User:Butlerblog/sandbox
The megachurch movement[edit]
The trend of growing suburbs through the 1960s led to the growth of the megachurch movement that began in the 1970s. DTS trained pastors helped pioneer the movement, including Chuck Swindoll, Erwin Lutzer, David Jeremiah, Robert Jeffress, Tony Evans, and Andy Stanley. Despite the success of this growth, the movement also revealed limits when leaders of two of America's largest megachurches, Bill Hybels and Rick Warren, disassociated with the theology of dispensationalism. The revival of reformed theology and the revival New Calvinism that began in the 1980s was also largely a megachurch movement, including John Piper, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, and Albert Mohler; and these pastors became outspoken critics of dispensationalism.[1]
Other megachurches, such as John Hagee's Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, blended teachings of dispensationalism with the prosperity gospel and New Christian Right activism. Hagee's Christians United for Israel included six Pentecostal megachurch pastors and an executive from the Christian Broadcasting Network, including Jerry Falwell. This group showed how megachurch dispensationalism was able to find national influence in US politics and diplomacy.[1]
Criticism[edit]
Soteriology[edit]
Two modes of salvation[edit]
Some dispensational Christian Zionists reject the need for Christians to pursue the conversion of the Jews, instead claiming that the Jews are God's special people.
Even within dispensational circles, there were criticisms that there was a lack of understanding what was necessary to be "born again". John MacArthur called the problem "easy-believism", that one merely needed to claim to follow Jesus and know some basic facts as the only basis of salvation. MacArthur identified the source of the free grace error as Lewis Sperry Chafer, founder of DTS. Defense of the dispensational position was primarily led by Charles Ryrie and Zan Hodges. The conflict was the Lordship salvation controversy, with both the covenantal and dispensational sides accusing the other of false doctrine.[1]