BrotherTony

My niece sent me a text yesterday telling me that my father had asked for her pastor to come out to the house to talk to him about eternity. He admitted that he was a sinner and needed the Lord, and he asked the Lord to save him. Praise the Lord for answered prayers.

Yes, I have a pastor friend in the Independence, MO area that spoke against this often. I've got an aunt and uncle in O'Fallon, MO who could be on either side of the issue.

It's strange how the Bible was held in such high esteem then, but that after this trial, not so very far from where I live today, the Bible is no longer welcomed into the classroom, and we are now considered to be the proginy of monkeys. It's so very sad.

Welcome back!

I had my Dad die from cancer back in June of 2000, and I couldn't be there for his death. I was there just a few weeks before he passed. My birth father has pushed everyone away except for his grandchildren. My relationship with him has been tenuous at best. My niece just sent a text telling me that he is unresponsive, but still breathing. He'll probably pass away in the next few hours.

My birth father's hospice nurse and doctor have given him a few days at the most to live. We have witnessed to him several times, sent him Gospel tracts and prayed for him for the past 40 years. He did ask for a preacher to come and talk to him, and my niece's pastor went and talked to him. At any rate, Pop can't keep anything straight now, and his organs have started to shut down. I spoke to him for just a few minutes last evening and told him I loved him. I know I won't be able to speak with him again. His passing will bring it's own set of challenges as my stepmom is starting to go into full blown Alzheimer's. There's only her sister left to care for her after Pop passes. Please pray for this whole situation and for my Pop's peaceful passing. My wife and I won't be able to make a trip up to Corydon IN , and he wants no services or memorials. Thanks in advance BT

Yeppers... many of us have noticed how over the past 50+ years Tom Turkey has been pushed off the road by the fat man in the bright red suit, flying around with his eight tiny reindeer! LOL The over commercialization of Christmas has gotten way out of hand! My parents Western Wear Store would NEVER allow Thanksgiving to be bypassed. None of the decorations for Christmas at their store came out until BLACK FRIDAY. I'm thankful for that.

Have we fallen short in baptisms? And why are baptisms being used as a measure for how strong churches are? Many pastors have seen the futility and falseness of dunking people just for the numbers? They've come to the realization that people need to understand what baptism is, and in the true discipling of people first. In the days of Christ people understood the implications of being baptized into this new religion called Christianity. They could be kicked out of the synagogues, lose their livelihoods, and even their lives. That's exactly what Saul of Tarsus was doing before he had his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus.

Who has stated that he can?

Unless you have ever been in an abusive IFB church or churches you will NEVER understand why someone would leave. I grew up in an abusive IFB church. I loved my pastor and his son, who was my youth pastor for a time. The Gospel was preached, and people were saved on a regular basis, but many things were covered up, especially if it was of a sexual nature. When offences were brought to the pastors attention they were dismissed or passed on to some other church. That was until several people, myself included, told the pastor that we were going to make public the dangers in the church. It was brought to a head when a youth worker and a school teacher were grooming girls, and boys, for sexual liaisons. One of those involved was my high school sweetheart. She finally confided in me. I also had been physically punched by my youth pastor. He grabbed me with one hand around my throat and moved me up the wall and punched me. He told my parents that I deserved it. The reason he did it? I had questioned some of the things going on in the youth group. I wasn't the only one who suffered such things. The school teacher was fired, but the incident was NEVER brought before the church. Neither was the youth worker. Thank the Heavenly Father that you've NEVER experienced unchecked pastoral power and abuse.

I know my wife and I were members of a church full of nepotism, hirelings, and people from off the street. These are some things that are very common in churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It's not uncommon for them to have a secretary from outside of their own churches membership. It's also a common practice in many of their churches to hire people from the secular sector to play in their worship band, and to work in other areas of their ministry. It's hard to find faithful members if they're not allowed to function in the churches programs. There were also issues with the pastor only visiting people who were in his own age group. I know that many of us who are in their senior years were being overlooked and basically shut out. And the nepotism in the church was a real problem with an assistant pastor who was the brother to the worship leader, and whose father in law was the head Deacon for the church. After the worship leader left during the heighth of the pandemic because the pastor wouldn't require everyone to be vaccinated and wear masks, the assistant pastor, who was also the youth pastor, went and became pastor of another larger church in the area. His father in law left a few weeks afterwards. Then, instead of hiring another person to lead the worship portion of the service, the pastor installed his wife. Several months later one of the pastors buddies in the church became the assistant pastor. It wasn't good, and we and several other older families we basically frozen out. We've been looking ever since. People will only be faithful if they have a right heart and are truly seeking to please the Lord. They're the ones who should be working in the churches. The pastor should be looking for and working towards helping his congregation to find their spiritual gifts and helping them to utilize them.

His wife passed away.

Thankfully the pastors I know NEVER STOPPED preaching the gospel. Remember, TGL, they're to preach the whole counsel of God, not just salvation messages. And just to be clear, preaching messages that promote conservative, Biblical values is imperative. Maybe one should let the Holy Spirit guide in what these pastors preach, eh?

Keep it up, Eddie, and I'm not joking.

I'm not sure that I agree with that statement. This sounds like the gobbly gook I hear from Calvinists. There are many who have gone from extremely immoral to being very moral without salvation. There are many who were involved in various sins that turned away from these things and many years later were saved.

I fully believed after all these years of him being attacked that many who would NEVER have voted for him before would do so. People finally started catching on to the drive by the Left to destroy him, and it all backfired on them!

Most everyone that I know has been in fervent prayer fo former president Donald J Trump to win the 2024 Presidential race. The AP called the race for Trump a little over an hour ago. The Lord is showing the United States the mercy it doesn't really deserve. But He has heard our prayers and will help us to move back towards some common sense positions. Thanks be to God.

Thank you for the clarification. That's always one of the difficulties in communicating with keyboard and screen. No offense taken here.

And nobody has denied this.

Romans 10:9-13.... Repentance often comes after belief, at least in the greater degree. Some may teach 100 percent repentance before, but that seems to follow under the Lordship salvation teachings some put forth.

I'm so sorry for your loss. You're in our thoughts and prayers.

Abraham's Bosom is where he would have been. This place was brought up in the story that Christ told about the rich man and Lazarus.

Pastor Greg Locke and the Global Vision Bible Church's purchase of a church campus in Lebanon, Tennessee has fallen through. The church apparently was not able to raise the capital to secure the purchase of the property. https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/wilson/2024/10/31/global-vision-greg-locke-new-tennessee-church-purchase-falls-through/75949308007/

I'm so sorry for your loss, Brother. She's now in a healed body and with the Lord. May the Lord give you the comfort only He can give. You're in our thoughts and prayers.

A theory that has been floating around here in Middle Tennessee is that Mr. Locke set this up to garner sympathy and to keep his name in the forefront. I would hope and pray that this wasn't the case. Still, I have heard several pastors in our area mentioning this thought.