A Practical Exercise in Spotting what is and isn't Acceptable Comment

[Curious]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVDltQlr4ws&t=784s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlQqzfj1jmw

For anyone who is interested, I present a training exercise. Watching these two commentaries on the same subject, I could write a long list on what Alan Parr says that is good, and what I would expect a good Christian leader to say. In sharp contrast, Spencer Smith's commentary is chock full of red flags as someone proposing to speak as a Christian commentary on the firing of this Hillsong Pastor.

Some obvious odious attitudes of S.S. are:
-Lack of addressing specifics, wild conjecture, and speculatively adding more to the tally of 'moral failures', without any factual basis. (Yes, Carl is also a pervert....apparently!!)
-Speaking of Carl Lentz in a way that dehumanizes him, not even thinking of the human impact in Carl, his family or the church community.
-He claims to be the expert so we should just trust that he is right. He even does a weird 'we all just know this is true' speech which just reeks of non-fact based coercion to his listeners. A really important thing to ID.
-He speaks without compassion or even understanding how the mechanics of this situation could come about for any Christian leader. There is no practical take away but to judge and condemn CL, he even goes as far as to judge he's not even saved and has absolutely no moral compass! Very presumptuous and something I personally would fear to do, and is totally unnecessary. In fact the situation is just a springboard to 'go for it!' with manufactured accusations.
-He quotes many seemingly damming scriptures but which on closer inspection, don't have a direct relationship to the topic. Just sounds authoritative.


Things Alan Parr mentions wisely, none of which are noted by S.S.:
-Carl publicly owns his moral failure, and accepts the consequence of losing his job. something hard for anyone to do.
-He refers in specific points, to the full statement CL made publicly.
-He advises to refrain from speculation and gossip about what 'moral failure' refers to. (Good moral response and caution).
-We could all take this opportunity to think about our own lives and risks of falling into moral failures ourselves, and quotes the biblical caution that confirms this attitude.
-We should pray for him and his family. This, as well as these preceeding points, preserves an appreciation of his humanity and that of those around him.

There is no doubt, much more to note.

This may seem off topic to the LC. but in the end, the learning from the LC is to go forwards and apply to wider situations, ID the wrong approaches. Learn from the experience. So this is an exercise in doing the ID in another context, which is relevent to us that have been conditioned to listen unquestioningly to an authoritative attitude without actual substance. I have used my exposure to the LC to train myself. And these other comparasins help me too.

[Sons to Glory!]

I did scan through both of them and found the first commentary (white brother) a little opinionated. I agree the 2nd one (black brother) was much more even and less judgmental/harsh.

I then watched a couple things by the Hillsong bro they spoke of, Carl Lenz, who I hadn't heard of before. I found Carl's messages to have a fair amount of substance (and some degree of entertainment), and I did hear the name of Jesus Christ and a focus on Him mentioned a number of times, which is a basic yardstick for me. (I sometimes hear a preaching that seems to go on a long time without hearing the name of Christ mentioned, which for me raises a caution flag.) Carl also presented various scriptures.

This message of bro Carl's (from over a year ago) was pretty good:
Carl preaching on love in the church

To me, it seems believers who gain some notoriety, often get into a situation their flesh just has a hard time resisting. This happens to politicians, celebrities, et. all. And believers are no different - we all have the same rotten flesh, which is capable of most anything. Only Christ in us, with the killing/resurrecting power of the cross can subdue it.

[OBW]

Mentioning a focus on Jesus Christ is not the same as focusing on Jesus Christ. Not saying that is not what was meant, but just noting that what was said was not what should be meant.

For example, many songs have mentions of Jesus, Christ, God, the Holy Spirit, etc., but focus mainly on the feelings, emotions, successes, and failings of man. Yes, God (in general) is in there, but it is not the focus. That is often the case with other aspects of worship and other activities in some places.

[Sons to Glory!]

Originally Posted by OBW

Mentioning a focus on Jesus Christ is not the same as focusing on Jesus Christ. Not saying that is not what was meant, but just noting that what was said was not what should be meant.

For example, many songs have mentions of Jesus, Christ, God, the Holy Spirit, etc., but focus mainly on the feelings, emotions, successes, and failings of man. Yes, God (in general) is in there, but it is not the focus. That is often the case with other aspects of worship and other activities in some places.

Gotcha! My stated observation was, granted, a very superficial one . . .

I've had thoughts of visiting a local Hillsong here in Scottsdale, which is just around the corner from us, to see things for myself. However, time is so good where I am, I never seem to make it!