Beth Moore - Black Box Warning?

The following is a post from Amanda Bowers who writes on the site "My Sheep Hear My Voice".  In this article you will learn a great deal regarding Beth Moore, Henry Blackaby and Richard Foster.  I am sure that some of the information may catch you off guard - I only pray that all of us are as teach-able as Amanda.  I encourage all of you to read the article and forward it to those you see necessary.  We she all be this humble when handling the Word ... see article below:

Dear Sisters in Christ,
It is with regret and repentance in my heart that I am sending this letter to you. As you know over the past four years I participated in leading and facilitating several Bible studies including specifically authors Beth Moore and Henry Blackaby. This was a great privilege and opportunity, and it was something I enjoyed greatly as I fellowshipped with each of you desired to grow together in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ by the study of His Word.
However, as it has pleased our Lord to reveal to me over the past six months and while I never intended to EVER MISUSE THE WORD or take it out of context in ANY WAY so as to mislead or harm anyone, and while I am not saying that was the intent of the above teachers I mentioned, I have come to realize that my lack of full understanding of God’s Word, in particular with regard to the closure of the Cannon of Scripture and also my irresponsibility in not fully evaluating the above teachers before agreeing to promote or endorse them by leading studies, it is quite possible that I have mislead some of you. For this I sincerely ask your forgiveness and I repent. I have stepped down from teaching at this time as I desire to not take lightly the great privilege and honor it is to teach the Word of God and I recognize that I have much more to learn.

Now as to specifics for what I am referring to, it has come to my knowledge that the above teachers, while I have no intention of judging their hearts or motives, have misused God’s Word and/or aligned themselves up with others who have done so.

Regarding Beth Moore, through a series of circumstances this summer (you can read about it here: http://hearshisvoice.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/104/) I became acquainted with a movement known as, “Spiritual Formation” and in this movement in particular I became aware of a type of prayer being promoted known as “Contemplative Prayer” (also goes by the title “listening prayer” and “centering prayer” also may hear the term “God’s whispers” or listening for that “still small voice”) This type of prayer is touted as being handed down to us by what are known as the “Desert Fathers” which is used to describe many of the monks and priests of the first centuries. While on the surface this prayer seems to be about contemplating our Lord as we pray which would be Biblical, it is in fact a prayer that endorses the notion that in order to really “connect with God’ one must “empty or quiet their minds of all thought” in order to “hear God speak to us”. Many of the proponents of Contemplative prayer go so far as to say that we should learn from those who practice this type of prayer in the eastern religions, such as Hindus and Zen Buddhists. Well, sadly, NO WHERE in Scripture are we ever taught to “empty our minds”. Sure, we are told to “Be still and know that I am God” which is the most popular verse of Scripture used to endorse this prayer, a careful study of Psalm 46:10 reveals that the psalmist is referring to our anxiety and not being anxious about our lives as God is in charge. This passage is not an instruction in prayer at all. In fact, if we study scripture we know that Jesus told us numerous times to be watchful in prayer because we have an enemy that seeks to destroy us. We are told to “renew our minds” by the Word of God, not to empty them.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 4:2
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. Luke 12:37
Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41

One of the leading proponents of Contemplative prayer is a man named Richard Foster. The most dangerous aspect of this teaching and the movement known as “Spiritual Formation” is that there is a blurring of lines between Christianity and other religions. In fact, Mr. Foster, makes no apologies on his ministry website, Renovare, he states the following:

“Renovaré is a nonprofit Christian organization headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, and active worldwide. We seek to resource, fuel, model, and advocate more intentional living and spiritual formation among Christians and those wanting a deeper connection with God. A foundational presence in the spiritual formation movement for over 20 years, Renovaré is Christian in commitment, ecumenical in breadth, and international in scope.
In his very popular book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster describes an experience of “contemplative prayer” in this way,
“In your imagination allow your spiritual body, shining with light, to rise out of your physical body. Look back so that you can see yourself lying in the grass and reassure your body that you will return momentarily. Imagine your spiritual self, alive and vibrant, rising up through the clouds and into the stratosphere. . . Go deeper and deeper into outer space until there is nothing except the warm presence of the eternal Creator. Rest in His presence. Listen quietly, anticipating the unanticipated. Note carefully any instruction given. With time and experience you will be able to distinguish readily between mere human thought that may bubble up to the conscious mind and the True Spirit which inwardly moves upon the heart. (Foster: 27, 28)”

Sisters, that is NOT biblical prayer! That is called Astral Projection by the New Age movement.
I hope you notice right away that NO ONE BUT CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN BY THE SPIRIT can have a “deeper connection with God”. Mr. Foster is endorsing that ANYONE who desires a deeper connection with God can achieve this connection practicing the many “spiritual disciplines” he endorses which include “contemplative prayer” and other extra biblical means.
What does this have to do with Beth Moore? Ms. Moore participated and endorsed contemplative prayer WITH MR. RICHARD FOSTER in a video on 2006 called “Be Still”. (And Yes I viewed it myself) She unashamedly endorsed contemplative prayer as a means by which we can hear God in our lives and have a deeper connection to God. She also quotes other contemplatives in many of her studies (including one I led with you called, “When Godly People Do Ungodly Things”) such as two men by the names of Basil Pennington and Brennon Manning.

Here are some online references that speak more about Beth’s participation and endorsement in this unbiblical form of prayer.
http://dayzofelijah.wordpress.com/2008/05/04/a-word-on-beth-moore-by-a-bold-pastor/
http://solasisters.blogspot.com/2010/03/breaking-free-from-beth-moore-and-her.html
http://apprising.org/2010/03/11/a-beth-moore-expose/

What is mysticism?http://solasisters.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-is-mysticism.html
http://hearshisvoice.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/151/

I highly recommend this video done by former Roman Catholic Priest who was converted years ago and is warning people about this very type of teaching: http://youtu.be/OfI9H1ZajLs

I can provide you much more evidence that Richard Foster who is a Quaker and sadly he is widely accepted as offering Christians much to learn regarding prayer, is not handling the Word of God correctly and in fact, promotes that ANYONE desiring a closer relationship with God can have it. ANYONE: regardless if they are Christian or not. In fact I have started a blog where I am writing about what God has shown me this summer and you are welcome to go there for more information. www.hearshisvoice.wordpress.com There is a dangerous movement coming into many evangelical churches and if I were to write to you all that I have learned this past six months, this letter would be even longer. But I am happy to share more with any of you who desire to know and I sincerely hope you will at least consider giving an ear to what I have to say as one who loves the Lord and loves you as my sisters. You can email me at jcdisciple07@gmail.com. I will send you as much material as you want documenting my concerns over Richard Foster and the endorsement of him by Beth Moore and others in the evangelical world. And again, I sincerely ask your forgiveness for my not being more cautious myself as to who I endorse or align myself with in teaching.
We are told in the Word several times that when false teachers, as Foster is one, are discovered we are not to promote them, but to flee from their teaching and expose them. By endorsing him and being in his video, Beth Moore is lending a full endorsement to him. Just so you know, I did contact Living Proof Ministries with my concerns, but received no reply. Several others online have indicated that she has been contacted and either has not contacted them back or has maintained that she stands behind her promotion and participation in the Be Still video of 2006.

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles CONTRARY TO THE DOCTRINE THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ; AVOID THEM. 18For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. Romans 16:17-`8

I want to also thank a few of you who during the time that I was leading “When Godly People Do Ungodly Things” were alert that something wasn’t quite right and came to me about Beth Moore and her teachings. At that time my discernment skills were not as sharp as they should have been, but your questioning planted a seed that the Lord later used to deliver me from her bad teaching and I hope now to set that straight for you and any others who may have been led astray by me. Again, I am truly sorry.

Now, as to Mr. Blackaby, my concern with him is similar but hinges more on the endorsement that God is still speaking to us and giving us revelations today. LET ME BE CLEAR HERE while, I do not disagree that the Holy Spirit guides us by conviction of sin, bringing to our remembrance passages of Scripture that we have studied, and pointing always to Jesus, I do not believe that the prophetic gifts and visions are still occurring today, Scripture and church history has taught and confirmed via numerous trials over various heresies that these gifts were poured out during the days of the apostles to verify they were from God and for the writing down of the canon of Scripture, but as the cannon was closed, these charismatic gifts ceased. Again we are not taught in scripture to sit in silence and empty our minds in an attempt to “listen to God”

In his book, Hearing God’s Voice, Mr. Blackaby even states this,

“There is nothing more important in life than understanding when God is speaking to you. If you are disoriented to God’s voice, your life is dangerously vulnerable. The Bible indicates conclusively that God does speak to people and that he does guide them in his will. The problem of not hearing from God never lies with God. He does communicate his will. It is not a matter of us searching in vain for God’s hidden will. He readily reveals it to those who show themselves obedient to do it. If you do not hear God’s voice, could it be your heart is not ready to respond to what he says?”

This is pretty typical of Blackaby’s teaching. Indicating that if you don’t “hear God speaking to you” it is a problem with you and probably because you are sinning or unwilling to obey. Well, what if you have searched and confessed every sin you know to do so, and still don’t “hear” God? Who of us is ever completely free from sin? Why do we continue to seek to “hear God” when He has already given us a written revelation for our lives.

It was this teaching that tormented my soul, kept me paralyzed as to how to serve God many times, and caused a class system in thinking that some Christians are just more “holy” than others. Friends, this is simply NOT TRUE. Your heavenly Father loves You dearly and He has given you a closed cannon of Scripture to study and obey. We pray to God using words as He instructed in the Lord’s Prayer, then by the Holy Spirit, does answer our prayers and providentially does guide us, but He uses the Word to do so and He never instructs us that if we aren’t “hearing Him speak” it is because we aren’t righteous enough or haven’t learned the proper techniques to sit in silence and “hear Him”.

Again, I reiterate, I am not at all saying that Ms. Moore or Mr. Blackaby are intentionally misleading folks any more than I was intentionally misleading you. I believe they have the best of intentions in their teaching, but the bottom line is we are instructed in scripture to test everything and to be Bereans and take it back to scripture to see if it is so.

The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, [a]and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, [b]for they received the word with [c]great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed, [d]along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. Acts 17:10-12

For some other references to help you understand my concerns over Mr. Blackaby I refer you here:http://www.svchapel.org/resources/book-reviews/4-christian-living/118-experiencing-god-by-henry-blackaby
http://cicministry.org/commentary/issue99.htm

When Ms. Moore promotes contemplative prayer and silence which is akin to eastern mystical mediation and when Mr. Blackaby threatens Christians that if they aren’t “hearing God” it is because they don’t have a right relationship with God and haven’t rightly learned how to read the signs of circumstances, people, and random Bible reading, they both mislead Christians into a more mystical experiential driven walk with God rather than one built upon solid Bible understanding an Biblical decision making.
I offer a few more articles and videos at the end of this letter for you to read to understand more than I can express in this short letter. If you do not use the internet or have access, please contact me. I am happy to print out these articles and mail them to you. Essentially, this is an issue over what was termed by the Reformers of the protestant Reformation, Sola Scriptura. It means Scripture Alone. It was a fundamental issue that the Reformers stood upon when protesting the Roman Catholic Teaching that men need additional teaching and experiences outside of Scripture in order to fully know how to be saved, how to know Christ, and how to know what He wants for their lives. The Reformers staunchly defended the idea that Scripture is all that is necessary for faith and living. Basing this upon the Scriptures that tell us,

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be PERFECT, THOROUGHLY FURNISHED UNTO ALL GOOD WORKS.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

I want to add that historically, Baptists, have been the ones to stand firmly against the charismatic false teachings that tried to enter the church. I really don’t know what is happening today, but many have sadly been led astray from this foundational truth and are compromising the Word by promoting eastern mysticism as a valuable tool for Christians.
Again, I want to say. I am NOT SAYING the Holy Spirit doesn’t lead us and guide us into God’s providential will. Not at All!! In fact, I truly believe that God is Sovereign and NOTHING HAPPENS that isn’t according to His decree and Sovereign will. What I am saying, however, is that in our prayer life we are never taught to sit in silence to summons God to reveal to us through inner hunches His will for our lives. We are never taught that we can’t make decisions until we know what God is “saying to us” or “revealing” to us. God has already “revealed” His will for every believer in His written Word. The cannon has been closed and all we need is to study it in CONTEXT, obey what we are told which includes renewing our minds and not being conformed to this world, so that by this renewal of our mind and knowledge of the Word, as we go through our lives, the Holy Spirit will guide us and bring to our remembrance Scripture in order to enable us to make wise decisions. But to seek to “hear Him” in some mystical fashion, and worse, to threaten Christians that if they aren’t “experiencing God” in this manner it is likely because of sin or unwillingness to obey, is at best a misrepresentation of the correct way to pray, and at worse tormenting to the soul of a genuine believer longing to follow Christ.

I love you dear sisters and I hope you understand my heart is only to warn you and apologize for not being more discerning in the past. I recognize these are heavy topics and may take you completely by surprise. I only pray, that you will understand my heart is only desirous of honoring our Lord and His Word and in loving my sisters by not refraining to speak the truth in love.

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13

In His Name and For His Glory Alone,
Amanda Bowers

What is Contemplative prayer?http://youtu.be/3fOkxORTWHs
http://youtu.be/RaccrwYGOsA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipnC5uXEeUc

Who is Richard Foster and what is Spiritual formation? These are the articles I’ve written on my blog. There are numerous more citations and reference links should you wish further proof or explanation for my claims.http://hearshisvoice.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/104/
http://hearshisvoice.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/114/
http://hearshisvoice.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/why-i-believe-richard-foster-is-a-false-teacher-reason-2-denies-total-depravity-and-salvation-by-grace-alone/
http://hearshisvoice.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/151/
http://cicministry.org/commentary/issue112.htm

Gospel Coalition and ER2

Carson and Keller on Jakes and the Elephant Room

originally posted @ http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/02/03/carson-and-keller-on-jakes-and-the-elephant-room/

Controversy customarily generates its share of purple prose. It is very easy to read everything an opponent says as negatively as possible---in malam partem, as the Latins say, "in a bad sense," while taking what our friends say in bonam partem, "in a good sense." Such debate tends to generate polarities---and God knows that sometimes what we most need are clear-sighted polarities. Some of these polarities, however, quickly take on the flavor of party spirit and predictable responses, without any powerful effort to encourage a meeting of minds, even where we end up in disagreement.

But controversy can also provide a teaching moment, not least because the interest of many people is focused on the disputed issues. It is hard to deny that such a moment has arrived. We would like to offer some theological reflections on six conceptual pairings. We have learned over the past few decades that clear thought about the six pairings we are about to comment on is not easy. Others may be able to improve upon our musings, or even correct them. Still, we hope that the following theological reflections will clarify at least a few issues for some people.

1. Persons and Manifestations

What is at stake in the distinction? Toward the end of the second century and right through the third century, a number of thinkers defended a modal Trinity: the one God disclosed in three modes or manifestations. These people were variously called Unitarians, Patripassians (because they believed the Father suffered), or Sabellians (after Sabellius, a presbyter in Ptolemais, c. AD 250). They defended the deity of Christ (and on this one point aligned with historic Christian belief), but they denied personal distinctions in the Godhead. In their view, the one and the same person is simultaneously Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These labels express the different relations that God sustains with the world and the church, just as do other labels (e.g., Creator, King, Sustainer). But one cannot say that God the Creator addresses God the King: there is only one person. So on this view, the one person, God, has revealed himself in various manifestations or modes (hence this view is sometimes called modalism); we are not dealing with one God who has disclosed himself to be three persons, each of whom can and does address the other. It was not long before the church roundly condemned modalism, not least because Scripture is replete with passages in which, for instance, the Father addresses the Son, and the Son the Father.
When orthodox believers sought language to summarize the idea that each person of the Godhead is a self-conscious agent (the Latin category is suppositum intelligens), in the Greek part of the ancient world they first settled on prosōpon ("face"). But the Sabellians understood the same word to mean something like "aspect," and they defended the view that God revealed himself under a threefold aspect. Eventually the orthodox settled on hypostasis. Among the Latin speakers, Christians settled on substantia or persona---and hence our English word "person." (See chart below.) Christian thinkers have argued for centuries exactly how we should understand persona in Latin and "person" in English, but the very least that had to be affirmed was the deeply entrenched biblical reality that the "persons" of the Godhead interact with one another, address one another, love one another, in a "personal" way.

Terms Expressing God's Oneness and Threeness

	Greek	Latin	English
One	ousia, physis	substantia, essentia	being, substance, essence, nature
Three	hypostaseis, prosōpa	personae	persons, subsistences, modes of subsistence

(This chart is from John M. Frame, The Doctrine of God, A Theology of Lordship [Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed, 2002], 697; see pp. 696-705.) Of course, the doctrine of the Trinity is much richer than these few lines suggest. As Christians in the third and fourth century studied the biblical evidence, they insisted that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit express necessary, internal, and eternal relations in the Godhead. Today, of course, we sometimes quickly summarize the doctrine of the Trinity: the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, and there is but one God. That is true as far as it goes, but it does not guard very well against modalism. The early church taught "that the Father eternally, necessarily, and incomprehensibly communicates the divine essence to the Son without division or change so that the Son shares an equality of nature with the Father yet is also distinct from the Father" (this is the careful summary of Keith E. Johnson, "Augustine, Eternal Generation, and Evangelical Trinitarianism," TrinJ 32 [2011]: 141-163). The language of "communication" was judged crucial: the essence is absolute and communicable, and the early church fathers spoke of this communication in terms of the eternal generation of the Son, while the person is incommunicable, i.e., it cannot be shared. So while one joyfully confesses that the Son is God and the Father is God, the church throughout its history has equally insisted that the Son is not the Father and the Father is not the Son. The church needs a robust Trinitarianism to avoid modalism on the one hand and tritheism on the other.

Had we the space and time, it would be delightful to justify this synthesis by providing the exegesis of many passages, and then extend the discussion from Father and Son to the Spirit. Someone might ask, "But what does it matter?" The answer is twofold: (1) If this summary accurately captures at least some of the glorious truth of the nature of the Godhead, to abandon it is to abandon a true understanding of God. If we are to worship God aright, we must worship him as he is, as he has disclosed himself to us. The only alternative is to worship a god who is progressively false as our understanding skews away from the truth. (2) Various truths connected with the gospel itself become incoherent if one abandons robust Trinitarianism. The Father sends the Son; the Son demonstrates his love for the Father by obeying him all the way to the cross; the Son addresses his Father in the anguished cry, "My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?"; the Father gives the elect to the Son; in the plan of God, the Son propitiates the wrath of God and expiates sin; in the wake of his ascension and session at the Father's right hand, the Son reigns as the Father's mediatorial king until he has crushed all opponents, when he will turn the entire scope over to his Father; indeed, when the Son "offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death . . . he was heard because of his reverent submission" (Heb 5:7). None of these relational displays---and there are many others in the drama of redemption---is coherent under modalism. These relations are tied up with the nature of the Godhead. It is not surprising that those who adopt modalism habitually slide toward a diminished gospel.

In his Institutes, John Calvin sums it up: "Say that in the one essence of God there is a trinity of persons: you will say in one word what Scripture says, and cut short empty talkativeness." He then adds that, in his experience, those who "persistently quarrel" over these words "nurse a secret poison" (I.13.5).

Read Full Response @ http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/02/03/carson-and-keller-on-jakes-and-the-elephant-room/

Elephant Room, Voddie Bauchman and T.D. Jakes

The Elephant in the Room

January 30, 2012

by Voddie Bauchman

http://www.gracefamilybaptist.net/

This past week a firestorm erupted over the recent “Elephant Room 2.” The controversy centers around the decision to invite Bishop T.D. Jakes to participate in the event. The central questions in the debate are 1) whether or not Bishop Jakes holds to the historic, orthodox doctrine of the Trinity, 2) whether it was appropriate to invite (and feature) him without first having clarified his position on this cardinal doctrine, and 3) whether he cleared up the matter.

I was scheduled to speak at Harvest Bible Chapel on the weekend following ER2 which raised significant questions about my stance on the matter. While I do not consider it my responsibility to comment on every controversy, I do recognize my duty to clarify matters with which I am involved directly, and/or those that impact the congregation I am called to shepherd. Hence, my explanation now.

My Invitation to ER2

In October of 2011, I was invited to participate in The Elephant Room 2. The invitation followed Mark Dever’s decision to pull out. James MacDonald called me and asked me to take his place. He also informed me of the controversy at that time surrounding the invitation to Jakes and Dever’s decision to pull out, and that Crawford Loritts had agreed to fill in. I knew James MacDonald only indirectly, and I had only recently heard of the Elephant Room.
Initially, it sounded like a very good idea to “pin Jakes down” on the Trinity. My area of emphasis in my theological training is Evangelism/Apologetics. Moreover, I addressed Jakes’s modalism in my first book in 2004, so I am well aware of the issues in question, and believed I could make a contribution. Also, to my delight, James indicated that Jakes had abandoned Oneness Pentecostalism, rejected Modalism, and, he believed, Jakes would make that clear at ER2.
I called my fellow elders to make them aware of the invitation (we usually meet monthly to review and consider invitations, but this was an urgent matter, and MacDonald had asked for a decision by the next day). We agreed that I should 1) find out more about the Elephant Room (specifically, was this an apologetics forum, or a forum that would assume Jakes’s orthodoxy), and 2) find out why Dever had backed out.
After investigating the matter, I decided to decline the invitation. My decision was based on four major areas of concern (Note: I voiced these four concerns to James MacDonald during our phone conversation the next day):

1. T.D. Jakes has a history of holding to, teaching, and associating with modalism, and ER2 was a forum wherein he would be assumed to be a “brother”.
   
   I was already on record concerning Bishop Jakes’s modalism (see: The Ever Loving Truth, LifeWay, 2004), and I have kept up with the matter. Jakes had never repudiated Oneness Pentecostalism. Nor had he come out with an unambiguous, credal/confessional statement on the doctrine of the Trinity. There was absolutely no basis for me to assume that Jakes was suddenly orthodox, and therefore, no basis for me to welcome him as a brother.
   
2. The “Word of Faith” gospel he preaches is heterodox and harmful.
   
   Even if Jakes had come out with a statement on the doctrine of the Trinity, it would not have done anything to change the fact that he preaches “another gospel.” (Gal 1:8–9) Having studied the “Word of Faith” movement, and seen the devastation it leaves in its wake, I was disinclined to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the man who has been this country’s most popular purveyor of this heresy in the past two decades (Note: James MacDonald and Mark Driscoll had both preached against the Word of Faith movement and called it heresy, so I did not believe I was informing James of anything he did not know already).
   
3. Jakes’s influence in the Dallas Metroplex has been negative, at best.
   
   My wife is from Dallas, and my in-laws still live there (her parents and five siblings). I have preached in Dallas on many occasions, and at numerous churches, and have many acquaintances in the city. I know firsthand what kind of influence T.D. Jakes has had on the evangelical community, and broader Christian witness there. Suffice to say that he has not brought greater gospel clarity and fidelity. He has, however, brought a charismatic, theatrical, excessive, “Word of Faith” flavor to the city that permeates many churches (especially black churches).
   
4. Bishop Jakes is an example of the worst the black church has to offer.
   
   One of the goals of ER2 was to address the issue of “racial” unity. Thus, Bishop Jakes was there (at least in part) as a representative of the “black church.” In light of the aforementioned issues, I was disinclined to participate in such an event. You see, Jakes was an invited guest; an invited ‘black’ guest. If he were mistreated, he had the race card; if he was accepted, he had entree into a new audience. It was a win-win for Jakes, and a lose-lose for evangelicalism. Obviously, he was not going to spout unadulterated modalism. Nor was he going to repudiate his roots (remember, this is his “heritage,” both ethnically and theologically). He had a perfect opportunity to find a middle ground and show “humility” in an environment that would be portrayed as “hostile” even though hostility was forbidden in light of the unwritten rules surrounding his blackness. Thus, his opponents had to choose between outright defeat and pyrrhic victory.
   
   Moreover, I rejected the invitation because I did not want to give even the appearance of tokenism. The participants in the Elephant Room (and ER2), though they disagree methodologically on how we “get there,” are all virtually identical in their general profile. They are all successful mega-church pastors who have leveraged innovative and/or controversial methodologies to grow their churches, media empires, and/or pare-church ministries. I, on the other hand, am a pastor serving at a church with less than five hundred members; I’m not on television or radio; and my books aren’t best sellers. I don’t fit the profile! Whether MacDonald meant to or not, he was painting a picture of tokenism. If he meant it, I didn’t want to be used, and if he didn’t mean it, I didn’t want to be the source of misunderstanding.

While Pastor MacDonald said he “respected” my decision, he made it clear that he did not agree with me. We agreed to disagree and he moved on. At this time, I made two important decisions. First, I decided not to get involved in the public furor over ER2. I had spoken my piece to James, and saw no advantage in getting involved any further. There were others who were making many of the same points, and I did not want to pile on (James White, Phil Johnson, Thabiti Anyabwile, Anthony Carter, and others were pressing the issue, and bringing the pertinent points to light). I do not regret this decision. My second decision, however, is another story altogether. My second decision was to move forward with the scheduled Men’s Conference. That was unwise.

The Men’s Conference

I was naive to think that there would be no fallout if I decided to go forward with the Men’s Conference. The Men’s Conference was scheduled to take place two days after ER2. Once my worst fears were realized at ER2 (i.e., Jakes equivocated on modalism, was not even challenged on WOF gospel, etc. see here for a detailed analysis), there was no way for me to 1) keep silent on this growing controversy, and 2) attend the Men’s Conference, without giving tacit approval to ER2. The decision to go public was inevitable. The only question was how.
I have a regular practice of posting notices of upcoming events in my monthly newsletter, and on my Facebook fan page. These have been invaluable tools that keep people apprised of when I’m coming to their area (or the area of friends and family whom they’d like to invite to one of our events), how they can pray for me, and what kind of doors the Lord is opening for the ministry.
As per my practice, I posted a link to the Men’s Conference and asked, “Any fan page members planning to attend...” As you can imagine, there were more than a few questions about my position on ER2, my relationship with James MacDonald and Harvest Bible Chapel, and a whole host of other things. I answered those questions as honestly as I could. I made it clear that I opposed the decision to invite Bishop Jakes; pointed out what I saw as his masterful ‘dodge’ on the trinitarian question (and subsequent affirmation of modalist language), and gave a brief explanation of my reasoning for keeping this prior commitment (see here for a recap).
This did not go over well with James MacDonald. Upon my arrival at the church the next day, he and I sat down (along with my assistant and several members of his staff) and had a candid conversation about my decision to answer questions in a public forum. Ultimately, we agreed that it was not a good idea for me to speak at the conference. We prayed, shook hands, embraced, and ended the meeting as brothers. James also insisted on paying the agreed honorarium (Added 1/31/12). MacDonald had already made arrangements for a replacement speaker. My assistant and I were escorted to a waiting car and taken back to the airport.

Looking Back

Looking back on the incident, I realize that I put myself in an untenable position. As I see it, I had three choices once ER2 went down the way it did. I could remain silent indefinitely, which would have given tacit approval of Jakes, etc.. I could have held my comments until after the Men’s Conference, which would have been deceptive to James MacDonald, HBC, and those who showed up to hear me. Or I could answer the questions honestly ahead of time leaving no doubt as to both my decision to honor my commitment to the Men’s Conference, and my disapproval of ER2. Obviously, I chose the latter.
In hindsight, I should have canceled the event when I declined the ER2 invitation. But remember, there were many ‘moving parts’ at that time. There were private, internal discussions within The Gospel Coalition. There was public pressure from all corners of the evangelical community, and there were private conversations (I’ve already alluded to my own discussion, and that of Mark Dever, but there were others). There was also a possibility that Jakes had truly repented, and these guys (specifically MacDonald, Driscoll, and Jack Graham) were privy to things the rest of us simply didn’t, or couldn’t know at the time.

Looking Ahead

As I look ahead, I think two things are very important. First, I believe T.D. Jakes is wrong on the doctrine of the Trinity, and wrong on the gospel. I am also involved directly in a matter (the ER2 controversy) that has brought discussion of those facts to light. Consequently, my mandate to “hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9) obligates me to be on record in the matter. I have done that.
Second, the racial overtones of this matter have gotten out of hand (see here, for example), and must be addressed. The ER2 controversy is now pitting black evangelicals against white evangelicals, and against each other with T.D. Jakes as the centerpiece. This is an opportunity to pull back the curtain on the awkward racial dynamic in evangelical circles. Race is a convenient ‘dodge’ for those with weak arguments, and an inconvenient truth for those who harbor prejudice. Beyond that, it is an absolutely confusing subject for myriad evangelicals who simply love Christ, love his church, and want desperately not to offend their brothers and sisters in the Lord by using “black” when they should have used “African American,” or vice versa!
The irony is that this issue is most pronounced when heterodoxy is in play. For example, when a white evangelical disagrees with a solid, Reformed, black pastor on a technical theological issue, there is rarely a charge of racism. However, let that black brother be part of a heterodox or heretical group (i.e., Oneness Pentecostalism, Word of Faith, Black Liberation Theology, etc.), and suddenly the white brother who makes the argument against him faces charges of racism! Why? Partly because of... RACISM!
You see, some of this boils down to what has sometimes been called, “the soft bigotry of lowered expectations.” Asking black people to adopt orthodox theology (when Lord knows they don’t have access to the same schools, books, opportunities, and, in the minds of some... lack sufficient intelligence) is asking them to negate their blackness. While, on the other hand, the solid, Reformed, well-educated black pastor is NOT REALLY BLACK. Therefore, he’s fair game. Irony of Ironies... that is racist! And that’s what has to be dragged out of the shadows.
I’m not angry with James MacDonald. He’s my brother, and I love him. We disagree. We both understand that. Ironically, that’s what The Elephant Room is supposedly all about. Brothers should be able to disagree with one another and still be brothers. There’s just one problem: Embracing Jakes while rejecting others because we question his history of modalism and Word of Faith teaching... that’s the real “Elephant in the Room”?

2012 - The Road Ahead

2012: The Road Ahead - Part 5

by Gary Kah

http://www.garykah.org/

The Road Ahead

As we enter 2012, things wont be getting any easier for Bible-believing Christians and conservative Jews. Satan has worked long and hard to get our fallen world to this point. Gods Word predicted such times would come. We shouldnt be surprised. 

While I am not caught off guard by current developments, I am grieved and deeply saddened by the fact that so many people are filled with hatred and despise the very truth that could save them. The question for me as a Christian becomes what should I do how should I respond? 

As the world drifts ever closer to the crisis point that will give rise to the nefarious leader described in Scripture, the warning signs the Lord is permitting us to see are reminders that our time is short and this earth is not our permanent home.

As James put it, our life is like a vapor that appears for a while and then vanishes (James 4:14). This being the case, we must travel lightly, not being weighed down by the temporary and often vane pursuits of this life. Rather, we must keep our hearts and minds focused on matters of eternity, recognizing that our reward is not of this world but awaits us in Heaven. 

Keeping an eternal perspective in an increasingly depraved and materialistic world is no small challenge. We can only be victorious in this area by maintaining a close daily walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord, I believe, is allowing us to see the signs of the times to draw us closer to Himself. As we draw near to Him, the Holy Spirit empowers us to be obedient and surrendered to doing Gods will in our lives. This, in turn, impacts those around us for His glory and honor. 

Peter said it well: Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.  I Peter 2:11-12 

At a time when hatred for Christians is on the rise and many are being persecuted for their faith, it is important that we do not let our love for each other and even for those who may despise us grow cold. Jesus exhorted his followers,

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you?-Do to others as you would have them do to you-Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:27-28, 31, 35-36 

Similarly, in Romans chapter 12, Paul wrote, Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  Romans 12:9, 14, 17, 19 & 21 

The bottom line is this: In the process of hating and exposing evil as we are commanded to do we must at the individual level never stop loving the sinner. In order to fulfill the Great Commission given to us by Jesus (Matt. 28:19-20), we must continue to represent Him with dignity before those who hate us, remembering that we too were once enemies of Christ before we embraced His love and accepted His forgiveness. With this in mind and as we embark on a new year, let us abide in Jesus and let His love and grace live through us to reach those who desperately need Him.  

1 Aaron Klein, ??Next target of protesters: U.S. Dollar? Group seeks global currency to replace each nation??s financial system,?? WorldNetDaily, October 31, 2011, www.wnd.com/?pageId=362293.

2 Ibid.

3 ??Mikhail Gorbachev Says Uprisings Signal an Emerging New World Order,?? Report on Gorbachev??s speech at Lafayette College, October 20, 2011, http://www.lafayette.edu/about/news/2011/10/20/mikhail-gorbachev-says-uprisings-signal-an-emerging-new-world-order/.

4 Jay Lindsay, Associated Press, (AP reporter Karen Matthews in New York contributed to this report), ??Religion claims its place in Occupy Wall Street,?? YAHOO! News, October 24, 2011, http://news.yahoo.com/religion-claims-place-occupy-wall-street-171204904.html.

5 CNN, December 5, 2011.

6 Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, ??New recession threatens the globe as debt crisis grows,?? The Telegraph, November 10, 2011, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8882524/New-recession-threatens-the-globe-as-debt-crisis-grows.html.

7 Ibid.

8 Becket Adams, ??These States Will Suffer the Most in the Event of an EU Collapse,?? The Blaze, November 17, 2011, http://www.theblaze.com/stories/these-states-will-suffer-the-most-in-the-event-of-an-eu-collapse/.

9 ??Vatican Calls for ?(R)Central World Bank?? to Be Set Up,?? CNBC Report by Reuters, October 24, 2011, http://www.cnbc.com/id/45013499.

10 Patrick Hennessy and Bruno Waterfield, ??New euro ?(R)empire?? plot by Brussels,?? The Telegraph, October 22, 2011, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/8843785/New-euro-empire-plot-by-Brussels.html.

11 EU Chief: The Time has Come for a Federal Europe,?? Express, online edition, September 14, 2011.

12 ??Middle East firestorm: Worsening crisis may soon engulf region in ?(R)unthinkable?? nightmare,?? DEBKAfile, as reported by The Extinction Protocol, November 28, 2011, http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/middle-east-firestorm-worsening-crisis-may-soon-engulf-region-in-unthinkable-nightmare/.

13 ??Middle East firestorm: Worsening crisis may soon engulf region in ?(R)unthinkable?? nightmare,?? Haaretz, as reported by The Extinction Protocol, November 28, 2011, http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/middle-east-firestorm-worsening-crisis-may-soon-engulf-region-in-unthinkable-nightmare/.

14 ??Iran moves on from ?(R)Destroy Israel!?? to ?(R)Destroy all the Jews!???? Exclusive Report by DEBKAfile, December 3, 2011, http://www.debka.com/article/21536/printversion/.

15 Ibid.

16 L. A. Marzulli, Commentary & Analysis, ??Middle East Update ?C The Gathering Storm,?? ??Report: Syria arms missiles with chemical warheads,?? December 12, 2011. His website is www.lamarzulli.net.

17 Ibid.

18 NBC Nightly News, December 12 & 15, 2011.

19 The Christian Post, as reported by JNN News, Jerusalem-on-the-Line, December 11, 2011, http://www.jnnnews.com/jol_dec_11_11_sp.htm.

20 JNN News, Jerusalem-on-the-Line, December 11, 2011, http://www.jnnnews.com/jol_dec_11_11_sp.htm

2012: What to Expect - Part 4

2012: What to Expect - Part 4

by Gary Kah

http://www.garykah.org/

Nightmare in the Middle East

Although Europe is in the midst of a worsening crisis, it is nothing compared to the nightmare faced by the Middle Eastern countries, especially Israel. The Jewish nation finds itself surrounded by governments intent on its destruction. The so-called Arab Spring uprisings which were supposed to bring freedom to the people, are instead moving Arab nations toward an Islamic caliphate that will threaten the stability of the entire region.

After the recent elections in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood is now in firm control of that country. Things are headed in the same direction in Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and other nations where The Brotherhood has a growing presence. The Muslim Brotherhood, it should be noted, has birthed most of the known terror groups in the Middle East. These same groups are also receiving support from Iran.

Ironically, while the West has applauded and even directly supported the Arab Spring, Iran sees itself as the principal beneficiary of the movement. Irans Ahmadinejad envisions building a multi-nation Islamic caliphate that will lead the charge to annihilate Israel. At present, he is only a few months from having a nuclear weapon. If nothing changes, by April of this year, Iran is expected to have five nuclear bombs in its arsenal.

It is widely suspected that recent explosions at two Iranian military installations were the work of Israeli covert operatives trying to delay or stop Irans development of surface-to-surface missiles that would be used to deliver nuclear bombs. If Israel were to launch an open preemptive strike targeting Irans nuclear sites, it would have the effect of further solidifying support for Iran among radical Muslims in the region. On November 27, Iranian Defense Minister General Ahmad Vahidi warned that Israel would be attacked with 150,000 missiles if it launches any military action against the Islamic Republic.13 If Israel does nothing, however, it will only be a matter of time before she comes under attack. Our sources in the Middle East are telling us the situation is precarious and anything could happen at any time.

The Iranian government seems to be doing everything in its power to provoke Israel. According to DEBKAfile, in early December, Irans rulers upgraded their strategic objective of wiping Israel off the map and extended it for the first time to the more ambitious one of annihilating the Jews worldwide. DEBKAfile reports:

-the ayatollahs in Tehran and Qom unleashed a virulent campaign of anti-Semitic propaganda in their sermons. A new book and a film were released for wide distribution on orders from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei?-.

Under the title How Israel should be destroyed, this book was awarded the best book prize at the Khorassan book fair when it was first displayed there on Thursday, Dec. 1. The books editor Hojjat-ol-Eslam Mohammad Ebrahim-Nia stresses that this prescription has the force of a fatwa (religious edict) and is binding on every Muslim. The anti-Semitic film, “The Sabbath Hunter”,  has been circulating for some time but was a flop with Iranian movie audiences. Now the Supreme Leader has ordered it to be screened at every university in the land. The Basij students who rampaged through the British embassy in Tehran this week were made responsible with getting it widely shown.

While Irans leaders are stoking the flames of war, Irans close ally, Syria, is in complete upheaval. Syrias situation is perhaps the most complex in the Middle East. If Arab Spring protesters eventually win out, they would likely be dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood under a new Syrian regime. Another possibility: If President Bashar Assads power continues to be threatened, he might do something desperate to solidify his control like invade Jordan or Israel. Assads government recently armed its medium-range missiles with chemical warheads and has warned it would launch them at Tel Aviv if Syria is in any way attacked or threatened.

No outcome in Syria looks favorable for Israel or the pursuit of freedom. The unfolding situation in Damascus could well tip the scales toward war in the Middle East, and therefore bears close watching. (Russia has reportedly sent a large number of gas masks to Damascus. 17 Other reports indicate that a number of US troops exiting Iraq have been redeployed in Jordan along that countrys border with Syria.)

Some may wonder, where does Iraq fit in? The tragic fact is that Iran now holds sway over Iraq. After nine years of war and the deaths of nearly 4,500 US troops and at least 150,000 Iraqis, in many respects the country is currently more unstable and more likely to go the direction of radical Islam than when Saddam Hussein was in power.

Saddam Hussein was a Sunni Muslim. Sunnis have long been at odds with Shiite Muslims, who control Iran. The Iraqi government being left in charge as US soldiers come home is predominately Shiite, with strong loyalties to their Iranian Shiite brethren. The fact is, Saddams Sunnis kept the more radical Shiites in check and served as somewhat of a counter to Iranian dominance in the region. In other words, as long as Iran and Iraq had to contend with each other, they didnt have much time or resources to stir up trouble elsewhere. Now, all bets are off. US intervention threw off the balance of power in the region.

Some of the fall-out from this sad reality can be seen in the Iraqi treatment of Jews and Christians. The handful of Jews remaining in the country are in constant danger, and the persecution of Christians has gone viral. Prior to the American occupation, Iraq had a sizeable and even vibrant Christian community of 1.4 million. However, most of Iraqs Christians have since fled the country due to intensified persecution. Only about 500,000 Christians remain in Iraq, and many of them are trying to get out. The Christian Post recently reported, ??Persecution makes the Christian community smaller each year, with churches as well as households being targeted and causing worshipers to flee.

Islamic terror groups have had a favorite slogan for several decades: ??First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people.?? This means of course, first the Jews then the Christians will be targeted for persecution, subjection and elimination.20 This hatred is now playing out in parts of the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere. (Please take a moment to read the adjacent report Persecution of the Saints, which gives a brief overview of the plight of Christians in these regions.)

2012: What to Expect - Part 3

What To Expect in 2012

By Gary Kah

http://www.garykah.org/

Growing Unrest in Europe

While the situation in the US is unpredictable at best, matters in Europe are becoming more tense by the day. On December 5, the S & P security ratings agency warned 15 European Union countries of potential downgrades. The treasury bonds of Portugal, Ireland, and Greece have already been downgraded to junk status. Spain and Italy arent far behind.

Only a few weeks earlier Professor Simon Johnson, a former chief economist at the IMF, rattled nerves by warning that the world is looking straight into the face of a great depression. The IMF reported that loans had doubled to almost 200 percent of GDP ?C an unprecedented level of credit growth and about twice the intensity of the Japanese bubble in the late 1980s. EU commissioner Olli Rehn slashed growth forecasts from 1.6 to .5 percent for 2012, stating that recovery has now come to a standstill. Humayun Shahryar from the hedge fund Auvest offered the bleakest assessment, predicting the Eurozone faced a major economic collapse, perhaps with double-digit drops in GDP. He explained, European banks are massively over-leveraged and almost every one [of them] is worthless -This is going to be worse than 2008 because they have run out of bullets. The sovereign states are not strong enough to stand behind the banks

Niall Ferguson, a Harvard History Professor, elaborates: Europes problem is not just that governments are overborrowed. There are an unknown number of European banks that are effectively insolvent if their holdings of government bonds are marked to market in other words, valued at their current rock-bottom market prices.

Accurately anticipating such a crisis, the Vatican issued a special report on October 24, offering its solution. The 18-page document explicitly calls for the establishment of a global public authority and a central world bank to govern over financial institutions which have become outdated and ineffective. The world authority to be created would be given universal jurisdiction. Here are some excerpts from the report:

In fact, one can see an emerging requirement for a body that will carry out the functions of a kind of central world bank that regulates the flow and system of monetary exchanges similar to the national central banks. Of course, this transformation will be made at the cost of a gradual, balanced transfer of a part of each nations powers to a world authority and to regional authorities, but this is necessary at a time when the dynamism of human society and the economy and the progress of technology are transcending borders, which are in fact already very eroded in a globalized world.

(Source: Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of a Global Public Authority, The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Vatican City, October 24, 2011.)

Already moving in this direction, the European Commission has recently taken steps to more closely integrate the economies and finances of its EU member states. On October 21, for example, European Council president, Herman Van Rompuy, put forth a proposal for a single Treasury to oversee tax and spending across the 17 eurozone nations. His announcement came after Europes finance ministers met in Brussels to find a way out of the eurozone crisis. Mr. Van Rompuy, who according to British sources is close to the German government, suggested plans for a finance ministry to be based either in Frankfurt or Paris.

Jose Barroso, President of the European Commission, has gone so far as to openly call for a Federal Europe a United States of Europe.11 This idea is rapidly gaining momentum across Europe, being viewed as a potential way out of the deepening financial and political crisis.

Europe, which is setting the tempo for the rest of the world on globalization, must be persuaded to take the next step into a fully integrated, multinational regional government which would conveniently fit into a system of global government (under a world political authority). In the mind of determined globalists, every crisis presents an opportunity to advance their agenda which includes the creation of regional federated governments that can easily be merged into a world government.

 European leaders are pushing hard toward this goal. This time, given the enormity of the crisis, they may finally have the leverage to achieve it.

Interestingly, while Europe wrestles to reshape itself, the blame for its problems  which are being used to force this change is increasingly being directed at the Jews. This sentiment is particularly well advanced in France, but is now spreading across other Eurozone countries including Germany, Greece, Spain, and Italy. History seems to be repeating itself.