Violent Shepherding - More Brawlers, Less Bards. On Doug Wilson, and Kevin DeYoung.
More Wilson less DeYoung...
Kevin DeYoung and Doug Wilson are prominent Christian thought leaders with decidedly different opinions about the role of the Church in the escalating culture war. They recently aired their differences via podcast and posting, leading to some interesting fireworks. I’ve sat on this posting for a couple of months and feel a need to get it out there…
It appears that DeYoung lit the fuse with an unsolicited critique of Wilson, to which Wilson published a rejoinder. Their differences seem to revolve around the "strength" of the Church and how it defends itself against secular attack. Wilson projects an assertive, masculine approach, while DeYoung takes a gentler, more nuanced position that some might describe as winsome or effeminate.
I’ve read DeYoung’s unsolicited critique of Wilson twice, and in it, I find a solicitous form of passive aggression that makes me want to pour a shot and light a stogey. DeYoung is deploying a classic version of grading on style over substance. Does he understand how weak he sounds when he calls Wilson “naughty” for using the word “wussy”?
We must never forget that no matter how important Western civilization may be, we are still sojourners and exiles in the world (1 Pet. 2:11). The most important fight is the fight for faith, not the fight for Christendom. The Christian life must be shaped by the theology of the cross, however much we might prefer an ever-present theology of glory. That means blessing through persecution, strength through weakness, and life through death. “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Heb. 13:14). If we want God to be unashamed to be called our God, our desire must be for a better country, that is, a heavenly one (Heb. 11:16).
I was not that familiar with either man until their recent kerfuffle. I went down several rabbit holes in the process of backgrounding them. One of these trails led me to a 2015 blog titled “Violent Shepherding - The Pastoral Necessity of Name-Calling” by Andrew Wilson, Teaching Pastor at King's Church London. In his post, Mr. Wilson comments on an exchange between Rachel Held Evans and Alistair Reynolds, discussing the use of loving language in scripture and the reality of violent shepherding. I found the following comment from Mr. Reynolds to be of interest and directly applicable to the DeYoung Wilson exchange:
“The most common biblical picture of the leader is the shepherd. However, the biblical vision of the shepherd is quite different from ours. The biblical shepherd is, like our conception of the shepherd, a figure who is gentle, nurturing, and protective of the flock. However, a large proportion of the biblical images of the shepherd focus upon the shepherd as a figure of conflict and violence, someone who protects the sheep by killing wolves, bears, and lions, who fights off thieves, bandits, and rival shepherds, who lays down his life for the flock. The shepherd is clearly called to act out of love, but this love is far from a generic niceness. Rather, because the shepherd loves the sheep, he gives the wolves no quarter. Attacking wolves is the loving thing to do. The sheep are comforted by the rod with which the shepherd drives off or destroys enemies, like God brought the land of Egypt to its knees using the rods of the shepherds Moses and Aaron.”
If you were to array Kevin DeYoung and Doug Wilson on a spectrum, I am of the mind that contemporary Christianity needs more Wilson and less DeYoung. More brawling. Less barding.
But that’s just my opinion. Your mileage may differ.