Book Review: Russ Kennedy’s “Perplexity,” All you Need is the Cover
Really? Christians need yet another book on gospel contemplationism? In Perplexity: Bringing My Questions to God, the theses is a very familiar one in our day. As I was reading through the Kindle version while riding in the family car with my wife Susan, intermittently reading aloud, she commented, “It sounds like the same ole’ stuff.” Indeed, the institutional church will continue to relentlessly pound this one simple message into the heads of Christians in different ways, and anyone who comes up with a different version will be lauded accordingly.
It’s ironic, Russ Kennedy, the “pastor” of Clearcreek Chapel in Springboro, Ohio was at the center of one of the most perplexing seasons of my life. Had this book been published at that time, perhaps I would still be there, and living according to its age-old theses. But I wanted answers, and according to the theses of this religion, a very ancient one, that’s arrogance. Yes, perplexity is a good thing because it humbles us, it reminds us that we can’t know anything except that we are perplexed, and living in the dark cave of life. Hence, see the cover of the book. This is not perplexing at all; you are in the dark cave looking up, and the light seen at the mouth of the cave is the gospel. If you know what Russ Kennedy et al believe, all you need is the cover—it says it all in a visual bumper sticker.
Let me interject something here: that perplexing time of my life was only perplexing at the time. That’s one of the real truths of biblical perplexity; time often reveals exactly how God uses the evil of the world for His divine purposes. In the midst of severe, dark trials, we continue in well-dong and wait for God’s answers (1Pet 4:19). That’s difficult, we will need the love and truthful encouragement of other Christians. Yes, in rare instances, we will have to wait for glory to know the answers, but we can be sure that God is working all things for His divine purposes, and for the believer, that isn’t for the express purpose of showing us how worthless and depraved we are. Conspicuously absent in Kennedy’s book is the following concept:
Deuteronomy 29:29 – The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
According to Kennedy and the long history of those who supply thoughts for him, the only thing that Christians can DO is the same gospel that saved them. We are in the dark cave, and all we can do is contemplate the light outside of the tunnel. Our reality is a subjective dark cave, and according to a former elder that supplied the overall philosophy for the Chapel, “New Covenant Theology presumes a Christocentricity to the understanding and meaning of all reality.” Said elder, Chad Bresson, departed from the Chapel, also dubbed “Cloudy Creek Chapel” by many former members, at approximately the same time of a controversy concerning an accusation that the Chapel elders were teaching, “some kind of Christian mysticism.” Go figure.*
So, if Christians can’t really know anything objectively except the suffering of the cross, what’s the point? Well, that answer isn’t perplexing at all: joy. As you look up from the dark cave of life and humanity to the only thing you can know, the light of the glorious cross shining outside of the cave, the result is the stripping away of everything treasured at all other than Christ resulting in joy while in the cave. Joy, regardless of circumstances, is the payoff. Joy in the cave is the payoff. Like Hinduism, the cause and effect of knowledge and the application thereof are toys that we discard as we mature spiritually, IF we come to realize that life is a completely preordained god-narrative that points us to a light that transcends empirical knowledge. As Kennedy states in the book, answers to life’s problems are “shadows.” Right and wrong answers are not the issue; the arrogant assumption that you can know anything except the suffering of the cross is the issue.
Listen, I was perplexed, and paid a price for wanting answers, but I see now that God used those dark circumstances to incite me to seek godly knowledge. I would only change one thing: I shouldn’t have been ignorant in regard to authentic church history and its progression of various soteriologies. My own ignorance and lack of knowledge led me to that darkness. Instead of letting me suffer the full brunt of my lazy Christianity, viz, letting others think for me, God restricted the circumstances to awakening me out of my pathetic slumber. That’s grace in sanctification my friends. When it gets right down to it, I can’t blame Russ Kennedy mysticism for what happened; we live in an information age, I was a know-it-all according to everyone else’s “knowledge.” Christ died to save me from the law, and gave me a “helper” to sincerely love Him with God-given talents. Instead of utilizing that, I did not study to show myself approved—it’s on me. For certain, I do not deserve what God has done to rebuild my life, but be sure of this, I have learned from it.
What have I learned? I have learned that the present-day chaos in the church is not perplexing at all. It is as simple as the cover on Russ Kennedy’s book. Frankly, the audacity of Plato’s cave adorning the cover of this book shouldn’t surprise us. The framers of the American Constitution readily observed that the colonial Calvinist Puritans of that day were followers of Plato. That, coupled with the tyranny that they experienced growing up under the colonial Puritan theocracy of that day inspired them to create one of the greatest experiments of all time—the American ideal, which God has used to wreak more good on the earth since the good news of the gospel. For one example, the Puritans, like the one Kennedy cites in his book, called Benjamin Franklin a devil for inventing the lightening rod. The only thing that saved Franklin from the fate of others who tried to improve the human condition through knowledge was the fact that his lightening rod saved churches from burning down via lightning strikes.
Platonism eventually became Gnosticism which was nemesis #1 for the New Testament church. The Neo-Calvinist resurgence of our day is a return to that Gnosticism in every respect, and the teaching method is no different than that used by Kennedy in his book:
1. Focus on being rightly descriptive about how trials and the rigors of life are experienced. This makes the listener think that you understand where they are at.
2. Exploit the fact trying to do the right thing the wrong way is very prevalent in the human experience. Then interpret those failures as a misconception regarding the very interpretation of reality. Interpret those failures as part of the overall failures of reason itself: i.e., Plato’s shadows in the cave. Our existence is experienced subjectively via the shadows of the true forms. The Puritans merely changed Plato’s true forms into the gospel/Christ, and our human existence is the cave.
3. Offer the alternative of gospel contemplationism, using proof-texting with verses that only tell half of the story: mysteries that belong to the Lord—which can only be experienced by joy and not known. This is the crux of Gnosticism. All reason and human knowledge are only shadows of the mysteries of Plato’s trinity: the true, good, and beautiful. They merely make Plato’s trinity “the gospel.” Any member at Clearcreek Chapel who is honest with themselves will see this concept woven within all of Russ Kennedy’s teachings sometimes plagiarized from John Piper’s Christian Hedonism which led to his dismissal from a church in Illinois.
Church history tells us that Gnosticism has always had mass appeal and has always been the greatest challenge to true Christianity. This is because it feeds our propensity towards lazy thinking, and enables us to step back from the rigors of life and observe them from afar. It also enables us to escape responsibility, and change by glorying in our ignorance while appearing spiritual. Yes, we are the humble totally depraved who “know nothing but Christ and Him crucified.” Change is hard, and many will exchange it in a heartbeat for the easy way while having the added bonus of looking humble and spiritual to boot. This is the mass appeal that has always been Gnosticism, a kissing cousin to Stoicism.
Wow! Look at his faith in the face of this immense tragedy! If only I had faith like that!
Faith? Or a Gnostic indifference towards reality? Was it faith that led a son to stand up at the funeral of a godly pastor and proudly proclaim that his father was a “wicked sinner”? What of the disdain shared by a Clearcreek elder in regard to his mother-in-law’s grieving because she was terminally ill and would not see her grandchildren grow up? The disdain evolved around her treasuring of her grandchildren more than Christ. Grandchildren are mere shadows.
There is only one false religion: antinomian sanctification. A rejection of knowledge in sanctification under the guise of “knowing nothing but Christ and him Crucified” portrays a certain mindset about justification. It exchanges love in sanctification for fear in justification. If we must keep ourselves justified by a humbleness defined by knowing nothing, we indeed need the Russ Kennedys of the world which is why he wrote the book. But one best ponder the very words of Christ: “Because of anomia, the love of many will become cold.”
Strange, once again I am inadvertently ministered to by tyranny. Susan and I have been considering a change of direction as this ministry is a very lonely ministry that fights the uphill battle against completely unnecessary perplexity in the American church. A recent sermon by Andy Stanley has Christians “troubled” and “perplexed.” In the sermon, Stanley proffered the idea that Christ put people before “his religion” which he made synonymous with the law. Supposedly, the Pharisees did the opposite by putting the law before people. Stanley then defiantly dared anyone to ask for a practical application to the sermon. Stanley then concluded the “sermon” by stating that he didn’t know where the theses would lead, that of course, would be decided by the Lord. As one blogger noted:
With all due respect, I submit that if Andy Stanley did not know the answers to the questions posed above, he should have never delivered the sermon.
With all due respect, Christians need to stop being perplexed in regard to where these antinomian teachers are coming from. We find the same exact concept in this book published by Kennedy. In the difficult questions of life and times of darkness, you don’t look for answers; you only meditate on the gospel and not shadowy reason. In death, you seek more death, so that the joy of the cross may abound in your heart. This is what you do while waiting for the Lord to change your circumstances at a time of his choosing. Of course, this is a counselor’s dream; one size fits all. Every counselee walking in has the same problem: they value life. Don’t be fooled by multiple layers of nuance and careful choice of synonyms, this is the crux of the matter; you either treasure Christ alone, or you treasure all else but Him alone. It’s either the dark cave or the light, period.
Their god is the god of confusion, not ours. And perplexity is not a glory; it is the disdain of lady wisdom and a lamp-less dark path to destruction.
paul
*Incredibly, the Chapel still benefits from the biblical counseling movement started by Dr. Jay Adams in 1970. The movement was a true revival because it called the church back to practical application in sanctification. As a former pastor at the Chapel, I witnessed this doing reformation (at its peak in the early 90s) firsthand because the Chapel was a NANC training center at the time. The movement was neutralized by a Gnostic form of biblical counseling followed by Russ Kennedy and his elders. Nevertheless, they represent themselves as advocates of the original movement and its tenets. As they deceptively allow people to come into membership under this false pretense, controversy arises later due to the contradictions involved. Much of the energies expended by the Clearcreek Chapel elders involve damage control.
Rampant New Calvinist Plagiarism, and the Real Reason Mark Driscoll is Upset with Janet Mefferd. Also, New Calvinists are Guilty of Double Plagiarism.
“A Calvinist believing in intellectual property is an oxymoron… that’s why plagiarism is rampant in the New Calvinist movement.”
The radio host Janet Mefferd confronted the New Calvinist Mark Driscoll on air regarding plagiarism in his latest book. I listened to the interview and was struck by the overall lack of education concerning this movement that presently owns American Christianity.
During the interview, Driscoll, like many, many New Calvinists, continued to promote the idea that New Calvinism is still an upstart movement representing the only pure remnant of American Christianity. That’s absurd. New Calvinism has completely owned American evangelicalism since 1999. The movement is about 43 years old, and it took them about 25 years to reach this point. The present-day tyranny in the church that New Calvinism is responsible for kicked in around 2000. This provoked the mass of discernment blogs that we see today.
Another thing that came up, and Driscoll played along with, was Mefferd’s idea of “intellectual property.” That is an Enlightenment era idea and absolutely despised by New Calvinists. Be sure of this: when Mefferd said that, it totally torqued Driscoll off. Here is what folks continue to miss historically: New Calvinism is a return to authentic European Reformed theology. This is the same theology that the Pilgrims brought with them from Europe.
So, originally, America was a European church state and the only thing that saved America from that was the American Revolution which was inspired by Enlightenment thinking. Furthermore, the Great Awakening during that time was expressed in churches, that’s true, but the fundamental inspiration for the Great Awakening was the Enlightenment idea that ALL men are created equal and free. This also inspired the Abolitionist movement.
Hence, the idea that any average Joe can have relevant ideas, and those ideas should be their intellectual property, is an Enlightenment idea, and the Enlightenment era has always been the archenemy of Calvinism. A Calvinist believing in intellectual property is an oxymoron. Calvinists having to play along with the idea of intellectual property is a classic cultural clash between Puritan tyranny and the Enlightenment gospel that inspired the American idea. Calvinists don’t take intellectual property seriously and that’s why plagiarism is rampant in the New Calvinist movement. If Driscoll was honest, he would have laughed in Mefferd’s face. Only the enlightened have relevant intellectual property, and even then, it comes from God and not man.
And, go figure, Mefferd found further evidence of Driscoll plagiarism. And, go figure, Tyndale House Publishers defended the un-defendable in this case. Like I said, New Calvinism owns Christianity, and that includes the publishers. This is why independent publishing companies like Presage and TANC are popping up—New Calvinism virtually controls what gets published and what doesn’t in evangelical circles.
In my own situation at Clearcreek Chapel in Springboro, Ohio, I became aware that the present New Calvinist Pastor, Russ Kennedy, was fired from his prior pastorate for plagiarizing a John Piper sermon word for word. Imagine, he got up in front of the congregation and preached another man’s sermon while allowing the congregation to believe it came from his intellect. Also, Clearcreek is guilty of the same thing that many New Calvinist churches are guilty of, double plagiarism. What’s that? Well, the staff elders supply the lay elders with manuscripts and the lay elders pretend they put the lesson together. But in at least one instance, the plagiarized manuscript included plagiarized material from a pastor outside of Clearcreek Chapel.
This is sort of like a bank robber double dipping by robbing the teller and the customer both.
paul
Robert Jones Will Return to Clearcreek Chapel to Teach a Refresher Course on Controlling Parishioners
The New Calvinist movement is much attuned to its European Reformed roots. Though the New Calvinists deny a mentality of equal footing between orthodoxy and Scripture, their endearment to Reformed authority is evident. Though documents like the Westminster Confession and the Calvin Institutes are said to be “subordinate truth,” we must remember that these documents are, “orthodoxy,” and orthodoxy is synonymous with “truth” in Western culture. “Heterodox” is the opposite, and commonly refers to those who oppose the commonly accepted creeds and confessions of the Reformed church.[1]
The fact that these documents were drafted under the auspices of church states is a major consideration. For example, The Westminster Confession of Faith includes specific standards for the enforcement of orthodoxy by the state.[2] The most formidable result of the Enlightenment era, the United States of America, changed all of that. What we clearly have now is a desire to follow the dictates of 17th century Reformed orthodoxy in a post Christian era ruled by the separation of church and state. As an aside, it would be wrong to say the Enlightenment era was anti-Christian; in contrast, it championed freedom of Religion by insisting on the separation of faith and force.
The desire to follow in the footsteps of those who believed in the civil enforcement of orthodoxy poses unique problems for the Neo-Calvinist movement. This created a niche consulting market that specializes in teaching churches how to improvise in an open society. One of the first organizations to exploit this need was Peacemaker Ministries. Founded in 1982, the organization equips church leaders to control parishioners under the pretense of “peace making.”
The present-day New Calvinist movement was born in 1970, and from its beginning spawned massive church splits and conflict. By 1982, an emphasis on damage control would have been in high demand, especially in regard to lawsuits provoked by the heavy-handed leadership style of New Calvinists.
The organization strives to help churches “build a culture of peace.” One way of doing that is through “peacemaking teams.” Keep in mind, organizations like Peacemakers are supported by the institutional church and have no vested interest in obtaining a peaceful solution for individual concerns. Peacemaker Ministries routinely turns a blind eye to the out of control misuse of church discipline in Neo-Calvinist church culture. The excuse PM employs for not getting involved would be funny if not so dastardly: they cite the bogus church discipline itself as a reason to not get involved because they only get involved in controversies between Christians. And since the bogus church discipline has declared the offended party an unbeliever—all bets are off. Again, keep in mind who is paying PM.
On their website, it is stated that the purpose of peacemaking teams is to “serve their leaders and to advance their vision to build his church.” So, it is not true reconciliation that is in mind, or gaining brothers between brothers, but rather a team that diffuses controversy that hinders the leaders’ “vision.” This is just another tool in the repertoire of control infrastructures common in Neo-Calvinist churches. What these control structures look like is discussed here.
Once again, Robert Jones of Peacemaker Ministries will teach at the annual “Family Enrichment Conference” held at Clearcreek Chapel in Springboro, Ohio. Jones is scheduled to teach at the 2014 conference. Clearcreek Chapel has a long history of unresolved conflict with many Christians, and is well known for its cult-like heavy-handed leadership style. Since the departure of the founding pastor, Clearcreek has consistently drifted from one conflict to another. The latest controversy involved complaints by parishioners that the Clearcreek elders were teaching “some kind of Christian mysticism.” The Chapel elders recently changed their titles to less controversial words like “overseer” as opposed to “pastor of spiritual formation” etc. In addition, the radical Christian mystic Chad Bresson is no longer on the board of elders, and is seemingly no longer a member there as well.
A Robert Jones tune-up may be well overdue.
paul
1. Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language: World Publishers 1959.
2. William Marshall: The Principles of the Westminster Standards Persecuting ; D.D., Coupar – Angus. Edinburgh: William Oliphant & Co. 1873. Specific citations: Paul’s Passing Thoughts .com; Inseparable: The Reformation’s Principles of Persecution and its Gospel; Part One – August 31, 2013.
A Reply to a Former Member and Present Members at Clearcreek Chapel in Springboro, Ohio: You Don’t Define Me
I love you Paul, but have been saddened for some time regarding the dearth of gentleness and truth in your blog,etc. Deep down you know that it is true. Turning logic on its head, twisting words, pseudo-scholarship, and outright attacking people for things that both you and I know they do not believe does no one any good. Please, this is not an invitation to debate. To reason together would be good, but I fear that is not your true motive. Praying for you and remembering our service together.
Mark,
Sorry, I no longer allow others to dictate the language and thereby frame the context of debate for a desired outcome. The arrogance of your presuppositions concerning me and anyone else who disagrees with those you follow is astounding. Telling me what “I know” deep down is indicative of this. You know what I know deep down? Really?
You, as well as others at Clearcreek Chapel misunderstand me totally. I am thankful for what happened. I thought I served with people who could think for themselves. I also thought I was among those who would stand up for me at all cost. I could still be there under such an illusion. Frankly, that’s pretty scary.
You, as well as them, claim to know and love truth, but you stood by and watched them ravage my family because I questioned their doctrine. The Clearcreek parishioners are the ones that know this; for anyone who was there, it is more than obvious that the trouble started when I asked questions in that disastrous Sunday School series that should have stripped the Clearcreek elders of all credibility.
First, per Terri Engle, and others, the Clearcreek elders handed core members manuscripts of said doctrine that they (core members) didn’t understand and had them dictate it in Sunday School classes to lend creditably to their doctrine. If you are dealing with truth, you don’t need to do that. Secondly on that point, it’s deceptive because the class assumes the teacher understands the material. Other than the fact that it was obvious what was going on, Terri Engle is a liar if he denies that he personally informed me of this. This alone speaks to the spiritual integrity of the Clearcreek elders.
When this ploy crashed and burned, core members were replaced with elders. When that crashed and burned because they could not answer the hard questions (not only from me), all the Sunday School classes were combined and the big gun was brought in, Russ Kennedy. That lasted for 2 classes. It was a disaster. That is when the Clearcreek elders started coming to my house unannounced, in groups, for shock and awe effect. Prior to that, I was called into a meeting with Mark Schindler and Devon Berry in which nothing about my personal life was of any concern. They requested that I not ask Greg Simmons questions in Sunday School classes. He was dissing Dispensationalism and didn’t even know what the word meant as he was dictating the manuscript handed him by the elders.
I will not much rehearse the fact that I left the Chapel rightfully, and according to Scripture. That is well documented. I will not rehearse the fact that Shirley denied all of the accusations against me by the elders under sworn testimony to PJ’s guardian ad litem. That is well documented. I will not rehearse the fact the elders coerced me into coming back to the Chapel by threatening to ruin my name, and held me hostage there for four months. I will not rehearse the FACT that while I was under discipline Chapel members were living in open sin and the elders knew. I have the documentation. Would you like to see the email from one who represented those who felt guilty about it?
Moreover, the Chapel was recently embroiled in another controversy concerning accusations that they were teaching, according to Dale Evans from the Chapel pulpit, “some kind of mysticism.” Go figure. Another series to answer for their questionable doctrine colliding with those left at the Chapel who still have a conscience for the truth. I assume the detractors were disposed of in the usual way.
Let me inform you, Mark, and the Clearcreek crowd about who I really am. I am a man who was seeking truth and found it in Jesus Christ. I came as a man who remembers the divorce of my parents when I was 9 years old like it was yesterday. When they told my brother and me, I remember what time it was. I remember the furniture we were sitting on. I remember what we had for dinner. I remember crying myself to sleep. That and the pain/sin of my former life altogether set my heart on fire in regard to being set free by Jesus Christ and His truth. I love that truth, and I will sit with it alone in the wilderness if I have to.
Now let me tell you who you are as well as anyone I ever knew at the Chapel. None of you are my friends and none of you love me. That’s a bunch of baloney. Please don’t insult my sensibilities. You are ones that Satan used to drive a spear through my heart in a way that could most wound me. You are all cowardly, mindless followers of men. You stand with the Clearcreek elders though they are guilty as hell in what they have done. They have devastated many families over a false doctrine and their judgment from God slumbers not. And if those who support them in ANY WAY think they do not share in their sin—they, and you, are sadly mistaken.
The Clearcreek elders sought to do evil to me by what they did, but God meant it for good. My new wife is a woman of astounding integrity with a mind of her own. She holds a Masters degree in education, and her faith has been severely tested and has emerged from the fire intact. Though she thinks my approach is harsh at times and I have greatly improved there by her counsel, she has deeply investigated my ministry theses and is of one mind with me.
Therefore, your accusation is against both of us and you owe us both a request for forgiveness accordingly. And by the way, you couldn’t even begin to carry water for her. She can think for herself, and you can bet that I didn’t marry someone who can’t after what I have been through.
This is who I am: before Russ Kennedy came back to the Chapel and assumed eldership under false pretense, I publically rebuked the congregation for falsely accusing him after his first departure. And I would have stood with him on that wise at any cost. That’s who I am. Don’t confuse that with who you are and what you call, “love,” and for that matter, “friendship.”
Anybody who stands against the tyranny of the Chapel elders is expendable. The Clearcreek definition of love is the following: those who follow them without question are worthy of it.
You don’t define me. If only there were words for how little I value your venquilitrist wisdom.
Paul Dohse
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
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