Glenn Beck – a Modern-day Jeremiah?
Who we trust–who we seek out for perspective and advice–says a lot about our values and priorities.
If we’re wise, we’ll trust God as our most important Wonderful Counselor. We will also seek out godly people (another way of hearing from Him)–those with wisdom in various dimensions of life from whom we can learn, benefit, and be encouraged to make good decisions.
In 2006, I’d never heard of Glenn Beck. Over the past couple of years, I’ve listened to him occasionally on the radio and a watched him a few times on television. The more I hear, the more my respect for the man grows–especially in one area that he talks about constantly.
I’m beginning to wonder if he’s a modern-day Jeremiah to America and this generation.
First of all, I admit that I listen to many people to gain understanding. Loren Cunningham, the founder of Youth With A Mission, believes that the more humble a person is (and that’s a good trait!), the more you will recognize authorities in your life–in many different categories.
My wife and parents are high on my list. Shirley gives me wise family counsel and compassionate perspective. My parents are prudent financial and “life” counselors. I have board members and leader friends that I go to for business and corporate advice.
There are also other astute voices in the public arena that I pay attention to:
- I like Rush Limbaugh when it comes to understanding liberalism (secularism).
- I respect Michael Medved, Ann Coulter, and Charles Krauthammer for their intellectual clarity on social issues.
- I’m amazed at the constitutional insights of Mark Levin and Jay Sekulow.
- For political hunches, I appreciate the perspectives of Sean Hannity, Dick Morris, and Karl Rove.
- On family issues, I trust James Dobson. On military strategy, I admire both Oliver North and John McCain.
- I have many religious heroes–including numerous YWAM leaders, Rick Warren, Leith Anderson, Franklin Graham, David Yonggi Cho, and David Wong.
- Danny Lehmann and Nancy Wilson are my evangelism heroes. I love the literary brilliance of Max Lucado.
This list could go on and on. There are so many voices that I value in my life and work.
When I started listening to Glenn Beck, I asked myself: “What can I learn from this man?” What wisdom or perspective does he possess that I need to hear and comprehend? After listening carefully for a couple of years now, his role is coming clear.
Glenn Beck, a Mormon, a former alcoholic–a man born and raised in my home state who is now a shooting star on both radio and television–just might be America’s foremost prophetic voice.
He just might be a Jeremiah to this generation. (He’s also an expert on “progressivism.”)
Here’s why. Jeremiah the prophet served during the time of Israel’s greatest testing as a nation. By the time he was born, Israel had grown as a tribe for nearly a thousand years, and a nation for four hundred. They had experienced numerous cycles of national revival and decline.
In Jeremiah’s day, they were facing a terminal judgement situation. If they didn’t turn to God they would lose everything–at least for a time.
Jeremiah pleaded with the nation to return to the Lord. He called them to return to God for forty faithful years (627 B.C. to 586 B.C.). Unfortunately, it’s not recorded once in the book in the Bible that bears his name that the people took the message seriously.
So in 586 B.C., God allowed the Babylonians to carry Judah off into captivity–they experienced a national collapse–and their way of life was lost for centuries. In fact, they never really recovered.
Back to Glenn Beck. Over a year ago, Glenn began to call the American nation back to God.
One day I turned on the radio to listen to his show (the third largest audience in the U.S.). He spoke for twenty straight minutes on Ephesians 6:10-18 (putting on the armor of God). I was stunned. Another day I heard him speak for fifteen minutes on the need of Americans to turn to God. In the coming months, he kept returning to that theme.
Some months ago he announced he was facilitating a gathering in Washington D.C. called 8-28 (August 28). He said there was a need for the nation to come together to get right with God, understand our Christian heritage and founding, and restore respect and honor. Later he announced that he’d rented the Kennedy Center on 8-27 for a leaders night before the main event on August 28.
That sounded awfully familiar. On April 28, 29, 1980, I served as the capital city coordinator of Washington For Jesus (WFJ) which brought 700,000 people to our nation’s capital to fast, pray, and call the nation back to God and its roots. John Gimenez, a Puerto Rican ex-con had received a burden from God to bring the people of faith together in the nation’s capital. A highlight of that day was watching 1.4 million hands stretched out toward the Capitol Building while an African American named Ben Kinchlow prayed for major changes in the United States government and leadership.
Six months later, Ronald Reagan swept into office and multitudes of corrupt incumbents were tossed out. Reagan’s election was viewed as “morning in America” and brought twenty-five years of economic growth and prosperity. According to Arthur Laffer (an economist I trust), the Reagan Revolution gave birth to the greatest period of economic growth and freedom in the history of the world.
Yes, I said that right. Between 1982 and 2007, 20 million US jobs were created and America’s household net worth increased by 32 trillion dollars. That’s Trillion with a T. Prayer, repentance, unity, faith and sound economic principles brought blessing to the nation during that era.
WFJ–a unifying event–was a part of the equation.
God had used an ex-con to bring us together.
Now he’s using an ex-alcoholic Mormon.
Our God is amazing.
In 2010, radio/TV personality Glenn Beck is calling the nation to once again gather in Washington, D.C at the Lincoln Memorial. He says we need to return to God. He believes we need to understand our history (David Barton of Wallbuilders will be teaching this subject on 8-28). He says we must put on the full armor of God, and restore faith, honor, integrity, and respect in American life.
I know of no other person–with anywhere near as large a megaphone–making this call in America today. It’s the right emphasis, at an extremely critical time.
If you live in the Washington D.C., or can travel to the nation’s capital for 8-28, I strongly encourage you to go. In other parts of the nation, between 10am and 1 pm EDT on August 28, 2010, let’s bow our hearts before God and ask for his gracious intervention in our national affairs. We need his forgiveness, favor, and vision to awaken a nation for his glory.
Glenn Beck just might be a modern-day Jeremiah.
What kind of responders will we be to his message?
What Do Islam and Secularism Have in Common?
Last Saturday night, my wife and I watched one of the most disturbing documentaries we have ever seen. It left us in tears and extremely angry.
It was about Muslim “honor killing”–in America.
Since that time, I’ve thought a lot on what is behind this practice and what it has in common with the spirit of secularism that is on the rise in America.
I think I know what Islam and Secularism have in common.
But before that: What in the world is “honor killing?”
For two years, Fox News investigated the short lives and violent deaths of Texas teenagers Amina and Sarah Said (pictured above). They were 17 and 18–daughters of Christie and Yaser Abdul Said of Irving, Texas–when their young lives were taken from them.
The story goes like this. Yaser Abdul Said, an Egyptian Muslim immigrant, convinced Christie’s parents to let him marry her when she was fifteen and he was in his late twenties. Christie was from a nominal Baptist home. Early on in the marriage, Said demanded that his children be raised as Muslims. Their first child named Islam, made the demand clear. Christie then bore him two daughters, Amina and Sarah.
This was not a happy home. Yaser ruled it with an iron fist and even molested his daughters early on. During their teenage years he stalked them with a video camera and warned them to not date non-Muslims. When both of them, as typical teenagers, freely chose to “quietly” date some Hispanic boys, Yaser went through the roof–forcing Christie to flee the home with her two daughters. A week later, during the Christmas holidays of 2007, Yaser convinced them to return.
Christie and Sara arrived back first, and Amina followed a few days later. When she entered the home, her father kissed her and told both girls he wanted to take them out for dinner. He told Christie they were going to a local Denny’s Restaurant.
Hours later, the girls bodies were found, riddled with bullets in their dad’s borrowed taxi cab on New Year’s Day 2008. As 911 operators listened in, Sarah appeared to name her father as the killer — her dying words: “Help! Help! My dad shot me… and now I’m dying!”
What kind of spirit is behind a man who would viciously kill his two beautiful daughters in cold blood?
On that fateful day, Yaser Abdul Said, vanished into the night–never to be seen again. There’s is a $10,000 reward being offered to anyone who has information that will lead to his capture.
This kind of crime isn’t supposed to happen in America’s heartland — an honor killing.
Robert Spencer of Human Events wrote a story on the double murders of Amina and Sara Said one week after the tragedy. He said:
“Honor killing, the practice of murdering a female family member who is believed to have sullied the family honor, enjoys widespread acceptance in some areas of the Islamic world. However, Islam Said, the brother of Amina and Sarah, has denied that the murders had anything to do with Islam at all. “It’s not religion,” he insisted. “It’s something else. Religion has nothing to do with it.”
“And to be sure, the Qur’an or Islamic tradition does not sanction honor killing. But these dismissals are too easy, principally because they fail to take into account important evidence. In some areas, honor killing is assumed to be an Islamic practice. There is evidence that Islamic culture inculcates attitudes that could lead directly to the murders of these two girls in Texas.”
He’s right. And now honor killings don’t only happen in the Middle East. The brutal Arizona killing last year of Noor Almaleki by her Iraqi immigrant father was also on home soil. Noor’s father, Faleh Almaleki, disapproved of her American lifestyle (wearing jeans, posting on MySpace) and dreams (marrying for love). He beat her and ultimately ran her over in his SUV, not once but twice, to prevent her from dishonoring the family, equating her with a “small fire” that needed to be extinguished in order to keep the family safe.
He is in jail, awaiting trial for first-degree murder. “For an Iraqi, honor is the most valuable thing,” he said after his arrest. “No one messed up our life except Noor.” Noor’s mother supported him, saying, “You are not a criminal. I know how good-hearted and compassionate you are.”
I don’t think so. There’s a spirit behind these murders. Notice some of the words in both stories: “demanded,” “prevent,” “wouldn’t tolerate,” “force,” “iron fist,” and finally “kill.”
They’re not exactly synonymous with good and compassionate.
We’ve seen another Muslim example of this spirit this week. The Afghanistan Taliban murdered ten Christian doctors in cold blood, execution-style. These doctors, from several countries and church backgrounds had been providing medical services to Afghan villagers. They hiked for more than ten hours over rugged mountains — unarmed and without security — to bring medical care to isolated Afghan villagers until their humanitarian mission took a tragic turn.
Ten members of the Christian medical team — six Americans, two Afghans, one German and a Briton — were gunned down in a gruesome slaughter that the Taliban said they carried out. The gunmen spared an Afghan driver, who recited verses from the Quran as he begged for his life.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told the AP that they killed the foreigners because they were “spying for the Americans” and “preaching Christianity.”
These three tragic losses of human life point to one obvious spirit or attitude.
Control.
Yaser Abdul Said wanted to control Amina and Sara. Faleh Almaleki wanted to control his daughter, Noor. The Afghan Taliban wanted to control its territory. And they were all willing to murder to assert that control.
What does this have to do with secularism? In fact, what is secularism?
Secularism or its twin–atheism–is faith in man and his ability to solve his own problems. The faith of secularism usually leads to increased government power which acts as the “savior” of the little people. This power is amassed through strong-armed leaders who say they know what’s best.
We’re learning a lot about secularism in America today because it is militantly on the rise. As Newt Gingrich has rightly pointed out, the current Administration–what Rush Limbaugh calls “the regime” – is totally secular in its outlook and policy positions. Out of its secular faith, the current Administration has taken over car companies (Government Motors), taken control of the large financial institutions (Dodd-Frank), is trying to take over healthcare (Obamacare),and really would like to do the same with energy (Cap and Tax) and numerous other arenas of American life.
What do the faiths of Islam and Secularism share in common?
A spirit of control.
Secularism’s control is not always murderous. But it goes that direction over time. In the 20th century secularism begat Fascism and communism. Both ended up killing millions of people.
The worst form of control is the spirit of murder.
You could see it in the face of Yasser Said. He wanted to control his daughters. That spirit of control led him to even kill his precious girls.
The essence of Obamacare and Wall Street Regulations is also about control. The secularists want to control America, its people, its finances. They want to control what we eat, what kinds of cars we drive, and what types of energy we use. They even want women to “control” their bodies through abortion on demand–the largest form of murder in the world today.
However, it was the Christian faith that built America–not Islam, not secularism.
Christianity is about freedom. “Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17). You can tell the goodness or evil of a world view by what it demands or controls.
Three religious worldviews are vying for power in the world today. Two operate by control, i.e. tyranny. The other operates by freedom i.e. love and respect.
But let’s go one step further. There is a being that is behind the first two world views. He’s all about control and destruction. His name is Satan.
There’s another Person at the center of the truth. Jesus Christ. He came to set people free.
In November, we will choose which direction to go–more and more controls or a re-birth of liberty.
Choose wisely America. Your future hangs in the balance.
Vote for People Who Lead Like Jesus
Many of us are filling our primary ballots this week or in coming weeks. The number one reference for all of our voting decisions should be:
Who will govern the most like Jesus?
He was the greatest leader of history. He is now the President of all presidents, Senator of all senators, Rep of all reps, Judge of all judges (King of kings and Lord of lords in ancient language).
No human being is as good a leader as Jesus. But some are closer than others. Some display some or much of his character–others very little.
If we want a good society, led by good leaders, we need to choose people who–among the voting choices–most resemble Jesus.
My 1989 book on leadership (Leadership for the 21st Century) contains the most concise description of Jesus’ leadership qualities that I’ve ever seen. It was written by William McDonald. I encourage you to study the points and then vote for people who most resemble Jesus.
But always remember to place your ultimate trust in…
Jesus -the Greatest Leader of Men
By William McDonald
1. Jesus clearly envisioned the destination to which he was leading his people–the kingdom of God. The first principle of his leadership was that he knew precisely where he would lead the faithful and how to get there. Reversals and mid⌐course corrections were unnecessary under his leadership (Luke 9:51, 22:15,16).
2. Jesus led without forcing his values on anyone or coercing anyone into following. That is, he never drafted anyone in violation of individual autonomy. Much prayer preceded the call of those who would be his closest colleagues in ministry (Luke 6:12,13).
3. Jesus was not obsessed with gaining the psychological power of great numbers of warm bodies. Volunteers who would not pay the price of total commitment were turned away rather than being signed up on their own terms (Luke 9:57-62).
4. Jesus won the hearts of his followers by leading through friendship rather than fear. He shared with them his secrets and his strategy as rapidly as they could benefit from and implement them (Luke 18:26-30).
5. Jesus had no reason to hide his human finitude by impressive staging. Instead of barricading himself in inaccessibility (behind walls and many subordinates), he ate and slept with the troops, leaving them only for quiet times alone with his Father. Even little children had access to him (Luke 18:15-17).
6. Jesus was unafraid as all great leaders must be. The visible faces of clay could neither intimidate nor dissuade him from his objectives. Nor could the invisible powers of darkness deter him from accomplishing his mission (Luke 13:31⌐35).
7. Jesus never compromised his moral integrity in order to accomplish his objectives of his revolution. He operated above demeaning dirty tricks, back⌐door gifts, assassinations, rash unredeemable promises, or even flattery (Luke 11:52-54).
8. Jesus was patently selfless in his motives of leadership. He sought to bring believers to the depth of experience with his Father that he already enjoyed (Luke 10:22).
9. Instead of providing distracting entertainment for people to enable them to forget momentarily their confusion, guilt, suffering, loneliness, and unmet needs, Jesus provided solutions, corrections, and resources to meet those basic needs. The result for believers was lasting foundation for joy (Luke 4:40⌐44, 9:37⌐43).
10. Jesus did not squander nature and its resources; he took control as Adam was told to do, taking “dominion” without wasting or polluting, in order to utilize nature to bless and help humanity (Luke 9:17).
11. Jesus, a forceful public speaker, could hold the attention of large gatherings without taking advantage of people. His speech was spiced with colorful, unforgettable sayings and illustrations. When facing large crowds, he did not become superheated and tyrannical. There were no harangues, but always with them there was a deepening of his compassion. He gave clear and simple directions for finding one’s way into the kingdom of God (Luke 5:1, 8:4-15, 13:22-30).
12. Jesus was appropriately tough or tender in dealing with everyone and every crisis. He gained the respect and loyalty of men and women alike. His leadership style of personal relationships fit the situation with just the right amount of pressure being exerted in every case.
13. Jesus never “pled poverty” for the kingdom of God, “took”offerings by psychological jerks, or extracted monies legalistically from the reluctant. But likewise he never did refuse people the privilege of giving who offered their gifts prompted by love (Luke 8:1-3).
14. Jesus’ genuine wholesomeness was that of a man who was sure of himself. This made it possible for people to confidently put their faith in him and to gladly follow him. His winsomeness consisted of a perfect balance between self-assurance and affability (Luke 6:20-49).
15. Jesus was the concrete expression of what he taught (Luke 6:20-49). If one could not clearly understand where he was leading by what he was saying, he could find the same truths expressed and reinforced in Jesus’ whole demeanor and activities. Those who were not abstract thinkers (four out of ten) could see the truth unfurled in his unforgettable actions and lifestyle (Luke 23:47).
16. Jesus was able to lead effectively and with full respect without the advantages of special identifying clothing and insignia that are universally recognized as symbols of authority. Royalty, the priesthood (Exodus 28:2), and the military must all step down to this leader dressed in ordinary clothes (and a special anointing) whose presence commanded respect wherever he was (Luke 4:18-22).
17. In decision⌐making, Jesus was neither indecisive nor rash. Prayerfulness was the fulcrum of his administration. Hence, the kingdom of God was never held back for want of resolute action, nor did it lurch forward on opportunistic whims and crash programs (Luke 6:12-16).
18. The power that Jesus tapped was not that whose source was in individuals; rather it was the power given him by God. This made it possible for him always to have something valuable to give freely to the people who followed him. (Most worldly leaders aggrandize power by first taking it
from people, abrogating some of their rights and confiscating certain of their resources; and later in a display of paternalism they return some of what was previously taken.) Jesus did not need to do that for he depended heavily on divine resources to found the kingdom of God (Luke 3:22; cf. Acts 10:38).
19. Jesus was consistently resolute in that he followed through to the end with his goals for the kingdom. He would not surrender his aims for lesser ones when the going become difficult and his leadership was misunderstood. Thus he never backed off from the full⌐time responsibility of leadership (Luke 2:45-51).
20. Jesus knew well his followers and dealt with each one appropriately–not using the same patterns of assignment and expectation with such diverse men as Peter and John. He cultivated the development of the two⌐talent man and one twice as talented by giving each the proper resources and relationship in which to develop (John 21:17-22).
21. Jesus knew how to pace both himself and the revolution, sensing when to advance and when to withdraw from the crowds of people, when to refuel, and when to face up to his most trying hours. In the words of the Old Testament, he knew when and how “to go in and out among the people,” and as a result his timing was never off (Luke 9:18⌐27, 19:28).
22. Jesus’ settled concept of his own identity and of the one who sent him made his leadership rise above popularity. Therefore, he was psychologically impervious to popular praise of himself–it did not inflate him–and to negative criticism of himself–it did not deflate him. Knowing at all times what the Father thought of him gave great evenness and steadiness to his leadership (Lk.4:22,28,29 19:37-41).
23. Jesus had a uniquely positive revolutionary methodology (John 18:36):
- not arms, but faith, hope and love
- not explosives, but mountain⌐moving faith
- not sabotage of the enemy, but doing good to those hating you
- not fear, but the love that crowds out all fear
- not crowd-pleasing propaganda, but the truth
- not firing squads, but raising the dead
- not deceit and intrigue, but parables, proverbs and enigmas
24. Jesus accomplished his revolution without dependence on the power structures of the world. He operated without any of the following standard foundations for kingdoms (Luke 29:1-8, 19-26):
- institutional backing
- political machines and party affiliation
- government support or anti⌐government patriotism
- class⌐struggle exploitation–playing on desires for upward mobility
25. Jesus met all of mankind’s deepest needs–those that only the Creator and Savior of man can supply. Consequently, he is the only leader of all time that when the deepest gratitude of followers wells up, and admiration calls for praise and exultation, it is not wrong to actually worship this leader as LORD AND GOD (Luke 24:52).
Vote for people who most resemble Jesus.
And worship the only Leader in whom we can put our complete faith and hope.