{"id":6354,"date":"2015-02-05T06:42:31","date_gmt":"2015-02-05T13:42:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/thoughtlife\/?p=6354"},"modified":"2015-02-05T06:50:08","modified_gmt":"2015-02-05T13:50:08","slug":"on-writing-your-own-name-in-the-history-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thoughtlife\/2015\/02\/on-writing-your-own-name-in-the-history-books\/","title":{"rendered":"On Writing Your Own Name in the History Books"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Apostle<\/a>I just published a short essay with\u00a0First Things\u00a0<\/em>on the supposed heroism of \u201caffirming pastors.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a piece that builds on some of my earlier work in tracing how we\u2019re constantly being told by people today that they are heroic. For how can a bell ring, but we sound it?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a section from the essay, entitled \u201cMany Heroes, So Little Heroism\u201d<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The affirming pastor traveled through fire and wind to get where he\u2019s landed. Long did he wrestle with Stubborn Paul, with Unbending Church History, with Steely-Eyed Jesus. Heroically did he (or she) weep over the Unmoved Apostles, pleading with Peter to soften his tone\u2014to lower his pitch, and use an inside voice\u2014against false teachers and their compromised sexual practices, their correspondingly corrupted sexual ethics. Again and again the affirming pastor threw himself against the wall of Christian witness, imploring it to fall, to fall, and to fall, but it would not.
\n<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the whole thing.<\/a><\/p>\n

If your name is to be etched into the history books, terrific. Gravy. But don\u2019t write your own name in them. That\u2019s not only ungodly, that\u2019s beyond the pale. Those straining to lionize themselves make the rest of us wonder if they do not protest\u2013or rather praise\u2013too much.<\/p>\n

It is a sad consequence of the \u201cgay Christian\u201d movement that they focus their attention so narrowly on their fellow man. That\u2019s what the whole project ends up being about: pleasing man. There\u2019s ultimately nothing of God in it. God isn\u2019t needed for salvation, because we don\u2019t need to crucify our desires. And God certainly doesn\u2019t need to show up for the affirmation part, because we\u2019ve already taken care of that ourselves.<\/p>\n

This whole disaffecting affair is like showing up for a celebration of someone\u2019s life, only to find that they are the one leading the ceremonies, giving the speeches, and making the toast\u2013to themselves\u2013at the end.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something better. It\u2019s the way of the cross. It\u2019s the cruciform life. But it means that you will have to die, and that you will have to give up on the applause of man. In doing so, you\u2019ll gain a measure of self-respect, and you might just gain eternity, too.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just published a short essay with\u00a0First Things\u00a0on the supposed heroism of \u201caffirming pastors.\u201d It\u2019s a piece that builds on some of my earlier work in tracing how we\u2019re constantly being told by people today that they are heroic. For how can a bell ring, but we sound it? Here\u2019s a section from the essay, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1217,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173,253],"tags":[3826,514,1286,3651,13176,3827],"class_list":["post-6354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homosexuality","category-pastors","tag-affirming-pastor","tag-apostle-paul","tag-first-things","tag-gay-christian","tag-jesus-christ","tag-same-sex-orientation"],"yoast_head":"\nOn Writing Your Own Name in the History Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I just published a short essay with\u00a0First Things\u00a0on the supposed heroism of "affirming pastors." 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