The below article ties in with some discussion that has been going on at the Between Two Worlds Blog this past week. For the record I have attended Woodland Hills Church many times, and have heard 50 or so of Boyd's sermons (some on radio). My wife (then girlfriend) attended this church for 7 years, and in the middle of the series referenced below, she got up and walked out of a service never to return. I have met Greg Boyd, and he seems really nice, but I think he is out in left field on a number of points theologically.
(From FotF's Pastor's Weekly Breifing)
Before the last presidential election, Rev. Gregory A. Boyd preached six sermons called "The Cross and the Sword" in which he said the church should steer clear of politics, give up moralizing on sexual issues, stop claiming the United States as a "Christian nation," and stop glorifying American military campaigns. While Boyd does not consider himself a liberal and purports to oppose abortion and thinks homosexuality is not God's ideal, his sermons set off quite a reaction by his congregation. Some members walked out during a sermon and never returned. By the time the dust had settled at his Woodland Hills Church in suburban St. Paul, Minnesota, the church, which Boyd had started with 40 members in 1992, had lost about 1,000 of its 5,000 members.
Sermons like Boyd's are hardly typical today in evangelical churches, and the upheaval at Woodland Hills is an example of the internal debates now going on in some evangelical colleges, magazines and churches. A common concern is that the Christian message is being compromised by the tendency to tie evangelical Christianity to the Republican Party and American nationalism, especially regarding the war in Iraq.
"When we joined years ago, Greg was a conservative speaker," said William Berggren, a lawyer who joined the church with his wife six years ago. Boyd was credited with the church's quick growth because he was an electrifying preacher who stuck closely to Scripture. "But we totally disagreed with him on this [sermon series]. You can't be a Christian and ignore actions that you feel are wrong. A case in point is the abortion issue. If the church were awake when abortion was passed in the 70s, it wouldn't have happened. But the church was asleep."
Boyd also created a controversy a few years ago by questioning whether God fully knew the future. And, in his six sermons, he laid out a broad argument that the true role of Christians was not to seek "power over" others — by controlling governments, passing legislation or fighting wars. Christians should instead seek to have "power under" others — "winning people's hearts" by sacrificing for those in need, as Jesus did. "I am sorry to tell you that America is not the light of the world and the hope of the world. The light of the world and the hope of the world is Jesus Christ," Boyd said.
His congregation of about 4,000 is still digesting his message. During a forum he arranged on a recent Wednesday night, many of the 56 questions submitted were pointed: Isn't abortion an evil that Christians should prevent? Are you saying Christians should not join the military? How can Christians possibly have "power under" Osama bin Laden? Didn't the church play an enormously positive role in the civil rights movement?
One woman asked, "So, why not us? If we contain the wisdom and grace and love and creativity of Jesus, why shouldn't we be the ones involved in politics and setting laws?"
Related Tags: Greg Boyd, Sword Cross, Open Theism, Christianity, Christian, Woodland Hills Church, Focus on the Family, James Dobson, Jesus, God, Holy Spirit, Between Two World, Justin Taylor, St. Paul, Minnesota, Evangelical, Christian Republican, Christian Democrat, Christian Voting, Politics, Christian Politics, Nationalism, Conservative, Liberal, William Berggren, Abortion, War, Power Over, Power Under
5 comments:
I'd call the recent direction of Boyd's political ontotheological views Anabaptism on acid.... But it's nice to have someone a bit more in left field of me ( ;) )
Satan's behind the gov't(singular, not plural)? Hello, didn't anything change with Calvary? And aren't we now in the time spoke of in the Book of Daniel Chapter 2, the last period of many kingdoms that are a mixture of iron and clay? Can we really say the imagery of the Roman Empire(the kingdom of iron) found in Revelations still applies? As Christians, we are to reject anarchists like the Wachowski bros, but that doesn't mean submitting to those in authority means honor or respect is always due to them(as described in Romans 13).
And this power over vs power under stuff is a false dichotomy. Changing people's hearts about something is what is critical for legal changes to be effective most of the time anyways. It's not either/or, it's both/and. Boyd and Billy Graham are right things have gotten out of hand to the detriment of the Gospel, but Boyd's political ontotheology is too selective in its use of scripture and manichaeistic, even the NCR thinks so...
But I think he had courage to be different and to dissent and I respect that. I believe we need a generous orthopraxy when it comes to right Christian political conduct. I don't see the RCC or EOC leading too many folks to Jesus thanks to the heavy-handed way they tell their members what their political priorities ought to be...
dlw
ps, I'm glad to read you had some interviews...
dlw
Thanks for stopping in again David. And I still have that article bookmarked, and will at some point get to reading it. Probably not before Sept. 1 though. But I haven't forgotten!
Big Chris
Hey, I'm also trying to get the MBC to sponsor the translation of stuff on Christian Local Community Development by John Perkins into Ukrainian that emphasizes the importance of Leadership Development more than just giving more Money. I'm thinking if we translate it first into Ukrainian and distribute it for next to free, initially among the sister churches, it'll be easier to get others to translate it into Russian next.
I think it's one thing we can do, as according to what I read at key blogs, things have not gone well there this past year, and what happens in Ukraine in these next couple years is going to impact the Former Soviet Union for decades to come, including the ability for the spread of the Gospel and its revival among many.
So I just hope that maybe we'll be able to get the Reformed and Not-so-Reformed types in the MBC to join together on this idea at some point, as I think the politics of Jesus are really what's going to bring down the walls of oppression in the Former Soviet Union and the Middle East and the rest of the world, ultimately.
dlw
David,
I would heartily agree with the need to translate materials into Ukrainian. I think the MBC/BGC have a higher liklihood in doing it than many other denominations due to the ties many churches have in Ukrain. In my experience, you find people from both Reformed and non-Reformed who'll both support this effort, and others from both camps who'll probably oppose this effort. I think much leadership theory that is grounded on Biblical foundations is a neutral ground, but not all would agree. I do think that penetrating and reaching the Russian culture is one of the most important missions fields. Russia's size, location, influence and resources are all things that could be great use to the cause of Christ, or could be a real weapon against it. Their location near HUGE populations of unchurched people on their continent makes them a great seed bed for future missionaries.
Big Chris
We also might want to consider trying to get our gov't(at least MN) to work with European gov'ts to help Ukraine to join the EU.
Economics and politics are strongly intertwined so we need to see that there's some countervailing influence against Russia in Ukraine. And when the standard of living of more Ukrainians goes up, it'll be easier for them to be sent as missionaries to the rest of the FSU.
dlw
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