Jerry.

Jerry.

The first time I saw him in person was at WinterFest with my youth group. It was one huge advertisement for Liberty. I was pretty annoyed. I knew where I was going to school at, and it wasn't liberty. But things changed, God calls and his plans are way better then mine, I decided to go to Liberty after really trying to sit and figure out what I wanted my life to be like and who I really want to serve.

I went to Stand Up a huge rally with Acquire the Fire and Jerry himself was there, I was volunteered as an usher so I could go for free. I already decided I was going to attend Liberty and there he was, promoting Liberty U. He walked by me and I shook his hand as he walked by and said like an excited high school graduate "I got preliminarily accepted to Liberty!" he said in his all to familiar voice that i would grow to respect "That's Great" and he walked off.

I remember taking the Liberty Van trip to Washington DC. The school set up a trip to surprise him with Liberty students to visit him as he went on Crossfire. He had no idea, he was so glad we were there he gave us all exemptions for skipping class.

That was really the only conversation I ever had with him. Every other time I heard him speak it was from a crowded Convocation every Wednesday morning. I remember hating Wednesday's because that's when Jerry spoke. It always seemed so boring to me. But looking back I remember more of what he said then any other speaker that came to Liberty and I can almost quote his entire sermon on Vision from Habakkuk.

Recently around Easter I went back to Lynchburg to catch up with some friends I went to a convo where he spoke. It would be the last time I heard him speak. he was speaking on the many proofs of the resurrection. I really enjoyed his message that day, although it was filled with stuff I have heard before. I enjoyed being able to hear this great man speak. He mentioned a story of a man who died, the Government sent him a letter claiming that they have suspended his food stamps do to his death and if there were "Changes to your Circumstances" to give them a call. Jerry said " I want you to know that Jesus Christ was the only one to ever have Changes to his circumstances"

When watching the news flashes today, that story came to my mind as I was unsure if he was dead or in "Gravely Serious Condition" I hoped there would be changes to Jerry's circumstances.

He missed two appointments today, but he didn't miss the important one.

...Now for the first time in a long time the last thing on Jerry's mind is the upcoming election....

I have noticed one thing that amazed me today. There wasn't as much as a Hurrah from the liberal media as I expected. In fact from what I saw it was amazingly the opposite. Jesse Jackson talked about how much he was going to miss him, how he was a friend and there was all this talk about how much he stood for his convictions and his amazing boldness.

I think Jerry was that guy the media loved to hate. Yea he said some ridiculous statements but I don't think they were made to hurt anyone as much as they were intended to keep himself in the news. He would make a claim, appear on CNN, apologize and then share the Gospel. He never missed an opportunity if he could help it.

I saw him on CNN the other day and they asked him why the republican party has no interest in helping the poor. He responded we do care about that but it doesn't make the news.
Unless you went to Liberty, or attended his church the only Jerry you got to see was the one on CNN, MSNBC and FOX News. He was either defending himself, his personal politics or someone else.

The news never showed Jerry punching the LUPD, or wearing a jersey to a football game. They never showed him make a joke, or laugh at students. In fact I believe that there is no more difficult death of a school chancellor then that of this one on the student body. He was not just some unreachable chancellor, he was many students personal pastor and if need be you could set up an appointment and talk with him.

Thank you Jerry for being a modern day Apostle Paul. Being bold event till the death, risking fame and fortune to do what Christ called you to do. In revelation it discusses Lukewarm Christians. Jerry was in no way lukewarm,. he is an example for all of Christianity a modern day bible character. Your either in it all the way...or your not and we all know where Jerry was.

Marcus Pittman
www.transplantministries.com

The False Doctrine of God's Love

So after advice from my friends I have decided to write this Blog to let everyone kind of know about where I stand with doctrine like God, Jesus and Theology.

A lot of my writings are taken out of context (or I never placed it in any) and it has come to the conclusion of many that I do not have any idea of Christian Love.

First I want to say that God's love is beyond any sort rational explanation. It can not be placed in a box or summed up in a fancy Blog.

However, I do believe that the Bible has given us more than enough information to explain its basic outlines, how he display's his love and most importantly, what His love does and does not consist of.

Jesus Loves Me.

The words capture the attention of Sunday school students all over the world.

But have you ever sat down and asked yourself, What kind of Love is it?

Christ's love for us is not a Sunday school kind of love. It is much bigger then that. It is also more disciplined then that.

Jesus Loves You. Sure. Of course he does! Yet there are several sort of relational variations of Love that need to be explained.

First there is Spousal Abuse Love. This sort of Love is powered by a false sense admiration, bribery including constant forms of punishment as a way to promote the angered spouse. If God expressed this sort of Love he would be a liar, someone who needs your love more then he needs to be alive, and would strongly depend on you constant realization that he exists. Our God does not express this form of Love.

Another kind of Love is the kind of Love that is expressed through Animals. This is a sort of Love that is trained and nurtured. A love that is dependant on Humanity, as long as Humans provide God with a relationship, God provides food, So I greet him everyday, do tricks and entertain him. This is a puppy love. God loves me so I love Him, in hopes of Him benefiting me and giving me the necessary sort of things for my life to advance, so I can have it easy. This commonly preached in Prosperity Gospels

Now for a more common expression of God's Love. This is a Love that is prevalent in the Post-Modern, Emergent Churches. Churches that place Missional Focuses at higher importance then Salvation. People that focus on Lifestyle Evangelism, etc etc.

This kind of Love is dangerous. Not because it cannot be categorized (it Can) but because it gives a very shallow view of God. It underestimates the value of Gods Sacrifice and places very little to no emphasis on God's Justice and Holiness. His wrath or his Anger, Sacrifice and Hell are left without explanation.

This form of Love is expressed by phrases such as "Come as You Are", "God loves everybody equally" and is expressed as Regenerates proclaim they are no different then generates.

God is Love, Love Love.

You hear it a lot. This deception is what caused me to start TeddyBearJesus.com and it is incredibly dangerous because it has an incredible reputation for turning out false converts. This form of love has diluted America. It is responsible for the absolute godlessness of this "Christian" nation.

This form of love is the reason you can take a walk on a boardwalk and ask "Christians" how can I be sure I am going to heaven and you will be guaranteed to get a mixed variety of love, "Being Good", and most of all general confusion.

People who are lured with this feel good gospel are incapable of explaining Hell, Wrath and the basic gospel doctrine. However they can quote John 3:16, yet they cannot explain what it means.

These people that have been diluted by this sort of Pampering Love can also quote another smorgasbord of verses, that says "Judge Not" "Remove the Plank" and "Cast the First Stone"

These verses are taken out of context, misinterpreted and they have made anyone who tries to explain the rational behind these verses enemies of God.

They have basically eliminated any sort of need for rational discernment within a church. Anyone who takes these verses in context are deemed as evil, and wicked, not Christ like, and people who:"Break down the body"

People who box God in to this sort of Love have no idea what a Christian is. They do not know the difference between a false prophet and a true follower. They also make no attempt to make those distinctions. It's equivalent to saying "Every bottle that says Heinz has ketchup inside" ignoring the other forms of "evil in the church" disguised as mustard relish etc etc.

Then there are people like me. I guess were called fundamentalist. Sometimes even Fascists.

I believe that God has a perfecting, disciplinarian form of love. a Love that is Just, a Love that is pure, a love that is perfecting.

Without God's wrath, anger and justice, there is no Love of God. The Love of God, and the Wrath of God blend perfectly.

Any emphasis on one, without the other becomes immediately dangerous. It has to be a perfect blend. I think Mark Driscoll (who used to be a part of the emerging church) put it best when he says

You have been told that God is loving, gracious, merciful, kind, compassionate, wonderful, and good sky fairy who runs a day care in the sky and has a bucket of suckers for everyone because we're all good people. That is a lie... God looks down and says 'I hate you, you are my enemy, and I will crush you,' and we say that is deserved, right and just, and then God says 'Because of Jesus I will love you and forgive you.' This is a miracle. –Mark Driscoll

The angrier God is at Sin, the greater his punishment for our Sin, in return the more significant his Love for us becomes.

If you expressly impose a constant love for all people, you make it impossible to explain the anger and wrath. We then create Christians who are mindless to issues such as hell, and repentance.

If someone can not explain hell, repentance, eternal suffering, condemnation and pain and how this all blends into the singular gospel message then we have to question and be discerning about peoples faith.

A person cannot come to a repentant relation with Jesus Christ, if they cannot explain the Gospel.

Call me a Pharisee.

Call me a Sadducee.

Call me a religious Hypocrite. You definitions are wrong. Your view of God's Love is Wrong, and if telling you that makes me arrogant, then so be it.

Americans are so weak. We shutter at the thought of offending any single person.

John 17:14
I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.

John 15:18
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."

What happy go lucky message of Christ's suffering was Stephen preaching as he was stoned to death? Why didn't Stephen stop preaching the Gospel once he realized people were picking up rocks? What message did he preach that made the crowd "Rush Him" (Acts 7)

Clearly there was something that offended these people in what Stephen said…

Christ was beaten, tortured, stabbed and pierced not because we are good people. Not because we deserve to be saved. Instead because we are not good people, because we do not deserve to be saved…we were…we are "Dust on Scales and Drops in a Bucket" (Isaiah Chapter 40.)

This is what offends people. Proclaiming the evil of mankind. The worthlessness of humanity, and letting humanity be aware they have broken God's Moral Law.

We are born into this world as Children of the Devil. It is not until we repent that we become Children of God. (1^st John 3)

God's IS Love. He is not ALL Loving. That is a huge difference. His love is only extended to those who repent and trust in him.

So, Emergent Church, preachers of the Doctrine of Love and Prosperity. stop placing humanity on this missional high horse. Instead lower it. Lower Us. Lower me and you.

Then you can truly realize that we do not deserve in any fashion this terrible suffering that Christ endured for us. Yet he did it anyway. That is a Miracle and even more so, it is the boldest most definitive expression of True Love ever expressed by a single man or society.

Please Comment.

God Is. We are Not.

Who are we, compared to Him.

I was going to write on Grace, and mention ton’s on information and definitions and fancy theology. But in the end that can just confuse people, so I am going to be to the point and elaborate off of a sermon form John Piper.

I was watching John Piper talk about the Post modern Church and he was discussing our value. The emergent church has this idea that Humanity is worth everything. The Human and the Soul is of incredible value, but that is contradictory to the Bible. Now don’t get me wrong it is very important to help people, the poor, and the ones in need. Just like Jesus did, but should we worship the Man, or the creator.

John Piper quotes Isaiah 40:15 and 17.

15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.

17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.

Oh if the Church would just realize how terribly invaluable they are… They are dust on scales and worthless drops in a bucket. God is Bigger then any words can describe.

I think the more we learn to focus on how big God is and how little we are compared to him, the more wonderful Jesus Christ’s death will appear to us. The smaller we are, the bigger Christ’s death becomes.

This is also a verse I fell in love with while reading over the passage John Piper so elegantly taught on.

7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.

We are nothing more then withered grass. Isn’t that amazing, we are minuscule and worthless. Yet Christ still died for us. Piper said “Oh that every person in this post modern, self exalting world would come to say, I am totally dependent on God, and I am incalculably less valuable then God.”

The distance between us and god is bigger then any number…

Actually this reminds me of a time me and a friend from camp were laying down looking up at the sky, while we were waiting to do something…We were talking about how many stars are in the sky, and the number that is. We concluded God knows that number, and every number, of everything. Then we thought about something…

If numbers go on for infinity, is God bigger then infinity? Is god bigger then numbers? The answer is obviously yes…He is bigger. God is bigger then anything he creates by definition he has to be, if God created numbers, then he is bigger then the biggest.

This brings me to the suffering on the cross. Don’t you realize that we are not owed anything? There is no promise, that God will keep his promises, other then the Fact God said so. Nothing is owed to us. But he chose to give us opportunities, and a way to be with him despite everything.

We have all committed terrible sins against God. It doesn’t matter what you did, IF you lied one time or murdered more then the Iceman. God has provided a way for you to escape his wrath. Why? Because he loves you. He loves you, even if you are nothing more then a drop in a bucket, you’re his drop.

You are destined for Hell. I heard it explained once as a response to an Atheist who didn’t believe that Hell was a Just punishment, that if you kill someone on the street you are a murderer, but if you kill the president you become promoted to an assassin. It’s not the crime you do; it’s who it is done to. I can lie to my mom, but if I lie to the president it becomes treason. God is bigger then any president and king. So it only makes sense that Hell is the most suitable punishment imaginable.

They Joy of Grace cannot be enjoyed with a puny view of God. The God that cannot keep his word inerrant, The God, that cannot create existence within 6 days, or the God whose son was “Just a Prophet” is not the God who will satisfy your quench for salvation. He wants you in his kingdom, but never does he need you in his kingdom.

I could close this blog with three lines that we call a Sinners Prayer, and ask you to pray the words. But there is no authenticity. You need to throw yourself face down on your own accord and beg the great I AM to spare you of this punishment we all so rightfully deserve. Repent of all sins past present and future and pray that God helps you strive for holiness for the rest of your life. Now salvation is clear, Now Grace is crystal.

God is unfathomable. God is.

Below is the John Piper Sermon…

Letters to an Emergent....

This Post removed at EMERGENTS Request.

I found this Online....

Once upon a time in the land called Feel Good there was a Church. This new Church was called "The Church of the Comfortable and Tolerant". Very recently this Church hired a new Pastor, Pastor Peace Keeper, who just graduated from the Seminary of Smooth Talking.

The congregation "of the Comfortable and Tolerant" loved the new Pastors sermons. Some of their favorites were "God is happy with everyone", "Everything is fine and dandy", and "There is nothing but good times ahead".

Pastor Peace Keeper once made a terrible mistake. He wrongfully allowed Mr. Conscience into the pulpit. Mr. Conscience did nothing but called human mistakes "sins" and called the good folks of the congregation to "repent". Because Mr. Conscience had never been properly trained and instructed at The Seminary of Smooth Talking he did not know that he wasn't supposed to talk about "those things". The congregation of the Comfortable and Tolerant were shocked at Mr. Conscience's audacity and arrogance. They

said things among themselves like "who does this self-righteous legalist think he is coming and talking to us like that! Why should we allow this false preacher among us any longer to continue to persecute us?"

Pastor Peace Keeper terribly regretted letting Mr. Conscience into the pulpit. Mr. Conscience has betrayed the trust he had with the Pastor. So Pastor Peace Keeper asked Mr. Conscience to please leave the church, he was not welcome there any longer. Everyone was happy that Mr. Conscience was asked to leave, except one member called Holy Spirit. So Holy Spirit and Mr. Conscience left together and after awhile nobody even noticed that they were gone.

Once things were back to normal, the way they had always been, everyone was happy once again in the land called Feel Good. Pastor Peace Keeper continued to sugar coat sweet and wonderful lies that made everyone comfortable in their sins and heavily guarded his pulpit from abrasive truths. Who could blame him? You see, the Pastor loved his new home, his new church, and of course he loved his new income. He couldn't put such precious things on the line! So he absolutely guaranteed that "The Church of the Comfortable and Tolerant" were as satisfied and as happy as they possibly could be while they sat in their complacency.

They lived the rest of their days happily ever after, that is, until they were finally cast into hell.

The point: Rather then preparing the way of the Lord and making His paths straight, preachers are removing the bumps in the road to hell to make it as comfortable as possible for those who travel on them. The backslidden church utterly refused to remove the log out of her own eye and therefore also utterly refuses to remove anything from anyone else's eye. She vehemently opposes those who try to do so also. God help those who attempt to clean up the

church and the world! Joseph Parks said it best: "The man whose little sermon is 'repent' sets himself against his age, and will...be battered mercilessly by the age whose moral tone he challenges. There is but one end for such a man. 'Off with his head!" You had better not try to preach repentance until you have pledged your head to heaven."

Yakko's Universe...Spiritual Depth.

I totally stole this from The Way of the Master Radio. So I don't want to take credit for it in any way, but I think it is an incredibly brilliant contrast of God's Sovereign Reign.

Below is an Animaniacs Video you probably watched when you were smaller. It contains Yakko singing about the size of the universe.




And he measures it with the Span of his Hand.

Isn't it amazing how BIG God is, we need to focus on that more often. We get lost in How big we are, how Big our ministry is, how many readers, how big i our bank account, that we don't ever sit back and say, How big is our God, How much is he in control?

It also reminds me of that scene in Men in Black when they zoom out from the universe and realize that the our world is just Marbles for another entire Universe.

The Bigger God is the more fantastic grace becomes. I thought about the size of things, for example Humans and A Gnat. We kill gnats like they are nothing..

But to God, we are nothing more then the size of a gnat, and he DIED FOR US! It doesn't make any sense...

I will leave you with the words of Johnathan Edwards (The Puritan, not the presidential candidate)

"There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God." -- By the mere pleasure of God, I mean his sovereign pleasure, his arbitrary will, restrained by no obligation, hindered by no manner of difficulty, any more than if nothing else but God's mere will had in the least degree, or in any respect whatsoever, any hand in the preservation of wicked men one moment...

...The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you was suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God's hand has held you up. There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. Yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell.
- Johnathan Edwards - Sinners at the Hand of an Angry God

BUT HE LOVES US, AND HE SPILLED HIS BLOOD ON SPLINTERED WOOD FOR US ANYWAY!

omniWORD.net

I am starting with the help of a few fellow Youth Workers, a new website called omniWORD.net, it is devoted to online teaching and preaching. It's an experiment about the online witnessing world. It's new and this is our venture into it. I recommend you visit and check it out every once and a while, hopefully it will soon be filled with amazing materials.

omniWORD.net

C.S. Lewis Quote....

One of my friends from College had this quote posted on his Away Message and it just seemed very appropriate for this site...

We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us...we are far too easily pleased.
- C.S. Lewis

Blue Like Jazz... An Emergent Delusion

I have been asked several times, by several people to actually pick up and read Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. So tonight I went to a Sunday school dinner party to say farewell to someone who is leaving to pastor a church, and I noticed among his assortment of War Books, Sean Hannity and other great authors he had one that stood out. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller.

Immediately I grabbed it and started reading, the people at the Sunday school party were far older then me so I had nothing better to do.

The way Donald Miller writes is amazing. His poetry in every word, his usage of similes and analogies makes the book hard to put down. But 3 chapters later, I did, I sat the blue book front down on the coffee table, and I begin to eat.

Wow, I thought as I munched my garlic flavored lasagna. No wonder people cling to his every word and thought. He is a brilliant author and story teller. I started to read through, the endorsements on the back of the book, and one just popped up and smacked me on the head. It was by well known Emergent Church Libertarian Theologian Brian McLaren.

Immediately I was put on guard, as to what was written. Maybe it just sounded good, maybe it was so close to the truth, it wasn’t.

I thought about what I read, and prayed that God would show me what was true, and what was not. Then it hit me…It jumped out, not just what I read in the past three chapters, but every part of this book screamed at me. I couldn’t finish my food, I had to read more.

First I remember reading him talk about sin, how the first time he felt bad about sin. He spent his Christmas Gift money on himself, and everything left over he bought his mother a shabby book. He said “I realized I had set the happiness of my mother beyond my own material desires” He then goes on to talk about how bad he felt and how he prayed to God, not because he offended a Holy God, but because he upset his Mother.

Donald Miller gives the impression from here on out about Sin being separation from other people…He never (in at least what I have read) mentions that Sin Separates you from a Holy God, or that sin angers, God.

He talks about Jesus’ perfect “unconditional” love. He even compares it to that of Hippies that he lived with in the woods. No I am not making that up; God’s love is a perfect picture of Pot Smoking hippies. He goes on for a whole chapter about it.

He talks trash about Christians, Christian Fundamentalist, Republicans, Corporations and the Man. Hey you goofy Mr. Miller you’re describing me, your describing my values, but you got them all so twisted and wrong.

He even says that it is prideful to think that you are not deserving of Christ’s blood.

Here is where I so passionately disagree…

My pastor was anguished by an inability to control his desires, he felt he had been given this new life, this key into heaven and yet couldn’t obey Jesus in return. So one evening he Got on his knees and told God he was sorry. He told God how much he wished he could be good and obedient…He then sat on the edge of his bed abd swallowed enough muscle relaxants and sleeping pills to kill three people…

None of us are worthy of Christ’s blood. Not Jerry Falwell, Hitler or Gandhi, or you and most assuredly not me. No one is better then anybody.

No one deserves Christ’s blood, no one. However we are so fortunate God blessed us with this Gift. Salvation should open our eyes to just how perfect God is, and how perfect we will never be.

When we receive the Holy Spirit it is His job to convict us of how terrible sinners we really are. Every Sin, Every Mistake, Every God Defying move that we make should remind us of how unworthy we are, and this action alone should cause us to despise sin even more. Why? Because sin separates us from a Loving, Compassionate, Angry and Holy God, and everytime we Sin, we should be reminded of this, and we are. The more we Sin, the more unworthy of God’s Grace we become, the more thankful we will be and in return we will sin less. We should strive for holiness, but we cannot do this without feeling lowly and unworthy.

If you are Donald miller, sin is just a separation of you from other people, Sin is making people mad at you, making people despise you. The more I read this book, the more quotes I will pull out. I could go on and on, just about his concept of Hippie Love, how being sick of our sins is prideful. On and On. But now I am tired, and I have a bible study to do make for tomorrow.

More will come….

Red Letter Christians...UPDATE

Hopefully by now you have seen, my video Red Letter Christianity, you may have noticed in the beginning I mention Tony Campolo. He was the Spiritual Advisor to Bill Clinton (that should say enough) Anyway he has an incredibly twisted view of Scripture and the video was in response to one of his philosophies.

Well I e-mailed the Office on Tony Campolo and his Executive Assistant actually called me and asked for a copy! So hopefully, Tony Campolo will get to see it himself, pray he has an open heart about my criticisms.

If you have not seen the video it can be found on my profile, it is the first video on the right. It can also be seen at the following link.


RED LETTER CHRISTIANS...CLICK HERE

Please, Watch it and pass it to your friends.This would be amazing if we could get enough people watching this video and make it be a top viewed on YouTube so thousands may view it.