“The ceremony was not my suggestion, nor was it my intent, to participate in any ritual that is offensive in any manner to the Jewish community,” Long wrote in a letter sent Saturday to Bill Nigut, Southeast Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League, reports the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

This following the viral video of the January 29th service at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. In the video Rabbi Harold Messer wrapped Long in a scroll before having four assistants carry him around like a king.

In his letter to the Anti-Defamation League, Long “[denounced] any action that depicts me as a king, for I am merely just a servant of the Lord.”

Read the original article at the AJC website.

Also read Rabbi Ralph Messer, Bishop Eddie Long, and the Auschwitz Scroll for an exploration of Messer’s claims surrounding the scroll. This post was linked on Messer’s Facebook page for over 2 hours Friday morning before being removed. No challenge to the content was offered.

This post is about a sensitive topic. Some of the images may be offensive. If you are easily offended don’t complain, just don’t look. If you prefer to live with your head in the sand about this, I hope this will be considered a kick to that part of your anatomy that is currently most prominent.

There are millions of people in the world who have been victimized by various types of human trafficking. Worldwide in places like India, Thailand, and Africa, people, many of them children, are sold into labor to pay off parental debt. Others are kidnapped and sold for domestic “help,” or lured, with promises of a better life, into the global sex trade. The sex trade globally is second only to the arms trade and drug trade as the most lucrative forms of human economic endeavors. Regrettably, the United States is a large player in this assault against humanity.

According to author Justin Holcomb:

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and the fastest-growing criminal industry in the world. It is the recruitment, transportation, harboring, or taking of people by means of threat, force, coercion, abduction, fraud, or deception for the purpose of exploiting them.

The United Nations estimates that 2.5 million people are trafficked annually. The U.S. State Department estimates an even higher number: about 12.3 million adults and children “in forced labor, bonded labor, and forced prostitution around the world.” It deprives people of their human rights and freedoms, it is a global health risk, and it fuels organized crime. Victims of trafficking are forced or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. Sex trafficking is one of the most profitable forms of trafficking and involves many kinds of sexual exploitation, such as prostitution, pornography, bride trafficking, and the commercial sexual abuse of children. According to the United Nations, sex trafficking brings in an estimated $32 billion a year worldwide. In the U.S., sex trafficking brings in $9.5 billion annually.

Women and children brought into the U.S. are routinely trafficked into strip clubs, brothels, massage parlors and servitude. Their pimps come in all shapes, sizes and colors, as do their abusers.

Unknown to many and unacknowledged by others is that fact that major sporting events like the Super Bowl draw those who traffick women and children for sex. Although the numbers of people involved is debated (see this article, for example) the reality of the issue is not.

I recently was able to do an email interview Justin Holcomb and Nick Laparra who co-operate the Twitter account “Don’t Buy Girls” about this very issue.

MD: 1. Why is the Super Bowl such an important night for those seeking to stop trafficking?

JH & NL: The Super Bowl is the most-watched program on TV every year. But many people don’t know about its dark underside: the Super Bowl, like other large sporting events, is a magnet for sex trafficking and child prostitution. Large sporting events like the Super Bowl are prime targets for sex traffickers because of the high demand generated by thousands of men pouring into an area for a weekend of fun.

The 2010 Super Bowl saw an estimated 10,000 sex workers brought into Miami. Despite efforts to crack down on sex trafficking at the 2011 Super Bowl in Dallas, there was still a tremendous number of women and children sexually exploited. In the past, attempted crackdowns by law enforcement have backfired by treating prostitutes as criminals to be locked up rather than victims to be rescued, but new efforts are gaining traction: a bill moving through the Indiana legislature aims to toughen the State’s sex trafficking laws before the Super Bowl.

MD: 2. Do you know of any organized church or ministry efforts to rescue girls Sunday night?

JH & NL: Yes. Theresa Flores, a former human trafficking victim and founder of Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution (S.O.A.P.), is there this weekend with members of several Dayton, OH churches. They put the human trafficking hotline number on several thousand bars of soap. The hope is that victims will see the bars of soap in their hotel rooms and call the number.

The following example is not a church or ministry but it is also great that Indianapolis cab drivers are being trained to spot prostitutes and pimps in their cars.

MD: 3. Is there any evidence of increased law enforcement awareness in Indianapolis of this problem?

JH & NL: Governor Mitch Daniels signed a bill a few days ago that increases the penalty for forcing an underage person into the sex trade to up to 50 years in prison. Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said in a statement, “Though it is an honor for Indiana to host the Super Bowl, many sincere voices have brought to light the fact that human trafficking is a shameful practice we can’t ignore. With the Governor’s signature, law enforcement and prosecutors will have a new legal tool to combat this problem.”

The FBI and local authorities have already made two human trafficking related arrests in Indianapolis. Two women, ages 21 and 19, were taken into custody on 2/2. Both were forced into prostitution when they were 16 years old.

MD: 4. Who are the people doing the buying? Super Bowl ticket holders?

JH & NL: With over 100,000 football fans descending on Indianapolis for the weekend, we presume most, if not all, of the offenders will be Super Bowl attenders.

MD: 5. To your knowledge has the NFL ever addressed this like it did breast cancer awareness?

JH & NL: To the best of our knowledge, no they haven’t.

MD: 6. To your knowledge have any NFL players spoken out on the trafficking issue?

JH & NL: According to thestatefilehouse.com, “Jeff Saturday and Tarrick Glenn (a present and a former Indianapolis Colts player, respectively) have teamed up with Indiana Attorney General Gregg Zoeller to make a stand against human trafficking in Indiana. Zoeller has made it his goal to raise awareness and discourage the sexual exploitation of young women. Saturday and Glenn joined Zoeller on Thursday to announce the “Take the Pledge” initiative. The goal of the project is to encourage men to make a stand and stop the sex trade.”

This is good news! We hope people will listen. We also hope men will take a stand to not participate in this tragedy we call human trafficking.

You can follow “Don’t Buy Girls” on Twitter and like them on Facebook.

I for one would like to see the National Football League take a more pronounced stand against this. Wouldn’t it be amazing to see an anti-sex trafficking logo on all uniforms in the Super Bowl in 2013 just like we saw pink shoes and ribbons on all uniforms in October? As this sinful crime against humanity makes a profit simply by virtue of the Super Bowl being played the NFL should be loud and consistent in speaking against it. I am under no illusion that the NFL supports sex trafficking, but the players and owners should be using the platform of the most watched event in the world to oppose it. What say ye, NFL?

Below are several more images you can use to help remember the sex trafficking issue this weekend and beyond. Put them on your blog, make one your Twitter avatar, or your profile pic on Facebook. Following the pics are links to books relevant to this subject.

Take. A. Stand.

Beth Duren Lancaster contributed to the writing of this post.

Yesterday I posted the video clip from a January 29, 2012 service at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church featuring Rabbi Ralph Messer and New Birth pastor, the embattled Bishop Eddie Long. During the bizarre service, Messer wrapped Long in a scroll–purported to be a rare, uninsurable copy of the Torah, recovered from Auschwitz death camp after World War 2. Long was then enthroned as some kind of king, lifted from the stage in a “throne,” and carried around the stage.

"Rabbi" Ralph Messer

With that less than persuasive beginning, the story of the Torah scroll felt increasingly suspicious. Smuggling a scroll that big inside one’s clothes seemed a rather unlikely happening, given what usually happened to people as soon as they arrived at Auschwitz. All those shoes, eyeglasses, suitcases and such did not make it into the barracks. When arrivals were taken directly to be gassed, it was in supposed showers where they were nude. Except in the most extreme circumstances it would have been rather hard to hide a scroll under that condition.

I did find a story of one of the two scrolls ever known to have made it into Auschwitz. One, pictured in the link below, is much, much smaller than the one Messer wrapped around Long. In order to hide it, the owner did not just put it under his clothes, he actually crafted a fake jacket sleeve into which he sewed the scroll. His name was Yaakov Helman and you can read his story here.

Another puzzling element to Messer’s story is how did the material of the 312 year old Messer scroll, buried underground, and recovered at some later date, end up so well preserved only having, as he insisted, some dust from Auschwitz? How would Jewish victims, who were supposed to have hidden them under their clothes, have found time to bury them as they were being herded from the cattle cars into the camp, split into groups, families torn asunder? “Excuse me, Mr. Brutal, Machine Gun Carrying Guard, do you have a small shovel I can borrow for 20 – 30 minutes?”

So how many scrolls have been recovered from such an improbable scenario? None, as it turns out, that I can find.

One may find links to a number of stories about a Torah scroll that was supposedly found in a cemetery near Auschwitz. The man who eventually found it (Rabbi Menochem Youlus, the “Jewish Indiana Jones”) claims to have initially searched the cemetery, only to find nothing. Later after discovering old maps demonstrating that the cemetery was once much larger, he found a box containing the scrolls. The Torah that was “found” was missing 4 panels. Youlus claimed to have located them after putting an ad in a Polish newspaper. These panels were purportedly folded, hidden and taken into Auschwitz, yet survived intact.

The Torah was restored by Youlus’s Save a Torah Foundation, then bought by billionaire David Rubenstein for $32,000, and donated to the Central Synagogue in NYC. According to this article, the Torah was taken to another synagogue and the congregants each had a chance to kiss the Torah. (This, and additional information below, contradicts Messer’s teaching that only those of great authority could touch it.)

All of this happened around 2007-2008. In 2010, the authenticity of the Auschwitz scroll was openly questioned since Youlus had no proof of any of his claims, and there was no record to be found of this cemetery ever being larger than its currently size. Problematic for both Youlus and the scroll, he has changed his story a few times. Other Holocaust scrolls Youlus was to have rescued are also suspect.

The director of the group that maintains the cemetery claims no knowledge whatsoever of the scrolls being found there. By the time these concerns had been raised, the Washington Post was questioning the authenticity of several other Holocaust scrolls (not related to Auschwitz apparently) among the more than 500 scrolls Youlus claims to have found. In August of 2011, Youlus was charged with wire and mail fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison for and then siphoned thousands of dollars given to the foundation into personal accounts.

I can’t find anything else to show that any real Torah has ever been find in or around Auschwitz, especially not in the way described by Messer. Judging by the volume of articles from 2008 when the Youlus Torah was “found”, it should have made the news if others had turned up before it or since. I am open to correction on this point.

In addition to the historical questions, there are other statements Messer makes in the first few minutes of the video (before the parade starts), with plenty of strange biblical and biological claims and theological assertions. In a Huffington Post article, Rev. Wil Gafney, Ph.D. listed 27 different errors (as she judges) made by Messer in his monologue. Gafney, the Associate Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is also a member of the Dorshei Derekh Reconstructionist Minyan of the Germantown Jewish Center in Philadelphia. She also has co-taught courses with and for the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Seminary in Wyncote, PA. Among the problems listed:

1. The claim that Holocaust Torahs cannot be insured “because there are no more” is patently false. They are regularly insured as are other one of a kind objects d’art, i.e. the works of Picasso.
2. The Torah cover is not a “foreskin.”
4. The Torah wrapper is not referred to as a “belt of righteousness.”
6. The claim that “only one of great authority” is given a “finger” to touch the scroll is patently false. Any bar or bat mitvah, girl or boy, woman or man, who has completed the rite of passage, can chant the Torah according to the (minhag) custom in their congregation. Torah scroll pointers, called “hands,” (yadayim), not “fingers” are common gifts and possessions in Jewish families and communities.
10. The point that “these” — presumably Torah scrolls or just Holocaust Torah scrolls are only given to “cities in need of anointing” is false. Individuals, families and religious communities own and commission Torah scrolls and keep or give them as they see fit, to synagogues, Jewish seminaries and other schools and museums.
16. While there are some traditional reflections on the human body — including DNA and chromosomes — in the mystical Kabbalistic tradition, the speaker is crafting a verbal montage without reference to the classical texts or their theologies.
17. He attributes a quote to “Jewish doctors” stereotyping an entire community as conflating cellular biology with his Hebrew mysticism without actually naming or quoting any single “Jewish doctor” who holds such an opinion.
19. The claim that the kings of Israel were crowned with Torah scrolls wrapping them has no foundation in the biblical text. According to the bible’s own chronology the written Torah did not come into existence until the reign of King Josiah in the sixth century BCE (2 Kgs 22), some four hundred years after the time of David. However, the great second century rabbi Hanina ben Teradion, was however wrapped in a Torah scroll and burned alive in his martyrdom. Perhaps he has confused or conflated the traditions.
25. The elevation of Long lifted in the chair by four men seems to have been borrowed from Jewish wedding festivities and has noting to do with coronation; there is no evidence of this practice among Israelite or Judean monarchs.
26. The Aaronic blessing (Num 6:24-26) is a blessing for the people and not a putative leader.

Gafney further notes:

[Messer] may well be some sort of Messianic Jew, a person who claims Jewish heritage and recognizes Jesus as the Son of God, but who is not part of one of the major Jewish movements: Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Reform, Renewal. He does not, however, represent recognizable Jewish thought or practice in his (mis-) representations of the Torah and other Jewish sancta — or for that matter, New Testament and Christian biblical interpretation and theology.

By his own words Rabbi Messer is a prosperity preacher working from the Torah. From his Facebook page status on Tuesday, January 25, 2012, he says:

The Torah Principles produce LIFE! If you have been undecided, unfocused, and unexcited, then start learning about Principles of God. You can Succeed! You have been Redeemed! Yeshua (Jesus) has a plan for your life! It is called the Torah. You have been Redeemed to walk out a Redeemed Lifestyle. You can learn more about your Hebrew Roots by calling, 1-866-867-2488 or by emailing us at Support@STBM.org. You can also visit us online at www.STBM.org. Remember, a Torah Principle applied accurately will cause you to prosper Financially, Emotionally, Physically and Spiritually.

Can I just say here that you really might want to consider what the New Testament says about the law bringing life?

What I see in Messer is a fellow who is theologically aberrant, historically inaccurate, and is either knowingly propagating historically questionable information about this scroll or may himself have been deceived about it. In any event, the folks in the service who cheered this mess should be the focal points of much prayer and strongly encouraged to read deep into their Bibles and read up on Rabbi Messer’s stories.

This is one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen done anywhere, at any time. I’m not even sure how to describe the “worship” taking place here.

I cannot attest to what Ralph Messer says about scrolls, seams, leaves, etc, but for one who claims to be a preacher of the New Covenant to be sent out by the Old Covenant is a little head scratching. As is the attempt to sing the Aaronic blessing. Well, as is the entire thing.

NASHVILLE, Jan. 31, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ — LifeWay Christian Resources made studying the Bible much easier. WORDsearch users will now be able to buy the content once and study anywhere.

The WORDsearch iPad application is available in the Apple App Store for free. This app allows users to access their WORDsearch content on the go.

“They’ll be able to view, read and study the same content on their desktops, laptops and iPads,” said Randy Beck, WORDsearch president.

Screenshot of the WORDsearch iPad app.

Other features of the WORDsearch iPad App include:

Parallel Bible
Searchable library
“Book Shelf”
Footnotes
“Select, copy and paste” options
Free access to the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
New WORDsearch iPad app users will have access to over 130 free books and Bibles.

One example of the similarities between the Bible study platforms was described by Beck. “When you use the WORDsearch iPad App as a book reader, scripture references will be ‘hot,’ just like in your WORDsearch for PC or Mac. You can tap on a link and the Bible text will appear,” he said.

“WORDsearch customers have been anticipating this app for a long time,” said Beck. “They have made big investments in our Bible study software and content. We want to meet their Bible study needs by providing the latest, most relevant Bible study platforms for on-the-go lifestyles.”

“Many pastors carry iPads with them wherever they go, so now their WORDsearch libraries can go with them for studying or sermon preparation,” said Beck.

The WORDsearch iPad App is available free at the iTunes store. From the iPad App Store, search “WORDsearch bible” to find. Note you must be a current Wordsearch user with an account to use this app.

WORDsearch will continue to offer free online training and technical support with the rollout of this new Bible study app.

Watch a 1:32 intro video below:

This is a commentary by John W. Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute.

“The First Amendment was intended to secure something more than an exercise in futility.”—Justice John Paul Stevens, dissenting in Minnesota Board for Community Colleges v. Knight (1984)

Living in a representative democracy such as ours means that each person has the right to stand outside the halls of government and express his or her opinion on matters of state without fear of arrest. That’s what the First Amendment is all about.

From farsideleft.com, by Stanfill

As Newton and Collins elaborate:

“Petitioning” has come to signify any nonviolent, legal means of encouraging or disapproving government action, whether directed to the judicial, executive or legislative branch. Lobbying, letter-writing, e-mail campaigns, testifying before tribunals, filing lawsuits, supporting referenda, collecting signatures for ballot initiatives, peaceful protests and picketing: all public articulation of issues, complaints and interests designed to spur government action qualifies under the petition clause, even if the activities partake of other First Amendment freedoms.

Unfortunately, through a series of carefully crafted legislative steps, our government officials—both elected and appointed—have managed to disembowel this fundamental freedom, rendering it with little more meaning than the right to file a lawsuit against government officials. In the process, government officials have succeeded in insulating themselves from their constituents, making it increasingly difficult for average Americans to make themselves seen or heard by those who most need to hear what “we the people” have to say.

Indeed, while lobbyists mill in and out of the homes and offices of Congressmen, the American people are kept at a distance through free speech zones, electronic town hall meetings, and security barriers. And those who dare to breach the gap—even through silent forms of protest—are arrested for making their voices heard. The case of Harold Hodge is a particularly telling illustration of the way in which the political elite in America have sheltered themselves from all correspondence and criticism.

On a snowy morning on January 24, 2011, Harold Hodge walked to the plaza in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building with a sign around his neck. The 3’ x 2’ placard read: “The U.S. Gov. allows police to illegally murder and brutalize African Americans and Hispanic people.” Hodge, a 45-year-old African-American, stood silently at attention in front of the building displaying his message. There weren’t many passersby, and he wasn’t blocking anyone’s way. However, after a few minutes, Hodge was approached by a police officer for the Supreme Court. The officer informed Hodge that he was violating a law prohibiting expressive activity in and around the Supreme Court building and asked him to leave.

According to federal law (U.S. Code 40 U.S.C. § 6135), “It is unlawful to parade, stand, or move in processions or assemblages in the Supreme Court Building or grounds, or to display in the Building and grounds a flag, banner, or device designed or adapted to bring into public notice a party, organization, or movement.” The penalty for violating this law is a fine of up to $5,000 and/or up to 60 days in jail.

Hodge, steadfast in his commitment to peaceably exercise his right to assemble and petition his government, politely refused. Over the course of some 35 minutes, several more police officers gathered and began to slowly circle Hodge. After ordering Hodge two more times to disperse, the officers placed Hodge under arrest, handcuffing his hands behind his back and leading him to a holding cell within the Supreme Court building.

Hodge is not the only person to be arrested for demonstrating in front of the Supreme Court building. Recently, 14 anti-death penalty demonstrators were arrested for unfurling a banner on the Supreme Court steps. In October 2011, Dr. Cornel West, the Princeton University philosopher and activist, was arrested on the steps of the Supreme Court while protesting the influence of corporate money on the political process. In January 2008, 34 demonstrators protesting the indefinite detention of inmates at Guantanamo Bay were arrested for demonstrating outside the Supreme Court. D.C. Superior Court Judge Wendell P. Gardner Jr. stated that most of those demonstrators would be sentenced to probation, but that he would perhaps jail those who had prior convictions for civil disobedience so that they would stop doing “the same thing over and over.”

This desire to insulate government officials from those exercising their First Amendment rights stems from an elitist mindset which views them as different, set apart somehow, from the people they have been appointed to serve and represent. It is nothing new.

The law under which Harold Hodge was prosecuted was enacted by Congress in 1949. Since then, interactions with politicians have become increasingly manufactured and distant. Press conferences and televised speeches now largely take the place of face-to-face interaction with constituents. For example, in 2011, 60 percent of Congressmen did not schedule a town hall meeting with their constituents during their summer recess. Other Congressmen, such as Rep. Paul Ryan (R – WI), held luncheons instead, charging $10 to $35 per admission ticket. Meanwhile, politicians in Virginia have considered changing the meeting rules for their public officials, making it possible for officials to “meet” electronically or by phone, thus eliminating the two-way dialogues and face-to-face interactions that are inherent to a physical meeting.

Additionally, there has been an increased use of so-called “free speech zones,” designated areas for expressive activity used to corral and block protestors at political events from interacting with public officials. George W. Bush used “free speech zones” excessively during his first term as president and both the Democratic and Republican parties have used them at various conventions to mute any and all criticism of their policies.

Perhaps the most egregious instance of imposing a free speech zone upon protesters came in 2004 at the Democratic National Convention. It was there that Boston Police constructed a cage of jersey walls and chain link fences out of sight of the convention center into which protesters were huddled. After seeing the designated area, Judge Douglas Woodlock stated, “One cannot conceive of other elements put in place to make a space more of an affront to the idea of free expression than the designated demonstration zone.” Such an area is obviously not designed to respect the American people’s right to free speech and to peaceably assemble and petition their government officials.

Clearly, the government has no interest in hearing what “we the people” have to say. Yet if Americans are not able to peacefully assemble outside of the halls of government for expressive activity, the First Amendment has lost all meaning. If we cannot stand silently outside of the Supreme Court or the Capitol or the White House, our ability to hold the government accountable for its actions is threatened, and so are the rights and liberties which we cherish as Americans.

That’s where Harold Hodge comes in. With the help of The Rutherford Institute, Hodge is now challenging the constitutionality of the statute barring silent expressive activity in front of the Supreme Court. It will be an uphill battle, given that it challenges the domain of the elite, but it’s a battle that must be fought.

The Supreme Court has already dismissed one challenge to the law. In United States v. Grace (1983), a case challenging the ban on expressive activity in front of the Supreme Court, the justices ruled that “[t]he Court grounds are not transformed into ‘public forum’ property merely because the public is permitted to freely enter and leave the grounds at practically all times and is admitted to the building during specified hours.”

Hopefully, freedom will win out in the end. As Justice John Paul Stevens noted in his dissent in Minnesota Board for Community Colleges v. Knight (1984):

We need not consider whether executives or legislators have any constitutional obligation to listen to unsolicited advice to decide this case. It is inherent in the republican form of government that high officials may choose—in their own wisdom and at their own peril—to listen to some of their constituents and not to others. But the First Amendment does guarantee an open marketplace for ideas—where divergent points of view can freely compete for the attention of those in power and of those to whom the powerful must account…

There can be no question but that the First Amendment secures the right of individuals to communicate with their government. And the First Amendment was intended to secure something more than an exercise in futility—it guarantees a meaningful opportunity to express one’s views. For example, [the Supreme] Court has recognized that the right to forward views might become a practical nullity if government prohibited persons from banding together to make their voices heard. Thus, the First Amendment protects freedom of association because it makes the right to express one’s views meaningful.

Read this commentary at the original site.

I’ve been watching basketball a long, long time.

This. Is. Crazy.

This video below pretty much speaks for itself, and addresses an ongoing concern as to how our government and military wields its power. It also makes clear that the conservative GOP candidate, Rick Santorum, has no problem with a calculated program of assassination carried out by our government.

2012 GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum

Santorum, speaking about Iran during an October campaign stop in Greenville, S.C., said: “Now, I’m hopeful, when we see some of the things we’re seeing in respect to their nuclear program, that the United States is involved with. That is on occasion scientists working on the nuclear program in Iran turn up dead. I think that’s a wonderful thing, candidly.”

His response to “Well, well we can’t go out and assassinate people? “We’ve done it. We’ve done it to an American citizen.” And people belittle Ron Paul and call him “a kook.”

And this isn’t the first time the Aerosmith front man has sung the The Star Spangled Banner before an event. I have to say, he sounded a little pitchy in spots. ;^)

PY4CDR9RW4NR

While still a pastor, sometime around 2008 or 2009, I began to think about what a different kind of small group literature for a local church could look like. A few years earlier, when taking about 70 Sundays to preach through the Bible, it became clear that many people in my church (and I think most people in most churches) did not have a grasp of the grand narrative, or big picture, of God’s plan and purpose in redemption. All the stories of the Bible were just that: stories. They are true stories, but it is not always evident how they are connected to any larger purpose. For many believers reading the Bible is like scanning snippets from a dozen different newspapers accounts of minor skirmishes in the midst of World War Two with no reference to either the European or Pacific theaters.

One of the rooms at our church had been fitted with a marker board wall upon which I sketched ideas about a multi-year curriculum that would, beginning at about the age of three, thoroughly teach the big picture of what God is doing in all of human history. Within this grand narrative the major themes of the Bible would be covered in depth, demonstrating how the well known–and lesser known–stories fit within the larger framework. Alas, once the idea was sketched, owing to too little time and resources, it never took flight. It turned out to be one of those, “If only…” moments that pastors often have.

Fast forward to 2011 when, in the provision of God, I was hired at LifeWay Christian Resources. My role is not in that of curriculum development or writing, but I quickly heard of a new study being readied for release: “The Gospel Project.” I was very excited to hear that it functioned very similarly to what I had envisioned not too long ago. From the LifeWay News department press release:

‘The release of The Gospel Project marks the first time in more than a decade that LifeWay will release ongoing studies for children, students and adults under one theme,’ [Managing Editor, Trevin] Wax noted.

The Gospel Project, slated for preorder in June, will feature a three-year study plan with 13-week units, each using an age-appropriate voice, depth and course of study. Bible study resources will be available in multiple formats, such as print, downloadable, as well as e-reader and mobile app formats.

This is how General Editor, Ed Stetzer, describes the process:

‘We brought together a group of scholars, pastors and church leaders to speak into this project at the outset…We received direction regarding the topics we would cover, the approach we would take – Christ-centered, mission-driven, shaped around the narrative of God’s redemptive plan – and the level of accessibility we should strive for.’

In case you skimmed over it, The Gospel Project is a three year course of study during which children, students and adults cover the big picture of scripture. This has within it the seeds of great discussion starters for families who are in church together.

One thing I really like about this course of study is the student material. It is deep from the outset. I firmly believe students need to be challenged in their thinking about the Kingdom and the lack of such a challenge has contributed to apathy and disinterest. There are only so many different ways you can tell students, “Don’t drink. Don’t use drugs. Don’t cuss. Don’t have sex until you are married.” Too much supposed “Bible study” for students has become a more theological version of Dr. Phil. It tends toward, as Dallas Willard puts it, “sin management.” Consider this excerpt from The Gospel Project Personal Study Guide for Students on the sin of pride:

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT about what makes Christianity unique as a religion? You might think about stuff like the virgin birth, miracles, or the prophecies of the old Testament, but think about this, too: Christianity is the only religion that tells people how bad they are.

According to Emil Brunner, the Swiss theologian: “All other religions spare us the ultimate humiliation of being stripped naked and being declared bankrupt before God.” That’s pretty strong language.

And yet it points to the humiliating nature of Christianity. Other world religions don’t treat humanity with such pessimism. In all other schools of thought, we have something to bring to the table. We can strive toward God and meet Him, and in a sense, be congratulated when we do.

Not Christianity.

In Christianity, we bring nothing to the table. In fact, the only thing we bring to the table with God is the sin we need to be rescued from. Perhaps that’s why, if we look back into history, Christianity has been called the religion of women and slaves. In cultures of the past, neither of those two groups had many rights, so it wasn’t a far stretch for them to admit their abject need of God’s complete and total intervention on their behalf.

The bottom line is this: The one character flaw that has, and will continue to, keep most people from Christ is not greed. It’s not lust. It’s not lying or stealing or killing. It’s pride. That’s the only thing there is no room for at the foot of the cross.

Recognizing that today’s students have grown up in an image oriented culture, student books use well done graphical presentations like the one pictured below to enhance the text-based sections.

A sample page from Lesson 6, Fall 2012, student book

The adult material delves even more deeply with important theological concepts, and scattered quotes from both early church and current theologians. Consider this section from and adult lesson on general and specific revelation (followed by a sidebar quote):

How is God’s “divine nature” revealed through what we see? One of the clearest imprints is not just in the way we search for objects to worship but is right here inside, in the way we think and act. We read in Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.”

Because we are creatures made in God’s image, we have innate senses and compulsions that point to the reality of God’s divine nature. Of course, we are not divine ourselves, and after the fall of mankind, the image of God in us is obscured and broken. Still, we can nevertheless see that mankind’s generally innate sense of justice and fairness, compulsion to create, ability to express and experience love, and frequent appeals to conscience all point away from our being the evolved result of a random electric current in a primordial goop.

‘One effect of a persisting objective revelation is an uneasiness with our state, a longing and groping. We are restless with our condition, “knowing” we are made for more, in a quest for “transcendence,” and engaged in speculation about human homelessness in the philosophies of our own time.’ –Gabriel Fakre

If you are a pastor, minister of education, small group leader, spiritual formation pastor or anyone with Sunday School/LifeGroup/Small Group buying authority give an in depth look at The Gospel Project. If I were pastoring a church right now implementing this would be a top priority. You can download pdf copies of the Personal Study Guide for Students and the Adult Leader Guide as well as view a video introduction to the children’s curriculum.

To download multiple samples of curriculum for children of all ages please visit The Gospel Project samples page.