When A Shepherd Fails
Aug 14, 2017
When Donald J. Trump made irresponsible comments about North Korea, increasing the anxiety about an escalating conflict between them and the US, Robert Jeffress, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas weighed in with a full-throated defense of the president’s authority to “take out” the leader of another country.
What Jeffress lacks in knowledge of the Christian Scriptures he makes up for with sheer theological laziness. But nevermind that; we’ll likely never see anything more than that from Jeffress.
Notable, however, is that when white supremacists stage a rally on US soil, in an event in which one woman lost her life for opposing hatred and bigotry, Jeffress also penned a response. Two actually. Two tweets. On a day that our nation looked for leadership from its president and got little, we also looked to spiritual leaders. Jeffress, who has anointed himself a national leader managed the following tweets:
“Pray for peace in Charlottesville and across our nation.”
“Let there be no misunderstanding. Racism is sin. Period.”
I wonder if he has it backward. Perhaps when Trump popped-off about Kim Jong Un, Jeffress, a pal of Trump, could have tweeted: “Pray for peace in our world” and “Let there be no misunderstanding. War is awful. Period.”
And then, when the voices of hatred and bigotry took to the streets of Charlottesville, Jeffress could have penned a Washington Post article denouncing racism and calling his friend, the President, to also denounce – with specificity – the white nationalists who support him and feel empowered by him.
But I don’t actually expect such a response from Jeffress, a man who dislikes it very much when he feels corrected by others but who likes to condescend to everyone else about “the Bible.” What I do hope, though, is that those in the pews, including those who sit under the spell of Jeffress’s preaching, will realize that he isn’t really the shepherd he is made out to be. Instead, he seems more like one of the irresponsible shepherds of Ezekiel 34 who betray their flocks and face the judgment of God.
What Jeffress lacks in knowledge of the Christian Scriptures he makes up for with sheer theological laziness. But nevermind that; we’ll likely never see anything more than that from Jeffress.
Notable, however, is that when white supremacists stage a rally on US soil, in an event in which one woman lost her life for opposing hatred and bigotry, Jeffress also penned a response. Two actually. Two tweets. On a day that our nation looked for leadership from its president and got little, we also looked to spiritual leaders. Jeffress, who has anointed himself a national leader managed the following tweets:
“Pray for peace in Charlottesville and across our nation.”
“Let there be no misunderstanding. Racism is sin. Period.”
I wonder if he has it backward. Perhaps when Trump popped-off about Kim Jong Un, Jeffress, a pal of Trump, could have tweeted: “Pray for peace in our world” and “Let there be no misunderstanding. War is awful. Period.”
And then, when the voices of hatred and bigotry took to the streets of Charlottesville, Jeffress could have penned a Washington Post article denouncing racism and calling his friend, the President, to also denounce – with specificity – the white nationalists who support him and feel empowered by him.
But I don’t actually expect such a response from Jeffress, a man who dislikes it very much when he feels corrected by others but who likes to condescend to everyone else about “the Bible.” What I do hope, though, is that those in the pews, including those who sit under the spell of Jeffress’s preaching, will realize that he isn’t really the shepherd he is made out to be. Instead, he seems more like one of the irresponsible shepherds of Ezekiel 34 who betray their flocks and face the judgment of God.
