Thoughts on Keaton Jones and What Our Inability to Endure Our 15 Minutes of Fame Means

Mike Leake

Andy Warhol once said that everyone in America would get fifteen minutes of fame. If he’s right I dread that day. I dread it because I don’t believe any of us are wired to endured it, at least not in our judgmental judgment-less culture.

Remember Ken Bone? He was the quirky guy in a Mr. Rogers sweater who got his fifteen minutes during the presidential debates. He was everybody’s hero. Then it was uncovered that he had some strange fetishes and an unpopular opinion about the Trayvon Martin case. Superman lost his cape.

Enter Keaton Jones. Our latest hero. An eleven year old boy who was the victim of bullying at school. Everybody hates bullies and so it wasn’t surprising that once this went viral celebrities would give wide support to young Keaton. Then it was uncovered that his mother might have been a money-grubbing racist and Keaton himself once had a photo of him holding a Confederate flag. And it was possible that the reason for his bullying was because of racist comments. Innocent victim and national hero no more.

I’m not making any comment on the truthfulness or morality of either Ken Bone or Keaton Jones and family. I am making a point that none of us can endure the spotlight of our culture. And I want to show why this is true. In doing so I will make the point that we are all sinners and much worse than even the most searching of journalist could uncover. But that’s not to minimize the sin that is uncovered. It’s wrong. Every bit of it.

So why is it that our fifteen minute heroes turn into lifelong villains? Why is it that one really dumb tweet has the capability of ruining Justine Sacco? I will argue it is not because our culture has abandoned a concept of grace but that we’ve abandoned any notion of judgment. We’ve abandoned the idea that there is a God who is just and who responds to sin with wrath. And as we’ve cast aside this cord of biblical truth it has caused us to unravel in unexpected places. The judgment-less culture has become more judgmental than ever.

It’s a simple principle really. Jesus spoke of this in Luke 7:47 when he said these words about a local prostitute:

Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.

The truth of the gospel isn’t that we are basically good people and the world is just full of judgmental bullies who don’t know how to be nice to one another. Jesus didn’t come to show us how to play nice. Jesus came to endure the wrath of real sin made by real sinners, not foibles and follies and little missteps. As I noted earlier, we are much worse than any journalist could uncover. And if our lives cannot endure the scrutiny which comes from our fifteen minutes in the spotlight, what makes us think we will stand before the all-searching eye of an unflinchingly holy God?

But this is precisely the good news of the gospel. In Christ we do come out the other end of God’s judgment shining and spotless. This is not because of our worth or accomplishments but because Someone else has swallowed up our wrath and given to us a perfect record of righteousness. We are real sinners with a real Savior. We’ve escaped eternal death.

When we deny this truth our sin becomes smaller. And the smaller our sin the greater our lack of love for another. The more we try to escape the reality of the judgment of God the more we’ll end up being judgmental.

This all gives me hope because it provides a wonderful bridge to the gospel. Our cultures house of cards is collapsing and our idols of mere nicety are being exposed for the shams that they are. I’m saddened that this leaves such brokenness and a million Keaton Jones’. But I’ve also seen countless times how Jesus takes and makes beauty from ashes. It’s not surprising that the guy who broke social norms to be with and love those who were publicly shamed some 2000 years ago would still be doing this very thing through his followers today.

We’ve been forgiven much and we know it. We are in a better position than anyone else to provide the embrace our weary and crushed culture so desperately needs. May we use this opportunity to point to Jesus and his all-sufficiency.

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How Far Should We Go In Defending Our Gospel-Centered Ministry?

Mike Leake 1 Comment

I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. 7 But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. 2 Cor. 13:6-9

Paul is a gospel-centered minister who has been mocked for his gospel-centrality. He’s accused of being weak and a one-trick pony. In the opinion of the Corinthians Paul is a theological twerp who only seems to talk about a crucified Jesus. They’d like to move on to the deeper and more significant things. On top of all this, his life is one marked with suffering and shame. He’s not the ideal for them to follow.

As I read the New Testament I see Paul, and the other apostles, intimately tied into the gospel. To reject the apostles is to reject the gospel. This is why I’m shocked by what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13. As one commentator has put it:

“I would be quite willing to let you go on thinking that I am very weak as an apostle, that I really do not amount to much, that I am only a paper tiger, as long as your behavior changes in line with who you really are.”

Paul would be completely fine with them debasing his ministry (fully misunderstanding him) so long as they actually fulfilled the aim of his ministry. There is something in this for us to learn. And I think this is especially a lesson for those of us who have a desire to be gospel-centered in our ministry. One mark of a truly gospel-centered pastor is the willingness to be seen as a complete fool so long as Christ is honored.

How can this be? Isn’t my gospel witness inexorably connected to my reputation? If I’m being slandered, or misunderstood, or misrepresented, shouldn’t I defend myself or my ministry?

This is a fine line and one I’m not sure I fully understand yet. But I will say one thing I have noticed is that whenever a minister/ministry becomes focused on itself it never ends well. I’ve sadly observed some Christian recording artists transition from songs all about Jesus to singing songs all about defending their ministry decisions. I believe that is a misstep. But such a thing is not unique to the celebrities among us.

In the same way I’ve noticed this in church leaders (some well known, others not). I’ve even felt this pull in my own ministry. Whenever you make a particular change to the structure of a church, or change the way things are being done, or work to see a culture change it is easy to start focusing on these things instead of on the goal; namely, seeing Christ be the only boast of this generation. If I spend all of my time defending my ministry or my decisions then I’m not able to spend time doing the things that really matter. It’s another way to drift off the mission.

And this is what I see with Paul. He will defend himself or his ministry whenever it is tied to the gospel itself. But he is less willing to defend whenever it is tied to his decisions, his leadership, his reputation, or even the way in which the mission is being accomplished. This is what it means to be a gospel-centered minister.

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Read This! 12.19.17

Mike Leake

When Evil Has Nice Manners

Trevin Wax does a great job reflecting on a recent controversy which centered around a Times article.

10 More Signs That a Church Has Settled For Mediocrity

Consider these.

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home on Sola Scriptura

Amen!

The Most Important Part of Your Sermon

I’ve found this to be true.

8 Ways to Become More Humble

Yes, we should pursue humility.

The Gospel-Shaped Pastor

This is why finding our identity in Christ is key to being able to endure as a pastor.

Why Disciples Works with a Plurality of Elders

It’s certainly a helpful model.

Ten Critical Trends For Churches in 2018

I’m excited about a few of these.

I have a lot of respect for Joshua Harris:

My Favorite Books of 2017

Mike Leake

Last year I confessed that many of the books I read were not newly written Christian books. The same is true of the books I read in 2017. I’m not certain how many books I actually read in 2017, but these are the ones I enjoyed the most:

10. Deep Work by Cal Newport. This book argues for the necessity of pursuing Deep Work and not just flitting our lives away on the shallow. Think of all the meaningful things we could accomplish if we had better control of our social media and email.

9. Sticky Church by Larry Osborne. This isn’t one of those books that changed my belief, but it solidified it. Osborne makes compelling arguments for small group/life groups in order to help our churches to be stickier.

8. They Came For Freedom by Jay Milbrandt. I read this book in November. I couldn’t put it down. It was truly was a “page-turning story of the Pilgrims”. Milbrandt did a great job of explaining the sociological and religious underpinnings of that voyage and settlement which would be history making.

7. This Is Our Time by Trevin Wax. Trevin does many things well, writing on current issues from a biblical perspective is one of those. This book is a snapshot of the world we live in but one which is viewed from a biblical perspective. Reading this book will help you be a faithful witness to Christ in this time in which God has placed us.

6. Conscience by Andy Naselli and J.D. Crowley. I missed out on this book when it was all the rage in 2016. I found the Kindle edition on sale last March and finally made the purchase. I was not disappointed. This book is a helpful explanation of the role of the conscience and the authors make a compelling case for how to live in unity in areas of disputable matters.

5. Strong and Weak by Andy Crouch. This is another one of those 2016 books that I was late to the party on. I have to confess I’m still chewing on this one, but I’m convinced by Crouch’s arguments in the book. Now I’m just trying to figure out how to apply his principles for true flourishing to my life.

4. Perfecting Ourselves to Death by Richard Winter. I bought this book way back in 2012 and never finished it. I believe the timing of that was providential. When I picked the book back up a few months ago something clicked. I don’t even know if this is the best written book or if it’s the final word on the topic (note the irony of me saying that on a book about perfectionism). Nevertheless, the Lord used these words to reorient my thinking.

3. The Imperfect Disciple by Jared Wilson. Can we just go ahead an reserve a spot on the 2018 list for whatever book Jared Wilson writes? Jared is one of my favorite authors and this is perhaps my favorite book he has written. This is a book kind of like every new Shane & Shane album I listen to. On first listen I enjoy it but I do not rank it as one of their better albums. But then I keep going back to it and realizing it’s depth. Jared’s book is the same way.

2. The Red Rising Saga by Pierce Brown. I have not yet red the third book in this trilogy, mostly because I’m too cheap to buy it at full price. My friend suggested I read this, since I’m always trying to read more fiction. I almost didn’t make it past the first few chapters. I figured it was another one of those dystopian novels that bores me to no end. Then I got hooked and couldn’t put the books down.

1. Reset by David Murray. Hopefully this one proves to be the most beneficial to me from 2017. I read this earlier in the year and probably need to read it again. This coupled with a few other books I read this year caused me to reorient my life and way of thinking about several things. I read this alongside of Deep Work and it proved to be very beneficial. I’ll be better suited to “make Christ the only boast of this generation” if I’m living a grace-paced life.

I also started reading the works of Francis Schaeffer and Richard Sibbes in 2017. I’ll continue these throughout 2018, Lord willing. There are a few other historical books on John Newton and John Calvin that I’m slowly working through. I’m hoping to do a bit deeper reading in 2018.

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