The Mega-Church Phenomenon

Tyler Texas is unique unlike most modest sized towns in Texas. This town has one of the largest Southern Baptist Churches in the state and gives more to the Southern Baptist Missions Board then almost all the other churches in the organization. This mega-church was one of the first to build a family life center in the country. A family life center is a large gymnasium with a basketball court, track and other physical fitness related activities. Green Acres has racketball courts, a bowling alley, weight gym, pool tables, video games, and many other activities. The church has around 15,000 members and is steadily growing. New building programs always loom in the background and the church remains a major political and business influence. More then a few families have joined this church to gain both political and business influence in the Smith County area.

Green Acres Baptist Church continuous to grow and many people look from the outside in wondering what is really going on behind the scenes. Who controls this machine and what are the micro agendas that go on in this christian community.

Christian boys organization in Big Sandy

ALERT is a christian organization for boys which has a similarity to the Boy Scouts of America but goes a whole lot further. The organization moved its headquarters to a 2,200 acre complex that used to be owned by an East Texas Cult known as  the Worldwide Church of God which is also known as Armstronganism.

Garner Ted Armstrong the leader, was disfellowshipped from his father’s church (The Church of God International) and started up this church that has had over 40 different doctrinal changes since its founding. Once a very large organization with a huge media impact, Armstrongism has waned in recent years. It once had a yearly income reaching $200,000,000 million a year but is now down to several hundred thousand. Since Armstrong’s death there has been new leadership and new changes and many of the facilities they had once owned have been sold off, as for instance, the Big Sandy facility to the ALERT christian youth organization.

International ALERT Academy

The Air Land Emergency Resource Team (ALERT) is a unique training and service organization for young men who desire to achieve maturity and fruitfulness in service as Christian men. The training young men receive at ALERT equips them with the discipline, character, and skills necessary to meet the needs of people in crisis. These ALERT Responders will then be deployed to disaster-stricken areas such as those affected by hurricanes, tornados, floods, and mud slides. The Alert Campus is located near Big Sandy which is close to Tyler Texas. The Tyler Lindale area is known for several worldwide christian organization headquarters. The ALERT facility is another example of the magnetism the East Texas area has towards Christian related organizations.

The previous owner of the site closed down the site and it is now back open with more content that will keep you entertained and interested in all things spiritual. 

 Keeping with the previous website developers theme we will ad content on wicca and other spirititual themes.

“I’ve not been able to write much for the website lately as i just can’t get the time and i’m contemplating in closing it down.  It has been fun for the short time that i have had this blog but just don’t have the time to keep it going at the moment.

I’m thinking of devoting more time to developing my photography and spending more time outdoors; i will probably come back to the internet and maybe create another spiritual based website that maybe based on a more visual front and probably learn some Photoshop.”

 So i would like to thank those people that have contributed with their comments on some of my posts – it was always a nice surprise to read them.

~ Dave

(Click image to enlarge)

Ever since i moved into my mid-terraced house and noticed the sad and plain looking sun window above the front door, i wanted to put a nice piece of stained glass in there as a replacement as a nice focal point for the front of the house.

I was looking at getting a piece of stained glass done professionally, but was then scared off by some of the prices that i was being quoted.  My fiancee suggested that i have a go at doing it myself and seeing that i am ok at art i decided to give it a try; now i haven’t done any sort of stained glass work before and i looked at it with a daunting enthusiasm, and seeing that the piece of glass above my front door was 80 inches x 40 inches in size – it would be a big task. Read the rest of this entry »

From time to time i tend to have the ability to remember alot of the dreams that i have whilst i am asleep; they are very clear and vivid in my mind when i wake up and i can still remember and visualise the dream throughout the day.

The dream that i had last night was another wierd one; i dreamt that i was back living at a house that myself, my mother and my two brothers lived in during my teens, i can clearly remember looking out of the kitchen window and seeing massive dark tornado’s swirling outside, i can remember debris encircling the tornado’s and the whisps of black clouds.

I then remember seeing my mother outside the house laughing as the tornado’s rage around her and i see myself struggling to get her back inside the house where we will be safe, from here i cannot remember much more of the dream, only the dark swirling clouds of the tornado outside – abit like an armageddon feeling.