Just a Reminder!

Set your clocks back one hour, get an extra hour of sleep... and make it to church on time!

What Difference Do It Make?

First a confession: Before receiving this book, I had never even heard of "What Difference Do It Make" by Ron Hall, Denver Moore and Lynn Vincent. When I did receive "What Difference Do It Make?" in the mail, I was not so sure that I’d even make it through this book. Honestly, I set it aside and did not pick it up for a couple of weeks. A few days ago I finally picked it back up and thought I give it a quick glance. As I thumbed through the pages, I found myself getting interested, and before I realized it, I had dove in and read the book through in one sitting. I found reading this book almost as if I were sitting in my living room and having a conversation with the authors as they shared his life stories. As a reader, you cannot help but feel involved in the lives of these men. They just seem real as they open themselves up and make themselves vulnerable to the reader. The funny thing is, from life’s perspective, Ron and Denver would not even be paired together, yet fate did indeed bring them together and their message of hope and healing is profound as they speak of stepping out of their self defined comfort zones and learn to let God be God, and take control of their lives. I highly recommend this book, and will admit that I’m getting ready to go back and read the first book now.

Sometimes You Just Need To Say, "I'm Sorry"

We all have them... You know those days when you just snap on your kids? I had one of those days Monday. My daughter was being particularly moody (hello, 16 year old girl?) and when she gets like that, she can get quite mouthy. Ashley was wanting me to sign something for her and I was trying to get her to tell me what it was that she was asking me to sign when she really got mouthy. I snapped and ripped the paper into pieces. I know, real mature; but I was at my limit. But that is no excuse, it was a really stupid, inappropriate thing for me to do. I am supposed to be the adult, right? As soon as I did it, I realized what a stupid thing I had done, but I was so angry at that point that I could not deal with the situation. I told her to just back off and leave me alone, which she did. I felt bad, but at the same time, was glad it was over. But the truth is, it wasn't over, I had just thrown my weight around and silenced her. The truth of the matter was, while her mouth was inappropriate, my behavior was far worse. To be honest, I had not felt good all day, and the day had been stressful to boot and Ashley became the target of my frustration.

Right here, before everyone, I want to tell my baby girl that I was wrong, I am sorry Ashley, and I ask you to forgive me for my behavior. I know you've already let it go, but I still owe you an apology.

I was prompted to write this tonight because of a conversation with someone else who was having a similar situation and had done something almost as boneheaded as I did on Monday night. I decided to write this to all of us parents, because we do all have days like the one I described and we end up doing something we regret.

So, what do we do when we have days like this where we've blown it with our kids? We can ignore the whole thing and justify ourselves by saying that we can’t take it back, and while that is a truth, we can certainly say we’re sorry, that we were wrong, and ask for forgiveness. I really believe we should do this for a couple of reasons. First, it’s the right thing to do. Second, we should lead by example and we should teach them to do the same thing. We will accomplish this if we teach them that we can humble ourselves enough to admit we were wrong.

What's Halloween About Anyway?

It's that time again, and I've been asked at least 6 times in the past 3 days about Halloween. I decided to pull a post from 4 years ago and re-post it.


Monday, October 31, 2005
What's Halloween About Anyway?
I get these questions every year about this time. "What is Halloween?" "Why don't you let your kids dress in costumes and go trick or treating?" "Why don't we have a Halloween party at the church?"

I don't ask try to force my beliefs on this on everyone, but I do have some very solid convictions about this. Rather than spend all morning trying to give my view, I want to just share a slide taken from the American Folklore Center. This is not a religious organization at all. They just simply report facts about American Folklore.
I hope this slide is large enough for you to read it.
Here is what they say about Halloween:


If you click on the picture it will enlarge.



Posted by Darrell at Monday, October 31, 2005 0 comments

Sounds Like A Plan To Me

I like the philosophy of this video. "Who says you can't be happy all the time... I know, but I'm still gonna try." Sounds like a plan to me... to try to be happy all the time.

Die Happy lyrics

Lighthouse Family - Happy Video - Die Happy Music Videos

Music Videos by VideoCure

It All Depends On Your Perspective

Our temperatures have been up and down bringing about the fall colors in the trees lately, and it really is beautiful this time of year. Unfortunately, we've had a ton of rain and wind the last few days, which drove a lot of the leaves from the trees and onto the ground. This morning a delivery woman came to my door and while we were talking, she made a comment about how beautiful our lawn looks. She said that it looks as if we had a golden carpet on the yard. I looked at it and laughed and said, "I guess it depends on your perspective. You see a beautiful golden carpet, but I see several days of raking and bagging leaves."

After I came back into the house, I was thinking about our conversation and I realized that there are a lot of things in life that may look totally different to different people and their perspective or vantage points.
I was reminded of a conversation with someone just recently in which they made the statement about me that I "had to go to church every week." The irony is that I don't see it as having to go to church, but rather that I GET to go to church. I've lived life without Christ and now I have lived for him for the last 28 years and as a person who has lived from both vantage points, I am so grateful that I GET to serve God and have the opportunity to go to church as often as I can.

A little while later I was looking online at someone's Facebook page and their pictures. There were numerous pictures of this person and her family members drinking at various parties. This person had one of her father who you could tell was very intoxicated even in a picture. The caption made a comment about how falling down drunk he was and how hilarious it was to watch him make a fool of himself. She saw it as hilarious and as having the time of her life. I have a different perspective. I see a man who was once serving Jesus and leading his family to do the same. I saw a family that is lost and going to hell, and there is nothing funny about that. Perspective does matter.

You Go Congressman Rogers!

Is Obama Poised to Cede U.S. Sovereignty

On October 14, Lord Christopher Monckton gave a presentation in St. Paul, MN on the subject of global warming. In this 4-minute excerpt from his speech, he issues a dire warning to all Americans regarding the United Nations Climate Change Treaty that is scheduled to be signed in Copenhagen in December 2009.

A draft of the treaty can be read here:
http://www.globalclimatescam.com/docu...

Page 18: Section 38 of the "Share vision for long-term cooperation action plan" contains the text for forming the new government.

Page 44-45: Section 46 "Objectives, scope, and guiding principles" contains the text for enforcement and establishment of the rule of law.

There has been considerable debate raised about Monckton's conclusion that the Copenhagen Treaty would cede US sovereignty. His comments appear to be based upon his interpretation of the The Supremacy Clause in the US Constitution (Article VI, paragraph 2). This clause establishes the Constitution, Federal Statutes, and U.S. TREATIES as the supreme law of the land. Concerns have been raised in the past that a particularly ambitious treaty may supersede the US Constitution. In the 1950s, a constitutional amendment, known as the Bricker Amendment, was proposed in response to such fears, but it failed to pass. You can read more about the Bricker Amendment in a 1953 Time Magazine article:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/art...,9171,806676-1,00.html

Lord Monckton served as a policy adviser to Margaret Thatcher. He has repeatedly challenged Al Gore to a debate to which Gore has refused. Monckton sued to stop Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" from being shown in British schools due to its inaccuracies. The judge found in-favor of Monckton, ordering 9 serious errors in the film to be corrected. Lord Monckton travels internationally in an attempt to educating the public about the myth of global warming.

Wake Up Church!

We Are at the "Turning Point"

Today's blog entry is copied from an email that I received from my friend and Brother in Christ, Johanes Mattutis, who pastors Free Nazarene Church in Berlin, Germany. Please take time to read it.
Hi,
when I saw this picture of Obama
God spoke to me and gave me the following message.
It concerns us all. Please share this message with
your friends, church and family.

God blss You

Pastor Joh.W.Matutis



WE ARE AT THE "TURNING POINT"
===========================
When the United States of America (hereinafter called the U.S.) declares
bankruptcy and “goes down the drain” one should not be wondering
at such a scenario.

Attached is one of the newest photos (see attached) where Obama is
being blessed by a Hindu priest in the White House.
That is not going to get unpunished.

At the occasion of the July 2007 inauguration session for the ensuing series
of sessions of the U.S. Senate a Hindu priest blessed and sanctified the U.S.
nation and the world economics in the name of Hindu gods. Right after this
occasion the world economic crisis began.

At that time a Hindu priest read from the book of the ancient Hindu Vedes
and called upon the spirits of the earth, the seas and the winds.
One of the Christian faithfuls attending cried: “Oh God, forgive us these
abominations!” Immediately, ushers seized the caller and forcibly carried
him out of the auditorium.

Calmly, the Hindu priest restarted the ceremony from the very beginning
and finished the ceremony and sanctification.

What happened then?
================
According to a press release of July 14, 2007 giant hornets and wasps
captured the U.S. Congressional building. Some 16 swarms of these insects
(up to 2 inches in size) seized the building.

God said in the bible (2. Mose 23, 27-29): “ I will send my fear before you,
I will cause confusion among all the people …..and I will send hornets
before you….and the beasts of the field will become too numerous for you to
cope with them…

That was the punishment for the peoples, i.e. the Hivites, the Canaanites
and the Hittites that have worshiped idols. They worshiped as their main
deity the god of the earth, the god of the winds and the god of the fire.
Exactly the same gods that the Hindu priest called upon during the U.S.
Senate session on July 13, 2007.

Since then, the U. S. is haunted by hurricanes and tornados, its woods and
forests are burning (see fires in California) and lo and behold exactly
commencing on July 14, 2007 oil prices shot up from a low $65 to a
magical $147 per barrel.

Referring to Isa. 30, 25-26, God says “…when the towers fall (on 9-11-01)
the day of reckoning is come. A lot has happened since than that pertains
to the U.S. and the whole world and what is prophesized in the bible on
“the Antichrist and its totalitarian reign”. The U.S. has more and more
become a totalitarian surveillance regime with limitations on immigration
and travel, much like it was prevalent in the days of the Soviet Union or the
ex GDR. Nowadays, you must pay a fee of $10 to travel to the U.S., leaving
the question whether this is better than in the GDR times?

The prophet Ezekiel admonishes 2500 years ago on behalf of God
( see Ezekiel 7): “I am calling upon you the most merciless peoples that they
may seize your most beautiful houses. I will make an end with the arrogant
behavior of its inhabitants and everything they treasure most will I destroy.
Panic and fear will I sent upon them. Everyone will try to save their very
life but they will not find the hiding places.”

Disaster upon disaster will come upon them…one horrific message chases
another. In vain will they seek comfort with the prophet of God. No priest
will have an answer for them, neither do any elders nor wise men. Even the
king will become horrified and will render lamentations of the dead. The
country men will be paralyzed of horror. I demand reckoning from them of
their evil doings. I will judge them without mercy, because they have judged
others. Then they will know that I am the LORD…”

And then He continues: “The day of judgment has arrived. Without ceasing,
disaster strikes. Violence and arrogance prevailed bringing forth injustice
after injustice. But of them that bet on violence and injustice, no one will
remain, even if they are without number playing boss. Their might and glory
will end…Their given time will soon be over. Soon, the day of judgment for
the U.S. is come.

It’s every man for himself.

Here at home a mass vaccination project is unfolding (see image 2 attached),
soon it may just look like that. Why should the military get a different type
of vaccination than pregnant women (!) or everybody else? Just look at this
picture and think about it once more.

Perhaps these are the wolves, God showed me in that End-Time-Vision,
recently (read it at my home page under “Somethings”).
(or www.preach-in.de/content/category/5/17/42 / and see "End-Time-Vision")

I know, this is not just a simple flu-vaccination, there is a lot more to it
as you may think. As a servant of God, I have got the task to warn my fellow
men about the impending judgments of God, in order to help them find refuge
and also not to trust these deceiving promises.

I am not getting anything out of this for my own benefit whether you believe
me or not. As a preacher I am only doing my job and preach what I am
conceiving from the Lord, whether this fits you or not.

Spiritual minded people understand the messages of God, though they
may sound foolish and comical to the ungodly. Just think about Noah,
Lot and others (see also Mathew 27,37-39 / Luke 17,26-34, etc.)

True Children of God are in his hand – they do not have to be afraid
of pestilence and other calamities (see Ps. 91).

I am pointing out “TRUE children of God”.
Are you already a TRUE child of God?
Are you certain about that?
Do you have this certainty from the Holy Ghost?
(see Rom. 8,14-16).

Is the Holy Spirit guiding you?


I continue to pray for you.
Be blessed.

Pastor Joh. W. Matutis

Pursuing Excellence

Are you pursuing excellence? In Philippians 3:14, Paul wrote; "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God."

God has really been dealing with me about the need to do things to my best, or with excellence, rather than just getting by. I don't know if every pastor gets this way, but I have come to realize that in some areas of ministry, I have fallen into the trap of doing things "good enough" to pass the test, but not really up to my full potential. That's not an easy thing to admit for me, and I'm willing to bet that most others would have a hard time admitting it as well. But think about it; how many of us have jobs that have standards (or goals or quotas) that we are required to meet, and we make sure to meet that standard, but we usually don't really strive for doing our very best. The fact is, that you're not making the most of your potential when the standards set for you by others are higher than the ones you set for yourself. Former U.S. Senator and basketball star Bill Bradley tells the story of attending a summer basketball camp when he was fifteen. While there, basketball star 'Easy' Ed Macauley told him, "If you're not working at your game to the utmost of your ability, there'll be someone out there with equal ability who will be working to the utmost of his ability, and one day when you play each other he'll have the advantage."
Clearly, if we will be honest, we have all had times where we have given in to tendency to "coast" and let do enough to get by, rather than doing our very best. The Lord has been dealing with me to "pursue excellence" in my life. It is not good enough to do just enough to give the appearance that I am a good pastor, a good husband or father. I need to give it my best in all these areas. Ironically, I'm very picky when it comes to excellence in my photography. I won't release photos until I am absolutley convinced that they have been edited and refined completely. In fact, I have some pictures that I have been working on for almost 6 months, because before I put my name on them and release them, I want people to say, "That Dan Ash Photographer is great!" I want to re-order my life so that they say that about me as pastor, husband, father, friend... "That Darrell gives it his all."

We have to guard ourselves so that we do not allow our critics nor our competitors to determine the standards that we set for ourselves. Again, in my photograhy, I don't want to be comparable to someone else, I want to work to become better than them. It's not really about being better than them, it is really about being the best that I can be. That's what matters. It really is the same in my role as a Pastor. It is not about "competing" with other pastors, it is about becoming the best pastor that I can possibly be. Psychology professor Jon Johnston points out the difference between mere success and excellence: "Success bases our worth on a comparison with others, excellence measures us against our own potential. Success grants its rewards to the few but is the dream of the multitudes. Excellence is available to all living beings, but is accepted only by the few."

The truth is that all of us should pursue excellence, but especially, we as Christians should. The question is, how are we doing? When others look at us, they should see the best worker, the best at what ever we do. We are admonished to do all that we do as unto the Lord. I wonder, when others look at our lives, how do they really see us? Personally, I've been questioning, am I known for lukewarm, low-impact living, or can I truly say like Paul, "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God?'" How about you today... Are you striving for excellence?

It's All About HIM!

I came across this excerpt from a book entitled "Spirit Empowered Preaching: Involving the Holy Spirit In Your Ministry", written by Arturo G. Azurdia, III.
This really spoke to me and I wanted to share it here with my readers.

Many years ago a famous violinist died. Leaving behind no family members, there was no one to whom he could bequeath his Stradivarius. An auction was summarily convened, in part, to sell the instrument. It was eventually purchased by another violinist. He paid twenty thousand dollars for the violin, a sizable income in its day.

Shortly thereafter the new owner of the Stradivarius announced that he would play a concert on his new violin. When the evening arrived the concert hall was filled to capacity. People were waiting in breathless anticipation. At just the right moment he walked out on the stage with nothing but his violin and he began to play a composition of Paganini. He held his audience spell-bound. His technique was flawless. His tone was exquisite. At the conclusion of the final note, the audience instantaneously jumped to their feet and roared with applause. He bowed, simply, and walked off the stage. A few seconds later, with the applause still thundering, he walked back on stage, took his violin by its neck, raised it over his head and smashed it on a nearby piano bench, shattering it into a thousand pieces. He then walked off the stage. The audience was horrified. They were stunned. A moment later a second man walked out on stage and stood before the people. They became very quiet as he spoke these words: “The violin on which the maestro has just performed his first selection, the same violin that he has just destroyed, was but a twenty dollar violin. He will now perform the rest of the concert on the twenty-thousand dollar Stradivarius.”

What was the point he was attempting to make? The genius is never in the violin. It is always in the violinist. And the same is true for the preacher, teacher, soloist, musician, VBS worker, etc. At best, he is but a twenty dollar violin. But music can be heard when he is taken up in the hands of the Heavenly Violinist.

We do not worship the rod of Moses, the trumpet of Gideon, or the slingshot of David. Such would be grievous expressions of misdirected worship. But such is also the case when the preacher rests his confidence in the power of his own abilities. “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one” (1 Corinthians 3:5). The man is nothing. God is everything.

Wow! I don't know about you, but that speaks volumes to me.
It doesn't matter if you are a pastor, an evangelist, a teacher, a worship leader or musician, a State Overseer, or anything else... we are but the instrument, played by the Master. Take us out of His hands and we are nothing!
God will not share his glory with another.
We must realize that we cannot simultaneously glorify ourselves while when we are to glorify God. God will only use you when you recognize you are only an instrument to be used in His hands. The instrument is not what is valuable. The value is found by what the instrument produces in the hands of the Master.

What Makes a Great Worship Leader?

A Friend of mine sent the following to me in an email and I thought this was worth sharing, especially for all my friends who are pastors who are looking for a worship leader, as well as for those who are worship leaders. The rest of you may find some good info here too.

What makes a great worship leader?

1. A great worship leader is CLOSELY CONNECTED TO GOD.
A worship leader must first worship God privately before he or she worships God publicly. I believe a great worship leader has an intimate connection with God. He or she should be someone who yearns for time alone with God, who thirsts for the living God; always asking himself, “When can I go and meet with God?”

2. A great worship leader is a DEFLECTOR.
Leading people to encounter the Presence of the Living, Most High God is a formidable and audacious task. Great worship leaders know how to deflect attention they received and point it directly to God. It would be senseless, arrogant and ultimately the greatest exercise in futility to do otherwise. Imagine a human being taking credit for something God has done through them or for them.

3. A great worship leader is CONSTANTLY GROWING.
Most churches are stuck in a worship rut because the worship leader is not in tune with the times or with God. Worship should be always evolving and developing. Drama, multi-media, praise teams, and praise bands have radically revolutionized the worship experience the last 20 years. What will God make worship look like 20 years from now? A worship leader must stay in step with those changes to be great.

4. A great worship leader is SENSITIVE TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Worship is defined very simply as encountering the presence of the Almighty. Man cannot worship God without the Holy Spirit enabling him to direct his attention and praise to God. A great worship leader must stay in step with the Holy Spirit, so when the Spirit changes directions, the worship leader automatically follows.

5. A great worship leader SEEKS TALENT.
Besides the preaching ministry, worship is the most influential ministry of the church. A great worship leader will proactively search for others gifted in the skills of worship to include in this ministry. Moreover, he will also take time to develop the marginally gifted so they too can lead in worship.

6. A great worship leader BELIEVES WORSHIP IS MINISTRY.
Worship is ministry, not performance. Too many times worship leaders perform and thus distort the purpose of worship. A great worship leader realizes worship is a ministry experience. First, worshipers minister to God, which results in God ministering to His worshipers.

7. A great worship leader is LOYAL TO HIS PASTOR.

The relationship between the worship leader and pastor is unique and can often be fragile. The worship leader knows this and does whatever he can to serve his pastor in order to serve with his pastor. He must therefore protect and defend this delicate role. When the relationship between the worship leader and pastor is weak, the church suffers. When it is strong, the church thrives. A great worship leader is loyal to his pastor.

written by Pastor Ryan Whitley

Daring to Ask

Most people who attend church really want to see their church grow. (I have met a few who did not.) The problem is, most people, while they want their church to grow, are not doing much (if anything) to help it to grow. They come to church, worship, give in the offering, but the sad, cold fact is, most never invite anyone new to attend the church. If they do invite someone, it is usually a friend who is already a Christian and they want them to come check out their church. Very few invite the lost. I once did an annonymous survey in one of the churches where I had been pastor for a couple of years. I asked the people to be honest, knowing no one would ever know who gave what answers. The questions were 1) Have you invited an unchurched person to come to church with you in the past 6 months? 2) Have you invited an unchurched person to come to church with you in the past year? 3) Have you brought an unchurched person (other than family) with you in the past year? and 4) Have you ever brought an unchurched person (not related to you) to church? I was pretty astonished to find that more than 85% of the people checked "No" to all four questions.
Now, this was at one church, so it is not necessarily an accurate reflection on the Body of Christ, but I have to acknowledge that looking at the churches I've pastored over the years and how many people did bring visitors that were not family or people from another church, and the percentage would probably be pretty close to the results from this survey.

This is obviously not a good situation, but it is even more important when we realize the trends for church growth. George Barna says, "The best chance of getting the Unattached (unchurched) to a church is when someone they know and trust personally invites them, offers to accompany them, and they believe the service will address an issue or need they are struggling with at that moment."

Armed with this information, we have to realize that we in the church must confront the fact that most are not inviting the unchurched. We talk all the time about this being the last days before Christ returns. If we believe this, then we must start trying to reach the harvest. Add to this the information that was the headline today on the Fox News webpage. The information jumped out at me that a new study revealed that one of every four people living on the earth today is a Muslim. In short, we are losing the battle!

I've been thinking today, wondering what might be the reason that people are not inviting others to church. It could be that people just don't care if people go to hell, but I really don't think that is the case. I honestly think most people are simply afraid to invite someone to church. Honestly, do we think they are going to whip out a ball bat and smack us over the head? Of course they are not going to do that. What it really boils down to is either that we are afraid of rejection, OR we are afraid that they might think we are a religious fanatic. Hey... we should be! Well, not a religious fanatic, but a Jesus fanatic.

Today, I wanted to just test the waters, so to speak, and I invited a couple of people to church that I've casually known for the past couple of years. Note, these folks are not "friends" and honestly, we only know each other on a limited basis. In fact, they never knew that I was a pastor before. They do now. You would really be surprised how people clam up and their behavior changes when they find out you are a minister! Many times they have told me of "adventures" in their lives and more or less aired dirty laundry. The reality of this hit them when they found out I was a pastor and the woman began apologizing for things she has said in front of me. I assured her that it was absolutely fine, and asked her if she thought that I judged them or thought bad of them. Neither answered, and I reassured them that it was usually I who struck up a conversation with them, so it obviously was not an issue with me. That seemed to put them at ease, and they began to talk more openly about church. Now get this. Once I offered the invitation to them to come to church, our conversation switched from the woes of Galesburg politics and raising our kids, and now we were discussing church, what they thought of most church people and the phoney preachers (their term) that they had seen on TV. The invitation was very simple. I simply told them that I've really enjoyed talking with them many times and I wanted to invite them into a part of my life that holds real meaning, and asked them to come with me to church next week. They asked who my Pastor was and I held out my hand and said, "Well, since you asked, let me fully introduce myself... I am Pastor, Darrell Garrett." As I said, it did take them a bit off guard, but once we got around that, my simple invitation became more than an hour of discussion with them about church, serving God and it was just like the flood gates opened for them. I have to tell you, they offered what seemed like a hundred (I'm exaggerating folks) excuses for not coming to church, but by the end of the conversation they promised me that they'd come "soon." That probably means I'll need to invite them again... and again... but I am prepared to do that.

So, I have two potential guest coming to church with me, and I didn't get hit... not even yelled at. To the contrary, I know these two better now than I have gotten to know them over the past 2 years. Why? Because I dared to ask.

So now I am sitting here wondering... what would happen if everyone who attends Harvest Church (or where ever you attend or pastor) dared to ask just 4 people each year to church? I think the results would astound us all!

How to Fail a Breathalyser

This is just priceless. Watch the cop.

Stop the Stupidity!

Here we are in the midst of some of the worst financial conditions possible, short of a full blown depression, and our city, county and state governments are doing all they can to make even worse. In the past few days it has been announced that our county has passed an ordinance that before you can even change a light fixture in your own home, you must obtain a $50 building permit. The city of Galesburg just passed a 15% increase to our water costs. The state of Illinois has just announced that the fee for obtaining a drivers license will triple after the first of the year. The alderman of the City of Galesburg are trying to impose new fines and increase old fines in the city that would (by their estimate) net the city another $141,000 per year. That's great. People are hurting, our unemployment rate is among the highest in the state at over 10% and you knuckleheads want to bleed the people a little bit more. Do you know that they can already write you a citation if you mow your grass and the clippings blow into the street and you don't sweep them up? Property taxes have sky rocketed in the last 10 years, meanwhile the population is drastically dropping. Anyone care to guess if there might be a parralel here? This city has added an additional tax on anything you drink when you dine out. Have you noticed that most restaraunts don't even publish the cost of a soda in their menu? Most would not order it if they knew the cost in advance! This place had better wake up and quick, or there will not be anyone here in this town to pay taxes in another 10 years.

Benny Hinn Blocked From Entering Britain

This is copied straight from the Telegraph.co.uk. It is coming folks! Wake up!

Christian preacher refused entry to Britain under rules intended to fight extremism

Christian evangelist Benny Hinn, from Texas, has been refused entry to Britain after falling foul of new rules drawn up to combat hate crimes and extremism.

By Laura Donnelly
Published: 12:16PM BST 03 Oct 2009

Benny Hinn was refused entry to Britain because he had failed to bring a valid sponsorship certificate from his church Photo: AP

Thousands who travelled to see Mr Hinn perform at a London rally have been were left disappointed after officials at Stansted airport would not let him in the country.

Border Agency officials turned back Mr Hinn, who landed by private jet, because he had failed to bring a valid sponsorship certificate from his church, required under rules introduced last November.

The Pentecostal preacher, who was due to perform at a three day rally in a Docklands exhibition centre this weekend, flew on to Paris, and attempted – and failed – to regain entry to Britain via Luton.

Thousands of evangelical Christians who had booked long weekend breaks to see the mission at the ExCeL centre were left waiting for Mr Hinn to appear at the free preaching event, not knowing why he failed to appear. Instead another pastor took his place.

His "fire conference and miracle service" was scheduled to last three days, finishing on Saturday night.

Among the "miracles" the Texan preacher performs is one in which he instructs participants to "let the bodies hit the floor". Videos of the services show the devout falling down backwards, "slain in spirit".

Mr Hinn has previously visited Britain without problems, but since November, under Home Office rules intended to combat extremism, all religious workers must obtain a valid certificate of sponsorship before they arrive in the UK.

One of the aims of the new points-based system was to prevent teachers of religious hate entering the country.

A Border Agency spokesman said the rules were designed to ensure that a legitimate sponsor is linked to any application to enter Britain for work purposes. He added: "These rules are applied objectively and clearly set out for travellers".

Jill Masefield, who lives in Bristol, said she and thousands of other followers had been left waiting for Mr Hinn to appear at the free preaching event, not knowing why he had not appeared.

"He's been coming here for years and years," she said. "I think it is very unfair thaty they have blocked him now. It has cost me a fortune in hotel bills and I feel we have been led up the garden path".