Chuck Colson: Just a Man

This week one of my heroes of the faith, Chuck Colson went home to be with the Lord.  Shortly after surrendering to the call to ministry, I read Chuck Colson's book, The Body.  I was so enriched I quickly followed up with Loving God and Kingdoms in Conflict Reading his books led me to listen and read his Breakpoint Commentaries.  I always found that Colson's work, deepened my faith and help me seriously live out a Christian worldview.  Later, I read and led small groups to study his seminal work on Christian worldview, How Now Shall We Live.  His writings led me to read other authors including Francis Schaeffer, C.S. Lewis, Os Guiness and more. 

It is safe to say that Colson helped to shape my faith and ministry even though I never met him.  I was privileged to hear him speak at several conferences but I never had the opportunity to tell him how much I appreciated his ministry.  He was definitely a portrait of grace as he used his public shame to the glory of God in establishing Prison Fellowship.  Countless numbers of inmates have come to Christ through his ministry.

Yet with all his accomplishments and all that God did through him to advance the kingdom of God, Chuck Colson was still a man.  He was fallible and made mistakes.  I believe one of those mistakes (although many will disagree with me) was Evangelicals and Catholics Together E.C.T.  Colson's heart was in the right place in wanting to see unity in the body of Christ, but his desire seemed to gloss over the truth of the gospel.  E.C.T seemed to say that the evangelical and catholic understanding of the gospel were the same.

Despite what I believe was a mistake, it still does not diminish what Chuck Colson has meant to Christianity.  In fact his fallibility reminds us of a central truth that the church needs to remember. There was only one infallible teacher, The Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the only one who needs to be put on a pedestal.  Any time a Christian puts a pastor, teacher, Christian leader on a pedestal, that Christian is lifting up the wrong person.  It is Christ working through fallible human beings that needs to be lifted up.  When we lift up men, we tempt them to sin and we allow them to fall further when they disappoint us.  Every Christian leader will make mistakes, they will disappoint us.  We continue to learn from them, because God uses sinful people to bring about his purposes so that He might be glorified.  Think about it.