Dynamite or Dynamism?

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power (dynamis) of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18
“our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power (dynamis) and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. 1 Thessalonians 1:5

Porn and Paper Pastors (that grabbed your attention!!!) was a blog I read this week posted by Dan Phillips (http://teampyro.blogspot.com.es/2011/03/porn-and-paper-pastors.html?m=1)  In that he made comment of people attending church, ‘whose heart belonged to another’ NO, not idol worship as we would understand it, not that they had, as such other gods, BUT rather they viewed, they listened or didn’t listen to their Pastor because he fell way short of the Pastors that they read, that they really loved!!!
Dan said this..”Their real pastor isn't you. It's Dave Hunt. Or it's John Piper. Or it's John MacArthur, or Ligon Duncan, or Mark Dever, or David Cloud, or Joel Osteen. Or it's Charles Spurgeon, or D. M. Lloyd-Jones, or J. C. Ryle. Or Calvin, or Luther, or Bahnsen, or de Mar, or R. B. Thieme (Jr.), or J. Vernon McGee. And they're such better pastors than you are! You know they are!”
He continues by viewing things from the Pastors side, “Yet how many pastors know that there are people in their flocks, thinking, "John Piper would never say it that way. Dave Hunt says that what he just preached is heresy. John MacArthur isn't like that. Mahaney says that... Mohler says that... Lloyd-Jones said...."
His conclusion..”Brother, sister: John Piper isn't your pastor. John MacArthur knows nothing about you. Dave Hunt never got on his knees and prayed for you. Lloyd-Jones won't come to your house when you're recovering from surgery, or one of your children shatters your heart, or your marriage is shaking and rocking and barely hanging on. Charles Spurgeon won't weep with you as you weep.”.

Now that started a train of thought for me that parallels Dave’s that the beliefs of, the conviction of these men, true as they may be, become MY beliefs, MY convictions rather than my own!
For example when I Pastored my first church in Tenerife I came across a lot of people visiting who when asked to give their testimony would say, “I’ve done an Alpha Course” and that was it? I know it’s not the fault of Alpha but those who conduct the course but the point is they viewed completing the course as a testimony to their relationship with Christ. In the same way I find many Christians adopting a similar thing.. growing up on a diet of John Piper, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, David Platt but to name a few of the contemporary guys. They watch and post their videos and read their books and quote them ad infinitim.. 
NOW don’t shoot me yet!!!
I love some of these guys. I agree with a lot they say and I disagree with some of what they say and I have quite a lot of their books too in my dwindling library, HOWEVER, do I want my beliefs, do I want my convictions to be mine or someone else’s no matter how great that someone else might be???

Before I go on, I need to say it is NOT the fault of ANY of the people I mention, it is YOUR fault alone..These men are men for our time BUT they are at best MEN and only MEN at best? They are not the Holy Spirit, their words are not God-breathed, and their Theology is just that THEIRS!!! Maybe absolutely true BUT it is NOT YOURS..

I am taking our Church through the Gospel of John at the moment in our Bible Studies. When you get into the Gospel itself from verse 19 of Chapter 1 you meet John the Baptist and his testimony about himself and about the Lord Jesus Christ. It struck me afresh as to the way John the Baptist used the words of Isaiah to describe himself, do you remember?
“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness..” v22 after he has categorically dismissed the questions of the Jewish enquirers, NO I am NOT the Messiah, NO I am NOT Elijah, NO I am NOT the Prophet Moses spoke of, I AM A VOICE, only a Voice, as Lesslie Newbiggin puts it in his book, ‘The Light has Come’ “The speaker has no importance. He is NOT one of the dramatis personae. You must listen to the voice. When you do you will find that the words do not enable you to fix the speaker in his context. His voice is the voice of Scripture..It  speaks of the still awaited presence of the Lord…..It requires you to look up, listen, wait for the ONE who is coming” (Page 13)
Similarly the Apostle Paul when confronting the Corinthians about their appetite for the then celebrity preachers, Apollos, Peter and Paul himself, Paul declares What is Apollos, What is Paul (1 Cor.3:5) NOT WHO BUT WHAT??? What are they??
I am sure the men that I speak of today are men of God who would like to see themselves as John the Baptist saw himself, a voice that pointed to the greater. I am sure that they too would echo his words, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30. That what they write, what they say is to help and encourage us ALL to find and to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, “to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” Philippians 2:12

I thank God for such an abundance of literature, for the ability of great men to put things down clearly for us to read and understand. For their courage to take a stand for truth. I commend them, I appreciate them, I use them BUT my friends they CANNOT, MUST NOT replace my responsibility, as the Bereans, “they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Acts 17:11

As Dan Phillips said in his blog, you are more likely to hear these days, ‘that’s not what John Piper says, that’s not what Calvin believed’, etc, etc, ‘instead of that’s not what the Bible says’ ..
Should not ALL things, ALL men, ALL doctrines, ALL opinions be put to ultimate litmus test, against the Scriptures themselves???

So read the Books, listen to sermons, watch the videos BUT DO NOT use them INSTEAD of reading your BIBLE. That’s the BOOK you really need to know. That’s the ONLY Word that IS God breathed. That’s the Word that is Powerful and living and worth putting YOUR convictions, YOUR belief, YOUR faith, YOUR life on and that’s the WORD FROM ME TODAY!