Coming Out From Among Them – Part 2


In Part 1 of this series I wrote that three major events led directly to my departure from my old church several months ago. I want to chronicle those events here in hope that some of my readers may be able to detect the infiltration of the heretical principles of the church growth/seeker sensitive/purpose-driven movement creeping into their own congregations.

In October of 2005 I underwent my own personal reformation of belief, turning away from Arminianism to Calvinism, away from a man-centered theology to a Christocentric theology. This startling change began, due in part, to my intense dissatisfaction with the church and the preaching from the pulpit. As I examined the messages I couldn’t help but feel the biblical content was minimal, with the wisdom of men used as filler. That sent me on a journey to discover the truth about the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. This, in turn, led me to embrace Reformation Theology. However, I did not leave my church immediately. Instead, I turned on my discernment radar and listened closely to every word spoken from the pulpit. Sadly, I must report, the results were appalling. Continue reading →

Coming Out From Among Them – Part 1


In the past year I went from blessed believer in my church to blessed subtraction. The events leading to my exodus can be traced back to about three years ago. Circumstances culminated quickly within the past year-and-a-half as the veil of deception lifted from my heart. After serving this Assembly of God fellowship for over eleven years I finally came to the crossroad between conviction and compromise. I chose conviction.

So, my family and I have left behind friends, ministries and memories to embark on a new mission that God is leading us into. I am excited for the glories that lie on the horizon, but my heart aches also for those things I have left behind. Leaving a church is akin to getting a divorce from a beloved spouse. You might love her deeply but unfaithfulness must by necessity drive you apart. It is painful; resentment and bitterness can fester on both sides if the Lord is not sought to help heal wounds and forgive trespasses. Feelings of loneliness and isolation can at times be overwhelming. Opposition from those you called brothers and sisters in Christ can suck the life out of you; stirring feelings of guilt and doubt.

Continue reading →

Does God Send People to Hell?


It’s been several months ago, but I distinctly remember having dinner one Friday evening over at a friend’s house with his family. Another recently married couple ate with us too. They all attend a different church than we do, but our beliefs had always been very similar – at least until I embraced the doctrines of grace. The differences in our theologies had become apparent, and somewhat troublesome to them. Despite their apprehension, I proclaimed the gospel truth as I understood it in an after dinner conversation. The wife of the recently married couple sat at rapt attention as I gave a brief overview of the doctrines of Grace. At one point I made a remark about God casting the reprobate into hell, whose sins have not been washed away by the blood of Jesus. She perked up, eyes wide, mouth agape and chimed in with this gem, “God doesn’t send people to hell!” Continue reading →

Purpose Driven Drivel


Several months ago, I sent out an email to several of my friends and former members of my old church. In it I let my pent up impressions of Rick Warren pour out like a tsunami into digital text. The reaction I received surprised me a bit. The response was overwhelmingly and enthusiastically positive. It seems most everyone could affirm the points I had made. I received several phone calls from concerned believers, confirming with them the dark turn the modern evangelical church as a whole has taken. A turn that leads down a path of heresy and ultimately apostasy from the gospel of Christ if left unconfronted. In the last year I’ve read many accounts from Purpose-Driven refugees; people forced out of their churches by false teaching, watered down preaching and flesh-titillating outreach methodologies. In the past year I and many others have joined the ranks of the disenchanted. We have made our stand against the ungodliness that has seeped into the church, firmly rooting our feet on the solid rock of Jesus Christ and His word. God has been faithful to me through it all. He has led me to attend a baptist church that centers their ministry upon God’s grace through the cross of Christ.

I am reprinting the email here in hope that it will stir awareness and discernment within my readers, opening their eyes to the insidious errors walking through the front doors of our churches unchallenged.

Note: The last link no longer works. The site publishing the article no longer exists. That is unfortunate because it was the inspiration for my email. Oh well… Continue reading →

The Psychology of Rick Warren


In my Previous posts on Rick Warren’s appearance on Nightline I quoted the following:

Warren said that there is a danger in merging Christianity with psychology.

“Absolutely, there’s a danger,” he said. “Because what it does is feed this self-centeredness … I say, it’s not about you. It’s all about God.

OK, it sounds like he is opposed to the merging of psychological philosophy with the church.

Great!

Oh, but wait… then there’s this. An article from Christianpost.com written by Warren entitled Six Physical Factors that Affect Your Worship Service is all about psychology. He advocates manipulating environmental factors to help grow the church!

Here are some selected quotes from the article with commentary. Continue reading →

Rick Warren on Nightline – Part 2


If you thought the quotes from Rick Warren highlighted in my last post were jaw-dropping, well hold on to your chin! Here is round two from the article Rick Warren & Purpose-Driven Strife.

So the debate goes on: Is the purpose-driven method simplifying Christianity in exchange for church growth? The founder of the movement says the conflicts and divisions are inevitable costs.
“You know, I wouldn’t intentionally want to cause pain to any person or to anyone,”

My comment: No. He would be pleased as punch if all the churches would conform to his image without debate.

Warren said. “Am I willing to put up with pain so the people [that] Jesus Christ died for can come to know him? Absolutely.”
Warren said that if some churches may suffer as a result of applying some of those principles, then “that’s the price.” Continue reading →

Rick Warren on Nightline – Part 1


I am compelled to post my thoughts on several things Rick Warren said to Martin Bashir in an interview on Nightline several weeks ago. Here is an excerpt from the article Rick Warren & Purpose-Driven Strife from ABCnews.com. It is essentially a word for word transcript from the Nightline segment.

Warren said that there is a danger in merging Christianity with psychology. “Absolutely, there’s a danger,” he said. “Because what it does is feed this self-centeredness … I say, it’s not about you. It’s all about God. And one of the biggest myths is that all mega churches are alike. Well, they’re not.” Continue reading →

Blessed Subtraction


“Be willing to let people leave the church. And I told you earlier the fact that people are gonna leave the church no matter what you do. But when you define the vision, you’re choosing who leaves. You say, “But Rick, yes, they’re the pillars of the church.” Now, you know what pillars are. Pillars are people who hold things up … And in your church, you may have to have some blessed subtractions before you have any real additions” – The Purpose Driven Church

This quote by Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and author of the bestselling books ‘The Purpose Driven Church’ and ‘The Purpose Driven Life’ exemplifies why I left the only church I have attended in the eleven years since embracing Christ as my Savior. I count myself as one of these ‘blessed subtractions’ for the simple reason that I don’t share Warren’s vision for the postmodern church. Unfortunately, I appear to be in the minority, as thousands of churches nationwide have adopted the principles he espouses in his books, which many have exalted to near canonical status in laying ecclesiological foundations. Continue reading →

Breaking News: God stripped of His Power and Authority


I don’t make this stuff up, people. The modern church is impossible to satire. The truth is much more absurd than fiction. Dr. Albert Mohler in his daily blog discusses a recent article from the Arizona Daily Star about a growing trend among churches to refer to God as anything and everything but ‘Lord’. You really must read this to believe it…

I have an opinion on the origin of all these PC gender-neutral terms and hierarchical and patriarchal phobic beliefs – and someday I may be brave enough to post about it. For now, enjoy as Dr. Mohler sinks his teeth into this postmodern rebellion.

Enlarging My Borders


This blog has primarily focused on issues of theology and personal experiences in evangelism, but I will now begin integrating the themes and articles from my discernment blog into this one. Shortly, my other blog shall cease to exist and I will journal onward only as a quite peculiar pilgrim.

Be ye warned! You shall be exposed to heresies, watered down doctrines, false teachers, big teeth and slicked back hair. Please keep barf bags and smelling salts nearby. Things could (and probably will) get a little ugly at times.

For those readers who willingly bring injury to your intellects by digesting both my blogs, I ask for patient endurance as I republish articles from over there. I will continue to post new things interspersed with the discernment articles, so please don’t take an extended leave of absence. I have several interesting topics in the skillet – so stay tuned!