The fastest death rate of churches in America is happening in the Bible belt, said a southern US pastor at a 3-day convention that was held recently, according to Christian Today (CT).

Churches are dying fastest in the so-called Bible Belt/Credit: klsmith77/sxc.hu

At Advance10: Contextualizing the Gospel in the New South, Pastor Tyler Jones of Vintage21 Church in Raleigh, North Carolina said churches are dying rapidly in the Bible belt. He and several other pastors blamed the churches themselves for the decline, CT reported.

According to Jones, churches don’t understand the gospel and how it applies to people’s lives. They are being taught “quaint moralism over the Gospel.” Jones said, adding “Moralism is the greatest form of self worship. It robs us of our need for God,” CT reported.

Jerome Gay, lead pastor of Vision International Church in Raleigh agreed, saying, “Christianity has been presented as a list of don’ts. Don’t go to the club, don’t join the frat, don’t do this, don’t do that.” As a result, people leave the church, disillusioned, without actually knowing Christ as he is presented in the Bible, CT said.

The conference was held by Advance the Church, and co-sponsored by The Summit Church and Vintage21 Church. They seek to help local churches become more responsive to the changing culture without watering down God’s Word, according to the Christian Post (CP).

CP quoted Pastor David Platt of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, who said many churches need clarity on the Gospel. “A lot of people who [grew] up in the church need to hear the Gospel as it’s presented biblically,” said Platt.

Other scheduled speakers were Matt Carter of The Austin Stone; Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle; J.D. Grear of The Summit Church in the Raleigh-Durham area; Johnny Hunt, who heads the Southern Baptist Convention; and Tullian Tchividjian, grandson of evangelist Billy Graham and pastor at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla, according to CP.

A Methodist Church in Loxahatchee, Fla. incorporated recently the stretching movements of yoga and Pilates with Christian prayer and meditation, through a class called Praisemoves, according to the Sun Sentinel.

The class is forwarded by the Community of Hope which always opens in prayer and then ends with a New Testament bible verse such as 2 Corinthians 12:9: “And he said unto me, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me,’” as their ending meditation, the Sun Sentinel said.

Credit: k_vohsen/sxc.hu

Despite criticisms from many Christians who believe that yoga invites demonic spirits into the body, others join the class precisely because of its Christian orientation.

Some prefer its low-impact workout, while others enjoy the chance to dwell on God in a peaceful setting, the report said.

Praisemoves is different from a similarly named group, PraiseMoves which was started by Laurette Willis, who goes to Calvary church in Tahlequah, Okla.

Willis designed PraiseMoves as a way to get fit without compromise, according to their website. PraiseMoves describes itself as the Christian alternative to yoga.

In her website Willis explains in great detail the dangers of yoga and shares her own journey.

She talks of yoga’s Hindu roots and how the different yoga postures are actually offerings to 330 million Hindu gods. She also expressed concern about yoga being taught in public schools to grade school children.

PraiseMoves, Willis says, is not Christian Yoga which she calls an oxymoron, like Christian Buddhism.

Instead, PraiseMoves involves stretching exercises for physical flexibility for one’s body as a temple of God. It is so called because praise moves God. With the movements, the mind focuses on New Testament verses that praise Jesus.

Amy Julia Becker, in her article “Yoga: An Exercise in Discernment” at her.meneutics said, “I’ve started my personal prayer time by integrating God’s Word with breathing techniques I learned in yoga. Breathe in: “Be still.” Hold the breath: “and know.” Exhale: “that I am God.”

This year Christians throughout the United States will be celebrating Earth Day through a live simulcast nationwide, through documentaries, lectures and seminars on God’s creation and man’s stewardship of the earth.

Earth Day, slated for April 22, is intended to raise awareness and appreciation for the environment.

Now on its 40^th year, Earth Day is said to be founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson.  However its concept originated from Pentecostal minister John McConnell Jr, 95, who told the Assemblies of God (AG) Heritage magazine that he first proposed Earth Day in 1969 to promote peace and unity.  He wanted it to be held in late March at the start of spring.

McConnell said he submitted his proposal for Earth Day to San Francisco city officials on Oct. 3, 1969.  The first governmental recognition of Earth Day was held March 21, 1970 supported by Congress and the United Nations.

However, it was moved by Sen. Nelson to April 22 because he had scheduled a political protest called Environmental Teach-In Day.

McConnell’s biographer, Robert Weir, said Nelson admitted that he got the idea for Earth Day from others, but he did not specify from whom. In time, he began to publicly claim full credit for Earth Day.

Christians have commonly neglected to celebrate Earth Day as it was deemed to be identified with left leaning environmentalism and implied nature worship.

However now they see Earth Day as a time to renew their stewardship of God’s gift of creation, celebrate God and to witness their faith to others.

McConnell said, “We love God … [and therefore should] have an appreciation for His creation.”

A study in 2008 by the Barna Group, a religious research organization, found that 78 percent of self-identified Christians would like to see their fellow Christians take a more active role in caring for the earth.

Some of the things that Christians are doing on Earth Day include:

• Northland, A Church Distributed in Longwood, Fla. will hold a simulcast on April 21 that organizers say will be the largest ever faith-based gathering involving Earth Day, drawing thousands of churches.
• Blessed Earth, founded three years ago by Dr. Matthew Sleeth of Wilmore, Ky, has organized hundreds of churches for “Hope for Creation: A Live Simulcast Event,” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.  Sleeth is the author of “Serve God and Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action.”  Since its founding, Blessed Earth has produced a 12-film series on the Bible and the environment.
• St. Monica-St. George Parish Newman Center in Ohio will hold its annual “Thomas Merton Year,” from April 25-May 7 with the talk, “Meeting Merton Again for the First Time: Contemplative Ecologist, Ecological Prophet.”  Merton was a 20th-century Catholic monk in Gethsemani, Ky.  The talk is presented by Sister Kathleen Deignan, a GreenFaith Fellow with training in religious environmental leadership.  She wrote the books, “When the Trees Say Nothing: Writings on Nature” and “Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours.”