West Palm megachurch pastor resigns amid debt, résumé exposé

I have no idea! :laugh:

I stopped considering myself a Southern Baptist about six years ago, and our church will finally end our association with Southern Baptists this next budget year. We will now primarily relate to the Baptist General Convention of Texas, with some members choosing to designate their worldwide mission offerings to other mission agencies such as the CBF.

 

Did I finally met a liberal?

Oh well . . . be careful over there in that CBF camp - I actually did finally meet a liberal pastor . . . His mention of the CBF wasn't the attention getter. But, his mentioning 'female senior pastors' and homosexuals in the same paragraph . . . separated me from him.

God bless you bro'!

 

Not trying to make this into something, but since you are a baptist, you must know that if the local church doesn't ask for help the association, state and national convention can't get into it. The system has nothing to do with it.

 

Not here. :smilewinkgrin:

Our congregation has a very mixed view of the CBF. Some folks are strong CBF folks, but most don't care for them - including me. The money our church gives comes from the designated gifts from some of our members.

 

Tom

I am not sure where you are going - maybe I am just tired.

IMHO

But, of all threads to point out that Florida has a good working system to combat the 'good ole boy' network of bad pastors, this might not have been the best thread on which to point that out. Bringing that system up on this thread sounds more like desperation than it does like a system that I should consider working.

Wayne

 

I've never been comfortable with the level of influence peddling and the power structure of the SBC. There is too much power over denominationally related institutions and agencies, and over the huge budget of the Cooperative Program concentrated in the hands of very few men. Aside from the fact that it is a set-up for corruption, I think the idea of telling the college and seminary students that the way up the corporate ladder is to hitch your wagon to one of the rising stars or big wigs derails the work of the Holy Spirit and is nothing more than the way the corporate world does things.

There also seems to be a bit of an attitude problem. When the SBC met in Nashville a couple of years ago, I watched some of these big name guys strut around the convention hall with their "entourage." I'm surprised that some of their egos actually made it through the door, and if ego could be measured, I'm sure the convention hall was overstuffed with it.

 

Yes, I agree. And doing your homework is always wise - check everything out beforehand. But kicking a man, a church, a demonation? I just don't think that's wise.

But even accountability won't do as much as as real revival!

 

Did I hear the words, real revival?

Now we are talking!

Top down, bottom up, sideways, any ways - we need revival!

 

I've ben in the ministry for over 24 years. I've been to a lot of real good meetings. I've heard some great preaching! I've seen the sparks of real revival. But, I don't know if I've ever really seen real, life changing revival - revival that lasts.

I pray that I'll see it in my lifetime!

 

I guess I wasn't clear about it either.
What I was trying to point out was that the church didn't use the state system or apparently any system. Why blame people who were not involved?

You can't blame the system when it wasn't invited in. The denom can't just jump into this issue. They have to be invited in.

There's no desperation, just trying to put the blame where it ought to be: the dishonest pastor, the naive church, and references that were not as knowledgable, at best, or as forthcoming, or as honest, at worst, as they should have been.

 

My family and I were members of FB-WPB for several years.

This situation comes as little surprise. The "flock" there when we were there tended to become easily enamoured with men. The last pastor, Keith Thomas, was almost like some sort of half-god. After members were whipped up to build a multi-million dollar state-of-the-art gym (in the name of members doing "recreational outreach" - note they hired the currently departing pastor to do evangelism now), they built Thomas a half-million dollar home, for example. Meanwhile, many congregants struggled along in poverty. So, if you are enamoured with Hunt you tend to be enamoured with whoever he says to be enamoured with, while you fail to see Christ in the poor right before you.

Another problem is that few Christians do the work of raising up local leadership. We follow a model of our own making rather than Christ's model of live-learn discipleship.

The false "laity"/ 'clergy" dichotomy is also at root of the blame. We want super-pastors, so pastors want to become them, "climb the success ladder," because that is what we reward. We hire "the minister" to "do the ministry," whereas we are supposed to be doing it. We wish to be sheep indeed. (Note again how they hired the currently departing pastor because of his abilities in evangelism).

The whole idea of megachurches is also problematic, but that is a discussion for perhpas another time.

The problem is the whole system we have created, not the symptoms of it.

 

Excellent points!

 

What is sad about this post is there was no mention of prayer, or fasting. The Holy Ghost could have told those folks that this was not the right man without them even knowing why. Unfortunately the church today relies on secular non biblical standards that exclude God. It is nothing more than man handling it mans' way and fails to include God. When churhces return to biblical measures for seeking Gods' will and rejects this other garbage then they will be able to believe that God has actually called their Pastor and be more careful about their treatment of him.

 

I know that I have experienced revival. But, I have not seen a large scale revival.

I pray that we will see one soon.

 

As it says,

Act 13:1 Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
Act 13:2 While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
Act 13:3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

Interestingly, with this "method," a person with imperfect credentials and a checkered but repented of past can just as well be appointed by God as the person not so.

 

Amen, and preach the gospel of Christ from heaven! The carnal church is the "sucker born every minute" as P. T. Barnum would say.

This church, as this man needs to rethink their position in Christ. Too many churches today look for the "slick" fast talking slayer of dragons, and those books the whole world loves to read. We fall at their feet. This church got what they deserved.

Wake up Christians in our churches. Times of the Gentiles are almost up. "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect", I Corinthians 1:17.

We need to preach the gospel of Christ Jesus from heaven, forgetting all else, even if we just use the words from His Word instead of what we have been taught to say in wisdom of words. Paul did not waste his time on Mars' Hill with those men in all their worldly knowledge. We are to leave the men that are up on that pedestal of high esteem of the world and follow the man of God down the hill, to hear the Word. There is no certain church, or building made with hands that our Lord dwells in (Acts 17:24). He dwells in our hearts.

It's Him and me; You and me in Him, and the rest in Him, that make up that One Body of Christ's Church. It is not made with hands for without hands we are circumcised and baptized, and at this moment in Heaven spiritually awaiting the rapture, whether we be dead or alive.

 

Suggestion:

Have your church this Sunday lift this fallen brother up in prayer. raying:

 

re: bpnews.net lack of coverage

this seems to be the extent of their response from a official SBC entity head...

http://www.bpnews.net/bpcolumn.asp?ID=2368

good words, perhaps more explanation should be warranted

 

Good advice! Worthy of reading.