The Mole overheard someone saying that the Follow the Star Nativity experience will not be presented this year and neither will the well presented Christmas Carols concerts be held. You may recall that these were held at Frankston and Williamstown last year as well as a presentation at the Box hill Bunker.

The Mole speculates that these have proved to be not cost effective in attracting new punters.

The Mole also wonders whether some poor financial investments may have depleted the church coffers somewhat.

DTM

And wouldn't that prove to be an interesting turn of events?!

Ian

I tend to think that you'd be surprised how many disillusioned people there are in Box Hill and how many families have already left, many are left reminiscing about the good old days and wonder why it's not like that now and cannot see that the leaven has permeated the church. Many folk are disgusted with pretentiousness and hypercritic and uncaring nature of the oversight (there to busy making money and investing in failed investment schemes to care about the folk then to be proper Sheppard's of the flock). They are loosing far more people then getting people in, Just look at how many hits on this topic over 1950, more than any other. Most folk at Box Hill are also aware of this site and are probably watching in great anticipation of the unfolding events.
For those reading this: there is a wonderful spiritually enriched life to be had out side, some of the talks in other churches offer real spiritual meat. You will feel like your being torn apart limb from limb as you wrestle with doing things in a different manner and I admit it is confronting, but once there, you're never look back, 
IF RCI IS DOING IT THE ONLY WAY THEN WHY IS ALL THIS HAPPENING AND WHY ARE THE FOLK SO UNHAPPY???    Just seek the lord with all you heart and he will lead you. My family and I have never been happier

I have suspected for a long time that the RCI property is held in the Longfield name and not that of RCI.

Therefore if Simon gets a red card will he perhaps take his hall (as opposed to ball) and go home.

Of course if the hall is mortgaged to the rafters as a result of bad investment decisions made recently it becomes academic.

DTM

                                                                                                                      Generally speaking, an "uneasy flock" such as you are describing is usually a sure  indicator  that God IS at work here !!. If the people are feeling restless and uneasy  within themselves  and mostly losing their inner peace, God is speaking to those  persons individually and is  leading them out.

Disciiple

God is good, hey?  PTL

brolga.

sounds like a great way to prepare yourself for the inevitable disappointment of your prayer not being answered... "I wasn’t healed of my leprosy but it doesn’t matter, must have been Gods will for me to die an agonising, limbless death"

Guest,

your critical statement would suggest you have experienced some sort of trauma in relation to a miracle that didn’t happen according to your expectation or/and because you have been misinformed about scripture by Revivalist teaching.

There are other threads on this forum, if you care to browse and read, of the subject of blaming God for the misfortunes of children and innocents by the hands of men.

Having said that, may I offer you, and others, this;

Prayer.

God made us and redeemed us for fellowship with Himself, and prayer is an important part of that relationship. God speaks to us in and through the contents of the Bible, which the holy Spirit opens up and applies to us and enables us to understand. We then speak to God about Himself, ourselves, and people in His world, shaping what we say as response to what He has said. This unique form of two-way conversation continues as long as life lasts.

The Bible teaches us how to pray privately (Matt 6:5-8) and in company with each other Acts1:14; 4:24). In prayer, God’s people express adoration and praise; confess their sins and ask for forgiveness; give thanks for God’s goodness; and make petitions for themselves and others.

In petition the persons praying make their requests known to God, expressing their faith and dependence on Him for all things. Petition is the dimension of prayer most often highlighted through the Bible. As with the other aspects of prayer, petitions should ordinarily be directed to the Father, as the Lord’s prayer shows; but prayer may be directed to Christ, as in the days of his incarnation (Rom.10: 8-13; 2 Cor.12: 7-9), and to the Holy Spirit (Rev.1:4)

Jesus teaches that petition to the Father is to be made in His name (John14:13, 14; 15:16; 16:23,24). This means invoking His mediation, as the One who secures our access to the Father, and looking to Him for support, as our intercessor in the Fathers presence.

We may pray to God with fervent persistence when we bring our needs to Him (Luke 11:5-13; 18:1-8); and know that He will answer our prayers. But God knows what is best in a way that we do not, and He may deny our specific requests. If He denies us, it is because He has something better for us, as when Christ refused to heal Paul’s thorn in the flesh (2 Cor.12:7-9). To say, “Your will to be done,” surrendering our own preference to the Father’s wisdom, as Jesus did in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:39-44), is an explicit way of expressing faith in the goodness of what God has planned. (TRSB).

brolga