Commentary, analysis and opinion.

Kids at Risk: AWANA Continuing Down the Emergent Road

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Following is a letter to the editor of Lighthouse Trails. The person who wrote the letter offers plenty of reasons parents should be concerned about their children’s participation in AWANA. Church leaders such as Sean McDowell recommend that our youth read books by Henri Nouwen, Dallas Willard, Rick Warren, N.T. Wright and others:

Dear Lighthouse Trails:

A while back I alerted you to the fact that Awana was joining forces with Josh Griffin who was the youth pastor for Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church. Josh Griffin is also associated with Youth Specialties, an organization that promotes occult [contemplative] practices to youth.

Unfortunately, Awana is continuing down the emergent road. Here are some examples:

1. On February 22, 2017, Steve Kozak, the executive director of Awana YM, (Youth Ministries) wrote a blog post encouraging youth leaders to promote Lent. Lent is very popular among those in the emerging church. Wikipedia says “The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer through prayer, doing penance, mortifying the flesh, repentance of sins, and self-denial.”(1) Kozak in his blog said, “Teach your students to go without, so that they can experience an overflowing of Christ.”(2) Nowhere in the Bible is the practice of Lent mentioned.  View article →

See our Research Paper on Contemplative Prayer

Same Sex Attraction: Is It a Sin?

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Caleb Kolstad of Post Tenebras Lux answers the question:

I had not heard of the phrase “same sex attractions” (SSA) until I attended a Together For the Gospel conference a few years ago.  During one of the Q&A sessions a pastor addressed the subject is God anti-gay and other questions about homosexuality, the Bible and SSA (I believe Sam Allberry was a guest during one panel discussion). Allberry says that these SSA “are part of what I feel but are not who I am in a fundamental sense.  I am far more than my sexuality.”

These questions have been raised again at the Gospel Coalition.  A recent article by Matt Moore titled, How I Discovered True Masculinity set the internet ablaze.

Pastor Phil Johnson of Grace to You responded to this article on Twitter and Facebook with these comments, “Yet another hazy, misleading sophism from TGC. Lusting for something sinful is not “obedien[ce] to God.”

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The ‘Sounds True’ ‘Self-Acceptance Summit’

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Why are some professing Christians promoting an online event that is all about “self”? In one workshop, New Age/New Thought grande dame Marianne Williamson “Explores the spiritual dimension of self-acceptance” plus she will guide you to “the source of unconditional compassion.” Berean Research shares the nuts and bolts of the event and gives some pretty good reasons why Christians shouldn’t even consider taking part in it:

A 10-day online event promises to make you a better you. It’s called the Self-Acceptance Summit, and I’ve seen several Christians promote it.  The event is put on by a group called “Sounds True.” (Are you tempted to add the words, But Isn’t? I know I am.)

While Jesus tells us to deny self, pick up our crosses and follow Him, these spiritual leaders are doing the opposite: teaching hearers to worship self.

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Evangelical Coalition Releases Nashville Statement, A Manifesto On Biblical Sexuality

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From Berean Research:

A manifesto written by evangelical leaders has drawn the ire of the LGBTQ community, the liberal press, and has Progressive Christians ticked off as well.  Why? Because conservative evangelicals had the audacity to release a statement proclaiming that traditional sexual morality is based on the clear teaching of Scripture, not on the whims of an ever changing culture.

Liberals aren’t the only ones who have voiced their concern. Even some conservative evangelicals are apprehensive about the declaration. They point out that there are always risks involved with these sorts of issue declarations. And they’d like those who penned what is being called the Nashville Statement to address those concerns.

So – our advice is this: Before you sign it make sure your concerns are addressed. Ask yourself, do I really want my signature on a statement just because some of my favorite Church leaders signed it?

Being a Berean means doing your research. Bereans investigate. So for starters, go to the scriptures and find out what our Creator has to say about what it means to be a human being. What was God’s design for marriage from the very beginning? Then carefully read through the Nashville Statement. Does it line up with Scripture?

Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, was a speaker at the event in Nashville, TN where the manifesto was announced and a signatory as well. On August 30th Dr. Mohler began The Briefing with a lengthy explanation of what the Nashville Statement contains.  Following is from the transcript:

In a time of confusion, one of the greatest gifts that can be given to and by Christ’s church is clarity, and clarity requires at times that matters of truth, matters of truth in particular times of trial, should to be put into words in order to bear the testimony of that clarity. A manifesto was released yesterday; it’s known as the Nashville Statement, it’s a coalition for biblical sexuality. A group of evangelical leaders had gathered in Nashville for a meeting to determine how the statement should be released, and it was released yesterday morning by the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. I should say at the beginning, I was a speaker at the event and a signatory to this statement, and there are many others, as we shall see, who signed it as well. The big issue is this: What took place as released on August 29, 2017 was a statement by Christians who believe that it is our responsibility to speak clearly to issues of gender and sex and sexuality and biblical morality in a time when these issues are commonly confused. By late yesterday the Nashville Statement was one of the most often discussed issues in social media and it had gained a great deal of media attention as well. More on that attention in just a moment, back to the statement for now.

The statement begins with a preamble that states,

“Evangelical Christians at the dawn of the twenty-first century find themselves living in a period of historic transition. As Western culture has become increasingly post-Christian, it has embarked upon a massive revision of what it means to be a human being.”

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Joel Osteen’s words versus Hurricane Harvey’s winds…

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From Churchwatch Central:

Could Joel Osteen have prevented Hurricane Harvey?

Sadly Osteen is a heretic (a person who promotes anti-Christian teaching under the guise of a Christian minister). Although the backdrop of his Lakewood church is of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), he has pioneered shaping his movement independent of the NAR to that of a Word of Faith (WOF) and Health and Wealth (HAW) cult. The dominionist aspect of NAR teaching is still there in his false doctrine (“I am the head and I am not the tail”), but it is clearly trumped by his positive confession and unhealthy focus on wealth.

“Friend, if you’ll do your part and speak words of victory, God will pour out His favor in exciting, fresh ways in your life, and you will live the abundant life He has in store for you.”

If Joel sincerely believes these false teachings – where was he using faith and taking dominion, by speaking against Hurricane Harvey? Where is Mr “I Am” when you need him? Where is Joel’s Army when Houston, Texas needed him the most?

The theology you are about to read below in no way represents any form of Christian teaching. You will find this teaching in the New Age movement, which means it is nothing more than occultism. This type of theology puts Joel Osteen and his church outside of the Christian faith and marks them as a cult: they are simply borrowing the Christian language to invent their own religion and making money out of people.

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Passion City Church Cancels Church Services for ‘Sabbath Break’

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According to Seth Dunn, celebrity-pastor Louis Giglio will cancel church services on Labor Day weekend which very well could be because it’s a low church attendance weekend, “especially for seeker-sensitive churches like Passion City.” In his piece over at Pulpit & Pen, Dunn reveals that “The church’s website, while telling worshipers to stay home on Sunday, reminded them to still send in their gifts.”  He writes:

I’m not making this up.  I don’t think I could.  This is actually happening.  Louie Giglio’s Passion City Church has canceled its Sunday services on August 27th and September 3rd for what it has deemed a “Sabbath break”.  The church’s pastor has instructed his congregation not to come to church on the Lord’s Day in order to “Stop. Rest. Remember”.  A cursory biblical justification is given on the church’s website for canceling Sunday services for “Sabbath rest” but it’s not hard to discern that this course of action is a plainly ridiculous one for any biblically grounded church to take.

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How Can Christians Help Victims of Hurricane Harvey?

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Michelle Lesley has some observations and suggestions on how we can help the hurricane victims — from her own personal experience:

I originally published this article on August 21, 2016, just a few days after the historic flood in my own area last year. I am re-running part of it now (along with some current tips about disaster relief) because the situation in the Houston/Galveston/Corpus Christi area in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey is going to be nearly identical when it comes to flood relief efforts. If you have midweek services at your church this week, it might be a good time to get with your pastor and fellow church members to talk about how your church can help.

And just to drive home the point of how much help is going to be desperately needed in Texas, the one year anniversary of the Baton Rouge area flood was about a week ago, and we still have many people who are not yet back in their homes and need help rebuilding.

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Hillsong’s Brian Houston Says He Believes in Biblical Marriage, But Christians Shouldn’t ‘Dismiss’ Homosexuals’ ‘Desire to Pursue Happiness’

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From Berean Research:

Hillsong’s Brian & Bobbie Houston

Two years ago Berean Research posted a piece by Churchwatch Central entitled “Brian Houston admits he can offer “no great answer” on gay stance.”  They began by letting us know that “No one has a better handle on what’s going on with Hillsong’s background with the homosexual issue than Churchwatch Central, based in Australia. If you read and follow these well-researched sources, AND WATCH THE VIDEOS EMBEDDED (very important!), you will begin to understand an issue that has a lot of moving parts.”

So keep this in mind as you read the Christian News (CN) report we’re posting.  The story includes Word of Faith prosperity preacher Brian Houston’s latest statement explaining what he believes the Bible teaches on homosexuality. Pay attention to how he carefully crafts his words to avoid offending the LGBTQ community. As Churchwatch Central (CWC) makes clear in their above piece, Brian Houston is deliberately vague on controversial issues such as the sin of homosexuality. According to CWC, Houston tries to give the impression he’s “tight-rope walking the issue [when] he has in fact made up his mind where he stands and simply [lies] about Hillsong’s position.” Lie is a strong word; however, in their reporting on the Hillsong empire over the years, CWC has demonstrated how Hillsong’s leadership has hidden the truth from its fans. And according to CWC, they’ve been grooming their followers to change their stance on homosexuality. As Amy rightly says, those who take the time to research all the Hillsong issues–there are a number of them–will discover that there are a lot of moving parts.

Again, keep what we’ve just told you in mind as you read CN’s report:

As Australians are soon set to participate in a postal plebiscite on the issue of same-sex “marriage,” Hillsong leader Brian Houston has issued a statement outlining that he believes the Bible clearly states that God created marriage to be between a man and woman, but also said that Christians shouldn’t condemn homosexuals and “dismiss their desire to pursue happiness.”

“For Christians, the issue is also a matter of faith and biblical teaching, something that should never be mocked or downplayed by those with opposing views,” Houston wrote. “I believe God’s word is clear that marriage is between a man and a woman. The writings of the apostle Paul in Scripture on the subject of homosexuality are also clear, as I have mentioned in previous public statements.”

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Obedience: 8 Ways To Stop Making Excuses and Start Obeying Scripture

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Bible study author, speaker and blogger Michelle Lesley reminds us that “There is never any acceptable reason or excuse to say, ‘I can’t,’ when it comes to a command of Scripture.  God expects us to be obedient,” says Lesley.  Following are 8 ways we can move from all the excuses we come up with when we choose to disobey Him, to obedience. For example, consider that God is testing you. Will you pass or fail the test?

Now discover 8 ways you can stop making excuses and obey God’s commands:

Excuses, excuses.

We’ve all got them. We’ve all used them.

“The dog ate my homework.”

“I was going to, but…”

“I’d can’t, because…”

Sometimes there are legitimate reasons we can’t take part in certain earthly activities. Time conflicts: If a birthday party and a wedding are scheduled for the same date and time, you obviously can’t be in two places at once. Financial constraints: Maybe you’d really like to attend that conference, but there’s no money in the budget. Prioritized responsibilities and loyalties- you’d like to travel as much as you did when you were single, but now that you have a family, taking care of them comes first.

Most Christians seem to grasp this concept when it comes to one of the “big” commands. Take abortion, for example. We know that abortion is a sin regardless of the circumstances, even when those circumstances are huge and scary. We reach out to pregnant women with the gospel and with practical help so that they won’t commit that sin. We love the homosexual who wants to come to Christ but is being pulled the other direction by her lifestyle, living arrangements, and loved ones, by compassionately providing for her needs while holding firm to the biblical gospel that says she must turn from her sin in repentance if she wants to be saved.

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‘My church practices the “Sinner’s Prayer”‘

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According to Berean Research “Telling someone that he or she is saved by reciting a prayer is a lie from the pit of Hell.” Berean Research backs up this claim with Scripture:

Several readers have asked us, “What should I do if I am attending a church that practices the Sinner’s Prayer?”

If you’ve ever been to an evangelical church service or ministry outreach, you know the drill: Head down, no looking around, just you and God, sappy background music, and just slip your hand up if you want to invite Jesus into your heart. I see that hand in the second row. Thank you. Anyone else?

I can certainly understand why many people feel uncomfortable. There are some elements of it that are good, like confessing our belief in Jesus, admitting we are sinners and saying “I’m sorry,” but the most dangerous part of the practice comes at the end, when the minister declares, “If you prayed that prayer with me, congratulations and welcome into the kingdom of God!”  Telling someone that he or she is saved by reciting a prayer is a lie from the pit of Hell.

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First Grader Sent to Office, Investigated, for ‘Pronoun Mishap’

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Todd Starnes, host of Fox News & Commentary, has the story:

A first grader at a California charter school was sent to the principal’s office this week after she accidentally “mis-gendered” a transgender classmate in what’s being called a “pronoun mishap.”

The incident occurred at Rocklin Academy, a school rocked by controversy after a kindergarten teacher led an in-class discussion on transgenderism that included a “gender reveal” for a little boy who was transitioning to a little girl.

For kindergartners.

Parents were furious because they were not informed in advance and were not given the chance to opt-out their five-year-old’s from the classroom transgender activity. However, school leaders informed moms and dads – they were not allowed to opt-out – and the state did not require them to notify parents.

The latest incident occurred during the first week of school when a first grader came across a classmate on the playground. She called the student by his given name – apparently unaware that the boy now identified as a girl.

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Jen Hatmaker’s Revision of Truth

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Lorie Alexander of The Transformed Wife tackles Emily McFarland Miller’s interview with Jen Hatmaker. Miller’s piece appeared in the progressive news site Religion News Service. Recently LifeWay Christian stores pulled Hatmaker’s books from its shelves over her very vocal and unbiblical stance on homosexuality — she believes gay relationships can be holy —  so she has some explaining to do. It’s not terribly surprising that Miller threw her this softball question: You took a stand last fall saying LGBT relationships can be holy, and it got your books banned from LifeWay stores. Why was that important to you?

Good grief.

Professor of Biblical Studies at Boyce College, Denny Burk, recently wrote that Progressive Christians (PC) like Hatmaker have a propensity to erase 2,000-years of Church history in an effort to see that the Church becomes more inclusive, more relevant, more open-minded. “There are many voices within the North American evangelical movement,” says Burk, “that are turning away from what the church has always believed and confessed. Hatmaker is now among them.” In his view the PC agenda (yes, liberals have an agenda) is to “re-imagine” Christianity to look a lot less like historic orthodox Christianity and more like the world. (source)

So with this in mind, following is Lorie Alexander’s post:

If we don’t like parts of the Bible can we simply decide they aren’t agreeable to us and refuse to believe them? Jen Hatmaker believes she can and she does. Here are a few of her quotes from a recent article:

She was asked: “You took a stand last fall saying LGBT relationships can be holy, and it got your books banned from LifeWay stores. Why was that important to you?”

Jen replied, “I just sort of have this dream for the church where it is safe and it is wide and it is generous and it includes all of our voices. For the longest time, the church has essentially had one voice — sort of the white, male voice. I’m starting to realize how much the church is missing when we silence whole people groups, like you’re either not welcome at all, or you’re welcome but not your voice, not your experience, not your life, and I saw that with the LGBTQ community.”

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Post-Christian America: Gullible, Intolerant, and Superstitious

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David French, columnist for National Review, reveals that many of the best-educated and least-religious people he knows aren’t all that reasonable. Why does he say that? Because a large number of so-called intelligent people hold to some pretty irrational views about reality. For example, a former Harvard Law School classmate of his laughed at the Bible but believed in reincarnation. French also remembers Harvard students who wouldn’t step foot in a church frequenting a local witchcraft store. So how is it that really smart people think the Bible is dumb, yet they have a fascination with charms, potions and spells? In other words, the world of the occult.

David French offers his view of what has caused many Americas to choose darkness over light:

In some secular progressive circles, a certain myth persists. If you defeat the forces of traditional Christianity — you know, the rubes and fools who believe the Bible is the Word of God — then you’ll make way for a more enlightened, rational, and humane nation and world. In other words, the alternative to religion is reason, and reason is mankind’s great liberating force.

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Dallas Willard, John Ortberg, Richard Foster – Are We Wrong in Calling Them Emergent/Contemplative?

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CRN agrees with Lighthouse Trails (LHT) that there is no question that these men are Emergent/Contemplatives who are known for engaging in a set of disciplines known as Spiritual Formation. Pastor Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries spent a great deal of his time blogging on the late Dallas Willard and Quaker mystic Richard Foster, whom he dubbed “spiritual twins.” In this piece over at LHT, the editors reveal their reasons for voicing their opinion that Willard, Foster and Ortberg are Emergent/Contemplative:

Recently, we were asked to give an account as to why Dallas Willard (d. 2013), Richard Foster, and John Ortberg were listed in Roger Oakland’s booklet How to Know When the Emerging Church Shows Signs of Emerging Into Your Church as part of the emerging church. 

  1. We would first like to say that it is understandable how someone could take offense to these men being named in a booklet on the emerging church. All three have stated that they love Jesus and have often used Scriptures in their writings and lectures. So why say they are part of the emerging church?

THE REAL CRUX OF THE MATTER

The real crux of this matter comes down to the contemplative prayer movement, which because it has its roots in panentheism (God in all) and interspirituality (all paths lead to God)  as we have been able to document in our writings these past many years, it is basically a synonym for the emerging church. In fact, without contemplative prayer, the emerging church would not have had the success (if you will) that it has had because contemplative prayer is the force that drives it. And given the fact that there are so many variables equal between the two, if someone is a proponent of contemplative prayer, we classify him as part of the emerging church. Many people mistakenly think that the emerging church would just be those of the caliber of Brian McLaren or Rob Bell. But we cannot agree with this at all. We believe the documentation we have gathered these past 15 years clearly shows that the two movements are one in the same.

That being said, one of the problems is that many Christians do not  understand what contemplative spirituality is. They believe that contemplative prayer is just prayer that contemplates (ponders) the things of God. Or that it is likened to a time of solitude (e.g., a quiet time with the Lord, perhaps sitting by a creek or turning off the radio). But contemplative prayer, as Richard Foster has very often made clear in his writings, is a practice that requires one to remove all distractions of the mind by practicing some type of mantric-like meditation (breath prayers, centering prayer, lectio divina, etc) and allowing the mind to enter a neutral state where all thought is gone. If contemplative prayer were just normal, but perhaps more focused, prayer, then why has there been so much differentiation in the church regarding it, whereas now through Spiritual Formation programs, countless Christian colleges and seminaries have brought contemplative spirituality into their schools? View article →

 

Should President Trump’s Evangelical Advisors Resign?

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CRN has reported that some of President Trump’s spiritual advisers are anything but authentic Christians; they are Word of Faith health and wealth prosperity preachers, which qualifies them as false teachers…wolves in sheep’s clothing. One such adviser to the president is his close confident and “pastor” Paula White. White is also the “spiritual daughter” to anti-triniterian prosperity preacher T.D. Jakes’, as you will see here. During a recent interview with Pastrix Paula, another word-faith wolf, Jim Bakker, proclaimed that this woman has “full access to the White House anytime she wants,” as she sat there nodding and grinning. So if some members of Trump’s “evangelical” advisory council feel they must resign, let’s cross our fingers that Paula White will be one of them.

Now to the story over at (questionably) Christian Headlines:

President Donald Trump & Paula White. 

People are certainly divided over their support for President Trump. This division is not only seen in the country in general, but even within the Republican party, and also within the Christian community.

Trump created his Evangelical Advisory Board–a group of evangelical pastors and Christian leaders who are there to give him advice–during his presidential campaign. The Evangelical Advisory Board includes such prominent Christian figures as Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, Pastor Paula White of New Destiny Christian Center in Apopka, Florida, and Christian author and speaker Johnnie Moore.

Recently, some members of this advisory council have been considering stepping down, due to what they see as a disconnect in values between themselves and the President. Pastor A. R. Bernard, one of Trump’s advisors, actually did step down, and explained his reasoning here.

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God’s indeed a good Father–how NAR leaders have twisted a biblical truth

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Does the Bible teach that God sometimes allows people to suffer from sickness and disease for specific purposes? Or is NAR “apostle” Bill Johnson right when he says that Christians who believe that God allows sickness in order to build character won’t have confidence praying in most situations where healing is needed. Holly Pivec of Spirit of Error responds to what Bill Johnson has to say about miracles and healing in his new book. She writes:

Christians would agree: God is good. But not every Christian would agree with what that means exactly. For instance, could God, as a good father, ever use a sickness, disease, or other type of suffering to teach his children a lesson?

Most Christians would say yes, that God does sometimes work in the hearts of individuals through human suffering, painful though that truth may be. But many leaders in the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) insist that a good human father would never do such a thing and, therefore, neither would God. This teaching is promoted by the influential NAR apostle Bill Johnson, the senior pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California, who has written a new book titled God is Good: He’s Better Than You Think. In his popular book When Heaven Invades Earth: A Practical Guide to a Life of Miracles, Johnson writes this:

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Is ‘Holy Fire’ really something we want?

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From Berean Research:

♫ “Set Your church on fire Win this nation back Change the atmosphere Build Your kingdom here We pray…”

Rend Collective lyrics, “Build Your Kingdom Here”

♫ “This is a church on fire, this is the Holy Spirit flame We have a burning desire to lift up Jesus’ name Let the fire burn in every heart to light the way, defeat the dark Let the flame of love burn higher This is a church, this is a church on fire”

Hillsong lyrics, “Church On Fire”

We often hear people praying for holy fire to rain down, or a fire to ignite their spirits. But does Scripture really instruct us to desire fire?  That’s a question I’ve been pondering as I study the Bible. after all, doesn’t God use fire as an instrument of His wrath?  Fortunately, there are some solid word studies on “fire” that we can use to help us further explore God’s Word.

If you want to know WHY we may not want to pray for the Holy Spirit’s fire in our lives, you need to check out the following by Lyndon Unger, who originally published this excellent article over at Cripplegate a few years ago. He has given me permission to repost it here.

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10 Common but Illegitimate Reasons to Divorce

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Does God say Christians can get a divorce for the sake of the kids? Is it okay to get a divorce because you’ve fallen out of love with your spouse? Does God sanction divorce because the marriage is just not working out and He wants His children to be happy? Blogger, author and book reviewer Tim Challies lists 10 illegitimate reasons professing Christians offer for severing a marriage that he came across in a book by Jim Newheiser:

It is clear in the Bible that God’s intention for marriage is that it remain in effect until the death of one spouse. I believe it is also quite clear that God has provided a limited set of circumstances in which a marriage can legitimately be severed. However, many people—even Christians—offer reasons to divorce that are not sanctioned by God. Jim Newheiser helpfully outlines a number of these in his book Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage: Critical Questions and Answers. Here are 10 common but illegitimate reasons to divorce.

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Brannon Howse ‘continues to lie against, slander, and defame’ Justin Peter’s character?

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According to Justin Peters Ministries (JPM) Board of Directors, the answer is yes. But before we get to the board’s post, a Cliff Notes version of what brought on the above accusations against Brannon Howse is in order so that our readers will have an understanding of what prompted them to say these things. (See related links.)

Many in the Christian community have heard about the controversy between Brannon Howse, host of Worldview Weekend (WVW), and Christian apologist James R. White regarding the interfaith dialogue Dr. White had with Islamic Yasir Qhadi, Dean of Academic Affairs at the Al-Maghrib Institute. The dialogue drew the ire of many evangelicals as their view was that “it was not proper to give an unconverted Muslim any type of platform during a special event hosted at a church.” Moreover, some evangelicals felt that Qhadi’s statements shouldn’t have gone unchallenged. Brannon Howse and other evangelical leaders immediately renounced Dr. White. In a piece over at Christian News Network [here], Heather Clark wrote:

Howse pointed to 2 John 1:9-11, which he said would admonish White not to “give [Qadhi] a greeting of spiritual solidarity, [or] say you’re kindred spirits, [or] say you’re seeking common ground.” He said that White should apologize and express regret for holding the event at a church.  “We’re calling you to repent. Humble yourself,” Howse declared. “I believe [there is] damage you’re doing to Muslims, to non-believers, to Christians, to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Brannon Howse denounced those who disagreed with his view, including  Phil Johnson, Justin Peters and Mike Abendroth even though, to the best of our knowledge, none of these men have endorsed or defended the interfaith dialogue between White and Qhadi. However, they chose not to publicly denounce James White for reasons we won’t go into. Because Justin Peters is the focus of this post, what we will say is that Brannon became upset with him for refusing to make a public statement on the White-Quati dialogue–Justin wouldn’t say publicly that it was inappropriate and demand that Dr. White repent–so Brannon went after him on social media. And this prompted JPM’s Board of Director’s statement.

At the time all this occurred, Justin Peters and Mike Abendroth were heavily involved with WVW. In fact, until recently they often spoke at WVW events and were frequent guests on Brannon’s radio broadcast. As well, both men hosted their own WVW radio and TV shows, but not anymore.  At this writing Peters and Abendroth are no longer involved with WVW.

So with this background in mind, on August 18th the Board of Directors of Justin Peter’s Ministries felt it was necessary to release the following statement:

Justin’s Board Makes Statement

The Board of Directors for Justin Peters Ministries consists of Michael Miller and Jim Osman. Both of us are elders in our respective churches and work to oversee the ministry of Justin Peters.

We have watched as Brannon Howse has publicly and repeatedly misrepresented and lied about Justin’s position regarding the White-Quadi Dialogue. Justin has intentionally remained silent concerning his own view of the dialogue and has not mentioned Brannon on social media since Justin has no desire to speak ill of Brannon Howse or his ministry. The concerns that Justin has raised to Brannon regard the tone with which those on both sides of this issue have criticized the other. It seems that any critique of Brannon’s tone is regarded by him as a full-throated defense of ALL interfaith dialogues (IFD), a complete compromise of the gospel, and a demonically inspired capitulation to Islam. Brannon will countenance no dissent regarding what he has said or even how he has said it.

Both Mike Miller and Jim Osman read the letters that Justin sent to Brannon Howse and offered critiques and input – which was humbly received by Justin – before those letters were sent. There is much correspondence, texts and emails, which have been exchanged in recent months that is not public. The nature and content of those letters from Justin have been grossly misrepresented. We have seen all of the correspondence between Brannon and Justin. If Brannon continues to lie against, slander, and defame Justin’s character, we can release all of the correspondence to the public so that the record may be set straight and the truth fully known.

Many who have emailed this ministry to express their disappointment in Justin’s position regarding the White-Quadi Dialogue do not know how Justin feels about this issue. He has made no public statement regarding support or opposition until this last weekend during a session at the Judge Not Conference. Those who have expressed anger at Justin’s “compromise” and “cowardice” have done so based only on what they have heard from Brannon Howse.

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A Softer Prosperity Gospel: More Common Than You Think

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There is a prosperity gospel that is easily missed, says David Schrock. In this piece over at 9 Marks, Schrock outlines five trademarks of soft prosperity and what to look for in sermons and books. He writes:

While evangelicals have traditionally decried the prosperity gospel in its “hard” form, there is a softer form of this teaching that is all too common among us.[1] Often undetected by Bible-believing Christians, it assumes the gospel and leads its adherents to focus on things like financial planning, diet and exercise, and strategies for self-improvement. In contrast to the hard prosperity gospel, which offers miraculous and immediate health and wealth, this softer, subtler variety challenges believers to break through to the blessed life by means of the latest pastor-prescribed technique.

Of course, matters of personal stewardship such as money, health, and leadership skills should be woven into a whole-Bible theology of Christian discipleship. The trouble comes when Christians, and especially pastors, place greater emphasis on these secondary matters. What we choose to preach or listen to says much about what we value. And what I see among some evangelicals is a willingness to prioritize the lesser matters of the law over the weightier mercies of the gospel.

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Three ways the secular left is trying to make Christianity illegal in America, and having some real success

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Is there a threat to the ability of Christians to practice our faith legally? According to Dan Calabrese the secular left has undertaken three legal strategies. In a piece over at Canada Free Press, Calabrese reveals what those strategies are:

The secular left cannot get a law through Congress that makes it illegal to practice Christianity. It would if it could. It can’t because it’s not politically plausible – at least not yet – and it would immediately be struck down by the Supreme Court if it could ever pass. At least as the Supreme Court is populated today and hopefully will be for a very long time.

But that does not mean there is no threat to the ability of Christians to practice our faith legally. There is, and it’s not distant or merely theoretical. It’s clear and present. In fact, to some degree the legal prohibitions against the practice of Christianity are already in place.

To understand this, you need to recognize three legal strategies the secular left is undertaking – right now, right under our noses – that making it difficult to practice Christianity without running afoul of the law. It is not an outright ban on the faith, but it could end up having the same effect by putting everything that’s central to Christianity in conflict with laws created ostensibly for other reasons.

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Mythbusters: ‘Slain in the Spirit’

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Costi Hinn begins his piece with an account of someone who has allegedly been slain in the spirit. At the end of the virtual tour. the person declares: I have heard some Christians say this sort of experience was demonic, while others say it’s just hypnosis. To be honest, I haven’t seen it in the Bible and don’t really know what it is…but I really feel like it’s the Holy Spirit…

In a piece over at Equip the Saint, Hinn follows up by examining what the Bible says about a practice that has become normative in charismatic churches all over the globe. Professing believers must ask themselves the obvious question: Is getting slain in the spirit biblical….or not.  Costi Hinn, nephew of Word of Faith prosperity preacher Benny Hinn who’s well known for fake healings, false prophecies and slaying people in the spirit, provides the answer to the question.  He writes:

The virtual tour you’ve just read through is taking place all over the world every single week in tens of thousands of charismatic churches, healing crusades, youth groups, kid’s camps, Third Wave revivals, and N.A.R. conferences. Many conservative Christians are scared to death of their children ever going to one of these services but when asked what the issue really is, most cannot explain it but to say, “It’s unbiblical” or “not God.”

We need a better answer than that.

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Joyce Meyer Teaching the ‘Relationship over Religion’ Heresy

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Anthony Wade believes Joyce Meyer is a very dangerous false teacher — one of the worst in the visible church. In this piece over at 8:28 Ministries, Wade delves into Meyer’s teaching and shows why online discernment ministries such as CRN warn the sheep that this popular Bible teacher, speaker and author is in fact a ravenous wolf who must be avoided at all costs. Wade writes:

She is one of the most popular “preachers” for women today. She is one of the most sought after conference speakers for the entire Purpose Driven Industrial Complex. She is Joyce Meyer and she is one of the most dangerous false teachers alive. She blends a folksy mix of prosperity gospel, word faith heresy and NAR theologies to create a hodgepodge mess that could lead most people far astray from the biblical God and Christ. She has openly taught and believed that Jesus Christ was born again, which would mean that He sinned. She openly teaches that Jesus stopped being the Son of God on the cross. She openly teaches that Jesus went to hell to pay for our sins where He was tormented and if you do not believe that then you are going to hell yourself. Meyer has taught that we are “little gods” a common word faith heresy practiced by the likes of Creflo Dollar and Kenneth Copeland. Not only is she a little god but she claims that she is not a sinner. A great deal of the teachings she provides she claims direct revelation from God to explain their extra-biblical nature. Her wealth is estimated in excess of 15 million dollars as she preaches about God wanting you rich beyond your dreams of greed. She owns a 10 million dollar private airplane. This can literally go on and on beloved. She is a wolf plain and simple and has been devouring the sheep of the Lord and those seeking God for many many years. It is always fascinating when someone so popular and false takes pen to paper to write so that we might gain a direct insight to how flawed her hermeneutics and understanding of Scripture is. The above link is to a recent article she published on Charisma Magazine’s website where she shares what she did when she realized that the devil had robbed her. Let us reason together beloved:

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Game of Dethroning Sexual Sin

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Nick Batzig of Reformation 21 addresses the hullabaloo that ensued following a blog post Kevin DeYoung wrote on “Game of Thrones.”  In his post DeYoung challenged Christians to stop filling their minds with garbage.  How dare he say that watching actors simulate sex is sinful, some said.  So, my question is, when it comes to a professing Christian’s viewing habits, what should his/her main concern be?  How about this: I am here to glorify God…how am I doing right now?

With this in mind, here are a couple of quotes from Batzig’s piece that jumped out at me:

I have never had a friend tell me, “I just saw this intense sex scene on such and such a show and I’ve never been so close to the Lord.” That has never happened in all of human history, and, honestly, it never will. When we lay sophistry aside, we all know that we should be guarding our hearts and minds a whole lot more, not a whole lot less, in a day when wickedness pours through the television like floodwaters.

And

We must not forget that Hollywood is also targeting every sort of person with demographically driven sexual sin. Housewives are the main intended audience of movies like Magic Mike and 50 Shades of Grey. In all of this, there is a systemic unravelling of the foundations of morality that should leave Christians deeply disturbed. It can and will only get worse; and, we better wake up to the dangers of it for our own souls and the souls of our children!

Nick Batzig makes many excellent points in his piece. But for him the bottom line is this. Why do so many professing believers, who claim to love the Savior, choose to watch movies, television shows, and read books that in no way glorify God?

Yesterday, Kevin DeYoung kicked the proverbial hornet’s nest when he wrote a post titled, “I Don’t Understand Christians Watching Game of Thrones.” That post was swiftly met with a tirade of social media attacks, such as, “The Bible has many, many more violent and lewd scenes than Game of Thrones…know your Bible, Kevin,” “[you] shouldn’t expect consciences to be the same” and “Bad idea denouncing what you have no experience with…” Honestly, it was painful to read through the emotionally charged, biblically weak and grammatically poor responses to DeYoung’s encouragement for professing believers to pursue holiness in regard to what we set before our eyes on television.

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‘Breakthrough’ penny-sized nanochip pad is able to regrow organs and heal injuries

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According to Henry Bodin of The Telegraph, this new technology can convert skin cells into elements of any organ with just one touch. “Dubbed tissue nanotransfection (TNT), the technique works by placing a small pad of nanochips over a damaged area.” Bodkin reports that “In one experiment, blood flow in the severely injured leg of a mouse was restored in less than a week after the pad reprogrammed skin cells to create vascular cells.” So, could the technology be used as a weapon against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, even overcome aging and death as researchers who created the technology claim?

Scientists have hailed a “breakthrough” technology capable of regrowing damaged organs and healing serious wounds with the single touch of a penny-sized pad.

The new device uses nanochips to reprogramme skin cells which then generate any type of cell necessary for medical treatment.

The non-invasive procedure takes less than a second and in laboratory trials was found to restore the function of badly damaged blood vessels within days.

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