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Survey
says.....Christianity is over, it's time to get "off the map" |
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| By Jon Bogart, Director of Extended Production, Vineyard Community Church, Cincinnatti, Ohio | |
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Leonard
Sweet, the neo-guru of all things post-modern, stated in one of
his
online
articles that the era of Christendom is over. Kaput. Fini.
Ya, ya,
I said to myself. More provocative comments that sell more books.
But
the thought nagged at me for a while, so I decided to do a
personal
survey.
I started asking people I met (mostly food servers at restaurants)
four
questions. To wit:
-
who was the Apostle Paul?
-
can you name any of the Gospel books?
-
what does the term "born again" mean to you?
-
when was the last time you attended church?
Lo, it
came to pass that a thunderbolt struck my noggin asunder as the
data rolled
in. Person after person had no clue about the Apostle Paul (the
clever
ones said, "He was an apostle." Still no credit.) Six
out of ten can't
name any of the gospels. Seven out of ten have no clear concept
about
the
phrase, "born again."
And
the point? Leonard Sweet is right. I know that my declaring it
doesn't
make
it so (I'm not Yul Bryner), but my personal survey is showing me
the
reality
of how far the cultural ship of the US has slipped away from its
Christian
dock and is now adrift in the sea of post-modernism (I can't help
talking
this way; it'll happen to you too if you read Leonard Sweet).
And
what's my point, again? What this is about is important. In fact,
it's
essential.
So we're gathering curious men and women who want to get into
what
we are calling an essential conversation. It's called the
"Off the Map
Evangelism
Conference." It will be a learning event like none you've
ever
been
to. Check it out at
www.off-the-map.org.
And
start taking your own survey. You'll be amazed at the answers you
hear.
Click
here to read a review
of Leonard Sweet's book "Soul Salsa." |
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