Read it all.

The Latest Edition of the #Anglican Diocese of South Carolina Enewsletter https://t.co/nPK8Lq6dwY #parishministry #anglican #religion #southcarolina #communications pic.twitter.com/akya2tigla

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) July 14, 2021

The Very Revd Charles “Chip” Edgar will be consecrated as the next Bishop of The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina in a special service at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul in Charleston on Saturday, March 12, 2022.

The service will begin at 10 a.m. with a processional of the Bishop Elect, members of the College of Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America, retired Bishops and clergy of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, the Diocese of the Carolinas and the Reformed Episcopal Church.

The consecration will be led by the Most Revd Foley Beach, Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America.

The Revd Dr. Jamey Graham, Pastor of Saint John Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina, will be the preacher. Pastor Graham and Bishop Elect Edgar began meeting together and developed a close friendship following the racial unrest in Baltimore in 2015. They have preached in one another’s pulpits and deepened the relationships between their families and congregations in the years since.

Read it all.

Today, Wednesday, January 12, 2022, the College of Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America in consented to the election of the Very Rev. Chip Edgar as bishop for the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina. More to come. pic.twitter.com/GDv1TfMoqD

— Anglican Diocese of SC (@anglican_sc) January 12, 2022

Do you have any final thoughts on the state of the Church? State of the diocese?

I would say that if we prevail, if the parishes prevail in this lawsuit, I think there will be an explosiveness of energy that we’re capable of experiencing. I think it can unleash a great season of missional and ministry ventures that has been put on hold. And along with that, we’ve been on hold because of COVID so most people don’t know where they will be on the far side of that.

If you had one book, not the Bible, you think every person, laity and clergy read, what would it be?

One book? I’m not sure I think in those terms. But if I could only have three books for the rest of my life in addition to the Bible, I’d say a good Introduction to the Old Testament, an Introduction to the New Testament and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. I would hope everyone could read The Confessions of St. Augustine before they die, but I’m not going to say that I want everyone to read that.

What’s the hardest thing about being the bishop?
For me, the hardest thing about being a bishop is not being rooted in a congregation.

You see, there are different styles of teaching and preaching. The kind of teaching I like best is expository teaching through the Bible or a book of the Bible, teaching a sequential class in a congregation on theology, basic Christian theology, or teaching a class on the history of the Church in England or history of the Anglican Church.

Read it all.

As our diocese transitions towards a new season of leadership, it’s a good time to glean some final reflections and advice from Bishop Lawrence. What wisdom would he want to share with us? Read https://t.co/G6e7dovN4I to find out! #BishopLawrence #WordsOfWisdom #ADOSC pic.twitter.com/Hs3aFx4Vfv

— Anglican Diocese of SC (@anglican_sc) February 23, 2022

Listen to it all or there is more there if you so desire.

“Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand.” -Mark 6:44 “Feeding the Multitudes” by Bernardo Strozzi (1600) #CatholicTwitter #MAP_OF_THE_SOUL_7 #X1_new_beginning # pic.twitter.com/f1DcqsC1KT

— Lady of Good Counsel (@ofgoodcounsel) January 7, 2020

The Dean of Canterbury, who became a viral sensation with his cat during lockdown, will retire on his 75th birthday.

Robert Willis has been in the role since July 2001 and will step down from the role of Dean on the 16th May.

Dean Robert’s daily online Morning Prayer videos, from Canterbury Cathedral, were well known to viewers during the pandemic.

Even more well known was his cat Leo, who was caught on camera wandering into view before disappearing beneath his robes.

Read it all.

The Dean of Canterbury, The Very Revd Dr Robert Willis, has announced that he will cease to be Dean at midnight on 16 May 2022, the eve of his 75th birthday https://t.co/jynj5xEoS1 pic.twitter.com/jlptQPdyaQ

— Canterbury Cathedral (@CburyCathedral) February 16, 2022

For a while now, Barna has been reporting on the credibility crisis America’s pastors are facing. Overall, U.S. adults are unsure whether pastors in their local community can be trusted, are in touch with their community’s needs and are reliable sources of wisdom and leadership.

Amid lukewarm feelings about their credibility, pastors may wonder how they can regain the trust of their communities in the current climate. Below, we’ll share data from The Resilient Pastor—a newly released book from pastor, author and Barna senior fellow Dr. Glenn Packiam—to explore current perspectives on the credibility of America’s pastors as well as insights from Packiam on pastoral trustworthiness and reliability.

Just Half of Americans See Pastors as a Trustworthy Source of Wisdom
Recent Barna data collected amid the pandemic show that just 57 percent of all U.S. adults agree at least somewhat that a pastor is a trustworthy source of wisdom. Christians, naturally, are far more likely to agree (31% definitely, 40% somewhat), while non-Christians tend to disagree (18% not really, 29% definitely not).

Still, many Americans—including one in five Christians—admit feeling unsure whether pastors are trustworthy (24% all adults, 21% Christians, 31% non-Christians)….

Read it all.

57% of all U.S. adults agree at least somewhat that a pastor is a trustworthy source of wisdom. Christians, naturally, are far more likely to agree (31% definitely, 40% somewhat), while non-Christians tend to disagree (18% not really, 29% definitely not). https://t.co/B3ySSAQsqW

— Eugene Scott (@Eugene_Scott) February 16, 2022

The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina gathered in Florence, SC, the evening of February 4, 2022, to celebrate the ministry of, and express their deep and abiding affection for both the Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, who has served as their Bishop for the last 14 years and his wife, Allison.

Bishop Lawrence will officially step down from his role in March following the consecration of the Very Rev. Chip Edgar.

The evening began with a reception at St. John’s Church, Florence, which preceded the program at The Florence Performing Arts Center.

The Rev. Shay Gaillard, Rector of The Parish Church of St. Helena, Beaufort, and President of the Diocesan Standing Committee, and his wife, Tara, served as the emcees.

Read it all.

One Word Clergy Describe Bishop Lawrence from The Anglican Diocese of SC on Vimeo.

Listen to it all or there is more there if you so desire.

Old Man in Prayer #rembrandt #baroque pic.twitter.com/qa2U7KS2u9

— Rembrandt (@artistrembrandt) February 2, 2022

The model and justification of most holidays taken by clergy is Jesus’s custom of going to a deserted place to pray. “He did it: you should too.” From the earliest centuries, Christianity had its contemplative side; these stories are its foundation.

Before that, though, there’s the account of the flight of the Prophet Elijah from the vengeance of Jezebel in the 19th chapter of the first book of Kings. This is the model of clergy burnout. An angel gives him a hot cake baked on a stone, and lets him sleep. Then, when he wakes, he is offered another cake, and sleeps again. Only after that does he go up to the mountain of God where the Lord speaks to him, not in the sound of gale or earthquake, but in sheer silence, the echoing silence when the wind and the earthquake have passed. In that silence, God tells Elijah that there will be a new king, and also that there will be a new prophet, because more people have been faithful than Elijah is willing to credit.

That’s a favourite story of mine, as is the one told by the reclusive 19th-century Hasidic sage Menachem Mendel Morgensztern of Kotzk, better known as the Kotzker Rebbe. It concerns the sacred goat whose horns reached up to the heavens. As he walked through the world, the goat heard a poor old man crying. “Why do you weep?” asked the goat. “Because I have lost my snuffbox.” “Cut a bit from one of my horns,” said the goat, “Take what you need to make a new one.” You can guess what happened next. There are more poor folk in the world who have lost their snuff boxes than you can count.

Read it all.

After Christmas, the things I’d been holding together in the parish had all come loose, writes @AliceGoodman17 https://t.co/dnUpfie724

— Prospect Magazine (@prospect_uk) January 30, 2022

Listen to it all or there is more there if you so desire.

Art:
The Beatitudes Sermon
By
James Tissot
Brooklyn Museum, 1890#ReligiousArt pic.twitter.com/V66n7WT9YF

— Kalina Boulter (@KalinaBoulter) September 9, 2020

The Bishop’s Search Committee is very pleased to announce three final candidates for consideration for the next Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh. In alphabetical order, they are:

• The Rev. Alex Cameron (President and CEO of the Isaiah Forty Foundation; Diocese of the Upper Midwest)
• The Rev. Peter Frank (Rector, Church of the Epiphany, Chantilly, VA; Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic)
• The Rev. Dr. Joel Scandrett (Assistant Professor of Theology, Trinity School for Ministry; Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh)

Read it all.

The Tablet understands that the issue has been raised directly with the Pope in recent months, who in turn asked for the question to be considered by Vatican officials. While there is no sign that Apostolicae Curae will be overturned, for several decades Rome has been moving away from the language used by Leo XIII and towards a recognition of the fruits of Anglican ministry. It is already a very different approach to the one found in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s 1998 document, Professio Fidei, which claimed the teaching on Anglican orders was one of the “truths connected to revelation” and was to be held definitively.

The shift draws on the teaching of Vatican II, which recognised the “significant elements” that build up the Church outside of the “visible boundaries” of the Catholic Church, and on the many agreed statements on doctrine that have emerged from the formal dialogues between Anglican and Catholic theologians since the council.

“This issue causes hurt, and the Anglicans are diffident about raising it,” one Church source told The Tablet. “It’s a wound in the relations between the Churches and it would be great if a small step could be taken to healing the wound particularly as Pope Francis in practice recognises Anglican bishops through his joint initiatives with the Archbishop of Canterbury.”

Read it all.

As Churches pray for Christian unity, a re-appraisal of the Catholic position on Anglican orders is once again on the agenda. I understand it has been raised directly with Pope Francis. #25January #ChristianUnity https://t.co/gEZCVACNeR

— Christopher Lamb (@ctrlamb) January 25, 2022

I also came to see that liberalism’s superficial optimism concerning human nature caused it to overlook the fact that reason is darkened by sin. The more I thought about human nature the more I saw how our tragic inclination for sin causes us to use our minds to rationalize our actions. Liberalism failed to see that reason by itself is little more than an instrument to justify man’s defensive ways of thinking. Reason, devoid of the purifying power of faith, can never free itself from distortions and rationalizations.

In spite of the fact that I had to reject some aspects of liberalism, I never came to an all-out acceptance of neo-orthodoxy. While I saw neo-orthodoxy as a helpful corrective for a liberalism that had become all too sentimental, I never felt that it provided an adequate answer to the basic questions. If liberalism was too optimistic concerning human nature, neo-orthodoxy was too pessimistic. Not only on the question of man but also on other vital issues, neo-orthodoxy went too far in its revolt. In its attempt to preserve the transcendence of God, which had been neglected by liberalism’s overstress of his immanence, neo-orthodoxy went to the extreme of stressing a God who was hidden, unknown and “wholly other.” In its revolt against liberalism’s overemphasis on the power of reason, neo-orthodoxy fell into a mood of antirationalism and semifundamentalism, stressing a narrow, uncritical biblicism. This approach, I felt, was inadequate both for the church and for personal life.

So although liberalism left me unsatisfied on the question of the nature of man, I found no refuge in neo-orthodoxy. I am now convinced that the truth about man is found neither in liberalism nor in neo-orthodoxy. Each represents a partial truth. A large segment of Protestant liberalism defined man only in terms of his essential nature, his capacity for good. Neo-orthodoxy tended to define man only in terms of his existential nature, his capacity for evil. An adequate understanding of man is found neither in the thesis of liberalism nor in the antithesis of neo-orthodoxy, but in a synthesis which reconciles the truths of both.

Read it all.

Because maybe someone really needed to see this photo of my father riding a bike today.#MLK #MLKDay pic.twitter.com/ygeEfGJtGN

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) January 16, 2022

As Abernathy tells it—and I believe he is right—he and King were first of all Christians, then Southerners, and then blacks living under an oppressive segregationist regime. King of course came from the black bourgeoisie of Atlanta in which his father, “Daddy King,” had succeeded in establishing himself as a king. Abernathy came from much more modest circumstances, but he was proud of his heritage and, as he writes, wanted nothing more than that whites would address his father as Mr. Abernathy. He and Martin loved the South, and envisioned its coming into its own once the sin of segregation had been expunged.

“Years later,” Abernathy writes that, “after the civil rights movement had peaked and I had taken over [after Martin’s death] as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference,” he met with Governor George Wallace. “Governor Wallace, by then restricted to a wheel chair after having been paralyzed by a would-be assassin’s bullet, shook hands with me and welcomed me to the State of Alabama. I smiled, realizing that he had forgotten all about Montgomery and Birmingham, and particularly Selma. ‘This is not my first visit,’ I said. ‘I was born in Alabama—in Marengo County.’ ‘Good,’ said Governor Wallace, ‘then welcome back.’ I really believe he meant it. In his later years he had become one of the greatest friends the blacks had ever had in Montgomery. Where once he had stood in the doorway and barred federal marshals from entering, he now made certain that our people were first in line for jobs, new schools, and other benefits of state government.” Abernathy concludes, “It was a time for reconciliations.”

Read it all (my emphasis).

As Americans honour the memory of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., the Bishops of the United States call on all people of goodwill to carry on his work for equality and justice in American society.https://t.co/Zaicns2gM7

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) January 17, 2022

We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, “Wait.” But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?”; when you take a cross county drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading “white” and “colored”; when your first name becomes “nigger,” your middle name becomes “boy” (however old you are) and your last name becomes “John,” and your wife and mother are never given the respected title “Mrs.”; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness”–then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.

There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience. You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court’s decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. One may well ask: “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.”

Read it all.

Every year on #MLK birthday, I read Letter From a Birmingham Jail. Instead of memes, actually read the man's magistral work. It's free. It will deeply change you.https://t.co/eJcQgizRaw pic.twitter.com/R3zIcMfl40

— Dr. Derwin L. Gray (@DerwinLGray) January 17, 2022

‘“It’s ‘You can’t destroy my spirit,’” Cone told the magazine. ”‘I have a forgiving spirit because that’s what God created me to be.’”

Thompson’s message doesn’t let Whites off the hook. White people must repent, he said. Though today’s White Americans haven’t participated in slavery, they reap the benefits, which are seen in today’s social and economic inequities, Thompson said.

Thompson, who was the speaker for this year’s MLK ecumenical service at Greater St. Luke AME on Jan. 16, sees a connection between his message and King’s philosophy of nonviolence. In his sermon “The Meaning of Forgiveness,” King preached that he saw forgiveness as the solution to the nation’s “race problem.” King saw forgiveness as a “weapon of social redemption.”

Similar to King, Thompson feels that forgiveness can bring about racial healing.

“Martin Luther King Jr. once said: ‘We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love,’” Thompson said at the service.’

Read it all.

The Rev. Anthony Thompson has reached thousands with his message of forgiveness and his belief in its power to lead toward racial healing.

The message is, in part, influenced by King. But it largely stems from Thompson's personal experience.https://t.co/lAepCHWpZm

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) January 17, 2022

You can find the full text here.

I find it always is really worth the time to listen to and read and ponder it all on this day especially–KSH.

Almighty God, who by the hand of Moses thy servant didst lead thy people out of slavery, and didst make them free at last: Grant that thy Church, following the example of thy prophet Martin Luther King, may resist oppression in the name of thy love, and may strive to secure for all thy children the blessed liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

“Love at its best is justice concretized. Love is unconditional. It is not conditional upon one’s staying in his place or watering down his demands in order to be considered respectable.”

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

from ‘Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?’ pic.twitter.com/6rLC7THBk2

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) January 17, 2022

Pastors face unique difficulties inherent in their career, but what are their greatest needs? Pastors themselves say they’re most concerned about seeing their churchgoers grow spiritually and making connections with those outside of their churches.

After speaking directly with pastors to gather their perspectives on their ministry and personal challenges, Lifeway Research surveyed 1,000 US pastors for the 2022 Greatest Needs of Pastors study to discover what they see as their most pressing issues.

“The pre-existing challenges of ministry were amplified by COVID, and it’s important we lean in and listen closely to pastors,” said Ben Mandrell, president of Lifeway Christian Resources. “This project has shed light on critical needs they have and will point the way forward in how we partner with them to fuel their ministries and improve their health in multiple areas.”

Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, said his team began the study by speaking with more than 200 pastors, asking them to think beyond the current pandemic-related struggles and share some of the enduring needs of pastors and their churches today.

Read it all.

New from @LifewayResearch: “The number and breadth of needs pastors are currently facing is staggering.”https://t.co/hHnTtJil1F

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) January 13, 2022

Listen to it all or there is more there if you so desire.

En ce dimanche, fête du Baptême du Christ dans le
Jourdain

Et belle Téophanie aux Orthodoxes.

Ici, fresque de Pietro della Francesca (fin XVe s.) pic.twitter.com/a2IUu84gvT

— AcierEtTranchées (@AcierEt) January 9, 2022

The same thing happens to Father Kendall Harmon every year during the 12 days after the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

It happens with newcomers at his home parish, Christ-St. Paul’s in Yonges Island, South Carolina, near Charleston. It often happens when, as Canon Theologian, he visits other parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina.

“I greet people and say ‘Merry Christmas!’ all the way through the 12 days” of the season, he said, laughing. “They look at me like I’m a Martian or I’m someone who is lost. … So many people just don’t know there’s more Christmas after Christmas Day.”

Read it all.

Bright bonfires to mark end of the 12 days of Christmas season https://t.co/R65BgXK4gr #epiphany #christmas #parishministry pic.twitter.com/zDxsWREYZv

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) January 7, 2022

Listen to it all or there is more there if you so desire.

Night nativity. Starring ox & ass. Baby J rather small and quite hard to find. But follow the light! By Hans Baldung Grien, whose day was today. pic.twitter.com/iIHfdJcQKl

— Dr. Peter Paul Rubens (@PP_Rubens) September 23, 2020

What can I say to you this Christmas morning, but turn to him? Let his light shine on you. Ask to have your vision expanded, that you may see the world as he sees it, for his vision for his world is the world’s greatest hope for the human race to live in peace and love one another and – if you will excuse the political jargon – build back better.

We are all exhausted by the horrors and privations of Covid. Our world cries out.

I do hope you will have a happy Christmas. And I hope you are able to get together with those you love today, even – as it will be the case with some of my family – it’s on yet another zoom conference. Most of all I hope and pray that in your hearts and imaginations, and even now in this holy Eucharist, you will come to the stable at Bethlehem.

You will come – surprised like the shepherds; doggedly faithful like Joseph; defiantly rejoicing like Mary; amazed like the Magi, and have your life re-directed. Changed, because in this great light you will not just see things differently, you will see them as they truly are, as they are meant to be, at last having the focus of your life shifted, enabling you to see the clear, pure beauty of Christ.

God of God. Light of light. Begotten, not created. O come, let us adore him.

Read it all.

When he's good he's excellent.
Matthias Stom, Adoration of the Shepherds. The fluidity of his brushwork, and such a wonderful colorist. (Radishchev State Art Museum in Saratov.)
MERRY CHRISTMAS! 🎄✨🌟 pic.twitter.com/iNo3csvXKH

— Rembrandt's R👀m 🖌 (@RembrandtsRoom) December 25, 2021

Twas much,
that man was
made like God before,
But that God should
be like man
much more

–John Donne (1572-1631)

El Greco, The Nativity (1603-05) pic.twitter.com/ZqvrVaAeMP

— Jane Tim (@JaneTim8) December 25, 2021

Although Joanne doesn’t blame the mental health team, she believes Robert could have been saved with early help. “I think he’d have been all right – he’d have still been here.”

More than a year on, Joanne is still haunted by death. Each word brings back painful memories, but she wants to share how she is feeling. “I can see the flashbacks. I can see him every day in my head – when I get up, when I go to sleep.”

She says one day everything just became too much for her. “I rang Pastor Mick and he told me to come down. He’s been great.”

Church on the Street has been Joanne’s salvation. She says it’s a place where she and her family feel safe – and she’s not the only one. Hundreds of others come here each week looking for hope.

Read it all.

"This place is breathing new life, it's helping people. The people who don't make it through the door die"

The former drug dealer offering a lifeline to those in need https://t.co/Mv5TLbI0OI

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) December 17, 2021

Listen to it all or there is more there if you so desire.

Today's pick: Rogier van der Weyden: John the Baptist https://t.co/T2J2vnlzAk pic.twitter.com/9lPjzGIAUd

— Art and the Bible (@artbible) December 6, 2021

How does New York City set the culture for the rest of the country and the world? In the ’90s I heard New Yorkers discussing and expressing their views on gender and sexuality in ways that are now, many years later, mainstream on a national level. The city is a pacesetter for the culture, whether we like it or not. Some might think therefore that Christians should stay away from cities, but when you look at Scripture, you can’t deny that Jesus went from city to city in his ministry, or that Paul was willing to argue with the cultural intelligentsia in city centers such as Athens and Ephesus. In fact, I went back to Acts 17 over and over while I was in NYC to learn how to interact faithfully with center-city people.

How can Christians influence New York City for good? I started wondering, “What if there could be a movement of the gospel in one of the most religiously hostile and influential cities in America?” That was a goal. And it has been partially realized. A great number of people who became Christians here are now serving as salt and light in all sorts of places you’d never expect to find Christians.

At the time were there other contemporary pastors who preached about loving and investing in the city? Well, we have to start by pointing out that this question is something of a white-centric question. Or at least it’s the kind of question an upper-middle-class professional would ask. Because black, brown, and Asian churches never left the city. When white evangelicalism grew so much from 1965-1995, it was shaped by this “white flight” mentality and so had a very anti-urban bias to it.

However, during my five years teaching practical theology at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia alongside Harvie Conn and Manny Ortiz, I was exposed to a host of thoughtful, dynamic, and theologically informed African American, Hispanic, and Asian pastors and their ministries. They had thriving ministries at a time when U.S. inner cities were in terrible shape. But there they were. When Kathy and I announced we were moving to New York City, a number of people told us we were sinning against our children by taking them to the city, that they would lose their faith—and maybe their lives. (The opposite was true.) But the white evangelical view of the big cities as complete “spiritual wastelands” was wrong. So yes, in the 1980s, there were not many white and middle-class pastors talking about loving and investing in the city.

Read it all.

When I asked @MarvinOlasky if he can connect me w @timkellernyc for a Q&A, he said that's as easy as connecting me w Putin.

Well, in the midst of chemo & crazy schedule, Tim Keller sent me a 16-page response to my questions.

Here's part I of our Q&A:https://t.co/TaLs18p035

— Sophia Lee 소현 (@SophiaLeeHyun) December 9, 2021

Listen to it all and there is more there.

'Ezra in prayer', Book of Ezra 9:6. Engraving by Gustave Doré pic.twitter.com/xjovJG5igr

— Y💖Philippians2:10-11📖Romans12:2✨#Anti-idolatry🔥 (@doorzienigheid) December 30, 2020

The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) has published material intended to initiate conversations about “issues of culture, power and abuse” within its constituency.

The materials, published on Wednesday, are “designed to help Evangelical churches review, repent and reshape their cultures on the back of the recent Thirtyone:eight independent reviews into two prominent Evangelical churches and their leaders”, a press release says.

The reviews to which it refers are those of Emmanuel Proprietary Chapel, Ridgway, in Wimbledon and the Revd Jonathan Fletcher (News, 26 March), and the Crowded House, a non-denominational Evangelical church in Sheffield, at which “some instances of emotional and/or psychological abuse took place as a result of persistent coercive and controlling behaviour”.

The resources include an introductory film and a “liturgy of lament” for churches to use. There is also a booklet, Church Cultures Review Questions, which contains more than 100 questions for churches.

Read it all.

The resources include an introductory film and a “liturgy of lament” for churches to use. There is also a booklet, Church Cultures Review Questions, which contains more than 100 questions for churches.https://t.co/geCD1RMfdj

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) December 2, 2021