Robert Jeffress of “Put Christ Back in Christmas fame,” made the front pages of The Dallas Morning News recently as a reporter wrote a profile on him and his progress at bringing glory to First Baptist Church, Dallas. Personally, I think we are supposed to give glory to God, but Jeffress may see this differently.
Anyway, part of his mission while accomplishing this goal is to preach a wimpy-less Christianity.
““I think it’s time to stop being wimpy about our Christianity,” Jeffress told The Dallas Morning News during a wide-ranging series of interviews. “We are dedicated to stemming the tide of godlessness and evil sweeping this country.””
I will tell you that I am all for stemming evil. I’m 100% on his side on that one. That’s part of the call of the church. The baptismal vows of The United Methodist Church include this question: “Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?”
Only a “yes” answer to this and other questions qualifies a person to be baptized, or, if in the case of a child, qualifies the parent to offer a child for baptism.
Yes, I’m all for being against evil and godlessness.
Here are the things Jeffress stands against, again quoting from the DMN article: “Homosexuality is a perversion. Mormons aren’t real Christians. Abortion is murder. Islam is a false religion. Marriage is only between a man and a woman. Oprah Winfrey is being used as a tool of Satan. Hell is a real place.”
Pretty major broadsides. A lot of people clearly agree with him on all those stances–his soon-to-be-glorious-again church is showing significant growth and a huge, huge, jump in contributions. By external measurements, Jeffress is a successful and effective pastor.
Now, shortly after I read about Jeffress and his crusades against evil, I learned of a semi-scandal in the Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM) movement, a connection of perhaps a hundred churches but tightly linked with what is called the “Neo-Reformed” movement in Christianity. From what I can tell about SGM, this is an all-male leadership place; daughters are not encouraged to engage in higher educational pursuits but to see themselves primarily as future wives and mothers; members are told what to think and believe, and independent thought about theological and ecclesiastical issues is not welcomed.
Recently, the founder and head of this ministry, C. J. Mahaney, has taken a leave of absence after a number of accusations about his abusive actions toward those below him in the ministry hierarchy have surfaced. There is a strong affirmation that there is no sexual sin, only a lesser one in their sin ranking: the sin of pride. Some former members have started calling the movement a cult and have created websites for people to discuss the issue. Here’s one called a Sovereign Grace Ministries refuge.
Now, how are these two people, Jeffress and Mahaney, linked?
How do we attack evil without falling ourselves into spiritual pride? How do church leaders affirm what they are sure to be true about God without turning into those who themselves who are so sure they’ve got a handle on God that they start worshipping their own understanding and own scholarship, rather than the God of Creation, of the entire cosmos, of the redemptive actions of Jesus?
How do leaders of churches stay focused on giving glory to God when their denominational mandates suggest instead that glory goes to their local and highly visible congregation?
I’ve got a lot of thinking to do here and welcome any and all comments, either here on the blog or emailed directly to me. Essentially, I am asking again: what does a church community that actually does glorify God look like?
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