JANUARY 2005
Barna’s Annual Review of Significant Religious Findings Offers
Encouragement and Challenges
December 21, 2004
(
Reflecting
on the more than 10,000 interviews his firm completed during 2004, Barna
identified some of the outcomes he felt were most noteworthy. Those facts were
divided into four types: the most encouraging outcomes, the most surprising
findings, the most disappointing revelations, and the most significant challenges.
In a
year when the presidential election focused the spotlight on people’s faith,
various Barna studies gave reasons to be encouraged about the faith of
Americans. He offered these ten outcomes as particularly hopeful signs.
1) Most
Americans want their faith in Christ to be reflected in public symbols and
language, as evident in public places and policies. Consequently, they support
retaining statements such as In God We Trust and One Nation Under God, displays of the Ten Commandments, and
teaching creationism in schools.
2) A large majority of adults reject the idea of active
homosexuals being ordained or retained within the clergy.
3) Most Americans – nearly two-thirds of them – continue
to give significant amounts of money to churches and houses of worship. Not
only did the dollar amount of donations rise, but about three out of every four
dollars contributed to a non-profit entity was given to a church last year.
4) Born
again Christians played a huge role in the outcome of the presidential
election. They not only turned out in record numbers – they were a majority of
the voters participating on election day – but their
solidarity provided President Bush with the margin he needed for re-election.
5)
Despite numerous economic, political and social challenges, African-Americans
remain firmly committed to their Christian faith. They were more likely than
people from white, Hispanic or Asian backgrounds to exhibit evidence of
Christian practice and Christian belief.
6)
Thanks to the continued growth of the nation’s population, an estimated 22
million adults have been added to the numbers of churched individuals in the
7) The
number of adults involved in small groups has jumped from 12% to 20% since
1994.
8)
9)
Evangelicals stepped up and blended their faith with political action this
year. Not only were they boldly in favor of seeing evidence of their faith in
all walks of American life, but their unified presence during the election was
a key to the outcome.
10)
Half of all born again adults have endeavored to share their faith in Christ
with a non-believer in the past year. Although a large share
of those efforts are indirect – such as “lifestyle evangelism” – and few
believers are aware of anyone accepting Christ as a result of their efforts,
there is a veritable army of Christians who understand and accept the
importance of bringing the good news to the world.
Barna
indicated that based on the comments he has received from people in response to
various findings this year, he selected some survey results that were most
likely to surprise people.
1)
Hundreds of thousands of Americans embrace Jesus Christ as their Savior for the
first time in any given year. However, only 7% of those are likely to do so in
direct response to the outreach efforts of a minister, whether it be through preaching, teaching, or a more personal form of
interaction.
2)
Although the West is often maligned as a spiritually bankrupt region, it is the
area of the nation that has experienced the greatest increases in Bible
reading, church attendance and small group participation in the past decade.
3) Baby
Busters and Mosaics – i.e., people from the two youngest generations, under the
age of 40 – are renowned for the emphasis they place upon the importance of
personal relationships. How-ever, when asked to identify the most satisfying
element of their spiritual life, these people were the least likely to mention
their relationships with other believers.
4) Mel
Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ, was a stunning film that
generated hundreds of millions of dollars and attracted millions of viewers.
However, despite its undeniable emotional and spiritual force, few people
accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior as a result of watching that movie; few changed
any of their religious beliefs or practices as a result; and less than one-half
of one percent of the audience said the movie motivated them to be more active
in evangelism.
5) For
many years, the long-term commitment to Christ by people who were saved as
children has been questioned. A national survey revealed, however, that people
who embrace Christ before the age of 13 are more likely to remain absolutely
committed to Christ in their adult years than are people who accept Christ in
their teenage or adult years.
6)
Churches and para-church ministries have made divorce a widely discussed matter
in the past two decades. Yet, a majority of born again adults do not believe
that divorce is a sin (excluding cases in which adultery is involved).
7)
Public opinion was evenly divided on the Federal Marriage Amendment. The
underpinning of this division was the notion that there is no moral truth on
which to base such a law, and therefore people ought to be free to make their
moral choices without legal intervention.
8)
Two-thirds of all evangelicals support a constitutional amendment to establish
Christianity as the official religion of the
9) For
the typical adult in
10)
Adherents of non-Christian faiths are twice as likely as born again Christians
to engage in fasting for religious purposes.
Faith
provides people with hope. Unfortunately, not all of the signs regarding the
faith of Americans and the state of their churches are hopeful.
1) Born
again adults who have been married are just as likely as non-born-again adults
who have been married to eventually become divorced. Because the vast majority
of born again marriages occurred after the partners had accepted Christ as
their Savior, it appears that their connection to Christ makes less difference
in the durability of people’s marriages than many people might expect.
2)
Faith has had a limited affect on people’s behavior, whether related to moral
convictions and practices, relational activities, lifestyle choices or economic
practices. Evangelical Christians, who are just 7% of the national population
and less than 10% of those who consider themselves to be Christian, are the
exception.
3) The
sources of people’s greatest spiritual fulfillment are relatively bland in
nature. Elements that reflect more intense personal involvement in faith or a
relationship with Christ are among the least common sources of people’s
spiritual fulfillment.
4) Just
half of all Protestant Senior Pastors (51%) meet the criteria for having a
biblical worldview. The criteria are believing that God is the all-knowing and
all-powerful creator of the universe who still rules it today; that Jesus
Christ never sinned; that Satan is real; that salvation is received through
faith in Christ, not by good deeds; that every follower of Christ has a
responsibility to share their faith with non-believers; that the Bible is
accurate in all that it teaches; that absolute moral truth exists; and that
absolute moral truth is described in the Bible.
5) Most
adults admit that children do not get adequate spiritual and moral preparation
in life, yet there is no aggressive or strategic effort being made to alter
that unfortunate circumstance.
6) Only
8% of teenagers consider music piracy – defined as copying their CDs for
friends and making unauthorized downloads of music from the Internet – to be
morally wrong.
7) The
good news is that most born again Christians donate money to religious causes.
The bad news is that their generosity is limited. A mere 7% of born again
adults tithed last year.
8)
Churches are difficult to reach. Only 55% of Protestant churches provided
telephone callers with a human response to their call attempt after multiple
attempts made at different times of the day on a succession of days – during
the holiday season!
9) Born
again Christians and adults who attend Christian churches are more likely than
atheists, agnostics, and adherents of non-Christian faiths to buy lottery
tickets.
10)
There seems to be a consistent degree of attrition of men from the Christian
faith. The numbers of men who are unchurched is rising, while the numbers of
men who are “deeply spiritual” and those who possess an active faith (attend
church, pray and read the Bible during the week) is declining.
The
various studies conducted during 2004 also revealed various conditions that are
challenges to the Christian community for the days ahead.
1) Half
of all adults are so satisfied with their spiritual life that there is nothing
at all they wish to change or improve in the future. Another one-quarter listed
changes that were quite general or not personally challenging.
2)
Catholics lag significantly behind Protestants in most measures of spiritual
practice and belief. For example, Catholics are less likely to read the Bible,
contribute to their church, attend religious education classes, participate in
a small group for religious purposes, share their faith in Christ with others,
and volunteer at their church. They’re also less likely to be born again, to
believe that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life, to believe that Satan is real,
to contend that salvation is by faith alone, and to say that the Bible is
accurate in all that it teaches. Catholics are also less likely to have a
biblical worldview.
3) Most
evangelistic funding, events and programs emphasize reaching adults with the
gospel. However, two-thirds of all Americans who accept Jesus Christ as their
Savior do so before they reach the age of 18.
4) Most
Americans do not accept the notion that they are engaged in a spiritual battle.
This is fueled by the widespread rejection of the notion that Satan is real,
that salvation is by faith alone, and by the common acceptance of the idea that
there are multiple paths to salvation. This also partially explains why only
half of all self-described “Christians” are not “absolutely committed” to the
Christian faith.
5)
People who accept Christ as their savior when they are adults are less likely
to embrace biblical theology than are those who accept Christ when they are
children.
6) The
number of unchurched adults in the
7) Tithing
is pitifully uncommon. However, it is almost non-existent among people under
the age of 40.
8)
Female pastors are substantially different in their theological beliefs than
are male pastors. They tend to be much more liberal in their views, are less
likely to have a biblical worldview, are less likely to be born again, and more
likely to have been divorced.
9)
Asian-Americans are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the
10)
Four out of ten adults have seen a movie in the past two years that has caused
them to think more seriously about their faith. As the mass media and
customized media capture an increasing share of people’s attention, Christians
are challenged to figure out how to harness or address the power of such
communication vehicles for the advancement of Christianity.
The Future of the Christian
Church
Reacting
to what he jokingly called his company’s “annual greatest hits compilation,”
Barna stated that the research conducted during the past year shows that there
is still much to discover about the role of faith in people’s lives. “People’s
religious beliefs change very little, if at all, after the age of 12,” the
California-based researcher noted, “but the way in which they apply those
beliefs to their lifestyle and societal situations, and the degree to which
they allow their faith to affect their behavior, is constantly shifting.
Staying informed about the relation-ship between faith and lifestyle is a
never-ending process. Having some influence on the faith-related choices that
drive behaviors is similarly challenging.”
The
leader of The Barna Group also indicated that during 2005 his company will
study the newly-emerging forms of the Christian faith. “During this past year
we learned that there is a rapidly growing contingent of the population for
whom the typical forms of worship, faith formation, engagement and spiritual community
do not work well. This group is already multiple millions strong and is
developing and embracing new approaches to being the Church. Research we are
conducting related to this re-engineering of the Christian faith in American
society promises to be some of the most interesting work we have done to date.”
The
data described in this report are based on a nationwide telephone surveys
conducted throughout 2004 by The Barna Group. In each survey, a minimum of
1,000 adults were interviewed, providing a maximum margin of sampling error
associated with the aggregate sample of adults of ±3.2 percentage points at the
95% confidence level.
People
in the 48 continental states were eligible to be interviewed and the distribution
of those individuals coincided with the geographic dispersion of the
“Born
again Christians” were defined in these surveys as people who said they have
made “a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their
life today” and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go
to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ
as their Savior. Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as
“born again.” Being classified as “born again” is not dependent upon church or
denominational affiliation or involvement.
“Evangelicals”
are a subset of born again Christians in Barna surveys. In addition to meeting
the born again criteria, evangelicals also meet seven other conditions. Those
include saying their faith is very important in their life today; contending
that they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about
Christ with non-Christians; stating that Satan exists; maintaining that eternal
salvation is possible only through grace, not works; asserting that Jesus
Christ lived a sinless life on earth; saying that the Bible is totally accurate
in all it teaches; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect
deity who created the universe and still rules it today. Further, respondents
were not asked to describe themselves as “evangelical.” Being classified
as “evangelical” is not dependent upon any church or denominational affiliation
or involvement.
The
Barna Group, Ltd., and its research division (The Barna Research Group), is a
private-ly held, for-profit corporation that conducts
primary research, produces visual media and books, and facilitates the healthy
development of leaders, children, families and Christian ministries. Located in
(Printed by permission from The Barna Group, Ltd.)
Bach Not Always Appreciated
We know Johann Sebastian Bach to be
among the greatest musical masters of all time. But it was not so for his
contemporaries. The parishioners at
After his death, the music of Bach was seldom performed until
Felix Mendelssohn began a revival of appreciation that has lasted into our own
time. The people of Bach’s time simply did not appreciate his musical genius.
We Are All Watchers
We are all watchers but few of us are
seers. Many watched the birds fly, but it was the Wright brothers who saw that
their wings were curved on the upper surface, thus enabling us to fly, too.
Many had seen the lowly peanut plant, but Dr. George Washington Carver saw in
it a host of products and derivatives that have blessed our lives. Many
biologists had watched mold form in the culture dish, but Alexander Fleming saw
penicillin and an advance in human health resulted.
A religion that gives nothing, costs
nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.
The demand for absolute liberty brings
men to the depths of slavery.
True repentance hates the sin, and not
merely the penalty; and it hates the sin most of all because it has discovered
and felt God's love.
One critic said he had gone to many
churches and heard the preacher say, "Don't try to impress God with your
works" or "Don't attempt to please God with your merits" or
"Don't try to keep the rules and regulations and thus win your way."
He looked around at nearly slumbering collections of utterly casual Christians
and wondered, "Who's trying?”
A Christian Country
(The following is said
to be a true story, although with the proliferation of emails today, it’s often
hard to trace a story back to its source.)
A teacher in
On of them said that the GIs shouldn't be allowed to
celebrate Christmas. "It's a Muslim country," she said.
"But you're allowed to celebrate Ramadan
here," said the teacher.
"Well, yeah," came the reply. "This is a
country of nothing."
Just another symptom of the damage done by
the attempted removal of any-thing Christian from public life.
(This has been in the Olive
Branch before, but I ran across it recently and thought it appropriate to
include it again.)
There was a young woman who had been
diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So
as she was getting her things "in order," she contacted her pastor
and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes.
She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she
would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in.
Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to
leave when the young woman suddenly remembered some-thing very important to
her. "There's one more thing," she said excitedly.
"What's that?" came
the pastor's reply.
"This is very important," the young woman
continued. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand."
The pastor stood looking at the young woman, not knowing
quite what to say. "That surprises you, doesn't it?" the young woman
asked. "Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request" said the
pastor.
The young woman explained. "My grandmother once
told me this story, and from there on out, I have always tried to pass along
its message to those I love and those who are in need of encouragement.
'In all my years of attending church socials and potluck
dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being
cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork.' It was
my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming, like velvety
chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful,
and with substance!' So, I just want people to see me there in that
casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder "What's with the
fork?". Then I want you to tell them: "Keep
your fork ... the best is yet to come."
The pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he
hugged the young woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he
would see her before her death. But he also knew that the young woman had a
better grasp of heaven than he did. She had a better grasp of what heaven would
be like than many people twice her age, with twice as much experience and
knowledge. She KNEW that something better was coming.
At the funeral people were walking by the young woman's
casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and the fork placed in her
right hand.
Over and over, the pastor heard the question,
"What's with the fork?" And over and over he smiled.
During his message, the pastor told the people of the
conversation he had with the young woman shortly before she died. He also told
them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her.
The pastor told the people how he could not stop
thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to
stop thinking about it either. He was right.
So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it
remind you ever so gently, that for those who trust in the Lord Jesus, the best
is yet to come.
(from
Missionary Terry Schultz,
It took some time, but the truth
finally came out. Native church leader Maravid’s 16
yr. old daughter Gloria (the subject of last month’s Journal) did not encounter
her future husband Nilo as he was selling fruit in the open market in Yurimaguas. Apparently the family was too embarrassed to
tell Pastor Ronal and me the truth about Nilo’s dark
past.
About a year ago, Nilo was like many other young, unemployed
Peruvian men: At age 20, he had just completed his mandatory two-year’s service
in the Army. Now on the outside, Nilo found himself with no money, no
education, no contacts, and no leads. Directionless, not to mention virtually
morally rudderless, Nilo was in fact careening down a path towards eternal
hell. Of course, he didn’t realize it at
the time. Moreover, being stone cold broke, it’s no surprise that Nilo found
himself attracted to what is considered that most dangerous work of all in the
Peruvian Amazon jungle.
Now no doubt you’re immediately thinking Nilo got involved in
the drug trade. Wrong. The work Nilo
chose was way more dangerous than a few days or weeks of processing coca leaves
or humping the product down late night jungle paths or rivers to the Colombian
border. And, Nilo’s work paid some pretty good
upfront money. What work could Nilo find that would be more dangerous
than the drug trade? Nilo easily entered the clandestine world of
smuggling rare tropical hardwood timber from deep in the rainforest to the
central river towns. From the following description, judge for yourself if one could find a more dangerous way to make a
living.
Now there are several steps involved in getting huge amounts of
rainforest wood (including cedar and mahogany) out of the deep jungle and on to
the riverport towns. First, one or two men are
sent by motorboat deep into the jungle to search for the rare, valuable
trees. This is getting harder all the time, as the trees closest to the
rivers have all been taken already However, as
the immense
The individual who organizes an illegal harvesting project,
(we’ll call him “the Owner” since he is the one who owns one or two huge
chainsaws) needs to assemble two separate teams. The first team of 5 or 6
men is the “cortadoras de
Beyond the rice and beans and occasionally sweetened water, the
men will have nothing to eat for months but the animals they shoot, the fish
they catch, and the fruits they forage. Without animals, fish, or fruit,
it can be days and days of nothing but rice and beans. However, as they are so
deep in the jungle, animals are usually plentiful. In fact, these work crews
are contributing not only to the extinction of rainforest trees but also
rainforest monkeys, for the men will chow on just about anything that moves,
including monkey, deer, tapir, sloth, anteater, even rodents will be a welcome
reprieve from the relentless rice and beans. After all, depending on how many
valuable trees have been found, the cutting crew may not come out of the jungle
for anywhere from one month to a year! All they can expect to be re-supplied
with are rice and beans, cartridges and bullets!
The cutters head down the crude, recently cut jungle path
through dense vegetation to the trees. Actually, it’s more like burrowing at
times as the trees, vines, and enormous plants arch over their heads, every
last leaf competing for sun. Finally the central tree-harvesting site is
reached. Crude lean-to type shelters are constructed, essentially consisting of
enormous palm tree fronds placed standing up under a tree and bent over to form
a simple roof. The mosquito nets are hung under this. There are actually no
walls around the mosquito nets. Fronds are laid on the ground to get up off the
moist jungle floor and to avoid some of the Amazon-size ants. This will be home
for many months.
With no repellent, and insects at night as thick as a black
sandstorm, the men are nearly eaten alive night after night. The next day, the
sun-up to sundown tree cutting begins. Fishing and hunting is done at dawn or
dusk. All this backbreaking work and jungle survival living will net each man
about a hundred bucks a month. How much pay per day that breaks down to the men
don’t even want to know.
Meanwhile, as the cutters are chainsawing
to extinction immense rainforest trees, the Owner is back in Yurimaguas recruiting the “cargadoras”
– (carriers). This is where Nilo comes in. The Owner man saw in Nelo exactly what he needed: Being fresh out of the army,
Nilo was in great shape and had tons of endurance. And, as mentioned earlier,
with no job and no money, the upfront offer of $100 cash would be virtually
impossible to resist, regardless of the impending risks. Nilo and 5 other
young men, who soon found themselves on a boat off to the deep jungle,
certainly weren’t naive regarding what could happen to them. Every one of
them would have known about the many men who went off to the illegal
wood-harvesting sites and were never seen or heard of again.
Nilo and the 5 other carriers were dropped off at the river bank
nearest the tree cutting site, with the predictable bags of rice and beans for
their food for several weeks. Hopefully the cutters would share a little meat
with them. They could also fish themselves. Off the 6 young men went, like a
line of baleful but determined burros, resigned to their fate. Only the
promise of an additional hundred dollars apiece when the wood was brought to
market would keep them going.
So by now you may be wondering, how does
dragging big slabs of rainforest wood down to the river make this the
most dangerous work in all the jungle? Consider:
First of all, there’s the malaria. It is such a virulent strain
deep in the jungle that the men easily die from it. Besides their having
no money to pay for treatment, no boat comes by but once a month. By then it is
too late. Same thing if you receive a deadly snakebite. You are simply a
goner.
And then, there’s the work itself. The carriers are
expected to place one end of the wood on their shoulders and drag the slabs
out. The rough-cut wood can weigh up to 160 pounds! (Remember, the wood is
freshly cut, has not dried, and in fact is usually soaked from the rainforest
downpours.) The young men’s shoulders get rubbed bloody raw. They say
that eventually the skin on their shoulders becomes as tough as leather, then
hardens even more till it is “like the shell of a tortuga”
(tortoise). Meanwhile, after weeks of absolutely tortuous Herculean effort,
dragging the enormous slabs up and down hilly jungle paths, crossing creeks,
stepping on animal holes or tripping on roots and falling down, their knees
become irreparably damaged.
And finally, there’s the problems everyone has with their
feet. Remember when Lt. Dan tells Forrest Gump the most important thing
is to keep your feet dry? He knew what he was talking about! The carriers all
wear knee-high, air-tight black rubber boots, for sloshing through the creeks
and swampy areas. The durable rubber also protects somewhat against snake
bites. However, feet are soon rubbed raw in boots filled with swamp water,
sweat and dirt. Worse yet, the black boots absorb the tropical sun until,
they say, it feels like their feet were trapped in ovens! The carriers’
feet sometimes do not dry out literally for days. Invariably their feet
become seriously infected, but they trudge on through muck both inside and
outside their boots. There are no creams, pills, or treatments whatsoever, and
the growing, raging infection eventually spreads throughout their bodies.
After malaria, more young men die on the wood crews from untreated infected
feet than anything else!
That is of course, if you don’t end up getting shot. The
final dangerous hand to be played in this whole illegal travesty of a project
is the exchange of money. It’s of course much higher stakes for the
cutters than the carriers. Imagine for example, the attitude of half a
dozen tough men who’ve been away from family and home on a 4-month project,
doing back-breaking work in unrelenting heat and insects. Each man is in
line to receive 1,500 soles, a little over $400 each. (Considering that a
normal jungle farmer makes perhaps 200 soles a month, we’re talking about a
single payday of over half a year’s average jungle wages.) Then again,
with 6 cutters waiting to be paid, plus a hundred for each of the carriers, the
Owner is looking at some very serious green. Both sides,
employees and employer know how much money is coming, so the stage is set for
the final meeting – or it would be more accurate to say, the final showdown.
The cutters are to be paid before they leave the work site. A
couple of the Owner’s assistants must deliver the over $2,400 in cash.
Essentially, it’s a rendezvous of all bad guys in the middle of the jungle with
a big bag of money involved. Like a scene from the O.K. corral, the two
groups meet each other with guns ready and loaded. It’s an incredible
moment that’s been played out over and over again in the Amazon.
As the cutter’s hard work is all done and the wood is ready, the
Owner and his assistants may have already plotted to simply gun down the entire
cutting crew and keep the money for themselves. Shootouts are not
infrequent, resulting in a hail of bullets. Those left standing get the
bag of money. If the shootout doesn’t occur at the time the money is
being handed over to the cutters (who have the most people and guns) it could
occur at any time. Cutters have been shot in their sleep, or picked off while
making that final walk to the outboard that would take them home. It is
nothing but simple, mass murder. Sounds too incredible
to believe, simply shooting 6 men in cold blood? Consider the reality
here:
Number one, you’re out in the middle of nowhere, days and days
from anyone. Even if someone were to hear the sound of gunshots, it would
not raise any suspicion. It would simply sound like someone was out
hunting. Secondly, the victims would all be poor, unknown laborers of no import
to anyone outside of their families. Their bodies would never be found.
It would be said that they died from malaria, snakes, or infection. And
finally, the nearest police authorities (probably days away) would not take the
least bit of interest in trudging for days through the hot, insect-ridden
jungle trying to investigate a crime. In the end, what happens is the cutters
never come home and no one says whether it was the snakes, malaria, or bullets
that did them in. The fact is, the wives know when their husbands leave
on a wood harvesting project, they may never return.
Back to Nilo and the cargadoras.
Since less money is involved with them, they are less likely to get shot, -
provided they don’t stick their noses in the business between the cutters and
the Owner’s assistants. However, Nilo and his fellow workers will be
fortunate to see a dime of the promised second hundred dollars. That
second hundred is to be paid after they ride the huge slabs of wood, lashed
together barge-like, into Yurimaguas and the wood is
sold to a factory. However, the sale to the sawmill
supposedly isn’t finalized for weeks and weeks, or the wood doesn’t bring as
good a price as the Owner expected. Nilo and half the cargadoras
will be lucky to see an extra $20 for their work in which they risked malaria, snakes,
deadly infection, and permanently injured knees. If the Owner thinks he may use
a few of them again, they might get $50.
Incidentally, you may be wondering, if all this rainforest tree
cutting is illegal, how do you secretly bring this huge quantity or wood
downriver without getting caught? Simple! There is nothing secret about it at
all!
With so much profit in the wood, there is plenty of money to pay
off the local police and judges that are passed along the way. In Yurimaguas, a local television reporter is also paid off to
not film and report on the huge barges of wood that arrive at the dock.
A slight amount of discretion is exercised from here on in. The
floating wood slabs arrive at the Yuri dock in the middle of the night.
Huge trucks are waiting to transport the valuable wood to a
sawmill just outside of town. As I say, it’s all just a little
discreet. After all, how do you hide a big sawmill? Everyone of course
knows it’s there just outside of town.
All the sawing is also done at night, as the enormous rough
slabs of wood are cut into manageable planks. Again, we have a member who
used to work at the sawmill. This is also dangerous
work, as the men working the huge saws usually start around 9:00 or 10:00 at
night (depending on how much wood has come in) and work until 4:00 or 5:00 in
the morning. How do you stay extremely alert all night long running the
dangerous saws? The men start the night with a special drink in a very
tall glass. The glass is half filled with thick black coffee and half
filled with coke. By 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, a second glass, this
time half filled with milk and half filled with coke is drunk. Apparently
no one has trouble staying alert all night!
Such was the bizarre world of the illegal wood trade that Nilo
had entered. It was while passing through the Chayahuita
Maravid and Gloria
are not shy about declaring their faith in Jesus. By the testimony of the
diminutive native girl and her father, the Holy Spirit went to work on Nilo’s heart. To the extreme joy of all of us, the
former soldiering, wood-smug-gling, hard living Nilo
was brought to repentance and faith. He announced that he would marry
Gloria and move to Parinari, which he did.
Now Maravid feels like he has a new
son. They built a thatch-roof house for Gloria less than 5 minutes from Maravid’s home. Maravid and Nilo
enjoy staying out in the jungle all night hunting and fishing together.
Gloria and Nilo were soon blessed with a beautiful child. Nilo now throws
his arms around me when I see him about once a month and tells me what an
unbelievably blessed life he is now living. He even started coming to Tarapoto to study with us to become a church leader!
As for me, I have one enduring image of Nilo that sums it all
up, how he traded his tough, immoral life in the illegal wood trade for a new
life with his Savior. In Parinari, I see this
image while I’m waiting in the morning for church to start at the little
wall-less, thatch-roof church that Maravid, Nilo, and
the congregation recently built right outside the village.
Nilo comes up over this little ridge right before the church,
smiling broadly. On his muscular shoulders he’s carrying two long, heavy,
wooden benches like they were nothing but 8 ft. stalks of celery. That
image says it all: Once a lost soul hauling illegal wood on his back,
Nilo now carries church pews to Sunday church. He sits down with his new
wife and child and hears that he has become a child of God through faith. It is
all nothing less than incredible.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble
of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my
burden is light.” Mat. 11:28-30.
A Prayer For Friends Of
(The following poem was
written by Wendy Liesener, who with her husband,
Pastor Tom Liesener, is in
There
is a great big land,
More than a billion strong.
But a black cloud of darkness,
Hangs heavy on this throng.
The
people there are dying,
Not knowing who's the Light.
They stumble with confusion,
The Truth evades their sight.
But
Lord, we know You're working,
A hunger has begun.
Some hearts are set on pilgrimage,
They're looking for the Son.
Their
faith is like a candle,
That burns within their souls,
An igniting passion,
A consuming flame that grows.
Dear
Jesus send more workers,
The harvest cannot wait!
May we "work while it is day",
Before it is too late!
Missionaries
for You,
Loving all the lost.
Hearts that have a burden,
Not counting the cost.
Continue
Your blessings,
On Friends of China, Lord.
Give them Your vision.
Your love and grace out poured,
Upon
this group of workers,
At home and faraway,
Discipling the nations,
With love, for You, we pray.
To My Dear Family At
I cannot thank you enough for granting
me the Koch Scholarship. I am working hard at
It’s amazing how fast this semester has gone. Finals week is next week already!! I ask you to keep me in your prayers (Hebrew
is TOUGH!!), and I thank you again!
Have a great Christmas and a blessed New Year!
13th
Saturday, March 12, 2005 marks the
date of this year’s annual Silent and Live Auction at
Donations are being accepted now for this year’s auction
and the donation deadline will be mid-February so that the Live Auction catalog
can be completed prior to the Friday night preview on March 11th.
(The catalog author is especially grateful for this extra time, as she often is
finishing the catalog the afternoon of the preview.)
If you would like to donate to the auction and help to
support “your” high school, please see either Lee or Linda Petersen or Mae
Schmidt as soon as possible, or give one of us a call (or e-mail Linda at lkp@cnaengineers.com). Some suggestions for the
auction are:
Any new item that has to do with Cabin Fever
(this years auction theme)
Lanterns
Sleeping Bags
Décor
Fishing gear, hunting items, cross country skiing, snow shoeing,
etc.
Any new item that has nothing to do with this year’s
theme.
The sky’s the limit here! Cookware, tabletop décor, toys, outdoor
living, indoor furnishings, sports gear, gift certificates for spas-hair
salons-restaurants-grocery or other stores-vacation rentals-limousine
rentals-pet care-tickets for sports or theater events-art work (or money to
purchase art work at wholesale prices)-services of almost any
type-tools-etc.-etc.-etc.
Antiques or collectibles that you can
authenticate or value. We love to have your wonderful
antiques and collectibles, but our volunteer auction committee members do not
have the time (or the knowledge in most cases) to find values for items of this
type. If you have an antique or collectible, in very good condition,
that you would like to donate please try to authenticate its value,
origin, or whatever you possibly can so that we can get the most value from
your item.
Used items in very good condition (except for clothing,
bikes, large appliances, and most upholstered furniture) will also be accepted
pending a review by an auction committee member. Once again, we do not have the
volunteer staff available to go through all of the used items donated once they
arrive at the school. Therefore, we will need to restrict this type of donation
this year.
There will be bulletin inserts and posters coming your
way in the near future. These will give more information on the auction, as
well as time, place, etc.
Please be sure to speak with either
Lee or Linda Petersen (or Victoria, this year’s Live Auction Set-Up
Chair), or Mae Schmidt if you have any questions about the auction or
donations.
Thank you!
L, L, V, and M,
Your 2005
Women’s Guild Update
It is with joy and anticipation that we look forward to the New Year, 2005.
We look forward to this year assisting in the hostessing of the
National Women's Missionary Convention to be held in
As in previous years we have sent Contact Ladies,
or Representatives to the St. Croix Circuit LWMS Rallies, the MLC Auxiliary
meeting, the Lutheran Home in Belle Plaine, and
Christian Life Ministries. Members also volunteer at the
Our financial support the past year was given to the Martin
Luther College Auxiliary, African Medical Mission,
In spite of our diminished membership due to health and older
age we hope to continue our organization in service to our congregation and in
the church at large and it's charities and
institutions.
We invite all lady members of our congregation to visit or join
us. Our simple luncheons served by our hostesses are delicious and full of
fellowship and friendliness. The hour of Bible study led by the pastor is
casual, spirited and full of questions and answers. Our business meeting is
kept short, is casual, and held just long enough to take care of the business
and hear some reports. Please think about joining us. You will receive a warm
and friendly welcome and make new friendships.
Officers for the coming year are:
President: Marcella
Voss
Vice President: Rita Kruschwitz
Secretary: Berdella Cooper
Treasurer: Marlene Struwe
East Fork To Remain Open For Another
Semester
(Thank
you, members of
Dear Pastor,
The
greatest gift ever given was the gift of the long promised Messiah to redeem us
from all of our sins; the greatest gift we can ever give is to share that
good news!
“For my Father’s will is that everyone who
looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise
him up at the last day.” John 6:40
We
recently came face to face with the prospect of closing our High School. Thanks to you and other Christians around the
world who responded out of Christian love, the High School at East Fork will
remain open for our second semester!
Thank
you for helping us share the Gospel with our Lord’s
Apache people. Your prayers and support, motivated by faith and love for your
Savior, enables us to teach Apache youth about Jesus Christ every single day of
the school year. No longer do they need
to be tossed about on angry waves in a sea of despair. Most of our students
live in a climate surrounded by drug/alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy, suicide,
poverty and often hopelessness.
At
“…but those who hope in the Lord will renew
their strength, they will soar on wings like eagles.” Isaiah 40:31
Please
know that through your prayers and support of
Ash Wednesday, which marks the
beginning of Lent, is February 9th, 2005. Our Lenten Worship Services will be held each
Wednesday evening, begin at 6:30pm.
Pastors Henkel, Meier, and Ponath will lead
the services. We look forward to the
opportunity to once again journey with Jesus to the cross as He reveals His
amazing love and grace.
As in past years, each Wednesday service will b preceded
by a Lenten Supper served by our Limbs.
You are encouraged to keep the menus simple. Serving time is 5:30 pm and
everyone should be out of the kitchen when church starts at 6:30 pm. You can
finish cleaning after church.
The Limb Supper schedule is as follows:
February
16, 2005 - Palm Limb
February
23, 2005 - 0ak Limb
March
2, 2005 - Cedar Limb
March
9, 2005 - Pine Limb
March
16, 2005 - Sycamore Limb
Thank you in advance for your help in serving the meals
and your eagerness to worship at the foot of the cross during the Lenten
season.
Sunday School News and Notes
Happy 2005!
Sunday School resumes on
January 2nd. We will continue our study of the Life of Jesus. We
will be having group lesson presentations as before. It is our hope that the
Mount Olive Players will present more lessons as plays during the second half
of our Sunday School year. The children enjoy seeing
the lessons come to life so to speak.
We will be singing in church in the next few months.
Watch your Parent Page for more details.
Our annual Mt. Olive Minute is coming up in the near
future. We will once again have the children singing in church and a Sunday School open house followed by a potluck dinner and the
running of the Minute. Watch the News and Notes as well as the Parent Page for
dates and times.
I want to thank all the families that remembered me and
the other teachers at Christmas time. Your thoughtfulness is always
appreciated. Thank-you so much!!
Linda Henkel,
Sunday School Superintendent
Outreach Witness Training Opportunities
The Outreach Committee is excited to
provide witness training opportunities twice a month to enable all who would
like a non-threatening, supportive environment to learn how to better share
one’s faith.
Twice a month – on the first Thursday and third Monday
at 7 PM at the church there will be opportunities to learn and practice sharing
your faith in various situations. Normally we will meet in the Fireside Room.
We will study examples of how others have effectively
witnessed, and also practice witnessing amongst ourselves. By providing two
separate times during the month, it is hoped that many individuals will be able
to fit this opportunity into their schedule.
The first training session is Thursday, January 6. We hope to see you there.
A Note From
As some of you may have noticed, part
of the lower hallway has been scrubbed and polished. Unfortunately this was
more time and labor consuming than I had first expected and I could only get
part of it done. It would go much faster if there were a group of people who
would be willing to donate part of their Saturday to get it done. I would like
to work on it again January 8, starting around 9:00am. If you would be able to help, I would greatly
appreciate it. Please call me 651-488-5185.
Treasurer’s Report
All commitments are current thru
November!
|
November, 2004 |
|
|
|
|
|
Receipts |
|
|
Contributions |
$10,191 |
|
Interest,
Rent |
940 |
|
Other |
1,633 |
|
Total Receipts |
12,764 |
|
|
|
|
Disbursements |
|
|
Synod Support |
$1,036 |
|
Adult Education |
155 |
|
Children Education |
1,682 |
|
Youth Education |
680 |
|
Worship |
221 |
|
Outreach |
135 |
|
Personnel |
6,964 |