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Disciple.Luke

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Everything posted by Disciple.Luke

  1. I have a cousin that is the same age as me and we both began studying the bible right around the same time. He had become interested while studying with Seventh day Adventist while in prison while most of my knowledge was from what I heard from the pulpit and using my limited study skills as a new believer. Since not many in my family had any spiritual interest we decided to study together once a week. It was exciting for me to have a family member my age that shared my interest but this bible study didn't make it to a second week. His obsession with reading UFOs into almost every text he looked at was a huge red flag even as novice bible student. He was so passionate about learning something new that there wasn't really any room for debate or discussion in his mind. To be honest I felt more annoyed by his beliefs than anything...but I felt like if he continued reading the bible he would eventually get a better understanding. The more important and frustrating issue was that he was passing these beliefs on to his mom and younger brothers that I was close to and so found myself having to deal with the issue because they were asking me if something he said was true. The UFO thing isn't even something I think of or care much about. At this point I haven't seen anything for me to believe they are alien to this world...I can't tell if those grainy videos are some confidential government aircraft, some kind of light manipulation, or a triangle defying gravity.
  2. Welcome to forum. I live in central Indiana...about 25-30 minutes northeast of Indianapolis.
  3. This is kind of a tough question for me. This specific time period was shortly after I had been saved so by the time I began attending with my mother it's worship style was already transitioning. This particular congregation had grown in attendance to the point that a second service was necessary because there weren't enough pews or parking spaces. While the first two services were basically identical the third service felt like a worship "experiment" that was completely a rock worship service. At the time it seemed like that third service that started at 11:30 was an attempt to appeal to the college students at Anderson University. This was back in 2001 and I'm sure was partially influenced by Bill Hybels seeker friendly blueprint. Just from what I observed it seemed to me that decision was made to grow church attendance and the music was just part of the plan. By the time I started attending the Pastor had switched from the NIV translation (apparent from the outdated pew bibles) to the New Living Translation that was projected on screens so no one had to be bothered to actually read the verse for themselves. They also bought a Starbucks type coffee and tea makers set from the library and set it up right inside the main doors. And as I mentioned earlier they did away with Sunday evening and the traditional Wednesday night services. I had been attending there for about a year when the church began sending VHS tapes in the mail that explained why and where all these changes were headed. The video was a very emotional attempt to explain to everyone how the Lord had been telling the staff they needed to buy property on the other end of town and build a mega church like worship house. This was a project that at minimum was a several million dollar relocation so they needed the convince the members to jump on board and finance it. The coffee machines, music, use of projectors instead of bibles and hymn books seemed to prepare everyone to worship in a auditorium as opposed to a sanctuary. Instead of bringing back Sunday evening and Wednesday services they decided to keep fellowship by having everyone join small groups and have those meetings everywhere but the church building I remember the first book they picked out for the church to read and study in these small groups. It was The Purpose Driven Life. I began to drift away from that the church after the relocation plans were announced. By the time it was all complete I had left for a smaller congregation. I have some old friends on Facebook who attend there now...and I end up rolling my eyes when they post Sunday afternoons talking about how awesome and "spiritual" the services are with the guitars and drums and the seeker friendly sermons that resemble a Joel Osteen book more than the New Testament.
  4. The large churches here followed the same downward trends most of you are talking about. Several years ago there were a handful of churches who had 2-3 different worship services. The sermon was exactly the same so they were mostly divided by "music style". Later every one of them decided to drop Sunday night service and even the traditional Wednesday night services because so much was going on on Sunday morning. Eventually they all blended into one service and for the most part the hymns went out the window in favor of modern music...but even after that they still decided Sunday and Wednesday nights were unnecessary. At least one of the churches out new seats in and got rid of pew bibles and hymn books. Now everything is shown on the screen and no one has any idea what the bible says except for what their pastor says.
  5. That pretty much sums up what I've seen too. My great Uncle was one of the Wesleyan pastors here for as long as I can remember. I know that him and his family lived in a home paid for by the church but later on when his kids became adults he was able to purchase his own house. I know one of the youth pastors lived there briefly before the house was sold and the profits went back into the church. I also know that the IFB has two living quarters on the property. I'm not even sure what exactly they are called but it looks like two small mobile homes connected to make two apartments. That lodging is for visiting pastors, musicians, or even new employees until they can get settled. I don't believe any of the staff stayed in church owned homes by the time I began attending but they may have at one time. I know the church provided a vehicle for the Pastor but most times they chose not to use it. I can only think of two congregations where I know they own homes either right next to or very close to the congregations for their Pastors but they are both fairly small congregations.
  6. I believe Trump supported conservative values more than Christians specifically. In fact I'm not convinced Trump even knows what a true "Christian" is. I was deeply concerned to see that his "spiritual" advisors were Paula White and half of the daily TBN Prosperity line up. I have rarely been as embarrassed to be classified being in the same "religion" with Paula White and Kenneth Copeland's reelection prophecy meltdowns. I was very disappointed with Christian voters back during the Mitt Romney/Barack Obama election. While I certainly understood the concerns about Romney's LDS beliefs I still felt that he clearly was much closer morally and politically to fundamental Christians than Obama and his black liberation theology oriented "Reverend" Jeremiah Wright. Im far from being a true MAGA Trump supporter but I feel like what he accomplished with the Supreme Court and the eventual reversal of Roe v Wade could be one of the most important political shifts in the last 40 years. I can't imagine how anyone in their right mind would think that four more years of possibly the worst President/VP in American history would be a better option for our country than Trump in 2024.
  7. Does anyone have any kind of opinion about Republican candidate Asa Hutchinson? I personally have never even heard of him but I did notice that he attended Bob Jones University before the University of Arkansas.
  8. I couldn't agree more. I remember almost ten years ago listening to a John MacArthur sermon where he said the same thing. He talked about how when a nation gets to a point when Homosexuality, Redefining Marriage, and the murder of babies is the platform for one of the major political parties in America...then surely we have fallen under Gods judgement.
  9. I reconnected with one of my high school friends several years ago and like everyone else I wanted to know what believed about God. He was born in a Catholic family, wore a rosary as a necklace sometimes, but knew almost nothing about the church's beliefs. After many discussions he invited me over and agreed to go through a tract I brought with me. I wanted him to read it out loud so maybe he would better understand what he was reading. What I realized very quickly was that he could barely read even on a basic level. So I ended up reading all the content and verses to him myself and by the end I had absolutely no idea if he understood a single thing we talked about. He came to church that next Sunday but that was the last time he showed or talked about religion again
  10. Pence was raised in a Catholic home but as a young adult he claims to have had a "born again" experience at Asbury College. At least he appears to have a genuine faith and attempts to live it out unlike our last Baptist President...Clinton. Living here in Indiana Mike has been in politics long before most people outside the state ever heard his name. From the House of Representatives to him being Governor he has gained a lot of support here among Fundamentalists and Evangelicals. Politics are so ridiculous now that I hardly believe a word of what any of them say. I agree the Republicans have their own issues and I'll pretty much vote for anyone against Biden and his even less intelligent VP. Biden has had his better days and he's just not mentally there to lead like we need. And unfortunately I don't know if Kamala has ever been any less intelligent than right now. I'd just assume get attacked by a bear than listen to her talk about school buses, the internet, and the border ever again.
  11. Yes this has been playing out for awhile. There was coordinated effort by the progressives at AU campus church to get the previous Pastor to retire. It wasn't coincidence that within a week of his leaving a prayer was posted on their website addressing God as 'Father/Mother/. The backlash wasn't just done in public by the leaders but someone told me the other day that over 30 people had left since the Pastoral change . I know people who are 4th generation Church of God and have left to attend churches with very different backgrounds. I don't think I would even consider the General Director as fundamentalist because he/church of God allows women Pastors...but for some reason they draw the line when it comes to marriage
  12. Although this has been a long time coming there is a certain congregation on the Anderson University campus that tends to see themselves as more "intelligent" or "enlightened" than the rest of the congregations. While all affiliated churches are seen as autonomous there are still certain restrictions to what individual Pastors can teach and regulations for performing a wedding ceremony. The main overseer of the ChoG is called the General Director and there is a assembly of others who help him lead in many different areas. All these leaders are voted in by the members from congregations all over the world. Recently several members of the church I referred to at the beginning began an "Open and Affirm" petition and posted it it online without the knowledge or consent of the Church of God ministries. It was an attempt to push the leadership into excepting their personal beliefs. To my surprise the leaders attacked this issue head on and was rejected publicly on the national and state levels. I suspect the leadership has been paying attention to the United Methodist split and knows this could divide them if they just "tolerate" the radical progressives. I live in Anderson so I have observed this shift and know many of the key people on both sides. White I disagree with most of their theology...I am thankful they have refused to bend on this issue while most are caving in. https://www.chogaffirm.com/
  13. Thank you for the reply. I'm glad you're not here just to try to sale books. Welcome to the forum, Robert.
  14. You're probably right brother. You never know about people online. It seems like many people sign up to convert our beliefs to theirs or show us how much more knowledge they have and then disappear in a week I don't think BrotherTony was replying to you. I believe he was addressing the post right before his...not yours. I could be wrong though.
  15. Is this a sincere question or just a place to copy and paste quotes from your Dismantling Dispensationalism book? Since all three posts you've made are pasted it feels more like an advertisment than discussion.
  16. I quoted Brother Jerry because I agree with everything he mentioned. Like Brother Jerry - I too have known people who have been healed and the only explanation for the change in circumstances was answered prayers. In fact the local IFB Pastor was diagnosed with a brain tumor that required immediate surgery to try to remove it. The local IFB church hit their knees as often as possible praying for a miracle with the Pastors son taking the lead in his father's absence. Leading up the surgery there was a need for them to take a last look with X-rays and whatever tests they used - the doctors were seeing an unexplained diagnosis. The tumor had changed from a life threatening stage into one that required no immediate surgery whatsoever. The "miracle" wasn't confined to the medium size town I lived in. The story hit the local papers and soon after the Pastor was doing interviews about the healing on the country wide news networks. The Indianapolis doctors themselves were interviewed and validated the miraculous nature it from a medical perspective. This situation was so unusual that it had not been recorded or listed in the recorded history of cases and diagnosis by Professional Doctors. God had willed that his shepherd was needed on this earth awhile longer and while not completely removing the "thorn" he did make it dormant. Pastor Crockett served the church for another seven years before the cancers in him returned. He passed away at peace knowing that God had extended his life and so he had complete trust that his death was the will and in the hands of the Lord. His legacy still impacts this community (and beyond Indiana itself) and through the church,school, and his family from the spiritual seeds he planted within them.
  17. Yes. They started that during COVID but is complete waste of time if you ask me. I'm not sure where they are finding names to match to addresses but they sent two different letters to my house but the names were people I had never heard of. They couldn't have lived at this address in the last ten hours at least..if ever. I believe that many of the activities that the Watchtower tasks JWs with is far more about keeping them obedient than actually witnessing to others. I imagine during COVID the letter writing was more about keeping JWs "active" than anything else. I watched a few of their Zooms serves during that time and what struck me was how the Watchtower pressured them to keep their video feeds on so the congregation could see each other. The witnesses were literally dressing up just like a in person meeting for every meeting. That is a high level of control...when you can manipulate what people wear even from home.
  18. This topic was one that depended on who you asked at my church. There seemed to be some confusion among the members about how one became saved. I honestly felt like the confusion was in regards to the definition of Repentance and what that meant. It was my understanding that works based Repentance of trying to change yourself before accepting Christ was false. I was taught that repentance when it comes to salvation was from acknowledging your sinfulness and believing in Christ for Salvation and the Spirit to start changing you. So the method when it was written out was - 1. Admit 2. Believe 3. Receive
  19. So the members actually pay for publications they give out for free. While it isn't mandatory...it is still encouraged that a witness donate for a publication they have given out . Also while they have always been critical of churches who demand a weekly tithe they still practice it by just calling it something else. Several years back every congregation was asked to announce a new way of giving and the members were asked to anonymously write down what they could afford to give monthly. This was then added up and whatever the giving amount in each congregation was ended up being what the Watchtower expected monthly. So whether they call it donating, giving, or tithing they still get money from it's members in a regular basis. Another source of getting money was that even after a congregation has paid back the Watchtower loan it was given to build the congregations they still "encourage" members to continue contributing the same amount monthly except a few hundred dollars a month that is reserved for building repairs or expenses. I believe this was discontinued but not positive. The congregation loans are complete scam to begin with because even though the congregation pays the Watchtower back the Watchtower Society takes complete ownership of the building. This gives the Society a higher net worth and the ability to sell congregation buildings whenever they want. This has been a recent move by the Watchtower because of the money they are out from losing sex abuse cases. They started selling Kingdom Halls and having 2-5 congregations worship at different times in the same buildings. Here where I live there used to be three congregations with two kingdom halls. The West and South Sharded a building and the North congregation had its own building. But they sold one building a few years ago and combined three congregations into two and meeting in one building. It is absolutely unbelievable to me that JWs don't see the scams and so easily believe everything the Watchtower teaches and requests. JWs spend hours each week preparing and attending services while also being pushed to go door to door as much as possible and donate as much money from what little work hours they have to work. They are the Societys slaves and workforce. The Watchtower parades as a religion but is really a pyramid scam that sells publications and brings in probably billions a year. I haven't even brought up money that JWs members "donate" to use buildings for regional conventions that have been paid for years ago. As long as the majority of JWs remain "sheep" the Society will always find a different way to get money. They will most likely always have some paper publications like tracts and hard copies of their Bible. For America and other countries that have the same digital technology as us I believe will mostly become digital. Obviously in poor countries in Africa and South America they will have to continue using paper so they will always have some form of printing available...but I believe they will push into into mostly online material as printing continues to get more expensive and less popular here.
  20. But I absolutely agree that we could learn from their zeal to preach their faith. If only a third of church members would do public witnessing there would be some fruit. If JWs can baptized hundreds of thousands each year with lies... surely the truth can win souls and add to the local churches. Everyone now a days is more afraid offending people more than winning souls.
  21. They have been using cart witnessing for a few years now. They don't do it here where I live but I know people would volunteer from the congregation to go to Indianapolis and preach that way. It's only a matter of time before they abandon paper in favor of online materials which I think will greatly effect their door to door work here in the United States. It will be cheaper for them but it will be a little awkward at the doors as no one will be willing to download Watchtower witnessing material. But I believe the Cart witnessing is a way to conserve publications since only someone really interested would approach for them. I agree with you though that this is a way to get far more people's attention out in public but I sincerely doubt it will increase interested people. JW.org seems to be where they want people to go to read their publications. They advertise it on the road signs of the kingdom halls and publications. The internet has done a lot of damage to the organization with numerous ex JW sites that point out false prophecies and beliefs but has been a tool for them to cut expenses as well. I believe they are shifting to digital downloads to not only save money but also as a way to protect their members. Before JW.org the witnesses would encounter people at the door that would tell them something about the Watchtower and they would go and Google search it. This leadto many witnesses leaving when they found these websites exposing their beliefs and errors. Now JWs will go to their own website to look for doctrinal issues and questions. For many of them JW.org is the only source they use to learn about world news as anything out side of the org is owned by "Satan".
  22. When I was searching different religions/denominations attempting to find where the truth was to be found...I developed unusual relationship with an older man who served as the local LDS Bishop for close to seven years. This man was the age my grandfather would've been and only worked a few hours each morning at Menards so his schedule wasn't super busy. We developed a very close relationship and he taught me many lessons about serving and leading others and how to be expert at family history research. Over several years he had become like a father figure to me so when he passed away it deeply effected me. I remember prior to his funeral I was having feelings about and questioning his salvation and where he was now after stepping into eternity. When I attended his funeral he was dressed in his temple attire...which consisted of white shirt, pants, and tie. He also had a green robe around his waist with what appeared to be fig leaves in a pattern and a ridiculous white hat similar to what a baker or chef would wear. Seeing him in those clothes made me realize that this man had spent a lifetime trying to work his way to heaven with ritual and works and no matter how much it pained me I realized he passed without knowing Jesus or his true salvation. I still miss him to this day but I came to understand that God has made a way for salvation and despite my feelings only those who enter that narrow gate find forgiveness in death.
  23. Yes thats the clip from about 16 minutes into the original video you posted. I guess the first time I watched it the way he used "conviction" just didn't click in my mind because he had just said something about Eugene Petersons Message "bible" right before that and I assumed was gonna keep rambling on different translations. But I for sure agree with girl who originally posted it on Twitter when she described it as "scorning" the KJV rather than decision for his kids.
  24. To be honest I just had to go back and watch the last couple minutes to see what you were referring to. I prematurely cut the video off right towards the end after he described his thoughts about other translations and which one he chose, so I stopped right before his story about the visiting Pastor using the KJV. I completely agree with you that there is a huge difference between him "preferring" to use a different translation and him having "convictions" against using it all. Im just speculating but I had the impression that there is more context of how he formed those convictions against the KJV bible than just the reasons in the video.
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