America under judgment
| Posted On: 05/03/08 11:15:33 AM |
Age 44, GA |
I think that the only way some of these modern day Christians would ever know the difference between true worship and this wordly garbage, is if they either 1) were raised in total poverty and depravation, which is in America, very rare, I think, and 2) Grew up with some form of illness whether mental or physical that made them stand out from their peers.
In short, most Christians today have never suffered the alienation from others that would make one turn back to simple faith, and cling to it like a drowning man or woman. These are what would make you question the status quo: not having been a part of it, I think. I believe that we are very spoiled as Americans, and are used to not having a clue about suffering.
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Can you judge by appearance? Do you know?
| Posted On: 01/07/08 04:00:25 PM |
Age 55, PA |
(Two years later, I come across this ...)
The church today is too often a social organization, with too few who strive to be a part of "the Church" ... the Body of Christ.
Yet, can we judge from an advertisement for non-believers what really happened at that event? Do we know what music was played, and what words were said among the participants, and what the interaction was between Followers and those "just curious"?
Using music with a beat ... *and* with a REAL message of the gospel of Jesus Christ ... is one of the most effective ways to keep youth and young adults connected to Christ at a time when their natural distrust of the human aspects of church organizations is strongest.
As the cliche' goes: "It goes to motive." Oh, yes, the "ends" never justify improper "means", but neither should one decry alternative "means to an end" as long as there is consistency in the message and the purpose and the ultimate goal of opening others to the work of God's grace and power and love.
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Re: Did The Martyrs Die So We Can Be Entertained At Today's Seeker Friendly Mega Church?
| Posted On: 08/25/06 03:48:15 PM |
Age 56, MN |
I don't know if I'm obeying the "Feedback Rules" because this is really more of a question, but I'll try anyway. In the realm of Christian entertainment, what do you think of a Bible-believing church playing Johnny Cash songs on a float in a city parade? Our church played "Ring of Fire," which is about Johnny's affair with June Carter & "Folsom City Blues," which is about a murderer who regrets his sins. Christian songs were also played on the float. The idea was to appeal to nonbelievers in the crowd. I don't have peace about this. Can someone give me their thoughts on this matter? Thanks, akreisel@hotmail.com
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Re: Did The Martyrs Die So We Can Be Entertained At Today's Seeker Friendly Mega Church?
| Posted On: 07/20/05 06:51:33 PM |
Age 48, TN |
I cried.It is so sad to see all this complacency in Yeshua(Jesus)people. As a Messianic Jew who loves and believes in Yeshua,I have been an outcast myself a time or two. But it is nothing compared to what believers are facing in other countries. I have never had to lay down my life yet. I can't help but wonder how many socalled believers would show up to church if it might cost them their lives. I wonder, have we made the gospel too easy? In our zeal to get people into the kingdom has the world come in as well? I pray G-d will show us how to reach others with the truth.
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Re: Did The Martyrs Die So We Can Be Entertained At Today's Seeker Friendly Mega Church?
| Posted On: 07/19/05 02:18:43 AM |
Age 33, QL |
While it may look at first glance that this article is well-written and well-founded, I suggest that only the former may actually be true. I cringe when I hear brothers and sisters tearing down the deeds of othersin this manner. Yes, I decry the wasteful use of the resources god gives the Church (in money and other forms), but to pick on one church activity like this is nothing more than sensationalism. Surely the important issue here is not how much was spent on the event, but rather the motivations behind it and the results in spiritual terms. If it is put on simply to give the church members a chance to let down their hair then, yes I may query the dollars spent. But criticising the idea of social activities being used by a church to reach the community - come on guys! I noticed that in an article you have posted at the moment by Dr Jeff Myers, he states that he returned to his faith by the relationships of people in a local church, and that a church softball competition was a part in his return to a close walk with the Lord. Suggest we start looking at the old 'planks and splinters' here guys. BTW, I find it quite offensive when people choose to use the guilt-trip of "Brothers and sisters died for the Gospel, how dare we enjoy ourselves.." By this same line, I should play funeral dirges at my 7-yr old's birthday party, rather than enjoying a day of celebration with family and friends. Just a suggestion that we think about WHY we critise things and people before we do it...
For the Kingdom,
Andrew Cran
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- Re: Re: Did The Martyrs Die So We Can Be Entertained At Today's Seeker Friendly Mega Church?
| Posted On: 07/20/05 06:57:33 PM | | Age 48, TN |
It saddens me you feel this way. As true follers of Yeshua(Jesus)we need to get rid of things that take our attention away from serving the true Christ. Church has become a social gathering,not a real place of worship. As followers of Yeshua we need to rebuke when the world is coming in G-ds house.
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Re: Did The Martyrs Die So We Can Be Entertained At Today's Seeker Friendly Mega Church?
| Posted On: 07/18/05 11:29:56 PM |
Age 55, MN |
What is this seeker friendly business. The Spirit of God said There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God (Rom. 3:11). We are not to bring the heathen into the church we are to go out to them (Mk. 16:15). The church is for the believers to be nurtured and equipped (Eph. 4:11,12). As A.W. Tozer once said, We are to preach and the world is to listen. The world should be in holy fear of the church, and the Lord will add believers, not unbelievers, to the church (Acts 5:13,14).
That said, I dont think the martyrs thought they were dying for the church, they died for their Lord who loved then and died for them in a way they could never die. The Lord had already died for His church.
Thanks for a good article. Craig in Minnesota
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Re: Did The Martyrs Die So We Can Be Entertained At Today's Seeker Friendly Mega Church?
| Posted On: 07/18/05 06:53:38 PM |
Age 45, MN |
An excellent piece! The words of the Lord Jesus come to mind. When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the earth? The answer is yes, but will it be The Faith? The early church had no such practices as we commonly see today in the so called seeker friendly churches that really are Christ unfriendly and nothing more than modern synogogues of Satan, a term that our own Lord used in His day here on the earth when he rebuked those with a form of godliness but who in reality denied the power of God. A good synonym for entertainment is amusement, which literally means no thinking. Surely, we are not thinking. What I find both amazing and disconcerting is the lack of conviction in the responses that are so devoid of any sense of guilt. These are illogical, lame excuses, and insipid platitudes. These lost souls may know the temporal dance moves but do not know your eternal Word. Lord please send us prophets such as Jonah to preach your Word in the power of Your Holy Spirit and convict us! The exhortation of 2 Corinthians 13:5 should be heeded today more than ever. We must ask ourselves, have we lost our first love, or was there ever any real love for the Lord Jesus Christ to begin with? Oh God, please help us!
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Re: Did The Martyrs Die So We Can Be Entertained At Today's Seeker Friendly Mega Church?
| Posted On: 07/09/05 03:02:48 PM |
Age 46, IN |
I don't think the "so that" part is answerable by those still living. I suspect a martyr has a radically different "world-view in the presence of The Lamb of God." Anything not done in faith isn't pleasing to God. I had a hard time getting church members to come to an open basketball night where many unchurched men regularly played ball pretty intensely. The new gym was scuffed up a bit. I had to admonish and kick some players out. Yet, I gave devotions half way through. Many appreciated the safe environment. One young man received Christ in the year-and-a-half we played and attended church with his little girl and wife he wanted to divorce. They are still together. Many men requested prayer.
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- Re: Re: Did The Martyrs Die So We Can Be Entertained At Today's Seeker Friendly Mega Church?
| Posted On: 07/12/05 09:38:58 AM | | Age 54, IL |
I agree with the writer. We are loosing site of Christ in the USA..
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- Re: Re: Did The Martyrs Die So We Can Be Entertained At Today's Seeker Friendly Mega Church?
| Posted On: 07/10/05 09:06:06 PM | | Age 47, MS |
Absolutely. We need to be metaphorically spreading the net outside the boat and not just shouting "Hoorah for our side". It gets messy sometimes, but it's what we need to be doing along with our believers meetings responsibilities. Thanks.
Sincerely,
William McWhirter
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Re: Did The Martyrs Die So We Can Be Entertained At Today's Seeker Friendly Mega Church?
| Posted On: 07/08/05 09:57:10 PM |
Age 62, VA |
The REAL Church has ALWAYS been seeker-friendly, and it still IS TODAY. Otherwise, there would be no Christians at all. However, it doesn't have to promote itself as being seeker-friendly. It just needs to be a place where the Holy Spirit is present and at work. As Billy Graham said, if the Holy Spirit left the Church in the USA today, 90% of the congregations would never notice any difference.
Today's "seeker-friendly" congregations however, might have a tad more subliminal manipulation, as opposed to the very overt manipulation of those many congregations over the decades that have followed the practices of Charles Finney, who thought that he, himself, was the Holy Spirit.
With so much error in the Church-at-large in western civilization today, is there no wonder then why the Church is growing like wildfire in third-world nations, and in the southern hemisphere, while it continues to barely hold it's own in the USA, and is diminishing rapidly in other western nations!!
I'm tired of manipulative denominations who take upon themselves the role of the Holy Spirit; but I'm also tired of the six or eight mainline-USA non-Bible-believing denominations that are really nothing more than Sunday morning social clubs. The message to both groups: You know who you are!
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Re: Did The Martyrs Die So We Can Be Entertained At Today's Seeker Friendly Mega Church?
| Posted On: 07/08/05 09:15:36 AM |
Age 66, VA |
An excellent article, and, alas, so very true. And it's not just evangelical megachurches -- two-thousand-year-old denominations like Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy in America have succumbed to post-modernism and trite secularism. The state of Christianity in the USA is a sad one,indeed.
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