Good morning…
As I sit beneath the growing weight of our now 40 lb. pup, Cami, I think about Philip Yancey and his wife of 55 years. My prayers go up like incense on their behalf as they drop from the public eye to work on their daily life, a life broken by his eight year affair.
In 1999, I was pregnant with our third child while I was teaching Yancey’s book What’s So Amazing About Grace? How do I remember the year?
Well, after her birth, we named our daughter Adrianna Grace, because I was so impacted by the concept of grace. My lifelong takeaway was this: “There is nothing we can do to make God love us more and nothing we can do to make God love us less. Grace is a gift from God, constant and everlasting.” How has this all come about? You have been saved by grace, through faith! This doesn’t happen on your own initiative; it’s God’s gift (Ephesians 2:8, NTFE).
The name Adrianna Grace Allen has reminded me for twenty-seven years that the grace of God belongs in the center of our lives.
Our couple’s small group unpacked our mixed thoughts about Yancey’s admission of guilt as we met in our home on Sunday night. Our conversation continued, spilling over into a lively text string, throughout much of Monday. Then it overflowed into the dynamic happy hour discussion my husband Steve and I enjoyed that night, with Cami strewn across his lap on our outdoor couch.
All of us responded to two challenging articles about Yancey’s series of painful choices (see below). The compassionate words made clear the primary question we each need to ask ourselves, “How might I finish well this lifelong journey of faith?”
Though there is nothing Yancey can do to make God love him more and nothing he can do to make God love him less, most people would agree that Philip has not finished well. At this point, Yancey has disqualified himself from public ministry, and his legacy on earth may be tarnished as he is welcomed into heaven.
…Sue…
P.S. If you want to consider takeaways from Philip Yancey’s situation, here are the two articles our small group unpacked together.
Article #1: https://www.christianpost.com/voices/philip-yanceys-confession-brought-me-deep-sorrow.html
Article #2: Finishing Well – The Philip Yancey news should motivate self-reflection in us all.
OPINION–On Monday, I drove from my home in Charlotte to Greenville, S.C., to have dinner with one of MinistryWatch’s long-time supporters, someone who has over the years also become a friend. He lives in Anchorage, Alaska, but he was visiting family in South Carolina. The fact that he was so close was an opportunity I could not pass up. At the end of a pleasant and encouraging two-hour dinner, we walked to the parking lot and prepared to get in our cars. My friend asked, “How can I pray for you?”
I answered with a phrase that may sound like a “canned answer,” a cliché, but — for me — is not. I answered, “Greg, pray that I finish well.”
The idea of finishing well has been on my mind a lot lately. The nature of our work here is that sometimes we cover Christian leaders who do not finish well. We got another tragic example this week—Philip Yancey, a Christian leader whose books have sold at least 15 million copies. Yancey, who is 76 years old and has Parkinson’s disease, was in sight of the finish line of his race. But he will now be remembered — following his confession of an eight-year extramarital affair — as a man who did not finish well.
…I do not want to speculate about what happened to Philip Yancey, about why he did what he did. But I can say authoritatively that when I engage in sin, it is precisely because I forget I am living coram Deo, before the face of God. God sees me. I am not “getting away” with anything.
It is easy to think of Christian leaders who have not finished well. My partial list includes Ravi Zacharias, Bill Hybels, Jerry Falwell Jr., Steve Lawson, Robert Morris, Brian Houston, Mike Bickle, Carl Lentz, and — now — Philip Yancy. We have written about all these men at MinistryWatch. But, in contemplating this list, two things spring to mind.
First, this list is small compared to what could easily be a list of many millions of ministers of the Gospel who are living faithful, quiet, even anonymous lives. Even among “celebrity” Christians these faithful ministers make up a majority. I have been encouraged, instructed, and edified by the lives and testimony of such men as Alistair Begg, Chuck Swindoll, J.I. Packer, John Stott, Tim Keller, Howard Hendricks, R.C. Sproul, Billy Graham, and many more. Perhaps you have your own list. When we remember people who fall, let us remember these men, too. As the writer of Hebrews says: “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” (Hebrews 13:7)
The second thing that springs to mind is more important, and that — as Augustine said is that a fallen minister does not negate the work of the Holy Spirit. Myles Werntz recently wrote in Christianity Today, “This is so because the fallen pastor or troubled tradition was never responsible for securing the truthfulness of the gospel. That is God’s work, and God never fails us.”
Still, seeing a Christian leader fall is discouraging. For some it can be devastating. That is why — for Philip Yancey, his wife, and all those harmed by Yancey’s choices — I pray for healing. And I will also try to remember that God’s grace is, indeed, amazing, and that it is only by His Amazing Grace that I, or any of us, will finish well.
