The following is excerpted from THE DIRECTORY OF CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP MUSICIANS, which is available as a free eBook from the Way of Life web site -- www.wayoflife.org
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The fact that “another spirit” controls the contemporary praise music movement is nowhere more evident than in the ministry of Kevin Prosch, whose praise songs include “Harp in My Heart,” “Show Your Power,” and “Love Is All You Need.” Some of Prosch’s music is published by Integrity.

Prosch is said to have “influenced more worship artists than any other leader in this decade,” including Martin Smith of Delirious, Matt Redman, and Darrell Evans.”

He lives in Amarillo, Texas, owns a recording studio, is associate senior pastor at More Church, and pursues hobbies that include “fishing, lots of camping, and a good glass of Lagavulin” (Scotch whiskey).

Prosch breaks down the walls between the holy and unholy in a shocking way. His former band the Black Peppercorns is described as “a group that played in pubs and bars and sang songs that blurred the lines between sacred and secular and saw folks in those bars have genuine encounters with the Spirit” (“Kevin Prosch, the Black Peppercorns, and Emergent Charismatics,” jonathanstegall.com).

To blur the line between the sacred and secular is to follow “another spirit” (2 Cor. 11:4). Israel’s priests were reproved when they “put no difference between the holy and profane” and showed no “difference between the unclean and the clean” (Ezek. 22:26). There are many clear lines that are to be drawn in the Christian life, but the CCM crowd wants to erase lines. We are to choose the spirit over the flesh (Gal. 5:16-17). We are to “abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good” (Rom. 12:9). We are to love God and not love the world (1 John 2:15-17).

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The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

PROMINENT BJU-ASSOCIATED PASTOR DEFENDS USE OF “CONTEMPORARY HYMNS” (Friday Church News Notes, February 24, 2012, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Brian Fuller, Senior Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, Concord, New Hampshire, defended the use of contemporary worship hymns in a recent blog. This church has been called “the flagship of BJU-FBF (Bob Jones University-Fundamental Baptist Fellowship) in New England.” Its Christian Leadership Conference on March 31 will feature Jim Berg of BJU and Matt and Christy Taylor of the Wilds. Fuller writes: “If I recall correctly, it was at our 2003 New England Leadership Conference that Dr. David Parker sang How Deep the Father’s Love for Us to a capacity crowd of New England fundamentalists. A chorus of hearty ‘amens’ followed this theologically robust text and appropriate tune by Stuart Townend. That was 2003. This is 2012. You see, 2003 was a somewhat blissful time when the ‘association’ or ‘source’ question of the original style of modern hymns wasn’t being necessarily fingerprinted. That benevolent spirit of heartily affirming the truths of these modern hymns has all but evaporated, unfortunately.

The following is excerpted from The Directory of Contemporary Worship Musicians, which is available as a free eBook from Way of Life -- www.wayoflife.org.

Casting Crowns is led by Mark Hall, a youth pastor at Eagles Landing First Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta. the band leads the contemporary worship services with their pop rock music.

The award-winning group has broad influence through songs such as “Come to the Well,” “Who Am I,” “Courageous,” “Glorious Day,” “If We Are the Body,” “Praise You with the Dance.”

Casting Crowns’ radical ecumenism and spiritual carelessness is evident in that they participated in the National Worship Leader Conference in 2011, joining hands with men such as Jack Hayford who says God spoke to him and told him not to judge the Roman Catholic Church.

VOLUME 13 ISSUE 7
GRAPHICAL PDF VERSION

The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

STARBUCKS, MICROSOFT, GOOGLE SUPPORT HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE (Friday Church News Notes, February 17, 2012, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Starbucks, Microsoft, and Google are among the major corporations that endorsed the recently-signed homosexual “marriage” law in Washington State. In a statement sent to all of its employees, Starbucks said the legislation “is core to who we are and what we value” (CNSNews, Jan. 27, 2012). The statement said the company is “deeply dedicated to embracing diversity and treating one another with respect and dignity.” This means, of course, that these global companies are creating an environment in which it is not acceptable to speak against homosexuality. They have become so morally perverted and proud that they have set themselves against Almighty God and the Bible. This, in turn, proves that the Bible is true, because this rebellion was foretold in ancient prophecies, such as Psalm 2, which was written 3,000 years ago and describes the times in which we live in perfect detail. The prophecy not only describes the global rebellion of the end times, it also describes the return of Christ and the establishment of His kingdom. The “kings of the earth” are its rulers, referring not only to political leaders but also to captains of modern industries and the kings and queens of the pop culture. “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion” (Psalms 2:1-6).

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Just a remark about Pastor Wendal’s poor thinking and lack of biblical discernment in his comment:
 
‘…having lived in different parts of the country I have discovered that some people’s English has a different sound to it.’
 
It’s quite amazing, isn’t it, that he would use people’s speech style to illustrate something about music? I’ve never been a pastor but I’ve now lived in this end-time society practically since the inception of rock music and I feel qualified to say that a person’s speech never persuades anyone, churched or unchurched, to start a-boogying. I have yet to see even one single person start dancing a jig in response to speech. However, I have noticed even little children, barely able to walk, immediately start tapping the feet and swaying to and fro in response to rhythmic music – even the type they play in most churches now.
 
I’ve also been a Christian long enough to come to the conclusion that while ever these blokes continue justifying themselves and defending their mates, instead of responding biblically to scripturally based reproof, they will progressively display more and more worldly activity and say increasingly foolish things, as Pastor Wendal has.

The first edition of the following report appeared in O Timothy magazine in 1992 under the title “The Other Side of Separation.” We later published an updated edition under the title “Grace and Authority in the Church.” In 1999, we changed the title to “Keys to Fruitful Church Membership,” and this edition is a further rewriting and enlargement.

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A few years ago, I received a letter from a young couple who exhorted me as follows:

“Your book on separation is very good, but you may want to add a caveat that a person must have a better church to separate to before he separates from a church. We were shocked at the liberal doctrines held by the fundamental churches in our city.”

Later they wrote to share more detail about the “liberal doctrines.” Following are specific things that they mentioned:

“(1) Their former pastor did not teach that women should not work outside the home, and the wife of the associate pastor worked. (2) The church held parties or fellowships on Valentines Day, Halloween, and Christmas. (3) The pastor allowed a divorced person to work in the bus ministry. (4) The pastor failed to correct publicly certain erroneous statements which were given during testimony times and certain (supposed) erroneous statements which were made by visiting preachers. (5) The pastor failed to do anything about missionaries who joked and told stories in the pulpit. (6) Though the church took a stand for the KJV, this man did not think there was sufficient teaching on the subject of Bible versions. (7) The pastor “used humor to break the tension” in his preaching, whereas this one felt that sober- mindedness required that such levity in the pulpit cease. (8) The pastor seemed to prefer to let God change people about such things as appearance (long hair, ear rings on men, etc.) rather than approach them directly.”

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GRAPHICAL PDF VERSION

EVANGELICAL CATHOLIC UNITY CONVERSATION AT WHEATON COLLEGE (Friday Church News Notes, February 10, 2012, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Wheaton College will host an ecumenical discussion on March 26 featuring “evangelical” John Armstrong and Roman Catholic Cardinal Francis George of Chicago. Called “A Conversation on Unity in Christ’s Mission,” the dialogue will “explore the common ground and current challenges that face Catholics and evangelical Protestants in Christian faith and mission.” In January of this year Armstrong said that he became more aware of the need for unity on a visit to the Center for Unity in Rome in March 2011. He even visited the grave of the priest (Paul Wattson) who founded the global Week of Prayer for Christian unity. The spiritual blindness that has permeated evangelicalism today is the product of the “repudiation of separatism” and the ensuing corruption that is the result of “evil communications” (1 Cor. 15:33). In the 1990s, Armstrong was the editor of Roman Catholicism: Evangelical Protestants Analyze What Divides and Unites Us (Moody Press, 1994). The book completely ignored the Bible’s command to mark and avoid doctrinal error and apostasy (e.g., Romans 16:17; 2 Timothy 3:5), which is the only sure protection against the leaven of heresy. Michael Horton concluded his chapter, “What Still Keeps Us Apart?” with these words: “I do not suggest that we should give up trying to seek visible unity, nor that we refuse to dialogue with Roman Catholic laypeople and theologians, many of whom may be our brothers and sisters” (Roman Catholicism, p. 264).

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“A debate is a conflict which clarifies a position. A dialogue is a conversation which compromises a position” (John Ashbrook, The New Neutralism II, 1992, p. 7).

Another characteristic of New Evangelicalism is that its replace of separation with dialogue.

Since the last half of the 20th century, theological dialogue has become a prominent aspect of Christianity. A report issued in 1983 by the Center for Unity in Rome listed 119 official ongoing dialogues between representatives of Anglican, Baptist, Disciples, Evangelical, Lutheran, Methodist, Eastern Orthodox, Old Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Pentecostal, Reformed, Roman Catholic, United, and World Council of Churches.

Dialogue has also become a major aspect of evangelicalism. The late Harold Ockenga said that the New Evangelicalism differs “from fundamentalism in its repudiation of separatism and its determination to engage itself in the theological dialogue of the day” (Ockenga, foreword to Harold Lindsell’s The Battle for the Bible).

Dialogue between Evangelicals and Catholics

On the side of the Roman Catholic Church, the Second Vatican Council, in its “Decree on Ecumenism,” called for “dialogue with our brethren” and said that “dialogues and consultations ... are strongly recommended.”

Evangelicals have responded to this call. Following are a few examples:

The following is from the new book SEEING THE NON-EXISTENT: EVOLUTION’S MYTHS AND HOAXES, which is available from Way of Life Literature.

The Scopes trial of 1925 is a major evolutionary icon, allegedly proving that evolution has won over the Bible and Christianity, but the way it is typically presented is a myth. In particular, the 1960 Hollywood movie Inherit the Wind staring Spencer Tracy is a cheap propaganda piece. (The movie was based on a 1955 play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee.)

In History of Modern Creationism, Dr. Henry Morris observed that “the Scopes trial was evolution’s great triumph...” (p. 76).

When Dr. Morris spent six weeks speaking on creationism in New Zealand in 1973, the government-controlled televisions broadcast Inherit the Wind repeatedly in each city he visited (History of Modern Creationism, p. 77).

During the Kansas School Board debate on evolution in 1999, evolutionists trotted out Inherit the Wind as a brainwashing tool.

“That very summer the leading repertory theater in Kansas City quickly changed its schedule to feature the play and use it as a veritable teaching device. Kansas University imported Hollywood actors to stage a highly public reading of the play. High school science teachers in Kansas showed the movie in class as an example of the kind of opposition science faces. And journalists, print and broadcast, used the play as a template from which to fashion their typically inaccurate and often defamatory reporting” (Jack Cashill, Hoodwinked: How Intellectual Hucksters Have Hijacked American Culture, p. 189).

The Scopes Trial was held to determine whether John Scopes was guilty of teaching evolution in a public school classroom contrary to Tennessee state law. (The law forbade any state-funded educational establishment to teach “any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.”)

Fundamental Baptist churches that are playing around with contemporary worship music have no idea what they are doing.

They can mock the “critics” and label them “extremists”; they can hide behind shallow arguments to justify their actions; they can point to their bigness and success; they can profess their conservativeness and trot out their fundamentalist credentials.

But that doesn’t change the fact that they are playing with fire and multitudes of souls are going to be injured by their folly.

Contemporary worship music represents end-time apostasy as nothing else does. It is “another spirit” and it has transformative power.

We have documented this extensively in the new eBook The Directory of Contemporary Worship Musicians, which is available for free from the Way of Life web site -- www.wayoflife.org.

Denying the power of arsenic doesn’t change the power of arsenic.

The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

THE ELEPHANT ROOM AND HEGELIAN DIALECTICS (Friday Church News Notes, February 3, 2012, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Elephant Room is a dialogue forum invented in 2011 by emerging star Mark Driscoll, together with James MacDonald, Steven Furtick, David Platt, Matt Chandler, Greg Laurie, and Perry Noble. The stated objective is to discuss controversial doctrinal issues with “guests from all places and belief systems” with the goal of theological sharpening. Digging a little further, we see that the real objective is ecumenism. Driscoll and friends say plainly that their “goal is unity” and that they are opposed to “crouching behind walls of disagreement.” Though they claim to “hold the essential tenets of the faith with a ferocious intensity,” in typical emerging style they contradict this by saying we should “not isolate ourselves from relationship even with those who believe much differently.” There is a Hegelian dialectic at work here. By having public “conversations” with people who “offend you or deny the faith as you see it,” walls are broken down and attitudes are changed. At first we are shocked by theological error, but through dialogue with heretics the very concept of heresy becomes quaint. Through the Elephant Room we learn that “heretics” are likable people who “love Jesus” and merely have another way of looking at things. We are told that we all “see through a glass darkly,” so no one can claim a corner on the truth. Therefore, instead of separating and condemning, let’s relax and dialogue. The apostle Paul was so old-fashioned and non-emerging when he persisted in pronouncing God’s curse on the Galatian heretics instead of inviting them to a dialogue. How could he have been so sure that he even understood the fine nuances of their position? Apparently he just wasn’t clever enough. And he certainly wasn’t cool enough to build a big church in Seattle. (See also “Hegelian Dialectics: The Devil’s Winning Tool” at the Way of Life web site. There is a search engine.)

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MercyMe is a rocking contemporary band that is ecumenical and charismatic. The band was formed in 1994 and “gained mainstream recognition with the crossover single, ‘I Can Only Imagine.’” In 2009, Billboard magazine named the band the Christian songs artist of the 2000s and the song “Word of God Speak” was named Christian song of the decade.

MercyMe’s songs are used by fundamental Baptist churches that have the philosophy of “adapting” contemporary music.

The band’s music has gotten progressively harder. The album This Life is described as “dance floor ready ... a breezy style that’s part Beatles, part Electric Light Orchestra ... slamming pop ... a unique El Paso vibe with a long and winding guitar part and standout bass.” The album All That Is Within Me is described as “an exuberant, defiant, stand-up-and-shake-your-fist-at-the-devil rock & roll worship album ... a thundering, classic rock backdrop.” In describing the album Coming Up to Breathe, thefish.com says, “MercyMe will rock you ... they have gotten more upbeat and aggressive.” The song “One Trick Pony” is described a “this bluesy-country-rock swampy thing ... a dirty sound compared to all of our clean pop stuff that we’ve done in the past” (www.thefish.com/musiclivepage.apple.com/ interviews).

They want to share their faith “without being forceful or pushy.”