What's Love Got To Do With It?

Channeling Tina Turner this morning…

A few days ago I posted a list of characteristics of the church by Dave Black. As I said I like his list a lot. I also promised to give you a look at a list I like a whole lot less. The list I found troubling comes courtesy of the Resurgence, one of the arms of Mars Hill and ultimately Mark Driscoll and carries the bold title of 8 Biblical Marks Of A True Church. No surprise, it turns out that all of the marks are what Mars Hill is already doing.

At the outset I have to say that while what is going on at Mars Hill it doesn’t impact me personally, it does impact the church both locally with those in fellowship at the various Mars Hill campuses as well as globally through those that are influenced by Mark Driscoll around the world. I look westward with a growing sense of alarm, the sort of alarm that can only come from someone who has come out of a highly authoritarian, controlling and hierarchically cultic setting. When someone frequently brags about firing people and chortling about the trail of bodies he has left in his wake of those who didn't get with his program, warning bells and flashing lights should be going off. When a local church starts absorbing and assimilating other local churches, firing staff and driving away people who refuse to be assimilated, what is happening might be "successful" but it isn't the church.

Even the title "Biblical Marks of a True Church" reduces the church into a bunch of local, autonomous groups that are only loosely linked together with a linkage that is barely there in theory and completely absent in practice. Asking “what is a church” without first asking “what is the church” puts the cart before the horse. Unless we grasp what the church is globally and universally, in her entirety, we will never understand and correctly practice church community locally. Mars Hill in Seattle is not an independent local church, or at least it shouldn’t be. It should be a local expression of a larger community, one more concerned with the health of the church around the world than it is with preserving its own identity and snatching up other struggling “local churches” to be assimilated.

As you peruse this list, you will find a lot of the typical stuff: "preaching", authoritarian leadership, "sacraments" and "church membership", but something is obviously missing. The vital characteristic of the church that is absent from this list, and many others, is love. Such a simple thing and yet so crucial to the life of the church. Still we find list after list where love is not mentioned other than in passing. Even the vaunted 9 Marks, a list that spawned a ministry, doesn’t list love as one of the 9 mark of the church. Preaching? Oh yes, we must have that! So called sacraments? Can’t have a “real” church without them! Love? Well that is just sort of assumed and implied. I mean I obviously love my fellow Christians, at least the other members of my church, because I grace them with my presence on Sunday and I dress myself and my family up to impress them.

What does it mean that so many people are convinced that the church either is already loving one another in spite of the evidence to the contrary or that it isn't as imortant as adherence to all manner of manmade reigious traditions? When we don't even consider love or unity or self-sacrifice to be an essential of the church, doesn't it mean that our view of the church is horrible distorted? We cannot have a "biblical true church" if we are missing these crucial characteristics. I don't care how exegetically sound the preaching or how conservative the attire or how detailed the statement of faith, if you don't have love you are not manifesting the church. Some of these other things are important (and many are not) but they all come in a distant second to love.

Jesus said to His disciples and by extension to us:

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35)

If that is true and it most certainly is, then the opposite is also true. If we don't love one another people will not recognize us as His disciples. Perhaps that explains why the world doesn't persecute us in the West because the world doesn't even recognize who we claim to be. I have come to a point where I would rather fellowship with a "liberal" Christian that loves his brothers and sisters than a "conservative" Christian who sees his brothers and sisters as people to be made to conform to man-made rules.

The church was birthed in the supreme act of self-sacrificial love and loving God and one another is the top priority of the church. Anyone who fails to recognize that and give love its proper place of prominence frankly doesn't understand the first thing about the church and really has no business declaring what are or are not the "marks of a biblical church".

Another prominent leader takes a leave

I am not writing about the specifics here because frankly I don’t know what they are and they are none of my business. I am also not interested in comments attacking C.J. Mahaney and will not publish them.

Today C.J. Mahaney, a very prominent church leader, announced he is taking a leave of absence.

Over the last few years some former pastors and leaders in Sovereign Grace have made charges against me and informed me about offenses they have with me as well as other leaders in Sovereign Grace. These charges are serious and they have been very grieving to read. These charges are not related to any immorality or financial impropriety, but this doesn’t minimize their serious nature, which include various expressions of pride, unentreatability, deceit, sinful judgment, and hypocrisy.

I believe God is kindly disciplining me through this. I believe I have by the grace of God perceived a degree of my sin, and I have been grieved by my sin and its effects on others. I have had the opportunity to confess my sin to some of those affected in various ways by my sin. And I am so very grateful for their forgiveness. But I want to perceive and confess any and all sin I have committed. Although my experience of conviction has already started—and this is an evidence of God’s mercy—I’m sure there is more for me to perceive and acknowledge. Even with the charges I disagree with it has been beneficial to examine my soul and ask for the observation of others. And I am resolved to take responsibility for my sin and every way my leadership has been deficient, and this would include making any appropriate confessions, public or private. Most importantly I want to please God during this season of examination and evaluation.

What to make of this? First, I found his letter to be pretty open. There are clearly issues and right or wrong he is seen as being at last partially to blame. That comes with the territory of being a prominent leader. Whether or not he really is to blame is something that I don’t know but I appreciate the tone of his letter if not the proposed solutions.

What is really going on? Mahaney takes a leave of absence. Piper likewise took a lengthy sabbatical. Francis Chan left his position entirely. Something in the water?

I think we are seeing the fruit of the cult of celebrity in the church on a grand scale and also a very visible example of what happens on the local pastor level. Pastors great and small have an inordinate, unhealthy and unbiblical amount of responsibility and expectations placed on them. The staggering statistic of burnout and general dissatisfaction are right in front of us all the time. The solutions being tossed about generally are aimed at treating the symptoms, not the problem. More vacation time or a raise is not going to change the unhealthy dynamic between a pastor and “his” congregation.

It takes a far better man than me to deal with the combination of adoration and expectation that accompanies any pastor and exponentially so when the pastor is famous and “successful”. We absolutely must get away not only from the cult of celebrity but also the one man show mentality that is found in so much of the church. God has not called any one man to shoulder the burden of ministry in a church. Some men are indeed called as elders/pastors but for the purpose of equipping the rest of the Body, not to minister perpetually to them. Until we get away from a “one and all the others” model of church and start to have a real rather than theoretical priesthood of all believers, we will continue to see this happening both in the big stage and in the local church.

This is a great time to pray for C.J. Mahaney and for the church.

Thoughts on celebrity pastors

Kevin DeYoung penned a post titled 7 Theses on “Celebrity Pastors” that presents a counter-point to the growing murmuring about the dangers of hero worship and cult of personality that pervades the church. It is something of a self-serving post since Kevin is an up-and-coming “celebrity” himself but he makes some interesting points. I think in total that he misses the big problem with all of this hero worship, i.e. that most of the men who are “celebrities” in the church are followed by other men who don’t really know a thing about them.

Here was my comment:

The missing link here is subtle but important. We see these men on stage in their immaculate suits and their soaring oratorical skills and want to be just like them (or worse expect our local pastor to be just like them). We are often encouraged to imitate or emulate men in the Bible but what is it about their lives we are supposed to emulate? How well they speak, how eloquently they preach, their skill in teaching? In a word, no. Paul in 2 Thess 3:7-10 speaks of the example he set but it was not an example of writing swell books and speaking at the best conferences. It was working a job, not being idle, being an example of work for the church. In Hebrews 13:7 we are told to “Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”. Sound words but how are we to do that for men we don’t know?

Honestly, how many men who attend Together for the Gospel or similar conferences have a clue what sort of life Al Mohler or Mark Dever leads? I am confident that their lives are praiseworthy but I don’t KNOW them so it is pretty hard to “imitate” a man I don’t know. What I know of Al Mohler I know from reading his books and blog, listening to his radio show back in the day and his podcasts and following his Tweets. That is hardly solid ground on which to imitate a man.

Christians follow “celebrity” pastors like John MacArthur, John Piper and even Kevin DeYoung because of their books and their talks. I used to live about ten minutes from the church Kevin pastors and I know lots of godly men in that area who live lives worthy of emulation. I also know that if you invited these men to speak at a conference, few people would show up because they lack name recognition and are perhaps not as polished in speaking as some of the “celebrity” pastors. I would say the average Christian man can learn a lot more from another faithful and more mature Christian man that he actually knows and can have access to who works a regular job and cares for his family than he could by devouring hours and hours of sermons and conference talks from even the very best “celebrity” pastor. Even the most pious Reformed American is in danger of getting caught up in the desire for entertainment and performance and for many of us listening to a well prepared and presented conference talk is every bit as entertaining as Jersey Shore is for someone else.

We would all do better to quit spending gobs of time and money buying yet another book by a “celebrity” pastor or attending yet another conference full of the big name speakers and instead spend more time building relationships with other “regular” men, men we can develop actual relationships with (and following someone on Twitter is not an actual relationship) and observe their lives as examples for our own. That is hard work and sometimes messy in contrast to a neat and tidy hour long conference talk but it is also infinitely richer.

I honestly believe that and that is a radical change for me as someone who used to attend several theology conferences a year and I would pick them based on the "quality" of the speakers. I am also expecting some grief over the comparison between going to a conference and Jersey Shore but so be it.

Is there value in learning from men like Mohler and Piper? I certainly think so otherwise I wouldn’t read what they write and listen to what the say. I think what is crucial is that we recognize the inherent limitations in this long distance relationship. Just as I don’t personally know, as in never met or spent any actual time with, Alan Knox or Dave Black or Eric Carpenter, I still find reading what they write to be instructive. Of course given all of our rather limited audiences I also can have interaction online with these men, something that is not really feasible for a John MacArthur.

We need to cultivate relationships with other Christians where we are. Those are the relationships that will ultimately have real Kingdom impact on our lives as fathers and brothers and husbands (let’s be honest, this phenomena of celebrity in the church is largely a dude thing) are those relationships with men we know. The men who I know and who I interact with in real life are not famous authors and are not getting invited to speak at conferences in front of hundreds or thousands of people but they are real life influences that God has placed in my path and I am thankful for them. Sure they have quirks and foibles but those are the things you find out and eventually cherish about them, things that you never see in an hour long talk at a conference.

The cult of personality in the pulpit

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (1Co 1:10-15)

We see this same thing today, perhaps even to a greater degree because of the interconnectedness we experience. We seek men to identify with, whether pastors or politicians or athletes. It is pretty easy to be a fan of men when you can click a button on Facebook. The latest example is happening in full light of the media at venerable Coral Ridge Presbyterian in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida where the successor to D. James Kennedy is dealing with some strife. Keep in mind that this news report is only giving us a broad overview of the situation, so we don't have all of the facts.

Internal divisions at Fort Lauderdale's Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church burst into the open this past weekend as six members were ordered to stay off the premises.

The six have called for the ouster of the Rev. W. Tullian Tchividjian, saying he is deserting the heritage of his revered predecessor, the Rev. D. James Kennedy. In reply, the Fort Lauderdale church has accused them of spreading rumors and disrupting church unity. Among the six is Kennedy's daughter, Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy.

This is some of the background behind these events....

"I'd be surprised if it didn't happen," said Lesley Northup, a specialist in religion and culture at Florida International University. "Change is inevitable with a new pastor. And change produces discomfort. And it's magnified in a highly publicized place, where both the predecessor and the current guy are well-known."

Tchividjian, 37, a grandson of evangelist Billy Graham, was elected March 15 as pastor at Coral Ridge, which had lacked a leader since Kennedy died in September 2007. But if he thought he had a mandate for change, the small but vocal coterie of critics has hotly disagreed.

They have mass-mailed accusations to congregants, accusing Tchividjian of heavy-handed tactics like downplaying the church's traditional service in favor of contemporary worship. They've criticized Tchividjian for replacing some Coral Ridge staff with his own people for and planning to sell land at the church's west campus "to make up for budget shortfalls."

Their recommended solution: a petition to put an end to Tchividjian's 4-month-old pastorate. More than 1,600 copies of the petition were mailed July 24 to church members.

Nothing like giving someone a fair shake. I mean he has been there a whole four months! In response, as mentioned, these individuals have been threatened with being charged with trespassing if they step foot on the grounds of Coral Ridge. The rationale for taking this extreme action?

The church sent the six a letter Aug. 4, saying that if they step onto church property, they'll be considered trespassers. A second letter Thursday, signed by Tchividjian, gave the rationale: "No church government can tolerate such an insurrection from those who will not listen to admonition, refuse all counsel and will stop at nothing until they have overthrown legitimate authority and replaced it with their own."

Church officials also visited the choir rehearsal on Wednesday night, telling the singers that if any of them signed the petition, they should consider resigning the group.

"I told them that it's not proper to be a worship leader standing behind this pastor while disparaging him," said Bill Ashcraft, a member of the church's governing board who also spoke at the meeting. "You can have differences of opinion. But it has to be done more politely than has happened here."

Something about all of that makes me a little twitchy. I am not sure that much of this is supportable through Scripture and it seems there is something with the way both sides are dealing with this (starting with the fact that there are sides to begin with). Maybe I am wrong.

I am not interested in taking sides here. I am also not accusing either Tullian or D. James Kennedy of creating a cult of personality. Nonetheless, that is what we are seeing here. The old guy did it this way. We liked it. The new guy does it different. We don't like that. Battle lines are drawn. Threats are made.

I don’t know much about Tullian Tchividjian other than he has a really hard to pronounce first and last name. I know he is generally well thought of in the evangelical world, especially the “young, restless, reformed” crowd. I also know he is a grandson of Billy Graham because virtually every article about him ascending to the head of Coral Ridge mentions it (it is mentioned twice in the referenced article). Finally, it is clear that he does things differently than Dr. Kennedy. So we have a relatively well-known and pedigreed minister replacing one of the most well known ministers in America, while at the same time merging Tullians's old church, New City Church, in with Coral Ridge. There is apparently quite a clash between the more traditional folks at Coral Ridge and the more new style evangelicals at New City. It probably was virtually inevitable that something like this would happen.

This whole thing sounds more like some of the corporate mergers I have been involved in: new management taking over, installing their own senior team, clashes in culture. When corporations merge, it is always a struggle to see who gets to form the new management team and one of the factors in exploring a corporate merger is whether or not the culture of the two organizations will mesh. Make no mistake, this is big business we are talking about. This is not some little fundie church in the woods. This is one of the biggies and with big ministries you get big headaches.

According to the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, Coral Ridge Presbyterian church itself has revenue of $21,024,274 ( and shows a deficit as of June 30, 2008 of $-2,817,765) and the great Coral Ridge Ministries Media brings in $41,327,947. That is not chicken feed!

All of this is an example of what happens when the local gathering takes on a life of it's own, and the local church becomes identified with the pastor. The spirit and reason for gathering had been lost and what these folks are devoting themselves to is their pastor, their ministries, their distinctives. As these churches get bigger and bigger, they become progressively less about loving fellowship and more about belonging to something, of being associated with something. This takes on an extreme form in megachurches and in multi-site churches, where the voice coming from the pulpit is so cherished that it is preferable to listen to them being broadcast from another location rather than being in fellowship with one another.

The local gathering of the church shouldn't be focused on the clergy and the ministry. It should be focused on Christ and the fellowship of the saints in worshipping Him. When you start to look and act like a corporation, you should expect the sort of headaches on display in Ft. Lauderdale.