Why Wartburg?
Remember where Prince Frederick hid Martin Luther when Pope Leo wanted him killed? It was Wartburg Castle. It was here that Luther translated the New Testament into German. This coincided with the invention of the Gutenberg Press. Luther’s writings dominated most of the publications from this press. We believe the Internet is today’s Gutenberg Press.
What Are We ?
We are two Christian women who have seriously pursued our faith. We have discovered some disturbing trends within Christendom which compelled us to start TWW. Our goal is to shine a light into the darkness, exposing hypocrisy, heresy, and arrogance while also examining trends that affect the faith in the public square. Truth and transparency are of utmost importance to us.
What is the world is saying about The Wartburg Watch?
- Wartburg witches
- Obscure
- Wenches
- O glorious wenches
- Minions of Satan
- Hatemongers
- x#&**#xx!@
- Narcissistic zeroes
- Morons
- Warthogs
- Quite a gossip column
- How did we ever get along without you?
- Assyrians
- Philistines
- Full of ****
- Bored housewives
- Yellow journalism
- Discernment Divas
- Feminist Heretic
- Discernamentalist Diva Mafia
- Poor reading comprehension
- In Need of ESL
- Anti-Christian bigot
- E Pharisee
- Discernment blogger
- Dastardly Dee
- minions of Satin (sic)
- in league with Stan (sic)
What is the focus at TWW?
We look at all of the trends within evangelical Christianity, along with other stories and trends that impact the faith. We have become quite interested in church conflict, spiritual abuse, and hyper-authoritarian polity. We are equal opportunity offenders and do not emphasize one denomination over another.
What is your theme song?
What is your reprint/copyright policy?
You may reprint any article either partially or in its entirety so long as credit is given to TWW. We ask that we be notified via email when an entire reprint is posted in any other venue: Internet or news media.
What is your church background?
Dee has spent most of her Christian walk in nondenominational churches. But she has been Episcopalian, Christian Reformed and Southern Baptist as well. Deb has experienced Methodism and spent a decade as a Southern Baptist before becoming alarmed at the trends she was seeing.
What are your beliefs?
We consider ourselves conservative on the “A” issues, such as the statements found in the major creeds. However, there are many secondary issues such as the age of the earth, eschatology, and gender roles that we believe are open to an “in-house” debate.
Are you feminists?
You be the judge… Both of us have led traditional lives, choosing to stay at home to raise our children. However, we have friends who have chosen a different path and admire their families as well. Hopefully, it’s obvious to our readers that we believe women have something to say about theology and the life of the church. We dislike the labels of “complementarian” and “egalitarian”, finding each of them to be limited in their focus and the source of unnecessary conflict.
Shouldn’t you focus more on the “positive”?
Men and women are sinners. As such, they will cause pain and conflict within the life of the church. The Bible shows the story of man in all of his/her glory, sadness and pain. However, the Bible offers us redemption and hope through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As we deal with issues in the church, we will also offer hope, along with potential solutions.
Why do you sometimes call yourselves BABES?
This is a tongue in cheek reference to Mark Driscoll who once accused pastors’ wives of “letting themselves go”. We find it interesting that Driscoll, who has been seen in a Mickey Mouse T shirt, never once mentions that men can “really let themselves go” too. So, we are doing our part in bringing glamour to the evangelical church.
BABES is an acronym for “Bible Answer Babes Explaining Scripture”. We already know we’re in hot water with the patriarchs!
What is Lydia’s Corner ?
This is an effort to read through the Bible in a year. It is named for a person who comments frequently and often urges us to read our Bibles.
TWW Abbreviations (A Special thanks to Brad Sargeant)
AoR – Ambassadors of Reconciliation. A peace-making organization associated with the Lutheran church and based in Billings, Montana. Sovereign Grace Ministries hired AoR to conduct an investigation into allegations about SGM leader C.J. Mahaney, and produce a public report.
BGBC – Beaverton Grace Bible Church. Church in Beaverton, Oregon, headed by Pastor Chuck O’Neal, who sued Julie Anne Smith and others for $500,000 in 2012 for alleged defamation of character.
CBF – Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. An alternative association formed primarily of theological “moderates” from the Southern Baptist Convention, formed after the SBC’s “Conservative Resurgence” movement.
CJM – C.J. Mahaney, leader of the Sovereign Grace Ministries association of churches.
CP – Church Planting.
CPM – Church Planting Movement. This is a multiplication ministry concept (to some leaders, it is a prescription) that churches should plant churches that plant churches. (Another version is that disciples should disciple people who disciple others, and so forth.) China and India are countries most cited for where such movements are taking place; it has rarely occurred in the context of Western countries or cultures. Many CPMs have high percentages of women functioning in roles as disciplers, teachers, and pastoral care givers. So it is ironic that large Western church planting efforts that point to international CPMs as role models are more complementarian than not (like the Southern Baptist Convention) and therefore tend to overlook the substantial involvement of women, or otherwise attempt to negate it.
CRI – Christian Research Institute.
FC – Fellowship Church, a multi-campus church headed by Pastor Ed Young, Jr., with the main campus in Grapevine, Texas.
GBC – Great Commission Baptists. Alternative “nickname” adopted by a bare majority at the 2012 annual convention of the Southern Baptist Convention. The nickname is designed to connect better with people living outside the South/Bible Belt, in places where southern culture and the SBC name have no great appeal.
GCC – Grace Community Church. Mega-church in Sun Valley, California, headed by lead pastor John MacArthur.
GGBTS – Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. A Southern Baptist Convention seminary, located in Mill Valley, California, and headed by President Jeff Iorg.
GTY – Grace To You, the radio program and blog of John MacArthur, lead pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California.
IMB – International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. It is the largest Protestant denominational missionary “sending agency” in the world.
MBTS – Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. A Southern Baptist Convention seminary, located in Kansas City, Missouri, and headed by Interim President Robin Hadaway.
MD – Mark Driscoll, lead pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.
MHC – Mars Hill Church. Church in Seattle, Washington, headed by Mark Driscoll.
MPT – Matthew Paul Turner blog.
NAE – National Association of Evangelicals. A non-denominational organization formed in 1942 to connect and represent evangelical Christians.
NAMB – North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention
NAR – New Apostolic Reformation. A movement primarily among churches and ministries with a Pentecostal or charismatic theological base, headed by such notables as C. Peter Wagner and “strategic prayer/spiritual warfare” teacher Cindy Jacobs. Many of its ideas of alignment and ministry reflect the Shepherding Movement.
NOBTS – New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. A Southern Baptist Convention seminary, located in New Orleans, Louisiana, and headed by President Charles Kelley, Jr.
PK – Promise Keepers. A non-denominational Christian men’s movement organization begun in 1990 by Bill McCartney, then head coach of the University of Colorado Boulder football team. The overall emphasis on gender roles has been more complementarian than not, but Promise Keepers has also addressed a number of other issues, such as racial reconciliation.
SBC – Southern Baptist Convention.
SBTS – Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. A Southern Baptist Convention seminary, located in Louisville, Kentucky, and headed by President Albert Mohler, Jr.
SEBTS – Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. A Southern Baptist Convention seminary, located in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and headed by President Daniel Akin.
SGM – Sovereign Grace Ministries. An association of churches, based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and under the leadership of C.J. Mahaney.
SWTBS – Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. A Southern Baptist Convention seminary, located in Fort Worth, Texas, and headed by President Paige Patterson.
TWW – The Wartburg Watch blog.