Saturday, September 26, 2020
A Land Flowing With Milk And Honey
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/a-land-flowing-with-milk-honey/
Read more ...
Thursday, September 24, 2020
A Lot Like The Father
so often we hrow up trying to emulate someone. It's oftentimes our parents, but sometimes other family members, friends, a coach or the guy at the tire shop just to name a few. Have you ever wonder, What makes a person want to be like someone else? This feeling goes back a long way. Perhaps the most obvious place in time was during the creation of man in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 1 the scripture speaks on God and His creation of all things, including man. It's here where we see the first revelant sign of emulation; in the capacity of acting and looking like someone else.
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
Genesis 1:26 KJV
https://www.bible.com/1/gen.1.26.kjv
This scripture is a very good indication of why it's such a strong desire fir us to be like someone. so, why do so many of of opt out of being like the creator?
As I was pondering on this question, I asked myself, "the scripture chose to use two words that are synomous as if they carried their own totally seperate meaning. Image is Synomous to Likeness. Likeness is translated to image, copy, parity, dummy, counterfit, agreement, reflection, and sameness are just a few. The hebrew translation of Image is 'Tzelem' which is image, same, resemblence, copy. The Hebrew word for likeness is Demuth which refers to characteristics and traits. With this being said, we were created to look and act like the one that created and has rule over us. If we are serveants of the Kingdom, then we should look and act as such, but if we are servants of the world, then we will probably look and act as such. Please leave our thought and comments....Many Blessings
https://www.franknelte.net/article.php?article_id=10
Read more ...
Friday, September 4, 2020
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Where Are You
God desires for consistent fellowship with Him. He has a perfect plan for our lives, but when we step outside His will He can not unveil His perfect way for us. If we live outside the guidelines God has established for fellowship with Him, we can easily step outside the flow for God's activity.
By Faith
Living In The Certanity Of God's Reality
Chapter 4: God requires a faith response to the unveiling of His will Read more ...
By Faith
Living In The Certanity Of God's Reality
Chapter 4: God requires a faith response to the unveiling of His will Read more ...
Monday, March 12, 2012
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Giving God Your Best
I have a profound question! In today's world , is it possible to give God your best? Are we giving him the leftovers?
Read more ...
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Thou Shalt Not Kill: Does God Violate His Own Commandment?
Introduction
The sixth commandment is "Thou shall not kill."1 Atheists claim that God violated His own commandment in ordering the destruction of entire cities, just to allow the Jews to have a homeland in the Middle East. The Bible confirms that God ordered the killing of thousands of people. Isn't this an open and shut case for the hypocrisy of the God of the Bible?
Is all killing the same?
One thing you have to love about atheists is their extreme appreciation for the King James Version (KJV) translation. The KJV was translated in the early 17th century using an archaic form of modern English. In the last 400 years, English has changed significantly. Unfortunately, the vast majority of those who read the KJV (both believers and unbelievers) are unqualified to know what the text means in many instances because of word meaning changes. In attempting to demonstrate the contradiction of God's commands to Israel and the sixth commandment, atheist cite the KJV translation, "Thou shalt not kill."
However, like English, Hebrew, the language in which most of the Old Testament was written, uses different words for intentional vs. unintentional killing. The verse translated "Thou shalt not kill" in the KJV translation, is translated "You shall not murder"2 in modern translations - because these translations represents the real meaning of the Hebrew text. The Bible in Basic English translates the phrase, "Do not put anyone to death without cause."2 The Hebrew word used here is ratsach,3 which nearly always refers to intentional killing without cause (unless indicated otherwise by context). Hebrew law recognized accidental killing as not punishable. In fact, specific cities were designated as "cities of refuge," so that an unintentional killer could flee to escape retribution.4 The Hebrew word for "kill" in this instance is not ratsach, but nakah, which can refer to either premeditated or unintentional killing, depending upon context.5 Other Hebrew words also can refer to killing.6-8 The punishment for murder was the death sentence.9 However, to be convicted, there needed to be at least two eyewitnesses.10 The Bible also prescribes that people have a right to defend themselves against attack and use deadly force if necessary.11
Is God's killing justified?
To answer the question whether God breaks His own commandments, we need to determine if God committed murder (i.e., killed people without cause). The Bible is quite clear that God has killed people directly (the most prominent example being the flood) and indirectly (ordered peoples to be killed). If God ordered or participated in the killing of innocent people, then He would be guilty of murder. Let's look at two of the most prominent examples.
The flood
According to the Bible, God killed every human except Noah, his wife, his sons, and their wives in the flood. Were any of these people killed unjustly? The Bible says specifically that all people (except Noah and his family) had become corrupted.12 Not only had all people become corrupted, but they were continually plotting evil!13 Is it possible that an entire culture can become corrupted? You bet! Recent history proves the point rather well. When the Nazis took over Germany before WWII, opposition was crushed and removed. When they began their purging of the undesirables (e.g., the Jews), virtually the entire society went along with the plan. Further examples are given on another page. So, the Bible indicates that no innocent people were killed in the flood.
God orders killing
What about when God ordered Joshua and his people to kill every man, woman and child in Canaan?14 What crime could be so great that entire populations of cities were designated for destruction? God told Moses that the nations that the Hebrew were replacing were wicked.15 How "wicked" were these people? The text tells us that they were burning their own sons and daughters in sacrifices to their gods.16 So we see that these people were not really innocent. For these reasons (and others17), God ordered the destruction of the peoples whom the Israelites dispossessed.
What about the children and other "innocents"
Surely God could have spared the children! People tend to assume that children are innocent, even if their parents are doing bad things. The assumption is unfounded. For example, Palestinian Muslim children are officially taught in grammar school to hate their Jewish neighbors.18 They are so well indoctrinated that some of them give up their lives in suicide bombings as children.19 Corruption literally does breed corruption, which is why God did not want the Hebrews tainted by the other corrupt cultures of the Middle East.
Surely there must have been other innocent adults in those cities who were destroyed with the wicked! There actually is an example of a time when God was asked if He would destroy the innocent along with the wicked. Prior to destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham asked God if He would destroy the righteous along with the wicked.20 God replied that He would spare the entire city for 50 righteous people.21 Abraham kept reducing the possible number of righteous people, asking God if He would destroy the entire city along with those number of righteous people.22 God's reply in each case was that He would not destroy the righteous along with the wicked. The lowest number Abraham asked about was ten righteous people, although the answer would likely be the same with as few as one righteous individual. How do we know this? God sent two angels to warn the four righteous people in Sodom to flee before He destroyed the city.23 It is quite convenient that such details are usually left out of atheistic sites complaining about the "evil" perpetrated by God. In fact, God saved certain people from being killed in cities such as Jericho.24
Conclusion Top of page
The commandment "Thou shalt not kill" is really not as general as the King James version would indicate. The commandment actually refers to premeditated, unjustified killing - murder. Although God ordered the extermination of entire cities, He did so in righteous judgment on a people whose corruption had led to extreme wickedness, including child sacrifice. Did God destroy the righteous along with the wicked? In an exchange with Abraham, God indicated that He would spare the wicked to save the righteous. He demonstrated this principle by saving righteous people from Sodom and Jericho prior to their destruction. The charge that God indiscriminately murdered people does not hold to to critical evaluation of the biblical texts. Read more ...
The sixth commandment is "Thou shall not kill."1 Atheists claim that God violated His own commandment in ordering the destruction of entire cities, just to allow the Jews to have a homeland in the Middle East. The Bible confirms that God ordered the killing of thousands of people. Isn't this an open and shut case for the hypocrisy of the God of the Bible?
Is all killing the same?
One thing you have to love about atheists is their extreme appreciation for the King James Version (KJV) translation. The KJV was translated in the early 17th century using an archaic form of modern English. In the last 400 years, English has changed significantly. Unfortunately, the vast majority of those who read the KJV (both believers and unbelievers) are unqualified to know what the text means in many instances because of word meaning changes. In attempting to demonstrate the contradiction of God's commands to Israel and the sixth commandment, atheist cite the KJV translation, "Thou shalt not kill."
However, like English, Hebrew, the language in which most of the Old Testament was written, uses different words for intentional vs. unintentional killing. The verse translated "Thou shalt not kill" in the KJV translation, is translated "You shall not murder"2 in modern translations - because these translations represents the real meaning of the Hebrew text. The Bible in Basic English translates the phrase, "Do not put anyone to death without cause."2 The Hebrew word used here is ratsach,3 which nearly always refers to intentional killing without cause (unless indicated otherwise by context). Hebrew law recognized accidental killing as not punishable. In fact, specific cities were designated as "cities of refuge," so that an unintentional killer could flee to escape retribution.4 The Hebrew word for "kill" in this instance is not ratsach, but nakah, which can refer to either premeditated or unintentional killing, depending upon context.5 Other Hebrew words also can refer to killing.6-8 The punishment for murder was the death sentence.9 However, to be convicted, there needed to be at least two eyewitnesses.10 The Bible also prescribes that people have a right to defend themselves against attack and use deadly force if necessary.11
Is God's killing justified?
To answer the question whether God breaks His own commandments, we need to determine if God committed murder (i.e., killed people without cause). The Bible is quite clear that God has killed people directly (the most prominent example being the flood) and indirectly (ordered peoples to be killed). If God ordered or participated in the killing of innocent people, then He would be guilty of murder. Let's look at two of the most prominent examples.
The flood
According to the Bible, God killed every human except Noah, his wife, his sons, and their wives in the flood. Were any of these people killed unjustly? The Bible says specifically that all people (except Noah and his family) had become corrupted.12 Not only had all people become corrupted, but they were continually plotting evil!13 Is it possible that an entire culture can become corrupted? You bet! Recent history proves the point rather well. When the Nazis took over Germany before WWII, opposition was crushed and removed. When they began their purging of the undesirables (e.g., the Jews), virtually the entire society went along with the plan. Further examples are given on another page. So, the Bible indicates that no innocent people were killed in the flood.
God orders killing
What about when God ordered Joshua and his people to kill every man, woman and child in Canaan?14 What crime could be so great that entire populations of cities were designated for destruction? God told Moses that the nations that the Hebrew were replacing were wicked.15 How "wicked" were these people? The text tells us that they were burning their own sons and daughters in sacrifices to their gods.16 So we see that these people were not really innocent. For these reasons (and others17), God ordered the destruction of the peoples whom the Israelites dispossessed.
What about the children and other "innocents"
Surely God could have spared the children! People tend to assume that children are innocent, even if their parents are doing bad things. The assumption is unfounded. For example, Palestinian Muslim children are officially taught in grammar school to hate their Jewish neighbors.18 They are so well indoctrinated that some of them give up their lives in suicide bombings as children.19 Corruption literally does breed corruption, which is why God did not want the Hebrews tainted by the other corrupt cultures of the Middle East.
Surely there must have been other innocent adults in those cities who were destroyed with the wicked! There actually is an example of a time when God was asked if He would destroy the innocent along with the wicked. Prior to destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham asked God if He would destroy the righteous along with the wicked.20 God replied that He would spare the entire city for 50 righteous people.21 Abraham kept reducing the possible number of righteous people, asking God if He would destroy the entire city along with those number of righteous people.22 God's reply in each case was that He would not destroy the righteous along with the wicked. The lowest number Abraham asked about was ten righteous people, although the answer would likely be the same with as few as one righteous individual. How do we know this? God sent two angels to warn the four righteous people in Sodom to flee before He destroyed the city.23 It is quite convenient that such details are usually left out of atheistic sites complaining about the "evil" perpetrated by God. In fact, God saved certain people from being killed in cities such as Jericho.24
Conclusion Top of page
The commandment "Thou shalt not kill" is really not as general as the King James version would indicate. The commandment actually refers to premeditated, unjustified killing - murder. Although God ordered the extermination of entire cities, He did so in righteous judgment on a people whose corruption had led to extreme wickedness, including child sacrifice. Did God destroy the righteous along with the wicked? In an exchange with Abraham, God indicated that He would spare the wicked to save the righteous. He demonstrated this principle by saving righteous people from Sodom and Jericho prior to their destruction. The charge that God indiscriminately murdered people does not hold to to critical evaluation of the biblical texts. Read more ...
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Is The Church A Good Place To Find A Mate?
These days it seems as if people are searching high and low for places to meet a prospective mate. Whether it's at a nightclub, in the work place, at a gym or even at the grocery store, people are looking everywhere for that special someone.
Some experts believe that finding a mate isn't as complicated as many think. Just go to church. The church? Can the church really be a good place to find a mate?
Bishop T.D. Jakes, the renowned pastor of The Potter's House in Dallas, TX, seems to think so.
"The Bible teaches that whosoever finds a wife, finds a good thing (Proverbs 18:22). It is far better to be found by a good man than it is for our Sisters to be forced to shop for one," the best-selling author of Woman, Thou Art Loosed! and The Lady, Her Lover, And Her Lord tells JET.
Related Results
* Sole mates
* SINGLES EVENT ESPOUSES SELF-IMPROVEMENT
* Dating game has been an ongoing adventure.(Neighbor)(Batavia)
* Without Warning or much detail!
He continues that the church can also be a good place to find a mate because the spirit is at work there.
"Real love doesn't come like shoes in a store. I believe that it is best when there is divine orchestration of lives by God who knows what each of us needs to be fulfilled," he says.
Even though Bishop Jakes feels that the church can be a wonderful place for meeting a mate, he stresses that people go there with more on their mind than just searching for a mate.
"I believe the best reason to go to church is to seek God," Bishop Jakes asserts. "If in the process of seeking God He sends you a mate, all the better. But remember that shopping for a man is not good for your self-esteem. If a man finds you, he tends to treasure you far more than if you find him."
Finding a mate in the church sure beats meeting one in a club, relates Rev. Dr. Sheron C. Patterson, senior pastor of Jubilee United Methodist Church in Duncanville, TX.
"The lights are on. You can see who you're talking to. The music is not too loud. You can hear what is said. In the church atmosphere, hopefully, the Holy Spirit is in the room, permeating the air and making the intentions pure. Being on church ground and holy ground usually gives people pure motives," she explains.
Patterson, who founded The Love Clinic, a Christian-based relationship seminar, at her church five years ago, recognizes that society has become so sophisticated in spelling out places for people to find a mate that the church has become off-limits for many.
"We have made the church an embarrassing place to meet someone. Traditionally the church has been our community meeting place. There was no shame in going there and meeting someone a long time ago because that was all we had," she points out.
And while the church can be a good place to meet a mate, Patterson encourages people to not assume that just because you meet someone in church, his or her intentions are righteous.
"The trouble starts when the church atmosphere is charged with desperation and devilment. This causes a phenomenon called the Holy Hoochie and the Holy Hustler, women and men in the church who are up to no good. Don't be fooled by the exterior just because a person is carrying a Bible or wearing a cross. This could be a decoy ... Test the Spirit with the Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a warning. God gives us red flags, but we ignore them based on the exterior. Pray for the spirit of discernment," she contends.
Noted psychotherapist Dr. Ronn Elmore, author of How To Love A Black Man and How To Love A Black Woman, also believes the church is a good place to meet a mate, but he says that it takes lots of work to make it happen there.
"Church is not always set up where you can make the connection. It's a great place if you're not just looking on Sunday. Throughout the week, in ministries, is when you can interact with others. It can be a great opportunity to praise the Lord and to find the mate He has for you," the ordained minister, who heads the Relationship Clinic in southern California, states.
Like Patterson, Elmore agrees that you must not assume that everyone who crosses your path in church is sent from God.
"Put up a plaque that says, `Take nothing for granted.' Don't take for granted that you're dealing with holy people just because they're in the church," he reveals. "Get recommendations and ask others about a person. After there is some point of seriousness in the relationship, get it cleared up and verified from the pastor or others, but don't just listen to church gossip, positive or negative, about a person."
Once you find a potential mate, Elmore suggests you pray. "When all is said and done and you did all the work of checking and finding out about someone, conversing and dating, never leave out the necessity of prayer so you can make wise choices. Pray for yourself and how you fare in the process and have others pray for you. Relationships can be tricky in church and out."
Read more ...
Some experts believe that finding a mate isn't as complicated as many think. Just go to church. The church? Can the church really be a good place to find a mate?
Bishop T.D. Jakes, the renowned pastor of The Potter's House in Dallas, TX, seems to think so.
"The Bible teaches that whosoever finds a wife, finds a good thing (Proverbs 18:22). It is far better to be found by a good man than it is for our Sisters to be forced to shop for one," the best-selling author of Woman, Thou Art Loosed! and The Lady, Her Lover, And Her Lord tells JET.
Related Results
* Sole mates
* SINGLES EVENT ESPOUSES SELF-IMPROVEMENT
* Dating game has been an ongoing adventure.(Neighbor)(Batavia)
* Without Warning or much detail!
He continues that the church can also be a good place to find a mate because the spirit is at work there.
"Real love doesn't come like shoes in a store. I believe that it is best when there is divine orchestration of lives by God who knows what each of us needs to be fulfilled," he says.
Even though Bishop Jakes feels that the church can be a wonderful place for meeting a mate, he stresses that people go there with more on their mind than just searching for a mate.
"I believe the best reason to go to church is to seek God," Bishop Jakes asserts. "If in the process of seeking God He sends you a mate, all the better. But remember that shopping for a man is not good for your self-esteem. If a man finds you, he tends to treasure you far more than if you find him."
Finding a mate in the church sure beats meeting one in a club, relates Rev. Dr. Sheron C. Patterson, senior pastor of Jubilee United Methodist Church in Duncanville, TX.
"The lights are on. You can see who you're talking to. The music is not too loud. You can hear what is said. In the church atmosphere, hopefully, the Holy Spirit is in the room, permeating the air and making the intentions pure. Being on church ground and holy ground usually gives people pure motives," she explains.
Patterson, who founded The Love Clinic, a Christian-based relationship seminar, at her church five years ago, recognizes that society has become so sophisticated in spelling out places for people to find a mate that the church has become off-limits for many.
"We have made the church an embarrassing place to meet someone. Traditionally the church has been our community meeting place. There was no shame in going there and meeting someone a long time ago because that was all we had," she points out.
And while the church can be a good place to meet a mate, Patterson encourages people to not assume that just because you meet someone in church, his or her intentions are righteous.
"The trouble starts when the church atmosphere is charged with desperation and devilment. This causes a phenomenon called the Holy Hoochie and the Holy Hustler, women and men in the church who are up to no good. Don't be fooled by the exterior just because a person is carrying a Bible or wearing a cross. This could be a decoy ... Test the Spirit with the Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a warning. God gives us red flags, but we ignore them based on the exterior. Pray for the spirit of discernment," she contends.
Noted psychotherapist Dr. Ronn Elmore, author of How To Love A Black Man and How To Love A Black Woman, also believes the church is a good place to meet a mate, but he says that it takes lots of work to make it happen there.
"Church is not always set up where you can make the connection. It's a great place if you're not just looking on Sunday. Throughout the week, in ministries, is when you can interact with others. It can be a great opportunity to praise the Lord and to find the mate He has for you," the ordained minister, who heads the Relationship Clinic in southern California, states.
Like Patterson, Elmore agrees that you must not assume that everyone who crosses your path in church is sent from God.
"Put up a plaque that says, `Take nothing for granted.' Don't take for granted that you're dealing with holy people just because they're in the church," he reveals. "Get recommendations and ask others about a person. After there is some point of seriousness in the relationship, get it cleared up and verified from the pastor or others, but don't just listen to church gossip, positive or negative, about a person."
Once you find a potential mate, Elmore suggests you pray. "When all is said and done and you did all the work of checking and finding out about someone, conversing and dating, never leave out the necessity of prayer so you can make wise choices. Pray for yourself and how you fare in the process and have others pray for you. Relationships can be tricky in church and out."
Read more ...
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
I Want To Do Wrong-NOT!
Question: "What was Paul's thorn in the flesh?"
Answer: Countless explanations concerning the nature of Paul’s thorn in the flesh have been offered. They range from incessant temptation, dogged opponents, chronic maladies (such as eye problems, malaria, migraine headaches, and epilepsy), to a speech disability. No one can say for sure what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was, but it probably was a physical affliction.
What we do know about this thorn in the flesh comes from Paul himself in 2 Corinthians 12:7: “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” First, the purpose of the thorn in the flesh was to keep Paul humble. Anyone who had encountered Jesus and was spoken to and commissioned by Him (Acts 9:2-8) would, in his natural state, become “puffed up.” Add to that the fact of being moved by the Holy Spirit to write much of the New Testament, and it is easy to see how Paul could become “haughty” (KJV) or “exalted above measure” (NKJV) or “too proud” (NCV). Second, we know that the affliction came from or by a messenger of Satan. Just as God allowed Satan to torment Job (Job 1:1-12), God allowed Satan to torment Paul for God’s own good purposes and always within God’s perfect will.
It is understandable that Paul would consider this thorn a hindrance to wider or more effective ministry (Galatians 5:14-16) and that he would three times petition God for its removal (2 Corinthians 12:8). But Paul learned from this experience the lesson that dominates his writings: divine power is best displayed against the backdrop of human weakness (2 Corinthians 4:7) so that God alone is praised (2 Corinthians 10:17). Rather than removing the problem, God gave him grace and strength through it, and He declared that grace to be “sufficient.” Read more ...
Answer: Countless explanations concerning the nature of Paul’s thorn in the flesh have been offered. They range from incessant temptation, dogged opponents, chronic maladies (such as eye problems, malaria, migraine headaches, and epilepsy), to a speech disability. No one can say for sure what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was, but it probably was a physical affliction.
What we do know about this thorn in the flesh comes from Paul himself in 2 Corinthians 12:7: “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” First, the purpose of the thorn in the flesh was to keep Paul humble. Anyone who had encountered Jesus and was spoken to and commissioned by Him (Acts 9:2-8) would, in his natural state, become “puffed up.” Add to that the fact of being moved by the Holy Spirit to write much of the New Testament, and it is easy to see how Paul could become “haughty” (KJV) or “exalted above measure” (NKJV) or “too proud” (NCV). Second, we know that the affliction came from or by a messenger of Satan. Just as God allowed Satan to torment Job (Job 1:1-12), God allowed Satan to torment Paul for God’s own good purposes and always within God’s perfect will.
It is understandable that Paul would consider this thorn a hindrance to wider or more effective ministry (Galatians 5:14-16) and that he would three times petition God for its removal (2 Corinthians 12:8). But Paul learned from this experience the lesson that dominates his writings: divine power is best displayed against the backdrop of human weakness (2 Corinthians 4:7) so that God alone is praised (2 Corinthians 10:17). Rather than removing the problem, God gave him grace and strength through it, and He declared that grace to be “sufficient.” Read more ...
Sunday, August 16, 2009
The preacher and moral failures
Let’s face it, the minister of a Baptist church can be forgiven of almost anything, if he repents and changes his ways, except sexual sins. If a minister gets involved in a sexual sin (adultery, child molestation, homosexuality), he might as well resign and look for a new occupation. Well, maybe not every time, but almost every time. Even if he stays in the ministry, he usually has to move to an office other than senior pastor. Once a diamond is chipped, it may be reground, but it will never be as large as before.
Many are aware of the past history of outstanding preachers who have fallen to the sin of David. The movie about Elmer Gantry, the fictional preacher who fell to moral sin, made many people aware that preachers are human. In more recent times, the moral failure of Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Ted Haggard, and in our state the failure of a large church pastor and successful evangelist, has created news events that reflect poorly on all ministers. Even sadder is the fact that there are hundreds of ministers who fail morally that we never hear about.
In a recent conversation with Dr. H.B. London of Focus on the Family, he told me of serving on the restoration committee of Ted Haggard and then he said, “When you hear the names of these great preachers who failed, you never think of their accomplishment because it is always overshadowed by their moral failure.”
What is wrong? Why are so many preachers failing morally? Can we trust any minister? What can the church do to make sure they do not call an immoral minister? Is there anything the church, association or state convention can do to keep ministers from failing morally? There are a lot of questions, but there are also some answers.
First, not all ministers are anywhere close to moral failure. Most pastors and staff serve all their lives and never do anything questionable related to moral conduct. The number of ministers who commit adultery is much, much lower than that of the average male population. Today we are made aware of the sexual sins of ministers more so than in past years. The failure of a well-known evangelist was on the first page of the Birmingham News, on the “Rick and Bubba Show” and even on Paul Fienbaum’s sports talk radio show.
The church can do a much better job making sure they do not call an immoral minister. Churches must check out the minister before extending a call. They should run references, talk to directors of missions, check with former church members, and question other ministers who know the prospect. Don’t hesitate to ask any question about the prospective minister. Listen carefully to what the reference may tell you.
The church can do some things in a preventive way to help their pastor when temptation comes. They can give him time off for family. The deacons or others can warn him if they see signs of over-involvement with a particular woman.
The minister is the one who can do the most to avoid sexual failure. He can guard his thoughts. Ultimately, the battle for sexual purity is won or lost in the mind. Those things that could erode your thought life should be avoided. He should make sure that his best time goes to his wife and family. Only great husbands and great fathers can be great pastors. He should resolve never to be alone personally or to be involved emotionally with a woman who is not his wife, sister, mother or grandmother, or at least old enough to be his grandmother.
The minister will do well to remember the cost of sexual sin. A big house may be attractive, but the payments are huge. He should recognize his vulnerability. No one is above sexual temptation. No pastor should destroy his call to the ministry for a moment of pleasure. An effective minister must be a holy minister.
The morally failing minister is usually a loner. He may be in his late 30s in a highly successful church, receiving a huge salary with praise coming from all directions. He may rationalize that he is so capable that God will overlook his moral sins and that he deserves a second or third woman, but he is usually a loner. He may be in his 50s with a troubled church and an unhappy family life, but he is usually a loner. We all need accountability!
We need to attend the associational ministers’ conference. We need to have minister friends. We need to have close deacon friends. We need to rely on our director of missions. We need accountability!
The minister should value his family. It is more important than the church, more important than money, and more important than pleasure. Outside God, family is the most important thing in a preacher’s life.
Most importantly, the minister must stick close to God. Pray, read your Bible, love your family, minister to your people and please keep your life clean.
Read more ...
Many are aware of the past history of outstanding preachers who have fallen to the sin of David. The movie about Elmer Gantry, the fictional preacher who fell to moral sin, made many people aware that preachers are human. In more recent times, the moral failure of Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Ted Haggard, and in our state the failure of a large church pastor and successful evangelist, has created news events that reflect poorly on all ministers. Even sadder is the fact that there are hundreds of ministers who fail morally that we never hear about.
In a recent conversation with Dr. H.B. London of Focus on the Family, he told me of serving on the restoration committee of Ted Haggard and then he said, “When you hear the names of these great preachers who failed, you never think of their accomplishment because it is always overshadowed by their moral failure.”
What is wrong? Why are so many preachers failing morally? Can we trust any minister? What can the church do to make sure they do not call an immoral minister? Is there anything the church, association or state convention can do to keep ministers from failing morally? There are a lot of questions, but there are also some answers.
First, not all ministers are anywhere close to moral failure. Most pastors and staff serve all their lives and never do anything questionable related to moral conduct. The number of ministers who commit adultery is much, much lower than that of the average male population. Today we are made aware of the sexual sins of ministers more so than in past years. The failure of a well-known evangelist was on the first page of the Birmingham News, on the “Rick and Bubba Show” and even on Paul Fienbaum’s sports talk radio show.
The church can do a much better job making sure they do not call an immoral minister. Churches must check out the minister before extending a call. They should run references, talk to directors of missions, check with former church members, and question other ministers who know the prospect. Don’t hesitate to ask any question about the prospective minister. Listen carefully to what the reference may tell you.
The church can do some things in a preventive way to help their pastor when temptation comes. They can give him time off for family. The deacons or others can warn him if they see signs of over-involvement with a particular woman.
The minister is the one who can do the most to avoid sexual failure. He can guard his thoughts. Ultimately, the battle for sexual purity is won or lost in the mind. Those things that could erode your thought life should be avoided. He should make sure that his best time goes to his wife and family. Only great husbands and great fathers can be great pastors. He should resolve never to be alone personally or to be involved emotionally with a woman who is not his wife, sister, mother or grandmother, or at least old enough to be his grandmother.
The minister will do well to remember the cost of sexual sin. A big house may be attractive, but the payments are huge. He should recognize his vulnerability. No one is above sexual temptation. No pastor should destroy his call to the ministry for a moment of pleasure. An effective minister must be a holy minister.
The morally failing minister is usually a loner. He may be in his late 30s in a highly successful church, receiving a huge salary with praise coming from all directions. He may rationalize that he is so capable that God will overlook his moral sins and that he deserves a second or third woman, but he is usually a loner. He may be in his 50s with a troubled church and an unhappy family life, but he is usually a loner. We all need accountability!
We need to attend the associational ministers’ conference. We need to have minister friends. We need to have close deacon friends. We need to rely on our director of missions. We need accountability!
The minister should value his family. It is more important than the church, more important than money, and more important than pleasure. Outside God, family is the most important thing in a preacher’s life.
Most importantly, the minister must stick close to God. Pray, read your Bible, love your family, minister to your people and please keep your life clean.
Read more ...
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Confessions of a Worship Pastor
A major part of my current job description is to be a ‘worship pastor.’ It was part of the vision of our vicar to develop the musical and artistic worship of the church and he employed in part to develop this side of the church as this is my background. However, my belief is that our primary worship is to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) and this has to do with honouring God in our whole lives, and not very much to do with singing songs.
My main thoughts are that a lot of christians consider worship to be the singing of songs when they gather. The quality of worship something to do with ‘anointing’ of a worship leader’ and how good it sounds, and often (from my personal experience of feedback) how well liked the songs were. In fact, somehow I just know how to put a song list together and create an inclusive groove that we seem to like. I can immediately here someone saying, but you can’t make God show up! I know that sometimes we are more aware of the presence of God, but I often think that is just because we are looking, taking down our own barriers to the reality of His presence.
Whilst this self perpetuating system continues, I ask you, does it remain an obstacle to christians seeking to worship God in the whole of life? I’m not saying that singing songs to God is wrong, or that the sense of His presence we often feel at those times isn’t genuine. But somehow, when this is placed in a system of church I think it re-enforces a dualistic worldview.
Therefore, I really struggle with spending time developing this ministry. Taking people, whose lives are already incredibly busy, and asking them to improve on for example, our band sound. 1) Does it make any real difference to God? 2) Is it giving them a false impression of ministry – engaging in activity I struggle to see an missional in any way? Read more ...
My main thoughts are that a lot of christians consider worship to be the singing of songs when they gather. The quality of worship something to do with ‘anointing’ of a worship leader’ and how good it sounds, and often (from my personal experience of feedback) how well liked the songs were. In fact, somehow I just know how to put a song list together and create an inclusive groove that we seem to like. I can immediately here someone saying, but you can’t make God show up! I know that sometimes we are more aware of the presence of God, but I often think that is just because we are looking, taking down our own barriers to the reality of His presence.
Whilst this self perpetuating system continues, I ask you, does it remain an obstacle to christians seeking to worship God in the whole of life? I’m not saying that singing songs to God is wrong, or that the sense of His presence we often feel at those times isn’t genuine. But somehow, when this is placed in a system of church I think it re-enforces a dualistic worldview.
Therefore, I really struggle with spending time developing this ministry. Taking people, whose lives are already incredibly busy, and asking them to improve on for example, our band sound. 1) Does it make any real difference to God? 2) Is it giving them a false impression of ministry – engaging in activity I struggle to see an missional in any way? Read more ...
Friday, August 14, 2009
When God & cancer meet-Dave's story
On 11/15/07 I woke up like any other day. It was payday so I went to go run some usual payday errands. I had got a CAT Scan done the previous day due to having reoccurring headaches for almost a month. I didn't think to much of it. I figured I would just go back to the doctor and he would tell me that my blood pressure had increased. But oh no, When I got home there was a message from my doctor and also his nurse telling me to call back ASAP. That terrified me, I had never really been sick besides a flu or cold here and there.
So I called and he said there was something strange on my scan and he was sending me for a MRI. He told me to go down to get the test right then and he would call me by the end of the day with the result. Of course he left the office afterwards and I did not hear from him until I called the next morning. He sent me to a neurosurgeon in Chico, Ca. I went there the following Monday. My doctor there sent me for another MRI that would tell him more specifically what it was in my head. He had me come back in a few days. So I waited anxiously to find out what it was. I couldn't remember ever having a old injury which they thought was a possibility. Then I came back and he told me that it was a tumor. I thought I was going to faint, my wife and step mom were there with me. They later told me, I turned white as a ghost, and my wife had to grab me from falling. At the end of the appointment the doctor asked what we want to do. He gave us two options; 1 take it out or 2 wait and come back in 90 days. I asked him what he recommended and he said to get it out. So me and my wife decided to get it done on 12/18/07.
That was about 3 weeks away. We did it then because she had a business trip in 2 weeks that was already paid for. It was a important trip. Also, I would get to be home for Christmas, and she would be home the next 2 weeks to take care of me. It was a nerve wracking wait. Then the day finally came. We left around 6 A.M. because I had yet another MRI before my surgery. I went in the hospital with strips all over my head. I remember going in the pre-op room and asking the anesthesiologist if the medicine he was giving me was the stuff to put me out. And he said no. Thats all I remember.
Next thing I know I was talking to a guy who had a knee surgery. I was told I was cracking jokes. My surgery started at 10 am and I was out of recovery at 1pm. I went to the ICU for the first night and they had me on a liquid diet, and I was hungry. My doctor came in that night checking on me and said are you hungry. I said yeah. He told the nurse to get me a sandwich. I thought I knew I came to him for a reason. I had tubes all over my body. It sucked. This is the first time EVER I was in the hospital. Except, having my boys, but that was fun (for me at least).
I moved down to the main floor the next morning and they wanted me to shower first. My head had been bandaged, and there was 27 pretty stainless steel staples in my head. I got in the shower and could not touch my head without shaking. It was horrible. My youngest son was scared to come by me at first. I called myself Zipper Head. I went home the next evening.
My surgery was on Tuesday and my tumor was sent to the University of San Francisco. My doctor said he would have the results Thursday or Friday. I waited until 5 o'clock Friday and finally called. They had not got the results. This sucked. I would have to wait the weekend and Monday and Tuesday because the Christmas Holiday. It made for a long Christmas, but we still stuck to our regular hectic schedule.
Finally, Wednesday came and first off the doctor told me it was cancer (olgendroglioma stage II). Then I got my staples out. That part I liked. He referred me to University of San Francisco to a brain oncologist. I went to my first visit 1/23/08 and the doctor there told me the last MRI my surgery area was not healed up enough to see if any of the tumor was left. He told me to come back in a month and get a MRI there and then see the doctor again. I made my appointment for 3/5/08. I am going on a cruise to Mexico on 2/25/08. Thats where I am at. I will add more when I get more.
I am now off the Temodar after a long 1 year cycle. I am divorcing but life is looking good and I feel good. I am going in every 3 months for a MRI to make sure there is no changes. I continue to pray daily for complete healing for myself as well as all infected by this ugly disease. God Bless, Dave = Team God Heals Cancer
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So I called and he said there was something strange on my scan and he was sending me for a MRI. He told me to go down to get the test right then and he would call me by the end of the day with the result. Of course he left the office afterwards and I did not hear from him until I called the next morning. He sent me to a neurosurgeon in Chico, Ca. I went there the following Monday. My doctor there sent me for another MRI that would tell him more specifically what it was in my head. He had me come back in a few days. So I waited anxiously to find out what it was. I couldn't remember ever having a old injury which they thought was a possibility. Then I came back and he told me that it was a tumor. I thought I was going to faint, my wife and step mom were there with me. They later told me, I turned white as a ghost, and my wife had to grab me from falling. At the end of the appointment the doctor asked what we want to do. He gave us two options; 1 take it out or 2 wait and come back in 90 days. I asked him what he recommended and he said to get it out. So me and my wife decided to get it done on 12/18/07.
That was about 3 weeks away. We did it then because she had a business trip in 2 weeks that was already paid for. It was a important trip. Also, I would get to be home for Christmas, and she would be home the next 2 weeks to take care of me. It was a nerve wracking wait. Then the day finally came. We left around 6 A.M. because I had yet another MRI before my surgery. I went in the hospital with strips all over my head. I remember going in the pre-op room and asking the anesthesiologist if the medicine he was giving me was the stuff to put me out. And he said no. Thats all I remember.
Next thing I know I was talking to a guy who had a knee surgery. I was told I was cracking jokes. My surgery started at 10 am and I was out of recovery at 1pm. I went to the ICU for the first night and they had me on a liquid diet, and I was hungry. My doctor came in that night checking on me and said are you hungry. I said yeah. He told the nurse to get me a sandwich. I thought I knew I came to him for a reason. I had tubes all over my body. It sucked. This is the first time EVER I was in the hospital. Except, having my boys, but that was fun (for me at least).
I moved down to the main floor the next morning and they wanted me to shower first. My head had been bandaged, and there was 27 pretty stainless steel staples in my head. I got in the shower and could not touch my head without shaking. It was horrible. My youngest son was scared to come by me at first. I called myself Zipper Head. I went home the next evening.
My surgery was on Tuesday and my tumor was sent to the University of San Francisco. My doctor said he would have the results Thursday or Friday. I waited until 5 o'clock Friday and finally called. They had not got the results. This sucked. I would have to wait the weekend and Monday and Tuesday because the Christmas Holiday. It made for a long Christmas, but we still stuck to our regular hectic schedule.
Finally, Wednesday came and first off the doctor told me it was cancer (olgendroglioma stage II). Then I got my staples out. That part I liked. He referred me to University of San Francisco to a brain oncologist. I went to my first visit 1/23/08 and the doctor there told me the last MRI my surgery area was not healed up enough to see if any of the tumor was left. He told me to come back in a month and get a MRI there and then see the doctor again. I made my appointment for 3/5/08. I am going on a cruise to Mexico on 2/25/08. Thats where I am at. I will add more when I get more.
I am now off the Temodar after a long 1 year cycle. I am divorcing but life is looking good and I feel good. I am going in every 3 months for a MRI to make sure there is no changes. I continue to pray daily for complete healing for myself as well as all infected by this ugly disease. God Bless, Dave = Team God Heals Cancer
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How To Deal With Church Hurt
We all know that when we get more than one person together that there will be differences. Many differences occur because some people tend to walk outside of their calling in effect trying to do everyone elses job and not theirs "busy-bodies."
Paul states, in 2 Thessalonians 3:11 "For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busy-bodies." We must perform a self analysis to see whether we are the ones starting the trouble, and then we can move on from that point. Jesus encountered trouble among the disciples, Judas sold Him for thirty pieces of silver, and Peter denied Him three times, but the church still stands today. What Satan meant for evil, God meant for good. God calls us to holiness and we must cast aside our differences and promote unity in the love of Jesus Christ. Jesus states, in Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." The church is not the building but our hearts that have been purchased by Christ's blood. Forgiveness and prayer are the best ways to overcome church hurt. Read more ...
Paul states, in 2 Thessalonians 3:11 "For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busy-bodies." We must perform a self analysis to see whether we are the ones starting the trouble, and then we can move on from that point. Jesus encountered trouble among the disciples, Judas sold Him for thirty pieces of silver, and Peter denied Him three times, but the church still stands today. What Satan meant for evil, God meant for good. God calls us to holiness and we must cast aside our differences and promote unity in the love of Jesus Christ. Jesus states, in Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." The church is not the building but our hearts that have been purchased by Christ's blood. Forgiveness and prayer are the best ways to overcome church hurt. Read more ...
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Reasons Pastors and Churches “Divorce”
Dr. Jim West has an interesting piece at his blog on the reasons why pastors and churches 'divorce'. I like pieces like this that make me think a little bit. Hopefully it will help you get the wheels turning today as well. I'd love to hear what you think? Have you ever been 'divorced'?
There are three basic reasons why Pastors and churches ‘divorce’ or go their separate ways:
1- God leads the Pastor to another place of service. Or, God leads the Church to find another Shepherd. This is the murkiest of the reasons in the sense that it is extraordinarily difficult for either the Pastor or the Church to know when it’s time to “split up.” If things are going well in the Church, it is even more difficult. But if things are going poorly for either one or both pastor and church, the decision is obviously a bit easier. Nonetheless, the leadership of the Spirit being for the most part intangible, the decision to leave is only made after a considerable period of prayer.
2- Infidelity. The second reason Pastors and Churches go their separate ways is no different than the reason husbands and wives sometimes divorce: infidelity. Pastors can become unfaithful to the Church in a number of ways not limited to - a growing indifference to the needs of the flock; another Church becomes more ‘attractive’ (the grass is greener theory of life); or a sense of being unappreciated and thus unappreciative. Churches too can become unfaithful to their pastor, in failing to pray for him; by always comparing him to a former pastor or an idealized pastor they would like to have; by inattentiveness (sermons become something to be endured rather than an opportunity to grow as a believer); and by staying away from worship (voting against the pastor with their absence).
3- Money. Let’s face facts here; just as husbands and wives leave each other because of infidelity and money, so too Churches and Pastors often part ways for exactly the same reasons. Many Pastors are underpaid and many Churches operate on the presumption that “you have to keep the preacher humble by keeping him poor”. So, it is quite normal, and human, that if the Pastor is offered a better salary package by another Church he ‘hear the voice of Go calling him there.’ When Churches undervalue their Pastor, they will inevitably discover that if offered the opportunity to be valued appropriately, he will take it. To be sure, there’s always some wag in every church who honestly thinks that “we just pay the preacher what he’s really worth” and though they would never tolerate that kind of treatment from their own ‘boss’ they not only tolerate it, but actively implement it in their treatment of their pastor.
Which, if any, do you think are reasonable for pastor/church divorce? Dr. West shares his thoughts here… What do you think?
Read more ...
There are three basic reasons why Pastors and churches ‘divorce’ or go their separate ways:
1- God leads the Pastor to another place of service. Or, God leads the Church to find another Shepherd. This is the murkiest of the reasons in the sense that it is extraordinarily difficult for either the Pastor or the Church to know when it’s time to “split up.” If things are going well in the Church, it is even more difficult. But if things are going poorly for either one or both pastor and church, the decision is obviously a bit easier. Nonetheless, the leadership of the Spirit being for the most part intangible, the decision to leave is only made after a considerable period of prayer.
2- Infidelity. The second reason Pastors and Churches go their separate ways is no different than the reason husbands and wives sometimes divorce: infidelity. Pastors can become unfaithful to the Church in a number of ways not limited to - a growing indifference to the needs of the flock; another Church becomes more ‘attractive’ (the grass is greener theory of life); or a sense of being unappreciated and thus unappreciative. Churches too can become unfaithful to their pastor, in failing to pray for him; by always comparing him to a former pastor or an idealized pastor they would like to have; by inattentiveness (sermons become something to be endured rather than an opportunity to grow as a believer); and by staying away from worship (voting against the pastor with their absence).
3- Money. Let’s face facts here; just as husbands and wives leave each other because of infidelity and money, so too Churches and Pastors often part ways for exactly the same reasons. Many Pastors are underpaid and many Churches operate on the presumption that “you have to keep the preacher humble by keeping him poor”. So, it is quite normal, and human, that if the Pastor is offered a better salary package by another Church he ‘hear the voice of Go calling him there.’ When Churches undervalue their Pastor, they will inevitably discover that if offered the opportunity to be valued appropriately, he will take it. To be sure, there’s always some wag in every church who honestly thinks that “we just pay the preacher what he’s really worth” and though they would never tolerate that kind of treatment from their own ‘boss’ they not only tolerate it, but actively implement it in their treatment of their pastor.
Which, if any, do you think are reasonable for pastor/church divorce? Dr. West shares his thoughts here… What do you think?
Read more ...
What Is Marriage 3
Many couples are faced with asking themselves the age old question of “Why did I marry him/her in the first place?” Another popular question among married couples is “Did I ever really love him/her?” Most times couples can effectively answer these questions by
reviewing their courtship. Couples who were romantic during the period of their courtship may now feel led to exert more effort to commit themselves in their marriage to redevelop their existing relationship. Some married couples find it increasingly hard to maintain a fresh and vibrant marriage after a few years or after the birth of children. Couples tend to focus on family life, bills, and ensuring that the children’s needs are met while neglecting their spouse simultaneously. Couples must revisit the very feelings that made them fall in love with each other. One of the first questions you must ask yourself is “Did I fall in love with the person or the personification of the person through romance?” Often in relationships and life we often attempt to make ourselves look better than we are in order to impress others. Couples often times fall in love and marry a lie which is portrayed by their spouse as the “real me.” The earlier within the marriage the couple realize that they have fell in love with the romance of the relationship and not the person the better the marriage can recover more efficiently. Marriages must maintain an open and effective dialogue in which both parties can express themselves openly. Active courtship in a marriage is paramount, because each individual spouse owes each other intimate time. Couples should relive enjoyable experiences, and their decision to marry each other. Starting with the courtship period to the present the coupe must give each other an earnest account of where they feel their marriage is at the present and where it is headed. Maintain courtship and communication to enjoy a successful marriage. Read more ...
reviewing their courtship. Couples who were romantic during the period of their courtship may now feel led to exert more effort to commit themselves in their marriage to redevelop their existing relationship. Some married couples find it increasingly hard to maintain a fresh and vibrant marriage after a few years or after the birth of children. Couples tend to focus on family life, bills, and ensuring that the children’s needs are met while neglecting their spouse simultaneously. Couples must revisit the very feelings that made them fall in love with each other. One of the first questions you must ask yourself is “Did I fall in love with the person or the personification of the person through romance?” Often in relationships and life we often attempt to make ourselves look better than we are in order to impress others. Couples often times fall in love and marry a lie which is portrayed by their spouse as the “real me.” The earlier within the marriage the couple realize that they have fell in love with the romance of the relationship and not the person the better the marriage can recover more efficiently. Marriages must maintain an open and effective dialogue in which both parties can express themselves openly. Active courtship in a marriage is paramount, because each individual spouse owes each other intimate time. Couples should relive enjoyable experiences, and their decision to marry each other. Starting with the courtship period to the present the coupe must give each other an earnest account of where they feel their marriage is at the present and where it is headed. Maintain courtship and communication to enjoy a successful marriage. Read more ...
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
When God's Word Isn't Enough
Posted on September 14, 2007. Filed under: devotions | Tags: , Abraham, bible, christianity, faith, God, hope, Jesus, Lazarus, religion, Salvation, sanctification, Scriptures, word of God |
2corinthians4_5.jpg
There is an interesting passage of scripture I overlooked in Luke 16. I was reading the story that involves Abraham, Lazarus the beggar, and the rich man. This morning I had a “things that make you go hum” moment.
Everyone that is saved for any length of time has heard this story or read it. Well sometimes we can read the Word or hear it numerous times that it becomes too familiar.
We already go into reading or hearing a particular scripture with preconceived notions of what that passage is saying.
This morning the Lord showed me something that I hadn’t paid attention to even though I had it highlighted! So my spirit grasped it then. But there was an appointed time for me to consciously lay hold of it.
According to this story, there was a certain rich man who had more than he ever wanted or needed. He lived his life for himself, in selfish indulgence, not caring at all about the poor. Lazarus was a poor beggar who like a dog desired to be fed the crumbs from the masters table, though it is not clear if he ever was fed by the rich man.
After they both die, we get a glimpse of their situations in eternity. Lazarus is with Abraham, symbolizing that he is grafted into the family of God by faith in Christ. He is in heaven. The rich man is in agony in the burning flames of hell. Between the two a great divide which cannot be crossed is fixed.
A conversation is said to take place between Lazarus, the rich man, and Abraham. The rich man knows that his five brothers are as wicked as he was and without a doubt end up in torment as he is, so he begs Abraham to send somebody, even Lazarus, to his brothers. He thinks that if his brothers see a person raised from the dead that they will repent and put their faith in God.
Yet Abraham explains that unless they hear the law and the prophets, which they already have available to them, they will not repent.
Abraham’s statement, told by Christ as He gives this story, is emphasizing that the Scripture is sufficient.
Unless a person hears what they already have in the Word of God, they cannot and will not be saved. Even if some miraculous sign happened for the rich man’s brothers or for any man for that matter, they would still not believe.
We can deceive ourselves into thinking that if only Jesus came and appeared to all men that they would trust Him. We can think that we can come up with some other means to woo somebody to church or to Christ. The reality is that the greatest sign of all time has already taken place. Jesus Himself rose from the dead and people reject that, despite the overwhelming evidence of its historicity.
The Lord knew this and was foretelling in this story that even His death burial and resurrection would not be sufficient to bring some people to repentance. Christ Himself knew that only the Word of God could change a person’s heart. If Christ even byperforming the greatest miracle of all time couldn’t convince a person to believe, what really do we have to come up with?
The Church has so many programs and works that they perform all to bring people to Christ. They are working themselves to death trying to come up with ways that will attract people into the household of the Lord.
Programs, skits, musicals, bazaars, fairs, workshops, auctions, giveaways, you name it the Church tries it. I look at all of the churches with theatre props, book stores, coffee houses, gyms, empowerment & business centers, soup kitchens, credit unions, colleges, schools, daycares, restaurants and so forth and so on. We here in America have made the Word of God secondary in comparison to all of the wonderful things we are doing for Him.
Churches are not willing to preach the full counsel of the Word for fear of losing members. They have listened to polls that say people’s attention spans cannot absorb a sermon over 15 minutes. So the Word becomes secondary and the programs are first.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against a lot of this stuff as long as it is in its proper place. What has me concerned is the mindset that the Word of God is not enough to get people saved.
The Word of God can stand on it’s on. It doesn’t need any help. The only thing God put His full backing on is His Word. The Scripture is the Power of God in written form. It is only through hearing and appropriating the Scriptures can sanctification take place.
Good works, community service, and theatrics can have their place. The issue is whether they are sufficient to be able to stand on their own apart from the Word of God.
The Body of Christ needs to study, memorize and meditate on the Word of God. I am very concerned for the Church here in America because of what is coming down the pipeline for this country. The scripture says “Who have believed our report?” Isaiah 53:1. You have to first know the report in order to believe it.
Remember man cannot live apart from taking in the Word of God. He cannot be saved apart from hearing the gospel, and he cannot be a mature Christian without instruction from the Scripture. We already know from Romans 1:16 that the “gospel is the power of God unto salvation.” We know from 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” Romans 10:16 says that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them in the word; your word is truth.”
All of our progress in being sanctified into the image of Christ is due to our being immersed in the truth of the Word of God. There is no short cut to this thing called Sanctification.
© 2007, Candace House, All Rights Reserved.
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Your "A Time to Honor" Testimonies
Have you ever been to a promise keeper meeting?
The Conference was God Breathed
You know, I was at the conference in Boulder and sat there the entire time wondering what it was all about, as I had attended many events that were only for men. This was different but then I saw God at the end and had a Jewish Rabbi place a star of David on my shirt, at which time I broke down. But God - But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!
I went back to have a Rabbi pray for me and his words were anointed. He prayed something at the beginning that only the Holy Spirit could have spoken to him.
The conference was God Breathed.
God Bless You
-Wiley Work
Let us here your experience when you came into God's presence Read more ...
The Conference was God Breathed
You know, I was at the conference in Boulder and sat there the entire time wondering what it was all about, as I had attended many events that were only for men. This was different but then I saw God at the end and had a Jewish Rabbi place a star of David on my shirt, at which time I broke down. But God - But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!
I went back to have a Rabbi pray for me and his words were anointed. He prayed something at the beginning that only the Holy Spirit could have spoken to him.
The conference was God Breathed.
God Bless You
-Wiley Work
Let us here your experience when you came into God's presence Read more ...
Sunday, August 9, 2009
the Gospel of Inclusion
What if Hell didn’t really exist?
Have you ever asked how a loving God could condemn most of His children to eternal torment? Bishop Carlton Pearson did, and his answer will change everything you ever thought you knew about God, eternity and God’s plan for humankind.
In The Gospel of Inclusion, Bishop Pearson courageously explores the exclusionary doctrines of mainstream religion and concludes that according to the evidence of the Bible and irrefutable logic, they cannot be true. Instead, he offers us the Gospel of Inclusion—the simple, stunning truth that everyone has already been saved by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
In this astonishing book, Pearson argues that the controlling dogmas of religion are the source of much of the world’s ills, and that we should turn our backs on proselytizing and holy wars and focus on the real Good News: that all of humanity is indeed loved by the Divine!
The Gospel of Inclusion will transform your perception of religion’s role in your life and give you a priceless gift: hope for the future.
Is this gospel of inclusion A new passage to God? We know that God loves all, but His word does say sin is death. What's your take on this growing matter? Let's Hear some Church Mess
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Divorce and Remarriage
Divorce and remarriage
U.S. divorce rates for various faith
groups, age groups, & geographic areas
Sponsored link.
Divorce rates in the U.S.:
"There is consensus that the overall U.S. divorce rate had a brief spurt after WW2, followed by a decline, then started rising in the 1960s and even more quickly in the 1970s, then leveled off [in the] 1980s and [has since] declined slightly." 7 However, such gross statistics are misleading. There are a number of factors involved that obscure the real data:
bullet The normal lifestyle of American young adults is to live together for a period of time in a type of informal trial marriage. These relationships frequently do not endure.
bullet Couples enter into their first marriage at a older age than in the past.
bullet A growing percentage of committed couples have decided to live in a common-law relationship rather than get married. This is particularly true among some elderly who fear reduction in government support payments.
The current U.S. divorce rate:
The media frequently reports that 50% of American marriages will end in divorce. This number appears to have been derived from very skimpy data related to a single county or state. However, it appears to be reasonable close to the probable value. The Americans for Divorce Reform estimates that "Probably, 40 or possibly even 50 percent of marriages will end in divorce if current trends continue. However, that is only a projection and a prediction." 7
Divorce rates among Christian groups:
The slogan: "The family that prays together, stays together" is well known. There has been much anecdotal evidence that has led to "unsubstantiated claims that the divorce rate for Christians who attended church regularly, pray together or who meet other conditions is only 1 or 2 percent". 8 Emphasis ours]. Dr. Tom Ellis, chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention's Council on the Family said that for "...born-again Christian couples who marry...in the church after having received premarital counseling...and attend church regularly and pray daily together..." experience only 1 divorce out of nearly 39,000 marriages -- or 0.00256 percent. 9
A recent study by the Barna Research Group throws extreme doubt on these estimates. Barna released the results of their poll about divorce on 1999-DEC-21. 1 They had interviewed 3,854 adults from the 48 contiguous states. The margin of error is ±2 percentage points. The survey found:
bullet 11% of the adult population is currently divorced.
bullet 25% of adults have had at least one divorce during their lifetime.
bullet Divorce rates among conservative Christians were significantly higher than for other faith groups, and much higher than Atheists and Agnostics experience.
George Barna, president and founder of Barna Research Group, commented:
"While it may be alarming to discover that born again Christians are more likely than others to experience a divorce, that pattern has been in place for quite some time. Even more disturbing, perhaps, is that when those individuals experience a divorce many of them feel their community of faith provides rejection rather than support and healing. But the research also raises questions regarding the effectiveness of how churches minister to families. The ultimate responsibility for a marriage belongs to the husband and wife, but the high incidence of divorce within the Christian community challenges the idea that churches provide truly practical and life-changing support for marriages."
According to the Dallas Morning News, a Dallas TX newspaper, the national study "raised eyebrows, sowed confusion, [and] even brought on a little holy anger." This caused George Barna to write a letter to his supporters, saying that he is standing by his data, even though it is upsetting. He said that "We rarely find substantial differences" between the moral behavior of Christians and non-Christians. Barna Project Director Meg Flammang said: "We would love to be able to report that Christians are living very distinct lives and impacting the community, but ... in the area of divorce rates they continue to be the same." Both statements seem to be projecting the belief that conservative Christians and liberal Christians have the same divorce rate. This disagrees with their own data.
The survey has come under some criticism:
bullet David Popenoe, co-director of the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University has said that the survey doesn't make sense. He based this belief on his assessment that Christians follow biblical models of the family, making a bond that "the secular world doesn't have...It just stands to reason that the bond of religion is protective of marriage, and I believe it is."
bullet Tom Ellis of the Southern Baptist Convention suggests that the Barna poll is inaccurate because the people contacted may have called themselves born-again Christians, without having previously made a real commitment to God. He said: "We believe that there is something more to being a Christian...Just saying you are [a born-again] Christian is not going to guarantee that your marriage is going to stay together." 9
bullet Some researchers have suggested that religion may have little or no effect on divorce rates. The apparently higher rate among born-again Christians, and lower rate among Atheists and Agnostics may be due to the influence of financial and/or educational factors.
One reason for the discrepancy of beliefs about divorce rates among born-again Christians may be that their churches are unaware of the true number of divorcing couples in their midst.
bullet Many couples would find it difficult to continue attending services in the same congregation after their marital separation. Meeting at church would be awkward. So, they drop out.
bullet Many probably find that the climate in their church is very negative towards divorcing couples. So, they move to other congregations that are either more accepting of divorce, or are unaware of their marital status.
Barna report: Variation in divorce rates among Christian faith groups:
Denomination (in order of decreasing divorce rate)
% who have been divorced
Non-denominational ** 34%
Baptists 29%
Mainline Protestants 25%
Mormons 24%
Catholics 21%
Lutherans 21%
** Barna uses the term "non-denominational" to refer to Evangelical Christian congregations that are not affiliated with a specific denomination. The vast majority are fundamentalist in their theological beliefs. More info.
Barna's results verified findings of earlier polls: that conservative Protestant Christians, on average, have the highest divorce rate, while mainline Christians have a much lower rate. They found some new information as well: that atheists and agnostics have the lowest divorce rate of all. George Barna commented that the results raise "questions regarding the effectiveness of how churches minister to families." The data challenge "the idea that churches provide truly practical and life-changing support for marriage."
Donald Hughes, author of The Divorce Reality, said:
"In the churches, people have a superstitious view that Christianity will keep them from divorce, but they are subject to the same problems as everyone else, and they include a lack of relationship skills. ...Just being born again is not a rabbit's foot."
Hughes claim that 90% of divorces among born-again couples occur after they have been "saved."
Sponsored link:
Click here to find out more!
Variation in divorce rates by religion:
Religion % have been divorced
Jews 30%
Born-again Christians 27%
Other Christians 24%
Atheists, Agnostics 21%
Ron Barrier, Spokespersonn for American Atheists remarked on these findings with some rather caustic comments against organized religion. He said:
"These findings confirm what I have been saying these last five years. Since Atheist ethics are of a higher caliber than religious morals, it stands to reason that our families would be dedicated more to each other than to some invisible monitor in the sky. With Atheism, women and men are equally responsible for a healthy marriage. There is no room in Atheist ethics for the type of 'submissive' nonsense preached by Baptists and other Christian and/or Jewish groups. Atheists reject, and rightly so, the primitive patriarchal attitudes so prevalent in many religions with respect to marriage." 2
StopTheReligiousRight.org had some scathing comments as well:
"We hear an awful lot from conservatives in the Bible Belt and on the TV about how we all should be living. Certainly a culture that teaches the conservative religious values of the Christian right must have clean living written all over it. And lots of ripe fruit from their morally superior lives abounding."
"It doesn't. Far from it. People that talk the loudest may be the ones walking the slowest. Joining its history of Biblically correct bigotry and discrimination, it is an area with the highest divorce, murder, STD/HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, single parent homes, infant mortality, and obesity rates in the nation. As a region, the Bible Belt has the poorest health care systems and the lowest rates of high school graduation." 12
Variation in divorce rates by age:
Age group % have been divorced
Baby boomers (33 to 52 years of age) 34%
Builders (53 to 72 years of age) 37%
Seniors (above 72 years of age) 18%
Many seniors were married in the late 40's or early 50's at a time when divorce rates were much lower than they are today.
Variation in divorce rates by location:
The Barna Group study found:
Area % are or have been divorced
South 27%
Midwest 27%
West 26%
Northeast 19%
The Associated Press computed divorce statistics from data supplied by the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Health.4 They found that Nevada had the highest divorce rate, at 8.5 divorces per 1,000 people in 1998. Nevada has had a reputation as a quickie divorce location for decades. People from other states visited Nevada, fulfilled their residency requirements, got divorced and returned home single.
The data showed that the highest divorce rates were found in the Bible Belt. "Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama and Oklahoma round out the Top Five in frequency of divorce...the divorce rates in these conservative states are roughly 50 percent above the national average" of 4.2/1000 people.
bullet 11 southern states (AL, AR, AZ, FL, GA, MS, NC, NM, OK, SC and TX averaged 5.1/1000 people. (LA data is not available; TX data is for 1997).
bullet Nine states in the Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT) averaged only 3.5/1000 people.
Some of the factors that contribute to a high divorce rate in the Bible Belt, relative to Northeastern states are:
bullet More couples enter their first marriage at a younger age.
bullet Average household incomes are lower (OK and AR rate 46th and 47th in the U.S.)
bullet They have a lower percentage of Roman Catholics, a denomination that does not recognize divorce. Anthony Jordan, executive director of the Southern Baptist Convention in Oklahoma commented: "I applaud the Catholics," says Jordan. "I don't think we as Protestant evangelists have done nearly as well preparing people for marriage. And in the name of being loving and accepting, we have not placed the stigma on divorce that we should have."
bullet Some factor in conservative Protestantism -- which is prevalent in the Bible Belt -- may causes a higher level of divorce.
Associated Press' confirmation of Barna's results:
The Associated Press analyzed divorce statistics from the US Census Bureau. They found that Massachusetts had the lowest divorce rate in the U.S. at 2.4 per 1,000 population. Texas had the highest rate at 4.1 per 1,000. They found that the highest divorce rates are found in the "Bible Belt."
According to the Boston Globe:
"The AP report stated that 'the divorce rates in these conservative states are roughly 50 percent above the national average of 4.2 per thousand people.' The 10 Southern states with some of the highest divorce rates were Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas. By comparison nine states in the Northeast were among those with the lowest divorce rates: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont."
One reason for the higher divorce rates in the Bible Belt may be the lower percentage of Roman Catholics in the South. Their denomination does not recognize divorce. Other reasons could be related more to culture than religion:
bullet Couples in the South enter their first marriages at a younger age.
bullet Family incomes in the South are lower.
bullet Educational attainment is lower in the South: One in three Massachusetts residents have completed college. while only 23% of Texans have. 11
Sponsored links:
Divorce among Protestant clergy:
A 1997-AUG survey by Barna among 601 senior Protestant pastors revealed that the vast majority are married (95%). Only 13% have ever gone through a divorce. This is about half of the rate among the general population. "Just 3% of all current senior pastors are divorced and have not remarried." 6
Divorce among members of the Unification Church:
Michael Inglis, a member of the Unification Church staff, reported on 2000-MAR-28 the results of a survey of some of the couples who were married in two mass marriage blessing ceremonies during 1982. One was in New York City and involved 2,075 couples; the other was in Seoul Korea and involved 6,000 couples. In most, the founder of the church, Reverend Moon, paired up the couples. Participants in the study were chosen from among those individuals who had worked in the U.S. If the 294 subjects, 48% were American citizens, 24% Japanese, 14% Europeans, and 14% other. Inglis found that:
bullet 82.6% were still married to their original partner.
bullet 17.4% were divorced from their original partner. 3
Data from the Unification Church compares very favorably with those from all other faith groups. This is in spite of the couples having known each other for a only a very short interval before marriage.
One factor that may have contributed to their marriage stability is that the couples averaged 2.52 children, compared with the American average of 1.6. A 1977 study showed that divorce in America is most common in families with large families and among those that are childless; a moderate number of children contributes to marital stability. 13 Another study in the same year stated that "divorce and separation rates are moderately lower for those who have children than for the childless." 14
Combating the high divorce rate:
In 1999, the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) reported that in the U.S.:
bullet Nationally, there were about 4.2 divorces for every thousand people in 1998.
bullet The rate was 8.5 per thousand in Nevada, 6.4 in Tennessee, 6.1 in Arkansas, 6.0 in Alabama and Oklahoma.
bullet Of southeastern states, only South Carolina's rate of 3.8 was below the national average.
bullet By contrast, the divorce rate is less than 3.0 in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. 15
In the same year, Mike Huckabee, governor of Arkansas, declared a "marital emergency." His goal was to halve the divorce rate in his state by 2010, from 6.1 per 1,000 people per year to about 3. Frank Keating, governor of Oklahoma also initiated a campaign to reduce the divorce rate in his state by a third by 2009, from 6.0 to about 4. 4,5
By the end of 2001, Huckabee's program in Arkansas appeared to be a failure. The divorce rate had increased to 6.6 per 1,000 people per year. Arkansas state ranked 46th in the nation. By the end of 2004, the rate had dropped slightly to 6.3 -- still higher that the value when the program began.
By the end of 2001, Oklahoma's program appears to be a success. Their divorce rate was 3.4.
Some of the approaches being used by governments and religious groups to reduce the divorce rate are:
bullet Pre-marital counseling for engaged couples. Some clergy now refuse to marry a couple unless they have completed such a course. The Roman Catholic church has done this for many years.
bullet Encouraging couples to accept mediation before deciding to divorce.
bullet Adding public school courses that discuss values and relationships.
bullet Introducing covenant marriages which are more difficult to get into and more difficult to get out of, in comparison with regular marriages.
References:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
1. "Christians are more likely to experience divorce than are non-Christians," Barna Research Group, 1999-DEC-21, at: http://www.barna.org/ Barna no longer has this report online. However, a review of the report is at: http://www.adherents.com/
2. AANews, Posting #699, issued by American Atheists on 2000-JAN-2.
3. Michael Inglis, "Survey of the Unification Church 1982 marriages," at: http://www.unification.net/
4. "Bible belt has nation's worse divorce rate," CNN.com, 1999-NOV-12. Online at: http://www.cnn.com/ (Cache copy as of 2000-FEB-11. The page has since expired.) A similar report is at: http://www.divorcereform.org/
5. David Crary, "Deep in the Bible Belt, a counterattack on the nation's worst divorce rate," Detroit News, 1999-NOV-11, at: http://detnews.com/
6. "Survey provides profile of Protestant Pastors," 1998-JAN-6, at: http://www.barna.org/
7. "Divorce statistics collection: Summary of findings so far," Americans for Divorce Reform, at: http://www.divorcereform.org/
8. "Fresh Thinking Needed on Divorce Issues," Jesus Journal, at: http://www.jesusjournal.com/
9. John Rossomando, "Born-Again Christians No More Immune to Divorce Than Others, Says Author," CNSNews, 2002-JAN-21, at: http://www.cnsnews.com/
10. Donald Hughes, "The Divorce Reality." 109 pages. This is an eBook written from a positive, conservative Christian. It can be purchased and then downloaded from Theatron Media at: www.Bookstore.TheatronMedia.com
11. William V. D'Antonio, "Walking the walk on family values," The Boston Globe, 2004-OCT-31, at: http://www.boston.com/
12. James Veverka, "The moral hypocrisy of the Bible Belt," Stop The Religious Right, undated, at: http://www.stopthereligiousright.org/
13. Arland Thornton, "Children and Marital Stability," Journal of Marriage and the Family, Vol. 39, #3, 1977-AUG, Pages 531-539. Abstract at: http://www.eric.ed.gov/
14. Aandrew Cherlin, "The effect of children on marital dissolution," Demography©, Vol. 14, #3, 1977-AUG, Pages 265 to 272. Abstract at: http://links.jstor.org/
15. "Bible Belt Leads U.S. In Divorces," National Center for Policy Analysis, 1999-NOV-19, at: http://www.ncpa.org/
16. "U.S. state divorce rates...including 2004 data." Divorce Reform, at: http://www.divorcereform.org/
Copyright © 2000 to 2009 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2000-APR-27
Latest update: 2009-JUL-20
Author: B.A. Robinson
Read more ...
U.S. divorce rates for various faith
groups, age groups, & geographic areas
Sponsored link.
Divorce rates in the U.S.:
"There is consensus that the overall U.S. divorce rate had a brief spurt after WW2, followed by a decline, then started rising in the 1960s and even more quickly in the 1970s, then leveled off [in the] 1980s and [has since] declined slightly." 7 However, such gross statistics are misleading. There are a number of factors involved that obscure the real data:
bullet The normal lifestyle of American young adults is to live together for a period of time in a type of informal trial marriage. These relationships frequently do not endure.
bullet Couples enter into their first marriage at a older age than in the past.
bullet A growing percentage of committed couples have decided to live in a common-law relationship rather than get married. This is particularly true among some elderly who fear reduction in government support payments.
The current U.S. divorce rate:
The media frequently reports that 50% of American marriages will end in divorce. This number appears to have been derived from very skimpy data related to a single county or state. However, it appears to be reasonable close to the probable value. The Americans for Divorce Reform estimates that "Probably, 40 or possibly even 50 percent of marriages will end in divorce if current trends continue. However, that is only a projection and a prediction." 7
Divorce rates among Christian groups:
The slogan: "The family that prays together, stays together" is well known. There has been much anecdotal evidence that has led to "unsubstantiated claims that the divorce rate for Christians who attended church regularly, pray together or who meet other conditions is only 1 or 2 percent". 8 Emphasis ours]. Dr. Tom Ellis, chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention's Council on the Family said that for "...born-again Christian couples who marry...in the church after having received premarital counseling...and attend church regularly and pray daily together..." experience only 1 divorce out of nearly 39,000 marriages -- or 0.00256 percent. 9
A recent study by the Barna Research Group throws extreme doubt on these estimates. Barna released the results of their poll about divorce on 1999-DEC-21. 1 They had interviewed 3,854 adults from the 48 contiguous states. The margin of error is ±2 percentage points. The survey found:
bullet 11% of the adult population is currently divorced.
bullet 25% of adults have had at least one divorce during their lifetime.
bullet Divorce rates among conservative Christians were significantly higher than for other faith groups, and much higher than Atheists and Agnostics experience.
George Barna, president and founder of Barna Research Group, commented:
"While it may be alarming to discover that born again Christians are more likely than others to experience a divorce, that pattern has been in place for quite some time. Even more disturbing, perhaps, is that when those individuals experience a divorce many of them feel their community of faith provides rejection rather than support and healing. But the research also raises questions regarding the effectiveness of how churches minister to families. The ultimate responsibility for a marriage belongs to the husband and wife, but the high incidence of divorce within the Christian community challenges the idea that churches provide truly practical and life-changing support for marriages."
According to the Dallas Morning News, a Dallas TX newspaper, the national study "raised eyebrows, sowed confusion, [and] even brought on a little holy anger." This caused George Barna to write a letter to his supporters, saying that he is standing by his data, even though it is upsetting. He said that "We rarely find substantial differences" between the moral behavior of Christians and non-Christians. Barna Project Director Meg Flammang said: "We would love to be able to report that Christians are living very distinct lives and impacting the community, but ... in the area of divorce rates they continue to be the same." Both statements seem to be projecting the belief that conservative Christians and liberal Christians have the same divorce rate. This disagrees with their own data.
The survey has come under some criticism:
bullet David Popenoe, co-director of the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University has said that the survey doesn't make sense. He based this belief on his assessment that Christians follow biblical models of the family, making a bond that "the secular world doesn't have...It just stands to reason that the bond of religion is protective of marriage, and I believe it is."
bullet Tom Ellis of the Southern Baptist Convention suggests that the Barna poll is inaccurate because the people contacted may have called themselves born-again Christians, without having previously made a real commitment to God. He said: "We believe that there is something more to being a Christian...Just saying you are [a born-again] Christian is not going to guarantee that your marriage is going to stay together." 9
bullet Some researchers have suggested that religion may have little or no effect on divorce rates. The apparently higher rate among born-again Christians, and lower rate among Atheists and Agnostics may be due to the influence of financial and/or educational factors.
One reason for the discrepancy of beliefs about divorce rates among born-again Christians may be that their churches are unaware of the true number of divorcing couples in their midst.
bullet Many couples would find it difficult to continue attending services in the same congregation after their marital separation. Meeting at church would be awkward. So, they drop out.
bullet Many probably find that the climate in their church is very negative towards divorcing couples. So, they move to other congregations that are either more accepting of divorce, or are unaware of their marital status.
Barna report: Variation in divorce rates among Christian faith groups:
Denomination (in order of decreasing divorce rate)
% who have been divorced
Non-denominational ** 34%
Baptists 29%
Mainline Protestants 25%
Mormons 24%
Catholics 21%
Lutherans 21%
** Barna uses the term "non-denominational" to refer to Evangelical Christian congregations that are not affiliated with a specific denomination. The vast majority are fundamentalist in their theological beliefs. More info.
Barna's results verified findings of earlier polls: that conservative Protestant Christians, on average, have the highest divorce rate, while mainline Christians have a much lower rate. They found some new information as well: that atheists and agnostics have the lowest divorce rate of all. George Barna commented that the results raise "questions regarding the effectiveness of how churches minister to families." The data challenge "the idea that churches provide truly practical and life-changing support for marriage."
Donald Hughes, author of The Divorce Reality, said:
"In the churches, people have a superstitious view that Christianity will keep them from divorce, but they are subject to the same problems as everyone else, and they include a lack of relationship skills. ...Just being born again is not a rabbit's foot."
Hughes claim that 90% of divorces among born-again couples occur after they have been "saved."
Sponsored link:
Click here to find out more!
Variation in divorce rates by religion:
Religion % have been divorced
Jews 30%
Born-again Christians 27%
Other Christians 24%
Atheists, Agnostics 21%
Ron Barrier, Spokespersonn for American Atheists remarked on these findings with some rather caustic comments against organized religion. He said:
"These findings confirm what I have been saying these last five years. Since Atheist ethics are of a higher caliber than religious morals, it stands to reason that our families would be dedicated more to each other than to some invisible monitor in the sky. With Atheism, women and men are equally responsible for a healthy marriage. There is no room in Atheist ethics for the type of 'submissive' nonsense preached by Baptists and other Christian and/or Jewish groups. Atheists reject, and rightly so, the primitive patriarchal attitudes so prevalent in many religions with respect to marriage." 2
StopTheReligiousRight.org had some scathing comments as well:
"We hear an awful lot from conservatives in the Bible Belt and on the TV about how we all should be living. Certainly a culture that teaches the conservative religious values of the Christian right must have clean living written all over it. And lots of ripe fruit from their morally superior lives abounding."
"It doesn't. Far from it. People that talk the loudest may be the ones walking the slowest. Joining its history of Biblically correct bigotry and discrimination, it is an area with the highest divorce, murder, STD/HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, single parent homes, infant mortality, and obesity rates in the nation. As a region, the Bible Belt has the poorest health care systems and the lowest rates of high school graduation." 12
Variation in divorce rates by age:
Age group % have been divorced
Baby boomers (33 to 52 years of age) 34%
Builders (53 to 72 years of age) 37%
Seniors (above 72 years of age) 18%
Many seniors were married in the late 40's or early 50's at a time when divorce rates were much lower than they are today.
Variation in divorce rates by location:
The Barna Group study found:
Area % are or have been divorced
South 27%
Midwest 27%
West 26%
Northeast 19%
The Associated Press computed divorce statistics from data supplied by the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Health.4 They found that Nevada had the highest divorce rate, at 8.5 divorces per 1,000 people in 1998. Nevada has had a reputation as a quickie divorce location for decades. People from other states visited Nevada, fulfilled their residency requirements, got divorced and returned home single.
The data showed that the highest divorce rates were found in the Bible Belt. "Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama and Oklahoma round out the Top Five in frequency of divorce...the divorce rates in these conservative states are roughly 50 percent above the national average" of 4.2/1000 people.
bullet 11 southern states (AL, AR, AZ, FL, GA, MS, NC, NM, OK, SC and TX averaged 5.1/1000 people. (LA data is not available; TX data is for 1997).
bullet Nine states in the Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT) averaged only 3.5/1000 people.
Some of the factors that contribute to a high divorce rate in the Bible Belt, relative to Northeastern states are:
bullet More couples enter their first marriage at a younger age.
bullet Average household incomes are lower (OK and AR rate 46th and 47th in the U.S.)
bullet They have a lower percentage of Roman Catholics, a denomination that does not recognize divorce. Anthony Jordan, executive director of the Southern Baptist Convention in Oklahoma commented: "I applaud the Catholics," says Jordan. "I don't think we as Protestant evangelists have done nearly as well preparing people for marriage. And in the name of being loving and accepting, we have not placed the stigma on divorce that we should have."
bullet Some factor in conservative Protestantism -- which is prevalent in the Bible Belt -- may causes a higher level of divorce.
Associated Press' confirmation of Barna's results:
The Associated Press analyzed divorce statistics from the US Census Bureau. They found that Massachusetts had the lowest divorce rate in the U.S. at 2.4 per 1,000 population. Texas had the highest rate at 4.1 per 1,000. They found that the highest divorce rates are found in the "Bible Belt."
According to the Boston Globe:
"The AP report stated that 'the divorce rates in these conservative states are roughly 50 percent above the national average of 4.2 per thousand people.' The 10 Southern states with some of the highest divorce rates were Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas. By comparison nine states in the Northeast were among those with the lowest divorce rates: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont."
One reason for the higher divorce rates in the Bible Belt may be the lower percentage of Roman Catholics in the South. Their denomination does not recognize divorce. Other reasons could be related more to culture than religion:
bullet Couples in the South enter their first marriages at a younger age.
bullet Family incomes in the South are lower.
bullet Educational attainment is lower in the South: One in three Massachusetts residents have completed college. while only 23% of Texans have. 11
Sponsored links:
Divorce among Protestant clergy:
A 1997-AUG survey by Barna among 601 senior Protestant pastors revealed that the vast majority are married (95%). Only 13% have ever gone through a divorce. This is about half of the rate among the general population. "Just 3% of all current senior pastors are divorced and have not remarried." 6
Divorce among members of the Unification Church:
Michael Inglis, a member of the Unification Church staff, reported on 2000-MAR-28 the results of a survey of some of the couples who were married in two mass marriage blessing ceremonies during 1982. One was in New York City and involved 2,075 couples; the other was in Seoul Korea and involved 6,000 couples. In most, the founder of the church, Reverend Moon, paired up the couples. Participants in the study were chosen from among those individuals who had worked in the U.S. If the 294 subjects, 48% were American citizens, 24% Japanese, 14% Europeans, and 14% other. Inglis found that:
bullet 82.6% were still married to their original partner.
bullet 17.4% were divorced from their original partner. 3
Data from the Unification Church compares very favorably with those from all other faith groups. This is in spite of the couples having known each other for a only a very short interval before marriage.
One factor that may have contributed to their marriage stability is that the couples averaged 2.52 children, compared with the American average of 1.6. A 1977 study showed that divorce in America is most common in families with large families and among those that are childless; a moderate number of children contributes to marital stability. 13 Another study in the same year stated that "divorce and separation rates are moderately lower for those who have children than for the childless." 14
Combating the high divorce rate:
In 1999, the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) reported that in the U.S.:
bullet Nationally, there were about 4.2 divorces for every thousand people in 1998.
bullet The rate was 8.5 per thousand in Nevada, 6.4 in Tennessee, 6.1 in Arkansas, 6.0 in Alabama and Oklahoma.
bullet Of southeastern states, only South Carolina's rate of 3.8 was below the national average.
bullet By contrast, the divorce rate is less than 3.0 in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. 15
In the same year, Mike Huckabee, governor of Arkansas, declared a "marital emergency." His goal was to halve the divorce rate in his state by 2010, from 6.1 per 1,000 people per year to about 3. Frank Keating, governor of Oklahoma also initiated a campaign to reduce the divorce rate in his state by a third by 2009, from 6.0 to about 4. 4,5
By the end of 2001, Huckabee's program in Arkansas appeared to be a failure. The divorce rate had increased to 6.6 per 1,000 people per year. Arkansas state ranked 46th in the nation. By the end of 2004, the rate had dropped slightly to 6.3 -- still higher that the value when the program began.
By the end of 2001, Oklahoma's program appears to be a success. Their divorce rate was 3.4.
Some of the approaches being used by governments and religious groups to reduce the divorce rate are:
bullet Pre-marital counseling for engaged couples. Some clergy now refuse to marry a couple unless they have completed such a course. The Roman Catholic church has done this for many years.
bullet Encouraging couples to accept mediation before deciding to divorce.
bullet Adding public school courses that discuss values and relationships.
bullet Introducing covenant marriages which are more difficult to get into and more difficult to get out of, in comparison with regular marriages.
References:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
1. "Christians are more likely to experience divorce than are non-Christians," Barna Research Group, 1999-DEC-21, at: http://www.barna.org/ Barna no longer has this report online. However, a review of the report is at: http://www.adherents.com/
2. AANews, Posting #699, issued by American Atheists on 2000-JAN-2.
3. Michael Inglis, "Survey of the Unification Church 1982 marriages," at: http://www.unification.net/
4. "Bible belt has nation's worse divorce rate," CNN.com, 1999-NOV-12. Online at: http://www.cnn.com/ (Cache copy as of 2000-FEB-11. The page has since expired.) A similar report is at: http://www.divorcereform.org/
5. David Crary, "Deep in the Bible Belt, a counterattack on the nation's worst divorce rate," Detroit News, 1999-NOV-11, at: http://detnews.com/
6. "Survey provides profile of Protestant Pastors," 1998-JAN-6, at: http://www.barna.org/
7. "Divorce statistics collection: Summary of findings so far," Americans for Divorce Reform, at: http://www.divorcereform.org/
8. "Fresh Thinking Needed on Divorce Issues," Jesus Journal, at: http://www.jesusjournal.com/
9. John Rossomando, "Born-Again Christians No More Immune to Divorce Than Others, Says Author," CNSNews, 2002-JAN-21, at: http://www.cnsnews.com/
10. Donald Hughes, "The Divorce Reality." 109 pages. This is an eBook written from a positive, conservative Christian. It can be purchased and then downloaded from Theatron Media at: www.Bookstore.TheatronMedia.com
11. William V. D'Antonio, "Walking the walk on family values," The Boston Globe, 2004-OCT-31, at: http://www.boston.com/
12. James Veverka, "The moral hypocrisy of the Bible Belt," Stop The Religious Right, undated, at: http://www.stopthereligiousright.org/
13. Arland Thornton, "Children and Marital Stability," Journal of Marriage and the Family, Vol. 39, #3, 1977-AUG, Pages 531-539. Abstract at: http://www.eric.ed.gov/
14. Aandrew Cherlin, "The effect of children on marital dissolution," Demography©, Vol. 14, #3, 1977-AUG, Pages 265 to 272. Abstract at: http://links.jstor.org/
15. "Bible Belt Leads U.S. In Divorces," National Center for Policy Analysis, 1999-NOV-19, at: http://www.ncpa.org/
16. "U.S. state divorce rates...including 2004 data." Divorce Reform, at: http://www.divorcereform.org/
Copyright © 2000 to 2009 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2000-APR-27
Latest update: 2009-JUL-20
Author: B.A. Robinson
Read more ...
Friday, August 7, 2009
When God Says No
Five ways God can answer your prayers.
BY: Luis Palau
Over the years, I've discovered from Scripture and experience that God loves to answer our prayers. Here are five of his most frequent answers:
1. "No, I love you too much."
The Lord of the universe isn't under obligation to say "yes" to every prayer. That's a good thing considering some of the things we request!
But sometimes God says "no" to our most heartfelt requests. Have you discovered this to be true in your own life? I certainly have. When my friend Diane started losing her hearing. When my mother-in-law came down with polio. When my nephew contracted AIDS.
I would be known as Luis Palau Jr. if it weren't for the fact that God said "no" to my most earnest childhood prayers. Shortly after my tenth birthday, my father, Luis Palau Sr., contracted bronchial pneumonia and died ten days later.
Death became, to me, the most undeniable reality under heaven. Everything else can be rationalized and wondered about and discussed, but death is there, staring you in the face. It's real. It happens. Even to the most godly people. No matter how hard we pray. Why? Because we still live in a fallen world.
I've been reminded of this repeatedly since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America. Tens of thousands of lives were spared. But God said "no" to thousands of other prayers. Will good come of their deaths? I believe so.
Without a doubt, the death of my father has had more impact on my ministry than anything else in my entire life, besides my own conversion to Jesus Christ. My wish and desire is that people get right with God, settle the big question, and die happy, knowing...like my father...that they will be with Jesus, "which is better by far" (Philippians 1:23).
Does that mean we shouldn't bother to pray? Just the opposite.
Over the years, traveling throughout the world, I've discovered four other ways God frequently answers prayer. Believe me, He loves to say "yes!"
2. "Yes, but you'll have to wait."
Listen to clips from Luis Palau's DC Festival
Immediate answers to prayer. You want them. I want them. But God simply does not always work that way. And to get His best, we must be patient. In some cases, we must wait until 11:59 for His answer to come.
Phil Callaway didn't know what to say when his young children asked if Mommy was going to die. His wife, Ramona, suffered horrible seizures.
Hundreds of friends and relatives prayed, but Ramona's weight eventually slipped to ninety pounds. Medical specialists tried everything, but by the fall of 1996, the seizures were occurring daily, sometimes hourly.
Phil rarely left Ramona's side. He wondered if she would even make it to her thirtieth birthday. One evening, when things looked utterly hopeless, Phil paced their dark backyard, then fell to his knees. "God!" he cried out. "I can't take it anymore. Please do something!"
As he stood, a doctor's name came to mind. Phil called the doctor, who saw Ramona the next morning and diagnosed a rare chemical deficiency.
Within a week, Ramona was a different person. The seizures ended. Her eyes lit up with the sparkle that had first attracted Phil to her. The miracle was so incredible Phil says, "God gave me back my wife."
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7).
3."Yes, but quite different from how you thought I would answer."
Have you ever asked God to use you? If so, expect the unexpected!
National Football League running back Sherman Smith, the Sherman Tank, stood six feet four inches tall and packed two hundred twenty-five pounds of the most muscle you'd ever want to tackle. His reputation for bowling over defensive linesmen raised his celebrity to near-cult status in the Pacific Northwest, where he played for the Seattle Seahawks. He was treated like royalty.
Then, without warning, the Seahawks traded their most popular player to the San Diego Chargers. Everything changed overnight for this running back whose Christian faith was as rock solid as his rib cage. He wasn't with the Chargers for more than a few weeks when he blew out his knee. While in rehabilitation, he wondered, Lord, why did you ship me to San Diego?
But while his knee mended, Sherman had the opportunity to lead one of his teammates to the Lord. That converted party-man, Miles McPherson, has since become an outstanding youth evangelist who reaches tens of thousands each year.
Why was Sherman traded to San Diego? He now knows God wanted to use him, all right!
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
4. "Yes, and here's more!"
Ever wonder if the Lord knows what you want and need?
Australian David Smallbone felt God leading him to promote Christian concerts. He started in a country where Christianity had taken root among only five percent of the people. When too few fans filled seats during one major tour, however, David took a $250,000 bath in red ink.
Creditors swiftly repossessed his home, and the father of six looked for work elsewhere. A top artist offered him a job in Nashville, so the Smallbones sold their furniture and other possessions and purchased tickets to America.
A few weeks after they arrived in the U.S., however, David was informed that his position was no longer available. He literally could not get out of bed for several days. Then he and his wife explained what happened to the children. They got on their knees and asked God to help them.
Listen to clips from Luis Palau's DC Festival
Then the most interesting things happened. God provided bags of groceries, a mini van, and odd jobs. Then the biggest surprise of all...a recording contract for David's oldest daughter, Rebecca, age fifteen. She recorded her first album using an old family name, St. James.
Flash forward to today. David promotes his own daughter's sold-out concerts. Rebecca St. James has become one of the hottest Christian artists in America. Christianity Today magazine has named her one of the top fifty up-and-coming evangelical leaders under age forty. We love asking her to sing at our evangelistic festivals around the country.
All along...no surprise...God knew what he was doing!
"For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'" (Jeremiah 29:11).
5. "Yes, I thought you'd never ask."
Many people think prayer is complicated. Actually, the simplest prayer can bring you the miracle you need, when you need it.
After a serious fall, an older gentleman named Luke Mulder prayed to receive Jesus Christ. He then prayed for his wife, Clara, who was visiting her sister in California. That very same day Clara heard a Gospel presentation and trusted Christ.
Christian cartoonist Ron Wheeler dreamed of creating evangelistic tracts, but he needed a new computer. He did his homework, found out what he needed, and started to pray. Two weeks later, a friend called Ron out of the blue and offered him a new computer...the exact model Ron had been praying about. Shortly after setting up the computer, Ron received a phone call from American Tract Society asking him to design a whole series of evangelistic cartoon tracts.
My friends Esteban and Carmela Tosoni were driving one of the highest mountain passes in the world when their car broke down at dusk. They were twenty miles from the nearest town. So the Tosoni family prayed for God to send help. When they opened their eyes, a mechanic appeared out of nowhere, walked straight over to their car, immediately asked if he could help, fixed their gas filter, then departed.
Read more ...
BY: Luis Palau
Over the years, I've discovered from Scripture and experience that God loves to answer our prayers. Here are five of his most frequent answers:
1. "No, I love you too much."
The Lord of the universe isn't under obligation to say "yes" to every prayer. That's a good thing considering some of the things we request!
But sometimes God says "no" to our most heartfelt requests. Have you discovered this to be true in your own life? I certainly have. When my friend Diane started losing her hearing. When my mother-in-law came down with polio. When my nephew contracted AIDS.
I would be known as Luis Palau Jr. if it weren't for the fact that God said "no" to my most earnest childhood prayers. Shortly after my tenth birthday, my father, Luis Palau Sr., contracted bronchial pneumonia and died ten days later.
Death became, to me, the most undeniable reality under heaven. Everything else can be rationalized and wondered about and discussed, but death is there, staring you in the face. It's real. It happens. Even to the most godly people. No matter how hard we pray. Why? Because we still live in a fallen world.
I've been reminded of this repeatedly since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America. Tens of thousands of lives were spared. But God said "no" to thousands of other prayers. Will good come of their deaths? I believe so.
Without a doubt, the death of my father has had more impact on my ministry than anything else in my entire life, besides my own conversion to Jesus Christ. My wish and desire is that people get right with God, settle the big question, and die happy, knowing...like my father...that they will be with Jesus, "which is better by far" (Philippians 1:23).
Does that mean we shouldn't bother to pray? Just the opposite.
Over the years, traveling throughout the world, I've discovered four other ways God frequently answers prayer. Believe me, He loves to say "yes!"
2. "Yes, but you'll have to wait."
Listen to clips from Luis Palau's DC Festival
Immediate answers to prayer. You want them. I want them. But God simply does not always work that way. And to get His best, we must be patient. In some cases, we must wait until 11:59 for His answer to come.
Phil Callaway didn't know what to say when his young children asked if Mommy was going to die. His wife, Ramona, suffered horrible seizures.
Hundreds of friends and relatives prayed, but Ramona's weight eventually slipped to ninety pounds. Medical specialists tried everything, but by the fall of 1996, the seizures were occurring daily, sometimes hourly.
Phil rarely left Ramona's side. He wondered if she would even make it to her thirtieth birthday. One evening, when things looked utterly hopeless, Phil paced their dark backyard, then fell to his knees. "God!" he cried out. "I can't take it anymore. Please do something!"
As he stood, a doctor's name came to mind. Phil called the doctor, who saw Ramona the next morning and diagnosed a rare chemical deficiency.
Within a week, Ramona was a different person. The seizures ended. Her eyes lit up with the sparkle that had first attracted Phil to her. The miracle was so incredible Phil says, "God gave me back my wife."
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7).
3."Yes, but quite different from how you thought I would answer."
Have you ever asked God to use you? If so, expect the unexpected!
National Football League running back Sherman Smith, the Sherman Tank, stood six feet four inches tall and packed two hundred twenty-five pounds of the most muscle you'd ever want to tackle. His reputation for bowling over defensive linesmen raised his celebrity to near-cult status in the Pacific Northwest, where he played for the Seattle Seahawks. He was treated like royalty.
Then, without warning, the Seahawks traded their most popular player to the San Diego Chargers. Everything changed overnight for this running back whose Christian faith was as rock solid as his rib cage. He wasn't with the Chargers for more than a few weeks when he blew out his knee. While in rehabilitation, he wondered, Lord, why did you ship me to San Diego?
But while his knee mended, Sherman had the opportunity to lead one of his teammates to the Lord. That converted party-man, Miles McPherson, has since become an outstanding youth evangelist who reaches tens of thousands each year.
Why was Sherman traded to San Diego? He now knows God wanted to use him, all right!
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
4. "Yes, and here's more!"
Ever wonder if the Lord knows what you want and need?
Australian David Smallbone felt God leading him to promote Christian concerts. He started in a country where Christianity had taken root among only five percent of the people. When too few fans filled seats during one major tour, however, David took a $250,000 bath in red ink.
Creditors swiftly repossessed his home, and the father of six looked for work elsewhere. A top artist offered him a job in Nashville, so the Smallbones sold their furniture and other possessions and purchased tickets to America.
A few weeks after they arrived in the U.S., however, David was informed that his position was no longer available. He literally could not get out of bed for several days. Then he and his wife explained what happened to the children. They got on their knees and asked God to help them.
Listen to clips from Luis Palau's DC Festival
Then the most interesting things happened. God provided bags of groceries, a mini van, and odd jobs. Then the biggest surprise of all...a recording contract for David's oldest daughter, Rebecca, age fifteen. She recorded her first album using an old family name, St. James.
Flash forward to today. David promotes his own daughter's sold-out concerts. Rebecca St. James has become one of the hottest Christian artists in America. Christianity Today magazine has named her one of the top fifty up-and-coming evangelical leaders under age forty. We love asking her to sing at our evangelistic festivals around the country.
All along...no surprise...God knew what he was doing!
"For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'" (Jeremiah 29:11).
5. "Yes, I thought you'd never ask."
Many people think prayer is complicated. Actually, the simplest prayer can bring you the miracle you need, when you need it.
After a serious fall, an older gentleman named Luke Mulder prayed to receive Jesus Christ. He then prayed for his wife, Clara, who was visiting her sister in California. That very same day Clara heard a Gospel presentation and trusted Christ.
Christian cartoonist Ron Wheeler dreamed of creating evangelistic tracts, but he needed a new computer. He did his homework, found out what he needed, and started to pray. Two weeks later, a friend called Ron out of the blue and offered him a new computer...the exact model Ron had been praying about. Shortly after setting up the computer, Ron received a phone call from American Tract Society asking him to design a whole series of evangelistic cartoon tracts.
My friends Esteban and Carmela Tosoni were driving one of the highest mountain passes in the world when their car broke down at dusk. They were twenty miles from the nearest town. So the Tosoni family prayed for God to send help. When they opened their eyes, a mechanic appeared out of nowhere, walked straight over to their car, immediately asked if he could help, fixed their gas filter, then departed.
Read more ...
Christian fasting - what does the Bible say?
Question: "Christian fasting - what does the Bible say?"
Answer: Scripture does not command Christians to fast. God does not require or demand it of Christians. At the same time, the Bible presents fasting as something that is good, profitable, and beneficial. The book of Acts records believers fasting before they made important decisions (Acts 13:4, 14:23). Fasting and prayer are often linked together (Luke 2:37; 5:33). Too often, the focus of fasting is on the lack of food. Instead, the purpose of fasting should be to take your eyes off the things of this world to focus completely on God. Fasting is a way to demonstrate to God, and to ourselves, that we are serious about our relationship with Him. Fasting helps us gain a new perspective and a renewed reliance upon God.
Although fasting in Scripture is almost always a fasting from food, there are other ways to fast. Anything given up temporarily in order to focus all our attention on God can be considered a fast (1 Corinthians 7:1-5). Fasting should be limited to a set time, especially when fasting from food. Extended periods of time without eating can be harmful to the body. Fasting is not intended to punish the flesh, but to redirect attention to God. Fasting should not be considered a “dieting method” either. The purpose of a biblical fast is not to lose weight, but rather to gain deeper fellowship with God. Anyone can fast, but some may not be able to fast from food (diabetics, for example). Everyone can temporarily give up something in order to draw closer to God.
By taking our eyes off the things of this world, we can more successfully turn our attention to Christ. Fasting is not a way to get God to do what we want. Fasting changes us, not God. Fasting is not a way to appear more spiritual than others. Fasting is to be done in a spirit of humility and a joyful attitude. Matthew 6:16-18 declares, “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Recommended Resource: A Hunger for God by John Piper.
This page is also available in: Chinese, Indonesia, Hebrew, Korean, Română, Arabic, Español, Thai, Português, Nederlands, Polski, Français, Russian, Srpski, Hrvatski, Italiano, Greek, Deutsch, Bulgarian, Japanese, Slovenčin
Read more ...
Can I Abstain
Q:
I'm a Christian teenage girl practicing abstinence. I have a boyfriend who has the same morals as me and who also wants to wait until marriage to have sex. My question for you is this; is oral sex the same as sexual intercourse? Does it count as having sex? If we have oral sex are we still virgins?
A:
This is a very difficult question to answer, both biologically speaking and in a religious context. These pages may help you figure out where you stand on the issue:
http://teenadvice.about.com/library/weekly/aa072300a.htm
http://brainphysics.com/guide/sexuality.html#notsex
Biologically speaking, sexual intercourse is a sex act between a male and a female that involves penile and vaginal contact, often indicated by a broken hymen in females. But this is a very outdated way of thinking. I ask you, if you have oral sex every night and the next girl has sexual intercourse once a week (both in the context of a loving and committed relationship), who is really less "pure" as far as sexual experimentation?
Let me pose another question to you? Does your faith caution you against ANY sexual activity or just intercourse? I was raised Protestant, and my understanding has always been that all lustful activity is frowned upon, making any sort of sexual act unacceptable. The Bible does clearly forbid all lustful actions and stating that any act entered into out of lust as a sin. It also says that "spilling a seed" for reasons other than procreation is wrong, suggesting that masturbation is also sinful. This is purely opinion, but my understanding of the Christian stand has always been that any sort of sexual contact that results in or is likely to result in orgasm counts as sex. I have also understood that all sexual of activity outside of marriage is unacceptable. A better source on the Christian perspective would probably be Brandon at Christian Teens.
http://christianteens.about.com
I think in this matter you need to follow your heart. I don't think that it is fair for me to tell you what is right and what is wrong, since only you have to face God and account for your actions. What is right for one person may not be right for another. I think it important that you know that sexual intercourse is not the only risky type of sexual activity. STDs can be passed without intercourse. See:
http://teenadvice.about.com/cs/stdsymptoms/index.htm
Oral sex is risky. You can't get pregnant, but almost every serious STD can be transmitted through this type of sexual activity. Oral sex is just as intimate as intercourse, it has the same emotional repercussions, and can have the same detrimental effects on relationships if it is entered into lightly. I urge you to give oral sex the same consideration you would intercourse and only try it if you want to. Do not give into pressure from your partner or feel you have to honor requests for oral sex because you are not ready for or interested in intercourse. Any sex act involves giving something of yourself to another person -- something you can never get back. Don't do anything you aren't 100% sure is right for you and your beliefs. If you are having any doubts, it is best to go without!
Read more ...
I'm a Christian teenage girl practicing abstinence. I have a boyfriend who has the same morals as me and who also wants to wait until marriage to have sex. My question for you is this; is oral sex the same as sexual intercourse? Does it count as having sex? If we have oral sex are we still virgins?
A:
This is a very difficult question to answer, both biologically speaking and in a religious context. These pages may help you figure out where you stand on the issue:
http://teenadvice.about.com/library/weekly/aa072300a.htm
http://brainphysics.com/guide/sexuality.html#notsex
Biologically speaking, sexual intercourse is a sex act between a male and a female that involves penile and vaginal contact, often indicated by a broken hymen in females. But this is a very outdated way of thinking. I ask you, if you have oral sex every night and the next girl has sexual intercourse once a week (both in the context of a loving and committed relationship), who is really less "pure" as far as sexual experimentation?
Let me pose another question to you? Does your faith caution you against ANY sexual activity or just intercourse? I was raised Protestant, and my understanding has always been that all lustful activity is frowned upon, making any sort of sexual act unacceptable. The Bible does clearly forbid all lustful actions and stating that any act entered into out of lust as a sin. It also says that "spilling a seed" for reasons other than procreation is wrong, suggesting that masturbation is also sinful. This is purely opinion, but my understanding of the Christian stand has always been that any sort of sexual contact that results in or is likely to result in orgasm counts as sex. I have also understood that all sexual of activity outside of marriage is unacceptable. A better source on the Christian perspective would probably be Brandon at Christian Teens.
http://christianteens.about.com
I think in this matter you need to follow your heart. I don't think that it is fair for me to tell you what is right and what is wrong, since only you have to face God and account for your actions. What is right for one person may not be right for another. I think it important that you know that sexual intercourse is not the only risky type of sexual activity. STDs can be passed without intercourse. See:
http://teenadvice.about.com/cs/stdsymptoms/index.htm
Oral sex is risky. You can't get pregnant, but almost every serious STD can be transmitted through this type of sexual activity. Oral sex is just as intimate as intercourse, it has the same emotional repercussions, and can have the same detrimental effects on relationships if it is entered into lightly. I urge you to give oral sex the same consideration you would intercourse and only try it if you want to. Do not give into pressure from your partner or feel you have to honor requests for oral sex because you are not ready for or interested in intercourse. Any sex act involves giving something of yourself to another person -- something you can never get back. Don't do anything you aren't 100% sure is right for you and your beliefs. If you are having any doubts, it is best to go without!
Read more ...
Pastors who Cheat on Their Wives: Dr. Betty Price Pens Book Titled "Warning To Ministers, Their Wives and Mistresses"
The book, entitled "Warning To Ministers, Their Wives and Mistresses," is the provocative new book by Dr. Betty Price, wife of Apostle Frederick K.C. Price.
Price is the pastor of bicoastal mega-church Crenshaw Christian Center in Los Angeles. Together they have built Ever Increasing Faith television ministry.
Price said she wrote "Warning" to help prevent pastoral sexual infidelity. But the warning should be heeded by all leaders including pastors, celebrities and politicians.
"All of the ministers I know who've cheated on their wives, their lives were cut short. And I've seen it happen to ministers of all ethnicities. When you live an immoral life, you're doing what Galatians 6:7 says. God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap. You are sowing seeds of death and destruction when you commit adultery because you're betraying something very sacred. Your oath to God and your spouse."
Price's book also reveals personal trials with women who have tried to tempt her high-profile charismatic husband. Although they were cunning, Price said none has caused her husband to fall short of his commitment to God or herself. As a highly respected first lady thousands of women have shared their stories with Price. So her book is full of real-life accounts.
Read more ...
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Can You See Blessings
Many of us look for blessings in how much we have accumlated. we beleive blessing come in forms of receiving. It is somewhat easy to except when good things happen. We feel we are in good standing with God. What is good standing. Is there such a thing?
God is supreme. God is soverign. He's righteous. He's kind. He's patient, and His mercy endureth forever. If God is all these things and an eternity of more, why is it so hard to see the blessings when things don't seem as"good."
Come on saints, let's hear some church mess. Read more ...
God is supreme. God is soverign. He's righteous. He's kind. He's patient, and His mercy endureth forever. If God is all these things and an eternity of more, why is it so hard to see the blessings when things don't seem as"good."
Come on saints, let's hear some church mess. Read more ...
Christian Pakistanis, Called "America's Dogs," Have Long History Of Persecution In Punjab
After eight people were burnt alive, over 50 houses destroyed and a church desecrated in the village of Gojra, Pakistani Christians have expressed their rage and frustration. There have been nationwide protests, and Christian schools across Pakistan were closed for three days from the 3rd of August.
"We are closing the schools to show our anger and concern," Bishop Sadiq Daniel said. "We want the government to bring all perpetrators of the crime to justice."
Interestingly enough, these schools are not restricted to the Christian community. A large portion of this country's elite attends these schools that were established in the 19th century. Convents such as St Patrick's High School and St Joseph's Convent, run by the Catholic Church, are considered to be prestigious educational institutes.
The province of Punjab has long been at the heart of assaults on Pakistani Christians. The Christians of Pakistan are the largest religious minority in the country. In 2008, they were estimated to make up about 1 percent of the population, but Christian leaders argue the number is closer to 5 percent. More than 90 percent of the country's Christians live in Punjab, which makes them the largest religious minority in the province.
The Daily Times points out that:
'Charges of blasphemy and desecration of the Quran are "used" against them, but the latter is used against them collectively, followed by organized dispossession and destruction of property.'
(As was the case in Gojra.)
Many argue that Punjabi landowners, some of the most influential and affluent people in Pakistan, who constitute a large part of the political elite, use the blasphemy law to usurp properties owned by Christians. The law states that anyone insulting the Quran or Prophet Mohammad is subject to life imprisonment or death. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has repeatedly demanded the repeal of the law on the grounds that it can be used for sectarian witch-hunts.
The British brought in the blasphemy law during the colonial rule, but amendments introduced by the military ruler, General Zia-ul-Haq, have made it an instrument of religious discrimination and persecution.
Just a couple of months ago, it was reported that the Christians of Kasur, a village also situated in Punjab, were similarly threatened by the Muslims of the area. Over a hundred families had to flee into fields in the middle of the night to escape a mob ready to burn down their homes. The allegation here too was blasphemy.
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Karachi Evarist Pinto held a press conference in Karachi where he said that 'the recurrence of such violent acts, coupled with the indifference of the security forces, was spreading feelings of insecurity amongst members of minority communities.'
Blogger Dr Awab Alvi, professional dentist and well-respected member of the Pakistan Twitter scene, tweeted an email sent out by Bishop Ijaz Inayat of Karachi's Holy Trinity Cathedral. In his email, the bishop asks 'why the police and the Agencies allow the situation to simmer in spite of a [very large] history of such incidents in Pakistan.'
Though thought to be defunct, extremist organizations like the Sipah-e-Sahaba, are still capable of instigating locals as we witnessed in Gojra. Witness accounts tell us that the masked men who arrived from the neighboring district of Jhang managed to gather a mob of hundreds. The HRCP claims that announcements were made from mosques to 'make mincemeat of the Christians.' This speaks of the street power of such extremist organizations and the mindset of the people. Nicholas D. Kristof has written in the New York Times about the 'creeping Talibanization' and how in his more recent travels to Punjab, he found it more troubled than in the past.
According to the Christian Science Monitor, Joseph Francis of the Christian National Party sees a link between violence against Christians and the US-led war in Afghanistan. The Muslim mob in Gojra had been incited with hate-speech that called Christians "America's dogs." He says, "Since 9/11, we've felt a lot more at risk. Whenever we have large gatherings or processions, we have to ask for police protection."
This is not the first time an attack on Pakistan's Christians has been linked to the US-led war on terror. In October 2001, over a dozen were killed at a Protestant church in Bahawalpur, once again a Punjabi town. Worshipers said that as the gunmen opened fire they declared Pakistan would become a graveyard of Christians to avenge deaths in Afghanistan. The timing of the attack made the connection all the more believable. Already vulnerable, Christian leaders had asked for protection before the United States launched its military offensive against Afghanistan.
Even though, Hindus, another minority group, are viewed as being synonymous with the projected archenemy, India, it is the Christians who are attacked again and again.
The Chief Minister of Punjab has assured that protection as well as compensation will be served to the victims of the Gojra tragedy while the perpetrators of the crime will be brought to justice, but Pakistani Christians are not satisfied. They are looking for a more permanent solution to their insecurity. Joseph Francis has said that a black day of mourning is to be observed on August 11, marked in Pakistani calendars as Minority Day.
Analyst and columnist, Cyril Almeida, claims that the government may be reluctant to take on extremist organizations like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Sipah-e-Sahaba despite the latter's links with al-Qaeda. "While the army is already tackling the Taliban, that is their first priority. They probably don't want to start another confrontation with organizations that are more sectarian in nature." He said this in the context of India's demands of Pakistan to take on Hafiz Saeed and his banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, which they believe to be behind last year's Mumbai attacks.
Read more ...
"We are closing the schools to show our anger and concern," Bishop Sadiq Daniel said. "We want the government to bring all perpetrators of the crime to justice."
Interestingly enough, these schools are not restricted to the Christian community. A large portion of this country's elite attends these schools that were established in the 19th century. Convents such as St Patrick's High School and St Joseph's Convent, run by the Catholic Church, are considered to be prestigious educational institutes.
The province of Punjab has long been at the heart of assaults on Pakistani Christians. The Christians of Pakistan are the largest religious minority in the country. In 2008, they were estimated to make up about 1 percent of the population, but Christian leaders argue the number is closer to 5 percent. More than 90 percent of the country's Christians live in Punjab, which makes them the largest religious minority in the province.
The Daily Times points out that:
'Charges of blasphemy and desecration of the Quran are "used" against them, but the latter is used against them collectively, followed by organized dispossession and destruction of property.'
(As was the case in Gojra.)
Many argue that Punjabi landowners, some of the most influential and affluent people in Pakistan, who constitute a large part of the political elite, use the blasphemy law to usurp properties owned by Christians. The law states that anyone insulting the Quran or Prophet Mohammad is subject to life imprisonment or death. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has repeatedly demanded the repeal of the law on the grounds that it can be used for sectarian witch-hunts.
The British brought in the blasphemy law during the colonial rule, but amendments introduced by the military ruler, General Zia-ul-Haq, have made it an instrument of religious discrimination and persecution.
Just a couple of months ago, it was reported that the Christians of Kasur, a village also situated in Punjab, were similarly threatened by the Muslims of the area. Over a hundred families had to flee into fields in the middle of the night to escape a mob ready to burn down their homes. The allegation here too was blasphemy.
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Karachi Evarist Pinto held a press conference in Karachi where he said that 'the recurrence of such violent acts, coupled with the indifference of the security forces, was spreading feelings of insecurity amongst members of minority communities.'
Blogger Dr Awab Alvi, professional dentist and well-respected member of the Pakistan Twitter scene, tweeted an email sent out by Bishop Ijaz Inayat of Karachi's Holy Trinity Cathedral. In his email, the bishop asks 'why the police and the Agencies allow the situation to simmer in spite of a [very large] history of such incidents in Pakistan.'
Though thought to be defunct, extremist organizations like the Sipah-e-Sahaba, are still capable of instigating locals as we witnessed in Gojra. Witness accounts tell us that the masked men who arrived from the neighboring district of Jhang managed to gather a mob of hundreds. The HRCP claims that announcements were made from mosques to 'make mincemeat of the Christians.' This speaks of the street power of such extremist organizations and the mindset of the people. Nicholas D. Kristof has written in the New York Times about the 'creeping Talibanization' and how in his more recent travels to Punjab, he found it more troubled than in the past.
According to the Christian Science Monitor, Joseph Francis of the Christian National Party sees a link between violence against Christians and the US-led war in Afghanistan. The Muslim mob in Gojra had been incited with hate-speech that called Christians "America's dogs." He says, "Since 9/11, we've felt a lot more at risk. Whenever we have large gatherings or processions, we have to ask for police protection."
This is not the first time an attack on Pakistan's Christians has been linked to the US-led war on terror. In October 2001, over a dozen were killed at a Protestant church in Bahawalpur, once again a Punjabi town. Worshipers said that as the gunmen opened fire they declared Pakistan would become a graveyard of Christians to avenge deaths in Afghanistan. The timing of the attack made the connection all the more believable. Already vulnerable, Christian leaders had asked for protection before the United States launched its military offensive against Afghanistan.
Even though, Hindus, another minority group, are viewed as being synonymous with the projected archenemy, India, it is the Christians who are attacked again and again.
The Chief Minister of Punjab has assured that protection as well as compensation will be served to the victims of the Gojra tragedy while the perpetrators of the crime will be brought to justice, but Pakistani Christians are not satisfied. They are looking for a more permanent solution to their insecurity. Joseph Francis has said that a black day of mourning is to be observed on August 11, marked in Pakistani calendars as Minority Day.
Analyst and columnist, Cyril Almeida, claims that the government may be reluctant to take on extremist organizations like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Sipah-e-Sahaba despite the latter's links with al-Qaeda. "While the army is already tackling the Taliban, that is their first priority. They probably don't want to start another confrontation with organizations that are more sectarian in nature." He said this in the context of India's demands of Pakistan to take on Hafiz Saeed and his banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, which they believe to be behind last year's Mumbai attacks.
Read more ...
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
RACE OF JESUS?"
The race of Jesus has been a hot button topic for years. We encourage readers to express their opinion at the end of this story (by clicking the comment link).
The race of Jesus has been a subject of debate since at least the 19th century. The physical appearance of Jesus of Nazareth was debated by theologians from early on in the history of Christianity, though with no explicit emphasis on race.
Different societies have depicted Jesus and most other biblical figures as their own ethnicity in their art; for example he is primarily white in the West. The current dominant opinion among historians and scientists is that he most likely a Galilean Jew and thus would have features which resemble modern-day persons of Middle Eastern or Semitic descent.
Others, however, have suggested other possible racial backgrounds. For some Christians the question is complicated by the belief that his birth was a unique miracle, an "incarnation in flesh of divine substance."
Your opinion?
Read more ...
The race of Jesus has been a subject of debate since at least the 19th century. The physical appearance of Jesus of Nazareth was debated by theologians from early on in the history of Christianity, though with no explicit emphasis on race.
Different societies have depicted Jesus and most other biblical figures as their own ethnicity in their art; for example he is primarily white in the West. The current dominant opinion among historians and scientists is that he most likely a Galilean Jew and thus would have features which resemble modern-day persons of Middle Eastern or Semitic descent.
Others, however, have suggested other possible racial backgrounds. For some Christians the question is complicated by the belief that his birth was a unique miracle, an "incarnation in flesh of divine substance."
Your opinion?
Read more ...
Sunday, August 2, 2009
SEX AND THE CHURCH
When it comes to sex, today’s evangelical Christianity definitely is not your parents’ church. A generation ago, the three-letter s-word could hardly be whispered from the pulpit, and then only with a blush and the sour warning, “Don’t!“
After generations of silence, today's church leaders are speaking openly about sexuality.
© Ron Chapple Studios Dreamstime.com
Related
Links
http://www.familydynamics.net
http://www.songofsolomon.com
http://www.edyoung.com
My, how things have changed.
This past November, the Rev. Ed Young of Fellowship Church in Dallas drew nationwide attention when he challenged married couples in his congregation to have sex for seven straight days as a way of improving their relationships.
Many other prominent ministers also promote the raptures of physical love, and several travel the country offering wildly popular seminars on the Song of Solomon.
Outside the pulpit, on Christian Web sites, the good news gets downright purple. One site, themarriagebed.com, offers explicit advice on masturbation, oral sex and whether it's OK to videotape your lovemaking (in a word-yes). And a Web site called Book 22--the name is a reference to Song of Solomon, the Old Testament's 22nd book--sells everything from edible massage oils to vibrating "marital aids."
The underlying message might be described as: Have a blast!
Critics have decried all this as a sign the church is devolving into the hedonism of the larger, secular culture.
But in conversations with Everyday Christian, several Christian leaders who extol the benefits of sex argued the opposite. They all promote traditional standards, they said: that God created sex and instituted rules for it, that it should be confined to marriage, and that it's only one aspect of a relationship rather than the relationship's central purpose.
However, they said, Christians have long suffered from a vacuum of information about healthy, appropriate sexuality and from a conspiracy of silence based in prudishness, not in biblical truth.
A general decline in sexual morality
These leaders agreed that sexual morality in the United States has changed dramatically for the worse over the past few decades. The result, they said, has been a maelstrom of emotional pain: broken hearts, promiscuity, divorces, unplanned pregnancies, extramarital affairs, sexually transmitted diseases.
"Rather than the church influencing the culture, the culture has influenced the church to accept far too many of the destructive aspects of sex," said Dr. Andrew Boswell, director of crisis marriage programs at the Family Dynamics Institute in Franklin, Tenn., which teaches marriage-enrichment courses all over the United States.
Christians live in the same country as everyone else, said Kyle Idleman, teaching minister at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., which draws 18,000 worshipers each weekend.
The church and the larger culture always move along "parallel lines," he said, in which Christian morality stays just a step above that of the secular society. As the standards of the broader culture have fallen, Christian standards have, too.
Idleman has taught on sex from Southeast Christian's pulpit and participates in two or three large Song of Solomon conferences each year.
"I would call it a need," he said. "I think the consequences of not doing things God's way in this have caught up with people."
Similarly, Tommy Nelson, senior pastor of Denton Bible Church, a 5,000-member congregation in Texas, said that 50 years ago American society as a whole believed sex ought to be reserved for marriage.But today's churchgoers, he said, have grown up in a world in which premarital sex, cohabitation before marriage, pornography and homosexuality are accepted as norms. About one-in-four girls and one-in-six boys are sexually exploited.
When couples come to his church's staff for pre-marriage counseling, Nelson said, it's not uncommon for the ministers to find the couple are already living together. And the ministers rarely encounter a couple in which both the man and woman were raised in intact families with two biological parents who remained married to each other.
"So the consensus doesn't work anymore," Nelson said.
He used to travel the country teaching 10 six-hour conferences a year on the Song of Solomon. Those events typically drew 1,000 to 2,500 people, sometimes more.
"I got tired," he said. "I just ran out of juice about three years ago."
Still, if a minister today isn't willing to address sex forthrightly, Nelson said, "you'd better be Amish. Your church is going to fold if you don't speak to it."
Walking a fine line
Discussions of sex always run the risk of making people uncomfortable-especially when they're sitting in church pews.
A controversy has arisen in some quarters over how plain-spoken church leaders ought to be when they talk about this subject. That is, how can they address intimate issues in terms explicit enough to be helpful but without crossing a line into titillation?
Dr. David Tolliver, executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention in Jefferson City, Mo., said he's bothered by a trend toward increasing frankness about sex from pastors.
"I don't think vulgarity has any place in the pulpit," he said. For some ministers, "it's kind of a shock-jock sort of thing."
He's not against sermons on the Song of Solomon or sexual morality per se.
"You cross the line when you use particular words," he said, referring to slang terms for body parts or certain acts.
When he was a pastor, Tolliver preached in favor of sexual abstinence among unmarried teenagers and fidelity within marriage, but he had limits on what he'd say.
In one such sermon, "I said, ‘I enjoy sex with my wife . . . and that's as much detail as you're going to get out of me.' "
Mainly, though, the church leaders who spoke with Everyday Christian said they've received few if any criticisms for their teachings.
"We do not eroticize our explanations of sex," said Terry Northcutt, a colleague of Andrew Boswell at the Family Dynamics Institute. "We discuss sex in the safe, secure confines of a healthy marriage, showing how God designed sexual union to be a beautiful expression of love, respect, appreciation, intimacy and commitment."
Idleman, of Louisville's Southeast Christian, announces ahead of time when he'll be talking about sex, so those who might be offended will know what to expect.
"I've received a few criticisms at different times, but that's true of many subjects," he said.
Far more common, Idleman said, are the elderly women who come up to him after such sermons. Often they have tears in their eyes. They say they wish someone had told them how to have a joyful sexual relationship when they were newlyweds.
Nelson of Denton Bible Church thinks church leaders shouldn't worry about those who criticize them for talking openly about sexuality.
"If you have to run the risk of being too much, go ahead and be too much," he said.
The church has been way too timid on this subject for far too long, he said. As a result, Christians' lives and relationships have suffered terrible damage.
"Go ahead and be strong," Nelson said. "It's no use being an armored soldier if you don't go where the battle is raging."
Read more ...
After generations of silence, today's church leaders are speaking openly about sexuality.
© Ron Chapple Studios Dreamstime.com
Related
Links
http://www.familydynamics.net
http://www.songofsolomon.com
http://www.edyoung.com
My, how things have changed.
This past November, the Rev. Ed Young of Fellowship Church in Dallas drew nationwide attention when he challenged married couples in his congregation to have sex for seven straight days as a way of improving their relationships.
Many other prominent ministers also promote the raptures of physical love, and several travel the country offering wildly popular seminars on the Song of Solomon.
Outside the pulpit, on Christian Web sites, the good news gets downright purple. One site, themarriagebed.com, offers explicit advice on masturbation, oral sex and whether it's OK to videotape your lovemaking (in a word-yes). And a Web site called Book 22--the name is a reference to Song of Solomon, the Old Testament's 22nd book--sells everything from edible massage oils to vibrating "marital aids."
The underlying message might be described as: Have a blast!
Critics have decried all this as a sign the church is devolving into the hedonism of the larger, secular culture.
But in conversations with Everyday Christian, several Christian leaders who extol the benefits of sex argued the opposite. They all promote traditional standards, they said: that God created sex and instituted rules for it, that it should be confined to marriage, and that it's only one aspect of a relationship rather than the relationship's central purpose.
However, they said, Christians have long suffered from a vacuum of information about healthy, appropriate sexuality and from a conspiracy of silence based in prudishness, not in biblical truth.
A general decline in sexual morality
These leaders agreed that sexual morality in the United States has changed dramatically for the worse over the past few decades. The result, they said, has been a maelstrom of emotional pain: broken hearts, promiscuity, divorces, unplanned pregnancies, extramarital affairs, sexually transmitted diseases.
"Rather than the church influencing the culture, the culture has influenced the church to accept far too many of the destructive aspects of sex," said Dr. Andrew Boswell, director of crisis marriage programs at the Family Dynamics Institute in Franklin, Tenn., which teaches marriage-enrichment courses all over the United States.
Christians live in the same country as everyone else, said Kyle Idleman, teaching minister at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., which draws 18,000 worshipers each weekend.
The church and the larger culture always move along "parallel lines," he said, in which Christian morality stays just a step above that of the secular society. As the standards of the broader culture have fallen, Christian standards have, too.
Idleman has taught on sex from Southeast Christian's pulpit and participates in two or three large Song of Solomon conferences each year.
"I would call it a need," he said. "I think the consequences of not doing things God's way in this have caught up with people."
Similarly, Tommy Nelson, senior pastor of Denton Bible Church, a 5,000-member congregation in Texas, said that 50 years ago American society as a whole believed sex ought to be reserved for marriage.But today's churchgoers, he said, have grown up in a world in which premarital sex, cohabitation before marriage, pornography and homosexuality are accepted as norms. About one-in-four girls and one-in-six boys are sexually exploited.
When couples come to his church's staff for pre-marriage counseling, Nelson said, it's not uncommon for the ministers to find the couple are already living together. And the ministers rarely encounter a couple in which both the man and woman were raised in intact families with two biological parents who remained married to each other.
"So the consensus doesn't work anymore," Nelson said.
He used to travel the country teaching 10 six-hour conferences a year on the Song of Solomon. Those events typically drew 1,000 to 2,500 people, sometimes more.
"I got tired," he said. "I just ran out of juice about three years ago."
Still, if a minister today isn't willing to address sex forthrightly, Nelson said, "you'd better be Amish. Your church is going to fold if you don't speak to it."
Walking a fine line
Discussions of sex always run the risk of making people uncomfortable-especially when they're sitting in church pews.
A controversy has arisen in some quarters over how plain-spoken church leaders ought to be when they talk about this subject. That is, how can they address intimate issues in terms explicit enough to be helpful but without crossing a line into titillation?
Dr. David Tolliver, executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention in Jefferson City, Mo., said he's bothered by a trend toward increasing frankness about sex from pastors.
"I don't think vulgarity has any place in the pulpit," he said. For some ministers, "it's kind of a shock-jock sort of thing."
He's not against sermons on the Song of Solomon or sexual morality per se.
"You cross the line when you use particular words," he said, referring to slang terms for body parts or certain acts.
When he was a pastor, Tolliver preached in favor of sexual abstinence among unmarried teenagers and fidelity within marriage, but he had limits on what he'd say.
In one such sermon, "I said, ‘I enjoy sex with my wife . . . and that's as much detail as you're going to get out of me.' "
Mainly, though, the church leaders who spoke with Everyday Christian said they've received few if any criticisms for their teachings.
"We do not eroticize our explanations of sex," said Terry Northcutt, a colleague of Andrew Boswell at the Family Dynamics Institute. "We discuss sex in the safe, secure confines of a healthy marriage, showing how God designed sexual union to be a beautiful expression of love, respect, appreciation, intimacy and commitment."
Idleman, of Louisville's Southeast Christian, announces ahead of time when he'll be talking about sex, so those who might be offended will know what to expect.
"I've received a few criticisms at different times, but that's true of many subjects," he said.
Far more common, Idleman said, are the elderly women who come up to him after such sermons. Often they have tears in their eyes. They say they wish someone had told them how to have a joyful sexual relationship when they were newlyweds.
Nelson of Denton Bible Church thinks church leaders shouldn't worry about those who criticize them for talking openly about sexuality.
"If you have to run the risk of being too much, go ahead and be too much," he said.
The church has been way too timid on this subject for far too long, he said. As a result, Christians' lives and relationships have suffered terrible damage.
"Go ahead and be strong," Nelson said. "It's no use being an armored soldier if you don't go where the battle is raging."
Read more ...
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