WEEKLY CHURCH NEWS NOTES
Pastor Dale Morgan
February 12, 2007
The Weekly Church News Notes is designed for use in churches
*
WERE ALL OUR CHRISTIAN FOREFATHERS PHARISEES? *
The New York Times for January 28 ran an article entitled "The First
Dance," about the first dance allowed in the history of John Brown
University last December. For nearly 90 years this Christian school,
located in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, considered dancing a worldly
activity and forbade it. In the Rick Warren age, though, such taboos are
old-fashioned, legalistic, even Pharisaical. John Brown University was
founded in 1919 by a Salvation Army preacher. The same thing has
happened in recent years at many other Christian schools, including
Wheaton College, BIOLA, Cornerstone University, and Baylor University.
When we preach against these things today and say that modern dancing is
worldly we are condemned as legalists and Pharisees. It makes me wonder.
Were all of our evangelical and fundamentalist Christian forefathers
Pharisees? Fifty years ago the vast majority of them believed the same
thing on these issues as we believe today. As the New York Times
observed, "Until last October, dancing had been seen at J.B.U. as a
gateway to sin." Since it is obvious that modern dancing has not gotten
godlier in the past 90 years, something else must have changed and that
something else is the gross worldliness of evangelicalism today. To
label a Bible-believing Christian who has zeal to obey God's Word a
Pharisee is a slander, because the error of Phariseeism was not their
zeal to obey the Scripture. They had no such zeal. Their central errors
were self-righteousness, hypocrisy, exalting tradition above Scripture,
a gospel of works, and the rejection of Jesus Christ.
*
TENNESSEE TEMPLE SPONSORS HARD ROCK TOUR *
Tennessee Temple University is one of the sponsors of the "Winter Jam
Tour 2007" featuring "Christian rockers" such as Jeremy Camp, Steven
Curtis Chapman, Sanctus Real, and Hawk Nelson. Sanctus Real lead
guitarist Chris Rohman says: "On the tours we've been lucky to be part
of, the kids are really into the rockin' songs. ... every night on that
tour kids were just screaming along to every word of every song." Can
you imagine the apostle Paul promoting thing type of worldly thing for
Christian young people? Matt Hammitt of Sanctus Real participated in the
2003 tour of the !Hero rock opera, which depicts Jesus as a cool black
man. In !Hero the Last Supper is a barbeque party and "Jesus" is
crucified on a city street sign. Sanctus Real and Steven Curtis Chapman
played a concert in 2003 at St. Mary Seminary sponsored by the Roman
Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio. Retired Catholic bishop Anthony
Pilla celebrated the Mass at the event. Chapman told the Cleveland Plain
Dealer that it's "a good thing" that "the Catholic Church is showing a
greater openness to contemporary Christian music" (Plain Dealer, Aug. 7,
2006). It is very sad to see what has happened to Tennessee Temple. Many
of its graduates join me in denouncing its compromise in the clearest
terms. If what we were taught there in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s was
right, then what it is doing today is wrong.
*PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST SPEAKS TO HOMOSEXUAL
CONGREGATION *
John Thomas, president of the United Church of Christ (UCC), spoke on
February 3 at the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, which is the world's
largest homosexual congregation. The 4,000-member Cathedral of Hope,
which is pastored by a lesbian, was founded as the Metropolitan
Community Church of Dallas, but in 2002 it voted to join the UCC. The
United Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches is an association
of homosexual churches founded in 1968 by Troy Perry, after he was
kicked out of the Church of God of Prophecy for his homosexuality. It
has 250 congregations in 23 countries. In an attempt to gain broader
respectability and acceptance the Metropolitan Community Churches have
been trying unsuccessfully to join the National Council of Churches in
America (NCC) since 1983. The move by the Cathedral of Hope to join the
UCC brought it into the National Council as well as the World Council of
Churches through a back door. Nothing more clearly describes the depth
of the apostasy of these latter days than the existence of an entire
denomination composed of active homosexuals who boast of their
acceptance of God in spite of their unrepentant moral debauchery. "But
there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be
false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies,
even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift
destruction. And many shall follow THEIR PERNICIOUS WAYS; by reason of
whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. ... But chiefly them that
walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government.
Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of
dignities" (2 Peter 2:1, 2, 10).
*TONY CAMPOLO BELIEVES NONCHRISTIANS MIGHT GO TO HEAVEN *
Tony Campolo, popular evangelical speaker and author, told the Edmonton
Journal (Alberta, Canada) that he is not sure who will go to heaven.
Asked by the paper, "Do you believe non-Christians can go to heaven?"
Campolo replied: "That's a good question to ask because the way we stand
is we contend that trusting in Jesus is the way to heaven. However, we
do not know who Jesus will bring into the kingdom and who He will not.
We are very, very careful about pronouncing judgment on anybody. We
leave judgment in the hands of God and we are saying Jesus is the way.
We preach Jesus, but we have no way of knowing to whom the grace of God
is extended" ("Canada's Different Evangelicals," Edmonton Journal, Jan.
27, 2007). To say that we have no way of knowing who Jesus will bring
into the kingdom is to play the religious politician and to deny the
plain teaching of Scripture. God has already told us, Mr. Campolo! "He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth
not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him"
(John 3:36). Words could not be plainer! The unbeliever does not have to
wait until he dies to find out whether or not he will go to heaven. The
Bible says he is condemned already (John 3:18), dead in trespasses and
sins (Eph. 2:1), controlled by the Devil (Eph. 2:2), a child of wrath
(Eph. 2:3), "having no hope, and without God in the world" (Eph. 2:12).
Revelation 21:8 says the unbeliever will be outside of the eternal city
of God. And as for Campolo's claim that he doesn't judge, that is one of
the most ridiculous things I have heard in a long time. His judgment of
fundamentalists is severe in the extreme. At the National Council of
Churches "Gathering" in May 1988 Campolo said those who stand firm on
absolutes and strongly resist error are doing the devil's work
(Foundation magazine, June 1988). In 2003 Campolo said anyone who says
women should not preach is a tool of the devil (Baptist Press, June 27,
2003). Beware of Tony Campolo. He is a dangerous false teacher, all the
more dangerous because he claims to believe that the Bible was given by
divine inspiration and moves in "evangelical" circles.
*
ONE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH REFUSES TO GO PURPOSE DRIVEN *
The First Baptist Church of Daytona Beach, Florida, was being led in
Rick Warren's Purpose Driven direction by its new pastor David Cox, when
many of the members stood against the changes and forced Cox to resign
on January 29. Among other changes, Cox had eliminated the bus ministry,
built a new rock concert-type stage in the auditorium at the cost of
$450,000, and introduced a rock band for Sunday services. He was
teaching from Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life. One of the things
that were effective in the demise of Cox's Purpose Driven goal was a
document that was distributed among church members explaining what was
transpiring and where it would lead. Though Cox labeled the document
"propaganda" and warned that the people were being "duped," enough
members stood their ground that he was forced to resign. Cox had become
the senior pastor when Bobby Welch retired in August 2006 after 32 years
at First Baptist. The document that helped force Cox's resignation is
reprinted in this issue of the Friday Church News Notes. Let me hasten
to say that the members of First Baptist who resisted Cox doubtless had
other motives in addition to simply stemming the tide of the Purpose
Driven philosophy. It appears from its web site that this large Southern
Baptist church uses Contemporary Worship Music in the services and rock
music in its youth department, so we are not saying that there is a
consistent rejection of the contemporary philosophy in this congregation.
*
THE PURPOSE DRIVEN PLAYBOOK FOR CHURCH TAKE OVERS *
The following is excerpted from the blog "Full Court Press Against
Modernism" and is entitled "Megachurch Pastor Accuses Some Congregation
Members of Being Duped," January 29, 2007. It was prepared with the
assistance of research by the Southwest Radio Church of Bethany,
Oklahoma: "In the past ten years a lot of churches in America and in
other countries have changed from a traditional New Testament church
model to a contemporary Purpose Driven model, most with sorrowful
pitiful results. Thousands of churches have split, closed, or had
significant reductions in attendance. Most churches, after having a
brief upsurge in growth, either reverted back to their original size or
suffered church trauma by introducing the PDC model in their
congregation. It is important that EVERY church member know if their
church is targeted for a PURPOSE DRIVEN CHURCH (PDC) takeover. Initially
a small clique of church staff including the pastor plans the change
without telling the rest of the church membership. Church Transitions (a
PDC training arm) trains the clique initiating the change in eight
steps. The church is not to be informed of the transitions until the
fourth step. After the sixth step if there are some members in the
church who voice concerns the following is suggested: #1- Identify those
who are resisting the changes. #2- Assess the effectiveness of their
opposition. #3- Befriend those who are undecided about changes. #4-
Marginalize more persistent resisters or questioners. #5- Vilify those
who stay and fight. #6- Establish new rules that will silence all
resistance. Then the members either accept the changes or leave the
church. Rick Warren, author and director of the PDC movement, says,
'When you reveal the vision to the church the old pillars are going to
leave. But let them leave ... they only hold things up.' So what are the
signs that your church is targeted for a PDC change? #1- Change in music
to a contemporary rock style. #2- Removal of hymn books...often words on
a screen. #3- Eliminating the choir or introducing a choral
'entertainment type' singing group. Repetitive praise lyrics are used.
#4- Replacing the organ/piano with rock music type instruments. #5-
Dressing down to casual informal attire. #8- A repetitive 40 day PDC
study program stressing psychological relationships with each other, the
community and the world. #10- Sunday morning, evening, and/or Wednesday
prayer meetings are changed to other times, named differently or
eliminated. #14- New versions of the Bible are used. #16- The decor may
be changed to eliminate any resemblance to the 'former church.' #17- The
name 'church' is often removed and may be called a 'campus.'
Denominational names are often removed. #18- An emphasis on more fun and
party times for the youth. #19- Elimination of altar calls or salvation
invitations. #20- The elimination of such words as 'unsaved,' 'lost,'
'hell, and 'sodomy.' #21- Reclassification of the saved and lost to the
'churched' and 'unchurched' #22- The marginalizing or ostracizing of all
who are not avid promoters of the new PDC program."
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).