The Rejection of God and parents by American Kids By Minister Speed

I've been hearing from a lot of parents whose teens are rejecting their faith.  The stories are all terrifically painful but are becoming a daily occurrence.  The sad fact is most children under the age of 30 have no God consciousness whatsoever.  

The sad part is America has turned into a soulless and spiritless bunch of atheist and agnostics who have turned away from the God of their forefathers and the children are paying the price.

American kids today are selfish, self-centered, sadistic, cruel, disrespectful, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, boastful, unforgiving, incredibly brutal and possess very little self-control whatsoever.  They feel entitled to everything, but they don’t want to work for any of it.  

They are absolutely addicted to entertainment, and they know very little about self-sacrifice.  Disciplining children is not considered to be “politically correct” in America today, and with each passing year these little hellions get even worse.  So what in the world is our country going to look like when all of these out of control kids grow up?

I wrote this blog to educated parents and those children willing to turn around and bring honor to their parents as God has commanded.  

The key scriptures are from the Book of Genesis Chapter 2/3.

Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

God created man just as with His permission he gave your mother and father permission to create you.

:8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

God created a home for his child (Adam) to live in with every good thing that would nourish him, Body, Mind, Spirit, and Soul.

9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Even in the midst of the home there will always be along with that which is good for food, that which is the knowledge of good and evil.  God will always give you a choice.  Behind every choice there is a reward or a self-imposed consequence.  God always gives you a choice.

Joshua 24:15 (KJV) 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Here Joshua is stating that is serving God is troublesome, a burden, weariness, and not a pleasure and delight: if you have found a better master, and whose service will be more pleasant and profitable to you then make a choice.  But as for me and those who dwell here under this roof, we shall serve the Lord.  If this is not something you choose not to do then I break fellowship with you and I give you your leave.  

LIGHT AND DARKNESS CANNOT FELLOWSHIP TOGETHER. 

Genesis 3:1, Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

The word serpent here in the Strong Concordance in the Hebrew language is Dragon.  In reading the bible we can see that Satan was presented from the beginning and came to Eve as she was the weaker vessel to kill, steal, and destroy her and then Adam. 

The first mistake eve made was what?  She listen to and then went further and starting speaking with Satan concerning the very things God had already said.  

He spoke the word that God had said Yea, hath God said, “Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? “  You see Satan knows the word (Bible) that God has spoken to you.  He understands the power inside of God’s word and He also knows who the weaker vessel in the house is.  Those are the ones like Eve who obviously already have a problem with the word spoken in the first place. 

In Genesis 2:9 we can see that as a good parent God provided everything that was needed.  9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food.  If we use our Sanctified Imagination we get a glimpse of how weak minded and selfish Eve was.

 

You would think that “Every Tree” pleasant to sight and Taste would be good enough for her.  You would think that she would turn from A DRAGON which looks outright and obviously wrong for her and turn to her husband that God created for her, but No.  She engaged in a full blown conversation and in doing so had already been deceived because if you think that you can speak against the word of God and not engaged Satan the Dragon then you are already heading toward a speeding train wreck with horrific ending.

Again we see Eve’s mistake in verse 3 where she Mis Quote the word of God.  God said you must eat of the tree in order to receive the consequence of death.  Eve in her resentment stated God said she couldn't even touch it. I relate this to having thoughts of sin.  It’s one thing to think sin, but it’s another thing to fully participate in sin and think nothing is going to happen to you.  

While Jesus may save, the consequences of Sin are Life and Long lasting. 

The Wages of Sin Is Death!!!

Sin is a part of the human condition.  The bible says in Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was shapen (or born) in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Sin is a result of Adam plain Rejecting of the word of God being tempted by his own wife who was beguiled by Satan. 

In Romans 5:12 it states “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

Again in Roman 6:23 it states “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

In Matthew 6:24 it states, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

The word mammon here is not just money but the demon of greed.  To always want more.  Like Eve to not be satisfied with all the good things God has stored up for us.

Since we now KNOW are sinners we now have a choice to make.  To serve God, or to serve Satan? You don’t make a choice with your mouth; rather you make a choice with your actions and thoughts. 

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

What you do in the flesh has the power to kill you spiritually and kill those who are yet present in your life.  It’s time to battle on or lay down.  What is your choice to be?  When sin enters in it usually comes like a small pimple.  If left untreated it spreads and becomes a spirit eating wound and then envelopes you completely.  

In the sport of football there is a saying.  Take the head and the body will follow.  This is a metaphor both physically and spiritually as the head (parents) of the household.  You are responsible. 

2 Corinthians states you must cast down the sinful imaginations, to bring those things into captivity and then be ready to seek revenge for the disobedient things you have done when you come through them. 

In other words, you should be mad "AT" hell for being made a fool of when you already know the truth of God.

How the Spirit of Disobedience works in man

Matt. 12:43-45, “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 “Then it goes, and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

You must confess, repent and engage the Holy Spirit or your fight is futile. The reason you keep doing the same thing and it gets worse has been spoke by God.  You must allow God to occupy your temple.  To not do so is to choose Satan.  Again you choose by your actions, thoughts, and behaviors.

Genesis 3: 4-6 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

This is the verse the Illuminati use to work against and reject God.  They believe that God has help the world in Captive and they willingly choose to follow Lucifer which means the Light Bearer hence Illuminate. 

Satan lies to a willing Eve and tells her she will be as gods knowing good and evil.  What he didn’t tell her was the consequences of such knowledge.  Again the wages of Sin is death. 

Satan lied and told her it would make her wise, but anything which goes against the knowledge of god is Insanity.  

The phrase to “eat of the fruit” means to partake in action.  To learn, to do, to go against what was taught.  We as parents have taught you the correct way in which you should walk. To go against that is to willingly eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.  You are of the age of accountability and you will receive the wages of death.

Genesis 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

When it says there eyes were open it simply means they knew they were wrong and they knew they were in trouble.  They understood they had lost the protection of God’s covering. 

What they didn’t understand is because they still heard the voice of God they were still in a relationship with God. However they had broken fellowship with God. 

You see in a household when you sin, especially willingly, you break fellowship with the parents.  Over time this relationship can become so strained that the only thing a parent can do is to release that child out into the wicked world so it’s wickedness cannot hurt others that fellowship In the home.

This is the same way with God.  You cannot do what you want contrary to God’s word and expect to remain in fellowship with Him, but like the prodigal son who left and did despicable acts, the relationship remained so when he was willingly to come back the parent was there waiting.  

Remember this, sin is progressive in this world and evil is pervasive.  Many children are not making it back.

In verse 9 God calls to Adam, not Eve.  Eve was not accountable as God gave authority to Adam not Eve.  He asked where art thou?  We know that God knows all things so in using our sanctified imagination we can ascertain that what God really was asking was, what you have done?

You see like a good parent it was easy for God to see that they had no covering and were in disobedient as Adam testifies to by saying He was naked and afraid.  Question: why was Adam afraid?

 Because in Genesis 2:17 God said if you eat of that fruit you shall surely die.  They were experiencing God’s word coming true and it had to be terrifying for them to know the consequence.  

Many a Christian have experienced becoming drug addicts, life in prison, unwanted pregnancies and other diseases all because they have rejected the word of God.  Do not be deceived.  Your actions will reap consequences. 

Genesis 3:11 And he said, who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, the woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, what is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

In these verses we see God like a good parent asking questions to help them realize the seriousness of their situation.  And just like a child Adam begins to blame someone else for his action.  

The truth is if he had not eaten of the fruit the world would not be in the situation it is today.  No one can trick you, deceive you, persuade you, or even blackmail you into a thing if you haven’t done anything.  

It will be the same way when you face God.  Further on we see Eve play the blame game and not take accountability for her actions and states the Dragon beguiled her.  The word beguiled is related to words like entice, seduce, lure, and tempt.  

Satan is still doing this very thing today. 

16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Like I said the consequences are permanent and everlasting.  For the woman God multiplied her (1) sorrow and her (2) conception.  These are two different things.  

Women have been in sorrow for thousands of years with broken hearts, divorces, false promises, as well as lower class citizens of mostly every country on the face of the earth. 

God also multiplied her sorrow in conception.  

I am sure God did not mean for all the pain and sorrow attach to bringing forth life, but because Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden which symbolized the Kingdom of God on Earth they received the consequence thereof.

For the man he wouldn't have the benefit of the garden anymore.  Life would be brutish, nasty, and short.

17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

God created us to live eternally on Earth.  Through Jesus Christ we have the ability to live in God’s kingdom again eternally.  Many are making the choice to reject God and His Son, the very word of God and many again will reap the consequence of Eternal Damnation.  

The choice is yours.  God has never sent anyone to hell.  You send yourself!!

The Government Controls The 501 C 3 Church House By Minister Speed

The Non 501 C 3 Church

A 501(c) organization, also known colloquially as either a 501(c) or a "nonprofit", is an American tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Section 501(c) of the United States Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) provides that 28 types of nonprofit organizations are exempt from some federal income taxes. Sections 503 through 505 set out the requirements for attaining such exemptions. Many states refer to Section 501(c) for definitions of organizations exempt from state taxation as well.

It is my honest belief that part of the reason why our country has "gone down the tubes" is because our churches have been afraid to speak out against the evils of society which our government endorses. Many politicians would not have been elected if the churches stood up and said, "Don’t vote for this candidate because he endorses abortion" and also address other such issues. If a 501(c) 3 speaks out or gets politically active they endanger their 501 C 3 Statuses.

I've been an Ordain Minister for 3 years now and been an evangelist for the past 13. God may be calling me back to a church House and I want to talk to more pastors of  non 501(c) 3's because in my experience a 501 C 3 is not under the authority of God but the Federal Government. (See 5 Videos Below)

People don't realize how insidious the arrangement is.  If you really consider how much control they can exert on a given church can be enormous. A church cannot just say I want out of this Status. If they try that they can be forced to repay all monies that have been tax exempted in the past. All offerings, taxes not paid on land, taxes not paid on salaries and materials bought with their tax exempt status will be recouped. So if they built a building they would have to pay all the back taxes on material and write offs they were given for that building, also.  This is not the end of it because they will be responsible for the “interest” also.  This could lead up to the seizure of church building, property, and assets.

I personally do not want to be equally yoked with the government. With a 501(c) church you are under the state and federal government's authority first instead of God's authority. The bible states 2 Corinthians 6:14 (KJV), 14 “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness”?

 I talked to a lawyer with multiple years of counseling experience and he states “the fear of losing the 501 C 3 tax exemption by getting into 'politics' is so great, that it has gagged our ministers into silence about the important issues of our day. Since tax law says you can lose that tax exempt status if you engage in politics, most preachers avoid anything that might be perceived as 'too political.' That's why you won't hear most preachers endorse a candidate anymore.”

In this manner, the fascist/socialist left has paralyzed what would otherwise be a great political force in American life. Whether it was intentional or not, that has been the result of federal income tax policy. The very idea that one can divorce actions from beliefs is stupid. Our beliefs inform and direct our actions in life; we all act on our beliefs. For ministers to preach a belief but avoid preaching its implications in our daily lives--that is, what actions we should or should not take, is an abdication of their job as preachers, in my view. I just read a great article on this topic;

I hope you will too:

http://www.infowars.com/romans-13-setting-it-straight/.

He says it well, so I don't need to here.

According to that article: Our second President, John Adams, stated: “It is the duty of the clergy to accommodate their discourses to the times, to preach against such sins as are most prevalent, and recommend such virtues as are most wanted." 

Martin Luther put it this way: “If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at the moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved."

All that said, recall the last election and Obama's minister, Rev. Wright. That guy was extremely political in his sermons. Yet his church was never attacked by IRS to revoke its tax exempt status. Why do you think that is? Because his church was black and leftist. Clearly, the tax law is being selectively enforced. 

Conservative churches are singled out for scrutiny while leftist ones are not. This is yet another form of government tyranny of our times.  And it must be put to an end if liberty is ever to be had in this country again.

I believe many churches go the "tax exempt" route because they don't really understand the tax law. They're afraid they won't be able to receipt tithes to the church, but that is simply not true. I have seen new churches planted before and have studied the regulations concerning 501(c)3 status, and as long as a church is actively involved in carrying out the functions of a church, such as services, weddings, funerals, etc. then they are considered a valid church in the eyes of the IRS, even without a 501(c)3.

IRS Publication 557

Churches: “Although a church, its integrated auxiliaries, or a convention or association of churches is not required to file Form 1023 to be exempt from federal income tax or to receive tax deductible contributions, the organization may find it advantageous to obtain recognition of exemption. In this event, you should submit information showing that your organization is a church, synagogue, association or convention of churches, religious order, or religious organization that is an integral part of a church, and that it is engaged in carrying out the function of a church."

Historically speaking in America after 1953 there are very few churches that are not under government supervision and censorship.  Applying for 501 C 3 disestablishes the organization as a church and makes it a tax haven for the congregation. Most ministers, not trusting in God to provide for their ministry, entice donations by creating personal tax advantages for their constituents.

That means 501 C 3 churches are commercial and political in nature and not religious.

That sort of political/commercial activity is allowed by the IRS, while attempts to influence with donations and sermons those politicians who would uphold religious morality is forbidden, if the church wants to maintain its commercial status.

This means that such churches cannot speak God's truth about his law to human-created governments. And that appears to be just fine with most Christians.

Some people form bible study groups in their homes and those are like the original churches.  However, some local governments are fining those who host such meetings on the grounds that they violate Local Street parking ordinances.  Of course, that policy violates the freedom of assembly clause of the First Amendment. But, unfortunately, most Americans don't know that, having never read our short and to-the-point Constitution, and so cannot defend themselves, or their right to practice their religion.

Hosea said: “My people perish for want of knowledge" Hosea 4:6.

The reality is that you may have to bond with others of like thinking and form your own church.  If the congregation does not know their God-given rights, and offer prayers of thanksgiving for them, then they should arrange to meet someplace that has sufficient off-street parking.

You see the early Christians in the Bible met in each other's homes (Philemon 1:2), they were not State-licensed organizations. The Church is not a business!

Profane Mixes with the Holy Church

The L.A. Times has just reported that local ministers are being asked to spread the word about the upcoming digital TV switch. Standing in the pulpit of Mount Moriah Baptist Church in South Los Angeles FCC Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein asked the Baptist Ministries Conference of Los Angeles (nearly 50 African American preachers) to include information on the June 12 digital TV switch in their sermons. Woodie Ramsey, a deacon at Southern Missionary Baptist Church of South East Los Angeles, said the ministers were prepared to spread the word: "It's incumbent upon each church to take care of the needs of its ministry, and this is just one more need for our people," he said. "We'll do our part."

In a shocking twist, "The Worldwide Church of God" has refused to divulge how many of its pastors are now on the FEMA payroll, after a member expressed concerns about religious leaders being used to condition their congregation to accept the declaration of martial law. 

In a May 2006 a story first broke (& has since been confirmed) the shocking news that FEMA was training pastors and other religious representatives to become secret police enforcers who teach their congregations to obey the government in preparation for a declaration of martial law, property and firearm seizures, and forced relocation. A KSLA news report confirmed that 'Clergy Response Teams' are being trained by the federal government to quell dissent and pacify citizens to obey the government in the event of a declaration of martial law. We will also be covering many more topics that relate to this subject.  

Please take the time out to view the videos below:

              Part 1

           Part 2 

Part 3 

Part 4 

Part 5

In closing it was Lyndon B. Johnson that begin the Tax Exemption status known as the 501 C 3 for churches . Johnson was no ally of the church. As part of his political agenda, Johnson had it in mind to silence the church and eliminate the significant influence the church had always had on shaping "public policy."

Although Johnson proffered this as a "favor" to churches, the favor also came with strings attached (more like shackles). One need not look far to see the devastating effects 501 C 3 acceptance has had to the church, and the consequent restrictions placed upon any 501 C 3 churches. 501 C 3 churches are prohibited from addressing, in any tangible way, the vital issues of the day.

For a 501 C 3 church to openly speak out, or organize in opposition to, anything that the government declares "legal," even if it is immoral (e.g. abortion, homosexuality, etc.), that church will jeopardize its tax exempt status. The 501 C 3 has had a "chilling effect" upon the free speech rights of the church. LBJ was a shrewd and cunning politician who seemed to well-appreciate how easily many of the clergy would sell out.

Did the church ever need to seek permission from the government to be exempt from taxes? Were churches prior to 1954 taxable? No, churches have never been taxable. To be taxable a church would first need to be under the jurisdiction, and therefore under the taxing authority, of the government. The First Amendment clearly places the church outside the jurisdiction of the civil government: "Congress shall make NO LAW respecting an establishment of religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Churches Have a Mandatory Exception To Filing Tax Returns

Not only is it completely unnecessary for any church to seek 501C 3 status, to do so becomes a grant of jurisdiction to the IRS by any church that obtains that State favor.

In the words of Steve Nestor, IRS Sr. Revenue Officer (ret.):

"I am not the only IRS employee who’s wondered why churches go to the government and seek permission to be exempted from a tax they didn't owe to begin with, and to seek a tax deductible status that they've always had anyway. Many of us have marveled at how church leaders want to be regulated and controlled by an agency of government that most Americans have prayed would just get out of their lives. Churches are in an amazingly unique position, but they don’t seem to know or appreciate the implications of what it would mean to be free of government control."

From the Forward of the book “In Caesar's Grip”, by Peter Kershaw

The bible states in 2 Corinthians 6:17, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you"

The church is the most powerful organization on Planet Earth.  It's time to return the church back to the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and operate under His power and influence.

Selah

The Decline of Christianity In America. By Minister Speed

Are we witnessing the decline of Christianity in America? When you examine all of the most recent poll numbers, the answer is inescapable. Christian churches in America are losing members rapidly, and this trend is especially dramatic among young Americans. According to a stunning new survey by America's Research Group, 95 percent of 20 to 29 year old evangelicals attended church regularly during their elementary and middle school years. However, only 55 percent of them attended church regularly during high school, and only 11 percent of them were still regularly attending church when in college.


Those numbers have got to be incredibly sobering to the evangelical Christian leadership in the United States. The reality is that young Americans are deserting the Church in America in droves. The other day we came across an article in Advertising Age that blew us away.

The article was discussing marketing and religion, but what impacted us so profoundly were some figures from the American Religious Identification Survey by the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society & Culture at Trinity College. According to that survey, 15% of Americans now say they have "no religion" which is up from 8% in 1990.

That would be bad enough news for evangelical Christianity. But there is some more news from that survey that is much worse. In that same survey, 46% of Americans between the ages of 18 to 34 indicated that they had no religion. Forty. Six. Percent.


It is important to realize that not all of those 46 percent are unbelievers. According to a survey by Bohan Advertising/Marketing, the Barna Group and the United Methodist Church, 62 percent of Americans in that age group consider themselves to be "spiritual" (see my note entitled "what is spirituality), and 43 percent of them have prayed to some higher power in the last 2 months. But what it does mean is that almost half of all Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 do not identify themselves with any particular religion.


Remember in my new book entitled "A Declaration to the Spiritual Soldier" I wrote: "Many do not understand that millions under the age of thirty have no God consciousness. They have not accepted the tenants of Christianity and live a pagan lifestyle reflecting an if it feels good, then it must be good mindset. They are technologically advanced, politically astute, educationally empowered, but lack the necessary moral compass derived from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 

In a way, they are a reflection of our brothers and sisters within the church who gives them credence to remain ignorant in God because they see no value or difference between Christianity and this world. To them the average Christian is hypocritical, ignorant, and a microorganism of the world itself".


When you look at more recent poll numbers for Christianity in particular, the numbers become even more staggering. Another new survey by the Barna group reveals that less than "1" percent of all Americans between the ages of 18 and 23 hold a Biblical worldview. This new poll data clearly demonstrates that the youngest adults in America are clearly rejecting traditional evangelical Christian teaching.


The Barna survey defined "a Biblical worldview" as holding all of the following six key beliefs: 1) Believing that absolute moral truth exists. 2) Believing that the Bible is completely accurate in all of the principles it teaches. 3) Believing that Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic. 4) Believing that a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or by doing good works. 5) Believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth. 6) Believing that God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today.


So what do all of these poll numbers mean? They mean that evangelical Christianity has totally lost almost an entire generation of American young people. Meanwhile, the Christian Science Monitor recently published an article about the "coming evangelical collapse" that they believe is coming. They openly predict that "within two generations, evangelicalism will be a house deserted of half its occupants." Ouch!

The reality is that nearly all Christian denominations are rapidly losing members at this point. The most recent American Religious Identification Survey demonstrates this fact very clearly. According to that survey, the percentage of Americans who call themselves Christians has dropped more than 11% since 1990.

The survey also reports that Catholics, Baptists and other mainline Protestant churches have seen very large drops in numbers. However, Islam, Wicca and eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism showed large gains in the survey. The long-term trends look even more frightening for the churches in America. According to LifeWay Research, membership in Southern Baptist churches will fall nearly 50 percent to around 8.7 million Americans by the year 2050 if current trends continue.

But even more bad news for evangelical Christianity in America is that those who still call themselves Christians do not necessarily hold to traditional Christian beliefs any longer. Two other recent surveys reveal that the majority of American Christians believe that accepting Jesus Christ as savior is NOT the only way to eternal life. USAToday recently reported on an almost unbelievable new survey that found that 52 percent of American Christians believe that eternal life is not exclusively for those who accept Jesus Christ as their savior.


A different survey that was taken last year by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life found that 57 percent of evangelical Christians in America believe that "many religions can lead to eternal life". That shocking study revealed what many evangelical leaders have known for a long time - large number of "Christians" in the United States are throwing traditional Christian doctrines into the dumpster. Evangelical Christians have traditionally been those who follow the teachings of the Bible most literally.

But these new surveys indicate that even a majority of them do not believe in the most fundamental precepts of the Christians faith any longer. For example, in John 14:6 Jesus says the following: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." If there was another way for our sins to be forgiven, then why did Jesus need to die on the cross? If there were other ways to salvation, then Jesus could have come down to earth, pointed out a bunch of other ways to get to heaven, and then could have gone back up to heaven without having to deal with the cross.

But the reality is that there was no other way for our sins to be paid for. And yet these new surveys reveal that a majority of American Christians now believe that there are plenty of other ways to get to heaven.


The Pew survey referenced above also revealed that 45% of Americans say that they seldom or never read their religion's holy books. Perhaps if more American Christians were actually reading the Bible they would know what is truth and what is error. Instead, American Christians have surrounded themselves with preachers and self-help coaches and "feel-good" ministers who tell them what they want to hear, who always make them feel comfortable and who never, ever tell them about sin, holiness or the judgment of God.

The current situation in the churches of America reminds us of 2 Timothy 4:3..... For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.


The reality is that past generations of America faithfully filled up churches across the nation that were preaching the Word of God, but today the vast majority of Americans stay home from church each week, and many of the churches that are still drawing crowds are watering down their messages as much as they can in a desperate attempt to hold on to the people who are still there. Dave Olson, the director of church planting for the Evangelical Covenant Church, has done some really interesting research into the church attendance patterns of Americans.

Olson's research found that the percentage of Americans that regularly attend church is only 18.7%. In addition, his research shows that if current trends continue, the percentage of the U.S. population that attends church each week in 2050 will be about half of what it is today. All of these polls and surveys tell us the same thing: Christianity in America is in a serious state of decline - especially among young people.


Many Christian leaders who read this article will try to deny it or will try to make excuses. But all of these polls are not lying. The truth is that we need to examine ourselves. Is God moving where you worship? Do our churches look like the authentic Christian movement that we read about in the book of Acts? Are our lives significantly different from what we see in the world? Are our services lifeless, joyless exercises in futility? Do we truly have great love for one another and a passion to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ? 

If we want any chance to win back the next generation, then we are going to have to get back to the real thing. If you do not have "the real thing" in your church, then it is time to start asking yourself some really hard questions.