Posted on 05/07/2005 8:05:03 AM PDT by churchillbuff
What is the fastest-growing religion on Earth?
Most news reports suggest it is Islam.
But a new book makes a compelling case it is a new, or, perhaps, old form of biblically inspired evangelical Christianity that is sweeping through places like China, Africa, India and Southeast Asia.
In "Megashift," author Jim Rutz coins a new phrase to define this fast-growing segment of the population. He calls them "core apostolics" - or "the new saints who are at the heart of the mushrooming kingdom of God."
Rutz makes the point that Christianity is overlooked as the fastest-growing faith in the world because most surveys look at the traditional Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church while ignoring Christian believers who have no part of either.
He says there are 707 million "switched-on disciples" who fit into this new category and that this "church" is exploding in growth.
"The growing core of Christianity crosses theological lines and includes 707 million born-again people who are increasing by 8 percent a year," he says.
So fast is this group growing that, under current trends, according to Rutz, the entire world will be composed of such believers by the year 2032.
"There will be pockets of resistance and unforeseen breakthroughs," writes Rutz. "Still, at the rate we're growing now, to be comically precise, there would be more Christians than people by the autumn of 2032, about 8.2 billion."
According to the author, until 1960, Western evangelicals outnumbered non-Western evangelicals - mostly Latinos, blacks and Asians - by two to one. As of 2000, non-Western evangelicals outnumbered Westerners by four to one. He says by 2010, the ratio will be seven to one.
"There are now more missionaries sent from non-Western nations than Western nations," he writes.
This trend, says Rutz, has been missed by Westerners because the explosive growth is elsewhere.
Hundreds of millions of these Christians are simply not associated with the institutional churches at all. They meet in homes. They meet underground. They meet in caves. They meet, he says, in secret.
And what is driving this movement?
Miracles, he says.
"Megashift" attempts to document myriad healings and other powerful answers to the sincere prayers of this new category of believer, including, believe it or not, hundreds of dramatic cases of resurrections - not near-death experiences, but real resurrections of actual corpses.
"When I was a kid in Sunday school, I was really impressed that 3,000 people were saved on the Day of Pentecost," he writes. "I thought, 'Wow, that'll never happen again!"
But, Rutz says, it now happens around the globe every 25 minutes.
"By tomorrow, there will be 175,000 more Christians than there are today," he writes.
The essence of Rutz's book is about how Western Christians can tap into what he sees as a mighty work of God on Earth.
"Very few people realize the nature of life on Earth is going through a major change," he writes. "We are seeing a megashift in the basic direction of human history. Until our time, the ancient war between good and evil was hardly better than a stalemate. Now all has changed. The Creator whose epic story flows through the pages of Scripture has begun to dissolve the strongholds of evil. This new drama is being played out every hour around the globe, accompanied sometimes by mind-bending miracles."
Not if they are not following God's Word. Sorry, but that dog don't hunt!
Careful! These seeker-friendly types don't like to hear that! (/sarcasm) Thanks for making that point, though. The fact is that 80 to 90% of these "seekers" seem to disappear after a while. I know that our (former now) local church has a "revolving door" policy.
Yep. Only got a few pages in, and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......
A wicked and perverse generation seeks a sign...
A stunningly good point.
If this were true, we would have a different world and society than what we have now. I wish it's true but I don't think so.
May the name of Jesus be preached throughout the world! Praise God forever and ever, amen!!
Aha, another tech writer!
You didn't ask me, but you might try downloading "Hijackthis.exe" here:
http://216.180.233.162/~merijn/files/HijackThis.exe
and posting the log result on
http://forums.spywareinfo.com
Good luck!
I can't find my copy, so I still haven't read it.
"Not if they are not following God's Word. Sorry, but that dog don't hunt!"
I never said it would .. and I never implied it should.
In fact, if you would bother to go back and read what I wrote - I specifically said there is a criteria needed before submitting to a Pastor. If that criteria is missing they people are either stupid or ignorant to follow such a person.
Isn't that why they are referred to "the flock", because often they are as stupid as sheep?
Matt. 25:40 - And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Most people believe this refers only to the down trodden, the sick, the lame, the feeble. However, Jesus does say, "my brethren" - which I would presume would classify as every believer.
When your Pastor is struggling to start a church, do we show up early and help set up ..?? or do we show up late and then complain that we couldn't get a good seat. Do we stay late after the service to heap tear down ..?? or do we bug out right after the service and leave the Pastor and his family to tear everything down ..??
If GOD has placed a Pastor over us as a shepherd - then we have a responsibility to do our part .. just as if we were doing it unto Jesus.
"If the 'rebuke' is correct, it's rebuke. If it's not correct, it's only accusations from the Enemy."
I'm surprised you would think that a "rebuke" from a GODLY person would be similar to an "accusation from" the accuser of the bretheran.
I guess it would be important to be sure people know the difference between the two. If we don't - then we'll be allowing ourselves to be offended in both cases - and nothing is accomplished by that.
What do you think about the seeker-friendly model of ministry?
Many in the church today believe that the only way to reach the world is to give the unchurched multitudes what they want. Hundreds of churches have followed precisely that theory, actually surveying unbelievers to learn what it would take to get them to attend.
Subtly the overriding goal is church attendance and worldly acceptability rather than a transformed life. Preaching the Word and boldly confronting sin are seen as archaic, ineffectual means of winning the world. After all, those things actually drive most people away. Why not entice people into the fold by offering what they want, creating a friendly, comfortable environment, and catering to the very desires that constitute their strongest urges? As if we might get them to accept Jesus by somehow making Him more likable or making His message less offensive.
That kind of thinking badly skews the mission of the church. The Great Commission is not a marketing manifesto. Evangelism does not require salesmen, but prophets. It is the Word of God, not any earthly enticement, that plants the seed for the new birth (1 Peter 1:23). We gain nothing but God's displeasure if we seek to remove the offense of the cross.
My complaint is with a philosophy that relegates God and His Word to a subordinate role in the church. I believe it is unbiblical to elevate entertainment over biblical preaching and worship in the church service. And I stand in opposition to those who believe salesmanship can bring people into the kingdom more effectively than a sovereign God. That philosophy has opened the door to worldliness in the church.
For futher study, check out these resources:
Ashamed of the Gospelsoftcover book
The Gospel According to Jesus—softcover book
What is "lordship salvation"? Does it contradict the gospel?
"Jesus is Lord" was the core of the early church's confession of faith, the primary nucleus of truth affirmed by every true Christian (1 Cor. 12:3). "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31, emphasis added). "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved" (Rom. 10:9, emphasis added). The lordship of Christ is clearly at the heart of true saving faith.
Nevertheless, many influential voices in contemporary evangelicalism are preaching with great fervor that we should not tell unbelievers they must yield to Christ as Lord. His lordship has nothing to do with the gospel, they claim. They make the preposterous allegation that calling the unsaved to surrender to Christ is tantamount to preaching salvation by works.
The Bible is clear. This is the gospel our Lord sends us forth to proclaim: That Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate, humbled himself to die on our behalf. Thus he became the sinless sacrifice to pay the penalty of our guilt. He rose from the dead to declare with power that he is Lord over all, and he offers eternal life freely to sinners who will surrender to him in humble, repentant faith. This gospel promises nothing to the haughty rebel, but for broken, penitent sinners, it graciously offers everything that pertains to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
For further study on this vital topic, check out these resources:
The Gospel According to Jesus—softcover book
The Gospel According to the Apostles—book (currently out of print)
Hard to Believe—hardcover book or audio series
Thanks much.
Software I have now seems to have caught them and removed them. But it wouldn't hurt to have yet the umpteenth full scan by yet another package?
Appreciate your helpfulness.
Blessings,
Many of them believe they will be the ones to evangelize the Middle East, as reported in this book.
Jesus referred to some of the "sheep" as LAMBS - indicating they were young in knowledge or experience - but he also told his disciples - FEED MY SHEEP.
The "flock" was the believers .. and it had nothing to do with the amount of knowledge the believers have.
Yes, some believers are lazy. But .. I never call other believers "stupid" - because if they are at least born-again, the potential is there - they just don't know it.
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