two Christians, two perspectives, one blog=brilliant!!

I'd like to introduce you to a new blog. Kim and Cara are both Christians. One is politically conservative and the other is politically liberal. Get this. They both love the Lord--and each other! Imagine that!

They've started a blog called Lifted on Eagle's Wings to symbolize the two major political ideologies in America, conservativism and liberalism, as two wings for the same bird. They want to bring some civility to the two sides and break down barriers of misunderstanding.

If you've read my book, then you probably know what I think of something like this.

I think it's brilliant!

Sleeping under the stars--report from Senegal

Dear friends and family,

I’m back from Senegal, and I have to say, I’m really digging the fall weather! Senegal was miserably hot, which made for an exhausting trip. The good news is that the back- to -back workshops went very well. Our first workshop was in the town of Ziguinshor. We had to start the workshop two days late because of the recent unrest in the area. We were warned repeatedly not to take the taxi because rebels and bandits had been known to rob (and sometimes kill) people on the way to Ziguinshor. Because of that, we decided to take the boat, but unfortunately, the boat was already booked, which is why we had to catch the next one, which didn’t leave until Tuesday evening. Eventually we got there (after a night of sleeping out under the stars) and we were able to make up for the lost time.

On one of the days, a Muslim came in to the church and participated in the stories and discussions for an entire day! Although the workshop was for Christian workers, the Muslim man was one of the most enthusiastic participants, which turned out to be a great object lesson because one of the premises of the workshop is that telling Bible stories and asking questions is a non-threatening way to share the gospel.

The workshop in Dakar brought a very select group of pastors and missionaries. Many of the pastors came from the rural areas. We were told that most of them lived off of $20 a month. Imagine that! The response to the teaching was very positive. One particular pastor told me that he planned to teach the story concept to his evangelism team to enhance their ongoing ministry in the villages. There were also some Western missionaries, including a team of Brazilians, in attendance. Every one of them told us that the teaching we were offering would enhance their ministry.

Next week I’ll be going to Portland Oregon to present a workshop session on evangelizing oral learners at the Innovative Evangelism Conference, organized by the Next Generation Alliance, a sub-ministry of the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association. I am very excited—and honored—to be able to participate this year as a workshop presenter. Please pray that I’ll do my job effectively and that more doors will open for this ministry as a result of the presentation.

Well that’s all for now.

Have a great November!

Aaron

Billy Graham and theological humility, will the next generation follow in his footsteps?

Every three years, young evangelists from around the world gather in Portland Oregon to attend a conference put on by the Next Generation Alliance, an organization dedicated to mentoring the next generation of global gospel preachers. While I’m looking forward to the Innovative Evangelism Conference next week, I think a serious reflection on the man that most of us attending the conference draw the bulk of our inspiration from—Billy Graham—is in order.

The typical Billy Graham narrative goes something like this. Billy started his ministry as a self-assured fundamentalist. In the early days of his ministry, preaching the gospel went hand in hand with defeating communism. Eventually Graham’s championing of the Vietnam War and his close association with Richard Nixon caught up with him and he got burned, resulting in a crisis of faith that produced a much gentler and wiser Billy Graham.

As familiar as this story is, I think it’s a mistake to reduce Graham’s metamorphosis to pre-Nixon and post-Nixon—as if the only thing Graham learned in his older age was that it’s a mistake to politicize the gospel. Such an oversimplification of Graham’s life and ministry overlooks a key aspect of Billy Graham’s legacy that’s become somewhat of an elephant in the room. Whether we like it or not, Billy Graham’s life and ministry represents a middle ground between fundamentalism and theological liberalism.

Take for example two issues that have become litmus tests for orthodoxy among Biblical fundamentalists—evolution and the fate of the unevangelized on judgment day. On the subject of evolution, Billy Graham has consistently maintained throughout his ministry that Christianity and evolution are compatible. While it may be fashionable for evangelical leaders today to speak of intelligent design over and against young earth creationism, Billy Graham goes even further by insisting that the Bible is not a science book, and shouldn’t be read as such. On this matter Graham is further to the left than the average evangelical, although his Biblical hermeneutic on the rest of the Scriptures remain a far cry from theological liberalism (For example: Graham may see the seven days of Genesis as figurative, but he maintains that Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale).

The same can be said for Billy Graham’s agnostic position on the fate of the unevangelized on judgment day. When asked by Newsweek if he felt that heaven would be open to people of other faiths besides Christianity, Billy Graham responded, "Those are decisions only the Lord will make. It would be foolish for me to speculate on who will be there and who won't ... I don't want to speculate about all that. I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the whole world, and I think he loves everybody regardless of what label they have."

At first glance it may seem like the older Billy Graham has single-handedly undermined his entire life’s ministry as an evangelist. Some have even attributed his comments—and other comments like these—to senility. Still others have written him off as a heretic. Again, the reality is more complex. Billy Graham has never wavered in his belief that Christ’s death and resurrection is the only means by which a person can be saved, and neither does he apologize for his commitment to preach the gospel for the conversion of sinners to Christ. What the older Billy Graham has learned, however, is that a person can be resolute in their commitment to the gospel and be theologically humble at the same time.

Ironically, it’s Billy’s example of theological humility that may free the next generation to ask some hard questions about the classic evangelical gospel that he popularized. For example, does the classic evangelical gospel, complete with an altar call and the standard sinner’s prayer, take seriously enough the teachings of Jesus against accumulating wealth and earthly possessions? To what extent should non-violence and identification with the poor be proclaimed as part of the gospel of the Kingdom? Has the sinner’s prayer been overemphasized at the expense of baptism as the initiation into the Body of Christ?

These are difficult questions with no easy answers, which is why the next generation of evangelists could use a dose of Billy Graham’s theological humility. Billy Graham has served his generation faithfully, but even Billy knows that he doesn’t have a corner on truth—and neither will the next generation that follows in his footsteps. Billy Graham has led the way, but now it’s up to us, the next generation, to carry the mantle and hear what the Spirit is saying to our world today. I think Billy would agree.

Jesus Camp kids praying for President Obama

Pastor Tim O Brien received a lot of flack when his son Levi O Brien supposedly prayed "to" a cardboard cut-out of President George W. Bush in the film Jesus Camp. Many viewers, including some uniformed people in the media, thought the children at Becky Fisher's camp were worshiping the president, when what they were actually doing was praying for him according to the Scriptural command to "pray for kings and all who are in authority" (I Timothy 2:2).

I've known Tim O Brien, and to a lesser extent his son Levi, since before the release of Jesus Camp. Since then, Pastor Tim and I have had a lot of talks on the role of the Church in society and, although we disagree significantly on many issues, I can say that the portrayal of Tim O Brien and his family as right-wing fundamentalists is off base. The real Tim O Brien, though politically conservative, in no way sees voting Republican as a litmus test for faith. His wife does not consider herself a Republican. And—surprise—his children watch Harry Potter! I've spoken at his church on several occasions, both before and after the release of the film, and each and every time I've found the O Brien family and the church he pastors intelligent and open to new ideas.

Pastor Tim sent me this video this morning of a prayer meeting at his church. I found it inspiring. I hope this breaks some stereotypes.

Modern-day Eutychus story!

This e-mail was sent to me by a friend of mine. I think you'll enjoy it.


Towards the end of the morning of our third day of STS training in Ollanta, in the Peruvian Amazon, with some 37 pastors, evangelists and leaders gathered for the training from up to 5 days canoe journey away, we heard a loud cry go up from three houses down. "Rene has fallen, Rene has fallen!" Within moments the room was empty and I was left wondering what we were going to do about a guy who had fallen through a floor onto disgusting, sewage-covered ground more than 6 feet below. We were 30 hours boat ride from the nearest hospital and there was no airstrip nor radio to call in help quicker. Rene had fallen hard and his ankles were in such a mess he could not bear his own weight and he had felt the top part of his spine shudder and felt intense pain in his neck. He could neither walk, nor sit nor lie down. As I made my way slowly over to the gathered group noisily praying round Rene, I felt the Lord said to me, "Tell the Eutychus story!" This is the story in Acts 20 of the man who fell 3 stories to his death when Paul was preaching one night. My middle daughter 'had' that story (of the 16 stories we as a family had prepared for this outreach), and so I asked her to tell it in Spanish, which she did immediately. After a good telling I asked a couple of questions referring to parts of the story as I did so. We saw that Paul was focused and un-fussed by the disruption and distraction of the young man Eutychus falling out a window and, that although, the man's life "was in him" he did not come in among the rest until hours later when Paul had spent the rest of the night talking with the disciples and then departed! I asked everyone to pray, hooking our faith in the story (His Word) and we went off to lunch, leaving Rene in the capable hands of two or three friends. Two hours after praying for him and when we were back in the workshop training, Rene walked in unaided and alone, with a big smile on his face, and was received back with loud shouts and whoops of praise as all the STS students saw the hand of God had been at work. It was easy to discuss later the next day the ways we can use stories in our lives - even in the most traumatic of life's situations!

The ACLJ and Israeli war crimes, who's imagining what?

A few days ago I received a mass e-mail from the ACLJ. For those that don’t get their daily dose of Christian talk radio, ACLJ stands for the American Center for Law and Justice. Think of the ACLJ as the conservative Yin to the liberal ACLU Yang. Most of their mass e-mails have to do with issues like opposing abortion and gay marriage. For the most part, their policy positions are reasonable within the context of a healthy debate. I think the ACLJ is at its best when it addresses freedom of speech issues for Christians in America and around the world (For the record. I strongly support their opposition to certain resolutions that would give Islam a special status for protection against defamation).

Having said that, the last e-mail they sent me was particularly disturbing. With a subject line meant to imbue a sense of panic, “Our sovereignty must not be forfeited”, the e-mail went on to describe just how exactly the U.S. and Israel are being subject to the “whims of radicals around the world.” According to the ACLJ:

“The latest example is an outrageous attack by the Palestinian Authority - not even an actual nation - calling for Israeli soldiers (some who hold dual U.S. citizenship) to be convicted of ''war crimes'' simply for fulfilling their duty, defending their countrymen against attacks by the Hamas terrorists!”

Notice the quotation marks surrounding “war crimes.” Quotation marks can be very revealing because they’re often meant to contradict the very words in between the quotation marks. As in this case, the ACLJ wants its readers to believe that the “war crimes” Israeli soldiers have been accused of aren’t real war crimes, they’re imaginary war crimes,

According to the official Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, also known as the Goldstone Report, here are some of the imaginary war crimes committed by Israeli soldiers while fulfilling their duty during the war in Gaza last December:

1. Deliberate attacks against police stations and hospitals
2. The use of white phosphorous munitions
3. At least 11 eleven incidents in which Israeli forces launched direct attacks
against civilians with lethal outcome
4. Attacks on the foundations of civilian life in Gaza: destruction of industrial
infrastructure, food productions, water installations, sewage treatment and housing

5. Between 1,387 and 1,417 civilians killed


The Goldstone report is 575 pages long and meticulous in its detail. Contrary to popular belief, the report also condemns Hamas for its role in the conflict--as it should. It should also be noted that Mr. Goldstone is neither an Islamic radical nor is he a crazy anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist; he's a South African Jew that supports Israel and its right to exist. Even so, Mr. Goldstone nevertheless reports:

“From the facts ascertained in all the above cases, the Mission finds that the conduct of the Israeli armed forces constitute grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention in respect of willful killings and willfully causing great suffering to protected persons and as such give rise to individual criminal responsibility. It also finds that the direct targeting and arbitrary killing of Palestinian civilians is a violation of the right to life.”

That the ACLJ would relegate such well- documented human rights abuses to the status of imaginary –even elevating them to the status of duty—is disturbing on many levels. What the ACLJ is effectively saying in this e-mail, howbeit ever so subtly, is that Christians should support the actions of Israeli soldiers and—wait for it—actively lobby their legislators to grant them impunity even if there is evidence found against them.

The irony here is that while the ACLJ markets itself as defenders of Biblical morality, the intentional destruction of civilian infrastructure is a clear violation of the very Scriptures they say they are defending—even when committed by the nation of Israel (See Deuteronomy 20:19). They also conveniently forget that the Old Testament prophets were constantly condemning the children of Israel for their violence and oppression against strangers living in their land.

How ironic that the very prophets they quote to justify any and every act of violence committed by Israeli soldiers were the ones that spoke the loudest in their day against God’s people trusting in their military might. Then again, maybe this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. When poor theology and blind nationalism win, Biblical morality loses.

Alone with a Jihadist officially released today!

I thought that my book Alone with a Jihadist: A Biblical Response to Holy War was going to be released on October 15th. I got a call from my publisher last night and, it turns out, the release is today! The book is now available on Amazon, and also look for it at your local bookstore!