Apostasy in the Church: They Don’t Evolve.........
By Jim Fletcher 18 January 2020
There is a common misperception among Bible-believing Christians—who want to believe the best about professing brothers and sisters in Christ—that some leaders who choose poorly in associating with others do so out of naiveté.
I don’t think many do.
Celebrity evangelicals today have been at it so long, they know the ropes. I like to say they know the marketing ropes. So much of celebrity evangelicalism today is about building one’s brand and then expanding it.
Continuously.
Competition is part of the human condition, and while some are sincere about sharing the Gospel, I’m convinced many others are more interested in making more money and gaining more celebrity. In order to do this, one must be “ecumenical.”
A secular corporate term would be “networker.”
Recently, on her “For the Love of Faith Icons” podcast, left-wing professing Christian Jen Hatmaker hosted best-selling author Max Lucado.
I used to work in publishing and when one says “best-selling,” that usually means in his own home. In Lucado’s case, he really is a best-selling (mega-selling!) author. His gentle, storytelling style is a smash hit and has been for at least 25 years.
Lucado has long been considered a mainstream evangelical; interestingly, he is a Church of Christ pastor from San Antonio. In a sense, he is indeed an evangelical icon.
So when he agreed to be interviewed by Hatmaker, it raised eyebrows. He acknowledged that they might not agree on everything, but he also said: “I think so highly of you. You energize me, to listen to your podcast…you make it so easy and delightful, and yet profound at the same time.”
Hatmaker of course has become known for her “courageous” and radical stands on homosexuality, among other things. She is also a classic left-wing critic of President Trump. [Odds are that you’ve probably heard through social media that popular Christian women’s author Jen Hatmaker in an effort to be compassionate and loving, came out in support of LGBT relationships. She even referred to them as “holy.” This has become known as the “affirming” position]..
Some have speculated that Lucado isn’t really aware of how radical Hatmaker is. I doubt that. He is a savvy evangelical celebrity and knows everyone. He’s a smart guy. For her part, Hatmaker is majorly focused on building her own brand and is giddy that a force like Lucado would bring her gravitas with scores of evangelicals.
What is the net effect of all this?
I believe this kind of networking—these kinds of associations—further erodes biblical thought in America. When someone as popular and mainstream as Max Lucado affirms a leftist like Jen Hatmaker, millions of evangelicals follow suit.
Just as Barack Obama didn’t “evolve” on his thinking about homosexuality and other anti-biblical stances, evangelical celebrities rarely truly change their views over time.
More likely, they always have supported liberalism but are only now “coming out” because they know that a culture that accepts “Ellen” as a sort of buddy will accept their “new” views on the things that will one day incur God’s wrath.
“For the Love” of everything holy, guard your heart and those of your loved ones when considering authors, speakers and ministers to expose them to. Max Lucado knew 25 years ago that endorsing someone like Hatmaker would be bad for his brand. Today he is aware those saints are largely gone.
Jen Hatmaker hosting Max Lucado? That’s how apostasy spreads.
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