By Diane SilverWhile I was gone, a minister at the First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, in St. Joseph, Mo., blogged about a long ago encounter with a twentysomething Jerry Johnston.
At that time, the man who would one day lead the First Family church of Overland Park, Kan., was the evangelist at a Southern Baptist youth camp. The good Rev. Peep was a teenaged camper.
Even then Johnston preached hellfire. He terrified the young camper. In his post, the Rev. Peep argues that Johnston's theology of fear is more of a betrayal of his congregation than the financial shenanigans Johnston has been accused of recently.
The Rev. Peep writes;
I can't help but think about the 13 year-old me. I believed what he said. I trusted him. I agonized over what he preached. I was tender-hearted, vulnerable and doing my best to be a good Christian. I was manipulated. I only lost a bit of innocence. I never recall giving any money to Jerry Johnston, like so many others. Yet, he betrayed me and he betrayed the Gospel by teaching me about a vengeful God and offering nothing of God's grace. Jerry's gospel was about Jerry. Then and now.When I have time. (Hah! No really...) I want to look more into the Gospel of Jerry. I think it may well be time to talk theology, but first, a little money-inducing work.
1 comment:
Hell is real and is a spooky place. It is not for us. It is for the devil, his followers, and those who reject Christ. Why shouldn't people hear about it? Many pastors and their flocks are going to split it wide open, because the full gospel of Christ was not preached, because people want feel good positive messages all of the time.
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