Rob Bell - Off the Rails

Though this clip was from last fall I just saw it and was left speechless.

Exorcism scam ruined by phone call

Unbelievable!


Published on May 10, 2014

African preacher asks for a volunteer in order to cast out the demons from him.
The preacher begins by speaking in tongues and then begins hitting the man who begins to fall and starts screaming.
Then the man's phone goes off and the possessed man all of a sudden stops sits up answers his phone saying I will call you right back and then asks for the preacher to continue.

The preacher is left holding his head because his scam has been busted by an not so aware accomplice.

African Guy Answers His Phone During Pastor's Anointment! "I'm Under Serious Anointment, I Will Call You" Lol: African Guy Answers His Phone During Pastor's Anointment! "I'm Under Serious Anointment, I Will Call You"

Disillusioned with the Church

Why I'm Disillusioned-Short from Andrew Means on Vimeo.

I saw this over at Out of Ur where they have invited people to create a short video to explain why they are disillusioned with the evangelical church.  They are batting around the term, "de-churched."  For now I will refer to such people as those disillusioned with the church. 

I can't fully agree with all that he says but I think that it is worthwhile to hear his concerns, particularly his comments about the evangelical sub-culture.  It seems pretty apparent that he hasn't encountered reformation theology and its understanding of the church.  Comments are welcome but let's keep it constructive.

MegaChurch Analysis from the UK

I like the Brits -- they don't mince words.  They aren't afraid to call a spade, 'a spade'.  Consider these words from one Brit who recently visited Rick Warren's Saddleback Community Church.  How many other mega-churches could also wear this slipper? 

As a navel-gazer, I was depressed by Saddleback. It seemed the butt end of Christianity: stripped of history and icon­ography, wholly immersed in its secular surroundings, constructed according to a business model and promoted by motivational speakers – bland, cheerful, dull.

 We drove away, past immaculate housing estates and strip malls iterating chain restaurants and shops, replicated in every suburb from coast to coast. I wondered why anyone would want to live in that charmless place, much less to get more of the same at church.

There is a term for this: Christless Christianity.  Not familiar with it?  Google the term and look for Dr. Mike Horton's explanation. 
 
Read the rest here: A Review of Saddleback and Rick Warren: The Guardian
 
HT. BaylyBlog

Santa Christ? by Sinclair Ferguson

Here is a thoughtful piece worth sharing...

I took the hand of my toddler son (it was several decades ago now) as we made our way into the local shop on the small and remote Scottish island where earlier that year I had been installed as minister. It was Christmas week. The store was brightly decorated and a general air of excitement was abroad.

Without warning, the conversations of the customers were brought to a halt by a questioning voice from beside me. My son's upraised index finger pointed at a large cardboard Santa Claus. "Daddy, who is that funny-looking man?" he asked.

Amazement spread across the faces of the jostling shoppers; accusing glances were directed at me. Such shame--the minister's son did not even recognize Santa Claus! What likelihood, then, of hearing good news in his preaching at the festive season?

Such experiences can make us bewail how the Western world gives itself over annually to its Claus-mass or commerce-mass. We celebrate a reworked pagan Saturnalia of epic proportions, one in which the only connection with the incarnation is semantic. Santa is worshiped, not the Savior; pilgrims go to the stores with credit cards, not to the manger with gifts. It is the feast of indulgence, not of the incarnation.

It is always easier to lament and critique the new paganism of secularism's blatant idolatry than to see how easily the church -- and we ourselves -- twist or dilute the message of the incarnation in order to suit our own tastes. But, sadly, we have various ways of turning the Savior into a kind of Santa Claus.

Read the rest here...

Santa Christ? by Sinclair Ferguson Ligonier Ministries Blog

Gene Veith - Praise Songs as sacraments and mantras

Interesting title, don't you think?

In his blog post Veith cites a 2005 article from Touchstone magazine where the writer makes this comment:

"As a trained church musician (finishing a Ph.D. in historical musicology), I served as the “worship leader” in a mid-sized suburban Evangelical church for a number of years. As I told the senior pastor of that church, the problem with modern Evangelical worship is that Evangelicals seem to recognize only one sacrament these days: The Worship Song."

This is a very insightful comment. Nearly all evangelicals view the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper as empty signs. Thus, they have resorted to the 'worship song' as the means of connecting to God.

Opposed to this view is that of the Lutheran and Reformed. Both acknowledge that God is the one acting in and through the sacraments, hence they are not empty signs. They are the times in worship where God makes contact with His people through the ordinary elements of water, bread and wine. While Lutherans and Reformed have their differences about the sacraments both agree that God is acting when they are administered.

It's sad that evangelicals miss this profound theological point. What's worse is when confessional Lutherans and Reformed trade their Gospel-driven understanding of the sacraments for the worship song. Veith writes, "I understand that traditions that don’t even have that must substitute something. But why would traditions that do have a sacramental understanding of Christ’s true presence go after this pale substitute?" Dr. Michael Horton has made the same point in his book entitled "Christless Christianity."

For those wishing to read more of the reformed understanding of the sacraments please consider reading articles 33, 34 and 35 of the Belgic Confession (Google it). I recently wrote a paper on the Belgic Confession and find it unsurpassed in articulating how God works in and through the sacraments.

You can read Veith's entire article at the link below. Also read the piece in Touchstone for some additional insights.

Christianity, Culture, Vocation — Cranach: The Blog of Veith

meChurch

Illustrating absurdity with absurdity.

The Pastors Who Will Do Anything

While this was intended as an in-house joke, I find this video more pathetic than humorous. For satire to work there has to be an element of truth to it, that's why I'm not amused. Far too many churches have gone down this road by catering to the masses.

I don't lack for humor and really enjoy a good joke. But pop culture imitating pop culture (Veggie Tales in this case), which is a poor summary of biblical teaching, just doesn't bring a smile to my face.

As I've said before in this space, pastors need to spend more time in their studies poring over the Scriptures and preparing sermons and less time producing videos intended to make folks laugh. Ever hear of the saying, "Fiddling while Rome burns?"

Give Us a Shot (Next Level Church)

Wow, I wish that I had thought this one up! Who knows how big my church might be if I had implemented this on day #1 of our church plant?

Seriously, distributing shot glasses as a means to reach the lost and grow the church? The motto is telling: "Real Church for Real People." What constitues being a 'real church'? That's assumed not explained. Moreover, Scripture isn't invoked nor any Reformation creed to offer insight. What about their target audience (real people)? Are they only interested in the white, middle class folks who frequent TGIFriday's, Bennigan's, Ruby Tuesday's, and all of the other chain restaurants at the mall?

Dancing Zebras = We'll do whatever it takes to reach people? Do the ends truly justify the means?

Lest anyone think that I am squeamish about bars and alcohol, think again. My father spent 25 years in the beer industry with most of that time employed with the second largest brewer in the world. In college I once spent the summer driving a beer truck and making deliveries. Beer and bars isn't the problem, nor are friendships with non-Christians. Its the strategy of meeting the lost and trying to grow the church.

Why not simply put away the 'schtick' and be sincerely humble before God? Why not put your energies into prayer, studying the Scriptures, preaching solid sermons, and administering the sacraments? That's the strategy God blesses.

A Purpose-Driven Scolding

I was stunned when I saw this clip. I think it speaks for itself.

In contrast the elders at our church have been focused on what the Scriptures call them to be - shepherds of God's flock. This is what the apostle Peter makes so plain in I Peter 5:1-4. Elders, including pastors, are to shepherd God's people and provide them with oversight. They are called to be examples to the flock in every aspect of what it means to be a Christian. They are expected to assist God's people in times of need - serious illness, catastrophe and death. They are also called to teach and preach, reprove, rebuke and exhort with complete patience (II Timothy 4:2). This instruction can occur from the pulpit but it often happens best in a one-on-one setting.

While this guy's honesty is refreshing he is seriously misled. If he doesn't care for souls why is he in ministry?

For a great read on what pastors and elders are called to be and do read "WIth a Shepherd's Heart' by John R. Sittema

The State of the Church - The White Horse Inn

We all have heard the saying, "Read it and weep." Well, watch this video clip and weep.

I think that this is based on Dr. Mike Horton's recent book Christless Christianity and accompanying DVD by the same title.

What caught my eye was Dr. Bryan Chapell, President of my alma mater, Covenant Theological Seminary, commenting about the decline in biblical literacy among incoming theological students. This is the bitter fruit grown by megachurches and the church growth movement.

HT Ken E.

Will God Look the Other Way?

Yesterday I continued my series in the book of Romans covering 2:17 - 3:8. The title of my sermon was, Being Religious Is Not Good Enough.

The context is quite plain: Paul was addressing his fellow Jews who took great pride in their ethnicity, is possessing the oracles of God, and by performing the religious duties (i.e. circumcision) commanded by God. Through a series of rhetorical questions he cuts their legs out from beneath them and ends with a stinging rebuke (2:24): "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." Consequently Paul makes plain that such people are truly deserving of God's wrath.

Ancient Israel possessed the oracles of God for the purpose of being called to be a light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 49:6 and Luke 2:32). Yet they failed in that task so much so that God's name was blasphemed among the Gentiles.

In a similar way evangelicals have been entrusted with the oracles of God. We have been commanded to guard the deposit entrusted to us (I Timothy 6:20; II Timothy 1:14) and take that to the ends of the earth and make disciples of the nations (Matthew 28:18-20).

Watch the following video and ask yourself if God is going to look the other way when this is done in his name? Might we not conclude that the name of God is being blasphemed among the nations because of us?

Fellowship Church - Closer to the Start

My Easy Christ Has Left the Church

Following on the heels of my last post about Christless Christianity I thought it appropriate to post this essay by Dr. Calvin Miller, author of numerous books including The Singer Trilogy and Preaching - The Art of Narrative Exposition. He is currently on the faculty of Samford Univerity's Beeson Divinity School serving as professor of preaching and pastoral ministry. Here is his version of what Christless Christianity looks like:

My Easy Christ Has Left the Church
by Calvin Miller, from his book “The Unfinished Soul”

My easy Christ has left the church. Who can say why? Maybe it’s because His video-logged apostles all read diet-books, travel agency brochures and Christian fiction thrillers on how the world should end. But none read books on what the starving ignorant should do until it does. He left the church so disappointed that Americans could all spell “user friendly”but none of them could spell “Gethsemane.”

Can we say for sure he’s quit? Oh yes, it’s definite, I’m afraid: He’s canceled his pledge card. I passed him on the way out of the recreation building near the incinerator where we burn the leftover religious quarterlies and the stained paper doilies from our Valentine banquets.“Quo Vadis, Domine?” I asked him.“Somewhere else,” he said.

My easy Christ has left the church,walking out of town past seminaries where student scholars could all parse the ancient verbs but few of them were sure why they had learned the art. He shook his head confounded that many had studied all his ancient words without much caring why he said them. He seemed confused that so many studied to be smart, but so few prayed to be holy.

Some say he left the church because the part-time missionaries were mostly tourists on short-term camera safaris, photographing destitution to show the pictures to their missionary clubs back home. I cannot say what all his motives were. I only know I saw him rummaging through dumpsters in Djakarta looking for a scrap of bread that he could multiply. “Quo vadis, Domine?” I asked him. “Somewhere else,” he said.

He’s gone - the melancholy Messiah’s gone. I saw him passing by the beltway mega-temple circled by its multi-acred asphalt lawn, blanketed with imports and huge fat vehicles nourished on the hydrocarbons of distant oil fields where the poor dry rice on public roads and die without a requiem, in unmarked graves.

Is it certain he is gone?

It is.

We saw him in the slums of Recife, telling stories of old fools who kept on building bigger barns, oddly idealistic tales of widows with small coins who outgave the richer deacons of the church. I saw him sitting alone in a fast-food franchise drinking only bottled water and sorting through a stack of world-hunger posters. He couldn’t stay long. He was on his way to sell his old books on Calvin and Arminius to buy a bag of rice for Bangledesh.

My easy Christ has left the church. I remember now where I last saw him. He was sitting in one of those new square, crossless mega-churches singing 2x choruses and playing bongos amid the music stands and amplifiers with anonymous Larry and Sherrie. He turned to them in church and said “I am He! Follow me!” But they told him not to be so confrontational and reminded him that they had only come for the music and the drama, and frankly were offended that he would dare to talk to them out loud in church. After all, they were only seekers, with a right to privacy.

I followed him out through the seven-acre vestibule, where he passed the tape-duplicating machine where people could buy the “how to” sermons of the world’s most famous lecturers.

He left the church and threaded his way across the crowded parking lot, laying down those whips and cords he’d once used to cleanse the temple, and looked as though he wanted to make key-scrapes on Lexi and huge white Audis and family buses filled with infant seats.

He stooped and shed a tear after and wrote “Ichabod” in the sand. In a sudden moment I was face to face with him. “Quo vadis, Domine?” I asked him. “Somewhere else,” he said.

My easy Christ has left the church, abandoning his all-star role in Easter pageants to live incognito in a patchwork culture, weeping for all those people who cannot afford the pageant tickets.

He picked up an old junk cross, lugging it into the bookstore after the great religious rally, and stood dumfounded among the towering stacks of books on how to grow a church. “Are you conservative or liberal,” I asked him. But he only mumbled, “Oh Jerusalem…” and said the oddest thing about a hen gathering her vicious, selfish chicks under her wings. He left the room as I yelled out after him, “Lord, is it true you’ve quit the church? Quo vadis, Domine?” “Somewhere else,” he said.

Christless Christianity by Michael Horton

Dr. Michael Scott Horton has a forthcoming book and DVD entitled "Christless Christianity." If you are a regular listener to the White Horse Inn you know that this has been the theme of this year's broadcasts. What a scary thought -- that millions of people might be practicing a form of Christianity that doesn't need (or have a place) for Christ.

For those unfamiliar with the program and/or Dr. Horton please click the link below to learn more.


Christless Christianity by Michael Horton

HT - The Riddelblog