“Kansans defeated the Value Them Both Amendment by 59-41 percent Tuesday (Aug. 2) in the nation’s first statewide vote on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Roe v. Wade ruling.” - BPNews

Related: 3 reasons why conservative Kansas voted to uphold abortion rights - CPost

“‘Given that the (Family Research Council) is primarily an advocacy organization and not a church, we urge the IRS to swiftly review the tax-exempt status,’ reads a letter sent to the IRS and the Treasury secretary.” - RNS

“The arrogance of capacity… is ‘not paying attention to the actual limitations of what our souls and physical bodies can handle.’ We plow on through the hard things without pausing to rest and recharge in Jesus.” - Lifeway

“Alexander’s life was marked by achievement. But our main interest in this article is his classic work on homiletics, Thoughts on Preaching. … while the entire work is worth consideration, I found his tips for extemporaneous preaching especially beneficial.” - Ref21

“Though the Christian flag flew above Boston City Hall on Wednesday, the city has implemented measures to ensure that it will not happen again in the future.” - C.Leaders

Read the series. This and the previous installment use material from my article “The Eschatology of Covenant Theology,” originally published in the Journal of Dispensational Theology, 10:30 (Sep 2006).

The Eschatology of Covenant Theology (2)

The millennial options available to those who filter their Bible interpretation through the Covenant of Grace are, Amillennialism; Postmillennialism; and, what is sometimes referred to as Covenant (or Historic) Premillennialism. These options will now be reviewed below.

“In 2016, Lifeway Research revealed a study which indicated that the ignorance of American Christians has grown to the point that the majority could actually be considered heretics.” - Phil Cooke

“In the Northern Baptist Convention, battlelines were drawn and fought over three issues: the spread of higher criticism in seminaries, the growing hierarchy and bureaucracy of the Convention, and the relaxing of Baptist polity—particularly through the growing practice of ‘open membership.’” - 9 Marks

“A recent long-form essay in The Guardian signals just how urgent the problem has become for the most dominant theory in the history of the sciences. In it, author Stephen Buranyi, gives voice to a growing number of scientists who think it’s time for a ‘new theory of evolution.’” - Breakpoint

“The Justice Department contends that the Idaho law conflicts with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act of 1986. The law focuses on ‘public access to emergency services regardless of ability to pay.’” - CPost

“Already, 30 percent of Southern Baptists ‘seldom’ or ‘never’ attend church….The southern Bible Belt is quickly becoming a region of unchurched or lapsed Protestants who may still hang onto their evangelical identity to some extent but who don’t think going to church is necessary.” - CToday

“Two Southern Baptist pastors with recent leadership experience in addressing sexual abuse in the SBC will fill similar roles with the Abuse Response Implementation Task Force (ARITF).” - BPNews

“ ‘Digital Religion Among U.S. and Canadian Millennial Adults,’ recently published in the Review of Religious Research, explores the prevalence of some digital religion practices among 18- to 35-year-old millennials in the U.S. and Canada using data from the 2019 Millennial Trends Survey.” - CPost

“Pastors 65 and older (46%) and those with no college degree (52%) are more likely to say they haven’t known any church members with a severe mental illness.” - Lifeway

“We don’t want to be ashamed of the gospel. We want to bring our whole, true selves to work. But it seems that perceptions of Christians are so negative these days.” - TGC

“School claims attorney general is ‘interfering in the religious decisions of a Christian university.’” - CToday

Related: Washington state confirms probe into Seattle Pacific University’s LGBTQ hiring practices - RNS

“…they have been ‘scrubbed’ until ‘these characters tend not to believe anything or stand for anything,’ ….But it’s hard to avoid religion when creating mythologies that include creation, miracles, superpowers, healing, eternal life and clashes between good and evil.” - Terry Mattingly

“Most Americans say ‘when I am really confident in a belief, there is very little chance that belief is wrong’ (68% agree strongly + somewhat). Since 2015, there has been a 24-point jump in agreement (from 44%).” - Barna

“Love is a great ideal, until we have to work it out with other people, then we begin to wonder if love is worth all the grief. It’s time-consuming, expensive and, worst of all, it’s not all-about-me.” - C.Leaders

“Years ago, as a PhD theology student at a Protestant seminary, I was handed a list of required reading. Out of 128 books, only three of them (!) were by premodern authors (written from the first century to the 15th century).” - CToday

“I am compelled to sound a word of warning here. Be very wary when CNN seeks to define what is and what is not true Christianity. And when anyone claims that a form of Christianity is a threat to democracy, it is usually a pretext for marginalization and persecution.” - Kevin Schaal

Many people yearn to make sense of their lives and this world. Why do things happen the way they do? Is it part of a plan? Is there no plan? Using the analogy of a train plodding its way along, there are at least three ways people often think of this world and their place:

“Sider was known for his outspoken support of social justice and decades of activism.” - RNS

“Most debates that we observe on television consist of two people trying to outshout and demonize each other. This is because it is much easier to dismiss opposing arguments than it is to understand them.” - Eternal Perspective

“It’s a meticulous exegetical case for forensic justification on the basis of Christ’s obedience—imputed to us in union with him and received by faith alone. Even if (like me) you’re someone who doesn’t need to be convinced, you can still be sharpened by Owen’s thorough treatment of the relevant biblical texts” - TGC

Cutting through the rampant misinformation - National Review

“In recent years, many Christians have either abandoned or deprioritized the notion of truth, elevating personal experience over what God has revealed about Himself and His world. …Christians must not give up on the idea of truth nor downplay its importance, even in an attempt to gain a wider hearing. Christianity matters precisely because it is true. If it isn’t true, it doesn’t matter.” - Breakpoint

Read the series.

I began this series this past March, in which I set out to look back at how we have responded to the events of 2020.

I am not going to focus on the medical or political aspects of the pandemic or the shutdowns. Rather, I am concentrating on local church ministry—zeroing in on how this has affected their outreach, both locally and online. Certainly, coronavirus and all that surrounded it has left a lasting mark on numerous aspects of our ministries.

“Despite characterizing itself as a defense of traditional Southern Baptist theology, the resolution expresses sentiments which actually conflict with the SBC’s long-standing confessional position.” - London Lyceum

“Presuming to be God’s agent to achieve political righteousness through mass bloodshed is not a model for Christian public engagement….Fanaticism, certitude, sanctimony, self-righteousness and messianic impatience are never helpful companions to constructive politics or social reform, for Christians or anybody else.” - CPost