Weak Preaching Has Left Millennials with Weak Theology. Will They Weaken the Church?
Posted on October 20, 2015 in Theology by Nathan Cherry
Answers in Genesis recently commissioned a survey of millennials – those born from roughly 1980 – 2000. The result of that survey, all centered around their theology and how it relates to specific issues, is quite shocking. In fact, I would say that the picture this survey presents of the future of the church is not promising. Here’s some of the results of that survey:
- Over 40% say they are not born again.
- 35% declare the Bible has errors (or they don’t know if it has errors).
- Close to 90% attend or attended public school.
- Over 45% say that Sunday school did not teach them to defend their faith.
- 45% say homosexual behavior is not a sin, or they don’t know if it is a sin.
- 40% believe “gay couples” should be allowed to “marry” and have legal rights.
- 20% say there are books (other than the Bible) that are inspired by God.
- 65% believe that if you are a good person you will go to heaven.
What makes this survey so troublesome is that the people surveyed reported attending church regularly, many of them go at least 3 times a month! What can conclude when we see survey results that indicate that many people attending our churches hold unbiblical and anti-biblical views?
The first questions we must ask is what are we teaching? Or, perhaps more accurately, how are we teaching? In my experience most churches (and pastors) are topical in their preaching. This means that every Sunday is a different sermon from a different passage of Scripture. This topical method of preaching has been an American standard for many decades, and has served to produce at least two generations of biblically illiterate people that attend church. Continue reading…
Man Behind Undercover Planned Parenthood Videos Shares About the “Evil” He Encountered
Posted on October 19, 2015 in Life by Nathan Cherry
The man behind the undercover videos that exposed the atrocities of planned Parenthood shared with Glenn Beck a memorable moment when he believed he encountered “evil” at a Planned Parenthood clinic. David Daleiden told Beck that while he was at the clinic of a late-term abortionist, a woman that routinely kills babies days before they are supposed to be born, he had a moment when he felt the “evil” of the abortion clinic:
“And for the first time during this entire project, I felt really afraid, like an actual fear, a fight-or-flight kind of response. I felt very exposed, like she knew everything about me. And then all of a sudden … back to laughing and joking, totally casual, normal. And I talked about that with several people afterwards, and some people have kind of a spiritual interpretation, and others have a more psychological interpretation. But on some level, we feel like that was the predator look or the predator instinct that you see in someone who is accustomed to killing people. This is a late-term abortion doctor who has terminated many, many, many big babies over the years. That was probably the most significant moment that I had kind of early on encountering…the evil that we were going to be directly in contact.”
We don’t like to talk about evil much anymore. We would rather think of everyone as good. But the truth remains that evil does exist in this world and refusing to see it or acknowledge it simply helps perpetuate it. Had no one decided to acknowledge the evil of Hitler the world would look very different today. What Planned Parenthood does on a daily basis in indeed evil and these videos have further confirmed that truth.
Watch the entire video segment below. If the video doesn’t appear automatically, please refresh your browser.
All 10 Undercover Videos Exposing Planned Parenthood for Selling Aborted Baby Body Parts
Posted on October 14, 2015 in Life by Nathan Cherry
Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards
Over the last 3 months ten videos exposing the atrocious practices of Planned Parenthood have been released. The Center for Medical Progress began releasing the videos in July, for the purpose of showing how Planned Parenthood traffics aborted baby body parts. The 10 videos are at times very graphic and the conversations are almost too disturbing to believe. But these videos, taken over the course of several years, have exposed the evil of Planned Parenthood and reignited a fire to defund the abortion group and hold them accountable.
Below is all 10 videos and a brief description of what is contained on each. A big thanks to Mollie Hemingway at The Federalist for her work compiling this list (commentary below belongs to Ms. Hemingway). Take a moment to review each video and consider sharing this information with others. As more people discover the treachery of Planned Parenthood more progress is made to hold them accountable. One thing I want to make clear about these videos is that they are, in fact, authentic. Independent tests have shown that no manipulation or altering has been done, the videos are authentic and real. If the videos posted below don’t appear automatically, please refresh your browser.
1) Planned Parenthood Uses Partial-Birth Abortions to Sell Baby Parts: This 9-minute-video with more than 3 million views on YouTube features Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood’s senior director for medical services, munching on a salad and sipping wine while she admits to altering abortion procedures in such a way that baby body parts can later be sold to human organ buyers. Laws prohibit altering abortion procedures for organ procurement.
What Message is Your Church Sending to Hurting People?
Posted on October 13, 2015 in Theology by Nathan Cherry
Last week was a little chaotic for me. During the whirlwind week, which involved a last minute flight to St. Louis, I had the chance to spend some time talking with a man that shares a very similar story as mine. By “similar story” I mean a man that spent many years in full-time vocational church ministry and is now doing something else.
But, the similarities in our stories did not end with our transition from vocational ministry to secular work. What became apparent is that we both found ourselves making similar observations about the church and our own theology. Let me share an example.
I was talking with a friend some weeks back and said “for all the talk the church does about grace and forgiveness, there seems to be very little offered.” My comment came after many people called for pastors and church leaders caught in the Ashley Madison hack to be removed from their positions (some even calling for them to be removed from church membership). This struck me as so odd. I recalled Peter denying he even knew Jesus and yet Jesus never once thought about stripping his Apostleship.
The overtone of responses by many Christians to this event left me wondering what our communities and religious skeptics thought of us when we decided it was a good idea to shoot our wounded. Fast forward to one of the first conversations I had with my new friend in St. Louis. I asked him why he was no longer in vocational ministry. He offered several reasons but included in his answer that he has been less than excited by the lack of grace and forgiveness in the local church.
Since I believe in providence and the sovereignty of God, there’s no way this was a “chance” meeting. My new friend and I had a lot to talk about as we discussed the current state of the church and its detriment to many pastors and their families. Continue reading…
Dr. Frasier Crane – Kelsey Grammer – Has a Message to Gun Control Advocates About Life
Posted on October 12, 2015 in Life by Nathan Cherry
Kelsey Grammer was Frasier Crane in the hit sitcom “Frasier.” And he is proud to defend life.
I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to admit this, but I’m a big “Frasier” fan. I used to watch the show all the time. Partly for it’s witty banter and robust vocabulary; partly because they shared my views and values (which is why I currently watch Tim Allen and Jim Gaffigan shows). So when I saw “Frasier” star Kelsey Grammer wearing this pro-life t-shirt I was encouraged by his defense of life and reminded of why I enjoyed his show.
Grammer has always been an outspoken conservative in Hollywood; not an easy task I’m sure. But he refuses to back down and is unashamed of his views on issues such as abortion. The shirt he is wearing makes a powerful statement about the value of life in America, and the hypocrisy of those who call for gun control. When people like President Obama tell us that if even one life can be saved we should enact stronger gun laws, and then in the next breath praises Planned Parenthood and abortion, something is wrong. If every life matters then even the unborn should be fiercely protected from violence, like being torn apart in order to sell their body parts (that’s what Planned Parenthood does).
My hat is off to Grammer and his bold defense of life. I wonder where I can get one of those shirts?
How Would You Answer This Simple Question About the Church?
Posted on October 7, 2015 in Theology by Nathan Cherry
How would you answer the question “What is the church?”
This question might evoke answers ranging from a building with a steeple on top to a group of people that come together to worship Jesus. Whatever your answer might be there is a chance that you have not thought through the depth and intricacies of all that the church is.
The doctrine of the church, called Ecclesiology, is a foundational and yet often neglected aspect of biblical doctrine. Ecclesiology shapes everything from the leadership of the church to the way we live out our purpose each and every week. Knowing how central Ecclesiology is to the purpose and function of the church it is unfortunate that so many established churches have not given considerable attention to this critical doctrine.
In a recent post, blogger Ed Stetzer writes that Ecclesiology “must bear a great deal of theological weight” due to its importance in shaping the church. But, as he notes, such theological weight seldom happens today: Continue reading…
LIARS: Planned Parenthood Finally Admits They Don’t Do Mammograms
Posted on October 6, 2015 in Life by Nathan Cherry
In my estimation Planned Parenthood is one of our nation’s most corrupt, criminal organizations. One could hardly find a redeeming quality about the abortion business worth mentioning. Despite efforts to sell Americans a polished image as a woman’s health organization, Planned Parenthood has watched helplessly as videos exposing it’s true nature as a house of death have revealed an image more akin to founder Margaret Sanger’s intent: a highly developed killing machine.
I’ve often challenged anyone to give me one positive aspect of Planned Parenthood only to be met with almost a singular response: “they protect women’s health.” That can loosely be translated into one of two answers when further questioned. One is that Planned Parenthood defends abortion on demand and the other is that they do “good” things like mammograms.
And while many Planned Parenthood advocates have unflinchingly boasted of their “good” work of offering mammograms, as it turns out (like many of us have been saying) they don’t even offer mammograms.
In a recent testimony before Congress, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards admitted that Planned Parenthood doesn’t even have mammogram machines in any of their clinics. It was reported that part of an exchange in Congress went like this: Continue reading…
If You Think Bill Nye is a “Science Guy” You Should Watch This Video
Posted on October 5, 2015 in Life by Nathan Cherry
The “science guy” Bill Nye has become a sort of poster-boy for the abortion movement. With one breath they tell men to keep out of it with respect to opposing abortion or making laws against abortion. But in the very next breath they fawn all over Nye as he trumps their bloody movement. Talk about hypocrisy. Nye recently posted a video that is causing waves. For abortion supporters the waves are cheerful and supportive. For pro-life advocates the waves are groans and sighs as Nye – who is supposed to be a “science guy” – completely botches the science of human reproduction. In fact, Nye sounds so un-scientific that it’s hard to listen to his ramblings or give him credit. Here’s some of the highlights from this amazingly terrible video:
“Many, many, many, many more hundreds of eggs are fertilized than become humans.”
“And so when it comes to women’s rights with respect to their reproduction, I think you should leave it to women.”
“I’m not the first guy to observe this: You have a lot of men of European descent passing this extraordinary laws based on ignorance. Sorry you guys.”
If you think that’s bad, try watching the rest. And just to make that easier, I’ve posted the video below for you. If the video doesn’t appear automatically, please refresh your browser.
Doritos Promotes Equality by Partnering with a Bully That Hates Christians
Posted on September 30, 2015 in Marriage by Nathan Cherry
That, apparently, is the newest choice that Doritos is giving people. The company, owned by Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo, announced that they will begin production of “Doritos Rainbow” in partnership with the It Gets Better Foundation. For a mere $10 donation to the non-profit It Gets Better Foundation you can own this “historic” bag of rainbow colored chips?
It’s become the “cool” thing for corporations to do rainbow this or rainbow that in order to show their support for the LGBT movement. Of course one has to wonder if it is more a marketing strategy than anything else. Fatty junk food isn’t exactly popular right now, so one way to jump start sales is make a big deal of supporting gay people. But let’s assume it’s not a marketing ploy, what’s the purpose?
I don’t want to focus on the chips so much as I want to focus on the partnership Doritos has entered in to with the It Gets Better Foundation. But before I do, let’s talk about the chips for a second.
Every company has the right to support whatever they want. But they also must know that by doing so they bear the responsibility of the consequences. For example, I stopped supporting the United Way and Susan G Komen for the Cure years ago. Why? Because they are partners with Planned Parenthood and, as much as possible, I want to make sure not a single dollar of my money goes to that criminal, vile organization that takes pleasure in profiting from the murder of innocent babies. By the way, that’s the reason I don’t support the Girls Scouts as well. Continue reading…
The Governmental Persecution of the Church Has Begun
Posted on September 29, 2015 in Public Policy, Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
If I were to ask you whether churches would ever lose their tax-exempt status (or be sued) for refusing to support homosexuality, what would you say?
Can you imagine a time in our nation when a church would be forced, under penalty of law, to accept something that it believes is sin? That is the question many people are currently wondering. In light of the earlier Supreme Court ruling in the Obergfell case, political analysts are speculating that it is just a matter of time before churches are in one way or another forced to support homosexuality and same-sex “marriage.”
In particular, commentator Bill O’Reilly said he thinks it’s “just a matter of time” before churches are sued for refusing to perform same-sex weddings. In a video after the Supreme Court decision he said:
“It’s just a matter of time before lawsuits are filed against churches and religious organizations, trying to strip them of their tax-exempt status if they don’t toe the line on gay marriage and other progressive causes.”
Let’s be honest here, it has always been religious people that have stood in the way of liberal causes. When you think of the primary opposition to abortion, homosexuality, and other liberal social ideas, it is Christians and those with deeply held religious convictions that stand opposed. For this reason people of faith are a target, an obstacle to be removed in order to achieve some liberal idea of a utopian society. Continue reading…