Effort to revive ERA falls short in Senate; 7 Ways to Decrease Gossiping in the Church

The U.S. Senate rejected an attempt Thursday (April 27) to revive the Equal Rights Amendment more than four decades after the controversial proposal passed its deadline for ratification.

Senators voted 51-47 almost totally along party lines to invoke cloture, as the procedural move is known, but fell short of the 60 votes required to cut off debate and proceed to a floor vote on the proposal. The resolution would have retroactively eliminated the 1982 deadline for ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and would have made the measure a valid constitutional amendment approved by three-fourths of the states.

Supporters of the ERA, which would ban discrimination on the basis of sex, contended Congress has the authority to take such a step, but opponents disagreed. The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and other critics of the amendment also said the ERA would vastly expand abortion rights, threaten religious freedom and actually restrict some rights of females.

The ERLC commended the Senate’s action. 

Did you know researchers believe at least 76 percent of the population of Cincinnati is far from God and not involved in any local church, according to the North American Mission Board?

Church planting missionary Travis Smalley says, “The Spanish-speaking population is increasing in the suburbs of Cincinnati so much that 25% of the population in the suburbs will be Spanish-speakers by 2050.”

He’s asking believers to pray God would call church planting candidates to plant Spanish-speaking churches and ignite a Spanish-speaking church planting movement in Cincinnati.”

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Want to know a secret? Theologian Chuck Lawless thinks you should take gossip seriously. In a BP Toolbox piece he offers seven ways a church can wipe out gossip. Here’s four of them:

1. Preach and teach on this topic. The Bible has much to say about our words; in fact, Jesus said we will give account for “every careless word” we speak (Matt 12:36-37). Paul even equated gossiping with a corrupt mind (Rom 1:28-32). I can’t remember, though, the last time I heard a sermon—including my own, frankly—on this topic.

1. Teach believers to pray about “stuff.” This solution might seem odd, but here’s my point: one reason people talk to others about “stuff” is that they’ve never really learned how to take these issues to God first. They may know they should, but no one’s ever modeled that approach for them or challenged them to follow suit. 

1. Honestly ask the Lord, “Am I guilty of gossiping?”—and be willing to hear the Spirit’s response. Sometimes we’re the ones who keep gossip flowing. It’s the devil who deceives us into thinking we’re not part of the problem. 

1. If you’re guilty even of listening to gossip, repent. If you think you’re not really a gossip because you just listen to what others say but don’t repeat it, you’re still contributing to the problem. You might be what I’ve called in another post an “information idolater” who finds power in being in-the-know.