To Critique the “Bitches” or the One-Time Presidential Hopeful … That is the Question

Question. What would happen if all of the energy that conservative Christian watchdog groups brought to bear on certain mainstream television programs were to be focused, instead, on The 700 Club? 

Take, for instance, the cultural hand-wringing that accompanied the announcement of ABC’s Good Christian Bitches.  In the months that lead up to Sunday night’s debut, various Christian groups and commentators attempted to take the Disney-owned ABC to task for a show that they believed would unduly desecrate the name of Christ by parodying those that follow Him.  Their collective pressure was so great that ABC eventually capitulated, and renamed the show Good Christian Belles, before altering it once again to the even more innocuous GCB.  What’s more, as the pressure continued to mount, the show’s writers and Christian star went into a collective state of damage control that may be best exemplified through the following statement issued by the show’s creator:

“As long as I have breath and am writing it, these women never are going to be reflected as simply bitchy or evil or their Christianity used in some derogatory or demeaning way. It’s more a celebration of a bunch of women who are bound together in a faith-based society.”[1]

Now regardless of whether one believes these public statements to be true, the simple fact of the matter is this: GCB had a very mediocre opening because, truth be told, it’s a poor-man’s Desperate Housewives, which itself is no work of Shakespeare.  The show has been widely panned by secular critics; and its 2.2 overnight rating leaves it trailing both the outgoing Housewives and even the now-cancelled Brothers and Sisters, which just last season occupied GCB’s timeslot.

All this to say, it would appear that certain groups have poured a fair amount of time and treasure into assailing a show that was never destined for greatness, longevity, or even a significant degree of cultural relevance.  Moreover, they poured these efforts into suppressing a show that, upon viewing, was clearly meant to serve as a satire or commentary on certain segments of the Christian community that are virtually begging to parodied.  Consider, if you will, what is being mocked.  The lead villainess is a surgically-enhanced, church-going, wealthy socialite who spies on her neighbors, gossips, steals and advises people that “cleavage helps your cross hang straight.”  Is anyone meant to take this seriously?  And even if they are, is this sort of behavior not worthy of being mocked?

Pat Robertson, founder and host of "The 700 Club"

Now consider The 700 Club.  Founded by Pat Robertson in 1960, The 700 Club is one of the longest running television shows in history, seen daily by over 1 million people in over 200 nations around the world. In other words, in terms of media scope and scale, it is unrivaled in its ability to paint a picture of the Christian life.  Now consider what The 700 Club uses this platform to espouse.

Earlier this week, when faced with the question, “Why did God send the tornadoes?” Pat Robertson, the one-time founder of the Christian Coalition and a man who has run for the Presidency of the United States, responded by suggesting that the fault lay not with God, but with the people who built their houses “where tornadoes are apt to happen.”  Likewise, when hurricanes swell and dash the shorelines of a nation, it’s the fault of people who “decide they want to build houses on the edge of an ocean.”  In either case, if more people had just been willing to pray, God would have happily diverted the tornadoes and hurricanes, sparing, in the case of the Asian Tsunami, hundreds of thousands of lives.

Sadly, when it comes to Robertson’s presentation of the Trinitarian God, statements such as these tend to represent the rule as opposed to the exception.  After all, this is the man who, in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, suggested that the tragic loss of 300,000 people was the direct result of their ancestors having made a “pact with the devil.” This is also the man who blamed the pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays, lesbians, and the ACLU for the loss of nearly 3000 people on September 11^th.  One could keep going, but the point has been made.

So after watching the premier episode of GCB and after watching Robertson’s latest series of public gaffes on The 700 Club, I am left with the question I posed at the outset of this article.  What would happen if all of the energy that conservative Christian watchdog groups brought to bear on certain mainstream television programs were to be focused, instead, on The 700 Club?  Clearly, the intent of these groups is to protect the good name of Christ and those that attempt to live in His ways.  So what would happen, if, instead of going after the easy targets, they turned their attention inward and offered an equally robust critique of Christian media.  Think about it.  Internal critique is far more compelling than external critique.  Internal critique bears witness to the fact that you understand that there is a problem that needs to be addressed.  External critique merely bears witness to the fact that you think someone else has a problem.  And in terms of the credibility of the witness, the former is far more potent than the later could ever hope to be.

So I guess the better question is: are we really trying to protect the good name of Christ and the reputation of his followers, or are we trying to be cultural power brokers that are merely interested in crafting a cocoon so that we don’t have to worry about what our children see?

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[1] Robert Harling is the creator and head writer of the series. For further information on his attempts to defend the content of the show, please see: http://www.twincities.com/entertainment/ci_20079915

A Third Church Leaves Harvest Bible Fellowship

The shadow cast off by the Elephant Room 2 is beginning to expand as Harvest Bible Chapel – New Lenox has just announced its decision to publicly become the third church to officially separate from the Harvest Bible Fellowship.  As you may recall, back in January of 2012, Pastor James MacDonald of Harvest Bible Chapel and Pastor Mark Driscoll of  Mars Hill Church hosted a gathering of pastors that included the well-known and controversial Bishop T.D. Jakes.  While some have applauded the efforts of the two hosts, others seem to be deeply concerned by their failure to fully and publicly address Bishop Jakes’ unconventional theology.  To date the following churches have left the hosts’ respective church planting ministries:

Acts 29 Network:

Sovereign Grace Church of Bakersfield

Harvest Bible Fellowship:

Harvest Bible Church  (formerly Harvest Bible Chapel – Detroit, MI)
Harvest Bible Chapel – Prescott, AZ
Harvest Bible Chapel – New Lenox, IL (soon to revert back to its intial name, Cornerstone Church)

So the question we must now begin to ask is this: are we looking at a few statistical outliers amongst the 70+ churches planted by Harvest Bible Fellowship, or are we witnessing a snowball near the top of a mountain as it is starting to pick up speed?

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Additional resources on James MacDonald, Harvest Bible Chapel and the Elephant Room 2 can be found at:

The Descent: James MacDonald, Harvest Bible Chapel and the Blurry Road to a Prosperity Gospel

How Steep the Decline: James MacDonald, Bryan Loritts, and Sycophantic Uncle Toms

James MacDonald, the Elephant Room and the “Spinning” of the Truth

Harvest Bible Fellowship Takes Second Hit

Harvest Bible Fellowship Takes Second Hit

As some have speculated online and elsewhere, it appears that the fallout from the “Elephant Room 2” continues to rain down on James MacDonald, Harvest Bible Chapel and the evangelical world.  Late yesterday, Harvest Bible Chapel of Prescott Arizona, one of the largest plants in the Harvest Fellowship, became the second church to publicly announce its withdrawal from the Harvest Bible Fellowship.  According to the official statement issued by Pastor Skip Breyer and the Elder Board,

“[Over the last 11 months], we have repeatedly and privately expressed our concern with the leaders of Harvest Bible Fellowship. After many months of prayer and consideration, we have reached a point in time that we believe to continue our association with HBC Chicago would appear to be endorsing their decisions, which would cause confusion for the flock that is under our care. So it is with a heavy heart, out of what we see is our obedience to our responsibility to our Lord to care and shepherd His flock, that we must end our association with HBC Chicago.”

The question is: will others follow suit?  Only time will tell. 

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Additional resources on James MacDonald, Harvest Bible Chapel and the Elephant Room 2 can be found at:

The Descent: James MacDonald, Harvest Bible Chapel and the Blurry Road to a Prosperity Gospel

How Steep the Decline: James MacDonald, Bryan Loritts, and Sycophantic Uncle Toms

James MacDonald, the Elephant Room and the “Spinning” of the Truth

“Christians” Killing Homosexuals to Win the “Culture War”

In recent days, the politics of Uganda have once again captured the attention of the global audience, as lawmaker David Bahati has sought to introduce a bill into the National Assembly that would call for homosexuals to face life imprisonment for their crimes.  Three years ago, a similar bill, which also included the death penalty for certain sexual acts, was voted down when pressure from the international community was brought to bear on the largely “Christian” nation.[1]  But according to Bahati, “This is a piece of legislation that is needed in this country to protect the traditional family here in Africa.”[2]   In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Bahati went on to say:

James MacDonald, the Elephant Room, and the “Spinning” of the Truth

Earlier this week, Chris Fabry of Moody Bible Radio, hosted an interview with Pastor James MacDonald of Harvest Bible Chapel.  Given all of the controversy that has surrounded MacDonald’s interaction with T.D. Jakes at the Elephant Room, Moody graciously saw fit to offer MacDonald an opportunity to clear the air and really speak into the issues at hand. 

Can You Trust an Atheist?

The scarlet "A" serves at the sign of the New Atheists public awareness campaign.

Do you trust an atheist?  Would you vote for one if he or she was running for office?  What if their competition were an openly gay individual or a Muslim?  Could you vote for an atheist then?  What if your child wanted to marry an atheist?  Would that concern you?

Fifty years ago, these questions were not at the forefront of American culture because the American population was largely “Christianized.”[1]  But by the dawn of the new millennium, the culture had radically changed as globalization brought about an increased sensitivity to living in a pluralistic world.

When Wealth and Debt Destroy a Mega-Church: Robert Schuller, The Crystal Cathedral and the Coming Church Crisis

When the history of the 20^th century American church is finally written, one name is likely to stand out as more influential than almost any other name from that era: Robert H. Schuller.  In addition to founding the “Hour of Power,” which is the longest running “evangelistic” television program in the world, he was also the architect of a new style of preaching that de-emphasized teaching on the subject of sin in favor of teaching that “Jesus met needs before touting creeds.”  As the ministry began to experience unprecedented growth, the “Crystal Cathedral” was erected as a new base of operations for the expanding church.  At the time of its completion, Schuller has this to say:

How Steep the Decline: James MacDonald, Bryan Loritts and Sycophantic Uncle Toms

Late last week, I posted an article entitled, “The Descent: James MacDonald, Harvest Bible Chapel and the Blurry Road to the Prosperity Gospel.”  Since that time, the storm that has threatened to envelope the evangelical world has only intensified as more and more people have begun to rightfully react to MacDonald’s highly questionable decision to bring Jakes into the Elephant Room, and his even poorer handling of the actual exchange itself.

Today, I want to respond to a round table discussion that Pastor MacDonald has filmed and posted on his blog.[1]  Why?  Because aspects of this discussion further inflame and ultimately confuse the issue by giving voice to racially-insensitive, ad hominem attacks.  I am, of course, referring to the words spoken by the African-American Pastor Bryan Loritts of Fellowship Memphis.

“Some of the strongest reactions of people were African Americans in the blogosphere.  And I’ll just go ahead and say it, who strike me as wanting so bad to be in the white theological world.  And to take a little bit of a tangent here, and I’ll get back.  The loudest voices in the conservative, evangelical world, in my estimation right now, are your older white reformed voices.  And so that implicitly sends the message that mature Christianity in the conservative evangelical world is older white.  And you’ve got some African Americans who so idolize that – its what some people would call white idolization – that they then feel is if they’ve got to be the voice for black culture to speak against people like T.D. Jakes.  So what happens is you kind of prop them up … My concern is: African Americans, a small minority, speaking against Jakes, and then leveraging that in the white theological world, for some of these older white theologians … to fit into their circles.  We want to be in their circles.  And so we’ll allow ourselves to be used as a puppet.”[2]

Now stop and think about what Pastor Loritts has just said.  Without personally knowing the character of all of the various African American critics of this debacle, Loritts feels free to dismiss them, in an ad hominem attack, as “puppets,” who are simply trying “to fit into [the white theological world].”

And where is James MacDonald when Loritts is voicing these patently unfair, unwise and dangerous derisions?  He is once again opting to say absolutely nothing.  He doesn’t put a stop to it.  He doesn’t shake his head in disagreement.  He doesn’t even ask a counter-question to force Loritts to consider the gravity of what he has just said.  Instead, he allows for Loritts to use racially inflammatory rhetoric to condescendingly dismiss the African American critics of the Elephant Room 2 and then dares to conclude the session by offering these thoughts:

“One of my main take-aways is that if you discount relationship, you misunderstand a lot.  If we hadn’t reached out to Bishop Jakes in relationship, we would have misunderstood his theology.”[3]

So apparently, certain African American pastors and theologians were wrong to voice their concerns over T.D. Jakes because they lacked the necessary relationship with him to question his theology.  But as for Bryan Loritts, he is perfectly justified in dismissing African American critics as sycophantic “puppets” without having personally reached out to each and every one of them.

The longer this goes on, the more troubling it becomes.

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[1] The round table discussion was broken into two parts.  The first part can be found at: http://jamesmacdonald.com/blog/?p=11232, while the second portion of the discussion can be found at: http://jamesmacdonald.com/blog/?p=11253.

[2] This quote can be found at the 4:07 mark of the first video posted at: http://jamesmacdonald.com/blog/?p=11232.

[3] This quote can be found at the 3:50 mark of the second video posted at: http://jamesmacdonald.com/blog/?p=11253.

Voices in the Static: When a Witch and Christian Sit Down to Talk

In just a few minutes, you are going to have the opportunity to sit in on a fascinating conversation that is the first of the “Voices in the Static” series.  These are meant to be conversations that highlight often-muffled “voices” that, although quiet, are steadily shaping our culture in ways that we may not yet be fully aware.   But before I bring you into that dialog, I want to begin by offering you a brief introduction to my partner in this conversation.  Over twenty years ago, Kendra Williams and I knew each other as friends who worked together in our high school theater.  Following graduation, we lost touch with one another, as so many high school friends are prone to do.  But in recent months, we have reconnected through Facebook; and tonight, she has agreed to engage with me in a conversation about her beliefs as a Pagan/Wiccan and how these beliefs shape her interactions with the broader culture and with Christians, in particular.  Kendra holds a degree in the theater arts from the University of Illinois (Chicago) and later went on to study the Japanese language at the University of Maryland.  She presently works as an Office Manager in downtown Chicago and moonlights as an artist in the medium of henna.

The Descent: James MacDonald, Harvest Bible Chapel and the Blurry Road to a Prosperity Gospel

There is a heated controversy brewing in the evangelical world – one that has the power to fundamentally alter the shape of one of the most influential churches in the Chicagoland area.  The roots of the controversy stretch back to 2011 and the birth of an idea called The Elephant Room.  Put simply, the premise behind this event was to gather various leaders both from within the church and from outside of it to discuss “the most Christ honoring ways of building a church.”[1]  The event was recorded, simulcast and eventually sold in the interest of reaching and influencing the widest possible array of Christian leaders around the globe.