God Expresses His Wrath in the Conventional Way--But Why?

On Monday night, a 62-foot-tall statue of Jesus, erected along Interstate 75 in Monroe, Ohio by the good people of Solid Rock Church, was struck by lightning. The fiberglass and plastic foam construction quickly burned, leaving nothing but the metal frame.

Since the damage to this statue (nearly total annihilation) is far more significant than what happened to the steeple of Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis last August (even if the cost is likely comparable)—and since John Piper took the storm that caused that damage as a divine message to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which at the time was preparing to vote to be more inclusive towards gays and lesbians—I can only assume that Piper believes Solid Rock Church is preparing to commit an even more egregious offense than the crime of being more welcoming, egalitarian, and loving towards gays and lesbians (that is, more loving than God wants us to be).

Of course, in the case of Central Lutheran Church, the offending party was the denomination to which Central Lutheran belonged; but since Solid Rock is a nondenomenational church, we can't look there for the offense that triggered such a spectacular (if conventional) display of divine displeasure: destruction by lightning bolt. So it has to be something that the church itself is guilty of doing or preparing to do.

But since I know nothing about Solid Rock Church, and since Piper has so far not informed us of the message God was sending through such a harsh and destructive act, I’m left puzzled. What could be the divine purpose behind burning up this statue of Jesus? Was it that it didn’t actually resemble the historic Jesus, and God is a stickler for historical accuracy (thus making sure, for example, that the biblical witness is without any such historical errors as offering incompatible accounts of Jesus’ genealogy)?

Did He not approve of the contemporary worship service at Solid Rock Church, because He’s a fan of traditional hymns? Or maybe, just maybe, God thinks churches should be spending their money on feeding the poor rather than on building enormous, kitschy, plastic-and-fiberglass statues along the highway? (No—that can’t be it. After all, burning down the statue will probably just inspire the church to build another $250,000 statue--or build a more expensive one out of flame-resistant materials--thereby directing even more resources away from caring for the least of these).

Anyway, I’m stumped. So if anyone can help me out here I’d be deeply appreciative.