Apprising Ministries is a leading online apologetics and discernment work the Lord raised up in June of 2005 at the local church where I am pastor and then caused a website to be given to us.

The Internet was the farthest thing from our minds when we conceived AM. Yet in addition to the Apprising Ministries website, a year or so later I was also given a second one in the Christian Research Network.

My background is in apologetics, evangelizing non-Christian cultists, and Comparative Religion; so our goal with AM was simple. It’d allow me to do this work here in the local area with a covering so that any offerings, etc. would be handled by my church leadership team.

However, it would sure seem that the Lord had a different idea for Apprising Ministries. So, long story short; fast forward to today, and I have very little choice other than to be doing what I’m doing along the Internet Front of this spiritual Vietnam of a Truth War. As was said elsewhere: Anyone who does not know, that right now world-around, the church is in widespread apostasy doesn’t know—I repeat—does not know, what’s going on.

Pretty incendiary words, no? Well, they come from a man whom Billy Graham called “the most articulate spokesman for evangelical Christianity I know.” He was speaking of fellow Southern Baptist, Dr. Walter Martin (1928-1989). Martin made that statement in 1985; do you seriously think the visible church is in better shape now? If you do, I suggest it’s well time for you to seriously schedule a spiritual checkup.

The Elephant Room II alone is a perfect example; see Emerging Ecumenical Evangelephants And The Word Faith Movement. I’ll tell you again, the mainstreaming of Word Faith mogual T.D. Jakes and his wannabe, attractional Prophet-Pastor Steven Furtick, will prove to have many adverse effects within evangelicalism. Sadly, it plays right into the hands of enemy forces advancing deeper into the wavering heart of the church visible.

Here’s where we are; witnessing a proliferation of what Dr. R.A. Torrey years ago called “women in men’s pants” into evangelical leadership position, an increasing charismania with its corresponding side of superstitions, and a neo-pietism courtesy of the exponentially growing fad of corrupt Counter Reformaiton spirituality aka Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM). It’s serving to form a toady tolerance pining for phony unity.

Which brings me to this tweet sent to me earlier today:

(Online source)

The link takes us to a post entitled Someone is Wrong on the Internet. Elephant Room founder and curator James MacDonald ran it yesterday saying:

Today I commend to you this guest post from Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr., Teaching Fellow at Ligonier Ministries. I hope you find it helpful and encouraging. (Online source, italics his)

So as we can see, the article itself is from R.C. Sproul, Jr. He begins by having us “consider gossip,” which we’d all agree is sin. Sproul, Jr. is also right when he says we need to guard “our tongues” and certainly “we need to guard our ears as well.” He continues:

Ego and pride drive the tongue and open the ear. The same is true of controversy. In the prototypical schoolyard fight, there is typically the victim, the bully, and the cowards.

While we rightly cheer for the victim and hiss at the bully, the cowards, too, deserve our opprobrium. They haven’t even the willingness to risk what the bully has, and worse still, they provide the audience he craves. (Online source)

Sproul, Jr. then turns his attention to “cyber-bullies” because the Internet apparently provides whomever these nameless people may be with the “attention” he opines they’re craving. So, says Sproul, Jr:

Cyber-bullies hide behind proxy servers and false names. Victims slowly learn that fighting back only encourages them. And there is no vice principal patrolling the hallways and breaking things up. Then there are the cowards.

They create the page views, and some even input their own comments, usually anonymously, yelling, “Fight, fight,” while they sit three rows back. They create the audience that is the real raison d’être of the controversy to begin with. (Online source)

Again, I’m not aware of any credible online apologetics and discernment people that I know who would disagree that anonymous blogs with screedal tones and poorly researched information are a bad thing. But what about those of us who aren’t engaged in such activities? Unfortunately, it seems to me we’re seeing the development of the “Christian Untouchables.” Pastors ands teachers who pay no attention to godly criticism we may offer.

I can just as easily say to R.C. Sproul, Jr. that such as these appear to have decided answering such criticism is pointless because they have “a vision” allegedly from God; so there’s no need on their part to give heed to it. Who are the real cowards here; and have they considered that ignoring us only forces us to take these things before the wider church? The fact is, one simply does not choose this type of ministry; God sends you into it.

Maybe these who apparently feel they’re above reproach then create blog page views, and some even input their own comments, sometimes anonymously, yelling, “Hater, hater,” while they sit behind their fellow celebrity rock star pastors. So, perhaps that’s why they create the audience they wish to mold into their way of doing church with things like The Elephant Room. Could it actually be that is the real raison d’être for their villainizing of critics?

Like most others who’ve addressed this subject Sproul, Jr. doesn’t give us any names but likens whomever he’s talking about to people playing “theological video games.” Sproul, Jr. then decidedly sharpens up his own rhetoric in this polemic piece:

We read an attack site (discernment blog, as they like to call themselves), and find that the kingdom is crumbling because Joel Osteen’s book is being carried in some LifeWay store somewhere, or because a guy in our camp invited a guy in their camp to speak at a conference.

We head over to our favorite guru’s blog to get the straight skinny on just what the respectable ones are saying about this issue or that. (Online source)

Apprently because Apprising Ministries is a blog with a substantial readership, and which often addresses discernment issues, then I’m but some guru running “an attack site.” Hmm, but isn’t R.C. Sproul, Jr. on the attack here himself? This a real part of the problem. On one hand Seeker Driven prophet-pastor Steven Furtick will complain about haters criticizing him, but then turn around and attack them in a video called Hey Haters.

Has R.C. Sproul, Jr. consIdered why someone like Furtick is being criticized? Well, since he brought up Word Faith prosperity heretic Joel Osteen, is Sproul. Jr. aware that Steven Furtick Calls Joel Osteen A Great Man Of God? Are we really supposed to just ignore that Now Joel Osteen Says Mormonism Itself Is Christian? Or how about when we see that ER2 was largely about giving T.D. Jakes, another WF mogul, a doctrinal pass?

Do we just remain silent as James MacDonald implies that in some private discussions Jakes has told him he’s moving away from WF prosperity preaching? Yet I just showed you in T.D. Jakes Is Not A Word Faith Prosperity Preacher? that in March, after ER2, Jakes did his usual shilling for the WF haven of the Trinity Broadcasting Network. This isn’t TBN but you can watch Jakes with his Prosperity Gospel; Sow A Seed, God Will Bless You.

That was just a couple of weeks before he came to ER2. And we’re supposed to say nothing when Steven Furtick has T.D. Jakes into his evangelical megachurch to speak at his revival and then literally gushes when he tells us T.D. Jakes Is My Favorite Preacher In The World? Maybe we should address celebrity-bullies using their large forums and having their same old buddies into each of their conferences in order to equate their critics with Nazis.

How a blog post about that; or is it just safer shooting fish in a barrel while addressing anonymous bloggers…

See also:

JAMES MACDONALD AND HIS PAGAN CRITICS

“WE CAN WORK IT OUT:” IS JAMES MACDONALD QUALIFIED TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION?

“WE CAN WORK IT OUT:” IS STEVEN FURTICK QUALIFIED TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION?