Mark Driscoll drops a label but not the entire product line

The Christian Post ^ | Feb. 27 2008 | Lillian Kwon

[Manfred the Wonder Dawg]

Mars Hill Pastor Mark Driscoll preached on the still popular and still controversial topic of emerging churches in his latest sermon. But it’s an issue he normally wouldn’t teach to his mainly twenty-something church crowd in Seattle.

That’s because Mars Hill attendants don’t use the language “emerging church” as many Christian leaders label them.

The issue of the emerging church, however, was raised when thousands of people, who regularly tune into Mars Hill sermons every week through the Internet, voted to make it the No. 2 most popular topic they wanted Driscoll to address in a sermon series titled “Religion Saves and 9 Other Misconceptions.”

This past Sunday, Driscoll answered the specific question: “What can traditional/ established churches learn from ‘emerging’ churches?”

Defining traditional or established churches, the 37-year-old pastor said the context on which such churches were built was a culture that was primarily Christian in value. Most people were raised with some experience in church, most people went to church and they typically put on their best clothes for worship services that likely had a pastor wearing a robe, a choir, organ and hymnals. Also, mission works took place overseas where Christianity was not as dominant.

[Manfred the Wonder Dawg]

In trying to shed his previously held label as an "Emergent pastor", Mark Driscoll has reflexively dispatched much of Biblical Christianity, thinking it merely a cultural construct. Robes, choirs, hymnals, organs - these certainly are cultural constructs. But course joking, profane speech, lack of reverence for the Lord Jesus - these are Biblical instructions, and Driscoll tramples them fairly regularly in his sermons and books.

Here's a link to a detailed examination of Driscoll's continued involvement in the apostasy known as "Emergent"

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/index.php?p=1008&more=1&c=1

and here's another site detailing his fowl mouthed approach to preaching (take a look at the video but scroll down to the Feb 11 entry for an examination of Dricsoll's preaching & teaching)

http://stevenjcamp.blogspot.com/

The Bible remains mankind's only source of Truth - Driscoll reminds us why we cannot trust in man. He and his church do some good works, emphasizing sound doctrine, but they err in modeling what amounts to rebellion against Holy God. He tells us "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."

[Manfred the Wonder Dawg]

Fixed the links

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/index.php?p=1008&more=1&c=1

http://stevenjcamp.blogspot.com/

[Terriergal]

I’m amazed that there are so many who will defend this guy. I am glad he has called emergent heretics like Doug Pagitt, Rob Bell, etc. heretics. But he has his own version of dangerous error... such as this obsession with ‘good sex’... and mysticism/contemplative prayer.

Have you seen the Song of Solomon conference he’s involved in now? Frankly it’s gross and irreverent and debasing the gift of sex (between married people of course) by his approach, much like the 30 day sex challenge pastor of irRelevant Church in Floriduh.

http://www.songofsolomon.com/devotionalCurrent.htm

Mars Hill Seattle has a lot of their goofy videos on youtube. I went through and flagged the inappropriate ones as having sexual content even though they have their own “MC-17” disclaimer at the beginning of those.

http://www.youtube.com/user/mhcseattle

And of course, you can comment on them there too.

[A2J]

I’m amazed that there are so many who will defend this guy.

This is the same guy who took quite a bit of flack a year or so ago for saying that wives who have put on weight cause their husbands to commit adultery.

This guy is a windbag.

[Terriergal]

Yes that’s him! He’s a disgrace to the name of Christ. I suppose there are worse disgraces, like JIm Wallis and Rick Warren, Doug Pagitt, Tony Jones, Rob Bell (the OTHER Mars Hill) and Brian Mclaren but... you know once you get up to the level of disgrace it’s kind of not worth making that much differentiation from there on up.

[XR7]

Since you posted the article from ChristianPost, I read the whole thing - which makes me wonder what problems you have with what was said in the article itself. Making judgments here based on other information is okay, I suppose, but when you post an article on FR, it would seem appropriate that we discuss what the article is actually saying first. Without all the extraneous posts and opinions, based on the article alone, Driscoll sounds like someone all the posters on this thread would be in agreement with. Am I that way off?

[Manfred the Wonder Dawg]

Quickly, as I must run off to work: The Christian st article shows Driscoll dividing up the “Emerent Community” into 4 “lanes”. He misses entirely the “revealed community” (a new term I just coined), which is the visible church of the Lord Jesus. A reformed church that is not legalistic about methods escapes his analysis. His premise is that something new must be done. This is the human condition - always looking for something new to see or hear. Christians must not let our culture get in the way nor define Christianity. My son is close to Driscoll - physically and in church relationship. Driscoll’s doctrine is sound - reformed. Driscoll is foul-mouthed from the pulpit, on purpose, as a way to engage the culture. That’s typical of the line one should not cross.

[XR7]

My son is close to Driscoll - physically...

Huh?

[Manfred the Wonder Dawg]

He lives in Seattle.

[kalee]

for later AM reading