The Old Highland Park Baptist Church

The Old Highland
Park Baptist Church
David Cloud
The Old Highland Park Baptist Church
Copyright 2011 by David W. Cloud
This edition August 15, 2015
ISBN 978-1-58318-141-6
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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................5
The Dramatic Change ...............................................10
Death in the Pot ........................................................16
Soft Separatism......................................................16
Positivism ..............................................................21
Independent Baptist Unityism ...............................23
No Criticism ..........................................................25
Biblical Shallowness .............................................30
Bigism and Pragmatism.........................................32
Quick Prayerism ....................................................35
Modern Textual Criticism......................................41
Scholarolatry .........................................................42
Not a True New Testament Church .......................45
Refusal to Speak Out Against Compromise ..........49
Conclusion ................................................................52
About Way of Life’s eBooks ....................................54
Powerful Publications for These Times ....................55
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“By the late 1980s Highland Park and Tennessee Temple
were experiencing dramatic changes.”
4
Introduction
Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee,
is the home of Tennessee Temple University. Beginning in
1942, the church was pastored for four decades by Lee
Roberson, and under his direction the church left the
Southern Baptist Convention (or was kicked out, depending
on who is telling the story), learned to support missionaries
directly, and became a real spiritual powerhouse for world
evangelism.
Founded in 1946 as an educational arm of the church,
Tennessee Temple began as a simple Bible School for the
training of preachers and Christian workers. As the years
passed, a college and seminary were added and the emphasis
changed to Christian education in general. (John R. Rice was
vice-president of the seminary for its first decade.)
World War II had just ended and through funding from
the GI bill veterans flocked to Tennessee Temple for Bible
training, 184 students right off that bat. At one point there
were 1,400 married students enrolled. Tennessee Temple was
the largest Independent Baptist school well into the 1970s.
My wife and I were students at Temple in its heyday in the
late 1960s and 1970s. In those days there were over 3,000
students in the Bible school, college and seminary (2,200 in
the dorms) and the average Sunday School attendance at the
main church (not counting the church’s far-flung chapel
system) was about 4,500. The congregation was giving half of
its income to church planting and world missions. Its annual
missions conferences typically hosted 80-100 missionaries.
The church’s own faith missions giving contributed to the
support of more than 560 missionaries.
Lee Roberson was the founder of the Southwide Baptist
Fellowship, a fellowship of Independent Baptist preachers
which had 3,000 members at its peak. He also was
instrumental in the founding of Baptist International
5
Missions International (BIMI), the largest Independent
Baptist faith-promise missions board. By the end of Dr.
Roberson’s life there were over 1,000 BIMI missionaries in 90
countries, with support coming from 8,500 churches.
Dr. Roberson was a visionary and a real leader but he had
an air of quiet humility and was not a self-promoter. He
didn’t like to have things named after him. He was
courageous and seemed to fear God more than man. He was
a warrior for what he believed, and I greatly respect that. His
message was simplistic but effective at a certain level: Get
saved, surrender to Christ, and “go right down the line”
serving and obeying Him. You won’t go far wrong following
that counsel, though we will deal with the lack of biblical
depth later in this report.
He was a man of real Christian character. J.R. Faulkner,
who knew him as well as any man, said: “He was a man of his
word--great character, great integrity. He lived what he
preached” (James Wigton, Lee Roberson: Always about His
Father’s Business, 2010, p. 117). He believed in dying to self, in
being filled with the Spirit. He had a love for God and an
unquenchable burden for souls. He was a man of prayer, a
man who depended upon the Lord rather than on the arm of
flesh. He lived frugally and didn’t take a large salary and
refused to take his pay check until the missionary support
was all paid.
There was never a hint of moral or financial scandal in Dr.
Roberson’s life and ministry. He was exceedingly careful
about his relationship with women. There was a large mirror
between his office and his secretary’s office, and he refused
ever to be alone with a woman other than his wife. He didn’t
give personal gifts to his female secretaries. He said that even
if he saw his secretary walking in a driving rainstorm he
would not have stopped to pick her up lest someone see it
and get the wrong idea.
I am convinced that this is the reason why Tennessee
Temple graduates from his era have not been known for
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moral scandals as the graduates of some other IBaptist
schools have. It has happened, but it has been rare.
The daily chapels and annual conferences featured some of
the best preachers from across America, and there was real
life-changing power in the services.
The music was sacred and glorious. I have never heard
more thrilling congregational singing than I heard at
Highland Park Baptist Church in those days. Every Sunday
they sang “Behold He Comes” in harmony and what a joy it
was! “Behold He comes ... and every eye shall see Him.” One
of the fundamental themes then was the imminent return of
Christ, and this is very biblical and very important. Dr. J.R.
Faulkner was not a dynamic song leader but he was cheerful,
enthusiastic, and effective, and he brought out the best from
the choir and congregation. There was absolutely nothing
contemporary in style about the music. Everything was built
on a solid sacred foundation that sounded nothing like the
world’s pop music. The rejection of CCM in those days was
not just lip service. The special music groups sang sacred
music in a sacred manner. There was plenty of talent, but as I
recall the groups did not put on “performances.” The
presentation was not showy or fleshly or even flashy.
Dr. Roberson was trained in music and he understood the
power of something as seemingly inoffensive as a chord
progression. Consider the following event that happened at
Temple in the early 1980s:
“When two Tennessee Temple students tried something
new in chapel one day--transitioning their song with a
diminished chord, bringing in a seventh chord,
Roberson got right up in front of the student body and
said, 'No, no. Always finish out your chords. Don't leave
it hanging, young men.' They never did that
again!" (James Wigton, Lee Roberson: Always about His
Father’s Business,, p 178).
This is very instructive in light of the way that unresolving
chord progressions predominate in today’s contemporary
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worship music. It creates an mystical, relativistic atmosphere.
(See the Way of Life video presentation The Transformational
Power of Contemporary Praise Music, available as a free
eVideo download from www.wayoflife.org and also available
in the Music for Good or Evil video series.)
Dress standards and dating standards and such were high,
and it wasn’t “legalism” or “Phariseeism.” That is a slanderous
accusation made by the contemporary crowd who are lovers
of the world. Even Christian rockers and emergents have
standards. I don’t know of one such church that would allow
a woman to sing in the praise team or teach a Sunday School
class in a bikini. No, they draw lines, too, and for them to call
our lines legalism is blatant hypocrisy. It is not legalism for
blood-washed, grace-saved churches to prayerfully apply
God’s Word (e.g. 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 5:11; Titus
2:11-12; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17) to issues of practical
Christian living, and that’s what Highland Park tried to do in
those days.
It was not a matter of an emphasis on mere externals. The
emphasis was on a heart for God and seeking after true
godliness. The atmosphere at the church and school was
happy and spiritual.
Above all, there was a godly vision to be caught. It was a
place where multitudes of lives were changed to the glory of
Christ, and great masses of people heard the gospel and
hundreds of Bible-believing churches were planted as a result
of what was “caught” at Highland Park Baptist Church in
those days. One graduate said, “During my tenure at TTU, I
believe that it was truly a Biblically conservative,
separated institution of higher learning, that strove to pass
along godly principles for life and ministry.” I agree with that.
Lee Roberson said:
“In my first year at the Highland Park Baptist Church,
we had one missionary. The blessings of God came
down upon us, and many were saved. As we kept on
preaching the Gospel at home, we were driven to a
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deeper concern for the rest of the world. So we began
putting on missionaries with support of them through
the regular offerings of the church and by special
offerings on Sunday evening and Wednesday evening.
We saw scores of our young people volunteer for
missionary work. During my fortieth year at Highland
Park [1982], we were giving support to 565 missionaries
in all parts of the world. Fifty percent of the church’s
offerings went to home and foreign missions. Every
need of the church was met, and every building was
paid for. At home we were seeing the salvation of
hundreds. People were happy and the blessings of God
were upon us. Obey God! Don’t question. Don’t
procrastinate! Don’t quibble! Obey God! Obedience
brings manifold blessings.”
Though some of the teachers were mediocre at best, which
will always be the case in a large Bible-training institution,
some were excellent. Bruce Lackey, who was the Dean of the
Bible School, was one of these. Sitting in his Bible classes was
like tucking into a prime rib meal. I took practically
everything he had to offer. His teaching had doctrinal and
spiritual depth, but it also had that element of godly
simplicity that Paul referred to in 2 Corinthians 11. I really
loved Bruce Lackey, and I loved him because he was a Christcentered Bible preacher. He was an all caps Bible Man. He
helped my wife and I greatly in our Christian lives. He
performed our wedding in 1976, and he continued to help
me after I went to the mission field. He and David Otis Fuller,
another man who took time to instruct me, died the same
year, in 1988.
Tennessee Temple was segregated in its early days, which
was wrong. It was a reflection of the southern culture of the
time. Public schools in my hometown in Florida were
segregated until after I graduated from high school in 1967.
But Dr. Roberson had a burden for training black preachers
and Highland Park established Zion College in 1949 for that
purpose.
9
The Dramatic Change
By the late 1980s Highland Park and Tennessee Temple
were experiencing dramatic changes.
There was a great influence from Liberty University and
Word of Life, both of which have long been in the New
Evangelical orb. Dr. Roberson regularly spoke at Word of Life
in his later years. The church used Word of Life directors as
conference and chapel speakers. Danny Lovett came from
Liberty in 2005 to head up the school. In the 1980s, Word of
Life was warmly, non-critically associated with Charles
Colson and Jerry Falwell, both of whom helped break down
the walls of separation between Bible believers and the
Roman Catholic Church. Jack Wyrtzen promoted the
extremely perverted Living Bible.
In 1989, Jerry Huffman reported that Tennessee Temple
groups used “soft rock” at the Southwide Baptist Fellowship
that year (Calvary Contender, Oct. 15, 1989).
In 1990, the guest speaker for the Douglas Cravens
Seminary Lectures was J. Allan Peterson, an out-and-out New
Evangelical who also spoke that year at the ecumenical Jesus
Northwest Christian rock festival.
By 2005 Highland Park was rocking out, no holds barred.
In April of that year the church and school hosted a Christian
rock concert featuring Bebo Norman, Fernando Ortega, and
Sara Groves. It was held in Highland Park’s main auditorium.
All three of these mainstream CCM musicians are
ecumenical. Ortega, for example, is an Episcopalian who has
appeared at Billy Graham Crusades and Promise Keepers
conferences. Bebo Norman has toured with Amy Grant.
Marty Tate, pastor of Peaceful Valley Baptist Church in
Rising Fawn, Georgia, and two other preachers (one a TTU
alumnus of the late ‘60s) stood on the sidewalk and preached
against rock music and handed out tracts exposing the
dangers of CCM. He told me that many of the people they
10
encountered “were very haughty and condemning of us, all
the while accusing us of being judgmental, legalistic, and all
the usual stuff.”
This is a dramatic change from the philosophy and attitude
that prevailed in this same place just 20 years earlier. The
“new” Temple crowd criticizes the “old” Temple crowd, but of
course they “haven’t changed.” And of course, they don’t
believe it is right to criticize, unless you are criticizing some
old extreme fundamentalist, then it is no holds barred, let ‘er
rip.
In April 2006, the school’s College Days, when prospective
students visit the campus, featured two Christian rockers,
Toddiefunk and the Electric Church and Warren Barfield.
Toddiefunk is the bass player for Toby Mac, formerly with
DC Talk. Electric Church’s album Ready or Not featured
“Holy Ghost Thang,” “Dance Floor,” “Naked,” and “Crazay.”
The October 29, 2005, issue of the Chattanooga Times Free
Press featured a picture of Tennessee Temple University
students “worshipping” to contemporary rock music during a
Wednesday evening service. The accompanying article said:
“Beneath the 90-year-old stained glass at St. Andrews
Center, rock music blares as worshippers in jeans and Tshirts fill the sanctuary. The weekly Wednesday night
church service has all the markings of traditional
worship--music, preaching and praying. But the choir
and organ have been replaced with drums and an
electric guitar. ‘Each generation has different styles of
music, and what churches have to realize is that we’ve
got to meet those younger generations’ needs,’ said Dr.
Danny Lovett, who preaches at the service and is
president of Tennessee Temple University.”
Lovett had recently come to Temple from Jerry Falwell’s
Liberty University, which was already New Evangelical to the
core. Billy Graham, the Prince of New Evangelicalism, had
spoken at Liberty and was praised by Falwell for his “faithful
ministry.” Liberty hosted conferences for the radically
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ecumenical Promise Keepers (at a time when one of the PK
directors was a Roman Catholic) as well as for Southern
Baptist church growth guru Rick Warren, an enthusiastic
promoter of many New Age gurus. (See “Rick Warren
Launches New Age Health Care Program,” “Billy Graham’s
Sad Disobedience,” and “Jerry Falwell: The Billy Graham of
Independent Baptists” at the Way of Life web site -wayoflife.org.)
Here we can see Dr. Roberson’s soft-separatism and his
positive, non-critical philosophy coming home to roost, as we
will see later in this report. He refused to “criticize” the SBC,
Graham, or Falwell and refused to distance himself properly
from them, so it is little surprise that they eventually took
over his former ministry, and brought all of their baggage
with them.
Temple was one of the sponsors of the “Winter Jam Tour
2007,” which featured Christian rockers such as Jeremy
Camp, Steven Curtis Chapman, Sanctus Real, and Hawk
Nelson. Sanctus Real lead guitarist Chris Rohman says: “On
the tours we’ve been lucky to be part of, the kids are really
into the rockin’ songs ... every night on that tour kids were
just screaming along to every word of every song.”
Can you imagine the apostle Paul promoting this type of
worldly thing?
Matt Hammitt of Sanctus Real participated in the 2003
tour of the !Hero rock opera, which depicts Jesus as a cool
black man. In !Hero, the Last Supper is a barbecue party and
‘Jesus’ is crucified on a city street sign. Sanctus Real and
Steven Curtis Chapman played a concert in 2003 at St. Mary
Seminary sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of
Cleveland, Ohio. Retired Catholic bishop Anthony Pilla
celebrated the Mass at the event. Chapman told the Cleveland
Plain Dealer that it’s “a good thing” that “the Catholic Church
is showing a greater openness to contemporary Christian
music” (Plain Dealer, Aug. 7, 2006).
12
By 2008, Highland Park Baptist Church had joined the
Southern Baptist Convention and began contributing to the
Cooperative Program.
In about 2006 Tennessee Temple invited emerging church
leader Dallas Willard for the Spring Lecture Series. Willard
believes that “it is possible for someone who does not know
Jesus to be saved” (“Apologetics in Action,” Cutting Edge
magazine, Winter 2001). He rejects the infallible inspiration
of Scripture, saying, “Jesus and his words have never
belonged to the categories of dogma or law, and to read them
as if they did is simply to miss the point” (The Divine
Conspiracy, p. xiii).
Willard is confused about salvation. He says, “Why is it
that we look upon salvation as a moment that began our
religious life instead of the daily life we receive from
God” (The Spirit of the Disciplines). He rejects the gospel of
Christ’s blood atonement (The Divine Conspiracy, pp. 44, 49).
In his book The Spirit of the Disciplines, which promotes
Roman Catholic-style contemplative mysticism, Willard
includes the endorsement of Sue Monk Kidd, a New Age
“goddess.” (See “From Southern Baptist to Goddess Worship”
at the Way of Life web site -- wayoflife.org.) He promotes the
Catholic-Buddhist Thomas Merton and an assortment of
Catholic mystic saints. Willard claims that God is not
concerned about doctrinal purity. In fact, he says that God
loves theologians of all types.
“Theologians on both the left and the right, and those
on no known scale of comparison, are all loved by God,
who has great things in mind for every one of
them” (The Divine Conspiracy, p. 329).
This is contrary to the Bible, which says that those who
preach false gospels are cursed (Galatians 1) and those who
preach false christs are of the devil (2 Corinthians 11; 2 Peter
2; 2 John).
13
Some Temple grads wrote to the school to protest Willard’s
appearance and to document their concerns, but of course
they were ignored as mere “critics.”
Pastor Terry Coomer, who attended Temple in the 1970s,
wrote the following to me on August 10, 2010:
“The last time I was through Chattanooga, I went into
the old auditorium and there was a large drum set and
part of it was painted black. There was a mural of Dr.
Roberson and a church service in the old building
blown up on the outside wall. On the other side of the
wall were posters of a Christian rock concert to be held
there. People dressed in wild clothes and wild hair,
etc. The book store was filled with the same thing.”
The school’s dress code has been significantly downgraded,
and students are no longer required to give a account of their
salvation when applying to attend.
Tennessee Temple’s new president as of 2012, Steve Echols,
says that he is “Southern Baptist from my toenail to the little
bit of hair on my head” (“Tennessee Temple Carries on,”
Times Free Press, Chattanooga, Sep. 17, 2012). He was
educated at Mercer University, New Orleans Baptist
Theological Seminary, and Beeson Divinity School, and was
on the faculty of New Orleans Seminary for 11 years. He also
pastored SBC churches and always “emphasized the
Cooperative Program” (“Tennessee Temple Univ. Strengthens
SBC Ties,” Baptist Press, Apr. 19, 2012).
In 2012 Highland Park Baptist Church changed its name to
Church of the Highlands to reflect a location change as well
as its new generic contemporary flavor. Jeremy Roberts,
Highland Park’s 28-year-old pastor, says, “It’ll be the funnest
church around” (“Chattanooga’s Iconic Highland Park,”
Chattanooga Times Free Press, Sept. 10, 2012). Roberts is a
graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and
previously served on staff at the Southern Baptists of Texas
Convention and the Southern Baptist Conservatives of
Virginia (“Tennessee Temple Univ. Strengthens SBC Ties,”
14
Baptist Press, Apr. 19, 2012). A glass wall backdrop behind
the pulpit of the Church of the Highlands will offer a view of
the river below, which will provide “an experience where you
will be encompassed in all of God’s creation” (“Highland Park
Baptist Selling,” Nooga.com, Sept. 10, 2012). This is sort of a
combination between the Crystal Cathedral and the “church
of the great outdoors”! The new building will facilitate “a
more progressive, 21st century model for
ministry” (“Highland Park Baptist Relocating,” WRCBtv,
Sept. 9, 2012).
John R. Rice’s daughter Joy Martin said that she supports
the church’s new direction and believes that Lee Roberson
would be excited about it, as well (Nooga.com, Sept. 10,
2012).
Numbers-wise, the church and school are mere shadows of
what they were.
By 2012, the church had only 300 members (“Tennessee
Temple Carries on,” Times Free Press, Chattanooga, Sep. 17,
2012).
As for the college and seminary, by 1992, the enrollment
was 650. This had fallen to about 300 in 2014.
In March 2015, Tennessee Temple announced that it was
closing its doors and merging with Piedmont International
University of Winston-Salem, NC, thus reaching the end of
the long death spiral it had been on since the 1990s.
15
Death in the Pot
Though the great changes occurred under Don Jennings
and (to a larger degree) under David Bouler, in reality, there
was death in the pot at Highland Park Baptist Church and
Tennessee Temple all along for those who had eyes to see.
I will mention several of these.
I am sure there were many behind-the-scenes factors at
play at some level, such as what was happening with the
deacons, some sexual scandals, low salaries for teachers, etc.,
but I believe the following factors get to the heart of the
changes and should be warnings to others.
The same errors are alive and well in many other
Independent Baptist churches and schools and they will
produce the same fruit they did at Highland Park.
Insanity has been defined as trying the same thing
repeatedly and expecting different results.
Soft Separatism
The Bible warns repeatedly about the importance of
separation from wrong associations. “Be not deceived: evil
communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians
15:33).
Highland Park Baptist Church and Tennessee Temple
professed to believe in separation, but it was a soft separation.
They were weak on associations all along. Speakers included
prominent Southern Baptists, Presbyterians, at least one
Methodist, and New Evangelicals such as Warren Wiersbe,
Stephen Olford, and Jack Wyrtzen.
I believe that Dr. Wiersbe spoke every year I was there.
Everyone loved his preaching. It had biblical depth (which
was not true for a lot of the story-telling preachers that came
through). He was gracious, smiled a lot, shared practical tips
from his extensive pastoring experience. What could possibly
16
be wrong? The thing that was wrong (and we weren’t even
given a clue about it by the leaders at Temple in those days)
was his total commitment to the loosey-goosey, pacifistic
New Evangelical philosophy. Highland Park was reputed to
believe in biblical separation, but Wiersbe was an enemy of
separation.
After I was on the mission field in the early 1980s I began
to research contemporary Christianity for myself. I was
learning firsthand about the destructive fruit of New
Evangelicalism in some personal dealings with organizations
such as Campus Crusade, Youth for Christ, and the Bible
Society. One of the publications I perused in that research
was Christianity Today. I was shocked by the lack of spiritual
conviction and the off-handed promotion of heresies such as
the myth of “evangelical Catholics,” the defense of heretic
Robert Schuller’s self-esteem theology, praise for NeoOrthodox theologians, praise for the pope, etc. For example,
the April 6, 1998, issue of Christianity Today contained a fullpage ad for “Six Inspirational Video Sets,” including one
featuring Pope John Paul II.
I was amazed one day to see in the front of Christianity
Today that Warren Wiersbe was an Advisory Editor. How
could this be, I thought to myself? And I immediately wrote
and asked him how he could be associated with such a deeply
compromised publication.
In a brief reply, Wiersbe said, “Frankly, some of us need to
take off our gloves and pick up a towel.” In other words, he
advised me to stop worrying so much about doctrinal purity,
stop taking a separatist stance, and to focus rather on a more
positive approach to Christianity.
As a young missionary, I considered his advice before the
Lord in light of God’s Word and decided that Dr. Wiersbe
was advising me contrary to the will of God. The Lord has
instructed me to stand for doctrinal purity and to rebuke
error (Jude 3; 2 Tim. 4:2; etc.), and I determined to continue
to do that regardless of the unscriptural counsel of popular
17
evangelical leaders. In addition to his association with
Christianity Today, Dr. Wiersbe has worked with Youth for
Christ (which has Roman Catholic personnel), been a board
member of the radically ecumenical National Religious
Broadcasters, preached at Willow Creek Community Church
(where “there is no fire and brimstone here”), etc.
Stephen Olford, another man who spoke at Highland Park
Baptist Church, is another prominent New Evangelical
compromiser who despises biblical separation. After Olford
delivered a strong-sounding sermon on the authority of the
Bible at Billy Graham’s Amsterdam conference for itinerant
evangelists in 1986, Foundation magazine reporter Dennis
Costella asked the following question in a recorded interview:
“Dr. Olford, you emphasized in your message the
dangers of liberalism and how it could ruin the
evangelist and his ministry. What is this conference
doing to instruct the evangelist as to how to identify
liberalism and the liberal so that upon his return home
he will be able to avoid the same?” Olson reprovingly
replied: “That’s the wrong spirit—AVOID the liberal! I
love to be with liberals, especially if they are willing to
be taught, much more than with hard-boiled
fundamentalists who have all the answers…
Evangelicals should seek to build bridges” (Foundation,
Jul.-Aug. 1986).
This reminds me that New Evangelicals can sound very
bold and strong for the faith at times. They will preach
against error in a general manner; but in practice, they reject
the biblical solution to the problem of error, which is
separation from it. This philosophy of spiritual neutrality is
the very heart of New Evangelicalism, and it is even right
now permeating large segments of the fundamental Baptist
movement.
Many other examples of this type of wrong associations
could be given.
18
In the 1980s I wrote to Don Jennings after he became
pastor of Highland Park Baptist Church. As a young
missionary in the thick of the battle, I was concerned about
things I was learning about New Evangelicalism and I wanted
to know where Jennings stood. I asked him if he was opposed
to New Evangelicalism.
He asked me to define this, so I replied that I was referring
to its standard historical definition as stated by men such as
Harold Ockenga -- the chief characteristic being “a
repudiation of separatism.” I told Dr. Jennings that I was
referring to men such as Billy Graham and Charles Swindoll
and institutions such as Moody Bible Institute and Dallas
Seminary and Wheaton College and publications such as
Christianity Today.
He thanked me for the clarification and said that he was
definitely opposed to New Evangelicalism under that
definition. I then asked him why the church and school
invited New Evangelicals such as Warren Wiersbe as
speakers. I reminded Jennings that Wiersbe was affiliated
with Christianity Today, a magazine he had labeled New
Evangelical.
Jennings’ demeanor changed at that point, and he said that
not only had he invited Wiersbe to speak again at Highland
Park that year but that he himself was scheduled to speak at
Founder’s Week at Moody, one of the very schools that
previously he had said he stood against!
I learned a lot in those days about the deceitful character of
compromise. Men can take a very bold-sounding stand for
the truth when their actions aren’t taken into consideration
and when it doesn’t cost them anything.
The weakness in association and the softness in separation
was the most prominent reason for the spiritual downfall of
Highland Park Baptist Church and Tennessee Temple. (Of
course, the present regime doesn’t agree that there has been a
downfall; they are convinced that their current philosophy is
much advanced over the old “legalism.”)
19
It should come as no surprise that an institution that plays
footsy with Southern Baptists and New Evangelicals, rather
than distancing itself from them and issuing plain warnings
about them, would eventually become thoroughly New
Evangelical and be perfectly comfortable joining the
Convention.
The soft stance on separatism and the wrong associations
and lack of clear teaching and warning about error were the
reason why the church’s deacons were not prepared to choose
a pastor to replace Dr. Roberson. No one there was properly
educated about New Evangelicalism and some other
important issues pertaining to the isms and schisms of our
day, and the association with New Evangelicals and Southern
Baptists was already established. So it is no surprise that the
deacons chose a soft fundamentalist followed by an out-andout New Evangelical to replace Dr. Roberson.
The fact that the church Dr. Roberson pastored for 40 years
is Southern Baptist today and the fact that his funeral was
preached by a man from a Southern Baptist-approved college
(Paul Dixon, president of Cedarville University) and the fact
that his authorized biography was written by a Southern
Baptist pastor is the fruit of his soft separatism and his very
weak stand toward the great spiritual/doctrinal/moral
compromise within the Convention (compromise which is
worse today than ever in many ways).
“Roberson never fought against Southern Baptists, nor
did he openly criticize them. ... Dr. Fred Afman, for
many years a Tennessee Temple professor [said], ‘I don’t
think he wanted to pull out.’ ... Through the years
Roberson continued to welcome conservative Southern
Baptist preachers to his pulpit--men such as his mentor
R.G. Lee. ... J. Harold Smith. To the end of his life,
Roberson would on occasion preach for a Southern
Baptist church or in a conference on the same platform
with Southern Baptist preachers. A number of
Tennessee Temple graduates became Southern Baptist
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preachers. ... in 2002, Baptist pastor Randy Ray told me,
‘To this day, Dr. Roberson has never broken with
Southern Baptists. To this day, Southern Baptist
churches still contact him for pastors and references.’ ...
He didn’t spend his time fighting. ... In 1996, Lee
Roberson preached for Pastor Tom Messer at Trinity
Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida ... Roberson
publicly offered the younger Messer advice. Roberson
publicly said that in retrospect he thought it had been a
mistake to leave the SBC. ... Two years before he died
Lee Roberson accepted an invitation from Bailey Smith
to preach at a Southern Baptist meeting” (Wigton, Lee
Roberson: Always about His Father’s Business, pp. 227,
228, 232, 242).
Positivism
Intimately associated with proper and effective biblical
separation is marking and reproving error and compromise.
We are both to “mark” and to “avoid” (Romans 16:17).
Highland Park Baptist Church did not practice either
aspects in an effective manner.
In fact, one of the prevailing principles was the New
Evangelical philosophy of positivism. Everything was kept on
a positive, upbeat note. Dr. Roberson’s biographer observes:
"Roberson developed a focus that controlled his
ministry. 'I kept my mind and ministry settled -winning people to Christ, getting people to grow in
grace,' he said. 'Stay out of controversy in the pulpit-stay out of it and stay on the main line. I think that
helped me a lot. I tried to avoid personalities and stay on
the main line: preaching the gospel, emphasis on
winning people to Christ, emphasis on developing the
spiritual life, dying to self, the fullness of the Spirit, the
second coming--kept on the positive side, kept negatives
away from the people.’ ... Negativism and criticism
simply were not a part of Lee Roberson’s life" (Wigton,
Lee Roberson, pp. 78, 243).
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Typically, warnings were given only in generalities.
Leading compromisers such as Jerry Falwell or James Dobson
or Bill Bright or even Billy Graham were never identified by
name. The powers that be at Highland Park and Tennessee
Temple in those days were definitely not fighting
fundamentalists.
“Later when Billy Graham’s ecumenical cooperation
became a controversial issue among fundamentalists,
Lee Roberson quietly backed out of such cooperation.
‘Dr. Roberson never said a critical word about it,’ said
Faulkner. ‘ If he had anything to say, it was always
positive. That was his position on all issues. He just
never had a critical word about anything. ... He won’t
talk about the brethren. You never heard him in the
pulpit here call anyone names.’ ... Ed Johnson, always
loyal to Dr. Roberson said, ‘He avoided controversy. We
were not exposed to the rise of the neo-evangelicalism
in my days at Temple. Doc stayed away from that
controversy.’ ...
“When it became common for some independent
Baptists to criticize independent Baptist leaders such as
Jerry Falwell or evangelist Tim Lee for preaching for
Southern Baptists or other non-independent Baptist
ministries, Roberson never wavered in his support of
such men. He felt that men like Falwell and Lee had a
heart for the Lord and for souls, and that was all that
mattered to him” (Wigton, Lee Roberson, pp. 240, 241).
It has been said that no position can be maintained
without constant campaigning, and I am convinced that this
is one of the reasons why Highland Park is a rock & roll
Southern Baptist institution today. In the 1970s and 1980s,
the church claimed to be fundamentalist and professed not to
be New Evangelical, but there was no real campaigning for
separatism and against New Evangelicalism.
I learned many good things at Temple and I thank the Lord
for it, but the problem resided more in what I didn’t learn.
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This is the New Evangelical error. It is not the heresy that is
taught that is the problem; it is the truth that is neglected.
Further, it was not uncommon that underhanded pot shots
were taken against fighting fundamentalists and those men
who did issue plain warnings. Of course, they didn’t name the
names of these men, but everyone knew who they were
talking about and everyone got the message.
Positivism is death in the pot of any church or school that
wants to maintain a biblical position, because the Bible is
most assuredly filled up with a lot of very “negative” stuff, and
the plainest warning against sin, error, and compromise is a
major characteristic of the New Testament writings! Paul
often named names, and he said, “Brethren, be followers
together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us
for an ensample” (Philippians 3:17).
Independent Baptist Unityism
Another element of the death in the pot at the “old”
Highland Park Baptist Church was the philosophy of
Independent Baptist Unityism. This goes hand in glove with
the danger of wrong associations, the softness on separatism,
and the philosophy of positivism.
The idea, basically, is that if it is Independent Baptist it is
within the framework of what is allowed. When it comes to
associations and separation, issues are categorized as
“essential” and “non-essential,” and the non-essentials are
those things about which Independent Baptists disagree. The
list has grown longer every decade.
It is the “in essentials unity; in non-essentials liberty; in all
things charity” approach.
This dictum has been an integral philosophy of New
Evangelicalism from its inception, and an IB preacher who
buys into it is well on the way to a full-blown New
Evangelical position, and many are well along this path. (See
“In Essentials Unity” at the Way of Life web site.)
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There is no support in the Bible for the “in non-essentials
liberty” doctrine. The Lord Jesus Christ commanded His
disciples to teach converts “to observe ALL things whatsoever
I have commanded you” (Mat. 28:20). You can’t training
God’s people to observe all things if you downplay some
things for the sake of having a broader conference or
whatever! What you do in that type of thing will speak more
loudly than what you say.
The apostle Paul reminded the elders at Ephesus that the
reason he was free from the blood of all men was that he had
preached the WHOLE counsel of God (Acts 20:27). The more
plainly you preach the whole counsel of God, the less likely it
will be that you will join hands in ministry with those who
hold different doctrine.
Paul instructed Timothy to keep the truth “without SPOT,
unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus
Christ” (1 Tim. 6:14). A spot is a small, seemingly
insignificant thing. That particular epistle contains
commandments about such things as the woman’s role in
ministry, which is widely considered a “non-essential” today.
Paul taught Timothy to have an entirely different approach
toward such teachings.
In 1 Corinthians 11:2 Paul said to the church at Corinth,
“Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in ALL
things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.”
This passage deals with hair length and the Lord’s Supper,
which are widely considered to be “non-essentials” today, yet
Paul praised the church for remembering him in all things.
We know that not all doctrine has the same significance
and weight, but none of it is “non-essential” in any sense.
IBaptist Unityism is the working philosophy at Crown
College and West Coast today, and it was the working
philosophy at Tennessee Temple in the 1970s and 1980s.
These schools will never issue a clear public warning about
the error of fellow Independent Baptist preachers. It’s
considered off limits.
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It doesn’t matter that Independent Baptists today include
despisers of separatism, despisers of dress standards,
Southern Baptist wanna-be’s, Christian rockers, honky-tonk
Southern Gospelers, men who slander biblical repentance as
“lordship salvation,” modern textual critics, Calvinists,
wanna-be Christian hedonists, and wanna-be conservative
evangelicals.
As long as they are Independent Baptist we won’t separate
from them. We will include them in our Friendship
conferences and our Striving Together ventures.
This was definitely one of the elements in the downfall of
Highland Park Baptist Church, and it gets back to the danger
of wrong associations and the softness on separatism. “Be not
deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (1
Corinthians 15:33).
No Criticism
Another key element of the death that was in the pot at
Highland Park Baptist Church in the 1970s and 1980s was the
no criticism policy.
Dr. Roberson often said, “Critics are a dime a dozen,” and
there is plenty of truth to that, but without godly discernment
and reproof, sin and error go unchallenged and uncorrected.
A former Temple professor said, “We don’t want anyone
around here who is negative and has criticism for the
school” (Wigton, Lee Roberson: Always about His Father’s
Business,. 99).
I agree that criticism can be wrong and dangerous. I have
often said that it is easy to sit in a church and criticize what
others are doing, but the first question that needs to be asked
is what am I doing to build things up? Churches are frail
things and they are hard to build and easy to tear down. A
good question to ask is “if the whole church were like me,
what would the church be?”
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We need to honor God’s men in a spiritual and scriptural
fashion and treat them with godly respect and always give
them the benefit of the doubt. I preach much on this, because
it is very important.
But this is not to say there is no place for proving and
reproving.
While it is wrong and carnal to have a critical attitude,
which is described in James 3:14-16, and it is wrong to
dishonor spiritual authorities in a carnal manner, and it is
wrong to be ungracious and unmerciful and hypocritical in
one’s judgments, it is scriptural and right and necessary to
have a discerning eye toward sin and error.
Further, no man is to be placed above reproof and
discipline. God’s Word says we are to “prove ALL things” (1
Thessalonians 5:21). The Bereans were called noble for
exercising spiritual discernment and comparing everything
with God’s Word, and that included the apostle Paul himself
(Acts 17:11). Paul was referring to pastors when he said,
“Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear” (1
Tim. 5:20). Nowhere in the New Testament are we taught to
blindly follow any man or institution other than the Lord
Jesus Christ. To do so is idolatry.
“Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being
ensamples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:3).
“Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are
helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand” (2 Corinthians
1:24).
“I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to
have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not” (3
John 1:9).
“Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before
two or three witnesses. Them that sin rebuke before all,
that others also may fear. I charge thee before God, and
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou
observe these things without preferring one before
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another, doing nothing by partiality” (1 Timothy
5:19-21).
“But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever
they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no
man's person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in
conference added nothing to me” (Galatians 2:6).
Highland Park Baptist Church and Tennessee Temple
helped lead the way in the promotion of the “no criticism of
the man of God” policy which has so deeply permeated the
Independent Baptist movement. This is reflected throughout
Dr. Roberson’s authorized biography. The hero worship is
almost nauseating it is so unscriptural and wrong. He didn’t
encourage it, but he didn’t stop it, either.
“I could not get them to talk about anything which
could be perceived as remotely casting him in any way
less than a 100% favorable light” (Wigton, Lee Roberson:
Always about His Father’s Business, p. xi).
“There seemed to be an aversion to commenting on
anything which could cast Dr. Roberson in anything but
a positive light. This fierce loyalty was widespread” (p.
xv).
“It was hero-worship for me” (p. 71).
“But nobody ever challenged him” (p. 95).
“I’ve often said if he told me to go jump off the bridge, I
probably would have” (p. 97).
“Dr. Roberson was ‘king of the roost’ here” (p. 143).
“As far as I’m concerned, he can do no wrong” (p 279).
“At the time I came to Temple he was like God” (p. 338).
The leadership at Highland Park Baptist Church was not
pompous like Jack Hyles. Dr. Roberson didn’t strut his stuff
and encourage near worship from his followers; but it still
came down to a requirement of “unquestioning loyalty.” Even
humble, Bible-based criticism was likened to “touching God’s
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anointed,” which was a gross misuse of 1 Samuel 24:10. The
context has to do with killing an anointed king of Israel.
Apparently some Independent Baptist preachers think they
are kings. And they must also think that someone who
reproves them is trying to kill them. But even an Israelite
king was not above reproof. David didn’t kill King Saul, but
the prophet Samuel did not draw back from reproving the
king, nor did Nathan draw back from reproving King David
nor did Jehu, from reproving King Jehoshaphat.
Even kings could be reproved by God’s preachers, and so
can Baptist pastors.
“These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all
authority. Let no man despise thee” (Titus 2:15).
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus
Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his
appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant
in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all
longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:1-2).
Paul could reprove Peter (Galatians 2:11), but who could
have reproved Lee Roberson? Or Jack Hyles? Or any other
man who has patterned his pastoral ministry on that model?
I thank the Lord for Dr. Roberson and for the many great
blessings in my life that exist today because of his vision and
passion, but he wasn’t God, and I refuse to be an idolater.
And while every IB preacher would agree with that statement
in theory, the question I would ask is why have we given such
god-like authority and such worshipful loyalty to some mere
flesh and blood men?
The “touch not the man of God” philosophy as typically
defined among Independent Baptists is idolatry, pure and
simple.
It was the “don’t touch the man of God” policy that took
away the heart of even a bold man like Lester Roloff, so much
so that he would come to Highland Park Baptist Church and
preach against the modern versions that were used by
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teachers at Tennessee Temple and against the modern textual
criticism that was being taught in the Greek classes, IN
GENERAL, but he would not have dreamed of turning
around and pointing his bony finger at Lee Robertson and
saying, “Thou art the man who has allowed this mess to
happen!”
That no “old” Temple graduate could even imagine such a
thing occurring in his wildest dreams shows how far we have
fallen in our Christianity and our church model from the day
when Paul reproved Peter.
Truly, this policy is “death in the pot.”
When a “no criticism” philosophy operates in an
institution, no substantive change can be brought to bear. The
leaders consider criticism to be wrong and they typically
ignore it. In fact, they tend to look upon criticism as
persecution which they need to endure rather than as godly
warning they need to heed, and they tend to look upon the
“critic” as an enemy rather than a friend.
Some men reproved Dr. Roberson and Highland Park
Baptist Church along the way for being soft on separation,
but their Bible-based warnings were despised and ignored.
“He was criticized for not being a ‘fighting fundamentalist’
and for not being strong enough on ecclesiastical
separation. ... Bob Kelley said, ‘Those who criticized him for
not being a militant enough fundamentalist--that didn’t
bother him. It didn’t matter what anyone said. He just didn’t
worry about opinions. He never answered them. He wouldn’t
bother with it--no way, shape or form. He had one goal, and
that was to please the Son of God’” (Wigton, p. 230).
That is a ridiculous statement. It is the Son of God who has
taught us to reprove error and to heed godly reproof. The
Bible says that one’s attitude toward reproof is evidence of
one’s spiritual condition.
“He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he
that refuseth reproof erreth” (Proverbs 10:17 ).
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“Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he
that hateth reproof is brutish” (Proverbs 12:1).
“Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way:
and he that hateth reproof shall die” (Proverbs 15:10).
“The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among
the wise” (Proverbs 15:31).
“A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an
hundred stripes into a fool” (Proverbs 17:10).
“Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and
reprove one that hath understanding, and he will
understand knowledge” (Proverbs 19:25).
We can ignore reproof that is based on human opinion or
false doctrine, but Bible-based reproof is not to be ignored.
Had Dr. Roberson heeded the godly reproof that was
issued against him instead of ignoring it and treating “critics”
as enemies, perhaps Highland Park and Tennessee Temple
would not be rock & roll Southern Baptist institutions today
and perhaps far fewer of the graduates would be died-in-thewool New Evangelicals today.
Godly, biblically-informed, respectful criticism is not only
right; it is necessary.
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an
enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6).
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen” (1
John 5:21).
Biblical Shallowness
The preaching at Highland Park was solid as far as it went,
but typically it was shallow. The emphasis was not on staunch
expository preaching that got down to where you live and
that would build strong disciples. It was not so much Christcentered as work-centered, and I am not saying that we don’t
30
need to work. We do, but I am talking about the heart and
emphasis and the context in which the “work” is presented.
And I’m not saying there weren’t exceptions among the
speakers. Some of the faculty members and some of the
visiting preachers had a lot of spiritual depth. I could
mention Bruce Lackey, for example. He is not mentioned in
Roberson’s authorized biography, but he should be, because
he had a large and very godly influence at Tennessee Temple
in the 1970s, when he was the Dean of the Bible School. And
he was one of the few men at Temple who had a real
conviction about the error of modern textual criticism and
the preservation of the Greek Received Text and the accuracy
of the King James Bible.
I’m talking here about the preaching (and SS teaching, etc.)
that was typical week in and week out and I’m talking about
the heart and emphasis of that preaching. The emphasis
tended to be toward motivating the crowd to work hard in
building the institution.
It was “straight down the line,” but the line was pretty
limited. It was pray, read your Bible, be faithful to every
church service, give your tithe, and go soul winning. All of
those are important--fundamentally important--but if that
“line” is the sum total of the Christian life we don’t need most
of the Bible, and it is puzzling why Paul and the other
apostles wrote about so many things and emphasized the
things that he did. Very puzzling.
As a young and very zealous Christian I went to Temple to
learn the Bible, and I hungered for teaching and preaching
with real spiritual depth, and candidly, I left there far from
satisfied. The diet was just too shallow, too basic, too lacking
in challenge. If someone disagrees, that is certainly your
prerogative, but that was my experience, and as I have
considered the IB movement as a whole over the decades one
of the things that has repeatedly come to mind is the term
“shallow.” I thank the Lord for the great many exceptions
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among IB churches, but I am talking about the “movement,”
particularly some of the “circles.”
Biblical shallowness does not build strong Christian lives
and families and churches and it doesn’t prepare the saints to
stand against the fierce onslaught of end-times apostasy and
it doesn’t glorify the Christ of the Bible.
Bigism and Pragmatism
Another error that existed at Highland Park Baptist
Church even in the 1970s, an error that doubtless contributed
to its downfall, was Bigism. The emphasis was on size and
growth in the sense of numbers.
Bigism encourages a pragmatic philosophy that
emphasizes things that “work.” “Success” is praised and
promoted, success being defined as a large or an
impressively-growing church. The most popular speakers and
heros, typically, are men who epitomize this success.
Bigism encourages the comparing of men with men. It is
the sin that was condemned by the apostle Paul in 2
Corinthians 10:12.
“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or
compare ourselves with some that commend
themselves: but they measuring themselves by
themselves, and comparing themselves among
themselves, are not wise” (2 Corinthians 10:12).
It was Bigism that drove the promotionalism craze. In the
pastoral theology class in the 1970s, Dr. Faulker told us that
“you have to keep it pumped up.” He was talking about
maintaining the promotional fervor in order to keep the
crowds coming. He was a master at this. One year he
designed a large cake for anniversary of the church’s radio
ministry, which was rolled down the aisle to the front of the
auditorium. After it opened up through a motorized
mechanism, a rocket was launched, blasting powdered sugar
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on the speakers on the platform, including Dr. Roberson and
his standard double-breasted dark blue suit. The church had
clowns, a flaming evangelist who lit himself on fire, a 1500pound cake, an evangelist who para-glided into the church
parking lot, wrestlers and fighters who took on the local tuffs,
martial arts demonstrations, you name it. They gave away
bicycles, hid money under bus seats, whatever it took. Almost
no one questioned the biblical legitimacy of these things,
because promotionalism “worked” and the objective, which
was the salvation of souls, was supposedly unimpeachable. It
was pragmatism gone wild.
When Bigism reigns, preachers are not interested in
anything that would hinder the “success,” and that even
includes things as scriptural as a strong emphasis on
ecclesiastical separation and clear warnings about error. In
theory they will say that they care about these things, but in
practice they tend to go by the way side as far as emphasis
and clarity, because they get in the way of the program.
When Bigism reigns, you can offer 100 biblical reasons
why we should not use jazzy Southern Gospel, but the fact
that the people like it and it is an effective tool in drawing a
crowd is going to outweigh all of those reasons, hands down.
When Bigism reigns, you can offer 100 biblical reasons
why Quick Prayerism is wrong, but the fact that it gets
“results” and the fact that the “successful” pastors and
missionaries and evangelists use it is going to outweigh all of
those reasons, hands down.
Typically, the preachers attending the annual Southwide
Baptist Fellowship conferences in those days (Southwide was
closely associated with Highland Park Baptist Church) would
buy a book on how to build a large Sunday School or how to
pack out the buses, but they had little or no interest in a book
on something like New Evangelicalism. As a result, the
preachers are uneducated on many issues that affected their
churches and they, in turn, are not educating their churches
properly in these issues. Therefore, the people are destroyed
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for lack of knowledge. It is no surprise that Southwide Baptist
Fellowship so quickly slid into the contemporary New
Evangelical camp.
The same thing is happening in Bigism circles today.
When Bigism reigns, Independent Baptists go to church
growth gurus such as Rick Warren in search of tips (all the
while professing to be opposed to him). They feed their
pragmatism with principles gleaned from successful secular
corporations and five-star resorts. Instead of going to the
book of Acts as the guideline for “church growth,” they
examine Solomon’s kingdom and glean principles from how
he impressed the queen of Sheba.
It is Bigism that causes men to water down the message to
the lowest common denominator within the IB movement in
order to draw in as many people as possible from the various
“circles.” I think Tennessee Temple went seriously wrong at
the point where it ceased to be a simple local church Bible
training institution focused primarily on the church’s own
people and sought to be a large thing that would draw
students from everywhere in order to build an empire, and I
think that is exactly what happened. At that point, a school
has to start toning down any message that might offend some
segment of the IB movement or it will not get its singing
groups into those churches and will not draw students from
there.
If you are a local church training your own people, which
is what we are supposed to do (and any that choose to come
to you of their own free will as opposed to be drawn in
through a widely-cast advertising net), you don’t have the
temptation to tone down your message for the sake of not
offending various “circles.” You can preach whatever you want
and you can have in whichever men you want and you can
distribute whatever literature you want, and let the chips fall
where they may, because you aren’t trying to build an empire
through schools, conferences, etc., beyond your own church
ministry.
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Now, please don’t misunderstand. Bigism is not the same
as big. I thank the Lord that there are some fairly big
ministries that aren’t afflicted with this disease, though it is
rare, human nature being what it is. I preach in some fairly
large churches and associate with some men who have some
influence, but they are humble men who don’t want to be
worshiped and they aren’t trying to build an empire.
I have nothing whatsoever against big influential
ministries if they are scriptural and godly and aren’t
permeated with arrogance, if they are built on the Bible
rather than human pragmatism, if they are Christ-centered
rather than man-centered, if they are monuments to the glory
of Christ rather than to the glory of man, and if they don’t
think of themselves as above reproof. If that be the case, more
power to them and may their tribe increase.
In fact, I appreciate a “big” vision and the zeal to
accomplish something significant to the glory of Christ in
this wretched world, but it must be to the glory of Christ, and
I fear that many of the biggest IB churches in my lifetime
have been built to the glory of man.
It is no surprise that so many of them have crashed and
burned. You can construct a very impressive building from
wood, but it won’t withstand the fire of God’s judgment.
Bigism is death in the pot.
Quick Prayerism
The “old” Highland Park Baptist Church was committed to
Quick Prayerism. In fact, this is a term that I invented
perhaps a couple of decades ago in an attempt to describe
what I was taught at Highland Park in the 1970s, as a worker
in the bus ministry, as a student taking evangelism courses,
and as a worker in and pastor of one of their 70 chapels.
I’m not saying that the emphasis on soul winning was
wrong or that all of the soul winning of that day was in vain
or that the zeal in this matter was not important. Preaching
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the gospel to every creature and trying to lead as many
people to Christ as possible is one of the most important
things there is in this age. It must be very high on any
church’s agenda. It’s Christ’s Great Commission. It is highly
emphasized in Scripture. It is God’s passion. It is why Christ
died. It is why Christ is waiting and why the Holy Spirit is
restraining the myster y of iniquity. Please don’t
misunderstand me. And many people did come to Christ in
those days through the evangelism outreaches of Highland
Park.
In fact, I believe that one of the reasons why the Lord kept
me at Temple even when I wanted to quit at times and go
somewhere else was to hammer home to me the importance
of evangelism and world missions. Because of some of the
things I am mentioning in this report I determined to leave
Temple after my first year. I was planning to attend a GARBC
Bible College. I drove there at the beginning of the summer
break but the Lord didn’t even let me unpack my bags and I
headed back to Temple and completed my studies. I found
out later that the school I was planning to attend was
Calvinistic and pretty dead as far as evangelism and missions
vision, and I can see why the Lord guided my steps as He did.
So please don’t misconstrue what I am saying here. I am
not saying anything whatsoever against evangelism. We need
more of that, not less.
I am saying something against unscriptural evangelism,
and in that area there was definitely death in the pot.
Quick Prayerism is the evangelistic program that is quick
to get people to pray a sinners prayer, often pursued through
a salesmanship psychology approach; that is quick to
pronounce people saved when they have merely muttered a
sinner’s prayer; that refuses to ask hard questions about
people’s salvation once they have “prayed the prayer”; that is
quick to give “assurance” even if there is no clear evidence
that anything supernatural has occurred; and that is quick to
baptize people and receive them as church members without
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proper examination of their conversion experience. The sure
sign of Quick Prayerism is when a large percentage of one’s
“salvations” turn out to be empty professions.
We don’t see this on the Day of Pentecost. Those that were
saved that day didn’t even pray a sinner’s prayer but they
repented and cast themselves upon Christ and they gave the
clearest evidence of their salvation by continuing “stedfastly
in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of
bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). All 3,000 converts
continued. Now that happened in one day, but that’s NOT
Quick Prayerism!
An experience that a pastor friend had during a soulwinning visitation is all too typical. A couple of years ago he
went door knocking with one of the prominent soul-winners
in a large independent Baptist church. This man is a veteran
missionary as well as a teacher of evangelism and missions. A
young preacher was also with them who was preparing to
start a new church. They knocked on a door and a Roman
Catholic man answered. He wasn’t interested enough to invite
them in, but the soul-winner quickly presented the “Romans
Road,” led him in a sinner’s prayer, and gave him “assurance.”
As the soul-winner and the young preacher were busy writing
down the man’s address and other details, my pastor friend
asked the man if he believed he was a good man and that he
would die and go to heaven based on his merits as a good
person, and he replied, “Yes, of course!” Which is a proper
Catholic answer, of course, but it is not the answer of a truly
saved man.
My pastor friend said: “Nobody blinked; they kept on
writing as if nothing happened. I actually had to pause and
look around to see if all this was for real before I realized that
this wasn't important from their perspective because he had
already prayed a prayer and as long as he can be brought in to
attend Sunday School, he can be baptized and trained to act
like an IFB church member afterwards.”
37
This is Quick Prayerism, and it is practiced at a church that
claims to believe in repentance and to be opposed to “easy
believism.” How confusing!
One of the elements of Quick Prayerism at Highland Park
was the pressure to get salvation results, and that is simply
not humanly possible. We can aggressively preach the gospel,
but we can’t produce or guarantee salvations. That is the work
of the Holy Spirit. Yet the pressure for salvation statistics at
Highland Park was immense.
“Church old-timers remember one service in ChaunceyGoode, the longtime main auditorium, when no one
came forward at the gospel invitation--for the first and
only time in 25 to 30 years. DR. ROBERSON
ANNOUNCED FROM THE PULPIT THAT THIS
HAD BETTER NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. AND IT
DIDN’T” (Wigton, Lee Roberson: Always about His
Father’s Business, p. 179).
“This relentlessly expectant atmosphere generated even
more pressure on the pastoral staff. Working for him, in
one word, was ‘intense,’ said Clarence Sexton. ‘He
expected you to have someone saved, down the aisle and
baptized every service. He employed people to make it
happen.’ Roberson used to say that he had a 40-hour job
for anyone who could consistently win souls to Christ
and get them down the church aisle to make a public
profession of faith on Sunday” (Wigton, p. 125).
That type of man-made pressure for “decisions” results in
Quick Prayerism methodology.
Quick Prayerism is no light matter. When Highland Park’s
Quick Prayerism engine was running at full steam in the
1970s, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the surrounding area for
100 miles was filled up with empty professions. It was typical
to knock on a door and to hear from the lips of someone with
absolutely no interest in the things of Christ: “I have done
that,” meaning they had prayed the sinner’s prayer and
perhaps even been baptized at Highland Park or one of its
38
chapels. This methodology is exceedingly dangerous because
it almost inoculates people to genuine biblical conversion,
because they’ve “done that.” When I pastored one of the
Highland Park chapels, I found that a vast number of people
in the community had been enticed to church through
promotionalism and had “prayed the prayer” even though
they were still moral reprobates and enemies of Christ and
the Bible. What confusion! In fact, it is even worse, because
not only had they prayed the prayer, they have been “given
assurance” of their salvation as part of the standard soulwinning methodology, and that entire close-knit community
knew all about it. This practice spread as much confusion
about genuine salvation through that community during the
last half of the 20th century as the Methodist heresy of losing
your salvation had done over the previous century.
When Quick Prayerism reigns, the church tends to baptize
and receive as members many people who haven’t been
supernaturally converted. They learn how to act right but
they aren’t saved and they don’t have Holy Spirit-wrought
discernment and conviction. As the decades pass, these
people work their way into positions in the church and it
becomes increasingly weaker through the mixed multitude
phenomenon.
When Quick Prayerism reigns, the church can’t exercise
effective discipline. Highland Park Baptist Church operated
more like a large ecclesiastical machine than a New
Testament church, and one of the missing elements was
discipline. Without discipline you can’t keep the body pure,
and it becomes increasingly contaminated with each passing
decade.
When Quick Prayerism reigns, you can’t question people’s
salvation. One man wrote in reply to my article “What’s
Missing in Soul Winning Programs,” and said, “There is
nothing wrong with sharing the gospel personally and asking
them to trust Jesus, even leading them to pray. If they profess
to be saved, believe them and don’t be suspicious.”
39
That is the Quick Prayerism philosophy, but it is
unscriptural. Jesus and the apostles and New Testament
writers warned about those who profess but do not possess.
“They profess that they know God; but in works they
deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto
every good work reprobate” (Titus 1:16).
“He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his
commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1
John 2:4).
One man wrote:
“The big churches have been built on the foolishness of
‘just pray the prayer and you are all set’ and as a result
have tons of ‘goats’ in them. This is why they continue to
fall into CCM. I bought into the quicky method for 40
years due to well-meaning yet unscriptural Baptist
preachers. We need to bring people to know Christ as
their Saviour the proper way, through the law,
repentance, godly sorrow, and waiting for the Holy
Spirit to truly convict hearts of sin.”
I have long been trying to figure out where and when
Quick Prayerism originated, and I suspect that it came along
in the 1960s and became an established “soul-winning”
technique in the 1970s, having been enshrined in the popular
courses by then. In the 1940s and 1950s there was some
degree of true revival in America and there was a great
ingathering of souls. Consider the following example from
Highland Park’s earlier history:
“Evangelist Joe Shadowens recalled ... ‘We had revival. J.
Harold Smith was the preacher. That was the biggest
meeting I’ve been in.’ Smith preached his famous
sermon on ‘God’s Three Deadlines.’ ... The scheduled
four-day revival series of meetings was extended for
three weeks” (Wigton, Lee Roberson: Always about His
Father’s Business, p. 179).
40
This type of thing was typical in the 1940s and 1950s but
by the 1960s deep spiritual apostasy had set in across the
land. People were still being saved (as they are today, of
course), but the move and power of God was nothing like
before.
I suspect that in Quick Prayerism was formula-ized and
encouraged and promoted through soul-winning courses to
keep up the numbers in spite of the fact that the spiritual
reality had significantly dissipated.
Whatever the truth is as to its origin, Quick Prayerism is
death in the pot.
(And we are not talking about some sort of “Lordship
Salvation.” This has often been used as a straw man to draw
attention away from the error of Quick Prayerism, but it is
also true that there is such a thing as Lordship Salvation that
is unscriptural and dangerous. (See the report “Repentance
and Lordship Salvation” at the Way of Life web site.)
Modern Textual Criticism
Another element of death in the pot that I will mention at
the “old” Highland Park Baptist Church and Tennessee
Temple was modern textual criticism.
Even in the 1970s Temple used the critical Westcott-Hort
text in Greek classes. It was created by heretics using the
unbelieving theories of modern textual criticism and relying
on corrupt manuscripts from Egypt in a day when heresy and
heretical tampering with manuscripts was rife. We have
documented this in Why We Hold to the King James Bible and
The Modern Bible Version Hall of Shame.
My Greek teacher at Temple taught his students that both
the critical Greek text and the Received Text, both the NASV
and the KJV, are equally the preserved Word of God, though
he did not inform us that the critical Greek and the NASV
omit or question dozens of entire verses and thousands of
words and did not explain how that two dramatically
41
different Bibles could both be the preserved Word of God. He
held the myth, which originated from Westcott, that the
difference between the Received Greek Text and the Critical
Text is only one-half page of text. He did not explain to us
that the prominent editors of the UBS Greek New Testament
third edition (e.g., Bruce Metzger, Kurt Aland, Matthew
Black), which was our textbook, blatantly denied the
infallible inspiration of the Scriptures and that one (Carlo
Martini) was a New Age-tinged Roman Catholic cardinal. I
only learned that important information later.
Modern textual criticism is founded on unbelieving
principles, the most prominent of which is that the Scriptures
have not been divinely preserved and that the alleged purest
text--the Alexandrian--was lost to the churches for roughly
1,500 years until it was recovered by textual critics in the 19th
century.
That type of thing is certainly death in the pot of any Biblebelieving institution, because it destroys the authority of
God’s Word.
Scholarolatry
As we have noted, Tennessee Temple began as a simple
Bible training institute for Christian workers, but over the
years the emphasis changed to education and even
“scholarship” in a worldly sense. There was an emphasis on
higher degrees and the accompanying pursuit of
accreditation.
In 1979, two years after I graduated, Tennessee Temple
became a “university.” In 1983, the school became accredited
by the American Association of Bible Colleges, and in 2000,
by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and
Schools (TRACS), which is recognized by the U.S.
Department of Education.
42
Scholarolatry does not refer to a love of study and learning;
it refers to the pride of intellect and the pursuit of education
that yokes the student into unscriptural associations.
The Word of God puts no premium on ignorance. There is
absolutely nothing wrong with education and study and
scholarship in a godly sense, and no one loves to study more
than I do. For those who might charge me with encouraging
ignorance, I invite you to consider my 6,000-volume personal
library as well as the research that went into the writing of
books such as The Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible &
Christianity, Things Hard to Be Understood: A Handbook of
Biblical Difficulties, What Is the Emerging Church, The New
Age Tower of Babel, Contemplative Mysticism, Faith vs. the
Modern Bible Versions, Israel: Past Present and Future, the 20
volumes of the Advanced Bible Studies Series, and Keeping the
Kids, to name a few.
Learning is important, and I do not criticize any effort a
man can make to learn the Word of God more perfectly. Get
all the degrees you can if your goal is the mastery of the Holy
Bible and preparation for a fruitful ministry and if you are
not disobeying the Scripture in the pursuit of those degrees. I
refuse, though, to respect a man who is puffed up with his
own conceit. I am not against seminary training in principle,
but it is a fact that the bulk of seminary education today is the
philosophical study of fallible man which results in
uncertainty and foolish questionings instead of the practical
study of God’s infallible Word which results in confidence in
the Bible, settled truth, holiness of life, and humble
discipleship.
The wisdom commended by God is a practical wisdom,
not a theoretical one; it is a dogmatic wisdom that is gleaned
in the confidence that His Word is sufficient to throughly
furnish us in all good works (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Godly
wisdom is a skill in understanding and applying the truth of
God’s Word to the needs of life and the work of God. As soon
43
as a church or school leaves that simple path, it is on the road
to apostasy.
It was the disease of scholarolatry that took Tennessee
Temple down heretical paths such as modern textual
criticism, Christian psychology, Christian hedonism, and
full-blown New Evangelicalism.
It was the disease of scholarolatry that resulted in the
inflow of teachers who had the right credentials but not the
right principles, men who sat at the feet of New Evangelicals
and even Liberals and had been influenced by “evil
communications” (1 Corinthians 15:33), even while
professing that they had not been negatively influenced.
They came from Dallas and Regent and Trinity and other
places, but they did not plainly and publicly renounce these
compromised institutions. No, they carried the compromise
with them to Temple and spread it through the student body,
and with each decade the convictions have become weaker,
the associations broader, the thinking more “tolerant.”
It was the disease of scholarolatry that resulted in many of
the sons and daughters of staff members at the old Highland
Park Baptist Church to end up solidly planted in the New
Evangelical contemporary path. For example, J.R. Faulkner’s
son Randy got a doctorate at Trinity Evangelical Divinity
School, and it is no surprise that he pastors the rock & roll
Metropolitan Baptist Church in Oklahoma City.
With one exception, the Lord’s apostles weren’t scholars.
The Lord Jesus put these men through an intensive course of
knowledge and wisdom, but it was not in a classroom and it
was not theoretical. It was not “ivory tower” or “arm chair”
theology. Christ taught them a practical, spiritual wisdom.
Jesus did not establish a seminary; He established a church.
He did not grant degrees; He taught the disciples how to do
the work of God in this wicked, Hell-bound world. The
apostle’s proud detractors did not recognize nor understand
the wisdom God had given them. In their enemies’
44
estimation, they were “unlearned and ignorant men” (Acts
4:13). The Pharisees were consumed with “scholarolatry.”
My friends, I contend that the apostles of Jesus Christ were
among the wisest men who have ever walked this earth. They
were common men, but God gave them eternal wisdom.
They were not scholars, though, and even the mightilyeducated Paul was not bitten with the bug of scholarolatry as
we see from his statements in 1 Corinthians 1:19-31; Romans
16:17; 2 Corinthians 6:14; Colossians 2:8; and 1 Timothy
6:20.
Not a True New Testament Church
Highland Park Baptist Church functioned more as a
preaching/evangelism center than a true New Testament
Church. The church was called “an empire of evangelism” by
Elmer Towns’ in The Ten Largest Sunday Schools, and that
pretty much nails it. While evangelism is a major part of the
church’s calling, a New Testament church is much more than
“an empire of evangelism.”
Highland Park was one of the first megachurches. By the
early 1970s it was considered the largest church in the world.
But it was not a New Testament church in its pastoral
model. Lee Roberson was not really a New Testament pastor;
he was the visionary leader of an “evangelism empire.” The
word “pastor” means shepherd, but if you got ten minutes of
Dr. Roberson’s time, you were doing well. “A visit in his office
would not last long--even for a faculty members, usually 10
to 15 minutes” (Wigton, Lee Roberson, p. 132).
I’m not criticizing him in any sense. I am simply stating a
fact. He was only one man and it was impossible for him to
truly pastor thousands of people, even with the help of his
pastoral associates. The first church at Jerusalem grew
phenomenally until it was scattered by persecution, but it was
pastored by 12 men right off the bat. Further, that was an
45
unusual circumstance and not at all typical of the early
churches.
In studying further into Lee Roberson’s life in recent days
by reading three biographies and getting feedback from old
Tennessee Temple graduates, it has become obvious to me
that he was an evangelist and not a pastor. In fact, he had
been a full-time evangelist prior to coming to Highland Park,
and that is what he always was. He had a passion for the
salvation of souls, but he was not a pastor.
He was not given to hospitality, for example, which is a
twice-repeated requirement for a pastor (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus
1:8).
“They found him to be a very private man. ... Roberson
never socialized much--even with his key staff
members--and never seemed to have real close friends,
other than his wife. ... Wendelken could remember only
one occasion when Roberson took the senior staff and
their wives out to eat together ... ‘I attended very few
social gatherings,’ Roberson told me. I didn’t go. They
had them, but I didn’t go. They knew I wouldn’t go-meetings of different types in homes. I rarely went to
any of them.’ According to [J.R.] Faulkner, ‘He put in
appearances. He just went in and shook hands and was
gone. He never stood around’” (Wigton, Lee Roberson:
Always about His Father’s Business, pp. 133, 134).
Even Dr. Faulkner, who worked at Roberson’s side for 40
years, never ate a meal in Roberson’s home and in fact was in
his home on only three occasions. “Rarely was anyone other
than family members invited to their home” (Wigton, p. 323).
Roberson made hospital visits; he preached funerals; but
he wasn’t a pastor. He didn’t know most of the members of
Highland Park and didn’t shepherd those who attended
services. He exhorted them and motivated them, but he
didn’t pastor them.
Again, I’m not criticizing Dr. Roberson. I believe he was a
true man of God, a man of Christian character and clear
46
divine calling, but his calling was not that of a New
Testament pastor. That he held the position of a pastor does
not change this fact.
Highland Park was not a New Testament church in its
membership model. Of the first church, the Bible says that all
of those who joined as members “continued stedfastly in the
apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread,
and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). There was not a great difference
between membership statistics and functional members. But
the dichotomy between membership statistics and reality at
Highland Park was phenomenal.
When Dr. Roberson retired in 1982, the church had a
membership of 60,000 (James Wigton, p. 23). But the number
of actual functioning members of the church was probably
more like 1,500-2,000, because of the 3,500 attending on
Wednesday, (Wigton, p. 22), which is a much clearer
reflection of the true church than Sunday morning statistics,
a large number were students who were not actually
members. This means that some 58,000 of Highland Park’s
members were phantoms that appeared on a membership roll
only. That is a true universal church!
The reason for this strange dichotomy between
membership statistics and reality was that every individual
who made a profession of faith and was baptized through any
of the church’s ministries, including the Union Gospel
Mission, Camp Joy, the 70 far-flung chapels, and the 50-60
bus routes, were automatically added to the membership
roles “whether or not the people realized it” (Wigton, p. 192).
They became church members without being informed of the
fact and typically without knowing what the church believed
or what membership entailed. In a vast number of cases, it
was a completely meaningless thing.
Someone might argue that this is what we see in Acts 2:41,
that believers should be baptized as soon as they believe, but
consider that verse in the context:
47
“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized:
and the same day there were added unto them about
three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in
the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of
bread, and in prayers.”
Only the church that has the evidence and fruit of Acts
2:42 can say that they are practicing Acts 2:41!
Highland Park was not a New Testament church in
discipline, either, as we have already mentioned. Of the
60,000 on the membership rolls when Dr. Roberson retired,
multitudes were living in fornication, adultery, and other sins
mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5 as cause for church discipline,
but there was no discipline. As we have seen, a high
percentage of the professions were empty of spiritual reality
and a vast number of the “members” were simply AWOL. I
met some of them while door knocking in that area. “I prayed
that prayer; in fact, I got baptized at Highland Park,” they
would say with a beer in one hand, a cigarette hanging out of
the mouth, and the shack-up girlfriend or boyfriend standing
in the background, and they refused to hear anything more.
But they were church members. When my wife was a student
at Temple, she lived next door to a Mormon lady who had
been baptized at Highland Park and was still a “member.”
Discipline was non-existent even for active members.
Hugh Hamilton, a graduate of Tennessee Temple Bible School
in 1951, writes:
“At the organizational meeting of the Southwide Baptist
Fellowship, Dr. Roberson conducted a question-answer
time in the Phillips Memorial Chapel. One pastor asked
if he believed in church discipline. Dr. Roberson
answered most emphatically, ‘No. They need to be in
church’” (e-mail to David Cloud, May 19, 2011).
No church discipline was the rule, but one notable
exception was the case of Dr. Roberson’s associate Cliff
48
Robinson and his lengthy affair with Dr. Roberson’s secretary.
They confessed their sin before the church in 1982.
But that was not the rule.
Dr. Roberson said:
“When you have people, you have problems. I called
them in and talked with people when I had to straighten
it out. I dismissed some who did not behave. I did it
quietly. ... I never say a word in the pulpit--never did it
in all my 40 years. I never brought anything [of this
nature] to the pulpit” (Wigton, Lee Roberson: Always
about His Father’s Business, p. 98)
This is not New Testament church discipline, and to
disregard 1 Corinthians 5 is to disregard God’s law for the
church. Paul, under divine inspiration, praised the church at
Corinth for remembering him in all things and keeping the
ordinances as he had delivered them (1 Cor. 11:2). Does
anyone really believe that God no longer cares whether or not
a church obeys these things?
What do these facts matter? They matter because “by the
1960s and 70s Highland Park Baptist Church had become the
model church in America for the independent, fundamental
Baptist movement” (Wigton, p. 151).
In spite of the great blessings that existed there in bygone
days, the Highland Park Baptist Church model cannot be
supported from Scripture, and that is where we must go as
the sole authority for faith and practice. In that light, it is sad
that it became a model for so many of the 12,000 Temple
graduates and such an influential model among Independent
Baptists in general.
Refusal to Speak Out Against Compromise
A final element in Highland Park’s downfall that I want to
mention was the widespread refusal to speak out against the
compromise on the part of those who recognized it.
49
I found it instructive that many of the Temple graduates
who responded to my request for feedback on this issue were
willing to talk to me “privately” about their concerns, but
they requested that their names not be used anywhere. (I
thank the Lord for the exceptions.)
This issue is intimately associated with a previous point No Criticism. The members of Highland Park Baptist Church
and the graduates of Tennessee Temple were trained that it is
wrong to criticize, that it is a mark of disloyalty to criticize,
and the vast majority of them have followed that principle to
this very day. Thus, most watched mutely (as far as any
effective protest) as the captain and his loyal crew ran the
ship aground.
This was wrong then and it is wrong now. When God’s
people aren’t allowed to “prove all things” and to speak out
against compromise and error, there is no possibility of
correcting a wrong path.
We a r e c o m m a n d e d by G o d t o “e x h o r t o n e
another” (Hebrews 3:13; 10:25). We are to earnestly contend
for the faith (Jude 3). We are to abhor that which is evil
(Rom. 12:9). We are to hate every false way (Psalm 119:128).
We are to restore those taken in a fault (Gal. 6:1). Even an
elder is to be rebuked if he sins (1 Tim. 5:19-20; Gal. 2:11-14).
Spiritual discipline is to be exercised without partiality (1
Tim. 5:21).
We need to put a double watch on our hearts and guard
our spirits.
We need to strive to be as sweet as the honey from the rock
in our disposition even as we are as firm as the rock in our
position, but firm we must be!
We need to be careful not to throw the baby out with the
bathwater, but we still need to throw out the bathwater!
We need to keep all things in biblical perspective and not
strain at gnats while swallowing camels, but we also must not
buy into the lie that some biblical truths are “non-essentials”
50
and that only the “big” things are worth fighting for. The
“big” issues are often won or lost at the “small” issue level.
Someone is doubtless thinking at this point, “But nothing
would have changed.” That might be true, but to speak out in
a wise and godly way against sin and error and compromise is
pleasing to God and will be rewarded by Him whether or not
it appears to be “successful” by earthly standards.
I know of some men who did say something at least
privately to Dr. Roberson and others, and I thank the Lord
for them. Obviously, they were ignored, but they tried and
that is what God holds us accountable for.
51
Conclusion
1. The change at Highland Park Baptist Church was
gradual, incremental.
Nothing happened overnight, and the beginnings of the
compromise were subtle. The changes were “small,” but over
the course of time, they added up to some very serious
things. One doesn’t have to veer far off course to arrive at an
entirely different destination down the road.
This is how CCM takes over a church. As one man wrote to
me a few years ago, “I see this decline in standards in my
local church, as contemporaryish music gains more and more
acceptance and the pastors and deacons refrain from placing
a limit.”
It starts with soft folk rock and ends with hard rock and
beyond and the breakdown of all standards, and the only
time the slide can possibly be halted is at the soft rock stage.
It is the gradual, creeping character of compromise that
often keeps people from discerning what is happening and
resisting it.
Those who do speak out are considered extremists. “Don’t
they see all of the good? Nothing of substance has changed.
Why are they so ‘picky’? They have too much time on their
hands; if they would do more soul winning they wouldn’t
have time to worry about what someone else is doing.”
2. It has been said that those who refuse to learn from
history are destined to repeat the errors of history, and that is
true for Independent Baptists today.
Highland Park Baptist Church did not become a rock &
roll Southern Baptist church by accident. It didn’t just
happen. It was not inevitable.
But they didn’t listen to “critics” then and most of those
heading down the same road won’t listen to “critics” today.
52
Insanity has been defined as trying the same thing
repeatedly and expecting different results.
53
About Way of Life’s eBooks
Since January 2011, Way of Life Literature books have been
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while others are available for free download.
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54
Powerful Publications for These Times
Following is a selection of the titles published by Way of Life
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editions (PDF, Kindle, ePub). The materials can be ordered
via the online catalog at the Way of Life web site -www.wayoflife.org -- or by phone 866-295-4143.
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on every aspect of the tabernacle, A Portrait of Christ features
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studies on the high priest, the Levitical priests, the five
offerings of Leviticus, the day of atonement, the ransom
money, the red heifer, the cherubims, strange fire, the golden
calf, leprosy, the Nazarite vow, the pillar of cloud and pillar of
fire, and the transportation of the tabernacle through the
wilderness. The tabernacle is very practical in its teaching, as
it also depicts believer priests carrying Christ through this
world (1 Pet. 2:5, 9). Like the Israelites in the wilderness,
believers today are on a pilgrimage through a foreign land on
the way to our eternal home (1 Pet. 2:11). 405 pages, $19.95.
BIBLE TIMES AND ANCIENT KINGDOMS: TREASURES
FROM ARCHAEOLOGY. ISBN 978-1-58318-121-8. This is a
package consisting of a book and a series of PowerPoint and
Keynote (Apple) presentations which are a graphical edition
of the book. The PowerPoints are packed with high quality
color photos, drawings, historic recreations, and video clips.
Bible Times and Ancient Kingdoms is a course on Bible
geography, Bible culture, and Bible history and has a two-fold
objective: to present apologetic evidence for the Bible and to
give background material to help the student better
understand the setting of Bible history. We cover this
fascinating history from Genesis to the New Testament,
dealing with the Table of the Nations in Genesis 10, the
Tower of Babel, Ur of the Chaldees, Egypt, Baal worship, the
Philistines, the Canaanites, David’s palace, Solomon and the
Queen of Sheba, Ahab and Jezebel, the fall of the northern
kingdom of Israel, the Assyrian Empire, Hezekiah and his
times, Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylon, the Medo-Persian
Empire, Herod the Great and his temple, the Roman rule
over Israel, and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. Many of
the archaeological discoveries from the past 200 years, which
we relate in the course, are so fascinating and improbable that
they read like a novel. It is easy to see God’s hand in this field,
in spite of its prevailing skepticism. The course also deals
with Bible culture, such as weights and measures, plant and
animal life, Caesar’s coin, the widow’s mite, ancient scrolls
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and seals, phylacteries, cosmetics, tombs, and the operation
of ancient lamps, millstones, pottery wheels, and olive
presses. The course begins with an overview of Israel’s
geography and a timeline of Bible history to give the student
a framework for better understanding the material. Each
section includes maps to help the student place the events in
their proper location. The course is packed with important
but little-known facts that illuminate Bible history and
culture. The preparation for the book is extensive, the
culmination of 40 years of Bible study, teaching, and research
trips. In this context the author built a large personal library
and collected information from major archaeological
museums and locations in North America, England, Europe,
Turkey, and Israel. We guarantee that the student who
completes the course will read the Bible with new eyes and
fresh enthusiasm. 500 pages book + DVD containing 19
PowerPoint presentations packed with more than 3,200 high
quality color photos, drawings, historic recreations, and video
clips.
THE BIBLE VERSION QUESTION ANSWER DATABASE,
ISBN 1-58318-088-5. This book provides diligentlyresearched, in-depth answers to more than 80 of the most
important questions on this topic. A vast number of myths
are exposed, such as the myth that Erasmus promised to add
1 John 5:7 to his Greek New Testament if even one
manuscript could be produced, the myth that the differences
between the Greek texts and versions are slight and
insignificant, the myth that there are no doctrines affected by
the changes in the modern versions, and the myth that the
King James translators said that all versions are equally the
Word of God. It also includes reviews of several of the
popular modern versions, including the Living Bible, New
Living Bible, Today’s English Version, New International
Version, New American Standard Version, The Message, and
the Holman Christian Standard Bible. 423 pages
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C ON T E M P OR A RY C H R I ST IA N M U S I C : S O M E
QUESTIONS ANSWERED AND SOME WARNINGS
GIVEN, ISBN 1-58318-094-x. This book expounds on five
reasons why we are opposed to CCM: It is worldly; it is
ecumenical; it is charismatic; it is experience-oriented; and it
weakens the fundamentalist stance of churches. We give
examples of how changes are occurring in formerly
fundamentalist churches through the instrumentality of
contemporary music. The rest of the book deals with
questions that are commonly asked on this subject, such as
the following: What is the difference between using
contemporary worship music and using old hymns that were
interdenominational? Didn't Luther and the Wesleys use
tavern music? Isn't the issue of music just a matter of taste?
Doesn't the Bible encourage us to use cymbals and stringed
and loud sounding instruments? What is wrong with soft
rock? Didn't God create all music? Love is more important
than doctrine and standards of living, isn't it? Since God
looks on the heart, why are you concerned about appearance?
Isn't Christianity all about grace? What about all of the young
people who are being saved through CCM? 190 pages
THE FOREIGN SPIRIT OF CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP
MUSIC. This hard-hitting multi-media video presentation,
published in March 2012, documents the frightful spiritual
compromise, heresy, and apostasy that permeates the field of
contemporary worship music. By extensive documentation, it
proves that contemporary worship music is impelled by
“another spirit” (2 Cor. 11:4). It is the spirit of
charismaticism, the spirit of the latter rain, the spirit of the
one-world church, the spirit of the world, the spirit of
homosexuality, and the spirit of the false god of The Shack.
The presentation looks carefully at the origin of
contemporary worship in the Jesus Movement of the 1970s,
examining the lives and testimonies of some of the most
influential people. Nearly 60 video clips and hundreds of
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photos are featured. It is available on DVD and as an
eDownload from the Way of Life web site.
FUNDAMENTAL LESSONS IN HOW TO STUDY THE
BIBLE. This very practical course deals with requirements for
effective Bible study, marking your Bible, and rules of Bible
interpretation. 174 pages
THE FUTURE ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE. ISBN
978-1-58318-172-0. New for November 2012. One of the
many reasons why the Bible is the most amazing and exciting
book on earth is its prophecies. The Bible unfolds the future
in great detail, and The Future According to the Bible deals in
depth with every major prophetic event, including the
Rapture, the Judgment Seat of Christ, the Tribulation, the
Antichrist, Gog and Magog, the Battle of Armageddon, the
Two Witnesses, Christ’s Return, Muslim nations in prophecy,
the Judgment of the Nations, the resurrection body, the
conversion of Israel, the highway of the redeemed, Christ’s
glorious kingdom, the Millennial Temple, the Great White
Throne judgment, and the New Jerusalem. The first two
chapters deal at length with the amazing prophecies that are
being fulfilled today and with the church-age apostasy.
Knowledge of these prophecies is essential for a proper
understanding of the times and a proper Christian worldview
today. The 130-page section on Christ’s kingdom describes
the coming world kingdom in more detail than any book we
are familiar with. Every major Messianic prophecy is
examined. Prophecy is a powerful witness to the Bible’s
divine inspiration, and it is a great motivator for holy
Christian living. In this book we show that the Lord’s
churches are outposts of the coming kingdom. The believer’s
position in Christ’s earthly kingdom will be determined by
his service in this present world (Revelation 2:26-27; 3:21).
The book is based on forty years of intense Bible study plus
firsthand research in Israel, Turky, and Europe.
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I S R A E L : P A S T, P R E S E N T, F U T U R E , I S B N
978-1-58318-116-4. This is a package consisting of a 234-page
illustrated book, a DVD series, and a series of Powerpoint/
Keynote presentations for teachers. The package covers all of
the major facets pertaining to Israel in a professional,
technologically cutting-edge way: geography, culture,
archaeology, history, current events, and prophecy. The series
begins with an amazing aerial flyover over the land of Israel.
KEEPING THE KIDS: HOW TO KEEP THE CHILDREN
FROM FALLING PREY TO THE WORLD, ISBN
978-1-58318-115-7. This book aims to help parents and
churches raise children to be disciples of Jesus Christ and to
avoid the pitfalls of the world, the flesh, and the devil. The
book is a collaborative effort. It contains testimonies from
hundreds of individuals who provided feedback to our
questionnaires on this subject, as well as powerful ideas
gleaned from interviews with pastors, missionaries, and
church people who have raised godly children. The book is
packed with practical suggestions and deals with many issues:
Conversion, the husband-wife relationship, the necessity of
permeating the home with Christian love, mothers as keepers
at home, the father’s role as the spiritual head of the home,
child discipline, separation from the pop culture, discipleship
of youth, the grandparents’ role in “keeping the kids,”
effectual prayer, and fasting. 531 pages
MUSIC FOR GOOD OR EVIL (4 DVDs). This video series
for July 2011 is a new replacement for previous presentations
we have produced on this subject. The series, which is packed
with graphics, video and audio clips, has seven segments. I.
Biblical Principles of Good Christian Music: II. Why We
Reject Contemporary Christian Music. III. The Sound of
Contemporary Christian Music. IV. Transformational Power
of CCM. V. Southern Gospel. VI. Marks of Good Song
Leading. VII. Questions Answered on Contemporary
Christian Music.
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ONE YEAR DISCIPLESHIP COURSE, ISBN
978-1-58318-117-1. (new title for 2011) This powerful course
features 52 lessons in Christian living. It can be broken into
sections and used as a new converts course, an advanced
discipleship course, a Sunday School series, a Home
Schooling or Bible Institute course, or preaching outlines.
The lessons are thorough, meaty, and very practical. There is
an extensive memory verse program built into the course,
and each lesson features carefully designed review questions.
221 pages
THE PENTECOSTAL-CHARISMATIC MOVEMENTS: THE
HISTORY AND THE ERROR, ISBN 1-58318-099-0. This
book begins with the author’s own experience with the
Pentecostal movement. The next section deals with the
history of the Pentecostal movement, beginning with a
survey of miraculous signs from the second to the 18th
centuries. We deal with Charles Parham, Azusa Street
Mission, major Pentecostal healing evangelists, the Sharon
Schools and the New Order of the Latter Rain, the WordFaith movement and its key leaders, the Charismatic
Movement, the Roman Catholic Charismatic Renewal, the
Pentecostal Prophets, the Third Wave, the LaughingDrunken Revival of Toronto, Pensacola, Lakeland, etc., and
the recent Pentecostal scandals. The last section deals with
the theological errors of the Pentecostal-Charismatic
movements. 317 pages
R E P E N TA N C E A N D S O U L W I N N I N G , I S B N
1-58318-062-1. This is an in-depth study on biblical
repentance and a timely warning about unscriptural methods
of presenting the gospel. The opening chapter, entitled
“Fundamental Baptists and Quick Prayerism: A Faulty
Method of Evangelism Has Produced a Change in the
Doctrine of Repentance,” traces the change in the doctrine of
repentance among fundamental Baptists during the past 50
years. 2008 edition, 201 pages
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SEEING THE NON-EXISTENT: EVOLUTION’S MYTHS
AND HOAXES, ISBN 1-58318-002-8. (new title for 2011)
This book is designed both as a stand alone title as well as a
companion to the apologetics course AN UNSHAKEABLE
FAITH. The contents are as follows: Canals on Mars, Charles
Darwin and His Granddaddy, Thomas Huxley: Darwin’s
Bulldog, Ernst Haeckel: Darwin’s German Apostle, Icons of
Evolution, Icons of Creation, The Ape-men, Predictions,
Questions for Evolutionists, Darwinian Gods, Darwin’s Social
Influence.
SOWING AND REAPING: A COURSE IN EVANGELISM.
ISBN 978-1-58318-169-0. This new course (for 2012) is
unique in several ways. It is unique in its approach. While it is
practical and down-to-earth, it does not present a formulaic
approach to soul winning, recognizing that individuals have
to be dealt with as individuals. The course does not include
any sort of psychological manipulation techniques. It does
not neglect repentance in soul winning, carefully explaining
the biblical definition of repentance and the place of
repentance in personal evangelism. It explains how to use the
law of God to plow the soil of the human heart so that the
gospel can find good ground. The course is unique in its
objective. The objective of biblical soul winning is not to get
people to “pray a sinner’s prayer”; the objective is to see
people soundly converted to Christ. This course trains the
soul winner to pursue genuine conversions as opposed to
mere “decisions.” The course is also unique in its breadth. It
covers a wide variety of situations, including how to deal with
Hindus and with skeptics and how to use apologetics or
evidences in evangelism. There is a memory course
consisting of 111 select verses and links to a large number of
resources that can be used in evangelism, many of them free.
The course is suitable for teens and adults and for use in
Sunday School, Youth Ministries, Preaching, and private
study. OUTLINE: The Message of Evangelism, Repentance
and Evangelism, God’s Law and Evangelism, The Reason for
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Evangelism, The Authority for Evangelism, The Power for
Evangelism, The Attitude in Evangelism, The Technique of
Evangelism, Using Tracts in Evangelism, Dealing with
Skeptics. 104 pages, 8x11, spiral bound.
THINGS HARD TO BE UNDERSTOOD: A HANDBOOK
OF BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIES, ISBN 1-58318-002-8. This
very practical volume deals with a wide variety of biblical
difficulties. Find the answer to the seeming contradictions in
the Bible. Meet the challenge of false teachers who misuse
biblical passages to prove their doctrine. Find out the
meaning of difficult passages that are oftentimes overlooked
in the Bible commentaries. Our objective is to help God’s
people have confidence in the inerrancy of their Bibles and to
protect them from the false teachers that abound in these last
days. Jerry Huffman, editor of Calvary Contender, testified:
“You don’t have to agree with everything to greatly benefit
from this helpful book.” Fourth edition April 2006, 385 pages
A N U N S H A K E A B L E FA I T H : A C H R I S T I A N
APOLOGETICS COURSE, ISBN 978-1-58318-119-5. (new
title for 2011) The course is built upon nearly 40 years of
serious Bible study and 30 years of apologetics writing.
Research was done in the author’s personal 6,000-volume
library plus in major museums and other locations in
America, England, Europe, Australia, Asia, and the Middle
East. The package consists of an apologetics course entitled
AN UNSHAKEABLE FAITH (both print and eBook editions)
plus an extensive series of Powerpoint/Keynote presentations.
(Keynote is the Apple version of Powerpoint.) The 1,800
PowerPoint slides deal with archaeology, evolution/creation
science, and the prophecies pertaining to Israel’s history. The
material in the 360-page course is extensive, and the teacher
can decide whether to use all of it or to select only some
portion of it for his particular class and situation. After each
section there are review questions to help the students focus
on the most important points. The course can be used for
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private study as well as for a classroom setting. Sections
include The Bible’s Nature, The Bible’s Proof, The Dead Sea
Scrolls, The Bible’s Difficulties, Historical Evidence for Jesus,
Evidence for Christ’s Resurrection, Archaeological Treasures
Confirming the Bible, A History of Evolution, Icons of
Evolution, Icons of Creation, Noah’s Ark and the Global
Flood.
WAY OF LIFE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE BIBLE &
CHRISTIANITY,
ISBN 1-58318-005-2.
This lovely
hardcover Bible Encyclopedia contains 640 pages (8.5X11) of
information, with more than 6,000 entries, and 7,000 crossreferences. It is a complete dictionary of biblical terminology
and features many other areas of research not often covered
in Bible reference volumes. Subjects include Bible versions,
Denominations, Cults, Christian Movements, Typology, the
Church, Social Issues and Practical Christian Living, Bible
Prophecy, and Old English Terminology. An evangelist in
South Dakota wrote: “If I were going to the mission field and
could carry only three books, they would be the Strong’s
concordance, a hymnal, and the Way of Life Bible
Encyclopedia.” Missionary author Jack Moorman says: “The
encyclopedia is excellent. The entries show a ‘distilled
spirituality.’” A computer edition of the Encyclopedia is
available as a standalone eBook for PDF, Kindle, and ePub. It
is also available as a module for Swordseacher.
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Way of Life Literature
P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061
866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org
www.wayoflife.org
__________
This book is published for free distribution in eBook format. It is
available in PDF, MOBI (for Kindle, etc.), and ePUB formats from
the Way of Life web site. See the Free Book tab.
__________
The Old Highland Park Baptist Church
Copyright 2011 by David W. Cloud
ISBN 978-1-58318-141-6
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