Tree63 front-man throws in the cross, um, towel

Christian entertainment doesn't seem healthy, yet it also does. I know, it seems contradictory, and on the one hand it is, but on the other hand it isn't. There are Christian musicians, actors, painters, and others who see their art not only for the art itself, but for the purpose of glorifying God and spreading the gospel message. For them, there is no ceiling to reach because, how do you reach a ceiling in glorifying God?

There are others who experience dissatisfaction when they either cannot make headway in their respectful arts and become the next big thing, or they have made it to the top and found that their dissatisfaction remains, despite having "record deals, [being] on planes, tour buses, in green VIP rooms."

Of course, recently we saw Jennifer Knapp come "out" to reveal that she is a lesbian, and before that Ray Boltz dropped the bomb that he was gay!

Evangelical gullibility fuels the flames of "fairy tales as truth"

It has happened to all of us. Some person with a so-called testimony akin to Paul's Damascus experience visits your church and tells you his story. The story is extremely well told, interspersed with tear-jerking sad stories and side-splitting funny anecdotes, with a smattering of heroics.

The person seems to be so nice that we just can't help ourselves liking and believing this person. If we don't believe him, then our subjective ideas of salvation to Christianity will not be confirmed. So, we believe, because it is so great that a satanist or a Muslim had come to Christ and now have such an awesome testimony for Christ! Surely, this is the person God had been waiting for to get those amazing in-roads among satanists and Muslims!

Pastor Ray McCauley to divorce... again!

I reported back in January 2008 that Ray McCauley and his trophy wife headed for a divorce. Although it did not happen then, it certainly seems like it is going to happen now. Before continuing this post, it would be good to read my January 2008 post first. I still stand by what I said there, so I am not going to say it again.

In my previous post on this issue with McCauley I dealt with the divorce issue. This time I would like to deal with the qualifications of an elder and how they apply to McCauley. I will probably get flack for this, but it needs to be said. It is time for Ray McCauley to resign as pastor!

1 Tim 3:1-7 spell out the qualifications of an elder (pastor) in the church. Verse 2 says: "Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach." Zelda McCauley is Ray's second wife, having sent his first wife, Lyndie, packing through divorce. Ray McCauley is clearly in violation of the qualifications for a pastor spelt out in 1 Tim 3.

In my previous post on the matter I dealt with divorce and what I believe is a Biblical divorce. Which means..., having divorced from Lyndie and marrying Zelda he was no longer a "one-woman man!" He therefore is in violation of Biblical principles on divorce and pastor's qualifications, and if he is a man of integrity, he should resign as pastor of Rhema Biblie Church in Randburg.

Gospel Lite

That is what Phil Johnson is calling his blog post. "Gospel Lite."

Here is a sample:
"Soon evangelicals weren't mentioning sin at all anymore. It was as if they suddenly forgot that the human dilemma is all about eternal and spiritual matters. Instead, by the mid 1980s, the issues that dominated evangelical pulpits were temporal and psychological: low self-esteem, interpersonal relationships, a sense of purpose in life, a feeling of belonging, and (of course) how to be happy, healthy, wealthy, successful, and full of self-esteem. Evangelicals portrayed "the gospel" as a quick 'n' easy answer to those questions, and little else."

I think it fits in nicely with my post earlier today. I actually read Phil's post after I wrote my post.

Disingenuous redefining of evangelicalism

Paul Edwards has written a strong case against the current Evangelical Liberals Left in his article, "Defining Evangelicalism Down."

He wrote:
"The Religious Left is successfully redefining what it means to be a conservative evangelical by misrepresenting what it means to be a conservative evangelical. In a recent conference call hosted by Faith in Public Life, one of the emerging voices of the Religious Left, Dr. Joel Hunter, said:

"There’s also a change in the voices that are defining what is conservative now, and what is evangelical. In the past couple of decades you’ve had some very loud voices on both sides – hard right, hard left – and when those were the only choices, then of course many evangelicals are going to go with the hard right because, well, that’s kind of where we mostly are. Now there are many more voices that are expanding the agenda, and so those people that have always had kind of a holistic approach, rather than just a one or two issue approach, are now feeling permission and given permission to be more nuanced and more sophisticated in their approach, rather than just going in a very bifurcated system. And so, what you’re hearing now is that the old voices that appointed themselves as the definers of what was evangelical or what was conservative are not holding sway with the majority of evangelicals anymore.

"By convincing America that conservative evangelicals are concerned only with two issues, stopping abortion and preserving traditional marriage, these new voices of evangelicalism are effectively making the case that conservative evangelicals ignore poverty, HIV/AIDS, and the environment. The history of evangelicalism tells a different story."

Finish reading the article here.

Rick Warren shows lack of discernment

It happens to all of us. Somewhere along the line we meet people who claim to be Christians, and we accept that claim at face value. It usually happens to young Christians who have not studied the Bible enough to know what real Christians believe.

It happens to most of us. I remember, when I was but a young Christian with not much knowledge of others who claimed to be Christians, that I, together with my youth group here in South Africa, ran into the ZCCs (Zion Christian Church). To us it was very simple. "Look, it is a Christian church!" However,... these people have merged Christianity with their ancestor worship, and ended up with something that is not Christianity at all! How can you worship the ancestors and Christ together? That is an abomination. It is like worshipping the devil and Jesus while claiming that you are a Christian!

Now this is what I do not understand in Rick Warren's case. He wants mainline churches to reconcile with evangelical churches to stop their decline in membership.

According to Warren:
“100 years ago the phrase ‘social gospel’ first came out. Some people took that to mean only if we reform the social government and society and not personal faith in Christ Jesus – that is, if we make the world a better place – we don’t need personal redemption.”

Warren feels that the mainline churches went one way and evangelical churches went another. He continued:
“Who’s right? The fact is both are right. Somehow we got divided like Jesus didn’t care about society or members of society didn’t need Jesus. I think we need both.”

Warren's idea here is ignoratio elenchi. As "Seven of Nine" from Star Trek: Voyager would have said, "Irrelevant!" Warren's conclusion here is simply irrelevant. It may be right, but it is irrelevant. Sure, we need "personal redemption" and we need to be involved in society. However, Warren misses the point.

While speaking with the dean of the Washington National Cathedral, Samuel T. Lloyd III, Warren said, “The reconciliation is that in a pluralistic world…we (Christians) need to be on the same team because we share the same savior.” This is where many in evangelicalism differ with Warren. It is this very belief of Warren's that make his statement above ignoratio elenchi.

The fact is that among the mainline churches there is gross apostasy. They either deny all or some of the fundamentals of Christianity. From denying the virgin birth, to denying the death of Christ, to denying the resurrection of Christ, to denying that the Bible is the inerrant inspired Word of God, these people have walked away from what the Bible clearly teaches on almost every facet the Bible touches on, whether doctrinal or moral!

The fact is, contrary to what Mr. Warren has said, we do not "share the same savior." The fact is that these people cannot call themselves Christians when they deny the very faith they claim to hold onto.

Which brings me back to Rick Warren. Is this man so Biblically inept, that he will welcome anyone into the Christian fold? Who's next? The Mormons? The Jehovah's Witnesses? It seems to me that Warren wants to become all things to all people. Yet, contrary to the apostle Paul, it certainly is not to win some. He went to Iran... to pat Ahmedinejad on the back. He went to Jewish synagogues... to help them grow their membership. Now he goes to mainline churches... to reconcile with them. Based on what? That we have the same "savior." Think again!

How is that so many hold Warren in such high esteem (for some just below God Himself), yet he does not know why evangelicals parted ways with the mainline churches almost 100 years ago? Liberalism flooded what is now called the mainline churches. It came to be accepted in these churches to deny the fundamental doctrines of the faith and to basically become "social clubs" with the name of Christ somewhere close.

Evangelicalism did not part with mainline churches over something like community involvement. It was a doctrinal parting. The evangelical church continued with following the fundamentals of the faith and caring for the poor, etc. Several surveys over the years have concluded that evangelicals give and care more than mainline churches or the world do. Yet, people continue to hold onto the modern media caricature of evangelicals as uncaring. That is simply false!

Ingrid Schlueter wrote:
"Rick Warren’s presence in the pulpit of National Cathedral on January 27, and his call for 'reconciliation' with such churches should disgust every Christian who believes in the authority of Holy Scripture and who understands the critical importance of the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith. National Cathedral is a New Age pantheon to the gods of the world religions. That's why the church can feature goddess theology proponents teaching women how to dance in 'sacred circles', welcome the worship of Tibetan monks, teach Buddhist meditation techniques and introduce attendees to the Jewish Kabbalah. Where is Rick Warren's concern about the people who are on their way to hell in these churches that blaspheme the Lord Jesus Christ with goddess worship, homosexuality, a rejection of Christ’s penal substitutionary atonement, a denial of the authority of Scripture, and the promotion of the doctrines of anti-Christ?"

The point is that Rick Warren does not seem to exercise any discernment. How can this man want to merge truth and heresy? Truth and apostasy?

To read more on the essentials or fundamentals of the faith, read "What is the Gospel? What is the foundation to the Gospel?"

Some posts on the importance of truth and doctrine:
Without truth - empty, heartless gestures to God
The Relevancy of Doctrine
The Gospel: Diluted and non-Saving
Is the preacher a "reliable carrier" of God's truth?

Charismatic pastor to divorce again?

Evangelical church on downward spiral

The Evangelical church continues its downward spiral, even here in South Africa. Those in other countries, like America, must not think that only the evangelical church in America is losing its grip on what is right and true. No, it is happening all over the world to the evangelical church!

Ray McCauley, pastor of one of South Africa's largest churches--Rhema, divorced from his wife Lyndie in 2000. Just a year after that he married another woman, Zelda Ireland, a former model. This was Ireland's third marriage!

Now, it seems, this marriage is in trouble too!

What is going on in this case is not clear yet. However, it seems that Ray McCauley dug this hole for himself. As a so-called "man of God," he should have known what the Bible says about divorce and remarriage. It took him just a year after divorcing his first wife, to marry his second wife.

He made crucial mistakes in marrying this woman. Let's look at the practical first. The alarm bells should have been ringing exceedingly loud in his ears. First of all, she had been married twice before. Did he not think that the only common denominator in her first two failed marriages was her? There were two failed marriages, and she was involved in both of them! Second, she has three children of her own, all from different fathers. Last, if my calculations are correct, based on the ages of the children given by the Sunday Times, and the amount of years she was one of his congregants, she had both of her divorces and at least one illegitimate child while she was a member if his church! Strike Three!

Biblically, he had no recourse for marrying this woman. The Bible is clear on the issue of divorce and remarriage.

One does not have to read far into the New Testament to run into the subject of divorce. Jesus said, "whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." (Mt 19:9) Naturally, the one who has gone through divorce and the one contemplating divorce will look for all kinds of excuses to justify their divorce.

However, the case is clear against those that divorce. "Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so." (Mt 19:8) Jesus set the parameters within which divorce could take place. Except for sexual immorality, divorce would be a no-no. Paul adds one more parameter for divorce. When the spouse is an unbeliever and wants a divorce, "the brother or sister is not enslaved." (1 Cor 7:15) But, notice how Paul frames his argument. The believer should never seek the divorce. While the unbeliever wants to remain in the marriage, the believer should remain married to the unbeliever. The believer is only freed from the covenant of the marriage when the unbeliever seeks the divorce.

So, the Bible is very clear about the issue of adultery. It is when a married person has sex with someone he is not married to. When someone remarries, they commit adultery. Unless of course the divorce was as a result of the previous spouse committing sexual immorality, or an unbelieving spouse that wanted the divorce.

Coming back to Ray McCauley and Zelda. I do not know the circumstances of her two divorces, but chances are (I am merely speculating here) that at least one of her divorces was an unBiblical divorce, according to Jesus and Paul. From my knowledge of Ray and Lyndie's divorce, it certainly was an unBiblical divorce. Neither of them (according to their own testimonies) is an unbeliever. Further, according to my knowledge, neither of them committed sexual immorality. Therefore, their divorce was unBiblical and certainly was not sanctioned by Jesus or Paul.

As a result, Ray McCauley is in an adulterous relationship with Zelda McCauley (nee Ireland) according to Matthew 19. Incredibly, here is a man, head of the largest charismatic church in South Africa, and also the head of the IFCC (International Fellowship of Christian Churches), in an adulterous relationship!

Apart from McCauley's marital woes, in 1996, he decided to move away from Johannesburg where his church is. He did not move into the next town to still be close to his church. No, that would be too simple! He moved 600Km (375mi) away to Umhlanga, on the north coast of Kwazulu-Natal, about 20Km north of Durban! How in the world can a man be a pastor to a church in any way when he lives 600Km from his church. Isn't it just too convenient? He just does not have to do the work of a pastor! He only has to preach. And the money comes rolling in!

The last point I want to make about Ray McCauley is that he is part of the Word-of-Faith (WOF) clan. I have written about WOF before in a series called "Heresies in the church," and it is such a serious error that I believe it to be heresy. The fact is that preachers that teach these heresies, like McCauley, Joyce Meyers and others, have been accepted large scale into the evangelical church and scores of evangelical book stores.

The fact is, the evangelical church does not have the backbone to call a spade a spade, and will therefore not call preachers like this heretics. And if they will not call them heretics, why would they bother with holding McCauley accountable for his adulterous marriage?

The evangelical church is indeed on a downward spiral!

Update:
29 January 2010 - Although the divorce did not happen at the time of this post, it is now 2 years later, and it seems like it is definitely going to happen!