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In the Hedge with David J

Message to my NewSpring Church friends who have stopped talking to me

One of the most baffling things I have experienced since I left NewSpring Church is how the people I used to talk to have all but disappeared. Anyone who has ever attended NewSpring Church knows how the volunteers go out of their way to make everyone feel welcomed.

When I first started attending NewSpring Church in Greenville, I made friends with some of the staff etc... I always enjoyed talking to them when I volunteered on Sundays and during membership class.

When I started digging deep into what Perry Noble was teaching and started speaking up against some of the things going on at NewSpring Church, problems began to arise.

I went out of my way to try to contact Perry Noble several times with questions about his teachings only to be intercepted by the campus pastor. I tried to e-mail Perry. I sent him messages on Twitter, etc... only to be completely ignored. When I decided to leave NewSpring Church I wrote two letters. One letter was sent to Perry Noble with my concerns based upon the Scriptures, and the other was sent as an e-mail to the Greenville campus pastor. In the e-mail to the Greenville Campus, I did not mention any of my concerns with Perry Noble.

I know some of you read my blog. I would like to say that my concerns and complaints with NewSpring Church have nothing to do with you. It is my prayer that you will read what I have been blogging about and go to the Scriptures as your final authority. All the good works, all the good intentions, and all the outward expressions of godliness do not pardon the errors being taught by Perry Noble. No matter how much you volunteer and see "x" number of confessions, it does not cover the fact the Perry Noble is giving you "sour milk."

In the Scriptures, we see that Jesus Christ did not come to bring harmony by ignoring errors. Many times Jesus and the apostles caused some problems by simply speaking the truth.

John 8:57-59 (New American Standard Bible)

⁵⁷So the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"

⁵⁸Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."

⁵⁹Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.

The Jews did not get angry because Jesus was a radical as Perry Noble likes to claim. Jesus Christ obeyed the Law, therefore He corrected the errors taught by some of the rabbis. These people did not get mad because they were religious as Perry likes to proclaim, but they got angry because the Word spoke against what they wanted to hear and follow.

The same thing is done by Noble when people try to point out his errors and his love of the world. He rants and raves calling us "pissed off" because we are "religious." His condemnation of people like me is based upon what? It is based upon the fact that I pointed to Col 3:8 and I Cor 13 when I tried to talk to him about his rant against being a pastor. Take a look at this blog where Perry defends a heretic named Joel Osteen and a false teacher named T.D. Jakes. Why does Perry defend false teachers like Rob Bell and rant against people like me who are sola scriptura, upholding the Bible as our final authority in all matters of faith and practice?

It really saddens me when so many of my NewSpring friends no longer respond to my e-mails, etc... All I can do is pray that God opens your hearts to the truth. What was my crime? My crime was exposing the problems with Perry Noble.

Matthew 10:33-36 (New American Standard Bible)

³³"But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

³⁴"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

³⁵"For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW;

³⁶and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD."

Speaking the truth is never an easy thing to do. Pointing out the many errors in Perry Noble's ministry must be done because Noble is teaching a form of Christianity that is against the Scriptures. See "Did Jesus argue doctrine?"

It is my prayer that you will read my blogs about Noble and understand my concerns. My problem is not with you or anyone else who volunteers/attends NewSpring Church. My problem is with Perry Noble and his rebellious carnal leadership which make the Word of God out to be some sort of "hip" and "cool" relevant game of keeping a numbers scoreboard. See "Confessing Christ, false professions, and the numbers game."

The Bible is my final authority in my life. The Bible commands me to point out errors and warn people about false teachers and dangerous doctrines.

2 Timothy 4:1-4 (New International Version)

2 Timothy 4

¹In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ²Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. ³For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

I truly hope that you understand my agenda and my reasons for exposing the errors taught by Perry Noble.

Romans 16:17-20 (New American Standard Bible)

¹⁷Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.

¹⁸For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

¹⁹For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.

²⁰The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Romans 3:3-5 (New American Standard Bible)

³What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it?

⁴May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written,
"THAT YOU MAY BE JUSTIFIED IN YOUR WORDS,
AND PREVAIL WHEN YOU ARE JUDGED."

⁵But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.)

I stand by the Word of God as my foundation and my defense for my stand against Perry Noble and his false teachings.

Perry Noble twist the Scriptures to support his greed and "rock star" status

CEO Perry Noble all out twist the Scriptures in order to promote his multi-site church. Please go to Pajama Pages and watch this video "Perry Noble on the multi-site church"

I challenge any NewSpring supporters to defend Noble's blatant distortion of the Word of God to suit his own personal gain.

The Bible warns us about false teachers like Perry Noble.

2 Peter 2:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

2 Peter 2

The Rise of False Prophets

¹But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

²Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;

³and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

1 John 4:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

1 John 4

Testing the Spirits

¹Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

²By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;

³and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

Perry Noble does not qualify to be a pastor according to the Word of God.

1 Timothy 3:1-7 (New American Standard Bible)

1 Timothy 3

Overseers and Deacons

¹It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.

²An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

³not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.

⁴He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity

⁵(but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),

⁶and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.

⁷And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Perry Noble is a hireling only seeking his own fame or fortune. I find it odd that Noble refuses to meet with his people, but he can drive to Atlanta to eat. See this video "A Purpose Driven Scolding" as Noble rants against being a pastor. When you watch this video keep 1 Cor 13 in mind.

John 10:11-13 (New American Standard Bible)

¹¹"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

¹²"He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

¹³"He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.

When I ponder all this information about Perry Noble it really angers and disgust me beyond what I can express on this blog. As a former NewSpring Church member, I fully understand how easy it is to be distracted by all the good works, the friendly volunteers, and the outward expression of godliness promoted by NewSpring Church. I fully understand that many who go to NewSpring are sincere honest people who have noble intentions as they work for the church. It is this sad truth that really angers me about Noble and how he abuses these people.

If you are a NewSpring Church member, I ask you to submit to the authority of the Scriptures. Ponder the Scriptures and ask yourself," Does Perry Noble actually obey the Word of God?" Please put aside the "no perfect people" defense that Perry Noble promotes and take a good hard look at his actions, his mouth, and his teachings.(See Perry Noble's bad advice and love of the world.)

It's one thing to have statements of faith like NewSpring, but it's another all together to follow these statements of faith. Perry Noble's antics are contrary to what God said that a pastor should be and contrary to how God commanded us to live as children of the King.

Perry Noble's defense of Joel Osteen and TD Jakes

CEO Perry Noble from NewSpring Church knows no boundaries when it comes to learning from other preachers. With Noble the evidence of God's blessing comes in the form of numbers rather than from actually teaching and following the commandments of God.

I have a philosophy of ministry that I used to not have–here it is, I can learn something valuable from any ministry that God is blessing–period!

I want to learn from people who do ministry differently than me…and it is amazing to me how stupid and insecure pastors and church leaders are when it comes to this.

For example–anytime I mention TD Jakes or Joel Osteen on this website we have idiots e-mail in with their “concerns” about issues in regards to their theology or teaching style. (As if the person e-mailing is perfect and has it all figured out!) (source)

Perry Noble resorts to his typical name calling and character attacks.What Noble fails to accept is that the Bible is the perfect Word of God and it is our final authority in matters of our faith. When heretics like Joel Osteen calls the Mormon Church Christian this goes far beyond Noble's blind-eye carnal defense. The Word of God condemns Osteen's defense of the false gospel of Joseph Smith.

2 Corinthians 11:3-5 (New American Standard Bible)

³But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

⁴For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.

⁵For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.

Galatians 1:6-8 (New American Standard Bible)

Perversion of the Gospel

⁶I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;

⁷which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

⁸But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!

Why does Perry Noble scoff at the Scriptures? All one has to do is read the Scriptures and then listen to Joel Osteen to see that Osteen is a false teacher. Why does Perry Noble say that God is blessing Osteen? The answer is Noble only see's a big church and the dollar sign!

BUT, I’ve said it before and I will say it again…I have an incredible amount of respect for both of those men. God is blessing their ministries in an incredible way…and I know there are tons of things that I could learn from them. Just because you are trying to learn something from someone doesn’t mean that you believe exactly like them!

(And for those who feel like you can only learn from just like you…please repent to God for being shallow and ridiculous!) (source)

It's Noble who should repent and stop scoffing at the Scriptures. It is Noble that said that God is blessing heretics like Joel Osteen and false teachers like TD Jakes. TD Jakes said that all religions lead to Heaven (John 14:5-7).

Pay special attention how Perry Noble attacks people who speak out against these two false teachers and how Noble pardons the Satanic lies both Osteen and Jakes teach. Noble pardons the false teachers and attacks the Christians contending for the faith. Do you see a problem here?

#6 – What if pastors spent more time focusing on God’s Word and their own church rather than attempting to be watchdogs of everyone else’s ministry?

Dang…that was good…even if I say so myself!!!

I’ve got to be honest…I really don’t have time to tear down the ministry efforts of others. Seriously, I’ve got enough to be concerned about in trying to be a good husband, father and pastor. The day I have the time to rip apart other people’s ministry is the day that my ministry will be fruitless and dead.

(That’s the only way I would have the time…you see, if a vineyard is producing fruit then you really don’t have the time to peak at the perceived fruitfulness–or unfruitfulness–of others.)

I once heard TD Jakes say, “The problem with most pastors is that they never leave the locker room–they always feel the need to compare!” WHEW!

Pastors…you and I can experience TRUE freedom when we compare ourselves to our calling and God’s vision for our ministry and NOT the church down the road or across the country! We will not be held accountable for their ministry–we will be held accountable for ours! (Hebrews 13:17) (source)

Seems that Noble does not take his own advice. I'll list some Scriptures to help Perry Noble in his quest to focus more on God's Word. God considered it important enough to warn us about false teachers and false prophets.

Romans 16:17-20 (New American Standard Bible)

¹⁷Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.

¹⁸For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

¹⁹For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.

²⁰The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Mark 13:21-23 (New American Standard Bible)

²¹"And then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ'; or, 'Behold, He is there'; do not believe him;

²²for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect.

²³"But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance.

2 Peter 2:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

2 Peter 2

The Rise of False Prophets

¹But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

²Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;

³and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Birds of a feather flock together. When you look at the people Perry Noble wants to meet, you will see a common problem within all these people.

Refer here for more about Perry Noble's love of the world and poor discernment.

1 John 4:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

1 John 4

Testing the Spirits

¹Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

²By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;

³and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

The fruit of Perry Noble is poisonous and sour. His spiritual discernment is defiled by his love of the world. Beware of this false teacher!

Joel Osteen Biffs It On Mormonism

Here is Joel Osteen claiming that Mormons are Christians. Many from the Seeker-sensitive Purpose Drive Church for the Carnal Nature of Mankind like CEO Steven Furtick actually defend this heretic all because Osteen is popular and has a very large church. It seems that large numbers must pardon heresy and false teachings as long as the "church" is growing: see Furtick's blog about numbers.

You can watch the video here: Joel Osteen Biffs It On Mormonism

People following Furtick need to beware the poison water this false teacher is selling.

2 Peter 2:1-3 (New International Version)

2 Peter 2

False Teachers and Their Destruction

¹But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. ²Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. ³In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

Please Stop Pickin’ on Joel by CEO Steven Furtick

It seems CEO Steven Furtick has completely thrown spiritual discernment out along with Bible study groups(see this for Furtick's rant against those who crave God's Word). Now this CEO is defending Joel Osteen with his ever so loving methods of ranting against those of us who actually take the Word of God serious when it says to reprove and rebuke in 2 Timothy 4:1-3.

As in, Osteen.
As in, the pastor of the largest church in America.
As in, the guy that all seminary students seem to love to hate.

Yep, I hear it all the time. Guys take one systematic theology class, a semester of Greek, and all of a sudden they’re self appointed theological traffic cops.(source)

It seems that large numbers must mean something with the church in Furtick's world. Notice the attack upon those who truly study the Word of God in order to seek the truth.

But to all of you mean spirited name callers who have made a career of condemning celebrity preachers:
Who the heck do you think you are to criticize a man who is impacting a city like Pastor Joel is impacting Houston?
Or like Rick Warren is impacting the Saddleback Valley?
(Insert name of controversial preacher and city here… )

Osteen preaches to 40,000 people weekly…
You couldn’t get 40,000 people to come hear you preach if you gave away free Escalades at the door. (source)

Celebrity preachers? Name callers? Let's see what else Furtick has in store for us!

“Yeah, but Joel Osteen’s preaching isn’t Christ centered enough. And he didn’t make a bold stand for the exclusivity of the Gospel on Good Morning America that time. And, for crying out loud, he reads a stupid email forward at the beginning of every message before he does that �This is my Bible… ‘ thing… “(source)

It's seems that Furtick must have missed it when Osteen blessed the Mormon Church. I guess since the Mormon's have huge numbers then God must be blessing the Mormon Church!

If you’re concerned about a lack of cross centered preaching, then preach the cross yourself instead of wasting valuable time opining about how someone else should do it better.
If you think Osteen’s messages are too fluffy and lacking in Biblical content, then devote yourself to teaching God’s Word with passion and depth, and get after it. But don’t hate on a man you’ve never met and analyze the entire content of his ministry based on a 27 minute weekly broadcast. That’s illogical, narrow, and unfair, and you know it.
Don’t hurl insults at someone with a big church simply because you can’t make your church grow, and although you’d never admit it, you’re jealous.
That’s right… most of the time the motive isn’t defense of the Gospel… it’s jealousy and presumption.(source)

In other words, CEO Furtick is telling us not to let those pesky doctrines get into the way when it comes to the church. We should accept all who claim to be Christian no matter what twisted doctrines they teach as long as they are:

1. a celebrity preacher
2. have a large church

There you have it! CEO Steven Furtick's carnal knowledge at it's best.

You know, I think it’s absolutely essential that Christians think critically about what is being taught in Christian pulpits. We must preserve sound doctrine. We must guard against erroneous theologies.

But we must also guard against the kind of spiritual smugness that makes the world look at us and go:
“I thought they were wearing the same jersey… ” (source)

And the pot called the kettle black...

Steven Furtick: The man of change!

Steven Furtick CEO of Elevation Church rides more than the ever shifting sands of the seeker-sensitive purpose driven doctrine! In the above pictures(click for a better view) taken from the years 2006 to 2009, you will see how this seeker sensitive "hip" CEO changes with the times.

2 Timothy 3:1-8 (New American Standard Bible)

2 Timothy 3

"Difficult Times Will Come"

¹But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

²For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

³unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,

⁴treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

⁵holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.

⁶For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,

⁷always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith.

STEVEN FURTICK CALLS JOEL OSTEEN GREAT MAN OF GOD

CEO Steven Furtick decrees Joel Osteen as a great man of God.

In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. (2 Peter 2:3)

Lust For Numbers Makes Strange Spiritual Bedfellows

A while back Apprising Ministries brought out that sadly today there are so many in the apostatizing evangelical community who are burying their heads within the spiritual sand of whatever offshoot—rooted in the semi-pelagian Church Growth Movement—it is that highjacked their particular brand of Christian sandbox.

So while apostasy sweeps through the landscape of the visible church they remain content to think everything is wonderfully progressing toward some utopian unity as they each follow their own personal Pied Pipers, whether it be PDL Pope Rick Warren or Rob Bell, the Elvis of Emergence Christianity, or Joel Osteen for his brand of Word Faith-lite.

The sad fact is that mainstream evangelicalism in America today is nauseatingly lukewarm. And far too many evangelical leaders have been unwilling to take serious theological stands that would require the Lord to back up His Word or else they would personally be destroyed. Yet to do so is not presumption, rather it is actually true Biblical faith that pleases God.(source)

Read more here: STEVEN FURTICK CALLS JOEL OSTEEN GREAT MAN OF GOD

Another language catastrophe

James Duncan from Pajama Pages asks the question,"Why can’t these Turnstile leaders use words from God’s Word when they describe the church?" referring to their poor choice of words to describe the body of Christ. He brings up some good points in his blog Another language catastrophe.

The typical defenders of these seeker-sensitive purpose driven CEO's always point to the numbers rather than the substance when questioned.

"Furtick tweets that 649 people chose to publicly declare Christ as their Savior"(source)

and

"Just wait what he posts or critiques when he hears about Newsprings 906 baptisms and their 276 salvations that happened today"(source)

My question is do these people even understand what salvation means? Are they even taught repentance? It's easy to repeat a prayer or buy into a mob mentality just to fit into these "hip" and "cool" seeker sensitive churches.

From sitting under Perry Noble, I can testify that repentance from sin is not explained at NewSpring Church. Steven Furtick is just as confused as Noble when it comes to repentance and salvation.

Just saying the name "Jesus" is meaningless without the drawing of the Holy Spirit. Every defender of Furtick, Noble, and Cooper always refers back to these huge numbers are proof God is working in this Churches for the Carnal Nature of Mankind. I deal with this issue in Confessing Christ, false professions, and the numbers game.

Furtick and Noble defenders really need to ponder this passage and ask these questions," How did Jesus not know these people when they did such wonderful works in His name? Clearly it seemed that Jesus was blessing them and working within them? How did Jesus not know them?"

Matthew 7:21-23 (New American Standard Bible)

²¹"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.

²²"Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'

²³"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO

PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

MORE ON: GOD OF THE EMERGING CHURCH

Over at Reformata there is another article dealing with the seeker-sensitive purpose driven church for the carnal nature of mankind. The "emerging" church is based upon the ever shifting sands of seeker-sensitive ploys to lure people into these self-help centers called churches.

Here is a good description of what wrong with the emergent church:

And in typical clever (not) Emerging Church fashion what made Rollins stop and think is a parable written in much the same style as his own writings; it simply reverses the original. In this case the author of the parable takes the poem Footprints In The Sand and twists it backward; so instead of being a pretty accurate depiction of the one true and living God of the Bible, this “Footprints” introduces us further to the insipid god of Emergence Christianity:

There was once a man who had lived a long and difficult life… The curtain was pulled back, and he stumbled through the light to meet God.

‘My Master and my Friend,’ the old man hailed God as he prostrated himself before God’s feet. Hearing no reply, the man looked up and saw God shuffling awkwardly in his chair, not quite managing to fight back a blush across his cheeks…

‘Tell me, Lord,’ he said, knowing already the lines that would come, ‘tell me what the footprints mean.’… And slowly God replied, his voice shaking with emotion. ‘The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when you carried me.’… (source)

You can read the full blog at MORE ON: GOD OF THE EMERGING CHURCH.

DID JESUS ARGUE DOCTRINE?

To Earnestly Contend For The Faith Does Encompass Arguing In Defense Of It

The obvious answer to the question “Did Jesus Ever Argue Doctrine” is: Absolutely, yes. In fact, we see an example of this right from the text I just cited above from the Gospel of Mark, which is the end of a series of arguments Mark tells us Jesus had been having with Jewish religious leaders. It’s only because the visible church, fearful of conflict, has decided to follow the whimsical ways of our effete culture that Christ’s confrontational style has been hidden.

So instead people turn to fickle fools advancing the doctrines of demons spewed from the seducing spirits operating within the egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church aka Emergent Church—morphing into Emergence Christianity (EC)—like Adam Walker Cleaveland to tell them incredibly stupid things like Jesus Was Wrong. And they turn to EC dreamers like Samir Selmanovic, who’s a member of the Coordinating Group for Emergent Village. (Source: Did Jesus Argue Doctrine? by Ken Silva) See the full article for the rest of this excellent blog.

The sour fruit of Perry Noble: NewSpring Children's minister defends his love of filthy rap music!

The love of the world runs deep within the inner workings of NewSpring Church in SC. It's really disturbing to know that NewSpring Church's Greenville Campus Children's Minister Pudge Huckaby openly defends listening to filthy language (See the picture) and justifies it by making it an outreach to hurting people. Where is the discernment from right and wrong? How can such worldly filth be used to reach people when God clearly said in His Word to be separate? 2 Corinthians 6:16-18

Here are some examples taken from Mr. Huckaby. I want you to truly ponder the example Pudge Huckaby is setting for the children who go to NewSpring Church. Ask yourself what kind of fruit will grow as Pudge waters their minds with the things of the world?

"One of the things that DRIVES me in CM is that I want to expose as many kids as I can to the unconditional, unfailing, unmeasurable love of Jesus Christ!

I want them to KNOW and FEEL God’s love in such a way that it over powers the pain that the world cuts them with! So many of us are sheltered and ignorant when it comes to the “real life” stories that children go through today." source

Pay attention to how Pudge is setting up his defense. He starts off by talking about the unconditional love of Christ. Christ's love for us is unconditional, but living for Christ does have conditions because God told us not to love the world.

Notice the emphasis on "knowing and feeling" God's love. Pudge then proceeds to label anyone who speaks out against his carnality as being sheltered and ignorant. This is a good setup to ignore critics because Pudge immediately painted a picture of us as:

1.) Not understanding the unconditional love of Christ.

2.) We are sheltered and ignorant to the real world.

To help me prove this point, I want to look at a popular rap song, but before I dig in…(source)

Instead of going to the Word of God, Pudge proceeds to dig into popular culture for his defense.

YES, I LOVE RAP MUSIC! And (not to chase a white rabbit here but…) I LOVE EMINEM’S music too, and many others that say “bad words” in their music! And before many of you FREAK OUT because a Children’s Pastor just said he liked “bad music,” let me explain!

I love their music because it is packed with EMOTION and tells a story! They pour their hearts out and (if you listen hard enough) you will be exposed to a reality that most Christians miss because they are too busy being a “Pharisee” rather than a Christ follower. They tell the story of a broken heart, a broken world, and help me to remember the reality of what it feels like to be lost & without hope! (source)

Now we get to the heart of Pudge's defense for rap. The bottom line is Pudge loves rap music no matter how filthy the words, how foul the message, no matter how explicit the sexual the content, etc... Pudge loves the world far more than he loves the Word of God! Romans 12:1-3

It's amazing how he just lumps us as Pharisee and not Christ followers if we speak out against the poison he is teaching. I would like to know which Christ Pudge is following because that Jesus Christ is not found in the Word of God. My Jesus taught us not to love the world(1 John 2:15-16). My Jesus would never defend the worldly filth coming from people like Pudge Huckaby(Col 3:8). My Jesus loves the lost who are without salvation because He died for them, therefore He redeems them to a new life in Him by separating them from their past sins(2 Corinthians 5:16-18). My Jesus told us not to love the world(James 4:4) and not to be taken captive by it (Col 2:8). So which Jesus is Pudge following?

Now, after reading those lyrics you are thinking one of two things…

1. How could I listen to such music
2. How can I help

If you are thinking the first, I’m sorry I let you down. I’ll work harder to continue to care more about where God is leading me than what makes you feel “safe”

If you are thinking the second, I’m with you!

The thing that catches me about this song is that its someones STORY! It’s many peoples STORY! And tragically many times, the 1st thoughts we have as believers has more to do with condemning them and their story than finding ways to pour out the love of Christ on them…no matter their situation.

With all this, verses like James 1:27 have been sticking with me HARD lately! (source)

In this statement Pudge gives us a glimpse into his heart. We see the arrogance, rebellion, and prideful attitude coming from him as he defends his rebellion(Jude 1:17-19). It's amazing how he ends this using James 1:27 as a defense. Clearly Pudge Huckaby has been corrupted and taken captive by the world. His own words are a testimony to this sad fact.

There’s something brewing in me with this. There are single mom’s, homeless children & tragic stories EVERYWHERE in our communities! Day after day they are longing for hope, dying for love and begging that someone would show them the love that Christ has POURED out on us IN HIS MERCY!!

They are waiting for a happy ending…

I have a dream…(source)

What's brewing in Pudge is rebellion and sin. This is a classic example of the blind leading the blind. The end result of Pudge's seeker-sensitive-purpose-driven vision is rebellion and having a form of godliness but denying God's power to change us.

2 Timothy 3:1-7 (New International Version)

2 Timothy 3

Godlessness in the Last Days

¹But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ²People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

⁶They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, ⁷always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.

I'll again refer to the Pilgrim's blog "When the world's your mistress" as a source to expand on this blog. The Pilgrim lays a solid defense for the Word of God exposing people like Pudge Huckaby who only want to mix the world with the Word. In the end, the world overpowers the Word and it is evident in the testimonies of these worldly pastors.

In all fairness, Pudge is just the fruit of Perry Noble's preaching and teaching.

If anyone from NewSpring Church reads this blog, I really hope that you ponder what I have been saying about NewSpring's leadership. The end result of NewSpring's teachings are sin and rebellion. The final result is a church where there is no difference between it and the world except they attach the name "Jesus" to everything in sight.

When the world’s your mistress. by The Pilgrim September 8, 2009

"Worldly preachers seem to go out of their way to put their carnal expertise on display—even in their sermons. In the name of connecting with “the culture” they want their people to know they have seen all the latest programs on MTV; familiarized themselves with all the key themes of “South Park”; learned the lyrics to countless tracks of gangsta rap and heavy metal music; and watched who-knows-how-many R-rated movies. They seem to know every fad top to bottom, back to front, and inside out. They’ve adopted both the style and the language of the world—including lavish use of language that used to be deemed inappropriate in polite society, much less in the pulpit. They want to fit right in with the world, and they seem to be making themselves quite comfortable there." John MacArthur(source)

Do words really matter? by James Duncan

James Duncan from Pajama Pages has another article called Do Words Really Matter? that deals with the seeker-sensitive purpose driven church's flirtation with worldly acronyms and how they are scoffing at the Bible's condemnation of using filthy language.

Colossians 3:8 (New International Version)

⁸But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

I'm not surprised how men like Perry Noble and Brad Cooper try to redefine(or in the case of Brad Cooper openly defend cussing See HERE ) because they are constantly redefining the Word of God in order to support their love of the world. They are held captive by their carnality and love of the world, therefore it is of no surprise that they would seek to use language that is worldly and contrary to what God would have us to use in our walk with Him.

Colossians 2:6-8 (New American Standard Bible)

⁶Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,

⁷having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

⁸See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

Does God require me to give a tithe of all I earn?

John MacArthur addresses tithing and how we are not under the OT Law. The way many churches teach tithing is wrong and it short changes the purpose of giving.

Does God require me to give a tithe of all I earn?

Pastor Steven Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church burning the NIV in Ignorance

"Pastor Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church has made quite a name for himself of late. Getting himself arrested, preaching on how he hopes the President dies, etc., is all just part of a day's work for this King James Onlyist! He posted a video showing the burning of NIV Bibles. In it claims are made, and not a one of them can stand up to examination. Here is my response." James White(source)

Brad Cooper's foul mouth and poor judgment

Since I have been blogging about Brad Cooper's filthy mouth, poor judgment, and love of the world, I thought it would be very fitting to link this video Do you frickin believe the Bible? . For those of you who do not know what the slang word "frickin" means you can Google it. I refuse to put this filthy word on my blog. I will warn you that it is pure filth. It is repulsive that a student pastor would use such a ungodly evil word and then point to the Holy Bible.

It's very evident that Brad Cooper does not believe the Bible when it speaks against filthy language, living godly, and striving to put aside worldly love (See my other blogs about Brad Cooper). He believes the Bible only when it suits his purpose-driven agenda.

The old NewSpring Church defense of "No perfect people" does not work here because there is no excuse for this type of language.

Brad Cooper's slang and poor judgment

Brad Cooper Student Pastor from NewSpring Church in SC has dug deep into the pits of worldly slang once again to describe FUSE. Brad Cooper has taught me two new slang terms I knew nothing about until he introduced them to me this year. I had no idea what "BAMF" meant until I looked it up and blogged about it here (my concern with Brad Cooper) and here (Brad Cooper's twisted defense for cussing). After pressure from myself and others in the Upstate of SC, Brad Cooper tweeted his new definition of the filthy acronym "BAMF" see "Big Audacious Mighty Fortress" instead of admitting he was wrong for using the foul acronym. Now Brad has decided to introduce another "hip" and "cool" relevant term to describe FUSE! Yes, it's now "BangORang"! For all you old folks like me, who do not own a seeker-sensitive manual for luring people into the church, we must look here (Urban Dictionary for BangORang) for an understanding as to what Cooper is saying about FUSE. Now granted, this is no where near the filth you will find if you look up "BAMF", but it still leads you to a place of sinful words (Refer to Col 3:8).

I'll give Cooper the benefit of the doubt on his usage of this slang term. I will even say that he meant "awesome" when he used this slang. The problem is why does Brad Cooper deem it necessary to lead his followers to a place where they will encounter worldly filth? As a youth pastor, he should be leading his sheep away from the things of the world and pointing them to godliness.

One issue that really stood out to me tonight when I read this on Pajama Pages was how does Brad Cooper know about these words? I'm 38 years old and I had never heard the term "BAMF" and "BangORang." How does Brad Cooper know about slang terms like BAMF and BangORang? What's Brad Cooper reading and watching behind closed doors? What is Cooper filling his mind with that compels him to use these types of terms to describe FUSE? These are questions every parent should ask Brad Cooper and NewSpring Church.

Let's look at what God said in His Word about our actions and walk in life:

Titus 2:5-8 (New International Version)

⁵to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

⁶Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. ⁷In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness ⁸and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

Titus 2:11-15 (New International Version)

¹¹For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. ¹²It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

¹⁵These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 (New American Standard Bible)

²¹But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;

²²abstain from every form of evil.

3 John 1:11 (New American Standard Bible)

¹¹Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

I'm sure these verses are not in NewSpring Church's seeker-sensitive-purpose-driven manual for Casting Vision to draw people into the church.

Thankfully we still have these verses in the Word of God!

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (New International Version)

2 Timothy 4

¹In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ²Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. ³For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

The twin whores of "Excellence and Relevance" are needy harlots!

When I came across this blog How to know if your church isn't spending enough on missions from Defending Contending it proved yet again how the seeker-sensitive slogan of "excellence and relevance" is a like a whore. This ideology will literally take Christ's commandment to help the poor and turn it upside down. Instead of using money to help people, fund missionaries (in the case of these so-called churches this is a good thing), and showing the love of Christ, this ideology creates an idol of worship called the church building .

In July, I wrote a blog called The work of the Church and helping the poor that deals with this issue. What I fear is that many traditional churches will look upon these apostate self-help centers for the carnal nature of mankind, and want to mimic their programs instead of simply preaching the Gospel. I fear our churches might start flirting with these twin whores! If we look upon the fruits of "relevance and excellence" we will see great wealth, great numbers of members, and a very successful business plan. If we are not careful we might become charmed by the lure of these two harlots.

The best thing we can do is have nothing to do with these types of self-help centers called churches. It is my prayer that we stay true to the Word of God by helping the poor, funding missionaries, helping each other, and not wasting money on "fluff" while our communities suffer. It's really shameful when the church will spend millions upon millions of dollars per year to keep the programs running( light shows, high tech services, etc...) while people in the community are going hungry!

See http://defendingcontending.com/2009/09/01/how-to-know-if-your-church-isn%E2%80%99t-spending-enough-on-missions/ for some pictures of these shameful churches that bring reproach upon the name of Christ. I'm sure the CEO's of these non-profit organizations are not in need of anything unlike so many people in America.

PROTESTANT CHURCHES SHIFTING TOWARD AFFIRMING HOMOSEXUALITY

In posts such as Contemplative Spirituality Growing Within Mainstream Evangelicalism and The Nightmare Beginning For Mainstream Evangelicalism here at Apprising Ministries I’ve been attempting to alert you to a very dark and threatening same-sex storm that is right now approaching hurricane force, and which is currently only slightly off the coast of the mainstream evangelical community.

And further, that the egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church aka Emergent Church—morphing into Emergence Christianity—(EC) is right now working to make affirming homosexuality an issue within your own mainstream evangelical church. This is why I’ve been doing what we can to send you clear warning concerning the grave danger of kicking out Sola Scriptura in favor of highly subjective [i.e. feelings-oriented] Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM).

With stories like you’ll see below mainstream evangelicalism is getting still another peek at its own impending future. And the reason for this is really rather simple; by circa the 1960s most mainline Protestant denominations had already opened themselves to CSM, and now just look at what’s happening within them. As evidenced by the recent vote to affirming clergy openly committing same-sex sexual immorality and the lunacy in the Lord’s Name of a woman ”Queer Affirming” Lutheran ”pastor” defend it in Nadia Bolz-Weber Weighs In On ELCA Church-Wide Assembly. (source)

I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone when I read what is going on in the American Church. It's like watching an episode of the Twilight Zone that takes place on a world without Sola Scriptura.

This issue is too important for those of us in Christ to sit around and do nothing. We must contend for the faith and never stop beating the drum of Sola Scriptura.

Please read the full blog over at Reformata http://www.reformata.org/2009/09/protestant-churches-shifting-toward-affirming-homosexuality/

Why Tithing is wrong

Puritan Belief pretty well sums up the problem with tithing as taught by the church today.

When I converted to Christianity at age 23, I started tithing because I was taught to tithe 10% by my church. The typical passages from Malachi was preached in regards to the tithe and how if we tithe then God will bless our giving.

Years later, I started researching the Bible seeking Scripture to back up all my beliefs. When I studied the tithe, I discovered that it is not taught correctly today. The book of Colossians chapter 2 deals with how we are free from the OT Law which also includes the tithe.

When dealing with the OT tithe, we must remember that when Jesus was walking the earth, He had not yet completed His atonement for sin. Because of this Jesus did instruct people to listen to the Rabbi and to continue following the requirements of the OT. After His sin atonement, Jesus gave us the new covenant of Grace thus abolishing the Law that was against us. If we are to tithe today are we also to bring sin sacrifices to the temple for our sins?

Here is the article from Puritan Belief http://puritanbelief.blogspot.com/2006/02/why-tithing-is-wrong.html

Would the Devil Do This?

Discernment Ministries has an interesting blog about the Devil's attack upon the church. You can read this at http://herescope.blogspot.com/2009/08/would-devil-do-this.html

Religous but lost, to saved by God's Grace at 71

A powerful video on YouTube about the Grace of God. See Religous but lost, to saved by God's Grace at 71

EMERGENCE CHRISTIANITY PASTRIX NADIA BOLZ-WEBER EXPOUNDS ON PSALM 45

Ken Silva from Apprising Ministries has been doing the grunt work for many of us by following the apostasy brewing in the emergent seeker-friendly movement.

Mr. Silva has another good blog about this problem.

The seeker-sensitive movement just keeps getting farther and farther away from Sola Scriptura. In their efforts to be relevant and inclusive, the seeker-sensitive emergent movement "moves" God out of the way.

The bible warns us about these types of false teachers and false prophets:

2 Peter 2:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

2 Peter 2

The Rise of False Prophets

¹But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

²Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;

³and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Please visit EMERGENCE CHRISTIANITY PASTRIX NADIA BOLZ-WEBER EXPOUNDS ON PSALM 45 and read Mr. Silva's article. If possible please donate to his ministry to help him continue his fine work.

Lane Chaplin Interviews Dr. James White

Lane Chaplin has interviewed Dr. James White on the topic, "Does Reformed Theology Matter?"(source) http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=3466

JOHN MACARTHUR: WHEN BEING “NICE” IS WRONG By Ken Silva

The problem is that the needed reformation within evangelicalism won’t occur at all if false ideas that undermine our core theological convictions cannot be openly attacked and excluded. When peaceful coexistence “with our deepest differences” becomes priority one and conflict per se is demonized as inherently sub-Christian, any and every false religious belief can and will demand an equal voice in the “conversation.”

That has actually been happening for some time already. Listen, for example, to what some of the leading voices in and around the Emergent movement have said. Tony Campolo is a popular speaker and author who has a major influence in evangelical circles. He believes evangelicals should be in dialogue with Islam, seeking common ground. In an interview conducted by Shane Claiborne,Campolo said:

I think that the last election aggravated a significant minority of the evangelical community, believing that they did not want to come across as anti-gay, anti-women, anti-environment, pro war, pro capital punishment, and anti-Islam. There is going to be one segment of evangelicalism, just like there is one segment in Islam that is not going to be interested in dialogue. But there are other evangelicals who will want to talk and establish a common commitment to a goodness with Islamic people and Jewish people particularly.

Brian McLaren is perhaps the best-known figure in the Emergent conversation. He thinks the future of the planet—not to mention the salvation of religion itself (including Christianity)—depends on a cooperative search for the real meaning of Jesus’ message. In McLaren’s assessment, this means an ongoing dialogue between Christians and followers of all other religions. This, he is convinced, is of the utmost urgency:

In an age of global terrorism and rising religious conflict, it’s significant to note that all Muslims regard Jesus as a great prophet, that many Hindus are willing to consider Jesus as a legitimate manifestation of the divine, that many Buddhists see Jesus as one of humanity’s most enlightened people, and that Jesus himself was a Jew, and without understanding his Jewishness, one doesn’t understand Jesus. A shared reappraisal of Jesus’ message could provide a unique space or common ground for urgently needed religious dialogue—and it doesn’t seem an exaggeration to say that the future of our planet may depend on such dialogue. This reappraisal of Jesus’ message may be the only project capable of saving a number of religions, including Christianity.

Indiscriminate congeniality, the quest for spiritual common ground, and peace at any price all naturally have great appeal, especially in an intellectual climate where practically the worst gaffe any thoughtful person could make is claiming to know what’s true when so many other people think something else is true. Besides, dialogue does sound nicer than debate. Who but a fool wouldn’t prefer a calm conversation instead of conflict and confrontation?

In fact, let’s state this plainly once more: Generally speaking, avoiding conflicts is a good idea. Warmth and congeniality are normally preferable to cold harshness. Civility, compassion, and good manners are in short supply these days, and we ought to have more of them. Gentleness, a soft answer, and a kind word usually go farther than an argument or a rebuke. That which edifies is more helpful and more fruitful in the long run than criticism. Cultivating friends is more pleasant and more profitable than crusading against enemies. And it’s ordinarily better to be tender and mild rather than curt or combative—especially to the victims of false teaching.

But those qualifying words are vital: usually, ordinarily, generally. Avoiding conflict is not always the right thing. Sometimes it is downright sinful. Particularly in times like these, when almost no error is deemed too serious to be excluded from the evangelical conversation, and while the Lord’s flock is being infiltrated by wolves dressed like prophets, declaring visions of peace when there is no peace (cf. Ezekiel 13:16). Even the kindest, gentlest shepherd sometimes needs to throw rocks at the wolves who come in sheep’s clothing. (The Jesus You Can’t Ignore: What You Must Learn from the Bold Confrontations of Christ, 17-19)

John MacArthur

The above article was taken from http://apprising.org/2009/08/john-macarthur-when-being-nice-is-wrong/ by Ken Silva