I have noticed that when I have a physical examination that my physician does several things. He looks, he listens, he pokes and prods and I am sure all he is doing tells him quite a bit. To me, it appears that the real accounting of my health comes when the blood work is done. It is amazing how much can be learned about you by drawing out some blood and subjecting it to various test in a laboratory. In a few days, a report is prepared that has a numerical assessment that includes my actual number and the range. There are maybe 15-20 numbers on the sheet. Each tells a story about some aspect of my overall health. I do not understand most of those numbers, but I do trust my doctors’ evaluation of them. Ignoring a number that was too low or too high would not be wise from a physical health standpoint.
Conversely, I do understand the implication of numbers related to church health and I do know that ignoring them is unwise.
• “82% of the unchurched are at least somewhat likely to attend church if invited” – Dr Thom Rainer
• "Only 21 percent of active church goers invite anyone to church in the course of a year" –Dr Thom Rainer
• “Four percent of formerly churched adults are actively looking for a church to attend regularly (other than their previous church). Six percent would prefer to resume attending regularly in the same church they had attended. The largest group, 62 percent, is not actively looking, but is open to the idea of attending church regularly again.”–Scott McConnell, Lifeway Research
• “71% Of Americans are absolutely certain there is a God.” –The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey
• “56% of Americans believe that religion is very important in one’s life.” –The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey
• “Clearly we can encourage Christians to pray that the unchurched would sense God calling them back, but God works through His people," said McConnell. "The survey showed that many would respond to an invitation from a friend or acquaintance (41 percent), their children (25 percent) or an adult family member (25 percent).” – McConnell, LifeWay Research
Let’s summarize this- The majority of people that do not attend church are somewhat likely to attend if they were to be invited but most of us in the church are not inviting them. This is strange that we are silent on this matter because most of the people we will speak to already believe in God and that “religion” is important. The people that we already have existing relationships with are very likely to visit a church if we will invite them.
Question- What are we holding back for? What would happen if we just started asking –“Are you currently actively attending a church?” If the answer is not an affirming yes- invite them to your church. If you have found a great restaurant you recommend it. Why not do the same with your church? Just something to think about; actually, let me put that another way- Just something to do something about!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
Does an occasional, social drink really hurt anything?
I cannot tell you how often that question or some form of it has been presented to me. This morning I was looking at some statistics about alcohol that you might find interesting. Here they are:
• Alcohol is the number one drug problem in America.
• There are more than 12 million alcoholics in the U.S.
• In the United States, a person is killed in an alcohol-related car accident every 30 minutes.
This tells only some of the story. Alcohol is a factor in 73% of all felonies, 73% of all child beating cases, 41% of rape cases, 81% of wife beating cases, and 83% of homicides. Let there be no confusion about this, alcohol is involved in many serious crimes.
Additionally, the drinking and behavioral patterns of alcoholics affect their family members. Spouses, siblings, parents, in-laws, grandparents- all are affected by the alcoholic. If there are 12 million alcoholics, there are an estimated 40 – 50 million family members directly affected by alcoholism. The cost of alcoholism is simply mind boggling. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimated the annual cost to be 184.6 billion dollars and that was 12 years ago!
So, does an occasional, social drink really hurt anything?
If you are a Christian, it hurts your testimony. Some counter that Jesus turned water into wine and that Paul actually told Timothy to use a little wine. I have heard these arguments all of my life. I do not find in them grounds for supporting the use of beverage alcohol. Why? We have an abundance of beverage choices to say nothing of pure water. There is simply no need for alcohol in our day. The risks to the one using alcohol are too great. Maybe you can drink and “handle it.” Are you sure those watching you can? I would not wish to show my children or grandson that I can drink and “handle it responsibly” and have one of them start. What if they could not handle it?
It can harm your body. The teaching of the New Testament is that we are to glorify God in our bodies. 19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Cor. 6:19-20 Alcohol affects the brain. It dulls the brains capacity for reasonable judgment. Even those that advocate the use of red wine for medicinal purposes state that in addition to aiding the digestion of food, alcohol “calms the nerves”. Alcohol enters the bloodstream and touches virtually every organ in our bodies. Alcohol can cause damage to the heart and liver. It can cause brain and neurological problems. Alcohol causes gastrointestinal diseases, nutritional deficits, and reproductive impairments.
It is highly addictive. As a Christian, I have a new Master! I am no longer under the old master. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:12 that "All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be enslaved by anything. Yes, we could be enslaved by many things that are non-alcoholic. That is true. But honesty demands that we admit that one that becomes enslaved to alcohol has much more potential to harm himself/herself and others than one enslaved to soft drinks. And on that note, I have never heard of an ER visit from drinking too many soft drinks. I have never heard of the police being called to a home to deal with a domestic fight because of soft drinks. I have never heard of tragedy on the highway from too much soft drink in the blood stream. I have never heard of anyone losing their job because of soft drinks. I have never heard of little children scared to death because Daddy had his soft drink bottle out again. I have never heard of anyone dying from drinking too many soft drinks, yet more than 100,000 people die every year from alcohol related causes.
A Christian cannot use alcohol and be separated from the world. Romans 12:1-2, 1 John 2:15, and 2 Corinthians 6:17 all remind believers that we are not to be identified with this world. In fact, we are to be separated from this world. We are “in it” but not to be “of it.” It is hard for me to justify using something that is associated with so much hurt, sorrow, pain, and even death.
Does an occasional, social drink really hurt anything? Yes, it definitely does. Instead of looking for loopholes and making excuses to use alcohol, why not just avoid it? To quote Nancy Leigh DeMoss, “We do need to guard against making absolutes out of personal standards that are not specified in Scripture, or assuming that others are sinning if they don't adopt our standards about issues that may not be traps for them. But why are we so prone to defend choices that take us right to the edge of sin, and so reluctant to make radical choices to protect our hearts and minds from sin?”
Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
Proverbs 20:1
• Alcohol is the number one drug problem in America.
• There are more than 12 million alcoholics in the U.S.
• In the United States, a person is killed in an alcohol-related car accident every 30 minutes.
This tells only some of the story. Alcohol is a factor in 73% of all felonies, 73% of all child beating cases, 41% of rape cases, 81% of wife beating cases, and 83% of homicides. Let there be no confusion about this, alcohol is involved in many serious crimes.
Additionally, the drinking and behavioral patterns of alcoholics affect their family members. Spouses, siblings, parents, in-laws, grandparents- all are affected by the alcoholic. If there are 12 million alcoholics, there are an estimated 40 – 50 million family members directly affected by alcoholism. The cost of alcoholism is simply mind boggling. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimated the annual cost to be 184.6 billion dollars and that was 12 years ago!
So, does an occasional, social drink really hurt anything?
If you are a Christian, it hurts your testimony. Some counter that Jesus turned water into wine and that Paul actually told Timothy to use a little wine. I have heard these arguments all of my life. I do not find in them grounds for supporting the use of beverage alcohol. Why? We have an abundance of beverage choices to say nothing of pure water. There is simply no need for alcohol in our day. The risks to the one using alcohol are too great. Maybe you can drink and “handle it.” Are you sure those watching you can? I would not wish to show my children or grandson that I can drink and “handle it responsibly” and have one of them start. What if they could not handle it?
It can harm your body. The teaching of the New Testament is that we are to glorify God in our bodies. 19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Cor. 6:19-20 Alcohol affects the brain. It dulls the brains capacity for reasonable judgment. Even those that advocate the use of red wine for medicinal purposes state that in addition to aiding the digestion of food, alcohol “calms the nerves”. Alcohol enters the bloodstream and touches virtually every organ in our bodies. Alcohol can cause damage to the heart and liver. It can cause brain and neurological problems. Alcohol causes gastrointestinal diseases, nutritional deficits, and reproductive impairments.
It is highly addictive. As a Christian, I have a new Master! I am no longer under the old master. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:12 that "All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be enslaved by anything. Yes, we could be enslaved by many things that are non-alcoholic. That is true. But honesty demands that we admit that one that becomes enslaved to alcohol has much more potential to harm himself/herself and others than one enslaved to soft drinks. And on that note, I have never heard of an ER visit from drinking too many soft drinks. I have never heard of the police being called to a home to deal with a domestic fight because of soft drinks. I have never heard of tragedy on the highway from too much soft drink in the blood stream. I have never heard of anyone losing their job because of soft drinks. I have never heard of little children scared to death because Daddy had his soft drink bottle out again. I have never heard of anyone dying from drinking too many soft drinks, yet more than 100,000 people die every year from alcohol related causes.
A Christian cannot use alcohol and be separated from the world. Romans 12:1-2, 1 John 2:15, and 2 Corinthians 6:17 all remind believers that we are not to be identified with this world. In fact, we are to be separated from this world. We are “in it” but not to be “of it.” It is hard for me to justify using something that is associated with so much hurt, sorrow, pain, and even death.
Does an occasional, social drink really hurt anything? Yes, it definitely does. Instead of looking for loopholes and making excuses to use alcohol, why not just avoid it? To quote Nancy Leigh DeMoss, “We do need to guard against making absolutes out of personal standards that are not specified in Scripture, or assuming that others are sinning if they don't adopt our standards about issues that may not be traps for them. But why are we so prone to defend choices that take us right to the edge of sin, and so reluctant to make radical choices to protect our hearts and minds from sin?”
Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
Proverbs 20:1
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