There has been quite a bit in the media lately about the trending decline of the institutional church and ongoing conversation about what strategy might ensure its sustainability. Countless observers of American religious life have noted that the church, all versions, is struggling. What they mean by decline is that fewer people are attending church, churches and denominational entities are getting organizationally smaller and there's less money to go around.

Heat And Drought

This summer, thousands of new high temperature records have been set all over the country. Weather conditions are much drier than normal in most of the nation.

In fact, the drought that we are experiencing right now is being called the worst drought in more than 50 years. More than 1,000 counties in the United States have already been declared official disaster areas. There is no end in sight to the drought.

Violence has become our government's calling card, starting at the top and trickling down, from President Obama's "kill list" to the more than 80,000 SWAT team raids carried out every year on unsuspecting Americans by heavily armed, black-garbed commandos. Our nation has one of the highest murder rates and levels of incarceration of all industrialized nations in the world. We even export violence, with one of this country's most profitable exports being weapons.

On March 26, 1998 Hearn broke the Sixth Commandment, Thou Shalt Do No Murder; and Eighth Commandment, Thou Shalt Not Steal, when he and three of his companions came upon Frank Meziere, who was washing his 1994 Mustang at an upscale North Dallas car wash. The 23-year-old Plano stockbroker was shot multiple times by Hearn before his car was stolen. Hearn bragged about his part in the late night capital murder and carjacking.