"The Giant Sucking Sound" - Page 13

#**121** 09-29-2007, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rico

If all you are hearing at your church is just Acts 2:38 then I suggest you find another church. Even filet mignon gets old if you eat it every night.

My point wasn't that that is all that is preached...

My point is that we focus disproportionately on a massive level on Acts 2:38 and on getting "numbers" in crusades and we forget to get people strong and to get our new converts and our young people into strong relationships with Christ....

There is nothing wrong with preching Acts 2:38 at times... the problem is that we forget that Acts 2:38 is just one verse in the Bible... There are things spoken of in the Bible much more than Acts 2:38's topic, but we don't speak of anything as much as we do that verse.... The main focus of this isn't suppose to be baptism, its suppose to be love and compassion....

#**122** 09-29-2007, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rico

Dude, you are ATE UP. You are so full of bitterness it's made you blind.

it isn't bitterness, though...

I'm hurt, yeah, absolutely, I've been hurt a lot, but I'm not speaking out of bitterness... I don't wanna se eanother generation be brought up the way I was... Being "youth camp junkies" getting that spirit-high every 6 months or so and being dead the other 355 days of the year never really getting a real relationship with Christ... just going through the motions and playing dress-up every day so they look like a good strong Pentecostal...

wearing long sleeves every day to hide the cuts and the marks from the drugs...

pretending to be stoned as a joke so no one can really tell when you actually are (not even yourself after a while)...

putting on a mask of happiness and good "old fashioned" Apostolic goodness, when inside you are tore up and dying... but no one can know that... Because do you know what we do to people who admit they're tore up and dying???

We march 'em up to the altar, pray with 'em 'til they speak in tongues, then march 'em home and forget it ever happened!! Problem solved...

only its not...

Yes, I realize I'm exagerrating just a smidge at times in this post... But man, we need to get the focus OFF of this "let's baptize as many people as possible" thing and get it on to "let's get everyone to having a real, strong relationship with Christ" and realize that a small part of that relationship is baptism... baptism is step one, well, actually its probably step 2 or 3 or 4... but so much more of this Christian walk is about love for God and love for every other human being on this earth and we ignore those parts....

And I understand why, you can't count how much love someone has... You can't get behind a pulpit pound your fist down and say "27 people loved Christ more last Sunday!!" and have everyone shout Hallelujah to it... But you can pound and say "15 got baptized in Jesus' name" even if 14 of those 15 won't ever be seen again in 6 months and the other one won't last a year....

#**123** 09-29-2007, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rico

Your passion is arguing, R. That's all you ever do around here. You say you want to win people and that is your passion? Then post some Bible studies for discussion. Do something other than argue with the traditionalists. They aren't the enemy.

no, my passion isn't arguing, it really isn't... I know it seems like it... but that's part boredom, to be honest with you...

and I try to write Bible Studies (I have a handful up at my website) I just... I don't know where to start, you know? Its like... in my head I make things way bigger than they need to be... and its hard for me to get focused in on the little things that are actually doable because of those big things that I see....

Old Paths · #**124** 09-29-2007, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Paths

As Ross (Can't win, but I will run anyway) Perot said back in 1992 "NAFTA will create a giant sucking sound" as USA jobs go south to Mexico.

So will the passing of Resolution 4 cause "a giant sucking sound" as ministers that feel betrayed by the org. leave the UPC for other orgs. or the vast world of Good Independent Brethren. (GIBs).

I am already hearing reports of ministers giving their cards to officials, while others are saying they will not be paying their budget fee.

I am not happy or gloating about it, but....

The "Great Sucking Sound" has begun.