The Southern Baptist Convention: Where Liars and Embellishers Condemn Homosexuals to Hell?

I believe same gender sexual activity is a sin. The Bible calls it such. What I can't figure out is why we Southern Baptist pastors continue to single out and target homosexuality as a sin that supercedes all other sins. A decade ago messengers at the Southern Baptist Convention changed Article III of the SBC Constitution by adding the following sentence (in bold letters):

Article III. Membership: The Convention shall consist of messengers who are members of missionary Baptist churches cooperating with the Convention as follows:

1. One (1) messenger from each church which: (1) Is in friendly cooperation with the Convention and sympathetic with its purposes and work. Among churches not in cooperation with the Convention are churches which act to affirm, approve, or endorse homosexual behavior. And, (2) Has been a bona fide contributor to the Convention's work during the fiscal year preceding.

I think I might propose a constitutional change to Article III at this year's Southern Baptist Convention that actually might be more appropriate in terms of the sins with which we as Southern Baptists struggle. It might go something like this:

Among those churches not in cooperation with the Convention are those which act to affirm, approve or endorse any of their pastors embellishing their educational accomplishments through the use of diploma mills and/or purchase of unaccredited theological degrees. Any SBC pastor that fraudulently uses the title "Dr." and any SBC church that approves and/or endorses such activity by any member of their pastoral staff will be deemed out of fellowship with the Southern Baptist Convention.

When we passed resolutions condemning homosexuals--while at the same time boycotting Disney--I thought things were becoming strange in the SBC. But at the time, I couldn't quite put my finger on the problem. Now, I feel like I understand. We have allowed a culture to be created within our Convention where we deem certain sins "heinous" (homosexuality, abortion, imbibing alcohol, women preaching, etc...), while other sins, the ones with which we Southern Baptists struggle (lying, pride, selfish ambition, etc...), are either quietly ignored or explained away as "platform charisma," "bold leadership," or "powerful preaching."
A diploma mill, also known as a degree mill, is an organization which awards academic degrees and diplomas with very little or no academic study and without recognition by official accrediting bodies. Websters defines a diploma mill as "An institution of higher education operating without supervision of a state or professional agency and granting diplomas which are either fraudulent or because of the lack of proper standards worthless." Such organizations are unaccredited, but they often claim accreditation by non-recognized/unapproved organizations set up for the purposes of providing a veneer of authenticity. Pastors who use fake degrees or "doctorates," and churches which care more that their pastors be called "Dr." than they are their pastors display character, have fallen into the kind of sins that negatively impact our Convention.

Remember Steven Flockhart? His resume contained not one, but two fake degrees. Yet, at the bottom of Flockhart's fraudulent resume, was this amazing statement:

"I have been accepted to Liberty University Seminary to begin working on a second Doctorate."

Huh? Liberty, would you explain? How can a man with two fraudulent degrees be accepted into your seminary? Liberty first denied that Flockhart was a seminary student at Liberty, but then corrected their mistaken denial. The Palm Beach Post then questioned Liberty about the peculiar circumstances surrounding the admission of Flockhart into their seminary. An accredited theological school doesn't "admit" a new student until official "transcripts" from GAAP accredited schools have been filed for the applicant. According to reporter Jane Musgrave, Liberty gave this official response to her questions about Flockhart's admission to Liberty Seminary:

"The pastor is enrolled and has paid in advance,” said Ron Godwin, executive vice president and CEO of Liberty University. “I love those kind of students.”

He said Flockhart did not turn up in university records because Caner apparently recruited him. A Turkish-born Muslim, Caner converted to evangelical Christianity, then set off a firestorm in 2002 by describing the prophet Mohammed as a pedophile possessed by demons.

“Dr. Caner has a wide outreach to church leaders all over the United States and, as president of the seminary, enrolls a number of pastors individually,” Godwin said.

I've posted before about the connection between Flockhart and Liberty. Others have written about the tendency of SBC leaders to use fraudulent degrees. Certainly it has been easy for SBC pastors to embellish in order to be a mainstay on the Southern Baptist speaking circuit or to climb the Southern Baptist national and state leadership ladder. Southern Baptist pastors seem infatuated with the title "Dr," even to the extent of asking others to use it of them before they've earned it. Take a gander at the Pastors' Conference line-up. Does every single speaker really have an earned doctorate? It would be inappropriate for some to single out one man for questioning without the rest of us demanding that all be held accountable.

It's time that we Southern Baptists quit pointing our finger at the sins of the world and for us to start getting serious about our own sins. The picture at the top of this post comes straight from the site of Cambridge Theological Seminary International, "the minister's best friend." Several SBC pastors claim "degrees" from this diploma mill. As long as churches and leaders of the SBC are more interested in condemning homosexuals than we are about truth and integrity in our leaders, we will never make an impact for Christ in this world. Would to God we debated our own sins of pride, lying, cheating, embellishing and selfish-ambition at this year's Convention and refrained from condemning homosexuals or talking about another boycott of Disney.

In His Grace,


Wade



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The Integrity of the Messenger Is as Important as the Content of the Message

Dr. George Alan Rekers is a well-known Southern Baptist minister of the gospel. In 1983, Dr. Rekers and Dr. James Dobson founded The Family Research Council. Dr. Rekers presents himself, and is considered by conservative Baptists, as an expert on "human sexuality." When the Southern Baptist Convention adopted The 1998 Family Amendment, the writings of Dr. George Alan Rekers played a crucial role in justifying the need for a change to the BFM. Both Liberty University and The Southern Baptist Convention have published Dr. Reker's writings in their respective theological journals, including Helping Children Grow Up Straight. In the book Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, Dr. Rekers wrote Chapter 17 entitled Rearing Masculine Boys and Feminine Girls. Dr. Rekers runs his own website, entitled Teen Sex Today, where Dr. Rekers "blogs about teen sex" and the problems associated with it. Dr. Rekers has a Th.D. degree from The University of South Africa, the same university and the same degree bestowed on the President of Liberty Seminary. Dr. Reker has spoken on many occasions at Liberty Seminary, is considered an expert in his field of human sexuality and the biblical, model family, and has profited immensely from his expertise. The State of Florida recently paid Dr. George Rekers $87,000 to be the "expert witness", testifying that homosexuals had no business adopting children.

Yesterday, the The Miami NewTimes News reported that Dr. George Rekers returned from a "gospel crusade" in Europe with a Rentboy in tow. For the unitiated, a "Rentboy" is slang for a young, male prostitute. It seems that Southern Baptist Rekers took a ten day vacation with the boy. When caught and photographed at the airport, Dr. Rekers initially said that he had "hired" the Rentboy to carry his luggage because of a recent back surgery. Then, upon reflection, gave a lengthier explanation for hiring the young man to travel with him to Europe:

I have spent much time as a mental health professional and as a Christian minister helping and lovingly caring for people identifying themselves as "gay." My hero is Jesus Christ who loves even the culturally despised people, including sexual sinners and prostitutes. Like Jesus Christ, I deliberately spend time with sinners with the loving goal to try to help them ... I have a loving Christian ministry to homosexuals and prostitutes in which I share the Good News of Jesus Christ with them (see I Corinthians 6:8-11). Contrary to false gossip, inneuendo, and slander about me, I do not in any way "hate" homosexuals, but I seek to lovingly share the gospel with them ... If you talk with my travel assistant (the boy prostitute) ... you will find I spent a great deal of time sharing scientific information on the desirablity of abandoning homosexual intercourse, and I shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with him in great detail.

I would like to ask conservative, evangelicals leaders, particularly Dr. Elmer Towns of Liberty University, three questions in light of Dr. George Alan Rekers' embarrassing situation and his attempts at explaining himself:

(1). Are Dr. Rekers' words of explanation, considering that he is now caught with discrepancies in his own story, what you might call giving someone "a certain amount of theological leverage"?

(2). Does it concern you that when Dr. Rekers seems to be caught redhanded in lies about his own past, his own personal experiences with homosexuality, and his own "alleged" expert credentials on "curing homosexuals," that the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is actually being compromised?

(3). Will you allow Dr. Reekers to continue to speak at Liberty, be published in Liberty's Journal of Theology, and represent the "conservative, Christian values" of your school? If not, could you explain the difference between granting license to live a lie to some experts in certain fields and not others?

For the sake of fairness and for all those Southern Baptists who want to believe that every explanation given by their leaders is gospel truth, Dr. Rekers offers--again--his version of his trip with the boy overseas. Read it here. Obviously, Dr. Rekers wants everyone to believe that only radical homosexual activists, liberal leftists, and Christ-deniers would EVER think he is lying when he explains that the Rentboy was hired for ten days to carry his luggage. I know many people think Southern Baptists are idiots, and frankly, being a Southern Baptist pastor myself, I am beginning to think that our Convention is filled with ignoramuses and sychophants. Frankly, there are some things we Southern Baptists could actually learn from the Muslim and the homosexual activists right now--like how to tell the truth and not to act like we only want to cover and protect our own.

The homosexuals are having a FIELD DAY over Dr. Rekers' hypocrisy. And, well they should. The greatest problem is NOT that Dr. Rekers hired a boy prostitute. The worst problem is NOT that Dr. Rekers may be struggling with homosexuality. The real problem is that Dr. Rekers presents himself as somebody he is not. It's a credibility issue. He claims to be an expert on how parents ought to raise "Boys to Be Boys" and "Girls to Be Girls" and how "Men Should Love Women" and how Americans should respect "The Sanctity of Christian Marriage" and the "Nuclear Family." He has made thousands of dollars as "the expert." Ironically, I may agree with his message; but it is his hypocrisy and lack of integrity that cause his message to burst like a balloon poked with a hot pin to those unacquanted with the true gospel. When the icon of celebrity worship in the religious right is shattered, and when we begin to simply go about our business of loving people in need of a Savior, only then will the integrity of our lives match the incredibly powerful content of our message of grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

In His Grace,

Wade

Comments For This Post Are Open: A Request for Answers to Specific Questions

Mohammad Kahn, the man who has posted 17 videos pointing out various descrepancies in the testimony of Dr. Ergun Caner regarding Caner's own biographical background, educational credentials and Muslim experiences, has requested answers to several questions. He has emailed me the questions, and I felt it appropriate to open up the comment section to provide answers to his questions from Christians at large. I remind you, before you answer, that how you answer represents more than just you as a person--you are representing the One to whom you owe everything. Let's honor Him in our responses:

Mohammed asks:

1) "Why are man Christians attacking me as if I have done something wrong? I receive countless hate mails through YouTube regarding Ergun, accusing me of being jealous of his status and that I just want to bring him down because he is a “convert” – this is not true.

2) Why are some Christians saying that my website is an “Islamic Hate Site” even though it isn’t?

3) Many Christians have been telling their brethren to not rely on information provided by fakeexmuslims.com as if the information is diseased. Why?

4) Many Christians have been telling people that they should not be taking what a Muslim says as truth. This is rather astonishing, because in my mind, as long as the information is verifiable and correct, then it is truth regardless of the beliefs and practices of the person providing the information. Is this not right?

5) I have been labelled as an “angry Muslim”. I am not an angry person at all, even if you see my videos you will see some jokes and laughter within it. I am not angry at all. The only faith being affected by the likes of Ergun Caner is the spreading of the Christian faith. Muslims find him funny, just go and see the comments section on YouTube which reflects this.

Please understand when I say Christians in the context above, I am not referring to you. I am referring to those Christians who clearly do not possess the manners like that of a true Christian. My questions do not mean that I am upset or saddened in any way, in fact, it is quite the opposite, I find it funny , but my laughter does not negate the seriousness of the matter. "

The Neat Privilege of Hearing from New Friends With Compelling Stories

My post yesterday generated a number of emails from people who read this blog, but heretofore have been strangers to me. One of the wonderful privileges of writing a blog is seeing the world shrink and being able to make acquaintances with people who otherwise would never be known by me. One such person, a literary agent, wrote an encouraging email to me, thanking me for my response the the self-confessed Southern Baptist "leader" who sought to denigrate my children and me yesterday. The agent told me an interesting true story:

"I was Barry "Green Beret" Sadler's literary agent on thirty books. Barry had an encounter with a person of a mean reputation. Barry was not concerned about the threats he made to Barry personally. However, one day, over the phone, he threatened Barry's three children. Barry said "he has gone to far". Approximately a week later, Barry called me and asked if I would meet him later that week at Shoneys to discuss what he was to do. That night, before we had the opportunity to meet, Barry shot and killed the person that threatened his children."

I think I know how Barry must have felt. I've always thought myself as "fair game" and have never held grudges toward people who attack me in order to discredit what I write or say. However, when a person goes after my kids, that becomes "a low blow." I find myself asking why someone is so desperate. Like Sergeant Sadler, it seems there are those who wish to silence my keyboard. Why? Well, maybe what is being written is embarrassing to some--or possibly what some fear will be written is potentially very embarrassing to some. Regardless, these types of tactics just don't work with me.

Stay tuned!

Wade

Amputee Apologizes for Fabricating Story About His Leg, Says Story "Snowballed"

I found the following article from the Tuesday Metro Section The Daily Oklahoman very interesting:

The executive director of an Oklahoma City-based organization providing prosthetic limbs to the needy has apologized to donors and supporters for perpetuating a false story about how he lost his own leg.

For years, Craig Gavras, director of the Limbs for Life Foundation, has been known as a former Dallas police officer who lost his leg after being attacked by an angry mob.

In actuality, Gavras was never a police officer, although he was a Dallas police recruit when he injured his right knee while jogging in 1989. The injury caused him to resign from the police academy, and the leg – which had already been operated on several times due to an earlier sports injury – was amputated in 1993.

In an interview with the Dallas Morning News last week, Gavras said that he lied about his background and injury at a symposium sometime around 1996 because “an accident in the academy just didn’t sound glamorous.”

His lie appeared in news stories over the years, including some in The Oklahoman, and he didn’t take steps to correct it.

“I was doing some speeches around the country, and the intros got embellished,” he told The Oklahoman on Monday. “I didn’t correct it at the time. It perpetuated and snowballed, and I didn’t know how to stop it.”

Friday night, Gavras posted an apology on the foundations’ Web site, said Ryan McGhee, the foundation’s public relations director. Gavras apologized to about 500 donors and supporters Saturday at the foundation’s ninth annual benefit gala at the Dallas Trade Mart.

“The hardest part was taking that first step in front of them,” Gavras said. “I was extremely scared and extremely embarrassed, but when I was finished, I knew it was the right thing to do.”

The foundation’s board chairman, Denielle Taylor, posted words of support for Gavras on the foundation Web site.

“We fully support…Gavras’ excellent work to support the amputee community over the past 15 years,” Taylor wrote, “We will continue to work to improve the lives of amputees worldwide.”

The foundation has given limbs to more than 10,000 amputees and is part of an effort to help supply artificial limbs and therapy to victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

To Question Our Leaders Is Not Only Morally Right, It Is the Essence of Christian Integrity

Nearly four years ago I wrote a post entitled The Cult of Personality in the SBC where I questioned how a large Southern Baptist Church in Florida could call a man who had repeatedly lied about his past to be their pastor.

Steven Flockhart, pastor of FBC West Palm Beach, resigned his post after a secular newspaper revealed the lies he had told the pastor search committee. The resume of "Dr." Flockhart claimed he had several theological degrees, but the newspaper revealed he had fabricated all his educational credentials.

Interestingly, in the very last line of Steven Flockhart's resume, there was this statement:

"(I) have been accepted at Liberty University to obtain a second doctorate."

When I initially read about his fabricated resume, I wondered if Pastor Flockhart was also lying about his enrollment at Liberty University.

It seems The Palm Beach Post may have had similar questions. A reporter called to question Liberty's registrar's office about Flockhart's enrollment for a "second" doctorate.

In an article published on August 26, 2006 The Palm Beach Post reported that the registrar's office initially said that they had never heard of Mr. Flockhart, but then they called the newspaper back later and said they had discovered that Flockhart was enrolled and had paid the registration fees directly to seminary President Ergun Caner. The paper then quoted a Liberty official:

"The pastor (Flockhart) is enrolled and has paid in advance," said Ron Godwin, executive vice president and CEO of Liberty University. He added, "I love those kind of students."

Granted, the Palm Beach Post could have misreported the initial response of Liberty, as well as the words of Ron Godwin, but the newspaper's published report caused many of us to ask several questions about what seemed to be a peculiar financial arrangement. While several of the financial questions were ultimately answered by Dr. Caner himself, there were two main questions that went unanswered at the time:

(1). Was Steven Flockhart enrolled in an actual doctorate program at Liberty University?
(2). If so, what safeguards were in place to prevent Liberty from accepting a doctoral student who had fabricated degrees?

Though questions to our Christian leaders may bring some discomfort, asking them is not a bad thing. It is not attacking someone's character. It is not assuming someone is evil or wicked. It is a legimitate process through which we Christians can hold each other accountable.

For example, Darrell Gilyard was a rising star among Southern Baptists. He preached at Pastors' Conferences, including the Southern Baptist Pastors' Conference in Las Vegas, and his eloquence in the pulpit was unmatched. However, it was discovered that his story of growing up homeless, sleeping underneath bridges, and being converted to Christ out of the rough streets of Jacksonville was all a lie. Baptist Press reported that the Dallas Morning News, in an exclusive July 28, 1991 story, reported that:

Gilyard actually was brought up in a comfortable north Florida home by a woman who reared him as if he were her son. The article included an interview with Barbara Davis, the 65-year-old Palatka woman who said she helped to rear Gilyard from age 8 months until he left home at age 19. The paper also reported Gilyard misrepresented his academic background; accepted a $10,000 "love offering" from Falwell's ministry under false pretenses; and lied about repeated traffic offenses and a suspended drivers license in Florida.

Gilyard is now in prison, not for lying, but for multiple sexual crimes. One wonders why Southern Baptists never asked the tough questions of Darrell Gilyard while he was a Southern Baptist and before he became involved in criminal behavior? Why does the secular press have to do what we ourselves seemed unwilling to do?

It's not hard for anyone to find story after story about Baptist pastors who have lied about their past. Baptist youth pastor Randy Lee Morrow lied about being in a biker gang. He lied about serving prison time. He lied about having terminal cancer. "I lied a lot more than I should have," he says. Why was there nobody asking the tough questions of Randy Lee Morrow?

Now some Christians are asking tough questions to Ergun Caner about the representations he has made to others about his past. These questions are not accusations--they are legitimate queries of a Christian brother to ensure accountability and integrity of Christian ministry. To ask them is not to accuse. To not ask them, however, is inexcusable--particularly when the words spoken publicly are those of Dr. Caner himself. There are some bloggers, like Peter Lumpkins, Tim Guthrie, and others who personally blister anyone who asks tough questions of Dr. Caner. One of these days they will learn that attacking the character of those who ask legitimate, tough questions of our leaders will only ultimately backfire on their intended purpose.

In His Grace,

Wade Burleson