Bible gets endorsement from Rick Warren

In an article from the Christian Post

A growing disconnect between Bible ownership and Bible reading in America has made many Christian leaders throughout the nation worried.
Although approximately 88 percent of Americans reportedly own a Bible, less than half of those people read the Bible more than once a month, a previous study found.
Looking for a way to resolve the problem, several concerned leaders within Christian Bible agencies, denominations and ministries, gathered together this week in Orlando, Fla., for the Forum of Bible Agencies North America Summit.
Realizing that change began with their own selves first, more than 300 Christian leaders signed the Uncover the Word Commitment pledging to practice daily Bible engagement in their own lives as well as encourage it within their spheres of influence.
Mega church pastor Rick Warren and the president of National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference Samuel Rodriguez joined the call to action as well, challenging their fellow leaders to rebuild Bible engagement in North America.

I am greatly encouraged that Rick Warren has taken a pledge to start reading his bible.  Perhaps he will learn how to disciple his flock without inviting apostates to lecture from his pulpit.  Perhaps he will develop a biblical worldview instead of Fabian Socialism and communitarianism.

I will also pray that he reads from something other than The Message. There is hope even for someone like him!

Understanding The Times 2011

This past weekend I drove up to Minneapolis, MN to attend the conference hosted by Jan Markell’s ministry Olive Tree Views.  Grace Church in Eden Prairie was the host and was a wonderful facility.

Mark Hitchcock kicked off the conference by talking about 2012 and the doomsday prophecies about the world ending because of the Mayan Calendar. Joel Rosenberg followed and talked about the Day of the Lord (Joel 3), the implications of dividing the land and the recent move by the Palestinian Authority in trying to unilaterally declare a state.  On Saturday morning, Joel finished by discussing replacement theology and how we can best help those in the Middle East.

Caryl Matriciana introduced her new video Wide is the Gate (Vol. II) and showed a 15 min clip from the movie.  I had the privilege of meeting Caryl in the lobby afterward and was blessed by her genuine warmth and graciousness.  During the movie clip several well known ministries were shown as examples of the current apostasy in the church.  More on this in a moment.

Brannon Howse then presented a subsection of his teaching on the Trojan Horse focusing on Fabian Socialism and the push for a world wide universal church.  He too mentioned several well known ministries that fall under the apostasy label.  His message though was hard hitting, accurate and biblical.  Meeting Brannon and Caryl at the conference were highlights for me.

After lunch, Bill Koenig talked to us about the role of think tanks in Washington D.C. and how the game is played inside the beltway.  Eric Barger finished up the day with a presentation on Chrislam.  Eric’s presentation was well documented and nailed the blatant hypocrisy of churches hosting Chrislam events but not one mosque doing so.

Before the last session, Jan mentioned that several people had expressed some displeasure over the hard hitting expose of apostasy in the morning sessions. Perhaps these people had never heard Jan’s radio program before where she tackles these issues or perhaps their toes were still smarting from being stepped on – in any event, Jan handled the situation with grace but stood firm on the truth.

I recommend that if you aren’t familiar with Caryl Matriciana or Brannon Howse that you look them up and avail yourself of some of their materials.  Thank you to Jan Markell and Olive Tree Views Ministry for hosting the event.

What’s next?

@jonathanfalwell Jonathan Falwell

On Sunday, Sept. 18, @rickwarren will be preaching in all morning services at TRBC. Looking forward to having him preach for us.

Jerry Falwell is now officially rolling in his grave.

The Human One?

The Christian Post reports that the new version of the Common English Bible (CEB) will change the phrase ‘Son of Man’ to ‘the Human One.’

The publisher of the new version is hoping it will make the Bible understandable and attractive to as many people as possible. To that end, the new edition of the CEB has made several “bold” translation choices, including changing Jesus’ “Son of Man” title to “the Human One.”

In keeping with postmodern apostasy and the latest Emergent heresy – I hereby offer some more “updates” to the bible to make it more “culturally relevant.”

• Change ‘holy’ to ‘relevant’ as in be hip and cool just as your Pa in heaven is hip and cool.
• Born again becomes ‘spiritual renaissance’
• The Ten Commandments would become the Ten Conversation Starters.
• A ‘New Creation’ becomes a spark of the divine within you.
• Hell becomes ‘the dark night of the soul.’

Feel free to modify and change the bible to your liking!! Just make it say what you want – right?

Note: for those lacking a sense of humor or who just can’t comprehend irony – the above is said in jest to make a point.

Mike Bickle calls Oprah the antichrist

 

From the Christian Post

Mike Bickle, leader of the International House of Prayer (IHOP), has said that 57-year-old former talk show host Oprah Winfrey is “the antichrist.”

In this still image of a computer screen showing the YouTube website, an image of talk show host Oprah Winfrey is seen, April 24, 2008. The YouTube video, which features Oprah denying Jesus as the only way to God and promoting New Age ideas, received millions of views.

Bickle has received criticism and backlash for his statements in a film released by People for the American Way Right Wing Watch which was aired on God TV.

He stated, “I believe that one of the main pastors, as a forerunner to the Harlot movement, it’s not the Harlot movement yet, is Oprah.”

The evangelical pastor continued, “She is winsome, she is kind, she is reasonable, she is utterly deceived, utterly deceived… “

The “Harlot movement” Bickle speaks of includes doing good deeds “for all the wrong reasons.”

He called Winfrey “a classy woman, a cool woman, but has a spirit of deception and she is one of the clear pastors, forerunners to the Harlot movement.”

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Can anyone think of anything more ironic than Mike Bickle calling someone else deceived?

The Survey Says…

Here is an article from the Christian Post (my comments are in purple):

A survey released Wednesday shows the majority of evangelical Christian leaders worldwide believe in the Rapture, the teaching that as the end of the world draws near, Christians will be instantly taken up to heaven, leaving non-believers behind to suffer on Earth.

Six in 10 evangelical leaders, or 61 percent, say they believe in the Rapture of the Church compared to 32 percent who say the End Times doesn’t happen exactly this way, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey.

So much for those that think that a belief in the rapture of the Church indicates a backward or ‘hillbilly’ type of theology – nay – we are in the majority!

The survey was based on responses from nearly 2,200 evangelical leaders at the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization – a global gathering of 4,500 evangelical leaders from over 190 nations that was held last fall in Cape Town, South Africa.

Majorities of leaders from the Global South – which included Asia & the Pacific, Central & South America, Middle East/North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa – and the Global North – which included Europe and North America – with the exception of Europe believe in the Rapture of the Church.

Evangelical leaders from sub-Saharan Africa were the most likely to believe in the Rapture, with 82 percent subscribing to this End Times belief.

My guess is that these Christians have yet to be influenced by stodgy old seminaries full of liberal theologians – they just read the bible and believe what it says.

When it comes to teachings about the Second Coming of Jesus, slightly more than half, 52 percent, of respondents believe that Jesus will return in their lifetimes. Eight percent say that the Second Coming of Jesus would definitely occur in their lifetimes and 44 percent say the event would probably happen while they are alive.

Among evangelical leaders who don’t believe Jesus’ return was imminent, 37 percent say Jesus will probably not return in their lifetimes but only 2 percent say it was definite he will not return in their lifetimes.

Global South leaders are more likely than those in the Global North, 67 to 34 percent, to believe that the Second of Coming of Jesus will occur in their lifetimes.

Other findings of evangelical beliefs from the Pew Forum survey include:

• Evolution: Almost 9 in 10 leaders (88 percent) reject the notion that human beings evolved over time due to natural processes. About half (47 percent) believe humans and other living things existed in their present form since the beginning of time while 41 percent believe that a supreme being guided the evolutionary process. Only 3 percent believe natural processes such as natural selection were part of human evolution.

• Salvation:  95 percent say that believing Jesus Christ is not the only path to salvation is incompatible with being a good evangelical Christian.

This is a good thing – maybe the ‘evanjellyfish’ haven’t quite taken over yet!

• Women: 75 percent support allowing women to serve as pastors.

This is a great thing!  It means a return to the dark ages is not biblical – just chauvinistic.  Western civilization as we know it with its freedoms for women would not be possible without the influence of Christianity.  This recent attempt to relegate all women to the backrooms as nursery workers instead of fully equal human beings is hopefully a passing fad.

• Alcohol: 52 percent say drinking alcohol is not compatible with being a good evangelical compared to 42 percent who say it is compatible.

• Spirituality: Over 90 percent of evangelical leaders say that the following are incompatible with being a good evangelical: engaging in yoga as a spiritual practice (92 percent), believing in astrology (97 percent) and believing in reincarnation (96 percent).

More good news for those who are concerned that the mystical practices of Hinduism and Roman Catholicism are taking over evangelicalism.

• Politics: 84 percent say religious leaders should express their views on political matters.

• Threats: Those surveyed classify secularism as a bigger threat to Evangelical Christianity than Islam. About 71 percent of leaders called secularism a major threat compared to 47 percent who thought of Islam as a major threat to the religion.

• Evangelism: Nearly three-quarters of the evangelical leaders or 73 percent say it is a “top priority” to evangelize among non-religious people. Fewer (53 percent) say it is a top priority to evangelize among Muslims.

Secularism is a threat to Christianity but Islam is a threat to Western civilization.  Islam is not just a religion – it is a culture and a political force with its Sharia law.

The Pew Forum surveyed 2,196 evangelical leaders from 166 countries. The survey was conducted in nine languages, including English, from August to December 2010 through Web and paper questionnaires.

Rick Perry and Joel’s Army

The National Examiner reports:

Governor Rick Perry, who recently intervened for Christians against a lone agnostic child in a school prayer dispute, has allied himself with Christian dominionists, who seek to establish a Christian theocracy in the USA. Credits: Photo by Ben Sklar/Getty Images

If Governor Rick Perry (R) of Texas runs for president of the United States, he will have one of the most unusual and specific bases for his platform of any candidate in many decades—the spiritual visions of the ancient Hebrew prophet Joel.

Perry has jumped on the “Joel’s Army” bandwagon, claiming in his promotional message for his The Response prayer and fasting event in Houston in August: “Some problems are beyond our power to solve, and according to the Book of Joel, Chapter 2, this historic hour demands a historic response.”

The language of Joel 2, written centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ, and referring to a time after the return of the Hebrews from their Babylonian exile, has been reinterpreted by some Christian groups to be a prophecy referring to the “end time” or Apocalypse. The “response” Perry is talking about is the one Joel 2 calls for when God’s people are confronted by an Apocalyptic crisis. In part a call for fasting and prayer, it is also a description of a powerful army of God.

One group which has for many years taught a theology based on Joel 2′s crisis or “shock doctrine”, is the Kansas City prayer organization IHOP (International House of Prayer), headed by Mike Bickle, part of what was known in the 1990s as the Kansas City Prophets, a neo-charismatic movement of Christian “dominionists”, who seek to transform the USA into a Christian theocracy. 

Perry lists several figures associated with IHOP and with TheCall movement, started by IHOP associate Lou Engle, as part of the leadership team for the governor’s August 6 The Response event. Lou Engle is the same religious figure who preached in Uganda in 2010, alongside speakers who praised Ugandan laws that would allow for imprisonment and execution of homosexuals.

Continue reading on Examiner.com

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My comments:

Is it asking too much to just have one good Christian conservative running for President that isn’t caught up in the NAR agenda?

Baptists in decline?

USA Today reports:

NASHVILLE — Baptisms fell to their lowest number in 60 years among Southern Baptists, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

By Mark Humphrey, AP Baptisms in the Southern Baptist Convention began declining three years before this 2005 photo of Rev. Jim Cross of First Baptist Church in Donelson, Tenn., baptizing Luke Charlton, 7.

The new numbers are a sign that the denomination is in trouble, Baptist leaders say.

“This is not a blip,” said Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay. “This is a trend. And the trend is one of decline.”

In 2010, Southern Baptists baptized 332,321 people, or 17,416 fewer than in 2009, according to a report released by Nashville-based LifeWay Research. This marks the eighth time in 10 years that baptisms have declined and the lowest number of baptisms since the 1950s.

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My comments:

I’m not surprised.  Romans tell us that:

13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

Romans 10:13-14 (ESV)

Too many churches have substituted culturally relevant, seeker sensitive, “how to feel good about yourself” activities and talks (I dare not call them sermons) instead of preaching the gospel. Just ask yourself one question “Would Jonathan Edwards be invited back to preach at my church after delivering Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God?”

If not, your church social club may be happily driving down the wide path of a seeker sensitive, purpose driven non-gospel centered religious group.  The narrow path, however, is rarely taken anymore (Matt 7:13-14).

News such as this should cause us to rend our garments, throw a little ash on our heads and have us crying out to God in repentance for not making the gospel of Jesus Christ our first and only reason for being (1 Cor 2:2).

What’s wrong with this picture?

This is what Saddleback recommends to young adult readers.  Enough said.

Women Airbrushed Out

In today’s issue of The Blaze there is a story about an Israel Orthodox newspaper that had the photo from the situation room in the White House ‘photoshopped.’

Here is the original:

And here is the edited version:

The women have been airbrushed out.  Yes that’s right – in order to be religiously kosher the newspaper printed a falsehood.  The truth is that Hillary Clinton – the Secretary of State of the United States of America- was there in the situation room.

While I might disagree with her politics, I respect the fact that Mrs. Clinton is intelligent, articulate and has achieved a high rank in our nation’s government. My faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is not threatened by a powerful, intelligent woman.  And neither should yours.