1). Research has shown there is a significant decrease in American attachment rates between older and younger generations to church.

Why?

At some point, the finger must be pointed at the incredible involvement in things that pull and frankly keep children from church. 2). What things?
-anything that is given precedence of TIME over church attendance
-anything that is given in precedence in VALUE
-anything that is given precedence FINANCIALLY

There are other things, but when parent replace time, values, finances and life expenditure

1) It’s wild the sort of things that must be said from the pulpit these days. Things…such as…

-it is God’s intention for men and women to marry, and have children.
-it is required to have internal and external holiness (standards) in both places. 2)
-your full expression of your being must be engaged in worship-your mind, your emotions, your all.
-whosoever means…whosoever
-Peter’s explanation/command of salvation in Acts 2, in the first church service of the NT church, remains the Biblical standard of salvation

1) One of the prevailing, necessary prayers of today is for power over anxiety, depression, and trouble, all of which are documented Biblically in people. In us, though, we have a corresponding act of faith to overcome in our lives: turn off the socials in our lives. 2) The socials (and yes, I realize where I post) are measurable in all three of these categories in GREAT impact. Just like spiritual release comes in forgiveness of a thief, so too does in stopping the stealing.

Church Planter Chronicles #17577. Most who come from legacy churches to plants have an altogether wrong idea of what planting actually is. Planting is intense work, combined with an expectation of maturity, and an intense focus of completion of ministry tasks with excellence. 1/ 2/ Instead, the general rule is expectation of roles of authority, pulpits, and the same degree of work that was put forth in a legacy congregation.

1/ Nietzsche did get this right: the division in mental atheism and functional atheism. In the former, there is commitment to no God, and the latter, a stated belief in God, but no commitment to that belief. In such cases, the end is the same: atheism. 2/ 90% of men say they believe in God, 1 in 6 regularly take their families to church. Nearly all churches are devoid of an active move of the Holy Ghost of the ones that men take their families to. They are, as Nietzche said, sepulchers of a dead god.

Fatherhood is rooted in discipline.

Discipline #1: leading yourself to a dedicated relationship with the Lord, His Word, prayer and His church.

Discipline #2: leading yourself to a dedicated relationship with provision for your family. Discipline #3: don’t get #1 and # 2 mixed up.

Discipline #4: make some things that will last beyond you.

Discipline #5: Boys play. Men labor. Learn the difference.

Discipline #6: don’t get #1 and #2 mixed up.

Discipline #7: loving your wife is done in #1.

One of the most difficult transitions in the life of a church in it’s corporate (ekklesia) and private (oikos) forms is the point of expecting mature believers to be mature believers and actually requiring. Milk has an incredible hold on people. #BeTheChurch That church cannot grow until there are fathers and mothers in it that eat meat and care for children. There may be births but those will die as orphans because children cannot functionally be parents in deed.

1/ With respect to the vaccine going forward- the reason a coronovirus vaccine has never been produced is that they mutate (produce variants). This is similar to the proverbial nailing jello to a wall in that, if the jello is frozen, the nail will hold it, but once 2/ it returns to its normal state, the nail will be less and less effective in securing it till it simply doesn’t hold at all.

1/ In the church plant world, there are two main types of God ordained church plants: 1) missional and 2) redemptive. In missional, it is the ideal of planting- brand new converts as the main body of believers there. A missional plant is YEARS in making a stable, discipled group. 2/ In the redemptive plant, there is a church (or number of churches) that are failing due to a variety of issues (doctrinal departure, usually) and God places a church there for His people to have a place to worship Him.

1/ Some reflections on a conversation last night about ministry, callings, and giftings: a thread. First, we have to address our oft repeated but Scripturally unsound idea that God qualifies the called to do what He spoke. 2/ His Word is the primary qualifier of what we understand to be a calling. In other words, God will not transgress His Word for anyone so it is IMPERATIVE that we know what that Word says about those three things.

1/ Words and concepts mean things. When we divorce them from a set standard and allow self definition into the conversation, there is little hope except a swamp of despair and a battlefield of misunderstandings. Why are we surprised, then, at the current public discourse? 2/ I am grateful for the FOREVER SETTLED Word. It’s almost as if...God...knew the necessity of a objective Word.

1/ I am currently reading The Genealogical Adam and Eve by Joshua Swamidass. It is an attempt to synchronize the Biblical account of creation with the scientific one...it is obvious that Swamidass is educated and has thought deeply about it. 2/ It is a strange book that attempts to separate the genetic matrix of the prime couple of Eden from the geneological one by way of “human” populations that occurred outside the Garden contemporary with Adam and Eve and interbreeding between the two account for...