FCCF Fifth Sunday Celebration

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! PSALM 133:1 (NIV)

The Fellowship of Christian Churches and Friends (FCCF) will hold their regular Fifth Sunday Celebration this Sunday, March 29, 2009 at 2:30 PM at Flint Ridge Baptist Church (Rev. Jerome Drakeford, Pastor). The FCCF schedules these celebrations as a way to build unity in the local body of Christ. Current participating churches include Bethlehem Baptist Church, Grace Evangelical Church, Flat Rock African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, Flint Ridge Baptist Church, Mount Olive Baptist Church, and True Love Ministries. All members of the Christian community in the South Metro area are invited to attend!

The Guest Preacher for this event is Reverend Gerry Anderson, Senior Pastor of New Macedonia Baptist Church in Riverdale.

Flint Ridge Baptist Church is located in northern Fayette County at 104 Old Road, just off of GA Highway 85, just south of GA Highway 279. The phone number at Flint Ridge is 770-461-8742.

MAP: http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Fayeteville&state=GA&address=104+Old+Road&zipcode=30214

Please join us as we continue to Build Biblical Bridges of Brotherhood! I believe that this is one of the best opportunities for unity among churches in this area. I can't begin to tell you how blessed I have been personally by getting to know the pastors and congregations of the churches participating in the FCCF. One of the most amazing discoveries is how God has already prepared their hearts for unity, also. For those of you who are undecided about this, I urge you to consider moving out of whatever congregational, denominational, and/or racial comfort zone you may be in and get involved!

Future FCCF Celebrations in 2009 wil be held May 31st, August 30th, and November29th. Details will follow.

Government Spending in Perspective

According to National Republican Senatorial Committee, "... over the course of only seven weeks of the current Congressional session, Senate Democrats have passed more spending than the previous Administration spent on Iraq, Afghanistan, and Katrina recovery combined. "

Yikes! A long time ago I was an Economics major, so I probably only remember enough to be dangerous, but this level of spending really concerns me.

When some people see a problem in America they often assert that "the government ought to do something." One of the problems with government spending is that government does not have any money of it's own.

There are basically three ways the government gets money:

1. It taxes its citizens
2. It borrow money (through mechanisms like government bonds)
3. It prints money

Here's the problem with each of these approaches:

1. Taxes take money out of the "private sector" which needs money to produce and grow.
2. Borrowed money has to be paid back eventually, at least the interest on the debt.
3. Printing money to pay for government programs leads to inflation ("the cruelest tax of all"), which is just what happened during the Carter administration when it tried this approach.

I'm not trying to debate whether the government should spend money, I'm just saying that this level of spending comes with some very significant risks. If you're thinking that we'll pay for all this by increasing income taxes on the "wealthy," keep in in mind that there are NOT enough of them to cover the costs. Most of the burden, then, will have to be shouldered by the bulk of American taxpayers.