Pastoral Development

THE BATTLE FOR GAINESVILLE HAS NOT BEEN WON, BUT IN JESUS’ NAME IT HAS BEGUN

  By: Frank G. Tunstall The pastors of fourteen congregations of different faith groups in Cooke County in Northern Texas joined together in Gainesville, Texas on May 2 to participate for the first time ever in the National Day of Prayer. Gainesville is the county seat and the home of Hope Connection IPHC, a Heartland […]

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EVANGELISM IS MORE PRAYER THAN ACTION FOR PROTESTANT CHURCHGOERS

www.christianitytoday.com/news/2019/april/evangelism-survey-protestant-churchgoers-prayer-invite.html By: Aaron Earles Most Protestant churchgoers say they are eager to talk to others about Jesus, and are praying for opportunities to share their faith. But most say they have not had any evangelistic conversations in the past six months. The 2019 Discipleship Pathway Assessment study from Nashville-based LifeWay Research found excitement and eagerness […]

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Pennsylvania Democrats: Allah is fine, Jesus is not.

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/todd-starnes-pennsylvania-democrats-allah-is-fine-jesus-is-not By: Todd Starnes William Penn (October 14, 1644 – July 30, 1718) established a colony where people of faith could practice whatever religion they desired. Pennsylvania became the only colony without a state-run church. Penn’s gift to America was freedom of religion, the right to practice one’s faith in the public marketplace. “All Persons […]

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SEXUAL ABUSE AND THE CLERGY

 www.snapnetwork.org/abuse of faith_feb19 Debbie Vasquez at 14 By:  SNAP  Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests February 19, 2019 SNAP is the largest, oldest and most active support group for women and men wounded by religious and institutional authorities (priests, ministers, bishops, deacons, nuns, coaches, teachers, and others). She was 14, she said, when she […]

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AFTER MAJOR INVESTIGATION, SOUTHERN BAPTISTS CONFRONT THE ABUSE CRISIS THEY KNEW WAS COMING

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2019/february/southern-baptist-abuse-investigation-houston-chronicle-sbc.html I have absolutely no desire to gloat over what our Southern Baptist friends are walking through; instead, I hurt with them. My goal with this blog is hopefully to warn us all, sharing what is now public information. I lived through a sexual abuse lawsuit in my tenure as a conference bishop when a Christian Day School […]

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YOUR PLAN B IS STILL GOD’S PLAN

christianitytoday.com/women/2019/january/church-planting-your-plan-b-is-still-gods-plan.html  By: Sandra Peoples In 2015, my husband and I moved from rural Pennsylvania and left a church we loved to do something risky—plant a new church in suburban Texas. Our vision for the church was to welcome people with disabilities. We see special-needs families as an unreached people group, since so many don’t attend […]

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THE MAGNIFICAT

By Frank Tunstall The Holy Spirit overshadowed the Virgin Mary in the miraculous and sinless conception of Baby Jesus, with God as His Father (Luke 1:35). The angel Gabriel shared with Mary that her baby would be the Son of God. When the angel Gabriel made the announcement to Mary, she sought more information, giving […]

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A CAROL FOR THE DESPAIRING

www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/december/longfellow-carol-for-despairing-i-heard-bells.html Penned during the Civil War, Longfellow’s ‘I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day’ is a carol for our age. By: KRISTEN O’NEAL The word apocalypse in the Greek means “uncovering,” and 2018 has been a year of uncoverings, of pulling back the curtain to reveal the worst things that people can do to one […]

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