Amen Brother.........
Dean
----- Original Message -----
From: "Pastor David Warner" <dwarner@...>
To: <pastorsforum@...>
Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2005 11:02 AM
Subject: RE: [PastorsForum] Modern Churches to Bible Preachers "You're Not
Welcome"
I'll give a hearty, Aaaaaaaamen!
Anybody else want to join the 3 children in the furnace?
David Warner
-----Original Message-----
From: al cory [mailto:rapha_el_ministries@...]
Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2005 11:57 AM
To: pastorsforum@...
Subject: Re: [PastorsForum] Modern Churches to Bible Preachers "You're
Not Welcome"
Jeff,
I sure agree with this!!!
Rev. ALbert Corey
Rapha_El_Ministries@...
--- Jeff Hallmark <bc_preacher@...> wrote:
---------------------------------
http://newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin242.htm
MODERN CHURCHES TO BIBLE PREACHERS "YOU'RE NOT
WELCOME"
By Pastor Chuck Baldwin
June 11, 2005
NewsWithViews.com
We often hear pastors, radio preachers, and
televangelists refer to the great prophets and
Apostles of the Bible. Rightly, these Bible characters
are lauded as examples for today's Christians. The
problem is, hardly any of those giants of history
would be welcome in America's churches today!
On the whole, America's Christians today do not want
to hear the truth. They want a place where they can be
made to feel good, where they can be entertained,
where they can socialize and make business contacts,
and where their children can have a place to play.
To many Christian parents, it is far more important
that their church have a gymnasium and constant youth
programs than it is that their children hear the truth
of God's Word and learn the rigorous disciplines of a
Christian life. Recreation is far more important to
them than Bible study. In fact, most parents seem to
believe that the only way to "keep the kids in church"
is to have constant, non-stop entertainment. Of
course, it doesn't work.
Furthermore, it seems that most of today's sermons
amount to little more than "Positive Mental Attitude,"
feel-good drivel: "How to think better about
yourself," "How to squander more money on yourself,"
"How to 'find yourself,'" "How to pamper yourself," ad
nauseum, ad infinitum. Comparing the preaching and
philosophy of most churches today to that of Bible
characters will quickly reveal how unbiblical our
churches have become.
For example, can you imagine how the average church in
America today would react to the decisions of Daniel
and the three Hebrew children? All four of them were
unashamed and unhesitant to practice civil
disobedience. All four of them were charged with
capital crimes by their government and sentenced to
death. In Daniel's case, all he had to do was not pray
out loud to God for thirty days. Thirty days! I can
just hear today's Christian pragmatists screaming,
"It's only for thirty days. You can still pray in your
heart. We must obey the government." Can you imagine
Daniel being asked to preach a message on "How And
When To Defy Your Government" to the vast majority of
churches in America today? Forget it!
Moreover, take a look at practically every single Old
Testament prophet. Ninety percent of their preaching
was negative. They seldom had anything positive to
say, especially about the way their nation's leaders
were behaving. They were often jailed, beaten,
starved, or even killed. They were as familiar with
prisons as they were with pulpits. They were despised
by political leaders, rejected by religious leaders,
and shunned by business leaders.
It wasn't much better for the Apostles and disciples
in the New Testament. John the Baptist was beheaded
for "meddling in politics." The Apostles were beaten,
stoned, and jailed. The Apostle Paul was especially
hated. He was hated by Jews; he was hated by Romans;
he was hated by businessmen; he was hated by
politicians; he was even hated by fellow ministers.
Can you imagine the Apostle Paul preaching a message
on "Conquering Low Self-Esteem"? Get real! Give Paul
an opportunity today to preach to a church of one
thousand members one Sunday morning, and by Sunday
night (if they even had a Sunday night service), there
might be fifty people back to hear him.
It is probably difficult for this generation of
Christians to even comprehend that this fearless,
uncompromising, "like it or lump it" kind of preaching
was the kind of preaching that America cut its teeth
on. The colonies and frontier of this nation were
filled with prophet-like clergymen. And it didn't
really matter which denomination one attended, either;
he or she heard the same kind of preaching.
Whether it was the Baptist Joab Houghton or the
Presbyterian James Caldwell or the Lutheran John Peter
Gabriel Muhlenberg or the Episcopalian Samuel Provost
or the German Reformed Nicholas Herkimer, they were
all plucky, pugnacious preachers! Why, I can even
recall hearing old fashioned "hell-fire and damnation"
preachers when I was a lad.
It was a "hell-fire" Holiness preacher that led my
mother to Christ. A "hell-fire" Baptist preacher led
my alcoholic father to Christ. I can even recall many
trips to the last remaining Billy Sunday Tabernacle in
Winona Lake, Indiana, to hear the great "hell-fire"
preachers from virtually every Protestant denomination
in the country. I remember the crowds of thousands
sitting on those hard, wooden benches for hours
listening intently to those masterful sermons. In my
mind, I can still see (and smell) the sawdust floors
where hundreds of people rushed to the front in answer
to those altar calls and the studio high atop the
platform where radio station WMBI transmitted those
great sermons over the air. Alas, those days are gone.
No wonder our people today have become self-centered,
sensitive, and shallow. They seldom, if ever, hear
honest, straight-forward, fearless (telling-it
like-it-is) preaching.
Therefore, the next time you hear someone refer to the
great men of the Bible, ask yourself, "Would that
prophet be welcome in my church today?" In most
instances, the answer is a resounding no! And now you
know why America is in the shape it's in today: the
nation always takes the form of its preachers and
churches.
© 2005 Chuck Baldwin - All Rights Reserved
Sign Up For Free E-Mail Alerts
E-Mails are used strictly for NWVs alerts, not for
sale
Chuck Baldwin is Founder-Pastor of Crossroads Baptist
Church in Pensacola, Florida. In 1985 the church was
recognized by President Ronald Reagan for its unusual
growth and influence.
Dr. Baldwin is the host of a lively, hard-hitting
syndicated radio talk show on the Genesis
Communications Network called, "Chuck Baldwin Live"
This is a daily, one hour long call-in show in which
Dr. Baldwin addresses current event topics from a
conservative Christian point of view. Pastor Baldwin
writes weekly articles on the internet
http://www.ChuckBaldwinLive.com and newspapers.
To learn more about his radio talk show please visit
his web site at: www.chuckbaldwinlive.com. When
responding, please include your name, city and state.
E-mail: chuck@...
--
_______________________________________________
NEW! Lycos Dating Search. The only place to search
multiple dating sites at once.
http://datingsearch.lycos.com
--To unsubscribe, send ANY message to:
pastorsforum-unsubscribe@..."In essential
things, unity; in non-essential things, liberty; and
in all things, charity."
--
To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: pastorsforum-unsubscribe@...
"In essential things, unity; in non-essential things, liberty; and in all
things, charity."
--
To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: pastorsforum-unsubscribe@...
"In essential things, unity; in non-essential things, liberty; and in all
things, charity."