donald miller

Why Do We Care What Pat Robertson Says?

Brett McCracken — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:42:20 -0800

One of the most devastating and tragic earthquakes of my lifetime hit the already downtrodden nation of Haiti on Tuesday. It hurts my heart to think about the horror of such a calamity, which destroyed the capital city and killed tens of thousands of people.

But in the wake of this tragedy of unimaginable scope, everyone seems to be talking about something else… Pat Robertson.

Quips about Robertson and his ridiculous comments have been lighting up Twitter and Facebook. He’s been a top trending topic for the last 2 days. And everyone seems to be getting quite a kick out of joining in the Robertson slam-fest. Of the many tweets I’ve seen, here’s just a sampling:

“Pat Robertson is kinda like that senile old uncle at your family reunion. He said what? Oh, that’s just crazy Uncle Pat. Pay no attention.”
“Why do so many people in Haiti have to die while Pat Robertson lives?”
“Pat Robertson, bringing shame to the name of Christ for 50 years.”
“I wonder what Pat Robertson blames for the NBC late night debacle.”
“Pat talks about the Devil like he’s had business meetings with him… or the two play racket ball…”
“Just in case you needed more proof that Pat Robertson doesn’t speak for Christians, here you go…”
“Behold Pat Robertson, the unintended consequence of the first amendment.”

Everyone is buzzing about Pat Robertson this and that, but how many of us have actually given money to a relief organization or said a prayer for Haiti? Why do we care so much about what this old dude is saying about pacts with the devil? More importantly, why are we still talking about it?

Christians especially seem to have rushed swiftly to the “denounce Pat!” party. He doesn’t speak for us! Not all Christians are like that! He’s giving our faith a black eye! Can’t he just retire and disappear from the public eye?

I didn’t really want to read any more about Pat Robertson today, but so many people were sending this link around to Donald Miller’s blog post, I decided to click on it. Donald Miller’s post eloquently repurposes Robertson’s gaffe and turns it into a discussion about how being “overtly religious” is dangerous, and that faith in Christ should be intimate, quiet, and personal rather than public and loud. It should be about love and compassion rather than judgment and proclamations. How nice.

Miller’s post was retweeted more than 1100 times and garnered hundreds of comments, most of which expressed a sort of collective sigh of relief from Christians desperate for a moment of better PR. Many commented something to the effect of “Thank you for defending the true nature of our loving God and Savior!”

What saddens me about all of this is that Christians felt so desperate for a “defense” of their faith. Are we really that feeble in our religion (or, excuse me, our “Christ following”) that we need to even comment on dear old Pat? Is it that much of a threat? I don’t think so.

We need to stop worrying so much about having a favorable image. The success of God’s work in the world is not dependent on how people in 2010 perceive Christians, or how people like Pat Robertson contort the Gospel in disturbing and wrongheaded ways. If we believe God is sovereign we need to have confidence that he can overcome all the loudmouth bigots who go around saying idiotic things in the name of Christ (not that we shouldn’t chastise and discipline those loudmouth bigots among us).

We need to quit worrying about how the worst among us are ruining our reputation and instead focus on living Christ-like lives in accordance to scripture and God’s will. We need to worry about our own transformation first and foremost. Are we new creations?

We should love others and ease the suffering in the world—DONATE TO HELP HAITI—not because it will be better for our PR, but because the Bible tells us to and because the Spirit inside us spurs us to outward action. We should exude charity and patience and peace in our dealings with others not because it will win us admirers but because it is the Christian thing to do.

We need to be humble, yes, but not tepid. We should have confidence in the God we serve, the gospel we believe, and the church that we are. Christianity isn’t going to die, and no amount of public relations nightmares will break the body of Christ that has and will continue to move in the world. As the church of the resurrected Christ, our destiny is eternal and our hope never-ending.

Let’s stop talking about Pat Robertson and start living strongly in the light of our calling—which is to spread the message of hope, resurrection and renewal that is the Gospel of Christ.

Christy Talks With Donald Miller About America's Fatherhood Crisis

Christy Tennant — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:58:58 -0700

Donald Miller | podcast

Conversant Live — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:56:14 -0700

Donald Miller stopped by ConversantLife to talk about his latest book 'A Million Miles in a Thousand Years."

Donald Miller visits ConversantLife | podcast from ConversantLife on Vimeo.

First Reactions to Donald Miller's A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

Cara Davis — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:23:53 -0700

The quote I have posted on my Conversant Life profile reads: "[True happiness] is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose." (Helen Keller) ... I thought it was just a nice quote to post on my profile, until I read Donald Miller's new book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. Now I know it's painfully true.

Let me preface this short musing about Don's new book by saying I never read Blue Like Jazz. I'll admit it. So many other people had (or it seemed like it) that book become part of the cultural consciousness for Christians. Whether you had read it or not, you knew what it was about, and how it articulated an entire worldview for an entire generation. I tried to read one of his other books after that, but couldn't get into it.

Miller himself says his life (and writing) stalled after writing Blue Like Jazz. A Million Miles ... is about the journey he took to restart it. I finished the book in one sitting tonight. At first I thought it was a poor man's "Adaptation" (the movie) -- yet another example of a Christian taking something that exists in culture and putting a religious spin on it. I kept reading and got proven wrong, way wrong. And I'm glad I was.

While the writing is about writing (a screenplay based on Blue Like Jazz), it's just a technique that serves as a springboard into the telling of Miller's story itself. Miller masterfully teaches about the concept of story while moving you along his own. This account of living more intentionally – living on purpose and for a purpose – is powerfully convicting. And the dozens of smaller stories his contains supports the idea that we were made for so much more.

I dog-eared dozens of pages starting with 115 to nearly the last one. I twittered that the book is remarkably inspiring, and that I wanted to "enter my story" after having read it. But I think it would be more appropriate to say I want to start living a better story than I have heretofore.

I realize that my own journey of finding focus has been all about this. My life has lacked essential elements of a compelling story because I too often seek pleasure, comfort and self-gratification, when sacrifice and pain are the essential dark shades needed in every work of art. As Miller writes, "It wasn't necessary to win for the story to be great, it was only necessary to sacrifice everything."

It makes me think of others who are telling similar stories, weaving similar textures into their own narratives. I think of singer/songwriter Sara Groves, who values the "long defeat," the defiance of hope in the face of insurmountable odds. “I can't just fight when I think I'll win,” she says. Or John Evans, a lay minister in my church who visits the local jail each week, teaching and preaching to inmates, and praying with them. And Charysse, a friend of mine's sister, who has been fighting a brain tumor for years with courage and hope, for the sake of her little boys – a woman who's been through hell and says she wouldn't have it any other way.

There's something to this concept of conflict being essential to our stories. If you want to know more about it, Miller's book is a great place to start. As for me, I've got some writing (and living) to do ...