Australian Independent Baptist Newsletter February 2011 #2 Dr. David C. Bennett, Editor (DCB) PO Box 1241 Dubbo NSW 2830 AUSTRALIA Phone/Fax 02-6884-2846 Email: kjb1611tr@aol.com Permission is given to forward material contained in the AIB Newsletter. Purpose: To inform and warn God's people of religious social, and political events in today's world. Email: aussiedubbo@yahoo.com Standing unashamedly for the King James Bible http://www.sharperiron.org/article/preserving-some-truth PRESERVING SOME TRUTH January 11, 2011 (Edited by DCB) At a recent conference in Troy, Michigan ...more than three hundred registered attendees (and about that many more walk-ins for the evening service) gathered for a symposium on biblical separation.  This event ...was an important step toward developing a biblical separation model that (a) improves on what separatists have practiced in the recent past and (b) functions better in the current evangelical landscape in America.  Two speakers were Kevin Bauder of Central Seminary, Pastor Chris Anderson of Tri-County Bible Church in Madison, Ohio, Mark Minnick of Greenville, South Carolina and David Doran of Detroit Baptist Seminary.  The writer says The highlight of the event for many was probably the afternoon discussion session. This was when All the platform and workshop speakers were invited to the platform to discuss a series of selected questions. The discussion format was making some of them squirm but their willingness to be involved speaks well of their courage as well as their desire to be persuasive. The old separation-by-category (or maybe separation-by-acronym, as Chris Anderson observed in his Friday PM message) paradigm doesnt work anymore. There are too many leaders and ministries promoting and defending the gospel these days that just do not fit into the boxes we used in the 70s and 80s (its debatable whether the boxes worked well back then either, but thats another subject).  Most if not all of the men mentioned in this article are affiliated with the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship International (FBFI). What has changed that these men do not understand about Bible separation?    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Al Mohler wrote that Jerry Falwell ...redefined independent fundamentalism and then led his church to associate with the Southern Baptist Convention, which had experienced its own conservative redirection.[1] Is Jerry Falwell part of the reason so many independent Baptist churches are opening their pulpits to Southern Baptists? An email was recently sent this editor concerning an independent Baptist church in Michigan whose pastor is a Detroit Baptist Seminary graduate. This church was sponsoring two conferences and the keynote speaker for each conference is a faculty member at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY. The keynote speaker for the missionary conference was Dr. Chuck Lawless, dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism and the other conference keynote speaker is Dr. Stuart Scott. Dr. Scott is a former faculty member of Dr. John MacArthurs Masters College and Seminary. So how far does one extend ecclesiastical separation? Think about it! Most fundamentalists admit Billy Graham is a new evangelical (if not worse). So what might it suggest about a man who is the dean of a school named after Billy Graham, would that man be an evangelical, new evangelical or worse? Just asking!           ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- www.thelawlessgroup.com  Dr. Chuck Lawless, mentioned in the previous article, is president of the church consulting firm, The Lawless Group. At http://www.thelawlessgroup.com/conferences.php the reader is introduced to the fact that the Lawless group is In partnership with Church Central, a major training organization that focuses on church consultation, with the possibility of receiving different levels of certification. For more information, visit . At that website one will find the article REALLY GOOD WAY TO "PLAN" TRANSCENDENT WORSHIP. Part of this article says There is a delicate balance in doing the more obvious work of leading people to God and coupling it with the stepping away work required to let people find God for themselves. Here is an example of how this might be incorporated into a worship service as part of a liturgy we already know how to implement: Sing your biggest praise offering with full out instrumental accompaniment, letting the sound reverberate around the room or through your sound guy's earphones. Then stop everything. Turn the lights down. Don't talk, don't segue, and don't explain. Just stop! Have the pastor walk up the aisle of the church without speaking or looking at people. After about a minute (this will seem like ten), have the pastor give the following invitation or something like it. There are things I know and there are things I wonder about—just like you. I know God wants us to be here. I know He loves us. I know our being here is pleasing to Him. One of the many things I don't know is why He's so patient with us. Let's take some time to silently tell Him we're sorry for thinking we could ever hide from Him any of the doubting and acting out we engage in every day. If you are not a Christian and think this is weird, just try to remember a couple of things you might have done this week that you would just as soon nobody know about. I guess that would apply to all of us. Let's pray that as we unmask ourselves—again, silently—that God might reveal more about who He is to us. After a couple of minutes, have some someone sing Steve Merkel's Lord, Have Mercy, without accompaniment. It should be fairly slow and without affectation. The profound nature of this ancient text (in a contemporary skin) will have a deep affect on this holy moment. If the singer can be placed in the congregation, that would be even better. This sounds a lot like what the local Anglican Church practices known as Taizé. The Taizé website says During a time of prayer with others, it is best to have just one fairly long period of silence (5-10 minutes) rather than several shorter ones.[2] A pastor must be very careful who they have in their pulpit for speakers often have a bigger influence on the people than the pastor. Eph 5:6 - 11 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Because of Calvary, David C. Bennett, D. Min. [1] http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/r_albert_mohler_jr/2007/05/the_legacy_of_dr_jerry_falwell.html [2] http://www.taize.fr/en_article337.html