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Personal Views on Faith and Organized Religion
Most of you are aware of my long-standing disdain for organized religion of brick and mortar, of men claiming authority from God, and for denominational lines of right and wrong. Many of you are also aware that I have a truly healthy disdain for Reformed theology. As a result, there has been a history of friction between my views and approach to the faith and those of Apologia, a church/ministry out of Arizona led by brother Jeff Durbin and attended by brother James White. I have contributed to the friction over the years with my mouth but have tried to apologize for sarcasm toward their persons, and I think that the recorded record will show that I’ve matured in that area—at least for the time being.
What I do not apologize for is my views, my right to these views from a biblical standpoint. Right or wrong, I am personally convinced that my take on the faith is biblical, and this take states that everything is fulfilled by God through Christ in scripture and that God’s New Testament abides, making the faith wholly subjective, by the Spirit, whose fruit is love, and that everyone ought to love and be loved irrespective of their right or wrong theologies.
Apologia Church and Communion Controversy
Not long ago, the Calvinist-driven Apologia Church in Arizona decided to plant a satellite church here in Utah. Now, for those of you who don’t realize it, Apologia believes, and they have the right, that they uphold the proper view of all things Christian, and that includes views on God and His make-up, eschatology, and salvation; they believe that they uphold what they claim is the “historic, orthodox, Christian faith”—a claim that always makes me smile in the face of Roman Catholicism's similar claims, and Orthodoxy’s claims, and Mormonism's claims, and non-reformed Protestant claims… but, it’s okay. The point is this group believes that they not only follow and teach everything according to God’s truths BUT that they have the authority to police, discipline, and correct people who differ with them!
Some of you know the young man named Ethan. He, Steve, and I have done a show called CAT that we post here on our YouTube channel. CAT is a show where we openly discuss everything and where we openly differ with each other on certain points. Now Ethan is a sharp kid—a natural preacher too—and he and I will get into it with each other because I try and knock him down a few notches when he gets uppity at times. I do it to season the lad.
The Incident with Ethan
Well, ol Ethan likes to roam around to different churches and events and apparently he visited the Apologia Utah church a few weeks back—unbeknownst to me—and then returned for a second dose the following week. Apologia was offering communion, and someone on staff approached Ethan and told him that he was not allowed to take the communion—because of his association with me. Ethan told me about it, and I laughed my head off—even though I think the act was quite sad.
Well, Sarah Young of checkmychurch hears about this, and she wants to understand the principle behind Apologia’s actions, so she writes to them, and they wrote back and said: As ministers of the Gospel, it is our duty to, what is called, fence the Lord's table. To partake of the Lord's table, one must have a profession of faith and repentance in the Lord Jesus Christ; they must be a Christian who holds to the essentials of the faith, a member in good-standing of a solid evangelical church or our church, and come in a way as 1 Corinthians 11 says to examine oneself. It is our conviction that to do otherwise would bring judgment upon ourselves as those overseeing the ordinances of the church and likewise, to give the pastoral warning in communion is to save those from judgment (1 Cor. 11:29) who come in a non-discerning way.
So, let me stop right there. It was the determination of the leaders in that church that 16-year-old Ethan failed to live up to these things in his life. This is the bottom line to them refusing to let him take the communion. Can you see how failing this is in this day and age?
Apologia Utah and Authority
Age? How much church playing is required to even try and carry something like this out? And who has the authority to make these decisions there in Apologia Utah? And how did they receive this authority to lord over Ethan who, on his own chose to visit their church twice? Can you see the wisdom of God in making His body a body of people in whom He writes his laws? Can you see the wisdom in how God shook everything to nothing as promised leaving only unshakable things in place to operate His Kingdom? Can you see how untenable and unreasonable and unethical and unsupportable these actions were toward Ethan and any and all others who step into their church in this day and age of the Spirit reigning via love? Again, I believe these men have the right to do what they are doing as a matter of conscience – and I love and receive them as well-meaning brothers – but what they base their practice on is untenable, unbiblical, and lacking all authority.
The pastor of Apologia Utah continued in his response to Sara saying: You stated you and your friend (meaning Ethan) are members at Campus church (if Sarah said they were members this was a misidentification as CAMPUS has no memberships of any kind. If she didn’t then the Pastor leapt to a conclusion); the last I heard, the pastor of your church, Shawn McCraney, denies the doctrine of the Trinity, is this still the case? Denies the doctrine of the Trinity? Where in scripture is the doctrine of the Trinity? Have I ever forced anyone to embrace my view on this? Why would my view of the Trinity prohibit this young man from being worthy to eat their proprietary communion? He continues and asks: Has he repented of that? Does he ascribe to modalism? Does he still hold to universalism? Or full preterism? These are things that would take your pastor, his church, and anyone who follows his teachings outside the historic Christian faith and the doctrines we know to be essential and salvific. So much being said here. So much conjecture. So much failure to listen first then act. And then the assumption that my views on such non-Gospel things they KNOW TO BE ESSENTIAL AND SALVIVIC? WHAT??????
Concerns of Mischaracterization
The Elders of Apologia Church ends with: “We are also concerned about the slander and mischaracterization you, Ms. Young, and Shawn McCraney, have publicly committed against Pastor Jeff Durbin and Pastor James White and against Apologia church. Are you repenting of and asking forgiveness for these things as well? My prayer and hope is that you would. Sincerely, Elders of Apologia Church Utah. Now, in light of the most recent video podcast Apologia did on me with Jason Wallace, I thought I showed love and grace in my response to them. But in fear that I failed there and was guilty of slandering or mischaracterizing Jeff Durbin and James White I wrote the following:
Dear Elders of Apologia Church Utah, I have recently received the news that there is an opinion that I have slandered Jeff Durbin and James White. If that is the case I apologize in Jesus name. I have attempted to respond to the Apologia podcast about me with love and respect – which I think I did. Of course, over the years there has been a back and forth of mud-slinging between us and for this I beg the forgiveness of anyone who was hurt by my words or deeds. Please accept this email as a formal apology for anything I have said or done against any person within your organization.
Standing by Personal Views
This being said, I adamantly stand by my own views on the make-up of God, eschatology, eternal punishment and total reconciliation (which is not universalism). I do not see my views of these matters as "essential and salvivic." And while I ardently reject your teachings on God and salvation as man-influenced and wholly unbiblical, and find them personally repugnant, I believe you mean well, understand how you interpret the scripture the way you do, and consider you all worthy recipients of God's love and the hope of salvation. May the true and living God bless you.
Shawn McCraney
To this, I received the following: Good Afternoon, It is with sadness I inform you that you are a false teacher who propagates false teachings; teachings in contradiction with the Holy Scriptures and the historic, orthodox, Christian faith. Until your repentance from such things and a desire for truth we have no need for
Theological Views and Expressions
You are outside of Christ's church. We will be praying for you. If you repent one day and become teachable to the plain teachings of the Bible, we are here for you.??Sincerely,?Elders of Apologia Church Utah
And so here we stand. I bring all of this to your attention NOT to continue the rub. I do not like warfare with flesh and blood and openly accept responsibility for ANYTHING I have EER said or done to contribute to animus between us – except, sharing my theological views on things – for this I am not the least bit remorseful. I bring all of this forward now because it adds an exclamation point to all that this ministry has come to see, believe and stand for relative to the operation of Christ in this world.
On the one hand we have what men and women have done with the faith – they have taken it for 2000 years and claimed that they represent it correctly, and with authority from God, and have played church through ten thousand different and conflicting expressions – or, they have admitted that God through Christ did everything necessary for His New Testament to reign from within those whom He has written His laws, and the Spirit guides, with its fruit, and the faith is subjectively experienced.
Paths of Faith
If you like the former models – they are out there awaiting your allegiance and conformity. Have at it. They will tell you how to live, how to believe, how to interpret the word and how to be right with God. They are called Reformed, Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, Baptist, Pentecostal, Messianic and on and on and on. Or you can test everything we suggest God has finished, and step into the faith by His Spirit, and love all persons of every expression in His name and cause. And you can be liberated from the shackles of man-made material religion, and step into an abundant direct life of relationship with God for which you and you alone are responsible. It is up to you – God loves you the same. But you can pursue Him in spirit and truth or in the Spirit of Religious Traditions – which all fail to stand up to scrutiny as far as I can tell.
Upcoming Changes
We are headed toward some big changes as most of you are well aware of by now. We will explain to you what these changes are going to be in the next two months or so. But if you want to get in on the ground floor of this coming approach, write us an email – shawn@alatheamedia.com and we will make you a founding member (that’s right, member) of what is happening. If, once we announce the big reveal, you don’t want to be apart we will certainly honor your wishes. But if you have liked what we have been about, we think you will want to stick around. So, write us. Now go and love as commanded.
