Over the years, I have been encouraged and motivated to evangelize more. One of the men on this earth who has encouraged me along the way was Mark Cahill a brother who, no doubt, makes many people look lukewarm when it comes to sharing his faith. When he was scheduled to speak in our town of Marshall, MN he was late to one of the meetings because he was sharing the Gospel with a person at the hotel he was staying at. I love his books, and have handed out many in the course of witnessing to those who claim Christ (One Thing You Can’t Do In Heaven) and those who do not (One Heartbeat Away). I consider this man a brother I would be honored to labor with any time any where.
Another man who has challenged my walk with Christ in terms of sharing my faith is Tony Miano. This gentle giant has demonstrated to me how to share my faith with power and compassion from on the box- that is in the open air. I have had the honor of serving with Tony at the Ambassador’s Alliance, in NOHO and at Cerritos College. I got to link arms with him at the Super Bowl last year. This is a man who is also a voracious author, writing many articles that encourage thousands to go out and share their faith with others. I consider him a good brother, and I would have his back in any situation- and I believe he would have mine.
In the last two years these two men have become linked together for unfortunate reasons. Mark Cahill has come out as a vocal anti-Calvinist, going so far as to say that people who believe in the doctrines of grace are believing a different gospel all together. This disappointed me, because I believe the Doctrines of Grace, and consider those who call upon Jesus Christ alone by faith as brothers, even if they don’t understand the way that they got there the same way that I do. I labor with these folks out on the streets and worship with them in our church all of the time! I do this because I used to believe as Mark Cahill does, and over time in my study of scripture have come to a different conclusion. But I do not call these folks non-believers, I call them brothers and sisters. I may have a hearty debate with them, but at the end of it I will still love them and labor with them.
This has not been the case with Mark Cahill. He has gone out of his way in public and in private to call those who believe differently than he does non-Christians. He has also slandered good brothers like Tony Miano (as well as John MacArthur, John Piper, Ray Comfort, and others) because of their beliefs. Despite repeated efforts to reach out to Mark Cahill by these offended brothers, there has been no response from Mark. Since Mark has such a disdain for Calvinism, and has attacked those who believe in the doctrines of grace as non-believers, It makes me wonder aloud- why does he profit from the great preachers and theologians of the past that hold to these doctrines of grace by quoting heavily from them in his books?
“Several Christians, including this writer, have encouraged Mark Cahill to remove his books One Heartbeat Away and One Thing You Can’t Do In Heaven from circulation until such time as he edits the books to remove all of the quotes from Calvinists and every positive comment he made about some of those same Calvinists. These admonitions have been communicated to Cahill multiple times over the last two years, and he has ignored them. Cahill continues to print and distribute these two books, in spite of the fact he believes Calvinists teach a different, anathematized gospel and believe in a Jesus who is not the Jesus of the Bible. Evidence of this is found in Cahill’s Calvinism and the Bible article.
“‘If you believe in the god [sic] and jesus [sic] of Calvinism, you are either in Galatians 1 territory, or you are heading straight toward it.’
“Mark Cahill continues to profit — if not financially, by way of notoriety and popularity — from the distribution of his first two books. This shows either a lack of integrity and/or a lack of care for those he seems to be so determined to save from Calvinism. CARM believes in order for Mark Cahill to be theologically consistent and have integrity in his first two published works he must remove any and all quotes by Calvinists and positive references to the same. We also believe Mark should issue a public apology for misleading Christians by positively quoting Calvinists who he believes worship a false god.”
The above is a quote from a CARM article written by Tony Miano to warn Christians of the continued divisive nature of Cahill’s ministry, as well as a call for Cahill to repent of his behavior towards other Christians. It is a good read, and you should check it out. While you do so, please pray for Mark that he would repent. He is a benefit to the Body of Christ with his love for Jesus and his compassion for the lost. Pray for Tony also; I know this situation has burdened him greatly as he sorrows over the loss of a brother in Christ.
Thanks for posting this, brother. Am saddened by the whole situation; nevertheless, it gives us an opportunity to pray to be of one heart, mind, and accord. May the Lord continue to bless and keep you, my friend.
[...] This has not been the case with Mark Cahill. He has gone out of his way in public and in private to call those who believe differently than he does non-Christians. He has also slandered good brothers like Tony Miano (as well as John MacArthur, John Piper, Ray Comfort, and others) because of their beliefs. Despite repeated efforts to reach out to Mark Cahill by these offended brothers, there has been no response from Mark. Since Mark has such a disdain for Calvinism, and has attacked those who believe in the doctrines of grace as non-believers, It makes me wonder aloud- why does he profit from the great preachers and theologians of the past that hold to these doctrines of grace by quoting heavily from them in his books? (Read the Rest of the Article Here) [...]
As soon as these leaders clean up their own house and reprove RC Sproul for his oft used and divisive statement. “Calvinism is the Gospel”. Then they will have the higher ground from which to criticize Mark. John MacArthur for one failed in just that, at the latest Seattle RC Sproul, MacArthur get together that I attended. For now their hooting and howling is nothing short of hypocrisy. As an Arminian I love John MacArthur, Sproul and Mark Cahill, they all belong to me, as I belong to Christ. 1Cor 3:22,23