Wilkinson Walks

When Jabez isn't enough.

Comments

[iMonk]

Can I rant? Thank you.

Could the Christian publishers who make this kind of unstable person an evangelical superstar stand up and admit that they are at fault in making much of evangelicalism a success fetish?

How about some press for the thousands of nameless, jabezless missionaries and pastors who went there and STAYED, served, loved, died? Oh...they didn't write a book that made us a lot of money. Guess we can't say they are anything special.

This disgusts me to no end. The focus of evangelical publishing on a guy like Wilkinson whose only qualifications for "leadership" and influence are his "fame" reveals the corrupt empty heart of the salesmen in the temple of the Lord.

Jesus is still turning over tables. Thanks to CT for covering it.

[Steve]

One thing we (iMonk, myself, others) need to remember is that Wilkinson became a star because of a lack of maturity in the church. If we, the leaders of evangelical churches, had been doing a better job of discipleship, Jabez would have been laughed off the shelves instead of elevated to bestseller status. Just a thought.

[Account Deleted]

I blogged this a week ago: http://twoandtwomakesfive.blogs.com/two_and_two_makes_five/2006/01/bruce_wilkinson.html

My main issue at this point is not how sad the Jabez hype was or what a bad book it is. My problem is how happy some people are to see someone they disagree with fail. Look, I've only lived in Africa for around 4 or 5 months now, but I can tell you that this idea to build the giant orphan Disney rodeo ranch is a bad one. But I don't get why so many people want to jump over the moon with joy when a fellow Christian falters.

[Joe Kennedy]

Maybe we'll find out that he has health issues or something, but it seems like he gave up pretty easy.

Over a political snub? Four years? We're taught it takes at least 5 before the community is supposed to even come close to trusting you IN NORTH AMERICA as a pastor.

I can't imagine it's less time in Africa.

[iMonk]

Who is rejoicing that he failed??

Regretting that unstable celebrities become defacto leaders is not rejoicing at failure.

Steve: So very true. I used to be reluctant to call out these books/teachers in the pulpit, but now I find a way to just state straightforwardly what is the issue and why the book/teacher is inadequate.

[Marcguyver]

Couldn't agree more IMonk!

And Steve, it should have been laughed off the shelf; I for one always laughed at it and the intense promulgation it received amongst many churches.

I think my favorite part in this piece was the idea of how there seemed to be a need for a Golf Course to assist in feeding, caring for, and reaching out to these orphans! Sounds more like a fancy way to get another tax right off while maintaining a "non-profit" status and yet having the "necessities" of Kingdom Living still available.