Reformed. Christianity. Evangelism. Modern Culture.
By Charles Spurgeon
An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it during the past few years. It has developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. Read More
The Truthinator recently run an interesting interview with an anonymous guest who was once Emergent. It is a highly recommended interview. Here is a quick teaser:
Truthinator: Since you came from an Emergent Church background, please describe what attracted you to them and how long you stayed. Also, when did you become a Christian and did the Emergent Church have anything at all to do with exposing you to God’s truth (Gospel)?
Guest: The church I attended since I was a teenager was a Pentecostal church. They had increasingly become more and more charismatic. Biblical teaching was shallow. I had a huge hand, however, in my biblical illiteracy. I just took everything that was taught and said as the truth. I had no discernment. I started feeling disillusioned with church. There were things that just seemed so wrong but I couldn’t explain it. My husband and I were married for two years when we decided to go to Bible college at Prairie Bible college. It was there that what I found to be troublesome with my home church became clear. I started ‘asking questions’ and being critical of where I came from. I started examining everything. I discovered the weak theological background of where I came from. I discovered how unbiblical my church was. But then, I was wrong too. I started thinking in a postmodern mindset. I can’t exactly pinpoint how or where it came from, but I think it may have started before I went to college. At least the foundation for it was there already. I started dabbling in relativism. There were so many people around me who would nurture that sort of thing. It was fun. I felt so enlightened and so much more smart than the narrow minded fundies in the church. I felt at the time that I had a righteous indignation against the behind the times church filled with legalists (or so I thought that’s what they were). I became liberal in my religion and liberal in my politics. I would spew things about how theology is in flux, about how the gospel is saving lives and feeding hungry people, about how we have to take care of the poor or we are hypocrites. I showed deep disdain for the preaching of the Word, though I didn’t realize it at the time. I would cheer on Tony Campolo, Brian Mclaren and all those guys who seemed to ‘get it’ where no one else did. …Read More!
Letter of Marque rightly notes that…
God, the Holy Spirit, inspired the Apostle John to take up his pen and write this word of encouragement and warning to us. In these words we will also find God’s explanation regarding the raging popularity of the Seeker-Driven Mega “churches”. According to scripture, they’re not successful because they’ve tapped into the latest movement of the Spirit, or because their on the cutting edge of revival or because they’ve found a way to communicate the timeless truths of scripture in fresh relevant ways. Nope. Here’s what God says:
“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” (1 John 4:4–6)
HT Jim West.
A friend of mine on Facebook scribbled this finishing remark found in a review of a bad London restaurant [which] could be said of many seemingly-successful churches:
“Perhaps the secret to the restaurant business in this country – in particular in London – is not to concentrate on the food, but to give people a place they want to go and be with large numbers of other people who appear to be having a good time. If they see that, they’ll tell themselves that they, too, are having a good time. S__ has mastered that, to me, slightly depressing trick.”
[HT D. McMasters via Facebook]
A “seeker-sensitive” church is a church whose main purpose is to try to make the church look more attractive to unbelievers. Many churches use technology and media to drive outreach to the communities. Most say this is a powerful outreach tool, but the effects of it can, and will, be very unhealthy for the church as a whole. Read More
During a great war, there was a man who invented a parachute that was one hundred percent trustworthy. It made no difference whether the user was large or small; it opened every time and got him safely to the ground. The key was in the way it was folded. (story continued below)
The birth of Christ found people pre occupied with menial pursuits. The first Christmas found the inn full. Probably all relatives of Joseph found they had no extra rooms in Bethlehem. Herod was busy planning a census. The shepherds were out in the fields. Mary being with child brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths. The first Christmas almost passed unnoticed until the angel of the Lord with a herald of other angels lit up the skies and announced, “ Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.” But There’s more
I remember when I wrestled with the Spirit of God. I (yes teeny weenie me) in one corner and the Omnipotent, Transcendent and Almighty in the other. But who has never fought against God after hearing the gospel? Or was it a bout with myself -my old man so to speak? The gospel seems to go against the very grain of our humanity. It asserts that man is broken and helpless. It asserts that we are dead in sin and cannot of our selves change that nature. To underscore this very important fact God gave us the Ten Commandments as a moral code. Try as you may to obey one commandment and you break all. Break one and you find you easily break the rest. The easiest thing is to harden your heart and resist any demands of the Law. Read More
About a year ago I started blogging. I wrote mostly about things pertinent to my Christian walk. Things like disregard for sound Biblical doctrine, fads and gimmicks being used in church today. My discontentment stemmed from the fact that I seemed to be the biggest hypocrite. I had lived over 15 years of my Christian life with little regard for doctrine. Or atleast cared less. Every Sunday I went back to church and we seemed to go through the same routine. This last one year has been an intensive boot camp journey that has seen me make new friends and change churches and discover not only the doctrines of grace but also become enthusiastic about sound biblical doctrine in my pursuit to know God more. But who can comprehend the mind of God?
Which brings me to my point today -God. Remember Saul setting out to look for his father’s lost donkeys one morning (1 Samuel 9)? He didn’t have the least inkling who he was going to meet that day. Neither did he know that a prophet was going to cross his path and tell him that he was the one God was going to anoint to be the first king of Israel. The Bible clearly tells us that this unfathomable God is involved in the very events around the mortal beings he created and He is knowable. God draws people to Himself through several mundane events. So we see He drew Saul to the right place and at the right time he met Samuel the prophet. Now, with this concept in mind that God is alive and He is involved in even the minutest of events around us, meet a good friend of mine called Kathy, a hijab wearing American (not any more though). This is her extra ordinary testimony. A gracious journey to repentance and faith in Christ: Now Read On
“I Finally Got Sent A Hillsong Video That Proves They Preach The Gospel . . . NOT!!” says Cameron Buettel a blogger who set up an interesting challenge. This is the what he found…
To his credit Troy did take up my challenge that no one else has responded to. He went looking for a solid example of someone from Hillsong church preaching the Gospel. I had burdened Troy with the responsibility of substantiating his claim that:
I can assure you that I’ve been to Hillsong quite a few times and have heard the gospel accurately preached. Yes, including the mention of sin and the cross. But There’s More
Its one thing to be a preacher it’s another thing to bring oratorical skills to the pulpit and blend it with perfectly choreographed gimmicks to bring hundreds to their feet beckoning for more stories. Doesn’t it just amuse you when a preacher walks to the pulpit with a Bible and then decides to close it as he begins the sermon? My favourite ones are those “anointed coat” swinging show men who blow into microphones and keep repeating over and over, “I feel the anointing of God is here”. But I must say the deadliest are those slick ones who slide past you and mesmerise you to the point that you don’t even notice that they sneaked into the pulpit without a Bible (not even a pocket Message Bible). And as you try to figure where the sermon is going to come from…BANG! He has hit you between the eyes with a “holy ghost” stunner and you are writhing under your seat with your tie choking the living day lights out of you. Read More
'Marked' Bracelet
A while ago every Christian celebrity donned a WWJD bracelet. A fad that no doubt generated loads of money. The phrase was “What would Jesus do?” (often abbreviated to WWJD) as a supposed personal motto for Christians who used the phrase as a reminder of Jesus and what he would do in the 1990s.
One fad will always be replaced by another. The meanings and symbolism attached to the different fads may sometimes change to become more inclusive. If you asked the modern day Roman catholic what a rosary is he would strip his chest bare and show you a set of beads with a cross attached. Not many would explain that the word rosary actually comes from Latin and means a garland of roses, the rose being one of the flowers used to symbolize the Virgin Mary. But There’s More
When Paul spoke to the Ephesian elders in his final meeting with them, he said these words: “Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.” (Acts 20:26-27) The true preacher of the Word seeks to have this as his ambition as well. God is not honored when men think so little of Him and so highly of themselves that they edit the content of the proclamation for the fear of the face of men and so that they may be considered “successful” in some worldly sense. Read More
cool, well toned and relevant pastors
One of the most important questions for a Christian after where will I spend eternity and whom shall I marry is what church shall I attend? Well of course if you just need a joint where to spend Sunday morning ‘s hang over then you may as well a steer away from this site. Steer far away.
I was recently asked by a friend how to choose a good church. To be honest it is a head ache. Possibly a migraine of a decision. With the plethora of churches on the high street these days one needs a lot of prayerful patience. You probably won’t find a perfect church but a good solid Biblical church with sound doctrine is indeed a God send. There’s More
The butterfly effect is a term used in Chaos Theory to describe how tiny variations can affect giant systems, and complex systems, like weather patterns. For example, it is said that a butterfly flapping its wings in a jungle in Brazil can cause a tornado in Texas.
A couple of years ago we leavened up the unleavened bread of Christianity. A little nip here and a tuck there. We created a brand of Hip and Cool Christianity not only smooth but market savvy. Relevant. We used reproducible and successful entrepreneurial church growth models to bring as many people into the church complexes as possible.
However, if the recent trend of events is anything to go by, it seems God has gone on a hiatus and left the youths playing peekaboo in the night. Recent statistics show that there is an increasing exodus of young people from churches, especially after they leave home and live on their own. In a 2007 study, Lifeway Research determined that 70% of young Protestant adults between 18-22 stop attending church regularly. Some critics have attributed this yo-yo effect to the perils of hipster Christianity. Read More
A Twisted Crown of Thorns ® 
The Emperor Steps Out in His New Clothes…Again!
Self Esteem
Not many people will not recognise the name Harry Emerson Fosdick. Yet the fabric of most Christian Bestsellers, Contemporary Christian Music, Self Help Literature and Pop motivational psychology is dipped in an age old Self Esteem gospel chalice that was popularised by Mr. Fosdick. Speaking of fabrics, remember the Hans Christian Andersen story of The Emperor’s New Clothes? Read More