The Louisville-based Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM) and, up until recently, head of the dwindling mini-denomination1 of Charismatic-neo-Calvinist churches, C. J. Mahaney, are apparently claiming that constitutional rights of religious freedom shield them from an ever-expanding lawsuit mounting against the organization generally and certain individuals particularly (the plaintiffs' lawyers continue to amend the lawsuit adding more and more victims who allege wrong-doing against them). According to Louisville's Courier-Journal religion reporter, Peter Smith, the defendants contrarily allege that SGM's demands for unquestioning obedience led to the shielding of sexual predators.
Yesterday I posted MacArthur's video wherein he pounded the young, restless, and reformed community for stepping over the moral threshold into a worldly lifestyle.1 In a real sense, MacArthur's concern centers on classic antinomianism, a well-known temptation within the Reformed community.
In 2009, I wrote these words:
The Conservative Resurgence which officially began in 1979 made history by
turning the theological clock backwards to its rightful, biblically
authoritative moorings… Southern Baptists once again should heed the times:
there is another coming crisis in our convention, just beyond the horizon.
Before it was biblical belief--especially belief about the Bible
itself--we stood to lose…
The coming crisis just ahead is exceedingly more
subtle, wrapped in bright, colorful garments, yet no less a dangerous threat to
Southern Baptists. It is not a crisis of belief per se, though
undeniably connected to belief. Nor is it modernity's rationalism which, as
before, stood as the doorkeeper to biblical authority with which our former
crisis contended. Instead the coming crisis for Southern Baptists concerns
behavior, a cataclysmic moral shift away from biblical holiness
expressed in biblical Lordship, toward the relativistic, postmodern norms of
American pop culture including its hedonistic obsession with fulfilling
desires.
Before, the challenge concerned doctrine and the question was, "What
do we believe?" The impending crisis Southern Baptists face concerns
discipleship and the question is, "How will we behave?" The old prophets of
Modernity imposed rationalism on the text of biblical revelation, serving to us
an unholy Bible. The coming crisis threatens a relativistic ethic,
shouting to us unholy behavior" (pp. 24-25, Alcohol Today: abstinence in an age of indulgence. Garland: Hannibal Books, 2009)
1my thanks to a commenter who offered the link to Part II and corrected the implication that MacArthur's words were spoken only recently
Just in time for The John 3:16 Conference, The Secrets of a Great Church by Jerry Vines will be given free of charge to all registered participants. In addition, through the generosity of friends of Free Church Press and Jerry Vines Ministries, a complimentary copy will be available to messengers who drop by the booth at the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention in Houston, TX.
Popular Arminian theologian, Roger Olson, reveals on his latest post how he really feels about Southern Baptists generally. In his piece entitled, 'My List of "Approved Denominations"' Dr. Olson goes around the denominational globe listing the denominations which meet his approval >>>
It could very well be me I confess. I have not attended missions conferences sponsored by either NAMB or IMB in a long time. Even so, I cannot recall a time when I did that they desired a fat fee to attend what we send money for them to do--educate people on the significance of missions both in North America and the world >>>
Below are two videos. Both are nutty. Both are extreme. Both miserably represent the Christian faith. Both display Scripture abuse. Both claim biblical authority. Both reveal perversion. Both have representatives in evangelicalism. There is at least one difference. One is rejected as extreme nuttiness by virtually every sector of the Christian church. The other is accepted by a large portion of evangelicalism--including many Southern Baptists--as hip, cool, and doing a great work for God. Guess who is hip and cool and who are considered nuts >>>
Recently, Cross Pointe’s1teaching pastor, Jonathan Merritt, was interviewed by Paul Edwards concerning Bryant Wright’s proposed name change for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Edwards asked young Merritt several questions to which he responded, responses some of which I’d like to address below >>>
How do they do it? You know, Calvinists who are so good at making non-Calvinist friends. I think one of their secrets must be summarized by Dr. Steven Lawson, senior pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church, Mobile, AL. Yes, this is the same Steven Lawson who took the historic Dauphin Way Baptist Church in 1995 and, in just a few short years, grew the church down from virtually mega-church status* to a staggering 650. Dr. Lawson's secret? Focus on the five points of Calvinism and push evangelism by the wayside. Then, leave the church and gut it of all the leadership, taking them with you to start another church down the road.**
More than once, I have been challenged on my assertion that Acts 29 Network is elder-governed, elder-ruled rather than elder-led. Some appear to plead the distinction between the two, but upon further investigation, we find what is basically meant by elder-led is elder-governed leadership. Perhaps now we may be able to lay this to rest for good. Below is an explicit denial >>>
After lying dormant for perhaps a year or more,SBC Today is up and running strongly again. And, while Dr. Steve Lemke, Provost and Professor of Philosophy and Ethics at The New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (proudly my own alma mater) seems to be the predominant writer on the blog, there exists a wide range of contributors--both academic and cleric--who offer solid commentary on a plethora of issues relevant to Southern Baptists >>>
As I posted late last week, Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism edited by Drs. David Allen and Steve Lemke and published by B&H Publishing Group is already on backorder (//link). More good news is,
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