- photo from Wikipedia
Since 1998 more than one thousand Baltimore murders remain unsolved.
By December 3, 2008 Baltimore reported 216 murders for the year, significantly down from 1993, when Baltimore recorded a record-high 376 murders.
That was the second-highest homicide rate in the nation for cities over 250,000 in population ... a rate six times higher than New York City, three times the rate of Los Angeles and seven times higher than the national average.
For comparison, that'd be like the city of Anderson, South Carolina having about a murder per week ... instead of just two for the entire year.
Today, just four days into 2009, Baltimore has already counted 3 murders (with 3 additional potential victims hospitalized in critical condition).
As a result of so much bloodshed, some folks have taken to renaming Charm City Body-more, Murderland ... but that seems so unfair: I mean, we're just talking numbers, right?
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When a church is making a difference, overturning "church business as usual" and surging forward to impact people for Christ, critics can't wait to pounce and find fault ... with spurious challenges like "All that church thinks about is numbers" and "But do such huge numbers really mean quality salvations?
Hmmm.
Almost makes ya wonder if polishing pews with backsides and hiding behind two hundred year old traditions ... losing souls to the enemy the whole time ... don't make some steeple-people grin with self-righteous satisfaction.
Because so long as their number-one priority is "Doing Church the Right Way ... Our Way," they think souls lost for eternity are "just numbers," too.
But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
- Acts 4:4
So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
- Acts 16:5
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
- Mark 16:15-16
