Traveling Singing (And Talking!) College Groups: PCC Update

Here’s the Proclaim Team from Pensacola Christian college doing what they do. Anybody who has been through performance classes at PCC will recognize that every gesture, tone, and movement through these performances are completely scripted. There’s not a twitch or a smile that hasn’t been planned and practiced.

then they sang this…

For more goodness from this group you can also check out these videos:

The Potter
I’m Free
A devotional in which we learn that the Sermon on the Mount was given not to demonstrate our position in the Kingdom but rather to help establish moralism and “make us better disciples.”

Rules on the Remembrances Of Things Past

And when it shall come to pass that thou and thy kindred and thy manservants and maidservants (or “church staff” as they are now called) shall think upon the good old days that thou shalt in no wise remember the bad things that have happened and remember only the good. For in the day that thou shalt call to mind any scandal or heresy or really funny blooper committed by a fundamentalist then shalt it be known that thou art bitter and “stuck living in the past.” And they shall shake their heads at thee and their tsking sounds of displeasure shall be loud in thine ears.

But if thou shalt recall only those things that are good, and funny, and that one time when we had a great time at that youth outing playing Chubby Bunny then shalt it be said that thou art right and just and a real good sport. And nobody shall in any case accuse thee of being a rabid sycophant who is obsessed with days gone by nor shall they tell that thou needest to just move on with thy life and probably go soulwinning more or something. For to remember only the good is the best choice of all.

And if thy church or thy college or thy family or thy fundy friends hath lied to thee or stolen from thee or done thee grievous injury then what is the big deal? Shalt thou dwell upon it for all time? Are not there lost people who need rescuing from the very fires of hell this moment? Nay, if thou value thy fundy cred and thy very soul thou shalt join the happy few who have decided that bad things never actually happened and that the good times were extra especially amazing.

So shalt thou rewrite the past and move on with thy life and thy manservants and thy maidservants and their children’s children shall rise up and call thee blessed (if a bit clueless).

Independent Baptist Book of Everlasting Rules and Requirements, p 97

Field Report 2011 Sword of the Lord Conference (Day 2)

Tuesday: Day Two
Introduction of next speaker: Lou Rossi
Announcements: (sic) “Some of our men and ladies who went out soulwinning this afternoon in downtown Winston, they have turned in cards and reports on al least 12 people trusting Christ. Some of the folks haven’t reported in yet so there’ll be more than that.” And “…”Go down there for a couple of hours walking the streets and, uh, doing what Christians are supposed to do. Amen?”

Special singing “Who Am I?”
Opening Monologue:
Paul Chappell sends his regards from Lancaster Baptist Church, and he is sending a check for SOTL (one Mafia Don to another)
Quotable Quote: (sic)“We are on the same team. Do I have and amen? Flying the same flag the last time I checked, the blood stained b (inaudible) B-banner of Calvary’s cross. The full inspiration, verbal, plenary, inspiration of the Bible, uh, soulwinning, stand on God, separation. That’s what we stand for tonight, somebody say amen.”

Text: Isaiah 64:1-2 (another two verse text preacher, look at the treasure he finds in his two verses)

Fundie commercial: the goes on about his favorite football team, his wife, and the conference

Title: “When God Rends the Heavens”
Sermon prayer:

Prohibition right out of the starting blocks. ( +1 for Elmer Gantry)

Referred to 44:3 “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty”

(Now this is funny because last night it was all about there is still water in God’s well but it is up to us to get it out and get it to those who are thirsty. Which is it? The mixed messaging is so confusing.)

*We know he’s serious because he just took his coat off.

-Launches into a Hebrew history lesson.
Quotable Quote: (sic) “Those Hebrew parents with their little boy would say “daddy, why are we wandering in this wilderness?” he could say to him, “on we are wandering because God has led us through this wilderness.” That little boy would say, ”Who is God I don’t know who he is daddy.” He’d say, “He’s the God of the Bible [ really? What Bible did they have in the desert wanderings? Was a King James teleported back through time to them? ] The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, he’s the living God, the one true God. And that little boy would say, “How daddy can I know that God is in our midst?” and he could take him out that tent flap at night he could open it up and say, “There is the Glory of God this a fire by night to keep us warm, and a pillar of cloud by day to keep us cool in this desert. God is in our midst and God’s the only God who walks and lives among his people.” (I’m not sure he took a breath during all of that. )
*He’s turning phrases at about 3000 rpm, don’t know if he will be able to keep up this pace.

– Just touched on Elijah on Mt Carmel.
– On to religious relics
– How God used to work
– Retouched text
– We are missing God’s presence
– At God’s presence Mountains flow down
– He is Known to his enemies
– Rant on Prohibition anti alcohol (+1 Billy Sunday point)
– Brokeness and Humility are the cure for Pharaseeism (you know… all those who aren’t IFB)
– God is Holy
– Pop cultural reference to hip hop and the baggy pants
– When he sees baggy pants he just wants to give them a wedgie
-More brokenness
– More soul-winning
-Return to Pentecost
– Talks of the temple
– Fishes of some “amens”
– Back to Peter and John going up to the temple, the lame man….
– More Soul-winning (+1 for working conference theme into sermon)
– IB churches have lost their Soul Winning Fire
– IB churches and pastors are weak, defeated, need to be stirred up and serve God

Quotable Quote: “If you are going to preach on something make sure it’s something legitimate.”
(Sometimes I wonder if they ever listen to themselves preach)

Ball fields and Malls are crowded but can’t get the people of God in the house of God on Sunday evening.
– Christians should be in the house of God three times a week. (+1 attendance = faithfulness to God)
– Empty churches
– Long hair on men (how he got a haircut when he was saved) (+1 Christian appearance standards)
– Smoking (and tobacco use in general) (+1 Christian appearance standards)
– Rabbit trail alert
– Alcohol abuse, drug abuse (+1 Christian appearance standards)
– Rock music (+1 Christian appearance standards)
– Being a new creature means immediate wholesale change. To look like a Christian (So, WHAT does a Christian look like? )
– Long hair again (+1 Christian appearance standards)
*According to this rant God is not to be found in the IB churches.
– They have many decisions but no conversions. (well duh, 1-2-3 repeat after me does not a convert make. )
– Lack of spiritual maturity like…
– Rice, Sightler, Roloff, Greene, Roberson… that generation is gone
– Touched on Patriotism (+1 for God and Country )
– Guns- God and Country
“Wonders if we will be the generation to see all the power of God completely depart?
– Talks about preaching that relies on wit, humor and a slick presentation. ( get this man a mirror )

Gives his alliterated outline
1. See your need individually
2. Seek his face intently
3. Surrender to God immediately

– History lesson on Samuel and Eli
– Ichabod
– Begging Amens
– Final Story time
– Bow head, close eyes
– Raise hands

Next up: Devices of Satan

Announcements: SOTL renewals, they will run you down and get you to renew. (The SOTL collection agency)
VIP cards: three levels. First level gets all this years SOTL sermons and Smith’s School of the Prophets conference album, lapel pin.. Then there’s the Gold level, Conference album lapel pin and a beautiful, (the most beautiful Shelton Smith has ever seen) genuine, calfskin leather, Scofield, New Testament w/ Psalms and Proverbs. Finally there is the Diamond level, you get all the above and, a genuine authentic leaf from a 1620 King James Bible, with authentication and beautiful framing. (so you can worship your very own page that was torn out of a real King James English Bible, in the comfort of your own home. )
Offering:

Intro of 2nd Speaker: Norris Belcher
As Norris came to the pulpit one of his people he brought with him stood up and shouted, “That’s my pastor!”
Opening monologue: Comment on the singing, “If that singing don’t light your fire then your wood’s wet.”

– “I don’t believe we have long.”

Text: II Corinthians 2:10-11 (I guess two verse text are enough to get any IFB preacher with his salt going these days, and probably more than most IFB pew dwellers can handle anyway. )

Title: We are not Ignorant of his devices but it “Seems we are Ignorant” or it could be subtitled, “Ignorance is not bliss,”

Opening Monologue: “Give me fifteen minutes or so to build a foundation and I’ll give you something to shout about.”
– Paul’s biography (Cliff notes version)
– The “we” Paul uses is in hope that the Corinthians mature
– Paul was not ignorant of the Devils devices
(so far pretty tame stuff I can live with… uh oh here we gooooo)
– 35 years of ministry allows me to say something on this.

– Evidently we are ignorant of Satan’s devices
Quotable Quote: With the direction that we are seeing the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement going, some or our brethren are ignorant of his devices. Our movement, now you listen very carefully to what I’m going to say here, I believe with all my heart, our movement, our stripe, our churches are the last vestige for keeping old Fashioned, fundamental, Bible, Christianity alive and well in this world.
We’re it!
Everybody else is already gone. Every other denomination, they’ve already gone. They’re liberal to the core. And if we don’t do it who’s going to do it? If we don’t stand up for God and hold the line and stay with the stuff, Bible Christianity will soon be gone.
We’re God’s Last Hope! (that’s right preacher) (poor little anemic, sickly, weak god. Here is the heart of the IFB. God needs us! W-E A-R-E God’s L-A-S-T H-O-P-E! )
I was thinking:
Obi-wan: “That non-denomination denomination is God’s last hope.”
Yoda: “No. There is another.”

Paul does not tell us what these devices are. (So Norris is going to tell us what three of them are.)
Three Devices Satan uses:
#1: Satan Labels Evil Things with Pleasant Names
– Homosexual agenda is called “Gay”
– Beer advertises with beautiful people and if you drink their beer you’ll be cool
Quotable Quote: (sic) “If they were truthful the commercial would show a kitchen with tow or three crying infants. Maybe a 4 year old and a 3 year old and a 2 year old cowering under the kitchen table and then the camera would pan from those kids shaking to death, crying, weeping and hiding their faces so the cannot be seen and the camera would then pan over and you would see a mother laying on the floor with her eye swollen shut with a bump knot over top of her eye and blood coming out of her nose; blood coming out of her mouth laying unconscious on the floor then it would pan on over and there would be a drunken daddy standing there with his knuckles all bruised up standing there with his hair all messed up standing there slobbering all over himself with a can of Miller in his hand and then some smooth talking low (garbled) announcer would come over the air and say, ‘Welcome to Miller Time!’ that would be truth in advertising.”

– Right is wrong and wrong is right
– Politics

Quotable Quote: “Some of you took vacation to be here this week … You’re crazy. What in the world is wrong with you people? You took your vacation to come and sit and listen to a bunch of guys get up here and yell at you for four hours a day.” (now THERE’s truth in advertising )
Quotable Quote: “Who is the smart aleck who said that little teenage girl who dresses like a tramp is, well you know, just a little loose?”
– The world calls drunkenness a disease but that’s not what my bible calls it.
– Teenagers in rebellion
– We have lost the sinfulness of sin,
– Drunkards
– Sodomites

– When we stand before God we will not have any labels
– He’s tired of camp loyalty
– He tired of loyalty to colleges
– He tired of loyalty to conferences
– He’s tired of us being loyal to man made institutions
– When are we going to be loyal to the Bible?
– When are we going to be loyal to God?

– You and I will give account how we stood for the old Gospel of Jesus Christ

Quotable Quote: “I think it’s time for ever IB preacher and I think it’s time for every IB Evangelist, and I think it’s time for every IB Missionary and teacher and lay person to get their nose in this Bible and find out for yourself what you believe instead of having to go to your pope (That rocked the house w/everyone denying that they answer to a pope…. Because each of them are the pope in their own eyes. ) or having to go check w/your administrator, or your mentor, or your hero or your headquarters to be told what you believe.”

Quotable Quote: “let’s just take the Bible issue.. this is not hard its in the bible, right here (points to his KJV) This Thing. Put your Calvinist Commentaries on the shelf for a minute. Let’s just go with what the Bible says. Put your manuals up. Let’s just look at the Bible ok? I know it’s gonna be hard for some of us but that’s ok. You know this verse, you know it… I know. 1 Timothy 3:16. Listen… This is King James. I’m gonna give you King James, some of you w/those wacky Bibles in your lap, don’t even look at them just listen, ok? Ready? “ALL” (the house gets to rockin again) You got that part? I could stop right there. “ALL” scripture is given by…. In-spir-ation of God. “PERIOD” … that’s it! You don’t need anything else. He just told you …Hey! He just tol you that the Bible is inspired of God. Put a period there! You don’t have to go to a seminar to find out its inspired, he told you it was.”
(The house is rockin with “hey-mens”, “Preach-it brother”, “go on preacher”, “That’s right”, “Tell it” and a host of other validation responses.)

*goes on to brag about preaching at a young man who obviously saw his error when he preached this sermon elsewhere.
– More KJV Proof texts that show the King James is inspired, incorruptible and perfect.
– I Peter 1:23 – Incorruptible is the King James. Liveth is the inspiration and abideth is the preservation (I guess that it doesn’t matter that that verse is talking about the person of Christ? )
– Psalm 19 -The Law of the Lord is Perfect. (I do not deny any of these verses but I deny that they can be used as proof texts for idolizing the King James translation of Scripture. Truth in advertising: yep they are ignorant of the devices of Satan)
– He goes on to say that the King James was checked 14 times before it was sent to the publishers. (blah, blah , blah… so what. That proves nothing other than there should not have been a spelling error. Hey, that means the Apocrypha was checked 14 times a well… Idolatry is all it is )
.
– The Bible is perfect
– His answer to anyone who says there are errors in the Bible “show them to me”
(This sermon had deteriorated to Bible worship. )

*Basically he goes on to ask, “who do you think you are if you don’t worship the King James?”

Quotable Quote: “We took the clock down and put a calendar up”

#2 Satan Attacks us on our strongest side
– Where we are strongest not our weakest
– Anti- “Entertainment churches”
– According his Bible Soulwinning is on the front burner
– The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing
– The purpose of the church is soulwinning
– Soulwinning- Soulwinning- Soulwinning
– The pastor is the one who has to do the soulwinning program
– That’s why we’re not growing because we’re not soulwinning

#3 Satan puts the emphasis on Tomorrow

– Don’t think we have much longer
– A whole dispensational commercial
– We’re living on borrowed time
– Teach your people to be soulwinners
– Teach them how to love people
– How to give the gospel
– How to be soulwinners
– Soulwinning is the key. “Bingo!”

– He was thinking what if Paul could be at the conference this week
– Somebody is going to be spoken to by God and they’ll hit the altar and be a changed man
– I’m just gonna stand with God
– Bow your heads with me.
“Heads are bowed and eyes are closed.”
Postscript:
With our head bowed and our eyes closed start for this altar

Begging the altar call

SOTL Commercial

/ end day two

Field Report 2011 Sword of the Lord Conference

If you’ve been on SFL for a while, you’ll remember that last year an anonymous attendee passed along his observations of the Sword of the Lord Conference. Well this year we’ve done one better with our very own SFL personality Don (who was accompanied on a few of the nights by another reader) attending each night single night and writing down what he saw and heard. Here are his notes from Day 1:

Where do I begin?

Back on June 28th Darrell posted A Doctor (or 14) In The House and it was suggested that we have a representative do a field repot. That put into motion a series of conversations and a mission sanctioned by SFIE.

A team was assigned and Operation Mothership was a go. The mission’s theme is reflected in the modified poem, The Charge of the SFL Brigade

Fundies to right of them,
Fundies to left of them,
MOgs in front of them
Volley’d & thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the two from SFL.

Due to work obligations only the evening services could be covered. Monday evening arrived and at 1800 we embarked on our mission. We began our recon in the Exhibit hall. Upon entry the first booth that greeted us was a Tie vendor. Selling ties. Not just novelty ties but top of the line neck ties. Continuing down that aisle we have a vendor with a table full of cd’s and dvd’s selling sermons of a Who’s Who of fundy heavy weights, Hyles, Roloff, Sightler, and a host of others.

We were asked if we wanted some good preaching. I came very close to saying, “Sure, where is any.” But our mission was recon only not confrontation. There was a vendor that had the History of the Bible. They actually mentioned the Bishops Bible, the Geneva Bible but the line ended abruptly at 1611 and the King James Bible. It was interesting that in this booth there was also a plaque of Martin Luther. (That ol Catholic) I guess he got props for breaking away from the Catholic Church.

There are several colleges represented here, PCC, West Coast, New England Baptist College, Midwestern Bible College, Shawnee Baptist College, Gethsemane Bible Institute, Commonwealth Baptist College, Berean Baptist College, Heartland Baptist Bible College, Landmark Baptist College, Baptist College of America, and Ambassador Baptist College. These are what are listed on the floor plan and I really did not take a complete inventory.

The pièce de résistance of the Exhibit hall was The Suit Man. Here in the middle of the hall was a tailor shop to outfit the M-O-g with a suit worthy of his position. Off to the “sanctuary” for preaching time.

Monday Preaching
Opens with hymn “Wonderful Grace of Jesus.”
Opening monologue:
• Raise the heat , people don’t stay as warm as they need to stay, turn up the heat in the pulpit
• Let the Lord do something special (I’m sure he will appreciate you allowing him to do that)
• This is the 400th year of the King James Bible (a-mens all around)
• This is a critical time in our history and we need to be watchmen.
Opening Prayer: by Dr. Rydell, just finished a 43 year pastorate, and he’s available to come preach.
Shelton Smith Leads off
The Text is John 4:1-6 (and out of that text he was able to preach on all these topics)
Pre-sermon:
– David and Goliath- the Battle is the Lord’s- David had the stones in the bag already ready
Preaching Time:
– Jacobs well
– (sic)

“…hope you found John Chapter 4. That is, IF you got a fully inspired Bible. If
your’s is not fully inspired then sit on it so nobody’ll know you got a bad Bible. If you got one that’s fully inspired, forever pereserved, and flawlessly perfect I want to read some out of it.”

(set the tone for the whole week)
– How to dig a well

*Sermon Title: There’s Still Water in the Well
– Senseless prejudices: (based on the scripture comparing Jesus baptizing more than John)
– To Judge someone is senseless, just because somebody may not be like we are (yep he said that)
– Immorality; how America is becoming more like Sodom and Gomorrah (+1 for hot button mention )
– Against “Happy Hour” ( +1 for Prohibition anti alcohol )
– How great it is that we don’t have to invent something anew every time we use it
– Keeping the well clean
– Commentary on worldly music ( +1 for music reference )
– False Christs
– False prophets
– False Preachers
– False Apostles
– False Teachers
– False Brethren
– Dispensationalism: Re: the Rapture ( +1 for Rapture reference )
– Heretical doctrines
– Three Point Calvinists ( +1 for anti Calvinist reference)
– Manning the wells
– Buying the ropes and buckets (because God needs you to get the water out of his well..)
– In order to get the water out of the well and give it to those starving for that water
– Give a commentary on the King James Bible ( +1 King James Bible reference )
– And talk about “Bad Bibles”
– A dig on CCM music ( another +1 for CCM reference )
– All the music this week will be, “Solid, Evangelistic, Soul-winning, music” (amens all around)
– Church is God’s idea. (I believe this was regarding how the local church is practiced. )
– A Dig on Campus Crusade for Christ dropping Christ from their name.
( http://www.ccci.org/about-us/donor-relations/our-new-name/press.htm )
– Finally gets back to the first text of the evening.
– Fire up the pulpit
– The Bible Well
– The Church well
– The Soul-winning well (whatever that is)
– props to “Dr” John and “Dr” Curtis for the work they did.
– He (Smith) didn’t have to build from scratch able to stand on the shoulders of these two.
– Patriotism ( +1 rounding out the sermon with patriotic reference)
– Keeping the well of your church clean
*Not bad for just six verses but the masters are yet to flex their preaching muscles.

Offering –announcements- special singing

Mike Allison batting in the number two spot
Hebrews 12:1-3
Opening Monologue:
– (96) were saved in a missions conference and Vacation Bible school ( a very successful ministry for sure sporting those types of numbers )
– (5) surrendered to full time service ( wonder if he brought them with him to visit The Suit Guy in the Exhit it hall?)
– Lyndon B. Johnson got saved
– as little girl named “Faith Booger” got saved. (he saw her name on the card and made a joke out of it.)
Preaching Time:
– Quoted much of General Douglas MacArthur’s address to the 1962 graduating class at West Point
– Patriotism again
– MacArthur used the mantra of Duty-Honor-Country
– Changed to Duty-Honor-The Saviour
Sermon Title: “Duty – Honor – The Saviour” ( KJV spelling to be sure )
– Martyr hystory (quoting some from the Foxes Book of Martyrs)

– Laurentius (aka Saint Lawrence) (uh oh does he know he is praising a Catholic?)
– Michael Sattler (Anabaptist) (uh oh a former catholic monk, but, but, the Baptists never came out of the
Catholic Church they were always Baptist?? How can this be? )
– Anabaptists (praising the Anabaptists)
– Wm Carey ( Uh oh Carey was a reformed Baptist, i.e. Calvinist; though no mention of this was made)
– David Livingstone
– EJ Cooper
– Christ is at the head of this long line of saints robed in white
– Being in Church to hear the word of God preached on Sunday Nights instead of being at home (+1 being in church )
– Church comes before sports
– God’s people are to be in the house of God ( every time the doors are open. Outward performance shows how right you are with God. )
– Faithfulness to the choir if you are in the choir (more performance sanctification.)
– Standards according to Titus 2 11-12 proof text (This is the proof test to end all proof test on how Christians are to live separate from the world and they should all look just like Independent Fundamental Baptists.)
– Separation ( means to look like a good Independent Fundamental Baptist)
– Wonder why more are not surrendering to Full time Christian service ( This means that there is a numbers gap in the IFB movement, They are losing numbers and the number of wide-eyed preparation KYH hair jelled preacher boys fawning over their spiritual hero and jockeying for the #1 position at the
head of the line is declining.)
– Full on assault of Calvinism ( The Sovereignty of God in relation to Election, and salvation is in direct conflict with the IFB, man made, soulwinning / church growth programs. This “fad” is cutting into the IFB numbers and they are running scared so they are in an “all out” assault against Calvinism. And anything that looks like the Sovereignty of God is labeled Calvinism)
*quote of the evening*
“Nobody ever became a Calvinist by reading the Bible.”
– Calvin became a Calvinist by reading after that Roman Catholic Augustine
– Calvin wanted to kill the Anabaptists, so how on earth can you carry his name?
– Internet shot/ quote: “I don’t understand how professing believers can get on the internet and run down every good ministry that stands for soul-winning and holiness. I thank God that if they are saved they are going to stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ and find that every word of their blog was kept, and they will give an answer to it.” (A shot at SFL?? Preachers would do well to remember everthing they said in the pulpit is also being preserved and the will give and answer as well. )
– more should surrender to full time service
– William Booth
(a mere two verses produced all of this)
Close the service with an altar Call
/end day one

A silly blog dedicated to Independent Fundamental Baptists, their standards, their beliefs, and their craziness.