Note: The following "letter" was sent out as an e-mail announcement to our church on 6-17-2006 regarding the ministry of Michael and Debbi Pearl of No Greater Joy Ministries. Some of the information has been updated with new links added to clarify the major concerns that we have with this ministry. Also, I have placed links to Dr. Tedd Tripp's fine online audio resources on parenting and formative discipline as a healthy, biblical alternative to the erroneous teaching of the Pearls. Brethren,
Several of you have asked us questions about the child-rearing advice present in the ministry and books of Michael and Debbi Pearl of No Greater Joy Ministries. Erin and I have benefited from some of the practical advice found in their little book "To Train Up a Child." However, as I've more thoroughly perused their books, video instructional material, and website for the last few years, I've noticed some problematic statements that have caused my eyebrow to crinkle more than once.
We don't send out mass discernment e-mails unless we have completed the necessary research to conclude that a person or group's teaching is highly problematic in one or more areas of fundamental Christian doctrine. We are sad to say that we have found such problems with the Pearl's theology and child rearing practices. As I (PD) already noted, over the last few years I have been doing some hardcopy book, instructional video tape, and internet research regarding the ministry of the Pearls on various subjects and I have concluded that their doctrine of man is heretical and that their philosophy for disciplining and training children is problematic and unbiblical at best and dangerous at worst. My basic concerns are summarized below with accompanying internet links for further study:
1. An unbiblical, Pelagian view of man's nature: Pelagianism denies that we are born with Adam's sin, thus denying that we are sinners at birth. This is known as the doctrine of "original sin." In this link titled "What We Believe" the Pearls teach the following under the subsection titled "Man":
When a descendent of Adam reaches a level of moral understanding (sometime in his youth) he becomes fully, personally accountable to God and has sin imputed to him, resulting in the peril of eternal damnation." [italics mine]This directly contradicts Psalm 51:5; 58:3; Romans 5:14-19; and 1 Corinthians 15:22. The Council of Orange condemned the teachings of Pelagius in 529 A.D. and all historic, orthodox, Protestant churches have condemned Pelagianism as rank heresy. When any religious group has denied the biblical teaching of original sin, it has always been rightfully condemned as heresy by Biblically faithful, Protestant churches. For example, on our church website, the 1646 London Confession states,
This isn't just a Reformed, Calvinistic tendency either. Arminian John Wesley stated bluntly,IV. IN the beginning God made all things very good; created man after His own Image, filled with all meet perfection of nature, and free from all sin; but long he abode not in this honor; Satan using the subtlety of the serpent to seduce first Eve, then by her seducing Adam; who without any compulsion, in eating the forbidden fruit, transgressed the command of God, and fell, whereby death came upon all his posterity; who now are conceived in sin, and by nature the children of wrath, the servants of sin, the subjects of death, and other miseries in this world, and for ever, unless the Lord Jesus Christ set them free.
Gen.1:1; Col.1:16; lsa.45:12; 1 Cor.15:45-46; Eccles.7:29; Gen.3:1,4,5; 2 Cor.11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14; Gal. 3:22; Rom.5:12, 18, 19, 6:22; Eph. 2:3. [italics mine]
All who deny this, call it "original sin," or by any other title, are but Heathens still, in the fundamental point which differences Heathenism from Christianity. They may, indeed, allow, that men have many vices; that some are born with us. . . . But here is the shibboleth: Is man by nature filled with all manner of evil? Is he void of all good? Is he wholly fallen? Is his soul totally corrupted? Or, to come back to the text, is "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart only evil continually"? All this, and you are so far a Christian. Deny it, and you are but a Heathen still." [John Wesley, sermon "Original Sin" in Standard Sermons of John Wesley, 2:222-5, pp 29-30.]This is no minor doctrinal difference. According to all historic Protestant confessions of faith, if you deny the doctrine of the imputation of Adam's sin to his descendants, you deny orthodox Christianity.
2. A behavioristic, humanistic understanding of man's nature versus appropriately viewing children as sinful image-bearers of God
Much of what makes up the Pearl's "child-training" philosophy simply cannot be found in the Bible. Instead, some of it has been borrowed from Amish farm animal training techniques, wherein they regularly teach their large farm animals to respond properly when given a basic command. Thus (probably unbeknownst to the Pearls), it models the thinking found in the behavioristic, "classical-conditioning" model of atheist B.F. Skinner. Skinner taught that man is "just another animal" in the evolutionary chain who needs to be conditioned to respond correctly when cued to do so by an external, environmental stimulus. Of course, the Pearls strongly repudiate secular humanism, evolutionary theory and secular psychology, but their philosophy of child-rearing is too akin to behaviorism because it fails to take into consideration the fact that children cannot be merely trained like a farm animal.
Children must be disciplined with the understanding that they are sinners, born in Adam who desperately need to learn from their parents that there is a consequence for their sinful actions and that ultimately, they will either pay for their own sins in hell or they can receive by faith the forgiveness of their sins only through the blood atonement of Jesus Christ.
The proper foundation for disciplining children is the daily, loving, formative instruction in the great things of the gospel. As parents, this not only includes first modeling your own need for forgiveness, repentance, restoration, and love from God, but also explaining it to your children through spending quantity and quality time with them.
Biblical discipline is not mere behavioristic, stimulus-response conditioning; it is ultimately redemptive because it seeks to model the corrective and loving chastening that our Heavenly Father displays toward us when He disciplines us for our sins (Heb. 12:5-11). Here's an example of what can happen when the Pearl's bad teaching on formative discipline is taken too far:
". . . Lydia was allegedly beaten for mispronouncing a word." (http://www.chicoer.com/publicsafety/ci_14364274)Here's another horrible example of Michael Pearl's cold-hearted response to his detractors in light of the death of Lydia: http://katiekind.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/michael-pearl-responds/ (Note: the elders of SF do not necessarily endorse everything in this article nor the links contained therein. Biblical discernment is recommended).
It is important to note that we do not seek to attack the Pearls personally. We are all a work in progress, and the Lord has certainly been merciful to us when we've held doctrinal positions that have been problematic or even bordering on heresy. By God's grace, someone with a attitude of love and grace has gently pointed out our past errors to us, just like Aquila and Priscilla did with brother Apollos in Acts 18:26. As far as I can tell, the Pearls have good intentions, but their heretical theology regarding the nature of man leads to an unbiblical view of who our children are and how our children are to be disciplined. I send this letter and the accompanying links above as an encouragement for all of us to be more discerning when evaluating any ministry. At any rate, we would do well to learn from the doctrinal and practical errors of the Pearls and avoid those errors.
On a more positive note, for several years Erin and I have used and greatly benefited from Dr. Tedd Tripp's book, Shepherding a Child's Heart. This book is listed on our church website's "Recommended Reading" section and can be purchased at a fairly low cost on our linked bookstores under "Links to Christian Sites." Eventually we will have this book placed in our church library, but nevertheless I'd encourage you to purchase a copy for your own home library to refer to in the future. Also, Dr. Tripp did an audio conference that you can download for free online titled Biblical Parenting Conference: Helping Kids Understand Authority. I highly recommend this to parents for giving them a healthy view of formative Christian discipline for their children. I trust this information is beneficial and will serve to strengthen your discernment and ability to minister more effectively to your respective families.
