“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions” - 2 Timothy 4:3 // I think many of us have applied this danger in the modern age to prosperity preachers...
...and other “feel good” teachers (the inspirational moralists of the attractional church). And it *does* apply to the allure of those types. But not sure as many of us saw it applying to politicians and political pundits and social media conspiracists. But it most certainly does
Many professing believers are filling their ears with voices that simply tell them what they want to hear — affirming their grievances, confirming their suspicions, stroking their idols, stoking their anger.
The “facts don’t care about feelings” crowd has fallen into the feelings trap. Some pastors and other leaders are among them. We were warned about this, but we do it anyway.
It’s time to wake up. Shake off the ear-scratchers. Reality is hard and requires hard things from us but it’s far preferable to wasting time chasing illusions and role-playing in the sinful world’s epistemological fog.
Jesus only deals with us on the playing field of reality. Join him there. Listen to him. His way is narrow but he — ABOVE ALL — can be trusted.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Jared C. Wilson

Jared C. Wilson Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @jaredcwilson

2 Sep
Many people have been church hopping this season because they didn't see joining a church in the first place as joining a family so much as a vibe. Having to meet different hours, different places, different ways -- that changes the vibe. So they're looking elsewhere.
We don't do family like that. Or we shouldn't. If Grandma said, "Next Thanksgiving we're gonna eat outside" we wouldn't find a new grandma. You could tell Grandma you don't like it. That you wish we could go back inside. But you're there Thanksgiving eating her food.
Don't treat church like a consumer product. Church is a family, not a club, a program, or a style preference.
Read 4 tweets
27 Aug
Excellent thread. I'm seeing this too and expecting more of it. I'm not a prophet or a son of a prophet, but I suspect there is a great refining going on right now -- even a pruning. It feels like a great brokenness. And it is. The angry people are finding their way out
As Dean mentions, there are (generally) two types and they are ending up at two kinds of places. For those not compelled to either side, it is tragic and can be discombobulating to feel "caught" in the middle. But this is preferable to "taking up arms" against the brethren
Make your appeals and entreaties, but you'll have to let indignant people go do their indignant thing with other indignant people. There they go to write that hit song "Alone in Our Principles." It's hard. But your church might actually be getting healthier as it "shrinks"
Read 6 tweets
16 Jul
One thing you notice from time to time as our most dedicated harassers, nitpickers, and revilers defend their "communication strategies" is an appeal to the harsh language of the Scriptures. "The Bible can be rude. So we can be rude" the thinking goes...
You will see them cite Paul's harsh rebukes of the Galatians, his sharpness about the Cretans, and so forth. Jesus turning over tables and running people out with a whip. There are no doubt numerous examples of harsh language from the holy -- from prophets to apostles...
There can be no doubt that strong words and godly rebukes are at times -- perhaps *many* times -- called for. The problem is that we also have numerous (to put it lightly) clear imperatives about how to speak to brothers and sisters. Not to mention warnings about the tongue...
Read 7 tweets
15 Jul
I do not claim to know all the ins and outs of Crist's offenses or his pursuit of repentance, but I am compelled to urge consideration of the huge problem we only compound when we equate restoration with restoration *to a platform.*
The rush to forgive fallen public figures is essentially good-hearted. But we can further harm victims *and* offenders by assuming re-platforming them is necessary to forgiveness.
I do think disqualified pastors can potentially be restored to the pastorate, but we rarely see it go well because we move too quickly, assuming we're not truly being gracious unless we open both the door to personal reconciliation and to a position of authority. But it's unwise
Read 7 tweets
29 Apr
Polled the guys in my coaching cohort on what words of advice they'd give to a new pastor. Here's what they said . . .
1) A calloused heart is lack of spiritual nutrition, so the way you treat others will be directly connected to the state of your relationship with Christ.
2) Encouragement is the best motivator.
Read 14 tweets
31 Mar
Some reaction to this reveals the problem. And it's not simply a matter of "style," but of theology. Some say the reason the gospel isn't clear is because the teaching is aimed at Christians. But most of these churches say the exact opposite: we're prioritizing the unchurched. 1/
Secondly, and probably more importantly: The fundamental breakdown is this: A misunderstanding of the power of the gospel. The Bible positions the message of Christ and his work as not just for the lost but also for the found. It isn't power just for conversion but for growth 2/
This is the whole crux of "gospel-centrality": The gospel is robust and versatile and powerful enough for both saved and unsaved. It is the skeleton key for existence. Preaching "be better"-type sermons to lost folks only makes well-behaved lost folks (at best.) 3/
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!