More Than Cake

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17

From the moment Jesus’ feet left this earth, there have been disagreements among the faithful on how we should live out our Faith. The Jews and the Gentiles argued over what rituals should be enforced among the churches. Barnabas and Paul split over their difference of opinion on who to bring along in their church-planting mission. The early church was rife with conflicts over worship style and practice. Yet through God’s grace, these conflicts have been good for the Church. Each one helped to refine our faith and deepen our roots in Jesus Christ. Disagreement is not wrong. In fact, conflict is often the thing we need to grow strong.

Now, fast forward to today. Anyone not living in a cave over the past month, or at least a cave not equipped with Broadband, has heard about the book, “Pagan Christianity.” The book was firsst published by House-Church Planter Frank Viola, and has now been republished and co-branded with the support of researcher George Barna. I first encountered the controversy through Brandon O’Brien’s article on the Out of Ur blog. I had not yet read Frank’s book, but it was clear that folks on all sides had passionate opinions. I spent a sleepless night mulling over some nagging questions of my own and decided that the best course was to stop writing about Frank and to write to Frank. Here is what I asked him in an email.

Hi Mr. Viola,

I am currently reading “The Untold Story…,” but I have not yet read PC (I plan to get a copy soon), so my question below comes from the publisher comments, your site and other reviews. Please correct any mischaracterization I may have mistakenly made.

First, let me say that I think it is good to examine our practices and see how they line up with God. I have been making many of these same critiques for years. I understand your book is critical of the institutional “pastor” and taking money for this “job.” In that context, I find it a bit contradictory that you promote your materials as “prophetic” messages and then sell them for your personal profit. I am curious, can you show me the origin of this practice for selling God’s message? I can’t think of any time that Paul wrote the church and charged them for his letters. Your promotional materials say you are a “prophetic voice” to the church, but I can’t think of any prophet who delivered God’s prophetic word for a price. So if you really have a prophetic message for the church, by what tradition do you copyright it as yours and then sell it? Is that not the same Pagan practice you judge in institutional pastors? Are you not setting yourself up above all the “lay” writers who share freely what God gave them to share with the church? If so, what is your reasoning for accepting your Pagan practices and condemning the pagan practices of others?

I did consider writing this as an “open letter” on my blog, but felt that it was only right that I come to you first in private and ask this question. Thanks for your time and I look forward to reading your perspective.
Joe

Obviously I did not pull any punches; yet, to my surprise, Frank called me and we had a very positive discussion. I enjoyed talking with him and I found him to be a reasonable man who addressed my questions with integrity; even more, I consider Frank a brother in Christ. True, Frank’s book has made some strong charges that cut to the quick of many men who are called to “pastor” the local church (that includes me). In response, many of these men have shot back with their own strong challenges that hit at the core of Frank’s work. This is good! This is the kind of discussion, challenge and counterpoint that we need in the Body of Christ. This is the only way to guarantee that our pagan influences do not become our religious worship.

What concerns me though is not the forceful exchange of ideas. What concerns me is that, in some cases, forceful passionate argument has turned into judgement and condemnation of men who are contending for the same Faith. Had Frank not called me, I probably would have posted an article that contained strong language, and possibly some personal accusations. I might have written some things that I would never say to Frank directly. It would not have been the first time I put my foot in my mouth with some thoughtless words.

The Internet, and book publishers for that matter, gives us the opportunity for some of the most impersonal conversation ever known to Man. We are given the freedom to write things we would never say when speaking face-to-face with a brother or sister in Christ. The freedom to speak our minds without any social restraint or relational consequences is a very dangerous freedom indeed. All too often, our rhetoric exceeds our mandate to contend for the Faith. Contrast our modern approach with that of the Apostle Paul. When Paul wrote his most stinging letters, he still sent along a Spirit filled messenger to deliver face-to-face the words of correction. Paul’s approach to correcting the Saints was a lot more relational than ours; wasn’t it?

It is easy to see that our modern methods of writing books, and posting on our blogs, is rooted in our culture, and herein lies our challenge. Can we continue to engage in strong debate and not become pagan in our conversation?