My family and I are on a sorta vacation this week in Florida. My in-laws living here is a good thing as it’s guilt-free time away. Though Susan has visited recently, it’s my first trip to the Sunshine State in two years. On the plane I mentioned to Susan the last time I flew to FL (to adopt Nathan), we didn’t have any children, this time, we are flying down with two. As we all know a lot can change in two years. Anyway, it’s a sorta-vacation because I have a lot of school work and a bit of church work to do but it’s nice to be here.
I’ve got a couple books to read. I started re-reading Justification because I really want to absorb this huge discussion. This summer, I intend on reading Piper’s The Future of Justification: A Response to NT Wright.. Anyway my second time through, I have become really enamored by the good Bishop of Durham and I am truly excited about listening to him and the many fine minds at Wheaton in two weeks. Further, I am really grateful for the fellas that I will be traveling with. This Florida air and the sounds of baby boys has me all nostalgic.
As I have been reading, I have had a couple of thoughts floating in my head. Among them, we evangelicals have made our theology too narrow. It may turn out that NT Wright is wrong (afterall he already jokingly admits that he knows he’s wrong about 20% of everything, he just doesn’t know which part it is. What if it’s the 20 that governs the 80? Yep, that adds up to being completely wrong. It’s actually hard to do that but I digress). The real thought I have is so much of my evangelical community, throughout my upbringing to my undergrad years has seemed to dismiss too many things as “liberal”. The Aramaic in Daniel written (or even edited) in the 2nd century – liberal. NRSV – liberal, eschatology that challenges dispensationalism – liberal, liberal, liberal.
I am aware that there are indeed more formal arguments made against those aforementioned topics in academic circles but they rarely trickle down to local evangelical churches. Generally, our congregations get the conclusion (“Be careful, that’s dangerous theology; it’s liberal”). We need to work on that, not to please NT Wright, not to please “the liberals” but to be informed, Biblically faithful, Spirit-led followers of Jesus who desire to learn and practice the calling and mission the Father has called His children to be. I mean, if you are in to that sort of thing.
On a smaller note but important relationally, I find myself really feeling for John Piper. Over the years I have gone from great admiration to him, to great concern with his fight with cancer, to joy with his remission, to frustration with his second wave on life, to and outright dismissing certain soundbytes. I mean for a while I was pretty sure Pat Robertson hacked into his twitter account. Don’t put it past Robertson, the dude can leg press a ton!, he can hack into Twitter ;-) All this left me having this paradoxical position of appreciating some of his past work but at best, tolerating his current positions out of Christian respect (another virtue of the postmodern posture btw).
But his recent announcement about taking an 8 month leave has moved me. From where I sit (and I’m just a youth pastor from Jersey), this seems quite normal to how we Christian conservatives operate. Fight a big fight, take a leave. Or retire from the organization, but have a personal ministry or resign from Focus on the Family but still be on the radio show, resign from that, take a break and now want two million dollars for your own show separate from the organization that granted, you founded and may have been forced out of, but now left. I know this sounds like an emergent version of Jim Rome Is Burning and that I began the paragraph talking about Piper, not Dobson, but you have to admit, there is a pattern here.
Two humble suggestions from the lowly youth pastor with the beautiful wife and the two adorable little boys who are all soaking in the Florida rays. As the next generation conservatives (post-conservative?), let’s stop the radio shows whose overarching theme is, “America is being taken away from you! And now they are coming after your families! And let’s stop with the books that leave people saying, “The liberal anglican guy who arrogantly uses initials for his name is trying to take away your justification … and your rapture! (Now we’ll be stuck here forever!).” Let’s stop imitating the rhythm of a boxer’s life who trains, fights the big bout, then takes a leave to heal in victory or defeat. Rather, let’s invite the alleged liberal over for tea. Let’s invite the atheist for lunch. I mean is it too much to ask for Dobson to invite Howard Sterns over? Too unrealistic? Even Jerry Falwell invited Larry Flynt over after the infamous Campari ad in Hustler Magazine that said his first sexual encounter was with his mom in an outhouse. (Yes, I did learn a few things at Liberty).
While Piper and Wright’s discussion has tried to be polite, it seems to have taken a toll on both men. The bishop writes with an exhausted tone (“How many times do I have to say this?”) while the Reformed Pastor takes a leave “I was just trying to guard the sheep.” The truth is, while I feel that Wright is getting the better of the exchanges, I feel for Piper and his family and I wish his body and soul rest from the Lord, my prayers are with him – I mean that seriously. But we need to find better ways of communicating our differences in the future. By the way, I thought Doug Pagit wrote a nice piece concerning Piper’s leave.
Well, I have written quite enough but marrying a FL girl was a real bright move on my part.
Grace and peace friends.
Hey,
One cannot ignore that Jesus awfully, dare I say it, liberal for his day and age, was he not? The word “liberal” has a lot of different meanings and I’m not sure a lot of the people who toss it around like a dirty word understand that. The United States is a classically liberal democracy, along with the rest of the Western world. George W. Bush’s foreign policy was very liberal, in the international meaning of the word, for its alleged focus on democracy-promotion and nation-building. The term neo-conservative is somewhat of a misnomer, in that they hold very liberal views of foreign policy, in the classical meaning of the word (though of course they tend to be very socially conservative, though with guys like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, I think thats probably for political coalition building with the folks).
Obviously words change meaning over time, and change parties too (as Abraham Lincoln was very liberal as a member of the, at the time, radical left Republican party). Conservatives can knock liberals all they want, but they’ve got to admit that some of the things conservatives have grown accustomed to were historically anathema to them, and came to pass after liberals put in the effort. Civil Rights. Social Security. Women’s suffrage. Abolition. The American Revolution.
Good thoughts. Also, here’s hoping that I’m one of those “many fine minds at Wheaton” that you’ll make some time for. See you there!
To Ryan,
Yep. Jesus was liberal for his day. That’s the nature of the prophet, the revolutionary. There were things he was conservative about as well. Conservative in the traditional sense. He upheld the Law, quoted the Old Testament from Moses to Isaiah, and affirmed many other things.
That said, I get what you are saying. When these terms are used as classifications, it gets dangerous and unhelpful.
I think that’s why I am a fan of contextualization and non-absolutes in the everyday, practical sense.
@Chris K.
Indeed. In fact, I hope you get a chance to sit down with the good Bishop and set him straight on a few things – lol.
Will call you when I get there – later bro.