The SBC’s “Founders Ministries” is a Fraud
Founders Ministries is an organization supposedly dedicated to bringing back the SBC’s Calvinistic/Reformed roots. Four years of research went into “The Truth About New Calvinism,” but I never had any reason to doubt that. And as far as New Calvinism in the SBC via Mohler, Dever et al, I figured it could have entered into the SBC in any number of ways after the explosion of Sonship Theology and it wasn’t worth pursuing.
Last night, I was reading an article written by John H. Armstrong. It was his article on Time Magazine’s assessment of New Calvinism, and the following statement caught my attention:
Look at the divisions in the Southern Baptist Convention and you will see my point. I have watched this movement for neo-Calvinism from its infancy. I personally attended the first meeting (and several more the years following) of the group that started this effort back in the 1980s. I personally knew the founder who dreamed up the idea of recovering Calvinism in the SBC and then spread the “doctrines of grace” very widely. He is now with the Lord. Look at the quarrels between these neo-Calvinists and the various strands of emergent (and emerging) Christianity. I was also involved in the various “gospel” recovery groups which were begun, now creating large gatherings of folk who believe they are the people who are preaching and recovering the “biblical gospel.”
Armstrong’s involvement with the original group seeking to spread the doctrine in SBC circles was of interest to me because Armstrong is one of the few who openly admit that he adopted his theology from the Australian Forum via Present Truth, the Forum’s theological journal: here , and here .
“I personally knew the founder who dreamed up the idea of recovering Calvinism in the SBC….” Hmmm, who is he talking about? I emailed a few of my sources and didn’t get a reply, so I started asking myself questions: “Isn’t Founders Ministries the one spreading Calvinism in the SBC? But which Calvinism? New or old?” So I went to their website and started poking around. I found a historical essay about the ministry here .
So guess who the founder was? Earnest Reisinger, one of the forefathers of New Covenant Theology. In fact, he goes way back before the doctrine was dubbed New Covenant Theology by Jon Zens. As I document in the book, Jon Zens and the founder of the Australian Forum worked together to develop NCT. According to Zens:
At the fall Banner of Truth Conference in 1979, Ron McKinney spoke with lain Murray, Ernie Reisinger and others about the possibility of having a conference where some aspects of Reformed theology could be discussed and evaluated by men of differing viewpoints.
That conference ended up being the first “1980 Council on Baptist Theology” held in Plano, TX. It was the coming out party for New Covenant Theology.
Furthermore, Ernie Reisinger’s “Law and Gospel” is a staple reference for students of Sonship Theology (Gospel Discipling—The Crying Need of the Hour: Stephen E. Smallman; Executive Director, World Harvest Mission, November 1997). The fact that Reisinger’s theology is based on New Covenant Theology can be observed in this article written by him and posted on the Founders blog: See article here.
The totality of my research on this will be compiled and added as an addendum to the second addition of volume one: “The Southern Baptist Connection.” Obviously, Armstrong’s deceased friend who started the movement was Reisinger, who passed away in 2004. And the movement he spoke of is Founders Ministries.
Founders Ministries is a fraud. They are not bringing Calvinism back to the SBC, they are ushering in what Walter Chantry called a contemporary “novelty” and selling it as Calvinistic theology. Chantry also called it “neo-antinomianism.” Think what you will about Calvin, but he was not an antinomian. It is all a big, fat LIE.
paul
Repost: Comment on “Wolves” Post
|
Submitted on 2011/10/30 at 12:59 am
check out their church website and read their 60 page statement of belief. Some of the big names are in it. http://owensborochurch.com/ (under “about us”) “Seems to me if you are going to break fellowship with people, you should know what they are really guilty of.” Paul, I think people have a hard time putting their finger on it. After all, as you said, how can one go against the “Gospel” and the term “sovereignty of God”? But they are re-defining things and in their quest, their zeal is in your face. Their teaching is so convoluted they need 60 page belief statements. They speak in upside down infused grace justification/sanctification. It is all gobblygook that sounds so intellectually righteous. The weary, the poor in spirit, the uneducated don’t stand a chance with these guys. Perhaps the Association needs your book? So, the Association says, they have no kindness, humility, compassion, etc. Welcome to the world of Driscoll where you oust elders who dare disagree with you and form a coup to take over the church and install only few yes men elders. (My sources tell me it went from 30 elders to 4) Then declare in a sermon, you will go “old testament” on them for daring to speak out. http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=445277 Or where you send a cease and desist letter from your lawyers to a small church (without even calling them first!)in Calif that has the same name:Mars Hill. Acts 29 churches have the Driscoll “spirit”. because they learn church planting at their “bootcamp”. And, guess what? The SBC is funding some Acts 29 churches through NAMB. Our new NAMB president is Mohler’s old pastor who loves Acts 29. I can understand the Associations concern. But they failed to make the case. |
The SBC is Shooting Innocent Wolves: is That a Good Thing?
We Southern Baptists have our standards. I have been a Southern Baptist since 1983, and we are notorious for not confronting sin in our churches, unless the sin happens to be Calvinism. Leave? Why? It’s way too much fun admitting our hypocrisy at SBC gatherings and watching the veins swell-up in people’s necks.
So, apparently, there is a Calvinism controversy going on in the SBC. Southern Baptists are concerned about an “aggressive Calvinism” that is growing in the SBC. The latest episode where those rascally Calvinists got a learnin’ was the rejection of Pleasant Valley Community Church’s bid to become part of the Daviess-McLean Baptist Association. The Association voted 104-9 to deny membership because, “It affirms the doctrine of election and grace. While we know the doctrine is not heresy, we do recognize that it is vastly different than the majority of churches within the DMBA.”
This particular association also voted to separate from a church in the association due to some sort of compromise that was deemed to be a serious issue. Therefore, they have something right that is rare today; they understand that church discipline is a universal matter. There are situations where Matthew 18:15-20 needs to be carried out between churches and the fourth step is the breaking of Christian fellowship between those churches. Church A will no longer fellowship with church B—this sends a very powerful message. Point in case: member/spouse A files an unbiblical divorce on member/spouse B. Their church leaders will not deal with the problem, other than to “pray about it.” Spouse B goes to the leadership of another church in the association and pleads for help. The other church tells the couple’s church to deal with the problem or they will. This would be the first step of church discipline between churches, and though I get a lot of flak for this position, I stand by it and believe it is 100% biblical.
So kudos for DMBA—except for the fact that Pleasant Valley Community Church is innocent of being Calvinistic. I checked out their website; they are New Calvinists, NOT (old) Calvinists. Big difference. In fact, old Calvinists don’t even like New Calvinists. One well known Calvinist said of New Calvinism:
….a seriously distorted Calvinism falling far, far short of an authentic life of obedience to a sovereign God. If this kind of Calvinism prospers, then genuine biblical piety will be under attack as never before.
And….
The new Calvinism is not a resurgence but an entirely novel formula which strips the doctrine of its historic practice, and unites it with the world.
Yet another well known Calvinist said:
This movement runs contrary to the Reformation and the Scriptures. It is dangerous and must be exposed and halted.
So, if real Calvinists are saying, “Ya, they are like us in name only, but they are dangerous and don’t obey God,” wouldn’t it behoove SBC folk to learn what the difference is? If they won’t fellowship with the devil they do know, what about the devil they don’t know? Seems to me if you are going to break fellowship with people, you should know what they are really guilty of.
Per the usual, we Southern Baptists are the best at making idiots of ourselves even when we do the right thing. The DMBA said, “While we know the doctrine is not heresy, we do recognize that it is vastly different than the majority of churches within the DMBA.”
Ugh. First, Old Calvinism is NOT “VASTLY” different from Southern Baptist doctrine. I have NEVER heard a Southern Baptist pray for someone to save themselves. Southern Baptist are only Arminians when they are evangelizing. After they get someone saved; trust me, they believe God does it all! Southern Baptists have a lot to learn from Calvin on discipleship. Then the DMBA said, ”…. we know the doctrine is not heresy.” That’s true about Calvinism, BUT NOT Pleasant View! Pleasant View Community Church does in fact hold to a heretical doctrine—Old Calvinists even say so!
So, the SBC is shooting “wolves,” but not the ones that are eating the sheep. Is that ok? After all, a wolf is a wolf, right? No, I have a better idea. The SBC needs to unite with the real Calvinists that have been in the SBC forever (and have never caused a problem) to get rid of New Calvinism. In the process, we might learn something from them.
New Calvinism is the New Covenant Theology/Gospel Sanctification/Sonship Theology wolf in sheep’s clothing. They are not honest about who they are and deliberately hide behind the ignorance thereof. Um, DMBA, did you go to Pleasant View’s website? They say that they are a “Acts 29 church” (the church planting organization). Acts 29 came out of World Harvest which was founded by the father (Dr. John Miller) of Sonship Theology, a theology that has been banned in many Presbyterian churches (the church founded by Calvin). Also, ever heard of the Emergent Church, and their ties to Acts 29?
Please, please, my fellow Southern Baptists, get your head out of, um, er, uh, the sand.
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
78 comments