I was reminded recently of the tenaciousness that Christian hope involves. This kind of hope—the hope that persists—is something we all need right now.
My husband, Bryan, and I have talked about fostering or adopting children in need since we first started dating. We built our lives together knowing that one day there would be children in our home. God was faithful to guide our hearts and teach us things about the foster and adoptive world before we were able to join it ourselves. Because of that, when invited to an informational meeting on fostering almost two years ago, the decision to open our home was easy.
“We do not have anyone to take her home from the hospital, and she has already been here four days. We need somewhere for her to go. Would you guys be open to a newborn?”
Passionate evangelism, intentional discipleship, and purposeful compassion top the list of important ministries of growing Christians. They all flow naturally from a Christ-centered life.
Jesus called His followers to passionate evangelism (sharing the good news about Christ) and intentional discipleship (assisting new believer growth in the Christian faith) when He said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19).
While the church in Lebanon responds to immediate and long-term needs in the aftermath of the massive explosion on August 4, the global church is supporting the response by raising awareness, praying for those in need, and donating to support the relief efforts. One unique way we can encourage specific churches responding in times of crisis is through the prayer page at the NCM website.
“Our boys basically lived in the pool all summer.”
Over the last two weeks, the team at Nazarene Compassionate Ministries has struggled to process yet another death of a black man in the United States at the hands of those who took an oath to protect and serve him. The murder of George Floyd reminded us again that, as much as we want to believe otherwise, we are not all treated or seen equally in the United States, and this is not a new reality.
When churches evaluate the needs of those around us, we often ask if we are making a difference. This is a question that has been asked many times at Winamac Church of the Nazarene (WNC), where I serve as pastor.
These days it seems like the world is made up of divisive opinions. Social media, once a place where pictures of dinners and dogs reigned, has now become a labyrinth of opposing (and confusing) views, statistics, memes, name-calling, and arguments.
Health experts may point out the negative effects of social media usage on our attention spans or mental well-being. But personally, it seems to me that the words and thoughts flung easily from keyboards have the power to be the most dangerous—especially when we forget we are talking to and about real people.