#Gospel Reformation Network

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

by Jon Payne | To mind the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5) and to possess the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5), we must be vigilant about what enters our minds, absorbs our thoughts, and dominates our conversation. How can Christians set their minds on the things of the Spirit if we are always setting our minds on the...

[baptist-denominations-poll]

Initial Pairs

Polls start dropping tomorrow!

American Baptist Association VS Interstate and Foreign Landmark Missionary Baptist Association of America

American Baptist Churches USA VS Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec

Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists VS Canadian Baptists of Western Canada

Baptist Bible Fellowship International VS Baptist Missionary Association of America

Baptist General Conference of Canada VS Independent Baptist Church of America

Canadian National Baptist Convention VS Southern Baptist Convention

Converge (previously Baptist General Conference) VS North American Baptist Conference

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship VS Alliance of Baptists

Enterprise Association of Regular Baptists VS Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada

Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada VS Southwide Baptist Fellowship

Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals VS Sovereign Grace Fellowship of Canada

Foundations Baptist Fellowship International VS Venture Church Network (formerly Conservative Baptist Association of America)

Fundamental Baptist Fellowship Association VS Old Regular Baptists

General Association of Six-Principle Baptists VS General Association of Regular Baptist Churches

Holiness Baptist Association VS Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship

Independent Baptist Fellowship International VS Confessional Baptist Association

National Baptist Convention, USA VS National Baptist Convention of America International

National Missionary Baptist Convention of America VS Progressive National Baptist Convention

National Primitive Baptist Convention of the U.S.A. VS Central Baptist Association

Original Free Will Baptist Convention VS National Association of Free Will Baptists

Primitive Baptist Conference of New Brunswick, Maine, and Nova Scotia VS General Association of General Baptists

Progressive Primitive Baptists VS Primitive Baptist Universalists

Separate Baptists in Christ VS Kindred Associations of Baptists (AKA General Association of the Baptists)

Seventh Day Baptist General Conference VS New Independent Fundamentalist Baptist

Ukranian Evangelical Baptist Convention of Canada VS Union of Slavic Churches of Evangelical Christians and Slavic Baptists of Canada

Union of French Baptist Churches of Canada VS Covenanted Baptist Church of Canada

United American Free Will Baptist Church VS United American Free Will Baptist Conference

(Due to some categories having odd numbers of denominations, a handful will be dropped into the preliminary heats later on. If you don't see your fave, that's probably why!)

[bills-bible-basics]

BEWARE OF DOMINIONISM

As I pointed out to someone recently, Dominionism is the MARRIAGE of modern politics and religion in the United States of America — and now spreading elsewhere — just as the Scribes and the Pharisees of old were in bed with the Romans in order to ensure their survival for a while longer.

More specifically, in the USA, Dominionism is the marriage of the Christian Right with the GOP. Many Republicans — including Donald Trump — are very much into it for political gain.

Some organizations and movements which embrace Dominion theology include MAGA, Turning Point USA, NAR (New Apostolic Reformation), Trinity Broadcasting Network, etc.

You will hear names such as Charlie Kirk, Candace Owens, Steve Bannon, Paula White, Michael Flynn and politicians such as Mike Johnson, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert being associated with Dominionism to varying degrees.

Please note that I have nothing personal against any of the aforementioned individuals, and in fact agree with their concerns regarding the very serious spiritual downward spiral of the United States.

However …..

The seven pillars — or seven mountains — theology of Dominionism is totally contrary to the Scriptures which admonish Believers to remain set apart from the world. The pattern of the New Testament Church was NOT to engage politically with the world. It was simply to stay separate — as Jesus said — and to preach the Gospel.

The First Century Church did NOT promote political activism. Period. That is what the Roman Catholic Church did a few centuries later under emperor Constantine and forward.

If anyone doubts my word, then please read the Scriptures for yourself and be convinced:

"Worldliness" KJV Bible Verse List:

https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/verse078.html

Article: "To Vote, or Not to Vote":

https://www.billkochman.com/Articles/To-Vote-Or-Not-To-Vote-01.html

[brother-joseph]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Saint Francis of Assisi DVD, by Bob and Penny Lord, New.

[solatgif]

TGIF: Roundup for August 11, 2023

I interviewed Matthew D. Kim about his book, Preaching to a Divided Nation. Check out my other interviews with Professor Kim: Finding the Big Idea When Preaching and Teaching, Preaching to People in Pain, and Finding Our Voice: A Vision for Asian North American Preaching.

Our interview with Ruth Chou Simons recently crossed 1,000 views on YouTube! Watch more of our Popular Videos and subscribe to our channel.

This newsletter is one of the many ways you can keep in touch with us. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For more, check out my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group and TGIF Playlist on Spotify. You can reach me on Twitter and Instagram. 

Enter to win this beautiful book! Thanks to Harvest House Publishers for providing this book for our giveaway, in partnership with my newsletters for @diveindigdeep and FCBC Walnut. How can singing serve your family? In Timeless Hymns for Family Worship, Joni Eareckson Tada and Bobbie Wolgemuth bring Gospel-centered moments into your home. Read my review.

Articles From Around The Web

1. Daniel K. Eng: Sermon on the Mount: 5 Keys That Unlock Understanding

“As we look forward to the full realization of the kingdom, we submit to our king. For disciples of Christ, we look forward to the end, when our house will stand, when we are characterized by the Father’s perfection, and when we will receive our reward.”

2. Joe Carter: 9 Things You Should Know About Falun Gong and ‘The Epoch Times’

Here’s what you should know about the Falun Gong spiritual movement, its oppression by the Chinese government, and how the group spreads its message in the United States.

3. Elliot Clark: Our Missions Approach Is Too Western

“A consumerist mindset can incline many of us as Westerners to focus on products and processes more than on people.”

Asian American Leadership Conference 2024: “Writing the Next Chapter.” April 23-24, 2024, Orange County, CA. Registration opens on August 28! More info can be found on the conference website: aalc.network.

The vision of this conference is to equip Asian-American leaders with gospel centered, contextual resources that will empower men and women for local church ministry. Our conference strategy is to equip leaders, platform voices, and connect with one another for life-giving relationships.

The theme of our conference is “Writing the Next Chapter: Empowering Asian American Voices for Gospel Ministry”. The Asian American church today is at a unique inflection point with leaders in diverse stations across multiple generations. This conference will be an opportunity to learn from these voices for the sake of continued and future Gospel work together.

Books, Podcasts, Music, And More

1. Jerry Hwang: The Faithful Servant of the Lord

Jerry Hwang preached from Isaiah 49:1-7 at FCBC Walnut.

Related: Rich, In-depth, and Insightful: A Review of Crossway’s “ESV Expository Commentary: Isaiah–Ezekiel”

2. Aaron Lee: Related Works

Book Reviews: Union with the Resurrected Christ by G. K. Beale, Tell Me the Dream Again by Tasha Jun, Family Worship Bible Guide by Reformation Heritage Books. Listen to our TGIF playlist on Spotify. Join my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group.

Our new Books and Reviews page is your one-stop resource for all of your reading needs. It features Asian American authors and issues, book recommendations, and interviews.

Featured This Week On SOLA Network

1. Aaron Lee: Preaching To A Divided Nation: An Interview With Matthew Kim

Current political rhetoric and its impact on the current state of affairs, the urgent need to seek Christ-like reconciliation even in the face of disagreement, and the importance of fostering understanding and empathy among diverse perspectives.

2. E.L Sherene Joseph: Immigrant Indian Women, Vocation and Faith

God calls us all to unique and meaningful work, whether in the corporate world, parenting, homemaking, volunteering, or community-building.

3. Kevin Liu: Sitting Around Tables for a Sunday Service?

Let me share with you the silly gimmick of Table Church NYC: We sit at tables.

4. Steven Siu: An Apologetic for Ethnic Heritage Churches

God has and continues to use ethnic heritage churches missionally and intergenerationally, and to provide a spiritual home for ethnic minorities and others.

5. TGIF: Roundup for August 4, 2023

Membership at Metropolitan Tabernacle: Church Polity with Charles Spurgeon / Great Is God’s Faithfulness Towards Parents and Children / How Horror Uncovers Our ‘Holy’ Hypocrisy

General disclaimer: Our link roundups are not endorsements of the positions or lives of the authors.

[techniche]

Although the concept of a 'scientific dictatorship' was outwardly expressed through the socialist totalitarian systems of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, the concept had not yet reached the global scope of Huxley's Brave New World. Yet, there was another embryonic scientific dictatorship waiting to be birthed. On October 24, 1945, shortly after the fall of the Nazi scientific dictatorship, another one called the United Nations was created.

The United Nations finds its proximate origins with the architects of Pax Britannia, an Anglophile variant of the scientific dictatorship concept. Recall Cecil Rhodes' 'Confession of Faith,' which articulated his vision for a British world government. This vision was inspired by John Ruskin, a professor at Oxford University. However, Cecil Rhodes not the only adherent of Ruskin's imperialistic message. Evidently, others had taken to heart the Anglophilic gospel of Ruskin and, eventually, became associated with Rhodes. Together, this network would establish a secret society devoted to the cause of British expansionism.

Carroll Quigley elaborates: Among Ruskin's devoted disciples at Oxford were a group of intimate friends including Arnold Toynbee, Alfred (later Lord) Milner, Arthur Glazebrook, George (later Sir George), Philip Lyttelton Gell, Henry (later Sir Henry) Birchenough. These were so moved by Ruskin that they devoted the rest of their lives to carrying out his ideas. A similar group of Cambridge men including Reginald Baliol Brett (Lord Esher), Sir John B. Seeley, Albert (Lord) Grey, and Edmund Garrett were also aroused by Ruskin's message and devoted their lives to the extension of the British Empire and uplift of England's urban masses as two parts of one project which they called 'extension of the English-speaking idea.' They were remarkably successful in these aims because of England's most sensational journalist William Stead (1849 - 1912), an ardent social reformer and imperialist, brought them into association with Rhodes. This association was formally established on February 5, 1891, when Rhodes and Stead organized a secret society of which Rhodes had been dreaming for sixteen years. In this secret society Rhodes was to be leader; Stead, Brett (Lord Esher), and Milner were to form an executive committee; Arthur (Lord) Balfour, (Sir) Harry Johnston, Lord Rothschild, Albert (Lord) Grey, and others were listed as potential members of a 'Circle of Initiates'

When Rhodes died, the continuation of his imperialistic vision fell upon the shoulders of the chief Rhodes Trustee Alfred Milner. Under Milner's coordination, the Rhodes network would establish a stateside surrogate organization that would be instrumental in the formation of the United Nations

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) was the chief organizational conduit for the importation of the Anglophile scientific dictatorship into the United States. With the machinations of Rhodes' Pax Britannia successfully relocated, the Rhodes tradition would continue in the United States. The CFR would create the United Nations to act as a vehicle for realizing Rhodes' vision globally...

Phillip & Paul Collins (The Ascendancy of the Scientific Dictatorship: An Examination of Epistemic Autocracy from the 19th to the 21st Century; Chapter: The United Nations: A Global Scientific Dictatorship, pg. 130; 2006)

[blackkudos]

Cheryl James

Cheryl Renee James (born March 28, 1966), better known by her stage name Salt, is an American rapper and songwriter. James is best known as a member of the American Grammy–award winning female rap trio Salt-n-Pepa, which also includes Pepa (Sandra Denton) and Spinderella (Deidra "Dee Dee" Roper). James starred in The Salt-N-Pepa Show, a reality TV series focusing on reforming the group which aired on the VH1 network in 2008.

Biography

Early life and education

The daughter of a transit worker and Barbara James, a banker, James was born in Brooklyn, New York. The middle of three children, James grew up in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. James attended Grover Cleveland High School, graduating in 1983. After high school, James enrolled at Queensborough Community College to study nursing. James met Queens-native Sandra Denton in 1985 while attending college. James soon became close friends with Denton, eventually working together as telephone solicitors at Sears.

Career

After forming a friendship with Denton, James' then-boyfriend and co-worker Hurby Azor approached the pair and asked them to record a rap for a class project. With Azor's guidance as their manager, James and Denton then formed the group "Super Nature" (which eventually changed to "Salt N' Pepa") and were joined by Latoya Hanson who was replaced by Deidra Roper joined in 1987. They released five studio albums: Hot, Cool & Vicious (1986), A Salt with a Deadly Pepa (1988), Blacks' Magic (1990), Very Necessary (1993), and Brand New (1997). Salt also co-starred in the 1993 motion picture Who's the Man?. In 1997, she recorded the song "Stomp" with gospel artists Kirk Franklin and God's Property for their album God's Property, one of the best-selling albums in gospel music history. They were the first female rap act to have gold, platinum, and multi-platinum albums, and the first female rap act to win a Grammy. The group disbanded in 2002 but reformed in 2008.

James appeared on VH1's inaugural Hip Hop Honors program in November 2004, along with Pepa, but they did not perform. Salt, Pepa, and Spinderella, however, did perform on the second Hip Hop Honors on September 22, 2005, performing their hit "Whatta Man". This was the trio's first performance as Salt-N-Pepa since 1999. On October 23, 2008, Salt-N-Pepa performed "Shoop", "Push It", and "Whatta Man" at the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards. In 2009, James was featured in the Generation Gospel Exclusive on 106 & Gospel.

Personal life

James dated Salt N' Pepa group manager Hurby Azor during the early start of the group from 1984 until 1989. James married her husband Gavin Wray on Christmas Eve 2000, although they dated for ten years before the marriage. James and Wray have two children, a daughter Corin (b. 1991) and a son Chapele (b. 1999). They currently reside in New York City. As of May 2011, James put her New York home on the market to relocate to Atlanta. James' daughter Corin attended Hofstra University in Hempstead, Long Island, New York.

James and her daughter are referenced in Tupac's song "Keep Ya Head Up." In an interview James stated she considers herself a feminist "in a way," emphasizing the need for women to avoid complete emotional and financial dependence on men. Songs like "Tramp" and "Shake Your Thang" by Salt-N-Pepa express such feminist themes as female autonomy. She was baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church on a mission trip in Ethiopia with Oakwood College.

Discography

Studio albums

Hot, Cool & Vicious (1986)

A Salt with a Deadly Pepa (1988)

Blacks' Magic (1990)

Very Necessary (1993)

Brand New (1997)

[cwhitestone-blog]

Sept 2019

Introduction

I belong to Piney Point Baptist Church, in Rogers, Arkansas.  The church has a women's ministry. Some of us are going to the Women of Joy conference in Branson, MO.  I signed up to go as well. But since I have been studying the postmodern church I had reservations about going. A little research on the speakers at the Women of Joy conference revealed my concerns were not unfounded. I discovered, mostly by watching excellent discernment ministry YouTube videos, that many W of J speakers also speak at conferences, at churches and on so-called Christian television or radio stations which promote a false Christ for a new, emergent spirituality. 

If I did go to the W of J conference, it would be good fellowship with sisters. The speakers would probably not preach anything overtly heretical. It might be fun listening to their stories. After all, these are professional speakers and storytellers. Yet I cannot in good conscience attend. I do not judge anyone for going though. It could be an opportunity to be discerning. 

What am I to do for my sisters who haven't been told the whole story about these hidden things? What is wrong with this Women of Joy conference is what is wrong with the big picture, the emerging new spirituality. I believe my sisters would want to know, so my convictions lead me to share this.

Leaders from different types of churches, from the Bible preaching to the liberal ones, share platforms at conferences and preach at each others' churches. This alliance becomes an amalgam of truth with error. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. 

Some of the speakers at the upcoming Branson MO 2019 W of J conference are part of a group of professional speakers who make the conference rounds. While Women of Joy looks innocuous, many other conferences promote false doctrines and worldly agendas. Why are the same speakers sharing platforms, endorsing false teachers? This is not guilt by association but guilt by participation. 

Many of these speakers who speak at W. of J. confererences also preach at mega churches which promote heresies. I will outline these heresies as we go. They are Word of Faith, the New Apostolic Reformation, the Emergent church and New Age Spirituality. These professional speakers share platforms with those who preach these heresies. Not only do they not challenge the false teachings but they promote the false teachers. But this is spiritual adultery and idolatry....a social club of religious stardom, the speakers forming an entertaining entourage, fame more important than truth. 

Thus, conferences and churches merge, which is an agenda of the emergent church. These professional speakers promote Who's Who in religion, from Joel Olsten, TD Jakes, Joyce Meyer, Rick Warren, Mike Bickel, Kenneth Copeland, Francis Chan...whoever. They use Bible words like grace and love, not sin and holiness. Sadly many sincere seekers are taken in by the religious buzzwords. 

A few of the Women of Joy speakers I researched also speak on the Jesus Calling radio station/podcast.  Jesus Calling by Sarah Young is the bestselling channeled book sold by Christian publishers, which speaks for a false, New Age Jesus. I will elaborate more as we go, what research brought me to this conclusion. Some W of J speakers preach on problematic networks like DayStar TV, which hosts Joseph Prince and other fake healers. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The following are some of the areas I am going to research and write about in upcoming posts.  Just sharing with you the outline of topics to be discussed.

Let's look at the big picture...

I. How did the church arrive in this crisis? 

A. Mega Churches and who started them

Peter Drucker first groomed Bob Buford, then Rick Warren and Bill Hybels. 

Bob Buford

Rick Warren was heavily influenced by New Age Self-Esteem guru Robert Schuller.

    Robert Schuller:

Seeker-Friendly C3 Churches 

Church growth is a profitable business. These mega churches offer entertainment, community and a promise of heaven for everyone. They preach self esteem pop-psychology, inclusivism and ecumenism. 

B. The Emergent, Merging Church in its many manifestitations 

1. New Age Mysticism and Religious Experience Replace Truth

C. The Fall of the Evangelical Church 

Many faithful believers within SBC churches like Piney Point Baptist love the Lord and want to follow him. They do not know that the leaders of the SBC have joined hands with those who preach false doctrine and that these same people honor and meet with Pope Francis. Pope Francis has been meeting with world leaders saying religions should merge. I believe he intends to be the head of these religions in the name of world peace. (Video)     Yet Rick Warren says, if you love Jesus you'll love Pope Francis. Citation The leader of the SBC, Greer, says we should be fierce advocates for the LGBTQ community. Please watch the YouTube The SBC is Fallen The Southern Baptist Convention has fallen. It is my earnest prayer that the leadership of Piney Point Baptist will get us out of the SBC, so that our tithes do not contribute, even in a tiny way, to ungodly agendas. $$$$$$$$$$ 

The SBC includes, in its compromise with the world, over 45,000 churches. Many of these are not Evangelical, Baptist or Bible teaching. Many help lead people to hell.

E. The New Apostolic Reformation, NAR

F. Word of Faith

G. The Crazy Conference Scene

like Passion, frequented by Word of Faith and NAR heretics; as well as Show Me Your Glory and the Gathering. These conferences blend denominations and apostasies more. .

Chan, Bickle and Louie Giglio did the One Thing Conference. Kevin DeYoung, Together for the Gospel, invited Chan to his conference, even though DeYoung is more orthodox. 

These men speak at The Call, The Send, The Altar Conferences, The New Jesus movement, with its Signs and Wonders (as prophesied, “all lieing signs and wonders”). They speak of “A Dream, God's Dream”...These are their conferences seeking to bring the worldwide transition for the anti christ. That is a nightmare. It's all about Unity. Hellsong, Tod White, Heidi Baker, NAR (New Apostalic Reformation – see Note.) leaders, Jesus Culture (Bill Johnson)...they will all be at The Send conference (like Jesus sent out his apostles). 

Who are the Leaders at the Women of Joy Conferences?

A. First let's look at the leaders at the Branson MO Oct 2019 W of J Conference

Liz Curtis Higgs speaks on LifeTodayTV which features Beth Moore. I believe there is evidence Moore has walked away from the faith. 

Beth Moore used to seem like a good Bible study teacher until she got a vision from God that evangelicals should unite with Catholics. She befriends the superstars of the false church system including Joyce Meyer, the Olsteens, and Hillsong leaders. 

Annie F. Downs

Annie Downs is affiliated with Pastor Ray Johnston's Bayside Church. Bayside does Thrive conferences which host heretics like Francis Chan, who is part of the New Apostolic Reformation (See note.) Ray Johnston replaces doctrine with the social gospel. 

Downs podcasts on the Jesus Calling channel. 

Also, Annie Downs speaks and writes for Relevant, which features Carl Lentz, leader of Hillsong New York. (It is relevant who Relevant represents.) 

Carl Lentz

Karen Kingbury - fine.

Sheila Walsh was a former host of the 700 Club host. She speaks at Saddleback with Warren, and at Hillsong. 

B. Now let's look at speakers at other W of J confererences.

Bianca Olthoff  seems really suspect. I took one look at her picture and thought, “transgender” but, of course, that was my gut reaction and I don't know; although I did find a strange YouTube video which may confirm this. “B*thel C*urch: Dr Bianca Olthoff Preaching Hebrew Swag Conference transgender approved satanic mind control.” At _____, Bianca says, “you can bless my heart if...(pause)...no one told me you could see up my dress.” Her meta message seems to be, don't tell what you might have seen up my dress. I wouldn't doubt that Olthoff would be capable of mocking Christian women in this way since she is affiliated with Bethel Church. She hosts “Bible” studies with names like “Play with Fire Small Group Bible Study.” 

Bethel Church, Bill Johnson

Alli Worthington – links a Katie Perry song to her page which comes with a parental advisory. She makes the rounds. 

Lysa Terkeurst - Lysa wrote a decent book about two gardens but Lysa Terkeurst is someone I will no longer read because she speaks at Elevation, endorsing Steven Furtick. (I recommend women's Bible study books by Susan Heck, who has memorized 23 books of the Bible.) 

Steven Furtick, Elevation

Lisa Harper makes the rounds to Hillsong and Hillsong Colour Conference, Elevation Church, the C3 San Diego Church... She is also on the Jesus Calling Devotional Podcast and the 700 Club. 

Hillsong churches andHillsong Colour Conference

Christine Caine

III. Have they Joined the Heresy Club? 

A. The Respectable Deceived

Even some seemingly spiritual giants are straying. John MacArthur, for instance has put his dubious friendships over truth by sharing speaking platforms with NAR leaders and others. I thank God that MacArthur is still a godly Bible teacher, though. 

What's wrong Ravi Zacharias? He speaks at Saddleback mega church with Rick Warren. Ravi commends Joyce Meyer and Henri Nouwen. Elaborat He can tell you why Christianity makes more sense than the Koran yet he endorses leaders who deceive. 

Lee Strobel makes a convincing case for Christ yet hooks up with Willowcreek mega church. (Elaborate)

These men often preach correct doctrine. Yet, apparently, intellectual assent to a set of propositional truths does not give them spiritual discernment regarding false teachers. They are not heeding scriptures which tell us to watch out for wolves in sheep's clothing. We are certainly not to promote them.

Beth Moore, once a spiritual giant to evangelical women with her Bible studies, is still a darling of the SBC, making the rounds at mega churches, yet she is now preaching a different gospel, a different Jesus. Beth said she had a vision: God wants Protestants to unite with Catholics. Beth is completely inclusive, preaching with Word of Faith Joyce Meyer, both saying, “there should be no divisions.” She has heavily influenced the SBC ecumenist, political operative Roger Moore. 

Francis Chan, NAR, is a popular conference speaker who hangs out with cult leader Mike Bickle, Pastor Rick Warren and Lou Ingle. Chan says if you speak against Rick Warren, God might kill you. YouTube 'Apostasy Report – Francis Chan The Deceiver” Servus Christi. 

Mike Bickle –  YouTube “Mike Bickle false teacher.” 

Btw, I live in Rogers, Arkansas and was curious about The Joppa House of Prayer because I drive by it. When I visited I saw worship leaders from a conservative congregation, Fellowship Bible Church in Lowell, helping with the music in the sanctuary. But when there is no live music, The International House of Prayer is livestreamed on the big screen in the sanctuary. This was my introduction to the IHOP cult. I knew something was wrong right away hearing the Kansas City prophets make false prophesies on the big screen.  But who is sounding the alarm about this at Fellowship Bible Church?  Then I went into the healing rooms and saw advertisements for healings offering which use New Age and Word of Faith practices.

IHOP and the Kansas City Prophets - 

What the Bible Says About False Teachers and Deceivers

Regarding associating with and promoting heretics, read 1 John 1:10, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting.”

Watch  “Mike Bickel IHOP and Mysticism.wmv” – Soapa Preachers. 

Rick Warren – says, if you love Pope Francis you'll love Jesus. One could write books about what is wrong with him; yet Pastor Rick is on Christian radio, with his seemingly harmless checklists for how you are doing in the Christian life. How about what he is doing in the Christian life?! 

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

Hillsong

Carl Lenz

700 Club

Bethel Church

Steven Furtick, Elevation 

and on and on.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

by George Grant | Grief gripped the entire Nashville community. In shock, as pundits and politicians attempted to make sense of the senseless, across our presbytery men and women gathered in their homes, schools, and churches to pray. We did not need to ask, “Why did this have to happen? Why did this have to happen to us?” We...

[musicgoon]

Recommended Reading

Providing A Freshly Curated, Weekly Link List on Christianity & Culture.

Find my weekly recommended reading with the RR tag. Dedicated link posts with personal commentary can be found through the link tag. Real-time news and article sharing happens on Twitter and my Facebook page.

I love seeing new things on the Internet and reading and your comments, so please keep in touch. And to get all of my articles, exclusive insight, and more from my many projects, subscribe to my newsletter.

On Fridays, I contribute a curated link column specifically for SOLA Network readers. I hope to highlight articles related to Asian American issues and blog posts written by Asian American authors. You can read my 16th roundup from last Friday.

Christianity

When Grandma and Grandpa Don’t Love Jesus

When You Don’t Have a Good Dad on Father’s Day

Building a spiritual legacy

What Is the Essence of Manhood?

Why God Made Your Mouth

4 Things Teens Need from Your Church

Matrimony and the Mind: The Need for Husband-Theologians

Selfie-Syndrom: Overcoming Narcissism

Podcast: Verses That Changed My Life (John Piper)

Stop Loving Your Spouse Too Much

The Way Out of Doubt

Help! My Teen Doesn’t Want to Attend Church

Five Ways Congregational Worship Shapes Us

Envy and the Seminarian

Let’s Anticipate the Incredible Experience of Worshipping in Heaven with All God’s People

Human Rights Under Fire in Hong Kong: What’s Really Behind the Massive Protests

Episode 3: Writing, Teaching, and Women in Ministry with Jen Wilkin

Whether I Sink Too Low or Soar Too High

You Were Designed for Spirituality

5 Questions to Ask When You Are Suffering

Stop Praying “Be With” Prayers

Technology and Our Anxious Hearts

Distinguishing Marks of a Quarrelsome Person

Is Our Visual Age Making You Blind?

Why the Third Day? The Promise of Resurrection in All of Scripture

7 Ways to Shepherd the Terminally Ill

Meditation Apps and the Gospel of Self-Optimization

An Unexpected Strategy for Reaching the Muslim World

I Never Understood Burnout or Depression—Until It Happened to Me

Five Intriguing Updates on Gen Z and Churches

Help! My Teenager Won’t Open Up to Me

The Rightful Risks of Motherhood

How to Avoid a Preaching Rut

The New Issue of Credo Magazine Is Here: The Aseity of God

Bad Bible Interpretation Really Can Hurt People

You're Not Entitled to Ministry

Breaking the Power of Shame

BJ Thompson on Communicating Mercy Within Marriage

Paul Tripp on How Parents Can Model Mercy

Reading the Bible Upside Down: Why the Pope Changed the Lord’s Prayer

Should My Boyfriend and I Travel Alone?

The Priority of Preaching

The FAQs: Southern Baptists Release Urgent Report on Sexual Abuse

The Greatest Gift to Your Pastor

Remembering David Powlison, a Faithful, Jesus-Loving, and Gospel-Centered Brother

3 Barriers to Spiritual Growth Faced by Teens Today

Powlison: 5 Questions to Ask When You Are Suffering

The Reformed View of Predestination

Culture

Q&A: 'Always Be My Maybe' Stars Ali Wong and Randall Park on the Netflix Rom-Com

Anberlin Talk Reconciliation

Classic Songs From 1970s and 1980s Recreated With Era Appropriate Synthesizers, Instruments and Effects

Tour of a Magnificent Five Story Church Organ With 8,000 Pipes of Vastly Different Sizes and Weights

26 Things We Learned from the ‘Captain Marvel’ Commentary

Welcome to the wonderful world of bizarre literary Instagram accounts

Matt Braly launches Disney Channel’s ‘Amphibia’

The cast of Sesame Street offers the most heartwarming Tiny Desk concert ever

‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ Could Have Been the Perfect Franchise Ending

Superhero Bits: Quentin Tarantino’s Favorite MCU Movie, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Goes 8-Bit & More

[anastpaul]

Second Saint of the Day – 15 January – Blessed Nikolaus Gross – (1898-1945) Martyr, layman, father of seven children, union activist, newspaper editor, apostle of charity.   Born on 30 September 1898 at Niederwenigern, Ruhr region, Germany and died by execution on 23 January 1945 at the Berlin-Plotzensee, Germany prison.  He was Beatified on 7 October 2001 by St Pope John Paul II at Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy.

Nikolaus Gross was born on 30 September 1898 of a colliery blacksmith in Niederwenigern, near the city of Essen and attended the local Catholic school from 1905-12.   He then worked initially in a plate rolling mill, then as a grinder and later as a face-worker in a coal mine.   He worked underground for five years.

In his limited spare time, he continued his higher education.   In 1917, he joined the Christian Miners’ Trade Union.   In 1918 he joined the Centre Party (the Catholic political party).   In 1919 he joined the St Anthony’s Miners Association (Antonius Knappenverein KAB) in Niederwenigern.   It was the major Catholic union for the Catholic miners and a major Catholic voice.   At the age of 22 he became secretary for young people in the union.   A year later he became assistant editor of the union newspaper Bergknappe (“The Miner”).   His work with the union took him around Germany until he finally settled in Bottrop in the Ruhr Valley, in what is now the Diocese of Essen.

In the meantime, he married Elizabeth Koch from Niederwenigern.   They had seven children in the course of their happy marriage.   He loved his family above everything and was an exemplary father in his responsibility for their education and upbringing in the faith.   Gross did not withdraw into the shell of family life.   He remained attuned to the great social problems, precisely in his responsibility for his family.   Work and social obligations were the place in which he realised his Christian mission.   In his doctrine of faith written in 1943 he wrote:  “The majority of great achievements come into being through the daily performance of one’s duties in the little things of everyday routine.   Our special love here is always for the poor and the sick”.

Nikolaus and Elizabeth below

At the beginning of 1927, he became assistant editor of the Westdeutsche Arbeiterzeitung (West German Workers’ Newspaper), the organ of the St Anthony’s Miners’ Association (KAB) and soon became its editor-in-chief.   Here he was able to give Catholic workers guidance on social and labour questions.   In the course of time, it became clear to him that the political challenges contained a moral claim and that the social problems cannot be solved without spiritual efforts.

The editor became a messenger who bore witness to his faith here too.   When he moved in this capacity to the Ketteler House in Cologne, in 1929, he already had a clear opinion about approaching Nazism  . Starting out from Bishop Ketteler’s main idea that a reform of the conditions in society can only be achieved by a reform in attitude, he saw in the Nazis’ success in society:  “political immaturity” and “a lack of discernment”.   Already at that time he called the Nazis “mortal enemies of the present state”.   As editor of the organ of the KAB, on 14 September 1930, he wrote:   “As Catholic workers we reject Nazism not only for political and economic reasons but decisively also, resolutely and clearly, on account of our religious and cultural attitude”.

Already a few months after Hitler’s seizure of power, the leader of the German Labour Front, Robert Ley, called the KAB’s Westdeutsche Arbeiterzeitung “hostile to the state”.  In the following period, Gross attempted to save the newspaper from destruction without making concessions on its content.   From then on he knew how to write between the lines.   In November 1938 came the final ban on the workers’ newspaper which, in the meantime, had been renamed Kettelerwacht (Ketteler’s Watch).

Gross, who had to work very hard for his education was no great orator.   But he spoke convincingly, warm-heartedly and with power of persuasion.   The fact that Nikolaus Gross joined the resistance in Germany resulted from his Catholic religious conviction. For him the key was “that one must obey God more than men”.   “If something is demanded of us that goes against God or the Faith, then not only may we but we must, refuse obedience (towards men)”   Thus wrote Nikolaus Gross in 1943 in his doctrine of faith.   It was becoming ever clearer to him that Germany had reached this state under the Hitler regime.

Gross set down his joint thoughts in two writings which later fell into the hands of the Gestapo:   The Great Tasks and Is Germany Lost?   They were to contribute towards his execution.

In 1940, Gross had to endure interrogations and house searches.   After the ban on the association’s newspaper, he published a series of small pamphlets which were intended to help strengthen the critical force of faith and Gospel values among workers.   We find an answer for the reasons which motivated someone like Nikolaus Gross in the memoirs of the well-known, workers’ chaplain, Msgr Caspar Schulte of Paderborn.   There we read:  “In my many conversations, especially with Nikolaus Gross and the association’s head, Otto Müller, I got to know and admire these men’s moral greatness.   They did not stumble into death.   They went their way also prepared to bear a painful death for the sake of freedom.   I said to Nikolaus Gross on the day before the assassination attempt on Hitler of 20 July 1944:  “Mr Gross, remember that you have seven children. I have no family for which I am responsible.   It’s a matter of your life’.   To which Gross made a really great statement to me:  “If we do not risk our life today, how do we then want one day to justify ourselves before God and our people?'”.

In 1943, Gross wrote in a booklet, what was almost a prophecy:  “Sometimes, my heart becomes heavy and the task appears insoluble if I measure my own human imperfection and inadequacy against the greatness of the obligation and the weight of the responsibility.   If a generation must pay the highest price, death, for its short life, we look for the answer in ourselves in vain.  We find it only in Him in whose hand we are safe in life and in death.   We never know what problems are waiting to test the power and strength of our souls….  Man’s ways lie in obscurity.  But even darkness is not without light.   Hope and faith, which always hasten ahead of us, already have a presentiment of the breaking of a new dawn.   If we know that the best thing in us, the soul, is immortal, then we also know that we shall meet each other again”.   What a testimony to a sense of responsibility, feeling for reality and assurance of faith!   For Gross, trust in God was the foundation on which he did not falter.   During the years of the war he formed a network of resistance to the Nazi’s and he was often the courier between the centres of resistance.   He was well informed of the plot to assassinate Hitler, even though he took no part in its preparation and execution.

After the abortive assassination attempt on 20 July 1944, events came thick and fast. Gross, who was not himself involved in the preparation and execution of the plot, was arrested towards noon at his home on 12 August 1944 and taken first to the prison in Ravensbrück and then to the penitentiary in Berlin-Tegel.   His wife, Elisabeth, came to Berlin twice to visit him  . She reported clear signs of torture on his hand and arms.   His letters from the prison and the witness of the chaplain, Fr Peter Buchholz, give impressive evidence that constant prayer was the source of strength in his difficult and, in the end, hopeless position.   In every letter he never failed to request constant prayer from his wife and his children, just as he himself also prayed for his family each day.

Hitler, even though he took no part in its preparation and execution.

After the abortive assassination attempt on 20 July 1944, events came thick and fast. Gross, who was not himself involved in the preparation and execution of the plot, was arrested towards noon at his home on 12 August 1944 and taken first to the prison in Ravensbrück and then to the penitentiary in Berlin-Tegel.   His wife, Elisabeth, came to Berlin twice to visit him  . She reported clear signs of torture on his hand and arms.   His letters from the prison and the witness of the chaplain, Fr Peter Buchholz, give impressive evidence that constant prayer was the source of strength in his difficult and, in the end, hopeless position.   In every letter he never failed to request constant prayer from his wife and his children, just as he himself also prayed for his family each day.

On 15 January 1945, the death sentence was pronounced by the chairman of People’s Court, Roland Freisler.   His final remark in the court record and the real reason for the sentence:  “He swam along in treason and consequently had to drown in it!”.   He was hanged in Berlin-Plotzensee on 23 January 1945.   The Nazis did not make any martyrs.   They did not allow the hanged man to have a grave.   For the followers of falsehood and hatred there was only brutal destruction.  His ashes were scattered across a sewage farm.

But the testimony to truth and faith is not to be obliterated!   It lives on in those who have gone before us as a shining example.   The prison chaplain, Fr Peter Buchholz, who blessed the condemned man on his final walk, reported afterwards:  “Gross bowed his head silently during the blessing.   His face already seemed illuminated by the glory into which he was getting ready to enter”...Vatican.va

He was Beatified on 7 October 2001 by St Pope John Paul II at Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy.

There is a museum dedicated to Nikolaus Gross in Niederwenigern.   In 1948 a street in Cologne was named in his honour and streets were named after him in places such as Berlin and Essen amongst others.   A chapel was dedicated to him on 10 October 2004 and a memorial stone in Gelsenkirchen-Buer on 26 October 2003.

(via Saint of the Day - 15 January - Blessed Nikolaus Gross - (1898-1945) Martyr)

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[EP] Holy Spirit - Pastor Paul Emmanuel || @pastorpaulmain

Pointman at Refiners Embassy and Gospel music minister Pastor Paul Emmanuel is out with the new 6-tracker EP titled “Holy Ghost”. It is a collection of spirit stirring sounds, Pastor Paul Emmanuel has a unique sound and the new EP explores his gift of heavenly rhythm collated into rapturous symphonies that makes up the body of work titled “Holy Spirit.” As he is fondly called “Conduit of the Spirit,” it’s apt that the title of the EP is “Holy Spirit” and the song leads the EP appropriately. All the other tracks on the EP such as “Help me Lord,” “You Are,” “Amazing,” “Nothing is too Hard for God,” and “Thank You” will resonate with your spirit and bring you into the atmosphere of intimacy with God’s loving tripersonal self-disclosure. Pastor Paul Emmanuel, also referred to as ‘The Conduit of the Spirit’ is the Lead Pastor at the Refiners Embassy, Lagos with a mandate to refine men as diamonds and to raise Kingdom Priests and Kings unto God for their enthronement in all walks of life. He is also the Apostolic Lead at Roar Network, a global Apostolic mission, commissioned by God to birth revival, transformation and reformation in the hearts of men across the world. His music ministry spans over 20 years and he’s always been a man who God has used tremendously in building several altars of worship in songs and otherwise from his childhood till date. He’s blessed with a global mandate spreading globally and he just loves to bring men face to face with God in the Atmosphere of the Spirit and Worship. Get the album from your preferred store:  Holy Spirit - Pastor Paul Emmanuel https://open.spotify.com/album/1OVtF2t35jlFxCB1by9ftT?si=27704dac6ee34ddb Read the full article

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12th November >> (@zenitenglish) #PopeFrancis #Pope Francis Urges Church to Promote Peace, Environment, Human Life. Letter on Launch of ‘Sciences of Peace’ Course at Pontifical Lateran University

Education And Youth

Here is a ZENIT translation of the Letter that the Holy Father Francis sent to the Chancellor of the Pontifical Lateran University, H.E. Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, on the occasion of the opening of the Academic Year and of the institution of the new course of studies in the “Sciences of Peace.”

* * *

The Holy Father’s Letter

To The Venerable Brother

Lord Cardinal Angelo De Donatis

Chancellor of the Pontifical Lateran University

1. The desire for peace, which rises from the human family, has always seen the Church spend herself in making every effort to contribute to liberate men and women from the tragedies of war and to alleviate its dangerous consequences. Also in the present time, in which the need increases to prevent and resolve conflicts, the Church feels challenged, in the light of the Gospel, to inspire and support every initiative that ensures the different Peoples and Countries a path of peace, fruit of that genuine dialogue capable of extinguishing hatred, of abandoning egoisms and self-references, of overcoming desires for power and of oppression of the weakest and the least.

This attempt implies first of all an educational effort of listening and understanding, but also of knowledge and study of the patrimony of values, notions, and instruments capable of breaking down tendencies to isolation, to closure and to the logic of power, which are bearers of violence and destructions. Means of conciliation, forms of justice of transition, guarantees of sustainable development, protection and custody of Creation are some of the instruments that today are able to open the way to forms of peaceful solution of conflicts, to breaking down careerism and dominant positions and thus forming persons dedicated unreservedly to the service of the cause of man.

To be a credible mediator in face of world public opinion, the Church is called to foster “the solution of problems regarding peace, concord, the environment, the defense of life and human and civil rights” (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 65). A task carried out also through the action that the Holy See conducts in the International Community and in her institutions, working with the instruments of diplomacy to overcome conflicts with means and mediation, the promotion and respect of fundamental human rights, <and> the integral development of Peoples and Countries.

2. In pursuing such an objective, the university realm has a central role, place that is a symbol of that integral humanism that needs continually to be renewed and enriched, so that it’s able to produce the courageous cultural renewal for which the present moment calls. This challenge also questions the Church that, with her global network of Ecclesiastical Universities, can “make the decisive contribution of the leaven, of the salt and of the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of the living Tradition of the Church, always open to new scenarios and new proposals,” as I reminded recently in reforming the regulation of the academic studies in Ecclesiastical Institutions (Cf. Apostolic Constitution Veritatis Gaudium, 2). This certainly doesn’t mean to alter the institutional meaning and consolidated traditions of our academic realities, but rather to orient their function in the perspective of a more markedly Church “going forth” and missionary. In fact, it’s possible to address the challenges of the contemporary world with the capacity of an adequate response in the contents and compatible in the language, addressing first of all the new generations. This, then, is the task that is entrusted to us: to incarnate the Word of God for the Church and for the humanity of the Third Millennium. And, in doing so, it’s important that the students and docents feel themselves pilgrims called to proclaim the Good News to all peoples, not being afraid of risking and of dreaming of peace for all peoples and all nations.

3. Therefore, animated by the desire to transpose in the academic environment, and to equip with a scientific method this patrimony of values and actions, I institute in that Pontifical University, which participates specifically in the mission of the Bishop of Rome, a series of studies in the Sciences of Peace, as an academic course in which the theological, philosophical, juridical, economic and social ambits concur according to the inter- and trans-disciplinary criterion (Cf. Ibid., 4, c). Therefore, the curricular structure will draw from the course of teachings imparted by the Faculties and the Institutes of the Lateran University, to confer academic degrees of Baccalaureate and Licentiate at the conclusion, respectively, of a first triennial series and a biennial series of specialization.

4. Through you, Lord Cardinal, I entrust the new course of studies to the University, assigning the direction to the Rector, so that a specific scientific formation of priests, consecrated persons and laymen is guaranteed. Diocesan Bishops, Military Ordinaries, Episcopal Conferences, men and women Superiors of the different forms of consecrated life, and those in charge of lay Associations and Movements, and all those that desire it, will be able to look to the Sciences of Peace to promote an appropriate preparation of present and future agents of peace.

In face of this task, I hope that, in the daily service of the See of Peter, the whole Lateran University community — all docents, students, and staff — will feel involved in sowing the seeds of the culture of peace. A work that begins with listening, professionalism, and dedication, ever accompanied by humility, meekness and the will to be everything to all.

I put under the protection of my two Holy Predecessors, John XXIII and Paul VI, true and proper heralds of peace in the world, who contributed so much to the development of the magisterium in this field, this new fruit of the Church’s solicitude, entrusting it to Mary Queen of Peace, so that She will help us to understand and to live that fraternity that her Son’s Heart calls for and from which true peace stems.

From the Vatican, November 12, 2018

Memorial of Blessed John of Peace

Francis

© Libreria Editrice Vatican

[Original text: Italian]  [ZENIT’s translation by Virginia M. Forrester]NOVEMBER 12, 2018 16:59

EDUCATION AND YOUTH

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TGIF: Roundup for July 14, 2023

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SOLA Network is grateful to offer a free one-day event for church leaders thinking about the possibility of a long-term home for their church. Wednesday, August 2, at Living Hope Community Church in Brea, California, 9:45am – 12:30pm. Learn more and reserve a spot!

Save the date! “Writing the Next Chapter,” the 2024 Asian American Leadership Conference, will take place on April 23-24 in Orange County, California. More info coming soon.

This newsletter is one of the many ways you can keep in touch with us. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For more, check out my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group and TGIF Playlist on Spotify. You can reach me on Twitter and Instagram.

Aaron Lee, Editorial Curator

Enter to win this beautiful book! Thanks to Harvest House Publishers for providing this book for our giveaway, in partnership with my newsletters for @diveindigdeep and FCBC Walnut.

Who is God, and is he good? In Understanding & Trusting Our Great God, Tim Challies will help you know and love God more. Read my review of this beautiful book.

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Maureen Swinger and Susannah Black Roberts: Hudson Taylor

“When I am a man, I mean to be a missionary and go to China.”

Our new Books and Reviews page is your one-stop resource for all of your reading needs. It features Asian American authors and issues, book recommendations, and interviews.

Books, Podcasts, Music, And More

Ecstatic: Is It Possible to Fall in Love with God through Fiction?

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Westminster Kids Digest Podcast: Technology in our Families and Churches: How to Model and Cultivate Discernment

Remley Gorsuch and Faith Chang talk about discipling children and teens who don’t know life before wifi, why we need to be intentional about our use of devices, and resources for thinking critically and Christianly about technology.

Aaron Lee: Related Works

Book Review: Understanding & Trusting Our Great God by Tim Challies. Listen to our TGIF playlist on Spotify. Join my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group.

For Father’s Day, check out our Dads & Fatherhood collection! Featured authors include Cory Ishida, Daniel K. Eng, Tom Sugimura, Larry Lin, David J. Park, and P. J. Tibayan.

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If you need a little bit more help reading through the Bible, you might look into devotionals. Here are some we recommend.

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How Tim heard about SOLA Network, behind the scenes of his article, and how platforms and parachurch ministries can achieve longevity and faithfulness.

Tim Challies: If God Would Outsource His Sovereignty

In the life of the Christian, there are not two classes of providence, one good and one bad. No, though some may be easy and some hard, all are good because all in some way flow from his good, Fatherly hand, and all in some way can be consecrated to his service.

TGIF: Roundup for July 7, 2023

The Beauty of the Ordinary in Relational Discipleship to Gen Z Students / ‘Past Lives’: Mature Wisdom in an Indie Romance / My Most Influential Teacher: A Tribute to Daniel Fuller (1925–2023) / On the Strategic Value of Missions Work in Global Cities / Pursuing Biblical Community in a Digital Age

General disclaimer: Our link roundups are not endorsements of the positions or lives of the authors.

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by Jacob Gerber | It is by prayer, then, that we fight the good fight with absolute humility. In prayer, God trains us to leave behind our personal vendettas, and he realigns our hearts to treasure Christ and his kingdom. Through prayer, God assures us that “he is able and willing to help us, so we by faith are...