Ministry is hard and ministers are flawed. This truth presents both insurmountable obstacles and everyday irritations on a regular basis. Ministers give in to doubts and distractions, cynicism and cowardice, gossip and glory-hunting. While gathered with fellow ministers we may pretend otherwise, but sitting alone in our studies, we know it’s true. Judges 6–7 presents such a scenario—a difficult ministry for a flawed minister. Gideon’s narrative is familiar, but within it lie two often overlooked lessons that can help flawed ministers remain faithful. Despite Gideon’s deep flaws, God’s words and works ensure the man’s service bears fruit. Remember God’s Words Each cycle in Judges possesses a unique feature relevant to the particular judge under focus. In Samson’s cycle, for example, God sends him before Israel cries out for a rescuer. This underscores God’s initiative in saving his people. For Gideon, the unique feature is the appearance of a prophet (Judg. 6:7–8). On account of their oppression at Midian’s hand, Israel cries out to God for salvation. In response, God sends not a savior but a sermon. A prophet visits Israel to deliver God’s words: “Thus says the LORD . . .” (v. 8). While God’s word is sent to the people at large, it’s also sent to Gideon personally. In verse 14, God gives Gideon a clear instruction and promise: “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” Gideon knows these words. As he prepares to test God with the fleece, Gideon says, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said . . .” (v. 36, emphasis added). How flawed Gideon is. Twice he hears God’s words, and yet even as they ring in his ears, he doubts them. He doesn’t trust what he heard from God. He wavers from what he knows. And this isn’t a single moment of weakness—Gideon asks for an initial sign in verse 17 and then, in verses 37 and 39, two further signs with the fleece. He doubts God’s word. We know this aching doubt all too well. God’s word, after all, is clear. We can read and understand it. Yet we doubt. We wonder if it means what it says. We pause and consider, Should I actually preach that? We cower at the societal pressure and convince ourselves that keeping our head below the parapet will be wiser in the long run. Like Gideon, we ask God to double-confirm what he’s already said. If our ministry will be marked by faithfulness, we must remember God’s words—and trust them. We must herald God’s words. We must proclaim the whole counsel of God’s will unashamedly. We must be unafraid to declare the word we’ve heard. There’s no other way to stay faithful. Recall God’s Works One reason for remembering God’s words is that they tell of God’s deeds. Gideon experienced several significant works of God. He met the angel of the Lord (v. 12)—which we believe to be a preincarnate appearance of the Son. Gideon witnessed fire springing up from the rock, consuming the meal he’d prepared for the angel of the Lord (v. 21). A true Gandalf moment. Finally, in an action dripping with grace, Gideon had his petulant request regarding the fleece answered twice, once when the fleece was wet and once when the fleece was dry (vv. 36–40). All this Gideon saw. Each of these works took place in front of him. If our ministry is to be marked by faithfulness, we must remember God’s words—and trust them. Gideon sees even more. In Judges 7, we have the familiar account of Gideon defeating the 135,000-strong Midianite army (8:10) with only 300 Israelites. These Israelites carried no swords, but in one hand each soldier held a trumpet and in the other a torch. Picture each man creeping toward the Midianites, preparing to yell, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon” (7:18 KJV), all the while looking at a torch in one hand and a trumpet in the other. Where on earth is my sword? But salvation belongs to the Lord, and he delivers it. Salvation is not just Gideon’s experience but the history of his people as well. The prophet who appeared at the beginning of Judges 6 urged the people to recall the exodus (vv. 8–9). Others had experienced similarly remarkable works of God. God teaches his flawed ministers that our own hands don’t save us (7:2). Nor can they save anyone else. We can’t save people. We can’t sanctify people. We can’t secure people. Only God can do this. Only God will. He has promised to build his church, and he’ll do it. God teaches his flawed ministers that our own hands don’t save us. Nor can they save anyone else. In both of our ministries, we (Davy and Jeff) have witnessed God’s work. We’ve seen salvation in unlikely scenarios and steadfastness under great suffering. We’ve seen love that breaks down barriers. We’ve seen growth, numerically and spiritually, beyond what we might expect. All of it had nothing to do with us, but what’s impossible with human beings is possible with God. If we’re to remain faithful in ministry, we must recall God’s works—and trust he’ll work again. We must live expectantly for God’s work, not our own. God’s arm isn’t too short to save. Just recall God’s works to be reassured. The Pattern This pattern of God’s words and works is threaded throughout Scripture. In Deuteronomy 4, in the climax to Moses’s first sermon, God calls his people to remember his words and recall his works. These features will be foundational to their life together. In 2 Chronicles 17, King Jehoshaphat sends his officials throughout the cities of Judah to teach the Book of the Law of the Lord (i.e., Deuteronomy). In 2 Chronicles 18, God sends a prophet to Jehoshaphat and Ahab with his word. In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat then experiences God’s works when God grants him victory against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir. In 2 Timothy, Paul recalls God’s works of salvation in his and Timothy’s lives (2 Tim. 1:9) then says God’s profitable words should be preached (3:16–17; 4:2). Ministry is hard and ministers are flawed. Yet we’ll be able to face insurmountable obstacles and everyday irritations if we remember God’s words and recall his works. These often overlooked but obvious truths will not bring followings, fortune, or fame. But they’ll bring the fruit of a quiet faithfulness that equips us to finish the race.

When Redeemer Presbyterian Church East Side opens its new 12-story worship and ministry center in December, it’ll be opening the way for new opportunities to serve its neighbors on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It’ll also be dedicating a physical legacy to the life, work, and vision of Tim Keller, Redeemer founder and longtime pastor. “Once Keller gained a beachhead in Manhattan center city, there was a galvanizing effect on the whole city,” sociologist and publisher of “A Journey Through NYC Religions” Tony Carnes told The Gospel Coalition. “Manhattan served as the secular symbolic center to the city. Once you have altered the symbolism of the center to include religion, and the Christian gospel specifically, people’s mindsets started to change.” Keller worked for decades to plant churches and build new church buildings in New York City before his death in May 2023. This new facility will provide the first permanent space for a congregation that has been meeting on the Upper East Side for more than 30 years. New Building The completed 56,000-square-foot building will include a Commons area on the ground floor and a sanctuary that seats more than 400 on the second and third floors. The next three floors will be dedicated as Redeemer East Side offices and classrooms, while floors seven through nine will provide a home for City to City NYC. A fellowship hall, kitchen, and terrace will finish out the remaining floors. Commons ~ Artist’s Rendering / Courtesy of Redeemer Presbyterian Church The Commons space is designed to be accessible and inviting to the community, providing space to host neighborhood gatherings, classes, workshops, children’s programs, and meals, said internal project consultant Susan Lee. “We wanted to create a beautiful space, but one that’s also integrated into the context and unique character of the neighborhood. We wanted it to ‘work’ for the neighborhood.” Because the building sits on a typical deep and narrow Manhattan lot, the church will feature unique design elements. “The sanctuary is organized around a diagonal, and the balcony is an L-shaped balcony rather than a traditional U-shape,” Lee said. But the unusual shape will have its benefits because “the acoustics, sight lines, capacity and sense of community gathering are enhanced in this unique layout,” she said. The new ministry center will also be home to City to City NYC—a department of Redeemer City to City, which is a nonprofit organization that grew out of the ministry of Redeemer Presbyterian Church to focus on church planting in global cities like New York. Sanctuary ~ Artist’s Rendering / Courtesy of Redeemer Presbyterian Church “We’re looking forward to using this space to catalyze gospel renewal across the city of New York,” said Matthew Hoskinson, vice president of leadership development and operations. “In our new home we plan to invest in the next generation of leaders and church planters, provide a co-working space where relationships can form and collaborative ministry can flourish, and convene network and denominational leaders to learn from one another how to best love our city.” New Pastor In addition to a new building, Redeemer East Side Church is welcoming a new pastor. Crawford Stevener will be installed as the congregation’s senior pastor on July 28, in its current rented space at Temple Israel on East 75th Street. “I am overjoyed and count it a privilege to continue the work of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ to the city,” Stevener said recently. Crawford Stevener / Courtesy of Redeemer Presbyterian Church A native Texan who graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Stevener attended Reformed Theological Seminary after a career in the banking industry. He previously worked as a Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) campus minister at Duke and Stanford universities. Stevener and his wife, Rachel, along with their four daughters, are excited about their move from California to New York City and the ministry that called them east. “Here at Redeemer East Side, we are eager to invite our neighbors of many different backgrounds to come together and taste and see that the Lord is good,” Stevener said. “We long for every New Yorker to experience the purpose, peace, beauty, and joy that only a life centered on Jesus provides. “It is a great honor for all of us involved to build upon the faithful foundation of Tim and Kathy’s ministry at Redeemer, as we begin this new chapter by putting down permanent roots in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. We are excited about our new building and the many ministry initiatives it will allow.” Unlikely Location The new East Side church would’ve seemed utterly impossible to the small group of Christians who gathered to form Redeemer Presbyterian in 1989. Redeemer held worship services in rented spaces in multiple Manhattan locations for years after its founding, but it was eventually decided that owning property would further the cause of helping the church “seek shalom for the city,” as Keller would often exhort. Street View ~ Artist’s Rendering / Courtesy of Redeemer Presbyterian Church That vision came to pass in 2012 when Redeemer opened its first permanent church in Manhattan at 150 West 83rd, which was believed to be the first church building built in Manhattan in 40 years. In addition to hosting weekly worship services and gatherings for members of Redeemer West Side, the facility was soon being used for city council meetings, artist events, weddings, bar mitzvahs, memorial services, after-school programs, and more. Making the space available to so many in the neighborhood allowed Redeemer to physically manifest what it looks like to be a “church not for ourselves.” After witnessing the success of the West Side church, Keller and Redeemer launched the Rise Campaign in 2016 to cultivate long-term gospel renewal in New York City, according to the campaign’s website. The campaign focuses on “new churches, new leaders, and new buildings.” “Renting is impermanent and often makes us invisible to those who live nearby,” states the Rise Campaign website. “We want to do more than descend into a neighborhood on Sundays to ‘use’ space. We want to be rooted in the fabric of a neighborhood to share space—and be part of advancing the common good for generations to come.” Brian Stanton in front of the new construction / Courtesy of Christina Stanton Brian Stanton, Redeemer’s CFO (and my husband), said many options were considered before the East 91st location was purchased in 2020 for just under $30 million. The new building, which replaces a vacant residential building on the lot, was designed by Studios Architecture. The majority of the funding for the property and construction was raised through donations to the Rise Campaign. Stevener and City to City NYC plan to use the new Redeemer facility to help equip Christians to carry their faith and love into the life of the city. Redeemer congregants will be encouraged to pray for New York and to participate in the movement Keller started to help the city attain “spiritual, social, and economic flourishing and thriving” in every way. Keller will never physically worship in this building, but it’s the direct result of his work and will offer many chances for Christians to further his mission of bringing people to Christ and sending them out into New York City.

Michael Kay is getting grumpy here in his old age, and I'm here for it

The first draft of history, specifically, President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from his campaign to seek reelection, is being rewritten in real time. In addition to being likened to Washington and Cincinnatus, Biden is now drawing media comparisons to Lyndon Baines Johnson. Watch as CBS’s Mark Strassman points out an underreported parallel in the presidents’ decisions to step aside: LYNDON JOHNSON: I shall not seek and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president. MARK STRASSMAN: Updegrove says that decision, like President Biden's to step aside, was more than political. There were health concerns. MARK UPDEGROVE: LBJ truly believed that he might jeopardize the country because his heart might fail. We were told that Biden is stepping down due to bad polling, proof evident that he had no path to victory in 2024. But now we are getting a sliver of an admission that health was always a concern. The media are slowly circling back to what everyone else already knew to be true. Of course, the big rewrite of history here is that Biden is somehow walking away from a second term in a patriotic exercise. This isn’t the case, either.  The truth is that Biden was pushed out of the race by his own party due to the aforementioned bad polling after the disastrous June 20th debate, which exposed the cognitive decline that people talked about for so long but never drew coverage in the media. Expect more of this in the coming days. Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on the CBS Evening News on Monday, July 22nd, 2024: CBS EVENING NEWS 7/22/24 6:55 PM NORAH O’DONNELL: Mark Twain once said, “history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes”. President Biden's stunning decision to not seek reelection is certainly historic, but as CBS’s Mark Strassmann reports and tonight "Eye on America," it also echoes another president’s choice in another turbulent year, 1968. LYNDON B. JOHNSON: …tested many times, this past year or -- MARK STRASSMAN: Revolt clawed at Lyndon Johnson in 1968, an unpopular incumbent targeted by fellow Democrats. Sound familiar? MARK UPDEGROVE: 2024 is very reminiscent of 1968 for a variety of reasons. STRASSMAN: Historian Mark Updegrove, is President and CEO of the LBJ Foundation. We spoke about striking parallels between Presidents Johnson and Biden, and between 1968's America and today's. STRASSMAN: Mood of the country. UPDEGROVE: Divided, tempestuous, a lot of extreme rhetoric. We had the same thing in 1968 in that we were being shaken into our very foundations. STRASSMAN Especially divisive then- Vietnam. America's sons and daughters dying in southeast Asia. CBS News’s Walter Cronkite was a turning point. WALTER CRONKITE: It seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate. STRASSMAN: Johnson believed losing Cronkite on Vietnam meant his reelection was also unwinnable. In March 1968, he quit the race. JOHNSON: I shall not seek and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president. STRASSMAN: Updegrove says that decision, like President Biden's to step aside, was more than political. There were health concerns. UPDEGROVE: LBJ truly believed that he might jeopardize the country because his heart might fail. STRASSMAN: But Democrats have to wonder whether 1968 is also a cautionary tale in the race to keep the Oval Office. Look at what happened once LBJ stepped aside. First, a double tragedy. REPORTER: Memphis today is officially in mourning. STRASSMAN: Martin Luther King murdered in Memphis. Robert Kennedy gunned down in the Los Angeles hotel kitchen. JOHNSON: We can achieve nothing by lawlessness and divisiveness. STRASSMAN: When Butler, Pennsylvania, happened, did you think to yourself “another similarity”? UPDEGROVE: Without question. Just as in 1968, you had the feeling that anything can happen next. STRASSMAN: Like Chicago's 1968 Democratic National Convention. Outside, mayhem. Inside, rancor. DAN RATHER: Don't push me, take your hands off of me. UPDEGROVE: Divided delegates nominated Hubert Humphrey, LBJ’s vice president. Mr. Biden has endorsed his VP, Kamala Harris. HUBERT H. HUMPHREY:  I seek to lead a great nation. STRASSMAN: Humphrey, wounded by chaos, lost to Richard Nixon. Which of the parallels resonates most with you? UPDEGROVE: What our democracy looks like today, but we should also remember that we came out of 1968 ultimately a stronger, better nation. STRASSMAN: A nation again shocked by a sitting president feeling scorned, bowing out. For Eye on America, Mark Strassman, in Austin.  

For the first time in 2,000 years, human eyes have seen the contents of the sealed sarcophagus inside the Tomb of Cerberus, the vividly frescoed chamber tomb found in Giugliano, outside Naples, last year. Archaeologists threaded a microcamera into a gap in the sarcophagus to view and photograph the interior. They found an inhumed body in supine position covered by a shroud. The textile was mineralized and preserved by the unique conditions of the sealed sarcophagus and the sealed chamber tomb. Grave goods buried around the deceased include pottery vessels, unguentaria and strigils. The care taken in the construction of the tomb, the burial in the sarcophagus and its grave goods suggests the deceased was an important figure locally, and the head of the family the tomb was built to inhume. Samples have been taken from other inhumations on the funeral beds in the mausoleum and analyzed by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers. Pollen analysis and microscope observation revealed the presence of chenopodium, a genus of perennial herb colloquially known as goosefoot, and wormwood. These were likely applied to the bodies in creams to help prevent decomposition. Samples from the human remains are undergoing DNA analysis. Continued archaeological research and laboratory sampling and analysis in the coming months will yield additional interesting data not only from the hypogeum, but also from the surrounding necropolis. These data will be useful in reconstructing the historical and social context of an ancient community that still has much to reveal.

"They should have been studied separately."

Adverse effects are not rare.

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