My spiritual birthday and Chick-fil-A: The joy of living biblically

My spiritual birthday was yesterday. On September 9, 1973, I asked Jesus Christ to forgive my sins and become my Savior and Lord.

Think with me about all that has changed in the last forty-six years. 

I remember when people called each other on a device called a rotary telephone. The first house Janet and I owned had a shelf built into a wall in the entryway where such a phone was meant to reside. You could get an extra-long cord that enabled you to walk into the kitchen while talking on it. 

Then came push-button phones. Then came phones with wireless handsets (and very long antennas). I remember the first bag phone I ever saw—it was “mobile” so long as you carried around a backpack-sized battery. The day I got a phone built into my car was a game-changer. 

Now Apple is set later this morning to unveil its latest technology. Analysts expect iPhones with a three-lens camera array on the back and improvements to their facial recognition system. The company may also announce innovations to their watches, AirPods, apps, credit cards, and subscription music, games, and TV. 

Drones and suburbs 

Technology is revolutionizing every dimension of the human experience. Advances in genetics are helping doctors diagnose, treat, and prevent disease on an unprecedented scale. Retailers are developing ways to deliver their products to our homes via drones. 

Mobile devices allow people to work remotely more easily than ever. Autonomous vehicles will enable them to commute to the office while working in their cars. As a result, suburbs will extend farther from city centers than ever before. 

It’s hard to identify a dimension of our daily lives unaffected by the amazing advances of technology. Those with the skill and discipline to create and market such remarkable inventions deserve the gratitude of those of us who benefit from their expertise daily. 

And yet, despite all our astounding scientific progress, our perennial…

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Christian charity reveals 40 percent of young adults struggle with anxiety

Christian research organisation Barna Group partnered with international Christian children’s charity World Vision to survey more than 15,000 young adults across 25 countries.

The report, ‘The Connected Generation’, found that the extent of anxiety and uncertainty are often related to finances and vocation, and only one third of respondents say they feel deeply cared for by those around them.

 

The survey also looked at young people’s attitude toward religion and faith and its role in their lives.

It found that levels of loneliness, isolation and anxiety were fairly high across all participants, but those who are engaged in a religion had key mentors and friends which could help keep combat loneliness.

The survey found that only 19 per cent of those with a faith felt lonely and isolated, as opposed to 31 percent of those with no religious affiliation.

Tim Pilkington, CEO of World Vision UK said, “It is great to see a young generation who feel connected to the world around them and care about what is going on in the world.

“But the high levels of anxiety facing this generation is deeply worrying. I hope this report will help individuals, churches and communities find ways to establish better, meaningful connections and make a tangible difference.”

Barna Group and World Vision will unpack key findings from the study at the Faith for the Future webcast (featuring…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Pope Francis praises diversity of Mauritius but warns against economic inequality

Francis spent the final day of his week-long trip to Africa in the Mauritian capital Port Louis, celebrating mass before an estimated 100,000 people and meeting with government leaders.

The trip fell on the feast day of one of Mauritius’ most important figures, the 19th century French missionary the Reverend Jacques-Desire Laval, who ministered to freed slaves.

 

While Catholics represent less than a third of Mauritius’ 1.3 million people, Father Laval is seen as a unifying figure for all Mauritians, most of whom are Hindu of Indian descent.

Francis’ visit also came just months after Mauritius scored a major victory at the UN, with a non-binding resolution calling on Britain to return the Chagos Islands, home to the US military base at Diego Garcia, to Mauritius.

Mauritian leaders thanked Francis for the Vatican’s “moral support” in the dispute.

In his speech to government authorities, Francis praised the ethnic and religious tolerance that has long characterised Mauritian history, which saw a series of European powers, Dutch, French and finally British, import African and Indian labourers to work the sugarcane fields before the country gained independence in 1968.

AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino

Faithful wave palm leaves as Pope Francis arrives to celebrate Mass at the Monument Mary Queen of Peace, in Port Louis, Mauritius, Monday, Sept. 9,…

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Seven Ways to Hurt Your Pastor

Podcast Episode #570

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We hear from hundreds and hundreds of pastors every week. Many of them are hurting. Today, we cover seven most common ways church members hurt their pastors.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

  • If you’re criticizing the pastor via the pastor’s spouse or kids, that’s absolutely cowardly.
  • It’s rare for pastors to be overpaid. Many are simply underpaid.
  • The constant criticism many pastors face is basically death by a thousand cuts.
    • You shouldn’t compare your pastor’s preaching to that which you hear on podcasts.

The seven ways we discuss are:

  1. Criticize the pastor’s family.
  2. Tell pastors they are overpaid.
  3. Don’t defend pastors when they are attacked.
  4. Tell the pastors they have an easy job.
  5. Be a constant naysayer and critic.
  6. Make comments about the pastor’s personal expenditures.
  7. Compare you pastor’s preaching negatively to other preaching.

Resources mentioned in today’s podcast


Episode Sponsors

Vanderbloemen has been serving churches for nine years, but did you know that Vanderbloemen also serves Christian schools, nonprofits, and Christian businesses? So if you’re listening, and you know a Christian school, nonprofit, or values-based business that is hiring, contact our friends at Vanderbloemen for your staffing needs.

For more information, visit Vanderbloemen.com.


The mission at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary is to glorify the…

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Protesters at New Toronto Chick-fil-A Outnumbered by Customers, 100 to 1

Protesters at New Toronto Chick-fil-A Outnumbered by Customers, 100 to 1



In many U.S. cities, the opening of a new Chick-fil-A is met with long lines for chicken sandwiches and waffle fries. In Canada’s largest city, though, the grand opening of a Chick-fil-A last week was met with protestors calling for a boycott.


The protest on Friday was organized by the 519, an LGBT group, and Liberation TO, an animal rights organization, which held “Don’t Eat Hate” signs and wore drag costumes. At one point the demonstrators even laid on the ground side-by-side in a “die-in” protest outside the front door. 


By the second day, the customers who were in line to buy food outnumbered the protesters 100 to 1. 


“We just want to make the population of Toronto aware of where their money is going if they decide to support this establishment,” protester Tash Riot told the Toronto Star.


The only other Chick-fil-A in Toronto is located at the airport, The Star said. 


Another protester, Helena Poison, said the protesters were there to “be visibly queer and show our support.”


Among the signs held by protestors was one reading, “Chick-fil-A is Full of Homophobia.” Others read, “Boycott Chick-fil-A” and “Cluck-Off.”


The protesters were greatly…

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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

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NC School Pulls ‘Diversity Inventory’ Asking Students about Gender, Sexuality, Religion

NC School Pulls ‘Diversity Inventory’ Asking Students about Gender, Sexuality, Religion



Wake County’s Heritage High School has withdrawn a “diversity inventory” worksheet that asked students personal questions about not only their gender, sexuality, and religion, but also about their teachers, friends, and authority figures. The teacher then asked students to stand beside posters based on the questions that make them feel the “most privileged.”


“While we value efforts to build a classroom community that is inclusive and respectful of all students and backgrounds, the Wake County Public School System also respects and values student privacy and their right to engage in discussion about personal identity when they are comfortable to do so,” the district said in a statement, according to News Observer.


The worksheet asked students to identify their gender, race/ethnicity, age, sexuality, ability, religion and socioeconomic status. The complaint first arose from parent Dina Bartus when her 15-year-old son took the inventory on his second day of class. According to Bartus, the teacher, whom the district has not named, identifies as bisexual.


Many people on all sides believed the inventory to be inappropriate.


Former Wake school board candidate Shaun Pollenz, who is gay, believes the questions could hurt students.


“This shouldn’t be allowed in any schools, much less our fabulous public schools here in Wake County,”…

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StemExpress CEO Admits to Trafficking Baby Body Parts, Including Intact Heads, Beating Hearts

StemExpress CEO Admits to Trafficking Baby Body Parts, Including Intact Heads, Beating Hearts



During several days of hearings, StemExpress CEO admitted to harvesting fetal brains in heads that may still be attached to the body after being pulled from the womb and selling baby’s beating hearts to researchers.


The discovery came when the CEO, named Doe 12 for privacy, was questioned during hearings for undercover investigators David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt. The duo journalists, who represent the Center for Medical Progress, recorded conversations with top executives and clinicians from Planned Parenthood about selling aborted baby parts four years ago. StemExpress was one of the alleged brokers.


Daleiden and Merritt face 14 criminal felony counts of eavesdropping and one count of conspiracy. According to the Federalist, this case is the first-time eavesdropping charges have ever been made in the history of California.


Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society, which is representing Daleiden at the hearing, told Life Site News, “If you have a fetus with an intact head and an intact body, and intact extremities, that is something that would indicate that child was born alive, and then had their organs cut out of them, or that their child was the victim of an illegal partial-birth abortion.


“That is an especially gruesome admission, but it begs the question: how did they get these fully intact human children?”


Doe 12 also…

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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

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Christians, Pro-Lifers Speak Out against Bernie Sanders’ Support of Abortion as Population Control

Christians, Pro-Lifers Speak Out against Bernie Sanders’ Support of Abortion as Population Control



Speaking at CNN’s “Climate Crisis” town hall event last week, Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders appeared to suggest that abortion could be used as a tool for controlling population numbers in poor countries causing Christians and pro-life advocates to speak out.


“During CNN’s #ClimateTownHall, Bernie Sanders said YOUR tax dollars should be used to fund abortions in foreign countries to reduce population size,” tweeted Congressman Steve Scalise. “Are you kidding?? That’s horrifying, and tells you just how little regard radical liberals have for innocent life.”


Pro-life campaigner Obianuju Ekeocha also expressed her horror. “Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!!! An American presidential candidate speaks about how important it is for America to fund the abortion in poor third world countries,” she tweeted. “I repeat, @BernieSanders wants America to fund the killing of Africa’s unborn babies,” Ekeocha asserted.

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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

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Former MLB Player, Wife Launch Ministry with Horses to Help People Cope with Trauma

Former MLB Player, Wife Launch Ministry with Horses to Help People Cope with Trauma



Former MLB all-star Paul Byrd with his wife Kym, have started a ministry to help people overcome trauma with the calming power of horses.


“[T]he Lord just kept pressing on my heart that there was something that I was being called to do but I didn’t know what,” Kym Byrd told the Christian Post.


After purchasing a farm, the couple was approached by a friend who is licensed through Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and trained by Natural Lifemanship to use their newly-acquired land to board two horses for therapy sessions.


Paul, who recently won an Emmy for his work for Fox Sports South broadcasts of Atlanta Braves games, and his wife agreed.


“The horses were such a different road to not only get in touch with nature and beauty but also they’re just so calming,” Kym said. “We would just see people come and go. I was just blessed to know that people who were in trauma who couldn’t be in four walls to talk about their pain could be with a horse out in nature and just connect with God and deal with their pain.”


The Byrd’s, after seeing the power of equine therapy, launched Byrdhouse Ministries out of their farm in Milton, Georgia. Employing three therapists, the ministry “provide[s] space for people to reset, restore and recover with God, themselves and others both inside and out.”


Clients can enjoy therapy in a non-traditional…

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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

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‘No one can win’, Christian MPs call for prayer as Brexit divide deepens

Last week, Christian MPs Alistair Burt and Dame Caroline Spelman both announced they will not be standing at the next election over Mr Johnson’s handling of Brexit and, particularly in Dame Caroline’s case, over the abusive language she has received.

They joined 20 other Tories who had the whip withdraw after voting with the opposition and were joined by Amber Rudd when she also resigned over the weekend. 

Alistair Burt, the Conservative representative for North East Bedfordshire, told Premier the impasse seems unsurmountable: “There’s no way anyone could win on this. I have to be completely honest. Of course there are very much two opinions, of course there are people who feel ‘let’s just leave’.

 

 

“I can’t do that knowing what I believe I know about no deal. I’m not prepared to do that. I do want to see a general election; of course the public are entitled to take a view on that.

“But in view of the risks of leaving with no deal to the union to Ireland, the relationship with the EU to trade, agriculture, the economy, I think seeking further time, if a deal cannot be secured now, is better than taking that course of action and I’d be willing to put everything on the line for that. I’m perfectly comfortable in what I’ve done. I’m sorry, there’s some people disagree with it. But there we are. I’m an MP and a public representative and I’m doing what I think is…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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