Posted on 08/14/2019 5:38:31 AM PDT by Gamecock
John Cooper, lead singer for the rock band Skillet, responded to the litany of recent apostasies among young Christian leaders. In a Facebook post titled ‘What in God’s Name is Happening in Christianity?’ put up on Tuesday, August 13, Cooper directly addressed the reasons given by Hillsong songwriter Marty Sampson for renouncing his Christian faith, before highlighting the need for Christians to stay grounded in a truth-driven faith over an emotion-driven one. Here is the text of the post in its entirety (not corrected for spelling or punctuation):
“Ok I’m saying it. Because it’s too important not to. What is happening in Christianity? More and more of our outspoken leaders or influencers who were once “faces” of the faith are falling away. And at the same time they are being very vocal and bold about it. Shockingly they still want to influence others (for what purpose?)as they announce that they are leaving the faith. I’ll state my conclusion, then I’ll state some rebuttals to statements I’ve read by some of them. Firstly, I never judge people outside of my faith. Even if they hate religion or Christianity. That is not my place and I have many friends who disagree with my religion and that is 100% fine with me. However, when it comes to people within my faith, there must be a measure of loyalty and friendship and accountability to each other and the Word of God.“My conclusion for the church (all of us Christians): We must STOP making worship leaders and thought leaders or influencers or cool people or “relevant” people the most influential people in Christendom. (And yes that includes people like me!) I’ve been saying for 20 years(and seemed probably quite judgmental to some of my peers) that we are in a dangerous place when the church is looking to 20 year old worship singers as our source of truth. We now have a church culture that learns who God is from singing modern praise songs rather than from the teachings of the Word. I’m not being rude to my worship leader friends (many who would agree with me) in saying that singers and musicians are good at communicating emotion and feeling. We create a moment and a vehicle for God to speak. However, singers are not always the best people to write solid bible truth and doctrine. Sometimes we are too young, too ignorant of scripture, too unaware, or too unconcerned about the purity of scripture and the holiness of the God we are singing to. Have you ever considered the disrespect of singing songs to God that are untrue of His character?
“I have a few specific thoughts and rebuttals to statements made by recently disavowed church influencers…first of all, I am stunned that the seemingly most important thing for these leaders who have lost their faith is to make such a bold new stance. Basically saying, “I’ve been living and preaching boldly something for 20 years and led generations of people with my teachings and now I no longer believe it..therefore I’m going to boldly and loudly tell people it was all wrong while I boldly and loudly lead people in to my next truth.” I’m perplexed why they aren’t embarrassed? Humbled? Ashamed, fearful, confused? Why be so eager to continue leading people when you clearly don’t know where you are headed?
“My second thought is, why do people act like “being real” covers a multitude of sins? As if someone is courageous simply for sharing virally every thought or dark place. That’s not courageous. It’s cavalier. Have they considered the ramifications? As if they are the harbingers of truth, saying “I used to think one way and practice it and preach it, but now I’ve learned all the new truth and will start practicing and preaching it.” So the influencers become the voice for truth in whatever stage of life and whatever evolution takes place in their thinking.
“Thirdly, there is a common thread running through these leaders/influencers that basically says that “no one else is talking about the REAL stuff.” This is just flatly false. I just read today in a renown worship leader’s statement, “How could a God of love send people to hell? No one talks about it.” As if he is the first person to ask this? Brother, you are not that unique. The church has wrestled with this for 1500 years. Literally. Everybody talks about it. Children talk about it in Sunday school. There’s like a billion books written on the topic. Just because you don’t get the answer you want doesn’t mean that we are unwilling to wrestle with it. We wrestle with scripture until we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.
“And lastly, and most shocking imo, as these influencers disavow their faith, they always end their statements with their “new insight/new truth” that is basically a regurgitation of Jesus’s words?! It’s truly bizarre and ironic. They’ll say “I’m disavowing my faith but remember, love people, be generous, forgive others”. Ummm, why? That is actually not human nature. No child is ever born and says “I just want to love others before loving myself. I want to turn the other cheek. I want to give my money away to others in need”. Those are bible principles taught by a prophet/Priest/king of kings who wants us to live by a higher standard which is not an earthly standard, but rather the ‘Kingdom of God’ standard. Therefore if Jesus is not the truth and if the Word of God is not absolute, then by preaching Jesus’s teachings you are endorsing the words of a madman. A lunatic who said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” He also said that he was alive before Abraham, and to see him was to see God because he was one with God. So why then would a disavowed christian leader promote that “generosity is good”? How would you know “what is good” without Jesus’s teachings? And will your ideas of what is “good” be different from year to year based on your experience, culture trends, poplular opinion etc and furthermore will you continue year by year to lead others into your idea of goodness even though it is not absolute? I’m amazed that so many Christians want the benefits of the kingdom of God, but with the caveat that they themselves will be the King.
“It is time for the church to rediscover the preeminence of the Word. And to value the teaching of the Word. We need to value truth over feeling. Truth over emotion. And what we are seeing now is the result of the church raising up influencers who did not supremely value truth who have led a generation who also do not believe in the supremacy of truth. And now those disavowed leaders are proudly still leading and influencing boldly AWAY from the truth.
“Is it any wonder that some of our disavowed Christian leaders are letting go of the absolute truth of the Bible and subsequently their lives are falling apart? Further and further they are sinking in the sea all the while shouting “now I’ve found the truth! Follow me!!” Brothers and sisters in the faith all around the world, pastors, teachers, worship leaders, influencers…I implore you, please please in your search for relevancy for the gospel, let us NOT find creative ways to shape Gods word into the image of our culture by stifling inconvenient truths. But rather let us hold on even tighter to the anchor of the living Word of God. For He changes NOT. “The grass withers and the flowers fade away, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8)”
I am glad to see one of these ‘influencers’ come out in defense of the authority of Scripture and the importance of a robust faith that can outlast even the harshest of challenges.
A popular rock band for over two decades, Skillet recently came out with their latest album ‘Victorious’, available on their website.
that is basically a regurgitation of Jesus’s words?! It’s truly bizarre and ironic. They’ll say “I’m disavowing my faith but remember, love people, be generous, forgive others”
What did the prophets preach?
What did John the Baptist preach?
What did Jesus preach?
What did the Apostles preach?
Hint: it is one of those words that begin with R.
“It is time for the church to rediscover the preeminence of the Word.
There is a lot of truth here. However, this turmoil could be “the great falling-away” which will be a sign of the approaching Judgment Day. Satan will be hyper-active during the end times with increasing persecution of the followers of Jesus.
Watch and pray.
Repentance is what they are leaving out...
While wrapping themselves in the greatest commandment and the Our Father... the writer is correct it’s not congruent and makes no sense.
Great off-the-cuff essay by this young fella.
Love is a nice 4 letter word and everyone thinks they know what it means. Yet here, God declares his love but also defines it.
Mal 1:2 “I have always loved you,” says the LORD. But you retort, “Really? How have You loved us?” And the LORD replies, “This is how I showed My love for you: I loved your ancestor Jacob,
Mal 1:3 but I rejected his brother, Esau...…………………….
This is one of the best Biblical definitions of love, “I CHOSE YOU.” Let me repeat that, God defines love as choosing (and rejecting).
I chose my wife and rejected others...………………………………….
Read it!
Cooper is ‘spot on’!!!!!!!
He gets it!
I’m a person with very little influence.
Is what we’ve been seeing not just an apostasy, a falling away, but the falling away?
When, for example, it looks like Romans 1:18-32 is going on in our culture (and that isn’t really about homosexuality, but about people not retaining the knowledge of the Lord, falling away, and as a consequence this other thing happens at some point, like a canary dying in a coal mine, that should warn people that the proverbial air is bad and they need to start repenting) because the sign that people have abandoned the truth is being seen, should we be surprised to learn when all was said and done that Romans 1:18-32 was in fact going on?
Now, a falling away doesn’t mean it’s the falling away ... but whatever is going on remember that you or I do not have to fall away. This isn’t necessarily about standing but about clinging. When Elijah felt completely alone in Israel,when he was at a low point, the word of the Lord to him was that there was a remnant..
Feelings aren’t facts but boy do they present themselves as facts. But they’re just feelings. If the world seems to be going away from the faith we can know, not feel but know, that we were told about this before hand. We do not have to fear because we know who is in control and we’ve put out trust in Him that He is true.
Thanks for posting.
they need to start repenting
“How could a God of love send people to hell? No one talks about it.”
We either choose God’s mercy and truth or we choose our own way.
I am ok with folks questioning their faith. I think almost all do at some point. But in this modern era, so many think they just have to blow it out there for all to hear. One ends up looking like a reed blowing in the wind if they are here one day and over there the next. We have our ups and downs and have to work through the things we just cannot understand. ‘Be still and know that I am God’ has always been the verse I fall back on when the questions and doubts come. That doesn’t mean the answer comes at that moment, but it teaches us to be patient and listen. I think we all learn as we get older we knew much less than we thought we did when young. Maybe these ‘leaders’ need to step back out of the limelight for awhile and just listen and look for God.
Amen brother.
This is a timely and spot-on jeremiad. There are too many people the church regards as leaders who are actually no such thing. True leaders in the church are those who have studied to show themselves approved unto God (not to men because they can play a mean guitar whine out a mean song as if they were Coldplay). Leaders are those who can rightly divide the Word of truth.
I do not lament the falling away of those I already regarded as poorly placed. Here’s my antidote: let worship teams and dancers with flowing flags and banners do their thing behind the curtain as unto the Lord, unseen by the congregation. Then we’d find out that none of them would be willing, since they are doing what they do, in large part, to be seen and admired for their skills.
Yes, this is terrific. And I like many of Skillet’s songs.
Well, yes, we’ve been told beforehand about that too.
Preaching the word out of season is one of those things that’s just going to happen.
Aside: offending people can be fun ... I know that’s terrible ... I also liked a suggestion by that one top gear guy: gun your engine when at a stop next to an EV, especially one with environmentalism bumper stickers.
A lot of times we DO chose God.
The Skillet guy was right; the apostate former leader was mouthing concepts of how we REALLY ought to live, and everything he said was in the Sermon on the Mount.
So to that extent, the Skillet guy’s assessment that the apostate WAS echoing the thoughts of Jesus (when he no longer had any right to do so) is correct. The Skillet guy was not doing systematic theology, so he’s to be forgiven for not having referenced repentance. I for one would not have used the word “regurgitating”. I’ll give you that.
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