I jotted down some quick
and brief thoughts on a number of issues that I
thought a pastor or church leader may want to
know, before they invite my to present to their
congregation or group. I have been a pastor and
I fully understand the desire of a shepherd to
safeguard against spiritually unhealthy
influences. If your question is not answered
below, please contact me.
Steve Durkac's Position
on...
On prayer - I believe prayer must be
biblical, and must not be fashioned after new
age, mystical, or eastern religious practices or
beliefs. Prayer that stands on the name of Jesus
the Christ, on the promises of God's word, and
fills our hearts and heads with a "Thus saith
the Lord" - is biblical prayer.
On meditation -
I believe meditation is part of prayer, but
I reject any form of meditation that seeks
to "empty" our consciences or "clear"
our thoughts or "cleanse" our minds of
whatever. Biblical meditation is acceptable and biblical
when it is focused on the word of God and
filling our hearts and minds with those promises
of God.
On church theology - I
am not a big theology nut who considers himself
up on all the turns of liberal, moderate,
or conservative issues within Baptist circles.
However, I consider myself conservative,
because I hold steadfastly to a strong belief
that Jesus Christ is the only provision for our
sins, the only atonement for our salvation, and
the way to eternal life or any other means of
spiritual goodness. I believe that the word of
God, the Bible, is the uncompromised, inerrant,
and complete oracle of God for mankind's
standard of right and wrong.
On theological identity
- Let me just
share some names and issues to help you put me in
a box, if that's what you want to do
in order to consider my theological identity. Some men of
God that I admire and respect, come to my
mind... John MacArthur (I even use the NASB
John MacArthur Study Bible), Charles Stanley,
and the late Jerry Falwell. I have
supported the Purpose Driven Church plan by Rick
Warren, in the past, I still think it is a good
model for local church ministry, although I have
reservations about "seeker-friendly"
marketing approaches that aim at drawing crowds
rather than making biblical discipls of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
On church affiliations -
I think in the big overhead picture of Heaven,
God uses different denominations and church
groups to emphasis certain principals or
doctrines that tend to get lost in other
denominations and church groups. However, I am
personally bias toward the Southern Baptist
Convention because of its clear Baptist Faith and Message and
organizational integrity.
On speaking at other
churches - I have spoken at various
denominational groups, churches, and convocations and have no
objection against that. SDM
will gladly partner with any church or
ministry that believes the Bible is God's authoritive Word,
that Jesus Christ is
the only means to heaven, and that the Great
Commission is the central purpose of teh
church.
On evangelism - I
believe evangelism is the purpose of the local
church and the is meant to be the centered of
activity for every congregation or fellowship. I
believe the work of evangelism is
witnessing, which seeks to
influence others for Christ, it is
outreach, which seeks to locate
interests for Christ's church, and it is
soul-winning, which seeks to
impact lives to make decisions for Christ and
His church.
On doctrine -
If you read my blog
entries during the month of July 2008, you have
had a glimpse of the conviction I hold that God
has a special calling for us as Southern Baptist
during these last days of earth's history. I
believe fully and steadfastly in the Baptist Faith and
Message:
