Victims of Soteriological Dishonesty

Our pastor told our church that he wasn’t a Calvinist, and our church asked no other questions. Do you know anything about a certain reformed organization? All I can tell is it seems to be overwhelmed by many well known Calvinists. I don’t even know what my question is for you, or what kind of advice I need. We love our church family, and I’m not opposed to the fact that people have reformed theology, but those people shouldn’t be my pastor… and they shouldn’t be deceiving and lying to our church about who or what they are. Any help here? I’m afraid I’m appearing like a crazy lady off her rocker—so I wish to apologize for the crazy.

My Response:

Thank you for writing. Sadly, your story is repeated frequently in Southern Baptist life these days. We receive many letters and emails similar to yours, in which people express their shock and dismay at the changes that have taken place in a church they may have loved and served for a lifetime. We realize the pain caused by such spiritual subterfuge.

Let me assure you that you are not off your rocker at all. In fact, those of us who point out publicly the existence of such secretive Calvinist reforms are unfortunately susceptible to a common secondary attack—namely, the charge that we are actually conspiracy theorists for pointing these things out—which only adds insult to injury, allowing Calvinists so inclined to dismiss our concerns and not take them seriously.

Although you are resting quite solidly upon your rocker, your church is most certainly being quietly reformed. Rarely is the decision to enact these reforms brought before the church for a vote, since the motion would be unlikely to pass. Instead, the typical reform strategy includes the two characteristics you mentioned:

• A CALVINISTIC PASTOR who deceives the church into believing he is not a Calvinist when in fact he really is one, probably by means of some obscure redefinition so that he does not consider himself to be lying. For example, an Amyraldist is a Four Point Calvinist rejecting Limited Atonement. He could say, “I’m not a Calvinist. I’m an Amyraldist.” While technically true that he is not a Five Point Calvinist, such a Pastor still would embrace Calvinistic determinism with regard to election and irresistible grace, thereby denying free will. In my view, it is less than honest for him to deny his Calvinism, but it is nevertheless prevalent. He may reason that if he told a church what he believes up front, the church would not call him to serve—a concern that is frankly quite justified! So he hems and haws his way into a pulpit, creating a situation bound to explode once people with firmly Traditionalist doctrinal commitments learn the truth about the secret reforms taking place.

• A MINISTRY SHIFT that quietly takes place without anyone questioning it or even seeming to notice. Suddenly there are a plethora of Calvinist speakers, Bible Study materials and training videos. By the way, all of the titles, authors and websites you mentioned are most certainly Reformed in their theological orientation. You are not making this up. Your Calvinistic Pastor is definitely reforming your church. The fact that he never stood up in a Business Meeting and said, “Let’s shift our congregation doctrinally toward Calvinism” only confirms in my mind that this is exactly what he is doing. He is following their typical modus operandi perfectly. This is a textbook case. Be on the lookout for other possible signs as well: (1) developing an Elder Board if you do not already have one, (2) refusing to report congregational information on the Southern Baptist Annual Church Profile, (3) a more heavy-handed exercise of church discipline in dealing with critics, (4) a change in missions support diverting funds away from the Cooperative Program and toward the mission boards and various church planting organizations, and (5) the absence of altar calls in church or an invitation for someone to pray a Sinner’s Prayer expressing their faith in Christ.

As your church moves forward, it will either address this reform attempt or it will not. Either way, there will be some painful days ahead for every person in your church who cannot in good conscience embrace this new direction. Should you decide to find a new church home, below is a list of Pastors in your state who have signed the Traditional Statement. Rest assured they harbor no doctrinal secrets. If I can be of any further assistance, please let me know.