Are You Sure You're Right? - Eschatology

This post is part of a series based on chapters from the new Church of God book by Jerry Hickson, Are You Sure You're Right? (For more information see my review).

 

Eschatology is another area where the Church of God differs significantly from mainstream American Evangelicalism. After having just refuted Calvinistic determinism, Jerry Hickson now tackles this doctrine in chapter 3, "Do You Have to Be Right or Get Left Behind?".

 

End times teachings can easily lead to much confusion, so it is no wonder that a large proportion of people within the Church of God are unclear as to what they believe. It should also not be a surprise that many have latched on to the immensely popular and hyped speculations in Left Behind and other premillenial-dispensational teachings. Hickson is right (no pun intended) to raise this matter in his book.

 

The Church of God has always held an amillenial view of eschatology. For the average reader, Dr. Hickson takes the time to explain the various perspectives and even provides an historical overview of the development of apocalyptic interpretation and eschatology within our movement. Initially we held a church-historical approach, whereas now "Church of God thinking has progressively moved to the preterist and/or idealist interpretation" (p. 39). Highlighting the Church of God emphasis on the present day Kingdom of God is also a helpful part of the chapter.

 

What I find intriguing is that an amillenial interpretation of Scripture is typically a more "liberal" position, compared to the much more literal orientation of Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism. Church of God folk who would abhor the thought of being labeled left-of-center, often ignore the significance of how our views on such matters as eschatology and women in ministry go against the grain of typical conservatism. This is further evidence that our hermeneutic is not as closely aligned with Evangelicals as we would like to believe. Even though Hickson brings attention to the role of hermeneutics (p. 40), I wish he would have developed this further as it would reveal some of our foundational distinctives that further differentiate us from mainstream conservative Christianity.

 

Overall, Hickson's explanations and analyses in this chapter are quite straightforward and on target.

 

Are You Sure You're Right? - Determinism

This post is part of a series based on chapters from the new Church of God book by Jerry Hickson, Are You Sure You're Right? (For more information see my review).

 

Moving from the previous chapter on inerrancy, Jerry Hickson heads into safer territory in chapter 2: "Does the Sovereignty of God Preclude Our Free Will?". Because of our Wesleyan-Arminian roots the battle against Calvinism has been a long standing tradition within the Church of God. We have consistently rejected Calvinistic doctrines of predestination and eternal security, and this has set us apart from a large number of Evangelicals.

 

Hickson is right in simplifying this debate down to the issue of determinism (p. 15), and in reminding us that the "Church of God stands among those who find the answer to theodicy in the reality of human free will" (p. 17). The bulk of this chapter is devoted to explain the differences between the Calvinstic and Arminiam perspectives, and includes a survey of the main biblical teachings including some of the more troublesome ones.

 

There is significant value in what Dr. Hickson is doing here. I am convinced that the vast majority of Church of God constituents do not understand these theological underpinings or their implications. This chapter should enable them to deal with these issues with greater clarity, although there are points where the argument gets a little tedious.

 

In truth, however, Calvinism rarely exists in its full-blown form. While logical, most people have trouble reconciling it with the realities and practice of life. As a result, many Evangelicals are "soft" Calvinists, further blurring the lines of distinction with Arminians. And, it doesn't help that few within the Church of God have articulated a comprehensive free-will theology, often leaving the average person in the pew to pick and choose elements from both schools to fit their own presuppositions and reality.

 

A deterministic worldview can have serious implications for how we understand and live our faith. Unfortunately, though, it tends to creep into our theology and affect the way we treat such basic matters as prayer, understanding pain and suffering, and seeking God's will. I believe we should be addresssing this more in our congregations.

 

Are You Sure You're Right? - Inerrancy

This post is part of a series based on chapters from the new Church of God book by Jerry Hickson, Are You Sure You're Right? (For more information see my review).

 

If Jerry Hickson was wanting to get our attention through his book, he certainly does so in the very first chapter: "Does the Bible Have a Greater Threat than the Thumper?". In keeping with the overall purpose of the book,  revealing the differences between the Church of God and American Evangelicalism, Hickson makes the point that Biblical "Inerrancy is a modern concept foreign to the Bible" (p. 11) and "is a concept that is foreign to Church of God heritage" (p. 12).

 

That ought to go over well.

 

Conservative Christians uphold a high view of Scripture, especially in light of the perceived threat of liberalism. The 70's publication of The Battle for the Bible cemented the concept of inerrancy among evangelicals, and was easily adopted by many within the Church of God as well. On the surface, inerrancy seems to make sense if we accept the inspiration and authority of Scripture. On closer examination, however, there are many problems with this position because of the faulty philosophical and theological foundations on which it is based.

 

In my view, inerrancy is really part of the bigger issues of epistemology and hermeneutics. Dr. Hickson seems to understand this, pointing out correctly that the doctrine of inerrancy is really a product of modern rationalism (pp. 4f). Fundamentalism, and Evangelicalism which developed out of it, have deep roots in the modern worldview, especially as result of their work in defending themselves against liberalism. Since Are You Sure You're Right? is written to a general audience it is difficult to develop this technical discussion without losing most readers. Hickson makes an attempt, but chooses to focus mainly on the symptomatic matter of inerrancy. I'm just not sure everyone will hear him. As I stated in my review, I wish he would have provided more background to the development of the Church of God within broader Christianity prior to entering into this thorny issue.

 

The problem most people will have is that they perceive the questioning of inerrancy as an attack on biblical inspiration and authority. People will mistakenly argue that Hickson must therefore believe that there are "errors" in Scripture with the logical conclusion that Scripture cannot be trusted. This is not the case, unless you require a logical argument to prove the veracity of Scripture, in which case the divine, inspirational nature of Scripture is downplayed and made subservient to the idol of human reason. Hickson makes this bold statement: "We deny the authority of the Bible if we believe inerrancy is the proof of its authority" (p. 3).

 

Without question, the Church of God has typically maintained a high view of Scripture. But, as Hickson points out, early Church of God leaders never really got into the liberal-fundamentalist debates of the early 20th century. Our movement has always held a more dynamic view towards truth, mainly because of our emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit. This has tremendous implications for how we understand both inspiration and interpretation, and differs markedly from the more rational preoccupation of evangelicals. The latter place a much higher emphasis on the importance of faith as the intellectual assent to certain doctrines. The holiness perspective tends to rise above this cold rationalism, placing the focus on the life-changing work of the Spirit as the test of faith, rejecting the notion of air-tight creeds and doctrinal statements. Of course, over the years, because of the creeping influence of Evangelicalism within the Church of God, these distinctions have become confused.

 

As I have previously stated, this chapter will likely be highly controversial within our circles. I hope, however, that people will take the time to read this chapter carefully and enter into constructive dialogue. It is a matter worth exploring, especially in light of our holiness orientation.

 

Review: Are You Sure You're Right?

This spring Warner Press is publishing several new books, including a couple that provide self-examination and reflection for the Church of God. My intent is to use this blog as a place to discuss these writings and to provoke dialogue that hopefully will be helpful to us all.

 

When I first heard that Jerry Hickson was writing this book I was excited since it is a topic that has long been on my mind. It's just that I've never had the courage to put my own thoughts down on paper. I'm glad that someone has taken the risk to engage this important, yet potentially controversial, matter.

 

Are You Sure You're Right?: Evangelicals and the Church of God (Warner Press, 2006) may not be the best book to come out of our publishing house in recent years, but it may be one of the most important. Dr. Hickson, assistant professor of Christian ministry at Warner Pacific College, strives to challenge the commonly held notions that the Church of God is part of American Evangelicalism. He identifies and explains some of the differences between current evangelical and Church of God teachings, and does so with doctrinal discussion, historical context, and references to other Church of God authors.

 

Specifically, Hickson addresses eight points where the Church of God takes a divergent position from most evangelicals: the inerrancy of Scripture, Calvinistic determinism, premillenial eschatology, the ordination of women, the place of pastoral education, allegiance to American civil religion, the right to life, and Christian unity. A common theme throughout the book is that "Despite all the ways in which we agree, the Church of God does not fit well in the evangelical stream of Christianity" (p. xii).

 

This message will obviously be unsettling to many people within the Church of God. Because of struggling with our self-identity as movement it has been convenient for us to become closely aligned with this large, popular branch of Christian conservatism. It has got to the point that for many of our leaders and constituents the distinctions are blurred or seemingly non-existent. This book should awaken us to these changes and hopefully spur us on to rediscover our unique heritage and distinctives.

 

Still, Are You Sure You're Right? will generate considerable controversy. Warner Press as much as admits it by statements on the book's cover and in the Publisher's Preface (p. vii). I admire the risk that is being taken in publishing this book as this in itself bodes well for our movement. But, I am afraid that many will misunderstand what Dr. Hickson is saying and probably label him as a "liberal", or just simply ignore his insights.

 

It doesn't help that Hickson begins his discussion with probably the most sensitive issue: The fundamentalist and evangelical position on the inerrancy of Scripture. Since many Church of God folk buy into this tenet, there is an uphill battle right from page one in gaining their ear. A careful look at history and theology confirms what Dr. Hickson is saying, but I suspect many will tune him out at this early stage before reading the entire book with an open and honest mind. I wish, instead, that he would have begun the book by outlining the historical development and context of the Church of God within American Christianity. The fact is most people do not understand our own history, let alone the underlying assumptions and biases within Evangelicalism. He deals with some of these issues in the two appendices, but again it is likely that many will miss these observations due to their defensiveness over what they've already read.

 

There are other important insights that can be gleaned by the open-minded reader. For example, the last chapter, "Can We All Get Along?", is very helpful, as is chapter four on gender. Unfortunately, however, some other chapters (such as the ones on pastoral education and right-to-life) seem out of place or underdeveloped.

 

Despite the obstacles confronting this book, I hope that people will read it as this type of discussion is long overdue within the Church of God. We have been good at looking inward, but for the first time in a long time we have a book that attempts to describe and confront our relationship with the larger church. Again, I commend both Jerry Hickson and Warner Press for providing this opportunity to probe into these issues.

 

In short, this is a must read.

 

Over the next couple of weeks I will devote individual posts to each of the chapters in the book. Hopefully a constructive dialogue can ensue that will better enable us to rediscover our own identity and become a strong, alternative voice within the confused world of modern Christianity.

 

The Stresses of Ministry

I am very grateful for the opportunity I had recently for a vacation. We all need times to get away from our normal routines and experience some refreshment and rejuvenation.

 

Maybe it's just because I was in this altered state, but upon reflection I notice that I've been hearing alot about stressed-out pastors recently. Over the past month I have had numerous opportunities to talk with other ministers first-hand, and also to hear stories of colleagues that are going through difficult times in their personal lives and careers. This includes pastors that are leaving their churches (or even pastoral ministry altogether) because of the overbearing frustrations that they are experiencing; and spouses of pastors who are discouraged and angry because of what is going around them.

 

It's difficult to know exactly what is going in all these situations, and much too easy to make simplistic analyses and prescriptions. But, I am concerned about the health of our pastoral leadership as I know that there are many who are struggling and close to drowning in the churches they are currently in.

 

This all raises questions in my mind about a number of issues:

• How adequate are the support systems available for pastors and families?
• Is our polity and structure part of the problem or the solution?
• Are we doing enough in screening and training those entering into career ministry?
• What really is our theology concerning pastoral leadership?
• What are we doing to help congregations function in healthy ways?
• Why aren't we holding churches more accountable when they mistreat their leaders?
• What can we do to help our churches explore new and better models for pastoral compensation?

We need to pray for those around us who are hurting. We also need to get involved providing support and working proactively to change our structures for the sake of our leaders.

 

Survey of Goals and Values

You probably thought I dropped off the face of the earth! As previously mentioned my personal life has been very hectic lately with moving, and over the past week or so I took a much needed vacation. I hope over the next few weeks to share some of my reflections that emerged during this time.

 

While checking through my bursting inbox I discovered a survey from Chruch of God Ministries on "Goals and Values". While not explicitly stated, it appears that only pastors are being invited to participate in this survey, with the results to be shared at the Strategic Planning Conference in August in Nashville (which I am planning to attend and hopefully provide daily blog updates).

 

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback and contribute to the formation of data that can help our movement understand itself. If you have received a survey invitation I encourage you to complete it.

 

My only frustration is that the survey itself is not put together very well (which, unfortunately, is far too common among surveys). Some of the questions are worded in a convoluted manner (e.g. #15 and #19) or provide narrow response choices (e.g. #12), and #17 in the online version isn't setup correctly (i.e. if you accidentally make a choice you can't change it! - so be careful). Also, apart from an open ended response opportunity on the bottom that allows us to share our pet concerns, I think there are many other questions that could have been asked on such topics as movement health, theology, and leadership issues.

 

Nevertheless, I look forward to eventually seeing the results and discussing them on this blog.