In the religious section of the The Dallas Morning News on April 13th of this year Max Lucado took center stage. The article written by Anne Belli Gesalman (entitled “Jesus as the Everyman”) leaves the reader wondering if she is Lucado’s publicity agent. Included are several columns of praise for the popular author.
Now certainly she has every right to interview such a well-known personality, and Max undoubtedly appreciates any positive exposure he can get, but somehow between the two of them a tremendous disservice has been done to the Lord and His church.
She begins by describing a sketch of Jesus which hangs in Lucado’s office. Perhaps this is not the greatest point in the world, but one wonders who drew it: Peter, James, John? Perhaps Paul doodled it while in his prison cell? Where would one get a picture of the Lord 2,000 years removed from His physical presence? And why doesn’t Max know any better? Name anyone else masquerading as a preacher that has a picture of Jesus hanging in his office.
But wait. This sketch is unique. According to Anne, the Jesus in this picture is laughing hysterically. She comments: “But it’s the one that Mr. Lucado keeps in mind each time he sits down to pen another chapter in one of his inspirational books,” and “Indeed, it’s Mr. Lucado’s portrayal of Jesus in a relaxed, Everyman sort of way” that has made him so popular (1G).
That’s interesting. Did Jesus laugh hysterically?
First of all, the word hysterically does not appear in the Bible; laughing does. Ironically, Jesus is never in the New Testament described as laughing (what would you expect for the “man of sorrows”?); He was, however, laughed at (Luke 8:53). He did make two statements about laughter. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh” (Luke 6:21). “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep” (Luke 6:25). Perhaps Max has “lightened up” a little too soon and should consider spiritual matters more seriously. Is he making Jesus an “Everyman” or a “common man”? Certainly, his sketch of Jesus laughing hysterically lacks Biblical authority.
Devoutly What?
This mischaracterization of Jesus is prominently displayed at the beginning of Gesalman’s article. After the attack on the Lord, His church is the next target. “While Mr. Lucado is devoutly Church of Christ (he’s minister of the Oak Hills Church of Christ in San Antonio), his books are nondenominational and sometimes include references to principal figures in other Christian denominations” (1 G).
There can be no question that the church of Christ, a name derived from the New Testament (Matt. 16:18; Rom. 16:16; Eph. 1:22-23, 4:4, and 5:23), is being equated in this sentence with man-made denominations. This inaccurate usage of the phrase is an insult to Jesus our Lord and a slap in the face of those truly trying to be non-denominational.
The church of Christ, as described in the New Testament, was built by Jesus; He yet remains the head over it. The Lord’s church has nothing to do with denominations which are unauthorized by God and established by men. Those who are genuine Christians today have no desire to be part of a denomination and recoil in horror at the thought. We just want to be Christians and are satisfied to be part of the church, the temple, the household of God.
We do not have a denominational structure, national conventions, or policy making boards. We are autonomous and subject only to the Scriptures, which are God’s revelation to man. We believe that the Scriptures are inspired of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17) and that they alone authorize what we do and what we teach (Col. 3:17).
To say that someone is “Church of Christ” (and shamefully some brethren do it) is the equivalent form of saying that someone is Methodist or Presbyterian. Such terminology implies that the Lord’s church is a man-made denomination, which in turn casts a poor reflection upon our Savior.
In the second place, Max Lucado is not devoutly “Church of Christ” in any sense. He certainly is not a devout member of the Lord’s church, as described in the pages of the New Testament. He fellowships those who teach doctrinal error, something that Jesus did not do (Matt. 15:12-14, Matt. 23), nor Paul (Rom. 16:17-18, 1 Tim. 1:18-20, 2 Tim. 2:16-18), nor Peter (2 Peter 2:18-22), nor John (1 John 4:1, 2 John 9-11), nor Jude (vs. 3-4). Max speaks to various denominational groups and praises what they are doing. He treats all who have never been baptized for the forgiveness of sins as brethren–because he thinks they are! So he is not a devout member of the Lord’s church.
But if he thinks the church of Christ is the same as a man-made denomination (and he most assuredly does), then he is still not very devout, because he fellowships indiscriminately all the other denominations–scarcely the philosophy of a “devout” partisan. If the reporter wanted to characterize accurately Max’ relationship with the church of Christ, she might be surprised to learn that true brethren do not fellowship him because of his unrepented heresies. As people bought by the blood of Christ and instructed by the New Testament concerning genuine fellowship, we find it impossible to abide by the Word and fellowship one who blatantly transgresses it.
How ironic that the reporter calls his books “non-denominational” (which they are not; if anything, they are inter-denominational) and then treats the genuinely non-denominational church of Christ as though it were one.
The Secret Identity
Consider some of the final comments recorded in this article from Julie Mantai, the manager of a large “Christian” bookstore in The Woodlands, just north of Houston. “Lucado books don’t stay on the shelves very long. Christians of all sorts buy them” (4G). What does she mean by “Christians of all sorts”? Tall ones, short ones, male, female? No, she means denominational “Christians.”
She goes on to say: “I don’t think anyone knows he’s Church of Christ. I’m Episcopalian, and my priest quotes him in at least two or three sermons a month” (4G). [That’s scary–to think that Lucado’s literary placebos are put on a par with the Scriptures.] Here, once again, the Lord’s church is treated as a mere denomination. No doubt, those who admit to being members of one would like to think that every other religious group is the same as they are, but such is not the case among those who respect the truth.
There is a reason that many people do not know Max’ religious background. For one, it never shows. Who could ever read anything by Max Lucado and find anything in it that would connect him with the Lord’s church? Certainly, he never teaches anyone about how to be saved. What book has he written in which he discusses baptism for the remission of sins, as Peter did on the day of Pentecost? He doesn’t even believe it himself (“devout” person that he is), and we know that he does not believe it because he counts nearly anybody as a Christian (except perhaps some of his “legalistic” brethren). It matters not to him if they were sprinkled as children or just prayed the “sinner’s prayer.” They are all Christians to him because he abides not in New Testament teaching. No, no one would identify Max as one of us–because he is not one of us.
Lucado does not teach (and therefore does not believe) that one must (after repenting of sins) be baptized in water by the authority of Jesus in order that they might be forgiven; he does not teach that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from our sins when we are baptized (Acts 2:38); he will not affirm that the Lord adds us to His church (Acts 2:47); nor will anyone ever hear him say that there is but one church (Eph. 4:4). And what has he written about the Lord’s Supper, correct worship, etc.?
Members of the Lord’s church are quite happy that Max has maintained a secret identity. The less association with us, the better. Max has opted for popularity and what he calls “unity.” He has, however, union at best; true unity would involve all of us coming together and abiding by the doctrine of the New Testament. Agreeing to ignore Biblical teaching, if it can be called unity, is the Babel kind.