Olive Branch

Sent forth as sheep in the midst of wolves

[Sophie Pedder @PedderSophie]

D-Day commemoration, Omaha Beach, June 6 2024

Zelensky arrived, the crowd applauded. And then this happened:

🇺🇸 veteran: You’re a saviour of the people

Zelensky: No, no, you saved Europe

🇺🇸 veteran: My hero

Zelensky: No, you are our hero

🇺🇸🇫🇷🇺🇦

[Crazy Moments @Crazymoments01]

The fully armored K9 looked exhausted—then a toddler handed him a tiny pillow and the entire parking lot melted

[Beth Moore @BethMooreLPM]

Those in the SBC who think I no longer should have anything to say about the SBC profoundly underestimate the power of love. I’d served southern Baptist women for 40 years by the time I left. And when I left, I left directly on their behalf because it became disturbingly clear to me that the SBC as an entity was more interested in protecting shepherds than the sheep entrusted to their care. When protecting the pulpit from women becomes a far greater priority than protecting women (& children) from an abusive pulpit, something is wrong. Which has been the greater problem: women trying to become your senior pastors or pastors misusing or abusing women?

My biggest concern is that what happened with the CRT witch-hunt will happen now in regard to women. The overreach resulted in numerous pastors, teachers and professors dropping the immensely important biblical teachings against racism rather than risk being accused of CRT. I heard from pastors at that time who preached against racism and already had emails Monday morning from people in their congregation accusing them of CRT. Because the difference wasn’t clarified, they lumped all of it into the one category. The aim became: shut every mouth to shut some mouths.

I pled for SBC seminary presidents and leaders to please clarify to pastors and teachers and, thereby, to congregations & students what qualified as CRT and what indeed was the proper and deeply rooted and needed biblical approach to anti-gospel racism.

Crickets.

I see the same potential here. I have never once fought for SBC women to take over church pulpits. I have esteemed and supported the role of male senior pastors. My own pastors would tell you that. If you think I was in the SBC trying to lead a revolution against men, you are clearly not familiar with my materials. What I believed then and believe now is that God has called both men and women to serve their churches and communities and proclaim the gospel. He has poured out his Holy Spirit on men AND on women, calling them to broadcast the good news.

You have beaten the drum loudly about what women in SBC churches cannot do. So, what CAN they do? Clarity here is essential. What is a woman to do who has been gifted BY GOD to teach the Bible, especially if her church has moved to the community group model and there is no Sunday school to teach?

Here is what I see on the horizon. If you leave these matters involving women so vague that it becomes about pastoral roles/actions rather than the title of pastor, it will shift to the subjective rather than objective. I wish I was naïve enough to think that wasn’t the point to some of these leaders but, sadly, I’m not.

What if that senior pastor doesn’t allow a woman on the prayer team to pray over people at the end of the service because he deems she is acting pastorally? What if the pastor sees that a woman’s Sunday school class of WOMEN is getting, in his estimation, a little too big? Can he just decide she acting pastorally and remove her from the role? Can she counsel people with her God-given wisdom and knowledge or would she be acting pastorally? The examples could go on and on. And, of course, I realize many would not use their positions to disesteem women but surely you and I both know countless others would. God only knows how many unqualified, unloving, mean-spirited men are in pastoral positions but the obsession remains the women.

I have no desire to see SBC women leave the denomination. I loved and flourished in that denomination. I want them to be able to flourish in their spiritual gifts. I want them to be esteemed in their serving inside and outside their homes. I want them to be able to serve Jesus and proclaim his glorious gospel.

I know I’m going to get hit here. That’s fine. But you should know I will fight for them to the death. Because I love them. And, yes, whether they love me or not.

[UMUDIASPORA🖤 @_lamar__1]

The old man terrified the audience on AGT!!! 😱

[David French @DavidAFrench]

"At the moment, the United States is negotiating with a regime that President Trump claimed we had already changed, to open a strait that was supposed to be open last month, and to end a nuclear program that we said we had obliterated."

So no, things are not going well: https://t.co/N1whNpkzAw

[Beth Moore @BethMooreLPM]

These precious babies are tucked in a tree right outside our church doors. What a sweet gift this Pentecost Sunday!

[Nancy French @NancyAFrench]

Took a time lapse video of yesterday’s clouds! So pretty! ☁️⛅️☁️

[CeCe @cecegkh]

The Golden Girls, but with today’s hair and styling.

From big 80s perms to sleek, fresh looks, Blanche is out here serving main character energy, Rose looks like your cool aunt who does Pilates, and Sophia and Dorothy still delivering one liners with the best of them.

Do you think the comedy would still hit the same today?

[sofia @sofiatieger]

Nobody told me THIS about chips

[David French @DavidAFrench]

"I don’t want politicians to be 'authentic.' I want them to be decent. I want them to be honest. I want them to be competent. And if they fail those tests, they don’t redeem themselves by opposing Donald Trump." https://t.co/chfmWbqJPV

[Beth Moore @BethMooreLPM]

Came upon this in a jewelry box & smiled. 6th grade. A marvelous thing about older age is how you develop compassion toward all your younger selves. I can look on that picture and think, oh man, look how sweet she was. Not all beaten up yet. And I can think on the years and disasters and abuses and failures and sins and fears she’d have ahead and think, Jesus loved me all along. Same is true of you. Give those younger persons you were a break. Life‘s hard. God never for one moment loved you less.

[Beth Moore @BethMooreLPM]

Keith & I are in the waiting room of his doctor’s office chatting away & we didn’t see eye to eye on something which is not seldom the case. He said, “Sometimes you tick me off.” Only he didn’t say tick. And I said, “Same to you and more of it,” Then we just busted out laughing.

[Olive Branch @dostonecypher]

@NancyAFrench Amen!

[Nancy French @NancyAFrench]

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:5

[Nancy French @NancyAFrench]

“The earth laughs in flowers.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson #chicago

[Beth Moore @BethMooreLPM]

Please don’t let the hypocrisies of those who claim Christ keep you from Christ. Numbers 23:19 says God is not a human that he should lie or a son of man that he should change his mind. He is not us. We must know Jesus firsthand so we recognize who he is and who he’s not.

[Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock @SenatorWarnock]

“For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray.” Matthew 24:5

[Tim Alberta @TimAlberta]

My conviction remains:

God did not ordain Donald Trump to rescue the American church, or revive the American church, or redeem the American church.

God ordained Donald Trump to test the American church. And the American church has failed.

[Edward Feser @FeserEdward]

“And the king shall do according to his will; he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods…He shall not give heed to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all” (Daniel 15:36-37)