Posted on 02/04/2006 2:44:05 AM PST by WKB
ENID, Okla.
A Southern Baptist pastor being removed from a national board governing worldwide evangelism says he doesn't speak in tongues himself but is defending missionaries who do to keep the denomination "broad in our cooperation."
The Rev. Wade Burleson, the senior pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, said that the board of trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board wants him to be removed because of his criticism of a policy change enacted by the IMB in November 2005. It stated that any candidate speaking in tongues, even privately, "has eliminated himself or herself from being a representative of the IMB of the SBC."
In a statement, the International Mission Board says it wants him removed not because of the tongues issue, but because of "broken trust and resistance to accountability." Burleson's removal depends on a June vote of the entire Southern Baptist Convention, but the controversy is being watched beyond Baptist circles, largely because of the dispute over tongues, an issue that has rankled many religious groups.
Tongues is described in the Bible as a spiritual language used by early Christians, enabled by the Holy Spirit. The issue of whether it is still relevant, or appropriate, for modern times has divided many denominations.
Burleson says he is not most concerned about tongues, but a willingness to remove ministers who disagree with what he and others consider "nonessential doctrines." Since the changes in the mission board's policy were made official, Burleson has been writing open letters and explanations of his position on his blog, kerussocharis.blogspot.com.
He has repeatedly referred to those who wanted the policy changes as "crusading conservatives."
"Crusading conservatives seek to convince you that their interpretation of the Bible on nonessential doctrines must be accepted by all conservatives, and if someone chooses to not conform to their specific interpretation, then he/she is removed from service," Burleson said.
Burleson says he considers himself a "cooperating conservative," which he defines as a person who is in agreement on the major doctrines of the Bible but gives freedom in areas of interpretation regarding nonessential doctrines. The SBC has long considered the Reformation's rallying cries of faith alone, grace alone, Scripture alone and Christ alone as summing up the major doctrines of Scripture.
The use of the spiritual gift known as tongues or glossolalia would fall into the nonessential category. Southern Baptists have a policy that prohibits their ministers from using tongues in a public setting.
"I do not want people to lose sight of the real issue," Burleson said. "It is not about the new policies. It is the direction we seem to be moving as a convention that shuts out dissent and desires conformity in the interpretation of minor doctrines."
Burleson said he does not practice a "private prayer language," the phrase some use for speaking in tongues, nor does anyone he would consider a close friend or family member. The issue, he said, is one of principle and "is not personal."
Leon McBeth is a retired distinguished professor of church history at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He said that the SBC has a long-standing antipathy toward what some call the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit.
"In my day, our concern over the tongues issue was a biblical one," McBeth said. "In the Bible, tongues is always associated with conflict. And tongues isn't exclusive to Christianity. The practice goes at least as far back as the Oracle at Delphi.
"Sometime in the 1970s, as a way of ameliorating opposition to tongues, some Southern Baptists began to talk about private prayer language. They believed it was less offensive than calling it tongues."
Lyle Story, a professor of biblical languages and New Testament at Regent University School of Divinity in Virginia Beach, Va., said that the Southern Baptist resistance to tongues is tied to their belief that all the miraculous gifts (healing, prophecy, tongues, miracles) ceased with the death of the original 12 apostles and the completion of the Bible.
Burleson said he is resistant to the policy change because so many Christian men and women throughout history would have violated it.
"Some of our greatest missionaries of all time had a private prayer language, including Miss Bertha Smith of China, who led thousands of people to Christ and died an ambassador of the Southern Baptist Convention at the age of 100," he said.
Jerry Rankin, the president of the International Mission Board, has acknowledged that he has practiced a private prayer language for 30 years.
"We have become so intolerant that everyone must now march in lockstep with us or we kick them out," McBeth said. "I believe this (the policy change) was part of a power play to force Rankin into retirement."
The IMB made the policy change non-retroactive, so Rankin's position as president will not be threatened.
The trustees of the IMB deny that Burleson's criticism of the policy changes had a bearing on their decision to work to remove him. In an official statement released Jan. 11, board chairman Tom Hatley said: "In taking this action, trustees addressed issues involving broken trust and resistance to accountability, not Burleson's opposition to policies recently enacted by the board."
Burleson will remain on the board until the Southern Baptist Convention meets in Greensboro in June. The convention must vote to remove him, as the IMB has no power to do so. Burleson said he remains a strong supporter of the SBC and IMB.
"The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention is doing the greatest work in our 161-year-old history," Burleson said. "I and my church support the IMB. We will continue to support the IMB."
Amen and amen.
Hebrews 1:1
¶God, who at sundry times and in divers manners
spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,
whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power,
when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
CORRECT!
I will direct you to post 172.
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The cross of Christ is the most revolutionary thing ever to appear among men.
I agree entirely. And just so the "message" we need to stay on is complete - the EMPTY TOMB is the most victorious thing ever to appear among men. Miracles, tongues and other spiritual gifts should remain secondary to revolutionary victory of the Gospel of Christ.
You nailed it. Well said.
First Corinthians 14:16: "Else when thou shall bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at the giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayeth? "
First Corinthians 14:19 "Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue."
First Corinthians 14:23 "If therefore the whole church be come together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those than are unlearned, or unbelievers, WILL THEY NOT SAY THAT YE ARE MAD?" (emphasis mine)
You want to defend speaking in tongues fine. You want to do it, fine again. But don't leave out the Scriptures that give caution about it.
I have no problem with spiritual gifts and believe no limits exist on the Holy Spirit, visions, tongues, prophesy, dreams, etc...but I am very dubious of churches that don't practice speaking in tongues Biblically. (with a speaker and an interpreter) Then they tell their brother, "We are right and you are wrong."
The Southern Baptists don't ordain gays. They don't allow their missionaries to teach and practice what the Pentecostals do. This is their right as a denomination. You know their creed when you join them and abide by it or leave. I'm sure the Assembly or the Pentecostals would admit any such missionary in a second. We all change churches pretty regularly. Not a big deal.
I'm not a Southern Baptist either.
"Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification."
I think the above was especially written to "believers", in regards to how we trerat fellow brother's and sister's in the Lord.
God knows, there is enough division in the church...on it's own. There are plenty of targets out there....why pick a fight with your brothers?
Are we not all "united in the blood" spilled by the Lamb of God? Is that thread NOT common enough? It ought to be.....
My apologies to you...in advance if you take this the wrong way....Fore I haven't "figured it all out"...and I don't expect to before I kneel in front of our God.
FRegards,
You really need to be careful throwing around accusations like that with these ministries. When's the last time you fed 1000 kids a day while the government was trying to kill you? Or raised a child from the dead who was killed my Muslims for eating food from your mission?
Don't be a religious fool.
1 Cor. 11:19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have Gods approval.
Didn't you leave quite a few names off
of your list. Or did you just single me
out because I posted the thread.
I'm a member of, First Baptist Church Jacksonville, where Dr. Jerry Vines has been pastor for over 20 yrs. Our annual Pastor's Conference started last night. All the sessions can be viewed via the internet, I invite you to watch them all so you can get in tune with where the SBC is now, if you so desire.There will be a video tribute to Dr. Adrian Rogers on Tues. evening.
I watched an excellent message by Dr. David Allen this morning! He pointed out and explained very well how the lack of expository preaching is hurting pastors and congregations. He mentioned a book by David Ebby(sp?) titled Power Preaching in the Pulpit, 1996, at the time of the writing of the book the author read every book available at the time on church growth. Not one of them mentioned preaching the Word as a way to grow a church.
So the problem may be as simple as you state but I think it is much deeper an issue than merely the teaching of the Trinity. It is an across the board lack of preaching the Bible as the Word of God.
For my Baptist friends here, I realize that some of your churches may be struggling. I am strongly encouraging you to call your pastors, call your deacons and so on down the line to get as many of your members as possible to view these broadcasts. There is another one at 2:15 EST this afternoon. Don't take no for an answer!! If you can't be here in body you can be here in spirit! The Schedule is listed here. I believe it will be an encouragement to everyone!
I don't know anything about Pastor Burleson in this article but I would like to know if he has dissented in other areas. Is he part of the Emerging Church Movement or some other ideology that thinks there must be more than Christ or more than the Word in order to reach people.
Thanks for the reaping.:>)
Thanks for the ping. I haven't read all the posts to this thread but from what I have read, there are a few who don't know Baptist doctrine too well. All Baptist doctrine is based on Scripture. The tongues thing has been around forever and is NOT a Baptist doctrine. The one poster who said or quoted someone else about the Baptists believing that healing and tongues and such died out with the Apostles doesn't know what they're talking about. Healing happens everyday, I've seen it. The problem with all these "minor" doctrines are that they distract from the main goal of Christians and that is the spreading of the Good News. When you elevate one gift if you will over another such as tongues then you create a rift among believers. I've been to pentecostal churches and have seen the carrying on and have this to say about it, it's not of God, it's mass hysteria.
BUMP, BUMP, BUMP!
seconding that...
Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded,
because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
if the Charismatic movement really believed the Bible, instead of emotionalism, making the women sit down and be quite would wipe out the majority of people speaking gibberish in a church service.
Remember, as noted by Scripture, tongues are a KNOWN LANGUAGE.
BUMP to your #180.
I believe the gift of tongues is manifest in other ways besides "gibberish" and that it has a purpose to it when it is manifest. If it was just "gibberish," then Bob Dylan would be the gift of tongues' foremost expert.
Now, I need some help with my fireplace. Does anyone know anyone with the gift of tongs?
My post #169 makes things MUCH more "clearer." HEHEHEHEHEHE:)
LOL...no, I didn't post just to you...
I posted to all who maybe need to "hear" it...With myself at the head of the line...
FRegards,
I am not a bible scholar. But long ago..I was taught to think about scripture in context, and in the proper timeframe, ( those customs, sayings, etc..) and such.
Please correct me if I am wrong....But wasn't that line which you quote...meant to chastize the early church?...For weren't they bickering, and trying to "one-up" each other, in order to crow about who had "God's approval", and who didn't??
I don't think it was written in the context that you are trying to use it in...But I am presuming that point...so, once again..correct me if I am wrong there.
"Tongues is described in the Bible as a spiritual language used by early Christians, enabled by the Holy Spirit. The issue of whether it is still relevant, or appropriate, for modern times has divided many denominations."
For those not in the know, the reason some are vehement about tongues is that we believe what modern tongue-speakers are doing is inviting demonic influence because we believe when the Bible talks about tongues, it means languages that are spoken by humans. We believe the tongues spoken by charismatics is either emotional, faked, or brought on by influences not godly.
I won't argue with those that practice it, as it is not somethign I will be convinced otherwise and i am not seeking to convince others. i am merely explaining our position.
Those that name the name of Christ, whether charismatic or not, I count as fellow Christians. Still, the practice of today's practice, which we feel is not true to the Scriptures, is not allowed in our assembly.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.