I have been accused of "adding to the problem" with my writings, and some have even suggested that I am in heresy, and have grown contentious and dividing! What I have found in seeing this behavior displayed a multitude of times, from many walks of believers in fundamental ranks, of the baptist persuasion, is this pattern of deflecting or misdirecting. It is just there way of hiding or running from what they are hearing. They are SO knowledgable many of them, but as the young rich ruler, "yet lackest thou one thing". These topics, or "things" that people like myself bring up, some of it is shocking, I know! Some things I have said to people, they look at me like I am a devil, or led by one! It breaks my heart. I wish they knew! I wish they knew the real me. The talk about my negative words, while ignoring their negative results.
Sometimes, even to my self, I sound like a broken record! I don't want to come off as if I am justifying my positions to strongly, but because of what I know of the internet, and the millions of "Christian" blogs (a vague title today) available on the world wide web, why bother with the basics and the milk? We are over saturated with milk sup messages! Why re-hash the traditional? Why keep defending the same positions, while never dealing with our great many contradictions within the body of Christ. They are many. Not just throughout the entire body, but more specifically, the Independent Baptist, of which I was first introduce to some element of biblical truth for the first time! Thank God for them!
Now people may visit a blog, but in no way does that indicate they are reading anything therein! So what do I care if I have a gazillion visitors from India, to Bakersfield, CA. I know preachers, some friends, who go by the visitors they have to blogs or websites with their material, thinking it is an accurate description of viewings. It is not. They even talk of how many visitors they have had to portray some need of ministerial attention to such things. So now that I have said all that, I will say this, this is no ministry that God has given me! How many things have you come across searching for this or that, images, blogs, opinions, etc. Most people will not waste time. So I have no delusions here. I am not sitting at home telling folks I have some ministry. This is just a place where I can have anonymity and can preach, teach, sound off, cry, yell, cuss, scream, and say I bloody well please. This is something I freely do, because what else is there to do today in the comfortable, breezy apostasy that has become the modern church setting.
I am old enough now to remember the former days, when the IFB crowd was surging, defending the gospel, and the book, God, I think was pleased, now, I am not so sure!
I did not start this blog to get a compete with others, blast the reprobates, and protest against the great many sins and vices in the world! I began it to vent to anyone who would listen. I don't desire opinions or comments. I have no flock or congregation to speak of, however, I could always change a few things, back up on some issues, and yeah, sure, I could have a pastorate like the next guy. I have the credentials, and the experience, but I know you don't care about any of that.
There are plenty of basics for believers out there on websites and blogs. I wanted to deal with other things. The hush hush things. The things the pastors never had time to deal with when i asked them. Things that were always explained away or brushed off. The sacred cows! I want to provoke thought! I want people to shake the dust loose in their minds and begin thinking for themselves. This isn't Rome in the Dark Ages. There is a new breed within the ranks, they are not evil, but they are very complicit in the rankness of the apostasy that has deceptively infiltrated the assemblies through the ever present spirit of error. Our aversion to our own traditions opens the doors for this spirit to blind our minds.
I like to deal with things that are prevalent, in our faces, the 4500 lbs. rhinos running rampant on the bible believing crowd is an astonishing progression to behold. It illuminates our day and our lot in the plan of the ages. It is so bad now, that the very ones who contested for the word of God in the 50's and 70's have now allowed themselves to be in a position where they themselves are also handling the word of God deceitfully; not correcting it, just handling it deceitfully. Manipulating for effect and gain. Ignoring blatant truth that may hinder the illusion of the tradesmen, or that would obstruct the status quo of the standard operating procedure. I like to hit head on those subjects that people skirt, run from, or ignore. It is all motivated by truth! It is all motivated by "approving" ourselves unto God.
Many of us are expected, required, and mandated to attend every service and listen to every preacher, evangelist, missionary, and everything in between. Which in some cases, is a wonderful thing. We get the milk, we get the edification, we get the exhortation, the rebuke, with all long suffering and doctrine. But what about the topics, and issues that pastors, and preachers shy away from? For years and years, it's the same stuff!
No one turns to scripture anymore, in fact you are lucky if you ever leave the text referenced for the sermon. This is shameful and shows that we are privately interpreting things and putting our own spin, theatrics, mechanics, bible seminary workmanship into it devoid of God's guidance. The scripture interprets the scripture. The scripture establishes truth!
Are these untouchable or even unapproachable topics? Is there some "Believer code" that says not to question these who claim to be God's anointed?
There is and can be hard subject matter to discuss. Things that are extremely hard for people to grasp, or understand. Spiritual blindness can still happen to the saved. This is called having religion, and laboring in vain in the traditions that supersede biblical precedent.
John Adams once said in 1754, "It is the duty of preachers to accommodate their discourses to the times, to preach against such sins as are most prevalent, and recommend such virtues as are most wanted...ought they not to warn the hearers against such vices...if the rights and duties of Christian magistrates and subjects are disputed, should they not explain them, show their nature, ends, limitations, and restrictions?"
So, you detractors, hirelings and professional tradesman out there, why would I waste time worrying about being politically correct and positive enough for you guys? Since you guys, the pastors and preachers are not dealing with certain issues, ever! Furthermore, you refuse to leave off certain traditions, of course you don't want men like me saying the stuff we say! It makes waves, it produces pauses. It gets people examining what they really believe which in turn develops their spiritual minds based on God's word and not church rule or mandate.
For years, we have been treating the symptoms of our problems instead of treating the disease! The people aren't giving, so men preach on tithes harder, bring in so called faith promise preachers (I don;t even respect this gimmick or method enough to capitalize it!) No one is going to the 10/40 window, to the regions beyond, obeying the great commission, so we preach on the mission field harder. If we need to fill the pews, we get the outreach, and bus ministries! I know I know, that one probably steps on a lot of toes.
There are hundreds of examples like these. I know people are hurting, as they cry to us! "I don't have time to talk about all this, I just have souls to save, people need help!" Sounds so holy and sacrificing doesn't it?
Why are people hurting? Why are they struggling. Why do they have no idea how to rightly divide? Why do they not know anything about sanctification and edification? Why do they tithe so minimally? You think it is them, sin, and the recession. It;s you, and your love of traditions and your lack of faith to just let God! Yeah I said it. It's as simple as that. You can kick your talk of faith out the window. Cut out your tithes, offerings, and faith promise gimmicks and see how well your ministry does! They only way it would survive would be to teach the people about NT giving, devoid of law, mandates, and such things.
Why are our young people falling in to sin? Why are the young preachers graduating Bible college without knowing about the bible, without knowing the bible? It is because they are factory plant, processed, clones of their teachers! The urge is so strong, to treat the symptoms, that we don't ever have time to look at the disease! The diseases are what is and has been crippling traditions that have strangled real life from it, the body of Christ. There is no cohesiveness, just the few who agree among each other. There is no real unity, just apparent, attendance and show! But we have to have the church, and reach the lost. What we see today in our churches, to be brutally honest, with sadness in my heart, and with no ill well of offense, has become a manufactured, appearance driven mess!
It's in our faces. Our grand buildings! Our modern Temples! Where we can still use phrases associated with Temple worship, like "storehouses" and "treasuries". Also, I love how we always call them churches or buildings, never cathedrals, and colossal auditoriums! We keep hearing of a great demand, urges and needs, and we supply, the body does it's part, gives until it bleeds. But the demand often proves to not even be close to the supply!
We have idols in the pulpits, some made of flesh, who have egomaniacal schizophrenic qualities, and we just call them funny or unorthodox to excuse there behavior! We have physical idols, and this is a pet peeve, but ti has always been idolatry to me, flags, staffs, etc. Some representing an "eagle", others a "hexagram", others a "cross".
Many of our prayer letters and missionary presentations, blogs, videos, music videos, whatever they are doing these days, is juts well designed power points and great photo ops! Yes, I said it! Don't believe all these guys coming through every month. Don't believe the hype, the tears or the well timed emotional trigger points in their canned presentations. Some are simply fat lazy con-men. Some are jesuit infiltrators. Some talk a tough game, but ar so afraid of the opinion of man that they are shackled by their connections of camps and clicks and friends. Some are escaping their past, the law, child support, bankruptcy, and God knows what. Some are also doing "God knows what" 10,000 miles away from any of us that are sinking 4,000 a month into the mission/deputation/support system. Yeah, you know what, keep telling me, I can't see the forest from the trees. Keep telling me. You people are not thinking, I mean, I really believe you have been trained to read the bible with a spin. We are living in full blown deception! And you naive fools out there think the men leading you are not susceptible to that, in this day an age, with everything else we know, and have witnessed in the last 20 years. Yeah, whatever!
What you find in many churches is plenty of hard preaching, but not right preaching. Plenty of public out reach ministries, but zero to little effect. And it is evident. This is usually explained away by sentiments like "it must be our hard-lined stance or the hard preaching" and those who can't take the heat are viewed as weak pathetic comprimisers that just can't take truth. You know what it is, it is a huge core of the baser sort who agree on fringe beliefs that have been derived from twisting the scriptures and privately interpreting and applying them to their ministries and lives.
There may be plenty of missionary support coming and going, but much is lost in the cracks of waste in mission boards, insanely unnecessary building expenses, and a gross representation of Christianity. There may be plenty of deep awe-inducing teaching but not sound teaching.
I mean I could go one forever! There is a counter point, or a flip side to everything that you say "God is doing!" that never gets spoken about. Well, here, I speak about it, and try to understand, and find the questions and motives behind all of this confusion.
We keep wondering why people don't get it, it is because the pastors, and those in positions of leadership do not get it. They are the ones dividing the flock right now in this present day by refusing to submit to others and the preserved text (1611). They are blinded by their power, pulpit, and pride! They are stuck in their ways. Seriously, it is so bad now, even if men want to change, they can't. They are holden in the cords of "their" sins. All these things they always apply to others, the absolutely apply to them to. Sir, you are holden in traditions, and men pleasing actions!
Do not scoff at me for saying such, it needs to be said! These men, many of them that we have grown accustomed to calling men of God, do not deserve any such honor. They are sinners. They lie like us, and have the same sinful mentality and heart as us!
In Romans, Paul uses a phrase, "sin that it might appear sin". We often think of sin as adultery, fornication, murder, and all things likewise. However, sadly, many preachers today, for the common good of the people, and sake of the ministry, will justify whatever pet sin they may keep hidden from the flock. That sin of preeminence, and condescension! What about your stinginess pastors? You share your pulpit with some able men? What about that sin of anger and righteous indignation, that sin of lust preachers seem to mask so well in their private lives. How about that sin of following traditions that is in direct disobedience to the authority of the scriptures! How about he sin of holding people to a law? How about the sin of twisting the scriptures to induce unnatural urgency, and over-zealousness? How about the sins involved in our many "character assassinations" we have carried out to eliminate other contenders who use and believe the same book. What if they are just as confused as you, only they admit it!
These are what I call the "basement sins". The things we can hide, that we can lock away. We can deal with the drinking, the sodomy, the fornication, the lasciviousness, the licentiousness, the uncleanness, the perversion, the depravity, and all those things we have conquered. It is why we feel we are so deserving of our sacred position behind the sacred desk. We appear righteous on the outside, just like a Pharisee.
What about the refusal to listen to a brother in Christ! What about the sin of slander and false accusations? What about the gimmicks and programs we have affairs with that make our God jealous? What about the man worship? What about the defrauding that goes on in our churches, our twisted ways of soliciting God's money for our own ambitions and dreams?
What about the sin of private interpretation? What about the sin of exclusiveness and many incorrect positions that deal with anti-groupism. No one is for compromising the word, but you thug preachers that swing the sword for blood, to cut to the bone, how will these people here it, much less understand it, if they are cut to the bone, with the sword of the spirit, the first time we duel with them?
The great thing about the bible, is that it truly hits us ALL. There truly is no respect of persons with God. We are all equal, a Pope, a cardinal, a reverend, a "father", a Independent Baptist pastor, we are all chalked full of sin!
So stop crying to me with your bleeding heart, I-care-so-much-about-the-lost-attitude! Your care for the lost and the dying world does not excuse your disobedience to the written words! You and the ruling clan you run with are as transparent as any corrupt government that exist today. Everyone around you sees it, except for you and those like you.
You are fooling many, but not everyone. Know this, we are out there. We are in your churches, and do not want to divide, but we do want to discuss! When discussion is no longer an option, what are we to do? Are we only submitted to you? Are we bond to your (pastoral) authority? Who are you submitted to? It's just as easy for you to say "God!" as it is for me! Thats why we have a authority in the scriptures! Not lets turn to it, and talk about it, face to face, the bible leading two corrupted sinners to truth!
Yeah, I know, who am I kidding!
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