STIRRED BUT NOT CHANGED Jaded Baptists Curtis Pugh Poteau, Oklahoma Every sound Baptist preacher with

whom I have spoken on the matter deplores the sad spiritual state of the majority of Christians today. On the one hand there is the sad spiritual state of those poor professing Christians perhaps genuine children of !od among them

who have "een fed a diet of #milk$ polluted with the poison of %rminianism. &hen there are those Baptists who profess to "elieve in sovereign grace, "ut who have never "een really taught the Bi"le. &hey have heard topical sermons, doctrinal sermons, allegorical preaching, te'tual preaching and the like( all of which is #milk.$ But they have not heard consistent e'pository or e'egetical preaching. )emem"er( #milk is what you get from the cow, "ut the meat is the cow herself.$ %pply that to preaching. If preaching is just #from the Bi"le$ it is milk. If the *ord itself is #served up$ + that is, taught e'positorily, it is spiritual meat. E'pository or e'egetical Bi"le teaching is e'plaining the *ord itself( what they did in E,ra-s day( So they read in the book in the a! o" God distin#t y$ and %a&e the sense$ and #a'sed them to 'nderstand the readin%$( ./ehemiah 0(01. )eading, e'plaining the meaning, and ena"ling people to understand the *ord( what is wrong with doing that today2 &hose who are fed only #milk$ will remain "a"ies, spiritually. But on the other hand, Baptists are supposed to "e people of the Book. &hey ought to "e healthy #spiritual carnivores$ e'citedly feeding on the meat of the *ord. Paul o"served "a"yhood .carnality1 in the saints in Corinth. 3e wrote( And I$ brethren$ #o' d not speak 'nto yo' as 'nto spirit'a $ b't as 'nto #arna $ e&en as 'nto babes in Christ) I ha&e "ed yo' !ith *i k$ and not !ith *eat+ "or hitherto ye !ere not ab e to bear it$ neither yet no! are ye ab e) ,or ye are yet #arna + "or !hereas there is a*on% yo' en&yin%$ and stri"e$ and di&isions$ are ye not #arna $ and !a k as *en- ,or

!hi e one saith$ I a* o" .a' / and another$ I a* o" Apo os/ are ye not #arna -( .4 Corinthians 5(4+61. 7ew will disagree that prolonged infancy among !od-s people is a pro"lem today just as it was in Corinth. *e have looked for a cure for this ailment, "ut settled for #snake oil.$ /ot too far "ack in Baptist history + in the 4088-s + a new movement swept into %merican Baptist ranks. It was supposed to "e the cure+all for carnality, deadness and apathy. Its foremost promoter was a man named Charles 7inney. &his fellow 7inney was a Pres"yterian who had rejected the concept of !od-s a"solute sovereignty and ran to the e'treme free+will position. 3e is possi"ly the one Protestant that has influenced %merican Baptists more than any other. 7inney was an advocate of the notion that man-s will had not "een affected "y %dam-s fall. 3e "elieved that all men could come in a saving way to Christ apart from any work of grace. &oday-s popular views of those that o"ject to !od-s sovereignty are properly called neo+%rminianism .new %rminianism1 and semi+pelagianism a somewhat modified form of

the doctrines of Pelagius. *e generally lump all these #free+willers$ together and just call them %rminians. 3owever, neither %rminius nor historic %rminians would have tolerated the practices of those who follow their teaching. &oday-s %rminians have run to seed on easy+ "elieve+ism. *hether they call upon the lost to come to the front, pray a prayer, lift their hands, "link at the preacher or make a decision for Christ other things or perhaps one of a half+do,en

they practice such things "ecause of their "elief. %nd their "elief is that man-s

will was not ruined or even affected "y %dam-s fall. 9an is a sinner( this they will admit. But they "elieve that man is a sinner "ecause he sins. 3e can, they say, of his own free will choose Christ and good. &he Bi"le, however, teaches that man sins "ecause he is a sinner( that he was ruined "y the fall of %dam and therefore will not and cannot do what is re:uired of him in order to please !od. )omans 0(0 proves that a natural man cannot please !od( So

then they that are in the " esh #annot p ease God)( 7urthermore, sinners cannot come to Christ apart from !od-s drawing them. &he ;ord <esus said, No *an #an #o*e to *e$ e0#ept the ,ather !hi#h hath sent *e dra! hi*+ and I !i raise hi* 'p at the ast day$( .<ohn =(661. *hatever you "elieve a"out the natural .unregenerate1 man-s will, "y his will he cannot please !od and cannot come to Christ in a saving way. /one of his choices, decisions, or acts please !od> #)evival meetings$ are "ased upon 7inney+ism( the idea that men can please !od if stirred up. ?h+oh> &hese two ideas are incompati"le> Either 7inney+ism .revivalism1 is right or the Bi"le is right> *hich will you choose2 @o we have this fellow Charles 7inney come upon the %merican scene. Prior to his #ministry$ Baptists "elieved that true revival was a move of the sovereign !od among 3is people. &hey "elieved the prayers of !od-s people were a scriptural means. Conse:uently, they "elieved the saints of !od needed to "e occupied with prayer for revival. &he old Baptists "elieved that a real revival had to "e #prayed down.$ It came from heaven and was sent "y !od in answer to the prayers of 3is people. 9r. 7inney did not "elieve that a revival had to "e #prayed down,$ "ut rather that it could "e #worked up.$ Organi,ation, pu"licity, musical specials of the right type, loud enthusiastic preaching, scare tactics, prolonged #altar calls,$ emotional appeals to come forward these and other psychologically manipulative

tricks have "een adopted and used "y the followers of 7inney. &he fact that such #invitation system$ tactics were never employed "y the apostles did not matter to 7inney. /or does that fact matter to those who follow after the traditions inherited from 7inney and his followers. #Old timers$ told of going to #camp meetings$ and #revivals$ just to watch the emotional displays of those affected "y revivalist tactics. ;ater they would watch the #conversions$ and #re+dedications$ fi,,le away into nothingness as #converts$ and #rededicated$ folk most often went "ack to their old lifestyles. @uch #revival meetings$ provided entertainment prior to the days of radio, movies, and &A. &oday confusion reigns in the minds of people as to the

purpose of #revival meetings.$ Often what is called a #revival meeting$ is actually an effort to #get folks saved$ as the %rminians say. In other words, it is a series of evangelistic meetings. Occasionally folk understand that #revival meetings$ are held to stir up the church to more ,eal and activity and perhaps living a more holy life. &hus #altar calls$ for #salvation$ and #re+

dedication$ are commonplace in spite of the total a"sence of such things in the /ew &estament. #!et -em emotionally wound up, make -em feel guilty, get -em down the aisle to weep and #dedicate$ or #rededicate$ and send -em home($ that-s how it goes. If they stick, they stick. If they do not, too "ad. 9ay"e ne't time they go through the cycle they will stick. %nd on the #revival circuit$ many are recycled repeatedly year after year> /ot all revivalists are of the sort I am a"out to descri"e, "ut one Pentecostal preacher of a "ygone day told a younger preacher how to tell when the revival was over in a place. 3e said, #*hen you can turn all the people upside down and cannot shake any more money out of them, the revival is over.$ 3ow is it that in #revival meetings$ and #evangelistic services$ most Baptist churches take offerings2 /o dou"t !isdo* is 1'sti"ied o" her #hi dren$( .9atthew 44(4B1 and someone will come up with a soothing answer for my criticism. But passing the hat among unsaved folk asking them to pay for their own evangeli,ation seems contrary to apostolic principles as stated in 5 <ohn 4(C. /ow "ack in the good old days revival meetings were different than today. 9any times only the "eginning date was announced. 9eetings would "e held "oth during the daytime and the evening. &he idea of no ending date was that the series of meetings would last as long as #!od was working.$ ;ater, in order to allow the #evangelist$ to schedule more meetings .and perhaps "ecause of the decreased interest on the part of the people1 #revivals$ were shortened to two weeks. &hen, "eginning sometime later in the mid to late 4B88s they were shortened to only a week( later, to only 9onday through 7riday evenings. %nd in some places now there are #weekend revivals$ held on 7riday and @aturday evenings and perhaps @unday

mornings. &he entertainment value of #revivals$ has "een surpassed "y sports, movies, restaurant meals and weekend trips. #)evival preachers$ just cannot even "egin to compete unless they are themselves really unusual and unusually good at something or another( music, karate, slight of hand, "eing ethnically different, preaching while standing on their heads, or perhaps "eing the world-s fastest guitar picker or the world-s strongest man or an #e'$ secret agent, #e'$ pugilist or #e'$ something or other. % good num"er of years ago a pastor said to me( #I am tired of "eing stirred and not "eing changed.$ 3is words have remained with me. Perhaps it is your e'perience too> Is that not what the #revivalist$ does2 3is aim is to stir people up. If he is a #good preacher,$ he is a"le to e'cite the flesh and that is what he does. 3is means is to affect at least some of people-s five senses. *e have yet to hear of a revivalist who is a great chef and delights Baptist congregations with his cooking skills and thus tickles their taste "uds. But the other four senses( feeling, hearing, seeing and, yes, smelling, have all "een targeted "y #revivalist$ type preachers. I was in a Baptist meeting where the preacher had prearranged with certain men to spray air freshener into the air conditioning system at the proper moment so that it was smelled throughout the "uilding. 3is topic( #&he @ecret Ingredient In &he %nointing Oil.$ &he clima' of his message was( #Can you smell it2$ %nd for a moment, a thrill of wonderment went though the crowd as the fragrance spread I repeat, for a moment. &he people were

stirred, "ut not changed( entertained, "ut not "lessed> In speech classes we used to "e re:uired to prepare and make speeches with different aims. One kind of speech had the aim to entertain. 3ow many #revival$ sermons only entertain2 &he more of the five senses the #evangelist$ can entertain and conse:uently the more he can stir people determines how good an #evangelist$ he is. ./o"ody goes away from a #revival meeting$ saying, #I really heard some deep teaching from the *ord of !od tonight.$1 ;et no one think that most #revivalists$ do not use all sorts of psychological manipulative methodsDtricks. &he #invitation system$ itself

is psychological manipulation> Is it any wonder that the pastor just :uoted large num"er of other Baptists

and we think a

are #tired of "eing stirred and not "eing changed.$ Is that is

the case with many if not most of !od-s children who have e'perienced spiritual nausea "y the repeated #stirring$ without real spiritual change2 !od-s children hunger and thirst after righteousness( personal growth in holiness. If you are not concerned a"out "eing more like the ;ord <esus whom you profess to follow, there is something wrong with your e'perience. Eou do not need a #revival$ or a #re+dedication$ .whatever that is1. Eou need to "e "orn again> @hall we continue with the vain traditions received from Charles 7inney and some of our Baptist fathers or shall we turn again to the ;ord2 &he Psalmist prayed thus( 2i t tho' not re&i&e 's a%ain+ that thy peop e *ay re1oi#e in thee-( .Psalm 0F(=1. 3e knew that revival true revival had to come from !od. 3e prayed to !od for it. )evival is to "e

desired "ecause it "rings joy .not mere happiness or fleshly delight1 to !od-s people. &his verse says so> 3ave we forgotten that joy real inner joy is important, yea, necessary to

!od-s people2 /ehemiah 0(48 says, )))the 1oy o" the 3ORD is yo'r stren%th)( ;ittle joy e:uals little strength. Go you desire the spiritual strength necessary to change2 *ill you seek a revival a real move of !od in your life and in your church2 Or will you reason this way( special prayer meetings

to "e on the safe side( churches should hold prayer meetings "egging !od for revival

and just to "e sure, "ring in the "est, high+powered #stirrer$

.#evangelist$1 around. In this way we can trust !od and trust 7inney at the same time> 3ow sad that we might even consider such a thing> Go not the words, #I am tired of "eing stirred and not "eing changed,$ reflect that jaded condition that e'ists among many Baptists "ecause of the failed methods of Charles 7inney and his followers2 &he word jaded is defined as, #feeling or showing a lack of interest and e'citement caused "y having done or e'perienced too much of something.$ <aded "y having e'perienced too much stirring without any real change> *hat should we have e'pected2 Can

our Baptist churches really think to e'perience true revival "y humanistic means2 @hould we not have seen this #"urn out$ + this jaded condition coming2 Is not the apathy and casual

attitude toward the things of !od not due at least in large part to #stirring$ people, "ut without change2 &his jaded condition is not the fault of the church mem"ers. It is not even the fault of the pastors. It is the fault of %rminian thinking. It is the fault of Charles 7inney. It is the fault of Baptist tradition> .9any a pastor will "e critici,ed and opposed "y some mem"ers and fellow pastors in his cli:ue if he dares suggest not having the #annual revival.$ %fter all, it is a tradition> Eou cannot "e spiritual or succeed without 7inney in your church.1 %ny"ody remem"er what the ;ord <esus and Paul said a"out tradition2 .@ee 9ark C(B H 45I Colossians J(01. *hat is the solution2 Bigger, more impressive and more entertaining #revivalists2$ 3aving seen that "ringing in the clowns has not only not worked, "ut has done harm, shall we continue with the same entertainment+"ased tradition2 Being already in this rut shall we continue down it2 @omeone said #a rut is just a grave with "oth ends knocked out.$ %re we too dead, dense and spiritually "lind to see that the #revival rut$ is not "ringing growth and spiritual change to !od-s people2 @eeing that the #revival meeting$ path leads nowhere spiritually profita"le, shall we Baptists "lindly follow traditions of our own making2 Or shall we get "ack to the Bi"le2 @hall we go "ack to the methods of the apostles2 *hat an innovative thought> !o "ack to Bi"le methods( apostolic methods2 <ust patiently preaching and teaching e'pository messages through the Bi"le2 But that is so slow, unglamorous, and unattractive to the world and the flesh> Ees it is> But who are we fooling2 %re we trying to "e attractive to the world and the flesh2 Or are we sincerely desiring to e'perience true revival( true change2 Is it not "oth reasona"le and "i"lical to think that feeding "a"es in Christ healthy #meat$ + !od-s *ord will result in healthy, real and lasting growth2 %nd is not spiritual growth the #change$

that !od-s people need and want2 %fter all, spiritual growth is positive change. %nd spiritual

growth does not come from hearing #top+water$ preaching. @hallow topical, te'tual, running+ commentary+type preaching is not the meat of the *ord> It takes time and effort to prepare a meal( it takes time and work to prepare a hearty spiritual meal. &he apostles said, B't !e !i %i&e o'rse &es #ontin'a y to prayer$ and to the *inistry o" the !ord$( .%cts =(61( and this in their own local, <erusalem church> Churches do not need a gymnasium or a #dynamic young wavy haired evangelist$ or any kind of religious entertainment. Churches do not need a gun clu", or a concealed carry class. Churches do not need %wana, a ladies aid society, a "all team or even new uniforms. In short, churches do not need any more fleshly tripe. .&ripe is literally the stomach of an animal eaten as food( "y implication it means, #something that is worthless, unimportant, or of poor :uality.$1 % church needs healthy meals spiritual meals served however often she meets.

@he is to "e served for the most part "y her pastor and other gifted men whom !od may have placed within. Preachers are servants to the congregations, you know. &hat is what Paul wrote( ,or !e prea#h not o'rse &es$ b't Christ Jes's the 3ord/ and o'rse &es yo'r ser&ants "or Jes's4 sake$( .J Corinthians 6(F1. Barnes says this means the pastor-s time, talents and "est efforts and plans "elong to the congregation of which the preacher is the "ond+slave. 7eeding a congregation #spiritual meat$ will re:uire intensive study on the part of those men and prayer on the part of the whole church prayer for them and prayer for

revival. &he recognition of a need is the first step is resolving that need. *ill you "e done with tripe and seek a true revival at the throne of grace2 *ill you seek the meat of the *ord2 9ay !od so move upon 3is churches that they cease desiring mere #stirring$ "y psychological tricks and methods and seek real spiritual growth "y feeding upon the consistent e'pository teaching of the *ord of !od. !od has given us 3is #manual$ and we have su"stituted 7inney-s methods for it. Our doing is our undoing. Oh that the mem"ers of Christ-s congregations may "e changed and not merely stirred>