James MacDonald Asks Forgiveness for Unbiblical Discipline of Harvest Bible Chapel Elders

[Steve Newman]

http://biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/

McDonald is listed as the “general editor” of their book:

http://biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/books/review/christ-centered-bibl…

It is, I think, aimed at being a college textbook on the subject of Christian counseling..

Thanks, Steve. Regarding your thoughts about this being a big problem for the group, agreed. But that said, I would suggest that a far bigger problem for the group is to have someone as distant as MacDonald writing the book—it’s like me writing a book about the nuances of African tribal culture when my only knowledge of it comes from National Geographic and a few friends.

Plus, having taken a look at his “Authentic” book, suffice it to say that I’m not quite sure he’s got the exegetical and hermeneutical “chops” to write a good tome on Biblical counseling. Some examples of his exegesis—or “eisegesis” as might be more accurate:

1. He uses the story of Elijah and the prophets of Ba’al to argue that the prophets of Ba’al’s central problem was “they were praying the wrong way”, ignoring the fact that they were praying to someone who couldn’t answer them.

2. He uses the analogy in Luke 17:7-10 to argue that we ought to see ourselves like the servants of a petty landowner worked late into the night—that we “must serve first.” He then ignores the obvious implications of the opposite while discussing Christ washing the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper. (not to mention the lead that Christ and the Holy Spirit take in both justification and sanctification)

3. He uses Isaiah 58 as an argument for ritual fasting, and makes the claim (while easily 50 lbs overweight and living in a two million dollar house) that his ritual fasting has tamed his slavery to food and other carnal pleasures. Um, James, have you looked in the mirror lately?

The list is longer, but hopefully this gives a taste as to how the guy thinks. One would infer that the end result of a counseling project led by MacDonald might well resemble Dr. Leo Marvin from “What About Bob”.

If you look very closely at the last 3 - 4 years of MacDonald’s preaching, you’ll find that he has adeptly morphed into Evangelicalism’s subtle version of prosperity gospel (same for Furtick, Noble, etc.). You can see it in his/their tweets as well. It’s nowhere near as blatant as Jakes or Osteen, which makes it more dangerous. It’s basically this: Jesus is there to meet you where you are. Do well, work hard, serve more and be blessed. It’s a man centric, almost works oriented gospel. You’ll have to listen to some messages to spot the patterns, but it allows you to customize Jesus to your needs while not actually modifying your personal behavior in any way. The preaching is also lined with copious self-adulation for the church. “Our church is great. Get involved. Look at everything God is doing through our church. Give more. Best weekend ever. Best sermon ever. So excited for the next series.” Energy Energy Rah Rah Rah. Pastor as quarterback, staff as cheerleaders, attendees as fans. It becomes very cultlike. Very insular. No place for differing opinion, questions or negative energy. Those types of people just “can’t catch the vision” or “can’t handle a growing church.”

This version of the gospel’s sum total is personal fulfillment by being involved in the church. The hidden message is when you miss out on “church” you miss out on spiritual blessing. The people become quite dependent on the pastor’s word and the “excitement” of being involved. I’ve been in a church with multiple ex-Harvest guys, and this was how they viewed ministry. It’s high on Jesus talk and gospel talk, but very shallow on holiness, transformation, fruit of the Spirit, repentance, etc.

Because the “gospel message” is more consumer product than a means of supernatural spiritual transformation, these wrongdoing statements are more PR than actual repentance, i.e. sorrow, noticeable change of mind, heart and future behavior. Actions count, not the words from a stage.

[dmicah]

If you look very closely at the last 3 - 4 years of MacDonald’s preaching, you’ll find that he has adeptly morphed into Evangelicalism’s subtle version of prosperity gospel (same for Furtick, Noble, etc.). You can see it in his/their tweets as well. It’s nowhere near as blatant as Jakes or Osteen, which makes it more dangerous. It’s basically this: Jesus is there to meet you where you are. Do well, work hard, serve more and be blessed. It’s a man centric, almost works oriented gospel. You’ll have to listen to some messages to spot the patterns, but it allows you to customize Jesus to your needs while not actually modifying your personal behavior in any way. The preaching is also lined with copious self-adulation for the church. “Our church is great. Get involved. Look at everything God is doing through our church. Give more. Best weekend ever. Best sermon ever. So excited for the next series.” Energy Energy Rah Rah Rah. Pastor as quarterback, staff as cheerleaders, attendees as fans. It becomes very cultlike. Very insular. No place for differing opinion, questions or negative energy. Those types of people just “can’t catch the vision” or “can’t handle a growing church.”

This version of the gospel’s sum total is personal fulfillment by being involved in the church. The hidden message is when you miss out on “church” you miss out on spiritual blessing. The people become quite dependent on the pastor’s word and the “excitement” of being involved. I’ve been in a church with multiple ex-Harvest guys, and this was how they viewed ministry. It’s high on Jesus talk and gospel talk, but very shallow on holiness, transformation, fruit of the Spirit, repentance, etc.

Because the “gospel message” is more consumer product than a means of supernatural spiritual transformation, these wrongdoing statements are more PR than actual repentance, i.e. sorrow, noticeable change of mind, heart and future behavior. Actions count, not the words from a stage.

Very insightful comment, brother. Well said.