NIU a Gift? Thanks, but No Thanks!

"Uhh, on second thought, no thanks."

Previously, I shared the report that the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) would be receiving the former Northland Baptist Bible College as a "gift" from NIU president Daniel Patz.1  Well, after fully unwrapping the "gift" the SBTS contacted Mr. Patz. Yesterday, NIU received the "Thanks, but no thanks" letter.

Dear Northland Family—

On Tuesday, April 21, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary informed the board and administration of Northland International University of its decision not to accept the gift of the Northland campus as they previously announced last October. Therefore, Southern will not open a branch campus of Boyce College or continue management of the camping program. With nearly two weeks until commencement, the Northland board is working to develop an appropriate response to this change of plans. The leadership of Northland is committed to doing everything possible to serve the faculty, staff, and students as we evaluate and adjust our plans for the future.

Despite challenges and changes over the past two years, God has continued to care for and use this ministry to glorify his name by equipping students, staff, campers, and many others for Great Commission living. Northland’s leadership remains steadfast in its commitment to that vision and is appreciative of the relationships developed with Southern and Boyce over the past year in support of that vision. At this time, the Northland board of trustees and administration continue to evaluate all available options and appreciate prayers as they seek to glorify God and trust him for his leading in the days to come.

We understand that you may have questions and concerns. We will be sending you more information very soon.

Daniel Patz
NIU President

Because of Matt Olson's we are "unchanged" strategy NIU alienated its base, consequently blew through the entirety of its cash reserves, and was/is carrying some heavy debts. Why would the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) accept a "gift," that would saddle them (SBTS) with a cash poor, in-debt school with essentially no hope of recovery?

Among the options Mr. Patz and the NIU board are evaluating, surely closure is chief among them. There will be no recovery of what was lost, what was squandered because of Matt Olson's grand vision to remake Northland.

So, who will Mr. Patz and the NIU board reach out to now to buy or accept NIU as a "gift?" The Mormon Church, Rick Warren, KOA? Whether NIU closes or changes hands the once vibrant Northland Baptist Bible College, with a cause for Christ and His holiness, remains a stark image of what happens when leadership compromises biblical principles, its heritage and policies. A reminder of the result of Northland's leadership betraying its base, alumni, supporting churches, pastors and families.


LM

1) Northland Joins Southern Seminary: Culmination of a Modern Day Tragedy

UPDATE: Al Mohler explaines why the SBTS/NIU deal fell through.  Summarizing here:

When the plan was first announced, we all thought that there was a realistic hope of achieving a business plan that would work…In more recent days, we realized that we were unable to achieve a plan that we felt had a reasonable expectation of success. Several factors played a role in this realization. First, it became apparent that no financial model we could establish for a Northland campus of Boyce College could sustain the academic program…. Second…we came to the conclusion that we could not accept students into a program of studies that we did not believe had an adequate chance of thriving and continuing over the course of their studies. Third, we faced the moral reality that, once we knew these facts to be the case, we had to act.  

For Dr. Mohler’s complete statement see, Statement by R. Albert Mohler Jr. on Northland Matter

Site Publisher Notice:
Dr. Dana Everson, former NIU faculty of over 12 years, is contributing an article on the failed NIU experiment.  I heartily recommend his new article, May the "Northland Heart" Perpetuate.  Given Dr. Everson's personal, first hand experience on the NIU faculty prior to and during the initial years of "change," his insights will prove to be a valuable read.

Northland Joins Southern Seminary: Culmination of a Modern Day Tragedy

Not that today’s joint NIU, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) announcement should come as any surprise, but NIU made it official, and has come under the umbrella of the SBTS.  Is it, however, simply a “strategic partnership,” or has something deeper transpired here?

Daniel Patz, president of Northland since 2013, attended the meeting and told trustees “This is a gift from Northland to The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. But really, I feel almost, even more so, it is gift to us in order for this legacy and this mission to continue....”

The NIU website carries the same announcement and quote from Daniel Patz. The Southern News headline, “Southern Seminary Trustees Accept Gift of Wisconsin University Campus.”

From those joint statements one might reasonably conclude that NIU has been sold to or otherwise turned over to the Southern Baptist Convention.

NIU has become the property of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary!

In the same Southern News release the irony of this note should not be lost, “Trustees also celebrated the 20^th anniversary of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Ministry.” Billy Graham, the high priest of New Evangelicalism, honored by SBTS.  Today, the former Northland Baptist Bible College (NBBC) is now in formal partnership with Graham’s legacy of betraying the Word of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

For the many fine former NBBC faculty, staff and graduates this is indeed a tragic and closing chapter for their alma mater.  Northland once was unique and unwavering in its fidelity to the whole counsel of God.  Under Matt Olson’s tenure as president the school was steadily lead into compromise and ultimately ruined for the cause of Christ.

The slide that Matt Olson initiated finally landed Northland in the mire.  One need look no further than Daniel Patz warmly shaking hands with Al Mohler to understand that NIU has aligned itself with a modern day leader of New Evangelical like compromise.

Al Mohler Signs the Manhattan Declaration

What Does John Piper and Al Mohler Have in Common? Rick Warren!

Al Mohler Joins Hands with the Mormon Church

So ends the once fine ministry of Northland Baptist Bible College.  We have been witness to a modern day tragedy for the New Testament church.

LM

Links to the Announcements:
Northland Joins SouthernSeminary

Southern Seminary Trustees Accept Gift of Wisconsin University Campus

Related Reading from NIU:

A Woman Preaches in Northland’s Chapel

Is NIU “Unchanged?”

NIU Plunges Headlong Into Liberal Entertainment Ministry

Is NIU Opposed to the Modern Day Charismatic Movement?

Archival Series: The FBFI Resolutions on the Southern Baptist Convention

This article first appeared Jan. 31, 2011.  These FBFI resolutions on the SBC were adopted in 1994 & 1995.  The 1994 resolution was co-authored by Dave Doran. The 1995 resolution was co-written by Drs. Dave Doran, Tim Jordan, and Matt Olson. Their authorship leads to one question: Over the years since 1994-95, Who Changed?  See the commentary, and related readings at the conclusion of this archival entry.

REGARDING THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION (1994)

While applauding the attempts of conservatives in the Southern Baptist Convention to reemphasize the doctrine of the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture, we do not believe that these men are “fundamental” Southern Baptists. Our reasoning is twofold: first, they still accept the ecumenical evangelism of Billy Graham which makes them New Evangelicals; and second, they do not desire to be known as Fundamentalists. Writing in “The Church God Approves,” James Draper, conservative in the Southern Baptist Convention, condemns Fundamentalists for their divisiveness, bigotry and unfairness; and says that they have a wholly negative approach and show little love and compassion. Those who call for cooperation in pulpit ministries between Fundamentalists and Southern Baptists either misread the nature of the conservative movement in the Convention, or themselves have compromised the cause of Biblical separation.

REGARDING THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION (1995)

The FBF applauds those in the Southern Baptist Convention who fought a battle for the inerrancy of Scripture, but disagree with Jerry Falwell and Tim Lee who attempt to convince followers that the SBC conservatives are Fundamentalists. At best, conservative Southern Baptists are New Evangelicals who cooperate with and promote the ecumenical evangelism ministry of Billy Graham. The Southern Baptist Convention dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, the two Southern Baptist leaders who signed the 1994 ecumenical Evangelicals and Catholics Together* agreement (the furor created caused them later to ask to have their names removed), and statements made by Convention leaders embracing charismatics indicate dangerous drifts in the SBC.

We believe that statements made by Charles Stanley, twice elected president of the SBC, such as, “If it’s a Southern Baptist seminary, it should be balanced in its approach. If you’re going to have liberals, you need strong conservatives . . . if you’ve got people who don’t believe in the virgin birth, you need people who do,” lead to unscriptural confusion. Adrian Rogers, elected to two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, has said, “I don’t want any witch hunt to purge the seminaries.” Statements such as these reveal that even conservative leadership in the SBC will not take the strong stands necessary to rid the Convention of its liberal and neo-orthodox factions. Until this happens, we do not see how independent fundamental Baptists can make common cause with Southern Baptists.

In recent years some strides have been made to rid the “convention of its liberal and neo-orthodox factions,” but not all of them.** Many of the “dangerous drifts” described above, however, remain in the SBC.

What is glaringly left out of this issue is the matter of separation. [Kevin] Bauder claims that the “conservative evangelicals” aren’t New Evangelicals and he conveniently defines New Evangelicalism in a way that proves his point (whereas his predecessors at Central, Richard Clearwaters and Ernest Pickering, understood New Evangelism much more clearly).

While there are many aspects of New Evangelicalism, the defining principle from its inception was a “repudiation of separatism.” That was the way that Harold Ockenga put it. That is Billy and Franklin Graham’s foundational working principle.

And by that definition, every Southern Baptist conservative is a New Evangelical. That is evident by the simple fact that they remain in the SBC, which is an unholy organization that encompasses theological liberalism, Charismaticism, Masonism, ecumenical evangelism, modern textual criticism, Amillennialism, the rock & roll emerging philosophy, female preachers, psychoheresy, Catholic mysticism, and other errors and evils. (David Cloud: Conservative Evangelicals, Jan. 27, 2011.)

On February 22-25 at Calvary Baptist Seminary (Lansdale, PA) Dr. Dave Doran and Dr. Kevin Bauder will be participating in a cooperative pulpit ministry with SBC pastor Dr. Mark Dever. The 1994 FBF resolution above warns of compromising the cause of biblical separatism. Dever maintains close friendships with and participates in cooperative efforts with ecumenical compromisers and charismatics. Does the common cause cooperative ministry of Bauder and Doran with Dever at Lansdale compromise the cause of biblical separatism? How do Brothers Doran and Bauder justify their “cooperation in pulpit ministries” at Lansdale with SBC pastor Mark Dever?

Dr. Rick Arrowood details the current posture of SBC pastor Mark Dever,

Just because a man like Dr. Dever is seen by some as a “conservative Southern Baptist, who fights for truth in the SBC,” does not mean he fits in as a separatist and should be called a fundamentalist. Matter-a-fact, he would not want to wear that name tag. He is a leader among Southern Baptists:

•He serves on the Board of Southern Theological Seminary under the direction of Dr. Al Mohler. (Dr. Mohler signed the ecumenical Manhattan Declaration and watches over the Billy Graham School of Evangelism and Home Missions at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY. [Mohler served as chair for the 2001 Billy Graham Crusade in Louisville])

•Dr. Dever also willingly teaches at Gordon-Conwell College in Massachusetts, long known as a leading institution for New-Evangelicalism and compromise.

•To add to the matter, Dr. Dever is quite reformed and a-millennial, which, of course, is a far-cry from the position promoted by the founders of Calvary, Detroit, Central and Northland.

•He has spoken it [sic] the past and is slated to speak in the future with Dr. C.J. Mahaney, one of the founders of the Together For The Gospel [T4G] Conference where he states that his desire is to start churches that are reformed in theology and charismatic in doctrine. T4G has attracted an assortment of our young men, exposing them not only to doctrinal error, but also a steady diet of Sovereign Grace Music.

(Dr. Rick Arrowood: Answering Questions About the Changes We Are Seeing in Fundamentalism)

Does that read like the personal resume of a man who is committed to the theology, application and cause of biblical separatism? It appears troubling inconsistencies among evangelicals such as Mark Dever are no longer a barrier to fellowship and cooperative ministerial efforts for certain men in Fundamental circles who profess allegiance to the cause of biblical separatism as defined in the 1994-95 FBF resolutions on the Southern Baptist Convention.

Who really is changing as we see this new wave of picking and choosing, applying and justifying, defending and mitigating, “mixing and mingling?” If it is right for us to “platform fellowship” with new-evangelicals and those in the SBC, why have we not had them preach in our colleges, seminaries and fellowships over the past sixty years? A Southern Baptist teaching theology in a fundamentalist church, college or seminary has his roots in Southern Baptist soil, and when transplanted temporarily to a fundamental church or school brings that soil with him. If our position has been wrong, then we have missed the placating of well-organized denominationalism with its comforts and retirement benefits. Perhaps we should go to those retired fundamental Baptist missionaries, who have sacrificed term after term on a foreign field, who may be physically and financially struggling in some nursing home, and apologize to them, admitting the Lottie Moon Missions Program would have been a better choice for them. Can you see the shifting of the sand and how it strikes at the foundation of our fundamental Baptist history? (Dr. Rick Arrowood: Answering Questions About the Changes We Are Seeing in Fundamentalism)

For those who may not be aware the 1994 FBF resolution on the SBC was prepared and submitted by the resolutions committee that included Dave Doran. Brother Doran signed on to and therefore endorsed the 1994 resolution on the SBC, which closed as follows,

“Those who call for cooperation in pulpit ministries between Fundamentalists and Southern Baptists either misread the nature of the conservative movement in the Convention, or themselves have compromised the cause of Biblical separation.”

The 1995 FBF resolution was prepared and submitted by the committee that included Dave Doran, Matt Olson and Tim Jordan. The 1995 resolution closed with,

“…we [Doran, Olson, Jordan] do not see how independent fundamental Baptists can make common cause with Southern Baptists.”

Yet, Matt Olson will be featuring SBC theologian Dr. Bruce Ware at NIU later this year. In a matter of days Dave Doran and Kevin Bauder will join SBC pastor Mark Dever, invited by Tim Jordan, in a ministerial effort at Calvary Baptist Seminary, Lansdale.

"Changing?"

Who’s changing? The men who co-drafted and signed the 1994-95 FBF resolutions on the SBC, or the non-separatist evangelicals in the Southern Baptist Convention? Brother Dever, what do you say?


LM

*In 2009 Southern Baptist leaders including Dr. Al Mohler signed the Manhattan Declaration (MD). The MD is the first cousin of Evangelicals and Catholics Together. Signing the MD extended Christian recognition to Roman Catholics and apostates. Mohler and other SBC signatories have been admonished by their peers, but have not repented of their deed, which compromised the Gospel. (See- Al Mohler Signs the Manhattan Declaration)

**2001- 01.6 Regarding the Southern Baptist Convention

The FBFI expresses gratitude to God for the changes in the Southern Baptist Convention nationally since 1979. We commend the reaffirmation of inerrancy, now a confessional requirement for its agencies—the seminaries, Mission Boards and its publishing arm. Furthermore, we applaud the repudiation of homosexuality and the confessional commitment to a biblical role for women. However, we exhort our brethren to continue reformation by opposing the ecumenism of Billy Graham and “Evangelicals and Catholics Together.” We also urge perseverance at the state and local levels, purging the theological and moral decay. And, where purging is not possible, we urge Southern Baptists to withdraw and rebuild, showing fidelity to the Scripture. Until Southern Baptists fully recognize and repudiate the destruction of Neo-evangelicalism that has weakened their churches and seminaries, the Scriptural response of Fundamental Baptists must continue to be separation.

See the FBFI Resolutions for access to the resolution archives.

Site Publisher Commentary (August 2014):

Who Changed?  The SBC certainly has not changed.  The SBC is today what they’ve been for decades now, which are identified above as, “an unholy organization that encompasses theological liberalism, Charismaticism, Masonism, ecumenical evangelism, modern textual criticism, Amillennialism, the rock & roll emerging philosophy, female preachers, psychoheresy, Catholic mysticism….”

The “changelings” are Dave Doran, Matt Olson, and Tim Jordan.  From their 1995 resolution, “We do not see how independent fundamental Baptists can make common cause with Southern Baptists.” Arguably the lead architect of the changelings movement is Kevin Bauder. What does each of those four men have in common? A direct hand in and/or personal contribution to the ruin and demise of the former Northland Baptist Bible College and Calvary Baptist Seminary, Lansdale respectively.

Related Reading

Dr. Rick Arrowood: The Changes We Are Seeing in Fundamentalism

Kevin Bauder & Dave Doran Join Mark Dever at Calvary, Lansdale: Is This a Fundamentalism Worth Saving?

Calvary Lansdale Hosts Haddon Robinson

Note: Calvary Baptist Seminary did not survive Kevin Bauder’s “limited form of fellowship.”

Is NIU “Unchanged?”

Is NIU Opposed to the Charismatic Movement?

SBC Decides Against Expelling Members of Pro-Homosexual Baptist Alliance: What is the “Militant” Separatist to Do?

“The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee decided earlier this week that a church’s membership in a pro-gay Baptist group does not automatically disqualify it from being part of the conservative Baptist denomination.”1

It is compelling irony that on the very day that the Calvary Baptist Seminary (Lansdale) Advancing the Church conference closed news of the SBC decision on homosexuality is published. This news stirs a few questions. Questions that must be directed to SBC pastor Dr. Mark Dever and self-described separatists who featured, shared the Lansdale platform with and ministered in a cooperative effort alongside him.

•Does the Bible have enough to say about homosexuality to compel Dr. Dever to obey the Lord’s commands and withdraw from the SBC?

•Will Drs. Dave Doran, Kevin Bauder and Tim Jordan tolerate, allow for, ignore and/or excuse this news and Dr. Dever if he does not separate from the SBC?

•Will Drs. Doran, Bauder and Jordan admonish Dr. Dever as a brother to separate from the SBC as openly as they embraced and legitimized his ministry and associations at Lansdale last week?

•Will Drs. Doran, Bauder and Jordan offer justification for having featured and shared a platform with a non-separatist SBC pastor?

•Will Drs. Doran, Bauder and Jordan, realize they have erred, then apologize for having featured and ministered alongside SBC pastor, Dr. Mark Dever?

•Will Drs. Doran, Bauder and Jordan repent for reaching out to, featuring, ministering with and thereby endorsing the ministry of Dr. Mark Dever?

•Will Sharper Iron and Brother Kevin Mungons rethink and publicly recognize that the kind of separatism that Drs. Doran, Bauder and Jordan are currently practicing is contradictory to that of Dr. Ernest Pickering as he defined it in Biblical Separation: The Struggle for a Pure Church?2

The SBC remains a liberal denominational structure. While some rooting out of liberalism has been accomplished within SBC schools, at the core the SBC allows for elements and persons that are a near anti-God sub-culture to operate and spread influence within the New Testament church.

Does the decision to allow for pro-homosexual rights churches to remain in the SBC qualify as direct disobedience to the Word of God? Will this decision from the SBC Executive Committee,3 finally be enough for Drs. Doran, Bauder, Jordan and Matt Olson to cease from reaching out to, featuring and worse exposing the impressionable among us to non-separatist, compromised, erring brothers?

LtoR: Doran, Jordan, Dever, Bauder, Harbin

Is this decision from the SBC finally enough for a segment of men in fundamental Baptist circles to finally live in fidelity, without partiality, to the God-ordained mandates to “admonish, withdraw from, mark and avoid” alleged “conservative” evangelicals and their fellowships? To withdraw from men that can remain within, allow for, minister along side and financially support the SBC in the wake of decisions such as this latest? (2 Thess. 3:6, 14-15 Romans 16:17-18)


LM

Photo by Darrell Goemaat/Baptist Bulletin. Used by permission.

1) The Christian Post.

2) Dr. Ernest Pickering, “The Separatist Cause is Not Advanced by Featuring Non-Separatists?”

“With the prayers and admonition of God’s people those men (Doran Bauder, Jordan, Olson) might be recovered and reverse course before much longer. I am hopeful they will one day repent and invest the balance of their lives undoing the damage they are presently doing to authentic biblical separatism. The kind of militant, consistent, balanced separatism that Dr. Ernest Pickering defined in Biblical Separation: The Struggle for a Pure Church.”

3) SBC Executive Committee

Site Publisher’s Note:
It was my intention this morning to begin a series of short summary articles in regard to the embracing and cooperative ministry efforts with so-called “conservative” evangelicals. Because of its timeliness, this news from the SBC will be the first in this series to summarize the waning of authentic biblical separatism that has been taking place in recent months. Once I conclude this series of summary articles I will be moving to a discussion of how the Gospel figures into the convergence of self-described separatists with the non-separatist evangelicals.

1994 & 1995 Fundamental Baptist Fellowship Resolutions: Southern Baptist Convention

REGARDING THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION (1994)

While applauding the attempts of conservatives in the Southern Baptist Convention to reemphasize the doctrine of the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture, we do not believe that these men are “fundamental” Southern Baptists. Our reasoning is twofold: first, they still accept the ecumenical evangelism of Billy Graham which makes them New Evangelicals; and second, they do not desire to be known as Fundamentalists. Writing in “The Church God Approves,” James Draper, conservative in the Southern Baptist Convention, condemns Fundamentalists for their divisiveness, bigotry and unfairness; and says that they have a wholly negative approach and show little love and compassion. Those who call for cooperation in pulpit ministries between Fundamentalists and Southern Baptists either misread the nature of the conservative movement in the Convention, or themselves have compromised the cause of Biblical separation.

REGARDING THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION (1995)

The FBF applauds those in the Southern Baptist Convention who fought a battle for the inerrancy of Scripture, but disagree with Jerry Falwell and Tim Lee who attempt to convince followers that the SBC conservatives are Fundamentalists. At best, conservative Southern Baptists are New Evangelicals who cooperate with and promote the ecumenical evangelism ministry of Billy Graham. The Southern Baptist Convention dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, the two Southern Baptist leaders who signed the 1994 ecumenical Evangelicals and Catholics Together* agreement (the furor created caused them later to ask to have their names removed), and statements made by Convention leaders embracing charismatics indicate dangerous drifts in the SBC.

We believe that statements made by Charles Stanley, twice elected president of the SBC, such as, “If it’s a Southern Baptist seminary, it should be balanced in its approach. If you’re going to have liberals, you need strong conservatives . . . if you’ve got people who don’t believe in the virgin birth, you need people who do,” lead to unscriptural confusion. Adrian Rogers, elected to two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, has said, “I don’t want any witch hunt to purge the seminaries.” Statements such as these reveal that even conservative leadership in the SBC will not take the strong stands necessary to rid the Convention of its liberal and neo-orthodox factions. Until this happens, we do not see how independent fundamental Baptists can make common cause with Southern Baptists.

In recent years some strides have been made to rid the “convention of its liberal and neo-orthodox factions,” but not all of them.** Many of the “dangerous drifts” described above, however, remain in the SBC.

What is glaringly left out of this issue is the matter of separation. [Kevin] Bauder claims that the “conservative evangelicals” aren’t New Evangelicals and he conveniently defines New Evangelicalism in a way that proves his point (whereas his predecessors at Central, Richard Clearwaters and Ernest Pickering, understood New Evangelism much more clearly).

While there are many aspects of New Evangelicalism, the defining principle from its inception was a “repudiation of separatism.” That was the way that Harold Ockenga put it. That is Billy and Franklin Graham’s foundational working principle.

And by that definition, every Southern Baptist conservative is a New Evangelical. That is evident by the simple fact that they remain in the SBC, which is an unholy organization that encompasses theological liberalism, Charismaticism, Masonism, ecumenical evangelism, modern textual criticism, Amillennialism, the rock & roll emerging philosophy, female preachers, psychoheresy, Catholic mysticism, and other errors and evils. (David Cloud: Conservative Evangelicals, Jan. 27, 2011.)

On February 22-25 at Calvary Baptist Seminary (Lansdale, PA) Dr. Dave Doran and Dr. Kevin Bauder will be participating in a cooperative pulpit ministry with SBC pastor Dr. Mark Dever. The 1994 FBF resolution above warns of compromising the cause of biblical separatism. Dever maintains close friendships with and participates in cooperative efforts with ecumenical compromisers and charismatics. Does the common cause cooperative ministry of Bauder and Doran with Dever at Lansdale compromise the cause of biblical separatism? How do Brothers Doran and Bauder justify their “cooperation in pulpit ministries” at Lansdale with SBC pastor Mark Dever?

Dr. Rick Arrowood details the current posture of SBC pastor Mark Dever,

Just because a man like Dr. Dever is seen by some as a “conservative Southern Baptist, who fights for truth in the SBC,” does not mean he fits in as a separatist and should be called a fundamentalist. Matter-a-fact, he would not want to wear that name tag. He is a leader among Southern Baptists:

•He serves on the Board of Southern Theological Seminary under the direction of Dr. Al Mohler. (Dr. Mohler signed the ecumenical Manhattan Declaration and watches over the Billy Graham School of Evangelism and Home Missions at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY. [Mohler served as chair for the 2001 Billy Graham Crusade in Louisville])

•Dr. Dever also willingly teaches at Gordon-Conwell College in Massachusetts, long known as a leading institution for New-Evangelicalism and compromise.

•To add to the matter, Dr. Dever is quite reformed and a-millennial, which, of course, is a far-cry from the position promoted by the founders of Calvary, Detroit, Central and Northland.

•He has spoken it [sic] the past and is slated to speak in the future with Dr. C.J. Mahaney, one of the founders of the Together For The Gospel [T4G] Conference where he states that his desire is to start churches that are reformed in theology and charismatic in doctrine. T4G has attracted an assortment of our young men, exposing them not only to doctrinal error, but also a steady diet of Sovereign Grace Music.

(Dr. Rick Arrowood: Answering Questions About the Changes We Are Seeing in Fundamentalism)

Does that read like the personal resume of a man who is committed to the theology, application and cause of biblical separatism? It appears troubling inconsistencies among evangelicals such as Mark Dever are no longer a barrier to fellowship and cooperative ministerial efforts for certain men in Fundamental circles who profess allegiance to the cause of biblical separatism as defined in the 1994-95 FBF resolutions on the Southern Baptist Convention.

Who really is changing as we see this new wave of picking and choosing, applying and justifying, defending and mitigating, “mixing and mingling?” If it is right for us to “platform fellowship” with new-evangelicals and those in the SBC, why have we not had them preach in our colleges, seminaries and fellowships over the past sixty years? A Southern Baptist teaching theology in a fundamentalist church, college or seminary has his roots in Southern Baptist soil, and when transplanted temporarily to a fundamental church or school brings that soil with him. If our position has been wrong, then we have missed the placating of well-organized denominationalism with its comforts and retirement benefits. Perhaps we should go to those retired fundamental Baptist missionaries, who have sacrificed term after term on a foreign field, who may be physically and financially struggling in some nursing home, and apologize to them, admitting the Lottie Moon Missions Program would have been a better choice for them. Can you see the shifting of the sand and how it strikes at the foundation of our fundamental Baptist history? (Dr. Rick Arrowood: Answering Questions About the Changes We Are Seeing in Fundamentalism)

For those who may not be aware the 1994 FBF resolution on the SBC was prepared and submitted by the resolutions committee that included Dave Doran. Brother Doran signed on to and therefore endorsed the 1994 resolution on the SBC, which closed as follows,

“Those who call for cooperation in pulpit ministries between Fundamentalists and Southern Baptists either misread the nature of the conservative movement in the Convention, or themselves have compromised the cause of Biblical separation.”

The 1995 FBF resolution was prepared and submitted by the committee that included Dave Doran, Matt Olson and Tim Jordan. The 1995 resolution closed with,

“…we [Doran, Olson, Jordan] do not see how independent fundamental Baptists can make common cause with Southern Baptists.”

Yet, Matt Olson will be featuring SBC theologian Dr. Bruce Ware at NIU later this year. In a matter of days Dave Doran and Kevin Bauder will join SBC pastor Mark Dever, invited by Tim Jordan, in a ministerial effort at Calvary Baptist Seminary, Lansdale.

"Changing?"

Who’s changing? The men who co-drafted and signed the 1994-95 FBF resolutions on the SBC, or the non-separatist evangelicals in the Southern Baptist Convention? Brother Dever, what do you say?

We will continue on these themes later this month.


LM

*In 2009 Southern Baptist leaders including Dr. Al Mohler signed the Manhattan Declaration (MD). The MD is the first cousin of Evangelicals and Catholics Together. Signing the MD extended Christian recognition to Roman Catholics and apostates. Mohler and other SBC signatories have been admonished by their peers, but have not repented of their deed, which compromised the Gospel. (See- Al Mohler Signs the Manhattan Declaration)

**2001- 01.6 Regarding the Southern Baptist Convention

The FBFI expresses gratitude to God for the changes in the Southern Baptist Convention nationally since 1979. We commend the reaffirmation of inerrancy, now a confessional requirement for its agencies—the seminaries, Mission Boards and its publishing arm. Furthermore, we applaud the repudiation of homosexuality and the confessional commitment to a biblical role for women. However, we exhort our brethren to continue reformation by opposing the ecumenism of Billy Graham and “Evangelicals and Catholics Together.” We also urge perseverance at the state and local levels, purging the theological and moral decay. And, where purging is not possible, we urge Southern Baptists to withdraw and rebuild, showing fidelity to the Scripture. Until Southern Baptists fully recognize and repudiate the destruction of Neo-evangelicalism that has weakened their churches and seminaries, the Scriptural response of Fundamental Baptists must continue to be separation.

Site Publisher’s Note:
See the FBFI Resolutions for access to the resolution archives.