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Why, Pastor, Why?
November 1, 2007
Dear Former Pastor of Mine,
First, I want to thank you for being willing to talk to us twice about things going on in the Assemblies of God and at your church. Second, thanks for allowing my wife and I to teach a Young Marrieds class for three years. Third, thanks for not “firing” us from the teaching position when I was fired from your church. And finally, and most importantly, thanks for the example you set with your personal testimony and family life.
Because of all these good things, I am having a good deal of trouble reconciling them with a growing list of things that you have either promoted or allowed or said at Central Assembly.
For instance, why do you tell us--your lay leaders--to “embrace change?” That’s all you say. You don’t finish the sentence like this, “As leaders, we need to embrace the changes we have listed in the last board meeting regarding the electricity and sound in the baptistry.” You just say that we should embrace change. This uncharted direction seems to be a direct violation of Proverbs 24:21, “Meddle not with them that are given to change.” And what are we changing from? Or to? Are we doing as the former head of our AGTS doctoral studies department (Earl Creps; why did you have Earl speak at your church?) recommends and adding an unbeliever with veto power to our church board? Are we doing as the pastor of an emerging church in St. Louis and holding church in a bar while we all drink beer? Your unfinished direction seems to be a blank check. In the corporate world, where I’ve worked for nearly thirty years, the “embrace change” quote always pops up—and has frequently over the years—when the boss wants to make a change. And if they don’t want any discussion on the issue, they don’t ask for your opinion or tell you what the change is going to be (that will have a dramatic impact on you personally in nearly all cases). They just make it and let the peons suffer with the consequences. Is that what you’re doing? If so, why?
Second, why are you allowing professors from Evangel University to go around to adult Sunday School classes and present their case for theistic evolution? You preach about Creation from the pulpit. It sounds wonderful. Do you endorse this compromise with the world regarding our origins? Are you endorsing the idea that God was not big enough nor smart enough to tell the Creation story (where only He was present) just the way it occurred? If not, why are you allowing this anti-Scriptural and most certainly non-scientific hogwash to be presented in your church?
Third, why is your church filled with Rick Warren initiatives and books? Not too long ago, I saw about ten young boys leave the church with their mentor who had just procured an armful of books for each from the church’s “resource room.” Each one had a brand new copy of Rick Warren’s best seller, “The Purpose Driven Life.” The “Celebrate Recovery” program is a Rick Warren special that you started at your church. The 100, 200, 300, 400 course program was spawned at Rick Warren’s church and you use it for new members at your church. Rick Warren believes in transcendental meditation (now called contemplative prayer). He is against preaching from the Bible on too regular a basis. He believes in panentheism (God is everywhere and in everything; see his quote on page 88 of the above best seller) which is an Eastern religion idea directly related to transcendental meditation. He has formed an alliance with the president of the radically homosexual “Act-Up” organization. He has also asked anti-life legislators to speak at his church. Rick Warren believes that all paths lead to God (if that is true, then what Jesus did on the Cross was a big waste of time). Given that Rick Warren himself has said or done all these things, why would you be promoting ANYTHING that has to do with him? He is taking perhaps hundreds of thousands of people straight to Hell. Is this what you want to do eventually at your church? If you get enough of your leaders to embrace change, you’ll flip the switch from the creeds of Jesus to the deeds of Rick Warren?
Fourth, why would you hire a young families pastor who recently said, “Peter didn’t fall into the stormy sea (after walking on the water) because he lacked faith in Jesus. Peter fell in because he lacked faith in himself.”? This is nothing short of heresy! Nowhere in the Bible are we encouraged to have faith in ourselves or in any man! In fact, Jeremiah 17:5 says, “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man.” Did you hire a New Age pastor? If you did this in ignorance, why did you not check him out more thoroughly in your interviews? If you knew that he believed this way, then do you as well? Is your church being converted from a Bible-believing, Pentecostal church to a New Age, emerging faith, all-roads-lead-to-heaven (and give us great numbers of adherents!) social center?
Fifth, why did you start the Alpha course at your church? The Alpha program was started by Nicky Grumbel (read about this in “Faith Undone” by Roger Oakland of Lighthouse Trails Publishing) who has held hands with the Pope and proudly proclaimed,
“It was a great honor to be presented to Pope John Paul II, who has done so much to promote evangelization around the world…We can be united and proclaim this Jesus to a desperately needy world.”
Oh? Since when are Protest-ants uniting with the same church that has sold salvation for money, worshipped idols, preached heresy, and killed Protest-ants for hundreds of years for not believing in the false “gospel” of Catholicism? Do you believe in uniting with the Catholic church? Are you promoting idol worship and the purchase of salvation with money? Then why would you endorse a product from an individual that is so corrupted?
There’s more; but, these questions alone are damning enough against your personal testimony. From my limited vantage point, I can only think of two reasons why you are doing this: 1) you know exactly what you are doing and are the most gifted liar I have ever met in my life [I really have trouble believing this to be true]; or, 2) you are still as naïve as you said you were when you were a young college student and a mentor is steering you down this road. The mentor I have heard you mention most often was George Wood, our current General Superintendent. George Wood pastored in California where Robert Schuller and Rick Warren practice their trade. Hm-m.
Matthew 6:24 says, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Which one are you serving pastor? The God of your stated personal testimony and the Bible or the Mammon of Rick Warren and his big-numbers, New Age crowd? And does the latter include George Wood?
With Love For You as a Fellow Human Being,
Brother Mike
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