PDA

P.D.A. - Personality Driven Apostasy

It would be tempting to get distracted in this post and carry on about my anxiety with pretend worship in our churches today: “Worship Leaders” and musicians who see themselves as prophets controlling the temperament of the “worshipers” looking for emotional touch points, pontificating choruses that talk about “me” and what “all I need”, and what “I will do,” going on tour, making albums and otherwise selling the gospel for personal fame and fortune, all “in the name of Jesus” of course.

It would be tempting to list those “preachers” who held fast to the idea of a fundamental faith, who preached against this sin or that sin and they who fell prey to that very sin themselves- like Jerry Falwell, Jr, Jim Bakker, Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggart, and so many others. 

It would be tempting to list those who have used dishonesty to advance their “platform,” of who used false teaching as a means of making money – like Mike Warnke, Benny Hinn, or Creflo Dollar.

It would be tempting to list those who have brought shame to the church of Jesus Christ by virtue of controversy - like Mark Driscoll, Brian Houston, and others.

It would be tempting to list those who have denied the faith after making such a big deal of the depth of their commitment – like Joshua Harris or Phanatik...

..not to mention the plethora of celebrities who have abandoned their faith in order to advance their station in life, or due to what they perceive is mistreatment by those of the faith - like Katy Perry, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, and Anne Hathaway.

I wonder if it isn't that all these people have one thing in common. They lack a true born-again experience. Might they have never met the Lord, personally. While some may have experienced an emotional fervor, an excitement, had a mountain top experience, or some other emotionally laden encounter which they did not fully understand, it is quite obvious that some have never had that genuine encounter with He who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

I hold this to be readily understood, with simple logic, that if we have met God, we can’t deny Him. We know that He IS God. We know that He is not to be judged in accordance with our own personal standards, whether or not he approves of what tickles our fancy, whether or not he approves of our friends…rather we judge our personal standards acceptable or not based on His revealed will. We judge whether or not our interests, our desires, our inclinations and everything else is appropriate based on His word, because He is God and we are not. He reveals this indisputable fact to us when we meet Him, as He reveal himself to us. We don't doubt Him, we only doubt our ability to comprehend the fullness of His desire, His purposes, His intent. It is ourselves we doubt, never Him. (It is, at its core, the sin of pride that causes us to think that what God has given us is insufficient, the very original sin demonstrated through Eve’s interaction with the Serpent in the Garden of Eden.)

We choose our friends based on whether or not they are conforming their lives to His will. Not that any of us is perfect, but that we press on, NOT to what we think is right, but to what God has revealed is right. And when one has a divine encounter with Him who is the author of life, the Creator of the universe, and the judge of all things, one is unable after that to question anything but our own ability to understand. We are called to obey, to be faithful, to be loving in the way that He defines obedience, faith, and love.

The Christian faith is not a religion. It is not a philosophy. It is not a way of life. It is not even a world view. It is an understanding of the Truth, based on an experience of God’s revealing himself to us. When one has had an encounter with the Divine, there is no turning back.

The structural Church in the West today, is failing because of personality cults which develop so easily. Apparently this is nothing new as Paul writes to the Corinthians:

My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? (I Cor 1:11-13)

And just two chapters later a far more extensive statement on personality cults and weak leadership:

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness” and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.^" So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

When personality, personal interest, personal identity, personal friendship, personal anything takes precedence over God given priorities, we lose. The structural Church of Jesus Christ becomes a cult when it lifts up a particular worship leader, preacher, or other as the means of grace. That spot belongs to Christ alone. We don’t save. We don’t lead. We aren’t somebody. We are nobodies who serve Him who alone is worthy of praise...