64' in 84'

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[puff of purple smoke]

Previous on de-comm:

MidnightRider wrote:

Does anyone else remember “64 in 84″? Maybe somebody knows more, but here is what I recall. Sometime (late 1983 or early 1984), the national leadership decided that to stay on track with the goal of reaching the world in our generation, we had to grow by 64% in 1984. A song was written for the effort, sort of a GCx advertising jingle.

Agatha L'Orange wrote:

I wondered what you guys were talking about with the 64 in 84 thing. So it was a growth strategy. Interesting. Were they serious about the jingle? Or was it sort of a joke? I mean obviously the plan could be serious, but was the song/jingle serious? I would love to have heard it.

MidnightRider wrote:

Previously, Agatha L’Orange wrote:

I wondered what you guys were talking about with the 64 in 84 thing. So it was a growth strategy. Interesting. Were they serious about the jingle? Or was it sort of a joke? I mean obviously the plan could be serious, but was the song/jingle serious? I would love to have heard it.

I only remember the first line:
“64 in 84, the Lord wants us to pray”

As far as I know, there was no joke intended. It was written in the same style as a lot of comtemporary chorus type songs.

We say sang it a few times back home. But since most of our singing was done by request and nobody fell in love with the song, it did not stick around long. And there wasn’t much point in singing it after 01/01/1985 anyway. Cool

Now somebody might be wondering how we would know if we had grown 64%, since we did not have “membership” at that time.

[puff of purple smoke]

The long lost jingle has been unearthed from the tomes:
http://gcxweb.org/Misc/DennisClark-64In84.aspx

[Linda]

Are we going to sing this at "Slanderpalooza"?

And, why only 64%. If it were me, I wouldn't be so pessimistic, I'd make it 100% in 84. Or, at least 84 in 84!

[MidnightRider]

Puff Person, thank you so much for digging that out. It brought a tear to my eye.  

And, why only 64%. If it were me, I wouldn't be so pessimistic, I'd make it 100% in 84. Or, at least 84 in 84!

Linda,

My understanding is that the Washington DC leadership had an exponential-growth chart showing how much progress needed to be made each year to reach the whole world in their generation. To stay on track, they needed 64% in 1984.

[MidnightRider]

Since the song quotes (sort of) John 9:4, it reminds me of a question some of you might want to ponder.

Jesus said in John 9:4

"We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work."

So why would Paul say in Romans 13:12

The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

?

[AgathaL'Orange]

It's been a long, long day.  And honestly, I was feeling a bit stressed.  But then I read that song and now I'm laughing so hard tears are running!!!  OH, that is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOO HOOOOOO!  So cool.

Tomorrow I am going to try to:

Be 64% nicer.
Eat 64% less.
Give a 64 cent tip to the barrista.


By the way... work the works of him is a bit ambiguous.  This is another GC song that has a very awkward set of lyrics.

[theresearchpersona]

Did anybody else miss that this is, documented, a false prophecy?

Or that it makes the results predicated on the works of men, not the power of God? (a common symptom of a cancer throughout the churches today, where a distorted view of God very much threatens all else that flows out from theology.)

[puff of purple smoke]

Did anybody else miss that this is, documented, a false prophecy?

Or that it makes the results predicated on the works of men, not the power of God? (a common symptom of a cancer throughout the churches today, where a distorted view of God very much threatens all else that flows out from theology.)

To play Devil's advocate, in the article they use the word "goal" and don't prophecy or say it's definitely going to happen. Maybe they did at other times, I don't know.

[Lynn]

I read the current stuff here fairly often.  I remember that song... oh how i hated it... like sheep we had to sing it.  Anyway I clicked on the link and then explored a bit after looking at the song.   up at the top I clicked on audio and then scrolled down and found the "the excommunication of ---- -----" cornerstone church.   they didn't have the audio, but the written transcript.  it makes my heart just pound... i was there at that meeting... it was awful... demeaning... the written word is only 1/2 as bad as it was.   I think others should read this transcript.

[theresearchpersona]

Did anybody else miss that this is, documented, a false prophecy?

Or that it makes the results predicated on the works of men, not the power of God? (a common symptom of a cancer throughout the churches today, where a distorted view of God very much threatens all else that flows out from theology.)

To play Devil's advocate, in the article they use the word "goal" and don't prophecy or say it's definitely going to happen. Maybe they did at other times, I don't know.

This part:

"Sixty-four in eighty-four" the Lord wants us to pray,
"Sixty-four in eighty-four" will come if we obey,
"Sixty-four in eighty-four" the Lord wants us to pray,
"Sixty-four in eighty-four" will come if we obey.

And notice that it puts the onus of what the Lord does...on the sheep:

"Sixty-four in eighty-four" will come if we obey.
[...]
The Lord is the giver He will do His part,
If we just let him work through us giving Him our hearts,

All too common in GC, burdening the sheep. : (

[EverAStudent]

I have been away from the forum for some days.  I come back, and find you folks talking about 64 in 84!!!!!  My heart ran cold. ughhhh.....

Our elders came back from some meeting orchestrated and run by the "national leaders" and told us, "If you believe, this will happen."  (Believe in what, exactly?  Believe in Christ--I did and do, no 64.  Believe in growth--I did not, not "on demand."  Believe in McCotter--by that year, I did not.)  They told us to sing this new song, 64 in 84, and the die-hards of the church really tried, but it was painful watching them pretend to believe in this song and its strategy.

When I got home from that meeting, I did the math.  Since our church had been loosing members prior to the elders' meeting, we had to make up more than 64 percent by the end of 1984, we needed to double our size to meet the quota.  

Growth by quota, what a theology!

Then the elders began begging, then assigning, people to go on the 64 in 84 missions.  How did they expect our church to grow 64% when they had just syphoned off a fair number to go on missions to another city?  

Really, the worst thing about 64 in 84 (aside from the wretched song) was their theology that if we only believed God would grant us our hearts desire, which was supposedly 64 in 84.  Whatever happened to "if God wills we will do this or that"?  Either the "national leaders" really believed they had a direct pipeline to God's thoughts, or, they thought they could cause God to do their will.  

ughhh....

[lone gone]

Faith healing, faith prospering, faith multiplication....  "if you believe hard enough it will happen"

Yet scripture talks about not getting what you ask for because you ask to satisfy your own desires.

Too many simplistic sheep led on by simplistic leaders. There is so little spiritual maturity in our society of short-cutters,soft-sellers, and easy believers. It isn't just in our churches, it's in our culture.

[MidnightRider]

Did anybody else miss that this is, documented, a false prophecy?

It wasn't a false prophecy where I was at. We made the 64%.   :wink:

[theresearchpersona]

Did anybody else miss that this is, documented, a false prophecy?

It wasn't a false prophecy where I was at. We made the 64%.   :wink:

Those poor souls.

[EverAStudent]

It wasn't a false prophecy where I was at. We made the 64%.

I am so conflicted...should I be happy that souls were saved (yes!) or should I be miserable that so many got sucked into GCI (yes!).  My heart hurts...

[saved]

It wasn't a false prophecy where I was at. We made the 64%.

I am so conflicted...should I be happy that souls were saved (yes!) or should I be miserable that so many got sucked into GCI (yes!).  My heart hurts...

Be happy those that got saved got saved.  Not everyone in GCx was/is miserable, and not all were excessively spiritually abused.  Plenty got disenfranchised (or disgusted) and wandered off to find a better place to worship.  Others were quite happy to be where they were (at least, for a while...).  Yes, others were abused, hurt, discarded, and that's a travesty.  But some of them went on to create ministries for spiritual abuse.

God works all things for good... even bad things.