Hill Country Bible Church — Attraction in Cedar Park

When I know Jim Botts will be leading the sermons, I choose not to attend.

Why does one of Hill Country’s teaching pastors, Jim Botts, continually reference "Tim Keller” in his sermons?.

Dr. Timothy J. Keller is one of today's most influential religious leaders, and one of the most dangerous. At the heart of the danger is his widespread promotion of a false gospel that encapsulates his un-Biblical views of God, His Word, His creation, man, sin, the cross, and the mission of Christ's church.

He completed studies for a Doctor of Ministry degree at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Westminster was then, and is now, a hotbed of neo-liberal theology. Its trademarks are the deconstruction of the inspiration of Scripture and the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

In the late 70s Keller was ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church. In 1989, he started a congregation in Manhattan. Under his leadership, the church has since grown to over 5,000 members.

He's a best-selling his works include The Reason for God, The Prodigal God, and Generous Justice.

Keller is a frequent contributor to the website of the BioLogos Foundation, which promotes belief in theistic evolution. In his biography, he "prefers to be 'noncommittal' on the theories of origins in his writing, so as not to alienate those who prefer one view of creation over another."

In 2009, Keller was one of the original signers of the ecumenical Manhattan Declaration, the latest effort to bring nominal Evangelicals and Roman Catholics together in the promotion of a common but undefined "gospel" under the banner of social justice and cultural reclamation. They seek to have what the Bible tells us are the results of the Gospel, without the Gospel - true moral improvement without the prerequisite of eternal life by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.

Keller is also a key mover in the Gospel Coalition, an ecumenical organization whose leadership and membership are not even agreed among themselves on the definition of the Gospel. Any church is free to list itself as a coalition member. Even a cursory exploration of the churches listed shows that many of them have no grasp of the one true Gospel. Instead they substitute variations on the "social gospel" that ensnared thousands of churches during the 20th century, and dominates the Purpose-Driven and Emergent Church movements today.

Many who are familiar with Keller's embrace of theistic evolution think this is the extent of the danger. But there is much more about his ministry that should alarm Bible believers. At the heart of Keller's dangerous influence is a false gospel. Keller's hetero-gospel encapsulates his un-Biblical views of God, the authority of His Word, the origin and present state of His creation, the nature of man, the definition of sin, the purpose of the cross-work of Christ, and the mission of His church.

Some in Keller's large following simply assume that he is orthodox because he is a leading figure in a purportedly conservative Protestant denomination. When faced with the reality of Keller's true beliefs, many of these people recoil in righteous horror.

On the other hand, many of Keller's advocates know that his theology is essentially heterodox. They simply choose to place that inconvenient fact on the altar of pragmatism. They claim that the theology of men like Keller is a side issue, and that confronting it would interfere with being "missional". But their view of the church's mission is un-Biblical: They seek growth - in both numbers and influence - through compromise of the essentials of Biblical Christianity.

By Dr. Paul M. Elliott From the TeachingtheWord Bible...

Went when I was about 8 years old a family friend of ours took me and my friend to a Willy Wonka event and had a nightmare of a time. Got split up from our adult friend and put into a random room to play church-y games. I remover being scared and unsure of where I was. Then they led us to a big auditorium where I found my adult friend that was watching over us. Sat next to them and listen to the skits/speechs/songs that were preformed. Then at the end a man (probably the pastor) asked, “Who here is not a part of a church?” My friend and I raised our hands with the other 20+ young kids. They tell us to stand and follow a person out of the room. We aren’t sure but our adult friend trusted the church so much she encouraged us to leave without her. I remember walking down creepy white halls with the other students until they ushered us all into a small room and closed the doors. This room had a small stage where some staff stood on and told us to fill out our information. Which consisted of our names, address, and parent phone numbers. We were too young to know all of our information so we were standing there unsure what to do. We soon see kids start to cry and the staff ignoring them or still encourage them to fill out the paper. My friend and I then got very scared and started to cry as well. We asked for help and if we could leave but they said “No”. Two men were guarding the doors. Kids were trying to get out and they were pushing them back harshly to the point that the kids fell to the ground. But soon enough kids were able to slip through which opened the door to some parents that saw what was happening inside. Lucky my mom showed up early to pick me up and saw us kids being lead down the halls to the room. She hung back bc they told her too and that we were having a fun meeting, but when she saw us through the doors crying she ran up and told the men to move. One of the men started shaking and saying, “We’ve lost them! We’ve lost them!” Other parents started to grab their kids and leave as well.

This was one of the scariest moments of my life. I realized a few years later that they were tryin to recruit us to the church. That moment was a major reason why I would never trust this church. All they care about is gaining members. These people don’t care.

Ps: never got any candy. It was a trick to get kids to show. Very Hansle and...

Genuinely wish I could give 0 stars. I went to this church from a young age, about 3-13. And let me tell you, I never felt more excluded, bullied, mistreated.

I went to the D-group and had questions. I was basically punished for asking and questioning the Bible. D-group leaders actively allowed me to be beaten up by a girl, every week, for months. She broke my nose multiple times and I had multiple people tell them, but because they disliked me they didn’t do anything.

If you don’t believe exactly what the group believes, you’re told you’re going to hell.

Don’t even bother with the AWANA program. Mrs. rich and mrs. tompson encouraged me to be bullied by kids AND the leaders. Was actively treated awfully because I didn’t “conform enough”. I’m autistic to a severe extent but because I visibly look fine they treated me awfully.

The way I was treated by people in this church actively led me away from “god”. I am now a satanist. My sister has similar trauma involving this church.

If you’re not Christian and aren’t looking to convert you’ll be treated awfully. Any tragic coming to Christ story gives you higher status. As someone who was just raised Christian I was treated badly. If you were having a tough time with your faith, you were immediately treated like a martyr.

This church and the way I was treated there actively led me to multiple suicide attempts. I was also bullied for being (allegedly, at the time) lgbt+. But of course, the kid that was out (who had a rough life and was only going for snacks) was treated perfectly well.

Any time you have a tragedy in life, it’s considered a “lesson from god”. Like “oh sorry your grandma died, I’m sure it’s part of god’s plan for you”. These people are allergic to just saying life sucks sometimes.

Don’t even get me started about the summer camp “ultimate adventure”. If you go, get ready for ear damage, because it’s basically a rave. A lot of it changed from when I went, but they would make kids eat live bugs on stage and encourage us to cheer when...