Why Georgia fans wore pink Saturday: The power of the past to change the future

Georgia fans honor Wendy Anderson on Sept. 14, 2019.

The University of Georgia hosted Arkansas State in a football game on Saturday. Georgia was ranked third in the nation; Arkansas State was not expected to make the score close. In fact, Georgia won 55–0.

However, what mattered most to many watching the game was not the competition on the field but the apparel worn by spectators in the stands. The stadium was filled with Georgia fans wearing not their traditional red and black but bright pink. 

This was in honor of Wendy Anderson, the wife of Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson. Wendy died on August 19 from breast cancer. 

A Georgia alumnus named Dwight Standridge tweeted out a call to his fellow Bulldog fans on Tuesday, asking them to wear pink to the game. He told reporters that he lost his mother to ovarian cancer when she was just thirty-seven years of age. “If you’re not affected by cancer personally, you know somebody who is,” he added. 

Coach Anderson tweeted after the game:

How did David kill Goliath? 

One of the most famous stories in history is the battle between David and Goliath. Most people can tell you how the giant was killed: the shepherd boy hit him in the forehead with a rock from a slingshot. 

Except, that’s not actually how the Philistine died. 

1 Samuel 17 tells us that after David hit Goliath with a stone and the giant “fell on his face to the ground” (v. 49), “David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it” (v. 51). David had no sword of his own (vv. 38–40), so he killed Goliath with the Philistine’s sword. 

Fast-forward four chapters. 

David is on the run from King Saul and needs help. He comes to Nob, a city near Jerusalem where the tabernacle is located. He seeks the aid of a priest named Ahimelech, looking for “a spear or a sword” (1 Samuel 21:8). 

The priest replies,…

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Kanye is ‘born again’ and ‘saved by Christ’

Kardashian-West was asked about Kanye West’s Sunday Service on US talk show The View.

She said people have questioned if the heavily music-focused service has a Christian foundation. She affirmed that it is Christian and described it as a musical ministry.

 

She said: “People always ask, ‘What are you worshiping?’ It is a Christian service, like a musical ministry. They talk about Jesus and God.”

Kardashian-West explained that the services started out as a personal project for Kanye, but they morphed into something that he wanted to share with others.

“Kanye started this to really heal himself and it was a really personal thing, and it was just friends and family,” she said.

“He has had an amazing evolution of being born again and being saved by Christ.”

When asked if ministers were part of the Sunday Services, Kardashian-West said sometimes Kanye’s friends who are pastors preach, but the focus of the service is always on music.

“Sometimes, in the one in Calabasas, he’ll have friends that are pastors that are in town get up and speak. But for the most part, it’s just a musical ministry,” she said.

Kardashian-West, who was on the show to promote the 17th season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, said the Sunday Service isn’t official in terms of it being a registered charity but it is “for God and a Christian church”.

Kanye is expected to release an album this…

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Church of Scotland raises claim for share of £2 million viking hoard

Metal detectorist Derek McLennan uncovered the 10th-century hoard, which includes silver bracelets and brooches, a gold ring, an enamelled Christian cross and a bird-shaped gold pin, in a Dumfries and Galloway field in 2014.

National Museums Scotland raised £1.98 million to acquire the treasure trove of items for the nation.

 

Rules on discoveries in Scotland mean only the finder receives payment, differing from the rest of the UK, where awards are split with the land owner.

But it was reported at the time the church would share in the proceeds.

Dumfries and Galloway Council/PA Wire

Undated handout file photo issued by Galloway Viking Hoard Campaign of a bird pin from a Viking hoard found in Dumfries and Galloway. The Church of Scotland is taking legal action for a share of a Viking hoard worth almost £2 million found on land it owns.

 

Church trustees are now taking legal action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

A Church of Scotland spokesman said: “It can be confirmed the general trustees of the Church of Scotland have raised an action against Derek McLennan.

Dumfries and Galloway Council/PA Wire

Undated handout file photo issued by Galloway Viking Hoard Campaign of a pectoral cross from a Viking hoard found in Dumfries and Galloway. The Church of Scotland is taking legal action for a share of a Viking hoard worth almost…

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Who Should Select Church Staff? Pastor? Search Committee? Personnel Committee? Congregational Vote? Judicatory Authority?

It is both a question and a frustration.

The question is often stated as the title of this post: Who should select the church staff?

The frustration takes place when different parties feel left out of the process. Sometimes it’s the pastor who is frustrated. Sometimes it’s a committee. Sometimes it’s the entire congregation.

After working with churches for over thirty years, I have seen these issues become points of unity, and I have seen these become points of divisiveness. As a consequence, I have developed the following guidelines. In some cases, polity determines the selection and hiring of staff, so there will obviously be exceptions.

  1. If the pastor has no say in the selection of staff, the church is asking for problems. Particularly with direct reports, the pastor will be working with these people day by day. If pastors feel they are left out of the process, tensions could naturally be the consequence. There are very few organizations anywhere other than some churches that hire direct reports for a supervisor without the supervisor’s input. It’s just not wise.
  2. If pastors do have unilateral authority, they still should seek input from others. I have been in situations where I had complete freedom to hire someone without consulting others. One of my most difficult hires took place when I did not seek counsel. I learned a painful lesson. Even if pastors can hire without the approval of others, it is good for these leaders to listen to others.
  3. Congregational votes for staff can be…

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War veteran rides mobility scooter to save historic churches

Colonel Michael Elcomb served in the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, serving in the Second World War in Malta, Sicily, Germany and North Africa, where he was wounded.

On Saturday, he decided to support his local church St Mary’s, a Church of England parish in Codford in Wiltshire, by joining in with a sponsored cycle and walk on his mobility scooter. The church has been there 750 years and requires repairs every now and again, usually paid for by locals.  

Colonel Michael Elcomb said: “Churches are such important historic buildings and do so much to keep communities together.

 

“That’s why we must keep them in good repair. Good luck to the many people around the country who will be Riding and Striding and raising funds to keep England’s churches in shipshape condition.”

‘Ride+Stride for Churches’ is a sponsored event in which people walk or cycle between churches. The money raised helps fund repairs and the installation of modern facilities at historic churches, chapels and meeting houses.

Last year the event raised over £1.3 million.

St Mary’s Codford, that seats 120 people, added a digital organ a few years ago and the congregation, described on its website as “a pretty straightforward and ‘conservative’ lot”, try to keep up to date with modern styles of worship whilst maintaining some tradition. 

Before Col. Elcomb even started he had raised…

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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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Pray for Norview Baptist Church

Location: Norfolk, Virginia

Pastor: Dr. Jeffrey Luchun

Weekly Worship: 11:00 AM, Eastern

Fast Facts: Norview Baptist Church is a 93-year-old congregation that is one year into a revitalization effort. Located at the intersection known as Five Points in Norfolk, their mission is to love Five Points and beyond for the glory of God. It is an ethnically diverse church dedicated to discipleship, ministry, outreach, prayer, and worship as an authentic community. Please pray for the church as they raise funds for significant upgrades to better reach their community through service projects, a food pantry, clothes closet, housing rehabilitation, financial training, and debt relief. Also pray for a continued willingness to be change in the community and the ability to give sacrificially.

Website: NorviewBaptist.com


“Pray for . . .” is the Sunday blog series at ThomRainer.com. We encourage you to pray for these churches noted every Sunday. Please feel free to comment that you are praying as well.

If you would like to have your church featured in the “Pray for…” series, fill out this information form..

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German and English dioceses mark 21 year friendship with choir tour

The Augustinian Church Choir, from Erfurt, are visiting next month for a nine day tour to mark the partnership between the Diocese and the Erfurt Kirchenkreis in central Germany. 

The choir will visit churches and cathedrals across the county including the cathedrals of Bradford, Wakefield and Ripon, alongside Leeds Minster, Halifax Minster and St Margaret’s Church in Ilkley.

There will also be stops to visit York Minister and Ilkley Moor. 

 

 

The choir will perform work by Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Flor Peeters, Gustav Holst, Arvo Pärt and John Rutter.

The partnership between the two countries began formally on the 1st November 1997, growing out of an earlier link between Bradford and Erfurt that began in the late 1980s.

Rosalind Beeson, chair of the Diocese’s Erfurt and Leeds link group, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Augustiner-Kantorei to perform in venues across West Yorkshire.

“It will be wonderful to hear this massed choir perform sacred choral music from a wide range of composers from the 15th to the 21st centuries.

“This visit builds on two recent choir tours to Erfurt from the Bradford area in 2013 and Bradford Cathedral Choir’s centenary tour earlier in 2019.

“We are very glad to be able to reciprocate and to strengthen our partnership with Erfurt, recognising our shared musical heritage.”

Alex Berry,…

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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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Cyclone Idai’s impact 6 months on

The storm hit Mozambique, on the south eastern African coast, on 15th March this year and went on to reap destruction in bordering Malawi and parts of Zimbabwe

The 105 mph winds and heavy rain caused devastating flooding, ruined crops and battered homes.

Reports suggest over 1000 people died.

 

Edgar Jone, Tearfund’s representative in Mozambique was there at the time and lost part of his home. He told Premier: “After six months, we still have two million people are still living in need of food and we have got 77,000 people are still living in temporal displacement camps in Mozambique.

Most of our infrastructure has been destroyed such as roads, electricity or water supply, hospitals and schools.”

Mr Jone said the government had started rebuilding infrastructure but that the humanitarian needs are desperate, with the church playing a role in trying to limit the effects of the storm.

 

 

“What the church is doing now, we are involving church leaders to pray for people that lost their family members and also awareness on risk, disaster, risk management and also climate adaptation to warn people are continuing to stay in a risk area and also churches are helping to map the secure area and resettle people from the risk area to a secure area.

“We request prayers for long term recovery because climate change is coming to stay and…

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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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Over 2,000 foetal remains found at ex-abortion doctor’s home

The Will County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that a lawyer for Dr Ulrich Klopfer’s family contacted the coroner’s office on Thursday about possible foetal remains being found at the home in an unincorporated part of Will County in northeastern Illinois.

The sheriff’s office said authorities found 2,246 preserved foetal remains, but there’s no evidence medical procedures were performed at the home.

The coroner’s office took possession of the remains. An investigation is under way.

 

Dr Klopfer, who died on September 3, was a long-time doctor at an abortion clinic in South Bend, Indiana.

It closed after the state revoked the clinic’s licence in 2015. The Indiana State Department of Health had previously issued complaints against the clinic, accusing it of lacking a registry of patients, policies regarding medical abortion, and a governing body to determine policies.

The state agency also accused the clinic of failing to document that patients get state-mandated education at least 18 hours before an abortion.

Dr Klopfer was believed to be Indiana’s most prolific abortion doctor, with thousands of procedures performed in multiple Indiana counties over several decades, the South Bend Tribune reported.

Christian, Mike Fichter, the president of the group Indiana Right to Life, said in a statement that “we are horrified” by the discovery of the foetal remains at Dr…

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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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Jarrid Wilson’s pastor says Wilson knew suicide was the wrong choice

Jarrid Wilson, the associate pastor of the Californian church, took his own life on Monday.

He had a wife and two young sons and lead the young adult ministry. 

Wilson ran the mental health charity Anthem of Hope and was open about his struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts, inviting people to donate to 

In a talk called ‘Hope has the last word’ at the church’s mid-week service, the main pastor spoke about how suicide was not the answer and tried to answer people’s questions.

 

 

Laurie started: “When I heard the news that Jarrid was gone and I just couldn’t believe it” and explained how he was up at 3:30am listening to a podcast when he saws texts from his own son about Jarrid’s death

“I screamed, I yelled ‘No, God, no!’

“People think that us as pastors and spiritual leaders are somehow above the pains and struggles of everyday life. We’re supposed to be the ones that have all the answers but we don’t, we’re just like you, we need to reach out to God for his help and strength everyday.”

He addressed people‘s concerns, saying: “Jarrid had put his faith in Christ and that is why I believe right now he is in the presence of the Lord in heaven – a very important thing to remember.

“One dark moment in a Christian’s life cannot undo what Christ did for us on the Cross.”

He added: “We need to remember what Jarrid told us in his best days, not his worst” and added…

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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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