PDF VERSION
FRIDAY CHURCH NEWS NOTES
January 1, 2010, Volume 11, Issue 1

The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

RICK WARREN CONFERENCE TO FEATURE MARK DRISCOLL, THE ULTRA-COOL PASTOR (Friday Church News Notes, January 1, 2010, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – Mark Driscoll is scheduled to speak at Rick Warren’s Radicalis conference in February. The goal is “how to develop emotionally healthy leadership.” The conference also features Pete Scazzero, founder of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, a ministry that promotes emotional health through Catholic contemplative mysticism. Driscoll is the ultra-cool senior pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. He claims to be “THEOLOGICALLY CONSERVATIVE AND CULTURALLY LIBERAL” (“Pastor Provocateur,” Christianity Today, Sept. 21, 2007) and criticizes “hardcore fundamentalism that throws rocks at culture.” He defines himself as “relevant,” “contextual,” and “cool” (“Conference examines the emerging church,” Baptist Pres s, Sept. 25, 2007). Mark Driscoll’s church sets up a “champagne bar” at its New Year’s Eve parties. Members have to bring their IDs. They have “beer-brewing lessons” for men, show R-rated movies, and operate the Paradox Theater to host secular rock concerts. Scott Thomas, director of Acts 29, a church planting network associated with Driscoll, says, “We won’t water down our theology to reach more people and we won’t attack the culture in the name of Christianity” (http://www.acts29network.org/about/welcome/). These are contradictory statements. You can’t be faithful to the Bible (having rock-solid theology) if you “contextualize the gospel” and refuse to attack the sinful and satanic side of culture, which is a very large side of it in a world in which the devil is god! God’s Word commands, “And have NO fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, BUT RATHER REPROVE THEM” (Eph. 5:11). John the Baptist lost his head for rebuking a political leader for his immorality. Too bad he did not have one of Driscoll’s books to help him learn how to be culturally liberal. The emerging John would have been so much cooler.

HOLLYWOOD CULTURE CREATES “INSANE SELF-IMAGE ISSUES” (Friday Church News Notes, January 1, 2010, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following is by Brian Snider <bsnider@gmail.com> — “Investing a lot of money, time and worry on this body is a hopeless dead end.  Sadly, that’s what Hollywood culture demands from those who worship at its altar. Actress Brittany Murphy, who mysteriously died of ‘natural causes’ two weeks ago, apparently spent an inordinate amount of time worrying about a body that would only carry her to 32 years of age. ‘She had insane self-image issues,’ said one of her friends. ‘Her weight, her hair, her clothes, her skin, her teeth, everything. She was always so self-conscious.’ Adds another: ‘A lot of her problems were due to poor self image. She wore extraordinary amounts of makeup, tons of fake eyelashes, got her teeth capped, dyed her hair blonde, lost weight–she wanted to be a beauty. She didn’t want to be the fat girl from Clueless.’ The things she spent so much time worrying about–body, eyes, teeth and hair are now lying in a grave, though her spirit has passed on into eternity. And with all the worrying she did about things that will pass away, we wonder how much time she spent worrying about the state of her soul. This young actress was sold a false bill of goods by the Satanic machinery of the movie industry, which convinces people that looks, prestige and glamour are great things to be sought. There is a permanence to death that is stunning in its seriousness and scope. Better to have the perspective of Scripture now than the perspective of Hollywood, which can only lead to eternal misery. ‘Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes , and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever’ (1 John 2:15-17). ‘It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.  Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.  The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth’ (Ecclesiastes 7:2-4).”
Continue reading “News from a Fundamentalist Christian Viewpoint” →