The Tale Of Three Preachers

This week, I went to the State Evangelism Conference at Cedarville University. This conference is always good. I am always proud of Ohio after this conference. We draw large crowds and great speakers. This year was no different.

I do not listen to every sermon. I just can't. I can only sit in one place for about an hour. I am a huge man, and pews maybe the worst things for me to sit in. After about 20 minutes I am in terrible pain. Thus, I find myself listening to sermons and then wondering the halls. I also have very little use for Church music. This makes me odd, but I could go without music. It seldom lifts me up, and it mostly annoys me.

There were three preachers that I enjoyed the most, but their styles and personalities were totally different from each other. The three men come from different backgrounds, but they all have Ohio roots. I like all three of them, but there is one that inspires me. This post will explain why the one, and why not the other two.

The first preacher is John Avant. Pastor Avant is the Vice-President of Evangelism at the North American Mission Board. His first ministry position was in Ohio. He is an incredible communicator, and kept me listening through his entire message. He said one of the most brilliant things in his address. He said, "When I am 80 years old, I want to hate everything about my church accept for the preaching of the Bible." His point was that if he likes the church, it will not reach his grand- children. He wants to hate the music, the style, the computers, the programs, and anything else that is technical. I feel the same way. Why do we minister to the most mature Christian in the Church while the younger Christians are left out in the cold.

John Avant is a Church growth advocate. He is passionate about growing Churches. I came away from his message with the idea that we are to compromise everything we believe except the Gospel. This plays well with the Church growth crowd. However, I am a Baptist. I believe that doctrines are important, and there is more to Christianity and Church than salvation. I am sure John Avant would agree with me. He would think I listened to critically to his message. Nevertheless, Church growth folks are notoriously anti-doctrine. I liked Pastor Avant's message, and I will use some of his thoughts in the future, but I do not want to follow his pathway 100%.

Dr. Ergun Caner is the second preacher. Dr. Caner is the President of Liberty Theological Seminary. He is a bulldog and a hot head. The pastors in our state just love him.

He grew up in Columbus, Ohio. He was raised a Muslim, and converted to Christianity when he was a teenager. He has written several books, in which I have two. I have read both of them, and enjoyed them. His Muslim background has made him a target. He debates vigorously and angrily with the Muslims. He is a fist waving, blood pumping, voice raising apologist for Jesus Christ. You can't help but enjoy him.

Dr. Caner goes by the mindset, "If you see a good fight, get in it." I appreciate his zeal, and I like his confrontational style. Nevertheless, I think he lacks personal demeanor. My biggest problem with Dr. Caner is his inability to love. I am a Calvinist. Dr. Caner has a red hot hatred for Calvinists. I read his work, and listen to him speak, and I do not know what is worse in his eyes: Calvinism or Paganism. I consider him a brother in Christ. He considers me something else. I wish Dr. Caner would realize that the flip side of mercy is grace. He understands mercy well, I am not certain he knows grace at all.

Finally, Dr. David Jeremiah is the last preacher. Dr. Jeremiah's father was the long time President of Cedarville University. Dr. Jeremiah is currently the Pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church. He is also the founder and President of Turning Point ministries. Dr. Jeremiah is a Calvinist, but you would not know it unless you listened long and hard to his messages. He never uses theological language to describe his thoughts. He just preaches, and allows what he preaches to define who he is.

Dr. Jeremiah is not a Southern Baptist. However, he should be. His style, wisdom, knowledge, and ability is what every preacher should strive to be. He is not the greatest communicator in the world. I am sure there are some that wax more eloquently than he. I am sure there is some that are smarter. I am sure that there are some that are more knowledgeable. Nevertheless, his hunger to grow in all of these areas is impressive. Dr. Jeremiah does not back away from truth, and he will and has called a spade a spade. The difference between he and Dr Caner is very simple. Dr. Jeremiah shows grace, and Dr. Caner shows a fist.

I follow Christ. However, there are men that I wish to be more like, because they show that they are more like Christ than I. I will always appreciate Dr. Jeremiah and his ministry. He truly is a man of grace and dignity. This is the type of Pastor we need. All three of these men are good at what they do. Yet, I will take Dr. Jeremiah every day. The other two, I will enjoy at conferences.

Please Don't Say That!

As a Pastor, there are a lot of things that people do that bother me. Many people have no regard for sin. They live their lives believing that God doesn't care what they do. Other folks believe that it is their personal responsibility to critically evaluate everything you do. Some people will overlook things that go on in the lives of their friends and family, while they criticize others doing the same thing. However, when it comes to the things that people say; there are four statements that frustrate me more than all others. I desire to share these four statements with you in this blog.

First: "I feel". Now folks, I do not want to state that feelings are not important. God gave us feelings, and we should recognize this. However, we are way more concerned about feelings than God is. I have watched as people justify their sins because it feels right. Of course it feels right, your base nature is one of sin. I have heard people say, "Doesn't God want me to be happy?" The truth is that God wants you to be obedient. Happiness is not all that important. I have heard people say, "I just don't feel the way I used to". Really, I don't feel the way I did yesterday. Simply put, the Bible does not say, "I feel whom I believed." The Bible says, "I know whom I have believed." Your feelings are overrated. Spend your time focusing on what you know, even if you don't feel like it.

Second: "Who am I to judge." This statement is a mis-qoute of the Lord Jesus. I wish people understood what the Bible means by judging. "Who am I to Judge". I would never consider abortion, "But who am I to judge." I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, "But who am I to judge." Of course, you shouldn't have sex outside of marriage, "But who am I to judge." Folks, the Bible is the judge. We are the messengers. If the Bible says it is wrong, then it is OK for you to agree with the Bible. We need to stop justifying the Bible because we are afraid it might hurt someone's feelings. You already know what I think about feelings.

Third: "Listen to the words". This statement is normally said by a soloist before the song starts. I understand the intent of the statement. The soloist wants to take the spotlight off of them and onto the words in the song. This truly is a noble thing to do. I believe that the church soloist must always walk a line between performance and worship. This is why I don't applaud at music during a worship service. Nevertheless, "listen to the words" is annoying. I must ask the question, "What else am I going to listen to?" The truth is that I am going to listen to the song. My hope is the song will help me worship God. I hope the lyrics in the song are Biblically sound. I hope the melody is beautiful. I will listen to the music with the hope it doesn't over power the lyrics. Of course, I am going to "listen to the words." What else would I do.

Finally: "Do you know what I think?" First, if I did, you wouldn't have to tell me. Your statement would be, "You already know what I think, but I am going to say it anyways." Second, this statement for me is most annoying when introduced into a Biblical or theological conversation. What we think is not all that important. What the Bible says is very important. I have always appreciated the way Billy Graham answers difficult moral questions. If Larry King asks him a moral question, Dr. Graham always starts out by saying, "The Bible says, this or that." By doing this, if you don't like what comes out of Dr. Graham's mouth, then your beef is with the Bible. Dr. Graham was just quoting what the Bible says. It is much more important to know what the Bible says than to know what someone else thinks.

I am sure that this list isn't exhaustive. I bet tomorrow someone will say something that makes me shake my head. This is just life. By the way, doesn't the phrase "That's life" get under your skin.

SBC: Where From Here?

In the 1980's, the Southern Baptist Convention battled over the Bible. The moderates and the liberals ran the convention for about 3 decades. They gained leadership, not through a revolt, but by a steady, gradual slide away from historic Baptist beliefs. The truth is, that if they kept their mouths quiet about their political agenda, they probably would still have control of the convention.

Many Baptist want to continue to fight this old battle. However, this battle is over. The moderates and liberal no longer consider themselves Southern Baptist. They have started their own things, and they no longer show up at the national convention.

So, now that the battle over the Bible is over, where do we go from here?

I believe there are three fractions with in Baptist life that want to take the Convention in three different directions. The first group is the "Old Guard". This is the group that lead the way during the war over the Bible. The "Old Guard" is well respected and for the most part well liked. The other two groups respect and love those who are a part of the "Old Guard". The "Old Guard" are very conservative, very Baptist, and want everything to stay the way it is right now. The Convention is Biblical, it is Conservative, and it is mission oriented. This is what the "Old Guard" fought for, and they like what they got. I believe this is where the majority of Southern Baptists stand.

The second group is the "Young Bloods". This group is not as Baptist, and are in love with the Church growth movement. Some of the leaders of this group question whether being a Southern Baptist is all that important. This group loves what the Cooperative Program does, but does not like the way the mission boards are run. They love and respect the "Old Guard", but believe they are out of touch. Many in this group want to embrace other evangelical groups over their own. They do not care to put the word Baptist in their church names. Some of them even question whether or not the ordinance of Baptism is really necessary for Church membership. They are enamored by church growth, and if baptism is keeping someone away from coming to church it may not be all that important. This group is growing in popularity, and are looking for leaders to challenge for Convention posts.

The third and final group are the "Historic Believers". This group wants to return the convention to its Calvinistic roots. This group wants theology to be just as important as missiology. IT wants the convention to take a strong stance on doctrine and truth. This group loves the "Old Guard" and loves what they done. As a matter of fact, many "Historic Believers" are apart of the "Old Guard". Some of them are so loyal to the "Old Guard" they will not challenge their leadership. The "Historic Believers" have little trust of the "Young Bloods". The "Young Bloods" are worried about Church Growth. The "Historic Believers" are worried about eternal truths. They normally do not play well with each other. However, sometimes the "Historic Believers" will support a "Young Blood" leader if he promises them a voice at the table.

One of these three groups will lead the way. I truly do not see the "Old Guard" losing much more ground over the next decade. This last convention was a huge convention for the "Young Bloods". However, it hasn't changed anything and all the excitement has died down. I do not know if the "Historic Believers" will side with the "Young bloods" again. The "Historic Believers" allowed the "Young Bloods" to capture a victory this last convention. If the "Historic Believers" decide to support the "Old Guard", then the "Young Bloods" have no hope of victory.

In the end, I have my money on the "Historic Believers". The Church growth movement is beginning to fade. Historic truth is beginning to grow. The "Historic Believers" is a small group, but they are growing in power and influence. There are some in the "Old Guard" that hate doctrine. And many in the "Young Bloods" despise doctrine. However, in the end, they both know that doctrine is important. Truth will ultimately win out. At least I hope it does.