"I would put Minnick's series on Philippians up against even Mac's series on the same passage."
Frank Sansone evaluates criticism of Fundamentalist preaching. Perceived Weakness of Older Fundamentalism
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Thanks Frank
I think anyone involved in an argument over who is the best preacher is forgetting parts of the Bible like the part that says God’s servants are just planters and waterers and it is God that gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:7). Certainly, in every Bible-believing circle, whether it is fundamentalism, or conservative evangelicalism, there are going to be good and bad examples of teaching the Word.
MacArthur is going to be used of the Lord to impact lives that Minnick can never impact. Minnick is going to be used of the Lord to impact people who MacArthur will never be able to reach. Personally, I have been impacted by teachings of both of these men at times. In the end - “to God be the glory, great things He hath done!” By the way, don’t count Sansone out. I’ve been blessed by Sansone writings and sermons on several occassions.
If anyone out there is trapped in a battle of which group has the best preachers, scrap it. Jesus is the best preacher and He alone gets the glory for any impact a sermon has on our lives. Approach every sermon you listen to with a committment to the inspiration and authory of the Bible, discern, and let God speak.
I think anyone involved in an argument over who is the best preacher is forgetting parts of the Bible like the part that says God’s servants are just planters and waterers and it is God that gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:7). Certainly, in every Bible-believing circle, whether it is fundamentalism, or conservative evangelicalism, there are going to be good and bad examples of teaching the Word.
MacArthur is going to be used of the Lord to impact lives that Minnick can never impact. Minnick is going to be used of the Lord to impact people who MacArthur will never be able to reach. Personally, I have been impacted by teachings of both of these men at times. In the end - “to God be the glory, great things He hath done!” By the way, don’t count Sansone out. I’ve been blessed by Sansone writings and sermons on several occassions.
If anyone out there is trapped in a battle of which group has the best preachers, scrap it. Jesus is the best preacher and He alone gets the glory for any impact a sermon has on our lives. Approach every sermon you listen to with a committment to the inspiration and authory of the Bible, discern, and let God speak.
Well, I think the discussion has mainly been about perceived weaknesses in old fundamentalism and what kinds of changes are needed, so Frank mentioned some names to illustrate his point that the weakness of fundamental preaching has been overstated or distorted. I’m not sure I agree that it’s been overstated in general, though I have heard some overstate it and some understate it (as I see it, which is based on pretty limited data).
Thought Frank had some very interesting points over there, though. I think it’s a very strong point that the degree of national recognition of a preacher is not really the measure of the quality of his work… so the perception that conservative evangelicalism has the best preachers today is inaccurate to the degree that it’s based on “famous names”—which is about as far as many bother to look into it.
Thought Frank had some very interesting points over there, though. I think it’s a very strong point that the degree of national recognition of a preacher is not really the measure of the quality of his work… so the perception that conservative evangelicalism has the best preachers today is inaccurate to the degree that it’s based on “famous names”—which is about as far as many bother to look into it.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
[Aaron Blumer] I think it’s a very strong point that the degree of national recognition of a preacher is not really the measure of the quality of his work… so the perception that conservative evangelicalism has the best preachers today is inaccurate to the degree that it’s based on “famous names”—which is about as far as many bother to look into it.You got a witness in the house on that one bro! I think there is a problem in both branches (fundamentalism and conservative evangelicalism) of elevating personalities above and beyond having a Bible-based appreciation of them, hence the open door for an argument over who or which group is the best.
Is “nationally recognized” an important criteria in choosing who should minister to people at a conference (fundamental or conservative evangelical)? If so, where would you all put that on your list?
Perhaps we can explain some of the YF angst by looking at what YFs were taught to expect. Wasn’t it the older generation of fundamentalists that taught repeatedly that the evangelicals had abandoned Scriptural authority and that Fundamentalism was a besieged city that still stood firm on the inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of the Word of God? I’m exaggerating a little bit, but many YFs were raised to expect the highest levels of fidelity to Scripture within their movement (hate that word). At the same time - and perhaps by default - they came to expect gross laxity in the larger world of evangelicalism. Now, it is clear that there is gross laxity in the larger world of evangelicalism. But imagine the shock to the YF who discovers faithful exposition of Scripture coming from a conservative evangelical and then discovers gross laxity amongst his own Fundamentalist brethren and mentors, who were supposed to know better.
No wonder the fingers are being pointed! It’s not that the two are being judged by unequal standards; one side demanded to be judged according to a very strict standard, and they were often found lacking. This is only compounded by the fact that the YF can easily download many MP3s of conservative evangelicals who meet or exceed the Fundamentalists’ standard for preaching, while many Fundamentalists themselves do not. I don’t see why there’s anything unfair about this. It’s not about whether MacArthur is better than Minnick, it’s about the fact that Minnick represents a movement that contains preachers who preach as if they did not believe in the priority of Scripture they have so often and so loudly proclaimed.
Maybe there is something unfair here. Maybe we look at MacArthur in the evangelical milieu and say, “Wow, thank God for sound exposition from a conservative evangelical,” while we look at Minnick in the Fundamentalist milieu and say, “They’re all supposed to be doing this.” So, if there is anything unfair it’s a failure to take each man, each preacher on his own merits, separate from the movements to which they adhere and which they represent.
No wonder the fingers are being pointed! It’s not that the two are being judged by unequal standards; one side demanded to be judged according to a very strict standard, and they were often found lacking. This is only compounded by the fact that the YF can easily download many MP3s of conservative evangelicals who meet or exceed the Fundamentalists’ standard for preaching, while many Fundamentalists themselves do not. I don’t see why there’s anything unfair about this. It’s not about whether MacArthur is better than Minnick, it’s about the fact that Minnick represents a movement that contains preachers who preach as if they did not believe in the priority of Scripture they have so often and so loudly proclaimed.
Maybe there is something unfair here. Maybe we look at MacArthur in the evangelical milieu and say, “Wow, thank God for sound exposition from a conservative evangelical,” while we look at Minnick in the Fundamentalist milieu and say, “They’re all supposed to be doing this.” So, if there is anything unfair it’s a failure to take each man, each preacher on his own merits, separate from the movements to which they adhere and which they represent.
Faith is obeying when you can't even imagine how things might turn out right.
Wow, Aaron, thanks for the link.
I am still in the middle of a series of posts regarding some of the criticisms of the older generation by the younger. (I find myself between two generations, I think :) ). These posts started from some seed thoughts of a presentation by Nathan Crockett - the [URL=http://athinkingmansthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/04/certain-truths-in-unc… original post[/URL] hopefully gives some context to the nature of this discussion.
Also, since I know a number of folks tend to read the quote above out of its context, I thought I would include the whole paragraph here.
Frank
I am still in the middle of a series of posts regarding some of the criticisms of the older generation by the younger. (I find myself between two generations, I think :) ). These posts started from some seed thoughts of a presentation by Nathan Crockett - the [URL=http://athinkingmansthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/04/certain-truths-in-unc… original post[/URL] hopefully gives some context to the nature of this discussion.
Also, since I know a number of folks tend to read the quote above out of its context, I thought I would include the whole paragraph here.
Is Big Mac a better preacher than little ole Frank Sansone? I am sure that he probably is. However, while I don’t think we ought to necessarily be picking teams and making comparisons on things like this, I would say that I would put Minnick’s series on Philippians up against even Mac’s series on the same passage. Or Franklin’s series on 2 Peter or Doran’s message on 1 Corinthians 15 at the National Leadership Conference a couple of year’s ago. It is an unwise and unfair comparison that pits the best of the one side verses the average or (even worse) a bad example of the other side.Thanks,
Frank
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