A Woman Preaches in Northland’s Chapel
 |
| Miss Lina Abujamra- NIU Chapel |
You’ll hear in the first minute that
Miss AbuJamra is not the first female to speak in NIU’s chapel. Later, at 3:20 she
says,
“...I work part time in the ER.
The rest of the time I teach God’s Word, and I write. I didn’t see that coming,
but ya know that’s kind of the sexy part
of saying it- like you’re, you know, I teach God’s Word, I write, an
author, teacher, Bible speaker, whatever you want to call it.”
Lina AbuJamra preaching Failure is Your Friend is now available at Sermon Audio.
The Bible says, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve,” (1 Tim. 2:11-13).
The Bible says, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve,” (1 Tim. 2:11-13).
Yours faithfully,
LM
Site Publisher’s Update:
Please continue on this subject with, Dan Patz Responds to a Woman Preaching in the NIU Chapel Pulpit: A Critical Review
May 21 UpDate: Lina AbuJamra Preaches Again.
Related Reading:
Northland Takes Giant Step Toward Closure
What Do Pillsbury, Tennessee Temple & Northland Have in Common?
Site Publisher’s Update:
Please continue on this subject with, Dan Patz Responds to a Woman Preaching in the NIU Chapel Pulpit: A Critical Review
May 21 UpDate: Lina AbuJamra Preaches Again.
Related Reading:
Northland Takes Giant Step Toward Closure
What Do Pillsbury, Tennessee Temple & Northland Have in Common?
Lou,
ReplyDeleteOver a year ago Trinity Magazine the promotional publication of Trinity International University (The Evangelical Free's primary school and home to such men as D.A. Carson) had an article that highlighted some of its women graduates who were associate ministers at churches. [BTW, TIU just introduced their new president Dr. Dockery who comes from the presidency of a SBC college in TN.] It won't be long before all of the so-called Conservative Evangelical's abandon the Biblical position on women's public ministry in the church. Its influence will slowly ebb into Fundamental's churches because too many of them are already following the CE's lead on other matters. For example, I saw that a GARBC church in NY had women performing baptisms.
Gordon:
DeleteThanks for that related information. You're showing that some of so-called "conservative" evangelicals are further along with what NIU just did than we may realize.
LM
Lou,
DeleteWhen will it finally dawn on some Fundamentalists that CE's are not men of the Bible as they perceive and proclaim themselves to be but are practitioners and promoters of a hermeneutic of accommodation. It all began with the New Evangelical's outcome based interpretations affirming their desired practice of cooperation, and now manifests itself in so many different unbiblical practices under a myriad of shifting evangelical labels that it hard to keep track of it all. Men who willfully exposed themselves to these teachers will not be able to keep themselves pure as Paul charged Timothy.
Anyone ignorant of the history of the E. Free church does not understand the foundations of accommodation upon which it is squarely built. Through the planned heavy influence of TIU, it is being bred and spread through all of Evangelicalism and into Fundamentalism.
Gordon:
DeleteI and others have been saying for years that the so-called “conservative” evangelicals are the bridge to New Evangelicalism. We have seen this pattern through the ministries of men such John MacArthur, John Piper, Mark Dever and especially Al Mohler of late. Compounding the problem has been men such as Matt Olson, Kevin Bauder and Dave Doran opened the door for the evangelicals to have influence among the young and impressionable in fundamental Baptistic circles. Consequently, many of these younger men have abandoned authentic biblical separation.
Dr. Clay Nuttall has been writing articles, which I have been reproducing here, that addresses hermeneutics. For example see the two part series, What is Truth?
“Truth is found in the clear statement of the text before man adds his convenient adjustments to the scripture. Theological error does not come from the Bible text; it comes from man’s attempt to force the Bible to agree with human thought. Truth is safe within the bonds of the biblical hermeneutic because this system is simply the normal, plain, consistent, literal use of language.”
Thanks for sharing your concerns.
Lou
A disgrace, period. There's no whitewashing this as some female"teacher" who is a board member speaking in chapel. It is my earnest prayer that NIU will close its doors very soon. The quickness of its departure from sane Biblicalness is enough to greatly desire that it close and stops being a disgrace to our Lord and to so many of its alumni and former faculty/staff who are standing right on the Bible.
ReplyDeleteBrian: Without any doubt, and although she avoids the term, this is a young lady was brought in to do the Bible "preaching" in Northland's chapel. Bad enough NIU puts a woman in front of young men, some of whom, are training for the ministry, then she calls her ministry "sexy." Highly inappropriate, disgraceful and pathetic.
DeleteLM
How can a place claim to instruct the Word of God when they blatantly disobey it in the teaching of it.
ReplyDeleteThis dear woman is the product of decades of failure.
Just three weeks ago our street evangelism team met a young woman who attends a local church which embraces homosexuality as a non sinful lifestyle for Christians. This poor woman was enraged by the reading of Romans 1. She called he "Pastor" and he spoke with one of the men who were with our team. The Pastor said they don't talk about sin in their church and he could not explain what people get saved from nor even explain how one might get saved at all.
These are horrifying times but where sin abounds grace abounds more so.
Kev:
DeleteI appreciate and understand your usage of “decades of failure.” At Northland, however, its fall into increasing manifestations of compromise, and rejection of biblical truths, took place in less than one decade. Transformation of the shining light for Christ and blessing to the saints that was Northland Baptist Bible College into this disgrace has been a genuine tragedy.
LM
They have long since past error and have landes in the zone where it is shocking to think it is possible to drift so far from the mark having start so close to it. This ought to be a stern warning for each of us. The the truths we know can be corrupted and the ministries we pour our lives into can be changed in to perversions.
DeleteI hope someone reaches this woman and is able to correct her. I hope students stop going to this school. Sad sad times my friend.
To All:
ReplyDeleteSharper Iron (SI) posted a Filing today on the Woman Preaching at NIU. As one could expect, Aaron Blumer and Jim Peet create ways to allow for and legitimize NIU having a woman preaching in chapel.
One example reminds one of Dave Doran's Second Defintion for "Separation" in Academic Contexts teaching to essentially escape the force of Scripture. Peet wrote, "NIU is not a church." Blumer wrote, "Is a Bible college a church?"
Both Blumer and Peet reject that this was a chapel preaching service, to instead as Blumer calls it, "address the organization...inspiring lecture."
No surprise here from the pseudo- fundamentalist SI.
LM
Related Reading on SI:
SI & NIU: Censorship by Omission
"Attacks on Motive Do Not Belong..." at SI?
"SI May Fit the Description of Being 'PSEUDO-Fundamantalist'"
I have heard from others who read and reacted to the comments by SI's Aaron Blumer, Jim Peet, et. al. For example,
Delete"I read the comments by Aaron and Jim. Deplorable, a typical evangelical approach to justify error."
"These guys [at SI] are using the reasoning process of Lot."
Lou,
DeleteThanks for giving us Exhibit A that outcome based hermeneutics has already infiltrated some of the loose ends of Fundamentalism. Only an outcome based hermeneutic would seek to judge the matter by applications arising from the wording "Let your women keep silent in the churches" as found in 1 Corinthians 14 but totally ignore 1 Timothy 2's wording "I suffer not a women to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." Though I would argue that "in the churches" does have merit and application at a Christian college and any other place organized by or for churches, there is NO question what constitutes a man.
It seems to me that the proclamation of the Word is an inherently "authoritative" act. I am not sure how being in a church, a gymnasium, or a forest changes that. I wish I knew which they had a lower view of: Scripture or preaching.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteTo Chad: I decided to follow my gut instinct, and therefore, delete your initial comment as well as Pastor Ernsberger's helpful reaction to it. I don't think now is the time or place to stray from our discussion of NIU putting a woman in the chapel pulpit to preach.
DeleteKind regards.
Someone recently reminded me: "A church (or institution, or ministry) is only ONE man away from complete change."
ReplyDeleteIf that is true, what are we doing about strengthening what is right about fundamentalism (as well as policing our own flaws and deficiencies appropriately) and preparing the next generation of leaders who will eventually replace us? What schools and other ministries are doing this? How can our local churches not only evangelize, but also produce leaders of character, biblical wisdom, and genuine love for people?
What answers are we giving this new generation that do not seem to satisfy their questions about the Christian life?
The whole NIU story in the last several years appears to be an incredible, almost lightning-fast microcosm of what has been more slowly happening in many fundamental/formerly fundamental ministries across our nation. The glue that has held us together is drying up. The basic conservative grammatical/literal/contextual hermeneutic is being replaced by sense-oriented theology and worship instead of worship in spirit and in truth.
Could it be that you, or I, or one of our sons, or one of our students could the the ONE man in some ministry that DOESN'T compromise what is right and helps a good ministry to remain strong a little longer, a little more consistently, a little more vitally?
Friends...succinctly...what are your solutions to these contemporary challenges? Can we be creative within separatism? Can we have fresh applications in these wicked days without compromising morally or theologically? Surely the Lord will give us creativity to meet these challenges! What can you and I do in our sphere, large or small, to be the salt of preservation and the light of encouragement until the rapture? I am searching my own heart.
Thank you Dana Everson! And Lou's follow up! We are in the last days and we are witnessing the collapse of true, Biblical Christianity in preparation for the God's judgment upon this earth during the tribulation. Christ asked a question in Luke 18:8 which is constructed to bring a negative reply. He asked, "Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" God has always had His remnant and He always will, for there will be folks who will not bend their knee to the world or false worship or compromise. We must continue to herald the Truth for it is the only solution for sin, in both the fallen and the redeemed. We must continue to herald the Truth regardless of who will or will not listen and heed that Truth.
DeleteBrian: There will be a faithful few, the remnant in fidelity to authentic biblical Christianity, who will not join the so-called "conservative" evangelicals, will not join the compromising pseudo-fundamentalaists, (ce wanna-be's) of Sharper Iron.
DeleteLou
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!" (II Timothy 3:1-5) What is described in this passage is not what happens in the world, but rather the condition of the church in the world in the days prior to the Lord's return.
ReplyDeleteWhat we are seeing is what God told us would happen! We must search our own hearts to be sure that we are following the Word directed by the Holy Spirit of God and not following the culture and using religion to back our deceptive compromise.
NIU will close. God to BJU's website and listen to Dr. Bob Jones III recent message in chapel on Degenerate Theology and Degenerate Morality. He sounds like a man who is trying to hold back a volcano that is about to erupt. He knows to some degree of what is taking place in churches and Bible colleges and even at BJU. I pray for him and the University. This next President will determine whether it follows Pillsbury and Northland. I fear the worst.
Ps. Brainard:
DeleteThanks for adding to this discussion. I am providing this link to the Dr. Bob Jones III sermon, Degenerate Theology & Degenerate Morality
Thought I’d share some of the comments posted at the NIU FaceBook page. These are reactions to Dr. AbuJamra preaching in the NIU chapel. These were directed to Scott Dunford NIU’s VP of Advancement & Global Opportunities.
ReplyDeleteScott, she taught the students in John 21, and her message even had four points. Do you recognize that?
It seems strange that the school would "advertise" the event here on FB; have it streaming and available afterwards online; but not be willing to discuss it. How exactly would you characterize the chapel speech-act? Was it a testimony? Was it addressing "a particular topic"? How is reading, explaining, and applying Scripture the way she did not considered "preaching"? Even if you considered it teaching instead of preaching, 1 Tim. 2:11-13 specifically mentions a woman should not teach a man. Is Northland exempt from obeying that since it is a college and not a church?
Scott, women have occasionally given testimony during chapel (Works of God chapels, post-mission trip chapels, etc), but Lina herself said during her "address" that she thought she was the first woman to "speak in chapel" and slipped by calling what she was doing a "sermon." Something isn't jiving.
I would be interested to hear NIU’s perspective and distinction between “preaching” and a “testimony & book update” as well as discuss the present NIU administration’s seeming desire to continue a process of redefinition that has been publicly ongoing for the past 2 years.
Scott, you have already made the NIU position clear with the public Facebook posts. I am just publicly posting our sadness at the direction the school has taken.
Wow...this obviously isn't the Northland I graduated from 10 years ago
In the video of the chapel message the day before, Patz announces her appearance the next day.
ReplyDeleteAnd he says "of course she won't be preaching" . . .
Why say it? Why say it that way?
Because it's wrong.
He knows it's wrong.
And now that she has preached (you can watch her and decide and it's an easy, easy decision) he has added dishonesty to all of his other sins.
So sad.
Ichabod . . .
1) The announcement that you cite is not being made by Mr. Patz. Later, the chapel sermon is being brought by Mr. Patz. 2) "Why say it that way?" I suspect in part because she has been doing what one would recognize as preaching. 3) "Now that she has preached?" No doubt about it. She was preaching a sermon from the NIU chapel pulpit. 4) "Dishonesty?" I can't go there. Damage control- Yes, at the minimum.
DeleteFor me I have seen a lot of unwillingness among fundamentalists to identify the real problems. And even when they do they don't agree as to how serious the problems are. You see that with Reformed theology and Lordship salvation (often tolerated and promoted by"fundamentalists") and also with issues surrounding Northland. If fundamentalists won't stand against Lordship salvation in favor of justification by faith alone then how should we expect them to take a firm stand against what Northland is doing? Their problems for far beyond a female chapel preacher.
ReplyDeleteJim F