Gospel.com Blog

This is a repost of a Gospel For Asia update on the situation in Orissa. Head over to their site find out ways in which to pray for them.

Click on the play button to hear a message from Gospel for Asia Founder and President K.P. Yohannan.

Increasing attacks on Gospel for Asia-related work in Orissa have resulted in the deaths of at least six local believers since radical mobs went on a rampage after the murder of a leading anti-Christian activist.

Saturday night, Swami Laxamanananda Saraswati, a top leader of the VHP (World Hindu Council), was killed in an attack by 20 men suspected of being Maoist rebels. The Maosts had earlier warned the swami to leave the area. The attack, which included gunfire and a hand grenade, also killed four other people.

GFA President K.P. Yohannan strongly condemned the gruesome killing of Swami Laxamanananda and demanded that those who were guilty should be punished.

Because the swami was a leading opponent of Christian work in India, his followers in the ultra-fundamentalist VHP have used his murder to incite hundreds of their followers to go on a rampage of death and destruction across several districts in India’s Orissa state.

According to the latest reports, at least six Christians who attended GFA-related churches have been killed.

The latest detailed reports list more than 15 GFA-related church buildings destroyed and at least 110 church members’ homes burned to the ground. Other Christian groups have also suffered, with many deaths reported and attacks on ministers and missionaries being widespread. There are even reports of Catholic nuns being gang raped and murdered by the extremists.

“We are also deeply shocked and anguished to hear of the atrocities and violence meted out to the innocent Christians and churches in Orissa as a backlash of the sorrowful event,” Dr. Yohannan said, “and we are praying for an immediate halt to the violence.”

Dozens of pastors and their families have been attacked by roving mobs, and many have fled with their congregations into the surrounding forests. Some children and their parents have been in hiding, without food or water, since the rioting began on Sunday.

One GFA Bible college is under police protection, while a GFA Bridge of Hope children’s center was closed when a mob threatened to attack. They threatened to kidnap one of the workers, so the staff and 120 children left the area. It is not known what has happened to the center property.

“What is most disturbing is that these attacks seem to be well organized and orchestrated,” Dr. Yohannan said. “We have reports that the VHP have actually held strategy meetings in order to plan and coordinate this campaign of violence against peaceful Christian families and churches.”

Pamphlets have been printed and widely distributed accusing the Christians of the swami’s murder, even though most authorities indicate it was most likely Maoist rebels who were responsible.

“We thank God that the government officials are protecting our Bible college campus and trying to protect our people,” K.P. added. “That is a true blessing.”

But as the violence has increased, many fear the government’s actions are not enough.

Reports note that the mobs are using firebombs to attack homes and churches, and there is little evidence of police or other government intervention.

There are more than 295 GFA-related churches in Orissa. GFA has dozens of missionaries in the state, and the people have been very receptive to the message of Christ’s love for them.

“But the fundamentalist groups have always opposed us,” noted one GFA worker, “and now there is great tension prevailing, and Christians are running away for their lives.”

“My heart goes out to the missionaries and believers,” Dr. Yohannan said. “We must pray with all earnestness for the suffering church in Orissa at this time.”

Those who wish to help meet the needs of the suffering believers in Orissa may give to GFA’s Persecution Relief Fund.

The Intersect Community provides training for church leaders. Recently, on their blog, Steve Argue wrote about the drinking age and how it relates to youth ministry in the United States.

Here’s an excerpt in which he writes about how the current drinking age has made a new way for people to transition between childhood and adulthood:

Historically, adolescences has shifted from a time of “transition” from child to adult, to a significant life stage that some experience well into one’s mid-twenties. There are many developmental and sociological reasons for this phenomenon.

It has been perpetuated, not the least, by youth ministry that has (on plus side) responded to the needs of this population but may also be (on the negative side) perpeduated a delayed entry into adulthood.

More broadly, it might be said that the road from childhood to adulthood has lost its way as adolescence is desired, worshiped, and longed to be preserved.

The lack of “signposts” toward adulthood have left gaps for other rites to be adapted. I wonder if the 21 year-old drinking age has become one of these rites. Maybe this rite has had to take on a flood of meaning that, on the surface, shows itself as binge drinking, but underneath calls for something more.

Hop on over to enter into the discussion on this topic.

Jonalyn Grace Fincher’s blog is consistently deep. She’s not one to write light and fluffy pieces about her day, but rather in-depth analysis of issues or extensive glimpses into her thought process.

She recently had some great insight into the often vitriolic debate about the roles of women in ministry and the household. Her thoughts jump off of two articles from Christianity Today last month titled Wounds of a Friend: Egalitarian and Wounds of a Friend: Complementarian:

While I do not believe Adam’s first sin was his silence (God never judges or rebukes him for this) I do believe men are guilty of silencing their God-given partner. Koessler warns complementarians from using Scripture to push a certain social construct and control over women, one of which is manifest in calling stay-at-home mother’s as those who are accepting “God’s highest calling.” As one woman friend tells him, “My children are grown and out of the house. So when I hear people say that a woman’s ‘highest calling’ is to be a wife and mother, I find myself wondering if there isn’t anything else for me to do for Christ.”

This is precisely what some complementarians have done to women, in their eagerness to uphold the excellent work of mothering, they’ve allowed all other valuable, excellent jobs, vocations, ministries to pale in comparison. This is not what Christ teaches, which Koessler points out in detail in his article. I mention this here because of a recent post and long, dedicated discussion many of you contributed to the topic of stay-at-home mothering.

…

In a follow-up article, Dr. Sarah Sumner warns egalitarians (those who believe women and men should serve in any capacity in which they are gifted be it elder, deacon, pastor, teacher) in her article “Wounds from a Friend: Egalitarian” that egalitarians need to be careful to use carefully exegeted passages to defend their belief in women’s public ministry, not political ideologies (and I’d add gut feelings like, “I feel very strongly that women should be permitted to preach.”) Egalitarians must be careful about taking Scripture out of context, not slapping just one definition of “head” on I Cor 11, to be wary of a marriage where there is no mutuality, but only independent individuals operating without the other’s input or love and to guard against a genderless church.

There’s more to the post on Jonalyn’s blog. And if you’re interested in more of her thoughts, check out her book, Ruby Slippers.

When was the last time you praised God in another language?

In high school and college I took a few Spanish classes, which means that I know just enough to know that there’s a whole lot I don’t know about the language. My brother’s family attends a bilingual congregation that sing in both Spanish and English. The few times I’ve worshiped there have shown me three things:

The only thing that’s worse than me speaking in Spanish is me speaking in Spanish.

It’s hard for me to praise God while fumbling with unfamiliar words and grammar.

For native Speakers, Spanish is the way to sing praises to God.

And just like for me it’s easier to praise God in my language, it’s probably true across the wrold. It’s because of our distinct cultures that ministries like Farsi Praise exist. It’s easy to forget about that little bit from the bible concerning every tongue, tribe and nation.

Farsi Praise’s is:

dedicated to train worship leaders around the globe, provide extensive worship resources, encourage an innovative worship culture and spread Christ’s love through praise and worship among Farsi-speaking Muslims and Christians worldwide.

It’s a lofty goal, but a necessary one. You can check out what they’re doing to connect to Farsi speaking people on their site, jump over to their artist page, or jump in and try some Farsi songs with the tag “Praise”.

Ever felt stressed? Like the whole world was asking you to do something for them? Like the very things that you call good in your life are the things that are most stifling?

Well, here’s an article I ran across from the Narramore Christian Foundation’s Psychology for Living site called, “Say No to Burnout” that you should read.

Here’s a few insights from it:

When I discovered that burning out was not God’s will for my life, one of my biggest problems was, “How do I say no?” I quickly learned that I could not wait for people to approve of my saying no. I couldn’t wait for their permission or for someone else to do the task in my place. I simply had to say no, whether or not anyone but God Himself understood.

And:

I have found that friends who are committed to burnout will, of course, urge me to burn out with them! They may even try to make me feel guilty if I don’t become involved in activities which in themselves are good, but which may add too great a burden to my already overextended schedule. In the process I’ve discovered that the advice of even godly friends is only as valid as their own perspective on burnout.

Gospel For Asia wrote in to tell us about an upcoming conference they’re putting on called Renewing Your Passion:

What could inspire hundreds of North American Christians to return to their homes and churches “on fire” for Jesus and ready to change the way they live their daily lives? What could motivate a young person to spend a year as an unpaid intern helping reach the lost of Asia with the Gospel?

It’s the Gospel for Asia Renewing Your Passion Conference. It is returning to Dallas, Texas, July 11-13, and you are invited to experience it! Join us at the Hilton Anatole Hotel for three days of worship, prayer, fellowship and gripping, firsthand testimonies from the field.

While you may not find it interesting, one of the realities of doing church in the United States is the need to have some sort of administrative staff. Sometimes it falls to the Pastor, but if you’re lucky there’s a designated person for the job. If you happen to be in one of these church administration positions you know that it’s not exactly a piece of cake keeping all the legal, tax and money stuff straight and accounted for. And the last time you want to be asking questions like, “Does that income fall under Unrelated Business Income Tax?” is not when the IRS is asking the same thing.

Church Law & Tax Report “exists to provide church leaders, staff members, and volunteer workers with extensive legal, tax, and risk management resources and training at an affordable price.” They offer extremely practical advice and articles on everything from tax status to church safety. It is a pay site, but the resources are extensive.

Check out a few sample articles:

Negligent Supervision Part 2

Preparing For The Unthinkable: Violence in the Church

The Unrelated Business Income Tax and Publishing

How should a church treasurer respond to a donor who demands a refund?

And here’s some more about the services they offer.

Absolutely they do!

But not just because they’re ‘good.’

The apostle Paul teaches us that we’re saved by grace through faith, which is good because everyone–yep, everyone–needs that grace. Your pastor? Needs grace. Billy Graham? Definitely needs grace. The Pope? Yep, even he needs grace.

No matter how ‘good’ we are, we’re still ‘bad’ so to speak. Think of it like an unexplored piece of land, the second someone sets foot on that land it ceases to be unexplored. It’s been fundamentally altered. The second we do something wrong, the second we sin, the second we step outside of the bounds of what God wants for us, we’re no longer good by God’s standards, which means we need God’s grace.

This article from Acts International explains even further:

God is also a God of absolute justice and therefore all sinners—no matter how small—must be judged, otherwise God wouldn’t be God. Because God IS God, the just judgment of all sin is death; that is, spiritual death which is actually eternal separation from a holy and just God in the place the Bible calls hell, whatever and wherever that may be.

…fortunately however, God is also a God of absolute love. That’s why he sent his Son Jesus to die in our place on the cross to pay the just penalty for all of our sins. If being good, religious, sincere, or being anything else could have qualified us for getting into God’s heaven, Jesus would never have had to come to earth to die for our sins.

Head over there and read the whole thing. And if you want to know more about how to receive the grace that God extends to us, click here.

Prayer is communicating with God. Simple, right? However, we all know it’s not that simple. The theology is oftentimes confusing, sometimes it feels like there’s no one on the other end and it can even feel boring.

Then why do we do it?

Because prayer is communicating with God.

So then, how should one pray? When should one pray? How does one know they’re reaching God? Does God care about the words or language I use?

Chances are we won’t be solving all of your conundrums about this mystical communion with God during this week, but to begin with we would like to point out a few resources that could start your prayer life or revitalize it:

For a basic introduction, check out Into Thy Word.

Delve Into Jesus has two articles, one on how God responds to prayer and another on Praying for Things I want.

This article called Learning to Talk is about developing good prayer habits. It comes from Bible Prayer Fellowship.

And lastly, if you’ve grown up in a protestant church chances are you haven’t heard too much about contemplative prayer. Here’s a series of articles that talk about Contemplative Prayer from Christian Answers for a New Age.

Join us through the end of the week as we explore prayer in the Christian life.

Has your church ever asked the question, “Are we being sensitive to the single people in our congregation?” If you haven’t, it’s time to examine why. Especially if your leadership consists of married people.

Navpress has a quick quiz you can take to see if your church is being friendly towards single people or not. Here’s a few sample questions:

Many sermon illustrations, examples, and applications apply to unmarried adults as well as couples (e.g., “Ask your spouse or roommate … “).
…
Your pastor has preached on the biblical view of singleness.
…
The proportion of single adults in your congregation is approximately the same as in your community (45 percent for the United States as a whole, higher in urban areas, lower in rural areas).

Up until this week I had no idea about that last statistic.

If your serious about reaching out to singles, jump over and take the quiz.