Letters to God

 

Letters to God: have a look, and visualize the dynamics of your prayers when sent to the correct address by a proper means.

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Coming Soon: Son of God

       You may remember  Roma Downey from the TV series “Touched by an Angel”; now Downey and company have brought the Son of God back to the big-screen. It starts Friday, 28 February 2013. See the Son of God trailer: Son of God


 

For the Good of the Church

Staff Writer:

Many church members desire to fill every available seat during a worship service.

 The more people on the inside, the more people not on the outside. Right?

Maybe not. If you are inviting the lost, the hungry, the poor, the non-Christians, and the

Christians without a church home, you are to be commended for the efforts

you make in the Lord.

 Some invite Christian friends,  who are already attending another church.

 If your invitation conflicts with the friend’s commitment to another church,

it may not be a good idea to expose your friend  to the pressures of your invitation.

You don’t want to be the cause of your friend being unfaithful to a work they had

begun; just to enjoy the company of that friend while you are attending your local church

to worship God.

One wise Christian, encountered a friend and considered inviting the friend.

The wise Christian first asked the friend: are you attending a local church? The friend

answered: sometimes, why? The wise Christian said: I was just checking; enjoy your

worship in the Lord.

How do you handle this type of circumstance?

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Pope Francis officially de-emphasizes papal titles

Repost:

Joshua J. McElwee | May. 23, 2013

Pope Francis has possibly de-emphasized a number of the formal titles normally taken by the leader of the Roman Catholic church, choosing instead to list himself first by the basic title “Bishop of Rome” in the Vatican’s annual directory.

The directory, known as the Annuario Pontificio​, lists the Vatican’s official information regarding church leaders and dioceses throughout the world. Release of the 2013 edition was delayed following Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation in February and Francis’ election in March.

As is traditional for the reference book, information about Francis, who leads the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, is listed towards the front of the material.

In a departure from previous editions however, the information about the pope is split into two distinct sections, according to Italian media reports, including one at veteran Italian journalist Sandro Magister’s site at the Italian newsmagazine l’Espresso.

In the first section, the new pope is described simply as “Francis / Bishop of Rome.” In the 2012 edition, Pope Benedict had also been described that way, but had listed under his title as bishop several other titles normally taken by the pope, including:

 

“Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and metropolitan of the Roman province, Sovereign of Vatican City-State, Servant of the Servants of God.”

 

In the 2013 edition, Francis is also described by those titles, but on the back of the page that describes him as “Bishop of Rome,” perhaps giving a signal of which of the titles he finds more relevant.

While popes have over the centuries developed numerous titles, they also function as a diocesan bishop of Rome, where the apostle Peter is traditionally claimed to be the first bishop of the some 2,000 year old church.

Pope Francis has on several occasions emphasized his role as a bishop, rarely referring to himself as pope or pontiff — even on the night of his election telling crowds in St. Peter’s Square it was “the task of the conclave was to give Rome a bishop.”

The 2013 edition of the Annuario Pontificio is also the first since the directory’s beginning in the year 1716 to feature a description of a retired pope, Benedict XVI, who is titled as “supreme pontiff emeritus.”

In another change from the 2012 copy, the signature under Francis’ official portrait is given in Italian and not Latin. While Benedict previously signed his name in Latin as “Benedictus” (and not the Italian “Benedetto”), Francis has signed his in the Italian “Francesco” (and not the Latin “Franciscus”). Additionally, Benedict’s signature appeared with the initials PP following his name, standing for “pope,” while Francis’ does not.

[Joshua J. McElwee is an NCR staff writer. Follow him on Twitter: @joshjmac.]

Insight for Our Times: It’s in Your Bible

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator–who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them (Rom 1:21-32 NIV).

Firestorm in Pakistan

Reposted:

Firestorm in Pakistan

 

March 14, 2013

Christian Aid Mission has sent emergency assistance to help displaced families whose homes and businesses were torched by an angry Muslim mob in Lahore, Pakistan, March 9.

Hundreds of Christians were left homeless in the wake of that Saturday´s fiery riots. A local church-planting ministry assisted by Christian Aid began hand-delivering food packages and water to victims the day after the attack. Christian Aid sent funds to the ministry last Tuesday, but much more is needed to assist men, women, and children who have lost everything.

On March 9, some 3,000 Muslims went on a rampage through Joseph Colony, setting fire to every Christian home and business in the community. More than 100 homes, over a dozen stores, and two churches were destroyed in the carnage. No injuries or deaths were reported.

The riots stemmed from an argument earlier in the week between two friends, one Christian, the other Muslim, and from allegations that the Christian made derogatory comments about the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

The Christian was arrested and charged with blasphemy, a crime that carries a death sentence in Pakistan. As word spread of the incident, enraged Muslims turned their fury on Joseph Colony, a nominal Christian enclave where the accused man and his family live. Most of the residents had already fled by the time rioters began systematically moving through the neighborhood, burning every building that belonged to a Christian and leaving Muslim homes untouched.

Our South Asia director has been in almost daily communication with the local Pakistani ministry. The leader emailed photographs of the destruction and sent out an urgent message Tuesday saying,“The Christian community here is in dire need of prayer.”

In the appeal he wrote,“Christians were threatened to leave their houses; otherwise they would be burned alive. They were frightened and left, only to stand by and watch as their homes were looted and burned by the unscrupulous elements. The local police stood by and watched silently. The whole locality became a heap of rubble. It was turned to ashes within a few hours, while the local police watched. Over 120 families have become homeless and are sitting in the open sky.”

Christians are killed every day for the sake of the gospel in Pakistan, India, and other countries in South Asia. In this case, however, the eruption of violence did not result from Christians who were proselytizing or gathering for worship.

Speculation persists that the large-scale attack was driven more by political and economic gain than for religious motivations. Authorities are investigating whether extremist Muslim businessmen in the area used the blasphemy charge as an opportunity to instigate violence against the entire Christian neighborhood so their land could be seized and turned into commercial development.

Christians across Pakistan followed with their own angry protest and called for the government to provide equal protection for all of its citizens.

A similar incident with more tragic results took place in Pakistan in 2009 in the village of Gojra. A rumor was broadcast that pages from the Koran had been torn out and stepped on by Christians as part of a wedding ceremony in the community. Radical Muslims responded by setting fire to the Christian section of Gojra, killing eight people and destroying over 70 homes. The Pakistani government later said the rumor was unfounded and pledged to help rebuild the houses.

“It is hard for those of us who live in the Western world to understand what it means to be persecuted because you bear the name of Christ,” said our South Asia director.“We have the freedom to exercise our faith. But for most of our brothers and sisters in the world, it is not so.”

Christian Aid worked with an area ministry after the Gojra incident to provide trunks and suitcases for affected families so they could store salvaged belongings.

We also responded to the 7.6-magnitude earthquake in October 2005 that killed nearly 75,000 people. Christian Aid supplied funds to a ministry partner for the rebuilding of 300 small houses in the mountainous Kashmir region.

As rebuilding efforts begin in Joseph Colony, Christian Aid may have the opportunity to assist these families through the ministry we are helping in Lahore. Food and water are the most immediate needs, however. A week´s worth of emergency supplies costs approximately $100 for a typical Pakistani family.

Prayer requests:

  • For Christians in Joseph Colony to be encouraged by the prayers and support of their brothers and sisters around the world
  • That the Christians will not retaliate and that they will use this opportunity to show Christ´s love to their enemies
  • For the authorities in Pakistan to repeal the blasphemy laws that are often used as a means of revenge to resolve interpersonal disputes

Use the form below to contribute online to help indigenous missionaries in Pakistan. Or call us at 434-977-5650 to contribute by phone. If you prefer to mail your gift, please mail to Christian Aid, P.O. Box 9037, Charlottesville, VA 22906. Please use Gift Code: 470DIS.

Thank you!

Contribute to help victims of violence in Pakistan

Experiencing New Horizons in Nepal

Reposted:

A long-time supporter of Christian Aid Mission traveled to Nepal in February to visit a church and three children´s homes we sponsor in the country. She returned to the United States eager to share her experiences and the joy of seeing lives transformed by the love of Jesus Christ:

 

While serving as a U.S. diplomat in the Arabian Gulf for ten years, I saw more and more Nepalese come to the region looking for work. I developed a love for these mild, gentle, hardworking people from one of the world´s poorest countries. I became aware that, despite centuries of their country being closed to the gospel, their hearts are open to receive the Good News of the Savior.

In 2010, I retired from foreign service after working in U.S. embassies in 13 countries for over three decades. I have been a supporter of Christian Aid Mission for many years, and now that I have some time, I approached the ministry about an opportunity to see some of the indigenous projects they have helped.

Although I live in Colorado, I had to make one last trip to Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates. From there, it was only a four-hour direct flight to Katmandu in Nepal. Christian Aid arranged for me to meet up with a local worker who plays a key ministry role in Nepal. I spent 12 days in the country in February, meeting with seven different Nepalese groups to see their projects first-hand.

One of the places my guide took me was a village where the pastor has faithfully served the people for more than two decades. When “Pastor Paul” first purchased land to start a farm and a ministry, there were no believers in that community. Today, the church he established is thriving with 200 members!

The guest house where the author (pictured) stayed during her visit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pastor Paul told us his conversion came as the result of physical healing of his son 22 years ago and his own healing of a painful infection. As in many churches in Nepal, physical healing and the work of the Holy Spirit are the keys to bringing folks to Christ from the mixture of Buddhism and Hindu beliefs that control so many aspects of their lives. (I discovered that the birthplace of Buddha was at Lumbini in southern Nepal.)

Since Pastor Paul built the church, more than a dozen families have come to live nearby. This rice-growing community is about 11 km off the main road that runs from the capital of Katmandu to the lake resort of Pokhara. Many of the believers walk a day to get to Saturday services, and the church has planted several congregations within three days´ walk of the village. During the last decade of army conflict with Maoists, the village remained a peace zone, developing the respect of both sides with its neutrality and community spirit.

The valley is beautiful, with snow-covered mountains in the background and various shades of green from rice fields. The land supports three rice crops a year, two potato crops and numerous vegetables. Pastor Paul has a water buffalo and hens and he raises many vegetable crops. He and his wife Tsering support themselves almost entirely by farming, with a small stipend from the church.

A fertile valley of rice fields as seen from Pastor Paul´s church

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tsering works constantly but is always smiling as she cooks, washes, and does farm work. During the meals we shared with Tsering and Pastor Paul, others were often present, testifying to the importance of hospitality in this close-knit village.

The growing community of Christians quickly outgrew the modest mud and brick structure that served as the first church. That building is now used for children´s Sunday school, for housing families in need of temporary shelter, and as a bathroom facility.

Several years ago with the help of Christian Aid donors, the church added a second floor onto its new building in order to have a place to conduct training for its daughter and sister congregations and a third floor to house students attending the training sessions. Members contributed carpets (congregants sit on the floor) and furnishings, and teens contributed musical instruments.

On the Saturday (Nepal´s day off) when I attended, the sanctuary was filled with about 150 adults, and the Sunday school building had about 80 children as well. The church yard was a beehive of activity, with women cooking lunch for families that had traveled great distances. After the service, people ranging in age from 7 to 70 ate rice, cauliflower, and potatoes before walking back to their villages several hours away.

At about 8 a.m., worship music wafted toward the guest house where I stayed. We ate a hasty breakfast of fried potatoes, cauliflower, and delicious sweet rice cereal and then joined the congregation in their enthusiastic praise. My local worker host preached the sermon and I shared my testimony.

During offering time, as is this congregation´s custom, tithes were announced. One enterprising woman had sold cauliflower and gave one-tenth of her profits to the church. Several other women sold pickled vegetables at the market and donated one-tenth of their income. Other gifts such as rice were also given, accompanied by enthusiastic applause all around for these blessings. In addition, after the “formal” service, folks gathered in front for healing prayer. Workers I met during my Nepal stay attributed the fast growth of the church in part to the physical healing that regularly takes place.

In addition to planting churches in distant villages and supporting its members in every aspect of their lives, this congregation has a vision for children. Two elders were burdened especially for children living in the Himalayan Mountains area to the north. These children live in isolated villages with no schools and little opportunity to get out of grinding poverty and shamanistic Buddhism. They started a hostel where 13 children currently live and attend the local government school, with Christian house parents supervising the home. 

Sunday school classes for children are held in the original mud and brick church building

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the children I met was a girl named Chan. She lived in a rural northern village and wanted to go to school, but her parents would not let her. Her job was to help take care of the home. Determined to study, at age nine she went on a hunger strike. To break her will, her father cut her hair and broke her plastic bangles to punish her. But Chan persisted in her determination to go to school. In desperation her father brought her to Katmandu to become a Buddhist nun, but the monastery said she was too young. “Bring her back when she is 15,” they told her father. Despairing over his strong-willed daughter, he heard of the children´s hostel and left her there.

Chan didn´t understand the Nepalese language spoken by the other children in school and was quite discouraged. Fortunately an older boy mentored her, a fellow who is now studying to be a health assistant. He told her, “You must study or you´ll be left behind. Nothing will come easily.” She applied herself and this year got a prize from the Prime Minister for placing first in national exams. Chan hopes to travel, see the world, and return to share Christ in her village.

“I want to thank Christian Aid for supporting my chance to study. Because of you I have come to know the Lord. Please pray for our families,” she told me.

The hostel operates on a shoe string budget. It is one of three church-sponsored homes I visited that ministers to mountain children from the Himalayan Mountains area. The purpose of these homes goes beyond providing a way for children to receive an education. They also serve as a vehicle to establish ties with families in these remote areas and to introduce the Gospel to villages with no Christian witness.

Throughout my journey, I was amazed by the spirit of the believers I met. Nepalese monthly incomes average less than $100, barely enough to feed a family. And yet the brothers and sisters I met, coming from traditionally undereducated and underprivileged groups, have a burden for those who don´t know the Savior yet. I pray that the current window of opportunity in Nepal for their outreach will remain open, and that their creative efforts will yield even greater results in a country filled with darkness and superstition.

Prayer Requests:

  • For protection for Pastor Paul and his church congregation as they reach out to remote communities and plant new fellowships
  • For children from northern mountain villages in Nepal to enjoy better educational opportunities and be witnesses for Christ in their families
  • For an agricultural management expert to train the children´s home owners in crop production, livestock care, and land use

Use the form below to contribute online to to help indigenous missionaries in Nepal. Or call us at 434-977-5650 to contribute by phone. If you prefer to mail your gift, please mail to Christian Aid, P.O. Box 9037, Charlottesville, VA 22906. Please use Gift Code: 702WMN. Thank you!

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St. Augustine’s “City of God and Christian Doctrine”

The City of God e-book was recently added to the Daegu English Churches Library. The work covers the following topics:

  • BOOK I. Augustine censures the pagans, who attributed the calamities of the world, and especially the sack of Rome by the Goths, to the Christian religion and its prohibitions of the worship of the gods.
  • BOOK II. A review of the calamities suffered by the Romans before the time of Christ, showing that their gods had plunged them into corruption and vice.
  • BOOK III. The external calamities of Rome.
  • BOOK IV. That empire was given to Rome not by the gods, but by the One True God.
  • BOOK V. Of fate, freewill, and God’s prescience, and of the source of the virtues of the ancient Romans.
  • BOOK VI. Of Varro’s threefold division of theology, and of the inability of the gods to contribute anything to the happiness of the future life.
  • BOOK VII. Of the “select gods” of the civil theology, and that eternal life is not obtained by worshipping them.
  • BOOK VIII. Some account of the Socratic and Platonic philosophy, and a refutation of the doctrine of Apuleius that the demons should be worshipped as mediators between gods and men.
  • BOOK IX. Of those who allege a distinction among demons, some being good and others evil.
  • BOOK X. Porphyry’s doctrine of redemption.
  • BOOK XI. Augustine passes to the second part of the work, in which the origin, progress, and destinies of the earthly and heavenly cities are discussed.–Speculations regarding the creation of the world.
  • BOOK XII. Of the creation of angels and men, and of the origin of evil.
  • BOOK XIII. That death is penal, and had its origin in Adam’s sin

 

The City of God[1], was written by Aurelius Augustine in the early 5th century. He was bishop of Hippo Regius, a Latin philosopher and theologian from Africa Province of the Roman Empire. In a.d. 410, a pivotal moment in Western history, the Vandals, under the command of their king, Alaric, captured the city of Rome. Rome was known as the Eternal City because the Romans thought that it would literally never fall, and the year 410 shook this belief to its foundations and ultimately led to the collapse of the Roman Empire. The world itself seemed to have been destroyed, and everyone sought answers about what to do and what to believe in. Those who adhered to the waning pagan faith were quick to blame the Christians, claiming that the gods had abandoned Rome because many Romans had forsaken them and taken the new faith. These Romans claimed that Christians were not patriotic enough because they asked people to serve God rather than the state, and they advocated forgiveness toward enemies. More important, they said the Christian God had failed to protect Rome, as he should have done, since Constantine had declared him to be the one true God. The angry wrangling between the two communities prompted Augustine to begin writing The City of God in 413.

 

The first ten books of The City of God, which make up the first part of the work, refute the pagans’ charges that Christians brought about the fall of Rome. The first five books deal with the pagan belief that people must worship the old gods to achieve material advantages in this world, including the continuation of the Roman Empire and the supremacy of the city of Rome. In book I, Augustine attacks the pagans, who claimed that Rome fell because the Christian religion had weakened it, and he stresses that misfortune happens to everyone. In book II, he demonstrates that the fall of Rome is not a unique event in human history. The Romans suffered calamities before, even when the old gods were being actively worshipped, and those gods did nothing to prevent those calamities from happening. He suggests Romans became weak because of these gods, since they gave themselves up to moral and spiritual corruption. In book III, Augustine continues discussing catastrophes that occurred in pagan times to further prove that Christianity did not cause Rome to fall. To drive home his point, he asks again why the old gods did not defend Rome in the past.

In book IV, Augustine suggests an alternative view. Rome endured for many centuries because it was the will of the true God, and its survival had nothing to do with pagan gods such as Jove, who behaved only in the lowest manner. In book V Augustine addresses the pagan notion of fate, which many people saw as a viable force that had held the Roman Empire together. Rather, says Augustine, the Romans of ancient times were virtuous, and God rewarded that virtue, even though they did not worship him. When he reaches book VI, Augustine shifts focus and devotes the next five books to refuting those who said people must worship the old gods to gain eternal life. Augustine uses pagan authors to destroy this notion by saying that the gods were never held in high regard and so all the old ways, old myths, and old laws are useless in ensuring eternal happiness. This piecemeal destruction of pagan theology continues through book X.

 

Book XI begins the second part of The City of God, where Augustine describes the doctrine of the two cities, one earthly and one heavenly. In the next three books he details how these two cities came about, based on his reading of the Bible. The next four books explain the prehistory of the city of heaven, from Genesis to the age of Solomon, whose story is allegorized as Christ and the church. In book XVIII, Augustine undertakes a similar process of portraying the prehistory of the city of the world, from Abraham to the Old Testament prophets. Augustine focuses on how the two cities will end in book XIX, and in the process he outlines the nature of the supreme good. He emphasizes the idea that the peace and happiness found in the heavenly city can also be experienced here on earth. Book XX deals with the Last Judgment and the evidence found for it in the Bible. Augustine continues with this theme in book XXI and describes the eternal punishment of the damned, arguing that it is not a myth. The final book, book XXII, tells of the end of the city of God, after which the saved will be given eternal happiness and will become immortal

 

Analysis

Augustine created a theology of the self in The Confessions, and in The City of God he initiates a theology of history. He uncovers a wide-ranging explanation of history that begins with creation itself, moves through the turmoil and upheaval of man-made states (the City of the World), and continues to the realization of the kingdom of God (the City of God). In effect, The City of God is a completion of the project he began in The Confessions, where he traced the progress of the self toward completion in God. Likewise, human society finds completion in the realm of God. Along with a theology of history, Augustine seeks to put together a Christian philosophy of society. In other words, he gives the various areas of philosophical inquiry, such as ethics and politics, a unity in the universality of divine revelation. History completes itself in divine law. The philosophers of the past, such as Plato, had all said that a person does not owe full and absolute loyalty to any earthly society, and Augustine rigorously critiques this concept in the light of Christian doctrine. He states that the Scriptures alone can instruct human beings about the highest good and the highest evil and that without this guidance, human endeavor has no purpose.

 

Augustine presents the four essential elements of his philosophy in The City of God: the church, the state, the City of Heaven, and the City of the World. The church is divinely established and leads humankind to eternal goodness, which is God. The state adheres to the virtues of politics and of the mind, formulating a political community. Both of these societies are visible and seek to do good. Mirroring these are two invisible societies: the City of Heaven, for those predestined for salvation, and the City of the World, for those given eternal damnation. This grand design allows Augustine to elaborate his theory of justice, which he says issues from the proper and just sharing of those things necessary for life, just as God freely distributes air, water, and light. Humankind must therefore pursue the City of Heaven to maintain a proper sense of order, which in turn leads to true peace.

In effect, The City of God is a challenge to human society to choose which city it wishes to be a part of, and Augustine sees his task as clearly marking out the parameters of each choice. Augustine concludes that the purpose of history is to show the unfolding of God’s plan, which involves fostering the City of Heaven and filling it with worthy citizens. For this purpose, God initiated all of creation itself. In such a grand plan, the fall of Rome is insignificant[2].

 



[1]Volume 1, 1872 edition

[2] SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Saint Augustine (A.D. 354–430).” SparkNotes LLC. 2005. http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/augustine/ (accessed January 11, 2013).

 

Pastor booted from Christian TV station after homosexuality remarks

by Patrick B. Craine (Reposted)

BURLINGTON, Ontario, February 2, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A major Christian television station in Canada has permanently canceled the show Word TV, hosted by prominent evangelical minister Charles McVety, after an industry watchdog announced in December their judgment that the show discriminated against homosexuals.

Viewers tuning in to Crossroads Television System (CTS TV) for the show Sunday night found instead a notice of cancellation. The Christian broadcaster had taken McVety’s show off the air temporarily in December after the Canadian Broadcasting Standards Council (CBSC) decision, but reinstated it a week later with the episodes pre-screened.

McVety alleged in a press release this week that CTS has “bowed to the censors” at the CBSC. “The council threatened the television station,” he told Postmedia News. “So, in order to protect their own interests, the station censored heavily, then just got rid of us, altogether.”

The pastor, who was unavailable for comment, said that before canceling the show the station had rejected three episodes “for frivolous reasons.” “I don’t know how they want me to talk,” he said. “I thought I lived in a free democratic country and that political censorship was reserved for totalitarian regimes.”

But CTS, known for such popular Christian programs as 100 Huntley Street and The Michael Coren Show, dismissed the charge in a Monday statement. “The fact is that Word TV failed to keep its agreement to comply with the CTS Code of Ethics and indicated a refusal to comply in the future,” it read. “Unfortunately, numerous attempts by CTS to work with Dr. McVety were unsuccessful.”

Asked how McVety’s show violated their code of ethics, CTS spokeswoman Carolyn Innis told LifeSiteNews that it was “a private matter between broadcaster and show producer.”

Pressed further about whether their code of ethics allows for controversial Christian opinion on homosexuality, Innis said the station “does not dictate content,” but does have “guidelines surrounding how the content is presented.”

“Dialogue on these issues is important, and CTS will certainly broadcast content that is considered contentious, but it must be presented within a fair, factual, and balanced framework,” she explained.

The CBSC panel had rebuked McVety for claiming that the homosexual movement is driven by a “conspiratorial” agenda, suggesting homosexuals prey on children, and labeling the annual Pride events “sex parades.”

They said McVety was “utterly wrong” to claim that Ontario’s failed sex ed curriculum, which was pulled last April after an outcry from parents, was meant to “teach” homosexuality. Instead, they said, “the proposed curricular revisions are intended to teach tolerance.”

They also objected to his statement on the show that homosexual activists seek to indoctrinate children “because unfortunately they have an insatiable appetite for sex, especially with young people.”

McVety called the decision a “gross breach of democracy,” insisting that he had not been included in the panel’s investigation and was refused an opportunity to appeal.

Tending Sheep or Trampling the Flock?

 

Posted by Daniel in Christian Ministry Articles (Reposted):

For most people in this world’s workforce, moving up and moving on is the big dream. It’s all about the next promotion, the big break, the upward advancement, and the management position. There is nothing necessarily wrong with trying to advance one’s career or seek improvement in one’s situation. The problem, however, is when this same type of thinking infiltrates the calling of the Christian leader.

Again, there is not anything inherently evil in the desire to become established in one’s career or to move on to a better paying position. Nor is it wrong for pastors to desire larger congregations, increased giving, or a bigger building. Sometimes, however, the line between legitimate growth and selfish advancement becomes blurred.

It often looks like this. A seminary graduate quickly lands a position in a small church. He is the assistant pastor. In his thinking, this is only a temporary position. As soon as he can, he’s off to a bigger congregation, a better pay, and increased responsibility. Obviously, as any pastor matures, he should take on greater responsibility, but the ministry of a pastor ought not to be viewed as a stepping stone to celebrity status or [mega church] mogul.

Discontent with their supposedly small-minded and backward congregations, some pastors are surreptitiously sending out resumes, dropping hints, phoning up friends, and keeping one eye open for their lucky break to a big-time church. Usually, youth pastor positions or assistant pastorates are seen as mere stepping-stones to bigger and better things….whatever those may be. An elite congregation. A higher salary. A bigger parsonage. A chance at a TV broadcast ministry opportunity. Invitations to fight in The Elephant Room.

Such attitudes can drain the life right out of a ministry. Instead of feeding his sheep, the pastor is abusing his flock as a step on the ladder of personal aggrandizement. People are dealt with in a sterile, empty, and political way in order to push forward the leader’s personal agenda of moving onward and forward in his self-status. Instead of ministering to others, the pastor is serving himself.

Again, the desire to expand one’s ministry is entirely appropriate, even healthy. The problem comes when such an attitude gets mixed up with politics, selfishness, pride, self-promotion, and arrogance.

If a pastor senses the beginnings of this kind of attitude, it’s time to take an honest look at how the Bible describes pastors. “Pay careful attention to the flock,” says Paul to a group of pastors (Acts 20:28). Paul’s pastoral practice is the model for these younger elders, and he tells them, “I did not cease, night and day, to admonish every one with tears” (Acts 20:31). This is not the kind of ministry of someone who’s looking for the next lucky break. This was a man devoted to God’s mission, pouring himself out physically, emotionally, and spiritually for the good of others. Peter, the leader of the prestigious Jerusalem Church, didn’t shrink back from laying down a solemn warning to any pastors tempted to selfishly advance their careers: “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you…as God would have you; not for shameful gain” (1 Peter 5:2).

If your ministry motivation is prompted by “shameful gain,” it’s time to rethink your role. Here are three areas of legitimate growth and advancement upon which you can (and should) focus:

  • Pray for the maturity of the people rather than a better (or different) congregation. God has called you to the local church you’re at right now — not some group of people at a different local church. Focus on faithfully preaching meaningful messages from God’s Word. Pray for and pursue their maturity. This is the kind of “church growth” we ought to be seeking — the spiritual maturity of the people whom we lead.
  • Seek for advancement of the message beyond the borders of your church. The pastoral ministry is not just about one flock, one church, and one congregation. It’s about the whole world. God’s commission is to go to “all nations.” Your role as a pastor is the role of a missionary in your own community and beyond.
  • Pursue improved leadership through servanthood. As a pastor, you are a leader. In keeping with the Jesus paradigm of true leadership, leaders are servants. Rather than taking your cues from the world’s leadership style, take Jesus as your example of the best kind of leader. He served others.

Climbing the ladder of pastoral promotion might bring you some tenuous gains and hollow accolades. But it can also ruin your ministry. A rich, rewarding, and real ministry experience clings to God’s calling and humbly serves without any pursuit of that “next step.”

A version in Korean; hope it is good. If not, please forgive us and refer to the English version:

양을 돌봐하거나 떼를 짓밟고?

이 세상의 모든 활동에서 대부분의 사람들에게, 최대 이동과에 옮기는 ​​것이 큰 꿈입니다. 다 다음 증진, 큰 휴식, 위로 발전하고, 관리 위치에 대해입니다. 자신의 경력을 발전 또는 상황 개선을 추구 하는데도 반드시 문제가 아무것도. 문제는, 그러나, 침투에게 기독교 지도자의 통화를 사고 때이 같은 유형입니다. 다시 말하지만, 자신의 경력에​​ 설립 될 또는 더 좋은 유료 위치로 이동 욕구에 본질적으로 악한 일이 없다. 목회자가 큰 교회를 원하기 또한 잘못입니다 제공, 또는 더 큰 건물 증가했다. 때때로, 그러나, 합법적 인 성장과 이기적인 발전 사이의 라인이 흐리게됩니다. 그것은 종종 것 같습니다. 신학교를 졸업 신속하게 땅의 작은 교회에서 위치를. 그는 비서 목사입니다. 그의 사고에서이은 임시 위치입니다. 가능한 한 빨리 그가 할 수있는 한, 그는 더 큰 모임, 더 나은 임금 및 증가 책임에가요. 어떤 목사님이 자라게으로 분명히, 그는 더 큰 책임을 맡을해야하지만 목사의 사역은 유명 인사의 상태 또는 megachurch와 안면에 디딤돌이라고 볼 수하지 하겠군. 자신의 아마도 좁게 및 역방향 교회와 불만, 일부 목회자는 surreptitiously, 이력서를 보내는 힌트를 드롭, 친구들을주는, 그리고 큰 시간을 교회에 대한 그들의 운이 휴식 한 쪽 눈이 열려 유지됩니다. 보통 청소년 목회자의 위치 나 조교 pastorates는 더 크고 더 나은 일을 단순한 스테핑 돌을 보는 …. 모든 사람들이있을 수 있습니다 뭐든간에. 엘리트 모임. 높은 급여. 더 큰 목사관. TV 방송 사역 기회 확률이 높아집니다. 코끼리 룸에서 싸우는 초대. 이러한 태도는 사역의 바로 생활​​을 배수 할 수 있습니다. 대신 자신의 양을 먹이 때문에, 목사 개인 증대의 사다리에 단계로 자신의 양떼를 악용하고 있습니다. 사람들은 자신의 자기 상태에서 앞으로 지도자의 개인 이후 이동의 의제 등을 앞으로 밀어하기 위해, 멸균 빈, 정치적 방법으로 처리됩니다. 대신 다른 사람에게 ministering의, 목사가 자신을 제공하고 있습니다. 다시 말하지만, 자신의 사역을 확장 할 수있는 욕구는 건강, 완전히 적합합니다. 이러한 태도는 정치 혼란이 찍히는 문제가되어, 이기심, 자부심, 자기 홍보, 그리고 오만함. 목사는 감각 태도 이러한 종류의 처음 부분을 경우, 성경은 목회자를 설명하는 방법에 정직한 모습을 갈 시간이야. “떼에 신중,”바울은 목회자의 그룹 (행 20시 28분)에 말했다. 바울의 목회 연습이 젊은 장로의 모델입니다, 그는 그들에게 말한다 (행 20시 31분) “나는 눈물 하나 하나를 타이르다하고, 밤과 낮 중단하지 않았다.” 이 다음 행운의 휴식을 찾는 사람의 사역의 종류되지 않습니다. 이 육체적으로, 감정적으로, 그리고 영적으로 다른 사람의 이익을 위해서 자신을 쏟아 하나님의 사명에 헌신 한 사람이었습니다. 피터, 유명한 예루살렘 교회의 지도자, 이기적인 자신의 경력을 발전을 유혹하는 목회자에게 엄숙한 경고를 내려 놓고에서 다시 축소하지 않는다 : “목자 너희 가운데 하나님의 양 떼를 … 하나님이 너희에게 바라는대로,하지에 부끄러운 이득 “(1 피터 5시 2분). 여러분의 사역 동기 부여에 의해 메시지가 표시되는 경우 “부끄러운 이득”고 자신의 역할을 재고하는 시간이다. 여기에 당신이 할 수있는시 (및합니다) 초점을 합법적 인 성장과 발전의 세 가지 영역은 다음과 같습니다 • 사람들의 성숙보다는 더 나은 (또는 다른) 모임을 위해 기도해주십시오. 다른 지역 교회에 사람들이없는 일부 그룹 – 하나님은 당신이 지금에있어 지역 교회에 전화를했습니다. 신실하게 하나님의 말씀에서 의미있는 메시지를 전파에 초점을 맞 춥니 다. 위해기도하고 성숙을 추구합니다. 우리가 리드 사람들의 영적 성숙을 – 우리가 추구해야한다는 “교회 성장”의 종류입니다. • 당신의 교회의 국경을 넘어 메시지의 발전을 위해 구하십시오. 목회 사역은에 대해 한 떼, 한 교회, 한 집단이 아닙니다. 그것은 전체 세계입니다. 하나님의위원회로 이동하는 것입니다 “모든 국가.”귀하의 역할 목사 자신의 지역 사회와 이후의 선교사의 역할이기 때문입니다. • servanthood를 통해 향상된 리더십을 추구한다. 목회자로, 당신은 리더입니다. 진정한 리더십의 예수 패러다임을 유지하고, 지도자는 종입니다. 오히려 세계의 리더십 스타일에서 단서를 복용보다, 지도자의 최고선의 예로서 예수님을보십시오. 그는 다른 사람들을 역임했습니다. 목회 프로모션의 사다리를 등반은 당신에게 약간의 얇은 이득 및 중공 영예를 가져 수 있습니다. 그러나 또한 사역을 파괴 할 수 있습니다. 풍부하고 보람, 그리고 실제 사역의 경험은 하나님의 부르심에 달라 붙듯하고 겸손히 그의 추구없이 제공 “다음 단계.”