Just recently published is an ESPN documentary done by John Barr on various professional athletes and their financial contributions to Christian ministries.  I must say, this documentary is a real “hack job”.  The name of the program is called “ESPN Outside The Lines”.  But, after having watched the two clips on You Tube, one could call the documentary “Out of Bounds”.  You can see these two clips by going to You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92nvUixQm1c or, typing in “Pulpit Pimpin’ + Rich Athletes = $$$ (Part 1)”.

In this documentary we see several athletes who have been singled out by John Barr because they happen to attend Christian churches at which the doctrine of tithing is preached.  We know, according to scripture, that in Matthew 23:23 Jesus clearly endorses the practice of tithing.  Check it out.  So, for anyone to imply that the concept of tithing was “invented” by “greedy prosperity preachers”, then that person does not know what he or she is talking about.  Furthermore, if you are going to call any preacher who preaches the doctrine of tithing a “Pulpit Pimp”, then are you ready to call Jesus a “Pulpit Pimp”, because He too endorsed the doctrine of tithing.  You cannot have it both ways.

So, let’s start with the segment on former heavy weight boxing champion Evander Holyfield.  In the documentary we see Holyfield actually being interviewed by John Barr.  The issue of tithing is brought up and Holyfield says that he does tithe and that he tithes 10% of his earnings to his church.  Holyfield attends Creflo Dollar’s church in Atlanta.  The documentary cites the Holyfield/Tyson fight from which Holyfield earned a profit of $35,000,000.  Then, in the interview, Holyfield states that he tithed $3,500,000 to the church.  And, this is 10%.  Then we see John Barr go on to imply that this is an exorbitant amount of money to be giving to a church.  John Barr states “3.5 million, that was a heck of a payday for the church”.

Let’s look at what is happening here.  First, let’s back up about ten steps and think about the environment that would support a boxer earning $35,000,000 for just one, single fight.  The analysis must include the entirety of the sports world and this would include Las Vegas, gambling, the shadowy underworld of professional boxing (that we all know exists), the ringside seats that are sold for “tens of thousands” of dollars each, casinos, mobsters etc.  This is the environment that can produce a cash flow of such magnitude that a professional boxer could get paid $35,000,000 for one fight.  So, if John Barr and ESPN are going to attempt to interpret morality for the viewer on the subject of tithing, then, ESPN also must give an account for the entire shadowy world of the professional sports gambling empire.  So, John Barr and ESPN we don’t need your “self-righteousness”, especially when it comes to the subject of money. 

John Barr and ESPN want to talk about money, tithing and churches.  Well, let’s also talk about professional football players who make so much money that some of the leading linebackers in the NFL make $45,000 per tackle in the games they play.  Let’s see, $45,000 a year would be the salary of many policemen and school teachers.  But yet, some of our sports figures make that amount of money on one, single play in a game.  No, ESPN we don’t need a lecture on money.   Then, you ask us to attend these games and shell out $150 – $200 to take the family to a game.  You ask the general public to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue to build these new stadiums, but, let a pastor build a nice church.  Exactly!

So, let’s see, we were talking about Evander Holyfield and his tithing 10% to his church as if it is exorbitant, questionable, maybe even “illegal”.  But, yet the American Sports Empire thinks nothing of paying the same athlete 10 times that much to fight in the boxing match.  Why does it pay so much? It pays so much because the American Sporting/Gambling Empire makes hundreds of millions of dollars off such an event.  Ever heard of gambling addiction and the father who gambles away his family’s food money.  Oh, let’s don’t talk about that, it’s a personal matter for the person who has such a problem.  Listen, the sports world executives want you gamble and gamble a lot.  They could not care less about the well being of your children.

Furthermore, why are so many African-American athletes used in this documentary?  It almost seems like; here we go again, the white man thinking for the black man because he needs someone to think for him.  Look, if Evander Holyfield wants to tithe 10% to his local church, that’s his business.  If Holyfield feels it is his moral conviction to tithe according to how he interprets the Bible, then, who is John Barr and ESPN to think that Holyfiled needs help with his personal moral conviction.  It is offensive to the professional athletes listed in this documentary to think that they cannot make choices or decisions in their own best interest, especially, when it comes to personal moral convictions that evolve out of the teachings of their church!

Next, we see John Barr interviewing Pastor Creflo Dollar.  Barr states during the interview “In many different faiths, religious leaders take a vow of poverty”.  This is a very simplistic analysis.  Barr’s statement suggests that “because monks in the Middle Ages took a vow of poverty, that all Christian Pastors today should do the same”.  Look, monks don’t have children to feed and clothe.  Plus, monks are usually associated with the Roman Catholic Church, and, I’m not Catholic.  Furthermore, no where in the Bible does it say that a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ is bound to take an “oath of poverty”.  So, we can conclude that John Barr is uninformed. 

Next, we see that the old news of the Senator Grassley investigation is thrown into the mix.  And, once again we hear from Ole Anthony who heads up The Trinity Foundation.  Let’s cut to the chase.  Ole Anthony thinks he has the right to tell other Christians how they are supposed to interpret the Bible when it comes to money.  He is trying to get the government to tell other Christians and their churches how they are supposed to conduct their financial affairs.  And, I might add, this is all being done from the framework of how Ole Anthony is interpreting the Bible.  So, in essence, Ole Anthony is attempting to “force” his religious beliefs and Biblical interpretation on the rest of us.  It is astounding that Ole Anthony thinks he has the right to criticize T.D. Jakes and the fact that The Potter’s House Church chose to advertise the Baptism of a couple of professional football players.  Now, let me get this straight.  A pastor decides he wants to advertise a particular Baptismal service at his church.  And, Ole Anthony thinks that he shouldn’t be doing such a thing and somehow we’re supposed to give Ole Anthony the authority to tell the Pastor that he cannot do such a thing?  Seems that one could say that Anthony might be a control freak.  Whether or not anyone thinks Jakes choosing to advertise a Baptism is less than tactful,  far, far more disturbing than a Pastor advertising a Baptismal service, is the thought of another man (a non-Pastor) thinking that somehow he has the moral authority to stop such activity.  The freedom and Constitutional rights issues of such a thing are staggering.

Finally, in the documentary we see Kurt Warner being interviewed.  It is implied that because Warner, as a Christian, also believes in tithing that somehow, some Pastor somewhere is getting too much money.  It is implied that Warner doesn’t know what he is doing.  It is implied that Christians should all be poor and destitute.  Warner sums it up perfectly when he responds to Barr by saying “…should I not have (nice things) because I’m a Christian?”

Apparently, there are some in the ESPN network who are anti-Christian.  They have portrayed these athletes as if they are unable to think for themselves.  ESPN has portrayed these athletes as if somehow they are being taken advantage of because they believe in tithing to their local church.  ESPN has portrayed the doctrine of tithing as perhaps something that is illegal.  I would say that such an analysis on the part of ESPN is “out of bounds”.

So, the next time you want to take your family out to an NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL game, and you end up paying $200 – $300 to do so, just think about the things we have discussed and ask yourself “who is the real chump here?” 

read comments (6)

Over the years, we have often heard the phrase “don’t mix religion and politics” or “religion and politics don’t mix”.  However, when one really takes a serious and analytical look at the world, it is quickly realized that few suggestions could be any more untrue or unrealistic.

Regardless of what one may like to think, politics and religion are very much intertwined.  A review of the history of major political decisions in the past shows that such decisions are inextricably linked to a tapestry of politics and religion.  One such example was President John Kennedy’s campaign visit to West Virginia in 1960.   West Virginia was perceived as a non-Catholic Southern State and therefore a litmus test for Kennedy’s campaign.  Then, there are the socio-political environments in other countries such as India, Israel and Iran where one could say that “religion is politics”.  Imagine a political candidate in New Delhi or Tehran or Jerusalem trying to appeal to the voting public by saying that he or she didn’t believe that religion should play a role in public policy.     

Closer to home, here in the United States, we saw during our most recent presidential election, how religion played a major role in all things political.  It had to do with the choice of Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin for the number two spot on the Republican ticket.  This choice had politics and religion written all over it.  And, I might add, the miscalculation on the part of Senator John McCain could not have been more serious.  But, we can look back and see that during the 2000 primaries how Senator McCain also, at that time, miscalculated the fury of the Religious Right when he made the derogatory statements about two prominent, national religious leaders.  One could interpret McCain’s pick of Governor Palin as an attempt to make amends and correction for those past misjudgments about the Religious Right and, also a more current attempt to throw together a loose coalition of factions within his own party.  It didn’t work.  And, again during the most recent election, there were two national religious leaders involved in McCain’s campaign early on as we saw how their endorsements were first accepted but later rejected by McCain.  The election was lost right there.  An utter fiasco on the part of McCain’s advisors.  We will take a closer look at this factor in a moment.

So, now we see a report on the CNN Internet news service about Senator McCain’s daughter addressing a recent gathering of the Log Cabin Republicans.  In this report dated April 19, 2009, we see where Meghan McCain says that “a war is brewing within the Republican Party”.  Indeed, she could not be more accurate.  This rift, between the Religious Right and the Liberal Wing of the Republican Party  actually began right after the Republican’s defeat in the 1992 Presidential election.  You could read the editorials and commentaries, at that time, as Republican leaders began to blame each other for the defeat, and some began blaming the Religious Right.

But, what we are seeing now is an exponential acceleration of this “war within the Republican Party”.  First, let’s take a look at the group Meghan McCain was speaking to – The Log Cabin Republicans.  There are a lot of Republicans that don’t know anything about this group, if fact, many don’t even know they exist, let alone the history of the formulation of this group and specifically why they call themselves the “Log Cabin Republicans”.  Suffice to say, part of the formulizing of this group evolves out of the historical interpretation (based on certain letters and comments of correspondence between Lincoln and a personal friend) of former President Abraham Lincoln and what some believe to have been his sexual orientation.  Indeed, I can guarantee you that upon reading these words just now, some Christian Republicans are dumbfounded, even angry with me for even writing them.  But, herein is exactly where part of the problem lies with the Religious Right.   Here me loud and clear, you cannot ignore and pretend that certain realities don’t exist.  The Log Cabin Republicans are one of those realities.  By this exhortation am I implying that I approve of this group?  Absolutely not.  Am I implying that because this group exists, that we should somehow seek to accommodate them and their wishes?  Absolutely not. 

Unfortunately, some of simpler minds will react with the thought that by my simply mentioning that this group exists that I am somehow endorsing them, agree with them, and think everything is OK.  And, it is this type of reaction that has gotten the Religious Right in the “Catch 22” that it is in today.  They are there because of their unsophisticated and uninformed political analysis.  And, I am going to say very clearly that conservative Christians within the Religious Right have “painted themselves into a corner” by ignoring certain political realities.        

So, now we look out over the political landscape and see a wasteland of what once was called the Republican Party.  It is leaderless and there is no clear leader emerging on the horizon.  This is gravely serious for the Party.  The longer this state of existence continues, the weaker the Party becomes.

Let’s talk real politics for a moment.  OK, let’s just do it.  If a Christian is going to put his faith in a political party then, the first objective is for his party to win.  After all, if the political party cannot win seats and offices, then that political party will have very little power.  It will have little power to effect change in society and little power to write and pass legislation.  So, if you are going to put your faith in a political party, but that party is powerless to win elections and make change, then you would be putting your faith into something that will fail.  So, the solution will eventually evolve to the ultimate decision to “win at any cost”.  And, this is exactly where the Republican Party now finds itself.  This is a dilemma of the highest magnitude for the Bible believing Christian who is putting his trust in politics. 

Let me say it another way.  When I was in graduate school, a few of us who enjoyed discussing politics coined a phrase to describe the win at all cost attitude in politics.  We called it “power politics”.  In other words, we concluded that the ultimate goal of a politician and a political party is to win.  I mean, what good is anything if you don’t win?  So, if you’re going to get involved in the first place, you get involved to win – at any cost.  Forget what the Party stands for, forget social norms and morals, forget country and liberty, just be all things to all people and win the election, then the other stuff can sort itself out.  Such an attitude was called “power politics”.   Politics is about winning, not being nice or playing fair.  So, it is in this type of environment that Governor Sarah Palin enters into the national political spotlight.

I don’t believe any of us could have imagined the brutality we have seen exhibited by certain national media organizations toward this woman and even toward her young children.  It is unbelievable.  But, it is reality.   The viciousness and polarizing posture we have seen by some media organizations toward Governor Palin are a wake up call to Christians. 

What is alarming is that even though Governor Palin’s ticket lost, some media organizations continue to go after her with a “meat cleaver”.  It is clear to see that certain media organizations do not believe in the “loyal opposition” doctrine anymore.  It appears that some are bent on destroying the opposition.  This is very serious and it has been discussed as an eventuality in discussions I have been a part of in the past.  It is power politics.  You get in power and you stay in power. 

We all knew the pendulum of national politics was beginning to swing more and more extreme each way with each election cycle and that eventually it would end up swinging one way or another and – not come back. 

When looking at the selection of Governor Palin, it appears that choosing her was an attempt by the McCain brain-trust to satisfy the Religious Right.  And, to be fair, it did create quite a stir for a brief time period and it certainly galvanized support from the Religious Right.  Until, the Katie Couric interview.  Let’s face it, that interview was an election loser.  It is inconceivable that the McCain camp would allow the number two person on the ticket to be put in the same space alone, for two hours of unlimited interviewing, with a savvy, veteran, liberal reporter like Couric.  I mean, who made that decision?

To be fair to Governor Palin, she was tossed into the “political sea” long after the media sharks had arrived.  The liberal media smelled victory and they were not about to let a young, female Governor, with a Pentecostal background come along and ruin their chance of success.  These sharks were already in a feeding frenzy before Governor Palin ever entered into the water.  She had no chance.   McCain placed Palin in the direct line of crossfire from three fronts.  First from the Democrats and secondly, from the Liberal Wing of the Republican Party, and finally from the liberal media. 

So, now we see Meghan McCain telling the Republican Party that in order to succeed in future political contests, that the Republican Party must openly embrace the homosexual agenda.  You know what, from a purely political standpoint, she may be right.  By saying that, am I implying that I agree with doing that? No.  It’s just simply the political reality.  And, this is why serious Christians cannot put their faith and trust in politics.  As Christians, our hope and trust is to be put in Jesus Christ and Him alone. 

Also, on another front, we see a another group of Christians in the 7 Mountain Theology camp who are trying to “put Humpty Dumpty back together again” but, their efforts and agenda are very misguided and unscriptural.  By the recent election, and the ill-treatment of Governor Palin, they should know by now that the forces at work are far more powerful and complicated than most of us imagined.  Let me put it to you straight, the hour is very late, much too late for Christians to be putting their faith and trust in politics.  You are heading for miserable failure if you do.  Serious Christians would be wise not to spend their precious time, energy and money trying to resurrect the Republican Party.  You will never see the Republican Party to be what it was in 1980 under Ronald Reagan.  Not in 100 years will you see such a thing again.  From a theological standpoint it is folly to think that anyone living today will see it again.

I am saying to Christians that it is high time we cease placing our trust in politics and the systems of this world.  For to put your trust in politics is to put your trust in man.  Jesus said “My kingdom is not of this world”.  That being the reality, then what business does any Christian have trying to build such an earthly kingdom? Furthermore, even Spirit-filled Christians are very divided when it comes to politics.  I know many Spirit-filled Christians who voted in the past election.  Some voted for the Democratic ticket, while others voted for the Republican ticket.  So, who is hearing from God?  Some will respond by saying “but the stand of the Parties on the issues are clear”.  Oh really?  What about The Log Cabin Republicans and Meghan McCain?

So, you can see the peril of politics for the Christian.  Politics is a foundation made up of sand on the water’s edge.  Pity the Christian who has put his hope and trust there.    

read comments (0)