You raise age-old questions about sacrificial giving. How do we know when we are doing enough? There don’t seem to be easy answers. COVID-19 has caused church leaders to change how we do a lot of things. I am optimistic that we Christians will carry our lessons learned and improve how we serve, give, worship, and see the world. In God’s eyes, there are no political boundaries, just human beings. The sound of the slogan “America first” sounds rather selfish and hollow right now.
Rick Milby’s cross took me back to King Hezekiah’s obliteration of the bronze serpent, which Israel had preserved and worshiped for 1,000 years. As with the nails and tree that once anchored Jesus at Golgotha, veneration of such earthly stuff is both childish and sinful!
We in the Christian community must accept some of the responsibility for the high levels of student loan debt encountered by our young people training for the ministry. We expect our missionaries and pastors to go to private Christian universities with tuition costs in excess of $30,000 a year and then are surprised when they are sitting in front of us with significant student debt. We should be willing to provide rigorous scholarships for those we feel are qualified. We as churches, mission agencies, and academic institutions have participated in the generational shift from scholarship-based educational financing for the academically qualified to a system of debt based on who can sign a loan application.
Data suggests that, when their attendance drops, these nominal Christians become hyper-individualistic, devoted to law and order, cynical about systems, and distrustful of others.
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Data suggests that, when their attendance drops, these nominal Christians become hyper-individualistic, devoted to law and order, cynical about systems, and distrustful of others.
An 18th-century earthquake and a 21st-century pandemic can teach us about enlightenment and judgment.
Pay attention to the sin of passivity, especially in church leaders dealing with abused women.
