Neo-evangelical Anabaptists

[joshuabgood]

I am surprised to hear this. 7 Mountain thinking is still around?

Alive and well...

It is observation that Anabaptists adopt foreign theology to fill an immediate need. In your judgement, what need is driving the openess to this strange fire which on the surface seems antithetical to basic tenants of Anabaptism.

I think the desire for a faith that touches more than Sunday morning and the clothes we wear or rules we have. And I think the sincere, though misguided, desire the see the kingdpm of God on earth as also in heaven and not merely a pie in the sky when we die.

[Ernie]

Alive and well...

It is observation that Anabaptists adopt foreign theology to fill an immediate need. In your judgement, what need is driving the openess to this strange fire which on the surface seems antithetical to basic tenants of Anabaptism.

I think the desire for a faith that touches more than Sunday morning and the clothes we wear or rules we have. And I think the sincere, though misguided, desire the see the kingdpm of God on earth as also in heaven and not merely a pie in the sky when we die.

Do these Anabaptists believe that Paula White is for real?

[Ernie]

Looks like these are prominent names according to Wiki and Grok

Prominent Members and Founders of Seven Mountains Mandate/Theology

Founders
Loren Cunningham - Founder of Youth With A Mission (YWAM)
Bill Bright - Founder of Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru)
Francis Schaeffer - Theologian and Christian philosopher

Current Prominent Members
Lance Wallnau - New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) apostle and author
Paula White-Cain - Televangelist, pastor, and spiritual advisor to former President Donald Trump
Bill Johnson - Senior pastor of Bethel Church
Michele Bachmann - Former U.S. Representative for Minnesota and member of Ziklag
Lauren Boebert - U.S. Representative for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District
Rafael Cruz - Pastor and member of Ziklag
Mike Johnson - U.S. Representative for Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District and Speaker of the House
Tom Parker - Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court
Johnny Enlow - Pastor and NAR prophet
Charlie Kirk - Founder of Turning Point USA and Turning Point Faith

Mike Johnson is supposedly Southern Baptist. So does that mean some SBC folks subscribe to this as well?

[barnhart]

Alive and well...

It is observation that Anabaptists adopt foreign theology to fill an immediate need. In your judgement, what need is driving the openess to this strange fire which on the surface seems antithetical to basic tenants of Anabaptism.

I think the desire for a faith that touches more than Sunday morning and the clothes we wear or rules we have. And I think the sincere, though misguided, desire the see the kingdpm of God on earth as also in heaven and not merely a pie in the sky when we die.

Those are reasonable goals. Like Chester Weaver keeps saying on Anabaptist Perspectives, we have lost our story.

[Ken]

Looks like these are prominent names according to Wiki and Grok

Prominent Members and Founders of Seven Mountains Mandate/Theology

Founders
Loren Cunningham - Founder of Youth With A Mission (YWAM)
Bill Bright - Founder of Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru)
Francis Schaeffer - Theologian and Christian philosopher

Current Prominent Members
Lance Wallnau - New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) apostle and author
Paula White-Cain - Televangelist, pastor, and spiritual advisor to former President Donald Trump
Bill Johnson - Senior pastor of Bethel Church
Michele Bachmann - Former U.S. Representative for Minnesota and member of Ziklag
Lauren Boebert - U.S. Representative for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District
Rafael Cruz - Pastor and member of Ziklag
Mike Johnson - U.S. Representative for Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District and Speaker of the House
Tom Parker - Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court
Johnny Enlow - Pastor and NAR prophet
Charlie Kirk - Founder of Turning Point USA and Turning Point Faith

Mike Johnson is supposedly Southern Baptist. So does that mean some SBC folks subscribe to this as well?

Clearly.

Although I think some of the biggest charlatans like Paula White and the Bethel Church folks like Bill Johnson and Sean Feucht tend to run independent non-denominational churches because that keeps them outside the supervision and oversight of any larger and more established organization.

[Jazman]

I'd still like to learn about this if anyone has knowledge.

Does Rosedale take any different position on divorce and remarriage than what LMC does?

Does Rosedale take any different position on LGBTQ than what LMC does?

I am not really aware of any differences on those issues.

The difficulty is also that what the "talking heads" of organizations are speaking to and angling for do not always reflect the voices on the ground. Rosedale for example, with regard to leadership and teaching, recently, is very strongly Anabaptist, though in the pews there has been a good amount of Christian nationalist influence.

LMC is a little bit behind I think with regard to Anabaptist perspective in leadership and teaching, though there are voices pushing that direction, (there are significant voices influenced by more charismatic avenues/seven mountain thinking). And once again, in the pews there is pretty strong Christian nationalism in some sections.

I know next to nothing about Rosedale... but your points about LMC jive with what I observe as I attend a rural/suburban 'conservative' LMC church and also knowing/occasionally interacting with some people at the top level denomination leadership
Here's a few for me personally... Tom Eshleman - neighbor/same town
William Higgins - taught at our church, and I participated in a reading group with him that read early Anabaptist writings. Knows Anabaptist theology in/out and the Bible and how it all overlaps, intersects or diverges from the more nominal evangelical american pop christianity... I wish we could clone him so each of our churches had him! (There are some others too, older, retired... like Brinton Rutherford, but not many...) He would be the voice that quietly/gently says "Wait a minute... Does the Bible say that? Did Anabaptists/Mennonites believe/think/practice that? whenever the mass of pew warmers are forever bringing the pop evangelical, Christian nationalist or extreme charismatic nonsense like the Seven Mts or prosperity gospel stuff they've imbibed from their favorite SBC/Maga podcast, radio show or YWAM base or megachurch Sat night hoopla or Mennonite-in-name-only christian day school...

[cooper]

William Higgins - taught at our church, and I participated in a reading group with him that read early Anabaptist writings. Knows Anabaptist theology in/out and the Bible and how it all overlaps, intersects or diverges from the more nominal evangelical american pop christianity... I wish we could clone him so each of our churches had him!

Agree...Higgins is super solid. Incidentally, I was in that same reading group (perhaps a different time) and enjoyed it. (LMC has reading groups or classes on Zoom periodically by William Higgins.)

[Jazman]

How many Neo-Evangelical Anabaptists believe this stuff that is coming from Bill Johnson/Bethel, that I mentioned?

I believe I've read through most of this thread, but was Neo-Evangelical Anabaptists clearly defined? For my part, I'm sure I know yet who we think they are and therefore I'm not sure I can answer this question.

In my circle, whatever they are, I don't know that they 'believe' everything that BJ/Bethel do, but have many of them been influenced? Yes. Do they see little to no issues with the big megachurch in my area that seems to emulate or have close connections with BJ/Bethel? Yes, a number of us are sympathetic to what goes on there and what is taught/practiced... So, indirectly, some of us do... In reaction to our staid Menno ways, we believe that charismatic hoopla of the BJ/Bethel variety, might be our path out of what some of us believe is the doldrums (I personally do not believe that)

[barnhart]

... In reaction to our staid Menno ways, we believe that charismatic hoopla of the BJ/Bethel variety, might be our path out of what some of us believe is the doldrums (I personally do not believe that)

That is a pattern over the years. I'm most familiar with the experience of the Virginia Mennonites where pietists or revivalists or some other innovative group impacted them when spiritual life was at low ebb. Circuit riding Brethren preachers came at one such low point and did a lot of good in my view, Methodist tinged revivalism was also influential and brought with it innovative theology. My grandmother, who recently turned 100 mentioned as a child she remembers her father expressing reservation about interacting with Presbyterians because of their active child evangelism campaigns.

[Jazman]

I believe I've read through most of this thread, but was Neo-Evangelical Anabaptists clearly defined? For my part, I'm NOT sure I know yet who we think they are and therefore I'm not sure I can answer this question.