Blessed Subtractions
Commentary by Paul
Proctor
One hundred and sixty five members of Gardendale Baptist Church recently found themselves without a church home after their pastor decided it was either
 Paul Proctor |
going to be
him or them. The Caller-Times of Corpus Christi reported
the following in a July 20th article: “In
a letter to the congregation, Micah Davidson, the church’s pastor, called
a business meeting after a July 18 baptismal service at which members
would vote on the following statement: ‘Pastor Micah is the God-called
pastor for Gardendale and is leading us in God’s direction or not.’
“Davidson
also stated in the letter that he would leave immediately if the church
voted against him. ‘If the church votes for me to stay,’ he wrote, ‘those
who vote against me will be removed from membership in the family immediately.’
“The
vote was about 750 to 165 in favor of the pastor, according to John
Gilbert, administrative pastor of the church. Immediately after the
vote of confidence, members voted to revoke the memberships of those
who voted against Davidson. Gilbert said that of the 165 members who
were ‘removed from membership,’ all could come back to church if they
‘signed a covenant for church unity.’” Although I have used the terms “pragmatism” and “consensus” in many previous articles to describe the modus operandi of the church growth movement, many Christians still fail to see the inherent danger of their acceptance and practice. I wish to thank |
Gardendale Baptist
Church for providing us with an excellent illustration of just how consensus
and pragmatism work.
Consensus in the Church says that the majority
determines the will of God. Though many godly men and women throughout history
have had to stand alone against
Our Lord experienced the calamity of consensus when
Pilate offered the agitated assembly Jesus’ freedom as a gesture of good will.
But, the mob didn’t want an innocent man released. Instead, they wanted a
murderer named Barabbas turned loose and Jesus crucified.
You see, that’s what consensus is; mob rule. And when
Pragmatism in the Church teaches, “The end justifies the means;” that anything goes as long as it goes forward in God’s name. When you embrace this Marxist philosophy, you are free to draw the line anywhere you wish because pragmatists spell grace G-R-A-Y-C-E, as in, no black and white (i.e., no standards or
absolutes).
Christian pragmatists (which is an oxymoron)
consider scriptural obedience to be legalism. Jesus, on the other hand,
said time and again that our love for Him was measured by our obedience
to His Word, making pragmatism anything but Christ-like. The Decatur
Daily reported on August 16th that a “Christian organization” in
Atlanta called, Single Focus, regularly holds a Bible
study at Hooters in Kennesaw, Georgia. I find it curious that they don’t
patronize some of the local strip joints, bathhouses, porno shops, massage
parlors and gambling venues to study the Bible
as well. Those poor folks need God’s love too, don’t they? And I’m sure
they’d appreciate the business as much as Hooters does. If the end justifies
the means, why stop with a risqué restaurant? Maybe if we’d visit more
adult establishments during the week, they’d visit our churches on Sunday,
right? Isn’t it all about joining in and being “relevant to the culture”
to “reach people” for Jesus so the Church will grow into the Kingdom
of God? Sounds like a man plan to me. I wonder what Jonah would say to the folks at Hooters if he were still around? The pragmatic church teaches that Jesus would have bellied up to the bar and bribed everyone with a beer and a basket of wings. I believe they call |
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that “sharing God’s
love” now. What sinner wouldn’t want to be baptized into a fellowship like
that?
You see, the Church will either be led by
the absolute truth and authority of a just and holy God or it will be guided by
consensus and pragmatism. They each have their own deity and purpose and are
therefore incompatible, though many pastors and leaders today often try to
switch back and forth from one to the other in order to advance their careers,
forward their agendas, keep up appearances or work damage control, which is
really only pragmatism.
My heart goes out to the former members of
Gardendale Baptist Church. Like so many others that have written to me over the
years with their tragic tales, they have truly suffered for the cause of
Christ. Rick Warren calls them “blessed subtractions.” If he only knew just how
right he was…
“Blessed
are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their
company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of
man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward
is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.”
– Luke 6:22-23
Paul
Proctor, a rural resident of the Volunteer state and seasoned veteran of the
country music industry, retired from showbiz in the late 1990’s to dedicate
himself to addressing important social issues from a distinctly biblical
perspective. As a freelance writer and regular columnist for NewsWithViews.com,
he extols the wisdom and truths of scripture through commentary and insight on
cultural trends and current events. His articles appear regularly on a variety
of news and opinion sites across the internet and in print. Paul may be reached
at watchman@usa.com.