Speak the Truth in Love

NOTE: Upon hearing the second installment of the eulogy delivered by Pastor Winans, I have some new comments which are all highlighted with blue text.  I stand by my comments regarding Ms. Houston, however, I have to adjust my comments about Pastor Winans sermon in light of new information (2/24/12).

I've been cruising the internet and I keep seeing the same thing in regards to Marvin Winans' "eulogy" of the late Whitney Houston.  Every blog, commenter and person keeps saying that Pastor Winans did a poor job.  I've even seen his message classified as "horrible".  I read one blog in particular that made me raise an eyebrow (Uppity Negro Network) as it related to the sermon.  Jesus said many times as it related to His parables and those that were listening "he who has an ear, let him hear". 

I didn't want to take someone else's word for it, I wanted to listen to the sermon myself so I went to YouTube and I listened to the video while I was driving.  I have to say that I disagree that pastor Winans was totally off that day.  I actually think that he was on point at the beginning of his message.  What I discovered is that I had only watched part 1 of a two part video. While he didn't drop three points, his treatment of the scripture was on point in that he captured the essence of what the scripture says. In the second half of the message, brother Winans lost me totally.  He should have stopped preaching at 15 minutes and he would have made a huge impact.  His prosperity gospel tirade was uncalled for and he should have used that time to preach the cross to those that were listening.  He should have stopped at the Bible being the "owner's manual" and those of us that THINK we have it figured out need to refer to the owner's manual in order to understand "where to drive the car and who to allow into the car."  I did not hear the portion of the sermon where pastor Winans spoke of the prosperity gospel on yesterday and I am not a proponent of the prosperity gospel.  Any reference to a false gospel should be left out of any sermon and this alone almost nullifies his entire message.  But Paul says to test everything and hold fast to that which is good.  I also know that Winans is a TBN stalwart and this fact was not lost on me as I listened to his message.  However, there were some things that I gleaned from the sermon that had application- especially the first half of the sermon.  (updated 2/24/12)

What I heard him say- were several cogent subtle points.  He was preaching to the congregation.  He was not preaching to or about Ms. Houston as she was cold and inside of a coffin.  I think we forget that ANYTIME a preacher gets up to preach, he MUST preach Jesus above all else.  He started out doing that, especially when he spoke about the Christian life being misunderstood as boring and that the devil deludes many into thinking that.  That is what happened to Ms. Houston...she got deluded into thinking that she needed something more than what God was offering.  The enemy stole from her and eventually destroyed her.  Could he have sprinkled in a few more references about Ms. Houston, surely.  He probably could have done that rather than making references to his "amen corner".  But his message, "Prioritize" was very timely and relevant to the crowd that was there.  Upper crust, affluent and "successful" musicians, entertainers and the like.  The blog said that there was no practical application that could be taken away from the sermon- I disagree.  Where is did fall short is preaching salvation to those that were listening, but then again, I wasn't there so I don't know how his message ended. 

The first thing that I picked up on from his message was this...live in such a way that people know Who you worship!  He said explicitly that in order to really survive this life, we MUST know Christ/God.  Who can disagree with that?  Did Ms. Houston know God?  Did she live a life that displayed that she knew God?  Unless you've been living under a rock for the last ten years, the answer to the former question would be a maybe and the answer to the last question would be a definite NO.

The second thing that I picked up from his message, again directly tuned in to his audience, was to NEVER put anything above God.  Not money, not fame, not success, not career...not anything.  Can we answer affirmatively that Ms. Houston did this?  Again, I would have to say no.  She may have started in the church, but she used her God given talent to enrich herself, not to glorify the giver of the talent.  One thing that we confuse is that a talent is not a spiritual gift.  Spiritual gifts are used to edify the body of Christ (1 Cor 12, 1 Cor 14) and singing is not a spiritual gift (unless maybe we consider it "a" gift of exhortation, see Romans 12:8) Singing is a talent.  Spiritual gifts cannot necessarily be improved with "practice" as they are given solely at the discretion of the Holy Spirit and are exercised by the power of the Holy Spirit.  The blog article from the Uppity Negro Network said "The talents that are given to us and those gifts that we pick up on our journey are not for our own self-aggrandizement but for the betterment of our own sisters and brothers whom we encounter daily.

"Given the confines he had to work with, Matthew chapter six, verse 25, Winans had an opportunity to raise the level of consciousness beyond our earthly lives and to prioritize the things in life that matter. That is to say, we should leave a legacy, as Whitney did, through her talents."  When I read this statement, I was literally incensed.  Winans did exactly that- he told his audience to KEEP their priorities ordered in such a way that Christ is always first.  He just happened to do so while taking a very circuituous path, one that I would have avoided, personally.  I was not incensed by the comment on the sermon, I was incensed by the fact that the "legacy" of Ms. Houston is seemingly celebrated as if all she left behind was music and that she left no other wreckage in the wake of her death. Why is it that we celebrate dysfunction in this country?  The legacy that Ms. Houston leaves behind, unfortunately is one of parental neglect, bad decision making and heartache.  Her daughter is now battling the same addictions that she battled because they openly used drugs and alcohol in Bobbi Christina's presence.  Her decision to choose drugs over God was the worst one that she ever made.  The heartache that she caused her mother is something I never want to experience.  I can't imagine what her mother is feeling.  She has long supported Ms. Houston through her numerous addictions and she was always right there for her. 

I for one am not going to allow the image that we were sold by Arista Records to cloud my vision as it relates to the truth.  We were sold an image of a clean-cut, golden voiced, humble little girl that just "wanted to dance with somebody who loved her".  What was actually in the package was something totally different.  I can only think back in horror as I watched the 20/20 interview with Ms. Houston and her husband, with dried cocaine on his nose, as she arrogantly stated that she did not smoke crack because it was for poor people or her colloquially referring to drug use "partying".  Ms. Houston leaves behind a legacy that is hardly worth celebrating.  Her music may have been wonderful, but her life outside of music left a lot to be desired and bore the marks of a life walking on the razor's edge that separates the kingdom of God from the kingdom of the air.  That may sound harsh and I mean no disrespect for the dead, but at this point as we begin to rewrite history, a moment of clarity is needed.

What Marvin Winans did, in no uncertain terms a very subtle way, was let his audience know that there is NOTHING higher than Christ, that nothing can ever replace Him and when you live your life the way that the deceased did, you are also headed down the same path.  He preached that in a way that the family would not be offended and he would not have to lie.  I know that feeling because I have preached funerals for folks that left a lot to be desired here on earth.  I preached my brother's funeral and he left a legacy that was not very good with the people who knew him the best.  To those that saw his image, they were sold that he was A1.  He was anything but, however, towards the end of his life, he turned his life over to Christ.  I made that clear in my eulogy that he was not fit to die when he first discovered that he had congestive heart failure-- but God showed him mercy and gave him time to get himself together.  The thing that you must do in that situation is not make much over the person in the coffin but make much over Christ who is available to whoever seeks Him.  I feel that Pastor Winans did what the Lord led him to do.  He didn't get up and preach about Whitney Houston, he preached about the one that is the Greatest, the Holy One of Israel, the Messiah and the Savior of all mankind (for most of his sermon). 

Marvin Winans spoke the truth in love, as Paul says in Ephesians 4.  He told the truth without offending Cissy Houston, Bobby Brown, Bobbi Christina or any other family members that were present.  Ms. Houston's life was a wreck because her priorities were out of order.  Her untimely demise was a direct result of her priorities being out of order.  Pastor Winans was simply saying to those that were present or listening that in order to avoid this route, get your priorities in order!  As we go through this life, we MUST prioritize and remember what's really important.  Number 1 records are not what's important, reality TV shows are not what's important, large sums of money are not either- it is a relationship with God through Christ that matters the most.  He made that point very early in his sermon and he preached Christ throughout his message. God first, all else second.   He went off on this strange tangent concerning the prosperity gospel but he eventually came back the text and admonished his listeners to prioritize.  He did violate the number one rule of preaching, in my opinion, which is he got a away from the text.  It is always advisable to "STICK TO THE TEXT" and the text will preach itself.  What he failed to do was to go to the Cross and really make it plain to the listeners that their priorities would REMAIN messed up without Christ as the head of their lives.  He also failed to illustrate how the Blood of Jesus was shed for all sinners, even the ones sitting in the church coked up, drunk, pilled up or whatever.  That's where I would have done something differently.  He could have used that time he spent talking about "prosperity" to show that God, in his mercy, allowed Ms. Houston to escape the pain that she undoubtedly dealt with, quietly and peacefully and that it was GOD that ended her bout with drugs and alcohol.  I don't know if Jakes dealt with any of this, but I know that I would have done things differently.  Having said that, someone with listening ears could get the essence of the message if they got past the cassock and the call and response (which is not always a bad thing).

I am not going to join the celebration of dysfunction that many have heartily promoted.  She left here with a lot of loose ends untied.  I thank God that there is some indication that she was saved.  I don't know what her eternal destination is nor will I speculate.  If the thief on the cross next to Jesus was with Him in paradise, and he had been a thief all of his natural life, then I cannot say that Ms. Houston is not present with the Lord.  We don't know what words her last breaths were able to piece together.  We don't know if she called out to the Lord to save her soul, but I certainly hope that she did.  Her mother is the one to be commended for being a MOTHER to her daughter.  Ms. Houston had a great role model in Cissy Houston and she did not take advantage of it and raise her daughter like she should have.  She had everything and did not know what to do with it.  My prayers go out to those left to sift through the wreckage and to her mother and daughter.  May God's grace allow a second tragedy to be averted.