Disconnected Teens
Top 6 reasons regular churchgoing teens disconnect from the church after age 15: 1) Churches seem overprotective. 2) Teens’ and 20-somethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow. 3) Churches come across as antagonistic to science. 4) Young Christians’ church experiences related to sexuality are often simplistic, judgmental. 5) They wrestle with the exclusive nature of Christianity.
The Holy Ghost: Who He Is and What He Does
Author Unknown I. Who He IsThe Holy Ghost is God.1) Spirit (Acts 5:3, 4)2) Comforter (John 14:16)3) Truth (John 14:17)4) Son (John 14:18; 2 Corinthians 3:17) II. What He Does1) Convicts (John 16:7, 8)2) Converts (John 3:8)3) Comes in (1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16; 1 John 3:24)4) Teaches (John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 1
"God dwells in a state of perpetual enthusiasm. He is delighted with all that is good and lovingly concerned about all that is wrong. He pursues His labors always in a fullness of holy zeal. No wonder the Spirit came at Pentecost as a sound of a rushing mighty wind and sat in tongues of fire on every forehead. . . . Whatever else happened at Pentecost, one thing that cannot be missed by the most casual observer was the sudden upsurging of moral enthusiasm. Those first disciples burned with a steady, inward fire. They were enthusiastic to the point of complete abandon." - A. W. Tozer
Enthusiasm
"In a consumer society, there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addictions and the prisoners of envy." - Ivan Illich
"We have all had the experience of struggling to break a habit, failing repeatedly, and then at some point meeting with success. What was this success, and how did it happen? We can say it was willpower, but what suddenly empowered our will? We can say it was finding the right strategy, but what enabled that discovery? Did we do it on our own, or did grace break through and deliver us, or was it some mysterious cooperation of will and grace that we could never have engineered?" - Gerald G. May
"I’m afraid the churches are just enabling the addictions of our culture. If we are not free from the cultural addictions in the church, how can we be a healing presence for all those who need to be set free?" - N. Gordon Cosby
"Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol or morphine or idealism." - Carl Jung
"Recovery is a process; it is not a quick fix. It involves much more than giving up the addictive agent." - Anne Wilson Schaef and Diane Fassel
"It is not heroin or cocaine that makes one an addict. It is the need to escape from harsh reality. There are more baseball and football addicts, more movie addicts, and certainly more alcoholic addicts in this country than there are narcotics addicts." - Rep. Shirley Chisholm
"My denial of my sin protects, preserves, perpetuates that sin! Ugliness in me, while I live in illusions, can only grow the uglier." - Walter Wangerin Jr.
"We can’t prevent the problem of sexual addiction within the church if we don’t change our message from “how to feel better now” to the unpopular biblical theme that “the sufferings we now experience are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). - Dr. Harry W. Schaumburd
Addiction
Sex Trafficking Awareness
Next to drug trafficking, human trafficking is the No. 2 largest organized crime today. 8 Ways Your Church Can Fight Slavery 1) Freedom Sunday (notforsale.org) 2) Pray 3) Create Awareness and Educate 4) Localize the Issue 5) Educate on a Screen Before or During Worship 6) Lead a Donations Drive 7) Support Fair-Trade Products 8)
Multi-Generational
Millennials (Gen Y, Gen Next, Gen Net, Mosaics, Echo Boomers)1984-2002Key events: 9/11, war against terrorism, economic recession, Asian tsunami, Hurricane KatrinaPsycho-graphics: confident, self-expressive, liberal and not religious, wary of human nature and cautious Gen X (Busters, MTV Generation)1965-1983Key events: Challenger explosion, fall of the Berlin Wall, Gulf War, Oklahoma City bombing, Columbine shootingPsycho-graphics: significantly smaller
Popcultured
Thinking Christianly About Style, Media and Entertainment – Steve Turner. IVP Books. Understanding what drives popular culture is crucial for the church – whether we are consumers or creators. It will help us relate to the stories, the poetry, the idolatry of our times – and so to speak powerfully to our culture’s hopes and
Secret of Power
Author unknown Zechariah 4:6 The church has lost her vision and power. The church is never more powerless in all history than she is today. What is the secret of power and how to regain it? I. Source of Power (Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 3:17) II. Power “In” and “Upon” (John 7:38; Psalm 1:3; Acts
"May you live all the days of your life." - Johnathan Swift
Life
Every day of his adult life, Ben Franklin set aside the time to examine two questions. The morning question was, "What good shall I do today?" The evening question was, "What good have I done today?"
Accountability
Where America Ranks in the World
Where American women rank in the world… Workforce participation: 60th(Burundi is #1) Abortions: 24th(Vietnam is #1) Bullied teens: 10th(Turkey is #1) Math scores: 31st(Taiwan is #1) Miss Universe wins: 1st (Ranking America) 2ProphetU2ProphetU is an online magazine/website, started by Warren Wiersbe and Michael Catt, to build up the church, seek revival, and encourage pastors.
Life After Death
Percent of Americans who never wonder, “If I were to die today, do I know for sure that I would go to heaven?” Age 65+36% Age 18-2926% Americans who attend weekly worship services57% Americans who never attend worship services67% Protestants who identify as born-again or Evangelical58% Protestants who don’t identify as born-again or Evangelical34% (Christianity