This is how James MacDonald and Mark Driscoll are Cowards pretending to be Brave.
James and Mark pretended to be Brave by standing up to Historic Orthodox Christianity (which they both claim to be a part of) which says that Sabellian Modalists, who deny the Trinity, are Heretics. They did this by finding one of the most outspoken leaders of Sabellian Modalist tripe in the US, false teacher Bishop TD Jakes, and paraded him onstage and pronouncing him as a brother in the Genuine Faith. Far from pushing the Bishop with hard, clarifying questions and calling him to Repent of his decades of false teachings (that have led to who knows how many souls going to hell?) and beging him to adopt the clear and precise historic Creeds and Confessions of Christianity that were painstakingly hammered out during the rampant heresies of the Early Church. They chose to soft-peddle Jakes and make themselves look Ecumenical while inviting a Wolf into the Sheepfold to dine on the Souls of the Biblically illiterate.
But what was funny to hear (or not-hear in this case) was the cause for me to call them Cowards in that they have both in prior sermons preached that the Word-Faith, Name-it-and-claim-it, Blab-it-and-grab-it, Prosperity gospel is a heresy! Yes, both James MacDonald and Mark Driscoll think the Prosperity gospel is a heresy, yet both thought that it was of such little importance (and would have ruined the Inclusivist mission they were on) so they both decided not to even bring up the subject to a man who has given the genuine Gospel a black eye for much if not most of his preaching career. And still fills the airwaves with Sabellian Modalist language like "modes" or "manifestations" and continues quite a successful career fleecing God's flock with his Prosperity garbage.
I thank God (the Christian one - Yahweh, not the Sabellian Modalist god who is an idol) that James MacDonald has resigned from the Gospel Coalition I can only hope that he uses the time to search his soul and Scripture about the mandate he has as a pastor to teach and defend sound doctrine. But he's probably too busy becoming a "mover and shaker" now in the seeker-driven, purpose-driven Gospel-less-ness of American Evangelicalism.
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Please listen to, yep, James MacDonald explaining the Heresy of Prosperity:
“… And pastors with these massive, massive homes. And preaching a “Prosperity Gospel” where Jesus wants you wealthy. It’s sickening! That is a distortion of the Gospel that was unheard of through the entire history of the church, but in the last 50 years, it is front and center stage in the Western World. You go try to preach that in the Third World. Those little people will laugh you right off the stage. What are you talking about? Only here, where we have no tolerance for truth and embrace the messages that bless our hearts … We’re gonna get to this passage in a few moments. It says right at the end of Second Timothy: ‘Preach the word in season and out of season. The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled they will accumulate teachers for themselves and will turn their ears away from the truth and will be turned aside to myths.' We’re in that time, people.”So in the not-so-distant past, we have Pastor James MacDonald on public record suggesting that the “Prosperity Gospel” is a “false gospel” that is “unheard of through the entire history of the church.” He is openly mocking pastors with expensive watches, cars and homes and declares that it’s “sickening!”
What happened James, popularity too appealing to continue fighting for the faith?
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Please read this article by, yep, Mark Driscoll explaining the Heresy of Prosperity:
Prosperity Theology: The Dirty Little Secret By Mark Driscoll
I have expressed here before my hatred for the prosperity gospel, it is another gospel and by extension a damnable heresy. Mark Driscoll does a great job explaining what it is and its problems.
Prosperity Theology/Idolatry
While in
Africa recently, I was often asked about prosperity theology/idolatry.
This erroneous teaching states that the truly holy and faithful will be
blessed with financial prosperity. The epicenter of this error is
American greed, materialism, and consumerism, and the proclivity of some
to present Jesus as the one who gives us our idol of Mammon/Money. To
make matters worse, this theological error is promoted around the world
on “Christian” television and radio. The effects in the US are damaging,
and that damage continues around the world, particularly plaguing
poorer nations where uneducated pastors sit on gold thrones wearing
white suits and promise a hundredfold return on investment to their
impoverished flock because it is what they learned from American
preachers.
In Africa
when I repeatedly answered the question about prosperity
theology/idolatry, I explained it both practically and theologically. In
this blog post I will deal with the practical and in the follow-up post
I will deal with the theological.
A Marketing Scam
Practically,
prosperity theology/idolatry is a marketing scam. My undergrad degree
is in communications from the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication
at Washington State University, which is one of the top programs in the
country. In my advertising, journalism, speech, marketing, and public
relations classes, we were repeatedly taught that advertisers pay for
media (e.g., air time on television and radio) and that unless a host or
program is able to attract and retain a valuable audience for
advertisers, they simply cannot remain in business.
The Dirty Little Secret
However, one
of the first things I learned many years ago while co-hosting a small
national Christian radio show was that there was one exception—namely,
Christian programming. You see—and here’s the dirty little secret—most
programming on Christian radio and television is nothing more than
infomercials. Many of the shows are not kept on the air because they
attract an audience that advertisers will pay for. Instead, the air time
is purchased by the “ministry,” who can then use that time to say
whatever foolish thing they want without needing to satisfy advertisers’
requirements for quality programming.
How to Make Jesus an Idol-Giver
The question
is, how can you pay for the expensive airtime when advertisers won’t
pay for the typical slots around the “Christian” programming? The answer
is prosperity theology/idolatry. To pay for the airtime for
infomercials, “ministry” leaders need to find a way for people to send
in generous tax-deductible donations. The problem is that most people
don’t give generously unless they really get the fact of the gospel—that
our God is so generous that he gave us his own life—or they are given a
theology in which Jesus is an idol-giver. So, prosperity theology was
born for, in large part, the express purpose of paying for poor quality
“Christian” programming and generating massive amounts of revenue to
keep programming on the air that would not otherwise merit a time slot.
Simply stated, it’s a business racket where you have to promise people
God will bless them, or guilt grandmas into writing big checks by
promising that Jesus is a pagan god who can be made to live for our
glory if we manipulate him through faith and giving.
Of course,
there are exceptions. Some fine Bible-based, Jesus-loving,
gospel-centered ministries do exist on television and radio that do not
promote prosperity theology/idolatry and actually teach against it by
being faithful to the Bible. Just a few examples that come to mind are
Greg Laurie, Hank Hanegraff, R. C. Sproul, and Kay Arthur. Nonetheless,
now you know the dirty little secret about prosperity theology/idolatry.
What happened Mark, popularity too appealing to continue fighting for the faith?
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