Pensees: Bauder Working Up a Sweatt

This is remarkable. I’ve never seen anything like it. Kevin is a scheduled speaker at the annual FBFI conference at Bethel Baptist in Schaumburg, IL next month. The conference also includes a general session Q & A symposium titled, “Let’s Discuss Conservative Evangelicalism.” Kevin laid the groundwork for his challenge to the FBFI in his 2005 address of a few years ago, “A Fundamentalism Worth Saving.” Now, more than ever, we need substantive answers to critical questions. This is not about young fundamentalists anymore. The old fundamentalists want to know too. I’ll be at the FBFI this June and I too will be looking for answers.

Contrary to the address given by Pastor Sweatt last month, all my Calvinistic friends bleed evangelism. They simply believe it takes a miracle of God to raise dead sinners by giving them the Word of God. It takes deep prayer since it is God who must save them. My soteriological persuasions push me to a deeper walk with Christ and a more careful presentation of the Gospel. Usually our evangelistic teams at our church carefully go through Romans 3 verse by verse with the sinner. What a delight to see God open the eyes of a dead sinner’s understanding. I see Christ raise dead people all the time. Many of them are in our assembly!

BTW, Pastor Bixby, we are looking forward to having you at our Bible Conference/Evangelistic Outreach next month.

I do have some thoughts about what Dr. Bauder said. I expressed them over at SharperIron, so I’ll just copy my comments here.
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I thank God for Dr. Bauder. He has extended his invitation to those who hold tenaciously to inerrancy and evangelism precisely because of a “sovereign grace” understanding of Scripture. Dr. Bauder has also raised the bar for all pastors and teachers to present arguments honestly and respectfully (1 Peter 3:15). Only good can come of this.

May we all also extend graciousness to Pastor Sweatt, who I have deeply respected for quite some time. He is a man of God, but even good and godly men overstate their case from time to time. It is a difficult situation since he spoke in the most public of forums. I pray that he corrects what he has said (as I have many times before as a pastor from my pulpit). Our churches will be greatly strengthened if a man of Pastor Sweatt’s reputation and stature would demonstrate humility. His error would be an opportunity for great credibility—to demonstrate what he has admitted his generation failed at.

Fundamentalism is nothing more than historic Christianity. Whatever you want to call it, the Lord will build and preserve His church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Let us find common cause with all those who hold tenaciously to the Gospel. I have a friend in my town who pastors the Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church. If you visited you would find a fighting Fundamentalist with the depth of a Dr. Bauder. I have more in common with him than I do with the Hyles and SOTL churches who rarely preach expositionally, who think they are evangelizing, but are astonishingly careless with the souls of men. The Grace OPC church has been out door to door and doing weekly evangelism since 1969 when they were founded. By the way, their music is more majestic and conservative than many independent Baptist churches. I say all that to remember that we are not on earth to fight against our brethren, but against those who would deny the Gospel.

Thanks for all who would read this. I rarely post on these forums, but I was so delighted with Dr. Bauder’s answer with meekness and reverence that I had to publicly thank the Lord. The weapons of his warfare are not carnal. May God multiply that spirit in all of His pastors and teachers. That is the kind of historic fighting fundamental Christianity that we don’t have to save. You can’t kill it. It’s immortal.

I do think there are many problems among young fundamentalism, but Danny Sweatt was not the man to deal with them. Somebody does need to deal with them, however. That anything like his message occurred in an FBF meeting was almost shocking. Using Jack Hyles in a positive context in an FBF meeting is head-scratching. I haven’t been to an FBF meeting in well over 10 years. If there was one thing I didn’t miss, it was the preaching. Half of it was terrible. Not much different, however, than what I got in most chapel sermons in college.

If I was going to go after so-called conservative evangelicalism, it is this: worldliness, lack of holiness, and not practicing scriptural separation. I think they are dead wrong on their approach to cultural issues. I’ve read Wells’ books and what he does say is good, but he’s so ambiguous about what and who exactly he’s talking about. I would guess that it has resulted in almost zero changes. Wells is a hot interview and quote machine, but actually figuring out what he says to follow it—-I don’t see it.

And when I say separation, I’m even talking about the issue of the gospel. Conservative evangelicals don’t even separate over that. I don’t hear any talk of separation from them. I’d welcome anything that they have written on separation. Please link me to something that has been written on that. And that is a noble, big subject, by the way. Look through the Bible about what God called people out of. It’s in every other chapter.

Because of some of the above problems, I don’t find the conservative evangelicals credible either.

And I do think Calvinism is becoming too big a deal. Preach the Bible, but alright already with Calvin. If he were alive, he’d throw us in jail anyway. Luther might drown us.

Hi Pastor Kent.

Here is a book by CE R Kent Hughes that I have found to be extremely helpful on the topic of separation.

http://www.amazon.com/Set-Apart-Calling-Worldly-Church/dp/1581344910

Bob

Hi Bob. Thanks for the link. I’ll look into it. What about ecclesiastical separation? I should have differentiated.

I was at the Gospel Coalition Conference this year which was specifically directed at young men—in particular, those who are in the ministry. Various speakers exposited the entire book of 2 Timothy. I think the contrast between Piper’s message at the GC conference and Sweatt’s at the FBFI conference basically says it all as to why young men are choosing to follow men like Piper versus men like Sweatt.

Listen to Piper’s message here.

Kent said:

Preach the Bible, but alright already with Calvin. If he were alive, he’d throw us in jail anyway. Luther might drown us.

Thanks for the laugh! It’s true though!

(And I say that as a Calvinist that sends my daughter to a Lutheran school!)

Kent, I always enjoy your presence on my blog even though most of the time we don’t agree. I love arguing with you and I appreciate your dogged commitment to your convictions! It’s a moments like these when someone on your “side” of the argument drops the ball that you show your independent thinking by not rallying behind such a sorry message. May more of your tribe increase… (I just hope they become more Calvinistic though!)

Bob,

You don’t have to share a region with Kent. Please don’t encourage the guy!

Straight Ahead!

jt

Kent,

The last line was a joke….hope you knew that.

Straight Ahead!

jt

Bob,

I would hate to think of myself on the side of what I heard, but I understand what you mean, coming from your perspective. I might be less him than you are as it relates to the gospel and methods. And I don’t say that to disparage you. But thanks. You’re saying a good thing about independence. I do think that you really do believe what you say and you want to be consistent with it. If we’re going to persuade anyone, it will be by means of scripture, and only by that will God be glorified.

JT,

I’m sorry, but I can’t share a region with you.

okay, let’s all break into Kum Ba Yah . . .

But I do want to say that while I disagree with a great many positions held by Pastor Brandenburg, I appreciate his commitment to the idea of the autonomous local church and Scripture as the only rule for faith and practice. It is somewhat refreshing that Bob is percieved to be on the far left of IFB-dom and Kent is percieved to be on the far right of IFB-dom, yet they don’t really care to push their views on one another’s church. I think this is what Paul meant when he rejoiced that “Christ is proclaimed”.