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Videos, Documents Uncovered Showing Patterson’s Coverup of Abusive Pastor

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

Videotapes and letters from almost 30 years ago are providing insights into how a prominent Southern Baptist leader defended and tried to rehabilitate a popular but predatory pastor. In its ongoing investigation into sexual-abuse coverups in America’s largest Protestant denomination, the Houston Chronicle this week described the newly unearthed documents.

According to the paper’s review of letters, interviews, and almost five hours of tapes, former Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) president and seminary president Paige Patterson “personally investigated and downplayed” abuse claims against Darrell Gilyard, a pastor he’d mentored. The items also show how Patterson and others attempted to blame and silence Gilyard’s accusers while maintaining the pastor’s reputation and career.

Patterson Defended Darrell Gilyard as a “spokesman of God” 

Gilyard received national attention when televangelist Jerry Falwell featured his “miracle story”—including a background of homelessness that was later questioned. Though Gilyard lacked pastoral training, his charismatic delivery earned him the title of “the black Dr. Vines,” referring to Jerry Vines, another former SBC president who mentored him.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, allegations against Gilyard emerged from several SBC churches he served in Texas and Oklahoma. Even after Gilyard confessed to some claims and resigned from Victory Baptist Church near Dallas in 1991, tapes show Patterson defended Gilyard and spoke about “sins” committed by his accusers, who were “not innocent either.”

Patterson hailed Gilyard as “a spokesman of God” and “one of the most brilliant men who has ever stepped into the pulpit.” He asked church members not to publicly discuss the situation—something Patterson also did in 1987, when Gilyard resigned from another Dallas-area Baptist church after 20 women accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior.

In a 1987 letter to E.K. Bailey, pastor of Concord Missionary Baptist Church, Patterson urged Bailey to “forget the past” and keep quiet while Patterson tried to “rehabilitate the gifted young preacher” from “mistakes.” Patterson wrote that Gilyard “is no longer a problem to you” and “is worth salvage,” asking Bailey “not to disparage him any further.”

That year, partly due to recommendations from Patterson, Gilyard was hired at Hilltop Baptist Church in Norman, Oklahoma. More accusations soon arose, and in a 1989 letter, Patterson admitted to Hilltop’s co-pastor, Dan Maxwell, that it had been “unwise” to promote Gilyard until he’d learned “lessons of life that are important.” Patterson also indicated that any allegations against Gilyard needed to be substantiated by two or more witnesses.

Patterson promised to monitor Gilyard, who was directed to see Dallas counselor Don Simpkins in the late ’80s. During a meeting with eight accusers, Gilyard, and Patterson, Simpkins says Patterson focused on the women’s pasts and frightened them out of pressing charges. The counselor called the situation “a dog and pony show,” saying Patterson stopped taking his calls after Simpkins told him Gilyard “needed to be removed from ministry.”

Gilyard Continued Preaching But Eventually Was Convicted

Gilyard continued to gain popularity, however, and preached at the SBC pastors’ conference in 1989 and 1991. At Victory, allegations of sexual misconduct continued. The newly discovered tapes feature comments from Martha Dixius, a social worker at Victory, who describes Gilyard’s accusers as traumatized and “hurting.” Dixius, now deceased, says in the tape: “There is a lot of depression… It is eating [the women] alive.”

After his 1991 resignation, Gilyard headed to Jacksonville, Florida. In 1996, the insurer of Gilyard’s church paid $300,000 to settle sexual misconduct allegations against him.

Patterson eventually cut ties with Gilyard. Vines, who’d once written that Gilyard shouldn’t be leading a church, wrote in his autobiography that he “had no other option but to forgive” Gilyard after the pastor admitted “moral failings” to him about 2003. Five years later, Vines wrote that he saw “the first sign that I had been misled” by Gilyard.

In 2009, Gilyard was convicted of sex crimes against two Florida teenagers and served a three-year prison sentence. He also faced several civil lawsuits. Upon his 2012 release, Gilyard began pastoring another SBC church in Jacksonville after a judge adjusted his sex offender probation terms. When news broke that children had to be kept out of worship services at Christ Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, the SBC broke ties with that congregation.

What Is ‘The 1619 Project’ and What Are People Saying About It?

By
Jessica Lea
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1619 project
©John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation- used with permission

The New York Times recently published an initiative called “The 1619 Project,” a collection of essays, short fiction and poems that attempts to “reframe” the history of the U.S. by demonstrating that slavery is central to the country’s development and still impacts American lives today. While many have welcomed the project, it has also received pushback from some who feel it is either misguided or promoting a false narrative.

“In August of 1619, a ship appeared on [the] horizon, near Point Comfort, a coastal port in the British colony of Virginia,” reads the project’s opening statement. “It carried more than 20 enslaved Africans, who were sold to the colonists. No aspect of the country that would be formed here has been untouched by the years of slavery that followed. On the 400th anniversary of this fateful moment, it is finally time to tell our story truthfully.”

What Is The 1619 Project?

The 1619 Project is the brainchild of New York Times journalist, Nikole Hannah-Jones. In an interview with Joshua Johnson on NPR’s 1A, Jones explained that the initiative was a “culmination of more than 25 years of me thinking about that date.” She had never been taught in school that slavery had existed in America before the pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock, and “I just kept thinking that [the date] was going to pass in most American households, and no one was going to even know that there was an anniversary that we should be commemorating.”

It is Jones’ belief and the thesis of the project that “nothing in modern American society has been left untouched by that decision to buy that first group of 20 to 30 Africans and engage in the institution of slavery.” Isn’t it true, asked Johnson, that Americans already know slavery is significant and has affected our lives and history? Jones said no, but that in reality, we think of slavery as being “marginal” and a product of the South. Rather than being marginal, she believes it was and is central to the American experience.

Jones makes two claims in the interview and in her opening essay for The 1619 Project that some might find controversial. One is that the Constitution, before it was amended, was an inherently undemocratic document. Another is that one of the colonists’ possible motivations for revolting against the English was to protect the institution of slavery (which Britain was moving away from at the time).

“At our founding, we were not a democracy,” Jones told Johnson, because the Constitution denied the right to vote to women, black people, Native Americans, and even white people who did not own property. In her essay, she points out the hypocrisy of the colonists expressing outrage against British subjugation even while many of them owned slaves or at least profited from the insitution of slavery. She wrote, “As Samuel Johnson, an English writer and Tory opposed to American independence, quipped, ‘How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of Negroes?’”

Slavery was key to our founding, said Jones, but “We absolutely don’t think of slavery as foundational. We think of it as kind of a blip, a mistake that we made, but that doesn’t have larger ramifications for everyday American life–and the reaction to this project, I think, is evidence of that.”

What Have the Reactions Been to The 1619 Project?

Responses to Jones’ project have ranged from thankfulness to wonder at why it is necessary to accusations of falsehood. On Fox and Friends, Newt Gingrich called the initiative “a lie” and on Twitter said it was propaganda.

Johnson read a comment by one person who said the project was another example of Democrats hating the U.S, and radio host and blogger Erick Erickson said it minimized what white people did to free slaves. He also criticized the Times for handing the initiative mainly to opinion writers. Jones corrected this statement in a tweet where she said there was only opinion writer on the project and multiple scholars (whom she listed).  

Southern Baptist Convention president J.D. Greear posted a series of tweets highlighting the 1619 anniversary and said, “If the church is to change our nation’s story for the future, we must begin by knowing and owning the story of our past.”

While some responded in support of Greear’s sentiment, quite a few pushed back on it for various reasons. Notably, a recent Barna study found that pastors and church leaders are more likely than other Christians to see slavery as something that still impacts people today.

Many people, black and white, have expressed gratitude for The 1619 Project. Because the initiative emphasizes how black Americans have shaped the U.S. by fighting for democracy, Jones said she has heard from many who have told her they now feel a sense of pride in their heritage instead of shame that they descended from slaves.

She told Johnson, “So many black people who have responded said that this has changed the way that they feel about themselves as Americans, and I think that’s probably the response that has meant that most to me.”

3 Lessons From a Vineyard Farmer About Your Growth

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

Lessons From a Vineyard Farmer: In John 15 when Jesus told His disciples that He is the true vine and they were the branches, He assured them that those who abide in Him would produce fruit because of their connection to Him. Judas, His betrayer, had already departed and thus proved to not really belong to Jesus – to be a branch that was removed. And Jesus promised that those who remained would be pruned.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. [John 15:1-2]

I don’t always like this verse because I don’t particularly like to be pruned. Admittedly, I am often comfortable with my current level of fruit and there have been times where the pruning has felt like too much.

I asked a farmer I know about this passage. He owns a large vineyard and sells to forty different wine companies. I better understand the illustration now.

Here are three lessons from a vineyard farmer about how God grows us spiritually:

Lessons From a Vineyard Farmer #1. Pruning is necessary for this season AND next season.

The farmer told me that pruning causes the branches to bear fruit in the current season and the following season. Future fruit is the result of today’s pruning.

Lessons From a Vineyard Farmer #2. To the untrained eye, the pruning can seem excessive.

The farmer told me that if I showed up and watched the pruning, I would likely think it was too much. It can look like something is being done to the plants, but something is being done for the plants. In the midst of pruning, God is not doing something to us. He is doing something for us.

Lessons From a Vineyard Farmer #3. The grape that suffers the most produces the wine that tastes the best.

In vineyard terms, this is called the “skin to juice ratio,” and to increase that ratio, the farmer puts stress on the branches. Stress is the term he used, and we know that reality well. The premium wines stored in Dunavox Wine Coolers all come from branches that have been stressed. Many times, I prefer to be a cheap bottle of wine but God wants more for me. For you too.

The really good news of this passage is the liberating truth that we don’t make the fruit. The fruit shows in our lives but we are not the ones who cause the fruit. He is. We are merely branches, and the Vine gives us all we need for life and godliness. We simply abide in Him.

This article about lessons from a vineyard farmer originally appeared here.

No Man Fails on Purpose

By
Man In The Mirror
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

The church—no doubt YOUR church—is engaged in a lot of good, important work. Churches are busy mentoring youth, feeding the poor, visiting the sick, counseling hurting people, preparing couples for marriage, and much more. It’s not difficult to see why ministry to men often takes a back seat to other ministries, especially when you consider that men are often the hardest group to engage. But a recent story shared by one of our female staff members is a vivid reminder of why men’s discipleship is critical work. And it centers on one searing truth: No man fails on purpose. This is her story…

“No man fails on purpose.” I’ve heard Patrick Morley often share this truth many times and it’s always resonated with me—for both its simplicity and its depth. The pain contained in its layers has been known by many wives, daughters, sisters, and mothers. But another victim—”patient zero,” if you will, in this epidemic of disappointment—is the man himself, who had big dreams and good goals and a longing to leave a legacy.

I am one of those daughters, and my dad was one of those men.

My childhood was a whirlwind of fort-building, birthday parties, art projects, softball games, and music, and my dad stood at the center of it all. The woman I am today is a direct result of that whirlwind. I grew up to be confident because of my parents’ endless encouragement. I grew up to be strong-willed because of the freedom they gave me to have my own opinions and desires. Friendly because my dad modeled it daily to strangers. And able to love because I never doubted I was loved.

And it wasn’t just the assurance I was unconditionally loved by them, but that I was unconditionally loved by God. When I look back, I don’t remember ever not knowing about Jesus. I vividly recall the car rides on Sunday mornings to the church on the lake downtown. We’d listen to Casey Kasem’s Top 40 with the windows down—the breeze causing my hair to dance around my face.

I would wonder excitedly what the kids’ lesson was going to be in “big church,” after which we’d run off to children’s church, quarters clutched in our hands that my parents had given us for the offering. There, we’d play and learn and end the morning with cookies and red punch—a close second to salvation in my five-year-old mind. Then we’d meet back up with my parents, my dad often in his suit jacket, smelling like the aftershave I loved.

My favorite church memories are the Christmas Eve and Christmas services, when we’d all dress up and my dad would hold me on his lap so I could see over the grownups’ heads to watch the bell ringers. Then he’d hold my candle for me during Silent Night so that the hot wax wouldn’t drip on my fingers.

But among the memories, I have no recollection of ever seeing my dad with a friend at church. Not once. No recollection of saying goodbye to him as he left for a men’s small group. No recollection of running into the store with him so he could pick up hot dog buns for a cookout. No recollection of pulling on his suit jacket to stop talking so we could go to lunch. No recollection of him praying with another man during a difficult time, like when he struggled through the death of his father, taking long walks at night by himself.

And when he stopped coming with us to church, I have no recollection of anyone asking why or where he was or if he was coming back.

Eventually, my dad did find the community that he’d been missing—at first on volleyball and softball teams. With his teammates, he shared laughs and a sense of purpose and camaraderie. And we would go to his games when we could and cheer him on.

Then his health began to change with age, making it tougher to play sports, and so instead, he found community in the bar of the restaurant next door to his work. For the next two decades, that journey would result in alcohol slowly stripping him of everything that mattered—everything except for the tired love of his family, who knew instinctively, bitterly, achingly: no man fails on purpose.

 This is the part where I’d love to insert an inspirational redemption story for you. A late-in-the-game comeback that leaves us all cheering wildly on our feet. But that isn’t how this one ends. My parents divorced, he took early retirement, his health deteriorated, and he lost his battle with addiction because he tried to do it alone, without men around him, on his terms.

In February of 2017, right after my daughter had fallen asleep, there was a knock on my door. A police officer clumsily told me my dad had been found dead of a heart attack or stroke in his apartment, alone. Family photos and beer cans surrounded him. He was 63 years old.

There’s a lot I’ll never understand. But I do know three things:

  1. My dad loved me like crazy to the best of his imperfect ability.
  2. He didn’t fail on purpose. No, my softball team-coaching, homework-helping, Easter egg-dyeing, bicycle-riding, music-writing father never set out to run his life off the rails.
  3. AND THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT—the church didn’t fail on purpose either. But the church did fail.

That’s why Man in the Mirror exists to help churches disciple every man—every hurting men, every man on the fringe, every man still searching, every exhausted leader. Because this weekend, in churches across your community and mine, men are going to show up for the last time. They are going to sit among hundreds of men without being truly known by one. And they will walk out and away, unseen. They might find the community they crave elsewhere, but it may be at a blackjack table, or in a bar, or a soul-sucking career, or a woman’s arms who isn’t their wife.

For me, men’s discipleship isn’t just a way to get the church parking lot pressure-washed, or a line-item at the bottom of the church budget. It’s much more than an excuse to eat pancakes on Saturday twice a year. It is LIFE SAVING. It is dad saving.  

Sure, no man fails on purpose, but you know what else? No man succeeds by accident either. The Christian man succeeds because he has other men intentionally discipling him and caring enough that when they see their brother playing in speeding traffic, they aren’t too polite to jump up and down and SCREAM at him to get out of the road.  

Today, by God’s grace, my story and my family’s story is being written differently now because my husband has deep, meaningful relationships with other Christian men. But it could have gone the other way.

After a devastating emotional blow in his mid-twenties, my husband isolated himself from his friends and from the church where he’d grown up. He started to turn to other, lesser things in an effort to cope. He often says he doesn’t know if he’d still be walking with Christ today had it not been for a guy friend who wouldn’t let him slip away. This friend spent hours talking with him, praying with him, bringing him to his church, insisting he crash on his couch on tough nights, and showing him grace with no strings attached. Right there, in the midst of the most pain he’d ever known, this friend discipled him.

Eventually, my husband got plugged into a church again, where he could grow with other men and learn to lead his future family—our family—well. Now, when I hear him praying with our daughter in her bed at night, sometimes my thoughts travel back to when I was her age—same brown hair; same big, round eyes; same giggles and soft prayers. Before my dad would leave my room, he wouldn’t tuck me in. No, he’d throw the bed sheet up to the ceiling and let it float down slowly, magically like a parachute, delighting me every time.

He couldn’t have known then, kissing his daughter goodnight, all that his decisions were going to cost him. No man fails on purpose. May we all stand together and be a part of the movement to help men succeed. On purpose, for His purpose, in Jesus’ name.

The BIG IDEA: No man fails on purpose, but no man succeeds by accident either.The Christian man succeeds because he has other men caring enough to intentionally disciple him.

This article about no man fails on purpose originally appeared here.

Cross-Cultural Missions Is Not the Cure for Wanderlust

By
Anna D
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Cross-cultural missions is not about travel.

In Beauty and the Beast, Belle dreams of another life, runs up a hill, flings open her arms and sings, “I want adventure in the great, wide somewhere! I want it more than I can tell!” Even as an adult, this scene takes my breath away. I have the J .R. R. Tolkien quote, “Not all who wander are lost,” plastered on one wall and a map with all the places I’ve visited hanging on another.

I admit it. I suffer from chronic wanderlust. However, currently the Lord has called me to the busy yet mostly routine life of a PhD student. When my longings to travel surface, I sometimes face the temptation to view cross-cultural missions as the answer. But cross-cultural missions is not the cure for wanderlust.

Don’t get me wrong. Wanderlust is not inherently bad. I believe that God gives many of us a desire to travel and a passion for other cultures and experiences as part of our callings to mission.  But when considering an cross-cultural missions experience, whether long-term or short-term, we cannot choose to go simply because we are scratching an itch.

“We must go on God’s mission as committed servants compelled by love for God and love for the nations.”

We must go on God’s mission as committed servants compelled by love for God and love for the nations. If wanderlust is our only impetus for missions, we run the risk of throwing in the towel before the job is done. But how do we know if we are treating missions as the cure to wanderlust?

Here are three questions to consider with cross-cultural missions.

How do we respond to the unfavorable or the mundane?

With wanderlust, we are always chasing the next mountaintop experience. We find joy in the newness of the next journey. Although we may revel in the moment while it’s happening, the shine wears off quickly, and we soon start planning our next adventure. Many times, wanderlust is the siren calling us to the new and the exotic, the exciting and the beautiful.

Cross-cultural missions isn’t always breathtakingly beautiful environments or adrenaline-filled adventures. The Lord often leads us to the poverty stricken, smog-filled, and overlooked places that wanderlust would never take us. Instead of buying into the illusion of comfort, we look boldly into the dirty, ugly, sinful parts of our world and take Christ’s message there.

Cross-cultural missions also demands faithfulness in the mundane. While we may move to a new culture and see exotic places, God’s mission asks us to stay when we itch to leave. God calls us to be faithful as we figure out public transportation, the banking system, social cues, how to interact with our neighbors, and how to respond to conflict.

God sometimes puts us in the middle of incredible adventures that clearly illustrate that he is at work. Other times, he asks us to be faithful as we figure out the trash system in our new context. He asks us to persevere, even when we aren’t seeing the results of our labor. God’s mission requires dedication in life’s normal routines.

Whose glory are we seeking?

Social media has compounded wanderlust. We see others travel and we want to travel. We see the beautiful vistas, the crazy foods, and the adventures of others, and we long for our own. But the other side of the equation can be true also. When we travel, we go in search of the perfect picture: the selfie that instills awe and wonder in our friends, the vista that brings twinges of jealousy, or the flawless posed photo that makes even our casual acquaintances wish they were with us. We seek our own glory.

“Missions is not about our glory. It’s about God’s. It’s not about making our names known in the social media world but making his name known among the nations.”

Cross-cultural missions, however, is not about our glory. It’s about God’s. It’s not about making our names known in the social media world but making his name known among the nations. When we go on mission, we join the psalmist and proclaim, “Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness” (Ps. 115:1 NIV).

How do we view people on the journey?

Our pursuit of wanderlust can lead to subconsciously depersonalizing the people we meet on our journey. Instead of viewing them as image bearers of our Lord, we see them as part of the scenery, oddities to entertain us, or servants expected to make our experience the best it can be.

When we participate in God’s mission, God calls us to see people as innately worthy of our respect and love. We value our taxi driver, not simply because he gets us to our location but because he is created in God’s image and needs to hear the truth of the gospel. We care for the lost and the downtrodden in our new home. We humbly walk alongside national believers from the culture in which we work, valuing their input, allowing them to sharpen our faith, and mutually partnering with them to further the gospel. Instead of demanding service, we love and serve.

Is a desire to travel wrong? Absolutely not. But it cannot be the only motivation for our participation in God’s mission. Instead, we go because we are compelled by our love for God and his glory. We go because we desire to make his name known among those who have never heard. We go because we are captivated by his love for the nations. We go because our Lord commands. And we stay for the same reasons.

This article about cross-cultural missions originally appeared here.

4 Ways to Rally Your Small Group for Fall

By
David Grigg
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

It’s time to rally your small group for fall. For most small groups, the summer is just a different time. Some groups take breaks for the summer months. Others change their meeting schedules to accommodate graduations and vacations. Regardless how your small group has been approaching the summer season, it’s time to start thinking about how you’ll transition back into the fall season.

Here are four tips to rally your small group for fall:

Anticipate Change to rally your small group for fall.

Every year brings new challenges and new schedules. Recognize that this new season is an opportunity to adjust the way your group has been meeting. Mondays may not be the best meeting day for everyone anymore. It’s possible that all of your kids are old enough that you won’t need to arrange for childcare. It’s likely that some people will drop out of your group while others will join. Your group is much more than its meeting day, location, curriculum, or childcare. As you look to the fall, don’t assume everything will be the same as it was. Anticipate changes and start to dream about the new ways your group can engage with one another and experience Jesus this season.

Connect relationally to rally your small group for fall.

The weeks leading up to a new season provide a great chance to check in with each person from your group. This can be as simple as a phone call or a quick conversation before/after a weekend service. Contacting each member directly rather than sending a group text or email communicates the love and care you have for them individually and the value that they bring to the group. This is especially true if you’re coming out of a summer break and haven’t contacted your group for some time.

Set a date to rally your small group for fall.

If you’ve contacted everyone and it seems like the same meeting time and location is still the best option, your first gathering of the season may just be the kick off of your regular meeting schedule for the season. If you’re having a hard time getting everyone on the same page, and it looks like your group will have to make some adjustments, start with a single date on the calendar. Gather as many people from your group as can come and make a plan for the season. Make it fun by throwing a BBQ or dessert potluck and giving everyone a chance to give their input. By doing this, you’ll avoid accommodating everyone’s schedules and needs over phone, email, or facebook. You’ll also gain buy-in from your group as they have the opportunity to speak into the plans for the season.

Invite people to rally your small group for fall!

Each fall, I hear from a number of group leaders: “I’m not sure if our group is meeting this season. We just don’t have enough people.” My response is always encouraging those leaders to build their group the same way they did when they first began. Invite neighbors, friends, and co-workers. Look for people sitting alone at a weekend service and ask if they’ve found a group. Fall is a season of beginnings. Utilize that momentum to build your group and give more people a space to be known and cared for.

This article about how to rally your small group for fall originally appeared here.

Pastor Drives From CT to TX to Prove Love Goes Farther Than Hate

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

A pastor from Castle Church in Norwich, Connecticut is taking a road trip to benefit the families of the El Paso shooting victims. Pastor Adam Bowles was struck by the fact that the El Paso shooter drove 10 hours to commit an act of hate. Bowles decided to drive from Connecticut to Texas, which takes approximately one day and 10 hours of driving time, to prove that love goes farther than hate.

“Some messages get preached from a pulpit. But this one comes from behind a wheel. And it’s the one we are all preaching together right now. Love is greater than evil. His love IN us and THROUGH us is greater than evil. We have to confront hatred. And overwhelm it with love. And ‘we love because He first loved us,’” Bowles wrote in a post on the Facebook page he created to raise awareness for his trip and the fundraiser.

Bowles was inspired by a verse from the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:41, when Jesus says: “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” 

The original financial goal of the trip was to raise a dollar for every mile traveled ($2,300) to donate to a victims’ fund set up by Paso Del Norte Community Foundation. There is a page where supporters can donate to Bowles’ mission online. Since starting their journey on Monday, August 19th, the original goal has been met. Bowles has set a new goal of $10,000. 

The pastor is traveling with a friend, Matt Martinez, and his brother-in-law, Jono Wibberley. The men say they don’t know anyone in El Paso personally but “already are in love with the city.” Bowles indicates they’ve received several messages of support already. 

The trio stopped in Dayton on the way to Texas to see the memorial set up for the Ohio shooting that occurred just 13 hours after the El Paso shooting. They were met by the city’s commissioner, Darryl Fairchild, who took the men to lunch. 

Bowles, Martinez, and Wibberley also stopped in St. Louis on their second day of travel. The men plan on being in El Paso by Friday evening. “Our hope is we can arrive Friday evening with money raised from people outside their community as a united message that love goes farther than hate,” a post on Facebook reads.

Church Endures a Year of Protests from LGBTQ Advocates Before Moving

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

Celebration Church, a multisite church in Austin, Texas, will no longer be renting from the Austin Independent School District (AISD). LGBTQ activists have been protesting during Sunday services since the church started meeting at the Mueller Performing Arts Center last year. Now, the church is celebrating the purchase of a permanent location for its Mueller Campus, and LGBTQ activists are hailing the move as a victory.

“Celebration Church has entered into a purchase agreement to buy a building in the Koenig Lane area,” the church told The Austin Chronicle in a statement. “The growth of our congregation has allowed for this opportunity and we are very excited to have a permanent home for our Mueller Campus.” 

Goodbye, Austin Independent School District

According to the Chronicle, Celebration pastor, Jim Kuykendall, told protest organizer Candace Aylor on August 18th that the church would no longer be renting the performing arts center. Celebration confirmed this decision for the Chronicle on August 19th and also clarified it would not be seeking in the future to rent any of the facilities the AISD owns. 

Aylor told the Chronicle that the church’s decision was a result of the protestors’ “consistent, persistent, and collaborative” campaign. In a press release, she said, “This was the goal, getting bigots out of public spaces. It goes against our closely held beliefs to abide bigotry & oppression, especially when openly, publicly permitted.” 

Celebration Church, however, is not lamenting the move as a loss, but enthusiastically announced the location of a “permanent home” for what it now calls its “Central Austin Campus.” 

Protesters Still Not Happy with AISD

LGBTQ advocates took issue with the fact that Celebration defines marriage as being between one man and one woman and has called it sinful to have a gay identity. In response to pressure from the protesters, the AISD did consider restricting the church’s use of its facilities. The district did not take any action, however, after receiving a warning from the Texas Attorney General’s office that doing so would violate the Constitution and state law.

What the AISD did do was promise to take some of the rental money it had received from Celebration and put it toward helping students participate in Austin’s annual Pride event. But LGBTQ community members generally seem to think the district’s efforts have been halfhearted. When the AISD announced plans to use church rental money to fund Pride activities, one Facebook user said that if the district were “truly supportive,” it would stop renting to Celebration. 

In the press release, Aylor questioned the AISD for not providing evidence that Celebration Church’s rental money was actually used to fund Pride activities. She also accused AISD police of being “on the side” of the church and even of unfairly targeting certain protesters. Said Aylor, “While the church has stopped renting from AISD, the coalition is not going to stop. Instead, it will continue pressing AISD on unanswered questions.”

John Piper on Josh Harris’ Apostasy: What About Eternal Security?

By
Megan Briggs
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While at the Sing! Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, John Piper addressed a subject heavy on the minds of many Christians who identify with the reformed part of the evangelical church. Piper spoke to Josh Harris’ announcement that he has “fallen away” from faith. The theologian and pastor, who knows Harris personally, said it’s foolish to think that only some of us are capable of committing apostasy, but that doesn’t mean that God isn’t sovereign and that the doctrine of eternal security isn’t true.

“At 73, I go to my knees almost every single day and say ‘Hold on to me!’” Piper exclaimed during a Q+A session at the conference. “If God doesn’t keep me, if he takes his hand off of me this afternoon, I will commit apostasy,” he said. 

What About the Doctrine of Eternal Security, Though?

The doctrine of eternal security essentially says that once a person comes to know and accept the saving grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ, they cannot become “unsaved.” This doctrine is also known as “once saved, always saved,” and Piper says he believes in it. However, he admits saying “I believe in the doctrine of eternal security” and “I could go to hell this afternoon” presents a very troubling juxtaposition. One wonders how both statements could be uttered in the same sentence. 

Piper argues the answer lies in another doctrine, one he sees “on every page of the Bible.”  Piper articulates the sovereignty of God this way: 

Nothing you do originates the decisive act or impulse that saves you. Nothing you think, nothing you will, nothing you do originates the act of the soul or the act of the body that causes God to elect you, predestine you, call you, keep you, or glorify you. All of it is a free gift.

While this doctrine teaches us there is nothing we can do to save ourselves, it also implies we are ultimately not in control of whether we fall away. When considering whether or not one could commit apostasy, Piper argues that nobody should have the mindset “I could keep this from happening.” The sovereignty of God teaches us that only God can keep us from falling. If this thought is hard to wrap your mind around or shifts your thinking, Piper admits the thought can throw you “really off balance.” 

Self-Stability vs. God-Stability

Since we cannot simply will ourselves not to commit apostasy, this is where we need to shift from being self-stable to being God-stable, Piper says. To replace one’s sense of self-stability with God-stability requires some Bible knowledge, prayer, and “some deep soul work.” 

Piper offers a handful of Scriptures to cling to and ruminate over. He suggests using passages like: 

Romans 8:29-30: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” This Scripture convinces Piper that “between foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, and glorification, nobody will be missing—none.”

Philippians 1:6b: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

1 Corinthians 1:8: “He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.”

The Believer Has a Responsibility, Too

Now, unless you think you have no responsibility to keep from falling, Piper reminds us that alongside the fact that those whom God justified, he glorified, “there is a whole range of commands for us to persevere.” 

For the Sake of the Call

By
Mark Edworthy
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As we close out nearly three decades on the mission field and approach an imminent transition back to the United States, I have become more reflective and thoughtful about the process that God used to lead us and sustain us overseas for so many years. That’s why I’ve written this post about for the sake of the call.

I have noticed a recent tendency in the US church to downplay a missionary or cross-cultural call and gifting. I believe that the motive is to highlight every believer’s responsibility to “make disciples of all nations.” And while the sentiment is appreciated, it seems like the rhetoric may be misplaced.

“I have seen hundreds travel to new cultures because they felt a sense of duty but did not stay long because they had no sense of calling.”

Some would say that every disciple is a missionary. I have not found the chapter and verse for such a conclusion. (I have never heard these same pastors declare “every disciple is a pastor.”) The closest I see in Scripture is that every believer is a witness (Acts 1:8). Some are equipped and called to witness in their home culture and others are called to cross linguistic and cultural barriers to share the hope of the gospel, make disciples, establish communities of faith (i.e. churches), and train leaders in other cultures.

Proponents of the universal missionary call for believers may assert that they do not find a chapter and verse for such a calling. I agree with others who conclude that the role of apostleship (small “a”) carries the intention of “sent ones” taking the message of the kingdom beyond current locales and restraints. Passages like Ephesian 4:11-12 illuminate the various roles that Spirit-filled disciples fill and describe apostles as gifts to the church so that it will function fully and vibrantly. These small “a” apostles are called and sent with a message, especially to places where the message has not gone.

For the Sake of the Call: Describing the Call

A mission agency leader recently referred to the “missionary call” as a nebulous, subjective experience with no clear biblical warrant. I found myself trying to describe such a call to someone who has never experienced it. I liken it to describing the taste of a banana to someone who has never eaten one. I was also tempted to conclude that according to such logic, Nepal does not exist simply because I have not been there or experienced it.

One may argue that we would really be better off if we dropped an expectation for a missionary call. Does this not limit those who may “want” to go? Would it give an “out” to those who secretly are frightened and can claim a “no call” exemption or 4-F designation from active duty? Possibly, but I have seen hundreds travel to new cultures because they felt a sense of duty but did not stay long because they had no sense of calling.

“The Great Commission was given to the church. The church is ultimately responsible for making disciples of every nation.”

For the Sake of the Call: Considerations of the Call

What about practical considerations? It is currently popular to conclude that millennials will simply not stay in an overseas assignment for more than 10 years. First, I disagree that a person’s year of birth determines their level of obedience to their Lord and Master. Second, I personally have seen the fruit of raising the bar, not lowering it, with clear expectations and a mission that is worth pursuing. Also, the damage done by those who are attracted to the adventure of missions without the basic certainty of their marching orders is incalculable. We do not need to change the clear trajection of the biblical story because of currently perceived norms.

Should we conclude that missions must, therefore, be limited to the hands of the missionaries? A similar question would be, should we conclude that the work of the church must be limited to the hands of the pastors? No! The Great Commission was given to the church. The church is ultimately responsible for making disciples of every nation. The church has gifted individuals with specific roles and vast members with assorted gifts, which should be used to pursue the Great Commission in current Jerusalems, Judeas, Samarias, and to the far corners of the world.

For the Sake of the Call: Celebrating the Call

The International Mission Board not only affirms the missionary call but celebrates it! Such a call does not designate the recipient as a greater follower of the Master, nor an inferior one, but simply one with clear marching orders to cross-cultural and linguistic barriers to take the gospel to unserved or underserved locations. As we transition back to the United States, I pray that the Lord of the harvest will call and thrust out more workers to his global field.

This article about for the sake of the call originally appeared here.

What Fervent Prayer Really Looks Like

By
Greg Laurie
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Jesus gives us our strongest example of what fervent prayer really looks like.

“My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” —Matthew 26:39

As the crucifixion approached, Jesus, being God, knew what was coming down. He knew they would arrest Him on false charges. He knew they would beat Him. He knew they would rip the beard out of His face. He knew that He would be whipped 39 times. He knew He would be nailed to a cross. Worst of all, He knew that He would bear the sins of all of humanity, though He had never committed a single sin.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Matthew 26:39 NLT). Hebrews gives us this insight: “While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death” (5:7 NLT). Jesus was crying out to the Lord, and it unnerved the disciples. There was passion in His prayer.

Fervent Prayer

That is how we have to pray. Imagine for a moment if your child broke her arm, and you took her to the emergency room. Would you pray for the doctor and those who were tending to your child? Of course you would. You’d pray fervently.

Or imagine, God forbid, if your child were kidnapped. Would you pray? Yes, you would pray. You would pray a storm-the-gates-of-Heaven kind of prayer. You wouldn’t take no for an answer.

That is real prayer, and that is the way we need to pray for our nation right now. We need to cry out to God. We need to pray that the Lord would send a spiritual awakening to the United States and that God will send revival to the church—that God would send revival to us.

This article originally appeared here.

Stop Saying God Is Not in School

By
Christina Embree
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Note from the author: I shared these thoughts about stop saying God is not in school a few years ago and with the return of students to the classroom, I felt the urge to share this again. Please consider the message we send to our children when we tell them that God is not in school. Don’t limit who He is in their lives, in the lives of teachers and administrators who follow Him, and His Spirit that is everywhere, calling all of us to Love. Instead of sharing a meme that says God is not in school, share this post instead and remember, “Our God is with us!”

Social Media Posts Are Back That Say God Is Not in School

“If you think Jesus should be allowed back in schools, click “Like” and Share!”

“New Law in Kentucky allows Bible to be taught in school. Do you Agree or Disagree?”

“God was kicked out of schools! It’s time we let Him back in!”

For some reason, memes and posts like this have started showing back up in my various social media streams. It seems like this particular melody gets sung every 6-12 months by some Christians and the chorus of “likes” and “shares” and “I agree” comments fill to social media outlets.

But I do not join the chorus. And I don’t think it is advantageous for any of us to do so.

“Why?  Don’t you think God should be allowed in public schools?  Don’t you believe in the Bible?  Don’t you think that prayer should be present in our educational system?”

Even typing those words made me cringe on the inside. Because laden within them and within the memes and posts above is this underlying assumption: God isn’t there. That somehow a law or a custom or a man-made institution is capable of restraining or inhibiting our God, our King of Kings, our Emmanuel.

Every year, as Christians, we celebrate Christmas.  In this season, we spend days focusing on one thing – the birth of Christ. And throughout the season we remind each other that we have a God that is not far off in some distant place waiting for us to come to Him. No! We serve a God who came to us, wrapped in our frail flesh, and walked among us, promising to be our Emmanuel – God WITH us – forever and ever.

During this season we marvel at the miracle of our Savior’s birth, foretold by prophets and angels, and witnessed by shepherds and kings.

We tell our children that because of this, they can rest assured that God is always with them, always present, always showing Himself strong on their behalf.

We even think ahead to the next big celebration of Easter and we explain that through Christ’s birth and death as fully man and fully God, we have been given a Way into eternity ourselves and we will never be separated from God, ever, for all time.

And then… we post memes that say we kicked Him out.  We bemoan the lack of His presence in our classrooms. We act as though our Emmanuel is not “God with us” but “God with us when we say it’s okay.”

How sad for us and how confusing for our children. That in one moment we speak with such faith and confidence and in the next we mourn as though we have been left abandoned.

Oh friends, wouldn’t it be much better to acknowledge the truth?  That God CANNOT be “kicked out” of this world, no matter how hard humanity might try to do so?  That our God thrives in places where men and women have tried to push Him out and silence His church?  That our God isn’t just present in our schools, but in prisons, concentration camps, Roman amphitheaters and arenas, in the darkest persecutions and even in the greatest prosperity. God can’t be banned from earth. That battle was fought and won thousands of years ago.

God is here to stay. He is Immanuel. He is God WITH us! 

And that is what we need to tell our children.

We need to tell them the truth, that God IS in the public schools. That God IS in their classrooms and at their lunch tables and in their college dorm rooms and in their high school locker rooms.

God is there, fully present and fully able to sustain them as they live for Him.

The Bible isn’t banned; they carry the Word of God within them and they can speak words of truth and life anywhere they want to. Prayer isn’t prohibited; they can pray for themselves, for friends, for teachers, for anyone, anywhere at anytime and God will hear and will answer.

Friends, our children need to hear that God isn’t quivering in a corner, afraid or tied down. Our God, the God that took on flesh and came to us as a baby, is coming back as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is not fearful; He is triumphant. 

If we continue to act as though this world somehow regulates that truth, we make our God too small and if anything, the next generation needs to know how big and how loving and how present our God is.  We can’t proclaim His strength in church on Sunday and then lament His weakness the rest of the week.

How much better to send them off to school or work or play with these words, “God is with you, everywhere you go. He is before you and behind you. He is on every side. You are not alone. You are NEVER alone. Know that you are loved so that you can love God and love others. Be WHO you are, all the time, everywhere, because God is present.”

God is in the public schools. I’ve seen Him.

God never got kicked out. He never removed His presence or His grace. No rule, regulation, law, or anything is strong enough for that. So let’s stop living a life of fear and regret. Let’s show our children that as long as we are His, He is here, present and active and ready to be Emmanuel to everyone who desires Him.

This article about stop saying God is not in school originally appeared here.

Molecular Geneticist: Faith and Evolution Are at Odds, but Not Faith and Science

By
Jessica Lea
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Christianity is reasonable, says Dr. Georgia Purdom, who has a PhD in molecular genetics and is a Christian. In a recent interview, Purdom emphasized that Christianity and science are compatible, and she warned Christians to consider the theological consequences of trying to reconcile evolution with the teachings of the Bible. 

“One of the things I want to help people try to understand is that Christians have a reasoned faith. I think a lot of people characterize Christians as having a blind faith,” said Dr. Purdom, speaking to Billy Hallowell on PureFlix’s “Answering Atheists.”

Dr. Georgia Purdom Offers Some Answers

Hallowell began the interview by mentioning that people often object to Christianity on the grounds that it requires faith and is therefore not compatible with science, which is based on logic and reason. The implication is that Christians have to be intellectually dishonest in order to believe in God. Purdom, who is a creationist, countered by saying that the way the Bible presents the world is supported, not contradicted, by what science tells us. 

For example, said Purdom, because the Bible presents human beings and chimpanzees as separate species, this is what we should expect to find science saying. One of the arguments people sometimes bring up against this idea is that chimps and humans share a great deal of the same DNA, with there being only a one or two percent difference. But, said Purdom, that is only true if you examine certain parts of the DNA. If you look at DNA as a whole, “The most recent studies say we’re about 20 percent different.” 

This amount of difference is too much for evolution to account for in its proposed timeframe. And even apart from that, said Purdom, “Mutations don’t change one kind of organism into another, no matter how much time you give it.” What mutations do is cause deterioration, disease and death. “So,” she said, “there’s just no mechanism to do what evolutionists need done, so to speak.”

Another common objection to the idea that all people descended from Adam and Eve is that the entire human race could not have come from two people. Purdom said this argument is based on the assumption that we must account for vast genetic diversity among people. But, she said, geneticists know that each person is only 0.1 percent different from another. So, “There’s really not that much difference between any two humans,” and it is not unthinkable that the human race began with two people. 

Theological Implications

In the interview, Purdom emphasized the importance of Christians thinking through the consequences of accepting theistic evolution, which says God guided evolutionary processes. Believing in evolution, said Purdom, leads to a lot of “theological problems” that she believes many Christians have not fully considered.

Purdom thinks Christians need to first ask whether or not they believe God’s word is truly authoritative and then evaluate if they are consistently applying that belief to all areas of life. She said, “If someone’s going to claim to be a born again Christian, they’re not going to question the virgin birth and they’re not going to question the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But those are clearly unscientific things. Those are miracles.” So why, asked Purdom, would Christians have a problem with believing God created the world? “That is also supernatural,” she said. “That’s something that we can’t explain scientifically.” 

The other challenge with believing God used evolution is what Purdom called the “death before sin problem.” If God guided the process of evolution, that would mean there were millions of years of “death and disease and suffering” before the first people showed up on earth. Genesis, however, says that sin and death entered the world because of the choices of Adam and Eve. Death is actually the punishment for sin. “But if you have millions of years of death before [sin], then how can it be the punishment for it? It doesn’t make any logical sense,” said Purdom. “And then what did Jesus die to redeem us from, if not death and suffering, and our sin, obviously?”

Equip Yourself

At the end of the interview, Purdom encouraged parents to resource themselves so they can help their kids understand that Christianity and science are not at odds with each other. She said, “Get equipped so you can equip your kids because they are going to need this in the world that they’re growing up in. Their faith is going to be challenged, and they have to know more than just that the Bible is true.” 

Mexican Pastor Shot to Death While Preaching

By
Megan Briggs
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A Mexican pastor was shot at close range while he was preaching the Sunday morning service at his church, Fraternidad Cristiana in Oaxaca, last weekend. Pastor Alfrery Líctor Cruz Canseco died on the way to the hospital. His death represents a concerning trend of church leaders being targeted by criminal groups in Mexico.

“The fact that he was targeted while in the pulpit is particularly shocking,” Mervyn Thomas, the Chief Executive of the watchdog group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), said in a statement. 

Pastor Cruz Canseco Isn’t the Only Mexican Pastor Targeted

CSW is calling attention to the fact that Pastor Cruz Canseco is just one of a handful of pastors who have been the target of attacks lately. “Many criminal groups view church leaders, both Catholic and Protestant, and their influence, as a threat to their power,” CSW’s statement says. The lack of action on the part of the Mexican authorities to combat the attacks is also concerning. “A lack of proper investigation means perpetrators are not brought to justice,” CSW explains.

Luis Herrera of the Coordination of Christian Organisations in Chiapas (COOC) says, “[It is] terrible what is happening, it seems to me that it is now very complicated to be able to guarantee security to the brothers who do something for the good of others.”

Another pastor in a city near the U.S.-Mexico border was kidnapped earlier this month. Pastor Aarón Méndez Ruiz directs a migrant shelter, Casa del Migrante AMAR, in the city Nuevo Laredo. The shelter houses up to 450 migrants at a time and is currently home to some Cuban migrants. Violent criminals have discovered that kidnapping Cuban migrants and demanding ransom money from their family members has proven lucrative. Pastor Méndez Ruiz was defending the Cuban migrants from such an attack when he was abducted. 

So far, no communication or demand for ransom from Pastor Méndez Ruiz’s kidnappers has been received. The pastor’s assistant told reporters everyone in the shelter is afraid the criminals will come back to take them, too. 

Catholic Priests Also Targeted

Catholic priests are also targeted in Mexico. CSW reports 2018 saw 10 religious leaders killed in Mexico, and that it is one of the most dangerous countries for Catholic priests to serve. Catholic Multimedia Centre reports that two priests were forced to leave the city they serve in, Pánuco in Veracruz state, due to threats from criminals. The numbers of priests targeted in violent attacks in 2019 have not been gathered yet, but the media outlet says it’s hard to ignore the stories surfacing, and that bishops are growing increasingly concerned for the safety of priests. 

Open Doors ranked Mexico 39th on its 2019 World Watch List, an annual ranking of the 50 most dangerous nations for Christians and persecution. Open Doors reports that organized crime in Mexico “primarily targets priests and pastors, while indigenous power holders pressure Christians through fines, denying basic community service and imprisonment.” 

Thomas says: “We urge the international community to engage with the Mexican government on these matters and to recognise the role that many religious leaders play, not only as leaders of their churches, but also as voices for peace, justice and integrity, and as human rights defenders.”

David Kinnaman: Living in a Digital Babylon (What You Need to Know)

By
Jason Daye
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David Kinnaman is president of Barna Group. He has directed interviews with over 1 million people and overseen hundreds of research studies in the U.S. and around world. He and his team provide insights into how people are thinking about Jesus and the church, how culture is shifting, and how we can respond. David has written several books, including his latest one, Faith for Exiles: 5 Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon. He and his wife live in California with their three children.

Key Questions for David Kinnaman

-You say that today’s society is “faith repellant.” What do you mean by that?

-What do you mean when you say our culture is a “digital Babylon”?

-How are Millennials and Gen Z being formed spiritually?

-How can local church leaders help young people develop cultural discernment?

Key Quotes from David Kinnaman

“We’re becoming more post-Christian by a lot of measures.”

“Even a lot of people within the church are more self-centered and more oriented around the customs and norms of the world, of the larger society.”

“God actually reveals in scripture this way forward to all of us as believers in a complicated culture. We see it in the actual Babylon of old, but we also see it in places like 1 Peter, where Peter writes to the modern exiles of the New Testament church.”

“We’re convinced that the church plays an essential role, but it has to be rethought.”

“I’ve focused a lot of my attention in the last few years on what is disconnecting young people, and I really try to focus now on what are the reconnections…for example, one of them is experiencing intimacy with Jesus. And that may sound pretty straightforward, but it’s actually pretty easy, we see in the data, for young people to say they’re Christian, but for them to really not have much depth of faith.”

“In some ways, we’ve created a brand experience that’s just, you know, Jesus, but with all the popular trappings of today’s packaged goods.”

“This is really important: there is nothing new under the sun. Human beings are the same in every generation. The kind of issues and challenges of humanity aren’t changing, but the context is changing.”

“It is much more complicated than ever to live as a Christian. It’s never been easy, but it’s really complicated.”

3 Ways Baptism & The Lord’s Supper Ought to Shape Our Monday Through Saturday

By
Sam Emadi
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Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are two important sacraments that ought to shape our lives throughout the week.

It’s a typical Sunday at First Baptist Church for Dustin. Pastor Jon had just finished his sermon and announced that after the closing hymn he is going to baptize Thomas, a college student who, after wrestling with doubts over the resurrection for years, has finally believed the gospel. Dustin’s wife ducks out during the first verse of the hymn to retrieve their children from the nursery. When she arrives back at the pew with their gaggle of children, Dustin is noticeably flustered by their raucous behavior. As the final verse ends he decides to sneak out with his family before the baptism. His conscience is troubled at leaving early, but he decides to go ahead anyway. After all, Thomas’ baptism doesn’t really have anything to do with him, does it? Isn’t it just about Thomas personal profession of faith? He can do that just as well without Dustin and his family.

Dustin’s attitude toward Thomas’ baptism represents the way many evangelicals think about the ordinances. For many, baptism is essentially about my personal profession of faith, an expression of my obedience to Jesus. Regrettably, this individualism characterizes how many Christians even think about the more obviously communal ordinance, the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is purely about my remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice, my confession of sin, or my hope in the Lord’s return. So with eyes tightly shut and hearts pretty well indifferent to who may or may not be in the room, the Lord’s Supper becomes nothing more than an act of private devotion—just one we do in proximity to a lot of other Christians.

The Bible, however, paints a very different portrait for how the ordinances function in the life of the church. Let me submit three ways the Bible shows us how the ordinances should shape our relationships with one another, both on Sundays and throughout the week.

1. BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER CREATE DAY-TO-DAY COMMITMENTS.

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are not hermetically sealed events in the life of the church—“flash in the pan” moments that interrupt our regular routine of worship. Instead, these are events that create day-to-day responsibilities toward one another. Going back to our opening illustration, when Thomas is baptized on Sunday morning, that baptism has implications for Dustin on Monday. In baptism, the church is making commitments to the believer and the believer is making commitments to the church.

Where do we find this in Scripture? Baptism is how the church marks out the people of God. In the Great Commission, Jesus authorizes the apostles, and by implication the church, to administer baptism to “disciples” (Matthew 28:18–20). When someone is baptized they are not only going public with their faith, the church is also affirming their profession as credible. The church, after all, is the one administering the baptism, giving as it were their stamp of approval to that person’s profession of faith.

And what happens after someone is baptized? They join the church. Baptism doesn’t just mark someone’s commitment to follow Jesus, it also marks their commitment to Jesus’ people. Throughout the New Testament, new believers joined up or “were added” to the church by baptism (Acts 2:14; 1 Corinthians 12:3), and once added to the church, the church loved and spiritually nourished them (Acts 2:42–47).

So when church members watch someone get baptized, we aren’t just celebrating their private profession of faith. We are making a commitment to them to oversee the well-being of their Christian walk, to care for them, and to love them as members of our church. In other words, when we witness someone baptized we are, as a congregation, implicitly saying our church covenant to them as they go down into the water and they are saying it back to us as they emerge. When you see someone baptized in your congregation, add them to your prayer list and start asking how they’re doing—they’re part of the family now.

2. THE LORD’S SUPPER CONSISTENTLY CONFRONTS ANY UNCHECKED PRIDE OR BITTERNESS.

In 1 Corinthians 11:17­-34, Paul identifies one of the primary problems in the Corinthian church as divisiveness (11:18) rooted in some form of classism and pride (11:22). How does Paul respond? By talking about the Lord’s Supper—yep, the Lord’s Supper! Shocking isn’t it? But not if we recognized just how central the ordinances are for a healthy church community.

Paul rebukes the Corinthians because the Lord’s Supper demands that they be one unified body (11:23–33). This supper portrays a gospel which demands that we all make the same claims about ourselves: we are sinners and Jesus is our only source of righteousness. The Lord’s Supper assumes we are one, united, reconciled body. It’s a family meal.

The Lord’s Supper then is meant to function like a net, catching any unchecked pride or bitterness that church members might be harboring toward one another.

To switch analogies, the Lord’s Supper is like an air filter in your heating system. Air filters catch all the pollen, bugs, and other decaying material from outside to make sure that only the cleanest air gets pumped into your home.

Leaders Are Bleeders: Pastors Who Want to Quit

By
Brian Dodd
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It has been said often the leaders are readers.  This is true.  But unbeknownst to many people entering leadership, they soon learn leaders are also bleeders. And that leads to pastors who want to quit.

Why do I say this?

I talk to pastors for a living.  More and more often I am spending time encouraging them and reminding them of the impact they are making in the lives of people.  This is necessary because there are so many pastors who want to quit.

Often a young man enters seminary or bible college wanting to honor God, reach people for Jesus, see the Great Commission advanced, and change the world.  They leave school well-prepared to preach and defend the faith.  However, they often leave poorly equipped to deal with elders and deacons.  They are also introduced to things like budget meetings, architects, builders, accountants, tax laws, zoning laws, and permitting.

Many pastors are blindsided by betrayals, staff and lay leader conflict, misunderstandings, bearing the burdens of others, and good friends leaving the church.

The average American pastor makes less in compensation than the average school teacher. They try to raise a family on meager salaries while sometimes carrying enormous student loan debt. In addition, many pastors and their wives both report having no friends.

This is not limited to just pastors.  All leaders face their own set of issues.  But betrayal, misunderstandings, feelings of inadequacy, and loneliness are universal.  They affect all leaders from time-to-time.

Leadership is wonderful.  You have a front row seat to seeing the lives of people changed. But leadership also hurts.

Leaders pay a higher price than others.  It has been said that if you feel like you’re getting kicked in the rear, it just means you’re out front.  Well, at a certain point your rear end begins to hurt… a lot!  Leaders do not know they signed up for regular butt-kickings!  But they did.  This is the small print of the leadership contract.

How to Talk to Kids About Sexual Abuse

By
Casey B Hough
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

It’s a difficult conversation but we must learn how to talk to kids about sexual abuse.

I will never forget having to explain the Sandy Hook shooting to my oldest son. I had stayed home from the office that day because I was sick. From the time I woke up that morning, I watched in horror and disbelief as the details of the tragedy unfolded on national news stations. My son could tell that something was wrong. So, instead of acting like the world that we live in was not a broken place, I tried to explain the tragedy and loss in a way that he could understand. It was not an easy conversation, but many times the most important conversations are not the easiest ones.

Talking to children about difficult topics can be terrifying for parents, yet such conversations must take place. We cannot act like our world is not fallen and in need of redemption. There are evil people in the world that intend to do harm to others. If we are going to love our neighbors as ourselves (which must necessarily include the children that God has entrusted to us), then we must also warn them about evil in age-appropriate ways. This is particularly true with the matter of how to talk to kids about sexual abuse.

A plan to talk to kids about sexual abuse

How to talk to kids about sexual abuse is complex because it affects various aspects of our humanity. For instance, while parents want to give their children a biblical vision of sexuality that affirms its goodness and design for the context of marriage, parents must also talk about sexuality in a way that acknowledges the disordered and wicked desires of some people who attempt to exploit it. In other words, because our world is broken, it is not enough to simply affirm what is good about God’s plan for sexuality without also acknowledging that some have taken God’s good gift and sought to use it in a sinful way that is contrary to his design.

There is a necessary balance to be struck when talking with children about things like sexuality and sexual abuse. Previous generations have often spoken of sexuality in ways that failed to rightly celebrate the goodness of God’s design, opting to speak mainly in terms of prohibitions and fear. The danger in our day is to focus so much on the celebration of the goodness of sexuality that we neglect to place it within the broader framework of a fallen world that is longing for redemption in Christ. Thus, we must speak to our children with a wisdom that strikes the balance between God’s design and humanity’s sinful attempts to exchange the truth of God for a lie (Romans 1). We must learn to speak in a way that says, “Yes,” to sex in the right context while also being able to say, “No,” where necessary.

Because our world is broken, it is not enough to simply affirm what is good about God’s plan for sexuality without also acknowledging that some have taken God’s good gift and sought to use it in a sinful way that is contrary to his design.

 

When teaching children about their biology and sexuality, we must also admit and explain that not everyone in their life may agree with God’s design. Evil people, even people in their churches, their schools, and tragically, even their homes, may seek to violate and abuse their innocence. So, how can you help your children be prepared to live in a broken world where sexual abuse is a tragic reality? I would suggest following the H.E.L.P. plan (or something similar to it) to prepare them:

  1. Have the hard conversation now rather than later.

  2. Equip them with specific, age-appropriate details regarding sexuality and sexual abuse.

  3. Listen to them and let them know that you will believe and support them.

  4. Pray that God would protect them every day.

Putting our plan into action to talk to kids about sexual abuse

Here is how my wife and I have put this plan into use with our children:

A few years ago, my wife and I began a conversation with my oldest son about God’s good design for sexuality. The conversation did not end two years ago, though. It is an ongoing conversation.

He knows that if he has questions about anything related to sex he can speak with us at any time. We made it clear from the beginning that there is no need to be ashamed about the conversation because sex is God’s idea.

We told him to let us know if he hears or sees anything that he has questions about or feels uncomfortable with and assured him that he would never get in trouble for talking to us about this subject. Why? Because we want him to talk to us, not his peers or other adults. This is a conversation that God intended for parents to have with their children (Proverbs 1:7-8).

In fact, this is a conversation that my wife and I have been having in some form or another with all of our children from the time that they could bathe. In an age-appropriate manner, we explain to our children that certain parts of our bodies are not appropriate for others to see or touch. As the children get older, we go into greater depth. We don’t want our children to learn about anatomy from pop culture or pornography. We want to disciple them to know God as creator and designer of their bodies, for their good and his glory.

A conversation before camp

So, as our oldest son prepared for church camp this summer, we sat him down to revisit the topic of sexuality, particularly as it related to sexual abuse. While it was uncomfortable, it was necessary.

We explained to him that no one should be watching him in the restroom or the shower, regardless of what someone may tell him. We explained that it was never appropriate for an adult to touch him or insist on any type of affection from him (a hug, a kiss, sitting on a lap, etc.). We were specific, because we did not want to resort to vagueness in order to avoid the discomfort of the difficult subject.

We established a code word or phrase that he could use when we talked on the phone that would alert us to a problem. If he used the word or phrase, then we would immediately pick him up.

We told him that regardless of the threats that someone might use against him or his family, we would protect and believe him. We told him that while he should be respectful to adults, he did not have to comply with any request or demand that was outside the normal course of adult-child interaction.

Finally, to make sure that he understood, we talked through a few scenarios, asking him what he would do if he encountered them. Then, we prayed that God would protect him and the other children headed to camp.

Was the conversation easy? Not at all. Was it necessary? Absolutely, because loving and caring for the vulnerable requires uncomfortable but frank conversations that prepare them and expose the wicked and unfruitful works of darkness (Ephesians 5:11).

Conversations are not the end-all-be-all measures to prevent the wickedness of sexual abuse. Evil people will continue to do evil things in this world until Christ returns to make everything sad become untrue. Until then, we weep over the brokenness and do our best to prepare and protect the vulnerable while being “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).

This article about how to talk to kids about sexual abuse originally appeared here.

Tullian Tchividjian Starts New Church After Affairs

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

Tullian Tchividjian has returned to ministry and has started a new church in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. While some of the church’s attendees say his return to leadership is a sign of God’s grace, one of the women Tchividjian had an affair with in the past says there was abuse involved in their relationship and she does not believe he is truly repentant. 

“He was my spiritual leader,” Rachel Steele told The Palm Beach Post. “You know, he was my go-to. He was my teacher. … He definitely had a place of authority in my life. You trust a man like that a lot more.”

Tchividjian is one of Billy Graham’s grandsons and as such, “was born into Christian royalty.” Controversy has surrounded him for the past few years, beginning in 2015 when he confessed having an affair, lost his pastoral credentials and resigned as senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Steele’s Claims Against Tchividjian

Steele is the woman Tchividjian had an affair with in 2015 and is one of two women with whom he has admitted to having affairs. She has chronicled her history with him extensively in this series of posts. Steele claims Tchividjian befriended her and her husband, counselled them on their marriage, and enlisted their financial help with hiring a private investigator to document his then-wife’s infidelity. He also, according to Steele, groomed her for a sexual relationship. 

In her post describing the affair, Steele said, “When our relationship got physical, I absolutely knew we were sinning. But Tchividjian, “said we were doing nothing wrong.” Steele told The Post that while she did want to sleep with him, abuse was an inherent factor of their relationship because he had a position of authority in the church where she was a member. 

Tchividjian denies any abuse and does not believe that authority in and of itself introduces abuse into a sexual relationship. He said, “I don’t care what role a person has, a consensual relationship between two adults is not abuse.”

More Backstory

When he announced his resignation from Coral Ridge, Tchividjian said at the time that he had discovered his wife, Kim, was having an affair. As their marriage deteriorated, he had “sought comfort in a friend and developed an inappropriate relationship.” In his statement, he apologized for his actions and said that he and Kim were “heartbroken” over what they had done. Kim immediately issued a response, saying, “The statement reflected my husband’s opinions but not my own.” 

Months after resigning from Coral Ridge, Tchividjian secured a position on staff with Willow Creek Church in Winter Springs, Florida. Around that time in the fall of 2015, the South Florida Presbytery stripped him of his credentials, and he also filed for divorce from Kim. Then, in the spring of 2016, Willow Creek fired Tchividjian after it came to light he’d had an affair with a different woman in 2014. This was something he had not disclosed and which called into question the way he had presented his 2015 affair.

According to The Christian Post, Willow’s Creek’s senior pastor, Kevin Labby, said, “The feeling of the elders was that Tullian had a long period of time to share [the 2014 affair] with the church and for one reason or another he elected not to.” He added, “the session was concerned that this was not shared with them and created a kind of faulty understanding.” The Palm Beach Post reports that in a statement that has since been taken offline, the leadership of Willow Creek said, “We would also like to state in the clearest possible terms that we do not believe that Mr. Tchividjian should be in any form of public or vocational ministry.” Labby told The Post that Willow Creek’s leadership stands by that statement, even though it has been removed. 

In the fall of 2016, Tullian Tchividjian remarried, news that became public when his new wife, Stacie, tweeted about a sermon he had recently preached. In December of that same year, the Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE) issued a statement in response to Rachel Steele’s posts, which the organization linked to on its site and called “credible allegations that Tullian Tchividjian had engaged in clergy sexual misconduct against multiple women.” The founder and executive director of GRACE is Tullian Tchividjian’s brother, Boz. 

Back in the Pastorate

According to The Palm Beach Post, after his most recent marriage, Tchividjian pursued writing and speaking engagements. The way people responded led him to believe there was a need for a church where “people come and feel freedom to tell the truth about themselves without fear of rejection.” So he and Stacie started The Sanctuary church, which is unaffiliated. The Post reports that a recent service was attended by approximately 60 to 80 people. Those attending seem to be untroubled by Tchividjian’s past. One said, “I trust that God has done amazing work in his life.” Another told the Post, “We’ve all been somewhere where we need forgiveness. God’s restored him.”

Steele believes there has not been evidence of true repentance in Tchividjian’s life, but he says his experiences give him a deeper understanding of grace and brokenness: “Some people think that I should just shut up and crawl in a cave and never come out because I’m not qualified to be leading spiritually in any way because of everything that I went through and everything that I did. Other people champion it because they go, ‘It’s about time that churches are led by people who know what it feels like to, you know, fall on their face and be in the gutter.’”

“End the gridlock,” Rod Parsley Chastises Congress From Border

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

Following a tour of America’s largest border patrol facility last Friday, pastor and TV host Rod Parsley says three decades of lawmakers’ inaction must end. Parsley led a delegation of pastors from his City Harvest Network and the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) on a visit to McAllen, Texas, speaking afterward about the “vast humanitarian crisis” along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Saying he was “humbled, hurt, outraged,” Parsley directed his anger at “three decades of inaction from Washington, D.C.” While lawmakers are on vacation, he says, dedicated border patrol agents “serve this great nation” in extreme heat. “It’s time for the United States Congress and the Administration to end the gridlock. Fix this crisis.”

Rod Parsley Commends Facility Conditions, Affirms Detainees’ Dignity

Parsley, founder and senior pastor of World Harvest Church in Columbus, Ohio, and Elkhart, Indiana, also founded the missions relief organization Bridge of Hope. He says he’s responded to many emergencies and visited many prison facilities but has “never seen a better facility” than McAllen’s. The detainees the group spoke with indicate they’re happy, treated well, fed, clothed, and safe, Parsley says. “What you’ve heard is not true,” he adds, referring to reports of dangerous, unsanitary conditions, especially for children at the border facilities.

The pastor notes, however, that many immigrants “are in desperate need of care in facilities that are obviously, sincerely struggling to cope with the scale of this humanitarian crisis.” These individuals “have inherent value, and they need our help,” Parsley says. “Jesus calls us all to love, to serve our neighbor, all our neighbors, wherever they’re from.”

Parsley, who’s considered by many to be one of the prosperity gospel preachers, admits he doesn’t have all the answers to the complex, polarizing issue of immigration reform. But he demands that elected officials step up to find solutions—and reminds them God is watching. “I don’t understand why no one in Washington, D.C., is heartbroken,” he says. “Maybe you’re heartless.”

Hold Lawmakers Accountable, Say Hispanic Leaders

Leaders of the NHCLC, co-sponsor of the visit to McAllen, also expressed frustration about immigration. Pastor Samuel Rodriguez, the group’s president, says, “It is ultimately only members of Congress who can fix the broken system they created…an immoral, dysfunctional system that incentivizes human trafficking and denies dignity to those who deserve it the most.”

Rodriguez calls out lawmakers for “deflecting their responsibility to the White House,” saying that “includes members of Congress who are neglecting their legislative responsibilities in order to run for president.”

NHCLC has more than 40,000 certified member churches in the United States plus chapters in Latin America. Executive Vice President Tony Suarez says the immigration crisis isn’t the fault of Donald Trump or Barack Obama but is due to “a failed Congress and Senate that fails to act.”

“We The People that have elected them to be our surrogates, to be our voices, need to hold them accountable,” Suarez adds. “If they will not respect and reflect the values of We The People, then they should no longer serve We The People.”

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