Prevailing Winds "For the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom . . ." 2 Cor. 3:17, TNIV

Why, it seems like only yesterday . . .

It’s been a rough week for me in the blogosphere, some of it made rougher by my very own self, and a couple of you have asked if I’m sorry I ever started and if I plan to keep going.

I’m not sure what “started” and “keep going” here mean, exactly. “Prevailing Winds” wasn’t put together to “start” anything with the Kirk — I’ve been dealing with the errors of Christ Church since May 2002, when I wrote a long letter to Doug Wilson expressing my concerns over his ministry and teaching. He graciously met with me for an hour or more, and only after talking face-to-face did I ever publicly denounce him, his leadership, his teaching and his ministry. That is, to me, the Biblical pattern — talk together first, always; but if bad behavior continues, continue exhorting the offender. Public rebuke is appropriate for public teaching or behavior, and I accept public criticism and rebuke, even if I don’t agree with it, when it’s levied at me.

(A note here: I do wish that from the beginning Dale Courtney would have responded to my efforts to talk to me, and I regret that my most recent effort was something he chose to belittle and reject. But I’m always willing, although with even less confidence than I did in 1977 when I waited for Gregorio D. to ask me to
prom . . . See what 30th reunions do?).

As most of you know, I debated Wilson on KRPL in the summer of 2006, and I thought it went well. I’m absolutely willing to do it again. I’ve been posting on Vision 2020 since 2003-ish, and I’ve written a couple of letters to the editor to further points I thought were necessary. The blog is ministry to me, but I would hope no one joins Gary Crabtree in presuming that I lack meaningful employment. It’s true that I don’t work outside the home and haven’t since my eldest son was born in 1989 (for which I give thanks to God), but it’s not true that I’m slavishly devoted to combing through volumes of junk theology and sociology and psychology and history to find especially foul nuggets to rush to comment on. Nonetheless, because I care very much about the state of the souls of the leadership at the Kirk, I continue, and will continue, to speak out when offense occurs.

I think that I had hoped it would be obvious that, writing as a Christian, my concern — after defending (in Scripture, “contending strenuously for”) the Gospel — is to effect repentance and true reformation among those whose conduct demeans it. I would be naive in hoping for this if it weren’t for the immeasurable power of the Holy Spirit, who transformed my life in 1981 and continues to work in me today. I’m grateful that those Christians who first knew me, when I was a pot-smoking, obnoxious, profane, hateful young woman, didn’t give up. With all of my heart, I believe the Church in Moscow indicates by its silence either assent or apathy; I just cannot go along with that. Even when people laugh at me, even when I give them ammo, even when it seems hopeless. “Winning” here isn’t the point. Faithfulness is.

So thanks for reading, for your prayers, and especially for your critiques. I can’t “thank” anyone for the sin of treating me with contempt, but know this — I absolutely forgive you and hope someday to walk in fellowship with you. I won’t, however, decide to stay quiet so I can curry your favor.

Most important is this: May the Lord Jesus be glorified by the things I do, and may the mistakes I make reflect only on me.