Rev. Coffin - A True Prophet?

I read this post on the Sojourners email today. It articulates many of my thoughts regarding the merits of Rev. Coffin who passed away last week.

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Rev. Charles writes from Fort Collins, Colorado:

While it is great to remember these fine things about Bill Sloane Coffin, something tears at my heart. As a hero in the liberal church where I first learned about Jesus, I can't but wonder if all Rev. Coffin's actions will really impress our Lord. My liberal pastors lowered the person of Christ to a mere prophet and kept my fellow churchgoers from experiencing the uniqueness and power of God found in Christ. The social activism of our church seemed impressive but their was no undergirding of the Holy Spirit and we were left with a liberal activist legalism - energised more by the newspaper than God's word and strength. Legalism is hardly motivating and thus while there was big talk about engaging the world, there was little money to pay either the mortgage or the pastor. Hostilitity to my powerful conversion experience eventially forced me out of my home church. Sadly most of the kids in my youth group ended up turning their back on Christ entirely.

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Ouch! Rev. Charles has hit rather close to home here. What a poignant indictment of the religious left from the inside. I listened to his obit on NPR and the news last week and he sounded like a great guy. And I'm sure he certainly was. But I got a red flag when they started mentioning Riverside Church in NYC, since that is usually a tip-off. Bill Moyers' affiliation with the organization hurt his standing with me after I googled the connection down.

Lord? Lord?

Here is some more info.
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n 1979, he was one of four prominent clergymen allowed by the new fundamentalist regime in Iran to visit Americans taken hostage from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. He visited the hostages in December, singing carols and praying, and then returned to the United States to criticize the nation's "past sins" in Iran. This brought him much vilification for being soft on Iran's mullahs.
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Singing Carols? Christian Carols? That's pretty tolerant and civil of the Iranians!

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A handful at Riverside Church believed his globe-trotting and social-advocacy commitments distracted from his pastoral and administrative duties, but the Rev. Coffin saw no conflict.

"Every minister is given two roles: the priestly and the prophetic," he said. "The prophetic role is the disturber of the peace, to bring the minister himself, the congregation and entire social order under some judgment. If one plays a prophetic role, it's going to mitigate against his priestly role. There are going to be those who will hate him."
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What happened to the "testimony of Jesus" as the spirit of prophecy?

Now for something really bizarre!

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He studied piano with French composer and teacher Nadia Boulanger and briefly attended Yale's music school before serving in the Army during World War II. Because of his proficiency with languages, he was a liaison officer with the French and Soviet armies.

The Rev. Coffin previously was married to Eva Rubinstein, daughter of pianist Arthur Rubinstein, and to Harriet Gibney. Both marriages ended in divorce.
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What is it about us concert pianists? I guess he's alright! He certainly would have been a formidable pianist as a Boulanger student & having Rubenstein as his dad!

Go figure