In our latest podcast, longtime minister and ministry trainer Mike Cope talks about the state of preachers and preaching in Churches of Christ, the headwinds congregations and ministers face together in the 21st century and what gives him hope and inspiration for the future of those preaching the Gospel.
Don’t expect to see Vladimir Putin in The Hague anytime soon — despite the warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court.
“We like to think we are here preparing a place for him,” Sasha Nikolaienko said as he welcomed church members from across the Netherlands and Belgium to his temporary home. The Christians gathered at the yellow brick meeting place of the Church of Christ to sing, eat and play games on a national holiday celebrating “Pinksteren,” Pentecost.
A dam in southern Ukraine collapsed, flooding over 100,000 acres, claiming lives, destroying farmland and polluting the water supply.
Dennis Zolotaryov saw dead bodies and furniture floating in the floodwaters when he traveled to the affected region, Kherson.
Zolotaryov, who worships with a Church of Christ, was part of a team of church members that took 2.5 tons of bottled water and filters to distribute to survivors.
Members of the Brentwood Hills Church of Christ in Nashville, Tenn., set their building ablaze for “Spark,” a Vacation Bible School from the book of Daniel — including a singing King Nebuchadnezzar.
The Babylonian monarch, after building a gold statue of himself, demanded that all his subjects bow down to it — to the tune of Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero.”
As we eagerly embrace normal again, whether a new normal or an old normal, let’s not lose that excitement, that joy of fellowship found in new ways, new places and new activities.
Although almost all congregations have returned to in-person worship, mine remains remote. I’ve been forced to realize that fellowship is much more than singing songs, shaking hands and sharing meals in the church fellowship hall.
