Every Southern Baptist pastor in the state of Florida recently got a four part video series preached by Jerry Vines called "Baptist Battles." In one of those messages, he preached against the "danger" of Calvinism. The Florida Baptist Convention sent this out, using I presume, Cooperative Program dollars. As a result, a number of pastors raised the necessary $20,000 to mail a rebuttal DVD called "Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism" to every SBC pastor in Florida.
While the cheap side of me can appreciate someone sending me free CD's/DVD's, I fail to see the benefit of this kind of infighting. Calvinism/predestination does not fall in what Baptists would call the "essentials" of the faith. This is a secondary issue. We can agree to disagree. I'm not a 5 point Calvinist. However, I pastor alongside my Spanish pastor who is. We have often shared the gospel together with a lost person, side by side. We have gone on mission trips together. There has never been an issue. He has preached in my pulpit.
Actually, I believe that both "Baptist Battles" and "Amazing Grace" are well done and make for a good summary of both positions on this issue. I recommend them both. I just hate that money is being spent by Baptists in order to fight one another when that money could have gone to evangelism or missions.
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