Wednesday, March 1, 2017

The Shack and Universal Reconciliation - Wade Burleson


In March 2017 the movie The Shack will hit theater screens across the country. It’s a guarantee that Tim McCraw and Faith Hill’s original song for the movie, Keep Your Eyes on Me, will become a mega-hit. Whether the film itself is a blockbuster is yet to be seen, but without any doubt, some evangelical Christians will again charge Paul Young, author of The Shack, with heresy. Dr. Al Mohler recently wrote a blog entitled The Shack – The Missing Art of Evangelical Discernment, where he said,
The Shack rests on the foundation of universal reconciliation… (The) fact is that the Christian church has explicitly identified these teachings as heresy. The obvious question is this: How is it that so many evangelical Christians seem to be drawn not only to this story, but to the theology presented in the narrative — a theology at so many points in conflict with evangelical convictions?”
I know both Al Mohler and Paul Young. I respect Dr. Mohler and his theological acumen. I have the honor of calling Paul Young a friend, and he’s been the source of great encouragement to me. After observing Paul Young minister to hundreds of people at the church I pastor, spending precious time with each person individually – never rushing to the next person or glancing at his watch as if he had other important things to do – I asked Paul Young his philosophy of ministry. He said, “Wade, there is no person or moment more important to me than the person before whom I stand at this moment.” I’ve attempted to model that philosophy of ministry ever since.
CLICK HERE to continue