I’m not saying there isn’t anything amiss with Driscoll because I don’t know. I don’t attend his church. I’ve never read or listened to his works... what I’m saying is
1) I don’t know - it’s not my church, and those who are chiming in don’t attend it either.
2) All churches have problems and the Bible specifically addresses them. It’s up to any church body and community to apply Scripture.
3) We should be making sure that individually we seek Christ first and make sure we’re trusting Him to take care of other peoples’ churches.
4) We have got to stop tearing one another down.
5) There are tons of people in Driscoll’s church and tons of people who read/view his stuff, plus tons of Evangelical leaders who can come along side Mark Driscoll. Maybe they have and they are constructively dealing with him.
I read that Bill Hybells (whom I respect), wouldn’t let just ONE of Driscoll’s works be distributed at a conference. I’m postive a lot of evangelicals will take issue with Bill’s objections to Driscoll’s view of not allowing women in leadership roles. But Hybell’s hasn’t said anything else.
If individuals in or outside of Driscoll’s church are concerned, they might be cautious about reading Driscoll’s stuff, and seek counsel from trusted advisors. If they have their own church community and read their Bible, they should do the same. We should focus on becoming Christlike; the Sanctification process.
We really shouldn’t have time to judge and tear down God’s leaders and His church. That’s God’s job if he sees fit.
Are you sure you haven't erected a straw man here? "We" aren't tearing down God's leaders and church, are we? We're reading about a case where the congregants and some elders are disputing and confronting their own church.
Are you suggesting that this shouldn't even be a subject of discussion amongst we Christians? But church disputes have always been just that--the Bible is full of them, among the apostles no less. They function for God's purpose as cautionary tales.
I identify with them personally, because I've been through this, although on a much smaller scale. As a church elder I was forced to confront our pastor over his imperiousness; eventually the necessary strength of my confrontation mandated my resignation to avoid both the appearance and the temptation of becoming overbearing myself.
While I appreciate your call to personal sanctification (first getting our own log out, etc.), I applaud those congregants, the article's author, and the poster. It appears they are, indeed, humbly doing God's work of ecclesiastical sanctification.
Well, I think the point of the passage I posted is “false teachers” do not equal “God’s leaders.” They are false, and therefore we should point them out as such and warn people about them.
I think Christians need to do due diligence in researching leaders and authors, because there is so much deception out there these days masquerading as “Christian.”
For example, you might want to do some reading up on Bill Hybels. Some info here (click on “older articles” to read more): http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?s=bill+hybels&search=Search