JIM MARSHALL SCORES ONE FOR OTHER TEAM
In 1964 Minnesota Viking defender Jim
Marshall made a monumental and embarrassing blunder. He recovered a
fumble that the opposing team made, and in a moment of confusion, ran
the ball 66 yards in the opposite direction to score a safety
for their opponent, the San Fransisco 49er's. Ouch!
If you were a member of that 1964
Minnesota Viking team, wouldn't you be a bit shocked and disappointed
that Jim Marshall would ever do such a thing? Do you think that the
coach enthusiastically ran over to Jim Marshall after making such a
colossal blunder, then pat him on the back and said, "Well done
Jim!" Or rather, do you think that the coach rolled his eyes
back in disbelief, wondering how one of his own players could ever
make such an embarrassing mistake under his leadership.
And if you were a big Viking fan
watching the game that day, I have no doubt that you would feel a bit
down and embarrassed that your Minnesota Vikings would score points
for the other team. Of course Jim Marshall would never think of
intentionally scoring points for the other team, after all, he was a
big, tough Viking through and through. But despite that, Jim
Marshall, who had an outstanding career in the NFL, must not have
been paying attention and did the unthinkable, earning him the
dubious distinction of making one of the greatest sports blunders of
all time; I have no doubt in my mind that Jim Marshall was crushed
and ruined after making such a massive and embarrassing mistake.
A SERIOUS ISSUE
I think there is a valuable lesson to
be learned from Jim Marshall's most embarrassing moment. I am talking
particularly about the negative reaction and feedback I have received
since my last post regarding Eric Dykstra's genuine repentance from
preaching a burdensome, legalistic, and works-heavy non-gospel
message to his congregation.
I want to be very careful here because
I have met some of the critics and you are undoubtedly genuine
Christians. My intentions here are completely noble and instructive;
I have no desire to be devisive, but to bring a spirit of love and
unity to the body of Christ. This is a serious issue that must be
addressed, and I am writing specifically to the critics and naysayers
of Eric Dykstra.
TWO TEAMS: GOOD VERSUS EVIL
Just as there are opposing teams in the
National Football League who play with the single-minded goal of
stopping their opponent and winning the game, there are two teams in
the spiritual realm, only, it's no game. On one side you have team
Jesus Christ who is ultimate Good, and on the other side you have
team Satan and his demonic cohorts who are ultimate Evil. There are
no other teams in the league, no gray area, and every person is in one team or the other. You are either playing on
team Good or you are playing on team Evil. Therefore, we live in a
reality where there are only two teams in existence, Good versus
Evil, and each team is seriously focused on winning the game.
WHO ARE YOUR TEAMMATES?
If you are a Christian, that is, if you
have put your trust solely in Jesus Christ and His finished work of
redemption, then you are on team Good. Satan, demons, and all sinners
who have not put their trust in Jesus Christ and His finished
work of redemption are on team Evil. Team Good is made up of the
Christian God, His heavenly host, and all redeemed sinners who trust
in Christ alone. Team Evil is made up of Satan, demons, and all sinners
who refuse to bow the knee to Christ. Simple enough.
Satan and
his foul minions love division, especially division within the body
of Christ. The Apostle Peter cautions believers to "Be alert and
of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8). If the devil can
cause division and conflict on team Good, then he is that much closer
to gaining the upper hand.
When I first started my blog, I was pretty sure (not positive) that
Eric Dykstra was playing for team Evil. But now I am convinced that he is on team Good. Obviously the Lord wanted Eric
Dykstra on team Good, so He pulled him out of team Evil and put him
on team Good. There are solid reasons as to why I believe that the
Lord has pulled Eric Dykstra out of team Evil and put him on team
Good.
For one, he is now preaching the message
that team Good wants to put out there for the world to hear. Team
Good's message is to receive that which you do not deserve by grace
alone by faith in Christ alone, while team Evil's message is to earn
God's favor by trying harder to be a good person through obedience
and rule-keeping. Why would team Evil ever want to do anything that
would help team Good win the game? You see, if team Evil has every
intention of winning the game, then it simply does not make sense to
consistently preach team Good's message, and that is exactly what
Eric Dykstra has been doing.
The
problem is, I don't think some of the teammates on team Good don't
want him on the team. (and since I have recently been removed from the BDMSG Facebook page after my post regarding Pastor Eric's repentance, I assume they don't want me on the team either!) In fact, they still think Eric Dykstra is still
playing for team Evil. This is despite the fact that the sermons he
has preached lately is team Good's message of trusting in Christ
alone apart from works in order to receive salvation. If Eric Dykstra
were still on team Evil, then he would still be telling people that
they have to do more, give more, try harder, then God will
bless them, but that is simply not the case.
If Eric
Dykstra has been gracefully put on team Good by the Lord Himself,
then how is it that his own teammates would like him off the team?
How is this of any merit for team Good? The truth is, there is no
merit whatsoever in booting a bright, faithful, dedicated, and
exceptionally gifted teammate off of team Good. It is just plain dumb
for teammates to want to be rid of him, especially if teammate Eric
was specifically chosen by the All-Wise Coach to be on His team. If
Eric Dykstra is a genuine Christian who is preaching team Good's
message, then his own teammates ought to love him and encourage him
in his ministry for the greater Good.
I know
about the spiritual abuses that occurred at The Crossing under Eric
Dykstra, at least peripherally. I realize that people have been hurt
and broken. But if Eric Dykstra is now playing for team Good, then
his teammates ought to recognize him as a fellow brother in Christ
and praise the Lord for rescuing him and love him with Christian
love. But when his cynical teammates bury their head in the sand, ignoring the great work the Lord
has done in him, and fume over all the bad things he has done in the
past, well, that's just like Jim Marshall's infamous run into the
opponent's end zone, and you end up scoring points for the other
team. Remember, team Evil loves divisions and conflict on team Good.
WHAT HAPPENED TO PAUL HAPPENED TO
ERIC
The
Apostle Paul used to play for team Evil. That Paul, he was a real
piece of work. You think Paul didn't cause people to become hurt and
broken? He wanted Christians dead! He signed death warrants for
Christians! Paul, he definitely made a mess of other people's lives.
But for some reason the All-Wise Coach took him out of team Evil and
put him on team Good. He didn't deserve it, he knows he didn't
deserve it, but was grateful that the All-Wise Coach did what He did.
And as a demonstration of the greatness and power of the All-Wise
Coach, Christians throughout the ages have been blessed with actual
Scripture penned by the Apostle Paul himself.
That is sheer beauty, all from from the heart of a former Christian
killer who would never be the same after meeting the risen Christ on
the road to Damascus. The Lord nurtured and shaped him into one of
the most brilliant theologians, and one of the most gentle, patient, kind, and humble people ever to grace this
planet, apart from the Lord Jesus.
When Paul was put on team Good, people couldn't believe it. Many
Christians were skeptical about the whole thing, and I don't really
blame them. It would be something like Adolf Hitler becoming a Jew, it was just to far fetched. But sure enough, Paul preached the
message of team Good and as you can imagine, was involved in quite a
bit of ministry, and so after awhile skeptical Christians could no
longer deny that Paul was on team Good.
Now, I get that some people don't buy
into the idea that Eric Dykstra has truly repented. But it is a good
idea not to jump to conclusions without verification, and I would
also urge caution not to come to your conclusions too quickly. If you
haven't done so, listen to Eric
Dykstra's words. My last blog entry had this very sermon on it.
It is pure, unadulterated Gospel Truth from the mouth of Eric
Dykstra.
And how did one skeptic reply, "Hmmmmm, more meaningless words from him as far as I am concerned". What! Did that person actually listen to the sermon? My reply was, "So you think the Gospel is a bunch of meaningless words?" I said that because all that came out of the mouth of Eric Dykstra in that sermon was pure Gospel. That person, whoever it was, was suppressing the Truth of Dykstra's repentance.
And how did one skeptic reply, "Hmmmmm, more meaningless words from him as far as I am concerned". What! Did that person actually listen to the sermon? My reply was, "So you think the Gospel is a bunch of meaningless words?" I said that because all that came out of the mouth of Eric Dykstra in that sermon was pure Gospel. That person, whoever it was, was suppressing the Truth of Dykstra's repentance.
My concern is that the people who have
been hurt under Eric Dykstra aren't taking the news of Eric Dykstra's
repentance seriously. They think it's the same old Eric. But you know
what? The Lord has power to change people. He did it to me. He also
did it to my mom on her death bed, my brother Mitch six months before he died of a heart attack, and my nephew among others, and these
are all people that you would never expect to become believers, not
in a billion years. So don't underestimate God's power to do good for
people who totally don't deserve it.
EXCERPT FROM MY LETTER TO CHRIS
I wrote a letter to my nephew Chris
yesterday. Chris is in a Texas prison awaiting news on his recent
parole hearing. When he gets out he'll be coming back to Minnesota
and living with me until he gets back on his feet. Chris knows Christ, and
he knows about grace. It wasn't until he lost everything that he
realized he needed nothing but Christ. His transformation from bitter
cynic to follower of Christ is nothing short of amazing. Chris knew
something about my blog from prior letters I had written to him. In
yesterday's letter I told him that Eric Dykstra repented from
preaching a false gospel and is now preaching the Truth. In the
excerpt below I describe the dynamic that is now in place between a
newly transformed Eric Dykstra and those who have parted from The
Crossing under his suffering. This is how I feel about the whole
thing....
Chris, I am absolutely stunned when the good Lord blesses and rescues people who are sooooo bad. You know, people like me and you, and now Eric Dykstra. I have read some of the responses to yesterday's post, and do you know what is tragic in all this? Some of the very people who had left The Crossing because of the spiritual abuse there, genuine believers, can only sneer and grumble in unbelief at the idea that Eric Dykstra has had a major paradigm shift, a spiritual epiphany that will forever change the way he approaches his ministry. Do they fail to believe that the Lord would ever grant such abundant grace and mercy even to Eric Dykstra, as if they themselves have never offended anyone? The truth is, Eric Dykstra is a bad person just like I am a bad person, along with all of Eric Dykstra's critics. Apart from the imputed righteousness of Christ, we are bad people. We are all very bad!
I believe Eric knows this about himself. However, he is no less deserving of grace than his critics because Grace, by definition, is totally undeserved and unmerited favor and blessing from the Lord. You cannot earn grace by being good because grace can only occur if someone is undeserving. And it is sick when his critics, the very people who would crucify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in their unregenerate state just as swiftly and methodically as Eric Dykstra would, cannot find it in their own heart to see past their own cosmic treason against the Lord and forgive Eric Dykstra. Jesus took their place at the cross, receiving in Himself the punishment that they rightfully deserve and gives to them His righteousness as a gift. Our Savior has been so wonderful, merciful, kind, gracious, and patient with them, yet it seems that some have no desire to extend the mercy, grace, patience, and kindness that the Lord has given to them and pass it on to Eric Dykstra. It's “conditional” grace, which is not grace at all. (“If only Dykstra would apologize for the things he has done, then I would be willing to receive him”).
Well here's a news flash for ya. (and excuse the language) Eric Dykstra is a total fuck-up. I am a total fuck-up, everyone on this planet is a major league fuck-up. And if the people who are bitter at Eric Dykstra are waiting for him to get his act together and approach them before they are willing to forgive him, well, they will be waiting a long, long time, because it will probably never happen this side of eternity. But genuine grace and perfect love can completely overlook the sins that others have committed against us. This is no better demonstrated than in Christ's work on our behalf. When we see ourselves just as fucked-up and disastrous as Eric Dykstra, then all we can do is sing praises to the Lord, not only for rescuing us, but also for rescuing Dykstra and lovingly bringing him into His fold.
MY CHALLENGE TO YOU
Those are not the easiest words for
some of you to read, but it's from my heart and it happens to be the
truth. And it is my prayer that that truth would penetrate into your
noggins. I know that the Back Door Ministry Support Group exists for
a very good reason, and I think its a necessary thing to do for some.
But if you want to really heal, I suggest that you do what is
completely counter intuitive. Jesus did it all the time.
Instead of stewing in your bitterness and waiting on Eric Dykstra to
come to you and apologize, take the initiative to seek him out and
give him your blessing. Love him with kind words and generosity and
expect nothing in return. He doesn't deserve your love, generosity,
or kindness, but to receive that which you don't deserve makes you a
better person. And I guarantee that if you go out of your way to love
Eric Dykstra, even if you think he still playing on team Evil, then you will feel a million times better than going to
your support group. Love your enemies, that's what Christians do, and
by doing that you make the world a much better place.
PRODIGAL ERIC
For those who still cannot come to grips with Eric Dykstra's repentance as you cling to your resentment, read the story of the Prodigal Son. Dykstra is the Prodigal Son in the Crossing Church version of the story, and his unforgiving critics are all the Older Brother. While there is a party going on in Heaven rejoicing over the salvation of Prodigal Eric, the Older Brother can do nothing more than bitch and complain that the Father would rescue him. I would like to suggest that your beef isn't really with Eric Dykstra, but ultimately it is with the Lord. Christ invites you join His massive party and rejoice at the Divine rescue of Eric Dykstra, which glorifies our great Savior for His undying mercy. Please, don't offend your Father in Heaven by choosing to stay clear of the party. Won't you please join Him now? And if your heart is not in it, then go to your Lord in prayer and ask Him to change your heart.
PRODIGAL ERIC
For those who still cannot come to grips with Eric Dykstra's repentance as you cling to your resentment, read the story of the Prodigal Son. Dykstra is the Prodigal Son in the Crossing Church version of the story, and his unforgiving critics are all the Older Brother. While there is a party going on in Heaven rejoicing over the salvation of Prodigal Eric, the Older Brother can do nothing more than bitch and complain that the Father would rescue him. I would like to suggest that your beef isn't really with Eric Dykstra, but ultimately it is with the Lord. Christ invites you join His massive party and rejoice at the Divine rescue of Eric Dykstra, which glorifies our great Savior for His undying mercy. Please, don't offend your Father in Heaven by choosing to stay clear of the party. Won't you please join Him now? And if your heart is not in it, then go to your Lord in prayer and ask Him to change your heart.
GOOD BYE AND GOD BLESS
This is the the last post on my blog.
It has served it's purpose and I have nothing else to say except that
I thank you all for following along here. This blog has done far
better than expected with over 15, 000 page reads. WOW! You probably think
I am someone who has it together pretty well but my life is a mess.
Despite that, the Lord has blessed me beyond measure and for that I
am grateful. I am grateful for all of you and I love you all. And
don't forget that we are all on the same team!
Casey
