Apostasy/Lukewarm

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When you think of Resurrection Sunday, do the words “sex, money, and power” come to mind?

Apparently it does if you go to Perry Noble’s “church” in South Carolina. There you get yet another unhealthy dose of man-centered, entertainment-driven “preaching” with a “sermon” series entitled Sex, Money & Power. Seriously folks, I can’t make this garbage up.

This is the mailer sent out by New Spring to advertise their “Man Series” which includes a sermon entitled Protectile Dysfunction (click on the picture to enlarge).

And they didn’t stop there. Below I’ve posted two short promo videos for this “church” to show you the gravity of the problem. Remember when you watch these videos that they are produced by a “church” to promote their sermon series . . . really, I’m not kidding.


What more would you expect from a church that had a grown-man greeting people in the church foyer for Christmas dressed as an elf?

Whatever happened to holiness . . . in the church?

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Ravi’s Descent.

Ingrid first reported on Slice of Laodicea on April 23rd about Ravi Zacharias’ refusal to pray in Jesus’ name at the National Day of Prayer (and even Coram Deo tackled the issue here on his blog).

But Ravi’s descent started a long time ago in 2004 when he was a guest speaker at the LDS Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah. There, Ravi gave a sermon that left the Mormons feeling good; like there was no difference between their counterfeit “Jesus” and the true Jesus revealed by the Scriptures. I first reported on this here.

I hope people will begin to step back from blindly endorsing such men as this. Examine them closely before you sit under their teaching. I, for one, am not willing to endorse or listen to any man who is willing to compromise with a cult; I refuse to listen to anything Ravi has to say, and I just wish more Christians would be as careful and discerning.

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Is the world crucified to you?

Just finished making a video to go along with one of the greatest quotes from Leonard Ravenhill–“Is the world crucified to you tonight? Or does it fascinate you?” To look at many churches across America–you know, the ones that serve that ooey-gooey sugary goodness that screams “seeker sensitive”–you would think that the apostle Paul was a laid-back, hippie-type slacker dude who didn’t care much about doctrine, but went around with “so what does this verse mean to you?” on his lips.

Anyhoo, many of the images in this video can be found over at A Little Leaven. And since someone will ask–the music is “Carmina Burana (O Fortuna)” by Carl Orff. It’s one of those pieces of music you hear on just about everything, but never knew what it was called. Well now you know 🙂

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Suffering Christianity vs Chipper Christianity.

When a society prospers and enjoys great security it’s inevitable that false ideas about life, death, truth, and God will flourish with little resistance. Conversely, when tragedy strikes, those same people no longer want what once tickled their ears but they want answers and truth.

Sadly this same axiom is true for the visible Church. As American Christians continue to gluttonously indulge themselves on the riches and excesses of life that the West has to offer, they tolerate and even welcome all sorts of twisted ideas about life, death, truth, and God.

Some segments of the Church will tell you that God wants you to be rich and healthy and that if you’re not, you must be lacking faith. Another segment of the church will tell you that no one can know anything for sure (e.g. Emergents). And yet another segment will sacrifice any inconvenient truths of Scripture for popularity and the ever increasing appeal to entertain their members.

However, when your child is diagnosed with leukemia how will Your Best Life Now sound? When your spouse is unexpectedly killed by a drunk driver how will your Purpose Driven Life feel then? When a global famine strikes or the stock market crashes will positive confession and naming it and claiming it still have its place in your life? When a deadly plague spreads from nation to nation killing millions and war breaks out killing even more, does the ambiguity and total lack of certainty about anything give you any hope and comfort?

Whether the suffering is personal or global, the world will want answers that most churches cannot provide and are utterly incapable of providing.

I want to share with you this passionate ten-minute audio clip from John Piper that he delivered to a group of pastors. I’ve entitled it The Suffering of John Bunyan vs Chipper Churches and in it Piper contrasts the suffering of Bunyan with that of the chipper churches of today. This only serves to reinforce why it is better to sit under the preaching of a pastor who has suffered great loss (whose sermons have the smell of Hell permeating about them) than it is to sit under the teaching of one who hasn’t (as you’re pressured to conform to the everything’s happy-clappy facade that he and the rest of the church are putting on).

These chipper churches are whitewashed tombs that can only offer a sick and dying world a counterfeit Christianity; a Christianity without a cross. True Christianity has always been marked by suffering. Jesus promised His disciples that they would suffer great hardships and that they’d be hated by the world. It’s only the modern cultural Christianity of ease, comfort, and luxury that has suggested otherwise.

I strongly encourage you to listen to the Piper audio clip and then ask yourself; when your lifeless child hangs in your arms on Friday, will you find truth, hope, and answers in the preaching from the pulpit of your current church on Sunday?

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4)

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Brian McClaren now denies the second coming of Christ.

Ingrid Schlueter hosts this edition of CrossTalk entitled Dominionist Theology: Creating Heaven on Earth. She opens the show talking about Brian McLaren’s latest heresy revealed at Willow Creek Church: His denial of the return of Jesus Christ.

Click on the link to listen streaming, or right click on the link and click “Save As” (Internet Explorer) or “Save Link As” (Mozilla) to save to your computer. From there you can burn this to a CD or upload it to your MP3 player.

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In spite of all the church entertainment, young adults are not sticking with the church.

According to USA Today, Young adults aren’t sticking with church. This is shocking since all the stops have been pulled out by today’s emergent and seeker-friendly churches to entertain and appease their members. Those who especially had their felt needs catered to are the very demographic that is abandoning the faith in “sobering” numbers.

I can’t understand how young adults are walking away from all these cool, hip, and relevant churches when these churches have exerted so much effort to become like the world to attract them in the first place. It is truly a mystery.

The graveyard of “relevance” now houses the bones of such gems as having a cool place to experience God, passing out shot glasses, reliving the 80’s, sermons on sex, and more sex, sermons on The Beatles, MTV-like pastors, Elvis-led worship, Spice Girls lip syncing, Michael Jackson music video reenactments, Garth Brooks performances, poker, Las Vegas style church, churches turned into concerts, Hip Hop prayer books, Gothic Christianity, Kick-Boxing, belly dancing, yoga, and Bible study at Hooters.

Truly a mystery, truly a mystery indeed.

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ,

for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes . . .

Romans 1:16 (NKJV)

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More doctrines of demons.

In the same spirit (1 John 4:1) as Dan Kimball’s They Like Jesus But Not The Church, comes I Love Jesus, I hate Christianity by Kim Michaels.

There’s no need for me to comment on this New Age drivel. I’ll let the description of the book speak for itself:

“Despite the catchy and irreverent title, this book is the first book ever to call for a complete rethinking of Christianity that focuses on the human ego and the Christ consciousness. . . . The book also describes how humankind has moved from a mythic level of consciousness to a rational level of consciousness and is not moving into the intuitive level. Most of today’s Christian churches are still held hostage by a mythic level mindset and doctrines that spring from the black-and-white thinking of the mythic level. . . . The book calls for a new form of Christianity that is suited for today’s rational and intuitive level people. The book suggests a number of practical steps that can revitalize Christianity, including restoring Jesus as an example to follow instead of an idol to worship. It also gives an unprecedented description of how the path to personal Christhood is hidden between the lines of Jesus’ own words from the scriptures. . . . There is simply no other book on the market that contains so many revolutionary ideas about the Christian religion and the true meaning of Jesus’ mission and message. This is far more thought-provoking than The Da Vinci Code.”

And if this 412 page deception isn’t enough, Mother Mary’s Garden, (the New Age, occult-laden website promoting this doctrine of demons), also sells rosaries for all occasions including foundational rosaries and advanced rosaries. The advanced ones include rosaries:

For invoking spiritual protection.

For cleaning your four lower bodies.

For purifying the mother light.

And what Satanically-inspired, idolatrous, neo-pagan, superstitious, goddess worship would be complete without “Tools for healing mother earth“?

There never seems to be a shortage of attacks on the truth of Christianity, the doctrines of our Faith, and Bride of Christ.

Even so, come Lord Jesus. Maranatha!

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How to tell if you’re “word of faith.”

HOW TO TELL IF YOU’RE WORD OF FAITH:
13. You’ve been overheard saying, “Touch not God’s anointed” at least twice this week.
12 You stand in front of the water cool for seven hours praying in tongues, rebuking the spirit of emptiness, and then shout praises to God for his provision because the Sparkletts delivery driver showed up.
11 Joni Erickson Tada must be a filthy sinner. If only that poor woman would eat some of that Miracle Manna you’ve been sending her.
10 You lay hands on the TV and pray every time you see a pet talking in a show, knowing you can cast out that demon!
09 You’ve read and memorized and freely quote Your Best Life Now and Becoming A Better You. The Bible? Not so much.
08 You threaten those faithless heresy-hunters with law suits.
07 You think Joyce Meyers is a sell-out for having a study bible.
06 Your pastor sells his sweaty hankies on eBay as points of contact.
05 $150 for Calvin’s Institutes is a waste of money, but that seed gift of $599.95 to Benny Hinn is gonna pay off!
04 The license plate on your primer colored 1987 Toyota Corolla says “LTLGOD” and the frame says “WITH FAITH THIS CAR IS A BMW.”
03 The only Trinity you care about involves a guy with bad theology and a woman with worse hair.
02 Evangelism is telling someone about Joel Osteen.
01 You think Family Christian Bookstores and Christian Book Distributors are too conservative.
Thanks to Berry for all the material and M&M’s.
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A scathing blow to the wishy-washy Emergent church and sugar-coated, ear-candy preaching so popular today.

I’ve seen the below video posted on several blogs but never watched it. I surmised that it was from a television show so I had no interest in viewing it (mainly because I believe that all the good that can be found on television can fit into a thimble and still roll around in it like a B.B. in a bathtub).

Well, I finally gave in and watched the video clip and all I can say is, wow! How wrenching; how intense. I hope Rob Bell and Brian McLaren were watching this.

Apparently this man in the video is dying of cancer and a female chaplain has fed him the ever-so popular Emergent, seeker-friendly, social gospel that has no truth, no life, and no answers. The same “gospel” that millions are living on week after week in this country (that is until tragedy strikes close to home and they begin seeking real answers).

Just as the health, wealth, and Prosperity “gospel” doesn’t work in Calcutta, India, the new no-one-can-know-any-truth ambiguity “gospel” of the Emergent church leaves those facing death and judgment (Hebrews 9:27) desperate for answers.

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Benny Hinn’s false prophecies

You may have read some of Benny Hinn’s “prophecies” about how Fidel Castro was going to die, and the homosexual community was going to be wiped out, and Jesus was going to physically appear on stage with the Hinnster. All of these things were supposed to happen in the 90’s. Um, they didn’t happen, did they? And yet there are still people who will claim this schlomo is a “prophet of God.”

Well, here is a video with audio of B-B-B-Benny and the Hinn’s “prophecies.” Don’t just take my word for it. Listen for yourself.

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Not all that glitters is gold.

Now that Azariah Southworth, the host of a Christian youth show called The Remix has “come out of the closet,” he concedes that this will end his career in Christian television. However, he says, “I believe by me living my life honestly and authentically now, I am able to be a better person and a better Christian.”

I wonder how many Christian teens spent hours sitting in front of their televisions watching this man.

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Tara’s story.

Alan posted a comment on his blog Real Christianity that was left by a lady named Tara. I think it is important for you to read her comment and if you have words to encourage her, please offer them. You can read Tara’s short story and the varied responses in two locations: here and here.

Her story and cry for help is a prime example of why we do what we do on blogs like this. The non-discerning culturally comfortable Christians call us “hateful,” “judgmental,” and “unloving.” However, those who have been hurt, destroyed, and have had their faith shipwrecked by apostate churches would beg to differ and find great love in what we do as we stand for the truth and warn the flock.

– The Pilgrim

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How to tell if you’re “seeker-friendly.”

HOW TO TELL IF YOU’RE SEEKER-FRIENDLY
12. You think evangelism is handing out copies of Purpose Driven Life.
11. You think The Five Solas are a youth worship band.
10. You think Calvinists worship a little boy and stuffed tiger.
09. You think Bounce dryer sheets do great at stopping Hypostatic union.
08. Your pastor got saved (four times) at Billy Graham crusades.
07. You think Jesus would have had more success if He was just a bit nicer to the Pharisees.
06. You openly blast people who disagree with Oprah as being too narrow-minded and judgmental. Jesus would never be that way!
05. Your pastor did so preach on the book Romans! Romans 13:8-10, where it tells us how to get out and stay out of debt! (They gave away $10 gas cards that week too.)
04. Instead of “sin” your Pastor uses the word “oopsie.”
03. You think Paul Washer is what Jesus did to Paul’s feet when he was at the Last Supper.
02. You think ‘church discipline’ is the Technology Pastor yelling swear words at the iBook to get it to work.
01. Becoming Emergent is like coming out of the closet.

A million thanks to Berry and his friends for this list and a million more thanks to Berry for the M&M characters!

Check out How to tell if you’re “word of faith” and How to tell if you’re Emergent.