Evangelical pastor Max Lucado’s sermons and dozens of best-selling books offer words of comfort and encouragement to his followers. On Wednesday night, he told a small group gathered at a Southtown ice house about an experience that helped form his capacity for empathy.
Lucado told an audience of more than 100 on Wednesday night that he and several other young men were sexually abused by a mentor who later threatened them into keeping silent. He called the experience at age 12 the “stormiest” season of his life.
“He took five of us one weekend on a long camping trip, and as he unpacked his stuff, he pulled out several bottles of whiskey and began to drink his way through the bottles,” Lucado told the audience. “I will never forget what happened in those tents. I felt like a soiled rat.”
Lucado, who built Oak Hills Church into a megachurch with multiple locations, told his story at Friendly Spot Ice House as part of Pub Theology, a weekly speaker series hosted by local pastor Gavin Rogers and Christianity Today writer Bekah McNeel. Lucado told the Rivard Report that he has never seen himself as an activist but feels compelled to share his story of sexual abuse in the era of social media movements #MeToo and #ChurchToo, which aim to highlight assault and often-overlooked abuse cases.
“Like many of you, I have been stunned by the #MeToo movement and the #ChurchToo movement, so I took advantage of this opportunity to share something I had never shared and, by doing so, found that sharing my story is in some way is providing some healing for others,” Lucado said.
Lucado also shared his views on President Donald Trump, whom he first criticized in a 2016 blog post titled “Decency for President.” In the post, Lucado condemned then-candidate Trump for belittling women and people with disabilities and for name-calling, saying such behavior is unacceptable for those who claim to be Christian.
“I don’t think people come to the church where I preach to hear my view on politics,” Lucado said Wednesday night, “and I not have said anything because it’s not my business what [Trump says or claims], but I felt the need to point out that this person holding up the Bible is not holding up the sentiment.”
Lucado touched on themes he addressed in the 2016 blog post: how decency matters to life and the presidency and how Trump changed his attitude toward pastoral involvement in politics.
“The person leading the free world [does] not pass my decency interview,” Lucado told the group. “We could have done better picking a leader. [Trump’s] views do not align with the Christian faith.
“It would be none of my business, I would have absolutely no right to speak up, except that he repeatedly brandishes the Bible and calls himself a Christian.”
Since 1988, Lucado has preached at the nondenominational Oak Hills Church, which has five locations in San Antonio and one in Fredericksburg. He has written over 100 inspirational books since 1985, dozens of which have appeared on national bestseller lists, including Traveling Light, It’s Not About Me, 3:16–The Numbers of Hope, and Fearless.
Mary Cordova said she was inspired by the words Lucado shared with the crowd.
“It was refreshing to see that he would stand up and say – this happened to me, this isn’t right, we have to pay attention and do something about these things,” Cordova said, referring to sexual abuse, discrimination, and violence. “It’s sometimes hard to connect to faith leaders because they are coming from a [narrow] view where something is like a law and there is no room for talking about it.”
Following the hourlong conversation, Lucado answered questions from the audience that ranged from how he works to encourage women to participate in the ministry to fighting racism and discrimination, including toward members LGBTQIA community.
In each response, Lucado highlighted his understanding that part of living the word of God is knowing when to admit that you can do better and when you have to stand up for something that isn’t right.
“In order to do ministry well, I have to be willing to own those moments where I could have done better,” he said. “People in leadership positions need to ask more questions so that they understand how prevalent a problem is and how it impacts someone. I can have empathy for something like [childhood sexual abuse] because it happened to me, but I can also have empathy because I listened.”
Amen Pastor Lucado…..I’m still trying to figure out if the enemy is blindfolding the clergy and lay people regarding the President and his hurtful and demeaning behavior. It is definitely not right for him to call himself a Christian and then belittle others. The Bible says we must love one another, edify and esteem one another. I look at several Christian programs and they have nothing but high praise for the President, I JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND THE REASON FOR THEIR SUPPORT. I do pray for the President and his family for protection and that his heart would show the love of Christ instead of the cruel and hurtful words that come from heart through his mouth. The Bible says, as a man thinketh, so is he. Prov. 23:7.
What a personal and vulnerable evening. It was a joy the be there and see how Max has evolved over the years and that he is not afraid to admit failures even when he has had tons of success. A humble man.
I wish I could have attended. I was very interested in learning what Lucado had to say about Trump. To say that “people don’t come to church to hear his views on politics” is a tragic abdication of pastoral responsibility in these dark days. Evangelical Christians have lusted for political power for years, and are largely responsible for crowning Trump as king. But the price is our hearts, our minds, and the millions of lost souls who are right now witnessing our unspeakable hypocrisy and are turning from Christ as a result. If you’re unwilling to preach this Truth to those who need it most, why bother to preach at all? The silence of Lucado and other evangelical clergy is deafening, and damning.
I have always understood Max Lucado to be a right-wing, fundamentalist, Christian who did not welcome the LGBT community at his churches. At this event, did he accept the LGBT community as Christians, with out considering being gay a sin? What exactly did he say?
You can listen to his response at Travis Park Church’s Facebook page.
I so appreciate reading this. Thank you, Mr. Lucado.
Max Lucado has made millions from promoting a theology that oppresses women and LGBTQ people. Until he publicly renounces his own stances, don’t believe a word that says he encourages women in ministry or that he is learning from past mistakes.