True Charity, Prayercast and SWBTS
Plus, the myth of the devout immigrant—and MinistryWatch in the news
EDITOR’S NOTE: “Signs and Wonders” is a column that shares thoughts on news items that either do not rise to the level of a news story for MinistryWatch or are slightly (even significantly) outside of our normal charity and philanthropy “beat.” My goal is to be punchy, opinionated, and not to worry much about being slightly off brand. If that is not for you, no hard feelings. But if it is…read on.
True Charity. I am in Jacksonville this week for the annual True Charity conference. If you are a regular reader of MinistryWatch, you know that I have been championing this great group for the past couple of years. The True Charity Network started when James Whitford wanted to share some of the hard won lessons he learned leading a ministry called Watered Gardens, which helps the poor in Joplin, Missouri. The network has grown to nearly 300 ministries and has become a “go-to” resource for those who want to know what the best practices are in ministry leadership. You can read more about True Charity here.
Prayercast. Are you familiar with the work of Prayercast? I do not know of another ministry like it. It produces videos that are prayers. Do you want to pray for Christians being persecuted in Nigeria? There is a Prayercast video for that. It is beautifully done, scripturally rich, theologically sound. I first encountered Prayercast videos at missions conferences, but I signed up for its mailing list and find them to be a welcome break in my day—and a reminder to pause and pray for my brothers and sisters, as well as the lost, around the world. One Way Ministries, who produces the Prayercast videos, gets one of MinistryWatch’s highest ratings. See its profile here.
SWBTS Back from the Brink. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has endured some tough times. It faced both leadership and financial challenges in the 2010s—but under President David Dockery’s tenure, most of those challenges seem to be behind it. Enrollment and giving are both up. A story in Baptist Press reported, “These measurements were part of the consideration of the recent Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges visiting team that reported they will recommend that all sanctions be lifted from Southwestern. “It was a very positive report that we received, both orally and now in writing,” Dockery said of the recent SACSCOC visitors. “It will go to the board of directors of SACSCOC in June. So, this will not be official until that board votes. We can’t quite celebrate yet, but we can give thanks to God for what is a giant step forward.”
Baptist Press said board chairman Bob Brown reflected on the difficult trials of recent years during his report, saying they can be grateful for all God has done even through that time.
“The trials that we as an institution have endured these last few years have indeed been challenging,” Brown said. “None of us would have chosen to experience them at the time, and none of us would want to go through them again. Yet this testing of the corporate faith of Southwestern, indeed of all Southwesterners, has produced an endurance that we now pray and hope brings a maturity and completeness to follow.”
The Myth of the Devout Immigrant. My go-to guy for charts and graphs, Ryan Burge, is myth busting again. He says the “myth of the devout immigrant” is not true. Burge says, “The idea that immigrants are just way more religious than folks who can trace their American ancestry back a hundred years is empirically false. At the highest level, the differences just aren’t that large.” Read more of his fascinating analysis here.
MinistryWatch in the Media. As they say in “the business,” MinistryWatch had a couple of media hits this week. I was live on NewsNation to talk about the AI generated image of Donald Trump that a lot of people thought made him look like Jesus. You can find that spot here. I was also on Christianity Today’s podcast “The Bulletin.” You can find that segment here.
Readers in Knoxville, Nashville, Dallas, Denver. My trip to LA last week was a great success. Thanks to all who came out for the various lunches and dinners we hosted in Los Angeles and Orange County last week. That trip is not the only one on the books. I would love to see you if you are in a city I am visiting. I am in Jacksonville this week, as I mentioned above. I will be speaking at the annual convention of the Evangelical Press Association in Nashville in May. I will also be in Dallas and Knoxville in May. I will be speaking at Summit Ministries in Manitou Springs in June, so I will be doing reader lunches in Denver and Colorado Springs during that trip. Let me know if you would like to join us. My email is [email protected].
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