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Our Lord Jesus Christ loves you.
287003 Posts in 27572 Topics by 3790 Members
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76  Theology / Debate / Re: Why Churches are Declining in America on: January 18, 2008, 10:57:06 AM
I put this post up on a couple of forums and I am rather surprised that prayer (or the lack of it) never came up as an issue. After all, the Bible says: "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it".

Personally, I believe my own church is growing because we put a lot of emphasis on prayer. Probably about 1/3 of our Sunday service is prayer, and weeknight prayer meeting is fairly well attended (though I can't go anymore because I work nights).

I remember one church I attended years ago where we made a commitment to pray that the Lord would send in one new couple a month. Nothing else was done differently to bring people in, but after a few months we had to stop praying because we couldn't disciple all the new people.Unfortunately they never did get things organized to disciple better and start praying again!

If a church is declining I would look first at its prayer life. How many churches even have a midweek prayer meeting anymore? In those that do, most of it is music and Bible study rather than actual prayer. How much does the church emphasize prayer?  How much time do individual members spend praying away from church?

I believe most of our problems have to do with using business oriented growth programs and trying to do things ourselves our way rather than depending on the Lord.
77  Theology / Debate / Re: Why Churches are Declining in America on: January 17, 2008, 12:10:13 PM
Actually I disagree with the article. Large growth does not always mean that the church is doing that which is right. Many of the mega-churches involved in the article are apt to "improve their ability to communicate the Gospel" by actually teaching another gospel, "they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears".
Quote

While true, this wasn't what the article was about as far as I can see. It was about the declining numbers of people attending church generally and is in the context of recent surveys showing young people turning away from the church.


I would much rather be in a church that is small, doing the Lord's work, and teaching the true Gospel of Jesus Christ than to be in a mega-church that is bowing to the selfish, sinful desires of people.

A mega church in decline will become a small church. A small church in decline will become a former church. I prefer small churches myself, but a small church that is doing the Lord's work and teaching the true gospel should be a growing church.
78  Theology / Debate / Re: Why Churches are Declining in America on: January 16, 2008, 01:00:47 PM
My church, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, is still growing. In the US it went from  1785 churches with 244,296 members in 1990 to 2010 churches with 417,000 members in 2006. Worldwide it went from 32,000 members in 444 churches in 1945 to about 3,500,000 members in more than 20,000 churches in 2006.
79  Theology / Debate / Why Churches are Declining in America on: January 16, 2008, 12:59:47 PM
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080115/30855_Cultural_Architect%3A__Why_Churches_are_Declining_in_America.htm

A cutting-edge church leader known for his innovative ideas on reaching a post-modern generation for Christ contends the reason why churches are declining in America is because they are self-centered.

How is your church doing?
80  Theology / Debate / Re: The Role of a Christian Woman on: December 28, 2007, 03:11:32 PM
Some very brave people here. Cool It's great when people are not afraid to share their beliefs and opinions.

I really like how Pastor Rogers said that men and women should be working together, not against
each other.


I am curious to know how you feel about the issue of women working and holding authority in the
workplace? Is it alright for a woman to open a business or hold authority over men in the working world? 
What do you think?

The queen of Sheba was a woman.
81  Fellowship / You name it!! / Re: Free For a Day Poll on: December 25, 2007, 09:56:20 PM
I'd probably head out hiking.
82  Theology / Prophecy - Current Events / Re: Stock Market Crash Expected In 2008 To Be Worse Than 1929 on: December 25, 2007, 09:51:33 PM
The Great Depression in the U.S. is considered to have started at the stock market crash of October 29, 1929. Prior to that time there were indeed financial difficulties in the U.S. but it was considered a recession not a depression. I understand that this can be argued and that many will place a fine line in the difference between a recession and a depression. I also agree that the government waits and extended period of time before declaring either one, supposedly out of fear that people will panic and thereby cause it to escalate. The U.S. has experienced many recessions throughout it's history but only one that led into the full blown depression of the Great Depression.



"Prior to that time there were indeed financial difficulties in the U.S. but it was considered a recession not a depression."

Not true:

Quote from: Mike Moffat link=http://economics.about.com/cs/businesscycles/a/depressions_2.htm
From: http://economics.about.com/cs/businesscycles/a/depressions_2.htm: Before the Great Depression of the 1930s any downturn in economic activity was referred to as a depression.

Actually they were referred to as "Panics" in the 1800's. It is largely a matter of semantics. The modern definition is that a recession is "the time when business activity has reached its peak and starts to fall until the time when business activity bottoms out" A depression is "any economic downturn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent."

There have been a number of depressions in US history - 1819, 1836-37, 1857, 1873, 1893-5, and 1921, but none since the Great Depression of the 1930's.

Employment is a lagging indicator, not a leading one, so unemployment won't start to rise until we are well into a recession. Businesses hesitate to lay off trained employees if they have any hope things may soon turn around, so they wait until it is obvious that things are still declining. Untrained laborers go sooner as they are more easily replaced. Louis Lamour was working at day labor and unskilled jobs in the 1920's, and they were drying up by 1927 - therefore the economy was already in decline by then.

Today there are fewer jobs for unskilled labor, so employment holds up better and longer. Most of the unskilled jobs are held by immigrants, so it is interesting to see some are starting to leave, partly because of a crackdown on illegals, but also because jobs are getting hard to find: "The toughening environment has been coupled with a turndown in the U.S. economy, which has tipped the balance toward self deportation for many illegal immigrants left struggling to find work." From: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2126758320071224

Whether we go into a depression or just a recession is hard to predict. Usually the bigger the bubble the more disastrous it is when it pops, and the housing bubble was a big one. (The median income is about $25,000 (http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/COLA/central.html) so half of the people can afford less than $625 in monthly payments - far less than what they would have to pay at the inflated housing prices today.) Japan has never yet recovered from the bursting of the housing bubble on which its former "booming" economy was based. Our government has also removed most of the legal safeguards and restraints on the financial system enacted after the Great Depression that prevented it happening again. Nixon debased the currency. Much of our economy is a house of cards. We have largely stopped producing much of value and become a nation of gamblers and speculators. Maybe it won't catch up to us this time, but if the government manages to patch things together they will only be worse a few years from now unless we make fundamental changes in our way of life.
83  Theology / Prophecy - Current Events / Re: Stock Market Crash Expected In 2008 To Be Worse Than 1929 on: December 24, 2007, 02:19:42 PM
The stock market didn't set off the Great Depression, it was already underway in most of the rest of the world before 1929. Western writer Louis Lamour noted employment drying up in the US by 1927. It simply escaped the notice of most wealthier Americans, who continued insisting the economy was sound, some even after 1929.

Much like today!
84  Entertainment / Politics and Political Issues / Re: Congress approves fuel economy mandate on: December 19, 2007, 12:02:41 AM
Some European diesels get close to 75, with about the same emissions level as our hybrids.
85  Prayer / Prayer Requests / 4 shot at YWAM in Colorado on: December 09, 2007, 03:40:58 PM
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/283788.aspx
Quote
A gunman walked into a training center dormitory for young Christian missionaries early Sunday and opened fire, killing two of the center's staff members and wounding two others.

I'm sure they need our prayers.
86  Entertainment / Politics and Political Issues / Re: Pelosi scuttles measure requiring English on the job on: November 29, 2007, 11:39:24 AM
Perhaps Congress should carry out discussions in 5 or 6 different languages - then they wouldn't even be able to vote on measures like this!
Actually, they couldn't get any less productive than they are now  Angry
87  Entertainment / Politics and Political Issues / Re: Feds raid Liberty Dollar offices on: November 20, 2007, 12:15:32 PM
Sure, after all there has never been a law against it.   Roll Eyes

 Grin Grin

Yes and no - coining money is a power reserved to Congress under the Constitution: "To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the
Standard of Weights and Measures;"

What is more interesting is that this outfit has been in business for years, but the Feds waited until now - kind of makes you think that the dollar must be in far worse shape than is being admitted.
88  Entertainment / Politics and Political Issues / Re: Who wants to militarize space? on: November 05, 2007, 10:47:02 AM

And if one knows how to do it even the newer car can run without the computer. It isn't hard to by-pass the computer system and make it work.


Actually it impossible on most cars as both the fuel injection and ignition require computer control to work. You would have to somehow equip the vehicle with a carburetor and a distributor that fit the engine. Most people don't have those hanging around.

An EMP attack has never actually been tried, so no one knows for sure what the effects would be. Some places might escape due to natural shielding.

Our military probably has systems hardened against such an attack, but they have become totally dependent on GPS and satellite communications. Predator drones and such use both to operate, as do "smart weapons" and even manned aircraft. Taking the satellites out by launching a few truckloads of gravel into their orbit is a much cheaper way than EMP to nearly destroy US military capability, as we rely on high tech rather than manpower.
89  Fellowship / Parenting / Re: 1 in 10 schools are 'dropout factories' on: November 04, 2007, 09:12:25 PM
How about:
No public assistance for those (still in school) who drop out and don't get a diploma?
90  Entertainment / Politics and Political Issues / Re: Who wants to militarize space? on: November 04, 2007, 09:05:43 PM
Do you realize that our whole satellite communications system and GPS could be destroyed by a low tech attack from a country with a few missiles blasting a few loads of plain gravel into the satellites' orbit?

Militarization of space makes no sense as using the weapons would create so much "space junk" it would ground us to earth forever.
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