Friday Church News Notes
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The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.
THE ELEPHANT ROOM AND HEGELIAN DIALECTICS (Friday Church News Notes, February 3, 2012, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Elephant Room is a dialogue forum invented in 2011 by emerging star Mark Driscoll, together with James MacDonald, Steven Furtick, David Platt, Matt Chandler, Greg Laurie, and Perry Noble. The stated objective is to discuss controversial doctrinal issues with “guests from all places and belief systems” with the goal of theological sharpening. Digging a little further, we see that the real objective is ecumenism. Driscoll and friends say plainly that their “goal is unity” and that they are opposed to “crouching behind walls of disagreement.” Though they claim to “hold the essential tenets of the faith with a ferocious intensity,” in typical emerging style they contradict this by saying we should “not isolate ourselves from relationship even with those who believe much differently.” There is a Hegelian dialectic at work here. By having public “conversations” with people who “offend you or deny the faith as you see it,” walls are broken down and attitudes are changed. At first we are shocked by theological error, but through dialogue with heretics the very concept of heresy becomes quaint. Through the Elephant Room we learn that “heretics” are likable people who “love Jesus” and merely have another way of looking at things. We are told that we all “see through a glass darkly,” so no one can claim a corner on the truth. Therefore, instead of separating and condemning, let’s relax and dialogue. The apostle Paul was so old-fashioned and non-emerging when he persisted in pronouncing God’s curse on the Galatian heretics instead of inviting them to a dialogue. How could he have been so sure that he even understood the fine nuances of their position? Apparently he just wasn’t clever enough. And he certainly wasn’t cool enough to build a big church in Seattle. (See also “Hegelian Dialectics: The Devil’s Winning Tool” at the Way of Life web site. There is a search engine.)
Bridgers
Over the past few years, and especially this past year, Lighthouse Trails has become aware of a new strategy of the enemy. This should be of particular concern if you are a pastor, a Christian leader or author, or a conference speaker--someone who is influencing others. In a recent article, we made reference to some Christian figures, who we termed “bridgers.” These are pastors and Christian leaders who, while they themselves may have reputations as being traditional in their doctrine and teaching, are pointing their followers to Contemplative/New Age mystics and emerging/emergent church leaders. In other words, they are bridges to deception.
A growing and subtle tactic that is actually producing more “bridges” is to invite speakers of differing values, perspectives, and doctrines to the same conference and thereby make the speaker of compromised or apostate teachings appear more credible. For example, a pastor who has been dabbling in mysticism and is looking for a safe way to turn on his congregation to whatever he is practicing will invite a mystic to an upcoming conference; but he will simultaneously invite a conservative Bible teacher known for discernment to the same conference. By doing this, the pastor has now found a way to bring mysticism into his church under the guise of biblical truth. So, in essence, the biblical speaker has become a bridge to false doctrine. Read More...
MercyMe
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MercyMe is a rocking contemporary band that is ecumenical and charismatic. The band was formed in 1994 and “gained mainstream recognition with the crossover single, ‘I Can Only Imagine.’” In 2009, Billboard magazine named the band the Christian songs artist of the 2000s and the song “Word of God Speak” was named Christian song of the decade.
MercyMe’s songs are used by fundamental Baptist churches that have the philosophy of “adapting” contemporary music.
The band’s music has gotten progressively harder. The album This Life is described as “dance floor ready ... a breezy style that’s part Beatles, part Electric Light Orchestra ... slamming pop ... a unique El Paso vibe with a long and winding guitar part and standout bass.” The album All That Is Within Me is described as “an exuberant, defiant, stand-up-and-shake-your-fist-at-the-devil rock & roll worship album ... a thundering, classic rock backdrop.” In describing the album Coming Up to Breathe, thefish.com says, “MercyMe will rock you ... they have gotten more upbeat and aggressive.” The song “One Trick Pony” is described a “this bluesy-country-rock swampy thing ... a dirty sound compared to all of our clean pop stuff that we’ve done in the past” (www.thefish.com/musiclivepage.apple.com/ interviews).
They want to share their faith “without being forceful or pushy.”
Musical Associations and CCM Adaptation
When it comes to music, the philosophy coming into ascendance among IB churches is this: as long as the words are right we should relax and be edified and not be critical.
Recent West Coast graduate: “The music was a lot more of a concern to me when I first started to hear it and think of the fact that it was CCM artists that perform it. But seriously, are the words evil? Can a Christian not be edified by these songs? Is it not more important for a person to be edified than it is to be approved by men?”
Recent Hyles Anderson graduate: “I am not against new songs that are theo-centric and doctrinally correct. Who the writer is is not my concern. Any music that promotes God for who He is or what He has done without emphasizing the flesh, I am for.”
This philosophy allows the churches to “adapt” CCM by selecting songs that have Scriptural lyrics and toning down the rhythm. It is an attempt to take the “rock” out of Christian rock and to turn charismatic praise music into fundamentalist praise music.
Following are some of the reasons why this philosophy is unscriptural and dangerous:
1. THIS PHILOSOPHY DISREGARDS THE BIBLE’S CLEAR COMMANDS TO SEPARATE FROM HERESY AND END-TIMES APOSTASY.
Romans 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
1 Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Friday Church News Notes
VOLUME 13 ISSUE 4
The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.
SPACE TELESCOPES AND THE GLORY OF GOD (Friday Church News Notes, January 27, 2012, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Psalmist said the heavens declare the glory of God, and that has never been more true than in the age of modern science. The evidence for God has never been greater, and the skepticism has never been deeper. If it weren’t for Bible prophecies such as Psalm 2 and 2 Peter 3, it would be an unfathomable situation. The age of space telescopes began in 1990 with NASA’s Hubble, which was placed in orbit by a U.S. space shuttle. NASA also launched the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory in 1991, the Chandra X-ray Observatory in 1999, and the Spitzer Space Telescope in 2003. These space telescopes were joined by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Herschel Space Observatory and Planck Space Observatory in 2009. With no need to pierce the planet’s atmosphere, unprecedented telescopic power and multi-spectrum capabilities, space telescopes have captured never-before-seen images of the heavens. The most iconic is “Pillars of Creation,” composed of columns of interstellar gas and dust from the Eagle Nebula captured by Hubble in 1995. Knowing the willful skepticism that predominates within the American space program, it probably wasn’t named that in honor of the Creator, but it should have been. A more recent example is a new view of the Eagle Nebula created from combined multi-spectrum images from the ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory and x-ray readings from the XMM-Newton space probe. If men don’t want to believe in God, that is their business, but what a joy it is to know the Almighty Saviour God through Jesus Christ and to learn of Him by His incredible creation. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard” (Psalms 19:1-3).