THE
BUILDER
May 2023
NEXT MEETING MAY 22
Indian Hills Christian Church
www.ihccdanville.org
1200 Lexington Rd.; Danville, KY
Fellowship Meal at 7 P.M. (EDT)
General Meeting at 8 P.M. (EDT)
Speaker: Doug Martin, Director of Alumni & Church Relations (Kentucky Christian University)
THANKS
Thanks to First Christian in Elizabethtown for hosting our April meeting. There were 111 men present from 24 congregations.
2023 MEETING SCHEDULE
June 26—Burkesville First Christian
July 24—Rolling Fork Christian
August 28—Lebanon Christian
October 23—Campbellsville Christian
November 27—New Life Christian
MEETING HOSTS FOR 2023
If your church is willing to host our September 25 meeting, please contact our Secretary, Jim Pope, at james.e.pope.civ@mail.mil.
QUOTES FROM WALLY RENDEL AT APRIL 24 MFC MEETING
“If living men knew what dead men know, this world would be saved in 24 hours.”
“People like to go to church where people like to go to church!”
POWER OF POSITIVITY
We are not all in the same boat. We are in the same storm. Some have yachts, some have canoes, and some are drowning. Just be kind and help whoever you can. (Damian Barr)
BILLY GRAHAM QUOTE
“Heaven is full of answers to prayers for which no one ever bothered to ask.”
MOTHER’S DAY QUOTES
“A mother is your first friend, your best friend, your forever friend.” (Unknown)
“Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.” (William Makepeace Thackeray)
“A mother’s hug lasts long after she lets go.” (Unknown)
“All that I am, or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” (Abraham Lincoln)
“The mother’s heart is the child’s school room.” (Henry Ward Beecher)
HISTORY OF FATHER’S DAY
In the U.S., Father’s Day was founded in 1910 thanks to Sonora Smart Dodd, in Spokane, Washington. Dodd’s father was a Civil War veteran, William Jackson Smart. He was a widower and raised his six children alone. Dodd went to shopkeepers, churches and government officials to gather support for a day to recognize fathers. She was successful as Father’s Day was celebrated in Washington state on June 19, 1910. Despite being founded in 1910, it was not until 1972 that the date became an officially recognized holiday in the U.S. There was a lot of push back from people during the 20s and 30s, and in fact many tried to end both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, wishing to replace them with a joint Parents’ Day instead. It was officially recognized as a holiday in 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed Proclamation 4127. In this document Nixon wrote “let each American make this Father’s Day an occasion for renewal of the love and gratitude we bear to our fathers, increasing and enduring through all the years.” Observed the third Sunday in June, Father’s Day will be June 19. (Copied)
QUOTES FROM MARK BATTERSON AT PRAYER SEMINAR (THE COVE)
“There is no expiration date on prayer!”
“Some day we will thank God for the prayers He didn’t answer!”
“Your legacy is not what you accomplish but what others accomplish because of you!”
“Tears are liquid prayer.”
“Prayer is how we write history before it happens.”
“We need to stop living like Jesus is still nailed to the cross.”
“Our focus determines our priority.”
“It’s easier to act like a Christian than to react like a Christian.”
“Any time we add an adjective to the Gospel we are subtracting from the Gospel.”
“If you filter your Bible philosophy through your political philosophy, it is idolatry.”
“If you get into an argument with God, you lose! If you lose, you win!”
UNCHURCHED AMERICANS
Despite openness to religious conversations and relationships with Christians, few unchurched Americans have ever had someone explain exactly how to become a Christian or why they should think about doing so. Only 3 in 10 unchurched Americans (29%) say a Christian has ever shared with them one-on-one how a person becomes a Christian, according to Lifeway Research. Only slightly more say a Christian has told them about the benefits of participating in a local church (33%) or the benefits of becoming a Christian (35%).
ONLINE CHURCH
According to Lifeway Research, 45% of Americans say they watched a Christian church service online during the COVID pandemic, including some who say they don’t normally physically attend. “It’s not surprising to see churchgoers using online options to view a church service, but there are also those who have not been church attendees who have at least checked out a church service.”
GROWING OLDER
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey, 17% of Americans are 65 and older. In FACT’s study, 33% of U.S. congregations are senior citizens. Not only are congregations growing older, so are their leaders. The average clergy member is 57 today compared to 50 in 2000, according to the FACT study.
The Builder is published by Men for Christ at Indian Hills Christian Church in Danville, KY.
Publisher: Judy Clay (judyclay01@gmail.com)
Editor: Charles Young (cw.young@windstream.net)