Overcomer Director: God, and not Feelings, Defines Your Identity

Overcomer Director: God, and not Feelings, Defines Your Identity



The culture may be embroiled in a debate over identity, but God settled the issue long ago, says the director of the new faith-based film Overcomer.


The movie opens this weekend, telling the story of a high school basketball coach who is on the verge of competing for a state championship when his best players move out of town. Suddenly, the coach’s primary identity – that of a successful, title-contending coach – disappears. He grows depressed and struggles to find purpose.


Overcomer (PG) was made by the same filmmaking brother tandem – director Alex Kendrick and producer Stephen Kendrick – that made the No. 1 hit War Room (2015).


Overcomer spotlights the believer’s identity in Christ. The movie’s ads ask: What do you allow to define you?


“It’s interesting that our culture is debating… what our identity should be based on,” Alex Kendrick told Christian Headlines. “Culture would say it’s your feelings, or at least it’s your status, or your title, your finances. But because God created us, we would say that the Creator gets to define his creation and that we find the fullest intended version of ourselves, when we find ourselves in the One who created us.” 


A life without the proper identity, Kendrick added, is a life without joy and peace. 


“What we say in the movie is God loves you the most, knows you the best, and has the authority…

… Read More

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

قالب وردپرس

Five Trending Developments on Sermon Length

One thing is for certain regarding the proclamation of God’s Word: preaching is still primary for both pastors and church members.

Because of the centrality of preaching in most churches, it is always fascinating to learn what developments are taking place in the preaching ministry. I recently conducted another social media survey on sermon length. This time, however, I asked an additional question. The two questions were as follows: What is your typical sermon length? Has it changed over your ministry?

We received nearly 1,000 responses. With that volume of great feedback, we were able to see five clear trends:

  1. Pastors are, for the most part, changing sermon length over the course of their ministry (Trending Up ⬆). Over eight of ten pastors indicated they had made significant changes to their sermon length in their ministries. There were a number of reasons for the changes, but the most common was adapting to listening patterns of the congregation.
  2. Sermon length is down slightly over the past four years (Trending Down ⬇). The median length of the sermon of those surveyed was 27 minutes, down from 29 minutes four years ago.
  3. Though a number of respondents indicated changes to sermon length were longer than previous years, by a 3:2 margin more pastors were moving to shorter sermons (Trending Down ⬇). Since this point is similar to number two above, you would expect more pastors moving to shorter sermons than to longer sermons.
  4. Many of the pastors who were resistant to shortening the length…

… Read More



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

قالب وردپرس

High school renovated to protect against mass shootings: The safest way to a joyful future

Here’s a sign of the times: a high school in western Michigan has been renovated to protect against a mass shooting.

The design takes a cue from World War I trenches that were dug in zigzag patterns so the enemy could not shoot in a straight line down the trench. In a similar fashion, the Michigan school added curved hallways to reduce a gunman’s range, barriers to provide cover and egress, and classrooms that can lock on demand and hide students in the corner, out of a killer’s sight. 

In related news, a school district in Colorado has provided buckets and cat litter for teachers to have on hand in case children need to relieve themselves during a prolonged active-shooter lockdown. The district has also supplied sharpies for writing the time tourniquets were applied. 

“The greatest catastrophe since the dawn of civilization” 

It is obviously important to do what we can to minimize tragedies before they strike. But there’s only so much we can do to prepare for the unpredictable. 

Nature is a regular threat. For instance, lightning struck a tree at the Tour Championship in Atlanta Saturday. The tree exploded, injuring six spectators with debris. 

The New York Times reports that an eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano would produce a toxic ash cloud that would reach both coasts. It would destroy crops, ruin power lines and electrical transformers, block sunlight, plunge global temperatures, and cause farming to collapse. In short, according to a group of researchers, such an eruption would be “the greatest catastrophe since the dawn of civilization.” 

An asteroid missed our planet last week but was undetected by astronomers until it passed us. A study shows that shark attacks in major metropolitan areas have doubled in the last twenty years. And Brazilian troops have been enlisted to fight unprecedented wildfires in the Amazon

Teenager exposes hundreds to measles at Disneyland 

Diseases make the…

… Read More



Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Denison Forum.

قالب وردپرس

Justin Welby to head new citizens’ assembly over Brexit

According to The Times, Most Rev Justin Welby is in talks with a cross-party group of senior MPs about the series of meetings, which would start next month in Coventry Cathedral.

The assembly, which will be comprised of 100 people, will put together proposals to parliament with suggestions on how on the UK can leave the European Union with a deal.

 

Frank Field, a Christian, and chairman of the work and pensions select committee who campaigned for Brexit in 2016, told The Times that he agrees with the idea.

 “I support any means by which we might be able to come, as a country, towards a negotiated Brexit, and therefore I’m really pleased with what the assemblies are trying to do,” he said.

“I’m anxious for trying to find ways, even at this late hour, of leaving with an agreement that, for example, protects the supply route to Vauxhall Motors at Ellesmere Port where many of my constituents work.”

The Times reports that the 100 members selected for the assembly will be balanced in terms of gender, social background, political views, and how they voted in the referendum.

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

… Read More



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

قالب وردپرس

Texas pastor running for office after daughter killed in church mass shooting

Frank Pomeroy’s 14-year-old daughter Annabelle was killed in shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas in November 2017. She was one of 26 victims of the massacre.

According to the NY Post, Pastor Pomeroy said the mass shooting in EL Paso, Texas this month, which killed 22 people, prompted him to get into politics.

 

“If I can bring civility and godliness and help stymie the downward spiralling of the great state of Texas, that’s what I’m choosing to do try to do, Pomeroy said Sunday afternoon at his church after the service, according to news site KUT. 

“I feel as though that morality and integrity is disappearing rapidly and I feel as though the direction Texas goes — if Texas falls, the country falls.”

Pomeroy, who will be running as a republican said that he’s concerned about “integrity and morality” in the Democratic Party.

Although the 53-year-old pastor hasn’t held elected office before, he said he’s had many conversations with people about guns and other top political issues following the church massacre.

“This is totally out of my wheelhouse, but I’m totally trusting the Lord to show me how to do the things I need to do,” Pomeroy said.

He added that the El Paso mass shooting at a Walmart store troubled him due to the way victims were being used by lawmakers to score political points.

The First Baptist Church…

… Read More



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

قالب وردپرس

Poetry book wins top award for theological writing

Rev Oakley’s book, “The Splash of Words: Believing in Poetry” contains 40 poems, both contemporary and historic.

Each poem is accompanied by a reflection from the author. The winning book was chosen by a panel of five judges.

 

Rev Canon Mark Oakley said: “Theology is a language of love and poetry is the theologian’s native language. Poetry takes the difficulties of life seriously and it also feels a bit like home.

“I put down some poems that have meant a lot to me and did a reflection. It’s a full range across the centuries, not all of them are ‘religious’ but I do think within there’s this exploratory of the Divine.”

The MRP was started by Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams in 2005.

It aims to encourage the most promising contemporary theological writing and share it with a wider Christian readership.

Awarding the prize, Most Rev Justin Welby said: “Mark Oakley’s work shines with an infectious love for poetry and for theology.

“Written with power and subtlety, Mark shows us how poetry can change our whole view of the world. He sees poetry not just as a tool for expressing faith but as a way…

… Read More



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

قالب وردپرس

Vicar says community is shocked after grandfather killed in stabbing

Keen jazz musician Allan Isichei, 69, the director of a building company, was attacked after leaving the Plough Inn pub in Southall, west London, where he regularly performs music.

Mr Isichei, who has three children with his wife Sandra, was walking to his home in St Mary’s Avenue South, just a few hundred yards away, when he was knifed twice.

 

He stumbled to a neighbour’s front door at about 6.39pm and asked them to call an ambulance, but died just over an hour later despite treatment from paramedics. Detectives have arrested a man in his 30s on suspicion of murder and he was held in hospital overnight with minor injuries, Scotland Yard said.

Reverend Dave Bookless, the vicar of St Mary’s church, opposite the scene, said an ambulance was initially able to drive Mr Isichei away, but stopped at a nearby park.

“The ambulance ended up stopping just down the road,” he said.

“They were working on him there and trying to resuscitate him but sadly I think the injuries were too severe. It’s come as a huge shock. A lot of people are saying this is not the kind of area this happens.

“Although we’re kind of in the middle of urban, multicultural London, there’s quite a village feeling here.

“It happened in broad daylight in a residential street. People are really quite shocked.”

Lewis Pennock/PA Wire

Police tape near the scene in Southall where…

… Read More



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

قالب وردپرس

Christian charity urges UK to prioritise indigenous communities with new Amazon rainforest fund

Boris Johnson has promised £10 million to help protect the Amazon rainforest and called on world leaders to step up efforts to save endangered species.

The funding for the South American rainforest will be made available immediately to protect and restore the habitat, including in areas affected by the current fires.

 

The Prime Minister will use the G7 summit in Biarritz to call for ambitious new targets to halt and reverse the loss of habitats and species, arguing that efforts to protect biodiversity and tackle climate change are “two sides of the same coin”.

Commenting on the announcement, Christian Aid’s Bolivia country manager Emma Donlan said:“While we welcome the announcement of a £10 million increase in funding to step up efforts to protect and restore the Amazon rainforest region, we would urge the UK government to ensure it is spent in a way that both fully supports the people of the Amazon and fully involves them in the process.

“This process must be led by the very people who are most affected.”

AP Photo/Andre Penner

Fire consumes a field along the BR 070 highway near Cuiaba, Mato Grosso state, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. Experts say most of the fires are set by farmers or ranchers clearing existing farmland, but the same monitoring agency has reported a sharp increase in deforestation this year as…

… Read More



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

قالب وردپرس