Richard

My son-in-law, who is a pastor of a church of about 600, and a growing number of house churches, recently said to me that he wasn't sure seeker-sensitive churches were necessary if we are raising the dead. Paul said there would come a day when a form of godliness would exist but without power. I believe Paul's statement implies supernatural power was the norm, not the exception as it is today. One reason is because he lists "gifts of healing", "working of miracles," “prophesy," etc., as everyday gifts for use in the churches he planted. One question I frequently ask folks is, “Do you desire to prophesy, heal, or work miracles?” Most say they "weren't closed to the idea but couldn't say they really desire it." Paul tells us to desire spiritual gifts and to earnestly desire to prophesy. In my experience, you must eagerly desire the gifts God wants to give to you to receive them. The alternative is to develop a theology that justifies the lack of power in your life. So the choice comes down to the one the Laodicean church had. Choice 1: Proclaim "we are rich and in need of nothing," or at least we're pretty satisfied the with the way things are. Choice 2: In the absence of supernatural power, acknowledge we're poor wretched naked and miserable. God can work with those who do. Warning, choice two may lead to you seeing God's will being done on earth as it in in heaven ( :

It’s both funny and sad. The reason I find it so sad is that many of my friends, aged 50 to 70, have so much to give but are dying inside while passively listening to various versions of essentially the same 30 sermons for 50 years. Several are retired pastors, but most of them rarely go to church now.

for really reals though - all the churches I attended some middle age grumpy guy ran the sound and it made him feel real good to twist the knobs (in entirely unnecessary ways) and some younger hipster would be worship leading, good way to get the preppy church girls... They never really liked when I came and it kind of was a weird thing. I could tell right away - kind of a 'hands off, stay away, this is my thing'. Which was okay with me because I really don't like CCM and running sound is only satisfying when you are working with really excellent musicians. But yeah, there was always some weirdness. Don't blame them though, they are scrounging for a little voice in institutional churches that take your voice.

Headed in the right direction :o) Hopefully he continues down this path!

@SacrdCowTipping Lol, it takes several PhD-level seminary degrees before you can touch the sound board ( : One time I got to count the offering money; it has to have been like the day of the Holy Spirit falling on Pentecost ( ;

You kidding - they would never let me near the grape juice... actually they never let me do sound either... and I have an undergraduate degree in Sound Recording from a prominent Christian University... and 2 masters degrees in music... and a masters degree in Acoustics... and 15 years of professional experience... weird... The funny thing is all these "positions" are just little placations to make people feel important, needed, etc. but I am preaching to the choir :0)... just not running sound for the choir...

@DavidJo2437 Lol, I guess all the healings miracles etc that my wife and I our 6 children, their spouses and 22 grandchildren that we've seen and personally experienced didn't really happen?

@docpresley2020 For an in depth study of this topic:

My son-in-law, who is a pastor of a church of about 600, and a growing number of house churches, recently said to me that he wasn't sure seeker-sensitive churches were necessary if we are raising the dead. Paul said there would come a day when a form of godliness would exist but without power. I believe Paul's statement implies supernatural power was the norm, not the exception as it is today. One reason is because he lists "gifts of healing", "working of miracles," “prophesy," etc., as everyday gifts for use in the churches he planted. One question I frequently ask folks is, “Do you desire to prophesy, heal, or work miracles?” Most say they "weren't closed to the idea but couldn't say they really desire it." Paul tells us to desire spiritual gifts and to earnestly desire to prophesy. In my experience, you must eagerly desire the gifts God wants to give to you to receive them. The alternative is to develop a theology that justifies the lack of power in your life. So the choice comes down to the one the Laodicean church had. Choice 1: Proclaim "we are rich and in need of nothing," or at least we're pretty satisfied the with the way things are. Choice 2: In the absence of supernatural power, acknowledge we're poor wretched naked and miserable. God can work with those who do. Warning, choice two may lead to you seeing God's will being done on earth as it in in heaven ( :

@reachjulieroys @craiggroeschel @lifechurch Nothing burger

.@craiggroeschel leads the largest church in the U.S., but former staff say something very different is happening behind the scenes. Multiple ex-employees describe a culture of pressure, forced vulnerability, and uneven accountability at @lifechurch, a multi-site megachurch based in Edmond, Oklahoma. One employee says he saw Groeschel place another employee in a chokehold. roysreport.com/former-staff-l…

@parousia70 @DavidJo2437 @IamPeterHuang Interesting, I've owned so many Bibles over the last 50 years and not one was missing Hebrews.

@DavidJo2437 @IamPeterHuang @docpresley2020 Hebrews seems to be missing from so many Bibles.

@ScottRoberts Growing up my church's worship times were so orderly some fell asleep while others wished they had. But they were definitely not chaotic or a spectacle ( :

Wild, chaotic church services that center on disorder and spectacle don't reflect the God of Scripture. 1 Corinthians 14:33 says God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. True worship is reverent, ordered, and rooted in His Word, not crazy emotional chaos like this video.

@Rainmaker1973 For the 1 millionth time, we're all doomed. There I said it. Haven't felt this good since the discredited book by Paul Ehrlich, the "Population Bomb," became a bestseller. The doom and gloom business sells books, just ask Al Gore.

Earth’s atmosphere has crossed a historic threshold unseen for more than 3 million years. Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels have now surpassed 430 parts per million (ppm): a concentration last experienced during the Pliocene epoch, long before modern humans existed. This milestone was recorded at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, the world’s longest continuously operating CO₂ monitoring station. In early March, daily averages peaked at 430.60 ppm: a figure climate scientists have tracked with growing concern for decades. But what does crossing this threshold actually mean? Prior to the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric CO₂ levels remained stable around 280 ppm. Today, they stand more than 50% higher, largely due to the burning of fossil fuels, large-scale deforestation, and other industrial activities. This is far more than just a number: it’s a clear warning signal for the planet. Approximately 25% of the CO₂ we emit is absorbed by the oceans. As it dissolves, it forms carbonic acid, driving ocean acidification. This process is already weakening shell-forming marine organisms such as corals, plankton, and mollusks — the foundational species of ocean food webs. Researchers note that the current rate of ocean acidification is likely the fastest seen in at least 300 million years. Many climate models had projected that CO₂ concentrations would only approach this level under aggressive global mitigation efforts. Instead, we’ve reached it while emissions continue to rise. If current trends persist, atmospheric CO₂ could exceed 500 ppm by the end of the century, ushering in climate conditions not seen on Earth for tens of millions of years. ["Record-breaking CO2 Levels Recorded for Earth’s Polar Regions." PML]

@eri89494 Yet many who rightly claim to divide the word of truth ignore what Paul says about how we are to assemble in 1 Corinthians 14:26-33. Where each one has and brings, this is participatory, not a spectator event, and is much more easily done in a living room than a large auditorium.

Rightly dividing the word of truth will keep one from engaging in such foolish and deadly behavior.

@TrevorSheatz If we define assembly as Paul tells us to in 1 Corinthians 14:26-33. So much of what we call church today is based on tradition vs scripture.

You cannot be a lone-wolf Christian. The local church is where we receive the Word, partake in the sacraments, and fellowship with the saints. Neglecting the assembly of the believers is disobeying the clear word of God (Heb. 10:25).

@traviskolder @PlumblineFaith @BrianRoemmele That makes sense, thanks.

@docpresley2020 @PlumblineFaith @BrianRoemmele Seems like a lot of political stuff, probably because that drives engagement. I've seen some guys break down the algorithm on here because it's largely open source, and they've confirmed the "anti-religious" scoring.

The long-term consequences for X are clear and concerning. When deeper, more intellectual content is systematically deprioritized, the overall signal quality of the feed erodes. Users who come to X for substance rather than fleeting engagement may scroll less, engage less, and ultimately find less reason to return. The platform’s unique position as a hub for truth-seeking and high-caliber discourse weakens. We have seen this dynamic play out on other networks as I mentioned: an overemphasis on short-term metrics hollows out the creator middle class, floods the feed with homogenized noise, and diminishes the very reason the platform matters.

@jax_pin Do I have to renounce all the miracles, healings, etc., that I have seen and experienced over the last 54 years? How do I give them back? They just keep happening. No one told me they stopped.

@docpresley2020 Those gifts ended in 70AD when the NC was fully implemented.

@traviskolder @PlumblineFaith @BrianRoemmele That’s really interesting. I wonder what their algorithms promote then?

@docpresley2020 @PlumblineFaith @BrianRoemmele So, one of the interesting things I’ve discovered is X’s algorithm deprioritizes “religious” content. It’s something I’ve taken solace in as I’ve gotten way less traffic post-Elon’s takeover.

@onedrunkpirate @carsonweber lol, yes ( :

@docpresley2020 @carsonweber Yup! Humans are flawed. Great revelation. If only we had a book that talked about it. 🫠

Have you ever played the game telephone where one person whispers a secret into the ear of the person next to them? They then go around the table until the last person says the message out loud to everyone. It’s amazing how distorted the message gets. This reminds me of the folks who rely so heavily on "early church fathers,” sometimes more than the Bible itself. These "early church fathers" typically refer to those from 100AD to 400AD. This telephone tradition grows, and we frequently think they were so close to the original source they must be right in most of what they taught or believed. But keep in mind Judas was about as close to the original source as you could get, closer than those we refer to as the "early church fathers." But probably not a reliable source for accurately conveying Jesus' message. Tradition can at times be a good thing, but more times than not, Jesus spoke of it as a way to nullify God's Word. I strongly encourage all of those I mentor or disciple to skip the tradition and come to the Bible as someone who knows nothing about Christianity. I find those who can do this usually experience the most long-term success in the Christian life. For much of what we have today via tradition is like being the last one at the table to get the telephone message. So let's skip playing the telephone game of church tradition and become as little children. Because of the Holy Spirit and His Word, we can go directly to the original source.

@pfwedE Your welcome

@docpresley2020 This is a view of this passage re the Laodician church I've not seen or considered before. The church content with it's lack of spiritual gifts not realizing how naked they are without them. Interesting Thank you

@farmingandJesus Yes, in northeast Oklahoma and all over Arkansas, you’re always welcome.

CA is purchasing RIVIANS for all county workers. FLEETS of them These plug in trucks are 100k + Tax dollars of course. Yall I’m seriously about done here. Gonna load up mom and dad and run for the hills of Arkansas or Oklahoma. You guys have hills right?

@PlumblineFaith @BrianRoemmele I went through a two-month-plus period where I was virtually invisible, and reduced my posting, then for no explainable reason I am aware of, I became visible. X is like the weather; if you don't like their algorithms, stick around; they will change.

Exactly. I normally post more substantive content on X on fairly narrow issues that have a narrow but deep following, which the new algorithms on X seem to no longer prefer - despite consistently extensive prior engagements. I am therefore deprioritizing X for other platforms. I’ll still post, but it’s becoming a waste of time to put much effort into it here.

@PlumblineFaith @thisisfoster Yes!

A good question to ask a prospective “Senior Pastor” (a role and position nowhere found in Scripture) is what narcissistic sense of superiority qualifies him to believe that any man with the maturity and dignity needed to serve as an elder would lower himself to answer any such question that intrudes on the private sanctity of his marriage.

A good question to ask a prospective elder is when was the last time he got in an argument with his wife, what it was about, and who won.

@Ogusanmi “Paul is of the devil?”Please go elsewhere?

@docpresley2020 Paul is of the devil Jesus tells you how to gain the authority of The Father which can only be achieved by earnestly seeking truth & following his commands Anything else is demonic

@JohnPeters93911 The Laodicean church was thankful that they were in need of nothing. God’s word must be our standard

@docpresley2020 I'm very happy to be at a traditional Protestant church where our church order has been settled and people are content in worshiping the Lord of glory without people chasing after trying to restore the visible church.