Monday, September 9, 2013

Sons of Korah: A Recommended Resource

Posted by Christine Pack

Anyone who knows me know that I am slightly obsessed with music (as witnessed by one of my articles a few years back entitled A Few Thoughts On Christian Music). Even before I became a Christian, I've thought that there was something so interesting and mysterious about music. For instance, why is it that things are easier to memorize when set to music? Can everyone think back to first grade, where they learned the alphabet by singing the ABC's song? Even today, my feeble brain remembers all sorts of ditties and silly camp songs I sang as a kid, from Zacchaeus Was A Wee Little Man to Over The River and Through The Woods to Row, Row, Row Your Boat.


So is it any wonder that when I was introduced to Sons of Korah as a believer that I would love-love-love-LOVE them? If you're not familiar with the Sons of Korah, please allow me the honor of introducing them to you. Sons of Korah are a Christian music group based in Australia, and their musical focus is the Psalms. All Psalms. Nothing but Psalms. From their website:
"The Psalms were originally song lyrics intended to be performed to the accompaniment of musical instruments..... Essentially they are the prayers, reflections and praise declarations of God’s people, and yet they no less authoritative and inspired than the rest of scripture...... There were several different uses for the psalms and perhaps many more than we know of. Corporate praise, celebration, lament, and prayer was obviously the dominant use.... Certainly a dominant use for the psalms was for instruction. Music is a great tool for memorizing things. The importance of knowing the Word of God is a dominant theme in both testaments, not least of all in the psalms. The psalms themselves contain, in condensed form, all the fundamental truths of the faith. Salvation history, the attributes of God, the way of salvation, the law of God, principles of wisdom, the nature of man and many more points of theology are powerfully encapsulated in the psalms. In this way the people learned about these things and passed them on. This is precisely what Paul has in mind when he exhorts the Colossians to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs in worship to God so that the word of Christ would dwell in them richly (Col. 3:16)."
I've downloaded every Sons of Korah album available through iTunes, and have now memorized almost 50 Psalms. I'm also using this wonderful resource with my sons to teach them, in a beautiful and artistic and musical way, the beauties and excellencies of God's character and nature, and to show them that we can cry out to the Lord, and He promises to hear and respond to those who are His.

The Sons of Korah albums are also available through Exodus Books and Amazon, and include:
Light of Life 
Redemption Songs 
Shelter 
Resurrection 
Rain 
Wait

 Additional Resources 

Psalm 35 - Sons of Korah

Thoughts on Christian Music

Friday, August 23, 2013

Setting The Record Straight: What Susan Heck Actually Said (Compared To What Brannon Howse Says That She Said)

Posted by Christine Pack

"The first to plead his case seems right, until another comes and examines him." (Proverbs 18:17)

In the midst of an ongoing public dispute with Brannon Howse (host of Worldview Weekend Radio), I have really struggled with whether or not to say anything public past the one post I initially wrote (An Open Letter To Brannon Howse). I wrote that post in order to address our conflict and to correct some misstatements and mischaracterizations that Brannon has made about me personally. However, in the face of the relentless Facebook postings, comments, articles and radio shows by both Brannon Howse and Chris Pinto, I feel I must once again speak up. I know that God is my Judge and my Vindicator, and beyond that, what can man do to me? (Hebrews 13:6) And that God also says, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," (Romans 12:19) but this is not about vengeance, and I do think biblically it's acceptable, and even good, to speak up when false witness has been borne against you by a brother or sister in Christ. So that is what I'm doing.

So. In the middle of this dispute, it was brought to my attention that Brannon had mischaracterized statements made in an interview by respected author and Bible teacher Susan Heck, who is a wonderful Bible teacher and whom I know slightly from women's conferences at my church where she has taught. In the interest of keeping this as simplified as possible, I am creating a brief timeline that documents this mischaracterization of Mrs. Heck's comments by Brannon Howse.

 Tuesday, August 13 

Susan Heck was interviewed by Pastor Justin Peters on Tuesday, August 13. This exchange occurred in the interview:
Justin Peters: Well, Susan I want to just follow up a little bit on something in the last program, which is, kind of in broad terms, what the Bible has to say about the role of women. And we discussed our men and women are of equal value before God, no argument there, we are of equal value, and in Christ there's neither male nor female, Jew nor Gentile, we are all of equal value. But we do have different roles. And following up with our discussion about the role of women, both in the church but specifically what about the public forum? What does the Bible have to say about women who confront teachers, even if they're criticism is valid? Is that the role of a woman to confront in a public forum of a teacher, a male teacher, who also has a public ministry, and who they feel, rightly or wrongly, is teaching some errant doctrine? And we're not talking about Benny Hinn or people who are way, way out there, but people we would consider to be in the fold, if you will. 
Susan Heck: Well, the last time you asked me the question, I think I told you then I am not a blogger, I don't even have a Facebook account, I know I'm kind of archaic, back in the Little House on the Prairie days. But you kind of piqued my interest so actually I went home and began to look at some of those blogs, and kind of read what was going on. And I would say the thing that concerned me, and I've also asked my husband what he thought, since you asked me that question the last time I was interviewed, but the thing that concerned me when I read some of these things was that even to the testimony of some people, they were saying they were sacrificing what they should be doing domestically i.e., whether it's clean the house or cook meals or whatever, for the sake of the blog. And I would say that that is a concern to me, because the Bible is very clear, even Paul writes to Timothy when talking about young women that are widows, they're to bear children, rule the house and give no occasion for the Adversary to speak reproachfully. And so my question would be: are the women doing what they're supposed to be doing? Which is to bear children, rule the house, and keep their domestic duties. Look at Proverbs 31, and that one woman, she was busy! She was up late at night, up early in the morning, and she was busy. And her husband was known in the gates, and she feared the Lord, and she knew what her role was. And so I would say that was one of the things that pricked my conscience the last time I was here, and I thought well, I really ought to be educated about blogs and so I read some. And then I also actually asked my husband because I respect my husband greatly. He is a master of the Scriptures, and so I just asked him, I said, what do you think about that question that Justin asked me? And he said, I personally would have issue with that, because that is a public forum, and a woman therefore puts herself in authority over a man by doing that. And so that gave me pause to think through that too. And so like I said, last time I really hadn't had time to really think through that issue. I never had been asked that question. I did give the example last time of Priscilla and Aquila, but as I've rethought that even, they took him aside privately and explained to him the way of God more excellently, the Scriptures say. So I personally would have an issue with that. Women need to remember their role as women, I think we would do good to limit our teaching and authority to women and to children. And I think we need to be careful about that. It doesn't mean we shouldn't be educated,we should be educated, and we should know who the false teachers are. I personally, I thought about your question last time, and I thought, if I was going to find out who the false teachers are today, and what they are teaching, I personally, and I'm a woman, but I personally would not go to woman's blog to find out. Before Phil Johnson had to go off his, I'd look at his. Or yours. You know, somebody who I believe is a male  and who is educating themselves and is very aware of false teachers. So even myself as a woman, I wouldn't turn to a woman's blog to try to find out who the false teachers are for the day. So, I don't know if that answers your question, if you want to follow up with more, you certainly are free to do that, so....” [See note below]
Justin Peters: I think there's a danger, whether it's a blog or whether it's Facebook or these social media outlets, that that can become enormously time consuming, whether you're male or female. And we've talked to people, and know of people, who spend hours every day getting into arguments on Facebook, and all this kind of stuff. And again, I don't know a lot about that from first hand experience, but I think that could be one of the trappings of the “Information Age,” if you will. And there's so many things that distract us away from the time that we need to spend with our families and in the Word of God.  
Susan Heck: My  concern, Justin, is that I know women personally who can sometimes spend two to four hours a day, and yet when I see their homes, they're not clean, their children are not being taken care of. I've been in restaurants where women have actually physically pushed away a child, and said, don't bother me, I'm trying to-- , you know, they're looking on their Facebook or whatever on the phone, and that is very distressing to me. That is very distressing to me. Especially as Christian women, we have a high calling before God to rear our children to the glory of God, and to parent our children. And so, I personally am puzzled why women today are even having children, if they're not gong to care for them and parent them. And you know, they put them in a daycare or they push them aside while they're doing their internet surfing, and my question would be, to some of these women, are they spending as much time in God's Word as they are searching for these type of things on the internet and studying these? You know, they tell us the way we can identify a false dollar bill is not to study the false dollar bill but to study the genuine. And so my question is, how much time are they spending studying God's Word, which is true and sufficient and is going to give us everything we need? And so I think some of these things can be trappings of the Evil One to get us sidetracked from sitting at the feet of Christ, and learning from Him and his Word. That's my two cents, I'll get in trouble. 
 Friday, August 16 

A few days later, on Brannon Howse's Friday, August 16 Worldview Weekend radio show, Brannon played the above exchange in a clip from Susan Heck's interview with Justin Peters, and then, immediately following Susan Heck's comments, said the following:
Brannon Howse (commenting on the audio clip): I wanted to play that, I think it's very important. I appreciate what (Susan Heck) said about the fact that she was looking at one of these discernment ministry websites, and there was a notice about, something about making a donation to buy food at a fast-food restaurant because the blog keeps them so busy, and so they need to buy fast food for the kids from time to time. And I'm thinking, really? That's the level of discernment we're talking about here? And yet some of these people want to be calling out Godly men and their ministries on sidebar issues, but they don't have enough discernment to realize that hey, your first responsibility is caring for your family, not wagging your finger in the face of some Godly man who just happens to be covering a topic you find objectionable or troublesome. That's really not your place. (WVW Show, Friday Aug 16)
Also from Brannon's show notes for that day, in case anyone missed what he was trying to say, Brannon again reiterated this statement on his website (Worldview Weekend)....


....and again on his Facebook wall:


But my friends, if you go back and very carefully listen to (or read) what Mrs. Heck actually said in her interview with Justin Peters, she did NOT say that she was shocked to see a blog with a donate button asking for people to "help purchase fast-food for the kids because the blogger was so busy at times blogging that the blogger could not make meals for the family." She did not say it, folks.

And yet Brannon insists that she did.

Now let's go and look at a button on the Sola Sisters website that Brannon might have had in mind when he tried to make it appear that Mrs. Heck said she was so shocked over a donate button asking for fast-food money (which again, friends, she never said). Now, I'm not saying Brannon was trying to connect these two things, but let's just look at evidence and see where it leads.
This is a button that appears on the sidebar of the Sola Sisters website. Let me just explain that when my husband and I put up the Sola Sisters website, he said to me, you know, addressing false teaching is really sober and serious stuff, and I'm going to be silly with that donate button for the sake of interjecting a note of lightness. After all, people should know you're not a one-note person. So there the button stands. Yes, perhaps in hindsight, it wasn't the wisest thing to put up there, but you know, we're not perfect. And are we right now rethinking the wisdom of this button? Umm, yes!

(A small side-note about the button: this button brings in a small amount of money, for which I am grateful, and which I mostly use to buy burnable CDs, which I make CD labels for and then hand out. I have regularly used CDs in my Christian walk, both in witnessing encounters and also as a way to give valuable teaching information to the women I teach.)

My husband, in defense of this now infamous button, made this statement on Brannon Howse's wall:


Unfortunately, my husband's comment, in which he came to my defense, explained that the button was a silly joke, meant to be tongue-in-cheek, and that I really am a Godly wife and mother, along with his public plea to Brannon to talk this out privately with me, was deleted. He was then blocked from making further comments. (But thank you anyway to my Sweetie for making that public statement in defense of me )

But back to Brannon Howse mischaracterizing what Susan Heck said. In my opinion, because of how Brannon framed his remarks, and reiterated them several times in several places, many people assumed that Susan Heck had in fact made this statement that she never, in fact, made.

And thus, an even greater controversy was borne, because now there were folks, who, having heard Brannon say what he did, were convinced that Susan Heck was publicly naming my ministry as being problematic (including my own mother, who, not having any background information on this, called me from her car saying, I just listened to Brannon's show today, and I think he just said that Susan Heck is concerned about the Sola Sisters ministry!)

In closing, let me state that I recognize that there are a lot of moving parts to this drama, and I'm sorry for the complexity of it, but I think for those willing to take a breath, and stop and ponder, and then take the time to examine the evidence, they will see that I am not a gossiper or slanderer or tale-bearer or murmurer or tattler or an embarrassment to the Lord (all charges which have been made by Brannon over the course of the last week, though I may have missed a few). If anything, I am being gossiped against, slandered and have had false witness borne against me. And I do have a biblical right to correct misstatements and mischaracterizations being made about me. In the end, this is not about Team Brannon or Team Sola Sisters......it is about truth, and don't we think that truth matters to God?

_____________________________________________________________________
 NOTE: We may agree or disagree with Mrs. Heck on whether or not women may publicly contend on spiritual matters, but that is something of a separate issue. And please understand by my saying this that in no way do I consider differing views on this to be an issue of separation or breaking fellowship. I'm simply saying that brothers and sisters in Christ can land on different sides of this issue and not be in sin. This is an issue that Godly and very solidly biblical men and women have just come down on differently over the centuries. It is true from Scripture that women are not to exegete (teach) Scripture to men. However, I (and many others) think that the idea that women cannot speak publicly at all, in any way, about spiritual matters is an idea that is not clearly taught in Scripture, and is more of cultural construct that has taken hold in the church than actual biblical truth (particularly in the Southern Baptist realm). Jude 1:3 says "Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's holy people." So I (and many others) understand the Jude passage to mean that all Christians can, and should, contend on spiritual matters. Now, are there other constraints that we must follow in this endeavor? Yes: a woman must not teach a man (exegete Scripture to him), we must be kind, gracious, above reproach, gentle, loving, etc.........but contend we must. And so there are disagreements over this. But again, that's a separate issue from the fact that Mrs. Heck's statements were mischaracterized by Brannon in his Friday, August 16 radio show.


 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 

 Miscellaneous   
An Open Letter To Brannon Howse (Sola Sisters)
Talebearing "from house to Howse" - A 'Perfect Storm' of Accusation (Susan Stilley)
Dr. James White (AOMin), Fred Butler (GTY) Weigh In On The Problem With Chris Pinto's Conspiracy Videos (Sola Sisters)
David Rockefeller, the New World Order, and the Necessity of Verifying Internet Quotes
The Christian and Conspiracy Theories (Ken Samples, Issues Etc.)
Clearing Up The "Discernment Diva" Thing (Phil Johnson)
Brannon's treatment of me "shameful" (Phil Johnson)

 Dr. James White (Alpha and Omega Ministries)  
"Ex Vampire" William Schnoebelen in Chris Pinto's Film (8-20-13)
Chris Pinto's Conspiracy Theories (8-29-13)
A Discussion of Chris Pinto's "Tares Among The Wheat" (10-22-13)
Chris Pinto's Conspiratorial Worldview (12-3-13)
DEBATE: Is Codex Sinaiticus a Jesuit Forgery? (Dr. James White and Chris Pinto, 12-11-13)

 Fred Butler (Grace To You, Hip and Thigh blog)  
Why The White/Pinto Debate Matters (12-16-13)
Mystic Helena Blavatsky Bolsters Chris Pinto's Case? (12-29-13)
Fred Butler: An Interview on King James Onlyism
 (12-6-13)
Tares Among The Wheat - A Review (11-26-13)
George E. Merrill on the Simonides Affair (9-28-13)
Slandering Tischendorf  (9-27-13)
Determining the Antiquity of Ancient Manuscripts (9-25-13)
Chris Pinto’s Disingenuous Response to His Critics (9-20-13)
Answering the Claims of KJV-Onlyism (6-1-10)

 Christian Research Network  
The Slips and Follies of the Pintonian Inquistion - Part 1 (C. Michael Majewski, CRN)
The Slips and Follies of the Pintonian Inquistion - Part 2 (C. Michael Majewski, CRN)
The Pintonian Inquistion: Scholarship or McCarthyism? - Part 3 (C. Michael Majewski, CRN)

 The Salt Lake City Messenger (Gerald and Sandra Tanner)  
Magic in Mormonism: From Denials It Was Practiced to Exaggerations (Issue #65)
Covering Up Syn: Ex-Satanist Brings Confusion to Mormons and Their Critics (Issue #67)

 Pastor Bob DeWaay - Critical Issues Commentaries      
King James Only? Refuting the False Conspiracy Theories of King James Only Teachers
How the KJV Only Doctrine Obscures the Truth, Part 1
How the KJV Only Doctrine Obscures the Truth, Part 2

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Spiritual Disciplines: Some Thoughts

article by Marcia Montenegro (CANA/Christian Answers for the New Age)

For the past several years, the popularity of what are called the “spiritual disciplines” has grown at a breathless rate. This is not an in-depth response but rather some general remarks on a few points. I address specifics about the problems with the meditation usually advocated by those promoting the spiritual disciplines in several articles on my website.

 A Passage in First Timothy 

One of the issues I have with the spiritual disciplines advocacy is the widely held assumption that 1 Tim. 4:7 refers to practicing specific"disciplines," and the presumption that the Spiritual Disciplines advocates can decree what these disciplines are.  Not only do they enumerate these disciplines,but they assert or strongly imply that one must do these in order to grow as a Christian. Here is one disturbing statement: "I will maintain that the only road to Christian maturity and Godliness passes through the practice of the Spiritual Disciplines" (from Donald Whitney in Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, pp. 16-17).

It might be helpful to look at 1 Tim. 4:6-8 to view the context:
“In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”
The passage above is emphasizing “godliness,” defined also as religion and piety;that is, godly living based on reverence toward God (piety). This godly living results from sound doctrine in contrast to behavior produced by meaningless asceticism from unsound (false) teachings, which are likened to “worldly fables.” The NET Bible states that the fables “refer to legendary tales characteristic of the false teachers in Ephesus and Crete,” also referred to in 1 Tim. 1:4, 2 Tim. 4:4, and Titus 1:14 (online source).

The word “doctrine” appears six times in First Timothy, and the word “teaching” four times (“teach” is not being counted as “teaching”).  Paul is clearly concerned with false teachings in the church (see 1:19, 20; 4:1-3; 6:3-6, 20-21), some of which appear to be advocating asceticism, and he is exhorting Timothy to continue in sound doctrine.

A bit further, in verse 11, Paul advises Timothy, “Prescribe and teach these things,” and his closing words in chapter 6 plead with Timothy to “guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called ‘knowledge’ --- which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith.”  

Thus, Paul ends the letter on the note of warning against these false teachings referred to in the passage under discussion. Paul is writing to Timothy to encourage him (in these passages) to continue sound teaching and reject false teachings and fables disguised as knowledge. Godliness can only result from teachings based on sound doctrine; there is no profit or growth from ascetic practices or other practices based on false teachings.

 Disciplines or Rules? 

Labyrinth
I also take issue with the concept of “spiritual disciplines,” a term from Roman Catholic monasticism which indicated a salvation by works. And I question the idea that certain Christians can define disciplines for other Christians.  Since the Bible does not specify any specific practice as a “discipline,” then I think it is up to each Christian to discover from God’s living word which area he or she may need to focus on and at which point in their lives.

I do not see biblical validity for "silence and solitude" as disciplines.There is nothing wrong with silence and solitude, and I think they are of value at times, especially if one is praying or reflecting on God’s word. But I don't think the Bible supports doing these as disciplines. Moreover, “silence” is often a code word for “going within” in order to hear from God.

Other named disciplines include journaling, fasting, and stewardship. There is no prescriptive basis in the Bible for journaling or fasting as “disciplines” for Christians. There are biblical principles for stewardship of time and money, but is this a discipline? Christians are under grace; the Lord wants us to desire to serve Him, not live by imposed rules, or disciplines as defined by others.

If someone feels that they should fast, seek solitude, or journal, and they believe this will help their Christian growth, then that is their choice. However, I don't think anyone has a basis for telling me or others that we must do these things as disciplines or we won't grow in Christ.

The advocates of spiritual disciplines who tell Christians that we must be practicing these disciplines often use narrative as prescriptive, give worldly examples that are not analogous to biblical examples, and read their own meanings into the biblical text.

 Sanctification By the Spirit 

One thought continually bombards my mind in response to this epidemic of “spiritual disciplines” in the church:
“Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”Gal. 3:3
A Christian should yield to the Holy Spirit, who is transforming us into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18;Col. 3:10), but the growth of each Christian varies according to the pace and design of the Lord’s purposes through God’s grace. This is the process of sanctification.

If a Christian tries to do any spiritual growing by their own effort or out of their own strength, it is wasted because the Lord makes it clear that we can do nothing fruitful outside of abiding in Christ (John 15:4; 1 John 2:27, 4:13), which means doing it by the Spirit (Rom.8:4; Gal. 5:25). It is only by dependence on Christ, the grace of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit that any Christian matures in the faith.
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” John 15:4
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”Gal. 5:25
photo credit: lars hammar via photopin cc


 CANA Articles on Contemplative Prayer and Meditation 

Psalm 46:10 and Meditation

The Be Still DVD

Contemplative Prayer

Eastern Meditation


 Additional Resources 

What is Spiritual Formation?


A Book Review: Donald Whitney's "Spiritual Disciplines For The Christian Life"

The Dangers of Contemplative Prayer

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Finding God's Will

posted by Christine Pack


Are those geese flying over you in a V formation signaling a "victory" for you? Is that a clue from God that you should be taking notice of? Or was there another clue somewhere along the way that you missed.....

If you have ever had thoughts like these, please read the article below, including the links. The current mindset among many Christians is that there is some "perfect will" for our lives out there, like a buried treasure, that comes complete with cryptic clues "buried" in the world around us. And you have to read and sift through the clues (signs) out there and find that "perfect will" for your life that God has for you. And you better not miss any clues or you could end up with the B Plan! Sound like anything you've been taught or heard? Contrast that with what Scripture really teaches, which is that we, as Christians, should be placing ourselves under the means of grace (Bible study, prayer, Lord's Supper, fellowship with other believers), and over time, our minds will become more and more sanctified, and our decisions/choices will become wiser. That's how we make decisions, not by being paralyzed between trying to figure out if something is His will or not, and wondering if we are going to mess everything up by a "wrong" choice. Choices are only wrong if there is sin involved....otherwise, we have freedom, freedom in Christ.

Listen to Pastor Kevin DeYoung's lecture below that goes into more detail on this topic.
(HT: Hears His Voice)



photo credit: Mark Seton via photopin


  Additional Resources 

Means of Grace: God's Provision For Our Salvation and Sanctification (CIC Article)

Means of Grace (CIC Radio Series)

Understanding the Means of Grace

Discussion of Means of Grace

Reexamining the Means of Grace

Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will
Is That You, Lord? (Pastor Gary Gilley)

How To Hear God's Voice

An Open Letter of Repentance To All Whom I Have Taught or Endorsed The Teachings of Henry Blackaby or Beth Moore

Christian Dream Interpretation?

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Nancy Leigh DeMoss Endorsing Chalk Circles? Mercy.

Posted by Christine Pack

I have never bothered to address the problems with the book The Circle Maker, because the whole concept of "circle making" was simply so patently pagan and ridiculous on the face of it that I assumed it would be obvious to any Christian how unbiblical this book was.  When Christian apologist Chris Rosebrough and Pastor Tim Challies both thoroughly exposed the theological issues with the book (links below), I continued to assume this was a "no-brainer" for most Christians. Sadly however, I am getting more and more emails from people saying that their church leaders are recommending The Circle Maker, doing a Bible study with it, passing it out, etc. So just in case you have not heard about this book, let me try to fill in the gaps: The Circle Maker is a book authored by Pastor Mark Batterson (Wash DC), in which Batterson teaches that we should literally draw circles (with chalk as the suggested implement) around our dreams and pray them into completion. From the Amazon website:
"According to Pastor Mark Batterson in his book, The Circle Maker, 'Drawing prayer circles around our dreams isn't just a mechanism whereby we accomplish great things for God. It's a mechanism whereby God accomplishes great things in us.' Do you ever sense that there's far more to prayer, and to God's vision for your life, than what you're experiencing? It's time you learned from the legend of Honi the Circle Maker---a man bold enough to draw a circle in the sand and not budge from inside it until God answered his prayers for his people. What impossibly big dream is God calling you to draw a prayer circle around? Sharing inspiring stories from his own experiences as a circle maker, Mark Batterson will help you uncover your heart's deepest desires and God-given dreams and unleash them through the kind of audacious prayer that God delights to answer."
Well, as a former pagan, I'm just telling all of you right now, if someone comes into my church and starts getting out the chalk and talking about drawing circles around things, I am not walking, I am RUNNING for the door. And yes, I know the argument is probably something along the lines of, Well this helps me underscore my prayers to God. My response: Really? And this is where, exactly, in Scripture? And why should a Christian feel the need for a ritual? Why can't we just pray, simply, with the faith of a child? My friends, spiritual rituals are for pagans, not Christians.

Still unconvinced? How about this example straight from Scripture of a pagan spiritual ritual given a glossy biblical veneer: the incident of the golden calf whereby Aaron, who was leading the congregation into sin, made a verbal profession that this would be "a festival unto the Lord." In other words, he was attempting to Christianize his golden calf by claiming that he would be offering it up to the God of Israel. But then, as now, one's verbal profession or intention is not some sort of magical protection: when we do pagan things, we are in sin, and God is not pleased.
"Aaron answered them, 'Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.' So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, 'These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.' When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, 'Tomorrow there will be a festival unto the Lord.'" (Exo 32:2-5, my emphasis)
All right, Sola Sister, I hear some of you saying. You are preaching to the choir here. This is not happening in our circles. Oh really? Then I present Exhibit A for your consideration:



Yes, that is the theologically buttoned up Nancy Leigh DeMoss, host of the Revive Our Hearts radio ministry, in the above screenshot (which can be clicked on for better reading), and who must surely be counted among those who should know better than to endorse such pagan nonsense. Yet here is her quote in full, from her article, Draw A Circle:
"It's a challenge Life Action has issued repeatedly to men, women, teens, and even children. It's a simple expression of a heart prepared for God's work—and no matter how many times it's done, it keeps illustrating something critical about the revival we are praying and pleading for God to send. It involves a simple piece of chalk. This piece of chalk represents a turning point, a moment of surrender, a change of heart. It marks the difference between those who would pray, 'Lord, change them' and those with the humility to plead, 'Lord, change me!' It is a piece of chalk with which we kneel and draw a circle around ourselves and then look to heaven expectantly and pray, 'Lord God, send revival, and begin it right here in this circle!'" (online source)
In addition to the above article, Nancy Leigh DeMoss also spoke at a True Woman Conference in September 2012, and according to an article on the True Woman website, chalk circles were drawn throughout the conference room, and participants of the conference were encouraged to utilize these circles for prayer. And as a clever little marketing tie-in, the participants were sent home after the conference with little goody bags containing, that's right, chalk, so that they could all go home and perform their own pagan rituals, umm, prayer circles.

So if we are not meant to draw chalk circles around our big dreamy dreams and then ask God to rubberstamp our desires, how then are we to pray? Jesus taught us plainly in Matthew 6 that there is no ritual involved in prayer: we are simply to go to the Lord, and speak to Him plainly:
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:5-13)
My brothers and sisters, Nancy Leigh DeMoss's unexpected endorsement of the pagan ritual of circle making is simply more evidence that, just as in Moses' time, human hearts crave tangibility and ritual. And yet, we are meant to be a people who walk by faith, and not by sight.
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Cor 4:18) 
"For we walk by faith, not by sight." (2 Cor 5:7) 
"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1)
Let this serve as a cautionary tale for us: no matter one's pedigree or theology, any of us can be deceived and go astray. May we pray for ourselves and for each other that God might keep us pure and unpolluted from the increasing mysticism we find around us, not only in the culture at large but sadly, in the church as well.


 Additional Resources 

Chris Rosebrough Reviews The Circle Maker - Part 1 and Part 2

Comparing Chalk Circles to God's Word (Stand Up For the Truth)

The Lure of Paganism - Part 1 and Part 2 (Bob DeWaay, Critical Issues Commentary Radio Broadcast)

The Book of Hebrews: Our Firewall Against Paganism and The Desire For Tangibility (CIC Radio)

Tim Challies Reviews The Circle Maker

True Woman: We're In A State of Spiritual Emergency! (True Woman Conference article endorsing chalk circles)

More True Woman Conference Chalk Circles

Draw A Circle (Nancy Leigh DeMoss)

Monday, June 10, 2013

✭✭ Apprising Ministries ✭✭

Posted by Christine Pack

I'm writing a brief post to ask my brothers and sisters in Christ to please consider donating to the ministry of Ken Silva at Apprising Ministries. Because of severe, ongoing health issues, Ken has been unable to write or work for the past 6 months. Whether or not you agree with his style of writing, Ken has always been very buttoned up in the accuracy of his research and has been a tremendous blessing to the body of Christ and to those wishing to grow in discernment. This recent article posted at Apprising gives more details about the current state of Ken's medical and financial situation.

On a personal note, Ken's Apprising site was one of the very first websites I ever found when God began opening my eyes to the problems in the church today. I am blessed to know him as a friend and brother in Christ. Any donations would be greatly appreciated.

photo credit: Mindful One via photopin cc

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Andy Stanley: "The foundation of our faith is not the Scripture."

Posted by Christine Pack

(Thank you to Chris Rosebrough of Fighting For The Faith for capturing a recent video of Andy Stanley being interviewed, during which Stanley said some very concerning things regarding the infallibility of Scripture. The video was only briefly online before being pulled. The video can be viewed here.)
Andy Stanley, North Point Community Church, Atlanta, GA 
"The foundation of our faith is not the Scripture. The foundation of our faith is not the infallibility of the Bible. The foundation of our faith is something that happened in history. And the issue is always, who is Jesus? That's always the issue. The Scripture is simply a collection of ancient documents that tells us that story. So, when we talk about the Scriptures, and especially the reliability of the Scriptures, I think any time that we can tie, the Old Testament especially, back to Jesus, we have done everybody, Christians and non-Christians alike, an incredible service by letting them know, you know what? You can believe the Adam and Eve story is a creation myth, so what? Who is Jesus? And then to your point, when I deal with Adam and Eve, I'm quick to say hey, this is one of those odd stories. This is that story you heard growing up about two naked people running around in a garden. And who can believe that? And there are many creation myths. But here's why I believe this actually happened: not because the Bible says so, but because in the gospels, Jesus talks about Adam and Eve. And it appears to me that he believed they were actually historical figures. And if he believed they were historical, I believe they were historical, because anybody that can predict their own death and resurrection, and pull it off, I just believe anything they say......The foundation of my faith is not an infallible Bible. It's something that happened in history. Jesus came into the world, walked on the earth, represented God, was God, and rose from the dead." (Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Community Church, Atlanta, GA)
This is simply absurd. Megachurch pastor Andy Stanley is saying that he doesn't trust the infallibility of the Bible, he trusts Jesus, only Jesus. But how is it that we even know who Jesus is except for the Bible?
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) 
"ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Tim 3:16-17, my emphasis)

photo credit: Willow Creek D/CH via photopin cc

 Additional Resources 

Deconstructing What Andy Stanley Said (Chris Rosebrough's Fighting For The Faith radio show)

Is This Andy Stanley's Gay Affirming Shot Across the Bow?

Problems at Andy Stanley's North Point Church?

Is The Megachurch The New Liberalism? (Dr. Al Mohler)

Is The Megachurch the New Liberalism? (Chris Rosebrough's Fighting For the Faith radio show)

Homosexuality, Megachurches and Andy Stanley (Apprising)

Pastor Andy Stanley Responds to Questions Over Homosexuality Stance (Christian Post)

Andy Stanley Avoids Gay Issue in Last Sermon of Controversial 8-Part Series (Christian Post)

The Need for Elders Who Guard Their Flocks (Criticial Issues Commentary, Bob DeWaay)