I wasn’t going to wade into the twitter war currently being waged among evangelicals. Frankly, much of evangelicalism is so tribal that facts are completely ignored in the conversation. All that matters is which denomination you belong to and which major teachers you happen to follow. Hence when another twitter spat broke out between followers of John MacArthur and followers of Beth Moore, I was originally planning to ignore it. They’ve been at each other’s throats for a while and I’d already made the position of In His Image clear regarding the ever-widening chasm of the complimentarianism versus egalitarianism debate. However, when I discovered the comments that sparked the war and why people were so angry at John MacArthur, I decided we could address the broader issues in play.
For those who don’t know the context, MacArthur was on stage with Todd Friel of Wretched! and Friel asked him to give off the cuff responses to things he named. When Friel said Beth Moore’s name, the audience laughed, probably because they knew what was coming. MacArthur’s response was “Go Home”. And that has set off the egalitarians and all of Beth Moores fan base. Christianity Today published an article attacking MacArthur for the statement, celebrity minister Max Lucado went after him, among others. MacArthur became a pariah among most evangelicals practically overnight. So why is there such an issue here and did MacArthur actually say anything wrong?
In order to understand the backlash, you need to understand the context. Beth Moore, a well-known author, and women’s conference speaker has been making inroads in recent years into a role which both traditionally and Biblically has always been held by men: preaching in Sunday services. She’s made no secret of it, openly admitting to speaking in Sunday services to the general congregation. I’ve written about this before so I will not belabor the point. I will merely point out that what she is doing is unBiblical.
What concerns me more than Beth Moore getting into the odd pulpit here and there, is the attitude that allowed her to get there. The mere fact that members of the Southern Baptist Convention leadership, including if I’m not mistaken the President of the Convention, jumped to Beth Moore’s defense when she admitted publically she was preaching to whole congregations is worrying. The fact that so many in Evangelical leadership seem unwilling or unable to say anything in opposition to Beth Moore and the women around her who are also preaching in churches is frankly terrifying. This does not even account for some of her other doctrinal issues which are obscured by all the press about her “preaching”.
With all the background out of the way, it becomes more clear why MacArthur was so adamant. It also explains why MacArthur got hammered on Twitter and elsewhere for his stance. (Disclaimer, I do not agree with MacArthur on everything, but on this issue, he is spot on.) Moore and her ilk are growing within the church. MacArthur, in telling her to go home, was likely appealing to Titus 2:5 which claims that women in the church are to be keepers at home. Unfortunately the “woke” wing of evangelicalism, has little to no interest in Scripture. They are, however, very interested in pursuing anti-Biblical agendas, such a social justice and other, similar views.
So was MacArthur right in telling Moore to “Go Home”? Absolutely! I’d go even further than MacArthur did. I’d urge her to repent of her rebellion against God’s order and design for the church. I’d urge her to repent of the numerous other false doctrines she peddles. Further, I’d have strong words for Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Grear and the Convention as a whole for not appropriately dealing with the rank sinful rebellion Moore is exhibiting in their ranks. Further, I’d challenge her husband to use his influence to pull her back from the precipice she is walking on. I’m not in MacArthur’s shoes; I do not have his influence and likely never will, probably because I don’t have his tact. But I appreciate his willingness to stand up and call out error as he sees it. Moore and her ilk are dangerous to the church and need to be stopped.
In His Image 