Jesus deeply longed for unity amongst His children. This should not come at the expense of truth. There are times when the truth will divide. Let's all humbly beg for wisdom from the Holy Spirit to know how to love our brothers without compromising truth. As we diligently confront false teaching, let's show equal fervency in defending those who are truly our brothers and equal zeal in confronting those who unnecessarily divide the body." -- Francis Chan
This paragraph would mean so much more of Chan was not already in bed with Johnson, Bickle, White, Engle, Bolz and Baker. Perhaps Francis just overlooked the verse he desperately needs to understand regarding these subjects:
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. -- Romans 16:17 (ESV)
God does not want unity for the sake of having unity. We cannot be unified with darkness. True division comes from those who teach falsely not those who point out that it is false. It is the false teacher that stirs up division and ironically for Francis we are to have nothing to do with them -- not speak with them at a conference or approach them with their sin using Matthew 18. It is the false teacher that destroys God's temple. So in the end Francis Chan tried to deflect some of the criticism he has received but all he managed to do is highlight the problems he still has. The speed at which he responded or endorsing prosperity were never an issue. What is an issue remains an issue. It is sharing the stage with wolves and then defending them to the body of Christ. Francis warned correctly that we will be held accountable for every careless word. I pray he starts taking his own advice. Until then, he is marked and should be avoided beloved.
Reverend Anthony Wade -- March 18, 2019
