Friday, January 27, 2006

Congratulations on being so humble

So, I saw a link in my feedreader a week or so ago that Mark Driscoll, pastor of Seattle's hipster megachurch, Mars Hill, has started a blog. So far, he has 5 posts. Here's a synopsis:
Post #1: Hi I'm Mark Driscoll, yada yada yada
Post #2: The day I had lunch with Robert Schuller
Post #3: The day I had lunch with Ravi Zacharias
Post #4: The day I had lunch with Chuck Colson
Post #5: My sermon podcasts have been downloaded over 1 million times

And then today, a rant in response to Brian McLaren's non-statements about his non-stand on the homosexuality issue showed up here.

I've met Mark Driscoll multiple times, and I think one of those times involved lunch (file that under my future post about "The day I had lunch with Mark Driscoll"). I found him to be a personable, unassuming guy who genuinely cares about people . . .

. . . which is why I find the above rant so disturbing. In it, he mentions having recently talked to a young man who is apparently struggling with some homosexual issues - except that Driscoll describes the talk in some very offensive ways. I really hope that this guy doesn't see that rant, because it's humiliating. Feel free to state your case, really. You can even float your inappropriate sarcasm out there to get a laugh if you want - even if it is misguided, immature, and I could probably proof text some Bible verses that say it's sinful (nevermind - who really cares about all that when there's REAL sin like homosexuality to tackle?). But don't mock someone who probably came to you with genuine concerns and say it's all good because you didn't say his name. That's weak.

For someone who is humble enough to bio himself as having "been named one of the 25 most influential pastors in America by The Church Report, and one of the most influential young preachers in America by Christianity Today Incorporated with over a million downloads of his sermons a year, and one of the 25 most powerful people in Seattle by Seattle Magazine," it's clear he's got his act together.

And now that I've said too much, I'll go meditate on some Jesus words. Perhaps Mark will be kind enough to join me.

posted by Steve at 11:46 PM
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4 Comments:

Ron Henzel commented at 4:05 AM~: "And now that I've said too much, I'll go meditate on some Jesus words. Perhaps Mark will be kind enough to join me." Well, it seems to be a good time for everyone to have their say. But after it's over let's turn on the biofeedback machine, get out the anger management tapes and dust off the "Kumbaya" sheet music. I'll count the knives and make sure they're all tucked away in the silverware drawer.
Anonymous commented at 9:36 PM~: Wow.

It's sad to see christians speaking so harshly about each other.

Oh yeah...the same can be said about Driscoll and McLaren.
Steve commented at 9:49 PM~: Dear Anonymous,

Thanks for the feedback - I deserve that critique. Speaking from a somewhat informed viewpoint, though, let me clarify that Brian McLaren is well known to be anything BUT harsh, especially when speaking of other Christian leaders. Me and Driscoll? Guilty.

Again, thanks.
Unknown commented at 10:03 PM~: Mark ends his post by saying " I would like to thank Dr. Schuller for his kindness to me and congratulate him on his half-century of ministry at the Crystal Cathedral on this, the final week of his tenure as senior pastor. " Well take a look at this Schuller to see the 1/2 century of ministry that Mark Driscoll is actually praising.

“Classic theology has erred in its insistence that theology be ‘God-centered,’ not ‘man-centered.’”
– Robert Schuler, Self-Esteem—The New Reformation, 64.

Schuller reinterprets the doctrines of the Word of God to conform with his self-esteem philosophy. His Christ is a Jesus who provides men with self-esteem. Schuller's gospel is the replacement of negative self concepts with positive ones. To Schuller, sin is merely the lack of self-esteem. To Schuller, the greatest evil is to call men sinners in a biblical fashion and thereby injure their self-esteem. Schuller is a universalist who believes that all people are the children of God. His goal is to help each person understand and enjoy this “fact.”

Schuller says he believes in salvation by grace, but what he actually believes is that salvation is being rescued from poor self-esteem. He says he believes in Hell; but his hell is the loss of self-esteem, not a place of fiery eternal torment. He says he believes in sin; but sin is not willful rebellion against God and His law, but the loss of self-esteem. He says he believes in Jesus Christ; but his positive-only, “Self-Esteem Incarnate” Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible.

Let us be careful of who we congratulate. Schuller has done nothing but undermine the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I hope that Mark will come to understand that Schuller is not a man to be praised for his faithfulness, but a man who needs to be exposed as a false teacher and called to repent. Let us pray that Mark will have more discernment in the future.

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