Missionary Broadcasting.com

A good friend recently sent along an e-mail commenting on our Settle for This? post from March 18. By way of response, I sent this additional information that might help others who have read the article. Here is a slightly modified version:

I correspond/keep up with many people in the ministry. Recently I have been nothing short of alarmed by the authors and teachers they are recommending. It is not a matter of these men having nothing profitable to say at all, but more a case of their materials being vastly inferior to others written/provided by fundamentalists.

These pundits usually have one thing in common; they are popular. Some have sold hundreds of thousands of books and operate very large ministries. These guys are usually highly intellectual and pragmatic. They are higher class neo-evangelical types that operate on “sophisticated” outreach plans, usually relying on observation of the culture - then development of a ministry philosophy - then systematic execution. They discount our - preach God’s word faithfully and pray the Holy Spirit works in hearts - method as old-fashioned, unsophisticated and (worst of all) unsuccessful.

What’s the common denominator? Problematic, poorly formulated and many times unquestionably wrong doctrine.

There are some fantastic fundamentalist ministers around today. They are found at small Bible colleges, medium sized churches, and remote mission fields all over the world. Their teachings are more difficult to find, I understand, but the power of God shines through their every word. They give testimony of simple faith, consistent Bible teaching, and love for people. Their ministry is not accomplished by pragmatic methodology and study of cultural relevance, but rather by the power of God’s word in the heart’s of Holy-Spirit-prepared people.

Therefore, when I am asked to endure the heady research and intellectual formulation of another doctrinally questionable evangelical heavyweight, I ask myself, do I have to settle for this?

All that to say I generally agree with your statements on the subject. There is sometimes no harm at all in recommending a book by an author that violently disagrees with us. In fact, some of them are likely more Godly people than we are! To me, that’s not the main point. I am instead weary of being told that the “best and brightest” Biblical thinkers of today reside far outside fundamental circles. I find that notion unquestionably wrong and bordering on laughable.

We have made an attempt to clarify our position in the past few days by presenting the preaching of Dr. Rick Flanders. He makes the connection between belief and philosophy as well as anyone we have ever heard on the topic.