We have often been asked why we are not doing any social networking. There are three primary reasons. The first two are important and third is really at the heart of this ministry.
1) We don’t have the time administratively to oversee anything but email at this time. Perhaps in the future when we have more help either through volunteers or paid staff we will be able to take on ‘facing and tweeting!’
2) We have been concerned about privacy issues with social networking. Consumer Reports June 2010 issue had a great article on page 24 and it seems to confirm our concerns. The report states that 2 out of 3 US households use social networks. They did a survey of 2,000 online households this past January and found the following:
* Within the past year, 9% of social network users experienced some form of abuse, such as malware infections, scams, identity theft, or harrassment.
* Many social network users are naive about risks. Forty percent had posted their full birth date, exposing them to identity theft. Twenty-six percent of Facebook users with children had potentially exposed them to predators by posting the children’s photos and names. One in four household users were not aware of the service’s privacy controls.
* Among all computer users, established threats, such as spyware and phishing e-mail scams, persist at high levels and virus infections increased significantly since last year. Forty percent of online households surveyed reported that they had at least one virus infection in the past two years. Read the rest of this entry »
As we move further into the Mercy Season of the church which began in February 2004, we are experiencing something that has brought us great freedom from the laws and rules of the preceding Ruler Season. Let us begin sharing what we have experienced by first defining the two seasons.
SEASON SIX – THE RULER SEASON
About 1900 – 2004
Characteristics: Church learned spiritual warfare ~ build and fight; forceful evangelism; religion, law and rules governed the church; 70’s and 80’s stressed unity; one stayed in their denomination; institutional unity; birth of intercessors; pastors initially very threatened by intercessors; intercessors began cross pollination across denominational lines which has enriched the church; different streams began to emerge; defeat of tribalism in the Body of Christ; emergence of phones and internet gave way for communication of horizontal nature; initiative in the marketplace and it became acceptable to take faith into the business marketplace. Businessmen became legitimized in the church. God redeemed unity in the church.
SEASON SEVEN – THE MERCY SEASON
February 2004 to Jesus’ return
Characteristics: The greatest season of all; Intimacy with Father and the message of Father’s love will be predominate characteristic; people will smell the fragrance of Christ; those who get saved in this season will largely reject the religion of the Ruler Season; believers seeking intimacy with Father will find peace and rest which will crush chaos and religious views. God is redeeming the culture, changing it to release the line between sacred and secular. Jesus will return. Read the rest of this entry »
