SBC – Page 11 – Michelle Lesley

I don’t know the brother who said it, but I saw a remark the other day from a Presbyterian gentleman who said something to the effect of, “It’s time for all doctrinally sound Southern Baptists to leave the SBC.”

I get that.

When you have an organization as large, open, and widespread as the Southern Baptist Convention, problems – even major ones – are inevitable. At this point, there are many things the SBC is still getting right, biblically speaking…

There are many good and praiseworthy things going on in SBC life. We have hundreds of doctrinally sound pastors faithfully preaching the gospel week in and week out. Discernment and biblical literacy among Southern Baptist church members is slowly but steadily growing. The SBC takes a public, biblical stand on abortion and homosexuality while many other denominations do not. Our organizational structure for funding and sending out missionaries, while sometimes flawed in its execution, is without peer. Southern Baptist Disaster Relief is one of the finest relief organizations in the world. And there’s so much more. Find a godly Kingdom effort going on somewhere, and you’ll probably find a Southern Baptist involved in it. By the grace of God, while we’re far from perfect, we’re getting a lot of things right.¹

…But for some individual Southern Baptists and Southern Baptist churches, the biblical error and other problems pervading the SBC have become too much to bear, and they have deemed it time to walk away from what they see as a system damaged beyond repair, seeking refuge in ARBCA, Bible, Independent, or non-denominational churches and networks instead.

Like I said, I get that, and I don’t blame them one little bit. Believe me, I’ve had leaving on my mind more than once. And if the SBC continues its downward spiral, it’s an inevitability for nearly all of us who hold to sound doctrine.

But there are still plenty of us crazy, “glass half full” doctrinally sound optimists out there who, like Luther, don’t want to abandon the SBC to the rubbish heap if it can be avoided, but would rather see it reformed (little “r”), renewed, and restored to the glory of God.

If you’ve ever labored through the entirety of the Old Testament (and if you haven’t, stop denying yourself that blessing, and study it), you know that God exercised patience with Israel through centuries of idolatry, rebellion, and paganism of the vilest sorts, sending them prophet after prophet, warning after warning, discipline after discipline, lovingly calling, urging, and commanding them to repent and be reconciled to Him before finally executing judgment on them.

I’m just not sure we’re quite at the point of exiling the SBC… yet. I think maybe these are the days of Elijah. And Jeremiah. And Isaiah. And even Luther. A time for godly Southern Baptist men and women to stand firmly on the written Word of God and speak prophetically, chapter and verse, into their beloved churches and denomination, “Thus saith the Lord.”

And in that same spirit of the prophets of old, we don’t speak from a position of “I’m right and I’m here to prove it,” or because we’re haters, or because we’re power-hungry. It’s because we’re cut to the heart over the sin and idolatry we see among our brothers and sisters. We’re grieved that those things dishonor our precious Savior and bring His judgment and discipline upon those who participate in and propagate them. We deeply desire that our denomination and our churches experience the joy that comes with being spiritually healthy and biblically submitted to Christ.

So, while there are probably at least ninety-five theses that could be nailed to the doors of the Executive Committee in Nashville, here are three that would be a good start.

1.
The Authority and Sufficiency of Scripture

Nearly forty years ago, Southern Baptist movers and shakers in the conservative resurgence went to war for the inerrancy of Scripture. It was a long, hard battle, but they won. Now it’s time to fight for the authority and sufficiency of Scripture in the SBC.

The Bible is our authority as Christians, not the ideas, opinions, and traditions of denominational leaders, SBC celebrities, pastors, or any other person. The Bible. If the Bible commands us to do something, we do it. If the Bible commands us not to do something, we don’t do it. We don’t formulate our own programs and methods and try to squish the Bible in to make it fit. We start with the Bible. We stay with the Bible. We end with the Bible.

Because the SBC does not always submit to the authority of the Bible, we have leaders, celebrities, and pastors looking to, and promoting, sources outside the Bible for direction instead of simply trusting and obeying God’s written Word. We have influential “Bible” teachers who stand on stages in front of thousands and dare to proclaim, “God told me…”, functionally denying the sufficiency of Scripture by relying on supposed extra-biblical revelation (and teaching their followers to do the same). We have pastors and denominational leaders who look to polls and surveys to decide how to conduct their worship services or which social issues need to be addressed and how to address them. We have church growth gurus teaching our pastors to adopt all manner of worldliness that “works” to get sinners in the doors of their churches.

If the Southern Baptist Convention is to survive as an entity of biblical Christianity, the authority and sufficiency of Scripture is the number one issue that must be dealt with. If this issue is properly addressed and corrected, it will alleviate or minimize nearly all other problems facing the SBC. We must submit to God’s written Word and give Scripture its proper place – first place – in our denomination, our individual churches, and our personal lives.

Basic Training: The Bible Is Our Authority

Basic Training: The Bible Is Sufficient

2.
False Doctrine and False Teachers

If the SBC truly regarded the Bible as authoritative and sufficient, the cancer of false doctrine and false teachers that is slowly killing us would be cured or in remission. Indeed, the aforementioned false teaching of extra-biblical (God told me, showed me in a dream, spoke to me, etc.) revelation is probably the most pervasive false doctrine accepted among Southern Baptists.

When Hilkiah found the Book of the Law in the temple (Imagine a house of God in such a shambles of idolatry that people had to dig and search for the actual Scriptures. Selah.), and Shaphan read it to Josiah, Josiah tore his clothes in grief and began to set God’s house and God’s people in order. After covenanting together with the people to obey God’s Word, the very first thing Josiah did was to have the altars and vessels of false gods carried out of God’s house and destroyed. If the SBC would follow in Josiah’s footsteps we would see things like:

LifeWay would immediately remove and destroy any and all materials by Beth Moore, Andy Stanley, Priscilla Shirer, TD Jakes, Lysa TerKeurst, Sarah Young, Christine Caine, Bethel Music, Jesus Culture, Hillsong, and all other false teachers and promulgators of false doctrine.

There would be no more conferences, simulcasts, or leadership training seminars featuring false teachers, and false teachers would certainly not be invited to speak in any capacity at the annual Southern Baptist Convention.

Pastors, authors, and speakers who attempted to build a career inside the SBC by teaching false doctrine would be subject to church discipline for their sin, not turned into celebrities or appointed or elected to denominational leadership positions.

Messenger voting privileges at the Convention would be revoked for churches which habitually and unrepentantly welcome false teachers.

If the Bible were to become our sufficient authority for both orthodoxy and orthopraxy, our eyes would quickly be opened to the enormity of the hold false doctrine has on our denomination, churches, and individuals, and we would act accordingly and biblically.

A Naked Emperor in the Southern Baptist Convention

10 Things I Wish Southern Baptists Knew About Southern Baptists

The Peterson Predicament and LifeWay’s Peculiar Policies

3.
Disfellowshipping Errant Churches

Earlier this week, the Southern Baptist Convention severed ties with the District of Columbia Baptist Convention (DCBC- an association of Southern Baptist churches in the Washington, D.C. area) for refusing to disfellowship one of its member churches, Calvary Baptist, which had called a legally “married” lesbian couple to serve as its co-“pastors” over a year ago.

It was absolutely the right thing to do (the SBC has disfellowshipped several churches that embrace homosexuality), and I’m glad that this standard remains in tact, but…lesbian co-pastors…? That’s how bad it has to get before the SBC can, or will, act to remove a church? What about churches that are embracing sins other than homosexuality?

There are plenty of apostate Southern Baptist churches, and we have no mechanism in place for kicking them out of the SBC.

This is a verbatim quote from the FAQ section (5th question from the top) of the SBC’s web site:

“According to our constitution, if a church no longer makes a bona fide contribution to the Convention’s work, or if it acts to ‘affirm, approve, or endorse homosexual behavior,’ it no longer complies with the Constitution of the Southern Baptist Convention and is not permitted to send messengers to the annual meeting. These, however, are the only explicitly stated instances in which the SBC has the prerogative to take action.”

What does that mean? As long as your church doesn’t affirm homosexuality and gives to the Cooperative Program, you’re in. Never mind if your pastor twists God’s word until it’s unrecognizable. Or lets women and false teachers get behind the pulpit like Steven Furtick does. Or plays AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” on Easter Sunday and says he probably wouldn’t have strippers on stage like Perry Noble does. Or any of the other ridiculous and blasphemous shenanigans so many of the seeker sensitive types in our denomination pull. Nope, as long as you give your money and stand on the right side of homosexuality, you’re good to go.² ³

I’ll be the first to admit, it would be a difficult standard to set and implement, but look at the standards the New Testament required of churches. We’ve got to set the bar higher than a homosexuality litmus test and an offering for a church to be in good standing with the SBC. Doctrine and practices simply have to be a factor.

Can there be another conservative resurgence that brings reform to the SBC? I believe there can.

The Bible says “nothing will be impossible with God.” I believe that. I believe that the God who spoke the universe into existence from nothing, who opened sealed tombs and barren wombs, who parted seas and walked on water and turned water into wine can change the hearts of Southern Baptists and the trajectory of the Southern Baptist Convention.

By His grace. For His glory. For our good.

¹A Naked Emperor in the Southern Baptist Convention
²10 Things I Wish Southern Baptists Knew About Southern Baptists
³As of 2019, this verbiage has been removed from the FAQ section of the SBC website. Conceptually similar language can be found here (see Article III: Composition).

Discernment, False Doctrine

A Naked Emperor in the Southern Baptist Convention

April 6, 2018June 10, 2021 Michelle Lesley

Think back to your childhood. Remember the story, The Emperor’s New Clothes?

Once upon a time, there lived an emperor. One day two swindlers came to his palace and told him they could weave cloth for his royal robes that was magical: to those who were foolish or unfit for their jobs, it would appear invisible. Only the wise and worthy would be able to see this fine fabric. The emperor hastily agreed to pay the “weavers” an exorbitant amount of money to make him such an amazing garment, thinking he would use it to weed out anyone unfit for royal service.

The weavers set about pretending to weave. From time to time, the emperor sent various folk to check on the progress the weavers were making, and – though in reality, none of them could see the non-existent fabric – all reported back that the garments were coming along nicely and the cloth was beautiful. But strangely enough, when the emperor himself looked in on the weavers, they held up the magnificent fabric, and he could not see it. Not wanting word to leak out that he was unfit to serve as emperor, he pretended to examine the cloth and complimented the weavers lavishly on their fine work.

Finally, the weavers informed the emperor that the garments were finished. They had the emperor strip down to his skivvies and pretended to help him on with his fine new “garments”. Word had spread among the emperor’s subjects about the magical properties of the fabric, and as the royal procession made its way through town, all shouted out praise for the emperor’s fine new clothes.

All. Except for one little boy.

“But he hasn’t got anything on!” the boy shouted.

It took the innocent honesty of a simple child to shock the emperor’s subjects back to their senses. The truth spread like wildfire, and the crowd began to cry out: “The emperor is naked!” “The emperor has no clothes on!” “He’s not wearing anything!”

But did the emperor admit to his foolishness, return to the palace, and get dressed? No. Sadly the story ends this way:

“The Emperor shivered, for he suspected they were right. But he thought, ‘This procession has got to go on.’ So he walked more proudly than ever, as his noblemen held high the train that wasn’t there at all.”¹

And so the “emperor” of leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention and those who carry its train march proudly on, despite the cries of simple peasants and innocent little children crying at the top of our lungs, “The emperor is naked!” “There are issues that need to be addressed, here!” “Listen to us!”

You’ll note that the story doesn’t say that the emperor was a cruel man, that he overtaxed the people, oppressed them into slavery, was a warmonger, or was in any other way an evil leader. In fact, one could argue that he had good intentions of making sure the people who served at various posts in his empire were of the finest caliber.

And while there are many issues that need to be addressed in my denomination, I think this could generally be said of the leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention as well. Call me a Pollyanna, but I have no reason to believe our denominational leadership – as a whole – is evil or has anything less than the best of intentions for the SBC.

But even benevolent emperors get things wrong sometimes, and, Southern Baptist leadership, your drawers are flapping in the breeze on this one²:

Sin. The public sin our leaders commit that we excuse and the public sin our leaders commit that we discipline, and the fact that there’s a discrepancy between the two.

Recently, Frank Page, president and chief executive officer of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention (one of the top positions of SBC leadership at the national level) resigned his position due to “a morally inappropriate relationship in the recent past,” which, we are left with little choice but to assume means “adultery”. (As an aside, Christians, when confessing sin, let’s knock off the the terminological hem-hawing and call a spade a spade. “I had a six month extra-marital romantic and sexual relationship with a married woman in my church,” or whatever. You don’t have to give all the gory details or name names, but, for crying out loud, if you’re going to confess, confess- don’t finesse.)

It was right and biblical for Dr. Page to publicly confess and express sorrow over his sin as well as to resign (it would also have been right and biblical for the SBC to remove him had he refused to resign, which, undoubtedly would have happened). He sinned against God, his family, the woman and her family, his church, his co-workers, and the entire denomination. He publicly embarrassed the Southern Baptist Convention and gave unbelievers fodder for scoffing when the report of his sin made the national news. This was a case of a well known Southern Baptist leader whose public, observable sin was handled biblically by SBC leadership. I am thankful for this witness to Christians and to the world that sin is not to be swept under the rug, but that sinners are to repent, be disciplined, and then be restored to fellowship (although, in cases like this, not leadership).

But we don’t handle all cases of public sin that way. Some public sin we reward by making the sinner into a wealthy, lauded celebrity.

“Impossible!” you say?

Check the shelves at LifeWay. Select twenty average SBC churches with women’s ministries and see whose books, DVDs, and simulcasts are being used again and again. Peruse the speakers at popular SBC conferences.

You’ll find names like Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, Lysa TerKeurst, Christine Caine, Ann Voskamp, Sarah Young, Andy Stanley, Steven Furtick, Rick Warren, and T.D. Jakes, just to name a few.

Have they committed adultery? Voiced approval of of homosexuality? Committed theft, abused their spouses, or promoted pornography? No. But those aren’t the only types of sins the Bible prohibits.

Every single one of them teaches false doctrine, from Sarah Young’s blasphemous “channeling” of Jesus, to T.D. Jakes’ denial of the Trinity, to Christine Caine’s Word of Faith heresy, to Lysa TerKeurst’s teaching of contemplative prayer.

All of these women who do speaking engagements unashamedly and unrepentantly preach to co-ed audiences. All of these men allow women to preach to co-ed audiences from their pulpits.

All of them who join in ministry with others have yoked or affiliated themselves with false teachers. Beth Moore and Joyce Meyer. Priscilla Shirer and T.D. Jakes. Steven Furtick and Joyce Meyer and T.D. Jakes. Rick Warren and the Pope.

Scripture plainly prohibits the teaching of false doctrine. It’s a major theme of the New Testament, for goodness sake. The Bible tells us that women are not to preach to men or exercise authority over them in the gathered body of Believers. And God’s Word makes very clear that we are to have nothing to do with false teachers, especially not partnering with them in “ministry”.

In the wake of Frank Page’s resignation, I asked this poll question on Twitter…

followed by this one…

Why are Southern Baptists leaders so quick to – rightly and biblically – oust Frank Page for, as far as we know, one isolated sin which he publicly confessed to and repented of, and yet overlook three major – and much more publicly observable and harmful to Southern Baptists – ongoing sins from pastors and teachers who have been rebuked and refuse to repent? Why, instead of disciplining them for their sin, do those in leadership give them fat book deals, invite them to speak at all the cool conferences, fawn over them on social media, and make them into celebrities?

How many sins will it take to disqualify and discipline these people? Four? Eleven? Ninety-six? Is there any amount of sin these pastors and teachers, and those like them, can commit that will cause those in SBC leadership to pull their materials off the shelves of LifeWay, deny them a seat at the table, and urge them to repent and step down from their positions?

I’ve been a Southern Baptist from the day I was born. I’ve been taught since the cradle roll that if God’s Word says not to do something and you do it anyway, that’s a sin. If God’s Word says to do something and you don’t do it, that’s a sin. And that sin is sin in the eyes of God.

Well is it, or isn’t it, Emperor?

If sin is sin in God’s eyes, why aren’t you treating Beth Moore’s sin like Frank Page’s sin? Why are you rewarding her for her sin and disciplining him for his?

The Bible says in James 3:1:

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

Those who teach and lead bear more responsibility to teach sound doctrine and walk worthy because they are teaching and leading us by example.

Why are all the aforementioned pastors and teachers better examples to us in their rebellion and unrepentant sin than Frank Page was in his repentance of sin?

Why?

Southern Baptist peasants and little children see right through your foolishness on parade on this issue and we want answers. Biblical answers.

Don’t just stand there shivering, suspecting we are right, but thinking, “This procession has got to go on,” and walking more proudly than ever. Go back to the palace. Repent. Clothe yourselves with humility and obedience to Scripture, and come back and lead us rightly. Biblically.

Because the Emperor of Southern Baptist leadership has been naked for far too long.

¹H.C. Andersen Centret (The Hans Christian Andersen Centre). The Emperor’s New Clothes. Accessed April 5, 2018.

²I am well aware that this is not the only problem in the SBC that needs to be addressed. It would be impossible to address every issue in one article, so this time I’ve chosen to focus on this one particular issue.

Church, Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday ~ Prideful and Prejudiced: Racism, Diversity, and Southern Baptists

June 15, 2017June 12, 2017 Michelle Lesley

Originally published April 1, 2016

Racism. The word practically emits the hum of electrical voltage. No decent person wants to be accused of being a racist, and no one wants to be mistreated on the basis of race. If there’s a more powerful word in the American vernacular right now, I’m not sure what it is.

Racism isn’t something I normally think about or have to deal with on a daily basis even though it would seem to be swirling all around me here in the Deep South. I’m white. The majority of my friends are white. Either I don’t know anyone who’s racist or those who are racist are wise enough, polite enough, or ashamed enough to keep it to themselves. But despite the fact that I don’t have much one on one experience with it, race is an issue that gets a lot of attention, and the main place I’m encountering racial issues of late is in my denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention.

Whether you see it as “too little, too late,” or “it’s about time,” the upper echelons of the SBC have been talking a good game (and, in many instances, making progress) about diversity for the last couple of decades. It started in 1995 with the Resolution On Racial Reconciliation, in which the SBC confessed, apologized for, and sought forgiveness for past involvement with and support of slavery, racism, segregation, and other civil rights issues. Next came the task force that studied changing the name of the SBC to “Great Commission Baptists” due to the negative perceptions and racial implications of the word “Southern.” This was followed by the election of Fred Luter, the first black president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Fast forward to 2016. So far this year, three well-known pastors have declared their candidacy for president of the SBC, and each has indicated that diversity is an issue he will give attention to.

J.D. Greear: “I want to see minority leaders take places of real prominence in the SBC, such that diversity might become a hallmark of our denomination.”

Steve Gaines: At Bellevue, we don’t just talk about racial reconciliation – we actually experience it and live in it as a reality. It works in our church because we focus on Jesus-centered racial reconciliation.

David Crosby (who will be nominated by Fred Luter): I hope to make [diversity] a matter of consideration from the very first as we seek to structure in the present for a future gospel strategy that is ever wider in its reach.

OK, great. More people of diverse racial backgrounds appointed to executive offices in the SBC. More books and resources about diversity. More seminars, conferences, panel discussions, and breakout sessions about race. Super. All of those things are wonderful and well intentioned, and will hopefully have some sort of positive impact at the administrative level.

But I really don’t think it’s going to make much of a dent in the actual problem.

I have a friend whose seminary graduate husband has been searching for a senior pastor position in an SBC church for about a year now. He’s a great guy who loves God’s people and rightly handles God’s word. And he’s been turned down by church after church. Why? I’m sure the churches who have rejected him would list a variety of factors, but one of the reasons is that he’s black and his wife is white.

Several years ago, my husband was on staff at an SBC church that was located across the street from a lower income housing project inhabited mostly by black, single parent families. The vast majority of our members were retired and I was a stay at home mom. We had a lot of people with a lot of free time on their hands. I suggested we start an after school tutoring program for the kids who lived in the housing project to minister to and reach out to our neighbors. The idea was quickly dismissed by a vocal few because “we don’t want those people in our church.”

That’s where real racism lives in the SBC, not at the national, upper management level, but in the hearts of some of our individual church members.

Church members who excuse their sin by saying, “Well, that’s just the way I was raised,” or “I’m too old to change.”

Deacons, elders, and search committees who – instead of dealing with sin in the camp – make provision for the flesh of their churches by quietly pushing aside the resumes of minority pastors because they don’t want to deal with the hassle of racist congregants making a stink or risk losing the money they contribute.

Churches who sell their buildings and move to a whiter part of town when the surrounding neighborhood “goes black.”

Christians whose offerings go around the world to share the gospel with people of all colors but who won’t go across the sanctuary to share a pew with people of another race.

Racism is an issue of the heart. It’s sin.

And sin can’t be solved by appointments based on skin color or some sort of “trickle down” diversity. It can only be solved by individuals repenting before a holy God, receiving His forgiveness, and growing in Christlikeness.

God’s way in the body of Christ is not “top down,” with administrators creating programs, holding meetings and conferences, and strategically moving people into various positions like pawns on a chess board. God’s way is “bottom up,” with local pastors preaching the truth of God’s word to their people and calling them to repent. It begins with Christ working in people’s hearts, one by one, convicting them of their arrogance and self-righteousness, their pride and their prejudice, their failure to see others through God’s eyes, and their failure to love one another the way God has commanded.

1 pet 1 22

The solution to racism and diversity in the SBC?
It’s right there in black and white.

Church

Prideful and Prejudiced: Racism, Diversity, and Southern Baptists

April 1, 2016March 31, 2016 Michelle Lesley

prideful prejudiced

Fast forward to 2016. So far this year, three well-known pastors have declared their candidacy for president of the SBC, and each has indicated that diversity is an issue he will give attention to.

J.D. Greear: “I want to see minority leaders take places of real prominence in the SBC, such that diversity might become a hallmark of our denomination.”

But I really don’t think it’s going to make much of a dent in the actual problem.

That’s where real racism lives in the SBC, not at the national, upper management level, but in the hearts of some of our individual church members.

Church members who excuse their sin by saying, “Well, that’s just the way I was raised,” or “I’m too old to change.”

Deacons, elders, and search committees who – instead of dealing with sin in the camp – make provision for the flesh of their churches by quietly pushing aside the resumes of minority pastors because they don’t want to deal with the hassle of racist congregants making a stink or risk losing the money they contribute.

Churches who sell their buildings and move to a whiter part of town when the surrounding neighborhood “goes black.”

Christians whose offerings go around the world to share the gospel with people of all colors but who won’t go across the sanctuary to share a pew with people of another race.

Racism is an issue of the heart. It’s sin.

1 pet 1 22

The solution to racism and diversity in the SBC?
It’s right there in black and white.

False Doctrine, New Apostolic Reformation

Follow Up: SBC President Ronnie Floyd, Featured Speaker at New Apostolic Reformation’s IHOP

January 15, 2016May 17, 2019 Michelle Lesley

About two months ago, I was deeply grieved to learn that the president of my own denomination (the Southern Baptist Convention) would be be appearing as one of the featured speakers at the International House of Prayer’s (IHOP) Onething 2015 conference. (See my article here. If you’re not familiar with the demonic {and, no, that is not an exaggeration} doctrine and practices of IHOP, please examine the resources listed at the end of the article.)

I (and others I’m aware of) attempted several times to contact Dr. Floyd to plead with him not to do this, but was unable to reach him. Several of my readers suggested (and I prayed) that perhaps Dr. Floyd would use his speaking time at Onething to rebuke IHOP’s false doctrine as pastors are instructed by Scripture to do, or, at the very least, that he would preach the gospel in order that attendees might be saved.

Unfortunately, to his and the Southern Baptist Convention’s shame, Dr. Floyd did not do either of these things, but spoke in a conciliatory, brotherly way to the IHOP leadership and Onething audience about working and praying together in unity to bring about revival in the United States.

Why was this a grievous and shameful thing to do? Because, as I mentioned in my previous article, Scripture forbids Christians from joining ourselves to those who preach a false gospel regardless of how noble the cause might be. And as a seminary graduate, pastor, and president of the largest protestant denomination in the United States, if anyone should know these Scriptures and obey them, it should be Dr. Floyd.

Here is Dr. Floyd’s speech (starting at approximately the 7:32 mark) in its entirety. I’d like to take this opportunity to examine some of his most troubling remarks in comparison with Scripture. (The particular remark I’m addressing can be found at the minute mark preceding the comment.)

8:24- I’m not here tonight to highlight our theological differences but to bend my knee next to yours and to ask God to have mercy on America.

Can you imagine Jesus saying this to the scribes and Pharisees? Or Peter saying this to Simon the magician? Or Paul saying this to Hymenaeus? Or John saying this to the gnostics? There is absolutely no New Testament precedent for a pastor to stand in a place where false doctrine is proclaimed and blithely sweep it aside in order to pray with those who promote it or believe it.

In fact, the New Testament paints the opposite picture, both implicitly and explicitly. Jesus and the apostles, when approaching unrepentant false teachers, always highlighted their theological differences, rebuked them sharply, and called them to believe the truth of the gospel. There is not a single instance in the New Testament in which Jesus or one of the apostles brushed aside false doctrine in order to work or pray together in unity with false teachers. Not one.

8:41- I also know that my being here is not an endorsement of your theology…

This statement is clearly at odds with Scripture. Second John 10-11 says:

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, ¹¹for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

Don’t even greet a false teacher, never mind accept an invitation (most likely a paid invitation) to speak cooperatively at his conference. If you do, you are taking part in his wicked works. That’s more than just an endorsement. That’s participation in the spreading of false doctrine.

9:10- …we’re not in total agreement about a lot of the secondary matters of life, ministry, and even the Bible.

There would be nothing wrong with this statement if Dr. Floyd were talking about partnering with, say, a parachurch organization which believes in paedobaptism instead of credobaptism, elder-led churches instead of congregational churches, or pre-millenial instead of post-millenial eschatology. Those are the sorts of things that qualify as “secondary matters,” and Christian individuals, churches, and groups can certainly partner in ministry with other Christian individuals, churches, and groups while not seeing eye to eye on those types of issues.

But that’s not what’s going on with IHOP. IHOP intentionally and unrepentantly preaches egregious false doctrine (again, see the resources at the end of my previous article for details). Scripture is crystal clear that we are to “watch out” for those who teach false doctrine and “avoid them,” not speak at their conferences.

The study note in my Bible on 2 John 10 (quoted above) says it well:

John’s prohibition is not a case of entertaining people who disagree on minor matters. These false teachers were carrying on a regular campaign to destroy the basic, fundamental truths of Christianity. Complete disassociation from such heretics is the only appropriate course of action for genuine believers. No benefit or aid of any type (not even a greeting) is permissible. Believers should aid only those who proclaim the truth.¹

And, by the way, when did the Bible become a “secondary matter,” especially for Southern Baptists? Anyone even vaguely familiar with the recent history of the Southern Baptist Convention knows about the hard fought inerrancy controversy. The Scriptures is the very first point of the Baptist Faith and Message, for heaven’s sake! Regarding the Bible, the BFM 2000 says, in part:

[Scripture] will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried.

Does it sound like Southern Baptists regard the Bible as a “secondary matter”? Did Dr. Floyd follow the standard of the central document outlining our statement of faith as Southern Baptists and try IHOP’s “conduct, creeds, and religious opinions” by Scripture? Did he act in accord with the Baptist Faith and Message by holding Scripture paramount as the “true center of Christian union” when he decided to unite with an organization that flouts Scripture on so many levels?

At the 9:49 mark, Dr. Floyd mentions the high regard Southern Baptists have for Scripture, and that it is the “final authority for all we believe and practice, period.” Then why did he not practice submission to the authority of Scripture and its many passages instructing Christians to refute false doctrine and rebuke or avoid those who teach it instead of disobeying these Scriptures by appearing at Onething?

Which is it? Do Southern Baptists, and our president, have a high regard for and “zealous commitment” to Scripture, or is it a “secondary matter”?

9:20- …yet my being here is a clear indication that these are times when people must come together and pray. And when the ship feels like it’s sinking, everyone needs to grab a bucket.

If you’ve ever read anything about the social, religious, and political conditions under which Paul lived, you know that the situation was much worse in Rome and the lands under its control at that time than it is in 21st century America, especially for Christians. Christians were used as torches for Nero’s nighttime garden parties, and subjected to all manner of other gruesome tortures. Yet despite the extreme persecution and rampant immorality of the world in which he lived, Paul did not call for Christians to “come together and pray” with false teachers or for everyone to “grab a bucket.” Instead, he steadfastly and in no uncertain terms condemned false doctrine (as did others, including Jesus, Peter, and Jude) and exhorted Christians to separate themselves from those who had proved themselves unbelievers by teaching false doctrine, even writing these words to the church at Corinth:

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? ¹⁵What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? ¹⁶What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
    and I will be their God,
    and they shall be my people.
¹⁷Therefore go out from their midst,
    and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
    then I will welcome you,
2 Corinthians 6:14-17

Why? The purity of doctrine and the right handling of Scripture are more important than the socio-political climate. They are paramount, because the truth of the gospel is the only means by which people can be saved. When you get the gospel wrong, people die and spend an eternity in hell. Maybe the Holy Spirit, who inspired Paul and the other New Testament writers to write so much about refuting false doctrine and rebuking those who teach it, thought that was just a little bit more important than light, temporary earthly suffering and the transient moral decay of society.

11:30- But tonight, I come to you as a pastor of a local church, not as the president of America’s largest Protestant denomination.

That’s all well and good if Dr. Floyd wants to view himself that way with regard to his obligation to the word of God. The Bible never mentions the office of president of a denomination. It gives instructions for pastors and Christians, both of which apply to Dr. Floyd. As a pastor and a Christian, he is still responsible for obeying the Scriptures.

However, for Dr. Floyd to say that he is not appearing as the president of the SBC but as the pastor of a local church is ludicrous for two reasons. First of all, take a look at the lineup of speakers for Onething. None of them are simply “pastors of a local church.” They all have high profile and powerful positions in large ministries. If Dr. Floyd were merely the pastor of a local Southern Baptist church, it’s extremely unlikely he would have ever been invited to speak. Just ask the other 50,000+ Southern Baptist pastors of local churches who were not asked to speak.

Second, for Dr. Floyd to try to verbally and conceptually separate himself from the position of president of the SBC in such a venue and say he is speaking only as the pastor of a local church, is somewhat analagous to President Obama appearing at a Democratic political rally and saying that he is not speaking as the President of the United States, but as the CEO of a local corporation. The man cannot be separated from the position. Dr. Floyd is the president of the SBC. That’s why he was invited to speak. And everything he said and did in connection with the Onething conference reflects upon the Southern Baptist Convention and influences Southern Baptists.

25:10- I don’t know why God brought you here this week…but many of you, God brought you here to wake you up…

No. Absolutely not. We can know without a doubt that God did not “bring” – in the sense that God wanted them to be there to “wake them up” spiritually or receive biblical instruction – a single individual, including Dr. Floyd, to Onething, because if He did, He would be completely contradicting His word. How could God tell us in His word to rebuke and avoid false teachers, and then “bring people” to a den of demonic false doctrine? God does not contradict His written word.

Now, God, in His sovereignty, did allow all of those people to be there. He allows people to disobey Him by following any number of false teachers. He allows people to commit murder and adultery and gossip, too. That doesn’t mean He is pleased by any of those things or that it’s His desire for people to do them.

God most assuredly did not bring people to Onething to wake them up in the way Dr. Floyd means. The only things God would have brought people to Onething to wake them up to is the false doctrine that’s being perpetrated by IHOP and Dr. Floyd’s complicity in the spreading of that false doctrine.

While there are some other statements Dr. Floyd made that I might take issue with, these jumped out at me as the most problematic ones. I wish I could sit down with Dr. Floyd and just ask him why.

Why, if it was biblically OK for you to speak at Onething, did you spend the first five minutes of a thirty-five minute speech, attempting to justify your presence there?

Why were you unable to point to a single “desperate times call for desperate measures” Scripture that says it’s OK for Christians to join with false teachers in ministry and prayer, but, rather, pointed to the problems in America to justify unifying in prayer with IHOP?

Why did you ignore the pleas of Southern Baptists and other Christians who begged you – on biblical grounds – not to associate yourself and the SBC with IHOP in this way?

Why, when there are over 50,000 Southern Baptist churches in this country – not to mention our seminaries, universities, parachurch organizations, and thousands of other Protestant churches and organizations with whom Southern Baptists truly differ only on genuine secondary theological issues – where you could have spoken, would you purposely choose to speak at an organization that preaches such egregious false doctrine?

There is no excuse for Dr. Floyd to have spoken at Onething. None. There are only three options here:

1. Dr. Floyd knew IHOP preaches false doctrine and knows what the Bible says about false teachers and false doctrine but chose to associate with IHOP anyway, which would mean he intentionally disobeyed God’s word.

2. Dr. Floyd did not know IHOP preaches false doctrine, which demonstrates extreme carelessness, naiveté, and lack of pastoral concern for those under his leadership.

3. Dr. Floyd knew what IHOP teaches but does not know that IHOP’s teachings biblically qualify as false doctrine, and/or Dr. Floyd does not know what the Bible says about dealing with false doctrine and false teachers, a depth of biblical ignorance I would never attribute to anyone of Dr. Floyd’s stature.

None of those three options – biblical ignorance, carelessness and naiveté, nor intentional disobedience to God’s word – are appropriate for any pastor, let alone the president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Anyone who is a Christian has people watching him and being influenced by him: your family, your neighbors, your co-workers, your fellow church members. The higher your position in the church or ministry, the more people you have watching you and being influenced by you, and the greater responsibility you have to both handle God’s word correctly and set a godly example. (This is why the Bible tells us that teachers in the church will be judged more strictly.) Dr. Floyd bears an immense biblical responsibility in his position of leadership.

If anyone reading this happens to know Dr. Floyd, please take this occasion to go to him as Nathan went to David, in a spirit of love and restoration, and open God’s word to him on this issue. Dr. Floyd is in a unique position to influence thousands of churches and millions of people to turn to Christ and grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus, but he must do so biblically. Nothing would bring me more joy as a Southern Baptist than to see him do just that. I would love to point people to him as a godly example of leadership.

If you do not know Dr. Floyd, take this incident as an opportunity to learn. Learn about the false doctrine taught by IHOP and so many other false teachers. Learn your Bible so you can rightly handle it, teach it to others, and submit to its authority and mandates. May we all be ever mindful of those who look to us as ambassadors of Christ and…

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16