new church life: march/april 2016
it with his “Begin a New Life” series on regeneration, which is reaching people
within the Church but many, many more beyond. And Curtis’s videos for the
Swedenborg Foundation are so successful that he honestly hopes to make
Swedenborg and the Writings household words within the next 10 years – and
increasingly relevant to countless lives.
Curtis says “there is a huge conversation about religion on YouTube and
we want to be a part of it.” Who knew? To a lot of people, YouTube is just a lot
of videos of cute kittens, puppies and grandchildren. But Swedenborg “going
viral”!
This is all heady stuff. Add in all the outreach programs and individual
efforts going on in the Church and it’s easy to see why Curtis and others are
buzzing about the spread of the New Church being at a tipping point, with
horizons even the internet cannot contain.
“What hath God wrought” indeed. And what can we do – as a church, as
individuals – to use what we have been given to “go forth and teach all nations”
about the Lord and His Word?
(BMH)
freely given
What animated Mark and Curtis in their presentations is that there are “a lot
of good things coming out of the New Church” that can help people in their
lives – help to heal their pain and give them hope.
Mark says, “We have something to give the world,” and should not hold
back.
Curtis feels something incredible is happening with the way people all
over the world are responding to Swedenborg and the Writings – how they are
searching for truth and finding answers. He can barely contain his excitement.
They also acknowledged all the many things the General Church and
caring members are giving to the world – from Journey programs and the
New Christian Bible Study website, to the Daily Inspiration, Caring for
Marriage Moats, live-streamed services, New Church Life online, and many
more. These are all, of course, provided free of charge – within the Church and
beyond – with no strings attached. But there is real value, and that should be
acknowledged.
The programs and videos Mark and Curtis are providing, for instance, are
offered free but have real costs associated with them. They do make soft-sell
appeals for support – a “click to donate” button – and hopefully many people
are responding. But if all of these efforts are to have the success people like
Mark and Curtis dream of, they deserve our own thanks and support.
We have something of a culture in our Church – echoed throughout the
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