June 26, 2009, Volume 10, Issue 26
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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.
LIFEWAY WANTS IT BOTH WAYS WITH “THE SHACK” (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Lifeway Christian Stores, which are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, are selling “The Shack,” a novel that depicts God as a woman who doesn’t judge people. The Lifeway bookstore in Huntsville, Alabama, has a notice that says, “This book may contain thoughts, ideas, or concepts that could be considered inconsistent with historical evangelical theology. Therefore, we encourage you to read it with extra discernment.” By means of this disclaimer, Lifeway intends to make money from this popular book while avoiding responsibility for its heresies, but it won’t work. The Bible warns that if we do not disassociate strictly from those who preach false christs, we become partakers of their evil deeds (2 John 7-11). Lifeway is not only associating with William Young and his heresies by selling the book, but they are actually putting funds into his coffers to enable him to promote his wretched heresies. The Lifeway warning says the book “MAY contain” thoughts contrary to sound theology and urges readers to use discernment, but they don’t identify any particular heresies and a large percentage of their customers doubtless lack the Bible knowledge and spiritual discernment required to discern truth from error. This is like serving up a dish contaminated with poison to children and warning them to eat with caution! The Lifeway bookstores are filled to the brim with psychology, self-help, self-esteem, romance novels, ecumenical and charismatic literature, undependable Bible versions, and all sorts of “Christian” rock music. On a visit to a Lifeway store in Huntsville last year I found that they had many titles by emerging church authors, including Rob Bell (Velvet Elvis), Brennan Manning (The Ragamuffin Gospel), Erwin McManus (The Barbarian Way), Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz), and Shane Claiborne (The Irresistible Revolution). Lifeway will stand accountable before God for polluting the minds and hearts of their customers with unscriptural material and for refusing to carry sound material from fundamentalist Bible-based publishers that they could and should be stocking but which they refuse to stock because it is “controversial.” (For more information see the reports “What Is the Emerging Church” and “The Shack’s Cool God” at the Way of Life web site.)
AUTHOR OF THE SHACK DENIES SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENT AND HELL FIRE (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In an interview on March 13 with Kendall Adams of KAYP radio, William Young, author of The Shack, denied substitutionary atonement and hell fire, two cardinal doctrines of the biblical Christian faith. When asked, “I take it that you wouldn’t agree that the cross was a place of punishment for sin,” Young replied, “No. I don’t; I [don’t hold] a penal substitution point of view.” Young also said, “I don’t think that hell is physical fire and that kind of stuff and it is not an issue of separation from God.” The Shack is very popular among emerging type churches, but it presents a false god. For more on this see “The Shack’s Cool God” at the Way of Life web site.
SOUTHERN BAPTIST LEADER SAYS “MISSIONS TRUMPS DOCTRINAL DIVIDES” (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Speaking at the Southern Baptist Pastor’s Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, Morris Chapman, president of the SBC Executive Committee, said that “missions trumps doctrinal divides.” He said, “The victories of faith in the life of the convention did not happen because men and women loved doctrine. They happened because they loved Jesus” (“Chapman: Missions Trumps Doctrinal Divides,” Baptist Press, June 23, 2009). The Bible never downplays doctrine after this fashion. When the Lord Jesus Christ gave the Great Commission, He commanded that we preach the gospel, baptize those that believe, and then “teach them to observe ALL THINGS whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). The apostle Paul reminded the elders at the church of Ephesus that he had preached “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Paul instructed the preacher Timothy to keep the New Testament commandments “without spot” (1 Timothy 6:14). That refers to the details. There is no authority in the Scripture for dividing doctrine into “cardinal” and “peripheral” or “secondary.” While we know that not all doctrine has equal importance, all of it has some importance, and who are we to say that some of the teaching of the Word of God is “peripheral”?
COUNTRY MUSIC THEOLOGY (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - We have warned many times about the moral danger of country music, and the reason is that so many of God’s people even in strong Bible-believing churches listen to this trash. A popular song that hit the charts this year is “People Are Crazy” sung by Billy Currington. The lyrics describe a conversation between an old man and a younger one in a bar. The old man had lived an unrighteous life, drinking, smoking, divorcing, womanizing, but he and his philosophy of life are applauded in the song. It is repeated in the chorus as follows: “God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy.” The song ends with the younger man putting those words on the old man’s tombstone. Beware of country music. It is of the world, the flesh, and the devil, but its thin veneer of “God and country” makes it palatable to some backslidden Christians. “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11).
CHRISTIAN MAN MURDERED FOR DRINKING TEA FROM A MUSLIM CUP (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from ChristianNewsWire.com, June 12, 2009:
“International Christian Concern (www.persecution.org) has learned that radical Muslims running a tea stall beat a Christian man to death for using a cup designated for Muslims on May 9. The young man, Ishtiaq Masih, had ordered tea at a roadside stall in Machharkay village, Punjab, Pakistan, after his bus made a rest stop. When Ishtiaq went to pay for his tea, the owner noticed that he was wearing a necklace with a cross and grabbed him, calling for his employees to bring anything available to beat him for violating a sign posted on the stall warning non-Muslims to declare their religion before being served. Ishtiaq had not noticed the warning sign before ordering his tea. The owner and 14 of his employees beat Ishtiaq with stones, iron rods and clubs, and stabbed him multiple times with kitchen knives as Ishtiaq pleaded for mercy. The other bus passengers and other passers-by finally intervened and took Ishtiaq to the Rural Health Center in the village. The doctor who took Ishtiaq's case told ICC that Ishtiaq had died due to excessive internal and external bleeding, a fractured skull, and brain injuries. Makah Tea Stall is located on the Sukheki-Lahore highway and is owned by Mubarak Ali, a 42-year-old radical Muslim. ICC's correspondent visited the tea stall and observed that a large red warning sign with a death's head symbol was posted which read, ‘All non-Muslims should introduce their faith prior to ordering tea. This tea stall serves Muslims only.’ The warning also threatened anyone who violated the rule with ‘dire consequences.’ A neighboring shopkeeper told ICC on condition of anonymity that all Ali's employees are former students of radical Muslim madrassas (seminaries). Ishtiaq’s family said that they immediately reported the incident to the police and filed a case against Ali. However, the murderers are still freely operating the tea stall.”
PASTORS ARRESTED IN CHINA (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “More Than 30 House Church Leaders Arrested,” ChristianNewsWire.com, June 12, 2009: “On June 9 more than 30 house church leaders were arrested while gathering in a house church in Langzhong city, Sichuan province. Thirteen leaders were given 15 days of administrative detention, and five of the leaders were placed under criminal detention. The other leaders were released. The Christian leaders were gathered in Pastor Li Ming's house church at 5:30 p.m., in Lanzhou city, when several dozen officials in six to seven police vehicles from the local Domestic Security Protection Squad surrounded the site, then arrested all of the Christians and searched the house. ... The five leaders who received criminal detention are likely to face a formal criminal indictment or up to three years of re-education through labor. They are: Pastors Gao Guofu, Pastor Li Ming, Zhang Guofen, Gu Lianpeng and Yu Zhipeng. Pastor Li Ming was sentenced to three years of re-education through labor in recent years because of his Christian faith.”
PROMISE KEEPERS FOR WOMEN (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Promise Keepers, which staged massive ecumenical stadium events in the 1990s, is now targeting women. Its one event for 2009 is scheduled for July in Boulder, Colorado, and women are invited for the first time in the organization’s history. Promise Keepers almost went out of business after founder Bill McCartney left five years ago, but he came back onboard as the CEO last fall and plans to rebuild the organization’s influence. He says, “Boulder is going to be the epicenter of an extraordinary move of God. It’s going to go around the world ...we feel like it will relaunch the ministry” (“No Longer for Men Only,” The New Man, June 9, 2009). McCartney’s focus is still on ecumenical unity. He says, “This is the very heart of God, to bring the church together for the difficult days ahead.” In fact, the heart of God as revealed in Scripture is for the churches to remain true to His Word and to mark and avoid those who teach error (Romans 16:17).
INTERNET CUTTING INTO FAMILY TIME (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - A new survey has found that Internet usage is eroding the time that family members spend together. The Annenberg Center for the Digital Future reported that 28 percent of Americans interviewed in 2008 said they spend less time with members of their household, which is triple the number that said that in 2006 (“Family Time Eroding,” Breitbart.com, June 15, 2009). People are spending more time on cell phones and social networks such as Facebook and MySpace. Michael Gilbert, a senior fellow at the Annenberg Center, rightly observed: “It can’t be a good thing that families are spending less face-to-face time together. Ultimately it leads to less cohesive and less communicative families.” He said that “the Internet is so engrossing, and demands so much more attention than other technologies, that it can disrupt personal boundaries in ways other technologies wouldn’t have.” Christian families must resist the onslaught of communication and entertainment technology by controlling it in a wise manner rather than allowing themselves to be controlled by it. Who said that children need their own cell phones, televisions, computers, and iPods? The world says that, but God’s Word warns that “evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Cor. 15:33), and Christian parents must do everything within their power to disconnect their children from the ungodly pop culture and to win their hearts for Christ.
PARENTS WHO CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR CHILDREN’S DELINQUENCY BY INEFFECTIVE DISCIPLINE (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Training Your Children to Turn out Right, an excellent book by David Sorenson (Northstar Ministries, 1820 W. Morgan St., Duluth, MN 55811, 218-726-0209, www.northstarministries.com, dhs.northstar@charter.net) -- “As a pastor, I have visited in thousands of homes. I have witnessed the following scenario played out numerous times. ... Mom (or, sometimes Dad) would say to Junior. ‘It’s time to go to bed.’ (Or some other parental directive.) Junior ignored his mother and continued to watch TV. ... After a few moments, she would say, ‘Junior, I told you to go and get ready for bed.’ He replied, ‘Awe, I don’t want to.’ Mom let that go by. A few moments later, Mom became a little hot about the matter. She raised the volume of her voice and said, ‘I TOLD YOU TO GET READY FOR BED.’ Junior replied, ‘But Mom, I want to watch my program.’ Mom tolerated that counter for a few more moments. She then announced, ‘THIS IS THE LAST TIME I AM GOING TO TELL YOU. GO AND GET READY FOR BED!’ Junior, by now himself getting exasperated at being shouted at, shouts back, ‘I TOLD YOU, I DON’T WANT TO!’ Finally, Mom shouts, ‘I’M WARNING YOU. MARCH RIGHT NOW, OR I AM GOING TO WHIP YOU.’ Variations of that scene go on by the thousands every single day in America. The real culprit was not Junior. He knew from considerable experience that Mom could be ignored. Mom was too lazy to get up and deal with the situation. she, in fact, was in her own way contributing to the delinquency of Junior. ... One might say, ‘If I handled the situation described above as recommended, there would be a pitched battle.’ Well, you had better get on with the battle and win the war while it can still be won. The day is coming when you will not be able to win the battle or the war” (Training Your Children to Turn Out Right, 1995, pp. 69, 70).
CONCLUSION: 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 obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14). This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list. To SUBSCRIBE, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/subscribe.html. TO UNSUBSCRIBE OR CHANGE ADDRESSES, go to the very bottom of any email received from us and click "Manage My Subscription." Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org.
June 19, 2009, Volume 10, Issue 25
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.
ROBERT SCHULLER APPOINTS DAUGHTER TO LEAD THE CRYSTAL CATHEDRAL (Friday Church News Notes, June 19, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Robert Schuller has announced that his daughter is the new leader of Crystal Cathedral Ministries. Sheila Schuller Coleman steps into the shoes that were previously worn by Schuller’s son, Robert Anthony, who resigned last year under mysterious circumstances. When the son’s removal as the host of the Hour of Power television program was announced last October, the elder Schuller simply said that they had “different ideas as to the direction and the vision for this ministry.” Those differences were never spelled out. The son has subsequently partnered with his son-in-law Chris Wyatt, founder of GodTube, to acquire AmericanLife TV, which they plan to use to broadcast “family-friendly” programs (“Schuller’s Daughter to Lead Crystal Cathedral,” Orange County Register, June 10, 2009). On June 7, the elder Schuller told his congregation that from now on Scheila is “the leader of leaders.” Robert Schuller has had a vast influence on modern Christianity. He has been one of the most popular religion television personalities in America for decades. His books sell by the millions. Schuller reinterprets the Bible to conform to his heretical self-esteem philosophy. To Schuller, sin is the lack of self-esteem. His christ is a psycho-savior who is “self-esteem incarnate.” His gospel is to replace negative self-concepts with positive ones. Schuller believes that all men are the children of God. Robert Schuller wants to create a new kind of Christianity: one that accepts the Fatherhood of God, that is positive and non-judgmental, that worships a self-esteem Christ, that denies the necessity of Christ’s blood atonement. (For documentation of Schuller’s heresies see “Robert Schuller and Evangelicals” at the Way of Life web site.)
PETER MASTERS WARNS ABOUT WORLDLY EMERGING CHURCH CALVINISTS (Friday Church News Notes, June 19, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Dr. Peter Masters, pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, England, has sounded a warning against the worldliness of American pop-Calvinists such as Mark Driscoll and John Piper. Driscoll calls himself “theologically conservative and culturally liberal” and his Mars Hills Church in Seattle has rock & roll champagne parties, watches R-rated movies, learns how to brew beer, and hosts secular rock concerts. In an article in The Sword and Trowel, 2009 No. 1, entitled “The Merger of Calvinism with Worldliness,” Dr. Masters says: “The new Calvinists constantly extol the Puritans, but they do not want to worship or live as they did. One of the vaunted new conferences is called Resolved, after Jonathan Edwards’ famous youthful Resolutions (seventy searching undertakings). But the culture of this conference would unquestionably have met with the outright condemnation of that great theologian. Resolved is the brainchild of a member of Dr John MacArthur’s pastoral staff, gathering thousands of young people annually, and featuring the usual mix of Calvinism and extreme charismatic-style worship. Young people are encouraged to feel the very same sensational nervous impact of loud rhythmic music on the body that they would experience in a large, worldly pop concert, complete with replicated lighting and atmosphere. At the same time they reflect on predestination and election. Worldly culture provides the bodily, emotional feelings, into which Christian thoughts are infused and floated. Biblical sentiments are harnessed to carnal entertainment. In times of disobedience the Jews of old syncretised by going to the Temple or the synagogue on the sabbath, and to idol temples on weekdays, but the new Calvinism has found a way of uniting spiritually incompatible things at the same time, in the same meeting. ... Truly proclaimed, the sovereignty of God must include consecration, reverence, sincere obedience to his will, and separation from the world.” CONCLUDING NOTE FROM BRO. CLOUD: While we do not agree with Dr. Masters’ sovereign election theology, we could not agree more with his reproof of worldliness and we are thankful for the stand he has taken against the contemporary program. The Bible’s call to not be conformed to the world, to not love the world, and to come out from among them and be separate refutes the ridiculous philosophy of “cultural liberalism” (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 6:17; Ephesians 5:11; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17).
STAR TREK SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSONS (Friday Church News Notes, June 19, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Star Trek Pentecost” is the title of a series of audio messages “where Captain Kirk, Spock, Bones and Scotty go boldly on a voyage of discovery in search of the Spirit of God.” Produced by GFR Christian Radio, the messages are intended to provide “thought-provoking material” for Sunday School classes. It is heretical folly to delve into the mythical world of Star Trek in an attempt to find true spiritual insight! Contemporary churches, like the apostate Jews of old, have exchanged the God of the Bible for a modern idol (e.g., the cool and non-judgmental god of The Shack) and have exchanged the pure Word of God for adulterated doctrine. “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13).
POLL SHOWS THAT AMERICANS ARE OPEN TO NEW “WAYS OF EXPERIENCING GOD” (Friday Church News Notes, June 19, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - According to a new Barna poll, a large percentage of Americans are open to new ways of experiencing God apart from traditional church structures. 75% said they sense that God is motivating people to connect with Him “in different ways and through different types of experiences than in the past.” 71% say that they want to develop their own religious beliefs “rather than to accept an entire set of beliefs that a particular church teachers.” 64% said they are open to pursuing their faith in an environment “that differs from that of a typical church.” This is the product of the rock & roll pop culture that has captured American minds and hearts with its message of individuality and resistance to authority. The pop culture wields far more influence on the average professing Christian than the Bible does. The contemporary philosophy of doctrinal tolerance and the multiplicity of modern versions have helped create an appetite for a spiritual smorgasbord.
FATIMA: ROME’S INTERFAITH MARY FOR A ONE-WORLD CHURCH (Friday Church News Notes, June 19, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from the excellent book The European Union and the Supra-Religion by Robert Congdon (Congdon Ministries, 2007, http://www.internetbibleinstitute.com, robertcongdon@bellsouth.net). “[S]ome of the Mary’s most famous apparitions have occurred at Fatima. The village of Fatima was named after the daughter of Mohammed, founder of Islam. Her Arabic name means ‘shining one.’ ... In May 2004, the Dali Lama visited and prayed at the Fatima shrine. After a Hindu priest, Sha Tri, prayed at the altar, the Rector of the shrine said such meetings gave them the opportunity to ‘remind ourselves that we live in community.’ The Hindu priest placed a Hindu priestly shawl, engraved with inscriptions from the Bagavad Gita, ‘on the shoulders of the highest representative of the Church in Fatima. ... The Vatican, uniting with the United Nations, sponsored an interfaith congress at Fatima’s shrine on October 10-12, 2003, entitled ‘The Present of Man-The Future of God.’ ... The choice of Fatima reflected the fact that the Fatima shrine is rapidly becoming the center of worship for many of the world’s religions. Over 4.5 million people visit Fatima each year. This latest congress included Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Eastern Orthodox, Buddhist, and African Pagan representatives. At the congress, the shrine’s rector said, ‘The future of Fatima, or the adoration of God and His mother at this holy Shrine, must pass through the creation of a shrine where different religions can mingle...’” (Robert Congdon, The European Union and the Supra-Religion, pp. 219, 221, 222; for documentation of the quoted statements see the book).
STOP EATING LAMB AND SAVE THE WORLD (Friday Church News Notes, June 19, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Government advisers in England have warned that eating sheep is a serious threat to the environment, because they “burp so much methane” (“Burping of the Lambs,” The Sunday Times, May 24, 2009). David Kennedy, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change, says that “changing our lifestyles, including our diets, is going to be one of the crucial elements in cutting carbon emissions.” To produce 2.2 pounds of lamb allegedly releases the methane equivalent of 37 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. To produce the same amount of beef release 35 pounds of CO2. Right now, government agencies are “suggesting,” but the time will probably come when they will legislate what people can grow, sell, and eat, or at least they will impose heavy taxes on products that are alleged to be a danger to the environment. The man-made global warming myth is not about saving the planet; it is about increasing the power of government.
PATTING WOLVES (Friday Church News Notes, June 19, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from John Ashbrook, Axioms of Separation (Mentor, OH: Here I Stand Books, n.d.): “Years ago I sat at our dinner table with a young man trained in Fuller Seminary. Our guest said, "I think of myself as a fundamentalist; but I have to confess that fundamentalists have been very uncharitable in their approach to the liberals. They have refused to dialogue with them and have failed to demonstrate Christian love toward them." He had absorbed the Fuller philosophy. Let me ask you, where in Scripture do you find the teaching that we are to treat false teachers with charity and the apostles of apostasy with Christian love? That is exactly the opposite of the teaching of 2 John. “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.” Scripture terms the purveyors of false doctrines as "grievous wolves.’ The faithful shepherds of history have not dialogued with grievous wolves.”
A LITTLE GIRL WHO TESTED HER PARENTS’ DISCIPLINE (Friday Church News Notes, June 19, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Training Your Children to Turn out Right, an excellent book by David Sorenson (Northstar Ministries, 1820 W. Morgan St., Duluth, MN 55811, 218-726-0209, www.northstarministries.com, dhs.northstar@charter.net) -- “Our children need to learn that every single time they violate a household rule, there will be a predictable and unpleasant experience. Children seem to think that if they whittle away at their parents long enough, the parents will wear down and then give in. Consistently enforce your rules. When one of our girls was small, she decided one evening that she did not want to stay in her bed. She had been put to bed, but she decided she wanted to get up. She climbed out of her bed and came out into the living room. She was lectured about the fact that it was her bed time and that if she got out of bed again she would be spanked. She was placed back in her bed. A few minutes later, she came out again. As promised, she was paddled and placed back into her bed. ... A few minutes later, she came out again. She again was paddled and placed back into her bed amidst rather rebellious crying. She was throwing a tantrum. After a while she proceeded to get out of bed and come out again into the living room. As far as we could tell, there was no legitimate reason for her to get up. She just did not want to stay in bed. Again she was spanked. This went on for about a half an hour, but she finally got the message; if she openly defied Mom and Dad, she would be spanked. It was consistent. It happened every single time. ... That night a major battle was won. Her rebellious little will was broken. She had tried her hardest to challenge parental authority, and she had lost. ... Did we as parents enjoy spanking our little girl? We hated every moment of it. She was our pride and joy. Nothing would have pleased us more than for her to cuddle up to us out in the living room, but we knew how she needed to have discipline developed in her life” (Training Your Children to Turn Out Right, 1995, pp. 71, 72).
THE INCREDIBLY SENSITIVE EYE (Friday Church News Notes, June 19, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from Creation Moments, http://www.creationmoments.com/radio/transcript.php?t=2295: “The human eye is so incredibly sensitive that it can actually detect a single particle of light--a photon. The truth is, the human eye is so sensitive that were it not for special features inside the eye that process the billions of pieces of information coming into the eye every spilt second, we would be overwhelmed. While the eye can detect even one photon of light, it will not pass an image on to your brain until at least six photons strike in the same area of the eye. If this weren't the case, on a dark night we would see nothing but static, since less than six photons could not be focused into an image and would appear to us as just static. This special provision makes one wonder if the eye was not designed by an all wise Creator. After all, how could mindless chance and mutations know about the basic laws of physics that control light's behavior? The range of the eye's sensitivity is also a million times greater than our modern photographic films, providing us with a dynamic range of 10 billion to one. While the greatest sensitivity is needed on dark nights, an internal control in the eye reduces that sensitivity for bright daylight. Science doesn’t rule out God at all! Our knowledge of the eye’s working demands the conclusion that we are the creation of a wise and powerful God!”
CONCLUSION: 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 obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14). This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list. To SUBSCRIBE, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/subscribe.html. TO UNSUBSCRIBE OR CHANGE ADDRESSES, go to the very bottom of any email received from us and click "Manage My Subscription." Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org.
June 12, 2009, Volume 10, Issue 24
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 EMERGING CHURCH’S FEMALE GOD (Friday Church News Notes, June 12, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Phyllis Tickle, an Episcopalian lay “Eucharistic minister and lector” and a Senior Fellow at Cathedral College at the liberal Washington National Cathedral, is an influential voice in the emerging church and the contemplative prayer movement. Tickle promotes non-verbal contemplative praying. She says, “The whole business of entering prayer WITHOUT THE VEHICLE OF WORDS is very important, for it allows the spirit to flow freely with the spirit of God, and does not have to articulate what is happening until one comes out from prayer” (“Praying in Color: A Conversation with friends and authors Sybil MacBeth and Phyllis Tickle,” http://www.explorefaith.org/books/macbeth.html). Wordless meditation is not biblical prayer; it is a pagan practice that is a recipe for demonic deception. Those who practice it are invariably led into heresies. It should not be surprising, then, that Tickle believes in a female God and calls the Holy Spirit “he or she or it.” She teaches that by partaking of the Lord’s Supper the believer is feeding God and reinvigorating the Holy Spirit, whatever that means. Speaking at Rob Bell’s Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she said: “God is both male and female. God is both father and mother. ... There is more than one thing under the name of God, and it is both male and female. ... As we are about to do that [take the Lord’s supper], let us remember what we are doing. We not only celebrate that death and that promise of return, but we are feeding by eating God--which is what we are doing here--by eating the body and blood of our God, we are feeding the God within us. For as we take those elements the Spirit also feeds within us and is reinvigorated as he or she or it is by our faith” (Tickle, “A Treasure We Don’t Understand,” May 3, 2009). Phyllis Tickle, Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, and that crowd are worshipping idols. The Shack, a popular book in emerging circles, also depicts God as a woman.
SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH HOSTS ENVIROMENTAL CONFERENCE (Friday Church News Notes, June 12, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Cross Pointe Church, Duluth, Georgia, hosted an environmental conference May 13-15. Jonathan Merritt, who serves on the staff of the mega-church under his father, James, is a lead organizer of the conference and national spokesman for the Southern Baptist Environmental and Climate Change Initiative. In March 2008 they issued a declaration criticizing the Southern Baptist Convention for being “too timid on issues of the environment and climate change” (“SBC Official Applauds Environmental Conference,” Associated Baptist Press, May 18, 2009). It was signed by current SBC president Johnny Hunt. A member of the SBC’s’ Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Barrett Duke, commended the conference for saying that “climate change is important” and confessed that he hasn’t done all that he should or could to care for the earth. He congratulated the conference for trying to find “a way to bring all of God’s people together in an effort that really does matter.” James Merritt, a former president of the SBC, told the conference that he is a convert to the concept of creation care. He said, “We ought to motivate every follower of Christ in the church to be at the forefront of creation care” (“Former SBC President Embraces,” Associated Baptist Press, May 18, 2009). In 2008, Jonathan Merritt told the press that one of his professors at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary made the statement “that when we destroy creation, which is God’s revelation, it is no different than tearing a page out of the Bible” (“Baptists: No Change on Climate Change,” WorldNetDaily, March 13, 2008). Merritt said that this statement inspired him to launch the campaign to produce stronger action within the Southern Baptist Convention against climate change. What I find interesting here is not this misguided seminarian’s actions but the fact that he was inspired by a heretical statement by one of his professors. Scripture does say that God speaks through creation, that it is a light to mankind (Romans 1:20; Psalm 19:1-6). But it nowhere likens creation to the Bible or even hints that to “destroy creation,” whatever that might mean, would be like ripping pages from the Bible. That is truly preposterous. Further, to say that if we don’t buy into the mythical global warming frenzy that we are destroying creation and/or sinning against God is even more preposterous. What Merritt needs to do is get busy obeying what Jesus Christ explicitly told us to do, which is “preach the gospel to every creature,” and that does not mean the trees! And what Southeastern Seminary needs to do is find out that teacher’s name and fire him. The fact is that Southern Baptist seminaries are full of heresies.
DEATH THREATS FORCE ISLAM CRITIC TO FLEE NETHERLANDS (Friday Church News Notes, June 12, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “American Christian Convert Flees,” Worthy News, April 23, 2009: “A well known American scholar who converted from Islam to Christianity has interrupted his tour in the Netherlands because of death threats, an organizer said Wednesday, April 22. Mark A. Gabriel left Monday, April 20, after the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) advised him to leave Europe, said Jewish-Christian pastor Ben Kok, who accompanied him to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The 51-year-old Islam critic was to have stayed till at least April 25. ... Gabriel, which is not his real name, grew up as a Muslim in Egypt. However he reportedly became disappointed in Islam while working as a teacher and imam at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University. After he became a Christian, Gabriel fled to the United States where he received asylum. It comes amid mounting concerns about the growing influence of Muslim extremism in Europe.”
EVANGELICALS IN LOVE WITH VILE POP CULTURE (Friday Church News Notes, June 12, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Christianity Today, which has been a prominent voice of the New Evangelical movement since it was founded by Billy Graham in the 1950s, represents evangelicalism’s love for Western pop culture. The magazine regularly gives positive reviews of raunchy music and movies. Consider its review of the movie “Drag Me to Hell,” a horror flick that features spell casting and souls being dragged to hell and the heroine attempting to find redemption through an occult séance. After admitting that the movie is “a relentless, nonstop, inescapable journey into darkness,” that it features “graphic violence and terrifying imagery,” and that “the PG-13 rating may seem too mild,” CT still says that it offers a “satisfying experience” and that it might be “worth the ride” (review by Annie Young Frisbie, CT, May 29, 2009). The Bible, on the other hand, sounds the following clear warning, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11).
GOD’S BLESSING ON MISSIONS GIVING (Friday Church News Notes, June 12, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following testimony is by the late Lee Roberson, pastor of Highland Park Baptist Church and founder of Tennessee Temple Bible College. When I attended Temple in the 1970s, the church had annual missions’ conferences featuring as many as 100 missionaries and gave half of its income to missionary work. Roberson led Highland Park Baptist Church out of the Southern Baptist Convention and taught the people to support missionaries directly. Today it is back in the convention and is only a shadow of what it once was, both spiritually and numerically. Roberson said: “In my first year at the Highland Park Baptist Church, we had one missionary. The blessings of God came down upon us, and many were saved. As we kept on preaching the Gospel at home, we were driven to a deeper concern for the rest of the world. So we began putting on missionaries with support of them through the regular offerings of the church and by special offerings on Sunday evening and Wednesday evening. We saw scores of our young people volunteer for missionary work. During my fortieth year at Highland Park [1982], we were giving support to 565 missionaries in all parts of the world. Fifty percent of the church’s offerings went to home and foreign missions. Every need of the church was met, and every building was paid for. At home we were seeing the salvation of hundreds. People were happy and the blessings of God were upon us. Obey God! Don’t question. Don’t procrastinate! Don’t quibble! Obey God! Obedience brings manifold blessings. Let your love for the Lord and for your home and for the lost of the world lead you to confident, cheerful giving.” The Lord Jesus gave the following promise, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38).
THE EUROPEAN UNION AND ROME’S MARY (Friday Church News Notes, June 12, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from the excellent book The European Union and the Supra-Religion by Robert Congdon (Congdon Ministries, 2007, http://www.internetbibleinstitute.com, robertcongdon@bellsouth.net). “[T]he European Union’s flag ... is described as having a blue background, portraying the sky over the western world, and upon this ‘sky’ is a ‘circle of gold stars [which] represents solidarity and harmony between the peoples of Europe. ... a spokesman for the European Union ‘pointed out that the circle of twelve stars was a Christian symbol representing the Virgin Mary’s halo.’ ... Leon Marchal offered an understanding of the twelve stars when he said that they symbolized ‘the woman of the Apocalypse’ of Revelation 12. When the flag’s designer, Arsene Heitz of Strasbourg, was questioned regarding the interpretation of the flag’s design, he indicated that he based his design upon the iconography of the image of the Immaculate Conception of Mary as seen in Paris’ Rue du Bac. [There] on November 27, 1830, Catherine Laboure had an apparition of Mary standing on a globe of the world while crushing a snake’s head with her feet. Around her head were twelve stars. ... In 1955, Heitz was inspired to use the stars in his flag’s design while reading a description of the apparition. The symbol of twelve stars is linked with the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. ... In 1309, the Vatican consecrated Europe to the Virgin Mary and placed it under her patronage. More recently, on four separate occasions the late Pope John Paul II consecrated ‘the world to our Lady.’ In Gibraltar is the shrine of ‘Our Lady of Europe.’ The EU recently granted one-half of the total cost of the shrine’s restoration. In 1979, Pope Paul II officially approved Mary’s title as ‘Our Lady of Europe’ and transferred her feast day to May 5, to coincide with Europe Day. On this occasion, the Pope expressed the Dream of Europe and how it might be achieved by saying that ‘...under the patronage of Mary, the human family will be drawn ever more closely into fraternal unity and peaceful coexistence’” (Robert Congdon, The European Union and the Supra-Religion, pp. 190-200; for documentation of the quoted statements see the book).
SOME INDEPENDENT BAPTISTS REPLACING ARMOR FOR PAJAMAS (Friday Church News Notes, June 12, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following note by Pastor Buddy Smith of Malanda, Queensland
CONCLUSION: 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 obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14). This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list. To SUBSCRIBE, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/subscribe.html. TO UNSUBSCRIBE OR CHANGE ADDRESSES, go to the very bottom of any email received from us and click "Manage My Subscription." Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org.
June 5, 2009, Volume 10, Issue 23
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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.
HOW THE POP CULTURE HAS DUMBED DOWN SOCIETY (Friday Church News Notes, June 5, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The rock & roll pop culture has been dumbing down society since its inception in the 1950s. The pop culture image of cool is the individual who excels in foolishness, the Elvis Presleys, the James Deans, the John Lennons, the rock & roll playboys, the Hollywood starlets. Influential pop culture movies such as “Blackboard Jungle,” “Rebel without a Cause,” and “The Wild One” emphasized irresponsibility, insubordination, free sex, and scholastic laziness. “The Blackboard Jungle” used a Bill Haley soundtrack to encourage young people to forget their studies and “rock around the clock.” In “Rebel without a Cause” James Dean exuded the essence of pop cool: unisex sensuality, narcissism, and rebellion to authority. “The Wild One,” played by the very cool Marlon Brando, glorified self-centered living and neglect of education. Chuck Berry’s hit “School Days” encouraged young people to exchange their boring studies for the glories of rock & roll partying: “Hail, hail rock and roll/ Deliver me from the days of old/ Long live rock and roll/ The beat of the drums, loud and bold/ Rock, rock, rock and roll/ The feelin’ is there, body and soul.” By the 1960s, the modern teenage culture was well established, with its own me-first attitude, Dionysian philosophy, oft ridiculous fashions (anything to differentiate the teenager from his elders), and particularly its own music. The modern teenager has always been driven by pop music. Rock stars set the tone. A serious education is downplayed for the sake of having “fun, fun, fun.” I was dramatically influenced by the pop culture from the time I arrived in junior high school in 1962. Though I had some God-given intelligence and love for reading, I soon realized that being a diligent student was not cool. I became far too busy being a proper pop culture teenager to give serious attention to my studies and as a result I was a mediocre to poor student. Nothing has changed since then. The term “nerd” comes from the climate of teenage cool. It defines a young person who is serious about scholarship and probably doesn’t fit in too well with the foolish but oh-so-cool crowd. I was reminded of this by a recent Associated Press report entitled “I Love Nerds” about the 2009 National Spelling Bee contestants. It observed that the bright students “stand out as a bit dorkey back home.” Jose Cabal of Miami said, “It’s like back home I’m a nerd. Up there, everyone else is a nerd.” The serious spellers have memorized tens of thousands of words and have sharpened their intellect and perfected their use of the English language, but they aren’t cool. The entire concept of the “nerd” exposes the vanity and foolishness of the pop culture. It is the “nerd” that is using his or her life sensibly, whereas the cool crowd is dedicated to vanity. The pop culture teenage philosophy typically leaves young people ignorant and deeply scarred with sin. But the power of teenage cool is enormous and the average young person is not wise enough to withstand its appeal. Many reports have been written on the decline in education in America. In 1994 the editor of Harper magazine characterized the national test scores as “a coroner’s report ... [that] returned a finding of mortal ignorance.” But most studies on modern American education neglect one of the most powerful influences, which is the pop culture. When the Herman’s Hermits sang in the 1965, “Don’t know much about history/ Don’t know much biology/ Don’t know much about a science book,” they were expressing the philosophy of teenage cool.
BOMBING KILLS TWO AT CHURCH IN NEPAL (Friday Church News Notes, June 5, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - A Hindu organization took credit for a bombing on May 23 that killed two and wounded 15 others at a Catholic mass in Kathmandu, Nepal. An unidentified woman entered the church just before mass began and left the bomb behind in a bag. A second bomb was disarmed by police. The Nepal Defense Army took responsibility for the murders. This is a radical Hindu group with probable ties to extremist Hindus in India that have viciously persecuted Christians. It was formed in 2007 with the objective of reinstating a Hindu state in Nepal (hindujagruti.org, Sept. 13, 2007). The Nepal Defense Army has demanded that all Christians leave Nepal and has stated its intent to “fight against the foreign religious invaders” (telegraphnepal.com, May 30, 2009). The NDA murdered a priest in July 2008. They have also bombed a mosque and another church. Police have quietly visited the churches in Kathmandu and warned them to be on the outlook for suspicious packages.
CHUCH OF SCOTLAND APPROVES THE ORDINATION OF A HOMOSEXUAL PASTOR (Friday Church News Notes, June 5, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - On May 23, 2009, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland approved the appointment of a homosexual pastor. The vote was 326 in favor and 267 opposes. The homosexual pastor, Scott Rennie, was ordained the pastor of Queen’s Cross Church in Aberdeen in 2008, but his appointment was protested and brought before the denomination’s ruling body. Like Vickie Gene Robinson, who was ordained a bishop in the Episcopal Church of America in 2003, Rennie divorced his wife to live carnally with a man. This is a double sin. First, there is the sin of breaking one’s solemn marriage vows before Almighty God. Second, there is the sin of sodomy. Yet these men are so spiritually blind that they claim to hold the moral high ground! Following the vote, Desmond Tutu, Anglican Bishop Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa, voiced his approval saying that churches should not be discussing “who goes to bed with whom” (“Desmond Tutu Endorses Homosexual Ministers,” LifeSiteNews.com, May 29, 2009). Scotland’s Equality and Human Rights Commission commented that the Church of Scotland has proven itself to be “a modern church for a modern Scotland” (OneNewsNow.com, May 24, 2009). Indeed, it has, and it has also proven itself to be an apostate religious harlot that loves this present world more than Jesus Christ.
AMERICAN EMBASSIES CELEBRATING HOMOSEXUALITY (Friday Church News Notes, June 5, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “American Decadence Invades Baghdad,” OneNewsNow.com, May 30, 2009: “A U.S. Embassy in a Muslim country has sponsored an event to celebrate the homosexual lifestyle. Last night the U.S. Embassy in Iraq held a ‘Gay Pride Theme Party’ at a pub called Baghdaddy’s. Embassy employees were encouraged to attend the Baghdad event dressed in drag or as a homosexual icon. Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, says homosexual activism at U.S. embassies was prevalent during the Bush administration, but it has gone a step further under the Obama administration.” Concluding note from Brother Cloud: The U.S. military recently destroyed copies of the Bible in Afghanistan so as not to offend Muslims, but the U.S. government doesn’t mind flaunting the homosexual lifestyle regardless of who it offends.
JERUSALEM RABBI QUOTES EZEKIEL’S VISION OF DRY BONES (Friday Church News Notes, June 5, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - During the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Jerusalem, Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar said, “Who would have imagined, in the wake of the Holocaust, that our nation would not only return to its land, but also begin to fulfill the mitzvot [commandments] given to them from God. We, those who merit living here today, see this happening to us. Our nation is standing on its feet, like the dry bones, taking on ‘skin and sinews,’ with the banner of Torah and Judaism waving above it” (“Vatican to Stop Missionizing Jews,” The Jerusalem Post, May 12, 2009). This Jewish leader thus recognizes that Ezekiel’s prophecy of the dry bones is being fulfilled, but what he fails to see is that though the Jews are back from their captivity and have a place in their ancient land, they are spiritually blind and dead. Amar referenced Ezekiel 37:8, which says, “And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.” The prophecy in Ezekiel 37 is fulfilled in two stages, first Israel will return to the land but in a condition of spiritual death, and then she will be converted and come alive. The second stage is yet future and will occur during the Great Tribulation, which is called the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7). Before Israel is converted, the majority will be purged (Ezek. 20:37-38; Zech. 13:8-9) and only a remnant will enter into the conversion described in Zechariah 12:10-14.
CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP MUSIC WEAKENS THE FUNDAMENTALIST STANCE OF A CHURCH (Friday Church News Notes, June 5, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - When Contemporary Worship Music comes into a fundamentalist church it weakens the church’s stance and results in a gradual lowering of standards of morality and doctrine. The late Gordon Sears, who had an evangelistic music ministry for many years and ministered with Rudy Atwood, was saddened before his death by the dramatic change that was occurring in many fundamental Baptist churches. He warned: “When the standard of music is lowered, then the standard of dress is also lowered. When the standard of dress is lowered, then the standard of conduct is also lowered. When the standard of conduct is lowered, then the sense of value in God’s truth is lowered” (Sears, Songfest newsletter, April 2001). Dr. Frank Garlock of Majesty Music warns, “If a church starts using CCM it will eventually lose all other standards” (Bob Jones University, chapel, March 12, 2001). The late fundamentalist leader Dr. Ernest Pickering gave a similar warning: “Perhaps nothing precipitates a slide toward New Evangelicalism more than the introduction of Contemporary Christian Music. This inevitably leads toward a gradual slide in other areas as well until the entire church is infiltrated by ideas and programs alien to the original position of the church” (The Tragedy of Compromise: The Origin and Impact of the New Evangelicalism, Bob Jones University Press, 1994). Victor Sears called CCW the Trojan horse of the ecumenical movement. “Fundamental Baptists and others that refuse the teachings of the charismatic crowd concerning tongues, signs, miracles, and so forth are now singing their music in our churches and preparing our people for the world, the flesh and the Devil. It is the new Trojan horse move ... to deaden our churches to spiritual truth” (Victor Sears, Baptist Bible Tribune, 1981). We can see this happening on every hand today, and the reason is that so many pastors and music directors lack spiritual discernment and wisdom and are willing to give people what they like rather than what they need.
OUT OF WEDLOCK BIRTHS HIT RECORD LEVEL IN AMERICA (Friday Church News Notes, June 5, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In 2007, the percentage of out-of-wedlock births in America hit 40%. That is double what it was in 1980 and eight times what it was in 1950. This is a reflection of the destruction of the institution of marriage through socialism, no-fault divorce laws, and the pop culture’s “new morality.” America is following closely on the heels of Europe’s pathetic example. In Iceland, 66% of births are to unmarried women; in Sweden, 55%; in Norway, 54%; in Denmark, 46%. The Word of God warns, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).
LIBERAL REFORMED GROUPS MERGING (Friday Church News Notes, June 5, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) are in the process of merging. The new organization, which is expected to be approved in 2010, will be known as the World Communion of Reformed Churches. The two groups claim to have 87 million members, but in reality, that figure includes multitudes of people that were merely baptized as infants but are not even active members of churches, let alone born again. The WARC and REC are liberal, ecumenical ecclesiastical bodies that are members of the World Council of Churches. Their leaders claim that the merger “is a fitting tribute to Calvin by his modern day heirs” (“Reformed Bodies to Plan Merger,” Christian Post, May 19, 2009). While we are not fans of John Calvin, there is no doubt that he believed strongly in doctrinal purity as he saw it, in direct contrast to these modern outfits.
THE FIERY TRIAL (Friday Church News Notes, June 5, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:12-19).
CONCLUSION: 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 obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14). This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list. To SUBSCRIBE, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/subscribe.html. TO UNSUBSCRIBE OR CHANGE ADDRESSES, go to the very bottom of any email received from us and click "Manage My Subscription." Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org.