RICK WARREN TELLS PASTORS TO GET RID OF TROUBLEMAKERS (Friday Church News Notes, December 7, 2007, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In the November 14 issue of his Ministry Toolbox, Rick Warren told pastors to get rid of troublemakers. He begins with the erroneous statement that the Bible “talks more about the unity of the church than it does about either heaven or hell.” In fact, the Bible speaks more about heaven and hell than about unity and it speaks far more about the importance of sound doctrine and practice and separation from error than it does about unity. Warren makes no distinction between trouble that comes because of heresy and self-will and trouble that comes because of the truth. God’s people are nowhere instructed to blindly follow pastors or to accept a “unity” based on anything other than the truth. They have an obligation before God to “prove all things” (1 Thess. 5:21) and to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). In a fashion that is one of his fearful trademarks, Warren lifts Scripture out of context to prove his point. First he uses 2 Timothy 2:23-26, which only deals with how to handle “foolish and unlearned questions” asked by those who are in the snare of the devil. It has nothing to do with legitimate biblical questions asked by sincere Christians who care about God’s Word. Next he uses 2 Timothy 2:14, which is a warning about striving about “words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.” Again, this is a warning about false teaching, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with sincere biblical challenges. He also uses Titus 2:15, which is an exhortation to preachers to be bold in preaching the truth but which says absolutely nothing about kicking people out of the church because they love the truth. He also uses Titus 3:1, which is an exhortation to be subject to the authorities that God has put in this world, but by comparing Scripture with Scripture we know that it does not entail blind submission (i.e., Acts 5:29). Finally Warren uses Titus 3:10-11, which contains instruction about how to deal with heretics or false teachers who are causing division on the basis of their heresies. It has nothing whatsoever to do with those in the church who love the truth and who are sincerely trying to be faithful to the Bible. Rick Warren is the heretic who is causing divisions among God’s people through heresies. It is he that should be rejected. The fact that his Southern Baptist Convention keeps its mouth shut in the face of his heresies is irrefutable evidence that it is deeply compromised and is not faithful to God’s Word. 

SEXY CHURCHES (Friday Church News Notes, December 7, 2007, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Seeker Sensitive philosophy says we must offer people what they want in a church; they should feel comfortable and be entertained and their “felt needs” must be addressed. The latest attraction is to feature “red hot” conversations on sex. CHARLOTTE SOUTH FELLOWSHIP IN MATHEWS, NORTH CAROLINA, featured a five week series in February 2007 called “Sex Crazy.” Two of the messages were “Single and Sexually Satisfied” and “Raising Sexually Satisfied Kids.” (Don’t ask me what either of those concepts could possibly mean!) In February-March 2007 EASTLAKE COMMUNITY CHURCH IN KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON, had a “Thank God for Sex” campaign. Sermons titles included “Sex is Good” and “Learn Some New Moves.” Eastlake advertises itself as a new kind of church and invites attendees to wear their shorts. ROCKY RIVER COMMUNITY CHURCH IN CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA, had a “Desperate Sex Lives” campaign in February-March 2007. They fretted that “the only time most churches talk about sex is when they speak against it” and promised to “bring sex out of the dark and into the light.” This hip church has “all the cool stuff like multimedia, a live band, and Krispy Kreme donuts” and deals with Bible issues “in a casual, no pressure environment.” REVOLUTION CHURCH IN CANTON, GEORGIA, also got into the sex campaign business. In accompaniment to the sermon series they used secular rock songs, including “Feel Like Making Love” by Bad Company and “Your Body is a Wonderland” by John Mayer. GRANGER COMMUNITY CHURCH IN GRANGER, INDIANA, had a “My Lame Sex Life” campaign featuring billboards with two pair of feet in a very suggestive configuration. One sermon title was “The Greatest Six You’ll Ever Have.” CORNERSTONE CHURCH IN CHANDLER, ARIZONA, had a “Bringing Sexy Back” campaign in August-September 2007. One of the sermon titles was “Greatest Sex Ever.” THE GATHERING IN SEVIERVILLE, TENNESSEE, had a “Red Hot Sex” campaign in October 2007. It claimed that a “red hot sex life empowers every part of marriage.” One sermon title by Pastor Gene Wolfenbarger was “God has designed you for sex and how to make it hot.” REVOLUTION CHURCH IN LONGBEACH, CALIFORNIA, kicked off their “God Loves Sex” campaign in July 2007 with a “sex party.” The web site explained, “Nothing dirty or weird--just an opportunity to celebrate God’s gift of sex and intimacy.” The advertisement said, “God wants you to have great sex.” OAKLEAF CHURCH IN CARTERSVILLE, GEORGIA, had a “Your Great Sex Life” campaign in March 2007. The advertisement complained that “the church either ignores sex or brings down a judgmental hammer.” CONCLUDING NOTE: My friends, this is carnal and foolish and wicked. Bible-believing churches have always taught God’s people what the Bible says about sexual relations, but there is no place for this type of thing. What about the single people who attend these campaigns? What are they supposed to do when the church focuses on great sex! What about married couples when one or both partners have become physically disabled? In spite of these churches’ claims to the contrary, such campaigns are not holy and are not faithful to God’s Word. The Bible never deals with this issue in a shocking or lascivious manner.

KIDS CAN BE TAUGHT TO OBEY, AND THEY ARE HAPPIER FOR IT (Friday Church News Notes, December 7, 2007, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Massachusetts Moves to Outlaw Spanking,” Slice of Laodicea, Nov. 28, 2007: “I feel truly sorry for the young moms and dads today. Many of them are, in a word, clueless. Whether it’s a church service where the father of the family sits helplessly and passively by while his four-year-old disrupts the sermon for the entire church, or the doctor’s waiting room where a 2-year-old kicks and hits at his mother, or whether it’s a restaurant where an entire meal is ruined by the out-of-control savages at the next table, the results of lack of discipline of children is everywhere today. It goes a long way in explaining a culture where children are increasingly looked upon as a heavy burden that ought to be avoided altogether, if possible. When children are not disciplined and trained properly, they are heavy burdens that anyone would want to avoid. It is sad that these mothers and fathers believe the lie that barbarian toddler behavior should be the expected norm. TODDLERS ARE BARBARIANS, BUT IT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO PARENTS TO TRAIN THEM INTO CIVILIZED HUMAN BEINGS. That’s what loving discipline is for. My husband and I used to get questions about how in the world we got our 18-month-old to sit through church (and I might add that this was without huge bags of toys, snacks, juice, etc.) Years ago, when I was a single parent with two preschoolers, I was also church organist. My little boys had nobody with whom they could sit in church on the front row, so I trained them to watch my face for cues. The sweet little fellows would sit there with minimal wiggling, and I would give them a smile as I sat at the organ. It didn’t take more than a slight frown to get them to stop any high jinks they might be considering. I would always give them lavish compliments on their good behavior. Why did they obey me? Children have to know that disobedience is going to cost them, and that’s why I spanked. When little ones learn the parameters, they are happier themselves. They have boundaries that are clearly established. Further, they are not under the false notion that the world revolves around them and their whims and emotions. Moms and dads, fully in charge, are a relief to children. There is a calm about children raised in homes where there is discipline and child training that comes from knowing what is what. This old-fashioned philosophy, however, is nearly completely abandoned today. That’s why our culture looks like it does, and that’s one reason we have over a million people incarcerated in the United States. I would add that this is why our churches look like they do today, as well. Kids triumphant, kids in charge, kids as idols for their poor hapless parents who then are victimized by the monsters they have created.”

TONY CAMPOLO SUGGESTS PRAYING TO PEOPLE (Friday Church News Notes, December 7, 2007, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In the book The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice, which is co-written by Tony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling, we find the following heretical statement: “While pointing out how important it is for Christians to pray for others, [Frank] Laubach makes a bold and intriguing proposal for another way of praying. He suggests that in addition to praying for someone in need of God, that we should consider praying to that person as well. He tells us that God may want to work through the praying Christian as a channel to reach into the heart and soul of the person who is in need of saving grace. Laubach proposes that a person who is resisting God might be open to the spiritual impact of a Christian concentrating God’s power on him or her. It is as though, according to Laubach, a praying Christian might be a lens through whom God focuses saving power into another person’s life. Call it a kind of mental telepathy, but what Laubach is suggesting is that the Holy Spirit flowing into a Christian, as a result of prayer, can stir up spiritual energy in that Christian that can then be directed toward a person who needs Christ’s salvation” (Tony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling, The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice, 2007, pp 34-35).

BACK TO BIBLE AND ELISABETH ELLIOT QUOTE FROM HERETIC’S WRITINGS (Friday Church News Notes, December 7, 2007, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In an undated article on the Back to the Bible web site Elisabeth Elliot quotes non-critically from heretic Lesslie Newbigin (http://www.backtothebible.org/index.php/component/option,com_devotion/qid,5/task,show/resource_no,108/Itemid,75/). Newbigin was a bishop in the very liberal Church of South India and was Associate General Secretary in the radically heretical World Council of Churches. His writings are very influential in the Emerging Church. In The Gospel in a Pluralist Society Newbigin denied that the Bible is the verbally-plenarily inspired Word of God and said the 18th century defenders of the faith were in error when they taught that the Bible is a set of timeless truths (pp. 12, 13). Newbigin falsely claimed that Jesus did not leave behind “a book, nor a creed, nor a system of thought, nor a rule of life” (p. 20). Further, Newbigin said, “All so-called facts are interpreted facts. ... What we see as facts depends on the theory we bring to the observation” (p. 21). This is an Emerging Church doctrine, that all facts are actually human interpretations and all interpretations of the Bible are imperfect. Newbigin also calls the split between liberals and fundamentalists as “tragic” (p. 24). Newbigin also taught that there is the possibility of salvation apart from faith in Christ. One of the hallmarks of New Evangelicalism is its eagerness to quote from dangerous heretics without any warning to their readers.

ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER WARNS OF “END OF ISRAEL”  (Friday Church News Notes, December 7, 2007, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister of Israel, has warned that failure to negotiate a “two-state” solution with the Palestinians would spell “the end of the State of Israel” (“Olmert Warns,” BBC News, Nov. 29, 2007). He said this while returning to Israel from the George Bush-sponsored talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in the United States. Olmert’s statement reminds us of the fact that, according to Bible prophecy, Israel will negotiate a peace agreement with the Antichrist one of these days, and she is ready to do it right now! Jesus warned, “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (John 5:43). “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).