Big Eva Running Amok
2 Timothy 4:1-5
“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
Big Evangelicalism (Big Eva for short) has been on quite the tear lately. We’ve seen Tim Keller tweet praise for Stephen Colbert’s “brilliant example of how to be a Christian in the public square.” At this point you have to wonder if Keller just loves trolling Christians. If this was his want, he received the predictable reaction. Keller’s endorsement of Colbert’s “witness” did not go over well with many rank and file Christians. Many pointed to Colbert’s past material poking fun at Jesus, Christians, and the Church. Keller has since tweeted follow-up messages defending his position and deflecting the significance of Colbert’s blasphemous behavior.
Big Eva stalwart Beth Moore decided to ignite her own social media fire. Moore elected to rip a pastor who tweeted that women should dress modestly. She essentially instructed the male pastor to never use the term “bra” again. Savvy tweeters have posted videos of the prior version of Beth Moore (from years ago) essentially preaching the same message of modesty as the pastor. This more recent iteration of Beth Moore seems to collide with her messages from years gone by...prior to her acceptance in Big Eva of course. I guess she has evolved?
If you’ve kept up with all of this chatter on social media, your head is probably spinning from the flurry of responses from all sides of the argument. To me this boils down to one of Big Eva’s favorite concepts: “contextualization.” Big Eva uses the term contextualization to justify adopting the world’s flavor of the month trends. They want to sprinkle in a socially relevant version of Jesus. Big Eva longs to present an image of Jesus that doesn’t threaten the norms of pop culture. Big Eva must be seen as tolerant of the ever-evolving society. This is why you see church pastors dressing like tenny-boppers from the 1980s. For an example look no further than the former pastor of Hillsong NYC, Carl Lentz. Lentz took contextualization far beyond the expensive, designer clothes. Prior to his disgraceful fall, Lentz loved to pal around with Justin Bieber and women other than his wife. Talk about embracing the culture!
The common thread here is the messaging. Big Eva tells us we should conform to the world’s culture in order to save it for Christ…that probably sounds strange to you, rightly so because it is nonsensical. I guess some folks called in sick the day Romans 12:2 was discussed in seminary: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Satan resides over the world’s culture and customs. We don’t adopt evil in the name of some misguided form of compromise.
2 Timothy 4 calls out a time in which people reject sound teaching. We are in such a time. I wish I could say this rejection primarily applies to those outside of the church. But some of the largest American churches are littered with attendees that do not want to hear Biblical doctrine. Men like Joel Osteen are propped up by massive amounts of followers. Who doesn’t want their best life now? You don’t have to believe one word of the Bible to want prosperity, health, and wealth. All unrepentant sinners want those things naturally. Come on down as you are, no heart change needed!
Big Eva is acutely aware of what draws a large crowd of buying customers these days. Articles about denying one’s self and rejecting the world won’t be published in Christianity Today. Big Eva’s books won’t make the best seller lists if they focus too much on sin. After all talking about sin isn’t winsome, right? Nobody wants to hear about Jesus saving filthy sinners. That’s old, judgmental language. In today’s world, people need to be exalted and constantly praised. We need to speak people’s good in to existence. Jesus wants to give everyone an earthly mansion, brand new BMW, private jet…after all that’s not just for Creflo Dollar!
Grifting alone doesn’t explain Big Eva’s yearning for secular approval. There is an institutional arrogance at play as well. Big Eva wants to be viewed as scholarly, above the populist fray. They are the self-appointed Christian intelligentsia. Big Eva towers above the evangelical working class, superior to the unwashed masses. One wonders what these haughty people think of verses like Luke 14:11 (ESV) “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
You’ll be hard pressed to find a more conceited group than the lofty land of academia. So it makes sense that Big Eva covets a seat at the head table of academia. The worst thing you can call an institutional elite is a rube. I can hear Big Eva shuddering at the thought. They can’t be lumped in with the Bible believing commoners. This demands that Big Eva be considered the “elites of Christendom.” To achieve this status, Big Eva must appear too sophisticated to speak in terms of absolute truth. They see nuance and complexity in everything. It is too simplistic to say that Christians should reject carnal culture. The ever wise Big Eva knows how to blend the spiritual with the carnal.
We can’t expect Big Eva to stand on Biblical principles, they are just one tolerant tweet away from appearing on Colbert’s show.