The Prosperous Lifestyle of America’s Anti-Prosperity Gospel Preacher

[T Howard]

TylerR wrote:

To be fair, if I could afford to pay a guy to take my sermon notes and convert them into prose, I could have written quite a few commentaries, myself … !

LOL! The problem is no one would publish them because you haven’t built up any name recognition outside of your church or SI. JMac is so well known that he can make demands of his publishers. I remember something either he or Phil said about a publisher wanting JMac to change the title of one of his books. JMac basically responded that if the publisher didn’t like the title, he’d publish his book elsewhere. The title was published unchanged.

Larry, I really don’t think this is all that subtle of a distinction. Now perhaps Tom abbreviates the case a little beyond reality, but the way he writes it suggests that there wasn’t a terrible lot of negotiation about it, not much “what might I have to learn from my editors?” Rather, it’s simply “take it or leave it”, and I think that’s a dangerous place to be as a leader of a ministry, since that leadership at least ought to entail listening to any number of people who are subject matter experts in various places where MacArthur cannot be expected to be an expert.

Along those lines, note that Grace CC and TMC are currently embroiled in issues like mishandling of Title IX complaints and a culture of self-dealing, where those depending on MacArthur for their employment are a quorum on boards of directors. In other words, there is evidence that he’s not listening to outside advice in a few other areas, too—and yes, the kerfuffle over doxxing Julie Roys fits that as well.

I really don’t think this is all that subtle of a distinction.

MacArthur has written perhaps more than 150 books. To suggest he doesn’t understand editors and publishers is a stretch at best. But in the end, an author typically owns the work and if he doesn’t want to make the editorial changes, he or she is free not to. These things are typically written in the contracts so the answer probably is there. But to the major point, an author has and should have the primary control over his work, up to and including being able to walk away if he is not satisfied, again, depending on the contract.

Larry, if MacArthur is indeed saying take it or leave it to his editors on a consistent basis, I will say it; he does not understand or appreciate the function and role of the editor. They are not there simply to hem him in, but to make his work more relevant and approachable to the target audience.

This is by no means the most troubling aspect of his ministry these days, but it’s unfortunately very consistent with other aspects of the ministry—they’re fiercely resisting all aspects of accountability, including TMC accreditation issues, Title IX issues at TMC, EFCA and other relevant nonprofit reporting and governance requirements, and now this. It’s not a good look.