Unity. Within the church – and I mean the self-proclaimed “church”, one distinguished by the remarkable volume of tares among the wheat in pews, in pulpits, and, frequently, in the spotlight – the word unity has become nothing less than a discernment-free appeal for moral and social tolerance. When you hear someone plead for unity, … Read more
The unofficial wanna-be Southern Baptist ambassador to the great apostate of the Tiber, Rick Warren, completed another Purpose Driven Church Conference last month. While the adroit observer of the church, a la the “American” flavor of Christianity, won’t be surprised that the event was attended by participants from all 50 states, it may be saddening that the … Read more
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. – 2 Peter 2:1 Recently, a member of our Facebook group alerted us to a review that she had … Read more
Evangelicals love celebrities. Every time a celebrity makes a profession of faith, they are instantly heralded as Christian by a hoard of evangelicals. While celebrities can certainly be Christians and some are of the elect, much of the times these “Christian celebrities” aren’t really Christian at all. Bono from the band U2 has made a … Read more
The heavily marketed, highly touted, and Scripture-denying “Together 2016” event was held on the National Mall in Washington, DC on Saturday, July 16. Thousands gathered on the mall and watched by live stream for the purported purpose to pray for Jesus to “reset” the country and their lives. The stream of celebrity evangelical “leaders,” pastors … Read more
“In the beginning was the video game. And the game was enchanting. And the game was augmented reality.” (The gospel according to Pokemon?) The article popped up on Challies’ a la Carte serving Tuesday, July 12. Eight Ways Churches Can Capitalize on Pokemon Go appears penned on The Wardrobe Door website. I bristle at this. … Read more
For Johnny Hunt’s 25th anniversary as Pastor of First Baptist Woodstock, the church staff planned a special surprise service to honor him. As a bit of good-hearted fun, the music minister rewrote Hunt’s favorite “hymn”, Under the Boardwalk, with lyrics that made light of the pastor’s unique way of pronouncing certain words. In addition to this musical tribute, a … Read more
The setting might not be all that unrecognizable from the typical hipster, prosperity gospel, mega-church anywhere on the planet. A darkened room. A state of the art sound system. A big screen. A room full of fans eager for a show. But this one actually is a theater as Hillsong: Let Hope Rise is due … Read more
No, no, no. I don’t mean “lost” salvifically. I mean lost as in, “where’s he been?” It’s been 23 days since Bellevue Baptist pastor Steve Gaines ascended to the hierarchy of the largest Protestant denomination in the country. For the bulk of those days, he’s been noticeably absent from social media, the Christian news world, … Read more
When a Calvinistic church in Arizona chose to raise funds through booze and tattoos and then chose to post about it in a video online while talking about its “coolness,” news sites covered the story as sensationally as the videographer meant it to be. Many Christians expressed disgust at the church’s flaunting of what some call … Read more
The professing church is filled with charlatans. Men and women who care about fame, fortune, and popularity. This pervasive evil has crept its way into even the most solid of churches, leading people astray, into the darkness of a counterfeit Christianity–one that has a form of godliness, but denies its power. If you want to … Read more
We’ve heard it all, folks. As polemicists, deflections avoiding substantive discussion typically come from either (1) misdirecting accolades of the good qualities of the person or institution questioned or (2) firing accusatory bullets toward the messenger. Examples of these common deflections… NewSpring plays Highway to Hell on Easter, but did you hear about their young singles … Read more
As Ronnie Floyd’s tenure comes to a close, and a new president rises up in his place, many questions will arise as to just how well he actually did as president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Here are just a few examples of why I think this term was more than questionable. Throughout his tenure, … Read more
The Southern Baptist Convention’s favorite maven of false teaching and one of LifeWay’s cash cows of illicit doctrine has just wrapped up yet another conference in which the zealous worship of the false god of “unity” was portrayed. Adding credence, via intentional lack of discernment, to the “HER” in heresy, femme fatale of the faithless Beth Moore … Read more
The Christian artist artist who happens to be a Christian, Lecrae Devaughn Moore (who self-identifies as simply Lecrae) has joined a litany of other musical artists in asking Congress to remove the Second Amendment right of Citizens to engage in the private trade of firearms and also remove due process from our legal system. In an open letter to … Read more
