PARSE exists to elevate and sharpen the voices of the women and men who give their lives in service to the local church. That mission means that we are actively averse to splashing gasoline on the flames of Christian internet debates. That mission also means that we engage with the cultural realities that shape the visible church.
Don Miller's recent statements about church are an example of those realities. On this site, we engaged the issue in three different posts, from three different voices. In my plea to church leaders to simply listen to Don I ask:
Is there true life, or just personal/pastoral insecurity behind our jealousy for how the Sunday service has been done?
… Don Miller's done church leaders a service by articulating a common feeling of many in their pews. I disagree deeply with his perspective and posture at multiple points. But I'm glad he vocalized it.
An old adage says that a man who wishes to hold sand will lose the grains that he grasps too tightly.
At best here, leaders have an opportunity for mutual grace, understanding, and wise conversation. The chance to nuance our call to discipleship, listen to individual stories, and consider the life of the Cross.
(Having seen the discussion escalate since writing that, I'm in the awkward position of agreeing with myself more than ever.)
Doug Bursch added several helpful points to the discussion, observing that our culture of Christian celebrity hurts the possibility for us to reform the very real issues that drive those like Don Miller to look longingly for the exit.
We each (and all) must wrestle with the implications that our thoughts about church have on our thoughts about Church.
And then, of course, we published Kevin Miller's controversial piece, which, (to repeat my addendum to the article), fundamentally, is a piece about trajectories, not targets; about epistemology, not merely theology. If, for some, failure is present in the stories of Brian, Rob, and Don, it is largely evangelicalism's failure. While Kevin, an Anglican pastor, engages that problem as he feels best, we each (and all) must wrestle with the implications that our thoughts about church have on our thoughts about Church.
As Kevin keenly observes:
"… I think it's something much deeper, something that points not just to them, but to us, not just to three voices but to hundreds of thousands of evangelical ears, mine included."
The article was intended to point one finger out in order to observe three others pointing (damnable and accurate) back at ourselves. It's why it caught my eye, why I said "yes" to it, why I let points that I personally squinted at stand—it's a personal response, a flawed response, a response that (ahem) demands a verdict.
My hope is that the leaders of our churches can continue to engage that central thought with robust theology and humility—the same spirit of humility that I sense in Brian's own thoughtful and gracious response.
I count Brian, Rob, and Don as brothers. Further, I personally agree with them on many, points (most of the ones Brian references in his response, in fact). Few of us fit into neat theological boxes, just as few of our stories can be boiled down to a point in an essay, an opinion in a tweet, or an anecdote in a story.
But let's consider the root question—how are our wings?
