At 7:00 p.m., Central Time, on October 27th, 2011, Al Mohler and Jim Wallis went head to head with this question - Is Social Justice part of the Mission of the Church?
I have never been more endeared to Al Mohler than I was this night.
Don't get me wrong - I completely disagree with his position in the argument and by default agree more with Jim Wallis, whom I shared living quarters with in grad school - albeit decades apart. What endeared me to Al last night was his posture. I have had a harder time appreciating him and his opinions in the past - as you can see in one of my discussions I posted almost a year ago to the day.
In this past discussion, Al is describing what a proper Christian, who happens to be part of the Neo-Reformed movement, would actually look like. In the discussion video I posted, he basically sums up what a young Christian should look like and that there aren't any other options, at least good ones, than what he's laid out. He of course thinks that being a young Reformed Christian is the best and eventual path that any good Christian would end up on. I couldn't have disagreed more and was quite honestly very upset with him for saying this - but I was missing something. Last night, during the debate, I saw it.
Al Mohler is honest, courageous and an engaging man who shares his opinions without pride. Some might say - oh no - he's very prideful - but I don't know. Opinionated - Yes, but prideful, I don't think so, at least not anymore. Who am I to comment on his character you might ask? Good question - I am someone who cares about how we as followers of Christ who have been changed by Him look to a world watching for us to mess up (which we are going to do regardless) and then clean up without any apologies. Many are waiting to see when we will embrace pride rather than humility, narrow-mindedness rather than vulnerability and fear rather than courage. Others are hoping to reverse this list and are waiting for humility, vulnerability and courage. Al Mohler displayed all of these last night and gave us something to be proud of. Is it still frustrating to deal with the implications of his position - Yes, but at least it was endearing to deal with implications of his posture.
What Al did last night in the debate with Jim was vulnerable, was honest and humble - he gave his opinion and argued his point without any hidden agenda, without anger, without elitism, etc. He was honest with his fear and he truly engaged the topic, laying out his case clearly and dealing honestly with any rebuttals. There is no doubt what Al Mohler thinks about justice and the mission of the church. And for that we need to applaud him. This morning, I got choked up thinking about it actually because there are few leaders who will be this honest and straightforward with their agenda and their convictions. He is not one of them. And though I disagree with him, I was engaged his position and how he argued it throughout the debate, precisely because of his posture. He did not dismiss, demean or set up straw men. He just gave a great argument for what he's most convinced of.
What he gave to his listeners last night was more than a position, it was a posture of honesty, critical and real engagement and he wasn't bound to the script, yet not without discernment. In a day when Powers with positions are building moats around their motives, Al Mohler dropped the drawbridge and invited us in to take a good look at what was behind his walls.
"I applaud you Al Mohler because I trust you and I thank you for really engaging the issue and the learning that the debate offered all of us. You allowed us to understand exactly where you were coming from and actually laid out a provocative argument that was compelling. At the end, I still disagree with you, but my plea and implore is that you don't stop engaging, dialoguing and restoring dignity to those whom you disagree with."
I will go on being frustrated with his positions and concerned with what he does with his influence but for his courage, for laying his cards on the table and for not giving up on the discussion, I want you to know that these are exactly the reasons why, I like Al Mohler.
I have never been more endeared to Al Mohler than I was this night.
Don't get me wrong - I completely disagree with his position in the argument and by default agree more with Jim Wallis, whom I shared living quarters with in grad school - albeit decades apart. What endeared me to Al last night was his posture. I have had a harder time appreciating him and his opinions in the past - as you can see in one of my discussions I posted almost a year ago to the day.
Al Mohler is honest, courageous and an engaging man who shares his opinions without pride. Some might say - oh no - he's very prideful - but I don't know. Opinionated - Yes, but prideful, I don't think so, at least not anymore. Who am I to comment on his character you might ask? Good question - I am someone who cares about how we as followers of Christ who have been changed by Him look to a world watching for us to mess up (which we are going to do regardless) and then clean up without any apologies. Many are waiting to see when we will embrace pride rather than humility, narrow-mindedness rather than vulnerability and fear rather than courage. Others are hoping to reverse this list and are waiting for humility, vulnerability and courage. Al Mohler displayed all of these last night and gave us something to be proud of. Is it still frustrating to deal with the implications of his position - Yes, but at least it was endearing to deal with implications of his posture.
What Al did last night in the debate with Jim was vulnerable, was honest and humble - he gave his opinion and argued his point without any hidden agenda, without anger, without elitism, etc. He was honest with his fear and he truly engaged the topic, laying out his case clearly and dealing honestly with any rebuttals. There is no doubt what Al Mohler thinks about justice and the mission of the church. And for that we need to applaud him. This morning, I got choked up thinking about it actually because there are few leaders who will be this honest and straightforward with their agenda and their convictions. He is not one of them. And though I disagree with him, I was engaged his position and how he argued it throughout the debate, precisely because of his posture. He did not dismiss, demean or set up straw men. He just gave a great argument for what he's most convinced of.
What he gave to his listeners last night was more than a position, it was a posture of honesty, critical and real engagement and he wasn't bound to the script, yet not without discernment. In a day when Powers with positions are building moats around their motives, Al Mohler dropped the drawbridge and invited us in to take a good look at what was behind his walls.
"I applaud you Al Mohler because I trust you and I thank you for really engaging the issue and the learning that the debate offered all of us. You allowed us to understand exactly where you were coming from and actually laid out a provocative argument that was compelling. At the end, I still disagree with you, but my plea and implore is that you don't stop engaging, dialoguing and restoring dignity to those whom you disagree with."
I will go on being frustrated with his positions and concerned with what he does with his influence but for his courage, for laying his cards on the table and for not giving up on the discussion, I want you to know that these are exactly the reasons why, I like Al Mohler.
No comments:
Post a Comment