Died: H. Eddie Fox, Who Urged Methodists to Share Their Faith

The ministry leader believed declining US churches could be revitalized by hearing Wesleyans “with a different accent.”

Eddie Fox, who hoped to renew American Methodism through evangelism and increased connections with global Christianity, died on Wednesday at age 83.

Fox led World Methodist Evangelism for 25 years, teaching, training, and empowering Methodists and Wesleyans to share their faith, and encouraging churches to make evangelism a priority. He pioneered several new initiatives that were popular in United Methodist Church (UMC) congregations, and he helped American churches connect with fellow Wesleyans outside the United States, especially in formerly communist countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

From 1989 to 2014, when Fox directed the world evangelism program, Methodists increased around the globe by about 1 million per year, even as the US membership of the UMC declined by about 2 million overall. Fox saw a direct link between the theology of the church and its vitality.

“Wherever the church is faithful to the doctrine, the sound teaching, the Discipline, the way of life—which is the way you order your life—and the spirit, openness to the Holy Spirit, you'll find a church that's dynamic, contagious and alive,” he said when he retired. “And where that is not true, you’ll find a church to be a dead sect, having the form but not the power thereof. That’s been a focus of my ministry. It’s been a call we’ve stood on for many, many years.”

Fox taught more Methodists how to share their faith than any one else in his lifetime, and became, for many, the evangelistic face of Methodism. He also taught at the Billy Graham School of Evangelism at Wheaton College for 15 years. Read More

Image Credit: Holsten Conference, UMC / edits by Rick Szuecs

Whisperings: When Church Leaders Become the Target of Gossip

Pastor Owen* was in trouble, but he didn’t know it yet.

Over the last four months, Audrey, the church’s personable young secretary, had collected complaints about Owen that had found their way into the church office. Instead of taking them directly to Owen, Audrey had passed on these complaints to other people within the church. By the time Owen found out what was being said about him, the damage was already done. Five families, including Audrey’s, were in the process of leaving the church.

It hurts to be gossiped about. No one enjoys being the subject of a whispering campaign. Because church leaders are out in front, their lives can be closely scrutinized. In short, they make obvious targets. No leader is immune, no matter how godly.

Pastors minister out of the strength of their reputations, and their livelihoods often rest upon that reputation (1 Timothy 5:17-25). Nonvocational church leaders, on the other hand, are volunteers, and it’s tempting to give up when others spread rumors about them: “I didn’t sign up for this!”

Often, the worst part is that leaders are unaware when gossip is spreading. Something might “feel wrong” at church, but it’s hard to put a finger on it. Once Pastor Owen knew who the chief gossip was, it gave him a much clearer path to resolution. But for months, he was under attack and didn’t realize it.

It may be part of the job, but there’s nothing fun about being a church leader who is gossiped about, whether the gossip is simply careless or strongly malicious. Here is some counsel, if you’ve found yourself in that unenviable position.... Read More

Also See:

What Is Gossip: Exposing a Common and Dangerous Sin

7 Signs You Are a Counterfeit Christian

Are you a counterfeit Christian or the real deal?

I don’t usually carry cash. But on this day, I used a crisp $100 bill to pay for some new shoes. As I handed the bill to the cashier, she grabbed a pen. I was somewhat intrigued. Then, she ran the pen across the bill. Now I was puzzled. So, I asked her the purpose of marking up my crisp bills. Come to find out, this is standard procedure for $100 bills. The marker is designed to spot counterfeit bills.

Why would the cashier be concerned about this? The answer is obvious, right? Counterfeit money has no value. Maybe it can pose as authentic for a period of time, but eventually someone is going to buy one of those markers and expose the lie.

And whether you intentionally use a counterfeit bill is irrelevant. If the marker reveals that you tried to pay with fake money, you will lose a $100, at best, and lose a day of freedom in jail, at worst.

During his ministry, Jesus encountered fakes often. And what the market does to money, Jesus does to counterfeit followers. He exposes them.

Whether it was the Pharisees, who posed as righteous men of God or large crowds, who posed as committed followers, Jesus constantly exposed counterfeits.

So, what are qualities of a counterfeit Christian? This question is important. Much like fake money, fake Christians have no value. They flaunt a self-righteous attitude or selfless behavior. But, if you exposed their heart, you would find something different. Most importantly, as Jesus says in Matthew 7:24, eventually counterfeit Christians will be exposed.

To be fair, I don’t believe most Christians intentionally pose as fakes. They have either been handed a counterfeit Jesus or drifted away from the radical life Jesus calls his followers to imitate. With that said, I think every Christian can use this post to work on their heart. Read More

No Matter Your Age, God’s Still Got a Mission for You

When Daniel was well over 80 years old, he was still living in captivity in Babylon, which by that time had been overthrown by the Medes and the Persians. King Nebuchadnezzar and all the royal family had been killed, and King Darius of the Medes sat on the throne. In order to try to bring some continuity and stability to his government, Darius kept on his court a lot of Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men, including Daniel.

One thing that is consistent about Daniel is that, no matter where he is or what circumstance he is in or how he got there, or how unfair his situation is, Daniel stays positive, upbeat even, believing that even in difficult circumstances, God has a plan. That attitude created new opportunities for Daniel wherever he went.

“Then Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom” (Daniel 6:3 ESV).

I’ve heard it said that attitude determines altitude. At multiple points in his life, when everybody else would have said, “Hey, bud, your life is over,” Daniel said, “I bet God still has something for me yet.” That remained true for Daniel until he was in his 80s!

Let me put the point more bluntly since this has gotten to be counter-cultural today: Older people can still do awesome things. And, Daniel is not the only old person in history to do so.... Read More

Ageism is not only a problem in the local church and the larger Church, but it is also a problem in the world outside of the Body of Christ. The younger generations eskew friendships with the older generations and maintain a distance between themselves and the older generations. The older generations are often viewed through what may be only described as prejudiced eyes. Regrettably the older generations also view the younger generations with prejudiced eyes themselves. It is sad that young and old are not recognized for whom we are--unique human beings.

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (July 31, 2021) Is Now Online

All Hallows Evening Prayer is a service of worship in the evening for all pilgrims on the journey to the heavenly city.

A church in which the members bicker amongst themselves, gossip about each other behind each other’s backs, spread unfounded rumors about each other, and otherwise do not obey the new commandment which Jesus gave to his disciples–a commandment to love each other as he loved them, is a church which the apostle John warned us does not truly love God. It is also a church that is not walking in step with the Spirit or representing Jesus well in the world.

The Scripture reading for this Saturday evening is Ephesians 4: 1-16 Unity in the Body of Christ.

The homily is titled “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God and Father of All.”

The link to this Saturday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2021/07/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for-saturday_31.html

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May this service be a blessing to you.

Alleged Victims Say ACNA Church Leaders Failed to Acknowledge Their Abuse Allegations

Ten people in all have come forward with allegations of sexual abuse against a volunteer leader in the Anglican Church in North America.

For more than two decades, Mark Rivera was a beloved volunteer leader of two churches in the Chicago suburbs. Known for his charisma and humor, the husband and father of four often boasted that he was the godfather of over 30 children in his community.

Church leaders and members in the Diocese of the Upper Midwest, of the Anglican Church in North America, trusted Rivera’s spiritual authority. According to reports from former Christ Our Light Anglican Church parishioners, they dismissed his frequent physical affection — his habit of kissing young girls on the cheek or inviting teenagers to sit on his lap — as “just Mark being Mark.”

Then, in May 2019, a 9-year-old child told her mother that Rivera had abused her, according to the woman, Cherin Marie, who asked that her last name not be used to protect the family’s privacy. For those who believed the alleged victim, the revelation was earth-shattering. Yet many in the small community, many of them family or neighbors of the accused or his accuser, doubted the child’s story.

Since then, nine additional people have made allegations of abuse by Rivera, including child sexual abuse, grooming, rape and assault, and Rivera has been charged with felony child sexual assault and abuse of the 9-year-old. To date, the diocese has publicly acknowledged only some of the allegations, and according to abuse prevention advocates, has downplayed the access he had to children and others while in church leadership. Read More

Also See:
Australian Primate Attacks GAFCON Plan

5 Truths You Should Know Before Entering Ministry

I’d like to share what I’ve learned from being on staff at NewSpring for the last 20 years. Here are five things I wish I could go back and tell 22-year-old me before entering ministry. I hope it’s an encouragement and challenge to you! Read More

CDC Document Warns Delta Variant Appears to Spread as Easily as Chickenpox and Cause More Severe Infection

The Delta coronavirus variant surging across the United States appears to cause more severe illness and spread as easily as chickenpox, according to an internal document from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The document -- a slide presentation -- outlines unpublished data that shows fully vaccinated people might spread the Delta variant at the same rate as unvaccinated people.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky confirmed the authenticity of the document, which was first reported by The Washington Post.

"I think people need to understand that we're not crying wolf here. This is serious," she told CNN.

"It's one of the most transmissible viruses we know about. Measles, chickenpox, this -- they're all up there." Read More

Also See: 

CDC document paints more dire picture of threat posed by Delta variant
CDC mask decision followed stunning findings from Cape Cod beach outbreak
How to navigate the CDC's new mask guidance: Experts' surprising advice
Map: See if the CDC recommends indoor mask use in the county where you live

My county has experienced sudden jump in new COVID-19 infections from zero to 72 cases in a very short period of time--less than a week. We are now classified as a high transmission county. Most of these new infections are unvaccinated people. A very small percentage of the new cases are break-through infections. However, the county health department report does not identify whether the individuals who experienced break-through infections were fully-vaccinated or with what vaccine were they vaccinated. Some vaccines are more effective than others. The two-dose vaccine is more effective than the single dose vaccine and the two-dose vaccines are more effective when both doses have been received.

Neighboring Marshall County has also seen an uptick in new infections. The positive test rate jumped from 1.8 % to 31.2 %. 

In the same county a local pastor is urging people not to wear face masks or get vaccinated. He appears oblivous to the fact that the advice he is giving will contribute to the spread of the virus in the county and endanger people's health and safety. He largely appears to be politically-motivated. Regrettably in my state the response to the pandemic has become politicized and the virus is taking full advantage of this development to spread and replicate. 

Earlier today I ran across a newly posted article online which was advising pastors and other church leaders on how they can help people adjust to post-pandemic conditions. This article was completely out of touch with the present stage of the pandemic. Vaccination efforts have stalled. The Delta variant has spread throughout the United States and many counties are experiencing a surge in new cases and hospitalizations. The kind of pandemic denial that was seen in early stages of the pandemic has reasserted itself. 

It's Thursday: '4 Spiritual Truths Proven by Science to Build Resilience' and More

4 Spiritual Truths Proven by Science to Build Resilience

COVID-19 has not just strained many people’s resilience and personal faith, pushing many to their limits. One of the ways research has found that the church is a powerful source of resilience is through community. Yet, because of COVID-19, when we’ve needed community the most, it’s been more difficult to experience. This has not only taken a toll on people’s mental health, but also spiritual health. Here are some spiritual truths that are important to remember according to Scripture and science for cultivating resilience as we continue to navigate COVID-19 adversity.

A New Term: Omnichannel Church
Last week Dave Adamson wrote a compelling article on the future of the church based on the digital tools that church leaders now have at their disposal. He applied the term “omnichannel” to church practice, and his article was the first time I have seen someone do so. Dave does this type of work with churches, so he was not just winging it and throwing out an idea. If you have background in ecommerce or marketing, you are familiar with the term “omnichannel.” It represents the thinking that a company should align all of its channels so that a customer has a seamless experience across all. In other words, the customer could easily flow back and forth between a physical store and an online store and other touch points.

The Strength Gen Z Christians Need
Today’s generation of young people is more anxious, more depressed, and less Christian than ever before. What is causing this? In the latest installment of our brand-new TGC Talks series, Chris Colquitt—campus minister for Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) at Northwestern University—explores how safetyism and fragility are hazards to Generation Z’s mental health and spiritual health.

Respecting Gas Station Attendants and the Importance of Toilet Shoes
I’ve been spending a lot of time this summer with *Darius, one of the faithful local men who is a part of our church plant. Darius has a wonderful gifting – that of a person who is becoming truly bicultural. People like him are able to function well in two or more very different cultural settings without rejecting either culture. They make great students if their teacher is, like me, from another culture. They also make wonderful teachers themselves, since they still deeply value their home culture and are willing to explain it. It’s no coincidence that 1st Corinthians 9, “becoming all things to all men” has been a passage Darius keeps coming back to lately. All this has made him a lifesaver when it comes to the holes in our cultural knowledge that we still have, even as we approach six years in this context. Here are some of the things we’ve recently learned from him.

US culture is not homogenous. Knowing the local culture can help us to reach and engage people in a particular locality.

Intergenerational Worship is NOT....
It seems like whenever the topic of intergenerational or multigenerational worship gets brought up, a lot of concerns and assumptions start being expressed. Recently, someone directed some comments towards me that included many of those assumptions such as, “Intergenerational worship doesn’t meet the developmental needs of children and/or adults” and “Kids need to have their own space” and “We can’t dumb down the service just so kids can be there.” Each of these concerns is fraught with a backdrop of suppositions and presumptions about what it could mean to have all ages gather for a time of corporate worship. And rather than address each of these individually, I thought I’d share some thoughts regarding what intergenerational worship is not and what intergenerational worship is.

The Unifying Power of Singing
Corporate singing is back, even if it remains cloth-covered in many churches (including mine), and reintroducing it to people who have not sung for nearly eighteen months is vitally important. Why? A couple of nights ago I had the chance to speak to our worship team, and I tried to answer that question, specifically by explaining why song is such a unifying expression of worship. Singing unites five things which are often separated from one another, and the result is beautiful.

Let's Work Together to Check the Spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus

Some vaccinated people are complaining because the CDC has changed its recommendations for face masks for vaccinated people. In a pandemic, particularly in a pandemic in which the virus is mutating and producing more infectious and more dangerous variants, recommendations are going to change as we learn more about the virus and its transmission and the response of people to earlier recommendations.

We need to keep foremost in our mind the unpleasant fact that we are in the MIDST of a pandemic. Some people may have interpreted the decline in virus infections earlier in the summer as evidence that the pandemic was subsiding. They, however, were overly optimistic and did not take into consideration human behavior or the ability of the COVID-19 coronavirus to mutate in more infectious, more dangerous variants.

While vaccines work, no one has claimed that the vaccines are 100% effective against all variants of the virus and the health experts have been studying how long their effectiveness lasts.  Vaccines do, however, mitigate the seriousness of the virus infection, prevent hospitalizations and deaths, and slow the spread of the disease.

Public health measures like face masks, social distancing, adequate ventilation of indoor areas, limitations on the size of gatherings, quarantine of the infected and those exposed to the disease also slow its spread.

We are far from returning to “normal” and people need to disabuse themselves of the idea that a return to “normal” is just around the corner.

If we stopped dividing into camps over the COVID-19 pandemic, stopped giving credence to disinformation, misinformation, and conspiracy theories, and worked together as a team, we could get a handle on the pandemic. We could reduce human suffering and save lives.

Regrettably some politicians are exploiting the divisions over the pandemic to advance their political careers. Foreign actors have been approaching online influencers to spread disinformation, seeking to weaken the United States by exacerbating its divisions over the pandemic. They have been playing upon the fears of Americans about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines. The anti-vaxx movement has been spreading disinformation and misinformation for its own ends.

We forget that the United States was for a large part victorious in World War II because most of its people united behind the war effort. We need to do that today. We need to unite behind the effort to combat the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Face Masks and Vaccination: Matter of Personal Choice or Public Health?

I hear the argument on social media that wearing face mask and getting vaccinated are personal choices. At the first glance this argument may appear to be a reasonable one. But it ignores the fact that wearing a face mask and getting vaccinated does not just protect the individual from the COVID-19 virus. It protects the community. As long as people treat mask wearing and vaccination as a personal choice, the virus will go unchecked.

An Arizona Republic opinion piece asked this question, “If vaccines work against COVID-19, why ask the fully vaccinated to wear masks?” The author of the piece dodged the answer to the question.

When the CDC advised vaccinated people that they did not need to wear face masks, unvaccinated people stopped wearing them. It was not possible to distinguish vaccinated people from unvaccinated people. It quickly became apparent that the honor system did not work. Rather than encouraging unvaccinated people to get vaccinated, releasing vaccinated people from the recommendation to wear face masks was taken as permission by unvaccinated people to not wear them too.

Recommending and even requiring both vaccinated and unvaccinated people to wear face masks will expose those who refuse to wear masks for the public health menace that they are becoming. Yes, they are becoming a menace to the public health. While few unvaccinated people have a legitimate reason for not wearing a mask, most do not. The Delta variant is much more infectious than earlier variants and unvaccinated people who do not wear a face mask and observe other public health measures are spreading the disease.

The CDC has also released some new findings that relate to the viral load of vaccinated people who have experienced a break-through infection. Such infections, while uncommon, do occur. These findings support the need for vaccinated people to wear face masks indoors in areas with high or substantial transmission rates.

Further Reading:
New science leads to another CDC update on masks. Even for the vaccinated.
Covid-19: CDC brings back indoor mask guidance for virus hot spots
Yes, the CDC Just Reversed Its Policy on Wearing Masks Indoors
Three Reasons the New CDC Mask Guidance Makes Sense
The CDC is recommending masks for all again—here are the best ones we've tested

Faced with Allegations, Anglicans Want to Change the Trajectory of Abuse Response

Mishandled case in Wheaton has been a wake-up call for the relatively young denomination.

Priests and parishioners in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) are expressing grief and anger over sexual abuse allegations against a lay leader in the Diocese of the Upper Midwest and the revelation that its bishop waited two years to notify churches in the diocese about the reports.

Church leaders and advocates in Illinois and beyond see this case as a chance for the 12-year-old denomination to establish better practices for preventing abuse and to care well for survivors.

After admitting he made “regrettable errors” in the process, Bishop Stewart Ruch III requested a leave of absence this month as the diocese investigates whether he and other diocesan leaders mishandled abuse allegations against Mark Rivera, a former lay leader at Christ Our Light Anglican in Big Rock, Illinois, and longtime member and volunteer at Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, Illinois. Until his leave, Ruch was a pastor at Church of the Resurrection, the diocesan headquarters. Read More

Also See:
ACNA's Scandals and Mine

Image Credit: Anglican Diocese of the Upper Midwest

Early in the life of the Anglican Church in North America I concluded that ACNAers were idealistic, naive, and overly defensive. They were not willing to admit that their fledgling denomination had problems that would develop into worse problems over time. When I shared my concerns, I was dismissed as "not a friend of the ACNA." One of the problem areas to which I drew attention was that the ACNA at the diocesan and local level was not implementing adequate safeguards against sexual abuse and sexual abuse perpetrators. There was an attitude that that sort of thing could not happen in the ACNA. "We have godly bishops!" I was told. My response was that bishops were fallible human beings like everyone else and ACNAers were overlooking the need for checks and balances to episcopal authority and lay oversight of the episcopate. Now the chickens are coming home to roost. 

It's Wednesday: 'Why Am I Struggling to Implement Vision in My Church?' and More

Why Am I Struggling to Implement Vision in My Church? Three Common Snags Holding Pastors Back

What are some common snags to implementing vision? And how can a pastor think more strategically to get the church moving?

Staying Christian in College
In this episode, Mikel Del Rosario and Dr. Michael Kruger talk about staying Christian in college, focusing on how to navigate opposing worldviews and have healthy spiritual conversations.

Does Your Sin Affect Others?
Sin is social. Its effect rarely stay confined to the sinner but spreads to and affects their close relations.

Are Foreign Missionaries Still Needed?
Lord, is there still a role for outsiders in mission?

Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban is mainstream, most European laws more strict: report
A new report reveals that Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, the subject of litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court, is in line with most European laws on abortion.

Study: Only half of American households donate to charity
For the first time in nearly two decades, only half of U.S. households donated to a charity, according to a study released Tuesday. The findings confirm a trend worrying experts: Donations to charitable causes are reaching record highs, but the giving is done by a smaller and smaller slice of the population.

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (July 27, 2021) Is Now Online

All Hallows Evening Prayer is a service of worship in the evening for all pilgrims on the journey to the heavenly city.

The way of salvation is not only open to us through faith in Jesus Christ, but we also have access to God in boldness and confidence through our faith in him. This is in accordance with God’s eternal purpose, the purpose which God has carried out in Jesus Christ.

The Scripture reading for this Wednesday evening is Ephesian 3: 1-12 Paul’s Ministry to the Gentiles.

The homily is titled “A God of Surprises.”

The link to this Wednesday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2021/07/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for_27.html

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May this service be a blessing to you.

We Are In This Together

Churches can do several things to fight the resurgence of COVID-19 across the United States.

1. Promote vaccination.

2. Promote other public health measures such face masks and social distancing where health experts are recommending these measures.

3. Provide accurate, reliable information on vaccination and other public health measures.

4. Serve as vaccination sites.

5. Provide transportation to vaccination sites.

6. Be sensitive to the concerns of the unvaccinated. 

7. Help people to understand that God works through ordinary means like face masks and vaccines as well as extraordinary means. The divine barrier that God may be raising between them, other members of the community, and the virus may be the face mask they are wearing and the vaccine they have received. 

Wearing a face mask and being vaccinated does not show a lack of faith in God. On the contrary, it shows faithfulness to our Lord’s commandments to love our neighbors as ourselves and to love each other as he loves us, a faithfulness that is rooted in our trust in him. 

Love does not tell someone not to wear a face mask or not to get vaccinated!

It's Tuesday: 'U.S. Is One of the Most Divided Nations, but the Church Can Help' and More

U.S. Is One of the Most Divided Nations, but the Church Can Help

Americans don’t agree on much except that they don’t agree on much.

Lessons from London for a Divided American Church
How might we move toward a recovery of the early church's pattern of unity in our divided church landscape?

7 Kinds of People You Can’t Afford to Keep
Who can you not afford to keep if you want your church's mission to move forward?

We’ll set up a diocese for Anglicans who have to leave, says Conservative Network GAFCON Australia
Gafcon, a network of conservative Anglicans, supported by Sydney and other evangelical dioceses (regions) in the Anglican Church of Australia will set up a new structure to help conservatives in dioceses that bless same-sex marriages.

Missouri church leaders implore congregants: Get vaccinated
‘Vaccine hesitancy in our pews puts our congregations and communities at greater risk.’

11 Quotes on Prayer from Teresa of Avila

Teresa of Avila was a Spanish Carmelite nun born in 1515. She was a theologian who focused on mental prayer where one loves God and spends time in His presence though dialogue, meditating on the Word and contemplating His face. Her books on prayer have been considered Christian classics. We hope these eleven Teresa of Avila quotes introduce you to this richly gifted woman of God. Read More

Image Credit: Public Domain-United States

Christ Has No Body But Yours

 

Attributed to Saint Theresa of Avila, Christian mystic, writer, and religious reformer, but not found in her writings are these words:

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which He looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are His body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

They have inspired at least two choir anthems.

“Christ Has No Body But Yours”—David Ogden

Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth, but yours.
Yours are the eyes with which he sees,
Yours are the feet with which he walks,
Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.

1 Yours are the hands.

Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth, but yours.
Yours are the eyes with which he sees,
Yours are the feet with which he walks,
Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.

2 Yours are the feet.

Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth, but yours.
Yours are the eyes with which he sees,
Yours are the feet with which he walks,
Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.

3 Yours are the hands.
Yours are feet.
Yours are the eyes.

“Christ Has No Body But Yours”— Stephen C. Warner, Rick Gunn

Christ has no body now but your,
no hands but your.
Here on this earth, yours is the work,
to serve with the joy of compassion.

Christ has no body now but your,
no hands but your.
Here on this earth, yours is the work,
to serve with the joy of compassion.

1 No hands but yours to heal the wounded world,
no hands but yours to soother all its suffering,
no touch but yours to bind the broken hope
of the people of God.

Christ has no body now but your,
no hands but your.
Here on this earth, yours is the work,
to serve with the joy of compassion.

2 No eyes but yours to see as Christ would see,
to find the lost, to gaze with compassion;
no eyes but yours to glimpse the holy joy
of the city of God.

Christ has no body now but your,
no hands but your.
Here on this earth, yours is the work,
to serve with the joy of compassion.

3 No feet but yours to journey with the poor,
to walk this world with mercy and justice.
Yours are the steps to build a lasting peace
for the children of God.

Christ has no body now but your,
no hands but your.
Here on this earth, yours is the work,
to serve with the joy of compassion.

4 Through ev'ry gift, give back to those in need;
as Christ has blessed, so now be his blessing,
with ev'ry gift a benediction, be
to the people of God.

Christ has no body now but your,
no hands but your.
Here on this earth, yours is the work,
to serve with the joy of compassion.

It's Monday: 'The Challenges Churches Face Leasing Facilities in a Post-COVID World' and More

The Challenges Churches Face Leasing Facilities in a Post-COVID World

We are only beginning to assess and realize the changes and challenges COVID brought to churches. One of those challenges emerged during the pandemic. Churches that leased facilities were not able to return when the restrictions of the pandemic lifted. Some of them lost their leases altogether. Let’s look at some of these issues and challenges. They are indeed issues we might never have anticipated if there had not been a pandemic.

Who Are ‘Evangelicals’ and Why Knowing That Matters for Your Church
Have you ever read a news article or looked at research about evangelicals and thought, “That doesn’t seem like me or the evangelicals I know”? You may be right because you may be defining “evangelical” differently than the article. Our personal experience and anecdotal evidence shouldn’t automatically outweigh solid statistical research, but it can provide a window into some of the confusion surrounding evangelicals.

How Christians Are Rebuilding a Relationship with Colorado Springs
It’s one thing to tell the city that you’re there for its good. It’s another to show it.

Carey Nieuwhof: 5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Copy a Megachurch
This article is a repost. If you have read it before, I definitely recommend reding it again.

Tired of Outrage? Let’s DO Something
I think it’s very telling that in a recent survey of 5,000 people, over 72% of White Evangelicals indicated that being an American held the same importance to them as being a Christian. If that’s the message we are giving our kids and youth, guess what happens when they get disillusioned with something in America? Their faith is attached to it. It’s not Jesus. It’s something else. And it’s not okay.

Reasons Your Church Members Are Not Volunteering... And What to Do About It
If your church is like most churches, you need more workers—and, you have attenders who come every Sunday without volunteering to do anything. Here are some reasons that happens....

10 Strategies for Recruiting Church Workers
I hear it all the time: “Dr. Lawless, we just don’t have enough laborers in our church. Those who are serving are overworked, and too many people do nothing.” Perhaps these ideas will help you if your church faces this issue.

Wire Story: Court Upholds Ruling in Favor of InterVarsity at U of Iowa
“We are hard-pressed to find a clearer example of viewpoint discrimination.”

Christian Student Clubs Triumph Against Religious Discrimination
Christian student clubs continue to prevail in court against the unjust religious discrimination of university officials.

How Limiting Latin Mass May Become the Defining Moment for Pope Francis
Pope Benedict XVI expanded the Latin Mass in 2007 in an olive branch to traditionalists. His successor hopes reversing that decision may better serve unity in the church.

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (July 25, 2021) Is Now Online

All Hallows Evening Prayer is a service of worship in the evening for all pilgrims on the journey to the heavenly city.

In the Gospel of John our Lord says that we will do greater works than those that he did during his earthly ministry. He showed great compassion and generosity. He fed 5000 hungry people, some too poor to go into the surrounding villages and buy food for themselves. If we take him at his word, then our compassion and generosity must exceed his.

The reading appointed for this Sunday evening’ service is John 6:1-21 Feeding the Five Thousand.

The homily is titled, “Greater Things Than These.”

The link to this Sunday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2021/07/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for-sunday_25.html

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. There may be a short pause before a song begins on a video. If the video begins playing partway, pause, move the track slider back to the beginning, and then play. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at:

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May this service be a blessing to you.

Saturday Lagniappe: 'UMC Edges Toward Historic Split over LGBTQ Inclusion' and More

UMC Edges Toward Historic Split over LGBTQ Inclusion

United Methodists’ debate over sexuality did not begin with the ban on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ ordination the denomination’s global decision-making body reaffirmed at its 2019 special session. It has been a topic at every quadrennial General Conference since 1972, when delegates edited the Book of Discipline to call homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching.”

4 Ways to Live During the End Times
Are we living in the end times? Yes and no. Yes, because we have always been living in the end times since Jesus’s ascension, waiting for Christ’s return, with signs of false prophets and famine in every age of history. And no, in the sense that this age is no different than any other age. The signs that Jesus mentions occurring in the end times has occurred in every epoch, revealing to us that we should always be ready and always be alert. This age is not any more the end times than the previous age.

We Need (Good) Church Stories
It is easy for us to remember when the church has failed us. But what if God’s people were intentional about sharing stories of faithfulness more than failure?

3 Necessary Preparations for Pastoring in the Next Decade
As we think about ministry in the local church this coming decade, there are many things poised to spark flames. After pastors and church leaders ask the two questions that will determine ministry success, it is essential we have the right mindset to be prepared for these challenges.

4 Stats That Will Change the Way You Pastor
When it comes to leading in a post-pandemic world, knowledge is power. Casey Cleveland, lead pastor of The Avenue Church in Delray, Florida, has a hunch. “I'm catching the vibe that people want the church to be the church,” he says. “Even for those who don't understand theology—the world is asking us to step into being the church.”

On Answering with Gentleness and Respect
In a June essay, celebrated Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie mourned the decline of good-faith conversation, especially online. The post, titled “It Is Obscene,” promptly went viral.

10 Things You Should Know About Lifting of Hands in Worship
Lifting of hands is part of worship in many churches. Worship involves our bodies as well as our hearts and minds. Our posture tells a story. It makes a statement to God and to others about the state of our souls and the affections and passions of our heart.

The Preces Privatae of Lancelot Andres, Bishop of Winchester
F. E. Brightman's translation of this Anglican devotional classic is online at Internet Archive.

What is a Healthy Number of Groups in a Church?
You work hard in your small group ministry. It’s great to know how well you’re doing, right? So, what is a healthy number of groups in a church? This question comes from a member of the Small Group Reset Facebook Group.

Practical Preaching for Pastors and Lay Preachers: July 2021

A Guide to Effective Preaching – Introduction. Explanation. Application.

Give me 10 minutes, and I’ll teach you an approach to effective preaching that might be a game-changer. This is an approach that can be used with any preaching archetype, any personality, any length of message, any passage, etc.

Preaching Preferred Pronouns
Personal pronouns have been all the rage and debate in recent years. It's amazing how important such short words are in our everyday speech and in our anthropology. That being said, personal pronouns are also some of the most important words to interpret when reading the Scriptures.

Should We Preach Exclusively From the Bible or Address Cultural Issues?
Should pastors speak to current events and cultural happenings or just stick to preaching the Bible? Okay, as promised, here is my simple answer: Yes.

6 Reasons to Build Pauses into Your Sermons
“Speech is silver, silence is golden.” So goes the old proverb that teaches the power of things “not said.” Applied to preaching, what can occasional moments of silence do to improve the delivery of our messages? With this question in mind, here are six reasons to “hit the pause button” periodically while preaching....

How Do Most Pastors Plan Their Sermons?
Pastors have numerous church responsibilities, but the one they say takes up the most of their work week is sermon preparation. According to a 2008 Lifeway Research study, the average U.S. Protestant pastor spends almost 14 hours each week in preparation for their Sunday message.

4 Advantages of Advanced Planning for Sermons/Teaching Series
When I served as an executive and teaching pastor in Miami, I learned the benefit of planning sermons and teaching series months ahead. I don’t mean the entire sermon completely prepared, but a specific direction for a teaching series and a general direction for each sermon within the series. The advanced planning was not only helped me when I was teaching/preaching, but also helped other facets of the church.

12 Things TEDx Speakers Do That Preachers Don’t
Ever seen a TEDx talk? TEDx speakers are pretty great.... I’ve wondered for a long time, “How in the world do each of these talks end up consistently blowing me away?”

The Value of Adding Some ‘Cotton Candy’ to Your Sermons
After spending 15–20 hours per week preparing a sermon, how do we really know if it connected with the listener? Is the test of a good sermon simply that we delivered a deep, theological, sound talk? Is it all about good content? Is it up to the listener to get it and figure out how it applies to his or her life? Ois this the true test of a great sermon: that we truly connect to the listener’s heart and mind so that the Holy Spirit changes attitudes and behaviors? I think it’s the latter. That’s where cotton candy preaching comes in.

Leading Public Prayer Just Before the Sermon
In this post, I’d like to focus on the prayer we offer immediately after reading the biblical passage we intend to preach. Too often, this prayer can seem little more than a formality, even rushed in an effort to move on to the sermon. Here then are five reminders when leading a public prayer for the sermon....

5 Ways Collaborative Sermon Writing Can Help Pastors
Last summer, a few of us in the Bay Area set out to change our sermon preparation habits—not just for the goal of collaboration, but also to seek out diverse perspectives. Several pastors from different ethnic backgrounds prepared a sermon series together to preach in their individual churches to address the political division we were seeing in our communities.

4 Reasons Proper Pronunication in the Pulpit Matters
Thankfully, most listeners are forgiving when preachers mispronounce a word while sharing a spontaneous aside or making a sudden, impassioned plea. But, grace is no excuse for indolence! The call to preach is a call to speak and teach the very words of God. Here then are four reasons to strive for proper pronunciation in the pulpit.

7 Deadly Sins of Guest Preaching
So you’re invited to preach at someone else’s church. Or a conference. Or a chapel service. The venue doesn’t really matter. What does matter is not committing one of the seven deadly sins of guest preaching.

How to Prepare a Sermon When You Are a Bivocational Pastor
One of the biggest challenges in moving to bivocational ministry is in the area of sermon preparation. Having himself made the transition to bivocational ministry, Scott Slayton offers some advice to bivocational pastors.

9 Ways a Church Can Hospitably Host a Guest Speaker
I’ve learned that church leaders aren’t always sure what to do when hosting a guest preacher. Here are some suggestions from my experiences.

Preach with Kindness
Recently I was guest preaching at a church, and a woman came up to me after the sermon and said to me, “You preach with such kindness.” I have not been able to shake that remark ever since (and not just because it was a compliment!). It seemed significant to me for a couple of reasons.

All Hallows All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (July 24, 2021)

All Hallows Evening Prayer is a service of worship in the evening for all pilgrims on the journey to the heavenly city.

Rooting ourselves in love and building on love are essential to understanding the breadth and length, height and depth of Christ’s love. While we may come to know his love, we can never fully know it. Christ’s love is limitless.

The Scripture reading for this Saturday evening is Ephesians 3: 14-21 The Love of Christ.

The homily is titled “A Reminder of Jesus’ Love.”

The link to this Saturday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2021/07/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for-saturday_23.html

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May this service be a blessing to you.

It's Friday: 'Platt’s McLean Bible Church Hit With Attempted Takeover, Lawsuit from Opposition' and More

The Pilgrim's Trail

Platt’s McLean Bible Church Hit With Attempted Takeover, Lawsuit from Opposition

To some observers, McLean’s conflict seems like a replay of other recent episodes from American evangelicalism, where leaders who appeal to Scripture to address social issues are accused of theological liberalism or secular influence even if they continue to hold traditional Christian views. The level of suspicion around such leaders appears to have grown during the Trump administration and during the reckoning over racism following George Floyd’s death last year.

How to Get Your Pastor Active on Social Media
Darrel Girardier has developed a seven-step process to help you get your pastor to try social media. Now, these steps can be customized to your situation and they don’t have to be followed in a certain order. What these steps should do is give you a roadmap to help you navigate conversations, develop trust and eventually help your pastor to try social media. Ready to give it a go? Here they are....

Pastors: What Happened to David Platt Could Happen to You
Pastors do need to start taking social media seriously. As Chris Martin points out, a lot of misinformation is infiltrating the local church. In some instances pastors are the ones who are spreading this misinformation.

Can Social Media Foster Persuasion (Not Polarization)?
While social media can "undermine civil discourse and lead to social division," they, Tim Keller writes, "have enormous benefits. They are deeply embedded in psyches, especially of the young. So Christians can’t ignore social media, and most of all we need to begin to understand them."

In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul makes an important point. God gives pastors, elders, and other church leaders authority to build up. God does not give them authority to tear down.

Anglicans to Support Camino de Santiago
In a pilgrimage the journey for the pilgrim may be more like a walking silent retreat than anything else. The destination is not as important as the journey itself. As the early Celtic monks warned would-be pilgrims to Rome, "You won't find Christ in Rome unless you take him with you." Whatever the destination may be, what matters most is that Christ is our companion on the journey. Because pilgrimages can have spiritual benefits for those making them and as a practioner of what may be described as peregrinatory prayer, I welcome this development.

9 Possible Steps to Take When Praying Is Difficult
One of the biggest struggles that I have found in praying is the struggle against what I call "spiritual inertia," the tendency to do nothing or to make no effort. Lack of sleep, depression, and other factors can contribute to this condition. One way forward is to ask God to give us a greater yearning for him, a greater desire to commune with him.

Mobilizing for Missions When You Can’t Travel
Are we so focused on short-term missions that we are missing the opportunities closer to home? Is it time for us to pray that God will open our eyes to these opportunities? I think so.

Go Thou and Do Likewise: Commandments in the Second Person Singular

In modern English the second person singular pronoun (thou, thee, thine) has been relegated to archaic status. In other modern European languages, as well as ancient languages like Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, the second person singular is used as a familiar address or to emphasize the individual being spoken to as opposed to a group. We must now depend on context to know whether the you or yours we read or hear is meant as singular or plural. In conversation we often add colloquialisms to “you” to make sure it communicates as plural when that’s what we mean, for example, the southern Y’all.

In the church, we still use these singular pronouns, as found in the original Greek, in the Lord’s Prayer to address God, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” But we rarely use a translation of the Bible, like the Authorized Version, even in Bible study, which translates the Hebrew and Greek second person singular pronouns as thee, thou, thy, and thine. They are retained in Rite I in the Book of Common Prayer but in Rite II and elsewhere, the Greek, Hebrew or Latin is translated as “you/yours” whether the pronoun is singular or plural. Unfortunately, we who speak and read English are left to wonder whether a commandment, admonition, or teaching is meant to be for the individual or for the collective group of Israel or the Church.

Understanding to whom the commandment is addressed is essential to understanding its meaning. All the Ten Commandments, as well as the “Greatest Commandments” are directed to the singular thou, to the individual, although they are given to the whole community. The community standards thus come from the faith and practice of the individual people that form it, not vice-versa. Read More

It's Thursday: 'A Few Surprising Perspectives about Your Unchurched Neighbors' and More

A Few Surprising Perspectives about Your Unchurched Neighbors

Many of our neighbors are unchurched. Several of them may not know Christ. Who are they, and what are their perceptions? The Church Answers research team asked this question and found several things we must know about the unchurched.

4 Ways to Maximize the Benefits of Online Church
Jeff Chaves suggests four ways that we can get the most out of online church, based on his experience pastoring a church online.

Five Ways to Motivate Others (That You May Have Missed)
Charles Stone shares fresh insights garnered from neuroscience on how we can best motivate others.

Gentle Confrontation
Confronting others with gentleness I must admit is challenging. Jordan Standridge offers some pointers.

10 Things Parents Want To See In Your Children's Ministry
William Vanderbloemen shares some church practices which hehas noticed stood out from the rest after many years of actual experience working with children’s ministries and involving his own kids.

Church Website Objectives – Making Your Church Website Work For You
When all you see is empty pews, you may need to think through your church website objectives.

Beth Moore: SBC Seminary Presidents Made CRT ‘Witch-Hunt’ Unavoidable
Is the controversy over Criticial Race Theory (CRT) getting out of hand? Beth Moore thinks that it is.

Georgia Church Loses Pastor, Then Its Assets, to Regional UMC Leaders
The North Georgia Conference seized assets of Mount Bethel United Methodist Church in Marietta on July 12, a move that has sparked tensions already roiling over the denomination’s ongoing conflict around same-sex marriage and LGBT ordination.

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (July 21, 2021) Is Now Online

All Hallows Evening Prayer is a service of worship in the evening for all pilgrims on the journey to the heavenly city.

God saves us to do as much as good as we can during our lifetimes. God does not save us to take our ease. Nor does God save us to work evil. God saves us to be the instruments of his love.

The Scripture reading for this Wednesday evening is Ephesian 2: 1-10 From Death to Life.

The homily is titled “Created for Good Works.”

The link to this Wednesday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2021/07/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for_21.html

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May this service be a blessing to you.

It's Wednesday: 'Progress in the Pandemic: Christ Church, Tulsa' and More

Due to an area-wide internet outage I was unable to post anything on Anglicans Ablaze on Monday and Tuesday.  

Progress in the Pandemic: Christ Church, Tulsa
Churches try to do too much. Everett Lees, pastor of Christ Church, Tulsa, found that "one of the defining moments in the life of the parish was when parishioners collectively shifted their priority from trying to do everything to doing just a few things really well." 

Is Jesus Wrong … Or Do You Just Not Like Him?
"A lot of people come up with objections, but they are not real objections because they’d never apply those same standards to themselves." J. D. Greear has a point.

Top Ten Ways to Make Your Congregation Stop Singing
Back in the 1980s Betty Pulkingham pointed to our attention that the main purpose of a church's music leadership team is to release the congregation into praise. In too many churches today the music leadership team is neglecting that purpose.

One Easy Trick to See If You’re Reading the Bible Right
A better choice of title for this thoughtful article would have been "One Way of Determining If You're Reading the Bible Right." "Easy Trick" I associate with online ads and videos which usually turn out to be scams.

God’s Dumb Children
Eleazar Maduka examines one reason we may have difficulty in praying.

Americans’ Confidence in Church Drops to Near Historic Low
I am prompted to wonder whether the growing climate of distrust in the United States fostered by political leaders is a contributing factor to this loss of confidence as well as the failure of some churches to take responsible measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in their community.