1/16 Today a Xian brother asked me for my thoughts on on the numerous controversies in the PCA/SBC/TGC world surrounding critical theory, sexual abuse, sexual ethics, women's roles, racism, Trumpism, nationalism, racism,etc.
In particular, he observed the reaction to shut down...
In particular, he observed the reaction to shut down...
...the voices on the right raising issues w/ CT, Revoice, & women's roles (i.e. the Founders video) & noted he shared the concerns of a slow creep into liberal ideologies.
He noted that those who shouted down the Founder's trailer did not seem to be as passionate to defend...
He noted that those who shouted down the Founder's trailer did not seem to be as passionate to defend...
...orthodox sexual ethics or express caution abt CT.
While he admitted there r problems on the right re: Trumpism, nationalism, racism,& sexual abuse, he felt the more serious threat is coming frm the left.
We talked & he said my comments were helpful & that I should share them.
While he admitted there r problems on the right re: Trumpism, nationalism, racism,& sexual abuse, he felt the more serious threat is coming frm the left.
We talked & he said my comments were helpful & that I should share them.
Secular ideologies (like gender ideology & sexual liberation) & schools of thought originating from atheists are confronting the church and pose some serious problems were the church to adopt them. IOW I share many concerns expressed by traditionalists in the church.
However, I am more concerned w/ the problems in the church which traditionalists refuse to recognize, take seriously, & give greater attention to. Traditionalists obsess abt the sins of non-Christians rather than focusing on addressing the #churchtoo sexual abuse scandals,...
confronting enthusiastic supporters of Trump, repenting of rampant consumeristic entertainment worship, turning from greedy American-Dream lifestyles, restructuring our corporately organized / celebrity led churches, tackling the institutional cronyism,& addressing nationalism.
Every time a pastor levels a sharp critique of the traditionalists, he is chastised for his tone, disrupting unity, & elevating non-gospel issues. Meanwhile, traditionalists call the orthodoxy of the missional camp into question & raise alarms abt the invading secular ideologies.
This tone policing, dismissal of critique, & sidelining of those who put their finger on problems in the church is a bigger problem than secularism precisely b/c it undercuts the church's responsibility to witness to the world through our repentance.
To say it differently, when I look at the history of Israel, I see the prophets criticizing, warning, & rebuking the church for her failures to live into her covenant identity & obligations b/c of idolatry, compromised worship, failure to care for the poor, & greedy injustice.
It is precisely b/c of these failures that the power of the enemies of God grows, be it the Philistines, Assyrians, or Babylonians. The more Israel focuses on the evils outside, the more she fails to live into the covenant & thus incurs judgment at the hands of the nations.
Likewise, Jesus calls ppl of every nation, Jew or Gentile, to repent, yet the way he speaks to Gentiles & the poor differs from the way he confronts, admonishes, & even imprecates against the religious hypocrites within Israel.
For much of my life, I believed the public image of the church had 2 be maintained for the sake of our witness. If our flaws were exposed, the gospel would suffer. Now I see that the church's repentance is vital 2 our witness. The world must see us taking our sins most seriously.
Furthermore, the church's focus on the sins of "the world" reveals our failure to rest in the gospel. There is a real hardened refusal to see our complicity in idolatry & injustice, an unwillingness to remember that judgment begins w/ the household of God (1 Pet. 4:17).
So I am not interested in listening to @albertmohler's "The Briefing" or the @FoundersMin documentary. Nor do I see the importance of the @nashvillestmt or @NeilShenvi's analysis of critical theory.
This doesn't mean the concerns these ppl/ministries r raising are invalid. It's just completely imbalanced while our own household is not in order. The fact that so much energy is focused on the issues coming frm outside while we ignore or justify the prblms within...
reveals a deeply Pharisaic problem in the American church.
16/16
16/16
