Episode 225

Tales From the Scrypt #225
The DEATH of Our Christian Worldview
By Louie Marsh, 8-25-2021

Links to Articles:

https://www.theblaze.com/news/over-60-percent-christians-jesus-not-only-way-to-heaven

https://probe.org/introducing-probes-new-survey-religious-views-and-practices-2020/

1I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:1–5, ESV)

3But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.” (2 Corinthians 11:3–4, ESV)

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Episode 224

 

Disciple Up # 224
reThinking Evangelism & Other Stuff
By Louie Marsh, 8-18-2021

What’s happening now…

 Article I’m Reading From:

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/august/gen-z-evangelism-faith-conversations-jesus-barna.html

State of the Podcast

https://www.thepodcasthost.com/planning/whats-a-good-number-of-downloads-for-a-podcast/

If your new episode gets, within 7 days of its release:

  • more than 26 downloads, you’re in the top 50% of podcasts.
  • more than 72 downloads, you’re in the top 25% of podcasts.
  • more than 231 downloads, you’re in the top 10% of podcasts.
  • more than 539 downloads, you’re in the top 5% of podcasts.
  • more than 3062 downloads, you’re in the top 1% of podcasts.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/global_stats

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Email – louie@discipleup.org

 


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Episode 223

Disciple Up # 223

Persecution Watch, August 11th, 2021

By Louie Marsh

https://www.christianpost.com/news/hindu-leader-calls-for-anti-christian-violence-in-india.html

 

https://www.christianpost.com/world/american-evangelist-jailed-in-uk-its-getting-very-bad-here.html

 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/portland-antifa-christian-worship-event-clash-proud-boys

 

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/august/mozambique-insurgency-attacks-cabo-delgado-pastors-minister.html

 

“When we first arrived, our arms were crossed—we were sad and angry,” said another pastor whose family is still missing. He also asked that CT not print his name out of fear of further attacks. “But because we serve, we’re strong. Because we serve, we’re happy. In a time of difficulty or in a time of ease, we will serve the Lord.”

 

Yet another pastor, who has lost everything, said, “They can burn our houses, they can burn our food—but they cannot burn Jesus out of me.”

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Episode 222

Disciple Up # 222
Facing Our Failure (Thanks COVID!)
By Louie Marsh, 8-4-2021

Intro. I’ve been thinking about COVID’s impact on us in a different way lately. Then hearing that my dear friend Naomi’s Dad died of it yesterday and that she is down with COVID (please pray for her) shifted my thinking once again.

Setting the Stage:

COVID didn’t appear in a vacuum. It came at a time when the church in the United States and the entire Western World was in a huge and growing decline.

https://comparecamp.com/church-attendance-statistics/

US Church Attendance Statistics

The US religious landscape continues to change at an accelerated pace. On the one hand, the number of devout Christians who belong to the older generations continues to decline. On the other hand, younger Americans tend to prioritize things other than religion. Thus, this trend is expected to persist further.

  • In the last 10 years, the number of Americans who report they attend church services around once or twice a month declined by 7%
  • Conversely, the number of American Christians who report they attend church services less frequently has increased by 7%
  • In 2009, those who attend church services around once or twice a month exceeded those who attend church services only occasionally or not at all
  • On the contrary, those numbers are inverted today: 54% of Americans nowadays say they attend church services a few times a year compared to those who attend at least monthly (45%)
  • From 55% in 1965, mass attendance decreased to 23% in 2017
  • Between 2010 and 2017, US Catholics have lost 800 parishes
  • In 2010, 21.3% of the US population were Catholics. In 2017, 21% of the American population, only registering a slight loss and zero growth
  • In 2018, among those aged 21–29, 36% of Protestants and 25% of Catholics went to church weekly
  • When the first wave of church abuse charges emerged in the mid-1990s, religious attendance in the US considerably plummeted

The Most Common COVID Impacts

Giving. Some churches I know of, including my own, have seen giving go up. I know of many others who’ve experienced a drop – some quite large. I know of very few whose giving has been untouched by this.

Attendance – down – WAY DOWN! People got used to not coming to church and either don’t at all or only very sporadically.

Conclusions:

 COVID has only accelerated a process that has been underway for decades. With or without COVID church in the West is shrinking and will continue to do so. COVID has exposed a problem that we already had but weren’t really aware of just how big it is.

This Means: The church in the West has failed to carry out our Lord’s command to go and make disciples.

Which means – I’m a failure too.

COVID should be forcing the church and those of us in the Ministry to face our failure – but I’m afraid it isn’t.

The Haunting of Failure (2015)

 https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-haunting-of-ministry-failure/

 

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Email – louie@discipleup.org

 


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