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Archives For November 30, 1999

Tuesday Briefing: LifeWay poll measures relationship between church and race

Meredith Flynn —  January 20, 2015

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

doneenoughA report on a new LifeWay Research survey says what Martin Luther King, Jr., once said about Sunday morning in America is still true: “At 11:00 on Sunday morning when we stand and sing and Christ has no east or west, we stand at the most segregated hour in this nation.”

Released just before the national holiday in honor of King, the survey found more than 80% of churches are made up of one predominant racial group, but 67% of churchgoers say their church is doing enough to become ethnically diverse. And 53% disagree that their congregation needs to become more diverse.

“Surprisingly, most churchgoers are content with the ethnic status quo in their churches,” said Ed Stetzer, executive director of LifeWay Research, in the research report by Bob Smietana. “In a world where our culture is increasingly diverse, and many pastors are talking about diversity, it appears most people are happy where they are—and with whom they are.

“Yet, it’s hard for Christians to say they are united in Christ when they are congregating separately.”

In honor of MLK Day, ChurchLeaders.com gathered 25 of his “retweetable” quotes, starting with this one: “Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or darkness of destructive selfishness.”

In the newest “Question and Ethics” podcast, Ethics and Religious Liberty President Russell Moore interviews actor David Oyelowo, who portrays Martin Luther King in a recently released movie. “…I think what you see in ‘Selma’ the film is not only was Dr. King a speaker of the word–we celebrate him as an orator–but he was a doer of it, and that’s the attribute I most admire in any Christian,” the actor says.

The U.S. Supreme Court said Jan. 16 it will soon hear arguments in an appeals court case concerning same-sex marriage. “Depending on the justices’ decision,” Baptist Press reports, “gay marriage could be legal throughout the country by the end of June or states could maintain their authority to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.”

Oral arguments about the appeals court decision, which concerns Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, are expected in March or April, BP reports, with a decision before the Court’s summer adjournment.

“I did not die. I did not go to heaven.” Christianity Today reports on that retraction by 16-year-old Alex Malarkey concerning his book “The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven.”

Malarkey made his admission in a statement titled “An Open Letter to LifeWay and Other Sellers, Buyers, and Marketers of Heaven Tourism, by the Boy Who Did Not Come Back From Heaven.” LifeWay Christian Resources–an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention–told The Christian Post they “are returning to the publisher the few copies we have in our stores.”

The Post also notes that during their annual meeting last June, Southern Baptists adopted a resolution reaffirming “the sufficiency of biblical revelation over subjective experiential explanations to guide one’s understanding of the truth about heaven and hell.”

Colton Burpo, whose account of heaven also became a bestselling book and later a feature film, said he stands by his story. The Christian Post reports Burpo took to his website to say, “”I know there has been a lot of talk about the truth of other Heaven stories in the past few days.

“I just wanted to take a second and let everyone know that I stand by my story found in my book Heaven is for Real.”

The Seattle Seahawks’ unbelievable comeback in the NFC championship game Jan. 18 brought quarterback Russell Wilson to tears in his post-game interview. Before and after the victory, Russell, who is vocal about his Christian faith, tweeted his thankfulness and praise to God. “My pursuit of exellence is to honor Jesus!” Wilson tweeted Saturday, with the hashtag #ItsAllAboutHim.

After the game, he posted a praise chorus by Lenny LeBlanc: “There is none like You! No one else can touch my heart like You do! I can search for all of eternity, but there is none like You!”

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Teens navigate the mind-field

Meredith Flynn —  January 19, 2015
Students at AWSOM listen to Bible study leader Courtney Veasey.

Students at AWSOM listen to Bible study leader Courtney Veasey.

HEARTLAND | The girls from Anna Heights Baptist Church were pretty quiet after AWSOM, said their leader, Judy Halter.

“Whenever you’re raising the bar like that, I think the girls are going to get quiet.” Halter and two fellow leaders brought 14 girls to the annual conference for young women. (AWSOM stands for “Amazing Women Serving Our Maker.”)

“I think it’s all about discipleship,” she said. “It really is, and that was a great missions and discipleship conference.”

With a deep theme for 2014. The most recent AWSOM focused on “the battle for your mind” and found its biblical basis in 2 Corinthians 10:5, a verse that calls Christians to “take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

“The more I study about biblical womanhood and research current world issues impacting women, the root cause always begins in a person’s thoughts,” said Carmen Halsey, IBSA’s director of women’s ministry and missions. “This year’s theme was intended to be a proactive stance in educating our young women and their leaders about the power of our thoughts, and the need to discover the Word and plant it deep inside, so that the Holy Spirit is armed and ready to do war.”

Planting the Word was main speaker Courtney Veasey’s role at AWSOM. The director of women’s academic programs at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary taught on the conference theme passage and others from the Bible, urging the girls toward victory in the battle, and a deeper dependence on God’s Word. AWSOM attendees also sat in on a variety of breakout sessions:

  • Dr. Olivia Johnson, a former police officer with a doctorate in criminal justice, talked the girls through a series of potentially dangerous situations they could face in the real world, training them on how to think through each situation and make smart choices.
  • Mother/daughter pair Amy and Amanda Neibel educated the students on human trafficking prevention. The Neibels are part of a leadership team established to raise awareness among Illinois women and churches about human trafficking.
  • Brenda Sommer, a licensed clinical professional counselor, taught on the role of Christian counseling and how girls can speak truth into the lives of friends who are struggling.
  • Halter cited Renee Smith’s session on CrossFit as one moment when things weren’t so quiet. Smith, a pastor’s wife from Mt. Zion, demonstrated easy exercises and gave tips for developing a healthy selfimage.

This year’s AWSOM conference is scheduled for November 6-7 in Springfield. For more information about upcoming opportunities for women and girls, go to http://www.IBSA.org/womensmissions.

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Can we learn anything from Newsweek?

Meredith Flynn —  January 8, 2015

Newsweek_0112COMMENTARY | Meredith Flynn

Christians who read Kurt Eichenwald’s Dec. 23 cover story might have been reminded of a well-known line from a comic strip:

“We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

The words, written by Pogo cartoonist Walt Kelly, weren’t about Bible-believers coming face to face with an article claiming to debunk some really famous stories. But read through the Newsweek article, paying particularly close to the pictures, and it might be difficult not to squirm in your seat or look over your shoulder.

We have met the enemy—or, at least, we know who Newsweek thinks it is. It’s us.

As Southern Seminary President Al Mohler and others have pointed out, the first two paragraphs of Eichenwald’s article read like an attack: “They wave their Bibles at passersby, screaming their condemnations of homosexuals. They fall on their knees, worshipping at the base of granite monuments to the Ten Commandments while demanding prayer in school.”

And those are just the first two sentences. What follows is mostly about the Bible, but tinged with the same hostility toward Christians, which also has been noted by numerous leaders and scholars. Mohler called it “one of the most irresponsible articles ever to appear in a journalistic guise.” Michael Kruger, president of Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, said Eichenwald deserved a “slap on the journalistic wrist.”

But even for those who can’t counter every one of the anti-Bible arguments in the article or don’t care to debate its journalistic merits, if you can get past Eichenwald’s angry words, his piece can bring some valuable introspection. Because as soon as you realize you’re his enemy, you scroll past a photo of a protest by members of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. Or controversial TV preacher Pat Robertson. Eichenwald lumps all Christians together, like it or not.

What else would you expect from a non-Christian, one might ask? It’s a good question, but the better question is, What is this non-Christian asking of us? Near the end of the article, Eichenwald puts forth two pleas:

Christians, know the Bible, he writes. (His stinging criticism suggests many of us “seem to read John Grisham novels with greater care” than God’s Word.) That’s good advice, even from a source that proved less than empathetic in his previous 8,500 words.

“And embrace what modern Bible experts know to be the true sections of the New Testament,” Eichenwald writes. “Jesus said, Don’t judge. He condemned those who pointed out the faults of others while ignoring their own. And he proclaimed, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.’”

To that we would say Amen, and we’re glad Eichenwald acknowledges some biblical teaching is worthy of embrace. But there are plenty of modern scholars who believe the whole Bible is true. He should talk to some of them next time.

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Five things we learned in 2014

Meredith Flynn —  December 29, 2014

And what the trends mean for your church

An Illinois Baptist team report

"Imagine if you could spend 10 focused minutes each Sunday morning in extraordinary prayer on two major needs locally, in your church, in America, or across the world.” SBC President Ronnie Floyd’s “Call to Prayer” that began at the Annual Meeting in Baltimore now turns to Sunday mornings, starting with one worship service in January.

SBC President Ronnie Floyd’s “Call to Prayer” that began at the Annual Meeting in Baltimore now turns to Sunday mornings, starting with one worship service in January.

1. Churches respond to “Call to Prayer”
“It is past time for us to prioritize prayer personally and in the church,” SBC President Ronnie Floyd wrote on his blog in early December. “For far too long, we have seen what we can do; it is time for us to see what God can do. This can only happen when we pray.”

Floyd’s continued call to prayer—leading to the June 2015 SBC Annual Meeting in Columbus, Ohio—began about two years ago with a series of meetings for pastors and church leaders. Floyd began quoting famed Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards who called believers to “extraordinary prayer” for revival in America.

“God’s people will be given a spirit of prayer,” Edwards wrote in 1746, “inspiring them to come together and pray in an extraordinary manner, that He would help his Church, show mercy to mankind in general, pour out his Spirit, revive His work, and advance His kingdom in the world as He promised.”

Today’s growing urgency in prayer coincided with planning for the 2014 IBSA Annual Meeting in November. “We will either hunger for God’s righteousness out of desperation or…out of devastation,” IBSA President Odis Weaver told messengers. The November meeting peaked in a Concert of Prayer for Spiritual Awakening in Illinois and across the U.S.

“I believe we need to cry out to God for spiritual awakening, and for revival in our churches,” said IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams. He led more than 400 pastors and church leaders through a prayer cycle lamenting the lost condition of people in Illinois, repenting of apathy and ineffectiveness, interceding for spiritual awakening, and commiting to pursuit of revival in our churches.

Afterward, many pastors said they would lead similar prayer events when they returned home.

Now Floyd is asking churches to dedicate an entire Sunday morning service to prayer in January: “Just imagine if 100 churches, 500 churches, or several thousand Southern Baptist churches would turn a Sunday morning into insuring that Jesus’ House would be a genuine house of prayer for all the nations.
Just imagine what could happen if, from this point forward, you could spend 10 focused minutes each Sunday morning in extraordinary prayer on two major needs locally, in your church, in America, or across the world.”

Jonathan Edwards imagined the outcome. He called it the “revival of religion.” We would call it “advancement of the Gospel”—the salvation of lost souls, renewal of our churches, and restoration of moral sensibility to the nation.

In your church: SBC churches will likely give prayer a higher profile in 2015, but what are we praying for? How will we sustain prayer in our congregations as more than a once-in-a-while emphasis? Consider a Concert of Prayer in January. As Floyd wrote, “If we do not plan to pray, we will not pray!

2. Evangelicals cope with minority status
Say goodbye to Mayberry. The culture is shifting. What was once called good is now called evil, and vice versa, just as Isaiah said of his own times. The majority opinion in the U.S. approves of same-sex marriage, and many other sexual matters—once outside the norm—are being accepted by society at large. But, while the morals and mores are changing, Southern Baptists are not.

We still stand on the Word.

“One of the biggest challenges for conservative Christians is moving beyond a Bible Belt mentality, or a moral majority mentality,” said Russell Moore, president of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, “and seeing ourselves instead as in many cases a prophetic minority speaking to a larger culture about things that matter.”

Moore called on pastors and church leaders to “prepare people for what the future holds, when Christian beliefs about marriage and sexuality aren’t part of the cultural consensus but are seen to be strange and freakish and even subversive.”

“The Bible Belt is collapsing,” Moore has concluded.

The main evidence of that in Illinois is same-sex marriage which became legal June 1. Churches, at one point concerned they would be forced to perform
gay weddings, instead began addressing their bylaws as means of protection.

Another response by evangelicals is to make the church a place of refuge, said John Stonestreet, commentator for Breakpoint Ministries. “People who are enslaved to porn and suffer different forms of brokenness need to be able to come to the church and find answers. The church needs to offer hope and solutions. We need to say, ‘Here’s an option. Here’s the hope; here’s the gospel; here’s the truth; here’s Jesus; and here’s the cross.’”

Moore concurs. “We must have a voice that speaks to the conscience, a voice that is splattered with blood. We are ministers…not of condemnation, the devil can do that, we are ministers of reconciliation, which means that we will speak hard words…truthful words to address the conscience, even when that costs us everything.”

In your church: Church leaders are ministering from a new vantage point, but with the same apologetic. The challenge will be to confront cultural ills in a way that is biblically faithful and yet winsome. The message hasn’t changed, but some in our society today need to hear the truth truly spoken in love.

At a meeting in Asia, young missionaries surround new IMB President David Platt to pray for him as he seeks to mobilize churches. Photo by Hugh Johnson/IMB

At a meeting in Asia, young missionaries surround new IMB President David Platt to pray for him as he seeks to mobilize churches. Photo by Hugh Johnson/IMB

3. Young leaders urge peers to “re-engage”
The evidence has been building for a few years now: young Baptists are back. Or on their way back, at least.

They’re more visible at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meetings, and, in 2014, at two meetings on the gospel and marriage hosted by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. They’re also beginning to look remarkably similar in age to the leaders of several of the denomination’s entities. At the ERLC’s October national conference, 125 young leaders had dinner with President Russell Moore and the heads of the SBC’s two missions agencies, Kevin Ezell and David Platt. At four years, Ezell is the longest-tenured at his post; Moore took the ERLC reins in 2013, and Platt was elected in August.

“There’s never been a better time in my lifetime to re-engage as a Southern Baptist than right now,” Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board, said at the meeting. “I really believe that God is up to something very special in the Southern Baptist Convention.”

Many young Baptists likely would cite the election of Platt, 36, as one of the highlights of 2014. Midwestern Seminary President Jason Allen, himself 38, blogged that when he announced Platt’s election during a September chapel service, students (and faculty and staff) broke into applause for the missiologist and author of bestseller “Radical.”

More than 1,000 miles away in Richmond, Va., young missionary appointees gathered around Platt shortly after his election to congratulate him and tell him how “Radical” and his messages on reaching the nations had helped lead them to the international mission field.

After Platt’s election, some Baptist leaders expressed concern that his Birmingham congregation, The Church at Brook Hills, gave a lower amount through traditional Cooperative Program channels, instead sending a large portion of their gifts directly to the SBC Executive Committee and International Mission Board.

But even with those concerns, established leaders affirmed Platt’s ability to mobilize young people to share the gospel to the ends of the earth. Southwestern Seminary President Paige Patterson noted it in a blog post published shortly after Platt’s election, calling for “thanksgiving to God for the presence of a young leader who has obviously garnered the hearts of the younger generation and who will have the opportunity to lead them to a commitment to the world mission enterprise.”

One blogger put it a little more plainly, noting Platt may be just the right voice to deliver tough love to would-be male missionaries outnumbered by female “Journeymen” appointed through the IMB.

“Lend your voice to addressing the issue of young males wimping out of Journeyman service,” William Thornton wrote at SBC Voices. “These guys think you walk on water, Mr. Radical. Give ‘em both barrels on this and see what happens.”

In your church: Look for increased excitement from your own young leaders now that the authors and speakers they’ve followed for several years are in prominent positions. Be prepared for them to want to go to the hard places for ministry and missions. “That’s where we hear young couples saying they want to go, that they want to be radically obedient to what God has called us to do for the nations,” said IMB trustee chairman David Uth. “The passion is there.”

4. Growing persecution: From “the Nun” to “resurrection people”
Before Ebola dominated headlines, another one-word threat struck fear in the hearts of many around the world—and even here. The war of terror and persecution waged by ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, was the story of the year earlier in 2014.

ISIS chased religious minorities high into the mountains of Iraq. They filmed beheadings and broadcast them as warnings to the rest of the world. And they stirred many in the Western world to stand with the persecuted church. The Arabic letter “Nun” was used on social media pages to symbolize solidarity with those persecuted for their faith in “the Nazarene,” or Jesus.

It’s not just a problem in the Middle East. In Nigeria, 1,505 Christians were killed for their faith in the first seven months of 2014, according to non-profit Jubilee Campaign. North Korea again topped Open Doors’ list of most persecuted countries, highlighted by the imprisonment of American Kenneth Bae, who was finally released in November. Others, including Pastor Saeed Abedini in Iran, remain in prison.

Closer to home, Christians felt a different kind of persecution. Businesses and non-profits faced government fines for not providing abortion-causing contraceptives. The mayor of Houston, Texas, subpoenaed the sermons of pastors who were against the city’s pro-LGBT ordinance.

Christian leaders here urged believers to remember who they belong to. “The answer to the decline of religious freedom and the change in the moral climate is not found in waging incessant cultural wars, filled with rage at our changing culture,” said LifeWay Research President Ed Stetzer. “Simply put, you can’t hate a people and reach a people at the same time.”

Instead, he urged Christians, “Let’s live like the resurrection people, adorning the gospel with lives of grace. Even in our passion to defend freedoms increasingly at risk, let’s remind ourselves this generation is desperately in need of the love of Christ, lived and shared.”

In your church: Be prepared to think globally about persecution. How can your church go beyond your normal prayer times to intercede for those under threat for their faith?

Be alert to what government bodies are doing. Speak out when religious liberties are threatened. The IRS prohibits churches from supporting candidates, but not from speaking on issues related to faith.

SBC’s Frank Page speaks frequently about the future of the Cooperative Program, painting a hopeful picture despite years of declining offerings. Photo by Morris Abernathy

SBC’s Frank Page speaks frequently about the future of the Cooperative Program, painting a hopeful picture despite years of declining offerings. Photo by Morris Abernathy

5. Cooperative missions for a new generation

Most Baptists agreed the Cooperative Program, the denomination’s chief method of funding missions and ministry, is the best way for churches together to pursue the Great Commission. But how to fix the CP, plateaued and trending slightly downward for years, is up for debate. The election of David Platt as IMB president revealed how his church and other large churches have bypassed their state conventions, even though CP gifts for national and international missions are supposed to be routed first through the state level.

“I have heard some people say, ‘The big problem is that the younger generation simply isn’t educated about CP,’” blogged pastor J.D. Greear after Platt’s election. “That may be true for a small percentage of people, but the bigger problem is probably that they are educated about it. The more they find out about CP giving, the less they are motivated to give.”

Meanwhile, blogger Bart Barber spoke up for the reliability of the system itself, calling those who disagree with the way CP funds are allocated to greater involvement in SBC life. “…Within the Cooperative Program approach you can pursue any ministry, reallocate any budget, or adopt any methodology that you can convince enough of your fellow churches and fellow pastors to adopt,” Barber posted at SBC Voices.

“Bring on the changes! Make your proposals! Go to the floor of the SBC Annual Meeting! Attend your state convention meeting! Advocate tirelessly and fearlessly for the improvements you’d like to see. Whatever they are and however much adaptation they would require, I’m betting that almost none of it would actually require any changes at all in the Cooperative Program.”

SBC Executive Committee CEO Frank Page continued his campaign for increased giving through the Cooperative Program, touring the nation (including Chicago) to talk with younger pastors and leaders. “I’ll drop the Cooperative Program if you can show me something else that long-term is effective and engages every church concurrently and consistently in an Acts 1:8 strategy,” Page has said on several occasions. “Show it to me, and I’ll support it….But I
haven’t found it yet.”

In your church: More conversation about CP in the national SBC could mean it’s time for a refresher course in your local church. A class for young or new Baptists is an opportunity to teach about why Baptists give cooperatively. One big reason: CP helps missionaries focus on their mission field, instead of fundraising. Another reason: CP helps the local church have a balanced missions strategy, supporting work on all their Acts 1:8 mission fields.

-With reporting from Baptist Press

Read all of the December 22 Illinois Baptist at http://ibonline.IBSA.org.

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New poll shows slight decline in support for same-sex marriage

Meredith Flynn —  September 30, 2014

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

49% of Americans say same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, Pew found in research released last week. The percentage is down five points since the researcher last asked the question in February.

According to the report on Pew’s website, “It is too early to know if this modest decline is an anomaly or the beginning of a reversal or leveling off in attitudes toward gay marriage after years of steadily increasing public acceptance.

“Moreover, when the February poll and the current survey are combined, the 2014 yearly average level of support for same-sex marriage stands at 52%, roughly the same as the 2013 yearly average (50%).”

The_BriefingWe could know as early as this week whether the U.S. Supreme Court will hear any of the pending same-sex marriage cases, Reuters reports. The justices met yesterday for a private conference prior to the new term that begins Oct. 6. In September, 32 states asked the Court to decide the marriage issue once and for all, as did a coalition of religious groups including the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

SBC disfellowships ‘third way’ church
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee voted last week to withdraw fellowship from New Heart Community Church, the California congregation whose pastor announced in February he no longer believes same-sex lifestyles are sinful. The committee’s action followed a similar decision by the California Southern Baptist Convention in September.

More from Pew: Public split on business rights and same-sex marriage
Pew’s recently released data also shows 47% of people think wedding-related businesses should be allowed to refuse services to same-sex couples, while 49% say they should be required to provide services. Half of those surveyed believe homosexuality is a sin, up from 45% a year ago, Pew reported.

Court to hear Arizona church sign case
One case already on the Supreme Court’s schedule is Reed vs. Town of Gilbert, in which a Presbyterian congregation is fighting its town’s signage code. Gilbert, Arizona, requires that signs like those posted by Good News Presbyterian Church cannot go up more than 12 hours before the event advertised—Sunday worship, in this case.

‘Kimye’ pastor will star in reality show
The Oxygen network has announced Miami pastor Rich Wilkerson, Jr., who performed the Kim Kardashian/Kanye West wedding earlier this year, will get his own show. “The Wilkersons” will focus on the pastor of Trinity Church and his wife, DawnChere. The show will join other Oxygen faith-centric shows including “Preachers of L.A.” and the upcoming spin-off “Preachers of Detroit.” Read more at ChristianPost.com.

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I scream. You scream. We all scream at Osteen.

Meredith Flynn —  September 18, 2014

COMMENTARY | Chase Abner

Note: This article originally appeared on Collegiate Collective, a new resource that features articles, podcasts, and videos designed to equip leaders to advance the gospel on college campuses.

Chase_Abner_calloutI’ve been around collegiate ministry for about eleven years. In those years, I’ve been witness to all sorts of public hubbub on the world stage of evangelicalism. At first, there was the challenge posed by Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code.” Then there was a lot of back-and-forth about the Emergent Church and how post-modernism was going to erode all of Christendom. And that was just a precursor to Rob Bell’s “Love Wins” and the battle for the doctrine of hell. And Mark Driscoll has been the subject of his fair share of controversies. Throw “The Shack” and Calvinism into the mix and you’ve got yourself enough blog fodder to last you until the other side of eternity.

Early on, I somehow got the impression that a big part of my job as a campus minister was to help students be on the “right side” of all these public controversies. I read a lot of blogs and way too many blog comments. I sought out what side my heroes were on. I studied the Bible hard and I tried to provide my students with all the right answers.

However, there was one big problem.

They weren’t even asking the questions. Most of them didn’t even know who Brown or Driscoll or Bell or Calvin was. They were more concerned about passing their biology test or paying tuition in the spring or what they were going to say to their roommate struggling with depression.

So I gave up. I stopped trying to be up-to-date on the controversy of the day. I decided that if it wasn’t something that was directly impacting my students, then I wouldn’t bother with it.

And guess what? I found that I had a lot more time to hear from God, rather than about Him from someone on a podcast. I found that I was freer to hear the questions the students actually had, rather than the ones I forced on them. And I found that it’s a lot easier to follow Jesus when you’re not fighting over Jesus.

So last week, a video of Victoria Osteen made the rounds. If you didn’t know, she is the wife of America’s most famous mega-pastor Joel Osteen. The clip is from a sermon in August wherein Victoria makes some…how do you say…provocative claims about proper motivation for obeying God. (If you haven’t seen it yet, then count yourself blessed and forget I mentioned it.)

Here’s what naïve Chase would’ve probably done in response to this clip if it had come along in my early days of ministry: I would’ve torn the thing to bits, shared all the parody videos, and read every blog that critiques the Osteens’ errant theology. I might’ve even used one of the parody videos in our weekly gathering or taught an entire lesson in response. In other words, I would’ve wasted a lot of time doing battle against something that had virtually zero influence on the people in my care.

Let me suggest this template for responding to public Christian controversies in your collegiate ministry context.

  1. Pray for the individuals caught in sin or espousing false teaching.
    • Example: Pray for the Osteens and those influenced by their teaching ministry.
  2. Examine yourself in light of Scripture.
    • Example: Ask God to show you where you have selfish motives in your obedience to him. Repent as necessary.
  3. Listen to your students. Respond when necessary.
    • Example: If your students aren’t being influenced by the controversy, then press on in your disciple-making as if nothing has happened. If they have questions about it, then address the controversy.

You see, as you focus your energy on developing mature Christians who believe and apply the gospel to all of life, they will be equipped to address the counterfeits on their own. If at times, the controversies catch their attention and your students have questions, then embrace those as teachable moments. But remember, they are just that—moments—and not the normal pattern for your ministry.

Most of all, avoid the temptation to define yourself and your ministry by what you’re against. Is the gospel exclusive? Yes. Does God draw some hard lines in Scripture? Yes. But most clearly, he reveals himself in the person and work of Jesus Christ who gave most of his energy on earth to proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom.

Chase Abner is Collegiate Evangelism Strategist for the Illinois Baptist State Association.

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The Briefing: Campus ministry group no longer recognized by Cal State schools

Meredith Flynn —  September 9, 2014

THE BRIEFING | InterVarsity Christian Fellowship will lose its current access to all 23 schools in the California State University system because the ministry requires their leaders to affirm Christian doctrines, reports Christianity Today. IVCF’s policy is in violation of a university rule, adopted in 2012, that requires recognized groups to accept all students as potential leaders.

The_Briefing“While we applaud inclusivity, we believe that faith-based communities like ours can only be led by people who clearly affirm historic Christian doctrine,” reads a statement on IVCF’s website.

The ministry received a one-year exemption from the policy for the 2013-14 school year, but will now lose privileges including free meeting space and access to campus activity fairs.

On his blog, LifeWay’s Ed Stetzer examines the ramifications: “The bigger, and ongoing, issue is the continual sanitization of unacceptable religious voices from universities.”

State marriage cases likely to land in high court
Recent rulings on marriage by federal judges and circuit courts have advocates on both sides of the debate looking toward the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the issue. On Sept. 4, 32 states—15 that allow same-sex marriage and 17 that don’t—asked the high court to settle it once and for all, reported the Associated Press.

Same-sex marriages in Illinois officially began June 1, although some counties issued licenses earlier. The state’s General Assembly approved “The Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act” last fall.

‘Elevate Marriage’ scheduled for Oct. 16
The Illinois Baptist State Association will host an “Issues & Answers” event in Springfield, Ill., to help churches address cultural shifts on marriage. The Oct. 16 conference for pastors and church leaders will feature Kevin Smith, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Andrew Walker, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission; and Jill Finley, Bethel Baptist Church, Troy, Ill. Lunch is included, and registration is required; go to www.IBSA.org/Marriage.

Chick-Fil-A founder Truett Cathy dies at age 93
Christian leaders and fans of Chick-Fil-A mourned the loss of S. Truett Cathy, who died early Monday morning. Cathy built the chain—known for its chicken sandwiches—from one store in 1946 to more than 1,800 restaurants currently operating in 40 states and Washington, D.C. He was known for his Christian faith and Chick-Fil-A’s “closed on Sundays” policy. Read more at BPNews.net.

Osteen answers criticism
Megachurch co-pastor Victoria Osteen said that church-goers at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, understood her recent controversial comments about why people ought to obey God. “When you come to church, when you worship Him, you’re not doing it for God really,” Osteen said during a Lakewood service Aug. 31. “You’re doing it for yourself, because that’s what makes God happy.” The video went viral, garnering much criticism on social media. Osteen told The Blaze she could have been more articulate, but she stands by her point. “I did not mean to imply that we don’t worship God; that’s ridiculous, and only the critics and cynics are interpreting my remarks that way.”

Al Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, blogged that the message preached by Osteen and her husband, Joel, “is the latest and slickest version of Prosperity Theology.” Read Mohler’s commentary here.

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From breakdown to breakthough: A lesson from Nehemiah

Meredith Flynn —  August 21, 2014

Josh_Laxton_Aug21COMMENTARY | Josh Laxton

For the last eight years, I have been working in churches that were in need of revitalization, or breakout. I know this doesn’t make me an expert, but it has given me field experience. In addition, for the last three years I have been intensely studying the condition of the American church and her impact in contemporary culture.

I have come across many success stories of pastors who led their church to positive breakout. But it seems that for every story of success, there are nine stories of struggle and heartache. In all honesty, leading a church to breakout is like trying to climb Mount Everest. It’s daunting and extremely difficult.
In my last column on Nehemiah, I explained how his breakdown laid the foundation for the breakout of his people. But that’s not the end of the story.

Nehemiah also faced many obstacles in leading the breakout. The king (his boss) had already stopped the rebuilding of the wall years earlier. Nehemiah hadn’t led this kind of work before. He faced a long, dangerous journey to get to the people, and once he arrived, he met a discouraged people in need of motivation and organization.

Just like Nehemiah, those who want to lead a church to breakout will face a variety of obstacles. As leaders, we face obstacles of perceptions, practices, poor theology, and people’s resistance to change. For many, the perception is that the church is fine—we’re paying the bills and ministries are still running. When it comes to practices, over time churches tend to focus on insiders, not outsiders, which can lead to neglecting the building, failing to create hospitable environments, and lacking a defined process for connecting new people.

Poor theology also can be an obstacle. Without being aware, a congregation can lose their passion for the centrality of Jesus and his gospel, their urgency to call people to repentance and salvation, and their missional posture towards the community and the nations.

One of the toughest obstacles is leading people to embrace change. I have found many church members want growth (or, at the very least, they don’t mind it), but don’t want things to change. In short, leading breakout isn’t easy, especially in light of the various obstacles. Nehemiah knew this as well. He navigated through the obstacles by way of breakthrough—an “aha moment.”

His prayer, starting in Neh. 1:4, gives us at least three principles of breakthrough that have implications for our ministry today:

God is the breakthrough power. Immediately after hearing the condition of the people, Nehemiah went to the Lord. “Let Your eyes be open and Your ears be attentive to hear Your servant’s prayer,” he says in verse 6. “…I confess the sins we have committed against You.”

This is paramount for church and denominational leaders to understand, especially given the fact that we live in a self-help culture where there is no shortage of books, conferences, leadership podcasts, and workshops about how churches can breakout from their unhealthy condition. While there’s nothing wrong with many of these resources, I have to constantly remind myself that these are supplements to breakout, not the source.

Humility is the breakthrough position. Nehemiah’s prayer reflects his understanding of God’s position and power, and that he and Israel are His servants (Neh 1:5, 6,10). Our prayers should reflect God’s transcendent position in relations to us—how great, gracious, awesome, faithful, and powerful he is. In addition, our prayers should reflect our humble position to God—a position that’s here to serve him and be used by him to do what he has put in our hearts.
When it comes to leading our churches to breakout may we never confuse our role with God’s—we are simply conduits by which He works to bring his people where He wants them to be.

Faithfulness is the breakthrough pattern. In Nehemiah’s prayer, we see that his going to the Father wasn’t a one-time deal; he did this “for days.” Scholars note that four months passed between chapter one and two. Thus, for over four months, Nehemiah faithfully goes to the Lord, humbling and submitting himself to God’s will and leading. His continued faithfulness reflects both the seriousness of leading a breakout and his belief that only God could do it.

If we desire to lead our churches to breakout, not only must we have a breakdown, but we must have a breakthrough—an “aha moment” were we realize God is the only one who can breakthrough the obstacles we face.

Josh Laxton is lead pastor of Western Oaks Baptist Church in Springfield. His first column on Nehemiah appeared in the July 28 issue of the Illinois Baptist.

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The Briefing: Praying for the persecuted church

Meredith Flynn —  August 12, 2014

The_BriefingTHE BRIEFING | Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Commission, urged Christians to “pray fervently” for believers facing persecution for their faith.

“As Christians, we should pray for the president and our military leaders to wisely administer the sword of justice (Romans 13:1-3),” Moore said in a written statement. “As part of the global body of Christ, we must also pray fervently for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Iraq and across the Middle East (Hebrews 13:3).”

His comments came after President Barack Obama authorized U.S. airstrikes and humanitarian aid to help Iraqi religious minorities under attack from militant groups in the country.

Obama “is right to take action to protect religious minorities, including Christians, in Iraq from ISIS,” Moore said. “He has my prayers.”

Read the full story at BPNews.net, or click here for an overview of the recent onslaught of persecution around the world.

Other news:

Amid controversy surrounding Driscoll, LifeWay stops selling Seattle pastor’s books
A day after the Acts 29 church planting network removed Pastor Mark Driscoll and his churches from their membership, LifeWay Christian Resources stopped selling Driscoll’s books online and in stores. “LifeWay Stores and Lifeway.com are not selling Mark Driscoll’s books while we assess the situation regarding his ministry,” communications director Marty King told Christianity Today.

The Acts 29 and LifeWay decisions came after a string of controversies and charges surrounding Driscoll, founding pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle.

Gungor stands by beliefs about Adam & Eve, biblical flood
Christian musician Michael Gungor’s admission that he no longer believes in a literal Adam and Eve or flood sparked controversy when the comments were published in a WORLD magazine online report this month. Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum, called for Gungor to apologize for the statements, while the musician responded to the controversy on his blog.

Marriage rates in decline among Millennials
Millennials are less likely to marry by 40 than any other previous generation, according to data from the American Community Survey analyzed by the Urban Institute. For example, in 1990, 91% of women age 40 had married; currently, only 69.3% of women age 40 have married. The rate for men is approximately 4% lower, Baptist Press reported.

Coming to a theater near you: “Christian Mingle The Movie”
Girl creates fake faith profile on Christian dating site, meets potential Mr. Right. Girl admits phony faith and loses Mr. Right, but gains a relationship with God. “Christian Mingle The Movie” is due in theaters in October. Read more at ChristianPost.com.

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The high cost of following the Nazarene

Meredith Flynn —  August 12, 2014
Rob Schenck (front, red scarf), president of Faith in Action and the National Clergy Council, prays Aug. 7 for the Yazidis and Christians suffering in Iraq. IMB photo

Rob Schenck (front, red scarf), president of Faith in Action and the National Clergy Council, prays Aug. 7 for the Yazidis and Christians suffering in Iraq. IMB photo

Christians around the world face heightened persecution

NEWS | From Baptist Press and IMB reports

An unfamiliar symbol began showing up on social media pages late last month. The curved line under a single dot is the Arabic letter “Nun,” reportedly used by militants in Iraq to mark the homes of Christians in the country.

“Nun” stands for Nazarene, or Jesus.

Extremists with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have forced Christians from their homes under threat of death. The Iraqi believers and other religious minorities joined millions of Syrian refugees already displaced by civil war. In a region rich with Christian history, many have noted, very little evidence of Christianity is left.

The onslaught of persecution this summer has awakened many in the Western church to the needs of Christians around the world. Many pastors and Christian organizations in July changed their Twitter avatars and Facebook profile photos to include the letter “Nun.” They also used the hashtag #WeAreN as a show of solidarity with the persecuted believers.

“The Islamic militants mean it for evil when they mark homes with ‘N’ for ‘Nazarene,’” wrote Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. “They assume it’s an insult, an emblem of shame. Others once thought that of the cross.

“But in that intended slight, we are reminded of who we are, and why we belong to one another, across the barriers of space and time and language and nationality. We are Christians. We are citizens of the New Jerusalem. We are Nazarenes all.”

Iraqi refugee crisis

“There are no Christians left in Mosul.”

That’s how religious freedom advocate Nina Shea described conditions in Iraq’s second largest city in July.

Shea, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, told CBN News that Islamic militants have eradicated virtually every trace of Christianity from Mosul, the center of Iraq’s Christian community for 2,000 years. Mosul is located on the site of the ancient city of Nineveh.

In June, militants with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) extended an offer to let Christians in Mosul practice their Christian faith behind closed doors, after they paid a hefty tax and agreed not to proselytize. However, multiple sources in the region said that offer was later withdrawn and all Christians were told to leave or face execution.

Members of Assyrian Christian and Chaldean Catholic groups left empty handed, Shea said. Militants confiscated all of their possessions, including homes, cars, clothes “and even their wedding rings, sometimes with the finger attached if it would not come off.”

Christians aren’t the only religious minority targeted by ISIS. On August 3, militants seized the city of Sinjar, forcing the Yazidi Kurdish population to flee. Many escaped to the nearby Sinjar Mountains, a barren heap of rock where daytime temperatures can top 120 degrees.

More than 150 Yazidi immigrants rallied in front of the north lawn of the White House August 7 to plead for American involvement in the growing crisis. (President Obama announced that evening he had authorized military airstrikes on Iraq.) The protestors came from across the U.S. to rally on behalf of the Yazidis, who do not practice Islam but instead follow an ancient religion ISIS equates to “devil worship.”

Christians and religious minorities in other nations also have faced recent persecution due to war and religious hostilities:

Syria | The recently released International Religious Freedom Report included a daunting sentence about the country that shares Iraq’s northwestern border: “In Syria, as in much of the Middle East, the Christian presence is becoming a shadow of its former self.”

A three-year-old civil war has resulted in millions of refugees and increasingly persecuted religious minorities, including Christians caught between the regime currently in power and militants fighting against it. The report, released annually by the U.S. State Department as a picture of the state of international religious freedom the previous year, found that in the city of Homs, only 1,000 Christians remain. There were approximately 160,000 Christians there before the war.

Nigeria | Approximately 1,505 Nigerian Christians have been killed for their faith this year, as the Boko Haram terrorist group and other extremists continue their campaign of religion-based violence in the West African nation. Boko Haram and other groups have killed nearly as many Nigerian Christians in the first seven months of this year as were killed in all of 2013, the advocacy group Jubilee Campaign reported July 29.

Christians killed to date include seven fathers of the 223 Chibok school girls still missing after Boko Haram kidnapped more than 300 students in mid-April. (The group is dedicated to fighting the influence of Western education.) The fathers were killed July 20 when Boko Haram attacked the city of Damboa and hoisted a Boko Haram flag there, the Associated Press reported.

Response from the West

David Curry is president and CEO of Open Doors USA, which offers assistance to persecuted Christians around the world and lobbies repressive governments to cease religious persecution. In July, he called the plight of Christians in Mosul and the remainder of northern Iraq “unprecedented in modern times.”

“This latest forced exodus of Christians further shows why Western governments and the people in the West need to cry out in support for religious freedom in the Middle East and elsewhere,” Curry said in a statement. “If this does not move us concerning the near extinction of Christianity in the Middle East, it’s likely nothing else can.”

Since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003 to overthrow Saddam Hussein, nearly one million Christians have fled the country for safer surroundings.

In an editorial this month for The Christian Post, Curry expressed doubt that the persecution of Christians would ever be treated as “a major humanitarian crisis” by governments and secular media. “However, we should be able to count on our own family,” he wrote.

“The persecution of Jesus followers should be preached from every pulpit and prayed for at every kitchen table. One day soon it may be your faith that is under attack and you will be hoping that others will be praying for you…or even notice that it is happening.”

The International Mission Board and its ministry partner Baptist Global Response are coordinating relief efforts among Iraqi refugees. For more information about how to help, go to www.IMB.org.

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