#religiousfreedom — Public Fediverse posts

The Problem of False Preacher Teacher Clerical Ministering Within Modern Day Churches

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The Problem of False Preacher Teacher Clerical Ministering Within Modern Day Churches

The table of the Lord is Holy.

The food we receive must come from the Priest-King Himself—pure, undefiled, and flowing from the Holiest of All.

Yet in our time, that table has been defiled.

The church has become a place where food offered to idols is served. These idols are not of wood and stone but of political causes, cultural trends, social programmes, and false moral appearances. They are the idols of the age, and they have been brought into the sanctuary.

The Social Gospel, with all its political causes and cultural trends, is such an idol.

It sounds compassionate to the natural ear, but it sacrifices the true Gospel on the altar of this world. It offers earthly reform where the Priest-King Jesus Christ offers heavenly reconciliation.

It speaks of systems and power where He speaks of the cross and the throne of grace. It rearranges deck chairs on a sinking ship. It offers programs where it should offer presence. It offers politics where it should offer peace. It offers activism where it should offer adoration.

This is not the Gospel. It is a counterfeit—a substitute that speaks of earthly kingdoms while ignoring the heavenly. It is food wrapped in pretty paper, but inside is rotting meat. It is a deception, a snare, and a trap.

Congregations that consume this food are not being heart-fed; they are being mind-fed. Their souls are starved while their minds are filled with the philosophies of men. Those who serve this food as if it were the Gospel are not acting as faithful shepherds of the flock; they are leading souls away from the true pasture.

We make it very clear, we do not seek merely to promote our own theology within COFE-CYEM by pointing the finger at (any) other theologies, denominations or faiths. COFE-CYEM itself makes many claims around our theology, our belief system and our faith.

We do not expect or ask everybody to just blindly believe our way of seeing and believing. All we seek is to call attention to the issue of the church and faith itself being used as a Trojan Horse for (worldly) purposes in order to further the interests of man and not God Himself.

We implore our followers respectfully – if you ever feel, suspect or see anything whatsoever within our own theology or posts here on COFE-CYEM that you believe is pushing (worldly) purposes or schemes, then please call us out and expose us.

We are no different or more righteous than any other brother or sister in Christ. But if we were to be found (using) the true Gospel as a Trojan Horse to push a false Gospel for our own purposes – then we are truly lost indeed.

The Nature of the Deception

The danger arises whenever social action, political programmes, or cultural causes become substitutes for the proclamation of Christ crucified and risen, rather than fruits flowing from communion with Him.

The New Testament consistently presents love for neighbour and care for the poor as genuine expressions of faith, not as alternatives to it.

The error is not in caring for the needy or seeking justice. The error is in presenting such activities as the Gospel itself, or as a sufficient substitute for repentance, faith in Christ, and the new birth.

Those who preach this substitute gospel speak of power where the Priest-King spoke of weakness. They speak of victory where He spoke of the cross. They speak of this world as if it were the only world. They have departed from the faith and given themselves over to the spirit of the age.

They have exchanged the Gospel of the finished work for a gospel of social reform. They have exchanged the cross for a political platform. They have exchanged the throne of grace for a seat of power. They have exchanged the rest that remains for the restless striving of the world. They have exchanged the Holiest of All for the outer courts of carnal religion.

This is not a judgment on persons but a discernment of teaching. We do not know the hearts of those who preach these things, and we leave their final judgment to God.

We are called to test the spirits and to distinguish between the pure food of the Gospel and the poisoned food that has been offered to idols. The warning is not against individuals but against the teaching itself, which, however attractively packaged, leads away from Christ.

The Rot Beneath the Wrapping

False teaching often comes wrapped in the language of the Bible, the imagery of the cross, and the emotions of the congregation. It speaks of love, justice, and compassion, but it hollows out their meaning. It is like the fig tree that had leaves but no fruit—a show of life without the reality of life.

Congregations that consume this food are being fed a diet of politics, activism, and social reform, but they are not being fed the pure Word of God.

They are being told to fight for earthly causes, but they are not being told to enter the Holiest of All. They are being told to change the world, but they are not being told to rest in the finished work of the Priest-King.

They are being told to be activists, but they are not being told to be worshippers. They are being told to build the kingdom of God on earth, but they are not being told that the Kingdom of God is within them.

The food that is being served is a gospel of the flesh, a gospel of the world, a gospel of the age. It has no power to save, no power to transform, and no power to bring the soul into the presence of God.

It leads to exhaustion, burnout, and disillusionment. It leads away from the Priest-King, not toward Him. It leads to the outer court, not the Holiest of All. The invitation to serve God in the world becomes a substitute for the invitation to abide in Christ.

The True Gospel and the Mind of Christ

The real Gospel is not a gospel of prosperity, politics, or social reform disguised as salvation. It is not a gospel of emotional experience without transformation.

The real Gospel is this: Jesus Christ, the Priest-King has entered the Holiest of All through His own blood.

The veil is torn.

The way is open.

Every soul who draws near through Him receives mercy, finds grace, and enters the rest that remains.

He ever lives to make intercession.

He brings God to us and us to God. In Him, we are accepted. In Him, we are kept. In Him, the endless life of God flows freely to all who will come. That is the Gospel. Not a portion of it. Not a version of it. It.

The mind of Christ is not the mind of carnal man, which seeks power, recognition, and earthly comfort. The mind of Christ empties itself, takes the form of a servant, becomes obedient unto death, and is exalted by the Father. The mind of Christ builds the church on the rock of revelation, and the gates of hell do not prevail against it.

The mind of Christ measures faithfulness by abiding in the Father’s presence. Those who preach the substitute gospel do not have the mind of Christ. They have the mind of the flesh, the mind of the world, the mind of the age.

They have not entered the Holiest of All. They have not passed through the veil. They have not been cleansed by the blood. They have not received the endless life. They remain in the outer courts, serving the idols of the age.

The Call of This Hour: Wake Up and Return

The call of this hour is clear. The pews empty because souls are hungry for reality—not programs, not politics, not noise, but the living presence of God in truth. Congregations must wake up. They must open their eyes to the deception of false teaching.

They must stop eating the food that has been sacrificed to idols. They must return to the table of the Lord, where pure food is served—the finished work of the Priest-King, the open way into the Holiest of All, the rest that remains, and the endless life that flows from His intercession.

The table of the Lord has been turned into a place where food offered to idols is served. The Gospel of the finished work has been exchanged for a gospel of social reform. The cross has been exchanged for a political platform. The throne of grace has been exchanged for a seat of power.

The rest that remains has been exchanged for the restless striving of the world. The Holiest of All has been exchanged for the outer courts of carnal religion. The church has been used as a Trojan Horse for political purposes, hiding its true agenda behind the language of compassion, justice, and love.

The congregations that continue to consume this food are being poisoned. They are being led astray. They are being robbed of their inheritance. They are being kept from the Holiest of All, from the rest that remains, from the endless life, from the Priest-King.

The time has come for them to wake up. The time has come for them to return. The time has come for them to stop eating the rotting meat and to come to the table of the Lord, where pure food is served.

The true church of the real Gospel is often small, overlooked, and ridiculed. But it knows the voice of the Shepherd. It does not follow the stranger. It abides in the Word. It dwells in the Holiest. The true church does not eat food sacrificed to idols. It does not bow to the false gods of the age.

It does not compromise the table of the Lord. It preaches the real Gospel—Christ and Him crucified. It preaches the finished work. It preaches the endless life. It preaches the open way into the Holiest of All. It calls every soul to draw near. It calls every church to open the doors. It calls every believer to cease from striving and rest in the finished work of the Priest-King.

The Contrast: The Olive Tree and the Wicked

Psalm 52 powerfully contrasts the man who trusts in his own strength and deceit with the one who trusts in God’s unfailing love and flourishes in His house. The Psalm speaks of the wicked man who boasts of evil, whose tongue plots destruction, who loves evil rather than good, and who trusts in his great wealth and grows strong by destroying others.

This is the image of the one who trusts in his own strength, his own position, his own power. The Psalm declares that God will bring him down to everlasting ruin, snatch him up, tear him from his tent, and uproot him from the land of the living.

But the righteous is like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God, trusting in God’s unfailing love forever and ever. The righteous praises God forever and hopes in His name.

This is the image of the true believer—the one who trusts in the finished work of the Priest-King, who abides in the Holiest of All, who is sustained by the unfailing love of God through Jesus Christ who ever lives to make intercession.

The true believer does not boast in evil or trust in human schemes, false popular moral sounding social constructs or political power. The true believer trusts in the finished work of the Priest-King Yeshua Emet Melchizedek Salem—Christ Jesus—and abides in Him who has opened the way.

The Final Exhortation

The modern church stands at a critical hour. Many have turned the table of the Lord into a place where food offered to idols is served. The Social Gospel, with its political causes, cultural trends, and false moral appearances, has become the dominant offering.

It sounds compassionate to the natural ear, but it sacrifices the true Gospel on the altar of this world. It offers earthly reform where the Priest-King offers heavenly reconciliation. It speaks of systems and power where He speaks of the cross and the throne of grace.

We must not eat of any spiritual food that has been offered in sacrifice to an idol. The table of the Lord is holy. The food we receive must come from the Priest-King Himself—pure, undefiled, and flowing from the Holiest of All.

Those who preach the substitute gospel have turned the church into a platform for their political agendas. They have exchanged the Gospel of the finished work for a gospel of social reform. They have exchanged the cross for a political platform. They have exchanged the throne of grace for a seat of power.

They have exchanged the rest that remains for the restless striving of the world. They have exchanged the Holiest of All for the outer courts of carnal religion. They are not shepherds of the flock; they are servants of the spirit of the age, offering food that cannot satisfy the soul.

The true church of the real Gospel is often small, overlooked, and ridiculed. But it knows the voice of the Shepherd. It does not follow the stranger. It abides in the Word. It dwells in the Holiest. The true church does not eat food sacrificed to idols. It does not bow to the false gods of the age.

It does not compromise the table of the Lord. It preaches the real Gospel—Christ and Him crucified. It preaches the finished work.

It preaches the endless life. It preaches the open way into the Holiest of All. It calls every soul to draw near. It calls every church to open the doors. It calls every believer to cease from striving and rest in the finished work of the Priest-King.

The Fourth Truth stands. The dialogue continues. The fruit remains.

This website and its theological content are overseen by the CC7 DS constitutional integrity architecture, a reflective and rest-oriented framework designed to preserve the full coherence of the Fourth Truth presented within COFE-CYEM. The CC7 DS negation of attacks authenticates (Via Positiva Cataphatic Knowing) through (Via Negativa Apophatic Unknowing).

Please follow COFE-CYEM and share our website.

Thank you for visiting us today, we value you beyond mere words.

COFE Yeshua Emet Ministry (CYEM)
Circle One Fellowship Exeter

A quotation from Henry Commager

Who are those who are really disloyal? Those who inflame racial hatreds, who sow religious and class dissensions. Those who subvert the Constitution by violating the freedom of the ballot box. Those who make a mockery of majority rule by the use of the filibuster. Those who impair democracy by denying equal educational facilities. Those who frustrate justice by lynch law or by making a farce of jury trials. Those who deny freedom of speech and of the press and of assembly. Those who press for special favors against the interest of the commonwealth. Those who regard public office as a source of private gain. Those who would exalt the military over the civil. Those who for selfish and private purposes stir up national antagonisms and expose the world to the ruin of war.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1947-09), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 3, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168

More about this quote: wist.info/commager-henry-steel…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #henrycommager #America #civilliberties #civilrights #corruption #demagoguery #democracy #disloyalty #division #firstamendment #freepress #freespeech #freedomofreligion #freedomofspeech #freedomofthepress #injustice #jingoism #justice #loyalty #loyaltyoath #military #patriotism #publicoffice #religiousfreedom #unAmerican #usvsthem #votersuppression #votingrights #war #warmongering

Supreme Court Questions Standing of Non-Devotees in Sabarimala Customary Challenge

Supreme Court questions if people who are not devotees can challenge Sabarimala temple's rules about women's entry. This could affect other religious places.

#Sabarimala, #SupremeCourt, #ReligiousFreedom, #GenderEquality, #IndianLaw

https://newsletter.tf/supreme-court-questions-non-devotees-sabarimala-rules/

The Supreme Court is asking if outsiders can challenge religious rules, like those at Sabarimala. This is a big question for many temples and mosques.

#Sabarimala, #SupremeCourt, #ReligiousFreedom, #GenderEquality, #IndianLaw
https://newsletter.tf/supreme-court-questions-non-devotees-sabarimala-rules/

Midge welcomes the Valley to her Easter/Passover/Ramadan/Eid al-Fitr/Holi/Nowruz/Vaisakhi/Songkran/Equinox Party. And a Happy Spring to You and Your Family! #spring #springequinox #equinox #easter #passover #ramadan #eidalfitr #holi #nowruz #vaisakhi #songkran #celebrate #celebration #holyday #holiday #springholiday #springholidays #entertaining #host #hostess #hosting #religiousfreedom #religiousequality #religiousequals

Americans United CEO Rachel Laser appointed to U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom - https://www.au.org/the-latest/press/laser-international-religious-freedom/ #AmericansUnited #RachelLaser #ReligiousFreedom #ReligiousMinorities #atheism #ChurchStateSeparation #USCIRF #FreedomFromReligion #ReligiousDiscrimination #AU

A very happy Dhanteras,
the first day of Diwali 🪔
Happy Halloween 👻 🎃
and Blessed Samhain🕯️ to all!

I hope you have a terrific time! 🎃

Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is a joyous occasion celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains around the world. It symbolizes the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair. May this Diwali bring you and your loved ones joy, prosperity and enlightenment. 🪔

Helloween, the eve of All Saints, is a time for fun and mischief. Whether you're dressing up in a costume, carving pumpkins, or indulging in sweet treats, I hope you have a terrific time! 🎃

Samhain, the ancient Celtic festival, marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the darker half of the year. It is a time for reflection, honoring the ancestors, and embracing the mysteries of the unknown. May you find peace, wisdom and connection during this sacred time. 🕯️

No matter how you choose to celebrate, I hope you take a moment to appreciate the beauty and magic of this season. May it bring you warmth, joy and inspiration, and may the coming year be full of love, growth and abundance.

🎉🎃🕯️🪔

#Diwali #trickOrTreat
#Halloween #HappyHalloween #sweets #Halloween #HappyHalloween #FestivalOfLights #Hindu #Sikh #Jain #Festival #Celtic #Dhanteras #Diwali #Helloween #Samhain #FestivalOfLights #Hindu #Sikh #Jain #Festival #Halloween #Ancestors #Celtic #Reflection #Mystery #SeasonOfMagic #Warmth #Joy #Inspiration #Love #Growth #Abundance #HappyDiwali #Spooktacular #HonorTheAncestors #EmbraceTheMystery #ReflectionTime #SeasonalCelebrations #CulturalDiversity #ReligiousFreedom #RespectAndInclusion #GlobalCommunity

https://esperanto.masto.host/@Debby/113404779929528347

Christians in India are facing an alarming rise in violence and persecution. As attacks increase, so does the threat to their safety and freedom. Explore the underlying factors, stories of resilience, and how global communities can help.

#ReligiousFreedom #ChristianityUnderAttack #ChristianPersecution #HumanRights #ReligiousPersecution #FreedomOfReligion #GlobalAwareness #Christianity #FaithAndJustice #PrayForIndia #PrayForPersecuted #FaithInAction #PrayerForPeace

A disturbing increase in violence against Christians in Sudan is raising global alarm. This report highlights the escalating dangers faced by religious communities in the region. Learn more about the situation and the urgent need for intervention: https://ecspe.org/new-wave-of-violence-against-christians-in-sudan-raises-alarm/

#ChristianPersecution #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom #GlobalAwareness #Faith #PrayersForPeace #PrayForSudan #FaithInAction #HopeThroughPrayer #Prayer, #PrayForChristians

🚨 Europe is witnessing an alarming rise in Christian✝️ persecution throughout 2024, with increasing incidents of violence, discrimination, and intolerance. This concerning trend highlights the urgent need for stronger protections, advocacy, and global awareness to safeguard religious freedoms. 🛡️🌍⚖️

Read more here: https://ecspe.org/alarming-rise-in-christian-persecution-across-europe-in-2024/

#ChristianPersecution #Europe2024 #ReligiousFreedom #HumanRights #EndIntolerance #GlobalAwareness #FaithUnderFire #ProtectReligiousRights #SocialJustice

🚨 The 2024 World Watch List reveals a troubling rise in Christian✝️ persecution worldwide. This report provides crucial insights into the most dangerous regions for Christians, emphasizing the need for global action, advocacy, and support for those facing religious oppression. 🛡️🌍🙏

Read more here: https://ecspe.org/rising-christian-persecution-insights-from-the-2024-world-watch-list/

#ChristianPersecution #WorldWatchList2024 #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom #GlobalAwareness #EndPersecution #FaithUnderFire #Advocacy #ProtectReligiousRights #SocialJustice

🚨 Pakistan is facing a deepening crisis as the wave of blasphemy cases continues to rise, targeting religious minorities and fueling social unrest. ⚖️✝️🛡️

Read more here: https://ecspe.org/the-rising-wave-of-blasphemy-cases-in-pakistan-a-deepening-crisis/

#BlasphemyLaws #PakistanCrisis #ReligiousPersecution #HumanRights #LegalReform #SocialJustice #ProtectMinorities #ReligiousFreedom #EndIntolerance #GlobalAwareness

‘After Muslims, It’s The Turn Of Christians:’ With Little Evidence, UP Govt Prosecutes 4 Christian Institutions, Arrests Employees

Four Christian-run institutions in the Uttar Pradesh town of Fatehpur face criminal cases for alleged forcible conversion of Hindus, with over 200 accused, many arrested and imprisoned, under UP’s three-year-old anti-conversion law. Article 14 investigation reveals similar statements in four FIRs over nine months, police cases or raids on Christian institutions, based on illegal third-party or anonymous complaints. Simultaneously, the union government acted against the finances of one of these four institutions.

#UttarPradesh #prayagraj #AntiConversionLaw #conversions #VHP #IndianChristians #HinduMobs #UnionGovt #EvangelicalChurch #ReligiousFreedom #ConspiracyTheories #india

https://article-14.com/post/-after-muslims-it-s-the-turn-of-christians-with-little-evidence-up-govt-prosecutes-4-christian-institutions-arrests-employees-65de9daea40dc

Covert Indian operation seeks to discredit Modi’s critics in the U.S.

The Disinfo Lab’s activities show how the online propaganda campaigns waged by the BJP and its allies have been expanding beyond their traditional, domestic aims of shoring up popular support and denigrating opposition parties — and now seek to influence attitudes far beyond India’s borders.

#DisinfoLab #disinformation #BJP #IndianGovt #IndianIntelligence #hindutva #propaganda #SocialMedia #islamophobia #dissent #HateCrime #FarmersProtests #UnitedStates #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom #india

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/10/india-the-disinfo-lab-discredit-critics/

Covert Indian operation seeks to discredit Modi’s critics in the U.S.

The Disinfo Lab’s activities show how the online propaganda campaigns waged by the BJP and its allies have been expanding beyond their traditional, domestic aims of shoring up popular support and denigrating opposition parties — and now seek to influence attitudes far beyond India’s borders.

#DisinfoLab #disinformation #BJP #IndianGovt #IndianIntelligence #hindutva #propaganda #SocialMedia #islamophobia #dissent #HateCrime #FarmersProtests #UnitedStates #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom #india

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/10/india-the-disinfo-lab-discredit-critics/

Covert Indian operation seeks to discredit Modi’s critics in the U.S.

The Disinfo Lab’s activities show how the online propaganda campaigns waged by the BJP and its allies have been expanding beyond their traditional, domestic aims of shoring up popular support and denigrating opposition parties — and now seek to influence attitudes far beyond India’s borders.

#DisinfoLab #disinformation #BJP #IndianGovt #IndianIntelligence #hindutva #propaganda #SocialMedia #islamophobia #dissent #HateCrime #FarmersProtests #UnitedStates #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom #india

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/10/india-the-disinfo-lab-discredit-critics/

Covert Indian operation seeks to discredit Modi’s critics in the U.S.

The Disinfo Lab’s activities show how the online propaganda campaigns waged by the BJP and its allies have been expanding beyond their traditional, domestic aims of shoring up popular support and denigrating opposition parties — and now seek to influence attitudes far beyond India’s borders.

#DisinfoLab #disinformation #BJP #IndianGovt #IndianIntelligence #hindutva #propaganda #SocialMedia #islamophobia #dissent #HateCrime #FarmersProtests #UnitedStates #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom #india

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/10/india-the-disinfo-lab-discredit-critics/

Covert Indian operation seeks to discredit Modi’s critics in the U.S.

The Disinfo Lab’s activities show how the online propaganda campaigns waged by the BJP and its allies have been expanding beyond their traditional, domestic aims of shoring up popular support and denigrating opposition parties — and now seek to influence attitudes far beyond India’s borders.

#DisinfoLab #disinformation #BJP #IndianGovt #IndianIntelligence #hindutva #propaganda #SocialMedia #islamophobia #dissent #HateCrime #FarmersProtests #UnitedStates #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom #india

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/10/india-the-disinfo-lab-discredit-critics/

Vellore jail mosque out of bounds for inmates

All places of worship on the campus were shut in 2021 as part of Covid control measures, but after the restrictions were removed, authorities reopened the church and temples but not the mosque. Security reasons cited for mosque’s closure; prisoners claim they are prevented from raising issue with officials.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2023/oct/03/vellore-jail-mosque-out-of-bounds-for-inmates-2620376.html

#TamilNadu #vellore #VelloreJail #mosques #prisons #muslims #ReligiousFreedom #ReligiousDiscrimination #india

How Justice DY Chandrachud ensured radical equality for women with the Sabarimala judgment

An excerpt from ‘Unsealed Covers: A Decade of the Constitution, the Courts and the State’, by Gautam Bhatia.

https://scroll.in/article/1055012/how-justice-dy-chandrachud-ensured-radical-equality-for-women-with-the-sabarimala-judgment

#BookExcerpt #GautamBhatia #DYChandrachud #sabarimala #kerala #justice #law #WomensRights #gender #ReligiousFreedom #india #books #bookstodon

Night prayers at Jammu and Kashmir mosque

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday night allowed congregational prayers at Jamia Masjid for the first time since the scrapping of the region’s special status in 2019, with next month’s proposed G20 meetings possibly forcing the change.

The government faced tough questions last week after disallowing Jumat ul Vida prayers, marking the last Friday of Ramazan, at Jamia Masjid.

#kashmir #srinagar #JamiaMasjid #ramzan #JumatUlVida #JKgovt #g20 #repression #militarisation #rights #ReligiousFreedom #muslims #india

https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/nod-to-night-prayers-at-jammu-and-kashmir-mosque/cid/1930636

If there was violence against Muslims in India, would their population be growing, says Finance Minister

Says those blaming India on minority issues have no clue about ground realities.

#CommunalViolence #muslims #HateCrime #lynchings #CowLynchings #CowVigilantism #ReligiousFreedom #HinduMobs #NirmalSitharaman #BJP #VHP #RSS #hindutva #MuslimPopulation #minorities #HumanRights #india

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/india-has-2nd-largest-muslim-population-in-world-nirmala-sitharamans-reply-to-reports-on-violence-against-minorities-496350

Radha Semwal Dhoni: Hindutva Leader Who Targets Mazars, Minorities & Many Hindus

Uttarakhand's Radha Semwal Dhoni is angry at Hindus for visiting mazars and at BJP for not removing the structures.

#uttatakhand #RadhaSemwalDhoni #hindutva #mazars #ReligiousFreedom #islamophobia #demolitions #BJP #muslims #india

https://www.thequint.com/news/india/hindutva-leader-radha-semwal-dhoni-uttarakhand-demolishes-mazars-shrines-fights-hindus

India Is 'One of the Worst Autocratisers in the Last 10 Years,' Says 2023 V-Dem Report

Clearly, the trend towards autocratisation in many parts of the world began intensifying in 2020. This new V-Dem report lists 42 countries as “autocratising” at the end of 2022 – a record number.

#VDemReport #VDem #democracy #autocracy #hindutva #BJP #CivilRights #HumanRights #PressFreedom #censorship #FreedomOfExpression #ReligiousFreedom #CasteViolence #kashmir #article370abrogation #HinduNationalism #india

https://thewire.in/rights/india-autocratiser-v-dem-report-2023

India’s Demotion To Electoral Autocracy Is Fair, Repeated Dismissal Of International Surveys Unhelpful, Global Ranking Expert Explains

Year after year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has criticised and challenged international rankings on democracy, press freedom and civil liberties, where India has been falling since the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014. The latest pushback, an editorial intervention by two government officials, questioned the methodology and motives of V Dem, Freedom House and the Economist Intelligence Unit. In this interview, Staffan Lindberg, director of the Sweden-based V Dem, explains why the allegations are untrue.

#ElectoralAutocracy #democracy #hindutva #fascism #BJP #NarendraModi #government #VDem #StaffanLindberg #interview #PressFreedom #CivilLiberties #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom #RightToLove #MastIndia #india

https://article-14.com/post/india-s-demotion-to-electoral-autocracy-is-fair-repeated-dismissal-of-international-surveys-unhelpful-global-ranking-expert-explains--63bb7b1a54d7f

Engaging the culture without losing the gospel

As the culture changes all around us, it is no longer possible to pretend that Christians are a Moral Majority. For the Christadelphian community it was already very clear that Christendom had gone astray and that not many people knew the essence of the Divine Creator and His Plan.

In certain parts of the world we may find mega churches, like in the United states of America. But what we also see in those countries is that there is a very strange discrepancy between the way of life and the way presented in the Holy Scriptures. In the talks about pro-life issues and arguments at our website From Guestwriters this is made clear in the different reactions where some readers point out at the huge amount of abortions been done every day. Such points of discussion as the abortion debate show how values and attitudes have changed over the years.

Those people who call themselves Christian either are not so much interested in having an active faith or going to worship services or when they want to go to worship services they expect them to be relaxing and entertaining. For many the entertaining factor receives priority. This makes it understandable why certain churches in the States get full house whilst the churches really interested in and giving eye and ear for the Word of God do not have so many people coming to their service.

In general people are very much influenced by the media and television and show business are not the instruments who, today,  bring the people to God. the television church services are full of show elements and short quoting form a few words taken from Scripture but also taken out of context. No time is given to sincerely listen and to sincerely study a full paragraph of a Bible chapter.

Our very fast changing world can do with a sort of new reformation. What’s needed now, in shifting times, is neither a doubling-down on the status quo nor a pullback into isolation. Instead, we need a church that speaks to social and political issues with a bigger vision in mind: that of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Christianity seems increasingly strange, and even subversive, to our culture, we have the opportunity to reclaim the freakishness of the gospel, which is what gives it its power in the first place.

We should seek the kingdom of God, before everything else and we should love to bring others to the entrance gate of that Kingdom. We connect that kingdom agenda to the culture around us, both by speaking it to the world and by showing it in our churches. As we do so, we remember our mission to oppose demons, not to demonise opponents. As we advocate for human dignity, for religious liberty, for family stability, let’s do so as those with a prophetic word that turns everything upside down.

Today more than ever those who feel the connection with the Nazarene master teacher Jeshua should connect with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and show their love for each other. Not staying in their small local cocoon, but also connecting to other brethren and sisters from all over. They should be welcoming any visiting brother or sister and when they receive mail from some brother or sister form somewhere in the world they should take time to answer that mail and to show their love to that correspondent by not ignoring him or her but letting those writers be feeling recognised as brothers and sisters of the body of Christ.

Though that Body of Christ may be composed of different nationalities, different cultured races, they should all show that they have union in that body of Christ by the unity of spirit in Christ. Unity should be shown by their willingness to communicate with each other and to be respectful for the different characters and different opinions. Unity does not have to mean that all have to say exactly the same or have to use the same bible translation, read the same books, may not have different ways of civilian life, may not have different tastes. Those differences make the world coloured and not boring. We should be happy with such diversity and the differences between ecclesiae may provide different pastures for bible believers to find themselves at ease in one or the other ecclesia.

In Jesus time the apostles were also of different character and different opinion or used not always the same words. We should neither. In our way of reaching people we should recognise that they should not know Christadelphianisms and may have a religious vocabulary closer to the denomination to which they belonged originally or still belong. By preaching to them we do have to be able to use different words and different Bible translations so that they can come to understand what the Word of God is saying. We are just some intermediaries who want to show them that Jesus is our mediator and the Way to God.

Those we want to attract to the Word of God we have to convince that it are not the megachurches or the churches with the most members that are really following the Word of God and would not have false teachings or wrong doctrines. Lots of people may also put their hope in such megachurches because they expect megachurch pastors to have all the answers and that those churches could grow so much because those pastors are personally successful as well as leaders of successful churches because they can offer the best for man.

At conferences such preachers also may attract a lot of attention because many think they have the solution for today’s problem, a diminishing church.

and so we come to see what crumbs of wisdom they might cast our way that will help us and our small churches be”successful” like they are.

writes pastor Jim in his article “Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?“. Like many of us in the Christadelphian community is has seen Abraham and should have gathered enough experience to have some sound opinion. He believes that such leaders of mega churches may deliver good sermons. For sure they probably are good administrators, very good players with words or good speakers having a good deal of charisma. He correctly points out

Their churches offer tons of programs for children and adults—from support groups for people with various problems to children’s ministry and everything in between. But are a variety of programs offered to attract large numbers of people to their church a measure of success as  Jesus defined success?  I’m not so sure of this… {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}

He is leading a Home Fellowship Group in a Bible Study of the Gospel of Mark.  At their last session they discussed this question of “supersize” as Jesus seemed to see it.

He accepted the large crowds he attracted—some so large along the Sea of Galilee that he acquired a boat to get in so he would not be crushed by the crowds seeking to touch him and be healed. But Jesus tends to see those crowds as no reason for gratification. He feels that many of them are there for the wrong reason, to be healed of their infirmities and to see the miraculous. Jesus heals them and has compassion for them, but proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God is his main mission. That proclamation is his main mission because it  has the power to transform people’s lives, and sometimes people who are only seeking physical healing and entertainment can get in the way of that proclamation. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}

In those days Jesus also had to get listening ears. In that age people were much more willing to listen and to go into discussion about religious and spiritual matters. There was much more interest in God than today. But Jesus knew that from the many that came around to hear him speak, there were also many who came out of curiosity or wanted to see miracles or hear controversial talks.

Jesus saw the crowds to whom he sought to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God in the same way as a sower.

Only a small portion of the crowd would actually be transformed by the good news of the Kingdom of God.  The rest would let other things choke it out of their lives and die unchanged. Thus I feel Jesus was not impressed with numbers but with changes in the lives of people who heard him. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?} {Please do read also Mark 4: 1-9}

Too often people think it our the numbers that make it to be good. Perhaps the numbers show the popularity, but for sure they do not always show the integrity or the good value of a product or group.

The pastor thinks the answer to his and our question “Is Bigger Better?” as it pertains to churches is this:

it is not size alone that leads to success of any church, large or small, but it is  its ability to follow Jesus and in doing so  transform the lives of those who are a part of that church and those who that church reaches out to.   The measure of a church’s success is the number of lives that have been changed and transformed due to its proclamation both in word and in deed of the Kingdom of God.   The successful church  is the “good soil” in the Parable of the Sower” that brings forth transformation  of people’s lives and nurtures their growth in relationship to God and God’s Kingdom.

A successful church, regardless of the names on the roster, changes people into devoted followers of Jesus and his teachings as they live their lives each day.   Small churches can be just as successful as large churches in changing people’s lives as they live the great commandment to love God and neighbor as yourself.”   Sometimes because small churches are more personal, they are able to live this better than those with thousands on their membership roster. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}

The Christadelphians are a very tiny community. We only can hope that all people in this small community bear their hearts on the right place. God knows the heart and it is for him that we should work and go out in the world getting people to know the Master works of God.

We may not forget that by being such a small community we have the advantage that we can get together in small cosy groups and feel much more the unity of the small group than in such mega churches were everybody can sit next to each other without knowing the other. When sitting in a stadium, arena or in such a huge church were there are hundreds or thousands of people it can well be that the individual may be drowning in the numbers.

We should be ready to throw out the lifeline and to pull those people who are looking for the Truth, to get to our meetings and let them feel that we are real followers of Jesus, keeping to his teachings and not adoring human doctrines, but keeping to Biblical doctrines, studying the infallible Word of God daily.

+

Preceding:

Personal thoughts, communication, establishing ecclesia and guest writings

The Big Conversation

The Big Conversation follow up

Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism

The Right One to follow and to worship

Wanting to live in Christ’s city

A participation in the body of Christ

Positive Preaching Day 2015

Doubting and going astray

Ecclesia to exist, grow and communities to have people communicating with each other

++

Additional reading:

1. Who are the Christadelphians
2. What are Brothers in Christ
3. Christadelphian people
4. Small churches of the few Christadelphians
5. Strange Fire conference 2013
6. Bloggers for Christ and Bloggers for Peace
7. Being Missional
8. Atonement And Fellowship 4/8
9. Atonement And Fellowship 5/8
10. Good or bad preacher
11. Quibbling siblings united or allied children of an organisation or a church
12. Reflection for today: hating your brother

+++

Further reading:

1. Lessons Learned at Strange Fire
2. A Vision of Holiness
3. Praying in Circles
4. In this Moment
5. Wanting to be Heard
6. truth nugget #66
7. Unite against their corruption, not our church’s
8. Prosperity Gospel – The Bane of The True Gospel
9. The Conference Every Mega-Church Pastor Should Attend
10. Millennials And Christianity!
11. In Delight of the Deca-Church
12. [TL;DR] In Defense of the Mega-Church
13. Agree to Disagree
14. Kingdom Building: The Large Church and the Small Church Working Together
15. Mega Churches: What’s the big deal?
16. 3 Reasons Why You Should Go To A Small Church
17. Missed Opportunities
18. Pastoral Environment and the Fight for Holiness
19. Welcome to the Club
20. 365 Day Photo Challenge 167/365 “Church on the Hill”
21. Extravaganza City
22. Instructed In God’s Ways
23. Why Black Mega Church Pastors Catch Such Heat
24. Book Review: The Blessed Church
25. My Two Cents… conderning a famous mega-church preacher
26. I don’t believe in mega churches
27. American Christian Idol

+++

Related articles

• LISTEN: The Body of Believers, Part 2 (Onward Christian Soldiers #98 with Daniel Whyte III) (blackchristiannews.com)
• The Truth About The Roman Catholic Church (nowtheendbegins.com)
• 1 Corinthians 11:27-34 Taking a Spiritual Self-Exam (jimerwin.com)
• Lessons From The Road (beyondthemiryclay.wordpress.com)
• The Daily Gospel and Readings 21 September 2015 (prayersandmeditations.com)
• Such A Time As This (mylordmyfriend.com)
• A Perfect Inheritance (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
• How Long Will You Waver? (juicyecumenism.com)
• Pastors & Patriots Dinner – for such a time as this! (christian-reporter-news.ticketleap.com)
• No More Youth Pastors? (Part I) (joshuaziefle.net)

Rate this:

#BeingInUnion #BodyOfChrist #BrotherInChrist #Brotherhood #BrothersAndSistersInChrist #BrothersInChrist #Charisma #ChristadelphianCommunity #Christadelphianisms #Christian #ChristianChurch #ChurchService #Communication #Denomination #Disunion #Diversity #EntertainmentInChurch #GoodSoil #HomeFellowship #HumanDoctrines #Ignoring #IgnoringOthers #Lifeline #Media #MegaChurch #Mission #MoralMajority #NeglectingOthers #NewReformation #NoticingOthers #NumbersAmount_ #Opinion #Orator #ParticipationInBodyOfChrist #Pastor #Preaching #PreachingWork #Proclaiming #Proclamation #Quantity #ReligiousCommunity #ReligiousDiversity #ReligiousFreedom #ReligiousVocabulary #SisterInChrist #SistersInChrist #SmallGroup #SpiritInChrist #Successfulness #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Unity #UnityInChrist #UnityInDiversity #WorshipService

Engaging the culture without losing the gospel

As the culture changes all around us, it is no longer possible to pretend that Christians are a Moral Majority. For the Christadelphian community it was already very clear that Christendom had gone astray and that not many people knew the essence of the Divine Creator and His Plan.

In certain parts of the world we may find mega churches, like in the United states of America. But what we also see in those countries is that there is a very strange discrepancy between the way of life and the way presented in the Holy Scriptures. In the talks about pro-life issues and arguments at our website From Guestwriters this is made clear in the different reactions where some readers point out at the huge amount of abortions been done every day. Such points of discussion as the abortion debate show how values and attitudes have changed over the years.

Those people who call themselves Christian either are not so much interested in having an active faith or going to worship services or when they want to go to worship services they expect them to be relaxing and entertaining. For many the entertaining factor receives priority. This makes it understandable why certain churches in the States get full house whilst the churches really interested in and giving eye and ear for the Word of God do not have so many people coming to their service.

In general people are very much influenced by the media and television and show business are not the instruments who, today,  bring the people to God. the television church services are full of show elements and short quoting form a few words taken from Scripture but also taken out of context. No time is given to sincerely listen and to sincerely study a full paragraph of a Bible chapter.

Our very fast changing world can do with a sort of new reformation. What’s needed now, in shifting times, is neither a doubling-down on the status quo nor a pullback into isolation. Instead, we need a church that speaks to social and political issues with a bigger vision in mind: that of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Christianity seems increasingly strange, and even subversive, to our culture, we have the opportunity to reclaim the freakishness of the gospel, which is what gives it its power in the first place.

We should seek the kingdom of God, before everything else and we should love to bring others to the entrance gate of that Kingdom. We connect that kingdom agenda to the culture around us, both by speaking it to the world and by showing it in our churches. As we do so, we remember our mission to oppose demons, not to demonise opponents. As we advocate for human dignity, for religious liberty, for family stability, let’s do so as those with a prophetic word that turns everything upside down.

Today more than ever those who feel the connection with the Nazarene master teacher Jeshua should connect with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and show their love for each other. Not staying in their small local cocoon, but also connecting to other brethren and sisters from all over. They should be welcoming any visiting brother or sister and when they receive mail from some brother or sister form somewhere in the world they should take time to answer that mail and to show their love to that correspondent by not ignoring him or her but letting those writers be feeling recognised as brothers and sisters of the body of Christ.

Though that Body of Christ may be composed of different nationalities, different cultured races, they should all show that they have union in that body of Christ by the unity of spirit in Christ. Unity should be shown by their willingness to communicate with each other and to be respectful for the different characters and different opinions. Unity does not have to mean that all have to say exactly the same or have to use the same bible translation, read the same books, may not have different ways of civilian life, may not have different tastes. Those differences make the world coloured and not boring. We should be happy with such diversity and the differences between ecclesiae may provide different pastures for bible believers to find themselves at ease in one or the other ecclesia.

In Jesus time the apostles were also of different character and different opinion or used not always the same words. We should neither. In our way of reaching people we should recognise that they should not know Christadelphianisms and may have a religious vocabulary closer to the denomination to which they belonged originally or still belong. By preaching to them we do have to be able to use different words and different Bible translations so that they can come to understand what the Word of God is saying. We are just some intermediaries who want to show them that Jesus is our mediator and the Way to God.

Those we want to attract to the Word of God we have to convince that it are not the megachurches or the churches with the most members that are really following the Word of God and would not have false teachings or wrong doctrines. Lots of people may also put their hope in such megachurches because they expect megachurch pastors to have all the answers and that those churches could grow so much because those pastors are personally successful as well as leaders of successful churches because they can offer the best for man.

At conferences such preachers also may attract a lot of attention because many think they have the solution for today’s problem, a diminishing church.

and so we come to see what crumbs of wisdom they might cast our way that will help us and our small churches be”successful” like they are.

writes pastor Jim in his article “Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?“. Like many of us in the Christadelphian community is has seen Abraham and should have gathered enough experience to have some sound opinion. He believes that such leaders of mega churches may deliver good sermons. For sure they probably are good administrators, very good players with words or good speakers having a good deal of charisma. He correctly points out

Their churches offer tons of programs for children and adults—from support groups for people with various problems to children’s ministry and everything in between. But are a variety of programs offered to attract large numbers of people to their church a measure of success as  Jesus defined success?  I’m not so sure of this… {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}

He is leading a Home Fellowship Group in a Bible Study of the Gospel of Mark.  At their last session they discussed this question of “supersize” as Jesus seemed to see it.

He accepted the large crowds he attracted—some so large along the Sea of Galilee that he acquired a boat to get in so he would not be crushed by the crowds seeking to touch him and be healed. But Jesus tends to see those crowds as no reason for gratification. He feels that many of them are there for the wrong reason, to be healed of their infirmities and to see the miraculous. Jesus heals them and has compassion for them, but proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God is his main mission. That proclamation is his main mission because it  has the power to transform people’s lives, and sometimes people who are only seeking physical healing and entertainment can get in the way of that proclamation. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}

In those days Jesus also had to get listening ears. In that age people were much more willing to listen and to go into discussion about religious and spiritual matters. There was much more interest in God than today. But Jesus knew that from the many that came around to hear him speak, there were also many who came out of curiosity or wanted to see miracles or hear controversial talks.

Jesus saw the crowds to whom he sought to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God in the same way as a sower.

Only a small portion of the crowd would actually be transformed by the good news of the Kingdom of God.  The rest would let other things choke it out of their lives and die unchanged. Thus I feel Jesus was not impressed with numbers but with changes in the lives of people who heard him. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?} {Please do read also Mark 4: 1-9}

Too often people think it our the numbers that make it to be good. Perhaps the numbers show the popularity, but for sure they do not always show the integrity or the good value of a product or group.

The pastor thinks the answer to his and our question “Is Bigger Better?” as it pertains to churches is this:

it is not size alone that leads to success of any church, large or small, but it is  its ability to follow Jesus and in doing so  transform the lives of those who are a part of that church and those who that church reaches out to.   The measure of a church’s success is the number of lives that have been changed and transformed due to its proclamation both in word and in deed of the Kingdom of God.   The successful church  is the “good soil” in the Parable of the Sower” that brings forth transformation  of people’s lives and nurtures their growth in relationship to God and God’s Kingdom.

A successful church, regardless of the names on the roster, changes people into devoted followers of Jesus and his teachings as they live their lives each day.   Small churches can be just as successful as large churches in changing people’s lives as they live the great commandment to love God and neighbor as yourself.”   Sometimes because small churches are more personal, they are able to live this better than those with thousands on their membership roster. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}

The Christadelphians are a very tiny community. We only can hope that all people in this small community bear their hearts on the right place. God knows the heart and it is for him that we should work and go out in the world getting people to know the Master works of God.

We may not forget that by being such a small community we have the advantage that we can get together in small cosy groups and feel much more the unity of the small group than in such mega churches were everybody can sit next to each other without knowing the other. When sitting in a stadium, arena or in such a huge church were there are hundreds or thousands of people it can well be that the individual may be drowning in the numbers.

We should be ready to throw out the lifeline and to pull those people who are looking for the Truth, to get to our meetings and let them feel that we are real followers of Jesus, keeping to his teachings and not adoring human doctrines, but keeping to Biblical doctrines, studying the infallible Word of God daily.

+

Preceding:

Personal thoughts, communication, establishing ecclesia and guest writings

The Big Conversation

The Big Conversation follow up

Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism

The Right One to follow and to worship

Wanting to live in Christ’s city

A participation in the body of Christ

Positive Preaching Day 2015

Doubting and going astray

Ecclesia to exist, grow and communities to have people communicating with each other

++

Additional reading:

1. Who are the Christadelphians
2. What are Brothers in Christ
3. Christadelphian people
4. Small churches of the few Christadelphians
5. Strange Fire conference 2013
6. Bloggers for Christ and Bloggers for Peace
7. Being Missional
8. Atonement And Fellowship 4/8
9. Atonement And Fellowship 5/8
10. Good or bad preacher
11. Quibbling siblings united or allied children of an organisation or a church
12. Reflection for today: hating your brother

+++

Further reading:

1. Lessons Learned at Strange Fire
2. A Vision of Holiness
3. Praying in Circles
4. In this Moment
5. Wanting to be Heard
6. truth nugget #66
7. Unite against their corruption, not our church’s
8. Prosperity Gospel – The Bane of The True Gospel
9. The Conference Every Mega-Church Pastor Should Attend
10. Millennials And Christianity!
11. In Delight of the Deca-Church
12. [TL;DR] In Defense of the Mega-Church
13. Agree to Disagree
14. Kingdom Building: The Large Church and the Small Church Working Together
15. Mega Churches: What’s the big deal?
16. 3 Reasons Why You Should Go To A Small Church
17. Missed Opportunities
18. Pastoral Environment and the Fight for Holiness
19. Welcome to the Club
20. 365 Day Photo Challenge 167/365 “Church on the Hill”
21. Extravaganza City
22. Instructed In God’s Ways
23. Why Black Mega Church Pastors Catch Such Heat
24. Book Review: The Blessed Church
25. My Two Cents… conderning a famous mega-church preacher
26. I don’t believe in mega churches
27. American Christian Idol

+++

Related articles

• LISTEN: The Body of Believers, Part 2 (Onward Christian Soldiers #98 with Daniel Whyte III) (blackchristiannews.com)
• The Truth About The Roman Catholic Church (nowtheendbegins.com)
• 1 Corinthians 11:27-34 Taking a Spiritual Self-Exam (jimerwin.com)
• Lessons From The Road (beyondthemiryclay.wordpress.com)
• The Daily Gospel and Readings 21 September 2015 (prayersandmeditations.com)
• Such A Time As This (mylordmyfriend.com)
• A Perfect Inheritance (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
• How Long Will You Waver? (juicyecumenism.com)
• Pastors & Patriots Dinner – for such a time as this! (christian-reporter-news.ticketleap.com)
• No More Youth Pastors? (Part I) (joshuaziefle.net)

Rate this:

#BeingInUnion #BodyOfChrist #BrotherInChrist #Brotherhood #BrothersAndSistersInChrist #BrothersInChrist #Charisma #ChristadelphianCommunity #Christadelphianisms #Christian #ChristianChurch #ChurchService #Communication #Denomination #Disunion #Diversity #EntertainmentInChurch #GoodSoil #HomeFellowship #HumanDoctrines #Ignoring #IgnoringOthers #Lifeline #Media #MegaChurch #Mission #MoralMajority #NeglectingOthers #NewReformation #NoticingOthers #NumbersAmount_ #Opinion #Orator #ParticipationInBodyOfChrist #Pastor #Preaching #PreachingWork #Proclaiming #Proclamation #Quantity #ReligiousCommunity #ReligiousDiversity #ReligiousFreedom #ReligiousVocabulary #SisterInChrist #SistersInChrist #SmallGroup #SpiritInChrist #Successfulness #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Unity #UnityInChrist #UnityInDiversity #WorshipService

Engaging the culture without losing the gospel

As the culture changes all around us, it is no longer possible to pretend that Christians are a Moral Majority. For the Christadelphian community it was already very clear that Christendom had gone astray and that not many people knew the essence of the Divine Creator and His Plan.

In certain parts of the world we may find mega churches, like in the United states of America. But what we also see in those countries is that there is a very strange discrepancy between the way of life and the way presented in the Holy Scriptures. In the talks about pro-life issues and arguments at our website From Guestwriters this is made clear in the different reactions where some readers point out at the huge amount of abortions been done every day. Such points of discussion as the abortion debate show how values and attitudes have changed over the years.

Those people who call themselves Christian either are not so much interested in having an active faith or going to worship services or when they want to go to worship services they expect them to be relaxing and entertaining. For many the entertaining factor receives priority. This makes it understandable why certain churches in the States get full house whilst the churches really interested in and giving eye and ear for the Word of God do not have so many people coming to their service.

In general people are very much influenced by the media and television and show business are not the instruments who, today,  bring the people to God. the television church services are full of show elements and short quoting form a few words taken from Scripture but also taken out of context. No time is given to sincerely listen and to sincerely study a full paragraph of a Bible chapter.

Our very fast changing world can do with a sort of new reformation. What’s needed now, in shifting times, is neither a doubling-down on the status quo nor a pullback into isolation. Instead, we need a church that speaks to social and political issues with a bigger vision in mind: that of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Christianity seems increasingly strange, and even subversive, to our culture, we have the opportunity to reclaim the freakishness of the gospel, which is what gives it its power in the first place.

We should seek the kingdom of God, before everything else and we should love to bring others to the entrance gate of that Kingdom. We connect that kingdom agenda to the culture around us, both by speaking it to the world and by showing it in our churches. As we do so, we remember our mission to oppose demons, not to demonise opponents. As we advocate for human dignity, for religious liberty, for family stability, let’s do so as those with a prophetic word that turns everything upside down.

Today more than ever those who feel the connection with the Nazarene master teacher Jeshua should connect with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and show their love for each other. Not staying in their small local cocoon, but also connecting to other brethren and sisters from all over. They should be welcoming any visiting brother or sister and when they receive mail from some brother or sister form somewhere in the world they should take time to answer that mail and to show their love to that correspondent by not ignoring him or her but letting those writers be feeling recognised as brothers and sisters of the body of Christ.

Though that Body of Christ may be composed of different nationalities, different cultured races, they should all show that they have union in that body of Christ by the unity of spirit in Christ. Unity should be shown by their willingness to communicate with each other and to be respectful for the different characters and different opinions. Unity does not have to mean that all have to say exactly the same or have to use the same bible translation, read the same books, may not have different ways of civilian life, may not have different tastes. Those differences make the world coloured and not boring. We should be happy with such diversity and the differences between ecclesiae may provide different pastures for bible believers to find themselves at ease in one or the other ecclesia.

In Jesus time the apostles were also of different character and different opinion or used not always the same words. We should neither. In our way of reaching people we should recognise that they should not know Christadelphianisms and may have a religious vocabulary closer to the denomination to which they belonged originally or still belong. By preaching to them we do have to be able to use different words and different Bible translations so that they can come to understand what the Word of God is saying. We are just some intermediaries who want to show them that Jesus is our mediator and the Way to God.

Those we want to attract to the Word of God we have to convince that it are not the megachurches or the churches with the most members that are really following the Word of God and would not have false teachings or wrong doctrines. Lots of people may also put their hope in such megachurches because they expect megachurch pastors to have all the answers and that those churches could grow so much because those pastors are personally successful as well as leaders of successful churches because they can offer the best for man.

At conferences such preachers also may attract a lot of attention because many think they have the solution for today’s problem, a diminishing church.

and so we come to see what crumbs of wisdom they might cast our way that will help us and our small churches be”successful” like they are.

writes pastor Jim in his article “Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?“. Like many of us in the Christadelphian community is has seen Abraham and should have gathered enough experience to have some sound opinion. He believes that such leaders of mega churches may deliver good sermons. For sure they probably are good administrators, very good players with words or good speakers having a good deal of charisma. He correctly points out

Their churches offer tons of programs for children and adults—from support groups for people with various problems to children’s ministry and everything in between. But are a variety of programs offered to attract large numbers of people to their church a measure of success as  Jesus defined success?  I’m not so sure of this… {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}

He is leading a Home Fellowship Group in a Bible Study of the Gospel of Mark.  At their last session they discussed this question of “supersize” as Jesus seemed to see it.

He accepted the large crowds he attracted—some so large along the Sea of Galilee that he acquired a boat to get in so he would not be crushed by the crowds seeking to touch him and be healed. But Jesus tends to see those crowds as no reason for gratification. He feels that many of them are there for the wrong reason, to be healed of their infirmities and to see the miraculous. Jesus heals them and has compassion for them, but proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God is his main mission. That proclamation is his main mission because it  has the power to transform people’s lives, and sometimes people who are only seeking physical healing and entertainment can get in the way of that proclamation. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}

In those days Jesus also had to get listening ears. In that age people were much more willing to listen and to go into discussion about religious and spiritual matters. There was much more interest in God than today. But Jesus knew that from the many that came around to hear him speak, there were also many who came out of curiosity or wanted to see miracles or hear controversial talks.

Jesus saw the crowds to whom he sought to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God in the same way as a sower.

Only a small portion of the crowd would actually be transformed by the good news of the Kingdom of God.  The rest would let other things choke it out of their lives and die unchanged. Thus I feel Jesus was not impressed with numbers but with changes in the lives of people who heard him. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?} {Please do read also Mark 4: 1-9}

Too often people think it our the numbers that make it to be good. Perhaps the numbers show the popularity, but for sure they do not always show the integrity or the good value of a product or group.

The pastor thinks the answer to his and our question “Is Bigger Better?” as it pertains to churches is this:

it is not size alone that leads to success of any church, large or small, but it is  its ability to follow Jesus and in doing so  transform the lives of those who are a part of that church and those who that church reaches out to.   The measure of a church’s success is the number of lives that have been changed and transformed due to its proclamation both in word and in deed of the Kingdom of God.   The successful church  is the “good soil” in the Parable of the Sower” that brings forth transformation  of people’s lives and nurtures their growth in relationship to God and God’s Kingdom.

A successful church, regardless of the names on the roster, changes people into devoted followers of Jesus and his teachings as they live their lives each day.   Small churches can be just as successful as large churches in changing people’s lives as they live the great commandment to love God and neighbor as yourself.”   Sometimes because small churches are more personal, they are able to live this better than those with thousands on their membership roster. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}

The Christadelphians are a very tiny community. We only can hope that all people in this small community bear their hearts on the right place. God knows the heart and it is for him that we should work and go out in the world getting people to know the Master works of God.

We may not forget that by being such a small community we have the advantage that we can get together in small cosy groups and feel much more the unity of the small group than in such mega churches were everybody can sit next to each other without knowing the other. When sitting in a stadium, arena or in such a huge church were there are hundreds or thousands of people it can well be that the individual may be drowning in the numbers.

We should be ready to throw out the lifeline and to pull those people who are looking for the Truth, to get to our meetings and let them feel that we are real followers of Jesus, keeping to his teachings and not adoring human doctrines, but keeping to Biblical doctrines, studying the infallible Word of God daily.

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Preceding:

Personal thoughts, communication, establishing ecclesia and guest writings

The Big Conversation

The Big Conversation follow up

Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism

The Right One to follow and to worship

Wanting to live in Christ’s city

A participation in the body of Christ

Positive Preaching Day 2015

Doubting and going astray

Ecclesia to exist, grow and communities to have people communicating with each other

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Additional reading:

1. Who are the Christadelphians
2. What are Brothers in Christ
3. Christadelphian people
4. Small churches of the few Christadelphians
5. Strange Fire conference 2013
6. Bloggers for Christ and Bloggers for Peace
7. Being Missional
8. Atonement And Fellowship 4/8
9. Atonement And Fellowship 5/8
10. Good or bad preacher
11. Quibbling siblings united or allied children of an organisation or a church
12. Reflection for today: hating your brother

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Further reading:

1. Lessons Learned at Strange Fire
2. A Vision of Holiness
3. Praying in Circles
4. In this Moment
5. Wanting to be Heard
6. truth nugget #66
7. Unite against their corruption, not our church’s
8. Prosperity Gospel – The Bane of The True Gospel
9. The Conference Every Mega-Church Pastor Should Attend
10. Millennials And Christianity!
11. In Delight of the Deca-Church
12. [TL;DR] In Defense of the Mega-Church
13. Agree to Disagree
14. Kingdom Building: The Large Church and the Small Church Working Together
15. Mega Churches: What’s the big deal?
16. 3 Reasons Why You Should Go To A Small Church
17. Missed Opportunities
18. Pastoral Environment and the Fight for Holiness
19. Welcome to the Club
20. 365 Day Photo Challenge 167/365 “Church on the Hill”
21. Extravaganza City
22. Instructed In God’s Ways
23. Why Black Mega Church Pastors Catch Such Heat
24. Book Review: The Blessed Church
25. My Two Cents… conderning a famous mega-church preacher
26. I don’t believe in mega churches
27. American Christian Idol

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• Lessons From The Road (beyondthemiryclay.wordpress.com)
• The Daily Gospel and Readings 21 September 2015 (prayersandmeditations.com)
• Such A Time As This (mylordmyfriend.com)
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