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College Freshmen: Don’t Forget These 3 Things

By
Eric Geiger
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

It is that time of year! Fall marks a brand new beginning for over 2 million college freshmen. They graduated high school just a few months ago and are now entering college. Increased levels of freedom and responsibility mark the change. I remember how massive the change was. For example: compared to the previous year, I had much more control over my schedule but also much more responsibility to manage it. I could chose when my classes would be, but no one woke me in the mornings if I shut off my alarm. I absolutely loved college. Made lifelong friends. Met my wife. Grew in the Lord. Had a ton of fun. It was a great time in my life.

Before I went off to school, godly people who cared about me, including my parents, offered me wisdom and counsel. I was a new Christian and I don’t remember everything, but I do remember these three messages that radically and positively impacted my college years.

1. Real happiness is in Christ.

Blaise Pascal famously penned, “All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever means they employ, they all tend to this end.” Some college freshmen will seek happiness in the learning and some in the accolades and affirmations that come from excelling in their studies. Some will seek happiness in new relationships and some in partying and pleasure. Some will try all those means. And while those things are blessings from the Lord, they cannot ultimately make us happy. God’s blessings don’t satisfy us; He does.

Jesus declared, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled” (Matthew 4:6). College freshmen: More than you hunger and thirst for the good things that college provides, hunger and thirst for Jesus and His righteousness. Those other things will be thrown in as blessings as well, but only He will fill you.

2. Choose your community wisely.

Our community forms me and sets the trajectory of our lives. The wisdom writer penned, “The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm” (Proverbs 13:20). As you start college, you are at a relational crossroad with the opportunity to choose the friendships that will deeply shape you. Choose to walk with the wise. Walking with the wise is not walking with the perfect, as all fall short, but walking with those who fear the Lord.

3. The difference you can make now is profound.

God has historically used college students to spark revivals on college campuses, encourage churches, and reach people who have not yet received God’s forgiveness. What you can do right away is represent Christ on your college campus and give yourself to a local church. There are local churches in your college’s city or town that would rejoice and benefit from your presence and your serving. College freshmen who invest in kids, students, and outreach opportunities at a local church make a profound impact with their passion and enthusiasm. Don’t graduate college in four years with four to seven different church experiences. Find one your first semester and throw yourself into the life of the church.

This article about college freshmen originally appeared here.

Family Ministry for the Kid Who Comes Alone

By
Christina Embree
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Fall programming is getting ready to kick off in churches all across America and I see one question get asked a lot, “How can I do family ministry with the kid who comes alone?”  That’s a valid question especially if a good portion of our programming, follow-ups and interactions are based around parental inclusion, equipping, and involvement.

When you serve in family ministry, your goal is to equip and resource the home in ways that promote faith formation and spiritual discipleship primarily by parents and caregivers.  But what happens when a child comes to your church and doesn’t have a home life that is conducive to that model?

In addition to doing our best to engage the family and minister to the parents as noted here, we also want to make sure our church is an environment that is prepared to be welcoming and inviting to everyone.

Here are some practical ways we can have a family ministry to children who join us on their own.

“Welcoming” Families

Before events that will likely bring more kids into your church, approach a few families and ask them if they’d be willing to “adopt” a child for the activities that day or week.

If your church has intergenerational services where kids attend, find families or even grandparents that will welcome the child to worship with them.

Talk About Home

Just because mom and dad aren’t there, doesn’t mean you can’t talk about the home with that child.  In fact, they may want and need support if they are trying to live out their faith at home without support.  Give them that space to share.

Invite the Family 

If you are having a picnic, make sure to invite the whole family.  A word of caution – it can be hard on that child to have to constantly hand deliver invites or handouts that their parents might not want or show appreciation for.  If at all possible, make the contact yourself so that the child isn’t in an awkward position.

Give the Child a Place

There’s nothing worse than feeling out of place and awkward.  But there’s nothing better than feeling like you are a necessary part of something.

There are many roles that need filled in preparing and completing a worship service.  Finding a place for that child to serve can give a strong sense of self-worth. (younger children can help hand out bulletins, help with greeting, be your “right hand man”; older children can read Scripture, help with sound/lights, participate on worship teams, help collect communion)

Know the Child’s Name

Being greeted each week by name says “You are welcome here. We want you here and we are excited that you are part of our church family!”

Appreciate WHO They Are

Don’t let their identity be “The kid who comes without his/her parents.”  They are a beautiful and unique child of God.

A colleague of mine shared this with me about his own experience: “Once upon a time, when I was one of those kids (at church sans family), I appreciated being taken seriously on my own, not as a spare part (like so many singles do!)”

Host Cross-Generational Events for Family Ministry

Instead of all events being focused on family groups, host intergenerational events where all generations mingle and fellowship regardless of age or relationship.

One family minister I know has round tables and the simple rules are 1. You can’t sit with anyone you are related to and 2. You can’t sit with anyone your age.  Her church has grown to love these times of intentional intergenerational connection and no one feels singled out.

It is always a privilege to minister to and share the love of Jesus with the next generation but it is a uniquely special blessings to share with those who don’t experience these life-giving conversations in their home. Embrace the blessing and seek to find ways that say, “You belong here. You are family!”

Many thanks to the Family Pastors on Facebook who sent me these suggestions to share

This article about family ministry originally appeared here.

Indispensable: Women Church Planters

By
Carolyn Custis James
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

This article about women church planters originally appeared on Missio Alliance’s website and serves as an introductory framing to the series “Band of Brothers: A Case Study of Church Planting in Boston.” To understand Missio Alliance’s commitment to women in ministry, you can read more here.

Church planting is as old as Jesus.

That is to say, church planting is part of historic Christianity’s DNA. In modern parlance, church planting is a core value. I would argue that Jesus’ Great Commission itself provides the marching orders for planting churches. What is church planting if not making disciples?

Somehow along the way, church planting became a man-job.

Articles posted on church planting websites refer to church planters as “guys” or “dudes.” For the most part, women are not viewed as church planters. Instead, references to women typically center on how the church planter’s wife can support her husband’s demanding ministry. Even in denominations that ordain women, the majority of church planters are men. The notion of a female church planter has become an oxymoron. But this was not the case in the beginning.

Apostolic U-Turn

One might easily assume that the Apostle Paul would not be favorably disposed to women church planters. After all, he was a Pharisee by training and a former hardcore religious terrorist. Add in those controversial statements in his letters—“Women should remain silent in the church. They are not allowed to speak” (1 Corinthians 14:34) and “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet” (1 Timothy 2:12)—and it’s a safe bet that Paul was not inclined to advance women. He didn’t even marry one.

It is true that Paul planted churches with “dudes”—Bartholomew, Silas, Timothy, Luke and others. But everything changed when the Holy Spirit disrupted Paul’s second missionary journey and turned his views of women right side up.

God gave Paul a powerful vision of a man imploring him to “come over to Macedonia (Greece) and help us” (Acts 16:9). Expectations had to be riding high when Paul and his all-male church planting team arrived in Philippi. What would anyone expect after such an incredible vision? Yet instead of a stadium packed with Philippians eager to hear the gospel, Paul and his cohort found a group of praying women.

I once heard a pastor describe the scene as “the ultimate letdown.”

Luke’s eyewitness account of the event doesn’t even hint at disappointment or reluctance at the prospect of interacting in public with women. Instead of looking around in search of men, Paul sat down and began speaking the gospel to the women—Gentile women—as though leading a women’s Bible study was normal for him.

The Holy Spirit moved. The women, beginning with Lydia, embraced the gospel. A church was planted, and history made. The first Christian church in Europe was established—with a team of believing women.

There is more.

The Apostle Who Loved Women Church Planters

Later, from a Roman prison cell, Paul penned a letter to the Philippian church. The power of that letter gets lost when it is disconnected from its historical context (Acts 16). Readers must bear in mind Paul’s remarkable vision, the rerouting to Greece, the women who embraced the gospel, the violent persecution and the church gathered in Lydia’s home. With those historical facts in mind, the letter to the Philippian church reveals a surprising transformation in Paul’s regard for women church planters.

To Paul, women church planters aren’t just permissible. They are indispensable.

Messy Church History: Keepin’ Us Honest

By
Nathan Eshelman
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Our church history is about the messy church; that’s a fact!

King David brought Bathsheba into a home where there were other wives and concubines. Not only was she another woman—a competing woman—but she was with child, and unbeknown to David’s other wives, she was a widow because of murder. Sometimes I imagine the wedding ceremony. Can you imagine it? A pregnant wife-to-be in a white dress, probably not even wanting to be there. She was beckoned by the king after all; not really a culture where the king asks permission. Other wives were standing with her as the bridal party. Maybe embarrassed, maybe confused. David with blood on his hands and a heart hardened against God.

Yet this man—this king—God’s king–points us to Jesus Christ and is a called “a man after God’s own heart.”

That’s messy. And that’s messy church.

For the past few years I have been completing a Master of Theology degree in post-reformation church history. One of the difficulties with being a critical student of church history is that one comes to realize that church history is not a perfect line of faithfulness and good decisions.

Not even close.

As a pastor, I have tried to teach my congregation over the years that church history is about messy church, and that’s okay. It’s okay to wrestle with the messiness of the history of the church, whether the whole church or our particular denomination’s history. Often people want a sterile and holy history of one’s particular denomination or church, but that’s never the reality. Church history is not only God working in the world, but God working with sinful humanity.

Messy humanity. Messy church.

This messy church history paradigm ought not surprise the believer, but it often does. It ought not surprise us because the Scriptures themselves are messy. There are many difficulties in the Word of God that require the Christian to step out of his or her culture, worldview, and mindset in order to understand the culture, worldview, and mindset of the Scriptures. Difficulties such as slavery, sexual sin, applications of war, apparent genocide, and other matters require the believer to not put 21st century sensibilities onto the Scripture. I often say that you cannot impose the Geneva Convention onto the wars of the Bible. The same is true for other aspects of the inspired histories in the Bible.  The Scriptures are messy business, but the believer comes to the Word of God with the presuppositions that remind us that God is good, God is faithful, and God is just.

Just as the Scriptures have difficult things that we have to wrestle through, church history is equally messy and rarely without difficulty.  The best creeds of the ancient church were written under the directing eye of the civil government; churches that have good histories opposing human slavery, have failed in other race-relationships; heroes of the faith have failed as husbands and fathers; denominations have divided over secondary matters; big decisions have been made without thorough study of the Scriptures; missionaries have promoted their national kingdoms at the expense of the kingdom of God.

We have the messy church because church history is messy.

Church history is messy because of the fact that God uses fallen humanity to advance his kingdom. Church history is messy because the world’s history intersects with the church’s. Church history is messy because we cannot consider all unforeseen consequences of decisions and choices. Church history is messy because theology has a people-story connectedness. Church history is messy because there are applications the church must learn.

Messy.

There are five principles that need to be considered when one is a serious student of church history. These five principles are designed to help one to ask questions that lead to an honest interpretation of church history, rather than a black or white, good guy-bad guy interpretation. Rather than what is called hagiography.  These five principles are frequently in my mind when I interpret  church history and wrestle through the messiness of that which is studied:

  1. Church history is the story of sinners who were used of God in the work of building the kingdom.
  2. God uses second causes to advance the church. The history of the world around us shapes the history of the church, whether we like it or not.
  3. All events have consequences—even seemingly insignificant events can have lasting implications in church history.
  4. Church history is not just the story of people, it is also the story of dogma and theology. The story of people and the story of dogma interplay in church history.
  5. Church history is not just facts, but has experiential implications in the life of the church. We must apply church history.

All five of these principles point us to the over-arching truth of church history: it’s messy business. Christian, you need to be okay with that. Understanding this both liberates you to be honest about church history and deepens one’s love for the Christ of church history.  Despite this messiness, the believer remembers that Christ is building his church and that church will not remain messy forever. She is being purified and will someday be presented as the spotless bride of her bridegroom. That time is not now, so pardon the mess while the church creates history.

This article about messy church originally appeared here.

Bible Translator Suffers Gruesome Death in War-Torn Cameroon

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

A Bible translator in Cameroon was brutally killed this past weekend when Fulani herdsmen attacked him with a machete and also cut off his wife’s arm. The attack happened in the town of Wum in Cameroon’s war-torn English-speaking region. For the past few years, the area has been ravaged by violence, not only from Fulani herdsmen, but also from Cameroon’s French-speaking government and anti-government separatists.

“I don’t know what prompted the attack. They just came in and killed people at the home,” Efi Tembon told The Christian Post. Tembon is a native of Cameroon and a U.S. citizen who is now a resident of Hutchinson, Minnesota, reports the Hutchinson Leader. He was doing missions work in Cameroon when the violence in the country started escalating, and he heard the news about the Wum attack from sources there.

Fulani Attack Wum

Last Saturday night and early Sunday morning, Fulani herdsmen attacked five houses in Wum. Bible translator Angus Abraham Fung, who was in his 60s, is said to be among seven people killed during the attack. Most of them, said Tembon, were older men. He does not know how many other people were injured besides Fung’s wife, Evelyn. Said Tembon, “They went into houses and pulled out the people. They attacked in the night and nobody was expecting. They just went into the home, pulled them out and slaughtered them.”

Working with Wycliffe Bible Translators, Fung had helped to complete a translation of the New Testament in the Aghem language. Even though 3,000 copies of this translation have been published, workers have not been able to distribute them because of the regional conflict. 

Tembon told the Post, “This war is a complete disruption of what has been going on. We haven’t been able to dedicate [the translation] because of the war. We are doing what we call listening groups. We have done the recording and started listening groups where people come and listen to scriptures together in the community.”

Violence in Cameroon

The division of Cameroon (formerly the German colony of Kamerun) into English- and French-speaking regions occurred after World War I. Voice of America News (VOA) reoports the country’s current war began in 2016 when Anglophone lawyers and teachers protested against the Francophone goverment because of “alleged discrimination.” Violence ensued and escalated. Tembon, who was in the country at the time, told the Leader, “Helicopters were used by the government to start killing peaceful protesters.” 

There is credible evidence that the government’s security forces and the separatist rebels have both been guilty of serious human rights abuses. VOA reports that tens of thousands of people attempted to flee the Anglophone region this past weekend after 40 people were killed and a Catholic bishop was kidnapped as a result of fighting between separatists and the government.

One woman trying to escape the region told VOA that separatists had ordered businesses to close for a minimum of two weeks and attacked anyone who disobeyed. Another woman said she is fleeing after seeing the military kill six civilians and a baby. The most recent violence has come after separatist leader, Julius Ayuk Tabe, was put on trial in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. The tribunal found him and nine supporters guilty of “secession, terrorism and hostility against the state” and sentenced them to life in prison. 

After this sentence was handed down, separatists responded by issuing a lockdown in the Anglophone region, preventing schools from re-opening. Children there have not been able to attend school since the violence escalated three years ago. 

What About the Fulani?

Tembon told the Post that the government is involved in the recent Fulani attacks on Fung and others, although he acknowledges that not all Fulani (who mainly live outside of Wum) collaborate with the government. Some live with the local people in town, and some have joined the separatists.

Still, he said, “The government knows that the local people are supporting the local forces. The Fulani are Muslim and they are a minority in the area. And they always have a farmer-grazer problem between the local people and the Fulani. The government uses that now to get the Fulani on their side as an ally to fight the local people. So they have been armed and protected by the government and terrorize the local people.”

Fung’s Legacy

Efi Tembon is trying to bring international awareness to the atrocities that are happening in his native country. The government is promoting a different narrative, saying that the people who are fleeing are actually students who were on vacation and are returning to their schools. 

And while the U.N. says the number of people killed in Cameroon as a result of the violence is 2,000, Tembon believes the death count is closer to 7,000. He told the Post that 700,000 people in Cameroon have been internally displaced, and 50,000 have left the country.

Despite his tragic death, Angus Abraham Fung has left a legacy for God’s kingdom and for the people he worked among. Said Tembon, “He was one of the key community leaders in the whole tribe and he was part of the translation services and also coordinated literacy efforts. So, he was a huge part of the literacy work because their language had never been written before…So many people now can read and write the language as a result of Angus’ work.”

The Vital Role Christians Play in the Hong Kong Protests

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

If Hong Kong’s fight for democracy is trampled by Beijing, Christians have a lot to lose. The fear of this possibility, along with their faith in Christ, compels Christians in Hong Kong to play a vital role in the pro-democracy protests that have been going on for 12 weeks now. A meeting at Hong Kong’s Chater Garden last Friday marked the first time several churches came together publicly and deliberately to lend their voices and presence to the Hong Kong protests.

Christians Join Hong Kong Protests

“Salt and light, for justice we walk together,” was the meeting’s motto. A press release for the meeting explained the rally was designed to give Christians a platform to “express themselves outside the church.” Rally organizers encouraged Christians to “safeguard Hong Kong by singing, praying, worshipping God and at the same time speaking up for justice and standing together with all the Hongkongers in difficult times.”

The protests started in June when Hong Kong’s rulers–which are technically elected by Hong Kongers, but only after they’ve been approved by China’s seat of power, Beijing–put forth a bill that would allow for the extradition of offenders in Hong Kong and other Chinese territories to mainland China. On Saturday, June 15th, after a surprising 1.03 million people took to the streets in protest, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, announced the bill would be shelved, indicating it likely won’t be passed this year. For the protestors, though, that announcement was not enough. The protestors are calling for Lam’s resignation as well as other measures that will ensure the “one country, two systems” policy will remain intact. 

Christians, in particular, hold a wild card in the protests. There are laws in place to discourage public assembly in Hong Kong, but the laws include an exemption for religious gatherings. In theory, this means religious groups such as churches could potentially assemble to protest without fear of the police breaking up their meeting. However, the fear of police brutality is high in Hong Kong at the moment. 

Early on in the Hong Kong protests, the hymn “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord” became an unofficial anthem of the pro-democracy movement. Videos show Christians and non-Christians alike singing the hymn in front of police barricades and as they march down crowded Hong Kong streets. 

The Hong Kong Protests Intensify

While Christians are committed to protesting peacefully, last weekend saw some of the most violent clashes between protestors and riot police. Protestors can be seen in videos throwing bricks and petrol bombs at police, while police fire back with tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons. Several weeks ago, a woman lost an eye to a rubber bullet, which is why you may see images of protestors covering one eye with their hands. 


Friday, August 23, 2019 was the 30th anniversary of one of the biggest anti-Soviet protests. The Baltic Way was a peaceful protest utilizing a human chain. Hong Kongers acknowledged the anniversary by following suit. They formed a human chain that stretched nearly 22 miles across various areas of the city. Some Christians who attended the Chater Garden meeting also joined in the “Hong Kong Way” demonstration. 

Which Churches Have Joined in the Hong Kong Protests?

Christian organizations that have officially voiced concern over the extradition bill that sparked the protests include the Hong Kong Christian Council, the Catholic Diocese, the Baptist Convention of Hong Kong, and the Christian & Missionary Alliance Church Union of Hong Kong. They are encouraging protestors to use peaceful means as they join the movement. Cardinal John Tong of the Catholic Diocese has also asked for an independent inquiry into the excessive use of force by police. 

The Anglican church in Hong Kong, however, has not backed the protests. Dr. Paul Kwong, Hong Kong’s Anglican Archbishop, urged protestors to “calm down” and refrain from resorting to violence as they express their concerns. In June, Kwong suggested people, especially young people, “express their demands through legal and legitimate channels and means.” 

People around the world have held demonstrations in support of the Hong Kong protests, including a Chinese congregation in Vancouver, Canada, that held a prayer meeting for the situation in Hong Kong. Church members were stunned with pro-China activists showed up outside their church, seemingly to intimidate them. The situation reminds us that the global church is a very connected, organic institution. Perhaps more than any other group in Hong Kong, the church in Hong Kong has a breadth of support in the global church. 

Christians make up about 12 percent of Hong Kong’s population of 7.5 million people. If Hong Kong were to be subjected to the same laws as mainland China, the church would lose a significant amount of the freedom it currently experiences. To put it succinctly, the church in Hong Kong would lose much more than their right to assemble if Hong Kong’s laws are amended to reflect Beijing’s policy toward religious groups.

Christian persecution in China is a topic that ChurchLeaders has covered extensively, and the examples of rights violations for Christians in China number too many to count. Recently, we have learned of Chinese pastors being subjected to mandatory training from the government which essentially directs them to use their services as glorified endorsements of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Churches in China that are not registered with the government (the so-called underground church) are also subject to frequent raids, arrests, and monitoring by police and government officials. 

Hopefully, the church in Hong Kong will be spared such oppressive treatment. 

How to Turn Hot Topics Into Relational Bridges for Meaningful Conversation

By
Katy Langley
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

In our politically correct culture today, it’s imperative that those of us wanting to engage people with the gospel learn to build relational bridges for meaningful conversation.

“What’s your opinion on abortion?”

“Gay marriage?”

“Weed?”

“Evolution?”

“Trump?”

“The end times?”

There they are, standing in front of you, casually chatting about their upcoming weekend plans until, BOOM, out of nowhere the question drops. It’s you and them, in uncharted territory, with nervous eye contact and weight in every word.

Um.

Perhaps it’s the question you dreaded. “I have no idea what I think of that, I’m still figuring it out. I don’t want to look like an idiot right now! What am I supposed to say??”

Or maybe you love those questions, and you excitedly try to summon all your theological wit, all your communication skills, all the hours you spent winning theoretical arguments against friends. “This is it! This is why I’m a good Christian. I’ve got this. I researched this exact question all last year. I have my elevator pitch MEMORIZED.”

Folks. Prepared or not, worried or excited, can we be honest for a minute?

Are you really going to try to change their mind in one conversation? 

I mean, when you put it like that…. Ahem. 

Here’s the thing. Often, when others ask your opinion on something, they’re masking the question that’s below it. Am I enough? Will they still love me? Will they still love my family? Is there understanding in them? Are they safe?

Your job, in answering the question, isn’t to answer the question at all. Your job is actually to try to figure out what the question behind the question is. “What’s your opinion” is a code that, if understood properly, can unlock some of the most meaningful conversations you’ll have. You can be right, and do wrong. Be careful with the soul in front of you.

To that end, here’s a few things to remember when a friend/spouse/neighbor/coworker/family member (who we totally now are not trying to change in one meaningful conversation) drops a bombshell question out of nowhere:

Meaningful Conversation Tip #1) They trust you. (Or, they’re trying to decide if they can trust you.)

If someone is broaching a big conversation with you, they most likely care about the question and they’re looking for safe places to process. Hold that trust carefully. Thank them for sharing, and mean it. Remember this is a meaningful conversation and not a lecture hall. Play within their comfort zone of trust — don’t push “good theology” or “social stances” too much as you get to the heart of what’s going on in their lives.

Meaningful Conversation Tip #2) Respond, don’t react. 

Perhaps this is better phrased: shepherd, don’t soapbox. As a Christian, you’re supposed to make disciples, not minions; it’s okay if they don’t think exactly like you. Don’t forget you’re holding fragile trust, and you need to express care here, not a perfectly crafted theological stance. Be slow to speak and quick to listen, and try to understand where they are coming from. You probably didn’t form all your opinions or convictions in one conversation, and neither will they. Take a deep breath, and be willing to say something like, “Wow, that’s a big question. Give me a minute to collect my thoughts so I can respond well to you”, or, “Could we meet up next week to give this conversation the time it deserves?” Don’t rush to fill silence. An intentional pause to form your words or sit in the weight of something shared shows genuine concern. Take your time.

Meaningful Conversation Tip #3) Ask good questions. 

Get out your gospels and take a cue from the one and only (um, Jesus), who did a masterful job of dodging opinion questions by asking another question — thereby helping his listeners to think instead of react (or get the reaction out of Jesus that they were hoping for!) Good news: tact in response to alarming situations is something Jesus had in abundance, which means it’s something we have access to through Christ. You can ask God to help you grow in this area of Christ-likeness.

And, you know, you can also reference this list of responses I’ve used — that the Lord has already graciously provided in advance answer to your prayers for wisdom! Wow!

“That’s a big question. What makes you ask that?”

“Is this something your friends/family bring up very much?”

“Wow, that’s a really controversial issue.”

“Are you nervous to ask about this?”

“Thanks for trusting me with that and being willing to ask it. That’s a big deal and I appreciate your vulnerability.” 

“Have you chatted about this with your parents/spouse/friends? Why not/what did they say?”

“Have you been thinking about this for awhile?”

“Have you asked this of other people?” 

“What do you think I’m going to say?”

“What do you think?”

“When do you remember first starting to really think about this?”

As a bonus — I’ve found humor to be so liberating. It settles the nerves and helps establish a common ground. While not always appropriate, when it’s fitting, I’ve found something a little teasing really valuable: “Wow, this is a big question. Are you trying to start a fight with me?? Where’s the hidden cameras and secret microphones??”

PLEASE remember, when you hear a big question from someone, it’s probably not a casual question. It’s probably also not a one-and-done conversation; make sure to follow up over the weeks and months to follow. “Have you still been thinking about ___?” This is probably something that’s deeply personal to them or their loved ones. Value their trust, respond well, and ask good questions. Take your time. If you fly off the handle and speak harshly, bridges can burn. If you listen and show care, even if you disagree at the end of the day, you establish yourself as a safe place. That’s crucial in relationships.

And there’s my opinion, on opinions. You’re welcome.

This article about having a meaningful conversation originally appeared here.

Living Wisely to Spite Satan

By
Jared C. Wilson
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

One of the devil’s go-to gambits is keeping us stupid but God wants us living wisely to spite Satan. What’s especially insidious about this ploy, however, is that the kind of stupid the devil wants for us doesn’t really have anything to do with intellect. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There’s no God’” (Psalm 14:1; 53:1). Clearly, the biblical kind of foolishness is not the same as unintelligence, as you and I likely know plenty of intelligent atheists and unbelievers of all kinds.

“Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.”
— Proverbs 4:5

Living Wisely Is the Opposite of Foolishness

No, the atheist isn’t always a fool in his mind but is instead a fool in his heart. And it’s not simply those who intellectually discount the existence of God who carry this kind of atheistic foolishness around in their hearts. When we engage in the biblical kind of foolishness—choosing sin over obedience—we engage in a practical kind of atheism. We give our hearts to someone or something else. We say with our heart that there is no God worthy of our allegiance, no God worthy of the glory we are denying him, no God who will hold us accountable. Behavior problems are belief problems.

So the justifications we offer for ourselves and our sins are usually pretty sophisticated, or at the least, pretty wordy. We have convinced ourselves that we are right, despite the word from God to the contrary. Others have misread it. We have the real facts. It doesn’t apply to us or to this circumstance specifically. We are the exception for whatever reason. We have to live “our truth.”

Paul says to Timothy that people who believe this way do not have real “knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:25) and need to “come to their senses” (v. 26). That latter phrasing is a tip-off to how drunk we can be even on our own intellect and still be ignorant of our ignorance. Paul has no problem attributing this nonsense way of living to “the trap of the devil” (v. 26).

Satan Traps Us Into Not Living Wisely

The trap is subtle. What Satan continues to do today is what he originally did in the garden: substituting a version of rival facts in place of the real thing. Every sinful decision you and I make begins with the satanic question, “Did God really say . . . ?”

Satan has come with his own spin on the facts. “You won’t die. You can become like God. You will know new things and see like him.”

These lies appealed to Adam and Eve, we reckon, because they deflected from reality. Satan is not just a master of deception but also a master of deflection. He does not outright say, “Disobey!” No, he distracts. He demurs. He redirects. “What about this?” he says. “What about that? Have you looked at it this way? What if this and what about that?” He makes the trap look like an endless field of possibilities, a playground of sorts that he suggests God wants to deny you.

Make no mistake. What the devil is after is your allegiance to him by way of your allegiance to yourself, but he rarely starts with that. He starts by reframing your relationship with God. Dietrich Bonhoeffer called mankind’s original sin “going behind the given Word of God and procuring his own knowledge of God.”

In Matthew 16:23, Jesus calls Peter “Satan” not because Peter outright renounced his loyalty to his Master but because he positioned his disbelief (in Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection) as concern for him. Think of the harsh words Jesus had for and about his family after they’d treated him like a crazy or reckless person. Think of the harsh words he had for his disciples whenever they suggested self-protection or self-fulfillment was the order of the day. “You are a hindrance to me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns,” Jesus goes on to say to Peter. In other words, “You want me to believe this is about your relationship with me, but it’s really about your concerns about yourself.”

Peter was deflecting. But the truth is centering.

One way the devil deflects us from the truth is by appealing to our senses of virtue, righteousness, or justice. Truth feels cold sometimes, hard. We long for the truth, but sometimes the truth convicts us or just proves too others-oriented.

Unforgiveness Is Not Living Wisely

It is interesting that in 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 Paul refers to unforgiveness as a scheme of Satan. The devil knows that forgiving each other serves the magnification of God, which is the thing Satan hates the most, so he appeals to our sense of justice. “You will just let this guy off scot-free? He doesn’t deserve forgiveness. After what he’s done? He’ll just keep on doing it then, since you’re giving him permission. Go ahead, be a doormat. See how far that gets you.”

It makes sense. Forgiving people do get taken advantage of. But unforgiving people, Paul says in verse 11, get taken advantage of by Satan!

So there we stand, wronged as all get-out. We’ve been unjustly treated. We hurt. We want things to be made right. We want justice. And the devil comes along to fester our wounds for us, to offer us sips of his bitter brew. He urges coldness, harshness, vengeance. “What’s right is right.”

He is trying to reframe the law of God for his own ends, to make himself god vicariously through you.

But the Lord says, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” The Lord says, “You all have sinned, thus you must all forgive. If the debt has been settled by Christ on the cross, what do you mean by extracting further payment? Is the cross of Christ that cheap to you?”

It is that cheap to Satan. He wants your eyes off the cross, because where your sin and mine has been conquered, so has he.

This article about living wisely to spite Satan originally appeared here.

Eddie Villanueva: LGBTQ Rights Endanger Christian Rights

By
Stephanie Martin
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Eddie Villanueva
Screengrab Youtube @Rappler

A bill being debated in the Philippines would threaten religious freedom and “unduly give special rights” to members of the LGBT community. That’s the argument made Wednesday by Brother Eddie Villanueva, an evangelical pastor who recently became a deputy speaker in the country’s House of Representatives.

In a House speech, Villanueva, a member of the Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) party, asked, “What happens to a Christian like me, and to the majority of the people in this chamber, if we are to be threatened by punishment every time we share our Bible-based beliefs on matters of transgenders and homosexuals?” He added, “We respect the lives they choose to live, but to make us conform to their lifestyle with the threat of punishment under our necks if we do not is, in itself, a violation of our own rights.”

Instead of promoting equality, the lawmaker says, the bill will “unduly give special rights to some members of our society at the expense of the rights of other members and to the detriment of the social order in our community.”

SOGIE Equality Bill Isn’t Expected to Pass

Villanueva, who founded Jesus Is Lord (JIL) Church Worldwide, warns that the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) equality bill “undermines the role of parents,” “threatens academic freedom,” “imperils freedom of speech and religion,” and “puts into question the very foundation” of laws in the Philippines.

More than a dozen versions of the SOGIE bill are currently in the House, and Villanueva says 10 interfere with parental rights. “Since when has it become our official policy to give the government authority to decide for our children’s lives,” he asks, “especially on an issue as sensitive as their identity?”

Senate President Vicente Sotto III has said the bill has “no chance” of passing in the current Congress.

Eddie Villanueva Addresses Transgender Bathroom Debate

Also on Wednesday, Villanueva defended a Filipino mall janitor who recently barred transgender representative Geraldine Roman from using a woman’s bathroom. The employee was “just doing her job,” says Villanueva, adding that her side of the story hasn’t received enough attention.

Roman, who’s championing one version of the SOGIE bill, wants a “win-win solution that will be respectful of the rights of everyone.” The lawmaker told colleagues, “There is nothing to fear but everything to look forward to in a society that welcomes everyone.” The equality bill, Roman says, simply gives fellow citizens “the same rights when it comes to work, to study, to receive services from the government, and to access commercial and public establishments, not to be insulted in the streets.”

Before founding JIL in 1978, Villanueva was a communist and atheist. The pastor and politician, now 72, is campaigning for “righteous governance” of the Philippines and recently tweeted that “Transactional Politics is a major root cause of unabated CORRUPTION in all countries of the world!”

The Philippines has faced unrest under President Rodrigo Duterte, who once said he “cured” himself of being gay. About 86 percent of the nation’s population is Roman Catholic.

‘Build My Life’ Tops List of Most-Used Worship Songs by Churches

By
Megan Briggs
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If you go to church this weekend, chances are good the worship leader might lead the congregation in “Build My Life” by the band Housefires. Chances are also good you’ll sing a worship song by Hillsong Music or Chris Tomlin. These song preferences are according to data published by Faithlife Proclaim, a cloud-based presentation software company that has been tracking data from churches across the United States for three years now.

The data “shows how music unites regardless of size, denomination or location,” Faithlife CEO Bob Pritchett says.

The company tracks the popularity of songs in real time and makes the information available online. The Faithlife Proclaim website states it is used by over 10,000 churches. Of course, the data it provides about popular worship songs does not account for what every church in the United States is singing—only those who subscribe to Faithlife’s presentation software.  However, it does give a good snapshot of the things a lot of churches are singing right now.

Songs are ranked according to how many churches use them in worship sets that particular week. Currently, there is even a hymn in the top ten songs. At the time of this article’s publishing, the following ten songs are the ones being used the most by churches who use the software:

  1. Build My Life by Pat Barrett
  2. What a Beautiful Name by Hillsong
  3. Ten Thousand Reasons by Matt Redman
  4. Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) by Chris Tomlin
  5. Great Are You Lord by David Leonard, All Sons and Daughters
  6. This Is Amazing Grace by Jeremy Riddle, Bethel Music
  7. Who You Say I Am by Hillsong
  8. Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow by Charles Wesley
  9. Lord I Need You by Christy Nockels, Matt Maher
  10. How Great Is Our God by Chris Tomlin

The Most Popular Song: Build My Life

A lot of worship songs are written by a handful of people—not just one musician. “Build My Life” is no different. The authors include Brett Younker, Karl Martin, Matt Redman, Kirby Elizabeth Kaple, and Pat Barrett. In an interview with HIS Radio in 2018, Barrett said the song came together “in pieces over the years” with the help of fellow worship leaders and friends. Barrett says he wrote it over a period of his life in which he experienced a lot of change. He was a new parent and “wanting to be the best parent.” Barrett says he was “looking for steadiness” in his own life, which prompted him to write the lyrics about building one’s life on God’s love.

The lyrics for the song speak to God’s faithfulness and his steadiness. It’s a beautiful song that expresses God’s uniqueness and holiness.

Worthy of every song we could ever sing
Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring
Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe
We live for You
Jesus, the Name above every other name
Jesus, the only One who could ever save
Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe
We live for You
Holy, there is no one like You
There is none beside You
Open up my eyes in wonder
Show me who You are and fill me
With Your heart and lead me
In Your love to those around me
I will build my life upon Your love
It is a firm foundation
I will put my trust in You alone
And I will not be shaken

You can check out the songs that take up the other nine slots on the top 10 list below. Perhaps you’ll sing one of them at church this weekend.

What a Beautiful Name

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

Great Are You Lord

This Is Amazing Grace

Who You Say I Am

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow (Doxology)

Here are a few renditions of the doxology that we love.

Lord I Need You

How Great Is Our God

Dave Willis: Jesus Shows Us How to Respect Women in a Culture of Disrespect

By
Jason Daye
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Dave Willis and his wife, Ashley, host The Naked Marriage podcast, cohost the MarriageToday show on the Daystar network, and travel across the country speaking on marriage, family, and culture. Dave’s latest book, coming out November 2019, is Raising Boys Who Respect Girls: Upending Locker Room Mentality, Blind Spots, and Unintended Sexism. Dave and Ashley’s mission is to create resources focused on building Christ-centered marriages and families. They have four young sons and live near Dallas, Texas.

Key Questions for Dave Willis

-Why is there so much disrespect toward women in our society?

-Why is our modern emphasis on gender equality failing to increase respect toward women? 

-What advice would you give ministry leaders when other leaders are being disrespectful toward women?

-What are proactive steps pastors can take to promote the respect of women and true biblical masculinity and femininity?

Key Quotes from Dave Willis

“I realized, you know, this isn’t just a message for my sons. I think this is a message that needs to be told broader. It needs to be told in a broader way in society, and it needs to be a message that we can champion from the church because for whatever reason, it seems that church has been largely silent on these issues.” 

“I believe firmly that Jesus, more than anybody else in all of human history, did more to respect women and advance the dignity of women in His culture, which at the time was truly a really sexist culture.”

“We’ve only got one perfect example of how a man should respect women and it’s in the only perfect man who’s ever lived, Jesus Himself.”

“I believe one of the big factors is that there has become…this sort of socially acceptable mindset that you can compartmentalize certain aspects of your life and your integrity.”

“The widespread and socially acceptable use of pornography, I firmly believe, is one of the biggest factors that’s ultimately leading to the disrespect of women.”

“Until we get honest about [porn], none of these other things are going to make sense.”

“Another big myth that our culture is pushing is that for genders to be seen as equal, that means that we have to look at genders as if they’re exactly the same.” 

“Because toxic masculinity has harmed so much in society, all masculinity has kind of been lumped in that.”

5 Reasons Pastors Ought to Pray for Slow Growth

By
Aaron Menikoff
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Many of us want a big church, but pastors ought to pray for slow growth. We should check our hearts, battle pride, and give thought to the value of slow, steady growth as opposed to rapid, overwhelming growth.

Sometimes, God has other plans. David Platt took over for a mega-church pastor. Matt Chandler’s church experienced remarkable, numerical growth not long after he began preaching. Right after 9/11, Tim Keller saw an immediate increase in attendance of about 1,000 people. God does things like this, but these are the exceptions, not the rule.

The desire for fast growth isn’t sinful, but it is sinful to make an idol out of the size of your ministry. And sometimes, the line between godly and ungodly ambition is dangerously thin.

Ten years ago, I watched a preacher set a remarkable goal. He planned for 100 campuses, 100,000 church members, and 1,000 church plants—all in ten years. It’s a seductive vision. Who doesn’t want more church plants, more church members, more Christians? But I’m not convinced it’s a wise vision.

Smaller churches are not godlier than larger churches. I’m not calling for nogrowth. I’m simply going to suggest both you and your congregation will be well-served by slow and steady growth. If God wants to grow your work at a fantastic rate, submit to his will. The growth of our churches in the hands of our God. We can trust him.

Meanwhile, I pray the members of the church I serve, and the Christians in your church family would live out 1 Thessalonians 1:8, “For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.”

FIVE REASONS TO PRAY FOR SLOW GROWTH

1. Pray for slow growth because quality is better than quantity.

Let me be clear what I’m not saying. I’m not saying you should set the bar for membership so high that only theologically-solid Christians with a long track-record of faithfulness should be allowed to join your church. That would be ungodly; a church is not a seminary.

I am saying that younger pastors tend to ask fewer questions of incoming members than older pastors. When you are getting started, and you meet a couple on their fifth church in five years, you may think, “Wow, they finally found the right place!” But when you’ve been in ministry for a while, and you run into that same couple, you’re more likely to think, “This is potentially a problem I need to try and figure out before they join our church.”

If you are praying for slow growth, you’re much more likely to carefully shepherd Christians into your church, or carefully shepherd them back to another church, rather than quickly let them in for the sake of fast growth.

2. Pray for slow growth because good growth is likely lasting growth.

Proverbs 13:11 comes to mind: “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.” He’s saying how you gain wealth matters. The process is important. The more disciplined you are in your accumulation of wealth, the more likely it is to last. Consider how many lottery winners wind up broke.

Do you remember that pastor who cast a vision for 100 campuses, 100,000 members, 1,000 church plants? His church was big at the time, but now it’s gone.

It’s easy to be discouraged when you see a tiny trickle of people coming into your congregation. But if that trickle is good, solid growth, it’s much more likely to be growth that lasts.

3. Pray for slow growth because churches are not factories.

There’s a principle in economics called “economies of scale.” It’s a simple idea. A business experiences cost savings when it increases production. McDonald’s can negotiate a lower price for potatoes because it can buy millions of pounds. A ship is going to burn the same amount of fuel shipping ten containers as shipping a thousand. By being more efficient, factory managers can often produce more widgets with the same number of workers. All of this is the principle of economies of scale. Long story short, it’s usually very efficient when businesses grow.

But God didn’t design the church to maximize efficiency. As helpful as small groups may be, they’ll never replace a one-to-one conversation. As valuable as marriage retreats are, your church will always have couples in desperate need of marriage counseling.

Your sermon prep time will probably stay the same if you are preaching to fifty or 500. But as your church grows, the pastoral demands will grow as well, and it will become increasingly more difficult to ensure the body is shepherded well.

I’m thinking of Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians elders Acts 20:28, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.” The words in that sentence that stand out to me are “careful” and “all.” Elders are to carefully shepherd every single member of the congregation. This is highly inefficient work. We shouldn’t think this work will become easier as the church grows.

Therefore, pray for slow growth.

4. Pray for slow growth because your ability to shepherd well will grow with time.

Shepherds are first and foremost Christians. They’re in the process of being sanctified. This is slow, gradual work.

  • Hebrews 10:14, “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”
  • Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
  • 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
  • Colossians 3:9–10, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

All this applies to pastors. Our ability to shepherd well grows over time. We grow in love. We grow in joy. We grow in peace. We grow in patience. We grow in kindness. We grow in goodness. We grow in faithfulness. We grow in gentleness. We grow in self-control. Simply put, if the Holy Spirit is within us, if we’re fighting the good fight of the faith, we’re becoming better pastors.

Large congregations come with many, many needs. Some men are well-suited to step into a context like that and immediately start shepherding. Most men are not. Most of us need more time to grow and mature. You can’t microwave wisdom.

Therefore, pray for slow growth because your ability to shepherd will grow over time.

5. Pray for slow growth because frail, faithful churches look a lot like Jesus.

Small churches growing slowly seem weak. They appear to be one crisis away from folding, and I suppose that’s true. Many small churches are just barely holding on.

But here’s my question: if the church is the body of Christ, shouldn’t we embrace frail, faithful churches, churches that really do resemble Isaiah 53:2–3:

He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

We live in a world that idolizes speed, size, and flash. This isn’t the Christ I worship, and I’m not sure it’s the church I want to worship in.

God may see fit to grow my church in a remarkable way—he’s done so with men like Chrysostom and Charles Spurgeon and John Piper. But however big my church is, I pray it keeps the frailty and faithfulness of my Savior—always humble, always dependent upon the Holy Spirit, always willing to be rejected by the world.

This article about pastors ought to pray for slow growth originally appeared here.

Ten Atonement Songs You Should Consider Singing

By
Bob Kauflin
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Over the years, I’ve realized that not all atonement songs about the cross are created equal. Some use the word “cross” without explaining what it means. Others see the cross merely as a selfless act of love for our encouragement. Others give voice to an appropriate response of devotion (e.g., Isaac Watts’ “When I Survey”). Some come close to articulating what Jesus accomplished at the cross while leaving out some of the details.

But the power of the cross is in the details of atonement songs.

That’s why I’m constantly on the lookout for atonement songs that clearly, beautifully, faithfully, and compellingly point us to what actually took place on a hill called Calvary. Jesus, the perfect Son of God, bore our sins in his body on the tree to endure the wrath of God for us. Why? So that we might be forgiven, reconciled to God, live joyfully for God’s glory, and spend eternity with him (Col. 1:13–14; 1 Pet. 2:24; Col. 3:17; Rev. 5:9–10). That reality is a source of endless beauty, wonder, worship, and joy.

You probably already sing worship songs that do just what I’ve been describing. Atonement songs like “Before the Throne of God Above,” “And Can It Be,” “In Christ Alone,” “Man of Sorrows,” “It Is Well,” “The Power of the Cross,” and many more.

Here are ten more atonement songs for you to consider that you might not know about or haven’t sung yet.

I’ve included some lines from each song and intentionally drawn from a variety of eras and styles.

Atonement Song #1. At the Cross of Jesus (John Eddison/Richard Simpkin)

“At the Cross of Jesus” is a modern, five-verse UK hymn with a simple melody. “Even though I be chief of all the sinners, there is hope for me.” “Though my sins condemn me, Jesus died instead.” “Let your love possess me, so that all may see what your death accomplished on the cross for me.”

Atonement Song #2. His Robes for Mine (Chris Anderson/Greg Habegger)

“His Robes for Mine” is another recent, four-verse hymn with a chorus. This is well known in some circles, but I led it for the first time last year. “I cling to Christ, and marvel at the cost, Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God.” “What cause have I to dread? God’s daunting law Christ mastered in my stead.” One of the few hymns that manages to get both “vicarious” and “propitiation” in one song.

Atonement Song #3. Jerusalem (Jonny Robinson, Rich Thompson, Tiarne Kleyn)

“Jerusalem” is a beautiful hymn from the Australian based group CityAlight, that takes us to the day Jesus died. “Dust that formed the watching crowds, takes the blood of Jesus.” “And he stood before the wrath of God, shielding sinners with his blood.”

Atonement Song #4. O Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer (Nate Stiff)

“O Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer” is a modern hymn that expresses the satisfaction and security that come from knowing our sins have been paid for. “My guilt and cross laid on your shoulders, in my place, You suffered bled and died.” “You rose, the grave and death are conquered, You broke my bonds of sin and shame.”

Atonement Song #5. Mediator (Cam Huxford)

“Mediator” is an upbeat indie rock song that expounds on 1 Timothy 2:5. “He takes our place and stands in front of God on high, he speaks on our behalf since we don’t have the right.” “There is only one God, there is only one mediator, standing between God and man, he’s the only way to salvation.”

Atonement Song #6. My Saviour Left His Throne Above (Zac Hicks/Julie Anne Vargas)

“My Saviour Left His Throne Above” is a modern hymn in 3/4 that reminds us of what Jesus did, felt, and earned for us through his life, death, and resurrection. “He felt the storms of human pain.” “He kept his Father’s every word; the Law he followed perfectly; So all God’s pleasure he secured, all this and more he earned for me.” “Because he died once for all time, and bore the curse of death and hell, final forgiveness here is mine, so it is finished, all is well.”

Atonement Song #7. Now Why This Fear (Doug Plank/Augustus Toplady)

“Now Why This Fear” is a modern adaptation of Augustus Toplady’s hymn, “From Whence This Fear and Unbelief.” “Will the righteous Judge of men condemn me for that debt of sin now canceled at the cross?” “Complete atonement You have made, and by Your death have fully paid the debt Your people owed.” “The merits of your great high priest have bought your liberty.”

Atonement Song #8. The Passion (Brooke Ligertwood/Scott Ligertwood/Chris Davenport)

Like “Man of Sorrows,” “The Passion” is another Hillsong offering that articulates penal substitution clearly and faithfully. “For Jesus’ blood that sets us free means death to death and life for me.” “The Innocent judged guilty, while the guilty one walks free, death would be His portion, and our portion liberty.”

Atonement Song #9. Upon A Life I Have Not Lived (Horatius Bonar/Kevin Twit)

“Upon a Life I Have Not Lived” is an indie song from Indelible Grace that emphasizes how the cross eliminates any boasting in ourselves. “Upon a life I have not lived, upon a death I did not die, another’s life, another’s death I stake my whole eternity.” “O Jesus, Son of God, I build on what Thy cross has done for me, There both my life and death I read, my guilt, my pardon there I see.”

Atonement Song #10. Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me (Jonny Robinson, Rich Thompson, Michael Farren)

“Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me” is another CityAlight addition to modern hymnody that I hope is being sung for a long time. “No fate I dread, I know I am forgiven, the future sure, the price it has been paid, for Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon and He was raised to overthrow the grave.”

While substitutionary atonement isn’t the only thing God wants us to sing about, it’s why we can sing to God at all, and the greatest reason we have to sing. And for those reasons, we will never have enough songs to extol the glory of the Lamb who was slain to purchase our salvation.

This article about atonement songs originally appeared here.

A Liberating Scripture About God’s Will

By
Eric Geiger
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Because we don’t want to get this one life wrong, Christians ask a lot of questions about God’s will. And they are searching for Scripture about God’s will.

More than any other time in history of Christianity, this is a popular topic. There was a time that if you grew up in a town as the son of a fisherman, you became a fisherman who lived in that town and married a woman from that town. When you moved into a house in that town, you never discussed all the options for the kitchen counters.

Throughout history we are a rarity. We have so many choices now, and we (including me) enjoy that freedom. But, as psychologist Barry Schwartz has pointed out, we are likely to live with paralysis or regret because of all the choices we are confronted with. We can be paralyzed by the magnitude of decisions, and we often regret the ones we make. For example, imagine you go on vacation and choose a condo on beach online from one of 30 available condos. As you walk the beach in the late evening, you will look at the 29 condos you did not select and wonder how your vacation would have been better or different if you had chosen a different place to spend a week. Instead of savoring the moment on the beach, you will notice the chairs you did not get to sit in, the view you did not choose, and the hammock that is hanging from the porch you did not select.

If we believe that God’s plans are best for us, we want His plans. And some of us have believed, or been taught, that those plans are very specific. And it is up to us to find them because even though we believe God is a loving and perfect Father, for some reason, He likes playing “hide and go seek” with His will and our lives.

How some have viewed God’s will is a burdensome way to live. Some have imagined that if we make one wrong choice we will be forever doomed to living outside His perfect and wonderful plan for our life.

The Liberating Scripture About God’s Will

I just finished reading Decision-Making and the Will of God by Garry Friesen. It is a very helpful book, and the most impactful section for me came from Garry’s articulation of Genesis 2.

The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die” (Genesis 2:15-17).

God’s desire was for Adam and Eve to not eat from one tree, but there was a lot of freedom beyond that. God did not say, “On Monday and Wednesday mornings you eat from the apple tree and on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, you eat from the avocado tree but only during odd months.” God gave them a lot of freedom if they were willing to follow what He revealed as His desire for them. He enjoyed watching them and handed responsibility to them. God was not indifferent to Adam and Eve’s choices but was equally pleased if they chose an avocado or an apple.

Follow what God has revealed to you and “you are free to eat from any tree.” Or as Augustine famously said, “Love God and do what you please.”

This article about Scripture about God’s Will originally appeared here.

10 Ways to Help Small Group Members Participate More

By
Mike Mack
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Nathan Tate was a cell leader in a quandary. He had great quiet time—sometimes during his cell meeting! Other weeks, the talkative folks in the room would dominate the discussion. Some people would appear distracted and unable to focus during the sharing time. Nate was frustrated, and the group’s gatherings would end on a hollow note. How could Nate facilitate the group so all the small group members participate and get their needs met?

10 Ways to Help Small Group Members Participate More

1. Plan to Help Small Group Members Participate.

Nate realized he needed to take a step back and make long-range plans and goals for the group. His facilitation strategy, like that of many small-group leaders, was “ready, shoot, aim.” But people need to know the target before they can effectively work toward it. They need a reason for being together and a sense their group is striving for something, not just existing. People come to a group with different expectations. Without stated goals from the beginning, conflicts invariably arise. Those conflicts can eventually lead to the group’s disintegration. A group with no plan is like Jesus’ story about a blind man leading another blind man—into a pit (Matt. 15:14)!

To avoid the pits, pray for God’s guidance in determining your goals. Observe the people in your group. Ask them questions about their expectations, interests and needs. Formulate some specific goals, and then suggest them during a meeting. Encourage the group to discuss the goals and share any others they feel are important. Give them the opportunity to take “ownership” of the group’s goals.

2. Keep an eye (and ear, nose, mouth and skin) on the details.

Nate started paying attention to the physical environment of the meeting after reading this quote by poet Stephen Spender: “There is always a tendency of the body to sabotage the attention of the mind by providing some distraction.” Some of Nate’s cell group members could not focus on spiritual matters because of an uncomfortable atmosphere.

Keep these in mind when setting up your meeting space:

Circle up, so everyone can see the face of every other person in the group. A circle helps small group members participate equally.

Check the thermostat. Just a few people in a room increase the temperature. One expert advises that 67 degrees is an ideal temperature for groups.

Sniff around. We get accustomed to the smells in our homes, but visitors sense them immediately. Pets, things children spill in odd places, heavy perfumes, the evening dinner, even room deodorizers can irritate noses. Try lighting a few candles or simmering potpourri in the house. Research shows, for instance, that peppermint helps keep people alert.

Make your meeting tasteful. Straight-from-the-oven brownies, fresh popcorn or a beautifully arranged tray of fruit encourage group interaction. They also signal people that you planned ahead and want them there. Be creative and remember to provide for weight-watchers, diabetics and others with medical or personal needs.

Find the right room size. A cell meeting may feel intimidating in a huge room, but a group of 12 adults may feel claustrophobic in a tiny room.

Let your light shine, but not too brightly. Low lamplights are better than bright florescent or overhead lighting. The room should be bright enough for everyone to read, but low enough to feel cozy.

Don’t allow couples to share materials or Bibles. One of them will be less involved in the discussion.

Guard against distractions. Turn off cell phone ringers and mute the volume on answering machines. Put pets in another room or outside. Turn off TV sets, radios and computers during a meeting.

3. Don’t leave out the Holy Spirit!

The Spirit is the real teacher and leader. Nate began to notice how Jesus stayed open to His Father’s moving. In John 5:17, Jesus said, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” Later He said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (v. 19). If Jesus admitted He could do nothing Himself, why should we think we can?

4. Build relationships outside the meeting.

Small group members participate more when they feel like “one of the gang.” A cell isn’t just a once-a-week meeting; it’s real fellowship. It’s a lifestyle! The early church met together “every day” (Acts 2:46), encouraging each other, caring for each other, instructing one another, etc. Nate looked for creative ways for members to “meet together”: using the phone and the Internet, doing everyday things (like shopping) together, playing or watching sports, whatever worked.

Excellence in Church Tech Ministry Flows From Great Training – Here Are Three Imperatives

By
Justin Firesheets
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

It should probably go without saying that volunteers are the lifeblood of any church tech ministry. No matter what kind of equipment a church has, or how great of a leader is on the team, it’s practically impossible in most cases to automate everything. It takes a team of talented folks to help pull off a service or event.

When it comes to having a team ready to run a service, the challenge many of us face is that of time. We’d love to have a group of folks able to fill every position and run it all like champions. But as the team leader, we often have so much already on my plate that we just can’t seem to find the time to train people to step in and do everything.

So, the result is that we either have to bear too much weight by running multiple positions on our own, or we’re stuck using ill-equipped church tech ministry volunteers in key roles, and we run the risk of the service quality being compromised or of that volunteer feeling so overwhelmed or discouraged that he isn’t interested in coming back next week to serve.

This is why having an effective training process is so critical. There is tremendous long-term benefit, if we’re able to really invest in people to the point that they’re able to run things on their own. This gives us the freedom to step back and observe the service, instead of having to live in the weeds every week. And, who knows…we may be able to have a Sunday off once in a while.

When it comes to building out an effective and functional church tech ministry training process, there are three main qualities that the process must have:

Church Tech Ministry Training Must Be Clear.

There’s nothing worse for a new volunteer than to be stuck in a muddled situation and not know what to do. Lack of clarity is a complete killer when it comes to momentum and positive energy and emotion. That’s why it’s critical that there be absolute clarity when it comes to the expectations of a new trainee.

At our church, every church tech ministry position at every campus has a list of what we call “benchmarks” that must be met throughout the training process. This allows us to communicate with absolute clarity what exactly is expected of anyone who wishes to serve.

It removes the subjectivity out of the process. No more “He feels like he’s ready” or “I’m sure she’ll be fine after she serves a couple of weeks” or “I think he’ll get the hang of it after a week or two”. There now becomes a clearly defined standard of what every operator should be able to do and understand.

Our team loads these benchmarks in Planning Center, using their new, free People app. By keeping this information digital, it allows the trainees to be able to monitor their own progress and know where they need to continue growing, and it allows the trainers to be able to make notes and keep track of how everyone is doing as they navigate the process.

Think of the training process as an interstate on-ramp. The goal is to go from 0 to 70 by the time you merge into traffic. But the only way you know your speed is to be able to look at something that objectively tells you where you stand, so you know how you need to improve. There’s no guesswork involved; the speedometer makes it perfectly clear to everyone in the car how close we are to success.

And without making the performance standards clear during the training process, it makes it nearly impossible for us to ever go back to that person and have a conversation to correct their performance, or tell them they aren’t serving at the level we need. If we never clarified the goal in the first place, it’s not fair to hold someone to a standard they never knew existed.

Church Tech Ministry Training Must Be Correct.

The old adage of “practice makes perfect” isn’t necessarily true. Practicing truly can help you get closer to perfection, but only if you’re practicing the right things the right way, and if there’s a coach to help provide guidance and advice during that training.

It is crucial to properly model the correct behavior at every step of the training process. Using experienced team members to mentor or coach a trainee (whether it’s the main team leader or another experienced volunteer) is an important part of the process. We don’t just want our trainee to have to figure things out on their own; we want someone with experience to show them the precise way we do things, and also explain they “why” behind the “what.”

A Kanye Sunday Service Brought Healing to Dayton After Shooting

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

Three weeks ago a gunman opened fire outside of a bar in Dayton, Ohio, killing nine people. In addition to killing his own sister, the gunman wounded dozens of other people. Last weekend, Grammy Award winning Kanye West brought his typically invite-only ‘Sunday Service’ to a park a few blocks away from where the tragedy took place. In the past, a Kanye Sunday Service has drawn preachers like Rich Wilkerson Jr. and Carl Lentz, not to mention other famous singers like Justin Bieber.

My Experience at a Kanye Sunday Service

Born in Dayton, and currently living in a suburb just outside of it, I was given the tip that West’s ‘Sunday Service’ was going to take place in our city. I was intrigued to see what it was all about and just how much worship and “Jesus” would be displayed from this word of mouth ‘Church Service’.

Having an open mind and an open heart going into it all, I have to say it was a little hard not to be star-struck. When popular comedian and movie star Dave Chappelle, Kanye’s wife Kim Kardashian, and two of their children came over to where I was standing and sat down in front of me, it felt as if my cell phone came out of my pocket and started snapping pictures on its own volition.

 

A choir was bussed in and consisted of approximately 100 local residents (all of whom practiced for the performance beforehand). The large group surrounded a piano, organ, and drum set. Kanye West then made his way up near the instruments and joined the choir. They allowed everyone waiting to then join them in the circle to worship. Jason White, ‘Sunday Service’s’ choir director, began the service with prayer, praising God for His love that lasts forever and thanking Him for showing that love even when men attack (referring to the gunman that opened fire a few blocks away just weeks prior).

Kanye himself could be seen singing, dancing, smiling, and clapping along with everyone in attendance. The choir sang notable gospel songs like ‘Amazing Grace‘, ‘Stand On The Word’ and a very powerful performance of ‘Hallelujah He Is Wonderful’.

They also sang renditions of Mary J. Blige’s song ‘Real Love‘ and Kayne West’s song ‘Jesus Walks‘. Kanye jumped on the piano to perform half of the song that included the lyrics:

To the hustlers, killers, murderers, drug dealers even the strippers
(Jesus walks for them)
To the victims of welfare for we living in hell here hell yeah
(Jesus walks for them)
Now hear ye hear ye want to see Thee more clearly
I know He hear me when my feet get weary
Cause we’re the almost nearly extinct
We rappers are role models we rap we don’t think
I ain’t here to argue about his facial features
Or here to convert atheists into believers
I’m just trying to say the way school need teachers
The way Kathie Lee needed Regis that’s the way I need Jesus
So here go my single dog radio needs this
They said you can rap about anything except for Jesus
That means guns, sex, lies, video tape
But if I talk about God my record won’t get played
Huh?
Well let this take away from my spins
Which will probably take away from my ends
Then I hope this take away from my sins
And bring the day that I’m dreaming about
Next time I’m in the club everybody screaming out
God show me the way because the devil trying to break me down
(Jesus Walks with me, with me, with me)
The only thing that I pray is that me feet don’t fail me now

 

We Serve a Great God Worthy of Praise

Jason White rarely spoke outside of leading the singing, but when he did he encouraged everyone with his words and pointed people to Jesus Christ.

The love of God is needed and the love of God is unconditional and it’s a must, but there is no way we can have love for God and not love for each other.

We serve a great God worthy of praise.

We have been praying for you Dayton, we want to know how we can speak to you, and share the love of Christ with you all today.

Our mission and our drive is that we are sharing Christ, sharing the Gospel of Christ through music and through song.

The only call that we know that professes the name of Jesus is Christianity. Do we have any Christians, believers here today?

We are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, and with Him we can do all things…all things are possible.

God Uses Christian Song to Lead Man to Confess Murder

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

In a surprising move, a man named Danny Dashay Holmes has pled guilty to a number of crimes, including first-degree murder, that he committed in Tennessee in December of 2016. What makes his confession unusual is Holmes says God used the Christian song, “Redeemed,” to lead him to confess his crimes, for which he will serve a life sentence.

“I’m 30 years old, and I’ve been fighting for nothing all my life,” said Holmes, according to the Daily News Journal (DNJ). “I’ve been fighting for gangs…I ain’t never fought for anything that made sense. But I knew the Lord was telling me to fight for him this time. I just knew he was stirring on my spirit.”

“Redeemed” in Prison

On December 16th, 2016, Holmes and three other suspects kidnapped a woman named Brittany Johnson and made her drive to the home of Cesar Lopez-Flores. There, Holmes killed Lopez-Flores, left Johnson, and fled the scene of the crime. He was arrested on December 27th. 

According to DNJ, the indictment against Holmes included “charges related to first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery and criminal impersonation of law enforcement.” In a court statement last Friday, Holmes explained that he met God over a year ago in prison and that is why he decided to confess to the murder and his other crimes. “I knew the Lord was just on me, weighing on me over and over,” Holmes said. As he was already sensing that God wanted him to confess, he read these lyrics from the song, “Redeemed,” by the band Big Daddy Weave: “Then You look at this prisoner and say to me, ‘Son, stop fighting a fight that’s already been won.’” It was once he read those lyrics that Holmes made the decision to enter a guilty plea. 

Big Daddy Weave lead singer and guitarist Mike Weaver has said that “Redeemed” came from his personal struggle with self-worth. He was at a very low point in this struggle when the Holy Spirit spoke to him. Said Weaver, “I was an absolute broken heap on the floor of my garage as the God of the universe began to show me in my heart and in my mind how He sees me and share with me the way that He feels about me.” Weaver said his life changed that day and that God changed the way he saw humility. Rather than being self-deprecating, Weaver came to see true humility as agreeing with God’s perspective–and God’s perspective is that he is redeemed.

Holmes told the court he deserves his life sentence, calling it a “badge of honor.” During his time in prison, he has come to realize the gravity of what he did by killing Lopez-Flores, who had three daughters. Holmes also explained that he used to have an extravagant lifestyle, but now he plans to encourage young people in prison to turn to God and not to material wealth.

Holmes’ family was present as he read his 20-minute statement and cried while he did. At one point, he addressed his mother, saying, “Momma, you know I love you. But Momma, I promise you, your baby boy, he’s going to serve the Lord forever.”

Over 8,000 People Come to Christ at SoCal Harvest

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

Greg Laurie has organized the SoCal Harvest for 30 years in a row now. This year, Laurie says over 100,000 people showed up at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, and 8,670 people made a profession of faith. 

“Hope has a name and it’s Jesus Christ, and he’s here to change your life tonight,” Laurie told the crowd. “I have hope tonight for the hopeless generation. I have hope tonight for the Millennials and Gen X…and Baby Boomers.”

This year’s event included music and speakers on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights (August 23-25). Musicians for King & Country, Jeremy Camp, Passion Worship, Phil Wickham, Chris Tomlin, Lecrae, and the Newsboys performed songs and led the group in worship. Besides Laurie, who is the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, speakers included Laurie’s son Jonathan, Pastor Levi Lusko, and former professional baseball player Darryl Strawberry. 

SoCal Harvest and the Simple Gospel

SoCal Harvest events are known for giving a simple gospel message and inviting people to make a profession of faith. Laurie explained the need for the gospel this way: “The problem is you were separated from God by sin” and that’s why “there’s a hole in your heart.” He went on to explain how Jesus is the only one who can bring us back to God. “Only Jesus Christ was uniquely qualified to bridge the gap between holy, perfect God and unholy, imperfect humanity.” 

“Jesus came to pay a debt he did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay,” Laurie said as he explained how Jesus died on the cross in our place. He asked those who wanted to profess their faith in Christ to “make a public stand to follow Jesus” by walking out on to the baseball field, behind the stage. The Passion worship band played “In Christ Alone” as people started making their way from the stands down to the field. Laurie continued to speak words of encouragement as people came down, saying “You don’t clean your life up then come to Christ. You come to Christ and he’ll clean your life up.” He also expressed the urgency of the need for people to come to Christ, asking them if they wanted to leave the stadium being for Christ or against him. “You might be one of the last ones to come, but hey—better late than never.” 

Partnering With Local Churches for Follow Up

SoCal Harvest partnered with over 100 local churches in the greater Los Angeles area to pull off the three-day event. Local churches donate money and volunteers to make the event possible, as well as organize groups of people to attend. 

The local churches really come into play after the event, too, in very important ways. When a person makes a profession of faith at SoCal Harvest, organizers of the event have a number of things set up to help that person walk out that decision. On their website, Harvest explains what happens after the initial profession:

Those making a profession of faith in Christ are paired up with a Decision Follow-Up Worker and receive a free Start! Bible. The Decision Follow-Up Worker prays and encourages the new believer. He or she also documents the person’s decision to follow Christ. The documentation is then given to a local church representative on the night of the crusade. Within 48 hours of the crusade, local churches mail letters and make phone calls to the new believers. To ensure the success of this step, Harvest Crusades utilizes mailings and other resources to encourage the local churches to follow up with all new believers. Harvest also has follow-up curriculum available for churches that haven’t yet developed their own.

SoCal Harvest says over 500,000 people have come to Christ through their events in the last 30 years and over 6 million people have attended. As far as Laurie is concerned, the more the merrier. “I want to take as many people with me to Heaven as I possibly can,” he said.

Ebola Deja Vu in Africa

By
Toni Braddix
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is experiencing an Ebola epidemic. My family lived in Zimbabwe in the 1980s when the world was first becoming aware of AIDS. Many Zimbabweans didn’t believe the disease was real. They thought AIDS was an invention of either a government that wanted to control their lives or of Western countries that wanted to control their sexual activity and reduce the birth rate. Only after thousands of deaths did people accept the reality of the disease. By then AIDS was out of control.

Fast forward to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2019. The second worst Ebola epidemic in history is taking place in the eastern part of the country. Recently, my husband led an orality and Bible storying seminar for Christian leaders just south of the worst-hit areas. He asked one of the men about Ebola, and the response was that it isn’t a real disease. Sadly, this response reflects the belief of 25 percent of the people in the parts of the DRC most affected by the disease. As was the case in Zimbabwe, this church leader believes the disease has been manufactured by political factions to reduce the population, which would then allow them to exploit the country’s vast mineral wealth.

Despite the efforts of faith leaders to convince their communities that Ebola is real and that there are ways to prevent its spread, the disease has claimed over 1,900 lives in the year since the current outbreak was declared on August 1, 2018. The World Health Organization (WHO) is reporting approximately twelve new cases of Ebola each day in the DRC. The Congolese government says only 50 percent of Ebola cases are being identified.

Download the Ebola fact sheet produced by the Baptist Mission of Uganda.

In mid-July, the Congolese city of Goma reported its first case of Ebola. Goma, with a population of two million, is situated near the borders of Rwanda and Uganda. Because the city is a major transportation hub in the area, there are very real concerns Ebola may become an international problem. Health-care workers in all three countries are being trained extensively, and their governments are cooperating effectively in efforts to contain the disease, but it is a serious and complicated issue, especially in the eastern DRC. In mid-August, cases were reported in a third province in the region.

Decades of political instability, mistrust of government, and preference of traditional remedies over what is offered at medical clinics have caused many people in the affected areas to refuse to seek treatment. Because so many people wait until they are extremely ill to go to a treatment center, and therefore they are likely to die there, the centers have become unfairly thought of as places of death instead of places of recovery. Many who accept the reality of Ebola haven’t had access to medical care because regional conflict and mistrust of health-care workers has led to numerous casualties and the destruction of treatment facilities. The BBC reports there have been over 198 attacks against Ebola treatment facilities and health-care workers this year.

Shortly after the death of the man who had Ebola in Goma, the WHO declared the situation a public health emergency of global concern. This is only the fifth time WHO has taken this action regarding any global health situation. It should help increase the amount of aid being directed to the Ebola epidemic. Already, stepped up production of a very effective vaccine is underway and the production of a second vaccine is in discussion. And in recent days, two drugs have been found to raise the survival rate to 90 percent in patients who receive the drugs when they still have low levels of the virus in their blood.

Fervent Prayer Needed Now During Ebola Outbreak

Dr. Larry Pepper, an IMB medical doctor in neighboring Tanzania who ministered during an Ebola outbreak in Uganda several years ago, suggests some ways we can pray for those in areas affected by Ebola:

  • Pray for the safety and courage of health-care workers.
  • Pray for the sick to heal.
  • Pray for peace among the families who suffer from the stigma of being touched by Ebola in some way.
  • Pray against the lies and schemes of Satan regarding Ebola.
  • Pray for local churches to show Christ’s mercy in their communities through services like food distribution, material aid, and praying with and for health-care workers.

Local churches can also help families by caring for orphans and vulnerable children who are often stigmatized because of the effects of Ebola on their families. Churches can positively impact their communities by spreading truths about Ebola and demonstrating good relations with treatment centers. Two weeks ago Protestant churches in Goma provided hand washing stations at their facilities to promote a preventative measure as simple as this method of good hygiene.

Support Baptists in their Ebola prevention, education, and orphan care efforts.

Now a second man has died of Ebola in Goma, and his wife and one of his ten children have confirmed cases. Many of our friends and ministry partners pass through Goma on their way to other cities. A pastor friend who is there now says the people are afraid. Perhaps their fear signals they accept the reality of Ebola and will take precautions. Pray they do so before it is too late.

This article originally appeared here.

Read about Kent Brantly returning to Africa with the Ebola outbreak happening.

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