What Are We Doing?
Posted by Truth77 on September 25, 2008
I have been working in North Platte Nebraska and it is 300 miles from my home. It has been good because I have had time to finish the quarter of school and I passed. Now I am moving into college level learning. In addition, I have been able to talk to my mentor Jack for over 3 to 5 hours a day. It has been so good to fellowship and talk about the things of God for this length of time. This leads me to talk about some things that have been on my heart and what I have seen and experienced in the body of Christ.
I have been to a number of different churches on my journey with Jesus. The things that are on my mind are heart breaking to me. The church in America and I am talking about the people that believe in the Jesus of the bible. We think that we have a corner on truth and that our brand of Christianity is the right one. To my dismay, I was introduced to a book
written by George Barna and Frank Viola named “Pagan Christianity.”
In this book, they give the historical roots to the church we know today. Now the counsel I was given was to read the book pray and keep this under my hat. This is not something that we are going to shout from the rooftops and is going to be accepted with open arms. We have been doing “Church” this way for over two thousand years. I think as the word of God say’s “it is high time that judgment comes in the house of God.” After reading this book, it made me have to look at “What Are We Doing?”
The church has to start making disciples and training leaders. The unfortunate thing I see is we try to do this but it seems all superficial and fake.
Two other books by Greg Ogden “Discipleship Essentials and Leadership Essentials”
are two great books to gain an idea of what we need to do. I read God’s word and I am told of the power that I should have and the power the church should have. To my heartbreak, I do not see it. I see many fat and happy people of God that do not look outside of the four walls of the church. May I submit to you that the reason is we are not teaching people to be committed to the cause of Christ. This means no less than all of my life because Christ gave all of His. I have heard time and again that this generation is the most biblically illiterate people ever. We need to make a change and fast. Stop the fast food mentality and learn how to be committed to Jesus and others.
I have also bought another book by Steven K. Scott named The Greatest Words Ever Spoken. It is a book of over 1900 statements of Jesus organized in more than 200 topics. This is another great resource for growth in the Lord. Again, it is time that we in the Body of Christ check ourselves of where we stand with our Lord and question where others are. It takes time and a lot of hard work on our part. Yes, we do have a part in it we have to obey God.
This is the next book and it is great.
May the Lord bless you in your seeking Him and His will for your life.
Kristi said
Some pretty BOLD words…..being fat & stuck in the four walls…… I understand where your coming from. We’ve been burned & by people in the church and we’ve gotten burned bad. But, do we throw it out the window? I’ve felt encouraged when I go to the woman’s study. But, I don’t have one single “friendship” from the church. But who’s fault is that?
thor77 said
Thanks Kristi for your comment. You are right about getting burned. This is the exact reason I think that we need to train people and get people to know who they are in Christ. This is so people will make more of an effort to cultivate stronger relationships. Thanks again.
Your Husband
Shawn
Jill said
I appreciate your comments about the way we’ve been doing church seeming “superficial and fake”. I read “Pagan” also and thought it was insightful and right on target. It is controversial, but sometimes it’s necessary to shake things up a bit when the Body of Christ has veered off course. (Think Martin Luther).
Have you heard that the sequel to “Pagan Christianity?” is out now? It’s called “Reimagining Church”. It picks up where “Pagan Christianity” left off and continues the conversation. (“Pagan Christianity” was never meant to be a stand alone book; it’s part one of the conversation.) “Reimagining Church” is endorsed by Leonard Sweet, Shane Claiborne, Alan Hirsch, and many others. You can read a sample chapter at
http://www.ReimaginingChurch.org
It’s also available on Amazon.com. Frank is also blogging now at http://www.frankviola.wordpress.com. Also, have you seen the spoof video for “Pagan”? Very funny. Check it out at http://youtube.com/watch?v=hslswIal9u4.
thor77 said
I appericate your comment. It is good to know you are not alone in this idea. Yes I have the next book and thank you for putting the links in your comment.I have the links on my blogroll also. Keep up the good fight.
God Bless
Shawn
thor77 said
here is a interview with George Barna about his book
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvaJKKKL1S8 Please go and watch this it is the most important thing you will do.
thenonconformer said
What am i doing about it?
When I was busy working as a professional engineer I personally had no time for or a real concept of how bad the real world is with it’s much too many liars, thugs, bullies, abusers, distorters, racists , thieves, now too.. and someone how next I could not help but encountered many of them, but by I had by now learned how to best deal with them. It is a two fold approach, first the Public exposure, the pen is mightier than the sword, and a good name is worth more than any silver and gold. But next also there is rightful demand, a need for their termination of emeploybnment, their real prosecution of the guilty, bad persons. Both of these approaches personally so works best, for everyone’s’ betterment. Ideally and rightfully I do not hesitate to recommend any crook, bad minister, bad pastor, bad news reporter as well to be fired , terminated from his our her job. Sadly there are many people in this world who are hatred mongers, they have a false persistent agendas against some others, and they for many wrong reasons now wrongfully pursue much of their time in these matters now too foolishly and unwisely. Too often they the bad people firstly proclaim themselves as angels of lights, good Samaritans try to help others, but rather it too often seems they are merely trying to gain an advantage over others, and to promote themselves in some powerful, key job, economic, superior positions under these false agendas, disguise’s in all kinds of social groups now too, the religious, political, cultural, governmental. Now I really hate these types of snakes and I rightfully do not hesitate to expose them once I encounter them.
Now we all know that in north America we all do really have freedom of religion, freedom of choice, freedom of speech, the right to be hard now as well.. Some people are now falsely abusing these right to promote a false war against a particular Christian group, the Pentecostal ones, or even the Catholic ones, etc. When I see this kind of unacceptable personal behavior I too do not accept it but do loudly object to it to all and do ask these hate mongrels be immediately fired, put in jail as well. No matter who they are now too.
“Sarah Palin losing her sway over Christian voters
http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/thesearch/default.aspx
The Sarah Palin effect, which brought evangelicals and other Christians rushing on to the Republican wagon when her nomination was announced, is now fading. In some cases fast.
A poll by the respected Pew Forum has found that some white evangelicals are losing their excitement about the political coupling of John McCain and Palin, who has deep Pentecostal roots in Alaska. White evangelicals, the crucial group that got George W. Bush into the White House in the past two elections, are beginning to edge away from the Republicans. Their support has dropped from 74 to 67 per cent in the past week or so.
Meanwhile, pollsters are beginning to predict that mainline Protestants, who tend to be more liberal than evangelicals, are moving firmly to Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The Democrat contender is now attracting 48 per cent of mainline Christians’ votes. As well, non-Hispanic Catholics have also switched and are now leaning more to Obama-Biden than McCain-Palin.
Go here for Pew’s easy-to-read poll http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=349”
Comment by todd — October 26, 2008 @ 8:13 pm ”
Thanks for your input Todd, this is the second time you posted back to me on my blog, unusual for a news reporter to comment on my blog too.http://anyonecare.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/sarah-palin-already-has-energized-conservative-religious-leaders/#comment-1746#comment-1746
>>A poll by the respected Pew Forum has found that some white evangelicals are losing their excitement about the political coupling of John McCain and Palin
My personal straight forward, honest, personal summation, experiences of Politics, dealing with you, the Vancouver Sun as well, and pollsters… they are statistically just liars, biased, people with hidden agendas.. and I told you that now in writing too many times too.. I rightfully have no respect for what you write still about Christians, evangelicals and so do many others now too.
what about the polls that show 30 percent of white people will also not vote for a black persons? racisms exists in the churches and police stations now too.
And my own experiences with Canadian liberal news media, liberals, liberal politicians are so blind they had undeniably now underestimated the starch of the all of evangelical churches, who had themselves formed the Reform, Alliance, and the new Conservative party, and next had wiped out both the old Conservatives under Brian Mulroney, and the Liberals under Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin.. I saw it coming , wrote about it 2 decades ago, but you did don’t see it coming. Do get an honest job now..
But the fact that Sarah Palin is getting now so much free publicity attention even from the liberals, democrats it all next simply means when I see the devil breathing on her back, she must be doing something really really good
Any possible Christian support of Obama is another liberal, democratic, news media false spins.. just like the devil often dos the same thing.. I read many of their emotional, gushy, lying, slanderous , sewage posts, opinions, but they are spins, lies and not facts and the US news media has lost loads of credibity, CNN especially the big liars, in their slanted election presentations, and that fact is not unnoticed.. but that was the same complaint thing they had often said about the Canadian News media, CBC, under the liberals who lost next.. wow!
And basically too no true, real practicing Christian would support the clearly anti Christ Obama.. who does supports abortions, gay marriages, alcohol as well..
My site statistics undeniably do show Sarah Palin is the most read topic in the last few months of over 100 different subjects, topics on my 6 related blogs, and that support I encounter is the tip of the iceberg only.. 80 percent of the posts read are about her.
Even the Canadian PM Stephen Harper, and the federal election. Bilden, McCain, Obama do not get 10 percent of her attention too.. the undeniably crooked Christian Missionary alliance church got just as much attention now, 10 percent as they all did as well.. note this a new runner up in reading POPULARITY is the bad RCMP, bad Traffic cops of Alberta next.
As I also wrote often to thousands, Canadian politicians and news editors too now.. The truth about the ungodly Pentecostals bashings, wars against the Pentecostals on the net, even by the Vancouver Sun now too, or anyone else… is that I also still do not have to accept it or put up with it still too, it is an unacceptable perversity, human rights abuse, immoral. And it better stop otherwise I too will have to write to a lot more people about it too.. very much more..
http://witnessed.wordpress.com/ http://witnessed.wordpress.com/?s=bad+Pentecostals etc
http://anyonecare.wordpress.com/2008/10/26/the-declining-economy-and-the-federal-elections-are-the-voters%e2%80%99-top-concern/
http://anyonecare.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/sarah-palin-already-has-energized-conservative-religious-leaders/
http://thefocusonthefamily.wordpress.com/2008/09/01/sarah-palin/
http://witnessed.wordpress.com/2008/10/25/unbeliveable/