Have you ever noticed how the pimps usually want to have stuff both ways?  Paula White wasn’t satisfied to be the pastor of the Church Without Walls.  She also became a life coach and started working with Tyra Banks.   I have to admit though, I haven’t been keeping track of how many times she has appeared on Tyra’s show (if any) since her first appearance well over a year ago.  I guess being a “life coach” gives you access to a larger pool of money than if you limit yourself to taking money from the sheeple.  And apparently, her example has inspired other people to get on the Life Coach bandwagon.   Click on the thumbnail below and see who, besides Paula and Joel “Willow Boy” Osteen has joined the ranks of life coach. 

 

 

 

You may or may not have heard of Donald Hilliard.  He has been developing for at least the last fifteen years.  I first ran across him at First Baptist Church of Glenarden on the Kettering – before it was on the Kettering, led by John K. Jenkins.  He seems to be a step or two up from John K. but nowhere near the star power of T. Dexter, Cashflow, or Kenny Copeland.  If I remember correctly, he made it to bishophood five or six years ago. 

 

Now that he’s a bishop at the Church of More Money and Power in Perth Amboy (okay, I lied.  The church is actually called the Cathedral International —The Historic Second Baptist Church in Perth Amboy), New Jersey, perhaps he has decided to expand his repertoire and become a life coach as well.  Of course, since he’s a bishop in his real job, he can’t just be a life coach like Paula.  Donnie H.  is an EXECUTIVE life coach and a PROFESSIONAL mentor. 

 

Here’s what Donnie H. says about “mentoring“.

 

 “This is where visions become reality!” says Hilliard. “Even the most successful people in the world have mentors and coaches from Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Ken Chenault to Debra Lee, Melody Hobson, Dick Parsons and Kevin Liles. They are all incredibly accomplished people. Each of them have mentors who guided and helped navigate them to the next level in business and other areas of their lives. It’s not always easy to find someone who is willing to make the commitment to be a mentor. My heart leads me to share the gift of vision that GOD has given to me with anyone who desires to establish a secure course in their business and personal lives.”

Maybe I’m not getting it.  But it seems to me folks who claim to be Christian leaders (you know, the bishop thing) would be more Christ-centric.  But if you take a look at the original ad, you notice an interesting thing.  There is no mention of God.  There is, however, a big appeal to “ME”. 

 

First, a triple of questions:

 

1.  How many of you believe mentoring can be done in a week end?  Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me mentoring is a years long process.  It’s something you accomplish over a period of years as you are involved in another person’s life.  You could even say it’s a little like discipling.   Even T. Dexter knows this.  He has a long term mentoring relationship with John K. Jenkins.

2.  Do any of you really believe that by sending this pimp $175 and listening to him and several other folks speak for a week-end I’ll be mentored?  I doubt it.  The only things I’ll have accomplished at the end of the weekend will be the loss of $175 and the weekend.  Let’s ay one hundred people show up for the seminar.  Are all one hundred going to be mentored by him?  Or let’s say twenty show up this time and eighty over the previous three seminars.  Again, is he going to mentor all one hundred of these dudes and dudettes?

 

Third question:  What is vision casting?  I guess it sounds pretty good, but so does most of the techno-babble they spout on Star Trek:  The Next Generation.  If you’ve watched ST:TNG even a couple of times, you’ve heard Geordi or Data explain to the Captain Picard that the ship is a sitting duck because the Ion Flux Modulator is stuck in the manual position, or the High Energy Tachyon Conduit has developed a leak in the Magnetic Link Collimator. 

 

It’s the same thing with these people.  They put together a bunch of words until they come up with something that sounds impressive, even if it doesn’t mean anything at all.  In this case they settled on the words “Vision Casting.”  Yes, it’s the name of his company, but the combinations of words don’t mean anything as far as I can tell.  Maybe one of you Hilliard drones can help me out here. I used to locate people who had liens against them and collect on them for the owners of the liens and judgments.  My company was called Wolf Recoveries.  The name meant something.

 

Oh, and of course it’s not enough for this to be Vision Casting weekend.  The one they held in Atlanta (the greatest city in the South and my hometown, by the way) was a SUPER Vision Casting Weekend.  I’m not sure what the difference is between the two.

 

I’m still trying to figure out if this is a religious event or a secular one.  In the item I refer to by hypertext, Donnie H. mentions God.  But on the e-flyer, there is nothing but an emphasis on “me”, an experience, and promises of super vision casting. 

 

You know, I’m becoming more and more convinced that I am in the wrong business.  I mean, only in pastoring a bunch of sheeple can you go from being a humble shepherd to being the bishop of a big, multi-thousand member church, a professional mentor, and an executive coach, able to charge people nearly two hundred dollars a pop so they can learn how to cast visions.   Maybe I should go to that International Friends place, buy my doctorate and start making a few bucks.

Pulpit Pimps | 16 Comments »

 

If you’ll recall, toward the end of last month, Aubrey Thomas present several gentlemen as real live, authentic prophets. During the discussion, he directed us to a couple of sites. At those sites, the authentic prophets stated that there would be a couple of massive explosions, one on the West Coast and another on the East Coast. In fact, said part of the prophecy, the people would be running in the streets as they did at 9/11.Some place in the dialog, I agreed to wait until the end of the month (June is over) before I passed judgment on the authentic prophets. In fact, here is a quote from one of the authentic prophets:

The Lord showed me in a very sober way that the White House, The Capitol building and the president of the United States are coming under a severe attack. The inhabitants of Washington D.C. will run through the streets as did the inhabitants of New York City on 9-11.

The last day o f June was two weeks ago. I just checked the paper and guess what? No one is running through the streets in Washington DC (I live right outside of DC). As a result, I can confidently state that the authentic prophet’s prophecy DID NOT COME TRUE. That means he is a false prophet.

A question: Will Aubrey man up and dump these clowns? Or is he going to find a way to explain away their false prophecy? Though I would love for him to prove me wrong, I’m betting he’s going to find a way to explain away their failure.

We’ll see. I’ll post any comment he has as soon as he makes it.

Christian Living, Pulpit Pimps | 93 Comments »

And so it starts.  Zondervan and Thomas Nelson are being sued by a practicing homosexual (oh, excuse me, he objects to that term), they are being sued by an effiminate man out of Carlton Michigan.  The basis of the suit?  The two major Christian publisher are violating his constitutional rights and causing him emotional pain.  How are they doing this?  They publish Bibles that refer to homosexuality as a sin. 

Now I’m not a legal authority and I don’t even play one on television.  But it seems to me that law suits (now one of America’s favorite passtimes) may be the way for the secularists to shut us up and shut down the supply of bibles. 

Unless the judge dismisses the suit as frivolous (I think that’s the term), Zondervon and Nelson are going to have to spend money on addressing the suit.  And the homosexual/leftist camp has proven itself to be quite capable of tying up activities of which they disapprove.  For instance, when is the last time we built a nuclear power plant or a petroleum refinery? 

Here’s a rather depressing view of the future.  Just as leftists have worked at trying to sue gun manufacturers when their products are used in a crime, I can see these same leftists and secularists suing publishing companies to shut down the production of bibles. 

There really seems to be something about the homosexual activists.  They do indeed rail at not being accepted as normal.  Tolerance is not good enough for them.  They demand approval and the mantle of normalcy.  Adulterers are generally satisfied at not being stoned.  And none of them announce that they are in an adulterous relationship and expect people to praise them.  None of them flaunt their adulterous behavior (unless they are Hollywood actors and the such).   The homosexuals insist on flaunting their sin - and insisting that we approve of their sin and call it normal. 

Count on these people, and people who they support (Leftists like Obama) trying to do even more along these lines.  

Oh, and start memorizing your Bible.   

Note:  I should poitnt out that so far (as of 10 July), Mr. Fowler has not published anything in the blog he maintains on Obama’s site. 

(A tip of the hat to Search4Truth  for spotting the article and bringing it to my attention. )

Christian Living | 67 Comments »

(MN:  GaryV actually sent this in at least a week ago.  But I had to find a source to make sure the bejeweled ear was not, in fact, a modified photo.  I did.  I went an album apparently approved by T. Dexter.  And sure enough, he had his earring in his left ear in many of the photographs.  Sorry it took so long GaryV.  )

Apparently Jakes has caught some SERIOUS flack for his bling-bling, because he actually went to the trouble to have his enormous diamond earring AIRBRUSHED OUT of the wedding photos viewable to the public.  The following picture is a ”Before Criticism” shot.  Follow the link for the “After Criticism” photos…

And here is evidence that the “After” photo was done at Jakes’ behest by “Essence”, to which Jakes gave exclusive permission to disseminate the photos (likely for a sizable “offering”).

Essence Photo

I’ll just say that this action says quite a lot about Jakes as a man and a minister. Does having the earring AIRBRUSHED OUT mean he didn’t wear it?? No, all it does is give the APPEARANCE he didn’t wear it, thereby stopping CRITICISM.

Now, is there anything WRONG with wearing an earring?? Nope. So, why would he not simply stand up against the criticism?? Why is this man so weak-kneed?? Why is he willing to be blatantly deceptive rather than bear just some mild salvos from a few legalists??

Is it any wonder he crumbled like a stale cookie when confronted about homosexuality by the Gay “Christian” group SoulForce recently by allowing this unrepentant group to meet with top staff for “discussions” and a meal at the Potter’s House rather than abide by Scripture??

9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company WITH ANYONE NAMED A BROTHER, who is SEXUALLY IMMORAL, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner–NOT TO EVEN EAT WITH SUCH A PERSON.”

So what Does Jakes do to keep from having the world criticize him?? He tosses out the Bible and not only allows them to “keep company” with the high level staff at the Potters Outhouse, he has a meal with them too just to be certain he violated the ENTIRE command of Scripture.

Is it any wonder he can’t stand up Biblically to “Christian” homosexuals when he can’t even stand up against those who criticize his earring??

Is it any wonder he jumps on the secular AIDS prevention bandwagon rather than abide criticism for proclaiming Biblical call to abstinence when he can’t even handle his earring situation like a man??

Is it any wonder we can’t get a definitive statement on the Trinity from Jakes which would entail genuine criticism for his Oneness beliefs when he folds like an accordion over a mere earring??

Where are the MEN of God these days like Stephen, and Polycarp, and Agapius, and Wycliff, and Tynedale, and Ridley, and Cranmer, and women like Apollonia, and Blandina and a host of others who not only endured mere CRITICISM for Christ, but endure torture unto death rather than deny Him??

No, today we have willows like Joel Osteen and Rick Warren and TD Jakes rather than oaks like Luther and Spurgeon and Athanasius.

I know it’s just an earring, but it’s indicative of so much more, and makes so many of his other refusals to stand for Christ clear. He wants the adulation of the world rather than the reproach of the Cross. And he’s willing to airbrush ANYTHING out of the picture, including the Bible and Christ, to keep it.

Pulpit Pimps, T. Dexter Jakes | 112 Comments »

 

The following post was written by John Green in 1998. It was presented as a comment by Andrew Strom, a former Follower of Prophets (like Todd Bentley).

“Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed;  as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe.”

Noah Webster of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1787

“[W]hen the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man, who was governor of Pennsylvania, to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually.”

George Mason of Virginia, 1788

As history has shown, it is a common tactic for the oppressing force to gain control of a nation by seizing the means by which individuals might defend themselves. Once the citizenry are disarmed, it is a relatively easy matter to exert complete tyrannical control. It seems to me that the same principal holds true in the spiritual realm.

The New Testament is replete with warnings of false teachers and teachings, of lying signs and wonders, and of corrupt men who would seek to draw followers after themselves. God has not left His people defenseless. He has indwelt us with His Spirit of Truth, provided us with the example of Christ, His teachings, the teachings of the apostles, and all the other writings found in the Bible. There is a gift of the discerning of spirits given to some, but more importantly, there the ability to test all things and to be discerning, which is the responsibility of all believers.

If the believer is to be armed against the deceptions of the enemy, and to remain free from his oppressive regime, then he must exercise discernment with continual vigilance. If this defensive weapon is seized and taken from you, then you are easy prey for any who would desire to take you captive.

Because of these things, it is very disturbing to me to observe a trend in the Body of Christ today. This trend is to scorn and belittle those who would exercise their God-given self-defense weapon of discernment. Those who would obey scripture and “test all things” are mocked and ridiculed and labeled ‘Pharisees.’

It seems that the Church has fallen prey to the pluralistic, non-judgmental mindset of our present age. The one unpardonable sin is to question someone’s belief, or dare to say that it might be wrong. These new leaders demand you climb on the bandwagon, and if you cannot agree, then you must remain silent at all costs. They call for us to experience now, and evaluate later.

Adam and Eve had no experiential knowledge of good and evil. The Serpent called their attention to the attractiveness and desirability of the fruit, and enticed them to experience for themselves. In their later evaluation, they knew that they had been wrong to ignore what God had said on the matter, but by then the damage had been done.

Those who would remove the defensive weapon of discernment are binding the hands of the Church. They are preparing God’s people for the slaughter. Why are they doing this? Why would they want to expose millions to the myriad deceptions of the enemy with no protection? Why do they take away what the Father has given?

The Church is becoming a slaughterhouse slick with the spilled blood of saints who have been seduced by false teachers. The faithful plod forward to the killing floor, their trusting eyes fixed on their leaders. Error and deception runs rampant. Charlatans rule the bestseller list. Pseudo-knowledge is dispersed around the world, speeding through electrical synapses. Make no mistake. It is a battle, and much is at stake.

Let us examine the logic (or lack of it) behind what some of these leaders are saying:

“You have to experience it yourself before you judge it.”

This is pure nonsense. It is the method the Mormons use to get people hooked in (pray about the Book of Mormon and see if you get a ‘burning in your bosom’). You don’t have to experience suicide to know that it is bad for you. Christians are never commanded to authenticate a questionable spiritual experience by submitting themselves to it.

“If you don’t jump in the River, then you may miss out on the move of God.”

If you don’t exercise your duty to test everything and hold on to what is good, then you may be deceived. God is not in a hurry. If you are walking with Him, seeking to please Him, then He will guide you into all He desires for you. Just because someone proclaims something is a move of God, doesn’t make it so. Beware of the salesman who pushes you to make a decision on the spot. He may have something to hide.

“God offends the mind to reveal the heart.”

I don’t know what this is, but it is not Scripture. It is true that God’s ways may be offensive to human wisdom. Often though, this quote is used to say that if you are offended by something going on in the Church, then your heart isn’t right. The real issue is are you offended because what is going on is unscriptural? If so, then stand fast.

“Don’t oppose what is going on, in case it turns out to be a move of God.”

This is the argument used by Gamaliel in Acts chapter 5. Although this argument worked in favor of the apostles, it must be pointed out that Gamaliel was a Pharisee making a pragmatic argument. His was not a directive from the Lord on how believers should conduct their discernment. If something is not from God, ultimately, it is true that it will not succeed. In the time that it takes for a false movement to runs its course however, many lives will be damaged, and many souls deceived and damned. Look at the phenomenal growth and apparent success of Mormonism. Christians rightly oppose Mormonism on a basis that it twists and deviates from Scripture. Things which occur within Christianity should receive no less scrutiny. Or consider the works of Satan. We know that he will not succeed, but we certainly do not sit back and allow him to do his work unhindered. When souls are at stake, we cannot afford to sit back and do nothing.

“Don’t you want more of God in your life?”

This is a sneaky one. Of course, any sincere Christian realizes that they need to grow closer to God, and they desire to do so. This should not lead us to embrace everything that comes down the pike however. Part of growing closer to God includes obeying His commands to test and be discerning. The desperation of some Christians reminds me of King Saul turning to the witch of Endor. He wanted an answer at any price. The price he ended up paying was his own destruction.

Look for yourself. See how many times the New Testament references false teachers, false teaching. Using your concordance, look up the commands to discern and test, to not be deceived. Shake off the chains of those who would seek to bind you. Exercise your “Right to bear arms” as a believer.

“The healthy soul, like the healthy blood system, has its proper proportion of white and red blood cells. The red corpuscles are like faith: they carry the life giving oxygen to every part of the body. The white cells are like discernment: they pounce upon dead and toxic matter and carry it out to the drain. In the healthy heart there must be provision for keeping dead and poisonous matter out of the life stream.”

A.W. Tozer

Christian Living | 46 Comments »

 

One of the neat things about running a blog is the fact that I can focus on something to the degree that I choose to focus on it.

Recently, much to my surprise, I found out that someone has apparently confronted a nephew of John K. Jenkins, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Glenarden on the Kettering. And the perpetrator said some pretty rough things. The bull necked security folks have apparently decided that I may have been the perp. Would you care to tell me why they thought I might be the perp? Or is this an attempt to besmirch me and the site?

And you people thought I was being self-centered when I reported that the security weenies at First Baptist Church of Glenarden on the Kettering had been watching me the last time I went there.

These people don’t care about you. They are interested only in keeping the museum, mausoleum, and memorial going. They care only about making sure that John K. Jenkins, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Glenarden on the Kettering stays in the limelight and in the big dog wannabe seat.

As I said in a response to a reader, to my knowledge I have never seen the nephew of John K. Jenkins, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Glenarden on the Kettering. I don’t know where the kid shops. I don’t know what his mom looks like. I don’t know anything about any of them. More than that, I am not interested in any of them.

John K. Jenkins, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Glenarden on the Kettering is a pulpit pimp. I know he’s a pimp. And the longer I get to post comments on him, the more people around me will know he is a pimp. I suspect HE knows he’s a pulpit pimp. And I even suspect that as more and more people figure this out, and as they begin to understand how much damage he has done to them and their families, someone may develop an “I Was Pimped by JKJ” recovery and support group. I’d be glad to design and sell the tee shirt.

I guarantee you, I have better things to do than threaten some sixteen year old. As I said in the previous comment, this site is more fun than a human being should be allowed to have. It’s also quite legal and quite safe. I wouldn’t dream of jeopardizing it, my honor, or my freedom on some half-pint pulpit pimp.

Let’s see what happens as people begin to see just how twisted the pastor of First Baptist Church of Glenarden on the Kettering is. Let’s see if he has the testicular mass to stand on what he has been saying and doing or if he will fold like a rickety lawn chair.

Hmmm. Having people upset with him might make it difficult to actually enjoy the money and comfort he has extorted from the members of his clu- er church.

Pulpit Pimps | 106 Comments »

 

Okay people.

I thought I would let you know that come this Thursday, Melvin, the Benevolent Dictator. will come out of his little kingdom and try his hand/mind at a real time debate - with a full preterist by the name of Don Preston. Here’s the press release announcing the event:

June 26, 2008, 8 PM EDT:

Covenant Radio will be hosting another Eschatology debate between Don Preston and Melvin Jones.  This broadcast will be live as usual at http://live.covenantradio.com)

Debate details:

Don Preston:

Resolved:  The Bible Teaches that the New Heaven and Earth arrived at the time of the passing of the Old Covenant World of Israel at the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

Melvin Jones:

Resolved: The Bible teaches that the New Heaven and Earth is yet future, and will occur at the end of the 1000 year Messianic reign of Christ on the earth.

Mr. Preston is apparently well known in both Preterist and debating circles.  It should be interesting at the very least.

Christian Living, Pulpit Pimps | 80 Comments »

 

I’m a grandad, again.  Last week, June 18th, at 11:05 pm, Elizabeth Ruth Jones, daughter of William and Cara Jones, came into the world.  She weighed seven pounds, eleven ounces and was twenty inches long.  Though the mother was late and was facing a potential cesarean, she was able to deliver vaginally.

Oh, and apparently William was able to cut the umbilical to launch the child into this life. One umbilical down, one more in about twenty-one years.

Pulpit Pimps | 33 Comments »

Okay folks. I don’t normally write about politics, policy, or government. But things are getting kind of interesting – both here in the United States and abroad (places like Canada, just to the north). Maybe it’s the fact that I’m aging (I’m fifty-six now), or maybe, as I grow in Christ I really start to see things differently. Or maybe stuff is just getting bad. But whatever the reason, I can see more than ever that government is never the answer for much of anything. And if we (the Church) turn to government for solutions of any kind (you know, things like the Faith Based Initiative), we are doomed not only to be disappointed, but to be penalized as well.

Try to guess which country told one of its citizens the following:

“Mr. Boissoin and The Concerned Christian Coalition Inc. shall cease publishing in newspapers, by e-mail, on the radio, in public speeches, or on the Internet, in future, disparaging remarks about gays and homosexuals. Further, they shall not and are prohibited from making disparaging remarks in the future about … Lund or … Lund’s witnesses relating to their involvement in this complaint. Further, all disparaging remarks versus homosexuals are directed to be removed from current Web sites and publications of Mr. Boissoin and The Concerned Christian Coalition Inc,” the lawyer opined.

That’s right! It was Canada, the parliamentary democracy located just to the north of us.

“But Melvin,” you whine plaintively. “Nothing like that could happen here. This is a Christian nation.” That could be. But take a look at this article, also from World Net Daily. Here’s the story’s lead paragraph:

Two college-age men have a verbal disagreement on a public street that escalates to the point one allegedly grabs the other while hollering at him and the other allegedly pushes him away. Now the one accused of doing the “pushing” is charged with a felony hate crime and could face years in jail, according to Peter LaBarbera of the activist group Americans for Truth.

So why is the one who pushed the other away charged with a “hate crime” and facing five years in prison? It’s a hate crime because the one who was pushed is a homosexual.

Canada has gotten to the point that you cannot speak out against homosexuality. It’s not a theoretical possibility. It has happened. One man has been sentenced after being found guilty of “hate speech.” A second is being investigated for exactly the same offense.

Couldn’t happen in the United States you say? Ask Crystal Dixon , the former associate vice president of human resources at the University of Toledo, what she thinks about that. By the way, she was later fired.  This was for expressing an opinion as a private citizen, as a Christian. 

A question: Do you think Joel “Willow Boy” Osteen will ever get in trouble by preaching against homosexuality? Or how about Robert Schuller? Can you imagine either one of them saying “Thus says the Lord…” and preach a less than positive message about any of the outrageous behavior that is now being foisted upon the American people. The only thing Willow Boy was willing to say is that homosexuality is not God’s best for us.

Do you think Fast Eddie Long will preach against homosexuality if his tax exempt status is threatened? Or Creflo – what do you think he will say if asked about homosexuality if interviewed in Canada? He has already refused to take a stand once.  Why, as things get worse there, or here, should he, or those like him be any more willing to stand up for what’s right?

The pimps are not preparing you for the hard times that are surely coming upon us. As our nation moves further and further from the standards of the Bible, and as the government becomes more and more aggressively anti-Christian, it behooves you to find shelter in Christ, not a five bedroom MacMansion , a car you can’t really afford and membership at Club New Birth. I guarantee you the time is coming when men not only will not tolerate sound doctrine, they won’t tolerate your obedience to sound doctrine. Then what are you going to do? Claim that you’re the head and not the tail? I suggest you start memorizing Romans 8:35–39.  Now.

Christian Living | 94 Comments »

I’ll be out of town for a few days. My sister died several days ago and I am going to the funeral in Atlanta. She’s being cremated.

She became a member of a Baptist church (Woods Memorial Baptist Church in Atlanta) several months ago. I am planning on talking to the pastor to see what membership means to them. While she pretty much rejected Christianity in favor of Oprah’s hellish New Age trash, there is still the possibility…

Jan and Me

Pulpit Pimps | 89 Comments »

You know, I didn’t realize that wide-girthed weasels could survive for very long in their natural habitats. But apparently they can.

All of you know how virulently anti-catholic John Hagee is. I’ve listened to his broadcast on occasion and have heard him call them some pretty…uh… creative names.

But a couple or three weeks ago, the press brought this fact to the attention of the general public, the unsaved general public. According to Fox News he said something to the effect of:

Hagee, leader of a San Antonio megachurch, has referred to the Roman Catholic Church as “the great whore” and called it a “false cult system” and “the apostate church” — “apostate” means someone who has forsaken his religion.

This kind of language didn’t go over very well with the Catholics, the Democrats, or the Republicans. A firestorm ignited around McCain and, by extension, Hagee. Hagee had spoken his mind and got unexpectedly hammered by the press. I’ll be the portly preacher was a bit surprised by the whole thing.

After a month plus of constant complaints from the press, comparisons to Reverend J Wright, and other such experiences, Hagee apparently had a major epiphany (are there minor epiphanies?). Here’s a portion of the letter the rotund reverend wrote to the Catholic League:

“Out of a desire to advance greater unity among Catholics and Evangelicals in promoting the common good, I want to express my deep regret for any comments that Catholics have found hurtful. After engaging in constructive dialogue with Catholic friends and leaders, I now have an improved understanding of the Catholic Church, its relation to the Jewish faith, and the history of anti-Catholicism.” [WSJ]

Again these people prove they are not the equal of the Reformers. Here’s what Martin Luther said about the Catholic Church/pope:

If the pope were the head of the Christian Church, then the Church were a monster with two heads, seeing that St. Paul says that Christ is her head. The pope may well be, and is, the head of the false Church. Where the linnet is, there is also the cuckoo, for he thinks his song a thousand times better than the linnet’s. Even thus, the pope places himself in the Church, and so that his song may be heard, overcrows the Church. The cuckoo is good for something, in that its appearance gives tidings that summer is at hand; so the pope serves to show us that the last day of judgment approaches. There are many that think I am too fierce against popedom; on the contrary, I complain that I am, alas! too mild; I wish I could breathe out lightning against pope and popedom, and that every word were a thunderbolt. [Luther]

And I daresay he never apologized.

So then is Hagee saying Catholocism is as valid as Christianity? Is he saying that the two are compatible and that we should work together to make the world a better place? It seems to me he’s going to have a hard time explaining the flip-flop to his congregation. I mean, one minute the Catholic Church is just one step below the Antichrist, or at least in bed with him. And the next the church is an entity with which we should have greater unity.

Huh?! Greater unity? What exactly would this unity be based on? Sure, I as an individual can work with Catholics to get stuff done. I can hire them to work in the soup kitchen with me. But do you really think First Baptist Church of Dirtpoor Idaho should join forces with the Church of the Sacred Dirt Scratchers across the street to run a homeless shelter?

While I wouldn’t call the Catholic Church the “great whore,” let’s face it – Catholicism is not consistent with the Bible and people who follow its doctrines will die in their sins. Are the members horrible monsters who want to corrupt the world and make way for the antichrist? Certainly not. My brother and his wife are Catholic and they are nice people. All his children are Catholic. Are they little mini-Harlots? No! Are they Christians? Not from what I can tell, and certainly not as a result of what they believe. But they aren’t horned demons waiting to lure people to their doom either.

If Hagee believed what he said, he should stick with it. And if it makes McCain’s life more difficult, I’m not seeing that as a problem. I never did much like McCain anyway.

Hagee | 29 Comments »

It’s like dealing with Freddy Kreuger or that fellow in the hockey mask. You think you’re rid of the guy and – SURPRISE!! – he pops up again.

Take a look at the web flyer. Yeah, it’s old. The event happened late last month. But the good thing about examples of pimpery is the fact that they are timeless. A pimp event last month is as good an example as a pimp event planned for next month. The only difference is that I might be able to warn some of you away from one scheduled for next month. But I digress.

Take a couple of minutes, go back to the flyer and read it. Try to read all of it, all the details. When you get back, I have a few questions.

First question: Other than supposedly being orchestrated by God, what has God got to do with any of the goings on at the conference? I did a little bit of digging around and many of the speakers are pastors, either of their own churches or along with their husbands. How is this consistent with Scripture?

Second question: How many times have these people offered conferences to help you overcome past hurts, setbacks, and misunderstandings? It seems that between them and Jakes, the women are loosed, restored, transformed and enlightened at least once a week. If folks are attending a functioning church, isn’t that what the people around them are for? Why do you have to travel to another county or state to overcome? Besides, isn’t that overcoming done through the Spirit of God? (Yeah, I know it was more than one question. But as the writer, editor, and publisher of this blog I get to do that every once in a while.)

Third question: Why is that loser JunieB presenting ANYTHING at this conference? Apparently her entire life consists not just of being hurt, but hurting as well. I mean, for goodness sake, JunieB telling us about being a winner is like ex-New York Governor Spitzer telling us about chastity. Or Bill Clinton telling us about honesty.

Fourth question: If this event is so much about Christ, why do they have such things as regular seating and VIP seating? Does the extra 15 bucks make me more important than the slob that comes in with only $25? Do I get to rub elbows with the speakers?

Fifth question: Is it just me or is Bridget actually something of a middle aged babe?

Pulpit Pimps, The Hilliards | 69 Comments »

Some things stay the same no matter where you go, no matter who does it.

The following is an example of what bad doctrine can do. Sincerity is nice. I’m sure all the women writhing on the floor in front of the prophet are sincere. I suspect even the prophet and her translators are sincere as they speak for God and translate.

Of course I would have thought this would be a perfect opportunity for the gift of tongues to be used. But even when everybody broke out in tongues (which sounded awfully similar to the ones we hear back here in the States) no one seemed to be able to understand what was being said.

On the other hand, with the cacophony of shouting and wailing, I’m not sure anyone would have been able to hear a message anyway. Even the prophet got drowned out after a while.

By the way, notice that the “prophet” saw an angle and a white cloud as well. I wonder if they know our buddy Todd.

By the way, thanks to Aubrey. I spotted this clip while I was watching the clips about the man who was raised from the dead.

Christian Living | 35 Comments »

Every once in a while you just want to let people know how things are going with you. And it’s not that everything is going exactly right, just that the things that are going right really make life seem pretty good. (Translation: I’d like to take a moment to exercise my parent/grandparent bragging rights.)

I’ve been kind of busy over the last month or so (around May 16, 2008) and kind of preoccupied. But here are some of the things I was preoccupied with.

My number two son graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore Campus last week. The university awarded him his MD during their graduation ceremony at 8 o’clock in the morning. He is now Dr. Jones.

He has been working his tail off for the last three years and the payoff finally arrived.

If you remember, he is in the Army (though he was Reserves during school). Right after graduation he was re-commissioned as a captain. And at the end of the month he is to report to Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu to complete his residency. And you’re right, that’s going to be a tough tour. But I guess someone has to make the sacrifice and do it. Too bad though. That means I won’t be able to mooch any kind of free medical care.

Grandson number one (Avery) had a birthday. He is now one year old. His parents had a big bash for him last month. Here’s a solemn looking picture of the little munchkin.

Finally, son number three and his wife are pregnant. They are stationed in Korea, Osan AB. Actually, SHE is stationed at Osan. He is a contractor maintaining sensing devices to support her Air Force unit.

The baby is due in about ten days. They already know the child is a girl and have named her Elizabeth Ruth Jones. Elizabeth is the name of one of the Great-grandmothers on the wife’s side. I’ll likely post a couple of picture of the new baby and the parents shortly after the event.

Uncategorized | 44 Comments »

(MN: The quote is actually from an author by the name of Ryan. It is published through Todd’s site and apparently has his full blessing. However, I mistakenly attributed this specific quote to Todd. )

This is the new face of Christianity, complete with chin stud and brow piercing.

This guy is like the WoFers on steroids. Here’s an except from one of his sermons:

In recent months, the Lord has taken me up several times, in the Spirit, to a particular place in the Heavenly realm. I call this place the land of promises. This place was lush and flourishing with the life of God. The very atmosphere of this place was radiating with the presence of the Lord. It had the feeling of Spring when all things are new and refreshing. All around I could see rainbows reminding me of the promises of God throughout His word and the personal promises and prophecies that have been delivered from His mouth to His people throughout history. I instinctively knew that this was the place where these promises were found, activated, and brought down to the earth realm. God is currently speaking something at this time to the Body of Christ about His promises and the fulfillment of them in these end-times. (Fresh Fire)

Like the rest of the Five Fold/Apostolic/Fresh Revelation crowd, this guy is more than willing to deliver a message that is purely experience based.

This first paragraph, from a “sermon” he delivered is pure experience and completely divorced from anything in the Bible. For instance:

1. The Lord has taken me up several times – And how, exactly, do we know that this experience you had is from God and not Chipotle’s?

2. “The place was lush and flourishing with the life of God” – This sounds nice, but what does it mean?

3. “Atmosphere radiating with the presence of God” – Not only does he make heavy use of the usual Five Fold and WoF language (atmosphere this and atmosphere that), but he even pulls in the “presence” deal. When Israel experienced the presence of God in the Temple, and they had to get out of there. Others got an overwhelming sense of their own unworthiness.

4. “All around me I could see rainbows”… - So how did he know he wasn’t at a Lamda (i.e. homosexual) convention or something?

5. He instinctively knew that the place he was in was the place where God’s promises were found, activated, and brought down to the earth realm – Okay, is this like one of the warehouses that the rest of the WoF flakes natter on about?

6. “God is currently speaking something at this time to the Body of Christ about his promises and the fulfillment of them in these end times” – So again, we have extra-biblical stuff being fed to those who are foolish enough to suck it up

I’m not even going to give much attention to the piercings. Yes, they make him look like some shaman or Durid mystic. They make him look just like the increasingly outrageous folks out there. I’ve gotten to the point that I can at least tolerate a stud in a guy’s ear. I can tolerate it. But it seems that giving way a little only causes the trend to go even further. What next, a belly ring and a couple of nipple rings as well? I wouldn’t even be surprised if he went bare-chested to show of those rings. I know. Maybe he’s imitating Christ who was pierced for our transgressions.

Todd is a prime example of why right doctrine is so very, very important. Listening to his “sermons” it becomes incredibly obvious that he is lying to his audience. No, wait. Let me rephrase that since he may actually believe what he is saying. Listening to his “sermons” it is incredibly obvious that he is feeding them a bunch of lies that, at best, have a passing connection to Scripture and at worst set his audiences up for tremendous losses. I have to wonder how many people have had their faith virtually destroyed by guys like this.

Another section in that same presentation says:

Many of us try and try to see the promises of God’s word fulfilled through some rational ascent and belief in the Word of God. But the Word of God is simply meant to lead us into an encounter with the Author of the book. John 5:39-40 says, “You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” It’s ludicrous to think that a husband and wife should expect to conceive and give birth to a baby without first experiencing intimacy together. In the same way, we as believers can’t just go to the Word and see the Lord’s promises (of a great healing revival, for example) and expect to see it happen just because we read it. Mighty demonstrations of God’s power and glory are only birthed and manifested on the earth “through” ones who have learned to encounter the Lord in intimacy.

Again, let’s examine his proclamation, recognizing that at best he twists what little scripture he uses, and works without any at all in most areas.

1. “We try to see the promises of God’s word fulfilled through some rational ascent and belief in the Word of God” – How foolish of me. The Bible is simply intended to guide me to an experience.

2. “Mighty demonstrations of God’s power and glory (experience) are only birthed and manifested on the earth “through” the ones who have learned to encounter the Lord in intimacy” – In other words, those who can have certain experiences (real, faked, or imagined) are the ones who have an intimate relationship with Christ. And since he has these experiences around him, then obviously he can tell us about God; and can tell us what God has to say to the church. Never mind the Bible. It means what they say it means.

I tell you again: Right Doctrine is important. In fact, it’s critical. Without it, you are tossed about by every wind of doctrine. Todd says you have to birth Christ and you believe it. Some other Bozo says you have to walk in Apostolic power and authority, and you believe that. But Jesus Christ says you have to be willing to die to yourself before you can bear much fruit. You have to be willing to lose your life in order to keep it to life eternal (John 12:24-26). And let’s face it: Todd’s “promises” are a whole lot more exciting than Jesus’. You can impress and intimidate a lot more folks with Todd’s approach than you can with Jesus’. But Todd’s approach leads only to disappointment and loss. You even run the risk of having Jesus tell you to depart from Him because He never knew you.

Then again, if I go with Todd’s approach, I get to wear a chin stud and all kinds of odd rings on my face. And who wouldn’t want to do that?

Pulpit Pimps, Todd Bentley | 73 Comments »