Alistair Begg and Controversial Advice

Many of you have been watching the story of Alistair Begg unfold over the last few weeks. Begg shared a story in a September 2023 interview about how he had advised a grandmother to go ahead and attend a grandchild’s transgender wedding. That advice presumed that the grandchild understood the grandmother’s Christian testimony and her opposition to gay marriage.

. . . he replied to the grandmother by asking her, “Does your grandson understand your belief in Jesus?” 

The grandmother responded by saying, “Yes.” So Begg asked, “Does your grandson understand that your belief in Jesus makes it such that you can’t countenance in any affirming way the choices that he has made in life?” She again responded with, “Yes.” Therefore, Begg suggested that she not only attend the wedding but also bring a gift. 

“Well then, okay,” Begg said. “As long as he knows that, then I suggest that you do go to the ceremony. And I suggest that you buy them a gift.”

The story went viral.

In decades past, everything might have stopped here. Even in fundamentalism, many would have disagreed with Begg’s response, considering it highly unwise, or even compromise. But it would have been viewed as an isolated incident and not characteristic of his entire ministry or position.

But we live in an internet world and the story went viral. Begg was criticized highly. The eventual result was that the American Family Radio network dropped Begg’s program from its 1800 stations. This was not a knee-jerk reaction. Representatives from the radio station had behind-the-scenes conversations with Begg and his team and could not agree on the issue.

Then after a mutual decision that the present controversy would be a distraction, John MacArthur and Begg agreed that Begg would withdraw from preaching at the Shepherd’s Conference. MacArthur has also publicly stated that he would disagree with Begg’s advice.

Begg responds in a Sunday evening message.

In a Sunday evening message at his Parkside Church in Cleveland Ohio, Begg defended himself regarding the advice he had given. This message raised the ire of many who had been following the controversy.

First, he used the prodigal son’s story to defend his advice. He characterized the grandchild as the son and those who opposed his advice as the elder brother. There are two problems with this characterization. First, the prodigal son was repentant. Second, the elder brother was jealous, which does not apply.

Begg clearly said that the advice he had given was situation-specific and might be different in another time and place.

But, the most egregious aspect of this message is his insinuation against preachers. He said that those who speak loudest about a particular sin secretly do so because they would like to participate in that sin.

Pharisees often complain loudly about sins they would be interested in committing themselves. Be very, very careful when you hear your pastor or your teacher or whoever it is lambasting a certain area of life, especially in the realm of morality. Time and time again you will discover that that loud protestation actually sadly, tragically, proved to be a very thin smokescreen for what was actually going on in the hearts of these people. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2bmFuA40T4&t=1234s 19:40 mark). 

The practical implications of this remark are horrifying. Should God’s people question whether the preacher is just covering up his own sin every time he emphatically condemns a sin identified in scripture? Even though what Begg says might be true in some isolated instances, it is extremely damaging to plant such questions in the minds of church members who listen to a faithful preacher of the word. If a preacher speaks out against adultery, murder, homosexuality, lying, or thievery, does that mean we should wonder if he does so because those are sins he wishes to commit? This statement undermines all faithful preaching. I am choosing my words carefully, here, because Begg did not.

I want to believe that this is not what Begg intended to do with this comment, and I sincerely hope he retracts it.

So, what am I learning from this situation?

I need to be more patient with my brothers in the ministry.

Patience with one another in the ministry is essential. One remark or one piece of advice should not characterize an entire ministry. False teachers and compromisers will prove themselves over time. The internet tends to blow specific instances out of proportion and in so doing produces responses and reactions that make a public controversy out of what would have been a smaller item settled in private conversation.

I must be very careful when trying to defend myself.

Self-defense and explanation must be short, well-thought-out, and non-accusatory. While Begg fellowships in circles that I do not, I admire Begg as an expositor of the word.  However, in this situation, his self-defense in sermonic form made the problem much worse. To characterize those who disagree with him as Pharisees, and to call their motives into question when they preach against sin is immensely damaging. Begg would have been better off saying nothing at all.

How to interact with sinning family members is an area that I must address carefully as a pastor.

We all face this. We do not all come to the same conclusions. The faithful, loving, practice of church discipline is essential. The biological family, though, is not the same as a church. A church is a covenant community built on a common confession. To accept open sin in the covenant community is an approval of that sin and is a compromise.

The biological family presumes no common covenant. Our public testimony before our biological family must be clear. We do not celebrate sin or false doctrine (the meat offered to idols situation is a clear application of this principle) but we do love unbelievers. I remember working through this idea with my own family—family that I love dearly. I remember expressing it this way.

I will help you do right things. I will not help you do wrong things. I will not celebrate sin. I will always be your relative. I will race to help you in an emergency. I will stay by your bedside in the hospital. I will sit by your side in court, even when you are wrong, I will give you food when you are hungry. I will welcome you to my table. I will never disown you. I will always love you.

I don’t have all the answers to the questions that we are facing. I do know that we need to both challenge one another and grant one another grace as well as we interact with a very wicked world in very personal ways.

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