Lessons Learned
In Tuesday’s podcast entitled “The Landmarks That Define Us,” I shared the story of a fundamentalist Baptist pastor who, without asking, received the gift of speaking in tongues. That pastor was me, and receiving that unasked-for gift was the beginning of a lifelong process in which God has taught me at least three things about my personal journey of faith. I’d like to share those three things with you.
The first thing God has taught me is that I can count on surprises along the way.
God often does things and works in ways we often never imagine. In Isaiah 55:9, God reminds us that, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
It is so easy to make God into an image that we see with our eyes or grasp with our minds, an image that fits into our prepackaged ways of thinking and theological systems. But God will not be constrained by these things. The truth is they only serve to imprison us in limited and often harmful teachings about who God is and how he works. A classic example of this is those pastors and teachers who teach the gift of tongues is not available for the church today. The theological term for these teachers is cessationists. And having received the gift of tongues, I can’t help but marvel at the dogmatism (which is so often accompanied by harsh rhetoric) of these teachers. For many, if not most of these teachers, I have noted that this intolerance and harsh attitude in almost every aspect of their teaching ministries. Sadly, I have also noted it in their followers.
Receiving the gift of tongues was the beginning of a journey of faith that had led me away from this kind of thinking and teaching. And just to be clear, it’s not about the gift of tongues. Frankly, it plays a minor role at best in my relationship with Jesus Christ.
A second thing God has taught me through this unasked-for gift is to steer clear of camp thinking.
Human beings are tribal people. This is seen in our desire to be with others like us. But if the New Testament teaching about the kingdom of God teaches us anything, it teaches that God has broken down the walls between us through Christ. God’s kingdom stands in direct opposition to the exclusivity and intolerance of camps where everyone looks like, talks like, walks like everyone else. “We are Borg, you will be assimilated.” is NOT the motto of the kingdom of God.
In fact, the diversity found in God’s kingdom is referred to in the New Testament as God’s multi-colored wisdom in Ephesians 3:10. The word most often translated as “manifold” or “multifaceted” in this verse is the same word used in the translation of the Greek Old Testament for Joseph’s robe of many colors. This is readily seen in the context of this passage which refers to Jews and Gentiles (that is, all other nations and peoples) brought together in Christ.
We must guard against this tendency to associate only with those “like us.” It only creates a staleness of thinking that cripples our walk with Christ.
The third thing that gift of tongues received more than thirty years ago has taught me is that it is more important to be right in my relationships than in my doctrine.
I’m sure that there are those who listen to my podcasts or read my posts who believe doctrine is unimportant to me. Not at all. The Bible is and will always be the objective standard that guides us in our faith and beliefs. But I do believe that in far too many evangelical circles, there is an obsession with right doctrine that is not only hindering but doing great damage to the witness of the church. The recent vilification of Beth Moore comes to mind.
We need to learn to love others, all others. There may be times when our disagreements lead to a parting of ways. But even when that happens, we should bless and not curse those who claim the same Lord and seek to serve and make his name known. When Jesus’s disciples told the Lord about rebuking someone casting out demons in his name and commanding them to stop because, in their words, “he was not one of us,” Christ rebuked them, saying, “whoever is not against us is for us.” (Mark 9:40)
For me, it all comes down to what the apostle Paul urges us to do in the closing words of his letter to the churches in Galatia. I’d like to close with those words -
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
In Christ,
Dan