The world leadership of the Seventh-day Adventists has issued a highly unusual “appeal for unity” to regional administrative units of the church that have either taken or are considering independent action regarding the ordination of women to gospel ministry. The request comes in a statement issued today in response to actions by several union conferences, including two in North America.
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An historic vote by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) this week: The nation’s largest Protestant denomination elected New Orleans pastor Fred Luter Jr. as its first African-American president. The emotional vote was hailed as a significant step for the SBC, which was founded in 1845 in support of slavery. Luter told us he hopes to address the SBC’s declining number of baptisms and members:
Rev. Fred Luter Jr: We need to find out what happened, and we need to fix it, because that’s something this convention has been very proud about, about the fact that we’ve always made evangelism a priority.
In other business, SBC delegates narrowly approved an unofficial alternate name, Great Commission Baptists, which can be used by churches that are uncomfortable with the word “Southern” in the denomination’s title. Delegates also approved a resolution opposing same-sex marriage and saying gay rights are not civil rights.
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Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman are still trying to get back to the Big Apple and their beloved Central Park zoo, but first they need to find the penguins. They travel to Monte Carlo where they attract the attention of Animal Control after gate crashing a party and are joined by the penguins, King Julian and Co., the monkeys and a new arrival: a performing llama. How do a lion, zebra, hippo, giraffe, four penguins, two monkeys, three lemurs and a llama travel through Europe without attracting attention? They join a traveling circus.
Check the movie content before you expose yourself or family to it. Christian Cinema.
David A.R. White (Jerusalem Countdown, Me Again), Victoria Jackson (Saturday Night Live), Jackée (Sister, Sister & 227), Ray Wise (Twin Peaks) with Academy Award Nominee Bruce Davison and Reginald VelJohnson (Family Matters, Die Hard), star in this heartwarming fish out of water comedy about an associate pastor at a mega church in California who finds himself the pastor of a poor church in the worst neighborhood in Atlanta.
James White (White) is one of dozens of associate pastors at a mega church in Southern California under the tutelage of television evangelist Johnny Kingman (Wise). He always longed to have his own church and jumps at the opportunity to become pastor of the impoverished Divine Faith Apostolic Church in Atlanta. His wife and two children aren’t very enthusiastic about his assignment. Neither is the congregation itself, but they will have to learn to trust each other and pull together to save the church from a corrupt banker anxious to foreclose. It will take a musical miracle, supplied by BeBe Winans himself, to save them all in this heartfelt, family-friendly comedy.
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When Evans, a ten-year-old unwanted child, enters his home, Aaron’s life is permanently transformed. Believing they have much to offer, Aaron and his wife, Stacy, choose to use their family and stable home as a platform to reach out to children in need through foster care. However, this undertaking was not as simple as they had anticipated. Evans is their first placement. Abandoned as an infant and tossed from home to home, he is a boy with no hope of ever being wanted. Aaron and Stacy often find themselves wondering about the outcome of their ambitious undertaking. The coping behaviors Evans has developed as a result of his past make him extremely challenging. Tantrums, mysterious disappearances, food fights, and impenetrable silence become a new part of their everyday life. Aaron is shaken by his lack of control. Stacy is crushed by the rejection of her affection. Their daughter, Jennie, is resentful of the chaos now ruling her life. As each new obstacle surrounds their family, they are dragged continually closer to the breaking point. Their future is fraught with questions. Can they continue? Will Evans ever understand? Will they be able to entrust themselves wholeheartedly to the hands of God? Is it possible to love the unlovable. . . is he really beyond acceptance?
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Mark 14: 18-19
I can’t imagine being asked that question by Jesus, but I try, and I will tell you why. Because without the realization of how wretched I can be, I can’t appreciate just how necessary Christ’s sacrifice was and is.
You see its not just the original disciples that find themselves sitting at the table with Jesus. No,each time I come to communion I face him. The question is, this time around, which disciple am I? At this place in my spiritual journey which one of them do I most relate to?
– Peter, just about to loose it in the face of pressure to acknowledge his relationship with Jesus.
– Thomas, holding off any commitment, for right now, at least till all the facts are in.
– Judas, more interested in getting Jesus to do what he wants then he is interested in doing what Jesus wants.
– John, so close to Jesus that it is uncomfortable for others of lesser connection to watch the two of them.
Before I conduct a Communion Service, or take the body and blood of Christ, I take a good hard look at myself and identify where I am sitting at the table this time around, but not only that but also, by the power of the Holy Spirit, where I want to be the next time I find myself AT THE TABLE.
I pray that you find some time to do the same.
1 Corinthians 11:28-29
