Tag: Baptists

Good News: The Southern Baptist Convention tells it’s Military chaplains, “No Same Sex Marriages”

So good to see the SBC take a stand and draw the line in the sand, and telling the Sodomite crowd, “No Mas!”

The Story:

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) — The North American Mission Board has issued new guidelines for Southern Baptist military chaplains in light of the U.S. military’s recognition of same-sex marriage. The guidelines reiterate Southern Baptist doctrine and the expectation that SBC chaplains will not participate in or attend wedding ceremonies for gay members of the military.

“Our chaplains want to uphold the authority and relevancy of Scripture while continuing to serve in a very diverse setting,” said Doug Carver, the retired Army major general who leads NAMB’s chaplaincy efforts. “We believe these updated guidelines will help them do that while still sharing the love and the hope of Christ with everyone.”

The updated guidelines are being issued in response to the military’s repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the U.S. Supreme Court’s abolishment of the Defense of Marriage Act. The U.S. military requires all chaplains to be endorsed by a recognized denomination. NAMB serves as the endorsing entity on behalf of Southern Baptists

via Baptist Press -NAMB guidelines for military chaplains updated to address same-sex unions – News with a Christian Perspective.

Here are the updated regulations:

Doctrine — Chaplains will be expected to conduct their ministry in harmony with Article XVIII of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000: “All ministries regarding human sexuality will reflect the historic, natural and biblical view of marriage as God’s lifelong gift of ‘the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.'”

Pastoral care — The guidelines remind chaplains that Southern Baptists view all sexual immorality as sin that violates God’s biblical standards for purity and that “Responsible pastoral care will seek to offer repentance and forgiveness, help and healing, and restoration through the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial gift of love on the cross,” the document states.

Restrictions — The guidelines state that “NAMB-endorsed chaplains will not conduct or attend a wedding ceremony for any same-sex couple, bless such a union or perform counseling in support of such a union, assist or support paid contractors or volunteers leading same-sex relational events, nor offer any kind of relationship training or retreat, on or off of a military installation, that would give the appearance of accepting the homosexual lifestyle or sexual wrongdoing. This biblical prohibition remains in effect irrespective of any civil law authorizing same-sex marriage or benefits to the contrary.” Chaplains also are prohibited from participating in jointly-led worship services “with a chaplain, contractor or volunteer who personally practices a homosexual lifestyle or affirms a homosexual lifestyle or such conduct.”

Pluralism — The guidelines acknowledge that SBC chaplains serve in a pluralistic setting but expect, under U.S. Department of Defense guidelines, that the rights and freedoms of chaplains will be protected so they may “preach, teach and counsel in accordance with the tenets of their denominational faith group and their own religious conscience.” In addition, chaplains are expected to: “Treat all service members, regardless of rank or behavior, with Christ-centered dignity, honor and respect while assisting the institutional leadership in its religious mission requirements and responsibilities as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

Also too and I feel this to be very important:

NAMB President Kevin Ezell expressed support for SBC military chaplains and emphasized the need for Southern Baptists to remember them in prayer.

“For many members of our military — especially those deployed around the globe — our chaplains are the only pastors they have. That’s why it is so important that they uphold sound doctrine while showing everyone the love and forgiveness Jesus offers. We all need to be committed to praying for them in these challenging days.”

So, if you are a Christian, pray for these people. Because you know good and well that Satan, via the Liberal crowd will try and attack these chaplains for taking a stand against what the Sodomite world believes is normal.

(H/T Raw Story – Via Memeorandum)

This is what is wrong with the Church today

One of the biggest things that is wrong with the Church today is apostasy. A classic example is this below, this was written some woman who had some sort of “spiritual crisis.”:

4. Contemplative Spirituality

Okay, here’s where I get in trouble.

One of the contemporary church’s problems is its rejection of Christianity’s contemplative heritage. As vital as a rich intellectual life and the study of theology are to our faith, information alone cannot yield produce transformation. Fortunately, our tradition brims with the wisdom of contemplatives and, dare I say mystics, who wrote about the why’s and how’s of spiritual union with God.  

Francis, a mystic himself, would advise the present-day church to revisit the practices and teachings of John Cassian, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, Brother Lawrence, Jean Pierre de Caussade, Simone Weil and Evelyn Underhill, among others. People are hungry not only for good biblical teaching but for rich experiential encounters with the living God. Are we ready to lay aside our prejudice against the teachings of our contemplative mothers and fathers?

via Who is the most incredible Christian ever? | Fox News.

Sorry, but the only person that I try to pattern my life after is Jesus Christ. He and he alone is the basis of my faith. Furthermore, anyone that wants to have an honest discussion about this heretical nonsense, I would recommend them to start RIGHT HERE.

If people want to know why society is on the downturn, and shootings are on the rise; this is a good place to start. Churches today do not preach the Word of God, they preach garbage and this is a good example of that.

I leave you with the Bible:

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:1-15 KJV)

 

On Rick Warren and his son

Recently, I extended a courtesy to a well-known blogger and I hope his readers and He extend that same courtesy to me.

As for Rick Warren and his now dead son; I am simply going to say what I said on twitter and facebook, which resulted in an apostate Christian blocking me, because I was too mean:

Rick Warren dealt in a modernistic, judge not, rock and roll style of Christianity. From a  Fundamentalist Baptist point of view, and according to the Word of God; he was a total and complete apostate. I happen to know that when you do this sort of thing, it catches up with you sooner of later. Look at Pharaoh in the Old Testament, Moses told him, “Let my people go” and he refused, and because of this, Pharaoh lost his firstborn son. It is the same concept. The Bible says:

If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. (Romans 12:18-19 KJV)

The Lord is patient with people like Rick Warren. However, sometimes the Lord does things to get people, like Warren, to pay attention. This is all a part of getting Rick Warren right with God. Now, personally, I hope that Warren does get right with God! However, if I know Warren like I do; he will never leave that apostate doctrine that he teaches in his Church.

More Bible:

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; (1 Timothy 4:1-2 KJV)

and…:

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. (2 Timothy 4:1-5 KJV)

Those scriptures are basically what Rick Warren is and he will not change at all. I would like to hope that he could and I rule nothing out, Warren could very well be convicted and come back to the truth of the Word of God, leave the Southern Baptist Convention and become a real Baptist again. But, to be quite honest; I highly doubt that this will ever happen.

To some, saying that Rick Warren “had it coming” is a horrible thing to say about a man losing his son. However, in the context of the Word of God. Rick Warren DID have it coming; when you rebel against the Word of God and think that you know more the God and his Word, and you decide to rebel and create your own “user-friendly” Jesus — you pay the price. When I backslid and decided that I was no longer interested in being a Christian, because of what other people did to me or around me; I paid a terrible price for it. Friends of mine died, my personal life went to shambles and in fact, I believe this season of unemployment is a direct result of things that I have done in the past.  Simply put: You reap what you sow.

….and it looks to me, like Rick Warren reaped the whirlwind.

Others: CBS News, Alan Colmes’ Liberaland, CBS Los Angeles, Balloon Juice, The Hinterland Gazette, Scared Monkeys and The Raw Story

It Begins: Evangelical Christians and the Catholic Church listed in Army training slide as extremists

This is something to put everyone on alert:

A U.S. Army training instructor listed Evangelical Christianity and Catholicism as examples of religious extremism along with Al Qaeda and Hamas during a briefing with an Army Reserve unit based in Pennsylvania, Fox News has learned.

“We find this offensive to have Evangelical Christians and the Catholic Church to be listed among known terrorist groups,” said Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. “It is dishonorable for any U.S. military entity to allow this type of wrongheaded characterization.”

Material presented to soldiers at training session.

The incident occurred during an Army Reserve Equal Opportunity training brief on extremism. Topping the list is Evangelical Christianity. Other organizations listed included Catholicism, Al Qaeda, Hamas, the Ku Klux Klan, Sunni Muslims, and Nation of Islam.

The military also listed “Islamophobia” as a form of religious extremism.

via Army Labeled Evangelicals as Religious Extremists | FOX News & Commentary: Todd Starnes.

Of course, when caught, the Army quickly raced to cover its butt:

Army spokesman George Wright told Fox News that this was an “isolated incident not condoned by the Dept. of the Army.”

“This slide was not produced by the Army and certainly does not reflect our policy or doctrine,” he said. “It was produced by an individual without anyone in the chain of command’s knowledge or permission.”

Wright said after the complaint was lodged, the presenter deleted the slide, and apologized.

“We consider the matter closed,” he said.

The incident was made public by a soldier who attended the briefing. He asked for copies of the presentation and sent them to the Chaplain Alliance.

“He considers himself an evangelical Christian and did not appreciate being classified with terrorists,” Crews told Fox News. “There was a pervasive attitude in the presentation that anything associated with religion is an extremist.”

Which is the story they always tell the public, when they do something and get caught doing it. I just wonder how long it will be, if the Lord tarries; before the United States Government will begin rounding up those who dare to read from the King James Version of the Bible and start imprisoning those Pastors who dare to preach that homosexuality is a sin and that abortion is murder. I think it will happen, before the Lord’s return myself. Why with the Anti-Defamation League — a leftist Jew-run organization; doing the bidding of the Obama Administration, it is a wonder now that Fundamentalists like myself are not in prison.

It goes without saying that we are in the last days. Things like this, are going to become more and more prevalent and will the norm eventually. As Jesus said, “Watch ye and Pray.” and that my friends, is all that we can really do. Watch and pray and be about our Father’s business; and wait for his blessed return.

Others: Atlas Shrugs, Jihad Watch and Weasel Zippers

May The Lord Jesus Christ Bless and Keep John McTernan

For not forsaking the old paths and having the courage to speak the truth, even in the face of criticism from those who supposedly preach tolerance, except when it clashes with their worldviews.

Something that I can relate to, and I am sure Dr. McTernan can too:

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. (John 15:18-25 KJV)

May the Lord Jesus hold John McTernan in the palm of his hand, during this time of adversity. Praying

Update: The best thing we, as believers, can do for John, is buy his books:

More Books By John P. McTernan

The message in Tim Tebow’s tweet is about the power of God

Tim Tebow the famous Christian football player sent out a tweet which had some people wondering about what he meant.

The Christian Post Reports:

 Like it has been for much of Tim Tebow’s career, it was all about the numbers heading into the N.Y. Jets game against the Houston Texans on the 666th edition of Monday Night Football.

“Looking forward to giving God all the glory in tonight’s 666th Monday Night Football game. Romans 8:37-39,” Tebow tweeted Monday morning.

Once again, as has happened many times before, the sports media turned to talk of Bible scripture and faith as the result of something Tebow said or posted.

USA Today sports writer Chris Chase went so far as to use Tebow’s “666” reference to begin his article with the Bible verse Revelation 13:8. “This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666,” Chase quoted from the English Standard translation.

“I’m down with Tebow’s religious beliefs and appreciate that he uses his forum to promote them, but I’m not sure what he was going for here,” wrote Chase. “Does playing in a game number that’s identical to the mark of the beast worry him? Or is anything with the number 666 a good way to promote his faith?”

Naturally, we cannot expect these unconverted heathen to understand what Mr. Tebow was trying to convey at all. Here is the scripture that Mr. Tebow was quoting, in the actual Word of God — that is the King James Bible:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. — (Romans 8:35-39 KJV)

Actually, Mr. Tebow did not quote quite enough of that scripture, he only quoted 37-39, the actually good part is from 35-39. But, I digress.

Tim Tebow was publicly declaring his faith in Jesus Christ. Which is commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ in the Bible, see here:

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.  — (Matthew 10:32-33 KJV)

Those are the Words of Jesus Christ, recorded by the Apostle Matthew. The Apostle Luke also recorded it in greater detail:

Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.  — (Luke 12:8-10 KJV)

So, you see, The Lord was not kidding around about that sort of a thing; He meant business. Furthermore, I feel the need to expound another aspect of what Tim Tebow was trying to say in his tweet; whether he knew it or not. Let me say up front; this is where I am going to start sounding like a preacher. I will disclose this now. There was a time, when I was working on getting a degree for Ministry. I really cannot be a Pastor, because I am not married. However, I do know my way around theology a bit. I have been a saved, Born-Again Christian for 30 years. I spent 21 years in the Pentecostal movement. I was saved a Baptist at age 9, in a Baptist Church in Detroit in 1982. I left the Baptist circles in 1984, due to a school change and just started attending an Assemblies of God Church in Detroit, which recently closed after 35 years. In 2004, after many years of watching the Pentecostal movement simply change from what it was, to what it is now —- I walked away from it and went back to the Baptist faith. You see, Baptist is not a denomination, although a few denominations out there call themselves Baptist. Baptist is a way of belief and it dates back to the Apostles of Christ. I suggest reading  The Trail of Blood to see what I am talking about.

Anyhow, back to what I was talking here, before I got off in the weeds. Tim Tebow was also making a another statement and that statement is this here: That Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God and is all powerful and has dominion over Heaven and Earth. Satan, on the other hand, is a already defeated foe and has limited power. Furthermore, Mr. Tebow was declaring that if you accept Jesus as your personal Savior, that you can enjoy eternal life with God forever. This is the simple truth that has been known throughout the ages, including by those who founded this Country. It is also the bedrock believe that this Nation held to for many years and because of that, this Nation enjoyed many years of abundant prosperity.

I think it goes without saying, that we really need to get back to those beliefs. Now, as a Fundamentalist Baptist; I reject the notion of a corporate Salvation or Christianity. However, I do believe that the Christian values that this Country once held, have been watered down and cast aside as old hat. I believe this happened for a large number of reasons — many of which are beyond the scope of this blog posting. I also reject the notion that this Nation will have another revival. Sadly, the days of revival are over in this Country. I believe before the rapture of the Church comes, I believe things on this earth are going to become much darker and much more evil. I know, it is a fatalist outlook, but the Word of God does bare that out.

If you want to know more, please, check out this little booklet down below:

If that is not enough, please, click here and check out the videos.

Sad News: Church van crash kills two Baptists in TN

So sad to get news like this:

Two people were killed and 12 others injured Sunday morning when a van carrying youth from Cedar Grove Baptist Church in Maryville, Tenn., collided head-on with an SUV while returning from a weekend retreat in Gatlinburg.

The driver of the van, Jeff Trussell, and teenager Courteney Kaliszewski were killed. Ten passengers ranging from middle school to college age were transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Two of those were transferred to Children’s Hospital. According to local media, at least two Lifestar helicopters and three ambulances transported the victims.

The driver of the SUV, 21-year-old Tyler J. Schaeffer of Seymour, Tenn., crossed the center line of Chapman Highway in Sevier County and struck the van head on, causing it to catch fire. Strangers stopped to help rescue passengers in the church van and offer aid until emergency vehicles arrived.

via ABP: Church van crash kills two

🙁

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. — (Psalms 116:15 KJV)

May they rest in peace.