Southern Baptist Megachurch Pastor Attacks Lifeway Over Novel

Back in late November 2008 the Executive-Pastor of the 28,000-member First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida started a series of blog posts on the “Catholic cult” and referred to a Catholic priest from South Carolina as a “Cult leader.” I wrote about FBC Jax and Jim Smyrl in a post titled “A Southern Baptist War on the Catholic Church ‘Cult’.”

Now that same megachurch pastor is causing more controversy according to several bloggers. His last post - which has since been removed - offered a scathing attack of Lifeway for selling the popular novel The Shack in their stores. Here’s the post:

“Lifeway Without the Way”, by Jim Smyrl - as appeared at FBC Jax Website 1/28/09, and available in the Google website cache.

At last year’s SBC meeting in the city of Indianapolis, a colleague of mine went with the intention of making a recommendation that Lifeway stores come under examination. The purpose behind the recommendation was to call our convention to hold Lifeway accountable to the Baptist Faith and Message in regards to materials offered for sale. At the time, Lifeway was rapidly selling The Shack, which heretically misrepresents the Trinity, presenting God from the viewpoint of a modalist. I believed and continue to believe that as a Southern Baptist entity, Lifeway should have enough integrity to offer materials that are chosen based on our BFM. The Shack is one of dozens of works offered on Lifeway shelves that not only contradicts the BFM, but more so, the Bible.

Word got out regarding the recommendation. I received a phone call asking for a meeting with Tom Rainer, President of Lifeway, and one of his associates. In a spirit of accountability, I took my colleague to the private meeting at the convention. In order to maintain integrity, I will not discuss the details or spirit of the meeting. I will confirm that in that meeting it was agreed that we would not go to the convention floor with the recommendation, on the basis that Dr. Rainer had, that day, taken steps to form a review committee that would scrutinize what went on the shelves of Lifeway. As an apparent bargaining chip, Dr. Rainer offered to remove The Shack from all Lifeway shelves and immediately did so upon my agreement to withhold the recommendation.

To my shame, as a man that did not know how the SBC hierarchy played the game, in just two weeks after the meeting, when time had passed for the recommendation to come to the floor of the convention and call Lifeway into accountability, Lifeway leaders made the choice to put The Shack back on the shelves. They placed a “warning to the reader” out to inform readers to be cautious and that books like the one in question were just fiction. It is incomprehensible that Lifeway actually believes Baptist readers can filter through the bad theology and not allow the gross misrepresentation of God to influence their thinking. The problem with that logic is the assumption that Baptists or believers in general have been taught to read critically.

Proponents of contaminated Lifeway shelves will readily inquire as to the viability of certain C.S. Lewis fictional works or Tim LaHaye works that may picture God in a less than biblically accurate manner. It is frightening when our convention leaders justify one gross misrepresentation of the very nature of God with a lesser misrepresentation of imagery relating to God. If Lewis or LaHaye serves as the standard by which we now choose our offerings on Lifeway shelves, I’m thankful they did not fictionally present Christ as a lesbian woman. If they would have lowered the bar to that extent, what would Lifeway leaders offer as Christian literature to young and immature believers today?

I believe believers should read from all genres of literature and have opportunity to critically examine all materials. However, for immature believers, such examinations should take place in environments where questions can be posed to them and answered from an open Bible. Such an environment does not diminish the priesthood of the believer, but rather allows pastors to build up a priesthood by properly equipping believers to become discerning, theologically minded readers. Currently, Lifeway offers poison and purity on the same buffet in hopes believers that purchase and ingest can discern, without help, between the two before damage is done.

When Scripture ceases to serve as the standard by which we make choices, even book choices we recommend to believers, anything goes. A few weeks after the convention Lifeway pulled from the shelves a magazine that contained a polemic in favor of women serving as pastors. Chris Turner, a Lifeway representative, said, “The buyers said the statements that were in it took positions that were contrary to what we would say. It wasn’t so much that there were women on the cover.” Who is “we”? What standard was used to make this decision? Why is such a standard not applied to much more influential books like The Shack or should I say, “much more financially lucrative books?”

Lifeway’s actions regarding this magazine should be applauded since women serving in such a role are clearly prohibited in Scripture. However, the inconsistency is glaring. Based on what is offered and not offered by Lifeway, are Southern Baptists to conclude that it is not acceptable to provide literature that presents women as pastors, but it is acceptable to offer literature that presents God as a woman? Or is the decision not ultimately about providing literature that promotes sound doctrine? Does Lifeway choose products that believers walk in, pick up, read and adjust life and belief accordingly based on financial gain? Would it not be better to have smaller stores, fewer employees, less merchandise, and lower profit margins in order to allow Southern Baptist pastors the ability to direct our people to a store that offers materials that represent God in the manner that He has revealed Himself?

Yes, it is the pastor’s role to equip the saints. Lifeway does not have the biblical mandate of the pastor. But why would Lifeway work in contradiction to the pastor’s effort to grow godly believers? Why would a Southern Baptist entity be allowed to offer materials that oppose the preaching in Southern Baptist pulpits? I say to Southern Baptists, either sever Lifeway from the Southern Baptist Convention or require Lifeway to fall within the boundaries of theological integrity in which our seminary professors and denominational agencies daily function.

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