Perhaps you have heard the news that Bob Jones University has received the findings from an independent firm involving problems the university had regarding dealing with sexual abuse allegations. The findings showed systemic problems dealing with these issues over many years. Since I have discussed many problems in this series, I want to take this opportunity to applaud BJU for allowing this independent probe to take place and mention a few lessons we might learn.

I realize they fired the firm at one point of the investigation, but I will still give credit for regaining composure and rehiring the firm they fired. They had to know some measure of unpleasant findings would come out, so no matter how it all went down, at the end of the day the probe was done. The study uncovered some embarrassing situations, but the positive I see is that steps of correction are much more likely to happen. Accountability has come and that is a good thing.

This situation teaches us that dealing with issues is the best, and only way, to regain respect. Too many churches and Bible colleges have felt that coverup is the better way. In the long run, that approach is doomed to failure as the Lord Himself instituted the law that sin cannot be effectively hidden. I am not suggesting that every sin has to be confessed to every person, but a direct dealing with the situation that handles all parties involved honestly and fairly is essential.

What this study of BJU is going to require is that who can counsel and the credentials they should have had better have a more sensible criteria. Apparently, one man with dubious credentials handled the bulk of their counseling of students with these serious problems.

The probe also uncovered an attitude that victims must suffer silently so as not to hurt the “man of God”. That is wrong on every level. Besides being a most unbiblical way to address an issue (At what point is he no longer a man of God?), it makes those who hold to it a party to the sin. Sadly, a public university would do a better job on that score, which is a shame for anything with the name Christian on it. Again, BJU has subjected itself to accountability in this critical area and I congratulate them for it. Those of us who point out these things have never wanted to destroy anyone, just see these egregious errors corrected.

Another thing we must learn is that some things are crimes and not involving the law is criminal itself. That is a liberty that some have imagined they possess when they actually do not. In other words, there are situations where our first step must be to call the police. Until we reach that point, we are going to face a deserved lack of trust.

My prayer is that BJU’s situation will usher in a new day of accountability and real Christian leadership. May God help us.

[I am breaking my habit of not naming names of those associated with the Independent Baptist world in this series because,ultimately, I am offering BJU praise.]

Find all articles in the series here.

It may be the worst label of all. It is the first word that comes to mind for one severely hurt in religious circles and the last one anyone wants to hear hurled at them. While many in the Independent Baptist world are appalled at any hints of cultish behavior, others in it deserve no less than to be called members of a cult.

I suppose cultish behavior is more easily spotted from a distance. There is, apparently, a blinding effect when you are in the middle of it. Looking over into some other group you would say they are whacky, but if you are in it you often feel these abnormalities obvious to everyone but your group are the very essence of Christianity.

May I suggest a few alarming signs that you might want to consider in determining where you are today?

1. An only-we-are-right mentality

It is our obligation to attempt to understand our Lord’s heart as shared in His Word on all important matters, but this mentality is much more than that. We are right because we are the right group. When that subtle line is crossed it is often accompanied by intellectual suicide and a replacement of God’s voice by political pronouncements. You should study God’s Word until you feel confident about your position, but the day you are right because you line up so well with some group is the day you betrayed Christianity (and Christ) and started grazing in cultish pastures.

2. Your group turns inward and becomes closed minded to any discussion

Perhaps you could make a biblical argument for fencing out sin, but fencing in your own people as if they were both too stupid and too unspiritual to be trusted to follow the Lord becomes the day you allowed cultish behavior to control you. Whether you are the fence builder or the one fenced in, you breathe cultish air.

3. Your allegiance is to a man or group

Christ is The Lord! I can hardly believe more would ever need to be said on this subject, but many preachers rise up and usurp the loyalty that should only be Christ’s. I mean only He purchased it with His Own blood! How many times can a phone call from some big-shot preacher totally alter the course someone is on. This is the one thing that grows until we have someone like Jim Jones leading a whole group to drink the poison-laced Koolaid. That is a cult in full blown, and though it may not be this far, any transference of the Lordship of a Christ is putrid and evil.

4. The distinction between the law of God and the law of man is blurred

Cults thrive where men can say “Thus saith The Lord” when He actually did not and people can not even tell the difference. It becomes fertile soil for cultish errors to grow.

5. Man made rules start defining us

A holiness that springs from God’s clear Word is always positive, but a pseudo-holiness based on extra-biblical rules always corrupts. We had better check and see if what we vociferously proclaim actually can be found on the pages of the Bible. To be known as the group that doesn’t allow ____ may mean we are already a card-carrying member of a cult.

6. We overlook abusive behavior

There are things I have knowledge of (many email and Facebook messages by this 50th article) that are absurd and should be seen instantly as unacceptable and unchristian, yet they go on day after day. Some folks are chewed up and spit out on the ground, but the abusers just turn to a new victim without ever being held accountable.

7. Our Christianity doesn’t resemble Christ

There are many who would define for us exactly what Christianity ought to look like, but does it resemble what Jesus did those 3 1/2 years He ministered on this earth? If it doesn’t, I think you have your answer!

There may be other items that could be added to this list, and readers may very well add them in the comments section, but these seven alone would probably be enough to tell you if you have drifted into a cult.

Find all articles in the series here.

In the right situation, quarantining can be a splendid idea. Many, I have noticed, suggest it in the current Ebola crisis(?). Someone mentioned to me the other day that quarantining is often used in the Christian world. The Independent Baptist world, for the record, contains some of its greatest practicitioners.

Before we consider it in a religious context, we must remember what the goal of quarantining always is. A disease is cordoned off so that it might not spread. The idea is to keep it out.

In a most bizarre twist, many in certain groups use it to keep it in. That’s right! They work to keep the disease in!

They have some unscriptural ideas that they do not want to get out. They have some particular standard or church practice that they deem essential and they quarantine those inside their own circles from all others who might hold a different point of view. (The quarantining of those in the group who disagree is a subject for another day). That one who disagrees on some dress or music standard must be ignored, shunned, and never listened to. In that they think they are so right, it seems odd that they would quarantine those they deem to be well! It would be like quarantining all the Americans who don’t have Ebola and putting them in medical facilities while letting the two or three that do have the run of the country. I guess it could work, but it seems the long way around.

I suspect that in the churches I speak of the real reason for quarantining is never mentioned. What is it? Their great distinctive point cannot be easily defended with Scripture or logic, so they must quarantine so real, tough, honest questions can never get to their ears. Deep down they know how hopeless the cause they champion would be! It is a position diseased Scripturally. Quarantining is they last wall of defense where unquestioned position live.

I say quarantine disease away, but never truth. Truth is not diseased and needs no medical intervention. Let it stand for it never stumbles. It is too strong to ever fear. There are cases where fear makes no sense and truth is one of them. I don’t fear dandruff (it takes hair to have it!). Let it out and all will be healthier; that is if you really have it.

Read all articles in the series here.

Does it seem to you that standing up to a questioning world, meeting their criticisms head on, and sharing Christ without fear, is what we are supposed to do? Surely, all of us Christians could agree with that. On the other hand, have you listened to those who speak of how bold they are in such scenarios, but their efforts are more the fiber of ridicule than persuasion? Having insults to mask cluelessness is a temptation for us all, but, perhaps, the Independent Baptist world has a large, ugly trail of it.

Isn’t it sad when a needy world asks tough, but legitimate questions and rather than dig or think, we attack? We say they are stupid, or how could they be dumb enough to misspell a word in their question (I just had to have “misspell” auto correct for me!). I have heard people called names, or that they had better just shut up and get saved or they will split Hell wide open (when the question just might be proof of their seeking itself).

That certainly slaughters the claim that we love souls. The truth is that our pride is held in higher regard than someone’s soul. We can’t appear to be anything less than an expert even if we could not answer the question and care little to dig it out.

Some say Jesus  spoke with ridicule at times. He did, but He also possessed perfect knowledge of the person he was speaking to. The other big difference was that He never did it to hide being found out for being uninformed. He never had need to hide lazy thinking and shoddy preparation. We would rather mow someone down than take a few hours to get a handle on the issues under consideration. The Bible has the answers but we would rather bark than dig.

Some go father than this and go for outrageous criticisms and insults. An opponent’s looks or weight are completely irrelevant and to use such statements as a Christian in a discussion is absurd. Besides the utter shamefulness of it, it likely drives the people we should reach as far away as possible.

Let’s you and me hold ourselves to far higher standard than that. Let love prevail, and work rather than run and hide. The stakes are too high.

Find all articles in the series here.

 

 

It is an old trick. When a label takes on a life of its own, threaten to attach the label to one not quite toeing the line to manipulate them to fall back in line. If they cross the line, destroy them with the label to instill fear in others. The unfortunate part of it is the utter dishonesty involved. It really isn’t about the rhetoric now attached to the label at all, but only an ugly control mechanism.

In the 1950s a version of this phenomenon went around that later was called McCarthyism. The label of that episode was “commie”. Were there communists working undercover in those days? Of course there were. Was what communists stood for a bad thing? Of course it was. The sad part was that many were found to be communists who were not at all. Maybe it was only that they had been kind to someone who was, or they held an opinion that some didn’t like, and the most formidable weapon around was that label. So it got thrown around.

All kinds of groups use these tactics. In our day, labels like “bigot”, “homophobe”, or “fundamentalist” can mean a lot of things to different people, and many are terrified of these labels.

Another such label, this time in Christian circles, is “liberal.” In the Independent Baptist world this label holds the most sway. In some unfortunate instances it has dramatically altered the ministry of those where the label stuck.

Are there situations where the designation “liberal” is both fair and accurate? Absolutely! For years it referred to a distinct theological position of denying the great, historic tenets of Christianity–things like the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection, the Inspiration of the Bible, or the Blood Atonement.

But the word “liberal” became a cheap label when it was thrown out, not for a disbelieving theological position, but a disagreement over standards or worship styles. You know, something like having a screen in the church and, presto, you are a liberal.

It is time we see through this labeling. This is not about the glory of God, or about honoring Christ, or even about Scriptural accuracy; no, this is about control. This is about holding the party line or paying the price. It is the politics of a Union Shop!

We ought to be concerned with labeling. There is sin in the dishonesty of it, as well as the destruction done unjustly to brothers and sisters in Christ. We ought not originate it, nor propagate it if others do so. We ought to counteract it by repudiating it when others employ this slimy tactic. There is no place in God’s work for cheap, misleading labels!

Find all articles in the series here.

Perhaps you heard the recent news that Mark Driscoll, well-known evangelical pastor of an influential megachurch, was stepping down from his pastorate, for at least a time, for “an abuse of power.” I know nothing personally about the situation, but it is clear that he was held to account by those in the circle he ran in. There was no charge of immorality, just that he was too harsh with those he ministered to.

Could Independent Baptists learn something here? We have lost a few to sexual sin or financial impropriety, but our cases of “abuse of power” are rarely held to account. Many in the Independent Baptist world seem to think those who ask for the abuse to stop are the criminals. Those who know better often enable others to propagate this warped thinking.

It is true that some church members charge pastors with abuse when it is actually the other way around. Still, there are some serious cases of abuse that should force a pastor to step aside.

I am personally aware of pastors verbally attacking someone from the pulpit, yelling at someone in the church hallway, churching someone for simply disagreeing, breaking confidences of especially personal problems, lying on a church member, starting a gossip campaign and destroying someone’s reputation. These things ought never be so for someone with the high calling of shepherding souls.

We have been known as a group for loving and respecting our pastors and that is a good thing, but that must be balanced with accountability for clearly unacceptable behavior. Good pastors will never be afraid of it. They will, in fact, relish the dignity of the office being upheld. Lord, help us learn from others.

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