Simple yet radical plan to save the Community of Christ

Simple yet radical plan to save the Community of Christ:

Malachi 3:10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.

Community of Christ gives God a tithe (10% of income).

Proposal for First Presidency and Presiding Bishopric of C. of C.:

This is radical yet simple. I am greatly concerned about the statement from WC 2010: “20% give 80% and the average age is 69.” What does this statement tell me? If I round up the average age to 70 and go back to when this group was 20 (age to increase tithing with better jobs and higher pay), then this tells me that the last, very loyal group to this church reached “maturity” in 1960. You could make an argument that most of what we’ve done for the last 50 years has been ineffective based on this statistic. I will not make that argument, but I put it out there for consideration. I appreciated you (Prophet-President Steve Veazey) stating, “My family and I will sacrifice and give more…”, but that seemed to be missing the point. You are one of the 20%. It seems to me that the church is in desperate need for reproduction of loyal, generous, tithe-paying disciples. I can and will make the argument that we have done an ineffective job of keeping the last 4-5 generations of young adults. The declining tithing statistics bear this out.

My story: my mentor and Sunday School (S.S.) teacher (born in 60’s) is the only one left of his generation active in the church. I (1969—born in 70’s)have a couple of persons from my generations that became adult converts—were not active in S.S. when I was younger. I do not know of any young adults (born in ‘80’s) following me that are active nor of any in next generation (born in ‘90’s) still active in church (New Philadelphia). I have been to enough congregations especially here in Central MC to realize this is the rule rather than the exception

You might ask how a church gives a “tithe” to God. Good question. I do not know, but I know that what we do now (expenses, ministry, education, etc.) would not be a tithe. Saying it is would be like me keeping my tithing as my right as a minister of the Gospel. As a prophetic church and people, I do not feel this problem is insurmountable. Basically, as a concerned member and Priest, I see the writing on the wall for the “death” of this church as we know it in 5-20 years if we do not turn around these trends.

Thank you for your consideration. God, peace, blessings, and endowment be with you, your ministries, and the church! In Christ, Randall Q. Lawrence 2/23/2011

Statement on Inspired Counsel

These are serious issues--religious, cultural, societal. Acts chapter 10 has been used. Details have been left out. Read the whole chapter! Cornelius fasted, "prayed continuously", helped the poor, and honored the Jewish faith. Peter prayed and followed the Spirit. Cornelius had a vision with an angel. Peter had a vision also. It was repeated 3 times. Cornelius listened to the angel. Peter listened to the Spirit. Peter overcame prejudice and religious laws. Peter gave a powerful, Spirit-filled sermon. Cornelius and his household were baptized in the Spirit. Peter then baptized the first non-Jews.

My point: Spirit and the baptism of the Spirit unites. In 1860, after the ordination of Joseph Smith III, persons spoke and sang in tongues. In 1911, at the end of Joseph Smith III's leadership, reunions had the gifts of prophecy and tongues.

I am personally against same-sex unions and [practicing homosexual] ordinations. But if they show baptism of the Spirit (paragraph 3c), who am I to deny them a calling and ministry?

Where is the baptism of the Spirit within the church today? President Smith III in 1912 stated, "I trust we shall be able to appreciate and enjoy the spiritual gifts more than we have...."

BAPTISM OF THE SPIRIT WOULD GO A LONG WAY TO RESOLVING THESE ISSUES!

Thank you.

Happy New Year! & 40 day fast

I will look forward to posting about the New Year of 2010. We were called to a 40 day fast by Evangelist Bev Moor of Canada at the CCM Leadership Summit in November 2009. The focus of the fast was to be on what God is calling us to change in our lives and also to lift up the church going into World Conference 2010.

IMO, this is a critical time. A 40 day can seem intimidating, and it does to me, but I've slowly worked my way up to 3-4 day fasts not being so difficult. 15 days has been my maximum with the 2008 Hill Cumorah Expedition Team spring trip. If it seems difficult, maybe try fasting of TV, or internet games, or something else that seems addictive. I've got to admit that I am a little (maybe a lot) intimidated with 40 days, but I feel it is important. I will attempt it. I will also be concentrating on praying for the WC 2010 by getting in the WC Chamber and praying over the chairs in the lower level. I want to cover all the chairs even though they all might not be used. I will be praying for blessing, healing, God-incidences (God-blessed coincidences), miracles, surprises (IMO, God loves to surprise us with His Spirit and Presence), and, in general, a better conference than can be imagined.

I also look forward to recapping my experiences with onething09 and bringing in the New Year of 2010 with a bunch of fired up youth and young adults praising God, praying, and seeking the Lord.