Saturday Lagniappe: 'To Revitalize or to Replant?' And More

To Revitalize or to Replant?
In the post-COVID world, Thom Rainer, CEO of Church Answers, see the need for many churches to replant instead of revitalizing. In this article he explains th difference between the two.

Two Anglican Church Plants Leave for the Episcopal Church
Resurrection South Austin is the latest to go, citing issues around race, women, sexual minorities, and abuse response.

This article explores in more depth why these two church plats and a third church opted to disaffiliates from the Anglican Church in North America. f you do not have a subscription to Christianity Today, you will need to copy the entire page and then paste it in a Word document. This will bypass the subscription wall.

Can We Integrate 8 Views of the Atonement?
Review: ‘Mapping Atonement’ by William G. Witt and Joel Scandrett

5 Statements that Help Leaders Define Reality
New to a ministry leadership role? Charles Stone recommends a process to use with your staff to learn fresh insight about your work setting.

Is Your Fear Affecting Your Leadership?
Joe McKeever identifies the tell-tale signs that a pastor is operating from fear.

8 Things to Do Whe Depression Hists Your Pastor More and more pastors are dealing with the issue of depression. The pain is often deep, and few pastors have immediate places to turn for guidance and comfort.

Social Media Is a Spiritual Distortion Zone 

If consuming digital content can form us away from Christ, then it can also form us toward Christ.

What I have personally noticed is the substantial number of vocal social media influencers who, while identify themselves as Christians, encourage un-Christian attitudes, ways of thinking, and behavior. These influencers include those who subscribe to conservative political and social views as well as those who subscribe to progressive ones.

Preparing Yourself to Share the Gospel with Muslims
Tim Challies recommends four books for those who want to better understand the faith of the Muslims in their community so they can more effectively present the gospel to them.

Canadian Supreme Court refuses to hear appeals over worship restrictions on churches
The Supreme Court of Canada has declined to hear appeals from churches in Ontario and British Columbia that challenged pandemic restrictions on in-person worship. The churches had been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for violating gathering limits.

From a public health perspective there is a difference between a retail store where customers do not stay for any length of time and a sanctuary or worship center which may e poorly ventilated and where the same people may stay together for a hour or more and engage in activities which have bee shown to contribute to the spread of an infectious virus. While meeting a congregation's spiritual needs may be a concern for pastors and other religious leaders, preventing the spread of a dangerous communicable disease is going to be given greater priority by public health authorities.

A teaching of Jesus which was glozed over or ignored in this controversy is that our Lord repeatedly emphasized that God did not desire sacrificial offerings from us whatever form such offerings might take but that we show mercy to our fellow human beings.

Will the Supreme Court take up the denial of religious exemptions for unvaccinated schoolchildren?
A Connecticut case makes it likely.

We are already seeing a resurgence of dangerous childhood diseases due to lax attitudes toward vaccination and the spread of inaccurate information and intentional disinformation about vaccination and vaccines. A Supreme Court decision overturning public health measures requiring the mandatory vaccination of children could make the situation far worse than it already is.