I appreciated this analysis about Adventures in Missing the Truth: Campolo and Homosexuality*. Many years ago, our Sunday School class read a book by Tony Campolo and Brian McLaren (noted “emergent” type false teacher) called Adventures in Missing the Point: How the Culture-Controlled Church Neutered the Gospel. Someone picked it as a book that, in theory, would have conservative and Liberal views on various hot topics. The problem was that we didn’t realize Campolo wasn’t really conservative. So the book ended up being a “debate” between a theological Liberal/moderate and a drunk-naked-running-down-the-streets theological Liberal, which meant it wasn’t a debate at all. McLaren was presented as a Christian, even though his core views mock the cross.
Sadly, many in the class liked their views even though, as outlined in the link, the book was a train wreck of unsupported claims, bad logic worse theology. Not one person asked, “So what does the Bible have to say about this?”
Run, don’t walk, from teachers like Campolo and McLaren. Campolo is actually more dangerous because he poses as being orthodox. He also is involved with the “red-letter Christian” movement that ignores a rather obvious point: Jesus is God, and He authored all of scripture.
* It is a 3-part series. The link has them out of order, but you’ll be able to follow it.
Eternity Matters 
Three years ago I posted about Campolo and why we should avoid him like the plague, and even then he was supportive of the homosexual agenda. My two articles are at:
http://watchmansbagpipes.blogspot.com/search/label/Tony%20Campolo
What is scary is how Campolo claimed to come to Christ, which to me says he has no idea what being a Christian is. As I reported then:
In his book, Letters to a Young Evangelical, Campolo says he came to Christ – was born again – through “centering prayer,” a mystical prayer system also known as “contemplative prayer,” which has more in common with Eastern mysticism than Christianity. He even says that his relationship with Christ has grown through daily “centering prayer” where he uses the name of Jesus as a mantra. Can anyone show me the biblical basis for this? Yet throughout this book Campolo continues to confess how important this is to his relationship, and how he goes into altered states of consciousness to encounter a “oneness with God.” If this is how Campolo was “born again,” I have to question whether he is indeed a Christian.
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Why do you want to bring down a man of God? Why do you denergrate the body of Christ? I am 65 and Campolo and many others have nourished me. I haven’t agreed with them all, but their passion for Christ is what matters. The body of Christ is like a fruit salad. Some fruits we may not like and we put aside, but in the middle of the salad is the immovable cross of Christ which all christians hold sacred. We will never agree on doctrinal positions, but Jesus came to shoulder the sins of the world. That means all of us. Please don’t denergrate those who are trying to make the gospel known. It may not be the way you would do it, but at the end of the day, Jesus said the work of God is this, to believe in the one he has sent. Great preaches of the gospel now that this is the bottom line. They understand that the real truth is that Christ secured all believers. As the bible say’s, as in Adam all die, but in Jesus Christ all have been made alive. Friend don’t judge your christian brother, we have enough animosity in the world. Embrace your christian brother and realise God doesn’t judge us on our performance, as our performance is drasticaly inadiquate. Just know that Jesus is everything to us all, and we are drastically inadequate. John 8.32 say’s you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free. The next verse say’s if the Son sets you free you will be free indeed. You are a child of God if you have placed your faith in the Son. Have a spirit of grace and realise although others may differ from on a doctrinal level but their heart is for God. Christ has saved you if you believe, because he shoulded all our darkness. Friend your brownie points or your doctrinal stance does not impress God. He loves you and me and paid the price for us all. Just rest in his grace and support those who profess Christ as saviour
Your Christian friend
Brian
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Hi Brian. Let me ask you some questions first. Why are you being so judgmental? Who are you to say that Campolo is a man of God? You do realize that it takes just as much to say someone is reflective of Christ’s teachings as it is to say they aren’t, don’t you?
And why are you denigrating the body of Christ by coming here to criticize me?
He teaches false and disruptive things on key topics and the top two people listed on his blog (Brian McLaren and Jim “the Gospel is all about wealth redistribution” Wallis) are notorious false teachers.
Again, I’ll point out that you are denigrating me here. Are you saying I’m not trying to make the Gospel known?
I’m seriously glad that you affirm those truths. Tony’s pals do not.
So why are you judging me?
I agree on embracing Christian brothers and that we don’t win over God with performance. But God taught a lot in his word about false teachers.
I got tired of pointing out your hypocritical judging of me so I skipped a couple. Having said that, we are to love God with our minds and I think it honors him to think about him carefully and hold the right views.
Oh, and is your doctrinal stance about doctrinal stances accurate?
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Brian,
I really can’t add much to Neil’s response. Thanks, Neil, that was outstanding.
All I can add is this – Tony Campolo is not an edible fruit in a Christian “fruit salad.” He is the poison apple. The man’s teachings are contradictory to Scripture.
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Glenn, you are so right. I just suffered through reading another bizarre pro-LGBTQ post on his blog. As you would say, lots of goatherds there!
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Campolo annoys me because he twists Ephesians 4-5 waaaay out of context to make it support non-complementarian church structure. An old (liberal Christian) friend of mine pulled a book of his out once to “educate” me on what “Paul really meant”. I kinda said, “Look, Suzy, Tony Campolo has a flawed view of the Atonement (he doesn’t believe in Penal Substitution), so I’m automatically going to take anything he says with a grain of salt.”
My local Baptist church had him speak there a couple of years ago. Seriously. Once upon a time Baptist churches were actually sound preachers of the Gospel.
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Oh yeah…(just read Glenn’s comment above) – my friend was also into Lectio Divina. She didn’t believe me when I told her it was occultic. (That sound you hear is me banging my head against the computer monitor.)
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“Tony Campolo has a flawed view of the Atonement (he doesn’t believe in Penal Substitution), so I’m automatically going to take anything he says with a grain of salt.”
I would offer that at the point someone denies the penal substitutionary atonement, you are entirely at liberty, perhaps even OBLIGATED to throw anything he says on ANY theological topic from that point into the dunghill.
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