Disappointment - AW Tozer

I was really excited when I got hold of one of the latest AW Tozer books that was compiled by James L. Snyder, "The Crucified Life". When I began pastoring some 40 years ago I had everything that Tozer had written and they were incredibly formative in my approach to ministry. So to come across fresh material of Tozer's reignited the passion and got me looking at some of the other classics, like "The Pursuit of God" and "Knowledge of the Holy." Not content with that I started hunting around for anything Tozer on the internet and discovered that there is a biography out written by Lyle Dorsett, titled, "A Passion for God: The Spiritual Journey of A.W. Tozer." Then I read some reviews, of which there were many, but I was struck by the recurring theme that Tozer was a loner who was not even close to his wife and 7 children. This spiritual giant of a man was as alone in his death as he was in life. One of his colleagues noted that one of the last remarks he ever heard Tozer make was this: "I have had a lonely life." He died alone in a Canadian hospital room in the year 1963.

One reviewer said he was told that after A.W. died, Ada (his wife) was asked if she missed him. She had been remarried by this time. Her reply was telling as she said something like this, "A.W. was God's man, but my new husband is my man." Another review I read expressed it this way, "Aiden loved Jesus, Leonard Odam loves me." However it was said, the fact is that the family were unable to feel valued and get close to this man who spent hours each day in the presence of God. Tozer was known to have returned half his salary to the church on a regular basis and gave away all the royalties of the 40 books he had authored to other, more needy people. Meanwhile, we are given to understand, by documented family accounts, that Ada struggled to provide food and clothing for her large family. Even though A.W. travelled extensively on speaking engagements he always used buses and trains while the family never owned a car. While this is incredibly admirable for him and is the substance of his prophetic ministry to an indulgent christianity, it was not a cross that his family had voluntarily offered to bear. This too will have served to distance the family from this great man.

Even though Tozer recognised women among the famed mystics of the church, whose writings he devoured and whose lives he emulated, it is clear from the way he treated those closest to him, his wife in particular, that he believed that husbands were to lead their wives and families. In that respect he will have felt he was setting the very best example and that he would earnestly pray for them to accept this as the best way to live their lives before God. Perhaps he believed he was to be the priest of the family, interceding for them constantly and leading them also into the crucified life. Whatever it was he hoped for that was not the way it worked out in real life. He who shaped the spiritual lives of countless others, myself included, did not have the same influence over those closest to him.

This to me highlights only too well one of the failures of exclusive male leadership in the church and male headship, seen as male leadership, in the home. As much as I continue to admire all that A.W.Tozer stood for prophetically, it disappoints me that he was unable to be close to those within his own household. It stands as a warning to any of us that to hold to holiness of life and sound doctrine without influencing positively those who know us best, is a tragedy. Some may say that perhaps his wife and family were not on the same spiritual plane but that does not excuse an absence of the development of normal family relationships. It is one thing for one, or some family members to stray from the fold but for all to express that their father was distant and unknowable is extremely sad. This you might expect from an unmarried person whose rigorous piety and nearness to God affects no one but themselves.

Like Tozer, I too desire to walk in constant, intimate fellowship with God, my heavenly Father, but I want to walk that road in company with my immediate family and, by the grace of God, bring them along for the journey.

Marriage is a Work in Progress

We are surrounded with soooo much good reading material but I recently decided to re-read Pat Gundry's book (written back in 1980!) 'Heirs Together'. For me, this is still one of the best handbooks on Christian Egalitarian marriage and is a classic. I'm only into the first couple of chapters and I take her point that marriage is work. She doesn't suggest that it is 'hard work' but it is work. Good marriages don't just happen.

Even if you have the perfect partner and enduring love, love alone will not sustain a marriage. Life is in the habit of not necessarily running according to plan. Somehow we have to navigate, together, the twists and turns that may be our lot in life. It won't always be plain sailing!

Unforeseen circumstances, like a tragic death or debilitating accident, still birth, cot death, an autistic child the dreaded cancer or an unexplained illness can come upon us out of the blue and change the course of our lives forever. We don't have all the answers but we are on this journey together with God. We don't know all of the possibilities when we sign up so to speak, and it's probably good that we don't or we'd have second thoughts. But, having embarked on this journey together for life we can be confident that God will be present with us as promised.

Sometimes, it isn't those catastrophic things at all that come our way but it is something that visits us from within the dark past of one of the marriage partners. Abuse, bad, or absent parenting, possibly some other childhood trauma like a family breakdown or the horrors of war etc. These things can emerge despite our best intentions. Or perhaps a depressive disposition falls like a mist upon a partner robbing them of joy and a zest for life. Medication is seen as the only solution and the person is no longer the person that you married. We may ask, "Where is God in all of this?" It is reassuring to know that despite our circumstances Jesus has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. That's when marriage becomes work.

As a Christian Pastor I have seen all of these things and more happen to genuine lovers of God. The rain, fortune and misfortune, falls on the just and the unjust. We may question why and even have moments of anguish that place the blame with God. But it is better to know that despite these things happening, as they do in a fallen world, we still have God. We can go to him in all of our troubles because he cares for the brokenhearted. We can go to him together in a marriage and find his way through our difficulties rather than abandoning something because it appears too hard. That is the way of the world that has no hope in God.

Among the most tragic things I have ever witnessed is a husband or a wife abandoned because the going was perceived by the departing partner to be too tough. Instead of helping and supporting one another through a crisis, that was uniquely their own, one of the partners decides that they have had enough. They may go off, seeking another, happier life, leaving the other partner to battle through illness, tragedy or depression alone. That was never how God intended that it should be. Perhaps one of the partners is unfaithful and now he or she is more sensitive to the emotional needs of the new person in the relationship than the feelings of the one being cast aside. Jesus described the abandonment of marriages like this as happening because of the 'hardness of hearts'. Marriages break down in tiny increments. We don't just wake up one day and decide that we want out of a marriage.

Equally so marriages are maintained and strengthened in tiny, daily, affirming increments. I agree with Pat Gundry, marriage IS work. Liz and I have been working at it for 46 years and I can tell you that whatever the hiccups along the way the rewards are out of this world. Living with no regrets and having a heritage of children and grandchildren is the very best thing.

Majoring on the majors

At our local church the pastor has been preaching his way thematically through the Gospel of Matthew and just recently touched on some verses that sparked an idea for a post. While he didn't spend a lot of time on the Transfiguration, somehow, as he was speaking about this and directing our thoughts forward to the Great Commission, this idea came to mind. I'd like to believe it was prompted by the Holy Spirit.

For me, one of the most significant things about the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8) as Jesus is standing, talking together with Moses and Elijah is God's voice from the shining cloud, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" Peter had just expressed how great it would be to enshrine these three most notable biblical characters on the mountain and it was at that moment that God spoke those immortal words. We are left with the thought of, listen to Jesus! It's always possible to build religious systems on our feeble, earthbound insights of Kingdom issues, but the most important thing is to listen to Jesus and to understand and go along with whatever is the level of importance that he places on things.

That takes me through to the Great commission in Matthew 28 (verses 16-20) where the final instruction given to the disciples is, "...make disciples of all the nations, ... teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (verse 20, TNIV) The operative words here are, 'teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.' Connecting the two thoughts, 'listening (only) to Jesus' and 'discipling/teaching others to obey all that I have commanded you.

• Where do you find anywhere in the recorded words or teaching of Jesus anything that remotely suggests that men are ordained to be the spiritual directors of women?
• Where do you find anywhere in the recorded words or teaching of Jesus anything that remotely suggests that because man was created first, men are superior to women?
• Where do you find anywhere in the recorded words or teaching of Jesus anything that remotely suggests that women are not valued equally as his disciples?
• Where do you find anywhere in the recorded words or teaching of Jesus anything that remotely suggests that men are more capable of leadership than women?
• Where do you find anywhere in the recorded words or teaching of Jesus anything that remotely suggests that he agreed with the culturally acceptable treatment of women?
• Where do you find anywhere in the recorded words or teaching of Jesus anything that remotely suggests that he viewed women as being less spiritually capable than men?
• Where do you find in the recorded words or teaching of Jesus anything that remotely suggests that men are ordained to be the spiritual leaders of the family?
• Where do you find anywhere in the recorded words or teaching of Jesus anything that remotely suggests that men and only men are to be the leaders of christian assemblies?

I don't believe that you will find any of the things that I've listed above, and which have been 'enshrined' in church tradition and teaching, as a part of the required discipleship process. If Jesus did not consider these things to be of such importance, why should we?

Why not just, 'listen to Jesus' and encourage others, who choose to be his followers and our fellow travellers, to do diligently the things which he specifically commanded?

More Recent Developments

One of the most troubling developments of recent times is the fact that younger people who have grown up in a secular egalitarian culture have not, it would appear, examined the theological ramifications of the egalitarian position. This often means that when they are confronted with the passionate, persuasive and seemingly more godly arguments against egalitarianism, usually by hardline complementarians, they more readily embrace hierarchy and consequently male headship.

If the argument is emphatic that egalitarianism is purely secular, or a result of feminist influences within the church that will unhealthily 'feminise' christianity then it seems a good thing for them to oppose it. Add to this the thought that to question apparent biblically defined male/female roles within the church will lead to open acceptance of homosexuality. These are very emotive claims and it can seem that to resist such 'feminisation' and 'worldly influences' is a more godly way to be faithful to the Gospel.

Faced with such arguments modern young christians, who want to be true to the Word of God, the Bible, are more willing to show their zeal by repudiating anything that has a suggestion of worldliness. Complementarians have exploited this theological vacuum extremely well with the vigorous promotion of a plethora of books and films that popularise male leadership, both in the church and the home, as being the most desirable reflection of God's order.

While there is certainly nothing wrong with encouraging all believers to develop a strong relationship with God and a firm commitment to the testimony of Scripture it is tragic when a one-sided view is presented in such a way that an open minded examination of the texts is frowned upon. Egalitarians constantly assert that the issue is one of simply interpreting the relevant passages of Scripture with due consideration to the author's intent and the cultural setting that demanded such instructions. Also bearing in mind the author's use of key words and sometimes seemingly opposite instructions in other references. The whole testimony of Scripture is important here as is the actions of Jesus and the absence of any instruction from him on hierarchy. Jesus should be and should have the last word in these matters.

I guess that what is most likely to happen is that some of the newer breed of believers will become case hardened into hierarchy and be its staunch proponents and others will become disenchanted with it, over time, and want to explore other legitimate options. Thankfully people are coming forward and testifying that they worked hard at male leadership and headship and it just didn't work for them. The fact that egalitarianism offers such an alternative is the key here. We believe that it is both theologically sound and that it is a far more Biblical and Christ honouring way of doing church and marriage.

GNOSTICISM and HERESY?

Every so often Christians like ourselves, who believe in Biblical equality, are accused of being gnostics or heretics, or both, by believers who are of a complementarian persuasion. These theologically loaded words are highly emotive and when used to describe us suggest that our attitude to the final authority of Scripture is unsound which, for them, means our egalitarian conclusions are Biblically untenable and therefore not worthy of examination. Even worse, it can mean that we are now open game to be rejected, ridiculed and maligned because we are thought to have departed from what is generally accepted as the orthodox tenets of the faith. Having encountered this accusation now myself on a number of occasions I thought to examine the charges in the light of 'Wikipedia' definitions of these two words.

Basically Gnostics, who were around at the time of the writing of the New Testament, viewed the Scriptures as allegorical, or mystical, containing hidden 'esoteric' meanings that were only able to be discerned by the initiated. This led to what was known as 'grades of revelation', or steps to enlightenment and deeper understanding that the uninitiated had no access to. It is believed that the Apostle Paul was addressing gnostic tendencies in his letter to the Church in Colossae with injunctions like, "Don't let anyone lead you astray with empty philosophy and high sounding nonsense that comes from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world, and not from Christ. For in Christ the fulness of God lives in a human body, and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the Lord over every ruler and authority in the universe." (Colossians 2 verses 8-10, New Living Bible)

Heresy, on the other hand, is defined as a controversial, or novel, change to a system of beliefs, especially religious beliefs, that conflicts with established dogma. The word is of Greek origin meaning 'to choose', in this case to choose to believe something different from that which is commonly accepted. Some early Church Fathers, such as Irenaeus seemed to think that all heresies were Gnosticism at root and thus that any heretic was, in a sense, a Gnostic. When the Church and the State amalgamated heresy became a capital offence punishable by death and tragically many thousands of those who were so accused lost their lives. Perhaps due to the many modern negative connotations associated with the term 'heretic', such as the infamous Spanish Inquisition, the term is used less often today, but it has resurfaced in the debate over the ordination of women and gay priests.

Unfortunately for us these two issues are often grouped together as parallel issues which means that our arguments for the ordination of spiritually gifted women and Biblical equality, without regard to race, gender, ethnicity or class, are seen as paving the way for the acceptance of homosexuality as a legitimate, alternate lifestyle. From our perspective these are two entirely separate issues and the case for Biblical equality, within the church, is argued, almost exclusively, on the legitimate premise of the 'Priesthood of all believers,' which is neither Gnostic nor Heretical. When such accusations are levelled at us our carefully researched and Biblically sound arguments are automatically invalidated. Some go a step further in believing that as Gnostics or Heretics we deserve to be treated disparagingly as unbelieving enemies of the Gospel.

It used to be that when individuals or groups were branded with the term 'Gnostic' or 'Heretic' there was ample evidence that these people had made a serious departure from the faith, usually related to the person and work of Christ. By and large modern day believers have been free to differ on matters related to creationism (more recently), eschatology, modes of baptism and church government to name a few, as these were regarded as secondary issues. Egalitarians simply contend that their beliefs are matters to do with an alternate interpretation of disputed texts and should be open to debate. The challenge here is that egalitarian beliefs do cast an ominous shadow over the long standing traditions of patriarchy and hierarchy within the church. This is seen as a real threat to those who hold to these views/interpretations as essential doctrines.

It seems to me to be very heavy handed to label egalitarians as 'Heretics' and/or 'Gnostics.'

Freedom in the Spirit

Reading this morning in 2 Corinthians 3 verses 7-18 about the Glory of the New Covenant. In this passage Paul compares and contrasts the receiving of the Old Covenant, written on Tablets of stone, with the reception of the New Covenant which is administered by the Holy Spirit. He speaks of the glory that was evident on Moses' face when he came down from the mountain, having been for so long in the very presence of God. It was a fading glory but it was still evident to the people of Israel. So much so that they could not bear to look at Moses' face, requiring him to wear a veil. Paul poses the question, "Shouldn't we expect a far greater glory when the Holy Spirit is giving life?" (verse 8) The chapter concludes with the thought that this Spirit given glory should not fade but to the contrary, "...reflect his glory even more." (verse 18)

For me there is a contrast here between the condemning letter of the law and the life giving power of the Holy Spirit, "If the Old Covenant, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the New Covenant, which makes us right with God!" (verse 9) Paul goes on to say, "So if the Old Covenant, which has been set aside , was full of glory, then the New Covenant, which remains forever, has far greater glory." This leads him to state emphatically, "Since this New Covenant gives us such confidence, we can be very bold." (verse 12) As I read these verses I could not help but think again of the issue of Biblical equality and its opposite, gender hierarchy. It seems to me that gender hierarchy is somewhat like the letter of the law and has a fading glory because it, like the Old Covenant has been set aside for something far greater. It is the condemnation of the law that binds people to interpretations that espouse hierarchy rather than allowing them to experience the revelation of the Holy Spirit who gives life and freedom, because the veil is taken away. (see verse 16,17) When our eyes are opened to this truth it should release in us a "confidence and boldness" (verse 12) to proclaim this glorious message of Biblical equality unashamedly.

The metaphor of the veil is very helpful in this context because it reminds us again that the truth of Biblical equality is a revelation issue. Yes, we can have a sound Biblical argument, a correct hermeneutic and reliable interpretation but at the end of the day we need a spiritual enlightenment that grants us true freedom. Tragically Church tradition and culture has developed an 'embedded' deposit of truth regarding hierarchy that somehow continues to overshadow the liberating truth the Holy Spirit would impart in respect to gender and ethnic equality. It should be enough that Jesus, God's last Word to humanity, broke down all the barriers of class, ethnicity and gender in His earthly ministry. Jesus' attitudes and actions should be our only and final authority on this matter and Bible texts that seemingly suggest otherwise should be subordinated and interpreted by this over arching truth.

Paul concludes by saying that, "...all of us have had this veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord." (verse 18a) In respect to Biblical equality this is sadly not so. Many in the Church universal are still blind (veiled) to this truth. Perhaps now more than ever the truth of Biblical equality needs to be boldly proclaimed by the Church to the watching world. The Church should be, as Jesus was, at the forefront in setting the captives free. Forced marriages, sexual bondage and many forms of slavery are still very much a part of the 21st century, as is widely reported. These continuing atrocities are attributed largely to the religious and cultural practises of patriarchy and hierarchy. We should be, as Jesus and the infant Christian Church were, demonstrating this truth by our words and actions. In that way the rest of verse 18 would prove to be true. "And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more."

My prayer, and hopefully yours is:

"Oh for such light and liberty to be 'gloriously' evident and 'mirrored' by the 21st century Church."

Frustration!

We had a wonderful sermon in church this morning about the elder brother in the prodigal son story and how we can so easily slip into an 'older brother' attitude towards other people who are coming to faith or coming back to God after some time away. The preacher was pointing up the fact that we can get into the frame of mind that we almost deserve God's goodness (what a thought!)

BUT...before he preached he made an announcement about a couple who were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversay (big applause) And then.....it was spoilt by the preachers saying "I probably shouldn't repeat this but...." and then launching in to repeating a joke which the 60 years' married guy had told him. I wouldn't repeat it but it suggested that women were so hard to understand that even God found it difficult.

Why, oh why......do so many Christians find this sort of stuff funny?? It is dishonouring to men and women and most importantly dishonouring to God who made us all and loves us all. There's not a word said in the bible about funny ways that men and women may have. It's all about our character and how to be godly and holy........certainly not to make disparaging remarks about each other. We get so disappointed that these jokes continue and even more so when they preface a very serious sermon.