MacArthur & Moore

John MacArthur is a prominent Baptist pastor and author who has preached for 50 years at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California. 
Last week, MacArthur took part in a panel discussion at a "Truth Matters Conference" hosted by his home church. 
The emcee Todd Friel asked the panel for a one-word or “pithy” response to certain names. Friel began with the name “Beth Moore,” the Southern Baptist author and speaker. The emcee even warned MacArthur to think carefully.
MacArthur responded by saying, “Go home.” 

Those in attendance apparently responded with laughter and applause. 
A fellow panelist, Phil Johnson, responded by saying “narcissistic.”
Some have dismissed MacArthur’s statement as playing to the crowd or poor judgment in the moment. But it is important to note that MacArthur took more than 30seconds to craft his response. It was clear, both in that 2word response and his expanded description of Moore as a well-spoken, persuasive jeweler hawking wares on television, that MacArthur doesn't think much of Moore.

I disagree with MacArthur on many aspects of his theology. But that is not the purpose of this post. Nor is this post about the role of women, as tempting as that would be.

What I see as a bigger issue is one of attitude.
MacArthur delivered his indictment of Moore as judge and jury. Dr. Todd Still, writing for the Baptist Standard, rightly said: “Even if MacArthur were to be correct in his assertions and assessments, in his disparaging remarks and condescending comments regarding Moore he fails to follow the very Scripture he proclaims.” 

MacArthur, who is about as far from popular culture as one can be, has nevertheless found himself giving into the ways of this world.
He doesn’t know how to disagree.
When he speaks and writes, it is very often with this sense of I have it all figured out and if you disagree with me you can “Go home.”
I think it is pretty obvious that both inside and outside of the church, we seem to have lost the ability to disagree with people without maligning them. 

As God’s people, if we cannot engage with different views on their merits alone, then that speaks volumes about how much we care for others. 

So that being said, I think there are at least two things wrong with MacArthur’s response. 
The first is that MacArthur attacked Beth Moore the person, not just her views or actions. His later explanation focused more on her as an example of a larger movement within Baptist life toward an elevation of women beyond what he sees as their proper role. But, before he got there, he likened her to someone who has an audience “because you have the skill to sell jewelry on the TV sales channel.” 
In the days since MacArthur made his attack (and I don’t think that is too strong a word) others have said things that essentially boil down to “but what about this, or what about that, or how come she hasn’t said something about this or this other thing.”
I am not here to defend her theology. Is it always correct? Is yours or mine? Or we not people in process? 
But, by completely discounting the possibility that she is a genuinely good teacher, MacArthur undercuts his argument. We cannot ridicule people as being of little substance because we disagree with them. We must be willing to engage with their beliefs. 

The second error that I believe MacArthur made was belittling those who might disagree with him, and thereby shutting down any possibility of dialogue. He went on to say: “There is no case that can be made biblically for a woman preacher.” 
I would have thought that MacArthur had engaged with a wide enough variety of Christian thinkers to know that that is false. If what he meant by that statement was that there is not a biblical case to be made that he finds convincing, then that is an intellectually honest and appropriate response. But that’s not what he said.
He continued with “Period. Paragraph. End of discussion.” Which basically implies, I’m right. You are wrong. “Go home.”

We live in a world of pervasive social media where almost everyone can engage in healthy, lively discussions, or unhealthy blasting of others. It is very important that we make sure that both our words message and the manner in which we speak or write reflect the heart of Jesus.