HOW FAR WILL THEY GO?
Missionary David C. Bennett, D. Min.
Ecclesiastical history is strewn with church associations,
fellowships, conventions, mission organizations and schools eventually
going soft on the very issue or issues they were formed. One such issue
many independent Baptists have departed from is Biblical separation. For
example the present president of the independent Baptist College this
writer attended sadly wrote in 2003 that many "have gone to seed on the
Biblical doctrine of separation." This is why most pastors and
missionaries coming out of some so called "fundamental" independent
Baptist schools lean toward what may be considered a new-evangelical stand
on Biblical separation. What is surprising and sad is that so many pastors
and missionaries continue to ignore or do not have the ability to discern
all that is taking place. We need men such as "the children of Issachar,
which were men that had understanding of the times." (1Chronicles 12:32).
Tozer well said "The constantly recurring question must be: What shall we
unite with and from what shall we separate? The question of coexistence
does not enter here, but the question of union and fellowship does. The
wheat grows in the same field as the tares, but shall the two
cross-pollinate? The sheep graze near the goats, but shall they seek to
interbreed? The unjust and the just enjoy the same rain and sunshine, but
shall they forget their deep moral differences and intermarry? ... The
Spirit-illuminated church will have none of this" (The Best of A.W.
Tozer, p. 72). The internet carries an abundant amount of information
with reference to the compromise of the various Baptist groups, churches
and mission agencies. These churches and mission agencies were once
separatists but now according to their own web sites it may be seen they
are new-evangelical. It has been the practice of most Baptist
organizations too adopt resolutions at their annual meetings. These
resolutions once meant something but they are now often times only a
smokescreen as to what is actually occurring in the individual churches.
RESOLUTIONS AND PRACTICE:
At the 2003 GARBC 72nd
Annual Conference in Riverside, California, June 23–27, 2003 the following
resolution was adopted. Portions have been highlighted and underlined for
emphasis.
RESOLUTION ON CORPORATE WORSHIP
"Whereas we live in a time of confusing winds of doctrine
in which even fundamental and evangelical Christianity is changing;
And whereas the Scriptures warn of these days when the
ingredients of Biblical Christianity would be altered by various
worldly substitutes (2 Timothy 3:4);
And whereas there is increased pressure upon fundamental,
Bible-believing pastors and churches to integrate man-centered
philosophy and pragmatic methodology into corporate worship, catering to
felt needs and emphasizing people’s comfort rather than divine
presence, leading to a consumer mentality in churches and creating
an atmosphere of entertainment;
While recognizing the diversity and autonomy of individual
churches, we encourage careful study of these issues with spiritual
discernment in order to avoid the errors of entertainment,
emotionalism, experientialism, and irreverence in corporate worship.
Be it therefore resolved that we, the messengers of the
churches in fellowship with the GARBC, meeting for our 72nd Annual
Conference in Riverside, California, June 23–27, 2003:
Strive to promote a Biblical model of worship that is:
God focused (not man-pleasing)
Christ centered (not experience-oriented)
Holy Spirit empowered (not emotionally driven)
That we further reaffirm our commitment to substantive
worship that is "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24) and centered on the
expositional preaching of the Word of God
(2 Timothy 4:2; 2 Corinthians 4:2) which is the Spirit’s
Word of grace to build up local churches (Acts 20:32)." (Emphasis added by
DCB)
The GARBC leadership is centered in the Council of
Eighteen. It was interesting to note one of the men on the Council of
Eighteen also carries the following on his church web site. There is a
contradiction between what his web site publicizes and what the GARBC
resolution said. Certain statements have been highlighted and underlined
for emphasis.
"For many people, going to church doesn’t seem to be
something they would enjoy. Part of the reason is because of what they
hear about church. But at First Baptist Church, however, it is our vision
to enjoy God.
We invite you each week to come and see for yourself. Our
pastor ...is not like the image you may have a pastor. If your image is
that of a pastor being mean, negative and judgmental, you
will not find that at FBC. He believes that we need to be enjoying God as
one of our chief ends to living." J. Gresham Machen said "Again, men tell
us that our preaching should be positive and not negative, that we can
preach the truth without attacking error. But if we follow that advice we
shall have to close our Bible and desert its teachings." (What Is
Christianity, as cited in Biblical Separation, by Ernest Pickering, p.
97).
"This attitude of enjoying God is reflected in our
pastor’s messages each Sunday. Instead of emphasizing the negative,
he sets the truths of Scripture in a positive tone as something we
should aspire to and incorporate into our lives. Interestingly, it
is the people who come on Sunday who determine which truths the pastor
chooses to speak about! And this is what Scripture would desire of
pastors for it says that we are to "’speak only what is helpful for
building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who
listen’ (Ephesians 4:29).
In addition, pastor uses humor to
relax people, always gives a picture after making a point by the
use of stories, uses terms that people understand, makes points of the
outline application points, uses a soft-sell rather than a hard-sell,
is transparent before his people, uses translations of the Bible
that people can understand and as said earlier speaks to our
felt needs. This helps the people who attend to feel relaxed and
start their journey of enjoying God.
To some people all of this sounds like a new wrinkle. But
is it? The Westminster Confession of Faith written in the mid-1600s had
this question, ‘What is the chief end of man?’ The answer? ‘Man’s chief
end is to magnify God and to enjoy God forever.’ We need to get back to
this way of viewing God and we are trying at FBC."
No doubt this pastor as a member of the GARBC Council of
Eighteen would have participated in the formation of the 2003 resolution
and yet he preaches to the "felt needs" of the people. He
uses "soft-sell rather than hard sell." We are talking about
a preacher of the gospel here not a used car salesman! The 2003 GARBC
resolution was against "catering to felt needs and emphasizing
people’s comfort." Well, so much for the resolution.
Another GARBC church web site has the following with
emphasis added by highlighting and underlining certain parts. "Good News!
Every Sunday Morning there is a CELEBRATION . . . and you’re
invited. You will enjoy our positive, uplifting Celebration
each Sunday morning. Pastor D........... is a dynamic speaker and teacher.
His practical messages relate to your needs and concerns in
today’s world."
Note this pastor develops his messages to "relate to
your needs."
What did the 2003 Resolution say? The resolution was against "catering
to felt needs and emphasizing people’s comfort." What these two
pastors are implementing is nothing but Saddleback and Willow Creek
philosophy. One can only wonder how many other GARBC pastors are doing the
same. Why the resolution?
Ronald Reagan said "The history of treaties throughout the
centuries is such that one should not stake one's life on a treaty."
Perhaps the same thing can be said of church association resolutions.
MISSION AGENCY AND NEW EVANGELICAL COMPROMISE:
The Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE)
has been shifting from a separatist position for years. The following is
taken from the ABWE web site and is another example of ABWE’s
new-evangelicalism in practice. Portions have been highlighted and
underlined for emphasis.
EDGE SEMINAR SERIES:
"The goal of these annual training events is to
expose ABWE missionaries to the best evangelical
missionary trainers and training of our generation, to the end that they
will be nudged to the cutting edge of missionary ministry."
Note ABWE is not exposing their missionaries to the best
fundamental missionary trainers and training but to evangelical trainers
and training. Who are some of the "best evangelical missionary trainers
and training of our generation" that the ABWE leadership desire for their
missionaries to be "exposed" too? One such person is Lee
Ross who directs the Center for FaithWalk Leadership. The ABWE web site
says Ross "was a specialist for the Leadership Development Ministries
office of the Georgia Baptist Convention, where he created
an ongoing process of leadership development training for the local church
and other faith-based organizations." He "has over 26 years of experience
in the area of training and developing leaders in both faith-based
and non-faith-based organizations." He "has a passion to see
Christian leaders across the country use Jesus as their role model for
leadership." His education is "a Bachelor of Science degree in
psychology from Mercer University and a master of
theology degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary."
Another individual the ABWE leadership is exposing their
missionaries too is Evangelical Free David Hesselgrave.
Hesselgrave teaches at new-evangelical Trinity Evangelical Divinity
School. He served as a missionary with the Evangelical Free
Church of America (EFCA) to Japan for twelve years and for 14
years as the chairman of the Mission and Evangelism Department at Trinity.
He is also a member of the EFCA Ministerial Association, the American
Society of Missiology and the Evangelical Missiological Society; and
served as executive director of the Evangelical Missiological Society from
1991-1994. According to the ABWE blurb Hesselgrave will give the
missionary "relevant sociological, anthropological, and historical
insights." The ABWE publicity continues saying "Dr. Hesselgrave will lead
you to understand and apply the ten phases of cross-cultural church
planting gleaned from New Testament sources. You will be enriched by the
teaching ministry of one of the leading evangelical missiologists of our
generation." It seems ABWE is in quest to indoctrinate their missionaries
with new-evangelicalism.
Another Trinity professor to which the ABWE missionary
will be exposed is D. A. Carson. The ABWE web site says "Dr. Carson is one
of the truly eminent evangelical scholars and teachers of our day." Of
course those who hold to the King James Bible as God’s Word in the English
language know D. A. Carson for his books such as THE KING JAMES VERSION
DEBATE. Carson as Dr. Hesselgrave is a new evangelical!
Larry Gaither is a speaker and trainer for these ABWE Edge
Seminars. Gaither is a graduate of Western Bible College and attended
Denver Seminary. He and his wife served with Overseas Christian
Servicemen’s Centers, now named Cadence International, for ten years.
Gaither has also held the position as Southern California Representative
for Trans World Radio. Trans World Radio is out and out
new-evangelical. Mr. Gaither has been on "the staff of the Center for
Leadership Studies in Escondido, CA, the home of Situational Leadership"
the past seven years. The founder of the Center for Leadership Studies is
Dr. Paul Hersey. Hersey is a behavioral scientist. His
Situational Leadership Model was first published in articles in the early
1960s. The Center for Leadership Studies has trained managers in
organizations such as "Mobil, IBM, Caterpillar, Harris, and Illinois
Bell."
Another Edge Seminar speaker is Dr. Norm Geisler. From Dr.
Geisler ABWE says the missionary will "Learn basic principles of Christian
apologetics, as they relate to world evangelism. Dr. Geisler will apply
them to a variety of culture-Christianity conflicting issues,
such as atheism, pluralism, pantheism, relativism, anti-supernaturalism,
and biblical criticism." (Emphasis added). Geisler as with
the other speakers and trainers is a new-evangelical.
Another trainer for ABWE is a "licensed psychologist."
ABWE seems to be enamored with what is sometimes termed as "psycho-babble"
thinking and methodology. Psychiatrist Dr. Gary Almy was asked if he would
"recommend a Christian medical student to specialize in psychiatry?" His
answer was "Probably not, because I do not think psychiatry really has
much to do offer for a Christian." Yet it is the psychological behavioral
science approach which ABWE is exposing their missionaries too!
Where is the Biblical discernment of pastors and
missionaries today? Perhaps a statement from Lenin is applicable here.
Change Marxism to psychology as you read what Lenis said. "We will find
our most fertile ground for infiltration of Marxism (psychology) within
the field of religion, because religious people are the most gullible and
will accept almost anything if it is couched in religious terminology."
John E. Ashbrooke wrote in New Neutralism II page 75 "If
health authorities are to battle the outbreak of any new disease, they
must determine how that disease spreads. I would submit that the men whom
I have called ‘the popularizers’ are an effective network for the
spreading the virus of new evangelicalism. They speak with and for those
who are more liberal than they are – the National Council of Churches,
Southern Baptist Convention, National Religious Broadcasters or some Billy
Graham program. Then, they speak with and for those who are more
conservative than they are. The latter group would not associate with the
former group. However, the popularizer speaks for them both and forms a
bridge between them. In so doing, he softens the attitudes of the more
liberal and more conservative to each other. Both sides decide that the
other can’t be that bad, because the popularizer speaks there. So, the
virus spreads." (Emphasis added).
The new-evangelical virus is spreading and it is spreading
far and fast. Winston Churchill could have been speaking to independent
Baptist preachers and missionaries when he said "There is no working
middle course in wartime." George Washington said to his men "slavery will
be your portion, and that of your posterity, if you do not acquit
yourselves like
men." 1Corinthians 16:13 "Watch ye, stand fast in the
faith, quit you like men, be strong." BRETHREN, WE ARE AT WAR TILL JESUS
COMES!
