Let Love Guide Us in the New Year: Love Is Never Happy with Wrongdoing but Is always Happy with the Truth

Honeysuckle symbolizes the bonds of love.

In his first letter to the Corinthians in his description of the nature of love that Christians have for others and one another, Paul emphasizes that disciples of Jesus do not delight in the misdeeds of others. They are never happy when others do wrong, and they do not gloat over their wickedness. They do not rejoice in injustice and wrongdoing. On the other hand, they do rejoice when truth succeeds after a lot of difficulty. They are always happy with the truth and rejoice in truthfulness, and they are glad when the truth prevails, when the real facts about a situation, event, or person are uncovered.

When I was reflecting on this particular verse from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, gloating over other people’s wickedness was the most noticeable in the various translations of the verse to which I gave careful thought. When we gloat, we feel or express great pleasure or satisfaction because of our own success or good luck, or someone else’s failure or bad luck. The Pharisee in the parable was gloating when he thanked God that he was righteous unlike the publican who was praying nearby, begging God’s forgiveness for his sins. Christians are prone to the same kind of gloating when they compare themselves to non-Christians. So are the adherents of one theological school of thought when they compare themselves to another theological school of thought. “We are right. They are wrong.” When they dwell on what they regard as the other school of thought’s mistaken views, they are gloating. Christians may gloat over other things beside doctrine. This too boils down to taking great pleasure or satisfaction in other people’s mistakes and failings.

Psychologists tell us that some individuals will stir up conflict between two or more persons and cause a break in their friendship or relationship in order to prove to themselves that other people show poor judgment or little intelligence, are easily-duped, and therefore deserve their contempt. Other people are inferior to themselves. Such a view of other people in which they are seen as stupid and undeserving of our liking and respect is not consistent with the nature of Christian love which Paul describes in his first letter to the Corinthians. Love does not look down on people nor does it focus on their faults and mistakes.

Just as some people collect anger stamps, these individuals collect what may be described as contempt stamps. They use them to justify disliking other people, showing them no respect, and treating them badly while at the same time feeling superior to them.

Paul also writes that disciples of Jesus do not feel or show great happiness about situations in which there is no fairness and justice, and which favor someone unfairly. Treating people equally or in a way that is right or reasonable, on the other hand, is consistent with his description of the nature of Christian love. Loving others and loving one another means treating others fairly and treating one another fairly. They also mean showing no favoritism or partiality.

In the same verse Paul emphasizes that truth and truthfulness, the quality of being honest and not telling any lies, are things that Christians who love others and one another greatly value. They are an expression of their love for other people and their love for their fellow Christians.

What can we learn from this particular verse?

Do not think or talk about other people’s faults and failures all of the time.

Look for the good in other people, and not focus on the bad.

Treat other people fairly.

Be honest and truthful.

Always seek to uncover the truth of a matter—what really happened.

Value the truth and assign no importance or worth to lies and half-truths, while they may be what we want to hear, are not true and are meant to deceive.

In writing this article I sensed that the Holy Spirit was using the writing of this article series to instruct me in how to better treat people. I hope that the article series helps you in the same way.

I must give credit to the Cambridge English Dictionary for the explanation of various words and phrases used in this article.

No, Religious Freedom Doesn’t Send People to Hell

Why Christians should support our government staying out of religious affairs.

Last week an old video resurfaced on Twitter in which John MacArthur, pastor of Los Angeles’s Grace Community Church, announced he did not support religious freedom. In the clip, MacArthur argued that supporting religious freedom promotes idolatry and enables the kingdom of darkness—that “religious freedom is what sends people to hell.”

Some reports contend that quote is out of context, fitting as it does in a larger argument. Even so, this kind of argument against religious freedom is a familiar one—usually in reference to somebody else’s religion.

Years ago, a pastor told me that religious freedom is essentially the affirmation of the words of the Serpent, “Ye shall not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). To grant religious freedom for false religions, this person contended, is the equivalent of allowing the prophets of Baal have a place of their own on Mount Carmel.

These are certainly statements of strong conviction—like propositions of biblical truth to which the only appropriate response should be a loud “Amen!” That is, until one actually listens to what is being said and hears it for what it is: theological liberalism. Read More

Church Leaders Are Still Waiting for Volunteers to Come Back

Gallup survey found involvement in religious service dropped again in 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing many churches and ministries to rethink how they recruit, train, and maintain the fleet of volunteers they need.

Volunteering for religious organizations dropped during the first year of the pandemic, when in-person services were canceled and outreach events were put on hold, and has continued to decline.

According to Gallup, 35 percent of Americans reported volunteering for a religious organization last year, down from 38 percent in 2020 and 44 percent in 2017.

“A recovery in volunteering may be more elusive as concerns about COVID-19 exposure and public health safety measures limit Americans’ willingness and ability to perform volunteer work,” the researchers wrote.

A lot of churches saw their longtime, reliable volunteers back away from their roles because their age put them at risk, said Chuck Peters, director of the kids ministry team at Lifeway Christian Resources.

Even those who remain willing to serve can be unpredictable; the likelihood of illness or exposure at home, especially during COVID-19 surges, has meant more volunteers are calling out sick when leaders are strapped for help. Plus, church attendance is down overall, though nearly all churches have reopened. Read More

The Perfect Sound Check

Frustrated with sound checks? Are they taking too long?

I am pretty sure that every worship team member has been fed up with sound check at some point, if not every week.

Although there are probably several ways to perform an efficient sound check, I’ll walk you though the process I have settled into after ten years of leading worship. Read More

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (January 15, 2022) 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 gives his people many good gifts. Among these gifts is the Holy Spirit, God’s gift of himself.

The Scripture reading for this Saturday evening is 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11 Spiritual Gifts.

The homily is titled “Gifts Given to Help Each Other”

The link to this Saturday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2022/01/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for-saturday_13.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.

The Meaning and Importance of Loving One Another

How do we know that we are on the right track when it comes to loving one another? The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus gave his disciples as new commandment. It was to love one another as he has had loved them. How do we know that we are fulfilling this commandment?

 
To understand what he had in mind when he gave this commandment, we must look at Jesus’ attitudes, his behavior, his character, and his teaching as reported not only in John’s Gospel but also the three Synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke. We must also consider what the apostles tell us about Jesus.

 
While the narrative may not be as detailed as might like, it does give us an idea of what the early church understood Jesus to represent and to teach. We also know from accounts of their contemporaries that the early Christians took Jesus' new commandment seriously. Their love distinguished them from their pagan neighbors.

We may live in a time in history in which those who profess to be Christians give little attention to loving one another but their negligence is not enough reason for us to keep from loving our brothers and sisters in Christ.

 
As Jesus points to our attention, loving one another is more fulfilling an obligation or duty. In obeying Jesus, we show that we love him. As Jesus told his disciples, those who love him obey what he commands. They keep his word. Our love for one another is an expression of our devotion and loyalty to our Lord. In loving my brothers and sisters in Christ, I am not just loving them, but I am also loving Jesus.

 
How then do we love one another, our brothers and sisters in Christ?

First and importantly, in a kind way, not judging in a severe way, we think that it is likely true that they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is the principle of charitable presumption. We believe that they are what they profess.

 
We do not harbor the thought that they are really not Christians and therefore we are under no constraint to love them. Even if they were not what they professed, Jesus has taught us to love them. They are our neighbors, and we are to love them as ourselves.

 
God knows our hearts. He knows our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing is hidden from him. He knows if there is a glimmer of faith in our hearts. He knows whether we have faith no matter how slight it may be. It does not fall to us to decide who God has foreseen and chosen, who he has destined for life.

 
God knows the state of our souls. He knows whether we need his enabling grace or his perfecting, sanctifying grace. We know one thing—that we all need God’s grace—his merciful kindness, his holy influence. Without the help of his grace, we cannot even have the desire to please him, much less to do anything to please him.

We show respect for one another. We show understanding and care for one another’s feelings. We are honest and truthful with one another. We do not try to deceive one another. We treat one another as being important and valued. After all God dearly loves and treasures each one of us. If we are important and valued in God’s eyes, we cannot see one another as anything less than God does. Think about that for a moment.

 
We copy God as a child copies a parent. God is kind so we are kind. God is merciful so we are merciful. Being kind means that we are friendly to one another. We listen to one another. We are able to share our thoughts and feelings with one another without fearing something bad or unpleasant will happen if we do. We are not quick to react angrily to what one another says or does. We do not refuse to talk or be pleasant to one another.

 
Being kind means that we are generous with one another. We are generous with our time, compliments, praise, help, and encouragement, and in all the other ways that we can be generous with one another.
Being kind means that we are helpful to one another. We go out of our way to lend a helping hand. We do what we can to make it possible or easier for the others to whatever they are doing. We may do part of the work ourselves, or provide money, advice, support, and that sort of thing. We may turn up early at a church event to see if we can help in any way. We may help to stack folding chairs after the event and to take apart table decorations. We may offer to help load speakers onto a dolly.

 
Being kind means that we give thought to one another’s feelings. We care about how one another feels. We think that one another’s feelings are important, and we are interested in one another’s feelings. If someone is unhappy, we want to know why and whether we can do something about it.

 
Being kind means that we care about one another. We are concerned for one another’s health, safety, and wellbeing. We give attention to one another. We look after one another, protect one another, and ensure that one another is dealt with in the right way. We share one another’s burdens.
Being kind means that we are gentle and loving with one another. We show a lot of love toward one another. We may show one other affection, feelings of liking. At the same time, we respect one another’s personal boundaries, the limits of what the other consider to be acceptable behavior.
We do not leave others to guess what our personal boundaries are, only to discover that they have been overstepping our boundaries and triggering feelings of unease and discomfort in ourselves.

 
We try to understand one another, the way that we may communicate differently and how we communicate can affect one another’s behavior. We are patient with one another, not letting one another’s faults and mistakes anger or annoy us. We also recognize that when we do not communicate with one another enough, we can misread one another’s words and actions.

 
We do our best to get along with one another, to be friends and to get to know one another. We look for the good qualities in one another and not for the bad ones. We set our hearts on liking one another and we do not change our minds.

 
Being merciful means that we treat one another with a special type of kindness, a kindness that makes us forgive the failings of others. We are not only willing to forgive one another, but also we actually do it. We stop blaming someone for something that person may have done, and we do not punish them. We let go of any anger and resentment that we have toward them, and we do not hold against them whatever they may have done.

 
We take seriously what Jesus said about making peace with someone who has something against us, putting being reconciled with them before fulfilling our religious obligations. We also treat with the same kind of attention the apostle Paul’s warning not to stay angry for so long a time that our anger causes us to do bad or hurtful things and gives the spiritual forces harmful to us an opportunity to do us harm or someone else’s harm.

 
As you can see, loving one another goes beyond having warm, fuzzy feelings for our brothers and sisters in Christ. It involves acting in a friendly, loving way to one another the better part of the time. We may have bad days, but they do not excuse us from making a serious effort to love one another.

 
God knows our infirmities and weaknesses. God provides us with an infinite supply of grace. We on our part must open ourselves to God’s grace and make use of it. God’s Holy Spirit has made his home in us and gently encourages us to love one another. We have a lot going for us. Most of all we have God’s goodness that he shows us in so many ways. Let us not hold back from loving one another, but trust in God’s goodness.

Let Love Guide Us in the New Year: Something I Have Noticed

Honeysuckle symbolizes the bonds of love.

One conclusion that I have drawn from writing this article series is that loving others and loving one another may not be that easy. It is something to which we aspire, something that we may want very much and hope to achieve, but we face some real challenges. These challenges include how the way that we were treated as a child is affecting us as an adult.

I am not unfeeling when it comes to the struggles that people face. I am prone to write clinically in a way that appears to lack sympathy, emotion, warmth, or comfort. It may seem critical. But it is not my attention to suggest that anyone is bad or wrong.

Indeed, I believe that one of the places that we need to show kindness and care to one another the most is in the area of the challenges that each of us face. Those challenges vary with the individual. Since we are unique individuals, we each face a unique set of challenges.

We need to show compassion to each other. We need to show sympathy, understanding and care, for each other’s difficulties and to want to help each other. This is where we need to be loving toward each other in the way that God wants us to be.

It is in this place that we need to say, “We are here for you. You don’t need to go it alone. We are not perfect, and we have our hangs-ups. But we are here for you.” This may be the most important thing about love guiding us in the new year.

Scholar: America Is Still Reacting to the Religious Right, in More Ways than One

The shadow of the religious right is long, and may be hindering the ability of modern-day Christian conservatives to stifle radicalism.

A religion scholar believes major trends in religion and politics can be traced back to the rise of the religious right in the 1990s, a sea change moment that set in motion an array of phenomena ranging from an uptick in religious disaffiliation to the radicalization of some Christian conservatives.

The sweeping theory is outlined in a new paper penned by Ruth Braunstein, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut. Her paper, titled “A Theory of Political Backlash: Assessing the Religious Right’s Effects on the Religious Field,” published late last year in Sociology of Religion, offers an unusually broad-based examination of the interplay between the religious right, the religiously unaffiliated and the power of political backlash.

Braunstein grounds her study in a trend well known to scholars and everyday religious practitioners alike: The number of “nones,” so called because of the answer they give to the question “what is your religious affiliation,” has increased dramatically in recent decades. In 1972, the General Social Survey reported that 5% of Americans did not claim a religious affiliation. But that number shot up during the 1990s and again in the 2010s: According to the Public Religion Research Institute, the religiously unaffiliated represented around 23% of the country as of 2020 — a larger percentage than white evangelical Protestants, white mainline Protestants or white Catholics. Read More

What Churches Must Do to Reach Gen Z

Who do you go to when you are in need? When life is moving a million miles an hour or when a big change happens, who do you reach out to?

Odds are, the person you are thinking of has gained your trust and demonstrated to you that your relationship is valuable to them. This type of relationship is precisely what Generation Z is telling us they desire but are not experiencing with faith leaders. What can today’s pastors do to gain their trust? Read More

Daily Prayer: The App We Need Right Now

Growing up among conservative evangelicals in the U.S., I was accustomed to seeing Christianity as an ideology under siege that needed sophisticated apologetics. Frankly, my priest calling Canterbury a place of unbroken prayer sounded to me like a dodge, another instance of the Episcopal Church being a bit wishy-washy.

In the years since, however, I’ve seen how seldom I think my way to God and how often epiphanies come unexpectedly and intuitively. The real work is tilling the soil for God to sow in, not setting the course to the perfect Christian life. I’m more a farmer than a skipper.

Thus, I’ve been delighted with the Church of England’s new Daily Prayer app. It lays out a script for morning, evening, and night prayer from the daily office with an accompanying audio for morning and evening prayer. The Daily Prayer app makes accessible two of the great heritages of the Anglican tradition: the prayer book and choral music. What follows is less a detailed review of pros and cons and more a spiritual farmer raving about a new technology. Read More

Forgiveness

I have been thinking about forgiveness a lot lately. Jesus taught his disciples that they should not limit the number of times that they forgave people but should forgive people ad infinitum, placing no limit on the number times that they forgave people. He also taught his disciples that if they did not forgive someone, they should not expect God to forgive them. Indeed, in the Lord’s Prayer we ask God to forgive us as we forgive others.

Regrettably people who identify as Christians are not forgiving as we might expect them to be. This partially may be the influence of the internet. I have noticed a number of suggested posts on Facebook, which do not advocate forgiving other people, but rather holding grudges against them. The internet may be shaping our thinking more than we realize.

A grudge is a strong feeling of anger and dislike for a person whom we feel has treated us badly, especially one that lasts for a long time. The person does not actually have to treat us badly. We only need to feel that they have treated us badly.

It partially may be the result of early life experiences in which we ourselves did not receive forgiveness or we did not see a parent show forgiveness. We internalized this attitude toward other people.

Those who do not forgive other people’s failings appear to be oblivious of Jesus’ warning that those who do not forgive cannot expect forgiveness.

Jesus is not the only person who warns us against the dangers of unforgiveness.

Psychologists have written extensively about the harmful effects of unforgiveness and grudge-bearing on those who withhold their forgiveness.

People who refuse to forgive someone are doing harm to themselves. Refusal to forgive has been described as taking poison ourselves to harm someone else. We are the one who gets harmed.

When we forgive someone, we stop being angry with someone who has done something wrong. We stop blaming or being mad at someone for something that person may have done. We do not punish them for what they may have done. It is very possible for us to be angry with someone for something that they did not do, or which was not as bad as we make it. When we forgive someone, we choose not to hold against them what they did, or we imagine them to have done.

It is very possible for us to misread someone else’s words or actions. Instead of talking to the person ourselves and obtaining from them a explanation of what they said or did, we act on our misinterpretations of their words or actions. We may let our feelings do our thinking for us.

We may turn to others for advice and sympathy, for support and affirmation. People who do not have all the facts and only hear our perceptions of what happened, how thing appear to us, are not in a good position to give us advice. If we are misreading a person’s actions or words, what we are telling them is our misperceptions and not the real facts. We may omit things that if we shared with the person from whom we are seeking advice and sympathy would enable them to see what happened in a different light. They might help us recognize that we are mistaken in our perceptions.

Our feelings, our anxieties, our fears, and insecurities, may have gotten the better of us. Things may not be quite what they seem. When our feelings are running the show, we make mistakes in judgment. We draw the wrong conclusions.

However, if the person from whom we are seeking advice and sympathy buys into our misperceptions, they may reinforce them and give us bad advice. We may realize ourselves that things were not quite what we thought they were but may be unable to bring this to their attention out of fear of losing their sympathy and trust.

Our feelings can distort how we see things and we may interpret innocent behavior as representing a threat to us. We may interpret it as expressing the possibility that something unwanted or unpleasant is going to happen.

For these reasons it is very important to keep open communication with the person with whom we are upset. Open communication means that we and the other person are able share our thoughts and feelings with each other without any fear of repercussions, or bad effects.

Shutting down communication, however, makes the situation worse. We are showing an unwillingness not only to correct our misperceptions of someone, to see them in a better light, but also to forgive them, to let go of our anger and resentment and not hold anything against them.

In his teaching Jesus stresses as being very important and needing attention immediately making peace with someone whom we remember has something against us, even to point of disregarding our religious obligations, leaving our gift at the altar, and reconciling with that person first (Matthew 5: 23-24). Jesus has clearly pointed out the path that we need to take. It the path of forgiveness and reconciliation, of letting go of anger and resentment and restoring friendly relations.

As the apostle Paul draws to our attention, the longer we wait, the more likely the devil (or the forces that are bad or harmful to us working in our lives, if you like) will have an opportunity to harm us and other people (Ephesians 4:26-27).

Jesus teaches us to be merciful as God himself is merciful (Luke 6: 36) and by our mercifulness show that we are God’s children.

Mercifulness is a particular form of kindness. It is kindness that is not only “responsive, compassionate, and tender” but also forgiving. It is kindness that reacts in a quick or positive way. It is kindness that feels and shows sympathy and sadness for the suffering or bad luck of others and wants to help them. It is kindness that is gentle and loving. It is kindness that makes us forgive those to whom we can give or withhold forgiveness.

We are called to show mercy because we have been shown mercy first by God. This is not an original statement on my part, but it does sum up why we are to be merciful to each other. Having received God’s forgiveness, we are to give forgiveness to others.

It's Wednesday: 'Why Should Your Local Church Be Geographically Proximate?' and More

Why Should Your Local Church Be Geographically Proximate?
Christians today are indifferent or ignorant about the need to be geographically proximate to their local church.

Classism Exists in the Church—and It’s Hurting All of Us
I have witnessed classism in the local church and experienced ageism.

What’s Wrong with Gossip?
I have also been the victim of gossip in a local church.

Do You Know Your Church’s Unique Mission?
With a little thought, even the smallest church can make a huge difference…

As COVID-19 Death Tolls Rise, More Americans Want Religious Funerals
The trend toward secular memorials reverses for the first time in a decade.

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (January 12, 2022) 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 Book of the Prophet Isaiah God promises to save the people of Israel again. How God kept his promise came as a complete surprise to their descendants. We who are descendants of Abraham only by our faith should be totally delighted in how God fulfilled that promise.

The Scripture reading for this Wednesday evening’s service is Isaiah 43:15-21 God Will Save His People Again.

The homily is titled “Works in Progress.”

The link to this evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2022/01/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for_11.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. If a song begins partway through the video, move the slider back to the beginning of the video.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May this service be a blessing to you.

We Don’t Like Change!!

 

We were gathered around a table of the church’s kitchen, drinking coffee and eating cake after the Sunday service, when the supply priest who had officiated at the service declared, “We don’t like change!!” Except for myself, everyone at the table nodded their heads in agreement.

Since that time the congregation of what was a small dying Continuing Anglican church has disbanded and the church building put up for auction. The remaining members of the congregation now attend the church of the supply priest who made that declaration.

For this handful of people church was a safe haven from the changing world around them. Sadly, their fear of change kept them from radically obeying the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. They were not an unkind or ungenerous people. Change, however, was a fearful thing for them, and they chose to let their church die rather than make the kind of changes they needed to flourish as a church.

I do not know how they will fare in their new church. It is itself a redoubt from change. It is a proprietary chapel and will most likely keep going as long as its owner is able to conduct services and attract a congregation.

As for myself I prefer to be a part of a church that is close to where I live, and which takes a serious interest in the community in which it is located. The church that I presently attend meets those requirements. Is a perfect church? No. But does make a passable effort to serve its community. It is a better fit for me.

With the exception of the one church whose congregation has disbanded, all the churches with which have been involved since I was a child have been community-focused. They were a part of the community in which they were located. They took an interest in that community. They sought to build bridges with the community and to meet community needs.

From what I seen over the years is that a church to flourish needs a strong connection with the community in which it is located. It needs to host community activities and gatherings. It needs to sponsor community service projects or participate in them. It needs to undertake ministries that benefit the community. It needs to be seen as being a part of the community and serving the community. The church that closed never established that kind of connection with the community in which it was located.

I do not know what kind of connection that the proprietary chapel to which the remnant of its congregation has migrated has with the rural community in which it is located. But I do not see it thriving if it has no connection with that community. None of that remnant lives in that community. Some members live in a community that is a 15 odd minute drive from the church; other members live in my own community which is more than a 30-minute drive from the church.

It is much easier to invite people to a church located in the community in which they live than it is to invite them to a church that is some distance from their home and in the case of this particular church is also difficult to find. Being a proprietary chapel in which the congregation has little input into its worship and ministry is also a drawback. There is, in addition, little opportunity for young people to assume a position of leadership in the church. These factors limit the appeal of this kind of church to the younger generations. 

In the case of this particular church, it is a church that is organized around the personality, theological leanings, liturgical proclivities, and political opinions of the priest who the proprietor of the chapel. In these days, of tribalization, the church is only likely to attract people who are members of the same tribe. In this regard it is more like a seventeenth century Royalist household chaplaincy during the Interregnum than a parish church.

While chaplaincies do meet a need, in this time of declining church attendance and growing numbers of Nones, young people with no religious affiliation, we need more churches which are geared to reversing these trends, churches that produce fully-committed disciples of Jesus who can replicate themselves.

Seven Ways Your Church Must Deal with Rapid Change

Though it is cliché, change is the constant in our culture. Even before COVID, the world was changing steadily and constantly. When the pandemic came, change was accelerated, and the challenges were exacerbated.

In earlier years I was an advocate of “eating the elephant” change, that is making incremental, “one bite a time” changes. I no longer hold to that position. Church leaders and church members must deal with the reality of rapid change today. Incremental change is not sufficient.

Of course, I always add the caveat that we do not attempt to change the unchangeable truths of God’s Word. And we don’t forsake radical obedience to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. But we must be willing to change the way we “do church.” Read More

Church Leaders, We Can’t Afford to Wait and See.

“Embrace the change before the emergency forces the change.”

I wrote those words in my book, The Unstuck Church: Equipping Churches to Experience Sustained Health, back in 2017. I’m amazed at how much of the content applies to today’s context.

Even before the pandemic hit, I had hundreds of conversations with pastors about declining in-person attendance, fewer new people connecting to the church, a struggling online experience and more. Yes, the problems we’re experiencing now were problems long before the pandemic.

That’s why it’s concerning to me when I hear pastors say that they’re still planning to “wait and see” if things return to normal, so they can go back to the systems and strategies they’re used to. Read More

The Lord's Prayer: The Meaning and Power

In Luke 11, one of Jesus’s disciples approaches and makes a simple request: “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John [the Baptist] taught his disciples” (v. 1). In response, Jesus teaches the disciples what has become known as the Our Father or the Lord’s Prayer. No other prayer is more important to Christians than this prayer. It is the Lord’s prayer—the prayer he taught us to pray. There are a host of other prayers we overhear Jesus praying in the Gospels, and I’ll mention them below. But only with this prayer does Jesus say, “Pray like this.”

Each word is saturated with meaning, a meaning that we often miss when we pray it by rote as we gather in our churches for worship. Each of its six petitions (five given by the Lord, one added by the early church) reflects the major themes from Jesus’s life and ministry. The prayer is meant by Jesus to shape our lives and, through us, to shape and change the world. Read More

Four Ways the Church Can Welcome Kids with Special Needs

In the same season God called us to be part of a small church plant in our city, my 18 month old son’s behavior and speech difficulties began to emerge. We knew no one, and no one knew us. As we became acquainted with a new church family, our son struggled to make eye contact with anyone, and that was just the beginning of his problems in church.

Over the next six months, it became clear our son’s difficulties were not temporary, and not simply a matter of discipline. At first, we would be called back to the nursery because he bit another child. Eventually we had to sit with him every Sunday to police his actions more closely. By his second birthday, Sunday mornings became a source of heavy anxiety for all of us—instead of listening to the sermon, we spent the better part of an hour keeping his forehead from finding the nearest wall, blocking doors, and taking him down from windows as his sensory sensitivities searched desperately for a way out of the noise and excitement of Sunday School.

We loved our church, and we felt confident God directed us there. But we could no longer attend as a family without help from the church. This feeling is all too familiar for families of a child with special needs, yet it doesn’t have to be. Helping a special needs family be at church does not have to be complicated or expensive, it simply has to be intentional, and grounded in the belief that families with special needs need to be part of a local church body, and the local church body needs them, too. Here are four simple ways a church can welcome kids with special needs. Read More

How COVID Has Affected Our Friendships—and What to Do About It

Before COVID, we were already facing an epidemic of loneliness in America. As I wrote in 2018, social isolation has become the functional status of American life, and loneliness has made a profound and tragic impression on our mental health, physical well-being, and community life. And that was before we were all locked in our homes indefinitely.

Last year, the cure for one pandemic only deepened another one. The antidote to the COVID pandemic—social isolation and distancing—has exacerbated what the former surgeon general called “the epidemic of loneliness.” Read More

‘Give Us a King’: Lessons from the Capitol Sedition

Samuel’s message to Israel about unchecked power stands true today. We should listen.

When the prophet Samuel grew old, he made his sons the leaders of Israel in his stead. But his sons were corrupt, and the people were soon discontent with their unjust rule. “Give us a king to lead us,” the elders said. Samuel was offended, but he took the request before God.

“It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king,” God replied, giving Samuel a solemn warning to pass along to the people before the deal was done: The king will conscript your sons to his armies and your daughters to his household. He’ll tax away the best of your harvests and lavish the fruits of your work on his friends. He’ll take whatever he wants from you and require your fealty, and when you “cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day,” because such abusive authority is a result of a fallen, human king (1 Sam. 8:1–22).

The contrast in God’s admonition isn’t between kingship and some other form of human government. Rather, it’s between a king who rules as he pleases in his own right, and a prophet-judge who acts under delegated temporary, limited authority from God. But God’s warning to Israel about concentrated, unchecked power holds true today, and it’s a characterization that keeps coming to my mind as we approach the one-year anniversary of the Capitol sedition on January 6, 2021. Read More

One of the things that makes America great is its democracy as imperfect as it may be. The United States does not need a strongman. What it needs is men and women setting aside their differences and cooperating with each other to make its democracy work rather than to undermine it. 

3 Practical Steps for Reaching the Mission Field in Your Neighborhood

For most believers, the phrase “mission field” evokes images of an isolated village in Kenya, an indigenous people group in the Amazon, or an underground church in China. But did you know that most Christians in the United States can reach the mission field in just a few steps from their home? A mission field exists in their own backyard: their neighborhoods. Read More

How ‘Christian’ Overtook the ‘Protestant’ Label

When given the option, most younger believers go for a broader term.

Over the past several decades, American evangelicalism has moved away from the religious labels, symbols, and buildings that used to define church

Many newer churches don’t contain stained glass, crosses, or traditional sanctuary setups. They tend to adopt contemporary names, leaving out denominational labels or other religious language. Along with those shifts, churchgoers have changed the way they speak about their faith; think of phrases like “It’s is not a religion; it’s a relationship.”

These trends have had a real impact on how younger people understand their religious identity. Evangelical Protestants have been debating for years over the definition and usefulness of the “evangelical” label. Now, it appears “Protestant” may be losing its place too.

New research shows that a significant portion of Americans no longer attach to the word “Protestant” the way older Americans have for generations—a finding that has implications for those who study and measure religious affiliation as well as for church communities themselves. Read More

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (January 9, 2022) 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 not only dwells in heaven, but he also dwells in us. In our innermost self, God makes his home.

The Scripture reading for this Sunday is Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22 The Baptism of Jesus.


The homily is titled “God Is in Us.”

The link to this Sunday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2022/01/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for-sunday_8.html 

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

f 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.

Let Love Guide Us in the New Year: Love Is Not Short-Tempered And Does Not Remember the Wrongs Done Against It

Honeysuckle symbolizes the bonds of love.

In his first letter to the Corinthians Paul identifies two more qualities or characteristics which are absent from the kind of love that disciples of Jesus are instructed to show to others and one another. It is not short-tempered, getting angry easily, often not for good reason. It does not remember the wrongs done against it.

When we evidence this kind of love, we do not become annoyed or angered very easily. We are not easily upset or offended, easily angered, or made unhappy. People do not have to tip toe around us out of fear that we might become upset or angry. We are not thin-skinned, easily hurt by criticism or easily made unhappy. We do not become too excited or easily upset.

We do not feel angry because we have been forced to accept something that we do not like. We do not stay angry and displeased for long periods of time. We quickly get over any feelings of anger that we may have toward someone.

We do not collect what Transactional Analysis (TA) calls “anger stamps.” Anger stamps are feelings of anger and resentment that we accrue from various transactions with other people over a period of time and then cash in on for something big such as homicide.

We may settle for something less than murdering the person at whom we are angry, but we get rid of them in some way.

We may accumulate enough anger at our brother-in-law that we cash in on a sudden fit of anger in which we eject him from our house. We may dump a friend, break up with our partner or spouse. We may file a complaint against a coworker with the boss and cast a cloud of suspicion over them, which may be lead to their termination.

In the meantime, we may express our anger toward them in various ways. We may give them the silent treatment. We may gossip about them. We may spread malicious rumors about them, rumors intended to harm them or upset them. We may take swipes at them in an attempt to annoy or hurt them. We may become cold and bristly when we are around them. We may do other things to make their lives miserable.

Why do people act this way? They are not bad people any more than rest of us are bad people. They do not have permission to express their anger directly at the person with whom they are angry. They may not have permission to recognize that they are angry.

When they were little, any expression of angry feelings or other feelings elicited a strong negative response from whomever was caring for them. The message they got was their angry feelings and their other feelings were not acceptable. As a consequence, they may have difficulty in recognizing and expressing these feelings.

If they do experience them, it is scary. It may trigger anxiety and worst of all anger! Their response to the person who is triggering these feelings is to avoid them.

If they cannot avoid them, they create distance between themselves and the person who triggers the feelings or they get rid that person in some way.

This is not the only thing that people do with anger stamps. They may accumulate enough of them to feel justified in blowing up at somebody, harboring a grudge against the person, and doing harm to the person or punishing the person for something bad that the person did to them or they imagined the person did to them.

When Paul writes about keeping a record of wrongs done against us, he is talking about keeping an anger stamp collection—a record of slights, insults, hurts, and other words and actions that left us feeling angry or annoyed. This includes failures to say something or do something.

As we shall see in the next article, Paul may have another record in mind, one in which we keep track of the wrongdoings and sins of others, taking a perverse delight in their failings.

What he does not appear to be writing about is the tendency to brutally examine ourselves when something goes wrong in a friendship or relationship, blaming ourselves for what happened and agonizing for a long time over what we may have done to cause it. This tendency adds to the pain and emotional distress that we experience as a result of a break in a friendship or relationship.

Most of the credit for the explanation of the meaning of the words and phrases used in this article belongs to the Cambridge English Dictionary. Its clear, simple explanations of their meanings have proven useful in explaining Paul’s description of the kind of love God would have us show others and one another.

The Lonely Crowd: Churches Dying Due to Friendlessness

I’ve lost count of the number of Christians who’ve told me they either stopped attending church or left their church to join another one because they couldn’t make any friends there.

They report that the church people were friendly enough. They were hospitable and welcoming.

As one person told me, “They’re nice to you, but no one becomes your friend.”

And it hurts when all that friendliness leads only 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.

I know pastors think long and hard about how to be better preachers and leaders, how to calibrate the church’s ministries to meet needs and serve others, how to be more missional, more adaptive, more innovative. These are all good things. But is it possible that all that leadership development, visioning, and ministry planning might be wasted if people can’t find friends and just drift away?

Before hosting any more conferences or seminars on vision-casting, living your best life, or finding your spiritual gift, how about we start equipping people in friendship-making?

Becoming and being a friend isn’t easy. It takes intentionality and training. It might be your church’s next major challenge. Read More

6 Warning Signs Your Church Culture Is Toxic

Every church has a culture. But how do you know if your church culture is toxic?

More importantly, how would you know whether you’re creating a toxic church culture as a leader?

I’ve interacted with many church leaders (and readers of this blog), and the sad reality is that there is no shortage of toxic church culture stories and experiences.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. And it certainly isn’t always that way.

Leaders are the architects of culture.

You create a culture whether you intend to or not. Read More

5 Ways To Lead For Increased Spiritual Impact In 2022

It’s not likely that 2022 will be easy, but really, when has advancing the Kingdom of God ever been easy? It’s just different levels of challenge, and your leadership mindset will play a big role in how well your church makes progress.

There will be unknowns in the road ahead, but consider what we have come through and how God has continued to change lives.

The people you lead need to know you have hope in the future. You don’t need to have all the answers, but you must be confident enough to point the way and lead the charge.

If your hope in the future is uncertain, take the next few weeks to ask God to help you get there. He holds the future and is in it with you.

If you want to boost your perspective about 2022, reflect on your calling, God’s purpose and faithfulness, and the joy of seeing life change.

Regardless of your thoughts about the coming year, this is a good season for reflection and preparation. (Post on that topic to come.)

For this post, let’s focus on some of the best ways to leverage your faith and leadership for life change, spiritual growth, and momentum for your church. Read More

Reformed Church in America Splits as Conservative Churches Form New Denomination

On New Year’s Day, 43 congregations of the Reformed Church in America split from the national denomination, one of the oldest Protestant bodies in the United States, in part over theological differences regarding same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy.

The departure of the theologically conservative congregations to the new group, the Alliance of Reformed Churches, leaves some who remain in the RCA concerned for the denomination’s survival. Before the split, the nearly 400-year-old denomination had fewer than 200,000 members and 1,000 churches.

At least 125 churches from various denominations are in conversation with ARC leaders about joining. Read More

Image Credit: The Alliance of Reformed Churches logo. Courtesy image

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (January 8, 2022) 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.

We cannot see the wind. We can see the clouds scudding across the sky. We can the limb of a tree bowing and bending in the wind. We can hear the rustle o the leaves as the wind blows through them. We can see the dust that the wind whips up off the ground. But we cannot see the wind itself. It is the same with the Holy Spirit. We can see what he does. But we cannot see him.

The Scripture reading for this Saturday evening is Acts 8: 14-17 God confirms Samaria’s acceptance of the Gospel.

The homily is titled “At the Time of His Own Choosing”

The link to this Saturday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2022/01/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for-saturday_7.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.

Let Love Guide Us in the New Year: Love Is Not Selfish

Honeysuckle symbolizes the bonds of love.

When we love others as God would have us love them, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ, we do not insist on our own way or demand it. We do not boss others around and tell them what to do in such a way that they have little or no choice but do what we ask. We do not try to force them to do it. We do not act as if we do not expect and will not accept a refusal from them. We do not bully or intimidate them into doing what we want them to do. We are considerate of their feelings.

We do not try to control the actions or behavior of others. This does not mean that we may not try to influence how they act or the way they behave, but it does limit what we can do. We can seek to persuade them, to encourage them to do or believe something by giving them a good reason to do it or by talking to them and encouraging them to believe it. For example, a pastor may seek to persuade his flock through his preaching, teaching, and spiritual counseling to obey and respect God and to live godlier lives.

We are also limited in what we can encourage others to do or to believe. We are showing godly love, love that honors and respect God when we encourage our fellow Christians to be more loving and forgiving to others and one another and to trust in God’s goodness toward themselves. We, however, are not showing God-honoring, God-respecting love toward them when we encourage them to do something hurtful or unkind to someone. In regard to what we can do and what cannot do, we take our guidance from the character of Jesus and from his teaching and example, and from the teaching of the apostles where their teaching aligns with our Lord’s or is something that he would clearly approve.

But we do not use force to persuade someone to do something that they are unwilling to do. We do not frighten or threaten them in order to persuade them to do something that we want them to do. We do not play to their anxieties, fears, and insecurities.

We do not manipulate others. We do not try to control them to our advantage unfairly or dishonestly. We do not try to influence or control them to our advantage without them knowing it. We do not employ deceit, keeping the truth hidden to get an advantage. We do not use dishonest methods to get something or to make people believe that something is true when it is not. We are honest and truthful.

We do not use the silent treatment, the act of not speaking to someone or speaking to them very little, to show our displeasure with them and to control them, forcing them to do something that they may not want to do or to stop doing something that we want them to stop doing and to punish them if they do not behave the way that we want them to act.

Unless they are a minor or an adult over whom we have guardianship, we do not try to make decisions for others.

We are not selfish, thinking of our own advantage, what we can get out of a particular situation without giving thought to how others might be affected. We do not take advantage of others by treating them badly so we can get something from them, something which benefits us. We do not pursue things that solely benefit us when we could be pursuing things that benefit others as well as us. We do not think only of ourselves, but we also think of others.

Loving others and one another as God would have us love them wll at times likely to go against how we lived our lives before we became a disciple of Jesus. It may go against the way that we are still living our lives.

When we believe in Jesus and become one of his followers, we embark on a new life. We leave behind our old life, our old attitudes, beliefs, and behavior. The transition to this new life is a gradual one, and having taken two steps forward, we may take one step back.
The friends with whom we surround ourselves can be a great help to us in making the changes that lead us to live as a new person in Christ. Or they can serious hinderance.
When we live as new person in Christ, we become a reflection of Jesus. We embody, albeit imperfectly the qualities of his character and his love of God. Loving God, we love others and our brothers and sisters in Christ. His love transforms us. God’s grace and his Holy Spirit work in us to that end.

I am not saying that Christians should not have friends who are not themselves disciples of Jesus. But I am saying that we should carefully assess their influence on us and if they are not helping us make those changes, we may need to balance them with friends who do help us make them. As they see us make the transition to a new person in Jesus, to our better self, they may themselves be encouraged to believe in Jesus and to become one of his followers.
The thing which impressed the ancient Romans the most about the early Christians was their love for one another, as well as the love that they showed for others. It is genuine Christian love where it is expressed, which impresses people in our time.

Is Deconstruction the Same as Deconversion? A Few Reflections on Reforming the Church

The last few years have been a rough stretch for the evangelical church. Plagued not only be a complex and intractable health crisis with COVID, the church has also faced an increasingly polarized cultural-political environment as well as numerous internal scandals involving abusive leadership.

Perhaps it is not surprising that this same period of time has seen a rise in so-called cases of deconversion—people who once claimed to be fairly run-of-the-mill evangelicals but then, for whatever reasons, decided this was not the life for them. And they walked away from the faith.

The high-profile cases of deconversion stories are well known: Rob Bell, Rhett and Link, Joshua Harris, etc. And for every high-profile case, there are countless ordinary folks who are also leaving Christianity behind. There is even a recent book devoted to this phenomenon: John Marriott, The Anatomy of Deconversion: Keys to a Lifelong Faith in a Culture Abandoning Christianity (Abilene, TX: Abilene Christian University Press, 2021).

At the same time, something else has been happening in evangelical Christian circles—some believers are engaging in the task of deconstruction. Read More

Why Your Personal Story Is Your Greatest Apologetic Tool

If you had to choose between a chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A or Popeyes, which one would you choose? If you’re a coffee person and you had to choose coffee from Dunkin’ or Starbucks, which one would you pick? What about Apple versus Microsoft products?

I’m sure we’ve all had those moments where we found ourselves arguing with a family member or friend over why we like a product, brand or store over theirs.

Have you ever made the connection between the products, brands, stores or businesses we defend with our calling as Christians to be Christ’s witnesses? Read More

Let Love Guide Us in the New Year: Love Is Not Rude

In his description of love in his first letter to the Corinthians the apostle Paul lists several attitudes and behaviors which are not characteristic of the kind of love that Jesus teaches his disciples to show one another. They include rudeness.

When we are rude, we behave in a way that hurts other people’s feelings. Rudeness can take a variety of forms.

We rush past someone we know and do not acknowledge their existence or say hello. Someone that we know greets us and we deliberately ignore them.

A family member, relation, friend, coworker, partner, or spouse sends us a text and we do not respond in a timely manner and keep them waiting for a response or we do not respond at all.

We may be busy, but we can show them the courtesy of acknowledging their text, “I am running an errand for my boss right now. Can we talk later.”

When we are slow in responding to a text or we do not respond at all, we may cause the person who texted us to feel slighted. When we slight someone, we insult them by ignoring them or treating them as if they are not important.

They may feel that we are giving them the cold-shoulder, displaying an unfriendly attitude to them by intentionally ignoring or showing no interest in them.

They may respond with anxiety and pepper us with more texts.

Among the forms that rudeness may take is making unkind, insensitive, and unpleasant remarks to someone, remarks that cause them to be upset or to have hurt feelings.

We may behave in a way that is not socially correct and shows little or no understanding of or care for other people’s feelings.

We may speak and act in a way that shows no respect for them as a human being or a fellow Christian, which does not treat them with kindness and care.

We may show what earlier generations called “bad manners.” We do not apologize when we bump into someone. We may jump the line, skip to the head of a queue without waiting for our turn. We barge in front of someone when it is their turn and demand that we are given attention first.

We may invade someone’s space and move uncomfortably close to them.

We may stare at someone too much for their comfort.

I must mention that people stare at other people for a variety of reasons—concern, curiosity, hostility, interest, and the reasons that they stare may not always be rude.

I was taught as a small boy that it was impolite to stare at people, particularly strangers and people who had physical deformities or exhibited unusual behavior. In the first case it was to avoid drawing unwanted attention to ourselves. I once stared at a man who was intoxicated and he staggered over to the car in which my grandmother, mother, and I were waiting for my grandfather. In the last two cases it was to avoid causing the people in question embarrassment.

I was also taught to look at people when I was talking to them and to not avoid their gaze. It was to show that I was paying attention to them and not ignoring them.

In some countries in Northern Europe, however, it is not unusual to stare at strangers. US visitors to these countries find this habit disconcerting. It makes them feel uncomfortable and self-conscious.

We may gaze at someone, look at them for a long time in surprise or admiration, or because we are thinking about something else. We may look at someone in hopes of catching their eye and their attention.

As a social worker I learned to be observant, good or quick at noticing things, while at the same time not looking at a client or around me in such a way that it would raise the anxiety of the client or provoke a hostile reaction.

When we made an unannounced visit to someone’s home in the course of an investigation, we had no foreknowledge as how the person or persons that we were visiting might react. We had to be aware of our own body language and how they might react to it.

An anxious or embarrassed or mentally unstable person might interpret a steady gaze as a hostile stare.

The love that Christians show for each other pays attention to how our behavior may affect each other and tries not to deliberately hurt the feelings of each other.

We may unintentionally upset each other or hurt each other’s feelings, but we do our best to keep that from happening.