Showing posts with label church growth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church growth. Show all posts
Saturday, April 04, 2026
Monday, March 09, 2026
Sunday, November 16, 2025
Sunday, July 20, 2025
Latino Catholics are transforming the Church. It’s ‘about time.’
Latinos are now 40 percent of the U.S. Catholic Church and likely to become the majority. The election of American-Peruvian Pope Leo reflects their ascendence.
July 17, 2025
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Mexican American parishioners leave a Catholic Mass on Sept. 15 in Brooklyn. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis News/Getty Images)
By Michelle Boorstein and
Rachel Hatzipanagos
DES PLAINES, Ill. — Latino Catholics are building more of their own institutions, including a major leadership-training group and the country’s first Latino owned-and-run Catholic retreat center. Spanish-speaking Catholics are reviving shrinking White parishes. And the percentage of Latino Catholics born in the United States — not abroad — is rising.
This is a time of change for Latino Catholics, who now make up nearly 40 percent of the U.S. church, and who some U.S. Catholicism experts predict are likely to become the majority in the coming decades.
Fourteen percent of Catholics born between 1928 and 1945 were Latino compared with 54 percent of Gen Z Catholics born between 1997 and 2005, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“It’s been about time,” Vicente Del Real, 35, said of the prominent, self-built Latino Catholic institutions becoming more common in the United States. Del Real emigrated from Mexico as a teen to Illinois and founded Iskali, a group that supports young Latino Catholics, and Casa Iskali, a retreat center in Des Plaines, Illinois. “I could have said this 50 years ago and it would have been true. There should be another 200 or 300 organizations like ours around the country.”
But the U.S. Catholic Church is still facing significant challenges, including the disruptive impact of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies. Also, Latinos are a bigger share of the U.S. Catholic population, but younger Latinos are fleeing Catholicism, mostly to become religiously unaffiliated.
By Michelle Boorstein and
Rachel Hatzipanagos
DES PLAINES, Ill. — Latino Catholics are building more of their own institutions, including a major leadership-training group and the country’s first Latino owned-and-run Catholic retreat center. Spanish-speaking Catholics are reviving shrinking White parishes. And the percentage of Latino Catholics born in the United States — not abroad — is rising.
This is a time of change for Latino Catholics, who now make up nearly 40 percent of the U.S. church, and who some U.S. Catholicism experts predict are likely to become the majority in the coming decades.
Fourteen percent of Catholics born between 1928 and 1945 were Latino compared with 54 percent of Gen Z Catholics born between 1997 and 2005, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“It’s been about time,” Vicente Del Real, 35, said of the prominent, self-built Latino Catholic institutions becoming more common in the United States. Del Real emigrated from Mexico as a teen to Illinois and founded Iskali, a group that supports young Latino Catholics, and Casa Iskali, a retreat center in Des Plaines, Illinois. “I could have said this 50 years ago and it would have been true. There should be another 200 or 300 organizations like ours around the country.”
But the U.S. Catholic Church is still facing significant challenges, including the disruptive impact of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies. Also, Latinos are a bigger share of the U.S. Catholic population, but younger Latinos are fleeing Catholicism, mostly to become religiously unaffiliated.
In 2010, 67 percent of Hispanic Americans were Catholic compared with 43 percent now, according to Pew Research.
Thursday, June 05, 2025
Monday, September 21, 2015
On Eve of Pope Francis’s Visit, U.S. Catholic Church Grapples With Growth and Decline
U.S. THE POPE IN AMERICA
As the population of the U.S. Catholic church grows in some areas and declines in others, Can Pope Francis and the American clergy bring balance to the church?
A Sunday morning mass in August at Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Riverside, Calif., was a packed. PHOTO: STUART PALLEY FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By TAMARA AUDI
Sept. 20, 2015 8:00 a.m. ET
RIVERSIDE, Calif.—Father Miguel Ruiz, a charismatic Argentinian known for his homemade mango jam, rushed across his bustling church campus 60 miles east of Los Angeles, smiling and shaking hands before slipping into the back of a hall packed with families.
His day had started at 7 a.m., checking the progress of construction on the new Queen of Angels Roman Catholic Church—its steel frame towering over the current sanctuary that has grown too small after its congregation tripled in a decade. After morning Mass, he squeezed in a trip to Home Depot for supplies to repair a broken bathroom tile. Now, well past sunset on a recent Wednesday night, he had night classes to teach.
“It’s always like this,” said Father Miguel, whose parish holds 8 to 12 masses a weekend. “A lot of life, lot of activity.”
RIVERSIDE, Calif.—Father Miguel Ruiz, a charismatic Argentinian known for his homemade mango jam, rushed across his bustling church campus 60 miles east of Los Angeles, smiling and shaking hands before slipping into the back of a hall packed with families.
His day had started at 7 a.m., checking the progress of construction on the new Queen of Angels Roman Catholic Church—its steel frame towering over the current sanctuary that has grown too small after its congregation tripled in a decade. After morning Mass, he squeezed in a trip to Home Depot for supplies to repair a broken bathroom tile. Now, well past sunset on a recent Wednesday night, he had night classes to teach.
“It’s always like this,” said Father Miguel, whose parish holds 8 to 12 masses a weekend. “A lot of life, lot of activity.”
A new larger Queen of Angels Catholic Church was under construction in August near the original church in Riverside. PHOTO: STUART PALLEY FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The U.S. Catholic Church is expanding quickly in the South and West, largely driven by immigrants from Latin America filling pews in Atlanta, Houston and in Southern California.
Meanwhile, the church is contracting in the East and upper Midwest, where historic Catholic strongholds like Boston, Detroit and New York City are closing parishes as population or attendance declines.
The result: Old-line dioceses are battling to keep their doors open, even as fast-growing ones are scrambling to meet the needs of the growing faithful.
The Diocese of San Bernardino, which includes Queen of Angels, has grown by 400,000 in eight years to 1.6 million Catholics.
“It’s like they all decided to come at the same time,” said Bishop Gerald Barnes of San Bernardino Diocese, which includes two Southern California counties and stretches to Arizona. “It’s a tremendous blessing and a challenge.”
The once-sleepy rural diocese of San Bernardino is now the country’s 6th largest. Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Detroit, which includes six counties in southeastern Michigan, slipped from 8th to 11th largest, with 1.3 million Catholics—down nearly 15% since 2000.
In more recent years, some Detroit-area Catholics headed south and west for jobs, adding to the burgeoning Catholic populations there.
St. Patrick Church in Detroit held its last Sunday Mass earlier this year amid declining parish membership. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
“There’s a natural question every pastor asks: Where is everybody?” said Father Joe Horn,who serves two parishes in a farm community outside Detroit that once supported four parishes. Only about a quarter of the 1,600 registered families regularly participate in church life, leaving a small group of dedicated Catholics running Sunday schools and other activities.
“We’re all exhausted spinning our wheels,” Father Horn said.
In 2007, just over half of American Catholics lived in the Northeast and Midwest, according to a Pew Research Center study. By 2014, just over half of American Catholics were living in the South and West.
The demographic shift is transforming the U.S. Catholic Church from one that is largely European, white and middle class, to one that is Hispanic and Asian, younger and poorer. The result is a shift in emphasis by the church, with immigration, for instance, assuming greater importance.
“The center of gravity and influence in the church is shifting from the East to the West, and from the North to the South,” said Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez, who heads the largest dioceses in the U.S., with around 4.5 million Catholics. Last year, the archdiocese baptized almost 70,000 babies, Archbishop Gomez said, more infant baptisms than New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., combined.
THE POPE IN AMERICA
Pope Memorabilia Gets Really Cheesy(Aug. 26)
Vatican Balks at White House Guest List (Sept. 17)
Pope Francis is making for his first trip to the U.S. as the Holy Father from September 22 to 27. He’ll make stops in Washington, DC, New York, and Philadelphia. How will he be spending those six days? WSJ’s Jason Bellini has #TheShortAnswer.
The population tilt is straining resources on both sides: Dioceses with fast-growing populations struggle with a shortage of priests and cash to build churches and provide services.
Meanwhile, shrinking dioceses are fighting to keep churches running, pay off debt and replace aging priests.
“In the West and South, they’re saying ‘I need a bigger church…the church can’t catch up fast enough,’ ” said Mark Gray, senior research associate for the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University. “In the Midwest and Northeast, they’re thinking about paying the heating bill, the air conditioning bill, the parish staff, and their old parish might need a new roof. They have a lot of needs and too few parishoners.”
The boom and rapid expansion in the South and West mirrors Detroit Catholicism—60 years ago. There, Catholicism was fueled by waves of European immigrants, many Polish and Italian. Drawn by the auto industry, they tapped healthy union wages to build churches and schools. Some parishes were separated by less than 10 miles.
“If they needed it, they built it, and with cash,” said Father Joe Mallia, the priest for St.Frances Cabrini, outside Detroit, where he had his first communion in the 1970s, shortly after it was built to replace the smaller church. When he was a kid, masses were often “standing room only.” Now, the most popular Mass will be around 75% full, he said. At a thriving Catholic school next door, students rarely attend weekend Mass.
Indeed, engaging youth has become a critical priority for the archdiocese. A new young adult and campus ministry liaison, Christopher Gawel, 32, hosts events geared toward young Catholics. Recently, around 70 young Catholics showed up to a bar for a discussion on abortion, he said. He’s thinking about holding Masses, confessions and social gatherings in spaces such as including storefronts, coffee houses, or gyms.
Related Video
Dignity Washington, a group of LBGT Catholics in Washington, D.C., are excited about Pope Francis’ visit on September 22nd and are hoping his message of non-judgement continues as they seek acceptance from the church.
Archbishop Allen Vigneron says Catholics will have to be open to such changes. He tried street evangelization for the first time, speaking to passers-by on a street corner in Royal Oak, a Detroit suburb.
“I’m by temperament a pretty shy guy,” he said of the experience. But “I found it easy to be engaged.”
The street evangelization was led by lay people— an encouraging sign, he said, that lay Catholics are becoming more active in taking leadership roles.
San Bernardino’s Bishop Barnes has also leaned on laity. “We don’t have enough priests, but I think this is the way church is meant to live,” he said.
To attract lay people, Father Horn, in the farm community outside Detroit, last month launched “Operation Olive Branch,” an evangelization drive “to welcome back those who have gone away from us.”
A seminarian and church intern used a parish database to identify Catholics who hadn’t had contact with the church for three years. They were mailed cards to let them know Catholic volunteers would be visiting soon. The parish trained around 60 volunteers with basic techniques for door-to-door evangelization (introduce yourself, smile, stand a respectable distance from the door).
For three Saturdays in August, volunteers visited the homes of lapsed Catholics, praying with them on front porches. They left cards with parish information that said “Come back home!”
Father Mallia, from Frances Cabrini outside Detroit, rides his bike through town wearing his priestly collar, stopping to chat with locals in their yards or at lemonade stands, seeking to be a visible reminder that the church lives in their community. “If you sit in your office waiting for people to come to you, you’ll be a very lonely priest and your parish will die,” he said.
Rev. Miguel Ruiz delivers his sermon at Sunday Mass to an overflow crowd. PHOTO: STUART PALLEY FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Not so in Riverside, where Father Ruiz runs packed meetings for those with drugs and alcohol problems, and counsels families with immigration issues. He struggles with integrating the shrinking number of non-Hispanic parishoners with his overwhelmingly Hispanic congregation. “It’s difficult to maintain unity between them,” he said. The parish buzzes with construction during the day, and parents and children come and go all afternoon and evening. Weekend masses are typically overflowing.
“You’ve got to get here early to even get a seat. If you’re late, forget it,” said Christian Castellanos, 12. He and his mother help raise money for the church selling toys and candy after religious education classes.
Father Ruiz said the congregation has raised “90% of the money” for construction of the new church. For his part, he has sold 1,000 jars of his mango jam ($4 per jar) and raised $150,000 running in the Los Angeles Marathon this year. “At first the idea to build a church was a nice idea,” said Father Ruiz. “Now it’s urgent.”
Write to Tamara Audi at tammy.audi@wsj.com
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Thursday, April 30, 2015
The Season of Adventists: Can Ben Carson's Church Stay Separatist amid Booming Growth?
NEWS
Photos by Ellen G. White Estate and BGEA / DeMoss
The denomination gains one million each year. Some want to be more evangelical.
Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra/ JANUARY 22, 2015
One of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s most famous sons, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, is seeking evangelical support for a likely 2016 presidential bid. But the global leader of his church worries that the thriving denomination is becoming too mainstream.
In 2014, for the 10th year in a row, more than 1 million people became Adventists, hitting a record 18.1 million members. Adventism is now the fifth-largest Christian communion worldwide, after Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, and the Assemblies of God.
But even as Adventist schools and hospitals spread, president Ted N. C. Wilson is concerned about assimilation.
“Don’t be tempted by the Devil to blend in with the crowd or be ‘politically correct,’ ” Wilson said during his annual sermon in October. “Don’t proclaim a ‘generic’ Christianity or a ‘cheap-grace Christ,’ which does not point to the distinctive biblical truths to be declared worldwide” by Adventists (who regard themselves as God’s faithful remnant).
Wilson listed ways that Satan is attacking Adventism, including attempts to make it easier to join; advancing Pentecostal worship styles; and people moving “independently” from the main church.
Many of those warnings seemed aimed at the global church’s North American Division (NAD). (Though only about 1 million Adventists live in North America, they send out nearly half of the church’s missionaries and operate 13 of its colleges.) Many NAD members are seeking more dialogue with mainstream evangelicals. The NAD has also overwhelmingly approved women’s ordination, despite a global denominational ban.
Some Adventists worry that changing worship styles mean the denomination is moving toward evangelicalism, acknowledged Garrett Caldwell, public relations director for the world church. But though the church is indeed trying different strategies to reach the culture, it won’t be joining the National Association of Evangelicals anytime soon, he said.
“Anything that is a ‘how’ item, we should be willing to make an adjustment to,” Caldwell told CT [corrected]. “But not if it’s a ‘what’ kind of item . . . driven by our theology and by our history.”
Wilson’s speeches highlight the separatist values of the 150-year-old denomination. Its belief that God began judging Christians in 1844 and its reverence for Ellen G. White’s teachings have led to a rocky relationship with evangelicals. Adventists explored joining the World Evangelical Alliance in 2007, but the groups could only agree “to cooperate, where advisable, in areas of shared interest.”
“There has been a continuing tension about whether [Adventists] see themselves as distinct, or as one among many evangelical denominations with a few special emphases,” said David Neff, former CT editor and a former Adventist minister. “There’s a dynamic that moves back and forth between those poles.”
The NAD recently announced it would move out of the Silver Spring, Maryland, building it has long shared with the global headquarters. “[We] need to have [our] own unique message and strategies that are relevant and work in our territory,” NAD president Daniel Jackson told church leaders in November. “It’s time that we grow up and leave our parent’s house.”
The tension over separation or collaboration recalls other religious movements founded in the early 1800s, such as the Restoration Movement, said LifeWay Research president Ed Stetzer. Also known as the Stone–Campbell Movement, it eventually fractured into congregations that engaged evangelicalism more (Christian Churches) and less (Churches of Christ).
American secularization may be pushing Adventists closer to other Christians. Adventists have joined evangelicals, Catholics, and others on many amicus briefs in recent religious freedom cases involving contraception, tax-free clergy housing, and other issues.
Such efforts can send a red flag to groups who don’t want to lose their distinctive beliefs, said Stetzer. “But that does not mean groups always lose those beliefs. For example, the Assemblies of God is distinctively Pentecostal and evangelical.”
“Our differences are an asset until they become offensive,” said Gerry Wagoner, president of ADvindicate, which opposes women’s ordination and evangelical ties. “How can we love everyone and still retain the distinctives that make us unique?”
Editors' Note: Garrett Caldwell's quote was misattributed to Ted Wilson in CT's January/February print issue.
The denomination gains one million each year. Some want to be more evangelical.
Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra/ JANUARY 22, 2015
One of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s most famous sons, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, is seeking evangelical support for a likely 2016 presidential bid. But the global leader of his church worries that the thriving denomination is becoming too mainstream.
In 2014, for the 10th year in a row, more than 1 million people became Adventists, hitting a record 18.1 million members. Adventism is now the fifth-largest Christian communion worldwide, after Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, and the Assemblies of God.
But even as Adventist schools and hospitals spread, president Ted N. C. Wilson is concerned about assimilation.
“Don’t be tempted by the Devil to blend in with the crowd or be ‘politically correct,’ ” Wilson said during his annual sermon in October. “Don’t proclaim a ‘generic’ Christianity or a ‘cheap-grace Christ,’ which does not point to the distinctive biblical truths to be declared worldwide” by Adventists (who regard themselves as God’s faithful remnant).
Wilson listed ways that Satan is attacking Adventism, including attempts to make it easier to join; advancing Pentecostal worship styles; and people moving “independently” from the main church.
Many of those warnings seemed aimed at the global church’s North American Division (NAD). (Though only about 1 million Adventists live in North America, they send out nearly half of the church’s missionaries and operate 13 of its colleges.) Many NAD members are seeking more dialogue with mainstream evangelicals. The NAD has also overwhelmingly approved women’s ordination, despite a global denominational ban.
Some Adventists worry that changing worship styles mean the denomination is moving toward evangelicalism, acknowledged Garrett Caldwell, public relations director for the world church. But though the church is indeed trying different strategies to reach the culture, it won’t be joining the National Association of Evangelicals anytime soon, he said.
“Anything that is a ‘how’ item, we should be willing to make an adjustment to,” Caldwell told CT [corrected]. “But not if it’s a ‘what’ kind of item . . . driven by our theology and by our history.”
Wilson’s speeches highlight the separatist values of the 150-year-old denomination. Its belief that God began judging Christians in 1844 and its reverence for Ellen G. White’s teachings have led to a rocky relationship with evangelicals. Adventists explored joining the World Evangelical Alliance in 2007, but the groups could only agree “to cooperate, where advisable, in areas of shared interest.”
“There has been a continuing tension about whether [Adventists] see themselves as distinct, or as one among many evangelical denominations with a few special emphases,” said David Neff, former CT editor and a former Adventist minister. “There’s a dynamic that moves back and forth between those poles.”
The NAD recently announced it would move out of the Silver Spring, Maryland, building it has long shared with the global headquarters. “[We] need to have [our] own unique message and strategies that are relevant and work in our territory,” NAD president Daniel Jackson told church leaders in November. “It’s time that we grow up and leave our parent’s house.”
The tension over separation or collaboration recalls other religious movements founded in the early 1800s, such as the Restoration Movement, said LifeWay Research president Ed Stetzer. Also known as the Stone–Campbell Movement, it eventually fractured into congregations that engaged evangelicalism more (Christian Churches) and less (Churches of Christ).
American secularization may be pushing Adventists closer to other Christians. Adventists have joined evangelicals, Catholics, and others on many amicus briefs in recent religious freedom cases involving contraception, tax-free clergy housing, and other issues.
Such efforts can send a red flag to groups who don’t want to lose their distinctive beliefs, said Stetzer. “But that does not mean groups always lose those beliefs. For example, the Assemblies of God is distinctively Pentecostal and evangelical.”
“Our differences are an asset until they become offensive,” said Gerry Wagoner, president of ADvindicate, which opposes women’s ordination and evangelical ties. “How can we love everyone and still retain the distinctives that make us unique?”
Editors' Note: Garrett Caldwell's quote was misattributed to Ted Wilson in CT's January/February print issue.
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Thursday, June 20, 2013
Church of Tares: Purpose Driven, Seeker Sensitive, Church Growth & New World Order
Published on Nov 20, 2012
This film is non-profit and FREE, not to be bought or sold, but you do have permission to make copies and distribute freely. To obtain a DVD, simply contact us for a free copy or make a donation with your request:
www.holybibleprophecy.org
HBP is viewer-supported and your support is greatly appreciated. Resources are mailed as time permits. Your patience is appreciated. Please give extra time if this material is needed by a certain date.
Can the Church borrow the marketing tools of the world and apply them to the Church? What is the history of the Church Growth movement and its false premises? Who is involved in the new evangelicalism and second reformation? Why are these movements embracing contemplative mysticism? How does this movement play into the New World Order? These questions and more are answered in Church of Tares: Purpose Driven, Seeker-Sensitive, Church Growth & New World Order.
Church of Tares chronicles the man-centered pragmatism of these evangelical Christian movements in comparison to the Bible's instruction for building the Church of Jesus Christ. As a sequel to The Real Roots of the Emergent Church, Church of Tares documents the connections between the liberal Emergent Church movement and the Church Growth movement. Both movements' leadership were discipled by business management guru Peter Drucker, who was attracted to the megachurch movement as a social phenomenon that could bring about his "new society" and New World Order. Megacurch pastors Rick Warren and Bill Hybels as well as Leadership Network founder Bob Buford all acknowledge Drucker (who professed not to be a Christian) as their mentor and have built their organizations upon his secular business management philosophies rather than the foundation of Jesus Christ.
The fruit of these movements is great compromise of the Gospel and the Great Commission. Rick Warren claims to be ushering in a new spiritual awakening and second reformation with his P.E.A.C.E. Plan. But this reform appears to be a social reformation rather than a spiritual one by joining together in ministry with unbelievers to fight global giants. Such compromise has led to the affirming response letter to the Common Word document which declares Muhammad to be a prophet and the Bible and Qur'an to be of the "same Divine origin."
Written, edited, narrated and directed by Elliott Nesch. Original interviews with:
Paul Smith, leader in the Calvary Chapel movement founded by his brother Chuck Smith, who also wrote the foreword to Paul Smith's book New Evangelicalism: The New World Order.
Phil Johnson, executive Director of Grace to You, a Christian tape and radio ministry featuring the preaching ministry of John MacArthur. http://teampyro.blogspot.com
Chris Rosebrough, Captain of Pirate Christian Radio and Host of the Fighting for the Faith radio program, holds a degree in Religious Studies and Biblical Languages from Concordia University.http://www.fightingforthefaith.com
Joe Schimmel, Senior Pastor of Blessed Hope Chapel in Simi Valley, California, head of Good Fight Ministries and producer of such films as The Submerging Church and They Sold Their Souls for Rock and Roll. http://www.submergingchurch.com &http://www.goodfight.org
Gary Gilley, Senior Pastor of Southern View Chapel in Springfield, Illinois, and author of several books including This Little Church Went to the Market: The Church in the Age of Entertainment.
Bob DeWaay, former Senior Pastor of Twin City Fellowship in Minneapolis, Minnesota, author of Redefining Christianity: Understanding the Purpose Driven Life Movement, The Emergent Church -- Undefining Christianity as well as over 90 articles on important theological issues through Critical Issues Commentary (http://cicministry.org/).
Ray Yungen, speaker, research analyst and author of A Time of Departing and For Many Shall Come in My Name.
James Sundquist, founder of Rock Salt Publishing and author of Who's Driving the Purpose Driven Church?http://www.perfectpeaceplan.com
Eric Ludy, bestselling author of dozens of books on Christian thought and living, the President of Ellerslie Mission Society, teaching pastor at the Church at Ellerslie, the lead instructor in the Ellerslie Leadership Training.
Robert LeBus, Bible researcher, apologist and evangelist.
Recommended Resources:
Chris Rosebrough's "John Piper / Rick Warren Debrief with Phil Johnson": http://www.fightingforthefaith.com/20...
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Monday, May 13, 2013
Switching Sides: Latinos Ditching Catholicism For Evangelical Churches
By Lauren Green
Published May 10, 2013
Fox News Latino
Alfredo De Jesus is a fire-and-brimstone preacher who represents a global groundswell of Hispanics who've left the Catholic Church to become Protestant Evangelical Christians.
De Jesus pastors the New Life Church in Chicago, helping to expand it from 120 members in 2000 to over 17,000 today on multiple campuses.
"In the Evangelical church, we find freedom to worship, and with Hispanics, it's in us to be able to love people. Naturally, we just love people. We are hugging people," De Jesus said.
Latinos make up the largest ethnic minority in the United States — 52 million, according to latest Census stats. The majority — two-thirds — are still traditionally Roman Catholic. But there's been a palpable shift from one generation to the next, with the newer ones being "born again."
Evangelicals now number about 20 percent of the Latino population, according to the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.
The change poses the greatest concern for the Catholic Church — though many are leaving for evangelical churches, the volume of Catholics had remained steady primarily through immigration from Mexico and Central American countries.
The irony is that many evangelical converts tend to more closely mirror Catholic teaching on issues like abortion and gay marriage.
"It's an odd mixture where the Roman Catholic church is losing members but in so far as those members going to Pentecostal Evangelicals, they are in fact becoming more closely identified and more supportive of the Roman Catholic Church on these social issues," said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion.
So what's the difference?
It’s the relationship between worshiper and God that each denomination affords its respective followers, according to De Jesus.
"What I have seen, at least in my own experience, is this encounter with God that we didn't experience in the Catholic Church,” he said. “A system that was so rigid and God seemed so far."
With the election of Pope Francis, the first pope from Latin America, the Catholic Church is hoping to halt the exodus.
It’s definitely a step in the right direction, said De Jesus, but by itself it’s not likely to reverse the tide.
"We applaud the Pope and he is Hispanic. [But] people still want a relationship with God. And if the Catholic Church does not offer that, they will continue to see an exodus from their organizations to Protestants."
The research seems to back up his conclusion.
"We are not picking up any trends of people returning to the Roman Catholic Church. If they don't become Protestant or Pentecostal, they typically become un-affiliated,” said Lugo.
Published May 10, 2013
Fox News Latino
Alfredo De Jesus is a fire-and-brimstone preacher who represents a global groundswell of Hispanics who've left the Catholic Church to become Protestant Evangelical Christians.
De Jesus pastors the New Life Church in Chicago, helping to expand it from 120 members in 2000 to over 17,000 today on multiple campuses.
"In the Evangelical church, we find freedom to worship, and with Hispanics, it's in us to be able to love people. Naturally, we just love people. We are hugging people," De Jesus said.
Latinos make up the largest ethnic minority in the United States — 52 million, according to latest Census stats. The majority — two-thirds — are still traditionally Roman Catholic. But there's been a palpable shift from one generation to the next, with the newer ones being "born again."
Evangelicals now number about 20 percent of the Latino population, according to the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.
The change poses the greatest concern for the Catholic Church — though many are leaving for evangelical churches, the volume of Catholics had remained steady primarily through immigration from Mexico and Central American countries.
The irony is that many evangelical converts tend to more closely mirror Catholic teaching on issues like abortion and gay marriage.
"It's an odd mixture where the Roman Catholic church is losing members but in so far as those members going to Pentecostal Evangelicals, they are in fact becoming more closely identified and more supportive of the Roman Catholic Church on these social issues," said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion.
So what's the difference?
It’s the relationship between worshiper and God that each denomination affords its respective followers, according to De Jesus.
"What I have seen, at least in my own experience, is this encounter with God that we didn't experience in the Catholic Church,” he said. “A system that was so rigid and God seemed so far."
With the election of Pope Francis, the first pope from Latin America, the Catholic Church is hoping to halt the exodus.
It’s definitely a step in the right direction, said De Jesus, but by itself it’s not likely to reverse the tide.
"We applaud the Pope and he is Hispanic. [But] people still want a relationship with God. And if the Catholic Church does not offer that, they will continue to see an exodus from their organizations to Protestants."
The research seems to back up his conclusion.
"We are not picking up any trends of people returning to the Roman Catholic Church. If they don't become Protestant or Pentecostal, they typically become un-affiliated,” said Lugo.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Adventists grow as other churches decline
Mar 16, 2011 by G. Jeffrey MacDonald
(RNS) Rest on the Sabbath. Heed Old Testament dietary codes. And be ready for Jesus to return at any moment.
If these practices sound quaint or antiquated, think again. They're hallmarks of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the fastest-growing Christian denomination in North America.
Newly released data show Seventh-day Adventism growing by 2.5 percent in North America, a rapid clip for this part of the world, where Southern Baptists and mainline denominations, as well as other church groups are declining. Adventists are even growing 75 percent faster than Mormons (1.4 percent), who prioritize numeric growth.
For observers outside the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the growth rate in North America is perplexing.
"You've got a denomination that is basically going back to basics ... saying, `What did God mean by all these rules and regulations and how can we fit in to be what God wants us to be?'," said Daniel Shaw, an expert on Christian missionary outreach at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. "That's just totally contrary to anything that's happening in American culture. So I'm saying, `Whoa! That's very interesting.' And I can't answer it."
Seventh-day Adventists are asking a different question: Why isn't the church growing much faster on these shores, which is home to just 1.1 million of the world's 16 million Adventists? Despite its North American roots, the church is growing more than twice as fast overseas.
"We don't feel that we're growing very much, and that is a source of concern, especially for North America," said Ron Clouzet, director of the North American Division Evangelism Institute at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Mich. Hispanic Adventists are "the one group that is growing very well," he added. "If we didn't have that group, we would look even more dismal."
With Saturday worship services and vegetarian lifestyles, Seventh-day Adventism owns a distinctive niche outside the Christian mainstream. But being different is turning out to be more of an asset than a liability.
Since the mid-19th century when the movement sprang up in New Hampshire, Seventh-day Adventism has had an urgent mission to bring the gospel -- with a distinctive emphasis on Christ's imminent second coming -- to the ends of the earth. Adventists find the essence of their mission in Revelation 14:12, where the end of the age "calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus."
The church's traditional, global focus is now bearing fruit in new ways. Newly arrived immigrants in the United States often come from parts of Latin America or Africa where Seventh-day Adventism has long-established churches, schools and hospitals.
Those who migrate from Brazil to Massachusetts, or from Mexico to Texas, are apt to find familiarity in a local Adventist church led by a pastor who knows their culture and speaks their native language, said Edwin Hernandez, a research fellow at the Center for the Study of Latino Religion at the University of Notre Dame.
Immigrants aren't the only ones embracing Seventh-day Adventism. Many in the general public have noticed Adventists tend to be superstars of good health and longevity; research shows they tend to live 10 years longer than the average American. With strong track records for success in health and education, Adventists find they get a hearing among skeptics who share those priorities.
Publicized research on Adventists' health "has helped bring some objective evaluation of Adventism... particularly all up and down the West Coast," said G. Alexander Bryant, executive secretary for the denomination's North American division. "So we talk to people about our lifestyle."
Some newcomers to Adventism also appreciate the church's clarity about what's expected of Christ's followers. Diana Syth of Kent, Wash. attended many types of Protestant churches for years. But she said she "never got the information I needed to know about what it meant to be a Christian" until she and her husband learned of Seventh-day Adventism from a sibling six years ago.
"My (adult) son has seen a change in us," Syth said. "He sees a new calmness in us. There's hope where there wasn't hope before."
Adventists are also reaping the rewards of their extra efforts in evangelism. Responding to a national initiative, more than 80 percent of the 6,000 Adventist churches in North America staged weeks-long outreach events in hotels and other settings in 2009.
Bryant said in an ordinary year, one-third to one-half of Adventist congregations put on such events, and North American church growth rates would hover around 1.7 percent -- still high enough to top the rates of other large denominations in North America.
Creativity seems to be paying dividends, too. The church has seen some of its strongest gains come in non-religious regions such as the Pacific Northwest. In Washington, for instance, the denomination has established "Christian cafes," where people can relax and ask questions without feeling the pressures of church.
"You're not necessarily inviting them to church," Bryant said. "You're just sitting around, talking with people, building relationships -- and slowly talking to them about Christ."
Source
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(RNS) Rest on the Sabbath. Heed Old Testament dietary codes. And be ready for Jesus to return at any moment.
If these practices sound quaint or antiquated, think again. They're hallmarks of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the fastest-growing Christian denomination in North America.
Newly released data show Seventh-day Adventism growing by 2.5 percent in North America, a rapid clip for this part of the world, where Southern Baptists and mainline denominations, as well as other church groups are declining. Adventists are even growing 75 percent faster than Mormons (1.4 percent), who prioritize numeric growth.
For observers outside the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the growth rate in North America is perplexing.
"You've got a denomination that is basically going back to basics ... saying, `What did God mean by all these rules and regulations and how can we fit in to be what God wants us to be?'," said Daniel Shaw, an expert on Christian missionary outreach at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. "That's just totally contrary to anything that's happening in American culture. So I'm saying, `Whoa! That's very interesting.' And I can't answer it."
Seventh-day Adventists are asking a different question: Why isn't the church growing much faster on these shores, which is home to just 1.1 million of the world's 16 million Adventists? Despite its North American roots, the church is growing more than twice as fast overseas.
"We don't feel that we're growing very much, and that is a source of concern, especially for North America," said Ron Clouzet, director of the North American Division Evangelism Institute at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Mich. Hispanic Adventists are "the one group that is growing very well," he added. "If we didn't have that group, we would look even more dismal."
With Saturday worship services and vegetarian lifestyles, Seventh-day Adventism owns a distinctive niche outside the Christian mainstream. But being different is turning out to be more of an asset than a liability.
Since the mid-19th century when the movement sprang up in New Hampshire, Seventh-day Adventism has had an urgent mission to bring the gospel -- with a distinctive emphasis on Christ's imminent second coming -- to the ends of the earth. Adventists find the essence of their mission in Revelation 14:12, where the end of the age "calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus."
The church's traditional, global focus is now bearing fruit in new ways. Newly arrived immigrants in the United States often come from parts of Latin America or Africa where Seventh-day Adventism has long-established churches, schools and hospitals.
Those who migrate from Brazil to Massachusetts, or from Mexico to Texas, are apt to find familiarity in a local Adventist church led by a pastor who knows their culture and speaks their native language, said Edwin Hernandez, a research fellow at the Center for the Study of Latino Religion at the University of Notre Dame.
Immigrants aren't the only ones embracing Seventh-day Adventism. Many in the general public have noticed Adventists tend to be superstars of good health and longevity; research shows they tend to live 10 years longer than the average American. With strong track records for success in health and education, Adventists find they get a hearing among skeptics who share those priorities.
Publicized research on Adventists' health "has helped bring some objective evaluation of Adventism... particularly all up and down the West Coast," said G. Alexander Bryant, executive secretary for the denomination's North American division. "So we talk to people about our lifestyle."
Some newcomers to Adventism also appreciate the church's clarity about what's expected of Christ's followers. Diana Syth of Kent, Wash. attended many types of Protestant churches for years. But she said she "never got the information I needed to know about what it meant to be a Christian" until she and her husband learned of Seventh-day Adventism from a sibling six years ago.
"My (adult) son has seen a change in us," Syth said. "He sees a new calmness in us. There's hope where there wasn't hope before."
Adventists are also reaping the rewards of their extra efforts in evangelism. Responding to a national initiative, more than 80 percent of the 6,000 Adventist churches in North America staged weeks-long outreach events in hotels and other settings in 2009.
Bryant said in an ordinary year, one-third to one-half of Adventist congregations put on such events, and North American church growth rates would hover around 1.7 percent -- still high enough to top the rates of other large denominations in North America.
Creativity seems to be paying dividends, too. The church has seen some of its strongest gains come in non-religious regions such as the Pacific Northwest. In Washington, for instance, the denomination has established "Christian cafes," where people can relax and ask questions without feeling the pressures of church.
"You're not necessarily inviting them to church," Bryant said. "You're just sitting around, talking with people, building relationships -- and slowly talking to them about Christ."
Source
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Sunday, May 29, 2011
Laid Foundation for the Tallest Church in China
As part of celebration activity series of Suzhou Industrial Park's 17th Anniversary, the ground-breaking ceremony of SIP Catholic Church cum the Bishop's House of Suzhou Church Archdiocese was held on May 28.
The location of the church
With 1-hectare planned land area and 4,880-square-meter construction area located in the northern area of Loufeng Town, the south-western shores of Yangcheng Lake, the project is expected to be put into use around Christmas, 2012. After the completion of the project, the church tower with a spire in the height of 80 meters will be the tallest church building in current China, and by then, SIP will have put in place all the four religious cultures, namely, Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism and Christianity.
May 30, 2011
Source
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Monday, August 02, 2010
The Inclusive Gospel
Commentary by Roger Oakland
http://www.understandthetimes.org/
Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger have co-authored Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures. This book is published by Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group. A claim posted at the top of the back cover states: “The Best Book Yet on the Emerging Church”. [1]
An endorsement for the book by Brian McLaren agrees with this assessment. McLaren states:
If you want to be truly conversant with emerging churches, this is the book to read… It recognizes the essential theological emphases of emerging churches, and it is based on actual conversations with over 50 people. [2]
Gibbs is Professor of Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary and the author of several books. Bolger is academic director of arts in global leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary. [3] The two authors have teamed up to provide an overview of the nine patterns or trends they see unfolding in the practices of the emerging churches. Their research took place over a period of almost five years. [4]
One of the trends the authors examine in detail is evangelism. Evangelism, they say, in the emerging church “involves sharing the deep experiences of life with those outside the faith”. [5] Emerging church leaders are not impressed by those who defend the Christian faith by promoting definitive answers to convince those who doubt the faith. [6]
In order to substantiate this trend, Gibbs and Bolger quote emerging church leader Pip Piper from Birmingham, UK, who states:
Evangelism or mission for me is no longer persuading people to believe what I believe, not matter how edgy or creative I get. It is more about shared experiences and encounters. It is about walking the journey of life and faith together, each distinct to his or her own tradition and culture but with the possibility of encountering God and truth from one another. [7]
Pip Piper’s definition of evangelization sets off a biblical alarm. Are not Christians instructed to give reasonable answers to non-believers why they have faith? If not, then why did Peter write:
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. [8]
What if someone who was “willing to walk the journey of life and faith” with someone who is committed to a faith that is in opposition to the Christian faith, lost their faith?
Wouldn’t this be evangelism in reverse? Where in the Bible are we instructed to join hands with pagans and consider their beliefs as a means of evangelism?
Apparently, Gibbs and Bolger believe the advantages of this style of evangelism outweigh the negatives. They write:
Christians can not truly evangelize unless they are prepared to be evangelized in the process. In sharing the good news, people are enriched by the spiritual insights, honest questions and depth of devotion demonstrated by those of other faiths. Including others involves listening to them, learning from them. Much of what exists in other faiths may not necessarily be hostile to the kingdom. Christians can learn a lot from other walks of life. [9]
I have searched the scriptures to find out if there is any precedent for this style of evangelism. The children of Israel were warned by the Old Testament prophets about joining hands with pagans, however, they ignored God’s warning. As Jeremiah proclaimed:
And the LORD said unto me, a conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. Therefore thus saith the LORD, behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them. [10]
In spite of such clear warnings from Scripture, Gibbs and Bolger provide a further example of what is believed to be successful emerging church evangelism by citing Spencer Burke, an emerging church leader from Newport Beach, California. Burke states:
However, the Christian tradition could hold to an inclusive model, not an exclusive one. We have a community hermeneutic. We read other sacred writings, then get back to the Scripture and decide together how to interpret what we have read from the literature that other religions hold sacred. [11]
The very thing that happened to the children of Israel is what is being repeated today, only this time in the name of Christianity. This pathway to deception is not only being repeated and ignored; it is being applauded by the promoters of the emerging church agenda. Gibbs and Bolger endorse Spencer Burke’s ideas by stating:
Burke’s community is prepared to learn from faith traditions outside the Christian fold. There is a Buddhist family in their church. As a community, the church visited a Buddhist temple. They participated in a guided meditation with this family. Burke celebrates the many ways God is revealed. He recognizes that the Spirit has been with these people all along. The community celebrates other traditions. They reach out to other traditions, and see them as beloved children of God. With a focus on kingdom rather than on church, people find that their relationship with other faiths changes. [12]
It should be apparent what is occurring as the emerging church evangelization program unfolds. Walls that once separated biblical Christianity from pagan religious belief systems are being demolished. Instead of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ that saves sinners from hell, the gospel has been redefined and totally nullified. The narrow pathway that Jesus proclaimed leads to heaven through faith in Him alone now has been broadened to permit open access for the sake of establishing the “kingdom”. [13]
Worse yet, the command by Jesus that we are to be “His witnesses” has been reinterpreted to mean the very opposite of what Jesus proclaimed. As Karen Ward has stated (from the Church of the Apostles, Seattle, Washington):
We do not do evangelism or have a mission. The Holy Spirit is the evangelist, and the mission belongs to God. What we do is simply live our lives publicly as a community in the way of Jesus Christ, and when people inquire why we live this way, we share with them the account of the hope within us. We are to love one another, and that creates its own attraction. Taking care of the sick and the needy - creates all the evangelism we need. [14]
The new evangelization program being promoted by the emerging church, while it may be in the name of Christ, is antichrist. A formula has been established to provide a bridge that has the potential to unite all religious beliefs in the name of Christ, by circumventing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the future we will see all faiths join together based on a common mystical experience accompanied by “lying signs and wonders”. The apostasy the Bible warned would be apparent in the Last Days is now fully underway. Only those who hold firm to God’s Word will be protected and delivered. This remnant of faithful believers will be viewed as old-fashioned narrow-minded holdouts who are a hindrance to the establishment of the “kingdom.” As Paul wrote to Timothy, in the Last Days:
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. [15]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger, Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, second printing, December 2005
[2] Ibid. back cover
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid. p. 9
[5] Ibid. p. 130
[6] Ibid. p. 126
[7] Ibid. p. 131
[8] 1 Peter 3: 15
[9] Gibbs, Bolger, p. 131
[10] Jeremiah 11: 9-11
[11] Ibid. p. 132
[12] Ibid.
[13] Matthew 7: 13-14
[14] Gibs and Bolger, p. 135
[15] 2 Timothy 3: 12-13
Source: http://www.understandthetimes.org/commentary/c66.shtml
http://www.understandthetimes.org/
Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger have co-authored Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures. This book is published by Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group. A claim posted at the top of the back cover states: “The Best Book Yet on the Emerging Church”. [1]
An endorsement for the book by Brian McLaren agrees with this assessment. McLaren states:
If you want to be truly conversant with emerging churches, this is the book to read… It recognizes the essential theological emphases of emerging churches, and it is based on actual conversations with over 50 people. [2]
Gibbs is Professor of Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary and the author of several books. Bolger is academic director of arts in global leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary. [3] The two authors have teamed up to provide an overview of the nine patterns or trends they see unfolding in the practices of the emerging churches. Their research took place over a period of almost five years. [4]
One of the trends the authors examine in detail is evangelism. Evangelism, they say, in the emerging church “involves sharing the deep experiences of life with those outside the faith”. [5] Emerging church leaders are not impressed by those who defend the Christian faith by promoting definitive answers to convince those who doubt the faith. [6]
In order to substantiate this trend, Gibbs and Bolger quote emerging church leader Pip Piper from Birmingham, UK, who states:
Evangelism or mission for me is no longer persuading people to believe what I believe, not matter how edgy or creative I get. It is more about shared experiences and encounters. It is about walking the journey of life and faith together, each distinct to his or her own tradition and culture but with the possibility of encountering God and truth from one another. [7]
Pip Piper’s definition of evangelization sets off a biblical alarm. Are not Christians instructed to give reasonable answers to non-believers why they have faith? If not, then why did Peter write:
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. [8]
What if someone who was “willing to walk the journey of life and faith” with someone who is committed to a faith that is in opposition to the Christian faith, lost their faith?
Wouldn’t this be evangelism in reverse? Where in the Bible are we instructed to join hands with pagans and consider their beliefs as a means of evangelism?
Apparently, Gibbs and Bolger believe the advantages of this style of evangelism outweigh the negatives. They write:
Christians can not truly evangelize unless they are prepared to be evangelized in the process. In sharing the good news, people are enriched by the spiritual insights, honest questions and depth of devotion demonstrated by those of other faiths. Including others involves listening to them, learning from them. Much of what exists in other faiths may not necessarily be hostile to the kingdom. Christians can learn a lot from other walks of life. [9]
I have searched the scriptures to find out if there is any precedent for this style of evangelism. The children of Israel were warned by the Old Testament prophets about joining hands with pagans, however, they ignored God’s warning. As Jeremiah proclaimed:
And the LORD said unto me, a conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. Therefore thus saith the LORD, behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them. [10]
In spite of such clear warnings from Scripture, Gibbs and Bolger provide a further example of what is believed to be successful emerging church evangelism by citing Spencer Burke, an emerging church leader from Newport Beach, California. Burke states:
However, the Christian tradition could hold to an inclusive model, not an exclusive one. We have a community hermeneutic. We read other sacred writings, then get back to the Scripture and decide together how to interpret what we have read from the literature that other religions hold sacred. [11]
The very thing that happened to the children of Israel is what is being repeated today, only this time in the name of Christianity. This pathway to deception is not only being repeated and ignored; it is being applauded by the promoters of the emerging church agenda. Gibbs and Bolger endorse Spencer Burke’s ideas by stating:
Burke’s community is prepared to learn from faith traditions outside the Christian fold. There is a Buddhist family in their church. As a community, the church visited a Buddhist temple. They participated in a guided meditation with this family. Burke celebrates the many ways God is revealed. He recognizes that the Spirit has been with these people all along. The community celebrates other traditions. They reach out to other traditions, and see them as beloved children of God. With a focus on kingdom rather than on church, people find that their relationship with other faiths changes. [12]
It should be apparent what is occurring as the emerging church evangelization program unfolds. Walls that once separated biblical Christianity from pagan religious belief systems are being demolished. Instead of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ that saves sinners from hell, the gospel has been redefined and totally nullified. The narrow pathway that Jesus proclaimed leads to heaven through faith in Him alone now has been broadened to permit open access for the sake of establishing the “kingdom”. [13]
Worse yet, the command by Jesus that we are to be “His witnesses” has been reinterpreted to mean the very opposite of what Jesus proclaimed. As Karen Ward has stated (from the Church of the Apostles, Seattle, Washington):
We do not do evangelism or have a mission. The Holy Spirit is the evangelist, and the mission belongs to God. What we do is simply live our lives publicly as a community in the way of Jesus Christ, and when people inquire why we live this way, we share with them the account of the hope within us. We are to love one another, and that creates its own attraction. Taking care of the sick and the needy - creates all the evangelism we need. [14]
The new evangelization program being promoted by the emerging church, while it may be in the name of Christ, is antichrist. A formula has been established to provide a bridge that has the potential to unite all religious beliefs in the name of Christ, by circumventing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the future we will see all faiths join together based on a common mystical experience accompanied by “lying signs and wonders”. The apostasy the Bible warned would be apparent in the Last Days is now fully underway. Only those who hold firm to God’s Word will be protected and delivered. This remnant of faithful believers will be viewed as old-fashioned narrow-minded holdouts who are a hindrance to the establishment of the “kingdom.” As Paul wrote to Timothy, in the Last Days:
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. [15]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger, Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, second printing, December 2005
[2] Ibid. back cover
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid. p. 9
[5] Ibid. p. 130
[6] Ibid. p. 126
[7] Ibid. p. 131
[8] 1 Peter 3: 15
[9] Gibbs, Bolger, p. 131
[10] Jeremiah 11: 9-11
[11] Ibid. p. 132
[12] Ibid.
[13] Matthew 7: 13-14
[14] Gibs and Bolger, p. 135
[15] 2 Timothy 3: 12-13
Source: http://www.understandthetimes.org/commentary/c66.shtml
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