Team Brunson again keeps its congregation in the dark. First Baptist Church Jacksonville posted on their website announcement scroll this week that it will be hosting an event called "A Time to Stand with Israel", and our pastor, Mac Brunson, will be one of the speakers at this event.
The stated purpose of this event is to gather Christians and Jews together to demonstrate support of the nation of Israel, rallying Christians to show financial support of the Jewish nation (Romans 15:27), and to raise a "love offering" for the "Trauma and Rehabilitation Center" of the well-known Assaf Harofeh Medical Center. That's right church: our church's name and our pastor are using our facilities to RAISE FUNDS FOR A HOSPITAL IN ISRAEL. Not that he needs to tell you, or explain it to you so that you can understand WHY that is a wise use of our facilities. Hear me, I'm not saying that this is something we certainly should NOT do. I have not done all the research myself. But is this not such a signficant event, a departure from what we normally use our church buildings for (spreading the gospel and evangelizing in the name of Jesus Christ) that our pastor should.....yes.....EXPLAIN THIS TO US BEFORE ITS PUT ON THE WEBSITE AND LEAVING US SCRATCHING OUR HEADS? WHERE IS THE LEADERSHIP OF OUR PASTOR? DOES HE JUST RUN OFF AND DECIDE TO USE OUR CHURCH FACILITIES AND CHANGE THE FOCUS OF OUR CHURCH AS HE SEES FIT AND DOESN'T NEED TO EXPLAIN THIS TO US?
Why would anyone be opposed to such a meeting at our church facilities, you ask? Aren't we to support the nation of Israel? Sure, but some logical questions that might want to be addressed by our pastor, if he feels led:
- is not the goal of our church to evangelize and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ? Does this include evangelizing and spreading the message that Jesus Christ is the messiah? John Hagee explains that the CUFI events specifically are not meant to evangelize our Jewish friends (and we assume the same would be true for this very similar event), but to "bring Christians and Jews together in a municipal auditorium...and to present a message of hope, a message of appreciation from Christians to Jews for the Jewish Contribution to Christianity...there is nothing said or done in that service that targets Jews for conversion or trying to bring them into the church and the total purpose of the "Night to Honor Israel" is to raise funds to benefit orphans, to bring Jewish people from around the world to Israel who wish to emmigrate to Israel, to help build absorption centers where the Jewish people coming from around the world can learn the Hebrew language and be taught a trade, to giving to hospitals and to organizations throughout the state of Israel that benefit the Jewish people. We have given millions of dollars over 25 years and brought over 12,000 people to Israel..." (Hagee interview on NPR, 9/18/06)
- Why are we using our church facilities and our financial resources trying to raise funds for the nation of Israel? How does this fit into our church mission?
- Does not hosting and sponsoring such an event at our church perhaps confuse the lost world in understanding our mission and our message that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven? Could or should this have been hosted at a "neutral" site in Jacksonville so as to not confuse Jacksonville as to the mission and purpose of our church?
- Are Jews saved or are they lost? Rev. Marcus Allen, Jr. preached a great sermon just Wednesday night and explained that all people without Jesus Christ are headed to a devil's hell....does this include our Jewish friends; do they need to accept Jesus Christ? If so, are we not doing them a disservice to invite them to our church, and not tell them about Christ?
- Fund raisers for Jewish hospital...sounds like a noble cause. What other fund raisers can we use our church buildings for? Are there not some very worthwhile charitable organizations in the United States that could benefit from us holding a fund raiser, that would be more in line with the New Testament teaching to care for the poor, feed the hungry, care for widows, etc?
- What do you say Mac to those who are concerned about Israel's abortion policy? The Israel government does allow state-funded abortions - are we sure we aren't giving money directly or indirectly to a nation or hospital at which medical practices such as abortion or RU-486 dispensing is performed?
Church, I hope that the sponsoring of this event at our church at least causes you to be somewhat concerned...unless the church is being reimbursed from the funds raised at the event to offset the cost of hosting this event, your tithes and offerings that were given to further the gospel of 0ur Lord Jesus Christ have been offered up by Mac Brunson to support the nation of Israel - not that the nation of Israel should not be supported by Christians, but is that what you gave your tithes and offerings for at FBC Jacksonville? I am in no way anti-Israel, and I'm not even saying that this event is wrong or bad. But it sure does raise some questions for me...what about you?
Friday, October 19, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Let's Talk Christian Schools
The decision was made earlier in 2007 that our church, First Baptist Church Jacksonville, would begin moving toward the start of a K-12 school at our downtown campus. This idea was presented in the Vision Sunday in February 2007 - and it was given a whole "bullet point" in the Vision Sunday brochure. No evidence was presented at this point that any marketing studies were conducted as to the need for additional Christian school space in the Jax metro area, or potential market demand for a Christian school located downtown.
Furthermore, Mac Brunson has not kept the congregation posted on the progress in starting this school, except to mention in his sermon on September 30th to say that many people on a committee were working toward opening the school in the Fall of 2008. If the start-up of this school is going to be paid for from the budget of the church, Mac would do very well to take occasion in making announcements every so often on Sunday mornings about the progress made in the school start-up. One brief mention in a sermon in 7 months time doesn't cut it.
Mac probably doesn't know this, but the thought of quite a few "common folk" in the congregation is that this school will not be helping any but the very rich in our congregation, and perhaps will reach as a ministry some of the very rich in our community. If the tuition costs will be anything similar to the First Baptist Academy in Dallas, the tuition cost will range from $9000 to $10,000 for one student. Survey the families at FBC Jacksonville who might be able to afford this tuition, or even half of it...there won't be very many in our congregation.
Mac very much believes in "church marketing" as he uses the "A-Group" church marketing firm; so one would hope that the starting point in the FBC Jax school project was first doing the necessary research answering the questions:
1. Is a Christian school needed in Jacksonville? Is there an expected lack of space in the current Christian schools serving this area?
2. How much demand is there in the Jax metro area for a Christian school located downtown?
3. How many members will be able to take advantage of the school?
4. What will the cost of this school be during the start-up and what financial effect will this have on other ministries in the church?
The question of: SHOULD FBC JACKSONVILLE BE IN THE BUSINESS OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION is one that needs to be seriously considered by wise men and women who are familiar with Jacksonville education, Christian education, and who have no preconceived bias TOWARD starting a school. Its very reasonable that Mac would want a Christian school at FBC Jax. He had one at Dallas. He believes very much in Christian education. But its not his dollars that will be financing it, it will be "God's money" donated by members of the church. So we certainly hope that before we launch into starting a Christian school we first have done the research to make sure it makes sense in every way for our church to move in this direction.
OK, I'll cut to the chase: after observing Mac Brunson over the past year, I don't trust his judgement alone in making the decision to start a school at our church. I hope that serious men and women have not just started planning for the school, but that they first debated the concept and studied market research to see if its even a worthwhile project. If so, can the congregation be told? Church, please speak up and don't be silent any longer if you share similar concerns. Yes, the pastor complains about emails, but that is the only way to let them know.
P.S. Keeping the congregation informed on status of projects, direction of the church, special events, is definitely not a strong suit of Team Brunson. The "LifeLines" weekly publication hasn't been published in over 2 months (and the old version is still posted on the website!). As I said we have heard almost nothing about the school, and now we see that our church is sponsoring a major Pro-Israel fund-raising event for a hospital in Israel....that might be a fine idea, but why does the church only find out about these things from the church website? For a church and pastor that uses a church marketing company, you would think we would do a better job of communicating to the members of the church.
Furthermore, Mac Brunson has not kept the congregation posted on the progress in starting this school, except to mention in his sermon on September 30th to say that many people on a committee were working toward opening the school in the Fall of 2008. If the start-up of this school is going to be paid for from the budget of the church, Mac would do very well to take occasion in making announcements every so often on Sunday mornings about the progress made in the school start-up. One brief mention in a sermon in 7 months time doesn't cut it.
Mac probably doesn't know this, but the thought of quite a few "common folk" in the congregation is that this school will not be helping any but the very rich in our congregation, and perhaps will reach as a ministry some of the very rich in our community. If the tuition costs will be anything similar to the First Baptist Academy in Dallas, the tuition cost will range from $9000 to $10,000 for one student. Survey the families at FBC Jacksonville who might be able to afford this tuition, or even half of it...there won't be very many in our congregation.
Mac very much believes in "church marketing" as he uses the "A-Group" church marketing firm; so one would hope that the starting point in the FBC Jax school project was first doing the necessary research answering the questions:
1. Is a Christian school needed in Jacksonville? Is there an expected lack of space in the current Christian schools serving this area?
2. How much demand is there in the Jax metro area for a Christian school located downtown?
3. How many members will be able to take advantage of the school?
4. What will the cost of this school be during the start-up and what financial effect will this have on other ministries in the church?
The question of: SHOULD FBC JACKSONVILLE BE IN THE BUSINESS OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION is one that needs to be seriously considered by wise men and women who are familiar with Jacksonville education, Christian education, and who have no preconceived bias TOWARD starting a school. Its very reasonable that Mac would want a Christian school at FBC Jax. He had one at Dallas. He believes very much in Christian education. But its not his dollars that will be financing it, it will be "God's money" donated by members of the church. So we certainly hope that before we launch into starting a Christian school we first have done the research to make sure it makes sense in every way for our church to move in this direction.
OK, I'll cut to the chase: after observing Mac Brunson over the past year, I don't trust his judgement alone in making the decision to start a school at our church. I hope that serious men and women have not just started planning for the school, but that they first debated the concept and studied market research to see if its even a worthwhile project. If so, can the congregation be told? Church, please speak up and don't be silent any longer if you share similar concerns. Yes, the pastor complains about emails, but that is the only way to let them know.
P.S. Keeping the congregation informed on status of projects, direction of the church, special events, is definitely not a strong suit of Team Brunson. The "LifeLines" weekly publication hasn't been published in over 2 months (and the old version is still posted on the website!). As I said we have heard almost nothing about the school, and now we see that our church is sponsoring a major Pro-Israel fund-raising event for a hospital in Israel....that might be a fine idea, but why does the church only find out about these things from the church website? For a church and pastor that uses a church marketing company, you would think we would do a better job of communicating to the members of the church.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Church Conflict in Southern Baptist Mega Churches
In the past week there has been a huge spike in readership of this blog. For the newcomers, I would like to direct you to this article at a Christian website call Ethics Daily.com. Although the article is about two months old, it very well summarizes and provides hyperlinks to other stories concerning recent church conflicts around the SBC that involve allegations of ministerial abuses in finances, land, power, nepotism, etc. Pay particular attention to the story concerning Frank Harber, the former pastor of First Baptist Colleyville (Texas) who was embroiled in a shady land deal where he purchased a lot well below market value as a part of a land transaction with another church.
When the issues raised on this blog are viewed in light of these other church scandals, the questions asked here don't seem so out of line. In fact if there are reasonable explanations for issues raised on this blog, it most certainly is in the best interest of the church and its leaders to be very forthcoming with answers to the congregation to show that First Baptist Jacksonville has nothing in common with these other pastors and churches when it comes to finances and land deals.
When the issues raised on this blog are viewed in light of these other church scandals, the questions asked here don't seem so out of line. In fact if there are reasonable explanations for issues raised on this blog, it most certainly is in the best interest of the church and its leaders to be very forthcoming with answers to the congregation to show that First Baptist Jacksonville has nothing in common with these other pastors and churches when it comes to finances and land deals.
Living Up to Expectations...
Since we've had quite a few new readers recently, here's a re-run of a post from about a month and a half ago...the Jacksonville locals might find the "double entendre" interesting...
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He came to Jacksonville not long ago, replacing a great leader before him. We all heard how great he was going to be. He was the handpicked successor to follow a much beloved legend. The expectations were high - perhaps he would lead us to even greater heights! But alas, it has not been so. We all were so happy when we heard he was coming to Jacksonville; it was a happy day when he arrived. We trusted our leadership that they knew what they were doing when they handed him the reigns of this organization...we trusted them that they did their homework and looked at all possible options and picked the best man for the job, to replace a leader who had done so much for our city and for the organization.
Then we noticed that he seemed to like to complain about how rough he had it, making himself out to be a victim when the first bit of criticism came his way. Maybe he became enamored with all the praise he received coming to Jacksonville and thought he could just coast. Maybe it was all that money that was thrown at him...maybe he started to believe everything that people said about how great he was going to be! Maybe we gave up too much to get him here to Jacksonville. Yes, we have all been patient with him...waiting for him to rise to the potential that he promised us and that others told us about. We even passed on some others that we could have taken - maybe not as well known but certainly we knew they had potential as well.
Its taken a long time for some to realize he wasn't all that everyone told us he would be. Of course the everyday guy on the street saw this way before those who selected him did; what took them so long? The people never really seemed to take to his style of leadership, and he just plain 'ole didn't live up to the expectations.
Who is this person, you ask? Isn't it obvious?
So long Byron Leftwich!
There's something we like about a person earning the top spot through dedication and hard work; people like to get behind that kind of a leader. David Garrard certainly has shown himself to be a capable commander. He has handled himself well in adversity, didn't complain when people complained about him, he has been man enough to recognize his shortcomings and failures, and worked hard to make himself better. But on the other hand, people tend to be wary of "knighted" leaders; those who are dubbed "the leader" before they've earned their stripes with those they are leading - as in Byron Leftwich. Perhaps there is a higher standard expected of someone who comes in new, following a legend. We expect them to be a bit more humble, come in working a little bit harder, coming in to serve and prove themselves worthy before reaping all the money and the trappings that the position might well deserve..and certainly we don't expect them to look out for themselves first, but to instead look out for the best of the organization they are leading.
And you thought I was talking about.....shame on you! But as the saying goes, "if the shoe fits...".
----------------------------------------------------------
He came to Jacksonville not long ago, replacing a great leader before him. We all heard how great he was going to be. He was the handpicked successor to follow a much beloved legend. The expectations were high - perhaps he would lead us to even greater heights! But alas, it has not been so. We all were so happy when we heard he was coming to Jacksonville; it was a happy day when he arrived. We trusted our leadership that they knew what they were doing when they handed him the reigns of this organization...we trusted them that they did their homework and looked at all possible options and picked the best man for the job, to replace a leader who had done so much for our city and for the organization.
Then we noticed that he seemed to like to complain about how rough he had it, making himself out to be a victim when the first bit of criticism came his way. Maybe he became enamored with all the praise he received coming to Jacksonville and thought he could just coast. Maybe it was all that money that was thrown at him...maybe he started to believe everything that people said about how great he was going to be! Maybe we gave up too much to get him here to Jacksonville. Yes, we have all been patient with him...waiting for him to rise to the potential that he promised us and that others told us about. We even passed on some others that we could have taken - maybe not as well known but certainly we knew they had potential as well.
Its taken a long time for some to realize he wasn't all that everyone told us he would be. Of course the everyday guy on the street saw this way before those who selected him did; what took them so long? The people never really seemed to take to his style of leadership, and he just plain 'ole didn't live up to the expectations.
Who is this person, you ask? Isn't it obvious?
So long Byron Leftwich!
There's something we like about a person earning the top spot through dedication and hard work; people like to get behind that kind of a leader. David Garrard certainly has shown himself to be a capable commander. He has handled himself well in adversity, didn't complain when people complained about him, he has been man enough to recognize his shortcomings and failures, and worked hard to make himself better. But on the other hand, people tend to be wary of "knighted" leaders; those who are dubbed "the leader" before they've earned their stripes with those they are leading - as in Byron Leftwich. Perhaps there is a higher standard expected of someone who comes in new, following a legend. We expect them to be a bit more humble, come in working a little bit harder, coming in to serve and prove themselves worthy before reaping all the money and the trappings that the position might well deserve..and certainly we don't expect them to look out for themselves first, but to instead look out for the best of the organization they are leading.
And you thought I was talking about.....shame on you! But as the saying goes, "if the shoe fits...".
Friday, October 12, 2007
The Real Power
As several anti-Watchdog posters have said recently on this blog, blogging about issues at FBC Jax won't accomplish anything. They say this blogging must stop, because all that it is doing is causing "dissension" in the church. Paige Patterson would say that blogging is a tool of the devil trying to "stop the man of God". One thing I agree with: blogging in and of itself doesn't accomplish much. Fact is it takes someone with power to hold those in power accountable. This blog and the bloggers have no power. Who would expect the Brunsons to listen to some complaining, "recalcitrant" bloggers? But this begs the question: where are those that DO have the power to demand answers to these questions for the many thousands of people who give money to FBC Jax? Where is the media - where is the Florida Times Union (someone other than Jeff Brumley who wrote that Mac "...drives his own pickup truck and picks his teeth with a business card..." in his February 13 puff piece on Brunson). Where is Baptist Press and the Associated Baptist Press? My gosh, where is Folio Weekly?
As the Richard Roberts' scandal at ORU is gaining national attention, its interesting to note that some of the allegations made against the Roberts' are somewhat similar to those that have been discussed here on this blog regarding Mac Brunson and family. One thing is sure about the mess at ORU: until the fired professors filed a lawsuit and the lawsuit was reported on by the press Richard Roberts was not going to address the questions. Certainly no lowly, disgruntled, "recalcitrant" professors, and for sure no lowly demonic "recalcitrant" blogger has the power to cause Richard Roberts to start answering questions. But after the press reported on the allegations, holy cow Richard Roberts couldn't drive his Lexus fast enough to get to chapel service to address the allegations and announce he was launching a full investigation (and of course attack the motives of the professors filing the lawsuit). Gee, why such a change of heart now Richard on providing answers to those who have been asking questions?
Any chance FBC Jax leadership will find a way to provide answers to these questions BEFORE the press starts asking questions and reporting on unrest at FBC Jax? Not a chance. Despite media reporting on the mega church problems on at Bellevue and Two Rivers, despite even lawsuits by church members, information is not forthcoming to answer questions about how money is spent at these churches. Despite Mac and the staff telling us how important it is that WE be willing to accept change, when it comes to openness and accountability to the givers of the money it will always be "business as usual".
As the Richard Roberts' scandal at ORU is gaining national attention, its interesting to note that some of the allegations made against the Roberts' are somewhat similar to those that have been discussed here on this blog regarding Mac Brunson and family. One thing is sure about the mess at ORU: until the fired professors filed a lawsuit and the lawsuit was reported on by the press Richard Roberts was not going to address the questions. Certainly no lowly, disgruntled, "recalcitrant" professors, and for sure no lowly demonic "recalcitrant" blogger has the power to cause Richard Roberts to start answering questions. But after the press reported on the allegations, holy cow Richard Roberts couldn't drive his Lexus fast enough to get to chapel service to address the allegations and announce he was launching a full investigation (and of course attack the motives of the professors filing the lawsuit). Gee, why such a change of heart now Richard on providing answers to those who have been asking questions?
Any chance FBC Jax leadership will find a way to provide answers to these questions BEFORE the press starts asking questions and reporting on unrest at FBC Jax? Not a chance. Despite media reporting on the mega church problems on at Bellevue and Two Rivers, despite even lawsuits by church members, information is not forthcoming to answer questions about how money is spent at these churches. Despite Mac and the staff telling us how important it is that WE be willing to accept change, when it comes to openness and accountability to the givers of the money it will always be "business as usual".
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