If we don’t get serious about setting things straight and calling each other out when one of us goes too far, complementarianism is going to die in America. (Yet, we know that egalitarianism is wrong.)

Bottom line: We need compentent comps, not dogmatic, hyper-masculine defenders that all agree with each other and don’t challenge the cultural assumptions they make.
We need you! Thanks!

The one thing that stands out most to me is the idea that as a white man, I may not think about my ethnicity enough. And I understand you to be saying… the benefit of thinking about it more is that it would provide me with an opportunity to turn away from that “identity” to Christ, that He might be my all-in-all. I honestly think you’re right (as far as I’m concerned, anyway) – I NEVER think of myself as a white man. But at the same time, I don’t really want to. I guess I’m not sure how to do that well. What would it look like for me to pay “sufficient attention” to my ethnicity? (Which, for now, I guess we can leave at skin color.)

I fully appreciate your recognition of the freedom we have in Christ, the freedom from anthropological identiticaion as the master of our spiritual identities. This is a voice of God which must be heard.

“His freedom in Christ is so radical–so down to the root of his being–that he becomes a member of a third “race.” He’s no longer Jew. He’s not a Gentile. He’s a Christian, a member of a new spiritual ethnicity.” (This is a gem of a truth)

I realize you have little time but if you ever have the opportunity for such a thing I have a series recently written which echoes many of your conclusions about race and spirituality as well as valid racial/anthropological identification and its intended usefulness by God.

http://thepedestrianchristian.blogspot.com/2012/02/examination-of-protestantevangelical.html

Thanks for your comment and perspective.

You wrote: “The motto of this story is that if you say you have a personal relationship with Christ you cannot blame anyone but yourself for your own spiritual condition.”

Surely you don’t mean to suggest that people cannot be preyed upon, misled, or harmed by other Christians, including teachers. Sean would say he made some dreadful mistakes. In fact, throughout the narrative he seems to be saying he was foolish for the decisions he made. But, let’s be honest. His decisions followed his beliefs–belief taught by many a ‘prosperity preacher’ and false teacher. No one denies Sean’s culpability. But, we can’t excuse the guilty teachers who will face a stricter judgment. Jakes most certainly did this to Sean, along with a number of others who shaped his thinking and practice. Should Sean have known better? Perhaps. But should Sean have also been able to trust the teachers of God’s word? Yes, indeed. The fact that he couldn’t is the real moral to this story.

Grace and peace,
T-

When I was coming out of Charismania, a very broken person, I found Beth Moore’s teaching very helpful, and her book, “Praying God’s Word” a lifesaver. It taught me how to pray Scripture, instead of worrying out loud! But I have not revisited her ministry in depth for some time, as her radio program went off the air in my area, and her Bible studies are prohibitively expensive for me.

I will confess that when I last heard her teach, fairly recently, I found it irritatingly dependent on personal illustration, emotions,and very light on exegesis. I am not such a needy person anymore, and really relish simple and deep Gospel teachers such as Alistair Begg. And his stuff is also free to listen to –it motivates me to want to support him madly in his extravagance of giving!