“Atheism [I.e. the Christian faith!] has been specially advanced through the loving service rendered to strangers, and through their care for the burial of the dead. It is a scandal that there is not a single Jew who is a beggar, and that the godless Galileans care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them.” — Roman Emperor Julian, 4th Century

Cultural Commentaries

• Celebrating What Is Good - The Ohio Senate passed Amended Senate Bill 104 to protect single-sex student bathrooms, showers, locker rooms, and overnight accommodations, ensuring they cannot become co-ed. Since the Ohio House of Representatives approved the measure before their summer break, SB104 now awaits Governor DeWine's approval. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has encouraged the governor to sign the bill, promising to defend it in court if challenged.

• Creating What Is Missing - The Department of Development recently reported that Ohio is in the beginning of a long-term population decline, with an estimated loss of 675,000 people by 2050–a nearly 6 percent decline. While the population replacement rate requires a minimum fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman, Ohio's total fertility rate is only 1.7 children per woman. A declining population comes with a host of consequences, including reduced tax income to maintain government services and city upkeep, decreased GDP, and a smaller workforce. The issue, however, isn't limited to Ohio or even the US: one Japanese company is switching from manufacturing baby diapers to adult diapers, while China is now paying couples to have children. 

  This is a call to the Church to encourage and support the strong, stable marriages that create more babies!

• Restoring What Is Broken - The recent election served as just one more platform to highlight our increasingly polarized and graceless society. Many in your church may be dreading the upcoming "obligatory" time together with friends and family. I found this recent post from Identity Project—Thanksgiving: Gather with Grace—a helpful reminder to relate to those around the table as image-bearers worthy of the same grace God has extended to us and to remember that, as C.S. Lewis said, "We have never met a mere mortal."

• Ending What Is Evil - There is a growing belief among Christians that while the New Testament clearly condemns same-sex sexuality outside of marriage, the trajectory of Scripture leads to a conclusion that same-sex marriage can be affirmed and embraced by the Church. Furthermore, they claim slavery supports their position. Dr. Jim Spiegel, our facilitator for the central Ohio Minnery Fellowship cohort, calls this "moral heresy." This article by Rebecca McLaughlin does a great job of addressing this issue within the Church while this video from "What Would You Say?" is a helpful resource. 

CCV Policy Tracker

With newly elected legislators preparing to be sworn into office in January and current legislators finishing their term on December 31, the Lame Duck Session has begun.

In addition to the bathroom privacy bill mentioned in the Cultural Commentaries section, CCV Legislative Liaison Nilani Jawahar provided expert testimony in support of House Bill 475 to prohibit state funding of abortion, CCV's Policy Director David Mahan testified in favor of Senate Bill 304 in support of religious education released time, and the Senate Sponsor Hearing for Educational Savings Accounts, and CCV's Ohio Christian Education Network Executive Director Troy McIntosh testified as an interested party on House Bill 407 to regulate private schools.

Take a moment to review where all of the CCV-backed bills currently stand in the 135th General Assembly..

Ohio Prayer Guide

We have partnered with Pray For Ohio to bring you a monthly topical prayer guide that can be shared with your church. The Prayer Guide for December and the companion blog post invite us to pray with our focus on the widows and fatherless this Advent season. 

Resources

• This article from Colson Center is an interesting read and a great reminder to be careful of the temptation to pendulum swing rather than stay centered on truth. 

• Enjoy these 10 great ideas to express gratitude this Thanksgiving from Jill Turner, director of editorial and content at the National Christian Foundation. 

• The temporal relevance and eternal perspective of The Pour Over are certainly impressive. Each email is an easy 5-minute overview of news and events through a biblical lens. I encourage you to subscribe! 

  If you believe other pastors in your network would benefit from receiving The Times, please forward this to them and encourage them to subscribe!  

Upcoming Events

• Lunch-and-Learn series for CAN members: Join us for a FREE virtual lunch-and-learn series on stewardship and generosity next month. This two-part series will dive into how the Church can steward our resources well while being biblically generous in support of our communities, nation, and beyond. The sessions are from 12:00 to 1:15 pm on Tuesday, December 3 (register here), and from 12:00 to 1:15 pm on Tuesday, December 10 (register here).

• The Minnery Fellowship application window for the January session is open! The Minnery Fellowship provides ongoing educational opportunities for pastors and church leaders to dive into the practical issues facing Christians in culture and develop, alongside a cohort of their peers, biblical strategies and responses. Learn more and apply today.

Pastor Testimony

CCV is both a blessing and a valuable partner to the Church of Jesus Christ. They have represented biblical truth and important Kingdom issues in the places of power and government. Their goal is to help our nation, which claims to be "One Nation Under God," to thrive by advocating for policies that are biblically based, family-centered, and value the life and dignity of all. I have been equipped and empowered by collaborating with them both in the public sector as well as in the faith community. — Al Yanno, Church Multiplication Director, Assemblies of God Ohio

Closing Thoughts

Faith in Jesus foregrounds the trust that says, "I love my neighbor because she is mine, and not because she loves me back." ― Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World

Support the ministry to serve and resource Ohio pastors:

A number of churches have decided to support CCV and the Church Ambassador Network financially through their budget. To set up a recurring monthly donation to CCV, please visit CCV.org/Donate and make sure to click the check box at the end of the form, above the comments field, before submitting your gift. 

We would be honored if you chose to invest a portion of God’s resources into our effort to serve and support churches in Ohio with resources to help them carry out the Great Commission in the spirit of The Greatest Commandments in our current cultural context.