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There is an excellent book out by attorney Mat Staver with the title,
Eternal Vigilance: Knowing and Protecting Your Religious Freedom.
Mr. Staver works tirelessly to defend the civil liberties of Americans
that are frequently under attack from the enemies of freedom in our
country. He is correct when he warns that the price of liberty truly is
eternal vigilance.There is growing concern among Christians about the erosion of the
American foundations of liberty and freedom. As Americans, we rightly
grieve over this and do all we can to fight those who would destroy
America. But there is a marked lack of such passion when it comes to
guarding the most important foundation of allthat of our faith. This is
another sphere that requires eternal vigilance. The Reformers had an
expression for thisSempre Reformanda. The church should be always
reforming. Such vigilance is practiced by a small number of
Christiansand churches now who are quickly earning the negative labels
of judgmental and divisive in so doing. In the midst of error, this
is the vigilance of the Berean heart; a desire above all else to see the
Gospel preached in its power and purity and an opposition to false
teachings when they arise.It’s no secret that doctrine is unpopular now. Once faithful seminaries
that at one time required ministerial students to hunker down over the
Word of God now have students hunkering down over postmodern drivel and
church growth materials. The latest trend is the postmodern/emergent
movement which has produced pastors and authors like Brian McLaren,
Erwin McManus and Leonard Sweet who are destroying the confidence of
young people in the authority of the Word of God and telling them that
the Bible is merely a series of God’s stories from which we can learn.
These leaders don’t like authority and they are doing their best to
remove propositional scriptural truth from their churches. That’s why
Mars Hill Bible Church outside of Detroit has emergent Pastor Rob Bell
citing Hindu teachings on breathing from his postmodern pulpit. Even a
reporter from the Detroit Free Press noticed.These men have no regard for
the battles for biblical truth throughout history. That was modernity.
We’re past all that, they say. So they promote the embracing of mystery
instead of knowing Christ through His Word. They like the journey better
than the destination. In a quest to experience authentic spirituality,
they borrow from eastern religious traditions. This was demonstrated
when scores of pastors were doing yoga at the National Pastors’
Convention in 2004just before Rick Warren got up to speak. The old ways
are out. Objective truth is out. Truth evolves, they say. The Word of
God was Jesus, so the Bible is unimportant now. It’s just a series of
stories. Experiencing Jesus through altered states of consciousness is
what they teach through meditation straight from the pagan religions of
the East.Where are the pastors of America who are seeing this come in through
Youth Specialties, Zondervan as well as other Christian publishers,
through Nooma videos, conferences and magazines? It is a veritable
tsunami of error in the Christian publishing realm. There is a thin
chorus of concerned voices but these voices routinely are drowned out.
It’s hard to compete with Rupert Murdoch and his big bucks Zondervan.I have written extensively in other columns about the Lead Like Jesus
Conference coming up in November that will have New Age sympathizer Ken
Blanchard rubbing shoulders with some of the big names in
Evangelicalism. The Catalyst Conference is coming up in Atlanta in
October. Andy Stanley will be speaking along with Dave Fleming.Dave Fleming, author of the New
Spirituality book, The Seeker’s Way, came right out on my radio
show and told me that he believed that underneath the superficial
differences of world religions, they were all the same. Imagine an
interspiritualist speaking at the same conference with a nationally
known Evangelical pastor and nobody cares. It’s all about leadership and
vision casting, they say.In truth, it’s all about
selling out the Gospel for a postmodern pot of poison pottage. There is
a blindness among Evangelicals leaders who no longer care about doctrine
and faithfulness. They care only about growth and success and God will
see that they have it. It’s judgment, really, when God allows these
leaders to eat of the fruit of their own way and enjoy temporal success.
The multi-million dollar buildings, the recreation centers, the stadiums
and arenas filled with happy, celebrating people are found nationwide.
The Spirit has departed if He was ever present, but nobody has noticed.
Things are good. For now.There is a passage of Scripture in Isaiah 56 which aptly describes the
bright, talented young pastors today who are filling their churches with
people who are looking for a new Gospel that does away with the need for
repentance and justification.“His watchmen are blind:
they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark;
sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs
which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot
understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain,
from his quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will
fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day,
and much more abundant.”These pastors will enjoy the
benefits of transformational psychology, the latest marketing strategies
and technology and their churches will continue to grow very rich and
very influential. But those who fear the Lord will see the danger, they
will seek the Lord for discernment and they will turn from these kinds
of ministries. In the midst of the frenzy for big in our churches, the
words of Christ have been completely forgotten.“Enter ye in at the strait
gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to
destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait
is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few
there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you
in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” Matthew
7:13-15
© 2005
Ingrid SchlueterIngrid Schlueter has been producer and co-host of the Crosstalk
Radio Talk Show on the VCY America Radio Network for 18 years. She
is author of numerous articles on current issues and is a regular
columnist for Wisconsin Christian News. She has also authored, Parent Police: The UN Wants Your Children. Email:
vcyproducer@aol.com Website:
http://sliceoflaodicea.com
Other articles by Ingrid Schlueter:
God Speaks in the Winds
of a Hurricane
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