Top 5 challenges for the church after this election

Amid all the analysis and opining about the 2020 presidential election, one thing must not be overlooked: The church’s witness in the world has been damaged almost beyond repair.

The politicization of the faith, the abandonment of biblical teaching, the hypocrisy, the sacrifice of truth, the love of money and status — all these have caused the church to lose relevance and authority to speak to modern culture. Of course, erosion of trust in the church did not begin with this presidential election or the 2016 election, although the divisions of the past four years certainly accelerated the trend.

It wasn’t that long ago that American conservatives — and especially Christian conservatives — cared deeply and passionately about absolute truth and strict morality and certain reality. And it wasn’t that long ago that American progressives were accused of promoting an “everybody do your own thing” mentality that empowered looser morality, sexual ethics, and doubts that there is such a thing as absolute truth.

Yet today, it is the progressives who are most likely to be fighting the onslaught of misinformation, fake news, conspiracy theories, and outrageous lies by demanding a consistent standard around a flagpole of definitive truth.

No wonder we’re all confused; some would say the tables have turned and the sides have switched uniforms.

Every publication and pundit out there is commenting on how this election has revealed the deep divides in American society that might as well have us living in two separate universes. And in the midst of this, pastors are left to try to make peace in their churches. Is this possible?

Here are five challenges pastors and church leaders face in these post-election days:

Avoiding both-sides-ism

The natural tendency for peacemakers is to point out that there has been wrong done on both sides and to call everyone to the middle through confession and forgiveness. That will not work in the present moment. Although both sides may feel equally offended by the other, both sides have not acted in the same way or with the same malice. Each “side” must be dealt with on its own merits and actions, just like good parenting requires dealing with each child as an individual. Both-sides-ism is a lazy and unrealistic way out of this quagmire.

“Both-sides-ism is a lazy and unrealistic way out of this quagmire.”

Restoring respect for truth

This is not simply a matter of one side believing the truth and the other side believing a lie. It is, instead, a case of both sides firmly believing their views are true. Except in rare cases, it is not possible for two opposing ideas to be simultaneously true. Somehow, we’re going to have to come to an agreement on what is true and what is false in the real world. Coronavirus has shown us the peril of living in a world of lies. Eventually, lies will get you killed. If the church can’t help us sort out truth from lies, we don’t need to stay in business.

“Coronavirus has shown us the peril of living in a world of lies. Eventually, lies will get you killed.”

Overcoming the love of money

For the church, this is a debt that never gets paid. We’ve got to keep telling this story over and over. Remember that Jesus talked more about money than any other topic recorded in the Gospels. Getting this right sets up all other successes. And yet time and again — in both Democratic and Republican campaigns — appealing to personal economic interests tops all other concerns. Our society has conditioned us to care most about our own economic well-being; the Bible should condition us to see that the love of money is the root of all evil.

Revaluing community

Too often, the church has portrayed “community” as a kind of forced uniformity or assumed uniformity or even homogeneity. We go to church and assume everyone else there thinks like we do, and we tend to cluster with others who look like we do. We foster a community that is as shallow and superficial as a Sunday morning hello at a coffee station. True community places us in the same boat together with everyone given an oar. We’ve got to figure out how to row the boat without capsizing. This is a lesson the church should model. We should be handing out oars, not complaining because the boat is taking on water.

“True community places us in the same boat together with everyone given an oar.”

Loving neighbor

I long for the old days when we could debate what was the best way to love our neighbors, meaning, for example, is it better to give a homeless person money, job training, or food. When we agree we must love our neighbors, we can engage in helpful conversation about how to fulfill the command of Jesus. Sadly, the debate today has moved to another realm: “Must we help that pitiful person?” Or a somewhat gentler adaptation: “That’s not my problem to worry about.” Getting this fundamental teaching of Jesus right would set in motion a lot of cures for the other things that ail us. We love God by loving neighbors as ourselves.

Underlying all this is the need to restore trust in the church. To get there, the root question pastors may need to face is whether they want to serve the church that has been or the church that will be. I’m reminded of our church’s journey toward LGBTQ inclusion four years ago when an older member said: “I know where the trend is going on this and that in 20 years this will not be an issue at all. But can’t we older folks just have our church the way it has been until we die?”

Whatever the issue — don’t get hung up only on the LGBTQ illustration — the church cannot regain the trust of the community until we’re able to see all the community around as beloved of God and not just targets for our conversion.

Church consultant Mark Tidsworth hit this nail right on the head in a recent BNG story: “If you want more young people in the church, you are going to have to drop the belief that social justice issues are off-limits while focusing only on personal piety and salvation. People under 35 write us off as irrelevant because we are unwilling to address the issues of the day.”

It’s time to flip the script and show the world that the authentic church of Jesus Christ solves problems rather than creating problems, tells the truth, loves people more than money, and builds authentic, diverse community.

Credit to Mark Wingfield, serves as executive director and publisher of Baptist News Global, where this article was first published.

Chelsey James “Hands on the Bible” New Music Video

Hands-on the Bible

During these strange times of uncertainty and change, Chelsey James shows the importance of keeping our “Hands on the Bible” with her passionate music video. Without apologizing, James sings a powerful message for the symbol representing her faith.

Throughout the various places in the town of Seymour, the Missouri native sings about the one thing that has kept her rooted in her beliefs. As she roams the down to earth and country rooted environment, the camera captures multiple moments of people in the community keeping their hands on the Bible, and their eyes in it.

Chelsey James

Now in the month of thankfulness, James says there is a lot to be thankful for. For one, she says we have the “ground to put some green on, the good book to lean on when times start getting tough." The video displays a hard working and very loving community. Connected through faith, they are thankful for each other. Engaging in fellowship, they pass the plates of country fried chicken and bowls of southern mashed potatoes. Proving that even with all the craziness that is happening this year, James reminds us that “all you need for survival, is bread on the table, and hands-on the bible.”

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/7E1voHe5TyUOHRXjQyq5eJ

Chelsey James: https://www.chelseyjames.com

Today's Prayer Requests

We Are Praying With You

"Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me." Romans 15:30 

Patricia | Please continue to pray for me that God grant all my heart desires in his Mercy.

Vijay | Plz pray for a financial miracle in my life

Afrose Ali | prayer for me and my 3 daughters

Tina | Francis Morrill is homeless and he just needs a place too live. He only makes $551.00 monthly and $88.00 on food stamps monthly. He needs a room for rent. Please could you pray for him. He is my friend and He needs help. Thank you. God bless you . You are in my prayers. I care about you. Thanks

PA | Pls help me Pray to God in granting all my heart desires and his Abundant Blessings on my children, Divine Mercy & Favour from destiny helpers through Christ our Lord. 

Sheila Wilson | Please pray my relationship with Pauly is restored leading to commitment and marriage in Jesus Name Amen!!

Emmanuel Adeleke | Good morning sir, Pls sir join me in prayer for my promotion. Talks are on ,for decision to be taken. I need money for accommodation and money as capital to start something. Also the grace to serve God faithfully. Please help me in prayers and if you touched and in position to give me physical support too, the Lord bless you. My name is Godwin.

MN | Pray for my husband's health he has glaucoma and one of his eyes lost sight

My name is ochuko,please help me Bray for spiritual growth,and I need a father and daughter relationship with God

Pls prayer for me (Vandana Chauhan )and my husband (Abhishek Chauhan)so that we meet soon.our visa case is pending with USCIS for approval,Need prayer to get it approve soon with any hassle! Jesus name Amen

Vijay | Financial problem is killing me.plz pray for a financial miracle in my life immediately

Mike |  I may lose my home, on the verge. Please Pray that a miracle comes my way so I don't become homeless

Michael | My niece's boyfriend is under going cancer treatment Please pray that God gives him the strength that he needs to go through this and beat this disease

Peter| Please my name is Peter Anyin, am married with three kids. Please I need prayer so I can start mechanized farming so that my family can survive and i can also help other Christian around me especially children thanks

Sheila Wilson | Let the lord heal, bless and turn my relationship with Paul into a committed , loving and faithful one. In Jesus Name Amen!

Pray that lord forgives me I have sinned and keep sinning I want him to help me break chains of addiction I pray I get to see my daiughter and you give her peace and strength to get through this season i praise you lord for life and my wonderful kids and I’m so thankful you give me what I need everyday in Jesus name amen

Vijy | Worried about debts heart squeezes plz pray for a financial miracle in my life immediately

Charles | Family blessing with a child

SW | I need you assist me in prayers and in kind. I will sacked from my room by the end of this month. The virus has render me jobless please help me.my rent is $250.I have no where to go

Marcos | SK ONLY IF YOU WANT TO PRAY FOR ME ..... I NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT GOD WISH I DO ..WOULD LIKE TO FOUND A WOMAN LIKE RACHEL IN THE BIBLE ... AND BE SURE ABOUT MY SALVATION TOO ... ASK TO PRAY FOR ALL THE POOR CIVILIZATIONS AROUND THE EARTH ... MANY AND MANY PEOPLE NEED TO BE REACHED FOR THE LOVE OF GOD ... BUT I KNOW, THE SAVATION IN JESUS CHRIST IS FOR ALL THOSE BELIEVE ... SHALON ADONAY !!!✡🕎

Vijay | Worried about debts heart squeezes plz pray for a financial miracle in my life

candy | ay I ask for people everywhere to pray for me. I have been bleeding for over a month now and nobody can tell me what is wrong they are all guessing what is wrong. I am going to another hospital tomorrow I pray this hospital will find out whats wrong with me before it is to late. Please guide these Dr. hands and let them tell me how I can get better. I am scared really scared. thank you.

dee | Please pray for my unborn Grandson who has been dignoised with Downs Syndome. Praying that things will change.

Patricia Agaba | Help me thank the Lord for his divine healing upon my son, my sister and her daughter, for our God is awesome, Faithful in all his ways. Glory be to God, Hallelujah!

Austin | Pray for a positive revolution in Nigeria that will bring about Righteousness, Shared Prosperity and unity.

RABECCA BANDA | Please pray for my son Mebelo, off late he has been misbehaving. He has joined a bad company where they drink and smoke. He comes home at late hours. Also, he has been into a habit of selling his clothes/shoes, including my clothes and the sister's clothes. Also pray for my mother for a good health. She has a problem of arthritis which makes it difficult for her to walk.

SN | I'm at a point of spiritual exhaustion. While I am saved, drug addiction has dominated the past several years of my life. I am married and have twins that were born a month ago. I still find myself battling this daily but it seems to be defeating me completely. I don't want to live this way anymore. My health is rapidly declining and I am absolutely exhausted. I want to be the father and husband my family deserves and I want to be set free from this so desperately. I am only 22. Please please pray for me.

Benjamin | We are running social enterprise organization that does charity and some commerial water wells drilling. We took some loan for buy new drilling rig -- which had an accident and was writen off barely after drilling 5 water, hence subjecting us into heavy financial debt. We seek Gods favour for a financial breakthrough on this need.

Margaret | Please pray for me as I look unto God for a better job offer. I am also believing God for a better job for my son who just graduated. Above all, I want His grace to be sufficient for me so as not to lose focus of Heaven. Thank you.

S.T. | Dear pastor , continue to pray for me

Mrs Sindhu Alphones | Iam living with my husband and with my 2sons.Please pray for my sons marriage and also for my elder son Ajay who is 27yrs old not doing any job, he is idle in the home without going to job so please pray for him and also pray for my family.

Julie Yound | I need prayer for my illness and for my Husband's illness. We also are looking for a new Church do if you will please pray we find the right one. Also we need Prayer for finances due to my illness as well. Thank you for sharing God's Word and God Bless Everyone Involved.

Vijay | Please pray of my finances

Johnny | Pray for my Covid Healing

LD | Yes I need prayer for my Selena she is my dog. She went to the veterinarian's today and they said she has treacha problems and a heart murmur. Please pray for her. Thank you.

Patricia | Prayers for God's Divine intervention for our Nations especially the ones in crises, that every manipulation from the pit of hell will be put to an end in Jesus most Powerful Name AMEN .

Prayers for God's Divine intervention for our Nations especially the ones in crises, that every manipulation from the pit of hell will be put to an end in Jesus most Powerful Name AMEN .

S.W.| Please Heal My Relationship With Pauly, Let Him Forgive Me and Stop Ignoring Me With Godspeed, In Jesus Name Amen!

Trinitee Vidol | I was needing prayer to get closer to God and truly know who God and Jesus are and to go to a stable church.

A.N. | Prise the Lord sir. Thanking you for wish me .Prayer for my child Alex.pray for me facing financial problems

dC | for my family, for our leader both spiritual and in government,that christ lead us in all parts of life beacaus we depend upon him amen

Peggy Cain | Please keep my kids and family in your prayers, Please prayer for my Aunt Mel she's in UC .

Cory | My prayer is to find that special someone as I live ànd learn God's plan for my life

Greg |  I need prayers for my nephew who was injured by a motorcycle crossing the street . He has life threatening injuries and needs all the prayers we can give . Thank you God blesd

Vijay | Plz pray for a financial miracle in my life

JS | prize the Lord Kindly pray for my child alex And financial problems And God wil males me to serve poor people

Barbara M | I would like to find decent clean affordable safe conveniently housing and be moved by next year this time which is October 2020 with a goal of October 2021. Thank you.

Ronald Rodrigues | Many people doesn't know what is PRAYER. Jesus give me wisdom and knowledge. And decernment. I want to live like Jesus Christ. I want to live with Jesus Christ. I want to be saved through Jesus Christ. I want to save my soul and My family and enter world. Let wickedness destroy. I want to Walk narrow road. Jesus increase My faith. Give me Grace. Have mercy on me. I want to give my life to Jesus Christ. Jesus is final destiny. I want to bear fruits. That's it. I want to change my life. REST Everything Jesus KNOWS. I want to surrender fully My Life. Ameñ.... ALL GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST ALONE GOD

Stephanie Thompson | Hello can you pray for me please? I need prayer on my health, I am going through a ruff time with my health, pray for me to recover and be great again please. Thank you

Francis A.Idi | Gratitude Of Praise To God For His Word Today And His Mercy And Also Faithfulness. I Would Like To Blessed God And Magnify His Holy Name For What Has Done In Ourlives According The Following Psalm: Psalm 34. Psalm 100 & Psalm 150.

Rajagopal M | Please help with the good job where i can perform and settle in my life

JN | prize the Lord Kindly pray for my child alex And financial problems And God wil males me to serve poor people

Mike |  I may lose my home, on the verge. Please Pray that a miracle comes my way so I don't become homeless

Michael | My niece's boyfriend is under going cancer treatment Please pray that God gives him the strength that he needs to go through this and beat this disease

Peter| Please my name is Peter Anyin, am married with three kids. Please I need prayer so I can start mechanized farming so that my family can survive and i can also help other Christian around me especially children thanks

Sheila Wilson | Let the lord heal, bless and turn my relationship with Paul into a committed , loving and faithful one. In Jesus Name Amen!

Pray that lord forgives me I have sinned and keep sinning I want him to help me break chains of addiction I pray I get to see my daiughter and you give her peace and strength to get through this season i praise you lord for life and my wonderful kids and I’m so thankful you give me what I need everyday in Jesus name amen

Patricia | Kindly help in Praying along with me , for the Lord to heal my son body, soul and spirit in Jesus Mighty and Powerful Name, also for his Divine Mercy to speak favour on my children in all their heart desires. Thank you all for praying along with me.

Wilson | Our church member poor family, her husband passed away with covid 19 corona virus. Even not give the dead body to family.Please kindly pray for poor family and the church.

I ask prays for my wife's mind. Her name is Solange. Thank a lot god bless you.

Odette Dei | A prayer to win Lotto 649 soon in Canada and to win big the Sweepstakes that I have been entering on my computer. Amen.

Anthony | My Name is Anthony from Nigeria and I started a youth development enterprise to empower millions of youths in Nigeria and Africa generally through agriculture; it has not been an easy task since I started in 2012 but I have hung on because that is what God is directing me to do. At some point I get discouraged if some things do not go as planned due to lack of funds and friends and family are either not willing to help or not bouyant enough to assist. Please pray for me that God almighty whose help is complete will do a complete miracle for me and ensure that my dream comes through with less effort and struggles, in Jesus name.

United faithful family& reduce the anger personality

Mrs Sindhu Alphones | Please pray for my 2 Sons

Zena Lascano | I would like prayer for my health and my finances to be able to move from an apartment to a house.I also would like prayer for my family and friends whom are going threw something.

RW | m battling with sexual immorality in my life. And I m tired of it yet I find myself doing over and over again. I need help in prayer that Lord Jesus should deliver me from this.

Agnes | Please pray for my adult children to get along and love each other. Pray for me to serve God faithfully to the end. Pray for me to be filled with the holy spiritual with evidence of speaking in tongues. Pray for my granddaughter Mel with depression and anxiety. Pray for healing of COVID over every nation. Pray for peace in the world. Thank you.

5834 | Please pray for my Hannah, that she can find peace in her life and stop allowing others to make feel invalid and worthless. Pray for my two grandchildren who are so loved and precious that they stay in Gods path through these trying times.

Vijay | Worried about debts heart squeezes plz pray for me a financial miracle

April | I need prayers a lot of them . For healing , and for god to Intervene in a situation where my daughter Tiffany . Please pray for me . Thank you so much

If you have a prayer request, feel free to reach via the contact form or send an email: businessofchrist@gmail.com 

‘All Souls to the Polls’ engages churches to make voting fun and accessible

All Souls to the Polls

Contentious, high-stakes elections are nothing new to Darryl Warren Aaron or his members at Providence Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C.

But there is a different feel surrounding the 2020 general election, said the pastor of the city’s oldest Black congregation. “It takes me back to when (President Barack) Obama ran the first time. There’s an energy. There’s a drive. It feels existential, as if people are recognizing that there’s power in the vote.”

In an effort to share that passion, Providence Baptist and other congregations in North Carolina and additional battleground states have partnered with civic and social justice groups to drive transportation-challenged voters to the polls during early voting periods and on Election Day.

And with guidance and funding from the New Moral Majority, food trucks are being parked at or near some voting sites to feed and encourage voters waiting in long lines, said Ryan Eller, co-founder and executive director of the progressive faith-based political action committee.

Darryl Warren Aaron

Ministers are being encouraged to serve as chaplains to encourage voters waiting in long lines, he said. “Hundreds of clergy are participating in that.”

 The overarching goal of the New Moral Majority’s “All Souls to the Polls” initiative is to help Americans connect the dots of faith and voter participation, Eller explained. “A food truck feeding people for free and giving out drinks and water to people standing in line communicates that people of faith can participate in democracy as a spiritual act.”

While long lines at polling sites are inspiring to see, they can cause some voters to abandon the process. Voter suppression efforts also keep some from voting. So it’s vital to make the experience as enjoyable as possible, he said.

“We want to create an uplifting atmosphere in which folks in long lines see groups of people having fun and good food and water … and listening to music. We are convinced that will help some folks to consider voting.”

The New Moral Majority is working with Baptist and other churches mainly in North Carolina because it is considered a key battleground state. But similar events also are being planned in Georgia and Pennsylvania, Eller said.

The effort stems from the organization’s wider mission to recapture the Christian faith coopted by conservative political and religious movements, he said. The network was founded in the spring, its publicity says, “to utilize this moment to change the moral narrative and try to reclaim Christian identity from the former Moral Majority, which was never moral and never a majority.”

“All Souls to the Polls,” Eller added, is designed to provide people of faith an opportunity to impact that discussion and “to be a public and moral witness in the world.”

Faith is the central motivation for Providence Baptist Church members who already have driven hundreds of people to voting stations and will continue doing so until polls close the night of Nov. 3, Aaron said. “Our faith teaches us that the church can never be closed off in the building.”

On Oct. 31, the last day of early voting in North Carolina, Providence will have a food truck stationed at a housing development from which its volunteers will transport voters to and from the polls.

Ryan M. Eller

“People of faith can participate in democracy as a spiritual act.”

Many of these residents have no other way to get there, he explained. “Some could take the bus but standing in line for three hours then catching a bus for three hours can become a deterrent.”

These and many others live in what Aaron called “opportunity deserts where there is not enough food, not enough transportation and not enough education.”

Taking these citizens to vote, therefore, is a way of living out the gospel, he believes. “We are forced to go out and assist those who are left behind. In this case, picking them up and taking them to the polls is acknowledging their condition.”

The process has been a success so far because many who would not have voted have — and will — cast ballots to create the improvements needed in their lives and communities.

“You can hear Dr. King in that wonderful speech in which he said give us the ballot and we’ll put people in leadership that have, as he said, ‘felt not only the tang of the human, but the glow of the divine.’”

France: Knife attack at church in Nice leaves three dead

French officials said an investigation was underway into a terrorist attack

Authorities are investigating a deadly knife attack in the French city of Nice as a terrorist incident. Following the third attack in two months attributed to Muslim extremists, France raised its alert level to urgent.

Evangelicals pray for peace after three were killed at a Catholic church in Nice, the third incident in recent months attributed to Muslim extremists.

What do we know about the attack?

• The attack took place Thursday morning at the Notre Dame Basilica in the heart of the Mediterranean city.
• Terrorism investigators said the suspect entered the church and waited a half-hour before cutting the throat of the custodian, then nearly decapitating an elderly woman and stabbing a third woman, who escaped the church and died at a nearby cafe. 
• The suspect was shot and seriously injured by police and is currently being medically treated in custody.
• Authorities said that the suspect is a 21-year-old Tunisian man named Brahim Aouissaoui, who recently entered France from Italy. He arrived in Nice by train.
• While being detained, the suspect began shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is great)
• The attacker is believed to have acted alone.

French evangelicals are mourning along with the Catholic church and the rest of the nation after an attacker armed with a knife killed three people Thursday at a basilica in the Mediterranean city of Nice.

“Let us be peacemakers in a French society that lacks it. Pray for our fellow citizens, whatever their religion. Let us love our neighbors, as Jesus ordered us to do,” stated the National Council of Evangelicals of France (CNEF), citing Matthew 5:9.

Police in Nice have closed all places of worship in the city, and the evangelical group advised pastors across the country to heed government recommendations to heighten security due to the threat of further violence.

The incident at Notre Dame Basilica in Nice was the third attack in two months in France that authorities have attributed to Muslim extremists, including the beheading of a teacher.

It comes amid a growing furor over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that were republished by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo—renewing vociferous debate in France and the Muslim world over the depictions that Muslims consider offensive but are protected by French free speech laws.

Other confrontations and attacks were reported Thursday in the southern French city of Avignon and in the Saudi city of Jiddah, but it was not immediately clear if they were linked to the attack in Nice.

“He cried ‘Allah Akbar!’ over and over, even after he was injured,” said Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi, who told BFM television that two women and a man had died, two inside the church and a third who fled to a nearby bar but was mortally wounded. “The meaning of his gesture left no doubt.”

Christian leaders across France responded by crying out to God in prayer and calling for peace in their country. “May God console the hearts of bereaved families,” said Thierry Le Gall, a pastoral director with CNEF. “Let us pray for our nation, the forces of order and unite against barbarism, for freedom of religion and expression.”

The assailant in Nice was wounded by police and hospitalized after the killings at the basilica, less than a half-mile from the site in 2016 where another attacker plowed a truck into a Bastille Day crowd, killing dozens of people.

Shots punctuated the air and witnesses screamed as police stationed at the grandiose doors to the church appeared to fire at the attacker inside, according to videos obtained by the Associated Press. Hours later, AP reporters at the scene saw emergency vehicles and police tape lining the wide Notre Dame Avenue leading toward the plaza in front of the basilica. For a time after the attack, sounds of explosions could be heard as sappers exploded suspicious objects.

France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into the attack, the third one since a trial opened in September for people linked to the 2015 attacks at Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket by gunmen who claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group and al-Qaida. The trial is nearing its end, with a verdict planned for November 13, the fifth anniversary of another series of deadly Islamic State attacks in Paris.

The Protestant Federation of France stated, “Religious fanaticism is a scourge that we are all called to fight against and we call on the authorities to be extremely firm with regard to such terrorist acts.” The group called on Christians to stand together around gospel hope while recognizing the tragedy of the situation in France.

French Roman Catholic sites have been ferociously and repeatedly targeted by extremists in recent years, including the killing of Jaqcues Hamel, who had his throat slit while celebrating Mass in his Normandy church by Islamic militants and a plot to bomb Paris’s Notre Dame cathedral.

Those attacks were claimed by the Islamic State group, which also is believed to have recruited a man now on trial who plotted unsuccessfully to attack a church on the outskirts of Paris.