Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee

[HTR News]
“Bye-bye church. We’re busy.” That’s the message teens are giving churches today.

Only about one in four teens now participate in church youth groups, considered the hallmark of involvement; numbers have been flat since 1999. Other measures of religiosity — prayer, Bible reading and going to church — lag as well, according to Barna Group, a Ventura, Calif., evangelical research company. This all has churches canceling their summer teen camps and youth pastors looking worriedly toward the fall, when school-year youth groups kick in.

“Talking to God may be losing out to Facebook,” says Barna president David Kinnaman.

“Sweet 16 is not a sweet spot for churches. It’s the age teens typically drop out,” says Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville, which found the turning point in a study of church dropouts. “A decade ago, teens were coming to church youth group to play, coming for the entertainment, coming for the pizza. They’re not even coming for the pizza anymore. They say, ‘We don’t see the church as relevant, as meeting our needs or where we need to be today.’ ”

“I blame the parents,” who didn’t grow up in a church culture, says Jeremy Johnston, executive pastor at First Family Church in Overland Park, Kan.

Read more here.

[From me]

I’m sure there is a lot of blame to go around. But blaming parents only is stretching it. Having grown up in Youth Ministry and being a Youth Minister myself, I think it has more to do with hypocrisy that students see. When they see adults fighting in church over_____________ then they don’t want to have anything to do with that. Having edgy music or cool games doesn’t cut it. They can find that anywhere.

I’m still working with students now and what they want are authentic relationships. Age doesn’t matter if you treat them with respect and you are honest and authentic. Just my humble opinion.

What do you think?

[KERO]

Divine inspiration can come from many sources, but you may be a little surprised where one woman found some heavenly help.
Amanda Biezad contacted ABC 23 after she found what she described as a cross seared into a potato chip she was about to eat.
The cross has been the symbol of hope for Christians around the world for more than 2,000 years. From church steeples to the message of Calvary, now a bag of Lay’s potato chips could be added to the list for one Bakersfield woman.
Biezad said she has never seen anything quite like this before but is not ready to call it a miracle just yet.
“I don’t know, it’s either divine inspiration or some random rogue person that decided to stick it into the bag of chips, I don’t know, but I think it’s cool,” said Biezad.

Biezda added that she usually pays attention to what she eats and is glad that she didn’t take the next bite.
“I was talking to my family while I was eating chips. As I took a chip I saw the cross. I thought,’Wow; wait a ‘minute’. Then I just stopped and stared at it. My family was looking at me like I was crazy. I told them there is a cross burned into the center of the chip,” said Biezad.
The timing of the discovery couldn’t have been any better because she had just moved to Bakersfield and at that point was questioning if the move was the right one to make.

Read more here.

[WISH TV]
Thousands of people from across the country have flocked to a home north of Los Angeles to get a glimpse of what some say is a miracle.

The homeowner claims a statue started “weeping” July 19th while she was praying, and it continued to shine and feel oily for nine days.

Some observers claim they’ve seen the statue’s fingers move.

Rosie Rizo of Los Angeles and Micha Abounassar of Glendale say it’s brought people together.

Read more here.

[From me]

Maybe there is a leak in the roof!

[HT] Steve Thompson

[Denver Post]

Marie Exley of Colorado Springs is convinced that Armageddon, the end of the world as written of in the Bible, will come next year.

Her conviction is so strong that, though unemployed, she’s paid $1,200 to buy advertising space on 10 Springs bus benches through October to get the word out. The ad says, “Save the Date! Return of Christ: May 21, 2011, WeCanKnow.com.”

“I want to do all I can to get the message out,” Exley, 31, said.

Article here.

[From me]

Thank you Ms. Exley for setting us all straight. I’ll start packing today!

[The Star.com]

St. Peter’s Anglican Church has long been known as an open and inclusive place.

So open, it seems, they won’t turn anyone away. Not even a dog.

That’s how a blessed canine ended up receiving communion from interim priest Rev. Marguerite Rea during a morning service the last Sunday in June.

According to those in attendance at the historical church at 188 Carlton St. in downtown Toronto, it was a spontaneous gesture, one intended to make both the dog and its owner – a first timer at the church — feel welcomed. But at least one parishioner saw the act as an affront to the rules and regulations of the Anglican Church. He filed a complaint with the reverend and with the Anglican Diocese of Toronto about the incident – and has since left the church.

Read more here.

[From me]

I want to know if the dog was sprinkled or dunked?