Did you hear about the guy who attacked a woman at the Thanksgiving Day dinner table? She was sitting in the chair he wanted, so he attacked her with a foot-long butcher knife.

Did you hear about the 20 customers hurt in Los Angeles on Black Friday? A woman pepper sprayed fellow shoppers in order to get a discounted video game player.

Did you hear about the man in California who was shot when two armed men tried to steal the things he and his family had purchased? He is in critical condition, but, thankfully, expected to survive the incident.

Did you hear about the two women injured in New York, or the guy in Phoenix, or the customers in North Carolina, or the guy who was hit by another shopper in Connecticut, or the teen who was knocked down and stepped on in Michigan, or the bomb threats?

Makes you wonder how many people don’t understand the meaning of giving thanks or of peace on earth, good will to all. Makes you wonder how close to the surface in all of us lies that dark, animal madness that can come roaring out, making us all too willing to fight to the death for a game box.

If we were starving to death, maybe it would be understandable. If we were naked or in peril for our lives or for the lives of our children, it might make sense. But for one more TV in a household that already has several? For one more game for kids who have games strewn all over the house? For one more … anything?

We are so crazy about stuff that now we have Black Thursday as well as Black Friday. And that doesn’t count every day between now and December 25, when every street will be full of angry drives fighting holiday traffic and angry shoppers snatching things up as if their lives depended on whether or not they could get their kid one more of the latest and greatest whatever.

But in all this melee, we can be thankful, because in spite of the raging mania to get stuff – even little, unimportant stuff – most of us sat at our Thanksgiving table and used our knives for our food rather than to stab each other. Most of us will spend this month politely giving way to the other person, smiling at strangers who, in turn, smile back, enjoying the lights and the glitter and the music and the festivity of the season. Most of us will be thinking of family gatherings with loved ones and fellowship with friends. And most of us will be thankful to the God of grace who gives us all good things.

May we all be thankful for this final month of the year if for no other reason than to enjoy the blessings with which the Lord daily blesses us.

Barbara Ann Oliver is Managing Editor of BNc.

RAPID CITY, S.D. (BNc) -

Recently, a correspondent of mine e-mailed me an article I’ve seen on occasion for the past 40 years.

The article claimed that NASA scientists at Goddard Space Flight Center, while calculating orbits of planets and satellites, had “proven” that the long day of Joshua (Joshua 10, when God made the sun stand still) and the reversal of the sun’s motion for Hezekiah (2 Kings 20) had occurred, because it was necessary for NASA to take those events into consideration in doing orbital calculations.

The version she planned to include in her weekly column for a small-town, mid-American weekly newspaper was the same I recall reading in church bulletins and mimeographed letters from the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Fortunately (as we do for each other), she sent it to me to vet. Why? Because it is false. NASA never did any such thing, and there is no way to DO any such thing, nor any need to do so, unless someone invents a time machine. But for more than 40 years, people – for the most part well-meaning people – have been spreading this rumor as truth: spreading lies.

I found, to my amusement, that the tale is much older than even my childhood, and was first concocted in 1890. So, for more than 120 years, this false claim has been harming the cause of Christ.

Many people have debunked it over the years, and now it is my turn. But one advantage I have in 2011, over 1969, is the Internet. Yes, the Internet helps to spread this falsehood, but it also helps to defeat things like this. In the 1960s and 1970s, unless we were fortunate enough to hear from someone else who had done the research and found the story to be bogus (and such rebuttals never are as well-distributed as the original myth), it would have taken weeks or months of research and letter-writing and phone-calling to find the evidence to show that it was a lie. Today, it takes about 10 minutes to search on-line and find articles debunking the story and telling its history, far more ably than I could do.

Here are some websites about it, which you can share with your correspondents when they mail or e-mail this to you, or when a well-meaning church bulletin or newsletter editor includes it in their publication.

NASA itself has an article about this myth. Also, you can find more information at Truth or Fiction (which I have found more trustworthy than Snopes.com):

Apologetics Press has two articles, one in their Answering Genesis section, and another one in their section on doctrinal issues.

Why is this important?

Obviously, if we are trying to preach the truth of the Gospel, we dare not unwittingly spread lies and myths.

Second, this urban legend has already been used by many atheists and infidels to try to “debunk” Christianity and the Bible, among them Steven Jay Gould.

Of course, these enemies of Christ assume uniformitarianism (as long as it is convenient for them) and reject anything supernatural, especially the power of Almighty God to do what He wills with His universe.

Third, we must understand that false claims about the Bible and its proofs can weaken or destroy the faith of many, and prevent them from being taught things that are true. We must not seek to prove God’s Word, only to have it backfire because the example we use does not even exist.

NASA does not need to prove the validity of two events in the Old Testament for us to believe that God can do things like this. Nor should we ever forget that “If God could do this then, how much more can He do for us today, if we only read and believe His word,” to quote my correspondent.

We have far too many proofs in history, archeology, and the Bible itself that the events in the Old Testament, as well as those in the New, did happen and that God is the Creator and His Son is the Savior, and His promises and powers are vast and true.

Paul said: “But as you abound in everything –- in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us –- see that you abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:7-9 NKJV).

The churches of Christ are noted for standing for the faith, speaking the truth in love, and loving Jesus Christ. But while the Neo-Sectarians among us are carving the brotherhood apart and stabbing brethren in the back at a distance, the boo-birds have decried how the churches of Christ aren’t doing anything and don’t know how to love one another.

“Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: “That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged” (Romans 3:4).

The reports of the death of the churches of Christ are greatly exaggerated, and simply not true!

• The Park Avenue church of Christ, Memphis, Tenn., has sent $600,000 to be used in Senai, Japan, to aid the victims of the tsunami;
• Christians (used in the scriptural sense!) have sent many thousands of dollars, and hundreds of volunteers, to come to the assistance of tornado victims in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia;
• Churches of Christ Disaster Relief, Nashville, Tenn., has sent a steady stream of 18-wheeler truckloads of immediately-needed food and cleaning supplies all over the U.S., including Joplin, Mo., Big Rock, Tenn., and many other places where there has been flooding or tornado damage, to be distributed by the local churches of Christ.

Indeed, God has given the churches of Christ ample opportunities to come to the side of hurting souls — and we have come!

I do not know of a time in past decades when I was more impressed with the loving response of my brethren in Jesus Christ.

With prices, jobs, and other hindrances like they are, we are showing that not only have we been promoting the truth of the gospel of Christ, we have also been keenly aware that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ upon us will be seen by those who are looking for the hand of God upon them.

We can’t do miracles, but as the body of Christ, we are showing our good works as a light and pointing all glory to our wonderful God!

Now, as never before, let us preach the Word, that those who obey the Gospel will be added to the churches of Christ.

John T. Polk II has been a gospel preacher for 47 years and presently ministers with the Dover, Tenn., church.

As a service of Forthright Press and GoSpeak, we’ve added our prayer for you in the new year at the former site, which you can read at this link.

We ask your prayers for this effort which has no budget and no paid staff, but only a heart for a brotherhood that spans the globe and the centuries since our Lord walked this earth. Our challenges sometimes intimidate us, but our Leader breaks through the barriers and drags us to triumph. We’re confident that he will continue to bless BrotherhoodNews.com as well.

Thanks for a great year together. We anticipate serving you further in the body of Christ.

And, oh, by the way, send us news!

Special editorial for BNc, by Daron Hoggatt

“And he said to them: ‘You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!’” Mark 7:9

There are many things going on in the church of Christ today. Many things have been changing now for several years. When looking back on the history of the church we can see that when changes began to occur, the number of members also began to change. The number of people, attending the church of Christ started declining and has continued to decline ever since.

This opens up a few questions. Did the changes cause this decline? Were the changes right or wrong? How do we address the changes? These are questions we need to ask ourselves and then research for ourselves.

There are several dangers to be aware of. These dangers include pluralism, subtlety, moving away from scripture, teaching that truth is not knowable and that there is danger of humanism and dissolution of a moral foundation. With these dangers in place it makes it very difficult to identify what they look like. Some of the easiest ways is to observe that there is a greater emphasis on feelings and emotions other than doctrine. They also vary from the New Testament pattern. There will also be a militant criticism of traditional Christiananity.

Paul warned the first-century Christians in Corinth “not to think beyond what is written.” Simply put, if the Bible does not authorize us to do something –- do not do it. We are to do only what the Bible instructs and nothing more. Deuteronomy 4:2 instructs us to neither add nor take away from God’s Word. This was repeated by John in Revelation 22:18-19.

In John 12:49-50 Jesus said, “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”

Jesus Christ did not speak on His own. He spoke only what God told Him to. If Christ did not interject His own authority, how can we justify applying our own authority?

There were some people who had genuine hearts and still failed to follow the silence of God. Leviticus 10 tells us the story of Nadab and Abihu. Here they brought an “unauthorized” fire to the Lord. This fire was offered with good intensions, but because it was not authorized, God consumed them in the fire. God said, “I must be glorified” (Leviticus 10:3).

In I Samuel 13 Saul became impatient and forced himself to offer a sacrifice to God. However, Samuel said,

“You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

Second Chronicles 26:16 says of Uzziah, “But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.”

We find here that Uzziah, although strong-hearted, did not follow what God instructed and was destroyed.

Changes in the churches of Christ are a growing problem. I have experienced them firsthand. The current changes created several spiritual and emotional effects on the followers of Christ. How do we address these problems and what happens if we give up the fight?

I addressed several of the issues in a local congregation.  While addressing them I knew that I had to provide as much scriptural evidence that I could. While writing a paper to address and study with the elders I spent countless hours in the Word and researching writings other faithful men. When I presented the paper to the elders, we went through it together and I briefly explained each issue. The paper was set up in a Bible study format. Throughout the study one of the elders said, “Well, everyone has a right to their opinion.” When I asked, “Where did I use my opinion?”, he was unable to reply.

The study paper had no opinion involved in it. It was well grounded with scripture. These gentlemen fell into an area of personal feelings instead of sound doctrine.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4

When faced with opinion, defend the Scriptures with the Scriptures. When the Scriptures are dismissed with flippancy, remember that they are the sole foundation of the faith. Our God placed Scripture in our hands in order to keep varying and ever-changing opinions from dividing the church and carrying it into the broad path of destruction.

Members of the church have a responsibility to use the Bible to weigh changes in worship and the purpose for new programs. Are the programs being put in place in order to attract new adherents, or are they put in place to better lead the brotherhood to Christ? Are changes in worship made in order to focus hearts on the Creator, or are they meant to add drama and emotion because they “feel right”?

Friends, we may change with the times, but no man, up to and including an elder in the church, should be allowed to change the authority of Scripture without challenge.

When I received a written response from the elders (which took over 8 months), I found that they were not able to support the issues at hand. However, they also discounted the Scriptures that were on the paper, I presented to them, in front of them. They simply responded with, “We do not feel that you supported your arguments, but we appreciate your courage.”

When receiving this response I immediately knew that these gentlemen were not grounded in the Word of God. Just like in a debate, both sides present evidence to support what they are saying. They were not able to refute the scriptures presented so they simply pulled rank, if you will. This is the militant style of many involved in the changes.

Over the next several months the attitudes and actions from the elders showed their lack of care for the truth. These men could not shake my hand and would not acknowledge my existence, but portrayed to be loving, caring elders with the rest of the congregation. Behind closed doors one elder even threatened physical violence. The aggressive stance they took was unbelievable.

During this period I also took a master-level course on Postmodernism in the Church. This class showed and confirmed my thoughts of the changes and why they were taking place.  There are many powerful people in prominent places who started or support the changes.

I spent many hours, lying in bed, wide awake, thinking about the issues and the dissension that was at hand. Every conversation I had with my family and friends became focused on the issues. It was very easy to become obsessed with the situation. This not only drove on us emotionally, but spiritually. Anger became a part of our everyday life. The anger towards these men grew daily.

Even worse than my own emotion and anger, my worship became spiritless. I started attending services without being prepared to worship God. We should pay attention to what is being said or taught, but I was unable to focus.

We need to be sure and show our appreciation to God, whom we serve and worship. My thoughts were not there. I became focused on finding error in everything instead of truly worshiping. Matthew 15:8 says, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” I became guilty of this.

This total process took approximately two years. After that period it became clear that these gentlemen were not going to change their way of thinking. They started telling people that if they did not like what was going on then they needed to leave. Thus, this eventually resulting in my family leaving the congregation and friends behind.

Unfortunately, there comes a time that we must separate ourselves from these situations. When it takes over your everyday thoughts and worship to the Lord, it is time to go.  We could no longer continue to subject ourselves to false teachings and serving under this type of eldership.

First Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

However, by leaving this congregation (our escape), we can now get back to the true worship to God that he indeed deserves.

When we separated ourselves from this situation we immediately felt relieved. The pressures were gone, the sleep returned, and joy filled our souls again. Now we have a renewed feeling toward our Lord. The air is clean and the hurt has changed. We now hurt for the loss of those that remain (oblivious to the problems), but we can breathe much easier.

Searching for a new church home is never easy. We must take our time, ask a lot of questions and listen closely to what is being taught. Lots of prayer and study will go into this search. With growing kids at home it is very important for us to make sure the youth programs are appropriate and to observe how well everyone is accepted into the group.

Always remember what is said in James 5:19-20, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”

As a devout brother recently told me, “Be sure standing up for the truth is always the right thing … and (even though some may disagree) you are not the bad guy.  Remember, Paul said, ‘Have I become your enemy because I tell you the truth?’ (Galatians 4:16). Speaking the truth never makes you the enemy.”

In a recent sermon, a fellow officer delivered a message that made me sit back and think. Maj. Jerry Sayre said that one can tell a great deal about a person by looking at the things that bother him. In other words, those things that make us uncomfortable say a great deal about us. I find Maj. Sayre’s statement to be quite profound.

While conducting my first ramp ceremony, I found myself ill-prepared for the wave of emotion that swept over me. “Amazing Grace” played on the bagpipes as the fallen soldiers were slowly carried past a solemn line of their comrades.

Of the things that passed through my mind, none is greater than the thought of the impact on the lives of the family members and friends of each soldier. Their lives will be changed forever. Big plans developed by husbands and wives or brothers and sisters will never take place. Plans for vacations, plans for college, plans to spend more time together will never materialize.

I also think about the other soldiers who face the fight every day. I think of how they deserve the best that we at our level can provide them. They are the reason we are here.

I was fortunate to spend two weeks at a base in the vicinity of Herat last month. I slept in a tent with young soldiers from the 82nd Airborne. Many of them face the same problems common to all who are separated from friends and family. However, they often face those challenges without the benefit of easy Internet access and the additional 30-plus years of life experience that many of us have.

Overall, I found them to be a good group of young Americans who do dangerous jobs for a living. I know this: I pray that nothing bad happens to any of them. I want each of them to one day chase those big dreams and big plans they have made.

Take Maj. Sayre’s comment to examine your own conscience: what bothers you the most?

I know that I speak for most, if not all, military members: ramp ceremonies.

We pray that they will always bother us.

Capt. Holloway is the son of Duncan and Mary Holloway, of the Geneva, Ala., congregation.

Recently the Tennessean, a newspaper in Nashville, Tenn., ran an article entitled, “Churches of Christ drop isolationist view, work with other faiths.” The author, Bob Smietana, featured the changes taking place at Otter Creek Church of Christ in Brentwood, Tenn.

Smietana interviewed associate minister Doug Sanders, who repeated a number of progressive charges made against mainstream churches of Christ.

“In the Church of Christ, we had all the answers. And if we had the answers, that meant everyone else didn’t. It’s kind of embarrassing to admit it, but that’s the way it was,” Sanders said.

Sanders noted that Otter Creek had taken a more progressive approach to Christianity and had left the “traditional” beliefs and practices of the Church of Christ. Otter Creek uses instruments in worship on Sunday evenings and through the week. They also hold “a vespers service on Wednesday night, with chanting and a liturgical Communion service.” Otter Creek is also well known for offering line dancing classes to the community.

Otter Creek, like Woodmont Hills in Nashville and Richland Hills near Ft. Worth, Tex., has moved seriously away from the practices of most of the churches in Nashville. They fellowship as members people who were not immersed as adults and cooperate with other religious groups in charitable efforts.

Glenn Carson of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society suggests that congregations like Otter Creek are creating a fourth stream of the Restoration movement, “distinct from Churches of Christ and other groups.”

Lee Camp of Lipscomb University feared this group would become “become plain vanilla evangelicals.”

Dan Chambers of Concord Rd. Church of Christ in Brentwood said he felt they had basically surrendered “the whole Restoration idea.”

Rubel Shelly, president of Rochester College in Michigan, says Churches of Christ will have to adapt in the future or lose their effectiveness.

“The notion that people in the 21^st century are going to find their identity in a particular denomination is getting and more unlikely,” Shelly said. “If we ever had the luxury of being divided at every nuance of belief, we are losing it in this culture.”

Shelly, Sanders and others in the progressive movement have jumped ship for the culture of our time. They accused churches of Christ of thinking they had it all right. This is a misunderstanding. The question among churches of Christ is not so much who is right but rather what is right.

Christians have no right to progress beyond the words of Christ or to participate with those who do go beyond them (2 John 9). Jesus defined true disciples as those who “abide” in his words (John 8:31-32).

If we allow culture to dictate our faith and practice, then we have replaced Christ as Lord with our culture.

While Paul sought to identify with the cultures in which he lived (1 Cor. 9:19-23), he kept his focus on standing in the apostolic traditions which he received (1 Cor. 11:1; 15:1-3). Whether among pagans or Jews, Paul understood that he was under the law of Christ. Even though removed a generation out of Palestine and called to a fleshly and pagan culture at Corinth, he did not create a “reimagined” faith for a new generation. He held to what he received (Col. 2:6-8).

Most churches of Christ reject the Pharisaical practice of making laws not found in Scripture (Matt. 15:1-14); they also reject the practice of abandoning the Scripture to follow human religions shaped by culture.

Over a century ago, those who followed the course of the Disciples of Christ were sure the churches of Christ would soon vanish because they did not “keep up with the times.” They were sure the churches of Christ would lose their young people if they did not start using instruments of music in worship.

But the critics were wrong.

From 1906 to 2006 churches of Christ grew nearly eight times larger and have large numbers of young adults. According to the Pew Forum’s U.S. Religious Landscape Survey taken in 2008, churches of Christ have more young adults aged 18-29 than any major religious group in America (22 percent). They didn’t leave but valued simple, New Testament Christianity.

Meanwhile, I’m seeing many of the progressive, fourth-wave congregations flourish for a time and then seriously decline when people realize they have nothing distinctive to offer.

People still want conviction, and young people appreciate a distinctive identity. While mainstream churches of Christ retain most of their young adults (67 percent), the progressive, fourth-wave churches lose more than 60 percent of their children. Most of these children go into community churches.

Whether doctrinally or practically, it is best to hold fast to the divine traditions (1Cor. 11:2).

Phil is minister and associate speaker on In Search of the Lord’s Way, a nationally broadcast television ministry under the oversight of the Edmond, Okla., church.

This past week I had the great and unique opportunity to attend a Bible discussion or debate in Meridian, Miss. As I sat there and heard both sides present their arguments I thought about what a learning opportunity was being afforded to those who were present and being missed by those who were absent.

Debates or Bible discussions of this sort used to be common and popular in our communities. Yet, like many things, they have fallen by the wayside.

Many today do not like the debate format because they are looking for a declared winner or loser within the debate. Debates, though, are not sporting events like a boxing match where points are earned and knock-outs are awarded.

Debates are an opportunity for two sides with differing beliefs to come together and present their beliefs with supporting evidence for those beliefs.

We find this happening repeatedly within the New Testament where men of God took the opportunity to discuss God’s word openly with those who opposed their teaching (Matt. 22:15-46; Acts 15:2-7; Acts 17:17; Acts 19:8-10; Gal. 2:11).

Although one speaker will generally do a better job in defense of his teaching than the other one, they are not the true winners of a debate. The true winners of any Bible discussion in which the truth is presented are those who listen to that truth and respond positively to it.

These listeners are like those of Berea (Acts 17:11), in that they do not accept the words of some man but instead they search out God’s word to see what is and what is not so.

Others do not like debates because they feel that debates are nothing more than organized fights. These people do not like the bold defense of the gospel which often must come from those in a debate.

In the New Testament we find at least 21 times where the manner in which the truth is both taught and defended is described as either bold, boldly, boldness, or embolden.

It is true that we must speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15), but at times it is out of love for both the truth and the souls of men that we must be more bold in our defense of God’s word.

We find that this to be case with Paul when he withstood Peter when he came to Antioch (Gal. 2:11).

The aim of a debater is not to belittle his opponent, nor to be offensive to him, but to defend his belief to the best of his ability.

What many do not realize is that religious debates go on every day. In personal Bible studies, Bible classes, at work and on the streets, anywhere the two views of God’s word is discussed and studied in some sense a debate.

I’d like to say thanks to friends, fellow workers, supporters and readers who, in one way or another, have contributed to these united efforts over the past year. Vicki and I feel a deep sense of gratitude to God for his kindness and and mercy during this new progress, on the one hand, and in the midst of many uncertainties, both personal and public, on the other.

The world is ever at war, seemingly ever more vicious and dangerous, but we enjoy the peace of God in our hearts and offer it to all who will receive it.

As the globe grows smaller, our hearts enlarge to embrace the spiritual needs of peoples, nations, cities and individuals.

With the loss of freedoms and privacy in our societies, we rejoice in the security of the gospel and the knowledge of God.

While economies falter and stumble and people risk losing jobs, investments and savings, the stability of a relationship with the Lord is our mainstay.

But life moves forward, nothing stays the same.

Our personal lives celebrated anniversaries of fives this past year. In August, we rejoiced in 30 years of marriage, having earlier married off our second son; in November, 25 years of continuous service in Brazil; in December, 15 years of work in Sao Jose dos Campos.

For the first time ever in those 25 years on the field, the Mathenys made a change January 1st to a new overseeing congregation and to a far different support situation. So service to the Lord continues, even though the network of fellowship shifts and adapts.

The past year produced amazing developments in every field of endeavor, not least in the realm of faith. And though our corner of action be small, and in spite of the uncertainties, wonderful milestones set apart 2009 as a year of progress.

• Richard Mansel’s book, The Most Important Question, was released in January by Forthright Press.
• Ministry partner Barbara A. Oliver assumed the position of Managing Editor of BrotherhoodNews.com.
• Richard Mansel settled in to the position of Managing Editor of Forthright Magazine, after assuming the post in December, 2008.
• The Fellowship Room launched on Thanksgiving Day, now with 15 active Fellows, or posters, who contribute to a dynamic website for Christian encouragement and edification.
• Mike Brooks and I planned out a book for use in Asia and South America, an overview of the systematic teachings of the Bible.
• Arrangements were made for the Somers Ave. church in North Little Rock, Ark., to assume oversight of our personal efforts on the 1st of January, 2010.
• We moved further to establish a synergistic ministry based on efforts up to the present, such as the book project with Mike.
• Barbara A. Oliver spent a month in Costa Rica studying Spanish, to prepare herself better for her ministry among speakers of that language, as well as helping to conduct a Vacation Bible School afterwards.
• Several of us have worked with social media like Twitter (@brotherhoodnews, @forthrightpress), Facebook (for FMag and FPress) and SaintsMeet.com, as well as PreachersFiles.com, to get the word about about this ministry.

These are but the tip of the iceberg, without mentioning the local work we all are engaged in.

Plans for 2010 are still in the works; good things are ahead. We’ll be reinforcing present efforts like BNc and Forthright Magazine, releasing new books through Forthright Press, beefing up The Fellowship Room.

A new project is under wraps, which we hope to launch this year, bringing together many of the best elements of the Forthright family ministry.

Finally, we offer this prayer for all our friends and readers, both personally and on behalf of the Forthright/BNc team, as we trust that 2010 will be a year of new progress in the gospel of Jesus Christ for you and of sharing the grace of God with those who remain under the power of darkness.

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good thing you do or say” (2 Thes. 2:16-17 NET).

CHICAGO, Ill. (BNc) – Next week Mac Deaver debates a Baptist opponent on Calvinist doctrines.

A public debate will take place Apr. 27-30 in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg between brother Mac Deaver and Matthew Black of the Baptist Church.

The issue will center around the nature of man, addressing questions such as: Are we sinners from birth? Do we inherit a corrupt nature because of Adam’s sin? Do we have free will to obey the gospel?

The four-night discussion will take place from 7:00-9:00 p.m. Monday-Thursday in the building of the Schaumburg congregation.

Deaver will affirm and Black will deny the following proposition:

“The Scriptures teach that a person is born innocent (free of sin) and becomes a sinner when he first transgresses the will of God, and that as a sinner (person in sin), he is able to respond to the gospel so that he can become a Christian.”

Black will affirm and Deaver will deny this proposition:

“The Scriptures teach that a person is born hereditarily totally depraved and prone to sin, and that as such, stands in need of salvation. A person that responds to the gospel does so in faith and repentance as drawn and enabled by the Holy Spirit.”

Black is an Illinois native and minister for the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Hanover Park, Ill., according to Matt Clifton. A graduate of Bob Jones University, Black is pursuing graduate studies in the area of Biblical and Systematic Theology.

Deaver works with the Sherman Drive church in Denton, Tex. He received a B.A. from Oklahoma Christian College, an M.A. from Harding University Graduate School of Religion, and a doctoral degree from Tennessee Bible College.

Glenn Jobe serves as minister with the Schaumburg church.

The address is 601 E. Schaumburg Road, Schaumburg, Ill.

For further information, call (847) 985-0028 or email evangelism.jsm@gmail.com.

The debate audio will be streamed live on the internet at this link.