Out of respect for the Pastor this article is about, I won't mention a name. This isn't being written in an angry or vengeful spirit, but rather as a reminder to myself to not be arrogant and unteachable.
I was watching television late last night, and a well respected Christian Pastor came on the television. This is a man that I have always respected and thought well of.
The show was done in an interview format, and the leader went into attack mode when asked about his thoughts on Charismatics. He stated that all the church's problems in America today stem from the Charismatic movement, because it allowed bad theology to go mainstream. He then stated that if God still moved today in the same way he did in the early Church, that God would only move through people with sound theology. The tone of the conversation lead me to believe that those people would be, of course, folks like him. Really, Pastor?
The issue here isn't one of Cessationism vs. Continuationism. That argument is largely dead (much to the chagrin of the Pastor I'm referring to). The issue here is one of spiritual pride. This Pastor honestly doesn't see how his words parallel the words of the Pharisees of Christ's day! By making a claim that God would only move through people with good theology he is essentially saying that God would only move in a way that he understands and approves of, and that unclean spiritual lepers are unusable.
As I watched this man speak, I thought of the wonderful books of his that I've read, the lives this man's ministry has impacted, and the great works he has done for the Kingdom of God. I then realized that were the Kingdom about man, it would be a kingdom made in vain.
Lord, we each have flaws and in each of us their is a vanity and an arrogance. Help us!
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