Most of the class-action lawsuit against Sovereign Grace Ministries, in which rampant sexual abuse was allegedly committed against children, has been dismissed by a Maryland judge. Bill O’Neil, the attorney for the plaintiffs, stated yesterday in an interview with radio host Janet Mefferd that it had been known from the outset that the age of most of the alleged victims had long since passed the statute of limitations. The case still was pursued, however, in the hope that allegations that SGM leadership had systematically pressured victims not to seek legal counsel or help outside of the church would have weighed more heavily into the judge’s decision. View article →

For those who may not be aware, today is Earth Day. I have been receiving notifications about Earth Day’s impending arrival for about two weeks, and in my email inbox this morning, I received “Happy Earth Day” messages from a t-shirt company, Aveda, a homeschooling organization, Williams Sonoma, Lindt Chocolates, and many others. But how should Christians think about Earth Day? And what, if anything, should be our response? Continue reading ➛

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz recently was challenged by a shareholder in the company who questioned the company’s endorsement of a state bill to legalize same-sex marriage. Schultz reportedly told the shareholder that he was free to sell his Starbucks shares and invest elsewhere. The ensuing brouhaha had many Christians up in arms, calling for a boycott of Starbucks coffee, and lighting up social media with conversations about this dastardly deed. And yet at the risk of inflaming many of my Christian friends who often exercise their American right to choose to boycott a company that makes this or that anti-Christian statement, here is just some food for thought: Should we as Christians expect lost people to act in any other way than lost people generally do?  View article →

Christine Pack of Sola Sisters shares her concern over the apparent endorsement of The History Channel’s miniseries, ‘The Bible.’ Both Creation Ministries International and Answers in Genesis have come out in support of the production. Pack speculates that this could be because the miniseries portrays Adam and Eve as historical figures and also depicts a global flood. View article →

When it comes to food, does “natural” automatically equal “better”? While it is true that eating food that is less processed is more healthy than eating food that is highly processed, it is important for the Christian to remember that Jesus declared all foods to be clean:

“Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’” After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”) Mark 7:15–19

Further, when Adam and Eve sinned and brought about the Fall, all of the world was cursed, including the plants (Gen. 3:17; Rom. 8:22). Thus, “going back to nature” and esteeming natural, plant-based food, treatments, etc. as better or more pure may be faulty thinking.

Sola Sisters examines Scripture and ponders this “natural” trend. View article →

Speaking to over 60,000 youth at the Passion 2013 conference, popular pastor Judah Smith made the following curious statement:

God is a community, so He wants us to live in community….The world will not see God without community.

Why is “Community” so critically important to this new crop of idealistic young pastors? Christian apologist Chris Rosebrough has put forth a compelling argument that it is because they are misinterpreting the truth of the Trinity. It is true that God reveals Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, yet these pastors are teaching that this means that “God is a community,” and thus “community” must be the final and ultimate goal of every Christian. With this skewed teaching, the concept of community becomes a type of holy ideal. View article →

Jonathan Cahn, author of The Harbinger, claims that his recent appearance on the Glenn Beck show was his own personal Mars Hill, and was a platform for him to share the Gospel. Christine Pack of Sola Sisters asks her readers if this is true. Did Jonathan Cahn clearly proclaim to Glenn Beck, who as a Mormon worships a false god and is himself in danger of judgment, that he needs to repent and place his faith in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins? View article →

The Sola Sisters blog shares some thoughts and concerns regarding the bestselling book, The Harbinger. Exploring such things as the book’s Gnostic tendencies and the author’s reliance on extra-biblical sources, this post is a worthwhile and helpful read. View article →

Sola Sisters recently documented that Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan and a council member of The Gospel Coalition, had delivered a message in which he pointed his listeners to the teachings of Ignatius of Loyola. Now, Sola Sisters explains in more specific detail some of the concerns with Ignatius of Loyola, demonstrating why it is important for discerning Christians to test all things against the sure word of Scripture. View article →

On the heels of the recent controversy surrounding Tim Challies’ review of Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts, Christine Pack of Sola Sisters was invited to be a guest on Faith in Culture Radio with host Sarah Flashing. Sarah and Christine discussed all of these recent events, and also spoke about the problematic trend of Mystic Christian Panentheism in the church today. View article →

From the Sola Sisters blog:

Dear Mr. Challies,

As you may or may not know, we recently posted an article in which we commended your book review of Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts. And then today, a reader forwarded your most recent post, entitled “In Which I Ask Ann Voskamp’s Forgiveness…”, an article in which you wrote that after Ann Voskamp emailed you, inviting you to lunch, you felt a twinge of remorse over some of the wording of your original article, especially in light of the fact that you might soon find yourself face to face with her, sharing a meal. 

In light of your recent post, then, please allow me to introduce myself to you. My name is Cathy Mathews, and I’m one of the writers of the Sola Sisters blog. I live in Arkansas (not on a farm, however), and I was hoping that perhaps you might come to Arkansas and have dinner with me and my family? And hopefully, you would see that I am also just as real as Mrs. Voskamp. 

View article →

By now, many are aware of the controversy surrounding a recent sermon delivered by Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Community Church. In his article, Is the Megachurch the New Liberalism? Al Mohler noted the concern that, within this sermon, Stanley seemingly normalized the reality of a homosexual relationship.

At Sola Sisters, Christine Pack shares another interesting discovery as she examines some of the “curious language” contained in a covenant that is required to be signed by all who desire to volunteer in the student ministry at North Point Community Church. View article →

Children, Youth and a New Kind of Christianity, an upcoming conference to be held 7-12 May 2012 in Washington, DC, will feature prominent leaders of the Emergent Church Movement, including Brian McLaren, Shane Claiborne, Tony Campolo, Samir Selmanovic, Ivy Beckwith and others.

At Sola Sisters, CRN contributor Christine Pack states that Christian parents need to be aware of this conference. She examines the beliefs of some of the featured speakers as expressed in their own words. In doing so, it becomes clear that these leaders, who have been identified as being part of Evangelical Christianity, are in fact far, far from orthodoxy. View article →

Former-teen-actor-now-born-again-Christian Kirk Cameron’s latest movie, Monumental, has proved to be a monumental letdown, in that it apparently does not give a clear gospel message. The movie, which has been promoted by Todd Friel’s Wretched Radio, also contains factual inaccuracies as well as conflicting messages as a result of Kirk’s close association with Mormon Glenn Beck and Reconstructionist David Barton. During the live feed at the premier of the movie, right before showing the film, Cameron introduces Glenn Beck, calling him ”one of our biggest supporters of the film and a friend.” Rather concerning, given that Glenn Beck is a very outspoken Mormon (with New Age tendencies, no less), and Kirk’s close friend Todd Friel is well aware of this. In fact, Todd has exposed Beck’s beliefs a number of times, and yet until recently, the Wretched Facebook wall was heavily promoting this movie. View article →

Jonna Petry, wife of a former elder at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA, has written a devastating account of her and her husband’s experiences at Mark Driscoll’s church. Her husband Paul Petry, who served as an elder at Mars Hill before being forced to resign, has shared his personal testimony of his tenure at Mars Hill, along with corroborating documents, in an effort to document what appears to be a form of spiritual abuse at Mars Hill.

At one point in Jonna Petry’s testimony, she writes of receiving a carefully worded letter from Mars Hill that appeared to be positioning Mars Hill for a financial settlement with their former elder (Jonna’s husband, Paul Petry). Jonna’s heartbreak seems apparent in her reaction to this letter:

“It wasn’t a legal settlement we were after. What we so longed for, what we were hoping for, was a demonstration of God’s love and grace. These were pastors right? This was a church, right – not a cutthroat corporation?”

View article →

Many of us know by now that, in 2010, Dr. John Piper (author of Desiring God and pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church) gave his “stamp of approval” to Rick Warren by having Warren be a keynote speaker at Dr. Piper’s annual Desiring God conference. This was an event that caught many in evangelicalism off guard and resulted in a flurry of blog posts over a number of months. The problem with Dr. Piper welcoming Rick Warren into the fold is that Dr. Piper has long been known as a champion and protector of the purity of the gospel message. He has served as a trusted church leader to whom many turned in an effort to get sound, biblical teaching. This is no small thing in today’s church community which is moving increasingly away from expositional teaching in favor of watered down, topical style preaching. So when Dr. Piper asked Rick Warren to be a keynote speaker at Desiring God’s annual conference, it was perceived by many to be analogous to the shepherd throwing open the gate to the sheep-fold and welcoming in the wolf, rather than protecting his flock from the wolf. View article →

The Justice Conference 2012 is currently taking place in Portland, OR, and features such keynote speakers as Francis Chan, Shane Claiborne, Miroslov Volf, Walter Brueggemann, Lynn Hybels and Dr. Christina Cummings. Amanda Bowers of My Sheep Hear My Voice reviews the background of the conference and some of its speakers. View article →

Amanda Bower of Hears His Voice writes:

At the recent Passion 2012 conference (Atlanta, GA), Beth Moore, John Piper, Louie Giglio and company taught/led an entire sports arena (45,000 college aged students) in (attempting to ‘hear’ God’s voice). My son’s friends in attendance of this conference told of a young girl standing outside the arena crying her eyes out because she had not heard the audible voice of God as they had instructed. Others tried to comfort her but were also distraught at not hearing a thing. This idea that Christians can and should hear “audible words from God” is a dangerous teaching that has become deeply rooted in evangelicalism. And unfortunately, it is through books like Experiencing God and Hearing God’s Voice, authored by widely respected Southern Baptist pastor Henry Blackaby, that these false and dangerous teachings have entered into the church.  View article →