Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying.

– Vincent de Paul

 

This is the second part of our series on what we can learn from the Ergun Caner dust-up. The take away lesson from yesterday is this. The biggest mistake, made by those involved in this debacle, was not to address concerns that had been raised for some time regarding Caner. The world is watching for hypocrisy and we, the evangelical church in America, are providing it on a regular basis.
 

The average American citizen can spot prevarication quite readily. Who can forget Bill Clinton’s answer to a question about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky? The one in which he said, “It depends on what your definition of the word is, is.” I am sure some of the folks at Liberty University had a good laugh over that one. So let’s take a look at their statement about the investigation findings on Caner.
 

 

–Caner has made “factual statements that are self-contradictory” concerning “dates, names and places of residence.“
 

This statement has that aroma which reminds one of “Eau de Lawyer.” Instead of saying, “Caner lied,” it appears, at first blush, as if they are saying that he told various versions of the truth. But, tricky, tricky, they are not saying this at all. Let me elaborate.
 

Have any of you ever helped your kids with their English grammar homework when the task was to define various sentences in the following fashion: statement or fact, question or exclamation? In this instance a fact does not need to be true. So, someone could say, as one Milwaukee county board member, Peggy West, said last week, “Arizona is not a border state like Texas.” On her Facebook page she states she is a student of Mexican history. Arrrghhhhhh!!!!!!! How embarrassing for that city to have such an uneducated person serving in that role! You can listen to that statement at this link.

 

So, although she is dead wrong, she still made a fact-based statement. Peggy will never live down that assertion but, at the least, we can say that she was poorly educated about geography. One would presume that Caner knows where he grew up. So why would he make self-contradictory “factual” statements? My son knows he was born in Texas and moved to North Carolina when he was 10 years old. If he ever told people that he went to high school in Texas, I would take him to the doctor's office to check his mental status. Unless, of course, he was lying. Then I would need to find out why.
 

One would think that Liberty would want to find out why Caner lied. Was it for notoriety? Then he was serving himself rather than Jesus. Was it for the money received in speaking engagements? Then, is he in financial trouble or does he just want to live well? Or, perhaps he does he not know why he is lying? Then Liberty University, which supposedly has a great counseling program, should get the man some help.
 

So, the Liberty University statement is just another ho-hum distortion that one hears day in and day out in our society. Aren’t Christians supposed to live counter culturally? However, Liberty appears to be no different than any other organization that does not adhere to absolute truth. Therefore, it is the opinion of this Christian that Liberty is not acting like a Christian college and students, looking for a cutting edge, sold out Christian university, should look elsewhere.
 

Now some might say that Liberty is just trying to “protect” its ministry. I often have heard this excuse given by Christian churches and groups when some uncomfortable truth, which was hidden, becomes exposed. This shows an appalling lack of faith in the Lord. Jesus is quite able to protect His church, thank you very much. But, it would appear that Liberty lacks this confidence and that is concerning.

 

-Christians need to be cognizant that other Christians, even those trained for the ministry, are fallen in nature.
 

I am amazed at the number of Christians who come to the defense of pastors and church leaders who lie, make way too much money, have affairs, use drugs, etc. I have pondered this phenomenon for some time. Why is it that some Christians cannot accept that their leader has made serious mistakes?

 

One thought is that this sort of Christian’s identity is tied up in the personality of the preacher instead of being fully absorbed in the personality of Jesus. I believe that many people fear their ability to maintain their faith if their chosen leader falls. So, they can’t let him fall. They then expend untold amounts of energy trying to reconcile their leader du jour’s actions with his stated belief.
 

This sort of thinking was exemplified recently by Washington Post commentator, Sally Quinn, who made the following statement about the pending divorce of Al and Tipper Gore“…everyone feels as though somehow their own marriages have split up. You know watching the Gores is sort of looking at the possibilities of what a good marriage could be and when it doesn’t work for them you sort of think "oh my God, maybe it’s not possible."

 

But Sally does not understand the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. God calls ordinary men and women to extraordinary lives and He is the divine Equipper. Do we really believe that we will fail if our leaders fall? Or do we think that our leaders are somehow specially gifted above and beyond the “ordinary” Christian?

 

Christians, by nature, tend to be trusting. We are commanded to test what is being taught us. We are reminded that there are wolves in sheep’s clothing taking advantage of our kindness and willingness to believe the best.
 

There is an amusing anecdote about the embattled governor, Rod Blagojevich, in today’s Raleigh News and Observer. Apparently Blogo (as he is known) considered Oprah Winfrey for the vacated Senate seat in Illinois. His chief of staff, John Harris, told him that he thought such a choice would be a big mistake. Harris commented that he was “not sure what she stands for.” Blogo apparently brushed his concern aside and said that she was “obviously a Democrat” and that she had “made Obama.”
 

How often are we like Blogo when it comes to our leaders? Do we trust and not verify? If a story seems out of the ordinary, do we check it? How many remember the ex-Satanist, Mike Warnke, who regaled Christians with wild stories of his days as the Head Warlock of some nefarious coven? I do and I, like many others, fell for it. He was a liar but made a successful career out of conning the gullible.
 

Seriously, didn’t Caner’s story about being raised as a jihadist seem a little over the top? Didn’t it seem a little too coincidental that his story about being a former jihadist seemed timed to come to light with the 9/11 attacks? Were we all afraid and looking for reassurance that Jesus would intervene and convert the jihadists? Were we just like the Jews of Jesus’ day, hoping for a miraculous intervention to stop the rise of militant Islam and save us from doom? Do we actually think that Christian leaders are above the fray and will not seek fame and money over truth?

 

Christians must become less naïve by radically understanding the Bible. We should always be cognizant that men will use the church for their own selfish ambitions. This last decade has seen reports of pastors who are sexual predators, pastors who live in mansions and fly around on private jets and pastors who behave like admirals in rowboats by forcing their “authority” and “special anointing” on an unsuspecting and compliant church. The people of God need to grow up fast and quit mollycoddling men and women who use the church as a self-indulgent playground. We need to follow Christ, not men.