What A Crazy Summer

As summer time draws to a close, my thoughts regarding all the events that happened were, in one word, crazy. Seems like something was happening that made the news or an intense discussion on social media. Granted, many good things did happen this summer but at the same time many crazy things did happen.

Where to begin? That is a good question. Before I go any further, I am not going into great details about what I am going to address. Much has been said about these issues, so I do not want to drag them any further than they already have.

Lets talk about the SBC annual meeting. Granted, I am not the foremost expert in how the SBC works though I have been in it for most of my Christian life, but there things that happened there that caused a lot of controversary. Resolution 9 comes to mind. Many outside the SBC were wondering why was this even passed. How can the Southern Baptist allow secular worldviews come into play. Granted they did say that Scripture is our final authority, but if it is why do we need "analytical tools?"

Speaking of the SBC, there was that infamous trailer that Founders Ministries put out. I have to admit, I was excited about seeing that trailer, which left me wondering where are they going with this. The editing that trailer was not the best in the world, yet many Christians were crying foul because of the tone and calling out certain leaders in the SBC. Some of the men featuring in the documentary want their interview and name removed from the project. Of course, Twitter was going nuts over it. Some of it for good reason while some not so much. I will confess that I am eager to see the documentary because it does raise issues in the SBC that need to be addressed. It was amazing to see people worked up over a trailer.

Then there was Mark Driscoll calling Calvinism garbage and those who read dead theologians are looking for spiritual fathers because they have daddy issues. Wow. Mark Driscoll, who I considered my gateway drug to Reformed Theology (I know, I know), called Calvinism garbage. He even said the five points of Calvinism are not biblical. He was the face of new Calvinism and he just bashed it. I read most of his books expect for the one where there was a plagiarism controversary and by all accounts, I thought he was a Reformed Theologian. Learned a lot from him and listened to him every week. I even went back through some of his older sermons when I embraced Reformed Theology. Now he says Calvinism is garbage. As I recall what he said, he just said they were not biblical nor does he go into a great detail as to why. After that interview many were kind of in a "I told you so" attitude regarding Driscoll saying, "I told you he was never Reformed." Granted, he did have an issue with Limited Atonement, but I think we all have theology where we do wrestle with some things, but does not make us doubt the God who created us. I am wondering if Driscoll came under the Calvinism banner because Time Magazine called him one of the leaders of the New Calvinism movement. There are more questions than answers up to this point which has made me questioned if some of the men, not all, I have read and/or listened to are men I can trust in regards to Reformed Theology. This is one of those lessons where we must always trust the Lord in our sanctification and in helping us grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. Many pastors and theologians will disappoint us, but Jesus will not.

Finally, Joshua Harris. Another man who helped me through his writings when I was getting my theology right. I have quoted his book, Dug Down Deep, and have recommend it. Never read I Kissed Dating Goodbye when I was a single man nor did I have the desire to when my wife and I were dating. Joshua separated from his wife than about a week later announced he was no longer a Christian. Joshua Harris has become an apostate, which is someone who genuinely walks away from the faith. He was sighted not even a week later at a Pride parade in England, which has caused a lot of speculation. As I mentioned earlier, I am not going into great detail because many things have already been said. In regards to Joshua Harris we should pray that God will convict his heart, repent, and return. Whatever issues he has with his wife will also be resolved as well. When people walk away from the faith it should not surprise us because it happened when the Bible was written and it will keep happening until Jesus returns. We can only hope that Josh will repent. I also hope this is a wake-up call to all of us that it can happen to us as well. It can also happen to your elders especially your lead preaching pastor. This is why it is critical for us to pray for our elders and all the leaders in our churches.

In spite of all that is happened, we still have a God that is in control. When leaders fail us or there is disagreement with one another, God is still sovereign. I know a lot has happened, but we should never lose the hope we have. As summer draws to a close, let us cling to the hope we have in Christ and never lose sight of what God has done for us.