Death, the Prosperity Gospel and Me
The prosperity gospel holds to this illusion of control until the very end. If a believer gets sick and dies, shame compounds the grief. Those who are loved and lost are just that — those who have lost the test of faith. In my work, I have heard countless stories of refusing to acknowledge that the end had finally come. An emaciated man was pushed about a megachurch in a wheelchair as churchgoers declared that he was already healed. A woman danced around her sister’s deathbed shouting to horrified family members that the body can yet live. There is no graceful death, no ars moriendi, in the prosperity gospel. There are only jarring disappointments after fevered attempts to deny its inevitability.
Amplifying Evangelism—The Future of Outreach and Mission
- Churches that shift from a temple mindset to a network mindset will be more effective at evangelism.
- Churches that move start to shift from an attractional mindset to an incarnational mindset will be more effective at evangelism.
- Churches that shift from traditional forms and structures to innovative ones will be more effective at evangelism.
At worst, this flexibility shades into opportunism. In every country where Pentecostalism has thrived, its leading practitioners have faced investigations of their finances. In 2011 Forbes magazine estimated the combined worth of five Nigerian pastors as at least $200m. In Brazil the faithful seem tolerant of pastors who are light-fingered with their tithes; many see giving as a virtuous act, regardless of the money’s ultimate destination. Estevam Hernandes, one of Brazil’s best-known preachers, cheerfully resumed his career after returning, in 2009, from five months in an American jail for smuggling undeclared cash.
Robert Lewis, in his book, The Church of Irresistible Influence, puts it this way, “If your church were to disappear tomorrow, would anyone notice?” I think that’s a good question that reminds us all of the serving part of the mission of Jesus.
Jesus came serving and saving. And we join Jesus in His mission.
We didn’t come to die on the cross for the sins of mankind. But we are about the mission of Jesus: serving the hurting, seeking to save the lost. That ultimately is how we seek the welfare of the city.
Reflections from the GC2 Summit—Cynthia Thompson
Christians have prayed and worked for decades to plant seeds of the Gospel among the very people groups that are displaced. With the disruption of their homelands by wars and the terror of ISIS, they are now fleeing toward us. Unprecedented opportunities are available for sharing the gospel with people we could not previously reach. The missional opportunities and an “open door” for the gospel exist as we have not seen for centuries, perhaps millennia.
5 facts about Mexico and immigration to the U.S.
- Mexico is stopping more unauthorized Central American immigrants at its southern border.
- Despite increased enforcement by Mexico, many unauthorized Central Americans are still reaching the U.S. via Mexico.
- More Cubans are also traveling through Mexico to reach the U.S.
- Fewer Mexicans are migrating to the U.S. today than in the past.
- More Mexicans now say life is about the same in the U.S. and Mexico.
South Carolina bill worries immigration advocates
World Relief, another EIT member, said the language of the legislation appears to be based on misconceptions about the vetting of refugees.
Matthew Soerens, U.S. director of church mobilization for World Relief, said his relief agency has worked with local churches to resettle more than 260,000 refugees since the late 1970s and none have been charged with terrorism.
Tragic death of NBA coach’s wife Ingrid Williams and a missing element in the news
Here at GetReligion, we talk about “holy ghosts” in media coverage. By that, we mean scenarios where glimpses of “facts and stories and faces linked to the power of religious faith” appear just below the surface — but don’t actually make their way into the printed ink.
Such ghosts are evident with The Oklahoman’s coverage of Ingrid Williams’ death. The newspaper doesn’t come out and say it, but the huge role of faith in the lives of Monty and Ingrid Williams seems obvious
Six Reasons Your Local Library Is So Much More Awesome Than You Realized
The library is one of the best places on Earth. Trips to these literary castles aren’t just for kids or college students. They still hold the magic we knew as children, but they’re even better now. Libraries have adapted to modernity with poise. And if you’re aware of what a healthy book habit can cost, heading to the library can save you some serious cash as well.
What a world with 5G will look like
Nokia on Tuesday previewed a demonstration it plans to present at Mobile World Congress later this month, detailing its vision for 5G. Nokia’s 5G forecast includes some surprising capabilities: 5G will make cars safer to drive. It will make instant replay more instant. And doctors will be able to perform surgery using wirelessly controlled robots.