While abused children and victims of spousal battering have been the topics of widespread study, elder abuse has been relatively hidden until recently. The typical victim of elder abuse is women over the age of 75 who are physically and perhaps mentally dependent. Typically the abuser is a relative, and frequently the adult child of the victim. The abuse is ongoing and may take several forms such as financial, physical, or psychological. The abuse may include violation of basic rights such as right to worship, the right to privacy, the right to handle one’s personal and financial affairs if capable. The victim is reluctant to report abuse out of shame at having raised a child who would do such things. They often fear being placed in a nursing home. The abuser is likely to hide the abuse out of self-interest, and denies or rationalizes the abuse. What kind of abuse do the elderly face? Psychological abuse: infliction of mental anguish be demeaning, name-calling, insulting, ignoring, humiliating, frightening, threatening, isolating, etc. Physical abuse: Infliction of physical pain or injury, physical coercion, confinement, slapping, bruising, sexually molesting, cutting, lacerating, burning, restraining, pushing, shoving, etc. Material/Financial abuse: Illegal or unethical exploitation by using funds, property, or other assets of an older person for personal gain, etc. Passive neglect: Unintentional failure to fulfill a caretaking obligation, infliction of distress without conscious or willful intent, etc. Active neglect: intentional failure to fulfill caregiving obligations, infliction of physical or emotional stress or injury, abandonment, denial of food, medication, personal hygiene, etc. What are some physical indicators of abuse or neglect? Some indicators include a history of unexplained falls or minor injuries, bruising in well-protected areas, finger marks, burns in unusual places, unmet medical needs, poor hygiene, malnutrition, over/undermedication. What are some emotional and social indicators of abuse and neglect? The elderly person appears to be withdrawn or agitated and anxious. They may be isolated in one room of the house. They are unkempt, unwashed and smelly. They are overly subservient or anxious to please. Professional and other visitors may have difficulty getting access to the elderly person. What are some social and emotional indicators of the abusers? They may have an unremitting sense of anger, frustration, or despair, a sense of unfairness, of being victimized and/or resentment. They grieve for lost personal ambition and plans. They are anxiety or worried. They have a sense of not being cared for themselves. They themselves may feel isolated and lonely. They may have a loss of self-esteem, a lack of time for themselves and an inability to see any end to the situation and no future. So, how do your protect your elderly loved ones from abuse? Maintain close ties with aging relatives and friends-keep abreast of changes in their health and ability to live independently. Discuss an older relative’s wishes regarding health care, terminal medical care alternatives, home care in the case of incapacitation and disposition of his/her personal assets. Find sources of help and use them—chore services, housekeeping, home-delivered meals, senior recreation day care, respite care and transportation assistance are available in many communities. With the older person’s consent, become familiar with his/her financial records, bank accounts, will, safe deposit boxes, insurance, debts, and sources of income before he/she becomes incapacitated—talk and plan together now about how these affairs should be handled. Anticipate potential incapacitation by planning as a family who will take responsibility such as power-of-attorney or in-home caregiving if an aging relative becomes incapacitated. Closely examine your family’s ability to provide long-term, in-home care for a frail and increasingly dependent relative—consider the family’s physical limits. Plan how your own needs will be met when your responsibility for the dependent older relative increases. Explore alternative sources of care, including nursing homes or other relatives’ homes, in case your situation changes. Discuss your plans with friends, neighbors, and other sources of support before your responsibilities become a burden—ask for their understanding and emotional support-you may need them. Familiarize family members with emergency response agencies and services available in case of sudden need. “ Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” Exodus 20:11-13 KJV Kie-Vining, John. When Home is Where the Hurt Is: A Ministry Intervention Guide for Trauma Victims. Family Ministries, pp. 107-119.

What does it mean to be happy? Does God want us to be happy? Many of us view happiness as solely depending on what happens to us. In fact, the root of the word happiness goes back to ‘happenstance.’ So if happiness is all about what happens to us then we are going to have lots of moments when we are not happy, right? When it comes to happiness we’ve all heard the statement, “Money can’t buy happiness.” Here is what the research shows: to a certain level, money can buy happiness if you are very poor. Money can give you the ability to meet your basic needs. But once those basic needs are met, and once you have a basic aspect of security in your life, more money won’t make you happy. In fact, the research shows that if you go past a certain point more money will actually make you dissatisfied with the things you have. You may be sitting out there feeling a little cynical like the guy who said, “Okay, money can’t buy happiness. But I’d still like to have a lot so I can enjoy my misery all the more.” Money in and of itself doesn’t buy you happiness. Another thing research shows is that youth doesn’t equal happiness. If you ask most people, who is happier– someone older or someone younger? They would probably say someone younger. They are healthy. They don’t have physical issues or ailments. But psychologist Diener and others have found in their research that one of the most unhappy groups are people who are in their 20s and 30s. From the late 40s and up, particularly around 55 or 65, those individuals actually have much deeper happiness than younger people. What about climate? I’ve always heard if you live in the West where there is lots of sunshine you are going to be happy – happier than if you lived in the Midwest. There’s snow and gloomy days and rain. Do you know what the research shows? The research shows that it doesn’t matter where you live. There is no correlation living in the West with lots of sun compared to living in the Midwest without nearly as much sun. Another misconception is that if you have a high IQ and education you’ll be happy. Research shows no direction correlation between education and a high IQ and a person’s happiness. Two things came out of psychologist Ed Diener’s research over the last 20 years. One, religious faith plays an important role in a person’s happiness. Secondly, strong social connections, friends and family, play a very key role in a person’s happiness. I think context plays a big part in it. I love the story of the Englishman, the Frenchman and the Russian. They were all sitting around having a discussion about happiness. This was in an era when Stalin was ruling in communist Russia. If you said the wrong thing in Russia the secret police might show up at your door and take you away to a labor camp in Siberia if you were not towing the communist party line. These three individuals were sitting around talking. The Englishman was saying happiness was coming home, sitting down by the fire, and putting your feet into warm slippers. That is happiness. Some of you are saying, “That’s what I’m talking about!” The Frenchman said, “You English have no romance. Happiness is a wonderful restaurant. Having fine wine with a beautiful woman. That is happiness.” Some of you are going, “Now THAT is what I’m talking about!” This Russian says, “You are both wrong. Happiness is when you are lying asleep at 4 AM in the morning and there is a knock on your door. It’s the secret police. They say, “Ivon Ivonovich.” You breathe a sigh of relief and say, “Ivon Ivonovich lives next door.” That is happiness. It all depends on your perspective. Different perspectives have very different opinions when it comes to happiness. Well, does God want us to be happy? Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with a discussion about happiness and joy in our lives. In Matthew 5:1 here is what the Bible says, “One day as he saw the crowds gathering Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him and he began to teach them. He said, “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him. For the kingdom of heaven is theirs. God blesses those who mourn for they will be comforted. God blesses those who are humble for they will inherit the whole earth.” Happiness, according to Jesus, gets to the central truth of divine favor. Jesus is going to list out several different characteristics of people have who have experienced God’s divine favor in their lives. First of all, Jesus talks about what’s going on inside us as being probably as important, if not more important, than what’s going on outside of us. Happiness fundamentally is something that happens inside of you and not just something that happens outside of you. Secondly, the Bible defines happiness as something more than pleasure. Most of the time when we talk about happiness we are talking about pleasure. What makes us feel good? Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount is talking about how God sees us, and therefore how we truly are, not about how we feel in that. Does that make sense? God sees you as blessed when you are poor in spirit. God sees you as blessed when you are merciful. God views you as blessed, as happy and fulfilled, in these characteristics. The first principle that Christ lays out if we want to experience this inner joy and happiness from the inside out is– realize your need for God . Matthew 5:3 says “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him and the kingdom of heaven is theirs.” Do you see it there? They realize their need for him. I love how the Message translation reads. “You are blessed when you are at the end of your rope; with less of you there is more of God and his rule.” Jesus often would take our concepts in the Beatitudes and will turn them upside down. Most of us don’t feel blessed and we don’t feel happy and we don’t feel joyful when we are at the end of our rope. But he says with less of you, there will be more of God. In other words, God will meet you there. Now Jesus is sitting there talking to a group of people who were not the most spiritually elite at that time and place. These were individuals much like you and I. They were common people. Many of them had their shoulders slumped carrying the weight of guilt and religious failure. They had made mistakes. They didn’t have it all together. As Jesus speaks to these people he says, “Listen, there is hope for you who are poor in spirit.” There is hope for you if you feel like you are barely hanging on. There is hope for you if you feel like you are not worthy or not good enough and you’ll never be good enough. There is hope for you because the kingdom of heaven is yours. God came to bring the kingdom to you. He’s giving us hope and encouragement today. Listen, you are always going to have things coming into your life that you can’t control. There are always going to be problems and obstacles. There are always going to be needs, conflict and tension. If your happiness is only defined by what is outside of you coming at you – you’re never, ever going to be happy. So where then is happiness found? It’s not in yourself. Jesus himself said that if you want to find happiness you have to lose your life to find it. In other words, surrender your life to God and in that act of surrender true joy can begin to well up inside of you. Truly, happiness itself isn’t found in seeking it. Happiness is found in seeking God. If you just define happiness as pleasure, then I don’t know if God is that concerned with happiness. But if you are defining happiness as something much deeper than that–divine favor, God’s blessing inside of you no matter what happens outside of you, delighting and finding pleasure and God himself, he’s very concerned about that. In fact, I think that God’s greatest desire for us is to find our happiness and joy in him and not in all the worldly things that surround us. Then we would delight in him. Will you give Jesus a chance? Will you give his teaching a chance and really put it into practice in your life? See if happiness doesn’t begin to dwell in your life from the inside out as you experience more of who God is. http://www.centralonline.tv/ Used by permission.

Adultery is devastating. In the aftermath of an adulterous affair, the offending spouse must first turn away from sin through repentance before God. But after such repentance takes place, there’s another question that has to be answered: Should you confess the adultery to your spouse? Sometimes the act of confessing to a wife or husband seems like it would do more harm than good. I once got a letter from a man who said he committed adultery years ago, but the affair had lasted only a week and he had repented to God and others. The reason he was unsure about confessing to his wife was that the marriage was already going through difficulty, and he was deeply concerned that a bombshell like this would end the marriage and harm the children. This is indeed an agonizing situation. But I still believe that confessing adultery to your spouse is absolutely necessary. Here are five reasons: 1) You have to repent to your spouse. Biblically speaking, each spouse has an exclusive right to the others’ sexuality. “Ownership” might seem like a radical word but it’s exactly the word that Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 7:4. This isn’t a license for abuse, but it does mean that neither the husband nor the wife has autonomous control over their bodies. So, because your body belongs to your spouse, your sin affects them, even if they don’t know about it. The marital union is a spiritual, mysterious thing, as Paul teaches (1 Cor. 6:16-17). That means to join yourself to another is to sin against your wife or husband. 2) You have to remove the lie in your marriage. Concealing the adultery, even if its been repented of, is deceiving your spouse about something that lies at the very core of your marriage. Your spouse deserves to know, so that means you haven’t completed repentance until you confess it to her or him and ask for forgiveness. Until you do this, you’re going to feel a weight of guilt and shame about the affair that won’t heal—or, even worse, you’ll eventually make a friend of sin and cease to feel shame because, through secrecy, you’ve developed a numb heart. The way to prevent this is through confession. 3) You have to take ownership of your sin. One of the most important reasons to confess your adultery to your spouse is this: You have to decide that your husband or wife is more important to you than the risks you’re taking by confessing. You need to own your sin. You need to communicate this to them as a sin. Do not give any indication that you blame your spouse for your sin. When you confess, don’t bring up any of the other issues in your marriage or any old hurts. That’s not the time to talk about these things. You have to take full ownership of your immorality. 4) You have to accept the consequences of your sin. Your spouse will feel betrayed and outraged. He or she is going to feel as though they don’t even understand what her world means right now. That is all completely natural because you have broken the covenant. You have sinned against your spouse, and you have broken a trust. Don’t defend yourself. Don’t give excuses or reasons. Let your spouse express the grief and the anger that comes out of this. 5) You have to take the first step in reconciliation. You can’t expect your spouse to just be sad for a few moments and then forgive you. It may feel to you as you confess that a great burden is being lifted, but this is the first time that they are hearing about this. There has to be a grieving and an expressing of the righteous anger that your spouse has. Let them do that, and then wait patiently for them to forgive you. Don’t think that you’re owed some sort of immediate reconciliation. You are going to have to spend in many ways the rest of your life in your marriage rebuilding the trust that is there, even when your spouse does forgive you. The reconciliation process has to start with confession, and that means it has to start with you. www.russellmoore.com . Used by permission of the author.

We all have strange dreams from time to time, and they are still worth looking at and praying about to see if there is something God wants us to learn from them-like buried anger, fear of rejection, or other such things. Dreams are mentioned 150 times in scripture, and God often spoke to his children in dreams. Here are just a few examples: Joseph, son of Jacob (Genesis 37:5–10); Joseph, the husband of Mary (Matthew 2:12–22); Solomon (1 Kings 3:5–15); and several others (Daniel 2:1; 7:1; Matthew 27:19). There is also a prophecy of the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28), quoted by the apostle Peter in Acts 2:17, that mentions God using dreams. So God can speak through dreams, if He chooses to. Recurrent dreams are more significant than a one-time dream, however. You say you have recurring, oppressive dreams, so I would encourage you to pray for insight from the Lord whether they represent some unresolved issue within you. Have you been oppressed by someone? Have you dealt with all the related anger, grief and disappointment? Have you forgiven the oppressor and turned vengeance over to God, who promises in Romans 12 to repay those who are unrepentant? There is a good chance God is using those dreams to show you something He wants you to heal from. Mark Twain said that it is not what you eat that gives you indigestion, but what is eating you. The same usually applies to your dreams. Sometimes you get bad dreams from what you eat or from a medication reaction, but usually they are like movies that you write, direct, and act in all at once—movies about whatever is eating you that night. When I treat clients, I ask them every single day whether they had any dreams the night before. I use their dreams to guess what is eating away at them in their unconscious and to discover root problems. For example, if there is violence in the dreams, there is almost certainly buried anger or fear of being victimized that needs to be dealt with. If they have tornado dreams, which are common, that shows how stressed out they are about the emotional “tornado” they are going through right now. If they dream they are flying, it usually means they are making good progress and feel they are succeeding at resolving their conflicts. If a married person dreams he or she is in a car and the mate is driving, but my client is in the back seat or in the trunk, it usually means my client feels overly controlled and disrespected by the mate. Sometimes we are more than one person in a dream, like a dream one of my patients told me recently in which she was her current age but taking care of an eight year old girl she could not recognize, comforting the little girl. This client had been abused all of her childhood, and was now deciding to love herself anyway and nurture herself instead of hating herself like most abused kids and adults do. She was herself now, nurturing her wounded self as a child. We have to be careful not to assume we know what a dream means, because only God knows for sure. The Bible says that God speaks to us in the night seasons, and that even when we wake up in the morning, he will have taught us things the night before. Although God used dreams greatly to reveal His plans in Scripture, we must remember that His ultimate revelation came in Christ. “Long ago God spoke in many different ways to our fathers through the prophets, in visions, dreams, and even face to face, telling them little by little about his plans. 2 But now in these days he has spoken to us through his Son to whom he has given everything and through whom he made the world and everything there is.” Hebrews 1:1-2 NLB See also: Can Dreams Be From Demons?

“Then war broke out in heaven, Michael and his angels going forth to battle with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no room found for them in heaven any longer” (Rev. 12:7-8 AMP). Notice the phrase, “there was no room . . . for them in heaven.” The war against principalities involves displacement: Christ filling the spiritual territories once held by Satan. This war in Heaven is difficult for us to comprehend. How do angels and demons, beings who do not die from wounds, wage war? With what do they do battle? And how do they conquer one another? Without exceeding the bounds of our knowledge, we can safely say this: All spiritual warfare is waged over one essential question: Who will control reality on earth, Heaven or hell? When it comes to angelic and demonic warfare, the battle rests not in physical weaponry but in the power of agreement between mankind and the spirit realm. We read in Ephesians 6 (NKJV) that “principalities” and “powers” occupy the “heavenly places” (v. 12). But we read in Ephesians 1:10 that it is the Father’s expressed purpose to sum up all things in Christ, “things in the heavens and things on the earth.” Ephesians 3:10 reveals God’s glorious plan, that “through the church” God has purposed to make known His manifold wisdom to the principalities and powers “in the heavenly places.” You see, as the body of Christ on earth agrees with its Head in Heaven, the Spirit of Christ Himself displaces the powers of darkness in the heavenly places.In other words, when the church on earth is aggressive in its agreement with the will and Word of God, then the presence of God increases in the spiritual realm, proportionally displacing the influence of hell on earth. Shortly thereafter, manifesting in the world of men, we see God’s miraculous power at work. But when the church is passive, indifferent or carnal, the powers of hell increase their rule over the affairs of men: Marriages break up, crime increases, and wantonness becomes unbridled. We must see that our prayers, attitudes, and our agreement with God are an integral part of appropriating the reality of the kingdom of God on earth! Let me add, that when I refer to the “Kingdom of God on earth,” I am not referring to the Second Coming of Christ at the rapture. I am speaking of the reality to which Jesus was referring when He taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10 NKJV). Thus Jesus teaches us to pray in a way that transcends simple requests for blessings or finances — things that will be supplied to us automatically once we get our priorities right. Jesus calls us to a form of prophetic prayer. He says, “Pray, then, in this way: … Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!” (Matt. 6:9-10 NKJV). This is strong prayer, empowered with the life substance of Heaven itself. This is the prayer that changes societies and rolls back the advance of evil, and ultimately wins the war over reality. Adapted from Francis Frangipane’s book, The Three Battlegrounds, available at www.arrowbookstore.com.

We live in a stoic society. Often the expression of our emotions is suppressed because we do not know how to process them. When we “stuff” our feelings and fail to deal with them, they seem to explode when we least expect it. In the Old Testament, people knew how to grieve. The Hebrew husband was required to provide a flute player and a “wailer” to mourn the loss of his wife! The Jews covered their heads with ashes when they mourned as a symbol of their mortality. Sackcloth and ashes were “grieving attire.” The tragic story of the rape of King David’s lovely daughter Tamar by her half-brother Amnon is a tale filled with intrigue, malicious abuse and rage. Jonadab, Amnon’s conspiring cousin, suggested that Amnon pretend to be ill in order to call for his half-sister to attend him. When Tamar came to feed him, he grabbed her and raped her. Tamar cried, “Don’t, my brother! Don’t force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.” 2 Samuel 13:12-14 NIV The heart-breaking tale does not end there. After abusing his sister, the scripture says Amnon “hated her with intense hatred. In fact he hated her more than he had loved her…he called his personal servant and said, ‘Get this woman out of here and bolt the door after her.’” 2 Samuel 13:15,17 NIV Unbelievable. What an atrocity! Amnon felt guilt for his behavior, but instead of assuming responsibility, he turned his anger on Tamar, ruining her reputation and her future. She ripped her royal robe and covered herself with ashes. Older brother Absalom and David learned of the rape. Her father ignored her plight and poor Tamar “lived as a desolate woman” (v. 20) for the rest of her days. David’s ambivalence and refusal to deal with the horrific act was inexcusable. Instead of channeling his anger to bring justice, he simmered in silence and left his dysfunctional family to their own devices. However, you can be sure that God is both grieved and angered when women are abused and mistreated. We are children of the King. When we receive Jesus by faith and repentance we are virgin daughters of our Heavenly Father. Whether or not you have ever been personally and individually victimized, we are living in a time when women are objectified and demoralized. Satan would love nothing better than for you to feel worthless instead of worthy. Child abuse, prostitution, rape and human trafficking are travesties. We cannot turn a blind eye. If Satan has convinced you that you are anything less than a hand-picked child of the King of all kings…if you think anything could happen to you that could steal your royal heritage…if you think you deserve mistreatment or disrespect, you have something in common with Tamar. I pray that the Holy Spirit will be free to mend the torn coats of the children of royalty. And that God will restore lost dignity, teach us our true identity, and liberate us to live in purity. Solomon saw his beautiful bride as God sees you: “All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold. In embroidered garments she is led to the king’ her virgin companions follow her and are brought to you. They are led in with joy and gladness; they enter the palace of the king.” Psalm 45:11-13 NIV That, my dear sisters in Christ, is our destiny. We are glorious, loved and spotless before our Heavenly Father. Moore, Beth. Breaking Free. Nashville: B & H Publishing Group, pp. 140-143. Used by permission.

Every year, around this time, parents and churches ponder how to communicate the Easter story to children, as something more than dyed eggs. The problem is, of course, that it’s impossible to talk about the resurrection of Jesus without talking about death. And, in the case of Jesus, it’s really hard to talk about death without talking about crucifixion. Some churches resolve this tension by deeming the cross too violent for kids. They talk instead about Easter meaning that Jesus is our “forever friend.” They say that Jesus “went away for a little while, and his friends were sad,” but that he soon “came back to see them.” Most Christian churches, thankfully, still speak on Easter of the cross and the resurrection, but in many places this is, well, precisely because it’s Easter. The story seems particularly strange to the children in such places because “Jesus is my forever friend” is the standard fare the rest of the year. We need to understand that this temptation isn’t just related to children, although we see it perhaps most explicitly there.The temptation that comes to all of us, in every era of the church, is to have Jesus, without seeing ourselves in the gore of his bloody cross and the glory of his empty grave. In the way that we speak of Him to our children, or to skeptics, or to seekers, we sometimes believe we’ll gain more of a hearing if we present Him as teacher but not as a former corpse. It is too disturbing, we think to ourselves, too weird. Peter thought that way too. Not the bold preacher of Pentecost, mind you, but the Peter of just a short time before that, the Peter of Caesarea Philippi. Peter certainly knew Jesus as friend, and he had just confessed that He was Messiah and Son of the living God. But when Jesus began to teach that He must “suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed, and on the third day be raised,” Peter was outraged (Matt 16:21). Peter was no preschooler, but he was disturbed. Matthew tells us that he began to rebuke Jesus. His cognitive development was not yet to the point where he could understand such things. This will never happen, Peter said. He loved Jesus. He wanted to be with Jesus. He wanted to stand with Jesus. He just didn’t want the Jesus of the cross or the empty tomb. Jesus didn’t call this shallow theology. He didn’t call it inadequate teaching. He called it Satan (Matt 16:23). Our children need to hear the Gospel. They need to see Jesus. That means they need to see both sides of skull place. That’s graphic, sure. It’s confusing, of course. And not just for kids. But it is the only message that saves. It’s the only message that prepares one for salvation. It is, as Paul says, that which is “of first importance,” the message he received from Jesus Himself (1 Cor 15:3-4). The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is the Gospel. That’s the first word. If we cannot speak of that, we would be better off not speaking of Jesus at all, rather than presenting another Christ, one who meditates but does not mediate, who counsels but is not crucified, who is accessible but not triumphant over sin and death. The apostle Paul told us the word of the cross would be folly to those who are perishing (1 Cor 1:18). He didn’t warn us that it would sometimes also be folly to those who are publishing. No matter. It is still the power of God This Easter, preach the Gospel… to the senior citizens, to the middle-aged, to the young adults, to the teenagers, to the seekers, to the hardened unbelievers, to the whole world. And, yes, preach the Gospel to the preschoolers. www.russellmoore.com . Used by permission.

There are a growing number of Christians that think that the “Easter” is rooted in pagan Babylonian tradition. One of the basic assumptions is that the name “Easter” is but a Christian remake of “Ishtar”, a Babylonian goddess. Even though the words sound similar, they probably have no etymological connection. The English word “Easter” likely comes from the Proto-Germanic “austron”, which means “sunrise” – arguably a fitting name for the “rising from the dead”. What is more important, however, is that outside of the English-speaking world (and that is a majority of Christians!) “Easter” is known by its proper name “Pascha”. Pascha is an Aramaic synonym of the Hebrew Pesach, which means “Passover”. During this feast, a traditional Christian celebrates the work of Christ’s redemption, believing that only in His resurrection is God’s forgiveness truly sealed. Because of Jesus’ resurrection the wrath of God passes over the heads of believers just as the Angel of Death passed over Israelite homes marked by the blood of the lamb. An average, English-speaking Christian, however, fails to see the direct connection between “Easter/Pascha” and “Passover/Pesach”. Most of the rituals and customs appear different and – just to make sure that no one connects (and therefore confuses) the two – it was decided at Council of Nicea (325 CE) that the feast of Easter/Pascha is to be celebrated according to a separate dating, and not on the 14th of Nissan as it was originally decreed in the Torah of Moses. Is Easter a Pagan holiday? No. In fact, it is fundamentally a biblical holiday, but one that has been robbed of its true Jewish character and taken out of its original Israelite setting. www.eteacherbiblical.com . Used by permission.

For many years there has been the notion among some people that American Christianity is too concerned with doctrine and theology and less concerned with helping the needy and oppressed of society. This narrative, to a degree successfully promulgated, was fostered by those with a liberal mindset toward Christianity. More importantly, within the church community this narrative has been embraced by what has become known as Progressive Christianity. Progressives, both secular and religious, have effectively controlled the narrative that conservatives lack compassion, care for the poor and oppressed, and that they are too focused on morals and values issues that they ignore critical human needs. But is this narrative really true, or is this an argument developed by Progressive Christianity in opposition to the church’s historical emphasis on right beliefs? What is Progressive Christianity? Progressive Christianity, as defined by Roger Wosley in his book, Kissing Fish: Christianity For People Who Don’t Like Christianity, “Is an approach to the Christian faith that is influenced by post-liberalism and postmodernism and: proclaims Jesus of Nazareth as Christ, Savior, and Lord; emphasizes the Way and teachings of Jesus, not merely His person; emphasizes God’s immanence not merely God’s transcendence; leans toward panentheism rather than supernatural theism; emphasizes salvation here and now instead of primarily in heaven later; emphasizes being saved for robust, abundant/eternal life over being saved from hell; emphasizes the social/communal aspects of salvation instead of merely the personal; stresses social justice as integral to Christian discipleship; takes the Bible seriously but not necessarily literally, embracing a more interpretive, metaphorical understanding; emphasizes orthopraxy instead of orthodoxy (right actions over right beliefs); embraces reason as well as paradox and mystery — instead of blind allegiance to rigid doctrines and dogmas; does not consider homosexuality to be sinful; and does not claim that Christianity is the only valid or viable way to connect to God (is non-exclusive)” (Emphasis mine). Progressive Christianity denies the essential doctrines of orthodox and evangelical Christianity with the view that the central focus of Christianity must be its social influence rather than its theological influence originating from the identity and work of Jesus Christ. In fact, on most Progressive Christian websites very little is said about Jesus, the atonement, sin, and salvation. Progressive Christianity is essentially a works philosophy under the guise of Christianity. What Are The Core Beliefs Of Progressive Christianity? As with any belief system, there must be a foundation that adherents refer to, either in the positive or the negative, to make sense of its belief structure. Progressive Christianity is influenced by the Bible, but not by the Bible solely. As mentioned above, Progressive Christianity begins with a set of assumptions that guide its perspective of the Bible. It is a faith “influenced by post-liberalism and postmodernism.” These perspectives are essentially anti-Christian in their worldview. Thus, to use them as the interpretive framework for the Bible is to deny the historical reliability of the Bible from the get go instead of letting the Bible speak for itself. Note the claims by Progressives concerning the Bible: Regarding the Bible’s claim about the virgin birth of Jesus, Eric Alexander, writing in Progressive Christianity: Fact Or Fiction, says, “It is indeed probably a myth and not worth squabbling over its historicity.” However, defining the virgin birth of Jesus as myth effectively robs Jesus of his claims to divinity by denying the incarnation. If there was no incarnation then it follows that Jesus was not God in human flesh. This makes Jesus a simple man like any other instead of the “God-man” of orthodoxy. According to Gregory C. Jenks, writing in Taking The Bible Seriously But Not Literally, “The events represented in the Bible [are] more often fictional than historical…the Bible may need to be read contrary to its literal and historical significance…For its own sake as much as for ours, the Bible needs a demotion.” Fellow progressive, Dwight Welch agrees, stating that, “The moment Genesis is taken as a historical record is the moment that it can be dismissed. And unfortunately that means that whatever resources can be found in Genesis will likewise be dismissed” (A Progressive Christian Case For Original Sin, “Approaching Justice”). Progressive Christianity rejects the Bible as an authoritative volume on the spiritual matters on which is speaks. “We believe that the Bible is a human construction and it is, therefore, full of both human promise and human error. We believe that no humanly constructed book can be the authoritative word of God” (Gretta Vosper, We Believe, Canadian Center For Progressive Christianity). Foundationally, the Bible holds an influential place in progressive theology, but it is not the central influence. In fact, Progressive Christianity sources other religious documents and claims and incorporates them into its belief structure. In Progressive Christianity, Jesus isn’t the only way to God and other religions are valid. “The belief that Christianity can be vital without claiming to be the best or the only true religion. In contrast to mainstream Christianity’s lukewarm “tolerance” of other religions, progressive Christianity pro-actively asserts that it is not the best or the only. Progressive Christians take pains to claim simultaneously their own Christian faith and their support of the complete validity of other religions” (Grassroots Progressive Christianity, Hal Taussig). Progressive Christianity’s incorporation of other belief systems into its own happens on every level, including worship where some old, traditional hymns are rewritten in keeping with their eclectic beliefs, such as this rendition of, That Old Time Religion: “Give me that old time religion, it’s good enough for me. It was good enough for Buddha, it was good enough for Jesus, it was good enough for Mohammad, and it’s good enough for me…it was good enough for Krishna, it was good enough for Gandhi, it was good enough for Teresa, and it’s good enough for me” (Jim Burklo). By rejecting the incarnation and demoting the Bible’s authority, Progressive Christianity does violence to the doctrine of sin. Its view is that there is no original sin from which man needs saving. “Humans haven’t ‘fallen’ from some idealized status or state of being, and there was no literal ‘original sin’ (Roger Wolsey, March 11, 2014). This view includes all kinds of sin, including sexual sin and homosexuality. “These groups are explicitly and thoroughly committed to feminism and affirmation of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people” (Grassroots Progressive Christianity, Hal Taussig). So, in the name of acceptance and affirmation, Progressive Christianity does away with the traditional understanding of sin and takes a stand directly opposite that of the Bible on man’s sin problem and need for a savior, specifically, from sin. It builds community around its redefinition instead of the Bible’s claims. However, you can find acceptance and affirmation from virtually any group: Latter Day Saints, the local mosque, a Buddhist temple, among atheist groups, the bar down the street, and even a Star Trek convention. But acceptance and affirmation don’t change us spiritually or make our beliefs correct. A vibrant spiritual life isn’t based solely upon community, though community is an important element. A vibrant spiritual life must be based on revealed truth—the truth about who Jesus is, what he has done, and what our proper response should be in light of that knowledge. These are all truths contained within the Bible, to which progressives give only a pseudo-acceptance. Progressive Christianity doesn’t truly deal with sin and it rejects the substitutionary atonement of Christ. This is important, for without the substitutionary atonement of Christ there is no forgiveness of sin. If there is no forgiveness then there is no impartation of grace or mercy. Thus, we are still in our sin and there is no salvation and no relationship with God. Progressive Christianity paints Jesus as more of a philosopher than a redeemer, and is therefore a denial of the fundamentals of our faith and cannot rightly be called Christian. Orthopraxy vs. Orthodoxy The chief problem with progressive Christianity is what it does to the work of the gospel. In Orthodox or evangelical Christianity the Christian is tasked with spreading the message of the Gospel about Jesus to the world. But, in Progressive Christianity there is no gospel to spread. This is its greatest failure. Its community meetings and involvement do nothing about the sin problem because there is no atonement for sin and thus there is no need to spread the message about Jesus’ atonement. The implication of progressive Christianity’s central idea of universalism means that since all will be saved anyway there is no need to reach everyone with the gospel. The reality is that this doesn’t save anyone. The tragedy of progressive Christianity is similar to the lawyer who came to question Jesus in Mark 12:28-34. “One of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, ‘Which commandment is the most important of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.’ And the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’” Notice that the scribe had the correct answer about the scripture, but Jesus didn’t say he was in the kingdom, only that he was nor far from it. In other words, he was still outside the kingdom. What did the scribe lack? It was the understanding that Jesus was the one to whom the scribe’s supreme love was owed. Progressive Christianity makes the same error. Progressive Christianity has some of the right answers when it comes to helping the poor and oppressed. But because it denies the atonement, the reason for Jesus’ coming, it essentially denies Jesus’ greatest work, and his person. This puts Progressive Christianity outside of orthodoxy. It seeks to obey principles of mercy, but it denies the ultimate mission of the Mercy Giver, and the Giver himself. In their noble desire for right behavior (orthopraxy), progressives have forgotten right beliefs (orthodoxy) when in reality the first should be a natural, organic procession from the latter. Conclusion Without a right view of Jesus and the atonement, Progressive Christianity falls under the category of a religious cult. Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other cults share this in common with progressives. They have many right behaviors, but their theology about Jesus, the atonement, and requirements for salvation place them outside of orthodoxy, which places them outside of biblically-based Christianity. There are many genuine Christians caught up in progressivism because of their heartfelt design to reach the poor and help the oppressed. But how are their good works any different from the good works of a mormon, or even the atheist who wants to relieve suffering? There is no difference. What makes a Christian a Christian is the holding fast to the person of Jesus, his sacrifice for sin, his resurrection, and exclusive devotion to God, through Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Without these, Progressive Christianity isn’t really Christianity at all.

Here is a conversation between Dr. Kevin Leman and a frustrated wife. Does your husband fail to listen when you are hurting? These words may be for you! Laura’s Question: “The other day I was sharing with my husband about my day. It was a hard and long day. As I started to tear up, he launched into solutions to my problems. I’m hurt now because I have asked him to just listen before, but he does not get it. What do I do? How can I get him to understand that I usually just need a listening ear and that I will ask for solutions when I need them?” Dr. Leman’s Answer: This is something that men don’t get. Your husband is an absolute perfect specimen of what is a man. Men, by their nature, are fixers. Just like so many women, by their nature of comforters, givers, and huggers. Okay? So, we’re asking the crooked river not to bend. You have to know what you’re up against. And so, that’s probably one of the toughest questions that I could be asked but let me be the wife here for a minute and see if I can pull this off. “Frank, I need to talk to you and I don’t want you to say one word for the next three minutes. I just want you to hear what I have to tell you. And Frank, this is very serious.” And there’s a pause on purpose. And then, you launch into it. “Yesterday afternoon, when you came home, I started to share with you about my day and about how my day turned ugly quickly. And you could see in my face and you could see the tears in my eyes–this was bothering me. As I began to reach into my heart, to bare my soul to you, you took a meat cleaver and you cut the pork loin in two. Crash. You just cut me off. And I was more than hurt by that.” “ I realize this isn’t easy for you or any of your buddies at work could do naturally because men are not great listeners. They’re fixers. And you went on to point out all the things that I need to do to solve my problem. Frank, that’s the least I need from you. That is not what my heart desires. I want you to hear me out and that’s why I’ve asked not for one word out of your mouth for the next three minutes because you really have to understand how I, as a woman, operate.” “And I know enough that I’m representative of the female gender. And that we, as women, have a need to pour our feelings with a safety net underneath us. And that safety net is you. We want to be like that commercial, you’re in good hands with Allstate. We want to feel like there’s tendered gentle hands around our feelings.” “And when I share from my heart and that meat cleaver comes down and just shuts me off, I feel hurt. I feel neglected, I feel unwanted, I feel disrespected and it brings up feelings in me, Frank, that quite frankly, I don’t think I would feel at a liberty to tell you how bad those feelings are because it cuts through the very core of who I am.” “So, I know it’s difficult for you to just listen. But I need you to just listen to me. I don’t need you to fix anything. So, when I pour out my heart to you, what I need from you is open arms, a smiling face, a warm caress. You know what that means to me? It means you get it. You understand what I’m up against.” And then, I just might say to you, “Frank, I’m stuck. I need your help. And you come on with your suggestions because you have a logical, linear, A comes before B which comes before C mind. And I’ll admit I need that from time to time in my life. You’re my rock, you’re the man I love. You’re the one I’ve had children with. The only man I’ve ever been intimate with in my entire life and so when I share these feelings with you, I’m almost to that point, just open your hands like Allstate and then mimic and you just squash those feelings by rubbing your hands together that makes me feel like I’m less than a human being.” “Now, I’m so glad you didn’t say a word. I appreciate you hearing me up. Now, I’m going to do something that you’re going to love. I’m going to say to you, Frank, tell me how you feel about what I just said.” Now, if he tells you some things at that point, okay? And again, your job is to listen. What he’s done, if he’s missing points, now it’s your turn to come back and say, “Okay, fine. I need to ask you just one more time. I just need one minute of silence on your part because I want to clarify something that I said that I think you misinterpreted.” Okay? And then you go ahead and clarify it, okay? And then again, at the end of that you say to him, “Alright, now you’ve heard what I said now. Now you have an opportunity to tell me what you think you heard just so there’s no escaping the fact that we, as husband and wife, need to be on the same page. And that’s one of the very practical ways I think a husband and wife can stay on the page. But realize you only stand a chance if you’re willing to shut your mouth and really listen to the other person.” www.kevinleman.com .

Coping with grief is complex and emotional. As the parent of a special needs child you may feel especially helpless. Finding ways for your child to understand and heal can be overwhelming, but there is help. Here are some tools to help your child cope with loss. Helping your special needs child through losing a loved one can start with a conversation. The experts at Friendship Circle have some great advice: Help your child understand. Foundation. Prepare your child if you know someone is dying. Unexpected deaths are even more difficult to comprehend but it’s best to tell your child as soon as possible. Children can sense if something is wrong so direct communication makes things less shocking. Inclusion. Your child can be included in visits to the dying person as well as in attending the funeral. The events can provide closure. Prepare your child with how people may act and what he or she will see. If your child doesn’t want to go, consider a special drawing for the loved one, or to take flowers to the gravesite later. Preparation . Some experts recommend a “practice drive” to where the funeral will be to help your child understand what to expect. Word choice. Begin difficult conversations with words like, “I have something very sad to tell you.” Some experts advise that you should model appropriate behavior. If you are feeling sad, express this to your child. Cry, use symbols, or otherwise show your child what you are feeling. Explain that the emotions are okay and normal. Thoughtfulness. Carefully think through what you will say. Your child can take words literally, so terms such as “sleep” and “rest” can create misunderstandings. Help your child grieve. Celebration. Remember and celebrate the person who passed. Allow your child to talk about the loved one but don’t demand that he or she shares thoughts or memories. According to some experts it is helpful to include religious beliefs when you are talking about death. Discuss what your family embraces and any customs to recognize the loved one. Memorial. If your child takes comfort in rituals, create a new one to remember the departed. You could write a story together, or put together a scrapbook or memory box. The project can be visited routinely by your child. Similarly, if your child participated in a particular activity with the loved one you could offer to do that with your child. Putting together puzzles, fishing, or going for walks in a particular park could help your child heal. Talk about the loved one while you are doing the activity. Understanding. Your child may ask the same questions repeatedly. Be patient and talk, listen or spend time together as your child grieves. Your future plans. Losing a loved one can bring on a storm of emotions. As the parent of a special needs child it can be particularly tumultuous. You may feel out of control and your fears for your child’s future surface. This may be a good time to take back some sense of order by reviewing plans for your child’s future. If you haven’t already done so, look at legal options and do some preparation. According to the professionals at CNBC, you have choices. Special needs trust. This is a bit like a college tuition payment for the next sixty years. Some families have funded it with life insurance money. ABLE account. This is a savings account that is tax-advantaged. Both. You should consider having both a special needs trust and an ABLE account. You can talk with an estate planning attorney to find out what options best suit your situation. Coping and carrying on. Loss of a loved one is always difficult. As the parent of a special needs child you may feel overwhelmed. Use direct and careful communication to guide your child toward understanding. Help your child heal with celebrating the life of the loved one. You can feel better about the future by reviewing accommodations you’ve established for your child. Following this advice will help you both cope and move forward. www.homeeducator.com www.reviews.com/blog/financial-planning-for-children-with-disabilities/  ;

Many years ago when our church began revitalization, we prayed and asked God whom he was calling us to reach. The answer we felt God impressing upon us then was to focus on unchurched families. So we created strategies and programs designed to reach out to these families. God showed up and we began making inroads to reach these families, but then something unexpected happened. They changed. In fact, while we were busy perfecting the plans and programs we had used to reach the average unchurched family, the entire culture shifted. Here we are 16 years later and we have found that we needed to reevaluate everything in light of these radical cultural shifts. As we stepped back and took a fresh look at the average unchurched family that God is bringing to us, we have noted some characteristics that have become the foundation for reinventing our structures, strategies, and programs. So, what does the “average” unchurched family look like today? 1. They are a blended home. 43 percent of all marriages are remarriages and 65 percent of those involve children from a prior marriage. Blended families are becoming the norm. Not to mention that nearly 41 percent of children are born of unmarried parents. Many of our families have been together for years but have never been legally married. More than half of the children in our programming come from these family realities. This means that little Billy probably comes so sporadically because that’s how often he’s with the family that attends our church. POINT: Don’t scold Billy when he shows up or say things like “we sure wish you’d have been here last week when we had our big fun time.” Children’s programs need to maximize every weekend recognizing that we may only get Billy about 20 times in a year. Programming must realistically deal with the new family norms. 2. They are spiritually mismatched. Families typically begin attending our church due to just one of the adult guardians. Most often this is “mom” (I put mom in quotes because she may or may not be the biological mother of the children she’s bringing) who makes the connection first. She starts coming, bringing the kids along, while “dad” is busy “enjoying his only day off” back at home. POINT: Don’t make mom feel awkward for not being there as a couple. Equip her to be the spiritual leader in the home without alienating dad. Celebrate that she has worked hard to get her family there. Create on-ramps that will make it easier for her to invite her husband to come with her. Maximize special events that create bridges into the life of the spiritually mismatched partner. Offer small groups that mom would feel comfortable being a part of. 3. They are financially strapped. According to Pew research, the average middle class family cannot absorb even one financial catastrophe. Credit has become a way of life for the American household. Digging ever deeper holes of debt with no end in sight. In other words, they’re strapped. These families need more from a church than just another organization asking for their money. They need help. They need desperately not just to understand what tithing is all about. They need the basics. They need to learn how to earn, budget, spend and save their money. Fortunately, the Bible is one of the greatest manuals for money management on the planet! POINT: Churches must teach on money beyond giving. We must offer classes on sound money management. In addition, when planning events and programs such as camps and conferences we need to consider whether the average family in our church could afford this and how we can make these extras more accessible. 4. They are over-calendared. Most families are driven by the schedule of the kids. Practices, games, and recitals … And just in case you haven’t noticed, none of these extracurricular activities could give a flip if they conflict with church. Parents have become the willing slaves of these activities and even the most dedicated Christian families have decided to play tag on the weekend with one of them taking little Billy or Susie to their activity while the other one takes the leftovers to church. Add to that chaos the fact that the standard work week isn’t standard any more. Many families are working 50-60 hours a week on a rotating schedule that cuts right through the weekend (yes, that includes Sundays). POINT: Churches must become incredibly creative in their programming. Most churches offer only two choices: take it or leave it. Missional churches work hard to accomplish two objectives: 1) how do we make this more accessible? 2) how do we shorten this? You can either curse the culture or become “wise as serpents.” 5. They are biblically illiterate. They have absolutely no idea what the Bible actually says. To many it is a dark mysterious book filled with antiquated dictums of morality which are no longer relevant in the 21st century or it is a compilation of fables and fairy tales intended to teach some life lesson. To others the Bible is a book that tells of an angry deity bent on suppressing happiness and destroying homosexuals. One thing is sure, nearly all of them are misguided on the true content of Scripture. It’s clear that many Americans — including Christians — don’t know their Bible. Just look at the numbers from a recent study: · More than 60 percent of Americans can’t name either half of the Ten Commandments or the four Gospels of the New Testament. · Some 80 percent (including “born again” Christians) believe that “God helps those who help themselves” is a direct quote from the Bible. · And 31 percent believe a good person can earn his/her way into heaven. POINT: Churches need to stop assuming that their audience has any biblical knowledge whatsoever. Stop saying stupid things like, “open your Bibles to…” or, “I hope you brought your Bibles…” or even worse, “I hope you have a real Bible with you this morning and not some silly Bible app on your phone.” Have you not figured out yet that they don’t own one! We’ve got to begin at the beginning. Tell them how to get a good Bible. Teach the Bible for clarity, not to show off your academic prowess. Offer classes that introduce people to the Bible. Teach the stories of the Bible. Help people with Bible reading plans that make it easy for them to begin their journey with the Bible. 6. They are ethnically diverse. I grew up in the 70s and 80s in the shadow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy. That means that my parents and grandparents were culturally racist, meaning segregation was a cultural norm. Even if they didn’t embrace racism, they saw it as an acceptable division. My generation had the knowledge that racial segregation was wrong, but most still lived under the unspoken cloud of racial suspicion/tension. Millennials can’t really relate to any of that. Up to 8.4 percent of new marriages are now interracial. This is up from .4 percent in 1960. And although the culture has come a long way from the 1960s, most churches have not. POINT: There are not many practical program changes I can think of to increase the welcoming of racial diversity. I think the most powerful cues come directly from the leadership. People pick up on the silent sense of acceptance that we telegraph. Church leaders must ask themselves how they truly feel about racial diversity. Do they see problems to be solved or just people to be loved? 7. They have a special needs child. Families with special needs children are on the rise. · 2 percent of children are diagnosed with autism · 7 percent are diagnosed with ADHD · 8 percent have a learning disability · 14 percent have a developmental disability · 17 percent of Americans experience a communications disorder · 19 percent of Americans are classified as a person with a disability · 2 percent of 13- to 18-year-olds are identified with an anxiety disorder 12 percent of the children in K-6 in our public schools are identified with a disability. Are 12 percent of the kids in our church programs identified as having a disability? Probably not. The reason may simply be because our churches are not ready to receive them. POINT: Churches that are serious about reaching unchurched families need to begin thinking of ways we can reach families with special needs children. These families need the greatest amount of help. Granted, these needs are widely varied, immensely challenging, and highly complex. However, sometimes even small changes in our programs and approach can make a world of difference. 8. One in five have experienced some form of trauma in the home. Abuse is common among families today. Whether it is domestic violence or sexual assault, there is a tremendous amount of pain behind the closed doors of American families. · 1 in 4 women are sexually assaulted in their lifetime · 44 percent of those were under 18 when it occurred · Two-thirds of all sexual assaults were conducted by a family member or close friend · On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men. · 1 in 15 children are exposed to domestic violence each year, and 90 percent of these children are eyewitnesses to this violence. POINT: Churches need to do more than preach and teach. Churches should not be country clubs for cool Christians. They need to become hospitals for the hurting. They must bring hope and healing. 9. They want to be successful. Unchurched families are coming with a myriad of challenges yet they want to build successful homes. They want to be a good parent, but they aren’t sure how. They want to have a good marriage, but they aren’t exactly sure what that even looks like. They want to build a home that is a haven of harmony, but they find themselves trapped in a cycle of repeating the patterns of their own upbringing. They have an image of what they’d like to become, but they have no idea how to get there. POINT: Churches can tap into that desire by offering practical applications that families can begin to implement at home. Churches are not supposed to be the primary spiritual equipping unit for the family–parents are! Churches must begin to shift their mindset from “we’re the experts” to “we’re the equippers” with the goal of making the home the primary disciple – making environment for the family. 10. They are spiritually hungry. Wow, the American family seems to be in real trouble! Yes it is, but the good news is best when the need is the greatest. Bad times for the culture are good times for the church. All of these characteristics are screaming, “We need Jesus!” Make no mistake, many of these families are hungry for change. They sense an emptiness for something deeper. They’re searching for truth and meaning and hope and healing. And they’re wondering if Christianity just might be what they’ve been seeking. May we be the church that throws fuel on the fire of their quest. May we remove every unnecessary encumbrance and unbiblical distraction and be the place of grace that reaches the ones for which Christ gave his very life