Category: Ministry

2020 Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Summit

~ Justin Tilghman

The 2020 Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Global Summit is online this year! We are very excited about the opportunities this provides, including the participation of abolitionists from all corners of the world, creating increased unity for the movement, and decreased costs for attendees. 

So, I wanted to be certain to invite you all to join us and thousands of others this July 18-28 for more than 140 talks, strategy and training sessions and networking events. There will be talks from speakers representing 30+ countries and general admission is FREE. Already, we have nearly 10,000 attendees registered from 103 countries. You can register here.

As more children fall prey to predators online, efforts to decriminalize sex buying, pimping/trafficking sweep legislatures around the world, and mainstream pornography websites actively continue to host sexual abuse videos, it is imperative that our movement be on the OFFENSIVE! This event will equip leaders and aspiring advocates all around the world with the knowledge, resources, and partnerships needed to move towards freedom from sexual abuse and exploitation.

I hope you will join us!

#EndExploitationNow

Does Eschatology Matter?

~ Justin Tilghman

I had the privilege of joining one of my very good friends, Davis Lacey, on the Rooted Youth Ministry podcast to discuss the importance of teaching eschatology to teenagers.

Even if you’re not a teenager, I hope you’ll find some of what I shared helpful as I think through how our eschatology (view of the end) shapes the way we live in the present.

Monthly Q&A: May 2020

~ Justin Tilghman

Q: What did Paul mean when he talked about “ascending” and “descending” in Romans 10:6-7?

A: When determining the meaning of Romans 10:6-7, as is important with any biblical text, we have to look at context. The whole of Romans 10 is centered on Israel’s need for
righteousness and their inability to find it solely through the law. So these two verses, 6 and 7, have to be understood within that context. Paul is not talking about people going to heaven or hell. He is instead using personification to explain his point. Paul is attempting to demonstrate that the faith needed for righteousness is not found in the law but rather it is found in Jesus Christ. Verse 8 helps to unlock the meaning to this verse by saying that “the word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”. Therefore, based on the fact that verse 8 is a counterpoint to verses 6 and 7 and speaks of the word being  close to our mouth and hearts, we can infer that what Paul is doing is trying to explain that one does not have to search long and hard for righteousness that comes from faith. God has not hidden that from us or made it difficult to find. John MacArthur, in his study Bible, has a footnote that sums this up well. It says:

“Paul speaks of the righteousness based on faith as if it were a person and puts in its mouth a quotation from Dt 30:12,13. His point is that the righteousness of faith does not require some impossible odyssey through the universe to find Christ.”

Paul is saying that the truth regarding the righteousness required by God is found in the word preached about Jesus Christ. One does not have to search high and low for it. All they must do is “confess with [their] mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in [their] heart that God raised Him from the dead, [and they] will be saved” (Romans 10:9, NASB).

If you have a particular question you’d like to have answered, feel free to submit it via the contact page.

Monthly Q&A: April 2020

~ Justin Tilghman

Q: Since Jesus calls us to be selfless in serving others, is it selfish to seek time to rest from serving others?

A: Time alone and rest are just as vital to the Christian life as is selfless service. We are absolutely commanded to serve the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Luke 10:27) and we are called to die to our desires and our own wants daily in our efforts to follow Christ. However, we are also commanded to rest. Yes, commanded. In the Old Testament God commanded that time be set aside to rest. It was so important that it was included as one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8). Now it is important to remember that even on the Sabbath day of rest individuals were called to meet needs if they saw them; we are never removed from our calling to serve others. However, setting some time aside to rest and rejuvenate is within the realm of biblical principles, when done for the right reasons. In fact, Jesus himself took time to rest during his earthly ministry. In Mark 6:31 Jesus tells his disciples, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while”. The disciples were exhausted; the next verse says they had not even had time to eat. Other verses such as John 6:15 and Matthew 14:13, 23 also speak of instances where Jesus felt the need to draw away to a desolate place to pray. If Jesus, the most selfless individual in history, took time to rest then it must not be selfish to set some time aside for you.

Jesus knows we are human and he understands that we will indeed grow tired and weary (Isaiah 40:30-31) and he knows the importance of rest. However, as was said earlier, it’s important for us to examine the reasons we desire to be alone. If we want to be alone because we just don’t want to serve others that is a sinful attitude. If we want to be alone because we are not willing to do what God has called us to do that is a sinful attitude. However, if we are being faithful to serve others and being faithfully obedient to God’s call on our lives then we are also more than able to rest when those opportunities present themselves and we are also able to set aside time for rest from our ministry work when we need it. As far as determining when it is appropriate to rest and how long we should rest, that is something each individual must prayerfully determine for himself. Resting is permitted but, like other blessings from God, it should not be abused and overdone so that we become characterized by laziness and sluggishness. But, there is certainly biblical ground for setting aside time to rest.

If you have a particular question you’d like to have answered, feel free to submit it via the contact page.

Monthly Q&A: March 2020

~ Justin Tilghman

Q: How did Jesus respond to the poor and to children, and how should Christians respond?

A: Just as Jesus did, Christians should have a large heart for children. Christ told his disciples to “let the little children come to [him]” (Matthew 19:14). He also told his followers on many occasions that they must trust him in the way that I child trusts or  else they wouldn’t be able to enter into God’s kingdom (Matthew 18:3). We also see throughout scripture that Jesus had a heart for the hungry and the poor, regardless of their age. He often times told his disciples to give to the poor and meet their needs (Matthew 19:21; Mark 10:21; Luke 14:13; Luke 14:21; Luke 18:22). The apostles and early Christians also thought it important to give to the poor and we see many occasions where they did just that (Acts 2:45, 4:25; Romans 15:26; Galatians 2:10). So we can determine from these verses that Jesus cared deeply for the poor and hungry children and therefore Christians should do the same. In fact Christ says that if we even give just a small cup of cold water to a child, in His name, we will be rewarded (Matthew 10:42).

Scripture even goes so far as to say that taking care of the poor and those who are not able to provide for themselves is the essence of Christian service. In James 1:27, James says that pure religion consists of looking after orphans and widows in their distress. In Bible times widows and orphans were often poor and hungry because they had no one to provide for them.

In Matthew 25:35-37 we can see that how someone treats the poor is indicative of whether or not that person will enter into God’s kingdom. This is not saying that we have to work to get into Heaven. However, it is telling us that those who are truly
Christians will be characterized by a selfless spirit that gives to those in need, including hungry children.

So, we can see that the poor and hungry are very important to God and it is a Christian’s
responsibility to take care of those individuals.

If you have a particular question you’d like to have answered, feel free to submit it via the contact page.