Another Open Letter to Fellow Southern Baptist Peter Lumpkins
“Let me put it in perspective for you Peter: imagine Mark Driscoll as president of the SBC and CJ Mahaney as president of Southern Seminary.”
Sent by email on 2/13/2012:
Peter,
Greetings. I hope this email finds you well my friend. I saw your article about “aggressive Calvinism” (aka New Calvinism) and how they are partaking in hostile takeovers of Southern Baptist churches. Your complaint is that they are not upfront going in about what their theology is. Their less than full disclosure doesn’t include the fact that what they believe has the name “Calvinist” in it for fear that they would be rejected out of hand. Poor souls are therefore deceived into attaining a pastor who is a New Calvinist, and in the same kind of situation, is why Hillary Clinton looks so good to us right now after the real Barak Obama has been revealed. I can tell you about a Presbyterian church in Alabama who would love to have a real Calvinist running the show right now.
As stated in my addendum (“The Southern Baptist Connection”) to The Truth About New Calvinism, this organized, hostile takeover has been in full swing since the early 80’s. Al Mohler and company probably distance themselves from Founders Ministries because they are only one step removed from the connection to The Australian Forum. New Calvinism is based on the doctrine that came from the Forum, which believed they had recovered the original Reformation gospel. It is my contention that a former Presbyterian and founder of Founders Ministries became a Southern Baptist for the sole purpose of bringing this “new reformation” into the SBC. Covertly, using the name of a famous Southern Baptist who would have been horrified by their doctrine.
New Calvinism is ecumenical because all that matters is an acclamation to the Forum’s, the centrality of the objective gospel outside of us. Everything else is secondary because real and lasting transformation only comes from Gospel Contemplationism anyway. Supposedly. Certainly, I do not have to make a case for this as the inclusion of everything but the kitchen sink is apparent in T4G, and the Together for the Gospel crowd.
Though they pretend to oppose the emergent church movement, they approach the Scriptures in the exact same way: the Scriptures are a historical gospel narrative that we put our life story into. New Calvinists believe that is mostly done through contemplation—emergent folks believe that is done primarily through taking action and participating in the narrative, often bringing a charge of works salvation from the other side because it is working in the narrative verses contemplating it. But both believe that the Scriptures are an exclusive personal narrative about Christ, and therefore, drawing propositional truth/cognitive principles from it for purposes of life application is an inappropriate use of the Scriptures. In a shocking display of diss-discernment, MacArthur masterfully articulates this complaint against the emergent church while at the same time describing the same approach that his newfound New Calvinist pals hold to (The Truth War pages 13-22; also see How People Change by Paul David Tripp, page 27).
In fact, MacArthur targets John H. Armstrong specifically on those pages in Truth War, who was also one of the movers and shakers in the movement that created Founders Ministries! Come now Peter, look at Acts 29’s involvement with Southern Baptist churches. It’s not only emergent, but was spawned by the spiritual children of Dr. John “Jack” Miller, the father of Sonship Theology that is founded on the Forum’s doctrine.
Which brings me to the name change being proposed in SBC circles. That spells certain death for the SBC—it is part of the plan. Removing “Baptist” from our name paves the way for Charismatics, Emergents, Seventh-day Adventists, you name it to be involved in the everyday activities of the SBC. Let me put it in perspective for you Peter: imagine Mark Driscoll as president of the SBC and CJ Mahaney as president of Southern Seminary.
Peter, it’s gut-check time for Southern Baptist. I have a meeting with my pastor this afternoon. Should our church continue to contribute to the Cooperative Fund which is well on its way to being taken over by spiritual misfits?
Not in my book.
paul
Where’s Johnny? My Theory
The following was posted on the Puritan Board by “Damon” and has been previously echoed by the Wartburg Watch blog:
“I just noticed today that J. Mac is not going to be at T4G next year! What gives? Could it be related to the Rick Warren/John Piper issue?”
Bless your heart Damon, but no, MacArthur wouldn’t pass on an opportunity to hang out with Piper for anything. My theory is the following: MacArthur is being punished for writing the book, “Slave.”
The book explores how the word “slave” has been mistranslated over the years to give more of an idea of employee rather than bond slave. In the book, MacArthur departs from his past method of teaching; ie., presenting the information, and then applying it to our walk (practical application). The book is primarily, if not totally what, and not what now? Like the good New Calvinist that he is, MacArthur supplied an excellent, what all of that looks like, with virtually no life application. He also quotes several of his New Calvinist buddies, including NCT hack Douglas Moo, and John Piper more than once.
I haven’t done the math, but if somebody wants to, you might do a invites prior to Slave verses invites after Slave. Even though Mac didn’t break the rules in Slave, the very name of the book implies a robust role for Christians in sanctification, and the New Calvinist crowd will not tolerate that. Just a side note: Piper’s objection to Lordship-like terminology is well documented.
Just my theory.
paul
Protest Neo-Antinomianism
Also looks great in black and white. See actual pdf copy here. File can be downloaded.
Titles of MacArthur’s New Books Hint at Continued Downgrade
As I mentioned in a previous post, MacArthur’s willingness to associate with CJ Mahaney and even teach with him at the upcoming Resolved Conference is a clear indication that he is completely off the orthodox reservation. Let’s just face it, our beloved Mac is now willing to be a party to such madness as “The Scream of the Damned” that occurred at the 2009 Resolved conference. Game over. Such foolishness would have invoked horror in the Mac of old. And appearing with Mahaney speaks volumes, as attested to the fact that unnamed New Calvinists called for James MacDonald to cancel an appearance by TD Jakes at his church. Hanging out with people, like words, mean things.
I will pause here to give you a hint: all that matters is adherence to COGOUS. Past that, anything goes. If one “has the gospel right,” all other bets are off.
I really enjoy many of Susan’s idiosyncrasies. As she walked past my computer this morning, and saw what I was viewing, she quipped, “That’s not true.” I was viewing a promo that I received by email concerning John MacArthur’s two latest books. Large pictures of both covers were on the PC screen. I couldn’t help but smile and ask, “What isn’t true dear?” She replied, “Worship isn’t our ultimate priority, obedience is.”
Is this not true? I have a wife who takes the meaning of words seriously, and that’s huge. What does the word “ultimate” mean? And is worship the “ultimate” priority for Christians? Well, it’s not the primary reason Christ said that he was going to send us a “Helper.” Read John 14. The dominate theme of that chapter is the fact that Christ was going to leave them and send the Holy Spirit. And for what reason primarily? To worship? No, to help them obey. Christ reiterates that fact several times in that same chapter. And of course, who is not aware of the prophet’s words to King Saul, “Obedience is better than sacrifice”?
On several occasions, MacArthur has made it clear that he has fully bought into the gospel contemplationism > gratitude > obedience sanctification paradigm that he got from hanging out with John Piper and Michael Horton. And of course, this means that he is now a great danger to the well-being of Christians. Osteen isn’t a great threat, he’s obvious and even admits he’s “not a theologian.” On the contrary, MacArthur is a respected theologian who now propagates Quietist error. The cover of this book hints at the aforementioned paradigm that he now advocates.
The second book title hints towards his new hermeneutic. From the hardcore grammatical-historical motto “Unleashing God’s Word One Verse at a Time” to “ “Unleashing God’s Word One Day at a Time.” New Calvinists everywhere are probably just giddy over this. Bully for you Mac, you have your reward, from men who peddle God’s word via adolescent dramas such as “The Scream of the Damned.” I have been told by New Calvinists face to face how that hermeneutic works: keep reading till you see Jesus or something about Jesus and His works—not anything you would do. The Word is not a cognitive concept we apply to life, it’s a person. Whatever.
Is this an unbalanced criticism of Mac? Has he fully articulated his new method which doesn’t take this extreme approach to Scripture? Is his approach different from everyone who he is hanging out with these days? Where? Sorry, he is well paid to communicate clearly—it’s on him.
paul
How Kinky Does it Have to Get? Stuart Scott et al Don’t Care
I have never been much for getting into the more bizarre aspects of New Calvinism, but we know that errant theology leads to life getting stranger and stranger. This post is about well-known Christians and their determination to associate with bizarre sects of New Calvinism. Without a doubt, the best example is my old stomping grounds, Clearcreek Chapel in Springboro, Ohio.
Clearcreek is still a training center for the National Association of Nouthetic Counselers and is on NANC’s national referral list. The Chapel is frequented by guest speakers such as Robert Jones, Paul David Tripp, Stuart Scott, and Lou Priolo. Apparently, Martha Peace has an ongoing teaching arrangement with Clearcreek as well. PPT has sent most of these folks letters asking them to not grant Clearcreek credibility in this way, but to no avail. Scott’s basic response was, “Not my problem.”
So, what doesn’t matter to these folks? Primarily, it doesn’t matter that one of Clearcreek Chapel’s staff elders (over adult education) is Chad Bresson, a former Christian radio personality. Bresson is one of the charter members of the Earth Stove Society which is a fringe group that promotes New Covenant Theology. Bresson authors the blog, Vossed World which is dedicated to the Bible Theology of Geerhardus Vos.
Vos has a cult following from this group. Literally. NCT fringe groups lead yearly pilgrimages to Vos’ gravesite in Pennsylvania to pay homage to Vos. Bresson led such a pilgrimage last year that was nothing short of a worship service. Bresson himself stood before Vos’ headstone and wept while reading from books written by Vos. Shockingly, Bresson posted the affair on his Facebook page and the information was forwarded to PPT.
“Standing in the midst of the obvious decay that is the hallmark of the already, speaks of the inbreaking ‘not yet’ through lumped throat and wet eyes.”
Just last week, I had the following encounter with an advocate of NCT and acquaintance of Bresson’s in the PPT comment section of a post:
My dear anti-Pneumian friend, we are heading there in a few weeks for our winter Pilgrimage . . . we will be sure to light a prayer candle or two for you at his shrine as we offer up prayers on our special new covenant Rosary to our beloved patron Saint Geerhardus. May he grant to you out of his treasury of grace to be spared some time in purgatory. Until then, walk in the power of the Spirit and be filled with the joy and wonder of the Gospel!
Jack,
I would be inclined to think you are kidding, but I know Bresson all too well, so, I think you are serious about this. If Vos shows up, take good notes and I will let you write a guest piece here.
Also troubling is Bresson’s outright denial of a literal, instructive approach to Scripture. Bresson believes the Holy Spirit only illumines the word when it is approached as a gospel narrative for purposes of Gospel Contemplationism. Any use of the Bible for instructive purposes is to use the Bible in the same way that the Pharisees used the Torah (Vossed World blog: “The Word of God is a Person,” 7/17/2008 archives). As the foremost respected theologian at Clearcreek Chapel, the idea that every single verse in the Bible must be read as concerning Christ and the gospel can be seen in the following post by another Chapel teacher: Clearcreek Chapel Biblical Theological Study Center blog: “Interpreting the Unfolding Drama the Way Jesus Did,” student archives 2/19/2011, by Max Strange. Online source: http://clearcreekbtsc.blogspot.com).
The Clearcreek elders are so bent on not implementing instruction in counseling that on at least one occasion, according to a former counselee I talked to, they will draw pictures of the person’s life on a piece of paper and illustrate were the counselee is located in the picture. I witnessed a testimony firsthand in which a Clearcreek elder said a marriage was miraculously transformed before his eyes by merely showing forth the gospel from the Scriptures in the first counseling session. When I confronted the elders about it, the response was, “Oh, that’s just Dan.”
Even by NANC standards, the fact that NANC associates with them and refers people there who have deep problems is unconscionable.
Another example is New Calvinist Mark Driscoll who has been a keynote speaker at such events like CCEF’s 2009 national conference at the behest of David Powlison. The following video in which he claims to see visions is self-explanatory:
Truly, New Calvinists like John Piper and CJ Mahaney must get together and giggle about what they can actually get away with. The following video documents their strange “The Scream of the Damned” concoction. This actually took place at the 2009 resolved conference sponsored by John MacArthur’s church. The fact that Grace Community Church would host such nonsense speaks for itself. Following are quotes concerning the message and then the 2009 resolved promo trailer:
CJ spoke of our Savior’s cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?” And though I have contemplated that amazing cry often, never did it hit me as hard as in CJ’s message, when he referred to it as “the scream of the Damned.”
Then there was break and music and announcements, and John Piper stood up to bring his message. Several of us had prayed in a back room that God would anoint John, and pick right up where He left off in the previous message, and wow, did He. John referred repeatedly to the “scream of the Damned,” and then moved into Romans 8.
A flood of tears came as God preached the message to me yet again. That Deity would be Damned. That the God who is called upon righteously by the saints and angels in heaven to damn people, and called upon habitually by unbelievers flippantly and unrighteously to damn people, would in fact damn his Son, would (from the Son’s willingness to drink the cup) damn himself…for us. That it could be said of the Beloved One, “God damned Him,” and that He screamed the scream of the Damned….it was too much for me. It is too much for me this moment. And in the ages to come it will continue to be too much for me.
~ Randy Acorn
Everything exists to magnify the worth of the scream of the damned. That’s the point of the universe. What we will do forever in heaven is magnify the worth of the scream of the damned. Calvary will not be forgotten. It is the most-horrible, most sinful, most agonizing event that ever was – it will be the center of heaven forever. Hell exists, cross exists, sin exists, heaven exists, you exist, universe exists, in order to magnify the worth of the scream of the damned. What is the apex of the revelation of the grace of God? And the answer is the scream of the damned on the cross.
~ John Piper from his sermon on “The Screamed of the Damned.”
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
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