Southern Baptist Pastor Arrested On Child Pornography

Evangelical Dark Web

Theologically Sound. Culturally Relevant.

Southern Baptist Pastor Arrested On Child Pornography

The bad publicity of the Southern Baptist Convention is not going away. After a disastrous annual meeting where the messengers voted against banning female pastors. Now a pastor has been arrested on four counts of possession of child pornography. Jonathan Elwing, the (now former) pastor of Palm View Baptist Church has been arrested.

According to Newsweek:

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said that Jonathan Edward Elwing, a 43-year old senior pastor of Palm View Baptist Church in Palmetto, Florida, was charged with four counts of possession of child sexual abuse images.

The arrest comes after detectives with the sheriff’s office received information on Thursday that Elwing used cryptocurrency to make an online purchase of the images.

According to the sheriff’s office’s press release, when authorities executed a search warrant on Friday at Elwing’s home and church, deputies said they found four “sexually explicit photos of children” on his cellphone.

Before Elwing was arrested, he resigned from his job, the sheriff’s office’s press release said. Elwing is now being held at the Manatee County Jail without bond.

Palm View Baptist Church has not yet released a statement, although they have publicly acknowledged the arrest.

Elwing was a leader in the Conservative Baptist Network’s Florida chapter.

“Upon learning of this news, he was immediately removed from the Network,” Timothy Pigg, the network director, said in an announcement.

What’s notable is how he thought that it wasn’t an obvious sting operation because he allegedly purchased it with cryptocurrency.

******************************************

Numbers 32:23 “But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.”

Pray for this man and his family. Except for the grace of God, there go I. Jonathan’s transgressions have gone public. How about you and me? I believe our sexually saturated and warped nation has countless Christians whose sins are flying under the radar. This incident should place us all upon our knees, lest the same thing happen to us and/or others. Beware oh Christian who thinks he stands, lest he fall! When a preacher falls into sin, he preaches a sermon one Sunday and becomes a sermon illustration the next.

Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you there longer than you want to stay, and charge you more than you are willing to pay.

“The great and important duty which is incumbent on Christians is to guard against all appearance of evil; to watch against the first risings in the heart to evil; and to have a guard upon our actions, that they may not be sinful or so much as seem to be so.” -George Whitefield

“I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected” is a verse from the Bible, 1 Corinthians 9:27. In this verse, Paul compares the need for self-discipline in a believer’s life to athletic training. He describes himself as an athlete competing for the prize of a crown in eternity, and encourages believers to pursue godliness and the good of others with the same commitment.

People always erroneously believe they can control their sin and they will never be caught. Getting caught will hopefully be the initial step in Jonathan’s road to recovery. What about the sins of others who have not been arrested, yet God knows, and He will deal with us justly in His time. As I ponder on this heartbreaking incident, I look in my heart and see the need to stay in worship / fellowship with believers, to pray without ceasing, to stay grounded in the Word and disciplined, to witness, repent of known sin, and to obey God and live a holy life! Amen and amen. Pastor Steve <><

America Is Suffering Because We Have Rejected God, And We Are Reaping What We Have Sown

Galatians 6:7 King James Version (KJV)
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

We reap what we sow.  I often consider much of the suffering in my life, and a lot of it has to do with making poor choices and being disobedient to the Lord.  Every born again Christian is given the same discernment and insight from above.  We reap what we sow.  What goes around, comes around.  It all comes out in the wash.   “…and be sure your sin will find you out.”   Numbers 32:23b.  It also reminds me of one of the laws of physics, which can be applied to the spiritual realm.  For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.  If we play with fire, we will get burned.  There are drastic consequences for our sins, as well as great blessings we receive when we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.

These same spiritual truths and actions can be applied to our nation.  Our country was founded upon the Judeo Christian ethic, with the Biblical family as our base for our culture.  Ever since the advent of the Baby Boom generation following World War II, our Christian base has eroded to the extent that it is no longer even tolerated by our government, education system, or the left wing media.  What use to be the norm, is no longer even allowed in most mainstream circles.  Since the nation has encouraged and condoned the abortion industry, 60,000,000 unborn babies have been butchered and murdered.  [A celebration for a soon to be born child is called a baby shower, not a fetus shower].  This blood is upon our hands.  I asked my wife in the mid 1980’s, who will replace all of these aborted babies?  We may not have known the answer over thirty years ago, but the answer is clear today.  Again, it is the law of sowing and reaping.  If our nation destroyed 20% of the population, then the Lord will see to it that they are replaced by someone(s) else.  No longer can we take it for granted that our immigrants, both legal and illegal, will hold to the Christian ethic and the fabric upon which this nation was built.  No longer can we assume that the millennial generation will follow our spiritual and moral origins as well.  Millennials have abandoned the church.  Yes, we have sown the wind and now we are reaping the whirlwind!

Hosea 8:7 King James Version (KJV)
For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.

No, God is not mocked!  So the next time we observe our borders attacked in lawless fashion, keep in mind that since we as a nation have rejected God, He has therefore rejected us!  PRAY without ceasing that this sinful and perversion loving nation would repent.  Jesus Christ is our only hope.   Blessings, Pastor Steve  <><

2 Chronicles 7:14 King James Version (KJV)
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

 

Pray For Revival In America!

 

 

Sword Of The Lord Newspaper / Dr. Shelton Smith, Editor / April 7, 2017

Dangerous Trends 2017

Disney Now Has Cartoon Showing Homosexuals Kissing

The popular children’s entertainment company Disney aired its first-ever same-sex kissing scene on [February 28] during a broadcast of its television cartoon Star vs. the Forces of Evil, raising concerns from Christian and family groups who are calling upon parents to kiss Disney goodbye….

Homosexual advocacy groups cheered the inclusion, stating, “We’re getting there, one kiss at a time.”

…However, others expressed concern, stating that Disney should not be pushing the homosexual agenda on children.

“This is the last place parents would expect their children to be confronted with content regarding sexual orientation,” One Million Moms wrote on their website….

-Christiannews.net

Editor’s Comments:  Again Disney is promoting an agenda that is antifamily.  Parents should think twice about allowing their children to watch anything currently coming from them.

***********************

UK, Australia Won’t Fund Free Abortions After Trump Defunds International Planned Parenthood

The United Kingdom and Australia did not give money to a new global abortion fund [early March], despite intense pressure from abortion activists worldwide.

The new “She decides” abortion fund comes in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order prohibiting American taxpayer funding to groups that promote or perform abortions overseas.

USA Today reports representatives from more than 45 countries attended a meeting about the new abortion fund on [March 2] in Brussels, Belgium.  About a dozen countries and several private donors pledged money totaling 181 million euros (about $190 million), according to the report.

While the UK and Australia sent representatives to the meeting, neither country promised money.

-LifeNews.com

*****************************

“Straight Pride” Fliers Removed From School

“Straight Pride” fliers were removed [March 3] by an Indiana high school before the students arrived [at] school.  The 16-year-old….student who created and hung “Straight Pride” fliers in an Indiana high school has spoken out since officials took them down….and fellow students hosted a pro-acceptance gathering over the weekend in response to the incident.

The fliers ….read, “Celebrate being straight at JHS by not annoying the heck out of everyone about your sexual orientation!”  along with “We are taking back the rainbow” and “Brought to you by all the students that are sick of hearing about your LGBT Pride.”  -theblaze.com

******************************

“Millennials”

Sixty percent of “millennials” are living with their parents or other relatives or are sharing living quarters with a roommate (USA Today, 3/21/17.  Source, Trulia Analysis of Census data).

“Millennials” they call them.  They’re between the ages of 18 and 35.

We will admit that certain circumstances in anybody’s family could create the necessity for staying at home.  That could be true at almost any age, but 60 percent is three out of five.  That’s a perplexing statistic.

Why aren’t these birds leaving the nest?  Is it because they have not learned to fly?  Have we failed to get them ready to make it on their own?

Financial issues will account for some of this; but knowing the way our society is being shaped, it is pretty clear that the bigger issue is young people who are unready to be adults.

Christian families need to be alert to how they are raising their offspring.

This article is another reason I believe this could be the terminal generation.  Absolutely any people with convictions about anything whatsoever, will be able to supersede this clueless and feckless generation who lack personal values, integrity, and cannot even pull their own weight.   Pastor Steve

*********************

Amen Corner

An enemy said of Spurgeon, “Here is a man who has not moved an inch forward in all his ministry.  At the close of the nineteenth century he is teaching the theology of the first century and is proclaiming doctrine current in Nazareth and Jerusalem in the first century!”  Spurgeon considered it his greatest compliment.

What is the profit to America by having endless economic prosperity, computers and a hundred channels of television in every home…if our families are shattered and our children corrupted?  -Former Senator Bill Armstrong

A brave man is a man who dares to look the Devil in the face and tell him he is a devil.  -James A. Garfield

I will blaze the trail, though my grave be only a steppingstone that younger men may follow and make Christ known where He is unknown.  -C. T. Studd

Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly.  We insist upon trying to modify Him and to bring Him nearer to our own image.  A.W. Tozer

Perhaps you have never been stalked by a bloodthirsty beast of prey.  Nevertheless, there is a wild beast on your trail.  Swift and pitiless, retribution trails you.  “Be sure your sin will find you out”  (Numbers 32:23).

I don’t want anybody falling over me into Hell, saying, “Brother Curtis preached it but didn’t practice it.”   -Curtis Hutson

Remember, you are your own doctor when it comes to curing cold feet.

Your Sin Will Find You Out

Numbers 32:23  King James Version (KJV)

²³ But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.

How many times have people tried to bribe the Lord in order that He would overlook their sin?  They tithe, volunteer and give, all the while playing games with God because of sin in their lives they never repented of.

Several years ago I met a retired detective from a large city in Florida.  He was an occasional attender in the church where I served as pastor, coming to church about once a quarter or four times a year.  He would tithe when he attended and volunteered to help the church in different ways.  He was also living with his girl friend on weekends.  I warned him from the pulpit (the message was to everyone, not just to him) and I told him personally more than once that he should not live this way, and that the penalty for the unrepentant fornicator is eternity in hell.  Unbelievably, he played the financial card.  He told me that if he married his girl friend, Florida law would prevent him from willing his estate to his son.  (Keep in mind that as a police officer, he knew the law).  Circumstances changed his life quickly and dramatically after I challenged him to live for Christ.  He inhaled muriatic acid while cleaning a neighbor’s swimming pool while they were away.  A sharp cough quickly turned into irreversible lung damage.  I was notified while he was in the hospital and on a ventilator, hence I went to visit him.  He was totally unconscious the entire time I was there and he never regained his senses.  I did not have the opportunity to speak with him again.  As far as I know, he died in his sins.  I definitely know that he never repented publically.  As a popular and well respected supervisor of detectives, he had police officers attend his memorial service as if it were a Fraternal Order of Police convention.  There was standing room only.  I had the privilege to share the gospel.  The service centered on two things:  1)His exploits as a police officer, supervisor, and altruism on the job.  He was indeed respected by his peers.  2)I shared the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Unfortunately, I could not couple the life of the deceased with the Gospel.  As it turned out, his son did not receive the estate as expected, and it was contested by his girl friend.  “Your sin will find you out.”  It is a whole lot easier to simply repent.  We cannot fool the Lord!

This scenario has been repeated in my small sphere of influence many times over.  People tell me that they are living in willful disobedience to the Word of God because they cannot afford not to.  Different variations of financial hardships are presented, supposedly forcing people to live together outside of holy wedlock.  Rarely have I observed true repentance and people turning away from sexual sin.  Often people do not seem to learn that they will NEVER know what it is to be blessed by the Lord until if/when they step out in faith and TAKE GOD AT HIS WORD.  God opens His arms to anyone who simply repents and turns from their sin.  Do not pass up His unbelievable grace.  Make sure you are born from above (John 3:3) before the sand runs through your hourglass.  Today is the day of salvation, we are not promised any tomorrows.  Turn from your sin and trust Christ!  He has done all the work on Mount Calvary because He loves you and He took your place and died for your sins.  The just for the unjust.  The eternal consequences of refusing God’s grace are tragic.  Turn from your sin, be blessed and go to heaven.  Do not become a sermon illustration of what not to do.

II Corinthians 5:17   Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

It is the consummate oxymoron to claim you are a born again Christian while you are living in willful disobedience and rebelling at the word of God.  You bring reproach upon Christ and upon your own life.

******************************

Luke 13: 3,5

“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”    Jesus of Nazareth, 31 A.D.

Repent Or Perish