My Thoughts on James MacDonald’s “Resignation”

Last week James MacDonald resigned. Not as pastor or anything like that. He resigned his post as “fixer”:

No more setting people straight, helping others see the light. No more putting people on a program or convincing them to look in the mirror and see what they refuse to believe. Helping? Yes. Praying? For sure! Preaching? Always and with increased power, I pray. But fixing people individually? I’m done!

I first read MacDonald’s article after reading the response from Dan Phillips. Others on Twitter expressed concern over MacDonald’s words. Personally, I think this could serve to spur us on towards a helpful conversation.

The first time that I read through the article I was put off by what MacDonald was saying. I wondered if he was completely resigning from doing the messy stuff of pastoral ministry. It seemed to me that he was essentially saying, “I’m not going to be in the business of trying to help people anymore, nobody appreciates me anyways”. It sounded like an angry tirade.

Then I read it again and realized that MacDonald’s central point is that he is no longer going to try to fix people that don’t ask for it. Some of the anger that I had picked up was directed towards his old way of doing things. So now he is resolved to not offer counsel unless asked. As MacDonald says,

“Where the fixer is uninvited and the receiving heart is unreceptive, it’s far better to pull up and kneel down—interceding for a better reception, a more timely time, or a more worthy messenger.”

What I take from MacDonald is that he is going to stop initiating “fix you” conversations. He’s going to be more concerned about the things that he is called to do and less concerned about other people—unless they ask him for assistance.

Where I Agree

As I read through MacDonald’s post I think he actually has a solid point. We are prone to worry about taking the speck of dust out of our brothers eyes without looking at the log in our own. There is a certain type of person that goes about trying to fix everyone as if he/she is helping along the Holy Spirit. I believe MacDonald is saying that he no longer wants to be this guy.

This is good. We shouldn’t be that guy. If this is all MacDonald says, then I’m in agreement with him. I wish he would have been a little more careful with his words and tried making the point in a little less shocking way—but that’s forgivable. I know there have been times when I’ve let art get in the way of clarity.

Where I Might Disagree…

While I find some agreement with Macdonald, his post still causes me to be unsettled. There is some truth in saying “if people don’t want to change there is no use trying to help”. But it’s also an incomplete truth because God’s Word is more powerful than our foolish resistance. The powerful word of God is the means that God uses to “fix” people.  

As ministers of the Word of God occasionally we are called to bang our head against a wall that probably shouldn’t budge. We do so because we know that there is power in the Word of God. Worldly wisdom says that the heart of kings isn’t supposed to turn, yet Nathan boldly proclaimed truth to a King that didn’t want to face his sin. In the same way it’s a solid axiom that you cannot help people that do not want to help themselves. But isn’t the Word more powerful than this axiom?

We must proclaim God’s Word humbly and lovingly. Yes, as we attempt to restore those that are “caught in transgression” we must do it with a “spirit of gentleness” while also “keeping watch on ourselves”. But simply being prone to hypocrisy and having a tendency to botch “pulling specks out of our brothers eyes” doesn’t necessitate the pendulum needs to swing to silence.

Yes, there might be a time to “shake the dust off our feet” but that should not be our default position. And this is what still has me unsettled about MacDonald’s “resignation”. It seems as if his default position goes against the Scriptural admonitions to “reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching”. That charge doesn’t seem to be something reserved for a Sunday morning sermon. And if you keep reading in that passage in 2 Timothy he is charged to do those things in the context of those that “will not endure sound teaching”.

Now if MacDonald is simply saying that he will continue to exhort, reprove, and rebuke but not try to play the role of the Holy Spirit, I agree. And it’s a good point—that I believe he made somewhat poorly. But my concern is that in embracing something good (not thinking you are deity) MacDonald is adopting something that is not good (being silent when we ought to speak).

What are your thoughts? At one point do we “resign”? Can we?

Proverbs for Christian Blogging: Don’t Make Your Audience Throw Up

If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it. Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you.

I’m in your house right now*. Kind of creepy, eh? It’s okay you let me in. I’m not some creeper that slipped in unaware. I knocked on your door and you let me in. When you clicked on this link you decided that you would give me an audience in your home. I’m honored.

I’ll only stay in your house for a short time. I’ll make a couple of salient points then quickly leave your home, hoping that it was a good enough experience for you that you’ll let me into your house for coffee again.

But what would happen if after our meeting I knocked on your door again…loudly…and then again…and again…and once more. Each time that you let me in I either bring up a point that I forgot to mention OR I essentially say, “Remember that time we had that awesome conversation? How bout you let me back in your home?” 

This is what it feels like on Twitter/Facebook at times when dudes link to their article five to ten times per day. No matter how creatively you reword the title or pull quotes out of that article, whenever I click on it and it sends me back to an article that I’ve already read, my stomach starts to churn a little.

Here are a few “rules” that I’ve set up for myself:

• Link to an article once when it originally publishes and once later that evening so as to catch a different crowd, never more
• Don’t re-tweet someone else’s comment about my articles or book. Only time I do this is if it benefits the person tweeting it
• Don’t write more than three articles per day
• Don’t troll around other sites trying to pimp my articles
• Point to other peoples articles more than my own
• Make sure that over half my tweets, etc. aren’t simply links to my articles

How about you? Do you get a little sick to your stomach when you click on a crafty link that sends you back to an article that you’ve already read?

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*Or I’m in your office, your car, or any other place that you’ve decided to read this article. Hopefully not in the bathroom because that’s just weird for both of us.

Today in Blogworld 05.08.13

Can You Grow Out of a Local Church

This is an interesting question. I’m not sure if I agree with the answer given here…but it’s got me to thinking.

Is Bad Doctrine Sin?

Here is Michael Patton’s answer, “So, the best I can do right now is say that bad doctrine is often sin, but not always.” See how he got to that conclusion.

6 Easy Ways to Destroy Community This Summer

Great article for our Life Groups to consider. We are going to continue running our Life Groups during the summer—articles like this will be helpful as we do this.

The Puritans and Mental Illness

David Murray helps us see that the Puritans (men like Richard Baxter) were well ahead of the game on issues like mental illness.

This is pretty funny…don’t watch it with breakfast though:

The Little Church that Cried Wolf

This is the last straw!

Did you hear that the Obama Administration is trying to pass legislation to prevent Christians from owning a Bible without also owning a Quran?

It’s true. I saw it on Facebook. On the same page I saw proof that President Obama is really a Muslim terrorist. Guys we really need to take back our government from these liberal nuts. We need God back in the White House. So write your senator today and tell them “Quran? We don’t need no stinkin’ Quran!”

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The above snippet has never actually appeared on Facebook, but it might as well have. Every week there is some new report of the government taking away our religious freedoms. And 90% of the time they are shown to be gross exaggerations or totally false.

Ed Stetzer sums it up well:

Too often, Christians are in a state of perpetual grievance, where each passing day brings another new controversy about which we must act or else Christianity in America will crumble.

When we hear a story about government attacks on Christians and we disagree with the politics of those in power, we assume the worst about the individuals in the military and our government. We live out the exact opposite of James 1:19. We are slow to listen, not giving time for all the facts to come out. We are quick to speak, gullibly forwarding the emails, retweeting the links and sharing the Facebook photos.

We are quick to anger, behaving as if every rumor deserved our righteous indignation and called for temple tables to be overturned (at least on Facebook).

This concerns me. First it concerns me because it shows how little discernment we actually have as believers. Secondly it shows how much we are driven by fear instead of confidence in Jesus Christ to move along history. Such fear is ridiculous in light of a sovereign Lord.

What also concerns me is that we are becoming like the little boy that cried wolf. Every time that we cause an untruth to go viral, and then that lie is debunked, we start to look like the crazy uncle that talks about his night spent in a UFO. We cry “wolf” and then its discovered that the “wolf” was nothing more than a Chihuahua and our active imagination.

Then when real concerns actually show up we no longer have a voice. We’ve been branded the crazy uncle that sees a conspiracy theory everywhere. Everyone assumes that this cry of “wolf” will soon be exposed as another over-eager Christian, motivated by fear, over-exaggerating and getting all worked up over nothing. Then our freedoms get eaten.

My advice, stop being motivated by fear. Trust in the Jesus that rules history and you won’t fall for every new Facebook exposé. Don’t share something if it could be true. Wait until you are certain that it actually is true.

Today in Blogworld 05.07.13

The Snow and the Suffering Servant

This is a sad story but one that displays the gospel and sacrifice.

Joint Statement of Southern Baptist Concern on Religious Liberty and the United States Military

As I'll point out in an article later today there are real concerns about religious liberty. Kevin Ezell and Russell Moore have a tremendous response to the recent media stories on the military and religious freedom.

The New Legalism

This is an interesting piece by Anthony Bradley that needs to be read. I’m actually glad to see the pendulum swing back a little on this issue.

Making Nerds of Your Children

This article resonated with me…for some reason.

Six ways that roughhousing makes your kids awesome. (Does anyone else notice how evolution is just assumed these days…)