WEEKLY CHURCH NEWS NOTES
Pastor Dale Morgan
December 3, 2006.
The Weekly Church News Notes is designed for use in churches.
*LIBERAL HEAD OF EPISCOPAL CHURCH WARNS CONSERVATIVE BISHOP AGAINST
LEAVING *
- Katharine Jefferts-Schori, the ultra-liberal newly-ordained head of
the Episcopal Church in America, has written a letter to warn bishop
David Schofield against leaving the denomination. The diocese of San
Joaquin in California is set to vote in the beginning of December on
whether or not to separate from the Episcopal denomination, and
Schofield supports the split. He has told his congregation that there
are "two separate religions in the Episcopal church" and that it has
become "apostate to the point of heresy" ("Episcopal Head Warns Bishop
of Hazards in Split," Christian Post, Nov. 21, 2006). We could not agree
more with that assessment, though we wonder why it has taken the man so
long to see it. Schofield has warned the people that they need to be
"prepared for the battle of a lifetime" and that they might face
protracted lawsuits over church property and harassment by
denominational leaders. Jefferts-Schori warned Schofield that by leaving
he would be violating his ordination vows to uphold the "doctrine,
discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church." In fact, he feels that
to uphold these vows requires that he leave the denomination, because he
is convinced that the Jefferts-Schori-era Episcopal Church has corrupted
its own doctrine, which it has. Jefferts-Schori supports the ordination
of homosexuals, and her ecumenical installment in Washington D.C. two
weeks ago included chanting by pagan Native American Indians.
*MORMONS GRANT AWARD TO CATHOLIC CARDINAL *
The Mormon Church in Australia presented Catholic Cardinal Edward
Cassidy with an award for his devotion to "ecumenical and inter-faith
dialogue" ("Interfaith Honour for Cardinal Cassidy," Catholic Weekly,
Oct. 1, 2006). The Mormons are gradually working their way into the
mainstream of the ecumenical movement. In November 2004 some
evangelicals, (including Ravi Zacharias, CCM musician Michael Card,
Richard Mouw of Fuller Seminary, and Craig Hazen of Biola University)
joined hands with Mormons in Salt Lake City for an "Evening of
Friendship." The event was co-sponsored by Standing Together Ministries,
which was formed in 2001 by "evangelical" preacher Greg Johnson to
"build greater dialogue between evangelical Christians and Latter-day
Saints." In the Deseret Morning News, Card is quoted as saying that "he
doesn't see Mormonism and evangelical Christianity as opposed to each
other; they are more like the two ends of a long thread--part of the
same thing." He also said, "The older I get, I guess the more I want to
integrate everything. I think it's more important to be faithful than
right" (Nov. 16, 2004). I am not surprised at this move toward the
acceptance of Mormons by some evangelicals. If John Paul II and Mother
Teresa, with their false gospel, can be accepted as fellow believers,
why not Mormons?
*BAPTISTS AND CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS TOGETHER *
An interfaith Thanksgiving service on November 23 in Birmingham,
Alabama, brought together Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Muslims,
Christian Scientists, and others. Baptist Church of the Covenant hosted
the event and Southside Baptist Church participated. Wendy Clayton, a
member of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, gave a Bible reading.
David Carboni, pastor of Highlands United Methodist Church said in his
sermon, "We don't always thank and we don't always acknowledge that God
is with us." The problem with this statement is that the Muslim's god
and the Christian Scientist's god and the liberal Protestant's god is
not the God of the Bible. Further, Jesus Christ said, "I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John
14:6). Well did the apostle Paul say, "Be ye not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" (2
Corinthians 6:14).
S*TUDY SHOWS POP MUSIC'S IMMORAL INFLUENCE ON YOUNG PEOPLE *
The Rand Corporation published a study in the August issue of Pediatrics
magazine that shows the powerful influence of pop music on the behavior
of youth. The study, based on interviews with nearly 1,500 teens, found
that those who listen to sexually explicit music are almost twice as
likely to start having sex within the following two years than those who
listen to little or none of that music ("Pop Music's Sex Ed," Washington
Times, Aug. 21, 2006). Of course this is not rocket science. The Bible
says, "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners" (1
Cor. 15:33). Study director Steven Martino observed that the sexual
references in pop songs have become increasingly direct and are marketed
to young teenagers through the likes of MTV. In fact, a great many of
the lyrics are unprintable in a Christian magazine. The Rand study found
that the sexual content in popular music is even more rampant than it is
in TV, movies, magazines, and newspapers. If ever there were a day when
preachers need to be lifting a loud and clear voice against the evil of
pop music and parents need to be guarding their children against it, it
is today!
*TWEENS ACTING LIKE TEENS *
A headline article in the Tampa Tribune (Florida) from the Associated
Press for November 26 was "Young 'Tweens' Are Looking and Acting Like
Teens." The theme is the sad and frightful fact that children age 8 to
12 are being influenced by immoral pop culture trends that were
previously associated with older teenagers. Consider this excerpt: "They
listen to sexually charged pop music, play mature-rated video games and
spend time gossiping on Myspace. More girls are wearing makeup and
clothing that some consider beyond their years. ... Beyond the drugs,
sex and rock 'n' roll their boomer and Gen X parents navigated,
technology and consumerism have accelerated the pace of life, giving
kids easy access to influences that may not be parent-approved. Sex,
violence and foul language that used to be relegated to late-night
viewing and R-rated movies are expected fixtures on television." There
can be no doubt that the influence of the immoral pop culture is
reaching down to ever younger hearts and minds. Parents beware! "My son,
if sinners entice thee, consent thou not" (Proverbs 1:10).
*PERSECUTION ROUND-UP*
On November 25 two professing Christians were sentenced to 10 years in
prison and fined 25,000 rupees (US$411) for allegedly burning some pages
of the Koran under Pakistan's blasphemy law. The sentence was imposed
despite the lack of evidence. Khalil Tahir, the men's attorney, said he
was disappointed by the judge's decision since there was "no direct
evidence against the two men who rather seem to be the victims of a
personal vendetta. We believe that the verdict is the result of
pressures by extremists. This explains why it took four days for the
court to reach its decision" (Asia News, Nov. 27, 2006). In Uzbekistan a
Baptist church was raided on August 27 and massive fines were imposed on
six people, while a Pentecostal church was raided on November 13 (Forum
18, Nov. 28, 2006). The authorities there have confiscated and then
burned Bibles and other religious literature. In Uzbekistan,
"participating in prayer meetings of unregistered groups (even if they
asked to be registered) is considered illegal and consequently punished.
Baptist groups often refuse to ask for registration because they believe
it is unwarranted interference by the State" (Asia News, Nov. 28). In
Xinjiang, China, a Christian woman named Tian Maishi, a 53-year-old
retired English teacher, was arrested on October 18. She was taken from
her home and jailed for "illegal evangelism" and "engaging in
superstitious fraudulent activities" (Christian Newswire, Nov. 22, 2006).
*
CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSICIANS AND SECULAR ROCK & ROLL *
Nothing more clearly demonstrates the moral reprobation of Contemporary
Christian Music than its undying love for secular rock & roll. There
simply is no separation from the world. This was seen in a report
published by Christianity Today on the Friendship Fest in Morocco, which
featured some of CCM's top "artists," including Jeremy Camp, Newsboys,
Delirious, Phil Keaggy, Rock 'n' Roll Worship Circus, and Out of Eden.
The organizers said they wanted to "use the universal language of music
to bridge cultures and make friends" ("Jesus Music Goes to Morocco,"
christianitytoday.com, May 16, 2005). It was billed as "a celebration of
friendship in the midst of diversity in cultures and faith traditions."
Did these CCMers preach the gospel to the Muslims? No. In fact, Out of
Eden's Andrea Baca said the goal was not "to convert anybody to
Christianity." Phil Keaggy added, "We didn't go to Morocco with the
purpose of proselytizing" or to "clobber people with the Bible." Those
are not the words of a disciple of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus
commanded that the Gospel be preached to every person, and those who
believe shall be saved and those who do not believe shall be damned (Mk.
16:15-16). That commandment does not describe proselytizing in the sense
of forcing people to believe, but it does describe aggressive,
plain-spoken evangelism. The CCM crowd has made itself another
commission, though, which is to spread "friendship through sensitivity
and art." I am convinced that the real god of CCM is rock & roll. Keaggy
invited Islamic Moroccan musicians to join him and his band onstage and
said, "When they saw us connect with Moroccan musicians, that spoke
volumes to them." Doubtless it did. It spoke the false message that
Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Keaggy also jammed with a
Moroccan band in the lobby of his hotel. He said: "WE'RE BOB MARLEY,
TOWER OF POWER, AND HENDRIX FANS, while these are Elvis, James Brown,
Frank Sinatra type people. We must have played for two hours together.
WE DID A LITTLE MEDLEY OF BEATLES SONGS. It was just so cool. We didn't
isolate ourselves. We were in the streets, in the clubs. Everywhere we
experienced goodwill." That "goodwill" would have evaporated like water
in the hot Moroccan sun had Keaggy put away his worldly rock & roll and
instead had obeyed Christ's command and preached the Gospel plainly and
boldly and warned his Moroccan friends of their false god and false
messiah and false gospel. Note that Keaggy played Beatles songs. Few
bands have done more to destroy the souls of men than the Beatles, and
for Christian musicians to play their music is confusion of the highest
sort. John Lennon was a blasphemer who foolishly imagined that there is
no heaven or hell. Keaggy also said he is a fan of Bob Marley and Jimi
Hendrix, both of whom were moral reprobates of the highest order. "Ye
adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the
world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the
world is the enemy of God" (James 4:4).
CONCLUSION: Friends in Christ, do not be discouraged by any of this. It
is God's will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that
we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. These things remind us
that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the coming of
the Lord. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for
Christ day by day? "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time
to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we
believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore
cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not
in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil
the lusts thereof" (Rom. 13:11-14).