An Open Letter to First Baptist Church of Hammond, IN – from Jack Hyles’ Daughter Linda

Today, Jack Schaap was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for his crime. I wrote about this issue when it happened, and recently the lurid details were unveiled by the prosecuting attorney. 

(More here and here.) 

Linda Murphrey, daughter of Jack Hyles — the former pastor of First Baptist Hammond, at one time the self-proclaimed largest church in the world — has written an open letter to the church at this time, knowing Schaap’s sentencing was scheduled for today. Schaap is her brother-in-law, and Linda grew up on the inside of the ministry, and in the very home of, the most powerful man in fundamentalism in the 1970s and 80s. Her letter includes an apology and an admission of the secret double life that Hyles lived, and Schaap perpetuated. 

For anyone who knows something of the history of First Baptist of Hammond, and Jack Hyles, this letter is quite amazing to read. It is written with such grace and humility, fervor and love, and above all, honesty. I encourage you to read it and pray for the future of First Baptist of Hammond. The current leadership there has a vested interest to deny the truth of Linda’s letter. This wing of fundamentalism cannot admit that Hyles was phony. So much of their very ethos is tied to his persona — at least it would seem. But I pray that many who have been shaken by these events can find grace and help in her first-hand testimony. May her final words come true:    Continue at Bob Hayton

What Is a Cult?

 As I write about the theological characteristics of cults, I think of my own ten-year involvement in the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Deliverance from the organization and salvation came when I acknowledged my spiritual condition (Rom. 3:23; Eph. 2:1) and placed my faith in the Christ of the Bible (John 20:28). Assurance of eternal life was found in Him alone (1 John 5:10–13). I also am reminded of many friends who have been delivered from the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other cults.

How many cults there are today cannot be stated precisely. It has been estimated that there could be as many as five thousand worldwide, with 150 million adherents (The Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions, Harvest House Publishers, 1999, p. xvii).

With these statistics, Christians certainly cannot ignore the existence of cults, and their adherents should be viewed as a significant mission field. Many persons in these groups once attended, or were members of, mainstream Christian churches.

What Is a Cult?

The term cult has different meanings. How is it used in this article? Dr. Ronald Enroth explains that “we define the word ‘cult’ to mean a group of religious people whose belief system and practices deviate significantly from and often contradict the Holy Scriptures as interpreted by orthodox, biblical Christianity and as expressed in such statements as the Apostles’ Creed” (Evangelizing the Cults, Servant Publications, 1990, p. 11).

Judgment and Scriptural Warnings

For many, the exposure of religious error is not popular and is often criticized as being negative, but Scripture is clear regarding the responsibility that Christians have. In place of the often misused, “Judge not” (Matt. 7:1 KJV) — hypocritical judgment — this portion of the Sermon on the Mount requires one to judge (Matt. 7:6,15–20). It is mandated and necessary.  Continue at  Edmond Gruss

The Cult of Self-Esteem is Ruining our Kids

“Your kids will fail. This is both inevitable and also necessary. Apparently not many parents today want to hear this uncomfortable fact. And they certainly don’t want to implement it in how they discipline their children. Writing the cover story for The Atlantic’s July/August issue, therapist Lori Gottlieb alerts us that the cult of self-esteem is ruining our kids. Convinced they are the center of the universe and capable of anything, our children have become insufferable narcissists. Then, when these kids grow up and fail, as they must, they head for the nearest therapist, worried their lives have gone horribly wrong.” Gottlieb writes:

[R]ates of anxiety and depression have also risen in tandem with self-esteem. Why is this? “Narcissists are happy when they’re younger, because they’re the center of the universe,” [psychology professor Jean] Twenge explains. “Their parents act like their servants, shuttling them to any activity they choose and catering to their every desire. Parents are constantly telling their children how special and talented they are. This gives them an inflated view of their specialness compared to other human beings. Instead of feeling good about themselves, they feel better than everyone else.” Continue reading….