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4 Interesting Christian Stats!
@ 07/07/2008 – 16:47:15
Three independent New Zealand research projects show half of those who leave gangs do because they become Christian.
Arthur C. Brooks demonstrated in his 2006 book Who Really Cares? that religious believers in the US are far more giving than secular liberals, donating considerably more money, giving more blood and volunteering more of their time. They're more generous to all charities, including non-religious ones, and are some 57 per cent more likely than a secularist to help a homeless person.
When it comes to volunteering, there's no contest. Without the churches "dealing with many of our social ills," says George Gallup, "the tax burden would be crushing".
Last month, the Anglican Church in Britain released a commissioned report called Moral, But No Compass, which showed if a monetary value was put on the charitable work done by its congregations and clergy - some 50,000 volunteers providing a multitude of services "without judgment or conditions attached" - it would run into hundreds of millions of pounds. Yet the Government's secular agenda and a climate of liberal suspicion are undermining that work. Tapu Misa
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Leaving Church
@ 29/06/2008 – 18:31:29
poached from opensource theology
People keep leaving the “church” to go to house churches (which may be more of the “church” than our buildings in warehouses with pastors wearing cutoff jeans and bleaching their hair to be relevant), and now I understand why.
I’m hanging in there because I think the church can sort it out… but these are the five reasons I would cite to leave the church:
5. My pastor hasn’t had a relationship with a non-believer in over 10 years
4. The leaders of my church are workaholics and I find it hard to believe they have a healthy relationship with the Lord when they don’t have the time for their family
3. I’m sick of it being about one man. Be that the pastor, or the musician or whatever, I want to see them raising up other people and sending them out, content to have many small churches instead of one mega church
2. There are 1,000 people who attend my church. I know 50 and only care about 20 of them. I attend a small group to go deeper with those I care about, but I have no reason to remember the name of the guy whose hand I shake between worship and the sermon
1. There is no place to really do ministry, the leaders will not let go of control. I want to pray for people, bless people, watch out for people, be there for people. I want to be invited to do what the Lord has called me to do.
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Things they tell Church Planters That are simply Wrong
@ 29/06/2008 – 18:27:56
I really enjoyed this article having been a Church planter for Ten years. It's very honest and very true. Read the full article here
1. It's All about Sunday.
2. If it's not working your signage or location is not working.
3. What counts is attendence, baptisim's and membership signup's.
4. For the first two years work as hard as you can without burning out.
5. The goal of every pastor should be full time paid.
6. Some people are just scafolding people.
7. Gather a crowd first, work out the disciples later. -
Here's the Church but where's the People?
@ 18/06/2008 – 06:48:04
There was a time when the First United Methodist Church here was a hub of activity, with a booming school, regular church suppers, and worshipers who packed the pews of the white steepled building.
No more. The congregation has been dwindling for years and now is barely hanging on.
On a recent Sunday, just five worshipers gathered in the 300-seat church to pray at the 11 a.m. service. The Rev. Peggy Kieras sat alone by the grand wooden pulpit, cradling a remote control for the compact disc player that provides music for hymns, just underneath the towering pipes of the unused organ...
Although both Catholic and mainline Protestant denominations face falling attendance at worship, these different branches of the Christian family are taking radically different approaches to determining whether a congregation is viable, and who should decide what to do about a failing church. read the rest
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House Church update
@ 02/06/2008 – 13:25:11
tallskinnykiwi sniffed out this excellent House Church update from Reggie McNeal talking to the Reformed Church in America's One Thing leadership conference about House Church today.
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