Schism Emerges Between Record Searchlight and the Facts of the Sufficiency of Christ Conference

I’d like to call on all the friends of RRF and of Biblical Christianity in general to pray for a situation in regard to the Sufficiency of Christ Conference being held today and tomorrow(April 27 - 28) here in Redding. 

Along with a call to prayer, I feel that I need to respond in some way to the situation that has developed regarding the conference. I do this especially for those who may be visiting our blog, probably through our Facebook page, for the first time, and possibly in response to this situation. 

This conference is “meant to edify ALL of the body in regards to Christ and the gospel, EXALTING Christ as sufficient in all things” (from the promotional flier). We are excited about the opportunity to pursue this biblical goal.

Earlier this week, the organizers of the conference were contacted and interviewed by our local paper, the Redding Record Searchlight. As a part of the interview, the organizers stated repeatedly and explicitly that the purpose of the conference was not  to “bash” a particular local group, known as Bethel Church. Bethel is a third-wave Pentecostal church in Redding which focuses on signs and wonders, and which has a huge following in our area.

The next morning the story hit the front page of the Local section of the Record Searchlight: “Schism emerges between Bethel Church and local pastors’ group.” As a relatively small city, without a plethora of sources of written news, I know that many of you read the Record Searchlight, at least on the weekends.

The article published in the newspaper, from the headline on down contains inflammatory language and misleads the Record Searchlight’s readers concerning the conference and its purpose. 

For anyone from the Redding area who has read the article, I, as one of the speakers at this conference, would like you to know that the piece in the Searchlight is a shameful piece of misreporting that has misrepresented statements made by the promoters and spun other comments in a way that is obviously designed to sell newspapers, seeking to turn the event into something precisely opposite of its intended purpose.

While the organizers of the event, as well as myself as a minister of the gospel, do have strong and substantial disagreements with the teachings of Bethel Church, the purpose of this conference is not to single out Bethel or any other group or to bash anyone. The purpose is rather to focus on the need of churches in Redding and around the world to return to an understanding and teaching of the sufficiency of Jesus Christ in all aspects of salvation and the Christian life. 

There will certainly be statements made by the speakers calling on churches wherever they may be to move away from false gospels and distracting and competing practices and beliefs and to return to the teaching of the scriptures, and we make no apology for that in any way, and if any particular church finds themselves in the path of that exhortation, so be it. Someone has said, yes, truth hurts, but it only hurts those that it should. 

But, and I wonder how many times we will need to say this for it to be understood, the conference is not intended to focus on any individual or any specific congregation, I don't mean to pan the Record Searchlight as a whole, but this article and how the reporter spun the interview in such an irresponsible way needs to be mentioned, especially because of the increased tension it has caused even among some brothers and sisters in Christ.. 

Please pray for our conference, that Christ would be proclaimed and exalted, and that the eternal truth of the Word of God would overcome all schemes of the enemy to distract from that truth. We are confident that will indeed be the case. 

If you are in the Redding area, I would invite you to come out and hear for yourself. You can find out the details by going to our website at reddingreformed.org and clicking on the big “Sufficiency of Christ Conference” button on the home page.

If you haven't read the Record Searchlight article, but really want to, here is the link.

UPDATE:
The conference was held this past weekend and by all accounts was a great success. The Lord blessed those who attended and God's word and the work of his Son ad the centrality of Christ was powerfully presented by the speakers and enjoyed by the saints and visitors.

Unfortunately there continues to be fallout and grievous misunderstandings brought about by the misreporting of the Record Searchlight. I continue to hear concerns and false charges by various people; all from people, by the way who did not attend the conference.

As was our intention all along, Bethel Church, and in fact any particular church was not mentioned in any of the presentations AT ALL.

It is very sad that even many Christian brothers and sisters have been taking the report in the paper as fact, and then adding lies and gossip on top of it and spreading that misinformation about a conference whose purpose was to preach Christ. I have even heard of one man trying to convince people that our fliers were actually promoting the conference as a purposeful bash of Bethel.

The entire conference was videotaped and will be available on DVD shortly, so anyone who would like to see what was said will be able to do so. Additionally, I and any of the other speakers at the event, as well as the organizers, would be happy to answer questions about the purpose or content of the messages.

Brothers and sisters, I plead with you not to let the enemy of Christ and His church succeed in doing damage to the body of Christ by causing lies about this group of sincere and godly men by bearing false witness against them and spreading the false editorial opinions of the newspaper article as truth among the churches of Redding.
If you listen to the position of the conference speakers and their exhortation to ALL churches in ALL places to focus on Christ and His glorious gospel, and want to disagree with us on that, feel free to, because that was what was promoted at the conference. But please do not take either the article in the Record Searchlight, or the resulting false stories that have floated around based on it as fact.

"He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him." Proverbs 18:13

I will open up the comments on this post to allow productive questions to be asked here. I will try to answer them in a timely way.

May the Head and King of the church be honored and glorified in all things.

Soli Deo Gloria

Pastor Gene

Does God Speak to People Today?

This past week I came across this great, great posting from John Piper. I have posted it below in its entirety.
It is very important that if you start reading it, that you read it all the way through. Do it. You will be blessed, I promise.

If you would rather listen to it than read it, you can do that here.

Pastor Gene

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Let me tell you about a most wonderful experience I had early Monday morning, March 19, 2007, a little after six o’clock. God actually spoke to me. There is no doubt that it was God. I heard the words in my head just as clearly as when a memory of a conversation passes across your consciousness. The words were in English, but they had about them an absolutely self-authenticating ring of truth. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God still speaks today. . .

Is "Heaven is for Real" for real?

I finally found time to sit down and read the book, “Heaven is for Real,” by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent. I hadn’t really had any desire to do so, since I figured I kind of new what was coming. The subtitle, “A little boy’s astounding story of his trip to heaven and back” sort of spills the beans as to what will be found between its bright yellow and orange covers (complete with a picture of little Colton). After a few requests from members of my congregation, however, I dove in and after two sessions, had it finished off.

To give my impressions of it, I think it needs to be dealt with on different levels.

Gaining and Keeping the Hearts of Our Young People

In our men's study breakfast this past month we discussed the importance of having a biblical mindset in the critical task of raising our children. We talked about the importance of Proverbs 23:26, "My son, give me your heart." Notice it does not say to give me your obedience or give me your physical presence (as noted by the author of the book we are studying), but "give me your heart."
That is the challenge, isn't it, to gain the hearts of our children. It cannot be done without much prayer (with and for our children) and much time spent with them (the modern mantra of "quality time instead of quantity time" is an un-biblical idea).
One of the greatest tragedies that a Christian parent can face is to see their child come to their teenage years and reject the faith. But how do we do all that we can to see that does not happen? Obviously we can't guarantee that it won't, even if we apply ourselves biblically to the task. Even those who have done all the "right things" to encourage their children to "give me your heart" have no absolute divine promise that such children will remain in the church, though we pray that they will. 
The other day I came across a really insightful and rightly-focused article on the Christian Coalition's blog. It takes a fresh and helpful approach; instead of considering those who have left, and trying to see "what went wrong?" he considers those who have stayed in the church and to whom God has given a vital faith and asks the question, "what went right?" What is it that sets apart the kids who stay in the church?
Give this a read. If you are a Christian parent of young children be sure to give this a read.

Here is the link.

Blessings,
Pastor Gene

Casey Anthony, Justice, and You

If you heard a strange sound around 11:00 this morning (July 5) what you likely heard was the nation's collective jaw dropping as the verdicts in the Casey Anthony murder trial were read in Florida.

After the biggest media circus trial since the O.J. Simpson trial, the jury, after a deliberation of only 10 hours, returned Not Guilty verdicts on all the counts except for the "relatively minor" charge of lying to police (that this is a minor offense in the eyes of man can be the topic of a future post). After adjusting for time served, Casey Anthony could be back out partying before the end of the week.

The shock at the verdicts was palpable, and the pundit reactions were immediate and forceful. How could this happen?
Let me add this right here, I am not going to re-try the case here. I have my own thoughts, like everyone else, but my purpose is not to rehash or second-guess the jury's verdict.

Glorifying God in Your Work

I picked up this bit of wisdom from John Piper's blog the other day.
I'm reminded of the statement that is often attributed to Martin Luther, erroneously it turns out, but a proper understanding nonetheless; namely, that if you are a shoemaker, make the best shoe you can for the glory of God. Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Some good practical advice. The link is below.

12 Ways to Glorify God at Work

What is Pastor Gene Reading?

I thought it may be of some interest, especially to members of my congregation, to know what books I am currently reading, and have read recently.

Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be - Kevin DeYoung, Ted Kluck

I have been doing quite a bit of reading online regarding the Emergent Church when I came across this book by a couple of guys from west Michigan, one of whom is a pastor in a Reformed church. It is a helpful, and a think fair-handed treatment of the Emergent church "conversation."

Love Wins - Rob Bell

One of the hottest books out . . . and one of the most controversial, and with good reason. Rob Bell, the author of Velvet Elvis, has taken a further step in demonstrating how far he is from orthodox Christianity. In taking notes on the book as I read it, my ongoing thought was where does one begin in critiquing the book and its teaching. Every pastor should read this book, but only to be able to intelligently interact with it and as a watchman on the wall, to warn those under his care to keep as far away from this unbiblical and thoroughly dangerous book.

Man of Sin: Uncovering the Truth About the Antichrist - Kim Riddlebarger 

A great book on the theology. The title really says everything that needs to be said about the content of the book. Kim Riddlebarger (some of you may know him as one of the hosts of the White Horse Inn) has done a fine job of wading through the texts concerning the mysterious figure of the antichrist and presenting it at a popular level.

A Praying Life - Paul E. Miller

Just got started on this one, on the recommendation of a blogger that I read and respect. A book on prayer is certainly something we could all stand to read.  

The Masculine Mandate - Richard D. Phillips

I'm reading this one along with the men of our congregation as we go through it at a monthly study / breakfast. It is refreshing, biblical look at manhood and masculinity. Phillips bucks the trend of evangelical treatments of masculinity; books such as "Wild at Heart" by John Eldridge and presents a scripture-centered look. The book is really an expanded exposition and application of Genesis 2:15.
I, and the other men, are enjoying working through it. 

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

I include this one for the sake of completeness. I don't get to read too many novels, but when my wife Cindy finished reading this bestseller I thought it would be a good read, and it was. 

Pastor Gene