FL Kids to Get Help with the #1 Problem They Say Affects Them

July 18, 2019

thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

A new mandate in Florida now requires public schools to provide a minimum of five hours of mental health education for students, beginning in the sixth grade. The state Board of Education approved the widely lauded policy on Wednesday.

“We know that 50 percent of all mental illness cases begin by age 14, so we are being proactive in our commitment to provide our kids with the necessary tools to see them through their successes and challenges,” said First Lady Casey DeSantis, according to the Orlando Sentinel. DeSantis has been instrumental in getting the new policy passed and says, “Providing mental health instruction is another important step forward in supporting our families.”

Casey DeSantis and Hope for Healing

DeSantis has prioritized addressing the issue of mental health in the state of Florida. She recently launched the Hope for Healing initiative, which will examine the state’s spending when it comes to substance abuse and mental health. Another goal of the initiative is to help Florida residents be aware of the mental health resources available to them. “Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t know what’s out there,” she said.

Speaking to The Florida Times-Union, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran described the benefits the new mental health training will have for students, saying, “We’re going to have a tremendous amount of awareness and just common sense solutions. So if all of a sudden a friend comes to school and starts talking about serious negative thoughts about their life, [the student] knows exactly how to handle it, what to say and where to go.” It is not yet clear whether the new policy will be implemented this coming school year.

The State of Student Mental Health

Studies show that mental health issues are a significant concern for youth in America. According to Pew Research Center, “Serious mental stress is a fact of life for many American teens,” with recent years demonstrating a rise in depression among teenagers. Besides data on stressed out teenagers, Pew also cited research stating that less than half of young people who had significant depression received treatment for it within the past year when the study was conducted.

Other data from Pew found teenagers themselves recognize that mental health is a concern. Seventy percent of teens believe that anxiety and depression are serious problems for their peers. In fact, the majority of American teens believe that mental health is more of a concern than drinking, drug addiction, teen pregnancy, and bullying. Also, the National Alliance on Mental Illness says that “One in five youth live with a mental health condition, but less than half of these individuals receive needed services.”

While there is a lack of mental health resources available to public school students, more and more states are beginning to take action to address that need. Last year, New York and Virginia became the first two states to pass laws requiring mental health education in public schools. New York now requires such education for K-12 students, while Virginia requires it for students in the 9th and 10th grades.

After the board approved the mandate, Corcoran said, “We are going to reinvent school-based mental-health awareness in Florida, and we will be the number one state in the nation in terms of mental health outreach and school safety.”

On Twitter, DeSantis wrote, “I thank the State Board of Education for their vote today…This is an important step forward in supporting our kids and parents.”

I thank the State Board of Education for their vote today to require every Florida public school to provide students in grades 6-12 with at least five hours of mental health instruction. This is an important step forward in supporting our kids and parents.

— Casey DeSantis (@FLCaseyDeSantis) July 17, 2019

What Does Your Church Do That Your Phone Can’t Do?

Karl Vaters

July 17, 2019

What does your church do that your phone can’t do? The answer may surprise you.

For generations, churches were the center of community life in many towns.

Want to know what time it is? Listen for the chimes from the Lutheran church steeple.

Going to the store? Turn left at the Baptist church.

Bored on a Sunday night? Check out the revival at the Pentecostal chapel.

Today, all of that and more can be done with apps on your phone. We no longer need the church for directions, time or to relieve boredom.

In fact, the idea of going to the church for any of those things is so far in the past that most people reading this have no more than a vague recollection of those times, if at all.

Why People Don’t Go To Church

When long-term churchgoers try to imagine why people don’t go to church, they assume it must be some combination of sin, disobedience or rebellion.

They imagine unchurched people thinking about God and the church, then consciously choosing to say “no” to it.

The reality is that most people who don’t go to church haven’t chosen against it, they’re not thinking about it at all.

It’s not rebellion, it’s apathy and ignorance.

It used to be that you couldn’t ignore the local church and its effects on the community. Now, most people can drive by multiple church buildings every day and not have them register in their consciousness at all.

So, what should we in the church do about that?

What We Don’t Need Churches For

If churches are going to be effective in the future, we need to ask and answer the question in the title:

“What does your church do that your phone can’t do?”

Great sermons? Nope. Those are live streamed and on podcasts.

Worship music. Sorry. Spotify, SiriusXM and YouTube have every type of worship music you can imagine. And some you can’t.

Bible study? Nuh uh. There’s an app for that. Several, actually.

So what’s left for what does your church do?

If your church hasn’t figured that out, you need to. Fast.

What Only The Church Can Do

There’s always been one thing the church can do that nothing else can ever duplicate:

An IRL (in real life) experience that cannot be fully realized online. The opportunity to be in the same room, worshiping Jesus, loving each other and learning to work together.

Encouragement
Accountability
Baptism
Community
Fellowship
Responsibility
Communion

In other words, being the church.

There’s no substitute for that. And there never will be.

This article about what the church can do originally appeared here.

Where Do You Get Your Power to Lead?

Brett Powell

July 17, 2019

What gives you the power to lead? Ministry leaders have little authority over their people. In other organizations, the person who has a leadership position has incredible leverage to get people to do what they want them to. In business for example, managers have leverage in the form of salary, benefits, and perks. Most followers are pretty cooperative when their livelihood is at stake.

There is a significant difference between power over people and power with people.

If you are leading a business team, ministry team, team of academics or medical professionals, you would be wise to take your leaders into a soup kitchen or other environment where they have no position or title and observe how they work with others to get the job done. Watch how your leaders interact with volunteers and the people they are serving.

Are they gaining influence or losing influence over time? Do the volunteers and people they are serving willingly following their lead? If so, then you probably have good leaders on your team. If not, you might have leaders that rely on the power of their position.

The fundamental question is this: where do you gain your power to lead? Another question you may ask is this: “Why do people follow me?” Clarifying the reason people follow, might indicate where you gain your power to lead.

People may follow you out of fear. They are afraid of what might happen to them if they don’t follow, if they don’t do what you ask them to do. Followers get along with you by going along. This isn’t real followership and therefore, it’s not real leadership. It’s lip service loyalty. Leadership by coercive power.

Others might follow you because of the benefits that come to them if they do. The power of this relationship is based on the exchange of goods and services. The followers have something you want and you, as the leader, have something they want. It is a very transactional relationship – give and take. Sadly, outside the area of transaction there is no other influence. You will rarely, if ever, be asked to help one of your staff solve a personal issue or to join them in celebrating a personal milestone. This is a deficient form of leadership – a mere utility power over followers.

The third level of followership is different not only in degree, it is completely different in kind. In this case your followers are following not because they have to and not because of the transactional benefits. They follow because they want to. In short you have authentic influence based on the foundation of trust. You have earned the right to lead. That is power with people not just power over people.

This is not blind faith nor mindless obedience. It’s not robotic servitude. It is wholehearted commitment resulting from a perceived sense that you are someone worth following.

The surest way to be someone worth following, is by following Jesus, the greatest leader of all time.

Jesus was a servant. There is no such thing as servant leadership, either you are a servant or no leader at all. Use the power you have in the organization to serve others, remove obstacles and help them succeed in their work.

Jesus was an encourager. When it comes to believing in themselves most people are agnostic. Jesus recognized the dignity, worth and potential of everyone He met. He related to them in that way and that is what they became. Be a strong and clear voice of encouragement for others. Affirm the good you see and speak to the potential they have for greatness.

Jesus was magnanimous. He handled every leadership situation perfectly well, but He never followed a repeatable script. He was as likely to be fierce as he was to be tender. Following His lead, we should strive to be tender with every vulnerable heart and fight against any systemic hypocrisy, misalignment of values and toxic elements of the culture.

Ministry in the Church is the most leadership intensive endeavour in the world. Ministry leaders should never rely on a position or title to lead and influence their people. Rather, focus on becoming the kind of person that has power with people not just power over people.

Jesus is the ultimate leader and willing to help you become more and more like Him. And that’s what your staff could really need right now – more of Jesus. He must increase and we must decrease.

This article about the power to lead originally appeared here.

This Pastor Saved a Woman’s Life by Donating His Liver

Jessica Lea

July 17, 2019

When a pastor in Illinois heard that the mom of a girl connected with his church had been diagnosed with cancer and needed a liver transplant, he made a remarkable decision. After talking with his wife, he decided to be tested to see if he qualified as a donor.

“I always had a feeling that I was going to be a match,” said Rev. Matt Hoffman, according to The Chicago Tribune. “I don’t know why. Maybe everybody has that feeling, I don’t know. But I really felt, from the time I signed up, that, ‘yeah, it’s probably going to be me.’”

Liver Donation Saves a Life

In October 2018, three weeks after giving birth to her third child, Ellen Totten found out she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Days later, she heard that she also had a rare and aggressive form of cancer in the bile duct of her liver, a complication of the PSC. In order to stay alive, Totten needed chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and–“most critically”–a living donor.

People began spreading the word about Totten’s need, and Hoffman heard about her plight one day after visiting the classroom of her daughter, Jane. Even though Totten and her family attend South Park Church, Jane goes to the preschool connected with St. Andrews Lutheran Church, where Hoffman is the pastor.

“There’s a section of hallway between the church and the school and I just sat down on the ground and cried,” he told the Tribune. “It was just really tough to think about what (the Tottens) were going through and what Jane could be facing.” So Hoffman talked with his wife Anne about exploring the possibility of donating his liver to Totten. Anne wasn’t thrilled about the idea of her husband undergoing surgery, but said that if she were in Totten’s situation, she would want someone to do the same for her–so she agreed. After a month of testing, Hoffman heard that he was in fact a match and moved forward with the surgery.

Speaking at a city council meeting where Hoffman received the Mayor’s Life-Saving Award, Totten described Hoffman’s surgery as “not trivial.” It typically takes six to ten hours and has an extensive recovery. The aftermath includes healing from a painful incision, being fatigued for weeks, and not being able to lift anything for months, all besides the obvious risks involved with surgery.

Yet Hoffman was willing to go through that process, even for someone who was just an acquaintance at the time. “Matt and I knew each other,” said Totten, “but it wasn’t like we, you know, had a long friendship.”’ Hoffman also prayed with and encouraged Totten throughout the whole experience. “Anybody who knows Matt knows he’s extremely kind and positive and a very humble person,” said Totten. She also acknowledged that Anne Hoffman showed a great deal of resilience and empathy: “She demonstrated a lot of strength and was a part of saving my life too.”

Totten told Hoffman, “You’re part of our family now. Your family’s our family, and if you ever need anything from us…we are here for you. We love you and thank you so much.”

When he went up to receive his award, Hoffman emphasized the strength it took for Totten to first give birth and then go through treatment and a significant surgery. Her surgery took 21 hours, and Hoffman said they found out later that it was common for doctors to be uncertain whether patients in her situation would survive. But Totten is a fighter, he said, and “somebody I admire.”

Biblical Community

Hoffman said he’s still processing the whole experience, but one thing clearly stands out to him: “We live in a community of fighters.” So many people supported them, including their families, the school staff, their churches, believers across the country, and even the police department. Said Hoffman, “I went into surgery with such confidence because I knew there were hundreds of people back in our sanctuary praying for Ellen and for me, and so when I went in, I felt like I was taking a little community with me.”

Hoffman concluded, “I got to tell you, you think you’re going to do something to bless somebody, but my wife and I will tell you, we have been blessed more than we’ve given in this and we thank you for that, and Ellen, it’s been an honor to be part of your story.”

Prestonwood Baptist Church Ministers to Border Patrol Agents, Families

Stephanie Martin

July 17, 2019

While several American cities braced for raids aimed at undocumented immigrants last week, volunteers from Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas offered support and appreciation to Border Patrol agents and their families.

The 42,000-member Southern Baptist congregation, which regularly conducts outreach to migrants, turned its attention to government employees tasked with maintaining order along the U.S. border. In a mission trip dubbed Operation Border Blessing, a team from the church delivered food, backpacks, and other items to agents and their families in El Paso, Texas.

Mike Buster, Prestonwood’s executive pastor, tweeted: “We supplied backpacks, inflatables, give-aways. They were so grateful [and] some in tears, telling us that nobody appreciates what they do.” Border Patrol agents, often stretched thin, have been praised for showing compassion while doing tough jobs; others, however, have recently faced accusations of misconduct and racism.

Along the Border, Need and Controversy Abound

Prestonwood’s commitment to help immigrants while supporting governmental policies and leaders reflects the tightrope many evangelical Christians and organizations now walk. While most recognize the need to provide humanitarian assistance regardless of people’s citizenship status, some say that must be balanced with supporting the government’s efforts to secure the border.

Prestonwood lead pastor Jack Graham has supported President Trump and served on his evangelical advisory committee. Graham and Buster also both defended Customs and Border Protection employees last month when questions arose about crowded, unsanitary conditions in detention centers.

Yet Prestonwood reportedly spent $64,000 on immigration relief efforts last year, providing food, clothes, and other necessities to detainees throughout America. Presidential daughter Ivanka Trump made headlines by donating $50,000 to the church’s efforts. At the time, Graham said, “The beauty of America and the people in our church is that we don’t have to wait for our politicians to sort out their disagreements in order to do what is right. Our country is facing complex issues that will take time to fix, but this shouldn’t delay or stop our response to the needs of others.”

Buster, meanwhile, wrote on a Prestonwood blog that migrant outreach “is part of our DNA as a church, and we consider it a calling to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to those in need.” He added, “We will continue to assist immigrants—whether they’re along the border or in our community.”

Border Patrol Agents Are Also “caught up in the crisis”

Other congregations have shown support for border officials too, according to Bee Moorhead of Texas Impact, an interfaith advocacy group. “Law enforcement at all levels of government are members of many faith traditions, and it’s important that their faith communities provide pastoral care to them,” she says. “It also helps to highlight how the dehumanizing impacts of the Administration’s policies fall on everyone who is caught up in the crisis.”

At the progressive Christian organization Sojourners, Sandra Ovalle urges that dignity be afforded to everyone involved. “I would expect the same churches who are actively supporting Border Patrol agents and their families to publicly condemn the racist and sexist rhetoric used by [Customs and Border Protection], citing their behavior as a reason we should be wary of the actions and words condoned behind closed doors.”

Ovalle, an immigration campaign coordinator, adds that the entire process should be scrutinized to ensure respect for humans. “As a nation, it is easier for us to believe that abuse is not happening,” she says. “We must fully understand how our current immigration system assaults the image of God within those at the border.”

“Christians belong at the middle of the mess”

The border crisis isn’t limited to border states, with many undocumented migrants—adults and children—being housed throughout America. The faith-based nonprofit Bethany Christian Services contracts with the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement to care for unaccompanied minors, overseeing foster care and group homes in numerous states. Bethany has promised to continue recreational and educational activities for migrant children through private donations if government funding ends.

Though the nonprofit has been accused of everything from separating families to assisting illegal immigration, Bethany employees are committed to continuing their work. “These are some of the messiest situations out there, but Christians belong at the middle of the mess because that’s where Jesus would be,” says president and CEO Chris Palusky.

Craig Gross Has High Praise for the Spiritual Use of Cannabis

Jason Daye

July 17, 2019

christian cannabis — Adobestock #243970619

Craig Gross is a pastor, author, speaker, and founder of XXXchurch, a ministry that helps people break free from porn addiction. He hosts the podcast, Craig Brain, and is currently working on a book of the same name. Craig recently launched the website, ChristianCannabis.com. He lives in California with his wife, Jeanette, and his two kids, Nolan and Elise.

Key Questions

-Through XXXchurch, what kind of stories have come out about people overcoming porn addiction?

-What are your goals with launching Christian Cannabis?

-How do you justify what you see as the spiritual benefits of cannabis versus the medicinal benefits? Click here to know more.

-Do believe there are other substances people might consume that helps them draw closer to God, or is that quality unique to marijuana?

Key Quotes

“When pornography hit the internet, I was working with young people…and I just remember having the thought, hey, there’s no way you could survive if this was around when I was a kid.”

“I have championed a ministry of transparency and authenticity and…due to some health problems and some things I was dealing with, I had gotten a medical marijuana card, and it was the type of thing where I didn’t share that with many people.”

“I’ve sat with some of the most influential church leaders in America, and I’ve just said, hey, I’ve got this thought on cannabis, that I don’t think it’s all bad, and I think there’s a space for Christians to be in a conversation.”

“I think the church loses its influence when we avoid topics that the rest of the world is talking about.”

“As a pastor of a church, if you’re in a city today or a state where this is legal and you have a policy on alcohol, you have a policy for everything else but you’ve not addressed this issue with your staff, you have not talked openly about this with your congregation…what are you waiting for?

“What happens if somebody comes up to you after church and says, ‘Hey pastor. There’s a medical marijuana shop up the road. Is that ok for me to go to?’”

“I think we’ve got it all wrong when it comes to cannabis.”

“I think the church doesn’t have biblical answers and we definitely don’t have sound answers on [marijuana], so we’re just avoiding [the conversation], and I think that’s a bad place to be in.”

50 Years Ago, Man Celebrated Holy Communion on the Moon

Megan Briggs

July 17, 2019

This Saturday mankind will celebrate the 50th anniversary of humans landing on the moon. On July 20, 1969, two American astronauts stepped on the moon—a first for the humble inhabitants of Earth. While the accomplishment spoke to the incredible potential of scientific thought and human ingenuity, the mission also included a sacred moment of acknowledging mankind’s dependence on God’s provision and mercy.

“The very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the first food eaten there, were communion elements,” Astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin wrote in an article for Guideposts in 1970.

Preparing for Holy Communion on the Moon

Before he launched off with fellow astronauts Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins on the Apollo 11 mission, Aldrin thought about the significance of being one of the first people on the moon. Aldrin talked over “the right symbol” he could bring with him with the pastor of the church he attended near Houston, Texas. Just weeks before the scheduled launch, Aldrin had an idea: He could conduct a simple communion service in the lunar module.

Aldrin believed the gesture would symbolize “the thought that God was revealing Himself there too, as man reached out into the universe.”

Pastor Dean Woodruff was the leader of Webster Presbyterian Church, where Aldrin served as an elder in 1969. Woodruff was on board with Aldrin’s idea of “lunar communion”, although a question arose as to whether it was permissible for a layperson to administer Holy Communion by himself. Woodruff wrote to the Presbyterian church’s General Assembly to ask if this would be permissible; he got a swift reply that yes, given the unique circumstances, it would be just fine.

Before liftoff, Woodruff organized a service that would include communion at Webster Church just before Aldrin was scheduled to leave Houston to travel to the launch site at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The whole church originally was to be involved in the service, but plans were changed to only include a small group of people after doctors instructed the astronauts to take extra measures to protect themselves from being exposed to any germs that could potentially derail the mission.

Aldrin and his wife, Joan, and their oldest child, Mike, joined Woodruff, his wife, and a close family friend Tom Manison and his wife for the private ceremony. Woodruff tore a small piece of the communion loaf and gave it to Aldrin for the even more private ceremony he was planning to hold on the moon. He also gave a small chalice belonging to the church that Aldrin could use to drink the wine.

Aldrin jotted down John 15:5 on a piece of paper and tucked it into the small pouch of personal effects he was allowed to bring into the Eagle lunar module. Along with the small silver chalice from Webster Church and the bread from the communion ceremony, the Scripture completed the things Aldrin brought in order to partake in Holy Communion.

Breaking Bread on the Moon

When Armstrong and Aldrin landed the Eagle lunar module on the moon (Collins stayed in the command module which would orbit the moon and eventually take all three astronauts back to earth), the two men spent some hours recovering from their space flight. The plan was to have a meal before they stepped on the surface of the moon. For Aldrin, it was time for Holy Communion.

“Houston, this is Eagle. This is the LM Pilot speaking. I would like to request a few moments of silence. I would like to invite each person listening in, wherever and whomever he may be, to contemplate for a moment the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his own individual way,” Aldrin said to the army of engineers and scientists listening from Houston. He then took communion while Armstrong (a deist) respectfully observed but did not participate.

Aldrin wrote, “In the radio blackout I opened the little plastic packages which contained bread and wine. I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me. In the one-sixth gravity of the moon the wine curled slowly and gracefully up the side of the cup.”

Back home in Houston, congregants of Webster Church were also observing Holy Communion in solidarity with their brother who was so far away from them. Aldrin said at that moment he “sensed especially strongly my unity with our church back home, and with the Church everywhere.”

Your Pastor Wants This More Than a Pastoral Care Committee

Christopher Ash

July 16, 2019

Pastoral care committees are great, but what if I told you there is something besides care baskets and pastor appreciation speeches that will keep your pastor going year after year?

A pastor’s visits one week included these two. The first was to a home where all was well. Ryan and Steph were prosperous; the home was pleasant; a good car sat on the driveway; the children were being educated in expensive schools; their manners were good; talent abounded.

The second was to a single mum. Nicole had been abandoned some years before by an abusive husband; she was bringing up Dan and Jim, two very difficult boys, alone; and she herself struggled with serious and persistent health troubles.

The pastor went away downcast and discouraged after one visit, thrilled and energised after the other. But which was which?

Pastoral Care and Spiritual Fruit

That pastor was me (although I have changed the names). Which visit cheered me more? I remember well. I came home from the first—where everything was “fine”—deeply depressed; and from the second walking on air. How come?

Ryan and Steph conformed outwardly to Christian beliefs, but showed no sense of deep heart work, no feeling that they really wanted to be wholehearted disciples of Jesus—in a word, no evidence of real repentance and lively faith. But, in the second, although the problems were crushing—and I did feel the pain of them—in Nicole’s heart there was a joy in the Lord Jesus, a quiet determination to walk with him through whatever life had in store, and a gritty and very real trust.

The very best thing you can do for your pastor, and I for mine, is to repent daily of sin and trust afresh daily in Jesus. To be honest, if you and I do this—together with our committed belonging—even if we are terrible at looking after our pastors in other ways, they will probably keep on pastoring year after year.

Walking in the Truth With Pastoral Care

In the short letters we call 2 John and 3 John, the elderly apostle John writes twice about the joy that comes to a pastor’s heart when they hear this kind of news:

“It has given me great joy to find some of your children [that is, members of your church] walking in the truth.” 2 John v 4

“It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children [men and women under my pastoral care] are walking in the truth.” 3 John v 3-4

To “walk in the truth” means much the same as to “walk in the light” (1 John 1 v 7). This does not, of course, mean achieving sinless perfection. Rather, it means a regular confession and repentance, so that the direction of our lives keeps turning back towards God’s law and God’s ways. And it means a clear and fresh trust that Jesus saves us from our sins.

The very best thing you can do for your pastor is to repent daily of sin and trust afresh daily in Jesus.

John makes all this clear in 1 John 1 v 5 – 2 v 2. This gives a pastor joy because it’s the reason they came into pastoral ministry. Whatever work they may have left behind them, they became a pastor because they dream and yearn and long that men and women should bring honour to God by walking in the truth, by following Jesus with fresh faith and honest repentance, as they themselves seek to do. If men and women are doing this under their ministry, they can wake up in the morning and get out of bed with a spring in their step. Nothing so drains a pastor of vital energy as having to preach to, having to go on praying for, having to try to lead and care for men and women who are impervious to the good news of God’s grace. Hardness of heart is the great pastor-killer.

This article about pastoral care is an excerpt from The Book Your Pastor Wishes You Would Read. The truth is, often we think, “What can my pastor do for me?” Far less often do we think, “What can I do for my pastor?” Christopher Ash is the author The Book Your Pastor Wishes You Would Read (but is too embarrassed to ask), a warm, practical book that helps us to see that if we want a joy-filled church, we need to have a cared-for pastor.

4 Ways to Help Our Kids Grow in Christ Through Education

Jessica Burke

July 16, 2019

There are four key ways to help our kids grow in Christ through education.

As a teacher, students frequently ask me, “Why are we learning this?” Sometimes they legitimately want to know how to apply the knowledge they are acquiring to everyday situations. They humbly admit a lack of understanding. More often than not, though, the question reveals grumbling spirits. They don’t want to put in the hard work needed for understanding because they have deemed it unimportant and unnecessary in their lives.

When a student first asked me this question, I was baffled. I walked into the classroom with all of the ideals of any first-year teacher. All I needed, I believed, was a well-written lesson plan and a passion for my subject, and I’d have students who loved literature and grammar and writing. So when my students weren’t inspired by me to begin quoting Shakespeare and learn the etymology of words, I began asking my own questions.

The Goal of Education to Help Kids Grow in Christ

Some curriculum will help them survive. They need to know how to read so they can self-administer medicine correctly and read signs that warn them about danger. They need to be able to use math so they will know if they overpaid for a gallon of milk or how much they’ll pay in interest on a loan. They also learn so they can make wise and informed choices. History, health, and psychology can help them vote well and take care of themselves and relate to others. Some areas of study make them more interesting people. Literature and philosophy and the study of nature can expand their worlds and wonder. And of course, graduation can lead to more job opportunities and a better quality of life.

But is that it? Is there no better purpose to school and education than the utilitarian goal of success in this material world?

The Westminster Catechism says the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. If this is the primary reason for our existence, shouldn’t our aim for education—the way we inform our minds and hearts—be just as high? Good grades, admissions to prestigious colleges, and even successful careers are meaningless in comparison to the high purpose of an education that brings the one true God glory. The former are important for today; the latter is important for eternity. That’s why getting educated with the help of a professional that may have attained a degree like MA Christian Education can do so much wonders.

Education is so much greater, so much higher than acing the final exam every year and finishing with a diploma. Grades and degrees aren’t the goal of education; knowing God is. Accolades and awards aren’t the purpose of time in the classroom; ordering our affections and loving truth is. Our achievements are not the point; bringing glory to God is.

Regardless of the form of schooling—public, private, or home—we should educate our children that they might live out the greatest commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” We hope all Christian parents would agree in theory, but when there is content that has to be learned, classes to pass, and diplomas to earn, how do we help our children succeed in school while growing in love and affection toward the living God?

1. Emphasize virtue over achievement to help kids grow in Christ.

Unfortunately, there is an emphasis on test scores and grades in our society. Sometimes good grades are a sign of hard work, but not always. Some children have a natural propensity toward school, and they earn good grades with ease. Others struggle to get average grades and will never win academic awards despite their high level of effort. But if our children are working diligently and faithfully, we can praise their efforts. If they are displaying kindness, goodness, and gentleness, we can acknowledge the work of the Lord in their hearts. If they respond with love, joy, peace, and patience to others, we can thank them for considering others.

2. Teach our children that all work is unto the Lord to help our kids grow in Christ.

Whether they are learning to read or graphing rational functions in Algebra, our children need to know that their work is for the Lord. Even at a young age, they can learn to work in a manner that is pleasing the Lord. They are called to rejoice and told not to grumble or complain.

3. Find ways to connect their learning to service and growth in the faith to help our kids grow in Christ.

As my children grow, there are new ways each of them can serve our neighbors. They can read to our blind friend across the street. They can make a meal to take to others after surgery or the birth of a new baby. As they get older and consider career paths, they should connect that they can use their field to serve others.

Their learning can help them grow in their faith. History reminds us of the sin of man and of God’s faithfulness to his people. Science teaches us about God’s majesty, order, and creativity. The arts point us to the beauty of God. As they learn to think and read critically, they can become more capable students of God’s Word. Their ability to communicate can help them better share the gospel with others.

4. Model humility and repentance to help our kids grow in Christ.

The more we learn, the more we should realize we don’t yet know. Education should produce humility rather than a puffed-up spirit. Our weaknesses and inability should be a reminder that we have an omniscient, omnipotent God. As we are reminded of this truth in our own lives, we can model humility and repentance to our children that they might grow in it too.

The summer is a great time to evaluate how the past year of our children’s education has pointed them to Christ. The blueprint in Deuteronomy 6 for teaching our children the Word of God in every moment of life shows us that education is discipleship. Our children won’t connect how school is helping them love God better if we aren’t constantly pointing them to the Lord. The Creator, who made our beautiful world, designed our intricate bodies, and sustains all things, is the inventor of language, math, science. He is the ultimate artist, the living Word, and the author of history. There is no realm of education that does not belong to him.

This article about ways to help kids grow in Christ originally appeared here.

Read this next: 37 Free Sunday School Lessons for Kids.

Do the Right Thing and Expect to Be Surprised

Paul Swamidass

July 16, 2019

The women around Jesus at his death knew to do the right thing…and they were surprised.

“Who will roll away the stone?”

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” (Mark 16:1-3).

Jesus was crucified, dead and buried two days before the event described in this passage. On the third day after the death of Jesus, out of their own initiative, the three women in this passage were driven to anoint and preserve with spices the lifeless body of Jesus inside the tomb.

They determined it was the right thing for them to do, no matter what. No one told them to do so.

It appears, as though, they bought and prepared spices to anoint Jesus’ body without first considering, “Who will roll away the massive stone blocking the entrance to his grave?” Or, perhaps, they did consider the challenge posed by the stone, but they appear to have decided to prepare the spices first, and deal with the stone later, when they walk to the tomb.

The women’s family and friends may have reminded them, “You seem to be wasting your time and money on spices. Don’t you know the tomb where Jesus’ body lies is sealed by a large stone?”

Inaction was not an option

The three women, with a common purpose, DID NOT choose to WAIT around for the unlikely news, “The stone has been rolled away and the tomb is now open and accessible.” Waiting did not figure in their game plan.

You may wonder, “Why did they not seek the help of the disciples to roll the stone away?” The women did not verbalize their reason for ignoring the disciples, but their action reveals their thinking, which may sound like this: “At this moment, having lost their leader Jesus, the disciples are not ready, mentally or emotionally, for the task of rolling away the stone. So, let’s leave them alone and take care of this as best as we can” (compare Mark 16:10).

The women could have used the obstructing stone as a valid excuse for inaction, but they chose not to.

Surprised by the rewarding experience

On the first day of the week, once they prepared the spices, they walked towards the tomb “just after Sunrise” wondering, who would roll the stone away from the tomb’s entrance for them (Mark 16:3). Before long, while approaching the tomb, they saw the stone was already gone (Mark 16:4). Their decision to act promptly that morning brought them to the tomb that was wide open because of the miraculous and wonderful resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 16:6).

They were the first to learn, Jesus rose from the dead (Mark 16:6)!

By acting promptly to do the right thing, the three women landed at the right place, at the right time! They carried to the disciples and others the good news of the single most significant event in human history—Apostle Paul put in perspective, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile” (1 Cor. 15:17; NIV).

Further, one of the three women, Mary Magdalene, received the very special honor of being the first person to meet and converse with the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 16:9), an honor that escaped the disciples. She ran to the disciples and exclaimed, “I have seen the Lord!” (John 20:18).

Wanting to do the right thing, she came prepared to anoint the lifeless body of Jesus with spices. Instead, she had a surprising meeting with the resurrected Jesus Christ in His glorious body—”Mary, hold the spices, please!”

Leaders are called to do the right thing day after day; when they do so, sometimes, a pleasant surprise may be waiting for them!

This article about how to do the right thing originally appeared here on LeadLikeJesus.com.

How Charles Spurgeon Scheduled His Week

Christian George

July 16, 2019

In 57 years, Charles Spurgeon accomplished three lifetimes of work. Every week he preached four to 10 times, read six meaty books, revised sermons for publication, lectured, edited a monthly magazine. In his spare time, he wrote about 150 books.

Spurgeon shepherded the largest Protestant megachurch in the world (he knew all 6,000 members by name), directed a theological college, ran an orphanage and oversaw 66 Christian charities.

“I wish it could be said of us that we wasted neither an hour of our time, nor an hour of other people’s time.”

Spurgeon was also a father and husband. He never sacrificed his family on the altar of ministry.

So how did the Prince of Preachers schedule his week? Here’s what Spurgeon’s daily organizer looked like (taken from his autobiography):

Monday

Wake early, revise stenographer’s transcription of yesterday’s sermon
Write/dictate letters and personal correspondence
After lunch, complete revision of the first draft of sermon, then send to printer
5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., lead the prayer service at the Tabernacle
Conduct interviews for membership at the Tabernacle
Preach an optional late-night service

Tuesday

Wake early, revise second draft of sermon
11:00 a.m., complete revision of second draft, then send sermon to the printer
Write/dictate letters and personal correspondence
Lunch, research/write books, magazine articles and other literary work
Afternoon, pastoral care/counseling at the Tabernacle
Evening, preside over Tabernacle societies and charities

Wednesday

Celebrate a much-needed mid-week Sabbath
Spend time with Susannah, Charles and Thomas
Contemplate in garden or read in study
Relax

Thursday

Wake early, write/dictate letters and personal correspondence
Begin thinking about selecting a Scripture text for the evening sermon
Afternoon, write/edit books and other literary projects
Complete the final revision of the sermon, then send to printer for publication/distribution
After dinner, begin sermon preparation for the evening service
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., preach the evening service in the Lecture Hall of the Tabernacle

Friday

Wake early, prepare lecture on preaching for the students of the Pastors’ College
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., lecture for two hours at the College on Temple Street
Interview/mentor students afterwards
7:00 p.m., attend business meeting at the Tabernacle

Saturday

Breakfast, then work with secretary on revising/editing books for publication
Resolve with secretary any outstanding projects for the week
Afternoon, entertain guests in garden if weather is favorable
6:00 p.m., dismiss guests after dinner

“Now, dear friends, I must bid you good-bye and turn you out of this study; you know what a number of chickens I have to scratch for, and I want to give them a good meal tomorrow.”

10:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m., Prepare tomorrow’s sermon:

• Select Scripture text
• Ask wife to read the Scripture text aloud
• Mentally divide sermon into natural breaking points as she reads
• Scribble divisions onto a half sheet of paper in purple ink

Sunday

Wake early, ride carriage to the Tabernacle (15- to 20-minute journey)
Smoke one cigar “to the glory of God”
Arrive 30 minutes before the service

Worship service begins
• Call to worship/announcements
• Congregational singing from Our Own Hymn-Book (voices only, no organ)
• Read Scripture text while offering extemporaneous expositions on its context
• Begin preaching sermon (43-45 minutes, no longer)
• Drink chili-vinegar if throat becomes irritated
• Conclude service (no altar call, but “enquiry rooms” available)

Afternoon, greet visitors in the Pastor’s Vestry
Late afternoon, travel home to “Westwood” on Beulah Hill in Norwood
Begin sermon prep for the evening evangelistic service
Preach sermon at the Tabernacle
Travel home and retire for the week

A Final Word

David Livingstone, the missionary to Africa, once asked Spurgeon, “How can you accomplish so much in one day?”

“You forget, Mr. Livingstone,” Spurgeon replied, “there are two of us working.”

This article originally appeared here.

Read this next: Charles Spurgeon Quotes

Don’t Listen to the Negative Buzz — Here’s the Case FOR Church Apps

Ernesto Alaniz

July 16, 2019

Like parachute pants, the trend of a standalone church app has fallen out of favor with many church leaders. The busting of this so-called fad is a chance to re-evaluate what standalone church apps can be for your local body. Church apps can increase visibility, create accessibility, and promote legacy.

VISIBILITY

Most people in your church have a smartphone or tablet. Each of these devices are full of apps. These well-designed icons sit on the device’s dock or homepage waiting to be engaged. When your church has its own app, anyone can engage whenever they want—because the app is sitting right there on the device, waiting for them to engage.

As your church member sits at the Department of Motor Vehicles waiting for their number to be called, they pull out their phone and look at their screen. Sitting between their social media app and some puzzle game is your church’s app. That app is a reminder of the mission, the church, the family they belong to.

ACCESSIBILITY

Churches that are forward-thinking are making great strides in mobile-first websites. This is very important, as Americans are increasingly on the web from their phones and tablets. The question is, with this increase in website functionality, isn’t an app redundant? The answer is a wholehearted no. However phone-friendly your website is, it cannot match an app in user experience.

If I want to listen to last week’s sermon, I could navigate to it online. To do that, I would go to my web browser, type in the church name, navigate to the sermon page, then begin listening. I might listen to the first 10 minutes before my day begins. Tomorrow, when I try to navigate back to that same sermon and continue listening, the website has no memory of where I stopped the day before. I have to scrub the audio to find where I was. However, in a standalone app, it’s two quick and easy steps—not five. Not only that, but the app knows right where I am in my listening. I can pick up the same sermon at any time and begin at the exact point I left off. There is memory and convenience.

Many church apps simply link to the mobile website. Even when that is the case, it’s an app that brought them there. Users know where to go to look for answers. The app is simply another door into your church community.

LEGACY

A pastor spends hours every week in study and prayer to bring a sermon to life. For 30 minutes all that passion and truth is poured out to our people. Then what? For years, that sermon would have faded into the rear view mirror never to be heard of again. But there are some churches that are leveraging their apps to be content-rich reservoirs of truth.

Some of the most used church apps are the ones with rich content. Sermons are searchable by topic and passage. If I am preaching on Matthew 24 this week, I can go and see how Alistair Begg, for example, handled the text 10 years ago. If one of your people is struggling with depression, they might just search depression in the search bar and find a sermon on that very thing. They can download it and listen to it. If they get distracted, they know right where to come to continue the journey.

An app takes the content your church naturally creates each week and gives it legs. It goes on ahead of us. It is not merely a post hidden in our podcast feed. It is not an obscure series tile on our website page. It is searchable, findable, and evergreen.

Church apps are not necessary for every church. But a well-executed app can drive engagement, increase connection, and bring true blessings to many within and outside our walls.

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

Joni Eareckson Tada Cancer Update: ‘All Clear!’

Megan Briggs

July 16, 2019

Joni Eareckson Tada has exciting news: She is officially cancer-free. The author and ministry leader has had a couple of bouts with cancer, the most recent one recurring in November 2018. After several months of treatment, Eareckson Tada shares the “miraculous” news that the cancer has not returned.

“For now, we have been spared of more cancer battles. We humbly realize that may well change in the future; but for today, for now, we are rejoicing in those wonderful words from my medical oncologist: ‘all clear!” Eareckson Tada wrote in an update on her health.

Joni Eareckson Tada Cancer Update Is Cautiously Optimistic

If Eareckson Tada’s words sound cautiously optimistic, it is most likely due to the fact that she has battled cancer once before, in 2010. At that time, Eareckson underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy. The treatment lasted five years before she was considered cancer-free.

In November 2018, the 69-year-old Eareckson Tada announced a tumor had grown over the mastectomy site and that she would need to undergo treatment once again. Radiation treatments left Eareckson Tada in a weakened state. She shared on her blog in February that the skin on her chest was wounded and causing her pain. Her doctor said she would need to hold off on radiation treatments until her skin had a chance to recuperate. “That area has been damaged so many times over the years from pressure sores and surgeries, little wonder it’s hard to mend,” Eareckson Tada wrote.

In March, Joni Eareckson Tada was hospitalized due to complications caused by her cancer treatment. She spent 14 days in the hospital before being released.

On the Joni and Friends site, Eareckson Tada had these words to share about her most recent health update:

We were prepared to gladly take whatever from the hand of God, even if it were from his left hand. But the Lord was gracious and heard the desire of our hearts–last Friday’s PET scan shows that my second tumor that was removed last November… did not metastasize! Given the aggressive nature of that reoccurring cancer, this news is quite miraculous.

So, THANK you for lifting us up before the Lord Jesus. For now, we have been spared of more cancer battles. We humbly realize that may well change in the future; but for today, for now, we are rejoicing in those wonderful words from my medical oncologist: “all clear!” Onward and upward…

Joni Eareckson Tada is a quadriplegic, having experienced a diving accident as a teenager that left her paralyzed. She’s spent the last 51 years of her life in a wheelchair. Despite the chronic pain she suffers and trials such as cancer, Eareckson Tada consistently has a positive outlook on life.

Religious Advocates Implore CEOs Not to Be Complicit in Chinese ‘Holocaust’

Jessica Lea

July 16, 2019

The Coalition to Advance Religious Freedom in China has written a letter to companies in Silicon Valley (including Amazon, Microsoft, and a conglomerate that includes Google), imploring them not to be complicit in human rights violations in China. The letter describes various abuses the Chinese government is committing against its citizens and says:

We petition your companies to take steps to ensure that you are not enabling these ongoing human rights abuses. We urge you to not follow in the steps of past companies, which turned a blind eye to the atrocities of the Holocaust and was complicit in providing technology that the Nazis employed in identifying individuals for extermination.

Decreasing Freedom of Speech, Religious Freedom in China

The Coalition to Advance Religious Freedom in China was formed earlier this year and is an interfaith body that includes Christian human rights organization ChinaAid. At a press conference announcing the coalition’s launch, ChinaAid president Bob Fu emphasized the Chinese government’s “sinicization” of all religions, as well as the fact that the persecution of Christians has increased recently (see this story about the underground church in China). Another member who is the vice president of Citizen Power Initiatives for China said the nationwide surveillance that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has established is worse than that depicted by George Orwell in his novel, 1984.

Now the coalition members have written a letter addressed to “CEOs of companies doing business with China,” urging them to consider how the Chinese government is using technology to oppress its citizens and control its business partners. One example of this is that China requires U.S. companies to host information on local servers subject to inspection by Chinese authorities. Another is the “Great Firewall,” an internet censorship system through which the government blocks certain websites and removes social media posts that it perceives to be a threat. The Guardian reports that in the book, The Great Firewall of China, James Griffith shows how U.S tech companies were instrumental in providing China with its censorship technology.

The letter also brings up concerns posed by facial recognition technology and refers to a surveillance and human rights report the UN released in May. According to the report, there is compelling evidence that the Chinese government is using this technology to surveil and oppress the Uighur people, a predominantly Muslim minority group of about 10 million.

The Washington Free Beacon published a report Monday saying that the Uighur independence group, East Turkistan National Awakening Movement, just completed a nine-month open source intelligence gathering project. Through the project, the group discovered at least 124 concentration camps in Xinjiang Province in China, not including other labor and prison camps in the region. According to the Beacon, the purpose of these camps is to enforce the government’s ideology and to consolidate Beijing’s authority. Experts cited in the report say it is not an exaggeration to compare these camps to those created by Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union. The independence group’s founder said, “We want the world to know about these concentration camps. We fear China is preparing for a 21st Century Holocaust.”

In their letter, the coalition members say,

We state unreservedly our outrage that international companies are complicit in supplying and servicing the technology used in the massive archipelago of secret detention centers and the total-surveillance police-state throughout the Uyghur Region. Business as usual cannot continue when an estimated 1.5 million, and possibly three million, Uyghur men and women are being dragged away from their homes and families to “re-education camps.”

As far as practical steps go, the coalition is calling on American tech companies to “form an action plan” for refusing to take part in China’s human rights violations. The coalition also wants companies to seek guidance when creating those action plans, to refuse to censor their own content, and to refuse to give user information to the Chinese government.

Says the letter,

In light of this situation, we call on your companies to thoroughly review all business dealings in China and communicate to Chinese government, academic, and business partners an affirmative public declaration that you will not help them obtain or develop technology that is directly utilized in some of the worst modern-day human rights abuses. We recognize the potential for your companies to help China’s society flourish if you decide to take leadership on these vital human rights issues.

Stop Praying “Be With” Prayers (A Lesson From Nehemiah 1)

Alistair Begg

July 15, 2019

Nehemiah 1 has some very important lessons for us to learn how to pray more effectively and biblically.

Time-bound and fallen creature that I naturally am, I often forget the spiritual and eternal element of reality. That’s why the things that fill my prayers are so regularly absent from the prayers of Apostle Paul—and why the things that fill his prayers are so regularly absent from mine. He has his eyes fixed on eternity. His prayers are spiritual. We need to make ours so, too.

To do that, I want to erase the two words that shut most of our prayers down. Here they are:

“Be with…”

If you were to record my prayers, I have a sad suspicion you’d hear a lot of “be with”: “Dear Lord, I pray you will be with Tom as he goes to work, and be with Mary also, who’s having her wisdom teeth removed on Tuesday, and be with… and be with… and be with… and be with us all. Amen.” This is unimaginative. It’s limited. It’s certainly not spiritually ambitious, like Paul is. And it is, I think, unnecessary. Jesus said, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28 v 20). He’s promised to be with Tom and with Mary. It’s a bit of a waste to make the sum total of my prayer for them the request that Jesus would do what he already said he’d do, and has already started doing.

Nehemiah 1 Shows Us How to Pray

Search the Scriptures, and you won’t find a prayer recorded that just asks God to “be with” his people. The prayers of the saints have far more weighty, far more spiritual concerns. Go to Nehemiah. In the opening section of Nehemiah, word comes to him in exile, working as the cupbearer of the Persian king, telling him that the walls of God’s city, Jerusalem, are broken down and the gates are burned with fire. It is a complete fiasco up there. Nehemiah is brokenhearted by this; he decides that he will seek to do something about it. But, of course, he knows the truths we saw in the previous chapter of this book, and so…

As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said…” (Nehemiah 1 v 4-5)

You can read the prayer of Nehemiah, right there in Nehemiah 1:

O Lord God, please be with all the people in Jerusalem…

No, he doesn’t say that!

A Holy Marriage Is a Happy Marriage … Here’s Why

Gary Thomas

July 15, 2019

It’s a bold statement to say that a holy marriage is a happy marriage. Read this article to find out why.

One of the kindest words God has ever spoken to me is the word “no.”

One of God’s most effective tools to preserve my freedom and keep me out of spiritual slavery is when God says, “Don’t.”

Spoken by a supremely loving, all-wise, heavenly father who wants me to enjoy the abundant life, “no” and “don’t” are loving words, merciful words, and grace-filled words.

The great evangelist John Wesley explained why when he said no one is truly happy who is not pursuing holy. Think about it: have you ever met a truly happy addict? He may have moments of pleasure, but those illicit moments usher in much more misery, long-term. Addiction is an excruciating exercise in frustration, where you increasingly give ever more of yourself to get less and less pleasure until you don’t even like yourself very much anymore.

Have you ever known a happy man whose anger is out of control? Isn’t he miserable, destroying his closest relationships and pushing out any real chance of true intimacy and joy?

Have you ever known a woman who is negative or materialistic to be happy? Isn’t she always frustrated, disappointed, cursing under her breath, never getting to that happy place of contentment where she can breathe a sigh of satisfaction and truly rest in “enough?”

Holy leads us to happy. Holy protects happy. That’s why a holy marriage is a happy marriage.

But pursuing happy for its own sake is to risk making unholy choices, which in the end undercuts our happiness.

A culture largely removed from a serious pursuit of God doesn’t even understand that pursuing happiness first is in one sense settling for less. Happiness is wonderful, but a life based on God’s presence, glory, and love is more wonderful still. The good news is, we don’t have to choose! We can advance beyond happiness to the God-centered life we are meant to live.

This is why singles seeking a partner and married people who already have a partner need to rethink their priorities about what they want out of a happy marriage. If you’re pursuing what will make you happy at the expense of holy, you’re more likely to miss happy. If you pursue holiness, you’re far more likely to arrive at a happy marriage. Find a life partner who inspires you toward Christ-likeness and you’ll find the person who is most likely to make you happy.

What Christians Might Not Know About the People of Honduras

Nicholas Raineri

July 15, 2019

I recently read an article about the violence toward women in Honduras. It grabbed my attention because I usually only see articles about Honduran riots and unrest, not about everyday life. Having grown up in Honduras, I think articles like this are important; people need to understand the harsh realities of life for Hondurans, though it’s hard to put into words.

Corruption and Violence Afflict Hondurans

I moved to the capital city of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, in 2008 when I was going into the fifth grade. My parents were missionaries, and we spent the next six years there. Over the course of our time there, we witnessed a country go through a military coup and spend the next half decade trying to recover from it. In the summer of 2009, the sitting president, Manuel ‘Mel’ Zelaya, was ousted in the middle of the night, and the government was put in the hands of the military until a replacement was named.

I remember driving to church and seeing a Burger King on fire. I remember the sound of military helicopters circling at night, and weeks of riots in the capital city that ultimately led to the death of many protestors at the hands of the police. The violence and corruption that stemmed from this led Honduras to be named the most dangerous country in the world outside of a war zone. The homicide rate in the two biggest cities in Honduras hovered around an astounding 88-90 per 100,000 citizens. To put this on a scale, the U.S. has a homicide rate of around 4, and the global homicide rate is around 6-7 per 100,000.

As a 12-year-old kid in the aftermath of the coup, I didn’t fully grasp how dangerous the country was. It was for me, as well as most Honduran people, a fact of life that politicians and police are corrupt, and violence and crime affects everyone. When my school basketball team went on a trip to a rival school for a game, we passed dead bodies on the side of the road or floating in the river. It was common to hear about politicians being connected with the cartels, taking drug money, stealing state resources, or rigging elections. There were times when you would be stopped by the police and get asked for a bribe to let you go, or if there were protests on the highways, you would have to pay a “toll” to the protestors in order for them to let your car through.

Poverty and Violence Afflict Hondurans

If you are unfortunate enough to be in the 66% of the population who live in poverty, or the 1 in 5 who live in extreme poverty, things are even worse. Gangs are the root cause of the violence and crime in the city barrios, or slums. Women as young as 10 are targets of rape and incest by men, with 90% of those crimes going unpunished. Gangs circulate drugs through the streets as a way to “escape” that reality.

If you own a small business, such as a pulperia that sells chips, soda, and other small snacks on a street corner, you might be forced to pay a “war tax,” or an impuesto de guerra, to your local gang for their protection. If you decline to pay or can’t pay, the least of your worries is your business being attacked and vandalized. Your family becomes targets of the gang until you agreed to pay the tax.

Honduras also has no middle class, just a small, elite, upper class and a massive lower class. Those born into poverty have a 99% chance of staying in poverty. Because of these odds and the massive systematic oppression of basic human rights and decency by the Honduran leaders, Hondurans are forced to seek ways to get out. This is manifested in a couple ways. Gang membership is one way because it provides food, a home, a “family,” and a purpose, which is more than a poor kid in the slums would have. Another way that mostly women and children choose is to leave. It is an expensive and dangerous journey, but for some, it is the only choice. These are just a few of the reasons why people from Honduras decide to risk everything and leave their home to seek a shot at a better one in the U.S.

Suicide Bomb in Syria’s Christian Center Targeted ‘Belligerent Christians’

Stephanie Martin

July 15, 2019

Last week’s suicide bombing outside an Orthodox Church in Qamishli, regarded as the Christian center of Syria, underscores the region’s volatility and the ongoing threat to Christians. At least 11 people were injured Thursday when a car bomb detonated outside the Virgin Mary Syriac Orthodox Church in Qamishli, along Syria’s northeast border with Turkey.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the bombing, which dented the church’s front gate but didn’t damage the building. Intercepted communications indicate the terrorists were targeting a group of “belligerent Christians.”

Ignatius Aphrem II, the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, condemned the bombing, tweeting that the “blast creates an atmosphere of anxiety and chaos, yet Christians should remain in their historical homeland.”

Researcher Joan Garcia says the bombing was the eleventh attack in eleven days in Hasakah province and the fourth in a month in Qamishli, which “has for some years been secure from ISIS attacks.” Although Christians are a minority in that city, she says, they exist “peacefully alongside Arab and Kurdish communities.”

“Pray for my people, please”

The church attack shows that Christians are still a key ISIS target in war-torn Syria, say experts. Abdulkarim Omar, an official with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), says ISIS “has a large number of sleeper cells that can wage deadly attacks against civilians in our area, particularly Christians and other minorities.”

Many Christians have aligned themselves with the SDF, which declared victory over ISIS in March. But as one Syrian whose relative was injured in Thursday’s attack says, “No matter how stable the situation here gets, we always fear that [ISIS] and other terrorist groups are always prepared to attack us.”

Another Christian in Qamishli tweeted: “I hope for a day where I never hear of news like this again. Pray for my people please.” Later, she posted photos of local youth cleaning up the church. “Those who try to hurt us know little of suffering,” she wrote, “and our people will not surrender our faith or our land to evildoers.”

In Syria, Christians Are “in the crosshairs”

Because it’s near the Turkish border, Qamishli became home for Assyrian Christians fleeing genocide by the Ottomans in 1915. But Syria’s eight-year-long civil war has forced many believers to leave. According to International Christian Concern (ICC), many Christian refugees now think returning to Syria is too dangerous. “Our children are oppressed,” says one refugee. “They prefer to stay away from the problems and the risk.”

ICC regional manager Claire Evans says prayers are going out to everyone affected by the bombing. “This kind of attack serves as a reminder for all Syrian Christians on just how much work needs to be done to protect their lives and their rights,” she says. “The Syrian conflict is constantly evolving, and Christians are always left in the crosshairs of opposing factions. We must work to ensure that any solution to the conflict preserves a place for Christians in society.”

Christian activist Malek Hanna urges international support: “Religious and political leaders must come together and make the protection of our defenseless people their ultimate objective.”

Church Kids Save for a Year to Give Special Bikes to Children in Need

Jessica Lea

July 15, 2019

Young people at a church in Waveland, Mississippi, recently raised $1,350 in order to provide therapeutic tricycles for two children who are disabled. The children have been on a waiting list to get an “Amtryke” for over a year, and now, thanks to the generosity of others, they can experience an activity that is a normal part of growing up for most kids.

“I want to thank these children for their generosity and their sunshine in their heart to help these people,” said Hewitt Wheless with emotion as he received the check from the church. “I, my club, all of the AMBUCS across the United States are extremely grateful for this donation. Y’all just don’t know what it means.”

Getting an Amtryke

For almost a year, children with St. Clare Catholic Church have saved their money to donate to AMBUCS, an organization that helps people who have disabilities. Founded in 1922, AMBUCS started giving away therapeutic tricycles in the mid-1990s. The tricycles are called “Amtrykes” after the company that makes them (which AMBUCS owns). According to its website, AMBUCS currently has over 5,000 members and gives away about 3,500 tricycles annually.

The Amtrykes, which were given to a 12-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl, help children to improve coordination, muscle tone, and strength and can be modified as the kids grow. Wheless says that AMBUCS, whose goal is to create “independence and mobility for people with disabilities,” provides the Amtrykes to people of any age and that the project has “gotten so big, we’re now worldwide with it.”

Speaking to GulfLive.com a few years ago, Wheless pointed out that providing Amtrykes is just one way AMBUCS serves people who are disabled. He said, “We build wheelchair ramps for handicap [sic] people, we have two colleges we support in East Texas, we support the Wounded Warrior Project, and we are able to complete these projects strictly off of fundraisers we hold.” At that time, Wheless had just delivered an Amtryke to a 10-year-old boy who had cerebral palsy.

St. Clare has just celebrated its centennial, and Father Jacob Matthew Smith says that the children’s generosity is an encouraging sign for the church’s future: “This is a way of beginning our next 100 years with an act of charity, of being able to reach out to somebody they’ve never met and provide them with something that will give them a little bit better chance at life, at movement and getting around and finding the spirit of life.”

You can watch a Facebook video here of Wheless officially receiving the funds from St. Clare. One woman who saw the post commented, “[I’m] so proud to be a member of this church and to have my grandchildren participate in this type of giving. Teaching them so much.” Another said, “Proud moment today to see our kids giving back to this amazing group! I hope we continue this as a tradition.”

Anglican Church of Canada’s Approval of Same Sex Marriage Fails

Megan Briggs

July 15, 2019

The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) experienced a shock at its General Synod meeting on Friday night. Despite majority approval from laity and clergy, a measure that would effectively approve of same-sex marriage within the denomination failed to pass.

“There’s a lot of grief right now among the delegates,” church communication director Meghan Kilty told CBC news.

The Vote at the General Synod: Bishops Drag Feet

According to the rules of the ACC, new measures must be approved by a two-thirds majority from three groups of delegates to the synod: laity, clergy, and bishops. While the laity and clergy were largely for the new measure which would have removed language from its canon referring to marriage as being between a man and woman, the bishops did not reach a two-thirds vote in favor of the change. The vote went as follows: Laity 80.9 percent “yes”; clergy 73.2 percent “yes”; bishops 62.2 percent “yes”.

This is not the first time the denomination has voted on the proposed change, either. In 2016, delegates voted to pass the change—including the majority of bishops at the time. However, the ACC’s rules also stipulate a measure must be voted on twice before it is formally recognized by the denomination. Hence, the vote commenced this year in addition to the 2016 vote.

Since 2016, many ACC churches have gone by their own convictions and performed same-sex marriage, while others have refrained from doing so. The denomination even includes clergy that are in a same-sex marriage.

While the measure to expand the definition of marriage did not pass, a document called A Word to the Church was adopted. This document officially allows diocese within the ACC to perform same-sex weddings. The Bishop of Ottawa, the Rt. Rev. John Chapman, calls the adoption of the document “no small achievement”, although he expresses his dismay that the proposal to amend the canon on marriage did not garner the necessary two-thirds approval.

According to the Anglican Journal, following Friday’s vote, which didn’t occur until nearly 10 pm local time, a scream was heard when the results were announced. One delegate even left the room in tears. Several people flocked to the microphone to address the bishops and ask if the measure could be revisited. Archbishop Fred Hiltz cut the discussion short, acknowledging that many people were in shock and experiencing grief, particularly younger delegates.

“Our children are crying. And many of you are crying, for a variety of reasons. So I think it’s time to adjourn. It’s time to leave this hall in silence. It’s time for you to go and do what you need to do—to cry, or to gather with delegates from your own diocese; to gather with friends, to gather in circles of prayer, just to try and be attentive to one another,” he said as he dismissed the meeting.

Several clergy members and bishops in the ACC are posting their comments about the vote on social media.

The Anglican Church in Canada Compared to Other Anglican Denominations

The Anglican Church of Canada is a member of the Anglican Communion, along with the Church of England and the Episcopal Church in the United States. The Church of England has not formally approved of same-sex marriage, although it has taken steps to “welcome and affirm” transgender people. The Episcopal Church in the U.S. affirmed same-sex marriage in 2018. It should be noted that the Anglican Church in America (based in the United States) is not a member of the Anglican Communion.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada since 2005.

The ACC’s General Synod is being held in Vancouver, British Columbia, and will conclude on Tuesday, July 16th. Discussion around the measure will likely continue even after the Synod concludes.

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