God Will Not Speak to You Through Skywriting

Our desperate pleas for a clear sign from the heavens may be answered already.

We’ve all said it, either out loud or in our heads: “If God would just tell me what to do, I would do it!”

We want to follow God’s will, and when we’re facing a big decision, it does seem that an audible command from God—or even an emphatic hint of some sort—would be extremely helpful, not to mention efficient.

When the way forward seems opaque, we begin to ask why the heavens can’t just part and impart a little direction. After all, God did that for people in the Bible. Couldn’t he do it for us? But I wonder if we aren’t missing a bit of obvious direction that is right beneath our noses.

It’s true that the Bible contains multiple accounts of people who hear the audible voice of God telling them what to do. They receive exactly what we say we want: clear direction from the mouth of God. But rather than rush to obey, alarmingly, they often hesitate or ignore the direction outright.

Moses hesitates when God speaks to him from the burning bush, telling him explicitly to rescue Israel from slavery. Israel ignores the thundering commands of God at Sinai, despite their initial affirmation to “do all that the Lord has said.” Gideon hesitates when God speaks to him on a threshing floor, asking for a series of signs as confirmation. And perhaps most famously of all, Adam and Eve receive an audible command regarding a certain fruit, which they patently ignore.

In light of the evidence, it seems doubtful that the audible voice of God would inspire belief or ensure obedience with us any more than it did with our predecessors.

Yet we persist in looking for some way to be certain of what God wants us to do. We “lay out a fleece” of some sort, thinking, …

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Revitalization, Part Three

Leadership in Church Revitalization

In Parts One and Two, I talked about renewal movements that can help with revitalization and the importance of keeping an evangelistic focus. While these are true, here I articulate what cannot be ignored in church revitalization.

Years ago, one of our research projects involved a study of churches that were successful in revitalization. Mike Dodson and I wrote a book called Comeback Churches to describe what we learned.

As we wrote the book, I didn’t want to focus on leadership. I wanted to see all the various factors involved in revitalization. But facts are our friends, and I couldn’t deny what the research revealed: successful revitalization is overwhelmingly about leadership.

The study showed you simply can’t overestimate the amount of influence the pastor and the pastoral leadership team have. These are the people who lead and are critical to the revitalization process if it is to be successful.

The role of the pastor in particular is both evident and overwhelming. We studied over 300 churches from over a dozen denominations. We created a formula: you had to be declining for at least five years followed by growth between two to five years through church revitalization.

We didn’t want churches who had only turned around for one year. One year could be an anomaly: they could have just had an unusually good year, or a church down the road could have split with some of their members coming to that church. Five years of decline followed by two to five years of growth was our standard.

Here is what we found: about 60 percent of the time that growth came when a new pastor showed up and the old pastor left.

Imagine writing that book. “Hey, here’s your book on church revitalization. We found the key: quit …

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Unleashing the Gift of Evangelism in 2020

What is central to Jesus’ mission for us has become secondary to many Christians.

Evangelism. Evangelist. Evangelize. Who knew that a word with an etymology relating to good news could become such bad news in our world?

We all know that evangelism has fallen on hard times. What is central to Jesus’ mission for us has become secondary to many Christians. Not only does this one word evoke strong emotion (on either side), but it has become increasingly polarizing among evangelicals.

There are few words that consistently cause such varied reactions globally. Some love it and engage in healthy evangelism, some are neutral and prefer to remain unengaged. Yet, others dislike what it entails and some are even unsure about its relevance.

One thing is for sure: evangelism is not going anywhere, and more than ever, we need to reengage in conversation and dialogue around evangelism. Perhaps more than this, we need to embrace and unleash the power and gift of evangelism in our post-everything world.

More than ever, Christians need to reaffirm their commitment to evangelism as a priority in their faith.

Evangelism is…back?

We seem to vacillate in popular opinion regarding the role and importance of evangelism in our faith. There are times when the evangelist is welcomed and there are times when evangelism becomes anathema to Christians—which seems ironic, I know.

Irrespective of our feelings regarding the word itself, sharing one’s faith is an important aspect of the Christian faith. Evangelism is not a side activity for a busy church. Evangelism is not an optional extra. Evangelism is biblical. Evangelism is natural. Evangelism is necessary for Christ-centred, Spirit-filled, and Bible-believing Christians.

John Stott states, “We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, …

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My Husband Is Deconstructing His Faith. How Do I Journey with Him?

This Valentine’s Day, some of us are called to love unbelieving wives and husbands.

In the fall of 2017, not long after we’d celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary, my husband and I sat down for an evening chat after getting the kids to bed. The particulars of the conversation are hazy now, but this was clear: After 30 years of being a Christian and spending almost half of that in ministry, my husband was leaving the faith. The faith that formed our marriage vows; the faith our children were baptized in; the faith we held when we buried a stillborn son; the faith our community was built around; the faith that my vocation is centered around as a spiritual director, writer, and speaker—he was leaving that faith.

I wanted initially to respect this news as his journey (even though it was mine, too), so I didn’t tell anyone. I also tried to keep the experience safe in my head so that I could think my way to answers in the newfound madness. My body, however, told a less cerebral story. I was driving home after a long day of errands when the full impact hit me: My eyes blurred with tears, and short breathes rolled through my chest. Two weeks had passed since my husband had dropped the “I don’t really believe there’s a God anymore” bomb. It took that long before I could even begin to feel the disorienting weight of his words and the betrayal, loss, and grief that came with them. This was clearly more than I could handle alone.

As I shared the news with some close friends and pastors, I felt plagued with questions: How do I tell the kids? What does this mean for their spiritual formation? How do we connect? How do I like him again? How did he get here? Why didn’t he tell me earlier? Will we still go to church together? Will we ever feel normal again?

In Letters to a …

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What Bill Maher, Donald Miller, and John Piper Have in Common

In different ways, God used them to lead me to Christ.

I was a typical American kid, until I wasn’t. In high school, life revolved around sports and popularity. Then, after high school, I took a scholarship to play baseball at Virginia Commonwealth University. By the end of college, most people were ready to take on the responsibilities of adulthood. Not me.

My life got further out of control with each passing year. The weekend parties of my freshman year became weeklong parties by my senior year, as casual drinking metastasized into alcoholism.

With no direction and no aspirations, I took to the streets. And over the next five years, my life spiraled out of control. A college friend with whom I regularly smoked weed connected me with his dealer, and I began selling drugs. To supplement my income, I started working in the restaurant business as a waiter and bartender. This enabled me to keep partying all week, besides supplying an instant client base.

It also introduced me to cocaine. And cocaine stole my soul. As soon as I was introduced, I was hooked. I partied so much that I got fired from multiple bartending jobs. Then I started selling cocaine. I became a monster—a liar and a thief. I used everyone and everything to serve myself. I didn’t care who I hurt.

It almost came to an end one summer night in 2005. I had just returned to my row home after making a few sales. Pulling into my parking space, I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a black Crown Victoria screech to a halt. I figured I was about to be robbed, killed, or arrested.

As I made a beeline toward my back door, I heard someone yell for me to stop. I pretended to be on the phone. He yelled again. I turned around to see a man clad in a black leather coat and jeans. I told him I didn’t know who …

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Christians in the Age of Callout Culture

How Christians lost the benefit of the doubt—and why we need to find the good in each other again.

I used to get excited to see my Twitter mentions spike. Now I dread it. All that attention inevitably means I’m getting called out for something wrong—maybe a typo or broken link, maybe a bad joke or hasty observation.

Posting on social media has always risked irking angry employers, incessant trolls, or vengeful doxxers, but lately we face backlash from our own friends and feeds. The bar for what merits a public reckoning has fallen as the internet incentivizes us to speak up, call out, and shout down.

Last December, The Atlanticdeemed it the “dark psychology of social networks,” noting studies that found tweets using heated language like “wrong” and “shameful” were 20 percent more likely to go viral. Facebook posts professing “indignant disagreement” got about twice as many likes and shares.

Being on the receiving end of a barrage of negative feedback can ruin your day, your year, or your career. Any defense, explanation, or apology could rile up further condemnation. This critical attitude dampens our dialogue and betrays a cynical attitude toward our digital brothers and sisters.

In a community of believers, “love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:7, ESV). In short, we hope for the best and forgive one another quickly when others inevitably fall short.

Yet even among Christians, today’s online chatter is far less “believes all things” and far more “show us the receipts.”

It can seem harsh and ungracious for commenters to go after a single misworded tweet or poorly formed idea. Why so suspicious from the get-go? Why not give someone the benefit of the doubt? But we must …

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Christian College Grads Care More About Helping, Less About Money

Study suggests religious schools should emphasize distinctives.

Christian college graduates are different from their peers at non-religious schools. When they think about work and finding a job, they value making a difference more and making money less.

According to a new study from the Christian think tank Cardus, two-thirds of graduates from private religious colleges and universities say it is important to them to find a job that “directly helps others”—10 percentage points higher than graduates from public schools or private nonreligious schools. About 70 percent of Christian school alumni said it was important to them to have a job that pays well, but that was 6 percentage points lower than other college graduates.

Graduates from religious schools also have a strong sense of moral obligation, according to the study. About 85 percent said it was important to “take action against wrongs and injustice in life.” Almost 80 percent said they should “help people in other countries in poverty or victims of injustice.” This is slightly higher rate than reported by other graduates: About 65 percent of public school alumni and about 73 percent of private non-religious grads feel obligated to oppose foreign poverty and injustice.

Graduates from religious schools are also a little more likely than their peers to feel a moral commitment to caring for the environment. More than 90 percent said that was very important to them.

Cardus, a nonpartisan Canadian-based organization that tries to “translate the richness of the Christian faith tradition into the public square for the common good,” has long been committed to demonstrating the value of Christian schools. This study, “What Do They Deliver?,” was co-authored by Albert Cheng, a professor …

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The Table: On King and Country

A conversation on evangelical Christians’ political obligations.

Amid the tempest of the 2020 election season and all the anxiety it provokes, I’m comforted by the familiar image of Jesus asleep at the stern in a boat being swamped by a furious storm (Matt. 8:24–27). His terrified disciples, experienced sailors scared for their lives, could not fathom how their spiritual captain could seem so indifferent to their doom. But Jesus slept not because he was indifferent or resigned to their fate. Quite the opposite. Jesus was unafraid because he knew he possessed a power greater than the storm. Jesus spoke and the waves were calmed. “What kind of man is this?” his disciples asked. “Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

The whirlwind of American politics continues to swirl, and we evangelicals find ourselves caught up in the tempest. How to navigate a storm we cannot control is an immense challenge. In a political culture shot through with compromise and complexity, how do we advance the values we believe in without becoming complicit in values we do not? Being salt and light in the here and now entails engagement for the good of a world God loves, and yet, as Christians united under the lordship of Christ and Christ’s kingdom, our allegiance exceeds our citizenship.

In the wake of Mark Galli’s viral editorial about President Trump, CT called for a conversation around a common table. As we wrote, “It is time for evangelicals to have a serious discussion about how our identity as Christians shapes our activity as citizens. We will invite authors who represent a variety of viewpoints in a thoughtful and charitable manner.”

It’s taken some time to gather all the RSVPs, but over the coming weeks, we’ll publish a series of pieces …

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27 Countries Join International Religious Freedom Alliance

Poland will host the next IRF ministerial in Warsaw this summer.

WASHINGTON (RNS) — The United States has been joined by 26 other countries in a new International Religious Freedom Alliance that seeks to reduce religious persecution across the globe.

“Together, we say that freedom of religion or belief is not a Western ideal, but truly the bedrock of societies,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday at a dinner at the US State Department launching the alliance that will involve senior representatives of each government.

The alliance’s first meeting fell on the eve of the National Prayer Breakfast, which gathers international religious and diplomatic figures once a year to an event chaired by members of Congress and organized by the International Foundation, a Christian organization also known as The Family or The Fellowship.

Poland, one country in the alliance, announced in a joint statement with the State Department that the next Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom will be held July 14–16 in Warsaw.

“Building on the successes of the 2018 and 2019 ministerials hosted by the United States, the 2020 ministerial will allow countries to share different approaches, debate varying perspectives in the spirit of coherence and complementarity, and address challenges threatening the freedom of religion or belief,” the statement reads.

The two countries said participants at the Warsaw meeting will address “promoting inclusive dialogue to mobilize action and increase awareness regarding the scale of persecution against religion or belief worldwide.”

Besides Poland and the United States, the other founding countries of the International Religious Freedom Alliance are: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia, …

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On the Passing of James Leo Garrett Jr., “The Last of the Gentlemen Theologians”

Numerous tributes and expressions of grief appeared on social media yesterday as we awoke to the news that Baptist theologian James Leo Garrett Jr. had passed away in the night.

Students and colleagues mourned and reminisced about the unique and impactful character and work of this beloved scholar and churchman. Malcolm Yarnell, Research Professor of Systematic Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, referred to Dr. Garrett yesterday as “the last of the gentlemen theologians,” a phrase he has used many times to describe him.

Paul Basden also used that interesting term of Dr. Garrett in Baptist Theologians, stating, “I predict that future generations will regard him as a ‘gentleman theologian.’” While many may see this phrase as generalized reference to Dr. Garrett’s irenic spirit, it is actually more of a technical term.

The idea of “the gentlemen theologians” was proposed in 1978 by historian E. Brooks Holifield who used the term to refer to southern theologians in the late-18th to mid-19th century who, unlike the common stereotype of southern ministers and theologians of this time, eschewed mere emotionalism and playing to the ecclesial gallery and, instead, were marked by both gentility and rationality.

In other words, the “gentlemen theologians” were committed churchmen of deep faith who exhibited great scholarly care in their approach to the theological task and offered strong but irenic defenses of orthodox theology and belief. They were respected and their ministries and scholarship were robust and marked by integrity.

In light of this, it is difficult indeed to deny the title “gentleman theologian” to James Leo Garrett Jr. He …

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