From Atlanta
Prominent Evangelical pastor and preacher Andy Stanley calls upon Christians to “unhitch their faith” from the Old Testament. Stanley is pastor of North Point Church in Atlanta and son of the well-known preacher Charles Stanley, pastor of Atlanta’s First Baptist Church. The young Stanley called his congregation to assist those seeking Christ to imitate the first century Christians who abandoned the Jewish practice of circumcision to make it easier for non-Jews to be baptized as followers of Jesus. Some seekers today have other issues with things in the Old Testament, also called the Hebrew Bible. But Stanley’s proposal has drawn dramatic pushback from evangelical, mainline protestant, and Catholic leaders. I’ll add my name to that list. Yes, there are prescriptions in some part of the Hebrew Bible that we Christians ignore, and yes, there are some elements in the New Testament that we de-emphasize. But here are three great quotes from the Hebrew Bible that demonstrate why we should not unhitch our religion from that historic document: First, “In the beginning God Created the heavens and the earth.” Second, “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” And Third, “Bless the Lord, o My soul, and all that is within me bless your holy name.” Enough said.
From New York
The looming clergy shortage is not news, but this may be the first time you hear about the shortage of ministers in the Orthodox Church. In fact, we don’t hear much of anything connected to the orthodox church in America. You may not even know there are Orthodox Christians in these United States. We tend to connect Christian Orthodoxy with Russia, Greece, and Africa. Many of these jurisdictions, or patriarchies, have networks of believers in these United States. In central Kentucky, for instance, where I lived for 20 years, there are three Orthodox churches: a Greek Orthodox church, a Russian Orthodox church, and very near my former home, an Antiochene Orthodox Church—related to Antioch, a city in Syria and the location of the important events in Christian history as recorded in the biblical book, the Acts of the Apostles. But these and the more Americanized Orthodox Church in America are way behind in supplying their congregations with ministers. Father Chad Hatfield is the president of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary just north of New York City. In a recent video message to his network, he reported that there are not enough priests for their congregations, and because of this, their current priests are staying in pastoral ministry longer than previously, noting that the average age of retirement is now 71. Hatfield called upon congregations everywhere to pray for “vocations” as it is known in numerous Christian traditions—those young, middle age, and older men (and in the orthodox faith, it is only men), to respond to the call of God to seek theological education and ministerial training.
From Great Britain
An American pastor, preacher and bishop will deliver the homily at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markles this weekend in England. He is Rev. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in America. The wedding will take place in St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. Markles was recently baptized as a Christian by the Dean of Windsor, associated with the Church of England. Both the Church of England and the Episcopal Church in America are part of the world wide Anglican Communion of which the Archbishop of Canterbury is the head. The Archbishop described Curry as “a brilliant pastor, stunning preacher and someone with a great gift for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.” I can testify to that as well. Curry preached, at my invitation, the concluding sermon for the 2017 National Festival of Young Preachers, an event sponsored by the Academy of Preachers, for which I served as president. Curry, I might add, is also the descendant of American slaves.
From Jerusalem
The United States opened a new American embassy in Jerusalem this week, a decision by President Trump praised by some as bold and criticized by others as risky; everybody, however, agrees it is an historic event whose impact is yet to unfold. The United States and other nations of the world have resisted moving embassies to Jerusalem for fear of destabilizing the often-treacherous relations between Israel and the Palestinians. The United States was represented on the dedication program by the American Ambassador to Israel, by Ivanka Trump, daughter of the president, and her husband, Jerrod Kushner, and also by two pastors prominent in the Evangelical religious right, John Hagee of San Antonio and Robert Jefferies of Dallas. While much of the rhetoric of the ceremony, which I watched, used the language of justice and peace, nothing was said or implied about justice for the Palestinians, more than 50 of whom were killed by Israeli soldiers during protests during the dedication. The embassy facility is simply the older U S consulate in Jerusalem situated on occupied land but now adorned with a new sign. Much of the on-going work of the embassy will continue to emanate from the existing location in Tel Aviv. The new embassy will not be ready for occupation for several years.
And from the Academy of Preachers
Two of the most outstanding Young Preachers in the entire country graduated together this week, earning their Master of Theology degrees from Emery University. Reginald Sharpe, Jr. AoP’10, already holds degrees from Morehouse College and Vanderbilt School of Divinity; and Winford Rice Jr, AoP’12 holds degrees from Morehouse College and Harvard Divinity School. Congratulations to both.
