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What The Bible Says Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

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What The Bible Says Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

Dr. Christopher Bradford, Pastor First Baptist Church 301 N. Dallas St. Ennis tX. 75119 www.fbcennis.org.

Dr. Christopher Bradford, Pastor First Baptist Church 301 N. Dallas St. Ennis tX. 75119 www.fbcennis.org.

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Sermon Title : Conversion at Calvary Scripture : Mark 15: 24-28, Luke 23:39-46 Date : Sunday 22 May 2022 Teacher : Pastor ...

Today's category: PastorsThe Talking Frog

Investigation: SBC Executive Committee staff saw advocates' cries for help as a distraction from evangelism and a legal liability, stonewalling their reports and resisting calls for reform.Armed with a secret list of more than 700 abusive pastors, Southern Baptist leaders chose to protect the denomination from lawsuits rather than protect the people in their churches from further abuse.Survivors, advocates, and some Southern Baptists themselves spent more than 15 years calling for ways to keep sexual predators from moving quietly from one flock to another. The men who controlled the Executive Committee (EC)—which runs day-to-day operations of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)—knew the scope of the problem. But, working closely with their lawyers, they maligned the people who wanted to do something about abuse and repeatedly rejected pleas for help and reform.“Behind the curtain, the lawyers were advising to say nothing and do nothing, even when the callers were identifying predators still in SBC pulpits,” according to a massive third-party investigative report released Sunday.The investigation centers responsibility on members of the EC staff and their attorneys and says the hundreds of elected EC trustees were largely kept in the dark. EC general counsel Augie Boto and longtime attorney Jim Guenther advised the past three EC presidents—Ronnie Floyd, Frank Page, and Morris Chapman—that taking action on abuse would pose a risk to SBC liability and polity, leading the presidents to challenge proposed abuse reforms.As renewed calls for action emerged with the #ChurchToo and #SBCToo movements, Boto referred to advocacy for abuse survivors as “a satanic scheme to completely distract us from evangelism.”Survivors, in turn, described the soul-crushing effects of not only their abuse, but the stonewalling, insulting responses from leaders at the EC for 15-plus years. ...Continue reading...

They saw that their ability to truly be the church was at stake. “Therefore I conclude that we should not cause extra difficulty for those among the Gentiles who are turning to God.” (Acts 15:19, NET) It has never been more complicated to be a pastor than it is right now. At least that’s how it often seems. As racial tensions and culture clashes have dominated the headlines in our nation, too often those unwanted guests have decided to attend our churches as well. How do we navigate our ministries to the safe harbors of peace and unity while still fulfilling our prophetic call to proclaim the truth of the gospel that challenges our tendency to elevate our norms over others? And how can Scripture equip us to address today’s racial and ethnic tensions?In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke highlights one of the greatest threats the early church faced: ethnocentrism and cultural pride within the fellowship of believers. As the gospel spread beyond the initial band of Jesus’ Jewish followers across geographic and cultural boundaries, these impulses threatened to pull the adolescent church apart. Eventually the controversy led to the Jerusalem Council described in Acts 15.“The key question, then, in Acts 15 is not ‘Do these people have to do circumcision as a good work in order to get justified?’ ” N. T. Wright observes. “It’s ...‘Do you have to become ethnically Jewish in order to belong to the family of Abraham, the people of promise?’ ” The way early church leaders dealt with this question in the Jerusalem Council provides a powerful model for how we can respond to racial division in our churches and communities today.The situationAt his ascension, Jesus told his followers, “You will receive ...Continue reading...

During the pandemic, just a couple years after Bill Hybels's resignation, attendance at the Chicago-area megachurch fell by half. Willow Creek Community Church, one of the largest and most highly regarded congregations in the nation, will lay off 30 percent of its staff due to post-COVID-19 declines in attendance and giving.“Willow is about half of the size we were before COVID, which is right in line with churches across the country,” Dave Dummitt, Willow Creek Community Church senior pastor, told his congregation in a video announcing the cuts. “But as you can see, and as you can imagine, that has fiscal impactions.”Founded in the mid-1970s, Willow Creek grew from a start-up congregation meeting in a movie theater to one of the most influential Protestant congregations in the United States, drawing more than 25,000 worshippers weekly by 2017, according toOutreach Magazine.But the church has struggled in recent years after the resignation of co-founder Bill Hybels, who was accused of sexual harassment and abuse of power. The co-pastors who succeeded Hybels also resigned not long afterward, followed by the entire church elder board.Hybels has denied any wrongdoing. A 2019 investigation by a group of outside Christian leaders found the allegations against him credible.Before the layoffs, staff costs made up about 72 percent of the church budget, according to an update released by the church earlier this month. The layoffs will save $6.5 million, bringing staff costs closer to half of the current budget.“These changes are difficult on staff members whom we love who will no longer have a staff role—some of them have been with us for many years,” the church said in the update. “We are providing generous financial care for each of these individuals, ranging between three months and ...Continue reading...

The chief concert technician for Steinway & Sons gave Bibles to the world's greatest pianists and told them about Jesus.Franz Mohr, former chief concert technician at Steinway & Sons in New York, has died at 94.He was, in his own assessment, “just a piano tuner who loves the Lord.”But Mohr’s expertise and backstage support was valued by the world’s most famous concert pianists, including Van Cliburn, Vladimir Horowitz, Artur Rubinstein, Glenn Gould, Rudolf Serkin, and Emil Gilels. They relied on his deep musical knowledge and technical skill.He traveled around the world with them, protecting and servicing their concert-grade grand pianos, each of which was built by 200 Steinway & Sons artisans and cost more than $200,000. Mohr prepared the pianos with tuning, voicing, and adjustments for optimal performance to the artist’s particular liking. Between concerts, he could be found in Steinway Hall’s basement in Manhattan, doing regular, meticulous maintenance.His true passion, however, was unashamedly proclaiming the love and hope of Christ to this niche community.“He was like a magnet drawing them in,” said Tom Carpino, Franz’s pastor at The Bridge (Nazarene) Church, in Malverne, New York, “and bringing the Bible’s message to whomever he could.”Franz was a member of The Bridge for more than 40 years and served as for many years as an elder. He also regularly spoke to Christian groups and worked with Crescendo International, a Cru ministry.“With my little tuning hammer I have shared the Lord in unbelievable places,” he said.He died at home on March 28 from complications related to COVID-19.Mohr was born in Nörvenich, Germany, on September 17, 1927. He was the second of three sons in a musical family in which Mendelssohn, Mozart, and Beethoven were ...Continue reading...