T.D. JAKES AND SUPPORT FOR APPRISING MINISTRIES

Apprising Ministries remains thankful for the small handful of faithful financial supporters, a couple of which have been with us from the beginning, making it possible for me to continue to do this important work.

I’m very grateful for your generosity because an online apologetics and discernment ministry like this, being non-denominational, depends entirely upon the gifts of God’s people. The Lord be praised, it’s very rewarding, and humbling, to receive your feedback like the following:

God bless you Pastor Silva for speaking the truth in love about modalism. I praise God for you.

AM Reader

Dear brother Silva,

Thank you so much for the work you are doing. We need more godly men, like you, who expose the false teachers in the church today.

I’m from Trier, Germany. You are probably making a bigger impact than you realize. Please stay strong in the Lord, and keep fighting for the faith. God bless you

AM Reader

Dear Ken,

Thanks again for the important work that you are doing with Apprising Ministries. I learn from your work daily, and I am growing in discernment.

Your efforts are hugely appreciated, and my prayers are with you.

AM Reader

Maybe you’ve been blessed through the work here and you might consider helping to support this labor in the Lord. At this time a gift of any amount—whether one time or on a regular basis—goes a long way toward helping to keep AM available on the Net.

If you’d like to donate via PayPal you may click here; or you can make your checks/money orders payable to Connecticut River Baptist Church with Apprising Ministries in the memo and send them to:

Connecticut River Baptist Church
P.O. Box 340
Claremont, NH 03743

I now offer the following as further encouragement to those of you standing with AM as we labor along the oft-ugly Internet Front. Let this be a good reminder that, glory to God, I’ve been given a forum from which I’m able to communicate with the very people who’s warped works I am exposing.

The Lord has opened doors where this even involves some of the biggest names around the church visible. Such is the case with Word Faith heretic and reputed modalist T.D. Jakes; and here I draw your attention to the following as another picture illustrating how God is using this work.

In her piece Bishop T.D. Jakes’ Tweet Reignites Debate About Pastor’s Trinity Theology today Christian Post reporter Nicola Menzie writes about a Twitter exchange between Jakes and myself. I recapped it for you yesterday in T.D. Jakes Says Ken Silva Is Being Obnoxious.

Even though I was respectful of his stature, and really rather gentle in my approach, Jakes would get upset and later block me from following him when I questioned him about his beliefs concerning the nature of God. There’s nothing obnoxious about me doing my job as a pastor-teacher.

When I approach T.D. Jakes, I do so as one of his peers, whether he accepts that or not. Menzie begins:

Bishop T.D. Jakes, the senior pastor of The Potter’s House in Dallas, Texas, was challenged about his beliefs regarding the Holy Trinity during a brief, yet heated, Twitter debate on Friday — not the first time the megachurch pastor and accomplished author has been questioned about his doctrine regarding the Godhead. (Online source)

Here we see the value of this type of ministry using social media and how God is spreading it. How else would I have had the chance to try and share the truth about God with a celebrity Prophet-Führer like T.D. Jakes? It should be noted that the only one who may have been “heated” is Jakes.

And why do you suppose it is Jakes is “questioned about his doctrine” concerning the nature of God? I’ll tell you; it’s because he appears to be purposely vague about it while at the same time using the language of Oneness Pentecostal modalists. Menzie then tells us:

This recent discussion appears to have started when Jakes tweeted to his followers Friday the following message: “God brings us together so that He can dwell in the midst of our unity, the church must lift up a standard of unity.”

Another Twitter user with the handle “Defend Orthodoxy” then tweeted: “@BishopJakes: ‘…the church must lift up a standard of unity.’ // One reason why Modalism is a destructive heresy… misleading people.” (Online source)

D.O. is dead-on-target above; you see, those who hold to modalism are the ones who are attempting to sow division among those of us who believe the Biblical doctrine of the Holy Trinity, which has always been taught by the historic orthodox Christian Church—the Body of Christ.

Menzie then brings me into the picture with a bit of a backhand at my labor in the Lord here at AM:

The Texas minister also began fielding accusations from Ken Silva (@RealKenSilva), pastor of Connecticut River Baptist Church in Claremont, N.H. Silva also runs an apologetics website, Apprising Ministries, where he is critical of teachings by various influential members in the Christian community, such as Jakes, Rob Bell and Rick Warren, to name a few. (Online source)

Indeed I am critical of the man-pleasing musings of Rob Bell, the original rock star pastor of the Emerging Church, and Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren. However, it’s the logical fallacy of argumentum ad populum to automatically equate “influential” with orthodox. Often, it’s the reverse.

Menzie continues:

Silva, an ordained Southern Baptist Conference minister, also questioned Jakes by tweeting to The Potter’s House pastor Friday: “@BishopJakes Which God are you talking about? The Triune God of the Bible, or the ficticious god of modalism? Which one do you believe in?”

It was then that a minor debate ensued between Jakes and Silva regarding his beliefs about the Holy Trinity, with Jakes tweeting: “@RealKenSilva Ken I believe in Jesus Christ the only begotten of the Father. I believe in the Holy Spirit sent to the world by the Father!”
(Online source)

As I previously pointed out, it’s become of paramount importance to get people to define their terms. What Jakes has just said he believes is terribly insufficient. Those same things can be stated by practicing modalists—or even Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. It all depends upon the definitions.

In her apparent need to defend T.D. Jakes Menzie next speculates:

Perhaps not wanting to get into a lengthy debate about a position he has addressed before, Jakes shut down the conversation and reportedly blocked Silva on Twitter, writing: “@RealKenSilva What I don’t believe in is dividing the body of Christ or allowing obnoxious communications in my space so….”

Silva continued the conversation, however, on his Apprising Ministries website, where the N.H. pastor accused Jakes of refusing to clearly define, in exact terms, his views on “the cardinal doctrine” of orthodox Christianity.

However, as noted above, Jakes has previously publicly defended his beliefs about the Holy Trinity when accused of modalism. (Online source)

No Nicola, Jakes has never adequately addressed his actual position on the doctrine of the Trinity; there is a fuller picture of the actual documentation in T.D. Jakes And The Trinity. I suggest you actually make the time to examine it before making such a statement. I’m hardly his only critic.

In closing this, for now, Menzie does go on to discuss modalism, which essentially teaches God is one person Who has expressed Himself in three modes, i.e. different ways. But unfortunately, Menzie then provides a really rather simplistic and somewhat skewed look at the Nicene Creed.

However, it’s The Athanasian Creed that confesses:

Whoever wills to be in a state of salvation,
before all things it is necessary that he hold
the catholic [apostolic/universal] faith,
which except everyone shall have kept whole
and undefiled without doubt he will perish eternally.

Now the catholic faith is that we worship
One God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity,
neither confounding the Persons nor dividing
the substance.
For there is one Person of the Father, another of the
Son, another of the Holy Spirit.
But the Godhead of the Father, of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
is One, the Glory equal, the Majesty
coeternal. (Online source)

So T.D. Jakes, if you truly are a Christian pastor, then let us hear you plainly confess this Biblical truth.

See also:

T.D. JAKES TWEETS ON CRITICS

T.D. JAKES IN HIS NATURAL TBN HABITAT

T.D. JAKES: JESUS IS THE PRODUCT