Word. 2nd Timothy 4 says:
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
The Bible instructs us to follow sound teaching and to be faithful to do His will. Our immersion in God's Word should be centered around our own personal time of study; then, we can choose people of good reputation to teach us, to help us to grow in our walk with Christ. We can develop discernment about the things of God so that we are not led astray. And, as we learn and apply the Scriptures, we develop a refined sense of how He has called us to act.
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God has raised up people who can teach and model the Word of God, who can help shape our
thoughts and our lives for His glory. Ephesians 4 says:
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ...
There has been no shortage of coverage, especially in some sectors of Christian media, about a relatively small gathering of evangelicals that took place at Wheaton College last week. The purpose of the meeting was described in a Christian Post article by Darrell Bock of Dallas Theological Seminary, who said: "It is an attempt to try and show how we should be thinking in such a way that our theology is what is the central concern versus our political commitments..." Another organizer, Doug Birdsall, honorary chair of the Lausanne movement said, "When people say what does it mean to be an evangelical, people don't say evangelism or the Gospel. There's a grotesque caricature of what it means to be an evangelical."
So, who made the invitation list? Well, the Post said, "Dozens of leaders from prominant [sic] evangelical seminaries, churches and organizations..." Birdsall stated, "Those who have been invited have been invited by virtue of their individual and institutional leadership influence. The group that did the inviting was made up of leaders of organizations in our country that are known and trusted around the world as pillars of evangelicalism..."
Anybody who is part of the President's evangelical advisory board invited? Birdsall said, regarding "informal" advisors: "I have been in touch with two of their offices with a desire to engage in a meaningful conversation," adding, "I don't think they are globally perceived as evangelical thought leaders by virtue of what they have written or by virtue of the values that are reflected in their public statements."
CBN News traced reaction to the meeting before and after. An article quoted one of those advisory board members, Richard Land of Southern Evangelical Seminary, who said, "Any definition of 'thought leaders' and any definition of evangelicalism that excludes the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Franklin Graham is a pale imitation – anemic and incomplete..." Oh, and just to note, Franklin Graham is not a member of that advisory board and conducted non-partisan pre-election prayer meetings in all 50 states.
The website also stated, "CBN News has confirmed that at least a few people walked out of an intense invite-only evangelical meeting this week at Wheaton College after the affair turned into 'crazy Trump bashing.'"
Bock's take on the meeting, which included Tim Keller, A.R. Bernard, Ed Stetzer, and others, was a bit different, according to the Christian Post, in which he is quoted: "That was the idea that this had a political agenda to it and that kind of thing or that it was about being anti-one particular group, which it wasn't. It was about discovering with one another where we are and where we see things and how that relates to the ministries that we participate in."
This meeting, and the discussion surrounding it, brings to mind two important questions: Who are considered to be thought leaders for you? And, what does it mean to be evangelical?
Let's go with the second one first. The Christian Post said:
According to the National Association of Evangelicals, the term "evangelical" classifies all Christians regardless of political beliefs who believe in four basic truths:
- The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe.
- It is very important for me personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior.
- Jesus Christ's death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin.
- Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God's free gift of eternal salvation.
The afore-mentioned Franklin Graham, who was not invited to this meeting at Wheaton College, where his father attended and which has a Billy Graham Center, weighed in on the meeting, and his comments are quite instructive. A Faithwire article stated:
Graham wrote on his Facebook:
“Recently some people have had discussions about the state of evangelicalism today, almost referring to it as a politically-related term. I can’t speak for others, and I’m certainly not a spokesperson for any kind of evangelical movement, but I can tell you what I believe.
“I believe in God. I believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. And I believe in the Holy Spirit,” Graham said. “I believe my God is three-in-one. I believe that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to take our sins. That He died on a cross and shed His blood for all the sins of mankind. I believe He took our sins to the grave, and I believe in the resurrection. God raised Him to life on the third day, and I believe He is coming again. This is God’s Gospel.”
Graham stressed his involvement in reaching out to the lost through the humanitarian organization Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
I think meetings can be instructive, but this one has attracted quite a bit of attention - for the composition and even the content, which reportedly included critical comments about the President and other Christians. Apparently, these were people considered to be "thought leaders," but there was not a high-ranking leader, for instance, of the Southern Baptist Convention; the head of the world's largest Christian university, Jerry Falwell, Jr. - not invited. Look at our Faith Radio lineup of prominent Bible teachers - off the list!
So, back to that first question about who our thought leaders are. We can examine who is leading us? Who do we trust to teach us and set a godly example? We have to hold those "thought leaders" to a high standard and have a working knowledge of God's Word in order so that we can ascertain that what is being taught is consistent with Scripture. We can even seek to be a "thought leader" in our own sphere of influence.
The local church plays a key role in keeping us grounded and accountable. God has placed pastors, Sunday School teachers, Bible study leaders, and fellow believers in our lives so that we can be positively influenced and motivated to do the will of God. We can also rejoice and take advantage of the abundance of Bible teaching available today. At Faith Radio, we count it a privilege to present to you solid Bible teaching from some of the nation's foremost and knowledgeable Bible teachers, and we encourage you to avail yourself of these incredible gifts to the body of Christ. They can shape and lead our thoughts, along with personal study of the Word, so that what we think lines up with what God says.
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