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

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

Charismatic Chaos

Is That You, Lord? (Pastor Gary Gilley)

God's Will For Your Life - Radio Series (Pastor Bob DeWaay)

God's Will and Christian Liberty: Explaining God's Revealed Will and God's Providential Will

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

How Do We Discern God's Will For Our Lives?

Christian Dream Interpretation?

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)

✭✭ 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

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)

Maryland Judges Dismisses Most of Abuse Lawsuit Against SGM; Criminal Investigation Continues

Posted by Christine Pack

Most of the class-action lawsuit against Sovereign Grace Ministries, in which rampant sexual abuse was allegedly committed against children, has now been dismissed by a Maryland judge. From the Courier-Journal:

"Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Sharon V. Burrell ruled Thursday that nine of 11 plaintiffs waited too long to sue under the statute of limitations, which in Maryland would mean within three years of their turning 18.......Two other plaintiffs are under 21, but Burrell dismissed their claims as well because they center on alleged abuse in Virginia. Update: Burrell’s dismissed those two 'without prejudice,' meaning they have the option of re-filing." (source)

Attorney Susan Burke, legal counsel on behalf of the plaintiffs in the case, released a statement in response to the dismissal. From the statement:

"We (the victims and the lawyers) all knew about the statute issue at the outset.  But fighting for justice means doing so even against known obstacles.  We had a conspiracy theory to overcome the statute but the Court rejected it.  The victims are all brave and courageous people whose willingness to fight against evil has already made a difference in the world.  Also, please realize going forward with a civil lawsuit does not in any way prevent criminal actions – perhaps may even make it more likely.  And please keep praying, as we think the Court erred, and will be appealing her ruling.  All the best, Susan L. Burke." (source)

Attorney Bill O'Neil, who is also legal counsel for the plaintiffs, gave a brief interview with the Janet Mefferd regarding this latest development in the SGM case. That interview can be listened to here.

As O'Neil stated in his interview with Mefferd, it was known at the outset that the age of many of the victims had long since passed the statue of limitations, which was the stated reason that the Maryland judge dismissed most of the charges. However, the legal team for the plaintiffs had still pursued this lawsuit because they had hoped that the allegations that SGM leadership had systematically pressured victims not to seek legal counsel or help outside of the church when sexual abuse situations were uncovered would have weighed more heavily into the judge's decision.

My thoughts: This is a frustrating development to me because SGM leaders apparently worked very hard over the years to convince the parents of victims NOT to go to the legal authorities over weeks...... and months...... and years. Susan Burke, lead attorney who worked with Bill O'Neil on this lawsuit, stated in an interview that parents of molestation victims told her that, when they discovered their children had been molested and went to their church leaders, they were told by the church leaders "not to call the police," but rather to let the church handle the abuse in an "in-house" way. And yet, when the victims eventually did seek legal counsel after exhausting all means of justice/resolution through the church channels (again, as directed by church leadership), they were then told, oh sorry, too late.

Also, because of the way this has been played out, it appears to me that the SGM leadership thought it vital to protect their own reputations, and the reputation of the SGM franchise, over protecting the helpless. This strikes me as the ultimate in prideful, wicked pragmatism. Not to mention that the Bible is full of verses that specifically speak to the importance of protecting children, as well as the weak and oppressed (Isa 1:17, Ps 82:3, Prov 31:9, Matt 18:6 just for starters).

"Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow." Isaiah 1:17 

"Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed." Psalm 82:3 

"Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:9 

"If anyone causes one of these little ones--those who believe in me--to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." Matthew 18:6

For those seeking more information about this ongoing court case, below are some interviews by Janet Mefferd documenting the progress of the SGM class action lawsuit:

10/18/2012 - Janet Mefferd Interviews Attorney Susan Burke About Lawsuit Against Sovereign Grace Ministries ("I don't know how long evangelicalism can ignore this problem.") 

5/16/13 - Janet Mefferd Interviews Attorney Bill O’Neil Again About the Sovereign Grace Ministries Lawsuit

5/20/13 - Janet Mefferd Interviews Bill O'Neil Regarding Latest Details About the SGM Child Sex Abuse Class Action Lawsuit

6/6/13 - Janet Mefferd Interviews Boz Tchividjian Regarding the Silence of Christian Leaders Over American Evangelicalism's Largest Sexual Scandal to Date

10/7/13 - Janet Mefferd Interviews Boz Tchividjian: Are Evangelical Christians Worse Than Catholics on Sexual Abuse Response? (References the SGM Child Sexual Abuse Scandal)

  Additional Resources  

The Sex-Abuse Scandal That Devastated a Suburban Megachurch (The Washingtonian)

Sovereign Grace Ministries Survivors Website

Copy of Lawsuit Filed Against Sovereign Grace Ministries

SGM - Updated Statement on Reported Lawsuit

As Appeal Is Announced in Sovereign Grace Case, Joshua Harris Says He Was Abused As A Child

Joshua Harris Discusses Being Sexually Abused During Sunday Morning Sermon (25:10 marker)

Lawsuit Claims Sovereign Grace Ministries Concealed Sex Abuse

Flagship Churches Prepare To Leave As Lawsuit Charges C.J. Mahaney's Sovereign Grace Ministries With Covering Up Child Sex Abuse

Sovereign Grace Ministries: In Sex Abuse Case, Courts Shouldn't "Second Guess" SGM's Pastoral Counseling

SGM's C.J. Mahaney Gets Support From John Piper

Joshua Harris Drops A Bombshell

Posted by Christine Pack

Pastor Joshua Harris,
Covenant Life Church

Christianity Today is reporting today that Joshua Harris, pastor of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD, shared in a recent sermon that he had been sexually abused as a child. In talking about the abuse he suffered, Harris encouraged anyone hearing him who was currently being abused to go to someone trusted and seek help. (The sermon in which Harris discussed the abuse can be accessed here.)

What makes this admission all the more shocking is that Harris pastors what was once the flagship church for Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM), and Sovereign Grace Ministries is currently embroiled in a class action suit involving allegations of child sexual abuse. 

I want to make it clear that Harris did not state where the abuse he suffered occurred, so it is unclear whether or not the abuse was connected in any way to Sovereign Grace Ministries. But God bless Pastor Harris for speaking up, whatever the circumstances, and my prayers are with him.

For those seeking information about this ongoing court case, below are all interviews to date by Janet Mefferd documenting the progress of the SGM class action lawsuit:

10/18/2012 - Janet Mefferd Interviews Attorney Susan Burke About Lawsuit Against Sovereign Grace Ministries ("I don't know how long evangelicalism can ignore this problem.")

1/18/13 - Janet Mefferd Interviews Attorney Bill O’Neil About the Sovereign Grace Ministries Lawsuit

2/28/13 - Janet Mefferd Interviews Former SGM Founder Brent Detwiler About The Sovereign Grace Ministries Lawsuit

5/16/13 - Janet Mefferd Interviews Attorney Bill O’Neil Again About the Sovereign Grace Ministries Lawsuit


  Additional Resources  

Copy of Lawsuit Filed Against Sovereign Grace Ministries

SGM - Updated Statement on Reported Lawsuit

As Appeal Is Announced in Sovereign Grace Case, Joshua Harris Says He Was Abused As A Child

Joshua Harris Discusses Being Sexually Abused During Sunday Morning Sermon (25:10 marker)

Lawsuit Claims Sovereign Grace Ministries Concealed Sex Abuse

Flagship Churches Prepare To Leave As Lawsuit Charges C.J. Mahaney's Sovereign Grace Ministries With Covering Up Child Sex Abuse

Sovereign Grace Ministries: In Sex Abuse Case, Courts Shouldn't "Second Guess" SGM's Pastoral Counseling

SGM's C.J. Mahaney Gets Support From John Piper

Francis Chan Rebukes Mike Gendron?

Posted by Christine Pack

In February of 2003, Christian apologist Mike Gendron was invited by Francis Chan to give a presentation at Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, CA where Chan is the pastor. Gendron is a former Catholic and founder of the ministry Proclaiming The Gospel, which is devoted to explaining why Catholic teachings and traditions are unbiblical, and simply do not line up with Scripture. After giving his presentation at Cornerstone Church, Gendron was about to go into the Q&A section of his talk when Chan came onto the stage and prevented this from happening. He also expressed to the audience his concern over having invited Gendron to speak at his church, and that he thought parts of Gendron's presentation were "cold" and "sarcastic."

Mike Gendron (L) and Francis Chan (R)

The reason I'm covering a story that is ten years old is because Mike Gendron recently went on a radio show to discuss what happened. From the program notes:

(WVW 5/13/13) Mike Gendron joins (host) on this program. Topic: Francis Chan apologizes to his church, visiting Catholics and the secular media after former Catholic Mike Gendron finishes a message on the Biblical gospel. Chan shut down the meeting and stopped any question and answer time from taking place and then publicly announced his regret for inviting Mike to speak at his church. The apology was covered in the secular news the next day. Topic: What message was Chan sending to the unsaved followers of the false gospel of the Church of Rome? Can Chan be trusted as a minister of the gospel? (source)

This topic was also discussed by Dave Hunt and Tom McMahon in The Berean Call back in January of 2012, before Dave Hunt passed away. From the article, More Sparks Between Catholics and Evangelicals:

Tom McMahon: (H)e had this experience of going to this church and then, he was about to give a Q and A, and say, “All right, now let’s have an interaction.” (Pastor Francis Chan) stood up and said, “No!” He was offended by what Mike had to say, and he began ten minutes of apology to the audience! Wow! 

Dave Hunt: It’s sad that political correctness seems to rule the day. When it comes to Islam, we must be politically correct; when it comes to Catholicism, we must be politically correct. Rather let someone go to hell than offend their feelings. There is something really sad out there, Tom. Christians don’t think—we don’t recognize that truth is truth. It is black and white; you can’t compromise, you don’t dialogue with God, you don’t re-negotiate with God. The Bible has made it very clear exactly what the gospel is. It’s a matter of justice. God is the one who makes the rules. He created this universe; He created us. We’re going to have to go His way, and Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but by me.” But these people think that’s too narrow minded. 

The Catholic Church is not true to the gospel of Jesus Christ, as you know, but we don’t want to point that out because that might offend someone. Let’s let them go to hell. (source)

On a personal note, I have heard Mike Gendron's presentation which contrasts Christianity and Catholicism many times, and it is hard to imagine Gendron being perceived as "cold" and "sarcastic." I'm not saying he is infallible and might not ever sin in this way, I'm just saying it's very hard for me to imagine it. As I said, I've heard Mike's presentation a number of times, and I've also listened to him be interviewed many, many times on the same topic. But please don't take my word for it: if you follow this link, you will find a number of interviews that Mike has given. Judge for yourself if he is cold and sarcastic. What you will find, I believe, is that Mike's heart genuinely is to labor lovingly, graciously, earnestly and biblically for the truth. His desire truly is to help Roman Catholics see the futility of their beliefs, and their need for the all sufficient Savior of the Bible, not the "Jesus" of the Roman Catholic teachings who give a nod to Jesus, but not his all-sufficiency. It's not enough that they claim belief in Jesus, the question is: which Jesus? The Jesus of the Bible who made full payment for our sins on the Cross? or the Catholic "Jesus" who couldn't quite get the job done, and needs us to add our works to his work on the Cross to get us to heaven?  In closing, shouldn't we all, as Christians, be doing as Mike does, and laboring earnestly with the lost? After all, it is Bible believing Christians alone who have the life-giving truth that all the world so desperately needs.

"Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude 1:3)

 Additional Resources 

Proclaiming The Gospel (Mike Gendron)

Catholicism is Not Just Another Christian Denomination

Berean Beacon (former Roman Catholic priest Richard Bennett)

Catholics, Physical Suffering and Doctrines of Demons (Sola Sisters)

A Chart With Christian/Catholic Views Side-By-Side (Berean Beacon)

Testimony of a Former Roman Catholic Priest....From Darkness to Light (Berean Beacon)

Far From Rome Near To God (Amazon)

The Myth of Mother Teresa (Challies)

Mother Teresa A Lost Soul (Berean Beacon)

Mother Teresa in Her Own Words (Sola Sisters)

French Study Claims Mother Teresa Wasn't So Saintly (Washington Times)

Book: Pope John Paul II Self-Flagellated to Get Closer to Jesus (CNN)

Rick Warren Endorses "Catholics Come Home" Campaign (Sola Sisters)

Why the Reformation Was Important (Sola Sisters)

After The Darkness, Light (Post Tenebras Lux) (Sola Sisters)

Latest Interview About the SGM Child Sex Abuse Class Action Lawsuit

Posted by Christine Pack

[UPDATED: Former Sovereign Grace Ministries youth leader Nathaniel Morales has been sentenced to 40 years in prison, as of 8-14-14]

As we've documented in earlier articles, Sovereign Grace Ministries is currently embroiled in an ongoing class action lawsuit alleging child sex abuse dating back a number of years. Radio talk show host Janet Mefferd has been diligently reporting on the case by interviewing various attorneys involved in the lawsuit, as well as former Sovereign Grace Ministries leader, now turned whistle-blower, Brent Detwiler. From the latest interview with the attorney for the plaintiffs, Bill O'Neil:

Radio host Janet Mefferd: "Now, you have a lot of details in here, and obviously we can't go through them all, but for example, you talk about one pedophile who was convicted and jailed, and then came back to the church. I mean, to what extent did this sort of stuff happen, where somebody who was a known abuser of children, as you're alleging in this lawsuit, was allowed to be present among children and was not revealed to be a pedophile to people who didn't know any better?" 

Attorney Bill O'Neil: "And that's the real breach of trust that I think is at the heart of why these people came forward.....Someone who had already been convicted of molestation-related charges would be having sleepovers at his house with children where parents didn't know the details of what had happened." 

Mefferd: "Why, why in the world......" 

O'Neil: "The church officials definitely knew." 

Mefferd: "Yeah." 

O'Neil: "......and (the church officials) participated in defending him in the courts." 

Mefferd: "Just out of curiosity, when the sleepovers would occur, were they in conjunction with the children of the couple (at whose house the sleepover was held), or was it just, 'the leader of the church is gonna have a sleepover and a bunch of young kids come to my house'?" 

O'Neil: "(The sleepovers) were not always in conjunction with the couple's children. There were sleepovers at one pedophile's house, who― he didn't have any children."

Other interviews by Janet Mefferd documenting the progress of the SGM class action lawsuit:

10/18/2012 - Janet Mefferd Interviews Attorney Susan Burke About Lawsuit Against Sovereign Grace Ministries ("I don't know how long evangelicalism can ignore this problem.")

5/16/13 - Janet Mefferd Interviews Attorney Bill O’Neil Again About the Sovereign Grace Ministries Lawsuit

5/20/13 - Janet Mefferd Interviews Bill O'Neil Regarding Latest Details About the SGM Child Sex Abuse Class Action Lawsuit 

6/6/13 - Janet Mefferd Interviews Boz Tchividjian Regarding the Silence of Christian Leaders Over American Evangelicalism's Largest Sexual Scandal to Date

10/7/13 - Janet Mefferd Interviews Boz Tchividjian: Are Evangelical Christians Worse Than Catholics on Sexual Abuse Response? (References the SGM Child Sexual Abuse Scandal)

  Additional Resources  

Copy of Lawsuit Filed Against Sovereign Grace Ministries

SGM - Updated Statement on Reported Lawsuit

As Appeal Is Announced in Sovereign Grace Case, Joshua Harris Says He Was Abused As A Child

Lawsuit Claims Sovereign Grace Ministries Concealed Sex Abuse

Flagship Churches Prepare To Leave As Lawsuit Charges C.J. Mahaney's Sovereign Grace Ministries With Covering Up Child Sex Abuse

Sovereign Grace Ministries: In Sex Abuse Case, Courts Shouldn't "Second Guess" SGM's Pastoral Counseling

SGM's C.J. Mahaney Gets Support From John Piper

Rick Warren Endorses "Catholics Come Home" Campaign

Posted by Christine Pack

I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people." (Romans 16:17-18)

Now that Saddleback pastor Rick Warren has endorsed the Roman Catholic campaign Catholics Come Home, created to bring lapsed Catholics back to the Catholic faith, can he finally and officially be publicly marked out and separated from for the false teacher that he is?

“The mission of Tom Peterson and Catholics Come Home to bring souls home to Jesus and the church is critically important during this challenging time in our history. I fully support this new evangelization project.” —Rick Warren, author The Purpose Driven Life

 Additional Resources 

Rick Warren Endorsing Catholics Come Home (Apprising Ministries)

Catholicism Is Not Just Another Christian Denomination (Sola Sisters)

Why the Reformation Was Important (Sola Sisters)

After The Darkness, Light (Post Tenebras Lux) (Sola Sisters)


A Chart With Christian/Catholic Views Side-By-Side (Berean Beacon)

Testimony of a Former Roman Catholic Priest....From Darkness to Light (Berean Beacon)

Far From Rome Near To God (Amazon)

On The "Faith" of Mother Teresa: John Ortberg Strikes Out (Sola Sisters)

The Myth of Mother Teresa (Challies)

Mother Teresa A Lost Soul (Berean Beacon)

Mother Teresa in Her Own Words (Sola Sisters)

CNN Reports That Mother Teresa Underwent Exorcism (CNN Archives)

BBC Reports About Exorcism Performed on Mother Teresa (BBC Archives)

Being Missional The New Legalism?

Posted by Christine Pack

Professor Anthony Bradley of King's College has written an excellent article entitled The New Legalism: Missional, Radical, Narcissistic, and Shamed. In this article, Bradley cites David Platt and the notion of "radical Christianity" for contributing to this new legalistic mindset, and states the following:

"Being a 'radical,' 'missional,' Christian is slowly becoming the 'new legalism.' We need more ordinary God and people lovers (Matt 22:36-40)........I continue to amazed by the number of youth and youth adults who are stressed and burnt out from the regularly shaming and feelings of inadequacy if they happen to not being doing something unique and special. Today’s Millennial generation is being fed the message that if they don’t do something extraordinary in this life they are wasting their gifts and potential. The sad result is that many young adults feel ashamed if they 'settle' into ordinary jobs, get married early and start families, live in small towns, or as 1 Thess 4:11 says, 'aspire to live quietly, and to mind [their] affairs, and to work with [their] hands.' For too many Millennials their greatest fear in this life is being an ordinary person with a non-glamorous job, living in the suburbs, and having nothing spectacular to boast about." (Anthony Bradley, Associate Professor of Theology and Ethics, King’s College, New York)

Or to paraphrase Christian researcher Bob DeWaay, "Why can't we just be ordinary Christians, living out our lives fulfilling ordinary responsibilities by keeping a job, paying bills, taking care of our families, etc.?" In other words, there is a growing perception in evangelicalism that those who don't do Great Big Things For Jesus are somehow deemed inferior. That unless you've sold everything to go take care of orphans behind enemy lines while taking incoming fire, you're sort of a "second-tier Christian."  So unconsciously, but pervasively, there is now a mindset in evangelicalism that there are these "ordinary Christians" who live in America and take care of their families and work at their jobs, and then there are the behind-enemy-lines-in-a-third-world-country "Super Christians." And this new pietistic mindset of missional legalism sure does seem to prey upon the immaturity and folly of youth, doesn't it?

"For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge." (Romans 10:2)

For the record, please understand that I am not against missions. And neither am I saying that it's bad or wrong for Christians to go to third world countries and feed orphans behind enemy lines. What I'm saying is that the "ordinary Christians" in America and the Christians who go to third world countries to proclaim Christ and care for the needy are both important for building up the body of Christ, and both are vitally necessary.

"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." (1 Corinthians 12:27)

 Additional Resources 

If Platt's Radical was Radical

Pastor Gary Gilley Reviews David Platt's Radical

Catholics, Physical Suffering and Doctrines of Demons

Posted by Christine Pack

"(Mother Teresa) was 'anything but a saint,' the Canadian study authors found.......In fact, she found beauty in watching people suffer, the authors say." (Washington Times article)

"Pope John Paul II used to beat himself with a belt and sleep on a bare floor to bring himself closer to Christ, a book published (in 2010) says." (CNN article) 

Mother Teresa

There is a commonly held view today among both Christians and the secular that the well known Roman Catholic nun Mother Teresa was good and loving, and that she devoted her life's energies to alleviating the suffering of others. This view has been summed up in the oft repeated response that Christians sometimes encounter from unbelievers when they are being pressed about goodness, morality, and one's standing before God. The response, from the lost person whose conscience has been pricked, goes something like this: "Hey, I'm no Mother Teresa but I'm no Hitler either." In that statement, one can see that Hitler has been cast in the role of a person universally regarded and known to embody evil, while Mother Teresa is the antithesis to that: the universal embodiment of goodness.

But is this the reality about Mother Teresa? Was she the essence of goodness and selfless giving of herself to those who were suffering?

 Christian View of Suffering 

First, let's discuss the biblical view of suffering as compared to the Catholic view of suffering. The biblical understanding of suffering is that God allows and uses suffering of every kind (physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual) to sanctify believers and conform them more and more to the image of Christ, and that in the midst of these trials, Christians can entrust themselves to God's wisdom, goodness, comfort, and eternal purposes.

There are many, many Bible passages that speak to this, but here are just a few:

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." (Rom 8:28-29) 

"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." (Rom 5:3-5) 

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4) 

"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Cor 12:9-10)

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 8:35-39) 

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength." (Phil 4:12-13) 

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings." (1 Peter 5:8-9) 

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble." (2 Cor 1:3-4) 

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4) 

"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?'" (Heb 13:5-6)

(And of course.... the entire book of Job.)

So that is the Christian view of suffering: God providentially allows suffering, and uses it to sanctify us, to conform us to the image of Christ, to teach us perseverance, to grow us in compassion, and to cause us to love Him more, and learn to entrust ourselves to Him more and more. These are wonderful promises and blessings that the believer can hold fast to in trials.

 Catholic View of Suffering 

So what is the Catholic view of physical suffering? Roman Catholics sometimes go beyond the biblical concept of entrusting themselves into God's sovereign care during physical suffering, to the point of (1) actually inflicting physical pain upon themselves (as documented in this CNN article about Pope John Paul II) or (2) through not alleviating the physical suffering of others in their care (as documented about Mother Teresa in this recent article). From the French study that raised concerns about how Mother Teresa cared for those in her missions:

"At the time of her death, Mother Teresa had opened 517 missions welcoming the poor and sick in more than 100 countries. The missions have been described as 'homes for the dying' by doctors visiting several of these establishments in Calcutta. Two-thirds of the people coming to these missions hoped to a find a doctor to treat them, while the other third lay dying without receiving appropriate care. The doctors observed a significant lack of hygiene, even unfit conditions, as well as a shortage of actual care, inadequate food, and no painkillers. The problem is not a lack of money--the Foundation created by Mother Teresa has raised hundreds of millions of dollars--but rather a particular conception of suffering and death: 'There is something beautiful in seeing the poor accept their lot, to suffer it like Christ's Passion. The world gains much from their suffering,' was her reply to criticism, cites the journalist Christopher Hitchens. Nevertheless, when Mother Teresa required palliative care, she received it in a modern American hospital."

Many Catholic monks (and some devout layperson Catholics) follow in Mother Teresa's view of intentional-physical-suffering-brings-holiness, and self flagellate (i.e., cause physical harm to themselves on purpose), fast for days on end, sleep in the freezing cold exposed to the elements, wear painful metal implements attached to their own bodies that inflict physical pain, etc. They do this under the delusion that purposefully bringing about physical pain will bring them more holiness, and bring them closer to God, in much the same way that they believe the elements of the Catholic Mass give them little injections of holiness every time they partake.

Is this not the essence of demonic deception? I can imagine Satan laughing in glee at this wicked deception he's gotten people to buy into that causes them to create physical torment in themselves or refuse to alleviate it in others. After all, we must remember that Satan hates all humans because we are made in the image of God, and is like a roaring lion, prowling the earth seeking whom he can devour (1 Peter 5:8).

"Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons." (1 Tim 4:1)

This is probably hard for most Christians to comprehend, but please, if you have Catholic friends or neighbors in your life that you care about, take some time to familiarize yourself with some of their beliefs, and what Paul called "doctrines of demons" (1 Tim 4:1). Catholics need the life giving truth of the gospel, the true gospel, and to understand that there is nothing they can add to Christ's finished work on the Cross.

photo credit: TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³ via photopin cc


 Additional Resources 

French Study Claims Mother Teresa Wasn't So Saintly (Washington Times)

Book: Pope John Paul II Self-Flagellated to Get Closer to Jesus (CNN)

Rick Warren Endorses "Catholics Come Home" Campaign (Sola Sisters)

Catholicism Is Not Just Another Christian Denomination (Sola Sisters)

Why the Reformation Was Important (Sola Sisters)

After The Darkness, Light (Post Tenebras Lux) (Sola Sisters)

A Chart With Christian/Catholic Views Side-By-Side (Berean Beacon)

Testimony of a Former Roman Catholic Priest....From Darkness to Light (Berean Beacon)

Far From Rome Near To God (Amazon)

On The "Faith" of Mother Teresa: John Ortberg Strikes Out (Sola Sisters)

The Myth of Mother Teresa (Challies)

Mother Teresa in Her Own Words (Sola Sisters)

CNN Reports That Mother Teresa Underwent Exorcism (CNN Archives)

BBC Reports About Exorcism Performed on Mother Teresa (BBC Archives)


 Refuting ECT (Evangelicals and Catholics Together) 

In this very important work, several Protestant pastors got together and presented a biblical response to the ECT document calling into question its purpose, which is that Christians and Catholics can go forth together in a united front to evangelize the lost. Obviously, given this, purpose, we can understand that the presupposition in the ECT document is that Christians and Catholics are both true believers, and both have a life-giving message to take to the lost. But the pastors who gave a rebuttal to ECT explain why the 2 camps cannot join forces together, and that, while Christians and Catholics share some common ground and terminology, they have fundamental, core and foundational differences in several significant areas, chiefly in their soteriological views (i.e., how it is that man is saved). And that's the hinge that swings the whole door of salvation.

The response to the ECT document was broken out into 6 parts entitled "Irreconcilable Differences." There are transcripts of the response, as well as 2 audio teaching sessions.

Parts 1-3 (approximately 1 hour in length)

Parts 4-6 (also approximately 1 hour in length)

Some Food For Thought For Christians On Earth Day 2013

Posted by Christine Pack and Marcia Montenegro

Today, in case it had somehow slipped by you, is Earth Day. I began receiving notifications that it would soon be Earth Day about two weeks ago. In my email inbox this morning, I received "Happy Earth Day" messages from a t-shirt company, Aveda, a homeschooling organization, Williams Sonoma, Lindt Chocolates, and many others. But how should Christians think about Earth Day? And what, if anything, should be our response?

Let me first note that, when I was a New Ager, we were ALL about Creation worship, sometimes called Gaia worship. And please note the capitalized "C" of "Creation worship;" we sincerely thought creation was imbued with divinity. I didn't know it at the time, of course, but I was a direct fulfillment of Romans 1:25, which states that "They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator.....".  But I can honestly say that never in my wildest dreams, as a practicing New Ager, could I have imagined that one day the earth worship we had in our little fringe group would spread to the rest of the world and even into Christianity. And yet, I've seen Green Bibles, Green Bible Studies, Green Christian websites, etc.

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more." Rev 21:1

Now, it's not wrong, of course, to take care of the creation, but we must not give it more value than God has ascribed to it. God has told us in his Word that one day He will create a new heavens and a new earth. This means that this earth is of finite, limited use, and will one day be gone. And again, I'm not saying we should trash the earth: we are told in the Bible to be good stewards of it. But we must not revere it, and "Green" anything that I see inside Christianity literally makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up because there is a very fine line indeed between being a good steward of the earth in a biblical, balanced way, as opposed to letting your everyday decisions be framed by the environmental agenda. But to my dismay, I now recognize that this movement is so completely mainstreamed, that it often does frame our thinking in many of our decisions, from what car we will drive (electric vs. gas-powered), what paper products we will buy (recycled paper products vs. regular paper products) what items we will purchase (those produced by sustainable organizations vs. those not), etc., etc., with some kind of inherent moral virtue often implied in the purchasing of the "green" products.

Sadly, there are many Christians who are innocent to the agenda of the environmental movement. So as a former proponent of the Environmental Movement, I just want to sound a note of caution for Christians to perhaps be careful about what messages they might be unconsciously taking in, and to even be aware of the idea that there might be an agenda of some kind attached to a group that on the surface might look wholesome and beneficial. I also think Christians should be careful about which organizations they donate to, and to do their due diligence. Take for instance the organization Evangelical Environmental Network, which was founded by three pastors. That doesn't sound sinister, does it? But please look at this quote from their website, found by my friend and fellow researcher, Marcia Montenegro:

We urge individual Christians and churches to be centers of creation's care and renewal, both delighting in creation as God's gift, and enjoying it as God's provision, in ways which sustain and heal the damaged fabric of the creation which God has entrusted to us. 

We recall Jesus' words that our lives do not consist in the abundance of our possessions, and therefore we urge followers of Jesus to resist the allure of wastefulness and overconsumption by making personal lifestyle choices that express humility, forbearance, self restraint and frugality. 

We call on all Christians to work for godly, just, and sustainable economies which reflect God's sovereign economy and enable men, women and children to flourish along with all the diversity of creation. We recognize that poverty forces people to degrade creation in order to survive; therefore we support the development of just, free economies which empower the poor and create abundance without diminishing creation's bounty. (online source)

All right, that right there is where the rubber meets the road. It sounds so good on paper....as so many theories and ideas do, but try living that out. Many parts of this country have been hit hard by the recession we're in, and let's say a Christian man, wanting to make Godly choices and walk righteously before his Lord read the above call-to-action to only work at corporations that are sustainable, green, etc., and so he made the decision to do that because he felt it would be sinning otherwise. Should he starve to death, and let his family starve to death, if he couldn't find a suitably green company to work for?

As noted by Christian researcher Marcia Montenegro, this kind of thinking is "a type of legalism and judgment according to man's standards, and not God's. God tells the head of the family to provide for his family or he is acting worse than an unbeliever ('But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.' 1 Tim 5:8 - this goes for single mothers, too). That is God's mandate and that overrides working only for 'green' companies."

So as far as how Christians should think about and respond to, Earth Day, I think it's pretty straightforward: we should be guided by Scripture, not worldly wisdom about what products to buy or what company to work in. And as far as "evangelical environmentalists," how should we respond to them or think about them? For myself, I have certain criteria that I often hold in my mind when visiting the website of any kind of organization pertaining to be Christian. It goes something like this: What should I see when I visit a website that claims the name of Christ (such as the environmental site linked above)? Should I see Jesus Christ, the God-man, who came and fulfilled God's laws perfectly, and who died for sins, and was raised triumphantly from the grave to reign and rule over all the earth? Should I see Him exalted, magnified and glorified? Or should I see a rather worldly message, designed at piggybacking onto whatever trend is currently captivating people? Well, it's kind of a no-brainer, isn't it?

"For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."1 Cor 2:2

 Additional Resources 

Tim Keller's Environmental Gospel

Christians and the Environment

Earth Day: The High Holy Day of Paganism

Paganism: The Natural Default of the Human Mind

The Bible is Our Firewall Against Paganism