Over a century ago, a missionary couple moved to Brazil to start a church. Now, generations later, the Brazillian Baptist Church has members all around the country.

Everything started in the city of Goiânia, where the couple first began their ministry. How fitting that 100 convention meetings later, believers would meet in that same city to plan their next big project.

Pastors and leaders from all over the country came to Goiânia for a meeting to share ideas and build plans for their May 2020 event. Expecting limited attendance, the meeting’s orchestrators only reserved one convention center. But, as Sammy Tippit of Sammy Tippit Ministries reports, the convention center quickly overflowed, as did backup overflow areas.

What impressed Tippit the most was the lack of showmanship it took for the meeting to drum up so much attention. After a few worship songs and a short sermon by Tippit, believers gathered in droves to worship God and consider their relationship with Him.

“It was absolutely amazing,” Tippit says. “People responded, people came to Christ. It was just a great move of God. And for me, I felt like it was a moment of affirming all that missionaries have done over 100 years in Brazil, and an affirmation that the Brazilians are moving forward and God is blessing and using them in a tremendous way.”

Since that first couple came to Brazil, the local church has grown to include millions of Brazilian Baptists. In fact, Tippit says the Brazilian Baptist convention is the second largest missionary agency in the world, with members taking projects around the globe. This hundredth convention and the thousands that attended were tangible proof of that couple’s long-term influence.

And that was only the planning meeting. In May 2020, Sammy Tippit Ministries plans to help launch a massive missions emphasis with a global perspective.

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Alex Anhalt

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

On Tuesday, with the confidence vote looming in Parliament, the rubble of protest littered the streets of Lebanon.

After months of protest, of demands to remove the government and start anew, it seemed like the nomination of Prime Minister Hassan Diab and a new Cabinet would be a step in the right direction.  However, Nuna of Triumphant Mercy-Lebanon says, “There are many protests on the street. Many people don’t want this Cabinet, this new government, so it’s a bit violent.”

Diab’s religious affiliations displeased enough that more rocks and attacks greeted Parliament members as they arrived for the vote of confidence. Demonstrators maintained their calls for a different government.   However, Nuna wonders if the demonstrators’ demands are feasible. “This is my point of view; if we want a technocrat government, which is far from politics, I agree with that, but at the same time, Lebanon is such a religious country, everything in Lebanon goes with religion.”

She points out the power-sharing aspect of their government structure. “You have people who are Christian or Sunni or Shiites; they need to be in certain positions because of the Constitution. So unless we change the Constitution, this is how it should be.  Even a technocrat person needs to be following some religious affiliation.”

When asked if the unreasonable demands connect to frustration over the economic crisis, Nuna said, “People don’t have any more resources. We have so many people who have been laid off work.  Companies that want to keep their heads (above) water, they’re trying to cut salaries in half. Many people are going through very hard economic crisis. The bank situation is even harder, and people are not able to get money out of the bank.”

SOURCE: Mission Network News, R.B. Klama

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

The International Day for the Unreached is May 31, and billions around the world still fall into that category.

“Not even close,” says Marv Newell, Senior Vice President of Missio Nexus, the largest Evangelical mission network in North America.

Of the thousands of culturally linked people groups around the world, the Gospel has not spread to all of them, and really is not even close to doing so.

Especially since, as Newell says, the Great Commission is not about people just hearing the Gospel, but being discipled in it as well. “And that’s far from what where we see that we are with so many people groups. Jesus was the one that said, go and make disciples of the nations. And how do you make [them]? By going, by teaching, and by baptizing. Those three things need to go hand in hand for us to consider that they have actually been made disciples.”

But the drive to disciple every people group in Christ is often lacking from the North American church, says Newell. Only 3% of church funding goes towards reaching these kinds of people groups. Newell believes the Gospel message has lost much of its shine.

That is the reason for the International Day for the Unreached, which this year takes place on May 31. To get involved with the Alliance for the Unreached (of which Missio Nexus is a founding member) visit alliancefortheunreached.org.

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Kevin Zeller

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

A new makeup line called EverBe is drawing inspiration from Scripture by inscribing verses on their products to encourage women to embrace who they are in God. 

Pegged as the “first-ever makeup line to affirm a woman’s God-given identity,” EverBe was created by Candice Coffey, a former elementary school teacher who followed God’s instruction and created an array of beauty products.

The collection features a variety of colors of lip butters, eye shadows, a bronzer and highlighter sticks, each with a different word from verses in Psalm 34 written on them, such as “Favored, Fruitful, Pure, Humble, Radiant and Redeemed.”

The following is an edited transcript of The Christian Post’s interview with Coffey in which she shares her goals for EverBe and desire to inspire women while combating the hyper-sexualized messages constantly aimed at them.

 Christian Post: Where did the idea of EverBe come from?  

Coffey: The idea for EverBe actually came in a dream. I spent much of 2018 seeking the Lord about my own purpose. I so longed for an opportunity to be used for His Kingdom. I told Him that I didn’t want my life to be “comfortable,” and I asked Him for a calling and purpose that was unique, that didn’t look like everyone else’s.

What I’ve realized since then is that all of our individual callings are unique to us if we are truly seeking God’s plan, and not “borrowing” callings from those around us.

One night I had a dream about being in a department store, and in front of me was a long makeup counter. I reached down and picked up a tube of black and gold lipstick that had “Psalm 34” written on the side. I then began picking up other compacts that also had Scripture written on them. The next morning, I immediately went to Psalm 34 (in The Passion Translation), and as I was reading His Word, the Lord showed me that He wanted me to create a new beauty brand, drawing on this portion of Scripture as inspiration. That is how EverBe was born.

CP: Why do you think it’s important for beauty to be reclaimed? 

Coffey: Now, more than ever, our culture says that a woman’s beauty and value are reflected only by her sexuality. But every woman wants to feel beautiful, loved, and know she has purpose.

EverBe is a call for women to rise above culture’s definition of beauty, and discover that their worth and true identity is found only in their Creator — their Heavenly Father — and what He says about them.

We can tell our girls that beauty comes from within, but words alone will not solve the problem of poor self-worth. We have to pair experiences with those messages. EverBe is a tangible act that reminds a woman to speak, apply, and be what our Father has said we are in his Word.

CP: How did you decide on choosing Psalm 34 as the chapter for the line?

Coffey: The Lord clearly gave me this Psalm in the dream. He applied His Word to a problem in our culture.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Jeannie Law

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of BCNN1. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s).

Former NBA player Dwyane Wade recently made headlines by announcing his 12-year-old son has made the decision to transition into becoming a girl.  Wade said he and the family fully support it.

It appears the majority of reactions praise Wade for supporting his son’s sexuality.  They admire him for supporting his “daughter.”

We don’t know how in depth if at all Zion was questioned regarding why he feels that he wants to be a girl.  But we do know that from appearances, Wade and his family have gone “all in”.

I have found parenting to be an exercise in love, modeling and leadership.  And leadership above all else is responsibility. We are our child’s first teachers. We have the ability, along with God-given instructions, to mold our children into the people they should become and to guide them in the way they should go.  Sometimes parenting will require us to protect our children from themselves.

What twelve year old gets to decide their destiny?

Wade said his son came home and told him, “Dad, I’m ready to live my truth.”  At twelve years old a person’s brain is not fully developed. Studies show the prefrontal cortex (which is the portion of the brain that activates the ability to control impulses and decision making) is still developing in our early 20’s.  This is one reason children and adults are treated differently in criminal justice center.

At this age, Zion could not be legally questioned without his parents being present. If he drives a car and is involved in an accident, his parents are responsible for the damages.  His parents choose what school he attends. They may allow him to choose his extracurricular activities – but that is their choice.   He can’t even go on a school field trip without parental permission, yet they count him competent enough to make decisions regarding his gender and sexuality.

Wade said his response to his son was, “I told him (Zion) you are a leader; you are going to be a voice.”  Somebody needs to tell Wade, “No, you are A leader. You are THE Parent”.  The Bible says children are like” arrows,” we point them in the direction we want them to go.  He continued on to report that the family sought advice for how to handle their son from actors that play in a homosexual-centered, non-child appropriate television show.  Yes, these are the resources utilized for information gathering.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Erica May

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

At the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in China, Christians can be found out on the streets, passing out emergency relief items and sharing the Gospel.

Christian humanitarian aid groups have partnered with local Chinese pastors to distribute food and protective masks.

Mark Hogsed, vice president of international programs at World Help, told CBN News the situation is grave and getting worse.

“The situation is dire and is getting worse. There is an effect on local ministers because people are afraid to be outside, their staying in their homes and not able to get outside and do what they normally would as far as ministry goes or even daily life activities,” he said.

Hogsed explained that the risk for the US is currently low, but that could change at any time.

“From what we hear in the United States, the risk is low but obviously with something like this, it can spiral out of control quickly.”

As health officials work tirelessly to develop a vaccine to treat the coronavirus, World Help is serving locals in some of the most high risk areas.

“With the vaccine potentially being a couple months away, the way we can help is to resource people in China with face masks and other items that will help prevent spread of the disease, as well as food. The prices of food are sky-rocketing, people are stock piling food – not knowing what lies ahead. We are helping to resource families through a network of Christian pastors and church planters with food and face mask protection as well,” Hogsed added.

With so many people quarantined, ministers and local churches are finding new ways to share God’s message.
Some churches have completely stopped their activities and services, while others are using a live stream.

Hogsed explained that World Help is currently accepting donations, which will assist with food distribution and protective masks.

“Specific relief efforts for World Help $20 provides a face mask and a week’s supply of food for an individual in China in the affected areas or just outside those areas to help control the spread. Going to worldhelp.net/disaster has more information and ways to give and help with the situation,” he added. “Also, we are asking people to pray for those who have been affected, pray for those who have lost family members and pray that a vaccine will come quickly and that steps can be taken to minimize the spread going forward.”

China reported 2,641 new cases in the 24 hours through midnight Friday, raising the country’s total to 66,492. Mainland China’s death toll rose to 1,523.

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

A 47-year-old Italian woman who disguised herself as a Catholic nun and had been hiding out in convents to evade arrest for two years was finally arrested by police in northern Italy, according to reports.

The woman, who has not been named, fled Sicily in 2017 after being convicted of fraud by a court and sentenced to two years in prison, The Local reported, saying she was arrested from a Benedictine convent in Gallarate, north of Milan.

The convict, who changed her identity frequently, stayed in convents in the Lombardy and Piedmont regions.

Investigators said the woman called convents pretending to be a “sister looking for help and claiming she was severely ill,” according to Il Globo, which said the nun who reported her to the police got suspicious because the woman’s stories “were full of contradictions.”

The nuns at one of the convents where the fugitive stayed said she presented herself as the niece of one of their sisters. In another convent, she claimed to be a mother superior.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Anugrah Kumar

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

Welcome to the Ordained Chaplains podcast. My name is Daniel Whyte III. I am the president of Gospel Light Society University. We are going through the book “Out of the Depths: An Autobiographical Study Of Mental Disorder And Religious Experience” by one of the pioneers of chaplaincy, Dr. Anton T. Boisen. This is episode #67.

Our Scripture Verse for today is Psalm 34:17 which reads, “The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.”

Our Ordained Chaplains quote for today is from James H. Aughey. He said, “God brings men into deep waters not to drown them, but to cleanse them.”

In this podcast, we will continue discussing the book “Out of the Depths” by Anton T. Boisen. We continue today with “Chapter 4: A Little-Known Country” (Part 16):

Sunday
I have just been talking with Dr. D., a charming young doctor whom I like very much. He tells me that I can go home Christmas, if my family will invite me, and he encourages me to believe that by New Year’s, or shortly thereafter, I can be released entirely. I was, however, disappointed to have him leave me with the suggestion that my great mistake has been in not giving freer rein to the sex impulse.

In reading over this document, one or two things make me pause. Have I, perhaps, failed to recognize sufficiently the need of force in such cases as mine? That need I take for granted. I do not suppose that I would ever have gone to the hospital willingly. My grievance is rather the lack of any attempt to use persuasion or to explain what is being done and why. The other point is my apparent failure to recognize the seriousness of this disturbance. My answer is that there is hardly any need of stressing the gravity of my situation. The hopeful factors are less apparent, and it is upon these that any constructive future must be built. I do feel that I have made a long journey through some difficult and little-known country and that I have come through intact.

The following letter was written shortly after receiving a copy of Freud’s Introductory Lectures from Fred. This was my first introduction to Freud, and I became very excited over finding in this book much that supported my independently-arrived-at ideas.

December 11, 1920

Dear Fred:
Let me thank you heartily for your fine letter and for the book on psychoanalysis. I have been reading it with intense interest and, in fact, excitement. Freud’s conclusions are so strikingly in line with those which I had already formed that it makes me believe in myself a little bit once more. I refer in particular to two propositions:

He asserts in the first place that neuroses–i.e., abnormal, or insane conditions,–have a purpose. They are due to deep-seated conflict between great subconscious forces and the cure is to be found not in the suppression of the symptoms but in the solution of the conflict. That is just what I tried to say in my last letter.

In our next podcast, we will continue with Part 17 of Chapter 4, “A Little Known Country”.

—PRAYER—

Now, if you have come across this podcast, and do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, allow me to show you how.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now this is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9-13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Until next time, my friend, God bless!

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of BCNN1. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s).

When anyone says that I’m a creative person, I tell them that I get my creativity from my Father. I inherited His genes. 

But I’m about to tell you a secret to creativity, about which few people know. I have purposely kept this to myself.

I have a private “think tank.” It’s a place to which I retreat every morning. It’s a personal prayer closet, but with a difference. It’s a very small room, probably about four feet by four feet. There is no seating, no windows, no pictures on the walls, no TV, and I when I enter that very special room, I take nothing in with me. Nothing. No iPhone. No iPad, no pad paper, and no food or drink. There’s nothing to distract the mind. I even remove my watch. So when I’m in the think tank, I lose all sense of time. There is nothing but me and my thoughts.

One of the problems of modern living, is that people have forgotten how to think. Think about it for a moment. Every creation of man, every invention, every painting or idea, began with a thought. Now think about this generation. Most of them are either staring at something on a phone, or they are listening to something through earbuds in their ears. These things distract from the simplicity of creative thought.

Every day there are noises from annoying barking dogs, to gardeners with annoying blowers, to annoying car alarms, squawking crows, loud car horns, hovering helicopters, and a thousand and one other unwanted invasions of the mind. True thought needs golden silence, even if it’s the “silence” of a running brook. And that’s sometimes hard to find. That is, unless you have a personal think tank.

Some mornings I retreat to my tank for as little as ten minutes. Other days I stay in its wonderful environment for up to thirty minutes. However long I take, there’s always a sense of peace when I temporarily escape from this annoyingly noisy world.

What I’m now going to tell you will probably make you think that I’m a little weird, if not completely crazy. But I will share these two secrets with you, because they’re pivotal to creative thought. Embarrassing though they are, both of these really do work.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Ray Comfort

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

A U.S. Navy chaplain has been accused of violating the U.S. Constitution for teaching an optional 12-week seminar called “Lead Like Jesus” at the Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island. 

According to the religious liberty legal organization First Liberty Institute, Cmdr. Richard Smothers is being antagonized by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation — a group that argues for a strictly secularist interpretation of the Constitution — for promoting the seminar at the base.

MRFF sent an email demanding that Capt. Ian Johnson, commander of the Naval base, investigate Smothers and anyone else who promoted the seminar through emails or fliers. The organization argues that service members were being “voluntold” to attend the Christian-oriented event.

Michael L. “Mikey” Weinstein, founder of MRFF, accused Smothers of having “weaponized Christianity” in an interview with the Navy Times published in January. He added that those behind the discussions should be “visibly and aggressively investigated and punished.”

“Nothing could be more disruptive to good order and discipline and unit cohesion than a message like this,” he said.

Commenting on the matter, First Liberty noted that encouraging troops through faith is in the job description of a chaplain.

“Most chaplains are endorsed by a particular church or religious organization, whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim or a host of other religions. They agree to uphold that organization’s beliefs and to carry out their duties as a representative of their faith. If they don’t, they lose their endorsement,” the organization said Friday.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Brandon Showalter

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source