Calvinism At LifeWay - New Curriculum Alert!
Eddie Stetzer
recently wrote about a "new gospel-centered,
Calvinist-driven theologically-driven curriculum I am helping develop here at LifeWay."
Eddie's "Advisory Council" on the project includes "D.A. Carson, Matt Chandler, James MacDonald, J.D. Greear, Eric Mason, Juan Sanchez, Collin Hansen, Kimberly Thornbury, Joe Thorn, Danny Akin, and Jay Noh."
What a motley "regeneration before faith" crew!
D.A. Carson? Give me a break, the guy is not even Southern Baptist!
Joe "Preach The Gospel To Myself 'Cause I Sure Ain't Preaching It To The Lost"
Thorn? What? Next time you see Joe, ask him what he knows about church
splitting planting. Would love to write more about Joey. Maybe in a later blog.
Collin "Timmey Brister is the next Martin Luther"
Hansen, author of the infamous
Young, Restless, Reformed screed. Collin is advising LifeWay? Now I've seen it all.
Kimberly Thornbury? Had to Google this one. Turns out she's the wife of Calvinist Professor Greg Thornbury at the Tennessee Baptist Convention's Union University. Greg was Union's "
first dean of the School of Christian Studies" at the ripe old age of 35. Most recently, Greg gave
his wholehearted endorsement to The Flounders Calvinist-only church planting network. Next time you run into Greg, ask him about what happened over his inviting so many Presbyterian and Calvinist speakers at Union's chapel. Then duck.
Then there's
Danny Akin. After reading his theology text, I don't believe Danny is quite all the way regeneration-before-faith like some others on Eddie's advisory board. Danny, however, does know the way the SBC wind is blowing. He doesn't mind at all cozying up to Tom Ascol or sprinkling compliments on Mark Driscoll.
The only thing that surprises me is that
Jared "Exodus 22:18 is a lie!"
Moore is not on the list. Isn't Jared a big time author now? I guess the Calvinist pro-witchcraft position sorta cuts you out of some opportunities. For now at least.
First Southern Seminary. Then Southeastern. Then NAMB. Now LifeWay.
God help us.
Charles
Labels: Danny Akin, Ed Stetzer, Extreme Calvinism, Founders Ministries, Greg Thornbury, LifeWay, SBC, Timmy Brister
Arm-chair evangelism specialists
ARM-CHAIR PEDO THEOLOGIANS NEVER KNOWN FOR EVANGELISMTimmy Brister, the alleged
"face of Calvinism," and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary graduate who is joining Tom Ascol's church staff in Cape Coral, Florida, is now puffing books on evangelism by Pedobaptist scholars, J. I. Packer and R. B. Kuiper.
When will Brister, Tom Ascol, the Flounders, and others realize that you don't learn evangelism from Pedobaptists whose "evangelism" is baptizing babies?
Both of these men -- Packer and Kuiper (deceased) -- are well-known Pedobaptist Reformed intellectuals, and if either one of them ever made any significant evangelistic contributions, it has escaped my notice. Their writings, which are plentiful, usually are of the
theoretical variety, dealing with theological issues, and major on the advocacy of Reformed theology according to the
Hybrid Calvinist version.
When they write about "evangelism," their material constitutes a theoretical apologetic for Reformed theology as it relates to their concept of evangelism. Their primary burden is to
authenticate/vindicate Reformed theology, more than anything else.
The same is true of Flounders' Founder,
Ernest Reisinger's Today's Evangelism, Walt Chantry's
Today's Gospel, Iain Murray's
Revival and Revivalism and
The Old Evangelicalism, and similar writings by those who adhere to Hybrid Calvinism
("born again before faith"). Their primary purpose is to embellish Pedo Reformed theology over against evangelism which is usually labeled "Arminianism," etc.
The Reformed Pedo writers who advocate Hybrid Calvinism have never been marked by
practical engagement in evangelism. They are what I prefer to regard as
"Arm-chair specialists." Sorta like "think-tank political specialists" who don't actually engage in politics. They deal more with "theories" or the "theoretical" than anything else. The Pedos' primary "evangelism" is the baptism of infants who are presumed to be "covenant children."
If you will take note of the greatest of the Pedobaptist Reformed Hybrid theologians, to my knowledge none of them was ever involved in practical evangelism. The
Hodges, Warfield, Alexander, and the
Princeton scholars did not gain a reputation for evangelism. They are known more for their
theoretical writings and/or classroom lectures. That was also the case with
Shedd, Dabney, Machen, Boettner, John Murray, Van Til, Berkhof, etc. To my knowledge, the Hybrid Reformed Calvinism never produced an evangelist or an evangelistic endeavor of any note.
While their writings have value in certain categories, they are practically useless in the category of evangelism, and in many cases
detrimental to evangelism. For instance, while some of their theological critiques of
Charles G. Finney are of significance, yet their anti-Finneyism has spawned an extreme, fanatical and perverted treatment of Finney in this generation.
These Pedo Hybrid Calvinist Reformed writers are not going to contribute any significant inspiration or guidance to Baptists in the category of evangelism. Their writings are of value on some of the great theological themes of the Bible, but to a Baptist they are practially useless as to
the commission,
the church, the ordinances, and evangelism.
On evangelism, your best bet is C. H. Spurgeon's book,
The Soul Winner. Spurgeon was a soul winner and an evangelist, even as a pastor. He was not an "arm-chair specialist" on this. He was a practicing, down-to-earth, highways-and-hedges type of Gospel preacher. He even preached in the open air and in secular auditoriums, and he has material in his
Lectures to My Students on open-air preaching.
Spurgeon had several evangelistic organizations in his church with scores of workers who went all over the city of London and in many areas of England, spreading the Gospel, distributing literature, preaching in the open air, in halls, and in chapels, and bringing men to Christ. Many churches were established as a result of these evangelistic efforts. Spurgeon knew something about soul-winning and evangelism by his own practical experience, not merely in theory.
Spurgeon's one book is better than all the combined books by the "arm-chair" Pedobaptist Hybrid Calvinists promoted by Timmy Brister, the Flounders, and the
Banner of Truth.
Labels: Timmy Brister
A tonic for Timmy
HERE IS SOMETHING WHICH MIGHTTAKE TIMMY'S MIND OFF HIS WOESWhile I was browsing around the wilderness of a few of the Hybrid Calvinist web sites, I came upon
Timmy Brister's, and he seemed to be somewhat "down." He says:
"When I think about the difficult and trying times of my life, I reflect on certain songs that ministered to me in the lowest of valleys and strongest of storms."I recommend the following
here to Timmy and to anyone else who may be in a similar mood. It might be a much better tonic for your depressed feelings than the songs:
Nick's Testimony Labels: Timmy Brister
Brister bristling . . . again
TIMMY BRISTER IS BRISTLING ABOUT YARNELL'S RESOLUTIONTimmy Brister, the new boy in town (Cape Coral, FL), is once again kicking up dust -- this time, explaining why he opposes the Resolution of Malcolm Yarnell and Bart Barber on
church membership integrity.What makes Timmy's bristling rather ridiculous is that he, like his boss,
Tom Ascol, is one of the biggest promoters of
pedobaptists in the blogosphere. The pedobaptists get the vast majority of their members through the baptism of
UNREGENERATE BABIES, yet Brister extols the pedobaptist literature published by the pedobaptist
Banner of Truth as much or more than any other "Baptist" source on the Internet.
Timmy is obviously obsessed with complaining about the SBC's numerical reports about SBC church membership, but what has he said about the church membership numbers of his pedobaptist heroes? Does he think that all of those pedobaptist babies who are baptized and added to the church role are indeed "regenerated"?
Brister is now on the staff of the headquarters church of the Flounders Co., and the Flounders Co. is known to hold the pedos in very high esteem. They promote the
Banner of Truth version of Reformed
"ordo salutis" theology which is presented in the BoT volume on systematic theology by
Louis Berkhof, an advocate of the idea that babies born to pedo parents are
"regenerated" in infancy. They have pedo ministers speak at Flounders' conferences, and they follow the writings of pedo
Iain Murray as if he is just a bit shy of being an apostle. Murray is the one who gave them their arguments against Baptist public invitations to confess Christ as Saviour.
I suspect the
real reason Brister opposes the Yarnell-Barber Resolution is that it is most likely a lead-pipe cinch to be preferred over the Resolution presented by Ascol which has already failed twice (2006, 2007).
If Brister wants "repentance" for someone's having "lost the gospel," as he claims, then that may indeed be appropriate
if he is speaking for himself and the Flounders. The advocacy of the
"born again before faith" heresy is a departure from the Gospel, for sure, and needs to be repented of.
Labels: Timmy Brister
Timmy Brister Bristling From "Finneyitis"
Timmy Brister is a student at Southern Seminary who never seems to cease attacking the SBC and its churches, pastors, and evangelists while at the same time these same churches, pastors, and evangelists pay much of his tutition through the Cooperative Program. Does the word, "ungrateful," come to mind?
In this article, Brother Bob Ross finds Timmy whining about Charles Finney. Having previously attacked Billy Graham, Timmy especially seems to enjoy attacking evangelists.
For more on the ungrateful and theologically confused Mr. Brister, see
Timmy Brister's Bristlings,
More Blundering From Brister,
Timmy Brister's Baloney,
Bend it Like Timmy Brister!,
Timmy Brister Attends Billy Graham School Yet Attacks Billy Graham's Methods, and
Timmy Brister Attacks Altar Calls in Southern Baptist Churches.
Charles
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
BRISTER BRISTLING FROM "FINNEYITIS"Bob to Charles:
"I am intrigued and alarmed by the fact that Finney's legacy has been so enduring," complains Timmy Brister, the blogging poster-boy of the Southern Seminary student bloggers. [Dec. 3, 2007,
http://timmybrister.com/]
Timmy seems to have a bad case of
"Finneyitis," and from time-to-time it breaks out, causing the compunction to drag the carcase of Charles G. Finney into the public square, tie it to a stake, give it a fresh 40 lashes save one, and then torch it for all the world to see what one deserves who does not lockstep to Presbyterian
Hybrid Calvinism.
Timmy is so alarmed that he once again reflects upon the leadership of
Dr. R. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Seminary. When Hybrid Calvinists want to emphasize that they are "not opposed" to evangelism, some -- including Mohler -- often are wont to point to the
"Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth" at SBTS for which Mohler claims credit: [http://www.sbts.edu/Academics/Schools/
Missions_Evangelism_and_Church_Growth.aspx]
Not so Timmy. On the contrary, Timmy is apparently "alarmed" that
Mohler and SBTS continue to help perpetuate Finney's legacy thru Billy Graham. He opines --
"Among the 20th century evangelistic practices, I would argue that no other individual had more influence upon Southern Baptists than Charles Finney, especially after they had been popularized under the ministries of Billy Sunday and Billy Graham."
Since so many Hybrid Calvinists say they were in some manner influenced to come to Christ thru such "evangelistic practices" which they now repudiate, I wonder if Timmy might also be of that number? Did he at one time "walk the aisle" to profess faith in Christ -- or was he one of the more fortunate of the "elect" who was "born again" in infancy as the Presbyterians teach?
If the Presbyterians and the Presbyterian sympathizers such as Timmy Brister have a "bone to pick" with Finney, let them remember that Finney was a creation of sorts of the Presbyterians themselves, much like Alexander Campbell and Joe Smith. The unscriptural Hybrid Calvinism of
"born again before faith" repelled Finney, and he went forth preaching among the Presbyterian churches which were filled with "regenerated" infants, and a great number of these "elect covenant children" made professions of faith in Christ.
Had it not been for the heresy of the Presbyterians, we might never have heard of Charles G. Finney, and would have been spared the bristling of "Finneyitis" by Brister.
Labels: Timmy Brister
Evangelism According To Timmy Brister
Timmy Brister is again
showing his ignorance. The below is from Brother Bob Ross.
Charles
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
EVANGELISM ACCORDING TO BRISTER
Bob to Charles:
I would hope, Charles, that SBTS student Timmy Brister is not an example of the type of "evangelism" being taught at the Seminary. I noticed that Timmy is now tutoring on his blog on evangelism, and among other things he says:
"The error in so many gospel presentations or plans of salvation comes when the fail because they have the wrong starting point. We cannot begin with John 3:16 but rather must start with Genesis 1:1. We cannot jump into a discussion about theological truths without establishing a grid through which they are to rightly understand them. Therefore, the reconstruction entails not only the substance of their thinking but the structure of it as well."Well, good luck, Timmy!
The message which converts is the Gospel, not theological views, apologetical arguments, scientific information, or some other category which otherwise may have some degree of religious significance.
It is the Gospel which has the power of the Spirit accompanying it (1 Thess. 1:5; Romans 1:16; 1 Cor. 4:15).
When Jesus dealt with Nicodemus (John 3), He went right for the jugular -- "
You must be born again" -- and the only explaining He did was in teaching and illustrating how a person receives eternal life by faith in Christ and is thereby born again (John 3:14-18). Jesus did not waste time refuting some of Nicodemus' false ideas.
The power of the Holy Spirit to bring sinners to Christ rests upon the Gospel. The carnal mind is capable of repelling human logic, evidences, proofs, etc., but it cannot stand against the Gospel empowered by the Holy Spirit.
If Timmy would study the conversions in the Scriptures, he would see that converts were made by the instrumentality of the Gospel.
C. H. Spurgeon: "
The Gospel is our Mons Meg, the biggest gun in the castle; but it is not out of date: it will carry a ball far enough to reach the heart of the sinner who is furtherest from God. Satan trembles when he hears the roar of the gospel gun. Let it never be silent." (From "The Gospel of the Glory of Christ." #2,077, page 179.
http://www.spurgeongems.org/chs2077.pdfThe entire sermon is one of 35 used in our book, THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO C. H. SPURGEON.
Labels: Timmy Brister
Timmy Brister's Bristlings
The audacity of Timmy Brister is beyond words. He attends a Southern Baptist seminary which is paid for by the hard earned dollars of Southern Baptist laymen in Southern Baptist churches. He no doubt gladly accepts the tuition discount which all students from Southern Baptist churches receive and again, is paid by money from SBC churches. Yet Timmy publicly and consistently attacks SBC leaders, polity, and churches over and over again in his blog. SBC churches: He doesn't mind taking your money but he doesn't mind spitting in your face either. Go figure.
In this article, Brother Bob Ross has uncovered more of the theological madness that is Timmy Brister, this time in the form of Timmy's views on what he calls "decisional regeneration." It seems that Timmy rejects what nearly every Southern Baptist church believes:
That an ACT on the sinner's part is involved in opening the heart and receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Incredibly, after rejecting what SBC churches believe, Timmy has the gall to
demand that these same churches call men like him as pastor!
Southern Baptist churches, agencies, and institutions should take note of Timmy Brister. If you read his blog you'll find a bitter man who spends very little time in the way of evangelism and missions but a lot of time tearing down Southern Baptists.
Charles
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
BRISTER'S BRISTLINGSBob to Charles:
Southern Seminary student, Timmy Brister, the novice who conceives of himself as a "Calvinist," is once again bristling on his blog in regard to terminology about "opening your heart" to accept Christ. See
http://timmybrister.com/2007/10/04/
decisional-regeneration-and-southern-baptist-eisegesis/#more-1626It seems that ever so often the Hybrid Calvinist types like Timmy are constrained by righteous indignation to "let off steam" against some of the terms and methods which he considers to be in the category of "
decisional regeneration," and I suppose this is one of those periods with Timmy.
Since Timmy claims to be a reader and admirer of
C. H. Spurgeon, I sent him one of Spurgeon's comments about "opening the heart to the Lord" which might serve as spiritual seltzer to "settle his stomach:"
>>
Dear Timmy:
In view of your interest in the expression "
open your heart," I thought you might like to consider Spurgeon's approach. --
"It is perfectly true that the work of salvation lies first and mainly in Jesus receiving sinners to himself, to pardon, to cleanse, to sanctify, to preserve, to make perfect; but, at the same time, the sinner also receives Christ;
there is an act on the sinner’s part by which, being constrained by divine grace,
he openeth his heart to the admission of Jesus Christ, and Jesus enters in, and thenceforth dwells in the heart, and reigns and rules there. To a gracious readiness of heart to entertain the friend who knocks at the door, we are brought by God the Holy Ghost, and then he sups with us and we with him." [sermon #669 —
An Open Heart For a Great Saviour, MTP Vol 12, Year 1866, page 13, John 1:12-13]
In another sermon appeal, Spurgeon said —
"Oh I wish some of you would thus respond to my appeal this day! This thing is also from the Lord: it was he who gave me this message; it was he who brought you to hear it. Surely you will not be found fighting against God. Your heart is open to him; he sees the faintest desire that you have toward him. Breathe out your wish now, and say, '
My heart is before thee: take it.' " [sermon #2231 —
An Urgent Request For an Immediate Answer, MTP Vol 37, Year 1891, page 599, Genesis 24:49]
On the matter of "decision," it might be well to consider Spurgeon's remarks in the sermon, "An Urgent Request for an Immediate Answer." In this sermon, Spurgeon addresses his hearers, "But we are the more determined to
press you for some DECISION," and "I pray that God's Spirit may lead you to an
immediate DECISION." [pages 596, 599]
http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:3MtYpiM_DzcJ:
www.pilgrimpublications.com/invite1.htm+spurgeon+open+heart&
hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us&ie=UTF-8
>>
Timmy's bristlings are rather characteristic of many who adopt the "born again before faith" Hybrid Calvinism of the pedobaptist theologians, such as one of Timmy's favorites, Iain Murray, who is expert in nitpicking terms and methods which he thinks are undermining of "pre-faith regeneration."
Labels: Timmy Brister
More Blundering From Brister
Brother Bob Ross has uncovered this jewel from Timmy Brister, a troubled blogger whose capacity to "
bend" the truth seems to hold no bounds. Brister says that the SBC would be improved by putting more people like him in leadership. ROFL!
Several months ago I issued a
challenge to Brister which has gone unanswered. Now it seems he has crawled out from under his rock to take more pot shots at Southern Baptists while at the same time attending a Southern Baptist seminary paid for by the very churches he thinks are in need of
deform "reform."
For more on Brister, see
Timmy Brister's Baloney Charles
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
IS THIS AN ULTIMATUM BY SBTS STUDENT BLOGGER?If the Southern Baptist Convention is going to see churches revitalized, old churches replanted, and new church plants embraced, then they are going to have to extend the right hand of fellowship to the young Calvinists exiting the seminary with a willingness to be taught and led from God’s Word. . . . Finally, the Convention at large is going to have to develop a consensus on the gospel that embraces “five-point Calvinists” and encourages guys like me, not discourages us, to pursue pastorates in existing churches.
These are excerpts, Charles, from Timmy Brister's blog (Provocations and Paintings), and it sounds to me like an ultimatum --
Make room for the Hybrid form of "Calvinism" if the SBC wants to prosper.
In addition to Brister, if I understand Tom Ascol of the Flounders correctly, he is promoting the idea that "reformation" [meaning, reforming according to Hybrid Calvinism] must precede any real expectation for revival.
So, it seems, Charles that whatever is needed by the
Southern Baptist Convention (which the Flounders have already declared to be "an unregenerate denomination") will be forthcoming if the Convention will "reform" to Hybrid Calvinism and install young SBTS Hybrid Calvinist graduates as pastors.
Labels: Timmy Brister
