Avoid This

Larry DeBruyn on Crosstalk:Church on the Rise;Why I Am Not a Purpose Driven Pastor

Confidentiality Violation???

Palin calls Warren

What happened to confidentiality????

revival

John Piper

This is good! A message we need to hear.

Truth is necessary

Yesterday we went to NYC for the 7th anniversary of 9/11. I don't want to politcize my blog, but I will say that I am a 9/11 truther. I believe the government had some sort of involvement with 9/11. How, I do not exactly know, but the evidence is overwhelming. Don't take my word for it, research it yourself. Loose Change. Anyway, God shows me through my work how truth is so hard for many people to take. I observed three middle fingers and some choice words while marching through the streets of NYC. I honestly expected it to be much worse. I've heard that truthers have been spit at!

To me, the Bible is truth. But many do not want to hear it, or know it. I've been told it's my "opinion." When I speak from the Bible, I am accused of bashing the person I'm speaking to. I told them I am not bashing them. I am not telling them they are stupid or dumb. I am telling them that apart from Jesus, there is not salvation. See the difference?

We must continue to speak truth. Even when it hurts. Because if we REALLY love someone, we will tell them the truth. It's difficult, especially in today's world. We tend to be sensitive and don't want hurt people's feelings. But God's word cannot be compromised. I pray that we can all be bold and speak truth when necessary.

Bob DeWaay: Pastoral Malpractice and the Visible Church

Posted: 09/03/2008

Pastoral Malpractice and the Visible Church

By Bob DeWaay



Suppose you were to contract a potentially serious medical condition and went to see a doctor. Upon asking him details about the diagnosis and medical consequences you found out that he does not take medical literature literally. In addition, he has not kept up on the latest medical research and has been out of medical school for several decades. He prefers to make his patients happy and comfortable rather than to force them to confront the truth about their health condition. Would you see such a doctor? Neither would I. Such a doctor eventually could be found guilty of malpractice.

But consider this: The doctor who treats a body is dealing with something that is merely temporal. In a lesser-to-greater argument Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). If, as the Scriptures assure us, our souls are more important than our bodies, why do people look to premier doctors to diagnose and treat their physical conditions but select a pastor who sidesteps truth when it comes to their eternal souls? That makes no sense. Apparently many do not truly believe that the condition of their souls is that important.

I thought about this after a recent trip to California, when I was able to speak to a member of Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church. The man was very angry with me for having written a book critical of Warren, and he explained that I had sinned by writing such a book. Rebutting his premise in an attempt to reason with him, I took him to the chapter in my book where I dealt with the mistreatment of Scripture. I pointed to the quote of Genesis 6:8 and asked if, as Warren states, he really believed that the passage was about how we can make God smile like Noah supposedly did.[i] In the book I claim that Genesis 6:8 states that Noah received grace from God, not that Noah gave God something. The man’s response? “Rick Warren is not always careful about how he uses the Scripture.” I failed to convince the man of my position but raised an important issue: how can some Christians think that what the Bible actually says is of such little importance that a pastor who misuses it is deemed to be doing what God wants, while another pastor who corrects the misuse is sinning? Clearly something is amiss.

I have assumed in Warren’s case that he indeed has the tools to perform sound exegesis. Some of the other leaders of large congregations—Bill Hybels, Robert Schuller, or Joel Osteen—likely are capable of doing sound Biblical exegesis and correctly applying the Bible to the lives of those who attend their churches. But sadly they often do not use sound exegesis—or even use the Bible as the main source of their messages. Never before in our history have we possessed better “diagnostic tools” to help us study the Bible. For example, the Logos Bible Software makes it possible for any English-speaking person to dig deeply into the meaning of Biblical passages. Why aren’t more pastors using these “tools”?

We can easily lay the blame at the feet of the seeker movement, whose main premise is that Christianity must be presented in such a way that potential seekers will see it as beneficial in terms of meeting their felt needs. Many important passages of the Bible, interpreted correctly, are not useful to attract seekers. In The Purpose Driven Church, Rick Warren explains:



You cannot switch back and forth between targeting seekers and believers in the same services. For example, don’t follow up a series on “Managing Stress” with “Expository Gems from Leviticus” or follow a series on “What God Thinks About Sex” with “Unmasking the Beast in Revelation.” You’ll create schizophrenic members, and no one will know when it’s safe to bring unchurched friends.[ii]



But this creates a noteworthy temptation to downplay the importance of expounding Scripture accurately. Seekers (i.e., those who are lost) have no hunger for the “pure milk of the Word” because they are not “newborn babes” and cannot “grow in respect to salvation” because they are, in fact, lost (see 1Peter 2:2). This means that the seeker-sensitive pastor has to “file down” the rough edges of Scripture for these seekers in order to make it appear to teach human wisdom about how to make life better. Thus Noah “makes God smile” rather than finds the grace to escape the horrible sin in which his world was caught up (according to the seeker-sensitive telling of the story). We are living in days like those of Noah (Matthew 24:37, 38), meaning that people are facing certain and unexpected judgment. Only pastors who know and preach the Bible accurately have the means to warn them and help them find how to escape God’s wrath.

Pastor Warren may be correct that you cannot do both—expound important Biblical topics and appear attractive to seekers at the same time. But I disagree completely with the idea that we must appear attractive to lost sinners. We need to preach Christ to lost sinners so that they can know the terms of the gospel. That is the only valid “diagnosis” that will do them any good. In the book of Acts this was done up front, and not through a back door after presenting an alternative that would seem attractive to people in their lost state.

The Bible does not give pastors the liberty to handle the Bible in a sloppy manner. Consider this passage: “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine” (1Timothy 5:17 NKJV). We must grant that people have various levels of skill. But every teacher of the Bible must labor to understand the passage under consideration. No amount of skill will make up for a lack of motivation.

The issue of motivation to develop the skills and use the tools to perform Biblical exegesis also has reached seminaries. Because of a growing lethargy concerning Biblical interpretation and sound doctrine, many have turned to such sidetracks as “marriage and family therapy” or deceptive mysticism such as “spiritual formation.” Young people from around the country have written us stating that they want to go into the ministry but cannot find a school where they can gain a solid theological education without being subjected to postmodernism, mysticism, the therapeutic gospel, or church growth theory. If many churches are not looking for those who “labor in word and doctrine,” seminaries have little market to train people to do just that. So we find ourselves in the lamentable situation where young people who want to be godly pastors trained with the tools to accurately handle the Bible have difficulty finding a place to be educated, and those who actually do find such an education have difficulty finding churches that want them. As a result, our evangelical movement has grown accustomed to pastoral malpractice as though it were the norm. Many seminaries are producing professional “people handlers” rather than theologians, and many churches like it that way. This is analogous to the situation in Jeremiah’s day: “The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?” (Jeremiah 5:31)

The standards are strict and generally well observed for those who treat our bodies and cure our physical ailments. But the standards for those who care for our souls have fallen woefully short. That this is so illustrates what little concern the visible church of the 21st century has for eternity. The Bible says, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment” (James 3:1). There will be malpractice lawsuits against pastors, just as there are against doctors. But pastoral malpractice will be dealt with in eternity, making it even more serious. In the meantime, pray that God will raise up pastors who will take seriously their sacred duty to interpret and apply the Bible accurately—and pray for churches that want such pastors to lead them.

Judging

Ronnie McMullen: When is a Christian a Christian?

When is a christian a christian?

I think the title says it all. So maybe I don't need to write anymore in this article. Well, I guess I'll finish my thought. My mind keeps pondering the thought, when is a Christian truly a Christian? I mean is Christian a name? Is it like a denomination? It seems like at this point, it's like having a wart on your backside. Oh I know that seems quite blunt and very ugly. But I believe that's what Christian looks like today. Ugly, and blunt. And when I say blunt, I myself am quite blunt. But what I'm referring to is a blunt . . .with no love. Sort of like the butt end of a rifle in your face.

More and more as I travel and I hear people call themselves Christians I am ashamed for them. They are sheep with no shepherd. They are people with no purpose. They are lost, they are ignorant, and unfortunately, they are now becoming dangerous. Let me explain "dangerous". Sometimes when one acquires too much information and yet does not understand the information they have acquired, they can run their mouth boasting about their knowledge, boasting about their understanding and boasting about their position. But truly the wise who understand the hidden truths know these imposters will fall by the wayside. A Christian shouldn't have to market himself. A Christian should stand out in the crowd. A Christian should carry a gentle and kind Spirit whom the world wants to cast out or who the world is magnetized to. When we carry a kind and gentle Spirit, this does not mean that we can be run over by anyone else, it just means we have the power to strike, but we choose not to. When we are wrong, we deserve in the natural to take vengeance. But the Lord says, "Vengeance is Mine". See, if we trust in the Lord, He avenges us. If we trust in the Lord, we understand true righteousness and know that He is the Judge over all judges. We know that He is the King over all kings. We know that He is the Lord over all lords. But as I continue my walk in the Lord I find more and more people are being provoked by the enemy to become like the enemy, yet wear the robe of a Christian. In other words, I think today there are more imposter Christians than at any other time in history. That seems to me as a definition for "dangerous times". I think today there are more imposter Pastors and leaders than at any other time. These are people dressed in robes of righteousness yet who carry a sickle to slay the neck of the innocent lamb. It reminds me of II Tim 3:5, "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power therof."

Now, I want to finish that scripture. And the reason being, is that most religions pick what they want, and discard the rest. So let's finish II Tim 3:5: "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power therof: from such turn away." Let's even go a little deeper. What do you say? Verse 6: "For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with various lusts." Verse 7: "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." And I think I want to sum this truth up with a verse that really tells the story. We'll start with II Tim 3:4: "Traitors, heady, high-minded or conceited, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God." Now this might be blunt, but I hope it's blunt in a good way. You might say blunt. . . with love. The remnant at this point is being challenged. There is a full frontal attack on the remnant of God right this very minute. It is an attack for your to be provoked to look just like the rest of the world. You are being provoked to blend. You are being provoked to sit on the fence. You are being provoked to be scared of the word "extreme". You are being provoked to either shut your mouth or you are being provoked to lead a people that you were not called to lead. You are being provoked to give yourself a position that the Lord never, ever intended you to be in because you cannot handle the job. You are being provoked to be in meetings with other "so-called" spiritual people and being provoked to talk yourself up and talk others down. You are being provoked to look righteous and faithful when you have no clue of the true power of God. You are being provoked to be led away from humility, from love, from joy, from patience, from kindness, from. . . FORGIVENESS. You are being provoked to choose the side you never wanted to be on. I call unto the true righteous people of God to pray for the fallen ones. Not the fallen angels, but the people that are being provoked to act just as the fallen angels. Can you imagine for those that lust to lay and bed themselves with a human, female or male, that does not have pure bloodlines? Corrupted blood is the name of the game. You lay with a fallen entity and chain yourself to their judgment and their sentence.

We live life on this earth one time. There are no do - overs. The Lord Jesus will not sentence you to hell, and then decide you can put in a couple hours and you can get out now. The Pastors are not preaching about hell. The ones that do understand a little bit of hell, preach it with no love, mercy, grace, or humility. They center their control and their existence around the word hell. They are a bully and a wolf. I will die in the line of fire trying to love versus trying to kill. The Lord's power comes upon those who understand the mysteries and the depths of His existence. It is not words my friends, but action that the Lord looks for. I had someone attend a meeting of mine and rallied herself around to create her own bible study with all the people who were at my meeting. She never, ever spoke any of this to me. She used the meeting that God had brought together as a recruiting center for her ministry. I pray for this lady as joy was void of her body. I don't know why this happened but I had a great lesson to learn in trying to love more deeply. It's easy to love the ones that love you. But it is a challenge to love those that hurt you, that reject you, that bring you constant pain. When, I ask you is a Christian a Christian? Are we Christians on Sundays? Are we Christians on the Sabbath? Are we Christians on the night of Bible study? And one last question, what truly is a Christian? Because, in my opinion, the word "Christian" is just a word. It has no power. It has no meaning. For like all other things, it has succumbed to corruption. I no longer want to use the word Christian, but take a step forward to be bolder. I shall call myself a follower of Christ. And maybe in a few months, I might excel to calling myself a follower of Jesus Christ. And yes, I know His name is Yeshua. We have the Messianics to thank for that. But the Lord Jesus Christ is simple. He's not about perfect names, He's not about fancy titles, He's not about putting His name on a business card, He doesn't need TV cameras, radio programs, or coliseums to make His move. Oh, and by the way, don't think He's silent. For as the lion roars, the thunder shall pierce our hearts. If we can grow up enough and mature ourselves enough to become childlike again, we shall realize the Lord is Our Father. The Lord God has more names than Yeshua and Yaweh. So maybe even the Messianics can learn something too. I do not believe any one people has arrived at retaining all the knowledge of Christ Jesus. May we take time to reread this and throw away anger, or hurt, or any other thing that the enemy might want to attach to us so we don't heed. Maybe it's time to just sit in the quiet. The word Christian should be defined as, "runneth thy mouth". Or maybe another definition could be: "boasteth of pride". Or maybe I have it all wrong and the meaning is "I'm better than thy neighbor". No, I think the definition to a Christian should be love, joy, humility and the following of the teachings of Jesus Christ.

We have come so far away from the teachings of Our Precious Savior. We have received from the world its wisdom, its knowledge and its doubt. We are full of everything that we don't need. We must empty ourselves and receive from Our Father. We must trust in what we can't see and this nation should take a class once again on respect. As I sign off on this article I am saddened by what our nation has become. And I am saddened by what Christians have become. We're only a step away from the same spirit that guided the war of the Crusades. We will soon begin to slaughter one another in the name of Our God. The question is: Which God or god do you serve? May you pray and let this word sink to your soul. If you have considered repenting you are taking a step forward. If you choose to mock . . . well, the rest will be history.



In His Service

Ronnie McMullen

Bob DeWaay on Mike Corley show about PDL

http://www.wqbc.net/mcpaudio/mcp20080902.mp3

Crosstalk:Paul Washer: Asking Jesus into Your Heart Unbiblical