‘Diabetes causes amputations’, warns poster
I do have something of a plan for when (or rather if) I have a million dollars. I would like to start a diabetes foundation in memory of a friend who died. My friend had diabetes and this would be a great way to remember her I think.
Obviously, there would be other things I would do with some of the money, but the establishment of a foundation would be very important to me.
Some believe the United States is on the verge of a major collapse of the evangelical church. That’s according to an article published by Michael Spencer in the Christian Science Monitor. He says this breakdown could also be the beginning of the marginalization of Christians as a whole in a country founded on the Judeo-Christian Ethic, reports MNN.
Warren Smith, author of the new book, Lovers Quarrel with the Evangelical Church, agrees. He says the reason it may collapse is because it’s forgotten about the true foundations of the faith. Smith says one pastor of the largest mega-church in the U.S. avoids the basics. “He doesn’t like to focus on sin. He doesn’t like to focus on the bloody cross, on the crucifixion of Jesus, on the need that we have as humans to have our sins atoned for. He likes to focus on the positive, on the upbeat.”
Spencer agrees as he outlines reasons why the evangelical church is on the verge of collapse. He says, “Evangelicals have failed to pass on to our young people an orthodox form of faith that can take root and survive the secular onslaught. Ironically the billions of dollar we’ve spent on youth ministries, Christian music, publishing, and media has produced a culture of young Christians who know next to nothing about their faith.”
Many churches have followed that pattern which is why, Smith says, “It has become a church that really focuses on therapy rather than redemption.”
As a result, Smith says the evangelical church in decline. “There are all kinds of data that says we actually have fewer Christians today than we did 50 years ago.”
Smith says it’s because evangelicals have gotten away from their calling. “It’s not to make decisions, not to make converts, not to get people to raise hands at an evangelistic rally or a youth rally, but rather to make disciples and ‘teach all things I’ve commanded.’ That’s what the Great Commission really says. That’s what we’ve forgotten.”
There are more mega churches in the United States than ever before, but Smith says it’s not because there are more Christians. He says the data suggests that more Christians are flocking to mega churches and abandoning small churches.
The sad thing is, says Smith, “Mega churches provide an opportunity for people to come and be spectators rather than come and be participants or engage in true disciple-building activity.”
When Christians fail to participate, “They’re less apt to share their faith, less apt, for example, to believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. They’re less likely to believe that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God,” says Smith.
Smith became convicted of where he was spiritually when he realized he had been attending a church for 15 years and didn’t know how to communicate the Gospel to his kids. He says, “If you are going to a church that hasn’t, after three or four or five years, prepared you for leadership by its teaching and providing opportunities for leadership, then I would suggest there is something flawed about that church.”
There is good news, says Smith. “God is faithful. God is sovereign. God is not going to let the gates of hell prevail against His church, and we can experience the joy of being a part of that.”
As we get back to God Word, Smith says, we’ll have the desire to make disciples through church planting and other means, we’ll want to be involved in our community, and we’ll instruct our children to be followers of Christ.
Report from the Christian Telegraph
A site just outside of Marysville has been cleared to make way for a temporary village of various demountable buildings and temporary shelters while the town is rebuilt. Some 40 families are expected to be housed in the complex within the week.
Rebuilding in Marysville and throughout bushfire affected Victoria is being overseen by former Victorian Police Commissioner and the now Chairwoman of the Reconstruction and Recovery Authority.
The actual township of Marysville remains closed while the town continues to be searched for more bushfire victims.
Sound Relief concerts held in both Sydney and Melbourne raised about $5 million dollars for Victoria’s bushfire victims and Queensland’s flood victims. The concerts included performances by Cold Play, John Farnham and Kylie Minogue, as well as a reformed Midnight Oil fronted by Peter Garrett. Some 120 000 people attended the two concerts.
Grants from the bushfire appeal have begun to flow to those who have lost homes in the bushfire, with most home owners having received $50 000 grants.
The official death toll remains at 210, but this is still expected to rise as the search for remains continues, with many people still regarded as missing.
The final fire (Wilsons Promontory) that was regarded as being out of control is now contained.
Azerbaijan’s wide-ranging religious literature censorship system has started to affect evangelical leaders in the country, reports MNN.
Vice President of Russian Ministries Sergey Rakhuba was just in the country and says, “Two Baptist pastors were traveling between neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan — authorities confiscated Azerbaijani Bibles.”
According to Forum 18 News, an official of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations said, “Our society doesn’t need books that don’t suit our laws and our beliefs.” He claimed that unspecified religious literature could cause unspecified “social harm and possibly inter-religious and inter-ethnic violence.”
Rakhuba says an amendment allowing strict censorship will be heading for a referendum this month. He says believers may face raids reminiscent of the Cold War if the censorship issue continues. “Local police will be searching homes of evangelical leaders, and they will take all their Christian literature away from them.”
This will mean little, says Rakhuba. “Basically there is a dictatorship in Azerbaijan,” he says.
Russian Ministries works to empower the national evangelical church. They intend to do that despite the persecution. “We’re very much considering and praying and evaluating our resources to see how we can start our School Without Walls program for the next academic year in the fall.”
School without Walls is a program that helps train next generation church leaders, and Rakhuba says their work must continue. “The church is not scared. The church is growing. The church needs a lot more support to continue their ministry in the circumstances like that.”
Support comes in the form of prayer and dollars. Rakhuba says financial support is wide ranging. “The church needs support for training resources, to have more Bibles, to have more Christian literature. All of this is not allowed there, but they know how to smuggle it to Azerbaijan and make it available.”
Report from the Christian Telegraph
Australia is a land of extremes. We have bushfires still burning out of control in Victoria and floods across the country in Queensland, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, South Australia and now in Western Australia as well. Somewhere between 15 and 20 percent of Australia is flood affected, while something like 50 percent of the country is still stricken by drought. Some areas have now been in drought for 11 or 12 years.
Flood waters are now beginning to recede across most of the country; however there is still plenty of rain about – especially in Queensland where an active monsoonal trough is still dumping rain on Queensland.
In Queensland authorities have captured the crocodile that took a 5 year old boy in flood waters. The boy’s remains were found inside of the crocodile. The crocodile is not going to be released back into the wild and will probably be sent to a crocodile farm.
The death toll in Victoria’s bushfire disaster now stands at 209, including a fire-fighter who was killed by a falling tree damaged by the fires. The fire-fighter was from interstate and had gone to Victoria to assist in the crisis. He was due to go home the next day.
The police have stated that the death toll is no longer expected to climb much further than 209.
The official damage bill for in the bushfire areas of Victoria is fast approaching $1 billion Australian dollars and is expected to go beyond that.
Police have now arrested a woman who claimed her father was killed in the bushfires after it was discovered she was not related to the man she claimed was her father. The woman was trying to obtain $10 000 in bushfire relief money.
BELOW: Dramatic video footage as a bushfire approaches a house at Anglesea in the early hours of the morning of the 14th February 2009.
It has been over a week since the bushfires in Victoria took a turn for the worse. Bushfires had been burning in heatwave affected Victoria for some time previous to the conflagration that took place last Saturday, but it was on that day that they turned deadly.
A week since that deadly day and the death toll remains unclear, with 181 confirmed dead and some 120 people still missing, feared dead. Over 1800 homes have been destroyed, along with many other buildings including churches, schools, police stations and shops. The damage bill is expected to run into the billions of dollars.
Whatever way you look at it, this bushfire crisis is a major disaster and the worst to have ever come to Australia. All other disasters fade away in contrast to this.
The death toll breaks down to this:
|
Callignee Upper |
1 |
|
Callignee |
11 |
|
Koornalla |
4 |
|
Hazelwood |
4 |
|
Jeeralang |
1 |
|
Mudgegonga |
2 |
|
Eaglehawk |
1 |
|
Humevale |
6 |
|
Steels Creek |
7 |
|
St Andrews |
22 |
|
Arthurs Creek |
3 |
|
Yarra Glen |
1 |
|
Hazeldene |
2 |
|
Taggerty |
3 |
|
Marysville |
15 |
|
Narbethong |
9 |
|
Flowerdale |
4 |
|
Heathcote Junction |
1 |
|
Kinglake |
35 |
|
Kinglake West |
4 |
|
Strathewen |
30 |
|
Wandong |
4 |
|
Clonbinane |
1 |
|
|
|
|
Others |
10 |
|
|
|
|
Total |
181 |
Thus far we know that some of the fires were started by lightening strikes and arsonists. It is now thought that at least one of the fires may have been started by poorly maintained electrical infrastructure near Kilmore East. A class action against the private contractor SP Ausnet (Singapore based) is being planned. Over 100 people died from a blaze in the Kilmore East area.
ABOVE: Another theft of a bushfire appeal collection tin
The ‘Australia Unites’ Bushfire Appeal Telethon has just started in Australia on the Nine television network. The first act was Men at Work with ‘Down Under.’
ABOVE: Men at Work – ‘Down Under’
Donations can be made via 1800 811 700 or on the Red Cross web site at:
The Red Cross Bushfire Appeal has already raised over 55 million dollars (AU) for the victims of the bushfire disaster. If you are able to assist please do so. People outside Australia please visit the Red Cross Australia website given above. Thank you for your help – Australia thanks you.
The latest on the bushfire emergency is that weather conditions have eased greatly and the predicted hot weather for this weekend may not eventuate until later on in the week, which should allow fire-fighters to get on top of most of the fires – though it will take several weeks to put them all out.
Reports today indicate that several dozen new fires ignited today, with a major fire on the outskirts of Melbourne at Ivanhoe. The fire-fighters are desperately trying to get this fire under control. Some 30 major bushfires are still burning in Victoria.
An arsonist is now believed responsible for the major bushfire that razed Marysville and caused so many deaths. If anyone has information on any suspicious activity in the bushfire regions please contact crimestoppers on 1800 333. Two people arrested today on suspicion of arson were released without charges being laid – they were not responsible for any arson attacks.
The official death toll figure stands at 181, with a further 80 people considered missing. The death toll may yet peak beyond 300, with the possibility of entire families dying in their homes in some communities.
Police have indicated that the rumour indicating that some further 142 bodies had been recovered was false – it is not known where this rumour originated.
ABOVE: Australian Christian Churches Bushfire Appeal
ABOVE: Amazing images from the bushfires
ABOVE: Australian Army Bushfire Search Task Force in action
ABOVE: A YouTube Jerk!!!
The death toll in the bushfires in Victoria has now reached 175 and continues to climb. There are some 5000 people homeless at this stage, with many more homes and communities under direct threat from the still raging bushfires.
In a display of national generosity and sympathy for bushfire victims, Australians have been digging deep and donating millions of dollars to the various relief appeals, as well as turning up at evacuation centres with donations of clothes, food, furniture and other items. Others are simply turning up and doing what they can to help out.
Sadly, just as there are many seeking to provide what assistance they can, there are others who are behaving in ‘un-Australian’ ways – there are looters operating in the bushfire regions, arsonists continuing to light fires, sight-seers getting in the way of fire-fighting and relief operations, etc. The full weight of the law has been promised against all arsonists that are caught and there are several currently known to police that are being pursued.
ABOVE: Aftermath of the bushfire at Chum Creek, near Healesville
ABOVE: Aftermath of the bushfire at Marysville
ABOVE: Aftermath of the bushfire at Narbethong
Random Thoughts 