The Christian Chronicle (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 40, No. 6, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 1, 1983 Page: 13 of 15
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Christian Chronicle and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Abilene Christian University Library.
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Chronicle
14 opinion
Christian Chronicle I
I w iffli
Out where the action is
u
Guest Editorial:
5 J
tte
ir Editor
Solutions
Wo hero some wrong attitudes.
r Editor
ju
the grace of God, as their strength was
away, lifeguards reached them and
them safely to shore. The strong undert
almost swept them to their deaths.
am very
he Chris
I and pie
Is your
been
lings—f
It hardly seems possible that we are living
in the same America which existed 20 or 90
years ago. We do not refer here to changes in
hair style, clothing fashions, or automobile
design. Nor do we refer to advances in com-
munication and transportation and the nearly
universal use of calculators and computers. A
person expects and accepts these changes as
part of the normal progress which issues from
a creative and scientific population.
What overwhelms us about the America of
1903 - so different from the United States of
1963 or 1953 - is the widespread rejection of
the Judeo-Christian moral and ethical value
system which raised this nation to greatness.
Strangely, many of our experts on social
issues are blind to the obvious relationship
which we believe exists between the death of
America’s moral values and the rising crime
rate, the increase in alcoholism, the irrational
use of drugs, the decrease in productivity,
emotional depression, runaways, cheating,
and a nearly total lack of discipline in our
public schools.
America’s family life is probably the
clearest example of what is happening to this
nation because it has rejected traditional
values. On every hand, we see families falling
apart. Men and women with adult bodies give
in to childish emotions and end relationships
which they promised to keep intact for a
lifetime. Small children and adolescents with
from the people of the world. We live in our of-
fices, homes of other members and on the golf
greens. Thus we know few who are prospects
and have little or no contact with the “soil”
that needs the seed which is the word of God.
And the list goes on. Let us look at some
possible solutions to these wrong attitudes.
There is in our nation today a pagan cum
undertow which is destroying indivw
families, and the nation itself. The dethd
of God and the enthroning of self, whenl
bined with economic prosperity, exes
education, high social standing, and]
health, give even Christians the false J
that we are invulnerable and that the olds
about right and wrong no longer apply H
Selfishness becomes the order of the day]
our own well-being appears to be the]
thing that really matters. We forget abort
ing our neighbor so we can get on wits
business of pleasing ourselves We wiD|
watch out for Number One, and makef
that he gets what is his. And before we km
we are swept out to sea.
Our Heavenly Father challenges us to
above this kind of thinking. He challengi
not to let a pagan cultural undertow swq
away from Him and carry us to destrud
He challenges us not to be conformed to
world but rather to be transformed by
renewing of our minds. Spiritual renew
our only hope for survival in an Aim
where the cultural undertow separates pi
from their God.—Howard w nortoS
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Why are so few being converted to Jesus
Christ? Why so small a number when our
cities are growing in population? I am not
speaking of churches which are swelling as a
result of Christians moving to the city and
placing membership. That is not converting
people or really doing what Jesus tells us to
do. We are to disciple the nations and that in-
cludes our own cities, towns and villages.
I am personally acquainted with city after
city where the population has doubled and
even tripled and yet the church is nearly the
same site she was 20 or 25 years ago. Why?
What are the reasons? Ponder some of the
thoughts below.
wish
brial, “
(ary’’ to
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■
every right to grow into manhood and
womanhood in homes with both a mother and
a father present hardly receive a second
thought from their immature, self-seeking,
pleasure-oriented parents who decide to call it
quits. We are told that by 1990, half of all the
children in the United States will be from
broken homes.
It was to Christians living in this kind of a
society that Paul said, “And be not conformed
to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, . . .” (Romans 12:2).
Jehovah God, through the apostle, exhorted
ancient Christians in pagan Rome to rise
above their corrupt culture and live like men
and women who, through Jesus Christ, had
been re-created in the image of God. The same
Heavenly Father calls the church in pagan
America to resist the evil influences in our
culture and dare to be different.
A few days ago, two of our good friends were
swimming in Rio de Janeiro at beautiful
Leblon beach. Both men were able swimmers,
the waves were fun, the temperature was
great. Suddenly, they realized that a strong
undertow had swept them farther from shore
than they had intended to go. They began a
valiant effort to swim back to the beach. They
1 encouraged each other, tried different
strokes, desperately swam to reach land.
Their efforts were to no avail. They feared for
their lives and thought the end was near. By
(1) Do not burn the church building. It’s a
tool. Don’t fire the preacher. Convert him into
one who sows the seed. Help the deacons and
elders see that our basic work is to evangelize.
More than 99 percent of the people in the USA
are lost. They are headed for hell. They do not
know the Savior Jesus. We are losing ground
every day. We must see that souls are dying in
sin and realize that this is an emergency
which we must deal with today. Complacency
will never convert the people of our city Read
Matthew 16:21-26.
(2) Remember that we are here for a pur-
pose. No, it is not wrong to have a good job and
earn money. The wrong is when that job
becomes more important than lost men and
women. The wrong is when we use that money
on our imagined “NECESSITIES.” Oh, what
we could do if we would even give 10 percent of
our incomes to the cause of preaching the
gospel here and all over the world
(9) We need to remember that we not only
must answer for our souls; but we will also
answer for the souls of others. We are wat-
chmen who must warn of the evil which
threatens the Uvea of men .nd women
(Ezekiel 33:9-9) We are people who know thp
way and have the privilegTO^XJtf
WaikeiiLUh..bt!Ji!? of “w®«kending.”
Weekending has killed many a church and
4
Editorial: “Beware the Undertow”
stifled its evangelistic thrust. Stopping bj
roadside to eat a bit of bread and drink I
grape juice is not the way the church grt
years ago nor in the first century,
neighbors know how important the Lordl
us, and they won’t listen when they «
spending weekend after weekend at the I
in the mountains, and traveling from pin
place.
(5) People are hungry for the gospel
pie do want to be taught. Earlier this yes
knocked doors taking a religious sung
young couple was contacted. A study wk
up by a deacon and an older member,
word was taught. The couple obeyed aftl
weeks. Then in eight days this couple U
and baptized the woman’s brother The
next Sunday night the mother of the wi
and her brother were at the Sunday night
ship. The next Sunday morning they bn
another couple to Bible study and wok
You see, they don’t know yet that people!
town aren’t interested in the gospel In «
10 weeks 20 people have been Immert*
Christ here and nearly all have been tin
their own homes. Read Acts 5:42.
(6) Preachers, let’s let the elders •
shepherding. Let’s allow the deacons to J
Let us get busy teaching the lost. Det*
that you will spend two nights a week tri
the lost. It wifi produce fruit. Then wM
stand in the pulpit and preach “pi*e**
gospel to every creature,” the member
that you practice that and they
become involved. No preacher alone w*
convert our cities. However, the peopi«
see preachers loving souls and teschP
lost. Take members with you and trsin'
Evangelising the lost is what the cn»
all about. Let us leave our offices snfl "
buildings and go out where the action is -
MH'CHBLL
(1) Once we get a nice meeting house, hire
a preacher or preachers, have elders and
deacons then we think we have it made. We
think we have done what Jesus the King wants
us to do. Our cities, however, are lost and dy-
ing in sin. Our buildings are half full and some
are being sold because there is an attitude of
“we have made it!”
(2) We have put other things, things of the
world, first in our lives. Get a good job we tell
our young people. Why? So you can earn plen-
ty of money. Why? So you can have a good
three bedroom home with two baths and room
for two new ears. Things which money can buy
have led us as a church away from our respon-
sibility to carry the LIGHT.
(3) We think too much of our own comfort
and pleasures. We work hard all week and now
the weekend belongs to us and our family for
rest and pleasure. We win drive 100 miles to
see our favorite football team play on Friday
or Saturday, but we won’t drive ten blocks to
hear a gospel sermon on Tuesday night.
(4) We preachers have isolated ourselves
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Norton, Howard W. & McBride, Bailey. The Christian Chronicle (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 40, No. 6, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 1, 1983, newspaper, June 1, 1983; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1308112/m1/13/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.