It may have not been ‘racism’ after all

Most of you have seen the memes “Stop Asian Hate” in reaction to the shooting deaths this week of a number of women, a majority of them of Asian descent, who worked at massage parlors in the Atlanta area by a Robert Aaron Long. A clear case of racism, given that the South has always grappled with this subject and especially since former president Donald Trump referred to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus?”

I’m not so sure. It seems to me that his crimes were more “religious” in nature.

It turns out that Long had been very active in a Southern Baptist church, that denomination at the forefront of the evangelical movement that has helped to define American Protestantism over the last half-century. And that movement has always had an emphasis, perhaps an overemphasis, on sexual sin, an issue because Long has admitted to what he called a sexual addiction and, according to a story in The New York Times, had actually visited two of the spas he shot up.

Those of us who are steeped in evangelical culture have consistently had the potential destruction by sexual sin drummed into our heads as something to be avoided at all costs. Part of the problem with such a mentality is that it actually, and wrongly, makes women responsible for men’s behavior, specifically their inability or unwillingness to change it.

While I understand that idea of “capturing every thought” under the aegis of Jesus is optimum, it’s not a guarantee that things will happen right away and the struggle may continue. Ironically — and here’s why I referred to the overemphasis on sexual sin — the more you focus on such sin the less you focus on Him.

And that may have been Long’s initial problem. (He may have found himself consistently attracted to Asian women, the only connection to race I see here.)

But there’s something else that’s often left out of the discussion: Love, αγαπή in the Greek, for the other person, which would clearly be an outgrowth of love for God.

For me, it’s been less about avoiding temptation than “How could I as a Christian be so selfish as to want to ‘do that’ to her?” You see, one thing I’ve been privileged to learn over the years but rarely addressed in such circles is that women and girls also have sexual desires, though they manifest themselves differently (and for that reason it’s never been a big deal) — one woman I had dated about two decades ago joked about “cold showers” for herself.

Then, over the past 10 to 15 years I’ve been blessed to learn how to relate to women in a safe, healthy, God-honoring manner but still as women, often through partner-dancing. Since evangelical culture promotes male leadership in cross-gender relationships, I’ve found it more comfortable to do it that way and still grow as a man, my sexuality becoming more integrated into my total persona as opposed to an alien force working against me.

Let me state without reservation that Long, in shooting those women, violated not only the Word of God but also the laws of the state of Georgia and ought to pay for what he did. And as such, his failure was connected to failing to loving others as he would want to be loved, the second of Jesus’ two great commandments.

Some thoughts on the Ravi Zacharias scandal

As many of you may know, Martin Luther King Jr., originally a Baptist pastor who eventually became the spiritual leader of the civil-rights movement, became my gateway to the Christian faith. His attitude of nonviolence combined with direct action showed me in retrospect the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and upon first reading “Strength to Love,” a collection of his sermons first published in 1963, I found myself praising and worshiping God.

In the 1980s, perhaps after his birthday was made into a Federal holiday, I learned about his dark side. I had heard once around that time that he had stepped out on his wife Coretta and ignored it, but when another person came forward and said that he indeed slept with other women I cried. Later on, it was disclosed that he had plagiarized part of his doctoral dissertation.

I bring this up in light of the scandal surrounding the late Ravi Zacharias, who ran a highly influential eponymous Christian apologetics ministry. Just a few months after his death last spring, an investigation into the ministry revealed that he apparently used his chronic back condition to abuse women who were massage therapists, asking some to send nude photos of them and even raping at least one.

Such sinful behavior creates a conundrum for the folks who not only believed what he taught but also supported the ministry financially (I heard him only once to my recollection, so I can’t say that I was one of his followers). So what do we do with fallen leaders who are no longer on the scene — and do we discount whatever they said?

While I won’t say I have the last word on this issue, I want to remind you of Hebrews 11, regarded as the “hall of fame” of faith and in which such people as Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Samson and Moses are mentioned. All these people, and many more major biblical figures besides, at some point fell into gross sin.

Of course, had we known about Zacharias’ transgression while he was still active he likely would have been forced out of his role, and properly so, but his own failure to live up to God’s standards means only that there actually is a standard to which especially leaders need to live up to. It also doesn’t mean that God hasn’t forgiven him, but his influence certainly has been sabotaged.

Perhaps the best example of that was disgraced evangelist Jimmy Swaggart, whose mailing list I was on in the 1980s and whose “A Study in the Word” was actually pretty good despite my theological differences with him. Remember that in 1988 he was caught with a prostitute — the Monday after that a spirit of heaviness permeated a prayer meeting I attended then because we knew that the Body had taken a hit — and soon after that he cried out to the LORD and his congregation for forgiveness.

The Assemblies of God, on the other hand, which licensed him, recognized that he needed to be disciplined, so the presbytery announced a three-month suspension of preaching. Fearing that the ministry would collapse without him at the helm, Swaggart decided to leave the denomination — and was subsequently caught with another prostitute. Just like that, his national ministry was gone.

Because both King and Zacharias have gone to their respective rewards we’ll never know if God could have used their transgressions for good. And granted, there’s always the temptation to believe that “men of God” with such international stature will eventually turn their back on moral standards, at least privately.

But I can tell you that my faith in God wasn’t at all shaken just because my hero of the faith was shown to be an adulterer — you see, my faith was never in King, who was only a vessel, and a flawed one at that, that God used. May the same be said for followers of Zacharias.

The imminent revival, part 16 — an attitude of humility

About two years ago my church began a building campaign to recast the campus into something friendlier to young families coming into the church. The endeavor will by pricey but, because of the church’s commitment to not only the Gospel but also foreign missions and serving the immediate community, it would be money well spent because, I believe, it will play a major part in the revival that I’ve been prophesying for some time. I shared that with an executive pastor.

He waved that off, saying, “We’re seeking only to be faithful.”

Just now, I realized that he’s proving me right.

I think a lot of people have the idea that the kind of spiritual awakening comprises a lot of overt religious activity, with folks simply being swept into churches and society being transformed as a result — into something that would make them feel comfortable.

It could be, however, that preparations would have to be made ahead of time — not just with building issues but preparing the hearts of congregations to be able not only to accept but also disciple new believers. And not only that, but that the people already there have a solid grasp of theology and the ramifications for Christ’s Kingdom.

That’s why I believe that the awakening won’t be on Christian TV. Oh, there might be some dramatics involved, but it’s more likely that those hearts “on fire” won’t simply focus on “signs and wonders” — they alone cannot sustain faith, as ancient Israel demonstrates to us — but a continual seeking after God and not being satisfied with head knowledge of Him. In fact, I would go so far to say that churches so consumed with Jesus won’t even know, or care, about any revival, thus bringing it about.

You see, people who truly love Jesus know that certain behaviors and attitudes that don’t bring Him glory should be eliminated and will be with the help of the Holy Spirit. They know that God acts only in certain ways and rejects sin (although He can, and if need be will, work around it). Most importantly, they also understand the need for a sense of justice not only for themselves but also the folks with whom they come into contact and will thus willingly serve them.

And for that reason I also believe that the Spirit will work more powerfully not in the independent “charismatic” churches but in those connected to a denomination — with oversight and connectedness to groups outside the walls of a particular assembly to hold everyone accountable.

Now, I understand that hierarchy and theology can go only so far, but over the last few decades we’ve seen our share of renegade pastors and churches more concerned with their standing in the world than their standing before God. They’ve often allowed destructive heresies into their churches and which often are reflected in the preaching, taking things as truth that God Himself never authorized — which is why many of them are hollowing out, especially of people younger than 40.

I do believe that my church will be a part of any major awakening, but if I know it well it will be focused not on that for its own sake but on Jesus, allowing Him to transform people’s lives. Bottom line, any awakening will be the result of obedience.