Church Closings

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Oct 27, 2005 in Church | 9 comments

Take a look at the article in World magazine (October 29, 2005 issue) about church closings.

Get ready, America. Get ready for the huge collapse from within that is soon to result in the locking of hundreds and then thousands of church doors across our country—all from the inside.

The trend is already well under way, of course, in Roman Catholic circles. In Boston, in Toledo, and in St. Louis, parishioners are protesting, but to no avail. They don’t buy their bishops’ arguments that priest shortages, dwindling finances, rising maintenance and utility costs, and shifting populations are forcing once familiar facilities to be boarded up. From the vigor of the protests, you’d think that hundreds of thousands of folks had been displaced‚Äîbut it was the emptiness of the pews in the first place that produced the phenomenon.

Mainline churches, like the Methodist church in my own neighborhood, will not be far behind. Denominational treasuries simply aren’t up to the task of sustaining ministry personnel and facility upkeep for neighborhood “franchises” that can’t carry their own weight. When the 25 elderly people who gather now each week dwindle to a dozen, someone will have to pay the piper. And someone will have also to figure out who will mow the lawn of the church that isn’t being used anymore.

And then‚Äîsooner than you think‚Äîit will be the turn of the evangelical churches as well. Thousands of them, too, are teetering on the edge of their existence. Stick your head in the door on a typical Sunday, and see how many children are around. If you were a regional manager for McDonald’s, you’d close the place in a jiffy. Except for the grit and determination of a few old stalwarts, it would already have happened. But there’s no promise for the future.

Go to your Google search engine and enter “church closings.” This morning I got 508,000 responses. A few of them had to do with finding out who was closing in case of snow or ice. Most of the entries, though, are about a much, much worse storm that is brewing.

Another reason I hope to start DonateChurch.org as a place for dying churches to plant their seed into new church plants. Kind of a classifieds for new churches who are growing to find dying churches and the reverse. More to come…

Salvation Gate Ministry

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Oct 26, 2005 in Church Technology, Sheep&Goats | 2 comments

“Fundamentalist Muslims are manifesting what they believe today. Their mission is to change the world so that it is under their control. If you don’t agree with them, they will kill you. They don’t value or respect other people’s lives or even their own lives. They will have no mercy. Americans may want to be tolerant, peaceful and loving, but [Fundamentalist] Muslims will get rid of [these Americans] because they are not following their teachings. They want to change the lifestyle of everyone to the way things were 1000 years ago. The culture, customs, and dress will return to the Stone Age. These Muslims undermine women, who are considered second-class citizens. These Muslims want to tell you what to wear, eat, and how you live. If a person doesn’t go by their rules, they are justified in their killing of you,” said Getachew (Gary) Wymedihin, chairman of the board at Salvation Gate Ministry. Salvation Gate Ministry is a group of San Diego–based Ethiopians whose stated mission is to bring the revelation of God and His kingdom to Islamic regions. Fundamentalist Muslims have targeted Africa as a continent to Islamize as part of their growth strategy. “Ethiopia is being targeted by Muslims. Muslims believe if Ethiopia is converted, Islam will spread through all of Africa,” said Henock Menebo, the founder of Salvation Gate Ministry. Menebo said this is based on a plan that Muslims devised and taught at a 1989 conference in Nigeria. “There are three reasons Ethiopia is central to their plans,” said Menebo. “First, it is the capital city of the African nations, with ambassadors from every African country present there. Second, Ethiopia has the second largest number of ambassadors, second only to New York. Third, the Ethiopian city of Harer is considered the fifth holiest place, according to Islam.”

Full Article: Salvation Gate Ministry

The Gospel According to Anne Rice

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Oct 25, 2005 in Culture | 3 comments

Years ago I would enjoy a good Anne Rice book with her depiction of vampire life. Her take on vampires (while controversial) portrayed a thirst for blood like a drug addiction, immortality as a path towards isolation and loneliness and a burning desire for power. It was in her writing that I saw James 1: 14-15

…each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

But Anne Rice has left these writings as she returns to her Christian roots…

In two weeks, Anne Rice… will publish “Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt,” a novel about the 7-year-old Jesus, narrated by Christ himself. “I promised,” she says, “that from now on I would write only for the Lord.” It’s the most startling public turnaround since Bob Dylan’s “Slow Train Coming” announced that he’d been born again. Source MSNBC News

Some interesting stances she takes:

-Christ’s birth date of 11 B.C.
-James, Jesus’ disciple, is the son of Joseph by a previous marriage.
-The young Jesus studies with the historian Philo of Alexandria,
-She’s used legends of the boy Messiah’s miracles from the noncanonical Apocrypha such as bringing clay birds to life, striking a bully dead and resurrecting him.
-The article states that “Rice’s most daring move, though, is to try to get inside the head of a 7-year-old kid who’s intermittently aware that he’s also God Almighty.”

This should be pretty fascinating and/or disturbing.

The Twelve Tribes

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Oct 24, 2005 in Church Technology, Sheep&Goats | 8 comments

I spent 5 hours Saturday with the Twelve Tribes community in Vista. Have you ever heard of it?

The Growth and Influence of Islam

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Oct 20, 2005 in Church | 1 comment

I spoke with an Ethiopian who provided some pretty amazing stories of what is happening as Islam targets the conversion of Ethopia. Ethopia is the United Africa capital and all countries have their ambassadors there. Islam has dedicated considerable resources to convert this nation…more to come.
Read The Growth and Influence of Islam In Ethiopia From 1989 to 2000 (doc).