That Mystery Floating Alongside

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  “The side of the ship made an opaque belt of shadow on the darkling glassy shimmer of the sea. But I saw at once something elongated and pale floating very close to the ladder. Before I could form a guess a faint flash of phosphorescent light, which seemed to issue suddenly from the naked body of a man, flickered in the sleeping water with the elusive, silent play of summer lightning in a night sky. With a gasp I saw revealed to my stare a pair of feet, the long legs, a broad livid back immersed right up to the neck in a greenish cadaverous glow. One hand, awash, clutched the bottom rung of the ladder. He was complete but for the head. A headless corpse! The cigar dropped out of my gaping mouth with a tiny plop and a short hiss quite audible in the absolute stillness of all things under heaven. At that I suppose he raised up his face, a dimly pale oval in the shadow of the ship’s side. But even then I could only barely make out down there the shape of his black-haired head. Howev...

"A New Exodus? Americans are Exiting Liberal Churches"

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Monday, June 6, 2005

"We have figured out your problem. You're the only one here who believes in God." That statement, addressed to a young seminarian, introduces Dave Shiflett's new book, Exodus: Why Americans are Fleeing Liberal Churches for Conservative Christianity. The book is an important contribution, and Shiflett offers compelling evidence that liberal Christianity is fast imploding upon itself.

read the rest of the article here

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Yet I could not help but notice the report of continuing rise of mysticism and blatant animism that prevails to influence many pastors today: per a poll issued by Barna, Rick Warren and his books "The Purpose-Driven Life" and "The Purpose-Driven Church" topped the list of typical pastor reading material, according to a study by The Barna Group released May 30. . . Other books cited by at least 2 percent of pastors included "What's So Amazing About Grace?" by Phillip Yancey, "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge, "Courageous Leadership" by Bill Hybels, "Spiritual Leadership" by Henry Blackaby, "Next Generation Leader" by Andy Stanley and "21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" by John Maxwell.

BTW: Warren's camp is heating up due to an authorized biography to which Warren responds. In that response, a few other inconsistencies are popping up . . .

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