Pastor Questions Glenn Beck: Calls for Revival, Unity, Action

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) May 25, 2010 -- A Philadelphia suburban pastor of an evangelical church, typically considered among the religious right, is speaking out to correct the conservative radio and television host, Glenn Beck. Beck is rallying a massive, nationwide “American Revival” tour. He wants us to return to traditional American values, “faith, hope, and charity”, a clear allusion to 1 Corinthians 13:13 in the Bible. What could possibly motivate such a pastor to speak out against that?

Dr. Ed Crenshaw, Senior Pastor, 422CHURCH.COM (Victory Christian Fellowship), Audubon, PA, a Philadelphia suburb, points out that, “Beck is taking on what God has commissioned the church to do. I appreciate many aspects of his message, especially that he has identified the problem as a drift from America’s values and spiritual foundation.” But Crenshaw takes the differences further.

“Beck stated in recent radio and TV broadcasts that we should check out a church’s or ministry’s website or literature and, if we see ‘social justice’ or ‘economic justice,’ run! While I understand that many churches preaching social justice have moved away from a spiritual message of salvation and adopted a purely political agenda, the Bible clearly teaches a social ethic,” declares Crenshaw. “Some churches really have rejected the virgin birth, the resurrection, and the authority of the Bible. Beck is right that you should run from such a church. But you shouldn’t run from social responsibility.”

Crenshaw is currently preaching a sermon series called, Awakening, calling for revival. “The Great Awakening swept through the Colonies when George Whitefield preached here in 1740. That revival was critical in the emergence of all sorts of human rights issues, such as the eventual abolition of slavery, health care for the poor, women’s suffrage, and child labor laws,” Crenshaw observed. Crenshaw’s doctoral dissertation was on the subject of revival. “True revival is not just a personal spiritual refreshing, but such a refreshing that compels morality and social responsibility.”
Crenshaw sees a spiritual awakening as an opportunity to reduce the political polarization that has plagued our nation. “The church needs a revival, the sort of revival this area saw in the First and Second Great Awakenings that produced personal and social moral change. Biblical values are not conservative or liberal, not Republican or Democratic. Political parties may aspire toward biblical values but such values are not limited to a particular party,” Crenshaw notes.

“A real revival will unite Americans along the lines of biblical values. Such values include a social ethic, a ‘brother’s keeper’ responsibility,” concludes Crenshaw. “422CHURCH.COM reaches out to feed the homeless and meet the needs of our community in a number of ways.”

revival     social gospel     social justice