![]() ![]() He begins his introduction of the blog by saying: I found this first divergence in the form of a Fox News clip from 2014 where Baucham unpacks his thoughts on the Mike Brown case, stemming from a blog he wrote for The Gospel Coalition titled, “Thoughts on Ferguson.” As he does in the blog, Baucham began his comments in the interview by immediately de-emphasizing Mike Brown’s death and the subsequent unrest in Ferguson, Mo. However, as I followed Baucham down a rabbit hole of his videos and posted work, I quickly came to realize that while we agreed on biblical manhood, at least on a portion of his view of it, we were tragically divergent on other pressing issues. “I agreed and I felt Baucham’s words on a deep level.” Through the rabbit hole I agreed and I felt Baucham’s words on a deep level. And I experienced that desire to glean from older men, even pastors and ministry leaders, some of whom ended up being deep and empty wells from whom I could not draw much. ![]() I was that young man who displayed a seriousness about God early on and felt the push toward ministry before my character matched my cognition. This resonated with me because it is my experience both personally and in community. He goes on to attribute this to a desire from other men in the church to create distance between the casual and the serious, as to not make those men feel guilty about “their mediocre pursuits.”īaucham states: “Modern American Christianity is the only place in our culture where we will tolerate this cognitive dissonance between a man who will say, ‘I’ve been walking with God 30-40-50 years, and I know nothing.’” I first encountered Voddie Baucham about four years ago through a video titled “The Mediocrity of Christian Men in America.” Baucham argues there that the standard for Christian men has been set so low that a young man who displays a seriousness for the things of God will be immediately pushed toward pastoral/preaching ministry. This is why I knew it was important to share my concerns about Pastor Baucham, because his theology and worldview shoot to the very heart of my right to exist as a Black man in America, as a Christ follower, and as one who believes our theology always should be evolving to reflect our finite understanding of our infinite God. I found an answer in the words of the great James Baldwin who said, “We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.” So when I had the opportunity to write about someone who I have strong opinions about, conservative pastor Voddie Baucham, I had to take a moment to think about how I really felt about him, what my main and most pressing grievance with him is, and if it would matter at all to share these thoughts in a public forum. ![]()
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