Attempts at Honesty

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Rob Bell Comes [Somewhat] Clean – Transcript and Comments

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I was recently made aware of this statement by Rob Bell posted to YouTube. This is in response to the hubbub about his recent book Love Wins, which I have not read and upon which I cannot comment. I did previously make some comments about an interview that Rob did with Martin Bashir. My post containing the comments can be found at http://wp.me/pSrkv-43.

Here is the “confession” of Rob Bell:

A friend requested that I comment on what Rob says. So to make sure that my comments are accurate, I first thought I would transcribe what he says. By my count, he makes 16 statements as to what he believes. Here is what he says:

I believe:

  1. In Jesus
  2. Jesus is the way
  3. in Heaven
  4. in Hell
  5. the Bible is God’s word
  6. I’m not a universalist because I believe God’s love is so great he lets you decide
  7. in the communion of the saints
  8. the church is the fullness
  9. in the New Heaven and the New Earth
  10. in Healing
  11. in miracles
  12. in salvation
  13. in the power of prayer
  14. that God is alive and working
  15. that there has been a resurrection and there is a whole new creation bursting forth right here in the midst of this one
  16. it is best to only discuss books you’ve actually read

Comment 16 is unfair because the critiques that I read were in response to sections of the book and statements by Rob Bell that were released prior to publication to drum up interest in the book. Each of the critiques stated the source of the material they were criticizing and each critic allowed that the final version of the book might have rendered their critique moot.

I don’t have any issue with the rest of the statements as far as they go. None of these statements are in direct disagreement with Scripture. These statements are the theological equivalent of “motherhood and apple pie” statements in politics. There is nothing to take issue with.

The problem is, depending on how the terms are defined, cults could be in agreement with these statements due to their generic nature. I am not saying that any of these statements cause me to believe that Rob Bell is in error. I am saying that further definition of each of these items would have to be made to have a better understanding of what he really believes.

For example, Rob states that he believes in Hell. Does he believe in an eternal place of torment to which those who reject Jesus will inhabit? Is that what he means by Hell? It could be, but his statement provides insufficient evidence as to his understanding of Hell (which was the point in question in the critiques).

Being vague may be a valuable skill in politics, but it should not be the method followed in Christian ministry. I am willing to give Mr. Bell the benefit of the doubt, but I do wish he would be more precise in his statements and spend a little more energy in articulating a cohesive set of beliefs with Scriptural support for each belief.

Even Lawyers Can’t Mess This Up

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Chained Bible At our church, we are studying through the book of 2 Timothy in the New Testament. A line from Chapter 2 struck me where Paul writes, “but the word of God is not bound.” Paul is saying that even though he himself is bound, Scripture cannot be put in chains.

Our society is becoming increasingly restrictive as to when, where and how Scripture can be displayed or read out loud. Efforts are made to prevent the Bible from speaking into our society in an effort to live free from moral restraint. Lawyers around the country have brought suit to remove the Bible from mainstream thought.

When Charles Spurgeon was asked how to defend the Bible, his response became a classic. He suggested that those who attack the Bible are like men who seek to attack a caged lion with clubs. In that case, one does not have to defend the lion, one merely has to let him out of his cage and he will defend himself.

A couple of applications come to mind.

First, in light of the recent ruckus over the burning of the Koran (which was an inherently stupid thing to do), I suggest that burning of the pages of the Bible would not produce the desired result. We do not venerate the paper and leather on which Scripture is printed and bound, we venerate the words themselves as coming to us from God. However symbolic the Bible burner considers his act, neither God, nor the Church is diminished by it.

Another application of this is that we should take any opportunity to read, teach, preach and distribute the Bible. God promises that Scripture cannot be bound and it will affect change. My reading it will change me. My teaching it will change others. This is an appetite that can and should be passed on, a healthy addiction.

The reason why enemies of faith border on paranoia about the Bible is that the Chief Enemy knows how effective it is in changing individuals and society for good.

We should take this opposition as a sign that our efforts to teach Scripture are not in vain. God will bless the distribution of his Word. With regard to standing against the Enemy of Scripture, I will end with the advice of Winston Churchill:

Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

Ed Stetzer, Jeremy Myers, Terry Jones and the Apostle Paul

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On Saturday, I saw this Tweet from Ed Stetzer:


I agree with Ed and apparently so do others since this was retweeted 100 times to date.

I also appreciated Jeremy Myers’ response in his blog.

This morning I read in Acts 17 where Paul proclaimed the Living God at the Areopagus in Athens. Perhaps Terry Jones has never had to preach through this particular section of Scripture. Had he studied it, I wonder if he would have thought that burning the Koran was a good idea.

In this passage, Luke records that Paul entered into the discussion group, acknowledged that the men were religious and went on to politely highlight the differences in belief between their polytheism and his faith in Jesus.

The same Apostle who preached in the Areopagus tells us to “speak the truth in love” in Ephesians 4:15. We are to tell people what they need to know about the living God but as the example of Paul in Acts 17 shows us, it should be done with wisdom and love. It should never be done in a way that intentionally gives offense.

Most people don’t react well to being told that they are evil or stupid. Most people do not react well when objects that they value are desecrated. It is just the way we are wired.

I like the proverb, “it’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” Instead of telling people they are wrong, perhaps its better to gently and respectfully tell them what the Bible says.

If there must be an offense, let it be the offense of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let it not be the offense of the messenger mangling the message.

Apathy and Ignorance in the Church

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Tony Campolo is famous (infamous?) for the following statement:

“I have three things I’d like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don’t give a sh–. What’s worse is that you’re more upset with the fact that I said sh–than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Campolo)

Whether you agree with his method or not, Tony makes a point. Mr. Campolo highlights one of the barriers to those needs getting met; that barrier is apathy.

There are many physical needs in the world and with the apparent increasing frequency of disasters, these needs are increasing. There are seemingly infinite opportunities to find and meet the needs of people.

While I acknowledge that apathy is a problem, it is not the only problem. There are many who are not apathetic but struggle to know what to do about it. They can give some money to a relief agency or take time to volunteer, but even those efforts seem small in light of the overwhelming need. It is not hard to see why there is sometimes a willful ignorance of what is going on. The fight or flight response seems biased toward the latter.

In the same way, I have heard pleas from missions organizations that are intended to shake off the apathy of those listening and get them to support the effort to bring people to Christ. As with the meeting of physical needs, apathy is one of the factors inhibiting the meeting of spiritual needs. Ignorance also plays a role, perhaps even a larger role. In the case of believers, it is seldom willful ignorance, but a sense of not knowing what to do about it.

In order to do something effectively, I need to know what to do, how to do it and why it needs to be done. As believers, we know why people need Jesus, but we may struggle to know what to do about it and how to do it. In addition to the motivational speech, there also needs to be training as to what each person can do to bring a solution to the problem.

In the case of missions, it is very appropriate to donate money to missions organizations. Suggestions to forgo a latte or a meal out and donate those funds to missions are appropriate. We can learn to live on less and share some of what we have. But there needs to be something more for the church to be all it is intended to be.

What about the spiritual needs closer to home? What about that uncle or cousin who doesn’t know Jesus? What about the cranky neighbor who is intentionally disagreeable? What about the vocal atheist at work who ridicules anyone of faith? What do we do with these? How do we share our faith? Can I respond with confidence and grace when that atheist brings up difficult issues?

As our society becomes increasingly hostile toward the Judeo/Christian world view, and especially hostile to genuine faith in Christ, the need for training on how to deal with these questions will increase.

Thankfully, there are many in the church at large that see the problem and are taking steps to develop materials and methods to train people to defend what they believe and to follow Peter’s advice to “be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”

The point of this post is to encourage church leaders to:

  1. Train people in foundational Christian doctrine and how to share their faith
  2. Determine what God is calling your local fellowship to do with regard to missions near and far
  3. Articulate a strategy for accomplishing what God has laid on your heart
  4. Give the people in your fellowship a sense of what they can do individually to accomplish the mission

Motivational speeches alone will not get the mission done. We need drill instructors to produce recruits ready for battle.

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