Josh Benner

Category: Culture

  • Scandal in the Southern Baptist Convention

    Scandal in the Southern Baptist Convention

    Even though I’ve never been part of a Southern Baptist church, I have always loved the Southern Baptist Convention. I feel that this denomination is one of the leaders is spreading the gospel and teaching the Bible in America and through missions efforts across the world. 

    On Sunday, a 288 page report was released related to the handling of sexual misconduct within the denomination. 

    The fact that there were issues was not a new revelation. In 2019, I wrote about a Houston Chronicle expose which talked about sexual predators within the SBC. 

    But the issue isn’t simply that the denomination failed to be proactive. That would be bad enough. What’s worse is that they intentionally avoided mechanisms to hold abusers accountable and steps which could have been taken to prevent abuses. 

    From the report: 

    “Rather than focusing on these accused ministers, some EC (executive committee) leaders turned against the very people trying to shine a light on sexual abuse. The survivors – those persons who actually suffered at the hands of SBC clergy or SBC church staff or volunteers – who spoke out the most, and who criticized the SBC’s inaction, were denigrated as “opportunistic,” having a “hidden agenda of lawsuits,” wanting to “burn things to the ground,” and acting as a “professional victim.” 

    The report notes several high profile SBC figures who were either involved in scandals of their own or who failed to hold abusers accountable. 

    Leadership failures

    Former SBC President Steve Gaines admitted that, as senior pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church, he had delayed reporting a staff minister’s prior sexual abuse of a child of “heartfelt concern and compassion for th[e] minister,” while acknowledging that he should have “brought it to the attention of our church leadership immediately;”

    Former SBC President Jack Graham, when he was pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church, allegedly allowed an accused abuser of young boys to be dismissed quietly in 1989 without reporting the abuse to police. The accused abuser, John Langworthy, later was charged with abusing young boys in Mississippi in 2011;

    Former SBC President Paige Patterson was terminated from his position at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2018 after it was revealed that he his intention to meet with another student who had reported an assault, with no other officials present, so he could “break her down;” told a student not to report a rape in 2003 and, in 2015, emailed Former SBC Vice President Judge Paul Pressler is the defendant in a civil sexual abuse lawsuit alleging that he repeatedly sexually abused the plaintiff beginning when the plaintiff was 14 years old. Two other men submitted separate affidavits in the case also accusing Judge Pressler of sexual misconduct; and

    Former EC Interim President and General Counsel Augie Boto testified as a character witness for Mark Schiefelbein, a gymnastics coach convicted of multiple counts of sexual assault against a minor. During his testimony at a post-conviction evidentiary hearing in September 2008, Mr. Boto identified himself as general trial counsel for the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention.

    In 2007, a database was proposed to list offenders who had served in SBC churches. 

    The Washington Post reports: 

    “In an April 2007 email, the convention’s attorney sent Boto a memo explaining how a SBC database could be implemented consistent with SBC polity, saying “it would fit our polity and present ministries to help churches in this area of child abuse and sexual misconduct.” The report states that he recommended “immediate action to signal the Convention’s desire that the [executive committee] and the entities begin a more aggressive effort in this area.” That same year, after a Southern Baptist pastor made a motion for a database, Boto rejected the idea.”

    The database is another important finding from the report. A database of known and accused offenders had long been suggested within the SBC. It’s a denomination with thousands of churches. Some predators would leave one church and go to another. Leaders continually stonewalled the idea of a database and said it would be impossible to manage. According to the report, the database existed. 

    It’s my understanding that it’s not definitively known which leaders had access but the database existed. People in leadership lied and withheld a useful tool from their churches. Unconscionable. 

    And this all scratches the surface. 

    The New Testament repeatedly gives warnings about those infiltrating the church who mean to do harm. 

    Matthew 7:15-16: 

    15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits.

    In John 10, Jesus famously says that he is the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep (his people). At the same time, Jesus is warning of shepherds who will fail to protect the flock  and teh wolves that will prey upon the flock: 

    John 10:10-13:

    10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

    These are verses that I’ve always taken seriously. There are those who will cause harm within the church. Sadly, far too many SBC “leaders” failed to do their part in helping to protect the churches in their denomination and sadder still, their failures to act (or outright participation in cover ups) helped foster a culture where people could commit acts of abuse. 

    29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them (Acts 2:29-30).

    All of this just scratches the surface. But it’s unconscionable. It is beyond me how these leaders could justify the things they’ve done. 

    There has been a massive sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. There have been scandals from several universities: Penn State with assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky and Ohio State with former athletic department physician Richard Strauss. There was the USA Gymnastics scandal with Larry Nasser. There was the #metoo movement. Jeffrey Epstein. 

    Large institutions are vulnerable to predators and the SBC was unable to read the room and take any steps at avoiding abuse? 

    One of the findings of the report was that these evasive steps from the SBC were done in an effort to avoid legal liability. But at what cost? In avoiding liability, the leadership of the denomination failed to help protect people within their congregations. That’s the worst of it. 

    And ironically, in their effort to protect the denomination, they have done damage that will linger in the SBC until Christ returns. Churches will leave the SBC, members will leave churches within the SBC, the reputation of the SBC will take irreversible damage. And Christ’s Church takes another strike against it because people failed to live up to what the Church is supposed to be. 

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  • Leaked Supreme Court docs point to a potential end to Roe v. Wade

    Leaked Supreme Court docs point to a potential end to Roe v. Wade

    Many years from now, I think I’ll remember where I was when I heard the news that documents had been leaked related to a Supreme Court opinion on Roe v. Wade, the controversial landmark decision from 1973 which made abortion legal throughout the country. 

    I feel like I can’t let myself get too excited until the decision is officially overturned. Justices who have reportedly sided with reversing Roe can still change their minds. But it is exciting that overturning the decision looks to be a real possibility. 

    To be honest, it’s not something I ever thought I’d see. 

    If the changes go forward, the work will not be done for either side as the issue would go back to the states. It’s estimated that 20-26 states could ban abortion. Blue states like California and New York would allow abortion full term. Other states would be in between and allow abortions to ceratin points or under certain circumstances. 

    Before Roe v. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court in 1973, 30 states had made abortion illegal and it was only allowed under certain circumstances in 16 more. We hear a lot about democracy and “threats to democracy.” Roe was a threat to our humanity. Roe went against the will of the people and in the process, led to horrendous casualties. 

    We’ve made termination the easy way out over choosing life. We’ve undermined the value of life of those conceived in cases of rape and incest and made them political pawns as if their lives are expendable. We’ve talked about people being raised in less stable families as if they’d be better not being able to live at all. Millions of people who have lived through similarly challenging upbringings would beg to differ. 

    In the 50 years since Roe, I think of the sixty millions of babies who have been aborted and I don’t understand how anyone doesn’t find that number heartbreaking to every American. Tens of millions of lives have been created and terminated. Tens of millions of lives have been created yet never got to be lived. We’ve devalued life. We’ve taken something precious and made it a problem to be dealt with. We’ve taken something as tragic as abortion and turned it into a big business, both for abortion providers and those who work to lobby on its behalf. 

    If this decision goes well, many will demonize the Supreme Court. There will be those who talk about adding more justices, about trying to pass federal laws which allow abortion, of trying to ban the fillibuster. But for the justices who look set to reverse Roe, if they hold true to that decision, millions of lives will be saved. 

    Fifty years of this barbarity. I think of the millions of lives lost but also the kids and grandkids those people would have had. At the end of the movie Schindler’s List, they give Liam Neeson (who plays Oskar Schindler) a ring with an inscription from the Talmud which says “whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.” 

    Tonight at dinner, I was looking at my six month old son and I thought “for all I know, this decision could save the life of his future wife.” 

    Again, there is work to be done and the pro-choice side will never let this go and will fight fiercely for a woman’s so called right to have an abortion. But for those who stand for life, this is an exciting day. 

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  • Cleansing the temple. Studying John 2:13-17

    Cleansing the temple. Studying John 2:13-17

    Passover in the first century 

    In Jesus’ day, at Passover, it was a time of year when Jewish people from all over the Roman world would come to Jerusalem to observe this sacred holiday. 

    Imagine that you’re a Jewish person in the first century and you’ve gone to the temple for Passover. It’s not a temple. It’s THE temple. 

    And then you see a man you’ve never seen before. You don’t know who he is. Maybe you can’t even hear his words, but he has some sort of whip that he’s made and he’s driving the merchants away from the Temple. He’s driving the oxen and the sheep away from the temple. 

    Jesus in the Temple

    John 2:13:

    The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 

    The opening of this passage ties the story to a time of year. It’s Passover. Passover is an annual Jewish holiday which celebrates the Jews being freed from Egyptian slavery at the beginning of the Exodus. It would also be at the time of Passover when Jesus was crucified. 

    At this time, Passover was celebrated in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was, and is, a monumentally important city. It had been the capital city of God’s Promised Land during the Israelite Kingdom. 

    And Jesus goes to the Temple. 

    Throughout this Gospel of John, the apostle makes several references to various Jewish holidays. And he frequently makes references to Passover. We see it here in chapter 2 as well as John mentioning Jesus being part of the Passover festivities in chapters 6 and 11. 

    John is referring to different years. 

    John tells us what Jesus sees. Verse 14: In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 

    As I mentioned, Jewish people would have come from great distances to celebrate Passover. And part of Passover involved making various animal sacrifices. 

    The sacrifices had to be animals that were healthy, without blemish, without defect. But if you were traveling from a great distance, tending to an animals and keeping them unharmed and healthy as you journeyed could be a pretty daunting task. 

    So what many would actually do was buy an animal at the temple. 

    Defiling the temple

    So that’s the first group. People who are selling the livestock. 

    The text also refers to money changers at the temple. What that’s referring to is that when people would give money to the temple, it had to be the appropriate currency and so they could exchange their coins for the appropriate coins which would be used in Jerusalem…for a fee, of course. 

    So between people selling livestock, and money-changers, the Temple grounds became an area of commerce at Passover. 

    That’s a problem. 

    Verse 15-16: 

    And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”

    So Jesus drives the merchants out of the Temple. 

    When is the temple cleansed?

    One other thing which should be noted. While we’re at the beginning of the ministry of Jesus and he’s clearing out the temple. 

    In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we see Jesus clearing out the temple, cleansing the temple at the end of his ministry. 

    In Mark and Luke, Jesus’ cleansing the temple actually precipitates the religious authorities seeking to have him crucified. 

    At the end of the temple cleansing in Luke 19, it says:

    And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him (Luke 19:47).

    Why is the story found at two different times? 

    Some scholars have argued that John moved the story up because he’s more concerned with themes than chronology and that he did this for theological reasons. 

    I think there’s a simpler solution. 

    I believe Jesus cleansed the temple on two different occasions. Jesus does it here in John 2 at the beginning of his ministry. Then he does it again a couple years later and it is that later event which is recorded in the other gospels. 

    If you compare the story in John to the story in the other gospels, the things Jesus says are different, the sins Jesus is exposing are different. John did not move up an event. He is describing an entirely different event from the other gospels.  

    Once again, John’s Gospel ends by saying that Jesus did more than could ever be recorded (John 21:25). It’s certainly possible that Jesus cleansed the temple more than once. 

    To say that John just moved the story up overlooks that John actually focuses a lot on timing.

    Do not make my father’s house a house of trade

    Jesus drives the people out and he says: “do not make my Father’s house a house of trade” (John 2:16). 

    The merchants are taking a sacred space and commercializing it. Jesus has righteous indignation at what they’re doing. It’s not that selling livestock or charging a fee to exchange currency are inherently bad things in themselves. 

    But it’s the misuse of the temple property that is an offense to Jesus. 

    Undermining the sacred 

    As a society, we often overlook the sacredness of life and institutions. 

    Marriage is sacred but nearly half of them end in divorce. Our world doesn’t treat it as sacred, set apart, and from the Lord. 

    Life is sacred. But in America, nearly a million babies are aborted every single year. More and more states are legalizing euthanasia for people who are terminally ill. In European countries who allow euthanasia, there’s an increasing push to allow euthanasia for young, able bodied people who suffer from depression. That’s not meant to criticize people who have depression, but to criticize a society who would give justification and legal legitimacy to a person opting to end their own life. Life is sacred. 

    The name of the Lord is sacred, but people throw that around and curse by it. We must have reverence for God. 

    And that’s one of the mistakes that cultural Christianity makes. We make God someone we casually approach. We couldn’t approach him at all but for the work of Christ. We were so unholy, so unworthy that it took Jesus’ death to make us worthy. 

    And for that, let us praise the Lord. 

    But may we not lose sight of the holiness of God because Jesus brings redemption. Let the work that he has done, the price that he has paid, the grace that he extends further deepen our appreciation and reverence for God’s sacred character and righteousness. 

    You can never have too high a view for the holiness and sacredness of God. Jesus is at the temple and they’ve turned it into a marketplace. 

    While churches might not do that specific thing, there are still many things which American churches do which totally undermines the sense of reverence which we should have for the bride of Christ. 

    Churches often pander to the culture to try to get people in the doors. 

    I recently asked members in a theological Facebook group of the most ridiculous gimmicks they’ve seen churches resort to. 

    One church did a guns and Jesus study where they had a brief devotional and then went shooting. 

    One church turned their sanctuary into a haunted house for halloween. 

    A pastor did an advent series where he wore a different costume every week including a Frosty the Snowman one week, Buddy from Elf another week, etc. 

    One church did a several weeks long sermon series on the Tim McGraw song “live like you were dyin.”

    There are pastors who have ridden into worship on motorcycles, hoverboards, and segways. 

    There are churches which do raffles and giveaways to get people to go. Some churches have even given cars away. 

    The list goes on and on and on. 

    None of those things would be so bad on its own, outside the context of worship and church. 

    But it’s when you feel that preaching the gospel, and teaching the Word of God isn’t enough and needs your own creativity than there’s a problem. 

    In 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, Paul says:

    when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

    Our society says “to each their own,” “live and let live,” “follow your truth,” “whatever makes you happy,” “whatever floats your boat,.”

    All of those communicate a general apathy for the world around us. 

    As Christians, we are not called to apathy. Now we can’t change what everyone does or thinks. But let us not fall into the trap of becoming apathetic to the things which are sacred. 

    Verse 17 says: 

    His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

    That phrase is taken from Psalm 69 which is a Psalm David wrote. 

    Psalm 69 is a lament of the injustices and difficulties of life and of following the Lord. Several verses in that Psalm apply to Jesus and to the church. 

    But in this place, there’s one verse in particular which would be remem

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  • Russia and Ukraine- Where is it goiing?

    Russia and Ukraine- Where is it goiing?

    It’s crazy how fast the world can change. While the Russian invasion of Ukraine last week was not a surprise, I still find it surreal that there was relative peace over there a few days ago. 

    Like so many, I’m struck by the senselessness of it all. Russia has invaded another sovereign nation in an unjustified and unprovoked attack, and the exact reasons why still aren’t entirely clear. Was it purely for conquest and to take back former Soviet territories? Was it to make a power play against NATO? There’s no obvious reason (that I’ve heard) as far as natural resources or great strategic advantage that makes this move make obvious sense. 

    The opening days of this war have been a debacle for Russia. Even if they overtake Kiev, it already seems apparent that they will never be able to occupy Ukraine among fierce resistance efforts and a global community who is increasingly coming to the support of Ukraine. It seems that Putin underestimated Ukraine and overestimated his military. The Russians were ill-prepared and ill-equipped for this invasion and to weather a strong resistance. 

    Putin’s miscalculation has done incredible damage to Russia. Looked upon as one of the world’s super powers, this botched invasion has made Russia’s military look incompetent. 

    But what happens next? Putin has talked of a nuclear alert in his military, though many see this as little more than saber rattling. It’s still a scary prospect. 

    All the while, the people of Russia will suffer for this. I feel bad for both Ukraine and Russia. I feel sorry for Russian soldiers who were thrown into a pointless war. It’s estimated that the Russians have lost more soldiers in less than a week in Ukraine than America lost in nearly nine years in Iraq. The world has ratcheted up economic sanctions against Russia. Russian citizens are going to suffer consequences for a war that I have no doubt that the average Russian never wanted to fight. 

    And certainly, I feel bad for the people of Ukraine who have had their lives and country turned upside down. 

    In America, for the first time in a long time, I feel like we all agree on an issue that matters. Russia had no right to do what they did. It cannot get much more clear cut of a country being in the wrong. 

    I’m not an expert. I’m just sharing my thoughts and observations today. On this day, I’m hopeful that it won’t escalate into a massive global war, but sadly, I could be wrong. But the concern that I have is still that it’s going to get worse before it gets better. What happens with Russia when this is over. Do we just absolve Putin of war crimes? 

    Will the western world cut Russia out of the club? I mean, after we figure out how to get away from Russian oil and gas. Or will we continue to condemn and sanction Russia and still be a customer? 

    Wisdom of the Crowd

    There’s this idea called Wisdom of the Crowd which is about how a greater number of inputs from people is closer to the right answer than what the average individual person would be. The classic example is if you have a jar of jellybeans and are asked to guess how many beans are int he jar, you might end up being way off. But if you have 50 guesses, 100 guesses, and if you average those guesses, it’s often pretty close to accurate. 

    I feel like the average person knows that we need to get off of Russian oil. Sadly, politicians often do not have the wisdom of the masses. 

    Thanks for reading. 

  • NYT suggests evangelicalism needs to be more liberal to save itself

    NYT suggests evangelicalism needs to be more liberal to save itself

    David Brooks had a piece in the New York Times under the headline: “The Dissenters Trying to Save Evangelicalism From Itself.”

    Brooks talks of the divide within evangelicalism. Early in the article, Brooks suggests: “There have been three big issues that have profoundly divided them: the white evangelical embrace of Donald Trump, sex abuse scandals in evangelical churches and parachurch organizations, and attitudes about race relations, especially after the killing of George Floyd.”

    I’ve read this same basic piece several times in the last couple years in trying to diagnose the problems with evangelicalism in America. 

    Brooks interviews a familiar cast of characters. Russell Moore and Beth Moore (no relation to each other) who were recently popular figures in evangelical circles but have become critics of the movement. He interviews Kristin Kobes Du Mez, the author of “Jesus and John Wayne,” which is a one-sided rant against evangelicalism which only looks at the bad and overlooks any redeeming qualities in the movement. He mentions Tim Dalrymple, the president of Christianity Today who said Trump should have been removed from office.

    There’s a lot fo discourse on the problems of evangelicalism but I feel like I never see similar critiques of liberal and progressive Christianity. These articles get preoccupied with evangelical support of Trump, and that always gets framed as if it’s some obvious scourge on the gospel. 

    My question is: what in the world is so good about liberalism? What are they doing right now to benefit our country? These articles want to criticize churches for being too conservative. As if there are not thousands of churches in America that are liberal, that support values that are not Biblical values such as the LGBT movement and abortion. Liberal churches who undermine the Bible. Those churches get a pass. 

    It’s the churches who support Trump and who are not woke social justice warriors who are the problem. Basically the problem with evangelicals is that they’re not liberals. And if they embrace liberal ideologies, then they’ll be doing the Lord’s work.

    Conservative evangelicalism is an easy target because our culture institutions are increasingly liberal. The mainstream media, Hollywood, big business, big tech, pro sports, the federal government, higher education, public education, healthcare, and on and on. It’s ok to be liberal. It’s not ok to be conservative. 

    And the focus needs to be that evangelicals don’t have a big enough tent. Brooks has the audacity to frame it as if evangelicals are not welcoming enough to other points of view. Is a conservative welcome in a progressive church? Is a belief in traditional marriage, traditional gender roles, the inherency of the Bible welcome in a progressive church? 

    There are problems with evangelicalism. There are far too many powerful people in influential ministries who are corrupt and who have no accountability. That’s an issue. Brooks mentions the scandal involving Ravi Zacharias and a scandal involving Willow Creek Church. I’ve written about both. They were terrible. I’ve written about Jerry Falwell, Jr, and James MacDonald, and the Southern Baptist Convention sexual assualt scandal.

    I think too many evangelical churches have done a poor job about teaching the Bible and focus on easy to listen to messages and appealing to cultural trends and having watered down youth ministries that are not teaching kids the Bible. Again, there are problems in evangelicalism.

    There are churches and pastors who might call themselves “evangelical” with whom I would greatly disagree. But evangelicalism is a broad movement. I think we should call out people when they’re in the wrong. But I don’t think that American evangelicalism has the inherent problems that progressivism poses to the church. Progressive churches fall right in line with that ideology. I see that as the bigger threat on our culture and on the gospel.

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