DID YOU KNOW?

Being 'at home' in our churches, we often fail to understand the impact of the radical changes taking place in worldwide Christianity today. God really is doing something different! As people, primarily in Western denominational churches, fail to respond to today's challenges, God doesn't just throw up His hands in despair, but as He has throughout the ages, seeks new groups of people who will respond to His wishes. This has resulted in major changes within the worldwide 'church'.

1. GROWTH OF INDEPENDENT CHURCHES
There are now 39,000 'denominations' ranging in size from millions of members to just 100's. But the most striking and accelerating development in recent times has been the rapid growth of independent, non-denominational churches, now accounting for 20% of all Christians. This will soon be larger than all the protestant denominations combined! The current 2005 status of the different groupings is:

Roman Catholics...119 million
Independents......427 million
Protestants.......376 million
Orthodox..........220 million
Anglicans..........80 million
Marginal...........34 million
Statistics Source: World Christian Trends 2005

This trend is particularly noticeable when travelling throughout Africa and Asia, which along with South America, comprise the major current Christian growth areas. Thousands upon thousands of churches have sprung up, generally community based, owing no allegiance to any denomination. They may be loosely associated with one another, or may have few links with others. This has resulted in a shift of Christianity's population base from the European North to the Asian/African/South American South.

This rapidly multiplying organism seems not to be organised, to man's understanding, that is. The fellowships are generally small, with some notable exceptions. Lacking in resources and training, they have little spiritual oversight outside their own body. All things that we, in the West, consider essential for successful church growth. Yet they are defying the odds, and within the next few years will come into the majority within Protestantism.

A study done in the US throws a light on one of the reasons behind this. For the newer the church, the more effective it is in leading people to Christ. The Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, USA, found that statistically, there is a high correlation between the age of a church and its effectiveness in winning souls for the Lord. The age of the church is related to the number of Christians necessary to lead one person to Christ.

Over 10 years old.......85 Christians
4-7 years old...............7 Christians
Less than 3 years old.......3 Christians

So the more momentum a movement generates, the more new churches that are set up, the faster the 'movement'(if you can call independent churches a movement!)is likely to grow.

2. THE 'COLOURING' OF THE CHURCH
The church has moved from being dominated by those of European descent to those with natural suntans!

*** In 1900 81% of the church worldwide was white.
*** In 2005 this had dropped to 43%.
Statistics Source: World Christian Trends 2005

Non-whites moved into the majority during the early 1980's.

One effect of this change can be seen in the Anglican Church's debate on homosexual priests. African and Asian representatives, now representing a large majority of church membership, 'flexed their muscles' against acceptance, contrary to the wishes of the US, and likely the English, branches of the church.

Now too, we are seeing many missionaries coming from traditional mission fields to the new mission fields of the West!

We need to understand what God is doing. He is taking those of a submissive heart, wherever they might live, and using them to further His kingdom. Whether He uses you or me, depends upon our obedience, irrespective of creed or colour. We simply need to be available to do His will.

But Lord, once I am financially secure I will serve you! Been there, done that! Doesn't work! How sad, too bad, Your Dad!

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FROM THE WORD

THE COST OF FOLLOWING JESUS
"When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” " (Matthew 8:18-22)

"Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
(Hebrews 4:7-13)

"Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” " (Revelation 3:19-22)

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DAVID'S DOODLINGS

27. Our most dearly held beliefs often inhibit God’s further revelation to us.

32. To believe in God is good, to hear from God is great, but to obey God reaps the ultimate reward.

33. A man’s wisdom is based upon experience, but God’s wisdom comes through revelation.

48. Our highest call is to be the ‘Living Word.’

95. He who has suffered the greatest rejection, most appreciates the comfort of God’s acceptance.

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TUESDAY TEACHINGS

THIS WEEK:THE PROPHETIC FEASTS OF THE LORD - Series 1 - THE SPRING FEASTS
Part 3 of 7

The relationship between the 'form' of the Feast of Passover and the 'fulfilment' of what Jesus did for you and for me on the Cross never ceases to amaze me.

This week we will continue to look at a further 12 ways in which the pattern of Passover was revealed that precious day on Calvary's hill. I trust it will be as faith building for you as it is for me.

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Previous teachings on this subject, the First Miracle of Jesus, the Book of Ruth, God's Character and Servanthood and Leadership, the Parable of the Sower, The Two Marathoners and The 3 Rivers of God can be viewed at...

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LAUGHING AT OURSELVES

***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused***

*** "Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others." ***

349. PIOUS CHRISTIAN
Once there was a Christian, he had a pious look
His consecration was complete except his pocketbook.
He'd go to Church and give his dollar and meekly close his eyes,
So glad his weekly rent was paid for his mansion in the skies.

348. SUCCESS WITH MATHS
A ten year old boy was failing math. His parents tried everything from tutors to hypnosis, but to no avail. Finally, at the insistence of a family friend, they decided to enrol their son in a private Catholic school.

After the first day, the boy's parents were surprised when he walked in after school with a stern, focused and very determined expression on his face, and went right past them straight to his room, where he quietly closed the door.

For nearly two hours he toiled away in his room - with math books strewn about his desk and the surrounding floor. He emerged long enough to eat, and after quickly cleaning his plate, went straight back to his room, closed the door, and worked feverishly at his studies until bedtime.

This pattern continued ceaselessly until it was time for the first quarter report card.
The boy walked in with his report card - unopened - laid it on the dinner table and went straight to his room. Cautiously, his mother opened it, and to her amazement, she saw a bright red "A" under the subject of MATHS.

Overjoyed, she and her husband rushed into their son's room, thrilled at his remarkable progress. "Was it the nuns that did it?", the father asked.

The boy only shook his head and said, "No."

"Was it the one-on-one tutoring? The peer-mentoring?"

"No."

"The textbooks? The teachers? The curriculum?"

"Nope," said the son. "On that first day, when I walked in the front door and saw that guy they nailed to the 'plus sign,' I just knew they meant business!"

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FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Are Barbie and Ken brother and sister?

ANSWER: Well, sort of. The Barbie doll was named after Barbie Handler, the daughter of Ruth Handler, who conceived of the doll. Ruth noticed that her daughter liked to play with adult paper dolls far more than her baby dolls. So she designed an adult doll that little girls could dress in different fashions. She based "Barbie" in part on an already-existing European doll, called "Bild Lili." The Lili doll was itself based on a rather lewd 1952 Bild Lili cartoon from Germany. Later, Ruth Handler also created a male doll to sell alongside Barbie, naming it after her son, Ken. Barbie's full name, for what it's worth, is Barbie Millicent Roberts.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: How many muscles does the caterpillar have?

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS
702. THIRTEEN TIMES DAILY
The average person laughs 13 times a day! (More reading this – I trust!)

703. A. . I. O. U.
Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a novel, "Gadsby", which contains over 50,000 words -- none of them with the letter E! (How could Wright do that?)

704. THE ULTIMATE ENVIRONMENTALISTS
It is believed that millions of trees in the world are accidentally planted by squirrels who bury nuts and then forget where they hid them! (Can’t see the forest for the squirrel food.)

A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU
Make another word from this word using all the letters.

WRITHES

Answer at the end of A David Musing

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BE INSPIRED WITH A MESSAGE FROM INSPIRATIONAL TAPES

In conjunction with Inspirational Tapes
inspirational.org.nz we are pleased to offer you the opportunity to download the following message in MP3 format, free of charge. Inspirational Tapes offers a range of over 4,000 Audio Cassette Tapes, CD's and Videos to members worldwide, for hire, download or purchase.

This week's free download is...

WHERE ARE YOU AT SPIRITUALLY?

By: Greg Laurie

The senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, Greg Laurie began his pastoral ministry at age 19 by leading a Bible study of 30 people. Since then, God has transformed that small group into a church of some 15,000 people. Today, Harvest is one of the eight largest churches in America, as well as the third largest in California.

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DO YOU KNOW? (The Death & Resurrection of Jesus)

At what hour during the crucifixion did darkness cover the earth?

??? The third hour
??? The sixth hour
??? The ninth hour
??? None of the above

Answer at the end of A DAVID MUSING.

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EMPIRICAL FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY

Drawn from "World Christian Trends", a collection of trends and observations of global Christianity published by American missions statistician Prof. David Barrett and Todd Johnson. (sourced from ICOF) Here are some excerpts:

1. Every year the churches hold a megacensus costing $1.1 billion, sending out 10 million questionnaires in 3,000 languages, which covers 180 major religious subjects.
2. At a steady rate over the last 20 centuries, and in all 238 countries, 70 million Christians have been martyred - killed, executed, murdered - for Christ.
3. The 5 most dangerous of all Christian vocations (over 3% murder rates) are: bishops, evangelists, catechists, colporteurs, foreign missionaries.
4. Books primarily about Jesus in today’s libraries number 175,000 different titles in 500 languages, increasing by 4 newly published every day.
5. Emboldened by lax procedures, trusted church treasurers are embezzling each year $16 billion out of church funds, but only 5% ever get found out.
6. Christians spend more on the annual audits of their churches and agencies ($810 million) than on all their workers in the non-Christian world.
7. The total cost of Christian outreach averages $330,000 for each and every newly baptized person.
8. Despite Christ’s command to evangelize, 67% of all humans from AD 30 to the present day have never even heard of his name.
9. 648 million Christians today (called Great Commission Christians)are active in Christ’s world mission; 1,352 million Christians ignore this mission.
10. Every person in the world belongs to, on average, 10 distinct and separate (and often conflicting) religions.

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PUNY PUNS!

PROHIBITED!
The famous Olympic skier Picabo Street (pronounced Peek-A-Boo) is not just an athlete....she is a nurse currently working at the Intensive Care Unit of a large metropolitan hospital.

She is not permitted to answer the telephone. It caused too much confusion when she would answer the phone and say,
*
*
*
 Picabo, ICU.

VERY QUICK QUIPS!
- Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are in Seine.
- A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.
- Dijon vu - The same mustard as before.
- Vuja de - The feeling that what you are experiencing has never happened before.
- Shotgun wedding:? A case of wife or death.
- Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
- Reading while sunbathing makes you well red.
- When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.
- A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two-tyred.
- Definition of a will: A dead give away.
- In democracy your vote counts.? In feudalism your Count votes.
- She was engaged to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off.
- A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
- With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.
- When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.
- The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.
- You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.
- Local Area Network in Australia:? The LAN down under.
- Every calendar's days are numbered.
- A lot of money is tainted - It taint yours and it taint mine.
- A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.
- A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large.
- Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
- Once you've seen one shopping center, you've seen a mall.
- Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.
- Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
- Acupuncture is a jab well done.

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BIBLE BITS

After Solomon's death, somewhere between 930-925BC, political and religious differences soon shattered the kingdom built up by Kings David and Solomon. The 10 tribes in the north broke away from the 2 southern tribes, Judah and Benjamin ,to form Israel. This kingdom, along with Judah in the south, were eventually taken over by the rising power in the area, Babylon.

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TABERNACLE TO TABERNACLES

How the pattern of the first Church, The Tabernacle of Moses, has applied to the Church through the ages and predicts the Church to come. Particularly relevant to today's editorial.

Download it today, in PDF format, at...

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A DAVID MUSING

Time's short.
No report.
Bless you heaps,
As I sleeps!

So until next week...

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: WITHERS

TODAY'S 'DO YOU KNOW?'ANSWER: None of the above. "It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two." (Luke 23:44-5)

REPRODUCTION OF NEWSLETTER CONTENT

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DONATIONS

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ABOUT US

WALKING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES is a non-profit, non-denominational, Bible based ministry located in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand. A ministry dedicated to developing discipleship, fostering unity amongst God’s people to achieve the Great Commission, and in doing so, preparing for Christ’s return. It is securely based upon the foundational principles of the Apostles Creed while recognising the wide and rich diversity of beliefs amongst Christians in other areas. In accordance with the Lord’s direction, materials produced by the ministry are available, free of charge, to genuine enquirers upon request. The ministry is solely funded by donations, as the Lord provides. A list of materials available (plus some fun!) is obtainable and freely downloadable from our website
wwj.org.nz or by contacting us as follows.

Walking With Jesus Ministries
3 Hetley Crescent
Taradale
Napier 4001
New Zealand

Phone: (06) 8449-377 International (+64) 6 8449-377
Email: enquiries@wwj.org.nz
Web: wwj.org.nz

Our role is to bless and encourage those in ministry while promoting co-operation and unity of direction amongst the body of Christ, as emphasised 3 times by Jesus in His longest prayer, immediately prior to His arrest and crucifixion. "… so that they may be one as we are one." (John 17:12, 21, 23-4) Our website is currently being developed to encourage your participation one with another, to share resources, and to enable you to promote events and items of interest to the body as a whole – and have a smile while doing it!

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