Quote:
Originally Posted by niteowl1611
" Hello all. I need some advice about confronting my pastor regarding his choice of bibles again. If you recall, my first post here was about our church switching our pew bibles to the ESV. Well I was informed Saturday at our prayer breakfast, that he is indeed going with the plans to do so. That alone was enough for me to upchuck my eggs. Well, before it got better it got worse. After breakfast we hold an informal bible study at the table for about 35-40 min. My pastor said he had another bible he highly recommend for devotions and when you don't want to "rack your brains with study". It was the message bible by eugene patterson (lower case intended) Our verse study was Mat. 9:12-13. I did something I had never done before. I left church as soon as it was read. I didn't excuse myself, I just picked up my bible and walked out. Here is the butchering of" Mat. 9:12-13 Jesus, overhearing, shot back, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: 'I'm after mercy, not religion.' I'm here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders." "I am not sure if I can continue on at this church. He used to be a very powerful, AV preacher. He also of late has been letting women lead Thursday night bible studies. Him being the pastor, I just don't know how to go about it this time. Any advice would be greatly appreciated and needed. Thank you, Keith." |
Aloha brother Keith,
You asked for "advice", so here it is (for what it's worth
):
Brother Fred had some good advise, but by your testimony {your Post #20 in the "Jeremiah 3:1 ESV vs. KJB Thread"} you have already: "
I have beaten this same subject into fine powder at our church." And so, definitely pray about the matter first and then determine a course of action.
The way I see it you have several choices:
1. Stay and fight. {I have been in this "battle" for over 40 years and I have yet to see a church reverse itself - once it starts down this road.}
2. Quietly leave. {And some people will be wondering "WHY?".}
3. Go to a service (Sunday night or Wednesday when the chances of a lost person being there are slim) and simply "testify" (NOT harangue!) as to WHY you are leaving (keep it short) and then leave.
I "
quietly left" (because I wasn't a member) an Independent Baptist church in 1973 that "
professed" to believe the King James Bible, but which chose to "
cooperate" with Jack Van Impe in an "
evangelistic crusade" (with them knowing full well that Van Impe "
corrected" the King James Bible) - they no longer "
profess" to believe in the King James Bible.
I left an Independent Baptist church which "
professed" to believe the King James Bible, but which (after several Bob Jones University graduates joined the church), set up a Christmas tree on the platform of the church building and "
decked the halls with balls of holly". {I went to a Wednesday night service and read a portion of Jeremiah Chapter 10 and then left.} The people of that church (following the BJU graduates) valued "things" more than my family - they no longer "profess" to believe in the King James Bible.
I left another (small) Independent Baptist church which "
professed" to believe the King James Bible, but when it came time to "
incorporate" the pastor presented the
Constitution & By-laws to the congregation and basically said "take it (as written with no comments) it or leave". Within that the
Constitution & By-laws was a church "
practice" that I do not believe in or agree with - called "
closed communion". {I went to a service and "testified" why I believed that the practice of "
closed communion" was
wrong and left. With No shouting - No finger pointing.} Although that church still "
professes" to believe the King James Bible, just before I moved from Kauai they were having a "Seminar" on how to "handle your MONEY"!
I left another Independent Baptist church which "
professed" to believe the King James Bible, because the pastor was (and still is) a totalitarian dictator who required absolute "
loyalty" to the pastor and preached mandatory (compulsory) "
obedience" to whatever the pastor said. {I went to a wednesday night service to "testify" and the pastor, his son, and one other man (all of them bigger than myself) physically prevented me from "testifying" to the congregation}. That church is about 1/3 the size it once was and the man who assited the pastor in preventing me from speaking - comitted SUICIDE!
As you can see, you've got lots of choices, but I can assure you of one thing - when you stand up for God's Holy words, it's going to
cost you! If we "profess" to believe in the King James Bible, God "puts it to us" (God "
proves" us - as He has done with all His people, all throughout the different Ages and Covenants).
There may not be a sound Bible church where you live (as you can see even some of the "
professing" King James Bible churches are on the road to apostasy). If there aren't - keep on holding services in your home; and whatever you do "keep on, keeping on". Try not to get discouraged; your'e not alone.
By taking a stand on God's Holy words, you have become a "target" - not only by the lost (that's easy to understand), but by the "brethren" (that's not so easy to understand or to deal with). There are quite a few genuine Bible believers on this Forum who care and of course - God is always faithful:
1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
2 Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised
I pray that God will guide you in choosing; and that whatever course you choose, that it will be according to God's will for your life. May God bless you brother.
