“Many of those leaving the pastorate feel they are moving at God’s direction to another role of ministry. However, it’s easy for those outside and those inside the church to fixate on those who leave because of conflict, burnout or moral failure. Speculation always overstates these cases, yet these are the outcomes churches can seek to prevent.” (Earls, Christianity Today)
Read More[Rachel] Accurso is a children’s YouTuber and host of a show called Songs for Littles. She’s both integral to the Netflix business plan and a lightning rod for the culture wars – one suspected by the pro-Israel group StopAntisemitism to be operating as a pro-Hamas foreign agent (a claim she vehemently denies). But watching a Ms Rachel video, you wouldn’t immediately pick that up. (Armstrong, The Telegraph)
Read More“The cultural context Hispanic pastors face is diversity in the cultural backgrounds that are part of each individual Hispanic country that is part of the church. This creates a communication problem within the church.” “To connect with the new generations, we must have an open mind to change, to leave aside culture and traditions without ever compromising the Word of God.” (Unknown, Lifeway Research)
Read MoreThe morning after a man hurled Molotov cocktails at a crowd of Jewish Americans in Boulder, Colo., Rabbi Noah Farkas celebrated the first day of Shavuot in the usual way: He read the Torah about the giving of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai. But Farkas, the president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, said what was supposed to be a holiday celebrating the establishment of law and order was marred by the weekend violence. (Jarvis & Solis, Los Angeles Times)
Read MoreMohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, planned the attack for more than a year and specifically targeted what he described as a “Zionist group,” authorities said in court papers charging him with a federal hate crime. The suspect’s first name also was spelled Mohammed in some court documents. “When he was interviewed about the attack, he said he wanted them all to die, he had no regrets and he would go back and do it again,” Acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell for the District of Colorado said during a press conference Monday. (Slevin & Tucker, AP News)
Read MoreIn Durham, North Carolina, just a few miles from major universities, teaching hospitals, and other temples of science, the Holy Spirit remains formidable. When I attended a gathering at Catch the Fire Church one Friday evening last year, a petite blond woman made her way down the aisle, laying her hand on heads and shoulders, calling on the Holy Spirit. Here and there, the woman, a Toronto-based evangelist named Carol Arnott, paused to point a finger down a row of worshippers and shout, “Fire on them, Lord!” Knees buckled; people collapsed back into their seats. (Worthen, The Atlantic)
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