“They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.” 1 John 2:19
In June 2016, the Pittsburg Theological Seminary is holding a conference entitled “Being Church.” According to the seminary, “the 20th century church is not meeting the needs of the 21st century world.” It has invited “Pastor” Nadia Bolz-Weber and Rachel Held Evans to converse about this bizarre assertion at its Being Church Conference. Evans is a well-known gay affirming, egalitarian pseudo-theologian who advises the Obama Administration on faith-based partnerships, blogs and writes books for evangelical skeptics. Bolz-Weber is…well…this woman:
That these women were invited by Pittsburg Theological Seminary to speak about “being the church” isn’t really news. It’s not the kind of thing we would polemicize here at the Pulpit & Pen. This is, quite frankly, exactly what we expect from a mainline PCUSA seminary that long ago abandoned biblical fidelity. What would be the polemical commentary for this conference, “School that doesn’t believe the Bible invites people who don’t believe the Bible to speak”?
This month, New Apostolic Reformation charismatics have gathered together for an event entitled “Asuza Now: The Call.” We covered the announcement of this event at Pulpit & Pen back in January. Today, many of our readers watched the live stream of this event and reported to us the very strange happenings they witnessed. Their hundreds of comments described exactly what would be expected from a crazy charismatic conference full of self-proclaimed Apostles and really bad dancers. If you’re having trouble imagining the kind of thing that goes on there, just watch this short clip.
Again, this is barely news for a site like Pulpit & Pen. Charismaniacs are going to act crazy just as liberals are going to act liberal. We only covered it because one of the conference participants is to be a featured speaker at the 2016 SBC Pastors Conference.
That’s what makes news at the Pulpit & Pen – when believers from a solid denomination partner with liberals or ultra-charismatics. It also makes news, sad news, when an SBC Pastor makes a statement like this:
This man pastors a Southern Baptist Church in my city. I’ve obfuscated his name and image above out of respect for his privacy. He’s nobody famous but he is someone charged with the shepherding of God’s people and the proclamation of God’s word. Look at his words, “Join out as we cry out for a mighty move of the Holy Spirit!!!!!!!!” How many exclamation points is that and how many other small-church SBC pastors are out there caught up in promoting NAR charismania? How many of their sheep are, in an ever-secularizing society, turning to charismania at the behest of their pastors? How many misguided Baptists are so desperate for a move of the Holy Spirit that they are looking for it at a charismatic conference full of self-proclaimed latter day Apostles (and the Roman Catholics who seek to form a one world religion with them)?
It’s like looking for a wife in a whorehouse. Is this to what the Bride of Christ in the SBC has been reduced? These dangerous conferences are being promoted via vast networks on local and state levels. Do you think this busy pastor just happened to accidentally come upon the YouTube link to this crazy event? I doubt it. Discerning Christians need to fight (strange) fire with fire. Don’t just pass over your friends or local pastors when you see them promoting stuff like this. Challenge them, inform them; maybe you can win your brother.
[Contributed by Seth Dunn, host of The Christian Commute]
*Please note that the preceding is my personal opinion. It is not necessarily the opinion of any entity by which I am employed, any church at which I am a member, any church which I attend, or the educational institution at which I am enrolled. Any copyrighted material displayed or referenced is done under the doctrine of fair use.
