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Much of the
Church is asleep -- or worse. Theft and embezzlement
are rampant. Waste in our current structures is epidemic. (more
on this)
"The
Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith
and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such
teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have
been seared as with a hot iron. If you point these things out to
the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus,
brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that
you have followed." (I Timothy 4:1-2, 6)
"But mark
this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be
lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boatful, proud, abusive,
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love,
unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of
the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather
than lovers of God --- having a form of godliness, but denying its power.
Have nothing to do with them." (II Timothy 3:1-5)
Scary Stat:
95% of all church budgets in the US are spent on our own comforts and
programs. Only 0.01% is spent on evangelism to the most unreached.
Scary Stat:
Estimates say that the Christian Church loses $5,000,000 PER DAY to
embezzlement by trusted leaders.
Money makes
things happen -- and Americans
are
the ones with the assets. We're also the ones whose souls
are at greatest risk. (more
on this)
'Jesus
answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions
and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then
come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went
away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his
disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to
enter the kingdom of God."' (Matthew 19:21-24)
"But woe
to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe
to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who
laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men
speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the
false prophets." (Luke 6:24-26)
Then he said to
them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a
man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich
man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I
have no place to store my crops.' "Then he said, 'This is
what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and
there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself,
"You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take
life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' "But God said
to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from
you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' "This
is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but
is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:15-21)
Scary Stat:
We can help a Brother or Sister start a business in India with a loan
of as little as $25.
Scary Stat:
More than 90% of all Christian materials are in English, but only 8%
of the world speaks English.
Business people are
the ones that know how to manage effectively. It's time to stand up,
acknowledge our responsibility and speak the truth in love to those
among us and in the leadership of the Church that are asleep -- or
worse. We've got to get our eyes back
on JESUS.
(more on this)
"You
stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you. So I
will destroy your mother - my people are destroyed from lack of
knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also
reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of
your God, I also will ignore your children. The more the
priests increased, the more they sinned against me; they
exchanged their Glory for something disgraceful. They feed
on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness. And it
will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them
for their ways and repay them for their deeds." (Hosea 4:5-9)
"No
servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love
the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve both God and Money." The Pharisees, who
loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to
them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of
men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is
detestable in God's sight." (Luke 16:13-15)
"Do not
entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two
or three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so
that the others may take warning. The sins of some men are
obvious, reaching the place of judgement ahead of them; the sins of
others trail behind them." (I Timothy 5:19-20,24)
Scary Stat:
Percent of Christian resources spent in countries that are already
more than 60% Christian - 99.9%. Percent spent in countries
where less than half the people have EVER heard of Jesus - 0.01%.
Scary Stat:
It is estimated that Christians worldwide spend around $8 BILLION
dollars PER YEAR going to the more than 500 conferences to TALK about
missions. That's more than HALF the total spent DOING missions.
REALLY Scary Stat:
All costs of ministry divided by number of baptisms per year. Cost
per baptism in India - $9803 per person. Cost per baptism in
the United States - $1,550,000 per person.
It's time to
stand up and be counted. It's time to take our skills and
assets and accomplish something gigantic for the Kingdom.
(more on this soon)
"Command
those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to
put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their
hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our
enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to
be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up
treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so
that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." (I
Timothy 6:21 NIV)
Scary Stat:
US Christians control TRILLIONS in assets while at any given time 200
MILLION Brothers and Sisters live in the worst kind of poverty on the
very edge of starvation.
Time is short.
(more on this soon)
"Therefore
keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time
of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not
have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because
the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
(Matthew 24:42-44)
"But the
day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear
with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth
and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be
destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought
to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God
and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of
the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in
keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a
new earth, the home of righteousness." (II Peter 3:10-13)
Scary Stat:
More than 70% of all Christians now live in countries where they are
experiencing persecution. In some cases EXTREME persecution.
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Detailed
information about the impact of Micro-Lending around the world.
|
Christian
Microfinance: Which Way Now?
{Fairly intense
and technical, but gives lots of good information about the
need and the potential impact of this way to reach out. - Doug} |
Brian Fikkert,
Covenant College
Chalmers
Center for Economic Development
(This source
neither endorses nor doesn't endorse the Fellowship of the Martyrs.
In fact, I'm pretty sure they have no idea we're linked to them.
We neither endorse nor don't endorse Covenant College. But Brian and
I have talked on the phone and he's making some sense.) |
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