{"id":3102,"date":"2012-02-24T04:00:02","date_gmt":"2012-02-24T11:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/?p=3102"},"modified":"2012-02-24T00:13:34","modified_gmt":"2012-02-24T07:13:34","slug":"mega-fridays-furtick-says-pastors-rip-off-t-d-jakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/?p=3102","title":{"rendered":"Mega Fridays: Furtick Says Pastors “Rip Off” T.D. Jakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today marks the launch of Mega Fridays<\/em><\/span>, a new, weekly post at From Law to Grace.\u00a0 Every Friday, I’ll share the latest jaw-dropping, perplexing, “you just can’t make this stuff up”<\/em>\u00a0gems from some of America’s most well-known celebrity\u00a0megachurch\u00a0pastors, many of whom are setting the\u00a0trends (not all good)\u00a0 that many younger pastors will follow. \u00a0 Every now and then, I’ll pass along a wise word or a particularly encouraging message from some of\u00a0Evangelicalism’s (and Southern Baptists’)\u00a0most well-respected non-celebrity megachurch pastors.\u00a0 With limited comment from yours truly, I’ll ask my readers to ponder and answer a few relevant questions related to the post.\u00a0 Some Mega Friday stories will be\u00a0infuriating while others will be inspirational.\u00a0Some posts will make you scratch your head and still others\u00a0would be funny if they were not so sad.<\/p>\n

The first Mega Friday\u00a0story comes to us courtesy of the recent Code Orange Revival at Elevation Church<\/a>.\u00a0 Steven Furtick, Elevation’s pastor, could be considered an influential voice among many younger pastors, both inside and outside\u00a0the SBC. I don’t believe in “guilt by association,”<\/em> but I do believe who we choose to\u00a0elevate as role models in our own ministries — particularly the preaching ministry —\u00a0says\u00a0much about our own wisdom and discernment as men (and\u00a0women<\/a>)\u00a0called to proclaim the Word of God in every generation.<\/p>\n

One of the speakers at\u00a0 the Code Orange Revival\u00a0was none other than T.D. Jakes. I won’t rehash the arguments surrounding the wisdom of inviting Jakes to take part in Elephant Room 2. Although I have my own thoughts on the matter, I would encourage you to read Dwight McKissic’s excellent post-Elephant Room 2 analysis <\/a>(including links to those who still opposed Jakes’ participation). It’s clear that Bishop Jakes\u00a0has had an enormous influence on Steven Furtick\u00a0and his own ministry at Elevation Church.\u00a0 Furtick, who called T.D. Jakes “the greatest preacher of our time,<\/em>” admitted that not only had he “ripped off”<\/em>\u00a0Bishop Jakes’ sermons, but that\u00a0“every preacher who has anything to say rips off Bishop T.D. Jakes”<\/em><\/p>\n

I can’t speak for any other pastor, but it has never, ever crossed my mind to borrow or “rip off”<\/em>\u00a0anything of T.D. Jakes.\u00a0 I don’t believe I have even quoted Jakes in any form or fashion and I don’t have any plans to do so anytime soon.\u00a0Of course, I have just\u00a0admitted\u00a0that this fact makes me a\u00a0preacher who has nothing to say.\u00a0That’s okay.\u00a0Nothing I say matters anyway. I just hope that\u00a0God, through His Word, has something to say to His people.<\/p>\n

So, take a look at Pastor Furtick’s\u00a0introduction of Bishop T.D. Jakes and ask yourself:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Do you agree with Pastor Furtick\u00a0that every preacher who has anything to say rips off Bishop\u00a0T.D. Jakes?<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Do you agree that T.D. Jakes is the\u00a0greatest preacher of our time?<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Do our role models in ministry — especially the\u00a0pastors who we choose to elevate\u00a0— reveal anything about our own wisdom and discernment?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    A generation of Southern Baptist and Evangelical pastors is being influenced by other pastors, many of whom are serving in large churches with a\u00a0wide\u00a0reach (not that there’s anything wrong with that). But, is John Piper the same as T.D. Jakes\u00a0the same as Matt Chandler the same as Steven Furtick? I know how I would answer that question.\u00a0 How about you?<\/p>\n