Far be it from me to defend the Osteens, but...

"In conflict and dissent, we divide

But you defend and keep your bride

In purity and peace

So there will always be

A place at your table for me"

-- Derek Webb, A Place at Your Table

Let me say up front that I am not a fan of Joel Osteen. If you know me at all, you probably know that that's kind of an understatement.

If you've follow the Christian blogosphere over the past month or so, you've probably seen coverage of comments Joel's wife and co-pastor, Victoria, recently made from the stage of their Houston megachurch, Lakewood Church. She said, in part:

"When we obey God, we're not doing it for God...we're doing it for ourself (sic). Because God takes pleasure when we're happy. Do good 'cause God wants you to be happy. When you come to church, when you worship Him, you're not doing it for God, really. You're doing it for yourself because that's what makes God happy."

The response from Christians came quickly and loudly, and much of it involved the use of the word "heretic." You might have seen a video clip that featured Victoria's proclamation followed by a snippet from the pilot episode of "The Cosby Show" in which Cliff says, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life!"

A small minority of voices have rallied to Osteen's defense -- including blogger and college chaplain Morgan Guyton, who took issue with the wording but upheld at least part of the sentiment he believes she intended to convey. Recording artist Derek Webb also defended Osteen via Twitter, or at least pushed back against the vicious response from the Christian community:

"the way christians publicly mock their own when they disagree (see @VictoriaOsteen ), it’s no wonder it’s a club hardly anyone wants to join"

Then, a day later:

"troubling when folks vehemently defend their right, responsibility even, to shame & judge others. it’s like we don’t realize we’re all sick."

Webb's comments were also posted to Facebook, where they were met with more vitriol, as several pointed out that a number of Webb's early songs were openly critical of the church over doctrinal and other issues and asserted that Christians have a responsibility to respond to false teaching.

I've been chewing on this for a while, and finally feel like I have my thoughts organized enough to weigh in.

First, I agree with Guyton that Osteen's sentiment has some validity, while she probably should've put a little more thought into how she articulated it. To think of "worship" (by which I mean, for these purposes, a physical act of expression as you might find in a church like the Osteens' -- lifting one's hands, singing out loud, dancing/jumping, and so forth) as something that makes God happy for any other reason kind of reduces God to a baby who responds to a game of Peek-a-Boo with giggles. God does not need our attention or our validation; God is all-powerful and infinite. What God appreciates, it would seem, is the expression of one's joy -- just like any parent smiles at the sight of their child laughing at something or dancing. I don't see how this is dangerous theology. Perhaps the way Victoria worded it was shallow, but I'm certainly not going to throw the "h" word at her for that.

More than that, though, I share Webb's concerns about our propensity for rushing to judgment of whatever doesn't fit within our idea of "truth." We hear poll after poll showing that people are leaving churches in droves. There are lots of factors that contribute to this, but the ugliness Christians exhibit toward one another is certainly one -- and not a minor one.

Christians have disagreed for years about dozens of issues -- women in ministry, church music, appropriate attire, and adult vs. child baptism, just to name a few that quickly come to mind -- and have mostly managed to do so with civility and grace.

I once heard Shane Hipps, former teaching pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church, share a brief history of the Mennonite church (Shane pastored a Mennonite congregation in Arizona before going to Mars Hill). He noted that one of the trademark characteristics of Mennonite theology was humility. I couldn't find the exact quote, but essentially he said that a Mennonite might tell you something he strongly believes with every fiber of his being, and then say, "But I might be wrong."

That's not a sign of weak faith. That's not watering anything down. It's simply realizing that:

1. You're not God;
2. The Bible is anything but crystal clear about most things; and
3. You just might actually be wrong.

You know who else might be wrong?

Me.

In his seminal book "Blue Like Jazz," Donald Miller wrote:

"At the end of the day, when I am lying in bed and I know the chances of any of our theology being exactly right are a million to one, I need to know that God has things figured out, that if my math is wrong we are still going to be okay. And wonder is that feeling we get when we let go of our silly answers, our mapped out rules that we want God to follow. I don't think there is any better worship than wonder."