Why I wrote the Pastoral Letter to the Cornerstone Board of Trustees

This video delves into the passion and concern that inspired and shaped the letter, as well as that of my collaborators in the project, Pastor Noah Filipiak and Dr. David Turner (thank you both).  This is from the heart and deeply rooted in the valuable education I received from 94-98 and 2000-01 at Cornerstone University.

A Pastoral Letter to the Cornerstone University Board of Trustees - Fall 2024

 

Pastoral Letter to the Cornerstone University Board of Trustees - Word version in Google Docs

*This letter, with signatures, will be sent to each member of the Board of Trustees after the 1st of December, 2024.*

To the board and administration of Cornerstone University,                             

This letter is written on behalf of the undersigned alumni who have been called to serve in the role of pastoral leadership within the Body of Christ.  

We write to express deep concern, as shepherds of the sheep, about the conduct of Dr. Gerson Moreno-Riaño as President, the approval of this conduct by the board of trustees, and the transformative vision that has been set forth for the future of Cornerstone University as first and foremost a market-driven career preparation institution with an identity defined by a political agenda.  We believe that on its current course, many pastors like us, and parents, will be unable to in good conscience recommend Cornerstone University.

Our experience at Cornerstone (and/or GRTS/CTS) involved much more than gaining knowledge and marketable skills that would enable us to have a successful career.  We learned these things, certainly, but they were not the heart of our experience.  We were not taught what to think from a singular viewpoint, but how to think critically and biblically in ways that would fortify us for the challenges of ministry.  We treasured as mentors and friends the professors and staff that were a part of our faith journey.  These God-honoring men and women were one of the primary reasons why Cornerstone was a valuable partner to the Church in furthering the gospel.

Our love for this institution and what it has meant to our lives and ministry has led us to react with sorrow and concern to the numerous credible reports of fundamental changes to the university and seminary, and the conduct of its leadership in effecting these changes.  These changes, and how they were made, do not reflect well upon the institution of higher Christian education that we once knew, or upon the reputation of the gospel.

Our concerns are centered around the following areas:

1. Toxic leadership that has manifested itself in repeated examples of the treatment of professors and staff in ways that are unworthy of an organization acting in the name of Jesus Christ.  This includes, but is not limited to, demands for unquestioning loyalty, intimidation of staff and faculty as well as ignoring their concerns, the purging of voices attempting to respectfully express differing viewpoints, and most recently, the abrupt revoking of the signed contracts of eight faithful faculty members, including nearly the entire Humanities Department and the seminary Dean.

2. A lack of honesty and transparency when communicating with Cornerstone’s employees, students, and alumni.  This includes, but is not limited to, the financial status of the university, the way in which professors and staff were terminated, projects and initiatives that were abandoned, and policies that were changed without input from those affected by them.

3. The vision championed by Dr. Gerson Moreno-Riaño {As expressed in his 7/27/24 Fox News essay} that leans heavily upon more profitable asynchronous online instruction, cheaper adjunct professors, and the purposeful diminishment of the Humanities Department.  We recognize that financial realities must be taken into account, but these realities cannot be the driving force behind what Cornerstone is and does.  Quality instruction for all students in the humanities is essential to the development of a robust Christian Worldview and ethic.  Without this instruction, Cornerstone University is losing one of the pillars of its character. 

4. Significant steps in the direction of aligning the school with one political party and one cultural viewpoint, instead of the Kingdom of God. Politicizing the gospel, by bending it to the right or to the left, is a grave theological error that marginalizes true brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world whose faith and hope are in Jesus, but whose politics or culture may differ.  Like the Church and all of its members, Cornerstone should seek first the Kingdom of God, not any transient human political agenda.

It is our hope that this letter will speak to the hearts and minds of board members, administrators, and Dr. Gerson Moreno-Riaño, and lead to meaningful conversations with concerned students, staff, and alumni in the hopes that the future of Cornerstone University will remain firmly connected to the Christ-honoring qualities that have been its hallmark for generations.

Respectfully submitted in our effort to serve and support the Church and the gospel,

To sign the letter, click on this Google Form link: Signature Page for alumni pastors

To sign the letter if you are a non-pastor CU alum or any concerned CU-stakeholder (parents, non-CU pastors, prayer supporters, former staff, donors, etc.), click on this Google Form link: Signature Page for all other stakeholders

For further information about the issues addressed in the letter: Voice of CU

The Voice of CU website has testimonial and documentary evidence that demonstrates how grounded this wording of this letter is in reality.

Pastor Noah Filipiak's podcast: 

Ep. 99 & 100: Dr. David Turner on Christian Higher Education + Power & Politics at Cornerstone University

Pastor Powell's previous blog posts on this topic:

The Cornerstone University I graduated from is no more, my daughter won't be going there.

"A singular focus on preparing students for meaningful jobs and careers" would be the death of Christian Higher Education - A response to the essay by Cornerstone University's President Moreno-Riaño on Fox News

John MacArthur's denial of the existence of mental illness is shameful, harmful, and outright false

 

Beth Moore, doctor criticize John MacArthur for claiming mental illness isn’t real - by Leonardo Blair, Christianpost.com

‘There’s no such thing as PTSD, OCD, ADHD,’ John MacArthur declares - by Mark Wingfield, Baptistnewsglobal.com

I've been married to my beautiful wife Nicole for nearly 23 years.  Nicole hasn't hidden from the fact that she has suffered from clinical depression since she was a teenager.  During our years together she has had good days and bad days, good years and bad years, with respect to this disease.  At times, she hasn't needed any medication or counseling in order to live her life normally, we thank God for the blessing of those seasons of relief.  But at other times, some brief and some long, she would not be able to go about her day-to-day responsibilities without support beyond her own willpower, prayer, and a husband who tries his best to make things easier.  She can't do it alone, and her husband doesn't have the power to fill the gap.  Why not?  Because clinical depression is real, and you can't overcome it with hard work or determination.  {National Institutes of Health: Depression}.  When things have been bad, my wife has needed the health of both medication proscribed by a physician, and counseling from a trained professional.  These supports are not an admission of weakness, they are choosing a wise path.  

This is reality, and it is one that millions of families in America, and hundreds of millions of families around the world, know to be true.

Pastor John MacArthur begs to differ.

After watching John MacArthur deny the danger of Covid19 four years ago {John MacArthur jumps the shark with COVID-19 response } and then later in the year declare that true Christians must vote for one party, and one party only, in America {Beware of the Political Church: John MacArthur declares, "any real true believer" can only vote one way. }, I'm not surprised that he's continued to say things that are both untrue and dangerous to the Church.  By proclaiming that mental illness is a fabrication, and that neither medication nor psychological counseling are of any value, John MacArthur has once more tarnished his own reputation and put his considerable authority (in some circles) behind ideas that will bring real harm to Christians and non-Christians alike.

“The major noble lie is there is such a thing as mental illness."

This pronouncement from MacArthur is made without any offer of proof, any data or studies, he simply asserts it as fact, but it isn't a fact, it is a lie (or a self-delusion).

"There's no such thing as PTSD. There's no such thing as OCD. There's no such thing as ADHD. Those are noble lies to basically give the excuse to, at the end of the day, to medicate people. And Big Pharma is in charge of a lot of that,”

This is a slap in the face of every veteran, police officer, nurse, abused spouse or child, assault survivor, and on and on who has suffered in the grip of PTSD.  One would have thought that we've moved past the days when General Patton felt free to slap a soldier in the face who was suffering from, "the shakes," but in reality there still is a huge stigma attached to mental illnesses, one that contributes to the woefully high suicide rates among those who suffer from them.  John MacArthur's conspiracy theory laden words will make things worse.

Is there a conversation to be had, rationally and with evidence, about the dangers of over-medicating, especially with kids?  Absolutely, but this isn't that, not by a long shot.

“We are trying to make clear to parents that behavior is essentially the result of choices that kids make and if you parent them properly, they’ll make right choices,”

Now the circle of harm grows wider.  Parents who listen to John MacArthur and ignore sound medical advice when their child has a real mental illness by refusing to allow them to be treated will also carry with them undeserved guilt when things go awry (as they almost always will because mental illness is real) because he has told them that good parents will teach kids to make choices that lead to good outcomes.  This is dangerous with respect to parenting even without the topic of mental illness attached.  Parents lead by example, they offer wisdom and boundaries, but children are not a math formula, sometimes loving parents who do their best have kids who struggle in life; that too is a fact.

“literally turning your child not only into a potential drug addict, but maybe a potential criminal because they never learned how to negotiate and navigate life in a socially acceptable way.”

Once again, a bold statement without any evidence or proof.

In the end, MacArthur paints a picture of those who suffer from mental illness as weak people who make all of their "bad choices" in a vacuum.  Thank God that our Heavenly Father doesn't judge us in this black/white way without compassion.

How does this pronouncement from John MacArthur about mental health make me feel as a pastor, a husband, and simply as a human being that has compassion on those who suffer?  Honestly, it is a mixture of sadness at seeing a man degenerate this far into self-destruction of his reputation and ministry, and anger because I know that people who fight each day against mental illness will be harmed needlessly by this nonsense.  The cult of personality around famous pastors enables foolishness like this, the Church is worse off because of it.

As a pastor, I also want to say this: If you suffer from mental illness, please don't hold back from seeking help, every pastor I know will respond to you with compassion and understanding to help you, and we all are willing to admit that we need the help of healthcare professionals to assist in the areas in which we don't have training and expertise.  

Please seek help if you need it, don't suffer alone, don't suffer in silence.  God bless all those who, like my wife and I, and so many others, know that mental illness is all too real.

Why Boaz Michael thinks the Franklin Christian Ministerium chose to oppose the work of the First Fruits of Zion

“I mean, we have a Torah club group in Oil City, Pennsylvania that is now multiplied to 10 different Torah clubs in that area. So you see like a spiritual renewal taking place, which is incredible. But yet the pastors that have 25 people in their church are coming against the work of the Torah club because it's something that is not in alignment with their historical doctrines of their particular denominations." -Boaz Michael on Messiah Podcast #29, 05/13/23, starting at the 32:30 mark

Until a fellow Christian church leaders pointed it out to me, I didn't know that the First Fruits of Zion had responded at all in 2023 to the Franklin Christian Ministerium's effort to warn the Christian community about their unorthodox teachings.  There are several interesting things in this short statement: 

(1) The assumption that numeric success equals spiritual renewal.  Just because people are participating in something, it doesn't mean that God is or is not behind that effort.  For example: the Prosperity Gospel, Word of Faith, and New Apostolic Reformation movements are all growing rapidly in the world today, does that mean they're advancing the Kingdom of God?  Are they proof of spiritual renewal?  Popularity is not a measure of true discipleship.

(2) The sneering shot at the health of churches in Franklin based upon a numeric valuation.  Its an insult, but it isn't even a true one.  Truth be told, the pastors who signed our original statement serve churches that range from 25 to 350.  Some of them, like myself, serve as a solo pastor, others have multiple staff members.  Some have one service, again like us, and others have multiple services every Sunday to accommodate the crowd size.  But, and hear this clearly, church size is not proof of faithfulness (or unfaithfulness).  Church size is not proof of righteousness (or unrighteousness).  Church size is not proof of God's approval (or disapproval).  

(3) The assumption that a pastor of a small church doesn't need to be listened to.  This is a problem that affects the Church in America on many levels.  Almost all of the popular books, podcasts, YouTube channels, etc. are focused on pastors of mega-churches, that is, on "successful" pastors.  Those of us serving faithfully in the 98% of churches that are under 250 people rarely have our voices heard.  The results of this popularity-based leadership have been disastrous as popular pastor after popular pastor who had been lifted up crash and burn one after another because too many of them lacked either the moral qualifications of pastoral leadership, or the wisdom to teach biblically.  But they were popular, so people listened to them, they were popular, so people followed them.  If a pastor who has 9 people in his/her congregation is speaking God's Word prophetically, working within the parameters of the historic/apostolic/biblical orthodoxy of the Church, that man or woman should be listened to far more than the pastor who has 15,000 people in his/her congregation and bestselling books galore, but is perverting the Gospel with materialism, nationalism, or any number of false teachings that will not stand the test of time.

(4) The assumption that our opposition is based upon denominational doctrines.  This couldn't be further from the truth, the pastors who signed represent in no particular order: Anglican, Methodist, Episcopal, non-denominational, Lutheran, Church of God, Presbyterian, and of course Baptist churches.  There is nothing "particular" about our united opposition because we represent a broad spectrum of historic Christianity.  What does unite us in opposition is our common defense of the historic Gospel, the kind of teaching affirmed by the Nicene Creed or the Apostles' Creed.  This is a basic, fundamental, and historic defense of the Gospel.  It has nothing to do with the secondary issues that differentiate a Baptist from a Lutheran, and a Lutheran from a Methodist.  In fact, the objections we have stated are equally at the heart of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches as well, they are teachings that precede by 1,000 years the Great Schism and the Reformation by 1,500 years.  Why?  Because we object to FFOZ based upon the New Testament where God has preserved the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles.  

Read the original letter that started all of this for yourself if you haven't, look at what we are objecting to: The Franklin Christian Ministerium's warning about the First Fruits of Zion 

{Note: Our objections would have been even stronger if we knew in Feb of 23 what we know about FFOZ in April of 24, what we knew then was enough to convince us all to reject it.}

The Trinity is not a "historic doctrine of our particular denominations."

Jesus' fulfillment of the Law as the ultimate and last sacrifice for humanity's sins is not a "historic doctrine of our particular denominations."

The Fruit of the Spirit as the test of true discipleship, not the keeping of the Law of Moses, is not a "historic doctrine of our particular denominations."

These teachings, and others like them, are what our ancestors in the faith believed, it was the Gospel they preached, and it was the truth they were willing to be martyred while believing rather than betray.

We didn't unite to oppose you, Boaz, over petty differences but over the core of the Gospel as it has been preached, received, and celebrated for 2,000 years.  

We didn't unite to oppose your organization, First Fruits of Zion, to protect our own turf, but the sheep that God has given us to shepherd and the spotless Bride of Jesus Christ, his Church.

I was asked to pray for a church that is being torn apart by a Torah Club

 

I was asked today to pray for a Baptist Church in Iowa ahead of expected turmoil this evening.  The pastoral leaders and I have been in conversation since February after they watched my initial YouTube video which explained why the Franklin Christian Ministerium had written a public letter warning about the teachings of the Torah Clubs.  As it turned out, this church in Iowa had a sizeable number of members who had been participating in their local Torah Club, a development that alarmed the leaders of the church.  They and I shared research on the First Fruits of Zion (the parent company of the Torah Clubs), talked through our findings, and in general supported each other in this processes of learning more about this false teaching and formulating a response.

Prayer is needed today because the pastor of the church and his wife are going to be meeting with a family that have been members of the church for 40 years, this family is a part of the group that recently began participating in a Torah Club, and when the pastoral leaders of the church (having fully researched the FFOZ) asked them to discontinue their participation in this unorthodox group, they refused.  Sadly, the report that I have received is that most of those from this church who now belong to a Torah Club  have refused to leave it when warned of the dangers.  The demonstration of unorthodox beliefs that should have sent chills down their spines, has fallen on deaf ears.  It is expected, sadly, that this family will be choosing to leave their church family at tonight's meeting.  Please pray for the hearts and minds of the pastoral leadership of this church, pray for repentance and reconciliation on the part of those who have gone astray.  Please pray that this doesn't split the church in the days ahead.

As someone called by God, and ordained by his Church, to fill the role of a shepherd of the sheep, it is deeply emotionally painful when the people we have invested our blood, sweat, and tears in decide that they would rather be somewhere else.  Even when that somewhere else is a church where you have a reasonable expectation that they will be nourished, it still hurts.  Believe me, I speak from experience.  But, when they leave and you know they're walking away from an orthodox understanding of the Gospel to chase after "another gospel" (that actually is recycling 1st century heresies), it doesn't just hurt, it is a wound that won't soon heal.  Shepherds are called to protect the sheep, to risk ourselves, sometimes literally, to protect them.  What do we do when they walk into danger of their own accord and refuse to heed our plea?

Stories like this one are the reason why I've devoted so much time to this issue, why I've written and spoke about it many times, and why I'm teaching a seminar on it starting on 9/11.  What is happening to the church in Iowa is the goal of First Fruits of Zion, it is what they believe must happen, and what they are doing their best to accomplish.  (During the seminar I'll show you the video clips that prove it.)  Please pray for them tonight and in the days ahead.  You don't need to know which Baptist Church in Iowa it is, God has known them since the day the church was founded, he will know who you are praying for as his heart aches for them too.   And please pray for me as I deliver my seminar, pray for the acceptance of this warning on the part of our Christian community in Venango County, and pray for those who have gone astray, may they return to the faith which our ancestors handed down to us.  Thank you.

** Update 9/5/23 **

The initial update I received from the leadership of the church in Iowa is that the family in question has decided to remain in fellowship with the church and continue dialogue on the relevant theological issues.  This openness to correction is an answer to prayer, may God continue to work in hearts and minds with respect to this family and the others from the church who have started down the unorthodox path of the Torah Clubs.  Thank you for your continued prayers on this matter.

Rethinking the Five Solae - by Jacob Fronczak, First Fruits of Zion's failed attempt to label Protestantism as inherently anti-Semitic

 

Before I begin, an important reminder: The First Fruits of Zion (and the larger Hebrew Roots Movement) is NOT a part of Messianic Judaism, the book discussed below claims to speak on behalf of that perspective, but the author and the organization he represents do NOT belong to it {"FFOZ does not represent the messianic Jewish movement", a quotation from an email I received from a Messianic Jewish Rabbi serving in leadership with the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues (IAMCS) He also wrote, "Messianic Jewish leaders universally reject One Law theology. FFOZ is not a messianic Jewish organization or ministry."}

One of the primary defenses of those leading and participating in Torah Clubs here in Venango County has been, "it's just a Bible study."  As pastors, when attempting to do our duty before God of protecting the flock from dangerous theologies and attempts to divide our congregations and Christian community, it is important that we don't use hyperbole by claiming that bad ideas are heretical ones, or that things that we don't personally agree with are actually affronts to God.  That sort of foolishness happens all too often, and people are rightly wary when a religious leader warns those in his/her charge to completely avoid an idea, organization, or movement.  If you're familiar with my blog, you know how often I've warned against the all too common habit in America today of labeling those on the other side of an issue as evil or claiming their ideas would destroy the nation or church.  With that perspective in mind, and the, "Why are you calling a Bible study unorthodox?" question in firm view, continue reading.

When it comes to the First Fruits of Zion (Torah Clubs), the evidence continues to mount that the warning from the Franklin Christian Ministerium was both warranted and on target {The Franklin Christian Miniserium's warning against the Torah Clubs and the First Fruits of Zion}.  After learning about this book (I just came across it yesterday), the case has only grown that much stronger.

Should Christians really participate in a Bible study designed and created by an organization that believes that each of the churches that you belong to are founded on inherently anti-Semitic beliefs?  If FFOZ doesn't actually believe such a loaded charge, and few accusations could be as damning if they were proved to be true, why would they publish a book built upon that premise?

The following quotations and commentary from Jacob Fronczak's book are pulled from the review of it by Rich Robinson as published in the journal Mishkan in 2021, you can read the full review here: Book Review of Fronczak, Why Messianic Judaism is Incompatible with the Five Foundations of Protestantism - by Rich Robinson {The quotations from Fronczak's book will appear in italics, the commentary from Robinson in bold, and my comments on both in ordinary text following them.}

In the preface to Rethinking the Five Solae, author Jacob Fronczak proffers the thesis that the five solae (or as more often anglicized, solas) of the Reformation are “themselves the root of Protestant anti-Semitism” (p. 2) and that “as they are normally understood, are designed to exclude Jews as much as Catholics from any definition of true and biblical religion” (ibid). These are serious charges, and so the book’s aim is “to re-examine the Five Solae from a Messianic Jewish perspective” (p. 3). Fronczak is himself non-Jewish, though moving in Messianic Jewish circles.

My comment: Is that not a serious charge!  That the very foundations of Protestant thought are the cause of Protestant anti-Semitism!  Let me be clear, the Church as a whole, Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant alike, has a horrific and evil history of anti-Semitism, I will not minimize nor excuse an ounce of it, and have on numerous occasions called out and denounced its modern manifestations.  Each and every cause of Christian anti-Semitism should be examined and reckoned with.  But to say that the theology of the five solas are themselves the cause of the sinful anti-Semitism in Protestant history is to label the entire movement's premise as evil.  Again, hard to say that the Torah Clubs (FFOZ) are just organizing and leading Bible studies meant to enhance the Church, when this is what they are willing to publish about Protestantism.

For those who need a refresher on the Five Solas (or Solae), here they are: sola scriptura (according to Scripture alone), sola fide (by faith alone), sola gratia (by grace alone), solus Christus (by Christ alone), and soli Deo Gloria (to the glory of God alone).

So, what powerful evidence of inherent anti-Semitism does Fronczak follow-up his explosive claim with?

Unfortunately, what the author really ends up addressing is misunderstandings, or misuses, of the solas rather than the way they are understood and utilized by responsible interpreters.

My comment: If all you have are examples of the ideas of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and the rest being twisted and used in ways they themselves would have rejected, it becomes rather ludicrous to say that their ideas are the problem.

"I aim to show here that when a proponent of sola scriptura studies the Bible, he is relying on something other than the inspired Word of God, whether he realizes it or not. Furthermore, I seek to show that those who malign the investigation and examination of traditional Jewish literature to illuminate the text of the Scripture are themselves ignorant of their own reliance on tradition and the usefulness of extra-biblical literature." (p. 8) In these examples I find the author to be tilting at windmills. Who denies that we should look to extra-biblical sources (Jewish, Greco-Roman, ancient Near Eastern) to arrive at an understanding of Scripture? Sola scriptura teaches that the Scripture is the final, not the only, authority.  And who are these people who “malign” using Jewish sources? They are not scholars, and I’m not sure that I know of any pastors or lay people who would argue that way.

My comment: Tilting at windmills (nice literary reference there), indeed.  It is a rare Protestant who thinks that a high view of the authority of Scripture negates the role of scholarship, archeology, history, and a host of other disciplines that help the Church fully understand what God was trying to say to his people when the Word was given to its original audience, and how that truth can in turn be applied in our world.  Each an every week I lead two Bible studies where we go verse by verse through the Word of God.  Those who have attended (and you can listen to the audio of them here: Bible Study Podcasts) will tell you that we spend an awful lot of time talking about historical context, cultural settings, textual and translational issues, and more, all in the pursuit of that very Protestant belief in sola scriptura.  Like Rich Robinson, I am at a loss as to who Fronczak is thinking of when he claims that Protestants don't utilize or malign extra-biblical Jewish sources as potential insights into the text of Scripture.

Furthermore, Fronczak repeatedly insists that because the solas distinguished Protestantism from Catholicism, they were designed to draw circles and exclude others. Defining boundaries, however, is a part of life. If you are some things, then you are also not other things. This is just a statement of fact. It has precious little to do with denigrating Judaism or Catholicism or anything else.

My comment: From 1517 onward, it was pretty important to offer explanations of why Lutheranism differed with Catholicism, why the Reformed differed from Lutheranism and Catholicism, and for fun, why the Anabaptists disagreed with them all.  Can you differentiate your belief system and or group from similar ones with malice?  Absolutely, but that isn't inherent in the process, to claim that the five solae do this toward both Catholics and Jews could equally be said (and equally foolishly) of every effort that any movement in Church history has made to define itself.

In his conclusion, the author writes that, “In considering the Five Solae from a Messianic Jewish perspective, we have at times questioned their usefulness—at least as they seem to be understood by today’s evangelical Protestants” (p. 131). This however, is a far cry from showing that they are at the root of anti-Semitism (they aren’t) and far from showing that as properly understood, as opposed to popularly (mis)understood, they are not useful (they are).

My comment: Again, Fronczak uses a 'we' there that doesn't belong.  He is himself a non-Jew, the organization he represents, and the movement that it belongs to, have been categorically rejected by the largest Messianic Jewish organizations.  That they think they have become Jews, spiritually or otherwise, by following this theological path, is part of the reason why the Franklin Christian Ministerium has chosen to oppose them.

Robinson's review concludes that Fronczak has failed, entirely, to demonstrate at all his explosive premise.  

"It is contradictory to claim to live a Jewish life in Messiah and at the same time deprecate Jewish tradition (sola scriptura), minimize the importance of good works (sola fide), claim that traditional Judaism is legalistic (sola gratia), distance oneself from organizational Messianic Judaism (solus Christus), and refrain from giving honor to those who have gone before one, those on whose shoulders we all stand (soli Deo gloria)." (p. 134) This is simply put, a raw caricature of what the solas stand for.

My comment: To destroy a strawman is not that difficult, but it doesn't help anyone, and it proves nothing.  It is hardly worth explaining why each of Fronczak's charges against each sola is nonsense, it should be obvious to anyone who has studied Protestant theology.  In brief only, then: (1) Sola scriptura puts tradition in a secondary place, it does not depreciate it or ignore it. (2) Sola fide is a summation of the NT's emphasis on faith, neither Paul nor any other NT author diminishes the need for confirming good works to follow it (see for example: Ephesians 2:8-10, where vs. 8-9 declare the supremacy of faith and grace, AND vs. 10 proclaims that God has good works set aside for each of us to do). (3) The theology of sola gratia does not call the Law of Moses legalistic in the way that Fronczak is using the word, but would indeed take issues with the same abuses of 2nd Temple Judaism that Jesus repeatedly crushed the Pharisees for upholding. (4) Solus Christus in no way is aimed at organizational Messianic Judaism, how could it be?  For those who believe that Jesus is the Messiah, Christ alone makes all the sense in the world. (5) Lastly, Soli Deo Gloria directs all worship and honor to God, as it should be, it doesn't dishonor our ancestors in the faith.  The author of Hebrews was more than capable of lauding the heroes of the faith who had gone before him without taking an ounce of God's ultimate glory, displayed in even the triumphs of those men and women, away from God.

When you set out to prove that the heart of Protestantism is inherently anti-Semitic, but only end up trashing Straw Men that we don't even believe, why would an organization publish and promote such a baseless attack?  

In denigrating the five solas, he both fails to understand them and fails to allow Protestants to speak for themselves as to their meaning...I simply fail to grasp his rationale for choosing the solas as his whipping boy.

For the record, I am a Messianic Jew; I’ve been part of both messianic congregations and mainstream churches. I have studied at a Reformed seminary, I learned my basic New Testament as a young believer from a Catholic priest, and I have had many conversations at Hillel in college and over the years during my studies of Judaism and Jewish literature. I have no Protestant grist in my mill to grind about the solas. 

My comment: Why do I see danger signs blaring loudly when I read material published by the First Fruits of Zion (Torah Clubs)?  If you we a pastor, and learned about a 'Bible study group' from an organization that believes these things about the Church, wouldn't you be?  

Is my role in the fight against the Torah Clubs (FFOZ) personal? Absolutely, and it should be, this is why.

 

The Mustard Seed Mission committee accepting an award for Outstanding Service from Venango County Human Services in 2012.  This was our team, and I'm proud of that team and what each member contributed, but this picture also includes, after they left us, those who went on to bring the Torah Clubs to this community.

On of the criticisms that has been aimed at the Franklin Ministerium following our decision to publicly warn the Christian community about the theology behind the Torah Clubs (First Fruits of Zion) {The Franklin Christian Miniserium's warning against the Torah Clubs and the First Fruits of Zion} has been that our action didn't arise out of sense of pastoral responsibility or Gospel fealty, but rather is personal in nature.  That criticism implies that a personal motive in such a case is a base motive, an unworthy motive, that somehow diminishes any claim to Truth we might be making.  While it is true that personal motivations can be the basis for abusing authority or power, it is also true that any confrontation that involves the people, places, and institutions into which we've poured our hearts and souls cannot help but be personal.  For us, as pastors serving in this community, to be dispassionate about this issue, and disconnected from it emotionally, would itself be a dangerous sign.  Do we really want pastors who aren't personally invested in what they do?  

The following reasons are why this issue is personal to me, it isn't an exhaustive list, and my fellow pastors who have taken this stand with me would have their own list (although no doubt with much overlap).  Consider it and decide if, "this is personal," really should disqualify us from speaking with authority; for all the reasons below I don't buy that at all.

These are fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

I'll lead with the most universal of motives, one that we all are required to share as followers of Jesus: Love for each other.  Given that Jesus commands us to love one another, in fact making the law of love the centerpiece of his New Covenant, it isn't optional, we have to love.  Therefore, anyone who has shown themself to be a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, someone redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb, is my spiritual brother or sister.  We are family.  When an issue concerns our family, doesn't it need to be personal?

I can testify that those who have taken up leadership positions in the Torah Clubs (2/3 of them here locally I know well enough for this) have demonstrated over the 11+ years that I have been in Franklin, a love for Jesus Christ, a willingness to serve his Church, and a zeal for righteousness.  I have no doubt of this.  

Which is why it troubles me all the more when I see evidence that these brothers and sisters in Christ are embracing Modalism (A denial of the Trinity and the Nicene Creed), or elevating Torah above the rest of Scripture, or following an organization that claims only those who keep Torah (think kosher, Sabbath, festivals) are the ones who truly love Jesus.  These are real people, that I know, who have gone astray, watching them do so had better be personal to me, and it is.  As a shepherd of the sheep, while they may not be in my flock, watching them wander off into the wilderness while spurning our efforts to call them back to safety, is painful.

In addition to the leaders who are known to me, the Torah Clubs have pulled in a number of committed Christians whom I know, whom I respect, and for whom my concern for their spiritual well being is very real.

I've worked alongside them previously on behalf of the Kingdom of God.

As the captioned picture at the top of this post shows, I once proudly stood alongside two of the local Torah Clubs leaders back in 2012 when we were all honored by the county for our role in leading Mustard Seed Missions.  In that first year, and for some time after, we worked together weekly, sometimes daily, to help those in need as these two individuals held key roles in our organization.  As the President of MSM, I relied upon their work and dedication as we turned that idea into something that has now helped over 1,700 families in its ten+ years of existence.  To have once pulled on the rope together in the same direction, and to have had success in doing so, only to a few years later see these same people that I once strove with striving now against my work, my ministry, and my passion, is hard.  To be forced to call them out (not by name, that's a conscious choice here) because they're harming those same things, and to now oppose what they're passionate about and have dedicated their lives to, can't help but be emotional.  We once were on the same team, I didn't change what and who I represent, but we find ourselves in opposition now just the same.

This is my town, my community, my home.

Baptist polity makes this one different for me than most of my fellow ministers.  I'm a free agent when it comes to where I serve the Church.  I'm originally from Michigan, and Michigan will always be where I'm from, but at some point after my wife Nicole and I moved here to Franklin in 2012, this became our home.  It started for me with my opposite corner of the 11th and Liberty intersection neighbor, Pastor Jeff Little, who was the first to welcome us and has since become a "friend closer than a brother."  It continued on with joining the ministerium where I was welcomed by Pastor David Janz, Pastor Scott Woodlee, and Mother Holly, among others.  We formed a bond, worked together, dreamed of what might be possible in this community.

In all honesty, and I've written and spoken about this before, Franklin was the first community that ever treated me with respect, that every cared about my ideas, and that accepted me in a leadership role.  That I was able to help create Mustard Seed Missions in this community, less than a year after moving here, is a powerful testimony to how gracious the people of God have been to me in this place.

For much of my time here I have also served as a member of the Venango County Christian Ministerium, an organization I helped start.  We bring together the Christian community throughout Venango County for a joint worship service on Thanksgiving and Palm Sunday, and have also over the years organized the observance of the National Day of Prayer and the 40 Days of Prayer during Lent.  It is known in this community that I have put significant time and effort into building ecumenical bonds among our churches.  The Church in Venango County matters to me.

This is also where my daughter, my precious Clara Marie, was born, this is her home, if I needed any more motivation to be invested in what happens here, that's one more reason.  Is it any wonder that when I see a threat to this area's Christian community it feels deeply and painfully personal to me?

This is my Church.

As a minister ordained to serve the Church of Jesus Christ, in my case as an American Baptist minister, the universal Church is my Church.  Whenever I hear of false teaching, of dangerous charlatans milking it for money, or demagogues using it for their own ends, it touches a nerve.  I have written and spoken against such many times over the years, but these dangerous always originated elsewhere, were a greater danger to other local churches than our own.  That doesn't make doing our small part any less important, each one of us who serves this Church faithfully is diminished by each person who uses it as a means to an end.  Each time it is harmed, our small piece of it is harmed too.

Whether we, as a ministerium, can convince the Christian community of this or not, everything in our education, training, and experience is telling every one of us that what the Torah Clubs (FFOZ) are teaching, and what they're aiming to do, will harm the Church.  That this movement is outside of the historic, orthodox, and apostolic tradition and teaching of the Church.  We also know that it is rejected by the history, theology, and leadership of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Churches.  Should not harm caused to the Bride of Christ be personal to every one of us who belong to it?  

This is my church.

Within that universal framework exists an untold number of individual churches.  First Baptist Church of Franklin is my church.  This is true on two levels: (1) This is where I worship, fellowship, pray, and serve, and (2) this is the congregation with whose care and protection I have been entrusted.  Thus both my own personal Christian discipleship which takes place within this congregation that I belong to, and the people for whom I will one day give an account before Almighty God as to how well I served as their shepherd, are at risk when a dangerous idea aimed at the Church takes root in our community.  For my own sake, and for the sake of my people, this fight is deeply personal.

The Torah Clubs are being presented as just another Bible study.  In reality, it is an effort to proselytize within the local church.  By the admission of the founder of First Fruits of Zion, the Church is the mission field.  It is not the Lost who are sought after to join this movement, but those already in fellowship within local churches who are being told that the Church (and their pastor by extension) has been lying to them about Jesus all along.  We are purposefully the targets, and taking us from the historic, apostolic, and biblical faith and practice in which we were raised is the goal.  I wouldn't make this claim lightly, but having read such things in their own published works, I'd be a fool to not take the threat seriously.  This is an organization that believes it will bring about the End Times by converting the Church to the practices of Judaism.

{The evidence of this motivation and goal:An Examination of the unorthodox beliefs of the First Fruits of Zion, their Torah Clubs, and the Hebrew Roots Movement in general} 

Let me add this, each of us who has accepted the role of pastoral leader has taken up a sacred trust.  We must not only preach, teach, and demonstrate the Gospel to our people, but we must also go forth, thankfully in this case not alone, to protect the sheep from the wolves.  Whether or not this is dangerous to us is not really a question we can entertain, it must be done.

This is my Gospel

The reason why protecting the Gospel is personal to me is clear: It saved me too.  At this point in my life I'm an ordained pastor, a leader within the Church, but I too was once just a kid who learned that Jesus died upon the Cross and rose again from the dead to save me from my sins.  I put my hope and trust in that salvation, was baptized, and began a life of fellowship in the community of believers.  Like that old commercial where the guy says he liked the product so much he bought the company, I'm a defender of the Gospel because I know what it has done for me.  When I sing Amazing Grace, the words are my words too.

So let me count the cost

We could, as a ministerium, have done nothing, we could have remained silent, we could have hoped that this movement would prove itself to be the latest fad, here today, gone tomorrow.  Lord willing, when we look back on this moment in ten years it will be with relief, it will be with God-honoring stories of how some of our fellow Christians lost their way for a time, but how the grace of God once more brought them home.  We pray that this will happen, but after many hours of discussion and research, as a ministerium, it was clear to us that we had a role to play, "for such a time as this," that we would have to take a stand.

If the local Torah Club leaders continue to embrace the notion that the proper form of Christian discipleship is to 'live like Jews' {Which is the bedrock belief of the organization whose teaching they chose to bring to our community}, doing so in the face of everything we as this community's pastoral leaders are able to do to show how false and dangerous this path is to them, if they will not repent, and personal and painful as that will be for me and the rest of the local pastoral leaders, our other task remains and cannot be set aside: We must protect the sheep from wolves that would devour them, and I make no excuse for that being entirely personal to me.

The Torah Clubs (FFOZ) remind us why we need an educated and accountable clergy - James 3:1 and 1 Timothy 1:6-7

 

The picture at the start of this article is the moment that Pastor James Frank, my mentor and the only pastor that I've ever had {he was at my family's church, Galilee Baptist of Saranac, when I was born, and was still there when I left to enter vocational ministry}, prayed for me while my first church, 1st Baptist of Palo's leadership placed their hands on me in a distinctly Baptist moment of ordination.  In the Baptist tradition, ordination is a local church matter, it may be recognized later by an association or regional body, but whether or not a person is worthy of serving the church in a role of ordained pastoral leadership is a collective act of the local church membership.  On the other end of the church polity spectrum, you have ordination's that take place under the authority of a bishop with a top-down ecclesiastical structure's approval.  In the end, while I firmly believe in the Baptist model of structure and governance, I can readily see that our system has both pros and cons built into it (both reality to the reality of human sinful nature), and so does that of the more tightly knit Christian faith traditions.  In our diversity, however, is woven a common thread: accountability. 

A Baptist minister is accountable to his/her congregation, they can vote him/her out for reasons both good and bad.  Additionally, if a Baptist minister lives in a way that is unworthy of being a pastoral leader, and/or teaches unorthodox and unbiblical doctrine, the church that ordained him/her can revoke that stamp of approval.  Similar checks and balances exist in Methodist, Episcopal, Catholic, and Orthodox (to name a few) traditions, they just flow more/less from the top-down instead of the Baptist's bottom-up.  Either way, we have a system of accountability, something that in theory will adhere to the Apostle Paul's lengthy and detailed requirements to be a deacon or elder.   Does the accountability of church authority work all the time?  Of course not, human sin has hampered it time and time again, but that accountability does exist, and that matters.

Which brings us to the current controversy here in Venango County revolving around the Torah Clubs (and their parent organization, the First Fruits of Zion).  As the Franklin Christian Ministerium's letter (link below) has pointed out, and backed-up with page after page of documentation, the teachings of this movement are clearly and repeatedly NOT apostolic, biblical, or orthodox.  

The answer from the local leadership of these organizations to the ministerium's effort could have been, "My God, we had no notion that the ideas we were promoting were so dangerous."  Or some such evidence of having heard the call to repentance, of heeding the collective wisdom of this town's pastoral leadership.  Instead, thus far, it seems our effort has had little effect.  We continue to pray that this will change, but the whole point of the theology of First Fruits of Zion is that orthodoxy, what the Church has taught and lived for the past two thousand years, is gravely wrong.  If leaving orthodoxy behind has no stigma, but rather is seen as a sign of God's blessing, how can an appeal to it be effective?  If Church History is supposedly one big mistake, why would anyone care that they're following a movement that mocks our ancestors in the faith?

Which is where education, training, experience, and accountability come into the picture.

James 3:1  New International Version

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

As someone who felt the call to ministry, and responded with years of formal training and then sought a position of accountable leadership, this verse has always spoken to me powerfully.  What we, the men and women called to lead the Church, have done is take no small risk.  By daring to be teachers of the Word of God, we invite the judgement of God upon ourselves should we fail to teach it aright.  I typically teach at least 2 1/2 hours of new material each week between my sermon and bible studies, all of it opening myself up to rebuke from God should I lead people astray; that's a weight on my shoulders, one I need to bear with humility and perseverance. 

We have a significant shortage of trained and willing clergy in America today.  That's no secret, and it affects virtually every denomination, especially as Boomer pastors retire in droves with smaller succeeding generations behind them.  As the GPS (Geographic Pastoral Servant) for the NW of the American Baptist Churches of Pennsylvania and Delaware, one of my obligations is to help churches conduct pastoral searches (in the Baptist tradition local churches bear this responsibility, nobody is 'sent' to the church by a higher ecclesiastical authority).  Churches, especially small rural ones, are having significant difficulty finding someone willing to serve their congregations.  The solutions, while they need to be varied and flexible, must NOT include placing people in positions of leadership who fail to meet the standards Paul set forth of character, experience, and knowledge.  In other words, untrained clergy are not the answer to anybody's problem, they would only make it worse.

1 Timothy 1:6-7  New International Version

6 Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.

The danger of teaching theology without church accountability has been made manifest in our midst as a Christian community.  When an outside organization, in this case the Torah Clubs (FFOZ) promotes unorthodox beliefs, and presents it as simply a 'bible study', who checks to see if what they are teaching is in fact biblical?  I am a firm believer in para-church ministry.  I've founded one (Mustard Seed Missions), helped found another (Emmaus Haven), and our church has consistently supported numerous such efforts including Youth for Christ and Child Evangelism Fellowship.  But, and this is key, these organizations are built upon orthodox teaching, they've never given us, as a ministerium, pause to have them operating in conjunction with our churches, they've never given us reason to worry about what is being taught.

When it comes to the Torah Club material, I have now read hundreds of pages of it.  On the surface, it appears to be a well produced set of materials, kudos to their publishing house, I'd be happy for them if what they were producing wasn't so dangerous.  It is possible to read a page or two of this material and get nothing more than what you would find in a typical biblical commentary on the text at hand, the kind of thing that I have on my shelf here in my office.  And then there's that one sentence, the one that hints at Modalism, or that other sentence, the one that paraphrases a NT quote by putting Torah in the place of the Greek term for law or commandment leading to a novel interpretation, or that other one, the one that claims that the good works that God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10) is the keeping of Torah!  A typical bible study this is not.

For an ordinary lay person, someone who has attended church for years but not undergone any rigorous theological training, the subtle distortions of theology coming from FFOZ in the Torah Club material might go unnoticed.  No doubt most of those participating here locally think they're just reading a serious bible study and have no idea that this organization is attempting to recreate the Church into a Torah observant community, that what they're consuming is an indictment of not only their church pastor but the very teaching and preaching of the Gospel as we know it.  

There's a reason why God chooses the sheep and shepherd analogy to talk about the church, not because those of us called to serve are any better than the laity, but because we've been given the tools and the authority to fight back against the wolves when they attack the flock.

There's a reason why the Church needs an educated and accountable clergy, what the Franklin Christian Ministerium has chosen to do by confronting the Torah Clubs is exhibit A.

"Who do you think you are!  What gives you the right to call this heresy!!"  If that thought has been expressed of late the answer is simple.  We are the men and women accountable to God for leading his church, and we've taken oaths to protect and defend not only the people of God, but the Gospel that showed them God's redemption in Christ Jesus.

The Franklin Christian Miniserium's warning against the Torah Clubs and the First Fruits of Zion

An Examination of the unorthodox beliefs of the First Fruits of Zion, their Torah Clubs, and the Hebrew Roots Movement in general

When our polity fails us: Baptists and immoral pastoral leaders, what Johnny Hunt's 'restoration' teaches us

 

On January 15th, 2023 disgraced former mega church pastor and former executive vice-president of the  Southern Baptist Convention, Johnny Hunt returned, triumphantly and defiantly, to the pulpit.  It wasn't at his former church, but one under the pastoral leadership of a friend.  During his sermon, Hunt utilized Psalm 119 to lash out at his critics {portraying himself, the sexual perpetrator, deftly as the victim}, and made a case for pastoral infallibility that would have blown away our Baptist ancestors in the faith. {For a solid article with the details on Hunt's preaching appearance: Johnny Hunt, Disgraced Former SBC Pastor, Makes Defiant Return to the Pulpit - by Bob Smietana of Ministry Watch or Here’s Johnny! Embattled SBC pastor back in the pulpit and will headline a men’s conference - by Mark Wingfield of Baptist News Global

Building upon the thesis that God would have already known that one day Johnny Hunt would attempt to have sex with another man's wife (she characterized the incident as assault, he called it consensual), something that would normally be disqualifying for pastoral leadership in any church that takes seriously the Apostle Paul's high-demands for moral excellence and character on the part of pastoral leadership in the church, Hunt declared, "When God calls you to do something, and you begin to think you’re no longer qualified to do it, hold on just a moment—you don’t think he knew your past, your present, and your future when he called you? He already knew that, and yet he still placed his hand and his calling on you.”  In other words, because God knew Hunt would one day commit this sin, and because Hunt is convinced that his life in ministry was based upon a call from God, that call CANNOT now be revoked no matter what.  The implications of this are staggering theologically for a Church that has had far too many abusers, rapists, and murderers, and the like in pastoral leadership: as long as that person was already "called by God", they can continue to preach the Word of God.  Perhaps Johnny Hunt would object, and draw the line somewhere (beyond his own conduct, to be sure) to say that some sin is disqualifying, but why?  God would have known about the most heinous of sins ahead of time (true enough), and that individual was working in ministry, and thus presumably "called by God", therefore beyond being disqualified.  We know that Johnny Hunt believes in this thesis, he famously led a "restoration" ministry that was once so lauded by the SBC that they helped his church expand it nationally, returning an unknown number of pastors suffering from "moral failure" to active pastoral leadership: Ministry to hurting pastors to expand nationally - By Tobin Perry, Baptist Press, 2013 

The pastor of the church that offered Hunt the pulpit, Jason Rogers, said this, "We are thrilled to host Pastor Johnny Hunt at HomE Church. No one has been more greatly used of God to influence my ministry or as a greater, God-honoring influence on my family. Like myself, everyone in our church family, and everyone in the world, Pastor Johnny has not lived in sinless perfection as a believer. However, contrary to the ‘woke’ ideology that has sadly consumed the SBC and many believers, the Bible is clear that all sin is alike before the holiness of God. Sexual sin is not a greater sin in the sight of God. This is why we all need grace, mercy, repentance, and forgiveness."  Aside from the stunning lack of insight into how this glee looks in the wake of the SBC clergy abuse scandal, Pastor Rogers also fails to come to grips with the fact that while the Apostle Paul didn't expect Christians to be perfect, himself included, but he did purposefully write that pastoral leaders must be "above reproach, faithful to his wife" (1 Timothy 3:2).  Forgiveness from God?  Absolutely, if the repentance is genuine.  Reconciliation with the people of God and renewed fellowship?  Absolutely, again if the repentance is genuine.  Jumping right back into the pulpit (and lucrative conference lecture circuit)?  No, no, no.  

I know that to write or say such things is to paint a huge bright target on my own back, and I'm ok with that.  I hold myself to this high standard that Paul requires as a pastor, and also as a husband and father.  I will never cheat on my wife, in deed or in spirit, as it would not be an "indiscretion" or "mistake", it would be a betrayal of everything I am and do, and just as importantly, guaranteed pain and trauma to the two people I love most in this world.  

So I say, can't we at least have this as a standard?  The ship may have sailed on having political leaders who are faithful to their spouses, but must the Church abandon this too?  Are we so hard up for pastoral leaders that we need to recycle those whose leadership included "moral failures"?  Do those cheering on Johnny Hunt not see the utter hypocrisy that the world sees when the champions of "family values" celebrate pastors who havw made a mockery of their marriage vows?

Where Baptist polity comes into the equation

In the end, Baptists of any denomination have little recourse in such matters, the SBC included.  When a self-appointed group of four pastoral friends of Johnny Hunt declared him ready to return to ministry, the current president of the SBC, Bart Barber wrote, "The idea that a council of pastors, assembled with the consent of the abusive pastor, possesses some authority to declare a pastor fit for resumed ministry is a conceit that is altogether absent from Baptist polity and from the witness of the New Testament. Indeed, it is repugnant to all that those sources extol and represent."  He went on to add that he would have "defrocked" Hunt if such power rested with the SBC president, but it doesn't.  Which is the whole point.  

Baptist pastors are appointed, and ordained, by local churches, as myself was by the First Baptist Church of Palo, MI.  The larger units: associations, regions, and denominations, have no power to do likewise, nor do they have the power to withdraw that local church approval because of immoral conduct or heretical teaching, only that local church retains the power {The local association can remove its recognition of what the local church has done in ordaining someone, or refuse to accept it in the first place, but that is all.}  Thus, unless the church that ordained Johnny Hunt were to act to revoke his ordination, it still stands in the eyes of Baptist polity.  Yet, even if they did, it would not prevent other Baptist churches from inviting Hunt to preach, a role that does not require ordination.  Long story short, there is nothing that any Baptist entity can do to stop Johnny Hunt from going on a victory tour and becoming a speaking celebrity once more.

We believe in local church autonomy for a number of reasons, having just finished teaching Baptist History and Polity, I could list them for you, perhaps another time.  Even so, we have to recognize the downside of that autonomy, such freedom isn't free, and in this case the cost to the Baptist reputation is high.

My thoughts featured by the Project on Rural Ministry (of Grove City College)

Recently I was asked by Pastor Charlie Cotherman if there was something about rural ministry that I might write for the Project on Rural Ministry (of Grove City College).  After a short period of thinking the obvious choice was to write about the lessons learned from the success of the non-denominational parachurch ministry, Mustard Seed Missions, that I was blessed to be part of the founding and have continued since it began in 2012 as its President. 

Stand in the Gap, Together: How Cooperative Ministry Can Empower Small Churches

Afraid of being called 'woke' or 'conservative'? Preach the Whole Counsel of God - Wisdom on this issue from John Piper

 

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (NIV) In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Acts 20:25-31 (NIV)“Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

At times it seems I'm writing a lot more, 'watch out for this craziness', and a lot less, 'amen to that brother/sister'.  The pessimist would say that there's more crazy floating around right now than wisdom, what choice have I?  The optimist would be sad that the crazy floats to the top and gets more visibility.  So when a story or article comes up that deserves our attention for speaking the truth, I'm happy to both read it for myself and comment upon it for others.

In recent years I have taken John Piper to task when he whitewashed the slave owning of Jonathan Edwards {The troubling whitewashing of Jonathan Edwards' ownership of slaves by John Piper} or when the President of his seminary went after Empathy as a Sin with Piper's support {The folly of the "Sin of Empathy" - A self-inflicted wound to Christian Fundamentalism}, and I cannot walk with him on his road of strict Complementarianism, although I was raised with this view and understand its argumentation.  However, the conviction offered up on this short interview is both timely, powerful, and biblical.

I've been preaching and leading Bible studies this way my whole life for good reason.  The pastor who mentored me as I grew up in his church, Pastor James Frank of Galilee Baptist Church in Saranac, Michigan, was a verse-by-verse exegetical preacher.  Uncomfortable verses?  Can't skip them when you're working your way through the text one phrase and sentence at a time.  Selective topic choices?  That's not in your hands, when you preach this way you speak on each topic as often as the Word of God chooses to do so.

John Piper Chides Pastors Who Ignore Biblical Topics So They Won't Be Called 'Woke' or 'Conservative' - by Michael Foust, Christian Headlines

Pastor and author John Piper says too many of today's pastors are ignoring certain texts and topics within Scripture out of fear of being given a political label they reject.

Piper, the former pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis and the founder of DesiringGod.org, urged pastors at the Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville, Ky., this month to be "radically committed" to preaching all of Scripture, no matter the subject.

There are plenty of uncomfortable passages depending upon the church that you as a pastor have been called to serve.  And in case you're wondering, there are uncomfortable passages depending upon the failures and temptations that have, or still do, cause you particular grief as a sinner saved by grace called to shepherd God's people.  Avoid the hard ones?  Skip the ones that might make things difficult?  If you're the one choosing a topic each week and choosing the scripture you want to use to support it, the opportunity to pick/choose looms large.  I know that some people preach powerfully and biblically using a topical model, I myself believe that working your way verse-by-verse through the Scriptures offers a discipline and a guardrail that benefits both preacher and hearer alike.

I sympathize entirely with men and women in vocational ministry who fear for their job and worry about their family should things go sour.  As an American Baptist minister my employment is at-will.  The church's members of churches like mine could (by-laws vary on the fraction needed: 2/3, 3/4) vote at any point to end our season at the church and send us packing.  For many of my brothers and sisters serving in this employment model, that can become a heavy weight to carry.

My wife and I spent the first half of our marriage (to this point) living paycheck to paycheck, putting things on a credit card so we could pay the electricity and the mortgage.  Now that I'm a father, with a daughter who loves her hometown, her school, and her friends, I can't imagine how I'd explain that we have to leave Franklin because dad told the congregation something they didn't want to hear and they voted him out.  It is because my congregation has given me no reason to believe in my 10+ years here that they want honey dripped in their ears that I can write freely about my brothers and sisters in ministry who tread upon thin ice.  If a congregation won't listen to the Word of God, they need to be challenged by it, if they reject it from the one called to shepherd them, they need to be broken by a spirit of repentance.  To skirt the issues and hope for the best is not a solution.  Healthy churches don't function this way.  For the sake of long-term ministry viability, some pastors are better off preaching the Truth, getting fired, and moving on to a church that is more concerned with what God has to say that hearing what they already believe reinforced.

Before continuing to interact with Piper's words, a reminder: There's a right way and a wrong way to approach any topic in preaching and teaching.  Discernment, humility, patience, and the like can go a long way toward bridging a gap between a preacher and his/her congregation on a topic, and tactlessness, arrogance, and a hot temper can turn even a minor difficulty into a full-blown crisis.  In other words, if you're being a jerk it may not be God's Word they've got a problem with. 

"Some pastors are so fearful of being labeled conservative, or fundamentalist, or progressive, or woke – or whatever the circles you care about [and] would look down upon – that they're going to avoid any kind of biblical command that would put them in some camp that they don't want to be part of," Piper said.

He then provided examples.

Given the climate you can see why numerous pastors are afraid.  The faculty of Grove City College just learned how dangerous even an anonymous charge (that turned out to have no real evidence) of being 'woke' can do, and how people they trusted can turn on them when such a politically charged bomb is being thrown.

I know that some pastors embrace being on the Red Team or the Blue Team, they proudly wave that flag.  Yet, as Pastor Piper is reminding us here, those who thump their chest the most about which team they are on would be the most fearful of having people think that they, gasp, have switched sides.  That pastors shouldn't be on political teams in the first place is a topic I've hammered at (going against the tide) for years, this is another danger that reminds us why: it corrupts your ability to offer Truth when your team embraces a lie. {The Myth of a Christian Nation - by Gregory Boyd: a summary and response or for a whole lot of depth, my six hour seminar: The Church and Politics}

"[They're] just not going to deal with racial discrimination, because they're going to get called 'woke,'" he said. "They're not going to deal with modesty or nudity in movies because they're going to get called 'fundamentalist.' They're not going to deal with the fact that we are citizens of heaven before we're citizens of America because they're going to get called 'unpatriotic.'"

Pastors should never be held "bondage to the opinions of others," Piper said. Instead, they should follow the model of Jesus, who did not care about anybody's opinion, Piper added.

In 2020 I was told (from outside my own congregation) that writing about racial reconciliation and the need for COVID-19 precautions was damaging my reputation/witness.  Except both of these truths were based upon the combination of factual evidence and biblical principles.  I love the people who offered to me that advice, because they thought they were saving me from myself, but I cannot agree with the assessment.  I may have on occasion not articulated myself in the best manner, but how could I pretend that God's Word offered nothing on either topic when our whole nation was talking of little else?  To offer truth without being political about it was no small task {since pundits have a $ interest in making everything political}, and I did my best with that self-imposed limitation, but my congregation and community needed leadership in both areas, if not for things such as this, why am I here?

I would add that in addition to not avoiding political hot button topics, a pastor must also be aware of his/her own biases and work to ensure that the way in which difficult topics are addressed reflects the text of scripture not our own personal beliefs on the subjects.  If you preach the 'whole counsel of God' but only from a Libertarian, Socialist, Fundamentalist, or Progressive viewpoint, thus explaining away or twisting the portions of Scripture that contradict and refute those viewpoints {And believe me, every human created political or philosophical viewpoint is in conflict with Scripture at some point, often many points}, you haven't given your congregation the Word of God, you've given them what you think the Word of God should say, a BIG difference.

James 3:1 (NIV) Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

"Don't you want to be free like that?" Piper asked.

This is the part of what Piper has to say that warms my heart.  There is tremendous freedom when you open God's Word and ask it to mold and shape you rather than trying to wrangle it to fit your desires.  For one thing, wrestling against God is a fools errand, you're not going to win.  For another, it elevates us above the petty, personal, transitory, and self-interested positions and policies that infect contemporary discussions of the issues.  Having a historical perspective is another big help, but nothing can compare with being able to say to yourself, "God wrote this, it has served the Church for two thousand years, my task is to simply walk the path laid before me."  

Additionally, pastors should be "so radically committed" to "all that the Bible teaches" that "just when people think they have you pegged, and in some camp, you bring something out of your Bible treasure that just throws them totally off balance."

I've surprised people over the years.  A number of those who knew the teenage version of me shake their heads when they hear or read what the version of me that God has been working on since has to say.  That hurts, I'm not going to pretend it doesn't, but my oath is to follow where God is leading, even if it puts distance between myself and friends, colleagues, even family.  Several years ago I wrote on a difficult topic, one that upset someone here in Franklin that up until that point thought, "I really like what this guy has to say", and while I always reserve the right to have been in error about something, I was writing according to my best understanding of what God's Word has to say on the subject.  Thankfully, after some productive back and forth, and even a few edits for clarity after talking to people about how my initial wording was received, we came to an understanding and were able to move forward knowing that we're both serving the Kingdom of God as best we are able.  Not every 'confrontation' with a congregant, community member, or especially social media commentor, on a difficult topic will end well, in fact most probably won't.  The call to speak the Truth in Love remains. 

"You've got to displease everybody sometimes, or you're probably not getting it right," Piper said. "... Bible people will love you for that. Partisan people who are more Republican or more Democrat than Christian, they won't love you for that. [But] you don't want them to love you. You want them to be converted."

Amen to that.

I am a Minister of the Gospel: called, ordained, and entrusted to shepherd the sheep

I may not look the part yet, but perhaps someday

In recent conversations, primarily online, a number of people have 'warned' me against speaking out about the reality of systemic racism and/or the deadly nature of COVID-19 and the efficacy of the vaccine.  Some of these conversations have included predictions that doing so will damage my ministry, my Gospel witness, and call into question my integrity.  Some have suggested that wanting to be right (i.e. know and share facts and truth) is a character flaw, or at least a waste of time when such issues are only matters of opinion.  I would be sugarcoating it if I said these responses didn't bother me; some of them, given my relationship with the source, have been deeply disappointing and emotionally painful.

What then is my response, how do I evaluate this advice in light of my own call to ministry?  The following is an attempt to respond, if you are one of the people referred to in the paragraph above, please read this in the spirit and heart in which I write it, as much as I value our relationship, these issue demand more of me.  If what you wrote/said was coming from a place of genuine concern, I value that.

Therefore, as a minister of the Gospel:

1. I will NOT disregard, dismiss, or 'other' those in need

When we first began working on getting a homeless shelter operating in Venango County {now called: Emmaus Haven of Venango County a wonderful organization my church and I are committing to supporting} there were a number of local people who shared a variation of this idea: "There are no homeless in Venango County, what are you going to do, bus them up here from Pittsburgh?"  This was factually inaccurate, those who work to help solve housing issues in our area were well aware that there are in fact a significant number of homeless individuals (and families) on any given day in our county.  Many of them are temporarily homeless, as opposed to chronically, but they certainly needed shelter.  Additionally, are we as Christians supposed to care less about those who are homeless in the Pittsburgh area?  Are they not our neighbors too?

Thankfully, the local churches of our county, together with our partners in the county government, were able to continue to move forward and eventually open Emmaus Haven.  Whether we see them or not, whether we know them or not, those in need in our community are human being created in the image of God, they are not an 'other', not a 'them' to be ignored.

I will not consider less worthy of compassion, help, and prayer:

A. Immigrants, refugees, and other non-citizens

B. Those who are homeless, downtrodden, and desperate

C. The who suffering with physical or mental handicaps

D. Those living in poverty

E. Those battling addictions

F. The unvaccinated or those otherwise lacking healthcare

G. Those who don't look, act, or think like me.

The list could be longer, or more specific, but you get the point.  As a minister of the Gospel, called to live by the Law of Love, setting up barriers to that obligation is a direct violation of my oath before God.  I cannot allow them in my own heart or mind, and am called to confront them when the people of God wrongly exhibit them.

Psalm 82:3     New International Version

Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.

2. I will NOT excuse, utilize, or encourage lies and falsehoods in the name of the 'greater good', in a misguided attempt to bolster my ministry, or protect my country.

This is the part that frightens me about the health of much of the Church in America today.  I see 'Christian' websites willingly spreading falsehoods because they bolster the Culture War narrative of the moment, 'Christian' leaders embracing easily disprovable ideas for financial or political gain, and much of it without significant pushback.  We seem to care more about 'winning' than the Truth, and that guarantees that the last thing we will be doing with respect to the Kingdom is winning.

A. Truth matters, honesty and integrity do too.

B. We all have opinions, we don't all have facts to back them up.  Opinions are not created equally, authority, experience, and expertise have weight.

C. A disregard for the Truth is a cancer within the Church, WE must always want to be, strive to be, and pray to God that we will be, walking in the light of truth and not the darkness of error/lies.

Titus 1:2  New International Version

in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,

Hebrews 6:18  New International Version

God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.

The cause of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is NOT advanced through lies, end of story. 

3. While matters pertaining to God, the Church, the Bible, and Christianity are my area of special concern, training, experience, and relative expertise, that does not mean I will MYOB or 'stay in my lane' regarding the issues that confront me, my family, community, country, or the world.

A. A prophetic voice is a calling from God.  My particular calling, as evidenced by my passion, the testimony of other Christians who know me, and my ability is to be a Teacher.  I will not ignore it or muzzle it.

B. When a minister of the Gospel grounds his/her opinion in a biblical, orthodox, and historic understanding of the Church, the burden shifts to the people of God to evaluate, weigh, and respond to it.

C. If you disagree with my conclusions without offering a biblically, orthodox, and historically Christian alternative, you haven't responded to the prophetic voice God has laid upon me {and tens of thousands of others, I am but one of God's servants}.

Putting B and C together, this is what frustrates me about much of the online, in particular, 'debate'    between Christians.  I see little evidence of attempts to ground opinions in biblical interpretation or the teaching of the Church.  I see ample political argumentation, far too much actually, and plenty of economic or philosophical viewpoints, but very little of it grounded in a Christian worldview, expressing a desire to evidence the Fruit of the Spirit.  It is not the secularists on the outside who are a significant threat to the Church in America, but those who have abandoned a Christian Mind within.

D. There is ample room to disagree within a Christian framework, even strongly disagree.  A healthy Church has diverse opinions within a Christian worldview.

Feel free to disagree with me, if you do so within a Christian framework at least we're having a healthy discussion, an 'iron sharpens iron' type thing, even if we cannot agree.

E. Opinions which are contrary to biblical, orthodox, and historic Christianity are NOT healthy for individual Christian or the Church and should be challenged by every minister of the Gospel.

Such opinions included, but are not limited to, those based in

    (1) Individualism

    (2) Consumerism/Materialism

    (3) Nationalism

    (4) Racism

    (5) Sexism

Philippians 2:1-5  New International Version

2 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

I will continue striving to fulfill my calling, hopefully speaking the Truth, and hopefully doing so in love.  As Luther was purported to have said, "here I stand, I can do no other."  May God enlighten us all through his Spirit at work within us.