“I chose to step away from ‘NCIS New Orleans’ because the schedule was long hours and gruesome,” the 41-year-old father-of-three told the Christian Post.

“There was only a short period of time I could sacrifice that time away from my family before I knew it was going to be a problem. So my wife and I discussed that, and we had a plan going into it. There was a time I had to step away because enough was enough.”

“As men and husbands and fathers, it’s innate in us that we want to provide and protect, and sometimes, those can get in the way of the relationships that mean the most to us. If we’re focused too much on our career, usually our relationships with our wives, spouse or kids are going to suffer. I’ve thought about that in my life. There’s got to be some healthy margin in your life.”

According to the Alabama native, he sees elements of his own story in that of David Smallbone, father to brothers Luke and Joel Smallbone of the Grammy Award-winning Christian band For King and Country and Rebecca, better known as singer-songwriter Rebecca St. James. 

The Smallbone’s story is told in the forthcoming film ” Unsung Hero” which documents how David Smallbone, after his company collapses in his home country of Australia, moves his wife and six children — with one on the way — to Nashville, Tennessee, in the hopes of a brighter future. 

However, the American dream doesn’t initially materialize, and David struggles as he tries to care for his large family while finances dwindle away and work opportunities continually fall through. It’s through prayer, uniting together as a family, and relying on the support of their local community that the Smallbone family eventually finds success in the Christian music industry. 

Black, best known for his starring roles in the “The Fast and the Furious” franchise and for starring in “Friday Night Lights,” plays Jed Albright in “Unsung Hero,” a local church member who welcomes the Smallbone family into his Nashville home along with his wife, Kay (Candace Cameron Bure). 

Directed by Joel Smallbone and Richard Ramsey, the cast of “Unsung Hero,” also includes Joel Smallbone playing his father, Daisy Betts, Kirrilee Berger, Lady A’s Hillary Scott and “Nashville” star Jonathan Jackson.

Angels” and “Sound of Freedom,” Black is cautious about whether Hollywood will embrace this shift toward family-friendly content.

“I think they see the demand, but there’s still a deliberate agenda they want to push. My hope is that they will change, but I’m not sure if they really care about the dollar as much as their agendas,” he said.

“For us that are watching these films. I want you guys to be aware of that,” he added. “As hard as it may be, we may have to choose to turn the channel or not watch a certain movie because … certain agendas that that they are trying to push. But I think if [these projects] flunk and they start losing lots of dollars, there might be a change, but I don’t know.”

Living out his beliefs in the public eye hasn’t always been easy — he’s faced criticism for his conservative viewpoints — but Black said the encouragement he receives from fellow believers outweighs any backlash. 

“I pray about what God wants me to do,” he said. “He’s spoken to me to be an encourager to the Body of Christ. There’s more positive that comes out of being bold about my faith than we can ever really imagine. But most of it comes from people who are in the body of Christ and believers who tell me how thankful they are that I stand up for what I believe in, I stand up for the Gospel, and I am resilient.”

“I want to point people to Christ and hopefully make an impact to win lost souls,” he said. “But to those who are already believers, want to encourage them to stand strong in their faith and to be bold and to edify the Church.”

Source: Christian Post, Author: Leah M. Klett

The post Lucas Black on prioritizing God, family over Hollywood career: ‘I stand up for the Gospel’ appeared first on Chrife.com.gh.

The inaugural edition of the conference took place in the previous year, 2023, leaving an indelible mark on attendees. The encounter proved to be transformative, with highlights showcasing the extravagant grace of God through Jesus Christ. Stakeholders and ministers from various parts of the country delivered powerful ministrations, reaching over 500 audience members during the first edition. Anticipation is high for an even more promising impact and empowerment in both the conference and the gospel music industry as a whole this year.

EeZee Conceptz, known as the nurturing ground for younger and upcoming artists in the gospel industry, is gearing up for the EeZee Global Mindustry Conference scheduled for January 9th, 2024.

The record label boasts a lineup of popular gospel musicians, including Mercy Chinwo, GUC, Judikay, Chris Morgan, Chidinma Ekile, and many others. These artists, recognized for their impactful songs, also serve as facilitators for each year’s edition of the EeZee Global Mindustry Conference.

The 2024 edition promises an exceptional lineup of facilitators, including Tosin Alao, Foza Doza, Minister GUC, Dr. Tim Ogboruche, Mike Abdul, Dr. Sunday Edwards, EeZee Tee, and the accomplished producer ID Cabasa. Additionally, Reverend Sam Oye is set to deliver a powerful message.

To participate in this moment of spiritual impartation, individuals are encouraged to register for the conference at www.eezeeconceptz.org/eggmmc for free access.

Registered participants are advised to regularly check their emails for updates and additional information regarding the EeZee Global Mindustry Conference 2024.

Author: Bright Agbelengor

The post THE EEZEE GLOBAL MINDUSTRY CONFERENCE 2024 IS UPON US appeared first on Chrife.com.gh.

Pittsburgh residents Megan and Matt Chopek, who both became deaf before age 5 and are now in their 30s, have served in the Deaf Life Gatherings at Redemption Hill Church in Jefferson Hills since October 2018. 

Using their past painful experiences in their previous church, the couple is working to break down “false” stigmas through the ministry in hopes other deaf people won’t experience the “church hurt” they have suffered.

The Chopeks have spearheaded the deaf ministry at Redemption Hill alongside an American Sign Language-fluent ministry leader. 

“We just want to let deaf people know God doesn’t care if you’re deaf. He loves us. His concern is your heart, your sin, where you’re going after you die, whether that’s Heaven or not,” Matt Chopek told The Christian Post. 

The Chopeks know firsthand there are issues with how some churches minister to the deaf community, and there are not nearly enough deaf ministries across the nation. 

“There’s so many people that are deaf, and they’ve had their own painful experiences or issues with experiencing hurt within the Church. But, another issue is that there is also a low percentage of the deaf community that knows the Gospel nationally,” Megan Chopek said. 

“Maybe they grew up going to church, or they tried to go to church later on. However, a common issue experienced is that there are no interpreters at the churches they try to attend in order to do sign language for them. This creates a massive language barrier between them and everyone else who is hearing in the churches.” 

‘Being made healthy spiritually’

Megan Chopek was 4 years old when she discovered she was legally deaf after failing a hearing test at school. Matt Chopek said he discovered he was deaf at age 3. 

In 2019, Matt Chopek had cochlear implant surgery. Since the procedure, he has been able to hear low sounds with a hearing aid, but he is still considered legally deaf.  

The Chopeks believe that God can still heal in the same way He did in biblical times when several deaf people were given the supernatural ability to hear.

However, the two agree that churches shouldn’t promote the notion that “healing is for everyone,” and if someone isn’t healed, they are “lacking a strong enough connection to God.” 

“A lot of deaf people associate the Gospel as only a message about the sick becoming healthy, and they fail to understand that the Gospel isn’t always about becoming healthy physically. But, it’s mainly about being made healthy spiritually,” said Megan Chopek. 

“It’s difficult because there are many deaf people who don’t understand this due to the way the Church has wired them to think. A large part of the deaf community involves how we all identify with something specific while being within the community. The culture is really strong. We are really tied to our deaf identity,” Matt Chopek said.

“We need to figure out and say to ourselves, ‘Yes, God loves you. Yes, you are deaf. That’s fine. But that’s not the priority of your identity. God wants you to understand the priority of your identity should be involved in Him.’ And that’s huge. It’s a lot to think about and change. The deaf community is now struggling with that,” he continued. 

Matt Chopek said he can’t fully understand why God allowed him to become deaf from a young age. However, he said he knows God had a purpose and a plan for Him to take “the gift and share the Gospel in sign language with others.”  Unmute

“He gave this to me. He gave me the ability to reach out to people. God can use anything to share the Gospel, to allow people to see who He is. At the same time, whether a person is blind, deaf or has a mental health issue, I believe that God can do healing miracles,” Matt Chopek said. 

“I think He allowed us to have specific things happen — specific illnesses, cancer, so forth, whatever — to use these for His glory, to advance the Gospel.”

God gives certain skill sets to certain individuals for an ultimate reason as part of His grand plan, Megan Chopek said.  

“We’re not going to just sit back and do nothing with the skills. We’re going to go ahead and make disciples. Even if God can heal hearing, I’m still not sure why He hasn’t healed this,” she said, pointing at her ears. “But, He’s impacted my heart. That’s the point.” 

Church hurt that cuts deep

Megan and Matt Chopek said before they started attending Redemption Hill, they experienced their own “church hurt” from a previous church they attended. 

“There was a small deaf community in the area where our previous church was already established, and they had an interpreter set up, and everything seemed fine. But, the interpreter left the church and the deaf community just crumbled and they left the church also,” Matt Chopek said.  

“It’s hard because we were building a good relationship, and having that relationship was vital. We had also been working closely together with brothers and sisters in Christ. There was a lot of signing. There was a lot of learning. There was a lot of praying together. Then, the interpreter left, and everything just dissolved. There was nothing there anymore. And the two of us recognized that,” he added. 

“We were like, ‘Where do we go? What do we do?’ It was really hard. We had to pick up from that because we didn’t know where to go. If I remember right, everything just dissolved.” 

“Everything just didn’t work out. It was just really hard. It was hard to communicate. That was tough. And we lost understanding of what was going on. That connection was gone when the interpreter left. Everything evolved, and we were just left. The pastor didn’t do anything to help with the issue, which was the most painful part about it,” Megan Chopek added.

A glimmer of hope in ministry 

The Chopeks said it took them a while to pick up where they left off and find a new church home in Redemption Hill because few churches offer interpreters and other options to meet the needs of the deaf population. 

“This church, right now, wow. The senior pastor took the time to learn who we were even before my cochlear. He would pray for us. They saw and learned the situation. When I was struggling, they made the time to learn to sign,” Matt Chopek said.  

“The senior pastor himself, really, he had no plans to learn how to sign. But understanding my situation, he went ahead and started picking up signing. And now, we have really good conversations with the pastor,” he added.  

“Before, he had no plans to sign at all. But, after he learned there was a need, he has since built that skill through training. He takes the time to make an effort to be able to communicate with deaf people. Because it’s really the Holy Spirit. I mean, he has [the Holy Spirit]. He identified the situation. He didn’t ignore it. He moves forward boldly in every situation,” Megan Chopek added.

Good chunk of life’ in deaf ministry

Roddey Caughman, the associate pastor and deaf ministry director of Redemption Hill Church, who has worked alongside the Chopeks in leading the church’s deaf ministry, said he is not considered deaf. But, in the past year, he has become hard of hearing in one of his ears. 

Well before he was considered deaf, for over four decades, Caughman studied ASL starting at age 13.

“My wife and I, both, are nationally certified interpreters for the deaf. We’re both fluent in American Sign Language. We’ve been around it for a long time. Right before I became a Christian, when I was about 13 years old, there was a boy the same age who lived near me who was deaf. I started learning sign language from him, and we are still good friends to this day,” Caughman told CP.

“In my senior year in high school, I came to faith in Christ, and that same weekend that I came to faith in Christ, I figured, ‘Well, I think God probably will want to use me to minister to the deaf.’ But, I had no idea what that meant at the time.”

When Caughman entered college, he became involved in a campus ministry where he worked with some deaf students. He said doing ministry in that capacity further solidified the calling that he believes God placed on his life. 

“I graduated from college, and I began to pursue ministry opportunities, starting out just basically as an interpreter for church services. And then, that led me to work as a dormitory counselor at the Tennessee School for the Deaf. I did that for five-and-a-half years. That’s where I met my wife. She was doing the same exact work as me,” Caughman said. 

Caughman and his wife married in Knoxville and had their first child there. As a family, they moved to South Carolina. After making the move, the couple worked for many years off and on as educational interpreters for deaf people working with children and teenagers from kindergarten to college age.

The couple later moved to Pittsburgh, where Caughman helped contribute to the deaf ministry at Redemption Hill Church.

“I’ve also worked as a missionary. My wife and I were both missionaries in South America for the deaf. Overall, I’ve worked with the deaf community in various ministry and non-ministerial roles from 1988 until now,” Caughman said. 

“It feels like I’ve always been involved in deaf ministry, in some form or fashion, for a good chunk of my life, most often as just a layperson, ministering, teaching Sunday schools, getting to know people one-on-one and building discipleship.” 

Caughman also donates over half his salary towards fundraising.  

Breaking down ‘false’ church stigmas

Caughman said one of his main goals alongside the Chopeks is to help break down “false” church stigmas that have harmed far too many members of the deaf population today.  

The Chopeks have seen how stigmas have festered in some church communities, such notions as “the deaf community needs healing from their deafness through prayer and deliverance” and if they do not find “healing,” they are “deeply flawed” and “distant from Jesus.”  

In response, the Chopeks wants more congregations to launch deaf ministries to meet the needs of a community often overlooked and judged by the Church.  

“There are tough experiences that deaf people face within the Church due to this belief that ‘you just need to pray for Jesus to take away your deafness,’ and those kinds of statements. Those false beliefs,” Matt Chopek said.  

“For people who are deaf, within the deaf community, it’s an insult to them because they’re praying that God takes away their deafness and they push back against the idea that the Church has actually hurt them. And they are taught to never think of the question, ‘Did you know Jesus loves you exactly how you are?’” Megan Chopek added. 

Caughman said that while God can heal, many deaf people are satisfied with the life they are living and don’t necessarily feel the need for healing. 

“God certainly has the ability to heal, and there are people who do get healed of various diseases. And for us to say that God cannot do that would be to deny the truth of the Scriptures,” he said. “However, in the deaf ministry, deaf people hear when you say, ‘Well, don’t you want to be healed?’ And in my experience, many of them say, ‘Well, no, this is my life. I’m satisfied with that.'”

Among the deaf population that Caughman has worked with in ministry, he said very few have sought prayer for healing of their deafness. 

“There are deaf people who would like to be healed, and some ask the Lord for that. So far, out of all those that I’ve worked with, none of them who have wanted to be healed have found that healing. Most of those that desire healing would be those that started out hearing and later in life, they became deaf and they miss that ability to hear,”  Caughman said. 

“The deaf that I typically work with are men and women who have grown up with that. And to ask them, do you want to be healed and become hearing is just like asking someone who is French, ‘Don’t you want to be healed and become a German?’ To them, it means the same thing. They would say, ‘No, this is what I am.’”  

Caughman said that when he ministers to deaf people, he usually refers them to scriptures that teach “God has created us in His own image and what He has created is very good.” 

“When people are created with disabilities, and God chooses not to heal them, that is God’s desire for them. He is the Potter, and we are the clay,” Caughman said. 

“When dealing with a situation like this, which might be difficult to handle, certainly, we can ask Him to remove that obstacle, and He may or may not remove it. But, much like Paul, He said that he had ‘a thorn in his flesh,’ … and he asked repetitively at least three times for God to remove it. God did not.” 

The need for deaf ministry

To meet the dire need for more deaf ministries in churches across the nation, Caughman said, there are two crucial steps churches can take to start their own deaf ministries. 

“I would recommend that they find one or two deaf Christian leaders, preferably pastors in this case, but even if not pastors, Christian leaders who understand the deaf culture and understand what it means to serve Christ as a deaf member of the deaf community,” Caughman said. 

“I think that way, any deaf ministry that starts will take on the form of what the deaf in your area understand as fitting to the deaf community,” he continued.   

“Secondly, I would recommend pastors look up the website for the Deaf Bible Society. They have a lot of resources to help people who are interested in starting a deaf ministry. I think their website also highlights the different types of ways that you can approach deaf ministry and help pastors figure out what’s the best way to start one.” 

The Deaf Bible Society, based out of Arlington, Texas, is a religious organization that aims to fulfill its mission of “providing the Bible by video in the world’s many sign languages.” 

The ministry organization reports that there are approximately 70 million sign language users worldwide and more than 350 different kinds of sign languages.

However, according to DBS, only “13% of sign languages have access to portions of Scripture,” while only one sign language has a full Bible translation.

“There’s not much out there in terms of deaf ministries for the deaf in churches nationally, and additionally, the lack of adequate resources for the deaf is a major problem,” Caughman said. 

“In my work with the deaf over the years, I know there are many deaf people who love the Lord Jesus and live in small communities where there is nothing there. Even if their church wanted to have an interpreter, they cannot because the other interpreters live in other small little communities elsewhere.” 

Caughman said one positive thing that has happened since the COVID-19 pandemic is more churches have added online sermon visibility options.

Online ministry content has allowed more deaf people to be exposed to the Gospel by watching on YouTube and reading sermon captions to understand what is being preached.  

“Fortunately, many deaf people in this situation without churches that have interpreters are able to be a part of ministries that provide services over YouTube or over Zoom and things like that,” Caughman said. 

“They do have that connection. But, just like hearing people can, they would like the opportunity to be physically in contact with other deaf men and women who love Jesus.”

Churches banning together for deaf ministry

Redemption Hill Senior Pastor Peter Doerfler told CP that it’s important that more churches come together to start deaf ministries because the need is there. 

“I think, if there’s a sense of burden, like a conviction that they ought to be serving in this space, then, I think they ought to reach out probably first to other church ministries that are doing their own deaf ministries — whether they’re in deaf churches or hearing churches — to kind of understand the lay of the land. Then, along the way, they’ll probably start to get connected to interpreters,” Doerfler said.  

“If they’re a hearing church, they’ll need to hire interpreters if they don’t have their own. But, I feel like relational work has to start first by figuring out if they have a pocket of people within their church who share that vision to start a deaf ministry. If they don’t, it probably doesn’t make sense.”

Before the deaf ministry got started at his church, Doerfler said he first held an ASL class at the church to assess whether or not there was a need for it.

A little over a dozen people showed up to the class, and with that turnout, he said he was moved to establish the deaf ministry at Redemption Hill.  

“It’s definitely a discernment process, like any new ministry, to see what works for any particular church. But, I would start there, and then, if you’re like, ‘Yes, we should do it,’ and it seems like the doors are opening, my gut would be to either hire an interpreter and/or teach an ASL Bible study that meets near where the deaf might live,” he said. 

Doerfler said the most rewarding aspects of having a deaf ministry at his church are seeing how the community has grown exponentially in the Lord and knowing that he is reaching a group that might not otherwise be reached if it wasn’t for the ministry. 

“The deaf population doesn’t have as many options of churches to attend, and so, you really try to do your very best. Hearing people are kind of spoiled. They can say, ‘It doesn’t really work here; I can try this church or this church or that church,'” Doerfler said. 

“I never want to take our deaf church members for granted and think, ‘Well, they don’t have that many choices, so they aren’t going anywhere.’ I guess it’s more like, how can we deliver the best, knowing there are far fewer options?” 

Source: The Christian Post, Author: Nicole Alcindor

The post Exploring the Ways a Church’s Deaf Ministry Shares the Gospel with Individuals Who Are Hard of Hearing appeared first on Chrife.com.gh.

o help you move forward in evangelistic conversations with atheists, consider asking one of the following four questions in the course of your conversation:

First, was there a time when you believed in God? God’s existence is evident to all men, even those who reject Him (Romans 1:19). An atheist must suppress the truth of God that is evident in nature (Psalm 19:1).  It is likely that there was a time when your atheist friend believed in God. Listening carefully and graciously about the event(s) that led them to change their mind is helpful for two reasons: You can understand the issues that led to their current unbelief, and the atheist reconnects (through their story) to a time before they suppressed the truth of God’s existence. 

Second, wouldn’t you like there to be a God? A person is more likely to accept evidence and arguments for things they want to be true rather than things they hope are not true. This question is simple, yet powerful. In evangelism, you are trying to tell someone about a loving creator who, despite our sin, graciously provides all that is needed for us to enjoy eternal life. Wouldn’t you like for that God to exist? Getting a person who doesn’t believe in God to admit that they wish God did exist is a helpful step in asking them to consider the reasons for His existence. 

Third, since becoming an atheist, has there been a time when you thought that God might exist? Christians are not the only people who can have a crisis of faith. Exposure to evil can make believers question their belief, and exposure to beauty and charity can make unbelievers question their unbelief. Asking this question is helpful because an atheist has probably gone through a time when they questioned their unbelief, and by inviting them to share that story of a time when they were tempted to believe God might actually exist, you can encourage them to reconsider the existence of God.

Fourth, what would you have to lose if God existed and you decided to trust Him? Seventeenth-century philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal famously argued that it makes sense to believe in God because what you stand to gain if He exists is far greater than what you stand to lose if He doesn’t. This argument (called The Wager) leads to a simple question: What do you have to lose? Jesus taught us to count the cost of following Him. There are losses in this life, but as the Apostle Paul point out, the suffering of this life does not compare the to the glory that is to come (Romans 8:18). 

Sharing the Gospel can be hard. Asking good questions helps. A good question invites someone to share more about what they believe so that you can wisely and lovingly respond to objections and direct them to Christ. God uses these conversations to open hearts and draw people

Adam Groza (Ph.D.) is a Vice President and Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion at Gateway Seminary. His new book is Faith Wins: Overcoming a Crisis of Belief (New Hope Publishers, 2020).

Source: christianpost.com

Send your news, stories or articles to info@chrife.com.gh or via Whatsapp +2332550144803

The post Sharing the Gospel with an atheist? Here are some questions that might help appeared first on Chrife.com.gh.