Statement From Michael Brown's Family In Advance of Grand Jury Announcement; No Indictment From Grand Jury

UPDATE:No indictment of Darren Wilson in Brown shooting.
Rep. John Lewis knows what he is talking about:


From the Brown family:


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(Original post)
The Grand Jury’s decision in the Michael Brown case will come down at 9pm ET. Just happened to see this on Twitter: In advance of the decision, Michael Brown’s family released a statement via reporter Jason Sickles.


Praying for a peaceful night in Ferguson, MO.
A group called Evangelicals 4 Justice is having a teach in at 10pm.

Barry Hankins On America’s Perfect Civil Religion Holiday

Last week, I asked my historian colleagues to opine about what the public should know about Thanksgiving. I am pleased and thankful for the responses I received and the series will run through at least Thanksgiving Day. Today, Barry Hankins reflects on America’s perfect civil religion holiday.
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Barry Hankins is Professor of History and Director of Graduate Studies, Department of History and Resident Scholar, Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University.

Christians can celebrate Thanksgiving by infusing it with all kinds of religious and national significance.  But, people of other faiths and of no faith at all can celebrate the holiday equally.  Christians have no corner on being thankful.  Moreover, Thanksgiving has an advantage in this respect over Christmas and Easter.  Although those holidays, especially Christmas, are commercialized and secularized to a large extent, they are still specifically Christian.  In fact, they are the two central events of the Christian liturgical calendar, which means that to celebrate them commercially non-Christians have to ignore their potent religious meaning.  Not so for Thanksgiving, which commemorates a national event, not a religious event.  So, Thanksgiving is what I call “America’s perfect civil religion holiday.”

To read all articles in this series, click Thanksgiving 2014.

Final Appeal Filed on Behalf of Asia Bibi

Today in Pakistan, an appeal was filed to Pakistan’s Supreme Court on behalf of Asia Bibi.
The Christian mother of five is hoping to be cleared of blasphemy charges via this appeal and/or to receive a pardon and perhaps find refuge in France.

A Pakistani Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy filed an appeal in the country’s top court Monday, her final legal recourse after being found guilty of insulting the Prophet Mohammed four years ago.

A high court in the eastern city of Lahore confirmed the death sentence of Asia Bibi last month, dashing hopes the conviction might be overturned or commuted to a jail term.

She has been on death row since November 2010 after being convicted of insulting the prophet of Islam during an argument with a Muslim woman over a bowl of water.

“On behalf of Asia Bibi I have today filed an appeal in the Supreme Court,” defence attorney Saiful Malook told AFP.

Please click this link to sign a petition to the President of Pakistan asking for a pardon for Asia Bibi.

Jared Burkholder On Politics And The First Thanksgiving

Last week, I asked my historian colleagues to opine about what the public should know about Thanksgiving. I am pleased and thankful for the responses I received. The series will run through at least Thanksgiving Day. Today, Jared Burkholder discusses the political aspects of the first thanksgiving.
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Jared S. Burkholder is Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Department of History and Political Science at Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana. He co-edited The Activist Impulse: Essays on the Intersection of Anabaptism and Evangelicalism (Wipf and Stock, 2012) and Becoming Grace: Seventy-Five Years on the Landscape of Christian Higher Education in America (BMH Books, 2015).

Its good to remember that the “First Thanksgiving” probably had more to do with politics than fellowship, especially if seen through native eyes. Although we might be tempted to think of New England’s native residents as falling into categories of either “friendly” or “hostile” depending on how they got along with Europeans, Indians were, like most of us, intent on protecting their assets and gaining advantages. Treating foreign peoples, including Europeans, as either friends or foes was based on strategic self-interest.

Constructing their settlement at Patuxet (Plymouth) in 1620, the pilgrims had thrust themselves into the middle of a complex system of tense rivalries and alliances among various Indian nations. The Wampanoag, which had been devastated by sickness as a result of earlier contact with Europeans, likely saw their interaction with the pilgrims as an opportunity to garner allies that could help defend against the neighboring Narragansett, who had escaped the plague of 1616 and were powerful enemies. Even Tisquantum (“Squanto”) was playing politics, as Governor Bradford admitted, likely attempting to leverage relationships for his own purposes. Thus, the first thanksgiving was not so much a Sunday afternoon potluck of food and good feelings, but rather an opportunity for testing boundaries and political posturing.

Want a good read on the political angles of the “First Thanksgiving”? See this engaging Smithsonian article, Native Intelligence.

For all articles in this series, click Thanksgiving 2014.

Bellevue Church Elders Choose Jeff Vanderstelt To Be Teaching Pastor

The elders of Mars Hill Bellevue, soon to be doing business as Bellevue Church (or will the church be called Soma Bellevue?), have decided on Jeff Vanderstelt as their teaching pastor.
They are meeting now with the congregation to discuss the call to Vanderstelt. The elders believe he is the guy but they are asking the church to pray about it before a decision is made. Is this a hint that the congregation will have a vote? Stay tuned. The note to the church is below and the letter describing the call to Vanderstelt is linked here.

From Pastor Jason Skelton:Eastside Family,
As you know, your elders have been praying about an important decision related to our search for a lead teaching pastor to plant a new church on the Eastside. The attached letter is a request for your continued prayers, and any feedback you might have, as we believe God has brought us that leader.
We invite you to join us at 12:30 p.m. today (Sunday, November 23) in Bellevue for an open conversation about the governance of our new church and to meet the man we believe God has called to serve alongside your elders as the lead teaching pastor.
We also invite you to join us for a special 4:00 p.m. service today in Bellevue to hear from him directly, and we will share additional opportunities to meet and provide feedback as we pray over this decision together as a church family for the next few weeks.
On Behalf of the Elders,
Pastor Jason
[file attachment online]

Vanderstelt is coming from Soma Tacoma (fun to say) with the blessing of the elders of that church.
As an outsider, I am surprised anyone would take the job with so much unfinished business. If the current leadership doesn’t provide answers to nagging questions soon, then Vanderstelt becomes part of the problem.
Vanderstelt’s selection is ironic. According to a former lead pastor, when Mars Hill and Mark Driscoll planted Mars Hill Tacoma, Driscoll bragged to a meeting of pastors that “We’ll hand Vanderstelt his ass once I’m [Driscoll] there.” It appears that Vanderstelt held onto his backside.