Leaders of the Church of England unanimously passed a motion apologizing for past racism, in particular regarding the treatment of African and Asian immigrants.

The General Synod passed the motion on Tuesday, with the motion focusing on a group of immigrants known as “Windrush Generation.” The generation were minority British citizens from the Caribbean who immigrated to the United Kingdom between the years 1948 and 1971. They were named after the ship Empire Windrush, which brought 500 of them in 1948.

According to the motion, the Synod offered a “lament” and apology for “the conscious and unconscious racism experienced by countless black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) Anglicans in 1948 and subsequent years, when seeking to find a spiritual home in their local Church of England parish churches …”

The motion also called for, among other things, the Archbishops’ Council to research the impact of discrimination, gratitude for the contributions racial minorities have made to the Church, and for an “independent person external to the Church” to investigate how the ecclesiastical body can better achieve racial reconciliation.

The General Synod also called on the church body to “resolve to continue, with great effort and urgency, to stamp out all forms of conscious or unconscious racism.”

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby delivered a speech before the General Synod, informing them that the problem of racism still remained.

“I’m ashamed of our history and I’m ashamed of our failure. There is no doubt when we look at our own Church that we are still deeply institutionally racist,” stated Archbishop Welby, as reported by the BBC.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Michael Gryboski

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The backing of voters who never attend religious services helped propel Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to victory in the New Hampshire Democratic primary election Tuesday while Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar surprised many with a third-place showing aided by religious voters. 

Nearly 3,000 Democrat voters in New Hampshire took part in exit polls after they cast their ballots. They were asked several questions about who they voted for, their identity, age, job, race, education level and even how often they attend religious services.

Among 11 percent of voters who say they attend religious services weekly, Klobuchar was the favorite even though she sits in sixth place in the Real Clear Politics average of national primary polling with just 4.6 percent support.

Klobuchar, a 59-year-old attorney, received just under 20 percent of the vote in New Hampshire, as of Wednesday afternoon. She was backed by 28 percent of voters who attend religious services each week.

Pete Buttigieg, a gay Christian and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who finished second in New Hampshire and won the Iowa Caucus, received 16 percent of voters who said they attend religious services weekly.

Meanwhile, 15 percent of weekly service goers backed Sanders and 14 percent said they voted for former Vice President Joe Biden, who finished fifth in New Hampshire.  Just 8 percent of weekly service goers said they voted for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Warren finished fourth in the New Hampshire primary.

But among the 37 percent of respondents who said they attend religious services “occasionally,” Buttigieg (26 percent) was the favorite.

Twenty-three percent of “occasional” religious attendees said they voted for Klobuchar, 20 percent said they voted for Sanders and 14 percent said they voted for Biden.

Warren again struggled with this demographic as she picked up just 7 percent of support among occasional service goers.

Among the 51 percent of voters who said they “never” attend religious services, Sanders was the clear favorite as he won 34 percent of the demographic. Biden was least favored among those who never attend religious services with only 4 percent.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Samuel Smith

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Just over a week after leaders of a Minnesota church were accused of trying to get rid of older adult members from one of their campuses in an effort to attract a younger crowd, a new study from Barna suggests reaching the next generation is one of the biggest problems pastors in local churches worry about today.

When presented with a list of possible challenges facing their church as part of Barna’s State of the Church 2020 project announced earlier this month, just over half of Protestant pastors, 51%, said “reaching a younger audience” is a major issue for their ministry.

Some 34% of pastors ranked the issue as a top three concern for their church while 12% said it was their No. 1 concern.

The church leaders also noted “declining or inconsistent outreach and evangelism” as a major issue which some 50% of respondents agreed is a problem they are grappling with.

More than one-third of pastors say “declining or inconsistent volunteering” is an issue facing their ministry today, with about one-quarter saying it’s one of their top three problems. Similar proportions also expressed worry in regard to “stagnating spiritual growth.”

Some 23% of pastors also cited “lack of leadership training and development” as a major concern facing their church today. Previous studies by Barna showed that some 85% of pastors today are older than 40 and nearly 70% of pastors agree that “it is becoming harder to find mature young Christians who want to become pastors.”

Overall, Barna also found that three-quarters of Catholic priests agree that “reaching a younger audience” is a major issue facing their parish today with nearly half ranking it as their top concern.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Leonardo Blair

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People playing the arcade game “Whack-A-Mole” use a rubber hammer to force plastic moles back into hiding. It’s similar to what a powerful Hindu group is doing to India’s Christians.

“The Hindu nationalist movement, the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) … has organized a nationwide network of people to report Christian activity,” Voice of the Martyrs USA spokesman Todd Nettleton says.  What is the RSS?

“They want to have radical Hindu nationalists stationed in every one of India’s villages… watching for Christian activity, watching for the Gospel to be going forward, and then actively trying to strike that down.”

Persecution of religious minorities spiked when Prime Minister Modi came to office in 2014 and has maintained record highs ever since. A report issued last fall describes more than 1,000 attacks on Christians between 2014 and 2019.

Religious freedom violations aren’t severe enough yet to garner India a “Country of Particular Concern” designation by the USCIRF. However, as described here in the Commission’s 2019 report, the USCIRF is keeping a close eye on the world’s largest democracy:

Over the last decade, conditions for religious minorities in India have deteriorated. A multifaceted campaign by Hindu nationalist groups like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sang (RSS), Sangh Parivar, and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) to alienate non-Hindus or lower-caste Hindus is a significant contributor to the rise of religious violence and persecution. Those targeted by this campaign—including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and lower-caste Hindus—face challenges ranging from acts of violence or intimidation to the loss of political power, increasing feelings of disenfranchisement, and limits on access to education, housing, and employment.

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Katey Hearth

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Crazy Love author Francis Chan said that during a recent trip to Myanmar he, along with a team of other Christians, miraculously healed a number of individuals in a rural village, including a little boy and girl who were deaf. 

During a sermon delivered at Moody Bible Institute’s Founders Week Conference, Chan, former teaching pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, California, said two weeks ago he and several others traveled to Myanmar.

“At one point, we were in this village that had no believers, like zero. Not a single one,” he recalled. “And this lady had built a relationship with the head monk and the village leader and somehow was able to work out that we could go into the village.”

“My translator told me he had been in that area before and was chased out with knives and stones thrown at him, so he was terrified,” Chan continued. “But the entire village showed up, and I had the honor of sharing the Gospel through a translator, to be the first one to lay out the Gospel and explain that they had a Creator and explain that He had a son and explain what He did on the cross and the resurrection.”

“There’s no way I can communicate to you how much peace I felt,” the pastor stressed. “I am sharing the Good News with a village of people who have never heard of this before. I can’t tell you how right it felt.”

Later in his message, Chan revealed that while in the village he asked God to help him heal those suffering.

“I’m going, ‘God, please, please heal,’” he recalled. “People started coming forward for healing.”

“Every person I touched was healed,” Chan declared as the audience applauded.

“You guys, OK, this is craziness to me,” he added. “I have never experienced this in 52 years. I’m talking like a little boy and a little girl who were deaf. We laid hands, she starts crying and smiling. These are not Christians who have even heard about Jesus, and she’s freaking out. We lay hands on her little brother, we lay hands on him, and he starts hearing for the first time.”

Chan admitted that the entire process was out of his “comfort zone,” adding, “This is stuff I’d read about, but I’m going, ‘Man, it happened. It happened.’ Stuff left and right.”

SOURCE: Christian Post, Leah MarieAnn Klett

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Prayer Motivator Minute #910

Charles Spurgeon said, “In prayer, we stand where angels bow with veiled faces. There, even there, the cherubim and seraphim adore before that selfsame throne to which our prayers ascend. And shall we come there with stunted requests and narrow, contracted faith?”

This is Daniel Whyte III with the Prayer Motivator Minute #910 here to remind you that there is still great power in prayer to God Almighty in the holy Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our prayer motivator verse from the Word of God today is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 which says: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Our featured prayer motivator quote today is from Jonathan Edwards. He said: “Conversation between God and mankind in this world is maintained by God’s word on his part, and prayer on ours. By the former he speaks to us and expresses his mind to us; by the latter we speak to him and express our minds to him. Sincere and a suitable high friendship towards God, in all that believe God to be properly an intelligent, willing being, does most apparently, directly and strongly incline to prayer; and it no less disposes the heart strongly to desire to have our infinitely glorious and gracious friend expressing his mind to us by his word, that we may hear it.”

PRAYER

Now, if you are listening today, and you 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,

Remember, friend, Pray, Think, Do! God Bless You!

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When I joined the Air Force right out of high school, I immediately began to learn more about sharing life together.  As new recruits we received uniforms that looked alike, and we did everything together.  We learned to march together, we eat together and we slept together in the same barracks (living quarters). Life in the military is very different than civilian life.  Civilian life is more individualistic and sometimes more isolationistic.  Those concepts are often prevalent in the church world as well, especially in the Global North.

Power of Corporate Witness 

The better we understand the nature of the Body of Christ, the more effective we can become as witnesses to the outside world.  When we consider our mandate as followers of Jesus, as disciple makers, it’s important to realize that God never intended for us to operate in isolation.  We are actually to function as teams or communities of Jesus-followers.  Our influence and impact on the world around us, as salt and light. will be determined to a great extent by our living and sharing life together with other members of the Body of Christ.

Value of Listening and Filling the Gaps

So often over the years when I’ve had conversations with people about the Lord, I discover that someone else has already had some spiritual influence on them.  They have had some kind of exposure to the Gospel.  Many people, especially in the Western World or North America, have some awareness of church, the Christian faith or religious traditions.  However, what is often missing is a biblical understanding of what is involved in having a relevant relationship with the Living Christ.  Sometimes, all it takes is asking a few questions, listening and filling in the gaps.  Everyone does not necessarily need to hear the same presentation and the Holy Spirit is faithful to enable us to discern how much and what we need to share.

Sowing, Watering and Reaping

On occasions, especially traveling internationally, I have encountered those who have never heard the name of Jesus or seen a Bible.  In those cases there’s an opportunity to sow a seed or testify of the character, goodness and grace of God.  It is reassuring when we know that we can be a link in a chain of influence, and a witness in bringing others to the Lord.  Some sow, some water and others reap the harvest, but it is God who gives the increase, as we read in Scripture.

SOURCE: Assist News

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Are Christian men today comfortable with their wives, children and those in their circles of influence following them?

This is a central question in the forthcoming book, Take It Back: Reclaiming Biblical Manhood for the Sake of Marriage, Family, and Culture, by Dr. Tim Clinton and Max Davis, who ask: Are Christian men living the reality of Jesus’ presence inside them so they will be transformed into His image?

If the answer is “No,” the authors say men should turn inward and learn how they can reclaim their biblical manhood.

As the country observes National Marriage Week Feb. 7-14, Clinton writes in Take It Back that God’s call to men today was also Paul’s desire, when he said in Galatians 4:19, “My little children, of whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you.”

“The call is going out not just for any men to rise up and take it back, but to godly, Christ-like men,” Clinton said. “Godly husbands, fathers, grandfathers, friends, boyfriends who will step up to the plate. Single guys who will stand for purity and trust God for the godly woman He has for them. Young men who will say no to porn and fornication even if it means ridicule. Husbands who will love their wives like Christ loved His church. When godly men who know Jesus is real and alive rise up, God comes back, families come into alignment and a culture is changed.”

Clinton adds that when a man imitates Jesus, he compliments and supports women. He makes her better. Ephesians 5:25 exhorts husbands to “love [their] wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it.”

“How did Christ love the church?” Clinton asks. “Well, for one, He died for it. He obeyed God and suffered. Sometimes love suffers. Jesus washed His disciple’s feet. Sometimes men need to wash their wife’s feet. Jesus elevated women in a society that didn’t highly regard women. For example, a Jewish man could mistreat and divorce their wives for the pettiest of reasons. Yet Jesus showed respect and honor for women, particularly His mother. His first miracle at Canaan turning water into wine was at the pleading of His mother. Although Jesus said His time was not yet come, He did the thing she asked because it was important to her.

SOURCE: Charisma News

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