Dr. Michael Brown, host of the "Line of Fire" radio programme, has repeatedly tried to reach out to Pastor Carl Lentz of Hillsong Church to address some concerns. But his efforts have all been in vain.
Just recently, he reached out to Lentz again to ask about the comments he made during Oprah Winfrey's SuperSoul Sunday talk show. More specifically, Brown wanted to ask Lentz about his belief that people can have a relationship with God outside of Jesus.
"Do you believe that people are lost if they do not know Jesus as Lord?" he asked in an open letter shared with Charisma News. "Of course, there were other issues that came up during the interview, and I was troubled by your (hesitant) affirmation of the Holy Spirit as impersonal 'divine energy' (Oprah's words), which leads to further confusion and unbiblical error."
However, Brown said that is minor compared to the confusion sown by Lentz through his answers to Winfrey's direct questions. Lentz stated that Jesus is salvation, and he even quoted John 14:6: "Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life."
But Brown was concerned when he omitted the part "no one comes to the Father except through Me." Lentz even left out the rest of that verse twice in the interview. While Brown believes it's what Lentz believes, he asked whether that was made clear to Winfrey and her audience.
Another thing that concerns Brown was Lentz's answer to Winfrey's question, "Do you have to be a Christian to believe in God?" Lentz answered "no," but then added, "Our thing is to point people to say, 'Hey, if you allow God, if you will bow your knee and admit your need of God,' and if you do that, and you say, 'Lord ... there's a moment where my repentance matters, and it's right now, and I'm handing over the keys,' if you do that, God can drive this better than you can. In that moment, there's a rescue, a salvation, that you can't counterfeit any other way."
Brown noted that there's ambiguity in Winfrey's question because many people believe in God but do not believe in Jesus. "My dear brother, please read your own words again. When one of the most influential women on the planet asked you if only Christians can be in a relationship with God you answered no," he said. "Is that what you really believe? If not, would you publicly and clearly correct this, being sure that Oprah is the first to know?"
Brown clarified that he's out to help, not to hurt Lentz, and he is really looking forward to the pastor's response.
