Apostasy/Lukewarm

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Would we expect the same thing out of…

cool-pastor

Scene 1: You meet your child’s math teacher for a conference.

Teacher: Hey dude, what’s up? Whoooaaaa! Hey, is it just me or do you have the munchies too?
You: What on earth are you talking about? And why are you acting like you’re high or something?
Teacher: I am high, yo! I’m high on math! I’ve been tokin’ the algebra! It’s called “drunken math glory!” Wanna try it?
You: No, I don’t!!! In fact, that’s what I want to talk to you about! Is this why my son is acting so goofy when I try to get him to do his math homework? And why he says he doesn’t learn anything in class?
Teacher: You know it, yo! Who needs to learn about math from a book? When all you have to do is put it to your lips and toke it? Yeah!
You: How can you call yourself a teacher if you don’t teach him?
Teacher: Whoa, now, don’t get all Pharisaical on me! I don’t like to put a big, fancy label like “teacher” on myself. Haha, yeah! That would make it sound like I know more than these little guys–you don’t want me thinking that do ya? Nah! I’m just showing little junior here how to have a closer relationship with math! Yo!

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Scene 2: Your child is in the hospital. You are frantic, and you want to know how he’s doing.

You: Doctor, is my child OK?
Doctor: Hmm? What? Oh, I don’t know.
You: What do you mean you don’t know? Is he going to be OK?
Doctor: Well, I don’t really want to pass judgment on him. After all, who’s to say what’s “OK” and what’s not “OK”?
You: Doctor, I DEMAND you tell me the truth about my son!
Doctor: Hey, hey, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s not start throwing around words like “truth” here, okay? I mean, who can tell what the truth really is?
You: Are you crazy? Didn’t you learn anything in medical school? How can you call yourself a doctor?
Doctor: Oh, medical school is so full of “black-and-white.” I’d rather just guess at what’s going on with your child. besides, I don’t like to call myself a “doctor.” It just sounds so arrogant–you know, it makes it sound like I know more than other people.

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Scene 3: You are on a jet airliner 35,000 feet above ground.

You: Excuse me, stewardess, why are we encountering so much turbulence?
Flight attendant: Are you judging?
You: Excuse me?
Flight attendant: Who are you to say what turbulence is?
You: Don’t you feel how the plane is shaking and jerking? It feels like the plane is going to break up!
Flight attendant: You know, I really resent your Pharisaical tone! Just because you may think the plane is shaking, doesn’t mean everybody else does! Besides, maybe they like the plane to be shaking and jerking. Did you ever think about that? No! You’re too busy putting turbulence in a box! Why do you want to ruin it for the other passengers? Besides, this plane won’t “break up.” It’s united by love!
You (Looking back, seeing the tail section fall off): Miss!! I think we’re in trouble!
Pilot (over loudspeaker): Hello, this is your Airplane Flyer-man speakin’! I don’t like to call myself “Pilot” or “Captain” because it makes it sound like I’m different than you. Anyway, I know things don’t look quite like they should, but that’s OK. We’ll just try and imagine how they would have done things in the early days of flight, and come up with something–after taking a consensus with you all. Anyway, in the unlikely event that we might have a harder-than-expcted landing–I’m not going to to so far as to say we WILL crash because, after all, that would be rather harsh and judgmental, and a word like “crash” might make you feel uncomfortable. Anyway, while we try to correct this slight glitch, sit back, relax, and watch this video about how to have better sex!

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How would we react in such a situation? We would be outraged, we would demand answers, we would expect the people in charge to know what they are talking about. Yet look at the church in America today. Filled with “life coaches” and “youth fun-games-and-pizza-party-planners pastors.” Staffed by men (and women–that’s a whole ‘nother subject) who don’t care enough about the truth to preach the truth. Some of the most popular “church” speakers are idiotic goofballs who won’t take the time to study the word of God, so they make up a bunch of crap about “tokin’ the ghost.”

Making people feel good about their sin, refusing to call the truth “the truth.” With their pews filled with people who need to hear–and, most frighteningly, may never have heard–the gospel, they would rather speak a bunch of idle words, and give people warm fuzzy feelings as they skip blissfully toward the gates of Hell. We wouldn’t put up with this in temporal, physical matters. Why should we put up with it when it comes to matters that concern our eternal soul?

Call me a Pharisee. Accuse me of “putting God in a box.” Go ahead. I will simply nod my head and say, “Thank you.”

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Rudeness, vulgarity, and profanity. The ‘next big thing’ in church.

This announcement video is actually from a church. Thank you Mark “The Cussing Pastor” Driscoll for blazing new trails in the area of crude and carnal speech in church. The trickle-down effect of your example is bearing much fruit.

Don’t worry, Josh (on the right) and the folks at The Journey Church had a vestige of decency to bleep out the cussing.

HT:  Slice of Laodicea & A Little Leaven

Apparently Josh is a motivational youth speaker (imagine that) who literally believes that in our words we hold the power of life and death (see this video). This really makes me wonder what he was thinking when he said the things he said in the above video. Oh, and Josh also has an opinion on homosexuality (see this video). I bet you’ll never guess what a hip, cool, relevant, and culturally vulgar youth speaker thinks about homosexuality.

This guy reminds me of Ignatius the fictional youth pastor.


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Letting the right hand know what the left hand is doing.

humility

The following is an excerpt from a thought-provoking article from Daily Discernment entitled Right Hand Publicity Inc.:

Since leaving a “church” where corruption was fully in bloom, I have become fascinated with the anatomy of how a church becomes corrupted. It happens much the way cancer happens.

It is estimated that 90% of the population has “cancer” at any given time. Cancer is merely cells that have divided incorrectly resulting in two dysfunctional cells. In those with healthy immune systems, those errant cells are recognized and destroyed. In those with broken immune systems, the cancer cells go unrecognized and unaddressed are allowed to keep dividing until they eventually form a tumor and metastasize, killing the body.

So by the time someone is diagnosed with cancer, they have actually had it for many months or even years, but the symptoms were not seen on the surface.

So too, when a church is discovered to be corrupt, it can be traced back months and years to a time when the actual break down in the system of accountability. When confronting sin and exercising church discipline stops, the cancer starts to grow, and it is only a matter of time before the body is dead, and just becomes a social club, civic organization or entertainment arena.

So while there are endless examples out there of full blown apostasy, let’s look at a more subtle example of outright sin that gets skipped over. Usually because this kind of thing is now ubiquitous in the “church” as it has become deaf to God’s wisdom and replaced it with the wisdom of the world.

To read the entire article from Ginger Taylor, click here.

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First Seeker-Sensitive Church of Relevance

I made the following video this past week. It may appear to be silly, but it is a dire warning for those churches who do nothing more than scratch the ears of their ticklish members. These “churches” that use music by atheists like The Beatles; “churches” who find more inspiration from wretched, abominable movies than they do from the Word of God; and “churches” that use gimmicks like “Vegas Night” and who produce idiotic videos (like this one in San FranFreakshow) are headed toward what is depicted in this video.

Their justice does not slumber.

And speaking of Crowder and Dunn, here is a video that was made by one of their buddies (found it via A Little Leaven. But, of course, the acolytes of these heretics will claim that this blasphemer has led thousands of kids to Christ. And he probably has. Just not the Christ of Scripture). I won’t post it here because it is too vile and vulgar (like Crowder and Dunn themselves), but it shows you just what kind of fruit their pimpistry bears (**WARNING** VISIT AT YOUR OWN RISK. THIS HERETIC MAKES CHOWDER AND DUNG SEEM LIKE PAUL THE APOSTLE). If you can stomach it, read through some of the comments made by the supporters of this heretic. Yeah, real Christ-like (::rolls eyes::)

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“Has anyone ever contacted Mark Driscoll privately?”

mark-driscoll-t-shirtThat, of course, is the question we are always asked when we address the issue of the language used by Mark Driscoll when he preaches. “Has anyone ever contacted Mark Driscoll privately?” Well, we can now answer that question in the affirmative. Phil Johnson shares his attempts–unsuccessful attempts–to dialog with Driscoll concerning his pulpit language.

These are roughly in order from the most common questions to the most bizarre:

Have you or Dr. MacArthur ever personally shared your concerns personally with Mark Driscoll?

Yes. I sent Mark a 6-page letter the first week of December, telling him what I was planning to deal with at the Shepherds’ Conference. I explained why I thought his message at the Desiring God Conference in September left some of the most important objections to his own use of crass language unanswered. I also enumerated six specific questions that I thought would help my understanding of his position.

Fair enough. Isn’t that what Driscollites want to hear? If someone has taken this matter to Driscoll personally and privately? (Even though the fact that Driscoll has made his messages public, thus negating the need for steps 1 and 2 of church discipline laid out by Christ in Matthew 18.).

Continue reading →

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The Hell-bound false prophetess Helen Ukpabio of Liberty Gospel Church in Nigeria.

So who is this Helen Ukpabio and why has she rightly reserved her spot in Hell lest she repent? She’s a self-proclaimed “prophetess” who is becoming rich on the abandonment, abuse, and murder of innocent children. She runs Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries and is responsible for much of the false teaching in Nigeria.

helen-ukpabio

You can learn much more about her from the documentary exposing the wickedness that she’s up to her neck in. If you haven’t seen it, you can check out the fruit of Helen Ukpabio’s false, Hell-spawned “gospel” in the six-part video on the post Charismania Unrestrained: Africa’s Witch Children. You cannot remain unchanged or at least unaffected after viewing it.

The secular organization Stepping Stones is one of the very few in Nigeria trying to help the victims of the millstone-wearing Ukpabio. On their website they write:

Stepping Stones Nigeria does not wish to denounce any faith organisation. However the role of the church, especially some of the new Pentecostals, in spreading the belief in child witches cannot be underestimated. There are numerous so-called pastors in the region who are wrongly branding children as ‘witches’ mainly for economic self gain and personal recognition.

Ukpabio, who claims to be anointed to cast out witches, is making her living on preaching a false gospel. Below is one of the propaganda videos she produced to indoctrinate the naive into believing that their own children are witches, thus leading to their abandonment and even murder. Viewer discretion is advised.


You can sign a petition to stop this madness by clicking here.

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National Youth Ministry Conference.

In contrast to the other videos out there produced by “churches” (like these and these) and especially those produced for youth “ministry,” the following videos are rather mild. However, Ingrid Schlueter really hits the nail on the head with the following quote on the state of perpetual adolescence in church leadership. It begs the question Who’s pastoring the youth pastors?

The problem with a lot of youth “ministry” today is that it is all youth and no ministry. With the collective emotional age of a lot of youth pastors not exceeding 12, it is difficult to know what these youth events accomplish aside from furthering the cause of permanent adolescence. Remember Scripture’s injunctions that the older teach the younger? What happens when there is no “older?” What happens when nobody matures mentally or emotionally past childhood? What happens when the supposed “men” are flabby, undisciplined kids who spend their time posting videos of themselves on YouTube? Here’s what happens.

The above video was produced for an announcement segment plugging the 2010 National Youth Ministry Conference in Chicago.

The following video (produced by the same folks) is definitely catering to the lowest common denominator. Violence, youth rebellion, disobedience to authority . . . all the elements you’d expect to see in a video for youth ministry in American Christianity. And by the way, (at the 39 second mark of this video) does the kid’s shirt on the left say what I think it does?

There’s a name for this type of behavior. It’s called Rejuvenile.

Additional worldly and childish “youth ministry” antics:

A story of injured clowns and evil chickens: When the gospel is so watered down that you get no gospel at all. But hey, the kids are entertained!

The problem with youth ministry today: God’s laxative? Because every Christian needs a spiritual bowel movement?

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Where have we seen this before?

The second video below looks strikingly similar to the second video in this post. I guess what works at one mile-wide, inch-deep, entertainment-driven “church” to herd goats, must work at another.


So what could be worse than kidnapping the Easter Bunny, physically battering him, and spitting in his face? Well, the “church” staff performing their own rap video in which they shake their rear-ends for the camera is a close second.

I have two observations:

1). Two thousand years ago a handful of men began to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. How did they possibly achieve this without employing such cool, hip, and relevant means as seen in these videos?

2). I can’t help but think of the man who was just diagnosed with terminal cancer and is about to leave behind a wife and children. He realizes that his life has been one of sin and an affront to a holy God. He thumbs through the yellow pages with a heavy heart as he tries to find a church. He knows that if he died he would go to Hell . . . this much he’s sure of.

He’s a dying man looking for answers. He stumbles across Ridge Stone “church” (the one who produced these videos) and attends the following Sunday. He seats himself at the front as a man desperate for answers with time against him. The lights dim. The video screen begins to light up. The above Christmas Eve promo video is shown with the “church” staff wiggling their butts for the camera and he inwardly asks himself, “Is this what Christianity is all about?” He leaves at the end of the “show” and this is the last “church” service he ever attends.

Now imagine if you will; what if you were that dying man?

This juvenile display of intimacy with the world and its culture is the fruit of an apostate false church, not the spotless, unblemished Bride of Christ. Make no mistake, this social-club masquerading as a church (and those like it) are an abomination unto a holy and righteous God.

Ichabod!

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Joel Osteen on “The Abundant Life”

Because, you know, you’re not living a full Christian life if you have bills to pay or you’re sick. More useless drivel from a man who has admitted he’s “not a preacher, but more of a life coach.” He needs to step down out of that pulpit and concentrate on his number one passion: selling books. If he can’t preach the whole counsel of God, he doesn’t need to be claiming to preach any of it.

You know what the most absurd part of this surreal experience is? He even manages to take a passage from the abomination known as “The Message” and make it even more unfathomable than the original (You’ll hear him quote from Ephesians 1:4 (MSG), in a way that has never been heard before by human ears. If it wasn’t so sad it would be hilarious).

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When you can’t tell the difference between the “church” and the world.

holiness

Can someone please tell my why it is so necessary for “churches” in America to mimic the world, its ways, and its culture . . . the very world that’s antithetical to Christ and His Church?

Case in point: For your consideration of the state of the “church” in America today, I’ve posted the following dozen videos produced by a “church” called Waters Edge. I included each video’s own introduction as found on YouTube along with my brief commentary.

Brace yourself.

1). In this video, Jamey shows us the “correct” way to invite people to our upcoming series on love and relationships entitled “Let’s Get It On.”

Is it me or do the words “sexual innuendo” and “double entendre”come to mind after watching this video? Could you imagine being a visitor to this church with your children present when they played this clip? At least they warn us on their website about the content of their “sermon” series: “Parental Discretion is advised… preschoolers and kids should participate in Kid Kraze and WeeWorld.” Can any Church historian please tell me if there’s ever been a time in Christian history when the church had to give a “parental discretion” warning to its congregants?

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2). This video aired on Sunday, November 2nd at Waters Edge. Enjoy!

Kidnapping, physical violence, and spitting in the face of Santa Clause. All in a day’s work for the staff at Waters Edge.

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3). This video aired on Sunday, November 16th at Waters Edge Church. It was our third Christmas Eve promo video on a Sunday and offered the best Christmas Toy idea. It also offered the opportunity to go ahead and order it, to help free people up to attend our Christmas Eve services, since they wouldn’t need to shop on Christmas Eve.

Narcissism and a total irreverence for Jesus Christ. What more do you need to promote your church?

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4). This was one of the videos featured in our first Big Dream Series. Lots of fun!!!

Hmmm. The church mocking the Church. How relevant.

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5). Here it is!! The VIP Rap Video From Christmas Eve 2007 at Waters Edge Church! Starring Lead Pastor Stuart Hodges!!

Introducing the new breed of shepherds of the church.

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6). This Video Aired on Sunday, July 13th at all of Waters Edge’s Services. Enjoy!

So you mean those in each Waters Edge service were subjected to this? How tragic.

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7). This video aired on Sunday, January 11th as a part of our “Crank It Up” series.

No comment.

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8). This video was part of the finale day in our “House” Series in July, 2008. Rob was awesome!!

After watching this video I have a strange burning in my bosom to go to church . . . and not just any church, but Waters Edge.

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9) This video aired on Sunday, January 25th at Waters Edge Church as a part of our “Crank it Up” Series. Enjoy!!

Using a parody of a sexual dysfunction commercial to promote your “sermon” series is so Scriptural. Didn’t the Apostles do this?

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10). This video was part of the finale day in our “House” Series in July, 2008. Rob was awesome!!

If you need to use a product like this may I suggest you reexamine yourself to see if you’re in the Faith? (2 Corinthians 13:5)

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11). This is a video of the Waters Edge Staff Guys performing “Hangin’ Tough” at Waters Edge in June of 2008. This was a part of our “I Love the 80s” Series.

Uh, what part of “Do not love the world . . .” do you guys not understand?

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12). Every year we do an “emmy awards” type event called The WEC Awards to honor say thanks to all of our volunteers. We make a video for each of the teams and this is the one we did for our setup and teardown team. It was a fun video and I thought you guys at PCI would like to see it. It is kind of a big file so that is why I had to post it online for you to download.

Using MTV as their inspiration . . . that bastion of Christian morals and standards. Listen around the 3:20 mark for the quote “These chairs are so comfortable it will make you feel like you’re not even in church.” And once the show service begins that feeling will only increase.

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 1:27

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 1 John 2:15-16

See: Suffering Christianity vs. Chipper Christianity

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Welcome to “Christianity” in 2009.

*** UPDATE: THE VIDEO IS BACK UP AND CAN BE VIEWED AGAIN ***

When the shepherds of the Church forgo the preaching of the Gospel and resort to appealing to the lost through emotion and entertainment, they are left breathless having to keep coming up with new material to attract and retain the goats they’ve herded into their country clubs with steeples.

But when you’re really hurting to attract people and you’ve run out of ideas, you could always resort to groveling. This video is an example of what happens when goat herders stop relying on preaching the Gospel that saves people, and instead opt for every possible form of manipulation.   What an absolute embarrassment.

Slice of Laodicea weighs in on this foolishness quite aptly:

“When you see videos like the one below, it is difficult to imagine that Christianity used to produce some of the finest minds in the world. The brilliance of men like John Owen and Jonathan Edwards who submitted their minds to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, continues to shine down through the centuries. Harvard and Yale were at one time Christian institutions, dedicated to the Gospel and developing minds to the glory of God.

Fast forward to 2009 and the rotting corpse of Western Christianity. This buffoonery is what now fills churches today—the entire idiotic scene inspired by a children’s cartoon of singing and dancing vegetables. Infantalism rules, literacy is dead, and God-given intellects are dead, suffocated under years of video game playing, movie and television watching. Hard to believe that Christians used to produce books like “Bondage of the Will”, and translations of the Scriptures from the original languages. Today, pastors and church laity are reading “graphic novel” (comic book) versions of the Bible because they struggle to grasp anything beyond a one syllable word. Here are some of evangelicalism’s finest in action. Watch and weep.”


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Baal worship, then and now.

baal-worshippp-image

The following excellent piece was written by Matt Barber and was found on WorldNetDaily:

Modern-day liberals – or “progressives” as they more discreetly prefer – labor under an awkward misconception; namely, that there is anything remotely “progressive” about the fundamental canons of their blind, secular-humanist faith. In fact, today’s liberalism is largely a sanitized retread of an antiquated mythology – one that significantly predates the only truly progressive movement: biblical Christianity.

While visiting the Rivermont Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg, Va., a few weeks back, I heard a troubling, albeit thought-provoking, sermon. Pastor John Mabray addressed the ancient Canaanite practice of Baal worship and, though he didn’t reveal it by name, connected the dots to its present-day progeny: liberalism. Baal, the half-bull, half-man god of fertility, was the focal point of pagan idolatry in Semitic Israel until God revealed His monotheistic nature to Judaism’s forebears.

In his sermon, Pastor Mabray illustrated that, although they’ve now assumed a more contemporary flair, the fundamentals of Baal worship remain alive and well today. The principal pillars of Baalism were child sacrifice, sexual immorality (both heterosexual and homosexual) and pantheism (reverence of creation over the Creator).

Ritualistic Baal worship, in sum, looked a little like this: Adults would gather around the altar of Baal. Infants would then be burned alive as a sacrificial offering to the deity. Amid horrific screams and the stench of charred human flesh, congregants – men and women alike – would engage in bisexual orgies. The ritual of convenience was intended to produce economic prosperity by prompting Baal to bring rain for the fertility of “mother earth.”

The natural consequences of such behavior – pregnancy and childbirth – and the associated financial burdens of “unplanned parenthood” were easily offset. One could either choose to engage in homosexual conduct or – with child sacrifice available on demand – could simply take part in another fertility ceremony to “terminate” the unwanted child.

Continue reading →

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The fruit of John Crowder and Benjamin Dunn.

blasphemy

“You shall know them by their fruit.” – Matthew 7:20

My intention was to never post on this foolishness again, but defenders of this evil have surfaced here recently (on this post) and so I felt one more post may be in order before putting this garbage to rest.

The wickedness of John Crowder and Benjamin Dunn continues its long march of destruction as it continues to shipwreck more souls.

For those who are new to DefCon and have no idea what this wickedness is about (and why I refer to it as “wickedness”), you must first understand that the unregenerate God-mockers in the videos below are disciples of Crowder and Dunn. You can see what the Crowder and Dunn wolves are all about in the post The New Breed of Blasphemous Preachers.

Another disciple of Crowder and Dunn and another pied piper leading souls to Hell is Captain Whacked the Pirate Preacher. His downward spiral into his Satanic majesties’ abyss continues with his latest completely demonic display of hatred toward God seen in this video featured on A Little Leaven (viewer discretion advised).

Then there’s Stacy Denboer and Cait. Stacy and Cait are both victims of this wickedness and are just pawns in this evil game.

These wolves are part of a demonic movement of false teachers advancing a worldly, Hell-born, Satan-inspired philosophy called “tokin’ the ghost” and “getting high on the most high.”

So, now that you’ve been acquainted with this foolishness, here’s the fruit of Crowder and Dunn seen in the lives of Cait, Jenn, and Stef as they heap wrath upon themselves for all the world to see:





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When hirelings don’t attack but wish they did.

You all saw Perry Noble’s tirade in When Hirelings Attack. Now meet goat herder Gary Lamb whose biggest regret is that he did not commit battery with a deadly weapon upon an elderly couple, vandalize their church, and then set it on fire. Seriously, I can’t make this stuff up.

HT: A Little Leaven

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When the Bible’s simply not enough.

football-on-tvI will provide absolutely no commentary on this. I think the opening quote from the news article entitled Pastor Finds Lessons in Superbowl Commercials speaks for itself:

“A Grapevine preacher has found inspiration in the Super Bowl, saying there are valuable lessons to be learned — from the commercials. Ken Diehm, the senior pastor at First United Methodists Church asked his congregation last week to text him about the commercials they want him to preach about.”