>> Short video about “Implosion” now posted on YouTube

“America today faces one of the greatest threats to its existence since our founding,” writes U.S. Senator Tom Coburn in his chilling new book, The Debt Bomb. “The threat does not come from any foreign army or terrorist network, but from our own government and its unsustainable spending. If we don’t change course in the near future — most likely the next two years — America as we’ve known it could soon be a shell of its former self. We could face a sudden economic collapse worse than the Great Depression, or we could enter an era of managed decline and waning influence.”

I couldn’t agree more. Most Americans would rather focus on the winners of the “American Idol” competition, or the new Avengers movie, or the latest baseball standings, or almost anything else. But we can’t wish this crisis away. The painful fact is our debt crisis poses an existential danger to the U.S. economy and way of life. Indeed, a new report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says the U.S. is staring over the edge of a “fiscal cliff,” in growing danger of a double-dip recession, higher unemployment, and a European-style debt crisis. We have blown past $15 trillion in federal debt this year, and we have $65 trillion in unfunded federal promises rushing our way. Just look at the horrors unfolding in Greece to see where we may soon be heading. Unfortunately, our economy is only part of the story. We are also seeing families imploding all around us due to adultery, pornography, divorce, unwanted pregnancies, abortion, domestic abuse, violent crime and a metastasizing list of social pathologies.

How serious are these problems really, and can we turn things around in time? These are the questions I examine in-depth in my new book, Implosion: Can America Recover From Its Economic and Spiritual Challenges In Time? which releases in just a few weeks, on June 12th. A few days after the book releases, I will host a three-hour national town hall meeting called an “IMPLOSION SIMULCAST” on Saturday, June 16th at Houston’ First Baptist Church (register here to attend in person). Are you and your church or small group Bible study signed up to watch this simulcast where you live? If you’re not in Houston, the simulcast can only be seen by signing up in advance. I hope you and your church will participate, and invite family members, friends and neighbors to join you for this important discussion. I’ll be honest, I am deeply and increasingly concerned about the very real possibility that God will allow America’s economy and society and collapse. It’s by no means a foregone conclusion, of course. We’ve seen God rescue our country from the brink before, especially during the Great Awakening of the early 1700s and the Second Great Awakening of the early 1800s. I’m praying earnestly for a Third Great Awakening to come soon, and in the book — and the simulcast — I’ll describe why I believe we desperately need such a powerful, sweeping move of God. But my concern is that if the Church doesn’t wake up soon, and if America does not repent and plead with God for forgiveness and mercy soon, the Lord may very well remove His hand of grace from us in the not-too-distant future.

OTHER HEADLINES TO TRACK:

• Previous “Implosion Updates”: #1, #2, #3
• NYT: The Euro Zone Crisis: A Primer
• CNBC: Greek Euro Exit Being Considered: Former PM Papademos
• WSJ: In Europe, Time for Plan B, Only There’s No Plan, and No Time
• Bloomberg: War-Gaming Greek Euro Exit Shows Hazards in 46-Hour Weekend
• UK Daily Mail: One third of unemployed in the eurozone are Spanish as country’s financial woes deepen — Foreign Minister says country faces crisis of ‘enormous magnitude’ “Fears for Spain’s ‘imploding’ economy grew yesterday as figures revealed that one in four people in the country are out of work. The figure – 24.4 per cent – is so high it means that one jobless person in three inside the eurozone is Spanish. Unemployment in the country now tops 5.6million – its highest jobless rate in almost two decades. More than half of its young people are out of work, the figures released yesterday also showed. Spain is expected to be declared in recession within days, for the second time since 2009. Yesterday’s figures emerged hours after the country was downgraded by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s. Fears are growing that the eurozone crisis could erupt again prompted by the problems in its fourth largest economy.”
• Reuters: Spanish economy in “huge crisis” after credit downgrade
• Bloomberg: Unemployment From Italy to Spain Fuels Debt Crisis (Spain’s unemployment is at a Depression-level 24%, while Italy’s unemployment is at 9.3%)
• WSJ: Fitch Cuts Spain, Italy Credit Ratings
• WSJ: Why Spain Could Be a Bigger Headache Than Italy