39th Day of 40 Days of Prayer

“We must pray for and experience spiritual regeneration, then recognize and accept our responsibilities as Christians to be salt and light…”

-Richard Land

In the book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 7 and verse 14, we find the words that propel us toward revival.  Many will assert that these words were for the Children of Israel, and rightly so, but they will go too far saying these words are not applicable to us, the Christian Church in America today.  I am a dissenter of such a limited, near-sighted philosophy of the Bible.

In my humble opinion, the Word of God is profitable for us today, all of it and not parts and pieces.  I stand with the Apostle Paul, as he wrote to his young preacher boy, Timothy, as he penned the words, “Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ASV)  Therefore, I stand on solid, unmovable, and righteous ground when I say that I will adhere to all scripture and find that it is instruction for my life.  May I honestly say, this is true for all of us-for the Christian church in America and around the world, for America, for all nations in the entire globe.

When I refer to the passage from Chronicles, I am saying that this verse is a section of scripture we find applying to society today.  Particularly to the church in America:

 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV)

Yes, friend, this verse speaks to the very things we need in America today.  We need to find ourselves humbled, praying, seeking the face of God, and turning from our sin.  If-that word is a conditional word that represents a willingness to follow or reject the instructions placed before us-we do those four things, then the promise is that God will hear, forgive, and heal the nation.

For too long, far too long, we have sung out the words of the song, “I Did It My Way.”  We have taken pride in who we are and what we have done as an American people.  We have righted civil and social issues, fought the battles of prejudice and shortsightedness, and we have happily gone our way patting ourselves on our own backs, all the while thumbing our noses at God, saying “ We've got this.”  We have dreamed and planned out our courses of action, seeking to do what we thought was right and just, smiling along the way at our own intellectual well educated minds, forsaking God’s plan and purpose proclaiming our independence and free will.  Then when we have needed His help or assistance we have gone to Him en mass, hoping He will help us out of the mess we created.

On September 11, 2001 we watched as our world was devastated by the terrorist attacks.  Thousands died within a few hours on American soil, while many more thousands were injured, and hundreds of thousands were deeply impacted for the rest of their mortal life.  As the events of that morning transpired, churches around the country filled up as people found their way toward an altar, to pray for the immediate need, the sorrow and senselessness of the hour.  Over the next few months pews were packed in churches on any given Sunday morning as people found renewed interest in the only one they thought could help them survive.  Others found a new relationship in the Lord Jesus Christ, busying themselves in the task of serving the one true God-the God of Abraham, Jacob and Isaac.

While I do not believe God did what happened that day, I do believe He allowed it as an opportunity to bring us back to Him.  Today there are those who were eternally changed on that day, but as a whole we are more patriotic, more flag waving, but less Christ-like than ever before.

As a whole we are touting freedom of expression, freedom of selectiveness, freedom from religion as ever before, as we tumble into the abyss.  The acceptance of things once totally considered sinful, vain, and unacceptable are now waved in the noses of those who hold the truths of God’s Word as clearly the guide to live life by and through.  We have seen the acceptance of same-sex marriage, abortion, and abandoning Israel as the norm for society.  In the midst of this new morn God has been forsaken and delegated to just a good thing for those who need a crutch; casting aside of the Church in America, those who reject God easily debase and demean those who follow Him.  Or worse, God has been completely denied and dethroned from the conscience and soul of America.  

For centuries those who have held to a society of humanistic thought, proclaiming a clear line of separation of Church and State, denying God’s people any form of debate in social matters, now want to use the power of the government against the church.  This is truly a violation of the Separation Clause.  Today we have the government wanting to tell the church and Christian business they must provide insurance that is contrary to Christian principles, and if they do not do as they are told they will be heavily fined for failure to do so.  This is big government at its worst.

         I say all of this to say that America must humble herself before a mighty, all powerful, all knowing God.  It is He who establishes nations and leaders, and it is He who brings down and will cast aside nations and leaders.  We are at his disposal!

            Once we find ourselves humbled, we will pray to the one true God, for He is the power and strength of our lives.  It is then we will see our sin for what it is-a black spot, a cancerous sore, a plague that is slowly consuming us.  This sin is rebellion, self reliance, pride, and high mindedness.  This is an acceptance of things which are clearly condemned by the Word of God.  This is sin is a willingness to accepted and condone things God has called unclean, impure, and a barrier between us and Him. 

In His love and through the sacrifice of His Son upon the cross of Calvary He reaches out to us and calls us to recognize our sin and turn from our ways of rebellion, calling us to repentance.  He said, through His Son Jesus Christ, “That whosoever believes in Him will have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  Through the Apostle Paul, God tells us:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Romans 10:9-13 (KJV)

            This is accomplished by seeking God’s face.  You and I must turn away from the faces of leadership for a moment; we must stop putting our trust in a man to lead our country.  We must stop putting our trust in a government bailout, or hand out; we must stop looking for the answer in the vain philosophy of man, or a creed or form of religion.  We must seek God-the author and finisher of our faith-the true Father of all of life and giver of eternal life.  We must seek Him, while the time is available to us. 

            This is when revival will come.  David wrote these words:

Lord, thou hast been favorable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah. Thou hast  God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations? Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.

Psalms 85:1-7 (KJV)

Today is Day 39.  This is the second day of praying for 40 Days of Prayer for Our Nation and the Christian Church.  It is also 39 days until Election Day in America.  Can you pray with me?  Will you seek God for how you will vote on Election Day?  Will you prepare to vote on November 6?  Real revival begins with me and “If it is to be, it is up to me.” 

I am praying for an out pouring of a new fire in the life of Christians in America.  I am seeking renewal in my own life and in the life of our leaders.  May God have mercy and revive us, so we might praise Him!

            

Alabamians fixed the budget?

On Tuesday September 18, Alabama went to the polls for a special election regarding an amendment change to the Constitution of the Great State.  Due to a shortfall in the projected budget, the necessity of presenting a balanced budget for Alabama, and changes needing to be made in the Alabama Trust Fund (ATF) regarding the flow of money from that account to the state treasury Alabama had to mark a very short, brief ballot and allow their voices to be heard.

At 2230 hours the tallies were in favor of the constitutional change, with 357,036 votes or 65% saying “yes” and those who voted “no” was 193,072 voters or 35%.  At that time 1,900 of 2,136 precincts were reporting returns.  With this said, Governor Bentley and others were proclaiming a victory for the states deficit.

This Amendment change to the state constitution allows the State Treasurer to make a special transfer of $145.8 million a year for each of the next three years from the ATF to the General Fund, a major source of money-according to the media-for prisons, courts, Medicaid health care for the poor and disabled and other non-educational areas.  The vote also changed the decades old ways that regular annual transfers made to General Fund from the ATF which now has $2.3 billion in invested assets and collects most of the royalties paid to the state by companies that pump natural gas offshore. 

The Birmingham News reported, “All together, the Legislative Fiscal Office estimated that Tuesday's yes vote will pump $259.8 million into the General Fund in fiscal 2013: $145.8 million from a special transfer and $114 million from the new way of making regular, annual transfers…the yes vote produced a net gain [from] the trust fund of as much as $197.8 million next year.”

This is a three year temporary fix to a problem that dates back to 2008,  when what some have dubbed as the Great Recession, as jobs were lost, businesses were scaled back or shut down all together and the tough economic times hit Alabama with a vengeance. 

It is also fair to mention that the Governor has pledged the money is more of a loan than a robbing of the ATF coffers, and will be paid back.  There was a demand to fix a problem during these tough economic times, as Alabama must have a balanced budget by October of each year, and the budget presented by the legislature was missing a means of supplying enough cash to fill the void.  This then became the instant fix.

Again, the Birmingham News reported, “Most of the money will go to Medicaid, which provides health care for about 940,000 disabled and lower income Alabamians, and the corrections department, which runs state prisons.”

Here are two important points we need to pay close attention to:

·        With the referendum's approval, General Fund spending for Medicaid in fiscal 2013 is budgeted at $615.1 million, an increase of $39.7 million, 6.9 percent, from this year.

·        General Fund spending for the corrections department in fiscal 2013 is budgeted at $365.5 million, a decrease of $15.3 million, 4.0 percent, from this year.

Education was a talking point as we rushed toward the special election.  As the polls opened, phone calls were being made by the AEA to get a yes vote out.  Henry Mabry, executive secretary of the Alabama Education Association teachers' lobby, said the yes vote protected Medicaid patients.  He was reported as saying, "Hallelujah…Alabama voters chose to take care of God's children."

He also said the referendum's approval likely would make it less likely that legislators would try to shift money to the General Fund from the Education Trust Fund, the main source of state money for public schools and colleges. "I think it does take pressure off," Mabry said.

State Senator Scott Beason (R-Gardendale) who urged people to vote “no,” said "scare tactics" by referendum proponents -such as threats that cuts in Medicaid funding could have led to massive job losses at nursing homes and hospitals-helped win the referendum.

He also said scheduling a separate election for one ballot issue, at a cost to the state of $3 million, let proponents encourage people dependent on state funding to go to the polls while many other voters didn't pay much attention.

"Most folks in Alabama, I think, will wake up tomorrow and say, 'We passed what?'" Beason said Tuesday night.

Becky Gerritson, president of the Wetumpka Tea Party and a referendum opponent, said she thinks "the-sky-is-falling scare tactics" and ballot language played big roles in the big yes vote.

The description of the referendum on the ballot said the proposed amendment would, in part, "prevent the mass release of prisoners from Alabama prisons" and "protect critical health services to Alabama children, elderly and mothers."

"The manipulative ballot language was huge," Gerritson said.

While Alabamians have now voted on the fix and we sit back in our easy chairs waiting on the dust to settle to see how this works out there are some things that need to be addressed.  

First is the issue of $3 million approved by the legislature and Governor for this special election.  We went to the polls in our respective cities, towns and communities to vote to increase the income of the General Fund for Fiscal Year 2012-2013, while doling out money-money we must not have or we would not be voting to access more money-and money we could have used in another area, another place, maybe the Nursing Home or hospital or for law enforcement.

The first leads to the second: We spent $3 million on a called election, because the boys and girls who gather in the Capitol during legislative sessions, who work part-time, making more money than many of those who work full-time, could not make a decision on the budget.  These $60,000 plus paid employees of the state were too busy playing games and pushing their personal agendas in order to take care of the actual business of the state. 

Maybe we need to make them reimburse the state for this special election that cost us $3 million!

Then we need to focus on this issue of “scare tactics” used by several businesses and organizations to get the vote to swing in their favor.  Really stirred it up, did you not?  These groups pitched in big money to tell folks that prisoners would be released to roam the streets, the Medicaid would suffer, our children would go hungry, granny would be tossed out on the street because the Nursing Home she was living in was going to close, and that doctors would have to relocate to other states.  Now, that is the way to get this thing done, right?

Listen, we use to have to have a saying, “Liar, liar, pants on fire.”  And I smell smoke!  That is all that was, a smoke screen!  Intimidation!  The rudest thing I have ever witnessed.  I believe, with all of my heart, that the Governor and the legislature-in a called session, which would have cost the taxpayers of this state-would have come up with a plan, but then again they should have come up with a plan, back a few months ago, instead of playing games during regular session. 

Maybe these special interest groups, organizations and businesses would also like to ante up and help reimburse the state for the cost of this special election.  It appears they have money to waste on lies and half truths, stands to reason they have money to take care of a few million spent because someone could not do their job.  Sorry, I digress…

Those prisoners that were going to be released, those grannies homeless, those children hungry, those doctors relocating: none of this would have happened.  You know why?  It is simple, if you will think about it.  Those boys and girls were voted in by people attached to or affected by one or all of those situations named above and they like their job!  They would have come up with something; someway would have been hammered out to fill the void in the budget.

Yet, now we have voted to take money from the ATF and fill the hole; on Tuesday September 18, the people of Alabama did the work of the legislature.  We worked!  We went to the polls-not everybody, but some-and did the work that should have been accomplished in May of this year.  We served notice, saying YES OR NO, recording our votes for posterity.  If the legislature had recorded their votes on the big boards we purchased in their respective meeting places-the Chambers or the House-then we would not have had to do what we did yesterday.  No, they earned the money and we spent the money to pay them and to have a special election.  We did their work for them and they got paid for doing nothing!

Now, we live with the decision that the majority of the people of this Great State decided was the thing to do.  You will notice that I did not use the word “BEST” or “RIGHT.”  I feel, and this is my feelings, that we did not do the best or right thing; but we did what we had to do so that we might see that the constitution of our state was honored and that we made our state solvent. 

By voting, either way, you have a stake in what I am about to write.  You may have marked the word “YES” or you may have marked the word “NO” and that is your business; it was your choice.  Either way you now need to address these concerns, with me.

As Alabamians we need to tell our elected people to do what we elected them to do.  We elected them to fulfill their promises, to serve the people and to earn their keep.  They need to go to Montgomery and take care of the business of this state, leaving their petty special interest concerns for a later time.  The first things they need to take care of as they assemble is to pray for wisdom and get on with the job of making our state a shining star. 

As Alabamians we need to get those who are in Montgomery to build a strong economic base from which to pull much needed finances for our state.  I applaud the new industry which we have seen move into Alabama over the last few years, but there is more to do.  We need to capitalize on the natural resources of our state, bring in more industry, and put a stop to industry leaving our state for foreign soil.  One thing that will turn things around for Alabama and all the other states is to get the Federal Government to stop sending business to foreign countries.  Repeal of Clinton’s act which opened the door to this would be a start. 

Alexander City and Sylacauga have lost more than their fair share of businesses and somebody in Montgomery needs to see this and help put viable, cash printing jobs in those buildings which stand abandoned.  Central Alabama, particularly Coosa County, is a place where we could make a difference, yet we get left in the dust as others around us get the industry and the jobs.  I still stand by the old adage, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”

In light of the promise by Governor Bentley to pay the money back to the ATF, we need to make sure he and the legislature see that this is done and in a timely manner.  I do not know how they will do it, but they better do so.  A plan needs to be assembled and revealed to the people in January of next year.  Please do not blame the Governor.  He is trying his best to clean up the mess of the legislature and is the lightening rod; he did not have to push this issue because he could have called a special session.  The legislature should have taken care of this during the regular session.  Now we live with their mess and we need to hold them accountable.  Demand that they give us an answer and in the next regular session.

I know we are living in lean times.  Yes, we are in a recession.  But there is hope and we need to let our voices be heard so that we might position ourselves for a better time yet to come.

            Is the budget fixed?  I do not think so.  There are people down in Montgomery who will not do what needs to be done, because they have their own, personal agenda.  As long as this is true, the real business of the state is not going to be done.  We need people who have wisdom and understand what it means to be a statesman in this age and time.  We the people need to make that happen!  If you voted yesterday then stand up, let you voice be heard and make a difference.  If you did not vote yesterday, then you forfeited your right and your opinion.  So hang on for a bumpy ride.

Let me leave you with this thought: On the General Election ballot in November there will be eleven (11) amendments to be voted on by the people of Alabama.  We need to educate ourselves and inform ourselves about these things and be ready to voice our opinion.  I will have more at a later date, but until then, get involved!  Be ready to VOTE!

News articles referenced are from www.al.com dated September 18 and 19, 2012.

Who is to blame?

This article should be on the front page of every newspaper.  It was Charley Reese's final column, who was a journalist for 49 years, printed in the Orlando Sentinel.  It is truly one of those articles that hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that in the final analysis must assume responsibility for the judgments made that impact each one of us every day. It is COMPLETELY NEUTRAL and I received it as an email, but felt compelled to add it to this blog.

By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? John Boehner. He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it's because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan ...

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.  They, and they alone, have the power.  They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees...

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

Our prayers for ACFD

Back to Church at Rockford #6

I Don't Like Church

I have a confession to make: I don't like church.  I've been a Christian for thirty years (since I was six years old) and have attended services at churches that were Southern Baptist, Independent Baptist, United Methodist, Free Methodist, Presbyterian (both PCA and PC[USA]), Pentecostal, Assembly of God, and various denominations that call themselves 'non-denominational.'

I've been in some churches were the preacher spoke in dulcet tones and others where he'd speak in tongues.  I've been in churches were the congregation sits in the pews and others were they roll in the aisles.  I've been in churches where people raise their hands in praise and others where they keep their hand on their wallet.  I've been in everything from mega-churches in California to house churches in Japan.  In other words, I'm no stranger to church.

But no matter where I go there is always one idiot who ruins the experience for me.  They think they know more theology than the pastor or believe they would do a better job leading worship than the music minister.  They are invariably unfriendly, judgmental, hypocritical, and more than a little bit smug.  Every church I go to I find a fool like that and so I shop around trying to find one that won't let someone like that join their ranks.  But he's always there.  No matter what I do I can't shake him.  Because that guy is me.

So I have to admit that I don't like church.  I'd rather sleep in on Sunday mornings.  I'd rather follow my own path.  I'd rather excuse myself from public worship until I can "get right with the Lord."  But I can't do that.  Church is where I belong.

In a recent interview with CHRISTIANITY TODAY, Eugene Peterson explains why the church is necessary:

“ But many Christians would look at this church and say it's dead, merely an institutional expression of faith. What other church is there besides institutional?  There's nobody who doesn't have problems with the church, because there's sin in the church.  But there's no other place to be a Christian except the church.  There's sin in the local bank.  There's sin in the grocery stores.  I really don't understand this naive criticism of the institution.  I really don't get it.

Frederick von Hugel said the institution of the church is like the bark on the tree.  There's no life in the bark.  It's dead wood.  But it protects the life of the tree within.  And the tree grows and grows and grows and grows.  If you take the bark off, it's prone to disease dehydration, death.

So, yes, the church is dead but it protects something alive.  And when you try to have a church without bark, it doesn't last long.  It disappears, gets sick, and it's prone to all kinds of disease, heresy, and narcissism. 

In my writing, I hope to recover a sense of the reality of congregation - what it is.  It's a gift of the Holy Spirit.  Why are we always idealizing what the Holy Spirit doesn't idealize?  There's no idealization of the church in the Bible - none.  We've got two thousand years of history now.  Why are we so dumb?”

Why AM I so dumb that I expect the church to be something it's not?  Why can't I recognize that the trouble with the church is that it accepts sinners like me?  If they excluded the people who could ruin it church might be a better place.  But it would also be empty.

As Peterson says, there's no other place to be a Christian.  I may not like church but it's where God wants me to be.  And though I may be nothing more than deadwood in the pews, I'll still be there, doing my part to protect the life of the Church within.

From www.evangelicaloutpost.com; 2/28/05; Joe Carter

Back to Church at Rockford #5

Wide Angle: Live What You Believe

A study by Baylor University on piety in America released this September reveals both good and bad news about the religious landscape.  The good news is that Americans are still extremely religious.  Nine out of ten Americans affiliate themselves with a congregation, denomination, or other religious group.  In fact, less than 5 percent of Americans claim a faith outside of the Judeo-Christian mainstream.

But as the survey digs below the surface, the news begins to look much bleaker, and the need for training in biblical worldview begins to look much more urgent.  For example, nearly a quarter of those surveyed would describe God as distant and not active in the world.  They think of God as a cosmic force which set the laws of nature in motion, not as the engaging Father we find depicted in the Scriptures.

Among those who would label themselves as mainline Protestants, 22 percent believe the Bible is an ancient book of history and legends, another 22 percent never read the Bible, 12 percent never pray, and 14 percent never attend a weekly service.

It's no wonder then that when George Barna did a similar survey in 2003, he found that only 4 percent of American adults have a biblical worldview as the basis of their decision-making.

The bottom line is that there is a huge disparity in the numbers of people who claim to be Christians and those who actually hold to biblical faith.  This should not surprise us, I suppose, given Jesus' warnings in Matthew 7:21 that not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter into the kingdom of heaven.  But it ought to propel each of us to a deeper concern for the souls of those around us, even many in our own pews.

Christians need integrity.  The word INTEGRITY actually means wholeness.  In our culture there is such a tendency to compartmentalize faith.  Like the designers of the Titanic, we believe that if we compartmentalize the hull, the rest of the ship won't sink.  That's why the people in these surveys can say they believe in God, but then live lives of practical atheism.  But understanding and applying a biblical worldview to all of life means integrating your faith into the nitty-gritty details of Monday through Saturday.  It means there is integrity between what you believe and the actions that flow out of that belief.

As Rick Warren says, "Worldview is the most practical thing in your life."  I completely agree.

From BreakPoint Commentary; 12/11/06; Charles Colson

Back to Church at Rockford #4

Are Teens Losing the Faith?

Six out of 10 teens involved in a church will probably not continue their spiritual commitment into early adulthood, according to a September 2006 study by the Barna Group reported by Associated Baptist Press.

The study, conducted from 2001 to 2006, shows that despite previously high levels of spiritual activity, many people in their 20s lose interest in religious activities and often carry that apathy into middle age.  But the survey also found that 20 percent of people in their 20s maintain the same spiritual activities -- like attending church, studying the Bible, donating money and using Christian media -- they did in high school.

Nineteen percent of teens who did not participate in those activities remained disconnected from the Christian faith in adulthood.

David Kinnaman, the research director, said some experts question whether the disengagement is just a phase typical of that age or whether it is unique to the current generation.  Both explanations have some merit, he said, but ultimately that debate misses the point.  "[The point] is that the current state of ministry to 20-somethings is woefully inadequate to address the spiritual needs of millions of young adults," he said.

On the other hand, ministry to teens is thriving.  According to the report, half of the nation's 24 million teens attend some sort of church-related activity each week.  More than 75 percent discuss faith with friends, and three out of five attend at least one youth group meeting at a church during a three-month period.  All told, more than 80 percent of teens attend church for at least two months during high school.

Kinnaman said teens are generally so receptive to matters of faith because of a certain willingness to explore their character, try new things and establish an identity.

"There are certainly effective youth ministries across the country, but the levels of disengagement among 20-somethings suggests that youth ministry fails too often at discipleship and faith formation," he said.

From Preaching Now (www.preaching.com); 9/25/06