Last night I expressed a couple of opinions on Twitter that probably seemed slightly sensational:

Ergun Caner is a shallow trollup.

One of the worst sermons I’ve ever heard on dealing with sin. Thanks, Ergun. At least you’re still “edgy”.

Now, I will fully admit that the first remark, while hyperbolous, is a bit indefensible. Ergun Caner may be many things but shallow is probably not one of them.  The second remark I completely stand by and I will defend that remark presently.

The truth is, Ergun’s sermon last night really was one of the worst treatments of dealing with sin that I’ve ever heard.  I would love to try to walk you through the entire sermon, but I can’t.  It’s impractical and it hasn’t been posted online as of writing.  (But you can always look here)

Instead I will summarize my biggest objections.

He used the scripture as a jumping off point, but little else.

It’s actually really difficult to find any strong connection between the scripture and what was said.  I don’t say that to be dramatic, I say that because I seriously have almost no clue how his advice and the scripture being used related.   The scripture (James 1:13-20) deals with a few ideas which he briefly touched on:

1. God does not and cannot tempt us.
2. We are tempted because of our own flesh.
3. Sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death. (Which he interpreted as a warning to believers that God will literally take your life if you sin too much…a position I completely disagree with)
4. Every good thing is from God
5. Be quick to hear, slow to speak
6. Anger does not produce the righteousness of God.

Ok, that’s all of the points in the scripture.  Unfortunately, this was only examined for maybe 5 minutes and seemed to have almost no relationship to the rest of his points.

You can even argue that this scripture gives little to no direct advice on the topic of habitual sin.

He mocked those who need the most grace. He discouraged healthy vulnerability.

One of his first targets for ridicule are those he deems “too” honest about their sins.  This was done in the form of a story about a church camp where a young man confesses to his cabin mates “I’m going to stop masturbating.”   Ergun treated this as indefensible and even went as far as making a joke about how undesirable it is for everyone to hold hands after that statement.

What is the problem with this? Well besides completely unnecessary and untoward humor, his example was an example of what we should be encouraging: transparency with issues of sin.  It also completely ignores the gargantuan struggle nearly every guy in the history of humankind has dealt with.

How eager is a freshman addicted to porn going to be to confess his sin to his dorm mates and seek their assistance after such flippant remarks?

A sermon is not stand-up is not a sermon.

While I am not against a sermon including humor, I am against a sermon being used as a vehicle for humor while forgetting the more important goals (bringing glory to God and grace to others).

Ergun rarely, it seems, knows where to draw the line.  Hence his painfully graphic description of sex education.  It was unfunny, uncomfortable, and inappropriate…especially for a mixed gender situation.

He went as far as to compare his experience viewing charts of female anatomy to “finding the Holy Grail”.

That’s going to be a lot of help for those kids struggling with impure thoughts.

His advice was man centered and humanistic in approach.

Everything else aside, this is what kills me.  There is a wealth of Holy Spirit inspired teaching in the Bible on dealing with sin and understanding sin and freeing ourselves from it, unfortunately Ergun used none of it.  His alliterated five step approach included these:

• Flee (get away from the sin)
• Follow (not really sure…he didn’t explain this one)
• Fight (fight off the temptation?)
• Fade (get away from everything)
• Fail (start fresh when you fail)

Now, in purely human terms you might make the argument that some of these steps are practical, and they are. Certainly a case can be made for fleeing, fighting, fading, et cetera, but what is wrong with this approach? What is it leaving out? The Holy Spirit.

People who deal with habitual sin are all too familiar with the white knuckle, buckle down, try as hard as you can approach.  Reaffirming it as something we “try really hard at” in our own strength is useless.

• He made no mention of Jesus as our sympathizer, tempted as we are tempted but without sin.
• He made no mention of the transforming work that Jesus does in our lives. How he fills us with the desire for righteousness instead of sin.
• He made no mention of the spiritual context of 1 Corinthians 10:13.  That our way of escape is something that the Holy Spirit leads us to if we are willing to be led.
• He made no mention of our call to be slaves to righteousness instead of slaves to sin.
• He made no mention of Paul’s call that we consider ourselves as “dead to sin”.
• He made no mention of living in accountability with one another and the Bible’s call to confess our sins to each other.
• He made no mention of the role of prayer.

He did mention in passing that Jesus helps us with temptation but absolutely no practical advice on how to get from here (white knuckle, try as hard as you can) to there (dead to sins, alive to Christ).

How depressing! As someone who absolutely knows the pain, sorrow, and defeat of habitual sin it is unthinkable to me that he would take this approach.

But it gets worse, he summarized his advice with a few suggestions. He said that when we sin we have to be willing to admit to people “Yeah, I messed up. I can’t do that again.”  Ok, that’s great…now how does that apply to your “I am going to stop masturbating” story?

He referred to couples who “mess up” and said that someone in that relationship needed to say “Ok, we’re never going to do this again.”  Wow, that’s novel!  As if there weren’t hundreds of couples in that room who are promising each other that each and every time they fail.

It makes me sick to my stomach.

And that is why I said the things I said.  Ergun Caner did a disservice to people who desperately needed help in their desire to live righteously.   He completely let them down.

Sigh.

In the last few minutes, it seemed that even Ergun realized his sermon had left his control.  He began to desperately try to reign it in and connect it in someway to scripture.  It was way too late.

In truth it made the whole thing seem insincere.

But I don’t think Ergun’s problem is insincerity. Ergun’s problem (in my less than humble opinion) has always been that he gets lost in his persona.  He focuses so much on being a bad ass and being novel that he forget his primary calling.

Shouldn’t the president of the theological seminary’s heart and breath be to bring glory to God and show love to others?  Shouldn’t entertainment and novelty be the very last goal?

I welcome your thoughts.  Especially those of you who heard this sermon.

I think life is a little like painting. You can’t always tell what needs a second coat until the first one is dry. Changing who you are can’t always be rushed or accomplished in one fell swoop. It takes time and the patience to sometimes come full circle, to walk places you’ve already been, and learn what you thought you already knew.

We often impatiently look for the instant while God is patiently affecting us through the incremental.

Today, whilst going for a run, I noticed that there has been a shift in the way I ask God for things in the past year or two.   It’s a relatively subtle change, but one that I believe has been important in my life and in my relationship with Christ.

In the past, I typically would seek wisdom from God in one way:  ”God, please show me what to do in this situation. Please make it clear so that I will know the right thing to do.”  Or I might say “God, if this is Your will, please open the doors. If it isn’t, please close them.”  Something like that.  Very familiar…very common.

What I noticed this afternoon is that I very seldom pray like this anymore.

Experience has taught me that God is rarely going to tell me what to do before I do it.  He’s rarely going to give me a sign or impression that will give me 100% confidence in a course of action.  More likely, He will equip me for these things in small ways that sometimes are easily missed and often unseen when I am not looking for them.  These small nudges come in a million different forms: people, scripture, circumstances, feelings, ad infinitum.  The result is my continued sanctification (which is God’s will and promise for us all).

I tried to think of an analogy for this and I will admit I did not come up with anything perfectly fitting.  My first instinct is that this is like a path throught the forest that only He can see.  That he keeps me in the clear places between the dense forest on each side, even though I can’t see the big picture. I can’t see where the path is going.

Another example I thought of is the way a vine grows towards the sun. It never sees a plan or gets specific instructions, but its environment results in a very distinct change in the direction of its growth.  I thin it’s a bit like this with us.

The point is this:  God is sovereign.  He knows all, sees all, and cares for all.  He is the guarantor of my life. The non-refundable deposit for my sanctification, so to speak.  If this is true, if I can trust God with the outcome, I have no need to know specifics.  I don’t need to pray for a map when the very universe I have the privilige of living in exists and progresses at the discretion of God and God alone.  He has a million ways to lead me in His will and it seems presumptuous to ask for only one.

I think I used to pray like this because it left me in control in someway.  It was a bit like telling God “I’ll do what you want to do if you send me the instructions.”

Now I pray “God, give me wisdom. Help me to see truth instead of lies. Help me to seek light instead of dark. Guide me in Your paths. May the outcome bring glory to You.”

This, at least in my case, helps me remember that I am small and He is big.  That His ways are higher than mine.  That my plans are so short sighted and laughable next to His.