T - PEOPLE-FILES
- Rachel Tabachnick - Brian Tabb - Joni Eareckson Tada - Johannon Tate - Adam Russell Taylor - Barbara Brown Taylor - Kandiss Taylor - Matthew Taylor - Boz Tchividjian - Tim Tebow - Eli Tenenbaum - Lysa Terkeurst - Paul Terry - Bill Tevet -
==rachel tabachnick======
Rachel Tabachnick (former PRA associate fellow) researches, writes, and speaks about the impact of the Religious Right on policy and politics including civil rights, education, economics, environment, foreign policy, and labor. She produces presentations and speaks on conservative infrastructure and the intersection of the Religious Right and other sectors of the Right, including “free market” think tanks. Rachel has been interviewed on NPR and other radio and print media across the nation on topics including the New Apostolic Reformation, Christian Zionism, and education privatization.
Rachel Tabachnick Files
Christian reconstructionism is "about bringing government in all areas of life under biblical law, a continuation of the Mosaic law in the Old Testament, with some exceptions...........This dispensation would include, according to Gary North, public execution of women who have abortions and those who advise them to have an abortion.....Nobody cares about the theocratic, draconian future envisioned by reconstructionists because they don't believe it will happen.......Christian reconstructionism is the merger of a distinct brand of Calvinism with Austrian School economics. In other words, it's an interpretation of the Bible grounded in property rights. What Rushdoony provided is a package that included attacking what these fundamentalists hated and feared most in society, often expressed in terms of "This is communist. This is socialist......Rushdoony's ideas went out in bits and pieces. The Christian right leaders took what they wanted and discarded what they didn't.........Throughout these movements there is also an attempt to turn the tables on the claims of racism.......This is one of the roles that anti-abortion activism as abolition plays. Also, there's a promotion of narratives that provide a different history and legal justifications for interposition, nullification and even secession. One of the things that Christian reconstructionism has added to this dialogue is the concept of the lower magistrate."
Tabachnick explains it, the "lesser magistrate" is a heroic figure who "resists the tyranny of a higher authority" — defining "tyranny" in biblical terms, potentially including any number of popular or common-sense laws or policies. This notion first gained salience in the anti-abortion context in the 1980s and '90s.........Many violent anti-abortionists have justified their actions in reconstructionist teachings," she said. "One of these was Paul Hill, who studied under one of the major reconstructionist leaders and corresponded with others....After Hill went on to murder Dr. John Britton, a physician who performed abortions, in 1994. Hill was executed in 2003, but the reconstructionist movement sought to cast him out well before that.........Gary North responded, after the murders had taken place, in a book called 'Lone Gunners for Jesus............His message to Hill was, "You're going to burn in hell, you've been excommunicated. This was because Paul Hill stepped outside the bounds of the guidelines set by the movement......On the basis of their belief of what the law or the word of God is, they are allowed — on the advice, on the interposition, of a lesser magistrate — to commit acts of violence..........This movement believes that rights come from God and not from any government. Therefore, any 'rights' that conflict with their interpretation of God's law are not actually rights. They are 'humanist' or a product of man's laws and not God's laws. This theme of 'human rights' versus inalienable rights from God has been at the center of the Christian Reconstructionist movement since its beginnings. The goal of reconstructionism is to tear down the existing order and reconstruct a new society based on biblical law. Even if we assume that this vision of a theocratic America will never come to fruition, it's important to recognize the movement's impact on the ideas, strategies and tactics of the larger religious right and its role in sacralizing the actions of other anti-statist fellow travelers. As I wrote almost a decade ago, the theocratic libertarianism of Christian reconstructionism has been surprisingly seductive to Tea Partiers and young libertarians — many of whom may not realize what is supposed to happen after the government is stripped of its regulatory powers." --Rachel Tabachnick on "Christian Reconstruction" and RJ Rushdoony; Salon; 10.31.21
Tabachnick explains it, the "lesser magistrate" is a heroic figure who "resists the tyranny of a higher authority" — defining "tyranny" in biblical terms, potentially including any number of popular or common-sense laws or policies. This notion first gained salience in the anti-abortion context in the 1980s and '90s.........Many violent anti-abortionists have justified their actions in reconstructionist teachings," she said. "One of these was Paul Hill, who studied under one of the major reconstructionist leaders and corresponded with others....After Hill went on to murder Dr. John Britton, a physician who performed abortions, in 1994. Hill was executed in 2003, but the reconstructionist movement sought to cast him out well before that.........Gary North responded, after the murders had taken place, in a book called 'Lone Gunners for Jesus............His message to Hill was, "You're going to burn in hell, you've been excommunicated. This was because Paul Hill stepped outside the bounds of the guidelines set by the movement......On the basis of their belief of what the law or the word of God is, they are allowed — on the advice, on the interposition, of a lesser magistrate — to commit acts of violence..........This movement believes that rights come from God and not from any government. Therefore, any 'rights' that conflict with their interpretation of God's law are not actually rights. They are 'humanist' or a product of man's laws and not God's laws. This theme of 'human rights' versus inalienable rights from God has been at the center of the Christian Reconstructionist movement since its beginnings. The goal of reconstructionism is to tear down the existing order and reconstruct a new society based on biblical law. Even if we assume that this vision of a theocratic America will never come to fruition, it's important to recognize the movement's impact on the ideas, strategies and tactics of the larger religious right and its role in sacralizing the actions of other anti-statist fellow travelers. As I wrote almost a decade ago, the theocratic libertarianism of Christian reconstructionism has been surprisingly seductive to Tea Partiers and young libertarians — many of whom may not realize what is supposed to happen after the government is stripped of its regulatory powers." --Rachel Tabachnick on "Christian Reconstruction" and RJ Rushdoony; Salon; 10.31.21
==brian tabb======
Brian Tabb is president and professor of biblical studies at Bethlehem College and Seminary, general editor of Themelios, and author of multiple books, including After Emmaus and All Things New. He and his wife, Kristin, have four children and are members of The North Church.
“Blessed” means truly happy and favored by God (as in Psalm 1:1). Our society defines the good life by accumulation of possessions, by personal achievements and autonomy. But the good life is actually found in seeking the true God, keeping his ways, and being happy in him. -Brian Tabb
==joni eareckson tada======
Joni Eareckson Tada (born October 15, 1949) is an American evangelical Christian author, radio host, artist, and founder of Joni and Friends, an organization "accelerating Christian ministry in the disability community".On July 30, 1967, when she was 17 years old, she dove into the Chesapeake Bay after misjudging the shallowness of the water. She had a fracture between the fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae and became a
quadriplegic (or tetraplegic), paralyzed from the shoulders down. During Tada's two years of rehabilitation, according to her autobiography Joni, she experienced anger, depression, suicidal thoughts, and religious doubts. However, during occupational therapy, she learned to paint with a brush between her teeth and began selling her artwork. She also writes this way, although for most writing tasks she relies on voice recognition software. To date, she has written over forty books, recorded several musical albums, and starred in an autobiographical movie of her life, and is an advocate for people with disabilities.
quadriplegic (or tetraplegic), paralyzed from the shoulders down. During Tada's two years of rehabilitation, according to her autobiography Joni, she experienced anger, depression, suicidal thoughts, and religious doubts. However, during occupational therapy, she learned to paint with a brush between her teeth and began selling her artwork. She also writes this way, although for most writing tasks she relies on voice recognition software. To date, she has written over forty books, recorded several musical albums, and starred in an autobiographical movie of her life, and is an advocate for people with disabilities.
Joni Eareckson Tada
Fantasies, silly thoughts, vain imaginations, useless daydreams. These are the sorts of things which, if you let them, will puff themselves up so high in your head and heart that you’d swear they were true. A furtive thought that lingers on your mind and begins to wear a rut, repeating itself time and again. Maybe it could be a false hope; it could be an unfounded fear; whatever it is, it doesn’t belong in your head. It’s nothing but a vain imagination.
And I know from experience that if you let these vain imaginations grab hold of you, they become just that: powerful strongholds. And every time you rehearse that daydream it’s like laying more bricks, making the stronghold higher in your head. The more you repeat the imagination, the more powerful the hold it has on you – so powerful that even when you want to kick the thoughts out of your head, you can’t. The pull of the imagination has become, at that point, too strong.
Now you can try the self-help route, the old turning over a new leaf. “I’m not going to think these thoughts. I’m not going to let these imaginations rule my day. I’m not going to waste any more time daydreaming.” I’ve tried to do that. You know, single-handedly dismantle strongholds in my mind. But it doesn’t work. And that’s why I am so grateful for 2 Corinthians 10:4 because it says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.” Christians have got divine power, and that’s the key. Divine power – power to tear down every vain imagination. And the next verse goes on to assure you and me that we can actually “demolish every stronghold that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and [then we can] take captive every thought [and] make it obedient to Christ.”
-- Joni Eareckson Tada: Joni & Friends: Vain Imaginations 4.15.21
And I know from experience that if you let these vain imaginations grab hold of you, they become just that: powerful strongholds. And every time you rehearse that daydream it’s like laying more bricks, making the stronghold higher in your head. The more you repeat the imagination, the more powerful the hold it has on you – so powerful that even when you want to kick the thoughts out of your head, you can’t. The pull of the imagination has become, at that point, too strong.
Now you can try the self-help route, the old turning over a new leaf. “I’m not going to think these thoughts. I’m not going to let these imaginations rule my day. I’m not going to waste any more time daydreaming.” I’ve tried to do that. You know, single-handedly dismantle strongholds in my mind. But it doesn’t work. And that’s why I am so grateful for 2 Corinthians 10:4 because it says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.” Christians have got divine power, and that’s the key. Divine power – power to tear down every vain imagination. And the next verse goes on to assure you and me that we can actually “demolish every stronghold that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and [then we can] take captive every thought [and] make it obedient to Christ.”
-- Joni Eareckson Tada: Joni & Friends: Vain Imaginations 4.15.21
==johannon tate======
Pastors slam Todd Starnes for urging Christians to leave churches if they didn’t preach on Trump attack
The Rev. Johannon Tate, senior pastor at New Era Baptist Church in Middletown, Ohio, said he didn’t preach about the attempted assassination of the former president and said it had nothing to do with “spiritual warfare.” “I didn’t [preach about the assassination attempt] and I guarantee not one member of our church will leave…this ain’t spiritual warfare…try again,” Tate wrote on X.
(Christian Post 7/15/24) READMORE>>>>>
The Rev. Johannon Tate, senior pastor at New Era Baptist Church in Middletown, Ohio, said he didn’t preach about the attempted assassination of the former president and said it had nothing to do with “spiritual warfare.” “I didn’t [preach about the assassination attempt] and I guarantee not one member of our church will leave…this ain’t spiritual warfare…try again,” Tate wrote on X.
(Christian Post 7/15/24) READMORE>>>>>
==adam russell taylor======
Rev. Adam Russell Taylor is president of Sojourners and author of A More Perfect Union: A New Vision for Building the Beloved Community. Taylor previously led the Faith Initiative at the World Bank Group and served as the vice president in charge of Advocacy at World Vision U.S. and the senior political director at Sojourners. He has also served as the executive director of Global Justice, an organization that educates and mobilizes students around global human rights and economic justice. He was selected for the 2009/2010 class of White House Fellows and served in the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs and Public Engagement. Taylor is a graduate of Emory University, the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology. Taylor also serves on the Independent Sector Board, the Global Advisory Board of Tearfund UK, and is a member of the inaugural class of the Aspen Institute Civil Society Fellowship. Taylor is ordained in the American Baptist Church and the Progressive National Baptist Convention and serves in ministry at the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va.
Adam Russell Taylor Files
“This kind of overt embrace of white Christian nationalism continues to pose a growing threat to the witness of the church and the health of our democracy. This pastor and this effort are trying to impose a Christian theocracy. It’s imperative that Christian leaders of all backgrounds including conservative ones speak out about this effort as a threat to our democracy and to the church." -Adam Russell Taylor; Sojourners; 5.1.23
barbara brown taylor |
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April 2, 2023: Amarillo Globe News: Another view: Gratitude for our clergy
As we rejoice at the coming of the risen Lord, I am reflecting upon Barbara Brown Taylor’s extraordinary memoir, Leaving Church. Despite being raised in a strict religious, church-going home (I even lived with Incarnate Word nuns in San Antonio my junior year in high school), I had no idea how difficult it is to be a member of the clergy. May 2, 2018: Christianity Today: Tim Keller, John Piper, and Andy Stanley Among the 12 ‘Most Effective’ Preachers
Barbara Brown Taylor, former Episcopal priest, professor, author, and theologian. She has served on the faculties of Columbia Theological Seminary, Emory's Candler School of Theology, and Mercer University's McAfee School of Theology. Taylor wrote for CT Pastors on “preaching the terrors” and ventured into “unconventional spirituality” with more recent books like An Altar in the World. She also made LifeWay’s top 10 list. |
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==kandiss taylor======
March 8, 2023: Religion Dispatches: SHOULD WE EXPECT TO SEE A RISE IN CHRISTIAN NATIONALIST VIOLENCE IN THE US?
Consider the words of Kandiss Taylor, a former candidate for governor of Georgia: “The good thing about the First Amendment is that if you’re a Jew or you’re a Muslim or you’re a Buddhist, you still get to worship your god because you’re in America. But you don’t get to silence us,” she declared last year to an approving audience. She went on to proclaim: “we’re running the state with Jesus Christ first.”
Consider the words of Kandiss Taylor, a former candidate for governor of Georgia: “The good thing about the First Amendment is that if you’re a Jew or you’re a Muslim or you’re a Buddhist, you still get to worship your god because you’re in America. But you don’t get to silence us,” she declared last year to an approving audience. She went on to proclaim: “we’re running the state with Jesus Christ first.”
===matthew taylor============
As MAGA pastors gain influence, let’s talk about peace instead of power
Matthew Taylor, author of The Violent Take It By Force and who has done extensive research on how the New Apostolic Reformation fueled the January 6 insurrection attempt, told Axios, “It’s a tectonic shift in power. … You have all these pastors who would have been laughed out of the room 20 years ago.” But today, Taylor says these same pastors are “driving the dynamics.” (Baptist News Global 1/19/24) READMORE>>>>>
Matthew Taylor, author of The Violent Take It By Force and who has done extensive research on how the New Apostolic Reformation fueled the January 6 insurrection attempt, told Axios, “It’s a tectonic shift in power. … You have all these pastors who would have been laughed out of the room 20 years ago.” But today, Taylor says these same pastors are “driving the dynamics.” (Baptist News Global 1/19/24) READMORE>>>>>
Matthew Taylor
NAR prophets still declaring Trump is God’s man, scholar warns
“We’re talking about a particular form of Christian spirituality that is interested in recapturing the supernatural dimensions of early Christianity. And we’re particularly talking here about what we as scholars call the independent charismatic sector. So this is the nondenominational part of the Pentecostal charismatic world, and within that world, which is its own kind of subculture with evangelicalism, the New Apostolic Reformation are a set of thought leaders. They’re a network of celebrities....Wagner, who was an expert in church growth, became obsessed with this independent charismatic world and with some of the leaders who were there and with this idea that had been percolating in that world for quite a while of the renewed leadership roles of apostles and prophets,” he explained. Part of the challenge with talking about groups like this is they don’t look and don’t function institutionally the way we tend to think about Christianity functioning. And so there’s not a hierarchy, there’s not a statement of faith, there’s not a database that you can point to and say, ‘Oh, this person is NAR or this person’s not.’ So in this NAR conception, apostles primarily govern the church. They become in some ways sort of spiritual oligarchs who work in tandem, and then the prophets kind of advise, and they truly believe these people are prophets.” Some of these apostolic and prophetic movements “rival the size of denominations, but you’ve never heard of them because they fly under the radar. They’re subterranean often and within this world, there’s a very strong emphasis on what is called spiritual warfare, a very aggressive vision of spiritual warfare that gets mapped onto societies and onto politics. And so in their world, the apostles and prophets are generals of spiritual warfare who have authority to cast out high-level demons, but who also are empowered to mobilize mass campaigns of spiritual warfare to get hundreds of thousands or millions of Christians praying and concentrating on the same cause. And part of what I’m arguing in my book is that one of the major factors that fed into January 6 was a mass spiritual warfare campaign organized by the New Apostolic Reformation. And so by the time of the 2020 election cycle, you had hundreds of charismatic prophets all prophesying in unison, in harmony, saying each of us received revelations from God that God intends for Donald Trump to have a second term. When Trump refused to concede the election, almost all of those prophets said, ‘We aren’t recanting our prophecies. God is going to have to intervene supernaturally to put Donald Trump back in office.’ And they begin mobilizing a mass spiritual warfare campaign that culminates on January 6, and a number of these leaders from Wagner’s inner circle with the president there, especially Lance Wallnau, who has been making more national news more recently because of his efforts in this election......Once again, all these prophecies are there around Donald Trump. Those prophecies have not gone away. In fact, many of the prophets have said, ‘Well, I was told two terms. I didn’t say two consecutive terms.’ So those prophecies are still there. In fact, the assassination attempt on Trump has thrown all those prophecies into overdrive because many of the prophets are saying, ‘See, this is a sign that God’s hand and anointing is on Donald Trump.’” --Matthew Taylor; Baptist News Global: NAR Prophets Still Declaring Trump is God's man, scholar warns (9/13/24)
“We’re talking about a particular form of Christian spirituality that is interested in recapturing the supernatural dimensions of early Christianity. And we’re particularly talking here about what we as scholars call the independent charismatic sector. So this is the nondenominational part of the Pentecostal charismatic world, and within that world, which is its own kind of subculture with evangelicalism, the New Apostolic Reformation are a set of thought leaders. They’re a network of celebrities....Wagner, who was an expert in church growth, became obsessed with this independent charismatic world and with some of the leaders who were there and with this idea that had been percolating in that world for quite a while of the renewed leadership roles of apostles and prophets,” he explained. Part of the challenge with talking about groups like this is they don’t look and don’t function institutionally the way we tend to think about Christianity functioning. And so there’s not a hierarchy, there’s not a statement of faith, there’s not a database that you can point to and say, ‘Oh, this person is NAR or this person’s not.’ So in this NAR conception, apostles primarily govern the church. They become in some ways sort of spiritual oligarchs who work in tandem, and then the prophets kind of advise, and they truly believe these people are prophets.” Some of these apostolic and prophetic movements “rival the size of denominations, but you’ve never heard of them because they fly under the radar. They’re subterranean often and within this world, there’s a very strong emphasis on what is called spiritual warfare, a very aggressive vision of spiritual warfare that gets mapped onto societies and onto politics. And so in their world, the apostles and prophets are generals of spiritual warfare who have authority to cast out high-level demons, but who also are empowered to mobilize mass campaigns of spiritual warfare to get hundreds of thousands or millions of Christians praying and concentrating on the same cause. And part of what I’m arguing in my book is that one of the major factors that fed into January 6 was a mass spiritual warfare campaign organized by the New Apostolic Reformation. And so by the time of the 2020 election cycle, you had hundreds of charismatic prophets all prophesying in unison, in harmony, saying each of us received revelations from God that God intends for Donald Trump to have a second term. When Trump refused to concede the election, almost all of those prophets said, ‘We aren’t recanting our prophecies. God is going to have to intervene supernaturally to put Donald Trump back in office.’ And they begin mobilizing a mass spiritual warfare campaign that culminates on January 6, and a number of these leaders from Wagner’s inner circle with the president there, especially Lance Wallnau, who has been making more national news more recently because of his efforts in this election......Once again, all these prophecies are there around Donald Trump. Those prophecies have not gone away. In fact, many of the prophets have said, ‘Well, I was told two terms. I didn’t say two consecutive terms.’ So those prophecies are still there. In fact, the assassination attempt on Trump has thrown all those prophecies into overdrive because many of the prophets are saying, ‘See, this is a sign that God’s hand and anointing is on Donald Trump.’” --Matthew Taylor; Baptist News Global: NAR Prophets Still Declaring Trump is God's man, scholar warns (9/13/24)
Speaker Johnson's close ties to Christian right — both mainstream and fringe
"Dutch Sheets did more, in my estimation, than any Christian leader to organize Christians for January 6th," said Matthew D. Taylor, a senior scholar at The Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies. Taylor has a forthcoming book on the role Christian extremism played in efforts to fraudulently overturn the 2020 election and fuel the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Johnson may not know Sheets personally, but they have deep ties to a network of religious leaders who have advocated to end or weaken the separation of church and state, and for Christianity to play a more dominant role governing society. Taken to its extreme — as it was by some adherents on Jan. 6 — it embraces anti-democratic means to achieve their end. Johnson's rapid elevation to the height of power in Washington gives allies of this movement — who also boast close ties with presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump — direct lines to leaders of the Republican Party.
(Susan Davis/NPR 11/15/23) READ MORE>>>>>
"Dutch Sheets did more, in my estimation, than any Christian leader to organize Christians for January 6th," said Matthew D. Taylor, a senior scholar at The Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies. Taylor has a forthcoming book on the role Christian extremism played in efforts to fraudulently overturn the 2020 election and fuel the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Johnson may not know Sheets personally, but they have deep ties to a network of religious leaders who have advocated to end or weaken the separation of church and state, and for Christianity to play a more dominant role governing society. Taken to its extreme — as it was by some adherents on Jan. 6 — it embraces anti-democratic means to achieve their end. Johnson's rapid elevation to the height of power in Washington gives allies of this movement — who also boast close ties with presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump — direct lines to leaders of the Republican Party.
(Susan Davis/NPR 11/15/23) READ MORE>>>>>
Jan 10, 2023: Baptist News Global: The New Apostolic Reformation drove the January 6 riots, so why was it overlooked by the House Select Committee?
These are some of the questions Matthew Taylor, a Protestant Scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies, seeks to answer in a series on the Straight White American Jesus podcast titled Charismatic Revival Fury: The New Apostolic Reformation.
Taylor says while the January 6 insurrection was a conglomeration of different groups and perspectives coming together, a significant portion of the attack holds the markings of “charismatic revival fury.”
These are some of the questions Matthew Taylor, a Protestant Scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies, seeks to answer in a series on the Straight White American Jesus podcast titled Charismatic Revival Fury: The New Apostolic Reformation.
Taylor says while the January 6 insurrection was a conglomeration of different groups and perspectives coming together, a significant portion of the attack holds the markings of “charismatic revival fury.”
==Boz Tchividjian======
“Boz” Tchividjian is a former child abuse chief prosecutor and is the founder and executive director of GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment). Boz is also a Professor of Law at Liberty University School of Law, and is a published author who speaks and writes extensively on issues related to abuse within the faith community. Boz is the 3rd-eldest grandchild of the Rev. Billy Graham. He is a graduate of Stetson University and Cumberland School of Law (Samford University).
SBC President Bart Barber apologizes for filing legal brief seeking to limit liability for sex abuse
Billy Graham’s grandson and former child abuse prosecutor, Boz Tchividjian, who now helps abuse survivors through his private practice Boz Law, appeared to endorse on X Monday, a recommendation by other survivor advocates, Christa Brown, David Clohessy, and Dave Pittman, that the SBC Executive Committee withdraw the brief and write a new one supporting the Kentucky law in favor of survivors.
“Merely withdrawing the brief is not enough. They still would benefit from it because, once filed, a brief can’t be unseen. So, if indeed the Executive Committee is remorseful about the brief, then it needs to affirmatively disavow the brief,” the advocates wrote in an op-ed for Baptist News Global.
(Leonardo Blair/Christian Post 10/31/23)
Read More>>>>>
Billy Graham’s grandson and former child abuse prosecutor, Boz Tchividjian, who now helps abuse survivors through his private practice Boz Law, appeared to endorse on X Monday, a recommendation by other survivor advocates, Christa Brown, David Clohessy, and Dave Pittman, that the SBC Executive Committee withdraw the brief and write a new one supporting the Kentucky law in favor of survivors.
“Merely withdrawing the brief is not enough. They still would benefit from it because, once filed, a brief can’t be unseen. So, if indeed the Executive Committee is remorseful about the brief, then it needs to affirmatively disavow the brief,” the advocates wrote in an op-ed for Baptist News Global.
(Leonardo Blair/Christian Post 10/31/23)
Read More>>>>>
tim tebow
Mar 24, 2012: New York Times: Tebow in Babylon
There was a moment last week when it looked as if the trade shipping Tebow from the Denver Broncos to the New York Jets might somehow fall through — that Tebow might end up a Jacksonville Jaguar instead, with a guaranteed starting job, a heavily evangelical fan base, and none of the insanity involved in eclipsing Jeremy Lin as the most famous Christian athlete in Babylon-upon-the-Hudson.
O ye of little faith. Did you think that the Lord God of Hosts, having raised Tebow up as a Gideon of the gridiron, would pass up the opportunity to put his faithful servant to the test? Did you think that the angelic screenwriters responsible for scripting last year’s succession of Tebow-related improbabilities had nodded off after the Broncos were dispatched in the A.F.C. playoffs? Did you think that the archons and demiurges who preside over America’s culture war would be content to let Tebow fade into obscurity — some red-state-friendly endorsement deals, a few 6-10 finishes, and then early retirement and a lifetime of under-the-radar charity work?
There was a moment last week when it looked as if the trade shipping Tebow from the Denver Broncos to the New York Jets might somehow fall through — that Tebow might end up a Jacksonville Jaguar instead, with a guaranteed starting job, a heavily evangelical fan base, and none of the insanity involved in eclipsing Jeremy Lin as the most famous Christian athlete in Babylon-upon-the-Hudson.
O ye of little faith. Did you think that the Lord God of Hosts, having raised Tebow up as a Gideon of the gridiron, would pass up the opportunity to put his faithful servant to the test? Did you think that the angelic screenwriters responsible for scripting last year’s succession of Tebow-related improbabilities had nodded off after the Broncos were dispatched in the A.F.C. playoffs? Did you think that the archons and demiurges who preside over America’s culture war would be content to let Tebow fade into obscurity — some red-state-friendly endorsement deals, a few 6-10 finishes, and then early retirement and a lifetime of under-the-radar charity work?
Jan 5, 2023: New York Times: Prayers for Damar Hamlin Show Bond Between Football and Faith
Former N.F.L. quarterback Tim Tebow — now one of several ex-N.F.L. players who are popular speakers at Christian conferences and churches — was known for dropping to one knee and bowing his head on the field, a move that became known as “Tebowing.”
Former N.F.L. quarterback Tim Tebow — now one of several ex-N.F.L. players who are popular speakers at Christian conferences and churches — was known for dropping to one knee and bowing his head on the field, a move that became known as “Tebowing.”
Nov 14, 2022: Baptist News Global: Tim Tebow, male leadership and the ‘feminine,’ ‘weak’ church
We should know by now that the way of Jesus abolishes any kind of system — there is a new world order in God’s kin’dom. God is continuously working to regain what was lost in Eden, by pointing us back to God’s original vision, says Carolyn Custis James in Malestrom: How Jesus Dismantles Patriarchy and Redefines Manhood
We should know by now that the way of Jesus abolishes any kind of system — there is a new world order in God’s kin’dom. God is continuously working to regain what was lost in Eden, by pointing us back to God’s original vision, says Carolyn Custis James in Malestrom: How Jesus Dismantles Patriarchy and Redefines Manhood
May 27, 2017: New York Post: Ravi Zacharias, Preacher Who Used Reason to Defend Faith, Dies at 74
His high-profile followers include Tim Tebow, the professional baseball player and former N.F.L. quarterback. Mr. Tebow formed a friendship with Mr. Zacharias, and in early May, as the preacher battled cancer, posted a video tribute on Instagram in which he said, “I think it’s really important in life to have heroes, and especially in the faith, and one of my heroes of the faith is a man named Ravi Zacharias.
His high-profile followers include Tim Tebow, the professional baseball player and former N.F.L. quarterback. Mr. Tebow formed a friendship with Mr. Zacharias, and in early May, as the preacher battled cancer, posted a video tribute on Instagram in which he said, “I think it’s really important in life to have heroes, and especially in the faith, and one of my heroes of the faith is a man named Ravi Zacharias.
==eli tenenbaum======
June 29, 2022: Omaha World Herald: Ricketts says Nebraska schools should consider allowing 'religious accommodation'
Earlier in the press conference, Rabbi Eli Tenenbaum suggested schools add a moment of silence during the day for students of all faiths to be able to reflect on their religion, and Ricketts supported this idea.
Earlier in the press conference, Rabbi Eli Tenenbaum suggested schools add a moment of silence during the day for students of all faiths to be able to reflect on their religion, and Ricketts supported this idea.
==lysa terkeurst======
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Christian Devotional Books: 10 Faith-Based Daily Companions Finding peace and meaning in each day feels like an impossible task when juggling endless to-do's. But in her 50-day devotional, beloved Christian author and speaker Lysa TerKeurst offers insight for releasing what's weighing you down and ideas for refreshing your perspective each day. With space to write, prayers to pray and beautiful photos, it's a gentle guide to deepening your faith, joy and hope. What readers are saying: "Lysa does it again with another great devotional. I love that it has morning and evening reads that help me to stay focused on my relationship with the Lord." (MSN 7/2/24) READ MORE>>>>> |
October 9, 2024: TerKeurst shared in an interview on The Stetzer Church Leaders Podcast: “There is this pressure on Christians, and maybe even especially Christian leaders, to always believe the best about other people.. It’s almost like, okay, if you love God, then you have to trust unconditionally. And I make a case in the book that not only is that not smart to do, but it’s not biblical either....We have to understand that as we step into leadership, we’re kind of signing up for this. So the stability can’t be in making sure to always attract the perfect congregation or always attract the perfect employees. The real goal here has to be to create an inner stability, recognizing our trust is going to get broken, but it shouldn’t break us in the process......In order to have trust in a relationship, you have to have safety and connection. So trust is really the oxygen of all human relationships.” |
==paul terry======
“With every passing day we slip farther and farther into George Orwell’s tyrannical dystopia. But because God is merciful, there was reason for hope. One man stood ready to redeem the country: Donald Trump. And he was about to come onstage. We know what he did for us and how he strove to lead us in honorable ways during his term as our president—in ways that brought your blessings to us, rather than your reproach and judgment. We know the hour is late. We know that time grows shorter for us to be saved and revived.”
--Paul Terry prayer at a Trump Rally in Durham in December 2023
--Paul Terry prayer at a Trump Rally in Durham in December 2023
==bill tevet======
April 12, 2023: Bharat Times: Trump and Iowa evangelicals: A bond that is hard to break
“He is not a perfect man. No one would say that. He is no King David,” said Rev. Bill Tevet of Oskaloosa. “But David was also tempted.”
Tveidt also compared Trump to the Biblical figure Cyrus, who was not a Christian but is lauded as an Old Testament hero for freeing the Jews from Babylonian captivity. “He’s a Cyrus, more of a keeper,” Tevet said.
“He is not a perfect man. No one would say that. He is no King David,” said Rev. Bill Tevet of Oskaloosa. “But David was also tempted.”
Tveidt also compared Trump to the Biblical figure Cyrus, who was not a Christian but is lauded as an Old Testament hero for freeing the Jews from Babylonian captivity. “He’s a Cyrus, more of a keeper,” Tevet said.
