Category: Evangelicals & Politics

If Your Pastor is Packing Heat, You Need to Stop Listening to Him

Recently a good friend sent me a selection of articles from past issues of the Christian Century.   They all deal with Christianity and gun control.  More specifically, they contain stories about the ways various churches are dealing with concealed carry laws in their states and whether they allow guns in church. (You can read my previous posts about gun control and guns in church here, and here.)

I may revisit other articles in the future, but for now, I was especially struck by an article from pastor Kyle Childress entitled, “In Texas, Even the Pastors are Carrying Guns in the Pulpit” (3/7/16 in print, 3/16/16 online).

Several years ago I attended a public meeting sponsored by a cadre of local churches.  Several hundred people showed up at the local Hilton Hotel conference room.  At the end of his anti-Muslim rant, the visiting pastor/speaker boasted about the fact that he and all  his church elders carried their guns to every church activity, both inside and out of the church building, in order “to protect their flock.”

Contrast that man’s view of Christian faith with the following story excerpted from pastor Childress’s article:

“The rationale of gun-carrying church members is that they want to be ready to protect themselves and their families if an armed intruder enters the church.  But with the new [concealed carry] law in place, who will know if the person is an armed intruder or an armed visitor?…All visitors are now scrutinized, with every visitor being a potential threat.  At the same time, to demonstrate their enthusiasm for the new law, some churches are posting signs that say — as an act of outreach — ‘Guns Welcome Here.’

“I’ve been astonished at the level of fear associated with perceived threats that are just outside our doors ready to get us…I keep asking myself where the witness of Christ is in all of this. Many of the pastors who are carrying guns teach and preach a version of the gospel that’s different from what I know.  It is a gospel of everyone looking out for himself or herself, a gospel that says, ‘It’s a dangerous world, so get them before they get you…’

“One of my deacons, the dean of a nearby college, was in a faculty meeting listening to faculty members discuss how they were all getting guns.  The dean said she refused to carry a gun.  It got quiet in the room, then someone asked why.  She said she was not prepared to shoot and perhaps kill someone.  There

Jesus arrested on trumped up charges. Maybe if he had carried a gun…?

was a long pause and then ‘What would you do if someone threatening came into the classroom?’  The dean said, ‘I’d tell them about Jesus and try to show them the love of Jesus.’

“‘You could hear a pin drop,’ she told me later. ‘Everyone looked at the floor, and someone changed the subject.’

“During a sermon on baptism a few weeks ago, I explained why I would not be carrying a gun in the pulpit or anywhere else. ‘It has to do with baptism,’ I said.  ‘When I went down into the waters of baptism, I did not come out to strap on a gun.  I came out entering into the life of the crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ.’  I went on, ‘In baptism our lives are no longer our own.  We belong to Christ.’  I could see and hear some crying in the congregation…”

Our lives are no longer our own.

We belong wholly and completely belong to Jesus Christ to do with as He pleases.

If your pastor is packing heat, I am afraid that he doesn’t have wisdom enough to lead a conga line, much less the people of God.

How Do We Choose the Right Church?

This morning I came across an interesting online review in Christian Century discussing Jamie Smith’s book Awaiting the King.  (You can read my review of Jamie’s book here.)

I was particularly struck by the author’s observations  on the depth of political polarity within the American church.  His explanation of this destructive division is the simple sociological observation that people, including Christian people, naturally hang out with others like themselves.  If you are familiar with church-growth literature, you will recognize this as a simple application of the “homogeneous principle.”

Here is the most relevant paragraph:

“People select churches based on the convictions in which the culture has already formed them. Those formed primarily by the liturgy of the flag will choose a Southern Baptist church where they know their values will be mirrored, while those formed primarily by the liturgy of individualism will opt for a mainline church where they know inclusiveness will be a shared value. We choose churches the same way we choose political parties. This is why so many Christians know so few Christians who disagree with them. It’s why our ecclesial culture so neatly replicates the polarization in our wider culture. And it’s why so few mainline pastors thought it odd that, when the Festival of Homi­letics was held in D.C. this year, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker spoke but no Republican politicians did.”

Of course, the author is absolutely correct.  Sadly, he is also making an observation that reveals the immaturity of so many American Christians.  After all, the point of Christianity is not to remain who we are naturally.  Nor is the goal to be comfortable.

Even more sadly, this selection process not only works for individuals selecting a new church, but also for congregations selecting whom they choose to welcome and embrace.  Not only do insiders look for insider churches, but outsiders are regularly rejected by insider congregations.

When Terry and I retired and moved back to Montana we knew that we were immersing ourselves into a rural culture that, by and large, embraced values very different from our own.  I am not a bit surprised to see over-sized pick-up trucks rolling down the street sporting bumper stickers proclaiming “God, Guns and Guts Made America Great! Let’s Keep It That Way”  Montana voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump, the candidate who often encouraged his supporters to punch his nay-sayers in the face, then promising to pay their court fees.

If we were average church-goers we might have prioritized finding a church — probably a very tiny church meeting in someone’s basement after dark (I am joking) — filled with others like us, politically avant-guarde with a progressive social conscience, where we could be socially comfortable.

But this not what we did, not because finding a comfortable church may have been difficult, but because it would have been wrong.

No, we searched for a church that was living out what we believe the church is supposed to be. (For a fuller discussion of what I mean by this, read my book I Pledge Allegiance: A Believer’s Guide to Kingdom Citizenship in 21st Century America).  Here is a short list of the qualities we looked for:

  1. A preacher/teacher who taught from the Scriptures, both practically and authoritatively, as God’s Word for us today.
  2. A church where the leaders and the congregation were outwardly rather than inwardly focused, where the emphasis was on helping those who are hurting and reaching out to the lost with the good news of Jesus Christ.
  3. A church that was primarily growing because new people were coming into new relationships with Jesus, not because disgruntled church-goers were transferring from neighboring congregations.
  4. A place where we could be involved, use our gifts and make a contribution.
  5. A place where we could confidently bring our friends trusting that they would encounter the Holy Spirit.

We set out in this search knowing full well that we would probably find ourselves surrounded  by folks who would not agree with our politics…and with whom we, too, would seriously disagree.  (Of course, there are necessary limits to such tolerance.  I would never attend a church where I judged the teaching to be an idolatrous Christian nationalism, or racist, or rabidly Zionist.)

In fact, that is exactly how it has worked out.  Thus far, I have disagreed with the politics of almost everyone who has shared their political positions

Members of the community join hands during a Black Lives Matter prayer vigil in front of the First Baptist Church, a predominantly African-American congregation, in Macon, Ga., on Monday, July 11, 2016. The pastors of both First Baptist Churches in Macon are trying to bridge the stubborn divide of race against a painful and tumultuous backdrop: the 2015 massacre at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina; the much-publicized deaths of blacks at the hands of law enforcement; the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the sniper killing of white Dallas police officers. (AP Photo/Branden Camp)

with me.  And, unfortunately, a few of them have made it clear that they aren’t especially interested in getting to know more about us after hearing my own thoughts on the issues of the day.  (I have only had one true confrontation when I had to challenge a new friend on his blatant anti-Semitism.)

Yes, I do believe that my fellow worshipers are wrong, and that I am right on these things.  But hanging out with fellow “X” (replace the X with whatever political party you like) is not why I go to church.  The purpose of the Body of Christ is not to provide a safe place (oh…how I have come to dislike those two words) where I will be coddled in my own preconceptions.

The purpose of Christian community, rather, is that we all become transformed into the image of Christ.  And there is one thing I know for certain about Christ’s image — no one on this earth looks exactly like Him yet, including me.

The all-to-common failure to recognize these important distinctions is further evidence of the spiritual immaturity endemic to American Christianity, including evangelicalism.

So, here is the challenge — take a step or two to change this situation in your sphere of influence today.

A Journalist’s Code for Christians

One of the bloggers I always enjoy reading (while not always agreeing with her) is the freelance journalist Caitlin Johnston.  Caitlin recently wrote a post reflecting on a tweet from Tim Black, host of the YouTube program, Tim Black at Night.

Here is an excerpt from Caitlin’s blog:

“Last night, one of my callers said we needed journalists and commentators willing to die for the truth,” Black tweeted. ‘I disagreed. We need journalists and commentators willing to give up their status, quit their jobs and make less money telling truth and sadly to most that’s the same as dying.’

“There’s so much truth in that I just want to unpack it a bit and riff on its implications from my own perspective. What would happen if a significant percentage of journalists got fed up with spoon feeding lies to a trusting populace and decided to place truth and authenticity before income and prestige? Or, perhaps more realistically, what if people who are interested in reporting and political analysis ceased pursuing positions in the plutocrat-owned mass media and pursued alternate paths to getting the word out instead?…

“…as Tim Black said, once you’ve set your sights on climbing to the top of the establishment media ladder, abandoning it can feel like death. And indeed, it is a kind of death: a death of the identity one builds up around the possession and pursuit of the power, prestige and wealth that comes with the realization of that goal. It’s a death of an egoic structure, one that a whole lot of energy has gone into upholding. Serving power has been both financially and socially rewarding for as long as there have been governments.”

Now, reread Caitlin’s post and replace the references to journalists, reporters and political analysts with words like pastors, Christians, and church leaders.  Notice what happens?  We end up with a perfect description of Jesus’ call to Christian discipleship – people who are willing to suffer and die for living a life of faithfulness to the Truth – and his warnings about the many temptations waiting to sidetrack his people – selling your conscience for the sake of ego, wealth, prestige, power and fame.

I am reminded of the message I heard this Sunday at my church.  The concluding text was Matthew 16:24-26.  Jesus says to journalists, reporters, Christian journalists, and Christian reporters of all stripes, as well as butchers, bakers and candlestick makers:

“If anyone would come after me, they must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it do for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeits their soul?”

The church in this country is well and truly lost until it swells with genuine kingdom citizens who have so completely “died to themselves” that the prospects of physical suffering, professional loss, private shunning and even death for the kingdom teaching of Jesus Christ is not only considered inevitable, but is eagerly embraced because we know that then and only then have we fully experienced “the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him [Jesus] in his death” (Philippians 3:10).

Good journalists and faithful disciples are like kissin’ cousins.  They both devote their lives to honestly reporting the truth regardless of the cost.

This was the goal of Paul’s life.  It ought to be ours, too.

How Often Do You Hear a News Report on Yemen?

Yes, there have been a few pinpricks of light recently in the corporate media’s blackout on coverage of the war in Yemen.  The monolithic wall of silence was breached by Chris Hayes on MSNBC after a year of silence.  Several days ago Ali Soufan visited MSNBC to participate  in another report. Although the moderator provides a rather skewed overview of the conflict’s history, the segment does present a survey of Yemen’s ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, America’s war crimes there and US responsibility for perpetuating the conflict.

Yemeni school bus hit by Saudi Arabia with laser-guided bomb made by Lockheed Martin

Our corporate media’s grotesque negligence in failing to report on the American fueled war in Yemen is more evidence of how deeply rooted and all pervasive the “military-industrial complex” (to quote president

Eisenhower again) remains in this country.  Media corporations are always hesitant to tell stories that may directly or indirectly hurt them on Wall Street.

How many average Americans have heard about the recent bombing of a school bus that killed 40 Yemen children?  Not many.  Bomb fragments, which you can see in a video here, show the bomb to have been “a 500-pound (227 kilogram) laser-guided MK 82 bomb made by Lockheed-

A handout video grab photo made available by the Houthi Movement showing wounded Yemeni children lying on beds receiving treatment at a hospital after being injured in an alleged Saudi-led airstrike in the northern province of Saada, Yemen, 09 August 2018. According to reports, an alleged Saudi-led airstrike hit a bus carrying children in a market in the northern Yemeni province of Saada, killing at least 43 people, including children, and wounding 63 others.

Martin.”  But this is only one tragedy among many others that have never been reported in the US.  In fact, Human Rights Watch reports that this was only 1 0f 50 strikes on civilian vehicles this year alone.

According to USAToday, Lockheed Martin is one of the top ten companies profiting most richly from American war-making and arms sales, enjoying “$36.3 billion in sales in 2011, slightly higher than the $35.7 billion the company sold in 2010.”

Thankfully, Senator Chris Murphy continues the fight in Congress to end this senseless slaughter of innocent people in Yemen.  Below I have copied

Yemenis dig graves for children, who where killed when their bus was hit during a Saudi-led coalition air strike, that targeted the Dahyan market the previous day in the Huthi rebels’ stronghold province of Saada on August 10, 2018.

the latest notice from Just Foreign Policy explaining Murphy’s recent amendment to the Pentagon’s appropriations that would enforce a ceasefire and terminate US funding and military support for Saudi Arabia.

Please take a moment to help.  Call your senators and sign the petition.

 

“On August 9, an airstrike by the Saudi-UAE-U.S. coalition bombing Yemen struck a bus packed with children in the northern village of Dahyan, killing at least 51 people, including 40 children, according to the Red Cross. Saudi regime spokesmen have defended this horrific massacre, calling the bus a “legitimate military target.”

“When journalists asked a senior U.S. official if the U.S. supplied the bomb the Saudis used to blow up the bus full of kids and refueled the Saudi warplane that dropped the bomb on the bus full of kids, he responded: “Well, what difference does that make? We are providing the refueling and support to Saudi aircraft. We are also selling them munitions that are being used … We are not denying that.”

“CNN has established that the bomb that the Saudi regime used to blow up the bus full of kids was made by Pentagon contractor Lockheed Martin; transfer of the bomb to the Saudi regime was approved by the U.S. State Department.

“The Washington Post editorial board says: “It is long past time to end U.S. support for this misbegotten and unwinnable war. There is a clear path out: A U.N. mediator has called the various parties to Geneva early next month to discuss a peace process. Among the first steps would be a cease-fire… U.N. sources say the Houthis…are ready to strike these accords, but the Saudi and UAE regimes have been resistant…[the Saudi and UAE regimes] will accept a peace process only if it is clear that they will not have Washington’s support for more war.”

“Senator Chris Murphy has introduced an amendment to the Pentagon appropriation that would cut off U.S. tax dollars for this unconstitutional war – the war was never authorized by Congress, every day the war continues it violates Article I of the Constitution – unless Secretary of Defense Mattis certifies that the U.S.-enabled Saudi airstrike on the bus full of kids complied with international law and U.S. policy, something Mattis could never do unless he wants to be known as a shameless liar.

“52 Senators have voted against the war in a floor vote, either in June 2017 or in March 2018 on the Sanders-Lee-Murphy bill invoking the War Powers Resolution. Among Senate Democrats, only Joe Donnelly, Joe Manchin, and Bill Nelson have never voted against the war in a floor vote.

Urge Senators to speak out for and vote for the Murphy amendment to cut off U.S. tax dollars for the kid-killing Saudi war in Yemen by signing our petition.

https://www.change.org/p/support-chris-murphy-s-amendment-no-u-s-tax-dollars-for-killing-kids-in-yemen

A Review of “From Here to Maturity” by Thomas Bergler, With Commentary on the National Disaster that is American Evangelicalism

From Here to Maturity: Overcoming the Juvenilization of American Christianity (Eerdmans, 2014) is the sequel to Thomas Bergler’s acclaimed book, The Juvenilization of American Christianity.  (See my review).  In his second book, Bergler offers practical advice for church leaders searching for remedies to the problems of perpetually juvenile congregations.  The goal is to grow churches of maturing disciples not content with permanent states of spiritual adolescence.

Chapter 1, “We’re All Adolescents Now,” briefly reviews the conclusions of Bergler’s extensive historical survey in The Juvenilization of American Christianity.  Once again, he defines juvenilization as “the process by which the religious beliefs, practices, and developmental characteristics of adolescents become accepted – or even celebrated – as appropriate for Christians of all ages” (2).  We should probably add the word indefinitely or forever to this definition.  Everyone is a juvenile at some point, but it should be short-lived, not a permanent condition.

The congregational expression of adolescent faith is a strong preference for “emotionally comforting, self-focused, and intellectually shallow” church services and worship experiences where a person’s connection to Christ is typically described as “falling in love with Jesus.”  The vocabulary of teenage romance becomes normative for all Christian faith among all ages, all the time.

After diagnosing these problems, Bergler provides a good, if brief, survey of maturity vocabulary in the New Testament, highlighting passages that distinguish mature from immature faith and the essential characteristics of mature Christianity (for example, see Hebrews 5:11 – 6:12).  Chapter 2 then elaborates on the New Testament descriptions of how this spiritual growth can be nurtured, including the fact that such development is not optional.  It is not ok to remain content with a juvenile faith.  Mature Christians are described as:

  • knowing “foundational Christian teachings well enough to explain them to others” (38)
  • able to discern the differences between sound and unsound teaching, encouraging the one and opposing the other while putting it into practice
  • embracing suffering and trials, especially for the sake of the gospel, as essential aspects of maturation
  • understanding that they are “being conformed to the death and resurrection of Christ,” especially by their sacrificial service to others (39)
  • devoted to the unity and development of the church, rejecting unloving actions intended to cause division (41)
  • actively “putting off the old self and putting on the new self” while displaying Godly character (42).

The process of spiritual growth requires (1) sound teaching on the importance of Christian maturity and what it looks like within the context of (2) personal relationships where mature believers can serve as “spiritual parents” to newer believers, modeling the maturation process in community.

The remainder of the book explores specific ways for church leaders to become intentional and specific in their promotion of congregational maturity across all age groups.  Chapter 3, “Helping Adults Mature,” grapples with motivating and instructing the current generation of juvenilized adults who have never known anything other than “youth group” Christianity.

One of the greatest challenges to this demographic is the development of mature emotional patterns.  Bergler says, “Among contemporary American Christians, it seems that feelings are too often obstacles rather than resources for spiritual growth…They think that the way to grow closer to God is to seek new and better emotional experiences” (72).  Bergler encourages leaders to adopt Dallas Willard’s useful model of VIM, referring to a strategy for implementing Vision, Intention, and Means.

Chapter 4 elaborates on the need for congregational-wide planning by refocusing on healthy youth group strategies.  Juvenilization is the result of adolescent ministry strategies expanding throughout congregational life and becoming normative for all age levels.  Bergler’s maturation strategy encourages youth ministries to adopt processes of spiritual growth that are transferable throughout the entire congregation.  The road of spiritual influences would be a two-way street, from youth to adults as well as from adults to youth.

This chapter is the lengthiest and most elaborate section of Bergler’s book.  I suspect that many readers will find his suggestions too programmatic and complex for their liking.  It certainly appears overwhelming, at least it did to me.  But Bergler offers a number of practical suggestions for modifying, adapting and customizing this material in ways that keep the Biblical essentials while allowing for flexible implementation.  It is well worth studying the results of his research and then brainstorming with others about the best ways to implement processes for congregational maturity in your church.

Living in a culture that can be very anti-intellectual – within the church, this attitude typically expresses itself in “anti-theological” language; we have all heard it – Bergler emphasizes the importance of leaders teaching sound theology to their congregations.  Good teachers figure out ways to make Christian theology accessible and practical while highlighting its importance.

Allow me to quote at length from Bergler’s conclusions on the centrality of theology:

“First, theology provides the basic truths and principles of discernment that every mature Christian must embrace…Both the biblical and sociological evidence confirm that churches that help people learn, love, and live theology (as opposed to just having uninformed good feelings about God) tend to produce more spiritually mature Christians…

“Second, theological reflection can help church leaders identify the barriers to spiritual maturity in their congregations.  Often it is not the official theology of the church that hinders spiritual maturity; rather, it is the lived theology of the congregation that gets in the way…When churches find it hard to get adults to care about the youth ministry or to get young people to care about the rest of the church, a lived theology of the church that does not challenge American individualism and age segregation may be one of the causes” (112).

Amen.

Bergler’s final chapter, “From Here to Maturity,” links to several diagnostic indices offering tools for congregational assessment.  Understanding a congregation’s current maturity level is a preliminary step in determining the right strategy for moving forward.  Again, some readers will find this chapter too programmatic for their liking.  Leaders who ignore his advice, however, do so at their own peril.  Remember James’ warning that “teachers will be judged more strictly” (3:1).

To illustrate his analysis for the need of remedial leadership, Bergler focuses on congregational worship and the importance of changing the style of music to which so many American church-goers have become accustomed – though he does touch on other issues as well.

Bergler is particularly concerned about “the ways that certain contemporary worship practices mimic pop culture” (127).  And, No, he is not a fighting-fundi condemning rock-and-roll in church.  He is analyzing musical content and the patterns of thought and expression embedded in the lyrics.  A brief but important discussion of research in cognitive psychology explains how musical preferences can “hard-wire” our neural circuitry into “schemas” or mental, neural patterns that “reinforce patterns of thinking and behaving” without our ever realizing the ways in which our brains are being programmed (130).

Bergler focuses on two problems in contemporary worship:

First, a great many contemporary worship songs are me-focused rather than God-focused.  A congregation can easily spend more time referring to themselves, singing about things they are going to do, rather than focusing on our Triune God, declaring the things that He has done.  There is a proper time and place for talking about ourselves – especially as we confess our guilt and sin, repent and ask for forgiveness; rarely performed acts of worship in non-liturgical churches nowadays – but for many congregations singing about oneself is the main course all the time.

Second, a great deal of contemporary church music “draws from the North American culture of romantic love” (126).  The result is that “falling in love” or “being in love” with Jesus becomes the central image of Christian living.  True love becomes the agent of salvation (131), despite the fact that New Testament passages using marriage or marriage feasts as metaphors for Christ’s relationship to the church never tell believers that they should be in love with Jesus (check out the passages listed on page 133).

Allow me to quote Bergler at length one last time:

“Slow dance worship songs are drawing on American cultural scripts about romantic relationships for their emotional impact. Those exposed to a steady diet of this music will be tempted to embrace the Christian life as a kind of romantic infatuation…such Christians may develop a self-centered relationship with Jesus…They will value the way Jesus makes them feel and will be much less concerned about the theological content of the faith.  Too many slow dances with Jesus may reinforce immature forms of the Christian life (132).

“A relationship with Jesus the master involves training and submission, not just emotional comfort…Followers of Jesus give up all claims to their own life and devote themselves to joining him in his kingdom mission…Slow dance worship music does little to grow mature Christian communities.  With its emphasis on the one-on-one relationship between Jesus and the believer (“Jesus I am so in love with you”) it does nothing to counteract the rampant individualism in American society. The particular brand of individualism found in this music emphasizes how God fits into my life and provides me what I need, not how I need to fit into God’s kingdom.  In other words, it reinforces the therapeutic or even narcissistic religion that is rampant in contemporary America” (134-135).

Bergler offers some excellent advice on how to sensibly address these issues and implement much needed changes in church life.  I recommend reading his book for yourself to discover the details of what he suggests.

As I conclude this review, I find myself meditating on the abysmal spiritual condition of American evangelicalism in this era of Trump and wondering to what extent Bergler’s diagnosis of juvenilized Christianity helps to explain the many current, evangelical political behaviors that I find utterly abhorrent, even down-right pagan.  Remember, 81% of self-identified evangelicals voted for this man.  White evangelical support for Trump remains at an all-time high despite his noxious behavior, war-mongering, flagrant disregard for common decency, dehumanizing of others — especially women — immigrants and people of color, pathological lies, misrepresentations and stunning political ineptitude.

It makes perfect sense to me that our malignantly narcissistic, petulant man-child of a president continues to ride the wave of support given to him by equally self-centered, childish, anti-intellectual, evangelical “Christians” who have never learned the value of spiritual discernment, theological acumen, self-denial, or obedience to the kingdom mission of Jesus Christ before every other distraction.

In the book of Revelation, John the Seer warns the church about their need for spiritual maturity if they hope to stand firm until the very End.

“This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints” (Rev. 13:10).

“This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus” (Rev. 14:12).

Another of history’s many antichrists (see 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7) now sits in the oval office.  Thus far, America’s juvenilized evangelicals remain Trump’s staunchest supporters.  The devotees most lacking in conscience impute to him an almost messianic status as The One sent to us by God.  What further proof is needed of the destructive social consequences born of wholesale, unapologetic childishness among God’s people?

The shepherds who failed to instill maturity throughout their flocks, who never even thought to ask the right questions, will one day be held accountable for their neglect of God’s children.  They will “weep and wail” because of their faithlessness (Jeremiah 25:34-35).

The church is not exempt from divine judgment.  We dare not forget Israel’s own pitiful example:

“Like a woman unfaithful to her husband,

so, you have been unfaithful to me,

O house of Israel,” declares the LORD…

A cry is heard on the barren heights,

the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel,

because they have perverted their ways

and have forgotten the LORD their God.

“Return, faithless people;

I will cure you of your backsliding.”…

Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills [e.g. Capitol Hill]

and the mountains is a deception;

surely in the LORD our God

is the salvation of Israel.  (Jeremiah 3:20-23)

Am I suggesting that there is a straight line from slow-dancing with Jesus to embracing Donald Trump?  No.  But circuitous, evasive lines full of detours, while trickier to trace out, are no less significant.

And we all know that subtle, hidden connections can be more dangerous than obvious straight lines.

Yes Pastor Floyd, America Needs a Spiritual Breakthrough. But Not the One You Imagine

Ronnie Floyd, senior pastor of Cross Church in NW Arkansas, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and president of the National Day of Prayer, has written an editorial for CBNNews (claiming to offer THE Christian Perspective on today’s affairs) under the headline “America Needs a Spiritual Breakthrough.”  Here are a few excerpts from pastor Ronnie’s missive:

“America is broken and in deep need of a spiritual breakthrough. Division and hatefulness are abounding as none of us would ever imagine. Our greatest hope is a spiritual breakthrough in America…

“We are facing one of the most dangerous times across the globe in our lifetime. While encouragement occurs from time to time, we remain in fragile moments globally…

 “The churches in America are in need of a spiritual visitation by the Holy Spirit that will call them out of their lukewarm status and cause them to return to the power of the gospel. Jesus is still the greatest hope in every town, city, and region in America…

 “Politically, America is in trouble. The disappointment of our political leaders not working together for the common good of our nation has Americans filled with all sorts of emotions, many of which are not healthy. This partisan decision making is hurting the progress and future of our nation greatly.”

Alas, what hope is there for American evangelicalism when such poisonous, spiritual gruel passes for prophetic witness and is guzzled like cool-aid by the average church-goer?

How can God’s people hope to see clearly when their leaders are so willfully blind?  How will the people hear truth when their preachers are deaf to any words but their own?  How can the church mature when her teachers think and act (and write) like ignorant children?

When pastors like Ronnie persist in leading their congregations ‘round and ‘round in circles, I am not surprised that so much of the church remains confused, dizzy and socially ineffective.

The pastor of Cross Church is at cross purposes with himself, for he represents the most common theological confusions of American evangelicals, all of which I disentangle in my book,  I Pledge Allegiance: A Believer’s Guide to Kingdom Citizenship in 21st Century America (Eerdmans, 2018).  At the heart of this confusion is his mashing together of church and state which is then sifted through the grotesque assumption that God is a Republican who voted for Donald Trump.

Let’s not be so naïve as to think that Ronnie’s lament over “division and hatefulness” while facing “the most dangerous times across the globe,” dealing with “the disappointment of our political leaders not working together for the common good” is anything other than the predictably partisan judgments of a Trump-loyalist.  For people like Ronnie, healing national divisions for the common good means falling into lock-step behind an obscene, racist, malignantly narcissistic president and then following him anywhere like dumb lemmings running to the cliff.

But these political errors are the easy-to-see, low-hanging fruit.

Let’s move on to grab hold of the more substantial core of Ronnie’s theological errors.  Errors that identify him as only one more false prophet in the American pantheon of wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing defrauding God’s flock.

The tell-tale sign that Ronnie is up to no good appears with his blatantly utilitarian view of the gospel.  Notice that his ultimate objective for preaching the good news of Jesus Christ is not to glorify God or to expand God’s kingdom.  Those are merely penultimate goals.  Excellent goals, certainly, but not the final goal.

No, the final objective for Ronnie and his misguided kinfolk is the unification of America’s body-politic behind the president and his policies.  (Again, we will leave aside how shockingly immoral many of Trump’s policies are.)  What evidence will finally tell us that America’s “spiritual breakthrough” has arrived?  Well, we will see (1) a renewed political scene that is (2) free of partisanship (3) with “political leaders working together for the common good of our nation.”

When these things happen, then we can know that the America church has “received a spiritual visitation by the Holy Spirit” (what other kind of visitation would the Holy Spirit make?) that has “called it out of its lukewarm status.”  So the Holy Spirit will work in America as in ancient Israel.  The Spirit’s task is to unite the nation.  The church and the gospel are tools for achieving that greater end.

But Ronnie’s vision confuses the church with the world and the world with the church.  God’s people are called to become strangers and aliens within American society.  Proclaiming the saving work of Jesus’ death and resurrection recruits new citizens into God’s kingdom who will demonstrate their newfound redemption by their own transformation into strangers and aliens.

Declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ honestly will highlight the stark contrasts between the church and this fallen world.  It will never bring them closer together.  Gospel preaching is nothing if not a heavenly bombardment that destroys our flesh-pot idols of civil religion, nationalism, and salvation by politics.  Genuine followers of Jesus are not deceived by this ancient, beastly triumvirate of bogus, copy-cat Christianity.

Yet, this three-headed monster spewing out recycled false religion like “a dog returning to its vomit” (2 Peter 2:22) is exactly what Pastor Ronnie – and the bulk of evangelical leaders sharing his devotion to American redemption by politics – is offering both the readers of CBNNews and those attending his multi-campus megachurch.

Ironically, the true evidence that American evangelicalism is more than satisfied with its damnably “lukewarm status,” with no intention of confessing its sins or repenting of its many offenses against the Lord Jesus and his kingdom, is its blind, self-satisfied allegiance to such atrociously false teachers as Ronnie Floyd.

Yes, American evangelicalism desperately needs a spiritual breakthrough.  But it’s not the one pastor Ronnie is looking for.  We will know that the real breakthrough has arrived when Ronnie Floyd and others like him publicly renounce their idolatrous Christian nationalism, confess that the kingdom of God has nothing to do with American politics, repent of their adulteration of the gospel with the bile of civil religion, and then call their congregations to sell their excessive belongings, giving the proceeds to the poor.

Now, that would be a breakthrough.