There is HOPE
Thanks to everyone for all the emails I truly appreciate your thoughts and comments. Our readership is now well over 50,000, I hope that means people either like my writings or they somehow connect with them. It has been my goal for the last several months to see how people honestly feel about religion in their lives and if it has a positive or negative impact on faith. To say I am blown away by all the emails would be an understatement. I do realize we are only a small sample however I believe we are representing more people than we realize. So again thanks and keep the comments coming.
If you attend church on a regular basis then I am confident there have been times that you left confused about what is right or wrong as it relates to a particular topic. Think about it, if we rely solely on the Bible for definitive answers to popular subjects what we find can leave our heads spinning. Some people justify their hatred because the Bible says this or that. Others use the Bible as a stepping stone for judgement and condemnation. You have even heard the Bible used to suppress a woman's role in church or society. How about the Bible definition of marriage. That one should turn some heads if you read everything it says in the new and old testaments.
In NO WAY am I downplaying the role of the Bible in our lives, I love to read it and I certainly advocate that more people should. What I do emphasize is that we should not elevate our platforms by using the Bible as a weapon. Keep in mind people are walking away from religious affiliations in dramatic numbers and the reasons are not what you think. Many self righteous may say that people are leaving because they support the moral degradation of society. I have personally heard people say that folks leave church because it is not comfortable to their lifestyles anymore.
It is my opinion and supported by many that have written to me that the number one reason people are leaving churches in record numbers is because the discussions and preaching always migrate towards money. Beings that the lower income brackets and middle income are the largest numbers of defectors that leaves the control to the money. Even though churches must have a positive cash flow to serve the community in which they reside it does not have to use guilt and political tactics to garner the support of the masses. Church in many ways has become more about recruiting to maintain the cash flow than it is the service to the people that it is entrusted too.
I believe with all my heart that we could fill the churches to capacity if we could change the message of subliminal control to a transparency of love. Jesus walked the roads with his followers in tow to spread a message of hope and love. The only fear Jesus imparted was to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That simple statement is true for 100% of the people walking the earth. Each one of us will face death and hopefully the kingdom of heaven. The other messages Jesus preached was to love one another and forgive those that trespass against us. Jesus in the Gospels never teaches us to hate blacks, whites, gays, or straights. Jesus commands us to love our neighbor. Jesus does however warn us about the love of money and how we cannot serve two masters. With that I am confident that when the focus is all about love that people will open their pockets to help the church they attend expand and serve.
Obviously books can and have been written about this so I will keep my thoughts short. The main point I need to highlight is that with so many people leaving our faith based religions something must be terribly wrong. Before you attack me and say that people just don't want to hear the truth I would have to ask you to ask yourself if you can handle the truth. Love does not permeate our society any more. It is much easier to cast a pall of judgement than it is to lend a helping hand. It is easier to spread bitter spiteful messages on facebook than it is to help your neighbor in need. The world is not a bad place, it is what we make it. I choose on my little speck of sand on the beach to try as best I can to share a smile and a vision of hope. If change starts with each of us then let's all start small by simply sharing a positive hello, a nice gesture, a genuine smile and a helping hand. Our church community can rebuild when the love for money and growth is replaced by the love of people regardless who they are or what they have. Let's all join hands across the world and share a common vision of hope and love. If we unite their will be little room for hatred division. If we have to stand for something let's all stand for love.
thanks for listening and sharing this blog, believe it or not it is now read all over the world.
Thoughts from a ragpicker
Dale
If you attend church on a regular basis then I am confident there have been times that you left confused about what is right or wrong as it relates to a particular topic. Think about it, if we rely solely on the Bible for definitive answers to popular subjects what we find can leave our heads spinning. Some people justify their hatred because the Bible says this or that. Others use the Bible as a stepping stone for judgement and condemnation. You have even heard the Bible used to suppress a woman's role in church or society. How about the Bible definition of marriage. That one should turn some heads if you read everything it says in the new and old testaments.
In NO WAY am I downplaying the role of the Bible in our lives, I love to read it and I certainly advocate that more people should. What I do emphasize is that we should not elevate our platforms by using the Bible as a weapon. Keep in mind people are walking away from religious affiliations in dramatic numbers and the reasons are not what you think. Many self righteous may say that people are leaving because they support the moral degradation of society. I have personally heard people say that folks leave church because it is not comfortable to their lifestyles anymore.
It is my opinion and supported by many that have written to me that the number one reason people are leaving churches in record numbers is because the discussions and preaching always migrate towards money. Beings that the lower income brackets and middle income are the largest numbers of defectors that leaves the control to the money. Even though churches must have a positive cash flow to serve the community in which they reside it does not have to use guilt and political tactics to garner the support of the masses. Church in many ways has become more about recruiting to maintain the cash flow than it is the service to the people that it is entrusted too.
I believe with all my heart that we could fill the churches to capacity if we could change the message of subliminal control to a transparency of love. Jesus walked the roads with his followers in tow to spread a message of hope and love. The only fear Jesus imparted was to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That simple statement is true for 100% of the people walking the earth. Each one of us will face death and hopefully the kingdom of heaven. The other messages Jesus preached was to love one another and forgive those that trespass against us. Jesus in the Gospels never teaches us to hate blacks, whites, gays, or straights. Jesus commands us to love our neighbor. Jesus does however warn us about the love of money and how we cannot serve two masters. With that I am confident that when the focus is all about love that people will open their pockets to help the church they attend expand and serve.
Obviously books can and have been written about this so I will keep my thoughts short. The main point I need to highlight is that with so many people leaving our faith based religions something must be terribly wrong. Before you attack me and say that people just don't want to hear the truth I would have to ask you to ask yourself if you can handle the truth. Love does not permeate our society any more. It is much easier to cast a pall of judgement than it is to lend a helping hand. It is easier to spread bitter spiteful messages on facebook than it is to help your neighbor in need. The world is not a bad place, it is what we make it. I choose on my little speck of sand on the beach to try as best I can to share a smile and a vision of hope. If change starts with each of us then let's all start small by simply sharing a positive hello, a nice gesture, a genuine smile and a helping hand. Our church community can rebuild when the love for money and growth is replaced by the love of people regardless who they are or what they have. Let's all join hands across the world and share a common vision of hope and love. If we unite their will be little room for hatred division. If we have to stand for something let's all stand for love.
thanks for listening and sharing this blog, believe it or not it is now read all over the world.
Thoughts from a ragpicker
Dale
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