Religious Life Has Changed
ABCnews had an article discussing the financial troubles churches are having. I found this quote quite interesting:
"In 2010, I think we're going to see 10 or 15 percent of congregations saying they're in serious financial trouble," says David Roozen, a lead researcher for the Faith Communities Today multi-faith survey, which measures congregational health annually. "With around 320,000 or 350,000 congregations, that's a hell of a lot of them."
They said because of people relocating to new areas. This has been building over the past decade as more and more people have left the churches in America. Why? I think the main reason people are leaving churches is that there really is no reason to attend. The mainline denominations have moved to the left wing and the evangelical churches are politics and prosperity gospel.
The average minister has become a motivational teacher instead of gospel teacher. I think people have one of two choices: the Anabaptist route and become a law unto themselves or join a confessional church.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Seeking Super Teacher
I've been a Christian since I was about 16 years old. I was raised Baptist, when I was in my twenties I joined the Charismatics which transformed into the Prosperity Gospel. I belonged to one group for about 17 years watching the teacher move into more of a cultic nature. The leader of the group isolated himself from every other Christian ministry. He drove out those people who were a threat to his position, at least in his own mind. But I digress into other things.
I thought today about how over the years I have gone from one teacher to the next or one movement to the next. I moved from being a Baptist into the Charismatic movement, a very shallow movement by the way. From this I moved into the Prosperity Gospel, another very shallow movement. The one question that always ate a my craw was why Christians in America while those in Sudan were being martyred and sold into slavery? During this transition I became involve in the Christian Reconstructionist movement. I enjoyed reading the books of the leader of this movement but then I made the mistake of joining an online discussion group. I have never seen such hate toward people as I saw in those offspring. I abandoned the movement.
I did find one source of encouragement which was Calvinism and some wonderful writers of this system of belief. Back to the Prosperity Gospel, which I like to call the Napoleon Hill Gospel. No offense to Napoleon Hill but what he taught and the Gospel of Jesus Christ are two different things. I like how Steven Brown talks about it... I have decided that I am not going to get any better but I know that God loves me anyway.
I did begin moving into the Anabaptist tradition. Those people who have left organized religion because of how shallow it has become. The funny thing is that many evangelicals have moved into the liturgical traditions of Catholicism or Orthodoxy or Lutheranism/Anglicanism. Those churches that find Christ in the liturgy are those the endure tribulations. What I discovered about the so you don't want to go to church anymore crowd is that all they have done is formed a new religious system that fits themselves.
Today I found my copy of the Westminster Confession of Faith and have decided to begin anew in the great Reformation traditions of old. I don't know where still will lead but I trust Christ. My ramblings have nothing to do with the titles I choose.
I've been a Christian since I was about 16 years old. I was raised Baptist, when I was in my twenties I joined the Charismatics which transformed into the Prosperity Gospel. I belonged to one group for about 17 years watching the teacher move into more of a cultic nature. The leader of the group isolated himself from every other Christian ministry. He drove out those people who were a threat to his position, at least in his own mind. But I digress into other things.
I thought today about how over the years I have gone from one teacher to the next or one movement to the next. I moved from being a Baptist into the Charismatic movement, a very shallow movement by the way. From this I moved into the Prosperity Gospel, another very shallow movement. The one question that always ate a my craw was why Christians in America while those in Sudan were being martyred and sold into slavery? During this transition I became involve in the Christian Reconstructionist movement. I enjoyed reading the books of the leader of this movement but then I made the mistake of joining an online discussion group. I have never seen such hate toward people as I saw in those offspring. I abandoned the movement.
I did find one source of encouragement which was Calvinism and some wonderful writers of this system of belief. Back to the Prosperity Gospel, which I like to call the Napoleon Hill Gospel. No offense to Napoleon Hill but what he taught and the Gospel of Jesus Christ are two different things. I like how Steven Brown talks about it... I have decided that I am not going to get any better but I know that God loves me anyway.
I did begin moving into the Anabaptist tradition. Those people who have left organized religion because of how shallow it has become. The funny thing is that many evangelicals have moved into the liturgical traditions of Catholicism or Orthodoxy or Lutheranism/Anglicanism. Those churches that find Christ in the liturgy are those the endure tribulations. What I discovered about the so you don't want to go to church anymore crowd is that all they have done is formed a new religious system that fits themselves.
Today I found my copy of the Westminster Confession of Faith and have decided to begin anew in the great Reformation traditions of old. I don't know where still will lead but I trust Christ. My ramblings have nothing to do with the titles I choose.
Monday, September 07, 2009
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