July « 2008 « Adventures in Preaching

Blog Worthy Christian News

July 29, 2008

Well, at least I think these items are!

The overall marriage rate is in decline- except within the gay community. How ironic is that? At a time when heterosexuals are devaluing marriage and choosing to simply live together, the homosexual community is aggressively crusading for marriage rights and flocking to the states that now allow it.

The Southern Baptists have been padding their numbers. According to the recent issue of Christianity Today, their claim of a 16.2 membership is greatly inflated. In terms of adherents acutally regularly worshipping in SBC churches the number comes in at 6.15 million. And I thought the Churches of Christ had a problem with this!

For all of you baseball fans out there, Brad Ziegler just broke a 101 year old major league baseball record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched to begin a major league career. Brad is a member of the Church of Christ from Odessa, MO where his dad is the preacher. The Christian Chronicle has all the details online.

We expected they’d choose the more contemporary options, but they were clearly more drawn to the aesthetics of the Gothic building than the run-of-the-mill, modern church building. Ed Stetzer, who is director of LifeWay Research made this statement based upon their research which found that unchurched people between ages 25 and 34 were twice as likely as older folks to prefer the more ornate, Gothic type church exteriors. I include this because it is just more evidence of the trend among younger people away from the modern mega-church to the more orthodox churches. (For more on this- see this blogpost.)

It is the economy, stupid! Or is it? According to at least one study released by a group called Giving USA charitable giving rose by 1 percent in 2007. But the Salvation Army is saying otherwise. Used clothing and furniture donations to them have dropped 20%. Some churches of my acquantence are feeling the pinch. Others seem to be doing well. What does all this mean? I really don’t have an answer.

Do you remember the poem, Footprints in the Sand? Do you remember who wrote it? Probably not, but several folks are now in a very heated court battle to try to determine authorship. I wonder if any of the parties involved ever followed the footprints to Paul’s teachings about lawsuits and personal sacrifice in 1st Corinthians?

And finally- from the “Go Figure” section of Christianity Today: There is a total of 21% of self-described “atheists” who say that they believe in God. Interesting.

Thanks for stopping in. Your input- as always- is welcome.

11 Comments | Blogging, Chuch Trends, Church and Culture, Church of Christ, Marriage, Morality, Worship | Permalink
Posted by dannydodd

The Forever Kingdom

July 24, 2008

My recent trip to Lithuania reminded me again of the rich history of that ancient country. Much older than America, Lithuania (along with Poland) once ruled a kingdom from “the Baltic to the Black Sea” and was the world-power of that time and place.

The tower of Gediminas' castle. He was the founder of Vilnius.

In more recent times Lithuania has been ruled by other kingdoms. From Czarist Russia to the Soviet empire to Nazi Germany and back to the Soviets. Lithuania knew little freedom in the twentieth century.

Soviet statues of the "ideal communist worker" still look down on the Green Bridge in Vilnius.

In our down-time before and after camp we toured some of the remnants of those kingdoms- all now a part of history.

Vytautus' fortress at Trakai. It was the base from which he faught the Teutonic Knights attempts to spread Christianity to Lithuania.

Vytautus' fortress at Trakai. It was the base from which he fought the Teutonic Knights attempts to spread Christianity to Lithuania.

Seeing these sights reminded me again of the everlasting nature of the kingdom of God. As awesome as some of these places were- I could not help but think of Hebrews 12:28:

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe…”

A cross in the courtyard of St. Peter and Paul's Catholic Church in Vilnius.

It is reassuring and faith-affirming to know that regardless of the attempts of man to rule God reigns and always will!

More pics below:

This is the 9th Fort in Kaunas. It was built during the Czarist Russian Empire and later used by the Soviets as a prison and as a killing ground by the Nazis. (60,000 Lithuanians and others were mass murdered outside of its walls during WWII)

This is the view from inside one of the lookout towers inside the 9th Fort. The elaborate sculpture in the distant background is a memorial to those 60,000 who were killed on that spot.

Another remnant of a fallen and bygone kingdom- the castle at Kaunas

The Gateway gang mugging it up in Vilnius

You can read more about Lithuania Christian Camp by clicking here and reading the online article by Erik Tryggestad of the Christian Chronicle. Be sure to listen to the audio attached to the article to hear sounds and songs of camp!

5 Comments | Church and Culture, Church of Christ, Dodd News, Gateway, Lithuania, Missions, Politics | Permalink
Posted by dannydodd

Lithuania Christian Camp

July 22, 2008

The “little kids” session of Lithuania Christian Camp which was held at Camp Ruta near the town of Moletai is now complete. God certainly blessed us with one of the best sessions yet. We had eighty terrific kids eager to hear and learn about Christ.

This was our tenth anniversary and God helped us celebrate it wonderfully. Only seven of us from Gateway went to staff the session. More and more the Christians in Lithuania are assuming leadership responsibilities.

We appreciate all who have helped support this effective ministry and pray that it will only continue to grow each year. Please be sure to check out the August issue of the Christian Chronicle for more on this camp session. Here are some more pics for you to enjoy!