The Sad, Necessary Division of the United Methodist Church
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“[I]f the agreement is approved, it will represent—in essence—the final fracturing of the traditional American church from two primary streams of Christianity (Catholic and Protestant) to three—Catholic, Mainline, and Evangelical. The secular media will cast the divide primarily in the terms it understands—as focused on ‘LGBT issues’—but that’s incomplete.” - David French
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Five social media trends churches should know about in 2020
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“2. People are moving from public spaces to private spaces….These days, private social media spaces are starting to get a lot more attention. Features like Facebook Groups, Instagram direct messages, and apps like Snapchat all continue to grow in popularity.” - BP News
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Malcolm Yarnell Thread on Autonomy and Discipline
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“Does Local Church Autonomy keep the Southern Baptist Convention from dealing with its sexual abuse crisis or even from realizing the extent of that crisis?” - SBC Voices
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Will expository preaching survive?
I remember Rick Warren asserting that Jesus preached topical sermons. If learning what I have learned about midrash, I disagree with Warren.
But whether Jesus (or the writer to the Hebrews, for example) was doing exposition or not, it seems as though expository preaching is not longer considered a sign of a good church — at least not in the popular evangelical mind.
Will it survive at all? Will it survive as a secondary form of preaching?
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Ministry Ideas that Work: Bible Memory Based Camp Scholarships
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“About 20 years ago David Rowley, a church member who had been helping in the youth group, came to our youth pastor with a proposal. He promised to personally pay for camp for any young person who memorized the book of James. The memorization had to happen according to his very specific set of rules.
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What will happen to the Church of England and Anglicans in 2020?
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“So here, rather than any firm predictions, are simply some questions – questions that may shape how 2020 unfolds in relation to the Church of England, and, to a certain extent, the wider Anglican Communion.” - Christian Today
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Pope says, if you try to convert an unbeliever, you are “not a disciple of Jesus”
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“In their recent ecumenical zeal, Catholics have finally accepted Protestants as Christians, though as ‘separated brethren.’ But does the Pope believe that evangelicals and Pentecostals who try to win others to their faith ‘are not disciples of Jesus’?” - Gene Veith
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Arkansas Baptist State Convention failed to report abuse allegations against pastor, lawsuit claims
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“The civil lawsuit filed Dec. 16 accuses Arkansas Baptist State Convention Executive Director Sonny Tucker of failing to report suspected child sexual abuse to authorities after he was contacted by the ex-wife of Millcreek Baptist Church pastor Teddy Leon Hill about concerns that Hill might’ve been abusing minors.” - Christian Post
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