Are The Southern Baptist Convention And Cooperative Baptists Merging?

IT SEEMS THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION AND THE LIBERAL COOPERATIVE BAPTIST FELLOWSHIP are not that far apart anymore.   About 25 years ago, Jimmy Carter left his long time affiliation with the SBC and joined the liberal Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.  His reasoning was that he could no longer agree with teachings of the SBC.

Well it seems that Jimmy Carter will soon have the whole Southern Baptist Convention in the pew with him at his Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.  I posted a blog last week about the liberalization of the SBC ("Churches Leaving The Newly Liberalized Southern Baptist Convention") and today I get an e-mail sharing the Cooperative Baptist "Fellowship Weekly" update. 

One of the key articles in this "Fellowship Weekly" report is that of a young lady, aka, Rev. Rebecca Caswell-Speight, who looks like she is still in high school -  and she is dissing John MacArthur and all conservative Baptist Christians for our challenge and rebuttal of Beth Moore's claim that, and I am paraphrasing, "John MacArthur and others conservative Christians like him are hateful because they do not believe that women should be pastors."    

And this young lady wrote a rather lengthy article refuting MacArthur and conservative Christians - and sharing how she was called by God to be a pastor while she was in college.  But in her rather lengthy rebuttal - not once did she show Scriptural proof or suggestion, nor did she even mention Scripture, that she has a right and a calling by God to be a pastor.

I was about to write a rebuttal to that article in the Cooperative Baptist "Fellowship Weekly" when I found this well written, Biblically based, answer to the question:  "What does the Bible say about women pastors?" on the GotQuestions web site.  Since it gives a Biblical answer to her non-Biblical diatribe against conservative Christians, I will just share that article.

Excerpt from GotQuestions (dot) Org article:

Yet another objection to this interpretation of women in pastoral ministry is in relation to women who held positions of leadership in the Bible, specifically Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah in the Old Testament.  It is true that these women were chosen by God for special service to Him and that they stand as models of faith, courage, and, yes, leadership.  However, the authority of women in the Old Testament is not relevant to the issue of pastors in the church. The New Testament Epistles present a new paradigm for God’s people - the church, the body of Christ - and that paradigm involves an authority structure unique to the church, not for the nation of Israel or any other Old Testament entity.

Similar arguments are made using Priscilla and Phoebe in the New Testament.  In Acts 18, Priscilla and Aquila are presented as faithful ministers for Christ.  Priscilla’s name is mentioned first, perhaps indicating that she was more prominent in ministry than her husband.  Did Priscilla and her husband teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Apollos?  Yes, in their home they “explained to him the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:26).  Does the Bible ever say that Priscilla pastored a church or taught publicly or became the spiritual leader of a congregation of saints?  No.  As far as we know, Priscilla was not involved in ministry activity in contradiction to 1 Timothy 2:11–14.

In Romans 16:1, Phoebe is called a “deacon” (or “servant”) in the church and is highly commended by Paul.  But, as with Priscilla, there is nothing in Scripture to indicate that Phoebe was a pastor or a teacher of men in the church.  “Able to teach” is given as a qualification for elders, but not for deacons (1 Timothy 3:1–13; Titus 1:6–9).

The structure of 1 Timothy 2:11–14 makes the reason why women cannot be pastors perfectly clear.  Verse 13 begins with “for,” giving the “cause” of Paul’s statement in verses 11–12.  Why should women not teach or have (spiritual) authority over men?  Because “Adam was created first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived” (verses 13–14).  God created Adam first and then created Eve to be a “helper” for Adam.  The order of creation has universal application in the family (Ephesians 5:22–33) and in the church.

The fact that Eve was deceived is also given in 1 Timothy 2:14 as a reason for women not serving as pastors or having spiritual authority over men.  This does not mean that women are gullible or that they are all more easily deceived than men.  If all women are more easily deceived, why would they be allowed to teach children (who are easily deceived) and other women (who are supposedly more easily deceived)?  The text simply says that women are not to teach men or have spiritual authority over men because Eve was deceived.  God has chosen to give men the primary teaching authority in the church.

Many women excel in gifts of hospitality, mercy, teaching, evangelism, and helping/serving.  Much of the ministry of the local church depends on women. Women in the church are not restricted from public praying or prophesying (1 Corinthians 11:5), only from having spiritual teaching authority over men. The Bible nowhere restricts women from exercising the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12).  Women, just as much as men, are called to minister to others, to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23), and to proclaim the Gospel to the lost (Matthew 28:18–20; Acts 1:8; 1 Peter 3:15).

God has ordained that only men are to serve in positions of spiritual teaching authority in the church.  This is not because men are necessarily better teachers or because women are inferior or less intelligent (which is not the case).  It is simply the way God designed the church to function.

The young lady pastor (?) wrote, belittling John MacArthur's advise to Beth Moore to "Go Home!" and stop playing pastor:

I AM HOME, By Rev. Rebecca Caswell-Speight
https://cbfblog.com/2019/10/25/i-am-home/

Folks, we did not design the family - one man, one woman, and their children.  And we did not design the church.  Both were designed by God, for His purposes, and defined in His Written Word, the Bible.  That is our authority - not man's desires, feelings, or wants.  I will still follow the old saying, "God Said It ~ I Believe It!"  That has worked well for at least six millennia, why should man want to change it now?

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

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Until We Have Erased Prejudice And Bigotry. . . .

UNTIL WE HAVE ERASED PREJUDICE AND BIGOTRY, this video and the associated posts and comments below will continue to be very relevant. And unfortunately, in this fallen, broken world we will never erase those evils. The best we can hope for is to minimize them as we wait for His Second Coming and His Millennial Kingdom. Until then we all need to work together to make our world a better place, not perfect, but better.

Until then we can agree with the apostle John when he wrote in Revelation 22:20, "He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming quickly.' Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"

And I will add this from Revelation 22:21, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.  Amen."

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Bill Gray posted: October 22, 2017

WHEN I VIEW THIS VIDEO ~ I have mixed feelings. The man who is making the racist speech is not the typical American. I was born in Alabama in 1937 and grew up there during an ugly period (1940s-50s) when segregation was prevalent. Yet, in my home we were not raised to be prejudiced against anyone.

Yes, in those early years, I saw prejudice all around me. I saw separate drinking fountains, separate bathrooms, separate schools, i.e., everything separate - Colored and White. Growing up there, even though I was not raised to be prejudiced - I thought the whole world was that way.

It was such a sweet taste of life and light when I went to the Air Force Tech School in Denver in 1955 and found that the whole world was not separated by race.

The character (played by an actor) making the speech in this anti-racism movie is an ignorant fool. Unfortunately, in the 1930s-1960s there were a lot of cloned ignorant fools just like him, all over America. And, to my embarrassment, the governor of my home state, Alabama, at that time, George Wallace, was one of the biggest real life fools.

He was one of the worst kind - playing the Race Card to win votes. Yes, when running in Alabama, he really played the Race Card. But when he wanted to run for president - all of a sudden his rhetoric was toned down. Yes, he was a hypocritical fool.

But, my Friends, in the last several decades it has been black and brown people and their Liberal friends who have heavily played the Race Card: the Obamas, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and yes, the Clintons - all supported, funded, and nurtured by the Liberal Left Democratic Party, the United Nations, and wealthy globalists such as George Soros.

Today, when we see the Race Card played, most often it has a black or brown face behind it - funded by Liberal Left money. And that is sad for they are hurting their own people. And, why? For votes - for money - for power, for so many selfish reasons.

America really needs to UNITE, forget skin color, forget ethnic background, forget religious differences, and other such divisions - and start working together toward Making America Great Again.

if you are an American citizen, you should be working to make America a better place for all to live. If you are an undocumented person who is in America illegally - you should go home and enter America legally - the way millions of other immigrants have done, including my Filipino wife, who is today a naturalized American citizen.

If we are going to make this happen, it must start with and include the college age people - for they are the future of America.

Let me leave you with this thought. Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) was a prominent Protestant pastor who emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps. Niemöller is perhaps best remembered for this quotation: 

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out - Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out - Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak for me."

Is that going to be our American Legacy? We began a change in America when we elected President Trump. We can continue that change in November 2018 (now 2020), the Mid-Term Elections, when we can vote into office Conservative Americans who understand the meaning of "We The People" and will work with us to bring UNITY back into America. I pray that will happen. But, that is up to YOU! God bless, Bill

The following are Comments to my original post:

Philip D: I’m not going to read all this jargon. But I expected more than just more finger pointing. Americans will never progress with that attitude, whether they be Conservative or Liberals. It’s laughable really. Americans can be better, can rise above finger pointing. Debate issues, determine the root cause of real issues, then find compromises to bring solutions to the table. But then again, we are American. There will always be some egos to inflate or deflate.

Bill Gray: Hi Philip, No one hates prejudice, of any kind, i.e., skin color, ethnic, cultural, religious, etc., - more than me. I was raised in the South during some of the worst of it. But it did not become a part of me.

In 1956-57, I was in the Air Force stationed in Korea. My best friend for that year was a black guy, an accomplished guitar player, from Detroit named Bob White. After the Air Force he was a founding member of the MoTown Funk Brothers inhouse band. In Korea, I would go to the Enlisted Men's Service Club practice room with him while he and his jazz trio practiced. Even in those dark days of segregation in America - I never noticed that, of the four of us in that practice room, I was the only white person. We were just friends.

When Bob and I were rotating back to the states for assignment at Bergstrom AFB in Texas - it was Bob who had to remind me that in Texas, in 1957, it would be hard for us to hang out together. It never dawned on me, a white boy from Alabama. It took a black man from Detroit to remind me of what I had left at home.

Yes, today the spectre of racial divide has become very bad in America. And yes, I do lay it mostly at the feet of people like Obama, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and many other black politicians, and other Liberal Democratic politicians, who have encouraged and nurtured it - for their own benefit.

I would dearly love to see ALL the racial schism done away with and unity nurtured in America. Don't you agree with that? God bless, Bill

Philip D: I agree to tolerance and the stop of racism. I don’t agree to place blame on any leader - black, white, yellow, orange, or whatever. You point one finger at a person, you have three more pointing back at you. Instead of pointing, what can an individual do to rise above finger pointing? It doesn’t get anybody anywhere. Funny that you didn’t point out Bush or Trump. Not saying you're right or wrong. And I’m not saying I’m right or wrong. I have my own opinions (which) I keep to myself. I just enjoy playing Devil’s advocate to play both sides.

Bill Gray: Hi Philip, We are told in Scripture, "Therefore by their fruits you will know them" (Matthew 7:20). And I don't think ANYONE can deny that Racism and the use of the Race Card - grew by leaps and bounds during the Obama administration. I don't believe anyone can deny that Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and a number of other Liberal politicians have cultivated the cancer of Racism - to their own benefit. So, to me, their fruit is rotten.

You mention Bush and Trump. I will admit that, after 9-11, Bush was too eager to call Islam a religion of peace. He may have had good intentions - but the end results were far from good.

As for Trump, yes, I believe what he is doing with the problem of illegal immigration is right. You and I have family who are naturalized American citizens, they all came to America legally. Today there are many more folks who are working to come to America, legally.

So, why should America reward those who have broken our laws and come into America illegally - at the expense of those who are doing it the right way? Your dad and Dory came here legally? So why should we turn our face and ignore those who came illegally? And why should America reward those here illegally by giving them millions of dollars in Freebies? They are not American, they do not deserve to be coddled and rewarded.

There are our immigration laws in America (and other countries have the same laws) which show that illegals are breaking the law - and that legal immigrants are welcome. Would you have us change that and reward law-breakers? God bless, Bill

Bill Gray: Hi Philip, I was not going to respond to your first statement above, because I was not sure if you were addressing me personally - or what was said in the video. But since you did address what I initially posted when you wrote - "I’m not going to read all this jargon...but I expected more than just more finger pointing" - I have to ask this question: "If you will not read what I wrote - HOW can you know that you disagree with what I have written?" Just saying! God bless, Bill

Philip D: Best of luck to your opinions, Bill. Someone always seems to have the last word. It’s all yours.

Tim W: People are not born racist. They have to be taught. So sad.

Maggie W: This is what comes of letting the government subdivide us into groups. Like African-American, Hispanic-American, White-American, Asian-American, etc.. When are we going to drop the "other" and just be AMERICANS?

My Friends, please take a moment to view this short video, then share it with all your FRANs (Friends, Relatives, Associates, Neighbors). They may not all agree with you, as my long time Friend and family member, Philip, did not agree with me. But that only creates discussions where we all can share and we all can learn. If we stop having discussions, we do not make progress. That applies equally to political and secular issues, as well as to Bible studies. If we just sit and listen instead of discussing God's Word, you can see that our progress toward maturity as believers will be stunted. That is equally true of political, secular, religious, and Christian maturity.

Sharing this video may be YOUR next step toward an America which does not nurture prejudice, bigotry, and racism. We start with FRANs, and all our young people, such as these students, who will be our future leaders - and we move America forward. If we erase the divisive teachings and arm our Millennial Generation to lead America forward as it was founded, America will be a free nation open to all who will come to America legally and live the American life.

Anti-Racism Video Discussions with College Students - 2017 https://www.facebook.com/FBE/videos/10155614913249522/

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

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Churches Leaving The Newly Liberalized Southern Baptist Convention

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD A PASTOR'S MESSAGE and think to yourself, "That has been heavy on my heart for a long time - and today the pastor is speaking to my heart."  My Friends, that is exactly what has happened with this video from today's sermon at the Grace Life Church of the Shoals in my Alabama hometown.  Pastor Jeff Noblit went right to my heart with this message:  "The Southern Baptist Convention is broken!" 

In recent weeks I have posted several short blogs about what I see happening in the Southern Baptist Convention.  I knew I am not the only Baptist believer who feels this way, but it sure affirms what I have seen happening when I hear Pastor Jeff Noblit share my same thought in his sermon today.

I have included the video of the worship service at Grace Life Church of the Shoals at the bottom of this blog.  If you want to skip the preliminaries and get right to his message, fast forward to about the 9 minute point.  Pastor Jeff speaks for about 20-30 minutes, then there is special music, and then Pastor Jeff continues again at the 41 minute point.  You can jump to these key times - or you can just enjoy the whole worship service, which I know you will enjoy.

But my main reason for posting this blog today is to make you aware of what is happening in the Southern Baptist Convention - and the dire effects that is going to have on Christian communities all across America.  Please, take the time to watch this video.  It is so important that you do and that you then share it with all your FRANs (Friends, Relatives, Associates, Neighbors).   We cannot allow Liberalism to continue this meteoric spreading through our Christian communities across America.

Below I have copy/pasted the text of the article associated with the video.  I did this to eliminate all the confusion caused by advertisements popping up all over the place while you are reading.

Large Southern Baptist Church Leaves Denomination Over Its Support of Beth Moore
By News Division · Published Oct 20, 2019 · Updated Oct 20, 2019

Another Southern Baptist Church has left the SBC over what many are calling a complete undoing of the Conservative Resurgence.  Pastor Jeff Noblit of the booming Grace Life Church of the Shoals (Muscle Shoals, AL) mentioned a number of problematic issues with their denomination but said that the denomination’s support for Beth Moore’s ministry was “the straw that broke the camel’s back."

Noblit announced to the congregation that he and the rest of the church’s elders were united in asking the church members to abandon the liberalizing denomination.

John MacArthur’s comments over the weekend, in which he said that Beth Moore should “go home” and stop preaching, should have received widespread approval in the SBC and would only a few short years ago.  Instead, SBC officials like Convention President, JD Greear, mocked MacArthur.  And other SBC leaders like Danny Akin rebuked MacArthur for his position on female preachers.  Previously, Russell Moore had said, “An SBC that doesn’t have room for Beth Moore doesn’t have room for a lot of us.”

Mentioned in his sermon is SBC support for Beth Moore - their leadership’s attacks on John MacArthur - the passage of Resolution 9 (promoting Critical Race Theory) - SBC leaders promoting Paula White - and it’s generalized liberalizing and its promotion of Social Justice.

The calmly-spoken but serious-minded pastor explained that churches that embrace feminism will embrace liberalism, and acknowledged that the SBC was beyond salvaging.

The sermon really was incredible, and we encourage you to listen to it.  You can see it below.  The announcement of the church’s choice to leave the denomination starts around the 9:35 minute mark.

Noblit told the crowd, “You can disagree with me, but if you do, you better come with an open Bible and about four hours.”

Many churches have left the SBC over this issue.  Fellowship Baptist Church in Sidney, Montana, was the first to do so in recent years over social justice last year, which was written about in Relevant Magazine, The Christian Post, and other publications.  Since then, hundreds have officially and/or unofficially left the denomination, pledging privately or publicly to never support the denomination again.  We have continually covered these departures at Pulpit & Pen.

Over the last few months I have really been bothered by the rapid shift of the Southern Baptist Convention toward Liberalism.  And the problems which Pastor Jeff Noblit outlines in his message have become a major burden on my heart.  I have long known that Calvinism has spread far and wide in the SBC, which has bothered me - and Pastor Jeff affirms that his church is Calvinist. 

That is not a problem since I have long ago put the Calvinist and Arminianist thoughts out of my theology, preferring to stand in the middle between the two.  I am not saying that my Calvinist and Arminianist brethren are not saved, only that I disagree with parts of their theology regarding salvation and keeping our salvation.

That said, I beg you to listen to Pastor Jeff's message, take it to heart, and then share it.  Let us keep the faith by sharing the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the world.

One last thought on the Southern Baptist Convention.  In my Southern California neighborhood, the Berean Christian Bookstore has been a mainstay for over 30 years - and my go-to for all Christian material.  This past year LifeWay Christian Store, the retail arm of the Southern Baptist Convention's publishing company, purchased our local Berean Christian bookstore. 

Not sure how many others across the country they bought out.  And this year they announced plans to close all 172 of their stores, including the ones they have just purchased, by the end of 2019.  Is this a way for them to control what you read?  Do they want you to accept their new Liberal vision and interpretation of the Bible?

Recently I have decided that I need a new Study Bible, for my go-to Bible is over 30 years old and becoming a wee bit worn.  Then reality hit me.  There are no more Christian bookstores in our city.  There are Christian book stores in some of the large churches such as Harvest International - but they are only open during their Sunday worship service - when I am at my own church worship service.  I cannot buy a Study Bible online, for I want to see the study notes and who wrote them before I buy a new Bible.  I have a dilemma, accelerated by the SBC shutting down book stores all across America.  So what am I to do?  Thank you, Southern Baptist Convention.

Grace Life Church of the Shoals Worship Service - Start At Pastor Jeff's Message
https://www.facebook.com/AnchoredinTruth/videos/975898566095054/?t=481

Grace Life Church of the Shoals Worship - Full Worship Service
https://www.facebook.com/AnchoredinTruth/videos/975898566095054/

Large Southern Baptist Church Leaves Denomination Over Its Support of Beth Moore (full article) By News Division · Published October 20, 2019 · Updated October 20, 2019
https://pulpitandpen.org/2019/10/20/large-southern-baptist-church-leaves-denomination-over-its-support-of-beth-moore/?fbclid=IwAR20rQxWsUCuvspAIOtMB-vCkTe_8MWV-0pPby2HuNWjKQVxHBa3HY2O-8s

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill

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I'm From The Government, And I'm Here To Help!

Often we see stories shared on the internet, read them, and then move on - not knowing if the story is true or one made up to make a point.  The story below is like that, I have seen it often over the years - but today it rang a bell.  It was shared on Facebook by my hometown Friends, Patsy Congleton and Joey Plunk, and by another fellow American living in Panama, Greg Kitzmiller.

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Critical Life Lesson  ~  "Do you know how to catch wild pigs?"

A chemistry professor at a large college in America had exchange students in his class.  One day in the lab, the professor noticed one young exchange student who kept rubbing his back and stretching as if his back hurt.

The professor asked the young man if he had a problem with his back.  The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back.  He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist regime.  He looked at the professor and asked a strange question, "Do you know how to catch wild pigs?"

The professor, thinking it was a joke, asked for the punch line.  The young man assured him it was no joke.  "You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground.  The pigs find it and begin to come every day to eat the free food."

"When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence on one side of the feeding area.  When the pigs get used to that partial fence, they begin to eat the corn again.  Then you put up another side of the fence.  They will soon get used to that and start to eat again, ignoring the fence.  You continue until you have all four sides of the fence installed with a gate in the last side.  By now the pigs, accustomed to the free corn, continue to come through the gate to eat free corn.  Then, you close the gate - and catch the whole herd."

The young student continues, "Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom.  Realizing they are trapped, they run around and around inside the fence, but there is no way out.  Soon they acquiesce, embrace the fence, and go back to eating the free corn.  They have become so used to the "free food" that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves.  So they passively accept their captivity."

He told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening in America.  The government keeps pushing us toward Communism and Socialism, keeps spreading the "free food" in the form of programs such as Supplemental Income, Tax Credit for Unearned Income, Tax Exemptions, Tobacco Subsidies, Dairy Subsidies, Payments to not Plant Crops (CRP), Welfare Entitlements, Free Medical, Free Education, etc. - and all the while we continue to lose our freedoms, a little at a time.  The government, one way or another, forces us to participate in many of these programs whether we want to or not.  ObamaCare is an prime example. 

One should always remember:  There is no such thing as a free lunch.  So when you continue to hear all the promises coming from the Liberal Left Socialist candidates - that YOU will receive lots of "free corn" - keep in mind that SOMEONE must pay for that corn.  Will it be you, your children, your grandchildren?   Is that the legacy you want to leave for them?   God help all Americans when the Liberal Left Socialist "Free Corn" Gate slams shut! 

Thought for today: "The problems we face now exist because the people who work for a living today ~ are outnumbered by those who only vote for a living."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1776 America declared its independence.  On June 21, 1788, the day our Constitution was ratified, it became the official framework of the government of the United States of America.  And since then many brave Americans have died to defend that Constitution and the America it has defined.  Do YOU really want to give it away for "Free Corn"?

Your greatest weapon against that wall of "Free Corn" is YOUR VOTE.

VOTE CONSERVATIVE IN 2020, in all elections:  local, state, federal.

VOTE CONSERVATIVE IN 2020, for all candidates and on all issues.

Commit yourself to VOTE CONSERVATIVE IN ALL ELECTIONS, from this day forward.  

God bless America and keep her strong against all enemies, internal and external,

Bill 

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Pastor Freddy Cortez - There's No Reason To Be An Atheist (Part 2)

Some may ask, "Bill, you do not attend the Church of Hope, why do you continue to share Pastor Freddy Cortez's messages?"

Great question.  Glad you asked.  Jesus Christ, in the Great Commission commands all believers to, "Go, Make disciples, Baptize them, TEACH them.  .  .  Be My witnesses in all the world" (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, Mark 16:15).  TEACH them does not mean just sharing the messages and writings of only your favorite pastor - it means getting the Gospel out to all people.

Just as not all people will like vanilla ice cream, preferring instead strawberry, chocolate, or some other flavor - not every pastor, teacher, expositor will appeal to all people.  So, not wanting to give my Friends "rocky road ice cream" messages, I offer messages from those teachers which I feel will reach the most people who are in need of hearing the Gospel, using the video messages or writings I believe will appeal to the most people.

One thing I learned many, many years ago is that just because a pastor/teacher/theologian has written a commentary that is outstanding - that does not mean that all the commentaries he has written are equally as good.  When selecting Bible commentaries to study, I do not limit myself to those written by only one man - but search the contents of each commentary to find the best, most Biblically accurate writing by a known good Bible teacher/expositor.

That is also what I do when sharing video messages from various teachers.  And having known Pastor Freddy Cortez for over thirty years, having had him as my pastor for several years, I know he is a man of God whose main goal in life is to teach the Word of God in the most effective way.  And because I know his heart and his Christian education background, I think his messages are worth sharing.

About 10 minute into his message Pastor Freddy addresses a lady in the congregation, Brenda.  Very recently two of her young friends have died unexpectedly.  That brought a major deja vu reflection for me. 

In the mid-1960s when I was about 25 years old, working with Ramo-Wooldridge (later TRW), one Friday evening I was at a party with my co-workers and got to know one young man much better.  He was also about 25 and a programmer with whom I worked, but until that evening, did not really know that well. That evening we became close friends.  Monday at work I was told that he had died of a heart attack in his sleep.  His parents had flown from the Midwest for his soon scheduled wedding and on Saturday morning found him dead in bed, of an unexpected heart attack.

Less than a year later I worked for Scientific Data Systems in Santa Monica - and was friends with a young man, 21 years old, who worked in our tool department.  Coming to work one Monday I was told that he had died of a heart attack, at 21, over the weekend. 

Pastor Freddy's conversation with Brenda in this message was a great reminder of how vulnerable I felt back then.  When my two friends and co-workers died at such an early age of an unexpected heart attack, I began to wonder about my own heart.   Today I realize that my focus was in the wrong place.  It was not my mortal heart I should have been concerned with, but my immortal soul.  I should have done an "eternal soul check."  But of course at that age, without spiritual guidance from someone who really cares - who thinks of such things? 

Now I know that we ALL should care - and we ALL should be telling our FRANs (Friends, Relatives, Associates, Neighbors) about Christ and eternal life.

Pastor Freddy's message today is a great example of a Christian believer caring.  One of the online listeners has close friends who are not believers, possibly even believing they are atheists.  This online believer cares enough about her friends to ask Pastor Freddy to repeat his message from last week, about atheism and how people only fool themselves into believing they can live while totally denying the existence of God. 

As Pastor Freddy has said in his previous message, and I agree with him 100%, people who claim to be atheists are really only folks who are emulating the ostrich, hiding his/her head in the sands of secularism. 

Yesterday Pastor Freddy offered his message from last week about atheism, but with enough new flavor to make it interesting for all of us - so that the online listener can have a "watch party" with unsaved friends.  

That, my Friends, is what it means to be Ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) - care enough to tell your unsaved FRANs about Christ and the gift of eternal life He has purchased for ALL who will believe and receive Him as Lord and Savior (John 1:12).

I pray that you will be further edified by this new flavor of last weeks message on atheism:

There's No Reason To Be An Atheist (Part 2)
By Pastor Freddy Cortez
https://www.facebook.com/aicortezjr/videos/10157518764760359/?t=108

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

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Pastor Freddy Teaches: "To All So-Called Atheist - Don't Let A Tree Send You To Hell"

Last week I shared a teaching video from my long time Christian brother, Pastor Freddy Cortez, of the Church of Hope in Aliso Viejo, California.  It was a part of his series about hell, that episode discussing "Eternal Hell vs Annihilationism."   This week he continues that series with a teaching video titled:  "To All So-Called Atheist: Don't Let A Tree Send You To Hell."

Basically Pastor Freddy does not believe there is anyone who is a true atheist, i.e., a person who totally and sincerely rejects the existence of God.  That is a contention I have shared many times over the years in my writings.  In my opinion there are three kinds of non-believers:

1. The person who knows that God is real, yet never truly understood, or did not believe that heaven and hell are the only two destinations for all people.  One being a place of eternal joy and happiness, heaven.  The other being a place of eternal punishment and no joy eternally, hell.  Many of them convince themselves that "annihilationism" is true - for they believe that gives them an escape from God and eternal hell.   Annihilationism is an absolute myth, a false teaching.

2. The person who has convinced himself that God does not exist, when deep down he knows that God is real.  Why?  Well, if that person admits that God does exist - then he is accountable to the Creator.  In other words, this person demands the right to be in total control of his life and circumstances, telling the God he does not believe exists - to stay away. 

There is a secular song made popular by Frank Sinatra, "I Did It My Way"  -  which is the de facto anthem of the secular world.  Years ago my Christian brother and Friend, Jun Polistico, was a member of the great entertainment group, the Society of Seven.  Jun sang that song as well or better than Sinatra.  But when Jun became a Christian believer, he could no longer sing "I Did It My Way" for he knows that only God's way works.  Today in his concerts Jun Polistico sings that song, but with improved lyrics, "I Did It HIS Way."

My Friend and Christian brother, Leon Patillo, who once was lead singer, keyboardist, and composer with the Carlos Santana Band - can no longer sing I've got a "Black Magic Woman" - for he and his beautiful Filipina wife are Christ followers.  Today in concerts Leon sings I've got a "Born Again Woman."

Do you see the difference?  When we become believers we want God to be in control - so we turn it all over to Him and we "Do It His Way."

3.  And there is the person who is just too busy living in the secular world, that he just does not have time to learn about God.  And most likely, no one has cared enough to tell him about Jesus Christ and eternal life.  I call this person the vanilla-flavored non-believer, for he is just happily floating along in the secular waste water.

I really enjoyed Pastor Freddy's message last Sunday, "To All So-Called Atheist: Don't Let A Tree Send You To Hell."  I call Pastor Freddy, DMin, the Pinoy Dr. Charles Stanley.  Why?  Because both are great teachers and pastors.  With both it is like we are sitting in their living room and having a conversation about our Christian faith.  A good teaching pastor has that ability to make a sermon seem like he is talking to you - not preaching at you.

In his message last week Pastor Freddy really got my attention when he spoke of missionaries going to remote islands and jungles, sharing about God with them, and finding them receptive to the idea of a supreme creator.  One of my favorite books in our personal library, Eternity In Their Hearts, by Don Richardson, tells of a Englishman in 1795 visiting tribes in the jungles of Burma - and the natives greeted like a long lost friend.  

"The year is 1795, and deep in the jungles of Burma hundreds of tribesmen rush out to a clearing to greet a white-skinned stranger.  Could he be the one to bring "the book" their forefathers had lost so many centuries ago - the book that tells the secrets of Y'Wa, the Supreme God?  Yes!" 

The Englishman's guide spoke with the tribesmen (Karen tribe) and then told him, "This is interesting," the guide said. "These tribesmen think you may be a certain 'white brother' whom they as a people have been expecting from time immemorial.  He is supposed to bring them a book - just like the one their forefathers lost long ago.  They are asking, 'Has he brought it?'"

"They say the author is Y'Wa - the supreme God.  They say also that the white brother, having given them the lost book, will thereby set them free from all who oppress them."

And later missionaries were astounded at the way in which God had prepared these people for one of the greatest mass conversions in history.

In the book we read about Pachacuti, the Inca king who founded the city of Machu Picchu, a majestic city fortress built in Peru in the fifteenth century, and the vast empire he built.  His story is another example shared in this book of how the concept of a supreme God has existed for centuries in hundreds of cultures throughout the world.  Proof that God truly has set eternity in the hearts of men (Ecclesiastes 3:11, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts.  .  ."

Don Richardson, former missionary to the Sawi people of Irian Jaya, believes that God has not only prepared the Gospel for all peoples, but He has prepared all peoples for the Gospel.  This book examines dozens of examples of peoples around the world whose cultural background prepared them to receive the Gospel long before missionaries ever appeared.

Richardson suggests that all peoples have a sense of God's existence.  The title of the book comes from Ecclesiastes 3:11: "He [God] has... set eternity in the hearts of men" so that they will seek Him.

Imagine that.  The year is 1795 and the Karen people in the jungles of Burma - are waiting for a white brother who will come and bring them the book that their ancestors long ago had lost.  The book they are awaiting was written by Y'Wa.  Does the have a familiar ring:  Y'Wa and Yahweh?

You can find this book Eternity In Their Hearts, by Don Richardson, online and I highly recommend it.  This book is a great source of information to prepare you to answer a favorite question thrown at we believers by non-believers and even by believers who are not well grounded in God's Word, "If the only way to God and heaven is through Jesus Christ - what about all those people living in remote jungles?  Are they all going to hell because they have not heard about Jesus?  Would your God condemn all those people to eternal hell?  It seem more plausible that all people will go to heaven - or that God is really only a myth."

How would YOU answer that question when you are witnessing?   Maybe this book will help prepare you.

I think you will enjoy this message from Pastor Freddy, for it is a sermon, but a teaching sermon - not a foot stomping, hell-fire sermon.  Pastor Freddy addresses the issue of a real God, the Creator, and how we can address the issue when non-believers, even those who call themselves atheist, tell us, "God is not real.  There is no God!"

Near the end of his message Pastor Freddy shares a story from his mentor from years past, how when the mentor was a young pastor in the Philippines he showed no fear in knocking on the door of a gang leader to share the Gospel - and because he was grounded in God and had no fear, that gang leader received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

About 20 years ago I was at the Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley.  Waiting in the lobby, I noticed a young man who looked more like a White Supremacist that a Christian.  He had HATE tattooed on his fingers, but he was reading a Bible.  I could not resist, saying to him, "I am curious.  Your hand says HATE, but the book you are reading says LOVE.  Tell me about it."

That began a two hour chat between us.  He told me, "I was a White Supremacist, and so was my family.  The only music we listened to was Black Music, i.e., Satanic music.  One day as I was walking in Riverside a Christian approached me and witnessed to me."  That day the young man went from White Supremacist to Christian believer on the street of Riverside - only because a believer lay aside his fear of a hate-filled White Supremacist and, trusting in God, witnessed to that young man.

As we sat in the lobby of the Regional Medical Center talking, we found that we both love the Lord and we both love to write Christian tracts.  We began to share with one another - until I heard myself paged.   My daughter, Lana, was supposed to pick me up - but, being involved in conservation, I had forgotten to call her.

And that is what Pastor Freddy's message is about today.  Do not be afraid to approach that person (his mentor's gang leader, my White Supremacist) to share the Gospel - for it is very likely that God has prepared both you and that other person for this moment.  And if you ignore God's timing, that other person may spend eternity in hell.  And it will be your fault, for you did not share the Gospel when God had prepared his heart to hear it.

I know you will be edified by Pastor Freddy's teaching in this video.  So get a cup of coffee, or tea, sit back and enjoy being taught the Word of God by Pastor Freddy Cortez.

To All So-Called Atheist: Don't Let A Tree Send You To Hell
By Pastor Freddy Cortez
https://www.facebook.com/aicortezjr/videos/10157498584490359/?t=199

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

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Hell Fire Or Saving Grace?

HELL FIRE OR SAVING GRACE? ~ Which would Jesus Christ have you share?   Several days ago I shared an article about a Pentecostal pastor titled "Fiery Pentecostal Keeps Preaching Bible Truth Even As Churchgoers Walk Out."   And my post received mixed comments, which is normal in an active Christian discussion.  Such comments make for good Bible discussions.

The article tells us:

The Assemblies of God Pastor was preaching on "Fire Starters," according to TRUNews, and addressing one of the most hot-button issues facing the Church community today: Homosexuality.  "I used Elijah as the example of a 'Fire Starter,' and our need to raise up a new generation of 'Fire Starters' who would not be afraid to confront false religions (like Islam) and corrupt culture," Bates tells Charisma News. .  .  .

(He) went on to say, "We need 'Fire Starters,' like Elijah, who will call fire down from heaven to confront the culture and false religions with undeniable, uncompromising truth and without political correctness.  It was at this point that I began to see people getting up, walking out, shaking their heads."

And I posted:

Not Sure We Have The Whole Story Here! ~ While I agree with this pastor that the Bible indeed does teach against the LGBTQ lifestyle, same-sex marriage, and abortion - I am not sure I would call hell fire down upon their heads. 

Yes, we can preach that God will send hell fire down on all sinners (forgetting that we, too, are only forgiven sinners) - and we will save some.  But the measuring stick which I believe Christ will look at more closely is, "How MANY did we let get away?"  Because we wanted to condemn them for their sins - instead of leading them out of that sin lifestyle?

Imagine yourself in heaven one day and a person comes to you and says, "Thank you for sharing the Gospel with me in a way I could understand. That is when I became a believer. Thank you also for my family - for I later shared the Gospel with them and they were saved."

But, on the other hand, how many folks rejected your message and condemned themselves to hell?  Would they say to you, "You were my friend.  Why didn't you tell me about Jesus, His love, and His forgiveness?"

Which person, in their afterlife, would you rather remember, eternally?

Jesus addresses a similar situation in this parable:

Luke 15:4-6, "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' "

But after sharing my original post, I suppose the greatest moment of deja vu for me came when a Friend and Christian sister, Janice S., posted:

Janice S:   As a fifth grader my Mom took me to a revival at an evening service in our church.  We were not seated together because she sat in the choir.  The sermon ended and the invitational was next.  Promptly the lights went out and the guest minister starting beating on something ferociously loud (Bill's note: probably the pulpit, or stomping his foot).  I was so scared I followed others to the altar.  As an adult this bothers me.  I was scared into this decision.  It just doesn't seem right.

Her comment raised ghosts from my past.  When I about 12 years old, my mom asked me to go with her and my step-dad to a Wednesday Night Revival Meeting at a local church.  I could not say no to her.  The Revival Meeting started, the Revival Preacher gets up a full head of steam - and then he announced, "Everyone stand up!"   We all stood.  Then he told us, "Now, everyone who is saved, sit down."   Even though I did not really understand what it meant to "be saved" - I had to figure I was not.  So, I remained standing.  I knew it was something I should not lie about, even with no understanding.

Then that Revival Preacher made his fateful declaration, "The rest of you just keep standing there until you decide to come forward and be saved!"

If I had been an adult at that time, I would have given him a one finger salute and walked out.  But being a 12 year old boy, especially in the South, I could not be that disrespectful.  So I had no choice.  I had to keep standing there while folks looked at me - or go forward.  And, boy, the spark in that Revival Preacher's eye when he saw me coming down the aisle!  Today, thinking back, I imagine his thoughts at that time would have been, "Hallelujah, here come a young boy and I am going to personally drag him into heaven, into the family of God!" 

I went to the altar and that preacher and several others, maybe local elders and the local preacher, etc. - all starting laying hands on me, praying loudly, shouting, "Hallelujah" - and, yes, I got caught up in that emotion and thought I was saved, whatever that meant.  Not that evening, nor at any other time back then - did anyone bother to explain to me what it meant to "be saved."  In hindsight, I would suggest that I was just one more number, another supposedly saved soul, on that traveling Revival Preacher's resume - and that is all.

I will admit that I felt something when I left the church.  But today I realize that it was only emotion.  That night I went home a saved person, right?  Wrong!  And laying in bed that night this preteen boy began to have carnal thoughts about girls at my school.  Whoa!  How could that happen?  I was saved tonight, right?  No, you were hustled.

That night my self-esteem and my self-image, went right down the drain.  Boy, now I was really a lost sinner!   For I had been saved tonight (whatever that meant) - and here I was having such carnal thoughts.  I was hopeless.  That was the confused and more lost than ever 12 year old Bill Gray, a creation of that loud, pulpit pounding, foot stomping Pentecostal Revival Preacher!

That mindset stayed with me as I finished high school and went into the Air Force.  I had one possible avenue out of sure destruction.  I had to find a church which would tell me there is no hell.  If there is no hell - then why worry?  That became my quest - to find that church which would assure me there is no hell.  And I did. 

When I was 20 years old, I was stationed at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin, Texas - and I found a chaplain from a major Protestant denomination who assured me, "Hell is only a myth."    Praise the Lord!  Now I can continue to live my carnal life and not have to worry about hell.

Yet, down deep, I really knew that was not true.  But on the surface, it at least gave me a way to cover up my guilt as I continued my worldly lifestyle.  That persisted until I was 50 years old, when I met a man of God named Pastor Sam Lacanienta.  He began to teach me the real Truth - and he and the Filipino congregation at the Fil-Am Church of Irvine (FACI) loved me all the way to the cross.   In our interactive Bible study discussions, and at church, he taught me about God and what it meant to be a true believer.  And, in 1987, at the age of 50 I became a born-again believer.  I finally broke the bond of self-destruction created by that traveling Revival Preacher in my Alabama hometown so many years before.

Yet, because of that Revival Preacher when I was 12 years old - I still have a strong negative reaction when "Preachers" like TD Jakes, Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar, and other preachers start stomping their feet, pounding on the pulpit, and yelling their sermons - instead of just conversationally sharing the Gospel to me.  That is why I enjoy listening to Pastor Charles Stanley share the story of Jesus' love.  He talks to me.  And that is how Pastor Sam led me to the Lord, through talking with me in his sermons and Bible studies about Jesus Christ.  If Pastor Sam had been another fiery TD Jakes style preacher -  likely today I would not be a Christian believer.

My wife tells me, "Just let it go.  That happened a long time ago."  And I ask her, "If you had been raped at the age of 12, would it still bother you at times?  Could things cause those ghosts to resurface?"  We all know that answer to that question.  Yes, a young rape victim lives a lifetime with those ghosts.  And as I have revisited that childhood evening so long ago, I realize that I was raped - "spiritually raped" by that Revival Preacher.

I am sure that most of us, if not all - still ghosts from the past, some large, others small.  Have you ever taken a serious look at yourself and asked, "Why does that still bother me?" - or - "Why do I have that reaction, those feelings when I experience this?  Why does it still trouble me?"   While I am not on a psychotherapy kick nor am I ghost hunting - I have long recognized that there were events from my childhood which still bother me, which still cause reactions in me, today.  But none as strong as the ghost created by that traveling Revival Preacher.

We, as adults, often view problems of childhood with our children as trivial, not really serious.  We may not realize that some hurts can go deep.  And telling them, "Oh, don't let that bother you" very often does not work.  Even as an adult, looking back on personal childhood traumas, it is easy to rationalize, "That happened so long ago, forget about it!"   Very often easier said than done.  And when TD Jakes and other such preachers start yelling and pounding the pulpit - even as a Christian believer today, I still get the urge to walk out.

So back to my original thought, the Pentecostal pastor speaking in the article, "Fiery Pentecostal Keeps Preaching Bible Truth Even As Churchgoers Walk Out."   Yes, I can understand why some folks would walk out.  And I still have to question if his fiery sermons are the right way to share the truth of the Gospel with folks who really need to hear the Gospel.  It is often not the message, but the delivery of the message which draws folks toward the altar - or drives them out the door.   And, even if many do come forward - out of emotion, fear, etc., instead of being drawn by the Holy Spirit - how many of them will be replicas of my 12 year old Bill Gray from so long ago?

While I would never advocate nor support a "Feel Good Gospel" church, I do believe we can deliver the Gospel in a way that will draw more folks toward the altar, instead of out the door.  After spending a large part of my life in computer industry field service, sales, and marketing, I have learned a few things about selling.  The first thing I learned is that you want the potential customer to be at ease with you, to be receptive, to feel that you are a friend talking with him/her about something he/she needs.  In this case, Jesus Christ and eternal life. 

Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ "IS" a form of selling.  A person can be selling a physical product, i.e., car, computer, etc. - or that person can be selling a concept, a belief.  That belief can be the Gospel, or it can be the advantages of a new smart phone.  The principal behind the sales effort is effectively the same - you want the person to trust you, believe you, and to truly hear what you have to say about your product. 

NO, I am not suggesting a "feel good" message - leaving out the parts that could make folks uncomfortable.  Doing that is to do a great disservice to people who need to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.   People need to know that hell is a real place.  And that it is the only alternative to eternal life in heaven. 

What I am suggesting is that folks like TD Jakes who "yell" the Gospel at folks - often drive people away from Christ.  Just as that Revival Preacher drove 12 year old Bill Gray away from God until I was 50 years old.  We all know what would have happened if I had died before I was saved at fifty.   If that had happened, would I have been another number in that Revival Preachers heavenly tally sheet?  No, I would have been another lost soul in eternal hell.

Because of that Revival Preacher experience when I was 12 years old, the words "preacher" and "preach" have become like salt in a wound to me.  To this day I cannot be comfortable calling anyone "preacher."   I have many pastor Friends, many solid Bible teaching Friends - and I call them pastor, teacher, brother - but never preacher.  Why?  In my mind (with that 12 year old boy still wandering around in there) you can either preach at me - OR - you can teach me.   While I love having knowledgeable folks teach me - do it by talking to me, not preaching at me.  

Sharing the Gospel, to me, is teaching, not preaching.  Yet, many times over the years on forums, etc., when I post on forums I have had people say to me, "Bill, stop preaching at us!  Stop hitting us over the head with your Bible!"  And, I suppose that, to a non-believer, any mention of Jesus Christ, salvation, the Bible, etc., is preaching and Bible slamming.  If we are to be effective witnesses, we will always face those types of accusations from non-believers.  I have one long time (fifty years) dear Friend on Facebook who told me, "Bill, why are you always quoting the Bible in your posts?  Why can't you answer without the Bible?" 

And, I responded to her, "Thank you for noticing that my first authority is always the Bible.  And in an answer when the Bible is the best explanation - why not use it?"  Obviously she knows enough of the Bible to have Scripture make her feel uncomfortable, the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, which is good.

Yet I will admit that we do have to be careful when sharing with non-believers - for we do NOT want to make them feel that we are beating them over the head with our Bible.  Such relationships call for sensitivity and timing.  Many times our witness to them, for a while, will need to be only our Christ-like love for them.   I have a Friend who is a missionary to a Muslim community where he cannot share or even speak of the Bible - or the elders of that Muslim community will ban him from having a relationship with their people.  In that case, his witness can only be his Godly Christ reflecting love, and his willingness to help them with their daily needs. 

How is your witness?  Are you comfortable "talking" with a non-believing friend or family member about Jesus Christ and His eternal life-giving Gospel?  Can you effectively share the Biblical doctrines which you and your church believe and teach? 

Let me close by summarizing.  Yes, we should share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all our heart and Christian love.  But be sure your sharing is drawing that person closer to knowing Him as Savior - and not making him/her look for the nearest exit.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

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