The Alabama Messenger May 2024

AMN Conference Recap

Our recently concluded Alabama Ministry Network Annual Conference (NetCon) theme was “God’s Next!” Derived from Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” God has a plan for every one of us.

Our NEXT is NOW! That phrase reminds me of the promise given to Israel in Egypt. God told Moses to take his people to the Promised Land (the land He had promised them). I preached on Monday night of our NetCon24 that God gives us dreams—mental pictures of His intended future. We can’t ever afford to allow anything or anyone to “steal our dream.” We must realize that our God-intended future is vital to our part in God’s plan for those we minister unto. I understand that this is a packed few words that might not seem synchronized, but watch this.

• Our God-given future is God’s dream for us.

• It’s packed with supernatural possibility.

• Our NEXT is NOW.

I men\oned that God desired the Israelites to be free and live in His land of promise, which He prepared for them. Here is the part I want you to understand: God's promises and dreams require our ac\ons to come to frui\on in our lives. In the Old Testament, when the Israelites were moving towards God's plan for their lives, they were required to do their part. In that environment, Joshua tells the people: "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you" (Joshua 3:5). And this was both a command and a promise, and yet the fulfillment of the promise depended on their obedience to the command. Their obedience wasn't earning God's blessing, but they ensured their hearts were ready for God's blessing in consecra\ng themselves. Are you prepared for God's blessing?

Are you ready for God’s next? Have you prepared your heart to receive it? Coming out of our Network gathering, I want you to “live out God’s dream” for your life. I sincerely believe that God has exci\ng days ahead for you and for this fellowship. Again, let me remind you that there is a price tag with a dream or promise. Joshua reminds us that “consecra\on” is required to obey God. Are you ready for the journey from now to God’s next?

It is oeen easier to journey somewhere in the company of others who desire to arrive at the same des \ na \ on. The Alabama AG is a fellowship, and as partners in the “Founda\ons of Truth,” we are on the same path to arrive at God’s intended future. We are a part of the Great CO-mission team called to reach our environment with the Gospel. If we are doing this together, maybe we should hang out together at every opportunity. We missed those who could not afend NetCon24, but we will have more occasions to connect and network in the coming days. I am excited to make this journey with you. Don’t miss these upcoming gatherings.

MICHAEL D. SHARP, D.MIN.

NETWORK SECRETARY-TREASURER

ARE YOU BELIEVING and REPEATING A LIE?

“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him. The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. The righteous hate what is false, … The discerning heart seeks knowledge, … To answer before listening— that is folly and shame. … Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value the one who speaks what is right. A wise king winnows out the wicked; … a careful listener will testify successfully. To search out a matter is the glory of kings.” (Proverbs 18:17, 11:1, 12:22, 13:8, 13:16, 14:25, 15:14, 16:11,13, 18:13, 20:26, 21:28, 24:3-4, 25:2)

God expects the followers of Jesus, who is himself The Truth, to search for, believe, and speak the truth. The Bible condemns being gullible and lazy, especially about knowing the truth or believing lies. This applies to all aspects of life. God expects us to search for truth, to hear more than one side of a story. We are to investigate with an open mind to discover what is true and what is false. This includes all things: Biblical teaching, Christian doctrine, current events, the natural world, stories in the news, all things. Don’t allow the deceiving spirits behind today’s social, political, and economic forces deceive and manipulate you. Our testimony, the gospel, and the Church are stained when we naively believe and repeat lies.

In these deception-filled times, being faithful Christians means we obey God’s commands to search for truth by using multiple sources, by carefully evaluating their reliability. We encourage all our ministers and members to obey Scripture by listening to multiple sources of information from more than one part of the information spectrum. If you only get your information from a handful of sources on one part of the political or social spectrum, you are probably believing and repeating half-truths and lies. Many ministers and believers have been deceived by doing this. This casts doubt on our awareness, our reliability, and therefore on our gospel witness. We should spend more time sharing the Good News than “the news.”

We are communicating with journalism professors from Christian universities to compile a guide for wise use of news media in coming months. Until that is complete, we urge you to get your news and information from a wide variety of sources. All the following can be accessed online, including via short clips on YouTube. In the Center: Reuters, AP, CBS, NBC, ABC. Right of Center: Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Chicago Tribune, Fox News. Left of Center: PBS, CNN, MSNBC, NYTimes, Washington Post. International: BBC, VOA, Radio Free Europe, DW News, France24. We should use these sources in somewhat equal measure.

Use the following trustworthy sites to reliably fact-check stories you hear and the sources you use: https://www.politifact.com, https://mediabiasfactcheck.com, https://www.factcheck.org, https://www.factcheck.org/scicheck/, https://library.csi.cuny.edu/c.php?g=619342&p=4310783. All these sites can help you determine the biases of your news sources and the accuracy of their “facts.”

Friends, don’t just listen to people you already agree with! Don’t just search for sources that say what you want to hear. What are you afraid of? Obey God’s Word: Search diligently for truth, hear more than one witness. Be humble, teachable, wise, and fearless. Be willing to admit you may have been wrong. Don’t be manipulated by deceivers. Don’t believe and repeat a lie! To search out a matter is the glory of kings! (An

Phenix City First

Vincent Revival Center........................

First A/G, Montgomery

Evangel, Mt Olive

First A/G, Enterprise

First A/G, Jackson

Thompson Chapel.................................

Faith Christian Center

Agape A/G................................................

First A/G, Elba

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

1st Place | TFA Conquerors | Tuscaloosa First A/G

2nd Place | Pathfinders | Montgomery First A/G

3rd Place | Sacred Fire | Montgomery First A/G

4th Place | PCF Kids | Phenix City First A/G

5th Place | Pride of Judah | Evangel Church, Mont.

To know Sister Martha Tennison is to love her! The women of Alabama Ministry Network were blessed to have her join us during our annual conference. At 82 years young, she is still dynamic, engaging, and full of life. I’m grateful for the time she spent ministering to us.

Thank you also to Knollwood Church. Lunch was delicious, and you did a wonderful job crea\ng a place for the Ladies Luncheon. You were a blessing to us!

The Life Rally tour was so much fun this year! Thank you to every church who came, who gave, and believes in missions at home and around the world. I can’t say thank you enough to how each of you step up each year and give sacrificially. God is doing great things the Alabama AG Churches. Let’s keep working and see what all God has in store for this coming year.

Also, thank you to one of our very special missionaries who toured the state with me. I am leaving her name anonymous because of the country she serves in, but I’m sure you ladies know who it was. She’s precious and it’s evident that God has His hand upon her life and ministry.

Last, but certainly not least, thank you to my Women’s Reps- you come alongside of me and serve with joy. God is using you at the grassroots of our state to empower women. Keep up the great work- HIS WORK!

Women’s ENGAGE

$140 for Cabins

$150 for Lodges

GuestSpeaker

BETHSTEPHENSJOHNSON

September 12-14, 2024

Springville Camp & Conference Center

DAVID STRAHAN, D. MIN.

Network Missions & Men's Director

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NEWS MEDIA REVIEWS

Most people, including ministers, are not well trained either formally or by long experience to read, view, and think critically and analytically regarding news media. Instead, most people seek out media that is confirming what they already believe. This is called “confirmation bias.” We are biased toward using only media sources that confirm our existing prejudices. The artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms of the internet, especially social media, then funnel more and more sources from that same perspective into our social media feeds, apps, and streaming services. Some will have poor sourcing and use loaded language designed to make you angry or fearful. They may falsify “facts” or fabricate entire stories. Soon, we’re more passionate about parties, perspectives, and politicians than we are Christ and the gospel! Therefore, in this issue of the Messenger we offer guides for the careful consumption of news by our ministers and members. When we naively believe and share false “facts” or stories, we destroy our credibility. We look careless, irresponsible, unreliable as witnesses about anything, including God’s word and the gospel. We urge you to be very careful when consuming news from any media. Be wise, be discerning. Be willing to have your own predispositions, positions, and allegiances challenged. Be teachable and humble, willing to change your perspective when needed. The following evaluations come from various fact-checking and media bias evaluation websites. These evaluations are accurate.

COOPERATIVE WIRE SERVICES.

These services provide comprehensive news services covering news worldwide with access available worldwide. Some are privately owned, some are nonprofit, some are cooperatives owned by all the news organizations that use their services. UPI (United Press international), Reuters, and AP (Associated Press) are the three most widely accessed wire services. All have websites, apps, and AP and Reuters have a presence on YouTube.

Reuters is rated as a Centric “least biased” news source with very high credibility. It has minimal bias, uses few-to-no loaded words, provides good sourcing, rates very high in objective reporting and factual accuracy with zero fact-check failures. It is reliable and trustworthy.

AP (Associated Press) is rated as having a slight liberal bias. They have a good fact-check record and use proper sourcing. They sometimes use loaded words (words meant to appeal to emotion or stereotypes) to favor liberal causes, and they sometimes fact-check conservatives more than liberals. Their reporting is considered trustworthy with high credibility but may sometimes require further investigation to ensure you have the full story.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA.

It is important see international perspectives on both international news and news from within the United States. Our missionaries can confirm that we can easily be blind or arrogant regarding American biases and perspectives. Clearly seeing the global community and all its issues, as well as seeing our own nation more clearly, sometimes requires perspectives from other nations. The following sources are available on YouTube, as websites, and via apps. Good sources from the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia are also available and should regularly be accessed.

A U.S. government funded international broadcast founded in 1942. Rated as a Centric “least biased” source of high credibility, accurate with facts, using neutral language. VOA is regarded as a trustworthy source on national and international news.

2024 ORDINATION CLASS

Wilson Ceaser

Koby Cormier

Crystal Crosby

Jeremy Davis

MINISTERIAL CHANGES

Transferred in:

Lauren Benavides (L)

Deceased: N/A

Pastoral Changes: Freedom House of Revival Wilmer, AL

Rev. Logan Rickefs

New/Upgraded Creden?als:

Keith Perry (L)

Archie Coleman (L)

Robert May (L)

Eric Helfins\ne

Cynthia Nicole Hester

Darrin English

Wendy Garref

Jessica King

Candace Pardue

Brad Sasser

Julie Whatley

2024 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

Student School Cayla Carlson GBL Ellanor Coleman EVG Emma Edgar SAGU Conner Leatherman SEU Ava Lugo SEU

Chase Mason SEU

Crystal Mason SEU

Zakary Mills NPBC

Tyler Oswald AGTS

Lane Sasser SEU

Deborah Sekaya SEU

Carsyn Sims SEU

Joel Sims SEU

Kevin Sowers SAGU

David Varela SEU

Tyler West SAGU

Emma White SAGU

Emma Williamson SEU

Molly Kate Williamson SEU

David Wollner NCU