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5 Ways Your Church Can Serve Single Moms

By
MM Gibson
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Looking for effective ways to serve single moms in your church? Here are five powerful ideas.

He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”  (Luke 3:11)

Jennifer Maggio was a single, unwed mom at 15 years old.  Now, years later, she’s married, has three children, a successful career, and a middle-class income.  But she remembers the shame, walking away from the church as a teen, needing parenting advice, financial instruction, spiritual growth opportunities, and emotional support.  In a moving portrait, Jennifer describes the life experienced by as many as 13 million single moms, 27% of whom live in poverty and 24% on government assistance, and calls the church to action to reverse the national “epidemic” of single parent homes.

We know it’s not supposed to be this way, of course.  Marriages are supposed to last.  Children are supposed to be loved.  Maggio supplies the truth of it in a detailed chapter entitled, “What in the World is Going On”:

•  In 1951, about 22% of the U.S. population lived in single-parent homes.  Today, nearly 50% of babies are born into single-parent homes.
•  There are over 17 million single-parent homes in the United States today; most are headed by a single mom.
•  Divorce rates remain over 50%.
•  Children with no father in their home are 20 times more likely to go to prison than those living with both parents.
•  “We are currently seeing generations of single parents raising new generations of single parents.”  (p. 49)

Maggio holds out the hope of God’s power to overcome even these harsh statistics.  She points the Church to the “missing 70%” of single parents who are simply not in the church.  We have to go search for them!  Maggio’s church, Healing Place Church, in Baton Rouge, LA, has one of the largest single mothers support groups in the nation.  Here’s a summary of some of the steps a church could take in helping single moms and starting such a ministry:

1.  Go find them – lots of them — whether they are Christians or not!  Create flyers about Sunday services and your single mom’s ministry and put them in housing projects, apartment complexes, daycare centers, prominently promote the ministry on the church Web site – don’t hide your interest. Open a social media page for single moms.
2.  Single moms may be visiting your church but not participating.  Follow the 8 steps in Maggio’s book to start a single mom’s ministry.  Provide childcare and a simple meal for children at meetings – many single parents can’t get home from work, pick up a child, and feed them before the meeting.
3.  Offer the top 4 areas where single moms can be served best – financial instruction, parenting advice, emotional support, spiritual growth, and then stick to the four areas!  Don’t forget the gospel — these activities are outreach!
4.  Inform church members of how desperately single parents need to know that they are welcome!
5.  Pray.  Pray.  Pray.  Then use a formal approach to create the ministry, even on a small budget.

Jennifer Maggio has written a compelling book with a simple goal and excellent practical advice for churches wanting to serve a growing group of families with obvious needs.  She focused on single moms, but many of her principles work for single dad’s ministry as well.

Maggio means to move the church to minister in the love of Christ to parents and children who are struggling all around us.  The Body of Christ is up to the task, no doubt about it.  Let’s get moving!  Pass it on!  

This blog post is a review of The Church and the Single Mom, a new book by Jennifer Barnes Maggio, CarePoint, Stone Mountain, GA, 2011,(Review copy provided to EvanTell by publisher.)

Read this next: How Do You Help the Single Dads in Your Church?

John Hagee and Greg Laurie COVID-19 Positive

By
Stephanie Martin
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Two prominent evangelical Christian leaders—Greg Laurie and John Hagee—have announced they’ve tested positive for COVID-19. Both pastors had attended separate high-profile events at the White House in September, though it’s unclear where they contracted the disease. Both men report feeling okay and have requested prayers.

John Hagee Attended Signing of Abraham Accords 

John Hagee, the 80-year-old leader of Christians United for Israel, tested positive for COVID-19 on September 25, according to a spokesperson, and immediately began isolating. During worship on October 4, Hagee’s son Matt revealed the diagnosis to congregants at the church he and his father pastor—Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, which has 22,000 members.

“It was one, discovered very early, and two, his medical team has him under watchful care, and three, he’s feeling well enough to be frustrated by anyone in a white coat with a stethoscope,” Matt Hagee said. He also mentioned his father “has been diligent throughout this entire COVID pandemic to monitor his health.”

On September 15, John Hagee was at the White House for the signing of the Abraham Accords, the deal that establishes relationships between Israel, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. 

Greg Laurie Attended SCOTUS Announcement 

On October 5, Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside and Irvine, California, shared news of his COVID-19 diagnosis. Laurie, 67, attended the nomination ceremony for President Trump’s Supreme Court pick, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, at the White House Rose Garden on September 26. That same day, he also attended the Prayer March on the Mall in Washington, D.C.

Photos from September 26 show Laurie wearing a mask at times but not at others. After receiving his diagnosis, “I chose to first tell those I was directly in touch with and the congregation I pastor,” he says.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I speak with friend, Johnnie Moore at the Prayer March in Washington, DC.

A post shared by Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) on

In Monday’s video message, Laurie reported having a fever, feeling fatigued and achy, having an altered sense of taste, and being bored. “I just want to get out again, doing what I’m called to do,” he says. “With God’s help and your prayers, I expect to get through this.” Laurie adds that “If the President of the United States can get [COVID-19], obviously anybody can get it.”

Don’t ‘politicize’ the Virus, Says Greg Laurie

Experts have labeled the September 26 Rose Garden ceremony a “super-spreader” event, because at least 11 attendees have now been diagnosed with COVID-19. Besides the President and First Lady, several members of Trump’s staff, three Republican senators, and the president of Notre Dame University also have tested positive. But the White House reportedly has no plans to conduct contact-tracing of the event, at which few people wore masks.

Laurie was sitting near Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor who also has tested positive. But Laurie says he doesn’t know where he contracted COVID-19 and warns against blaming the White House. “Unfortunately, the coronavirus has become very politicized,” he says. “I wish we could all set aside our partisan ideas and pull together to do everything we can to defeat this virus and bring our nation back.”

In March, as the pandemic began, Laurie told congregants “God is bigger than the coronavirus” and “the viral fear about it may be worse than the virus itself.”

This week, Laurie told Christianity Today, “I have always believed COVID was a pandemic and have tried to encourage people to take it seriously. Clearly, the scientists believe that the virus is contagious enough that it merits a vaccine.”

How to Read the Bible as What It Is: Ancient Jewish Meditation Literature

By
Jessica Lea
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When you consider how to read the Bible, do you approach it as ancient Jewish meditation literature? For many of us, this is likely not our first thought. But just as it is important to recognize the different genres of the Bible in order to interpret God’s Word correctly, the BibleProject reminds us that the Bible is in fact Jewish meditation literature, and that reality should directly impact how we approach and interpret it.

“In Psalm 1, we read about the ideal Bible reader,” explains the BibleProject, and that person “is someone who meditates on the Scriptures day and night.” 

Meditating on the Bible is an essential part of reading it in the literary form in which it was written, and it is only through careful meditation over our lifetimes that we can understand many of its rich and life-changing truths.

How to Read the Bible: Meditate on It

When considering how to read the Bible, we should keep in mind that “the Bible is a small library of books that all emerged out of the history of the people of ancient Israel.” 

In an interview with ChurchLeaders, the BibleProject’s Tim Mackie explained, “The Bible comes from another culture, another place, another time and language and history—actually multiple languages. That in itself presents a gap in understanding…Most people aren’t in the habit of reading ancient texts from across the planet from thousands of years ago, and that’s what the Bible is.” The Bible is not modern American literature, and we should not read it as if it were, imposing our own expectations on it.

So what are distinctive characteristics of ancient Jewish meditation literature? “A key feature,” says the BibleProject, “is that it lacks a lot of the details that modern readers have come to expect in stories and poems.” While this lack of detail can make this ancient style of writing appear simplistic, it is actually “very sophisticated” because “every detail that is given matters.” 

For example, in the account at the beginning of Genesis where the serpent tempts Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, there are many details left unaddressed. Where did this talking snake come from? Why did God allow it in the garden? Why did Adam and Eve not physically die right at the moment they ate the fruit? Who is the offspring of the woman?

Those are major unanswered questions pertaining to the narrative, but there are a number of other questions that might occur to us. Is the Garden of Eden in Mesopotamia? What kind of fruit was on the tree? Did the snake have legs? 

Leaving these questions unanswered allows more of a chance that people will read their own conclusions into the text. “That’s a risk that the biblical authors took in writing this way,” says the video. “We all tend to impose our own cultural assumptions onto the Bible, but [the authors] apparently thought it worth the risk was worth it. These oddities are really invitations into an adventure of reading and discovery.” 

Take as an example the fact that God promised that the offspring of the woman would crush the head of the serpent and that serpent would bruise the offspring’s heel. God’s words about the woman’s offspring are a “clue to pay attention to genealogies,” which, as it turns out, “run all through the biblical narrative.” Genealogies connect the line of Eve to King David and to Jesus. Isaiah ties the woman’s offspring to the suffering servant, and in Revelation we see that Jesus, through his suffering, conquers a dragon. “This is the literary genius of the Bible,” says the BibleProject. “It forces you to keep reading and then interpret each part in light of the others.” 

Learning how to read the Bible and meditate on it, however, takes time. The Bible is lengthy, varied, and not always easy to understand. But, says the BibleProject, “You’re actually not expected to notice all of this by yourself or all at once. This dense way of writing forces you to slow down and to read carefully, embarking on this interactive discovery process through the whole Biblical narrative over a lifetime of reading and rereading.” It is through meditating on Scripture that we will make these discoveries. “And as you let the Bible interpret itself,” says the BibleProject, “something remarkable happens: The Bible starts to read you. Because ultimately, the writers of the Bible want you to adopt this story as your story.”

2 Justices Slam Court’s 2015 Decision in Gay Marriage Case

By
AP News
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same-sex marriage
Anti-abortion activists with "Bound 4 Life" demonstrate at the Supreme Court in Washington, Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, as the justices begin a new term without the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite))

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court, already poised to take a significant turn to the right, opened its new term Monday with a jolt from two conservative justices who raised new criticism of the court’s embrace of same-sex marriage.

The justices returned from their summer break on a somber note, following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, hearing arguments by phone because of the coronavirus pandemic and bracing for the possibility of post-election court challenges.

The court paused briefly to remember Ginsburg, the court’s second woman. But a statement from Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, underscored conservatives’ excitement and liberals’ fears about the direction the court could take if the Senate confirms President Donald Trump’s nominee for Ginsburg’s seat, Amy Coney Barrett.

Commenting on an appeal from a former county clerk in Kentucky who objected to issuing same-sex marriage licenses, Thomas wrote that the 5-4 majority in a 2015 case had “read a right to same-sex marriage” into the Constitution, “even though that right is found nowhere in the text.” And he said that the decision “enables courts and governments to brand religious adherents who believe that marriage is between one man and one woman as bigots.”

Thomas suggested the court needs to revisit the issue because it has “created a problem that only it can fix.” Until then, he said, the case will continue to have “ruinous consequences for religious liberty.”

The court turned away the appeal of the former clerk, Kim Davis, among hundreds of rejected cases Monday.

Thomas’ four-page statement prompted outrage from LGBTQ rights groups and others. Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement that Thomas and Alito had “renewed their war on LGBTQ rights and marriage equality” as the direction of the court “hangs in the balance.”

With Ginsburg’s death and the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy in 2018, only three members of the majority in the gay marriage case remain: Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

Barrett’s confirmation would cement a 6-3 conservative majority on the court, and she has compared her approach to the law generally to that of her mentor, Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the dissenters in the gay marriage case.

Reversing the court’s decision in the gay marriage case would seem a tall order, but Thomas’ statement underscored liberals’ fears that the court could roll back some of their hardest-fought gains.

The cases the justices spent about two and a half hours discussing Monday, however, were far less prominent: a water dispute between Texas and New Mexico and a case involving a provision of the Delaware constitution that keeps the number of state judges affiliated with the two major political parties fairly even. The justices seemed prepared to uphold Delaware’s political party provision, and the argument passed without any comment about the partisan fighting over the Supreme Court’s makeup.

The justices will hear a total of 10 arguments this week and next, but the term is so far short on high-profile cases. That could change quickly because of the prospect of court involvement in lawsuits related to the election. Perhaps the biggest case currently on the justices’ docket is post-Election Day arguments in the latest Republican bid to strike down the Affordable Care Act, which provides more than 20 million people with health insurance.

The justices last heard argument in their courtroom in February and skipped planned arguments in March and April before hearing cases by phone in May. On Monday, Chief Justice John Roberts began the hearing by noting what the public has only seen in pictures: that the door to the justices’ courtroom and the section of the court’s bench in front of Ginsburg’s chair have been draped with black fabric.

Said Roberts: “We at the court will remember her as a dear friend and a treasured colleague.”

Mark Sherman and Jessica Gresko contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on APNews.com. 

American Missionaries in Haiti Killed During Home Invasion

By
Jesse T. Jackson
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In late September, pastor Jean Philippe Quetant and his wife Erna Plancher-Quetant were both shot and killed when a local armed gang invaded their home. The couple was serving as missionaries in Haiti.

According to NBC 2 News, the couple had roots in Fort Myers, Florida, and Pastor Jean Philippe worked at the First Haitian Baptist Church in Fort Myers. They had moved to the United States from Haiti years ago in search for a better life. After all five of their children, three of those being a set of triplets, had left the house and were in college, they decided it was time to return to Haiti. Pastor Jean Philippe’s vision was to build a church and an orphanage to provide clothing, food, and basic needs to a community in the poverty-stricken nation of Haiti. They had only been there for a month.

Jean Philippe was a loving father who would routinely pray over his children at night while they slept, and he was known as a true protector.

One of their sons received a phone call in late September informing him that his parents had been murdered in their home during a home invasion by a local armed gang.

Family members reported that the gang ransacked the home and stole their parents’ belongings.

Tabitha Quetant, their daughter, said, “It just feels surreal; they could have just taken everything and left them alone. They wouldn’t have done anything.” She expressed that “if I could speak to them now, I would just say ‘Mom and Dad, I love you and I thank you so much for the way you raised us.’ “

Their son Kevin said his parents always loved to give and help first and that a lot of people knew them as loving people. Their mother Erna was a frontline healthcare worker who worked long hours to help provide for their family while in the States.

A gofundme page has been set up by the family to raise money to bring the couple back to the United States to be buried and for the family to be able to say their final goodbyes. As of the time of this report, the initial goal of $28,000 has already been surpassed and $28,470 has been raised.

If you’d like to give, you can do so here.

Matt Walsh: “Our Kids Don’t Need Gun Control Laws, They Need Fathers”

By
Esther Laurie
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Matt Walsh says “Our kids don’t need gun control laws, they need fathers.” After the tragic shooting at a community college in Oregon last week, the hype in the media is about gun control and mental health. While both are important, Walsh points out a crucial area we are missing, which is the family.

Unfortunately, this is not the first school massacre where innocent people die, but gun control may not be the answer. Walsh writes, “Even if we could completely remove the pesky issue of constitutional liberties from the equation, even if it were possible to cure violence by getting rid of one particular type of weapon, even if we ignore the fact that the deadliest school attack in history happened 90 years ago and was carried out not with guns but with explosives, and even if we look past the studies showing that gun control laws are counterproductive, gun control would still be basically impossible.”

It’s easy to blame gun control laws. Even Ian Mercer, the Oregon gunman’s father, when caught off guard in an interview mentioned gun control. Walsh notes, “Still, I can’t help but note that Ian Mercer was interviewed from the home he didn’t share with his son. The shooter came from a divorced family. He lived with his mother. Same was true of Dylann Roof, who also slaughtered nine people. Same was true of Adam Lanza, who massacred 20 children a couple years ago. All came from broken homes. None was close with his father.”

So, what should we look to in the face of these atrocities? Walsh says we should look to the family, more specifically to the father.

“In all of these cases, the media and Obama — and this time even the perpetrator’s father — diligently counted how many guns the killers had in their homes but failed to notice how many parents they had in their homes. That seems like quite a detail to overlook. Before we wonder if a guy’s access to guns turned him into a murderer, you’d think we’d pause to reflect on whether his lack of access to his own father might have played a role.”

Walsh continues, “These mass killings happen with relative frequency, and they are usually not perpetrated by men who grew up in strong families with both biological parents present. Divorce and fatherlessness are the two elements that tie most of these cases together. No other factor — gun laws, politics, racism, etc. — comes close. Dylann Roof was a white guy killing black people, Vester Flanagan was a black guy killing white people. Their races were different, yet the one line that cut right through both of them was divorce. Even in cases where the killer’s parents are still married, a closer inspection will often reveal a home filled with instability and chaos.”

It’s not just violent acts that make the news that involve broken or divorced families. “The statistics across the board are staggering and conclusive:  90 percent of homeless kids are from fatherless homes; 63 percent of kids who commit suicide are from fatherless homes; 71 percent of high school dropouts are from fatherless homes. Children from fatherless homes are at a much greater risk of developing drug addictions and are four times as likely to be poor. Out of all the youths in prison, a full 85 percent are from fatherless homes. In the inner city where violence and drug abuse are rampant, four out of every five children are growing up without their biological fathers.

“You name the societal ill or problematic group — from violent boys to promiscuous girls to everything in between — and right there in the middle you’ll find broken homes, unstable families and absent fathers.”

The statistics are there, but we aren’t talking about the psychological benefits of two parents and a stable family life, specifically the nuclear family with a mom and a dad. Walsh says we often “ignore the family’s role in all of this because it hits, literally, too close to home. Some single mothers bizarrely see a discussion about fatherhood as an attack on them, and some men, especially divorced men, see the hand wringing over fatherlessness as an affront against them. Both groups make it impossible to have this conversation.”

Add to that strong beliefs many hold about the progressivism of the nuclear family and you have a sticky situation.

Walsh ends with this thought, “I don’t think all of our problems in society can be solved through stable families, but I do think that, if we want to address them, we should begin with the simple but hard things: staying married, raising our kids, being examples, instilling faith and values, teaching them how to be good people, etc. It’s not foolproof, but it’s a start.

We just have to be willing to do the work.”

What do you think about the father’s role in the family? Do we put too much pressure on one person? Do mothers have an equal influence on the home?

What do you think about the power of the nuclear family?

5 Core Qualities of Leadership Confidence

By
Dan Reiland
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The moment you step up to lead, you immediately discover your level of confidence.

And the question that comes up is why?

  • What causes the difference between writing and preparing a talk, and standing up to deliver it?
  • What causes the difference between the great idea you came up with in your office and presenting it to your board? Maybe it’s a big decision, and you begin to second guess yourself.
  • What causes the difference between your time in prayer and stepping into a conflict-oriented and challenging conversation?

You were confident that you were ready, and God was with you, then something changed. Real-life happened, and your confidence was shaken.

It happens to all of us.

It happens to those who are overconfident as well as those who are underconfident.

The truth is that it’s not just skill and experience that produces your confidence in the natural realm; your confidence is greatly strengthened on the inside at a soul level.

Dr. Sam Chand is a long-time friend and mentor. His story is fascinating as he talks about his leadership journey toward confidence. He was born in India, a pastor’s son, and came to the US for college. Sam started as a dishwasher and cook at the college he attended and ended up as the president of that same college. Sam became a pastor and today is a successful author, change strategist, and sought-after leadership consultant.

Sam has the right stuff on the inside.

He has the five core qualities at a soul level that allow you to possess a deeper sense of confidence in your leadership.

These soul level qualities are not reserved for a few highly gifted and talented leaders. They are available to all of us.

(I tell a fuller version of Sam’s story from an amazing interview with him, in my new book, Confident Leader! There I unpack more content about these five qualities.)

When you meet Sam, the first thing you sense about him is his humility.

And that is the first core quality in the soul of a leader.

5 Core Qualities at a Soul Level:

(These core qualities are a progression. One develops and leads to the next in the order they are presented.)

1) Humility

Cultivating humility is a complex idea.

How much humility is enough?
How does humility fit in with confidence?

Humility isn’t thinking poorly of yourself; it’s thinking honestly about yourself.

Humility isn’t a weakness; it is strength under control. It’s a balance of God’s gifts within you, self-awareness and maturity.

The intent isn’t merely to embrace humility, but also resist pride. Pride blocks humility and causes us to fall.

You can intentionally pursue humility, but you’ll struggle if pride is blocking the way.

Humility sounds like this:

  • I’m sorry.
  • I need your help.
  • Let me serve you.
  • You go first.
  • I don’t understand how to do this.
  • You are right, and I am wrong.
  • Let’s do it your way.
  • Whatever you need.

Trying to be humble isn’t really the goal; that can quickly become less than authentic. It’s more about seeing yourself realistically and putting others before yourself.

Humility sets your soul for a God-based confidence.

Humility leads to gratitude.

2) Gratitude

Humility sets you up for a spirit of gratitude. Humility prepares your heart to be naturally thankful.

When you understand you are a small part of a big world, you are an important part, and you matter, but you’re not the only person; you are poised to be a much more grateful person.

An ungrateful soul is an empty soul because it always wants more.

As leaders, we can be tempted toward a lack of gratitude because of our drive for reaching more people, growing the church, and seeing the mission advance. That’s a good thing, but not if you focus on what you don’t have rather than being grateful for what you do have.

Ungrateful leaders are unhappy leaders, and unhappy leaders are only satisfied with more.

It’s easy to start questioning why God didn’t bless you with more. Instead, tell God daily what you are grateful for, and often tell someone why you appreciate them. Thank them and tell them why.

Gratitude leads to generosity.

3) Generosity

When gratitude is in your soul, you make room for generosity.

When you possess a soul level generosity, you want more for people than you want from them.

You become a more giving leader. It’s not just about money, but also your time, ideas, energy, and love.

Giving becomes a natural part of your life, and you sense no need to keep score.

Giving becomes easy, except perhaps, for the times that you need to make discerning choices about how to direct your generosity.

Generosity is a way of living rather than a specific activity that you practice a few times a month or so.

Generous leaders look for ways to bless others and find great joy in doing so.

Generosity leads to personal security.

4) Security

Generosity flows into and strengthens your security. When you give easily and naturally, you gain a certain freedom to be yourself.

Secure leaders don’t often get caught up in things like people pleasing and performance.

Let me be candid with you. No one wants to follow an insecure leader. All leaders have some insecurity, but that’s different than being an insecure person.

Security comes from knowing who you are in Christ and being self-aware about your gifts and talents.

Being secure in who you are and confident are difficult to separate.

People like you best when you are yourself. Not everyone will like you, but they like you best when you are the real you!

Don’t worry about what people think of you. Consider this, when you lay awake at night thinking or even worrying about it, the other person is snoring.

Security leads to courage.

5) Courage

When you are secure enough to be yourself, you have the freedom to be courageous.

Courage always increases confidence.

When you no longer need to be like someone else, you see no value in pretending, and you no longer waste energy attempting to self-protect, you are positioned for courage.

You are secure in the person God made you to be.

It’s important to know that you can’t jump from humility to courage.

The leap is too far; the chasm is too wide; you’ll fall.

You need the bridge of the three qualities in the middle (gratitude, generosity, and security) to bridge the gap.

They help you make the journey to the courage that enables you to:

  • Have tough conversations
  • Make difficult decisions
  • Take a stand when needed
  • Speak the truth
  • Lead into uncertainty

Courage isn’t always about doing what is big and grand, or before a large crowd, but more about doing the next right thing even when no one is looking.

Courage sometimes includes going alone for a short time, even though others may be willing to go with you. There are times when it’s just you, that’s leadership. That’s courage.

These five core soul level qualities are attainable now but also require a lifetime of intentional pursuit.

They will make a significant difference in your confidence as a leader.

This article originally appeared here.

A Tale of Two Pandemics (And Being Compassionate About Both)

By
Eric Geiger
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The definition of a pandemic, according to the dictionary, is a “disease that occurs over a wide geographic area.” CoVid clearly meets that definition as the virus has spread across the globe, and over 200,000 people in the US have died. And as we all have recognized, CoVid is not the only struggle that people we love and serve are wrestling with, not the only disease that is bringing chaos and pain into our world. The dictionary defines disease as a “condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms.” Alcohol and substance abuse are rising as people search for ways to numb their pain. Mental health is deteriorating as factors that help ensure we are mentally healthy have been compromised such as meaningful work, community, and exercise. Calls to suicide hotlines have skyrocketed. People have lost their jobs and their businesses, the ability to provide for themselves and their families. Kids and teenagers have had hopes and dreams stripped from them.

While technically we may be living through one pandemic and the implications of that pandemic, one could make the case that we are living through two pandemics. Instead of using the term a “second pandemic,” some speak of “the other side of the pandemic” or “the implications of the pandemic.” Whatever “it” is called, it is real.

Before we knew of CoVid, Vivek Murthy, former Surgeon General of the United States, articulated that loneliness is the biggest health problem facing our country. About his work, Murthy stated: “I came to a deeper appreciation for the science behind loneliness which tells us that loneliness and weak social connections are associated with a reduction in lifespan similar to that caused by smoking 15 cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity.” 

The former Surgeon General called loneliness the biggest health problem in our country, and CoVid has multiplied loneliness.

Both pandemics (or both sides of the pandemic) are driving the stories we hear. Just last weekend between church services, I talked to one gentleman in our church who lost both his parents, 87 years old, to CoVid. I also heard of people who have traded in years of their sobriety for some substance to numb their pain in the midst of the isolation. I have heard from parents whose kids have socially regressed and who are struggling to be separate from them. Yes the stats about both pandemics are real, but so are the stories.

Understanding that we are living through two pandemics helps us be compassionate and sensitive to others.

If, for example, you are in the camp that believes wearing a mask is giving up your freedom and you sense frustration when you see so many masks, understand that behind some of those masks are people with real concerns for friends and family and real pain because of loss. You wouldn’t tell someone who lost their parents to CoVid that wearing a face covering is giving up his rights. If you would you have a covering over your heart.

Or if, for example, you are in the camp that believes people should not be getting together and you are filled with frustration when you see groups gathering, understand there are stories beneath those gatherings. Perhaps the gathering of families you saw in the park are parents who feel their kids are losing their personalities or are not themselves anymore. Maybe the people are just hungry for community and won’t live without it any longer.

We do and will have differing viewpoints as Christians on these matters, but what our Lord is really clear about is how we are to treat one another: “Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.” (Ephesians 4:31-32).

Being overly consumed by responding to one aspect of the pandemic (whether the virus or the implications) is likely to cause us to be insensitive to people dealing with the other side of the pandemic. We are to be kind and compassionate to one another. There are two pandemics. As Christians, we don’t need to minimize one to emphasize the other. But we do need to be kind and compassionate to one another and understand that one of those pandemics is likely driving each person’s thinking and behavior. There are stories, pains, and struggles beneath the surface, and may we be kind and compassionate.

This article originally appeared here.

The Power of Small Things: God’s Open Secret

By
Joe McKeever
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The Power of Small Things: God’s Open Secret

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed.” (Matthew 13:31)

“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much.” (Luke 16:10)

When the Heavenly Father gets ready to do something major, He loves to begin in tiny, unseen ways.

When He was ready to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt, He called an 80-year-old has-been who was keeping sheep on the backside of a mountain. When the Lord got ready to redeem the world, He sent a Baby.

When He decided to do something grand, He called you.

So many scriptures make the point that God specializes in using the tiny and insignificant to accomplish great things. The parable of the mustard seed in Matthew 13:31-32 says it  The question of Jonathan in I Samuel 14:6 says it. The Lord’s approval of the widow who brought her tiny offering says it (Mark 12:41ff). The little boy’s lunch in John 6:9. Old Simeon and Anna in Luke 2. Mustard-seed faith in Luke 17:6. Ordinary people in I Corinthians 1:26.

Zechariah’s question—”Who has despised the day of small things?”—lays the matter squarely before us (Zech. 4:10).

Who despises small things? The unthinking and the shallow-minded, that’s who. The carnal-minded who want glitter and drama, who prize celebrity and gaudiness.

We have learned about the power of small things. There is the atom. Nuclear energy. The hummingbird. Honey-bees. Bed bugs. Viruses. Babies. Puppies. Words of encouragement. And a hug.

Books on thinking small have rolled off the printing presses in the last few years. “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff—and it’s all small stuff” sold a zillion copies.

Financial columnist Michelle Singletary (her newspaper column is “The Color of Money”) recommends a book to assist people toward financial health with the intriguing title “One Small Step Can Change Your Life.” The author is Robert Maurer, a clinical psychologist at UCLA.

Maurer says the quickest way out of debt is to start thinking small. Choose the overdue account with the smallest outstanding balance, he recommends, and pay that off. That tiny step encourages you to go on to the next larger invoice. Your enthusiasm builds.

To get started on controlling your overspending ways, Maurer suggests removing just one item from your shopping basket before heading to the checkout. Start small.

He says, “By taking steps so tiny that they seem trivial or even laughable, you’ll sail calmly past obstacles that have defeated you before.”

I think he’s right.

Perhaps the journey of a thousand miles begins with a few very small steps.

Throughout most of my ministry, I would pray for the Lord to “do something big,” something “God-sized,” in revivals and outreach events. However, these days, as I preach in churches of all sizes, near and far, the Lord has led me to encourage His people to make small adjustments in their lives. Asking someone to begin praying each morning or reading the Bible each day is not nearly as intimidating to people as suggesting they “reach your neighborhood for Christ!” but the results can be impressive and just as long-lasting.

Here are 20 small things with great power …

God Does His Greatest Work Through Simple Acts of Obedience

By
J.D. Greear
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God can accomplish more through one simple act of obedience than the most talented leaders can accomplish in a lifetime on their own.

When I was in college, I was the leader of a small campus ministry. By small, I mean that there weren’t more than 10 of us in the whole thing. We decided we wanted to host a big evangelistic event on campus. We booked the largest auditorium on campus and did all the usual promo—booked a local worship band, passed out fliers promising free hot dogs, etc.

The day before the event, I had that huge knot in my stomach that always comes on the eve of massive, humiliating failure. (I’ve had enough failures in my life to know exactly what it feels like when one is moments away. It’s like the ache in his bones my granddad used to get before a big rain.) Our leadership team was sitting in the school cafeteria working through the final details of our event. I was bracing myself and our team for the worst when I heard a small commotion coming from just over my left shoulder. I turned, and there on top of the table stood one of the girls on our leadership team. She was small, quiet, and shy. But there she stood, stamping her foot and calling for the attention of all four to five hundred people in the lunchroom. Yes, it was as awkward as you are imagining it.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your lunch,” she said, “but I wanted to invite all of you to an event we’re hosting tomorrow night in the campus theatre. One of our friends is going to share his story about how he came to know Jesus and tell you how Jesus can change your life, too. And we really want you all to be there because Jesus is the greatest thing in our lives. Please come.” And then she started to sit back down.

“Oh, and there will be free hot dogs,” she added.

We all stared at her.

She quietly resumed her lunch.

“Uh, what was that?” I asked, glancing into her glass to see if someone had added in a little something interesting to her Diet Coke.

“I’m not sure,” she said, “I just felt like the Spirit of God wanted me to do that.”

I’m not saying that obedience to the Spirit means you start standing up on tables in public dining facilities. On the whole, I’d counsel against it. But I will tell you that more than 700 people showed up the next night, and 51 people made first-time professions of faith.

God does his greatest works through small acts of obedience from seemingly insignificant people.

Earlier this year I saw this happen at our church through a guy named “Derrick.” Derrick got saved through the prison ministry at our church, and after being released from prison, he joined that ministry as part of the leadership team, going back into the same prison he once was held in. He hasn’t been able to get his license yet, so he takes a Lyft each week to church.

On the way to church, he shared his testimony with the driver. The driver said that he had grown up a Muslim, but had recently had a series of dreams in which he thought Jesus might be speaking to him. When they pulled into our church’s parking lot, Derrick told him, “Listen—I think you need to come into church with me.” He did, and that night, when I gave an invitation, he came forward to profess his faith in Christ and be baptized.

Because of the gift of the Holy Spirit, it’s not about the abilities you bring to the table, but the willingness you lay on the table. God doesn’t call the equipped; he equips the called. What makes you capable of extraordinary things is not extraordinary gifts, but an extraordinary willingness to be used by God.

As D.L. Moody used to say, “The world has yet to see what God can do through one man (or woman) fully submitted to him.”

Maybe you’re supposed to be “that one.”

This is an excerpt from my upcoming book, What Are You Going to Do With Your Life?, which releases on Oct. 13. Pre-order your copy here today!

This article originally appeared here.

Free Kids’ Lesson Package: “Glow in the Dark”

By
Daniel So
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Free Kids’ Lesson Package

From CMD, “Are you afraid of the dark? Everybody gets scared sometimes. But when we learn more about Jesus, the Light of the World, the things that frighten us begin to look less scary. We can learn to glow in the dark with the brightness that Jesus brings.”

This lesson package includes:

  • Icebreaker
  • Memory Verse
  • Skit
  • Object Lesson
  • Lesson
  • Discussion
  • Game
  • Take Home Activity


Get Download Now

Resource provided by Children’s Ministry Deals 


Download Instructions: To download these resources, follow the on-screen directions from the download site.

The Goal of the Great Commission Is Disciples

By
Mark Alan Williams
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Making disciples is vital. That’s why I recently announced the founding of a new ministry called “Discipleship Journeys with Jesus” (DJJ). The Lord laid it on my heart to start this new ministry in order to meet the crucial need of making committed disciples around the world.

In His Great Commission Jesus said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV).

Jesus’ parting command was to “make disciples.” But what is a disciple? The original Greek word is MATHETES. It means “someone catechized with proper instruction from the Bible with its necessary follow-through (life-applications).”

An easy description is a devoted follower. MATHETES was used for followers of John the Baptist in Matthew 9:14.

We must not be confused by unbiblical, or even biblical, substitutes for true biblical disciples:

01. Unbiblical substitutes for disciples:

There are several often-practiced unbiblical substitutes for real disciples:

a. Decisions

Becoming a follower of Jesus begins with a decision, this is true. But it is only the beginning. The Great Commission doesn’t say “Go therefore into all the world and make decisions.”

The problem in settling with “decisions” is that decisions don’t mean the full depth of being disciples. In fact, sometimes decisions don’t mean much at all!

Have you ever made a decision to do something and then did virtually nothing about it? Better question: Who hasn’t? New Year’s Resolutions are a great example. The statistics say that a little over half of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, but only 8 percent succeed in meeting their goals.

Decisions for Jesus which are not followed by actions mean nothing. See Matthew 7:21-23.

b. Sympathizers

Sympathizers are better than enemies, but are still less than Christ’s command to make disciples.

In the USA and other “Christianized” countries, we have many sympathizers of Christ. They think Jesus was a great moral teacher, an exemplary person, a good example. But they are not disciples.

This is nothing new: Jesus faced the same issue. Pontius Pilate.

Pilate’s “sympathy” resulted in Jesus’ execution! It’s nice that Pilate was sympathetic, but he was still an enemy of Jesus.

Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Matthew 12:30 ESV).

2. Biblical substitutes for disciples:

Let’s go a little deeper. There are several often-practiced biblical substitutes for real disciples. These are substitutes that born again Christians become confused about:

a. Baptisms

There are two participles in the Great Commission. They are both vitally important, but not the end goal. The first is baptizing. Being baptized is one of the important first steps of obedience in being disciples of the Master.

Last month I was in India and got to witness the baptism of about 15 new believers from Hindu background. It was the highlight of my trip!

But while baptism is important, it is not the goal. The goal is disciples.

The leaders in India know that. That’s why they are interested in the materials that will be developed through our new DJJ ministry. Their goal is disciples not just baptisms!

US Govt. Report on Fulani Attacks: Not All Are Religiously Motivated

By
Stephanie Martin
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In a new report about “Religious Tensions and Fulani Communities in West and Central Africa,” the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) describes increasing violence in Africa’s Sahel region. The independent, bipartisan commission—which makes policy recommendations to the President, State Department, and Congress—emphasizes that several complicated issues are overlapping in the large swath of land stretching from Senegal to Sudan.

Violence has been escalating in the region, with frequent news reports about Christians being attacked by Fulani people and churches being burned down. The watchdog group International Christian Concern estimates that between 50,000 and 70,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria during the past decade. On the latest World Watch List from Open Doors, Nigeria ranks 12th for persecution of Christians.

But the latest USCIRF report emphasizes that the Fulani also are victims of attacks, and religion isn’t always the direct cause of the violence. All the unrest, however, has increased religious friction in the Sahel. “Although the extent to which religious ideology contributes to driving this violence remains a subject of debate,” the report states, “the trend of increasing violence by and against Fulani groups is clearly aggravating religious tensions in countries such as Nigeria and the Central African Republic.”

Report: ‘Generalizations regarding Fulani are difficult’

The Fulani, a predominantly Muslim people who raise livestock, are one of the world’s largest ethnic groups. Several million live and travel nomadically across more than a dozen countries in the African Sahel, making any generalizations about them difficult. “Fulani are an ethnic minority in every country in which they reside,” the USCIRF report notes.

In some areas, the report states, Fulani are victims of violence—sometimes being “targeted because they are perceived to be affiliated with Islamic extremism.” Boko Haram terrorists also have killed Fulani herdsmen to seize their cattle, a valuable commodity in the region.

Elsewhere, Fulani are known as peacemakers and have long lived in harmony with other groups. For example, in northern Ghana, Fulani and non-Fulani exist as “‘cultural neighbors’ and cooperate more frequently than they conflict with one another,” the report says.

When Fulani do instigate violence, the report states, the “drivers” of that violence tend to be “multidimensional” rather than strictly motivated by religious ideology.

Multiple Issues Form a ‘complex confluence’

Extreme drought, resource scarcity, and land conflicts factor into the region’s increasing violence. Instability, notes the report, is “driven by a complex confluence of climate variability, population growth, arms proliferation, poor governance, intercommunal tensions, illicit economic activity, and inequitable distribution of services and resources.”

Climate change plays a key role, according to groups such as the World Economic Forum and the United Nations. Temperatures in the Sahel are increasing one-and-a-half times faster than the global average, leading to extensive desertification. Droughts and floods hamper food production and limit the amount of available farmland. Meanwhile, the population has surged, forcing some Fulani to head north. Retaliatory violence, sometimes conducted by youth, also occurs.

Amid these “complex and multifaceted” factors, notes the USCIRF report, “violence involving Fulani communities is aggravating religious tensions in a region where religious freedom violations are common.”

Violence Amounts to Genocide, Some Say 

The report mentions a concern voiced by many human-rights watchdogs: that the situation in the Sahel amounts to genocide. “In Nigeria’s Middle Belt, incidents of suspected Fulani militants burning churches and attacking predominantly Christian villages and Christian religious ceremonies have led to allegations that suspected Fulani fighters are committing genocide against Christians,” it states.

Authorities Threaten to Remove Children of Early Rain Elder

By
Jessica Lea
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Elder Li Yingqiang, one of the Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC) leaders who was arrested in December 2018, has just completed his year-long probation and returned to be with ERCC in Chengdu, a city in Sichuan province in China. However, since his return, authorities have begun surveilling and harassing Li and his family, even to the point of threatening to take away their children.

“We came back to Chengdu because we wanted to share in the sufferings of our brothers and sisters and also to share in grace with them,” wrote Li in a series of updates shared through the Pray for Early Rain Covenant Church Facebook page. “May our gracious Lord be with us! May he keep our hearts so that we might always trust in him, praise him, and testify of him.”

Returning to Suffer with Early Rain Covenant Church

In December 2018, Chinese authorities arrested around 100 members of Early Rain Covenant Church, including Pastor Wang Yi, who, on Dec. 26, 2019, was sentenced to nine years in prison. Elder Qin Derfu was sentenced to four years in prison the month prior to that. While authorities released most of the Early Rain church members after the initial raid, they continued surveilling and persecuting them.

In August 2019, Li completed eight months in criminal detention, after which he was released on bail. International Christian Concern says that during his incarceration, Li’s wife, Zhang Xinyue, had no idea where her husband was. After his release, Li and his family were sent to live in his hometown. 

Now that his year-long probation has ended, Li has come back to Chengdu to suffer with Early Rain Covenant Church, and authorities have certainly targeted them since their return. On the evening of Sept. 27, six people with the Chengdu Public Security Bureau came to Li’s house and repeatedly told him, “You are not welcome in Chengdu! The Chengdu people do not welcome you!”

“They informed us,” said Li, “that they may take a number of measures including but not limited to strictly surveilling us, following us, ‘legally’ making it uncomfortable for us to live here, ‘legally’ depriving us of custody of our children, and so forth.” The church elder told the authorities that he did not want a fight and that he hoped they would keep the law, not break it. “I told them that we are simply believers in Christ who want to bless the city of Chengdu,” he said. “I said that we obey the authorities—even if they break the law, we will still submit to them and are willing to pay the price for our faith.”

When they left, officials tore down the “the spring couplets with the Early Rain Covenant Church logo” that were hanging on the door of the family’s home. Li’s report is consistent with others that ChurchLeaders has heard of Chinese authorities threatening to remove and re-educate the children of Christian families, as well as of authorities forcibly removing Christian imagery from people’s homes.

Li then recounted that on that same day, he and his family received a separate visit from eight people who were with the Chengdu Qingyang District Public Security Bureau, the Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs, the Bureau of Education, and the Subdistrict Office. These officials told them that Li’s wife had violated the compulsory education law when she refused to send their children to public school while Li was imprisoned, and the officials told the couple they needed to send their children to public school now. Li and his wife told them they would not allow their children to receive an atheist education, to which authorities responded by threatening to remove the children from their parents’ guardianship.

Li began his Sept. 28 update saying, “Today, we began to enjoy our ‘uncomfortable’ life in Chengdu.” Authorities followed the family whenever any of the members left the house and would not permit them to have any visitors. After Zhang explained to church members that they were no longer allowed to visit, she said, “May the Lord give me endurance and joy.” 

When Li took his children to the park that day, the kids were bothered at first that people were following them, and the children wanted to escape them. The kids felt better, however, after Li encouraged them not to worry and to focus on instead what they were doing. Another couple and their two children met Li and his children at the park, where the kids played together and both families sang hymns and prayed with one another. 

On the morning of Sept. 30, the family attempted to travel via taxi, but the authorities would not allow them to take one, unlike the day before. After unsuccessfully trying to reason with them, Li asked if the officials would let them take a trip by train to another city. At first they were told they could go so long as they rode with their surveillants, but then the man who had granted permission changed his mind. “When the children heard that they couldn’t go out, they started to feel sad and even cried,” wrote Li. “I was also a little annoyed. Yesterday, when I went out, I took a taxi and they just took a picture of the license plate. Today they won’t even let me get a taxi.”

Iranian Christian Converts’ Adopted Child to be Removed From Their Care

By
Article18
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Lydia was just three months old when she was adopted by Iranian Christian converts Sam Khosravi and wife Maryam Falahi.

Now, just one month before her second birthday, a court has ruled she must be taken away from them, as Sam and Maryam—who are currently appealing against convictions related to their membership of a house-church—are “not fit” to be her parents.

The ruling, handed down by a court in their home city of Bushehr, southwestern Iran, on 19 July but not reported until now, was upheld by a court of appeal on Tuesday, 22 September, despite the judge in his initial verdict acknowledging that Lydia felt an “intense emotional attachment” to her adoptive parents and saying there was “zero chance” another adoptive family would be found for her, given Lydia’s health problems.

It is now anticipated that Iran’s State and Welfare Organisation will seek to remove Lydia from Sam and Maryam’s care as soon as they are made aware of the failed appeal.

And it is with the state, Sam and Maryam fear, that Lydia is likely to remain. Indeed, in his initial verdict Judge Muhammad Hassan Dashti acknowledged that Lydia faced an “uncertain future” and may spend “the rest of her life” in state care.

But that didn’t prevent him from ruling against Lydia’s adoptive parents—and for one reason: they are Christian converts, and Lydia, though her parentage is not known, is considered a Muslim, and as such by law ought only to be cared for by Muslim parents.

Sam and Maryam maintain that they were always clear about their conversion to Christianity; however, the judge ruled that Lydia—a nominally “Muslim” child—should never have been placed in their care.

This fatwa by Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, one of the most senior clerics in Iran, declares Sam and Lydia’s adoption “permissible”.

In seeking to overturn the verdict, the couple’s lawyer managed to obtain two fatwas from Grand Ayatollahs—the most senior Shia Islamic authority in Iran—declaring that, owing to the “critical nature” of the case, poor health of the child and undisputed emotional attachment with her parents, Lydia’s adoption by Christian converts was “permissible”.

But the appeal court judges, in their short ruling, made no reference to the fatwas and only declared that they were upholding the ruling as they had not been presented with any “specific or reasonable evidence” to overturn it.

In his initial ruling, Judge Dashti was clearly sympathetic, noting that “in 13 years of marriage, [Sam and Maryam] didn’t have a child to bring light and warmth to their home”, as well as bemoaning Lydia’s “uncertain future” and strong bond with her parents.

Article18’s advocacy director, Mansour Borji, explained that the wording the judge used indicated that his hands were tied.

“The verdict clearly demonstrates the unwillingness of the judge to hand down this sentence,” he said, “and that he was coerced by the representative of the Ministry of Intelligence. It is another clear example of the lack of independence of the judiciary in cases involving Christians.”

What now?

The decision is a crushing blow to Sam and Maryam, for whom Lydia fulfilled a long-held dream, having been unable to have a child of their own.

This fatwa by Grand Ayatollah Yousef Saanei declared that not only was the adoption “permissible” but that when Lydia grew up, she ought to have the right to choose her own faith.

And the initial ruling came less than a month after Sam was sentenced to a year in prison, followed by two year’s internal exile, for “propaganda against the state”—related to the couple’s membership of a house-church—while both Sam and Maryam were also banned from employment within their specialist professions.

Maryam has been a nurse for 20 years, while Sam works in the hospitality sector, but if their appeals fail, Maryam will no longer permitted to work for any national institution—including the hospital she has served for 20 years—while Sam will not permitted to work within the hospitality sector during his time in exile.

Maryam was also fined 8 million tomans (around $400)—equivalent to four months’ salary for the average Iranian.

Sam’s brother Sasan and his wife Marjan, who is Maryam’s sister, received similar sentences, as did three other converts.

L to R: Pooriya Peyma, Fatemeh Talebi, Maryam Falahi, Sam Khosravi, Habib Heydari, Sasan Khosravi, Marjan Falahi.

In his ruling, the judge named some of the Christian literature that had been confiscated from the converts’ homes, including copies of “Who is Jesus” and “Getting to know the Bible”.

Article18’s Mansour Borji commented at the time: “Condemning these people to prison because of their possession of Bibles and Christian symbols is a clear demonstration that Iran’s Foreign Minister and others aren’t telling the truth when they say that ‘no-one is put in prison in Iran simply because of their beliefs’.

“These people have done nothing that could be construed as ‘propaganda against the state’ or ‘acting against national security’, but nevertheless they have been treated so unjustly. The international community must hold Iran to account for this miscarriage of justice, and many others like it.”

This article originally appeared on Article18.com. Used with permission.

Russia Exercises New Anti-Evangelism Laws by Arresting American Missionary

By
Megan Briggs
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Putin Russia Missionary
MINSK BELARUS - Feb 11 2015: Russian President Vladimir Putin before the negotiations of leaders of states in Normandy format in Minsk

On Sunday, August 14, 2016, Donald Ossewaarde, U.S. citizen and pastor in Oryol, Russia, was arrested in his house while holding a Bible study for the church he leads. Ossewaarde was fined 40,000 rubles (about $600) and was advised by his court-appointed attorney to leave the city.

Ossewaarde was found guilty of “conducting missionary activities in violation of a new law that took effect on July 20, 2016,” according to a statement published on his website. In court, Ossewaarde was also accused of “posting notices in public places, inviting anyone interested in studying the Scriptures to turn to him for help” and failing “to give the authorities written notification when he began his religious group activities.” The law this refers to is a newly revised set of anti-terrorism laws that severely limits the freedoms of protestants and foreign missionaries in the country whose government maintains the ubiquity of the Russian-Orthodox church with an iron fist.

Independent Baptist missionaries, Ossewaarde and his wife, Ruth, have lived in Russia since 2002. The couple led a church out of their home in Oryol, a city about 224 miles south of Moscow and home to about 320,000 people. At the time of the arrest, they were leading about 15 people, whom he has since referred to the Russian Baptist Church, according to the Baptist Press. According to Ossewaarde, the group is “devastated” by their having to disband.

Ossewaarde “is convinced that the law is on his side, and that he is the victim of an improper application of the law, and perhaps xenophobia,” according to the press release on his website. Still, Ossewaarde insisted Ruth go home to the U.S. while he undergoes the appeal process. While speaking with Baptist Press, Ossewaarde explained that the law, as it is written, is “ineffective,” and shouldn’t apply to him since it “limits missionary activity by religious organizations in particular, and he operates independently of any group.”

Ossewaarde gave the Baptist Press the reason for his passion for evangelism in Russia: “The first time I came over with a group of evangelists and pastors, we had two weeks of meetings and we just had thousands of people that responded to the Gospel invitations and it was very exciting back in those days,” he said. “We just thought there was going to be a great revival. It was going to sweep across Russia. And Russia and America were going to become great friends and it was just going to be a wonderful thing. And that great promise that we all hoped for just didn’t come to pass.”

The newly passed laws are disconcerting, especially because most believe they are the result of the Russian government’s suspicion of anything seen as being sponsored by the U.S.—not necessarily because of an aversion to the gospel. This too, however, is open to interpretation. Whatever their motivation, the laws are restrictive and are hindering the spread of a grace- and Scripture-based gospel in Russia.

LifeWay Lawsuit Against Former CEO Thom Rainer Remains on File

By
Yonat Shimron
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First it sued its former CEO. Then it said it would seek a negotiated settlement.

But now LifeWay Christian Resources, the Southern Baptist Convention’s publishing arm, appears to be going ahead with a lawsuit against Thom Rainer, its former president and CEO, for violating a noncompete clause in his contract. Rainer, a best-selling author himself, also runs a business called Church Answers.

The back and forth may be part of a bigger problem for the LifeWay board of trustees: the Christian publisher’s steep financial challenges.

Last year, LifeWay announced plans to close all its retail stores and in April said it will cut roughly 10 percent of its $281.3 million operating budget through staff reductions, a hiring freeze, and salary cuts.

The company cited the coronavirus as contributing to a revenue shortfall of 24 percent compared with the same period last year, largely due to a sharp drop in bulk orders from churches for resources such as Sunday school curricula, Bible study materials, and Vacation Bible School curricula.

In addition, LifeWay was exploring the sale of its Ridgecrest Conference Center and Summer Camps near Asheville, North Carolina.

“LifeWay stands to lose tens of millions of dollars of revenue that the organization would normally generate over the summer months from camps, events, VBS, and ongoing curriculum sales,” Ben Mandrell, LifeWay’s CEO, said in a news release at the time. “LifeWay is mitigating these losses as much as possible through various expense reduction plans, including staff reductions and cuts in non-employee expenses.”

The lawsuit against Rainer is likely the fallout of that financial crunch. It alleges that in reneging on his noncompete contract, Rainer caused LifeWay “irreparable harm” and that damages “are not an adequate remedy.”

On Monday (Sept. 28) a lawyer for LifeWay filed a suit in chancery court in Williamson County, Tennessee. It alleged that Rainer had signed a multibook, multiyear agreement with Tyndale, a competing Christian publisher, in violation of a noncompete clause in his contract. (He continues to serve as chief advisory officer at LifeWay until Oct. 30, with a salary and a company car.)

Then on Wednesday, Todd Fannin, chair of LifeWay’s board of trustees, issued an update saying that “both parties are currently exploring the possibility of an agreed upon resolution of the differences.”

But a clerk at the Williamson County court said the lawsuit has not been withdrawn as of Friday afternoon.

And Rainer’s son, Sam Rainer, wrote in a tweet that LifeWay “has gone back on its word and will continue with their lawsuit.”

On Thursday, Rainer told RNS he had been returning his salary for the past four months at Mandrell’s request.

Meanwhile, a change.org petition calls on LifeWay trustees to “resolve their conflicts with Rainer out of court.”

Kenneth A. Weber, the lawyer representing LifeWay, did not return repeated phone messages.

This article originally appeared on ReligionNews.com. 

The Story of Solomon’s Wisdom

By
Jason Hood
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The story of Solomon’s wisdom doesn’t start with 1 Kings 3 and his request for wisdom.

We tend to see Solomon as a young king in his early teens, seeking wisdom because he doesn’t know the first thing about ruling (see 1 Kgs 3:7). But Solomon was at least in his twenties when he began to reign, and he does not ask for wisdom because he has none. He asks for wisdom because he is already wise.

I was reminded recently that Solomon’s wisdom appears earlier in 1 Kings. As David fades off the scene, he tells Solomon to deal with his enemies. David wants him to deal with Joab “according to your wisdom, but don’t let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.” And as for Shimei, “do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; you’ll know what you ought to do to him.”

So Solomon acts according to his wisdom. He has Joab killed and places Shimei under house arrest, and later kills him when he skips town. Adonijah likewise gets a reprieve, until hormonal stupidity makes him a danger. The text doesn’t critique Solomon’s actions, but it does show us just how difficult it was to be king.

When Solomon asks for wisdom, it is not purely out of ignorance but out of insight into his limitations and the difficulties of the job. He asks for wisdom out of humility and out of concern for the people he is to rule, because he already knows full well the difficulty of ruling the people of God.

Assuming David’s assessment of his son is correct, the God of all wisdom takes Solomon’s natural abilities and, to quote a fool, “turns them up to eleven.” And he does the same for those struggling with limitations and difficulties today (James 1:2-8).

8 Practices to Help Small Group Newcomers Feel Like They Belong

By
Reid Smith
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

When newcomers visit your small group for the first time, they come with all sorts of questions: “Will we like it?”, “Will we connect with the people there?”, “Will this be helpful for us?” It can be intimidating for people entering a small group dynamic because they don’t know how they’ll be received, if they’ll feel like they ‘fit’, and if they’ll want to return.

Most people feel less than relaxed entering a new social situation with new people. There are things that you can do as the small group leader to help ease any tension newcomers may be feeling and help them feel more ‘at home’ whether your group meets in-person or online. Here are eight practices to help them feel more comfortable, received, and accepted in your small group:

1) Warmly welcome newcomers into your small group. Learn a little about them as you greet them and do your best to remember facts they share about who they are, names and ages of their kids, and how they found your small group. On this note, one of most simple and powerful ways of helping a newcomer feel ‘at home’ in your small group is to call them by their first name each time you refer to them.

2) Don’t over-focus on them. Most guests like to be acknowledged – they just do not like to stand out or be spotlighted before the whole group. If you keep things normal, your small group will feel more natural and comfortable to newcomers.

3) Don’t over-accommodate. Just be yourself and allow your small group to be itself. For example, don’t hesitate to pray or worship if newcomers are present. (Sometimes this is exactly what God uses to gather spiritually-unconvinced people to Himself – see Acts 2:46-47.) If somebody needs prayer, pray for them. If you are going to worship, just do it. Don’t attempt to explain it for newcomers. They want to see things how they really are and would rather not have you disrupt the flow of what you do on their account.

4) Help newcomers get to know a few others in your small group. The more a newcomer senses a possible connection with your group members, the more likely it is they will want to return. The likelihood of first-time guests returning increases dramatically if they experience a sense of belonging through their connection with others. This can be cultivated by highlighting things the newcomer holds in common with other small group members and timely follow-up.

5) Find out what subjects your guests have an enthusiasm or expertise in and talk about that! People like to talk about things they know about. Newcomers will feel more empowered and comfortable talking about the things of interest to them. If you listen with interest, you will show that you are interested in them as a person and they will not feel like a project.

6) When you have newcomers, leave plenty of time for people to socialize at the tail-end of your group. First-time guests will probably feel inclined to be more personal toward the end of a small group meeting rather than at the beginning.This will give time to introduce your small group members to guests and have relaxed conversations.

7) Be sure to thank your new guests for being with you at the end of your meeting time. Let them know it was great having them and you’d love to have them come back. If they participated in the conversation, tell them you appreciated their input and insights. Offer to connect with them briefly before your next meeting and be sure you relay your contact info.

8) Follow-up with newcomers before your next meeting to let them know you hope to see them again. Sometimes small group leaders hold off from following up in this way because they’re afraid of being intrusive or coming across as pushy. However, guests appreciate this act of kindness and it makes your small group more welcoming overall. If you do not risk the remote possibility of coming across as intrusive in your follow-up, newcomers may feel like they are intruding.

As you model these practices, you’ll not only help newcomers feel like they belong, but you’ll build a welcoming culture in your group that will inspire your small group members to be more invitational. This will ensure that your group doesn’t turn inward on itself, but grows in health and makes a greater impact for God’s Kingdom.

This article originally appeared here.

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