The Wartburg Watch » Authoritarian leadership

Mahaney’s Mind-Blowing Machination

deb — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 21:55:29 +0000

"Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering." Matthew 5:23-24 Spinning Top THE SPIN CONTINUES… Please read the ADDENDUM at the bottom of the post. Since last summer, the Calvinista spinmeisters, or if you prefer, spin doctors, have been busy rehabilitating C.J. Mahaney's image in the aftermath of SGM Wikileaks. Why? Because they are "Together for the Gospel" and had to ensure that the loyal flock, which has been faithful to attend previous T4G conferences, would not scatter. Booking the KFC Yum! Center was a daring undertaking, and if anything prevented the T$G crowd (OOPS! Why is the dollar sign atop the "4" and not some other number? ) from materializing, there would be $OOO much at $TAKE! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise – IT$ all about the GO$PEL!!! Last August I wrote a post about the 2012 T4G conference explaining how lucrative these mega-gatherings can be. Sure it costs quite a bit to rent the facility, but there's a lot of dough left over… Not Continue reading →

Written by: deb on Thu, Apr 12 2012.

Categories: Al Mohler, Ambassadors of Reconciliation, Authoritarian leadership, C.J. Mahaney, Calvinism/Calvinista, Charismatic, Ligon Duncan, Mark Dever, New Reformed Theology, SGM, Sovereign Grace Ministries, Theological arrogance, Together for the Gospel, Young, Restless and Reformed (YRR)

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Tom Rich: Mac Brunson, A.Davis, M. Driscoll-When Church Leaders “Gossip and Slander”

dee — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:42:33 +0000

“False greatness is unsociable and remote: conscious of its own frailty, it hides, or at least averts its face, and reveals itself only enough to create an illusion and not be recognized as the meanness that it really is. True greatness is free, kind, familiar and popular; it lets itself be touched and handled, it loses nothing by being seen at close quarters; the better one knows it, the more one admires it.” Jean de la Bruyere The Areopagus as viewed from the Acropolis Recently, Andy Davis wrote Pastorally Speaking: Andy Davis on “Gossip amd Slander: Poison in the Lifeblood of the Church on the Between The Times blog here. Here is an excerpt: “So, if you feel that someone has sinned and the sin needs addressing, follow Matthew 18 rather than the promptings of the flesh or the devil. Go to that person directly and with humility work it out. Galatians 6:1 speaks of doing it with humility and gentleness. Jesus said in Matthew 7 we are to take the plank out of our eye and then we can see clearly to remove the speck from our brother’s eye.” Then, he adds a zinger: “One final word. The issue Continue reading →

Written by: dee on Thu, Apr 05 2012.

Categories: Abusive church tactics, Authoritarian leadership, Calvinism/Calvinista, FBC Jacksonville, Mac Brunson, Tom Rich, Wade Burleson

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Mark Driscoll – 21st Century Humpty Dumpty?

deb — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 03:25:59 +0000

“Power will intoxicate the best hearts, as wine the strongest heads. No man is wise enough, nor good enough to be trusted with unlimited power.” Charles Caleb Colton Bright Red Poppy Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the King's horses, And all the King's men Couldn't put Humpty together again! As this nursery rhyme reminds us, sitting atop a high wall is extremely dangerous! In hindsight, it is ironic that Mark Driscoll was preaching through one of my favorite books of the Bible – Nehemiah – when he fired two Mars Hill elders, namely Paul Petry and Bent Meyer. It has been well-documented that Driscoll changed the MH by-laws and became virtually untouchable as the head of his empire. Instead of getting hysterical over these unprecidented changes that have occurred in recent days, we prefer to get historical. Let's take a look at the timeline of recent events involving Mark Driscoll, the Acts 29 Network, and The Gospel Coalition. 12.31.11 A segment of Justin Brierley's interview with Mark Driscoll airs on Premier Christian Radio in the United Kingdom. 1.03.12 Mark and Grace Driscoll's sizzling book Real Marriage: The Truth Continue reading →

Written by: deb on Thu, Mar 29 2012.

Categories: Acts 29, Authoritarian leadership, Calvinism/Calvinista, Complementarianism, Gender Gospel, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, New Reformed Theology, Young, Restless and Reformed (YRR)

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“It Is Finished”: Authority Addressed by Fob James

dee — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:47:19 +0000

“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.”-Albert Einstein Wartburg Castle-Wikicommons ROLL TIDE The email was addressed to "The Ladies of the Castle." Now that caught my eye! Into our lives bounded a delightful gentleman, Fob James who, much to our surprise, had been a lurker, along with his wife, around our "castle" for the past year. Lo and behold, Fob has followed the stories of SGM, along with others, with great interest. You see, he, along with his wife, are concerned about authoritarianism and the church and have spent much time researching the issue. He also has a fondness for EChurch. Fob graduated from Duke with his law degree (he was there when Deb was an undergraduate) and is the son of a two-term Alabama Governor, also named Fob James) and has written various "pro bono" briefs for his father in the seventies and then again in the nineties, concentrating on church-state cases. Fob recently contacted Wade Burleson who posted Fob's analysis of what he succinctly terms "the Galatian error." Both Fob and Wade gave us permission to reprint their post. At Fob's suggestion, we have titled this "It Is Finished" for a reason. We both agree Continue reading →

Written by: dee on Wed, Mar 07 2012.

Categories: Authoritarian leadership, Wade Burleson

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Mark Driscoll, Al Mohler, and CJ Mahaney Are Smart and You Are So Dumb!

dee — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:46:05 +0000

“One hundred religious persons knit into a unity by careful organizations do not constitute a church any more than eleven dead men make a football team. The first requisite is life, always.” AW Tozier Al Mohler-Public Domain by Timmy Brister Today, we are going to attempt to tie the problem with membership covenants to authoritarian or inflated views of the role of pastors. We also believe that such a view of leadership is connected with the current controversy at Mars Hill. Once again, we stress that written and signed membership covenants were not developed to encourage the faith of the member but to protect a given church entity from lawsuits. They have been devised and drawn up by attorneys. We have had several TWW commenters fussing at us about unfair lawsuits against churches and church leaders. Well, we have news for everyone. There are often highly suspect and abusive tactics used against members, and even, in some cases, non-members who attend a church. Why is this? TWW believes that certain theological models have been developed that stress a highly centralized, Continue reading →

Written by: dee on Thu, Mar 01 2012.

Categories: Abusive church tactics, Acts 29, Al Mohler, Authoritarian leadership, C.J. Mahaney, Calvinism/Calvinista, Mark Driscoll

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Mahaney / SGM – Unprecedented Rescue by the SBC?

deb — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 03:02:45 +0000

"I think preaching and pastoral ministry are where grace is most evident in my life and where my leadership is most effectively expressed. Others seem to agree." C.J. Mahaney We believe history is being made as high profile leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention MEDDLE in the affairs of another denomination, which self-identifies as a "family of churches". Yes, I'm talking about Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM). In case you haven't heard, C.J. Mahaney, who was recently reinstated as President of SGM, is assisting with the appointment of his successor and laying the foundation to PLANT a new church in another state. As the saying goes, "bloom where you're planted", and the word on the street is that Mahaney is planning to relocate to Kentucky and set down roots there. There is also speculation that the offices of Sovereign Grace Ministries will be moved from Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland to Kentucky — most likely Louisville. We have written extensively on C.J. Mahaney and Sovereign Grace Ministries, so if you are new to TWW, you might want to browse through our archives. Why is Mahaney leaving the state where he grew up and the church he pastored for 27 years? Continue reading →

Written by: deb on Wed, Feb 29 2012.

Categories: Ambassadors of Reconciliation, Authoritarian leadership, Calvinism/Calvinista, Conferences, Larry Tomczak, Ligon Duncan, Mark Dever, New Reformed Theology, Pastors College (SGM), SGM, Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Sovereign Grace Ministries, Spiritual abuse, Together for the Gospel, Young, Restless and Reformed (YRR)

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Is Church Discipline Getting a Bad Rap? Yes and No

deb — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 04:57:27 +0000

"The marks by which a true Christian Church is known are these: if the pure doctrine of the gospel in preached therein; if she maintains the pure administration of the sacraments as instituted by Christ; if church discipline is exercised in the punishing of sin." BELGIC CONFESSION Have you noticed? Church discipline is back in vogue in conservative Christian churches, particularly those that are Calvinista strongholds. When I think of church discipline, I think of Mark Dever. Here he is talking about one of his favorite topics. Christianity.com: What is church discipline and why is it important?-Mark Dever from christianitydotcom2 on GodTube. Is church discipline getting a bad rap? YES and NO YES Church discipline has become so popular in some circles that it inspired a RAP song. Curtis (Curt) Allen, a pastor at Solid Rock Church (part of Sovereign Grace Ministries) wrote a song about it back in 2008 called Don't Go. Unlike the self-proclaimed pastor-athlete C.J. Mahaney, Curt is a pastor-rapper. You can read about him here on A View From the Cheap Seats. Check out these lyrics from Don't Go. Verse 3 To whom it may concern: I hope this letter finds you doing good It Continue reading →

Written by: deb on Wed, Feb 22 2012.

Categories: Abusive church tactics, Authoritarian leadership, Church discipline

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Why Did Mars Hill/Mark Driscoll Recently Fire Paid Staff?

dee — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:25:28 +0000

"Martin Luther, in his commentary on Galatians, says that to add any religious work to the gospel of grace seems to be a trivial matter, but “it does more damage than human reason can imagine. Not only does it mar and obscure the knowledge of grace but it also removes Christ and all of his blessings and it completely overthrows the gospel.” Kangas Commune US Sheepherding Experiment- US Gov. TWW would like to thank the Gospel Coalition for posting a link to “A Response Regarding Church Discipline" here. We almost overlooked it. We will include some excerpts from this response in case it disappears like a few other things in the past. Today we were going to discuss a new post over at 9 Marks dealing with church authority titled “What Are the Keys to the Kingdom?”here. This post makes the following provocative comment “The local church has heaven’s authority for declaring who on earth is a kingdom citizen and therefore represents heaven.” As you can well imagine, we are not necessarily enthralled with such a statement. However, we draw your attention to this statement because, for the two of us, this defines the problem with today’s hyper-authoritarian churches. They Continue reading →

Written by: dee on Wed, Feb 15 2012.

Categories: Abusive church tactics, Acts 29, Authoritarian leadership, Church discipline, Covenants/Contracts, Gospel Coalition, Gossip-, Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church, Nine Marks, Spiritual abuse, Theological arrogance

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Christian Celebrity – An Oxymoron

deb — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 04:51:34 +0000

"It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26-28, Mark10:43-45 (NASB) Julius Caesar – from the bust in the British Museum (Public Domain. Courtesy of Wikipedia) Where are the servant leaders Jesus described in Matthew 20:26-28? Mark includes an identical description in his Gospel, which leads me to conclude that servant leadership is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to God. Where are today's servant leaders? Pastoral authority is on the rise in Christendom, while servant leadership appears to be on the decline, based on my observation. As pastors elevate themselves and their colleagues, the flock is being trampled on and injured spiritually, emotionally, and sometimes even physically. Jesus instructed Peter "Feed my sheep". Tragically, God's flock is often being neglected by those who have been charged to protect them. The rise of Neo-Calvinism over the last decade seems to be a huge contributing factor to the scourge of Christian celebrity we are currently experiencing. To illustrate this Continue reading →

Written by: deb on Mon, Feb 13 2012.

Categories: Abusive church tactics, Al Mohler, Authoritarian leadership, C.J. Mahaney, Calvinism/Calvinista, John Piper, Joshua Harris, Mark Dever, New Reformed Theology, SGM, Sovereign Grace Ministries, Together for the Gospel, Young, Restless and Reformed (YRR)

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Mark Dever / 9 Marks Edict – You Cannot Resign w/o “Permission”

deb — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:31:11 +0000

"Just as freedom to worship is protected by the First Amendment, so also is the liberty to recede from one’s religious allegiance." Guinn, 775 P.2d at 776 Statue of Liberty It is hard to fathom in the land of the free and the home of the brave that CHURCHES ARE IGNORING THE LAW OF THE LAND in order to impose their will on members (and in some cases, regular attendees). Bobby Jamieson, Assistant Editor at 9 Marks, just posted an article entitled: "Pastors, Don't Let your People Resign Into Thin Air". Jamieson begins with these words: "Does your church let people resign into thin air? A church member simply submits a letter or has a conversation with a pastor, and then poof!—they’re gone. And your church couldn’t say whether the person has joined another evangelical church or dropped off the face of the earth. My brothers, this should not be. . . An encouraging number of evangelical churches seem to be regaining meaningful practices of church membership and discipline. But I’m concerned that even some of these churches, however unintentionally, are leaving their back doors wide open." Doesn't it sound like he's talking about sheep or some other kind of Continue reading →

Written by: deb on Thu, Feb 02 2012.

Categories: Abusive church tactics, Arminianism, Authoritarian leadership, Calvinism/Calvinista, Church contracts, Church discipline, Covenants/Contracts, Mark Dever, New Reformed Theology, Nine Marks, Young, Restless and Reformed (YRR)

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