It’s sometimes a little difficult to know what to make of celebrities’ profession of faith in Christ. The most recent turnaround has been the testimony from Russell Brand (controversial because of allegations of sexual misconduct of various kinds) that he was baptized in the River Thames.
A cynic might wonder exactly what is going on. Then you listen to what he actually says about the experience — it feels, he said, if I may paraphrase as if something new has been switched on inside him, and he has surrendered to Christ.
When you listen to that you somewhat regret the initial cynicism. Less opaquely, the world number one professional golfer, and recent winner of the Masters tournament, Scottie Scheffler, described the remarkable impact that being a Christian has had on his professional career.
Feeling overwhelmed before the final round, he turned to his Christian friends who encouraged him that his identity was secure because of the cross. He then knew that however much he of course wanted to win; in the end his core identity was not under threat even he lost.
These stories are heartening. Perhaps we don’t need to know what to make of them. It’s the Lord’s role to discern matters of individual salvation, and only he can see the heart.
Whether, though, one leans cynic or celebratory with these stories (and there are others bubbling around the internet), there does seem to be a fresh sense that Christianity is worth considering.
The ideological opposition to the gospel has in no way gone away. Witness also the turbulence on American campuses at the moment — which, whatever their political aspects, are at the root of another manifestation of the confusion that comes with the rejection of the underpinning Christian truth that built the self-same institutions in the first place.
What to make of all this? I’ve been reflecting a lot recently in my personal times on Jesus’ teaching to Peter at the end of John’s gospel about throwing the net down on the right side. Obviously, such a text can be ripped out of its context and applied inadvertently and unhelpfully piously.
Which made me rummage around in my Edwards to find out what he thought it meant by application. Essentially for Edwards it meant that we should give ourselves to God’s Word — which is why the conversation soon turns to feeding the sheep.
Spurgeon, when I turned there, had a slightly different take. For him, comparing another occasion in the gospels when there was a miraculous catch of fish, it means that we can do nothing without the presence of Christ.
I’ve wondered to myself — and I think this is a danger as we become more experienced in ministry — whether all the insights and methodology and approaches to ministry can at times get in the way of the most profound and simple truth that is only by Christ’s power, and by his Word, and with his Spirit that we can do anything.
So? Pray, brother and sister.
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/de’andrebush