Elijah Was Not John Wayne
In these days of rock star pastors, we need more anti-celebrity leaders in the church. I’ve followed some recent posts and messages on the prophet Elijah by one of the many rock star wannabe pastors in our day. Frankly, he makes Elijah sound like a WWE champion—anything but the simple, desert-dwelling, camel-cloaked man of God that he was.
And to be clear, the highlight of Elijah’s 13-year ministry was not the fire that fell on Mount Carmel. It was the ten years he spent in relative obscurity training others to hear and speak the word of God.
Fire and smoke and mirrors. Combined with exacting doctrine (touted as “the Bible says) designed to exclude rather than include, have replaced the Good News that Jesus announced to all people. Whosoever will.
Instead of the sensitive man of God who carried a dead orphan boy to his room, lay him on his bed, and spread his body over the limp body of a widow’s only son - and in doing so, violated the clear teaching of Scripture from Torah - Elijah is portrayed as a prophetic brawler looking for a fight.1
“Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”2
This was the response of the boy’s mother, living in the stronghold of Sidon, home of the prophet Baal after this sensitive and gentle man of God brought her son back. What is interesting is what this woman said before Elijah’s act of compassion and his willingness to break religious rules for the sake of demonstrating God’s mercy and grace -
“What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”3
Thank God Elijah refused to respond in the manner of so many of the rigid, fundamentalist/exclusivist Christian leaders in our day. I can hear them now, quoting Bible verses to this godless, pagan woman -
The Lord punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.4
The wages of sin is death.5
But because Elijah demonstrated the mercy and compassion of his God, this woman recognized, through his actions, the goodness of the God he served.
We need more men and women of God who reject the angry, militant spirit corrupting our faith and fracturing our nation. More servants, like Elijah, who aren’t afraid to condemn the sinful behavior of godless leaders like King Ahab, but who recognize that ultimately salvation and wholeness are found in God’s Kingdom, ushered in through the self-sacrifice of His Son, our Lord, and example, Jesus.
In Christ,
Dan
My newest book, “Where is the God of Elijah? Overcoming Spiritual Drought,” can be purchased on Kindle. Here’s the link.
Kristen Kobe Du Mez’s book, “Jesus and John Wayne,” traces the historical roots of this militant, anti-Christ theology so prevalent in America today.
I Kings 17:24.
I Kings 17:18.
Numbers 14:18.
Romans 6:23.