I Hope We’re Paying Attention

This is my last post on Sweatt-Gate. That’s my intention, at least. I’ve got plenty else to devote my attention to. However, here are what I hope will be some final musings…

I’m glad that the FBFI addressed the issue (here) rather than ignoring it altogether. Several leaders whom I respect a great deal think they did a masterful job with it. For my part, I was disappointed. I wish their statement had been more forthright. I’m not trying to throw the FBFI under the bus. I appreciate it very much, and many of the pastors and educators I most admire are within its ranks. Indeed, I’ve benefited from the ministries of the men who wrote the statement, and I thank the Lord for them. So I write as a friend, not a foe.

My disappointment, however, was that the statement didn’t address the issue or Pastor Sweatt specifically, despite the fact that the message was given at one of the FBFI’s official meetings by an FBFI member. Instead, they made a very general statement saying that Calvinism is non-issue in the fellowship (which I understand) and that people (all people) should be kind and accurate, whether they are in the pulpit or at the computer. Hard to argue with that, I suppose. But what does it mean? Is it a subtle correction of Pastor Sweatt? Of Bob Bixby? Of me? Of Sharper Iron commenters? Of Kevin Bauder? Of anyone that addressed the issue? It’s impossible to say. The statement is vague enough that people can read it however they want. Some will take it as a rebuke of the message, and others as a rebuke of the critiques. Perfect—everybody will be happy. I guess. But it doesn’t “own” the problem. There’s an appearance that the FBFI is disconnected from the whole thing, above it all. It addresses bloggers who aren’t associated with the FBFI and don’t speak on its behalf on the same level with its own member and meeting, as if all involved are guilty and as if the FBFI has the same relationship with everyone. I disagree on both counts. I was speaking only for me, but Pastor Sweatt was speaking on behalf of the FBFI, or at least with its endorsement. Thus, their response seems a bit like the parents of a child who broke a neighbor’s window offering that neighbor a pseudo-apology that amounts to “We’ve always been against breaking windows in this neighborhood, by children and adults alike, and we still are.” That’s admirable, and it’s good to know, but…O well.

More importantly, whether or not the FBFI addresses this further (and they may have little to gain by doing so, as young guys probably won’t be lining up to join one way or the other), I do hope that fundamentalists and fundamentalist institutions (e.g. schools and camps) in general are paying attention. A growing number of fundamentalists are tired of shoot-from-the-hip “preaching,” with misrepresentations of evangelicals, and with an adversarial suspicion of theology. Don’t make the mistake of attributing the frustration to a few online cranks, most of whom have already left fundamentalism or are preparing to do so. That’s not true. I heard from mainstream fundamentalists of various ages—men associated with large fundamental churches (some notably un-Calvinistic), with GFA, with the OBF, with Northland, with BJU, with Clearwater, with DBTS, with Central, with Kids4Truth and other newer ministries, and with the FBFI itself. Some expressed their disagreement publicly; many more did not. But if you’re paying attention, there’s a definite “we’ve had it with this sort of nonsense” sentiment that, even if absent from the FBFI’s statement, exists elsewhere—and not just among those who are heading for the door. I think that’s a very good thing.

The big lesson? Put into your institutional, conference, camp, and church pulpits men who will handle the Scriptures with integrity. We want to see Christ. We want to hear the Word preached clearly, accurately, and fervently. Please.