Music

Most of us are aware of Eph. 5.19 "speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord."

Is this a mandate dictating the music we should have in church or listen to personally?

As a Christian we must decide how we feel about about music. Should we only listen to Christian and if so what constitutes "Christian." Is it Southern gospel, hymns, praise, choruses, contemporary, and etc?

On the other hand are we free to listen to secular music? What about classical or jazz? Love songs are fine aren't they? We've heard it all but the question is still there.

From a personal standpoint I feel that I cannot listen to secular music. I do listen to jazz occasionally and classical regularly. Other than that I listen to contemporary Christian and hymns with some praise.

I say that I cannot listen to secular because:

1. I was a slave to rock music before I was saved. I had a very difficult time giving that stronghold to the Lord. I realized what a hold music had on me.

2. The verse listed above.

I suppose some would say that the jazz that I occasionally listen to does not lift up the Lord and they are right. Believe it or not though, the classical that I listen to often does make me think on things above.

Before you write me and tell me that these are my personal convictions and you can listen to what you want just think about it for a moment. Most of the country and rock music of today is self focused and definitely not honoring to God. How can I repeat most of these words when they are about me, sex, vengeance, or sinful habits? What does the music that you listen to in private or in church make you think about? Is it the beat or is it the Savior?

I know that this one subject can put a charge into the most relaxed of individuals. But think about it and let me know your thoughts.

Spurgeon on Free Will

"Philosophy and religion both discard at once the very thought of free will; and I will go as far as Martin Luther, in that strong assertion of his, where he says, `If any man doth ascribe of salvation, even the very least, to the free will of man, he knoweth nothing of grace, and he hath not learnt Jesus Christ aright.' It may seem a harsh sentiment; but he who in his soul believes that man does of his own free will turn to God, cannot have been taught of God, for that is one of the first principles taught us when God begins with us, that we have neither will nor power, but that he gives both; that he is `Alpha and Omega' in the salvation of men."

"Their foot shall slide in due time"- Deut. 32.35

Free(?) Will

I came across this post and it made think about the idea of "Free Will." I would be eager to hear your view on this. Please do keep in mind though that this topic can really get heated.

People want to feel that they have a free will. I think it all boils down to the fact of pride. We want to feel like we have a say in what goes on. We want to think that "God does His part and we do ours." In one way this statement is correct. God does do His part. He chooses, convicts and draws us to Himself. We also do our part. Our part is sin, sin and sin. We run from God. We hide from God. We are opposed to God on all fronts. Salvation is totally and wholly His. He initiates it and completes it.

We have sinfully made salvation a man thing. If you really think about it from man's point of view salvation totally is up to man.

It goes like this. "Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart. Just let Him come in. He is waiting on you to make a decision for Him. He is ringing His holy hands hoping that today will be the day."

What an unscriptural view of salvation. We moved God out of His seat of Omnipotence and taken His place. If we teach that God is really limited by what we do then salvation is all about man and not God.

Pastor's School Update 2

I wanted to give one more update as to the happenings at Beeson Divinity School's Pastor's School in Birmingham, AL.

When my family and I arrived we each received a nice duffle bag with somet things inside. Keep in mind that I shared in an earlier post that I was afraid this conference had been going downhill over the past several years with its heavy emphasis on ecumenicalism. One of the items in the duffle bag was a Lead Like Jesus Seminar DVD with Ken Blanchard and Erwin McManus. I knew that was a problem. It found its way to the trash.

A friend, while we were there asked me to look over a handout he received while at a session on Suffering and Evil. The leader of the class, a Ph.D, M.D. and a professor at the school proceeded to give his deistic view of the happenings of the world and that God cannot intervene and that many things happen by mere chance. Buffoonery

The week left me mentally rested but spiritually bothered by the throng of Rodney King Theology ideas and viewpoints. Is this where everything is headed?

On a brighter note Calvin Miller seems to have changed a bit. Over the past couple of years Miller has been a little too liberal for my liking and seems to have been friendly with the mystical crowd. In the session I went to he seems to have made a strong change back to his roots. It is clear that he is not Calvinistic in his theology but his strong evangelistic fervor and desire to see the church be the church and not follow the church growth methods was refreshing.

I am contemplating if I will attend the Pastor's School next year.

Pastor's School Report-Catholicism update

This week I am at Beeson Divinity School's Pastors School at Samford University in Birmingham, AL.

My family and I have been coming to it for the past 9 years. It has been a source of mental rest for me and at times spiritual encouragement. Over the past 3-5 years I have noticed a strong tendency toward the ecumenical movement. It has bothered me because when this movement is pushed something else ALWAYS follows...compromise. For all groups to get along you have to bring in all sorts of things and teachings and throw out other things to make room for the ecumenical party favors.

When I arrived here Monday I noticed that the Dean of Beeson, Timothy George (who is Mr. Ecumenical in theology circles), was teaching a class with Franciscan Brother-Father-Friar Francis Russo from Washington DC. The name of the class was "Saint Francis of Assisi-A Saint for all of us." I thought to myself "I've got to go and hear this."

I have never thought that an ascetic lifestyle equated salvation but I guess to some it does.

Anyway, my son and I attended and it was ridiculous. Timothy George's explanation of Francis of Assisi's salvation was "he looked around and was burdened for the homeless derelicts on the street and decided to become one himself."

Francis Russo stood up in his Franciscan garb and told us how he had taken the vows of:

1. Poverty

2. Chastity

3. Obedience

I was wondering if he wanted us to clap or something. I never heard about his conversion though. Interesting

He then stood near a framed painted picture of Jesus on a cross and told us about how Francis of Assisi loved the gospel. Over and over I heard that phrase with not one crumb of an example of such.

Then the Q&A came. Amazingly, I restrained myself. Finally, one fellow in the front row said how he was worried that the "dialogue" between Catholics and Baptists is starting to fade because of Joseph Ratzinger's (the pope) comments last month and how worried he is that some Baptists are withdrawing fellowship from the "dialogue." I wanted to throw some cheese up there to him and play "Time to say goodbye" on my air violin.

Russo along with George said that what Ratzinger (the pope) said was nothing new and they had always felt that way. I wanted shout "AMEN, AMEN and AMEN." The problem came when no one had a problem with that answer.

I will post later with more of the sordid details from this class.

Papal Bull on Mariolotry

Chris at Papal Bull has a good post about what is commonly known as Mariolotry or Mariology. Do check it out.

Wickedness Run Wild

The wickedness never stops.

The Templeton-funded seminar "Open Theology & Science" held at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts is evidence of this. Slice of Laodicea brought this to our attention and can be followed here.
It amazes me how we so quickly lower God to our standards. If we can make Him touchable, tangible, and tolerable then we can rule our own lives without God's intervention. He is just some deistic cosmic force that created in the beginning and now sits back on his human-made throne and hopes that we give him credit for things. He wrings his hands hoping that things that turn out for the good but is hopeless to control or change things. He has no idea of what the future holds and is just as surprised by its events as we are. This is what Open to Correction is sharing with us in the latest installment from Compromising Today.

I suppose these conferences are for our good. When God starts getting too much recognition, admiration, and exaltation man has to bring God down a peg so that He can be not on our level, but below us.

Most of the above is written in total sarcasm. I am appalled that this wickedness (and that is what this is) goes on. May God have mercy on us.

Too Much Fun

I think the problem that I see that is so prevalent today is the worship of fun. If you can jazz up the lesson with fun or dress it in a Veggie Tale's outfit it will be a hit. BUT, you have to stay current or up to date or you will be moved into the morgue of purposelessness.

We have to have fun or we don't want it. The entertainment industry is booming because we all want to have fun, we all want to laugh, and we don't, Don't, DON'T want to be too serious or touch on sensitive subjects that might offend.

The church has become a tool that promotes worldliness. It shows the world that adultery, drunkeness, and vile behavior is something that we can laught at. The TV is proof of that.

The mom and dad who want to be entertained to death are no different than the child who wants to be entertained in church. In the end it is all about making ourselves estatic with entertainment. Right?

The Arch-Heretic Speaks

To all of my detractors, this post seems to clarify my point about the Roman Catholic Church being a cult.

Of course this article does not highlight their main doctrines but does emphasize the point that they think that everyone else is wrong. To make a claim like that is presumptous and wicked. That is saying that the RCC is THE authority and defines Christianity.

I really do not know what other proof the papist and papist sympathizers need.

In all of the years that I have taught about World Religions at the church level and college level, going over the Roman Catholic Church brings out the optical daggers and fumes of anger like nothing else.

The truth hurts.

Youth Ministries- A Point Made Even Clearer

Here is an article that highlights the point. I could not have said it any clearer.

Youth Ministries? Part 2

I recently asked in my first post "Is the youth minister a scriptural office?"

A few wrote back and stated that " 'xyz' is not in the Bible either, does that make it wrong?"

To me this is what is described in Latin as "argumentum a silentio" or an argument from silence.

To follow this reasoning one could easily take anything that is not specifically prohibited in the Bible and say that it is fine.

The problem I still see that is most prevalent is that "it works." Just because something works does not make it a good thing. Pointing a gun at someone's head "works" also. That does not make it right. Again, this is pragmatism.

Then we have others who think that since little Jr. and little Jane do not have a godly daddy that a youth minister is or can be a blessing to them. What is wrong with the men and women of the church pointing little Jr. and little Jane (Titus 2) to the Lord and to good works?

Here is an interesting question to consider. Why do we feel that little Jr. and little Jane need a specialized service like children's church, youth groups, youth Bible studies and so on? What is wrong with the Word from the pulpit? Does it really need to be scaled down to help them understand when in fact the Holy Spirit is the One who opens our spiritual eyes to understand.

I know this is not popular in a day when we have singles Bible studies, singles-again Bible studies, senior adult Bible studies, men and women's Bible studies and left-handed blue eyed people that like American Idol Bible studies. But I think these questions have to be asked.

We have "specialized" groups so much that "big" church is not needed or relevant. Since when does something have to be relevant to be spiritually productive?

Besides, little Jr. and little Jane cannot sit still during church for a whole service.

Interesting Quote

"There is enough dust on some of your Bible's to write "damnation" with your fingers. "
--Charles Spurgeon

Youth Ministries? Part 1

I know that I am bound to make people mad at this post. That is ok. My goal is to get people to think and to live a life that pleases God. I think the best way to handle this post is not to get emotionally involved and consider the content. Is there any truth to it? Is it a valid point? Also, I would ask that before you bring out your pen (sword) please consider some of the questions that I am raising.

For a while I have wondered about Youth ministries. Is the youth minister a scriptural office? What is the point to a "youth ministry" led by a certain leader?

I understand that many of you are thinking about how your children have been blessed by the young man who is the youth leader or youth minister. Let me get straight to the point.

1. Why would I want my child going to a young man telling him things that he should be telling his father and/or mother?
2. Why do most youth ministries seem to specialize in entertainment and teaching the Word seems to be minimized?
3. Why do we want the children/youth separated from the parents more than they already are?
4. What did the youth do before youth minstries existed?

I pose a few questions here with the intention of answer a few and asking a few more in my next post.

Pragmatism Illustrated

I am sure that many of you have seen this but it is definitely worth a second look.

We have become so focused on results that the means in which those results are acquired does not matter. Just as long as it works, that is what matters.

"The greatest threat to the gospel specific to today is the indirect challenge of pragmatism among evangelicals". --Mark Dever

I believe Satan has had to put no effort into growing this into our mindset. We want our church to grow. We want to see people saved. But somewhere down the line we have crossed over into secular territory because it appears to work. Of course it works. You are baiting the world with the stuff the world loves. Who wouldn't come to that? Just like mice and cheese. You give the world what they want and bam, growth.

"The most insidious opposition to the Gospel has come from within worldly churches." --Iain Murray

But I think the church is guilty on two major fronts.

1. We are compromising our integrity and purpose as a church. Instead of preaching "Christ and Him crucified" we give them toys, fun, and no words from the Word of God. That might run them off as Schuller says. We continue to give the masses what they want instead of what they need. But as we do this a problem comes in and has to be addressed. To keep this flow of people growing and entertained you have to feed this "machine" of sorts, or it will break down. When it breaks down, God might just "lead them to the church down the road."

2. Supposing that you really do want people to be saved and you really do want to preach the gosepl to them once they are in the door. You have tricked them by deception. You have baited them with fun and activities and now you pull the rug out from under them to preach about sin and salvation. They thought they were coming for fun but you have changed directions on them. This is being dishonest to the people.

Both of these are wrong in God's eyes but the last one is wrong in the world's eyes.

"The biggest mission field in America is professing-Christianity". --John MacArthur

Ridiculous- What Has Happened To The Church? Part 3b

Division is just over the horizon.

The idea of a denomination dividing or splitting is troubling. If one group is standing on solid ground doctrinally and the other group isn't, then the split is necessary. The issue that bothers me is a subtle one.

In the June 21, 2007 edition of the Christian Index an article struck me.

"Half of SBC pastors believe in private prayer language"

Traditionally, Baptist have been those who did not adhere to the use of Tongues as used in churches of other denominations. Most that I have talked to believed it was totally unscriptural or simply a gift that has ceased.

Well, times have changed. It appears that at least half of the pastors in the SBC believe in a private prayer language; a.k.a. tongues.

Add to this ABP's article quoting Jerry Rankin (President of the SBC's International Mission Board) stating that he has practiced a private prayer language for more than 30 years and you have something that is a concern to many.

I do not want to use this post at this time to debate Tongues. What I am concerned with is losing our identity. I posted about this a while back.

Then we see "Messengers on June 12 approved a motion – 58 percent to 42 percent – to affirm the BFM as the denomination’s "only consensus statement of doctrinal beliefs."

It appears some do not want to stand behind the Baptist Faith and Message (BFM) as a basic primer for our belief. Others think it should be more strict while others think it should be left up to the institution, church or group to interpret what it means.

The closeness of the vote and on Tongues shows a clear division on where we stand.

This post is nothing more than rambles I know. But I am concerned that as we progress our doctrine is going to become less and less important and that experience will be the rule of the day.

We also have to realize that just because someone has "experienced it" does not make it a valid practice or teaching.

How Low Can The Church Go?

It amazes me what a church will do to try to reach people. This is hellish (no pun intended). As I've said before, "Is our product (the gospel) so inferior that we have to doctor it up to make it more palatable?"

The church must look so desperate to the world. They must think that our life and message is a joke.

Ridiculous- What Has Happened To The Church? Part 3a

This is the third installment in this series and there appears to be no letting up.
I have called this post "3a" as opposed to "3." The reason for this is that I plan to delve further into the mire of the SBC's convention news with follow-up posts that are equally, if not more, aggravating, discouraging, or simply ridiculuous.

As a Southern Baptist pastor it pains me to see the convention gather every year for fear of what nonsense is going to take place. This year is no exception. I will get right to the point.

The Christian Index, the Southern Baptist bi-weekly newspaper for Georgia, shares the first bit of nonsense.

California pastor Rob Zinn preached the convention sermon and delivered a similar message, saying, “We are a denomination that talks a lot and does little when it comes to evangelism.”
Addressing the topic of dismal baptism numbers within the SBC despite lofty goals, Zinn said, “Our attitudes stink.” The denomination, he added, must be willing to change its methodology while staying true to the gospel message. One of the changes, he added, includes music. His church uses a blended style. He asked grandparents in the audience, “How many of you love those grandkids enough you’d be willing to change your music for them?

“[I]f we’re going to win [young people] to Jesus in this culture, we’re going to have to be willing to change our mindsets,” said Zinn, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Highland, Calif.

“Folks, what you did in the [19]40s and what you did in the 50s isn’t going to win this culture to Jesus.”

So, does this mean that the Jesus Christ who died on the cross and rose again in 3 days is not good enough to save today's young people?
Does this mean that the music is what we are trying to win them with and win them to?
Does this mean that the Gospel is changing?

I know what some are saying as they are reading this.
"The methods change, the message doesn't."

I say that in this process the message is changing also. We have to invent ways to make the gospel more appealing and tasty for our audience. We have to make Jesus out to be a comedian with His hat turned to the side, wearing low and baggy pants, listening to music that really says nothing but is loaded with personal pronouns, drinking a beer (for the Driscoll fans) with a little cussing to impress the youngsters, and leading games at church since sermons are boring and long.

I say this is the kind of foolishness that the church is drinking, eating, and wanting more of everyday.

May the Lord have mercy on us.

Excellent Post

The Isle of Hope has a great article here. Good to see someone addressing this issue.

Ridiculous- What Has Happened To The Church? Part 2

From the first post in this series...

"Or better yet, let's Christianize something worldly."

Why does the church feel that they have to Christianize things that are of the world? Is it to make it more palatable? Does the church feel that their "product" (the gospel of Jesus Christ) is so inferior that it must be dumbed down or re-packaged to appeal to the masses? Enter American Idol.

I have never seen American Idol but it appears to be a popular show. I find it interesting that we are to avoid idols and now we have a show with that name in the title. I suppose the premise is to become a star so that others will look up to you; hence Idol.

A church in Anderson, South Carolina, decided to have an American Idol type of contest. Notice the song and the lyrics.

Truly, is our messages so boring and unimportant that we have to spice church up so that the world will come? Again, if our goal is to fill the church with warm bodies, then this is good.

I wonder if we give Jesus action figures away, will the little ones come in droves? What if we pipe in movie snippets on a screen and form a sermon around the movie, will the moms and dads come?

“It is a very ill omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout well done to the Christian man.”- Charles Spurgeon.

Pirates of the Magesterium!!!

I was noticing Sacred Sandwich's site and found this little gem.