JD Greear Urges Evangelical Men to Apologize to Hurt Christian Women for ‘Toxic Church Culture’

(Photo: The Christian Post)Newly elected Southern Baptist Convention President Pastor J.D.Greear, lead pastor of Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, speaks at a news conference at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, on June 12, 2018.

Newly elected Southern Baptist Convention President J. D. Greear has urged evangelicals to humble themselves and apologize to women who have been hurt by sexual abuse and other injustices.

“We are sorry and we should have heard you before now. We know our deafness has added to your suffering. For many that suffering was direct, as it put you in unsafe or abusive contexts,” Greear, pastor of Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, offered on behalf of himself and others on his website on Thursday.

“For others, that suffering was indirect, as we allowed a toxic culture to grow up in our churches, one in which you were not as safe and valued as your should have been. You deserved better.”

The megachurch leader admitted that the apology is late, but said it is better late than never.

Greear said that in recent weeks, Christian men have been speaking out against the various types of abuse women have been subjected to in the church environment, but revealed that he is hearing “more and more from many…

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Gaming expert advises Christian parents to be proactive in kids’ video game habits

Andy Robertson told Premier children need help to guide them through how much and what to play, even if parents don’t play the games themselves.

There’s been evidence some young players suffer psychological distress and family breakdown as a result of their addiction.

 

However, speaking during Premier’s News Hour, Robertson said parents shouldn’t be unduly alarmed.

“It’s helpful to use that language sometimes when you’re at the extreme end of someone’s video game playing but I think it’s worth a word of caution that the broad experience of children playing video games is healthy and it’s a positive thing.”

In its latest revision to an international disease classification manual, the UN health agency said that classifying “Gaming Disorder” as a separate condition will “serve a public health purpose for countries to be better prepared to identify this issue”.

Dr Shekhar Saxena, director of WHO’s department for mental health, said WHO accepted the proposal that Gaming Disorder should be listed as a new problem based on scientific evidence, in addition to “the need and the demand for treatment in many parts of the world”.

Robertson added that some computer games should be avoided all together.

“Some of these games are rated for violence and I think as Christians it’s important that we pay attention to that and look at those [Pan European Game Information] ratings which…

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Pastor in Eritrea Released after Decade in Prison

Pastor in Eritrea Released after Decade in Prison



International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Pastor Oqbamichel Haiminot has been released after more than a decade of imprisonment. According to VOM Australia, Pastor Oqbamichel was the first senior pastor in Eritrea to be arrested and held after the controversial and wrongful crackdown on religion in 2002. Though he was only in jail for a short period after his initial arrest in 2003, he was constantly harassed and rearrested over the next four years. In 2007, he was finally arrested and jailed for more than 10 years even though no charges were ever filed against him.  

Pastor Oqbamichel is one of hundreds of Christians in Eritrea who have been arrested and held for years due to their faith. In 2017, more than 200 Christians were arrested, yet never charged with any criminal activity. One of ICC’s sources shared, “There are only four legalized religions allowed in the country, which include Eritrean Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, and Sunni Islam. The regime touts this as religious freedom, however, to join any of these religions, people must first make four pledges.” One must pledge to never be “born again,” that his or her loyalty is to the government, not God or the Church, to never carry a Bible outside of church or the home, and to turn in any missionaries or evangelists to the government. When you turn in a missionary or evangelist, you get paid three months’…

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Oscar Wilde was ‘better than Christ’, Rupert Everett says

Everett, who was cast as Wilde in the new historical drama film The Happy Prince, also said he finds the late writer’s character flaws “tremendously appealing and touching”.

The 59-year-old was asked during BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show about his previously description of Oscar Wilde as a “Christ-like” figure.

 

He replied: “For me, he’s better than Christ because he’s half God with his talent and his human side – which Christ number quite pulled off except having his feet washed by Mary Magdalene – is very human.

“Greed, ego, vanity, snobbery; all the things that brought him down I find tremendously appealing and touching, because most of us have all these qualities and most of us get away with it.”

Harald Bischoff/Wikimedia Commons

 

Born in Dublin in 1854, Oscar Wilde studied at Oxford University before becoming a popular novelist and playwright.

The Happy Prince traces the final days of Oscar Wilde, after he was outed over a homosexual affair and jailed for gross indecency.

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Millennial-Majority Churches Detail Challenges, Success Stories in Growth and Finances

As many surveys have documented, the United States’ two youngest generations are leaving churches in large numbers, with many taking up the label of religiously unaffiliated, or “nones.”

The millennial generation, which includes Americans born during the 1980s and 1990s, is known for having higher rates of unaffiliation than the general population.

A 2016 study by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 39 percent of Americans aged 18–29 did not belong to a church, even when many had a Christian upbringing.

Generation Z, the population born at and after the start of the 21st century, are also noted for their increasing disbelief in organized religion.

The Barna Group released a report in January which found that 35 percent of teenagers identify as atheist, agnostic, or religiously unaffiliated, a higher percentage than millennials.

And yet, in congregations like The Table in Washington, D.C., City of Truth in Kansas City, Missouri, and Grace Capital City in Washington, D.C., millennials are not only part of the church, they basically are the church.

In recent years, some churches have been planted or have shifted their worship style to reflect the preferences of younger generations in hopes of reaching these religiously unaffiliated demographics.

The Christian…

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Jeff Sessions and Romans 13: Should Christians always obey the government?

I don’t remember the last time a biblical citation generated so many headlines.

Last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions sought to defend the Trump administration’s immigration policies, especially with regard to separating families. At one point, he stated, “I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13 to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes.”

His citation set off a firestorm of debate in the culture and among Christians.

My purpose today is not to discuss the multitude of ways Romans 13 has been interpreted through history. Rather, it is to consider the larger question: When should Christians obey or disobey the government?

Obeying the state

God’s word consistently calls us to obey and support our governing authorities.

Paul urged that “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

His instruction to Christians living in Rome was clear: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment” (Romans 13:1-2).

The apostle then stated that “the authorities are ministers of God” (v. 6) and urged his readers: “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed” (v. 7).

Peter added: “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good” (1 Peter 2:13-14).

It would seem clear, then, that Christians are to submit to the authority of the government, seeing its exercise of power as God’s…

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Rev Al Sharpton says Trump is an ’embarrassment’ to USA

The International civil rights icon, who was a White House advisor to former president Barack Obama, told the Independent the President had worsened race relations in the US.

“I think that Trump represents a backlash of the eight years of President Obama and has given every dog whistle or racial signal to the worst elements in American society,” he said.

 

The talk show host, who has his own radio show, Keepin’ it Real, accused Mr Trump’s administration of trying to negatively impact positive changes his predecessors had introduced.

“He is trying to turn back the clock on voting rights, on health care, and on people’s civil rights and liberties. We are determined that while he can turn back the clock, he will not turn back time.”

PA

 

Sharpton also argued Trump’s often shocking and divisive rhetoric has inspired and made the so-called “alt-right” movement in the US more powerful.

“Trump has emboldened the far right to come out with a lot of racism, xenophobia and homophobia,” he said.

Referencing the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville last summer, which left a 20-year-old man woman dead, he added: “When you have the president of the United States making a moral equivalence between neo-Nazis – saying there are ‘some good people there’ – and comparing them to people protesting against confederate statues which represent…

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Contemporary Trends in Church Names

Remember when denominational names were en vogue? Remember when you could figure out which denominational church came to the city first: First Methodist; First Baptist; First Presbyterian? Remember when you could tell two churches that split: Harmony Baptist Church and Greater Harmony Baptist Church?

Those days are gone. But what has not changed is that many churches have commonalities in names. In their attempts to be different, they have become common. I went to social media and to Church Answers to learn from my community about church names. Their responses were both fascinating and funny.

  • “Point” has become ubiquitous. LifePoint. CrossPoint. Add an “e” to be fancy: GracePointe; LifePointe; CrossPointe.
  • “Life” has a new life: Life Church; Real Life; New Life; LifePoint or LifePointe (see above).
  • Tim Keller put Redeemer back into vogue. Both Redeemer and Redemption get a lot of love.
  • City Church, usually with another name in front of it. These churches can be found in the city, suburbs, and the country.
  • Christ Church. It’s simple and popular.
  • Five biggies the past ten years: Journey, Bridge, Foundry, Mosaic, and Generation.
  • Cross has made a surge. Cross Church. Cross Fellowship. Cross Roads. CrossPoint or CrossPointe (see above).
  • Simple Church. Sorry, that was a book (available at LifeWay.com).
  • Meaningful names. Impact. Potential. Epic. Transformation. Renovation. Innovate.
  • Fellowship can be found in almost any town. It usually has other words, but sometimes it’s just Fellowship…

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Salvation Army praised over Irn Bru and butties response after art school fire

Volunteers prepared hot rolls and Iru Bru drinks for police officers and firefighters who were called to the landmark Mackintosh Building on Friday night.

Speaking with BBC News, Chief Officer of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Alasdair Hay praised the “warm-hearted” response of both the Salvation Army and emergency crews.

 

Several small sections of the site were still burning on Sunday evening. Firefighters were using thermal imaging to detect which areas were still alight.

The West Scotland Salvation Army’s emergency response team member, Jon Scott told BBC Scotland on Saturday: “There’s quite a lot of fire and police personnel on site, so there’s been quite a demand and it’s been quite hard to keep up with it but we’re just about managing.”

Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

 

Responding to the interview, Scottish Nationalist Party MP for Glasgow Central, Alison Thewliss tweeted: “Absolute credit to the Salvation Army.”

 

The cause of the fire – the second blaze to strike the site in four years -…

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