How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? … – Romans 10:14-15
Apparently, all you need is to feel a presence, feel safe, and know that it’s Jesus.
David Uth, megachurch pastor of First Baptist Church, Orlando, interviewed Rifqa Bary, author of Hiding in the LIght, during his speech at the Southern Baptist Convention earlier today. Bary is an ex-muslim who claims she came to Christ through an experiential event of a “presence” she had as a child in a garden, who she later found out to be Jesus when she felt the same “presence” in a church later in life. David Uth asks her this question:
Tell them about, when you were young, you had this sense of a presence, and you weren’t sure what it was, and the next time you felt it was when you were in a church.
and Bary responds:
The earliest memory I have of Jesus, and I didn’t realize it was Jesus meeting me, was when I was about 12 years old–2 years old, and I was playing in the garden, and I felt this strong presence, and I would keep turning back, as a little girl, and that memory was imprinted into my spirit. I remember feeling so safe and loved and cherished, and I kept looking back, but I just knew that someone was there, and it was so big, and that day that I went into the church building, I knew without a doubt that it was the same presence I had felt in the garden as a child and things were okay.
All during this interview, David Uth is praising her, and affirming her experiential events that led her to Christ, devoid of Scripture and the Gospel. At the end of the interview, David Uth announces that Lifeway will now be selling her book, and that she will be available for signing. This isn’t surprising, however, since David Uth was such a strong proponent of having Ben Carson, a Seventh Day Adventist cult member speak at the event this year, and was highly disappointed when Carson was disinvited.
Apparently doctrine doesn’t matter at all in the SBC anymore.
Watch the interview below: