So I am currently reading Uprising by Erwin McManus.  I am slightly over half way through, and have been finding some pretty good stuff within the book for practical application.  Within the section A Quest for Honor is Chapter 5: Brave Hearts is the pages in the 90's. (good round section)

Within the chapter Erwin talks about Joshua, and how he took over watch

of the Israelites after Moses passing.

When we receive responsibility we get the idea that God is going to help us through. 
The thing is though, that if God trusts us with something, he expects us to do something with it. 
He isn't going to get up and do the work, sure it may be inspired by Him, but we have to do the work.

(Here is the book embedded)





This is an idea that I think people miss alot, they believe God's going to do something. 
The thing is, that with God inside of us, we are supposed to be doing something! 
Sure where two are gathered he will be there, but we are expected to act as well. 
If God has talented you with something, then you are supposed to be using it, you aren't 
supposed to sit around and expect someone to find you. They may find you, but chances 
are you have been running from God the entire time that you go without using your talent.


This is why the book is called Uprising. It brings forth ideas that are supposed to bring an Uprising from Christians. When God gives us a direction, we are supposed to start walking, we aren't supposed to sit there til he hands us everything on a plate. When Abraham was called he went, is what it said in Hebrews. So keep this in consideration as you seek what it is that God wants in your walk with Him. Don't be bashful, step up, and live out your faith.

Final Project

Millenial Generation will see Churches closing as quickly as GM Dealerships

Can I be scared? Should I be scared?

Ideally I shouldn't be, cause God's in control right? He has my back, he has the plan, and everything is going to work out to His will.  

What is causing me to feel these emotions and think these thoughts?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-04-27-1Amillfaith27_ST_N.htm

That is what has me scared.

If you don't have time to read the article, here's the deal: The State of the American Church isn't too good.

I love the tweet by @prodigaljohn a quote of Lifeway President Thom Rainer-"the Millennial generation will see churches closing as quickly as GM dealerships," 

Crazy right?


So why am I scared, well technically that means what I'm planning on as a career is disappearing. Christ will provide a way though, I realize that.


This also means though, that the harvest is more than plentiful, it is bountiful.


Christians need to step up in their faith, and be willing to share it.  This is something that I am trying to grow in, cause I am honestly no good at it.


Sorry the formatting is weird on this, I really don't know what happened.

Divided Down the Line

So in today's "emerging church" (what are they emerging from anyway?) the concept is megachurch with multiple campuses (I guess this is how Paul did it? He was the spearhead of the whole movement, or would that be Peter, since he was the rock that the church was built upon?) Before there was consumer transportation, people didn't visit other churches, they either went or they didn't.(in the early 17 & 1800's). There was only one church in your region and this church was generally a denomination that the majority of residents in the area were associated with. This church was lead by someone with or without any theological learning, typically the person with the best grasp on theological matters was the one who led the congregation. Then someone with theological knowledge would travel the circut and preach about once a month.  


Then we have today, where in Garland County alone there are over 142 something churches of at least 15 denominations (probably more) to choose from. You could easily drive to any of these within enough time to get to service on Sunday morning. Why do we have so many churches? Sure there are things in the Bible that people don't agree on, as well as rituals that people think should or should not be in place, but why not just agree to disagree? I realize that orginally Protestant's reformed from the Catholic church and thus the church is constantly evolving in order to stay in line with the scriptures and not get bogged down in ritual but surely we could all agree.  


The thing is, there wasn't two churches in Phillipi or Ephesus just one, and the only reason during the early days of our country (1800's moreso) that there was more than one church, was to reach the different cultures. So why then, can't we all agree on one general group and thus be more effective for the Kingdom? I realize that Paul talked about differences in culture, but did he ever talk about different denominations among believers? I don't believe so, at least I've never heard that preached on before in church. So then should not our churches be divided along cultural lines, and not on whether or not a person is a Calvinist.

The State of the American Church

America! The nation founded on the premise of religious freedom, is experiencing a disdain against the church because for generations the church has placed people in religious bondage. Living in Arkansas we can be skewed in our view because according to pew forum research, seventy five percent of Arkansans view religion as an important part of their lives. On top of that stat, ninety percent of American's say that they believe in some form of a universal being (or God). So why then is the church in America repulsive to so many people?

According to pew forum research released this year, only four percent of my generation, the millennial generation, are professing Christians. This means that the church is shrinking, magnificently. In 2009 the church only grew by fourteen percent, twelve percent of that growth was simply transfer from other churches. Which means in reality, church growth in America was only two percent. The amount of people who left the church last year either from denying its principles or death, was more than two percent. Once again though, why is the state of the American church is such disdain?

The American church only has itself to blame. A majority of American churches have failed to remain culturally relevant. Which is hard when the church preaches to be in the world but not of the world. It is not about being in the culture, it is about showing the basis of Christianity to the culture. Research done by the Barna Group shows that people aren't looking for a set of rules and rituals to live by, which is what the American church has produced. People are looking for something real and challenging. Which is what true Christian faith produces.

In being a place that is set in ritual, that is known for standing against things, the church sounds nothing like what Christianity is. The word Christian means "little Christ". The church seems more like a group of hypocrites who are focused on themselves instead of focusing on Christ. This is completely opposite of the way that Christ lived his life on earth. One of the main reasons why people don't want to be involved in church is because the church focuses on itself and not on Christ and others.

The church was originally known for begin compassionate towards the down trodden. They were about helping the widowed and orphaned.  The church during the Roman Empire was known for taking in mentally and physically defective children that were discarded by the Roman families as undesirable.  The church in the Medieval Times was known as the main group that stayed and took care of people during the Black Death putting themselves at risk of dieing.  The Salvation Army was also founded upon Christian principles and servicing those in need.  In more recent times, Christian organizations have been the first to respond to natural disasters.  This is what the church is supposed to be about, worshiping Christ and helping those in need. Showing love to people. 

If the church is to be about worshiping Christ and helping others, why do so many people avoid referring to themselves as Christians?  Because of the hypocrisy and failure behind the term Christian that has resulted from the churches focus on pleasing and serving itself.  The name Christian has such disdain that in the last decade there has been a move away from the word "Christian". Some pastors have taken to calling their congregation "Disciples of Christ"  or "Followers of Christ".  This response has begun to peak interest, as well as soften the  challenges that come with Christianity in America. 

What will it take to change the connotations behind Christianity? To be able to change these connotations the church and Christians have to be known what they stand for, not what they stand against. Christians need to be known for being advocates for social justice, caring for the environment because it's God's earth, having personal integrity, building harmony among races, willing to give their lives for the cause of peace. Christians like that will change not only America, but the world as well.

Minor Things, Like Prophets

In recent times I have been reading in the minor prophets.  This was an interesting time (this week I've moved back to the NT).  I was reading there, trying to find some light on what the Israelites did, when they were confronted with everything that had happened to them in relation to them straying from God.

The crazy thing is, is that they really didn't do much, I mean what can you do?  Works don't get you into heaven, faith does.  So they can't just be like "here you are God, our good deeds, don't kill us now."  No, for forgiveness they actually had to sacrifice animals.

In the end though, grace and mercy was what God provided to get them through.  Cause they still did not follow him the way they were supposed to.  In the end, they spent over 500 years between the OT and NT without hearing from God.  How crazy is that?

Anyway, with all that being said, after spending the last semester and half reading and rereading the minor prophets, I realized yesterday that if I don't grow closer to Christ, then I will become just like the Israelites myself.  So I ended my reading of the minor prophets and began doing some studying across the four gospels this morning.

My favorite minor prophets were: Hosea, Joel, and Obadiah

In fun news I'm going to be playing in a disc golf tournament this week, so hoorah!

One Day Without Shoes