The Painful Reality of Church Shoppers

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The pastor announced to his peers, “It’s National Church Shopping Month!”

I love the community at our coaching and consulting site on Church Answers. Over 1,600 church leaders interact in significant numbers every hour of the waking day. They ask questions. They seek examples and stories of God’s work in churches. And, on occasion, they vent. I love the fact they feel the freedom to express themselves in a safe place.

Recently, one pastor lamented how many members start shopping for other churches in the summer months. His peers immediately joined the conversation with a number of similar concerns and observations.

For those in church leadership, this pattern of members deciding to leave is far too common and almost always painful. Here are a few observations from both the Church Answers’ community and me.

  1. You are not alone. In fact, I’ve never known a church leader who has been in a church three years or more and not faced this reality.
  2. It is not always bad. Sometimes members are simply not aligned with the ministry of the church they are leaving. It could be a doctrinal issue. It could be a philosophical issue. It is not always bad to release members to a church that better fits their convictions.
  3. It is an opportunity to learn and to be pastoral. I rarely hear from a pastor or other church leader who really enjoys interviewing or talking to departing members. But those who do share that the experience is typically one where they learn something they can do to improve themselves or…

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

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Mike Pence Says it Is ‘Morally Wrong’ to Advocate for Open Borders

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Mike Pence Says it Is ‘Morally Wrong’ to Advocate for Open Borders


Mike Pence Says it Is ‘Morally Wrong’ to Advocate for Open Borders


Vice President Mike Pence has warned a group of conservative Christian activists that the free-flowing border being proposed by several leading Democrats would lead to abject disaster. 


Addressing the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual gala dinner in Washington D.C., Pence insisted that the Democrats plans to ease security restrictions on the southern border would only lead to more misery for those seeking to make the treacherous journey over to the United States. 


“After spending the last six months denying there was a crisis at our southern border and doing nothing while our courageous and compassionate Customs and Border Protection personnel were overwhelmed by that crisis, now some Democrats want to lecture us about their moral concern,” Pence declared, adding that there was “nothing compassionate about refusing to change the laws that human traffickers use to take advantage of poor families.”


With so many desperate individuals attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, Pence highlighted that human trafficking would be sure to increase if restrictions were relaxed and people were even more incentivized to try and make the journey. With immigrants surging north upon the promise of a weak border, the demand for the services of human traffickers would soar. 


“Those who would advocate open borders, free health care for illegal immigrants and making illegal…

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

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Hundreds of Hong Kong Protesters Storm Legislature, Take Over Building, Forcing Police to Back Off – Urban Christian News

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Hundreds of Hong Kong Protesters Storm Legislature, Take Over Building, Forcing Police to Back Off – Urban Christian News

Protesters prepare to defend against police action at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, during the early hours of Tuesday, July 2, 2019. Protesters in Hong Kong took over the legislature’s main building Friday night, tearing down portraits of legislative leaders and spray painting pro-democracy slogans on the walls of the main chamber. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

HONG KONG (AP) — The Latest on protests on the anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China (all times local):

4:30 a.m.

Hong Kong’s leader has condemned protesters who broke into the city’s legislature and vandalized the building.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at an early Tuesday morning news conference that she hopes the wider Hong Kong community will agree it is right to condemn the protest and hope that society returns to normal as soon as possible.

Hundreds of protesters smashed windows and pried open metal curtains to get into the legislature Monday night. Once inside, they spray-painted slogans on the walls, turned over file cabinets in offices and strew documents on floors.

The protesters say that Lam has not responded to their demands despite multiple protests in recent weeks.

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12:50 a.m.

Police in Hong Kong have used tear gas to clear a crowd of protesters gathered outside the city’s legislature after several hundred broke into the building and spray-painted pro-democracy slogans on the walls of the main chamber.

In a slow and deliberate operation, large numbers of officers began moving in after taking positions outside the legislature around midnight.

Protesters had swarmed into the building about 9…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Urban Christian News

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Church raises $30,000, cancels $4 million in medical debts: The power of perseverance

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Church raises $30,000, cancels $4 million in medical debts: The power of perseverance

Northview Church

Northview Church in Indiana asks itself regularly: What would happen if the church packed up and left the state? Would anybody notice? Would anybody care?

It turns out, people who owed $4 million in medical debt would.

The church, which operates seven campuses and averages about ten thousand people on a typical Sunday, conducts what it calls the Dollar Club four times a year. Each person in attendance is asked to contribute a dollar, which the church pools and uses to meet needs. The church typically raises between $6,000 and $10,000; the money goes to support foster families, help with medical bills, and so on.

In May, however, the church told members they had a special opportunity and asked them to donate $3 or $4.

A few weeks later, the church partnered with a charity called RIP Medical Debt, one of the organizations that buys such debt from hospitals, doctors, and even investors, usually for a penny per dollar. The church donated $30,000 to this charity. Since some medical debt in Indiana was cheaper than normal, the charity then leveraged Northview’s donation to alleviate $4 million in debt.

“Play after every storm”

The weekend news was dominated by President Trump’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, where he became the first sitting US president to step into North Korea. The stock market is expected to gain more than 250 points this morning after the US and China agreed not to impose more tariffs. “Pride” parades across the nation and NBA free agent announcements also made headlines.

In a culture headlined by politics, moral issues, and celebrity athletes, Northview Church asks a good question: If you and I “packed up and left” our community, would anyone notice or care?

The good news is that anyone can make a difference that matters. Consider Michael Atkins, who began his career in education by working as a school custodian…

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

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Vatican warns against attempts to limit secrecy of sacrament of confession

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Vatican warns against attempts to limit secrecy of sacrament of confession

The Holy See’s Apostolic Penitentiary, a tribunal dealing with absolution and confessional matters, reiterated the secrecy obligation for clergy in a six-page document approved by the pope and made public on Monday.

For years now, the Catholic church has been besieged by lawsuits and other civil actions and targeted by prosecutors, including in the United States, aimed at obtaining justice for children and other victims of sex abuse by clergy and systematic cover-up by many pastors and bishops.

 

Some have suggested that the secrecy of confession could be problematic in tackling the problem.

“Every political or legislative initiative aimed at ‘forcing’ the inviolability of the sacramental seal would constitute an unacceptable offence against the freedom of the church, which doesn’t receive its very legitimisation from any single country but from God,” the document said.

Such initiatives would also violate religious freedom, it asserted.

In a written comment on the document, Tribunal head Cardinal Mauro Piacenza cautioned against interpreting the statement as any slackening in Pope Francis’ recently reiterated resolve to combat clergy sex abuse and cover-ups by superiors.

“It’s opportune to make clear that the text of the statement cannot and doesn’t want to be in any way a justification or a form of tolerance of the abhorrent cases of abuse perpetrated by members…

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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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Open Heaven 2 July 2019 – At God’s Own Time

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Rhapsody of Realities 2 July 2019 — Your Speech Controls Your Life

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Joel and Victoria Osteen’s Devotional 1 July 2019 – All Things Are Possible

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Joyce Meyer Devotional 1 July 2019 — God Says, “You Can Trust Me”

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The post Joyce Meyer Devotional 1 July 2019 — God Says, “You Can Trust Me” appeared first on Flatimes.

“8 out of 10 Americans Support Restrictions on Abortion”: March for Life Ad Airs Before Democrat Primary Debates

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“8 out of 10 Americans Support Restrictions on Abortion”: March for Life Ad Airs Before Democrat Primary Debates


Before the first Democratic presidential primary debate on MSNBC Wednesday night, March for Life aired a commercial revealing that the party’s extreme positions on abortion are far from American’s consensus.


Relying on poll data from Marist Institute for Public Opinion on behalf of the pro-life Catholic fraternal organization Knights of Columbus, the minute-long commercial titled “Consensus” explains that 8 out of 10 Americans “support restrictions on abortion.” 


The diverse group of women featured in the ad blame politicians for listening to pro-abortion lobbyists and a vocal minority instead of Americans. According to the commercial, only 13% of people support unrestricted access to abortion. 


“These pro-choice politicians listen to them, not us,” the commercial said. 


The poll asked 1,000 people across the U.S. in February for their opinions on abortion. According to the Daily Caller, the poll found that not only do Americans oppose funding abortions in the U.S., but also abroad too, including 56% of Democrats. 


The women in the ad explained that 6 out of 10 Americans who claim to be pro-choice responded that “abortion should happen only during the first three months of pregnancy.” The ad continued to share that consensus across the country is that there should be “real legal limits” on…

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

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