The Wartburg Watch » Southern Baptist Convention

AOR Letdown, Mark Driscoll’s SBC Putdown and Redemption Groups Rundown

dee — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 23:06:18 +0000

Archbishop – A Christian ecclesiastic of a rank superior to that attained by Christ. H. L. Mencken Hungry bluebirds about 4 hours after breaking through their shells Did Ambassadors of Reconcilaition wound the wounded? Today, I am deeply irritated by the Ambassadors of Reconciliation report. I always knew that the report would “exonerate” CJ Mahaney and Sovereign Grace Ministries so that business would continue as usual. Bit I never imagined, in so doing, that AOR would utilize the emotional communication with hurting people as an assessment tool. To relay that those who have been hurt are communicating with “clenched fists” is despicable. To this sinful blogger(The most sinful blogger on the planet) it seems as if the pastors were portrayed as so nice and pleasant. The wounded, can you believe it, were portrayed as, get ready for this, still upset! And that is very sinful and bad, I think. Were these supposed “professionals” being cruel, were they naïve, or were they untrained in the art of helping the hurting? Good going, boys. From my view in the moderately priced seats, you appear to have heaped more condemnation on the heads of those already wounded. As you all probably know, Continue reading →

Written by: dee on Thu, Apr 19 2012.

Categories: Calvinism/Calvinista, Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church, Psychology, Southern Baptist Convention

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The Nones: Are the Faithful Fleeing the Church?

dee — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:13:37 +0000

"People walking up to ya Singing Glory Hallelujah And they’re trying to sock it to ya In the name of the Lord." (From the song The Games People Play) Pillars of Creation-Hubble/NASA TWW has some good news for the SBC. We think we’ve found some of your missing members. Calvinistas, we have further good news. They may not even be “unregenerate.” In fact, these people may be just plumb fed up with church! As most of our readers know, we have started an E Church, sometimes called by a few of us as “Almost Church”. Wade, Deb and myself have become increasingly aware of a number of folks who have left organized churches for many reasons. Some of these include spiritual and emotional abuse, cover up of sexual abuse/pedophilia, disagreement with church emphasis on secondary issues, and a rise in authoritarian behavior on the part of church leaders. The Rise of the Nones However, in our blogging communities, we have discovered that many of these people have not deserted the faith, merely the institutional church. And now, it appears, we have some statistics to back up our gut observations. TIME Magazine, 3/12/12, featured an article by Amy Sullivan called “The Continue reading →

Written by: dee on Mon, Mar 12 2012.

Categories: Calvinism/Calvinista, EChurch@Wartburg, Southern Baptist Convention, Spiritual abuse

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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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All Ed Young Jr Is Saying Is “Give Me the Cash!”

dee — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:31:09 +0000

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. -Mark Twain Ed and Lisa Young-FBC JaxWatchdog (Yes, Ed is gesturing towards his crotch according to FBC Jax) Imagine this. You are in the final approach to DFW airport and the landing gear is down. Just before wheels touchdown, you fly over Fellowship Church in Grapevine (directly in the landing pattern). Surrounded by spotlights and media is a huge bed. In the bed are Ed and Lisa Young holding a 24-hour vigil, pontificating about how much good Christians need sex. (My guess is that all pilots will request that particular approach to DFW on Friday). Reformers, take special note: The Sex Gospel is born! Dee is a former member of Ed’s church You think I am joking? Oh no, I never need to make things up about Ed Young Jr. His life is a running parody that never seems to end. You see, I was a member of Fellowship Church for a short time back in the 90s when it was called the Fellowship of Las Colinas. Ed wanted to move the church, build a castle worthy of God and Continue reading →

Written by: dee on Wed, Jan 11 2012.

Categories: Ed Young Jr., Southern Baptist Convention

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Complementarianism and the SBC

deb — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:36:27 +0000

"If you live your life submitting to what you perceive as "the authority" of men, particularly the husband God has given you, then fine! Just don't dare call it biblical. Call it your cultural preference…. Don't call it biblical Christianity." Wade Burleson Women's Evangelical Commentary (B&H Publishing Group for LifeWay) Recently, there has been some brouhaha on the internet regarding the SBC's latest offerings by Dorothy Patterson and Rhonda Kelley, specifically their Women's Evangelical Commentaries on the Old and New Testaments (pictured above). During last year's Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, Russ Rankin updated the rank in file about LifeWay. In his briefing called Rainer reports on LifeWay's health, focus, Rankin writes: "Thom S. Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, shared with messengers at the SBC annual meeting June 14 that LifeWay is "doing well by doing good." Bringing attention to LifeWay's unwavering focus to provide biblical resources for churches, he said, "It is by God's grace working through incredible men and women at LifeWay that we have come through these past few years." Despite being "in the midst of the worst economic depression since the Great Depression, LifeWay has been able to Continue reading →

Written by: deb on Mon, Jan 09 2012.

Categories: Complementarianism, Danvers Statement, Dorothy Patterson, Gender Gospel, Gender Roles, Southern Baptist Convention, Submission, Wade Burleson

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Young, Restless, and Reformed (YRR) – RIP?

deb — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:56:41 +0000

“I’ve been pondering a post on this thing that’s been called Young, Restless, and Reformed. What’s good? What’s bad? What needs to be celebrated? What needs to addressed? For starters, it may be time to retire the name.” Kevin DeYoung (DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed) Jonathan Edwards (Wikipedia) I will never forget that day back in 2006 when the September issue of Christianity Today arrived in the mail. Dee called and said: “You really need to read the article on the front cover called: "Young, Restless, Reformed: Calvinism is making a comeback – and shaking up the church”. (link) As I write this post, I'm looking at that CT issue featuring a guy in a yellow t-shirt with a picture of Edwards on the front along with the words: JONATHAN EDWARDS IS MY HOMEBOY. Much has transpired in the YRR crowd since Colin Hansen wrote that article. Before we get into that, here is a little background information. In early September 2003, a friend and I went Binkley Chapel on the campus of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary to hear John MacArthur address the students. He had come to our area for two reasons – to speak at Southeastern as well Continue reading →

Written by: deb on Wed, Dec 21 2011.

Categories: Acts 29, Al Mohler, Authoritarian leadership, C.J. Mahaney, Calvinism/Calvinista, John Piper, Mark Dever, Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church, New Reformed Theology, Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Sovereign Grace Ministries, Together for the Gospel, Young, Restless and Reformed (YRR)

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Russell Moore Tells Women to Stop Submitting to Men

deb — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 03:25:07 +0000

"I hate ….the word 'complementarian', I prefer the word 'patriarchy'…" Russell Moore French Tapestry (Taken by Deb) David and Tim Bayly — patriarchal Presbyterian pastors — took great pleasure in Russell Moore's words (quoted above) in a post they published on May 27, 2008. Here is Moore's quote in the context of their blog post: (link) "(Tim, w/thanks to Chris) Here's an interesting statement by Southern Baptist Seminary's Russell Moore unburdening himself about the nomenclature of the sex battles; and more particularly, expressing his extreme dislike for the word 'complementarian' and preference for 'patriarchy.' He's exactly right. Tune in at 29:45, and you will hear this: Russell Moore: Gender identity and complementarianism… I hate ….the word 'complementarian', I prefer the word 'patriarchy'… Again at 37:00 ff…. Mark Dever: So then, why is it you don't like the word complementarianism? Russell Moore: Because complementarianism doesn't say much more than the fact that you have different roles. Everyone agrees that we have different roles, it just a question of on what basis you have different roles? So an egalitarian would say, "Yeah, I'm a complementarian too, it's on the basis of gifts." I think we need to say instead, "No you have Continue reading →

Written by: deb on Mon, Dec 19 2011.

Categories: Russell Moore, Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Women and the church

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Trouble in Mayberry: Southern Baptist Churches Leave Local Association

deb — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 02:56:41 +0000

"As for women writing books that expound the scriptures, my view is that this is also not teaching in the way that preaching in church would be. The dynamic of speaking before a community of believers, in which everyone listening is seeing one’s authoritative demeanor and hearing one’s authoritative voice, is a different dynamic than a book. Books can be picked up and put down, read, interacted with, discussed, debated, written and written against. Sermons don’t fit into that same kind of genre entirely. But I admit this is a difficult call, and some good scholars would say that there is no difference between the two." Daniel B. Wallace (Professor at Dallas Theological Seminary) Church in Europe (taken by Deb) I grew up watching The Andy Griffith Show, a nostalgic TV program set in Mayberry USA. For those who may not know, Andy Griffith grew up in Mount Airy, North Carolina and based the show on his hometown. (link) In case you haven’t heard, there’s trouble in paradise, err Mayberry . . . Last summer Mount Airy’s Flat Rock Baptist Church did something so offensive that it was quickly dismissed from the local Southern Baptist Association. What did the Continue reading →

Written by: deb on Fri, Dec 16 2011.

Categories: Gender Gospel, SBC pastors, Southern Baptist Convention, Women and the church

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Andy Davis is Biblical; I’m Not

dee — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:12:55 +0000

"It could be a sign of pride in your life if a word of reproof or admonition is not able to be received with the same grace, whether it be given by the poorest of saints or the most educated person." John Bunyan Aurora Borealis over Norway-NASA TWW continues in the analysis of Davis’ “reformation.” I will state the bottom line up front. Unless you agree with his view of gender and authority and totally support his self- proclaimed “Biblical” view, you are most likely wicked and unregenerate. And I think this sort of thinking sounds like overreaching arrogance. Perhaps he did not mean for his article to be interpreted thusly. Unfortunately, he gave little reason for me to see it any other way. However, the real agenda is stated by him at the end of this post. And frankly, it is deeply disturbing. Do not miss it because it spells out how much trouble the post-evngelical church is about to experience. Please refer to yesterday's post for some background. Here is the link to Davis' article which was posted on the 9 Marks blog. Did Davis announce his Calvinista leanings and view on gender prior to Continue reading →

Written by: dee on Thu, Dec 08 2011.

Categories: Calvinism/Calvinista, SBC pastors, Southern Baptist Convention

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FBC Durham’s Andy Davis: Electing a Woman Deacon Is “Wicked”

dee — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 23:34:57 +0000

“What seem our worst prayers may really be, in God's eyes, our best. Those, I mean, which are least supported by devotional feeling. For these may come from a deeper level than feeling. God sometimes seems to speak to us most intimately when he catches us, as it were, off our guard.” CS Lewis Pandora's Cluster-NASA Recently, TWW received the following email from a reader. It has been changed to hide any identifying features. "Thank you so much for the article on Idiot Sheep. I cried as I read it because that is exactly how I was reared in the church. I think maybe God was trying to tell me something thru your article because for a second I actually felt his love. It is so hard for me to get the strict, punishing God out of my head & heart. I pray to God and struggle with this and assurance of salvation. Was I repentive enough, did I really mean it, if not did I really want to repent, etc. I am tired, worn-out. Your web site gives me hope and helps me to see I am not alone. " It is for hurting people like this Continue reading →

Written by: dee on Wed, Dec 07 2011.

Categories: Calvinism/Calvinista, SBC pastors, Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

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