As many of you know, I grew up in South Central Los Angeles, so, I saw my share of bad guys. However, when one grows up with a core set of friends, some of whom turn out to be bad guys, tough decisions have to be made. In my experience you can do one of two things: number one, assess the risk of being close to a bad guy, remain close, and hope for the best. Or, after assessing the risk, cut bait and count the loss as a learning exercise and move on. Now, when you’re black and you do the latter, that’s called by many being a sell-out, or a bitch-ass-n***a, or something even more colorful. Knowing that, it becomes essential for one to have a “stand-alone” attitude. In other words, one must have the type of personality that can walk away from a car salesman after he has made his 30-minute pitch on a vehicle being the perfect car for the perfect guy for the perfect price—a price that will only last for the next hour. So when we are talking about walking away from not-so-good friends or walking off the car lot, those decisions are necessary to navigate adult life.
But when it comes to our eternal souls, the stakes are considerably higher—Heavenly higher. Yet, I’ve heard of Christians remaining under pastors who are clearly not interested in the spiritual well-being of their congregations but rather in being politically correct. As bad as that sounds, this gets even worse. What do you do when a Christian Leader, responsible for delivering God’s message on multiple mediums like Podcasts, magazines, radio, and television is more interested in satisfying the government agencies rather than delivering the truth? Enter Ed Stetzer.
WHOSE IDEA WAS THIS?
In an opinion piece at The Daily Wire entitled “How the Federal Government Used Evangelical Leaders to Spread Covid Propaganda To Churches”, Ed Stetzer is the central topic. So, let me ask this…what comes to mind when I mention names like Oral Roberts? Or, how about Billy Graham, or Joel Osteen? Hate them or love them, they are household names in the Christian community. But, who is Ed Stetzer? To mention some of his past and present titles, Stetzer is executive director of Billy Graham Center and editor and chief of Outreach media group. He was an editor for Christianity Today and executive director of LifeWay, one of the largest religious publishers in the world, including multiple books about church planting. So, when someone as influential with churches as Stetzer hosts a podcast interviewing the Director of NIH (National Institutes of Health) Francis Collins, it’s kind of a big deal.
THE 8TH COMMANDMENT IS STILL A THING?
As a Christian, I would hope Stetzer would champion Jesus Christ as the Arbiter of what is true. Now, you may ask: “How can one do that?” Actually, it is very easy, the Apostle Paul said, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses should every word be established.” So why not get an opposing view on the matter? In particular, the Covid-19 “Lab Leak Theory.” Early on in the pandemic, Stetzer penned an essay that mostly regurgitated Collins’ talking points. According to the Daily Wire, he actually called on Christians to be better followers of Jesus by not entertaining conspiracy theories like the idea that the virus came from a lab in Wuhan, China. That essay has now been deleted. You’ll have to go to Way Back Machine to read the essay. He wrote:
“As followers of Jesus, we are people of the truth. Falling for (and spreading) conspiracy theories does not honor the Lord, but it does cause people to question our judgment.”
So, let me get this straight, if we question the government, we are causing others to question his judgment? Well, is Stetzer a government lackey or a Christian seeking the truth? Of course, now, we are aware that the Lab Leak Theory is the most plausible. Now we know that we are not spreading misinformation to our fellow congregants. But as a highly influential Christian leader, talking to and for millions, shouldn’t Stetzer have erred on the side of objective analysis? The answer is YES!
THE BOTTOM LINE
The world is becoming darker by the hour. I have personally had loved ones pass due to COVID-19. Now, however, we find out that according to the CDC, among the most vulnerable are those with comorbidities (having two or more pre-existing medical conditions). Why didn’t Stetzer ask Collins about that? Perhaps he was too busy kissing Collins’ butt? I don’t know. But if our pastors are merely parroting the political agendas of government agencies like Dr. Collins and Ed Stetzer, we are doomed. Or perhaps it’s just easier to go with the flow and bring your congregation along for the ride. After all, it’s just a small glass of Kool-aid, you’ll be fine.