A FUNDAMENTAL BAPTIST PASTOR'

A FUNDAMENTAL BAPTIST PASTOR'S TESTIMONY ABOUT PROMISE KEEPERS

[The following material is from O Timothy magazine, Volume 12, Issue 9, 1995. David W. Cloud, Editor. These articles cannot be stored on BBS or Internet sites without permission from the author. Any articles which are redistributed by e-mail or print must be left intact and nothing must be removed or changed, including these informational headers. All rights are reserved. O Timothy is a monthly magazine. Annual subscription is US$20 FOR THE UNITED STATES. Send to Way of Life Literature, Bible Baptist Church, 1701 Harns Road, Oak Harbor, Washington 98277. FOR CANADA the subscription is $20 Canadian. Send to Bethel Baptist Church, P.O. Box 9075, London, Ontario N6E 1V0. The Way of Life Literature web site is located at http://www.wayoflife.org/]

We received the following letter from Pastor L.K. Landis, Fellowship Baptist Church, Liberal, Kansas:

I received your e-mail letter this morning (about Promise Keepers) and I think it ironic that you should send it at this particular time. Even though I need to put the finishing touches on my message for tonight and even though we leave for Youth Camp tomorrow, I am going to take time out to respond while the events are fresh on my mind. We, too, publish a newsletter that goes out to about 1,200 independent Baptist preachers, pastors, churches, missionaries, laymen, etc. called The Wilderness Voice.

Like, you, we have also printed several articles warning of the Promise Keepers movement and thus far, most of the response to our articles has been divided. Preachers who have responded have been on our side against the PK, and laymen, for the most part, have stood very firmly on the side of the Promise Keepers. However, this is not the purpose of my writing. The purpose for this letter is to tell you of a conversation I had last Thursday, August 3, 1995.

When I returned from Garland, Texas, where I had preached in the Missions Conference of the Rodgers Baptist Church, there was a message on my answering machine from the local Promise Keepers Ambassador, a Mr. Ozzie Ridings, asking me to call so we could discuss my opposition to the movement. During the 30 second or so message on my machine, his statement became somewhat inflammatory as he accused me of telling only "half the story and not the whole picture of the Promise Keepers". I returned his call, left a message on his answering machine that I would be glad to visit with him anytime about his group. On Thursday, he finally returned my call, catching me as I was just about to walk out the door to go home for the evening.

What occurred over the next 54 minutes and 22 seconds (my phone has a timer on it that records the length of conversations) I believe tells the underlying story and reveals the opinions of those in leadership positions among the Promise Keepers. Let me say first of all that I believe Mr. Ridings to be very sincere in what he is doing and that he honestly believes that the movement is of God and blessed of God. He was a very personable man until I dared to challenge him on the Biblical authority for such a movement. He bristled when I called the PK a parachurch organization, but couldn't deny that in reality it is. I then bristled when he called me a cultist for not joining PK, although he later did apologize for the commen. I think he spoke from his heart and that they really do consider those who refuse to join their conglomeration, cultists. At any rate, he said that the goal of PK was to bring all men who claim to be Christians into a patient, loving, non-condemning relationship with each other. He used several times the phraseology of PK in that all men need friends who will encourage, uplift, admonish and comfort each other regardless of their denominational affiliation. He said (and I quote), "After all we all do serve Jesus." In response to this statement I asked, "Now, which Jesus are you referring to? The Jesus of the Bible?

The Jesus of the Mormons? The Jesus of the Catholics? Which Jesus are you talking about?" Mr. Ridings then rebuked me and stated that what I had asked was stupid because there is only one Jesus. Again I replied, "Not so! The Jesus of the Bible is all-sufficient, God- in-the-flesh, the only Saviour, and both God, the Son and the Son of God. The Jesus of the Mormons is the brother of Lucifer. The Jesus of the Catholics has a domineering mother who is required to intercede on the behalf of His believers in order for their prayers to be heard."

My conversation with Mr. Ridings, the local PK Ambassador, was quite revealing, to me at least. During the course of our visit, he made two statements that further expose the true goals, attitudes and beliefs of this man-made movement. The first thing that he said that really caused me to perk-up was that I had driven off people who were considering joining Fellowship Baptist because of my "hard-nosed" stand against the Promise Keepers. It seems to me that this indicates that among Promise Keepers that support of their movement and nor doctrine, nor the Holy Spirit is the litmus test of whether or not to join a church. Now, mind you, I am not moaning over the fact that these did not join our church. If they are hooked-up to the manmade organizations of PK, then I really do not want them here. The second statement Mr. Ridings made was that we have a group of men in this church that would like to become Promise Keepers, but they are afraid of me. This I do not believe. I have talked to my staff about that statement. I talked to all seven of my deacons about it and we all agree that this just simply is not true. We do have one man who came to us by way of a fairly liberal church that might be interested, but I don't think that he would try to snare other men into his trap. Again, this statement also reveals underlying attitudes. CERTAINLY IF THIS IS THE CASE, THESE MEN ARE NOT SUPPORTING THE PASTOR, THEY ARE NOT STANDING BEHIND ME AT ALL, BUT RATHER SUBVERTING THE MINISTRY OF THIS CHURCH AND UNDERMINING BOTH THE AUTHORITY AND TEACHINGS OF THIS PASTOR.

Bro. Cloud, I am of the opinion that Promise Keepers may be able to accomplish what thus far Roman Catholicism, the Charismatic movement and the ecumenical crowd have not been able to do and that is unite the different apostate factions of "Christianity." Certainly, all but true believers and genuine New Testament Christians will be duped into a one-world church and it appears that this men's organization and para-church group may be accomplishing that very deed (Pastor L.K. Landis, August 6, 1995).

[From "Digging in the Walls," O Timothy magazine, Volume 12, Issue 9, 1995. Editor, David W. Cloud. O Timothy is a monthly magazine which is available by subscription from Way of Life Literature, 1701 Harns Road, Oak Harbor, Washington 98277. Subscription price is $20.]

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