It has been said that culture flows downstream from the church. More specifically, culture flows downstream from the pulpit.
This truth can be seen in the recent dustup over television stars Chip and Joanna Gaines.
For those of you who do not know, Chip and Joanna Gaines are local and national celebrities because of the show Fixer Upper, and because of their empire known as Magnolia. I have never seen Fixer Upper, but I have been to Magnolia. The cookies are worth the high price of $4 a piece. I’ve never tried the cupcakes, but I’m told they are splendid.
The problem for Chip and Joanna has come about because of a new show they are producing called Back to the Frontier.
The New Show
The new show features three couples who pretend to go back in time, and live in the 1880s. The problem with this scenario is that it involves a sodomite couple, who are pretending to be married, and who paid a woman to bear (sell) twin boys to them. My intent here, is not in discussing the couple. You can read more about them here and here. It is much worse than it sounds.
Also, please watch CrossPolitic’s presentation on the entire ordeal here. The guys at CP not only explain what is going on, but also show how wicked the entire show is. It is not as though Chip and Joanna were just providing money to produce the show. They are actively supporting and promoting sodomite marriage. The stated goal of the sodomite couple is to normalize sodomite marriage. This shows that they know it is not normal. It’s evil. In propping up this couple, Chip and Joanna are complicit in this normalization.
Yet, I think what is even more disturbing than all this, is the role their pastor is playing (or not playing). Chip and Joanna attend the church, Antioch Waco. And here is where the real problem begins.
The Pastor Bears the Responsibility
Now you do need to know, that the pastor of Antioch Waco, Jimmy Siebert, has come out against gay marriage, and has expressed that marriage is between a man and a woman. This is a bare minimum of what should have happend. Yet, there is more. He should not have just stated the positive of what they believe, but he also should have called both Chip and Joanna (and all who hold to sodomite marriage) to repentance.
This is what a true shepherd does. He should not just state what marriage is, but for those who are under his spiritual care who are supporting sodomite marriage, he should deal with them in such a way that either leads to their repentance or their excommunication from the church.
But to say nothing… is to neglect the calling of a shepherd.
I admit, church discipline may be going on behind the scenes. Yet, at some point, it has to be public since the sin was public. You cannot ignore the fact that other sheep are watching and need to see discipline in the lives of those who publicly sin.
The greater problem in all this is the fact that the pastor undermines his own stance on marriage every time he allows a woman to preach in the pulpit.
Women in the Pulpit Undermine Marriage
Gabriel Rench shares a video clip of the pastor of Antioch Waco introducing a woman to the congregation who “has a word for us today.” I strongly recommend that you watch it.
What you are seeing is the foundational problem that the pastor has embraced, of allowing women to preach, that results in the acceptance of sodomite marriage. How so?
It is so because the pastor is tacitly approving of role reversals when he allows a woman to preach.
Continue reading Chip & Joanna’s Fall and How Their Pastor Played a Part