Evangelical Reformation

Joseph Duncan has been arrested for kidnapping two children, eight-year-old Dylan and his nine-year-old sister, Shasta. He is also charged with the murder of Dylan, Dylan’s mother, and her boyfriend. Fox News has flashed the same haunted picture of Joseph Duncan on the screen multiple times across the last number of weeks. As I have looked into those eyes I have wondered what goes on in Joseph Duncan’s mind.

Interestingly, he has at least somewhat exposed his psyche to public view by maintaining a blog, which he posted to right up to the time of the kidnappings. One of his last messages gives us some insight into what went wrong. In part, he said this:

“I am scared, alone, and confused, and my reaction is to strike out toward the perceived source of my misery, society. My intent is to harm society as much as I can, then die. As for “Happy Joe” [his name for a temporary persona that he adopted when he believed that he might go straight], well he was just a dream. The bogeyman [his name for the devil] was alive and happy long before Happy Joe.

“I was in prison for over 18 years, since the age of 17. As an adult all I knew was the oppression of incarceration. All those years I dreamed of getting out…And getting even. Instead, I got out and I got even, but did not get caught. So, I got even again, and again did not get caught….

“Well that was when the “Happy Joe” dream started. I met a bunch of really great people, the kind of people I didn’t even know existed, but here they were, bunches of them, my neighbors, my landlords, my professors, my coworkers, and they were all good people, who were willing to give me a chance despite my past.

“So, I tried to make it work. But the problem was those demons. The ones who ‘got even’ for me.”

The last phrase conveys that Joseph Duncan lost hope of changing. He was convinced that the demons have ultimate control. He alludes to this in another of his postings where he asks, Who’s Gonna Save Me? He answers his own question by saying, “When you can see the strings that control your life, you tend to wonder.” Duncan saw himself as a puppet controlled by strings with no power to break them. This hopelessness led to his capitulation to the forces of evil within him.

The evangelical community has adopted something of the same victim mentality. We are taught that we are victims of emotions that have been stored within us, of parental failure, of our biological makeup, and our circumstances. We label a host of temptations as addictions and diseases, conveying that they have control of us. In fact, we tend to label every temptation as an addiction, thus absolving ourselves of the responsibility of allowing it to control us. If food is an addiction, then overeating is not a sin, but a disease, and I am not responsible.

In today’s American evangelical world, to suggest that the power of Christ enables us to break the strings is to risk being labeled a Neanderthal. Informed people recognize that when believers succumb to such addictions it is not their fault. To suggest otherwise is judgmentalism at its worst. It is just another case of “shooting our wounded.”

Not only is this victim mentality unbiblical because Christ has empowered us through His Spirit to be overcomers, but this perspective is cruel because it robs the individual of hope. Seeing ourselves as having the resources to overcome sin can be uncomfortable because it makes us responsible, but with that responsibility comes the wonderful hope of living as free people, as overcomers. Had Joseph Duncan understood the power available through Christ to break the strings that controlled him, he and his victims could have been spared. Likewise, many evangelicals might be enjoying freedom and triumph rather than slavery and defeat if they were not taught to see themselves as victims but instead as victors in Christ.

Jesus is hard to find these days, and that’s a source of lots of problems for contemporary evangelicals. The last several posts have identified our objective as becoming like Christ. Reaching that objective requires that we ask what Christ is like. Unfortunately, contemporary evangelicals have developed a distorted view of who he is. In fact, their portrayal of Christ often seems to be detached from the scriptural account and cast into something of a Mr. Rogers motif—always gentle, always kind, always loving. With Jesus, it’s always a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Because the contemporary picture of Christ is so skewed, I would encourage all of us to read through the Gospels again for the first time, that is, making a special effort not to read our perception of Christ into these accounts, but rather to read it as if you knew nothing about Jesus. As you read, ask yourself, “Just what is this Jesus like?”

I believe that through such an exercise most American Christians would discover a Jesus that they had not previously known. Philip Yancey has written the book, The Jesus I Never Knew. However, I’m not convinced that he went through the exercise described above to discover his Jesus. What we are really after is the Jesus we never knew but Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John did.

Such an exercise would reveal many dimensions to the character of Christ that are foreign to the contemporary evangelical Mr. Rogers perception. For example, in Mark 9:31, we find Jesus revealing to his disciples about His coming crucifixion. The next verse describes their response: “But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.” Could this be right? Could even the disciples of this always gentle Jesus be afraid to ask Him to explain what He was telling them? Why would they be so fearful?

The answer is found in a number of passages revealing that Jesus was very stern and confrontational with His disciples on occasion. In fact, we find Him interacting with them frequently enough in the Gospels to indicate that this was a significant dimension in His relationship with them.

Consider just one of these passages. At the beginning of Matthew 17 we find Jesus ascending into the Mount of Transfiguration. Meanwhile, back in the valley, a man brought his demon possessed son to the disciples of Jesus. They were not able to help him because of their lack of faith. Jesus, coming down from a mountain and encountering the situation makes this pronouncement, apparently regarding his disciples who are the topic of the preceding verse: “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?” (Matthew 17:17)

Contemporary evangelicals would tend to rewrite the passage in therapeutic terms to say something such as: “Listen fellows, I know you have probably been struggling with some separation anxiety in my absence. It’s important that you understand that this inability to help isn’t your fault. Remember that you have made some great progress so far, and God isn’t finished with you yet. But right now I want you to realize that you are okay just the way you are.”

The approach taken by the real Jesus is hardly your Mr. Rogers response to the situation. In fact, some football coaches might view this as being a little over-the-top. Consider the fact that He chastened his disciples in public, in front of everyone. In light of the fact that this type of response was not an isolated case, is it any wonder that they were fearful in their interactions with Him.

The good news is that contemporary evangelicals have become just like Jesus. The bad news is that it’s the wrong Jesus. It is one of their own making. We need an evangelical reformation to help us find Jesus.

Many parents today are fixated on getting the kids into the right college, and perhaps for good reason. Going to school at the right place gives a young person a jumpstart in life. A degree from a recognized university, or one noted for expertise in a given area, paves the way to special opportunities.

However, getting their sons or daughters through the door of the school is not the ultimate goal of parents. Rather, it is seeing them develop through a good education so that they will be well qualified in their chosen field. Even if the school reputation enables the graduate to get a job, if the student did not take advantage of the education and develop the necessary set of skills, the boost given by a prestigious diploma will quickly run out of steam, and what began as a great prospect will end as a wasted opportunity.

Many students have kicked away such an opportunity. Arriving on campus, they are caught up by the social life or other distractions, and either flunk out or graduate with a low class standing and without a good grasp of their field. In fact, I find it sadly amusing that students in almost every college in the country envision their institution as “the biggest party school in America.”

Imagine the disappointment of a parent that has groomed his child for entrance into a prestigious university, worked to pry open the door, paid the big bucks for the tuition and cost-of-living, only to be rewarded with a halfhearted effort and blown opportunity.

Becoming a child of God is a lot like entrance into a major university. It provides us with a tremendous opportunity to develop the skills necessary to become like Jesus Christ. Our heavenly Father has planned and worked from before the creation of the world to get us into this great program. He also paid the tuition, the blood of His Son, to make our enrollment possible.

Our last post underscored that the primary interest of God is not our becoming believers, but our becoming like Christ. We included a few verses indicating that ultimately Christ died so that we might reflect His nature. God is not merely interested in our enrollment in His university program. His ultimate interest is to see us change through the opportunities the program offers.

However, just like many students showing up at college, believers can squander the opportunity of becoming like Christ afforded by this program. Just being at college is not enough to enable students to benefit from the program. They will not develop the necessary knowledge and skill by osmosis, by just being in the environment. It requires study and discipline. Likewise, realizing the benefit of being enrolled in God’s university also requires hard work and discipline.

Unfortunately, the contemporary evangelical campus is at least somewhat like a party school. It does not emphasize the need for serious effort and discipline for reaching the objective of becoming like Christ. In fact, such an emphasis is often viewed as legalism. Clichés such as, “Be patient, God isn’t finished with me yet,” convey that there’s plenty of time until graduation and no need to panic about hitting the books. In consequence, those attending the American evangelical campus are not progressing well toward Christ-likeness. They are effective, however, at writing letters to their Father asking for more money so that college can remain a fun experience.

What a tragedy to waste such a great opportunity that was bought at such a high price. If as earthly fathers we are disappointed when our children fail to make the most of their opportunities for which we have worked and paid dearly, how profound is the disappointment of our heavenly Father in our failure to do the work necessary to become like Christ? Maybe some of the faculty at this campus need to rework their lesson plans so that they are based on Scripture.