Profits

Aug 31/Jan 29

Dear Gary

I confess I’m still stuck on Jan 29 with Laubach, somewhere between desire and cynicism. I’m envious of his stated ability to be continually led by God: “I seem to have to make sure of only one thing now, and every other thing “takes care of itself,” or I prefer to say what is more true, God takes care of all the rest. My part is to live this hour in continuous inner conversation with God and in perfect responsiveness to his will. To make this hour gloriously rich. This seems to be all I need think about.” 

I like the idea of being able to focus, to trust that God is constantly at work “willing for His good pleasure” in my life. If I could be that focused, that centered, and that trusting I believe my hours too would be more gloriously rich.

My cynicism comes from the actions and claims of numerous preachers, especially those active on the public speaking circuits and on television. The closest to home when we lived in Colorado Springs was evangelical pastor Ted Haggard from New Life Church, just down the road from us. He preached constantly against the evils of premarital sex, adultery, and gay marriage. Then he was caught in a gay sex scandal in 2006. It was a sad interruption of his successful ministry.

Jim Baker and his wife Tammy Faye were synonymous with ministerial success in the 1980’s. Some of my parishioners in Berwyn repeatedly travelled long distances to hear them speak, a habit that ended when Baker was accused of sexual abuse and fraud. In 1987, after Bakker resigned from his ministry, he was convicted of financial crimes and sentenced to 45 years in prison. He was paroled in 1996 and now revisits the airwaves with a prophetic voice about the apocalypse, selling overpriced freeze-dried food to his listeners so they can cope with the end times.

As an American Baptist I have often been accused of having close theological ties to every other Baptist church in the country, even Westboro Baptist Church founded by Fred Phelps. Westboro is a fundamentalist ministry that was, and still is, known for protesting the funerals of gay people and gay pride events. It is classified as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Phelps had a brush with the law in 1994 when he was convicted of disorderly conduct, and 1995, when he was convicted for assault and battery.

Some religious people - and these are just part of what’s in the barrel, are inclined to proclaim that their word is the word of God, no matter what they truly believe. I’m not saying Laubach falls into that camp, only that I’m wary in the presence of self-proclaimed prophets, or even those who say they have an open link to the Lord. Especially if I thought one of them was me. It always seemed presumptuous to say I was modeling myself after the notes in the Scofield Bible, unashamedly asserting God’s truth when I wrote or spoke. With few exceptions I have always believed that conclusion was up to others to make and if what I said happened to be prophetic the words would proceed on their own merit.

The defining difference, which I see no sign of in Laubach, is the profit motive. For me profit and prophet just don’t go together. What I do see in Laubach is a readiness to claim God’s guidance in all the “little things,” wondering where personal responsibility comes in.

Pastor Mike