The No Kool Aid Zone

The Message of Christ

Posted by Byron December 29, 2004 at 10:20 pm
Filed Under Life as a Jesus-follower | 10 Comments |

I don’t really like to throw stones. I am generally–whatever you might think of my postings–a guy who really, really tries to see the point of view of other people. I don’t like judgmentalism–and I don’t mean to be judgmental. I try to give every person the benefit of the doubt; I consider myself a peacemaker, one who has had some success at bringing people together who were convinced that they were at odds.

I also don’t like to be negative all the time, to rant and rave about this wrong and that wrong and…well, you get the idea.

At the same time, there’s this thing called “discernment” that is sorely lacking, it seems to me, in evangelical Christianity. The examples I’ve seen recently are downright depressing. We must speak the truth in love…the truth in love. Err on either side of that equation very far, and you’ve really missed the boat. It is with all of the above thoughts in mind that I make this post.

The first time I ever paid attention to Joel Osteen, who apparently now pastors America’s largest church (Lakewood Church, Houston, ca. 30,000 in regular attendance), I was very taken by what he said in prefacing his message. Taken directly from Lakewood’s website, Joel’s words each week are:

This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do. Today I will be taught the Word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be the same. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever-living seed of the Word of God. I will never be the same. Never, never, never. I will never be the same. In Jesus name. Amen.

I like that. It sounds good, like the kind of thing that I’d like to get our folks to memorize and repeat each week. I believe that it is true. What I do not believe, though, is that Joel Osteen, as engaging a young man as he appears to be, is a preacher of the Christian gospel. Further, if Lakewood Church is willing to tolerate this being preached from its pulpit, then we have to conclude that Lakewood Church is not a Christian church. I believe that we have to call a “spade” a “spade”, and while I have no idea as to Joel’s own personal stance before God, and wouldn’t begin to presume to judge it, it is completely fair to consider his words, and to judge them against the standard of God’s Word.

I picked up a copy of his new book in a bookstore yesterday and skimmed for a good period of time through its chapters. I do not know what he preaches on a weekly basis–though I have heard him on occasion–but in my significant skimming of the book, one thing is abundantly clear: the message of Joel Osteen’s book is categorically not the Christian message. It is nothing but positive thinking, self-help, Schullerism. There is nothing there about the gospel of Jesus Christ which saves hellbound sinners from an eternity separate from God. The fact of man’s state, Christ’s provision through His atoning death on the cross, the resurrection…it’s just not there.

At what point do we stand up and say these things? At what point do we demand accountability from those who encourage this type of damnable nonsense? Max Lucado and John Maxwell, among others, write commendations on the back cover. Shame on them, shame on them. Their own credibility is damaged by their willingness to endorse this stuff. There is a Pastors’ Wives conference in Orlando this coming month, and Mr. Osteen and his wife are included in the mix along with a hodgepodge of mostly evangelical folks. It’s probably honestly asking too much for some of the great pastors and wives who are taking part in this conference to refuse to take part because of the Osteens’ participation–but maybe it’s not! Every year, Bob Schuller hosts his Pastors’ Conference, and every year, Bill Hybels leads the contingent of evangelicals out there to speak for him. I like Bill; I think he’s done pretty good things. But I have to ask, what is he thinking? At what point do we stand up and say, “no, this is not the message of the gospel, and we will not gloss over that fact because these people are ‘nice people’ or because they rank at the top of the ‘largest churches in America’, or because they support Republican candidates, or what have you?”

And we wonder why the church is losing influence in the culture. I repudiate a lot of the stifling legalism of my earlier days, when I made my home for a time among folks who concerned themselves with petty trivialities in the name of “separation”. But for goodness’ sake, at what point do we stand up and say, “enough is enough”? The purity of the gospel of Jesus is at stake, and I refuse to pretend that all is well when it is not.