Church Growth For Sadducees

Easy ways to Church growth without the Holy Spirit's help. Easy to follow outcome based Christianity. Bible inerrancy is a relative truth that ties it all together. The only absolute is growth. A tree is known by the fruit it bears. Heads, dollars and parking spaces and you have a church!

Dead Men Walking

"Arminianism is one of the many great heresies perpetrated upon the world. And those pastors and preachers and teachers and evangelists who preach the man-centered heresy of Arminianism are guilty of heresy." Is there a line drawn in the sand here?

At one time the exalted saint of America, Pelagius, was called a heretic and declared so in the synod at Carthage, which was presided over by Aurelius, while fifty-nine bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Numidia, to which the See of Hippo, St. Augustine's see belonged, held a synod in Mileve. In both places the doctrines of Pelagius were rejected as contradictory. Surprisingly the Catholic Church declared Pelagius a heretic!

Their belief is Pelagianism just "bled to death", but no, variations of it are strong in American Fundamentalism. Pelagianism is obvious in cults like Jehovah Witnesses and Unitarianism. But it is disguised in American Fundamentalism. Men like Adrian Rogers and Jerry Vines embrace forms of it, all the while claiming to be Biblicist.

Imagine, Adrian Rogers embracing what the Catholic Church rejected! That is a double edged statement that can make you proud or it can make you shameful. What does it do for you?

Who Will Fill Dr Rogers' Shoes To Oppose Calvinism?

Ergun Caner "asked who might fill the shoes of Adrian Rogers to stand against “those hyper-Calvinists who have ceased to give biblical invitations and embraced Protestant Scholasticism.”

Will it be Steve Gaines Johnny Hunt Jack Graham Jerry Vines Paige Patterson Ergun Caner or Nelson Price?

Will they continue the same shameless straw man tactic or will they clean up the opposition?

Will the "worst of the worst of anti-Reformed polemics" continue?

Pickles Have Souls

"Adrian Rogers (the first SBC president elected by the Patterson- Pressler coalition) said, "If we say pickles have souls, they (seminary professors) better teach that pickles have souls." Seminary teachers who refused to comply were fired, sought employment elsewhere, or took early retirement. Their replacements are indoctrinators who have usurped the place of the Holy Spirit and now presume to make Southern Baptists accountable for living according to the interpretations and convictions of the Patterson-Pressler coalition."

Can't you see the cycle of abuse? Rich donors at Bellevue Baptist backed Adrian Rogers massive dream of big ministries locally, nationally and internationally. They took great pride in "usurping the place of the Holy Spirit" all the while Dr Rogers was crediting Jesus' enablement. These men are sons of Satan. The same Satan that was refused by Christ in the wilderness, Dr Rogers allied with. "Menservants and maidens" get beaten down in this process and God's night visitation left Paul Williams as silent judgement against Bellevue Baptist.

When Dr Rogers sent an indirect message via pastors in Atlanta to seminary professors that they had better comply with big donors, he was now the son of Satan. He was corrupting those pastors at Atlanta with inner driven strength and out come based values. If they too wanted to grow a large church, this was the way to do it.

If this were liberals and moderates forcing professors to teach their views or else be forced into early retirement or resignation the conservatives would think that was awful. But this conservative bullying and the "inerrant" issue is the "soul of the pickle". Biblical inerrancy is as relative as pickles having souls. Don't you think that makes God angry?

The only way for revival to come to fundamentalism is for Christ minded people to stand up to these donors and say enough is enough. We trust in God and not your riches! Will fundamentalism do it? No way!

Just like in Jesus day a few individuals will tie the hand of the strong men and ridicule and ravish their houses. That is happening even now. Revival won't come rather early retirements and sudden resignations will take place in Churches across America. The move of God will be seen not in edification and encouragement but massive layoffs. When you see these things take place then know the end is near. There will not be a revival but a revolution. Revivals result in life revolutions start with death. Revivals result in reformations however temporary they may be. Revolutions usually end in long lasting chaotic situations.

Pickles Have Souls

The phrase "pickles have souls" is a phrase that would have meaning to a person who believes that truth is not absolute and that the source of our strength is an inner driving force and the effective good outcome is the mark of our strength. Such men care not that the Bible is inerrant but that the Church grows. These men are the men who have made Bellevue large by their wealth. These men told Dr Rogers that if we say pickles have souls then you had better preach pickles have souls.

We will never know who these men are! They are there and they control the church. They are the products of semi-pelagian thought under girded day after day by Dr Rogers' preaching. They are very successful business men and corporate heads and they are inner driven and outcome based.

There are two specific changes that these men determined had to be made after Dr Rogers retired; the music and youth programs. The new pastor had to understand this and they made sure the selection committee knew it as well. Jim Whitmire and Rob Mullins were in the way of this change and were very close to Dr Rogers and these men would not suggest this to him but they would make sure the search committee understood. Jim Barnwell said, "Gaines had made changes, but many of them were in place when he came." The decision to get rid of Whitmire and Mullins was already made and Dr Rogers stood in the way. It had to appear that Steve Gaines had made the decision.

These men who are still there are the children of the same one that fathered the Sadducee in Jesus' day. The manner in which Jim and Rob were let go was typical of a corporate move and their hurts matter little to these men. It was a very unChristlike matter. They suffer for it. Neither has confided in me. I do not know Whitmire but only have observed him at Bellevue. The night of his announced retirement his physical demeanor gave away his hurt. I have met with Rob Mullins and have known him and I know the hurt he endures, yet he has not confided in me the source of his hurt.

These men are not interested in Steve Gaines rather they like that "fifth avenue smile" of Jamie Parker. They like it that he is young and "upbeat". So Steve Gaines keep on beating the conservative drumbeat but know that it is not important toward Bellevue's largeness, "Pickles have souls".

Pickles Have Souls

David Rogers posted on his blog, Love each Stone: "One of the most referenced (and misinterpreted) quotes of my father, Adrian Rogers, by those who opposed the "Conservative Resurgence" is that SBC seminary professors must teach "whatever they are told to teach. And if we tell them to teach that pickles have souls, then they must teach that pickles have souls!" Of course, the point he was making, and with which I agree, did not have anything to do with whether or not pickles have souls, nor whether or not a small group of people in the SBC ought to be able to dictate what others believe – but rather the need for those who receive their salary from the Cooperative Program to be accountable for their doctrinal views to those who pay their salary: the churches of the SBC. "

The phrase, "pickles have souls" is about money. Adrian Rogers speaking to a group of ministers in Atlanta 1987 as SBC president on the subject of seminary presidents' responsibility to the SBC had a mental lapse and stated a phrase, I'm sure, he wishes he had never uttered. I'm sure most of the pastors looked stoned faced as they understood that ministers are servants of the Lord and are not employees of men. They are priest of the most high God and receive under God's direction portions of the sacrifices men offer to Him.

In 1987 Paul Williams was sodomizing his own young son and would continue doing so for 12-18 months. Dr Rogers was starting LWF, president of the SBC and leading his congregation in a gigantic step of faith and then this slip of the tongue. It makes one ask if a statement like this was on his mind then he had heard it before from someone. Had someone in a personal conversation reminded him that they had given sufficient financial backing that they owned him. You must know that in every large church (as well as small churches) there are men who do not separate business from spiritual matters. Sadducee's! The probability is that the pastor who says that these men do not control him is a liar. Most ministers know that the bottom line is they owe more to these men than they do to God! (If people commented to my posts then I should get more denials of that statement than I could handle. You can say you are God's servant till you are blue in the face.)

When people contribute more than you could personally repay them then they are in a position to tell you what to do. Not every contributor does this but men who are exceptionally successful entrepreneurs and have rich family backing tend to think of people in terms of ownership. They attend church with this mindset. They care less if the Bible is inerrant or not. Sadducee!

What an unbelievable notion, pickles have souls, but if men say it you had better believe it!

More Bricks Less God

Did we form prayer groups to agree together that the falling satellite would not harm anyone?
Well, of coarse not, we have the resources to break it up into smaller pieces and burn on reentry!
Can we control the rain and command it where and when to fall? I believe that we can! If we all just focus internally we can do it!

Top Ten Reasons For American Fundamentalism's Desolation

A.W. Tozer wrote about the current dilemma of fundamentalism in his day. "A widespread revival of the kind of Christianity we know today (1957) in America might prove to be a moral tragedy from which we would not recover in a hundred years." Tozer's words were prophetic! They are being fullfilled before our eyes.He says: "A generation ago, as a reaction from Higher Criticism and its offspring, Modernism, there arose in Protestantism a powerful movement in defense of the historic Christian faith. This, for obvious reasons, came to be known as fundamentalism."He also said, "Fundamentalism fell victim to its own virtues. The Word died in the hands of its friends. The voice of the prophet was silenced and the scribe captured the minds of the faithful. In large areas religious imagination withered. An unofficial hierarchy decided what Christians were to believe. Not the Scriptures, but what the scribe thought the Scriptures meant became the Christian creed. Christian Colleges, seminaries, Bible Institutes, Bible Conferences, popular Bible expositors all joined to promote the cult of textualism. The system of EXTREME DISPENSATIONALISM which was devised, relieved the Christian of repentance, obedience and cross carrying in any other than the most formal sense. Whole sections of the New Testatment were taken from the Church and disposed of after a rigid system of 'dividing the Word of Truth'.""The error of texualism is not doctrinal. Not its theological beliefs are at fault, but its assumptions. It assumes, for instance, that if we have a word for a thing we have the thing itself. If it is in the Bible, it is in us. If we have the doctrine, we have the experience. If something was true for Paul it is of necessity true of us because we accept Paul's epistles as divinely inspired. The Bible tell us how to be saved, but textualism goes on to MAKE IT TELL US that we are saved, something which in the very nature of things it cannot do. Assurance of individual salvation is thus no more than a logical conclusion drawn from doctrinal premises, and the resulant experience wholly mental."The current condition of American fundamentalism is the "Beliver's Babylonian Captivity"Tozer states, "the letter triumphed, the Spirit withdrew and textualism ruled supreme."A.W. Tozer, 'Keys to the Deeper Life'


Sadly these word from Tozer have been fulfilled and American Fundamentalism is beyond repair. Like Jerusalem in Jesus' day their house was left desolate. While the rest of the world sees revival American Fundamentalism will go it alone without seeking God's covering.

I submit 10 reasons for God's abandonment:

1) Worship of the Bible rather than the author of the Bible.

2) Modified the sovereignty of God.

3) Pseudo-trinitarian - spiraling toward unitarianism.

4) Excessive pragmaticism - self determination

5) failed to evangelize the world

6) semi-pelagian - false view of sinful nature

7) excessive wealth - no accountability - institutional wealth

8) hierarchal disciplieship

9) informal subjective ritualism

10)inner directed - purpose driven

What Do I Believe?

Heidelberg Catechism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
History
Elector Frederick III, sovereign of the Palatinate from 1559 to 1576, appointed Zacharius Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus to write a Reformed catechism based on input from leading Reformed scholars of the time. One of its aims was to counteract the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, basing each of its statements on the text of the Bible. Another aim was to find common ground between the Lutherans and the Reformed.
Commissioned by the sovereign of Palatinate, it is sometimes referred to as the Palatinate Catechism.
The Catechism is divided into fifty-two sections, called "Lord's Days," which were designed to be taught on each of the 52 Sundays of the year. The Synod of Heidelberg approved the catechism in 1563. In the Netherlands, the Catechism was approved by the Synods of Wesel (1568), Embden (1571), Dort (1578), the Hague (1586), as well as the great Synod of Dordt of 1618-1619, which adopted it as one of the Three Forms of Unity, together with the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt.[1] As such elders and deacons were required to subscribe and adhere to it, and ministers were required to preach on a section of the Catechism each Sunday so as to increase the often poor theological knowledge of the church members.[2] In many Dutch Reformed denominations this practice is still continued.

Structure
In its current form, the Heidelberg Catechism consists of 129 questions and answers. These are divided into three main parts:

I. The Misery of Man
This part consists of the Lord's Day 2, 3, and 4. It discusses:
The Fall,
The natural condition of man,
God's demands on him in His law.

II. The Redemption (or Deliverance) of Man
This part consists of Lord's Day 5 through to Lord's Day 30. It discusses:
The need for a Redeemer
The importance of faith, the content of which is explained by an exposition of the 12 Articles of the Christian faith, known as the Apostle's Creed. The discussion of these articles is further divided into sections on:
God the Father and our creation (Lord's Days 9-10)
God the Son and our salvation (Lord's Days 11-19)
God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification (Lord's Days 20 - 22)
Justification
The Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper


III. The Gratitude Due from Man (for such a deliverance)
This part consists of the Lord's Day 31 through to Lord's Day 52. It discusses:
Conversion
The Ten Commandments (Lord's Days 34 - 44)
The Lord's prayer (Lord's Days 45 - 52)

Lord's Day 1
The first Sunday section should be read as a summary of the catechism as a whole. As such, it beautifully illustrates the character of this work, which has a devotional rather than dogmatic quality. This can be seen in the first question, which is:
"What is your only comfort in life and death?"

The answer is:
"That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him."

Use in Various Denominations and Traditions
The fact that this booklet was also meant to form bridges between Lutheran and Reformed Protestants in Germany can for example be seen from the role the Law takes as both the source of knowledge of human depravity and misery (first part of the Catechism) and the 'rule for gratitude', the source of knowledge of God's will for a holy life. It would be until the early 19th century, however, before King Frederick William III united significant portions of the Lutheran and Reformed churches in Germany, and much of that union took on a pietistic rather than a confessional character.
The influence of the Catechism extended to the Westminster Assembly of Divines who, in part, used it as the basis for their Shorter Catechism.
Several Protestant denominations in North America presently honor the Catechism officially: the Christian Reformed Church, the United Reformed Churches, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Reformed Church in America, the United Church of Christ, (a successor to the German Reformed churches), the Reformed Church in the United States (also German Reformed) the Free Reformed Churches of North America, the Heritage Reformed Congregations, the American and Canadian Reformed Churches, and several other Reformed churches of Dutch origin around the world.

Why Was The Conservative Resurgence So Important?

The strong belief in inerrancy assisted Adrian Rogers to convince the people that Calvinism was wrong without using the facts of scripture. He cunningly devised sound bites to lure the congregation away from the truth.

Dr Rogers: "Calvinism is wrong, because I know it is wrong, and if I know it is wrong it is wrong, right?" (drum sting)
the people: "What a preacher!"
Dr Rogers: "I'm a Bible believer, right? Right!" (drum sting)
the people: "What a preacher!"
Dr Rogers: "Well Yes, I defend the inerrant Word, don't I?" (drum sting)
the people: "Oh yes, what a preacher!"
Dr Rogers: "I say Calvinism is wrong, right?" (drum sting)
the people: "What a preacher!"
Dr Rogers: "I say what the Bible says, right?" (drum sting)
the people "Always!"
Dr Rogers: "If I say Calvinism is wrong then the Bible says it is wrong, right?" (drum sting)
the people: "What a preacher!"
Dr Rogers: "So don't argue with me, take it up with God!" (drum sting with cymbals)
the people: "Amen and amen!"

Bellevue Baptist's Embeded Ridicule

We all now know that as of September 11, 2001 there were sleeper terrorist cells embedded throughout our American cities. We cannot doubt there are many more cells waiting futher instructions for attacks against American targets. In like manner A sleeper cell was embedded in the Bellevue church in the person of Paul Williams.

In a vision I saw a chair and an angry voice saying "Adrian Rogers sit in this chair and watch your beloved Bellevue crumble and be distroyed" From heaven he watches with teary eyes his followers in angry fashion disburse throughout Memphis searching for a church that preaches the "illusive faith" of their deceased pastor. He pleads with heaven to send someone to Memphis to tell them to stay with Bellevue.. His tears increase when he hears of the aggressive behavior of those who victimize Steve Gaines and make him bear the consequences unjustly. His heart breaks with the peace the man who sabotoged his legacy experiences in new environments in Fayette County. He cries for vindication for the sake of the son Paul sodomized. There will be a time when God wipes the tears from his eyes and assures him that wrongs will be punished.

Words Of A Pedophile

Starting in 1987-88 Paul Williams discipled his young son in the ways of sexual perversion, teaching him to observe all the perverse skills of homoeroticism. It took 12-18 months but he accomplished it by a basic day by day consistency. A little here a little there, line upon line, precept by precept. (Isaiah 28:13) The young lad received instruction he would never depart from. Not only was Paul perverse he took pleasure (Rom 1:32) in the perverting of his own young son he had conceived together in a loving relationship with his wife.

Would you expect a pedophile to say anything spiritually profound? NO! Everything he says is self-serving. At Dr Rogers memorial service he said:

"We've got people who appreciate the fact that this is a preacher that was teaching the Word of God and he was teaching it not simply as head knowledge or heart knowledge but he was stressing to our people, here is the way that you can practically apply the Word of God on a consistent day by day basis and what he was speaking of did not simply affect our people's lives on Sunday morning or sunday night but from Monday mornings through saturday evening and so it was a seven day a week relationship that wasn't just a religion but a relationship with Christ."

The summary of this message at the memorial service by Paul Williams is: "A relationship with Christ can be established by a practical application of the word of God on a consistent day by day basis." This is a semi-pelagian subliminal message embedded into an otherwise perfect memorial service for Adrian Rogers. It is embedded into unerasable archives that will forever ridicule the faulty American Fundamentalistic message that Dr Rogers preached. It says that human free will determines destiny.

For The Thing Which I Fear Cometh Upon Me

I attended the memorial service for Adrian Rogers at Bellevue. Anyone unaware what the service was about would have known that whoever was enclosed in the casket had a greart God! Jim Whitmire directed a superb worship portion of the service. I had nerver heard more elegant worship than the choir that night. Music was awesome. To my great satisfaction there was no applause after each song! It was reverential! The Holy Spirit was in the arrangements and Dr Whitmire reflected that spiritual aura. I felt that this was a historical worship event that should be repeated every Sunday at Bellevue.
Anyone unaware who was enclosed in the casket would have know by the remaining lenghty portion that the man was a great man as elder after elder enunciated. I felt that even Adrian himself grew tired of the enless display after such heavenly worship.
Was the Holy Spirit involved in the programing of elder statesmen? I personally think so. There was one man whose remarks spoiled the program as everyone now knows. It was an unerasable disgrace embedded in the evening. I enclose the remarks:
"We've got people who appreciate the fact that this is a preacher that was teaching the Word of God and he was teaching it not simply as head knowledge or heart knowledge but he was stressing to our people, here is the way that you can practically apply the Word of God on a consistent day by day basis and what he was speaking of did not simply affect our people's lives on Sunday morning or sunday night but from Monday mornings through saturday evening and so it was a seven day a week relationship that wasn't just a religion but a relationship with Christ."
These words set in concrete were the words of a man not seeking to honor a man he loved but words to galvanize his future against going to jail. The death of Dr Rogers must have struck a fear in him that the realization of what he greatly feared for the last seventeen years was the uncovering of his secret past. Something in Dr Rogers seemed to guarentee his secrecy and he knew that Steve Gaines spelled trouble for him. Dr Rogers was a smooth predictable man and Dr Gaines was jagged and unpredictable!

He had assurance from Dr Rogers that he wasn't going to hell and his only worry was going to jail. Was the Holy Spirit in the program? I believe so. He is also sovereign isn't He?

When Saints Are Devilish!

keith solomon said... Bratton Report -9:27 AM, February 08, 2008; 2:20 PM, Feb 09, 2008; 8:52 PM, Feb 10, 2008
"I just dropped by the 'savingbellevue' site to see what all the ruckus was about the videos that the interns put together, and this is the headline on the story (which links to the videos): See if you can find the gospel in this production made with the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent for the media depart on equipment and salaries paid for by your tithe money. This is a perfect example of why I've opposed Jim Haywood's and Integrity Does Count's efforts from day one. Those efforts are built on lies. As anyone who has ever taped a recital or a birthday party can tell, the videos were made with a hand held camcorder and edited with off-the-shelf software. Haywood is tech-savvy, and he knows that perfectly well. Implying that the video was made by Jim Barnwell's staff and that the cost was enormous is a deliberate, malicious lie. The amateur editting and audio/video quality aren't anywhere close to Bellevue video productions, as Haywood knows perfectly well. I suspect he thought that the videos were so inane that people wouldn't feel insulted enough, so Mr. Haywood decided to help the truth out a little. Haywood has long been a critic of the Purpose Driven Church movement, saying that they don't teach what sin is. I wonder why it is that JH doesn't seem to understand what holiness is? Can't he understand that God is not honored by deception? I wonder where he got the justification for the name 'Integrity Does Count'? I just can't help but wonder how things might have unfolded if deceivers like Haywood, Sharp, and Emerson hadn't been allowed to sneak around with their recorders and spread rumors, innuendos, and lies. We needed men with the mind of Christ to step up during the conflict, but instead we got men with the mind of Jacob. Lucky us."

Keith, my perspective on all this, I'm sure you know, is different than yours. The posters on New Bellevue Baptist Church Open Forum as well as the above mentioned have learned situational ethics from semi-pelagian ministries. Dr Rogers, maybe unconsciously, resorted to this tactic when he fought against Calvinism using a straw man fallacy to argue his points.

You ask, why didn't Jim Haywood understand God's holiness? Didn't he understand that God is not honored by deception? Can't you see where all this came from? Where did these men learn to sneak around with recorders, spread rumors, lies and innuendos? Sometimes zeal for the truth perverts men's minds and especially if there is a belief that men are not so bad and they are redeemable by personal choice.

All around us we are seeing this saturate the fundamental Christian community. You can't tell the world from the church. Sometimes the world displays more character than the church!

Has an unbeliever in Memphis sodomized his own young son? I haven't heard about any. An ordained associate pastor at Bellevue did, not once, but repeatedly for 12-18 months. He walked the halls of Bellevue for 17 years maintaining his secret evil crime!

So don't be surprised by what followers of Adrian Rogers are liable to do!

Dr John C. Ryland, Jr.

1 O LORD, we would delight in Thee, And on Thy care depend; To Thee in every trouble flee, Our safe, unfailing Friend.
2 When human cisterns all are dried, Thy fulness is the same; May we with this be satisfied, And glory in Thy name.
3 Why should we thirst for ought below, While there's a fountain near, A fountain which doth ever flowThe fainting heart to cheer?
4 No good in creatures can be found; All, all is found in Thee: We must have all things and aboundThrough Thy sufficiency.
5 Thou that hast made our heaven secureWilt here all good provide; While Thou art rich, can we be poor --- Thou who for us hast died?
6 O Lord, we cast each care on Thee, And triumph and adore; O that our great concern may be To love and praise Thee more.

Dr. Ryland's advice to young academicians:
"Mind, no sermon is of any value, or likely to be useful, which has not the three R's in it. — Ruin by the Fall; Redemption by Christ; Regeneration by the Spirit.

STEM Publishing : Hymns : Spiritual Songsters : Dr. John Ryland, D.D. 1753-1825

Paul Williams, The Nihilist

In close proximity to Dr Rogers is a man who has slipped lower than humans can imagine. Perhaps the lowest level of sinfulness would be Nihilism. A doctrine that traditional values are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless. Rom 1:28 He considered the life of his own son so insignificant as to be destroyed for the sake of destruction. A death would have been preferable to the ordeal he put him through. Jesus' suggestion to a man considering doing this to his son was suicide. He even described an act so certain to absolutely destroy oneself. Cast yourself into the sea with a millstone tied around your neck. Some sinful situations, because of the hardness of men's hearts, can't be resolved on earth they are resolved in heaven. I John 5:16; Heb. 10:26


Nihilism drove Friedrich Nietzsche crazy in his dying days. The philosophy he popularized destroyed his soul and warped his mind to insanity. But Paul Williams advocating the same philosophy in practice heard a gospel that helped him maintain a balance between insanity and salvation. He could sodomize his son Saturday night and teach Sunday School the next day!

The semi-pelagian beliefs of Adrian Rogers afforded Paul Williams the meaning that otherwise drove Friedrich Nietzsche crazy. This is a sad commentary to fundamental Christianity. Rather than reveal the secrets of his heart and have Paul Williams fall to his knees and confess "of a truth I perceive that indeed God is with you." Paul Williams' heart was cauterized with the "love worth finding."

Where Is The Outrage?

Murder of gay student sparks outrage, debate - murder of Matthew Shepard, a student at the University of Wyoming - Christian Century, Oct 28, 1998

OUTRAGE It is the response toward injustice and is the familiar reaction we see on a weekly basis on our globe. Cars overturned, fires set, buildings broken into, looting, people injured and killed. Emotional outburst and speeches by men and women who rise up as leaders against injustices.

Today at work I ask a black lady working beside me, "why is it that a white police officer accidentally shoots a youth who he mistakenly thinks has a pistol and riots erupt. It happens in LA, Detroit, Chicago and NY and yet an ordained SBC minister at Bellevue Baptist sodomizes his own young son for 12-18 months and there is no outrage by the church to speak of?" She said, "that is a shame!"

One poster on a blog wrote: " When Bellevue's Paul Williams resigned from teaching his adult SS class a few months before the story about him molesting his son came out, members of his former class were saying that they'd go to any class he taught -- if he'd just come back. Someone asked them if that wouldn't make them feel bad for the victim, and their response was, "No, Paul's the best there is!"

In the Old Testament when a grievous highhanded crime such as this was committed the man would be led outside the city gates and stoned. The angry crowd would gnash their teeth at him and in riotous manner cast stones at him as if he were a wild animal.No, for us it was a "moral failure" and the blood covers him, he is forgiven. However Heb 10:26 says to me that "no, he isn't forgiven," rather a willful sin for which there is no sacrifice. A fearful awaiting of fiery indignation in the life to come when he faces an angry God.

Arminians Are Made Not Born

Galatians 4:9 (King James Version)
"But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?"

You were not regenerated into an Arminian. You didn't just metamorphose into a "free willer" rather you were supernaturally tranformed into a new creation in Christ by the Holy Spirit. Then you were discipled into an Arminian.

Now Calvinism is a nickname attached to those who follow the doctrines of grace specifically as defined by the Council or Synod of Dort spelled out by the acronym TULIP. It is named after John Calvin however a Calvinist is not necessarily a follower of Calvin.

Like it or not, and I will assume most will not like it, when you were born again you were reborn a Calvinist. That all changed when you were mentored into Arminianism or some variation thereof. Paul addressed this when he said: "O foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you."

They became a Christian by the hearing of faith yet other men crept in teaching perfection by the works of the flesh following the law.

To be an Arminian someone will have to explain it to you by logic that God will not make you do anything against your will. You will scratch your head and say, " that sure makes sense to me!" But he/she will not tell you what the Bible says about being dead in sins and our inability to turn to God. You should ask them, "how does a dead man make a decision?"

Adrian Rogers Was The Holy Spirit's Pope

For the Catholics the Pope is the representative of Christ on the earth. He is the vicar of Christ. By extension every priest is the representative of the Pope serving the eucharistic body of Christ to his parish.

When Adrian Rogers says: "the best friend that you have on earth is the Holy Spirit" (p.3 "The Holy Spirit Your Best Friend") he means Christ, who is in you. He confuses the offices of Christ and the Holy Spirit. He does this because he is semi-pelagian, Arminian, and not a Bible believing preacher.

He is a pseudo-trinitarian traveling down the crooked path toward unitarianism. In time he would have caught up with the Jehovah's Witnesses!

He believes the main purpose of the Spirit's job is to provide the 'itty bitty' miracle of pre-conversion enablement (transubstantiation) granting a sufficient temporary/permanent modification of total depravity in order for the dead to act freely in choosing Christ.

When the Spirit's work is finished, Rogers elbows himself in to proclaim, "come to Jesus" . He is now the vicar of the Father issuing the call.

Obviously, all this is silly! Inspite of Rogers' faulty theology the Holy Spirit actually regenerates fully the dead sinner, gives him the call and the sanctified saint goes down the isle to the altar calling on the name of the Lord. The Lord does the saving and Rogers gets the glory. Everyone leaves church thankful for a preacher like Dr Rogers! (including the unregenerate who responded to Rogers' call. Apparently this is a large number of people. Oh well, this is the price you pay for Arminian evangelism)

Strangely all that has changed since Steve Gaines is now at Bellevue. Steve ain't no Pope, sorry.

The Cry Of Sodom

Christa Brown cried out on her blog that she was struggling with her faith. She said: "Lately, I’ve been pondering that painting again. It makes me think about my own struggle with faith.I often think it would be so much easier if I could just walk away from faith. I yearn to let go of it. I pray to be free from it.Most of the pure, raw hatefulness I’ve encountered is linked in with my faith. So in my neural networks, faith-related things are tethered to nightmares.I envy people who find comfort in their faith. What a luxury. For me, faith is something I endure.Faith is a constant, endless struggle. It’s not a source of solace.I’ve tried so many times to let go of it. Wouldn’t that make more sense? If I was actually paying attention to Southern Baptist leaders, I would certainly think so. After all, what possible meaning can any faith group hold when its leaders become so wrapped up in themselves and their power that the safety of children is secondary?"

Does God hear her cry? Absolutely! Will God avenge the injustice done to her by a SBC minister? Absolutely! Do we hear her cry? She doesn't think so. Well, do we?

Did anyone hear the stifled cries of Chris Williams as his father's hand covered his son's mouth to keep from waking Chris' mother? God did! Did God hide from Dr Rogers that awful thing that Reverend Williams did to his son? Yes! Why? Because he was an Arminian. Seriously, his semi-pelagianism had so corrupted Dr Rogers theology that it was futile to tell him anything about the sinful condition of his own staff.

Was it futile for God to tell Abraham about the sinful condition of Sodom? Was it futile to tell him there were cries for help that were reaching the throne of Heaven? Just my opinion but I think so. Was Abraham the intercessor we make him out to be? Do we care today that children are being raped by sodomizers? Will we sit back and ignore the sinfulness of the world we live in?

Will God tell anyone in American fundamentalism about the cries? Has semi-pelagianism so corrupted our core spiritually that we really don't care? Abraham and his wife had just doubted the promises of God for themselves. It seems that his pleading for righteous men in Sodom was a cry for him and his wife. They themselves were depraved and if he could plead for some in Sodom then unconsciously he might find redemption for himself. Afterall, his wife had just laughed at God and then when confronted she denied it. They insulted the sovereignty of God.
"Is anything too hard for the Lord?"

God withheld the information from Adrian Rogers because He knew that he would repeat the error of Abraham. Abraham's plea was an attempt to alter for himself the nature of God. "God you are not a God of wrath but a God of mercy and love." He would atempt to redefine depravity, "everyone in Sodom is surely not worthy of destruction." "They do have a small portion of redeemable value and can decide for themselves their own destiny."

Rogers would argue that while they are totally corrupt, "surely God can grant them some divine pre wrath enablement to escape for themselves."

Oh well, should I keep rambling? It is just speculation of one person early in the morning.
Paul Williams and his wife have resumed a normal life in Fayette County having fled Cordova from accusing fingers. They have settled into a local church and he is seen at young people's basketball games. His only worry is jail not hell. Meanwhile every where he goes he spreads a little hell. His wife, son and grandchildren will not be able to trust him even if they say they do. The church will not trust him even if they say he is forgiven. They will increase the budget for nursery security. Every worker will be screened and new locks will be added to doors that never had locks. Everywhere he goes the cries of Sodom will be heard by God.

Now Rogers hears these cries from heaven and he too cries tears of intercession. Will we hear? Probably not! We will insist on being hospitable, struggle with our comfort and insist that we all just get along and not fuss. It is a love worth finding.

Charles Finney And Adrian Rogers

FINNEY wrote: "In a revival, the Christian's heart is liable to get crusted over, and lose its relish for divine things; his unction and prevalence in prayer abate, and then he must be renewed again. It is impossible to keep him in such a state as not to do injury to the work, unless he passes through such a process every few days. I have never labored in revivals in company with any one who would keep in the work and be fit to manage revival continually, who did not pass through this process of breaking down as often as once in every two or three weeks" (E.E. Shelhamer, Finney On Revival, p. 63).

JAMES BOYLE -- As a co-worker with Finney, Boyle wrote on December 25th, 1834: "Dear brother Finney, let us look over the fields where you and others have labored as revival ministers, and what is now their moral state? What was their condition within three months after we left them? I have visited and revisited many of these fields, and groaned in spirit to see the sad, frigid, carnal, contentious state into which the churches have fallen--and fallen very soon after our first departure from them" (B.B. Warfield, Perfectionism, p. 26).

Adrian Rogers wrote in "Authentic Christianity" p. 3 "My heart is burdened today over a carefully hidden sin that is affecting our World, our nation, and our cities. It is called superficial Christianity. I hate to say it, but even our churches are plagued with this problem."

He adds: "I thank God For those who attend worship services, but the problem in america on sunday morning is that our churches are full of empty people - people without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior."

"Oh, they have religion. The Bible speaks of those who have a form of godliness, but deny its power. They have been infected with a mild form of Christianity and have never caught the real disease. It is not that they are not religious."

Rogers and Finney share a theological view called semi-pelagianism. Rogers copied many of the evangelistic styles of Finney and publically praised Finney. Finney's pelagianism was probaly more radical than Rogers. Rogers followed the evangelistic fervor of Finney, Moody and Billy Sunday. In one sermon I heard him extol the rich heritage these men left us for today.

Finney and Rogers were both fervent and eager. They had charismatic personalities and were destined to be successful at whatever they attempted. They were humble and had some degree of spiritual discernment. They worshipped Jesus as Lord and Savior. They were interested in spiritual things and their lives embodied holiness and purity.

Both left a rich legacy of sermons and models of evangelistic outreaches. However both left a dissappointed outlook of authentic Christianity. Finney eventually abandoned his evangelism for a pastorate in which he stroved to teach perfectionism. He realized his evangelism was shallow and in the long run not effective.

Rogers never came to that realization and died short of the understanding of the extent of his shallow ministry. Months after his death his legacy dissolved with the report of an associate who was a pedophile. His successor had to resolve the situation and the ensuing actions by Dr Rogers' followers displayed the shallowness of a once apparent respected church.

What is the theological problem of these ministries? Pages could and should be written addressing these issues. Rogers always makes the mistake in saying that one's view of the character of God is the foundational reason for understanding the gospel. The real reason is the embracing of pelagian variations of depravity. Man is totally depraved. His depravity is insurmountable.

Self-determination is a part of Finney and Rogers gospel and both have a mix of grace and human effort that obscures justification and sanctification. God's sovereignty is weaken in both presentations.

Calvinist Are Born Not Made

A Calvinist is born a navicular disciple and the Holy Spirit is his navigator. Even our superior and all sufficient Savior would not interfere with our navigation. "If I navigate you will not be able to bear it!" He departed this earth to make way for the Navigator, himself, "He will teach you."

You were not born an Arminian. You were navigated into that port. Free floating on a vast sea with only a window heavenward you looked out on the horizon and saw a lighthouse.

Before you were saved you followed the course of this world's prince robotically, without free choice. But on the high seas with the Holy Spirit as your Navigator you have perfect freed will.
You can so easily and quickly defer to a lighthouse on the horizon. Believing that it is easier to follow a horizontal indicator rather than trust the stars you head toward the lighthouse. The puzzeling aspect of this is that it can happen so fast. You were born a Calvinist and now you are in a strange port. The Holy Spirit just sits there silent, absenting himself purposefully, like Paul in the hull of the ship tossed by the Euroclydon. He had previously tried to reason with the "experienced" seasoned sea captain to wait out the storm. The captain seeking to please others sought to expedite matters by rushing ahead.

This port of Arminian strongholds denies the fact of total depravity which "alone gives grace its occasion and opportunity". You free floated on the high seas, led by the Spirit through the hearing of faith. Now you are anchored in another gospel. Denver is your headquarters not Heaven. Carnality reigns supreme not victory in Christ. Adrian Rogers was one of this ports famous preachers and he and all others like him are "under the anathema of God." Gal 1:9 -quotes are from Scofield's notes -Gal 1:6