Wednesday's Catch: 'Armed Church Security Teams: Good Idea or Bad Idea?' And More

Armed Church Security Teams: Good Idea or Bad Idea?
The question of whether a church should have an armed security team is both practical and pastoral. Churches want to be welcoming places of worship, but they also have a responsibility to protect the people gathered on campus. An armed security team may be appropriate in some contexts, but it should never be treated casually. The decision requires clear policies, legal guidance, extensive training, insurance awareness, pastoral wisdom, and a churchwide commitment to safety that goes far beyond firearms.

Global Methodist Church reports growth in congregations, conferences, holds General Conference in Africa
More than 1,100 people attended the Global Methodist Church General Conference in Africa, with the theologically conservative denomination reporting considerable growth of congregations and regional conferences.

Founded in 2022 in response to the fierce debate over LGBT issues within the United Methodist Church (UMC) that led to a major schism in the mainline denomination, the Global Methodist Church (GMC) held its General Conference Aug. 30 to Sept. 6 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Another SC church accused of not limiting known sex offender
iThis publicity photo from Brookwood Church in Simpsonville, S.C., shows families with children leaving worship. (Via Facebook) A second Southern Baptist church in South Carolina has made headlines recently for allowing a registered sex offender to participate in congregational ministry.

Ministry Watch reported Aug. 31 that Brookwood Church in Simpsonville recently disqualified an adult male from serving in any capacity in the church, saying: “The man is a registered sex offender in South Carolina who was convicted in Georgia in 1983 for two offenses: Enticing a child for indecent purposes and child molestation.”

Richard Land says Mohler’s views defy Baptist principles
A veteran leader of the “conservative resurgence” in the Southern Baptist Convention has publicly challenged Al Mohler’s Christian nationalism.

Richard Land is the former head of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. He was a foot soldier in the conservative movement in the SBC, beginning from a position at Criswell College in Dallas and then rising to national prominence.

Now, in an opinion piece for Christian Post, Land is challenging Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and one of the most influential voices in the SBC today.

Church vows to plough on with Project Spire
Labour MP Marsha De Cordova, speaking in her capacity as Second Church Estates Commissioner for the Church of England, has said the Church fully intends to proceed with the controversial Project Spire.

The Project will see £100 million put towards communities allegedly impacted by the transatlantic slave trade. The leadership of the Church has defended the move as an act of repentance and restitution for its alleged connections to the slave trade.

Project Spire is arguably an example of the misguided priorities that are plaguing the Church of England and causing a great deal of harm at the parish level. Buildings go unrepaired. Parishes have no stipendary clergy. Rural England is especially neglected.

Christian, pro-life groups rally against assisted suicide
Christian and pro-life groups are asking supporters to urge MPs to vote against a resurrected assisted suicide bill, which is due for Second Reading in the House of Commons on Friday.

The bill has been put forward as a private member’s bill by Labour MP Lauren Edwards and is virtually identical to a bill put forward by Kim Leadbeater that failed to pass earlier this year.

Monastic Revival: The New Monastery on Iona
There is a new Orthodox monastery on Iona, an island in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. Iona is best known for it’s early medieval abbey. This new community, however, matters for Orthodoxy, but not just for Orthodoxy. The recent revival of Orthodox monasticism on the island deserves be on the radar of Anglicans[1]. What starts in Iona has a tendency not to stay on Iona.

While I rarely see a need for a disclaimer, in this particular instance I must state that I do not share David Goodhew's positive assessment of the growth of Eastern Orthodoxy in the British Isles. I do, however, have no objections to "full fat Christianity" of the robust Protestant Anglican variety.

Let’s Reclaim ‘Evangelical’ for the Sake of the Global Church
Despite the excitement of evangelicalism’s expanding reach, American evangelicals are in a crisis of definition. Cable-news anchors and other culture shapers regularly use “evangelical” to reference a voting bloc more than than a Christian movement. Consequently, American Christians with historically evangelical commitments actively debate the term’s usefulness.

Conceding the use of “evangelical” to secular pollsters is deeply flawed by an American-centric gaze that forgoes meaningful connection with the global evangelical family.

Break from Stubborn Habits: Lead with Humility
When your usual door won’t open, have the humility to try other doors. The destination is what matters, not the route you take to get there.

Embracing the Lost Art of Silence and Solitude
In a world filled with chaos, the practice of silence and solitude has become harder than ever but is deeply needed among ministry leaders.

Sinclair Ferguson: Scripture gives Christians a song when ‘the world around you gives way’
Theologian Sinclair Ferguson told thousands of Christians gathered at the Sing! Conference that singing is woven into the fabric of creation and redemption, stressing that Jesus Christ, and not musicians or worship leaders, is ultimately the One who leads the Church in praise.

“There may be worship coordinators, there may be instrumentalists, there may be cantors, but there is only one song leader, and His name is Jesus,” Ferguson said Tuesday evening at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.

Church Event Registration Software: 9 Things Every Church Should Know Before Choosing (2026)
Here are nine factors you should look for to make sure your church event software is easy to use for people registering, your admins, and your finance team.

AI Can Assist Your Work. But Should It?
Generative tools have expanded what actions are possible and sharpened our awareness that choices are required of us. Increasingly, we face pressure to use such tools simply because they’re there. Let’s explore how we can think ethically about using AI tools in the realm of work, particularly amid its demands and drudgery.

For help, we’ll look to Christian ethicist Oliver O’Donovan. Using his schema from Entering into Rest, we’ll appraise AI tools based on how they might serve us in our work, and also how they might deform us.

We Can't Let AI Writing Take Over the Internet
In January 1919, more than 2 million gallons of molasses exploded from inside a pressurized holding tank in Boston. A tsunami of syrup, which some reports said reached 40 feet tall, surged through the city’s North End, covering the waterfront, destroying buildings, and drowning dozens of residents.

As the historian Jill Lepore recently wrote in the New Yorker, the Great Molasses Flood is a morbid if apt metaphor for the effect that artificial intelligence is having on the internet. Gooey, disgusting, saccharine AI slop is flowing everywhere these days, gumming up your LinkedIn feed, oozing through Twitter and Instagram, and filling every square inch of the internet with treacly spam and viscous sham, including fake recipes for “glue-topped pizza” on Google; fake biographies on Amazon; and fake images of Trump and Jesus stuck all over the modal Boomer’s Facebook wall.

Is It in Spanish? The Question That Opened New Doors for Gospel Outreach
Developing programs and content that are uniquely designed to reach Hispanic communities means crafting them well from the beginning, using anecdotes, examples, and colloquialisms that speak right to the heart of the intended audience.