Ken Silva: How Noble is Perry Noble?: A 'Rock Star' Pastor Attacks Christians Digging Deeper Into God's Word

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Ken Silva, pastor of Connecticut River Baptist Church & president of Apprising Ministries in Claremont, NH, will address the theme: "How Noble is Perry Noble?: A 'Rock Star' Pastor Attacks Christians Digging Deeper Into God's Word".

Perry Noble, lead pastor of NewSpring Church, says that the Christian who wants to go deeper into God’s Word is a “jackass.” He also quotes John Maxwell telling us the following pietistic foolishness that supposedly “most Christians are educated way beyond their level of obedience anyway.”

In Hip Pastor Blasts Those Who Want To Go Deeper in God’s Word over at The Crosstalk Blog Ingrid Schlueter shows how seriously off-track this man-centered seeker-sensitive movement, built as it is on cult-of-personality pastors, has become when she brings out:

Rock star pastor Perry Noble of NewSpring Church in Anderson, South Carolina, says you are a jackass if you’re sick of shallow seeker sermons and want to go deeper into God’s Word. Yes, you read that sentence correctly.

Noble has led the nation’s lemming pastors into new frontiers of circus church. Who would have ever thought to use AC/DC’s Highway to Hell as a church prelude before Noble hit the scene? (Online source)

Ken Silva: The Gurus of the Emergent Church: A Response to the Mysticism & Universalism of Shane Hipps & Rob Bell

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Ken Silva, pastor of Connecticut River Baptist Church & president of Apprising Ministries in Claremont, NH, will address the theme: "The Gurus of the Emergent Church: A Response to the Mysticism & Universalism of Shane Hipps & Rob Bell".

Apprising Ministries pointed out recently Shane Hipps Accepts Teaching Pastor Job With Rob Bell at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, MI. For more background on MHBC’s new co-pastor alongside Rob Bell, who, as our guest today, Ken Silva, describes as "the Elvis of the egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church aka Emergent Church de-formation of the Christian faith—now morphing into Emergence Christianity", go to Shane Hipps.com.

Pastor Hipps preached two sermons, Fasting and Feasting and A Gentle Stillness in July of this year at MHBC, which he tells us was “the second week of a series” that they were doing “on spiritual practices.”

In that latter sermon, A Gentle Stillness, you’ll read as Hipps leads MHBC while they “practice some silence together.” Our guest Ken Silva was personally involved with meditation before he was regenerated and has been "studying this spiritually corrupt Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM) ala Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster and his spiritual twin Dallas Willard for years now..." Ken literally has hundreds of books concerning CSM from virtually every religion and “silence” is mystic-speak for meditation in an altered state of consciousness, which is precisely what it is.

Hipps himself explains below this practice of silence is not simply being alone and not speaking, it is going within one’s self in a transcendental meditation-lite for the Christian aka Contemplative/Centering Prayer. The new co-teaching pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church confides that practicing meditation:

has become probably one of the most transformative thing that has opened me to God in ways that nothing else ever has…so I love this practice…[it's not] just about external silence,…[it's]about finding internal silence…

[This is] going within and practicing silence…it is the practice of releasing ourselves into the heart of God and connecting with the source of life… The point is not the twenty minutes…the point is how you begin to experience life the rest of the hours of the day.

Ken Silva:How Does God Speak To Us Today?

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Ken Silva: Jay Bakker, Radical Love & Homosexuality

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Ken Silva, pastor of Connecticut River Baptist Church & president of Apprising Ministries in Claremont, NH, will address the theme: "Jay Bakker, Radical Love & Homosexuality".

A recent blog post of our guest Ken Silva regarding the ministry of the son of well-known fallen televangelist Jim Bakker, and the encroachment of the Pro-Homosexual Movement into "Evangelicalism", explains the content of today's broadcast:

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. (Jude 3-4)

For Whatever Reason Such As These Are Playing For The Wrong Team

If nothing else it can be very interesting being involved in online apologetics and discernment ministry along the Internet Front of the Truth War. The point of this piece is to demonstrate, once again, that The Tolerant Ones Really Aren’t So Tolerant. No doubt such as these in the egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church aka Emergent Church—currently morphing into Emergence Christianity—(EC) love to talk about “dialogue” and to portray themselves as the epitome of God’s grace and love.

However, having had “conversation” with many in the EC over the past four years I have found the majority of them to be no different than so-called ”ODMs.” Just slap that label, or “hater,” on someone and we instantaneously become their new lepers. But many a Bible-believing Christian who’s also tried to dialogue with people around the EC have found this out the hard way. If we’re honest, like most of us, those in the EC have their point of view and quite understandably are trying to argue (in the debate sense) others into it.

It reminds me of the time a few years ago when I would have discussions with Mormon Missionaries in my home. I don’t recommend you do this unless you feel called to counter-cult evangelism, however, one time I actually had a couple of them who’d come over once a week. Because I know the Mormon Church questions the verbal and plenary inspiration of Scripture I’d told them I would be willing to study together the origin of the Bible itself; and in doing so, I said they can also teach me the LDS views.

Well, this went on for a couple of weeks until one day I noticed one of them becoming red in the face as we discussed the actual Gospel of Jesus Christ. So I paused and told him that to me he looked very upset. He confided that he was because he felt like I was telling him he was going to Hell. I explained that I don’t know what his future holds, but because he was rejecting the Gospel at that moment, I said, “You’re correct in that I am saying, if you were to die right now, you are still on the broad path that leads to Hell.”

And then I asked him, “because I am consciously rejecting the Gospel Principles of Mormonism after having you explain them to me, aren’t you telling me that I’m a ’son of perdition’ who’s on my way to Hell?” He quietly nodded that this was true; so I said to him, “I can live with that.” The point being, I was intellectually honest with him that, of course, I was trying to convert him; but I also explained to him that I expected nothing less from someone believing as he did. These Mormon Missionaries understood that; and our study went on just fine from there until they ended up rotating out.

People have heard me say that on the playing field of ideas my function here at AM, and the Lord knows I’m involved in a lot more ministry than this website, would be somewhat like a middle linebacker on the defense of a football team. They often aren’t very fun guys to have to go up against during the game; but off the field, many times they are quite different. No, if one simply reads the articles of aggressive criticism I am often writing, I am well aware that they’d think I was some kind of angry narrow-minded fundamentalist bigot.

Well, I’m not here to win a popularity contest; and if evangelical leaders—whose forums dwarf anything of mine—would stand up and be counted during this apostasy there wouldn’t be any need for AM, Christian Research Net, Slice of Laodicea, etc. But they aren’t; and I don’t have the luxury of sitting on the sidelines while The Emerging Church Is Highjacking Evangelicalism. But back to the so-called loving and grace-filled tolerant ones of the EC; today gay affirming “pastor” Jay Bakker gives us this quote from the quasi-Reformed Tim Keller:

When your self-image is based on having correct doctrine, you will loathe people who disagrees with you.” ~Tim Keller/// BAM! (Online source)

Really; “BAM!” Apparently Bakker sees all of this as some kind of a contest. The problem he has, especially after his recent “sermon” Radical Love, is that he contradicts his own message of love when he aims this at people like me. In my case self-image has zero to do with correct doctrine. It has to do with, even though I could never merit the salvation by God that Jesus gave me, I am now His child; esteem doesn’t get any higher than the grace God shows to His adopted children. Speaking for myself, in gratitude for Christ’s gift and Because I Love Jay Bakker And GLBTQ People, I do what I do.

The question is: Why doesn’t Bakker, whom some say is a scholar, actually address the Biblical texts concerning homosexuality instead of simply trying to marginalize his critics as “haters?” Just yesterday I was talking with my good friend Chris Rosebrough of Pirate Christian Radio who told me again that he’d be more than happy to have Bakker come on his program to do so. And yet Bakker was pretty excited today as he shares:

confronting the slippery slope against homosexuality: by @dtatusko http://twitter.com/dtatusko (Online source)

That link within takes us to an article entitled confronting the slippery slope against homosexuality from:

Andrew (Drew) Tatusko is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary (1999, 2000) from which he earned an M.Div. and Th.M. There he focused on philosophical theology, philosophy of education, and postmodern theory. (Online source)

Exposing The Fleshly Rot Underneath The Phony Veneer Of Love And Tolerance

And of course it’s probably just a coincidence that Tatusko lovingly announced today concerning that piece:

trying to pick a fight with ken silva: http://bit.ly/16pSkB (Online source)

@zachtroberts i am not shooting so high to think i can fill a black hole. just taunting a caged rat with a stick a little… (Online source)

Yes, “trying to pick a fight,” and a reference to me as “a caged rat,” I sure do feel the EC grace, love, and tolerance. And interestingly enough, this is the type of conduct the loving folks ’round the tolerant and inclusive (as long as you agree with them) EC often accuse those nasty ol’ “ODMs” of employing. But unfortunately for Tatusko, he isn’t going to get his fight with this particular caged rat because what he says in his article has absolutely nothing to do with my correct Biblical position on the sin of homosexuality.

He begins by saying:

Albert Mohler makes a fantastic slippery slope assertion against same gender relationships. The next thing is…polyamory! Those who oppose same-gender love assert under the presumption that a reasonable secular argument exists to which they can make appeal. After all the arguments against same gender love are not just about the Bible and Christianity, they are about the ‘’sanctity of marriage” or “pro-family” which is the “bedrock of American civilization.” (Online source)

Tatusko then later inserts me into the mix:

While the comical anti-everything-but-the-sound-of-my-own-conviction Ken Silva is absolute in his utter rejection of homosexuality and all those who affirm it, the evidence is scarce both on his site of condemnation and in the scripture istself that polygamy is to be rejected in the same way. Curious position to take when all is so crystal clear and the progressive revelation of God among God’s people is seemingly complete and without contradiction. (Online source)

Now please understand that I have no problem with Tatusko running the ball at me, so to speak, I’ll admit that Tatusko—who has far more formal education than I—sounds impressive; that is, until it comes to my actual utter rejection of homosexuality. You see, I’ve not appealed to secular argumentaion in my confronting the issue of people—like Jay Bakker—affirming those having sexual relations with another of the same sex i.e homosexuality are not in sin. But I’m also not that big a fan of Dr. Al Mohler.

Yes, in the article Sadness For “Gay Christians” I do quote Mohler, but I personally said exactly nothing about slippery slopes, polyamory, or polygamy. As a pastor-teacher I am to hold fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict (Titus 1:9, NASB). Whatever Mohler does is between him and Jesus, but my particular call is to defend what the Bible says about marriage and homosexuality, which is exactly what I have done.

I really couldn’t care less what the culture decides; whatever the laws of the land may be I will do my best to abide by them, but anyone familiar with AM knows that I labor to present arguments based upon Scripture. So, for those who may have missed it, my definition of what marriage is according to the Bible can be found in The Sin Of Homosexuality Is Different. And as far as homosexuality, which is to commit sexual immorality with a member of the same sex, I heartily recommend Rosebrough’s PCR program here in An In-Depth Look At What The Bible Says About Homosexuality.

THE SHACK: A Critical Examination

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AL STEIN, pastor of the Neighborhood Assembly of God in Bellmore, Long Island, NY, & KEN SILVA, pastor of Connecticut River Baptist Church & president of Apprising Ministries in Claremont, NH, will address the theme: "THE SHACK: A Critical Examination".

The above-mentioned book, "THE SHACK", by William Paul Young, has apparently been flying off the bookshelves of many retail outlets and the stockrooms of Internet booksellers. It reached #6 on Amazon's religious fiction book sales list and the New York Times Bestseller list. Pastor, scholar, author, and poet Eugene H. Peterson, who wrote the Gold Medallion Book Award winner "The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language", said of "The Shack":

“This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ did for his. It’s that good!”

But should Christians spend their valuable time and hard-earned money reading this book?

Our guests today, Al Stein & Ken Silva, answer that question with a resounding "NO!" Learn why this very popular work of religious fiction is poison for the mind and soul, and how it heretically and dangerously distorts the person and work of all three members of the Godhead, the very nature of the Gospel and the innate spiritual condition of mankind.

Stein & Silva also hope this disturbing quote (below) from "The Shack" will cause all who profess to know and love Christ and His Holy Scriptures to wholeheartedly reject Eugene Peterson's previously quoted astonishing claim about Young's vision of the Gospel and will trump his recommendations to read it:

“Those who love me come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims…. I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters.”
-–The Shack’s “Jesus.” [1,p.182]

KEN SILVA: "MYSTICISM'S INFILTRATION INTO MODERN EVANGELICALISM"

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KEN SILVA, Director of Apprising Ministries , General Editor of the Christian Research Network and pastor of Connecticut River Baptist Church in Claremont, NH, a congregation in the Southern Baptist Convention, will address the theme: "MYSTICISM'S INFILTRATION INTO MODERN EVANGELICALISM."

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines "mysticism" as "the belief that direct knowledge of God, spiritual truth, or ultimate reality can be attained through subjective experience (as intuition or insight)", and also defines it as "vague speculation : a belief without sound basis," and "a theory postulating the possibility of direct and intuitive acquisition of ineffable [indescribable, unspeakable] knowledge or power."

This being so, isn't the belief in and practice of mysticism a violation of the Reformation principle of "Sola Scriptura": that the holy, inerrant and God-breathed Scriptures ALONE are the church of Christ's ONE infallible and sufficient authority in matters of theology and practice? And if this is true, why are so many who profess to be Evangelical being seduced by this phenomenon?

According to our guest Ken Silva,

"Due to the importance of the issues concerning the influx into evangelicalism of corrupt Contemplative/Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM) and its so-called 'Christian' meditation of Contemplative/Centering Prayer (CCP)—which flowered in the antibiblical monastic traditions of apostate Roman Catholicism, i.e. no longer Christian—Apprising Ministries is doing all we can to bring this to the attention of the Body of Christ. And one of the primary sources—if not the primary source—for this reimagined neo-pagan 'Christian' mysticism infecting postevangelicalism and the Emerging Church is The Cult of Guru Richard Foster...

...You need to know that this CSM has now also slithered into evangelicalism as well because right now Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic 'Roshi' Richard Foster, with an able assist from ordained Southern Baptist minister Dallas Willard, is conditioning more and more mainstream evangelical pastors, leaders, and ministers (think frog in the kettle) through spurious Spiritual Formation (SF) courses in college and/or seminary to see this CSM as a viable approach to God. And AM reminds you that primary among the textbooks used in these SF classes, not only in SBC seminaries but in most evangelical schools, are works by Foster and Willard from which their so-called 'spiritual disciplines' largely culled from heretical Roman Catholic and Quaker mystics is then taught..."

Listen to this broadcast and hear more about how and why Mysticism is gaining great popularity among a growing number of Evangelicals today, and specifically why many biblically orthodox Christian apologists like Ken Silva are sounding an alarm about this phenomenon, which they view as being spiritually deadly, damning and demonic.