"SBC Plodder", aka William Thornton, Diagnoses "Chronic Clergy Complaining Syndrome"

William Thornton is an SBC pastor in the Atlanta area that blogs as the "SBC Plodder". He is my favorite blogging pastor, as he is conservative, yet not afraid to speak his mind even when his views are contrary to the CR party line.

He posted a great article Monday entitled "Chronic Clergy Complaining Syndrome". Many pastors seem to exhibit the symptoms of CCCS, as I chronicled in my series "Crybaby Pastors" (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3).

Here is William's recommendations to his fellow pastors who have CCCS:

Plodder’s suggestions to help the brethren avoid unbecoming whinefests:

1. If you think preaching a 30 minute sermon is like working an eight hour day, take a nap on Sunday afternoon.

2. If you think you are underpaid, find a better paying occupation. You are in an occupation you chose. No one forced you into it.

3. Talk to some eightysomething retired pastors about compensation and other job related matters.

4. Figure out a way to be paid a dollar every time someone says, “I wouldn’t want your job.”

5. Thank Jesus for your high calling.

Good one, William.

After 11 Months, Liberty University Trustee Speaks About Caner Decision: "We, the Committee Never Found One Instance of Ergun Lying"

"I was the Chairman of the committee that crafted the statement concerning Ergun. We never once found that he lied". Evangelist Tim Lee, May 19, 2011
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After nearly 11 months of silence since Liberty University's investigation committee demoted Ergun Caner and issued their confusing statement about "factual statements that were self-contradictory", the head of the committee that drafted the statement has finally spoken publicly and clarified the committee's findings.

Evangelist Tim Lee was apparently the head of this five-person committee that investigated Caner, as he admitted on my blog last week.

Lee posted numerous statements on this blog in response to my May 18th blog post concerning the departure of Caner from Liberty last week to Arlington Baptist College. Lee posted in my blog comment section in an attempt to refute the claims of my source for the information in my May 18th post entitled "Inside Story: Ergun Caner was Finally Shown the Door by Liberty Officials".

And unbelievably, Tim Lee said at least twice that the committee did not find any instances of Ergun Caner lying. He characterized Caner's deceptions that have been chronicled on the Internet over a 9-year period as "misstatements".

WD readers can browse the comment section of the May 18th blog post for Lee's comments, but I've hyperlinked the comments here for easier access:

Lee Comment #1

Lee Comment #2

Lee Comment #3

Lee Comment #4

Lee Comment #5

I do want to highlight a few of Tim Lee's remarks out of the above, and give some commentary.

In Lee's Comment #1, Lee says that they never found Caner to have lied, not even once:

"I was the Chairman of the committee that crafted the statement concerning Ergun. We never once found that he lied. There was 5 men on the committee and 1 eventually removed himself leaving us with 4."

Lee then says again, on behalf of the entire committee, that they never found him to have lied, but only to have "misspoke":

"We, the committee never found one instance of Ergun lying. We did find numerous instances of misspeaking. He was rebuked and reprimanded and I can promise you much more careful about what he says and how he says it."

I find this hard to believe that they never found one instance of lying. A very prominent faculty member who was on the committee with Tim Lee contacted me personally during the investigation to obtain complete copies of Ergun Caner's November 2001 sermon at FBC Jax, and the complete set of sermons preached in 2007 at the Ohio Free Will Baptist men's retreat. These sermons contained multiple lies, not "misstatements". Lies like he was raised in Europe, trained in Islamic Jihad, that he learned of American culture by watching television in Istanbul as a child, etc.

Also, the obvious question: why would "misspeaking" require someone to be "rebuked" and "reprimanded" as Lee says the committee did to Caner? This question is especially relevant when Lee characterizes Caner's misstatements by relating them to one of his own, where he simply crossed two words:

"I spoke at Liberty University last year on Veterans Day. I have given my story hundreds if not a couple of thousand times. In front of 10000 people that day I said ' I stepped on a 60lb mine and it blew me several feet in the air ripping both of my bodies off my leg'. Now the mine didn't rip both of my bodies off my leg as I only have one body.It ripped both of my legs off of my body. I had said it right hundreds and hundreds of times but that day I got it wrong. My children were listening back in Dallas via Internet. They were in the floor with laughter. "

Would this simple misstatement require Tim Lee to be rebuked and reprimanded? Of course not. This is absolutely NOT what the 9 1/2 years of Caner deceptions were about.

Sadly, Tim Lee portrays Caner as the victim:

"I am extremely proud to call Ergun friend. There are times when he might have been better to have had an affair or to commit a homosexual act or to rob a bank. I believe the brethren would have been more forgiving."

This is so twisted. Ergun Caner lied to the congregation at FBC Jax in November 2001 right after 9/11 to portray himself as a former terrorist and this was the beginning of nearly a decade of deceit in churches all over America. Videos for sale of Caner's testimony even as late as April 2010 portrayed Caner as a "former terrorist". Caner is not the victim. In fact, it was Caner's friends who went on the offensive and mercilessly attacked James White who was the most vocal minister calling for Caner to repent. But Tim Lee does not address that pathetic aspect of this saga.

What Tim Lee's comments tell us is that it is no wonder the committee has maintained 11 months of silence. They know that to defend Caner, or to defend their confusing statement issued last June would just raise more questions, and further subject their university to criticism.

My May 18th post ended with this statement:

"And we can at least be thankful that he [Caner] is out of the SBC, and that some folks at Liberty in the end did the right thing. "

I stand by everything I wrote in that article, but I do retract that last statement, thanks to Tim Lee's explanation that the committee did not find any lies. Apparently they did NOT do the right thing, according to Tim Lee. Investigatory committee, I tried to give you credit, but Tim Lee would not let me.

The king still has no clothes.

Hogan Upset by Brown: A Sign of the Times?

Jeff Brumley, the religion writer of our paper, the Florida Times Union, wrote a tongue-in-cheeck article yesterday discussing what "signs" might indicate that today IS the end of time as predicted by Harold Camping.

Signs of the End Times, locally and beyond

One of the "signs" Jeff mentioned:

"On Tuesday, Jacksonville elects its first black mayor in Alvin Brown (and that was against Mike Hogan, a candidate seemingly backed by mighty First Baptist Church, of which Hogan is a member."

with the hyperlink going to the Sunday May 15th FBC Jax Watchdog post describing how Mac had Mike Hogan come to the front and kneel while Mac laid hands on him and prayed a length prayer "...God, give us godly leadership".

Thanks for the hat-tip, Jeff.

Yes, Mike Hogan lost in a mammoth political upset, as unknown conservative Democrat Alvin Brown beat Mike Hogan in the race for mayor last Tuesday.

As Jeff says, "Whether or not it's the End Times, I have no idea. But the times, they are a 'changin."

Watchdog Bids Farewell: His Last Post, Unless....

Unfortunately, upcoming events have led me to decide now is the time for me to lay down the blogging pen and say goodbye to all of my blogging friends.

You see, I have heard from my pastor, Harold Camping (the picture at left really is him, it is not a wax figure at the "Ripley's Believe it or Not" museum in St. Augustine), that the end of the world is Saturday, May 21st...my pastor has told me that Jesus is coming back and taking all of his true believers with him to heaven tomorrow.

And if Jesus comes back, and by the slimmest of chances I'm actually a Christian - which many of my pastor friends here tell me I'm NOT - I suppose I'm going with Jesus, and all of you recalcitrants who read this blog in defiance of your pastor, will be left behind and I won't have a chance to say goodbye.

And if, as my pastor friends say, I really am a hell-bound reprobate, unregenerate sinner - because I am a "fractious man" who stirs up trouble who should be left alone and isolated, then I will probably be left here to suffer tribulation while all the non-Calvinist, tithing Southern Baptist mega church pastors are in heaven with Jesus, and there will be nothing left to blog about. All the pastors will leave me behind and will be leading their followers on the ultimate "Holy Land Trip" paid for by their latest tithe check. My pastor tells me that Jesus will take us on a cruise down the Danube on our way to heaven, with a stop in Rome for shopping.

So I figure it is best for me to cover both bases and say "goodbye"....unless my pastor is wrong and the world doesn't actually end on Saturday, in which case never mind - I'll see you all on Sunday with my next blog post.

See you all on the other side, or back here on May 22nd.

I'm heading off to make my tinfoil hat.

Blessings to all!

Inside Story: Ergun Caner Was Finally Shown the Door by Liberty Officials

Ergun Caner posted a press release on his website to announce that he is being hired as the Provost and Vice President of Arlington Baptist College in Arlington, Texas. ABC is a tiny bible college of about 115 students.

I have an inside source at Liberty University who has shared with me some of the details behind Ergun Caner's departure from Liberty to join ABC. In the interest of closure in this saga and some sense of disclosure on what Liberty finally did with Caner, I share this information that was shared with me by a reliable source.

Caner was finally forced out at Liberty by several of the trustees and a number of faculty members who gave an ultimatum of some sort to the administration that it was either Caner who had to leave, or them. My source tells me it was not unanimous with the trustees in forcing Caner to leave. In fact the majority wanted to keep him, but the straw that broke the camel's back was his refusal to make a public apology for the repeated lying of parts of his life's story. Thus, with no willingness to make a public apology, Caner was told he had to leave.

So Caner moves on to the next chapter of his life. The more fundamentalist World Baptist Fellowship churches and members, and the very small school to which Caner is moving, likely hasn't followed the shenanigans last year with Caner very closely. Perhaps those that hired him are believing whatever his version of events are - plus most independent fundamental baptists don't have a high regard for the "liberal" SBC'ers anyways.

How sad that in the "press release" announcing Caner's hiring at ABC, they actually quote evangelist and Marine Vietnam Vet Tim Lee - a staple evangelist amongst independent baptist churches - and Tim Lee tells everyone just how wonderful Ergun Caner is! Does Tim Lee understand that Ergun Caner duped our U.S. Marines in 2005 when he conducted training sessions as some sort of Muslim culture expert who grew up in Turkey?

From the press release:

"Evangelist Tim Lee said, 'I have learned that my good friend, Dr Ergun Caner has accepted the position of Executive Vice-President and Provost at Arlington Baptist College in Arlington, TX. I am excited for Arlington Baptist College! They could not have made a better choice. I believe Ergun will have a very positive impact and that it will be realized immediately! Both Arlington Baptist College and Dr Ergun Caner have my support!' "

But this is the good thing about the Internet: no matter who they get to speak on Caner's behalf, what transpired last year on the blogs in exposing Caner's lies is still here for anyone who is interested in the truth to read, Tim Lee endorsement or not.

In the end, it was arrogance that did Caner in. He could have humbled himself earlier last year when the story was still breaking. I called on Caner to do it, and he could have salvaged his reputation and his ministry with the students at Liberty.

Instead he chose to be defiant and silent, while his friends went into full attack mode against those who called for Caner to come clean. It was a shameful chapter in the life of the SBC that won't soon be forgotten.

And really, isn't the arrogance in full display again with the issuance of a "press release"? Go figure: the man is leaving Liberty after being demoted last year, and moving to an extremely small, mostly obscure school in Arlington Texas that most Baptists have never heard of with maybe 100 students or so....yet he figures that someone of his stature requires a "press release" to announce his hiring at this very small school.

Let's hope that Caner has learned his lesson and the fantastic stories of his past will be buried at Lynchburg. And we can at least be thankful that he is out of the SBC, and that some folks at Liberty in the end did the right thing.