Sin which clings so closely

In The Church of Living Dangerously (Harper Horizon, 288 pp.), John Lee Bishop tells the story of how he went from being the pastor of a thriving megachurch in Vancouver, Wash., to being a drug runner and convicted felon. At least that’s what he claims he’s doing.

The narrative opens with Bishop getting arrested at the Mexican border trying to bring 300 pounds of marijuana into the United States before flashing back to Bishop’s broken childhood, which supposedly begins the chain of events that led to this moment.

The Church of Living Dangerously John Lee Bishop

Bishop’s adolescence consisted of fighting and drinking, but after meeting his churchgoing wife Michelle, the young man decided to turn his life around, using his gritty background and affable personality to minister to kids. Eventually his success at giving “authentic” messages led him to start Living Hope Church in 1996. The church became one of the fastest-growing in America, with thousands flocking to see over-the-top shows that Bishop claims rivaled anything on the Las Vegas Strip.

Things started falling apart for Bishop in 2015 after Living Hope fired him for infidelity. He moved to his Mexican vacation home in Cabo, started living a dissipated life, and befriended cartel members. While his life unraveled, he continued to dream of starting a ministry to impoverished people in Cabo.

After getting busted for drug running, Bishop spent five years in a federal prison, where he started Bible studies, and came to believe that God wasn’t through with him yet.

One of Bishop’s strengths as a preacher is his ability to tell a good story, and he uses his skills effectively in this book: It’s quite the page-turner. But one gets the impression that Bishop isn’t a reliable narrator, and that the book is part of a plan to rehabilitate his image as he launches a new ministry.

Bishop claims he had planned that the smuggling run leading to his arrest would be his last. He also claims he kept Michelle in the dark concerning his illicit activities, but the federal investigation unearthed messages that suggest otherwise. Despite his life of drunken violence in Cabo, he claims to have counseled and pastored cartel members. He even asks the reader to believe that the other pastors of Living Hope fired him out of jealousy. The infidelity, which he admits to, was just a pretense.

In the end, this book makes it clear that despite years in ministry, Bishop doesn’t understand the gospel. He says Christianity is about “living a good life,” and he racks up “converts” with an easy believism that doesn’t include repentance. How can he preach repentance in light of his own unrepentant lifestyle?