The imminent revival, part 17 — an imminent split

Especially in America, being involved in a religious community and engaging in rituals to display religiosity have not only always been popular but are often even encouraged, especially in evangelical culture.

The problem is, however, that truly following Jesus isn’t and never has been. That’s why He said that the gate was “narrow.”

With a recent Gallup poll indicating that, for the first time, a minority of Americans aren’t involved in a church (or perhaps mosque or synagogue as well — I don’t know the breakdown by affiliation), I think it’s time that we looked at some hard truths about where the Church is today.

Since the late 1970s perhaps a majority of American evangelicals have focused on political and cultural power to maintain social power. The trouble is that in the process they’ve continually ignored the power of the Holy Spirit, which is why their efforts produce only resentment toward them and anger and bitterness among them.

That’s the backdrop of not only people leaving the Church but a growing number of self-identifying evangelicals criticizing it — out of love and humility, not resentment, mind you. The response has been, unsurprisingly, anger — against the likes of Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention; Beth Moore (no relation), the Bible teacher who left the SBC; and blogger and pastor John Pavlovitz.

This is why we’re headed for a split — between those who really want to follow Jesus and those who simply want to play church. The numbers might continue to drop — but He’d be OK with that, because then we’d know for sure just who’s serious about depending on Him.

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.

The defeat of an idol — and its ramifications

Many Christian supporters of now-former President Donald Trump were doing so because they believed that he was going to spark a religious revival. That was always false on its face because God doesn’t work the way they want, primarily by reestablishing laws, most notably restrictions on legal abortion.

What has surprised — and dismayed — me is the amount of bitterness many are spewing these days in the aftermath of the election, what with complaints about the election being “stolen,” even though it wasn’t; their willingness to insult political opponents such as Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris; and even their participation in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

And that says something pretty telling: Their faith was always in the political process, never truly in God. And that’s why they are in fact sabotaging the revival they say they want.

For “Christianity” has for many become little more than a set of political positions independent of following Jesus — imitating His character, rejecting worldly ways and seeking reconciliation. Nor is there any emphasis on cultivating the “fruit of the [Holy] Spirit,” mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 — “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

As a result, following Ezekiel 36:20, “But when [Israelites] came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned [My] holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of [His] land.’ ”

That is what Trump represented — profanation of God’s holy name. It would be one thing if they voted for him but held him accountable for his racism and divisiveness and threatened to withhold their votes if he didn’t shape up, but they didn’t.

In other words, Trump became an idol in his own right, and we know how God feels about idolatry. The fact that so many Christians are enraged with by his defeat shows that they haven’t gotten the message — and will suffer more defeats in the near future.

Why Christians shouldn’t celebrate Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh often joked that his talent was “on loan from God.” That’s about the only true thing, at least in a theological sense, that he ever said.

Today the longtime radio host passed away from lung cancer, and it’s not hard to see that he misused that talent, using distortions and ridicule from 1987 to last year to lampoon those of a more progressive ideological stripe and in the process causing a major divide in this country that exists to this day. I for one refused to listen to him because, according to Psalm 1:1, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers” — and there’s no getting around the fact that Limbaugh, considered the voice of the “angry white male,” was a mocker.

And yet millions upon millions of Christians hung on his every word for the latest broadside against his targets, playing into their bitterness and resentment. Eventually other right-wing talkmeisters hit the airwaves, and to this day they’re still spouting their bile, most making a mint in the process. And we often wonder why much of the church is in such bad shape — three hours of spiritual poison poured daily into one’s brain doesn’t lend itself to meditating on the things of God.

I know what you might be saying: “Aren’t ‘liberals’ just as bad?” No, and that’s not even relevant. You don’t even consistently have left-wing talk-radio, for openers; most of the time such shows don’t last because they don’t get the ratings (you have some late-night TV hosts, but they don’t have the reach). Besides, people of religious faith don’t watch them anyway, which is the point.

Since Donald Trump was defeated in November and is no longer president, some have said that this nation needs to take “time to heal.” But part of the healing process involves identifying and excising lingering attitudes, and it’s clear that Limbaugh fostered those — that is to say, they came from somewhere and didn’t just start in 2016.

The end of a political career

The current impeachment trial of now-former President Donald J. Trump, based on his alleged incitement of the rioters that took place on Jan. 6, is intended by Democrats as the end of Trump’s political career. The intent, of course, is to keep him from seeking federal office ever again.

Whether that happens or not and if he’s acquitted of that charge, which at this point appears likely, his political career is over anyway. Because — make no mistake about this — God Himself took him down. And that happened not because of the Capitol riot that his supporters took part in.

What really doomed Trump was that stunt during which he held up that Bible in front of an Episcopal church, which took place June 1 of last year. God ran out of patience with him because, like a lot of the so-called religious right, he intended to use it to promote his own authority rather than submit himself to the only real Authority that mattered.

And the dominoes began falling as a result.

While forces on the political left, including but not limited to voter-registration drives, were already marshaled against the Trump campaign, it turned out that the business community was growing tired of the political instability that he had always fostered, even though it agreed with most of his actual policies. After Jan. 6 its lobbying groups announced that it would no longer donate to Republican candidates that supported the insurrection.

But before that, some evangelical groups and individuals decided to throw their support behind then-candidate Joe Biden, bucking the trend of Trump-supporting Christians. Then you have his failure to lead on COVID-19, costing hundreds of thousands of lives. And did you notice at the Republican National Convention just how few Republicans were willing to put in a good word for him, a requirement to speak?

The result was the kind of broad-based organizing coalition that would have been required to beat Trump at the ballot box — and, of course, did.

By the time he tried to strongarm GOP-dominated legislatures and secretaries of states in swing states into changing election results amid baseless accusations of voter fraud, it was clear that he was finished.

It wasn’t simply the voters who had spoken at that point, you see. Ultimately, God had as well, in the process putting to shame those so-called prophets who tried to convince people that Trump was a shoo-in and then doubled down after Nov. 7. The riot failed to change the result because, really, Trump and his supporters were fighting against God, Who refuses to be mocked.

And while Trump still has his base, which is as strong as ever, he’s already finished as an electoral force because he’s alienated virtually everyone else — including the people at the hands of the mechanisms required to get people elected in the first place. And let’s not forget his other legal issues — charges of financial fraud in New York state and election tampering in Georgia, either of which could put him away for a while.

In that context, the impeachment might prove anticlimactic because even if Trump gets off he may end up going from the proverbial frying pan into the fire. He tried, and was still trying, to play God, and the True and Living God doesn’t appreciate anyone trying to knock Him off His rightful throne.