Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Oh boy...

One of my favorite people is in the news. Lee Camp, the author of a seminal work on discipleship, Mere Discipleship, was quoted in today's Tennessean. I'm not going to quote the whole thing here, but I would strongly encourage people to read it. Once you've read it, I've got some thoughts.

I was very surprised to read the quotes from Lee. In fact, some of those quotes almost directly contradict some things that I've thought that Lee thought and thought that I've heard him say, particularly about the Kingdom of God coming on Earth as it is in Heaven. It's possible that I've misinterpreted him, but I really don't think so.

What I think is far more likely is that Lee's comments are accurate but taken out of context. What I would like is to hear (or read) the comments in their overall context. It wouldn't surprise me for that to be the case. So unlike some people (Mr. Miller, I'm looking in your direction ), I'm going to reserve judgment. I want to hear the whole story from all sides before castigating someone. I hope others will as well.

Addendum:

For those interested, here's some of the Blogosphere's reaction to the story:

There are some duplicates in there, but that should cover a lot of it. Not surprisingly, most (if not, all) out there are passing judgment already. Please pray for Lee and his family.

Addenda 2:
Lee and Lipscomb have posted a response here. It is a very good one that clarifies the context extremely well. Hopefully, many of the people who have passed judgment on Lee, his faith, and his commitment to Jesus will read it and understand that context. I fear, though, that many will not.


btw, the first six episodes of Heroes is on the Sci Fi Channel tonight, starting at 5 PM CST. If you haven't seen them and have cable, it would be well worth it to TIVO or tape.

8 comments:

Tony Arnold said...

Phil, I read the article this morning and my thoughts were the same as yours. I sure thought Lee talked alot about bringing the Kingdom to be on earth.

After reading it several times, I think there must be some key phrases or qualifications the writer left out, probably because they did not accomplish the writer's agenda (why you can't trust what you read in the paper completely).

I believe Lee was trying to speak to creating a Kingdom of Christianity much the ways the Pharisees and Sadducees wanted Jesus to setup--a political or power force type of Kingdom. A physical presence that would fight opposing forces rather than a collective of Christians mimicking Christ (the Church).

The writer buried some of Lee's quotes in the context above at the end of the article, which many will not read.

It will be interesting to see what comes from this. I am sure Lee will be forced to address this in Sunday's class.

Tony

Anonymous said...

My impression of the quotes was similar to Tony's 3rd paragraph.

I've been urged by several to catch up on Heroes. I've not seen an episode, so I've got my DVR set for these 6 tonight. Ep 10 is on Friday, when I guess Scifi replays the most recent episode. So, I'll have to see if I can get 7-9, and Scott Freeman told me I can't miss those.

Jeff said...

Phil, I promise I'm going to read the article and your comments - but, first things first...I have neither cable, TIVO, nor a VCR at the moment. Could you help a brother out and tape the Heroes marathon for me? Or know anybody that is that I can steal a tape?

Phil said...

I got your back, Jeff.

Rob Cox said...

I hate that this is happening. I've been praying for him today.

A lot of harm has been done to Christianity today as a result. Many Christians are saying things about him that would be difficult for someone to say if they loved him. It's like having Concerned Members in a very public forum. I find it ironic that many of the same people that would never believe a word of the Tennessean regarding politics are quick to believe it when it comes to this.

I hope that Lee and the university can come up with a good strategy to communicate what he was really trying to say.

Rob Cox said...

After reading my comment, I need to point out that it should say "A lot of harm has been done to Christianity today as a result of this article. Not as a result of my prayer :) My own comment illustrates the value of context :)

Your perfectionist friend,
Rob

Rob Cox said...

Here's a response. I hope it's the first of many.

http://www.lipscomb.edu/filter.asp?SID=4&fi_key=657&co_key=10941

Rob

Anonymous said...

phil, watched the first 5 Heroes episodes last night (after recording them Wed night on scifi).

I'm hooked. Great show so far.

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