The feedback from my opinions about Pastor Steven Furtick’s blog entry “I Promised You a Good Comeback” continues to trickle in. PURPLEGIRL in a response to this post here says:
PURPLEGIRL: Wouldn’t God be happy to see His children come to Him in a biblically sound church regardless if it was Catholic? Isn’t that the whole point of unity? Working together for a common goal…reaching lost people in a hurting world? Isn’t it possible that other denominations are being blessed by God? Sorry for the example, but take Elevation. Southern Baptist and one of the most influential churches of this era. There were 1738 people at one of the services 13 months after opening their doors. That is not a man thing…that’s a God size thing. God was the only one who could have made that happen. Over 50 people giving their lives to Christ in that year. God is all over that church. How dare we say that it isn’t good enough because it isn’t Catholic. We might as well kick some dirt on God’s shoes while we’re at it. So my question is: Isn’t it possible that God has more than one way in which to bring His children to Him?
And ty23 made similar statements in his remarks as well and I am sure that they are not the only ones who think that I am a crotchety, cantankerous, curmudgeon for not throwing my hands in the air and saying “You’re right! It doesn’t matter that they are not obedient to the One True Church! Clearly it doesn’t matter to God!” Well I may still be a crotchety, cantankerous, curmudgeon but it isn’t because I am not giving Elevation Church it’s due. On the night he was betrayed Jesus prayed the following:
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you love me. John 17:20-23
Jesus prayed for our unity. At a minumum, we are to be ONE as He and the Father are ONE. That’s not invisible or symbolic unity folks. There’s no doctrinal disagreement. It’s not the kind of unity that has us each doing our own thing for worship and getting together for a little inter-denominational fellowship and a more efficient food pantry. Furthermore, there is a purpose to that unity. It was to be our witness to the world. Our unity would tell the world that Jesus was indeed sent by the Father. If we take Jesus at His Word (and I certainly do), our failure to be visibly united (after all this is to be a sign to the WORLD) means that our witness is compromised. Protestantism, at it’s root, denies the need for visible unity. The rejection of obedience to the authority given to the Chair of Peter by Jesus himself and the substitution of one’s personal understanding of Sacred Scripture has done nothing but progressively crumble the Body of Christ. (link opens PDF file.) No matter what other biblical principles you are being obedient to, the failure to worship as Jesus commanded in the Eucharist and the rejection of the unity that Christ himself calls us to is partial obedience and the cost of partial obedience is high indeed.
How about an example of a man mightily used by God? God established his covenant with this man and his obedience and faith is praised continuously not only in Christianity but in the Jewish faith and Islam as well. Of course I am speaking of Abraham. In all honesty I am certain that my faith and my obedience will never measure up to that of Abraham’s and I think is probably true of most people. In fact, that may be why we seldom hear of those times when Abraham wasn’t completely obedient. How dare we disobedient wretches criticize the father of our faith, the man through whom God chose to bless the whole earth? Well I am not going to criticize, because the writers of Sacred Scripture did that for me and all I have to do is point out what they have passed on to us. In Genesis 12, Abram is commanded to “Leave your country, your people, and your father’s household….” and we are told that Abram did that but “Lot went with him” Now if God commanded me to “leave my country and my people and my father’s household” I am so disobedient I wouldn’t even hear so I can’t say I would do any better, BUT even I know that taking your nephew is not “leaving your people and your father’s household.” Sacred Scripture records in general terms what the consequences for that actions were. First, it caused division and strife in Abraham’s household and he lost out on material blessings in his lifetime because he had to split the pastureland with his nephew. I don’t think that Abraham missed the wealth much but still it was an actual reduction in the blessing that Lord planned for him alone. Abraham had to intervene when Lot was kidnapped and then again for Lot when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. All complications in Abraham’s life that he could have avoided. However, this sin of partial obedience didn’t just complicate Abraham’s life. Remember the story of Lot’s daughters (ew!) in Genesis 19:30-36? The descendants of Lot’s daughters became bitter enemies of Israel. I wonder how many Israelites lost their lives because of Abraham didn’t leave his nephew behind? How many widows and orphans were made? How many tears shed?
But that wasn’t the only time that Abraham substituted his own understanding for God’s perfect plan. I’ve always wondered if there were actual deaths in the court of Pharaoh when Abraham told his little “white lie”? (Genesis 12:10-20) How many times do we justify to ourselves that if you look at it from the right perspective, it’s really not a lie? Thank God our white lies are seldom as consequence-laden as Abraham’s. And then there is Hagar. Abraham substituted his own culturally correct plan for providing an heir instead of waiting of God’s perfect plan. (And yes, I am mentally drawing a parallel here to being told in the last few days that worship needs to be “culturally correct”) The son of that union, Ishmael and his descendants, became not only enemies of ancient Israel but the echoes of that act of Abraham’s have reverberated to the present day. Think of the carnage that has resulted on both side of the conflict between those who claim Isaac as the inheritor of Abraham’s covenant (Jews and Christians) and those who claim Ishmael was the rightful heir (Muslims)? How many widows have been made? How many mothers lost their children? How many fathers lost their sons? How many slaves were made? How many crippled? We face the consequences of that sin today.
Yes. Abraham was mightily used by God. But the sins of his partial obedience were felt not only in his own family but by Israel and all of his descendants both physical and spiritual! Yes. I believe that God is using Pastor Furtick and Elevation Church. Just as God used Abraham. Whatever victories that are being enjoyed at Elevation Church come at the unknown price of partial obedience. The same principles that Protestants use to claim authority to interpret the Bible for themselves and join together with those who interpret the Bible in their like-minded way are the same ones used in all the other Protestant churches that are not enjoying the successes of Elevation. You can disavow churches like the Westboro Baptist Church all you want but they use the same principles, the same standard (the Bible) and the same conviction that THEY are the ones who are hearing the Holy Spirit correctly. Over 30,000 church splits (PDF link) and counting. How many broken hearts does that represent? How many disillusioned?
