BBF CHURCH PLANTING CONFERENCE PROMOTES A PRO-ECUMENICAL NEW-EVANGELICAL PREACHER AND A WORLDLY ORIENTED NEW-EVANGELICAL

SEMINARY PROFESSOR AS MODELS FOR CHURCH PLANTERS TO EMULATE

By DR. JOHN JASMIN, Editor

THE FUNDAMENTALIST DIGEST

POST OFFICE BOX 489

WEST BRANCH, MICHIGAN 48661

www.FundamentalBaptistMinistries.com

The May 2006 issue of the Baptist Bible Tribune, the official organ of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International [BBFI] contained a full-page article by Dan Greer from the BBFI’s "National Church Planting Office" entitled "Growing God’s Garden." The article was a synopsis of a two day church planting conference that was jointly sponsored by the National Church Planting Office of the BBFI and the East Texas Baptist Bible Fellowship.

The two major speakers for this event were Dr. John Bisagno, the pastor emeritus of the First Baptist Church, Houston, TX and Dr. Audrey Malphurs, Professor of Pastoral Ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary. With regard to church planting endeavors and techniques, both these men were promoted as "master gardeners" and emulative examples to the BBFI constituency.

Since the F. D. editor does not have notes or tapes concerning the above conference, he will not make much comment concerning this event, except to state that, based on the written article, both men believe that Fundamental/evangelical churches today must adapt their ministries to the world’s changing culture via a "retooling" of their method strategies.

The documented research the F.D. editor will present below reveals that these so-called "master gardeners" have religious "gardens" that are saturated with pro-ecumenical New-Evangelical weeds weeds and unbiblical worldly oriented precepts and practices.

DR. JOHN BISAGNO

Dr. John Bisagno is the pastor emeritus of the First Baptist Church, Houston, TX [SBC] where he served as senior pastor from 1970-2000. During his 30 year pastorate, the church experienced unusual numerical growth, as well as extensive expansion of church facilities.

While this writer has never heard Dr. Bisagno preach, based on his resumes and recommendations, he apparently is one of the finest living SBC pulpiteers. He has also been a leading figure within SBC circles for 40 years, having held numerous leadership posts on regional, state and national SBC levels.

Bisagno, however, has numerous unscriptural ties with New-Evangelical, Charismatic and ecumenical based groups via his speaking engagements. Bisagno’s own website openly indicates that he "has addressed the World Wide Divisional Directors for the [Ed: Charismatic and heretical] Assemblies of God [AOG] Foreign Mission Board," as well as speaking "at a commissioning service for 120 new AOG missionaries [tongues speakers!]."

In addition, Bisagno’s resume states that he has preached at Nazarene churches and C. M. A. assemblies, congregations that are affiliated with the New-Evangelical pro-ecumenical National Association of Evangelicals [NAE].

Bisagno’s website also declares that he has preached in the "largest Methodist, Presbyterian…and Episcopal churches in Houston," churches that are affiliated with denominations that are part of the ecumenical National Council of Churches of Christ [NCCC] and the World Council of Churches [WCC]. The apostate stance and left-wing bias of these denominations and organizations is a fact that cannot be seriously challenged.

The above credentials are testimonials that are historically strange for a speaker at a so-called Fundamental/separatist Baptist conclave, and they are not in alignment with the principles of Biblical ecclesiastical separation.

DR. AUBREY MALPHURS

A Professor at a New-Evangelical Seminary

Dr. Malphurs is the "Professor of Pastoral Ministries" at Dallas Theological Seminary. More than 40 years ago, DTS left the Fundamentalist/separatist pastures for the convenient easier grazing grounds of New-Evangelicalism. Under the tenure of its last three presidents, the documented list of compromising New-Evangelical causes and ecumenical evangelistic endeavors that DTS has espoused and supported the last four decades would cover several pages. [Yes, the writer has ample documented proof,]

Malphurs is also the president of "The Malphurs Group," an organization that specializes in consultancy on church planting and leadership development, basically for New-Evangelical organi- zations.

A Speaker and Consultant for

Charismatic and Pro-Ecumenical

Gatherings and Groups

An inter-net announcement from Charismatic Regent University’s website [Pat Robertson, founder/chairman] indicates that Dr. Malphurs was a recent speaker at a seminar there, along with three staff personnel from this heretical Charismatic institution. An internet promotional for Malphur’s book Values Driven Leadership indicates that Malphurs has been a "consultant and seminar leader" for the "Salvation Army, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and many others" of like religious composition.

Malphurs was a featured preacher at the 2005 "Annual Celebration" of the "Mideast Baptist Conference," an organization that is part of the pro-ecumenical New-Evangelical Baptist General Conference [BGC]. The BGC is the sponsoring parent of both Bethel College and Bethel Seminary, institutions that have been traveling in a pro-apostate direction for several decades.

Malphurs is also one of two keynote speakers for "The Leadership Advantage" Feb. 23-24, 2007. The other major speaker is Dr. Leith Anderson, a pastor in Eden Prairie, MN, who is also serving as the interim president of the National Association of Evangelicals [NAE]. The NAE’s pro-ecumenical stance is a known fact.

In Mar. 2000, the NAE’s board of directors voted to change the organization’s charter to permit NAE joint membership for denominations that are affiliated with apostate groups such as the National Council of Churches [NCCC] and the World Council of Churches [WCC].

In 2004, Dr. Robert Schuller was one of the featured speakers at the NAE’s national convention. Schuller [the "Glass Cathedral" pastor emeritus] is the author of the blasphemous unscriptural "Self-Esteem" theology.

Just recently, Dr. Richard Cizik, the NAE’s Vice-President of Governmental Affairs stated that "this rallying cry for the poor [poverty issue] can be one of the issues that can let Evangelicals, Roman Catholics and Mainline Protestants [apostate denominations] work together."

Malphur’s Unscriptural Analysis and Advice Concerning Worship

Malphurs authored a book entitled Planting Growing Churches for the 21^st Century." And just what might be the content of "worship" in 21^st century churches? Malpurs answers this in a chapter entitled "Worship That Makes a Difference: A Holistic Authentic Worship."

It should be immediately noted that "holistic" is a term associated primarily with the new-age movement. Two of Malphurs sub- headings in that chapter were titled "Worship Should be Culturally Relevant" and "Worship Must be Creative and Innovative."

Malphurs then asks the question, "What might creative worship look like on a Sunday morning? His faulty answer: "Innovative worship consists of such things as skits, dramas, audio-visual presentations, creative dance, and the use of video in preaching."

Malphur’s Errant Counsel Concerning Preaching

On p. 219, Malphurs states: "Preaching is only one of many ways to facilitate life change, and it’s not necessarily the best." And what is Malphur’s preaching replacement?

On p. 179 of another book he authored entitled Pouring New Wine into Old Wineskins he declares: "Most people can count on their hand the number of sermons that have accomplished significant changes in their lives. While preaching is most important and contributes to life changes, small group activity best facilitates the transformation of lives."

Preaching Must be Brief, Avoid Inspired Doctrinal Words and be Based on the [unreliable]

Modern Bible Translations

It is little wonder with such views that Malphur’s conclusion in PGC21stC is that "twenty to thirty minutes is long enough for any sermon." (p. 190) On the same page, Malphurs emphasizes that these brief sermons must carefully avoid use of Holy Spirit eternally inspired doctrinal words such as "born-again," "repent," "saved," "redemption," "propitiation" and be replaced with "contemporary synonyms" based on the unreliable modern Bible translations that obviously have the apostate liberal critical text as their foundation! (p. 191)

In Malphurs’s Plan, "Felt Needs" = A Major Means of Sermon Communication

When this writer punched the term: "Psychology-Felt Needs," his internet search took him exactly and immediately where he figured: to an individual by the name of Abraham Moslow. In other words, the "Felt Needs" concept is directly traced to this man and associated with him as its creator and originator. [check for yourself if you desire to validate this fact!]

And just who was Abraham Moslow? According to two internet biographical sketches, Moslow [1908-1970] was a secular psychologist who was the first modern professional to propose the concept of a "hierarchy of human needs and self-actualization."

Moslow was influenced by men such as "Adler, Fromm, Horney, as well as several Gestalt and Freudian psychologists." In 1934, Moslow "began his crusade for a humanistic psychology." the very psychology upon which the "felt needs" concept is based!

Furthermore, early in his career, Moslow began to "work with monkeys" from which he deduced his theory that in monkeys some needs take precedence over others. From this "’monkey’ work," [a historical fact and a pun!], Moslow then concocted his humanistic structure of the "Hierarchy of Needs" for human beings.

In fact, in Moslow’s biographical sketch, this "Hierarchy of Needs" is placed in the same paragraph as his work with monkeys! The next paragraph in his biography carries a visualized sketch of Moslow’s hierarchical needs layers.

Believe it or not, this defective "hierarchical needs" concept is the basis for many New-Evangelical evangelistic endeavors. In fact, In his book, The Purpose Driven Church, Rick Warren alleges that in order to reach lost people in this generation, we must begin with their so-called "felt needs." (p. 197) Warren’s entire structure of reaching people is based on this faulty humanistic concept.

To discover the "felt needs" of his area, Warren conducted a Saddleback Valley survey. Once those perceived human needs were discovered, Warren then structured his outreach program on fulfilling those so-called needs. In other words, Warren based his evangelistic program around the cultural lifestyles of the Saddleback valley residents.

To put it more plainly, Warren discovered what unsaved residents wanted in a church and proceeded to build his church around those cultural lifestyles, lifestyles that included rock music, casual apparel, worldly lifestyles and little or no spiritual standards of personal and ecclesiastical separation. Warren’s worldly operational methodology can be directly traced to the humanistic psychology of Abraham Moslow!

SOME CONCLUSIONS

1. This writer is not attempting to demean any helpful information that the attendees at the BBF church planting conference may have obtained regarding church planting.

The F. D. editor does not doubt that participants may have gleaned some positive tips. This is not his major criticism, although he believes that, based on their unscriptural errant methodological views, the conference speakers may have naively planted some humanistic seeds in the minds of participants, in spite of the presenters probable noble goals.

2. The timeless methods presented in Acts (5:41-42, Acts 8:4) and the N. T. epistles (I Cor. 1:18-23, Titus 1:3,) are still relevant and will still work in planting genuine N. T. local churches when continuously followed in the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).

3. This BBF church planting conference centered around two compromising prominent New-Evangelical figures, whose concepts of establishing churches are defective, errant and unscriptural. This writer believes that the following statement has tremendous implications with regards to the direction the BBFI is presently taking. Who you invite to your pulpit speaks volumes about the stand you really take and the route you are traveling.

It is obviously apparent, that based on the above BBF sponsored church planting conference, the BBFI is traveling in a distinctive pro-New-Evangelical direction, away from the historical Biblical pathway of ecclesiastical separation of its founding forefathers. U