Rolling Stone has an article on two Christian Conferences called Battle Cry and Acquire the Fire. These are events for Evangelical Teenagers who want to get fired-up and violent for Christ.

They're about to accept "the mark of a warrior," explains Ron Luce, commander in chief of BattleCry, the most furious youth crusade since young sinners in the hands of an angry God flogged themselves with shame in eighteenth-century New England.

The rhetoric of these conferences is a little different than most in that they tend to glorify violence. But after reading the article, I was like, this is no different than any of the youth conferences I attended as a teen in the 90's.

At Acquire the Fire, Luce tells the kids to make lists of secular pleasures they'll sacrifice for the cause. Hanneh starts with Bow Wow and Usher, bites her pen, and then decides to go big: "Music," she writes, then "Friends" — the nonfundamentalist ones — and "Party." This, she explains, is a polite way of saying "sex." Not that she's had any, or knows anyone her age who has, but she's learned from Luce that "the culture" wants to force it upon her at a young age. "The world," he tells her, is a forty-five-year-old pervert posing as another tween online.

I realize that documenting fundamentalist Christians is the new black in journalism. But I wish the journalists would focus less on the fundamentalism and more on the greed. Delve into how much it costs to go to these conferences, and where the money goes. I'm betting a lot of it goes to Ron Luce's pocket.

Looking for blog fodder, I googled up a blog post titled GCTV IS ON THE AIR (Oh joy! )

At the bottom of the page, a young man made an enthusiastic post about a Teen Abstinence Rally he had attended. In it the young man wrote:

After Pastor Bob got the crowd all revved up, he introduced the guest speaker. And guess who it was? Deborah White, Miss Teen Plovis County! Can you believe it? Wow, she sure was pretty. A girl like that could really make you want to glorify the Lord within the confines of the holy matrimonial bed, if you know what I'm saying!

I used to harbor sin in my heart, staying up late trying to watch the scrambled channels on our family's cable TV. But now I know that the desperate urges that grip my immortal soul's mortal vessel, causing me to think about Becky Lundegaard for hours on end while I'm supposed to be studying, are nothing to heed right now. The Lord put those feelings in me for a very beautiful reason: so that one day, when I'm 18, I can fall in love, get married, and–hot-diggety!–immediately impregnate my wife! Then, nine months after my 18th birthday, I can experience the joy of bringing into the world a child who will one day grow up to be part of a whole new generation of Christ-loving abstinent teens, to continue His divine work here in Springdale.

This young man has been listening to Judah; I just know it. Uh, good luck with that, sonny.

 Sam

 (Credits )

Here's an example. 

An email from Frank Damazio of City Bible Church to his congregation.

Dear Congregation,

I am sending you this email as there is an urgent need facing us today - right now.

You may be aware that Senate Bill 2, which grants minority status protection to individuals based on their sexual orientation, has a very narrow ecemption for churches. The bill does not have any exemption at all for "non-sectarian" religious organizations like rescue missions, independent schools, or ministries that want to require their employees to follow certain moral standards.

This bill will be addressed in the House Rules Committee on Monday. This is the last place any amendments can be made to the bill, and the seven Representatives on the committee must hear how important it is to protect churches and religious organizations.

Here's how you can help:

First, call the Rules Committee. Let members of the House Rules Committee know that they should follow the example of other states like Vermont and Nevada, and not infringe on the rights of religious organizations.

Second, let others know about the dangers of SB2. Oregonians have to know that this bill will be decided early next week. We are looking for volunteers to fill two-hour shifts making calls to citizens in targeted distrcts today (Friday), Saturday and Monday. We will be asking other citizens to please call their Representatives and ask him or her to protect churches and religious organizations.

Calls will be made from Gateway Communications, near the airport, in Portland. Please call and sign up to make calls.

Third, pray fervently. Remember, "The Lord can control a king's mind as he control's a river; he can direct it as he pleases (Proverbs 21:1)." We pray that God will turn the hearts and minds of our leaders toward godly decisions.

As soon as you read this email, please call the committee. Then call your friends and ask them to call. If you are able, I strongly urge you to contact Gateway and volunteer a few hours to make phone calls.  Remember, even one person can make a difference. Your call and prayers do count.

Thank you for standing in the gap and turning the tide.

Pastor Frank Damazio.

Nice of Frank to allow Gateway Communications to use his congregation for their political purposes.

I wonder how much Gateway pays him for this service?

Larry Taylor sends in the following request:

Just to let you know for anyone who is interested, I am looking for good personal uplifting stories for my new website. I am also looking for quality links, entertaining links, great schools, books, anything on the topic of “Spiritual Formation.” My pub is called, “Spirit Formation Today Online” and the address is:

www.Spiritformation.org

Thanks. LT

If you have a fun story or something you think might interest Larry, please send it his way.

 I love a good song parody. Thank you FICM for this wonderful song.

 Tither Man (to the tune of Iron Man)

Has he lost his mind
Can he see or is he blind
He gives ten percent
But he cannot pay the rent

Is he alive or dead
Has he thoughts within his head
He sits like a stone
He's just another tithing drone

He was asked for gold
To become a member of the fold
To prevent the curse
He must empty out his purse

Damazio wants him
He just stares at the screen
Pledging his income
For new carpets that are green

Now the time is here
To give up all that he holds dear
Blessings from above
Thinking he can buy God's love

Jack Louman wants him
To give until it hurts
Nobody helps him
He recites a giving verse

Heavy heart of lead
His creditors fill him full of dread
Giving as much as he can
He's just another Tither Man!

 For those wondering just exactly how big a pain in the ass City Business Church is:

When Googling the following names, here is where our little website pops up:

City Bible Church - 9

Frank Damazio - 6

Marc Estes - 4

Jack Louman - 1

Ken Malmin - 2

Doug Lasit -  6

Dougie Lasit - 1

I'm not sure whether to be proud or embarrassed…it's taken 2 long years of CBC bashing to work our way to the front page of all these searches…of course, at this point, I can't help but think we've made our point…I guess what they say is true, we really don't have much of a life.

Good Times, Good Times.

Check out this link to a short production called The Church Growth Movie.

http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.239

It gets right to the point.