CONSPIRACY THEORIES
Keith Tucci
NRP Apostolic Team Leader
Please read this! It’s not too often that I start off an article with this injunction. When the apostle Paul was awaiting his execution and preparing Timothy to take over his apostolic mantle, the first admonishment he gave him was, That you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines nor pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. [1 Timothy 1:3] These words deserve our attention and perception.
This is a clear warning of a critical distraction. In our current challenges, the last thing we need is lack of traction. Lack of traction, or distraction, is wasted effort. In my old gear-head days, getting traction was usually the determining factor of who won or lost the race. Power was not the problem. The picture of spinning your wheels, while having certain exhilarating factors, still meant you were not going anywhere. Those who persist in conspiracies will make a lot of smoke but never progress!
Today, the folks we are trying to lead are being inundated with a lot of mythical information--one speculation after another. Most of this is promoting fear. Yes, I do believe that these conspiratorial theories and ideas are evil and the objective is to confuse and mislead others—including the Church. And, no, I do not believe that they have a secret worldwide plan that would seemingly take thousands and thousands of people who are somehow connected and have a secret agenda that no one else knows about (endless genealogies). My conclusion is based on understanding human nature; most folks can’t keep a secret, and every group has detractors who would gladly spill the beans.
These conspiracies give rise to unwarranted “mere speculations” that have people buying into them a great deal—including Christians. The people who spread these speculations seemingly never have any redemptive plans or course of action that would eliminate the threats they are presenting.
Now, this is not to say there are not certain groups and political entities that are plotting and planning against the “free exercise of religion.” We can speculate on things, which the apostle warned us not to do, or we can put our efforts into getting traction with what He calls “the administration of God by faith.”
One of the hallmarks of spiritual leadership is discerning information that either propels or cripples the work of God. The twelve spies had all seen and experienced the same thing. How Moses communicated that information was critical. He acknowledged the threat, but he overcame that with the mandate to take the land, “the administration of God by faith.” These are strong words used by Paul to Timothy; the King James Version says, “Avoiding things that minister questions.” We have so much that we are sure of, so much that is clear. Why troll in murky waters? The New Living Translation says, “Not allowing them to waste their time.”
Leadership in any venue demands clarity. Complexity is the enemy of progress. It is a vision killer. Speculations are great for “smoking the tires” and creating a lot of noise without going anywhere. As for me, I’ll take traction and forward progress. Our mandate is clear--“the administration of God, which is by faith.” Our voice, our posture and our progress need to be clear, reliable and full of surety that comes from the scriptures. Faith comes by hearing God’s Word--not by speculating on the enemy’s myths and endless genealogies. Let’s focus on traction and not distraction!