What “team” are you on?

I am in the M.Div. program at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. Until several months ago the President and Dean of my school was a man named Dr. Ergun Caner. Many of you may have heard of him, but if you have not, here is a short bio taken from his website:

Ergun Caner is a Professor & Apologist at the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Graduate School in Lynchburg, Virginia. Raised as a devout Sunni Muslim along with his two brothers, Caner converted in high school. After his conversion, he pursued his call to the ministry and education. He has a Masters degree from The Criswell College, a Master of Divinity and a Master of Theology from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Theology from the University of South Africa.  He has written numerous books with his brother, Dr. Emir Caner, who is the President of Truett-McConnell College, a Baptist college in Georgia.

Dr. Caner has taught video lectures during several of my classes at Liberty. Every time he has introduced himself during these lectures he emphasizes that his main purpose in life is not the administrative duties, travelling, and public speaking that he is often asked to do. His passions are for global apologetics and teaching. Just recently God has allowed him to focus more of his time on just that calling.

Dr. Ergun Caner

Dr. Caner’s testimony has been under attack since he became such a public figure. These attacks came primarily from radical Islamists who wished to discredit a man who claimed to have been converted to Christianity. There were claims that he was never a Muslim, nor that he was consistent with his testimony. Recently these attacks increased in number and publicity, only now there were other Christian scholars and writers (bloggers… Ha) that had joined the chorus.

It became more and more apparent that Dr. Caner, through his many years of public speaking and writing, had not always described his background exactly the same. As a result, Liberty University has not renewed his contract as President and Dean of the seminary. They will retain him as a professor. He issued a statement before that apologizing for any misunderstanding he might have caused over the many years of his ministry. While it cannot be known whether or not these were “overspeaks” in the heat of a passionate moment during a sermon or deliberate embellishments to “trick” people into an emotional response, that is not what concerns me about this whole situation.

What absolutely destroys me is that fellow believers, BROTHERS and SISTERS in Christ, are so aggressively and loudly pursuing this controversy. If this man is in sin, then Matthew 18 says he should first be approached by one brother and confronted, if he has not repented one or two others should be taken, then with no resolution his sin should be taken before his church. This does not appear to have been the case. Being a very outspoken theologian, Dr. Caner has discussed or debated many doctrinal issues publicly with many well-known believers. I am disappointed to see that fellow believers are using their public forum to discredit Dr. Caner’s testimony. Many times their statements appear to be rooted in their distaste for portions of Dr. Caner’s theology.

I don’t know exactly what your doctrinal leanings are, I don’t know how you would exposit Romans 9, and, frankly, I don’t care. Sites like The Gospel Coalition, SBC Voices, and Alpha and Omega Ministries all have sizeable blog posts or articles systematical critiquing Dr. Caner’s life. These articles are followed by long discussion (arguments) between believers over this topic.

I am overwhelmed by grief over the fact that what should be our “in-house” debates have become so public in a world that does not understand. Believers are not treating each other with a sense of love or humility. Even when Liberty removed Dr. Caner’s title as Dean, many people were still calling for more punishment.

I understand that believers, especially ones with a public forum, must be held to a very high standard. But we cannot take the responsibility upon ourselves to interpret whether an apology is legitimate or not. At the same time, we should also keep our in house debates in house. I am more saddened when I see the forty or fifty post responses arguing among themselves for whatever side of the debate they believe.

This sort of thing has become, in my opinion, a needless public embarrassment to believers everywhere. We have been given a system for dealing with sin, and this is not it. We have become more concerned with being right than living as we have been called. I have been a fan of Dr. Caner for a long time (full disclosure), but if he has carried on a lie for many years I think he will rightly have to face the consequences. At the same time I think that the public nature that this debate has taken, as well as other issues (Calvinism, music, etc.), needs to stop as well. We are not effectively showing the love of Christ to each other or to a dying world if we are too busy making sure we have the most proper type of argument for our theological or doctrinal opinion.

I’ll leave you with this.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. -1 Peter 4:8-9

Old Friends, New Opinions, and a Really Cheesy Waterpark

Several weeks ago I had a realization that changed the way I had been thinking about a group of people for a long period of time. I was not only shocked to feel the emotions I felt, but also overwhelmed by what I can only describe as God superseding my opinions and reversing them altogether.

My youngest brother decided this year that he wanted to try to play football. It was interesting to see the difference between football parents and coaches and the soccer crowd that he had been around most of his life. It was quite the culture shock. There was a lot more intensity, louder voices, and a stronger desire to win, not just try hard.

After one of the early practices the head coach of the team informed everyone present that one of the next week’s practices was going to be moved because he was getting baptized that evening. He also invited anyone who wanted to attend. It was to be held at a local water park that had already been paid for. My family thought this was a good way to start the season/get to know/show our encouragement for baptism and decided to go.

Before we left to head toward the park, we called the coach to let him know that when the Clements family converges, we are a sizeable group. He said that it was no problem, that his church had rented the whole park out, and that we should just say that we were with their group.

It turns out that the church he was referring to was one that I was quite familiar with. They were a group that had split off from my church for reasons of methodology more than theology. Suffice it to say, they were a group that for quite some time I had thought less than wonderful things about. I can’t say now if my feelings were a result of the way in which our churches parted ways, their methods, or something else. What I do know now is that my feelings were sinful.

On the way to the water park that evening I really felt God working on my heart. By the time we arrived I found that for some strange reason I was really looking forward to spending time with these people whom I had been very close to for a very long time.

After hanging out for a while and being very friendly with everyone I saw, it was time for the baptisms. There were eight people baptized that evening. While I was standing there God finished the work in me that He had begun on my way there. I had heard their Pastor preach many times. He had never altered the gospel and had nothing less than a heart for God. I realized that by sinfully holding onto a grudge I had missed the fact that we were all on the same team, that I was in a sense jealous of the great things God was doing in their church, and that I should be nothing less than thrilled over the fact that I had eight new family members in the body of Christ!

Being set free from the wrong feelings I had so loved to hold on to was one of the most relieving feelings I had felt in a long time. To often we (the church) see different reasons to divide ourselves over less than significant matters of doctrine, methodology, or opinion, and we are missing out on a great blessing. We can be rejoicing and boasting in our God for the great things He is doing in other church bodies, even in our own city. We must remove our sense of pride, selfishness, or even jealousy that is hindering us.

It is my prayer that the body of Christ would be unified for His glory, and that if I am keeping that from happening that God will send someone to put me in my place that His name may be made great in this city, in this country, and all across the world!

What is a new radical reformation?

Over the last several months I have felt God calling me into more active leadership roles. I recently began co-leading a community group with my wife and another couple. Now I feel that He wants me to put thoughts down on paper (well, sort of) for others to read, share, or ponder. This blog seems to be the perfect outlet for this purpose.

When selecting a title for this blog I wanted to find something that was interesting, meaningful, and slightly pointed. It is not my intent to annoy or frustrate, but hopefully to encourage thought/discussion. So what do I mean by a “new radical reformation?” To answer this requires a brief review of church history.

A long time ago…

When thinking about the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther and his Ninety-Five Theses are typically the first things to come to mind, and rightly so. Luther, however, was not the only man that took a leading role in the reformation. Another reformer named Ulrich Zwingli (pictured below) soon began building a following in Switzerland. Men like Luther, Zwingli, and John Calvin, who followed several years later, were known as the magisterial reformers. This was the mainstream branch of the Reformation that sought to remove the corruption of the church and move it away from focusing on works-based salvation.

Zwingli had a close group of followers called the Swiss Brethren. They met together with great regularity until Zwingli broke off ties with them over their desire to seek more change at a faster, or more radical, pace. This was mainly focused around the issue of infant baptism. The magisterial reformers did not desire to upset the status quo in regards to this issue. The Swiss Brethren, who included men like Conrad Grebel, George Blaurock, and Felix Manz (all of whom may be discussed at a later point), began what became known as the Radical Reformation.

The Radical Reformation was not satisfied with just modifying the church, but rather sought to completely “destroy” what it had become and go back to the way it functioned in the New Testament, and to do it quickly. Since one of their main topics was “believer’s baptism” (as opposed to infant baptism) they were eventually given the name Anabaptists or “re”-baptizers. Over time, this group would develop into organizations such as the Mennonites, the Amish, and even some branches of the Baptist Church.

While the Radical Reformation clashed with many of the magisterial reformers on many points of doctrine, my goal is not to side with a particular theological point in the titling of this blog. My hope, like these men, is to see the church function as it did during the New Testament period, something I do not think it does well at all, and to do it with a “radical” passionate fervor.

A longer time ago…

So what did the New Testament church look like? That is a very broad question that could take years to even begin to understand. There are, however, a few places in Scripture where we get a glimpse of the church.

Just after the disciples received the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, Peter spoke to a large crowd on the day of Pentecost. Three thousand people were saved. In Acts 4 after Peter’s second sermon, over five thousand were saved. These were amazing results! Acts 2:43-47 really puts that growth into perspective though:

43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

They were living as a body, one, wholly unified, and the Lord added so many people that they quit counting. We were just told that more came each day. I know in my ministry I would be thrilled to even see one person in a month, much less a week or a day!

What this blog is NOT…

-       Not a rant about my thoughts. My desire is that it will be well thought out.

-       Not a ministry methods how-to. (Though some of that may naturally come out.)

-       Not my own systematic theology. I am not a theologian; I am only halfway through a seminary degree! While I may discuss issues of theology, it is as an attempt to think out loud, hopefully with you including yourself in the discussion.

What this blog IS…

-       This will be my musings about what I am studying in Scripture or seeing as trends in the church.

-       This will be an opportunity to keep myself accountable. I hope to stay consistent in working on this blog. Feel free to encourage me.

-       This will hopefully be a discussion. Please leave comments whether you agree with me or not. I want to sharpen others and be sharpened myself.

I look forward to having a blast as we glorify our Creator together!