If you have been impacted this year by COVID, you may have found yourself at times asking, “Why is this happening?” “Why now?” Or “Why do some businesses get to prosper while others aren’t allowed to open?” Why?

We all are asking these types of questions today and are struggling with answers leading to frustration, anger, and sometimes hopelessness. Yes, we may know that God somehow has a purpose, but that knowledge does not negate the feelings and reality of what is happening to us.

Robb Hiller is CEO of Performance SolutionsMN. He is nationally known for his expertise in talent selection, executive coaching, team development, sales, and leadership building. He was the CEO of a high-tech company, Minnesota Business Systems, where he developed a passion for acquiring talent and solving problems that executives face. He has assessed more than 24,000 people in the past 25 years. He is a business graduate of St. Olaf College. He and his wife have three adult children and live in Minnesota.

Down in the pit of depression, we struggle to see that far. We can’t feel the warmth of God’s love in that icy place. We have no assurance that God’s even there.

I get that low sometimes. I’ve believed and loved God for most of my life, and I write about Him all the time. But sometimes the silence at the other end of the line can push me into a place of doubt. I struggle with all the same 3 a.m. questions that you probably do. And while I don’t think depression is the cause of those doubts and questions, it certainly can make them louder.

When I find myself in that place, sooner or later I’ll be reminded of another pit—the one that a pair of English children (Eustace and Jill) and a strange, gangly creature called a Marshwiggle (Puddleglum by name) found themselves in during C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia book, The Silver Chair.

A few of my favorites include G.K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy, a clever, logical, and wildly fun illustration of why faith makes sense; C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity; and lots of stuff by Lee Strobel. The Language of God, by Nobel-winning scientist Francis S. Collins, is a great book for the more scientifically inclined. And, for philosophy majors, Anthony Flew’s There Is No A God is a pretty interesting read, too.

Working in the pro-life movement, I hear many stories of women that have experienced an abortion struggle with shame and regret silently in our churches. Lifeway Research published that 36% of women were attending a Christian church once a month or more when they made their abortion decision and 70% of women that have experienced an abortion indicate that they are Christian. They are sitting in our pews but not feeling as if they can run to the church for wisdom and guidance with their life-changing decision. So then after they choose abortion, they are immediately filled with shame and regret, not feeling that they can ever talk about their abortion experience.

Recently I met a woman and her husband and they are both pastors at their church. She had always hid her past abortion with everyone in her life other than her spouse because she feared it would bring condemnation. As a result, she had never completely healed.

AMY FORD is the President of Embrace Grace, Inc., a nonprofit organization formed for the purpose of providing curriculum and leadership support for churches nationwide to open their arms to young women with unplanned pregnancies. She is also the author of Help Her Be Brave: Discover Your Place in the Pro-Life Movement and the co-host of the Help Her Be Brave Podcast show which can be viewed at helpherbebrave.com. Amy resides in Arlington, Texas, has been married for 21 years, and has four beautiful children.

https://lifewayresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Care-Net-Final-Presentation-Report-Revised.pdf

What is the nature of worshiping God? In 1920 a famous strongman known as Kid Dundee lifted a barbell that weighed 1,454 kilograms (about 3,200 pounds) – roughly the same weight as the original Volkswagen Beetle with passengers! How would you have reacted if you had been near that strongman in that moment? Perhaps you would have been astonished, and that overwhelming feeling would have burst out as “Wow! This is unbelievable!”

This is the way a human being is designed. Humans are impressed with superiority, and we hasten to express it in words or emotions. This example helps us understand what worshiping God is in its essence.

It is important to understand that worship is something that is inside a person, coming from the state of one’s heart. And it inevitably seeks to come out by expressing itself in various forms: in trembling veneration, in singing, in a joyful spirit, in a pious attitude toward people, work, school, and so on.

Adapted from Kitchen Table Devotions: Worshiping God from A-Z as a Family by Sergey Sologub (© 2021). Published by Moody Publishers. Used by permission.

I’ll never forget my first and only Ironman triathlon finish. It was actually my third triathlon. My first was an Olympic distance and my second was a half iron man, and I had just turned 55. The training to complete the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and the 26.2-mile marathon run was brutal! But with God’s help, I crossed the finish line, victoriously with a smile. The end was better than the beginning!

Duke Senior, in Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” said, “Adversity can have its benefits…we can hear…sermons in the stones, and discover the good in every single thing.” What? Adversity can have its benefits? We can discover good in every single thing? What possible benefits could come out of 2020 with the adversity we have all faced? Was there any good in a single thing? Well, I suppose I could list some things…from my perspective. But what about your perspective? I’m certain that you, if you sincerely look for them, can find some jewels amidst the chaos. Personally, I think how we finish can be a good indication of how we start new beginnings. How we finish 2020 can be an indicator of how we start 2021.

John Adams has been pastoring New Life Church in Sandusky, Ohio for over 23 years and has served as a law enforcement chaplain for over a decade. He was recently featured as a guest on Michael Hyatt’s “Lead to Win” podcast and teaches “Emotional Survival for Pastors.” For more information, visit: PastorJohn.net

So what is it that YOU wanted for Christmas? (Please don’t say for the pandemic to end, though that was probably on the list for many this year!) Some of you probably have items from Amy Grant’s Grown-Up Christmas list song just dancing through your mind…no more lives torn apart, wars would never start, and time would heal all hearts. Those are just a few of the items that most adults might add to their list, if it were truly possible to receive such magnificent presents. No surprise they didn’t end up under your tree, huh? Maybe those things are just too difficult to fathom as being anything that would even be possible, but there are some gifts that can be given to missionaries that would bring almost as much joy!

Kirsten McClain serves as a Church Missions Consultant with OMF. She has been serving churches and mission agencies for the last 20 years. She has a heart to see the church realize her potential in missions and is driven to be a mobilizer to this end. She lives in Georgia with her husband and three children, and she is ready to direct pastors to the various free resources that OMF uses to come alongside churches and individuals so that they can do missions well. [email protected]

Resources related to retreat centers as listed in number two above can be found HERE

To the Citizens of the United States

We have bear witness to many events within the time of the 45th President of the United States.

The many events that have transpired take on meanings for us citizens seemingly dependent upon what ideology, faction, or encampment one has aligned themselves with. For this reason, I write to address the division of the nation in an effort to showcase the powers granted of the government no longer belong to the people nor the government but rest in the hands of but a few private and for-profit corporations.

We have all seen over the course of the years leading up to 2021 the consolidation of technology into the hands of larger corporations and the extinction of competitors across all sectors of technology. Our countries data and information, and to the greater extent our world, now flows through the gates of but just a few. Companies like Amazon, Google, Facebook, their subsidiaries, and cohorts. AWS alone hosts or controls the flow of over 40% of the surface web. Facebook has over 2.7 billion active monthly users. Google controls the keys to another 40% of the surface web. This, taken into account with its subsidiaries and cohorts, amounts to more than just a meager percentage of influence and control.

I just don’t feel God’s presence in my life.

For pastors, counselors, and others in ministry leadership, this is one of those common refrains heard on a regular basis. And yet it’s amazing how a simple phrase can indicate such a deep sense of crisis. In our churches, we have many tools that those seeking Him can use to open up an encounter with the living God, and yet for many people, as soon as Sunday worship is over, the preoccupations of normal life take over and the feeling of distance returns. Undoubtedly, this can be true just as much for those in leadership as those outside it.

What if the way forward isn’t simply to try harder in the rhythms we already have, but to consider an alternative way to develop our faith and the faith of others? What if the answer to being more spiritual isn’t all in our heads, but in God’s created world as well?

Our mission as Christians was the same yesterday as it is today and will be tomorrow. The world, however, is changing faster than ever before, and keeping up feels impossible. The realities of human life—from how we develop relationships to how we use technology to have impact—therefore change rapidly too. It’s critical that Christian leaders take this into consideration as they plan for their organizations’ future.

When we talk about this, many pastors say, “But my church has a vision and a mission! We know what we’re about!” Which is awesome. Vision and mission is vital—and you have taken a huge step in the right direction by doing some of the work around that for your community.

The complication is that neither of those things happen in a vacuum. The world around us is changing all the time, and so the context of that vision and mission becomes really relevant in new ways.

In What Comes Next?, strategists and innovation experts Nick Skytland and Ali Llewellyn use the eight elements of their Futures Framework to teach us how to help shape the future, be visionary, and grow our businesses and ministries. This futures-thinking process is a proven solution for executives, entrepreneurs, pastors, and anyone in between who struggles to respond to an ever-changing world. You can read more about it at futuresframework.com.

CityServe Imperial Valley (CA)

Each week, in a region close to the Californian/ Mexican border, Lupita Bawarski helps lead a CityServe

ministry in the Imperial Valley of California. When talking with her, she will humbly tell you stories of lives

being transformed by the love and hope of Jesus through her work and others. She speaks of single

mothers who need furniture and, in the process, get connected to the local church. She's made

friendships with those who live in the apartments for the disabled. In two cases, she noticed that her new

friends had broken wheelchairs. Lupita gave her new friends new wheelchairs from the CityServe

warehouse and prayed with them and introduced them to Jesus. More recently, while walking through a

neighborhood, she noticed that many of the houses had Christmas lights, except for one. She knocked on

the door, met the family who lived there and gifted them with solar-powered Christmas lights provided by

the CityServe ministry. Along with lights came a powerful testimony, a new friendship, and an invitation to

church.

My conversation with Lupita about lives being changed could go on for hours.

I was compelled to ask, "Lupita, so many people get intimidated in sharing their faith. How do you do it?"

Her answer. "Knock on the door and let the Holy Spirit do the work."

An amazing thing about these stories of the local church working together with CityServe resources is

how it's happening amid a pandemic that has caused severe economic effects.

CityServe Arkansas

Right now, 183 churches in the Little Rock, Arkansas area are unifying to reach their city and state with

the good news of Jesus. A majority of the churches are either African-American or Latino churches—the

unity and diversity that represents the Kingdom of God is seen in this city of almost 200,000.

Jessica Mauthe, the communications director for CityServe Arkansas, is excited about ministry during this

Christmas season. CityServe is working with the local churches to minister to the poor in their

communities with an outreach called, "Christmas Mall."