#Second Presbyterian Church

[wutbju]

Are you listening, BJU administration, to the preaching at these 6% new churches on your white list? On Sunday morning, September 22, 2019--just before Steve Pettit preached at the same church--at the 8:30 am service, Pastor Rick Phillips was pretty clear:

[Gary] Burge teaches Bible at an evangelical college. So one year he asked his evangelical college students to write a one-page essay. And the question was, “Why do you obey God: because you fear God’s wrath or because you marvel in His grace?” What percentage of them, do you think, said I only obey Him because I fear His wrath? Ninety. Ninety percent.... Christian life is about obeying rules and staying out of trouble because God’s gonna smack me down if I don’t. That’s what the answers were. And he actually changed his curriculum because of that teaching. He added regular lessons in his curriculum that explain what John said earlier: We love because He first loved us.

Hm. Sounds familiar. Is this okay with you, Steve Hankins? Gary Weier? Jim Berg? 

[jaimehaneyartist]

Watercolor Society of IN member exhibit

Watercolor Society of IN member exhibit. My entry and a tour of the Second Presbyterian church it's held in. It's beautiful French Gothic architecture.

Today, I’m talking about the Member Exhibit held at Second Presbyterian. First I want to say what a beautiful place for a member exhibit. The Watercolor Society (WSI) is so fortunate to be able to show here. I can’t even tell you how beautiful this entire church is. But I’m going to try with photos!

I was so in awe of this French Gothic style that I totally forgot to take a photo of my…

[themanonfive]

Second Presbyterian Church, Chicago. Photo by The Man On Five (October 2017)

[wutbju]

In a completely irrational move, Second Presbyterian Church featured Steve Pettit in its Greenville Conference on Reformed Theology last week. Pettit doesn’t identify as Reformed, he doesn’t affirm Reformed Theology, and he’s not a theologian.  Featuring Pettit at this conference is like having Mike Pence as the keynote for the Democratic National Convention.

It’s just irrational. Why would anyone do it? It must be the culture wars.

However, Pettit was on his best theological behavior. He didn’t talk about how God only wants smiles in the church, for instance. He preached none of his usual heresy. 

Yes, I said heresy, fathers and brothers. If you pay attention to Pettit’s actual preaching, you would hear that usual works-based keswidispecostalism. This archivist knows a little bit about BJU’s relationship with that ideology. 

But Pettit didn’t say that last week. He didn’t peddle his gospel-less motivational schlock. He didn’t attempt to put the BJU creed on par with Holy Writ like here, here, or here. He didn’t talk about how God’s blessings come to us in direct proportion to our works. He didn’t say what he said in 2015 that “God’s blessings are conditioned on your obedience.”

That’s heresy.  

Because God’s blessings are not conditioned on my obedience. They are conditioned on Christ’s obedience. That’s the Gospel right there. Do I, a lowly woman, need to explain this to you Truly Reformed sorts? 

Pettit also didn’t pull out his best homage to Jim Berg with his sermon on what we have to do in order to “get God’s grace.” As an evangelist, Pettit only has a small set of stock sermons, and he’s been saying these same things for years.

But Second must not mind Pettit’s anti-Gospel preaching because the cultural wars are more important than the Gospel. 

What other reason could there be?

So while Pettit was a good boy last week, he did say something curious in describing his salvation. Remember that he grew up at Shandon Presbyterian Church. In describing his youth, Pettit said (37:30+):

And I think of my own life, my background, the way I grew up. I’m a native South Carolinian. I grew up in Columbia. I actually attended church as a little boy. My dad was a deacon and a Sunday School teacher in the Presbyterian Church.  Even as my memories go back, as far back as I can remember, I remember the Lord in my life.

Wait -- are you now describing yourself as a Covenant Child, Steve? Are you saying, like we Reformed people say, that God was always present in your life? You’ve never said that before. Or are you saying, like your usual Baptist friends, that you made a decision to accept Christ? You know, like you do here:

It’s a big difference (see here for those not familiar with the Reformed soteriology). So Steve, which is it? Did you chose God sometime in college alongside your believing friends (like a good Baptist)? Or did God chose you before the foundations of earth and nurtured you in the Faith?  Before you say, “both,” you’d better check with the folks over at the Seminary. They’ve had trouble with this in the past. 

[wutbju]

So Bob Jones University finally listed their acceptable churches for students and employees. Yesterday Steve Pettit explained the new regulations in Chapel. We’ll get to what he said later. It’s pretty typical.

WutBJU first published this list nearly three years ago. But with much attention and falderal and praise for how WONDERFUL BJU is, they expanded its list by ...

... nearly 6%!

Way to broaden your horizons, BJU! All that attention. All that press. All those selfies. For seven more churches? 

And you didn’t even curate your old list to eliminate the closed churches? There are as many added churches as closed churches. 

So here’s the list that BJU was so proud of. Sixteen of the churches are KJV-only. Three are PCA and three are SBC. White Oak Baptist in on the list -- Bill Piper’s old church. Guess who’s pastoring that one? Oh, we’ll talk about that later. 

Agnew Road Baptist Church (Greenville)👌 🎓 👨‍🦳

Anchor Baptist Church (Seneca)❌ 👨‍🦳

Berean Baptist Church (Fountain Inn)🎓 😎👨‍🦳

Bessie Road Baptist Church (Piedmont)🔍👨‍🦳

Beth Haven Baptist Church (Simpsonville)👌👴🎓 😎👨‍🦳

Bethany Baptist Church (Brevard, NC)🎓 😎👨‍🦳

Bethany Bible Church (Hendersonville, NC)👌👴🎓 👨‍🦳

Bethel Calvary Baptist Church (Taylors)👌 📖 👨‍🦳

Bible Baptist Church (Simpsonville)📖 👨‍🦳

Bible Baptist Church (Travelers Rest)🎓 😎👨‍🦳

Calvary Baptist Church (Belton)🔍👨‍🦳

Calvary Baptist Church (Greer)👌 👨‍🦳

Calvary Baptist Church (Landrum)🔍👨‍🦳

Calvary Baptist Church (Liberty)🔍👨‍🦳

Calvary Baptist Church (Simpsonville)👌 👴🎓 💒😎👨‍🦳

Camp Creek Baptist Church (Central)🔍👨‍🦳

Choice Hills Baptist Church (Greenville)👌 📖 👨‍🦳

Cleveland Park Bible Church (Spartanburg)👌 👴🎓 👨‍🦳

Colonial Hills Baptist Church (Taylors)👌 🎓 💒👨‍🦳

Community Baptist Church (Greer)👌 🎓 💒👨‍🦳

Community Bible Church of Holly Springs👌 👴🎓 😎👨‍🦳

Cornerstone Baptist Church (Alden, NC)🎓 😎👨‍🦳

Cornerstone Baptist Church (Greenville)👌👴 🎓💒👨‍🦳

Easley Bible Methodist Church (Easley)👌 🎓 👨‍🦳

East Georgia Road Baptist Church (Simpsonville)📖 👨‍🦳

Emmanuel Baptist Church (Greer) 📖 👶

Emmanuel Bible Church (Greenville)👴🎓😎👨‍🦳

Evangelical Bible Church (Greer)❌ 👨‍🦳

Faith Baptist Church (Boiling Springs)❌ 👨‍🦳

Faith Baptist Church (Easley)👌 🎓 👨‍🦳

Faith Baptist Church (Reidville)👌 🎓 😎👨‍🦳

Faith Baptist Church (Simpsonville)👌 📖 🎓 👨‍🦳

Faith Baptist Church (Taylors)👌 🎓 💒👨‍🦳

Faith Free Presbyterian Church (Greenville)👌 💒👨‍🦳

Fellowship Baptist Church (Anderson)📖 👨‍🦳

Fellowship Baptist Church (Duncan)📖 👨‍🦳

Fellowship Baptist Church (Fountain Inn)🔍👨‍🦳

Fellowship Baptist Church (Taylors)👌 🎓 👨‍🦳

Fellowship Baptist Church (Simpsonville)🔍

Fellowship Presbyterian Church (Greer) 👶🌷

First Baptist Church (Conestee)👌 📖 👨‍🦳

First Baptist Church (Prosperity)❌👨‍🦳

First Freewill Baptist (Greenville)🔍👨‍🦳

Foreign Students Fellowship (Greenville)👌 👨‍🦳

Foundation Baptist Church (Easley)❌👨‍🦳

Freedom Baptist Church (Greenville)👌 📖 👨‍🦳

Gateway Baptist Church (Travelers Rest)👌 🎓 👨‍🦳

Gethsemane  Baptist Church (Greenville)📖 🎓 👨‍🦳

Gideon Baptist Church (Easley)📖 👨‍🦳

Good News Baptist Church (Spartanburg)❌ 👨‍🦳

Gospel Baptist Church (Greenville)👌 👨‍🦳

Grace Baptist Church (Dacula, GA)🔍👨‍🦳

Grace Baptist Church (East Flat Rock)👌 🎓 👨‍🦳

Grace Baptist Church (Landrum)📖 👨‍🦳

Grace Baptist Church (Liberty)👌 🎓 👨‍🦳

Grace Baptist Church (Pelzer)👌 🎓 👨‍🦳

Grace Baptist Church (Starr)🎓 😎👨‍🦳

Grace Baptist Church (Taylors) 🎓👶

Grace Baptist Fellowship (Greenville)👌 🎓 👨‍🦳

Grace Bible Church (Greenville)👌 🎓 👨‍🦳

Grace Bible Church (Moore)🎓 😎👨‍🦳

Grace Community Bible Church (Simpsonville)🎓 👨‍🦳

Greenville Christian Fellowship (Greenville)👌 👨‍🦳

Greenville First Korean Baptist Church🔍👨‍🦳

Grigg’s Memorial Baptist Church (Greenville)🎓 😎👨‍🦳

Hampton Park Baptist Church (Greenville)👌 👴🎓 💒😎👨‍🦳

Harmony Baptist Church (Greenville)🔍👨‍🦳

Harvest Baptist Church (Rock Hill)🎓 👨‍🦳

Heritage Baptist Church (Fountain Inn)👌 👨‍🦳

Heritage Bible Church (Greer)👌 👴🎓 💒😎👨‍🦳

Hope Baptist Church (Anderson)🎓 😎👨‍🦳

Hope Baptist Church (Greenville)🎓 😎👨‍🦳

Hope [Independent] Presbyterian Church (Greenville)👌 🎓 😎 👨‍🦳

Iglesia Bautista Calvario de Greer (Greer)👌 👨‍🦳

Iglesia Bautista de Ia Fe (Greenville)👌 👨‍🦳

Iglesia Bautista de Ia Gracia (East Flat Rock, NC)🔍👨‍🦳

Iglesia Bautista Fundamental  Tabernaculo (Greenville)🎓 👨‍🦳

Iglesia Biblica Evangelica (Greer)🔍👨‍🦳

Independent  Bible Church (Greenville)🔍👨‍🦳

Korean Free Presbyterian Church (Taylors)🎓 😎👨‍🦳

Korean Grace Church of Greenville🔍👨‍🦳

Landmark Baptist Church (Easley)👌 👨‍🦳

Maranatha Baptist Church (Greenville)🔍👨‍🦳

Maranatha Baptist Church (Landrum) 📖 👨‍🦳

Midway Bible Church (Pelzer)👌 👴🎓 👨‍🦳

Morningside Baptist Church (Greenville)👌🎓 💒😎👨‍🦳

Mount Calvary Baptist Church (Greenville)👌 👴🎓 👨‍🦳

New Life Baptist Church (Spartanburg)❌ 👨‍🦳

Northside Baptist Church (Greenville)🎓 👨‍🦳

Oakwood Baptist Church (Anderson)🎓 😎👨‍🦳

Overbrook Gospel Chapel (Greenville)👌 🎓 😎👨‍🦳

Palmetto Baptist Church (Easley)👌 👴🎓 👨‍🦳

Paramount Park Baptist Church (Greenville)👌 👨‍🦳

Parkwood Baptist Church (Greenville) 📖 👨‍🦳

Rock Springs Baptist Church (Easley) 👶🌻

Roper Mountain Baptist Church (Greenville) 👶🌻

Second Presbyterian Church (Greenville)👶 🌷

Sonpoint Baptist Fellowship (Greenville)🔍👨‍🦳

South Pointe Baptist Church (Anderson)🔍👨‍🦳

Suber Road Baptist Church (Greer)👌 👴 🎓 💒😎👨‍🦳

Summit View Baptist Church (Greenville)👌 👨‍🦳

Tabernacle Baptist Church (Greenville)🔍👨‍🦳

Temple Baptist Church (Anderson)🔍👨‍🦳

Temple Baptist Church (Asheville, NC)🎓 👨‍🦳

Tri City Baptist Church (Easley)🔍👨‍🦳

Trinity Baptist Church (Easley)🔍👨‍🦳

Trinity Baptist Church (Gaffney)👴🎓 👨‍🦳

Trinity Bible Church (Greer)👌👴 🎓 💒👨‍🦳

Unity Baptist Church (Greenville)👌 👨‍🦳

University Baptist Church (Clemson)👴🎓 😎👨‍🦳

Victory Baptist Church (Easley)🔍👨‍🦳

Victory Baptist Church (Simpsonville)👌 🎓 👨‍🦳

Victory Baptist Church (Walhalla)🎓 👨‍🦳

Victory Baptist Church (Woodruff)🔍👨‍🦳

Westgate Baptist Church (Spartanburg)👌 🎓 👨‍🦳

White Horse Heights Baptist Church (Greenville)🔍👨‍🦳

White Oak Baptist Church (Greenville) 🎓👴👶😎🌻

Woodruff Road Presbyterian Church (Simpsonville)🎓 👶 🌷

Wrenn Memorial Baptist Church (Greenville)🎓 👨‍🦳

Zion Hill Baptist Church (Greenville)🔍👨‍🦳

Key:

❌ Closed

🔍 Little-to-no information available on the pastoral staff or distinctives.

👌 BJU listed church previously on public list

👴 BJU employees on staff

🎓 BJU alumni on staff

😎 BJU alumni who do not admit their alma mater on their church bio.

📖 KJV Only

💒 BJU Megachurch

👨‍🦳Previously listed

👶 New Listing

🌷Denominational Member of the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA)

🌻Denominational Member of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)

[wutbju]

Well, well, well. . . . we’ve been wondering what happened to the BJU church White List since Steve Pettit claimed that BJU students could attend Second Presbyterian (PCA) in Greenville. 

Just to review:

February 29 — Pettit tells the faculty that BJU is revisiting its church White List and the standards under which churches must “apply” for BJU’s student body to attend.

~March 13 — Members of Second Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Greenville at chatting amongst themselves that Second is now “officially” on the BJU church White list.

April 3 — The BJU Board of Trustees met. WutBJU highlighted a few issues for them to discuss, one being church attendance, remember?

April 25 — Steve Pettit announced on YouTube that BJU was changing its church attendance rules after a notably un-Reformed Sam Horn made a statement at the Calvary Presbytery Session. 

June 14 — BJU had promised in February to have the updated church White List available for the Summer Orientation beginning on June 14. No changes had been made. WutBJU inquired from different sources, but no information was offered.

But then Thursday, June 27, we get another glimpse behind-the-scenes. The PCA denomination is conducting their General Assembly (GA) in Dallas. The Calvary Presbytery — which covers Greenville County — submitted an Overture for consideration by the entire body. You can read Overture #4 here. 

Essentially, the group wants the PCA to affirm the Nashville Statement — an overly harsh homophobic statement that denies the existence of a gay “identity.”

The “minority report” on this issue, on the other hand, stands with the Revoice Statement which says that Nashville is overly harsh and that, like Tony Campolo used to argue for years, a person can identify as “gay” and still be a Christian.

That’s the clash, in sum.

But listen. Listen to the pastor (”Teaching Elder” in PCA nomenclature) of Second Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Greenville, South Carolina. He’s gives us a big tell (47:30):

I had a ministry opportunity with another local Christian university [Bob Jones University]. It was going really well. We were going to be able to minister the gospel to a whole student body we’d not have access to before until a Board member of that university discovered the Revoice Conference and some articles about it. And our ability to minister in that context was cut off or was, at least, challenged because there were questions as to whether the PCA is changing. Are we still committed to the Bible’s teaching on these issues?

Wait. Slow down. There are so many questions.

First of all, why didn’t you name BJU, Pastor Phillips? Why hide it? 

Secondly, your church was going to minister “to a whole student body”? How was that going to happen? Strange. 

Thirdly, your ministry with BJU was “cut off” or “challenged”? What does that mean? Is this why the church White List hasn’t changed? The Board Meeting was after the announcement. What happened? Or is this just a wrinkle that needs to be ironed out?

And who is this Board member who read “articles” about Revoice? The objections are all over the typical Calvinistic Baptist blogs: Challies, Mohler, Aquila. There’s only one board member who cares that much about such things. 

Mike Harding? Did you object? It could be Sam Dawson.

So what’s the story, folks?