"In the beginning was the Word"— and in each of our beginnings was a Word to us. Each of our lives is therefore relational and aural at core. All we are is a hearing and a response. We are responsible because we are response-able... There is no way of life but God’s way of life. But for the time being our response is up to us; we are not forced to say yes.”―Os Guinness, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life

Cultural Commentaries

• Celebrating What Is Good - Humans Were Meant To Be Here - We are a blessing to be preserved, multiplied and redeemed writes Shane Morris for Colson Center's Breakpoint publication. "We bear a certain resemblance to our Maker in that we can, in our limited and creaturely way, also create. Which is why a lack of new humans is not good news, and why I’m happy to see that some mainstream publications are starting to realize this—even if The Population Bomb still haunts their comments sections." 

• Creating What Is Missing - Dr. Carl Trueman in First Things this month wrote, We Need Good Protestant Ethicists: "In short, we need good Protestant ethicists who are able to come up with solutions to the various challenges that we face, solutions rooted in our Christian understanding of what it means to be human. Sadly, the field is not strong—the names of Gilbert Meilaender and Oliver O’Donovan stand out, of course, but they are a rare breed. We need to pray that their tribe increases."

  Vouchers ease start-up stress for churches seeing demand for more Christian schools. Churches across the United States have discovered the opportunity to start Christian schools within their buildings to meet the needs of families in their communities. "A few hours of church programming every week is no match for the more than 30 hours children spend at secular schools, absorbing lessons that [Florida pastor Melvin Adams] says run counter to their family’s Christian beliefs. Like other theologically conservative pastors in Florida and beyond, he decided his Nazarene church in the Orlando suburbs could do something about it." The Ohio Christian Education Network (OCEN) is leading the way on the school-in-a-church initiative in Ohio.  

  "We believe the church has a responsibility to rise up and meet what we see as an educational crisis in the United States," said Troy McIntosh, the network’s executive director. So far, they’ve helped start two schools and hope to add more, likely beginning as small learning environments known as microschools, he said.

• Restoring What Is Broken - In an article for Desiring God entitled Win Them With Dinner: Practicing Hospitality In Post-Christian Places, Rosaria Butterfield declares that as culture shifts we are thrown into confusing territory. “Our station as exiles and strangers surely tests our faith. And this test may tempt us to take cover in one of two extremes: hiding with passive piety in private or fighting with worldly anger in public. The former elevates our personal relationship with our Lord and Savior over his state of exaltation (Psalm 2:10–12). The latter elevates the exaltation of Christ as King as something separate from the Great Commission."

• Ending What Is Evil - Welcome To Canada, The Doctor Will Kill You Now is a mainstream article from The Wall Street Journal that admits that, although assisted suicide was sold as compassionate, in practice it has turned out to be monstrous. A supporting report from the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) details how the program went from exceptional and rare to normative and regular. "The percentage of MAiD requests that are denied continues to decline (currently it is 3.5 percent). MAiD requests can be assessed and provided in a single day.

Legislative Update

The legislature is still on summer break and won't resume session again until after the November election, so legislation will not move at the Statehouse until then. 

 Take a moment to review where all of the CCV-backed bills currently stand in the 135th General Assembly. For more information about our priority legislation, check out our tracker from August.

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. These Prayer Guides for September and October can help us unite and focus our prayers as we pray for Ohio in the final months of 2024. Moving forward we will send out the next month’s prayer guide so you have a week to share it with your people if you would like to leverage this resource.

Resources

Several more important resources concerning Christian engagement in politics have come out over the last few weeks. Hopefully, these will assist you as you continue to navigate this election season from a Christian perspective:

• CCV's 2024 Nonpartisan Voter Guide - Our 2024 nonpartisan Voter Guide is now live—both online and in print! One of the most effective ways to discern how a candidate will govern is to know who stands with them. That’s why our online personalized Voter Guide showcases a database of endorsements from advocacy organizations across the political spectrum on a range of issues—from abortion to 2nd Amendment rights to economic issues. Get your personalized Voter Guide today.

• Should Christians Avoid Politics? Summit Ministries has produced a six-session video series that addresses questions about the responsibility of Christians when it comes to political engagement in our country. Sessions 4 and 6 were very good if you only have time to watch a couple.

• What Does the Bible Say About Politics? - "Few things are as divisive and difficult as the topic of politics. In this 7 Minute Video on Politics, [Axis looks] at how Gen Z is experiencing politics and [gives] a helpful perspective for Christians living in a tumultuous political landscape. We hope that this video can spark thoughtful and encouraging conversations!"

• Why Evangelical Political Theology Needs a Nature-Grace Upgrade - 

  This article was written by Andrew T. Walker in response to ‘Our Confession of Evangelical Conviction.’  "OnceChristians are serious about enacting God’s prophetic mission—which necessarily includes testifying of God’s authority over creation—that will mean playing politics. But politics is what we’re told in this statement is prone to corruption, worldliness, and partisan rancor. This confusion stems from an improper understanding of what politics is in this age in relation to God’s coming kingdom."

  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

Registration deadline for The Essential Summit is MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30! As a member of the Church Ambassador Network, you have access to a 25 percent discount code for the Thursday, October 3, conference.  

One of the highlights of the conference will be a Church Leadership track which is specifically recommended for pastors, elders, deacons, and other church leaders. 

Thanks to the support of several ministry partners, we're also offering a 50 percent discount to anyone with connections to any of the following:

• Crossroads Church (Mansfield)

• State Convention of Baptists in Ohio

• Cedarville University

• Mount Vernon Nazarene University

• Ohio Christian University

• Ohio Ministry Network

• Global Methodist Conference

• Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Exclusively for Pastors and Church leaders – your registration includes our annual Pastors’ Appreciation Breakfast with special guest speaker, Dr. Os Guinness, before the Ohio March for Life on Friday, October 4. 

Pastor Testimony

"When Israel was faced with an existential threat from their nemesis, the Philistines, God raised up their champion. You know the story well: their champion, David, spoke these words as he proceeded into battle, “Is there not a cause?”

Today, Center for Christian Virtue (CCV) stands as a modern champion, leading in the cultural, political, and spiritual battles alongside the church. They don’t stand apart; they equip, resource, train, and engage right beside us in these crucial causes.

 Just as the tribe of Issachar was vital to Israel's success—being warriors who ‘understood the times and knew what Israel should do’—I believe CCV marches under Issachar’s banner to provide timely and critical insight for churches and Christian leaders throughout Ohio.

With full confidence, over the past 25 years, I have referred many pastors to CCV. They have always been a reliable, steadfast partner in advancing the kingdom of God, with their focused mission of promoting faith, family, and freedom. I am honored to call them champions and friends." – Pastor Rodney Lord, Freedom Gate Church

Closing Thoughts

Just for fun:

Trevin Wax has shared "a 12-minute explanation and exploration of the intentionality of Howard Shore's scoring of The Lord of the Rings across three movies. It traces the introduction of one of the film's signature melodies, its reappearance at particular moments, its disappearance, and then its transmutation into a theme that brings finality."  

This is 12 minutes you won't soon forget:

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.