Another substantive contribution I think these emergents make is that they realize the relative lack of good father figures as shepherds in too many evangelical churches. I think many believers in evangelical circles can feel they can’t ask their pastors and teachers their questions or express their doubts.
I remember a sad story from a church class, in which a woman pulled the teacher aside and asked if she could ask questions. Apparently, she had not been given that permission before, or had been denied it, so she needed to see if it was okay (safe?) for her to do that in this class. I know of another person in another church who raised what sounded like good questions to me, only to be rebuffed by her teacher (who also was an elder) that he would not even consider her questions. McLaren and Pagitt both recognize this problem. As a major heading on the back cover of A New Kind of Christianity asks, “What would Christianity look like if we weren’t afraid to ask questions?”
But, if we preach and teach with tones of self-assurance, then someone who is struggling in his or her walk with God could feel embarrassed, and even intimidated, to ask questions or admit doubts. We also can communicate that people should just take “the” biblical teaching (which, on some topics, might just be our strong opinions) at face value. It also can convey that Christianity doesn’t really have answers to hard questions. So, we have to just accept the Bible’s teachings on faith, without further evidence. But biblical faith is not a blind leap; it involves knowledge that God has spoken and can be trusted.
Moreover, this approach can create suspicion in listeners, and even a condescending attitude: “Who are you to question me?” as though we are high and lifted up. But if we have puffed up hearts, our youth and postmodern-influenced people will sense that immediately. Yet, even if we unconsciously and subtly live from our own minds and resources (and not God’s), and not in vital union with both His heart and mind, then to that extent we will be living out of the flesh, which will include arrogance. But that is the factor so many are sensing in all-too-many evangelicals today.
Similarly, I am afraid that evangelicals subtly can yield to a temptation to live as though what they need to do is rely on information (such as what is found in the Bible), themselves, and even the (good) grammatical-historical method of interpretation, but not really on God Himself. McLaren puts it this way, when he restates Jesus’ words to Thomas (John 14:6–7) “You simply need to trust me. . . . I’m not trying to give you information or instructions so you no longer need me. . . .”[1] But, to the extent that we do rely on our own understanding and information, we actually are not fully depending upon Him (Prov 3:5) – for apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5).
Shutting down Christians’ questions can come from an insecurity because we may want to appear to have it all together. So, we may not allow questions because we may not know all the answers. But, we don’t have to. We are not the saving grace.
We also need to remember that good-hearted evangelicals are not incapable of being overtaken by evil. We too can elevate our thoughts above the Lord’s and live out of our hearts’ default, fleshly condition, and to that extent become arrogant and (perhaps subtly) worship our own minds. We all need to humble ourselves before the Lord and submit all our thoughts, ways, and hearts to Him. He needs to assess our ideas, especially before proclaiming them as truth. If we don’t do that, we set ourselves up for being influenced by our flesh and even by demonic forces, perhaps by speaking “truth” as if we created it, and in authoritative tones that put others to submission. Just as much as anyone else, we evangelicals can become arrogant, perhaps by proclaiming that our place to stand is without question.
[1] McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity, 221 (emphasis mine).