I wasn’t sure if I should post this, since it is about someone particular and not the machine, but then I said, “Hey. My Blog. Comments are go. I’m opening myself up for conversation, to be corrected if need be.” So here goes:
The New York times just put out a piece on Marc Driscoll, from Seattle, WA’s Mars Hill Church (as opposed to Grand Rapids, MI’s Mars Hill, run by Rob Bell). Before you go any further, read the article here.
After reading the article, I have some big concerns (if the allegations are true – if they aren’t, then I apologise to Marc for some of the following I’m about to say) about Driscoll as a Christian teacher and leader.
First, the idea that “questioning is sinning” is a big one for me. I have been taught to test and discern everything that is brought to my attention through the teaching of the word, like the Bereans in Acts 17:11. For someone to tell me that to question is to sin, and that blind following is the moral and Christian thing to do, then I would tell that person that they are a dangerous person and I’m not following your cult. By blindly following another human being, you put yourself in a false freedom – you are bound not to any god, let alone the Trinity, but to one person’s teachings. There is no freedom there. You take Driscoll’s yolk, not Jesus’: That’s contrary to the Gospel.
Second, Marc Driscoll is a straight-up jackhole. Pardon my rude language, but I really believe this. I’ve been following his remarks online for years now, and I bought his Vintage Jesus book as well, and I’ve heard next to no respectful things come from his mouth about anyone that disagrees with him. For someone who espouses what should be a humbling theology like hypercalvinism, he is an arrogant jerk who seems to show no sign of good fruit in his public life. Am I the only one who sees this a major problem? I don’t care about his swearing or vulgarity, all power to him, but he seems to murder people in his heart all the time. No Grace. I don’t see love in his actions or words. That’s the deal-breaker for me.
It seems that, in an effort to get away from the hyper-sensitive love Gospel being preached in North America in many places, Driscoll has gone on passed the middle and gone to the other extreme of truth with no love. I worry mostly that Driscoll’s position of power will propogate itself in the congregation(s) under his care and ultimately result in a Christianity with little love and grace, like early Calvinism and Lutheranism during the religious wars of the 1600′s.
I guess I’m just worried that the baby is being thrown out with the bathwater.
WK
This entry was written by , posted on January 12, 2009 at 12:36 am, filed under Christianity, Church and tagged Christianity, Church, Driscoll. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.