My fellow theologically inclined Andrew reflects on the recent op-ed “Congregations Gone Wild” in the NYT.
If anything, the root problem with much preaching today is that it allows itself to get carried along by cultural expectations. For a preacher willing to preach “costly grace” (to use Bonhoeffer’s phrase), the result is often a congregation quickened by the activity of the Spirit.
I find Andrew’s critiques compelling and convicting: I am certainly guilty of letting a consumerist, self-centered mindset shape the way I see the religious leaders and congregations in my life. Yet it is precisely because of my pursuit of “lovers less wild” that I find myself drawn to clergy who don’t discount the cost of discipleship. And for the record, the Rev. Thompson is just such a person.
