Every so often, something that has been brewing on the periphery pushes itself into center stage, or at least back into my attention.
Like when I just recently read an article about Joel Osteen’s equivocation regarding homosexuality and then saw the following “defense” of Osteen from Ordinary Pastor:
“At the same time, I have to call a timeout. CNN featured a story on the smiling mega-church pastor today and indicated that Osteen is being criticized by many for preaching ‘a gospel-lite.’
This is just unfair and uncalled for. There is enough fodder from the preaching file of Joel Osteen to confirm that this is simply not true.
Osteen does not preach a gospel-lite because he doesn’t preach anything near the gospel.”
~From Ordinary Pastor
That was my conclusion after reading Osteen’s Become a Better You. I wrote:
“I see no evidence that Osteen has maintained any modicum of the true gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Thinking of Osteen’s teachings (as I understand them from my reading of Become a Better You), I am struck by the relative unimportance of the controversies that often fly through my New Calvinist blogroll.
When the gospel is at stake, is it worthwhile for us to be arguing about whether John Piper ought to have invited Rick Warren to a Desiring God conference?
Reflecting on Osteen drives me in two directions that might seem to be opposite one another. First, it makes me believe in the absolute necessity of upholding the cross of Christ as the only means by which man can be saved. Yet it also makes me more tentative towards announcing differences in other doctrines to be heretical.
It makes me more willing to expose those who proclaim what is clearly false–and much less willing to oust from the faith those who disagree with my interpretation of Scripture on secondary issues.
It makes me feel that it is no time to be culling tares when there are wolves among the sheep.
Don’t forget to take a look at Barbara H’s meme “The Week in Words”, where bloggers collect quotes they’ve read throughout the week.
Though some secondary issues can be left untouched, some do need to be discussed, but making sure the gospel is clear and exposing those who profess to preach but don’t should surely be a priority.
I agree with you there, Barbara. I think it’s important to discuss those secondary issues, but I think many of them could benefit from a more Irenic approach.
I think I know what you’re saying. Sometimes we can get so caught up on the minors that we forget about the majors. Yes, we need to watch our doctrine and not let it get watered down, but at the same time we need to remember that the big issues are the important ones.
I spent much of my youth in a church that was caught up in nit-picky issues, to the degree that we didn’t consider hardly any other denomination as saved. But the older I got, the more I saw that many outside my denomination agreed on the issues that Jesus set down as relevant, and that the opinion issues needed to be treated as such–just opinions, not matters of salvation.
=D
“Osteen does not preach a gospel-lite because he doesn’t preach anything near the gospel.”
I laughed outloud. That was awesome. I’m not an Osteen fan and I do think it’s important to point out his false teaching.