I had planned to start my blogging career in calmer times, but as it turns out, my debut comes on the tail end of an interesting kerfluffle among fundamentalists over a message by Pastor Dan Sweatt presented at a FBFI regional meeting. A man that I respect very much, Dr. Kevin Bauder, expressed his concerns publicly about it here. A statement from John Vaughn and Brad Smith, of the FBFI, has also been posted in response to Dr. Bauder’s call. Because I think there are profitable things to be learned from this incident, I’d like to spend a few posts on it. I’ll start with a statement I wrote right after Kevin Bauder’s essay came out, and follow that with some thoughts on the FBFI statement. My Agreement with Kevin Bauder
I would like to affirm my agreement with Dr. Kevin Bauder’s call for a response by the FBFI to what was preached by Pastor Dan Sweatt at the FBFI South regional meeting. Pastor Sweatt is certainly entitled to his theological convictions and to proclaim his beliefs, but he is not entitled to use a public platform to mishandle God’s Word and misrepresent godly men. I have expressed my concerns to him personally, but I believe it is appropriate to state them publicly as well. The fact that this sermon was preached at the Wilds for a FBFI meeting, but is being promoted via his church’s website and sermonaudio.com seems to indicate a deliberate effort to increase its exposure to a larger audience than the conference itself. For those of us who are investing our lives in training men for the gospel ministry, this is no small matter. We are attempting to cultivate in these men a love for biblical fundamentalism—the kind that is committed to sound doctrine, integrity in handling the Scriptures, and the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth for the glory of God. That kind of fundamentalism will stand for the truth, even if it means taking a stand against those who use the mantle of fundamentalism as a cloak to advance this kind of agenda.
Others have exposed the errors in Pastor Sweatt’s message and method, so I’ll not pile on here. I want to go on record, though, in saying that it is well past the time when this should be an unacceptable thing in our circles. The authority of the pulpit does not reside in the preacher, but in God’s Word. If we continue to ignore the kind of abuse of the pulpit found in this sermon, we betray our commitment to the supremacy and sufficiency of Scripture. This is contrary to our history and identity as fundamentalists, and, more importantly, it dishonors God.
My Appreciation for the FBFI Statement
While there can be no doubt that more could have been said by the FBFI on this matter, I think the statement put out by John Vaughn and Brad Smith addresses the concerns that men like Kevin and I had. Basically, those were two-fold: (1) is there room in the FBFI for men with differing views on the matter of Calvinism? And (2) will the FBFI stand up and say that there is not room in the FBFI for the kind of communication which inevitably causes division over these matters. I think they did this, and they did it well. Could they have named names? Sure. Should they have? No, I don’t think so. The statement made it about principles, not personalities and that’s what was needed. There is a bigger picture here than one speech at one conference.
That doesn’t mean that what Danny Sweatt said should be left unchallenged by others. If you believe he was mistaken in what he said and misguided in this attempt, then offer corrections. Just do it biblically, accurately, and respectfully. Let’s not commit the common error of not distinguishing between ideas and individuals. Kevin Bauder, John Vaughn, and Brad Smith have done us a service in addressing this issue. Let’s build on it for God’s glory and the good of His people.
