The Cost of Authenticity

That decision is whether to continue to serve evangelical churches or to step out and share some concerns I have about evangelicals. It may be possible to do both, but some of the things I need to say are going to offend some, if not many, evangelicals. That is not my intent and I’m confident I could still serve many evangelical churches with a clear conscience. But here’s the thing — I don’t want to come to the end of my days with regrets because I decided to play it safe and live my final years as comfortably as possible.

I guess it comes down to how real, how genuinely honest and transparent I am willing to be.

I am an evangelical, but I am concerned that the evangelical camp is, for the most part, a very exclusive one. Pressure is placed on the “members” of the camp to conform. Whether it is gun control, Republican politics, immigration reform, or any number of social issues that need to be carefully thought through, discussed, and debated. The reality is that those who question evangelicals views on these things are not tolerated. Worse than that, they are often seen as enemies.

Jesus was called a “friend of sinners.” It was a term of derision used by the religious leaders of his day who despised his relationships with those outside their religious camp. How many non-Christian “sinners” today consider evangelicals their friends? Research shows that non-Christians don’t have a problem with Jesus, it’s the church they can’t seem to stomach. Why?

Could it be that we are less like the “friend of sinners” and more like the Borg from Star Trek: The Next Generation — “Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated?”

Honest, thoughtful, intelligent questions about God and the Bible are discouraged, downplayed, or dismissed. This is because doctrinal conformity trumps relationships in so many evangelical churches. Never mind that Jesus taught that loving God and loving others is the fulfillment of everything scripture teaches.

Christ also taught that feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting those sick and imprisoned was the evidence of following and serving him. When I am with a group of doctrine obsessed evangelicals, I feel like shouting, “It’s relationships stupid!” And no, I am not saying that doctrine doesn’t matter. I am saying that relationships matter more.

Jesus taught that peacemakers would be called the children of God. The New Testament describes godly wisdom as “peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:17, ESV) Where are these traits among evangelicals?

There is something else that bothers me. The message of the cross is that God’s power is demonstrated in what looks weak to the world. And yet, evangelicals pour large amounts of energy and resources into establishing and consolidating power to effect social change. This completely contradicts the teachings of Jesus. Jesus described the change God’s kingdom would bring as that of a tiny seed planted in the earth or a bit of leaven mixed in with the loaf of bread. Jesus wisely taught that we should give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God. Sadly, it appears that many of today’s evangelicals are giving to Caesar what belongs to God.

There is so much more I could say but let me end by sharing that some of my closest and dearest friends are evangelicals, like me. They have a relationship with God that is rich and deep. Once again, I know some, if not many, will be offended by what I say. I also will be the first to admit that there are mountains to climb and issues with which we must wrestle in today’s rapidly changing culture. But it is time to seek to remove some of the logs in our own eyes before we can claim with any degree of integrity to remove even the tiniest speck in the eyes of others.

That, I believe, is the cost of authenticity.