James T. Roberson III of Bridge Church NYC denounces the assassination of Charlie Kirk but spends roughly half his statement (and even the following prayer) dragging the man's name through the mud:

This morning before we pray, I want to lean into some of the political tension in our country and the recent assassination of gentleman named Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated this past Thursday, I believe. And I've written out a statement here.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 reads this way: "For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God. And we take every thought captive to obey Christ."

In this text, Paul is reminding us that as believers, our battle is not a physical battle. It's a spiritual battle God has called us to be a part of. And it is therefore not fought with carnal weapons but with spiritual ones. And I think in this political tension that we live in, Charlie Kirk and other political activists, particularly some on the evangelical right, often see ideas and policies that claim to be Christian, but they're fought with in a carnal posture. They're fighting for Jesus with anger and harshness and rage. And the danger of that is when you when you fight spiritual battles in a carnal way, the world responds with that same carnality. It's as if the world says we know how to do worldly better than you.

So, let me be clear. I denounce his assassination veheminently [sic], and we all should. That shouldn't be hard. It's wicked. That's obvious. It is also wicked to celebrate his death. It is carnal to celebrate his death. To lack empathy for someone who doesn't have empathy for you is to live in carnality.

At the same time, while he fought for ideals that he believed were Christian, I also denounced the way he carried himself and especially the way he talked about black people.

So, here's what I want us to remember as a church, what I need all of us to know. People are not defined by their ideology. They are defined by the image of God. Genesis 1 says "God created them in his own image." So here's what we've got to understand. Charlie Kirk, at his core, is not a Republican or a conservative. He is a child of God made in the image of God who has right-wing positions. And as a believer, we're called to see people not politically but spiritually. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5, "From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh, even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh." I think we're getting some feedback over here, FYI.

So, let's be clear. We should be grieving with his wife, his kids who have woken up this morning without a father. We should weep with those who weep, and we should be praying for their families. But I also grieve for our country that elevates people into hero status and martyr status so quickly.

Disagreement is not wrong, but it's how we disagree that matters. And my prayer is that we, the people of God, would resist the temptation to fight our battles with carnal weapons. Instead, let us choose a spiritual posture that Christ has given us, because truly, the weapons of our warfare are spiritual and not carnal. Amen. Pray with me.

Father, we pray right now that as we jump into the word here, we do lift up the Kirk family. We lift up those who are weeping this morning. And I pray, God, for a spirit of compassion in this room. Make us wise with what we post online. Make us wise with what we watch online. But just because someone fought for Jesus doesn't mean they fought like Jesus. God, I pray for a spirit of peace. I pray that a spirit of fruit in our community and I pray that we would renounce all elements of the flesh. Now, God, be with us. Speak to us in this time. In Jesus' name. Amen? Amen. Of course, Roberson is throwing stones in glass houses here. I knew to look him up because in 2020, his was one of the most harsh and angry voices I found. He plagiarized a profane, viral video in defense of riots during a sermon

1/21/25: The @j29coalition announces its formation, touting a "goal of providing support to theologically conservative pastors"

1/16/25: Caleb Campbell, the leader of J29, publishes an interview with progressive exvangelical April Ajoy, endorsing (without qualification) her book that explicitly states "queer affirming" is the only right and loving position for Christians to take on sexuality.

Campbell even compares her being "hated by evangelical" to Paul and Jesus facing resistance from "the religious elite" in Judea. @J29Coalition For those who aren't aware, Ajoy is a co-host of The New Evangelicals with Tim Whitaker and in 2022 produced a podcast called "The Non-Binary Marriage" boasting of her husband becoming a cross-dresser. She celebrates Pride Month and explicitly denies the inerrancy of scripture.

A PCA Mission To North America (MNA) employee under Irwyn Ince speaks out in support of the segregated event that has caused controversy in the past week.

Kellie Brown, the MNA staffer who suggested the Trump assassination attempt in PA was "staged," says "safe spaces" for minorities are the reason she remains in the PCA.

Brown and her husband Howard Brown are currently planting a church for the PCA, "Kindred Hope," which advises white Christians to become "allies" and financial backers rather than congregants.

"There's a lot of conversation around diversity. And a lot of, sadly, Christians are saying that we shouldn't have spaces for black folks, that it's divisive and whatnot. And I actually am a testimony that that's just not true.

When minority people have a safe space to be themselves and to share their hearts, and that space is protected and initiated and supported by the majority culture that's around them, then that makes them feel even safer, and it actually pushes us closer to being one church.

And a lot of voices out there would lie and manipulate that and make it seem like it creates divisiveness, but  Christ Central is a testimony that that's just not true. And I'm still here in the PCA after 30-some odd years because of safe spaces and places like you had with Pastor Omari [Hill, of Perimeter Church] and other brothers to help navigate." At Christ Central, the church plant she touts, pastor Howard Brown led corporate prayers declaring the Puritans guilty of genocide

AME church is not handling the election well Is this...a regular thing? AME church ladies dropping dollar bills off at the pulpit when they hear something they like?

Evangelicals For Harris: Where Are They Now?

.@ourdailybread is sponsoring The Witness BCC's upcoming conference, with a queer-affirming keynote speaker
@ourdailybread

At the opening of the United Methodist Church's General Conference, attendees are warned to avoid "exclusively male language for God" and to "be conscious of inferred power dynamics." The next day, this same duo presented their "report card" on the diversity of officers elected to the conference's legislative committees, then scolded attendees to "work a little bit harder on inclusion with language and interpretation."

Fani Willis returned to church to accept an award and deliver a brief sermon on her court hearing.

"The scripture they keep sending me is 'No weapon formed against you shall prosper'...They did not say the weapons will not form, and that's the part I didn't hear until recently." Atlanta Berean Church, a Seventh-Day Adventist congregation, hosted Willis this Saturday for nearly 20 minutes of adulation, starting with lead pastor Dr. Sherwin Jack declaring, "She is one of us" (1:26).

Kelly Rosati, a National Association Of Evangelicals board member, calls pro-life Christians' opposition to state-run welfare "useless," "un-scriptural," and "madness." Here's wider context: Rosati, an alumnus of Focus On The Family and former member of the March For Life's board of national directors, is speaking at the NAE's "Flourish" conference in October of last year. (1/2)

Has the Gospel Coalition embraced Federal Vision theology?

"What is the basis of our regeneration at the Judgment? It is not our confession. It is actually our living."

(see full thread for wider context) Speaker is Darryl Williamson of Living Faith Bible Fellowship in Tamba Bay, FL, during a "Good-Faith Debate" published this March.

"How do we advance both a reconciliation and justice vision in the church?...I think it begins with...us getting the gospel right." (1/2)

This is how subversive churches will twist Genesis 1:27 to sow gender confusion in children: THREAD 🧵 "When God creates day + night, what's between day + night? Sunset + sunrise are between day + night, so there's dusk and there's dawn and there's twilight. I feel pretty safe saying that I think God created sunset."

"Do you know if there's anything between dry land + water?"

Found some professors from Fuller and UCLA defending, whitewashing + advocating Critical Race Theory, by name, at an event held by the church of a pastor regularly featured on the YouVersion Bible app's devotionals.

No, this isn't from June 2020. It's May 2023. The speaker is Jeff Liou, who co-authored "Christianity and Critical Race Theory: A Faithful and Constructive Conversation" with Robert Chao Romero, who I've clipped several times before. Here, the two authors call anti-CRT Christians liars and "a**holes."

This week in WPCs!

Turns out this is a former Calvin prof, but that wasn't widely known (or visible on her various online profiles). But it seems like she decided to leave rather than Calvin taking ANY action on her cutting a pro-transing kids video.

https://twitter.com/WokePreacherTV/status/1665692943825371137

kyrie eleison

https://twitter.com/WokePreacherTV/status/1666144013278117890

Can these 3 perspectives on transgenderism be "integrated" somehow? Wheaton prof Mark Yarhouse says yes.

Today in "nuancing ourselves to death"... 🧵 I'm clipping from a talk Yarhouse recently gave to the social justice-focused Anglican Diocese known as C4SO (Churches For The Sake Of Others). It's some of the most nuanced nuance I've ever encountered. So I recommend watching the whole thing if you can

Thread 🧵 of churches outrageously outraged by Justin Pearson/Jones' expulsion in Tennessee

This pastor says his church is Pearson's "spiritual home" and urges congregants to call their county commissioners to get him reinstated

Source: https://t.co/FRU8RdhJYZ (tbh I think churches should show this kind of solidarity with their people, but it tells you a lot when a church claims an obvious "Protect Trans Kids" neopagan like Pearson as their people)

Expelled TN lawmaker Justin Pearson's sermon at a Memphis Unitarian Universalist church began with a prayer to "Mother God" and an invitation for dead ancestors to speak through him Later, an applause line on "healthcare" for "transgender children"

Cursed moments from this year's Interfaith "Transgender Day Of Visibility" vigil at All Saint's Church Pasadena

First, some congregational singing: Mike Kinman, famous for his creepy retelling/pantomime of Bathsheba's roof bath, tries to queer Irenaeus: "What God dreams for all of us is to come 𝐹𝒰𝐿𝐿𝒴 𝒜𝐿𝐼𝒱𝐸."

Today in "You Will Never Be Woke Enough":

"If the [United Church Of Christ] was really as open and affirming as it claims to be, then there would be trans people of color in every UCC church. But that would also require the UCC to reckon with its white supremacy culture." Speaker is James Admans, a "Digital Minister" at NYC's Fort Washington Collegiate Church who performs in drag under the name "Marge Erin Johnson."

UCC is about as prog as you can go before you formally ditch any claim to Christian identity. Imagine thinking that's not enough...

UPDATE: The Revoice guy who formed a "household" with his straight roommate says the roomie now has a GF and if he gets married, they'll all probably share a duplex rather than a single-family home.

"I don't really want to live with kids." Wider context: Art Pereira, Revoice's Director Of Community Care, doesn't like to put labels on his relationship to housemate Nick: "He's my family. It's my household. We usually say 'Committed Friendship' when we're trying to explain it. Definitely not just roommates."

This week in WPCs!

If you think "woke is over," as in race essentialism and thinly-veiled liberation theology, you're sorely mistaken. It feels like the evangelical publishing guild is getting ready for another wave, actually...

https://twitter.com/WokePreacherTV/status/1638653434881802240

...I mean, if you need a sign, how much clearer could you get than this recent conference at the "unapologetically Christian" Baylor University with Beth Moore serving up a reheated Robin DiAngelo TEDx Talk 3 years past its expiration date?

https://twitter.com/WokePreacherTV/status/1638888333458677762

Beth Moore: Telling black Americans that they are not as oppressed as their ancestors is "like saying to a wife that her husband's porn addiction is an improvement over his physical adultery, so you have nothing to complain about anymore." Wider context: From Baylor's Racism In The White Church conference last month. Gave basically a June 2020 sermon 3 years late, unaware of how little it adds to the convo.

e.g. "You don't have to be a skinhead to be a white supremacist. I know that's gonna be a shock to somebody"