The Chain of Kindness
Foreword
Throughout his ministry, Paul Tudor Jones has expressed a conception of theology that is desperately needed in today’ society. For those grappling with their faith and with Christianity’s application in their day-to-day experience, Dr. Jones provides a framework for thinking about God, about others, and about life. This book of sermons is not only a sampling of Dr. Jones’s preaching, it is a consequence of it. Members of his former Idlewild congregation, moved by Dr. Jones’s message over the years, asked him to allow some of his sermons to be published. Another purpose of this book of sermons is to show an alternative to the two primary shifts away from mainline Protestantism occurring in America: secularism and fundamentalism. Dr. Jones’s ministry stands as a beacon of clarity pointing a wise and faithful way. In contrast to secularism, Dr. Jones’s sermons point beyond the single dimension of arid humanism, toward the spiritual wells of God’s forgiveness and grace. For life to have real meaning, that meaning must have an eternal dimension. In contrast to fundamentalism, Dr. Jones’s sermons express a theology that embraces science and the use of reason and yet proclaims religion as the central purpose of life. His sermons are both pro- faith and pro-reason. They communicate that the discoveries of science are not a threat to faith but a revelation of God’s design for the material part of the universe. They send a message that the lessons of history are not to be dismissed, that utopian social schemes cannot perfect either the individual or society, and that the best and strongest elements in our democratic society are grounded in religious faith and values. For those struggling to develop a theology they can accept rationally, Dr. Jones’s sermons provide answers and hope.
Paul Tudor Jones is one of the century’s most knowledgeable students of the Bible and of the works of the leading Christian theologians. He is not only one of the most scholarly ministers of our time but he is unexcelled in the pastoral care he has given to members of his congregation. He has attended to the needs of thousands in distress, bringing love, hope, courage, and faith to them. He has lived a life of dedication and self-sacrifice, has constantly dealt with the tragedies of others, and through it all kept and increased his confidence in God’s purposes and his love for others. Dr. Jones’s understanding of the gospel has always included its application to the urgent moral and ethical issues of the day. His stands on civil rights and moral integrity in politics made him a prophet as well as a pastor. He never flinched from taking what he understood to be the correct moral and ethical stance even when he knew it would anger those with opposing views, which it frequently did. In the 1950s and ’60s, for example, he was in the forefront of Southern ministers seeking to improve the condition of African-Americans and to foster better race relations. This is a book for the thoughtful Christian and for those whose faith is troubled by elements of doctrine that do not square with their reason and experience. The sermons are the words of a minister who combines brilliant theology, deep compassion for human suffering and human frailty, and boundless optimism. Most important, they are the words of a man who lives by the principles he preaches, a man who has dedicated his life to Christ and to others.
James Daughdrill, President Rhodes College
Introduction
Recent research on mainstream Protestantism in America demonstrates the new world Protestant denominations confronted in the twentieth century. During the nineteenth century, these denominations seemed to dominate both American religious life and American culture. Historians now argue that this religious and cultural establishment of Protestantism has been gradually and decisively eroded during this century. In short, Presbyterians and other mainstream Protestants can no longer claim religious supremacy or cultural dominance. Many observers believe that this shift of power and influence has had profound theological implications for these churches. In recognizing the pluralism of American society and the diversity of Christian belief, they have become less confident of the distinctive message and traditions that they bring to an understanding of Christian faith and discipleship. Others argue that Protestantism itself is wracked by an internecine war, pitting conservatives against moderates or liberals. Tragically, these divisions have obscured the deeper challenge of secularity in the Western world.
The central challenge now confronting mainstream Protestant churches is the reformulation of their theological identity. These denominations cannot recapture their former supremacy over American religious life, nor are they likely to be the arbiters of cultural mores and values. They must also recognize that the foremost threat to their vitality does not lie within but outside the churches. In short, they must begin to recognize that the primary religious and spiritual issue today is not heresy but idolatry – the substitution of other values and beliefs for authentic Christian faith. Dr. Paul Tudor Jones’s sermons represent the work of a preacher who has not lost either his
intellectual or theological bearings amidst the swirling crosscurrents of mid- to late twentieth-century America. As you read them, I think you will recognize three consistent features. First is his emphasis upon the Bible. For Dr. Jones the Bible serves as both a critic and an insightful guide to understanding Christian interpretations of the complexity and mystery of human life.
Second, Dr. Jones reads, and the breadth and depth of his reading in history, theology, literature, and contemporary affairs show a mind constantly inquiring into the wide range of human experience. Third, Dr. Jones is a preacher to people. Here you will find a gospel that lives and breathes, that finds connections with people’s lives, that inspires people to witness to the love they have found in Jesus Christ – even when that application may raise troubling questions about how we behave as individuals, as families, and as a nation. Dr. Jones is a twentieth-century apologist – someone who defends the truth of Christianity. In his last sermon as pastor of the Idlewild Presbyterian Church in Memphis, he declared that throughout his ministry his primary purpose was “raising the God question.” In these sermons, you see him raising that question again and again. What does it mean to believe in God? What does the Lord require of us? What difference will it make? What indeed? Dr. Jones’s sermons serve as a model for raising the God question for our times and in the future and will summon the church to new and deeper understandings of its faith and the call to discipleship.
John M. Mulder
PRESIDENT AND PROFESSOR OF HISTORICAL THEOLOGY
LOUISVILLE PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY