I’m gonna stand up for Josh McDowell.
He spoke some poorly worded sentences out loud, in public. That means, he must be destroyed. His life’s work must be erased. His memory must be scrubbed from the history of Western evangelicalism.
He uttered the following phrase while addressing the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC): “I do not believe Blacks, African Americans, and many other minorities have equal opportunity. Why? Most of them grew up in families where there is not a big emphasis on education, security—you can do anything you want. You can change the world. If you work hard, you will make it. So many African Americans don’t have those privileges like I was brought up with.”
He has issued an apology. That’s what Christians are supposed to do when they realize they said something wrong. When an apology is offered, Christians are supposed to accept the apology. Jesus said, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
Josh is stepping away from his ministry to enter a “season of listening.” The question I would ask is, “Listening to who?” Jesus told us that the OFFENDED party bears the responsibility of forgiving the offender. There are no instructions to step away from ministry for the purposes of contemplating the sin after it is forgiven. We are not directed to wallow in guilt.
When you withhold forgiveness for Josh McDowell’s offense, you become an offender yourself. Christians are not allowed to withhold forgiveness. You don’t get to decide who gets forgiven and who needs to take cultural sensitivity training classes. However offensive Josh’s words were to you, your refusal to show grace to a brother is equally offensive to God.
If you can’t bring yourself to forgive Josh McDowell, then I want to ask, “Why do you think Jesus died on the cross?” If you don’t know the answer to that question, then I want to ask, “Why do you call yourself a Christian?”
It would be swell if one of Josh’s fellow believers (who has a platform larger than mine) would stand with Josh and testify to the power of Christ’s sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. Nobody cares what I say. If God has granted you some influence, this would be an excellent time to use it. Rather than distancing ourselves from Josh and praying that the mob doesn’t come for us after they’ve devoured him, we ought to let the world know that there is redemption for all sinners in Jesus.
This is what we believe, isn’t it?
“Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
– Ecclesiastes 4:9
One Response
Is it wrong of me to say I don’t really care what Josh said? He didn’t walk up to a black-owned, family business and torch it – as many blacks did to other blacks during last year’s riots. The logic of those horrifying actions (of a far greater magnitude of injury than Josh to the black community) escapes me.
I’m so tired of everybody hyperventilating and being so offended by everyone else’s words, if they’re not threatening life, property, well-being, rights, taking the Lord’s Name in vain, being overly vulgar,…. people’s opinions are only that, and it’s fairly easy to let those opinions roll off one’s psyche like the proverbial water off a duck’s (or loon’s) back.
Josh isn’t black, so he doesn’t know… let some decent, Christian black person explain to him, gently teach him in truth, Spirit and love, whatever correction they think Josh needs to know – rather than trying to destroy him.
Can’t we all just back down from skin color nuclear brinkmanship, and find our common humanity?