SI Review in the Evangelicals Now Magazine

Hey thereWhen I first joined this site I was not to computer-savvy but, my attention was entirely on the downloads section. Had I not left my msn address open, the gracious members of this site would not have added me to their list of contacts, and I would not have had much incentive to join the forum…I am glad I did though. The forum is a very powerful form of fellowship once you become accustomed to it. I remember posting a few things and then coming across the community rules…I panicked because I had not read them before blindly posting! This church of ours, “Sermonidex”, which Greg so graciously hosts, is in a very small sense of the word, a new denomination in that we have our own rules that must be adhered to. These are not grievous rules if you take the time to read and meditate on them and if you come here with the right intent- that is, either to edify or to be edified.Another thing that hit home after reading the review is that we are constantly under public scrutiny. Many times, I read something that requires an immediate response (as far as I am concerned) but many arguments arise from that “heat-of-the-moment”. I have resolved not to respond to something I feel very passionately about for at least a day, so that I can speak without the hindrance of emotion. Emotion sometimes detracts from logic, and my ability to communicate in a civil manner. Personally, I am VERY emotional and it is something that I have to check constantly, so as not to contaminate the threads on this site.What can we learn from each other? We can learn the typical reactions of a broad range of Christians of different denominations, different cultural backgrounds and different measures of faith to our postulates and assumptions. We can bring down some of the walls between different denominations and draw closer to being like the original church in Acts, which did things of one accord. We can learn of the many misconceptions which, we ourselves have and other people may have about different doctrine and passages of scripture. We can learn which, subject we must be sensitive about with one another and which circumstances we must forbear one another. Others can exhort us in the faith with similar views, trials and lessons from this vapor of an existence we lead on earth.Sometimes there are those among whose energy and zeal is a little misdirected in some subjects in the same way that my own energy is misdirected in other subjects. I suppose to summaries what I have learnt form the forum is this:2 Timothy 2:22-26 22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. 24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

This church of ours, “Sermonidex”, which Greg so graciously hosts,When I read this qoute I thought about how sermonindex is in fact a well of living waters as it were where God is able to speak to us through His word and we are able to fellowship nearly like we were at Church every day. I can't agree with many of the comments made. My impression of this site was clearly that it was about sermons. And they are not tucked away, either. I think the download counter speaks to this fact.However way sermonindex is noised abroad and the vast wealth of sermons preached- I must say- nevertheless Christ is preached! And I therein will rejoice! Those who come to the site from reading the article will make their own opinions. God will bless! I thank God for this site!-Robert

Well, I think it is interesting to read what other people think about the website, people that do not go here every day. Even though I do not agree with all things in the article, I believe it is always good to reflect over what is said. Do people understand the intent of the website? Could the layout be more plain? (When I think about it, maybe it could. For suggestions, just send me a PM, Greg... :-))What about the ads? Etcetera...Concerning the ads, I think they are quite discrete, which is good. But you could of course question if there should be any ads at all. However, if we don't want the ads, many more of us would have to take our responsibility and support SI... ;-)Anyway, you should always be open for change, things can always become better. Never take things for granted. However, I must say that you are doing a tremendous job, Greg. I admire your diligence! Keep up the good work! :-)/Rikard

Hi Greg,Congratulations! I only got part of it read because it keeps reducing on me.I do agree with everything I did read and then some.How does it feel to be the Bishop of the largest online "CHARISMATIC" church in the Western Hemisphere? What else could we expect from a ministry based in Toronto?Eat your heart out Rodney Howard Browne! :-P Clutch

The add was quite critical and was quite uninformed I believe. It only takes a little investigating to find that Calvinism and Arminianism exist side-by-side on SI. Yes there is in-house debate over the issue, but there are many members here who are on either side of the same table. The author would have discovered many posts quite favorable to the subject, but he probably only saw the "Calvinism 101" thread where we never did get to debate any issue do to some other problems...lol.Ministers being able to upload their own messages, making this the "Christian Napster" is news to me. Obviously you can't. At times in the article I wondered just what site the author was reviewing. Showing that his research of this site was very poor and unprofessional.His claim that the site is completely charismatic would have been put to rest if he'd only read on in the forums. He would have seen claims, not from charismatics but from charismaniacs, that we are actually a baptist site...lol. I guess when you're getting it from both ends of the spectrum you know you're somewhere in the middle8-).The adds most certainly don't make Greg rich, but they certainly do help keep SI up and running. I've seen some pretty off the wall religious advertisements there, but I have looked at a few that were worth my time. I do think that the download link should be a little more prominent. I had a hard time finding it when I first discovered SI a long time ago.Clutch,Bro. if you're just trying to be funny, well it's not working. It comes across as pretty offensive. Perhaps it's hard to tell just reading words instead of hearing any voice inflections and seeing facial expressions. If you're being serious, then you need to get your foot out of your mouth ;-) .In Christ,Jeremy Hulsey

O.K. A review of the review.First off I thought Jimm did a fantastic job for the article, how'd did that other guy get printed? :-) A word about Clutch, I can assure you he was kidding! It's just Clutch and sometimes he may push it a little but I miss his humor...Moo!* (*It's a looong story, ask Ron {Philologos} about it sometime).I think he definetly missed it as to what 'kind' of 'denomination' this would all fall under, how long he spent actually checking us out I suspect wasn't long. But that may be expected from a critic, I don't know how I would percieve of it in a glance, reading a couple of post's on any given day. It is also a charge that has been leveled here before, that I don't take to kindly to, if you haven't spent some time around here... Think a more honest remark would be, 'You can't pin these guy's down'. But if there is a word that I believe would sum us up, it would be this:Truth.That is what we are after, over and over again, we strive to understand just what is true.How well we are 'doing' in this quest I don't pretend to know, but isn't that what we attempt to help each other find? By sharing our thoughts and experiences, our very lives in an open forum before the whole world. I don't find that many that are dogmatic around here, strong opinions certainly. For the most part the 'creed';In essentials, unity;In non-essentials, liberty;In all things, love.Revival. At least he did touch on that.Was puzzled a bit about "And the only substance is in the sermons. Directing a viewer to these sermons does not seem the central aim of the site"Maybe Greg you should change the name to something more obvious :-? "Beware too of anachronism"Anachronism "An error in computing time; any error in chronology, by which events are misplaced."Unless I am confused, he really didn't believe that there was actual audio sermons of Spurgeon and Finney here did he?Think some constructive critcism is good and he made a few suggestions, but oveall I too wonder if he had his sites mixed up.Not well researched at all, but I do hope that he pops in and says hello, sure there would be some that would glady show him around the church...

HiI suspect that the real reason for this underwhelming revue is that the site committed a cardinal sin. In some circles to give less than 110% approval to TULIP is grounds for being cast into outer darkness. Reading between the lines you can see that the site's one redeeming feature was some scratchy Martin Lloyd Jones' messages; we would probably get a much lower rating now that these have been temporarily removed.Humour is a funny thing, sometimes. :-? Personally no one, on this site, has yet offended me with their humour or their points of view although occasionally I have 'cringed'. Some folks on the site are more familiar with academic circles and it is easy to step onto people's toes in those circles. Others, like Clutch, who was a police officer are more used to the rough and tumble of the 'guys in the station'. We need to keep each other in mind and remind ourselves that this is a public forum, but I hope we can still have room for a little banter.

To throw in a "Sloppy Journalism" is perhaps to commit the same crime on this side, but this is what is to be found at the root of this article.L. W.

For those who are having troible downloading the image (e-hem Clutch;-)), here's the article in text format (downloaded from the http://www.e-n.org.uk/.Issue - July 2004Sermon indexStephen Doggett looks at a new Christian websiteAs anyone who has searched will know, searching for sermons or Christian literature online can be a discouraging and time-consuming task. Though there are many wonderful and faithful websites, sadly, there is also much that is misguided, false, or blasphemous, often deliberately so.Therefore, the idea behind a new Canadian-led website - www.sermonindex.net - is welcomed. The site aims to provide, in one place, an extensive range of Christian sermons. From Charles G. Finney to Charles H. Spurgeon, John Stott to Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Billy Graham to Iain Paisley, and George Whitefield to Watchman Nee; the website acts as a central database of sermons (mainly audio though some are written). The range of preachers is wider than that generally available on other websites, and therefore requires the listener to be more aware of the strengths and weaknesses of particular preachers.At present the catalogue is limited, though still impressive. Five preachers have more than 100 sermons available - A.W. Tozer, Stephen Kaung, Leonard Ravenhill, David Wilkerson, and Carter Conlon. However, users (or 'posters' in cyber-speak) can upload material themselves, thus building a globally accessible storehouse of Christian sermons - in a sense, creating a Christian (and legal) version of the illicit Napster music website that proved so popular before it was shut down.My impressions were not always so favourable. If users do not have the ability to play the audio material (in MP3 format), then they are confined to what is written, which is far less substantial. In tone, the website is charismatic; in doctrine, it is generally Arminian. 'Calvin' is a name greatly disliked in the chatrooms. There is also something distasteful about the star ratings and appraisals given by users to each of the sermons - in the same way that someone might rate a book on Amazon.com. What right do I have to judge the sermons of godly men? AnachronismsHowever, some wonderful sermons, evidently unpopular, stand without star or comment. The old, crackly, recordings of Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones are left free of judgement - although the quality of the sound does not always make listening easy. Beware too of anachronisms. Certain preachers may not sound quite as you would expect them to - e.g. here, as on other sites, Spurgeon has acquired a quite uninspiring, American drawl.In other ways too, the site does not appeal. There is much glitz and too many superfluous add-ons, seemingly designed to deter a sober-minded viewer. Peel away the chaff - the league table of 'top posters', the webcam, the chatrooms, the appeals for money, and the petition to make a sister site one of the top100 in America - and the only substance is in the sermons. Directing a viewer to these sermons does not appear to be the central aim of the site (click on the 'downloads' option, secreted away towards the top of the page to find a list of preachers) and it was only after a few visits to the site that I discovered that there was a list of all the preachers. Up until then I had thought that the site was dedicated to Charles G. Finney, revival and the various advertisements on the homepage. Had I continued under that impression this review might well have turned out to be very different.The question of what advertisements a Christian website should carry is itself an interesting question. Advertisements are often a very lucrative source of funding but do much to alter the whole tone of a site. Here they completely detract from the best parts of the site. Other very useful websites have succumbed to debatable advertising as well (e.g. a popular Christian site has long carried an advertisement that reads: 'Fulfil your ministry potential with a combination of God's call and a distance learning degree').If you have the ability to download audio material on your computer then this site is worth a look. There are better and more useful sites, but many more that are worse.Copyright Evangelicals Now

Thanks Aaron!Personally, I feel that though this was not the most positive review, it will still serve it's purposes. God will still use it and people will be interested and come to the site. (What is that thing about negative publicity is better than NO publiciity). Not that the review was all negative.I am very glad for you Greg! God will use this for His benefit and glory.As far as the site being glitzy- I think the site is modern and up-to-date looking (only a computer genius could do this :-) hee hee) For the new person, it may be a bit overwhelming at first because you don't know where to look first, but you get to know your way around pretty quickly (as one friend stated to me).I think the downloads button would be the only thing I would make a bit more noticable.So many people have benefitted from SI. The author of this review probably has no idea what has gone on in people's lives behind the scenes- too bad really. Bit that's ok, the Lord knows and that's what matters.But overall, I give the site and A+ or 5***** !Keep up the great work and give all the glory to Him!In Him, Chanin

A word about Clutch, I can assure you he was kidding! It's just Clutch and sometimes he may push it a little but I miss his humor...Moo!* (*It's a looong story, ask Ron {Philologos} about it sometime).Humour is a funny thing, sometimes. Personally no one, on this site, has yet offended me with their humour or their points of view although occasionally I have 'cringed'. Some folks on the site are more familiar with academic circles and it is easy to step onto people's toes in those circles. Others, like Clutch, who was a police officer are more used to the rough and tumble of the 'guys in the station'. We need to keep each other in mind and remind ourselves that this is a public forum, but I hope we can still have room for a little banter. Duely noted. Sorry Clutch. I'll learn to take a grain of salt when I read your posts :-P Revival. At least he did touch on that.Was puzzled a bit about "And the only substance is in the sermons. Directing a viewer to these sermons does not seem the central aim of the site"Maybe Greg you should change the name to something more obvious Excellent point. We should be happy that he thought the only substance was the sermons 8-).In Christ,Jeremy Hulsey

Funny, in doing a search for something unrelated had come upon this thread once again and had noticed some replies that got past me. (I know that's hard to believe :-? )One main purpose of the site is truth and it is not given on a silver platter but has to be dug for! we should have a disclaimer on the site that once you begin you must pick up a SI shovel and start digging to get anywhere, its hard, pain-staking, takes diligence and patience and selfcontrol, but surly once you find what the Lord intended to show you its well worth it.Incredible, was thinking on this recently and think this would be a great idea Greg. Your analogy is perfect. For someone just popping in it would be beneficial if they were to know that in a sense that they have come upon an archaeological dig that is in progress. The forum being a work site with mounds of dirt and eager workers, diligently searching, reporting their finds and past expertise, consolidating their collective information while 'new' statistics are coming in and other questions are being raised, some still awaiting answers. A work in progress continually.And, yes, there is gold in them thar hills! Here's a sample:It's remarkable how many of you brothers and sisters have found truth and revelation from this ministry that I never knew was there, I am cautious in making this a clear-cut sermon site where you just line up and get your dosage, I think what makes this site unique is that the 'spirit listeth where it wants' and so do the discussions and sermons featured and going on the site.I marvel at this nugget as well.

My impressions were not always so favourable. If users do not have the ability to play the audio material (in MP3 format), then they are confined to what is written, which is far less substantial. In tone, the website is charismatic; in doctrine, it is generally Arminian. 'Calvin' is a name greatly disliked in the chatrooms. There is also something distasteful about the star ratings and appraisals given by users to each of the sermons - in the same way that someone might rate a book on Amazon.com. What right do I have to judge the sermons of godly men?That is quite a comment. I'm sure after he'd written this somebody would have told him that most audio players on computers nowadays would have a player for mp3 and if burnt onto a cd it would be transferred to a more suitable format. If this is a charismatic site then indeed there wouldn't be any judging more like just believing whatever, armininan, then the judging of the sermons would be appropriate. I'd prefer the word discern maybe he hasn't heard that one before. How do I know if a man is a godly man unless I do what he condemns, judge him by his preaching/words ? In the end I believe he would have to say that "judging" is part of our daily life. It would be interesting having the writer discussing on a thread.jouko

I would have to agree with him that the top posters (and new members) are quite unneeded. At least as far as I can see.--Samuel

Which reminds me again to get back to that...ahem...aforementioned...long delayed...ah..I am without excuse. A guide to the site is being put together and hopefully it will attempt to cover all the technical aspects of maneuvering about here, tips, a bit on the use of HTML, forum etiquette and so on. And of course a FAQ! Great idea Greg in presenting perhaps a rough draft at some point to see what others think, get some more input, make corrections and so forth.Coming soon! :-?