2015-05-06T05:42:56-05:00

Last updated on: May 6, 2015 at 5:42 am   By

Daniel Hill is the Author of 10:10: Life to the Fullest, and Founding and Senior Pastor of River City Community Church, located in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago.  The vision of River City is centered around the core values of worship, reconciliation, and neighborhood development.  Formed in 2003, River City longs to see increased spiritual renewal as well as social and economic justice in the Humboldt Park neighborhood and entire city, demonstrating compassion and alleviating poverty as tangible expressions of the Kingdom of God. 

Prior to starting River City, Daniel launched a dot.com in the 90’s before serving 5 years on the staff of Willow Creek Community Church in the suburbs of Chicago.  Daniel has his B.S. in Business from Purdue University, his M.A. in Theology from Moody Bible Institute, his certificate in Church-based Community and Economic Development from Harvard Divinity School, and is currently working on his Doctoral of Ministry in Community Development at Northern Seminary.  Daniel is married to his wife Elizabeth, who is a professor of Psychology at Chicago State University.  They are the proud parents of Xander and Gabriella Hill.

Screen Shot 2015-05-02 at 9.01.42 AMIt wasn’t on purpose, but it was definitely providential that I read these two books back to back: “Surprised by Hope” by NT Wright, followed by “Bringing Heaven to Earth” by Josh Ross and Jonathan Storment. Wright is a leading NT scholar and retired Bishop, while Ross and Storment are on-the-ground pastors articulating their theology from the trenches of ministry. But while all three have different contexts, there is a clear and common thread that ties together these books: We are not meant to think of heaven as some abstract, in-the-future, far away reality. Heaven is meant to crash into our collective reality, right now.

Part of their motivation for writing the book is a declining sense of impact coming from the witness of the North American Church. “Christians are the best reason for someone to follow or not follow Jesus,” they point out, and right now “it seems like the evidence for the latter is stacking up.” I think that any observant Christian would have to acknowledge this reality, and I appreciate the evangelistic mindset that permeates the pages of this book. Ross and Storment clearly care about the Gospel, the Kingdom, and the Church’s role in being a holistic and effective witness to the Resurrected Christ, and that commitment comes across warmly and consistently throughout the book.

So how does our generation turn the tide? How do Christians become the best reason for people to follow Jesus?

Ross and Storment believe that the answer is found in a more holistic understanding and practice of the kingdom of God. If we come to see the relationship between heaven and earth, as the title suggests, our witness would dramatically change. They say it like this: “hell isn’t the counterpoint to heaven in the Bible – earth is. The two belong together. God made both heaven and earth; they are both current realities; and from Genesis to Revelation, the story is God bringing them back together.”

The book is then filled with a nice mixture of everyday stories of “heaven-earth collisions,” as well as some deep reflection on theological principles that undergird our understanding of heaven (I personally loved the exposition they did on the book of Ephesians, as well as the exploration of the difference of viewing the Bible through a “rapture” vs. “resurrection” lens).

The authors mention early on that their contexts are quite different – Storment in an educated, college town, and Ross in an intentionally multiethnic and economically diverse community. I appreciated this diversity of perspective, and believe it will help readers translate these principles into their own context. I myself am in a historically poor neighborhood in Chicago (though one that’s experiencing a lot of changes due to gentrification), and resonated with much of what they shared. Like the authors, I see the need for a more holistic, integrated way of thinking about and practicing the presence of God. We live in a day and age where the wholeness of the Gospel seems to consistently evade us. We have trouble holding onto to the integrated nature of both internal & external transformation; evangelism & justice; faith & works; present & future reality. This in turn has led to a fragmentation of the Christian witness, and a more whole view of Jesus seems to be the only way home.

Ross and Storment remind us that when Jesus told his disciples that we should pray “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” he was speaking to one of the most central motifs of the Bible. The point of Jesus’ prayer was not to focus exclusively on the afterlife, where we would join Jesus in heaven. Instead, we are to see heaven and earth as interlocking realities, made for each other. Their book is a welcome addition to a reclaiming of this holistic way of seeing the words and ministry of Jesus.

2015-04-11T11:52:58-05:00

Last updated on: April 11, 2015 at 11:52 am   By

Gary Scott Smith, a fine historian, excerpted:

Numerous individuals labeled [President Bill] Clinton’s faith authentic. In 1994, evangelical author Philip Yancey reported,  “I have not met a single Christian leader who, after meeting with Clinton, comes away questioning his sincerity.” A Christian college president professed to be “absolutely convinced of his deep and sincere faith” and impressed by Clinton’s knowledge of the Bible.  The executive director of the Arkansas State Baptist Convention called Clinton a “genuine born-again believer.” Philip Wogaman, pastor of the Foundry Methodist Church, concluded that Clinton’s faith was “genuine.” Another Clinton confidante, Tony Campolo, a sociology professor at Eastern College in Philadelphia, insisted that Clinton affirmed the Apostles’ Creed and considered “the Bible to be an infallible message from God.” Bill Hybels, pastor of the Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago, declared that in their monthly private meetings he had seen Clinton grow spiritually. Despite such testimonies, many denounced Clinton’s faith as disingenuous because they considered his stances on political issues to be unbiblical.

Clinton argued that all Christians had a calling to serve God.  As Martin Luther King, Jr. asserted, a street sweeper should clean the streets as if he “were Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel.”  By seeking to know and live by God’s will, learning “to forgive ourselves and one another,” and focusing on others, Christians glorified God and provided a positive witness.

In 1992 Clinton stated, “I pray virtually every day.” He asked Americans to pray that political leaders would remember Micah’s admonition to “act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with our God.” Clinton exhorted Americans to ask God for wisdom  in raising their children, protecting the environment, and promoting freedom, peace, and human dignity around the globe. He solicited the prayers of Muslims, Jews, and Christians for his “mission of peace in the Middle East.” Clinton also beseeched people to pray for peace in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Northern Ireland.  When people did not know how to pray, the Holy Spirit “intercedes for us.”  The president often thanked Americans for their prayers and for the encouraging letters and scriptural exhortations many sent him.

2015-03-13T22:15:39-05:00

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:15 pm   By

Spiritual Formation and the Jesus Creed

An Online Dialogue between Dr. Scot McKnight (New Testament Professor @nseminary and author of The Jesus Creed) and Dr. Brad Strait (Senior Pastor at Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church)

Brad: This past Sunday, our church in Denver  began what we are calling “Read the Creed.” This is a seven week, all church study of your book, The Jesus Creed. Our whole church is reading your book in hopes of being spiritually formed over the next seven weeks. Like a sculptor shaping clay to create a replica, to me spiritual formation is the gradual process of shaping (both actively and passively) one’s inner character and one’s outer conduct, in convergence with the movement of the Holy Spirit, to be like Jesus.

Question 1: Scot, we all want to be more like Jesus. What are the keys to successful spiritual formation to you?

Scot: Unfortunately, but certainly not tragically, spiritual formation has become the preoccupation with individual personal formation into individual Christlikeness. I affirm the necessity of both: each of us is called to be formed and each of us is called is challenged to become Christlike. The unfortunate result of this is that we are too preoccupied with individuals at the expense of the group. Put differently, individual spiritual formation is to take place in the context of fellowship in a local church. Too often we do not hear about the local church context in spiritual formation.

But even more, and this is where we will get to the Jesus Creed: the NT pattern of spiritual formation is ecclesial formation. The word “ecclesial” means “church-y” or “fellowship-y” formation. To be spiritually formed in the early church was to be formed into the character and virtues that promoted and deepened the fellowship of the church. Notice how often Paul talks about spiritual gifts and spiritual fruit, and notice how they are both about group — about the church: gifts are designed by God to create unity in the Body of Christ and the fruit are designed by God for relationships with others in the church fellowship.

And what is the first fruit? Love. The context for all spiritual gifts? Love (1 Cor 13). Where did this come from? The Jesus Creed.

Brad: Dallas Willard writes: “Spiritual formation in the tradition of Jesus Christ is the process of transformation of the inmost dimension of the human being, the heart, which is the same as the spirit or will. It is being formed (really, transformed) in such a way that its natural expression comes to be the deeds of Christ done in the power of Christ.”  It is about transforming the heart and mind and soul of a person. This is what Jonathan Edwards calls, “changing our affections.”

Question 2: Why is this so hard? How do you coach your students to change their affections?

Scot: It is hard because we are hard! Humans change only over time and often as a result of great effort.  Think of it in the simplest of categories: How hard is it for you to begin rising 30 minutes earlier than your pattern? Or to go to bed 30 minutes earlier? It takes effort to change like this.

Dallas Willard here is talking about character formation: only over time, with what Dallas calls VIM (vision, intention, means of disciplines), can we be reformed into the person God wants us to be. What Dallas said about the disciplines is true: they put us in a posture of receiving God’s grace through the Spirit. They make us available and vulnerable to God’s altering work. The same is true of the Jesus Creed, which I see as a “spiritual discipline”: by reciting the Jesus Creed throughout the day we become more aware of love and this consciousness works its way into our heart as we allow God to transform us.

Brad: I think our focus needs to change from more activity for God to a desire for more God. What we desire is perhaps the most important component of our personal formation. Nothing is more practical than finding God, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.  A few years ago, Willow Creek released their Reveal study, a professional evaluation of the spiritual growth of thousands of people in hundreds of Evangelical Christian churches. The commonality they found was striking: going to a great church with great Bible teaching and powerful worship songs does not grow your faith very much, if at all. Instead, it is people who actively engage themselves in regular spiritual disciplines (like Bible reading and study, memorization, prayer, service, etc.) that clearly show the most significant growth in their faith.

Question 3: Why do spiritual disciplines, like discussing and memorizing the Jesus Creed, seem to impact our faith so strongly?

Scot: A friend of mine in Australia, Brian Harris, focused on your point in his understanding of evangelicals. They are ACTIVISTS. We are a busy people, an active people, when something needs to be done, evangelicals jump and get it going. We are not, however, DEEP or QUIET people. That is, we’d rather do something about it than go before God in prayer, than to become at our deepest level someone transformed. (By the way, I’m not convinced anyone gravitates to deep-ness easily.) So, let’s begin here: we need to be deeper.

The way to be deeper is to expose ourself to the grace, to the power, that is, to the Spirit of God. As presence with my wife Kris makes me more like her, and as her presence with me makes her more like me — so that over time we develop closer characters and closer instincts and desires, so with spiritual formation: we need to be in the presence of God because God’s very presence is transformative.

Think about it this way: if you spend hours and hours at work or in your neighborhood with a person, that person’s behaviors will rub off on your and yours on them. Your neighbor may like a certain writer, and you take up reading that author yourself and you find yourself in conversation with your neighbor about that author… and over time you both develop characters in that author’s influence. At work, you may attach yourself to a person with a specific kind of leadership and then you find yourself leading the same way.

So with God: the more we are in God’s presence, which takes place through the spiritual disciplines, the more we are exposed to God’s transforming presence.

Brad: Almost a thousand people have signed up at Cherry Creek with one hope: to be more like Jesus in seven weeks than we are now. How?  We are applying energy to our faith.

  • We are reading the Jesus Creed.
  • We are memorizing Jesus’ key Bible passage (from Mark 12:28-31), a passage about which Jesus says all of the Old Testament Scripture hangs.
  • We are watching the Jesus Creed DVD and then discussing what we are learning in spiritual formation classes and small groups (of all ages).
  • We are singing the Jesus Creed—as composed by our own Evan Mazunik—as a part of worship each week.
  • We are learning from sermons based on Bible texts about the Jesus Creed.
  • We are surrendering all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength to God anew, and seeking to say “Yes!” to him in every area.
  • We are practicing loving our neighbors in practical ways.

It is a walk of faith. We know we cannot read, discuss, or memorize our way to spiritual maturity. We remain dependant on Christ’s work in our hearts through the Spirit at every step.

Question: What are the land mines we need to watch for? How do  keep from becoming too works-based?

Scot: The biggest land mine will be resistance to what God will reveal or speak to a person in prompting that person to act in love in a new situation. The most common story I get about the Jesus Creed is that people become more and more sensitive to others and begin to see the creeping in of the importance to love others in relationships they’d “prefer” not to have that happen! The Jesus Creed is dangerous for your moral health because it will summon each of us to love others all the time.

If we become more loving we will not need to fear works. We will discover that love transcends works and puts works in their proper place.

Perhaps a danger will be superiority complexes: that is, we will think we are superior to other Christians because we are more loving. We need to guard against this sort of temptation: after all, we have learned to love only because God has loved us and taught us what love means.

2014-06-05T07:11:39-05:00

Last updated on: June 5, 2014 at 7:11 am   By

By Michelle Van Loon, one of our students at Northern Seminary:

What is the most important thing you, or your local church, can do to encourage unity?

I used to cringe at the word “ecumenical”. It smacked of engineered truces and kumbayah emotions. It conjured images for me of 1960′s World Council of Churches meetings and “So a priest and a rabbi walk into a bar” jokes – only the jokes never seemed to have a good punchline since everyone involved in ecumenical dialogue seemed to take themselves as seriously as a heart attack.

I much preferred conversations about unity to ecumenism talk because it took me right to Jesus’ final prayer for us. I leaned on that word for several years in my work with Catalyst Lake County (which eventually became Christ Together Chicago before the organization reorganized itself and focused on networking pastors in specific geographic locations to collaborate on evangelism). I am a sucker in the holiest possible way for honest-to-goodness moments of unity. Perhaps because in the midst of this fractured, contentious, ambitious Christendom we see too much of these days, when I see Jesus prayer answered even just a little bit, the “now and the not yet” of the kingdom shifts. It’s less not yet and more now. An elderly person gentling a frantic young mom’s baby into calm after a long Sunday morning church service. One church helping a neighboring church rebuild after a tornado hits the facility – and throws in some work hours at a nearby community center for good measure. People from different congregations coming together to study, to worship, to pray, and discovering that Jesus is the cornerstone of their “without walls” building.

Maybe the word “ecumenism” smacked too much of theological compromise about things that were truly non-negotiable dogma in the name of being frenemies. My ideas about unity had much to do with people choosing to gather in the name of those non-negotiables while choosing to surrender their right to be right about matters of doctrine and opinion.

Or maybe I’ve been wrong about the word “ecumenism”. Merriam-Webster tells me that it was first used in 1587, an era when Jesus’ followers were going full-tilt towards splintering into a gazillion different pieces. It means “worldwide or general in extent, influence, or application; of, relating to, or representing the whole of a body of churches; or promoting or tending toward worldwide Christian unity or cooperation.”

A few weeks ago, I noticed that the word was being used in its dictionary sense to help describe a new gathering taking place at Willow Creek on Sunday evenings we’ve recently begun attending. And then in a recent conversation with someone I don’t know well, he told me as a compliment that my experience in many different churches and with many different kinds of believers has given me the gift of ecumenism. He went on to explain that I know how to hear God’s voice through the varied worship expressions and spiritual accents of many different kinds of believers. Ecumenism as a gift? Whatwhatwhat?

The question of what it would take to bridge the divides that exist among us came to me last week via an invite to jump into the conversation through Kathy Escobar’s April syncroblog theme. The problems are so big and seemingly intractable – mountain-sized. I am not naive enough to believe that any single impulse or act will turn that mountain of divides into a molehill. But it may be that the kind of ecumenism of which I was “accused”, the kind that can understand God’s voice though it may come to me through the Canterbury intonation of an Anglican liturgy, the folk dance worship of Messianic believers, the all-voices-raised intercession of a group of Asian pray-ers, the gritty call-and-response of a storefront church, the carefully-crafted theologies of this group or that one or most especially those obnoxious people over there…can we maybe simply learn to listen for God’s voice in all of the cacophony, and affirm it when we hear him? Because that kind of ecumenism might just lead to the kind of unity that looks suspiciously like love.

 

Here’s a list of other bloggers who tackled this topic:

 

2014-04-09T06:40:34-05:00

Last updated on: April 9, 2014 at 6:40 am   By

Beginning at 10am on April 26 in a service at the Church of the Redeemer (Highland Park) I will be ordained into the Sacred Order of Deacons.

I grew up among America’s Baptists (CBofA), attended Cornerstone University (GARB sponsored at the time), went to TEDS (EvFree) and then did my doctorate at Nottingham, began my teaching career at TEDS and then moved to North Park (EvCovenant) and am now teaching at Northern, which is an American Baptist Church sponsored seminary. For almost a decade Kris and I attended Willow Creek but it became increasingly too far for us to travel and, when one Wednesday night it took me nearly two hours to get to Willow, it became clear we’d have to think of a church closer to home.

Which gave us the opportunity to find an evangelical Anglican fellowship. Nearly two years ago we visited Church of the Redeemer the first time and have been part of that fellowship since that day. We are grateful to the Rev Canon Jay Greener, a master liturgist and pastor, and Rev Amanda Holm Rosengren, pastor and worship leader, for their encouragement and to Bishop Todd Hunter, of the Anglican Church of North America, for this opportunity.

You are welcome to attend the ordination should you care (directions at link above).

Where did this all begin? September, 1981, at St Peter’s Toton outside Nottingham Kris and I and kids wandered into the neighborhood Anglican church, loved both Curate John and Elisabeth Corrie, and we began our lifetime appreciation and formative influence of The Book of Common Prayer, and you may have detected my own interest in prayer books through my small book Praying with the Church. So there’s nothing at all close to any kind of major shift in our life to become Anglicans — we have sustained an Anglican connection for three decades.

Ever since I began teaching I have continued to use the BCP, occasionally we wandered into an Anglican communion church, but it was not until two years ago that we more officially entered into such a fellowship. We are looking forward to April 26 and would appreciate your prayers.

2014-02-07T19:15:58-06:00

Last updated on: February 7, 2014 at 7:15 pm   By

Correcting the President, Christina Hoff Sommers:

It’s the bogus statistic that won’t die—and president deployed it during the State of the Union—but women do not make 77 cents to every dollar a man earns.

President Obama repeated the spurious gender wage gap statistic in his State of the Union address. “Today,” he said, “women make up about half our workforce. But they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. That is wrong, and in 2014, it’s an embarrassment.”What is wrong and embarrassing is the President of the United States reciting a massively discredited factoid. The 23-cent gender pay gap is simply the difference between the average earnings of all men and women working full-time. It does not account for differences in occupations, positions, education, job tenure, or hours worked per week. When all these relevant factors are taken into consideration, the wage gap narrows to about five cents. And no one knows if the five cents is a result of discrimination or some other subtle, hard-to-measure difference between male and female workers. In its fact-checking column on the State of the Union, the Washington Post included the president’s mention of the wage gap in its list of dubious claims. “There is clearly a wage gap, but differences in the life choices of men and women… make it difficult to make simple comparisons.”

Carl Trueman weighs in on the flap some found in the post yesterday by my friend John Frye. Here are Carl’s words and they are good ones:

I am a Calvinist to the tips of my fingers.  I do not think that Calvinism is to blame for some contemporary Christians’ inability to handle tragedy and to lament.  Part of the problem is the perennial intrusion of the theologies of glory which the fallen world preaches to us and which our fallen hearts are always eager to believe.

But I do think the response to Frye should not be ‘How dare you blame the Calvinists!?’ so much as ‘If there is a problem, and if true Calvinism should not create such a problem, what is going wrong in our churches?’   Here, the difference between a church’s doctrine and the reception of that doctrine by individual Christians and congregations is crucial.  Calvinism, true Calvinism, is not to blame; but sadly there areCalvinists who are less innocent, who do reduce the problem of evil and suffering to tweetable soundbites which inevitably lack the complexity of the Biblical teaching, who do ignore the whole counsel of God in their teaching and preaching and choice of praise songs.  And I fear that a failure to reflect the whole counsel of God in our teaching and worship has indeed left individuals conflicted over how — and whether — Christians should lament.  The arrival of funerals that are ‘celebrations of life’ even within some Presbyterian circles witnesses to the reality of this problem.

Yes, thirteen witty lines from literature.

My friend, Aaron Niequist, has a new initiative at Willow on spiritual formation. Praying for him.

Ronnie Cohen on teenagers and breakfast:

(Reuters Health) – Teenagers who didn’t eat a good breakfast were more likely to be obese and have elevated blood sugar in middle age, a new study shows.

Researchers at Umea University in Sweden found that teens who reported eating no breakfast or only sweets were two-thirds more likely to develop a cluster of risk factors linked to heart disease and diabetes when they were in their 40s than their peers who ate more substantial morning meals.

“It may be that eating breakfast aids in keeping to a healthier diet the rest of the day,” the study’s lead author, Maria Wennberg, told Reuters Health in an email.

Blaine Hogan’s reflection addictions, acting, and Philip Seymour Hoffman:

The whole point of acting is to enter into another character so deeply that youbecome that character. The horror is that after the scene is over or the show closes, you have to go back to just being yourself. Now there are a million actors, many of who are friends that can handle this delicate balance with grace and ease. But because I was always running and hiding, never willing to have my backstage life moved center stage, I simply couldn’t.

[Is acting a kind of addiction to distance from the self?]

My colleague and friend, Claude Mariotinni, has a long set of posts on Isaiah 7:14 and the virginal conception and they are worthy of a careful reading. Here is his conclusion:

In conclusion, the New Testament affirms that Jesus was born of a woman who was sexually a virgin. However, the Hebrew text of Isaiah 7:14 is not announcing that a virgin will give birth to a child. Rather, the prophet is announcing that God would be present with his people to save them. It is this prophecy of God’s presence that is fulfilled in Christ. In Christ God is with us to save us from our sins.

Immanuel, God is with us.

Eat less salt:

(Reuters Health) – Eating less than one teaspoon of salt per day remains the ideal goal for Americans, according to a new study.

Most research has linked high sodium consumption with greater risks of stroke and cardiovascular disease. Evidence has shown that men and women age 51 or older, African Americans or those with hypertension, diabetes or chronic kidney disease face especially high risks.

Sean McElwee on the debate between Ham and Nye:

The irony of modern American Christian right-wing fundamentalism is that, for all its talk of tradition, it is a radically new way to read the Bible. The strict constructionist, or literal fundamentalist, biblical method of interpretation was invented in the 19th century. America at this time experienced rapid social change that played a key role in creating the fundamentalism that now lies at the core of the religious right. The Industrial Revolution gave rise to the idea that technological progress is the way forward. American Protestants worried that all this science would encroach on their religious beliefs, so they turned to the Bible as the source of all knowledge — scientific and spiritual. During a time when Darwin’s followers were trying to explain everything in terms of evolutionary theory, American Protestants refused to look for truth outside their interpretation of Scripture.

In “Fundamentalism and American Culture,” George Marsden describes fundamentalism as “essentially the extreme and agonized defense of a dying way of life.” The American Protestant response to the Industrial Revolution was engendered by the fear that a small cabal of experts would dictate to Americans how to live their lives and that science would somehow replace their religion. In truth, the Christian tradition provides little support for the fundamentalist doctrines that arose during this period. Augustine believed that science and religion need not be in competition, and the Catholic Church has long held that evolution does not contradict the Church’s teachings. Fundamentalists who deny climate change and evolution have simply read their simplistic understanding of science into biblical texts.

18 best baseball players not in the Hall of Fame.

2013-11-13T10:00:52-06:00

Last updated on: November 13, 2013 at 10:00 am   By

From Jon Merritt, a revealing report. This report from Jon has made me renew my commitment to women — beginning at the local church and moving out.

Is the Christian conference industry sexist? I’ve attended or spoken at many Christian conferences over the years and most had either an exclusively male speaker list or were male-dominated. But I haven’t encountered them all or even most of the major ones. So I decided to survey some of the biggest Christian conferences in the evangelical world to uncover what level of female representation they had on stage. Here’s what I found:

Catalyst Conference – East (Atlanta, GA): Total speakers: 13 / Female speakers: 3

Christianity 21 (Denver, CO): Total speakers: 21 / Female speakers: 9

Circles Conference (Grapevine, TX): Total speakers: 12 / Female speakers: 2

Cross Conference (Louisville, KY): Total speakers: 10 / Female speakers: 0

D6 (Dallas, TX): Total speakers: 22 / Female speakers: 4

D6 (Louisville, KY): Total speakers: 32 / Female speakers: 5

Desiring God Conference (Minneapolis, MN): Total speakers: 10 / Female speakers: 0

Exponential Conference (Los Angeles, CA): Total speakers: 27 / Female speakers: 3

Experience Conference (Orlando, FL): Total speakers: 4 / Female speakers: 0

Gateway Conference (Southlake, TX): Total speakers: 10 / Female speakers: 1

Global Leadership Summit (Chicago, IL): Total speakers: 13 / Female speakers: 2

Hillsong Conference (New York City, NY): Total speakers: 6 / Female speakers: 2

Hillsong Conference (Los Angeles, CA): Total speakers: 6 / Female speakers: 2

Kidmin Children’s Ministry Conference (Chicago, IL): Total speakers: 7 / Female speakers: 3

Ligonier National Conference (Orlando, FL): Total speakers: 9 / Female speakers: 0

Love Does (Austin, TX): Total speakers: 11 / Female speakers: 3

Mosaix National Multi-Ethnic Church Conference (Nashville, TN): Total speakers: 50 / Female speakers: 6

National Worship Leaders Conference (Can Juan Capistrano, CA): Total speakers: 9 / Female speakers: 2

National Youth Workers Convention (San Diego, CA): Total speakers: 80 / Female speakers: 20

New Life Leadership Conference (Colorado Springs, Co): Total speakers: 7 / Female speakers: 0

Orange Conference (Atlanta, GA): Total speakers: 10 / Female speakers: 2

Q (Los Angeles, CA): Total speakers: 35 / Female speakers: 13

Resurgence Conference (Seattle, WA): Total speakers: 6 / Female speakers: 0

RightNow (Dallas, TX): Total speakers: 8 / Female speakers: 1

Simply Youth Ministry Conference (Columbus, OH): Total speakers: 71 / Female speakers: 11

Southern Baptist Convention Pastor’s Conference (Houston, TX): Total speakers: 10 / Female speakers: 0

Story Conference (Chicago, IL): Total speakers: 18 / Female speakers: 5

Storyline Conference (Nashville, TN): Total speakers: 9 / Female speakers: 3

Together For the Gospel Conference (Louisville, KY): Total speakers: 19 / Female speakers: 0

The Nines (Online): Total speakers: 110 / Female speakers: 4

Thrive Conference (Granite Bay, CA): Total speakers: 6 / Female speakers: 0

Velocity (Cumming, GA): Total speakers: 32 / Female speakers: 3

Wiki Conference (Katy, TX): Total speakers: 47 / Female speakers: 6

Wild Goose Festival (Hot Springs, NC): Total speakers: 74 / Female speakers: 44

TOTAL
Total speakers: 805 / Female speakers: 159

By my count, that’s around 19% female speaker representation at these major Christian conferences–presumably better than it was even a few years ago, but still lower than it should be. While I don’t think we can conclude that the Christian conference industry is downright sexist, we can say that most conferences have some serious work to do if they want their stage to look anything like the 21st century church.

– See more at: http://jonathanmerritt.religionnews.com/2013/11/13/christian-conferences-sexist-nines-controversy-prompts-reflection/#sthash.Hfuz0WXG.dpuf

2013-08-04T09:08:38-05:00

Last updated on: August 4, 2013 at 9:08 am   By

Thom Rainer’s very helpful list of SBC churches 1000 and bigger, and they are still less than 2% of the churches … which should remind us that “models” for churches ought to consider the typical rather than the atypical:

By the way, the SBC has 46,000 churches, and 595 made this list. So approximately 1.3% of the churches have an attendance of 1,000 or greater.

RANK CHURCH — CITY, STATE WEEKLY WORSHIP ATTENDANCE
1 Second Baptist Church — Houston, TX 25,892
2 Woodlands Church — The Woodlands, TX 18,524
3 Saddleback Valley Community Church — Lake Forest, CA 18,000
4 Fellowship Church, Grapevine — Grapevine, TX 17,418
5 NewSpring Community Church — Anderson, SC 17,367
6 Prestonwood Baptist Church — Plano, TX 15,318
7 Thomas Road Baptist Church — Lynchburg, VA 13,500
8 Potential Church — Fort Lauderdale, FL 12,300
9 The Village Church — Flower Mound, TX 10,500
10 Higher Dimension Church — Houston, TX 9,000
10 The Fountain of Praise — Houston, TX 9,000
12 Lake Pointe Church — Rockwall, TX 8,811
13 Cross Church — Springdale, AR 8,029
14 Sagebrush Community Church — Albuquerque, NM 7,906
15 Pinelake Church — Brandon, MS 7,734
16 Bay Area Fellowship — Corpus Christi, TX 7,600
17 Christ Fellowship Baptist Church, Inc — Palmetto Bay, FL 7,367
18 Shepherd of the Hills — Porter Ranch, CA 7,280
19 Shadow Mountain Community Church — El Cajon, CA 7,220
20 Voices of Faith Ministries — Stone Mountain, GA 6,800
21 Bellevue Baptist Church — Cordova, TN 6,564
22 Long Hollow Baptist Church — Hendersonville, TN 6,453
23 Elizabeth Baptist Church — Atlanta, GA 6,401
24 First Baptist of Woodstock — Woodstock, GA 6,110
25 Hope Community Church — Raleigh, NC 6,060
26 Idlewild Baptist Church — Lutz, FL 6,012
27 Church by the Glades — Coral Springs, FL 5,954
28 The Austin Stone Community Church, Austin — Austin, TX 5,805
29 Brentwood Baptist Church — Brentwood, TN 5,581
30 Fallbrook Baptist Church — Houston, TX 5,500
31 The Summit Church-Homestead Heights — Durham, NC 5,465
32 First Baptist Church of Orlando — Orlando, FL 5,400
33 Houston’s First Baptist Church — Houston, TX 5,160
34 Biltmore — Arden, NC 5,008
35 First Baptist of Atlanta — Atlanta, GA 4,956
36 Hillvue Heights — Bowling Green, KY 4,903
37 Franklin Avenue Baptist Church — New Orleans, LA 4,760
38 Green Acres Baptist Church — Tyler, TX 4,748
39 West Ridge Church — Dallas, GA 4,651
40 The Crossing Church — Tampa, FL 4,613
41 Cascade Hills Baptist Church — Columbus, GA 4,581
42 Champion Forest Baptist Church — Houston, TX 4,380
43 Sandals Church — Riverside, CA 4,300
44 Johnson Ferry Baptist Church — Marietta, GA 4,296
45 Clear Creek Community Church — League City, TX 4,283
46 First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida, Inc — Jacksonville, FL 4,280
47 Greater Cornerstone Baptist Church — Dallas, TX 4,250
48 Faith Promise Church — Knoxville, TN 4,200
48 Sharon Baptist Church — Philadelphia, PA 4,200
50 Hickory Grove — Charlotte, NC 4,163
51 Sagemont Church, Houston — Houston, TX 4,063
52 Brentwood Baptist Church — Houston, TX 4,000
52 The Church at Brook Hills — Birmingham, AL 4,000
54 Liberty Baptist Church — Hampton, VA 3,956
55 Celebration Church (SBC) — Metairie, LA 3,934
56 Gardendale First Baptist Church — Gardendale, AL 3,750
57 Brookwood Community Church — Simpsonville, SC 3,700
58 Hebron Baptist Church — Dacula, GA 3,559
59 First Baptist Church of Naples — Naples, FL 3,554
60 Sevier Heights Baptist Church — Knoxville, TN 3,536
61 Riverbend Baptist Church — Austin, TX 3,500
61 The Church at Rock Creek — Little Rock, AR 3,500
63 Valley Baptist Church — Bakersfield, CA 3,486
64 Sugar Creek Baptist Church — Sugar Land, TX 3,444
65 First Baptist Church — Pasadena, TX 3,400
65 Southwest Community Baptist Church — Houston, TX 3,400
67 Calvary — Winston Salem, NC 3,397
68 Virginia Highlands Christian Fellowship — Abingdon, VA 3,337
69 The Church At BattleCreek — Tulsa, OK 3,311
70 Spartanburg First Baptist Church — Spartanburg, SC 3,200
71 Beltway Park Baptist Church — Abilene, TX 3,135
72 Hunter Street Baptist Church — Hoover, AL 3,122
73 Mud Creek — Hendersonville, NC 3,120
74 Bear Creek Baptist Church — Katy, TX 3,098
75 McGregor Baptist Church — Fort Myers, FL 3,061
76 Highview — Louisville, KY 3,044
77 Silverlake Church — Pearland, TX 3,017
78 Olive Baptist Church — Pensacola, FL 3,007
79 First Baptist Church — Dallas, TX 3,002
80 Central Baptist Church, Bryan, Texas — Bryan, TX 3,000
80 Community of Faith — Sugar Land, TX 3,000
80 The Church at the Springs — Ocala, FL 3,000
83 First Baptist Church at the Mall — Lakeland, FL 2,987
84 Bell Shoals Baptist Church — Brandon, FL 2,985
85 Abundant Life Baptist Church — Lees Summit, MO 2,984
86 Kingsland Baptist Church — Katy, TX 2,924
87 The People’s Church — Franklin, TN 2,901
88 Waters Edge Church — Yorktown, VA 2,888
89 Willowbrook Baptist Church — Huntsville, AL 2,884
90 First Baptist Church of Brandon — Brandon, FL 2,875
91 The Heights Baptist Church — Richardson, TX 2,866
92 Dawson Memorial Baptist Church — Birmingham, AL 2,850
93 Cleveland First Baptist Church — Cleveland, TN 2,838
94 Blackshear Place Baptist Church — Flowery Branch, GA 2,815
94 Oakwood Baptist Church — New Braunfels, TX 2,815
96 Grace Baptist Church — Knoxville, TN 2,785
97 Pleasant Valley Baptist Church — Liberty, MO 2,782
98 Cleveland Community Church — Clayton, NC 2,770
99 Central Baptist Church — Jonesboro, AR 2,749
100 Hendersonville First Baptist Church — Hendersonville, TN 2,746
101 Indian Rocks First Baptist Church — Largo, FL 2,744
102 LifePoint Church — Smyrna, TN 2,716
103 Rock Bridge Community Church — Dalton, GA 2,697
104 Calvary Baptist Church — Clearwater, FL 2,696
105 Metropolitan Baptist Church — Houston, TX 2,659
106 First Baptist Church — West Monroe, LA 2,621
107 New Vision Baptist Church — Murfreesboro, TN 2,618
108 Henderson Hills Baptist Church — Edmond, OK 2,600
109 Concord First Baptist Church — Knoxville, TN 2,581
110 First Baptist Church Indian Trail — Indian Trail, NC 2,526
111 First Baptist Church, Euless — Euless, TX 2,519
112 First Baptist Church of Arnold — Arnold, MO 2,510
113 Sojourn — Louisville, KY 2,508
114 Apex Community Church — Kettering, OH 2,500
114 Greenforest Community Baptist Church — Decatur, GA 2,500
114 New Faith Church of Houston — Houston, TX 2,500
114 Praise Temple Baptist Church — Shreveport, LA 2,500
114 Rock Springs Baptist Church — Easley, SC 2,500
114 Russian Baptist Church — West Sacramento, CA 2,500
120 Opelika First — Opelika, AL 2,491
121 Englewood Baptist Church — Jackson, TN 2,481
122 Crossroads Church — Newnan, GA 2,467
123 Cornerstone Church of Ames — Ames, IA 2,426
124 Lenexa Baptist Church, Inc — Lenexa, KS 2,421
125 Grace Community Church — Clarksville, TN 2,400
125 Providence Baptist Church — Raleigh, NC 2,400
127 First Baptist Church — Mckinney, TX 2,391
128 First Baptist Church of Oviedo — Oviedo, FL 2,382
129 Immanuel Baptist Church — Highland, CA 2,379
130 Fielder Road Baptist Church — Arlington, TX 2,377
131 Park Cities Baptist Church — Dallas, TX 2,375
132 Shadow Hills Baptist Church — Las Vegas, NV 2,358
133 First Baptist Church BA — Broken Arrow, OK 2,350
134 First Baptist Church of Mandarin — Jacksonville, FL 2,342
135 Shades Mountain Baptist Church — Vestavia Hills, AL 2,323
136 Burnt Hickory Baptist Church — Powder Springs, GA 2,319
137 Eagle’s Landing First Baptist Church — McDonough, GA 2,315
138 Mobberly Baptist Church — Longview, TX 2,313
139 The Journey Fellowship, Inc. — Saint Louis, MO 2,300
140 First Baptist Church — Arlington, TX 2,294
141 Shandon Baptist Church — Columbia, SC 2,290
142 Glenview Baptist Church — Fort Worth, TX 2,280
143 Bethlehem — Gastonia, NC 2,277
144 Colonial Heights Baptist Church — Colonial Heights, VA 2,269
145 Valley View — Louisville, KY 2,267
146 Second Baptist Church — Springfield, MO 2,247
147 New Vision Church of Northern California — Milpitas, CA 2,233
148 Broadmoor Baptist Church — Madison, MS 2,232
149 Geyer Springs First Baptist Church — Little Rock, AR 2,230
150 Bay Life Church — Brandon, FL 2,227
151 First Baptist Church of Hattiesburg, Inc. — Hattiesburg, MS 2,201
152 Great Commission Baptist Church — Fort Worth, TX 2,200
152 LifePoint Church — Tampa, FL 2,200
152 Mosaic LA — Los Angeles, CA 2,200
152 North Spartanburg First Baptist Church — Spartanburg, SC 2,200
152 Silverdale Baptist Church — Chattanooga, TN 2,200
157 East Bayou Baptist Church — Lafayette, LA 2,176
158 Woodcrest Chapel — Columbia, MO 2,171
159 First Baptist Church — Wichita Falls, TX 2,156
160 Second Baptist Church – North — Kingwood, TX 2,150
161 East Cooper Baptist Church — Mt Pleasant, SC 2,141
162 First Baptist Church Norfolk — Norfolk, VA 2,131
163 Alamo City Christian Fellowship Church — San Antonio, TX 2,125
164 First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Inc. — Jacksonville, NC 2,109
165 First Baptist Church — Amarillo, TX 2,100
165 First Baptist Church Woodway — Waco, TX 2,100
165 Fort Lauderdale First Baptist Church — Fort Lauderdale, FL 2,100
168 Summit Church — Estero, FL 2,074
169 First Baptist Church — Forney, TX 2,050
170 First Baptist Church of Simpsonville — Simpsonville, SC 2,043
171 Calvary Baptist Church — Beaumont, TX 2,033
172 Westbrook Baptist Church of Hutchinson Kansas — Hutchinson, KS 2,032
173 Thompson Station Baptist Church — Thompson Station, TN 2,031
174 Skyland — Kannapolis, NC 2,006
175 Baptist Temple — Mcallen, TX 2,000
175 East Brent Baptist Church — Pensacola, FL 2,000
175 First Baptist Church — Bossier City, LA 2,000
175 First Baptist Church — Wylie, TX 2,000
175 First Baptist Church Jackson — Jackson, MS 2,000
175 First Baptist of Jonesboro — Jonesboro, GA 2,000
175 Iglesia Bautista De Glenview — Ponce, PR 2,000
175 Irvine Baptist Church — Irvine, CA 2,000
175 Riverland Hills Baptist Church — Irmo, SC 2,000
175 Sixth Avenue Baptist Church — Birmingham, AL 2,000
175 Spotswood Baptist Church — Fredericksburg, VA 2,000
175 Sunnyvale First Baptist Church — Sunnyvale, TX 2,000
187 The Fort Bend Church — Sugar Land, TX 1,993
188 NorthPointe Community Church — Fresno, CA 1,992
189 Chets Creek Church — Jacksonville, FL 1,969
190 Northwood Church — Keller, TX 1,963
191 Cuyahoga Valley  Church — Broadview Heights, OH 1,961
192 Ridgecrest Baptist Church — Springfield, MO 1,960
193 Warren Baptist Church — Augusta, GA 1,956
194 Marathon Church — Piedmont, SC 1,952
195 Temple — New Bern, NC 1,949
195 Westside Church — Omaha, NE 1,949
197 Sevierville First Baptist Church — Sevierville, TN 1,948
198 Living Hope — Bowling Green, KY 1,947
199 Midway Macedonia Baptist Church — Villa Rica, GA 1,943
200 Crossgates Baptist Church — Brandon, MS 1,940
201 Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church — Allen, TX 1,933
202 Ingleside Baptist Church — Macon, GA 1,901
203 Hillcrest Baptist Church — Pensacola, FL 1,900
204 First Baptist of Montgomery — Montgomery, AL 1,892
205 Tallowood Baptist Church — Houston, TX 1,887
206 Forest Park Baptist Church — Joplin, MO 1,884
207 CrossPointe Church — Valdosta, GA 1,878
208 Taylors First Baptist Church — Taylors, SC 1,874
209 Sherwood Baptist Church — Albany, GA 1,867
210 Oasis Church of South Florida, Inc — Pembroke Pines, FL 1,860
211 First Baptist Church — Covington, LA 1,854
212 Casas Adobes Baptist Church — Tucson, AZ 1,852
213 Berendo Street Baptist Church — Los Angeles, CA 1,850
213 First Baptist Church of Rockwall — Rockwall, TX 1,850
213 Mount Pleasant Baptist Church — Herndon, VA 1,850
216 Cedar Creek Baptist Church — Aiken, SC 1,844
217 Hyde Park Baptist Church — Austin, TX 1,842
218 Faith Baptist Church — Bartlett, TN 1,835
218 Mountain Lake Community Church — Cumming, GA 1,835
220 Panama City First Baptist Church — Panama City, FL 1,828
221 First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach — West Palm Beach, FL 1,826
222 St Stephen — Louisville, KY 1,825
223 Humble Area’s First Baptist Church — Humble, TX 1,805
224 Brainerd Baptist Church — Chattanooga, TN 1,804
225 Nations Ford Community Church — Charlotte, NC 1,800
225 Northstar Church — Kennesaw, GA 1,800
227 Broadmoor Baptist Church — Shreveport, LA 1,775
227 Dallas Bay Baptist Church — Hixson, TN 1,775
229 Johenning Temple of Praise — Washington, DC 1,763
230 Church On the Eastern Shore — Fairhope, AL 1,760
231 Columbia First Baptist Church — Columbia, SC 1,750
232 Central Baptist Church — Hixson, TN 1,749
232 New Hope Baptist Church — Fayetteville, GA 1,749
234 Brand New Church — Harrison, AR 1,714
235 Istrouma Baptist Church — Baton Rouge, LA 1,712
236 Twin Cities Community Church — Grass Valley, CA 1,705
237 Immanuel Baptist Church — Shawnee, OK 1,700
237 Mt Calvary Baptist Church — Fairfield, CA 1,700
237 North Jacksonville Baptist Church — Jacksonville, FL 1,700
240 Galilee Baptist Church — Suitland, MD 1,694
241 Mandarin Baptist Church of Los Angeles — Alhambra, CA 1,693
242 Fellowship of the Parks — Keller, TX 1,686
243 Rogers First Baptist Church — Rogers, AR 1,683
244 North Monroe Baptist Church — Monroe, LA 1,680
245 Global Mission Church of Greater Washington — Silver Spring, MD 1,673
246 SouthCrest Baptist Church — Newnan, GA 1,667
247 O’Fallon First — O””Fallon, IL 1,661
248 Mount Ararat — Stafford, VA 1,658
249 Cornerstone Peaceful Bible Baptist Church — Upper Marlboro, MD 1,650
249 Tuscaloosa First — Tuscaloosa, AL 1,650
251 First Baptist Church — Carrollton, TX 1,648
252 First Baptist Church Snellville — Snellville, GA 1,646
252 Hope Baptist Church — Las Vegas, NV 1,646
254 Ridgecrest — Dothan, AL 1,643
255 The Avenue Church — Waxahachie, TX 1,638
256 Quail Springs Baptist Church — Oklahoma City, OK 1,630
257 Calvary Baptist Church — Alexandria, LA 1,625
258 Whitesburg Baptist Church — Huntsville, AL 1,615
259 Trinity Baptist Church — Lake Charles, LA 1,614
260 Cross Pointe — Duluth, GA 1,604
261 Greater Exodus Baptist Church — Philadelphia, PA 1,600
261 Heartland — Paducah, KY 1,600
261 North Phoenix Baptist Church — Phoenix, AZ 1,600
261 Oakwood Baptist Church — Chickamauga, GA 1,600
261 Stonegate Fellowship Church — Midland, TX 1,600
266 Cowboy Church of Ellis County — Waxahachie, TX 1,592
267 North Richland Hills Baptist Church — North Richland Hills, TX 1,581
267 Southcrest Baptist Church — Lubbock, TX 1,581
269 Jacob’s Well — Eau Claire, WI 1,570
270 First Baptist Church — Raytown, MO 1,566
271 Colonial Hills Baptist Church — Southaven, MS 1,563
272 First Chinese Baptist Church — Los Angeles, CA 1,560
273 Jersey Baptist Church — Pataskala, OH 1,557
274 PaulAnn Baptist Church — San Angelo, TX 1,544
275 Lee Park Baptist Church — Monroe, NC 1,541
276 River Oak Church — Chesapeake, VA 1,528
277 First Baptist Church — Denton, TX 1,524
278 Clarksville First Baptist Church — Clarksville, TN 1,518
279 Anastasia Baptist Church — St. Augustine, FL 1,510
280 First Redeemer Church — Cumming, GA 1,507
281 First Baptist Church of Middleburg — Middleburg, FL 1,504
282 Bannockburn Baptist Church — Austin, TX 1,500
282 Crossword Christian Fellowship — Riverside, CA 1,500
282 Family Church Inc. — Pine Bluff, AR 1,500
282 First Baptist Church — Garland, TX 1,500
282 Grace Point Church — San Antonio, TX 1,500
282 La Familia de Dios — Ontario, CA 1,500
282 New Life Community — E Saint Louis, IL 1,500
282 Redeemer Fellowship — Kansas City, MO 1,500
282 Rockpointe Church — Flower Mound, TX 1,500
282 Southern Hills Baptist Church — Oklahoma City, OK 1,500
282 Zion Baptist Church — Marietta, GA 1,500
293 Richland Creek Community — Wake Forest, NC 1,492
294 Kirby Woods Baptist Church — Memphis, TN 1,490
295 True North Church — North Augusta, SC 1,486
296 Seoul Baptist Church of Houston — Houston, TX 1,478
297 Foothills Community Church — Seneca, SC 1,474
297 Powell First Baptist Church — Powell, TN 1,474
299 Millington First Baptist Church — Millington, TN 1,473
300 First Baptist Church Tulsa — Tulsa, OK 1,456
301 North Metro First Baptist Church — Lawrenceville, GA 1,454
302 First Baptist Church — San Antonio, TX 1,450
302 First Baptist Church of Harvester — Saint Charles, MO 1,450
304 First Baptist Church — Moore, OK 1,449
305 Lakewood Baptist Church — Gainesville, GA 1,447
306 Temple Baptist Church — Hattiesburg, MS 1,444
307 Woodland Community Church — Bradenton, FL 1,442
308 Hendersonville First — Hendersonville, NC 1,434
309 First Baptist Church Windermere — Windermere, FL 1,433
310 Maryville First — Maryville, IL 1,425
311 Grand Avenue Baptist Church — Fort Smith, AR 1,422
312 Iglesia Bautista West Brownsville — Brownsville, TX 1,420
313 First Baptist Church — Texarkana, TX 1,412
314 Boiling Springs First Baptist Church — Boiling Springs, SC 1,410
315 Fellowship of The Rockies — Pueblo, CO 1,404
316 121 Community Church — Grapevine, TX 1,400
316 Benton First Baptist Church — Benton, AR 1,400
316 Canaan Christian — Louisville, KY 1,400
316 Community Life Church — Forney, TX 1,400
316 Concord Missionary Baptist Church — Dallas, TX 1,400
316 Cornerstone Community Church — Orangeburg, SC 1,400
316 Fairview Baptist Church — Corryton, TN 1,400
316 First Baptist Church of Plant City — Plant City, FL 1,400
316 First St. John Missionary Baptist — Fort Worth, TX 1,400
316 Greater St Matthew Baptist Church — Houston, TX 1,400
316 Grove Level Baptist Church — Maysville, GA 1,400
316 Keystone Community Fellowship — North Wales, PA 1,400
316 Newchurch — Oklahoma City, OK 1,400
316 Valley Creek Baptist Church — Flower Mound, TX 1,400
330 Genoa Baptist Church — Westerville, OH 1,398
331 Clovis Hills Community Church — Clovis, CA 1,388
331 Collierville First Baptist Church — Collierville, TN 1,388
333 Lawndale — Greensboro, NC 1,382
334 Bay Leaf Baptist Church — Raleigh, NC 1,377
334 Lifepoint Church — Fredericksburg, VA 1,377
336 Graceland Baptist Church — New Albany, IN 1,375
336 St Stephen Baptist Church — Houston, TX 1,375
338 Fort Smith First Baptist Church — Fort Smith, AR 1,367
339 First Baptist Church of Kissimmee — Kissimmee, FL 1,364
340 First Baptist Church of Central Florida — Orlando, FL 1,362
341 Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church — Houston, TX 1,355
342 Second Baptist Church — Warner Robins, GA 1,353
343 Sarasota Baptist Church — Sarasota, FL 1,351
344 Council Road Baptist Church — Bethany, OK 1,350
344 Resurrection Baptist Church — Schertz, TX 1,350
346 Longview Heights Baptist Church — Olive Branch, MS 1,347
347 Alice Drive Baptist Church — Sumter, SC 1,345
347 Paramount Baptist Church — Amarillo, TX 1,345
349 Fellowship Community Church — Salem, VA 1,343
349 Roswell Street Baptist Church — Marietta, GA 1,343
351 Bon Air Baptist Church — Richmond, VA 1,339
352 Spring Baptist Church — Spring, TX 1,331
353 ClearView Baptist Church — Franklin, TN 1,330
354 First Baptist of Conyers — Conyers, GA 1,325
354 Hopeful Baptist Church — Lake City, FL 1,325
356 Hyland Heights Baptist – Lynchburg — Lynchburg, VA 1,314
357 Severns Valley — Elizabethtown, KY 1,311
358 Germantown Baptist Church — Germantown, TN 1,310
358 Grace Church — Des Moines, IA 1,310
358 Immanuel Baptist Church — Little Rock, AR 1,310
358 Lexington Baptist Church — Lexington, SC 1,310
362 Crosspoint, Southern Baptist Church — Trussville, AL 1,309
362 Del Sol Church — El Paso, TX 1,309
364 Scotts Hill — Wilmington, NC 1,306
365 Stevens Street Baptist Church — Cookeville, TN 1,304
366 Lone Oak First — Paducah, KY 1,301
367 Bayside Baptist Church — Harrison, TN 1,300
367 Bentonville First Baptist Church — Bentonville, AR 1,300
367 Daybreak Community Church — Carlsbad, CA 1,300
367 First Baptist Church — Hurst, TX 1,300
367 First Baptist of Gainesville — Gainesville, GA 1,300
367 First Keller — Keller, TX 1,300
367 First Southern Baptist Church — Oklahoma City, OK 1,300
367 Hibernia Baptist Church — Fleming Island, FL 1,300
367 Higher Ground Baptist Church — Kingsport, TN 1,300
367 Hill Crest — Anniston, AL 1,300
367 Hopewell Baptist Church — Gainesville, GA 1,300
367 Johns Creek Baptist Church — Alpharetta, GA 1,300
367 Morristown First Baptist Church — Morristown, TN 1,300
367 Oak Ridge Baptist Church — Salisbury, MD 1,300
381 First Baptist Church Woodbridge, Incorporated — Woodbridge, VA 1,299
382 First Baptist Church — Lubbock, TX 1,298
383 First Baptist Church — Roanoke, VA 1,296
383 Westwood Baptist Church — Alabaster, AL 1,296
385 Bellevue — Owensboro, KY 1,295
386 Centennial Community Church — Littleton, CO 1,291
387 North Asheville Baptist Church — Asheville, NC 1,286
388 Emmanuel Baptist Church — Enid, OK 1,284
389 Hiland Park Baptist Church — Panama City, FL 1,283
389 Jersey Village Baptist Church — Houston, TX 1,283
391 First Baptist Church — Universal Cty, TX 1,281
391 Hilldale Baptist Church — Clarksville, TN 1,281
393 New River Community Church — Lake Wylie, SC 1,278
394 Avalon Church — McDonough, GA 1,275
395 FishHawk Fellowship — Lithia, FL 1,269
396 Metro — Edwardsville, IL 1,268
397 Parkwood Baptist Church — Gastonia, NC 1,267
398 Grace Fellowship Church — Paradise, TX 1,262
399 Lakeview — Auburn, AL 1,260
400 Aloma Church Ministries, Inc. — Winter Park, FL 1,255
401 Fruit Cove Baptist Church — Jacksonville, FL 1,252
402 Peace Baptist Church — Decatur, GA 1,251
403 Dothan First — Dothan, AL 1,250
403 First Baptist Church of Allen, Texas — Allen, TX 1,250
403 Powhatan Community Church — Powhatan, VA 1,250
403 Skyway Church of The West Valley — Goodyear, AZ 1,250
407 Westside Baptist Church — Jacksonville, FL 1,248
408 First Missionary Baptist Church — Ardmore, OK 1,246
409 First Baptist Church — Georgetown, TX 1,245
410 Journey Church — Evans, GA 1,244
411 Prattville First Baptist Church — Prattville, AL 1,243
412 Watkinsville First Baptist Church — Watkinsville, GA 1,233
413 The Fellowship at Two Rivers — Nashville, TN 1,231
414 First Baptist Church of Merritt Island — Merritt Island, FL 1,230
415 Calvary — Tuscaloosa, AL 1,228
416 Dogwood Church — Peachtree City, GA 1,223
417 The Glade Church — Gladeville, TN 1,218
418 Birchman Baptist Church, Fort Worth — Fort Worth, TX 1,215
419 First Baptist Church — Midlothian, TX 1,212
419 Golden Acres  Baptist  Church — Phenix City, AL 1,212
421 Terrace Church at Six Mile — Tampa, FL 1,211
422 Englewood — Rocky Mount, NC 1,208
423 Stuart Heights Baptist Church — Hixson, TN 1,204
424 Cedar Street Baptist Church of God — Richmond, VA 1,200
424 Daystar Church — Greensboro, NC 1,200
424 Emmanuel Haitian Baptist Church — Miami, FL 1,200
424 Faith Baptist Church — Youngsville, NC 1,200
424 First Baptist Church — Richardson, TX 1,200
424 First Baptist Church, Summit — Summit, MS 1,200
424 First Baptist of Douglasville — Douglasville, GA 1,200
424 Fraternity Haitian Baptist Church — Miami, FL 1,200
424 Hope Ministries Ocala — Ocala, FL 1,200
424 North Oxford Baptist Church — Oxford, MS 1,200
424 Northeast Houston Baptist Church, Humble — Humble, TX 1,200
424 Russell Missionary Baptist Church — Green Cove Springs, FL 1,200
424 Tacoma First Baptist Church — Tacoma, WA 1,200
424 Travis Avenue Baptist Church — Fort Worth, TX 1,200
424 Woodland Park Baptist Church — Chattanooga, TN 1,200
439 Westside Baptist Church — Gainesville, FL 1,195
440 First Baptist Church — Lewisville, TX 1,191
441 Northcliffe Baptist Church — Spring Hill, FL 1,189
442 Northside Baptist Church — Lexington, SC 1,186
443 Parkway Church — Victoria, TX 1,184
444 Harrisburg Baptist Church — Tupelo, MS 1,181
445 Vaughn Forest Church — Montgomery, AL 1,175
446 Hermitage Hills Baptist Church — Hermitage, TN 1,174
447 Crossway Baptist Church — Springfield, MO 1,170
447 First Baptist Church of Pelham — Pelham, AL 1,170
449 Grove Avenue Baptist Church — Richmond, VA 1,169
450 First Baptist North Mobile — Saraland, AL 1,164
451 Anderson Mill Road Baptist Church — Moore, SC 1,160
451 First Baptist Church — Warrensburg, MO 1,160
453 Florence — Florence, KY 1,159
454 Green Street — High Point, NC 1,157
454 South Biscayne Church — North Port, FL 1,157
456 Western Avenue — Statesville, NC 1,153
457 Village Baptist Church — Fayetteville, NC 1,152
458 Arran Lake Baptist Church — Fayetteville, NC 1,150
458 Cornerstone Baptist Church, Arlington — Arlington, TX 1,150
458 Coronado Baptist Church — El Paso, TX 1,150
458 Emmanuel Community Church — Conyers, GA 1,150
458 First Baptist Church — Lafayette, LA 1,150
458 Friendship Baptist Church — The Colony, TX 1,150
458 Gulf to Lake Baptist Church, Inc. — Crystal River, FL 1,150
458 Hardin — Hardin, KY 1,150
458 Hopewell — Monroe, NC 1,150
458 Rich Fork — Thomasville, NC 1,150
468 Pathways Community Church — Santee, CA 1,145
469 North Side Baptist Church — Greenwood, SC 1,144
470 Harvest Baptist Church — Watauga, TX 1,143
471 First Baptist Church — Colleyville, TX 1,142
471 High Rock — Salisbury, NC 1,142
473 NorthPark Baptist Church — Trussville, AL 1,141
474 First Baptist Church — Burleson, TX 1,138
475 First Baptist Church — Frisco, TX 1,136
476 Crossroads Baptist Church — The Woodlands, TX 1,134
477 First Baptist Church Statesboro — Statesboro, GA 1,130
478 Fairview Baptist Church — Columbus, MS 1,125
479 Dayspring Baptist Church — Mobile, AL 1,121
480 West Jackson Baptist Church — Jackson, TN 1,120
481 Ocean View Church — San Diego, CA 1,115
482 Columbia First Baptist Church — Columbia, TN 1,113
483 North Side Baptist Church — Weatherford, TX 1,110
484 Hunters’ Glen Baptist Church — Plano, TX 1,107
485 The Fellowship At Cinco Ranch — Katy, TX 1,106
486 Calvary Baptist Church — Shreveport, LA 1,104
487 Immanuel — Lexington, KY 1,103
488 Belle Aire Baptist Church — Murfreesboro, TN 1,100
488 Central Baptist Church — Warner Robins, GA 1,100
488 Cielo Vista Church, El Paso — El Paso, TX 1,100
488 Cool Spring Baptist Church — Mechanicsville, VA 1,100
488 Cornerstone Baptist Church — Roseville, MI 1,100
488 First Baptist Church — Irving, TX 1,100
488 First Baptist Church — Branson, MO 1,100
488 First Baptist Church Powder Springs — Powder Springs, GA 1,100
488 Fort Mill First Baptist Church — Fort Mill, SC 1,100
488 Green Valley Baptist Church — Henderson, NV 1,100
488 Hillcrest Baptist Church — Lebanon, TN 1,100
488 Mount Zion Baptist Church — Huntsville, AL 1,100
488 Rock Hill First Baptist Church — Rock Hill, SC 1,100
488 Russellville First Baptist Church — Russellville, AR 1,100
488 Vandalia First Baptist Church — Vandalia, OH 1,100
488 Westside Baptist Church — Lewisville, TX 1,100
504 Binghamtown — Middlesboro, KY 1,096
504 Franklin Heights Baptist Church — Rocky Mount, VA 1,096
506 Prince Avenue Baptist Church — Bogart, GA 1,095
507 First Baptist Church — Bryan, TX 1,092
508 First Baptist Church Lilburn — Lilburn, GA 1,091
509 First Baptist Church — Odessa, TX 1,090
510 Great Hills Baptist Church, Austin — Austin, TX 1,088
511 West University Baptist Church — Houston, TX 1,086
512 LifeSpring Church, SBC — Bellevue, NE 1,085
513 Old Fort Baptist Church — Summerville, SC 1,080
514 The River Community Church — Cookeville, TN 1,079
515 First Baptist Church of Alexandria, Virginia — Alexandria, VA 1,076
516 Millbrook Baptist Church — Aiken, SC 1,074
517 First Baptist Church of Mt Pleasant — Mt Pleasant, SC 1,070
518 Cornerstone Community — Marion, IL 1,064
518 Highland Baptist Church — Waco, TX 1,064
520 Living Stone Cathedral of Worship — Littlerock, CA 1,060
521 Walnut Ridge Baptist Church, Mansfield — Mansfield, TX 1,059
522 Northside Baptist Church — Liverpool, NY 1,057
523 Little Flock — Shepherdsville, KY 1,056
524 The Church at Viera — Melbourne, FL 1,054
525 Forest Hills Baptist Church — Nashville, TN 1,051
526 Enterprise First Baptist Church — Enterprise, AL 1,050
526 First Baptist Church Madison — Madison, MS 1,050
526 First Baptist Church of New Port Richey — New Port Richey, FL 1,050
526 Harris Creek Baptist Church — Mc Gregor, TX 1,050
526 Living Water Foundation Church And Ministries, Inc — Norfolk, VA 1,050
526 New Song Church — Carrollton, TX 1,050
526 Tri-Cities Baptist Church — Gray, TN 1,050
533 First Baptist Church of Weston — Weston, FL 1,049
534 Tillman’s Corner First — Mobile, AL 1,048
535 First Baptist of Cumming — Cumming, GA 1,047
536 First Baptist Church — Richmond, VA 1,045
536 Mountain View Baptist Church — Thomaston, GA 1,045
536 St Luke Missionary Baptist Church — Humble, TX 1,045
539 Brookwood Baptist Church — Shreveport, LA 1,043
540 Southwinds Church — Tracy, CA 1,040
541 Lindsay Lane Baptist Church — Athens, AL 1,036
541 The Summit Church — North Little Rock, AR 1,036
543 Lakeside Baptist Church — Granbury, TX 1,035
544 South Tampa Fellowship — Tampa, FL 1,034
545 Hillcrest — Hopkinsville, KY 1,033
545 Porter Memorial — Lexington, KY 1,033
547 First Baptist Church — Houma, LA 1,032
548 Salem Baptist Church — McDonough, GA 1,031
549 Copperfield Church — Houston, TX 1,030
549 Cornerstone Family Church — St. Cloud, FL 1,030
551 First Baptist Church — The Woodlands, TX 1,029
552 First Baptist Church of Brandon — Brandon, MS 1,028
552 Glen Haven Baptist Church — McDonough, GA 1,028
554 Hot Springs First Baptist Church — Hot Springs, AR 1,026
555 Pioneer Drive Baptist Church — Abilene, TX 1,025
556 First Baptist Church of Ocala — Ocala, FL 1,023
556 West Acres Baptist Church — Evans, GA 1,023
558 First Baptist Church of Daytona Beach — Daytona Beach, FL 1,021
558 First Baptist Church of Leesburg — Leesburg, FL 1,021
560 514 Church — New Albany, OH 1,020
560 First Chinese Baptist Church — Walnut, CA 1,020
562 Life Community Church — Jamestown, NC 1,013
563 Corryton Baptist Church — Corryton, TN 1,012
564 First Baptist of Augusta — Augusta, GA 1,011
565 Oakland Baptist Church — Corinth, MS 1,010
566 Clearview Baptist Church — Travelers Rest, SC 1,009
567 Decatur Baptist — Decatur, AL 1,007
568 Cypress Baptist Church — Benton, LA 1,006
569 Deep Creek Baptist Church — Chesapeake, VA 1,005
569 New Hope Church — Lorton, VA 1,005
571 First Baptist Church — Belton, TX 1,003
572 Progressive Community Church — Stockton, CA 1,002
573 Cross Brand Cowboy Church — Tyler, TX 1,001
574 Amite Baptist Church — Denham Springs, LA 1,000
574 Antioch Church — Long Beach, CA 1,000
574 City Church — Tallahassee, FL 1,000
574 Coggin Avenue Baptist Church — Brownwood, TX 1,000
574 Crestview Baptist Church — Georgetown, TX 1,000
574 Emmanuel Baptist Church — Grenada, MS 1,000
574 Family Fellowship of Greenville — Greenville, TX 1,000
574 First Baptist Church of Rincon — Rincon, GA 1,000
574 First Baptist Church on the Square — LaGrange, GA 1,000
574 Good Community Church — Torrance, CA 1,000
574 Greenwell Springs Baptist Church — Greenwell Springs, LA 1,000
574 Mims Baptist Church, Conroe — Conroe, TX 1,000
574 New Life Christian Fellowship — Blacksburg, VA 1,000
574 Pleasant Garden — Pleasant Garden, NC 1,000
574 Primera Iglesia Bautista de Coral Park — Miami, FL 1,000
574 Sardis Missionary Baptist Church — Birmingham, AL 1,000
574 Second Missionary Baptist Church — Grandview, MO 1,000
574 Sharon-H Baptist Church — McDonough, GA 1,000
574 The Journey Church — New York, NY 1,000
574 The Tabernacle — Danville, VA 1,000
574 Tulip Grove Baptist Church — Old Hickory, TN 1,000
2013-07-19T17:22:16-05:00

Last updated on: July 19, 2013 at 5:22 pm   By

From GRACE, with Boz Tchividjian ([email protected]) and NetGrace:

A Public Statement Concerning

Sexual Abuse in the Church of Jesus Christ

Recent allegations of sexual abuse and cover-up within a well known international ministry and subsequent public statements by several evangelical leaders have angered and distressed many, both inside and outside of the Church. These events expose the troubling reality that, far too often, the Church’s instincts are no different than from those of many other institutions, responding to such allegations by moving to protect her structures rather than her children. This is a longstanding problem in the Christian world, and we are deeply grieved by the failures of the American and global Church in responding to the issue of sexual abuse. We do not just believe we should do better; as those who claim the name of Jesus and the cause of the Gospel, we are convinced we must do better. In the hope that a time is coming when Christian leaders respond to all sexual abuse with outrage and courage, we offer this confession and declare the Good News of Jesus on behalf of the abused, ignored and forgotten.

Through the media we have been confronted with perpetual reports of grievous sexual abuse and its cover-up. Institutions ranging from the Catholic Church, various Protestant churches and missionary organizations, Penn State, Yeshiva University High School, the Boy Scouts, and all branches of our military have been rocked by allegations of abuse and of complicity in silencing the victims. And while many evangelical leaders have eagerly responded with outrage to those public scandals, we must now acknowledge long-silenced victims who are speaking out about sexual abuse in evangelical Christian institutions: schools, mission fields and churches, large and small. And we must confess we have done far too little to hear and help them.

Holocaust survivor and author, Elie Weisel, once said, “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim…silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” When we choose willful ignorance, inaction or neutrality in the face of evil, we participate in the survival of that evil. When clergy, school administrations, boards of directors, or military commanders have been silent or have covered up abuse, they have joined with those who perpetrate crimes against the “little ones” – often children, but also others who are on the underside of power because of size, age, position or authority.

It goes without saying that sexual abuse is criminal, but within the Church we also believe that it is the work of the enemy of our souls — evil, horrific sin perpetrated in dark and hidden places, forever altering lives and destroying the faith of the abused. How could such evil be present and overlooked in the body of Christ? Surely as his followers, we would do everything in our power to expose the deeds of darkness, opening the mouths of the mute, the afflicted and the needy. The Church must never hinder those who so desperately need to run to God and his people for safety, hope and truth, while also providing them protection from the great deceiver.

But we have hindered the victims. By our silence and our efforts to protect our names and institutions and “missions,” we, the body of Christ, have often sided with an enemy whose sole purpose is and has always been to destroy the Lamb of God and his presence in this world. Our busyness and inattention have often resulted in complicity in allowing dark places that shelter abuse to fester and survive.

We must face the truths of our own teachings: To be a shepherd in the body of Christ and blind to the knowledge that your sheep are being abused by wolves in your midst is to be an inattentive shepherd. To judge merely by outward appearances is a failure of righteousness. To fail to obey the laws of the land as Scripture commands by declining to report and expose abuse is to be a disobedient shepherd. To be told that wolves are devouring our lambs and fail to protect those lambs is to be a shepherd who sides with the wolves who hinder those same little ones from coming to Jesus. To fail to grasp the massive web of deception entangling an abuser and set him or her loose among the sheep is to be naïve about the very nature and power of sin. To be told a child is being or has been abused and to make excuses for failing to act is a diabolical misrepresentation of God. To know a woman is being raped or battered in hidden places and silence her or send her back is to align with those who live as enemies of our God. Protecting an institution or organization rather than a living, breathing lamb is to love ministry more than God and to value a human name or institution more than the peerless name of Jesus.

Dear church of Jesus Christ, we must set aside every agenda but one: to gently lead every man, woman and child into the arms of our Good Shepherd, who gave his very life to rescue us from the clutches of our enemy and from sin and death — who rose from the dead and called us to the safety of his side. As we follow this Good Shepherd, we will “eliminate harmful beasts from the land, make places of blessing for the sheep, deliver them from their enslavers and make them secure in places where no one will make them afraid” (Ezekiel 34:25-28).  Surely it is for such a time as this that the Church has been empowered to boldly and bravely embody the Good News to accusers and accused alike, and to forsake our own comfort and position to love the hurting with an illogical extravagance.

To all who have been abused, broken, deceived and ignored, we have failed you and our God. We repent for looking nothing like our Lord when we have silenced you, ignored you or moved away from you and then acted as if you were the problem. You are not the problem; you are the voice of our God calling his church to repentance and humility. Thank you for having the courage to speak truth. May God have mercy on us all and oh may the day come when his church reflects the indescribable love and compassion of Jesus, even to the point of laying down our lives for his precious sheep.

Dated this 17th day of July, 2013.

Click here to add your voice and sign this statement along with those listed below.

Carol Ajamian, Retired
Jim Arcieri, Pastor of Community Bible Fellowship Church in Red Hill, PA

William S. Barker, Professor of Church History, Emeritus at Westminster Theological Seminary (PA)

Steve Brown, Professor, Emeritus of Preaching and Pastoral Ministry at Reformed Theological Seminary, President of Key Life Network, Inc., and Author

P. J. (“Flip”) Buys, Associate International Director of the World Reformed Fellowship, South Africa

Rebecca Campbell, Member of the Board of Trustees at Biblical Theological Seminary

Alan Chambers, Founder, Speak.Love

Kelly Clark, Attorney with the law firm of O’Donnell Clark and Crew, LLP in Portland, OR

Julie Clinton, President of Extraordinary Women

Tim Clinton, President of the American Association of Christian Counselors and Professor of Counseling and Pastoral Care at Liberty University

Wentzel Coetzer, Professor of Theology at Northwest University (Potschefstroom, South Africa)

James Courtney, Ruling Elder at Trinity Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Rye, NY

Margaret Courtney, Co-Director of Family Ministries at Trinity Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Rye, NY

Glenn Davies, Bishop of North Sydney, Australia

D. Clair Davis, Chaplain at Redeemer Seminary

Chuck DeGroat, Associate Professor of Counseling and Pastoral Care at Western Theological Seminary and Senior Fellow at Newbigin House

Mary DeMuth, Author and Blogger

David G. Dunbar, Professor of Theology at Biblical Theological Seminary

Diana S. Durrill, Pastor’s wife and Sexual abuse survivor

Michael J. Durrill, Pastor of Valley Community Church in Louisville, CO

William Edgar, Professor of Apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary (PA)

Rob Edwards, Pastor of Mercy Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Forest, VA

Mr. Rinaldo Lotti Filho, Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church of Brazil (Sao Paulo)

Elyse Fitzpatrick, Counselor and Author

Ryan Ferguson, Pastor of Community Connection at North Hills Community Church in Taylors, SC

E. Robert Geehan, Pastor of The Reformed Church in Poughkeepsie, NY (RCA)

Shannon Geiger, Counselor at Park Cities Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Dallas, TX

Douglas Green, Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary (PA)

Fred Harrell, Sr., Senior Pastor of City Church in San Francisco, CA

Robert Heerdt, Chief Investment Officer at BenefitWorks, Inc.

Walter Henegar, Senior Pastor of Atlanta Westside Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Atlanta, GA

Craig Higgins, Senior Pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Westchester County, NY and North American Regional Coordinator for the World Reformed Fellowship

Justin Holcomb, Author and Adjunct Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary

Lindsey Holcomb, Author and former case manager for sexual assault crisis center

Peter Hubbard, Pastor of Teaching at North Hills Community Church in Taylors, SC

Carolyn James, President of WhitbyForum

Frank James, President of Biblical Theological Seminary

Karen Jansson, Board member of the World Reformed Fellowship Board Member and Treasurer of the Russian Orphan Opportunity Fund, USA

Kathy Koch, President and Founder of Celebrate Kids

Matthew Lacey, Development Director for GRACE

David Lamb, Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biblical Theological Seminary

Diane Langberg, Clinical Psychologist and Author

Daniel N. LaValla, Director of Library Services and Development Associate at Biblical Theological Seminary

Samuel Logan, International Director of the World Reformed Fellowship, President Emeritus of Westminster Theological Seminary (PA), and Special Counsel to the President at Biblical Theological Seminary

Tremper Longman, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College

Kin Yip Louie, Assistant Professor of Theological Studies at China Graduate School of Theology

Fergus Macdonald, Past President of the United Bible Societies (Scotland)

Todd Mangum, Academic Dean and Professor of Theology at Biblical Theological Seminary

Dan McCartney, Professor of New Testament at Redeemer Seminary

Scot McKnight, Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary and Author

Jonathan Merritt, Faith and Culture writer

Pat Millen, Member of the Board of Trustees at Biblical Seminary

Philip Monroe, Professor of Counseling and Psychology at Biblical Theological Seminary

Amy Norvell, Director of Classical Conversations in Bryan/College Station, TX, Pastor’s wife, and Sexual abuse survivor

Thad Norvell, Pastor at Community Church in Bryan/College Station, TX

K. Eric Perrin, Senior Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Cherry Hill, NJ

Michael Reagan, President of the Reagan Legacy Foundation

Matthew Redmond, Author

Nathan Rice, Director of Middle School Ministries at First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Bellevue, WA

Tamara Rice, Freelance Writer and Editor

Adam L Saenz, Clinical Psychologist and Author

Karen L. Sawyer, Vice Chair and Chair Elect of the Board of Trustees, Biblical Theological Seminary and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Arcadia University

Scotty Smith, Founding Pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, TN

Ron Scates, Preaching Pastor at Highland Park Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Dallas, Texas

Andrew J. Schmutzer, Professor of Biblical Studies at Moody Bible Institute

Chris Seay, Pastor at Ecclesia in Houston, TX

Mike Sloan, Associate Pastor at Old Peachtree Presbyterian Church in DuLuth, GA

Basyle J. Tchividjian, Executive Director, GRACE and Associate Professor of Law at Liberty University School of Law

Laura Thien, LMHC and Board Chairperson of the Julie Valentine Center in Greenville, SC

Jessica Thompson, Author

Rick Tyson, Senior Pastor at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Willow Grove, PA

John Williams, Ruling Elder in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Washington Island, WI

John Wilson, Pastor in the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, Australia

William Paul Young, Author

 

 

 

 

2013-06-07T07:07:17-05:00

Last updated on: June 7, 2013 at 7:07 am   By

Ten fitness myths… good read.

Nature’s strength (to the left).

The NCCA follows its own set of rules, but on this it means the young athlete will drive to another place and wash her car — on scholarship: “A member of a women’s golf team at a West Coast Conference school has been sanctioned by the NCAA for washing her car on campus, according to University of Portland basketball coach Eric Reveno. Reveno tweeted about the violation Wednesday after he learned of it during conference meetings, culminating his message with the hashtag #stopinsanity. “Just heard about two NCAA violations in WCC. 1) athlete using Univ. water to wash car, 2) coach text recruit ‘who is this?'” Reveno wrote. The WCC school in question self-reported the extra benefits violation to the NCAA, Yahoo Sports! reported. Yahoo also reported the NCAA asked the golfer to pay the school $20, which they said was the value of the water and hose.” The solution: make the college athletes professionals, which they are already, and be done with the nonsense.

Joel Miller, on the most highlighted verse in the most highlighted book, the Bible: “Read instead as the ancient Christians read it, Paul’s statement is not merely that we should take our anxieties to God, good as that may be. It’s that the judge of the universe is near so we can have confidence that wrong will be set right. It’s not about trying to suppress our worries and trust God, which is for many a necessary but challenging effort that contains within it many of its own worries. That’s the wrong focus. It’s about the realization that God will soon wipe away every reason for worry. It’s a reminder of our real hope. Our eyes are on the wrong thing if we’re merely praying to have life’s worrisome aspects eliminated so we can carry on stress free. Rather, we have no reason for anxiety because the judge of all the earth is already on his way. To be clear, it’s easier to write these words than live by them. But if we needed to be convinced of anything, it is not that prayer is a means to reduce our anxieties. It’s that Christ is coming.” Maybe this is the most often misused text.

Medgar Evers tribute. “Evers had been laying the groundwork for nearly a decade by then. In his role as field secretary for the NAACP, he traveled the state — registering voters, organizing boycotts of segregated businesses, and encouraging activists not to be intimidated. He also tried to lift what his widow calls the “cotton curtain” that had kept the violence in Mississippi hidden from the rest of the nation. One of his first NAACP assignments was investigating Emmett Till’s murder in 1955.”

Randy Heskett and Joel Butler: “Joel and I were also fascinated by just how important of a commodity wine was in the ancient world. We discovered that by the Roman age, people on average drank 100 gallons of wine a year.  The biblical writers mention wine over 235 times and it was one of the largest economic sources in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean culture.  Hence, vineyards were one of the first things destroyed in war because the destruction of the wine industry crippled the economy.”

Early christology in Jewish perspective.

Why is our work balance so out of whack? “Among all advanced nations, we rank 28th — barely better than Mexico. Why’s our work-life balance so bad if leisure is growing? Because single moms are growing faster.” That is, “This raises a thorny question: If we’re so rich, why are we working so hard that we don’t even have time to cherish the fruits of our productivity?” One more: “So when you hear that American work-life balance ranks poorly, remember that there really isn’t any such thing as “American work-life balance.” Instead there are intersecting trends — only a handful of which I’ve touched on here — showing that, although the workweek has fallen, the changing composition of families has put tremendous time-stresses on more mothers. Overall, research shows that lower-income men have never had more downtime, while working single mothers have never been more common. The first part is a problem. The second is a crisis.”

David Moore: “I don’t know how many times I have heard someone say, “Lloyd-Jones is the greatest preacher of the twentieth-century.”  It is said with conviction.  It is said with certainty.  It is supposedly a self-evident fact. No doubt the good doctor was impressive in many ways, but it is not possible for any human to say “he is the greatest.”  First, what are our criteria?  Second, who can know another man’s motives?  And third, one would have to be aware of every single other preacher to make such an assessment, and who knows that except God?! I read recently where someone said preachers need to stop introducing their wives as the most beautiful which indeed is good counsel.  I would like to extend that to preachers and everyone else for that matter.”

Getting the Pharisees right.

David Lamb, finally getting a baseball at a Phillies game, and the great giveaway. Must-read. By the way, here’s a good timeline for the OT kings and prophets.

A missional guy confesses his sin about Willow Creek: “I believe I have made the mistake that many do. In becoming such a huge advocate of missional communities, I have come across as arrogantly opposed to other forms which the Church takes on to accomplish the mission of God in this world. I resolved early in the start-up phase of Soma to avoid defining ourselves by what we were not. I determined I would say what we were and what we were for. However, in the process I stopped affirming the other parts of the body of Christ that are different. I am sorry. It is arrogance and pride to believe our way is THE way. A few years ago I, along with our elders, repented of this pride at one of our gatherings. This pride showed up in methodolatry. We repented of it. However, it seems that it didn’t go out far enough. There is still a perception that we stand with an arrogant posture regarding our convictions….  There are so many things I learned while there. I learned how to cast vision in a compelling way. I grew in how to say old things in new ways (one of the key lessons about teaching Bill gave me). I understood the importance of team and the trust that must be maintained and protected. I also learned how damaging it is to lose the team’s trust (one of my failures at Willow). I saw the power of valuing those who serve in ministry. Willow is one of the best examples I know of in this area (I’m still working on doing this one better). I discovered that there are unlimited ways to apply creativity to problem-solving if given the time and diversity of perspective. And I saw that thousands of different people can be led in the same direction together if the mission is worthy of giving one’s life to. In all of this, I saw in Bill a father who dearly loves his children and values their uniqueness greatly. I watched a husband who is devoted to his wife. I saw a man who serves his family, his church and his Lord with his whole heart, wildly devoted, passionately engaged and fully given over to the mission of Jesus.”

There are some really cool houses in the world. This is one.

Sad news about suicides, and a plea from Kris and me that if you are struggling with this, please speak with someone today: “It has long held true that elderly people have higher suicide rates than the overall population. But numbers released in May by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a dramatic spike in suicides among middle-aged people, with the highest increases among men in their 50s, whose rate went up by nearly 50 percent to 30 per 100,000; and women in their early 60s, whose rate rose by nearly 60 percent (though it is still relatively low compared with men, at 7 in 100,000). The highest rates were among white and Native American and Alaskan men. In recent years, deaths by suicide has surpassed deaths by motor vehicle crashes. As youths, boomers had higher suicide rates than earlier generations; the confluence of that with the fact that they are now beginning to grow old, when the risk traditionally goes up, has experts worried. The findings suggest that more suicide research and prevention should “address the needs of middle-aged persons,” a CDC statement said.”

Yes, jaw-dropping weapons of destruction from WWII.

 

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