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Frank Viola and the Organic Church

bksnider@gmail.com — 2012-02-22T11:50:40-05:00

The following is excerpted from The House Church Movement, which is available in print and eBook editions from Way of Life -- www.wayoflife.org
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The “organic church” is a concept promoted by Frank Viola and his associates. Part of the larger house church movement, it has been called “church with little organization, little structure, and loose doctrine,” which is true and would be dangerous enough in itself; but there is far more to the organic church than that, and the “far more” is insidious.

A major principle of the organic church is that every member has equal authority and there is no office of pastor or elder. It is defined as “Spirit-led, open-participatory meetings and nonhierarchical leadership” (Viola, Pagan Christianity). Each member, male or female, is encouraged to contribute to the services as “the Spirit moves.”

Viola has promoted the organic church in popular books such as Jesus Manifesto (2010, co-authored with Leonard Sweet), Pagan Christianity (2002 and 2008, co-authored with George Barna), Reimagining Church (2008), The Untold Story of the New Testament Church, Revise Us Again, Finding Organic Church, Rethinking the Wineskin, and So You Want to Start a House Church.

Having become increasingly aware of the growth and influence of “the organic church,” I read the first three of these books as research for this report, in addition to extensive online investigations.

The organic church claims to be geared toward putting God’s people under the headship of Christ, but in reality it woos them out from under the protection of God-called leaders, affiliates them with bogus “apostles” and “prophets,” and thrusts them unwittingly into the treacherous waters of end-time apostasy.

Casting Crowns

bksnider@gmail.com — 2012-02-21T07:36:52-05:00

The following is excerpted from The Directory of Contemporary Worship Musicians, which is available as a free eBook from Way of Life -- www.wayoflife.org.

Casting Crowns is led by Mark Hall, a youth pastor at Eagles Landing First Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta. the band leads the contemporary worship services with their pop rock music.

The award-winning group has broad influence through songs such as “Come to the Well,” “Who Am I,” “Courageous,” “Glorious Day,” “If We Are the Body,” “Praise You with the Dance.”

Casting Crowns’ radical ecumenism and spiritual carelessness is evident in that they participated in the National Worship Leader Conference in 2011, joining hands with men such as Jack Hayford who says God spoke to him and told him not to judge the Roman Catholic Church.

Friday Church News Notes

bksnider@gmail.com — 2012-02-17T12:01:27-05:00

VOLUME 13 ISSUE 7
GRAPHICAL PDF VERSION

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.

STARBUCKS, MICROSOFT, GOOGLE SUPPORT HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE (Friday Church News Notes, February 17, 2012, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Starbucks, Microsoft, and Google are among the major corporations that endorsed the recently-signed homosexual “marriage” law in Washington State. In a statement sent to all of its employees, Starbucks said the legislation “is core to who we are and what we value” (CNSNews, Jan. 27, 2012). The statement said the company is “deeply dedicated to embracing diversity and treating one another with respect and dignity.” This means, of course, that these global companies are creating an environment in which it is not acceptable to speak against homosexuality. They have become so morally perverted and proud that they have set themselves against Almighty God and the Bible. This, in turn, proves that the Bible is true, because this rebellion was foretold in ancient prophecies, such as Psalm 2, which was written 3,000 years ago and describes the times in which we live in perfect detail. The prophecy not only describes the global rebellion of the end times, it also describes the return of Christ and the establishment of His kingdom. The “kings of the earth” are its rulers, referring not only to political leaders but also to captains of modern industries and the kings and queens of the pop culture. “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion” (Psalms 2:1-6).

Independent Baptists Who are Driving Toward Disaster

bksnider@gmail.com — 2012-02-16T11:44:58-05:00

(Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article)

The following is a response by Hughie Seaborn (rseaborn@ozemail.com.au) in Australia to the recent report “IFB Pastor Advises No Separation from Independent Baptists; Says That Mild Syncopation Is OK” (FBIS, Jan. 11, 2012).

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Just a remark about Pastor Wendal’s poor thinking and lack of biblical discernment in his comment:

‘…having lived in different parts of the country I have discovered that some people’s English has a different sound to it.’

It’s quite amazing, isn’t it, that he would use people’s speech style to illustrate something about music? I’ve never been a pastor but I’ve now lived in this end-time society practically since the inception of rock music and I feel qualified to say that a person’s speech never persuades anyone, churched or unchurched, to start a-boogying. I have yet to see even one single person start dancing a jig in response to speech. However, I have noticed even little children, barely able to walk, immediately start tapping the feet and swaying to and fro in response to rhythmic music – even the type they play in most churches now.

I’ve also been a Christian long enough to come to the conclusion that while ever these blokes continue justifying themselves and defending their mates, instead of responding biblically to scripturally based reproof, they will progressively display more and more worldly activity and say increasingly foolish things, as Pastor Wendal has.

Replacing Hymns with Contemporary Praise Music

bksnider@gmail.com — 2012-02-15T11:42:34-05:00

(David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article)

Past generations of believers sang with joy the great hymns of the faith. These were of inestimable benefit in living a godly and happy life with the Lord. The hymns have now been replaced with a music that is generally repetitive, doctrinally weak, and often sung in the same style as secular popular music. The following gives an insight as to why there is a huge and harmful difference between the Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, Fanny Crosby, Philip Bliss, Ira Sankey kind of music, and that which is known today as CCM.

A growing number of fundamentalist singers, churches, and schools are adapting music from the field of Contemporary Praise Music even though they remain opposed to it in principle. Typically they use the words of the songs while changing the rhythm somewhat and omitting the bass guitar, drums, and heavy backbeat.
Three of the top charismatic-ecumenical music companies are Integrity, Maranatha, and Hillsong. About 75 of the top 100 contemporary worship songs are included in the latest Southern Baptist hymnal.
Contemporary Praise Music is dangerous because it is ecumenical in philosophy and practice. It is one of the most powerful glues of the end-time ecumenical movement. John Styll, the publisher of Worship Leader magazine, made the following telling observation: