The "church" is under more strain now more than ever in the face of so much outspoken skepticism [[the fact that "family values' and "sex appeal" were brought up is another, for if one reads the Gospel, both-even "family values", surprisingly enough-get played down). There was a time when National Geographic wrote many reverent articles tracing Judaism or Christianity in other lands, but have given way to articles about silly Gnostic crud. I have old Life and Time magazines [[60's & 70's) where companies [[like Hilton, of all things) ran full page ads [[especially around the holidays) openly espousing there faith. I state this not so much as a be-moanment, but more of an observant comparison that stands out starkly with today.
Today's old school churches are dwindling in numbers, the buildings are going into disrepair, and it's difficult to track so many charity programs in Detroit [[Lord knows, I've tried.) because so many of them come and go or shift locations, times, or policies as lack of resources become far too much of an issue.
I will add, do not expect "Mega Churches" or "Church Malls" to concern themselves with betterment of the downtrodden. Oh, they have day-cares for single moms who attend their facilities [[and other so-called Mission or "in-house ministries" as I explained above), which is good and all, but true roll-up-your-sleeves incisive charity work with "lost causes" on the outside will be lacking. Many mega-churches are oriented on money-making for real estate, promotions, production values, and many of them cater to the affluent or espouse the very ugly prosperity ethos that puts "affluence" alongside the skewed context of "competitive faith rating".
Bookmarks