Thursday's Catch: The Post-Virus Church and More

The Post-Virus Church

Most churches have at least temporarily adapted to COVID-19 restrictions, and the conversation among church leaders has moved on to ponder what the church and its ministries might look like after the restrictions are lifted (or at least eased). My concern is that most churches are asking good questions … but in the wrong order. Read More

This article is the latest article in Outreach Magazine's The New Future of the Church series

3 Essentials For Reaching the College Campus Amid Cultural Tensions

ollege campuses are going to look dramatically different this upcoming school year. As someone who leads in a college ministry, it’s daunting to consider the many restrictions we’ll have to deal with as we seek to make disciples on college campuses in the middle of a pandemic. Not only will things not be business as usual, there are varying and passionate opinions on how virus mitigation should be treated. But COVID-related restrictions aren’t the only thing college ministry leaders will have to face in the weeks and months to come. Read More

Stuck in a Spiritual Rut? Neuroscience Might Have the Answer.

How better understanding our brains can help us grow in conformity to Christ. Read More

3 Apologetic Approaches to Reach the Next Generation

Traditional apologetics has typically followed intellectual arguments that give evidence of God’s existence. Many of these arguments are sound and necessary to reveal the reality of Christianity, but what if people’s objections to Christianity aren’t primarily about its reality? This is the state the current generation finds itself in. In order to winsomely evangelize the upcoming generation, the following three apologetic approaches must be given more careful attention. Read More

Wednesday Catch: Downsides of Going Back to "Normal" and More

Why Going Back to "Normal" Church Seems So Compelling and Can Be So Dangerous

Why is it most church leaders seem to want to re-open, go back to normal and resume where they left off? What are the downsides of returning back to “normal”? Is it possibly dangerous to the future of your mission? Understanding the answers to these questions for yourself can help you probe the real reasons for your behaviour and longings.... And, once you see the reasons, you can adjust your approach accordingly, hopefully toward a stronger future. Read More

7 Ways to Build Teams of Great Leaders

You can find the future from where you are in the present. You have to. It’s the only way forward. Read More

Zoom Meetings Are Here To Stay: Tips For Great Zooming

This IS NOT going to be a textbook on how to use Zoom. I’m certain you can Google or search on YouTube and find something better than what I’m going to share. I just have a platform and a few readers, so I thought I’d share some thoughts from my experience. I hope it’s helpful. Read More

Preserving Our Body and Bodies for Worship

Has online worship acclimated us to our screens, or can we get physical again? Read More

How God Helps Us Pray According to His Will

To pray the Bible, you simply go through a passage line by line, talking to God about whatever comes to mind as you read the text. See how easy that is? Anyone can do that. If you don’t understand the meaning of a verse, go on to the next verse. If the meaning of that one is perfectly clear but nothing comes to mind to pray about, go on to the next verse. Just speak to the Lord about everything that occurs to you as you slowly read his word. You do this even if—and this can be easily misunderstood—even if what comes to mind has nothing to do with the text. Read More

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (August 5, 2020) Now Online

I have posted All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (August 5, 2020) on the All Hallows Murray weblog.

The Phos hilaron is Carl P. Daw Jr.’s metrical version of the ancient lamp-lighting hymn, “O Light Whose Splendor Thrills and Gladdens.” The choral setting was composed and arranged by David Ashley White.

The penitential evening psalm is a metrical version of Psalm 141 from the Bay Psalm Book. The Bay Psalm Book was published in Cambridge Massachusetts in 1640. It is the first book printed in British North America, the first book written in British North America, and the first book printed in English in the New World. It was produced just twenty years after the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts. The setting is taken from the Sacred Harp shape note hymnal and was arranged for SATB choir by Will Chiles.

The variable psalm is Isaac Watt's metrical version of Psalm 23, “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need.” The tune is RESIGNATION, composed by William Walker. It comes from the Southern Harmony shape note hymnal. It was arranged by J. David Moore for four male voices.

The Magnificat is Carl P. Daw Jr.’s metrical version of the canticle, "My Soul Proclaims with Wonder." The lyrics have been slightly altered from those originally published in A Year of Grace: Hymns for the Church Year (1990) and To Sing God's Praise: 18 Metrical Canticles (1992). The choral setting was composed and arranged by David Ashely White.

The reading is Ephesians 5:1-2.

The homily is titled, “Live in Love,” and echoes Paul’s urging to live as children of light.

The dismissal hymn is Robert Lowry’s hymn “My Life Flows on in Endless Song,” set to the tune HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING, also composed by Lowry.

The link to the service is: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2020/08/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for.html#more.

Please share this link with anyone whom you think will benefit from this service.

I hope that this service will be a blessing to you and those with whom you share the link.

Tuesday's Catch: Truth-Telling and More

The Cost of Telling the Truth in a World of Lies

“What is the cost of lies? It is not that we’ll mistake them for the truth. The real danger is that if we hear enough lies, then we no longer recognize the truth at all.” Read More

Cultivating Christlike Virtue in a Virtue-Signaling Age

In You Are What You Love, James K. A. Smith critiques American evangelicalism for equating knowledge with spiritual maturity. What we think is often prized above all, leading to “bobblehead Christianity.” Like the guy at the gym with big biceps and tiny calves, though, when we have inflated heads and shriveled hearts, our spiritual training needs correction. Read More

N. T. Wright: The Pandemic Should Make Us Humble—and Relentlessly Practical

We can’t know for sure why it’s happening or how to stop it. But Scripture calls us to grieve with God’s Spirit and get to work serving others. Read More

You Can Tell The Story, But Preach The Points

Stories are powerful, but how do we make the points of our sermon while keeping the integrity of the Bible story that we are preaching? Read More

What You Need to Know About TikTok

The TikTok Revolution is here! Church, in case you haven’t heard, the No. 1 downloaded iOS App is TikTok. Never heard of it? I bet your kids have. TikTok is taking Gen Z by storm. A few churches have been experimenting, successfully I might add, with the idea of moving their church ministry to TikTok. Read More

Brethren Against Brethren: LGBT Fight Divides Peace Church

Departing congregations want stricter enforcement of official positions. Read More

Monday's Catch: The Lonely Crowd and More

The Lonely Crowd: Churches Dying Due to Friendlessness

In the 1950s, sociologist David Riesman coined the term “the lonely crowd,” in part to describe collectives of people who live according to common traditions and conforming values, but who barely know or like each other. I fear the church is in danger of becoming just such a lonely crowd. Read More

Why Do We hate Each Other So Much (5 Reasons Anger Is the New Epidemic)

Christians are not exempt from the trend toward anger, outrage, and division online. In fact, there are a good number of Christians who are fueling it. Read More

7 Kinds of People You Can't Afford to Keep in Leadership

Here’s the strange paradox of leadership: some of the people you think you can’t afford to lose are the very people you can’t afford to keep. So how do you know the difference? Read More

Would A Ten-Minute Sermon Work?

One parishioner said, "If a sermon were a practical, 10-minute exposition of scripture, I’d be happy." Would you be happy, Pastor? Read More

How to Get Your Worship to Flow

What’s one thing that can make or break your effectiveness in worship leading? Flow. Read More

Flow is not only important in a medley of songs but also in the worship service itself. The elements of a worship service should also flow from one element to the next. Those planning a worship service should not be afraid to use silence between the different elements of the service.

5 Steps to Reconnecting Your Church Through Groups

At the time of this writing, coronavirus cases are soaring around the United States, and many states are now stepping back in their reopening plans to hopefully flatten the curve again. Several churches had moved to in-person gatherings again, only to have to move back to online only after outbreaks in their communities. This will further force churches to re-examine discipleship paths and the role of groups in them. Now that we know small groups have to be the priority going forward, what do we do now? Read More

Be Careful Which Way You Lean

We sometimes wind up in a lifestyle we never intended to be in, habitually committing the same sin and scrambling to figure out how we wound up in the destructive cycle. For some of us, it’s anger. For others, it’s lust, pornography, or an illicit relationship. It could be gossip, overeating, occult involvement, or many other things. And Paul, in Galatians, helps us to answer the question, how’d I get to this point? It’s because we leaned toward sin. Read More

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (August 2, 2020)

I have just posted All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (August 2, 2020) on the All Hallows Murray weblog.

The selection of music is the same as Saturday evening’s service with three exceptions. The service begins with an instrumental prelude, based on Claude Goudimel’s original setting of Psalm 121 of the Genevan Psalter of 1551. The variable psalm is Psalm 121 of the Genevan Psalter of 1551, translated from the original French version and sung to Goudimel’s original setting. The dismissal hymn is Michael Leighton Jones’ choral arrangement of Charles Wesley’s “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” and set to Joseph Parry’s hymn tune ABERYSTWYTH.

The reading is Luke 8:22-25.

The homily is titled, “Who Then Is This?” What conclusion do we reach about Jesus’ identity when we hear the account of his calming of the wind and the waves.

The link to the service is: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2020/08/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for-sunday.html#more.

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

I hope that the service is a blessing to you and provides a prayerful conclusion to your Sunday.

Obeying God Rather than Men? What’s Really a Religious Liberty Issue?

John Inazu on religious liberty and loving one other during the pandemic.

I am glad to welcome back John Inazu to The Exchange. Inazu is the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion at Washington University in St. Louis, as well as the executive director of The Carver Project. He is the author of two books and frequently writes on topics of pluralism, assembly, free speech, religious freedom, and other issues. This past March, we recorded a podcast with John Inazu where he discusses religious liberties. Today he offers us guidance on the balance between the right to religious freedom and the necessity of public health.

Ed: How should we be thinking about restrictions on worship during the pandemic?

John: The details of restrictions will vary by locality and by our understanding of the virus and how it spreads. But as Christians, we should frame our assessments of restrictions within a broader ethic of love of God and love of neighbor.

To be sure, gathering for worship is a core Christian practice: the early church was known as the ecclesia (assembly), many Christian practices depend upon community, and the writer of Hebrews admonishes us not to give up meeting together (Hebrews 10:25). Limits on religious worship are serious matters for Christians.

At the same time, Christians through the ages have adjusted corporate gatherings in challenging circumstances. For centuries, missionaries, soldiers, and relief workers have improvised worship practices and forgone physical gatherings in extraordinary times. Today, churches in China and Iran do not often gather openly, but they are no less faithful to the Gospel because of their inability to do so.

Christians are also called to love our neighbors and care for the most vulnerable among us. We can live out these commitments even in uncertain times and even with imperfect knowledge. The nature of this virus means that health experts and government officials are constantly making judgments based on limited data, and necessarily speaking about risks rather than certainties. So we won’t always know with complete confidence what the right decision should be. But if there is a reasonable risk that in-person gatherings or other activities will harm our neighbors, then that risk should weigh heavily in the decisions we make. Read More

Saturday Lagniappe: Consulting the Dead and More

What’s Wrong with Consulting the Dead?

When I was growing up, I regularly witnessed the dead being consulted. It is a reality of my background. This practice has been going on for centuries, sadly even in African Christian circles. This is what prompted me to write this article. Many questions around this tradition need answering: Do the dead influence the living? Can they speak to God in an intermediary role, or on our behalf? Do they have the power to protect us if worshiped? Will they punish us when not worshiped or appeased? But there is one major question I have come across that brings everything together: As Christians, whom should we consult or go to for protection and guidance? Read More

The practice of consulting the dead is not confined to Africa. It is also found in other parts of the world, including the United Kingdom and the United States. Spiritualism was popular in the United Kingdom and the United States in the nineteenth century. The British author, Sir Arthur Conan Dole, who wrote The Lost World and the Sherlock Holmes detective novels was an outspoken proponent of spiritualism. While spiritualism may have diminished in popularity, it has not gone away.

Why Pray to Saints When You Have Direct Access to God?

In Protestant churches, we are used to praying to God the Father. That’s how the Lord’s Prayer starts, and all the Biblical prayers are directed towards God. Prayer is a fundamental part of what it means to be one of God’s children. In the Roman Catholic Church, however, it is common to pray to all kinds of saints as well as to God the Father. Read More

20 of the Worst Epidemics and Pandemics in History

Plagues and epidemics have ravaged humanity throughout its existence, often changing the course of history. Read More

Why an article on epidemics and plagues? For one thing it helps us to recognize the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for the public health measures that states and local governments have been implementing.

Listening When You Can’t Possibly Hear Everyone

How can you listen when you can’t possibly hear everyone? Read More

Why Planting Local Churches is Critical to a Faithful Missions Strategy

Why is the planting of local churches so critical to a strong missions strategy? Here are a few reasons.... Read More

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (August 1, 2020)

I have posted All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (August 1, 2020) on the All Hallows Murray weblog.

The order of service for this service is taken from the Anglican Church of Canada’s The Book of Alternative Services (1985), as has the order of service for the preceding services. This order of service was selected for its flexibility and adaptability. It also incorporates features of the ancient cathedral (or popular) office of Vespers, which predates the monastic cycle of prayer. These features include the ancient lamp-lighting hymn Phos hilaron and the penitential evening psalm Psalm 141. The cathedral office of Vespers uses a limited number of variable psalms selected for their suitability to the evening.

The Phos hilaron is the “O Gladsome Light O Grace” from the traditional Anglican hymn repertory.

Psalm 141 is Randall DeBruyn’s arrangement of the Camoldolese Monks OBS’ setting of that penitential evening psalm from the Grail Psalms, an English translation of the psalms modeled upon a French translation. This setting may be sung antiphonally between two sections of the choir or the congregation or responsorially with a cantor or cantors or the choir singing the verses and the congregation singing the antiphon as a refrain. Responsorial singing of the psalms was widely used in the early Church.

The psalm prayer that follows Psalm 141 comes from the Lutheran Book of Worship Ministers Edition (1978).

Psalm 93 is the variable psalm. This metrical version of the psalm is taken from the Scottish Metrical Psalter of 1650, also known as The Psalms of David in Metre. It is set to common meter. In the video it is sung to the tune PEMBROKE. I have not been able to identify the composer of the tune. The style in which this metrical psalm is sung was common in England in the seventeenth century, eighteenth century, and well into the nineteenth century. It is associated with what is called West Gallery Music.

The psalm prayer that follows Psalm 93 is taken from the Church of England’s service book, Common Worship (2000).

The reading is Mark 8: 1-9.

The homily is titled “Hard Tack and Sun-Dried Sardines.” The thrust of the homily is that in feeding the four thousand Jesus models for us the compassion which he taught that we should show others.

The Gospel Canticle is Lucien Deiss’ antiphonal setting of the Magnificat, the Song of Mary.

The Prayers of Intercession are taken from Praise God in Song: Ecumenical Daily Prayer (1979). Praise God in Song influenced the order of service for Evening Prayer in The Book of Alternatives Services (1985) and the order of service for A Service of Light in A Prayer Book for Australia (1998).

The dismissal hymn is Albert Bayly’s “What Does the Lord Require.” The hymn tune is Eric Routley’s SHARPTHORNE.

The benediction is a form of the Aaronic Blessing that may be used by deacons and lay persons.

I recommend lighting a candle at the very beginning of the service and then after saying the versicle and response, “Jesus Christ is the light of the world…,” lighting additional candles. The candles should be extinguished at the end of the service. The lighting and extinguishing of the candles help to set the time of prayer apart.

The link to the service is: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2020/07/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for-saturday_31.html#more.

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

I hope that the service will be a blessing to you and will provide a fitting beginning to your Sunday.

Friday's Catch: Habits of Generation Z and More

7 Habits of Generation Z That Your Church Might Be Ignoring

There’s no doubt that Gen Z has some different habits than previous generations. Thanks to the internet and smartphones, the environment that we’ve grown up in is completely unique, and unlike any generation before. We spend more time online, go outside less, and care about wildly different things than our parents did when they were kids. You might look at these habits and think that these habits are “just a phase” or that we’ll “grow out of it.” We won’t. Read More

3 Ideas for Growing Your Church during a Pandemic

Here are three easy-to-incorporate tips to ignite growth in your church or small group this week. Read More

Keep Your Distance: Words of Advice for Churches from the Surgeon General

Jerome Adams, Surgeon General of the United States, offered important medical guidance for faith communities today. Read More

New Research: Most Churches Cautiously Holding Services Again

Churches are gathering again, but services and programs remain drastically different from the beginning of the year. Read More

Thursday's Catch: Pivoting in the Midst of a Pandemic and More

Pivot the Way You Connect With Your People

Prior to COVID-19, we could connect with those in our congregation and communities almost whenever we wanted. We could have lunch with them, meet at local sports games and of course see them before or after the worship experience. However, now those options really do seem to be things of the past. I am sure though that we would all agree that connection in life and in church are of the upmost importance. But how do you pivot? Read More

Faith, Freedom and Face Masks

People in other countries are genuinely dumbfounded by our “mask” divide. To have something as basic as wearing a mask in the midst of a pandemic in order to control its spread become a partisan issue is confusing to many Americans as well. Why is there such a belligerent attitude toward wearing a mask in public in the name of public health? Read More

I read a lot of articles from around the world. From my reading I gather that the United States is more divided over how to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic than any other country in the world. Where divisions do occur outside the United States, they can be traced to the United States. The United States has often been a positive influence in world affairs but, in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is emerging as a negative influence. How this came about is complicated. But it does suggest that the United States may no longer be the world leader that it once was and the events of the past four years have contributed to its declining leadership role. The leadership role of a nation in world affairs is tied to the positive influence that it exerts. As that influence shrinks so does its leadership role.

Ministries Face the Real Trafficking Crisis During COVID-19

Desperation and isolation put vulnerable populations at risk. Read More

Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?

Here are three alternative questions which help to elucidate the underlying issues that the question-as-posed obscures. Read More

Top 10 Practices of the Best Leaders I Know

This following list of practices may appear simple. My challenge to you is, don’t focus on the level of simplicity or difficulty to understand each one, instead, evaluate how well you do in each area. Read More

Leadership Savvy Doesn’t Make a Pastor

I imagined pastoral work would be pedestrian and marginal—a sacrifice of my potential and plans. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Read More

On Sermon Introductions

Here are nine ways to get your sermon off to a good start. Read More

Your Online Worship Services AFTER Live Gatherings Resume

This is NOT a post about when live worship gatherings should resume, which is a highly debated and increasingly divisive topic.... But this post is about what a church should do with their online gatherings after the church starts to meet again, whenever the church starts to meet again. Not all of the people in a church will be ready to gather. Read More

Who's Really Discipling Your Congregation?

The American Church has a discipleship problem. The issue is not a lack of discipleship, however, but rather a glut of discipleship coming from the wrong sources without being filtered through the only right source. Read More

I would define the problem as both "a lack of discipleship" AND "a glut of discipleship coming from the wrong sources," based upon my own observations. One way that you respond to the latter is to increase your discipling of church members and attendees. A lack of discipleship creates a vacuum which the wrong sources that Aaron Earls identifies will fill. Where the influence of Jesus' teaching and example are absent, political views, for example, can fill the empty space and become the dominant influence in a Christian's life.

Wednesday's Catch: The Role of the Church in Solving Local Problems and More

One in Four U.S. Adults Believes the Church Should Lead in Solving Local Problems

Should the Church be involved in helping solve issues at the local level? Read More

10 Signs Your Organization's Culture Is Toxic

How can you tell your organization’s culture is toxic? Read More

Supreme Court Issues a Surprising—and Divisive—Decision on Churches and Pandemic Restrictions

Despite what appears to be a blatantly unconstitutional infringement of religious liberty, five Supreme Court justices are allowing Nevada to hold churches to a stricter standard than casinos. Read More

Nevada, I believe, was discriminatory in applying a strict standard to religious organizations alone. Nevada in my estimation should have applied the same standard to the casinos and other businesses. "What's good for the goose is good for the gander," as the old saying goes.

What concerns me most is that Nevada in what was clearly discriminatory application of a stricter standard to religious organizations has provided ammunition for those who are opposed to the more reasonable public health measures that states like California and Kentucky have implemented. It has helped make public health measures affecting religious organizations a political issue that politicians whose states have a poor track record in containing or slowing the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus can exploit in the next election.

A small group of Republican senators are already urging President Trump to support a number of measures that they are proposing and pressure state and local governments into relaxing public health measures affecting religious organizations on the grounds that they are an infringement of religious liberty. They are urging the president to use the threat of withholding federal aid to force state and local governments into relaxing public health measures that affect religious organizations, primarily Christian ones. The timing of their proposals suggests that they themselves, if they are standing for re-election, are hoping to garner more votes for themselves while at the same playing to the willingness of the president to do just about anything that might help his re-election bid. They are also hoping to portray the Democrats as the enemies of religious freedom and damage their prospects in the upcoming election.

These proposals will not only intensify the divisions in Congress and the nation but will also are bound to end up in the federal court system. They can also be expected to contribute in a variety of ways to the suffering and loss of life, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and undermine state and local efforts to contain or slow the spread of the virus.

Remixed Religiosity in Our (Still Very) Religious Culture

As religions and their creeds are maligned in secular society, so too are all institutions and channels of authority. Institutions, in a godless world, instead have been replaced by intuitions. Read More

Despite the decline of organized religion in the West, superstition has been flourishing. This phenomenon is not limited to the West. It is also evident in China among the atheistic Communist Party elite and in Japan whose conformist culture discourages any form of religious enthusiasm.

A Pop Quiz for Pastors and Church Leaders

Based on what I’ve learned about church leaders via years of church consulting, here’s a pop quiz for pastors and other church leaders. Many leaders with whom I’ve worked could not answer these questions – questions I believe strong church leaders should be able to answer.... Read More

12 Questions I Might Ask a Pastor Search Team

In response to a question students frequently ask him: “What questions would you ask a pastor search team if you were their candidate?” Chuck Lawless provides a list of 12 helpful questions. Read More

6 Tips on How Pastors can Help Others Discover their Spiritual Gifts

The more we pastors help people discover, develop, and deploy their spiritual gifts, the healthier our churches become. In this post I suggest 6 tips that can help others discover their gifts. Read More

How to CRAFT a Sermon

I don’t care what you call your preaching style, but our preaching should lead to life change. I’ve developed my sermon-preparation method around that goal. I call it the CRAFT method. Read More

Churchgoers Read the Bible with Both Confidence and Confusion

Most churchgoers say they can address doubts others have about the Bible, but half admit they have problems understanding Scripture on their own. Read More

6 Things Your Church May Be Doing Illegally

As a best practice to ensure your church is acting above reproach in honoring copyright law, survey the below list and seek to avoid the following six things that may be putting your ministry at risk. Read More

How To Respond to Social Media Enemies

If our social media world has given us new ways of making friends, it has also given us new ways of making enemies. Read More

Helping One Another Persevere in the Faith

The entire Christian life is lived in light of the tension between what we already are in Christ and what we hope ultimately to be some day. Read More

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (July 29, 2020)

I have posted All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (July 29, 2020) on the All Hallows Murray weblog.

The music selection is the same as last Sunday Evening’s service with the following changes. The variable psalm is Anna Letitia Waring’s paraphrase of Psalm 23, “In Heavenly Love Abiding,” sung the hymn tune PENLAN, composed by the Welsh composer David Jenkins. PENLAN is the tune to which this hymn is most often sung in the United Kingdom. The hymn may also be sung to Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s SEASONS, the Finnish folk tune NYLAND or KUORTANE, and other tunes. The dismissal hymn is Henry Alford’s “We Walk by Faith, and Not by Sight,” sung to the hymn tune SHANTI, composed by the American hymn writer and composer Marty Haugen. The hymn may also be sung to DUNLAP’S CREEK McFarland), LOB GOTT IHR CHRISTEN, and other tunes.

The psalm prayer following the variable psalm comes from the Church of England’s service book, Common Worship (2000).

The reading is Matthew 19:13-15.

The homily is titled, “Jesus Ever the Same.” The Jesus who told his disciples to let the little children come to him and to not hinder them is the same Jesus who awaits us when we seek him in prayer.

The link to the service is: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2020/07/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for_29.html#more.

Please feel free to share this link with anyone whom you think might benefit from this service.

I hope that the service is a blessing to you and to those with whom you share the link.

Love Your Enemies

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:43–45)

Is our view of who we should love and who we should hate more like the view of those to whom Jesus spoke or more like the view of Jesus?

Jesus said to His Jewish hearers, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’” That was what this Jewish audience had heard. It was presumably a principle they were living by or else Jesus would not have bothered to mention it. But is it not also something we hear continually? Is it not, for example, exemplified in the form of discourse modeled by millions of participants on many social media platforms--the places where most young people are now learning the basic rules of how to interact with other human beings?

In the United States, as in many countries, there are different groups who take different positions on all manner of issues. Quite often, those in one group have heated and angry disagreements with those in other groups. Each group tends to view those in other groups as the enemy. Sometimes, those in one group treat those in "enemy" groups with hatred, contempt, and even violence. In some of our local communities, there are members of different groups physically fighting one another in the streets. In many of our virtual "communities," there are members of different groups verbally fighting one another in the comment boxes.

As Christians, we live in the midst of a world that teaches us by word and deed to "hate our enemy." Jesus instructs His followers to respond to our enemy differently. So, do we respond as Jesus commanded by loving our enemy and praying for him? Or do we respond the same way so many unbelievers do, by hating our enemy? Where are we going in order to learn what our response to our enemy should be? Scripture or Twitter? <b>Read More

Tuesday's Catch: Barna on the New Sunday Morning and More

One in Three Practicing Christians Has Stopped Attending Church During COVID-19

Recently, we revealed findings about “The New Sunday Morning,” highlighting trends in church attendance and engagement since the nation’s response to COVID-19 began in March of this year and social distancing pushed services online. Barna researchers identified a few types of churchgoers in this unique era of digital Church: Christians streaming their pre-COVID-19 church online, Christians streaming a different church online and Christians who have stopped “attending” church altogether. (It should be noted, there is a segment of those who, prior to COVID-19, were not attending church and are now attending online during the pandemic—however, this group is currently too small to be considered statistically significant and is not reported on here.) Read More

Beware, Sin Thrives in Isolation

As the second wave of Coronavirus overtakes our city, Melbournians are being forced back into isolation. Other than for four specific reasons, it is officially unlawful for us to even leave our homes. These restrictions might be frustrating but they are necessary. Extreme times call for extreme measures. Staying home saves lives. But while our homes may be places of physical safety, they are also places of spiritual danger because sin thrives in isolation. Read More

The God of Good Manners?

For those already weighed down with the burdens of the past few months—staying healthy, keeping the finances afloat, maintaining some semblance of normalcy—the severity of his lordship can threaten to strain us to the spiritual breaking point. Perhaps this is why I was charmed by Julian of Norwich’s discernment of another dimension of God’s lordship: his courtesy. Read More

Even Among Well-Meaning Christians, ‘Born Again’ Is Often Misunderstood

Being called a “born-again Christian” can mean many things to many people. In New Life in Christ: What Really Happens When You’re Born Again and Why It Matters, Steven J. Lawson moves beyond today’s (mis)use of the phrase to recapture its biblical meaning and extraordinary significance for the Christian life. Read More

2 Characteristics Church leaders Must Display during Cultural Crises

“Teach us to number our days carefully…” Really, Lord? Whether we think “numbering our days” means taking an account of what you’ve done at the end of every day, or considering the time that’s passing, or counting the days since some of us were in a worship service filled with people, numbering our days in a pandemic can be a little depressing. It’s not surprising then that the psalmist’s next word to the Lord is this in verses 13-15.... Read More

21 Great Practices You’ll Never Regret Adopting

You probably already have some regrets as a leader. I know I do. Not only as a leader, but as a husband, dad and friend too. Leadership is so complicated that sometimes it’s hard to know what to focus on. Add a global crisis into the mix and it’s even more confusing. So why is it that so many of us keep making mistakes at work and at home? It’s easy to blame your crushing workload, the people around you, circumstances or just about anything that moves. But if you look for common threads, you’ll often discover the problem was not in the situation, it was in how you responded to it. Read More

13 Mistakes When Seeking a New Place of Ministry

Most of us change places of ministry during our career. I realize, of course, that making changes now during COVID may seem unwise, but below are 13 mistakes I’ve seen leaders make in this process of “courting” a new ministry. Read More

I would also recommend talking with previous pastors of the church and other individuals who may be familiar with the church if it is at all possible. They can offer invaluable insights into the church. These insights may help a pastor determine whether he would be a good fit with that church.

Don’t Just Preach about Christ. Preach Christ!

"We can know a lot about Jesus and "follow" him as our "friend’ and yet still not know him very personally. Preachers can actually aid and abet an impersonal knowledge of Jesus by preaching about Christ while not actually preaching Christ. They present his Facebook page rather than personally introducing people to Jesus. Read More

The Benefits of Online Small Groups

While some people may feel forced into their groups meeting online, there are some definite benefits of online small groups. Online small groups aren’t new. After all, I started my first online group on CompuServe in 1994. They aren’t new, but online small groups are next. Read More

Diagnosing Your Church's Discipleship Problem

The local church has a discipleship disease. And without the proper diagnosis and treatment plan, we will do more harm than good. Read More

How to Be on Mission When Your Mission Trip Is Cancelled

"If COVID-19 caused my trip to be canceled, can I still be on mission this summer?" The answer is an emphatic yes! Read more

Rendering to Caesar and to God in the Midst of a Pandemic

By Robin G. Jordan 

Readers may be following the debate that has followed the issuance by James MacArthur and the elders of Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California of a call for US Christians to join that church in a campaign of civil disobedience against the public health measures that state and local governments are implementing to contain or slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. I have not posted links to any related articles until I have gathered enough articles that are representative of the different views involved in this debate. Among the issues is whether churches are free to adopt their own course of action or must they, as MacArthur insists, follow his lead.

MacArthur’s position is reminiscent of the position that the extremists among the Puritans in the sixteenth and seventeenth century took. They argued that there was only one right position on a number of issues—theirs. All other positions even those for which there was support in the Holy Scriptures were wrong. They were right, everyone else was wrong, and that settled the matter. At the outbreak of the English Civil War they argued that the Bible mandated only one form of church government—presbyterianism. On the other hand, the English Reformers and later Anglican divines maintained that the Bible does not prescribe any particular form of church government.

At the conclusion of the English Civil War the Presbyterians did not emerge victorious. Rather congregationalism won the day. Oliver Cromwell’s New Army backed the idea that the local church was free to determine for itself how it was to be governed and by whom.

At the Restoration episcopacy and The Book of Common Prayer were re-established as the form of church government and the form of worship in the Church of England. Pastors who refused to accept the authority of the bishops and to use the Book of Common Prayer were ejected from their livings.

MacArthur is arguing that civil disobedience to the restrictions that state and local public health measures impose upon places of worship, worship gatherings, and other church meetings is the only course of action that Christians may take. Otherwise, they are disobeying God. His argument resonates with some Christians. Others, however, conclude that the matter is not as cut and dry as MacArthur would have us believe. The kind of civil disobedience that MacArthur is advocating is not warranted at this stage if at all. While these public health measures may at times be onerous and in the case of Nevada’s restrictions on worship gatherings patently unfair, their intent is not to persecute Christians or local churches but to protect the healthy and safety of the public, including Christians.

Jesus taught his disciples to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. Among the duties of the Roman Emperor was to protect the empire from its enemies and to safeguard persons and property in times of danger. Implementing public health measures to contain or slow the spread of an epidemic falls within his sphere of authority. It is what is Caesar’s, as is collecting taxes. When we comply with the public health measures that state and local governments implement and which the federal government may eventually put into effect such as a national face mask mandate, we are rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s.

We are also rendering to God what is God’s. In his teaching Jesus expanded upon an earlier revelation of how we should act toward others—toward outsiders as well as those within our particular in-group. He did not add to this teaching but drew attention to its breadth. We are to love all human beings as ourselves. Jesus spoke as God commanded him to speak. As he pointed out, his words were not his own but the Father’s. They came from God.

Jesus emphasized loving God as well as loving others. Love of God and love of others are inseparably intertwined. We do not love God if we do not love others. In a number of places in the Old Testament we learn that God is not as interested in our acts of worship as he is the way we live. Indeed, our acts of worship are offensive to him if we do not frame our lives upon Jesus’ teaching and example. In showing our love for the Son in obeying his word, we show our love for the Father.

Caring for the health and safety of others is an important way that we show our love for them. Jesus himself had harsh words for the Pharisees who, while they claimed to be wholly devoted to God, endeavoring to fulfill the minutia of the ritual law, they showed little or no mercy and compassion toward their fellow Jews, even their own parents. While MacArthur’s statement on the surface appears to be God-honoring, it has the feel of the Pharisee about it.

One is faced with the question, “Will our worship gatherings and other church meetings really honor God if they cause human suffering and cost human lives?” Jesus urged his disciples to be like God. When we imitate God, when we are merciful and compassionate like he is, we are honoring God. God who is eternal and exists outside of time and space will not miss our worship gatherings for a season. But he will take note of our lack of mercy and compassion.

Don't Just Learn from Church History - Look to the Global Church Too

In all the discussion about how to navigate the consequences and implications of COVID-19 for churches and believers meeting together, historical events have often been alluded to. From the efforts of Christians to care for the sick in Roman times, Martin Luther's refusal to leave Wittenburg when bubonic plague came, to the Great Ejection of the Puritans in 1662, people have drawn analogies with what Christians have done in past centuries.

This is right and good. The Bible is of course our authority but we have a lot to learn from those who have gone before us in how they interpreted and applied Biblical principles to real life. We sometimes talk about being in uncharted waters now, but there are those who have navigated similar waters in the past and we do well to carefully consider their examples and decisions.

But wouldn't it be better if instead of reading their words and about their situations, we could talk to them? Wouldn't you like to hear the voices of those early Church believers who lived through such difficult times and yet still rejoice in Christ? Wouldn't it be good to have a conversation with the brothers and sisters in Christ who have had to weigh up the hard decisions about whether or not to meet in person and the dangers of hymn singing? Wouldn't it be great to be able to talk with the Puritans about when and how civil disobedience is required?

Those believers are in heaven now and we'll have to wait until we get there for the in-person conversations. But the global church is full of people who have either wrestled with analogous issues in the last fifty years or are still experiencing them today. Christians in the West would do well to remember that they can draw on the breadth and depth of experience within the global church - and then actually do so. Read More

Also See:
Coronavirus: A Biblical, Historical Perspective
The Chinese Church and the Culture, Part 2: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

The Practice of Prayer during a Pandemic

How to Pray When You’re Feeling Anxious or Depressed

Prayer is hard at the best of times, but it’s hardest during anxious or depressed times. During such seasons, most of us find it hard to concentrate, we feel God is far away, and we despair of God hearing or helping us. All of this makes prayer so difficult and discouraging.

How can we make prayer easier and more encouraging to us in such dark and disturbing spells? Here are five words I give to people to help them with the how of prayer when they are anxious or depressed.... Read More

This article is part of Crossway's How to Pray series.

20 Prayers to Pray During This Pandemic

In recent days, as COVID-19 has been declared a global pandemic and countries have taken urgent measures to stem the spread of infection, I wish I could say that my first impulse has been to pray. It’s probably more honest to say that I’ve obsessively refreshed my feeds.

The crisis is urgent, and I feel powerless. But perhaps feeling small is the best reminder to pray. Prayer is how we actively practice believing, so simply, so confidently, that God has the whole world in his hands. It’s where we “let petitions and praises shape our worries into prayers, letting God know our concerns” (Phil. 4:6–7, The Message). Prayer is never the last resort of God’s people. It is our first point of action.

With that in mind, I’ve put together a list of 20 prayers to pray during this pandemic. Each one addresses the specific needs of a specific community. I’m fortunate to be a part of a church with many medical professionals, some of whom gave me advice on how best to pray for them at this time. I’ve included their responses here. I’ve also tried to think broadly about how the rest of us are impacted by the current crisis.

This list isn’t comprehensive, of course, but it’s a good place to start. My hope is that it can provide words for us as we pray collectively (if also virtually!) as a church body. We believe there is a God who bends his ear to listen, and so we pray.... Read More

Monday's Catch: The Elusive Trait of Reasonableness and More

The Elusive Trait of Reasonableness

To be reasoned means that your opinions are well thought through. To be reasonable means you are open to persuasion. Read More

Getting Past the “Ain’t It Awful” Kind of Preaching

Rick Warren says a lot of what pastors are feeding their people is “ain’t it awful” preaching. I am so in agreement on that. Read More

COVID-19 Is Disrupting Americans’ Engagement with Scripture

A recent survey reveals how COVID-19’s disruption of in-person church attendance is directly impacting Scripture reading. Read More

The Bible is not a magical book that can fix our troubles. While we can benefit from reading the Bible, we will not experience the full benefits of our Bible reading until we live what it teaches, where its teaching is consistent with Jesus's message and witness. I suspect that a belief in the magicalness of the Bible along with the notion that we can win God's approval and stay in his good graces by reading the Bible may account in part for the decline in Bible reading. The pandemic has created doubt and Bible reading is a casualty of that doubt.

Churches Plan to Host Students During Remote Learning

In some communities, empty buildings and eager youth ministers offer safe places and supervision for families facing school closures. Read More

The concept is not a bad one provided that the church hosting the remote learning students takes proper steps to prevent a child from one household infecting children in other households and through them other members of the household or other individuals with whom the members of the household have contact such as elderly relatives and relatives with pre-existing conditions. A South Korean study found that older school age children--those 10 years of age and older--can infect other people as much as adults and more likely to infect members of their household than any other member of the house except older household members--70 years of age and older. Younger children can become infected with the virus and can infect other people with the virus but the extent to which they are a transmission risk has not yet been determined. The children whom the church is hosting will require close supervision to keep them from having contact with each other. The church will also need to monitor the children's households closely in case a member of the household or someone with whom the house hold has contact develops symptoms or tests positive. Based on my niece's experiences as an early childhood development teacher's aide and my own experiences as a child welfare case worker parents will drop off sick children at early childhood development centers, nursery schools, and day care centers even when they are asked not to. Parents will also send sick children to school although they are asked to keep them home. The spaces that the children use for remote learning will also need to be adequately ventilated. This may prove difficult as the weather grows colder. The use of church restrooms will in addition present challenges of its own. 

Evaluating Your Church Database

After countless migrations and even an attempt at no database (a true nightmare), I’ve realized there are three questions to ask when evaluating your current solution. Read More

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (July 26, 2020)

I just posted All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (July 26, 2020).

The order of service and the music selection is the same as Saturday evening’s service with one exception. The dismissal hymn is James Quinn’s “Christ Be Beside Me,” a paraphrase of St. Patrick’s Lorica, or Breastplate, also knowns as The Deer’s Cry, a prayer attributed to St. Patrick. The hymn tune is ST. ROSE, composed by Laura Wasson. “Christ Be beside Me” may also be sung to the Scottish traditional melody BUNESSAN or the Irish traditional melody GARTAN.

The reading is 1 John 2: 3-6.

The homily is titled “Mirrors of Christ” and briefly explores the implications of the passage for ourselves.

The link to this service is: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2020/07/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for-sunday_26.html#more.

Please feel free to share this link with anyone who might benefit from the service.

I hope that this service is blessing to you and to those with whom you share the link. May it provide a fitting conclusion to your day.

En Plus: 3 Ways Attractional Churches Need to Change to Reach the Next Generation

In an era in which everything is changing so fast, it can be really difficult to discern what’s next.

That’s doubly true in church world. While the mission stays the same, the expression or model keeps changing.

The dominant model for growing churches over the last two decades is what many people call attractional church.

Often (but not always) attractional church takes the form of a little less worship (3-4 songs), hosting that explicitly welcomes unchurched people into the room, running everything through a filter with the guest in mind and often (but not always) includes topical preaching. Over the last few decades, that approach has helped thousands of churches reach hundreds of thousands—or millions—of previously unreached people.

But as culture changes, the church needs to adjust. When what used to connect doesn’t connect anymore, you either change or you settle for reaching fewer people.

So what exactly is changing? Read More

I believe that it would be helpful to draw attention to the different kinds of charismatic worship. Yes, there are different kinds of charismatic worship. Some charismatic churches give more attention to Paul's teaching concerning edification and orderliness and to discerning the spirits than do others. In charismatic Anglican churches like Holy Trinity Brompton one is likely to find not only the use of the more recent worship songs and enthusiastic congregational singing but also an attitude of expectancy that God will be present and that he will answer prayer. One may witness manifestation of the sign gifts. However, one will not find the rawness that one may encounter in Pentecostal churches or the kinds of manifestations that are attributed to the Holy Spirit but which other charismatic have concluded many be manifestations of the flesh.

En Plus: 5 Simple Practices That Will Improve Your Preaching Online

If you preach with any regularity, you know the pressure that comes with staring at a blank screen with a deadline approaching.

And if you communicate regularly within the context of the local church, like I do, you quickly discover that Sundays come around whether you’re ready or not.

I get asked regularly what I do to prepare for my messages, and there are a few things I practice and that I’ve seen other leaders do that I think can gain any communicator an edge. Now that a large portion of your audience is watching your preaching online, these 5 things are even more important whether you’re preaching to an audience or simply to camera. Read More

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (July 25, 2020)

I just posted All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (July 25, 2020).

The order of service is adapted from the Anglican Church of Canada’s The Book of Alternative Services (1985).

The Phos hilaron is David von Kampen’s a cappella choral arrangement of the Lutheran Book of Worship’s translation of the ancient lamp-lighting hymn, “Joyous Light of Glory.”

The penitential evening Psalm is Tony Alonso’s responsorial setting of Psalm 141, “Like Burning Incense, O Lord.”

The psalm prayer is taken from the Lutheran Book of Worship Ministers Desk Edition.

The variable psalm is “O God You Have Searched Me, and You Know Me,” written by Bernadette Farrell. The hymn tune RADIANT was also composed by Ms. Farrel. The hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 139 and appears in two Anglican hymnals, Ancient and Modern: Hymns and Songs for Refreshing Worship and Anglican Hymns Old and New (Revised and Enlarged).

The psalm prayer is taken from the Church of England’s Common Worship (2000) .

The reading is Matthew 18: 21-35.

The homily is titled “Do to Others as You Would Have God Do to You.” It examines Jesus’ teaching about forgiveness and the implications for ourselves.

The gospel canticle is Anne Carter’s paraphrase of the Magnificat, “My Soul Proclaims the Lord My God,” sung to the American folk hymn tune NEW BRITAIN. It may also be sung to ST. PETER (Reinagle) and ST. COLUMBA.

The intercessions are taken from Praise God in Song: Ecumenical Daily Prayer (1979).

The dismissal hymn is Nancy M. Raabe’s arrangement of Rosamond Herklott’s hymn, “Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive” for SAB voices and piano. This version of Ms. Herklott’s hymn comes from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006).

The link to the service is https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2020/07/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for-saturday_25.html#more.

Please feel free to share the link with anyone who may be interested.

I hope that this service will be a blessing to you and will serve as a fitting beginning to your observance of the Lord's Day.