When I logged on to the Internet this morning the headline on my homepage stated that 25% of the world is now Muslim. Below the headline there was another headline discussing the decline of Christianity (you can read it here
Here are a couple statements from the Fox News article by Bruce Feller:
"In the coming months, America will become a minority Protestant nation for the first time since the pilgrims."
"The number of Christians has declined 12% since 1990, and is now 76%, the lowest percentage in American History."
"The growth of non-believers has come largely from men. Twenty percent of men express no religious affiliation."
"Young People are fleeing faith. Nearly a quarter of Americans in their 20's profess no organized religion."
"Americans are interested in God, but they don't think existing institutions are helping them draw closer to God."
When is "the" church going to pay attention to what is happening in our culture? When are we going to really take seriously our call to make disciples instead of just growing a church? People are growing farther and farther from God and the church does not seem to get it.
What are your thoughts? I would love to here them.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Down at the River
On Monday morning I had the opportunity to walk into the chilled waters of the Kent River, not to fish, but to baptize Lori. As a baby her parents had her baptized, which is a tribute to them because of their desire to see her grow up knowing Jesus. After a few years of praying about being immersed, Lori decided this is something she wanted to do and I got to participate.
Lori did not want to be baptized in the traditional setting. She decided that she wanted to do it outside in a more natural setting. So she picked a place on the Kent River. It was awesome for several reasons. First, it was a place in which God provided the setting and the water. Maybe this was the more traditional setting. In the book of Acts they used whatever water was available at the time. This baptism took me back in time when baptism was not just a ritual, but had a deeper meaning.
Another reason this was meaningful was because of the public witness. While we were praying a group of people were walking on a nearby path. They stopped and asked if they could watch. Think about it. We make baptism a closed event for the most part. We may invite people to come to church when someone gets baptized. But the witnesses are mostly believers. But outside there are no barriers as to who may witness the story of Jesus' death burial and resurrection. I'm thinking we should baptize people in public places more often. What a perfect way to take the church out to the culture. Which is the goal of becoming a missional church.
Finally, whenever someone is immersed and united with Jesus' death, burial and resurrection it just tells the greatest story of all time. Remember when you were a child and you had your parents read the same story every night? It never got old. This story does not get old either. The story of what Jesus did for us never gets old because it's personal. This story includes you and me. This story is about how Jesus loved us enough that he paid our penalty of sin so we can be with him forever.
It really does not matter where the story is told. The important thing is that the story is told. Thanks Lori for letting me share in that story with you on Monday.
Lori did not want to be baptized in the traditional setting. She decided that she wanted to do it outside in a more natural setting. So she picked a place on the Kent River. It was awesome for several reasons. First, it was a place in which God provided the setting and the water. Maybe this was the more traditional setting. In the book of Acts they used whatever water was available at the time. This baptism took me back in time when baptism was not just a ritual, but had a deeper meaning.
Another reason this was meaningful was because of the public witness. While we were praying a group of people were walking on a nearby path. They stopped and asked if they could watch. Think about it. We make baptism a closed event for the most part. We may invite people to come to church when someone gets baptized. But the witnesses are mostly believers. But outside there are no barriers as to who may witness the story of Jesus' death burial and resurrection. I'm thinking we should baptize people in public places more often. What a perfect way to take the church out to the culture. Which is the goal of becoming a missional church.
Finally, whenever someone is immersed and united with Jesus' death, burial and resurrection it just tells the greatest story of all time. Remember when you were a child and you had your parents read the same story every night? It never got old. This story does not get old either. The story of what Jesus did for us never gets old because it's personal. This story includes you and me. This story is about how Jesus loved us enough that he paid our penalty of sin so we can be with him forever.
It really does not matter where the story is told. The important thing is that the story is told. Thanks Lori for letting me share in that story with you on Monday.
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