One Good Thing This Week
This week, I got a few texts and pictures from some friends who are in Nepal, training pastors. These guys are my heroes. When I grow up, I want to be like them. One note read:
“I am sitting at Doha airport feeling like a zombie after a 15-hour flight from Dallas. With just a couple of hours to go until we board our flight to Kathmandu, I can't help but thank God for the incredible opportunity awaiting us as we arrive in Nepal.
Nepal is best known for the awesome Mount Everest—the highest summit on the planet. Thousands go there just for the chance to climb that awe-inspiring mountain and many hundreds have lost their lives doing so. But it is not the majestic mountain summit that draws us to this land; rather, it is the very God who formed the mountain who is doing something even more extraordinary here.
Not so long ago, Nepal was known as a Hindu Kingdom. In the 1960s, less than 500 people would have been considered Christian. Today, that number is closer to a million professing believers!
According to the ministry, 'Open Doors', analyst Rolf Zeegers says: "The actual number of Christians in Nepal is disputed. Most experts confirm that the Church in Nepal is growing steadily, but the pace has slowed since 2015 when the Constitution was modified. Article 26 of the Constitution states: 'No person shall … convert another person from one religion to another or any act or conduct that may jeopardize other's religion and such act shall be punishable by law.' As a result, Christians have had to limit their evangelistic activities in Nepal, with many facing pressure from angry Hindu mobs."
Church in Hard Places launched a Nepalese cohort to train local church planters working to reach some of Nepal's poorest and hardest-to-reach places. We have had 12 men enroll in this training, and this week, I will meet with this group for an intensive training course as they develop preaching, church planting, and leadership development skills. We will also be hosting a conference in Kathmandu so that other local believers can be equipped to plant healthy gospel-preaching churches across this land…
Tens of thousands of pastors worldwide, but less than 10% have any Bible/theology/seminary training or support. My friends at Church in Hard Places are going to remedy that.
“Let us not glide through this world and then slip quietly into heaven, without having blown the trumpet loud and long for our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Let us see to it that the devil will hold a thanksgiving service in hell, when he gets the news of our departure from the field of battle.” —C.T. Studd
One Concerning Thing This Week
This week, major news networks began picking up the Gateway Church story. If you have not heard, megachurch and celebrity pastor Robert Morris resigned [in June] after his sexual abuse of a child was brought to light [again]. Morris, who draws 100,000+ congregants across multiple churches/campuses weekly, has long emphasized his 'Blessed Life' ministry.
What I find concerning [beyond Morris’ behavior] is the number of people playing dumb… According to statements from Gateway leadership, “Morris admitted to having ‘inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady’ in the 1980s… [Robert] had been open and forthright about a moral failure that took place when he was in his 20s and working at another church, and had a two-year restoration process…”
Now, the Elders of Gateway are saying they did not have all the facts about Morris’ extramarital relationship, the victim’s age, the length of the abuse, et cetera… The board said Morris had discussed it many times as something that had happened before founding the congregation, but he did not mention that it was with a child. One elder recently spoke to the congregation, saying, “As an elder, I did not know the truth….”
Pastor Ethan Fisher, Morris’ son-in-law [who pastors a Morris/Gateway supported church in Houston], has cut ties with Morris and recently announced the rebranding of his congregation from Gateway Church Houston to Newlands Church. Pastor Ethan recently said, “I believe that during this season, as a church, that God is once again calling us into something new, and I simply want to follow…”
Really? Has God actually called you to something new? Or is living in Robert’s shadow no longer convenient and advantageous?
Did we not know the truth, or did we bury the truth somewhere in the backrooms of the 'Blessed Life' empire? Perhaps it was hard to hear Cindy Clemishire cry abuse [for 20 years] over the ringing of the coffers… $200-$300MILLION a year makes a fairly loud noise.
I find myself asking, “Why was Morris in this position to begin with?” A pastor must be ABOVE REPROACH. Not perfect, but above reproach [Titus 1:6. 7; 1 Tim. 3:2]. Also, a pastor must be an example to the flock (1 Peter 5:3). A pastor is an example of biblical expressions concerning sex, time management, marriage, parenting, worship, relationships, et cetera. A pastor should be someone your sons could pattern their life after and the kind of man your daughter should marry.
Robert Morris was not above reproach. Even if he was 'restored,' his act cost him his 'call,' his right to shepherd God’s people. Moses got to enter God's kingdom but did not carry on with his vocation—he lost his right to lead. Robert Morris lost his 20+ years ago.
It is concerning and convenient, as Morris implodes, that those closest to him say, 'We didn’t know.'
Even if that is true, shame on you for not knowing. I am reminded, we are only as blind as we want to be.
My 3 Favorite Quotes of the Week
"God calls us to an altar, not a platform." —J.D. Greer
“The Popes fasted and made their cities decadent; the Puritans feasted and left their cities desolate.” —G.K. Chesterton
“We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact… ―Chuck Palahniuk
Stat(s) I Found Fascinating [And Alarming] This Week
38% of Brown students, 35% of Princeton students, 29% of Yale and Harvard students, and 21% of Cornell students identify as LGBT+ (source). And it has been this way for a while. These institutions produce many of our thought and policy leaders [current & future].
If you want to know what we will and will not tolerate 20-30 years from now, all you have to do is spend a little time on one of these campuses.
My Favorite Meme This Week
Song I had on Repeat This Week
I love Nate Rateliff’s sound. And who doesn’t want a band called The Night Sweats?
I know that some will say it matters but little babe
Oh, but, come on and mean it to me
I need it so bad…
Book(s) I Read This Week
This week, I am reading Mark Driscoll’s new book Act Like a Man. I will be done early next week, so until then, I’ll give you a quick review of one of my all-time favorites, JC Ryle’s Thoughts for Young Men. There are a few books that I read every year; this is one of them.
Ryle’s book is divided into four sections, each building upon the one before. In the first section, “General Reasons for Exhorting Young Men,” Ryle warns,
“Sin may go lightly from your hand, or run smoothly off your tongue now, but depend on it, sin and you will meet again by and by, however little you may like it.”
In the second section, “Five Special Dangers Young Men Need to Be Warned Against,” Ryle engages the sins that often haunt young men. Ryle engages topics like pride and the pursuit of pleasure, as well as contempt of religion and the fear of man’s opinion. Ryle offers counsel like:
“Young men, be of good courage,—care not for what the world says or thinks: you will not be with the world always. Can man save your soul?—No. Will man be your judge in the great and dreadful day of account?—No….Call to mind the saying of the good Colonel Gardiner: ‘I fear God, and therefore I have none else to fear.’ Go and be like him.”
Ryle's third section is “Six General Counsels to Young Men.” In this section, Ryle focuses on the basics of Christian discipleship, imploring men to follow Christ and live by God’s Word. The fourth section, “Five Special Rules for Young Men,” reminds the reader of God’s omnipresence and that young men [especially] should live coram Deo, under God’s watchful eye.
This book is a must-read for any man, young or old. Early in the book, Ryle nails it. He had me at hello…
“Young men, I beseech you earnestly, beware of pride. Two things are said to be very rare sights in the world— one is a young man that is humble, and the other is an old man that is content. I fear that this is only too true.”
Video I Watched This Week
Tape Baseball… What will your kids remember?
What God Showed Me This Week
“and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” — Ephesians 2:6
God showed me something simple and profound… The Bible speaks of us as seated in the heavenly places. The verb 'seated' is in the present tense.
My perspective was changed this week. I have always been told to look up and fix my eyes on Jesus during a struggle, storm, hardship, or trial. And though that is helpful and true, I can also look down according to Scripture. I am [already] seated with Jesus in the heavenly places. If my perspective starts there, it is a different narrative. We are not sitting next to our problems looking up to Christ; we are sitting next to Christ looking down at our problems. And that, friends, changes the game.
I hope you have a spectacular week. May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.
Love y’all,
—Harp
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