Apprising Ministries first covered Louis Giglio in Beth Moore And John Piper Lead Lectio Divina-Lite At Passion 2012 where I shared concerns about Giglio’s emphasis upon direct encounters with God.

That was bad enough, but it got even worse this year, as I showed in Louie Giglio, Passion 2013, And Jesus Culture. Now Giglio appears to be marrying his Passion youth movement to that of Jesus Culture.

It needs to be understood that reputed Calvinist Louie Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church (PCC) in Atlanta, is influencing scores of teens and college age youth as the leader of this so-called new breed Jesus Generation.

With this in mind Christian researcher Sarah Leslie brought out yesterday in The Significance of Youth-Filled Stadiums:

Lou Giglio is scheduled to give the benediction* at the Obama Presidential Inauguration on January 21. The official announcement describes him as “the Rev. Louie Giglio, the pastor of the Passion City Church in Atlanta” and says he “is considered one of the highest-profile evangelical Christian pastors. He has been prominent in efforts to end human trafficking.” ((Daniel Strauss, “Evers-Williams, Giglio to give invocation and benediction at inauguration,” The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room, Jan. 8, 2013, http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/276041-evers-williams-giglio-to-give-invocation-and-benediction-at-inauguration-#ixzz2HPLgwSCA))

This invitation is significant because Lou Giglio is currently under a great deal of fire in some quadrants of the evangelical world for his controversial association with New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) leader Bill Johnson and a music group/ministry called Jesus Culture. (source)

Today that changed. So, in Louie Giglio Out Of Obama Inaguation Over “Anti-Gay Comments” I drew together a few of the sources covering Giglio’s announcement he would no longer be part of inauguration after all.

One of these sources was a letter to his congregation from Louie Giglio called Change of Plans, which will be the focus of the rest of this article. However, first I’ll tell you many began implying that Giglio was now a martyr.

Already we have seen e.g. Christians Respond to Giglio’s Withdrawal by Christian Post reporter Lillian Kwon, The Giglio Imbroglio from Al Mohler and then Ed Stetzer chimed in with The Louie Giglio Moment.

Joe Carter, editor for The Gospel Coalition offers Pastor Disinvited from Giving Inaugural Prayer Because of Sermon on Homosexuality. And we have the below from the Facebook page of the Family Research Council.

Under a picture of Louie Giglio with the caption Don’t Silence Pastors we find (click to enlarge):

(source)

This tweet below from his friend John Piper, where he said that Giglio is suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ, is another glaring example:

(source)

I have no idea what Piper means by refining for freedom, but it is clear that he’s saying Giglio is suffering for his faith in Jesus Christ. Far from suffering, Louie Giglio’s largely being lauded as a hero in the right wing media. ((Be advised this is a pro-homosexual website: http://bit.ly/XTo5di, accessed 1-10-13.))

People have been asking my opinion and I have told them that Giglio’s first mistake was agreeing to be part of the inauguration; his second mistake was to then merely resign when his words about homosexuality surfaced.

This brings us back to Louie Giglio’s Change of Plans and around to why you’ll see that Giglio is no hero and not to be admired at all in this mess. Giglio begins by telling his PCC:

I was invited by the President of the United States to pray at his upcoming inauguration, after conversations between our team and the White House I am no longer serving in that role. (source)

He then quotes from the “statement to the White House” Giglio had sent today explaining why he was no longer “serving in” the inauguration. Turns out it was:

Due to a message of mine that has surfaced from 15-20 years ago, it is likely that my participation, and the prayer I would offer, will be dwarfed by those seeking to make their agenda the focal point of the inauguration.

Clearly, speaking on this issue has not been in the range of my priorities in the past fifteen years. Instead, my aim has been to call people to ultimate significance as we make much of Jesus Christ. (source, emphasis his)

As a pastor-teacher myself what immediately jumped out at me is Giglio, pastor of a megachurch and leader of a huge youth movement, admits “speaking on this issue,” i.e. the sin of homosexuality:

has not been in the range of my priorities in the past fifteen years. (source)

That’s a very telling, but not surprising, admission considering Inaugural Benediction To Be Delivered By Pastor Who Gave Vehemently Anti-Gay Sermon yesterday by Josh Israel of the pro-homosexual website Think Progress.

He quotes from Giglio’s In Search of a Standard – Christian Response to Homosexuality, which Israel tells us is:

a mid-1990s sermon identified as Giglio’s, available online on a Christian training website, he preached rabidly anti-LGBT views. (source)

Now a key point: Josh Israel posted five quotes from Giglio’s sermon about homosexuality from nearly two decades ago and just one day later Giglio has already caved in. There’s nothing to be admired in that.

From where I stand, Louie Giglio has made no public effort to defend the truth of God’s Word concerning the deviant and sinful lifestyle of having sexual relations with another of the same sex, i.e homosexuality.

Moreover, pastor Louis Giglio admits that warning young LGBT people, for whom Christ died, of their sin hasn’t even been something he considered a priority. Well, I offer Homoppression Is At Least As Bad As Homophobia.

The homoppression to which I refer here would be not telling the truth to someone who self-identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered (LGBT); and thereby, leaving them under oppression trapped in their sin.

And what of his public testimony to the Obama administration when Giglio tells them, as well as his own PCC:

Clearly, speaking on this issue has not been in the range of my priorities in the past fifteen years. Instead, my aim has been to call people to ultimate significance as we make much of Jesus Christ. (source, emphasis his)

Where’s the Gospel of repentance and forgiveness of sins? Answer: It’s not there. Instead pastor Giglio tells these unbelievers his goal is that people will have “ultimate significance.” Frankly, Giglio sounds likes Joel Osteen.

Then Louie Giglio plays the piety card as he tells his PCC:

As a pastor, my mission is to love people, and lead them well, while lifting up the name of Jesus above anything else. (source)

Sure, there’s truth within his statement; all Christians are to love people, so this becomes a red herring. The rest of the story, as the noted philosopher Paul Harvey was wont to say, is the pastor-teacher must also:

preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. (2 Timothy 4:2)

You may recognize that’s not a position that’s going to be popular with this politically correct, and pouty postmodern, world because reproving, rebuking, and even exhorting, happens to be well out of season.

In other words, out of favor; to do so will bring you into confrontation. This then, would actually be to suffer for Christ’s sake. Instead, pastor Giglio turns to another red herring:

I’m confident that anyone who knows me or has listened to the multitude of messages I have given in the last decade would most likely conclude that I am not easily characterized as being opposed to people—any people. (source)

However to offer the actual Gospel of Jesus Christ to sinners, whether homosexual or not, isn’t opposing them as people in the first place. In fact, it’s being willing to even risk their wrath as you show them the love of God.

For you see, this is how the Christian points “them to Jesus.” The truth is, this is the only way that “people in [any] city come to know Jesus.” This is truly “speaking up for the last and least of these throughout the world.”

Pastor Giglio should have said, go ahead; do whatever you want to me publicly. That would bring liberals into the open and he could then preach the real Gospel, which would have been headlines in secular news sources.

I agree with Chris Rosebrough who said today on his F4F program that Louie Giglio is a straight-up coward. Sadly, when confrontation appeared he placed his tail between his legs and scamped off the battlefield.

Further reading

• THE SIN OF HOMOSEXUALITY IS DIFFERENT
• PIERS MORGAN TO RICK WARREN: BIBLE “INHERENTLY FLAWED” AND NEEDS TO BE AMENDED
• JAY BAKKER CRITIQUES KEN SILVA AT RELIGION DISPATCHES