Are You and Your Church Leadership Speaking Out?

In his compelling book, A Letter to the American Church, Eric Metaxas notes the frightening similarities between the contemporary American Church and the German Church of the 1930s.  

Of course, the German Church could not have imagined what was coming in the years ahead.  Who would have imagined the Holocaust could have happened in an enlightened and advanced Western nation like theirs?  Yet we in America today know what transpired and have no excuse if we fail to see the parallel warnings delivered by Dietrich Bonhoeffer to his fellow citizens. 

As hard as it may be, all of us who claim the name of Christ need to speak courageously against the evils afflicting our culture, something most pastors of Nazi Germany failed to do.  Metaxas encourages American Christians to speak out before it is too late and echoes Dietrich Bonhoeffer's prophetic call, "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.  Not to speak is to speak, and not to act is to act.  God will not hold us guiltless.”

Jeff Lukens, The Church Must Speak Out

Think About It

 

Are You Part of the Problem or the Solution?

The evangelical church must shoulder much of the blame for the drainage of scriptural knowledge from our society, a knowledge that was commonplace only a few decades ago. Far too concerned with excellence in our musical productions, entertainment of our young people, and creation of worshipful experiences, we have all but neglected the systematic teaching of the Word. Surely our churches are still bulging with Bible studies, lectures and even sermons, but it is becoming increasingly rare to find the Word of God maintaining its centrality in the Christian community. Bible studies are often a mere sharing of ignorance, sermons are seldom expository and pastors and conference speakers work hard at keeping their audience happy and meeting their felt needs. Ministers are being trained, not to be shepherds of the flock, but presidents of a corporation. As a result, not only is the unbeliever ignorant of the Word, but often the Christian also is as well. Ignorant Christians live foolish lives as they bounce from mystical experience to entertaining programming in hopes of finding an anchor. A return to the priority of the Word is the great need of the moment.

Gary E. Gilley, This Little Church Stayed Home: A faithful church in deceptive times, pg.47-48

The Church Has Jettisoned Her Message

For two decades [as of 2006] the church-growth experts have told us that if we are to attract the unchurched, we must change the way we “do church.” We must offer them new “settings and experiences.” We must meet their perceived felt-needs. We must do away with biblical exposition and focus on stories. We must eliminate dogma and become relevant. We must do away with hymns and major on contemporary music. We must remove our Christian symbols and traditions and behave more professionally and secularly. We must train our pastors to be CEOs rather than shepherds. When we have done all of this, we have been assured, we will attract the masses. Now, after two decades of church leaders buying and implementing everything that the market-driven gurus have offered, we find far fewer people attending church services (of any kind). Their methodologies have failed, yet Barna encourages us to keep it up. If we can just change enough, if we can just offer the right experiences and become more creative, surely we will ultimately break through. …

While the evangelical church has been chasing the every changing fads and whims of our society, she has jettisoned her unique message. At the same time that the church has forgotten her purpose, she has also been infiltrated by a wide range of diluting and corrupting influences that have changed the very core of her being.

Gary E. Gilley, This Little Church Stayed Home: A faithful church in deceptive times, pg. 12-13

Be Forewarned — More Wolves and False Teachings

Heresy Hiding in Plain Sight. 2 hrs/24 min radio program exposing Hillsong’s “worship music.” The first 10-15 minutes waiting to get into the actual program is tedious, and even a few minutes after as they explain what they they are reporting. Have something to do while you’re listening. If this doesn’t wake you to the horrid problems of Hillsong, then you aren’t paying attention.

If the “church” you attend has to do this to get an audience, then it is a goat-pen led by wolves. Imagine the good that money could do in helping Christians in need.

When Christian pastors charge money to attend a Good Friday service, you know they’ve sold out to the devil. And the plot thickens.

Catholics really need to clean their own house.

Beth Moore continues to spiral deeper into false teachings. She doesn’t care WHO she joins with in destroying the church.

A good exposure of the false nature of the Eastern Orthodox religion. I also wrote about that organization nine years ago.

The cult of Young Living Essential Oils.

Beware of Darren Wilson’s horrid false teachings and movies.

The new “churches” are designed for self-glorification.  The idea is to appeal to non-believers, but that is NOT what church is for!

The Pope is now funding those who are trying to immigrate illegally to the USA. Gee, I wonder what Christ would say about helping those who disobey laws?

Claiming to be a Christian seminary or a Christian person doesn’t make it so.  The Christian faith has been abandoned.

More blasphemers supporting homosexual behavior as being okay with God.

A Christian foster and adoption agency has cowardly bent to the fascists and has decided to give children to perverted couples, thereby endangering their lives. They have thereby become wolves to these children.

The double standard of Michael Brown: he is a wolf defending wolves.

Pat Robertson and his “700 Club” need to disappear and quit pretending to be Christian. The man is a false prophet and heretic.

A fellow blogger sent me this link about Seventh-day Adventist teaching. Lots to look at, but more proof that they are indeed a heretical cult.

The Old Cross vs The New Cross

If I see aright, the cross of popular evangelicalism is not the cross of the New Testament. It is, rather, a new bright ornament upon the bosom of a self-assured and carnal Christianity. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it.

A.W. Tozer, cited by Gary Gilley, This Little Church Went to Market, pg.47

Playtime in the Church

Children’s ministries have for years focused on playtime and coloring; teens have been treated like large children who need to be entertained with contemporary music and a multitude of games and activities; adults are not to be bored with biblical exposition and theology. These practices stem from the late sixties, when the rebellious and spoiled baby-boomers…began to reshape everything (including the church) in their own image. Two generations of Christians have come and are moving through the church, many of whom have never experienced what a biblical church should be. So far removed are many Christians from the New Testament paradigm that many do not know that anything else exists or ever existed.

Gary E. Gilley with Jay Wegter, This Little Church Had None: A Church in Search of the Truth, by pg.222

Church Leadership

There are more instructions given in the New Testament regarding elders than on other important church subjects such as baptism, the Lord’s supper, or the Lord’s day. In the history of the church this instruction concerning church organization has often been ignored and the secular models of monarchy (episcopal), oligarchy (Presbyterian), and democracy (congregational) have been followed. The greatest danger followed when a single elder began to preside and ultimately became the chief authority. One person became the bishop of the church. With the threats to the church it was more efficient for one individual to make decisions, guard the doctrine of the church, and exercise discipline over false teachers or believers causing disturbances. When this kind of authority was combined with an autocratic spirit, it became a great detriment to the church. But the practice of the church in later centuries is not our authority for the practice of church today. When the New Testament gives us a consistent pattern and couples that with specific instructions concerning the qualifications and practices of elders, why should this area of Scripture be less authoritative for us than others?

John H. Fish III, “The Life of the Local Church: The Structure, Ministry, and Functions of the Church,” The Emmaus Journal, Vol.6/No.1,  pg. 12 

Bible Studies?

Churches have gradually shifted away from offering basic Bible study in favor of studies that are topical or devotional, adopting formats that more closely resemble a book club discussion than a class that teaches Scripture.

Jen Wilkin, “Let Bible Studies Be Bible Studies,” Christianity Today, March 2017, pg.26

We Don't Need Relevant Churches

Today, there is so much talk about how to make our church services more culturally relevant, especially to the unconverted. However effective this might be in drawing "seekers," it was not so in the early church. Their services equipped the saints to be witnesses wherever they found themselves. The church meeting collectively on Sunday will not win the world, nor will more seminars on church growth; rather, what we need are more equipped individuals who share their faith in hospitals, banks, factories, warehouses, office buildings, and neighborhoods.

Erwin W. Lutzer, The Church in Babylon: Heeding the Call to Be a Light in the Darkness, pg.272

What Prosperity Has Produced

Years of prosperity here in America have produced a younger generation that is not as loyal as their parents to their church and Christian ministries. Many are less likely to object to degrading movies, alternate sexual lifestyles, and various doctrinal compromises. Such people have bought into the self-absorbed culture in which we live. Take a good look at American culture, and you are essentially looking at our "church culture." 

Erwin W. Lutzer, The Church in Babylon: Heeding the Call to Be a Light in the Darkness, pg.256

Does Your Church Have a Sense of Threshold?

Church architecture varies. Every church building communicates some kind of nonverbal message. In the past, the Gothic cathedral was designed to focus attention on God’s transcendence. The use of high ceilings, vaulted space, towers, and spires all served to communicate that in this building, people met with the holy. While some contemporary church buildings still use spires and vaulted ceilings to suggest God’s awesome holiness, other church buildings have been designed to create a fellowship facility. These churches can look more like town meeting halls or even theaters. In some of these churches, the sanctuary becomes a stage, and the congregation becomes an audience. The trend may be seen as a profanation of sacred space to remove any discomfort suggested by the presence and the terror of our holy God. In these settings people are comfortable with other people as they enjoy fellowship with one another. What is often lost in these functional church designs is the profound sense of threshold. A threshold is a place of transition. It signals a change from one realm to another.

R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God, pg.212

A.W. Tozer Quotes

These quotations are from 2009 posts, which I thought needed to be brought up again!

On Modern "Praise"

I’m always suspicious when we talk too much about ourselves. Somebody pointed out that hymnody took a downward trend when we left the great objective hymns that talked about God and began to sing the gospel songs that talk about us. There was a day when men sang ‘Holy, Holy, Holy,’ and ‘O Worship the King,’ and they talked objectively about the greatness of God. Then we backslide into that gutter where we still are where everything is about ‘I.’ ‘I’m so happy,’ ‘I’m so blest,’ ‘I’m so nice,’ ‘I’m so good,’ always ‘I.’ The difference between heaven and hell is the difference between God and I. Jesus Christ, by canceling His ‘I’ was the Christ of God, not as I will, but as Thou wilt. The devil by magnifying his ‘I’ became the devil -- when he said, ‘I will arise, I will raise my throne above the throne of God’.” (Sermon, “Ezekiel”)

You'd think Tozer was sitting in today's churches and listening to their "praise" choruses!

Was Tozer a “Mystic”?

Some of my friends good-humoredly - and some a little bit severely - have called me a “mystic.” Well I'd like to say this about any mysticism I may suppose to have. If an archangel from heaven were to come, and were to start giving me, telling me, teaching me, and giving me instruction, I'd ask him for the text. I'd say, "Where's it say that in the Bible? I want to know.” And I would insist that it was according to the scriptures, because I do not believe in any extra-scriptural teachings, nor any anti-scriptural teachings, or any sub-scriptural teachings. I think we ought to put the emphasis where God puts it, and continue to put it there, and to expound the scriptures, and stay by the scriptures. I wouldn't - no matter if I saw a light above the light of the sun, I'd keep my mouth shut about it 'til I'd checked with Daniel and Revelation and the rest of the scriptures to see if it had any basis in truth. And if it didn't, I'd think I'd just eaten something I shouldn't, and I wouldn't say anything about it. Because I don't believe in anything that is unscriptural or that is anti-scripture.  (What Difference Does the Holy Spirit Make?)

The Church’s Lost Testimony

The church has lost her testimony. She has no longer anything to say to the world. Her once robust shout of assurance has faded away to an apologetic whisper. She who one time went out to declare now goes out to inquire. Her dogmatic declaration has become a respectful suggestion, a word of religious advice, given with the understanding that it is after all only an opinion and not meant to sound bigoted. Pure Christianity, instead of being shaped by its culture, actually stands in sharp opposition to it. (Posted on the Apprising Ministries blog, but no reference was given).

Are You a “Whatever” Person?

Yet most probably the greatest danger in the coming generations will not be in the extremes but in the soft center of almost-anything-goes, amiable accommodationism of current Evangelicalism. As in the time of the prophet Elijah, the postmodern church has become a breeding ground for the undecided, for fence sitters, for people who want to have their cake and eat it too, and so for syncretists who have forgotten the meaning of the word. There are too many Christians weary of taking a stand because they are so wary of repeating the mistakes of the past.  They have become “whatever” people, those who hedge their bets and watch from the sidelines to see who will win the contest on the Mount Carmels of our day.

Os Guinness, Impossible People, pg.111

Watch Out for “Brave New Christians”

The greatest scholars of our age, liberal and not only conservative, along with the united voices of the greatest scholars of all the ages, have shown beyond all reasonable doubt that the Bible is plainly opposed to homosexual behavior, just as it is to all heterosexual sexual behavior outside of marriage—and they are confirmed in their conclusion by the majority of homosexual scholars themselves.  Yet our brave new Christians trust in their own brilliant reinterpretations and serve their own interests without a qualm.  Thomas Jefferson trembled when he pondered on slavery and remembered that God was just. It is surely time for some Christians to tremble when we read and hear the casual twisting and discarding of Scripture by those who still claim to be faithful. There is a rottenness in the church that must be addressed. Christians too need to return and stand humbly and obediently with all their fellow believers before the lordship and authority of Jesus Pantocrator, ruler, sustainer and judge of all the world.

Os Guinness, Impossible People, pg.110

Who Is Changing Whom?

For a generation now the air has been thick with talk of “changing the world,” but who is changing whom? There is no question that the world would like to change the church. In area after area only the church stands between the world and its success over issues such as sexuality. Unquestionably the world would like to change the church, but does the church still want to change the world, or is its only concern to change the church in the light of the world? Something is rotten in the state of Evangelicalism, and all too often it is impossible to tell who is changing whom.

Os Guinness, Impossible People, pg.73

Bad and Ugly Stuff

It is really getting more and more difficult to determine what topics of news items is bad and what are just plain ugly!  There may be some crossover from bad to ugly, but I’ll let you decide what you think they should be.

The Bad:

Jeff Jansen.  How can anyone listen to this man’s claims without laughing or at least rolling their eyes!  Of course Sid Roth is the interviewer, and he’s as whackadoodle as they come!

The Church of England slides faster into full-blown apostasy.

The sad state of the Church in the USA.

More false claims of healing by Bill Johnson and Bethel Redding church.

Seventh-day Adventism is a cult — I just wan to remind you of that.  Interestingly, they are very pro-abortion!

The Ugly:

Bethel Redding can’t get bizarre enough. They teach more and more Word of Faith theology (“little gods”) and false signs and wonders.

It seems like the false teachings at Bethel, Hillsong, and their ilk, can’t get much worse.  What they teach is what Paul called “another gospel.”  The men leading these “goat pens” are wolves.

An example of what is wrong with so much of contemporary “Christian” music.

Todd White: false teacher, false prophet, false Christian. The last video on this post is proof of his abject narcissism.  But if you really want to see how horrid he is, this is the article for you.

Then there is the other Todd - Todd Bentley. I think he might be even more demonic than White!

Smith Wigglesworth was the original Todd Bentley — abusing people and calling it of God.  There is nothing of God in this type of “healing,” which heals nothing.  And his great-granddaughter has accepted this demonic “sinistry.” (The host, Sid Roth, is as false of a teacher as they come.)

John Gray — new to me, but just as spiritually deadly as any.

Oh, the apostasy of the Episcopal Church!

It doesn’t matter what they call themselves, these people are NOT Christian, but they are spawns of Satan.

The humorous 

With all the truly horrid stuff sold in “Christian” bookstores, this may some day become a reality!

Market-Driven/Seeker-Sensitive is NOT Biblical

A church fed on excitement is no New Testament church at all.  The desire for surface stimulation is a sure mark of the fallen nature, the very thing Christ died to deliver us from.

A.W. Tozer

Discernment When “Church Shopping”

This past Sunday, while out to lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant in a nearby small town, we saw a sticker on a car which said, “Infuse Church.”  Of course the words weren’t posted that way — they were in a block sort of with letters going across and down so you actually had to look at it and think about what it said.  Curiosity got the best of me and I have now looked them up on the Internet.  WOW.

When you are looking for a church at which to worship, it would do you good to look at their Internet site to see just what they have to say about themselves.  Sometimes they don’t say enough to tell you really anything about them except perhaps a generic doctrinal statement.  Other times you can get some real red flags!  Our local “Infuse Church” is one of those “red flag” assemblies which should be avoided.  Let’s take a look.

On the home page we find “What to Expect.”  

“we promise joining us on Sunday will be a fun and enjoyable experience”. Really? That’s what the assembly is for, to have a “fun and enjoyable experience”?!? While we may have some enjoyable experiences during fellowshipping, fun and enjoyment is not the purpose of the assembly.

“Come dressed to impress or shorts and a t-shirt, whatever is comfortable.”  While there is nothing inherently wrong about not being dressed more formally for assembling with other believers, especially when there are people who can’t afford good clothing, tradition has led to being dressed as if you are going before an important person — i.e. coming before the Lord in worship should make one want to appear respectful, not slovenly; and it’s not about trying to impress any one..  Any “church” which suggests slovenly appearance is acceptable is one to avoid, in my book.

“Be Ready For… To Laugh and have a good time.” Again, this sounds like they are more interested in partying than they are about learning about doctrine or the Bible.

“Be Ready for…some breakfast and coffee.”  When an assembly we previously attended began spending their income on breakfasts, that was one of the things which really bothered us.  There is no excuse for people to come to church looking to be fed before the service, looking for donations to buy them their meals, etc.  This is nothing but more party atmosphere.

“Be Ready For… Good Music.”  By that they mean a raucous band with “contemporary” music and songs usually devoid of much doctrine and usually all about feeling good.

Look at the video and you will see that you can expect a “relevant” service. “Relevant” is a buzz-word often associated with the emergent movement. Then you see the concert atmosphere of a service.  And just what is “Outlandish Love”?!?

Now click on “Who Are We?” Several red flags appear:

Husband and wife “pastors.”  Obviously of the liberal bent, totally ignoring Paul’s teaching about only men being elders in the assembly.

“Infuse is a new church with a motto of Imperfect People, Outlandish Love, and Real Faith.”  Very emergent sounding. “We believe the church is a place for imperfect people…” Um, no, the assembly is for “imperfect” Christians only.  While non-believing “imperfect” people may show up, they are not the purpose of the assembly.

Scroll down to “Our Vision” and you see:

“To make churches that unchurched people love to attend.”

Who are “unchurched people”? Usually this refers to unbelievers, but I may be wrong here.  We NEVER are to make our assemblies attractive to non-believers.  They also say that “church should be a place where all people love to attend”— HELLO! “Church” should NEVER be a place unbelievers love to attend; if they really love it there, then they aren’t being confronted with sin.

Under “What We Believe” I see a few not-so-clear/confusing things, but one thing stands out under “Church,” which says a purpose of the church is to “serve the world in order to fulfill the last command of Jesus.”  This sounds like the social gospel; nowhere in Scripture are we told to “serve the world.”  Jesus last command was to go and make disciples, not “serve the world.”

Click the next button, “Engage With Us” and find that there are lots of programs, but not much explanation. Scrolling down you’ll find “Ownership (Infuse 101)” and learn that they don’t have a membership, rather they have “Ownership.”  Sounds pretty “relevant,” doesn’t it?

Then we look at “Giving.”  Interesting response to questions about tithing: they are correct that the Christian doesn’t tithe, but then they tell you that you MUST give a percentage that raises with income!  Not everyone is able to do so, especially on the lower income scales.  The church has no business telling people what to give except that they are not to give “grudgingly or under compulsion” (2 Corinthians 9:7), yet this assembly is compelling them give a certain way.

With all this, do I really need to listen to any message?  No.  There may be good messages but the foundation of this assembly is sand.  It is “fun” focused, programs focused, seeker-sensitive, with an unbiblical leadership.

These are things you look for when seeking an assembly at which to worship.  Use discernment.

Can Rock Music Really be Adapted for Christ?

A Nazi swastika is not an inherently evil symbol.  Apart from its association with Hitler’s oppressive totalitarian regime, it could serve as a sign for a variety of wholesome and decent enterprises, for example a logo for an insurance company, a daycare center, or a bakery. Nevertheless, due to its immediate association with Nazi Germany and white supremacy, it would be foolhardy to attempt to rehabilitate the insignia to take on new positive meanings, even if the purpose was to use the symbol to attract modern Nazis in order to eventually convert them to non-Nazis.  Such attempts would lead to countless misunderstandings, alienation, and reprisals until the meaning of the swastika, if possible, could be reversed.  I say, “if possible,” because the swastika is not simply a forgotten artifact of history, but an ever-present reminder of the senseless carnage of the Holocaust.  Further, if it was used to attract Neo-Nazis, skinheads, or white supremacists, it could not do so without misleading them (at least initially) since the external referents that these groups would connect with the swastika would be the opposite of those intended by its new promoters.

CCM faces many of the same obstacles in its attempt to contest and reverse predominately negative associations between the sounds of rock music and their counter-Christian referents.  This is because rock music is an omnipresent entertainment medium that dominates western culture (even eastern culture) and continues to thrive, develop, and reinforce its codes with far more volume and intensity than its stepchild CCM can ever hope to do.

John Makujina, Measuring the Music, pg. 323-324