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Bible-Week Resolution Passes Easily in Wisconsin

By
Stephanie Martin
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In an 86-9 vote, the Wisconsin legislature on Tuesday passed a resolution that recognizes the week of Thanksgiving as National Bible Week. All dissenting votes came from Democrats, the minority party.

Also on Tuesday, Wisconsin legislators voted 64-30 to call the rotunda’s evergreen a “Christmas tree,” not a “holiday tree.”

The Reason Behind National Bible Week

According to the resolution, “Bible reading has been a great encouragement and comfort for many people throughout our state’s history and has contributed to the molding of the spiritual, moral, and social fiber of our citizenry.” Rep. Paul Tittl, the resolution’s author, says he’s “not just pumping out Christianity,” noting that the Bible is key to other religions, also.

Tittl credits a pastor at a “little Baptist church” for helping him rededicate his life to Jesus at age 24. After hearing a Promise Keepers speaker talk about the need for Christians in government, Tittl decided to enter politics. “It’s important to remember that we will answer to God for our decisions,” he says, “including the ones we make in our political life.” In 2016, Tittl was criticized for holding a Bible study at the statehouse.

Wisconsin legislators have previously passed resolutions to honor other holidays, says Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. But Democratic Minority Leader Gordon Hintz says Republicans are starting “holy wars” to distract attention from a weak agenda.

Dissenters Cite Discrimination, Exclusion

Opponents call the Bible resolution inappropriate. The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation says the Assembly is misusing its power to promote one faith. The resolution “directly endorses Christianity over other religions, thereby telling non-Christian citizens we are second-class citizens for being the ‘wrong’ religion,” it says. “Imagine the uproar were the Legislature to promote ‘National Quran Week.’”

The FFRF adds that lawmakers apparently consider the holiday season “a time for good will to Christians and bad will to all the rest of us.” But Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke counters: “It seems like the only religion we’re willing to take shots at is Christianity.”

Resolutions act more as symbolic statements than official laws. It’s unclear what activities—if any—will take place in Wisconsin for National Bible Week. Some Christian denominations and publishers suggest activities and Scripture readings for the occasion.

National Bible Week originated in 1941, when Scripture was read over NBC Radio on Pearl Harbor Day. Since then, every U.S. president has declared Thanksgiving week as National Bible Week. Governors and mayors make similar proclamations. The first day of the observance (Sunday, November 24 this year) is the International Day of the Bible.

Tree Label Also Gets ‘Politicized’

The resolution to call Wisconsin’s capitol evergreen a “Christmas tree” came from Rep. Scott Krug, who says it’s “about inclusion of the Christian holiday.” It was a response to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers recently switching the name to “holiday tree”—a move that Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald calls “PC garbage.”

Rep. Jonathan Brostoff, a Democrat who’s Jewish, says Republicans would be more helpful to Christians by passing gun-control measures. “Instead of doing something substantive and helpful,” he says, “we’re trying to politicize a tree.”

Leonard Sweet on the Shift We Must Make to Point People to Jesus

By
Jason Daye
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Leonard Sweet is a preacher, teacher, theologian and scholar. He has served as professor, dean and president at a variety of educational institutions, and he currently works with graduate students at Drew University, George Fox University, Tabor College and Evangelical Seminary. He preaches and speak at events around the world and is the best-selling author of more than 60 books, including his latest, Rings of Fire: Walking in Faith Through a Volcanic Future.  

Key Questions for Leonard Sweet

-Why do you use volcanic imagery in your latest book?

-How can ministry leaders honor the mission of God as we live in an increasingly hostile culture?

-How do you see local churches entering into the “walking alongside” instead of “taking a stand”?

-Do you think the church has lost the public battle or do you see an opportunity for the church to once more drive culture, instead of merely react to it?

Key Quotes from Leonard Sweet

“We’re better at ‘watching out’ than we are at ‘watching.’”

“The world is facing volcanic forces, and it needs volcanic leaders to meet those volcanic forces.”

“The best soil on the planet is lava-rich soil.” 

“These could be some very dangerous and damaging days for the church, but if we can make that shift back to where Jesus was in the first century and the kind of culture that was faced by those early Christians, where the crowds actually cheered for the lions to eat them up, if we can realize the power and potential of that, I think we’ve got some great days ahead.” 

“This is not a secular culture. It’s a culture that turns everything into something that’s sacred. It sacrilizes everything, it doesn’t secularize everything.”

“Celebrity culture is a religion…This is a culture that everything it touches, it turns into an idol.”

“We can really learn from our Eastern Orthodox sisters and brothers.”

“In a culture where everything is an idol, including the self, we’ve got to learn to be icons, icons of Jesus, that say, ‘Don’t look at me, but look through me.’”

“I’m less concerned about the decline of Western culture and Western Christianity than I am the missing Jesus in Western churches.”

Finding Freedom from a Toxic Attack at Work

By
Gary Thomas
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We all have limited energy and our family deserves the best “us” we can offer in the midst of work and life in general. Part of protecting your marriage and your peace of mind so that you can devote yourself to loving your family involves learning how to protect yourself from the toxic people who drain you, deplete your emotional resources, and who leave you so distracted that you barely have anything left to give to your family when you arrive home.

In my book I tell the story of Greg, whose coworker Aaron was as toxic as they come. Aaron gleefully attacked others and took a special pleasure in creating offensive nicknames for coworkers. He was controlling and political, policing the entire office (even people who didn’t report to him), to make sure they submitted to a policy he had lobbied to get passed. He was also a master sleuth at uncovering personal secrets and launching them into a juicy gossip chain (“Do you want to know why Janice really had to take some time off?”). He blatantly lied about coworkers to pit one person against another so that he could play both sides as a “comforting defender.”

The toxic work environment impacted Greg’s mental state, his family life, and his sleep. He needed the job, but Aaron was making his workplace torturous. It was so bad Greg admitted to me that he couldn’t leave Aaron at the office. Mentally, Aaron followed him home and haunted him at night. Greg’s wife or one of his children would start talking to him in the evening and Greg missed their entreaties, still mentally back in the office, second-guessing what he had said or done, trying to figure out a way to make sense of what felt like a crazy situation.

This all happened decades ago when I was as naïve as they come, so I wasn’t able to help Greg at all. “Toxic” wasn’t even in my vocabulary. I thought our faith could be especially proven true when we were the heroes who God used to breakthrough to “reach” and “heal” the toxic people no one else could help.

Many years later, this is the advice I wish I had given Greg (and this part isn’t in the book):

  1. Don’t bother trying to understand or “fix” toxic people; that’s wasted energy. Even trained psychologists have been known to fire particularly troublesome clients. This is a Christian posture of humility. Most of us can’t perform a root canal, nor can we perform the relational therapy most toxic people need. Focus on being the best employee you can be and devote your other thoughts to loving your family well.
  2. Don’t let misplaced guilt (that you should be able to “rescue” or “save” them) keep you in a toxic situation. In the Gospels, Jesus walked away many times from those who challenged him or hardened their hearts against him. If a transfer isn’t possible or your boss won’t step in, “mentally” quarantine the co-worker as much as you can by keeping your relationship strictly professional and by refusing to think about him or her when you don’t have to. A good friend of mine used a pond midway between his office and home as a symbol to dump work related concerns on his way home and to begin praying that God would free his mind to be fully present as a husband and father when he pulled into his driveway.
  3. One of the best antidotes for toxic relationships is healthy relationships. Build positive relationships at the office and find refuge there. Use the toxic situation at work to make you even more determined to be a fantastic spouse and encouraging parent at home, and a good friend to others on the weekend. Pray for a co-worker who doesn’t yet know the Lord and ask God to engineer an opportunity to share your faith in a compelling and compassionate way. Be ever more determined to have positive relationships that distract you from the toxic attack.
  4. King David was assaulted and attacked by numerous toxic people (including many who wanted to murder him) throughout his life but notice how the psalms he wrote are filled with exuberant celebrations of God, extolling God’s character, acts, and magnificence. I’ve found that when I must be around toxic people, meditating on the character and excellence of God in the morning is like brushing my teeth after a bad-tasting meal. Learn to renew your mind by reveling in God’s glory rather than a co-worker’s toxicity.
  5. Remember that your first priority is your family. If a work relationship is making you so weak that you can’t be “present” when you’re at home, you need to approach the appropriate authorities at your company so that they can address it, or seriously look for another job. Life is too short to let toxic people tear you apart and mentally invade your family life when you get home. I’ve talked to many people who have made such transitions, and you can literally see a difference in their countenance once the deed is done. They invariably say, “Why didn’t I do this a year ago?”

Family relationships are tough enough even when we’re at our best. Learn to leave toxic assaults at work. Nobody pays you enough to bring those toxic assaults home. Follow the example of Jesus and learn when to walk away.

This article originally appeared here.

The End of the Multisite Is Near (Sort of)

By
Geoff Surratt
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Its been almost 20 years since the idea of being one church in multiple locations hit my radar. Churches like Community Christian in Chicago, North Coast in San Diego and North Point in Atlanta were pioneering the idea of adding sites instead of seats, and we jumped on the bandwagon. In the ensuing years multisite has exploded across America and around the world. By last count almost 10% of all Protestants in America attends a multisite church every Sunday. 50 of the churches on Outreach Magazine’s Top 100 Largest Churches list are multisite, and 9 out of 10 on their Fastest Growing Churches list have multiple locations. (The only exception is Orchard Church in Brighton, Colorado, and they are adding a second location in the coming months.) When we wrote the Multisite Church Revolution in 2006 we had no idea how prophetic the title would prove to be.

But now there are rumblings of the demise of the multisite model. High profile churches like Tim Keller’s Redeemer Presbyterian and Matt Chandler’s Village Church are spinning off their locations as autonomous congregations, and other churches are closing offsite campuses. Yesterday one of the early adopters of multisite, Dr. James Emery White at Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, posted an article explaining why they are closing their satellite locations and consolidating everything back to their 80 acre campus in the suburbs. Is this the beginning of the end of the multisite fad?

While this is obviously the end of multisite for Mecklenburg, I don’t think it is a harbinger of things to come. While Dr. White is writing to his own context, he does hint that their reasons for closing sites can be extrapolated into other contexts. Let me explain why I don’t agree with his conclusions based on four of the premises he outlines.

It’s dated

Dr. White says that the multisite approach is nearly two decades old, and therefore is no longer new or cutting edge. He lumps multisite in with visitation and bus ministry as strategies that were once effective, but no longer valid.

Multisite isn’t a 20 year phenomenon; the roots of being one church in multiple locations go back to the New Testament. The churches at Corinth, Ephesus and Philippi likely met in multiple houses throughout the city, but Paul addresses them as one church. The first example of a multisite church in America that I am aware of began meeting in two locations in Charleston, South Carolina around 1800. It could be argued that the roots of Methodism are a form of multisite. Its certainly not a new idea.

Neither is multisite primarily a strategy for growth like bus ministry or visitation; it is a response to a challenge. How do we effectively reach and disciple the most people with limited resources? I would put multisite in the category of air conditioning, sound amplification and video projectors; each addresses a specific challenge in ministering to a larger congregation in a modern context. Although each is “dated”, I don’t see any of these going away soon.

It’s a physical approach in a digital world

Dr. White says,

“The multi-site approach is a physical approach in a digital world. Even worse, a physical response to a digital demand…We are finding that when someone is invited by a friend, instead of attending a physical campus, people first visit our website or some other online venture, and then – as a secondary step – attend one of our internet campus services. Our attenders even intuitively recommend that process. In fact, our internet campus is now our fastest-growing and second-largest collective venue.”

I agree that a church’s online presence is the new front door, but I don’t follow the logic that precludes physical locations. The church isn’t Barnes and Noble competing with Amazon. The first few steps for someone coming to faith may very well be online, but for almost all the faith journey leads to connection to a gathering of believers in a physical location. If we follow Dr. White’s logic to the end I assume Mecklenburg will be closing their remaining physical location soon.

The 20 minute rule is obsolete

The “20 minute rule” Dr. White refers to is the idea that people will not drive more than 20 minutes to connect with a church. His conclusion is that the digital presence of a church makes this rule obsolete because no one has to drive at all to visit.

While this is true for the first exposure to a church, it is still very challenging for people to connect deeply with a church that is more than 20 minutes from home. A church can certainly attract people who live further away, but unless the goal is for people to only attend online, this barrier still exists for many.

Is the end?

Toward the end of the article Dr. White says,

“There are other reasons churches might consider following our course, not the least of which are those outlined in a recent article you can read HERE on the challenges the multi-site approach presents for leadership, pastoral oversight, moral train wrecks and more.”

He doesn’t elaborate on how returning to a single location will solve these issues. Many single site churches struggle with leadership, oversight and moral train wrecks.

While Dr. White explains clearly the reasoning behind the decision at Mecklenburg to end multisite, I just don’t think his logic applies beyond his church.

At the end of the day here’s what I believe about multisite:

  • It isn’t for every church, or even most churches
  • No two multisite churches are the same
  • Multisite will continue to evolve and morph
  • Unhealthy leaders produce unhealthy churches regardless of how many locations they have
  • Multisite is a strategy for Kingdom growth
  • Multisite isn’t going away

This article originally appeared here.

4 Ways That Exaggeration Can Damage Your Leadership

By
Scott Cochrane
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As a leader you must certainly project optimism. But when you cross the line into hyperbole, your leadership is facing significant risks.

Recently, a leader in my orbit described a meeting as “Quite possibly our best meeting ever!” Right away, the thought flashed through my mind, “I need to keep watching my own communication for any signs of such exaggeration.” How many of these statements, or statements like them, have you used?
  • “That was the best (event, class, earnings quarter, meeting) we’ve ever had!”
  • “This promises to be the best (board retreat, youth outreach, stockholders meeting) ever!”
  • “There is an unbelievable sense of momentum and excitement building in our (church, company, ministry, club)!”

If you find that these types of hyped-up, hyperbole-filled statements are creeping into your leadership communication, watch out. Your leadership could be taking hits that you’re not even aware of.

You can be seen as inauthentic

Let’s face it. Not every event can be the ‘best ever’. If you use this kind of language excessively people will start to see you less as a leader, and more as a ‘pitch-man’.

Remember, you need to cast vision, not sell a Sham-Wow.

You can lose credibility

You know that event you described as the ‘best ever’? Well guess what. Your people were there, and they know it wasn’t the best ever.

When your communication creates a gap between what your people know to be true, and what you claim to be true, you start to lose credibility.

Young people start to tune out

Young people today have their radar on ‘full alert’ for anything that smells like hyperbole, exaggeration or hype.

You can’t afford to alienate this group with you communication.

You create a culture of desperation

As a leader your words have a powerful ability to form and shape culture.

When your communication is flavored with constant hype you are creating a culture of desperation. For your followers it’s a short walk from desperation to suspicion.

Because of my own optimistic nature, I’ve learned that I need to be vigilant to ensure that hyperbole doesn’t creep into my own communication.

And I would urge you to be just as vigilant.

Because what you lose in ‘hype’ you’ll more than make up for in authenticity.

This article originally appeared here.

6 Questions To Ask Your Youth Pastor

By
Doug Franklin
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These questions to ask your youth pastor are designed to evaluate a youth ministry. It also helps youth pastors to evaluate themselves on where they need to improve in the youth ministry. These questions will help youth pastors answer the question, “Is there a better way?”

Evaluate your youth ministry.

6 Questions To Ask Your Youth Pastor

1. What do parents say is the focus of your youth ministry?

Whether or not parents can even answer this question tells you a lot about your communication and vision casting. If your parents don’t know, check to see if your adult volunteers know. If they don’t, you might want to work on this one.

2. Can students tell you how to become a disciple of Christ (not how to be saved, but the keys to following Christ)?

I find that students can often tell you how to become a follower of Christ and can even share the gospel, but they don’t know what a disciple looks like. They stay as baby Christians, and when they get in the world, they face all kinds of trouble. Be clear with students about growing strong in Christ and his Word.

3. Can you name three students who have become followers of Christ in the past year?

When I was a youth pastor, I had many years when no students accepted Christ. But it was in those years I knew I needed to have a greater focus on outreach.

4. Do we have student-initiated service taking place through the youth ministry?

There are service opportunities that students initiate, and there are service opportunities where we chase students down to volunteer. The latter tend to be less effective because there’s less ownership.

5. Are adult volunteers so excited about the ministry that they are recruiting new volunteers to join the team?

The best way to find new volunteers is through your current volunteers. When an adult volunteer is having an outstanding experience, they are excited about sharing it with others.

6. Are students who left your ministry over a year ago still following and serving Christ?

This is a hard one to know sometimes, but if we do a good job at giving them a solid foundation, they will continue to follow Christ with the tools and resources we have equipped them with.

Good News: You’re the New Communications Director. The Bad News . . .

By
Owen Scott
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It’s your first day of your new job as Communications Director. You sit down at your desk ready to share Jesus with the world and wonder for all of thirty seconds what you should do with your time. Then the requests start.

Kids ministry needs a graphic. Youth needs 25 Instagram stories for their retreat. The Board wants a marketing and advertising plan tomorrow morning. You need to post something on Facebook. Oh and you were told, “since we hired you, we’re going to do Instagram too.” The preschool needs a newsletter sent out, and can it please not be in comic sans?

Very quickly this job could kill you. And it wouldn’t be because of one big colossal failure, or a massive disagreement. It will be a death by a thousand cuts.

This job will slowly but surely bleed you dry, unless you’re careful and intentional about not letting that happen. The pace is frenetic, the demands are massive. You need to set yourself up to not only survive in this ministry, but thrive.

Here are a few things that will help you thrive in church communications.

A Communications Director Builds Trusting Relationships

You need to be able to build healthy relationships to survive in any career, and it’s especially important in church communications. Invest in your staff relationships so that your team will trust you and your judgement.

A Communications Director Creates Clear Expectations

Unclear expectations will cut you. A lot. This is a two way street. You need to know the expectations your team have on you. And you need to make clear the expectations you have of them. Establish reasonable timelines so that you don’t get as many “Can you just design this series artwork in the next 2 hours?” kind of requests.

A Communications Director Builds a Team

Jesus built a team. So should you.

But seriously, you are one person and the demands on you will be more than what you can manage on your own. You need a team to multiply your impact and spread your workload out. You will then have to learn to delegate well and release work to others. But you can do it.

Hold Your Ideas Beside You

“Hold your ideas beside you, not in front of you, so when they’re shot down the arrow doesn’t go through your heart.”

I was given this advice from my good friend Jonathan Carone. I wish I had received this advice sooner in my career. As creatives our work is often incredibly near and dear to our hearts. We pour our souls into our art. But communications is not art.

Whether you’re freelancing or on staff at a church, you are making work for a client who has taste (debatably at times), preference, and ultimately, authority on their needs. So eventually they’ll shoot one of your ideas down. In those moments, if you associate your work with your value, you’ll receive a deep wound that will contribute to an early death in ministry.

Rest!

Jesus rested. So should you.

Resting is important. The hamster wheel of communications never stops, but you weren’t built to run endlessly. You need to schedule regular times of rest.

Make sure you’re taking your regular days off during the week. Keep a regular sabbath, and take your vacations. Like, actually vacation—leave the phone at home.

Find Community

I can’t stress this enough. You need a real, like-minded community who will support and encourage you in your ministry. They don’t even have to be in-person friends.

I’ve been lucky to be a part of an incredible small group of communicators that has been transformational. It started as just a group for design feedback, but shifted into a small group for us. This crew of friends have seen me through some of the darkest days of my life, and we’ve been able to support each other with feedback and pastoral care.

If you don’t have a supportive community, a good place to start is the Church Juice Community on Facebook. There are good people in there who would love to support and encourage you.

I don’t want you to die from a thousand cuts.

I want you to thrive in communications ministry. If you need a hand, harass me on Facebook. But more than that, take some of these steps to make sure you last. You’ve got this! We’re all rooting for you.

 

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

Girls, Staff Members Kidnapped from Christian-Run High School Released

By
Morning Star News
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Six girls and two staff members from a Christian-run high school in north-central Nigeria have been released after torture and payment of a ransom, according to local reports.

The girls and staff members kidnapped at gunpoint on Oct. 3 in Kaduna state from Engravers’ College in Kakau Daji village, Chikun County near Kaduna city, were released by their Muslim Fulani captors on Oct. 26, one of girls’ parents told Nigerian reporters.

“Several people prayed in churches and mosques,” Ohemu Fredrick told reporters. “Through their prayers, God brought us help. God used a former governor of Kaduna state to assist us.”

Fredrick did not disclose the former governor’s name or the ransom amount. He said the former official offered the children and staff members free medical treatment, as the hostages were reportedly tortured each time the kidnappers called the parents so they could hear their screams, according to another parent whose identity was withheld.

That parent reportedly said that after the kidnappers set them free, police picked them up and dropped them off near a toll gate about five kilometers (three miles) from the city center.

Suspected to be herdsmen who have carried out numerous kidnappings and attacks in southern Kaduna state, the armed Fulani invaded the school at 12:20 a.m.

Shunom Giwa, vice principal of Engravers’ College, previously told Morning Star News that initially five armed herdsmen appeared at the door of his house and spoke with each other in the Fulani language. Others with the school’s vice principal arrived shortly after they told him to lie down, and Giwa escaped, he said.

The school, which is open to both Christian and non-Christian students, has a secular curriculum in accordance with Nigeria’s Ministry of Education but includes a Christian perspective, and students take Christian Religious Knowledge as a subject, an official told Morning Star News.

The school has a student population of 100, with rampant insecurity in the state compelling some parents to withdraw their children from the school, Giwa said.

The village lies in the kidnapping belt of the state and is on the route to Kwanti village, where Morning Star News last year reported the displacement of many Christians due to kidnappings by armed Fulani Herdsmen, according to area residents.

Nigeria ranked 12th on Open Doors’ 2019 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution.

If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit Morning Star News for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.  

ABS Offers 1,000 Free Bibles to Kanye Fans, Gets 6,000 Responses

By
Jessica Lea
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The American Bible Society (ABS) is offering free Bibles to any Kanye West fan curious to learn more about Christianity. Robert Briggs, ABS’s interim president and CEO, told Charisma News that the spike in interest in the Bible because of West’s new album is an amazing opportunity:

“No matter what you think about Kanye’s politics, art or faith, there’s no denying that his comments and album have sparked a huge wave of curiosity and interest. We love it when these topics emerge in the news cycle and are excited to be able to share the Bible with the curious—no matter their background, interest level or motivation.”

The American Bible Society Seizes the Moment

The American Bible Society has been around since 1816, working to provide Bibles to anyone in the world who wants one. When West released his first gospel album, Jesus Is King, on October 25th, it resulted in over a million Google queries that included “Jesus, “Bible,” and “What do Christians believe?” Seeing a chance to respond to people’s curiosity, ABS initially announced it would offer 1,000 free Bibles to anyone who wanted one. Said Briggs, “This is what we love to do: share the Bible with those who are seeking spiritual answers or simply curious about its contents.”

But after offering the first 1,000 Bibles, ABS received more than 6,000 requests for one, so the organization decided to extend its offer until November 22nd. Dr. John Farquhar, director of ministry intelligence for the American Bible Society, said, “We never could have dreamed that we’d get such an overwhelming response. Our hope is that these Bibles will allow Kanye fans to get to know the extraordinary person of Jesus, who inspires not just musicians, but millions of believers around the world.”

Breaking Ground

Kanye West’s latest album has set some groundbreaking records. It is the first album to hold the number one spot on all five of the following charts: Billboard 200, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Top Rap Albums, Top Christian Albums, and Top Gospel Albums. West is also the first artist to hold all 10 spots on both the Hot Christian Songs and the Hot Gospel Songs charts. 

The controversial rapper is also continuing his “Sunday services” and reportedly bringing the next one to Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston. West and Osteen will have a 20 to 30 minute conversation during the 11 a.m. service and then West will perform with his choir during the evening.

The debate continues as to whether West’s spiritual transformation is genuine. A secular artist creating a gospel album is nothing new, says former music executive, Naima Cochrane, who believes that the rapper is simply “co-opting the black church experience for nonblack consumption.” Yet Pastor Adam Tyson, who is personally acquainted with West, says he has seen spiritual fruit in his life. 

If you are living in the U.S. and would like a free Bible—whether or not you are a Kanye fan—you can fill out a form here to get one.

Bronx Pastor Announces Plans to Take on AOC

By
Megan Briggs
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A pastor from the Bronx is challenging Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for her seat in the U.S. Congress. Fernando Cabrera is a city councilman and a pastor who hopes to move the 14th district of New York (and the country) away from Ocasio-Cortez’s democratic socialist agenda by running as a pro-capitalist democratic candidate. 

“My biggest concern is socialism as being the biggest problem that we’re going to face in the future in America,” Cabrera told Fox News. Elaborating, he said, “I’ve seen firsthand what socialism has done to a country like Venezuela where my grandmother is buried.”

Who Is Fernando Cabrera?

Cabrera is the senior pastor of New Life Outreach International in the Kingsbridge area of the Bronx. The church is Pentecostal, although Cabrera hesitates to use that term. He joked with  Religion News Service that the word conjures up images of “somebody who doesn’t wear make up and doesn’t allow a woman to wear pants,” at least in his neighborhood.

In addition to being a pastor, Cabrera also serves as a city council member. Cabrera told Religion News that he had an “encounter with God” at the age of 17 that put him on a trajectory to become a pastor. He sees his role in public office as being aided by his experience as a pastor. “When you are a pastor, it keeps you grounded to the real needs—the burdens, the struggles, the challenges—that our communities are facing,” he said.

Cabrera’s background includes an undergraduate degree in Biblical Studies and a PhD in counseling. He worked as a guidance counselor for the New York City Department of Education and later became a professor at Mercy College. He was first elected to City Council in 2009, then again in 2013 and 2017. Cabrera’s family is Dominican and Puerto Rican, and he believes he represents the interests of people of faith who he feels are marginalized sometimes. Cabrera was a key player in the 2013 push to allow religious groups in New York City to gather for worship in public school property while not in use. 

The city council member is also on the board of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), which is led by Rev. Samuel Rodriguez. 

Fernando Cabrera Faces an Uphill Battle

“I reflect the moderate, centrist values of that district,” Cabrera argues. Whether the district can be described as moderate and centrist really depends on who you ask, though. 

When Ocasio-Cortez won the primary election for her district in June 2018, she was up against Joe Crowley, a 10-term Democrat. The win was seen as a big upset considering Ocasio-Cortez was working as a bartender and waitress before she ran for office. Her campaign was outspent by a margin of 18 to 1, yet she won the democratic ticket by almost 15 percentage points. During the general election in November 2018, Ocasio-Cortez faced Republican Anthony Pappas, who did not actively campaign. She won 78 percent of the vote to Pappas’ 14 percent. 

Even if Ocasio-Cortez won her election by a surprising margin, does she still find favor in New York’s 14th district? Cabrera doesn’t think so. He accuses Ocasio-Cortez of ignoring issues that the district is grappling with, although in that brief interview with Fox News he didn’t elaborate on that point. 

As far as polls go, Ocasio-Cortez’s popularity appears to be holding steady in the majority democrat 14th district. A Siena College poll conducted via telephone in April revealed she still holds favor among her constituents. According to a press release on the poll’s results, “48 percent of all voters and 61 percent of Democrats would vote to re-elect Ocasio-Cortez in 2020 while 39 percent would prefer someone else.” Her favor most likely lies in the legislation the freshman congresswoman is advocating. Don Levy of Sienna College explains:

About three-quarters of all voters and over 80 percent of Democrats are in favor of free tuition at public colleges across the country, banning assault weapons, a federal guarantee of a job that pays a living wage and Medicare for all. By two-to-one they support ‘The Green New Deal’ with Democrats at five-to-one although almost 40 percent do not have enough information about it in order to say. A majority oppose repealing and replacing Obamacare and a small majority would support impeaching the President.

Cabrera, alternatively, opposes Medicare for All and government-run health care, preferring instead a plan that would provide choice to consumers. 

Additionally, Cabrera was upset by Ocasio-Cortez’s lobbying to dissuade city and state leaders in New York to offer incentives to Amazon, which was considering building a secondary headquarters in Queens, New York earlier this year. “We lost 25,000 jobs. We lost $27 billion worth of revenue,” [because of Ocasio-Cortez’s actions] Cabrera said. 

“We understand in America that free enterprise works,” he believes. 

As far as other key issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, Cabrera says he personally does not agree with either practice, but is not looking to overturn the law of the land on those points. 

Cabrera will face Ocasio-Cortez in the 2020 primary election for the democratic nomination. 

A 4-Step Plan to Build Your Personal Prayer Team

By
Dan Reiland
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One of the greatest risks in local church ministry is not having specific people on your prayer team to pray for you as a leader. 

Serving as a pastor for 38 years has continued to teach me the importance and power of prayer. Too often leaders attempt to carry the prayer burden alone and therefore become spiritually unprotected. 

One of my favorite Old Testament stories is that of Moses interceding for Joshua and the Israelite army in the battle against the Amalekites.

The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

Exodus 17: 8-13

The larger context and scope of this passage reveals God’s abundant ability to save his people, but it is also a powerful image of intercessory prayer.

Moses’ role to lift up the rod was not only to be an encouragement to the Israelites of God’s presence, but in essence, it was intercessory prayer.

There was a huge battle taking place, but notice also how personal prayer is.

Joshua had prayer coverage by Moses himself, and Moses is backed up by Aaron and Hur.

That’s a beautiful picture of how praying for the leaders can work.

We need others to pray for us.

I truly believe that it’s dangerous to be a church leader without having specific people pray for you with passion, purpose and consistency.

I’ve learned that my prayers are not enough, I need intentional prayer support, and so do you.

For the past 18 years I’ve had 7 prayer partners, one for each day of the week.

Many wonderful people pray for me at 12Stone Church, and I’m grateful for their prayers, as I also pray for them.

But these intentional intercessors are the ones I count on, each on their day of the week.

When I was at Skyline Church in San Diego, I had 30 prayer partners, one for each day of the month. Upon arriving at 12Stone, God directed me to 7 saying, “I want you to pray for your prayer partners as much as they pray for you.” God knew I couldn’t do that with 30 people!”

A 4-step plan to build your personal prayer team:

1) Select your prayer partners carefully.

Whether you have one intercessor or three or seven or ten is up to you. The number isn’t quite as critical as your choices.

Selecting your prayer partners isn’t about spiritual superiority, it’s about spiritual strategy. 

There is a spiritual battle in play and it’s serious. Just like you choose carefully who is on your worship team or your staff, your intercessors are just as important.

There are many who will pray for you on occasion, and that is great. It’s needed. God may prompt one person to pray for you that you’ve never met, and that prayer can be life changing.

Your personal prayer team, however, has truly got your back on a consistent basis.

Your prayer team should be:

  • A person who is called and committed to pray for you. (Your invitation may unearth their calling.)
  • A person who loves to pray and has a track record of a strong prayer life.
  • A person who loves the church and cares about you.
  • A person you know and trust and can remain confidential.
  • A person who takes God seriously but doesn’t take themself too seriously.

Last, but very important, ask your prayer team for a one-year commitment at a time.

The purpose is to keep the commitment fresh. And if they choose to step off, no guilt only gratitude!

Together you can discuss if “signing on” for another year, one at a time, is agreeable.

2) Cast vision.

I’ve mentioned that prayer is personal. It’s personal because it’s intimate in its connection with the spirit of God, and in the relationship you share with your prayer partners.

That doesn’t mean you necessarily pray with your prayer partners in person. That can be good but is often impractical.

Keep it simple, you don’t need to call meetings when you need prayer.

Vision helps keep that aligned, healthy and in perspective.

Taking spiritual territory is the purpose of having prayer partners, and the relationship is a blessing. When you keep that straight, it works incredibly well.

That doesn’t mean “church prayers only.” Not at all, many of your prayer quests will be personal, but the big picture is your leadership and the progress of the church in its mission.

3) Communicate regularly.

Communication is another area to keep it simple. I suggest that the vast majority of your prayer requests be communicated through text. It’s fast, easy, and great for remaining in real time.

I don’t recommend bombarding your prayer partners with several texts a day. Keep it realistic. Especially if they pray for you on a certain day of the week. Honor the agreement.

That said, there is no need to remain overly ridged, but be sure it’s okay with each prayer partner to occasionally “sneak” in a request beyond what they committed to.

As each relationship matures, this becomes very natural, just be sure to talk about it rather than take it for granted.

Another important thing is to communicate answers to prayer back to your prayer partners. I don’t always do that, but I do as often as I can remember, and they often ask when I don’t!

Few things motivate an intercessor more than knowing how their prayers were answered, or if they need to keep praying. 

And if you adopt my approach of also praying for your prayer partners, while you can pray as the spirit prompts you, it’s good to ask them for specifics on occasion.

4) Equip them and express gratitude.

I like to send a book or two a year on prayer or spiritual leadership. You can also send a really good blog post that encourages prayer.

Don’t make it more complicated than that.

The exchange of your prayer requests and answers to prayer is real time equipping for personal intercessors.

Expressing gratitude is easy when it comes from your heart. Personally, I’m so deeply grateful for their prayers I can’t help but to say thank you often!

Don’t miss out on the power and blessing of personal prayer partners. If you don’t have any, start with one!

I didn’t start my ministry with a prayer team, but I wouldn’t dream of one day without intentional prayer support today.

I wrote a post offering a practical plan of seven points to pray for your pastor. This plan can be used to pray for any of the leaders. You can read it here.

This article originally appeared here.

If Your Church Closed Its Doors, Would the Neighborhood Care?

By
Preston Sprinkle
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I want to talk about why Millennials are fleeing the church in droves. But first, let’s circle back around to a question I raised at the end of a blog last week. Regarding discipleship, I said: “I wonder if we’ve elevated certain pet aspects of personal morality over communal and social action.”

Can someone be a disciple if they remain sexually pure before marriage and yet have no heart for the poor?

Is a faithful disciple one who has a perfect church attendance and leads two Bible studies, but has no concern for their local community?

If your church closed its doors tomorrow, would anyone in the community care?

I had the opportunity to visit one of my favorite churches a few months ago: Imago Dei in Portland. I was giving a talk to a bunch of pastors there on a Monday afternoon, and the whole building was buzzing like a bee-hive with activity. My talk was only one of many gatherings that afternoon. One room was filled with addicts seeking redemption. Another room hosted a group of single moms in the neighborhood. The building probably had more unbelievers than believers in it. Smells of food lingered in the hallways, and the building was filled with a rainbow of ethnicity. My friend Josh Butler, one of the pastors at Imago Dei, told me:

“We want to be so vital to the community around us that if we ever closed our doors, the entire neighborhood would be upset.”

If Josh’s concern is a good one, and I think it is, then how is this concern woven into our discipleship? Are we training Christians to be both morally upright and socially engaged? Only 20 percent of Millennials who have left the church said that they were given opportunities to serve the poor when they were churched (Kinnaman, You Lost Me, 119). Only 15 percent said they found a cause or issue at church that motivated them (Ibid). And yet many unchurched (or dechurched) are passionate about serving the community, fighting injustices, helping the poor, doing things that make their city a better place.

According to one survey, 4 out of 5 unchurched people want to contribute to the good of their community (Barna and Kinnaman, Churchless, 42; see also Dyck, Generation Ex-Christian, 39). Ironically, their perception about church is that church people don’t really care about the world around them. They’re too busy going to church and serving themselves. And most church budgets confirm the perception.

At my church here in Boise, every six weeks we have what’s called “serve Sunday.” Instead of having a church service, we gather for service. That is, we locate several needs in our community and we spend the morning meeting those needs. It may be pulling weeds at a women’s half-way house or helping a local nonprofit with whatever needs they may have. My pastor says it’s usually the most well-attended Sunday of the month.

Many people who are searching for some sort of divine encounter won’t step foot inside the church building, where people are singing weird songs and money plates are being passed around. (I mean seriously, church can be so weird for someone not raised in the church.) But most people are passionate about serving needs in their community. They care about the poor. They’re angry at injustice. They see value in meeting physical needs at a home where ex-cons are trying to get back on their feet.

Most people who fall away from church in their 20s and 30s don’t have any major reason for doing so. Seventy-one percent said they “just gradually drifted away from the religion” (cited in Dyck, Generation Ex-Christian, 169). The religion these people left is more akin to “therapeutic moralistic deism,” according to Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist (Soul Searching). God exists. Jesus is real. Here are the doctrines you have to believe, and here are a bunch of rules you have to follow to be a good person: don’t cuss, don’t get drunk, don’t have sex before you’re married (and you’re on your own after you get married), don’t ______, don’t ________, don’t _________. And go to church as often as you can. Oh, and don’t be gay.

After a while, the Christianity they’ve experienced feels out of touch with the real world around them. The truth claims they’ve memorized feel simplistic and irrelevant. Their complex questions are given thin, simplistic answers, and there’s rarely any safe space to ask hard questions or express doubt. Their passion for people, vocation and the real needs around them weren’t fanned in any significant way by church services and Bible studies. In other words, they didn’t truly encounter Jesus—the Jesus of the Bible—in church.

When Jesus invited people into fellowship, he said “come follow me” as he met the physical and spiritual needs around him (Matt 8-9). He didn’t invite people to attend a service. It was in serving the poor and bringing shalom to a violent world that the presence of God was manifest. People can experience God in a church service (1 Cor 14). But they can also experience Him as they’re kneeling to give a homeless person bread (Matt 25). If we are going to truly disciple the next generation, we need to expand our view of what discipleship is. Personal morality has its place. But even personal morality needs to be tethered to the narrative of a crucified God who’s on a reckless mission to bring the nations back to Eden.

Our discipleship must include personal and communal engagement. We must harness and unleash the God-given passions and creativity that glow like quiet embers in the heart of every soul. We cannot bore people out of the church or preach (or live) a dull, irrelevant gospel that snuffs out people’s passion to live, dream, create and serve. We’ve been endowed with God’s Spirit to incarnate the love of Christ and turn the world upside down.

If your church closed its doors tomorrow, would the neighborhood around it care?  

5 Indicators Your Church Is Turning the Corner

By
Brandon Kelley
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So, you want to see your church change positively. But how can you measure it? What are some indicators your church is turning the corner?

When you want to see the church you lead transition and change, you must approach the prospect of change intentionally.

You must have clarity around mission, vision, and the culture you want to create.

So, as you take each step toward change in the church you lead, what are some indicators that your church is turning the corner? What should you be looking for?

Let’s talk about it.

5 Indicators Your Church is Turning the Corner

1. People begin taking action on what you’ve talked about–on their own.

The prerequisite for this is that you are drilling some core things into your preaching, your conversations with congregants, and with leaders.

But when you are doing this, a key indicator that your church is turning the corner is when you see people begin to take action on what you’ve continued to talk about–on their own. That last part is important. You don’t want people guilted into something, but you want them to be taking action because they are catching the vision.

When you see the change that needs to take place, preach on it, talk about it, and show your congregation what could be if they stepped into it. And then, when people begin taking action, celebrate! Your church is turning the corner.

2. The staff and key leaders notice a shift in “temperature.”

What I mean here is that hard-to-put-into-words feeling you experience when you are a part of any group. It’s the…

  • vibe
  • feel
  • temperature
  • mood
  • energy
  • sense
  • anticipation

… of the church.

You’ll hear things like, “there’s just something different.” And they mean it in a good way.

So as you are leading your church through change, talk to your staff and key leaders about how they sense the temperature is in the church. Are they sensing a positive change?

They may not be able to fully explain their reasoning for the sense that something has changed, but that’s okay. Culture is a hard thing to fully put your finger on. But when you’re in the middle of a culture shift, you feel it.

So when your staff and key leaders begin noticing a change in the feel of the church (in a way that is getting closer to the culture you want to create), celebrate! Your church is turning the corner.

3. People begin inviting their friends.

Want a good gauge on whether or not people are (1) growing in their adoration and love for Jesus, and (2) excited about Jesus’ bride’s direction?

The gauge is people inviting their friends to gather with God’s people.

This means that they are truly owning their faith.

It means that they are on board with the direction of the church.

It means that they are stepping outside of their comfort zone.

When you see people begin to invite their friends to gather with them on Sundays, celebrate! Because your church is turning the corner.

turni4. First-time guests return.

One of the most important areas many churches must improve in is guest services/first impressions or whatever you call the ministry that is focused on taking hospitality to the next level.

The reality is when people begin inviting their friends to gather with them on a Sunday, those first-time guests will decide in the first 10 minutes of their visit whether or not they will come back again.

So when you start to see a first-time guest become a second-time guest, a third-time guest and eventually become a member, celebrate, celebrate, celebrate!

Why?

Because that’s a massively big deal.

Someone who is new to the church you lead will notice all the things that you all do well and all the things you don’t do well.

Most of all, they’ll feel something throughout their visit that, again, is hard to fully put into words. That is, it’s hard to put into words beyond this word: culture.

When this happens over and over and over again, the church will continue to positively turn the corner and become a healthy, growing church. More people will come to know Jesus, lives will be transformed by the Holy Spirit, and your community will begin to be transformed by God’s church being God’s church.

5. When your leaders get it.

What do I mean? I mean clarity in three specific areas:

  1. When the leaders in your church have clarity on the past. Specifically, when your leaders get it, they won’t be wishing the church was more like it used to be. They will resist looking at the past romantically and, instead, they will look at it realistically.
  2. When the leaders in your church have clarity on the present. Specifically, when your leaders get it, they understand how today is moving the church forward in the mission, vision, and culture.
  3. When the leaders in your church have clarity on the future. Specifically, when your leaders get it, they understand–and are on board with–the overall direction of the church as it moves into the next 5 years and beyond.

How will you know that they get it in these 3 areas? Listen. Observe.

What you should be hearing and seeing is that they are owning the mission, vision, and culture in their own leadership. You’ll witness them helping the people they lead with working past the past and into the present and future. You’ll see them casting vision and connecting the mission and vision to today’s actions.

When you see that happen, celebrate! Your church is turning the corner.

What would you add?

What are some additional indicators that your church is turning the corner in a positive way?

This article originally appeared here.

The Fight for National Bible Week (and Christmas Trees)

By
Stephanie Martin
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In Wisconsin this week, lawmakers are expected to pass a resolution officially recognizing the week of November 24 as National Bible Week. The resolution credits Bible-reading with giving “great comfort and encouragement” to many people and contributing to the “spiritual, moral, and social fiber of our citizenry.” It also notes that America “continues to observe Sunday to Sunday of the week of Thanksgiving as National Bible Week.”

The resolution, which acts more as a symbolic statement than an official law, draws attention to an observance that dates back to 1941. Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, says the designation is an appropriate way to recognize Christianity’s influence on America as well as on the Thanksgiving holiday.

But the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), based in Madison, Wisconsin, feels differently, calling the state’s National Bible Week resolution “highly inappropriate.” In a statement, FFRF says, “It’s a fundamental American principle that the government may not take sides over religion.” The group adds, “Unfortunately, over the years theocrats have opportunistically picked the period around Thanksgiving as a time to demand the government adopt religious resolutions.”

The History of National Bible Week

As war spread throughout Europe in 1940, some concerned American business leaders formed the Laymen’s Bible Association, which became the National Bible Association. Their goal was to remind Americans to trust in God and read the Bible during a time of global uncertainty.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt invited some of these leaders to the White House to mark the first National Bible Week, and NBC Radio invited them to read the Bible all day on the radio. The chosen date for the reading turned out to be Sunday, December 7, 1941—when the Japanese attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor.

Instead of canceling the on-air Bible-reading plans, NBC asked the Bible association’s leaders if they would read Scripture in between the network’s news reports. Throughout America that day, radio stations relied on NBC’s coverage about Pearl Harbor and FDR’s declaration of war. So millions of people ended up hearing the good news of God’s Word on one of the country’s darkest days.

The Observance Continues Today

From that turbulent start, every president since FDR has declared the week of Thanksgiving to be National Bible Week. This year’s 78th commemoration is sponsored by the National Bible Association and the U.S. Catholic Council of Bishops. For Catholics, the week also commemorates the anniversary of the Second Vatican Council document Dei Verbum (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation).

Throughout the United States, governors and mayors also make proclamations about National Bible Week. And in Washington, D.C., lawmakers read celebratory speeches about Scripture into the Congressional Record. The National Bible Association, which consists of members of the Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish faith traditions, also holds an annual awards ceremony in New York City.

The first day of National Bible Week—which occurs this year on Sunday, November 24—is known as the International Day of the Bible. This year marks the 10th observance of this global celebration. People throughout the world are encouraged to pause at noon local time to read, pray, or sing Scripture. Event sponsors include the American Bible Society, Bible Gateway, Museum of the Bible, Scripture Union, the U.S. Catholic Council of Bishops, and YouVersion the Bible App. 

Ambassador Gilbert Robinson (ret.), chairman emeritus of the National Bible Association, says the annual observance of National Bible Week is the best kind of civic endorsement: “to be kind to your fellow man and follow love wherever.” People aren’t being forced to encourage Bible-reading, he notes, adding that doing so is certainly “a positive in civic life.” 

As part of its outreach efforts, the National Bible Association uses media campaigns to “encourage reading of the Bible…whatever version.” It’s also aiming to print and distribute 20,000 copies of Bible Wisdom for Better Living, a new book by U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry Black. The association believes Black’s book will be especially beneficial for military members, so it’s seeking donations to “Help Us Combat #PTSD and #Suicide.”

The Bible is the biggest-selling book in history, with an estimated 5 billion to 6 billion copies sold. A wave of Bible-related bills has been making its way through America lately, with several states passing laws that allow Bible-literacy electives in public schools.

Churches See Need, Pay Thousands in School Lunch Debt

By
Jessica Lea
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What if your child were unable to afford buying lunch at school? Grace Lutheran Church in Wisconsin and Liquid Church in New Jersey are two congregations that are working to relieve that burden from some students and parents in their communities. The two churches recently paid off thousands of dollars in school lunch debt.

“We see a need and react to it if we can,” said Wendy Black, who is affiliated with Grace Lutheran Church in Tomahawk, Wisconsin. “Some [students] are going without milk on some days, and some are going without lunches or owe a bunch of money for their lunches.”

Grace Lutheran took up a special offering and paid off nearly $2000 dollars in student lunch debt via funds donated by members, as well as money from its Sunday school program. Shirley Derleth is a Tomahawk middle and high school P.E. teacher, as well as a member of the church. She said, “This is an amazing example of children helping children. This is the lifelong values we hope to instill in today’s youth to not only help our community but our future.” The church has taken care of debt for students ranging from elementary to high school age. 

For its part, Liquid Church (based in Parsippany, New Jersey) gave over $20,000 to pay off debt at schools in the area. Said Pastor Tim Lucas, “No child should go hungry. No child should be ashamed because their parent can’t pay for lunch.” 

School Lunch Debt Across the Country

In its “2019 School Nutrition Trends Report,” the School Nutrition Association (SNA) found that having “unpaid student meal debt is common.” That was from a survey of almost 800 school districts across the country. Some districts do offer the option of free or reduced-price meals if students qualify. However, completing the paperwork can be a challenge, found education reporter Elsa Gillis in a story on school lunch debt in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area. And then there are still students who do not qualify for such meals. School lunch debt is higher in regions that do not offer reduced-cost options. 

SNA found that when student lunch debt is paid, the most common source of those funds is charitable contributions. Said the SNA, “Cited by 55.4 percent, charitable contributions is followed by school district general funds (36.2 percent) and obtaining payments from the parents/students that incurred the debt (21.9 percent).” The SNA also found that an “increase is the most common situation across most segments” and that only 10 percent of school districts saw a decrease in lunch debt when comparing the 2017/18 school year to the 2018/19 school year. 

School Lunch Debt Takes a Toll on People. 

A young woman who accrued lunch debt when she was growing up told Gillis, “It causes a lot of anxiety because you go up to the front and they ask you to pay and you don’t have the money…It’s very embarrassing because kids are not nice. And you feel like everybody looked down on you for it. It’s painful.” 

It is not just students who feel the pain of school lunch debt. Parents are also burdened by not being able to provide for their children, and school districts are struggling with how to resolve debt without denying children daily meals. Some districts have even faced criticism by penalizing students who have debt, for example, by withholding student diplomas or threatening to notify child protective services. 

So when churches alleviate the burden of school lunch debt, they are ministering to a variety of needs. Said Derleth, “It comes back tenfold in how wonderful we feel being able to impact other people. I think that to me is a lesson that you don’t need to be rich and famous to do it, you just need to have the caring in your heart to know that you’re able to help anyone when asked.”

Race Matters: Why We Must Send More Missionaries of Color

By
Doug Logan
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I grew up in historically black churches. I planted an inner-city church. Now I pastor a multiethnic congregation, and I work with planters in urban communities around the world. But I only know one black person in all the missionaries serving on the field today.

Just one.

Granted, my knowledge is limited. But according to recent estimates, African Americans comprise as few as 1 percent of international missionaries. As recently as 2013, in fact, only 27 of the SBC’s 4,900 missionaries were black. Similar stats about the rarity of missionaries from other demographics are easy to find as well.

At this point, the conversation often veers toward discussing the historic causes of this disparity. Those are important, but I’m more interested in a way forward. For the glory of God and the sake of the nations, we need to send more missionaries of color to the world. I want to show you why we must and how we can. But first, we have to talk about who “we” is.

Wait. Who’s “We”?

I’m arguing that we need to send more missionaries of color to the world. But many missionaries serving today are already sent from non-white, non-Western countries (places like Brazil, South Korea, and India). This is a wonderful reality reflecting the rapid rise of a global Christianity.

“For the glory of God and the sake of the nations, we need to send more missionaries of color to the world.”

Nevertheless, if you look at the top ten missionary-sending countries (p. 76), the US still sends more than the next seven countries combined. We should rejoice in the increasing missionary work of believers from other nations. But we also need to recognize that America still has a disproportionate effect on world missions—for good or for bad.

So when I say we need to send more missionaries of color to the world, I’m talking about North American sending agencies. I’m talking about the International Mission Board along with other likeminded organizations in America that we love and pray for.

Why Missions Can’t Be Colorblind

In a perfect world, everybody could accept the truth from anybody. Blacks could hear truth from whites, and vice versa. The poor could hear truth from the rich. And nations struggling under the long arm of oppression could hear truth from descendants of their oppressors.

But we don’t live in a perfect world. Instead, we live in a world where fallen hearts are hunting for any excuse to reject the gospel. This is why Paul had his Timothy (who was biracial) circumcised for the sake of the Jews (Acts 16:1–3). There wasn’t anything wrong with Timothy; nevertheless, something about Timothy was still a stumbling block for his audience.

“In a perfect world, everybody could accept the truth from anybody. . . . But we don’t live in a perfect world.”

Like it or not, the legacy of European colonialism is a major stumbling block for many of the millions who suffer in places ravaged by centuries of light-skinned oppression. In contexts like these, black and brown missionaries simply bring credibility that’s hard to obtain otherwise. On top of this, diverse missionary teams avoid sending the wrong message about our faith. Simply by virtue of being different, they help the world see that the gospel is for all types of people.

How to Address the Current Lack of Color

We can do one of two things at this point. We can ignore the racial realities of global history and the stumbling blocks that exist because of them. Or we can take the recognized need to be contextually sensitive and expand it to include being color conscious. It’s not much of a choice.

Being color conscious will not usher in the return of McGavran’s homogenous unit principle with its strategic avoidance of diversity in our churches. On the contrary, we are seeking to increase the diversity of our missionary teams. Yet the goal is not decreasing the number of white missionaries on the field. Rather, the goal is a Psalm 67 consummation of a Matthew 28 commission. We want all ethnē (nations) going to all ethnē.

In view of all this, when I look at the current lack of color on missionary teams I see three ways to address the situation.

1. Reclaim our colorful heritage of missions.

While there may be a current shortage of missionaries of color, this is not the whole story. Take George Liele, for example. He wasn’t just America’s first minority missionary. He was America’s first missionary, full stop. When you think about the racial climate of eighteenth-century America, it’s truly stunning that our first missionary was a black man!

Or consider the story of Lott Cary, who purchased his freedom from slavery, learned to read, pursued theological training, and became America’s first missionary to Africa. And then there’s Betsey Stockton, the first single woman to serve as a missionary in the modern era. (She did so long before Lottie Moon would become famous for doing the same, even while remaining relatively unknown herself.)

“You can’t tell the story of American missions without missionaries of color.”

Simply put, you can’t tell the story of American missions without missionaries of color. Reclaiming our colorful heritage, therefore, is a vital step toward empowering many minorities to resume their legacy of global missions today.

2. Raise awareness of the opportunity for missionaries.

I recently read that the IMB has more fully funded open missionary positions than we have candidates in the missionary pipeline. I thought to myself, “So you’re telling me that there are open slots waiting to be filled by qualified candidates, and these openings are fully funded positions? Seems to me that we ought to be shouting this from the rooftops!”

Yet I spoke with a few of my friends who pastor majority black congregations, and none of them had heard about these fully funded vacancies. Now, I’m not saying that it’s anybody’s job to tell everybody about this. At the same time, it may be true that “Ye have not because ye ask not,” (James 4:2 KJV). If cash-strapped churches in the hood knew about these openings, there would be a lot more candidates of color in the pipeline. Don’t underestimate the importance of raising awareness about the opportunity to fill a need.

3. Reach out to diverse churches, networks, and initiatives.

Building off the previous point, if you’re going to raise awareness you need to know who to talk with. Organizations like the National African American Fellowship (NAAF) represent more than four thousand predominately black congregations in the SBC. (This figure represents a more than 275 percent increase in black churches affiliating with the SBC since 2001!) The SBC’s official journal (SBC Life) also has pages dedicated to highlighting the work of Black Churches, Hispanic Churches, Asian Churches, and Multiethnic Churches in the convention.

“We can’t just go to the nations. We need to send all nations to the nations too.”

Meanwhile, seminaries like Southeastern have started the Kingdom Diversity Initiative, which strives to “raise historically underrepresented voices on campus,” to “build and strengthen partnerships with diverse churches, church networks, and educational institutions,” and to “help foster diversity within the church and the broader denominational environment.”

Organizations like these are great places to start vital conversations if we are serious about finding, equipping, and sending missionaries of color to the world. For if the Great Commission is truly about “making disciples who make disciples,” then we can’t just go to the nations. We need to send all nations to the nations too.

This article originally appeared here.

How I Love Your Law

By
Jared Olivetti
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

I’ve been enjoying reading Ernest Kevan’s book The Moral Law – it has been a helpful reminder of the goodness and greatness of God’s law. It is also a useful tool for preachers and teachers, who need to know how to interpret the Bible well and apply God’s law to God’s people without falling into the twin errors of legalism and antinomianism. In the second chapter (“The perfection of the law”), Kevan gives five principles for teachers and preachers as they exposit God’s law.

  1. In Hebrew, the word torah has a breadth of meaning bigger than we often realize. Not only does it mean “authoritative rule of duty”, but “signifies not only what is to be done, but also what is to be known.” Depending on context, the word “law” in Scripture can refer to (a) any part of the Old Testament, (b) all the books of the Old Testament, (c) the ceremonial aspects of worship in the old covenant, (d) the revelation of Himself God gave to Israel or (5) describing the Jews in a state apart from Jesus. Therefore, whenever we seek to understand or teach a portion of Scripture mentioning the law, “it must first be shown in what sense the word is being used; for Paul argues against the Law in one sense, and pleads for it in another.”
  2. Despite frequent complaints, “there is nothing contradictory in the doing of a thing out of love and also in obedience to the Law.” Love and duty are not opposed but can operate simultaneously in the heart of a believer seeking to obey God. So to draw believers to obedience through both motivations is entirely appropriate. Our obedience should be loving and dutiful.
  3. “Christ’s full obedience to the Law for the justification of sinners does not exempt the believer from obedience to it for ends other than justification.” It is vitally important that no one can be saved by works of the law. But this should never lead to the conclusion that obedience to the law is therefore worthless in a believer’s life. Scripture reveals many other valid reasons for obedience other than justification.
  4. A believer’s disobedience to the law of God, though he stands justified, is “as much condemned in him as they are in another.” That is, even though a believer is righteous in the eyes of God, their violation of God’s law is every bit as sinful (if not more) than an unbeliever’s violation of the same law.
  5. Finally, “the law is not to be rejected because man has no power to keep it.” Kevan argues that the Law and Gospel are very similar in this sense: “When the rejection of the Law is argued on this ground, it is often forgotten that, similarly, man has no power to obey the Gospel…Absence of ability does not infer absence of obligation.” Further, the believer, by the indwelling power of the Spirit, does have the ability to keep God’s law.

Kevan’s The Moral Law is filled with more gems like this. But more importantly, God’s law is filled with His own character and goodness. We should love it more than we do, and those who preach and teach should be careful to use the law the way it was designed to be used.

This article originally appeared here.

The Power of Disconnecting

By
Rachel Blom
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

No matter which words you use to describe the current times and culture, the word ‘connected’ keeps popping up. This day and age, we are constantly connected to others via cell phones, social media and whatnot, often in more than one way at the same time. But have you thought about the power of being disconnected?

Some of us can handle being constantly connected better than others, but I think we can all agree that it has changed our lives considerably. The fact that we have become ‘available’ almost 24/7 has had an enormous impact on our lives.

You just need to go out for dinner to see examples: dad is checking his email, while mom is texting a friends and the kids are playing with their iPads. Being connected has in some ways harmed our real life connection to other people.

Unplug and Get Disconnected

Because of all this, being disconnected has become more and more important. I’ve always been a big fan of having a Sabbath day every week (being a youth pastor, Sunday usually wasn’t the best day for that), having a day of rest with God and your family.

Nowadays, I’ve also become quite attached to being disconnected for a day or even longer. This summer, I took a break from blogging and all social media for three weeks and it was great. I got to spend uninterrupted time with my family, I read a lot of books, and I found true rest and relaxation.

Disconnecting from it all has huge benefits:

  • It will prevent you from becoming too attached to materialistic stuff.
  • It will prevent addiction to for instance social media, a real danger these times.
  • It will help you get a better perspective by stepping back from it all. It helped me for instance to see the relative (un)importance of certain social media in my life.
  • It will help you find deeper rest, as you are almost ‘forced’ to spend time relaxing.
  • It will help you disconnect better from your job, your volunteer work, etc and not keep thinking about this in the back of your mind.
  • It will help you spend more time with God and allow you to better hear His voice. I’ve found this to be especially true: reducing the ‘noise’ by disconnecting really improves your relationship with God.

If it’s not a habit of you yet, I advise you to try making disconnecting a regular occurrence. Just one day a week, step away, turn your email and social media off, and relax.

One warning though: it may have some serious unintended consequences. Some people who disconnected discovered they actually liked life better that way and never connected again.

What’s at Stake When You Procrastinate on Software Updates or License Renewals

By
Steven Sundermeier
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

We all procrastinate. Sometimes it’s very hard to “just do it”. Within the computer world, putting important things off or avoiding certain situations is no different: We ignore and dismiss the software updates on our phones or security updates notifications prompted on our computers. With the horrendous consequences of ransomware and other stealthy malware, I’m troubled by the avoidable stories I hear of user devices badly infected merely because they allowed their antivirus software to expire.

Here are five reasons why it’s not a good idea:

1. Like other security providers, Thirtyseven4 releases virus definition updates daily. And it’s not uncommon for our virus lab to release two or three software updates updates on any given day depending on the severity of threats. Each day of missed virus definitions means you’re falling 50,000+ malware behind.

2. It’s not only the ‘known’ malware detections that aren’t getting updated during an expired license term: cutting-edge, heuristic engines are also not getting updated. Like our DNA Scan engine, failure to keep a license current or software updates results in its stoppage as well. Engine enhancements are being continually released through regular updates.

3. To ensure safe browsing, Thirtyseven4 incorporates a multi-tier Web Security system that includes: Phishing Protection, Browsing Protection and Content Filtering. When a license expires so do all Web Security features (proactively blocking access to infected websites). The chances of malware reaching a system soar!

4. Up until the recent emergence of cypto-currency mining malware, the predominant threat has been ransomware. An expired license would spell disaster for battling the latest techniques to steal and hold for ransom your critical personal files.

5. Thirtyseven4 prides itself on amazing, friendly and available US-based support. Letting a license lapse means severing your contract with your software vendor/support as well.

Without action, the work simply mounts and doesn’t go away. The results of taking care of things can be seen. Similarly, failure to renew your antivirus license or software updates in a timely fashion results in missed virus definitions mounting. Instead of procrastination we can take satisfaction in knowing we took care of things.

 

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

A Second Adam to the Fight…

By
Nicholas Batzig
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Last spring, a spider wove a cobweb across the entryway to our house. In the evening, I took the cobweb down and it spun a new one in the same spot the very next morning. This event recurred over a period of several weeks. At first, I simply sought to avoid the cobweb by sneaking under it whenever I came or went. (I’m sure that our neighbors thought I was practicing the Limbo whenever they saw me doing this.) After about a week or so, I realized that something had to be done. I took a broom and knocked the web down. Much to my frustration, this didn’t solve the problem. A new web hung across the front of our entryway the very next morning. Finally, I did what I should have done at the outset—I killed the spider. Problem solved.

Many people approach sin the same way that I initially dealt with the cobweb. Most simply seek to avoid dealing with sin as long as they possibly can. Others attempt to get rid of their sin by cleaning themselves up (Luke 11:24–25). A real and lasting solution, however, required Christ to come and conquer the one who conquered man. It is only in this way that believers can live in the full enjoyment of deliverance from the guilt and power of sin. It was not sufficient for Christ merely to lay down His life in order to atone for the sins of His people—He also had to conquer the evil one. The Apostle John intimated as much when he wrote, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). The conquest of the evil one in the death of Jesus is an essential part of the work of redemption in that it results in liberty and victory for those for whom Christ died (1 John 2:14).

After the creation of the world, Satan wove a web of deception and lies in order to lead our first parents in rebellion against God. Ever since the fall of mankind, “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). So powerful is the devil’s influence on humanity as a whole that Scripture describes him as “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2). All the sin of men and women against God occurs in tandem with the stratagems of Satan. Having led mankind in rebellion against God, Satan now manifests his influence over men in a variety of ways. False teaching (1 Tim. 4:1) and false living (John 8:44; Eph. 4:26–27; 1 Tim. 3:6–7) are foremost among his principal strategies.

In addition to the manifold temptations of Satan, he also has a number of psychological weapons in his armory. The evil one “has the power of death” and “through fear of death [subjects men] to lifelong slavery” (Heb. 2:14–15). Satan loves to keep men and women in bondage to sin and in the fear of death. Even believers are subject to Satan’s oppressive attacks, but the devil assaults us uniquely. All of the devil’s malice is aimed at the people of God so that Scripture refers to him as “the accuser of the brethren.” The evil one loves seeking to condemn those whom Christ has redeemed.

In order to deal with these aspects of Satan’s work, the Son of God came into the world. Jesus came to conquer the one who conquered man. In that first great promise of the gospel (Gen. 3:15), God swore to send a Redeemer who would crush the head of the serpent. In order to redeem those who were fallen in Adam, the Redeemer had to be a man—born of a woman. In order to conquer the one who conquered man, the Redeemer also had to be more than a man. He had to possess such divine origin and power that He could overthrow the rebellious kingdom of the evil one and reestablish the righteous rule of God in the hearts of His people. The seed of the woman is none other than the God-man, Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul drew a straight line from Genesis 3:15 to Christ when he wrote, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law” (Gal. 4:4). Jesus died to take away the devil’s power over the consciences of believers.SHARE

When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He did so by facing off against that great serpent of old in the wilderness (Luke 4:1–13). As the last Adam, Jesus subjected Himself to an onslaught of temptations by the evil one. By virtue of His obedience, the Son of God struck a decisive blow to the powers of darkness. From the wilderness to the cross, Jesus was destroying the kingdom of darkness by obeying His Father, proclaiming the gospel and casting out demons. When He hung on the cross, Jesus fully and finally “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them” (Col. 2:15). The death of Jesus on the cross was the exorcism of all exorcisms (John 12:31). The last Adam was cleansing the world of its arrogating occupant. By His death, Jesus defeated the evil one and took all of his weapons away from him. On His way to the cross, Jesus explained that He was going to “bind” the strong man (Matt. 12:29; Rev. 20:2, 4) and deliver captives. The hymn “Praise to the Holiest in the Height,” captures the essence of the victory of Jesus, the last Adam, over the evil one:

O loving wisdom of our God!
When all was sin and shame,
a second Adam to the fight
and to the rescue came.

O wisest love! that flesh and blood,
which did in Adam fail,
should strive afresh against the foe,
should strive and should prevail.

There are now two main benefits that flow from Jesus’ defeat of Satan. First, the devil is bound so that the gospel may spread throughout the nations for the conversion of God’s elect. The devil is bound so that he can no longer deceive the nations to the degree that he did before the incarnation (Rev. 20:2). Before Christ came into the world, the nations were completely under the darkness and enslaving power of idolatry. This was Satan’s premier stronghold. He is a liar and the father of lies. He holds men in captivity by holding them under the lying deception of false teaching and beliefs. In the death of Jesus, God so bound the devil that the gospel might go to the nations. The spread of the gospel to the nations in the new covenant is a direct manifestation of the binding of the evil one. The preaching of the gospel sets a free course for the conversion of God’s people “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.” We now go boldly into the world to proclaim what our Savior has done in His death on the cross. Interestingly, the very message that we proclaim for the salvation of the nations includes the message of the binding of the One who deceives the nations. When we preach the devil-defeating, sin-atoning, wrath-propitiating, death-conquering death of Jesus, men and women are set free from the enslaving power of Satan.

Second, the devil is bound so that believers may have their consciences protected from Satan’s malicious accusations. Jesus died to take away the devil’s power over the consciences of believers. Christ has conquered Satan, sin, and death. In doing so, He has taken away the devil’s power to keep believers in bondage to the fear of death.

When believers sin, the devil and his cohorts stand ready to heap condemnation on them. Among the thoughts he speaks in the consciences of believers are these: “How could you do this? You’re not a Christian. A believer would never do something like this. You have surely out-sinned the grace of God.” These and other such accusations the devil hurls at believers. Sinclair B. Ferguson puts it succinctly when he says, “Satan trades in accusations.” However, just as Christ took away the devil’s power to hold men under the bondage of the fear of death, He took away the devil’s power to paralyze believers under his condemning accusations. Now, the believer has the strongest possible confidence because of the victory of the Redeemer over Satan and sin. As Charitie Bancroft put it,

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

This article originally appeared here.

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