What is the Gospel? It is the true Easter message

The Resurrection of Christ

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,  and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Creflo Dollar removes posts claiming Jesus died to give us “financial prosperity”

I am a huge proponent of screencap. Capturing an image before a false teacher or wolf or talk show host or author realizes he’s been caught peddling falsehoods is often the only way sheep will realize just how deceitful their beloved Christian celebrities really are.  So when I saw that someone had captured yet another horrific, blasphemous lie on social media this morning, I just about fainted:  “Jesus bled and died for us so that we can lay claim to the promise of financial prosperity.”

And the hashtags #ProsperityInChrist, #WealthyLiving and #AbundantLife.

Screencap is good, but being a Berean is better. I had to check this out for myself. I could not find Creflo Dollar’s statement on his Facebook or Twitter profiles. But I did find an article by Andy Walton on Christian Today, confirming that Team Creflo indeed removed the post after hundreds of Bereans criticized him for his statement:

Pastor and popular preacher Creflo Dollar has carried out an apparent u-turn over a post which endorsed the prosperity gospel on his official Facebook page. The post was on the site for around 24 hours before seemingly being removed.

While Dollar has been accused of promoting the prosperity gospel many times before, this was the most obvious and blatant statement of those beliefs. Soon, he was being heavily criticised in the comments under the update as well as roundly mocked for the statement, which is so clearly at odds with orthodox Christian teaching.

The statement was then removed from the Facebook page without comment from Dollar or his team. While there seems to be no trace of the original post remaining on his Facebook page, screengrabs were taken of it which are readily available online.   Story here.

When a wolf shows his true colors and his fur peeks out from the white wool he has been pulling over the eyes of sheep around the world, it is not mean to point it out and warn the flock.  Do not be deceived.  Please research this movement called Word of Faith, and read our white paper on it.

Nothing will create more euphoria in the average person than the promise to make them wealthy, and this the Word-Faith leadership knows very well. The Word-Faith teacher’s lifestyle is clearly identified by opulence, luxury, riches, and the assurance that all of this can be his followers as well — if only they apply certain principles.

Dancing on Money [VIDEO]: Creflo Dollar’s Cash Foundation

If you’ve never seen this video of prosperity preachers Creflo Dollar and LeRoy Thompson dancing across their stage on the dollar bills of congregants, you’d best gird your loins first with truth:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools..  Romans 1:18-24

Creflo, who recently removed his post stating that Jesus’s blood was shed so we could be wealthy, has always been a wolf. His love of money knows no satisfaction, even guilting his followers into funding a $65 Million private jet.  Thompson boasts about his $16,000 dog and his $3.6 Million home.

Hat tip to Jeremy Siefert for finding this video for me:

Birds of a feather? David Jeremiah teams up with Osteen and Meyer

Join us as we share the journey of what God has done through our Dream Center, dynamic outreach, and community engagement. You’ll leave inspired and purposeful to make a bigger difference in your community. Be sure to bring your leaders and associates with you to this purpose-driven event.

So what do we have… Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer…what’s David Jeremiah doing there?

The big question isn’t who is going to speak at the big Jump Start conference in Chicago this May, but why anyone would want to hitch his pony to the heretic express?

Keeping 2 John in mind, “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.”

The Billion Souls network wants churches to Bring Back The King

There is a major effort by the “Billion Souls Network”  to “Bring Back The King” by finishing the Great Commission by AD 2100. This Dominionist movement is not only not biblical, it is downright dangerous. (see our White paper on NAR Dominionism to begin your research.) What is the Billion Souls Network?

When I first heard of that organization about three years ago the red flags went off for me and I started doing some digging around.  Back in 2012, Buddhist Ken Blanchard (a favorite of evangelical leadership trainers), teamed up with Tony Blair, Bill Hybels, Henry Cloud, Patrick Lencioni, Craig Groschel, Erwin McManus, and many other Emergent Church founders.  You can read more on this here and watch the very disturbing video.

In 2016, that movement will gather a few more speakers in its effort to synergize the global church to save the world. (Who is it that saves the world? The global visible church?) This gathering is called, Synergize 2016: Where the Global Church Gathers to Save the World. True to the Dominionist movement, the conference promises plenty of experiential supernatural moments and an imparting of empowerment in harmonizing, healing and harvesting souls.  Speakersfor the January event include names you never heard of, and one you should know: NAR teacher John Bevere and Leonard Sweet, one of the forefathers of the Emergent Church. (What’s Ravi Zacharias doing there?)

Sponsors include International Pentecostal Holiness Church, Assemblies of God U.S.A., FourSquare Church, Global Coaching Network and others.

Do your research on the New Apostolic Reformation to learn more about why this movement is one of the most dangerous, fastest-growing cancer in the visible Church today.

Church of Scotland minister says to teach Jesus died for sins is “ghastly theology”

“Jesus did not die for our sins. No No No No. That is Ghastly theology. Don’t go there.”

This “Pastor” has now joined the ranks of rank heresy shared by Brian Mclaren, Tony Jones, Rob Bell, Jay Bakker and many others who deny propitiation, or atonement for sins that Jesus’ blood covers.

Pastor Scott McKenna, minister of Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church in Edinburgh, has now openly denied one of the most accepted teachings of mainstream Christianity and told his congregation that it was “ghastly theology” to believe that Jesus Christ died for sinners. (Never mind that the bible is full of verses like Hebrews 9:12 and 1 John 2:2 that point us to this basic Christian doctrine)

Listen to his own ghastly words:

The growing move among the progressive Christians away from Jesus’ atoning work on the cross was a spark initially ignited by Brian McLaren a few years ago, and more recently promoted by Tony Jones and others. As you can see from the link to this article, this blasphemous idea is a quickly spreading leaven that is infecting the visible Church at breakneck speed.

See also, Tony Jones: “I Think Your Atonement Might Be Wrong” and Atonement scoffing spreads like rancid yeast.

Phyllis Tickle, who championed a church paradigm shift, is dead

It was lung cancer.  Sadly, the emergent-New Ager clung to her teachings that Christendom must evolve. She frequently appeared with Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt and those of other faiths to ring in a new era in the modern Church.  (See “Emerging Towards Convergence”)

Tickle believed that throughout history, the Christian Church evolves every 500 years or so, and we are ripe for another paradigm shift. She wrote a book, Embracing Emergence Christianity: Phyllis Tickle on the Church’s Next Rummage Sale. Here is the publisher’s description of this latest apostasy:

Phyllis Tickle invites us to join her in examining the changing face of Christianity and culture. Phyllis surveys 2000 years of Western history, identifying the great upheavals that occur in Western culture and Christianity every 500 years. The last was the Great Reformation of the 1500’s; the next is happening now. What are the implications of this Great Emergence, both culturally and spiritually? What are the key questions and issues that need to be addressed? Where might we be headed next? And, perhaps most importantly, where are you, at this moment? Might you be an emergence Christian?

Tickle is the founding editor of the Religion Department of Publishers Weekly, and is frequently quoted by media sources including USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, the New York Times, PBS, NPR, the Hallmark Channel, plus innumerable blogs and websites. In addition to lectures and numerous essays, articles, and interviews, Tickle is the author of over two dozen books in religion and spirituality, most recently The Great Emergence, How Christianity is Changing and Why, and The Words of Jesus, A Gospel of the Sayings of Our Lord.

Today, The Washington Post published this:

C. Peter Wagner: “NAR is not a cult!”

What is the New Apostolic Reformation really all about?  The man credited with being the “father” of the New Apostolic Reformation is surprised at the negative feedback his experience-based movement is getting in the media, especially in the left-wing liberal groups.

But he is perhaps missing the biggest outcry of all is coming from those Christians who adhere to Scriptural truth; who believe that the Bible is sufficient.

That’s why it’s important you read our White Paper on Dominionism (NAR), after hearing Wagner make a compelling case for this unbiblical, dangerous movement.

Wagner has gone on the defensive of this fastest-growing Christian movement in Charisma Magazine today, explaining why dominionism, the office of Apostle And Prophets are fine for today, and why NAR followers think it’s fine to engage in Spiritual warfare with the demonic:

The NAR is definitely not a cult. Those who affiliate with it believe the Apostles’ Creed and all the standard classic statements of Christian doctrine. It will surprise some to know that the NAR embraces the largest non-Catholic segment of world Christianity. It is also the fastest growing segment, the only segment of Christianity currently growing faster than the world population and faster than Islam. Christianity is booming now in the Global South which includes sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and large parts of Asia. Most of the new churches in the Global South, even including many which belong to denominations, would comfortably fit the NAR template.

The NAR represents the most radical change in the way of doing church since the Protestant Reformation. This is not a doctrinal change. We adhere to the major tenets of the Reformation: the authority of Scripture, justification by faith, and the priesthood of all believers. But the quality of church life, the governance of the church, the worship, the theology of prayer, the missional goals, the optimistic vision for the future, and other features, constitute quite a change from traditional Protestantism.

The NAR is not an organization. No one can join or carry a card. It has no leader. I have been called the “founder,” but this is not the case. One reason I might be seen as an “intellectual godfather” is that I might have been the first to observe the movement, give a name to it, and describe its characteristics as I saw them. When this began to come together through my research in 1993, I was professor of Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary, where I taught for 30 years.

Read the rest here.

Shemitah is over – But nothing happened

Well, almost nothing. We had a whole bunch of Hebrew Roots Americans jumping on to the fear-wagon promoted in the Mystery of the Shemitah book which claimed that we’re all doomed if we don’t keep the seven-year observation from the Old Testament.

I’ve been warning Christians to not be fooled by the “Shemitah” ever since Messianic Rabbi and book author Jonathan Cahn began pointing Christians to laws meant for the children of Israel. (See: Will Christians be snookered by Shemitah?)  Cahn claims that “the Mystery of the Shemitah and it’s so big that it affects everything we as a people are personally doing and will affect the rise and fall of the United States of America …”

Because the end of Shamitah was September 13, many self-proclaimed “prophets” have predicted the end of America.  But here’s the thing: NOTHING HAPPENED. Here’s a true or false dilemma: Remember, if a “prophet” predicts something will happen on a certain date and it does not come to pass, that person is a ____ prophet.

Now comes this interesting article from Walid Shoebat:

Jonathan Cahn ADMITS His Books And His Jewish Calendar Forces Messianic Believers To Deny Jesus Was The Messiah

Anyone can take any span of time and can make up seven year intervals for all sorts of things. I can say that wars happen every seven years and can find a war in 2001 and another in 2008. The only problem is that a keen eye can also find some battles in 2002, 2003 … and therefore destroy my theory.

The other major fib, Cahn made a “seven-year Sabbatical” as a rule by using the rise and fall of the stock market. Seven-year stock market cataclysms is simply false. We took him on his challenge and he is always welcome to call, we will air the debate (he won’t since he can’t) Cahn knows the gig-is-up.  source

Jesus said for us to look for the signs of the times of His return. The emphasis is not on the signs or on some obscure religious practice, but on Him. I am very concerned that yet another book by someone who is hearing God’s voice will point Christians away from God’s Word and become distracted by a man who is a self-proclaimed prophet. The prophets have spoken and yet we let our Bibles collect dust while we chase after modern-day authors.

See also:

• BOOK REVIEW: “THE MYSTERY OF THE SHEMITAH”

• Father of “holy laughter” to bring New Apostolic Reformation gathering to Washington D.C.

Does this crowd make my church look too big?

What if my church is too ginormous to be a church?  This is a question many of us struggle with as we look at what has happened in the church growth movement over the years: Ginormous, supersized conglomerates with tens of thousands packed into stadium seating to watch a show on a jumbo tron. Multi-site campuses where the only “live” element is the rock band, smoke machine and programs for plugging in and serving the community.

Where are the shepherds who are guarding watch over the sheep? Where are the pastors and elders who take the time to visit the sick and the shut-ins, or to lovingly exhort a member who has backslidden? Do today’s megachurch leaders even know who comes and goes these days? I suppose they do if they look in their info-gathering database. But do they look out among their flock to see who may be missing, or hurting, or lost?

What is the purpose of “church,” anyway?

Pastor Randy White has some great insights in his new series of articles. I‘ve interviewed him many times about his departure from the Church Growth Movement.  This one is titled, Churches Are Too Big!

An Open Letter to all 82 Willow Creek Association Churches in Wisconsin

An Appleton, Wisconsin pastor has given us permission to share a letter he wrote to churches across the state with a WCA (Willow Creek Association) affiliation. (To find out which churches in your area are affiliated with WCA, click here.) If you live in Wisconsin, there is a good chance your pastor has received this letter. You may want to ask him what he and his elders think about this:

June 30, 2015

Dear Pastors,

I am writing this letter out of concern for the recent acknowledgment by Darren Calhoun, a worship leader on staff at Willow Creek Chicago, a downtown satellite church of the main campus, that he is gay. On the weekend of June 11-13 in Atlanta, he was a speaker at The Reformation Project conference, headed up by Matthew Vines. If you are unfamiliar with Matthew Vines, here is a brief quote from his bio which appears on his own website:

“In 2013, Matthew launched The Reformation Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to training LGBT Christians and their allies to reform church teaching on sexual orientation and gender identity. He is now expanding his efforts with conferences and regular speaking engagements across the country...” (1)

In another significant headline this June, which is “LGBTQ Pride Month”, we learn that Tony Campolo, a “Red Letter Christian” (2) is now advocating for full inclusion of LGBTQ members into the church as a whole without repentance. Combine that with the Supreme Court ruling that gay marriage will be now legal in all 50 states, and it becomes very clear biblically that the time for sitting on the church fence regarding this controversial issue is past, and the time for a clear biblical stand has been moved to the front burner for those who claim to know and teach the truth.

Just a note on who I am: I am a bible-believing Pastor of a non-denominational church called Calvary Chapel. I fully realize that churches have differing views on this hot-button issue, but having said that, I assume that most if not all of you believe that the Bible is God’s Word. Paul wrote to Timothy:

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness...” 2Timothy 3:16

I have been around ministry for some time, and in the Fox Valley where I live, as far as I know I have been in ministry longer than any area evangelical pastor, over 36 years. Beginning in the early ‘80s, I was a part of the Fox Cities Evangelical Ministerial Fellowship (FCEMF), but my participation ended when much of their focus began to revolve around Willow Creek and its leadership conferences. As I saw this shift begin, I expressed my concerns over building bigger churches based on demographic studies of what people want to see in a church, also known as the “seeker-sensitive” church model.

Their annual “Leadership Summit”, existing primarily to spread the Willow Creek ministry model to those churches that sign up to be a part of this “back-door” denomination, is known for bringing in speakers who are not even Christians, and include both politicians and postmodernists: Condoleeza Rice, Gen. Colin Powell, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter,U2's Bono, Tyler Perry, Oprah, emergent Erwin McManus, false teacher Steven Furtick, pragmatist Andy Stanley, and a host of other seeker-social-justice advocates, celebrity pastors, and adherents of liberal theology.

These annual “summits” are purposefully meant to be an example or pattern for those who attend to follow worldly wisdom in developing or modeling leadership, and then streaming this leaven out to 375 churches around the world, an estimated audience of 260,000. (3) The responsibility on Willow Creek to somehow be accountable for the practices and preaching of each of these churches is large, one that hopefully they do not take lightly. Each attendee, whether in person or via church-wide stream, pays a significant fee to absorb “wisdom” from people across denominational and cultural lines. In order to appeal to this wide of an audience, we must naturally assume that the spiritual message must be thoroughly watered down, as is evidenced by a lack of any mention of Jesus, the Spirit, or the Scriptures in any of their promotional material, something we have been watching for over a decade here in the church office.

Bill Hybels’ primary mentor was Peter Drucker, the guru of American CEOs for decades with seeming outward success. Drucker is not a believer, and has long desired to have an influence on Hybels and Rick Warren and the churches within their sphere of influence. This perceived success, when translated to ministry, can be seductive to an average evangelical church that just wants to stay current with the latest church model of success and feels that numbers indicate approval by God somehow.

A perfect example of this would be the largest church in the country, Joel Osteen’s church in Houston, with 48,000 people in attendance. Yet the full gospel is never presented there; no mention of sin or repentance, and basically doing nothing more than telling people what they want to hear. Nearly every one of Joel’s book titles contains “me”, “you”, or “I” in the title. Calling a best-seller “Your Best Life Now” does nothing to suggest that this pastor is getting his congregants ready for eternity but rather keeping them focused on themselves and their desires in this life.

As the seeker model of doing church began to sweep the country, suddenly back in 2007, a startling headline hit the Christian media: “Willow Creek Repents?”. Leadership Journal carried the story and James Twitchell, in his book Shopping for God, reports that outside Bill Hybels' office hangs a poster that says: "What is our business? Who is our customer? What does the customer consider value?", which describes this ministry model to a “T”. (4)

Willow Creek’s philosophy of ministry in a nutshell, outlined by two videos presented at that Summer’s Leadership Summit (including one from Hybels) was that “ the more people participate in (our) sets of activities, with higher levels of frequency, it will produce disciples of Christ." So programs and looking busy produces spiritual maturity? What might they consider the role of a pastor or leader then if all one needs to do is wind up a program and watch it magically create believers?

Leadership Journal went on to say that “Directly or indirectly, this philosophy of ministry - church should be a big box with programs for people at every level of spiritual maturity to consume and engage - has impacted every evangelical church in the country.” Wouldn’t you agree that with that kind of influence, the ground moves a little when Willow Creek stops in the middle of their day and says, “we made a mistake”? What did they mean by that, and how did it translate to the hundreds of churches that model themselves after Willow, 82 of which influence the church-goers in the state of Wisconsin alone?

On one level, research is what built that church; research is then what brought to light the fact that after years of such a model, research also showed that "Increasing levels of participation in these sets of activities does NOT predict whether someone's becoming more of a disciple of Christ. It does NOT predict whether they love God more or they love people more." (5)

Hybels goes on to say that after investing 30 years of his adult life and millions of dollars to do ministry based on a business model and convincing others around the world to do the same, the results of this unnamed “research” produced a significant “wake up call”. Unfortunately, that wake up call wasn’t loud enough to fundamentally change the way they do things at all, and any hope that they might stick with things that cost far less than their research, such as bible studies, prayer meetings and discipleship were quickly dashed. Within mere weeks, they hosted a large Youth event with postmodern pastor Erwin McManus (leader of Mosaic Church in the heart of Los Angeles), and the seeker ship has been floating along in the same manner as before without interruption, embracing a form of liberal theology that walks lock-step with the political ship that America is riding to sail off into the final sunset before the Lord returns. Hybel’s wife Lynn writes for socialist and professing Christian Jim Wallis’ social justice newsletter/site “Sojourners”, and conducts “Christ at the Checkpoint” pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel seminars. Exchanging one worldly perspective for another is hardly “change”.

It is in this same spirit that I am sending out to you this letter along with 2 particular books that are very timely right now. The first book, “Love Flowed Down - It Was For Me” is written by Ruth Christian, a part of our fellowship in Appleton for over 25 years and a bible teacher to our ladies. Her testimony as a former lesbian utterly changed by God’s grace, the same grace every repentant sinner has access to, raises the bar for anyone who somehow thinks that any 1 sin is outside His cleansing power. Also in this same vein, we recommend a book by Rosario Butterfield entitled, “The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert”, in which she tells her story of being a professor at the liberal University of Syracuse when the Lord got a hold of her heart and utterly changed her from the inside out. It is a very compelling read and was featured in Christianity Today magazine in an article entitled, “My Train Wreck Conversion”. If you don’t have time for the book, do yourself a favor and meet Ms Butterfield in this article. (7)

The other book, “The New Evangelicalism”, is written by Paul Smith, brother of the late Chuck Smith, founder of the Calvary Chapel movement. This timely book outlines the root cause and biblical concerns with the seeker-sensitive approach to ministry and its foundation in the worldly philosophies of Peter Drucker. At the end of the day, it is probably the definitive work exposing the roles of Drucker and Dallas Theological Seminary in bringing the church to this point. A must read for context, and thoroughly documented point by point.

Stand Up for the Truth, a cutting-edge radio program out of Green Bay’s Q90FM that airs Monday-Friday at 9AM, wrote an article on Darren Calhoun and his participation in Matthew Vine’s event in mid-June. They write:

“Willow Creek spokeswoman Heather Larson told WORLD News Group’s Warren Cole Smith that Willow Creek establishing an openly gay man in leadership at the church does not signal a change in direction for Willow Creek. This begs some questions: Heather, what statement of policy are you talking about, and how did it not change? Second, why does Willow Creek appoint leaders who are openly rebelling against God? And third, for all of you Willow Creek Association members out there who have scolded your sheep for years when they have brought concerns to your leadership about participating in Bill Hybels Global Leadership Summit: Do you think that perhaps you should reconsider your participation now, and perhaps issue an apology to those you’ve berated for their concerns?” (8)

While the professing church seems content in 2015 to sway to the beat of a secular culture and become nearly indistinguishable from the world, there are still godly men and women everywhere who desire to stop the ride and get off, asking tough questions that have already been answered by the Word of God, and which churches like Willow Creek are seemingly ignoring. For the record, I have contacted Bill Hybels about this issue and they have not responded to me.

1Corinthians 6:9-11 is not open to re-interpretation here in 2015, lest the church somehow think there is any wiggle room:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

“Do not be deceived”, a clear warning, tells us that the potential for deception is present in our hearts concerning this list of various sins; note which ones in particular that many in the church have decided ARE open to interpretation today, that men like Calhoun and Vines feel heaven AND earth should be moved to redefine. The verse clearly suggests that Calhoun, Vines, Campolo, and a host of other liberal churches and church-goers are deceived. That is a very heavy statement, a serious charge. But clearly we are promised that God is in the sanctification business regardless of the sin.

Men like these are walking a slippery slope and creating a god in their own image in their attempt to get the church to do things solely based on their “orientation”. Suppose someone came to your church and said, “I'm having trouble reconciling my orientation as a thief/liar/adulterer to what the bible teaches so I need to create a movement and put on a conference to convince the church to rethink its stand on adultery....stealing....lying”. Would the church move heaven and earth to accommodate these sins as well? Would your church entertain such absurdity? The truth is, anyone who thinks like this about any sin is in eternal peril and in need of repentance.

Let’s take it a bit further: does homosexuality cross a line with God? Romans chapter 1, vs 18 - 32 tell us that God’s wrath is kindled against unrepentant sin and ungodliness by those who suppress the truth for their own selfish, unrighteous reasons because what can be known of God is apparent to every human. Verse 21 tells us that “although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man...Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

Verses 26-29a: “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due...God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality...”

In light of what God clearly says about these things, how does the Apostle Paul deal with them as they come up in the church? At Corinth, an issue of sexual immorality had arisen; Paul was not present with them at the time, but made a judgment call on this situation nevertheless and wrote them a letter. 1Corinthians 5:3 tells us, “For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed.” 1Corinthians 5:1-13 then presents us with Paul’s handling of this situation, in light of the seriousness of leaven in the church. Verses 4 and 5 tell us, “ In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”

He goes on to say, “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.” My desire is in the same spirit of Paul, to see such a one saved from eternal judgment. Jude 23 says, “....but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.”

But God’s Word is clear; the handling of this situation in any church today, including Willow Creek and all it’s campuses and associate churches and any church that names the name of Jesus Christ, is found in these Scriptures. The inerrant Word of God is on the block here, not the reputation, ministry model, or political correctness of any congregation. Let God be true and every man a liar.

On Wednesday July 8, Stand Up for the Truth quoted Congressman Reid Ribble on this issue. Reid is a friend of mine, and back in the early ‘80s he contacted me about starting Appleton Christian School, which we did and it continued here for 3 years until they outgrew our building. He said, “I disagreed with the Supreme Courts decision on marriage. The Supreme Court decision to interject themselves in the topic of marriage is simply an intrusion at the federal level into a states rights issue. No matter how that decision affects me I choose to follow the admonition of the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:14-18:

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all." Christians would do well to heed these words.”

There is a passage of Scripture in which Paul gives a prophecy about the last days, as he is mentoring Timothy:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables.” 2Timothy 4:3

In supporting leaders such as Calhoun and Vines, Willow Creek is assisting in fulfilling this prophecy.

The remedy for this is found just one verse previous: “Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and doctrine.” 2Timothy 4:2

In conversations with pastors in the past what I have heard most was, “we don’t agree with everything Willow Creek does, but we still attend the conferences.” I believe a line has been crossed for such a rationale, and that the church should mark Willow Creek for what it is.

My hope and prayer in light of clear Scriptural instruction is that you will reconsider your position as a Willow Creek Association member, the impression it leaves and the influence you have over those in your spiritual care. Some day we will all give an account to those the Lord put in that care. For an excellent resource, Ray Comfort has just released a movie, “Audacity” which addresses this issue. It is well balanced and meant to be seen by the general public; my letter is directed solely to the church, to Christians.(9)

“Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.” 1Peter 5:2-4

May the Lord give you wisdom as you prayerfully weigh out all of these things. If I can be of help in any way, I would be happy to talk with any of you.

In Jesus,

Dwight Douville

Sr. Pastor, Calvary Chapel of Appleton

Footnotes:

1. www.matthewvines.com/about

2. http://www.gotquestions.org/red-letter-Christians.html

3. http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/index.asp#about

4. http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2007/october-online-only/willow-creek-repents.html

5. http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2007/october-online-only/willow-creek-repents.html

7. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/january-february/my-train-wreck-conversion.html

8.http://standupforthetruth.com/2015/06/openly-gay-willow-creek-leader-to-speak-at-matthew-vines-conference/

9. www.audacitymovie.com

Abortion images to be shown on Jumbo-tron at Lincoln Memorial

Abortion has ended more lives than the world wars and the Holocaust combined. We see those images, and say to ourselves, "Never again." What if the world could see exactly what happens in a real abortion process?  Tomorrow in Washington D.C., they will.

Created Equal, a national pro life group, will be displaying abortions in progress on a Jumbo-Tron TV screen at the Lincoln Memorial on July 14, as part of a week-long Justice Ride event.  The idea is to tell in images the hard truth about what abortion is and does.

The group created the video a few years ago and has shown it at other events, including the DC March for Life and West Coast Walk for Life.  "Traditionally at these events, the politicians, activists, and post-abortive parents are given a voice.  Not until recently have the babies been represented in such a profound way.  Using this powerful technology allows us to continue to stand for the victims at these events," says Created Equal via its website.

The Lincoln Memorial is known, among other things, as the location for the famous "I Have Dream" speech delivered by the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in which he restated our Founders' words that "all men are created equal."

Warning: This video contains graphic images.

n Francisco berates Christians for believing the Bible is true

How does one believe in the Gospel without believing that Scripture is 100 percent truth? That it is our sufficient authority, and God’s own inerrant, infallible, breathed-out Word? How do you easily convince thousands of fans that those Christians who believe such things are somehow idol worshipers?    Talk about a heart-breaker. An extremely influential Christian celebrity has not only departed from Christian doctrine, he is arrogantly throwing other Christians under the bus for believing (gasp) that the Bible is true.

Two-time Dove Award winner Don 30 Francisco is a singer/songwriter best known for songs like He’s Alive, Adam, Adam Where are You” and I’ll Never Let Go of Your Hand. Surprisingly, Francisco is now scolding Christians who believe that the Bible is without error. In fact if you believe in the infallibility of Scripture, you are “dead,” and need to stop drinking the Kool-Aid, Don says. He posted this message on his Facebook page:

I love the Scriptures. Anyone who’s heard my songs knows that, and I shouldn’t even have to say it. God speaks to me through them constantly. The Bible is the most wonderful book in the world. Those who have given their lives to preserve it and translate it didn’t die in vain, for without them we wouldn’t know that God came to Earth and lived as one of us, died on the Cross to show us His love and forgiveness, and rose from the dead to take away all our fears. And those are just the main points….

My problems begin with those who would try to make this book into a god. There is only one Foundation, Jesus Christ, and anyone who attempts to build on another one will be using an unstable and deadly cornerstone. I understand those of you who have ‘drunk the Kool-Aid’ (believed in the inerrancy/infallibility thing because you’ve been taught to believe it– I used to be one of you), but it’s time to arise from among the dead and believe the Gospel. For those of you who intentionally use this doctrine to control others, may God have mercy on your soul! May you soon travel the Damascus Road as Paul did. source

I think the mercy needed here is for Don and his adoring fans agreeing with him, rather than those who cling to the truth of God’s breathed-out Word. Breaking news: the Bible judges us, not vice versa. Where did this arrogance come from?  Why are thousands so readily thanking him and agreeing with him? Why did I get blocked from his Facebook page, and my comments deleted? What could possibly have influenced him in this dreadful direction?

Sadly, it appears that Rob Bell has influenced Don and Wendy, even in denying the Doctrine of Hell:

Sounds a lot like what Brian McLaren has said. Final question: Do women of God speak like this? Are we not to judge the fruits of those who call themselves “Christian?” Please continue to pray for this couple that they and their many followers would turn to the truth and away from worldliness and unholy language: