Joel's tweet today is as follows: God has all kinds of ways to bring your dreams to pass. He has ways you've never even thought of. Your job is to believe and lean on Him.”
Maybe you remember Pedro from the low budget, but very funny film, "Napolean Dynamite." Pedro decides to run for school president of his class and his campaign slogan is, "Vote fo rme and all your wildest dreams will come true."
Joel's god is pretty much the same; like a broken record Joel pushes a god who exists to bring about all your dreams and ambitions! It's a nice thought except the god Osteen preaches doesn't exist accept in his imagination and in his best selling books. The only dreams coming true are his with the millions he is making off of sincere people looking for real hope.
"The Proper Pursuit of Prosperity" brings clarity to the God of true hope and the God of the Bible with real promises, not pipe dreams. I highly recommend the book! Available October 4th at most major on line bookstores!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Hurricane Irene Aimed At Our East Coast!
It would be the fool who sat in his rocking chair on his porch in his home on the Outer Banks of North Carolina enjoying a crossword puzzle as the storm approached. "Mabel what's a five letter word for a person who ignores obvious danger? It begins with I D blank O T?"
I believe that perhaps the biggest reason for all the mystery and lack of specificity in the book of Revelation is precisely so that we don't know that the END is 7 years away, or 20 years away, or will not be in out lifetimes! Because God wants us living on the edge of urgency so that HIS purposes for mankind will be accomplished.
I say it without apology--that one statement is the wrecking ball of the growing sky scraper called the prosperity gospel! WE EXIST FOR GOD AND HIS PLANS FOR US, HE DOES NOT EXIST FOR US TO BRING ABOUT OUR PLANS! Joel Osteen and so many others just don't get that!
Friday, August 19, 2011
Inaugural Book Signing
Tonight at my church I will be having my first book signing. I expect it to be rather awkward. The whole idea seems to be a bit egotistical and/or self-serving and yet it is what many have been asking for. I delight in their excitement on my behalf but it still feels a bit weird, like, "Whew hoo! Look at me, look what I did!" The truth is, if people knew where I came from so to speak, it is nothing but evidence of the wonder working power of God to use a chipped and cracked vessel for His honor. Thank you Lord; I am nearly undone when I think about it all.
And then of course there are the obligatory joy stealers to borrow a phrase from Max Lucado. There was some flap after the first Sunday we allowed people to pick up their books. A scant handful of people were annoyed about "selling" MY book in the church. What is interesting and again typical, is that I personally had told the staff when asked before all this went down that we would not be selling my book on Sunday morning. I didn't want a circus environment distracting from what we do. But after the books came in people wanted to know why they couldn't just get their books when they came to church. Some people come quite a ways and having it available on Sunday when they are there anyway would be convenient. So with the blessing of the leadership we decided to make it easy for people; it just made sense and besides while we do restrict such activities we have also made exceptions in the past. Let's see, what's the adage? Damned if you do, damned if you don't?
My first reaction was to forget the whole Book thing and collapse to the vocal, and usually, invisible minority. But as I pondered it and sought counsel about it, I thought, you know, that would be no different than mimicking the high school that tells the Valedictorian that she cannot pray at her graduation or mention God in her speech because "someone" protested saying they would be offended.
Why do we always buckle to the 2 or 3 voices that have one opinion when there are thousands more that have no problem? Personally, I think it past time to stop catering to the minority hang ups while trampling on the desires of the majority.
Never-the-less, instead of pure joy, now there's awkwardness. Sigh... Maranatha!
Friday, July 15, 2011
The Proper Pursuit of Prosperity Pre-release offer!
Too many preachers today are avoiding the whole counsel of God's word proclaiming only the pleasant and positive. With their half truth declarations, many people are being conned into worshipping a god of the preachers own creation. Jesus is being stripped of His glory and turned into a vending machine.
This is a seriously important book as the Prosperity Gospel is truly infiltrating ALL denominations. While it is a serious book, I have used many real life examples of the particular essence of each chapter so that it doesn’t get tedious.
If you are interested in a pre-release copy, soft cover books are available through me for $12 and $16 for hard cover. Shipping will be only the actual charge to you for shipping.
Contact me at pb@fefchurch.org
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
"Prosperity Gospel" and "Settling" Joel vs. the Bible
Joel Tweets--"Decide today that you are not going to settle but instead you're going to believe God to pour out His goodness and favor on every part of you."
Paul writes--
"Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:11-13
Some want more and more and see God as the instrument to that end. It is not biblical but utterly self-absorbed. Sometimes--often times?--Jesus wants us to "give up" not "gain more."
Paul writes more--
"More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ..." Philippians 3:8
Jesus said--
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
Matthew 16:24-25
"The PROPER Pursuit of Prosperity" is in the printing phase! It can't be long now!
Paul writes--
"Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:11-13
Some want more and more and see God as the instrument to that end. It is not biblical but utterly self-absorbed. Sometimes--often times?--Jesus wants us to "give up" not "gain more."
Paul writes more--
"More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ..." Philippians 3:8
Jesus said--
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
Matthew 16:24-25
"The PROPER Pursuit of Prosperity" is in the printing phase! It can't be long now!
Friday, July 1, 2011
We have what it takes? I don't think so...
Pastor Joel's Tweet recently stated--
"Faith is all about stretching. Your obstacles may seem intimidating, but God already knows that you have what it takes."
Once again we have to ask--Is this true? While it sounds nice, the Bible teaches just the opposite. Even our praying is so feeble that we need help with that!
"In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27
No, the clear teaching of God's word is that in and of our own abilities we are hopelessly lost. WE DON'T have what it takes! But thanks be to God that because of Jesus, and what HE is willing to do with us and in us if we allow Him to have HIS way with us, we can accomplish some good things. But even then, only as GOD determines is right and proper. Hopeful or wishing thinking, and even fervently praying in faith does not manipulate our heavenly Father to do what He knows is perfect! The "prosperity gospel" gets close to truth at times, but when it comes to eternity, close is hardly good enough.
"Faith is all about stretching. Your obstacles may seem intimidating, but God already knows that you have what it takes."
Once again we have to ask--Is this true? While it sounds nice, the Bible teaches just the opposite. Even our praying is so feeble that we need help with that!
"In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27
No, the clear teaching of God's word is that in and of our own abilities we are hopelessly lost. WE DON'T have what it takes! But thanks be to God that because of Jesus, and what HE is willing to do with us and in us if we allow Him to have HIS way with us, we can accomplish some good things. But even then, only as GOD determines is right and proper. Hopeful or wishing thinking, and even fervently praying in faith does not manipulate our heavenly Father to do what He knows is perfect! The "prosperity gospel" gets close to truth at times, but when it comes to eternity, close is hardly good enough.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
For Rob Bell, Love Wins And Truth Loses
After hearing the buzz--the negative kind--on the release of mega-church pastor, Rob Bell's latest book, "Love Wins," I reluctantly obtained a copy to read it for myself. I have been previously mislead by reacting to and even quoting respected Christians and Christian leaders taking their word for critical thoughts and accusations of such things only to regret it.
As a syndicated columnist, I know first hand the frustration of being misquoted, taken out of context, or someone making an unfair generalization of something I supposedly wrote when it seemed doubtful they even read the entire piece. So I sat down and read Bell's controversial little book in just a couple sittings--and I am not a fast reader.
It is a short read packed with mind boggling, exegesis-defying, systematic theology-ignoring assertions, sarcasms, and non-sequiturs. Bell's favorite method is to take what are clearly aberrant beliefs of "some" Christians and normalizing them to be what "many Christians" believe, especially evangelicals.
He is understandably critical of the speculations that occur from the pulpits of evangelical churches, especially when they pertain to heaven and hell, but then promptly offers his own speculations as to the "proper view" of the same subjects.
My wife asked one evening what Bell's book was about. I stared and just said, "I don't even know where to start." He is basically offering a brand of universalism--positing that everyone ever born ends up in a place, or state of mind, or participation in a good life, that goes on and on which some call "heaven." He likens it to a party where everyone attends but, like a party here on earth, some will not enjoy it as much as others due to whatever issues they bring to the party. In Bell's opinion, one problem with evangelicals is that we talk about entering heaven whereas Bell asserts it isn't about entering--everyone enters--it is about "participation." So over time--Bell's heaven (which reminds me of a "quasi-purgatory-like environment") gives everyone time to see what they are missing, jettisoning their issues, thus participating in the benefits and joys of heaven.
Hell is even more obtuse than Bell's conception of heaven. He writes: "We do ourselves great harm when we confuse the very essence of God, which is love, with the very real consequences of rejecting and resisting that love, which creates what we call hell." It strikes me as a repackaging of the old, "Hell is what you make it." Bell adds, Hell is also, "our [personal] refusal to trust God's retelling of our story." Attempting to paraphrase what he means--Hell is the consequence of living out what WE believe about ourselves rather than what God declares about us.
It is a solid point to consider if we are talking about orthopraxy or the value of walking in practical godliness in this life, by faith, rather than by sight. But Bell's hell is an utter bastardization of the etymological, theological, scriptural and historical understanding of "Hell." At the end of the day, Bell stumbles over a God who can be both loving, while also being just.
His use of the Old and New Testaments are generally spoken of in terms of "story" marginalizing any real connection to anything in our day and never approaches any semblance of a systematic theology. His interpretation of the sacrificial system of Judaism, for example, is a product of culture, space and time to which we cannot relate. After all, when, he asks, was the last time YOU slit the throat of a goat or killed a pigeon and laid it on the altar?
Bell has a very low view of inspiration and the bulk of the Bible is more metaphor and lesson rather than history connected to a loving--yet just--God who came to redeem us from our sins. Bell sees the whole progression of the evangelical "gospel" as one contrived, confusing package of thou shalts and thou shalt nots. Admittedly he hits on some deserved criticisms of a simplistic faith which is sometimes--oftentimes?--presented in a very formulaic fashion. No problem there, but his "correction" is far worse.
Finally everything always falls or stands on one's Christology. What is Bell's? It would be hard for me to articulate it, since I had difficulty pinning it down. What I can say with some certainty is that it bears little resemblance to the Immanuel--who came to save us, not from God, as Bell charges is the message evangelicals present--, but from ourselves; from our sin which condemns us before a God who also happens to be holy.
In any book of this variety, there is generally some value in straining out the dross and taking to heart the valid weaknesses of our beliefs or at least the weaknesses of our way of explaining our beliefs. For the scripturally astute, Bell's book is worth reading because Thanks to the level of biblical illiteracy today, I do believe (myself generalizing) he expresses what many people really do think about God, heaven, hell and judgment; even many in our Sunday morning worship.
But this is an exceedingly dangerous book for the masses as it appeals to the base instinct of man to assess God on the basis of the delusion of one's self-determined omniscience writing off any aspect of God's nature which one might find disagreeable or indefensible. As I stated in a recent sermon, it is profoundly arrogant for anyone to precede justification for their particular belief with the statement, "I can't believe in a God who…For in the moment they make that declaration, they have lost any reasonable basis from which to argue. Such a statement presumes that defining God, what He is like, what He thinks, what He might do, is entirely up to them. In short, it presumes that THAT person is in fact God. In the Bible, Love Wins--to be sure; but in Bell's book, TRUTH loses in a big way.
As a syndicated columnist, I know first hand the frustration of being misquoted, taken out of context, or someone making an unfair generalization of something I supposedly wrote when it seemed doubtful they even read the entire piece. So I sat down and read Bell's controversial little book in just a couple sittings--and I am not a fast reader.
It is a short read packed with mind boggling, exegesis-defying, systematic theology-ignoring assertions, sarcasms, and non-sequiturs. Bell's favorite method is to take what are clearly aberrant beliefs of "some" Christians and normalizing them to be what "many Christians" believe, especially evangelicals.
He is understandably critical of the speculations that occur from the pulpits of evangelical churches, especially when they pertain to heaven and hell, but then promptly offers his own speculations as to the "proper view" of the same subjects.
My wife asked one evening what Bell's book was about. I stared and just said, "I don't even know where to start." He is basically offering a brand of universalism--positing that everyone ever born ends up in a place, or state of mind, or participation in a good life, that goes on and on which some call "heaven." He likens it to a party where everyone attends but, like a party here on earth, some will not enjoy it as much as others due to whatever issues they bring to the party. In Bell's opinion, one problem with evangelicals is that we talk about entering heaven whereas Bell asserts it isn't about entering--everyone enters--it is about "participation." So over time--Bell's heaven (which reminds me of a "quasi-purgatory-like environment") gives everyone time to see what they are missing, jettisoning their issues, thus participating in the benefits and joys of heaven.
Hell is even more obtuse than Bell's conception of heaven. He writes: "We do ourselves great harm when we confuse the very essence of God, which is love, with the very real consequences of rejecting and resisting that love, which creates what we call hell." It strikes me as a repackaging of the old, "Hell is what you make it." Bell adds, Hell is also, "our [personal] refusal to trust God's retelling of our story." Attempting to paraphrase what he means--Hell is the consequence of living out what WE believe about ourselves rather than what God declares about us.
It is a solid point to consider if we are talking about orthopraxy or the value of walking in practical godliness in this life, by faith, rather than by sight. But Bell's hell is an utter bastardization of the etymological, theological, scriptural and historical understanding of "Hell." At the end of the day, Bell stumbles over a God who can be both loving, while also being just.
His use of the Old and New Testaments are generally spoken of in terms of "story" marginalizing any real connection to anything in our day and never approaches any semblance of a systematic theology. His interpretation of the sacrificial system of Judaism, for example, is a product of culture, space and time to which we cannot relate. After all, when, he asks, was the last time YOU slit the throat of a goat or killed a pigeon and laid it on the altar?
Bell has a very low view of inspiration and the bulk of the Bible is more metaphor and lesson rather than history connected to a loving--yet just--God who came to redeem us from our sins. Bell sees the whole progression of the evangelical "gospel" as one contrived, confusing package of thou shalts and thou shalt nots. Admittedly he hits on some deserved criticisms of a simplistic faith which is sometimes--oftentimes?--presented in a very formulaic fashion. No problem there, but his "correction" is far worse.
Finally everything always falls or stands on one's Christology. What is Bell's? It would be hard for me to articulate it, since I had difficulty pinning it down. What I can say with some certainty is that it bears little resemblance to the Immanuel--who came to save us, not from God, as Bell charges is the message evangelicals present--, but from ourselves; from our sin which condemns us before a God who also happens to be holy.
In any book of this variety, there is generally some value in straining out the dross and taking to heart the valid weaknesses of our beliefs or at least the weaknesses of our way of explaining our beliefs. For the scripturally astute, Bell's book is worth reading because Thanks to the level of biblical illiteracy today, I do believe (myself generalizing) he expresses what many people really do think about God, heaven, hell and judgment; even many in our Sunday morning worship.
But this is an exceedingly dangerous book for the masses as it appeals to the base instinct of man to assess God on the basis of the delusion of one's self-determined omniscience writing off any aspect of God's nature which one might find disagreeable or indefensible. As I stated in a recent sermon, it is profoundly arrogant for anyone to precede justification for their particular belief with the statement, "I can't believe in a God who…For in the moment they make that declaration, they have lost any reasonable basis from which to argue. Such a statement presumes that defining God, what He is like, what He thinks, what He might do, is entirely up to them. In short, it presumes that THAT person is in fact God. In the Bible, Love Wins--to be sure; but in Bell's book, TRUTH loses in a big way.
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