Andy Stanley and What Has NOT Been Talked About

Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary recently wrote an article on his blog about megachurches. In the article, he referenced an April 15 sermon (click on message 5: When Gracie Met Truthy) by Andy Stanley of North Point Community Church in Atlanta where Stanley seems to normalize homosexual behavior. After reading the article and listening to the sermon and then reading several other articles, what amazes me is what people weren’t upset about. Of course, many in the evangelical world would be upset about his apparent normalization and acceptance of homosexual behavior, but no one seemed to notice three bigger, underlying issues.

First, Stanley says that Jesus’ love was messy, inconsistent, unfair, and confusing. Granted, he sort of implied that these were from our perspective—but not really. Because he went on to say that when our love seems messy, inconsistent, unfair, and confusing, we must be doing it right. I would disagree. First, while things may have appeared messy, inconsistent, unfair, and confusing from the disciples’ or our point of view, they certainly were not from Jesus’ point of view. And we need to keep that in mind. Stanley says that when we try to figure it out, we are in danger of losing something. Again, I would disagree. We need to understand why Jesus was not inconsistent or unfair (from our point of view) so that we can accurately display God’s love as well. To imply that Jesus was inconsistent and unfair shows a lack of understanding about Jesus’ deity. He was not just a man who changed the rules. Certainly he related to different people in different ways, but he was perfectly consistent in his love, grace, truth, justice, and holiness.

Second, Stanley redefined two key theological terms: grace and truth. In giving a long list of things that grace means, he said, “Grace says, ‘You’re fine.’” But Grace does not say, “You’re fine.” In fact, grace is the loud and clear declaration that we are not fine. Grace is getting something we don’t deserve. If we are fine, we don’t need grace, and therefore, we don’t need God. This is a horrible representation of what grace is. He also said, in a long string of what truth means, that truth says, “You’ve got to work it out.” Truth does not say that in the Bible. Truth says, “You can’t work it out, but God can.” Stanley even pitted grace and truth against each other like two parents raising a child. While he didn’t use this analogy, I came across with the perception of good cop/bad cop sort of deal. But again, this is not correct. God is both grace and truth. They do not battle each other, and certainly grace is not untruth, as Stanley implied. Granted, Stanley did say, on more than one occasion, that Jesus was complete grace and complete truth, and he even had a nice visual to demonstrate this. But the previous long explanation about the differences between the two stayed in my mind as well, and they were what actually stuck with me more than the visual.

Finally, the issue of shepherd and sheep comes into play in the sermon. In the long story he told as his final illustration of the importance of grace and truth, a man and his male partner were allowed to be involved in some ministry team even though one of the men was still married. It took a conversation with the ex-wife of the other man with Andy Stanley and then a phone call to the satellite church for the men to be removed from the ministry team because of the adultery of the married man. How is it that two unmarried people, engaging in extra-marital sex, with both men committing adultery—one on his former wife, the other on his current wife—are allowed to be actively involved in ministry? Was there no one to ask questions? Had the church gotten so big, and desperate, for volunteers that any warm body could sign up to serve?

It appears that North Point is in danger in at least three ways. First, they have diminished the character of the Lord Jesus Christ. Second, they are teaching a false idea of two key theological terms: grace and truth. Third, they have lost control of the ability to monitor the spiritual fitness of  those who desire to serve in ministry. And if these issues aren’t dealt with, it will matter little what North Point’s view of homosexuality is.

Jesus vs. Michael Phelps: Part II

In an earlier post, I wrote about the humanity of Christ. That, however, only tells half the story. This morning I read Revelation 1:17:

When I saw him, I feel at his feet as though dead.

John has seen the Lord Jesus in His glory and it renders him speechless, motionless, unable to do anything—like a dead man. Isaiah has the same reaction to seeing the Lord in glory. When Isaiah, saw Him, he cried out, “Woe is me for I am undone.” 

So while we might not be overly impressed with the human Jesus, might be able to beat him in a foot race or swimming race, might not think he was worth sitting by at the church potluck, much less appear on the cover of GQ, we will respond differently to Him when we see Him again, for we will see Him in His glory.

Michael Phelps has enjoyed great fame and idol status since winning 8 gold medals. He has done countless interviews and appeared before screaming fans. No doubt if he walked into any school auditorium in the coming days, cheers would erupt from those desiring to see him. 

When we see Jesus again, we will not treat him like a celebrity, nor as a good buddy, slapping Him on the back and asking Him how the fishing is in heaven. No, His glory will move us beyond our knees until we fall prostrate as John did. 

Jesus is both God and man. If Jesus held only human characteristics, He would not deserve our worship. If Jesus only appeared in glorious form, we would not be able to approach Him. But He laid aside His glory for our sake, becoming like us, identifying with us that we might be called His brothers. And now He has taken up that glory again. He deserves our worship and adoration. 

I hoped that Michael Phelps would achieve the 8 gold medals. The races were thrilling. But Michael Phelps did none of those things for me. Jesus achieved far more. His accomplishment on the cross made it possible for me, a sinner, to have relationship with the God who created the water and the minds who designed that pool, and the engineers who designed those suits, and the muscles and body frame of Michael Phelps that allowed him to do what he did. I worship Jesus—the God-man.

How Splendid Are Your Surroundings?

What made Scrubb look so Dingy was the splendor of their surroundings.

When compared to the court in Narnia, Scrubb and Jill looked downright horrible. What do your surroundings look like? No, here’s a better question: What do you surround yourself with? Do you surround yourself with splendor? Or do you surround yourself with the ordinary?

I hope you realize that you can make yourself appear better off than you are if you surround yourself with the ordinary—the world. Someone will always come along to whom you will compare favorably. 

But we are not called to that. We are called to surround ourselves with the splendor of another world. When we do, this world, ourselves even, will dim in comparison. Pride will be humbled. That which we thought worthy will pale to true worth. Excitement in the temporary will give way to joy and longing for the eternal. 

How do we surround ourselves with the splendor of another world? In the same way that Jill and Eustace could not get to Narnia without Aslan’s assistance in The Silver Chair, so too, we cannot surround ourselves with the splendor of the kingdom without God’s assistance. They thought it strange the way Aslan got them there. Strange too how we arrive! It requires a relationship with the Almighty. It requires time. It requires letting the Spirit blow us where He wills not trudging along where we will. 

And when we do that? Well, then this world will begin to appear dingy, less tempting. It will feel less like home.

Jesus vs. Michael Phelps

Ran across a bizarre website today thanks to Christian Striver. This triggered the following thoughts (reader discretion advised):

How can he swim in that robe? What’s up with the blood in the water every time you run the cursor over his hands and feet (I know about the crucifixion, but why is he bleeding when out for a swim)? Why does he have a chain in his hand? Could he beat Michael Phelps? I wonder what he’d look like in one of those ultra-fast-space-age swim suits? Could he beat Michael Phelps?

Then I was reminded of a conversation with a student several years ago about the Passion of the Christ. She hated the movie because it didn’t portray Jesus accurately. When I asked her what portrayal she had issues with, she said when he was shown tripping and falling as a boy. At first I thought she was joking, but she was not. She said that since he created everything, he would have known the rock was there and would not have tripped over it. The fall portrays him as imperfect, which he was not.

While an interesting theory, it misses the entire point of the incarnation. God became man, subject to the limitations of the human body. His breath stunk when he woke up in the morning. He passed gas. He got dirt in his eye (no his being God did not allow him to blink at the right time to avoid it). He tripped and skinned his knee as a boy. He had pimples. More then likely he had crooked teeth. He stubbed his toe on the corner of the bed. He might have even picked his nose now and again. And, no, he could not beat Michael Phelps in the 100 m butterfly.

Though he might part the water at the right time and drop him a few feet as a joke.

The Fractal Garden

Theology aside, the concept of a fractal garden as created by Young’s Holy Spirit character in The Shack fascinates me. I have always loved mathematics. The endless complexities of this world and the amazing order that accompanies these complexities excite my inquisitive mind. Think about pi: a number that never repeats and never ends yet describes such a simple concept. And those paradoxes abound. (By the way, did you know that the string of numbers in my birthday appears 3 times in the first 200,000,000 digits of pi? To find how often your phone number or birthday or some other random string of numbers appear, go here. Keep reading down that page if you are a fan of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.)

And so Mackenzie sees “the mess” from his perspective, but if he could take on a different perspective, he would see a fractal. As a wish-I-had-time-to-garden gardener, I would love to play with plant placement having read this, as I’ve always put the tomatoes with the tomatoes and the peppers with the peppers. Aren’t things supposed to have order from my perspective?

I am reminded of how little we actually see of what God is up to in life. Often I see a dark mass in front of me, but if I could see everything, I would see that that dark mass is only a tiny black thread in a tremendous mosaic of color and form and meaning. 

God is a God of order. But He is also the God who knows the order in what we perceive as random, chaotic, hopeless. And so the fractal garden delights me because it reminds me of His character and the fact that He controls the chaos and mess in my life.

Why else do we live?

I have been beyond impressed by Cry, The Beloved Country. While I enjoyed Things Fall Apart, Achebe does not write with the same passion as Paton. The richness of the plot in Cry, the language, the pace, the emotion all make this a most enjoyable summer read. At the same time, I have been listening to the much recommended The Shack. No comparison. The difference between the writing and theology in Cry compared to Shack is like the difference between a seminary class and a VBS. (I am only two hours into the eight hour recording, and I plan on posting about it soon.)

On to what moved me today:

Kumalo has returned from another journey to see his son’s girlfriend with the intention of taking her back to Ndotsheni. It has been a hard week, and Kumalo has been at the mercy and care of others many times. He seeks to impose again on the woman with which he and his sister are staying. 

…I do not like to trouble you mother.

—You would like to bring her here, umfundisi?

—Indeed, that would be a great kindness.

—I will take her, said Mrs. Lithebe. She can sleep in the room where we eat. But I have no bed for her.

—That would not matter. It is better for her to sleep on the floor of a decent house, than to…

—Indeed, indeed.

—Mother, I am grateful. Indeed you are a mother to me.

—Why else do we live? she said.

And I stopped reading, and for a few moments could go no further. 

Why else do we live?

Why do I live? For myself? Often—too often. Mrs. Lithebe chose to serve. She chose to take in another when she had no room. Another who could not pay. Another for who knows how long—until the umfundisi left Johannesburg and returned to his parish. until the trial for his son, the murderer, concluded. 

And I must take my eyes off myself. I must open my eyes to the needs around me, starting with my wife and children. I am too important to myself. And I have not been called by God to be important. I have been called to serve. Why else do I live?

The purpose of people

I was reading John Shore today, and he was talking about God using people (imagine that) to share God’s message. I was reminded of the first time I read the story of Peter and Cornelius. I thought, “The angel was already there. Why didn’t he just fill him in instead of sending him to Peter, giving Peter this vision to help him understand, and then having the whole group travel back to Cornelius’s house?”

Well, it’s because God uses people to spread the gospel. Crazy huh? Wouldn’t it be easier to hire one of those sky writers and paint it across the heavens. Heck, why not just rearrange the stars. Surely even Richard Dawkins would be convinced by that! (oh wait, he doesn’t like our God, so even if he was convinced God was real, he wouldn’t worship him.)

John goes further though. It’s not just Christians who broadcast God. According to John, everyone does. At first, I was taken aback by that sentiment, but then I thought about all I write about here. I find God and His hand prints in so many things that I read. We are, after all, created in His image. So while the image may be damaged, blurred, crusted over with grime and sweat and goo, we still bear the image and still broadcast Him, often without knowing.

I am not advocating universalism in regard to salvation, just in image. His ubiquitous finger prints leave no doubt of His hand in creation. Yes, even Richard Dawkins and the rest of the new atheists bear that image, and so, as John adequately expressed, they too cry out to be loved.

The Conscience in Us All: Part II

In Things Fall Apart, after Okonkwo has been banished from the tribe for seven years after inadvertently killing someone, a friend of Okonkwo’s reflects,

Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offense he had committed inadvertently? But although he thought for a long time he found no answer. He was merely led into greater complexities. He remembered his wife’s twin children, whom he had thrown away. What crime had they committed? The Earth had decreed that they were an offense to the land and must be destroyed.

The tribe has tradition and rules and beliefs, yet here is a man who questions those beliefs, but he is afraid to not follow through with the killing of his own children out of fear of the consequences for himself and his tribe. His conscience tells him the truth. His culture screams louder. 

My culture screams as well—but not just in tradition. It literally makes noise: radio, TV, ipod, 24 hour news. We are bombarded by the noise which drowns so many other things. What is God trying to say that I just can’t hear? What is God trying to tell you that you just haven’t unplugged long enough to listen to?

Believing despite knowing

In The Village (a must watch for any Christian) the leaders keep the rest of the group in the dark about certain things in order to perserve their way of life. (Even though this is “Thoughts on what I am reading…,” it might be worth it at some point to discuss that movie.) No one seems to know the truth, and that is ok with the leaders. A different angle comes out in Things Fall Apart. During a ceremony when the spirits of the dead come out, Achebe writes,

Okonkwo’s wives, and perhaps other women as well, might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springy walk of Okonkwo. And they might also have noticed that Okonkwo was not among the titled men and elders who sat behind the row of egwugwu. But if they thought these things they kept them within themselves. The egwugwu with the springy walk was one of the dead fathers of the clan.

Here, people know the truth, and yet they choose to believe a lie anyway. Indeed, even their conscience bears witness that their ways are wrong (a later post). Some accuse Christians of acting this way. They claim sufficient proof for discrediting Christianity, and then say, “See, it is clear you are believing a lie.” I visit atheist sites on a semi-regular basis. I find it usually strengthens my faith instead of causing me doubts as most have arguments that are based upon half-truths, strawman arguments, and personal experience. (Visiting atheist sites is not a practice I would necessarily recommend, especially if one is easily angered or easily led to doubts as some are quite vitrolic and others sound quite convincing.)

The tribe in Things Fall Apart act a certain way despite knowing a contrary truth. The longer I walk with God, the more I am convinced that He is the truth.

What we can perceive and what we can’t.

I read two interesting posts today. One dealt with our perception of reality based on our five senses. If evolutionary processes were the reality, then one would have to question how we can conclude that natural selection gives us a clear grasp of reality seeing how we only have five senses. Why should we not assume that there are more senses, and we are just as short of grasping reality as someone who only had four senses would be? Yet if we are created by a good God, should we not assume that we have been given the ability to sufficiently grasp our reality with our five senses?

The other deals with our inability to even begin to grasp the nature of Almighty God. Sure we know much about God from His word, but we must not think that we have Him figured out. However, I don’t think we need to revert back to the method negative theology by only describing God by what He is not. 

So here we are—human—at once perfectly fitted with our five senses to relate to and understand our world and at the same time utterly inadequate to fathom the greatness of the One who made us this way.