November 19, 2009
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From the Crosstalk website:
Recently, Bethel University in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, area held an interreligious symposium that was titled: Meditation–Buddhist and Christian: Is There Common Ground?
Pastor Bob DeWaay of Twin City Fellowship appeared on Crosstalk to discuss this symposium, a gathering that sought to explore how much common ground there is in both Christian and Buddhist meditation.
Just how dangerous is the belief that Christians can gain insight into themselves by practicing Buddhist approaches to meditation? Pastor DeWaay presents the Bible truths that speak directly to this issue on this edition of Crosstalk.
You can listen to this program right here.
November 19, 2009
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November 19, 2009
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Martin Luther, HT: Reformed Voices | “The writings of all the holy fathers should be read only for a time, in order that through them we may be led to the Holy Scriptures.
As it is, however, we read them only to be absorbed in them and never come to the Scriptures. We are like men [...]
November 19, 2009
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Recently Apprising Ministries pointed out the Growing Gay Agenda In Evangelicalism; therein you will see Tony Jones, a leading spokesman for the egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church de-formation of the Christian faith aka Emergent Church—now morphing into Emergence Christianity (EC)—speak of “a shift” toward full inclusion of GLBTQ people within evangelicalism.
And in Emerging Church To TransFORM Outlaw Preachers I talked about the EC group TransFORM, a network created by “Kingdom Journalist” Steve Knight of Emergent Village. As I’ve said before, most all of the familiar names in the EC existential rebellion against the final authority of the Bible are to be found; and it’s very important for you to realize that the EC has also now embraced a bunch self-described, largely gay-affirming, Outlaw Preachers (OP) now slithering up all around “pastor” Jay Bakker.
Together one of their pet doctrines right now is the attempt to convince us that the deviant lifestyle of having sexual relations with another of the same sex, i.e homosexuality, is a viable one for the evangelical Christian. Here’s yet another example; just minutes ago it was brought to my attention that TranFORM has re-tweeted:
RT @Queermergent #Queermergent has started an Emergent/ing Spiritual Communities page: http://is.gd/4ZbGU (Online source)
You may recall this EC group Queermergent is headed by practicing lesbian “Christ-follower” Adele Sakler aka Existential Punk, who was also co-leader of Richmond Emergent Cohort aligned with Emergent Village. The link above takes us to Inclusive Communities:
Here are a list of Emerging/ent Queer-inclusive/embracing spiritual communities. If you know of any others, PLEASE feel free to contact Adele… (Online source)
Not surprisingly, already on the list we find House For All Sinners And Saints, which is the church of gay affirming ELCA “pastor” Nadia Bolz-Weber—a self-identified OP—whose HFASS church will be hosting next years OP annual meeting. We also find Ikon, the heretical group started by Sakler’s good friend, and EC darling, Peter Rollins. You’d best know this: That very dark and threatening same-sex storm, right now approaching hurricane force, grows even closer to the coast of your own local church.
See also:
ROB BELL, PETER ROLLINS, AND QUEERMERGENT’S ADELE SAKLER
THE NIGHTMARE BEGINNING FOR MAINSTREAM EVANGELICALISM
THE SIN OF HOMOSEXUALITY IS DIFFERENT
HOMOPRESSIVE AS JAY BAKKER
BIBLE OUTS GAY MARRIAGE (PART TWO)
QUEERMERGENT AND NOW ADULTERMERGENT!?
PCUSA VOTES TO ORDAIN LESBIAN LISA LARGES
November 19, 2009
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Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. (James 3:1, ESV)
You Then Who Teach Others, Do You Not Teach Yourself?
Mark S. Hansen is “Presiding Bishop” of the mortally wounded ELCA, which as you can see in the Apprising Ministries post ELCA And Homosexuality, sealed its fate by voting to allow people unrepentantly practicing the deviant lifestyle of having sexual relations with another of the same sex, i.e homosexuality, to become pastors of their churches.
Not long ago today the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America tweeted:
“Standing Together in God’s Grace,” an open letter to ELCA members from Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson is posted… http://bit.ly/1raT6X (Online source)
The link takes us to the ELCA Facebook page where we find another link that brings us to Open Letter to ELCA Members: A letter from Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hansen to ELCA members. Within Hansen shares the following delusions:
Sisters and brothers in Christ of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,… Where does the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) stand today? We stand together in God’s grace, but we are not standing still. We proclaim Jesus Christ… (Online source)
No, Mr. Hansen; by allowing people who are unrepentant sinners to shepherd Christ’s sheep, you deny Him. And Jesus is now asking you — “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46, NASB)
Hansen goes on, “Evidence abounds of the Holy Spirit being poured out upon us and through us”. Wrong again; in His mercy God may be still pouring His Spirit upon some in the ELCA, but it’s in spite of your grievous decision to practice homopression.
May the Lord grant Hansen and the ELCA repentance for lying to GLBTQ people, for whom Jesus died, and leaving them condemned within the prison of their homosexual sin.
See also:
RECENT VOTE ON HOMOSEXUALITY BY ELCA
JOHN T. PLESS: MARTIN LUTHER’S REJECTION OF HOMOSEXUALITY
NADIA BOLZ-WEBER WEIGHS IN ON ELCA CHURCH-WIDE ASSEMBLY
THE SIN OF HOMOSEXUALITY IS DIFFERENT
WHY NO CONDEMNATION FOR CHRISTIANS WHO ARE HOMOPRESSIVE?
GROWING GAY AGENDA IN EVANGELICALISM
BIBLE OUTS GAY MARRIAGE
November 19, 2009
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Jonathan Bell, who’s brother is Rob Bell, the Elvis of the egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church de-formation of the Christian faith aka Emergent Church—now morphing into Emergence Christianity (EC), wanted us to know about:
an interview with my brother (@realrobbell) that sheds some light on some of the projects we’re working on http://bit.ly/9VmN7 (Online source)
That link takes us to something called the Burnside Writers Collective and the article Rob Bell 2.0 (or Where Are the Artists?). You may recall that Apprising Ministries has recently been covering the Growing Gay Agenda In Evangelicalism spearheaded by the EC and fellow false prophets, the rather biblically illiterate bunch who’ve crowned themselves as Outlaw Preachers (OP).
Front-line assaults to try and convince us that the deviant lifestyle of having sexual relations with another of the same sex, i.e homosexuality, is a viable one for the evangelical Christian are already being launched within mainstream evangelicalism, e.g. by EC OPers like “queer inclusive” ELCA “pastor” Nadia Bolz-Weber, gay affirming “pastor” Jay Bakker, and Phyllis Tickle, the Empress of Emergence Christianity.
So this section of the interview certainly caught my attention:
BWC: Turning an eye to social politics, how do you feel about news like that of Maine’s repealing of LGBT marriage rights? Granted, everyone’s got an opinion, and I’m not asking you to answer the “Is homosexuality a sin?” question. But in general, how do you feel we should respond to this news, and that of other minority groups? How should our faiths inform our behavior?
Bell: You can simply take a side, which a lot of churches do. If you’re a leader, you say, “This is where we stand” and if you’re part of it, just go along with it. The problem with that nice, neat view of reality is that in a church like Mars Hill, we have members across the full spectrum. So we have war protestors and we have parents of soldiers currently fighting in Iraq.
There are people who say, “Well, you need to talk to the half of the church that’s wrong, and get them right.” But then that’s where your energies go. That’s all you do. Convincing all those on one side to come over to the other. The next week, though, the issue will be something different. And you spend most energy on yourself.
What we say is, “What are the things that 10 years ago, this year, and 10 years from now that we could address?” For instance, we’ve been building a micro-finance bank in Burundi for those trying to get loans. We send accountants over to see if things are sharp, filmmakers to capture it and spread the word, and show others what our money is doing…what’s actually happening. We’re also working at a local school. There are about 150 kids being mentored, and the school is asking the church, “Please send more!” The goal is to have a mentor for each child.
We pour our energies into something together. “You and you are at odds on a certain issue? Could you work on THIS together?”
We talk about being aggressively non-partisan, while acknowledging that what we’re doing will have political edges. So if we talk about the environment, for instance, it’s not because we’ve been co-opted by a particular political party. It’s because this is something pretty close to God’s heart. We talk about widows and orphans. We talk about empowering people. It’s not because we’ve been co-opted by another side. It’s because it’s helpful. (Online source, bold theirs)
Wow; what an impressive non-answer, complete with the use of smoke and mirrors, which no doubt rivals the master pragmatic politician, Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren himself. Notice that Bell doesn’t think it’s a good use of energy to be, “Convincing all those on one side to come over to the other.” Well, I have some news for Rob Bell; here’s “something pretty close to God’s heart” for those who would dare call themselves ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be doing:
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem…
preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction…holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. (Luke 24:45-47; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 1:9, NASB)
And Jesus would say that if Rob Bell doesn’t want to begin using his energy doing so, then he should immediately get out of the ministry, and simply be a social worker.
See also:
THE GOSPEL-LESS GOSPEL OF ROB BELL
BIBLE OUTS GAY MARRIAGE
BIBLE OUTS GAY MARRIAGE (PART TWO)
ROB BELL, PETER ROLLINS, AND QUEERMERGENT’S ADELE SAKLER
IS ROB BELL EVANGELICAL?
ROB BELL ABSOLUTELY WRONG ABOUT SCRIPTURE
THROUGH ROB BELL “THE GREAT ENLIGHTENED ONES” TELL US MAN HAS DIVINE GREATNESS
November 19, 2009
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For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. (Mark 6:50, KJV)
Jesus spoke this message to believers tossed with tempest, and we need it when we are depressed by the surroundings of these evil times. In seasons of depressed trade, great sickness, terrible wars, and public disasters, it’s balm to the spirit to know that Jesus is still the same.
Sin may abound yet more, the light of the gospel may burn low, and the prince of darkness may widely sway his destroying scepter, but nevertheless, this truth stands sure, that Jesus is the “I Am.” At certain periods, diabolical influence seems paramount, the reins of nation appears to be taken out of the hand of the Great Governor, and yet it is not so.
Look through the darkness, and you shall see your Lord amid the hurricane, walking the waters of politics, ruling national convulsions, governing, overruling, arranging all, making even the wrath of man to praise Him, and restraining it according to His wisdom. Above the howling of the blast, I hear His voice announcing, “It is I.”
When men’s hearts sink for fear and the rowers feel their oars ready to snap by the strain of useless toil, I hear that word which is the soul of music: “It is I; be not afraid. I am ruling all things. I am coming to the rescue of the bark, My Church; she shall yet float on smooth waters and reach her desired Haven. (At the Master’s Feet, November 19)
November 19, 2009
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(Click here to download the first chapter of Bruce Wilkinson’s book, You Were Born for This.)
(Click on the following to read my earlier posts on the text: Title & Table of Contents, Table of Contents addendum, Testimonials, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, 13, the final grade for the text, and my initial public challenge to Bruce Wilkinson.)
Dear Reader,
Hello again. Just to bring you up to speed, it’s been three days since I public challenged and contacted Waterbrook Multnomah regarding the questionable content found within their recently published book, You Were Born for This, (LINK) by Bruce Wilkinson.
It’s been six days since I challenged and contacted Wilkinson’s co-author, David Kopp, and over a week since I challenged and contacted Wilkinson himself.
Still no answer from anyone. Now I know how Jeff Jarvis felt when, back in 2005, he got little to no help from Dell’s customer service department concerning his lemon of a home computer. Of course, most of us recall how that turned out for Dell.
Because Dell didn’t satisfactorily address Jarvis’ valid concerns, the guy posted his experience online. As a result, tens of thousands read of Johnson’s troubles at Dell. When Johnson’s gripe reached the attention of the national media, Dell’s credibility took a nosedive, resulting in a significant loss of the market share. (For more on the story, click here.)
I wonder how this will play out for Wilkinson, Kopp and Waterbrook Multnomah. Only God knows. (Maybe biblical convictions don’t mean as much to these folks as does the bottom line…or maybe they do. This continued silence on their part, though, does raise some rather valuable questions…)
Tomorrow, I’ll reflect on the LiveStream event Wilkinson’s publisher put on Tuesday morning. I did get to pose a couple of questions to the author, and you’ll want to see how he did.
Until then,
Chris
PS To view the LiveStream event for yourself, click here, and then click “On-Air” in the bottom left corner of the video screen.
PPS For new readers, my earlier analyses of Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile (by Rob Bell and Don Golden) is available for free download. Simply click on my title, Clear as a Bell, and decide for yourself whether or not Bell’s teachings match those found in God’s Word.
November 19, 2009
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Recently I was sent this slick little promotion for what turns out to be a biography of the life of Rick Warren entitled “Prophet of Purpose” and written by Jeffrey Sheler, a contributing editor of U.S. News & World Report. For the record, I have no doubt you’ve determined that a biography has been written [...]
November 19, 2009
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Our local team here in the Phoenix area distributed 2,000 copies of this special edition of Origin of Species to students at Arizona State University campus in about two hours. There were around twenty of us and we worked in pairs. Even so, it seemed a daunting task for our team to give away so many books
Most were surprised and delighted to get something free. But several who started reading came back to return their books.
Overall, the mission as it was planned, emerged a success. Pictures to come soon!
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November 19, 2009
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Please watch and share…
