Tom Brennan is an Independent, Fundamental Baptist through and through. He was raised an IFB in the home of a pastor of an IFB church. Growing up, he went to two IFB schools, and later an IFB college. He loves that heritage, but he also honestly sees that not everything involved in that heritage is worth repeating and celebrating.
Looking deeply at the dangers lurking just below the surface, Pastor Brennan biblicaly and bluntly dives into the faults that are sadly far too often found in the IFB movement. He does not do this out of a spirit of hate, or vengeance, or unwarranted criticism, but out of a heart that yearns for biblical faithfulness.
I thank God that much (though not all) of my personal experience in the IFB movement has been among those that have, consciously, or unconsciously, course-corrected (for the most part) from these errors. For me, it serves as a stern warning to constantly check my direction, and not, as it does for many others, call for immediate repentance. But I have also been heard preachers, and been in churches, that have not been so faithful and so blessed.
I love the IFB movement, but for us to fully capture the blessing of God, we must guard against, fight against, and turn from, the sins that many of our mentors and spiritual forefathers have committed or covered up. We must be willing to confront them, else we likewise fall.
The sermon addresses a wide range of subjects, from preaching methods, to pastoral investigation and accountability, from outright neglect of the Bible, to dangerous personality cults. Thankfully, he traces these subjects with an incredible knowledge of history, of (then) present events, and of, most importantly, the Bible.
I sincerely appreciate this sermon and wish that all IFB leaders and preachers would hear it with open hearts and minds. It is necessary. May God bless these truths, and may we yearn ever more hungrily for his righteousness.
For reference sake, here are some helpful links:
I have not visited his church, nor have I thoroughly examined his blog. However, like all IFB bloggers, there is doubtless some material to glean from, and some to avoid.
Please read with a discerning heart.
*My tiniest little nitpick would be that Pastor Brennan has, it seemed, confused preaching an expository sermon with preaching an expository series. A series may be topical, or, in fact, there may not be a series at all connecting various sermons for each individual message to be expository. That being said, even as an expository preacher, there is a time and place for exactly what he calls topical sermons that are textual. While I wanted to make that note, it is also entirely possible that our definitions of expository are simply different, and we are, in fact, speaking of the very same thing.