Purpose Driven Lie

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BitterSpring NewSpring defenders–defend this!

fig tree

From Ken Silva at Apprising Ministries comes this troubling article about one of Perry Noble’s “pastors”. All you defenders of Perry Noble, who like to claim that he has led 175,000 people to Jesus.

You tell us to “examine the fruit of Perry Noble’s ministry.”

What’s the old saying?

Oh yeah.

Be careful what you wish for:

Brad Cooper, “the Anderson Campus Student Pastor at NewSpring Church (NSC) in Anderson, SC”, has been brought to the attention of Apprising Ministries. NPC is the roost of Perry Noble, one of those mentioned in Purpose-Driven Popes Of The Carolinas Have Spoken.Cooper’s Twitter bio informs us:

clever repartee fills my mouth. rhythm saturates my ears. life floods my veins. (Online source)

And it’s precisely some of this so-called “clever repartee” which forms the basis for our concern here. We’ve come across an article written yesterday by a man named David Horn called My concern with Brad Cooper from NewSpring Church.

In it Horn tells us:

I have been trying to get Brad Cooper Student Pastor from NewSpring Church to talk with me about his comments referring to FUSE. Brad Cooper used the acronym BAMF to describe the body of Christ. The acronym is so filthy and vulgar that I refuse to put it on my blog.

For those of you interested in this relevant worldly “hip” acronym BAMF you can google it, but beware you will be in for a shock. How can a pastor use such a foul term to describe the bride of Christ? (Online source)

So, what does the acronym BAMF stand for? **LANGUAGE WARNING** Continue reading →

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Quotes (560)

baxter

The office of pastor is not one that is to be attained to lightly. If a man desire the office of bishop, he desireth a good work (1st Timothy 3:1). But what is required of such a one? In order to be called a bishop, one must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach...not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. (1st Timothy 3:2-7). And what is required of him once he takes to the office? Richard Baxter, from The Reformed Pastor:

The nature of our office requireth us to ‘take heed to the flock.’ What else are we overseers,  for “Bishop” is a title which intimates more of’ ‘labor than of honor,’ says Polydore Virgil.’ To be a bishop, or pastor, is not to be set up as an idol for the people to bow to, or as idle ‘slow bellies,’ to live to our fleshly delight and ease; but it is to be the guide of sinners to heaven. It is a sad case that men should be of a calling of which they know not the nature, and undertake they know not what.

If you miscarry, they and you may perish. You have a subtle enemy, and therefore you must be wise. You have a vigilant enemy, and therefore you must be vigilant. You have a malicious and violent and unwearied enemy, and therefore you must be resolute, courageous and indefatigable.

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George Barna poll shows Nazarene prophet’s popularity slipping

george_barna01_l WH sign

(IMAGINATION ALERT!!!!)

After reading Pilgrim’s post below, as well as this post about George Barna’s recent “waffling” and his  growing fascination with ecumenicalism (and this follow-up), I decided to combine the two into one FICTIONAL story.

From Jerusalem Post, c. 33 AD:

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By Mariam Zecharyahu
Jerusalem (JP)–A new George Barna poll has found that the popularity of a certain Nazarene prophet, which had been growing geometrically over the first two years of his ministry, is beginning to show signs of slowing, and, in some cases, the number of people opposed to his teachings is actually greater than those who still favor his doctrines.

Yehoshua Ha’Mashiachah bar-Yusef, whose claims about being the Christ of YHVH have divided people everywhere he has gone, continues to enjoy support from the outcasts of society. But among those in power–especially among the very influential Pharisaical community–his claims to being the only begotten of YHVH Himself have brought about only scorn. As one Pharisee (who spoke to us under condition of anonymity) has said, “He is a blasphemer! I was there when he said that he and YHVH were one. What an outrage to mock the Shema like that! Only YHVH is One!” A scribe, who also wished to remain nameless, said, “The man has a lot of gall! To say what he did, that ‘I AM.’ Does he not know, that is a title reserved for YHVH?” Continue reading →

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Why we do what we do

question-mark

Many people who visit DefCon come here seeking truth. They have heard lies and stories told by those who claim to be shepherds and pastors, only to find they have been lied to and misled. Others are new Christians who are looking for help to understand what is truth, where to find it, who can be trusted, and who to should be avoided at all costs.

Then there are some who come here from a mindset, a philosophy, a religion, that is opposed to the truth of God. They are Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness or Emegerent or postmodern or they come from the prospoerity gospel, and so on and so forth. Or they may come from The Church of the Fluffybunny–those churches where they would not DARE speak biblical truth, lest somebody’s feelings get hurt. They would not DARE talk about sin, lest somebody’s self-esteem be injured. They are from an all-inclusive, seeker-sensitive, porpoise-drivel, Osteen/Warren/Schuller/Ed Young type church where truth is simply whatever you want it to be.

So, this person comes to DefCon, sees that we are not afraid of offending anyone, knowing that the cross is “to the Jews a stumblingblock, and to the Greeks foolishness” (1st Corinthians 1:23). And they see us tear down the foolishness of these “little boy preachers,” and compare/contrast what they say against the Scripture. And the accusations come flying. We are “Pharisees.” We are “judgmental.” We are “putting God in a box.” We are “the only ones who know the truth.” We have never “talked to God.” etc. etc. etc

At this point, the question becomes: “Why do we do what we do.” That’s what you’re about to find out. Let me tell you in a parable.

Suppose I served a master who was married to a young bride. This bride is not always wise when it came to the ways of the world (Matthew 10:16). Now, my master is going on a long trip, and will not be back for a long time (John 16:16). While my master is gone, he has entrusted me with the care of his bride (1st Timothy 3:15). I promise that I will look after her, watch over her, and let nothing happen to her. I promise to let no one do violence to her or despoil her (Acts 20:28). After all, my master has gone to great lengths to keep her pure (Ephesians 5:27).

Shortly thereafter, a young man comes knocking at the door. He is a finely-dressed, good-looking, well-spoken young man. But I also know he is not as he seems. Yet, when He asks to come in, I let him in. After all, I don’t want to offend him or make him feel bad or unwelcome. Then I step out to go to the store, leaving the young man alone with my master’s young bride. When I return, the young man is gone. I go upstairs to find my master’s young bride in the bedroom. Her face is bruised, her clothes are torn. She is crying and inconsolable. I know what has happened. I also know that it is my fault that it happened, because I left her alone with someone whose intentions were evil–and I knew it. I have done evil by allowing this evil to be done–all the while thinking my master will never know (Psalm 10:11).

But, my master does know. He has cameras all over the house. He can see everything that happens (Hebrews 4:13). And He has seen that I left His bride with a man who was good-looking outside, but evil resided within him (Matthew 7:15). When He finally returns, will He be angry? I dare say He would be extremely angry for allowing such evil to be done to his bride (Jeremiah 23:1). He would be furious with me for allowing His bride to fall prey to someone that I knew good and well was evil throughout (James 4:17). And He would beat me severely for my disobedience (Luke 12:47).

On the other hand, suppose when that young man came to the door, I knew his intentions (Hebrews 4:12). And instead of letting him in, I proclaimed to the entire neighborhood that he was evil (Philippians 3:17-19). I let it be known to all who could hear that this man who looked so dashing and charming was a snake on the inside (Romans 16:17-18). Thus warned, men kept their brides hidden from him, and would not so much as open the door to him (2nd John 1:9-11). And when my master returned, He would reward me for my obedience (2nd Samuel 22:21; Revelation 22:12).

That, friend, is why we do what we do. Because there are many good-looking, fine-sounding religions that are just waiting to find their way into the true church and wreak havoc upon her. We, with every breath in us, will fight to never let that happen! And will warn everyone we can so they do not fall prey.

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“If I was dying, and I walked into your church…”

Thanks to Amy (a commenter on this thread) for alerting me to the following video. Because of it, I have decided to wield my newly-granted powers as editor to add a new category called “If I Was Dying…” As in, “If I was dying, and I walked into your church seeking the truth about where I was headed, would I find it? Or would I leave unchanged, walking toward the gates of Hell with a joke in my mind and a song in my heart?”

I’ll let the man in the video speak for himself…

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Where does Rick Warren go from here?

rick-warren Now that Rick Warren’s inauguration prayer has been examined and exposed by discerning Christians as nothing more than honoring God with his lips, and that same prayer has also angered the unbelieving left, where does he go from here? His prayer was a watershed event that has brought him to a fork in his broad road.

The man who has contributed more to the mile-wide, inch-deep church than anyone else alive today by compromising Biblical truths and blurring the lines between things of God and things of this world has a big decision ahead of him. If human nature and history are any barometer of what’s to come, then we should expect to see Mr. Warren continue to drift leftward ever so swiftly.

As Ingrid Sclueter so aptly observes:

“Rick Warren is faced with the fact that he is either going to have to state that all paths lead to God or confirm, unequivocally, that Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father. If he explicitly states that Christ is the only way, he will no longer be welcomed in the halls of political power, and he can forget any further snugglefests at the White House, the Council on Foreign Relations, the UN, and Davos.

As it stands now, he really pleases nobody. Straddling a fence gets really uncomfortable after a time. I predict that Warren is going to make a sharp move left theologically very shortly for this very reason. The Purpose-Driven machine has gone about as far as it’s going to go with his present approach. Just as Warren was willing to remove negative statements about homosexuality and church membership at the Saddleback site, he is, without doubt, going to have to delete even more material to move ahead to the rest of his spiritual program for the world.”

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“Purpose” = “Compromise”

Rick Warren, pastor of the Church at Laodicea Saddleback Church, in an effort to show homosexuals that he could be just as tolerant of their sin as the next person, visited a gay thrift store in West Hollywood–all in the name of “Purpose” and “Unity” you know. You can see him trying to strike a “tolerant” pose here, with his arm around the openly gay owner of the store.

From TMZ.com:

We got this pic, taken yesterday at Out of the Closet thrift store. That’s Warren on the right (naturally), his arm around Erol Sarabi, who is openly gay. Warren, who supports the ban on gay marriage which has not sat real well with some Obama supporters, bought 8 to 10 books, two of which were his own (that doesn’t help with his Amazon ranking). Warren told Sarabi not to believe everything he reads, that he does a lot for AIDS research and was happy that Out of the Closet does free AIDS testing.

“Two of which were his own?” Are you kidding me?? He’s happy they do free AIDS testing? Is he happy they are living in outright sin also?

From another blog:

Meanwhile, in another attempt to soften his anti-homosexual stance, Warren pulled a message from his website. John Aravosis of Americablog noticed that Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church website on Friday said it explicitly bans gay “unwilling to repent of their homosexual lifestyle” to become members. That message has since been removed. But one thing that hasn’t been permanently removed but “rather repurposed for clarity” is the site’s Q & A section addressing homosexuality. Kristin Cole, the press representative for the Saddleback Church purportedly e-mailed the gay website queerty saying:

I wanted to make sure you were aware that the Q & A addressing homosexuality on the Saddleback Church Web site has not been permanently removed, but rather repurposed for clarity. I know your readers have noticed the change. Click here and play the recorded answer to question 22, “What does the Bible say homosexuality?”

Is Rick Warren ashamed of taking–and maintaining–a biblical stance against homosexuality? It seems as though the quote from Martin Luther posted by Desert Pastor should be passed along to Mr. Warren.

I have to wonder something: how did the media get wind of this? How did TMZ find out that Mr. Purpose was at this thrift store? Paparazzi? I doubt it. How many Hollywood photogs are following Rick Warren around, cataloging his every move? No doubt The P.E.A.C.E. Pastor had someone put out the word he was visiting this place so they could do a photo-op of this event. It’s obvious the store owner didn’t approach Warren about having this picture taken, let alone forward it to the media.

You know, it wouldn’t seem so fishy if the Purpose Driven Pope hadn’t just been chosen to do the invocation at the inauguration for The Obamanation with all the kerfluffle that surrounded it. But the timing, the chutzpah, the obvious ham-handed attempt to look “tolerant” to those who are very intolerant of Christians–all in the name of “Purpose”–This was one big PR stunt meant to drive up book sales–Pastor Warren’s favorite “Purpose.”

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1 Sabbath, 3 wolves in sheep’s clothing, and 4 golden calves.

I was not entirely surprised to see Tony Campolo, Brian McLaren, and Rick Warren in support of a ecumenical movement but I was a little surprised to see such CCM golden calves as Natalia Grant, Michael W. Smith, Switchfoot’s lead singer Jon Foreman, and Third Day’s lead singer Mac Powell also lending their support toward this. It seems that every time I turn around another CCM artist reveals how little they believe in the exclusivity of the Gospel.

The One Campaign with the backing of these influential professing Christians has teamed up with three other religions that deny that Jesus is Lord and deny that Jesus is the only way to the Father. Whether you’re a Christian, Jew, Muslim, or Hindu, or of no faith at all, you too can put eternal truths aside to participate in making this world a “better place.”

For more information and examination of this surge toward the blending of all faiths, see A Little Leaven’s post on One Sabbath here, and Slice of Laodicea’s post on it here.

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,
“I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM;
AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
“Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord.
“AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN;   And I will welcome you.
“And I will be a father to you,  And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,”
Says the Lord Almighty.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18

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Pope tells Rick Warren that he doesn’t pastor an actual church.

Check out the following piece from Apprising Ministries on the pope throwing a monkey wrench into Rick Warren’s ecumenical machine:

Ok, here’s the latest scoop on the religious scene from Apprising Ministries. Well, it turns out that Rick Warren Is Saying Protestant Reformers Luther and Calvin Were Wrong because in opposition to what these Reformers taught Purpose Driven Pope Warren has now pontificated that the Roman Catholic Church is no longer apostate and is, in very fact, once again a part of the Body of Christ.

O but wait, it gets even better because meanwhile, back at the ol’ Vatican ranch Benedict XVI, the papal pretender to being the Vicar of Christ, has said instead that Rick Warren is the one who is actually wrong. I know, I could hardly believe it myself when I heard it! Just imagine the nerve; someone dares to criticize America’s favorite social worker and Megapastor. Zowie; good thing he’s a god on earth, huh.

So now here’s the deal; you see, Rick Warren is not a Roman Catholic but is instead a decidedly—er, non-protesting *ahem* “Protestant” in the SBC—which might actually stand for Slowly Becoming Catholic. Ok, because of that fact, according to the RCC Pope it now seems that the PD Pope can’t even be “America’s pastor” anymore because he doesn’t actually pastor a real church:

Pope Benedict XVI has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday [July 10, 2007] that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches…

It restates key sections of a 2000 document the pope wrote when he was prefect of the congregation, “Dominus Iesus,” which set off a firestorm of criticism among Protestant and other Christian denominations because it said they were not true churches but merely ecclesial communities and therefore did not have the “means of salvation.”

In the new document and an accompanying commentary, which were released as the pope vacations here in Italy’s Dolomite mountains, the Vatican repeated that position. (Online source)

If only this was as silly as a Hollywood gossip column. But with people’s eternal souls in the balance I’m afraid there’s nothing funny about men such as these, who for now, are peas in a very corrupt spiritual pod and speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them (1 John 4:5).

Thanks to Pastor Ken Silva for this piece. I’d like to add that I find it ironic when the very apostate Roman Catholic Church that the very apostate Saddleback Church is trying so hard to merge with refuses to consider them a legitimate Church at best and anathema at worst. What Rick Warren fails to realize is that if the world’s religions are going to merge into one anti-Chirst led conglomerate, it’s going to be under the RCC and it’s going to be on their terms, not his.

See also: All roads may not lead to Rome, but according to the pope, only Rome leads to Heaven.

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The Supremacy of Me Redux

As a follow-up to CD’s post, I found this video of how the Seeker-Sensitive, Flesh-Driven Purpose-Driven follower would sing “Ode To Joy,” and who the focus of their worship really is:

In case you can’t understand the lyrics, here they are:

Me me me me
Me me me me
Me me me me
Me me me me
(Repeat)
 
Galatians 6:14—God forbid that I should glory but in the Cross of Christ, by which the world was crucified unto me, and I was crucified unto the world!

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Does Anyone Else Find This Weird?

At WorldNetDaily’s Weekend Commentary, Jonathan Falwell wrote about the increasing revulsion of the Bible and how the United States has, as a nation, discounted and ignored God’s Word. He concluded by exhorting Christians to continue reaching out despite the fact that the world will hate us and revile God’s Truth.

Well said, Pastor, though I found this a little disturbing yet slightly amusing as I finished reading your article:

REMINDER: On Aug. 11-13, the historic Thomas Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va., will host the Innovate Church conference, with “The Purpose-Driven Life” author Rick Warren serving as our headline speaker. Other special guests include: Chuck Colson, Tom Mullins, Jim Cymbala and Ed Stetzer.

It makes me wonder what your stance is, really. On one hand you decry the revulsion of God’s Truth and exhort many to boldly go forth with it, yet on the other hand you have invited one man — Rick Warren who not only waters down the Gospel but preaches another — to your church to “… empower and energize the ministries of pastors, pastors’ wives, church staff members and lay leaders across our nation”?

Is it me or is there a sharp contrast between what he writes and what he seems to subscribe to?

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These Are ‘Want’ Ads For Pastors?!

Is it any surprise that we have need for such open letters for pastoral repentance and bad, bad, bad church signs when churches are actually listing mostly worldly requirements for pastors?

These actual ‘want’ ads are taken off a good sister’s blog:

Executive Pastor
MCC is looking for an Executive Pastor (i.e. acting as the Chief Operating Officer) who will manage the operations of the church and will report to the Senior Pastor. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of effective staff leadership and development and will be a person of integrity committed to the mission and vision of the church. The individual will possess exceptional organizational skills and excellent oral and written communications skills. He/she will be able to manage multiple priorities. The Executive Pastor will supervise all senior staff at MCC and will lead the development of integrated plans across ministries/staff to deliver the church vision. This candidate will have a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ. MCC is a 2300 member church that is mission oriented and has a passion to reach the community and the world with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The Executive Pastor will embrace this mission and share this passion. This is a full time position with a full benefit package. The ideal candidate will have a Bachelors degree and a strong background in business and organization management. A minimum of 10 years experience in a leadership capacity with responsibility for delivering a vision is required. Executive Pastor Experience desirable (but not required).

Just one Biblical requirement — a close relationship with Jesus Christ?!

Worship Pastor
Emmanuel Baptist Church is seeking a man to serve as full-time Worship Pastor. Candidates must be comfortable leading a “blended” style service. EBC leans toward the contemporary side of “blended,” but we need someone who truly loves and uses both traditional and contemporary music to unite people of all age categories in worship. A little history of our church may help… EBC has more than doubled in worship attendance over the past 5 years to a weekly attendance of 600+. Last year, we saw 251 salvations, 50 baptisms, and 136 new members added to our church family. EBC has grown at an average of 100 people per year in a small town setting. In addition, Emmanuel Christian School has 450+/- students enrolled in grades PreK-12. We also opened a School of Fine Arts teaching music, voice and drama. Emmanuel Baptist Church is balanced, growing, financially sound, and known as “A Place of Grace” in our community. Emmanuel is truly experiencing a modern-day miracle! Candidates for this position should have at least a Bachelor’s degree in Music, a minimum of 3 years experience, and be proficient in piano.

Wow, no mention of any spiritual status at all! One just has to know how to lead a “blended” style service. What that is can be very open to interpretation, especially if we see the word “contemporary”, no?

Senior Pastor – Life Groups
PURPOSE OF THE POSITION
This purpose of this position is to create “Raving Fan” small groups where people can learn, change, grow, connect, support and experience God together.

PRIMARY STRENGTHS/GIFTS/TALENTS REQUIRED

  • Vision Caster – Able to communicate the LG vision effectively so that people buy in and embrace it.
  • Strategic & Systems Thinking – Able to develop effective systems (both administrative & leadership) to make sure the LG’s are on track and achieving their goals.
  • Up Front Teaching Gifts – Able to design and deliver effective leadership training in a way that creates Raving Fans.

Are raving fans an euphemism for raving lunatics? Oh, and by the way, no mention of Biblical requirements for shepherds either.

I rest my case.

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“Don’t bother reading your Bible”

Over the last few years, I’ve noticed a pattern among many false religions and false teachers of the Word.

Catholicism–Don’t bother reading your Bible. You can’t understand it. Let the Magisterium tell you what it means.

Mormonism–Don’t bother reading your Bible. You can’t trust it, it’s been corrupted. Just let the General Authorities tell you what it means.

Jehovah’s Witnesses–Don’t bother reading your Bible. You can’t interpret it. Just let the Watchtower tell you what it means.

Postmodernism–Don’t bother reading your Bible. Nobody can understand. No one knows what it means.

Warrenism–Don’t bother reading your Bible. Unless it’s “The Message” because that’s the only one anybody can understand. Just read your “Purpose Driven Life” and let Rick Warren tell you your purose.

Prosperity “Gospel”–Don’t bother reading your Bible. Satan won’t let you understand it. Just blindly swallow the verses we cherry-pick and take out of context.

Lying Signs and Satanic Wonders Movement–Don’t bother reading your Bible. Only Pharisees try to undertsand it. Just trust the dog-and-pony-show, I mean sleight-of-hand, I mean signs and wonders we perform on stage every night.

On the other hand, the Bible tells us that even the words of the Old Testament alone are enough to lead us into truth. “from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2nd Timothy 3:15). And we have the Holy Spirit, of whom Jesus said, “He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). So we don’t need a Magistreium, or General Authorities, or a Watchtower, or lying signs and Satanic wonders to lead us into truth. By the leading of the Holy Spirit in opening His Scripture to us, He will lead us into the truth.

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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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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.

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Hillary Clinton to speak at Rick Warren’s “church.”

rick_warren_and_hillary_clinton.jpg Pro-abortion presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will speak at Rick Warren’s “church” during his global conference on AIDS. I warned you about this conference in this previous post and this previous post. The great falling away has begun!

Crosstalk did a show featuring Brannon House on this topic. To listen, click here. Listen to details from last year’s AIDS conference (in which Barack Obama was a guest) by clicking here.

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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Distractions, distractions, distractions.

hell.jpg There are so many causes (distractions) that the Church is involved in today, that we’ve lost sight of our primary calling to the world. I’ve listed below three causes that many in the Church are wrapped up in, and are all distractions. (Please read the entire post before forming an opinion and commenting).

THE DISTRACTIONS:

1).The environment: As you can see from this previous post, the young professing Christians in the video are very concerned about the environment, but something is missing. Something very important.
2). The Poor: A highly commendable cause to be involved in is ending world hunger. Many professing Christians are involved in such secular campaigns as One.org and other anti-hunger organizations.
3). AIDS: Yet another commendable endeavor is fighting the spread of AIDS. Rick Warren heads up a huge conference on AIDS each year in an effort to end this disease.

THE REALITY:

I am a conservationist; I turn off lights when I leave a room, I don’t leave water running, I even reuse napkins when applicable. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being a conservationist or caring for God’s creation. However, when we put an unbalanced overemphasis on saving the environment, inevitably our primary responsibilities become neglected.

We should also be concerned for those in the world who suffer from poverty and AIDS (many times they go hand in hand). Jesus took pity on and had compassion for those who suffered. Likewise as Christians we should do the same (although many times we’re more concerned with keeping up with our neighbors than caring for our neighbors).

Where I differ from many of these idealists is here: In so many instances the Christians championing these causes have lost sight of the most important aspect of our dual purpose here on earth: To glorify God and to preach the Gospel. Jesus commanded us to make disciples, not save the environment, end world hunger, or fight AIDS.

Anyone who disagrees with that either has no concept of Hell or has chosen to dismiss the reality of Hell. Why do I say this? Because those who grasp the reality of Heaven and Hell understand that this life is temporal and the next life is eternal. There will be many in Hell who would have rather died of hunger or of infection knowing Jesus Christ, than to have been preserved on this planet a little while longer (only to die later like everyone else), and spend an eternity in Hell because they died without Christ.

Regarding the planet, the Bible tells us that in the end times there will be cataclysmic happenings in the environment. It’s going to happen no matter how many things you do–or don’t do–to preserve the environment. Those who worry about this need to spend some valuable time away from the recycling centers and in the study of the Scriptures. An honest review of the Scriptures will reveal to you that God is still in control and will continue to be in control. He is not wringing His hands wondering what to do because he didn’t foresee problems in the environment. The environment should never be the primary focus of the Christian. Leave the earth worship to the pagans, Wiccans, and New Agers. As a Christian your hope is not in this earth, but in the life to come, and your mission is to spread the Gospel.

Regarding poverty, Jesus told us that we will always have the poor with us (Mark 14:7) and there will be famines (Matthew 24:7). This is a sobering reminder that no matter how much effort we exert in ending world hunger, it will never cease to exist.

If you really want to know how to make a dent in world hunger you must consider this: The majority of the causes of poverty in the world is corrupt government. If we change the hearts of the people with the Gospel, we change the governments. If we change the governments, we do great things in the cause of world hunger. However, any true student of the Bible knows that as the end draws nigh, things will only get worse. With that said, we should still do what we can for the poor, but like the environment, this should not be our primary focus. Our main concern should not be their physical needs, but their spiritual needs.

Regarding AIDS, remember that Jesus told us there will be pestilences (Luke 24:11). It’s not like diseases, and especially AIDS, has taken God by surprise. Theses are things that will take place no matter what we try to do to stem them. Again, where is our focus? If it’s first and foremost to share the Gospel with the sick and dying, then we’re fulfilling the Great Commission. If it’s anything else first and foremost, then we’re feeding our own desires to feel good about ourselves for doing something which just so happens to be the acceptable and politically correct thing to do.

AIDS is primarily a behavioral disease. Again, change the hearts of man with the Gospel (not a government or social program) and you impact the AIDS epidemic considerably. But, will this happen? No, because mankind is fallen and corrupt and we will always sin and there will always be consequences for that sin.

Thus my point of this post: We’re spinning our wheels trying to fix heart problems with social programs that we already know (by God’s Word) will not work.

In every cause that we take up, it’s rather easy to determine what it is that is driving us. First, ask yourself, “What is my primary purpose? Is it the social cause or the Gospel of Jesus Christ? ” Don’t simply pay lip service to this, genuinely ask yourself this. Then review whether or not your actions reflect what you believe.

Secondly, do you compromise the Gospel or your faith in any degree for these causes? When Compassion International, for example, sends out their packets and the majority of their work is presented as making life more comfortable for people rather than the sharing of the Gospel, I have concern. When they team up with Rick Warren for his AIDS summit, I have REAL concern. By doing this, Compassion International has just compromised the true Gospel and aligned itself with the social gospel which does not save.

At last year’s conference, Rick Warren invited pro-homosexual, pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Hussein Obama to speak. Now before you get in a tizzy because you’re happy with what the AIDS summit accomplished on the surface, I recommend you check out this podcast from the show Cross Talk in which reporters who attended the conference revealed what really took place there in comparison to Biblical Christianity. You can also watch the video below of Rick Warren justifying his philosophy on compromise.

And finally, for those who say something like, “We need to set our differences aside and come together for such worthy causes,” you have already shown that your priority is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ and you’ve already compromised the very faith you claim to represent.

If you truly believed the doctrine of Hell and the wrath of God that will befall those who die without Christ, then you would be compelled to make sharing that Gospel your first and highest priority.