Crash Course on the Emergent Church Movement

Be aware of what the Emergent Church movement is all about so you can recognize it when it tries to seep into your church.

CLICK HERE for a crash course.

Should You Sign a Church Covenant?

Is your church asking you to sign a covenant? I certainly hope not because being required to sign a covenant in your church is supported no where in scripture. As a matter of fact it is forbidden. This saddens me because my former church is now requiring those involved in ministry to sign a covenant if they want to continue to be involved in any ministry. This is a covenant between man (the church member) and man (the church leadership), not between man and God as are the covenants conducted in the bible.

Needless to say a lot of the members of this church are very upset with this, and rightly so. I thank God for that. However, many others have no idea that doing something like this is forbidden in the bible––James 5:12. As a matter of fact some people will say something like..."it's no big deal, just sign it, I did. I didn't even read it".

Contained in some of the sections of the church's covenant are things such as:



#4. "To work towards the fulfillment of the purpose and vision of the church". –– So if you do not agree with the purpose or the vision of this particular church then too bad, you must not speak out or oppose their direction since you signed this covenant stating you would not do that. What if the leadership starts teaching heretical doctrines? You signed a document agreeing to work toward their goals and vision. At that point your signed agreement with them and scripture would be in conflict.

Just what does this mean "to work towards the fulfillment of the purpose and vision of the church"? Is this something other than how the bible defines the purpose of the church? Does this church have a vision other than that of the bible? If not then why make a distinction to the purpose and vision of the church? Or, I have to wonder, does this really mean to work towards the purpose and the vision of the leaders of the church? What if the purpose and vision of the leaders of the church is not in agreement with God's purpose? Do you as a member have any recourse after having signed such an agreement if you happen to feel convicted that the church is not following God's purposes?

I guess the next obvious question is 'what is God's purpose for the church'?

#5 of the covenant states:



"To guard the peace and unity of the church".––No where in scripture does God choose unity over truth. If this were true, then God would never send anyone to hell since this would cause disunity. He maintains His standard of holiness, purity and truth over unity. If unity were His goal then Lucifer would still be in his heavenly choir singing the songs the way he wanted to and God would just have to accept it for the sake of unity. If unity were the goal, the Reformation would not have occurred. A christian in obedience to Christ will not set out to cause disunity in the body of Christ, however sometimes it is a result of defending God's truth, honor, purity of His Word and proclaiming His true gospel of repentance (Luke 12:51-53). How can a believer guarantee in the form of written oath that he will always be able to guard unity?

#5 of the covenant, the signer would also agree to:

"abstaining from gossip, lying, and unresolved conflict within the body...."––Now what does "abstaining from gossip" mean? Does that mean the members can't talk about what's going on in the church and wonder, amongst other believers, why the church leadership is doing what they're doing? Is that considered gossip? What do they mean by "...unresolved conflict within the body..."? Many churches are filled with unresolved conflict. Isn't this why we need to resolve our offense with our brother before we offer our gift to God before his alter (Matthew 5:23-24)? Doing this would prepare believers for corporate prayer where they could, as a unified body, approach the throne of God seeking mercy and grace in time of need seeking his will for the church. That looks like a pretty good picture of unity to me.

#6 of the covenant requires of the signer:



"To honor the leadership of the church through Christlike submission"

It makes one wonder why leaders of a church feel like they need to require their members in ministry to sign a document stating they will submit to the leaders. If a christian is rightly related to God, they will have a spirit of submission to biblical spiritual authority, but it will not be to a leader who is not following the Holy Spirit's lead. It will not be to a minister or a church leader who does not follow the Word of God. And it should not be to leaders who replace the leading of the Holy Spirit for man-centered pragmatic techniques and the latest trends in church-growth methodology. This is not a leader submitting to the Holy Spirit. This is a leader instead going to Egypt for help. This is a leader building a cart for the Ark because in his eyes it would be so much easier to carry.

Before you're confronted to sign a covenant ask yourself this question––Why does a christian need to make an additional commitment to another man to abstain from sin and remain obedient to God when he has already committed his whole life in submission to Jesus Christ and to sanctification by his Truth which is His Word? (John 17:17)––all this without signing any paper?

Who will give an account for your life before God on judgment day? Will your pastor who asked you to sign a covenant?

How does a signed covenant from the church leaders to the church members in ministry serve as a "guardrail for the spiritual and moral health" of the church when we have the bible as our standard for living holy? Do we need an additional set of rules and regulations added to the bible? This sounds like very dangerous stuff.

These are some questions which come to my mind when I am made aware of a church requiring it's members in ministry to sign a covenant. However, THIS ARTICLE explains how signing covenants is unbiblical and should not be done, along with some background information on the origins of this trend in churches today.

Submission to God through His Word should be our only guide.

Check out this quote from this MUST READ article:

"previously the Ten Commandments would have been taught, now they are replaced by new church laws which are subjective and potentially heretical. Previously these churches would have taught that Christ won on the cross liberty from the laws of men, and that the conscience is subject to God alone. The Reformed church used to teach that man lives by faith, and through His strength man is able to keep His commands. Now a new structure has been erected, with man-made laws, and man-directed accountability....."

"Oaths and covenants are a new form of legalism entering the church like a flood. They require more of us than Scripture requires. It is a horrible new form of bondage, accomplished in the name of a new church for the 21st century. This is a “transformation” not a “reformation.” ....This movement did not arise from God, but from the rapacious desires of evil men."






-KTO

READ THIS EVERYDAY

Read this every morning before you start you day. Make verses 1 and 2 your prayer to God each moring as you consider the day ahead of you.

See how it effects you....

Romans 11:33 through chapter 12:2

33. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

34. For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

35. Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?

36. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Romans 12

1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Truth Leaks

“The apostles not only taught truth but contended for its purity against any who would corrupt it.…

“While truth itself is unchanging, the minds of men are porous vessels out of which truth can leak and into which error may seep to dilute the truth they contain.…

“Only in religious thought is faithfulness to truth looked upon as a fault. When men deal with things earthly and temporal they demand truth; when they come to the consideration of things heavenly and eternal they hedge and hesitate as if truth either could not be discovered or didn’t matter anyway.…"

—A.W. Tozer, “The Importance of Sound Doctrine”, The Best of A.W. Tozer, Book Two, Compiled by Warren W. Wiersbe

Truth Like A Fog

“These ‘liberal churches’ will not quite give up the Bible, neither will they quite believe it; the result is an unclear body of beliefs more like a fog … where anything may be true but nothing may be trusted as being certainly true.…"

“Little by little evangelical Christians these days are being brainwashed. One evidence is that increasing numbers of them are becoming ashamed to be found unequivocally on the side of truth. They say they believe but …”

—A.W. Tozer, “The Importance of Sound Doctrine”, The Best of A.W. Tozer, Book Two, Compiled by Warren W. Wiersbe

Another Gospel

How far from the real gospel are we? I believe we are farther than we realize.

Do we need to help God with our techniques, abilities, and methods? Or is the Holy Spirit capable of bringing sinners to the cross in repentance before Jesus?

I believe desperate prayer and unquestionable obedience are the missing ingredients.

We need to earnestly pursue holiness in our lives and proclaim the TRUE gospel of repentance from sin and the hope of undeserved grace granted to sinners at the cross where Jesus absorbed God's wrath intended for us due to our choice of disobedience of His 10 commandments.

Below is a morning devotional by Charles Spurgeon about God getting all the glory in a man's salvation––this is very applicable to today's preachers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"If thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it." Ex 20:25

"God’s altar was to be built of unhewn stones, that no trace of human skill or labour might be seen upon it. Human wisdom delights to trim and arrange the doctrines of the cross into a system more artificial and more congenial with the depraved tastes of fallen nature; instead, however, of improving the gospel carnal wisdom pollutes it, until it becomes another gospel, and not the truth of God at all.

All alterations and amendments of the Lord’s own Word are defilements and pollutions. The proud heart of man is very anxious to have a hand in the justification of the soul before God; preparations for Christ are dreamed of, humblings and repentings are trusted in, good works are cried up, natural ability is much vaunted, and by all means the attempt is made to lift up human tools upon the divine altar. It were well if sinners would remember that so far from perfecting the Saviour’s work, their carnal confidences only pollute and dishonour it. The Lord alone must be exalted in the work of atonement, and not a single mark of man’s chisel or hammer will be endured. There is an inherent blasphemy in seeking to add to what Christ Jesus in his dying moments declared to be finished, or to improve that in which the Lord Jehovah finds perfect satisfaction. Trembling sinner, away with thy tools, and fall upon thy knees in humble supplication; and accept the Lord Jesus to be the altar of thine atonement, and rest in him alone.

Many professors may take warning from this morning’s text as to the doctrines which they believe. There is among Christians far too much inclination to square and reconcile the truths of revelation; this is a form of irreverence and unbelief, let us strive against it, and receive truth as we find it; rejoicing that the doctrines of the Word are unhewn stones, and so are all the more fit to build an altar for the Lord."

—Morning and Evening, a Devotional series by Charles H. Spurgeon

TRUTH as the Sacrifice

"Truth becomes the sacrifice:

When absolutism is out, and relativism is in;
When obedience is out, and pragmatism is in;
When teaching is out, and dialogue is in;
When thus saith the Lord is out, and consensus of opinion is in;
When using Scripture to judge right and wrong is out, and unity with tolerance at all costs is in;
When the narrow way is out, and the broad way is in."

--by Tamara Hartzell, In The Name of Purpose: Sacrificing Truth on the Altar of Unity

God help us....

A Gospel Pleasing to the Times

This quote from Charles Spurgeon is EXACTLY what the leaders in many churches across America need to hear. Unfortunately too many have decided to be ashamed of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. The ones who aren't are few and far between.

This quote is applicable from the warnings about adjusting God's Word to accommodate the age in which we live (postmodern) to the warnings about tailoring the message and the Word to appeal to the youth.

My earnest prayer is that the leaders of churches in America will recognize their sin and repent.

~~~

"Brethren, we shall not adjust our Bible to the age; but before we have done with it, by God's grace, we shall adjust the age to the Bible.

...We make no mistake here; we shall not watch our congregation to take our cue from it, but we shall keep our eye on the infallible Word, and preach according to its instructions.

Our Master sits on high, and not in the chairs of the scribes and doctors, who regulate the theories of the century. We cannot take our key-note from the wealthier people, nor from the leading officers, nor even from the former minister.

How often have we heard an excuse for heresy made out of the desire to impress "thoughtful young men"! Young men, whether thoughtful or otherwise, are best impressed by the gospel, and it is folly to dream that any preaching which leaves out the truth is suitable to men, either old or young. We shall not quit the Word to please the young men, nor even the young women.

This truckling to young men is a mere pretense; young men are no more fond of false doctrine than are the middle-aged; and if they are, there is so much the more necessity to teach them better. Young men are more impressed by the old gospel than by ephemeral speculations.

If any of you wish to preach a gospel that will be pleasing to the times, preach it in the power of the devil, and I have no doubt that he will willingly do his best for you. It is not to such servants of men that I desire to speak just now.

I trust that, if ever any of you should err from the faith, and take up with the new theology, you will be too honest to pray for power from God with which to preach that mischievous delusion if you should do so, you will be guilty of constructive blasphemy.

No, brethren, it is not our object to please men, but our design is far nobler."

--Charles Spurgeon, from "The Preacher's Power, and the Conditions of Obtaining It," chapter 11 in An All-Round Ministry: Addressed to Ministers and Students.

Inside the MIND of an EMERGENT

Below is a comment by a guy named Chip who considers himself to be part of the Emergent church. This was posted in response to an article written by Ken Silva ( ROB BELL: WHAT A CHARACTER)

The reason why I wanted to feature this comment and the response from Ken Silve is because Chip's comment is a perfect example at the ambiguous "postmodern" disillusioned illogical-logic of many in the Emergent church.

It's a bit lenghty but interesting and easy to read.

Chip's comment:

Postmodern method:

As opposed to using the word "ideology" which caries a lot of baggage in society, I used the word method. Let me explain. Since the rise of mathematics and science (mostly due to the Islamic community of the first millinium) the Western world has devoted itself to observation and logic to find facts and truth. Basically, what we see, read, observe is fact and we can use this to derive truth. Biologists observe expiriments to find subtle changes that indicate physical facts. Many Christians read over the Bible to observe and understand the written truth.

However, this was not always the case. During the Golden era of the Greeks, it was believed that truth was what could not be seen. In essence, the observable physical properties that we understand are but shadows of reality. Postmodernity is a return to that mind set. It is not really by choice, but it is the nature of who we (the postmodern generations) are becoming.
I have read and studied the Bible quite extensively and have found nothing that contradicts this mindset. In fact, the opening passage of the Gospel of John (In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God) indicates that the ancient Greek (and now postmodern) mindset is applicable to find Truth. I hesitate to make this generization because I have no doubt I will be misunderstood, but I'll take my chances... because Truth pre-existed the physical document that is the Bible and the physical body that is Christ, postmodernists who seek Truth will seek it from a broader perspective. This isn't to say that the Bible is unecessary or that Christ is unecessary (for both are certainly needed in the walk with God), but that emergent Christians look to connect with God's Truth not purely through scripture but also through an internal/eternal spiritual level. This is why the "hell, fire and damnation" message just won't work on the next generations.
In short, the Bible isn't viewed as absolute truth; it is but a shadow of the Truth. Christ is the Truth, and the emergent, postmodern Christians look to connect to that Truth in a variety of ways, not just by studying scripture.
Jodi, something you must understand. Christ is Truth because Christ is God; no disagreement here... However, to the postmodern, Finding Christ/Truth is a process, and not an instant event. Sure, the first time you begin to experience Truth for yourself it will change your life. But the process of knowing and recognizing Truth doesn't end with knowing about Christ, it proceeds with knowing Christ more intimately, and ends when we die and experience Christ fully. Finding Truth can be defined as the general change to become more Christ-like as we mature and walk with Him.

Again, this is an postmodern, emergent view. It is not the only "method," but it is still Christianity just the same.
Denise, I am not saying stay out of our business or anything to that nature, but it seems that the methods many people choose to employe when "setting the emergent population" on the straight and narrow do nothing more than antagonize and drive us (again the emergent, postmoderns) away from message of absolute truth which you proclaim. This comes from personal experience, from my time in many churches, and conversing with many Christians who have had similar experiences. The harsh words and actions taken to "prevent [me] from falling into the heretical" emergent church did more to change my look of Christ and Truth than anything in my life. Praise God! I might have never begun to understood the nature of salvation without my emergent family.

God bless,
Chip
Posted by: Chip at August 19, 2006 09:49 PM

______

Ken Silva's Reply to Chip:

Chip,

I have allowed this on to show the readers here what is happening to our young people through this Emergent rebellion against the Bible. Now Chip, let me set you straight here as the Hollow Men of the Emergent Church have you pretty twisted up in their warped and toxic view of the Bible.

Bible Method:
You have it twisted right here, "Many Christians read over the Bible to observe and understand the written truth." No, Christians love and revere the Word of God because His Word is Truth (John 17:17)

You say: "It is not really by choice, but it is the nature of who we (the postmodern generations) are becoming." With all due respect, the Lord couldn't care less what any "we" think we "are becoming." Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will not pass away." God's Word is eternal and unchanging.
Then you point out: "I have read and studied the Bible quite extensively..." And sadly at this particular time you are found here: "always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 3:7) This is an appeal for you to get yourself off this broad path.

Next you say, "In fact, the opening passage of the Gospel of John (In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God) indicates that the ancient Greek (and now postmodern) mindset is applicable to find Truth..." I'm tempted to say you must have hit your head on something because this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to this verse.
This verse is telling us that before anything that has ever been made even came into existence God already was. And the Logos (Word, Who is Christ) already existed with Him and is ontologically of the exact same essence-Deity. This is actually to refute the Greek Gnostic view of the Demiurge as an inferior aeon (being, emanation) to the Pleroma (God).

Next you point out a pet straw man of the Emergent delusion: "emergent Christians look to connect with God's Truth not purely through scripture but also through an internal/eternal spiritual level." This is to imply that true Biblical Christians don't and is fallacious.
And I tell you in the Lord that you'd best pray that the "hell, fire and damnation" message will work on you because at this present moment this is your likely destination as you show zero understanding of what a true saving relationship to Christ is.

Then you erect yet another postmodern straw man: "the Bible isn't viewed as absolute truth; it is but a shadow of the Truth. Christ is the Truth,..." Jesus Himself equated His Words as equally true as He is. And we need to keep in mind here I am actually doing an apologetic on the veracity of Scripture with one who would claim to be Christian. Amazing.
Chip seriously friend, you say, "Finding Truth can be defined as the general change to become more Christ-like as we mature and walk with Him." One cannot be more "Christ-like" until they have been born again. And one cannot be born again until he places his faith in Christ by trusting in His Word that He will do what He says He will. The living Word speaks through His written Word

You are wrong in your conclusion here; "Again, this is an postmodern, emergent view. It is not the only 'method,' but it is still Christianity just the same." No Chip, it's not. It is a counterfeit message of Gnostic mysticism and has prevented you from realizing that the Bible cannot be comprehended by human intellect alone: "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:13)

And finally as strongly as I can let me point out that this is a huge misunderstanding of the times you live in: "the methods many people choose to employe...do nothing more than antagonize and drive us (again the emergent, postmoderns) away from message of absolute truth which you proclaim."
It's about time people come to realize that the Christian is proclaim the absolute Truth of God's Gospel from His Bible no matter what it does to anyone who hears it. I am to endeavor to say this as gently, patiently, carefully and lovingly as I know how Chip, but I must tell you that these Emergent deceivers are lying to you. And I care a great deal about that, and I care about you for the Lord's sake.

The message today that you will "soon" hear from more and more of God's messengers is rooted in Isaiah 6:8-10. In a nutshell, the Word is going to go forth with such force it will either blow you off your horse that you might be saved; or it will cause you to ride hard in the other direction, but the Lord be praised His will is going to be accomplished either way. (see-Ephesians 1:11)

Chip, I am not the least bit offended or angry, and I speak the Truth in love to you. If there is anything I can do to help you to better understand these issues I will do so gladly. But I will say once again, the comments forum of Slice is not sympathetic to the Hollow Men of the Emergent rebellion, and you have your own blogs to share your Emergent messages. I thank you in advance for understanding.

Posted by: Pastor Ken Silva at August 19, 2006 10:44 PM

Jelly-fish Christianity

"One plague of our age is the widespread dislike to sound doctrine. In the place of it, the idol of the day is a kind of jelly-fish Christianity--a Christianity without bone, or muscle, or sinew--without any distinct teaching about the atonement or the work of the Spirit, or justification, or the way of peace with God--a vague, foggy, misty Christianity, of which the only watchwords seem to be, "You must be liberal and kind. You must condemn no man's doctrinal views. You must think everybody is right, and nobody is wrong."

--J.C. Ryle, (1816-1900)

SYMPTOMS OF DECEPTION IN YOUR CHURCH

This post was originally published March 14, 06 it's good to be reminded of these things again since the church is constantly under attack.

~~~

There is a great wave of deception going on in many churches today. The church my family and I left has fallen prey to many of the things listed below. Has your church?

(Most of the items below were taken from John MacArthur's sermon series on Discernment, Part 1, 2/20/06).


1. The rejection of doctrine in place of relationships.

2. Fascination with entertainment (in the church) and boredom with exposition (of the Word of God).

3. The emphasis on feelings and the lowering of the value of thinking clearly.

4. The looking down on one who emphasizes discernment and complimenting of one who emphasizes understanding and unity.

5. Persons who take firm stands on Biblical doctrine are criticized for splitting hairs and being unloving.

6. A tendency to gaze lazily at the surface of scriptural truth with a desirable generosity of spirit toward those who differ.

7. The discouraging of dogmatic positions of scripture so as to not come across as being unloving to someone else who has a different opinion.

8. Sharing replacing preaching.

9. The moving away from clarity and conviction of doctrine in the name of unity, love and relationships. Doctrine and conviction are scorned.

10. The tendency to favor openness while rejecting narrowness and dogmatism.

11. The embracing of uncertainty where the act of questioning is more desired than biblical clarity.

12. The placing of experience and sensation above intellectual understanding (of doctrine).

13. The descending of worship from singing great truths about God, lyric centered music, to
music where sound, rhythm and harmony dominate to induce warm and fuzzy feelings.

14. The preacher is comedian, story teller and counselor instead of a powerful, theological herald and proclaimer of divine truth.

-KCO

Fearing God in His Sovereign Majesty

by A.W. Pink

Why is it that, today, the masses are so utterly unconcerned about spiritual and eternal things, and that they are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God? Why is it that even on the battlefields multitudes were so indifferent to their soul's welfare? Why is it that defiance of heaven is becoming more open, more blatant, more daring? The answer is, Because “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom 3:18). Again; why is it that the authority of the Scriptures has been lowered so sadly of late? Why is it that even among those who profess to be the Lord 's people there is so little real subjection to His Word, and that its precepts are so lightly esteemed and so readily set aside? Ah! what needs to be stressed to-day is that God is a God to be feared. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Pro 1:7). Happy the soul that has been awed by a view of God's majesty, that has had a vision of God's awful greatness, His ineffable holiness, His perfect righteousness, His irresistible power, His sovereign grace. Does someone say, “But it is only the unsaved, those outside of Christ, who need to fear God”? Then the sufficient answer is that the saved, those who are in Christ, are admonished to work out their own salvation with “fear and trembling.” Time was, when it was the general custom to speak of a believer as a “God-fearing man”—that such an appellation has become nearly extinct only serves to show whither we have drifted. Nevertheless, it still stands written, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him” (Psa 103:13)!

When we speak of godly fear, of course, we do not mean a servile fear, such as prevails among the heathen in connection with their gods. No; we mean that spirit which Jehovah is pledged to bless, that spirit to which the prophet referred when he said, “To this man will I (the Lord) look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My Word” (Isa 66:2). It was this the apostle had in view when he wrote, “Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king” (1Pe 2:17). And nothing will foster this godly fear like a recognition of the sovereign majesty of God.

--A.W. Pink: (1889-1952)

I Only Want the Thrill of Feeling Right

"Christians habitually weep and pray over beautiful truth, only to draw back from that same truth when it comes to the difficult job of putting it into practice! Actually, the average church simply does not dare to check its practices against biblical precepts. It tolerates things that are diametrically opposed to the will of God, and if the matter is pointed out to its leaders, they will defend its unscriptural practices with a casuistry equal to the verbal dodgings of the Roman moralists…

Since Christ makes His appeal directly to the will, are we justified in wondering whether or not these divided souls have ever made a true commitment to the Lord? Or whether they have been inwardly renewed? It does appear that too many Christians want to enjoy the thrill of feeling right but not willing to endure the inconvenience of being right!

Jesus Himself left a warning – I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead [Rev. 3:1b]"

--A.W. Tozer, Renewed Day by Day.

The Church is Failing

"The Christian church today is failing, and failing lamentably. It is not enough even to be orthodox. You must, of course, be orthodox, otherwise you have not got a message ... We need authority and we need authentication ... Is it not clear that we are living in an age when we need some special authentication, in other words, we need revival."

--Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Rob Bell-The Hip Heretic

My former church has allowed their youth pastor to teach the youth material from Rob Bell via the Nooma videos and ideas taught within his book Velvet Elvis. This is very unfortunate. I wonder how many people even understand what is behind the teachings of Rob Bell? Do the parents have any idea...do the leaders of the church even know? Do they agree with the teachings? (that would really be scary) Or do they simply trust their youth pastor and allow him to teach the kids whatever he sees fit?

I will give them the benefit of a doubt and believe they just are not aware. Therefore, a good look into the teachings of Rob Bell could really do some good here since there seems to be such a lack of discernment in so many of our evangelical churches today, including my former one.

Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries has been researching the teachings of Rob Bell for about a year now. In THIS POST Ken pulls no punches in mentioning how Rob Bell is a false teacher. I couldn't agree with Ken Silva more. I think he is 100% right. It's good to see someone take a bold stand and expose leaders such as Rob Bell and Brian McLaren within the Emergent church.

Parents, please do your research before sending your kids off to some youth pastor who is good at "getting kids in the door". You need to ask...which door is he getting them in to?

Apprising Ministries has several more articles on Rob Bell
ROB BELL: GOSPEL? WHAT GOSPEL?
ROB BELL: A VERY POOR CHRISTIAN “COMMUNICATOR”
ROB BELL AND THE EMERGENT MYTH
ROB BELL FAILS THE TEST

I will post another article on Rob Bell in a day or two from a different source.

-KTO

E. M. Bounds Quote

"The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day."

-- E. M. Bounds

Maybe We Should Decorate the Ark...

This sermon from Leonard Ravenhill from over 20 years ago is very applicable today to churches who decide to apply man-made methods in doing God's work and purposes. Just as David decided it was appropriate to build a cart to help transport the ark of the covenant, churches today try all sorts of techniques and methods in attempts to "improve" upon God's methods, resulting in disobedience and spiritual death.

It's a sad and dangerous thing to see happening all around us.

here is an excerpt....

"... All this man did was try to steady the ark of God (Uzzah, 2 Samuel chapter 6). Oh mercy, how we’re trying to steady the ark of God these days. We don’t just want to steady it. We want to do some new thing.

We’d paint it.
We’d put a musical box inside of it.
We’d put the priest in some new garments.
We’d try to make it more acceptable!

The power and the presence of God were resting on that tabernacle. And while they were obedient, they had success. Are we steadying the ark of God in the way we are presenting the gospel these days?

The gospel is still the power of God unto salvation to all who believe. I heard somebody say, "Well, you know, there’s a different approach today". Is there? Is there really? Is there any difference between the grief of somebody who’s heartbroken today and the grief of somebody who lived three thousand years ago? We say, "Human nature is changed". Human nature has not changed! Human nature is still a sinful nature. Human nature still needs God. It seems though, God is trying to check us, but we won’t take the checking. We won’t take the warning. And again I say to you, the most distressing area, I believe, is the area of the church itself. We are trying to steady the ark.
We don’t want God Almighty to govern the whole thing.
We want a little bit of flesh in it.
We want a little bit of humanism in it.
We want a little bit of organization in it.
We want some of our skill in it.
And God holds off.
The word of God says, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God." Oh, I’m aching on the inside to see somebody that really, really, really has no confidence in the flesh."

--excerpt from a sermon preached by Leonard Ravenhill, Who's Touching the Ark? May 14, 1983

Saved From Sin

"Christ is a Savior for those realizing something of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, who feel the awful burden of it on their conscience, who loathe themselves for it, who long to be freed from its terrible dominion; and a Savior for no others."

-- A. W. Pink

The Grieved Holy Spirit

"Until self-effacing men return again to spiritual leadership, we may expect a progressive deterioration in the quality of popular Christianity year after year till we reach the point where the grieved Holy Spirit withdraws-like the Shekinah from the temple."-

--A. W. Tozer

John Piper on The Emergent Church

This is a breif MP3 of John Piper describing the Emergent Church. It doesn't go into a great deal of detail but it does show how more leaders in the church are starting to be aware of this false sect.

Those Who Love Family, Friends More Than the Lord

"When false teaching and views other than what the Scripture presents are brought in, the church must distinguish between those who adhere to the word and those who do not.

It is good that the people of God are driven to God's word. Those who love family, friends, father, or mother more than the Lord became evident. Now I must decide not only on the doctrinal issues, but on what side of the doctrinal issues are my friends and family members. Remember Deuteronomy 13. If your cherished wife, your closest friend or one of your children becomes involved in this, you must maintain your allegiance to the Lord and be done with them. We become involved in doctrinal battles and suddenly we say, "Well, you may be right. You may have the correct view of Scripture, but I just don't think that I want to part friendship over this." The process of erosion begins."

--Gil Rugh, Destructive Heresies in Today's Church, May 20, 1996

The Greatest Tragedy

"For I think you will agree that the prevailing tendency is not to talk about and write about the truth itself. The whole emphasis at the moment is that we should all be getting together and forming great organizations. The concern is not so much as to the truth of the message, but to gather ourselves together into one great community. The tendency today is to minimize truth in favor of organization, and men are telling us with unwearied iteration that the greatest tragedy of the world is the disunited church. But the tragedy, the greatest tragedy as I understand the New Testament, is not the disunity of the church, is not the fact that the church is divided into groups and denominations, is not that we are not all in one organization, but that all the sections are preaching a false message and that there has been a departure from the truth of God as it is in Jesus Christ."

--Martin Lloyd-Jones, 1946

A Warning to Believers

"....this is the way Satan works. First, he attempts to loosen a person's hold on the word of God. Get a little dusty, not fresh, not current in your thinking. Then he brings along new things that aren't totally off the wall. They are just off. Then one might think, "Oh, that's sort of fresh. I'm just sort of tired and bored with the old things that I have dealt with week after week and month after month and now year after year. It's nice to have something fresh and new. And it's just a difference in methodology, not a difference in message. This is wonderful." Pretty soon Satan has moved you away from the focus of the word of God. ...This is how Satan has always worked. If you read the Old Testament prophets, that's the way he worked then. Read about the New Testament apostles, and that's the way he worked. Look around you today, and that's the way he works."

--by Gil Rugh, A Reminder and Warning to Believers, Nov. 3, 1996

Rely Implicitly Upon the Old, Old Gospel.

To try to win a soul to Christ by keeping that soul in ignorance of any truth, is contrary to the mind of the Spirit; and to endeavor to save men by mere claptrap, or excitement, or oratorical display, is as foolish as to hope to hold an angel with bird-line, or lure a star with music.

The best attraction is the gospel in its purity. The weapon with which the Lord conquers men is the truth as it is in Jesus. The gospel will be found equal to every emergency; an arrow can pierce the hardest heart, a balm which will heal the deadliest wound. Preach it, and preach nothing else.

Rely implicitly upon the old, old gospel. You need no other nets when you fish for men; those your Master has given you are strong enough for the great fishes, and have meshes fine enough to hold the little ones. Spread those nets and no others, and you need not fear the fulfillment of His Word, "I will make you fishers of men".

-Charles Spurgeon

Tenderly Fear the Lord

"It is not sufficient to be on guard against the sins which are contrary to the fear of God; rather, it is our great duty to conquer them all by the fear of God. The livelier the fear of God is, the less sin will have any effect. Therefore in the future commit yourself fully to tenderly fear the Lord your God in order that the fear of God may guard you and direct your thoughts, words, and deeds."

—Taken from: The Christian's Resonable Service by Wilhemus A'Brakel (1635-1711)

Will the "Emergent Church" Submerge Your Church?

arcticle from OliveTreeViews.org....

The short answer is no if solid, Bible-believing Christians preach truth and stand on the Word of God. However, in today's world of apostasy, the stakes are higher and so are the casualties. The Emergent Church is not new, but it hid in the shadows until recently. I recently had this email:

Jan: When you first started talking about the Emergent Church I thought, sure, this is a California experience. I didn't have to worry. How wrong! In Michigan it is now everywhere!

When Pastor Bob DeWaay told me one and a half years ago that it was the next step beyond seeker-sensitive and worse than that, I thought, how is this possible? He was right. As a matter of fact, CBS News did a feature on it calling it a powerful new movement and the fastest-growing one in Christianity with up to 20 million participants. The clip is played on the broadcast from August 5 now posted on "radio archives" here:http://www.olivetreeviews.org/radio/mp3/ When you really learn of all its goals and practices, this should send chills down your spine.

Roger Oakland, one of the best analysts of this movement, and Bob DeWaay, reported a lot of startling information on air. I have made my own conclusions here. The emphasis goes well beyond the Bible to extra-biblical paraphernalia, extrasensory images, sounds, smells, silence, darkness, icons, statues, rosary beads for Protestants, Yoga, contemplative prayer--all for a FULL SENSORY IMMERSION in the divine. Why are these things even necessary when the "old time religion" did well preaching a solid gospel with no bells and whistles? Why do we have to encounter God with our "senses"? He lives within us--that's sufficient. He's a prayer away, hardly dependent on candles and incense and icons. Why do Protestants have to draw on Catholic and Orthodox practices to "get closer to God"?

Try to pin these folks down as to their beliefs and be prepared for frustration and confusion. Pastor DeWaay related on air how frustrating his debate was with Emergent leader Doug Pagitt as Pagitt dodged every question making sure the Emergent Church would NOT be defined. My conclusion: It draws on many religions but is leading to the participation in the one world religion.

According to EC leader Brian McLaren, most anyone can follow Jesus including Buddhists and Hindus. He emphasizes "injustice, oppression, greed, and war." Finally, a major truth comes out: This is just the old social gospel. But his most troubling statement is that we need to ". . . emulate Roman Catholicism to become more mystical in our reverence of God." Why did we have the Reformation, I ask? So that we could get far from Rome and closer to God! He has it backwards, as is his whole movement. The longing for the mystical will lead one to become a victim of every wind of doctrine!

As Roger Oakland states, this is not a revival but a return to darkness. It cannot be countered until Christians become better informed about it and when the darkened rooms, candles, and other touchy-feely services spring up in your church and you say something and demand a return to basic Bible doctrines and solid gospel preaching. These Emergent leaders are not "brave new voices." They are deceptive wolves devouring naive, usually young "sheeple," leading the Gen X-ers and Gen Y-ers down a path to further darkness. What will these youth "emerge" into? Confused, questioning young people with no solid grounding, believing in nothing and thus falling for everything.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

This is what the LORD says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,

but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"
declares the LORD.

Sweeties, Bonbons, and Lollipops!

The Chocolate Soldier
Heroism - The Lost Chord of Christianity!
by C. T. Studd

A SOLDIER WITHOUT HEROISM IS A CHOCOLATE SOLDIER!

In peace true soldiers are captive lions, fretting in their cages. War gives them their liberty and sends them, like boys bounding out of school, to obtain their heart's desire or perish in the attempt. Battle is the soldier's vital breath! Peace turns him into a stooping asthmatic. War makes him a whole man again, and gives him the heart, strength, and vigor of a hero.

THE OTHERWISE CHRISTIAN IS A CHOCOLATE CHRISTIAN! Dissolving in water and melting at the smell of fire. "Sweeties" they are! Bonbons, lollipops! Living their lives on a glass dish or in a cardboard box, each clad in his soft clothing, a little frilled white paper to preserve his dear little delicate constitution.

THE TEN SPIES WERE CHOCOLATES. They melted and ran over the whole congregation of Israel, turning them into CHOCOLATE CREAMS - "softies", afraid to face the fire and water before them. God put them all into the saucepan again and boiled them for forty years in the desert, and left them there. He has no use for Chocolates. It's not small things He despises, but "Chocolates"; for He said, "Your little ones shall inherit the promised land which you have forfeited through listening to men and despising Me" (Numbers 13)....READ THE REST, THIS IS GREAT!

A New Creature

by J. C. Ryle, from "The Gospel of John"

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth,
no one can see the kingdom of God unless
he is born again." John 3:3

The change which our Lord here declares
needful to salvation is evidently no slight
or superficial one. It is not merely . . .
reformation,
or amendment,
or moral change,
or outward alteration of life.

It is a thorough change of . . .
heart,
will, and
character.

It is a resurrection.

It is a new creation.

It is a passing from death to life.

It is the implanting in our dead hearts
of a new principle from above.

It is the calling into existence
of a new creature, with . . .
a new nature,
new habits of life,
new tastes,
new desires,
new appetites,
new judgments,
new opinions,
new hopes, and
new fears.

All this, and nothing less than this is
implied, when our Lord declares that
we all need a "new birth."

Let us solemnly ask ourselves whether
we know anything of this mighty change.

Have we been born again?

Can any marks of the new birth be seen in us?

Is the image and superscription of the
Spirit to be discerned in our lives?

Happy is the man who can give satisfactory
answers to these questions! A day will come
when those who are not born again will wish
that they had never been born at all.

Rob Bell = Zero Discernment

"When this kind of a pitiful example for a Christian pastor, aka a “communicator” in Emergentese, by Rob Bell which will follow is actually being held up to the Church as a role model, then the level of discernment within the Body of Christ has now officially sunk so low that it is perhaps even into the negative....READ FURTHER

Want to Learn the Truth About the Emerging Church?

Many people think that the emerging movement was started by a bunch of disgruntled young people who want to be in a hip environment with couches and candles. Not so. The emerging church movement was started by Leadership Network (Bob Buford) in the mid ninties. At that time, Leadership Network hired Doug Pagitt, Mark Driscoll, then brought on Brian McLaren and some others. If you want to really understand the truth behind the emerging church, spend some time on Leadership Network's website... READ MORE

Settle Down and Become Conformed

"The whole history of the Church is one long story of this tendency to settle down on this earth and to become conformed to this world, to find acceptance and popularity here and to eliminate the element of conflict and of pilgrimage. That is the trend and the tendency of everything. Therefore outwardly, as well as inwardly, pioneering is a costly thing."

"It is a costly and a suffering thing to come up against the religious system that has ' settled down ' here. It is far more costly than coming up against the naked world itself. The religious system can be more ruthless and cruel and bitter; it can be actuated by all those mean things, contemptible things, prejudices and suspicions things that you will not even find in decent people in the world. It is costly to go on to the heavenlies, it is painful; but it is the way of the pioneer, and it has to be settled that that is how it is."

-T. Austin Sparks

Toxic Fruit

Ken Silva posted this on Slice of Laodicea today. I thought this is something which needs to be heard:

The warped and toxic fruit of this Emergent and Purpose Driven new evangelical rebellion against God's Word shows that A.W. Tozer was exactly right when he wrote:

"The task of the Church is twofold: to spread Christianity throughout the world and to make sure that the Christianity she spreads is the pure New Testament kind."

"Christianity will always reproduce itself after its own kind. A worldly-minded, unspiritual church, when she crosses the ocean to give her witness to peoples of other tongues and other cultures, is sure to bring forth on other shores a Christianity much like her own."

"The popular notion that the first obligation of the Church is to spread the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth is false. Her first obligation is to be spiritually worthy to spread it. Our Lord said, "Go ye," but He also said, "Tarry ye," and the tarrying had to come before the going."

"Had the disciples gone forth as missionaries before the Day of Pentecost it would have been an overwhelming spiritual disaster, for they could have done no more than make converts after their own likeness, and this would have altered for the whole history of the Western world and had consequences throughout the ages to come." (Of God and Men, 36,37)

A Tuned Piano

"Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified. The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier. The whole church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life."

-– A. W. Tozer

"Bored to Tears in Heaven"

“If your heart takes more pleasure in reading novels, or watching TV, or going to the movies, or talking to friends, rather than just sitting alone with God and embracing Him, sharing His cares and His burdens, weeping and rejoicing with Him, then how are you going to handle forever and ever in His presence...? You'd be bored to tears in heaven, if you're not ecstatic about God now!”

--Keith Green