War in Eastern Congo (video)

How do you measure success in ministry?

Every pastor wants to have a successful ministry. Sadly, many compare themselves to the highly visible leaders of large ministries and feel like a failure in comparison.

The size of your ministry does not determine the level of your success.

• Too many pastors have led large ministries while tragically failing personally and morally.
• Too many have sacrificed their families all in the name of “church growth.”
• Too many have lost their personal passion for Jesus while leading His church.

[from LifeChurch.tv : swerve by Craig Groeschel]

Free Media for Churches

Beautiful resources for creative churches using media can be had for FREE! throughout the rest of this month.

Worship House Media is generously offering a free Daily Download from December 1 on so there’s no reason not to grab a whole slew of downloads. Come back each weekday and download the freebie, and be sure to check out the featured producers Christmas offerings as well!

America's Top Five Sins

We don’t determine what is sin by taking a poll. Nevertheless we preachers are interested in what our listeners say is sin or isn’t sin. It’s a feedback channel on the effectiveness of our preaching to the church … and to the world. We evangelicals might think that the whole notion of sin has gone out the window and the America is going to hell in a hand basket. Yet at least one researcher has tested Americans view of sin and it might be helpful for us preachers to know what Americans say — both the evangelicals and the rest of America.

The #1 sin in America is Adultery. By that I don’t mean adultery is the most common sin — but that adultery is the most commonly agreed upon sin by most people, and not just by church folk. 87% of all Americans believe in the concept of sin, with more listing adultery as any other sin — 81% of them say adultery is sin. 100% of evangelicals believe adultery is sin and 82% of Catholics or other worshippers say adultery is sin. In America when we call adultery sin we are mainstream — even among the unchurched.

The #2 sin in America is Racism. Almost three quarters of Americans (74%) listed racism as sin — the second most commonly listed. More folk over 55 (75%) listed racism as sin than those under 35 (69%) but still there is wide agreement that racism is sin. Southerners were slightly more inclined to say racism was sin than others. Evangelicals roundly condemned racism (96%) and even more listed racism as sin than abortion. In America we can preach forthrightly against racism in the church — calling it sin — and still be mainstream, even in the world.

The #3 sin in America is using Hard Drugs. 56% of Americans consider using hard drug as sin. Older folk (68%) are more inclined than those under 35 (60%) to condemn drugs, but still the vast majority of American consider drug use is sin. In America we can condemn hard drug use as sin and say nothing unpopular, even among unbelievers.

The #4 sin in America is “Not saying anything if a cashier gives you too much change back.” Just two percentage points less than using hard drugs (63%) of Americans believe if a cashier gives you extra change and you say nothing about it you have sinned. Actually, slightly more evangelicals listed this as sin (94%) than listed the sin of using hard drugs (91%). In America we can preach against this “little” sin and be totally mainstream — even among unbelievers.

The #5 sin in America is Having an Abortion. Really. 63% of all Americans think abortion is sin — not just a bad choice, or unwise, but a sin. As we would expect, 94% of evangelicals (74% of Catholics) believe having an abortion is sin. We are succeeding at convincing people that having an abortion is sin — both among those under 35 (56%) and those over 55 (53%). In America we can preach about the personal sin of getting an abortion and not be outside the majority mainstream — even among unbelievers.

Sins #6-#12 show Americans believe in sin. There are two more sins the majority of all Americans agree on: #6: homosexual activity and #7: not reporting income on a tax return. After these top seven sins which the majority agree on condemning, still a large number of Americans condemn sins #8-#12 including pornography, gossip, swearing and premarital sex.

READ MORE

[by Keith Drury]

How long until Christianity is a minority?