In defence of evangelical heroes

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Recently I preached on 1 Corinthians 1:17-2:5, and I asked the following question: “Where do you see the power of God at work today in the world?”

The answer, of course, is whenever the foolishness of the cross is taught and valued. That puts you directly in touch with the power of God in the world. Do you want to see God’s power at work in the world today? Then find someone preaching the gospel of the cross faithfully. It might be unspectacular—it might seem foolish—and he or she might not have the latest techniques and strategies mastered, but there is the power of God at work in the world.

One of the big questions for me as I prepared was how this fits together with the propensity that evangelicals have always had for creating ‘heroes’ out of their great leaders. Why is it that evangelical leaders are often raised to prominence, influence and almost hero status? There are a range of reasons. We make certain evangelical leaders into ‘heroes’ because:

  1. They are innovators who established movements within Evangelicalism that we identify with or belong to (e.g. Martin Luther, Thomas Cranmer, Charles Simeon, Dick Lucas).
  2. They have said what God’s word says with such unique and staggering clarity, they put things better than we ever could (e.g. John Calvin, DA Carson, JI Packer).
  3. They have read the times and the culture with such penetrating insight, they show us (in ways we have never seen before and ways that resonate deeply with what we know to be true) the world in which we live and how the gospel ought to intersect with that culture (e.g. Francis Schaeffer, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Phillip Jensen, Tim Keller).
  4. They have modelled passionate, Christ-centred discipleship and love for him (e.g. John Piper, CJ Mahaney, Elisabeth Elliot).
  5. Their God-given gifts of communication, rhetoric and energetic activism have made them the popularizers and spokesmen for the insights and movements of those in the first four groups (e.g. George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, Billy Graham, Mark Driscoll).

Now, assuming that such ‘heroes’ are God’s gift to the church, how do we ensure that we also avoid Corinthianism?

  1. We don’t just praise them, we first and foremost praise God for them: we recognize them as gifts from God and receive them with thanksgiving (1 Tim 4:3).
  2. We act like the Bereans, and test what they say and teach against the word of God (Acts 17:11). Incidentally, this is exactly what one of the younger ‘heroes’ urged us to do on his recent visit to Sydney.
  3. Having assessed their teaching and example against God’s word, we seek to put what is good into practice. If one danger in this area is Corinthianism, the other danger is surely to be so fearful of any vague scent of Corinthianism, we refuse to learn what we need to from these God-given gifts to the church.
  4. We don’t narrow the field by attaching ourselves to just one hero.
  5. We realize that the very reason that such people are lauded in this way is because they are exceptional. And so we don’t collapse into either guilt or envy; instead, we continue to remember that God can and does work through the everyday, unexceptional weakness of people like us.

11 thoughts on “In defence of evangelical heroes”

  1. Hey Gav! Don’t take the lack of comments as a lack of support. Often, it seems we only bother to post when we want to disagree, or there’s a bit of a debate going.

    When it’s a matter of encouragement we often leave it unsaid. Human nature. And understandable. But a a bit of a pity

    In my opinion, I reckon this is an absolutely terrific post, and as a fellow panelist who’s offered a bit of a critique of some evangelical heroes, I want to applaud the way your defence of them is expressed. I reckon it’s on the money.

  2. Great post Gavin! It is definitely an issue that needs to be talked about, especially in the light of Mark Driscoll’s visit to Australia and his obvious hero status among many young Christian men (myself included). I think we need heroes of the Faith to inspire us, just like the apostle Paul who said ‘imitate me as I imitate Christ’, but we must always realize that their ability and gifts come from God, and to Him belongs the praise.

    Zac

  3. top post Gav

    no debate or disagreement from me

    could I add one more suggestion?

    I thought Hebrews 13:7 might be helpful

    we should remember those ho have taught us the word of God (living and dead)
    consider the outcome of their way of life (the fruit of their service?)
    and imitate them

    there is no better way to honour our heroes then to imitate their life and doctrine, to love the Lord as much as they do and proclaim the word of grace as they did.

  5. Great post! I had never thought of our heroes in light of the Corinthian church. You’re my new hero!(j/k)

    One of my “heroes” of today is Bro. Paul Washer. I have to be careful though, because sometimes I catch myself thinking, “Well, if Paul Washer said it, it must be true.” Very easy place to fall into. Human nature.

    Anyway, thank you for your perspective on this.

    Soli Deo Gloria

  8. When speaking of Timothy and Epaphroditus, Paul told the Philippians to “honour such men”. Of course, if the Philippians were Australians they would interpret that as “Make every effort to cut them down (by informal joking) to bloody well ensure they don’t think they’re better than they are.”

  9. Sophie,

    Thanks for the link. Although it should be said that I am not against heroes. Not at all.

    I am against anything that even vaguely looks like cult of personality, and I am against triumphalism.

    If you are interested, Gav didn’t list my hero, which disappointed me, since I know Gav well.

    My hero didn’t write much, or speak on any famous platform, but seriously, I have not met a greater hero!

    His name is Selwyn Sexton.

    http://moffattnyc.blogspot.com/search/label/Selwyn

  10. Thanks Gav,

    Another thought I had for avoiding Corinthian hero worship: the instruction Paul gives the Corinthians in 1 Cor 11:1 … we follow our ‘here’ as they follow Christ.  In other words, appreciating them shouldn’t make us want to be like them; it should make us want to be like Christ like they are wanting to be like Christ.  It’s also reflected in the relationship between all the OT ‘heroes’ of faith in Heb 11, and how we should respond in Heb 12:1-3, which is that since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses we should fix our eyes on Jesus.

    It’s the old character study error: people look at Moses for concrete tips on how to be a more effective leader of God’s people (e.g., appointing capable men to leader over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens in Exod 18) rather than as an example of obediently trusting God’s promises, which will be the thing that helps us grow in our most holy faith, and therefore grow as a leader of God’s people.  The danger is the I end up wanting to be more like Moses for who he is, rather than wanting to be more like Moses as a man who faithfully followed the Lord.

    A separate issue, at the risk of being a bit nitpicky … perhaps even the language of ‘here’ is inherently Corinthian, and therefore worldly???  I remember a conversation with a great old saint at church who has spoken on the topic of ‘heroes’, and his thought that the notion itself is quite anti-Christian, at least in the first century world.  But in the way you’ve unpacked it, I understand what you mean, and I probably use the language that way myself sometimes.

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