Saturday Lagniappe: Juneteenth and the Great Commission and More

Juneteenth and the Great Commission
By now, many of us have heard of the holiday Juneteenth, though many Christians still don’t celebrate the day or recognize the fruitful mission work birthed out of the freedom of African American slaves. Though the liberation of the enslaved people is the only reason we need to celebrate Juneteenth, there is much to commemorate. I propose that we should also commemorate this day to recognize the missional fervor displayed by freed African Americans and the way they stewarded their freedom to continue a Christian legacy of fulfilling the Church’s mission.

Think Again: Why Religion Is Good for Us
To some people right now every idea, news story, piece of information they receive is only meant to fit into the narrative they have decided is true already, and that’s that. There is no convincing them otherwise. It’s a scary place to be, to be honest. Jesus warned against people who aren’t so much deceived by others, though of course that is a part of this kind of person’s situation as well most times, but those who are self-deceived. And therein lies part of the problem: we don’t know what we don’t know.

Daring to Think About Church Growth
Episcopal churches can grow, particularly new congregations planted in a community that is experiencing significant population growth and which has a diverse population. They will grow with the area's population. This is not the only factor that will contribute to their growth but it is an important one. (Note: A number of key factors that affect the growth of Episcopal congregations also affect the growth of Continuing Anglican and ACNA congregations.)

9 Things Pastors Need To Know About Sermon Delivery
Effective preaching is more than just about what you say. It’s also about how you say it. Too many sermons fail not because of bad content, but because of bad delivery. No matter how experienced you are, you should never stop learning. You should always be a student of sermon delivery because there is always room to improve. So here are nine tips from my book Preach and Deliver, that every pastor needs to know.

A Radical Goal for Social Media
In his new book, Posting Peace: Why Social Media Divides Us and What We Can Do About It, Douglas S. Bursch—pastor, former radio talk-show host, and newspaper columnist—explores how faith in Christ and trust in his call for us as peacemakers should reshape how we use social media.

The FAQs: Supreme Court Ruling Protects Faith-Affirming Foster Care
On Thursday, June 17, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Sharonell Fulton, et al. v. City of Philadelphia, an important religious-liberty case involving faith-based foster care and adoption providers. The unanimous decision of the Court is that Philadelphia violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment by refusing to contract with Catholic Social Services (CSS) for foster care unless it agreed to certify same-sex couples as foster parents.