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20,000+ Pilgrims Celebrate Epiphany on the Banks of the Jordan

By
Megan Briggs
-
Father’s Day program ideas for church

This weekend, more than 20,000 people made a pilgrimage to Qasr al-Yahud, the site on the Jordan River where many believe Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. While pilgrimages of this kind have been common throughout Christian history, the site was closed to traffic for many decades due to landmines left over from the Six Day War of 1967. Now, after much money and effort spent clearing the mines, tourists and pilgrims can visit the site without fear of these deadly vestiges of war. For several pilgrims, Epiphany 2020 gave them a chance to do just that.

“We’ve come to the baptism site, the most important site after the birthplace of Jesus,” Brother Atallah Wakila, a resident of Jaffa, Israel, told reporters. “That’s important since it demonstrates that the Christians are an integral part of the Palestiniain people who live here.”

Pilgrims came from far-off places, including the United States. “This is our first time for many of us here in the Holy Land and to have an experience like this is once in a lifetime. You are all in our prayers, just know that,” a pilgrim from the Nativity of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church in Plymouth, Michigan said. 

Epiphany 2020 Secured by Israeli Defense

The ceremonies are monitored and secured by uniformed members of Israel’s Civil Administration, and specifically the Jericho District Coordination and Liaison (DCL), in collaboration with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), Israeli police, and the Nature and Parks Authority. “We see it as historically significant that we, above all as the Civil Administration, and secondly as the State of Israel, are enabling all the communities that live in Israel to celebrate their holidays and observe their customs and historical traditions,” said Brigadier General Ghassan Alian, Head of the Civil Administration.

The denominations observing the celebrations of Epiphany and making the trek to Qasr al-Yahud this weekend included the Greek, Eritrean, Syriac, and Ethiopian Orthodox churches.  In Orthodox Christianity, Epiphany was celebrated this most recent weekend (January 19th) as these groups follow the Julian calendar (this is also why Orthodox churches celebrated Christmas on January 7th). 

Last week, pilgrims from the Catholic tradition traveled to the site after being welcomed by local clergy from the area (the city of Jericho lies just 10 kilometers west of the site). Saher Kawas of Independent Catholic News explains the significance of pilgrims being able to travel to the site once again:

The Franciscan pilgrimage to this site can be traced back to 1641. As a result of the of Six Day War, the location, which includes eight Churches and monasteries, (Franciscan, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Greek, Romanian, Syriac and Russian) was closed off in 1968 and the last recorded Mass in the Franciscan monastery took place on January 7, 1968.

In 2000, the Israeli controlled site was briefly opened for the occasion of the pilgrimage of Pope John Paul II to the Holy Land. The heavily mined area did not receive any visitors until 2011, when the Israeli authorities cleaned a small area near the site to make it accessible to pilgrims. It was not until March 2018, when the Israel National Mine Action Authority and the humanitarian mine clearance organization Halo Trust started working to clear the landmines in the area after securing the approval of the Israelis, Palestinians and all the Churches.  

Epiphany 2020 celebrations aren’t over yet, either. Today, the Coptic Christian Church celebrates Epiphany, and the Civil Administration is expecting more pilgrims through the end of the month. 

The History of the Site

The site is home to eight Christian denominations and regarded as one of the holiest sites in Christianity. Notable Christian leaders have visited, including Pope Francis. 

Qasr al-Yahud is the Hebrew name for the baptismal site and refers to the Israeli side (western bank of the Jordan River). The name translates to “Castle of the Jews.” The name gives a nod to the nearby Greek Orthodox Monastery of St. John the Baptist, which has a castle-like appearance. According to Jewish tradition, the Israelites crossed the Jordan River at this point, which accounts for the “of the Jews” part of the name. This side of the site is managed by the Israeli Civil Administration and the Israeli Ministry of Tourism and sits in a national park. 

Al-Maghtas is the Arabic name for the Jordanian side of the site (also known as Bethany beyond the Jordan), which is on the eastern bank of the Jordan River. The arabic name translates to “immersion.” Al-Maghtas is a UNESCO world heritage site. “It features Roman and Byzantine remains including churches and chapels, a monastery, caves that have been used by hermits and pools in which baptisms were celebrated, testifying to the religious character of the place,” UNESCO’s site explains.

Kirk Franklin’s Advice for Those Depressed and in a Funk

By
Jessica Lea
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

In a video he posted to Instagram last Friday, gospel artist Kirk Franklin shared some advice his therapist had just given him that had deeply encouraged him. The singer had been “in a funk” and was struggling with depression and anxiety due to recent losses in his life.

“I went to more funerals in 2019 than I’ve ever been to in my life,” said Franklin. As a result, he got in a funk “that I couldn’t really get out of.” He was filming his video at 2 a.m. from the Dominican Republic and explained that one of the reasons he was in the country was the “high amount of loss” he had experienced.

If You’re in a Funk, Fight Depression with Thankfulness

Franklin said that during the past year, he had gone to funerals of friends, funerals of people’s parents, and funerals of people’s kids. Being around so much tragedy brought on depression and fear about the future. Normally, he would call his pastor, Dr. Tony Evans, but Franklin wanted to respect Dr. Evans’ privacy as the pastor is grieving the recent loss of his wife, Lois Evans. So instead, the gospel singer called his therapist, a “great godly guy” Franklin has known for over 22 years.

As Franklin described being in a funk, consumed with fear, his therapist told him that thankfulness (which is selfless) was the key to overcoming that fear (which is selfish). Said Franklin, “When I begin to live a life of gratitude…then I will begin to be more selfless because fear is rooted in self.” For example, he said, when we worry about how we are going to pay our bills, whether people will hurt us, or whether we’ll get sick, we are constantly thinking about ourselves.

It can be helpful to remember that our lives could always be worse. While being in the Dominican Republic, Franklin described seeing seven to nine people sharing one bedroom with no windows or electricity. He met children who constantly have to be on guard against the danger of sex trafficking, something Franklin said, “breaks my heart.”

“So things for you could be worse,” he said. But we need to do more than think about how much worse our lives could be. We need to “give God thanks for what he has already done.”

Then, Franklin said, his therapist, “laid this one on me, and I want to encourage you with this.” His therapist told him he needed to believe the following truth: “I am a miracle I am not acknowledging.” 

“You need to say that to yourself,” Franklin told his followers. “You need to look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘I am a miracle I am not acknowledging.’” 

It is only too easy to get in a funk and forget that being alive today is a miracle. We should never take for granted that our bodies are healthy and that we have made it this far. “I hope that encourages you. It encouraged me,” he said. “I’ve been blessed being here.” 

In a previous Instagram post, Franklin told his followers that he was in Santo Domingo (the capital of the Dominican Republic) on a mission trip and that he wanted to start off the year by connecting with new life in the midst of all the tragedy he has been surrounded by. His hope was to show the love of Christ, not to “the least of these,” he said, but to what he would call “the greatest of those.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kirk Franklin (@kirkfranklin) on

Yesterday, Franklin put up another post in which he described the impact his trip has had on him:

I needed to leave my comfort zone and give to someone who couldn’t give me anything in return but a touch of grace. To see human beings in living conditions that leave images of disparity seared into your consciousness reminds you of eternal things. Governments will forever be corrupt, the poor will always be among us, and the gospel CANNOT just be for the pews but for the people. I want to live for Christ…period. I want to die to every area of my life that I see hinders His heart to beat through me. Touching His children this week gave me the courage to continue to chase Him with my life. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I needed to be needed. I needed to leave my comfort zone and give to someone who couldn’t give me anything in return but a touch of grace. To see human beings in living conditions that leave images of disparity seared into your consciousness reminds you of eternal things. Governments will forever be corrupt, the poor will always be among us, and the gospel CANNOT just be for the pews but for the people. I want to live for Christ…period. I want to die to every area of my life that I see hinders His heart to beat through me. Touching His children this week gave me the courage to continue to chase Him with my life. Thank you @tanya.martineau for these amazing images and @compassion for this amazing trip. I am a miracle I am not acknowledging ❤️

A post shared by Kirk Franklin (@kirkfranklin) on

Christopher Yuan: Jesus, Not Marriage, Is the Solution for Immaturity

By
Jessica Lea
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

Is marriage better than singleness? As people grow older, is remaining single a sign of their immaturity? Even if we do not admit it out loud, many of us (if we are being honest) would answer “yes” to those two questions. But author and speaker Christopher Yuan would beg to differ.

“We shouldn’t think that marriage is what provides a person to be mature or whole,” said Yuan on a recent podcast with ChurchLeaders. He also noted, “I think we need to realize that we cannot view marriage as the ultimate expression of love…Marriage does not have a monopoly on love.” 

In his interview, Yuan shared many valuable insights, such as his belief that there is no way the church can adequately address the issue of same-sex attraction if Christians continue to have an unbiblical view of singleness. And part of this unbiblical view is the ideas that marriage is better than singleness and that if people are older and not married, they must be immature (particularly if they are men).

What Is the Answer to Immaturity?

It is true that being married is a special type of relationship that takes great maturity. It is also true that many singles are immature and are avoiding marriage because they do not want to face that level of commitment. However, said Yuan, “The mistake that I often find pastors do is then they try to make these men to marry when they’re still spiritually immature.” But this is not an appropriate solution. “The answer is not that they get married,” he said. “The answer is first that they would be converted, second that they would actually become a man of God.”

This is extremely important to recognize. Otherwise, we will push immature people toward a situation that they are unequipped to handle. Yuan was careful to emphasize that he is not saying people need to be perfect in order to get married, just that marriage is not a solution for immaturity. 

There is no better reminder for us of this truth than Jesus himself. “We have treated marriage as better than singleness,” said Yuan, “and yet we forget that our perfect Savior, Jesus, was single, and he was not an immature man, he was not trying to shed responsibility.”

The truth (that many Christian singles find hard to accept) is, “Singleness is actually good. Singleness in Christ is good, just as marriage in Christ is good as well.” 

Also, marriage is not eternal. In the new heavens and new earth, marriage will be done away with. So when singleness is part of God’s eternal plan, we should not look down on it by agreeing with the world that “To ask someone to remain single is to relegate them to a life of loneliness.” This does not mean, of course, that singleness is easy. Single Christians will have to be intentional to pursue godly friendships, something Yuan elaborates on in his book, Holy Sexuality and the Gospel: Sex, Desire, and Relationships Shaped by God’s Grand Story.

The fact is that both marriage and singleness are good and both are hard. And it is not uncommon for singles and married people to struggle with loneliness at times. 

Yet even though marriage is not an ultimate solution to loneliness, Yuan encouraged singles not to view their relationship status as indefinite (in this life anyway). If you are single, he said, that is what God has called you to today. If you are married, that is what God has called you to today. But none of us knows what God will do in our lives in the future. Said Yuan: “I don’t ever use the word ‘celibacy’…because it’s associated with a lifelong, chosen vocation, and I simply don’t find that in scripture…but singleness is, and I want to tell people, ‘Do not plan out your future.’ You’re called to be single today, but who knows what tomorrow may bring?”

John Ortberg: The Proven Power of Community

By
Toni Ridgaway
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

In this short video, Ortberg shares a vivid scientific study that backs up the biblical principle of community.

Paul Tripp: Practical and Profound Advice on How to Live Out Awe

By
Esther Laurie
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

Paul Tripp is a pastor, author and conference speaker passionate about living out the Gospel and maintaining a sense of awe. Pastor Tripp spends most of his time teaching and counseling pastors and ministry leaders. He shared with us some profound secrets of how ‘awe’ changes everything.

Living a life of awe changes everything. It also takes practice to notice, reflect on and respond to the glory of god each day. Tripp shares the key to adjusting our attention to glory and our posture to awe.

“Now, I want to suggest something that can get you started in the right direction. I want to suggest to your listeners four things they should do every morning. The first thing is gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. Start your day gazing upon the beauty of the Lord. I don’t mean your normal Bible reading or Bible study that you’re doing. But take a few moments to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.

You say, “I don’t know how to do that.” Well, how about reading Isaiah 40 where the prophet is stretching the language to its widest elasticity in order to capture the glory of God? Or how about the last few chapters of Job where God says to Job, “Where were you when the foundations of the creation were laid”? Or how about Ephesians 1 where God displays His redeeming purpose over the ages? Go somewhere and just focus on the beauty, the glory of the Lord.

The first word is “gaze.” The second word is “remember.” Remember that God’s beauty, His glory, His awesome glory not only defines Him, but it redefines you as His child. Because all that God is, He is for us by grace. He’s unleashed that glory on us.

Gaze, remember, and third is “rest.” Teach your heart to rest, not because people like you, not because situations are easy, not because the bills are paid, not because you’re healthy, but because God is. He’s awesome in His Glory and He’s connected you to His glory by grace.

Gaze, remember, rest, now go out and act. Now go out and live your day with hope and courage, because you’re doing it in the context of the awesome glory of God, and you have reason to be confident, even though you live in a broken world.”

Don’t miss the full episode! Listen to it here:

Mom, Can I Have Tik Tok?

By
Jonathan McKee
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

Lip sync to your favorite song, show off your dance moves or post a funny video of your cat. Tik Tok is like Vine 2.0. The videos are just 15 seconds long, but like Britney, they’re not that innocent.

If your kid has a device, then chances are they have, want, or at least know about Tik Tok, because it’s the hottest thing since SnapChat and Insta…in fact it’s currently the most downloaded app on the planet and considered one of the most valuable startups in the world. If you’re a kid on a middle school or high school campus, it’s the app to have. After all, their favorite musician, actor, and athlete are all on it, their best friend has it…it’s slowly becoming THE hangout spot for young people with screens.

Parents ask me about the app all the time, and I had honestly only tried out the app once or twice, so I decided to dive in and take a closer look. So before doing any research I just opened the app and began browsing. After only a few minutes on the app, I understood why Common Sense Media rated the app for ages 16 and up.

The first video I saw was a teen girl in revealing clothing dancing to a current song with explicit lyrics. So I scrolled down. That’s the thing about Tik Tok. If the 15-second video doesn’t hold your attention you can just scroll onto the next video. So I did. And here’s what I found.

What I Found on Tik Tok Within Minutes

  • A toddler yelling “f*ck you b*tch” while his young father laughs hysterically
  • A man squirting his dog with a squirt gun to the tune of a current hip hop song about shooting someone
  • A foul-mouthed turtle yelling obscenities about straws
  • A girl playing a practical joke on her brother in the bathroom
  • A guy coloring his Nike with a Sharpie while listening to an explicit hip hop song
  • A guy playing a practical joke on his foul mouth grandma
  • A funny sketch where two guys danced in the middle of the sidewalk and one splashed his friend’s slurpy all over his face
  • A teen guy playing an extremely raunchy Christmas song for his mom just to see her facial expression…

Jump on and take a peek for yourself. You’ll probably laugh at some of the funny original sketches, roll your eyes at others, and about every three or four sketches you’ll be reaching for the volume nob to turn off explicit language, lyrics or inappropriate humor.

Wired Magazine calls the app a “never-ending variety show,” and they’re spot on, emphasis on “never-ending.” I thought I had only been on the app a few minutes when I looked at the time and realized over 30 minutes had passed. If you’ve ever clicked around funny videos on YouTube, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

But if you really want to see where this app becomes irresponsible, just click on “Me” in the lower-left corner to get to your main account page, then click the three dots on the top right of the screen to pull up the “Privacy and settings.”

At first glance, I was encouraged by what looked like multiple options to make Tik Tok a safer platform for young people, with options like “privacy and safety” and “digital wellbeing.” But honestly, these settings were weak, if not laughable.

If you click on “Privacy and safety,” you’ll quickly discover that the app defaults on “public.” You have to actually flip a switch to change it to private so you gain the control to approve who follows you, views your videos, comments, and likes. Most young people will not want to do this, because this means potential followers have to “request” to follow you. And today it’s aaaaaaaaall about the followers. In a world where 72% of Gen Z wants to be an internet celebrity, young people want to make acquiring followers as easy as possible.

Pedophiles love this, and they love Tik Tok’s default public setting for this reason, which is why the app has received some bad press that abusers are using the app as a hunting ground. In fact, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said it surveyed 40,000 schoolchildren and discovered that 25% of the children had live-streamed with a stranger. And one in 20 children were asked, while live-streaming or in the comments of a posted video, to take their clothes off.

Last week I met a mom at one of my parent workshops whose homeschooled daughter met a guy on social media who eventually asked her to send him a nude. She complied. Come to find out (after the police were contacted), this wasn’t a teen at all, it was an adult male who was grooming her and numerous other young girls whose privacy settings were set to “allow others to find me.” I’m not exaggerating in the slightest when I say I weekly meet a mom or dad whose child experienced something similar.

Today’s young people need to become aware of the unforeseen consequences of social media, and educated about the importance of switching all social media accounts to private. But Tik Tok doesn’t seem eager to help. On that same privacy and safety page, there is another button automatically turned on: “allow others to find me.” For those that want to turn it off, Tik Tok actually warns you, “If you disable ‘this’, other users will not receive suggestions to follow you. In other words: you don’t really want to turn this off, do you?

But the privacy settings get even sillier.

If you click on “Digital Wellbeing” the app offers a “restricted mode,” which is supposed to only allow videos without objectionable content. I flipped this switch and tried it out. At first, the videos did seem much cleaner—more funny dog videos than you could ever want. But I stuck with it for a few minutes and quickly discovered I couldn’t get through even a couple minutes without hearing the f-bomb or crude sexual references.

Bottom line: there’s no G-rated mode for Tik Tok. PG-13 is the best you get.

The “Digital Wellbeing” offers another setting that, again, excited me at first: “Screen Time Management,” only allowing users to be on Tik Tok for a certain time period. But when you click on this, the lowest setting you can choose is 40 minutes (which by my experience, probably offers at least 10 minutes of raunchy content).

Really?

Does my kid really need 40 minutes a day of this?

So what should parents do when their kid asks, “Mom, can I download Tik Tok?”

Consider these 3 practices before allowing your child to use Tik Tok:

1. Check it out together

If your kids ask you, “Mom, can I download Tik Tok?” I encourage you to respond the way parents should respond whenever we are asked that question:

“I don’t know. Let’s check it out together.”

Resist the temptation to just read an article like this one and answer, “No way!” Instead, walk with your kids through the process of discernment. Download the app on your phone and watch for a few minutes with your kid. Then read your kid some of the interesting facts about Tik Tok from this article. Try not to become “the church lady” looking for inappropriate material with a judgmental tone. Remember, you want your kids to feel SAFE talking with you and bringing you their questions and concerns (because if they don’t go to you, they’ll probably go to Google for their answers).

Try asking question, like…

“What do you think?” 

“How should you evaluate whether something is appropriate for you to soak in regularly?” 

“How do your personal values influence this decision?” 

“What does scripture say about this? Let’s read Psalms 101 together.”

But as you do this…

2. Consider two important numbers

Remember two numbers: 13 and 16+.

Tik Tok is subject to the same FTC guidelines as any social media in the United States, and that means that the app cannot collect data from kids under 13. That’s why if your kid tries to sign up for the app, the first question Tik Tok asks is to enter your birthdate. If an 11 or 12-year-old enters their accurate birthdate, then Tik Tok won’t offer their full version of the app, especially after last February, when TikTok paid the FTC a record fine of $5.7 million for collecting the data of kids under 13.

What’s this mean?

If kids under 13 want the Tik Tok that all their friends have, then they have to lie about their age, which is easy. Tik Tok doesn’t verify age in any way (nor does Instagram or SnapChat). So if your 11 or 12-year-old asks you if they can have Tik Tok, the answer is easy.

“Sorry, it’s against the law.”

But if your 13, 14 or 15-year-old asks, then remember Common Sense’s rating of 16+. No, that’s not in ink (unless you print out their review with an inkjet printer), but consider that is a secular review by a respected media watchdog group, and personally, I agree with that number.

Again, the answer isn’t no, it’s not yet. It’s just like if your kid wants to drive your Honda. You probably aren’t going to throw your 13-year-old the keys and say, “Good luck.” So don’t do that with Tik Tok either.

But some parents are thinking to themselves, “My kids never asked to download Tik Tok, they just did it!” That’s why you need to consider…

3. It’s only as good as the passwords

Your kids never even have to ask what they can download when their phone allows downloads. It doesn’t have to be this way. Parents of young kids should access the parental controls on their kids’ devices and adjust the settings to where the user can’t download an app without entering a password.

The mom I met last week whose daughter sent a nude admitted that she never password protected her daughter’s phone.

“I didn’t even know she had the app. I just told her she needed to ask me before downloading any social media.”

Her daughter was 12-years-old when she got her own phone. She sent the nude at 13.

It’s not supposed to be this way.

Kids aren’t supposed to be dodging porn and pedophiles at 12 and 13. Kids shouldn’t be expected to make these kinds of decisions on their own at age 11, but over half the kids in the U.S. have a smartphone at age 11.

But when parents give their kids a smartphone with no controls (especially when 89% of today’s young people bring that phone into the bedroom with them every night), it’s what you’re going to get.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

You can set some loving, helpful, bare-minimum boundaries.

And it’s not going to hurt them to wait a few years for Tik Tok. Who knows, by then, maybe they’ll decide it’s not for them.

This article originally appeared here.

On MLK Day We Still Cannot Be Satisfied

By
Ronnie Floyd
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a dreamer. He saw what others could not see. He heard what others did not hear. He felt what others did not feel. Therefore, he did what others were not willing to do.

King understood any form of racism defies the dignity of human life. That is why, in the midst of racial injustice and division in America, he dreamed about a day in our nation when “justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” His quote of Amos 5:24 mirrored the heart of a prophet who in his own day was witness to injustice and inequality. But King’s interpretation of the text was tinged with a sense of holy dissatisfaction.

Standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he framed it this way: “No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Most of us remember MLK’s 1963 speech by its most famous theme—“I Have a Dream”—but King was much more than a dreamer. What made him one of the most consequential figures of the 20th century was his insatiable desire for biblical justice. This desire would end up costing him his life, but his dream of biblical justice in America would live on. It still lives on today.

Reflecting upon this history, I’m moved to humility and repentance.

We are not black churches. We are not white churches. We are not Latino churches. We are not Asian churches. We are the church of Jesus Christ. We are members of the same body. In the true church of Jesus Christ, the walls of racism and injustice come down.

When I look upon today, there are moments when I think we have come so far. But then, there are other moments that happen far too many times, when the evil of the human heart reminds me that we still have so far to go.

It’s with deep regret that I can do nothing to wipe clean the stained past against our African American brothers and sisters. But with all I am, I can join them in creating a future together that binds up the nation’s wounds and always marches ahead knowing we will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

We cannot change the future of America by ourselves or by remaining cloistered with those who look, talk and think like us. Biblical justice demands engagement. This goes especially to the church in America.

Silence is not the answer to our racial issues in America, and, to be perfectly frank, blind hope that our conflicts will sort out by themselves is a strategy to fail. Pastors and churches cannot sit passively on the sideline. This is one moment when the church of Jesus Christ must lead by exemplifying a strong commitment to racial unity.

We are not black churches. We are not white churches. We are not Latino churches. We are not Asian churches. We are the church of Jesus Christ. We are members of the same body. In the true church of Jesus Christ, the walls of racism and injustice come down.

On Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 15, I will join pastor Arthur L. Hunt, Jr. and Governor Asa Hutchinson at the Arkansas State Capitol and, along hundreds of pastors in Arkansas, we are going to stand and be united publicly. We are choosing unity, not simply talking about it.

Our goal is not political or even racial, but biblical. We must not, we cannot, be satisfied until, as Amos said, “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

It’s past time for racial unity in America. We’ve decided to be united.

This article originally appeared on Fox News.

Your Sermon Offended? Good, It Was Supposed To

By
Joe McKeever
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

“Lord, do you know the Pharisees were offended by your sermon?” Matthew 15:12

Let me say up front that no church can long endure a steady diet of negative preaching. No Christian, no matter how faithful, can withstand an unending barrage of sermons directed toward straightening them out. On a regular basis, we need messages reminding us we are loved, God is faithful, Heaven awaits and there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

But sometimes the minister enters the pulpit with a burdensome task: to attempt a diagnosis, surgery and amputation all in a 25-minute message. At those times, the sermon must cut deeply.

At those times, the message hurts.

How the Lord’s people ever came to expect their pastors to declare the riches of His Word without offending wrong-doers is beyond me.

It cannot be done.

“Offenders will take offense.” Remember that. As columnist Dear Abby put it, “You throw a rock in among a bunch of dogs. The one that hollers got hit.”

Delivering the commands of Scripture on how to live and think, how to re-prioritize our lives and change our behavior, and bring every detail of our existence under the Lordship of Jesus Christ without treading on anyone’s toes is expecting a little much of the preacher.

George Whitefield, the great British preacher of the 18th century, gave us an unforgettable line on this …

“It is a poor sermon that gives no offense; that neither makes the hearer displeased with himself nor with the preacher.”

We preachers are a strange lot.

We will know this—that preaching is supposed to challenge the status quo and disturb the complacent and upset the pretentions of the hypocritical—and then turn around and feel like a failure when someone gets mad at us for doing it well.

“Where did I fail? Someone is angry with me!”

What a crybaby.

C’mon, warrior. Gird up your loins. Be strong in the Lord.

The deacon had no appointment because this urgent matter had robbed him of sleep through the night and surely demanded the preacher’s immediate attention.

“Pastor, that sermon yesterday.”

“Yes. The one on materialism.”

Josh Barbour: “Stuff Worship Leaders Say – Pt. 2”

By
Megan Briggs
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Hilarious Signs You Grew Up Christian from John Crist

By
Esther Laurie
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

This is for all who knew more about VeggieTales than trending topics. Comedian John Crist brings us a hilarious and all too true video for those who grew up in a Christian home. This is gold!

Reimagine Generosity

By
Jack Alexander
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

How many people, when asked for impressions of Bible-believing Christians, would choose words like “generous” and “compassionate” and “sacrificial”? According to studies, the answer is: almost none. We can’t blame it all on bad press. It’s time to look in the mirror.

Yes, it is true that American Christians give more than American non-Christians. But it’s hardly time to pat ourselves on the back. Christians only give 2.43 percent per capita. They gave one third more of their wealth during the Great Depression. In fact, data shows unambiguously that in the past 40 years, as American Christians have grown wealthier and wealthier, their debt has grown larger and larger, and their giving smaller and smaller. As one observer writes, “For Christians in the richest nation in history to be giving only 2.43 percent of their income to their churches is not just stinginess, it is biblical disobedience.”

In a culture where constant consumerism and extravagant excess are celebrated and advertised, even promoted as a patriotic duty, the profound need arose for ministries that could provide solid biblical counsel on how wealthy Christians could steward their wealth and not-so-wealthy Christians could escape debt. These are worthy goals and worthwhile ministries. Some have done exceptional work.

Still, some piece of the puzzle is missing. Church giving has not risen, “stewardship” campaigns are like pulling teeth, and the “Generosity Movement” has been limited and largely confined to the wealthy.

When the battle is being lost—and it is—we question the strategy. And, we should. After all, generosity and stewardship is not about money in the first place. It’s about something deeper than that. It’s about our image of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Sure, you may be less stingy than your neighbor. But we’re not called to live a little better than the Scrooge down the street. We’re not called merely to live debt-free. We’re not even called to live like no one else. We’re called to live like Jesus.

The questions are not: Are you a satisfactory steward? or, Can you be guilt-tripped into giving more? The questions are: Are you generous like Jesus? Are you yearning to live a Christ-like life of abundant self-giving?

When we have more, and give less, than ever before, something is amiss in our hearts, and in the vision of gospel living that animates our churches. We view tithing as a dusty old rule, a two-thousand-year-long guilt trip to nowhere. We view generosity as a luxury of the rich, like sailing and wearing plaid shorts at the country club. And we view stewardship as primarily a matter of financial management.

What if generosity is something much more than that? What if generosity is at the heart of God?

The truth is this. We were created in the image of a self-giving God. God didn’t need us, but our very creation—the creation of all things—was an act of overflowing generosity. We don’t deserve anything. The fact that we have a single moment of life, the fact that we have breath, and food, and families, is because God is generous. And God is so extravagantly generous that he not only gives us being and sustains us in being, not only gives us lives and homes and families and jobs, but even gave us himself in Jesus Christ, and gave us salvation on the cross and new life in the empty tomb.

God’s generosity is unlimited because his love is unending and his storehouse of blessings is abundant—and so our generosity should be unlimited because his love is unending and his storehouse of blessings is abundant.

In other words, generosity is not something we can choose, or choose not, to do. It is who we are, who we are created to be. God gave us to ourselves so that we could give ourselves to one another. God gave himself to us in Christ, so that we could give Christ in us to others. Generosity, in other words, is at the heart of our creation, our salvation and our purpose.

That’s why, several years ago, we set out to reimagine generosity. What would it look like, we wondered, to resource pastors and churches with materials that help talk about generosity from a holistic perspective—not a topic with a silo around finance? What would it look like to walk people on a path from transactional to relational to sacrificial generosity—the kind of generosity we see modeled in the life of Christ?

The results we began to see were extraordinary. We barely talked about money—we talked about the heart—but churches started giving multiples more than they had ever given before. Stories poured in of people showing extravagant generosity with their possessions. But not only money. Volunteerism soared. People gave of themselves in ways that were at times intuitive and at other times entirely surprising. Church cultures started to change.

So now, we are trying to get the word out: Generosity is the new apologetic. It’s the antidote to the devouring poison of materialism. It’s the tangible expression of God’s love in the world. Generosity is at the heart of the Christian life. Generosity like Jesus is not a criterion to make us feel bad about ourselves. It’s an invitation to be ourselves, to become who we are, to live the life that is truly life.

Won’t you join us on the generosity journey?   

Watch video here.

7 Reasons Not to Worry

By
Kevin DeYoung
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

Worry may be the most common sin among your “regular” folks in the church. Now, you may think that’s not very encouraging. “Great, I worry about everything. And now on top of my worrying I am going to feel bad about worrying and I am going to worry about that.” But be encouraged: If worry is just a part of your personality or part of being a mom (or a student or a businessman or whatever), God may not do anything to help you. But if worry is a sin, then God can forgive you for it and help you overcome it.

Is there a sin nice, middle-class Christians commit more than the sin of worry?

You wake up 10 minutes later than you had hoped and anxiety already starts to creep in: What if I’m late? What about traffic? What’s the weather like? You pass by the mirror and worry that your face has more wrinkles than it used to. You rush downstairs and because you are in a hurry you let the kids eat whatever they want, so then you start to worry if sugar really does cause cancer. As you get the kids ready you realize one of your boys didn’t do his homework—again. You worry if he’s ever going to get his head screwed on straight, and as you drop the kids off you worry that they may fall in with the wrong crowd or fall off the monkey bars.

Once you get home you pull up Facebook just to unwind. There you read about how awesome everyone else’s kids are and all the amazing cupcakes your friends make, and you worry that you might be a failure as a mom. Later in the morning you feel that pain in your knee again. You worry about having to get knee replacement surgery and whether your insurance will cover that and how you’ll pay for it and who will take care of the kids if you are laid up for a month. Then you worry that maybe the pain is something worse, so you check all the medical web sites and realize you probably have a rare case of whooping cough that’s spread to your appendages.

Hours later when the kids are in bed you turn on the television to forget about the day. As you flip through the channels and get caught up on the news you start to worry about the economy and the polar vortex and the rise in crime in your city. You worry about the racial divisions in this country and how you’ll talk to your friend who sees things a little differently, and maybe you worry whether the police would treat you fairly or you worry about the safety of your brother who is a police officer. So you turn off the TV and talk to your husband and worry about his cough that doesn’t seem to get better and worry about the layoffs they’re having at work. And finally as you lay down for the night you feel a tremendous sense of anxiety and you don’t even know why. For reasons you can’t even understand, you start worrying about life and kids and your parents and your church and your health and flying and driving and sleeping and eating and a general fear that the days ahead could be really bad.

Can you relate?

Jesus can help.

Matthew 6:25-34 is one of the Bible’s great passages on worry. Three times Jesus says “do not be anxious” (25, 31, 34). But he doesn’t stop there. Jesus is interested in more than handing down commands. He wants to get at our hearts. And so he gives seven reasons why we should not be anxious.

Research on Fandom, Small Groups, and 3 Implications for Church Leaders

By
Eric Geiger
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has a funny bit where he pokes fun at us sports fans. He says that because players are constantly changing teams, we are not really loyal to players as much as we are loyal to the clothes the players are wearing. Sports fans are essentially rooting for laundry, that we are standing and yelling for the clothes from our city to beat the clothes from another city.

In his book, The Secret Lives of Sport’s Fans: The Science of Sports Obsession, Eric Simons quotes scientists, researchers, and psychologists who have studied what motivates a sport’s fan. The conclusion is a longing for togetherness. As Christians, we believe that our longing for community is a God-given desire. Community is not something we created, but something God created for us. The Bible teaches us that the community we have as Christians is stronger than any other community because it is built on a foundation that never changes. It is built on our eternal God and the unending love He has for us. He gave it to us because we need it. We need it for our spiritual health.

The research on the impact of small groups on a person’s faith development is significant. In the book Transformational Groups, Ed Stetzer and I share insights from research that essentially concludes people who are in a small group display attributes of discipleship much more than people who are not in a small group.

3 Reasons for Christian Community

1. People long for community even if they can’t articulate the longing.

Most sports fans won’t say, “the reason I am wearing a jersey is because I want to connect with others,” but the lack of admission or even the lack of recognition only masks the longing. The longing is still there. This means the people who come to our churches are looking for community whether they realize it or admit it. We should do all we can to invite people to come together as Christians.

2. Community makes us healthier.

According to the research on sports fans, community is encouraging even when the fan’s teams perpetually lose for decades. While we may think that being a fan of a team who is losing is miserable, psychologists believe it is actually healthy and helpful. When rooting for a losing team you are rooting for a losing team with others, in community. Losing with others is better for you than being alone. Why does this matter for church leaders? It matters because the community we offer not only helps people grow spiritually but it helps with mental and social health too.

3. Christian community makes us spiritually healthier.

The research beneath our book indicates that those in a group are healthier spiritually than those not in a group. Those who are in a group give more generously, serve more sacrificially, and share the gospel more regularly than those not in a group.

The research and insights challenge church leaders to do all we can to help people be involved in the Christian community.

This article originally appeared here.

Why Your “Type” Isn’t Always Good For You

By
Debra Fileta
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

When I was single, I would often imagine what my future relationship was going to be like. I wondered about the kind of guy I’d end up dating and marrying. I’d try to picture who he would be and how he would look. I wondered if when I eventually had a picture of him, would I be proud to show it to my friends, or would I find myself with someone with an amazing heart whom I struggled to find attractive? I know I’m not alone in that worry because I hear from many people who express the same fears and concerns.

Physical Attraction

Finding someone to whom you are physically attracted is an important part of the equation of a healthy relationship. But it’s not the only part of the equation of attraction. It’s important for us to understand that attraction is multi-faceted. While attraction may start as physical, it’s fueled by other aspects of connection: emotional, mental, and spiritual.

I am thankful that I am married to a man that I find attractive. But I was surprised by my growing attraction to him because he was not my so-called “type.” Physical attraction is a legitimate need in a relationship, but it must be kept in proper perspective because just because you’re physically attracted to someone, doesn’t mean they’re good for you. Sometimes we’re physically attracted to people because something unhealthy in us, connects with something unhealthy in them. That’s why that initial physical attraction has to be kept in proper perspective. Sometimes it’s skewed by our own internal struggles, and other times, it’s skewed by what the world has led us to believe is “attractive”.

HEALTHY EXPECTATIONS

As you are looking at your relationship, it is important to make sure that physical attraction is part of the equation, but more importantly, that you are coming to the table with appropriate expectations. It’s important to remember that expectations of physical perfection or the fulfillment of selfish fantasy are not realistic. Real people have real bodies, and our expectations must be real as well. This is not about finding a supermodel wife or waiting to marry Mr. Universe.

That might sound like a no-brainer to you, but we live in a culture in which the concepts of sexual chemistry and physical attraction have become totally, completely, and irreversibly skewed. The entertainment industry and the pornography culture have completely ravaged our understanding of beauty, and namely, the beauty of a real woman. And this distorted mentality is starting to seep into the church in a truly concerning way. I know, because I hear from Millenials all the time who are battling unrealistic expectations of physical attraction. A young man afraid to marry an incredible woman because her arms were too big. A young woman hesitating to commit to a godly man because he’s shorter than she had hoped. Before we start judging, let’s consider the ways we all come to the table with an unrealistic perspective.

Our concept of beauty and sex appeal has been completely hijacked over the years to the point where our expectations are unrealistic. We won’t even consider seeing someone as attractive if they don’t measure up to the standard that Hollywood has laid out for us, or to the filters that Instagram has convinced us are real life. But we’ve got to open our eyes to the fact that the standard we’ve been fed is so far from reality.

Beauty is fluid. And our desires, as well as the people we will find attractive, are morphed and changed based on the things we allow ourselves to be exposed to. In that regard, we actually have some sort of control over the things we define as attractive and beautiful.

In a culture that is infiltrated with pornography, airbrushed billboards and magazines, plastic surgery, and Instagram filters, our standard of “beauty” has moved so far from the truth that it is causing some major damage to our relational expectations—for both men and women. The more unrealistic images we take in, the more skewed our concept of beauty will be. Single or married, you can expose yourself to so much “fantasy” that real women and real men begin to lose their luster.

WE NEED A RESET

The only way to get our expectations moving back to reality is to realize that we need a reset. The reason we say “no” to distorted expectations of attraction is that skin-deep beauty can only last so long. Fast-forward 50, 30, or even 10 years, and your body as well as that of your spouse will have changed, sagged, and likely stretched out beyond recognition. After a few babies, a surgery or two along the way, and the unrelenting process of aging, I can guarantee you one thing: Neither of you will look the same. That is why it is so important to make sure your expectations of physical attraction are kept in check because it is only one part of the equation of lasting attraction.

In marriage, you will see your spouse at their absolute worst. You’ll see them in their most natural state—before the hair, before the makeup, before the accessories. You’ll see them through the lens of real-life, which does not hide morning breath, cellulite, or other imperfections. You will be with your spouse through the days of sickness and exhaustion. What will ultimately define your marriage—and ultimately, your very life—is not the “supermodel status” of your husband or wife, but rather, their character.

Your spouse is the person who will have the greatest influence on your happiness, your confidence, and your security. Your spouse is the person who will walk with you through the highs and lows of life, help raise your children, and influence your family in every single way. According to Proverbs, a wife [or husband] of character is a treasure (Proverbs 31:10). And he who finds that finds a great thing, something worth holding onto no matter what. I know so many marriages that started with “amazing physical chemistry” and fizzled into nothing within a few short years. I also know of so many marriages that started on the foundation of good character and godliness—and continued to grow in intimacy, in respect, and in love.

It is time for us to rise above the noise of this culture and set our relationship expectations and standards on things that really matter. It is time to reset our standard of beauty by shutting off the influence of unrealistic junk and filling our minds and hearts with the truth.

  • Beauty is fleeting (Proverbs 31:30).
  • Charm is deceptive (Proverbs 31:30).
  • Real beauty runs deep (1 Peter 3:3).
  • Real attraction is multifaceted.
  • Inner beauty cannot be fabricated or replicated.
  • Character is what actually defines a person.
  • Spiritual health trumps everything (1 Timothy 4:8).

It is time for us to say “no” to the unrealistic standards this world is throwing our way. That starts with taking inventory of what we allow our minds to think about and our hearts to lust upon. Maybe that means making the commitment to stay away from porn. Maybe that means turning off Netflix for a while. Maybe it means stepping away from Facebook or TV or magazines. Maybe that means putting limits on how much we mindlessly scroll Instagram. Maybe it means guarding our conversations and how we allow ourselves to talk about the opposite sex.

Ultimately, it means saying no to lies that skew our perception of physical attraction—in exchange for truth. It’s time to reset our understanding of the role of physical attraction in our romantic relationships and remember that attraction has just as much to do with character as it does with chemistry.

This article is an excerpt from Debra’s new book, Love In Every Season: Understanding the Four Stages of Every Healthy Relationship, and is used with permission. To find out how each season (spring, summer, fall, and winter) can make or break your relationship ORDER LOVE IN EVERY SEASON TODAY.

NFL Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Doesn’t Believe There is a Hell

By
Jesse T. Jackson
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

This weekend NFL superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers takes the field with his Green Bay Packers to battle the San Francisco 49er’s for the 2020 NFC title. Rodgers is one of the most electrifying players in the game. He has been named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player twice and he and his team won Super Bowl XLV in 2010.

However, even after all of those achievements, Rodgers was still searching for something. In an interview with ESPN, Rodgers says: “It’s natural to question some of the things that society defines as success, when you achieve that and there’s not this rung–you know, another rung to climb up in this ladder–it’s natural to be like, ‘OK, now what?'”

Rodgers goes on to explain that he grew up in a devout Christian home. His family attended a non-denominational church and he was taught all the Bible lessons as a kid. It wasn’t until later in life he started to really question things he was taught a lot more. He recalls specifically a concern that stuck with him: “I remember asking a question as a young person about somebody in a remote rainforest,” Rodgers told Mina Kimes. “Because the words that I got were: ‘If you don’t confess your sins, then you’re going to hell.’ And I said, ‘What about the people who don’t have a Bible readily accessible?'” This particularly bothered Rodgers, because his teammates and friends that would be going to hell if he were to believe that statement.

Ex-Mars Hill Pastor Rob Bell was invited by the Packers to speak to the team in 2008 and Rodgers began a strong friendship with him. Bell sent him books on religion to read, and Rodgers even gave him feedback on his (Bell) writings. It was after reading those books and conversations he had with Rob Bell that Rodgers came to the conclusion that the beliefs he had been taught to have as a child were wrong. It was then he says he realized that spirituality is more inclusive and a lot less literal than the lessons he was taught and struggled with.

Rodgers credits Bell’s research for his current belief of there not being a literal hell:”It wasn’t a fiery pit idea–that [concept] was handed down in the 1700s by the Puritans and influenced Western culture.” In the interview he goes on to say that Genesis is a beautiful piece of work but was never meant to be interpreted as some churches do.

Rodgers now believes that organized religion can have “a mind-debilitating effect, because there is an exclusivity that can shut you out from being open to the world, to people, and energy, and love and acceptance.” He didn’t used to think that way, he used to be more “black-and-white” or as others may call “absolute.”

When Aaron Rodgers was asked if he was still sees himself as a Christian he responded he no longer identifies with any affiliation.

Here are 4 takeaways for Church Leaders from Rodgers’ interview:

1. Our children don’t inherit their parent’s beliefs; they must ultimately come to the conclusion (or submission) to the truth of Jesus for themselves. It is so important we pray for our children’s faith. (John 3)

2. Someone’s doubts and curiosity should be handled carefully. Knowledge that is outside the Bible can cause people to be swayed and misled to believe something other than what the Holy Spirit planted earlier. (Matthew 13)

3. Hell is real (separation from Jesus for eternity), but very few desire to believe that. (Luke 13)

4. When we watch Aaron Rodgers’ greatness on the field it is important we care about his soul, and as long as he has breath there is time for him to repent and believe in the questions he struggles with. (Luke 23)

References: ESPN The Magazine: The search for Aaron Rodgers

5 Steps to Finding Family in Your Community

By
Adam McLane
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

Divorce. Single parenthood. Extended singlehood. Living away from home. Broken relationships. Loneliness.

None of these are surprises. None of these are ideal. All of them are our reality and bond.

All of them are (by design) normative in the body of Christ. (James Dobson’s ideals are great. But they aren’t our reality.) We are a people tied together primarily by our brokenness. The church is the only institution on the planet where everyone is on the same playing field. We are all sinners. We all admit that left to our own devices, we’d screw it up so we have a desperate need for a community that can help us screw it up less. That’s our bond as believers. We need each other because we are busted.

And yet– sadly, working in a church is one of the loneliest jobs in America.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Without sounding like a 5-step program too much– here are 5 hard steps you can take to find community (and, ultimately contentment) while working on staff at any church.

Step One

Admit you aren’t perfect, can’t be perfect, and are lonely. No, really. It starts with a healthy understanding of who you are and your lot in life. One of my frustrations with making pastors look like celebrities is that too many pastors start to believe that their poop doesn’t stink. (Conversely, to aspire to be a “great pastor,” you have to pretend that you fell from heaven onto a community, and you have no needs, and you somehow embody a perfection that you really aren’t.)

You aren’t bulletproof. You need friends. You need accountability. You need people your own age in your life. Admit it.

Step two

Find people your own age. This one makes people’s head tilt 10 degrees to the side when I say it. “My youth group is like my family.” No, they aren’t. They are adolescents, and you are an adult. Not only is it really unhealthy for your long-term health for you to consider the youth group your family because they graduate and go to college– it’s creepy for an adult to depend on a bunch of students to be his family. Creepy with a capital C.

Find people within 10 years of yourself. (On average) Honestly, common interests are cool but not really primary.

Note that I’m being careful to say that you don’t need to find this in your church. It’s great if it can happen there. But I’ve worked at smallish churches my whole life, and I know that there might not actually be a group of adults in your age range. But every community has people your age. You might just have to do something outside of your church. Join a softball team or a golf league or something going on with people your own age and go there. (Just don’t go dancing, that leads to sex.)

Step three

It’s better when you aren’t in charge. I don’t know why…but for us the magic mojo of our finding family/community in San Diego has been that I’m not in charge. The joke has been, “We’re just the hosts.”

I think the truth is that we, as pastors, like to be in charge a little too much. We want to set the agenda. We want to be the center of attention. We want to be the expert. We love it when everyone looks to us. In short, we have a validation problem. We hide behind the persona and expectation because we like it and feed off of it.

But you will never feel like part of a community if you are walking around thinking that you are the man on the white horse who has come to save the town from itself. All you are really doing is walking around with a false view of yourself and leaving yourself on a very lonely island. (And I know too many pastors readily fired who have made themselves entirely expendable at their church by living on a very long island.)

Step four

Develop inter-dependency. A false presentation of who we really are (see above) leads us to think we don’t really need to depend on our community of friends. (And elevating our need to develop dependencies on our work. Raise your hand if you’re a work-aholic.)

It’s OK to be a pastor and have needs that you have to depend on others for. It’s OK to admit that in the safety of your community. In fact, what you will discover is that once you level the playing field and admit that you need to depend on people– you’ll actually be a seen as a much stronger leader. This goes beyond just depending on people to do stuff for you. This means that you’ll need to join and participate in being part of a family as an equal. You know, be a servant to your friends and allow them to reciprocate. Just as you need to lean on others, they need to be able to lean on you.

The question being answered by every single person over and over again about you (and behind your back) as a pastor is, “Is that person for real?” When you become part of a community of people (aka– a family) that really knows you, where you can just be Adam and not Pastor Adam, then those people will help answer that question in a way you’d like it answered. “Yeah, Adam is a legit guy. He and Kristen have their struggles, but they are just like anyone else.” That’s a whole lot better than, “All I really know about him is what he’s preached. He keeps to himself.”

Step five

Relax, you’re with family. The goal is simple. You know you’ve arrived when you’re just a dude (or dudette) with a job. (And people aren’t saying, “I’m in the pastor’s group.“) It will hit you when you get there.

And you won’t be healthy in a community until you find a group of people who look at you as such. My goal every time our community group (our real family in San Diego) gets together is to shut up and listen. Literally, that’s what I’m telling myself over and over again as I prepare for Monday night. “Shut up, Adam, no one cares.” But these people really do care about Kristen and Adam– the family that hosts us on Monday nights. That’s how I know we’ve arrived.

This is more important than any job you are doing.

Everything you do as a pastor depends on your health emotionally and spiritually. If you don’t have this, stop everything! Your ministry will not succeed until it flows out of a healthy life.

The simple reality is that you need a place to just be instead of being the pastor. And I think I’ve shocked people when we sit across the table for coffee, and I tell them this has to become their #1 priority.

Yes, I’ve even told people they need to stop being a pastor if they can’t make this happen.

It’s that important.  

TLP Extremists Who Sparked Asia Bibi Riots Sentenced to 55 Years in Prison

By
Megan Briggs
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TLP
FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2019 file photo, supporters of Tehreek-e-Labbaik, a Pakistani religious group, surround an armored police armored car carrying their leader, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, as he arrives to a court in Lahore, Pakistan. A Pakistani court has sentenced 86 members of the radical Islamist party to 55-year prison terms each for taking part in violent rallies in 2018 over the acquittal of a Christian woman in a blasphemy case, a party official said Friday.(AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary, File)

In 2018, when the Supreme Court of Pakistan acquitted Asia Bibi of the charges of blasphemy against her and overturned her death sentence, massive riots led by the radical Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) party paralyzed the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi by blocking a major road. The riots even turned violent. Now after a year-long trial, some those responsible for the riots, some 86 members of the TLP, have been sentenced to a 55-year prison sentence.

“We will challenge the verdicts,” Ameer Hussain Rizvi (brother of Khadim Hussain Rizvi—head of the TLP) told reporters.

The decision was announced Thursday night in an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi.

In addition to the prison time, the convicted are required to pay a collective sum of Rs 12,925,000. The court also ordered authorities to seize their moveable and immoveable assets.

TLP Leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi Trial Pending

The leader of the group, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, was arrested after the 2018 riots under terrorism and sedition charges. However, in May 2019 Rizvi was freed on bail due to medical reasons. In December 2019, Rizvi was indicted for those charges, but a date for the final ruling has not been set yet. 

According to The Hindu, the 86 TLP members were charged with damaging public property, beating people up, and disrupting normal life by staging sit-ins. The 55-year sentence is seen as harsh, although it is unlikely those convicted will serve the full time. “Imprisonments given by judges of more than 25 years are mostly symbolic,” prominent Pakistani lawyer A.K. Dogar told The Hindu. “The convicted person only spends a maximum 25 years in prison.”

Immediately following the Supreme Court’s announcement in 2018, an angry mob of Islamist extremists blocked the major road from Islamabad to Rawalpindi. They burned tires and threatened anyone associated with Bibi, including the judges who had ruled in her favor. In response, the government shut down the cellular phone networks in a couple major cities, hoping to deter the protests.

The Pakistani government negotiated with the TLP, allowing the court’s decision to be appealed and placing a travel ban on Bibi. Over the course of six months, Bibi’s case and life was held in limbo. The court eventually decided to stand behind their initial acquittal decision, but Bibi still couldn’t leave the country. In light of the massive protests against her acquittal and the TLP’s call for her beheading, Bibi was kept in hiding for several months. Numerous nations, including Canada, Spain, and France offered her asylum. Finally, in May, Bibi’s lawyer, Saif Ul Malook, announced that Bibi had joined her family in Canada. 

Bibi and her family were not the only ones in danger and harmed by the case of blasphemy against her. Her supporters were also threatened. Bibi’s lawyer fled to the Netherlands after the Supreme Court decision. He traveled back to Pakistan to defend Bibi a second time when the appeal case took place in January 2019. 

Two of Bibi’s supporters even lost their lives. Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Punjab, was assassinated after saying he would fight for Bibi’s acquittal and release. Taseer was shot by one of his bodyguards in 2011. Rizvi praised the bodyguard, Mumtaz Qadri  and referred to him as a martyr in his sermons (Qadri was executed in 2016 for the murder). A shrine in Islamabad was erected by hardline, extremist Muslims in his honor. Additionally, Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian himself, was murdered after he indicated he would work to reform the blasphemy laws.

The Pakistani Government’s Tenuous Relationship With the TLP

Bibi’s case does not represent the first time the government has negotiated with the TLP. In November 2017, the group, which is described as a religiopolitical party, organized a 20-day sit-in at the Faizabad Interchange, a major traffic interchange in Islamabad. Practically paralyzing the movement of Pakistan’s capital city, the TLP was protesting a change in wording to the country’s Elections Bill 2017. The protest, which turned deadly, called for the resignation of Law Minister Zahid Hamid. Hamid did resign after an agreement was forged between the protestors and the government.

Some, including Bibi’s lawyer, have been critical of the Pakistani government’s seeming capitulation to the TLP and their demands. After conceding to the TLP and allowing the Supreme Court’s decision to acquit Bibi to be appealed, Mullok said, “What’s painful is the response of the government. They cannot even implement an order of the country’s highest court.”

While it is unclear how much time the 86 members will ultimately serve in prison, the decision to sentence them does seem to signal an effort on the part of the government not to give in to violent demands from the extremist group.

Trump: You Have the Right to Pray in Public School

By
Jessica Lea
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

On Thursday, January 16, President Trump held a meeting in the Oval Office, where he announced updated safeguards against religious discrimination, including protections for the constitutional “right to pray” in public schools. 

“You have the right to pray,” said the president, “and that’s a very important and powerful right. There’s nothing more important than that I would say…Yet in public schools around the country, authorities are stopping students and teachers from praying, sharing their faith, or following their religious beliefs. It is totally unacceptable.” 

Working to Curb Religious Discrimination

The president announced new federal guidance from the Department of Education that updates previous guidance dating back to 2003. Called “Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer and Religious Expression in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools,” the updates are designed to counteract what the president called a “growing totalitarian impulse” on the far left that wants to restrict religious expression. In addition to the federal guidance, the president announced that nine federal agencies will be proposing rules to prevent religious discrimination. The White House also released a memo to make sure federal funds will not be used to violate the First Amendment.  

President Trump declared January 16 to be Religious Freedom Day and was joined in the Oval Office by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, and spiritual adviser Paula White. Also present were teachers and students of various faith backgrounds who have experienced religious discrimination. At the president’s invitation, they shared what they had experienced as a result of their beliefs. 

One young man from Colorado had, when he was in high school, started a small group that met to pray during one of the school’s free periods. “By my senior year,” he said, “it had grown into a community of 90 students.” However, the administration later prohibited them from praying during school hours, including lunch, even though the group had been meeting during school hours for the past three years. After trying to resolve the issue by meeting with the school administration, the young man filed a lawsuit against the school district. District leaders have since decided to allow students to meet to pray during lunch time (they got rid of the free period), so the lawsuit has been withdrawn. 

Other highschoolers shared stories about being discriminated against because they prayed at school. One girl said that when she and her friends wanted to pray for a former classmate’s brother, the principal banned them from doing so unless they hid so that no one else could see them praying. A Muslim girl who prays five times a day while covering her hair with a hijab said that students at school made fun of her for doing so. When she told the principal, the administrator placed the blame on her. 

Additional stories of religious discrimination included that of a nine-year-old Catholic boy who came to class one day with ashes on his forehead in observance of Ash Wednesday. His teacher made him wipe off the ashes in front of the whole class. 

A Jewish girl (now in high school) told how she was harassed because of her faith in middle school. Students would put swastikas on her belongings, bully her, and even put a picture of her face on Anne Frank’s body and sent it to three schools in the area. Said the girl, “I was terrified to say I was Jewish, and that should never be in anyone’s mind.”

What Does the New Federal Guidance Say?

The federal guidance states that a local educational agency (LEA) “must certify in writing to its SEA [State educational agency] that it has no policy that prevents, or otherwise denies participation in, constitutionally protected prayer in public schools as detailed in this updated guidance.” Local schools must comply with this certification in order to “receive funds under the [Elementary and Secondary Education Act].”

The guidance does not specify how LEAs are to go about the process of getting certified, leaving that up to the SEAs. SEAs must report to the Secretary of Education if any schools have not gotten certified and must also report if there are any complaints against a school for denying someone the “right to pray.”

The guidance not only addresses prayer but also a variety of religious rights and practices. For example, it states that, “Among other things, students may read their Bibles, Torahs, Korans, or other scriptures; say grace before meals; and pray or study religious materials with fellow students during recess, the lunch hour, or other non-instructional time to the same extent that they may engage in nonreligious activities.” 

Among other provisions, the guidance explains how student and teacher rights are protected when it comes to groups or clubs and how students may express their religious beliefs in relation to their class work. Students are also to be allowed to dress according to their religious convictions, have equal access to school facilities, and be able to distribute religious literature so long as they do so within the school’s guidelines for any literature not related to school work. 

These regulations, said the president, will help with the ongoing “cultural war” in our country. He said, “You have a side that believes so strongly in prayer and it is being restricted and it’s getting worse and worse. And I think we have made a big impact. We have loosened it up a lot and I want to loosen it up totally.”

Priscilla Shirer Is Home and ‘so grateful’

By
Megan Briggs
-
Bible teacher
Screengrab Youtube @Going Beyond Ministries with Priscilla Shirer

Priscilla Shirer shared an update on her recovery from lung surgery yesterday. The popular Bible teacher and daughter of Tony Evans and the late Lois Evans shared a picture on her Instagram account with one word: “Home.”

“Thank you so much for whispering my name to the Father. I’m so grateful,” Shirer wrote in the caption.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Thank you so much for whispering my name to the Father. I’m so grateful. 🙏🏽

A post shared by @ priscillashirer on

An update posted to Shirer’s Going Beyond Ministries Facebook page included some information about the surgery from Shirer’s husband, Jerry: 

Hello Everyone.
My bride put out a message last week about a procedure she had on Monday.
Surgery went well.
Doctors are pleased.
We are so grateful for your prayers.

The support Shirer has received is encouraging to the Evans family. “This IS a glimpse at the Body of Christ in action. Thank you for praying for Priscilla today,” Tony Evans wrote in an Instagram post on Monday. The post included a picture of Shirer hugging Beth Moore. Moore has also posted a few updates about Shirer, including a video of herself and Christine Caine going to the hospital to pray while Shirer was in surgery on Monday.

Shirer announced last week that she would be undergoing surgery on Monday, January 13th to address a problem in her left lung. “Three years ago, my doctors discovered a small nodule in my left lung. Several pulmonary specialists and I have watched it meticulously since then,” Shirer wrote on her Facebook page. “This past summer, it was clear that something surgical needed to be done as the nodule had begun to grow and show signs of dangerous irregularities.”

Shirer went on to explain that the surgery was put off due to the past few months being “filled with a lot of difficulty” for her family, thus delaying the needed surgery. The Evans family recently laid their matriarch, Lois, to rest after the second round of a battle against biliary cancer. 

Questions for John Piper, Louis Giglio, Francis Chan and Beth Moore about Passion 2012

By
Jeff Baxter
-

The blogosphere is raging around the grand finish of Louis Giglio’s Passion 2012 where Piper, Giglio, Chan and Moore led thousands of 20-somethings (mainly) in a lite version of the ancient spiritual Roman Catholic Monastic Mystical practice of Lectio Divina.  I have been praying, thinking, watching the videos and seeking others about this for the last few weeks.

The bottom line for me…I have great concerns and questions.

First, I like many of these leaders and have learned Biblical principles from many of them for years.  I have saught their wisdom and have quoted them while preaching and teachings.  I have attended conferences that they have spoken.  Thus, I have had a high level of respect for them.  This is why I am concerned and I think all of us should stop, think and seek others on this issue.

Why am I concerned?  Let me answer that by answering some other questions…

What is Lectio Divina?

According to Wikipedia which is well referenced on this issue, it is this…

“Lectio Divina (Latin for divine reading) is a traditional Roman Catholic practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God’s Word. It does not treat Scripture as texts to be studied, but as the Living Word.

Traditionally Lectio Divina has 4 separate steps: read, meditate, pray and contemplate. First a passage of Scripture is read, then its meaning is reflected upon. This is followed by prayer and contemplation on the Word of God.

The focus of Lectio Divina is not a theological analysis of biblical passages but viewing them with Christ as the key to their meaning. For example, given Jesus’ statement in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you” an analytical approach would focus on the reason for the statement during the Last Supper, the biblical context, etc. But in Lectio Divina rather than “dissecting peace”, the practitioner “enters peace” and shares in the peace of Christ. In Christian teachings, this form of meditative prayer leads to an increased knowledge of Christ.

The roots of Scriptural reflection and interpretation go back to Origen in the 3rd century, after whom St. Ambrose taught them to St. Augustine. The monastic practice of Lectio Divina was first established in the 6th century by Saint Benedict. It was then formalized as a 4 step process by the Carthusian monk, Guigo II in the 12th century. In the 20th century, the constitution Dei Verbum of Pope Paul VI recommended Lectio Divina for the general public. Pope Benedict XVI emphasized the importance of Lectio Divina in the 21st century.” (Source)  Emphasis mine.

I was aquainted with this practice when it surfaced (again) while I was a youth pastor in youth ministry as the Emergent Church and it’s leaders raised this “new” but old spiritual practice as a cool way to connect with God.

So what is wrong with it?

Well, a few things things come to mind…

1. First, as the definition of this practice states, “It does not treat Scripture as texts to be studied.”  This means we set aside proper hermenutical interpretation principles that you would apply to any historical work in order to engage with the “Living Word.”  It is always dangerous to not treat Scripture as a historical document (as it is) to be studied.  Yes, the Bible is the “Living Word”, but not literally living in the sense that a human being is living.  Jesus was the Word incarnate as a literal man who walked the earth and the Bible is a book of God’s Words of authority to us.  Let’s not get confused.

2. Second, as the definition of this practice states, “Lectio Divina is not a theological analysis of biblical passages but viewing them with Christ as the key to their meaning.”  Anytime we do not engage our minds when reading Scripture (i.e. theological analysis), we are heading off the road.  Not all Scripture can be “viewed with Christ as the key to their meaning.”  This is why proper Biblical hermenutics is all important.  Asking questions like, “Who wrote this?”, “What is the author’s intended meaning in writing this passage?”, “Where does it fit in the whole Biblical record?”, “What genra of language are we studying (poem, prophecy, history, parable…)?” and the like are essential to understanding God’s intent for our lives.

3. As the example listed illustrates, yes, the application of the passage in John 14 might be to have more peace as a believer in Jesus Christ, but how do we know unless we read the passage in context, ask interpretation questions and seek the author’s intended meaning?  We don’t just set our brains at the door.

4. I also have trouble with where this practice originated.  It came from a group called the Desert Fathers, because they spent most of their lives (literally) in isolation from community in order to connect with God.  Biblical Scripture is clear…we are to stay connected in community (with times of refeshment alone with the Lord), but not isolation almost your whole life.  This is dangerous and leads to false teaching.  Leaders like Joseph Smith, Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, and Karl Marx come to mind.  These were men who spend long periods of time in isolation and the result were writings that led many people astray.  And yet, some in the Christian community have lifted up the Desert Fathers as hereos of the faith.  When did isolating yourself from community become cool and cutting edge Christianity?  Not to mention, the inability to share the good news of Jesus with others when you are alone in the desert or silent in a monastery.

5. Church Father, Origen said in a letter to Gregory of Neocaesarea Origen wrote: “when you devote yourself to the divine reading … seek the meaning of divine words which is hidden from most people”.   This is concerning and is closely associated with Gnosticism, a false teaching during the time of Christ, the Apostle Paul and the Disciples.  Paul wrote much of the New Testament to combat against this false belief that you can gain some “secret knowledge” that only you know and many people don’t know about God.  Origen was into Lectio Divina.

6. Much of the principles and practices of Lectio Divina can be connected New Age, Buddhism, Mysticism, and Neo-orthodoxy theology.  Neo-orthodoxy questions the authority and inspiration of Biblical Scripture and in some camps the historical Jesus Christ.

So, I have some concerns…

This blog will probably not be read by these Christian leaders, but I still have some questions for them.  Here they are…

1. Do all of you know the history of Lectio Divina and it’s roots? I am sure you do, so why lead this group in the ancient practice of Lectio Divina and not just a prayer time praying back the prayers of the Bible?  Instead, you just opened up a silent time without context of the passage and without boundaries.  This takes the guardrails possibly causing some to head into a ditch.

2. With a younger and easily influenced group, why open them up to hearing something contrary to God’s voice?

3. Louie, How do you know they heard God’s voice at the end?  Just because they cheered?  Is that the test to hearing and confirming it was God’s voice?  What would be the accountability for this group?

4. Are you encouraging this group to use Lectio Divina in their own personal prayer times?  Where does this fit with Hermenutics?

5. Why did you create a dramatic emphasis at the end where many of the students might have thought this “contemplative prayer time” was more important than proper expository preaching of the Bible (which took place earlier in the conference by all of these speakers)?

6. Pastor Piper, why did you have a 2012 Prayer Emphasis for Lectio Divina on your blog a day after the Passion Conference (written by someone else), but take it down a day later with this explanation?

“Update: Formerly I listed Lectio Divina as a third system for prayer. I’ve since removed it for the confusion it has caused. We do not endorse contemplative spirituality. The main point I’d like to recommend is using the text of Scripture as an organizer for our prayers — prayers that are exegetically faithful and gospel rich. I’m sorry for introducing the category.“

7. Were all of you “on board” with this idea before the conference or did Louis (the leader of the conference) put you up to it?

8. Beth Moore, I understand that you are Sessationalist because of your writings (source).  So, I can understand why you were involved with Lectio Divina, but with your Bible study resources listed on your webpage, how do you reconcile these two practices (Lectio Divina and proper Biblical Interpretation)?

9. Francis, I know you are a student of the Word of God and a very good Bible Teacher, so why enter into this Mystical Monastic practice?  You might have the proper filters Biblically, but did you consider that your audience might not?

I have more questions, but I will stop here.

I am not asking these questions with judgement, but with curiosity as I have respected these leaders for various reasons throughout the years.  I would love to know the thinking behind all of this and why we are embracing this unorthodox monastic practice.  It leads to dangerous places.

To see all of the videos of the end of the Passion 2012 go here.  I am not endorcing everything this blog link, but this particular article is informative.

If anyone reading this blog has answers for these questions from Piper, Giglio, Chan or Moore, I would love to read them.  What do you think?

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