After considerable debate at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting on June 21, the members voted in favor of the Sinner's Prayer. The vote was not taken with every head bowed and every eye closed. One pastor said the emphasis on the Sinner's Prayer is unbiblical and damming. "I'm convinced that many people in our churches are simply missing the life of Christ, and a lot of it has to do with what we've sold them as the gospel, i.e. pray this prayer, accept Jesus into your heart, invite Christ into your life." He said. "Should it not concern us that there is no such superstitious prayer in the New Testament? Should it not concern us that the Bible never uses the phrase, 'accept Jesus into your heart' or 'invite Christ into your life'? It's not the gospel we see being preached, it's modern evangelism built on sinking sand. And it runs the risk of disillusioning millions of souls."
He warned, "Many assume they are saved simply because of a prayer they prayed. It's not that praying a prayer in and of itself is bad, but the question is what kind of faith are we calling people to?" Read more. For more information on how the sinner's prayer is being used by the adversary to plant false converts in the Lord's church order Mike's message False Converts in the Church here. 

Participants from all over the world joined together for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress last month in Dublin, Ireland. One priest said he views the Eucharistic Congress as an opportunity to call back those who have been far from the faith. "We are campaigning now to bring back our brother and sisters, especially the Catholics back to the faith. The Eucharist can surely help us to bring them back to the Church. In my parish, I have perpetual Eucharistic adoration, and I am always campaigning to the people to come and pray before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. It's the only way that we'll be able to ask them to return to the faith." Read more. 

His view is consistent with the pope's mandate that the Eucharist will be the center of worship for all Christianity.This non-negotiable form of worship is detailed in Mike's message entitled Prophecy and the Pope. 

As a Roman Catholic priest, Martin Luther fully dedicated himself to monastic life and to do good works to please God. Yet peace with God escaped him, so he devoted himself to fasts, flagellations, long hours in prayer and pilgrimages, and constant confession. The more he tried to do to appease God, the more aware he became of his sinfulness. This unrest drove him to a deeper study of Scripture and there he found peace with God when he read, "the just shall live by faith."

Luther's theology were condemned as heretical by Pope Leo X. Luther boldly stated, "Unless I am convinced by proofs from Scriptures or by plain and clear reasons and arguments, I can and will not retract, for it is neither safe nor wise to do anything against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen." Read more.

The mood at the Vatican is apocalyptic. Pope Benedict seems tired, and unable and unwilling to seize the reins amid fierce infighting and scandal. While Vatican insiders jockey for power and speculate on his successor, he has withdrawn to focus on his still-ambiguous legacy. Fear is running rampant in the Curia, where the mood has rarely been this miserable. Men wearing purple robes are rushing around, hectically monitoring correspondence. No one trusts anyone anymore, and some even hesitate to communicate by phone. It all began in the accursed seventh year of the papacy of Benedict XVI, with striking parallels to the latter part of Pope John Paul II's papacy. The same complaints about poor leadership and internal divisions are being aired outside the Vatican's walls, while the pope himself seems exhausted and no longer able to exert his power. Benedict at 85 years of age is the oldest pope in 109 years. 

Over the past twenty years I have trained, equipped and accompanied Christians on short-term mission trips to foreign countries. The experiences were both fruitful and rewarding as we glorified Jesus Christ by sharing His Gospel of grace. On the other hand, I have talked with Christians who have gone with organizations that never proclaimed the Gospel. Their purpose for going was to build relationships by painting or building homes. They wanted to earn the right to come back in subsequent years to share the Gospel. Robert Lupton reveals these problems in his book Toxic Charity. He says, "Contrary to popular belief, most missions trips do not: empower those being served, engender healthy cross-cultural relationships, improve quality of life, relieve poverty, change the lives of participants or increase support for long-term missions work." Ouch!  

From the Gospel Coalition blog we read, "The Bahamas receives a short-term missionary for every 15 residents. Our generosity, sad to say, is often tied to a "cool" location and feeling good about what we do. We need to be the ones to paint the church, build the ditch, and put on vacation Bible school. We can't just send money. We have to send people. This is what causes me to question motives. While I believe there is a thoughtful way to be involved in some sort of cross-cultural, short-term ministry, wise partnership and wise use of money, would seem to dictate we cancel many---most?---of our trips. I believe short-term ministry has a place, and if done well can bring about healthy interdependence in the global church" Read more.