Newsletters
Home Blog Page 760

John MacArthur Lists the Requirements They Were Given to Keep Meeting as a Church

By
Jesse T. Jackson
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

On Thursday, September 10, 2020, a preliminary injunction (which can be read here) was issued against John MacArthur and Grace Community Church by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge. The order prohibits Grace Community Church from “conducting, participating in, or attending any indoor worship service.” The order, according to the Thomas More Society, also “bans outdoor worship unless onerous restrictions are followed.” That didn’t stop John MacArthur or the congregants at Grace Community Church from worshiping indoors this past Sunday. As Pastor MacArthur took the pulpit for announcements, he was greeted with a thunderous round of applause. He followed by saying “Are you happy to be at church?” Pastor MacArthur told his congregation that he “thought it might be helpful to give you the list of things that are required of us as a church so that you understand how utterly impossible that would be.”

The List of Restrictions That Must Be Met

  • No indoor meetings at all
  • Pre-registration of every person who comes on the church property
  • People only allowed on church property for scheduled events
  • Every person who comes on the church property is to be screened and have their temperature taken at the entry.
  • We all must maintain 6 feet of social distance at all times everywhere, including the parking lot and restrooms
  • Every other parking space must be left vacant.
  • Marked pathways to maintain social distance, keeping people apart monitored by staff monitors
  • Everyone wears a mask.
  • Restroom monitors to control 6 feet social distancing; tape on the ground marking distance
  • Signs indicating these mandates and also full exposure on social media
  • Restrooms are to be used during the service to minimize the rush.
  • No hymn books
  • No communion
  • No offering containers
  • No pew Bibles
  • No singing
  • No hugging
  • No shaking hands
  • Disposable seat covers changed between services
  • Services have to be shortened.
  • Based upon the separation, we could only meet in a tent with a maximum of 350 to 400 people.

After hearing some of the mandated requirements, the crowd followed with laughter but none louder than after the requirement of John MacArthur’s sermons being cut down because of services needing to be shortened. MacArthur humorously responded, “That’s not a problem to me, right?” “You can see that these are the requirements that would completely shut the church down,” he said and then expressed by hyperbole a requirement that is not fact: “Anyone that comes in contact with someone outside their family for more than 15 minutes must self-quarantine for two weeks. Obviously this is not constitutional, but more importantly it goes against the will of the Lord of the church who calls us to gather.” After which the crowd again showed their approval of his statement with a round of loud applause.

 

Watch the entire sermon here.

John MacArthur Sees Himself as the Appointed Champion of the CHURCH

Later that night at their Sunday night service, John MacArthur did a Q&A and expressed, “I feel like it took me to get to 80 years before maybe the most critical moment in my life has taken place. I think it is because there are more people listening to the Word of God at this particular time from this pulpit than ever in the history of our church in a regular way, Sunday after Sunday.” MacArthur said this is due to the multiple ‘dire conditions’ in our world and a greater interest in hearing the Word of God.

MacArthur believes that he is delivering truth in a way that other church leaders are not delivering. MacArthur made the comment, “I’ve been ‘kind of a joke,’ for the last 15 to 20 years to the pragmatists, to the church growth, church strategy people.” He said that he “has been like a dinosaur to those type of strategists [because he doesn’t adapt to culture to grow the church], but when the nation starts to burn and people are wanting real answers; they’re not gonna go to a show. They’re not gonna go to a superficial ‘Ted Talk’. When they want the truth, when they desperately need the truth, they’re going to find the truth as God directs them. So this is a time for the truth, and it’s an amazing thing to see this all happening.”

“Superficial preaching is becoming obsolete,” the pastor said. “The people who thought that they were at the top of food chain in terms of ministry and effectiveness in the church are now void. They’re nullified.” MacArthur didn’t mince his words as he said, “This is way too desperate for some superficial approach. You got to tell people more than ‘God wants them to be happy.’ “

As a pastor who is generations removed from the average audience, why is MacArthur getting so much media attention? MacArthur touts his superiority as a Bible preacher for being asked to write and appear in blogs, news articles, talk shows, and podcasts. He says people are saying “give us more, give us more, give us more,” citing because there is a “hunger” for biblical truth. And it seems that MacArthur believes he is the “one” who is called to deliver that truth—apart from other church leaders.

“The Lord is the head of the church and that’s why we’re here, regardless of what a judge says,” MacArthur said as he elaborated on their stance ‘Christ, not Caesar, is the head of the church‘. “[The government is] not the head of the church and that is where the church has taken its stand through its entire history…when [the government] steps in and tells the church whether it can meet or not, they have over-stepped their bounds because Christ said my kingdom is not of this world.” The pastor likened himself to the apostles’ example of “we’ll obey God rather than men, and we’ll take the consequences; whatever they are.” MacArthur mentioned that those consequences may begin this week but said “I’m not sure.”

Ever critical of other church practices, MacArthur did not pull any punches when he was asked about his role during this pandemic. The moderator asked pastor MacArthur if he felt like what he is demonstrating [by defying the government] is preparing future generations of pastors to make a similar stand [as Grace Community Church is]. MacArthur answered without hesitation, “I think we have had enough of the pragmatic stuff. I think the church has been sold out to pragmatism…weak-willed, unbiblical preachers that are just personalities…narcissistic self-focused personalities, brokering their charisma, their skills, and their communication ability to build what they call a church, when it isn’t a church at all. Life is far too serious for those…what they are telling people is shy of what people want to hear. It’s time again for the Word of God. Life is far more serious, at least from my perspective, more than it’s ever been.” He then summed up his answer by saying, “The attention of the world is on us and I think we are beginning to see other pastors be strengthened.”

Watch the entire Q&A session here.

TobyMac’s Sister Died. Please Pray for Their Family

By
Jesse T. Jackson
-
TobyMac sister
Screenshot Instagram @TobyMac

Christian artist TobyMac has suffered another tragedy. The popular Christian musician posted the heartbreaking news on social media today that his sister, Kristen McKeehan Carroll, has died. Kristen passed away on the morning of September 3, 2020 at the age of 52.

Kristen was one of four siblings, and had six children of her own.

TobyMac’s Sister Preceded in Death by the Rapper’s Son

Less than a year ago TobyMac and his family lost their first born son, Truett Foster McKeehan to an accidental overdose. Truett was only 21 years of age and was an up-and-coming aspiring rapper just like his father. TobyMac released a song about his son entitled “21 years”, the chorus of the song reads “God has you in heaven, but I have you in my heart.”

On TobyMac’s Instagram page he said of Kristen’s passing that “She was met at heaven’s gates by Truett (who adored her) and our dad (who she drove crazy :). There will be a hole in our family’s heart forever, but heaven just got wonder woman.”

TobyMac described Kristen as a “force of nature”:

Just over a week ago this world lost a beautiful sister, daughter, friend and mother of 6. My sister. Our Kristen Our force of nature, get it done, always laughing, fight for her family, against all odds, proud of her loved ones, God loving, crazy “aunting”, amazing hosting, do anything for her kids, friend to all….sister. She was tough as nails and soft as butter. She always looked beautiful and let you know that you were too. She’s loved by God and our King Jesus paid her debt…..in full. She was met at heaven’s gates by Truett (who adored her) and our dad (who she drove crazy :). There will be a hole in our family’s heart forever, but heaven just got wonder woman. 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

My heart, o’my heart….. Just over a week ago this world lost a beautiful sister, daughter, friend and mother of 6. My sister. Our Kristen Our force of nature, get it done, always laughing, fight for her family, against all odds, proud of her loved ones, God loving, crazy “aunting”, amazing hosting, do anything for her kids, friend to all….sister. She was tough as nails and soft as butter. She always looked beautiful and let you know that you were too. She’s loved by God and our King Jesus paid her debt…..in full. She was met at heaven’s gates by Truett (who adored her) and our dad (who she drove crazy :). There will be a hole in our family’s heart forever, but heaven just got wonder woman.

A post shared by TobyMac (@tobymac) on

Kristen’s obituary can be read here.

Please keep the family in your prayers.

Greear Says Jesus Wasn’t a ‘White Southerner’, Advocates Use of Great Commission Baptists

By
Stephanie Martin
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Long before this summer’s ramped-up racial conversations and unrest, America’s largest Protestant denomination had been wrestling with its name. Now the group still officially known as the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is making moves toward a new identity, one that replaces a regional and cultural element with a biblical one.

Back in 2012, SBC representatives approved the use of “Great Commission Baptists” as an unofficial or “doing business as” name. The denomination’s 50,000-plus autonomous churches can choose for themselves which name to use.

On Monday SBC President J.D. Greear announced that the 2021 Annual Meeting theme is “We Are Great Commission Baptists,” lending momentum to the move away from the SBC label.

J.D. Greear: ‘Jesus was not a white Southerner’

Greear, whose presidency was extended because of the pandemic-related cancellation of this year’s Annual Meeting, recently spoke to the Washington Post about the cultural shift occurring within the SBC. “Our Lord Jesus was not a White Southerner but a brown-skinned Middle Eastern refugee,” he says. “Every week we gather to worship a Savior who died for the whole world, not one part of it. What we call ourselves should make that clear.”

The denomination’s theology remains the same, Greear says, adding, “We as Baptists want to be defined by 2025, not by 1845.” Twenty-five years ago, the SBC formally apologized for its role in slavery and racism. This year, Greear stopped using a former slaveholder’s gavel at SBC meetings and has said the Gospel is clear that “Black lives matter.”

In the SBC, which has been experiencing membership declines, about 80 percent of churches are located in Southern states. One-fifth of SBC churches are now led by Black pastors or pastors of color.

Some pastors have left the SBC, saying its efforts to heal racial divides don’t go far enough. This summer, John Onwuchekwa, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Atlanta, wrote that his congregation was leaving because the denomination downplays its racial sins. “Active harm requires active repair,” he wrote. Of the SBC name, Onwuchekwa says, “It was never about geography. The convention was one bad marketing meeting away from being the ‘Confederate Baptist Convention.’”

Why Great Commission Baptists Is Gaining Ground

At the North Carolina church that Greear pastors, leaders have decided “now is a good time to use” the Great Commission Baptist (GCB) name “due to the fact that the primary reason we are part of the convention is for the Great Commission.”

Ronnie Floyd, president of the SBC’s Executive Committee, recently wrote, “As Great Commission Baptists, we are compelled with the vision to reach every person for Jesus Christ in every town, every city, every state, and every nation. Our 51,000 congregations that comprise the Southern Baptist network of churches do our best work when we cooperate in presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every person in the world and make disciples of all the nations.”

Southern Baptist historian Nathan Finn, a university provost, had been on the fence about the name shift but says this summer served as a turning point. “I’m not embarrassed to be a Southerner,” he tells the Washington Post. “It’s about what that word conjures up for people, especially people of color. They’re saying: ‘That name is a hang-up. When my people hear that name, they think slavery.’ God forbid we keep a name that evokes that.”

CA Church Drops Lawsuit: ‘The Battle Is the Lord’s’

By
Jessica Lea
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

After reportedly receiving over $100,000 in fines and facing a lawsuit, North Valley Baptist Church (NVBC) in Santa Clara, California, has decided to drop its legal battle with Santa Clara County and to worship outside instead of indoors. In a sermon he preached Sunday morning, Dr. Jack Trieber shared with his congregation how God had led him to completely change his position that the county was infringing on NVBC’s religious rights.

“After a great deal of prayer, of fasting, of counsel, I have felt led of God not to resist the lawsuit,” said Trieber. “There is a battle to fight, but I want to clearly tell you how I know as your pastor God wants me to fight it. Many of you will not agree with my decision. God is going to have to work on that in your heart.”

Trieber said that when the county filed the lawsuit against North Valley Baptist Church, he faced a difficult decision regarding the church’s future. As he sought God’s leading in the situation, Trieber said that God led him to “claim” Exodus 14:14, which says, “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

“I think perhaps that we have been so conditioned in America that we have to fight everything,” said the pastor. But he pointed out that if we examine Scripture, we can see there were many times when God’s people were instructed not to act, but to trust in God to fight for them.

North Valley Baptist Church Does an About-Face

Trieber’s position is a complete reversal from what it had been since a county public health order banned the church from meeting indoors and Gov. Gavin Newsom prohibited singing during worship. In a video posted to Facebook on Sept. 1, the pastor spoke directly to county leaders, saying they were violating the church’s First Amendment rights. 

“The government has done it again. They’ve ratcheted this thing up,” he said, explaining that officials had just posted “more signs” on the church building. The county had leveled a series of fines against NVBC on the grounds that the church was meeting indoors, singing, and not giving the county a protocol. The fines totaled $52,750 at the time. The county also claimed that North Valley Baptist Church was not following safety precautions, something Trieber denied. 

“This is harassment,” said Trieber, stating that the county was violating their “constitutional right” and “biblical command” to assemble in worship. He challenged “California preachers” to join together in standing against such opposition if they did not want to see similar situations spread throughout the United States. Other pastors in California have indeed taken a similar stance, most notably John MacArthur, who leads Grace Community Church in Sun Valley.

But on Sept. 13, North Valley Baptist Church moved worship outdoors, holding a drive-in service in its parking lot. During his sermon, Trieber said that God had given him “tremendous peace” and encouragement about the decision. He said he hoped his congregation would experience that peace as well and see that they are in the middle of a “divine appointment.”

The pastor said he was “almost positive” that Santa Clara County health director Dr. Sara Cody was watching the service, and he told the attendees, “I want this church to have the attitude toward that lady that God has placed on my heart. According to the Bible, she’s a public servant of God. I don’t know whether or not she knows the Lord, but I know my responsibility is to love her, to pray for her, and to ask that God would give her wisdom.”

This does not mean, said the pastor, that he agrees with everything Cody does. He believes some officials think we can “health” our way out of the pandemic, and they ignore the fact that we need God’s help. When Trieber made this statement, the NVBC members responded by honking their car horns enthusiastically. He went on, “But it would break my heart if one person would send her a vicious email, be unkind. That’s not your purpose as a Christian.” 

The honking in response to that statement was rather feeble, so Trieber said, “I want to try that one more time. That is not your purpose as a Christian.” The attendees then responded with more enthusiastic honking. “The load that must be on that lady is to me enormous,” said the pastor. “I would not want to be in her shoes.” He emphasized that she and the county’s attorneys have been “more than gracious” to him. “I thank God for them,” he said. “They have treated me with such care. We have been direct with one another.”

63% of Young Americans Don’t Know How Many Jews Died in the Holocaust

By
Megan Briggs
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Do you know how many Jews died in the Holocaust? Can you name a ghetto or concentration camp from that time period? These are questions that were posed to Millennials and Gen Zers in the United States. The Holocaust Knowledge and Awareness Study revealed a troubling lack of awareness and outright denial of this tragic event in world history among young people in the U.S. 

“Nationally, there is a clear lack of awareness of key historical facts; 63 percent of all national survey respondents do not know that six million Jews were murdered and 36 percent thought that ‘two million or fewer Jews’ were killed during the Holocaust,” a press release from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) states. 

Claims Conference commissioned the survey, which questioned people aged 18 to 39 via landline, cell phone, and online interviews between February 26 and March 28, 2020. The representative sample includes 1,000 interviews nationwide and 200 interviews in each of the 50 states. 

What the Survey Results Revealed

The survey results were compiled to reveal a “Holocaust knowledge score” which was analyzed by state. The Holocaust knowledge score was calculated by using the percentage of Millennial and Gen Z adults who met all three of these criteria: 1) have “Definitively heard about the Holocaust,” and 2) can name at least one concentration camp, death camp, or ghetto, and 3) know that 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. 

The states with the highest Holocaust knowledge scores include Wisconsin, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Maine, Kansas, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Iowa, and Montana. While the states with the lowest knowledge include Alaska, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, and Arkansas. In Arkansas, less than 2-in-10 (17 percent) of respondents met the Holocaust knowledge criteria.

Nationally, some disturbing things show up. An incredible 12 percent of respondents said they either “definitely” had not heard about the Holocaust or weren’t sure if they had. Even more concerning, perhaps, is that 10 percent of respondents answered that they didn’t believe the Holocaust happened or that they weren’t sure. Another 23 percent answered they believe the Holocaust was a myth and didn’t actually happen, or they believe it happened but think the numbers of people killed have been exaggerated, or that they weren’t sure. And tragically, some 11 percent of respondents said they believed Jews caused the Holocaust. In New York, the percentage of respondents who said this was a staggering 19 percent. 

Less than half of respondents could name a concentration camp or ghetto. “Of the over 40,000 concentration camps and ghettos in Europe during the Holocaust, 48 percent of respondents could not name any. Only 44 percent of U.S. Millennials and Gen Z are familiar with Auschwitz, six percent are familiar with Dachau, and awareness of Bergen-Belsen (three percent), Buchenwald (one percent) and Treblinka (one percent) is virtually nonexistent.”

Another disturbing trend the survey revealed is that Holocaust denial misinformation is prevalent on social media. Forty-nine percent of national respondents say they have personally seen Holocaust denial or distortion on their social media or other places online. Another 56 percent say they have seen Nazi symbols in their community or posted on social media in the last five years. 

When looking at the state specific data, the survey found the following: “The state with the greatest proportion respondents who have seen Nazi symbols on social media was Nevada with 70 percent. Other states with high exposure include: New York with 67 percent; Arizona and Texas with 64 percent; and Colorado, South Dakota and Washington with 63 percent.”

This has prompted Claims Conference to launch #NoDenyingIt, a campaign appealing directly to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to remove Holocaust denial from the popular platform. The campaign uses videos of Holocaust survivors telling their stories. 

Young People Believe Holocaust Education Is Important

While they may be lacking in knowledge about the Holocaust, the majority of young people in the U.S. agree it’s important to teach on the topic. Eighty percent of respondents agreed with this statement: “It is important to continue to teach about the Holocaust, in part, so it doesn’t happen again” and 64 percent believe Holocaust education should be compulsory in schools. Additionally, 59 percent said they believe something like the Holocaust could happen today.

The majority also hold negative views of neo-Nazis. Seventy percent of national respondents said it is unacceptable for an individual to hold neo-Nazi views while 15 percent said it was acceptable and another 15 percent said they weren’t sure. More than 6-in-10 (64 percent) believe antisemitism is a problem in the United States today. 

The timing is critical to debunk the misinformation floating around social media about the Holocaust, Claims Conference says, as “fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors—eyewitnesses to a state-sponsored genocide—are alive to share the lessons of the Holocaust.”

And these lessons are relevant to our current climate today, says Gretchen Skidmore of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “The study of the Holocaust engages students in understanding the fragility of societies, the dangers of antisemitism and hatred, and the importance of promoting human dignity. This history can inform our understanding of our own roles and responsibilities in the decisions we face today,” Skidmore says.

Kaitlyn Schiess: Do You Believe One of These 4 False Gospels?

By
Jason Daye
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Kaitlyn Schiess is a journalist who researches and writes on the intersection of faith and politics. Her writing has appeared in Christianity Today, Relevant and Fathom Magazine, and she is a staff writer at Christ and Pop Culture. Kaitlyn is a graduate of Liberty University and is currently completing her Master of Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary. She is the author of The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor, now available from InterVarsity Press.

Key Questions for Kaitlyn Schiess

-What do you mean when you say that evangelicals were not sufficiently political in the 70s and the 80s?

-What would you say to Christians who think that we should pull out of politics? 

-How can a ministry leader help people convinced of one party to be more reflective?

-What are the four false gospels that evangelicals believe?

Key Quotes from Kaitlyn Schiess

“Part of the problem was not that we were so political [in the 70s and 80s], but that we were insufficiently political.”

“All of a sudden, we ended up in a position where the whole range of political views for one this one party were seen as uniquely Christian when they probably weren’t.”

“The answer to [the challenges of politics] is not not engaging anymore. I think it’s engaging more carefully.”

“When we engage politically, there are so many things that are trying to grab our attention affectively, they want to grab our hearts.”

“[Pastors], how are you spiritually forming [your congregants] in ways that counteract those political stories?”

“Politics is not just about policies and leaders. It’s about the direction of our spiritual formation, which is always directed towards a political end.”

“People’s hearts are captured by these really strong political forces…a lot of what’s happening is their identity, their sense of what is good in the world and what kind of world we should be seeking to create, are really different. Those are really emotional responses.”

How to Set the Price for a Youth Ministry Event

By
Josh Griffin
-

Thought this article from Luke Trouten on youth ministry events was fantastic – it goes into practical detail about planning and preparing a big event. Some really great stuff here – read the little bit I’ve stolen here, head there for the whole piece. Awesome!

Find Your Range
Because of all those variables, you won’t be able to nail down an exact per-person cost for any trip. To make sure you don’t lose your shirt (or your job!) it’s important to figure out the best-case and worst-case scenarios for sign-ups. You want to make sure that if you sign-ups are particularly low you can still afford the event. It can also give you an idea of the minimum number of students you’d need before the event can pay for itself. Likewise, it’s important to know what happens to the price if everyone brings 5 friends to the retreat.

Our parent church goes to the same convention we do each spring, but they charge much less than we do. I assumed it was just because they have a larger budget and could afford to subsidize it more. Out of curiosity, I plugged in their numbers to my formula (they bring about 5 times as many students) and was amazed to find that the price plummeted for a group that big. Sometimes the per-person costs don’t work how you’d think.

Don’t Apologize for the Price
It can be tempting to apologize when an expensive event comes up. While it may feel like you’re winning points by sharing in the sticker-shock, ultimately you’re devaluing your own event. You should be confident that the trip or retreat your planning is worth every penny it costs (and more)! To be honest, most youth trips are a bargain, and planning a similar event for your family or school group would cost even more. When you apologize for the price you convey that it maybe isn’t worth that much to go to the event. People are willing to pay if they are confident they are getting a good value for a fair price. Don’t undermine it by insinuating maybe the event costs too much.

Offer Assistance
While you shouldn’t apologize for the price, you also shouldn’t let the price get in the way. The reality of trips is they cost money. The reality of life is that sometimes money is tight. If your church does fundraisers, that can help offset some of the cost. Our church has a few reasons why we don’t do fundraising. But we still say, over and over, that money should not be the only reason a student can’t attend an event. That’s right, if the only thing keeping a student from signing up is the cost, we take away that obstacle. We ask if they can afford part of the fee, and the church covers whatever is leftover.

If we are going to tell students to that God provides if we trust in him, then we better put our money where our mouth is. This has been our policy for years and it’s provided many opportunities to see God come through in powerful ways. One of my favorite sayings is, “If it’s God’s will, then it’s God’s bill,” and he’s picked up the tab (and created some great stories) more than once.
JG

9 Anti-Abuse Practices Your Church Needs to Adopt

By
Becky Castle Miller
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Abuse is an abstract concept for many people, and it’s a word heavy with cultural misconceptions. When talking about abuse, I’ve learned to bridge the communication gap by defining and describing it: Abuse is a pattern of coercive control based in an abuser’s feeling of entitlement to power over another person. An abuser gains and maintains control through various tactics that can be physical, emotional, verbal, financial, sexual or spiritual. Abusers actually target churches to find victims and to move into positions of power, so church leaders must be prepared with anti-abuse strategies to prevent abuse, to deal with it in their congregations, and to provide healing for abuse survivors.

The first step in addressing abuse is to grasp how prevalent it is. Half of your church members have likely experienced abuse: child abuse, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, spiritual abuse in a religious organization. It’s not an issue “out there”—it’s an issue “in here.”

Anti-Abuse … Prevent Abuse Before It Happens

1. Repeat your church’s clear stance on abuse.

When a church leadership team commits to fighting abuse, they should communicate this vision to the congregation. Mention it on the website and in volunteer handbooks. Hang signs in the women’s bathroom that give a confidential email address to contact a staff person if a woman feels unsafe in a relationship. Post signs outside the nursery that explain your policies for preventing child sexual abuse, such as screening volunteers and having two unrelated volunteers together at all times.

Preach about abuse in full sermons that focus on it, and also mention abuse as a related topic in other sermons. When teaching on marriage and relationships, always tell people that the advice does not apply to abusive relationships. Speaking openly about abuse warns abusers that they won’t find a secret place to take power over others in your church.

2. Screen staff and volunteers.

Do criminal background checks on all staff or, at a minimum, all volunteers who work with children and youth. These checks won’t always catch someone with a criminal past, but they may cause a potential predator to bypass your church. Also Google them extensively, and call all their references.

Ask nursery volunteers to go through child abuse prevention training. Send leaders of adult ministries through training about domestic violence and sexual abuse. This will help them see red flags in other volunteers, notice if abuse does occur, and may convince predators to walk away. G.R.A.C.E. is one organization that offers abuse prevention training (http://www.netgrace.org/how-we-help).

Require volunteers to sign a commitment to Christian living that details your expectations for them. Include specific statements about avoiding abusive behaviors.

3. Teach your congregation about equality and mutual submission.

Teach what Jesus taught: that we are not to lord authority over each other. Model mutual submission in the way you interact with other leaders and with church attenders. Don’t use the Bible or spiritual language to control them or gain power over them—that is spiritual abuse. Respect the relationship each person has with the Holy Spirit and don’t usurp that place in their lives. When you treat your congregation with love and honor, showing them how well they deserve to be treated, they will be less likely to accept abuse behavior from others.

Anti-Abuse … Deal With Abuse in Your Church 

4. Believe victims when they tell you what is happening.

When a victim confides in you about abuse they have experienced in the past or present, believe them. Victims are much more likely to downplay or hide abuse than they are to embellish accounts. False testimony is incredibly rare in abuse cases. Your first response to a victim disclosing abuse must be, “I believe you.”

5. Immediately involve the proper authorities.

Do not keep abuse in-house and try to investigate it yourself. Abuse is a criminal matter, and it must be handled by the police. Many church leaders are mandatory reporters—make sure all staff members and volunteers know their responsibilities as mandatory reporters and the procedure they need to follow when they hear about abuse.

As soon as you get the victim to a safe place, child abuse and sexual assault information should always go directly to the police. Know the phone numbers of child protective services and any special victims units in your local police force.

Respect the autonomy of adult victims of intimate partner violence and allow them to make the decision about reporting abuse. Tell them that what their abuser is doing is criminal and offer to go with them to the police, but understand if they are not ready to do that yet. They may be afraid of losing their children, jeopardizing their financial support, being deported or other major life challenges their abuser has threatened them with. Offer to work with them to create a safety plan that will get them ready to leave if that becomes necessary.

Continue

A Pandemic Recalibration: God in the Center of Your Circle

By
Simon Lennox
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

As the world stumbles back to its commonplace rhythms of pre-pandemic life—albeit with an improved hygiene etiquette, a greater sensitivity to crowds akin to claustrophobia, and perhaps the grief from losing a loved one to COVID-19—we mustn’t forget how the loneliness of lockdown exposed both our need and longing for meaningful relationships and community. 

The Bible confirms this perennial need. Humans are frankly not designed by God to be alone; we are utterly dependent on Him and on one another to multiply, cultivate, evolve, and thrive on the wonder of planet Earth as God commands in His Word and enables by His Spirit (Genesis 2; John 1:1-4). Everything in life, in some form or other, depends on people receiving and giving knowledge and care from God to one another (1 Cor 12:7).

Such interdependence between God and people is no different when it comes to studying the Bible. Perhaps the words ‘Bible Study’ fail to excite you and sound like hard work. But just think about it for a moment; God, the infinite and holy Creator and sustainer of physical and spiritual life, has provided an incredible, timeless means to personally relate to every finite and needy generation. God has spoken majestically through the beauty and intricacy of creation; definitively through the life and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ; powerfully through His Holy Spirit; and precisely through His inspired words of Scripture, to His beloved Church, and for the world to know its Creator. What a genius, loving, and awe inspiring idea – what else could we want? And no wonder Bible study requires work and studying together, for this is the sovereign God of the universe we’re learning about!

We need God, we need one another, and we need the Spirit-powered words of the Bible to know, love, and persevere with God in community (Rom 14:7; Luke 10:27; Matt 4:4); that’s why I believe Bible study is best experienced with friends. When governments across the world banned in-person interactions of every kind and locked down cities and towns for months (even now just easing restrictions), staying connected to God with others became more difficult. Lockdowns and restrictions have forced a reliance on technology upon every sector of society to stay open and connected—businesses, news outlets, and all kinds of community groups. Understandably many people cannot wait to get back to face-to-face gatherings due to so-called “Zoom fatigue”, but now many others are actually preferring online technology to suit their busy lifestyles (like parents of young children, single parents, shift workers, or those who live a considerable distance from others). The convenience of online technology for our globalized, fast-paced world means not everyone is looking to rush back to the ‘normal’.

In my view, the pandemic’s acceleration of the ‘internet of things’ has therefore permanently changed community Bible study. In response to this unexpected and powerful shift, I am so excited by the growing impact of WordGo on community groups and families across the globe, and I am eager to get it into your hands. WordGo is a new and free app from Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) intentionally designed to help you restart the art of Bible study and make it simple to run a group Bible study with your friends—online, in-person, or in a culmination of both.

I firmly believe—and enjoy from experience—that when God is front and centre, He creates community better than we can. So, as we climb out of lockdown and its impact on our mental and spiritual health, I invite you to put God in the centre of your circle with a little help from WordGo. 

5 Principles for Leading in Unchartered Waters

By
Dan Reiland
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

We’ve all been in uncharted waters for the past six months.

Uncharted waters include:

  • Unfamiliar territory
  • Little to no experience navigating those waters
  • Can’t foresee what will happen

No leader is immune.

Young leaders are wide-eyed, and veteran leaders are weary-eyed, but we are all in the same COVID boat together.

We’re navigating:

  • An uncertain economy
  • A COVID environment
  • The upcoming elections

When the waters are choppy, what do you hold on to?

My Father-in-Law, Pete, was a Master Chief in the Navy and served our country well. And if you know much about the Navy, the Master Chiefs were the leaders who made things happen on a day to day basis. “Pop,” as we call him, spent a lot of time at sea and gained great wisdom about navigating rough waters. He says it’s all about people and sticking together to get the job done.

That’s good advice.

What are you holding on to in these uncharted and rough waters?

Before we cover the 5 principles, here are 4 practical thoughts that serve as anchors to hold on to:

Family and close friends
When times are tough, it is family and close friends you can count on.

Quiet time to think and pray
Your soul will never be at peace if you never slow down.

Deeply held values and convictions
What’s important to you? Make sure you know the shortlist and lead by those values and convictions. Don’t be distracted by things that don’t matter.

Simple things that bring joy
What brings a smile and makes your heart light?

Holding on to trustworthy anchors in uncharted and often choppy waters is essential to steady your soul, but moving forward is needed to fulfill your purpose.

In these days, when strategy can change rapidly, principles help direct you as you lead.

5 principles for leading uncharted waters:

1) Your peace can’t be dependent on what you can control.

Under stress, we attempt to control more than usual to compensate for the lack of ability to actually control anything of substance.

The more you attempt to control what you cannot control, the more peace will elude you.

In fact, we unknowingly attempt to control little things, which robs our peace even more, because, at some level, we know that doesn’t really change anything for good.

Soul level peace that produces a non-anxious presence comes from knowing that God is in control and our job as leaders is to focus on what we can change, not fret about what we can’t change.

The peace we all long for, even in stressful times, is a result of letting go, not grasping tightly. That doesn’t mean you don’t care; it merely acknowledges that peace is a state of being, not about possession or achievement.

Your relationship with God and focus on the fruit of the Spirit (peace) is core to the peace you desire as a leader.

2) Your confidence can’t be based on knowing the answers.

We know that leaders are not expected to have all the answers, but that doesn’t change how we feel about it in the moment. It can place doubt in our confidence, at least for a short time.

Our desire as leaders is to solve problems, make progress, and help people grow in their faith. That requires ideas and solutions (answers), which we largely express in the form of decisions.

Sometimes even under the best intentions, great thought, wise counsel, and prayer, we make a decision that doesn’t work. Or we make a mistake.

Don’t let your confidence be shaken by one-off situations that don’t go well.

You can’t possibly know all the answers, and that is especially true in uncharted waters.

Let me encourage you; no one knows “the” answers right now. In fact, be somewhat wary of anyone who tells you they do.

Build your confidence, starting with the fact that God is with you, and you are called and gifted. From there, you can believe in yourself and grow in experience and skill.

3) Your success can’t be based only on traditional scoreboards.

Traditional scoreboard stats like attendance, offerings, and first-time visitors will always be important, but they don’t tell the whole picture. And things have changed.

In fact, traditional “scoreboards” leave out some important factors, plus culture has shifted, which causes us to think about how we pursue and define success.

Let’s start with what we know; life change is the most important measure of success for the church. Then, you might prioritize how you think about that. For example, salvation and baptism are likely at the top of your list.

There are many more examples of life change, such as freedom from addiction or a redeemed marriage, and kids and teens making good decisions.

Current culture has shifted first to attending church less in general, which has been happening at a noticeable level for at least a couple of years or more.

Now, in these uncharted waters, we are all navigating the pros and cons of digital church. Each church will choose its own approach, but one thing we all know is that it’s here to stay.

Digital church is not an option if you want to reach people where they are. From there, depending on how you choose to prioritize it, you can encourage people to attend in person when they are ready.

People will want to come back, but it will take time.

Help! I’m Infatuated With Someone Other Than My Spouse

By
Gary Thomas
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

In 1977, Avodah Offit wrote a popular book entitled The Sexual Self that became a favorite among many sex therapists. I’m not endorsing the book (I haven’t actually read it), but she has a quote in it that I wish I would have read before I got married:

“My experience indicates that most people become infatuated or fall in love with others an average of six times in the course of a long marriage.”

Six times sounds like a lot to me, but when I found myself very attracted to someone else rather early in my marriage to Lisa, I was caught completely off-guard. It made me think something was wrong with my marriage, rather than that such feelings are normal and even predictable. Not being fore-warned, I wasn’t fore-armed. It would have been so helpful for me to know thirty years ago not to freak out. Perhaps I would have managed it better than I did.

If you’re committed to cherishing your spouse for life and suddenly find your mind fixated on someone else, there are many wrong responses and several right ones.

The first wrong response is to assume something is wrong with your marriage, in the sense that you need a new marriage. For us Christians, trouble in our marriage is more like finding out we have heart disease. In all but the most serious of cases (abuse, unrepentant infidelity) we should seek to repair the heart instead of search for a new one.  If you don’t understand that additional attraction is normal you may think that because, momentarily at least, you seem to have stronger feelings for someone else than you do for your spouse, the marriage must have run its course.  But just like with a physical heart (where you can bring cholesterol down and alleviate high blood pressure before you seek a heart transplant), so in marriage you can treat the underlying weakness before you jettison the relationship.

In a sacred marriage, the marriage isn’t over until God says it’s over. Your feelings for this other person that you’re not married to don’t mean you no longer have a deep commitment to (or even love for) your spouse; your emotions have just been caught off-guard. That’s all it is. That’s what emotions do. In other words, don’t make the infatuation more than it is. Arm yourself with this understanding: if you get a divorce and marry this new person and stay married for a long time, you’ll eventually become attracted to or infatuated with someone else, maybe even your current spouse! (Don’t laugh. I’ve seen it happen with other marriages.) Infatuations inside and outside of marriage are momentary storms. It’s foolish to cancel your summer vacation because of a winter storm warning. Just wait until it passes.

The second wrong response is to be caught by surprise. Imagine a heavyweight boxer working out for months, strategizing for his next fight, then freaking out when he takes an uppercut that makes him woozy. A good trainer will tell him in advance to expect and then overcome that hit—clinch your opponent, stall for time, get your full consciousness back as soon as possible. The champion boxer will have a plan for when he gets hit.

In marriage, an infatuation or attraction for someone else is like that uppercut. It’s part of the game—much more common, apparently, than I realized, if Offit is to be believed. We’ve got to learn how to respond rather than let the uppercut take us out. When it happens, figure out how to recover instead of just falling down (we’ll address that in a moment when we talk about right responses).

The third wrong response is to feed the attraction or the infatuation. The famous three elements of building a relationship—time, talk, and touch—must be guarded against, religiously. Suffocate the affection. Don’t feed it. Deprive it of everything that normally builds a relationship. If you slip off alone and have a meal together “to talk things out,” you’re creating a romantic tsunami that may become more powerful than you can handle. Sneaking around creates an intimacy that feeds the infatuation and feelings. “You and me against the world” becomes a romantic notion instead of the nightmare scenario that it is. In such cases, it’s not just “you and me against the world,” it’s “you and me against God,” and that’s a dangerous place to be.

So, the three wrong responses are, don’t assume it’s the end of your marriage; don’t be caught by surprise; and don’t feed it.

The Right Responses

Lisa eventually found out about the first time I became infatuated with someone else because it became a big mess, much to my own discredit and fault. The second time, Lisa never knew because I was prepared and knew how to handle it. I went to my godly, wise friends. I was part of a great accountability group we called “the Pacific Rim” because it consisted of a Japanese man, a Korean man, and a Chinese man. I was the token white guy. I think every young husband should have friends that are following the Lord like these guys.

Right away I let them know what was going on. It was at a conference, and absent “artificial contact” I wouldn’t see this person again for about another year. We jokingly called her the “elevator girl” because that’s where I met her. It would have been possible to track her down if I had a “work” question, but my friends and I had agreed, “We’re not ever going to do that, right?” And they’d check up every now and then to make sure nothing was going on. I’m such a terrible liar—I’d lose everything I own if I tried to play poker—so there was no chance of fooling these guys.

I was surprised at how quickly and how easily this second attraction was managed. Without it being fed, it died a rather predictable and easy death. There’s been nothing else remotely close to it in the past couple of decades, so I don’t see how I can get to Offit’s six—and I hope I never do.

No doubt, focusing so intently on cherishing my spouse certainly keeps me distracted from possibly cherishing someone else.

Here’s what made the difference: I saw the attraction as a threat instead of a fantasy or escape. I knew it had to be guarded against instead of fed. I knew I needed to ask for help and reinforcements. And I knew, from past experience, that it could pass and it needn’t threaten my marriage. It didn’t even have to frustrate my marriage. It never reached the point where I or the guys thought I should even talk to Lisa about it, because it was never a big deal.

For her part, Lisa has experienced this just once and, like me, was caught totally off guard. “No one ever warned me that this happens,” she told me years later. “No one talks about it.” I tried not to take it personally that he had a ponytail (you can take the girl out of Seattle, but you can’t always take Seattle out of the girl).

Add both of us up, and our marriage has faced this three times. The lesson learned? Don’t take it too seriously when an outside attraction or even infatuation happens to you, and don’t take it too personally when it happens to your spouse. We rarely choose these things, and, at least according to therapists, they’re bound to happen. In a sacred marriage, there’s so much more keeping us together than a momentary emotional storm. Remind yourself of those things: the vows you made to your Creator, to your spouse, before your church, and friends and family. The reality that you are married to your heavenly Father-in-Law’s daughter or son. Your kids’ welfare. Your witness. The spiritual benefit of working through difficulties in marriage instead of running from them. The fact that having to kill your marriage and betray your life partner should make you miserable and ashamed rather than happy.

Like a champion boxer who anticipates his opponent’s uppercuts, recognize that monogamy will also involve taking a few hits. One hard punch doesn’t have to knock you out and shouldn’t knock you out. Practice wise self-defense and you can stay in the ring and finish the match.

Knowing that outside infatuation remains a possibility can actually serve marriages. Proust suggests that a little jealousy rescues relationships that have been “ruined by habit.” It’s natural to begin taking our spouse for granted. Occasionally doubling down on winning our spouse’s hearts back is a good practice if it’s not done out of desperation and fear. Rather than remembering to do this only when we suspect an outside attraction has already been built, we can anticipate it. Since I now know that this happens, I shouldn’t get too laissez faire in my marriage. Just because I take a break from wooing my wife doesn’t mean her emotions will take a break from being wooed.

Positively working to cherish your spouse (by taking the Cherish Challenge!) can keep your mind and heart so activated and attuned to your own marriage that outside emotional attractions are likely to become far less common. At least, that’s what has happened with me.

Cherish Challenge Week 7

  • Read chapter 9 of Cherish, “Cherish Your Unique Spouse.”
  • If you haven’t done the Relate assessment yet, do it now here. This survey will help you understand yourself, your spouse, and your couple dynamics in a clearer, more scientific way. Get 20% off the purchase of your Relate assessment by using the coupon code “Gary”.
  • Spend a date night describing each other. Yes, you’ve heard it all before, but go over your histories, your personalities, what makes each of you you.
  • Choose a favorite picture to post in a place where you’ll see it every day: on your desk, where you get dressed, etc. If you already have such a picture, be intentional about looking at it each day for the next week, thinking about your spouse and what he/she means to you.
  • Please share your story with how this is helping your marriage on the Cherish Challenge page here.

This article originally appeared here.

In-Ear or In-The-Sanctuary: You Can Set Up a Killer Personal Monitoring System

By
Duke Taber
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

A personal monitoring system takes an individual’s monitor mix and sends it directly to the ears of that musician or singer. If in a church with high ceilings and hard surfaces designed for acoustic music, choirs and sermons, there are a few problems. Some churches are acoustically challenged venues such as the ones meeting in a school gym or office building. For a quieter stage, less feedback and more control over individual mixes, a personal monitoring system is the answer. Today, entry-level wireless in-ear monitoring (IEM) systems including transmitter, bodypack, receiver, and earphones are far less expensive than the equipment that first came on the scene in many mega-churches nearly 20 years ago.

To determine what kind of system will work best for you/your church, let’s assess your needs and those of the musicians and singers and the type of mixing console that you have.

Who will benefit the most from a personal monitoring system?

  • Of course, vocalists will benefit from it, but also drummers will play quieter and more controlled with IEMs.
  • Organists will also benefit, especially if they are located at the opposite end of the sanctuary. Time delays can be eliminated if choir monitors are fed into the organist’s personal monitor system.
  • Pastors and teachers will benefit as the IEMs prevent feedback that comes from gooseneck microphones or lavaliers.
  • Choir directors use it for cues to hear the pastor more clearly.
  • It eliminates the “volume war offenders”!
  • Audio engineers use IEMs for microphone placement in front of loud instruments. This lets the engineer walk right to the front of the amp cabinet and position it for the best audio without being exposed to louder than normal sound pressure levels.

Do you want wired, wireless or both?

Hardwired systems require the musicians and singers to be tethered to a cable. Drummers, back-up singers and keyboard players who are stationary on stage have no problem with being tethered and thus can take advantage of the lower cost and the simplicity that hardwired systems offer.

Hardwired systems also work without searching for clear frequencies. If several performers share the same mix, hardwired systems can be chained together without causing noticeable signal loss.

Wireless is more sophisticated and expensive. Also, it requires more attention to detail. However, the advantages are great: free-to-move worship leaders and musicians can hear a consistent mix from any location on stage. If several performers are using the same mix, they are easy to hook up. You can use however many wireless receivers as you need to monitor the same mix and there will be nothing harmed. No cables to trip over counts for something.

Do individual artists need their own personal monitoring system or can the band share monitor mixes?

It depends on how many people are in your band and who needs a personal monitor. The band must collaborate and figure out what they want to hear in their mixes. Here are some ways to go:

One mix:

Everyone wants to listen to the same mix, but this defeats the purpose of individual monitoring that allows each performer to hear themselves.

Two mixes:

An inexpensive setup would be one for vocals and another for instruments. The performers individually choose how much of each mix they want to hear. However, band members must agree on the configuration. It is a cost-effective way to transition to personal monitors.

Another way to work with two mixers is to have a separate mix for the drummer. Drummers want to hear more drums in their monitors than the singers and other musicians do. Also, drums can be played acoustically, especially in small venues.

Three mixes:

Assuming the vocalists agree on a mix of the vocal microphones when they share the same mix you get a good vocal blend. The lead vocalist could have an individual mix.

A great solution is to place some of the backup mics in the “instruments” mix and adjust the vocal mix to satisfy the lead singer, even if that means you must add some instruments to the “vocal” mix. This way you have an individual mix for the lead singer, a mix for guitars and keyboard that includes their vocals, and finally a drum mix that can include the bass player.

How many mixes does your console have?

Monitor mixes are created using auxiliary (AUX) sends from a mixer, either FOH console or a dedicated monitor console.  Usually, a console of small format should have at least four AUX sends which are also used for effects. How many available sends that your console has will determine how many monitor mixes you can have.

Will you go with stereo or mono?

Most personal monitoring systems can go either way. Stereo requires two channels of audio so two sends are required to create a stereo monitor mix. It takes twice as many sends as a mono mix and it will quickly use up your AUX sends. If your mixer has only four sends, you can only create two stereo mixes. Mono can save you a lot of money.

How is your budget?

You can spend several hundred to several thousand dollars for a good wireless system. It is a good idea to start gradually with one band member at a time. It may take a while for all of the members to adjust to IEM after years of standing in front of a mic.

Conclusion:

To determine what kind of system will work best for you/your church, first assess your needs and those of the musicians and singers and the type of mixing console that you have. Consider:

  • Who will benefit from it?
  • Do you want wired, wireless or both?
  • Do individuals need their own monitoring system, or can they share?
  • How many mixes does your console have?
  • Do you want stereo or mono?
  • How is your budget?

With all of these things taken into consideration, you will be able to make the right choice for a personal monitoring system.

 

This article about a personal monitoring system originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

True Worship: Experience or Encounter?

By
Timothy Willard and Jason Locy
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

This feature is a special excerpt from the book Veneer: Living Deeply in a Surface Society by Tim Willard and Jason Locy. Download the Kindle version for 99 cents until Monday!

Behold, the dwelling place
of God is with man.

 — Revelation 21:3 ESV

If you ever have the chance, do yourself a favor and explore the Four Corners area where New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona all meet. It’s the kind of place that feels like God took extra care to create. In New Mexico, you can drive a hundred miles in any direction, stop the car, and step out into the resounding silence of a mesa desert where the silence hovers, permeating the entire region.

The Durango silence differs; there, Colorado’s San Juan Mountains rifle up toward the sky, thick with bristle cone pine and aspens. Creeks and rivers knife down and through the mountains, splashing liquid white upon the outdoor canvas. And then there’s the sound. At 4:00 a.m. on a clear June night, you can see just enough of your surroundings to feel uneasy. All is still, except for the air whistling ever so gently through the pines while the aspen leaves rustle their approval. And when you look up, through the trees, the stars jump out of the darkness like millions of surfacing whales, majestic and fearsome.

Beneath the canopy, you can barely see your campsite. If not for the whale stars, all would be black. As you stand outside your tent, you can hear your heart beating, but just barely. The silence has a rhythm — the cadence of the leaves, the flow of the rushing water, and the crackle of a neighboring fire. These are the sounds of the San Juan silence, and they are wonderfully deafening.

Next, head west, just over the mountains, to Moab, Utah. Grab some java at Mondo Coffee and hit the Porcupine Rim trail on your mountain bike or take a jeep tour of the red desert. Then, continue northwest and spend the night in Bryce Canyon.

In Bryce, another kind of silence awaits, the brilliant kind. Camp near the rim of the canyon if you can. There are plenty of sites. Do your best to wake up well before the dawn. Hike over to Sunrise Point and set up your camp chair facing east over the canyon. And wait. If you have coffee, bring it; you may also want your journal.

From this vantage point, you will be able to see more stars than you ever thought possible. They are not the same whale stars from Durango; these are the minions of God — the infinite army of light soldiers, their shields shimmering like a pirate’s treasure. They’re a spectacle so vivid you can decipher them by color and size. But this is not why you’re sitting here.

As the sun gets closer to the horizon, the stars fade and the canyon begins to wake. All the hoodoo rock formations with their red-rock hues come into view, and you begin to see the valley stretch out before you. The thin mountain air crystallizes the view. And then it happens: the first peek of sunlight emerges, shouting past the horizon like a growling giant. The canyon explodes with color. The sky bleeds into a rainbow while the canyon dances in shadows and light.

The sound is brilliant, painted with color and majesty and wonder, and a touch of magic. As you watch it all unfold, you gasp. Again, you can hear your heart beating, fast. You breathe in while your eyes dart from canyon to sun to sky to journal. Nothing more to do but sit and listen and watch.

The weight of silence, the fullness of solitude — we are not familiar with either. They seem strange and uncomfortable to us. And yet within them are the deep murmurings of God.

You will, undoubtedly, be hard pressed to find a place devoid of sound, so perhaps the better idea of silence rests in the act of being quiet, hushing your words to hear God’s. And doing so in a place of beauty, removed from distractions.

The Four Corners’ version of silence and solitude is grand. Its massiveness makes you feel insignificant. If you’ve ever rappelled down a sheer Sierra Nevada cliff or dropped two hundred feet into the pitch black belly of a mountain, then you know the feeling of complete helplessness — your heart beating in your ears, your mind racing through death scenarios. Fear and exhilaration fill the encounter. The allure of this part of the country rests in its wildness and unpredictability. At any moment, you could be crushed by its immensity. It drips with holy grandeur, like God is hovering over and breathing down on the land.

Path to Self-Abandonment

Who is God to you?

When you daily approach him, how do you do it? What motivates you? Do you come to him with a scripted mindset as if you were taking a vacation to Disney World where you know exactly what to expect? Do you bank on God’s being and acting a certain way?

Or do you approach him with zero expectations?1 The same way you’d approach hiking a newfound trail. You would start walking, taking in the view. Nothing scripted, nothing predictable.

What do you bring before him? Do you bring him the cracked vessel of you? Or do you bring him a veneered you, the lost and afraid you?

What does it mean to worship him?

Too often we treat God as our pocket Savior, our own personal Jesus, or our political fail-safe or maybe even our get-out-of-jail-free card for a way of living we know isn’t on the up and up.

“If you have only come the length of asking God for things,” writes minister and teacher Oswald Chambers, “you have never come to the first strand of abandonment, you have become a Christian from a standpoint of your own.”2 And this will not fly. We cannot approach God as though he were a cosmic superstore. We must be willing to hold the relational position of self-abandonment.

Self-abandonment? Isn’t this the society in which the pursuit of self gets rewarded? Do we not promote language like “positive self-speak” and “leveraging influence” and “expressing yourself”? In our society, if you’re not leveraging or maximizing something, you’re underachieving.

But no matter how much we try to skew the Christian life, we cannot wiggle away from Christ’s own challenge to his disciples: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”9 Through Christ we find that grace transforms us out of our fallenness and that mercy challenges us to follow after Christ himself, a way of life wholly other.

Life’s realities make following along this narrow path difficult. It can be lonely. We’d rather be friends with God and fall into a nonchalant faith of church attendance and worship events than to seek him in the brilliant silence. Many of us are frustrated in our spiritual lives because we feel like God doesn’t hear us. But should that frustration surprise us when we ask of him from a position of selfishness?

Seventy-five years ago, poet T. S. Eliot wrote,

O world of spring and autumn, birth and dying!

The endless cycle of idea and action,

Endless invention, endless experiment,

Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness;

Knowledge of speech, but not of silence;

Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word.

All our knowledge brings us nearer to death,

But nearness to death no nearer to God.

Where is the Life we have lost in living?

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

The cycles of Heaven in twenty centuries

Brings us farther from God and nearer to the Dust.12

Eliot’s words are familiar to us. Not because we have read them before but because we have lived them and are living them. In gaining the world, we refuse to abandon the self. We are nearer to the dust and have nothing to show for it.

16th Street Church: Never Forget the 4 Girls Killed in the 1963 Bombing

By
Jessica Lea
-
16th street
L: See page for author, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Today is the 57th anniversary of the murder of four girls who were killed when members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) set off a bomb in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. While the church was not able to hold an in-person memorial service this year because of restrictions due to COVID-19, senior pastor Rev. Arthur Price, Jr., invited people to watch a recording of last year’s service online. 

“We want to remember how our foreparents became agents of change,” said Price, “and they advocated for the Civil Rights Act to be passed and later the Voting Rights Act to be passed…I pray that you tune in, and I pray that you never forget and that you remember that these four little girls became agents of change. Because of their deaths, we have galvanized a generation, we’ve motivated a movement, and we’ve made the bitter days of Birmingham better.” 

Four Girls Murdered in 16th Street Church Bombing

On Sunday, Sept. 15, 1963, Addie Mae Collins, Sarah Collins (Addie’s sister), Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Denise McNair, were getting ready for church in a basement restroom when a bomb made of dynamite went off at 10:22 a.m. All of the girls died except for Sarah, who lost her right eye. At least 14 other people were injured when the bomb went off on the east side of the building, destroying walls and filling 16th Street Baptist Church with smoke. Denise was 11 years old, Sarah was 10, and the other three girls were 14.

At the time, Birmingham (where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”) was highly segregated and the site of much racial violence. Alabama Gov. George Wallace was adamantly opposed to desegregation, the city’s police commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor was known for using violence against civil rights protestors, and the KKK was quite active. 

In fact, it was so common for the KKK to set off bombs throughout the city that it earned the nickname “Bombingham.” Birmingham historian Horace Huntley says, “There were 40 plus bombings that took place in Birmingham between the late 40s and the mid 60s.” These attacks, he says, were attempts from the KKK (with the backing of local authorities) to intimidate civil rights activists. Former National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice was a young girl in Birmingham at the time. She said that her father, a minister, organized a sort of militia with his friends to protect the Black community from the KKK. They could not trust the police because the police were just as likely as the KKK to be setting off the bombs.

16th Street Baptist Church was the site of many civil rights meetings and rallies during that time period, and it was common for marches to start from the church. The bombing that occurred there was the third that had happened within 11 days after a federal court ordered Alabama school systems to be integrated. Later named as suspects in the bombing were four men: Thomas Blanton, Robert Chambliss, Bobby Frank Cherry, and Herman Frank Cash. All were Klan members, and none were charged at the time. While some claim that the FBI withheld information, the FBI says the truth is that director J. Edgar Hoover believed there was not enough evidence to prosecute.

Eventually, three of the men were prosecuted. Chambliss was convicted of first-degree murder in 1977 and received life in prison, where he died in 1985. Cash died in 1994 without ever being charged. Blanton and Cherry were convicted of first-degree murder and each received four life terms in prison, Blanton in 2001 and Cherry in 2002. Cherry died in prison in 2004, while Blanton died in prison on June 26, 2020. 

Sen. Doug Jones led the prosecutions of Blanton and Cherry, and he attended 16th Street Baptist Church’s memorial service last year. “We cannot forget what happened here in Birmingham,” the senator told WVTM 13 News. “It is happening again across the country. We’ve seen a rise in hate crimes. And we just cannot allow that to continue to happen.”

In a statement issued after Blanton’s death this summer, Jones said, “The fact that after the bombing, [Blanton] went on to remain a free man for nearly four decades speaks to a broader systemic failure to hold him and his accomplices accountable. That he died at this moment, when the country is trying to reconcile the multi-generational failure to end systemic racism, seems fitting. Tommy Blanton may be gone, but we still have work to do.”

In an April 2019 interview, Addie Mae Collins’ surviving sister Susan Collins Rudolph told WBUR about the tragic morning when she lost her sister and her eye. Addie Mae was starting to tie Denise’s sash when, “Boom, the bomb went off.” A church deacon rescued Rudolph, and she assumed that the other girls had escaped. Later, when Rudolph was hospitalized, her mother told her what had happened.

It has been difficult for Rudolph to come to terms with how the city of Birmingham responded to that event and to her in the aftermath of the bombing. “The way they treated me here in the city of Birmingham, they don’t acknowledge me as being the fifth little girl,” said Rudolph. “You know, you go into church to praise God, and you come out without your sister. And today, we still haven’t gotten an apology from the city of Birmingham. Nothing. Nothing. [We’re] still paying bills for doctors for my eye.”

‘It Feels Like the Right Time’ to Reopen Lakewood, Osteen Says

By
Megan Briggs
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Joel Osteen, along with his wife, Victoria Osteen, announced their Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas has set a date to resume in-person services. On October 18th, the church is planning on opening its doors for the first time since announcing the shift to online-only services on March 11th of this year.

It Feels Like the Right Time, Osteen Says

“It felt like it was the right time,” Osteen told reporters on Monday about the decision to open their doors again. This feeling was confirmed, Osteen indicated, when “right after that Mayor Turner said that venues can have 25 percent capacity.” Additionally, Osteen says the input the church has received from its members indicate that they are ready to come back.


Lakewood’s facility can seat 16,800 people, so a quarter of that capacity could mean as many as 4,200 people showing up on the 18th of October. 

Mayor Sylvester Turner Approves Venues Reopening

On Wednesday September 9, 2020, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced that the city’s COVID-19 case count was low enough that they could start allowing more things to open back up since shut down orders were put in place in March. 

Mayor Turner’s directives include the following provisions for venues hosting special events such as sporting events and conventions:

Venues will only be allowed to operate at 25 percent of their capacities
Social distancing measures must be followed
Masks must be worn
Attendees must have their temperatures checked at the door
Attendees must fill out a health questionnaire 

Osteen told reporters the church would be following Turner’s directives for venues. He assured reporters the staff of Lakewood has “taken great precaution to keep our members safe. We care about our members, we care about Houston and the people that live here.” 

The specific measures the church will put into practice that Osteen mentioned include having people sign up on their website to attend a service, having members wear masks, and possibly having them sit in every other row to maintain social distancing. Osteen also said the church has been outfitted with other things to promote good hygiene such as touchless faucets in the bathrooms and antimicrobial escalator handrails.

As KHOU reports, Lakewood Church members were sent an email detailing the measures the church is taking to protect their health. The email specifies the following things:

Bathroom and Plumbing Upgrades: The installation of touchless faucets, touchless soap dispensers and touchless flush valves. All restrooms walls, doors, floors and fixtures will be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized regularly.

Escalator Safety Upgrades: All Escalators have been fitted with a combination of Schindler Safe Ultra UVC Sterilization and CleanRail Antimicrobial Escalator Handrails. This will be effective in killing bacteria and viruses, and will provide the attendees with peace of mind when holding on to the escalator handrail.

7 Things You Should Know About the Jewish Feasts

By
Esther Laurie
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

I love how God keeps His promises to us. In Leviticus 23, God gave Moses seven days of feasts at specific times throughout the year.

Each of these feasts represents a promise and a meaning Jesus would later fulfill. Got Questions wrote, “From the Old Covenant to the New, Genesis to Revelation, God provides picture after picture of His entire plan for mankind and one of the most startling prophetic pictures is outlined for us in the Jewish feasts of Leviticus 23.”

The Hebrew word for “Feasts” is moadim which means “appointed times.” God uses these feasts to tell His great story. We see the Gospel and his redemption through these feasts.

There are spring feasts and fall feasts. We saw Jesus fulfill the spring feasts in scripture on the exact feast day during his first coming. “These three fall feasts, it is believed by many, will likewise be fulfilled literally in connection to the Lord’s second coming.”

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts.’”
Leviticus 23:1

1. Passover

Passover was first celebrated when God delivered his people from Egypt and slavery. Now we celebrate the day Jesus died as the ultimate sacrificial lamb. Paul references this fulfillment in 1 Corinthians 5:7.

2. Unleavened Bread

In the Bible, leaven or yeast in a symbol of sin and evil. The feast of Unleavened Bread points to Jesus’ sinless life. During the first few days of this feast, Jesus’ body was in the grave.

3. First Fruits

First Fruits is the day Jesus was resurrected. Paul refers to this in 1 Corinthians 15:20 when he says Jesus is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

4. Pentecost

Pentecost represents the “great harvest of souls and the gift of the Holy Spirit for both Jew and Gentile” as we see in Acts 2. This is the day the Church was established when “God poured out His Holy Spirit and 3,000 Jews responded to Peter’s great sermon and his first proclamation of the gospel.”

5. Trumpets

This is the “first of the fall feasts.

6. Atonement

The Day of Atonement will be fulfilled with the second coming of Jesus (Romans 11:25-26) when “The Deliverer will come from Zion.”

7. Tabernacles

This is the day devout Jews would build small shelters outside their homes and worship in them to celebrate how God provided shelter for His people in the wilderness. “Many scholars believe that this feast day points to the Lord’s promise that He will once again ‘tabernacle’ with His people).”

“Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them.”
Zechariah 14:16-17

There is a theme of sacrifice in these feasts, and overwhelming proof of God fulfilling His promises to his people.

 

Jesus and Performance Fatigue

By
Scott Sauls
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

In the classic play, Fiddler on the Roof, a husband and wife have two daughters who have both fallen in love. The husband, noticing how happy the daughters are, turns to his wife and asks her, “Do you love me?” She responds:

Do I love you? For twenty-five years I have washed your clothes, cooked your meals, cleaned your house, given you children, milked the cow. After twenty-five years, why talk about love right now? Do I love him? For twenty-five years I have lived with him, fought with him, starved with him. Twenty-five years my bed is his. If that’s not love, what is?

…to which the husband nervously mutters, “Then you love me?”

Clearly, the wife is missing the essence of love. For love is complete, love is at its most healthy place, when the duties of love are driven by the delights of love.

In some ways, the wife in Fiddler on the Roof is a parable for all of us. Caught up in the pressure of daily responsibilities, distractions, and the tyranny of the urgent, our most important relationships—the ones that once made us come alive and were the source of our deepest joy—become dull and flat. What used to bring us delight becomes mere duty. What used to stir our affections becomes an annoyance. What used to be our most tangible experience of grace becomes poisoned by grudges. What used to be face-to-face becomes side-to-side at best, or back-to-back at worst.

When we the duties of love overshadow the delights of love, intimacy and companionship are eclipsed by loneliness. And? It’s not just human relationships that experience this erosion of joy. It also happens in our relationship with God.

When we lose our intimacy with God, it’s not because God has shifted. In these moments and seasons of distance, we can truly say to him, “It’s not you, it’s me.”

Consider Jesus’ dear friend, Martha:

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her (Luke 10:38-42).

Like the wife in Fiddler on the Roof, Martha is emotionally and relationally impaired by performance fatigue. Working hard and working alone to serve the guests, her frustration and anxiety are palpable. She is “busy with much serving,” and for this, she has often been criticized. But I don’t think Jesus was criticizing her for being busy.

The Greek word Jesus uses for Martha’s “serving” is diakoneo, which is used positively every place it shows up in the Bible. When Jesus described himself, declaring that he came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many, he used the word diakoneo (Matthew 20:28). When the Apostle Paul lays out the qualifications for deacons, a role of help and service in the church, this is the word that he uses (1 Timothy 3:8). When he commends Phoebe as a faithful servant in her local church, he calls her a diakonon (Romans 16:1).

So, lest we wrongly dismiss Martha for somehow being untrue to Jesus, let’s consider her hard work. She is welcoming her guests, after all. She is practicing the gospel virtue of hospitality. Let’s also consider the understanding and grace that Jesus extends to her. When he addresses her, Jesus says her name twice. “Martha, Martha.” The repetition of a person’s name in Semitic language was a term of endearment. Jesus was pleading with her, not scolding her as if she were some sort of rebel. “Martha, Martha” is Jesus’ gesture of compassion and kindness to Martha, and also to us.

Martha, Martha…

…before you try to change the world, you must first let me change you.
…before you make your mark on others, you must first let me make my mark on you.
…before you get busy to make things better, you must first let me make you better.
…before you can serve and feed me, you must first let me serve and feed you.

You see, Martha’s affliction is not that she is a busy-body. Her affliction is that she has a busy heart. She is distracted with much serving, and because of this, her very legitimate, life-giving diaconal service is spoiled. She is working from a chaotic center. She is seeking to create order from a cluttered core. She is so busied with and distracted by secondary things, that she has lost touch with the first thing—which is the love that brought her into friendship with Jesus in the first place.

I know your good works, your toil…I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent (Revelation 2:1-7).

Jesus’ words to the church at Ephesus were compelled by the same longing he had for Martha. More than he wanted Martha’s service, he wanted Martha’s face. More than he wanted her activity, he wanted her heart.

In a similar way, Jesus sees us in our eagerness to be faithful, in our efforts to make a meaningful contribution to his kingdom. He sees our hard work, our loyalty and devotion, our endurance. He sees us walking side by side with him. And he also sees how invisible we sometimes feel in our efforts to please and impress.

Said Martha, “Lord, do you not care…?”

Said the dutiful elder son to his Father, “These many years I have slaved for you, and I never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends” (Luke 15:29).

Do you hear the cry beneath the cries of Martha and the resentful son? If we listen closely, we will see that they are both after something more than mere relief from their work. What they want, what they feel that they are missing, is recognition. Affirmation. Approval. Affection. A smile. A benediction. For someone to say to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Once one of our daughters asked me to watch her as she read a book…silently.

But she was after something more than a mere audience for her silent reading adventure. What she wanted most was a blessing. She wanted to hear me tell her how impressed I was that she could read a book all by herself. That she could do no wrong. That she was awesome. She wanted to hear her Dad say, “Well done.”

There’s something in all of us, isn’t there, that is just dying to be watched, to be looked at, to be seen, and to hear the “Well done,” yes?

But the resentful son was deafened to his Father’s affirmation, to his bold declaration, “All I have is yours.” Martha, likewise, was numb to Jesus’ tender, double repetition of her name. And so they both leaned hard on their busyness, their productivity, their something-to-show-for-it postures, as a last ditch effort to secure a recognition that was already theirs.

In Jesus, the “Well done” comes before we do anything for him. It comes to us at the start of our journey with Jesus versus at the end. For Martha and the elder brother, the word from God is, “All that I have is already yours. So come sit with me. Enter my rest.”

And this is also the word from God for us.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,” Jesus said, “and I will give you rest.”

Let’s go find rest at his feet then, shall we?

So let’s roll up our sleeves and serve somebody, shall we?

This article originally appeared here.

Two Postures: Faith and Fear

By
Jason Hood
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.  And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.  By faith Noah, in reverent fear…”  Hebrews 11

“For we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Knowing the fear of the LORD…” 2 Corinthians 5

Let’s look at the highlighted words, and find two points to take away:

2 Cor 5 Heb 11

by faith                                                    by faith

pleased God                                           please him

draw near to God                                 appear before the judgment seat of Christ

he rewards                                             we receive what is due

reverent fear                                         fear of the LORD

Two observations:  (1)  I love the way these passage work to point out the critical nature of faith on the way to reward. Notice that faith alone is not what pleases God, but what faith does in our lives (i.e., in 2 Cor, it produces courage). For example, a few chapters later, Hebrews 13:16 tells us that sacrifices of generosity and doing good please God. In other words, righteous deeds done from a posture of faith in God are pleasing to the King.

(2) Faith and fear might sound like strange bedfellows, but they are two common ways of talking about a slave’s relationship to a master higher up the org chart of the ancient world. We trust our lord and king to help us and sustain us; he does what we cannot do. And we fear him, knowing the threat of judgment and the responsiblity of obedience.

God’s Word Speaks to Our Concerns About Racism. Are We Listening?

By
André Ballard
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

In my recent conversations about racial injustice, I have encountered some Christians who fit into one of two categories: either they don’t know some truth of God’s Word and need to be educated, or they know the Bible well but find it difficult to connect and apply it to their own contextualized situations.

I am neither a politician nor an academic scholar. I am a pastor; therefore, I think about ways I can respond to situations first biblically and then pastorally. The goal of my counsel is always to teach the truth of Scripture and help people apply it to their lives.

Christian friends, the Scriptures speak clearly to the Church in these days of heartache and confusion. Are we listening? Here are six specific ways that God’s Word transforms our response to racism.

Think Differently

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2).

If you are spending more of your time watching the various news and social media outlets than you are reading the Bible or listening to sermons, that is a problem. Your thinking is being conformed to the image of this world. It is only the Word of God and the Spirit of God that can communicate the will of God. A faithful reading of the Bible must be our primary source of information as we learn to discern what is acceptable according to God’s standard.

Listen First, Then Act

Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.… Be doers of the word, and not hearers only (James 1:19-20, 22).

Are you quick to get angry over personal attacks? Do you desire to control a conversation by changing the narrative of a discussion shared by others? Do you get defensive when people talk about race or racism? Do you tend to dismiss the fact that racism is pervasive and systemic? If so, you are neither producing the righteousness of God nor acting in the freedom the Lord provides. Friendships with people who look and think differently than you provide a good context in which to practice listening. I encourage you to intentionally reach out to people of a different ethnicity than your own, and invite them to dinner. Seek to build relationships with them by patiently listening to their positions and without offering correction.

Remember Our Freedom

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1).

The Church is ethnically and culturally diverse. So, don’t expect everyone to hold onto your personal ethnic or cultural values and practices. Do not make legalistic disciples by seeking to assimilate people into your racially dominant framework. Instead, let us remember that we are no longer bound by the law but have received the grace of Jesus Christ. Christian relationships should be mutually beneficial. One person should never demand that the other think and act exactly like himself. To do so would dilute the beauty and majesty of God’s diverse creation. As God gives grace in our cultural, contextualized expressions, so should you.

Be United

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility… that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility (Ephesians 2:14-16).

Church congregations sometimes sing hymns like “The Old Rugged Cross.” Too often we cling to and cherish the old, rugged cross of Christ but fail to cherish and cling to each other. Instead of merely thinking black, brown and white people should pursue racial reconciliation, the Christian conversation must shift. It is the cross of Christ that reconciles us, first to God, and then makes us one unified people group who can experience life together in peaceful harmony. For we are not to be enemies of one another, showing hostility because of our different skin colors. Rather, we are now members of the same body with equal value in Christ, equal position before God, and equal access to a relationship with God Almighty.

Give Honor to Others

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor (Romans 12:9-10).

It can be hard to accept defeat, whether in a game of chess, in a difficult conversation, or when facing a very significant loss. Our competitive drive kicks in, and we strive to win our own way in conversations and in relationships. God says our love toward others should be rooted in the thoughtful and purposeful giving of honor. When was the last time you sought to honor someone who had an opinion that was not sinful, yet different from yours?

Stay the Course

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:9-10).

Don’t stop doing what is right because you are uncomfortable or fearful. Don’t give up on the work even though it is hard. Don’t take shortcuts, such as saying, “I’ll pray for you” without knowing what struggles are in the person’s heart. Ask instead, “In what way can I join you in prayer?” Today is a great day to enter the world of a person of color. Learn a new language, celebrate a cultural holiday together, send a birthday or thank you card, and let your brothers and sisters in Christ know that you love them.

People often ask me the question, “What can we do to help fight racism?” I encourage you to start by believing that the Bible’s teaching is necessary and sufficient. There was a time in my life when I believed that the Bible was true but resisted its authority over my life. Now, more than ever before, God’s Word directs my steps on the Christian journey and offers hope of eternal joy in the living Word, Jesus Christ. Knowing and applying the Bible is necessary for the Christian, for it declares the will of God for us, including how we are to address issues of racism. This same Word sufficiently answers our questions about life and should be the womb that incubates all of our theological practices. I pray that you are both convicted and convinced of the Bible’s authority over your life. As you listen to God, may you be transformed by his Word!

This article originally appeared here.

10 Prayers to Pray in a Pandemic

By
James Emery White
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

1. Father, help me to so honor you through my online presence and chosen words and spirit that people will see, hear and feel Jesus through everything I post.

2. Please help me, whenever I am tempted to focus on how I am being inconvenienced and poorly served, to instead think of how I might serve others.

3. Dear Lord, may I long to privately worship you as much as I long to return to publicly worshiping you.

4. I pray for my black brothers and sisters. I cannot imagine what this time is like for them, but I can pray for them. Father, forgive me for any and all racism, and help me to work for justice at every opportunity. I confess I do not often know what that means, so please, through my own efforts to learn and the power of the Holy Spirit to convict, lead me.

(or)

4. I pray for my white brothers and sisters. Their eyes are opening, and I pray for full vision. Father, forgive me for any and all racism on my part, and keep me from any and all bitterness and resentment. Do not let the evil one gain any foothold in my spirit. Strengthen me to never tire as I work for justice in ways that continually honor you and lift up all of humanity.

5. I need you to give me financial faith that I do not have, obedience I do not want to give, and trust that does not come naturally.

6. I pray this to my God: I may not know the reasons for all that has happened, but I have faith in the One who does.

7. Father, I know how much I thirst for grace for my own life—help me to be quick to offer the same drink to others around me.

8. Somehow, someway, help me to rise above the seeds being sown all around me—seeds of fear, division and anger. Instead, somehow, someway, help me to plant trust, unity and love.

9. Dear God, I am online so much. I offer this Scripture as a prayer and plea to you: “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes…” (Psalm 101:3a, NASB)

*10. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Sources

*Known as the “Jesus Prayer,” it dates back to at least the 5th century.

This article originally appeared here.

1...759760761...1,182Page 760 of 1,182
855,266FansLike

New Articles

Bible verse Mother’s Day prayer

Bible Verse Mother’s Day Prayer and Worship Ideas To Honor Moms

Stephanie Martin -
Want ideas for a Bible verse Mother’s Day prayer or service? Use this Bible-based inspiration to love and honor moms.
Mother’s Day craft

Mother’s Day Craft: Bible Bookmarks Are in Full Bloom

Mother’s Day sermons

Mother’s Day Sermons & Resources: 20 Ways to Honor Women

preschool praise and worship

Preschool Praise and Worship: Helping Little Hearts Worship in Big Ways

New Podcasts

Joby Martin

Joby Martin: What Happens When Pastors Finally Understand Grace

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

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

Jon Acuff

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

Libin Abraham

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

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

Company

Trending

Popular Categories

© ChurchLeaders