16 Illegals Sue Arizona Rancher

An Arizona man who has waged a 10-year campaign to stop a flood of illegal immigrants from crossing his property is being sued by 16 Mexican nationals who accuse him of conspiring to violate their civil rights when he stopped them at gunpoint on his ranch on the U.S.-Mexico border.  (Washington Times Link)

Socialism

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” – Margaret Thatcher

Young Adult Crisis

Almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers reported Monday in the most extensive study of its kind.

The disorders include problems such as obsessive or compulsive tendencies and anti-social behavior that can sometimes lead to violence. The study also found that fewer than 25 percent of college-aged Americans with mental problems get treatment. (read more….)

Why Churches Die

 

I received the following email… 

 

Why Churches Die is the title of a book recently written by Mac Brunson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, and Ergun Caner, dean of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. The subtitle of the book is “Diagnosing Lethal Poisons in the Body of Christ.”

The chapter titles of the book use medical terms to describe behavior among members that can cause problems within a church. As an example, the excerpt given here is from Chapter 11,  “Anorexia and Bulimia: Eating Disorders of the Word of God.”

In writing under the header, “The Contemporary Church and Young Saints,” Ergun Caner and Mac Brunson analyzed a problem that has troubled many pastors and churches. —Robert Ashcraft (The author of this post via email.)

For twenty years, since the second “Jesus Revolution” movement of the mid-1980s, our churches have fed them a steady diet of “lite” sermons. As our churches exploded in growth and we became focused on trends and movements, one of the first “traditions” to be jettisoned was the clichéd long and winding sermon. Our pulpits began to confuse relevance with truth. We began to expound sermons on “Fifteen Reasons to Get Up Tomorrow” and “Thirty Ways to Get Over a Headache.”

            We decided that people needed truth in small doses, and we left the heavier and deeper truths for small groups, cell groups, and Discipleship Training. The problem is that the Christian audience in general developed an aversion to the most profound and deep truths of Scripture.

In addition, the worship experience also exploded on our culture. Hundreds of thousands of young Christians have attended thousands of concerts and meetings, and their praises have reached the heavens. Truly, Christian music and worship have entered the mainstream, and bands have become our new heroes. Sadly, many of these bands are so talented that the last component they consider is the lyrics. They find a Christian songwriter, a good beat, and three chords, and the next thing you know, they are headlining.

Tragically, as these youth look up to these bands as their spiritual mentors, many of the bands are starved for the Word of God as well. They are so busy traveling and playing, they rarely have time to attend church, much less get deeper in their biblical knowledge and wisdom. Thus, the milk-fed musicians are writing milk-fed songs, and feeding spiritually lactose-intolerant youth.

Please take note that these are not the words of two elderly curmudgeons, whining that things are “not the way they used to be!” Both authors not only speak in youth conferences and events, but Ergun commits ten weeks a year to youth camps and events. We have a passionate commitment to youth and college-age Christians and have spoken at state fairs and amusement parks, as well as civic auditoriums. We share the stage with the very people and the very culture we are discussing.

You see, it is not the musicians’ fault either. They are also victims of a culture that demands results, releases, and success. The Christian carousel is spinning faster and faster, and yet not getting anywhere. If we are not careful, we will become casualties of our own popularity. The Christian culture’s fame will become our poison. We will encounter an entire generation of Christian leaders who have developed spiritual anorexia and bulimia.

Hebrews: Lactose-Intolerant Babes in Christ

All the spiritual eating disorders begin in a small manner. The development of an allergic reaction to the milk of the Word takes time, and only after time does it become noticeable. Christians who should be strong and vibrant become stunted in their spiritual growth, and the cause is clear. They have neglected the steady diet of the Bible.

After quoting Hebrews 5:11-14, the authors made the following pointed observations:

        * They had much to learn but could not.

        * Their predicament was difficult to explain because they were slow to understand.

        * By this time, many of them should be discipling other Christians, but instead they themselves needed someone to walk them through the basics in the Bible.

        * They could not handle the deeper and more profound issues of Christianity. Instead, they needed the basic “milk” which was easily digested and simple in formula.

        * “Milk-fed Christians” are unable to handle the doctrines and profundity of God, because they are spiritual infants.

        * “Solid food,” the true meat of the Word, is only for mature Christians.

        * “Solid food” is for those who have developed spiritual wisdom and discernment, knowing right and wrong without having it fed to them in the passive sense.

The resolution of these theological problems was almost impossible, however, because they first needed to get the basics settled… Intense study was beyond them, because for Christians to get deeper they must mature in their walk. One of the marks of Christian maturity is the ability to distinguish between truth and error, as well as biblical truths and unbiblical deceptions.

Some Christian students enter our Christian universities and seminaries, and immediately they have a difficult time in classes, because their understanding of the essential and fundamental elements of Christianity is flawed. They have only an experiential understanding of Christ. We are not doubting their salvation; we are lamenting their lack of maturity.

Neither are we blaming the pastors or churches completely. The blame for our predicament is spread evenly throughout the contemporary Christian world. Churches make demands on the pastors to “go easy,” because they cannot handle the “meat.” Pastors notice that churches grow when they preach less intensive, less demanding sermons. Offerings go up when we keep everyone happy. We hear of church growth methods that make a sustainable play for discipleship, but only for a radically small percentage of the body. We begin to form the assumption that maturity in Christ and His Word is not for everyone.

We are deadly wrong.

The consequences of Christian immaturity are dire. Every year in every church, we receive reports of new members (and sometimes older members) being carried away into a cult. Our churches begin to fight over issues that are clearly settled in the Word of God, simply because the members (and sometimes the leaders) do not know the Bible. Thus, they act on feeling and experience. Churches adopt unbiblical standards and doctrines, and no one is the wiser, because they have never discovered the truths in serious and systematic Bible study.

As this pattern continues, the problem becomes even more pandemic. These spiritually immature, milk-fed Christians rise to positions of leadership. The church, confusing man’s talents for God’s gifting, sees certain attributes in these people that would make them effective leaders. But without a foundation in the Bible, these new leaders begin teaching, and they can take their classes and their students only as far and as deep as they themselves are. Thus, the milk-fed teachers try to bring their converts to their level, but even that shallow depth is too much. The second generation of shallow Christians becomes lactose-intolerant. They cannot even handle the very basic issues.

Something has to fill their need. Something has to satiate their hunger and thirst for righteousness. Where truth, doctrine, and Scripture cannot fill, experience enters. The generation of superficial Christians then begins to measure their Christianity, not by what they believe but by how they feel.

This is a profound error. Measuring your Christianity by your experience can lead to a myriad of related ailments. Without a true biblical marker and measurement, one is easily deceived into measuring by the amount of tears one cries or the sharpness of the tingle that transverses your spine.   

This condition is made worse when we realize that our culture measures truth by the same standards. Think about it, These days, it is rare to find anyone use the phrase, “I Believe.” Rational thought is scorned in the marketplace. Instead, it has been replaced with the phrase, “I feel.” The person speaking develops a serious look on his face. He attempts to look genuine as he feeds you his rational for his position. Regardless of how ungodly his belief system is, he will attempt to convince you of its authenticity because of his sincerity,

Therefore, sincerity becomes the measuring standard for truth. Unfortunately, people can be both sincere and sincerely wrong. Hitler was sincere. That did not make him right.

Enter the worship dilemma. Musicians, many of whom are actually very mature Christians, discover that a generation of lactose-intolerant Christian youth cannot and will not imbibe deep theological and biblical truths in their music. Though the artists attempt to discipline the youth with weighty teachings, these truths go right over their heads. Instead sensory-measuring youth seek sensory-satisfying worship. Does the song make me cry? Does the melody make me jump up and down? Is it a catchy tune? Then it will become a big hit, whether or not the words make sense.

Currently a popular Christian group of singers has had great success at crossing over into both the Southern Gospel and Contemporary Christian markets. Their concerts sell out, and their albums are best sellers. Unfortunately, all the members of this group come from a Christian sect that has cultic tendencies such as teaching that their sect alone is going to heaven. Still, the people will say, “Stop talking about it. Those types of discussions divide and separate. We need to be united.”  

The symptoms of spiritual infancy (and being “milk-fed”) are the same for physical infancy. They cannot feed themselves but are wholly dependent on others for nourishment. They can take the “milk” only in small doses. Perhaps most telling, they cry when their needs are not met, because of their total self-centeredness. How can they even consider others when they themselves have a need for constant attention?

Mac Brunson & Ergun Caner, Why Churches Die, pp. 173-180  

Scientists Rethinking Our Place in the Universe

“This idea that we live in a void would really be a statement that we live in a special place,” Clifton told SPACE.com. “The regular cosmological model is based on the idea that where we live is a typical place in the universe. This would be a contradiction to the Copernican principle.”

 

Story Here

Rabid Contextualism

Dr. Walt Scalen, assistant professor of government at Steven F. Austin State University in Texas, is exactly right when he observes that “somehow the ‘we are changing the methods not the message’ slogan has so resonated with many Christians anxious to see progress in evangelism and growth in numbers that caution has been thrown to the wind. Assuming that all cultural forms are neutral, almost anything is now ‘worship,’ and virtually any outreach method is appropriate for ‘fishers of men.’

One of the little examined assumptions of the rabid contextualism that is driving many ‘progressive’ evangelical Christians to adopt every conceivable cultural form as a means of evangelism is that cultural forms are considered to be largely neutral. For example, heavy metal music is associated with a relatively well defined youth sub culture. To reach this group, it is assumed that the Gospel message can be carried by such cultural forms as skulls and other death symbols and yet the message remains intact, unscathed and unchanged. Thus, the magic bullet of the New Christianity: the methods change, but the message doesn’t. This idea is wildly popular, repeated ad infinitum on a daily basis by the millions who consider it an unquestioned and absolute edict. From ‘Jesus Mosques’ to reach Moslems to ‘Jesus Meditation’ to reach mystics, there are no limits to which so-called ‘European Christianity’ must be reshaped to fit every conceivable cultural form.”

The entire article may be read here.

Atheists’ Straw God Arguments

 “There is no God, and I hate him!” This seems to be the subtext for much of the “new atheism” propounded in books by Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and others. What distinguishes this new breed of unbelief is, in part, its vehemence and vitriol. The gloves are off. Religion — all religion — is not just false, but dangerous to civilization itself. Dawkins concludes his book, The God Delusion, by arguing that raising children to be religious is a form of child abuse. Hitchens concurs. God, given His bad reputation, must be banished from the universe. —

 So begins the excellent article by Dr. Douglas Groothuis found at TrueU.org.

In it he deals with two common errors: 1) All Religion is Similarly Irrational, 2) No Arguments for God Succeed.

It’s a great read!

Jesus is not a Life-enhancement Product!

NASHVILLE, March 8 /Christian Newswire/ — “It is ironic that Christian broadcasters will be crowding into the Gaylord Opryland Resort’s Delta Ballroom on Monday night, March 10, for a “Night of Comedy,” says 50-year veteran Christian broadcaster, Dr. Vic Eliason, founder of the VCY America Radio Network and Channel 30 Television in Milwaukee. Eliason served in the past as president of Midwest NRB for two years and as NRB Board member for 18 years. He is currently attending the NRB Convention underway in Nashville.

“As Christian broadcasters we are facing a culture and nation that is increasingly hostile to biblical truth. We are looking at the possible resurrection of the Fairness Doctrine that would have a devastating impact on many of our ministries. We are facing one of the most important elections in our nation’s history that will have huge consequences in all areas of life. We face terrorism worries, economic tremors and a steady encroachment on our civil liberties,” he said. “The moral squalor in our land is ever worsening as evidenced by the multi-billion dollar porn industry that flows into our nation’s homes to the harm of our children. Nearly 50 million preborn Americans have lost their lives in the womb, and the numbers continue to mount. In the extremely limited time we have here in Nashville, it is tragically significant that Christian broadcasters are spending Monday evening laughing their sides off at three comedians at the Night of Comedy, and following that up with Monday Night Madness an hour later for a meet and greet with the air-brushed celebrities of the music industry.

“Eliason says he has seen vast changes in the landscape in Christian broadcasting over the decades. “When I began in Christian broadcasting years ago, there was a seriousness, a gravity among those whose driving passion was to air an unadulterated Gospel message. Ministry was the focus. We now have an “Industry” focus that results in Disney and Fox consultants coming in to tell us how to present the Gospel.

“A Disney exec is going to be telling us about, ‘The Power of a Story’. We need the creators of Cinderella to tell us how to present the story of the living Christ? What ever happened to the power of the Holy Spirit?” asks Dr. Eliason. “The emphasis today is not on the preaching of the Word. We’re told that nobody will listen to preaching any longer, that only images will suffice. Yet Scripture tells us in I Corinthians 1:21 that it is through the preaching of the Word that the Holy Spirit works to convert souls. In our endless and expensive quest for cultural relevance, we are losing the heart of the Gospel message, which is to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Christ. Unlike what many religious broadcasters are airing today, Jesus is not a life-enhancement product.”

Dr. Eliason concludes by saying, “What a powerful thing it would be if all of those broadcasters who are still committed to getting the true Gospel out to the masses through media would kneel and seek God at a mass prayer meeting in the Delta Ballroom. We could confess corporately that all of our slick media techniques, all of the money that is now the motivation in so much of religious broadcasting, and all the man-made strategies are ultimately worthless in changing hearts without the power of God in our ministries. What we are needing as Christian broadcasters at this hour is repentance and a return to the core purpose for our vast media assets—to unapologetically preach Christ crucified, the only hope of the world.”

Dr. Vic Eliason served as a president of Midwest NRB and served on the NRB Board of Directors for 18 years. He is founder and Executive Director of the VCY America Radio Network and Channel 30 Television in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and hosts the nationally syndicated radio show, Crosstalk, heard on 84 stations each day. Vic Eliason was a Christian radio pioneer in the Midwest back when FM was in its infancy and just celebrated 50 years of Christian broadcast ministry.

Must the Show Go On?

For centuries the Church stood solidly against every form of worldly entertainment, recognizing it for what it was—a device for wasting time, a refuge from the disturbing voice of conscience, a scheme to divert attention from moral accountability. For this she got herself abused roundly by the sons of this world. But of late she has become tired of the abuse and has given over the struggle. She appears to have decided that if she cannot conquer the great god Entertainment she may as well join forces with him and make what use she can of his powers. So today we have the astonishing spectacle of millions of dollars being poured into the unholy job of providing earthly entertainment for the so-called sons of heaven. Religious entertainment is in many places rapidly crowding out the serious things of God. Many churches these days have become little more than poor theaters where fifth-rate “producers” peddle their shoddy wares with the full approval of evangelical leaders who can even quote a holy text in defense of their delinquency. And hardly a man dares raise his voice against it. – A. W. Tozer

Connecting with Sex for Jesus

 

A former Baptist pastor markets his relevant church with sex. The demeanor of the participants on camera is almost as interesting as the comments of the reporters.

See for yourself… here. 

Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.