God, the Gospel, and Glenn Beck

by Russ Moore

A Mormon television star stands in front of the Lincoln Memorial and calls American Christians to revival. He assembles some evangelical celebrities to give testimonies, and then preaches a God and country revivalism that leaves the evangelicals cheering that they’ve heard the gospel, right there in the nation’s capital.

The news media pronounces him the new leader of America’s Christian conservative movement, and a flock of America’s Christian conservatives have no problem with that.

If you’d told me that ten years ago, I would have assumed it was from the pages of an evangelical apocalyptic novel about the end-times. But it’s not. It’s from this week’s headlines. And it is a scandal.

Fox News commentator Glenn Beck, of course, is that Mormon at the center of all this. Beck isn’t the problem. He’s an entrepreneur, he’s brilliant, and, hats off to him, he knows his market. Latter-day Saints have every right to speak, with full religious liberty, in the public square. I’m quite willing to work with Mormons on various issues, as citizens working for the common good. What concerns me here is not what this says about Beck or the “Tea Party” or any other entertainment or political figure. What concerns me is about what this says about the Christian churches in the United States.

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Happy Birthday to my TWO year old girl!!

Oh how I love my Paysie-girl!

You are sooo much fun and love to imitate your mommy. The very moment I sit down, you are on my lap, giving me hugs and kisses. You always try to be so helpful, and you love to take wipe upon wipe to clean the floor, cupboards and walls.

Your brothers continue to dote on you...and even when you take something away from them, you are still referred to as a 'sweet girl'.

When I fold laundry, you are right there, naming who belongs to each piece of clothing that I continue to fold.

You like to call your baby brother YOUR baby...and love to hold and kiss him.

You have a love for trying on shoes...whether they are yours or not!

And when it comes to holding your own with your big brothers, you definitely can!! The squeals of escape, as you run away, tightly grasping something that doesn't belong to you, is endearing in its own special way!

Your cheeks and your curls bounce when you walk.

My girl, you are a joy to be the mommy of....even when you make a smelly mess at naptime...I don't think I need to be any more specific, we both know what I'm talking about!!

Your are mommy's little girl...and I am so happy to have a little girl to pass on the art of homemaking to. I can already see your interest in many girlie things and can't wait to teach you what it means to be a Biblical woman!

You are two years old and a joy to have as a daughter. I remember when you were born and can hardly believe how grown up you are.

I love you so much my sweetheart!

Happy Birthday to my 7 year old boy....I am truly blessed to be your mommy

My precious Gideon...I looked at you tonight, on the eve of your seventh birthday and my heart felt like it was going to overflow with thankfulness that you are still here with us.

I write this with tears welling up in my eyes.

You see, I don't think you have understood the impact of all that has happened to you in the past year.

I know you have heard the story over and over again...that you had a brain tumor that was removed and now you are well. But, it is so much more than that.

When I think back to Halloween night and remember the devastation I felt upon hearing that my little boy was not well.....well, I don't even have the words to describe it.

Upon hearing the news...I couldn't wait to get to you...to hold you and hug you and tell you that it was all going to be okay.

That week before surgery....speaking to your doctor as he showed us pictures of what had to be removed....and as I sat there crying, knowing that I had no choice but to completely trust God with your life...that He would lead the hands of the doctors who would work on you...knowing that if you didn't have the surgery, you wouldn't be here today...and that there was a chance that even with the surgery, you may not have made it.

I remember laying by your bed, holding your hand, singing to you while you slept. I would sing Great is The Faithfulness and The Deep Deep Love of Jesus...and oh how my heart would cry out to God!

The hardest thing I have ever had to do was let you go.

That morning of your surgery, I didn't know if I would ever get MY Gideon back. Daddy and I didn't want to go to sleep that night...so we stayed up with you, playing and hugging and laughing...hoping and praying that this wouldn't be the last time we heard your beautiful laugh or saw your lovely smile.



And here we are...nine months later...and you are celebrating your birthday!

You have worked so hard. It wasn't easy and yet you rarely, if ever, complained. God gave you such perseverance to work through the pain and fatigue...


and you learned how to feed yourself...how to stand and walk again...and you are even golfing! You are running and jumping...laughing and tackling...and we are so proud of you!! When I remember where you were and see where you are now, I can't help but praise God for the way He has healed you.

God has used you to touch so many lives. We don't know what the future holds for you, my dear boy, but our prayer is that God continues to be glorified through you.

Our family will never be the same...and I pray that God continues to draw you to Himself.

Gideon, we love you more than you will ever know!

Voddie Baucham....

A quote

"If you are a child of God then you are certainly going to be disciplined, because God is preparing you for holiness. He is not an indulgent father who hands out sweets indiscriminately and does not care what happens to us. God is holy, and He is preparing us for Himself and for glory; and because we are what we are, and because sin is in us, and because the world is what it is, we must needs be disciplined. So He sends us trials and tribulations in order to pull us up, and to conform us to 'the image of His Son'."
-Martyn Lloyd-Jones

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