I made a statement several years ago and caught a lot of flack for it. Some said that I was a fool, others to put it nicely, I was misinformed. I still stand by my statement and now there is more proof that I am correct. The statement I made was "as science catches up with the Bible we will see more and more proof that God exists and that the Bible is accurate and true".
God made us to worship Him. As you look down through time its plain to see that man, all mankind has worshiped something. So the question is not if you will worship but WHAT will you worship? Of course God wants you to choose to worship Him but it is your choice.
Fox News has an article to go along with this if you would like to read it. (Click here)
What are your thoughts?
Sermon Player -
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Losing The Faith In America?
Fox News put out an article today on a study by The Program on Public Values at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., that shows the Church in America is in decline. (Click here to read article) I'm posting this so you can see that I'm not just claiming the Church in America is in decline with no evidence or proof. Now the question is, can it be stopped?
The answer is yes, but you're not going to like the change that makes it happen.
Paul says in Romans 5: 3-4 ..."we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope." I believe one of the problems the Church has is that it has lost it's "proven character". According to Paul the reason would logically be because the Church has not experienced any "affliction" lately. (endurance is in short supply too.) Looking back through history we see that the church has always grown and flourished when it has been under persecution. Remember when terrorists struck the Twin Towers on 9-11 the churches across America were full for about two weeks. Then the shock wore off and things returned to normal.
Could this economic upheaval that we are now experiencing be the "affliction" that will bring the church back to God?
The answer is yes, but you're not going to like the change that makes it happen.
Paul says in Romans 5: 3-4 ..."we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope." I believe one of the problems the Church has is that it has lost it's "proven character". According to Paul the reason would logically be because the Church has not experienced any "affliction" lately. (endurance is in short supply too.) Looking back through history we see that the church has always grown and flourished when it has been under persecution. Remember when terrorists struck the Twin Towers on 9-11 the churches across America were full for about two weeks. Then the shock wore off and things returned to normal.
Could this economic upheaval that we are now experiencing be the "affliction" that will bring the church back to God?
Friday, January 16, 2009
The Secularization of America
Some time around the end of World War II a global shift in thinking took place. Not only was it a global shift but it was also across all of the sciences. Some of the ideas that were on the fringe moved into mainstream as well as some new ones joined the fray. Can you remember any of them? Relativism, situational ethics, secular humanism, God is dead, other forms of logic replacing the long believed law of noncontradiction, and the list goes on and on.
Even the Church made changes in it’s orthodoxy as a form of liberalism crept in and gained acceptance.
What I have just described is my definition of the Post-Modern Era. I give you my definition because it’s very hard to find one that can be agreed on. If you go around asking people for their definition of the Post-Modern Era you will usually get one of two answers. Either no answer at all followed by a blank stare or a different answer than the last one you got.
The Church (Mainly here in America) also made some changes; the most notable is the emergence of evangelism as its main objective replacing discipleship (or teaching). The result is yes we have sent the Gospel around the world but because the Church did not learn to live like real Christians the world never saw Jesus in them and rejected it. It’s a shame that we never learned the lesson the only way to have the credulity to share Christ is to exhibit the evidence that He lives within you. The only way to learn that is to be taught it. The Church has failed miserably in this point.
This shift in thinking also brought about what I and others (this is not original with me, I have borrowed from other writers) call the Secularization of America. There seems to have been a process of at least three movements (for lack of a better word) that brought this about.
The first is Secularization. That is the process where religious ideas, institutions and interpretations have lost their social significance.
I can remember when I was a child the Church had much more influence on the secular world than is does today. Schools or most social clubs etc wouldn’t dream of scheduling something that would conflict with the Church because it was a given that most people would be in church. Many businesses were closed either all day on Sundays or didn’t open till after church let out.
How do we know that secularization has really taken place?
In two ways; the first is an inversion of language. The religious worldview was so entrenched in American life that to be understood by the majority of people you had to use religious terms or ideas to express secular ideas. Now it is just the opposite.
The second is a prejudicial attitude. Anyone who expresses a religious worldview on any topic is assumed to be so biased that their opinion is discredited. Religious leaders used to be interviewed and asked their opinions often on different issues but when is the last time you saw someone other then Rick Warren give his opinion on something? The only reason you see Rick Warren so often is because he can afford to buy his own air time.
The result of Secularization is a loss of shame. The point of reference for objective moral values has been removed.
The second movement is Pluralization. A competing number of worldviews are expressed but no one worldview is dominant.
Pluralization itself is not a bad thing if you’re talking about food, the arts, sports, etc but in religion it causes problems. There are so many different religions! It is much more logical to believe that they are all wrong in their beliefs than it is to believe that they are all right but if none takes center stage how do you determine who’s right? Discrediting Christianity and relativism helped level the playing field. Now all religions are considered equal.
The result of Pluralization is a loss of reason. If all religions are equal there is no reason to believe one above another.
The third movement is Privatization; a break between the public and private where you are compelled to take the things of ultimate value into your private life.
The climate today is one of political correctness. It is improper to say anything derogatory about anyone……..except Christians and their God. In Canada if a minister preaches a sermon from the Bible about homosexuality being a sin it is a crime because it is considered hate speech. Other religions, Communism and witchcraft are taught in schools and Colleges but don’t you dare utter the name Jesus because you’ll get a failing grade or a suspension. Schools are extremely resistant to teach creation or abstinence but your child can get condoms and information to get an abortion without your approval. Don’t talk about your faith at work if you want to be promoted. Do I need to go or do you get the point!
The result of Privatization is a loss of meaning. People of faith are forced into a position of not being able to say anything about it and are left feeling like they have no purpose. A very important part of having faith is being able to live it.
When Secularization says my religious views have lost their social significance and Pluralization says my religious views must be tempered with Relativism so all views can be equal (except mine) then the result is Privatization where I express my religious views and my faith only in my private life.
This whole thing reminds of an old cigarette commercial. We’ve come a long way baby!
Even the Church made changes in it’s orthodoxy as a form of liberalism crept in and gained acceptance.
What I have just described is my definition of the Post-Modern Era. I give you my definition because it’s very hard to find one that can be agreed on. If you go around asking people for their definition of the Post-Modern Era you will usually get one of two answers. Either no answer at all followed by a blank stare or a different answer than the last one you got.
The Church (Mainly here in America) also made some changes; the most notable is the emergence of evangelism as its main objective replacing discipleship (or teaching). The result is yes we have sent the Gospel around the world but because the Church did not learn to live like real Christians the world never saw Jesus in them and rejected it. It’s a shame that we never learned the lesson the only way to have the credulity to share Christ is to exhibit the evidence that He lives within you. The only way to learn that is to be taught it. The Church has failed miserably in this point.
This shift in thinking also brought about what I and others (this is not original with me, I have borrowed from other writers) call the Secularization of America. There seems to have been a process of at least three movements (for lack of a better word) that brought this about.
The first is Secularization. That is the process where religious ideas, institutions and interpretations have lost their social significance.
I can remember when I was a child the Church had much more influence on the secular world than is does today. Schools or most social clubs etc wouldn’t dream of scheduling something that would conflict with the Church because it was a given that most people would be in church. Many businesses were closed either all day on Sundays or didn’t open till after church let out.
How do we know that secularization has really taken place?
In two ways; the first is an inversion of language. The religious worldview was so entrenched in American life that to be understood by the majority of people you had to use religious terms or ideas to express secular ideas. Now it is just the opposite.
The second is a prejudicial attitude. Anyone who expresses a religious worldview on any topic is assumed to be so biased that their opinion is discredited. Religious leaders used to be interviewed and asked their opinions often on different issues but when is the last time you saw someone other then Rick Warren give his opinion on something? The only reason you see Rick Warren so often is because he can afford to buy his own air time.
The result of Secularization is a loss of shame. The point of reference for objective moral values has been removed.
The second movement is Pluralization. A competing number of worldviews are expressed but no one worldview is dominant.
Pluralization itself is not a bad thing if you’re talking about food, the arts, sports, etc but in religion it causes problems. There are so many different religions! It is much more logical to believe that they are all wrong in their beliefs than it is to believe that they are all right but if none takes center stage how do you determine who’s right? Discrediting Christianity and relativism helped level the playing field. Now all religions are considered equal.
The result of Pluralization is a loss of reason. If all religions are equal there is no reason to believe one above another.
The third movement is Privatization; a break between the public and private where you are compelled to take the things of ultimate value into your private life.
The climate today is one of political correctness. It is improper to say anything derogatory about anyone……..except Christians and their God. In Canada if a minister preaches a sermon from the Bible about homosexuality being a sin it is a crime because it is considered hate speech. Other religions, Communism and witchcraft are taught in schools and Colleges but don’t you dare utter the name Jesus because you’ll get a failing grade or a suspension. Schools are extremely resistant to teach creation or abstinence but your child can get condoms and information to get an abortion without your approval. Don’t talk about your faith at work if you want to be promoted. Do I need to go or do you get the point!
The result of Privatization is a loss of meaning. People of faith are forced into a position of not being able to say anything about it and are left feeling like they have no purpose. A very important part of having faith is being able to live it.
When Secularization says my religious views have lost their social significance and Pluralization says my religious views must be tempered with Relativism so all views can be equal (except mine) then the result is Privatization where I express my religious views and my faith only in my private life.
This whole thing reminds of an old cigarette commercial. We’ve come a long way baby!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The Church in America is Dying
The following statistics are hard to hear but hear them we must if we are to have any understanding of the the state of the Church in America today. Keep in mind most Christians (And that includes pastors) do not know this information.
Is the Church worth saving? Let me know what you think.
- 12 Churches a day close in the United States. (This includes adding new church starts.)
- Each year fewer men go into the Ministry. Half quit by their 5th year.
- 35% of the people who say they attend a worship service also (or exclusively) attend a Home Church. This number will rise rapidly as time goes on.
- Churches that are growing are doing so mostly from transfer growth, (people moving from one church to another) not conversion growth (unchurched people being brought back in or lead to faith in Christ)
- There are fewer Christians in America today than there were yesterday and there will be even fewer tomorrow because Church growth can't even keep up with population growth.
- 2/3 of all Christians (including pastors) say they have never experienced the presence of/ move of God.
- In most polls church attendance is reported at approximately 40% of the population but new studies show that people have not been truthful. The real percentage should be about 20%. Why the difference? Some folks don't want others to think they don't attend church.
- 17% of church attenders say they tithe or give money to the Church but only 3% actually do.
Is the Church worth saving? Let me know what you think.
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