I don't like Beth Moore. (GASP!) Although I should more accurately say that I don't like the Beth Moore effect and hence I refuse to go to her studies. On Tuesday, Nate and I went to go walking at the church as we often do, but today was different..... it was the first day of Beth Moore's study on Esther. We walked over there at 5pm (1.5 hours before it started) and not only were there already hundreds of women there, at least 100 of them were standing/sitting in front of the two main entrances just waiting for them to open. Ummmm, ok.... no thanks. Here is the thing about Beth Moore, I'm sure she is a wonderful teacher... I'm not disputing that... but people have begun to worship her as they do God. To quote from 1 Corinthians,
"What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ.""
I think the modern day Southern Baptist version would read~
"What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow John Piper"; another, "I follow Beth Moore"; still another, "I follow Christ.""
I know there are plenty of strong christian women that listen to Beth without turning to a form of idol worship, but there is also a large contingency of women that treat their time with her as their church and her as their pastor or maybe even their prophetess. While I am glad these women are in church, they needed to be worshipping the Lord and not Beth! To Beth's credit, she has no desire for that type of worship and is simply using what God has gifted her with, but the effect drives me up the wall. I'm not saying she should go away (I don't think she should) I'm just saying that you aren't going to see me there.
6 years ago
8 comments:
Are you channeling me?
haha... shhhh, they'll kick us both out of the baptist church :P
i used to (somewhat) feel the same way when i'd leave my job at 4:45 and see women waiting by the doors or crowding the halls. i too was a little turned off by all that. but then i got to talking to some of these women and learning how they've driven in from sealy or humble and came early to miss some traffic, or picked up friends who weren't believers to come with them and wanted to give them some time to acclimate to being in church and get to know some friendly faces, etc. their reasons for being there early - for waiting with anticipation, was more than simply being obsessed with getting a good seat or hoping to get an autograph - they were just overjoyed to be with women, to share life, and to bring some people who don't know Him to see that women care and laugh and love the Lord. once i actually spoke to them and heard their hearts, actually came in the Bible study and watched what went on, my rather uneducated opinions changed and my heart was softened to the women who come, why they're there (to worship God), and though I'm sure there are some who have a few stars in their eyes, I am conviced the majority are not there to worship Beth, but to learn, study (her homework this week for Esther is 19 or so pages long...it's serious stuff), relate to other women and simply be encouraged. to be quite honest, i think you'd be pleasantly surprised if you went with an open mind. i did this last time and i left very glad and with a new perspective.
The same sort of thing happens with the pastor of my church... when he's out of town, attendance drops. I've had to fight the "starry-eyed worshipper" stereotype myself and remember that he's just a good speaker who is sharing what God has shared with him; he is most definitely not God. I too have to stop and consider all the people who are struggling with their faith who come because God speaks to them through Matt. Thanks for being honest about your opinions!
Abby,
I am in total agreement with you. In fact, earlier this week a friend asked me why I wasn't planning on attending Beth's study that night and my answer was almost exactly what you wrote. I think Erin has a good point that many of the women are there for very Godly purposes. But unfortunately, I personally know and have witnessed many women who are there engaged in a form of Beth-worship. It saddens me. I wonder if the majority of women there would be as eager to show up on Tuesday nights and study Esther if someone less famous and influential were teaching.
TOTALLY agree with your larger point on the idolatry of Christian leaders. Sometimes I feel as if people would rather quote Piper than God's Word and it makes me sick :(
I understand your reasoning, but I must say, you're missing out. No, I don't think you should study Beth Moore in place of the Bible. But she's done way more research on Esther than I ever will have time for (seeing as it's her job- must be nice!) and I truly believe the Lord gives her those words she pours over us. You should try it sometime, it might surprise you. And the traffic, while always a little crazy, seriously dies down after the first week.
Thanks for your thoughts guys! I appreciate everyone's point of view and for Erin and Jen, I am glad you have found Beth's study as a place for you to deepen in your walk.. that's great!
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