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Thursday, August 27, 2020

Thursday's Catch: 'Early Christianity Was Mocked for Welcoming Women" and More


Early Christianity Was Mocked for Welcoming Women

I recently received a question on Twitter about where, in patristic sources, we see early Christianity mocked for being a religion filled with women. The short answer: lots of places. Bfore we get there, though, we should note that early Christianity received this criticism precisely because it was so popular with women. Sociologist Rodney Stark estimates that perhaps two-thirds of the Christianity community during the second century was made up of women. This was exactly opposite to the broader Greco-Roman world, where women only made up about one-third of the population. Read More
Why did women form about one-third of the population of the Greco-Roman world? Because the Greeks and the Romans practiced infanticide and the main victims of their infanticide were baby girls. Christians rescued babies from the rubbish heaps where they were abandoned to die from exposure and raised them as their own children. Upholding the right to life is a longstanding tradition among Christians as is caring for the poor and the needy  and advocating for them.
5 Truths Hurricane Recovery Teaches Us about COVID Ministry

Churches are creating a new ministry playbook in a time period that will be studied by historians from now on. We can look to the post-Katrina period for guidance about leading in a crisis. Here are five truths we gleaned that those pastors can pass on to us today. Read More
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in southeast Louisiana where I lived at the time--30 miles north of New Orleans across Lake Ponchartrain on the North Shore--church buildings quickly became community resource centers, serving as distribution points for non-perishable food items, bottled water and other emergency supplies; providing hot meals; and housing disaster relief teams. Serving as places of worship was secondary. While meeting people's spiritual needs is important, churches must in a natural disaster meet their basic needs such as for food and shelter first. In a public health emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic churches need to be focusing on meeting their safety needs first, not only creating a safe environment in the church building but also helping people to create safe environments where they live and work, providing face masks and hand sanitizer and educating people on the importance of social distancing, hand washing, and other precautionary measures. They should be playing an active role in the community's overall strategy for containing the virus and not working against community efforts to reduce transmission risks.
10 Reasons Churches Stop Growing at the 200 Barrier

It’s common for churches to hover around 200 in attendance, bouncing slightly below and slightly above that number recurrently, but not moving beyond that level. Here are some reasons that plateau happens.... Read More

Pivoting Your Outreach

While this season has been difficult for several churches, it has also been even more difficult for some people in the community. Nowhere else is this seen more to me than by the number of churches and organizations that have partnered to serve food and supplies to those in need. Each week, we hear of churches in our area, including our own, who have served hundreds of community members with food boxes and supplies over the weekend. This number is astonishing to me because while I am thankful that so many churches can help so many different groups of people, it is also upsetting that so many people need help. During this COVID-19 season, we will have to pivot our outreach in a few areas.... Read More
Due to COVID-19 the economy has taken a nose dive and many Americans do not know where their next meal is going to come from. Some areas are better off than others. However, it is a mistake to assume that because we ourselves have it good, other people have it good too. A lot of jobs have disappeared and are not coming back. A number of businesses have closed their doors in my community and will not be reopening.

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