Where we Go (and don't go)
and Where we Stand
by David R Cox
Page Summary: This page is for people considering us (David and Tule Cox - Missionaries to Mexico City) for financial support. The purpose of this page is to make sure the people who are supporting us are of the same beliefs, practices, and position as we are. I do not want churches or individuals supporting us that are of different position and practice from us. We have a strong belief that God will provide for us through good Christian people!
This is not to say that you are wrong if you differ from me, there is room for discussion at times within the issues of Christianity, but if you are different from us, you should know what our position is, and we are not moving from it. This is what we believe and practice.
Please
note, if you have additional questions
relating to me or any missionary,
send them to me and I will answer them and place a link to it on this
page.
Send questions, requests, etc to
PLEASE
READ THIS PAGE! This
promotional material is intended to filter out potential supporting churches who are not in agreement
with us. It is a waste of your time and ours
if you do not agree with us, or we do not agree with you, so in order to not waste your
time and mine,
please do not consider us for financial support if you
would disagree with our stand, position, and practice:
Why do you have these issues so strongly stated?
(1)
We are Fundamental, Separatists.
If your church sponsors or participates in ecumenical activities such as Billy
Graham crusades or Promise Keepers, any activities or fellowships dealing with
multi-denominational unity type groups or ecumenical groups (World/National
Council of Churches), then we do not want support from your church.
Additional
What is a
Fundamentalist?
What does it mean to be a Separatist?
(2) We are independent Baptists. If your church is not baptistic (not necessarily Baptist in name, but Baptist in principle, likewise even though you are Baptist in name, you should also be Baptist in principle), or if you are part of a denomination (including the Southern Baptist Convention) we do not go to non-baptistic churches or convention churches. We are also not interested in churches that do not believe and practice the biblical autonomy of a local church.
Additional Studies:
What's in a name?
(Especially the Baptist name)
What is the
distinctive of the Baptists? What is soul liberty?
What is a self-propagating, self-supporting, and self-governing local church?
Do
you frequent non-Baptist churches ( that do not have
"Baptist" in their name)? Yes, Why?
What is an autonomous local
church, and why is it so important?
Why the local church is
so important?
(3) We are against Christian Contemporary Music. If your church uses modern worldly type music with Christian words, or if your church uses electric guitars and drums in your services, or if your church prefers music which is popular with unsaved people, (including country type Southern Gospel), then we do not want support from your church.
Just apply a simple test, turn the volume up, and walk outside the church. If it sounds like something you would hear in a bar, discothèque, night club, on MTV, or what unsaved people would like to hear, then IT IS WORLDLY MUSIC, because it appeals to the carnal man. Just because it has the name of God or Christian words sung by people claiming to be Christian, does not mean it is Christian music. The unsaved use the name of God daily in swearing and it is blasphemy. If music is the type that the world uses to seduce and invoke sex, to blaspheme, or to arouse the carnal nature or to arouse sinful thoughts and actions, it is wrong no matter what the words or music may be. If the song is a godly hymn but sung by ungodly people, or Christians with poor testimony for Christian then it is also wrong.
Additional Studies:
What is the different
between doctrine and convictions?
What does the Bible say about music standards?
(4) We use the King James Version. We do not visit churches with the purpose of debating or convincing people concerning this issue, but we make it our practice to raise support from churches who use the version of the Bible we use (King James Version). In Spanish we use the Reina Valera, 1960 version. Note that we do not hold to Peter Ruckman´s extremes in this area. We believe that the King James is a good, faithful version of the Bible, and we recommend and use it in our ministry when we preach, teach, witness, memorize Scriptures, or have devotions in English. We have no plans to move to any other version.
Additional Studies:
What is your position and practice regarding
inspiration and the King James Version?
What are the invalid arguments in the Bible Versions issue?
What is a biblical position in the Bible Versions issue?
(5)
We are local church missionaries,
not under a mission board. If your
church does not accept for consideration missionaries sent out like the Apostle
Paul, sent under and funded by local churches, or if your pastor is on the board
of a mission board, or your church is exclusively one mission board (or nearly
exclusive), then we do not want support from your church. Please do not waste
our time and yours by allowing us to come to your church.
Additional
Studies:
Why are you under a local church and not under a regular mission board?
(6) We are missionaries to Mexico. If you church already has missionaries in Mexico and do not seek any more missionaries in Mexico, then do not waste our time by having us come. There is nothing wrong here, just find another missionary on a different field.
Additional
Studies:
What are the biblical principles that a a church should look for in a missionary
before supporting him?
(7)
We are not hyper Calvinist.
If you or your church are not serious about and actively involved in the
evangelism (carrying the gospel to and pleading with the unsaved) through
witnessing, preaching, missions, and prayer, then we do not want support from
your church. We do believe strongly in the sovereignty of God, but we do not
disobey God on other counts (zeal for evangelism, missions, and prayer) because of theorizing and suppositions related to
Calvinism.
Additional Studies:
What is wrong with Calvinism?
(8)
We are
evangelistic but not easy-believism.
If your church does not stress true repentance
(remorse over and turning from sin) along with the plan of salvation, or
stresses numbers and an immediate verbal profession (a work) instead of a true
understanding and God wrought Holy Spirit conviction, then we do not want
support from your church. Please note, if you are a Hyles-Anderson graduate, I
believe that the Jack Hyles style of evangelism is another gospel, and
should be dealt with as a works salvation, because they remove biblical
repentance, change faith as the only basis of true salvation, and trust in the
work of repeating a prayer for salvation. To confound things worse, they stress
that the believer cannot lose his salvation to people who are not really saved,
but have prayed a prayer. We do not promote or practice this kind of evangelism.
We do not see great numbers of saved either. We want each person to truly get
saved, that is our goal. Along with that goal, God wants those saved to be
functioning members of a local church. You cannot separate the one from the
other.
Additional Studies:
What is wrong with the Jack Hyles easy-believism?
What should be the proper biblical position towards evangelism?
(9) We hold to high personal standards for those in the ministry. If you accept divorced men or overlook improper or poor personal testimonies among pastors and church workers in the ministry (or allow women preachers or women in authority over men), we differ greatly from you, and cannot come to your church.
Additional Studies:
What are the requirements and standards for those in the ministry?
What is your position on divorce and remarriage?
(10) We hold to a single pastor as leader of the local church, with co-pastors (or assistant pastors) and other godly men (elders) as supporting leaders. We believe that the biblical standard is that there is always one man who is personally responsible to God for the stand, practice, teaching and preaching, and individual Christian lives of the members of that church. This does not deny the fact that in every church there should be a plurality of elders (other godly men and assistant pastors) that support and work with that pastor. Decisions are made jointly (with input and recommendation from the rest as well as the church at large). But the pastor is singularly responsible to God more than anyone else. Whatever is wrong, it is the job and ministry of the pastor to fix it.
Additional
Studies:
Who rules the local church, pastor, deacons, people, board, elders? part 1? part
2
What is the duty, ministry, office, or work biblically of a pastor?
God set a man over Israel
Call no man master Mat. 23:8-10
Exposition of Ezekiel 34 - Job Description for a pastor
Exposition of Jeremiah 23 - Carry the Word faithfully
Guidelines for discerning a bad pastor
Word Study on the Hebrew word "ra'ah" (to pastor, or shepherd)
Heresy of the Nicoliatians (dominating or subjugating God's people)
Biblical definition of pastoral visitation (individual inspection and oversight)
Pastor,
Elder, Bishop: What's the difference in meaning and usage in Scripture?
What happens when the pastor is wrong? Who corrects him? Who removes him?
What are the biblical requirements for the minister?
(10) We believe and hold highly the local church over any other religious organization, ministry, or methodology. Simply put, God's approved plan for doing the work of God and the will of God is the concept and implementation of the local church. Men devise ways to work around the local church because it "hinders" their ideas, plans, visions, and dreams. But none of these ways are biblical. God has placed checks and balances in the local church concept, and this works if we will only let it work (stick to God's plan).
Additional Studies:
Why
the local church is so important?
What is an autonomous local
church, and why is it so important?
(11) We are trying to raise financial and prayer support. If your church has no possibility for financial support, AND you are unwilling to pray for missionaries that you do not support financially, then we do not want to visit your church. (If there is a future possibility of support, we will still come if you allow us.)
Additional
Studies:
What are the obligations of a local church towards their missionaries?
What are the obligations of a missionary towards their supporting churches?
What
is a reasonable and valid support amount for a missionary?
How can a church best help your missionary?
If you desire a printed version of
this page and these studies,
please write me and I will send you a printed version for free.
Last Updated on
02/02/08
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