Preaching Half Truths of Christianity
I have been a Christian since 1982, I am 51 years old. It was not until about 15 to
25 years ago that Christianity began to be taken seriously as a legitimate theistic
belief system. There are two groups of people who oppose philosophical and any
strong academic understanding of the bible to be legitimate and or valid. Atheists
obviously do not and continue to not view Christianity as legitimate or valid which
does not surprise me, but what does surprise me is the there are some in the
Christian community who opposes anything that does not relate to a salvific
ideology. In other words, some Christians, meaning, pastors, Sunday school
teachers, and bible teacher’s focus on “winning” people to Christ, or do not think
that academic or scholarly study of the scriptures is a valid notion to leading
people to Christ. First off, no one “wins” people to Christ, it is the Holy Spirit that
leads people to Christ. So, we can see right from the get-go, that those who
adhere to that mindset lack theological and doctrinal understanding of how the
Holy Spirit intercedes the calling from God. I believe that “Ministering the Word of
God to the people of God is the pastor’s lifeblood.” (Vanhoozer and Strachan 2015,
2).
I currently teach apologetics in my town of Maryville TN as a chapter director for
reasonable faith ministries and one of the heart-breaking discussions is the fact
that pastors simply do not want any thing to do with philosophical studies or any
discipline of apologetics as part of their church’s ministry. In one sense I can
understand if it seems intimidating and too much reading but on the other hand,
that is what God has mandated for us to do in order to be part of Christ’s
ministries. Clearly, we see the results of no teaching of the deeper things of God.
Many ignorant Christians have been struggling in their faith, their relationship with
God and also with their worldview of Christianity as a whole. Why? Because those
in leadership in their church’s do not lead and teach true Christianity, only half
truths of Christianity. I love this statement which truly nails the point straight to
the heart of pastoral ministry. “Let me say it bluntly; Preachers who spend their
sermon time on telling cute anecdotes or reviewing the news or commenting on
the World Series are guilty of pastoral malpractice. You are commissioned by the
Lord Jesus to be the minister of the Word. So minister it.” (Wilson and Hiestand
2016, 19). Wells said.
Bibliography:
Vanhoozer Kevin J. k and Owen Strachan. The Pastor as Public Theologian:
Reclaiming a Lost k k k k k Vision (Michigan: Backer Academy, 2015.
Wilson, Todd and Gerald Hiestand. Becoming a Pastor Theologian: New
Possibilities for Church Leadership. Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 2016.
