“Balance matters, because if you only deal with what’s in front of you, you’re not necessarily a leader – you’re a manager. However, if you get so distracted by your big ideas that you take your eye off what’s in front of you – you’re not a leader, you’re a failure.” - Phil Cooke

Read Part 3.

Wakeup call

We need to wake up to the reality of what’s going on in our country! About seven years ago (2001) Johnny Farese, a quadriplegic brother who forwards prayer letters to churches, sent an email that begins with these frightening words:

“Most people active in a church really do think their church is friendly. These members have relationships and interactions that give them that perceived reality. But when we interview guests of the same churches, we hear a different story.” - Rainer

“At its core, secularism is an approach to governance, writes Jacques Berlinerblau… one many religious people, not just atheists and agnostics, support.” - RNS

“It’s true that evangelical Christians and churches need to get back to the riches of the earliest Christian theology. Gavin Ortlund makes an eloquent case for this in his book Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals: Why We Need Our Past to Have a Future” - TGC

“Public satisfaction with national conditions remains low. Just 21% say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the country, while 78% are dissatisfied.” - Pew

“Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas Surgical Health Services, an affiliate of the largest abortion provider in the country, filed a motion to dismiss its lawsuit against the city of Lubbock, Texas, the most populous sanctuary city for the unborn in the U.S.” - CPost

“…natural theology today is not so much refuted as it is ignored. But those who ignore it should be aware of the fact that nature does not go away just because a human culture chooses to pretend it is not there.” - Credo

“The idea that some alcohol improved some health outcomes was widely accepted for quite some time….Lately, though, scientists and researchers are beginning to doubt. So am I, for two reasons.” - W.Post

“On the surface Genesis 1 and 2 appear to contain discrepancies. This is called antinomy and occurs elsewhere in the Bible…. however, careful thought uncovers the solution.” - DBTS Blog

“Paul’s exhortation to Timothy to devote himself to the public reading of Scripture in 1 Timothy 4:13 sets a precedent for the church today. Unfortunately, many churches struggle to incorporate this element into the weekly worship service.” - Andrew Lucius

“If something goes wrong in the workplace, and no one is asked to own the problem, should I speak up and claim fault or should I just fix the problem and move on? What if someone else made the mistake—am I obligated to ‘rat them out’?” - TGC

“The Republican governor first billed the proposal at a conservative Christian conference in Iowa last year as ‘putting prayer back in schools,’ but a House committee rejected the idea after education groups argued that voluntary prayer is already allowed in schools and the proposed law would have saddled teachers with an unclear mandate.” - C.Leaders

Read Part 1 and Part 2.

Let’s consider some biblical teachings that have a bearing upon this issue:

We pray the Lord’s Prayer (the Matthew version with the long ending) on a monthly basis. We tried doing that weekly, but it seemed less meaningful. What about your church?

Poll Results

Does your church pray the Lord’s prayer during services?

We pray the Lord’s prayer weekly. Votes: 2
We pray the Lord’s prayer regularly, but not weekly. Votes: 2
We pray the Lord’s prayer occasionally. Votes: 2
We never or rarely pray the Lord’s prayer, but view it as a model only. Votes: 16
Other Votes: 0

“Several of the 21 members of Congress who appeared on stage together at the rally spoke about their hope that the tide was turning in the effort to end legal abortion in the United States. A number of pro-life senators appeared on video to add their support to the event.” - BPNews

“I accuse Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson of bearing false witness against the state of Israel, and by extension, against Jews. Because his statement contains echoes of classic antisemitism.” - RNS

More context: Top Presbyterian Executive Calls on US Jews to End ‘Enslavement’ of Palestinians

“While defending Fairness for All, Carlson-Thies emphasized that it does not involve holding that LGBT inclination or behavior is righteous, but is only a way for a deeply divided nation to live together peacefully.” - Juicy Ecumenism

“Their entire way of life changed because of their following Jesus not merely as a great teacher, but as the Lord of all. That’s the essence of discipleship—submitting fully to the authority of Christ, the One whose lordship goes beyond just the classroom.” - RC Sproul

“Myths related to Jewish conspiracies to control the world have long circulated in the US and continue to fuel hatred.” - RNS

“Baptists of past generations were famous, not only for the frequency with which they excluded members, but for the variety of offenses that were considered worthy of exclusion. One of those reasons receiving renewed attention is non-attendance.” - 9 Marks

“So, this is it. This is how I’m going to die,” I thought as I kneeled over the toilet in my underwear, waves of pain slamming my stomach. For the sixth time in two weeks I was experiencing unbearable pain, caused by the lemon-size tumor in my small bowel. What I didn’t know was that it had almost completely blocked my intestine and that I would be in the hospital within the hour. It would be my first of four stays in the hospital, culminating two months later in emergency surgery to fix a perforated bowel.

“The poll, conducted on behalf of the pro-life organization Students for Life of America from Jan. 5–11, asked 834 young adults between the ages of 18 and 34 for their views on abortion and the United States Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion nationwide.” - CPost

But see also Christianity Today: “Between 2016 and 2020, younger white evangelicals started to shift away from pro-life positions while older ones solidified their stances.”

Al Mohler: “What becomes very clear here is that this ordinance … is directly intended to shut down biblical counseling” - BPNews

“Curry dedicated a significant portion of the press conference to highlighting the religious persecution perpetrated by the Chinese Communist Party” - CPost

“People in the vortex of craziness—whether in a workplace, a church, or a government—often tell themselves they have to play along with things they find insane to maintain their long-term ability to keep bad things from happening.” - Russell Moore

“God doesn’t necessarily flaunt Himself in the big, grand events of the day, but He is working, and dare we say hiding, in the mundane and ordinary aspects of our lives.” - Skylar Spradlin

“Red flags can come in many shapes and sizes. As I have worked with numerous Pastor Search Committees throughout the past decade…. If you have ever served on a Pastor Search Committee, you probably have some stories to share as well.” - Jason Lowe

This past summer I began a series of articles in which I am drawing on lessons learned from playing eight years of football in two Christian schools. I am specifically applying that experience to the Christian life and, particularly, ministry.

With the end of the football season approaching, I’d like to conclude that series and make a few more specific applications.

I want to emphasize again that I do not mean to give the wrong impression with this series. I am not attempting to make myself out to be the hero. To paraphrase one of my coaches at Maranatha Baptist Bible College—football did much more for me than I did for football.

“…. the Senate adopted the first two parts of the House version but dropped ‘nor shall the rights of conscience be infringed.’ After that, a direct protection of the individual right of conscience never reappeared in the language of the final religion clauses.” - TGC