If you’re going over a waterfall, you can see your impending peril. When you’re cascading down rapids, you know you need to brace and balance or you’ll be thrown overboard. But the scary thing about drifting is that by the time it’s happened, it’s often too late to correct. The current has already carried you away from safety. That’s why when you’re white-water rafting, you need an experienced guide. I think of this imagery when I talk to church leaders about the role they play in our cultural moment. My theme verse is Hebrews 2:1: “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” The gospel is the church’s fixed point of orientation on the shore. Only by keeping our people focused on the gospel will they see how far they’ve drifted. Only then will they fight the current and change course—hopefully, before it’s too late. Below, I offer two ways church members tend to drift today, and I present one solution: godly pastors centered on Jesus. At The Gospel Coalition, we want to be a pastor’s best friend. We want to cheer pastors on, to help them run their ministry course with endurance (Heb. 12:1). With constant reminders of the gospel, we want to help them fight against the currents that could lead their churches to disaster. Church Members Are Distracted Earlier this year, I talked to a respected, retired pastor who has spent decades in a Southern U.S. college town. I asked him how church ministry has changed over the years. I expected him to say something about social media. His answer was more prosaic: affluence. American Christians earn and spend a lot more money now than they did in the mid-20th century. Affluence creates more opportunities for activities outside church. Sunday has become a day for travel, leisure, and sport rather than a day for rest and worship. Regular attendance has been revised down from four times a month to three, and now to between once or twice per month. Thanks to affluence, too many other engaging activities vie for our attention. We want to cheer pastors on, to help them run their ministry course with endurance. Youth travel sports wouldn’t be possible apart from affluence. Pursuing college athletic scholarships keeps increasing numbers of American families away from church. They’ve drifted from one kind of worship to another—from the worship of God to the vainglory of children’s games. Rarely do the decisions to participate start with that awareness. But the cultural currents take over, and families drift away from church and apart from one another as they’re pulled in competing directions down interstate highways into chain hotels. Affluence also creates the leisure time that has enabled media’s overwhelming proliferation. If you don’t want to spend your Sunday morning on a soccer field, you can fit in a few Netflix shows or NFL games around brunch. I often feel like media is going to dump me in the frigid rushing rapids. I can’t keep up with, or avoid, the media deluge. And I’ll confess to sinful frustration when church prevents me from something so trivial as setting my fantasy football lineup. Frankly, the more I’m immersed in modern media, the stranger God’s Word sounds. That’s exactly why every church member needs God’s direct, prophetic Word every day—and especially from their pastors on Sunday. Church Members Are Divided I’m not sure if the bigger problem caused by media is distraction or division. They’re related, because many of our divisions are distractions, served up for voyeurs. The church beefs that attract so many eyeballs on social media remind me of Paul’s warning to Timothy against “myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith” (1 Tim. 1:4). These online arguments don’t edify the church or usually even affect our face-to-face local ministry. Yet our debates endure so long that they enrich the social media oligarchs who frame algorithms designed to enhance our divisions. Some pastors have made their ministries about these online divisions. They spend so much time on social media that I can’t imagine how they can fulfill their primary ministry obligations. Preaching to social media feeds isn’t caring for souls. That isn’t what a divided church needs. Godly pastors instead direct the church’s attention toward Christ’s unsearchable riches (Eph. 3:8). Remember, the talking heads don’t get paid to talk unless they can keep your and your people’s eyes away from Scripture, away from family, away from neighbors. The pundits divide so they can distract you from anyone but themselves. So when you’re online, look for people who will remind you what you’re missing offline. And be the kind of pastor who’s too busy caring about the church and the Scriptures to even know about the latest online controversies. Pastors, Take Courage Many pastors got the wrong idea about calling when they hopped in the river of ministry. They enjoyed the lazy river of positive responses when they talked about Jesus as a youth. Older adults affirmed them. Talking about Jesus and helping people seemed like a good life. Then came church jobs and seminary. Problem is, no one told them to expect the rapids. No one warned them about the waterfall around the bend. No one prepared them for lost friendships and betrayed confidences that would lead to the drifting in their heart, to Monday morning daydreaming about a job with better hours and better pay. It’s hard to stay on course for a lifetime. Heeding the call to ministry is agreeing to take a kayak down the rapids, hoping there’s no waterfall at the end. As a pastor, you face many temptations to drift, not least your congregation’s expectations and your heart’s sinful inclinations. The divisions and distractions on social media don’t help. One thousand pastors can be patient, kind, and mature. But the best-selling pastor who abused his congregation convinces some Christians they’ve found narcissists under every stole. Proper pastoral authority gets labeled as toxic. And maybe selling used cars doesn’t sound so bad after all, because no one subjects Buick dealers to such criticism. As a pastor, you face many temptations to drift, not least your congregation’s expectations and your heart’s sinful inclinations. There’s a fate worse than quitting and forsaking the call, however. Churches drift when, facing this scrutiny, their pastors mute their prophetic voices, when they censor Scripture to silence critics and protect a paycheck. Pastoral courage involves stepping into the pulpit prepared to preach the whole counsel of God, come what may. Only by following all of God’s Word can we protect the church from drift. Stay the Course Pastors are my heroes. Yes, the church has been beset by distraction and division. Yes, we can easily be discouraged. But amid the rocks and rapids of life, pastors have been invited to lead the way, to steer a course to safety. They must not waver. And though your course may lead to paddling over the waterfall, trust that God will somehow keep his promise when you crash. God has called pastors down the same path of discipleship as every other Christian. Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 16:24–25). That old rugged cross on Calvary hill guides the way forward, the way home. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, he will hold us fast.

As a college student, I enjoyed regular meetings with my mentor at a coffee shop. Hearing the perspective of someone older and wiser helped me make big decisions about marriage, work, and family. This dedicated time for her to listen, ask questions, and pray for me was a blessing. But as life moved on, it became harder to schedule regular time for mentoring alongside work, family, and other responsibilities. So I started to look for different ways to pursue mentorship. And I found we don’t have to participate in a formal program or meet with a mentor every week to learn from other believers. Here are three ways mentoring can happen outside a coffee shop. Mentoring by Example When my husband and I first started ministering to high school students, we had a lot of questions. Thankfully, we were paired with an older, experienced couple who helped and prayed for us. They didn’t always tell us what to do—they showed us with their attitudes and actions. We didn’t have formal mentoring meetings, but learning from their example was a blessing and encouragement as we navigated ministry. Similarly, as a young couple, we enjoyed visiting families and learning from their routines. We’d watch them arrange supper, parent children, and entertain guests. I fondly remember going to our friends’ house as they watched a football game and offered warm bowls of chili. As guests arrived and children ran through the house, they still took breaks to engage with their children. We could see their intentionality in parenting and discipleship. Nothing was perfect, but observing a godly family practice the rhythms of meals, fellowship, and hospitality was powerful. We realized this wasn’t only a way we could indirectly find mentoring but also a way we could offer it by inviting people into our home. Nothing was perfect, but observing a godly family practice the rhythms of meals, fellowship, and hospitality was powerful. If you’d like to be mentored in a specific area—parenting, ministry, marriage—look around at godly people in your church and consider what you can learn from their example. And if you want to serve others seeking mentoring, a good place to start is inviting fellow church members into your home. Technology Together While meeting with others face-to-face is ideal, it’s not always possible. As I had children, in-person meetings became particularly challenging. I wanted to have deeper conversations, but making time to get out of the house seemed impossible. In that season, technology was helpful. I read a devotional with my sister-in-law, and we discussed our thoughts via text. She was further along in marriage and motherhood and could provide timely encouragement. Studying a book together made space for me to ask questions and learn from her experience. Even when our lives were hectic, we could send voice messages and learn from each other. There’s also the possibility of meeting over Zoom, Facetime, and other electronic means. When I was parenting a toddler, nap time provided a precious window to meet with others online. If needed, I could turn off my camera and still engage in conversation. We could be in different time zones or locations, but our desire to grow together in the Lord was still in sync. Is there someone in your community you could text with? Is there a book study you want to do, but you need accountability? Consider how you might utilize technology if in-person meetings aren’t possible. Asking Questions Another way to pursue mentoring is by asking godly women questions, even in a brief conversation. For instance, during coffee time on Sunday mornings, I often catch up with friends. But I’ve realized it’s a great opportunity to chat with an older woman and ask questions about marriage, children, and work. These short conversations have often provided needed encouragement in stressful times. Consider how you might utilize technology if in-person meetings aren’t possible. I remember a time when I was unsure about work opportunities and asked several women how they’d approached work in various seasons. They shared stories of pursuing the Lord for wisdom instead of relying on themselves. Their examples encouraged me to seek the Word’s priorities instead of the world’s. They spurred me toward love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24). Do you need wisdom and counsel on a particular topic? Look around at church this Sunday as you serve in the nursery and chat on the front lawn after the service. There’s probably a godly woman who’d be happy to answer your question. Many Ways to Find Mentoring In Titus 2, Paul gives specific directions for older women to “teach what is good” and “train the young women” in particular aspects of marriage and motherhood (vv. 3–4). But there are many ways and many places to “teach what is good,” including in the home, at church, or even online. Teaching doesn’t have to be in a coffee shop or classroom. Don’t give up on mentoring because your season or circumstances prevent you from participating in a traditional mentoring relationship. Be creative! The possibilities are endless, but the investment is worth it.

Do the damn thing

EXCLUSIVE: UCLA Administrators Attempt to Derail Upcoming Ben Shapiro Speech; YAF Fights Back

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The following article, Kamala Harris Campaign Drops Bombshell With Mention Of Never-Before-Talked-About ‘Tax’, was first published on Conservative Firing Line.…

A mystery from millions of years ago.