The Invitation to Larry Pettegrew: Will Central Seminary Continue the Drift Away From It’s Historic Moorings?
From the website of Central Baptist Theological Seminary of Minneapolis:
Larry Pettegrew, who was originally scheduled to be our keynote speaker, had to withdraw from this year’s conference for emergency surgery. His surgery went well, and we look forward to scheduling Dr. Pettegrew for a future conference at Central Seminary. (2011 Fall Pastor’s Day & Conference)You may have been aware that Dr. Larry Pettegrew was scheduled to speak at Central Seminary’s October 2011 Fall Conference and Pastors Day. Dr. Pettegrew was recently on faculty at The Master’s Seminary and is now at Shepherds Seminary in Cary, NC. Neither position would bolster a fundamentalist resume at this point in Pettegrew’s new progression. Given his leaning toward Progressive Dispensationalism and New Covenant theology legitimate concerns may be raised over the Pettegrew invitation from Central.
With Dr. Sam Horn’s recent inauguration as the president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary, many are mindful that he occupies a place of influence once occupied by fundamentalists like Dr. R.V. Clearwaters, Dr. Ernest Pickering and Dr. Roland McCune. While Dr. Horn was the Vice-President of NIU, Rick Holland (then executive pastor of Grace Community Church) was invited to speak. Dr. Horn has recently received a doctoral degree from Master’s Seminary. Will Dr. Horn’s leadership at Central demonstrate a drifting away from Central’s strong Baptist heritage? Will there be a never-before experienced tolerance for progressive dispensationalism and new covenant theology? While it is assumed that Dr. Pettegrew was invited to speak long before Dr. Horn was invited to be the president of Central, there are many who hope that the new president will bring the seminary back to its historic moorings and away from the drift that has been seen under the direction of Dr. Kevin Bauder.
What does the open invitation to Dr. Pettegrew tell you about Central Seminary’s own new progression?
LM
Related Reading:
Northland Int’l University Presents Executive Pastor of Grace Community Church to It’s Student Body
NIU’s Convergence with Evangelicalism: What Does it Mean for Impressionable Students?
In April 2010 Matt Olson, Sam Horn, Les Ollila and Doug McLachlan traveled to the Grace Community Church (GCC) to meet with John MacArthur, Phil Johnson and Rick Holland.* After a day of discussions the NIU men came away finding no reason not to have and increase fellowship with them. Inviting GCC’s executive pastor, Rick Holland, to speak in chapel confirms a new alliance for NIU with evangelicalism.Is NIU “Unchanged?”
I have a feeling that Central may be headed the way Northland is going. I respect Dr. Horn a great deal for his teaching but I am concerned about what that trip to MacArthur's church reveals.
ReplyDeleteJim F.
With the continued move of Calvary at Lansdale, Northland, and now Central, it is alarming to see so many departing in a relatively short period of time.
ReplyDeleteJim:
ReplyDeleteI almost want that trip to MacArthur a "pilgrimage." The change in the pilgrim's way of doing separation appears to be inspired by non-separatist evangelicals for the sake of "community" among like-minded Calvinists.
Is or has Central gone the way of Northland? Looks that way. And what is the one major common denominator? Sam Horn.
Lou
Correction: I almost want to call that trip to see MacArthur a, "pilgrimage."
ReplyDeleteWorking off a smart phone is tough on these aging eyes and gnarly fingers.
Brian:
ReplyDeleteMany of these checked out a long time ago. Their hearts and minds have been for what they are revealing today for quite some time. A committed, "militant" separatist does not go to sleep and wake up a few hours later a squishy non-separatist evangelical- it happens over time, incrementally.
Those you've noted, however, are moving and changing at an accelerated pace.
It is alarming if you know someone who is at risk of being swept into this craze for fellowship and cooperative ministry with evangelicals who carry with them aberrant doctrine, worldliness in ministry and ecumenical compromise.
Lou
Lou, did you not get my question? I sent it yesterday.
ReplyDeleteJosh
Josh:
ReplyDeleteYes, I did and declined to publish it. This article is about the shift and drift of Central away from its historic roots.
LM
Lou-
ReplyDeleteThis has nothing to do with anything in particular (too much going on right now on too many fronts to be specific), but I just wanted to say THANK YOU for your blog and your militant stand for the gospel of God's Free Grace.
Due to what I shared with you via email, I am finding myself a bit overwhelmed suddenly with what seems to me to be a blatant, deliberate, intentional militance in OPPOSITION to the Free Grace gospel at the highest levels. I can't prove it, but it seems to me that there is a deliberate, though subtle, intention to take the seminaries and every pulpit they can get for the Lordship gospel in opposition to the Free Grace gospel. They intend (I believe) that THE interpretation of the gospel be solely the LS gospel and any and all other interpretations is to be militantly countered. They claim not to be fundamentalist, but I think (though I can't prove) that they do have a fundamentalist militance in their opposition to anything other than the LS gospel. This is about way more than music and Bible versions. It is about how the gospel is understood, preached, taught, and shared at all levels of Christianity. I could be wrong, and I pray I am, but right now it seems to me that this really does have a deliberateness to it and possibly even a strategy, though I cannot prove that.
Don't make too much of that. I am thinking out loud. But there is something going on here and I find it deeply disconcerting that John MacArthur's church and/or seminary seems to keep coming up in these meetings.
JanH
Jan:
ReplyDeleteIf the Lordship Salvation people think the gospel of grace is a false gospel I think we should expect then to go-to-war against it.
What irks me is how they almost to a man will not acknowledge that there is a huge and sharp divide in the Free Grace camp. The Zane Hodges inspired "Crossless" gospel is as false and corrupt teaching as far away from the one true Gospel from its end of the pendulum swing as LS is from its far end of that swing.
Lou
The "Crossless" gospel is rejected as a false gospel by a wide majority of folks who identify with the Free Grace movement. It is clung to and propagated solely by the membership of the small cell of reductionists left in the Grace Evangelical Society.
ReplyDeleteLM
What irks me is how they almost to a man will not acknowledge that there is a huge and sharp divide in the Free Grace camp.
ReplyDeleteI don't find this surprising in the least. For one thing, it would mean giving us credibility by actually having to say something nice about us inasmuch as most FGers are against it. For another, it would mean having to acknowledge our gospel exists to begin with, and we all know they won't do that. You can tell by their own gospel presentation that there is no such thing as trusting Christ for salvation. It is either you raised your hand/said a prayer/whatever or you bowed the knee to King Jesus, submitting to Him as Lord and Master. Those are your only options. Our gospel doesn't even exist, so why should they comment on a non entity? What they don't say is just as important in advancing their agenda as what they do say.
JanH