“Free” Images? You’d Better Check the Terms of Service

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June 11, 2020

Some new guidelines have come to our attention about the “free images” on sites such as Canva, PicMonkey, and Snappa. These sites (and others) have recently updated their Terms of Service. Since many churches and organizations make use of free sites, it’s important you understand the changing rules. What I learned has some significant applications for how you and your church can legally use images.

However—if your church does something as seemingly innocent as selling a t-shirt for camp, or a cookbook as a fundraiser or selling anything else, you are now in the commercial category also. Sadly, there are some professional groups that love to go after churches if they feel their image rights are violated. For these reasons you need to be as careful as possible in your communication creations and in the media you use for them.

The Bottom Line

Double-check all the sites from which you get images. Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, and a number of others are safe and legal for both church and commercial usage.
EXCEPT (and this goes for ALL sites):
1. Don’t use recognizable FACES of people.
2. Don’t use recognizable famous landmarks or brands.
3. Why these images are included on the sites, I don’t know. In theory, you are supposed to get a model release. Just because it isn’t practical, doesn’t make it legal.
For PicMonkey–Don’t use any of their images–bring in your own. I’ve had a lengthy dialog with the company and even they admit Getty images (where they get their “free images”) crazy restrictive.
For Canva–for totally in church stuff you are probably (with the two exceptions above) OK. For any commercial work, including all I do–you can’t use their images OR TEMPLATES (so no use of one if you want to sell t-shirts). I still think it’s one of the greatest programs, and I’m preparing some new videos on it, but you have to obey their limitations.
Snappa.com is a wonderful program. Although they are far more limited in what they can do with templates, etc., they have the most clear image usage statement — making it possible to use their images without fear.

What to do to be creative and yet follow the rules:

Perspective on any situation always helps. I remember the days when any image was difficult to get and expensive. So, even with these challenges and restrictions, we still have thousands of free, useful images, so for any site (not using Canva and PicMonkey ones) what can we do to take advantage of the many free images, but respect the growing concerns about terms of service, here are some suggestions:

With people, you can use a back view of them or the many other poses where a face is not recognizable.
You can shoot your own photos if you must have people facing the camera and get a model release form signed. The cameras in phones today are amazing.
Simply don’t use trademarked images or questionable landmarks—there are plenty more options in that category. Generic outdoor or city images are available in the thousands.
As I’ve done in many of my instructional videos, you can use the little white cartoon people if you feel a person-like image is needed.
A site that charges for images like Presenter Media has cartoon and animated characters that work well for many instructional settings. There are many sites that charge for images, but even those may have restrictive rights, so read their terms carefully.
Never just grab images off the web; always read the Terms of Service carefully. Look for updated Terms; many have gotten more detailed than they were in the past.
Pray for wisdom and discernment.

Editor’s note: Yvon’s original post appeared at her very-helpful website, Effective Church Communications. If you are a communications director for your church, you should take the time to read the detailed, in-depth, full article about interacting with terms of service.

ALSO: Check out Pro Website Tips for New Church Webmasters.

Clergy, Laity Share Harrowing COVID-19 Stories

By

Sam Hodges

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June 11, 2020

laity — Chris Yuen (right) gets a bouquet of balloons during his hospital stay for the coronavirus. Yuen, a 32-year-old member of Midland Park United Methodist Church in New Jersey, spent about 20 days on a ventilator. Doctors and nurses lined the hall to cheer when he went home on April 22, after nearly a month’s hospitalization. Photo courtesy of Chris Yuen.

The Rev. Dunford Cole was too ill with the coronavirus to help with May 31 worship services at the two churches he leads in south Alabama.

But he preached anyway via Facebook from his hospital bed the next day.

Fighting for a full breath, choking back tears at times, the 45-year-old pastor of Campground and Rutledge United Methodist churches still managed to lay it on.

“Y’all, let me tell you,” he said in a video post viewed more than 41,000 times. “You take care of yourself out there. This thing has been hard, and it’s been bad. And it’s as bad as they claim it to be.”

Cole is doing much better and just got home from Crenshaw Community Hospital. His message is the same.

“Respect this virus,” he said.

Though some churches have reopened and many are taking steps to do so, the number of COVID-19 cases has risen to about 2 million in the U.S., with 20 states seeing an increase in new cases.

Clergy and Laity Affected by the Coronavirus

Also mounting are the harrowing stories of United Methodists, both clergy and laity, who have been directly affected by the virus.

There have been clergy deaths, including the Rev. Rafael Luna, 61, pastor of a Hispanic United Methodist congregation in Denver; the Rev. Sherrie Dobbs Johnson, 72, a retired Greater New Jersey Conference district superintendent and wife of retired Bishop Alfred Johnson; and the Rev. Zosimo Maputi, 67, pastor of Antipolo United Methodist Church in the Rizal Philippines Conference East.

The Rev. Norm Moyer, retired pastor in the Arkansas Conference, entered a hospital with the coronavirus on March 27 and died there on May 11, having been connected to a ventilator nearly all that time.

A history lover and accomplished storyteller, Moyer was 66. He and his wife, the Rev. Bonda Moyer—who also contracted the virus but quickly recovered—just missed celebrating their 41st anniversary.

The Rev. Norm Moyer (left) and the Rev. Bonda Moyer, retired United Methodist pastors in the Arkansas Conference. Norm Moyer died from COVID-19 on May 11. Photo courtesy of Bonda Moyer.

“Several people from different churches said that Norm always reached the underserved with love,” said Bonda Moyer, a retired district superintendent who met her husband at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology.

The full extent of COVID-19 clergy and retired clergy deaths is unclear because some conferences are withholding names or cause of death because of privacy concerns and policies.

That’s the case in the hard-hit New York Conference. Bishop Thomas Bickerton noted that the conference isn’t always definitively informed of a cause of death.

“We estimate around a half dozen pastors and spouses have died (from the virus), and an untold number of parishioners,” he said.

United Methodist laity deaths from the coronavirus include 53-year-old nursing home worker Alice Sarupinda, in Walsall, England, on April 17.

She was part of a Zimbabwean United Methodist congregation in England’s Midlands.

“We are coping through the support of our United Methodist members,” said husband Wellington Sarupinda of himself and three sons.

Alice Sarupinda (right) stands with her family for a graduation portrait. Sarupinda, a Zimbabwean and a United Methodist who lived in England, contracted the coronavirus while working at a nursing home in Walsall, England. She died April 17, at age 53. Photo courtesy of the Sarupinda family.

Recovery stories are, thankfully, far more common. Some are dramatic.

Chris Yuen, 32, spent 20 days on a hospital ventilator and was nonresponsive much of that time.

“A lot of people thought I wasn’t going to make it,” said Yuen, a member of Midland Park United Methodist Church in Midland Park, New Jersey.

Yuen rallied, and was able to leave a local hospital on April 22, after almost a month there.

“Several nurses and doctors lined up and gave me a cheer on the way out,” he said.

The Rev. Jennifer Stephens, associate pastor at Epiphany United Methodist Church in Loveland, Ohio, came down with the coronavirus in early April.

“I’ve been extremely healthy, so it’s shocking to me that the symptoms were as bad as they were,” the 47-year-old clergywoman said. “I’m an avid runner. I eat a plant-based diet.”

Stephens eventually tested positive for COVID-19 and was able to recover at home, thanks in part to house calls from a doctor and nurse in her congregation.

But she’s still dealing with extreme fatigue and daily headaches, and is concerned about long-term effects.

Matt Chandler: We Need to Mourn with Those Who Mourn

By

Jessica Lea

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June 11, 2020

In a sermon he gave on June 7, Pastor Matt Chandler of the Village Church preached from Ephesians 1:15-23 on the theme of growth, highlighting the importance of believers growing in their knowledge of and hope in God, as well as their experience of his power. Toward the end of his sermon, Chandler spent some time unpacking the phrase “his glorious inheritance in his holy people” in light of the current racial unrest in our country.

“Our inheritance and what we are being robbed of as believers in Jesus Christ right now, in this moment,” said Chandler, “is the unity of spirit between all ethnicities born of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Pastor Matt Chandler: We Have Given Up Our Inheritance

We know that through his blood, Jesus has purchased us a spiritual family from every “nation, tribe, people and language.” If, said Pastor Matt Chandler, you study the civil rights movement in the 60s, you will notice something interesting—namely that the church played a crucial role in that movement. In fact, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., established a pattern of meeting at churches, praying, and then marching.

Chandler said that when it comes to the present racial unrest in our country, “one of the things that has happened is the church by and large has refused to participate, which means that we have turned over, God help us, we have turned over what is our inheritance to dark ideologies.”

It is not fair or reasonable to say that we simply need to preach the gospel, instead of taking action against racism. Chandler called this mindset “so hypocritical” and pointed out that people do not live this way when it comes to other social ills. “You don’t just preach the gospel to sex trafficking,” he said. “You don’t just preach the gospel on the issue of life and abortion. No, you act.”

The pastor believes we have no business critiquing what is happening in our country when we have given up our inheritance of fighting injustice on behalf of the vulnerable. “You cannot point out all the flaws in this current movement when you have abandoned the place that we were meant to play,” said Chandler, adding that neither can people “ignore the sorrow and lament of 12 to 13 million image bearers in our country. You can’t do that! We mourn with those who mourn.”

The pastor did not downplay the problems that exist in some of the current movements, although he did not name any specifically. He said, “Yes, there are demonic and evil ideologies at play, but that’s where the people of God are meant to run with light and the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, not to sit back and snipe via social media.”

Chandler’s comments fit within his overall message of the importance of growing in our hope in God as Paul encourages us to do in Ephesians. Paul would not pray this for us if it were impossible, said the pastor. We must grow in hope that God can and will heal racism and the turmoil we see unfolding around us. In Ephesians 1:19, right after he mentions our “glorious inheritance,” Paul refers to God’s “incomparably great power for us who believe.” Some translations call God’s power “immeasurable.”

“Can we just talk about how powerful that is?” asked Chandler. As Paul goes on to explain, that power is so great that it raised Jesus from the dead. And it is this power that all followers of Jesus take with them into every area of their lives.

No matter how well we understand what God has given us, we can always internalize it even more. In verse 15, Paul says he has heard about the Ephesian believers’ faith in God and love for one another. That is a lot to be thankful for and you might think the apostle would be satisfied with it, said Chandler. But Paul’s response to hearing of the Ephesians’ faith and love is to want them to have even more of both. Said Chandler, “He wants them to grow in knowledge.”

“This growth in knowledge is both experiential and believing by faith,” said the pastor, emphasizing that we need to believe in God when we don’t feel like it and to yearn for an experience of God, as Moses did when he asked God to reveal to his glory. “Don’t either/or when you should both/and,” he said.

Chandler believes the Western church has a tendency to overly focus on believing the gospel to the neglect of experiencing God and that “this is why so many Christians are bored.” No matter where we are in our spiritual journeys, we can always seek a deeper knowledge of God that will lead to greater unity in the church and love for our neighbors.

“The triune God of the universe is an inexhaustible well,” said Pastor Matt Chandler. “There’s more for you right now.”

4 Pastors Discuss: The Role of a Black Father

By

Maina Mwaura

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June 11, 2020

On a normal day, if you invite four pastors to a gathering, you better get ready to hear them talk. However, on this day, the mood is a little different as Rodney Mason, Demarcus Preyer, Reggie Fields and Rodney Pierre gather in the room to discuss the challenges of being a black father in today’s world.

All four guys are clear that they love the role of being a father. According to Reggie Fields, “When I found out that I was going to be a father, it was pure joy that God was going to entrust me to be a father.” Fields is the father of two young adult girls. All four men acknowledge that navigating their roles as fathers to black children is accompanied with certain pressures in today’s world.

Being a Black Father Is Different

When asked what they believe the difference is in raising black children compared to that of other races, the men are clear that there is a difference. “It’s totally different, because you feel like you’re a fish in a glass bowl in today’s world,” according to Demarcus, who is the father of two boys. “I’ve had to teach my girls how to navigate in this world differently than their counterparts,” says Fields. When pressed, the men are clear that fathering black children in today’s climate is tough, but that they’re up to the task of rearing their children to know that God has a plan for their lives despite the obstacles that they may face. “There are limitations that they have, that others just don’t have,” insists Pierre.

Many African- American families are familiar with the term having to have “the talk”, which refers to having to have the dreaded, but necessary conversation with your child about how to handle dealing with law enforcement. All these dads have respect for law enforcement, but also know the reality in which they live. These four fathers have been moved by what they have seen on the news when it comes to stories like George Floyd’s. When questioned in reference to how they are navigating the issue of Floyd’s untimely death with their children, Pierre is clear that the George Floyd incident has helped him instill in his children “What battles they’re going to have to fight.”

For all four fathers, they had one common theme when it comes to the future, and that is that they all have hope that things will get better. Each one of the fathers are clear in expressing that the hope they are longing for can only come from the power of God. “I want my children to realize the power and hope that can only come from God,” Pierre concludes.

Hypocrisy Is Christianity’s Greatest Scandal: Also Its Greatest Validation?

By

Scott Sauls

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June 11, 2020

Having been a Christian for thirty-four years and a minister for twenty-four, I have been told countless times by non-believing people that they would never consider becoming Christians because of the hypocrisy of all the Christians they know who are hypocrites.

“So many Christians,” the argument goes, “talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk.” As Huffington Post contributor Francis Maxwell has said, “Ahhh, Christianity in America. Or should I say, the single greatest cause of atheism today. . . . The type of people who acknowledge Jesus with their words, and deny him through their lifestyle.”

The legitimacy of such concerns notwithstanding, what Francis Maxwell and many of my friends don’t realize, and what I try to explain to them when given an opportunity, is that this very fact—that every single Christian is a hypocrite—is the whole basis for our Christian faith.

As the Bible insists, Christ did not come into the world to affirm and accept the good people, but rather to rescue and receive the people who are not good. Being a religion of grace, Christianity doesn’t have much to say to people, whether religious or secular, who build their lives and identities upon the idea of being good and virtuous.

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” the apostle Paul wrote, “of whom I am the worst” (1 Tim. 1:15).

“None is righteous, no, not one . . . no one does good, not even one” (Rom. 3:10–12).

When asked, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus replied, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:30–32).

To say that Christians are hypocrites, that we fall short of the mark, that we don’t keep the standard, is actually to affirm the chief tenet of our faith. It is to validate the very claim of Christ—that he came for sin-sick sinners who recognize that, apart from his rescue, they would hopelessly perish.

While it is fair to call out Christians for hypocrisy, the hypocrisy in no way negates Christianity, but rather establishes it. In the same way that it would make zero sense to call Beethoven a substandard composer because a six-year-old plays a Beethoven piece sloppily and out of tune at a piano recital, it makes zero sense to call Jesus a substandard Savior because his followers imitate him poorly.

I once heard Steve Brown, a pastor and radio personality from Florida, say that if we pastors were required to live without hypocrisy in every area about which we presumed to speak, we would have nothing left to preach. The same applies to every Christian, and every other human, also. All honest people, whether religious or secular or otherwise, will be able to identify with the pronouncement that we are all, on some level, hypocrites. We all live inconsistently with the beliefs we profess.

The late Francis Schaeffer, a well-known pastor, philosopher, and author, said that if we were all forced to carry a voice recorder around our necks that captured every conversation we’ve ever had and our conversations were made available for the rest of the world to hear, we would all go into hiding for the rest of our lives. Said differently, we all know deep down that we are hypocrites. “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Rom 7:15).

This is certainly true of me. Is it true of you?

As the life stories of Zacchaeus, King David, and others in the Bible suggest, there is a significant and irreconcilable difference between “do-good religion” and Christianity. Whereas religion says, “If you do good, there will be a reward waiting for you at the finish line, and if you do bad, there will be punishment,” Christianity says, “No one does good. But all is well nonetheless, because Jesus did not come for the righteous, but for sinners. He did not come for the good people who feel no need for him, but for humble people who know that without him, they are sunk. For those humble people, the reward is not given at the finish line, but rather at the starting line.”

Whereas religion presumes to work for the favor of God, life in Christ works from a favor that’s already been given by God freely in Christ.

Perhaps this is why the poor-in-spirit tax collectors and sinners, much more so than the proud-in-spirit religious moralists, respond so swiftly and decisively when Jesus invites them to deny themselves, take up their crosses, and follow him. For he, and he alone, has the words of life (John 6:68). He, and he alone, can give a good name to bad men and women—and is therefore our ultimate source and power for the gentle answer.

This article originally appeared here.

Made Right by Christ, NOT Your Church’s Reopening Plan

By

Eric Geiger

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June 11, 2020

What does drinking have to do with re-opening the church? Since this is already a divisive conversation, I will just go ahead and make it a bit more divisive with this real-life illustration.

When I first became a pastor, it was common in some church ministry circles to hear conversations against the use (any use) of alcohol. Not drinking was a sign, for some leaders, of spiritual maturity. It proved their holiness. Years later, it became common in some ministry circles to hear conversations for drinking alcohol. Drinking was a sign, for some leaders, of spiritual maturity. It proved their freedom.

In both cases, one’s handling of alcohol became the litmus test of one’s spiritual maturity. If you were really holy, you did not drink. Or if you were really free, you did drink. Both views were placing Christian identity in the wrong source. Christ, not what we drink or don’t drink, is our holiness and our freedom. When we replace Christ with something else, we become legalists – attempting to prove our holiness or our freedom or our right standing with God with something other than Christ. Not drinking or drinking, for some, also became a source of greater unity with others than Christ Himself. People stood more closely with those who had the same view. When we take something other than Christ and make it the source of our identity, it also becomes the source of our unity.

And now here we are talking about when church gatherings should resume, and the timing of when church gatherings should resume is becoming more and more a divisive conversation.

The moment feels really similar, as if we have been here before. Only this time the posturing and conversations are not developing over the course of a few years, they are happening in the course of a few weeks. And this time is not alcohol proving one’s holiness or freedom, it is opening a church’s gatherings to prove one’s belief in religious liberty or delaying opening to prove one’s concern for neighbor. It is opening church gatherings to show “we are bold” or not opening to “show that we are wise.” Most egregious are the hints that one choice is what love for God and love for others really looks like, as if the other choice is somehow less Christian. In other words – “those not handling the situation as we are handling the situation must not love Jesus as much as we do. Pray for them.”

How tragic it will be if we send the signal to our kids, to our churches, and to our neighbors that our re-opening plans is what makes us right with God. Our work. Our wisdom. Our ideas. What a foolish way to up-end the message of the Christian faith and put ourselves and our work at the center instead of the finished work of Jesus. How tragic it will be if we build unity based on re-opening plans instead of on Christ.

Leaders, as you make decisions as the Lord leads you and your team, please be cautious that you don’t use your plans as the ultimate source of unity or as what proves how much you love God. Please be cautious to not demonize another viewpoint, even in subtle ways. By God’s grace, perhaps we can work to not allow this extremely challenging and unprecedented decision to become a point of divisiveness among God’s people. We are seeing divisiveness on the rise in our country, and the Church must offer a beautiful alternative. As my friend Ed Stetzer has said: A divided world needs a united Church.

This article about being made right by Christ originally appeared here.

Get to Know Generation Alpha

By

Dale Hudson

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June 11, 2020

Move over Gen Z, the next generation after you has arrived. They are called Generation Alpha. At the time of this writing, they represent kids born between 2010 up to 2025. Presently there are 9,000 Gen Alpha babies born every day. The oldest are 9 years old and the youngest have yet to be born.

They are the first generation entirely born within the 21st century.

Gen Alpha is growing up in a variety of living arrangements. A large percentage of Alphas are spending at least part of their early formative years in living arrangements that do not include both of their biological parents. It is higher than any generation observed in the previous century,” said Elwood Carlson, a demographer and professor of sociology at Florida State University. “When you look at a child in this generation, you never know what kind of family life they have experienced.”

This generation of children will be shaped in households that move more frequently, change careers more often and increasingly live in urban, not just suburban, environments. -Mark McCrindle, social researcher

Mark goes on to say, “Generation Alpha will be the most formally educated generation ever, the most technology-supplied generation ever, and globally the wealthiest generation ever.” He goes on to note that more than 2.5 million Alphas are born every week around the world and by 2025 they are estimated to number two billion.

By 2025, Generation Alpha will number 2 billion globally. It will be the wealthiest, most educated, and technologically literate in history.” – Robert Hannah, Chief Operating Officer at Grant Thornton U.K.

Generation Alpha is the first generation to spend their entire life immersed in technology. They are being shaped by their experiences with Artificial Intelligence. Some AI devices and toys are already specifically aimed at Generation Alpha. A couple examples are Hello Barbie and Hatchimals.

These advancements mean that technology for Generation Alpha is not something separate from themselves, but rather, an extension of their own consciousness and identity. Natalie Franke, head of community at the business management platform HoneyBook

They hold in their hands the power to persuade their parents into making purchases for them. When it comes to spending and making buying choices, they are the decision makers or at the least a powerful influencer with their parents. It has been reported children under 12 and teens influence parental purchases totaling between $130 to 670 billion a year. 81% of millennial parents say their children influence what they spend their money on.

The most popular boys’ names for Alphas are Oliver, William, Jack, Noah and Jackson. The most popular girls names are Charlotte, Olivia, Ava, Emily and Mia.

Who is already influencing Gen Alpha?

A big influence is their favorite Instagram or YouTube star. 55% say they would purchase a product if they saw their favorite Instagram or YouTube star wearing it.

We’ve heard how much data younger generations consume on mobile devices. But an interesting stat is that televisions are still the most common way for kids ages 6 to 12 watch their favorite shows. And as televisions continue to get “smarter” and more interactive – large screen televisions are as relevant as they have ever been. The TV in the living room (and kitchen, den and bedroom) is as much a family entertainment platform as ever.

4-in-5 kids watch content on TV every day. 69% watch tv programming several times a day. And influncers know this. An example is eight-year-old Ryan Kaji who has made the leap from YouTube to television. His millions of Ryan’s World subscribers, billions of views, and supposed $26-million pre-tax income in 2019 led right back to kids TV – more specifically, a show on Nick Jr.

What about Alpha kids and their smartphones? 53% of Alpha kids have their own smartphone by the age of 11. Gaming is the number-one smartphone activity, followed by watching videos and texting.

They expect on demand. They are being wired to have access to all content anywhere and at any time. They expect instant gratification.

Alpha kids prefer communication via images and voice control over typing and texting. Typing is out for them – talking is in. Typing is being replaced by voice-activated devices. Smart devices are becoming part of family life. Using devices like the Amazon Dot is growing daily. 39% of Alpha kids use this type of device every week. They are growing up with the familiar voice of Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant in their home.

They are diverse. “This newest American generation displays unprecedented diversity in almost every dimension one can examine – ethnicity, nativity, income, family arrangements” says Elwood Carlson, demographer and professor of sociology.

Stay tuned for more information and insight about Gen Alpha. It is important to be aware of the unique characteristics of this new generation. As I have said many times, we are missionaries to today’s kids. If we are going to reach them we need to understand them and how they are being shaped by the world they live in.

This article originally appeared here.

Approaching Difficult Conversations & Conflict

By

Charles Lee

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June 10, 2020

It’s never easy, but nonetheless, it’s an essential part of leadership.

The growth and health of a an organization or business is often dependent on the leadership’s ability to engage difficult conversations during times of tension or conflict. Avoiding or ignoring these opportunities (yes, opportunities) for maturity has led to the unnecessary demise of many endeavors. Here are some insights/lessons I’ve learned over the years in dealing with conflict that I hope you find helpful:

Meet in person.
- Whenever possible, choose the more uncomfortable and inconvenient option of meeting in person. Other forms of communication like email, text messages, social media replies, and phone calls rarely produce good results. Also, meeting in person puts flesh to the conflict. In other words, we can’t hide behind technology and/or our insecurities when we’re face to face with another human being.
Listen well.
- There’s a difference between listening well and just waiting so you can throw out your next argument. No matter how difficult it is in the heat of the moment, try to listen for what the person is really trying to say. Consider the underlying presuppositions and try to follow what led the person to think the way they currently do. Are they being reasonable? Could they actually be accurate in some of their views, especially given their scope of experience?
Be clear.
- The goal of these kinds of engagements should not to be “right”. Rather, it should be the clarification of each person ended up with their conclusions. More often than not, it’s misunderstanding that fuels the tension. Ask questions that clarify the situation. If the goal isn’t to “win” the argument, approaching these moments take on a totally different posture.
Stay honest.
- No one’s perfect. It is quite possible that each person involved in the conflict as a skewed perspective of the situation. Be upfront and publicly recognize that. Work towards the truth (if possible) and don’t hide behind egos and insecurities. The goal should be to learn and grow from the conflict in order to move forward in a healthy way as a company, organization, or individual.
Think action.
- As you work through the conflict, take notes on what can be implemented into your personal life as well as the life of the organization that will curb future tension. Share some of these thoughts as you process. Taking the posture of a learner is healthy and will benefit many more people along the way.
Have a neutral party there.
- In some situations, it might be wise to have a neutral party there to witness and even moderate the conversation. This person is not there to be a judge, but rather, a person who can work the conversation towards a solution.

Conflict can become a great catalyst for growth if we choose to approach it with humility and wisdom. What are some of the ways you have learned to approach difficult conversations and conflict?

Chris Hodges Being ‘Canceled’ for Social Media Activity

By

Stephanie Martin

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June 10, 2020

Chris Hodges — Screengrab Youtube @WVTM 13 News

In what may serve as a warning for pastors using social media, the leader of Alabama’s largest church is apologizing for liking some controversial posts, and the church is dealing with major backlash. Chris Hodges, founder and senior pastor of Church of the Highlands, with 20 campuses and 60,000 members, is expressing regret for clicking “like” on posts by Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, a conservative speaker who calls white privilege and systemic racism myths.

Since being called out for the online activity, Hodges has made numerous apologies. Meanwhile, a local school board and public housing authority have cut ties with the megachurch.

The Posts in Question Involve Race

Pastor Hodges, an author and member of Evangelicals for Trump, had previously expressed a desire to quit social media because of its “distractions.” Yet he was active recently, reportedly liking at least three posts by Kirk: One contrasts photos of President Trump standing with Rosa Parks and Muhammed Ali in the 1980s to Virginia’s Democratic governor, Ralph Northam, appearing with men wearing blackface and a KKK outfit. A second features President Obama golfing and a quote from his wife, Michelle, about leaving the house only for essential activities. A third post Hodges liked shows a photo of Kirk donating blood, with a caption about defeating the “Chinese Virus.”

Kirk says he’s “deeply saddened” at “being slandered by the mob for stating mainstream pieces of widely cited data and public information.” He calls Pastor Hodges “a gifted ambassador for Christ” who liked the posts “on his own” and shouldn’t have to apologize when “irrefutable facts” are involved. According to Fox News, Kirk had been scheduled to speak to the Church of the Highlands’ youth group.

A high school English teacher in Birmingham who called attention to Hodges’ social media likes says she isn’t “judging” but finds the posts culturally insensitive. “I can’t see into Pastor Chris Hodges’ heart,” says educator Jasmine Faith Clisby. “I’m not saying he’s a racist.”

Chris Hodges Apologizes, Links Racism to the Devil

During a prayer service on Saturday, Hodges addressed the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, which has sparked protests throughout America and the world. “Racism, bigotry, prejudice exists,” he said. “It’s real, and it’s of the devil. White supremacy or any supremacy other than Christ is of the devil.”

In a sermon the next day, Hodges apologized for how his social media activity made people feel and insisted it doesn’t reflect his views or the church. “Some saw something on social media that questioned my character, and I’ll own it…but that is not what I believe, and it is not what I teach,” he said. “I would love for you to not just look at a microscopic zoom-in but look at the totality of 37 years of ministry and 19 years as a church,” the pastor added. “It will be abundantly clear that we value every person. For every person that has been marginalized, rejected or belittled, abused or even afraid because of how God made you, [we] stand with you.”

On Tuesday, Hodges addressed the issue again, in a letter to congregants. “I can tell you those social media posts that I ‘liked’ do not reflect, in any way, my true feelings or beliefs,” he writes. “I now realize they were hurtful and divisive, and I sincerely apologize…. Please know that I have learned, and will continue to learn, so much from this.” The pastor adds that he’s become aware of “unconscious bias and privilege” and that the church is planning forums “to listen, learn, and be a part of the solution.”

Controversy Costs Church Local Partnerships

In response to the flap, Birmingham’s education board voted to terminate leases with Church of the Highlands, which held worship services at two local high schools. The church pays about $288,000 yearly to rent space in the buildings.

Also this week, the Birmingham Housing Authority voted to disallow the church’s volunteers to work in public housing communities. The church’s Christ Health Center in Woodlawn made headlines in March for offering mass drive-thru testing for COVID-19. The church also offered free mentoring and support groups to public-housing residents. Although Church of the Highlands didn’t receive payment for services, it was permitted to have volunteers onsite.

J.D. Greear: The Gospel Is Clear That Black Lives Matter

By

Jessica Lea

-

June 10, 2020

Because the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) annual meeting was canceled this year due to COVID-19, SBC president J.D. Greear gave his presidential address live on Facebook Tuesday. In his speech, Greear explained that during the rest of his presidency (however long that is) he will lead the SBC in putting the gospel first in its response to several challenges—including political division, sexual abuse and racism.

“We need to say it clearly as a gospel issue: black lives matter,” said Greear, who wants to address the lack of diversity within the leadership of the SBC. “We realize that especially in a moment like this one, we need our brothers and sisters of color. We need the wisdom and leadership that God has written into their community.”

SBC President: How We Will Put the Gospel First

“I thought it was important to share with you some updates on where God has taken us over the course of the last couple years and where we believe that he is taking us in the days to come,” said Greear as he began. Greear is the pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina, and has served two one-year terms as the president of the Southern Baptist Convention. This is the maximum he is allowed to serve, but Greear is still in office because the convention has been unable to meet to vote on a new president.

The pastor opened by emphasizing the need to make the gospel of “first importance,” as Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 15:3. While people generally have no problem agreeing about the need to be “gospel-centered,” they disagree about exactly what that means. So Greear wanted to be “absolutely clear” about how the SBC will pursue the gospel during the rest of his tenure.

One of the primary issues currently “in front of” the SBC is how leaders are going to deal with sexual abuse within their congregations. The denomination has been dealing with the fallout of an exposé the Houston Chronicle ran in February 2019, which found systemic misconduct within SBC leadership, resulting in 700 sexual abuse victims over the past 20 years. Since then, the SBC has been making efforts to correct the failures within its system, efforts which have also been met with criticism along the way.

The denomination has “been shown some ugly realities” in the past two years, said Greear. Many church policies were not written or enforced in a way that protected people. This failure is a gospel issue, said the pastor, because “our gospel is that our God is a shelter, a shelter to all who seek refuge in him.” The SBC has already adopted many changes, including modifying its constitution and bylaws and improving its accountability mechanisms. But as he finishes out his time as SBC president, Greear said he will work on additional improvements, including implementing a reporting system about individual church policies, adding comprehensive background checks, and challenging churches to make training part of the ordination process.

When it comes to race, Greear sees the lack of diversity within SBC leadership as a serious problem. He reviewed the origins of the SBC, noting the denomination originally split off from the Baptist church because leaders believed that slave-owners should be allowed to be missionaries. The pastor called these origins “sinful and abhorrent,” but said the denomination had since repented and God had shown grace by allowing the SBC to become one of the most ethnically diverse religious groups in the U.S. Because SBC leadership does not reflect that diversity, however, Greear said he and his vice presidents will work to improve that problem in future appointments. The SBC president also affirmed the importance of saying “black lives matter” and discouraged the use of the phrase “all lives matter.”

“Of course, black lives matter. Our black brothers and sisters are made in the image of God,” he said. “Black lives matter because Jesus died for them. Black lives are a beautiful part of God’s creation and they make up an essential and beautiful part of his body. We would be poorer as a people without them and other minorities in our midst.”

Greear explained that saying “all lives matter” misses the point. He compared it to being at a restaurant with a group of friends. What if the waiter brought out everyone’s food except for your friend Bob’s? You respond by telling the waiter that Bob deserves food. If someone else were to correct you, telling you that you all deserve food, that would be true, but would be missing the point: Bob is the one who is missing his food.

Greear noted that he cannot support the Black Lives Matter movement since some of their views are “deeply at odds” with his. He also does not support any movement to defund the police, although he does believe our systems need to be reformed.

But we must respond well by listening to the experiences of our black friends and empathizing with them. In fact, the gospel will be diminished if we react poorly. “We know that reaching people, our witness, depends on how we respond in moments like this,” said Greear. A black pastor of The Summit Church told him that when white Christians respond badly (with no empathy or charity), it makes it harder for him to share the gospel with his black friends.

Brenda Salter McNeil: We Are in an Esther Moment Right Now

By

Jason Daye

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June 10, 2020

Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil is a speaker, author, professor and thought leader with over 30 years of experience in the ministry of reconciliation. She earned a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary and a Doctorate of Ministry from Palmer Theological Seminary. Brenda is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church and serves on the pastoral staff at Quest Church in Seattle, Washington. She is also an associate professor at Seattle Pacific University where she directs the Reconciliation Studies program. She has written a number of books, including her latest, entitled Becoming Brave: Finding the Courage to Pursue Racial Justice Now. Brenda and her husband, Dr. J. Derek McNeil, are the proud parents of two young adult children.

Key Questions for Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil

-What does it look like to lead racial reconciliation on “white dominant culture’s terms” and why you are shifting away from that?

-How do we respond to people in the church who treat reconciliation efforts as politically motivated instead of as a biblical response?

-What can learn about social activism from Esther?

-How can we truly lament what is happening in our culture, and why is it important for us to do so?

Key Quotes from Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil

“I thought that if I would just talk from the Bible, I would convince Christian leaders…that they would hear me having a rigorous theological, compelling call to the church that would rally us, that would really, literally cause us to kind of go, ‘This is the call of God on us!’”

“I’ve decided that I will no longer be that person who comes and makes everybody feel better because we had a black woman speaker. That’s not the day that we’re living in. We need something that will rally the church to be the church.”

“What I saw Christians [during the 2016 election] do to justify hypocrisy, adultery, lies, immorality was confusing and painful to me…it literally devastated me. And for anybody who thinks that this was about a candidate who won, it wasn’t. It was about the message that won.”

“You can’t say you love people and not care about the policies that impact those people.”

“We have to tell the truth, just plain tell the truth.”

“I can’t imagine showing up at a government building with an assault rifle, or anyone I know, and coming out of that alive, and that’s just the truth. And the church has got to look at that and know that there is a difference between a person of color with a gun in their hand and a white person with a gun in their hand.”

“Many of us need to hear the gospel fresh and hear the whole thing.”

“We need diversity because every one of us has a worldview, and when we read Scripture, that lens informs how we see the narrative.”

“Mordecai tells [Esther], ‘Don’t let anybody know you’re a Jew.’ As a black a woman, I hear the ethnic implications of that.”

“It’s easy to be tempted not to cry out about these things…but that’s when we really have to summon the courage.”

“I think [Esther] is our prototype for what to do next, and the first thing she does is call a prayer meeting.”

“Reconciliation is repairing broken systems together.”

“I believe that leaders are going to be the key to the change that we’re looking for, and I believe that the generations coming behind us are looking to us to lead.”

“Brothers and sisters who are listening to this interview, you are at the tip of the spear. Sharpen the tip of the spear. Work to duplicate yourself and other leaders, knowing that God will multiply our impact.”

Mentioned in the Show by Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil

Becoming Brave: Finding the Courage to Pursue Racial Justice Now by Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil
The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change by Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil and Rick Richardson
Rediscipling the White Church: From Cheap Diversity to True Solidarity by David Swanson
Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0: Moving Communities into Unity, Wholeness and Justice by Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil

Check out Brenda’s website

Follow Brenda on Facebook and Twitter

Other Ways to Listen to this Podcast:

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► Listen on YouTube

Is Checking Your Horoscope Innocent Fun? Billy Graham Says “No”

By

Frank Powell

-

June 10, 2020

Should Christians read horoscopes? Evangelist Billy Graham says, “No.”

In a recent column for the Kansas City Star, Graham explained that while God created the stars, “he intended them to be a witness to his power and glory, not as a means to guide us or foretell the future.”

Predicting the future isn’t a new practice. In the ancient world, people tried to discern future events in many different ways, including sorcery, magic and communing with the dead. But God warns against such practices, referencing Deuteronomy 18:9-13.

Verses 10 and 11 say this:

“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.”

Why does God forbid these practices? The 97-year-old evangelist gives two reasons. They’re unreliable, and they “can easily bring someone under the control of occult spiritual powers that are hostile to God.”

Graham uses King Saul in 1 Samuel 28-31 as an example, a cautionary tale, so to speak. In this story, Saul tries to uncover the outcome of future events by consulting the spirit of a dead person. The end result was suicide.

Rather than consulting horoscopes and other means to determine future events, Graham urges us to trust God. “Even when the future is unclear, he can be trusted to guide us” because “his divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3).

Online Small Group Discussion Template

By

Andrew Mason

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June 10, 2020

An online small group meeting is a different experience compared to a face-to-face small group meeting. Thanks to technology innovations, people can still meet despite limitations with time and space, but it should not be approached exactly the same as an in-person group meeting. While many aspects of facilitating a small group will be transferable to the online interface, I would recommend tweaking the format from a traditional small group discussion.

An online small group, via a video conference call, requires a person to be static in front of a screen. This is less dynamic than walking through a front door, walking to a kitchen for snacks, sitting down for discussion, standing up for worship or prayer, etc. As a result, I believe it’s wise to plan for half the meeting time. Instead of a 90 minute to 2 hour in-person group, build towards a 45 – 60 minute online small group meeting. This will help to eliminate screen fatigue, low energy and wandering minds.

To help with this, I would recommend a process I’ve developed for our online groups at my church that I refer to as The S.O.I.L. Process. Jesus tells us the Word of God is like a seed (Mark 4:14) and I believe this S.O.I.L. Process can help us to cultivate ideal conditions for God’s truth to be implanted and internalized through an online small group meeting. Currently at my church, we use this template to develop a weekly Sermon Small Group Discussion Guide that complements our Pastor’s weekend message.
Here is an overview and breakdown of the Online Small Group Agenda…

Intro – Greet, Ice Breaker, Open in Prayer	5-7 min
S – Scripture	2-3 min
O – Observation Question	6-8 min
I – Interpretation Question	6-8 min
L – Life Application Question	6-8 min
Close in Prayer	10-15 min

Intro
This is the beginning of the group meeting where you are waiting for everyone to log on. As each person joins the video conference they are greeted and welcome. If anyone is new, introductions can be made. Small talk can happen until the meeting is kicked off with an ice breaker question or activity and then a brief prayer by an individual can be made to invite the Lord into the meeting and conversation.

S- Scripture
This can be as simple as reading scripture verses out loud and sharing 1-3 sentences of comments about the passage. It can be longer a segment if there is a video that is watched with the group together online.

O – Observation Question
This is a question that guides the group participant to examine the passage and identify key elements that seem to stand out to them. Through small group discussion, this will help to develop an overview of the text, allow significant patterns to emerge and prepare the participants for the next segment.

Here are a few sample Observation Questions…

What stands out to you as you read this passage?
What comes to your mind when hear the metaphor used in this verse?
What do you notice about this individual’s response in this situation?

I – Interpretation Question
This is a question that leads the group to begin to discern the biblical truth and meaning of the scripture. This allows for people to discover positive benefits to heeding a command or negative consequences to ignoring it. The right interpretation question can encourage the main theme of a passage to rise to the surface in plain view of the learner.

Here are a few sample Interpretation Questions…

What insight can be gained into the topic of this passage?
What are the benefits to obeying the instructions given here?
What can be the consequences of neglecting what is marked out here?
Why does God say we need to…?

L – Life Application Question
The focus of the small group discussion now shifts to each individuals’ life. Here, we want people to attach the message of God’s Word to their daily walk. We want them to hear from the Spirit of God about adjustments, eliminations and additions that need to be made in their personal decisions. This type of question cultivates obedience and transformation.

Here are a few sample Life Application Questions…

What is the Holy Spirit speaking to you personally as we’re discussing this?
Is there an area of your life this speaks to where you need to make an adjustment? If yes, please share.
What are the obstacles you need to move and/or overcome to apply this to your life this week?

Close in Prayer
Throughout the small group discussion someone may have indirectly shared a prayer request. It’s good to take note of these and ask if they can be prayed for at this time. You also want to ask everyone if they have a prayer request the group can lift up in prayer. It’s also important to pray for the biblical content that was discussed to become a shaping influence in everyone’s life.

This condensed online format will allow you to continue to use many of the small group skills that are necessary for a face-to-face meeting (facilitating conversation, navigating personalities, listening, speaking life, etc). Depending on the passage and/or topic, small group discussion questions can be customized and strategically developed for each session. In conclusion, I believe this relational and Bible-centered format can create a quality experience that will leave people wanting more, instead of more people wanting to leave.

This article about a small group discussion template originally appeared here.

Ten Great Books on Worship You Should Read

By

Kenny Lamm

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June 10, 2020

Worship leaders must continually stay fresh in our work. One great way is to read books on worship. I have compiled a two-part list of some of the best books on worship for you to read. The first ten books on worship are considered by many to be the best place to start. Only one title per author made this list; you may find additional books on worship by that author in the remaining list coming soon.

I encourage you to take some time every week or every day to broaden your understanding of worship by reading books on worship. It will yield great results in your ministry. Worship Matters, by Bob Kauflin is a great place to start.

Click on any book title or cover image to be taken to a page to learn more and purchase the book.

10 GREAT BOOKS ON WORSHIP IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

ANCIENT-FUTURE WORSHIP: PROCLAIMING AND ENACTING GOD’S NARRATIVE, ROBERT E. WEBBER

God has a story. Worship does God’s story.

There is a crisis of worship today. The problem goes beyond matters of style–it is a crisis of content and of form. Worship in churches today is too often dead and dry, or busy and self-involved. Robert Webber attributes these problems to a loss of vision of God and of God’s narrative in past, present, and future history. As he examines worship practices of Old Testament Israel and the early church, Webber uncovers ancient principles and practices that can reinvigorate our worship today and into the future.

The final volume in Webber’s acclaimed Ancient-Future series, Ancient-Future Worship is the culmination of a lifetime of study and reflection on Christian worship. Here is an urgent call to recover a vigorous, God-glorifying, transformative worship through the enactment and proclamation of God’s glorious story. The road to the future, argues Webber, runs through the past.

ENGAGING WITH GOD: A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF WORSHIP. DAVE PETERSON

Worship is of immense concern in the church and ironically the source of controversy and dispute. Can we get behind the question of what style of worship we should engage in to understand the bedrock foundation for God’s people–honoring him as he desires? Is the dissatisfaction with worship voiced by so many perhaps a result of our having wandered from biblical teaching on the subject? Through careful exegesis in both Old and New Testaments, David Peterson unveils the total life-orientation of worship that is found in Scripture. Rather than determining for ourselves how we should worship, we, his people, are called to engage with God on the terms he proposes and in the way he alone makes possible. This book calls for a radical rethinking of the meaning and practice of worship, especially by those responsible for leading congregations. Here is the starting place for recovering the richness of biblical worship.

THE HEART OF THE ARTIST: A CHARACTER-BUILDING GUIDE FOR YOU AND YOUR MINISTRY TEAM. RORY NOLAND

The church can be so enthusiastic for the product an artist or musician produces that issues of character and commitment are often glossed over. This book faces those concerns head on. Looking at the particular gifts and challenges that artists bring to the spiritual life, Noland uses his experiences of discipling artists to explore issues such as servanthood versus stardom, teamwork versus lone-ranger Christianity, and excellence versus perfectionism. This is the only book written especially to help artists and those who work with artists take seriously God’s call to character growth in their Christian lives.

TO KNOW YOU MORE: CULTIVATING THE HEART OF THE WORSHIP LEADER. ANDY PARK

Andy Park writes, “I’ve learned through the years that becoming a worship leader involves far more than developing a set of skills–it’s all about developing a life in God.” Here’s your opportunity to sit at the feet of one who has for twenty-five years led contemporary worship services in the United States and Canada. In Park’s book you’ll get an inside look at how this worship leader has learned to follow the leading of the Spirit as he brings others into God’s presence. And you’ll find practical advice, experienced counsel and inspiring ideas on a variety of issues like songwriting, pulling together a team, staying humble, planning the flow of worship, what to do in times of dryness, working with the pastor and much more! Above all, Park will help you discover what it means for you as a worship leader to be first and foremost a worshiper.

THE PURPOSE OF MAN: DESIGNED TO WORSHIP. A. W. TOZER

A.W. Tozer earned a legendary reputation as a prophetic voice, and he continues to be a bestselling author half a century after his death. A preacher at heart, he found his greatest joy in practicing the presence of God.Worship was his focus and his passion. His sermons were such a strong declaration of what he discovered during private prayer and worship of the triune God that he had both the ability and the Spirit’s anointing to move his listeners to wrestle with what God was saying to the Church. His writings carry the same message with the same result to a new generation of worshipers. The Purpose of Man is the perfect introduction to Tozer. Drawn from messages he called his best teaching, this book will also delight those already familiar with, moved by and changed by his other classics. What Tozer offers on the subject of worship here in The Purpose of Man will challenge you to reconsider your life’s priorities while at the same time hold out a cup of Living Water for your soul.

UNCEASING WORSHIP: BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES ON WORSHIP AND THE ARTS. HAROLD BEST

We are not created to worship. Nor are we created for worship. We are created worshiping. Too often Christians have only thought of worship in terms of particular musical styles or liturgical formats. But a proper view of worship is far larger than what takes place in churches on Sunday mornings. Worship is not limited to specific times, places or activities. God is by his very nature continuously outpouring himself. Because we are created in his image, we too are continually pouring ourselves in various directions, whether toward God or toward false gods. All of us, Christian or not, are always worshiping, whether or not that worship is directed toward God. We are unceasing worshipers. The fruition of a lifetime of study, reflection and experience, this volume sets forth Harold M. Best’s understanding of worship and the arts. Widely respected as one of the foremost thinkers and practitioners in his field, Best explores the full scope of worship as continuous outpouring in all settings and contexts. With careful exposition and eloquent analysis, Best casts a holistic vision for worship that transcends narrow discussions of musical style or congregational preference. On this broader canvas, Best addresses popular misunderstandings about the use of music and offers correctives toward a more biblically consistent practice of artistic action. Incisive, biblical, profound and comprehensive, Best’s landmark volume is one by which all other statements on worship and the arts will be measured.

THE WORSHIP ARCHITECT: A BLUEPRINT FOR DESIGNING CULTURALLY RELEVANT AND BIBLICALLY FAITHFUL SERVICES. CONSTANCE CHERRY

There are many books on worship today, but few provide a comprehensive, practical method for worship design. Constance M. Cherry, a worship professor and practitioner, provides worship leaders with credible blueprint plans for successfully designing worship services that foster meaningful conversation with God and the gathered community. Readers will learn how to create services that are faithful to Scripture, historically conscious, relevant to God, Christ-centered, and engaging for worshipers of all ages in the twenty-first century. The book sets forth basic principles concerning worship design and demonstrates how these principles are conducive to virtually any style of worship practiced today in a myriad of Christian communities. It will also work well as a guide for worship-planning teams in local churches and provide insight for worship students, pastors, and church leaders involved in congregational worship.

WORSHIP LEADERS, WE ARE NOT ROCK STARS, STEPHEN MILLER

Why do you lead worship? Often the motives are mixed. You find yourself wanting to point people to Jesus but also feeling a desire to be noticed and praised, to make yourself the center of attention. Stephen Miller is the worship pastor for a large church of young, energetic Christians. He and his band record albums and lead worship for conferences all over the country. He knows the temptation to make himself the show, to pursue fame, to seek the applause of other people. And he has learned to want nothing to do with it.

In this book, Miller exhorts his fellow worship leaders to make Jesus the center of all their efforts. He teaches how to do this with Scripture, teaching, prayer, story, and song. In all, Miller’s call for worship leaders is to lead worship, whole-hearted and whole-minded exalting of God, rather than making a spectacle out of it. Worship Leaders, We’re Not Rock Stars will encourage and challenge worship leaders by clarifying their purpose and identity, and by doing so will bless those they lead.

WORSHIP MATTERS: LEADING OTHERS TO ENCOUNTER THE GREATNESS OF GOD. BOB KAUFLIN

Nothing is more essential than knowing how to worship the God who created us. This book focuses readers on the essentials of God-honoring worship, combining biblical foundations with practical application in a way that works in the real world. The author, a pastor and noted songwriter, skillfully instructs pastors, musicians, and church leaders so that they can root their congregational worship in unchanging scriptural principles, not divisive cultural trends. Bob Kauflin covers a variety of topics such as the devastating effects of worshiping the wrong things, how to base our worship on God’s self-revelation rather than our assumptions, the fuel of worship, the community of worship, and the ways that eternity’s worship should affect our earthly worship.

THE WORSHIP PASTOR: A CALL TO MINISTRY FOR WORSHIP LEADERS AND TEAMS. ZAC HICKS

Modern worship leaders are restless. They have inherited a model of leadership that equates leading worship with being a rock star. But leading worship is more than a performance, it’s about shaping souls and making disciples. Every worship leader is really a pastor. The Worship Pastor is a practical and biblical introduction to this essential pastoral role. Filled with engaging, illustrative stories it is organized to address questions of theory and practice, striving to balance conversational accessibility with informed instruction. It is meant to be read by pastors, worship leaders, worship teams, and anyone else interested in deepening their understanding and experience of worship.

This article about great books on worship originally appeared here.

Outreach Idea: Job Hunting Classes

By

Phil Cooke

-

June 10, 2020

Here’s an outreach idea for our time: job hunting classes! Let me offer an outsider’s suggestion for something every church in America should consider a priority right now. Millions of people are out of work and the losses have been staggering. Businesses have been closed, people have lost jobs, and financial hope is in short supply. So while we’re rightly concerned about opening back up safely, caring for church members who have lost loved ones, and working to get regular services back on track, we can’t forget that the financial challenges of your church members will be your financial challenges soon. If they’ve lost their job or had their career interrupted, that will directly impact financial giving to churches and ministry organizations and the outreach work they do.

So maybe it’s time to consider creating an outreach specifically designed to help your church members with job hunting. Help them re-start their career, and get back on track financially.

Think about it: Who in your congregation has knowledge and skills to help teach a class on job hunting, preparing resumes, and conducting successful job interviews? Who can teach on networking, personal branding, or how to launch a new business?

When people get back to work, that transforms entire families. It alleviates stress and renews their purpose. Plus, it will help get your church finances back to normal as well.

And if you’re one of those blessed churches who have been doing well financially so far, remember that this isn’t over. The economic impact of the pandemic will be lasting until the fall and beyond.

Start right now. Pinpoint the business leaders in your church who can lead the initiative for job hunting classes. Make the classes in-person or Zoom. Sponsor a job fair. Partner with a local organization focused on helping people into the job market.

The important thing is, do it. It will make a dramatic difference in getting back into financial strength for your congregation as well as the church itself.

This article about job hunting classes originally appeared here.

Rhythm Is the Answer to Our Chaotic Lives, Not Balance

By

Frank Powell

-

June 9, 2020

“How do I balance God and school? How do I balance God and family? How do I balance family and career?” These questions plague us. We seem to be searching hard for a balanced life, but it is nowhere to be found. Why? Why is a balanced life so elusive?

Here’s the reason … balance is impossible.

Not only that, balance is also chaotic and destructive. Let me explain.

High-wire acts are so ridiculous I am compelled to watch every second. If some dude is crazy enough to walk between two skyscrapers on glorified dental floss, I will give him five minutes of my time. Why? I hope the man walks across safely. But I know if he loses his balance, a close (and probably awkward) conversation with Jesus is imminent.

This is the reality when it come to balance. Balancing anything, especially for an extended period of time, is difficult. It’s impossible. At some point, your strength (or focus) fails, and something hits the ground. Hard.

Yet, every day we wake up and begin the journey across the glorified dental floss, hoping something unforeseen doesn’t disrupt our balance. Kids. School. Marriage. Work. Sleep. Start walking. But if we do this long enough, destruction is certain.

We live in a culture where information is more accessible than ever, yet we are not any smarter. We are more connected than ever, yet we are still lonely. More tools than ever are available to increase our productivity, yet there is never enough time.

As culture demands more of us, our lives fall more out of balance. So, we try harder to restore balance. And eventually we are teetering on the edge of destruction.

It’s time to accept reality … the pursuit of balance is destroying our lives.

There is a better way. It’s the way of God. It’s how all of creation maintains order. It’s the way of Jesus. What is this way?

The way of RHYTHM.

I am convinced that a sustainable rhythm to life is the antidote to our 21st-century culture.

I know what you’re thinking. “What in the world is rhythm? And how do I establish a life of rhythm?” My hope and prayer for us moving forward is clarity. Hopefully, the words that follow will give us the framework to both understand and implement this life. It is a daunting task. A rhythmic life is so foreign to a 21st-century Westerner. But this is exactly why it so needed.

The next two blog posts are going to focus on rhythm. This post focuses on the nature of rhythm. The post that proceeds this one will focus on practical applications to establish a sustainable rhythm.

If I could beg you to read every word of my next two posts, I would. But that’s not possible. So, I must settle with strongly encouraging you to do so. We desperately need to recover a life of rhythm. It is God’s way. It is the way that creates a meaningful way.

Here are eight reasons to establish a life of rhythm.

John Bevere: Gaining Freedom from Sin, Addictions and Pornography

By

Megan Briggs

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June 9, 2020

Are You Making These 3 Mistakes with your Church Management Software?

By

Scott Smith

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June 9, 2020

While talking with our clients over the years, they have described three main mistakes they have made with their Church Management Software. For some, these mistakes have led to a great deal of frustration, multiple software changes, and the waste of a lot of time and money. These issues may be very familiar to you, but if not, they could serve as warning signs for issues that might pop up in your future. Our clients have described their three main areas of ChMS mistakes as Wrong Choice, Incorrect Implementation, and Insufficient Training.

ChMS Mistakes: Wrong Choice

We have described before that the best choice of software is one that both fits the individual church and is one that the entire staff will adopt and use. In many cases, churches employ software that is simply a wrong fit. At a base level, it doesn’t do the specific things the church needs it to do, in the way that the church wants to do them. Perhaps their current ChMS was the best fit for the church many years ago because it was offering new features that no other ChMS had. But today, it just doesn’t meet the needs of the church’s growing, changing ministry. Maybe the church has changed its programming in such a way that the features it needed then and the features it needs now are different.

In most cases where a church looks back and decides that it has made a Wrong Choice, one of three paths for choosing the ChMS is usually the culprit.

Coolest functionality or features win: Here, the church places an inordinate amount of value on a “cool” feature or two that other systems do not have. It is the “shiny new penny” syndrome. Or the church may be swayed by a more modern, simpler or prettier “look and feel,” even though the underlying functionality may not work as well for them as a system with a more antiquated, complicated interface. While discrete features can bring a great deal of value, the church would be wise to guard against picking an entire system for the whole staff on the basis of one or two exceptional features that represent only a tiny portion of the overall utility of the ChMS.

Best salesperson or sales process wins: Let’s face it, some sales professionals are just way better than others. Many of our clients have expressed regret over buying a ChMS system as a result of being swayed by a superior sales process, a more responsive salesperson, or a smoother, more impressive product demo. For this reason, we counsel churches to engage in a systematic process that ensures that the software actually fits their specific needs. This tends to limit the influence of the abilities of both the exceptional or less than adequate sales professional. Sometimes churches may pass on an option that it is the best choice for them because it was poorly represented by the salesperson engaging with them. While the sales professionals are not wild about this approach, we advise our clients to dispense with the canned, “dog and pony” demo and require the software company to demonstrate the software’s capabilities based on the church’s detailed requirements, not the software company’s set script.

Most unhappy person decides for everybody: Churches make this mistake when one person on the staff team has an outsized influence on the overall process. Typically, these people are frustrated and suffering with software or processes that are inadequate and are hindering them from successfully accomplishing the objectives of their role and ministry. Because they are passionate, they tend to be very vocal about their choices. Other staff members may not be as passionate or as tied to the technology for their ministry roles, so they defer. And this can cause real problems. Because now, you have one person deciding for many based solely on what product best fits their one particular area or preference. Again, this is where the process can help you avoid mistakes.

With a very clear identity, strategy, and requirements list in hand, you will be much more likely to pick a ChMS that is best for you and avoid the Wrong Choice mistake.

ChMS Mistakes: Wrong Implementation

The second primary mistake that our church clients refer to is implementing software in a way that does not maximize the potential of the software or does not fit their very specific ministry processes. In this case, the church actually made a good, well informed choice. The software “fits” and the staff are willing to use it. It can do the job, but it has not been properly set up for the unique job this church requires. Perhaps you have paper or manual processes that haven’t been incorporated into the ChMS process or workflow module. There may be custom fields that need to be designed. Or there is some custom API development that would really make it sing.

This can also be a matter of timing. Ministries grow and change, and so do processes, tasks and ministry philosophy. Perhaps the software was implemented when you were a single site, Sunday school church and now you are a multi-site home group church and you just need to restructure your groups and congregations.

Beginning with the end in mind is vital. While most of the ChMS companies are very helpful and are willing to work with you to best implement their software, their advice is only as good as the input they have received. Without specific strategic objectives and processes to work from, they will likely provide a more “generic” implementation that is less effective than it could be. This is where a well-conceived strategy is so important in avoiding the Wrong Implementation mistake.

ChMS Mistakes: Insufficient Training

The third big mistake identified by many of our church clients is the realization that they did not invest enough time and energy into comprehensive, ongoing training on how to use their ChMS. Typically, when a church purchases a new ChMS, all the staff go through an intensive “training bootcamp.” This training session or period is usually focused on the overall system and users may not go deep enough into their specific area. Also, it is difficult to retain much information in this type of “firehose” data transfer.

An additional problem is one of timing. Since the original training, perhaps years ago, there has been a great deal of staff/volunteer turnover. Today, maybe only a few of the original ChMS pioneers are still at the church. And the most training many staff have had is a ten minute explanation from the last person in their role on the two things they did every Monday morning. We often hear complaints about specific ChMS software that it simply won’t do this “really important thing,” when, in reality, the software absolutely will do that “really important thing.” The users have just not been trained effectively or have relied on a one-shot training event that simply does not keep pace. To prevent the Insufficient Training mistake, the church must invest in ongoing, role specific training for all staff that use the ChMS. This certainly can be done via an internal, Train the Trainer model to reduce cost, but it is vital.

Ideally, our church clients would avoid these three common ChMS mistakes entirely, but the reality is that many of them have made some of these mistakes and are not going to be changing ChMS systems anytime soon. They simply cannot justify the cost, hassle and time involved in a change.

This article originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Former Liberty Employee Sets Up ‘LUnderground Railroad’ for Those Who Want Out

By

Megan Briggs

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June 9, 2020

When Jerry Falwell, Jr. tweeted a picture of a face mask with an image of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam dressing up in blackface, he was making a political statement about the state’s prescribed COVID-19 restrictions. However, African Americans in Falwell’s employ at Liberty University didn’t see it that way. While Falwell has apologized and removed the tweet from his account, the culturally insensitive move has been called the “cherry on top” of a problem of systemic racism at the Christian university. Three staff members have resigned their positions at the school in response to the incident, and one former staff member, LeeQuan McLaurin, has even started a GoFundMe campaign to help other black staffers leave the institution.

Calling his effort “LUnderground Railroad,” McLaurin seeks to “help staff and faculty at LU suffering from racial trauma and unable to leave due to financial restraints.”

The description for the fundraiser goes on to explain the economic situation in Lynchburg, Virginia, where the university is located. McLaurin provides information about the disproportionate number of black people who are unemployed in Lynchburg compared to the white population. Lynchburg as a whole has one of the highest rates of poverty in the state, and Liberty is one of the main employers of the city. McLaurin believes Liberty has used its financial prowess in the city to its advantage and others’ detriment. “The institution will often trust in, and has ultimately abused, their financial influence on the Lynchburg area in order to ignore their responsibility for racial and workplace trauma that is inflicted on BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, or People of Color] employees,” he writes.

So far, three Liberty staff members who are people of color have resigned following Falwell’s culturally insensitive tweet: McLaurin, who served as director of diversity retention; Keyvon Scott, an online admissions counselor; and Christopher House, an online instructor for the university’s school of communications and the arts. McLaurin believes there are more BIPOC staff members at the college who would resign if they had the financial means and the freedom to do so, which is why he set up the GoFundMe campaign:

Due to a strong culture of fear that exists within the university, many employees are afraid to speak out and share their experiences (https://bit.ly/FearCulture ). Even more are afraid to leave due to fear that they would be unable to financially support their families. Several employees have attempted to file reports, but since the university often refuses to acknowledge the existence of very real things such as systemic racism, they have either been ignored or faced retaliatory consequences.

An open letter written by “African-American Evangelical pastors, ministry leaders, and former athletes who are alumni of Liberty University” posted to Change.org on June 1, 2020 also indicated the problem of racial trauma has been going on for “several years.” The letter’s 35 signatories describe Falwell’s “infantile,” “divisive,” and “incendiary rhetoric” as being un-Christlike and detrimental to those who are associated with the institution:

For several years, you have said and defended inappropriate statements that represent Liberty and our faith very poorly. You have belittled staff, students and parents, you have defended inappropriate behaviors of politicians, encouraged violence, and disrespected people of other faiths. We were all taught at Liberty about the sanctity of life (Jeremiah 1:5) and the dignity of every human – made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), and yet, you have repeatedly violated and misrepresented core Christian principles (Romans 12:9-21) through brash tweets and statements that harm our Christian witness.

While students, professors, and alumni have urged you to alter your rhetoric and repent, sadly nothing has changed. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that Liberty University is a family-owned organization and you are the sole authority. The Board of Trustees has no power to influence your behavior or hold you accountable.

In his apology post on Monday, June 8th, Falwell said he spoke to “African American LU leaders and alumni” about their concerns over the tweet and that he now understands “that by tweeting an image to remind all of the governor’s racist past,” he had “refreshed the trauma.”

I have deleted the tweet and apologize for any hurt my effort caused, especially within the African American community. (Part 3/3)

— Jerry Falwell (@JerryFalwellJr) June 8, 2020

In an article by Washington Post, another African American employee at Liberty intimated she experiences the same fear of retaliation if she speaks up about the culture at the university. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the employee indicated she didn’t find Falwell’s apology for the tweet sincere, either. “It seemed like once donors said I’m not going to put money into your university, that’s when he says, ‘I’m sorry, I apologize,’” she told the Washington Post. “It’s too late!”

Scott, the latest employee to resign from Liberty due to Falwell’s tweet, wrote “I cannot in good faith encourage people to attend a school with racially insensitive leadership and culture. It is a poor reflection of what Jesus Christ requires of us.”

‘Culture of Fear’ Reported for Multiple Years

Last year, a Liberty alumnus turned journalist published an expose on the “culture of fear” that faculty and staff at the Christian school describe. As ChurchLeaders reported last year, the article by Brandon Ambrosino (published in Politico Magazine) paints a dismal picture. Open dissent isn’t allowed at Liberty, Ambrosino writes, noting that only law professors can receive tenure. Nondisclosure agreements are common for employees and board members, who must receive permission from Falwell’s office before speaking to the media. “Fear is probably [Falwell’s] most powerful weapon,” one source says.

In 2016, former Liberty board member Mark DeMoss said he was forced to resign due to his opposition to Falwell’s endorsement of then candidate Donald Trump.

Ministry Leaders Share: This Is What It’s Like to Be Black in America

By

Jessica Lea

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June 9, 2020

Racial profiling is not an exception, but is the norm for many in the black community. As protests have spread throughout the U.S. and across the world in response to the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and many others, some black pastors and ministry leaders are sharing their experiences with being treated unequally.

“Never will people know what it’s like from the other side to be black or to be a person of color,” said Davoreon “Tiki” Broome, a black pastor from Mississippi, “but the best thing you can do is to sit and listen, to put your bias aside, to put politics aside, to put your agenda or what you want to accomplish aside and just listen. When people’s voices are heard, it’s amazing how well that helps people heal.”

On Tuesday, June 2, someone vandalized Broome’s vehicle by keying it and writing the n-word all over it. Broome, who lives in Clinton, Mississippi, is the interim student pastor of First Baptist Church in Yazoo City. He has been outspoken about racial injustice, and while he has received support for his views, he has also received anonymous, hateful messages because of them. Those messages and the subsequent vandalism of his car have made Broome feel fearful, uneasy, and angry, but he is not going to back down from speaking out.

Even though he did not at first want to publicly share what had happened to his car, he decided it would be worth doing so in order to raise awareness and bring unity to his community. “People need to hear,” he said, “people need to listen, people need to not be so quick to think that this doesn’t affect them or that things are a certain way.”

Ministry Leaders Share Stories of Racial Profiling

Other ministry leaders are sharing about their own experiences with inequality and racial profiling. On Instagram, Christian comedian Michael Jr. shared a story about something that had happened to him at age 19 while he was living in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At the time, he was trying to save money to buy his own oil change business and was working 16-hour days. He knew that some of the people in his apartment complex, which was not very nice, were selling drugs. One night, when he arrived home feeling completely exhausted, he realized from the atmosphere and the silence around him that his neighbors had been raided by police.

Michael Jr. rolled down his window, putting both of his hands outside his car and announcing he had nothing to do with the drug bust, but that he had just gotten home from work. He slowly got out of the car and as soon as he closed the door, 15 to 17 officers rushed up to him, telling him to put his hands up—even though he already had. The comedian said he did not blame the officers for being aggressive since they had just conducted a drug raid, but some of them then asked to see his ID, which he had accidentally left in his kitchen.

The police officers walked him to his apartment so he could show them his ID, and he assumed they would leave as soon as they saw he had a key and actually lived there. Instead, they came in after him. Feeling scared, Michael Jr. moved to retrieve his wallet from his cupboard, narrating his actions aloud step-by-step and moving cautiously. Then, as he reached into the cupboard for the wallet, one of the officers put a gun to the back of his head and cocked the trigger.

After the comedian pulled out his wallet, the officers verified his identity and the one who had threatened him left, while others stayed to make sure he wouldn’t call anyone or complain about what had happened. “But really, who was I going to call?” he asked. “And then I remember sitting on the floor, heart in serious pain and just angry.”

But something happened next that proved to be instrumental in his healing. The lady whose boyfriend had just been busted for drugs came over crying and distraught, and Michael Jr. helped her by giving her some money. They were both in pain, and being able to help her in that small way helped Michael Jr. to start moving past his anger. “That lady gave me a gift that I needed right at that moment,” he said, “and because of that, I’ve been able to forgive that officer.”

In their most recent installment of “Meet The Perrys” on YouTube, Christian author and speaker Jackie Hill Perry and her husband, Preston Perry, described the racial profiling that Preston in particular has experienced and how that impacted how he felt when he heard about the death of George Floyd.

“As a black man who saw the video [of George Floyd’s death],” said Preston, “it awakened some dark moments in me. It’s hard for me to see that situation and not think about the time when I was in Macon, Georgia.”

One time as a teen in Macon, Preston and some of his friends were in a hotel when four police officers arrived, put them in handcuffs, and stepped on their heads. Even though they all had alcohol and were underage, what made the officers most upset—Preston believes—was that there was a white girl with them. The officers, said Preston, “let it be known plainly that they did not like me solely because my skin was brown.” Seeing George Floyd’s death made Preston sad, but also made him thankful that he had not already died from being in a similar situation.

Jackie described one time when she saw Preston experience racial profiling while crossing a street in Portland. While crossing, he started running in order to make it through the crosswalk in time. There were two white people in his path, and they became afraid when they saw him coming and started running away from him.

Another time, the Perrys were traveling back to Chicago from Toronto and Preston got pulled aside because he looked “suspicious.” He actually gets pulled aside a lot for random checks when traveling, but people don’t usually come right out and say it’s because of how he looks. Said Jackie, “I think it speaks to this big, this problem of black men and black skin period being assumed as criminal. People look at black men and think ‘thug,’ ‘dangerous.’”

In a video with I Am Second in 2014, Dr. Tony Evans shared that while growing up in urban Baltimore, “I was reminded in many ways that I was a second-class citizen. It was frustrating, it was painful, it was hurtful. There were places I couldn’t go, people I couldn’t be with, simply because of the color of my skin.”

My personal story on race: https://t.co/IMBr4czIWZ

— Tony Evans (@drtonyevans) June 8, 2020

In a more recent video, the pastor shared how, when raising his sons and grandsons, he has made sure to have a “talk” with them about how to prepare for racial profiling so they know how to act when a police officer pulls them over.

Waking Up to Sin

Former NFL player Emmanuel Acho has described “white privilege” as “the ability to live life unconsciously.” Acho believes that if white people truly want to bring about racial reconciliation, they need to listen to what the experiences of the black community are in order to “have full understanding.”

Said Pastor Broome, “For people who say this is beneath them, this isn’t happening, and this is just something people are riling up, no. This plain out and simple is sin. I’ll say it again, this is 400 years of the bubble that is now popping in a different way.”

The Bottom Line

What to do to be creative and yet follow the rules:

Clergy and Laity Affected by the Coronavirus

Pastor Matt Chandler: We Have Given Up Our Inheritance

Being a Black Father Is Different

Who is already influencing Gen Alpha?

The Posts in Question Involve Race

Chris Hodges Apologizes, Links Racism to the Devil

Controversy Costs Church Local Partnerships

SBC President: How We Will Put the Gospel First

Key Questions for Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil

Key Quotes from Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil

Mentioned in the Show by Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil

Other Ways to Listen to this Podcast:

10 GREAT BOOKS ON WORSHIP IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

ANCIENT-FUTURE WORSHIP: PROCLAIMING AND ENACTING GOD’S NARRATIVE, ROBERT E. WEBBER

ENGAGING WITH GOD: A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF WORSHIP. DAVE PETERSON

THE HEART OF THE ARTIST: A CHARACTER-BUILDING GUIDE FOR YOU AND YOUR MINISTRY TEAM. RORY NOLAND

TO KNOW YOU MORE: CULTIVATING THE HEART OF THE WORSHIP LEADER. ANDY PARK

THE PURPOSE OF MAN: DESIGNED TO WORSHIP. A. W. TOZER

UNCEASING WORSHIP: BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES ON WORSHIP AND THE ARTS. HAROLD BEST

THE WORSHIP ARCHITECT: A BLUEPRINT FOR DESIGNING CULTURALLY RELEVANT AND BIBLICALLY FAITHFUL SERVICES. CONSTANCE CHERRY

WORSHIP LEADERS, WE ARE NOT ROCK STARS, STEPHEN MILLER

WORSHIP MATTERS: LEADING OTHERS TO ENCOUNTER THE GREATNESS OF GOD. BOB KAUFLIN

THE WORSHIP PASTOR: A CALL TO MINISTRY FOR WORSHIP LEADERS AND TEAMS. ZAC HICKS

So maybe it’s time to consider creating an outreach specifically designed to help your church members with job hunting. Help them re-start their career, and get back on track financially.

The way of RHYTHM.

ChMS Mistakes: Wrong Choice

ChMS Mistakes: Wrong Implementation

ChMS Mistakes: Insufficient Training

‘Culture of Fear’ Reported for Multiple Years

Ministry Leaders Share Stories of Racial Profiling

Waking Up to Sin

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