The Changing of the Guard

 

Doctor James Dobson, founder of Focus On The Family, has recently reposed and gone to be with the Lord. It seems since Billy Graham died in 2018, we have seen the Old Guard of Media Ministers passing away, with Pat Roberson in 2023, who was founder of CBN and 700 Club ,and Charles Stanely in 2023. This changing of the guard, as men who wielded great influence in the spotlight for the faith can be jarring. Questions begin to fester, do they have successors? Who will now take their pulpits and chairs? Who can fill their shoes? 

This happened on a much more overwhelming level in the Early Church, when all the Disciples of Jesus and Apostles died. The Church was confronted with a reality that, “Jesus was not going to return in their lifetime, and so they had to find new meaning, shedding the apocalyptic view for martyrdom, or monasticism and Anchoritism (hermits).” (A Little Lower Than The Angels: The History of Sex and Christianity, Diamand McCulloch). The Church had a crisis point, the apostles gone, they had to carry on the torch of faith and there was no many who had the charisma nor the ability to fill the shoes of the Fishermen and Witnesses of Jesus’ Life and Ministry. On top of adopting erroneous views on martyrdom and baptism by water to be saved (this is refuted by John 3:16-18, Acts 15:4-11, Romans 10:9-10, Philippians 3:9, Ephesians 2:4-11), the church slipped into a dark age of heresies, with Gnostics, Nestorians, and Arians seeking to pervert the pure faith, with some scholars of those times had mixed fire, Origen was infected with Arian ideals (some claiming he was the true origin of Ariansim). So we see when great authorites in the faith left this world to be with Christ, the Church fell into a dark age, where heresies tried to latch on like parasites, worming in to try and remove the beacon altogether. Fortunately, God raised up Emperors like Constantine to call for the Council of Nicea, and Emperors Justinian to break the Arians, and Emperors Theodosius I and II to bring an end to heresies. God had to use a sword instead of a cross to stop the tide of error. 

I do not believe such a problem will happen with loss of so many US leaders, they were not the apostles, but the concern turns to their successors. Franklin Graham is no Billy Graham, while Billy always championed The Cross and Christ, Franklin has given into interfaith National Day of Prayer. Gordon Robertson, Son of Pat Robertson does not have the charisma of his father, and is rather long winded, taking forever to answer a question in the Q&A called “Bring It On!” Unlike his Father. Charles Stanley’s Son is rather gifted as an author, but I have not seen his preaching to compare if he will be able to fill his Father’s shoes. 

The point is the vacuum caused by these people leaving this world is that either there will be no replacement, or youths will find voices on media that give them highlights. Some may say this change of the guard is a good thing, that they would not be able to adapt to the changing technologies and world. That like Moses they cannot enter the next phase, and a new leader like Joshua must lead the Church into the Promise Land of the next. I really hope that is true, but Church History does teach us that often when a strong leader of faith is lost that corruption can follow and people can get lost. We as Christians are suppose to have Jesus as our focus (Hebrews 12:2), and not leaders who are mere men. We also have the Scriptures, which that dark ages of 98-323 A.D. the Church did not have in one volume and mass produced so that they could read orthodox Christian beliefs and not slip into error. And yet right now, with the most access to the Bible than ever with apps, free Bible websites, and etc this is the most Biblically illiterate generation (https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/are-we-more-biblically-illiterate-than-ever). So access to the Scriptures is no guarantee. Heresy still can find its day in indolence. 

It is laziness that is the great threat to Christendom. That people would rather just trust these leaders and influencers to give them the “skinny” or abridged notes like CliffNotes of Christ’s Teachings. This is so dangerous because if you do not know what Bible actually says, you can be deceived. Do not forget we had Reformation because a Church for over a thousand years had the Scriptures hidden behind Latin which only a handful of scholars truly knew well like Jerome. Instead of Latin it is our own indolence that is the wall keeping us from the Truth, and I fear if a thirst for Biblical Literacy is not kindled like it was in Reformation times, then we are going back into a Dark Age where people,”will have a form of godliness but deny its power.” (2 Timothy 3:5). 

Unless the next generations get a thirst for God’s Spirit and His Scriptures, the Church Universal is going to find itself slipping into errors and repeat bad history.  Ronald Regan said that “freedom is always one generation away from extinction,” I would say that the Truth of the Gospel and Sound Doctrine is also always one generation away from extinction too. If an appetite for orthodox beliefs in Scripture is not created, we are going to see more CiffNotes Christianity, and a resurgence of gnosticism, arianism, nestorianism, and al the heresies of old with new ones. Amen.