Skillet Lead Singer: 'Stop Making Worship Leaders, Thought Leaders the Most Influential People in Christendom' - JENNY ROSE SPAUDO CHARISMA NEWS

John L. Cooper (Facebook/John L. Cooper)

Skillet Lead Singer: 'Stop Making Worship Leaders, Thought Leaders the Most Influential People in Christendom'

11:30AM EDT 8/14/2019 JENNY ROSE SPAUDO  CHARISMA NEW

In the past several weeks, two major Christian influencers announced publicly that their faith was not what it once was. I Kissed Dating Goodbye author and purity advocate Joshua Harris said he is no longer a Christian. And former Hillsong worship leader and songwriter Marty Sampson said his Christian faith is on "incredibly shaky ground."

As these well-known leaders move away from their faith, Skillet lead singer and songwriter John L. Cooper asks, "What is happening in Christianity?"

In a lengthy Facebook post, Cooper questions why these influencers are leaving the beliefs they once promoted so passionately. He also challenges believers to "STOP making worship leaders and thought leaders or influencers or cool people or 'relevant' people the most influential people in Christendom."

Read Cooper's post in its entirety below:

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Ok I'm saying it. Because it's too important not to. What is happening in Christianity? More and more of our outspoken leaders or influencers who were once "faces" of the faith are falling away. And at the same time they are being very vocal and bold about it. Shockingly they still want to influence others (for what purpose?) as they announce that they are leaving the faith. I'll state my conclusion, then I'll state some rebuttals to statements I've read by some of them. Firstly, I never judge people outside of my faith. Even if they hate religion or Christianity. That is not my place and I have many friends who disagree with my religion and that is 100% fine with me. However, when it comes to people within my faith, there must be a measure of loyalty and friendship and accountability to each other and the Word of God.

My conclusion for the church (all of us Christians): We must STOP making worship leaders and thought leaders or influencers or cool people or "relevant" people the most influential people in Christendom. (And yes that includes people like me!) I've been saying for 20 years (and seemed probably quite judgmental to some of my peers) that we are in a dangerous place when the church is looking to 20 year old worship singers as our source of truth. We now have a church culture that learns who God is from singing modern praise songs rather than from the teachings of the Word. I'm not being rude to my worship leader friends (many who would agree with me) in saying that singers and musicians are good at communicating emotion and feeling. We create a moment and a vehicle for God to speak. However, singers are not always the best people to write solid bible truth and doctrine. Sometimes we are too young, too ignorant of scripture, too unaware, or too unconcerned about the purity of scripture and the holiness of the God we are singing to. Have you ever considered the disrespect of singing songs to God that are untrue of His character?

I have a few specific thoughts and rebuttals to statements made by recently disavowed church influencers ... first of all, I am stunned that the seemingly most important thing for these leaders who have lost their faith is to make such a bold new stance. Basically saying, "I've been living and preaching boldly something for 20 years and led generations of people with my teachings and now I no longer believe it ... therefore I'm going to boldly and loudly tell people it was all wrong while I boldly and loudly lead people in to my next truth." I'm perplexed why they aren't embarrassed? Humbled? Ashamed, fearful, confused? Why be so eager to continue leading people when you clearly don't know where you are headed?

My second thought is, why do people act like "being real" covers a multitude of sins? As if someone is courageous simply for sharing virally every thought or dark place. That's not courageous. It's cavalier. Have they considered the ramifications? As if they are the harbingers of truth, saying "I used to think one way and practice it and preach it, but now I've learned all the new truth and will start practicing and preaching it." So the influencers become the voice for truth in whatever stage of life and whatever evolution takes place in their thinking.

Thirdly, there is a common thread running through these leaders/influencers that basically says that "no one else is talking about the REAL stuff." This is just flatly false. I just read today in a renown worship leader's statement, "How could a God of love send people to hell? No one talks about it." As if he is the first person to ask this? Brother, you are not that unique. The church has wrestled with this for 1500 years. Literally. Everybody talks about it. Children talk about it in Sunday school. There's like a billion books written on the topic. Just because you don't get the answer you want doesn't mean that we are unwilling to wrestle with it. We wrestle with scripture until we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.

And lastly, and most shocking imo, as these influencers disavow their faith, they always end their statements with their "new insight/new truth" that is basically a regurgitation of Jesus's words?! It's truly bizarre and ironic. They'll say "I'm disavowing my faith but remember, love people, be generous, forgive others". Ummm, why? That is actually not human nature. No child is ever born and says "I just want to love others before loving myself. I want to turn the other cheek. I want to give my money away to others in need". Those are bible principles taught by a prophet/Priest/king of kings who wants us to live by a higher standard which is not an earthly standard, but rather the 'Kingdom of God' standard. Therefore if Jesus is not the truth and if the Word of God is not absolute, then by preaching Jesus's teachings you are endorsing the words of a madman. A lunatic who said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me." He also said that he was alive before Abraham, and to see him was to see God because he was one with God. So why then would a disavowed christian leader promote that "generosity is good"? How would you know "what is good" without Jesus's teachings? And will your ideas of what is "good" be different from year to year based on your experience, culture trends, poplular [sic] opinion etc and furthermore will you continue year by year to lead others into your idea of goodness even though it is not absolute? I'm amazed that so many Christians want the benefits of the kingdom of God, but with the caveat that they themselves will be the King.

It is time for the church to rediscover the preeminence of the Word. And to value the teaching of the Word. We need to value truth over feeling. Truth over emotion. And what we are seeing now is the result of the church raising up influencers who did not supremely value truth who have led a generation who also do not believe in the supremacy of truth. And now those disavowed leaders are proudly still leading and influencing boldly AWAY from the truth.

Is it any wonder that some of our disavowed Christian leaders are letting go of the absolute truth of the Bible and subsequently their lives are falling apart? Further and further they are sinking in the sea all the while shouting "now I've found the truth! Follow me!!" Brothers and sisters in the faith all around the world, pastors, teachers, worship leaders, influencers ... I implore you, please please in your search for relevancy for the gospel, let us NOT find creative ways to shape Gods word into the image of our culture by stifling inconvenient truths. But rather let us hold on even tighter to the anchor of the living Word of God. For He changes NOT. "The grass withers and the flowers fade away, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8)

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Archaeologists Find Church of The Apostles Built Over Home of Jesus' Disciples - CBN News Emily Jones

Courtesy: Zachery Wong

Archaeologists Find Church of The Apostles Built Over Home of Jesus' Disciples

08-14-2019

CBN News Emily Jones

JERUSALEM, Israel - Archaeologists say they have likely found the Church of the Apostles in ancient Bethsaida, which is believed to have been built over the home of Jesus' disciples Peter and Andrew.

Kineret College archaeologist Dr. Mordechai Aviam has been leading the excavation on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee for years.

"Last year we discussed the possibility there was a church there because we have tesserae (small glass blocks) from a mosaic floor, and we have pieces of marble and roof tiles. We knew there was a church but we didn't have it -- now we have it," Dr. Aviam told CBN News.

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Archaeologists May Have Found Ancient Bethsaida

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Aviam's team of archaeologists discovered the southern wall of the church and more well-preserved mosaic flooring.

"Now we can clearly say that we have the church in hand," he explained.

For years, archaeologists searched for the Church of the Apostles and the ancient Jewish fishing village of Bethsaida, which later became the Roman city of Julias.

"Now what is the city of Julias? We were talking about Bethsaida!" Aviam told CBN Newsin 2017. "Josephus Flavius, the Jewish historian in the first century, tells us that King Phillip, the son of Herod the Great, who ruled from there to the Golan, toward Damascus – ruled this area – decided to upgrade the village of Bethsaida and to make it a polis [city], by the name of Julias, after the daughter of Emperor Augustus."

This year, Aviam found Roman homes in the area.

"We discovered for the first time domestic structures - houses - from the Roman period. So we have rooms, we have layers from the Roman period," Aviam said. "Also we used drones and also ground machinery with electromagnetic sensors. With this, we discovered that the entire area around where we excavated these houses is full of (more) houses."

CBN News reported in 2017 that Aviam's team had found a Roman bath and coins, further indicating that this site was once a thriving Roman city.

He also pointed to a document from a Christian pilgrim referring to the Church of the Apostles is in Bethsaida.

"There is a document from a visitor from the end of the 7th century AD, a Christian pilgrim, [which]   says that after he left Capernaum, he arrived to Bethsaida, and there is a church for the apostles, Peter and Andrew," Aviam explained. "So for the Christians in the sixth, seventh, [and]   eighth century it was still called Bethsaida, although there was nothing here but a church dedicated to [Peter and Andrew] . It was identified and a church was built."

Archaeologists will continue digging at the site for years to come.

Prof. Steven Notley of Nyack College, who helped lead the dig, told Fox News says the team plans on excavating the entire church.

“Thus far, we have only uncovered some of the southern rooms of the church, likely the southern aisle,” Notley said. “At the end of this season, we were just beginning to uncover the mosaics of what is likely the nave, the center section of the church.”

We Just Witnessed The 4th Largest Single Day Point Decline In U.S. Stock Market History - Michael Snyder

We Just Witnessed The 4th Largest Single Day Point Decline In U.S. Stock Market History

August 14, 2019 by Michael Snyder

You had better buckle up, because it looks like we are in for a bumpy ride.  On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down a whopping 800 points.  Not only was that the worst day of 2019, but as you will see below, there have only been three days in U.S. history that have been worse.  An inversion of the yield curve sent investors into panic mode, and the selling was fast and furious.  And of course back on August 5th we witnessed a 767 point decline.  So this is now the second historic decline that we have seen so far this month, and the month is only about half over.  Could it be possible that we are on the verge of a major stock market meltdown?

An 800 point drop is definitely rare.  According to CNN, the following were the 10 largest single day point declines for the Dow Jones Industrial Average prior to Wednesday…

02/05/2018 … -1,175.21

02/08/2018 … -1,032.89

10/10/2018 … -831.83

12/04/2018 … -799.36

09/29/2008 … -777.68

08/05/2019 … -767.27

10/15/2008 … -733.08

03/22/2018 … -724.42

09/17/2001 … -684.81

12/01/2008 … -679.95

So that means that Wednesday’s plunge was officially the 4th largest single day plunge that we have ever seen.

The “too big to fail” banks were on the cutting edge of the decline, and some of the biggest names in banking got absolutely monkeyhammered…

Bank stocks led the declines as it gets tougher for the group to make a profit lending money in such an environment. Bank of America and Citigroup fell 4.7% and 5.2%, respectively, while J.P. Morgan also dropped 4.15%. The S&P 500 Financials Sector dipped into correction territory on an intraday basis.

If you will remember, bank stocks also led the way down in 2008.

Is history about to repeat itself?

The primary thing that set off this fresh wave of panic on Wall Street was a yield curve inversion…

The U.S. government bond market sounded alarms Wednesday as investors fleeing riskier assets drove the 30-year bond’s yield to a record low and the 10-year yield fell below the rate on the two-year for the first time since 2007.

The 10-year Treasury yield dipped as much as 1.9 basis points below the two-year yield in what’s considered a harbinger of a U.S. economic recession beginning in the next 18 months.

When longer-duration bonds are yielding less than shorter-duration bonds, that is a sign that investors are anticipating that economic conditions will be deteriorating.  And as history has shown us, recessions are almost always preceded by yield curve inversions, and so many are taking this as an extremely troubling sign.

So now all eyes are on the Federal Reserve and other global central banks, and many analysts are strongly urging them to do something…

“The bond market is saying central banks are behind the curve,” said Marc Ostwald, global strategist at ADM Investor Services in London. “It’s all doom and gloom on the global economy.”

Personally, I don’t really like to use the term “gloom and doom”, but it is definitely an appropriate phrase for what we are witnessing at the moment.  On Wednesday, we got some more really bad economic news from Germany and from China…

Economic output in Germany, the world’s fourth-largest economy, contracted in the second quarter, according to a report Wednesday, while a report on factory output in China, the second-largest economy, came in lower than expected.

“It’s almost like we’re starting to see a textbook version of a pre-recessionary period,” Nicholas Akins, chief executive of Ohio-based American Electric Power Co. , said in an interview Wednesday. The company provides electricity to industrial, commercial and residential customers in 11 states.

Of course the more everyone on Wall Street talks about a “recession”, the more everyone is going to start acting like one is coming, and that is actually going to make one more likely.

And it isn’t just Wall Street that is buzzing about the potential for an economic slowdown.  According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the odds of a recession happening during the next 12 months are now the highest they have been since the last financial crisis…

The curve isn’t the only thing flashing high alert. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s index showing the probability of a U.S. recession over the next 12 months is close to its highest level since the global financial crisis, at around 31%.

Over and over again, we are seeing things happen that have not happened since the last recession.  At first the mainstream media was slow to catch on, but now just about everybody is acknowledging the warning signs that are all around us.

Unfortunately, the financial bubble that we are facing today is far, far larger than the one that burst in 2008.  And so when this one also bursts, the pain will be much greater than we experienced the last time around.

Many are fearing the worst.  For example, just check out what Martin Armstrong is saying…

I am overseas as a crisis is brewing which many might rename the “Lehman Moment” to something more up to date. Clearly, the stakes are far higher to the world economy than anyone may truly appreciate. We are cascading toward a perfect financial storm.

Hmm – there is yet another prominent name that is using the words “perfect” and “storm” together.

Very interesting.

We’ll see where things go from here.  Since the Dow is already so ridiculously high, an 800 point drop is definitely not the end of the world.  But without a doubt, the market’s downward momentum is beginning to pick up speed, and it isn’t going to take much to turn this into a full-blown crash.

As I have stated numerous times, our financial markets are more primed for a crash right now than they were in 2008.  And when this “everything bubble” finally completely bursts, the financial carnage is going to be off the charts.  I very much encourage you to get your financial house in order, because it looks like the chaos could start escalating quite rapidly.

Every major stock market bubble in U.S. history has ended badly, and this one will too.  We have been waiting for this twisted game to start unraveling for quite some time now, and it may be starting to happen.

About the author: Michael Snyder is a nationally-syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is the author of four books including Get Prepared Now, The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters. His articles are originally published on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News. From there, his articles are republished on dozens of other prominent websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so. The more people that see this information the better, and we need to wake more people up while there is still time.

A word received...of encouragement.

Prophetic Word to Steve Martin

From Mordecai Porter

Aug. 11, 2019

Fort Mill, SC

I am grateful for the words of encouragement the Lord speaks to us, whether through His Written Word (logos) or the prophetic word.

Thank You, Lord, for the ones who are faithful to hear and then speak what You want to share. I for one truly appreciate the prophetic gifts You give to men, and the ones who share them.

This was given to me on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019 before the morning service at Antioch International Church in Fort Mill, South Carolina. I share it to encourage others who believe too.

“When I opened your book (“Be Encouraged”, published July 2019) you showed me you had written 22 books. The Lord said the 25^th book would be the book that is going to surprise people. It will be more about Israel than it is now.

This trip to Israel (Sept. 24 – Oct. 4, 2019) will be different than any other time. Your eyes will be opened even wider than they have been before. Signs and wonders will be coming, and they will be coming to you, and other people that are surrounding you. Expect things to happen, but don’t expect things to happen the way you got it planned. You have plans but I have My plans. Just obtain what you hear from Me. The ones that are with you will hear a contradiction of different things. I will speak to you loud and clear. Make sure the directions I send you are where you are supposed to go.

This is a new trip for you, but as many times as you come back that your eyes will be opened and your eyes will be opened more.

I hear the number 12. That you are going to help 12 different people make aliyah. You will have 12 individuals that you will be involved in for that to happen.

Also, some of the other people who are going with you their eyes are going to be opened about Israel in a different way.

Remember one thing. I have opened the door for you to go to Israel more times than you can even imagine. On your next trip you will invite someone who will go. They won’t have enough money to go but whatever they have they are going to give to you and you are going to support the rest of it.

Just remember I have chosen you. You. Not only anybody else but you to do certain tasks. No one can do this task no matter what they say.

This is from the Lord. The prophet standing in front of you has been praying for you for a long while. He’s just decided to now to speak to you to release to you what he has to say.

Before you go to Israel there will be more words spoken over you and spoken over the people that are going with you. You are a guide in one way, but you are a mentor in another. You are a mentor to the one standing in front of you. You have spoken a lot into his life and he really trusted you, so speak into his life no matter what is right or wrong."

I believe. Thank You, Jesus (Yeshua) for Mordecai and his gifts.

Steve Martin

Love For His People ministry

Charlotte, North Carolina USA

How To Create A Place Where God Will Show Up | Dr. Lance Wallnau

How To Create A Place Where God Will Show Up

Dr. Lance Wallnau

Lance Wallnau

Published on Aug 9, 2019

SUBSCRIBED 63K

How To Create A Place Where God Will Show Up Endgame Bible Study Series Part 3 Download the free notes: lancewallnau.com/endgamenotes ------- Like what you see? Give us a like and subscribe to my channel here: www.lancewallnau.com/youtube Learn more about where I am, what I'm working on, and how you can be involved: www.lancewallnau.com www.7mu.com www.facebook.com/lancewallnau Thanks for watching! "As One!"

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Middle Class Death Spiral: Consumers Have Never Been In More Debt, And Bankruptcies Are Surging - Michael Snyder

Middle-Class Death Spiral: Consumers Have Never Been In More Debt, And Bankruptcies Are Surging Posted: 12 Aug 2019 Michael Snyder This wasn’t supposed to happen.  During the relative economic stability of the past few years, the middle class was supposed to experience a resurgence, but instead, it has just continued to be hollowed out.  The cost of living has risen much faster than wages have, and as a result, hard-working families all over America are being stretched financially like never before.  Even though most of us are working, 59 percent of all Americans are currently living paycheck to paycheck, and almost 50 million Americans are living in poverty.  In a desperate attempt to continue their middle-class lifestyles, many Americans have been piling up mountains of debt, and it has gotten to the point where we have a major crisis on our hands. According to the New York Post, the total amount of debt that U.S. households have accumulated is about to cross the 14 trillion dollar mark for the first time ever… Meanwhile, record American household debt, near $14 trillion including mortgages and student loans, is some $1 trillion higher than during the Great Recession of 2008. Credit card debt of $1 trillion also exceeds the 2008 peak. Americans are spending heavily, again — and often recklessly, say analysts. This is the exact opposite of what U.S. consumers should be doing.  We can see signs of a fresh economic slowdown all around us, and consumers should be feverishly trying to get out of debt as fast as they can. But instead, debt levels just keep setting record after record.  In fact, total student loan debt just hit a brand new record high of 1.605 trillion dollars, and auto loan debt just hit a brand new record high of 1.174 trillion dollars. It would be one thing if we could handle all of this debt, but that isn’t the case.  Bankruptcies have been steadily rising, and according to the latest figures the number of bankruptcy filings shot up another 5 percent in the month of July… Bankruptcy petitions for consumers and businesses are on the rise. There was a 5% increase in total bankruptcy filings in July 2019 from the previous month, the American Bankruptcy Institute said this week. There were 64,283 bankruptcy filings, up from 62,241 for the same period last year. Unfortunately, this is probably just the beginning. Right now, most of the country is living on the edge financially, and so a major economic slowdown would inevitably cause another enormous tsunami of consumer bankruptcies like we saw in 2008. Even now, things are already so bad that many hard working “middle class” workers in high-cost cities such as New York are so financially stretched that they have to rely on free food from local food banks… “In high-cost cities like New York, personal incomes are not often enough to pay the household bills,” Zac Hall, vice president of anti-poverty programs at the Food Bank For New York City, told The Post. “We are seeing people using consumer debt as a way to make ends meet when they come here,” he added, citing the pressures his nonprofit faces to keep up the distribution of food and meals at no cost to some 1.5 million New Yorkers. If 1.5 million people in New York are being fed by foodbanks now while things are still relatively stable, how bad will things be when the economy really starts to tank? For decades, the “almighty U.S. consumer” was one of the fundamental pillars of our economy, but now that is no longer true. U.S. consumers simply do not have a lot of discretionary income to spend these days, and this is killing major retailers all over the nation.  We are on pace to absolutely shatter the all-time record for store closings in a single year, and within the past 7 days more big retailers have announced that they will be permanently shutting down stores. For example, Walgreens just announced that they will be closing “approximately 200 U.S. stores”… Walgreens plans to close approximately 200 U.S. stores, the company announced Tuesday in an SEC filing. According to the document posted Tuesday on the Securities and Exchange Commission website, the move to close stores follows “a review of the real estate footprint in the United States.” That wouldn’t be happening if the U.S. economy really was “booming”. Here is another example that comes to us from Wolf Street… A’Gaci, a young women’s fashion retailer based in Texas, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday, for the second time, after having filed for the first time in January 2018. This time, it will liquidate. All its remaining 54 stores in seven states and Puerto Rico will be closed – the “bulk” of them by the end of this month. In addition, we just learned that Party City is going to be closing more stores than expected in 2019… Party City is increasing the number of stores expected to shutter this year. The New Jersey-based party supplies company said it was looking to close 55 stores throughout the year, up 10 from the May estimate of 45 stores. I honestly don’t know what malls and shopping centers all over the U.S. are going to do.  I once warned of a future in which America’s landscape would be littered with abandoned stores, and that future has now arrived. For the moment, those at the very top of the economic pyramid are still doing okay, but the middle class is eroding a little bit more with each passing day.  For much more on this, I would encourage you to check out this Youtube video by Jeremiah Babe. I have been writing about the evisceration of the U.S. middle class for a decade, and the condition of the middle class right now is as bad as I have ever seen it. And as we plunge into this new economic downturn, things are only going to get worse.  The middle class is absolutely drowning in debt, and even a mild recession would be enough to financially wipe out millions of American families. About the author: Michael Snyder is a nationally-syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is the author of four books including Get Prepared Now, The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters.  His articles are originally published on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News. From there, his articles are republished on dozens of other prominent websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so. The more people that see this information the better, and we need to wake more people up while there is still time. The post Middle-Class Death Spiral: Consumers Have Never Been In More Debt, And Bankruptcies Are Surging appeared first on The Economic Collapse.