymns before disbanding. Before the Sept. 23 event began, police warned Pastor Douglas Wilson that those present could be cited for failing to follow the mandate. Wilson passed this message to those gathered, and the psalm sing commenced. As people sang, officers cited five of them for failing to follow the mandate and arrested two on suspicion of resisting or obstructing an officer. The third person who was arrested, the man in the video President Trump tweeted, is a Republican running for Latah County Commissioner named Gabriel Rench. He was arrested for refusing to identify himself to officers.
Counter-protesters showed up at the second psalm sing Christ Church held on Sept. 25, which Wilson said was attended by 500 people, although the Moscow-Pullman Daily News (MPDN) put the number at 400. There were no police there that time, said Wilson, and he estimated the counter-protesters numbered around 25. On his blog, the pastor said the counter-protesters did “their level best to smother anything that dissents from their privileged and very fragile views.”
“A bunch of them had signs specializing in the non sequitur, and also a number of drums, in order to drown out our singing,” he said. “They were nothing if not industrious, occasionally rising to the level of a bad junior pep rally. At the very end, on behalf of the music ministry of Christ Church, I apologized for our accompanists and promised to do better in the future.”
Christ Church at Moscow Idaho with another flash psalm singing in response to the mask tyranny from the mayor #covid19overreaction #righttoassemble #1stamendment https://t.co/0q7jN0S8hI
— The Right Angle Podcast (@Rightanglepodc1) September 27, 2020
In a follow-up post, Wilson said the counter-protesters actually helped them by making it “a much bigger event” and that the church had “a plan in place” for future events “that will help us avoid any confrontations or clashes with them, and that should also enable us to sing without any trouble.”
MPDN reported that police actually were present at the second psalm sing, but from a distance to allow the situation to calm down.
Before the Wednesday psalm sing, Wilson posted again reminding people why the church was holding the events, namely, to protest that the city has extended the mask mandate despite there being no data showing a need for doing so. “We are standing against a governmental decision that was based on no stated or identifiable metrics, and which was therefore capricious, arbitrary, unpredictable, random, and haphazard,” he said.
The city posted a statement on Facebook before Wednesday’s psalm sing, asking people not to attend it due to the risk of spreading COVID-19:
Given the significant increase in daily confirmed COVID-19 cases in the area, concerns for public and officer safety, and the desire to prevent increased opportunities for community spread, it is strongly recommended that the public stay clear of the area until the end of the advertised gathering. Moscow Police Officers will monitor the gathering from a distance and exercise their discretion in enforcement. If law violations occur, follow-up investigations may be conducted, and citations may be issued.
The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported that about 200 people showed up at Wednesday’s psalm sing. There were no police immediately present and no arrests or citations, although someone nearby did try to disrupt the gathering by blasting Cardi B’s song, “WAP.” Counter-protesters showed up again, with one kneeling and holding a sign in the middle of the singers, but Wilson said that none of them were “disruptive.”
Attendees ended the event with “America the Beautiful,” which they sang, said Wilson, because of its reminder that America is to be a place of “liberty in law.”
Colorado Sues to Bar Future AWMI Conferences
Amid extensive legal back-and-forth, Colorado-based Andrew Wommack Ministries International (AWMI) proceeded with its Charis Minister’s Conference this week—an event that was expected to draw hundreds of attendees to its Charis Bible College in Woodland Park.
As ChurchLeaders has reported, AWMI sought an emergency injunction to proceed with the conference as scheduled on October 5. With the help of Liberty Counsel, the ministry sued Colorado’s governor as well as state and local health departments, alleging religious discrimination. Meanwhile, public health officials sought a temporary restraining order against AWMI, attempting to halt this week’s in-person conference.
The Latest Developments
State and county officials say such an order “is necessary to protect the public from (AWMI’s) reckless and indifferent actions, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, and to help prevent possible deaths.” They point to one student recently testing positive, “further increasing the risks of outbreak from the event.” The 652 students at Charis Bible College are required to attend the Charis Minister’s Conference, but AWMI’s website says attendees can stream the event online.
During a federal hearing on Thursday, attorneys for AWMI reportedly didn’t answer the judge’s questions about safety protocols at the conference. According to news reports, when the judge asked ministry leader Andrew Wommack to answer her questions via phone, AWMI abruptly withdrew its federal suit. In response, the state and county filed a new complaint, attempting to force the ministry to comply with public health orders.
Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, says Colorado and Teller County were trying to “hijack” AWMI’s federal lawsuit “to get their own emergency injunction.” The only law under discussion in AWMI’s federal suit, he adds, is the First Amendment, “which AWMI could not violate anyway.”
Videos Offer Conflicting Evidence
On Facebook, AWMI shares a video about its safety protocols for in-person conference participants. “We wanted to give you an inside look at all of the precautions that we have taken to help protect both our guests and the community of Woodland Park,” the ministry writes. Video footage shows staff wearing masks, signs encouraging social distancing, one-way arrows on floors, and hand-sanitizing stations.
Local TV station KRDO, however, obtained videos and screenshots from social media showing attendees indoors without masks. Colorado’s lawsuit against AWMI references that footage.
The county says its reopening status is at stake—and that future outbreaks will mean tighter restrictions for a variety of industries and indoor gatherings. Teller County Administrator Sheryl Decker says they’re still conducting contact tracing from a coronavirus outbreak attributed to a July event at AWMI. The county “remains concerned that AWMI’s conference poses a threat to public health,” she adds.
AWMI, however, takes issue with health officials’ claims that their summer events led to an outbreak. It points to a state website that notes, in part: “We can rarely prove where any individual was exposed with a person-to-person pathogen.”
This summer, AWMI fought a cease-and-desist order from the state, saying its rights of free assembly were at stake and that it was taking safety precautions.
Interview With Dare 2 Share Founder: What Do Teenagers Need in 2020?
Editor’s Note: This interview was provided by our content partner, ChristianNewsNow.com.
Greg Stier is the founder and CEO of Dare 2 Share Ministries which is located in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Stier started Dare 2 Share Ministries 29 years ago while serving as a pastor for a church in Arvada, Colorado. After the Columbine High School shootings in 1999, Stier resigned from the pastorate to pursue Dare 2 Share Ministries full time. According to dare2share.org the ministry equips teens to share their faith and youth leaders to build youth ministries that advance the gospel.
Christian News Now (CNN) recently had the opportunity to talk to Greg, who is on the front lines of youth ministry throughout the United States. In the past year he has spoken to thousands of teenagers, parents, and youth ministers during the popular Christian concert tour WinterJam. A few days ago Barna Group researchers revealed that they believe that the 2020 Pandemic will accelerate a loss of faith among the next generation. It seems that we are in a season where youth need to be pursued more than ever by today’s church, CNN asked Stier some questions that reflect that urgency.
CNN: What do you see as the number one thing impacting youth in the church today?
Greg: Teenagers today are being saturated in a worldly world view. Their views of God are more impacted by Netflix, Social Media and their peers than by the church, their youth leaders, and their parents. Teenagers in the church have almost the same amounts of anxiety, sexual addiction and suicide rates as their non-Christian peers. Youth ministry and parenting strategies need a massive overhaul to turn the statistics around. According to the report, Great Opportunity, we are slated to lose a million teenagers from the church every year for the next 35 years at the current rate of faith/church abandonment.
CNN: Have you seen the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 disconnect youth from the church because of church gatherings not meeting in person?
Greg: As I talk to youth leaders across the nation, I am sensing far more frustration when it comes to teen attendance at both their virtual and in-person meetings, with a handful of exceptions. For those only meeting online, youth leaders tell me that many of their teenagers are “Zoomed out,” in other words, they’re tired of the Zoom meetings and long for face-to-face interaction. Less and less teenagers are showing up for their virtual meetings and those who do often leave early. As for those gathering in groups, many youth leaders have faced the struggle of parents not being willing to allow their teenagers to engage in youth group meetings because of COVID-19. But the dangers of teenagers contracting COVID must be weighed against the dangers of keeping them isolated. Recently, the Director of the CDC stated that we are losing far more teenagers to suicide and overdosing at this time than we are to the pandemic. For many teenagers, isolation has led to frustration which has led to an increase of drug use and suicide attempts. Christian teenagers aren’t exempt from these struggles.
CNN: Does that make you fearful for the next generation of the church or hopeful?
Greg: In spite of all the terrifying statistics, I am very hopeful. God does his best work when things seem darkest. Teenagers are looking for hope. Jesus offers it. Teenagers are looking for purpose. Jesus offers it. Teenagers are looking for community. The church offers it.
CNN: What advice would you give to the church to reach and keep youth today?
Greg: We must reframe Christianity as a relationship with God versus a religion. The true message of Jesus is a love story (“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…”) When teenagers really get this, they are far more excited to share the gospel with their friends.This may sound like heresy, but I think we must rename the Great Commission. To a typical teenager, the term “The Great Commission” sounds like a bunch of money a real estate agent made on a deal. At Dare 2 Share we have renamed “The Great Commission” as “The Cause.”
CNN: Why “The Cause”?
Greg: It is The Cause of Christ that Jesus gave His disciples when He told them to “go and make disciples of all nations….” (Matthew 28:19). It should be our ultimate mission and primary cause as believers. Generation Z (what sociologists have nicknamed the current and coming generation of teenagers) is passionate about causes. From stopping human trafficking to feeding the hungry to providing water wells for thirsty populations to addressing racial inequities, teenagers today are being mobilized for all sorts of causes.
25 MORE Hilarious Church Signs That Probably Got The Sign Guy Fired
At long last, the highly anticipated follow-up to last year’s award-winning post:
24 Hilarious Church Signs That Probably Got The Sign Guy Fired
1. Safe bet.
2. Just what we were all looking for.
3. Highly doubtful.
4. Way to keep things balanced.
5. Don’t leave Jesus in Facebook purgatory.
The Top Three Faith Moments in the Harris-Pence Vice Presidential Debate
(RNS) — When the two major-party vice presidential candidates—a Black Baptist with Hindu heritage and a white, “ born-again evangelical Catholic ”—faced off on Wednesday night (Oct. 7), they largely talked past one another (and their moderator). But among their prepared arguments, Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris discussed their differences on faith matters that Americans may be hearing about for the remainder of the campaign season.
Taking a stand on abortion
In a surprise, when the debate turned to an issue that often invokes faith—abortion—neither candidate initially invoked faith at all.
When moderator Susan Page of USA Today asked Pence whether he would want his home state of Indiana to ban all abortions if Roe v. Wade were overturned, the vice president pivoted to a lengthy discussion stemming from a previous question about the military defeat of ISIS.
Harris, for her part, reasserted her support for abortion rights when answering a similar question. “There is the issue of choice, and I will always fight for a woman’s right to make a decision about her own body,” she said. “It should be her decision, and not that of Donald Trump or the vice president.”
It was only later that Pence circled back to the issue while answering a question regarding the Affordable Care Act. “I couldn’t be more proud to serve as vice president to a president who stands without apology for the sanctity of human life,” he said. “I’m pro-life. I don’t apologize for it.”
Judge Barrett and anti-Catholicism
While appeals to Catholics are often focused on their church’s teachings, particularly on abortion, Pence used a question about President Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court to paint Democrats who oppose Barrett as anti-Catholic.
Pence quoted Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s now famous line during a 2017 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing considering Barrett’s nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals, on which Barrett now serves. “The dogma lives loudly within you,” Feinstein told the judge, referring to her writings emphasizing jurists’ duties to their faith. Feinstein’s accusation has been held up as an antipathy not to her legal reasoning but her faith itself.
The vice president also brought up two other moments when Harris, a former attorney general of California who serves on the judicial committee, sharply questioned Trump administration nominees, both of which might resonate with Catholics.
Pence first reminded the audience of Harris’ set-to with Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh—a Jesuit-trained Irish Catholic—during his 2018 confirmation hearings. In a moment of tense drama, Harris repeatedly and forcefully asked Kavanaugh whether he would ask the White House to order an FBI investigation into Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her as a high schooler.
Pence then recalled another confirmation hearing, this one for Judge Brian Buescher for a federal district court seat in 2018, telling Harris on Wednesday night, “I know one of our judicial nominees you actually attacked because they were a member of the Catholic Knights of Columbus.”
In fact, Harris asked Buescher whether he knew the views of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men’s organization he belonged to, regarding same-sex marriage and abortion, seemingly attempting to elicit Buescher’s own views on issues that may come before his court. But some Catholics and others felt her line of questioning was evidence of anti-Catholic bias.
Jack Jenkins contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on ReligionNews.com.
The Bible Has Been Translated Into Its 700th Language
Wycliffe Bible Translators recently announced the Bible has been translated into its 700th language. The praiseworthy milestone is a result of Bible translation happening at a more rapid speed than ever. Due to the many translations happening all at once, Wycliffe reported “it is impossible” to know which specific translation marked number 700.
The three possible translations that may have accounted for the number 700 milestone could have been The Huichol (Wixáritari) Bible launched in Mexico, The Ellomwe Bible launched in Malawi, or the YouVersion additions of two Nigerian languages–the Tiv language or the Igede Bible.
According to Wycliffe Bible Translators website, now that the Bible is available in 700 different languages, it provides 5.6 billion people around the world access to the entire Old and New Testaments. In addition to the entire Bible being translated into those 700 languages, the New Testament has been translated in another 1,548 languages that reaches an additional 786 million people around the globe.
There are 3,969 languages that currently don’t have the Scriptures in a translation they understand. To put that in perspective, 1 in 5 people in the world do not have the full Scriptures in their first language, Wycliffe states.
Wycliffe Bible Translators’ Executive Director James Poole said, “This is such exciting news and represents the tremendous work that Bible translators are doing across the world. Every time we hear of the Bible being translated into another language, we know that means that for the first time the people in that language group can fully access the complete picture of God’s story.”
Poole praised the milestone saying, “That is a remarkable figure and continues to grow,” but in the same statement said that it is an injustice that 1.5 billion people don’t have the Bible in their language. Fortunately, Bible translation teams around the world are working to fix that.
“It’s amazing that there is so much Bible translation going on that we can’t pinpoint the 700th Bible,” Poole stated. “We live in exciting times when the vision that all people will be able to read or hear God’s Word in their language is becoming a reality.”
Recently the entire Bible was translated into sign language by Deaf Missions. It’s a work that took 38 years to complete and will provide 3.5 million people access to God’s Word.
To become involved with what Wycliffe Bible Translators is accomplishing throughout the world, check out their website here.
Sexual Like Jesus
First, the “what.”
Then, my stab at the “why.”
The “what”: According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, half of all U.S. Christians say that casual sex (meaning sex outside of a committed romantic relationship) between consenting adults is okay. Take away the “casual” label, but still unmarried, and it climbs another 10 percentage points.
Now for the “why”: I would contend that this response is because most professing Christians have exchanged the true gospel for what Christian Smith once termed “moralistic therapeutic deism.” A mouthful, I know, but so spot-on. It means a faith of being good and feeling good.
Applied to sex, it means the “purity culture” that makes abstinence before marriage everything, as opposed to being in a relationship with Jesus that leads you to want to honor Him sexually. There really is a difference.
If you make faith and sex all about how not to have sex outside of marriage, then you set people up for despair. They intuitively know that they will not be able to keep that “rule.” So what do they do? They either abandon the faith or, as we see evidenced by this recent research, they simply amend their faith to no longer condemn sex outside of marriage.
This loses the gospel entirely.
The message of the gospel has nothing to do with maintaining sexual purity. In fact, the message of the gospel is that no one can maintain sexual purity. The message of the gospel is that we can come to Jesus and receive forgiveness for any and all sins through His work on the cross and, from that restored relationship with God, receive a transformed heart that seeks to flesh out sexual purity. And when we fail in that pursuit, we can drink again from the well of forgiveness.
This is not a license to sin so that grace may abound. But it is a license to realize that the whole reason for our need for Jesus is that we cannot live the Jesus life.
But the answer is not to call sexual sin “acceptable.” The answer is to still call sexual sin… sin. The even deeper answer is to allow the transforming work of Jesus in our life to call us to ever-increasing levels of sexual purity in both deed and thought. To so cooperate with the energizing presence of the Holy Spirit that increasing acres of our sexual lives are given over to His leadership and transformation.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but the goal is this:
… to be sexually more like Jesus now than we were a year ago.
Sources
Jeff Diamant, “Half of U.S. Christians Say Casual Sex Between Consenting Adults Is Sometimes or Always Acceptable,” Pew Research Center, August 31, 2020, read online.
This article originally appeared here.
A Wandering Aramaean Was Our Father
A Wandering Aramaean Was Our Father
Our Sunday night class is tracing the ancient roots of our spiritual ancestors through the Old Testament. In this moment of total absorption with American politics and the fate of this earthly nation, this trip through the Old Testament is reminding Christians that we are grafted into Israel’s story and citizens of Jesus’ Kingdom-in-the-making.
As Christians, our founding fathers are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not Washington, Jefferson and Adams. Our founding ethical document is the Mosaic Law and the Sermon on the Mount, not the U. S. Constitution.
As Christians in this heated moment of national division and political rancor, we need to be reminded that our first calling is to be a set-apart “Christian colony” who manifests and communicates Jesus’ Way of life and love. While we should “work for the peace and prosperity” (Jer. 29:7) of this nation by casting our vote and being politically engaged and responsible, we dare not lose sight that our main preoccupation should be in advancing the vision and values of the global community of Jesus-followers—the Church.
Jesus’ family transcends all national borders and interests. We should feel a greater kinship and loyalty to an Iraqi or Russian Christian than our unbelieving American neighbor we talk to over the fence. But do we?
The Israelites—generation upon generation—would regularly rehearse their history and recite the following words together to remember where they came from—especially once they find themselves prospering in a land abundance: “A wandering Aramean was my father” (Deut 26:5). Rachel Adelman speaks of the effect of this reminder:
“Schooled as “strangers in a land not their own” as descendants of the wandering Aramean, the way we tell our history serves as the basis for a higher ethic, as it says throughout the Torah: “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt”. It is precisely the consciousness of being alien (with its concomitant sensitivity to the other) that ironically grants the right to dwell in the land. The short history we recite, again and again—upon recalling the Exodus at Passover and offering the first fruits—reminds us of this tenuous relationship to the land, a contingent gift from God. What raises us to “chosenness” and confers a claim to that gift is the mandate of compassion for the stranger in our midst, and remembering that we were once (and on an existential level, may always be), strangers in a strange land. We are called upon to link living in the land with compassion for and just behavior towards those “strangers” who dwell among us”.
Many American Christians may need to be reminded of this spiritual heritage as well, lest we forget that we too are spiritual children of the wandering Aramean—Abraham—and that our spiritual ancestors spent 400 years as slaves in Egypt before coming into newfound freedom in the land of promise. (The African American Church resonates deeply with the Exodus narrative, and knows what the Jews have always known: what happened long ago is not simply in the past; it is alive and still a part of who we are today collectively.)
If we trade our ancient biblical spiritual roots for 18th century American roots, trading Abraham for Jefferson, we risk becoming more passionate about defending the “American way” than representing God’s Way for Americans in need of a Better Way.
This is especially relevant under an administration that celebrates an “America-first” agenda. I find myself asking, How can children of a wandering Aramean whose main vocation is to “be a blessing to all nations” (Gen. 12:1-3) be comfortable with rhetoric so passionately America-focused? How can citizens of an “others-first” Kingdom rally around such an “us-first” platform?
I have regularly challenged Christians on the political left and right, not with an interest in expressing what I think is the best path forward for the future of this earthly nation. I can easily see why people choose to vote either Republican or Democrat, and I can respect both.
My critiques, rather, are typically aimed at challenging Christians who seem to be getting more wrapped up in fighting for America’s future and representing American partisan values more passionately than fighting for the pure witness of Christ’s Kingdom community and the reputation of the worldwide Church. As an ordained minister of the gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom, my focus is not on making America great, but speaking prophetically to followers of Jesus about the witness and well-being of the worldwide Body of Christ, the Church.
I have spent the past 20 years learning how to live as a loyal patriot of Jesus’ upside-down Kingdom, and abiding (gratefully yet lightly) in this land as a resident alien and wandering pilgrim who knows which Kingdom I am called to further and where my ultimate allegiance lies. I am “longing for that better country” (Heb. 11:16), and called to point people toward its quiet emergence even now where ever Christ’s disciples are gathering and already sipping the first fruits of that New Wine of the coming Kingdom.
As a student of history, I also know what many of us think is unthinkable: that America will eventually go the way of all earthly empires. America is not God’s chosen nation; it never has been and never will be. But God’s purposes are still being carried forward through the Covenant made with that Wandering Aramean and his descendants—which has now been expanded to include all who are “in the Messiah”—both Jew and Gentile.
As has always been the case, “The nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing; the kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together” (Ps. 2). Meanwhile, God’s people — his faithful remnant — are scattered across the globe—from every tribe, tongue and nation. And it is those who carry His Kingdom message and live faithfully as his royal ambassadors who will be vindicated in the end (2 Cor. 5:20).
We will all stand before God someday and be rewarded based on whether or not we were fully committed citizens and patriots of His upside-down Kingdom. The sheep and the goats will not be separated according to earthly nations: Americans, Russians, Chinese, etc. They certainly won’t be sorted according to how they voted as temporary residents of a temporary kingdom—i.e., Democrats and Republicans.
The sheep and the goats will not be separated into Conservatives and Liberals, Capitalists and Socialists, small government or big government proponents, etc. I suspect if St. Peter is manning the Heavenly gate, he will have never have heard of a Democrat or Republican — or the United States of America.
Rather, the sheep and goats will be separated into two groups—those who actually followed and obeyed Jesus’ teachings, and those who called him “Lord, Lord” on Sundays, but never really surrendered to his reign in their everyday living, thinking, and believing. Let all who have ears to hear, listen:
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matt 7:21-27)
Let us pray for the well-being of this earthly nation, yes. Let us vote in the upcoming election for what we think is best of the future of this earthly nation, yes. But let us pray even more fervently and work even more diligently to preserve the witness of the Church. We are billboards for Christ, so what message are we sending these days?
Every four years on Election Day we are marked by a red “I Voted” sticker as we leave the polls. Meanwhile, every single day we are called to be marked by the Kingdom values and ethics of Jesus as we leave the house and go out into the world as his representatives. Do we bear the marks of Jesus? Do we have “the aroma of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:15) or not?
Where does one start? Begin by reading the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7) and trying to put it into practice—especially with our public interactions. If you take this challenge seriously, you won’t have as much time or energy left for American politics. You will find your burgeoning Kingdom citizenship is a full-time, all-consuming calling. Let all who have hears to hear, listen:
“Seek above all the Kingdom of God and Christ’s kind of justice” (Matt 6:33 my paraphrase).
This article originally appeared here.
What Happens When a Christian Dies?
A Christian is a person who owns two homes. The home you are living in now is a temporary one, a “tent.” But you have another home that is more enduring, more substantial. The date for your moving to your new home has not yet been given, but it is already known to God.
You have an enduring home.
What exactly is this new home? Nobody I have read deals with this question better than Charles Hodge, the great teacher of an earlier century, from Princeton. In his commentary on 2 Corinthians1, Hodge asks, “What is the building into which the soul enters when the present body is taken down?” He lists three possibilities:
- Heaven itself
- The resurrection body
- Some kind of temporary, intermediate body
Hodge quickly dismisses option number 3; the idea an interim body is taught nowhere in Scripture. Besides, Paul says that the new “house” is eternal (2 Cor. 5:1), so it could hardly be temporary.
With regard to number 2, Hodge points out that a resurrection body is the gift of God to all believers when Christ returns in glory. Christians who die still have to wait for that gift, even though they are already in the Lord’s presence. No Christian has the resurrection body at this time. Paul does not have it, nor Peter, nor John. The only person who has the resurrection body right now is Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:8 tells us the Christian who has died is now “at home.” Paul writes, “To be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord!” So, I am convinced, with Hodge and many others, that the home referred to here is heaven itself. Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms… I go and prepare a place for you” (Jn. 14:2-3). And Abraham, who lived in tents, was “looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10).
The Christian is a person with two houses. The contrast between them could hardly be greater. The first house for your soul is your body, which is like a tent – a fragile structure that will be destroyed. When this house is pulled down, you will move into your other house, which is heaven – an enduring building to live in forever. Heaven is the eternal home into which your soul will enter when its present house is destroyed. In the earthly tent there is groaning, but in the “house not made with hands” what is mortal is swallowed up by life (2 Cor. 5:4)!
But what actually happens immediately after Christian closes his or her eyes in death?
Your soul is separated from your body.
Death is referred to as an enemy, the last enemy. Death is the undoing of our nature, the tearing apart of what God has joined together. God created your life by knitting your body and soul together. This interconnection is so complex that we can hardly imagine life without the body.
Try to imagine shutting down all the functions of the body, one by one – you can no longer see, or hear, or speak, or eat, or walk, or move. Eventually, you would be conscious but unable to function. That’s why Paul says, “we long to put on our heavenly dwelling, that we may not be found naked” (2 Cor. 5:3). Nobody in their right mind wants their soul to be separated from their body.
If the only thing to say about death was this eviction of the soul from the body, it would be terrifying indeed. Who wants to be a shivering ghost, lost in space without a home? Nobody wants that. Thank God, that’s not what happens.
Your soul moves into its new home.
Christian, when God takes down your tent, your soul will not be lost in space without a resting place. The moment you leave the tent, your soul will be at home in the building. To be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord.
My wife, Karen, and I have moved only once in all of our married lives. We moved from a home owned by the church we served in London to a home that we bought when we came to the United States. That four-thousand-mile journey took some time.
But the moment you leave the tent, you will arrive in the building – an instant move! Away from the body – at home with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). You will not be out there and homeless. For the Christian, death is an immediate translation into the presence of the Lord. You exchange the tent for the building, earth for heaven. You exchange the temporary for the eternal, the pain of groaning for the joy of glory.
You’re prepared for this!
He who has prepared us for this very thing is God (2 Cor. 5:5).
How has God prepared you to move from the tent to the building? He sent His Son into the world to prepare a place in heaven for you. He sent His Spirit into your heart to prepare you for your place there. God has given us His Spirit as a guarantee.
The Old Testament describes the tabernacle, which was a tent. It tells us that the cloud of God’s presence came into the tent. Now Paul says that your body is a “tent”, and the Holy Spirit of God comes down to dwell in this tent with you. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Christ lives in you. He is with you in the tent! God makes his home with you in the tent until the day when you make your home with him in the house that is eternal in the heavens.
This revelation about the Christian’s life in heaven is a marvelous gift! God did not need to tell us anything about life beyond the tent. He could have said, “Trust me, and wait and see.” But God did not do that.
God pulls back the curtain so that believers can say, “We know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” And when you find yourself groaning in the tent, that knowledge will keep you from losing heart.
This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Prepared for Something Better”, from his series Don’t Lose Heart.
1. Charles Hodge, ed. Alister McGrath and J.I. Packer, The Crossway Classic Commentaries: 2 Corinthians (Wheaton: Crossway, 1995), 90-92.
This article originally appeared here.
The Difference Between Being Offended and Being Persecuted
There are two key mistakes American Christians tend to make when thinking about the intersection of religion and culture. The first is to have an attitude of a “majority” culture, a mindset that incorrectly conflates a civic morality with Christianity and seeks to build coalitions to “turn America back” to Christ. But there is another mistake too, and that is to have a fearful, hand-wringing siege mentality. While it’s true that religious liberty is genuinely imperiled, perhaps more than at any time since the revolutionary era, we will not be able to articulate our commitments in this arena if we don’t know how to differentiate between state persecution and cultural marginalization, between public oppression and personal offense.
Several years ago, I was flipping through magazines on an airplane when I came across a couple of pages that spiked my blood pressure. A beer advertisement was tagged with the headline, “Silent Nights Are Overrated.” A few minutes later, in a second publication, there was an advertisement for an outdoor grill which read: “Who Says It’s Better to Give Than to Receive?” My first reaction was a personal, if not tribal, offense. “Would they advertise in Saudi Arabia during Ramadan with the line ‘Fasting Is Overrated,’” I fumed, “or by asking in India, ‘Who Says Everything Is One With the Universe?” I was missing the point.
The truth is, these companies were trying to sell products, not offend constituencies. Taking shots at any group’s religious beliefs isn’t good economics. I’m willing to bet whoever dreamed up these ad campaigns didn’t “get” at all that they might be making fun of Jesus Christ. Madison Avenue probably didn’t trace through that the song “Silent Night” is about the holy awe of the dawning Incarnation in Bethlehem. To them, it probably seemed like just another Christmas song, part of the background music of the culture during this season. Saying it’s “overrated” probably didn’t feel any more “insensitive” to these copy-writers than making a joke about decking the halls or reindeer games. The writers probably never thought about that the statement “It is better to give than to receive” is a quotation from Jesus via the Apostle Paul (Acts 20:35). It probably just seemed to them like a Benjamin Franklin-type aphorism, along the lines of when someone says “scarlet letter” without recognizing Hawthorne or “to be or not to be” while not knowing the difference between Hamlet and Huckleberry Finn.
Yes: Even Designated Audio/Video/Lighting Systems Need Protection
I had the pleasure of speaking with a local worship pastor at a large church in the area. As we discussed the new challenges (and opportunities) brought about by the ever-changing COVID-19 landscape, the topic of antivirus software surfaced. If you have had any experience on a church tech team, (or even if you have not), I am sure you can acknowledge the idea that it is possible for antivirus software to have an antagonistic effect on the performance of a system, even if while at the same time it is performing critical services. Another example would be designated AVL (Audio/Video/Lighting) systems used by church tech teams, which elevate the worship experience but also utilize heavy resources. These systems need protection.
As my pastor friend explained to me, smaller churches may have systems multi-tasking but by-and-large, the resource strains on these systems are so heavy that most computers perform a single task. The example he gave for his church included utilizing three Mac mini’s for video (ProPresenter), one Mac for recording (Pro Tools) another pc for running sound spectrum analysis, another pc simply for lighting, and finally a pc tasked for live stream recording. Given these separate-but-critical-duties assigned to perspective machines, I began to understand a tech team’s temptation of forgoing protection on their systems against malware and cyberattacks with dedicated endpoint security software, simply because of the “extra weight” of the software, even if the purpose of such software could prove critical. There is a huge risk to “running without the layers on.” Your church could catch a virus! But the day-to-day reality of time and resources limits us sometimes.
A related but separate a topic that surfaces daily in my conversations and consults is whether Macs can even get a virus in the by-and-large-Apple-worship-team-world?
The technologically-archaic notion that Macs cannot get viruses is simply false. Macs can and do get infected with malware, and our Thirtyseven4 Labs have seen a significant increase in the past 18 months. Macs may (for several reasons) be less likely to become infected than their Windows counterparts, but documented cyberattacks on these platforms are numerous.
And to address the idea that if antivirus software is necessary, it will hinder performance—I would like to counter that if properly installed and run, (trusted) antivirus software should have no effect or minimal effect on daily procedures. But grace should be given and appreciated to the overarching idea and purpose of ANTI-virus software—we must allow space/resources/time for it to do its job. With antivirus, as with life—there is no completely free lunch. But to run machines completely unprotected, even if operating at lightning speed, is careless and dangerous.
Due to the very nature of scanning, an av scan can be a system-intensive activity. Running a thorough, full-system scan while utilizing AVL software during worship production is probably not the wisest idea. However, industry leading solutions like Thirtyseven4 do offer the flexibility of various scan types (thorough scans, quick scans, scheduled scans, file specific scans). The variety of scans allow systems to be proactively protected while offering the flexibility of scans to take place during off hours.
Another question, and (depending on your software) complaint that I receive is about antivirus updates and their impact on performance. Should we run updates containing the latest virus definitions? Yes. (Just like running outside in cold temps, there are proactive measures that are prudent to take in caring for our bodies. The same is true for our machines. The latest updates provide the most current protection.) Will it affect your performance? I would say that depends on your provider.
Endpoint security solutions handle virus definition updates differently. With Thirtyseven4, we offer our customers daily, compacted, incremental updates. These immediate updates allow the virus databases files to remain small in nature and so when the updates are automatically downloaded and applied they offer no noticeable hit to the system performance. The flexibility of scheduling updates during off hours is also a possibility.
Professionally speaking, the need for antivirus software (even in a Mac world) on production systems is a necessity. The threats are real, and cybercriminals are continually evolving their strategies to attack systems on a more manual, targeted basis. Unfortunately, AVL systems are not void from their hit list.
I prefer walking and running in the summer without being weighed down with layers of clothes needed in winter, but even during the hot months, I lather up in sunscreen or wear a hat to protect against the sun. Regardless of the season, there is always some type of necessary protection. And the same is true with antivirus protection for our devices. Whether utilizing Macs or Windows machines and regardless of changes in the safety landscape, I’d rather be minimally impacted and healthy, than vulnerable and in cyber danger.
Barna: We’re Experiencing Another Reformation, and Not in a Good Way
A new report released Tuesday by the Cultural Research Center (CRC) of Arizona Christian University has a troubling conclusion. American Christians are undergoing a “post-Christian Reformation,” says Dr. George Barna, Director of Research at the CRC. Unlike the Protestant Reformation, whose goal was to return to the foundational teachings of the Bible, this modern movement is one where Americans are redefining biblical beliefs according to secular values.
“While the survey cannot determine if churches are failing to teach biblical truth or whether congregants are exposed to such teaching but rejecting it, the bottom line is that we are a society that has strayed far from the path of biblical truth,” said Dr. George Barna in a summary of the findings. “It certainly seems as if the culture is influencing the Church more than the church is influencing the culture.”
In January 2020, the CRC surveyed 2,000 adults in the U.S. from four major groups: evangelicals, Pentecostals and charismatics, mainline Protestants, and Catholics. The study was part of the American Worldview Inventory 2020, and the estimated margin of error was plus or minus two percentage points.
Researchers asked respondents about their views on 51 topics, including marriage, absolute truth, the sanctity of human life, and the authority of the Bible. While there were notable differences among the four Christian traditions, researchers found that all of them showed a clear trend away from the teachings of the Bible and toward a secular worldview.
Dr. George Barna: American Christians Are Redefining Their Faith
“The irony of the reshaping of the spiritual landscape in America is that it represents a post-Christian Reformation driven by people seeking to retain a Christian identity,” said Dr. George Barna. “Unfortunately, the theology of this reformation is being driven by American culture rather than biblical truth. The worldviews embraced by the adherents of these distinct religious communities reflect contemporary, worldly influence, rather than biblical influence.”
“The most startling realization” about this secular reformation, said Barna, “is how many people from evangelical churches are adopting unbiblical beliefs.”
Evangelicals have traditionally emphasized the importance of seeing the Bible as the infallible, inerrant Word of God. Now, however, 52 percent do not believe in objective moral truth, which “equates to most evangelicals believing that the Bible is either not inerrant or trustworthy in its content.” That, said Barna, “is a radical and critical departure from the traditional teachings and biblical reliance of evangelicals.”
In addition to their shifting views on absolute truth and the authority of the Bible, evangelical views of God and humanity are also becoming more secular. Seventy-five percent believe that people are basically good instead of basically sinful, 43 percent believe Jesus sinned during his time on earth, and 58 percent believe that the Holy Spirit is merely a symbol rather than a person. A majority of evangelicals do not believe it is important to follow the Christian faith exclusively. Sixty-two percent said that having some faith of any kind was better than having none at all.
Other findings from the survey include that 44 percent of evangelicals believe the Bible’s teachings on abortion are ambiguous, 40 percent do not believe human life is sacred, 34 percent do not believe marriage is between one man and one woman, and 43 percent do not believe that God has a unified purpose for all people.
The study also found that significant minorities of those who identify as evangelical do not confess their sins daily, worship God daily, or pursue God’s will for their lives. Said Barna, “While some of the ideas gaining traction in evangelical congregations may not reflect a majority perspective, the fact that one-third to one-half of those adults embrace these ideas can only be viewed as alarming for evangelicalism.” Finally, Barna found that 28 percent of people who attend evangelical churches are not born-again Christians.
GOP Propose Bill to Keep Pastor Tony Spell From Prosecution
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Republican Louisiana lawmakers trying to chisel away at Gov. John Bel Edwards’ coronavirus restrictions Wednesday sought to protect a Baton Rouge area pastor charged with violating those rules and advanced legislation that would keep emergency orders from governing churches.
The House criminal justice committee voted 6-3 for a bill by Oil City Republican Rep. Danny McCormick that would grant immunity from fines, penalties and prosecution to anyone “assembling to exercise religious freedom” during a publicly declared emergency.
“Some of the people didn’t attend church just out of the fear of being arrested and humiliated. And I think we need to send a clear message to Louisiana that our religious freedoms are alive and well,” McCormick said.
The bill is one of dozens filed in the special session that seek to undermine the Democratic governor’s coronavirus emergency rules, which currently include restrictions on businesses, crowd size limits at sporting events and a statewide mask mandate.
Republican lawmakers are proposing everything from eliminating specific rules and banning enforcement of the orders to prohibiting future enactment of restrictions and revoking the existing public health emergency declaration. They’re also looking for ways to give themselves more authority to jettison future orders in any emergency, whether a pandemic, a hurricane or an other disaster.
After Wednesday’s debates, lawmakers planned to take a break from the monthlong special session and head home ahead of Hurricane Delta, which threatens to hit Louisiana with ferocious wind and storm surge later this week.
McCormick’s church protection bill would be retroactive to March 11, a move aimed at ending the prosecution of Tony Spell, minister at Life Tabernacle Church in Central, for violating Edwards’ ban on large gatherings. Spell and several of his supporters attended Wednesday’s hearing.
Baton Rouge Rep. Ted James, the committee chairman, was among three Democrats who voted against the bill. He said the Supreme Court has cautioned against passing retroactive laws.
“I’m a criminal defense lawyer. I would love to go pass a whole bunch of laws that are retroactive and get some people out of trouble,” James said.
Spell was charged in April with several misdemeanor offenses for repeatedly holding in-person church services with hundreds of people not distanced from each other, in defiance of the governor’s restrictions on crowd sizes at the time. Spell also was arrested later on an assault charge for driving a church bus toward a man protesting his decision. The cases are pending.
Edwards has since loosened crowd size limits on churches and many other places.
But Spell’s supporters—and Republican lawmakers on the House committee—said Edwards never had the authority to enact such regulations on religious activity. A federal judge rejected those arguments in a lawsuit filed by Spell, refusing to issue an injunction against the governor.
“The church does not need the state’s permission to serve and worship our Lord as he has commanded. We belong to Christ alone,” said Susan Raborn, a Baton Rouge attorney and Spell supporter.
Spell called Edwards a “godless governor.” That provoked James to chastise Spell and defend Edwards, a devout Catholic who regularly invokes prayer and God in speeches and briefings.
“We’re not going to question the religious faith of the governor, not in here. This is not your church,” James said.
Baton Rouge Rep. Denise Marcelle was the only Democrat in the committee to support sending the measure to the full House for debate. All Republicans present for the debate voted for the bill.
“My vote needs to be for what I think God wants me to do,” said Rep. Tony Bacala, a Prairieville Republican.
___
The bill is filed as House Bill 9.
Melinda Deslatte contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on APNews.com.
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