The Wooden Leg Theory

By admin | Published: April 24, 2012

Have you ever been disappointed as you learned the faults of great Christians? When you discover the flaws in a well-known Christian leader are you tempted to discount the truths they have preached? I think all Christians go through struggles of this nature. I have been helped by a little theory God gave me which I call the “Wooden Leg Theory.”

Suppose I go to the track meet and watch from high in the stands as a young man wins the hundred-yard dash in 10 seconds flat. I cheer for him. I am so impressed that I walk down from the stands to congratulate him. As I get close, I discover that he has an artificial leg. Is my response, “Well, I’m not cheering for you any more, you’ve got a wooden leg! Here I thought everything about you was as it should be and now I find you have a handicap.” Of course not. My response would be, “Wow! It is amazing that you ran the race you did with the handicap you have!” It is important to note, however, that I would not cut off my leg. Cutting my leg off would do nothing to enhance me as I run the race.

So if I discover a problem in the life of a well-known Christian, I do not imitate it. Many people I know excuse their failures by pointing to great men who have had similar failures. If you live like that, you’ll be come a collection of the worst attributes of the best men in the world.

Neither do I fail to appreciate the greatness of the man once I discover his flaw. I say instead that he must have some tremendous offsetting strengths to run that kind of a race with that kind of a handicap.

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Where the “Solomons” Went Wrong

By admin | Published: April 16, 2012

     In two previous blogs I have dealt with the issue of Rehoboam’s refusal to heed the excellent advice of older counselors and the massive accumulated wisdom of the Proverbs, written particularly to and for him.  In this blog I will attempt to address some of the reasons that Solomon’s excellent advice was ignored.  I shall also endeavor to make an application to the “Solomons,” that is the older leaders of this generation and their relationship to some young men who are turning away.  Of course, these are general statements and do not apply to every older independent fundamental Baptist leader. In fact, I would argue that most of them do not apply to most leaders. I’m simply attempting to expose some of the errors that have been at least partially responsible for some young men ignoring good and godly counsel.

After giving such wonderful instruction to his son Rehoboam, why was it that the wisest, and in many ways, most blessed man of his generation, ended up failing to keep his son on the right path?  The answers for Solomon seem obvious.

  • He married strange women (I Kings 11:1-3).
  • When he was old, these strange women turned his heart away from God to the worship of strange gods (I Kings 11:4).
  • He experimented, according to the book of Ecclesiastes, with worldly ways to find happiness.  He tried to fill up his head with perception (Ecc. 1:17, 18), his heart with pleasure (Ecc. 2:1-3), and his hand with possessions (Ecc. 2:4-11).
  • He broke most – if not all – of the commandments God gave for kings of Israel (Deut. 17:16-20).

In our own age our Solomons have, in some cases, been guilty of similar behaviors.  Here is a list, admittedly incomplete, of some of the ways in which this generation of young independent Baptists has been poorly served by some of their leaders.

  1. We have had too many Corinthians and not enough Bereans.  We have been eager to divide on the basis of men and institutions rather than on the basis of Bible principle. Please note that the Bereans were not cocky, rebellious, or hard to persuade.  We usually quote the second of their attributes and leave out the first. The whole text is “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind (emphasis mind), and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11).    First, the Bereans received, and then they researched.  When I attended Bob Jones University, I was taught many things in the classroom that were contrary to what I had seen in my dad’s life and ministry.  On one occasion, when I mentioned them to him, he gave me a great verse.   It is a verse that I went through college with and have tried to use as I have gone through life.  He said, “Son, ‘Prove all things; hold fast that which is good (I Thessalonians 5:21).’”  Our focus must always be to lead people to the Word of God and its commandments and principles and then make application from those principles to current trends and philosophies.
  2. We have sometimes seen questions as an attack instead of an opportunity.  When a young man wonders if it is really scripturally forbidden to drink alcohol; or if the King James Bible is the only really legitimate translation for us to use; or if the Calvinists might not have a point, we sometimes become defensive. It is my own opinion that this is often because we did not know the answer but merely had adhered to what we had been taught. Unwilling to do the research and in some cases, afraid of what we might find, we responded by bursting with indignation, raising our voice, and wondering how anyone would dare question our established dogma.  I recognize that the verse (I Peter 3:15) has a primary reference to our salvation, but it seems to me that there is a legitimate principle that we ought to be able to defend from the Scripture those positions we take. We should be glad for the questions asked of us. Too many young men don’t ask us and don’t give us the chance to give them an answer. I fear that in some cases it is because they received such a poor reception when they asked earlier questions.
  3. We have been better at delivering a message than at being a model.  Too often powerful sermons have been preached with fiery denunciation of sin and wickedness, only to be followed by a meal at a local restaurant where questionable jokes are exchanged without so much as an eyebrow being raised in opposition.
  4. We have taught the “what” without the “why.”  We have developed our list of 20 or 30 or 40 “issues” that we oppose.  We have thundered against Hollywood movies, rock-and-roll music, dancing, alcohol, and tobacco.  (For the record, I oppose all of the above!)  Unfortunately, we have not taken time to teach the principles behind our positions.  Someone has well said that rules without reason equal rebellion. On two occasions I have taken over six months on our Wednesday evening services to teach a series on “Bible Principles.”  In each session I explained that a principle is a Bible truth we must live by, a conviction is a personal belief based on a principle, and a standard is a guideline to help me keep my conviction. I further tell our people, “I would rather you understand and live by the principles and agree with me on 80% of my convictions, than to follow all my convictions without understanding the principles.”  You see, I will not always pastor the First Baptist Church of Bridgeport. My voice will not always be heard. I will not always be alive. But even during the period I am alive, better-looking, more persuasive, more educated, more smooth, more charismatic, and more compelling speakers will come along than me. If people followed me simply because of personality and leadership, they may follow others into error. If I used whatever influence God gave me to lead them to understand the truth, they will be able to make wise decisions without my input.  How many independent fundamental Baptists would never darken the door of a movie theatre to watch any Hollywood movie, including Finding Nemo or Cars (again, count me among that number) but would rent a DVD which takes the Lord’s name in vain, filled with sexual innuendoes and nudity?  No wonder our message seems inconsistent to some of the younger generation.
  5. We have not been careful and thorough enough in preparing our young people for inevitable attacks. We try to teach the young people in our Christian school why we use the King James Bible.  I have on several occasions given a series of Chapel messages on why I disagree with all five points of Calvinism.  I have taught the aforementioned series on Standards in our High School Chapel.  I freely confess that these preparations have not had all the beneficial results I had hoped for. Nevertheless, I have tried to obey the Scripture which tells us, “The prudent man forseeth the evil and hideth himself” (Proverbs 22:3).

I want to be clear that I have been blessed to be taught, influenced, and encouraged by the great leaders of the past.  I have never seriously considered their flaws to outweigh their greatness or their errors to be an excuse for my disobedience.  I do believe, however, that each generation should build on the foundation that was given them by the previous one. I do hope that we can do a better job of encouraging our young men to stay on the right path by avoiding some of the errors we have seen in the past.

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Rehoboam Lite

By admin | Published: March 31, 2012

  When I was a college student, my pastor was one of John Rice’s sons-in-law. In a sincere effort to reach more people and “minister to this generation,” he attended “How to do it” meetings sponsored by the Navigators, the Southern Baptists, and John MacArthur. He read widely from the then-available supply of New Evangelical books.  Since Dr. Jack Hyles had preached frequently at his church, I once asked him, “Preacher, what does Dr. Hyles think about these new ideas?”  He smiled wryly and in a statement which contained, in my opinion, equal parts of humor and reality, said, “I’m scared to tell him.”

   I am blessed with a loyal staff, a faithful church, and scores of young people from our church and Christian school in the ministry. I am never disturbed when one of them asks me a question.  I have been asked why I don’t attend movies, why I take the stand I do on the King James Version of the Bible, about my position on dress standards, schedule of services, innovative ideas for doing the work of God, and a host of other issues. This never offends me.  I believe that I should be able to give a Bible principle as the basis for my practice.

    What does grieve me is when someone who calls me his pastor makes significant changes in ministry without ever giving me the opportunity to share my heart and beliefs.  Major changes have been, on rare occasions, made by those who were once a part of our church and whom we had supported with prayers, finances, and influence.  Sometimes, I found out about the changes from a third party.

    I refer to this phenomenon as “Rehoboam Lite.”  Rehoboam had the option of listening to the patriarchs, who had counseled his father, or his peers, who had grown up with him. At least he took the time to hear both sides.  At least he gave the patriarchs a chance.  While it’s true that he did not identify with his father’s advisors, and he may have been merely going through the motions, he nonetheless listened to what they had to say.

    How many young people have gone off to college and came back using a different version of the Bible?  How many have embraced Calvinism; how many have become enamored with the Contemporary Church movement: accepted its presuppositions, adopted its principles and applied its practices . . . all without ever asking their pastor or the patriarchs God had placed in their lives for advice?

 Why?  It seems to me that there are at least two reasons:

  • Solomon was a terrific exhorter but a lousy example. The book of Proverbs is filled with wonderful wisdom, but the life of Solomon was filled with wicked women. He actually worshipped strange gods because of the “strange gals” he allowed into his life. He broke the commandments God gave to the kings and turned his back on what he knew to be true. While it does appear, based on the book of Ecclesiastes, that he turned back to the truth in his older years, he had a significant time of departure from that which he knew to be right. In many cases older men have displayed the attitude towards younger men:  “Do as I say, not as I do.”  They have taken what may have been a correct position Scripturally while living a life that seems to be much more controlled by the flesh than the Spirit. In other cases, they have been offended to even be asked about their positions (I believe this is often because they don’t have a good Bible reason for what they’re doing themselves).  Unfortunately, many of us in the older generation have been unwilling to patiently, Scripturally and kindly explain truth to those who are following us.
  • There are many young people who have allowed their peers to influence them to the point that their mind is already made up.  Having listened to and agreed with new philosophies; having allowed old truths to be disdained without defending them; having in front of their friends agreed with a new practice or position, it is very hard for them to go back and ask the patriarchs what they think and listen to what they have to say.  Like my old pastor, they are “scared to tell him.”  . . .  for what it’s worth.
Posted in Christian, First Baptist Church of Bridgeport, God, preaching, RB Ouellette, Young Fundamentalists, Young Guys | 5 Comments

Rehoboam- Who are you listening to?

By admin | Published: March 17, 2012

The story of Rehoboam in I Kings 12 seems increasingly relevant to independent Baptists in the 21st Century.  Rehoboam, of course, was the son of Solomon and the one to whom the Proverbs had been written.  He was given excellent advice and excellent training.  When he became king, the citizens of Israel came and made an appeal to him.  They explained that the tax burden placed upon them by Solomon in order to build the Temple and the king’s palace had been exceedingly heavy. They asked for some relief.  Rehoboam told them to come back in three days and went to see his advisors.  There were two sets of advisors:  “the old men that stood before Solomon . . .” and “the young men that were grown up with him.”  Unsurprisingly, the two sets of advisors gave him two different kinds of advice.  The old men advised humility whereas the young men urged him to defend his honor. The old men counseled patience with long-term benefits in mind.  The young men counseled a display of power with short-term benefits in view.  The old men counseled Rehoboam to surrender his rights. The young men counseled him to exercise his rights.  Rehoboam followed the counsel of his peers with disastrous consequences.

 

Here are few thoughts in regards to this portion of Scripture which I hope will be pertinent to our service for the Lord Jesus today.

  • It is clear from the story that Rehoboam had already identified with the “young crowd” and separated himself in his mind from the old crowd. He said to the old counselors in v. 6, “How do ye advise that I may answer this people? (emphasis mine)”  He said to the young counselors, “What counsel give ye that we may answer this people?”

- Of course, we should identify with truth more than with age; with that which is right more than with that which we are comfortable.

- There is a reason most counselors are old.  It takes time to live life and learn lessons from the Lord.

- The people that we “grow up with” make wonderful friends and helpful co-laborers. They seldom make great counselors.

  • Rehoboam’s demise did not begin when he chose to follow the advice of the young men. After hearing the advice of the old men, the Scripture says (I Kings 12:8), “But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him . . .”  In other words, Rehoboam did not weigh both sides and then choose wrong. The Scripture tells us that he was turning his back on the counsel of the old men when he decided to even listen to counsel of the young men.  One might reasonably ask why the Word of God and the testimony of our forefathers is not sufficient for us; why we spend so much time reading that which is current and so little time reading that which has stood the test of decades and even centuries.
  • Rehoboam had a problem with his attitude, not just with his actions and his advisors. The Bible tells us in v. 13 that Rehoboam “answered the people roughly . . .”  His was not a reasoned approach. He did not reluctantly explain that he could not, at this time, reduce taxes. No, he was feeling his oats, strutting his stuff and demonstrating his power.  How often do we observe a chip on the shoulder; a defiant or rebellious spirit in those who challenge Biblical positions that have been long held.  Seldom do we see a meek, humble, sincere seeker of truth who works diligently to obey the admonition:  “Rebuke not an elder.”
  • Rehoboam paid a terrible price for following the wrong advice.  I can imagine Rehoboam as he gives his speech. I can see him swaggering off the stage, proud of his exercise of authority, smiling smugly and saying in his heart, “Well, I guess I told them!”  But these emotions, if they existed, did not last long.  In short order, he lost ten of the twelve tribes he had been given by God and inherited from his father.

 

I have been blessed all my life with godly advice from older men.  My father, Dr. Ken Ouellette, taught me, trained me, encouraged me and exhorted me. I still seek his counsel today though I will be 60 at my next birthday.  Dr. Jack Hyles took time when he came to preach for us and answered multitudes of my questions. Dr. Curtis Hutson would stay up late as I peppered him with inquiries about the work of God. He would patiently give me his thoughts and I would drink in every word. Dr. Paul Vanaman befriended and encouraged me when I was a young, new pastor. I can hear his voice today as he would impart to me words of wisdom.  May God help us to love the truth, appreciate the counsel of the “old men” and “continue . . . in the things that [we have] learned.” (II Timothy 3:14)

Posted in father, God, Ken Ouellette, RB Ouellette, Young Fundamentalists, Young Guys | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Of course you have liberty!

By admin | Published: February 22, 2012

 

  •  A church member wants to teach Sunday School. He learns that part of the leadership requirements for such a position involve abstaining from attendingHollywoodmovies.  “Oh, no!”  he says to the pastor. “You can’t tell me not to go to the movies.  I have liberty.”
  • A missionary candidate applies to a particular board.  Among the requirements the board has for its missionaries is that women not wear slacks in public.  “You can’t do that,” the missionary argues. “That’s a matter of my personal liberty.”
  • A noted pastor conducts a meeting. Among the speakers he invites are some whose positions and practices are those against which the host previously took a stand.  Some speakers who had agreed to come withdraw.  Some who would normally have attended the meeting decide not to come.  “Well,” the pastor laments, “Baptists seem to have lost the principle of individual soul liberty.”

1.  Liberty has to do with the believer’s relationship with his Lord.  Neither I, nor any other human being, is the source of your liberty.  I cannot extend liberty to you, and I cannot determine whether or not you have a clear conscience.  We have liberty in Christ. (Galatians 2:4 – “And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:”; Galatians 5:1 – “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”)  We are free from sin.  We are free from its penalty.  We are free from the law (so that I am not misunderstood, please note that both Old and New Testament saints are saved by faith. No one ever got to Heaven because of keeping the law. (Hebrews 10:4 – “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”)

2.  Charity has to do with the relationship between believers.  It requires me to be kind, to put things in the best possible light, to be unselfish, to be patient, etc. (I Corinthians 13).  I cannot give you liberty, but I am commanded to show you charity.

3.  Those who accuse us of robbing them of their liberty are really complaining that we do not extend to them our approval. Like so many in our society, it is not enough that we acknowledge their right to behave in a certain way.  They insist that we publicly affirm that their behavior is right.  I recognize that it is legal for people to drink alcohol. I also believe that it is unscriptural for them to do so. I recognize that people in our society have a legal right to rent pornographic movies. I also affirm that it is Scripturally wrong for them to behave in this way.

4. Sincere believers can and will disagree.  It is the extent of our agreement that will determine the extent of our fellowship. I readily acknowledge that it is Billy Graham’s business whether or not he accepts the sponsorship of unbelievers in his meetings. I have never called him to challenge his behavior or written and threatened him with the loss of my support.  I have, however, refused to sponsor his meeting when asked to do so.  If an Independent Baptist wishes to preach at Southern Baptist churches, that is his decision.  While these men have the liberty to promote and defend their behavior, I have the liberty to oppose their practices and to argue that they are misusing their liberty.

5. Soulwinning churches have, by and large, done a wonderful job of accepting people from all levels of society.  (Romans 14:1 – “Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.”)  On any Sunday  you will find at the First Baptist Church of Bridgeport, people who are struggling with alcohol, drugs, immorality,  and a host of other unscriptural behaviors.  These people are welcome at our services. They are loved, and they are accepted. They do not need to do anything for us to love them. However, I cannot Scripturally approve of their behaviors. Nor can I Scripturally elevate them to a position of influence and example.  I can and do extend to them charity.  I accept their person, but I cannot approve of their practice or affirm their position.

 

So, enjoy your liberty.  I fully recognize that you must answer to God for your behaviors as I must answer to God for mine.  But understand, that if I find your exercise of  liberty to be unscriptural, I may – in order to keep my conscience clear and my testimony consistent – withdraw from fellowship with you.  Please give me liberty to publicly oppose the behaviors that you publicly practice. I too, must answer to God . . . for what it’s worth.

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