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What do you think? Fair or unfair depiction?
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- Jeff and Lisa Olson
- God creates out of nothing. Wonderful you say. Yes, to be sure, but he does what is still more wonderful: he makes saints out of sinners. -Soren Kierkegaard
7 comments:
i think it does a fair job... i've tuned into driscoll's podcasts and videocasts a fair share... he makes me laugh sometimes, other times he challenges me, and other times i'm forced to turn him off because he can be offensive. but i think he's a good guy... don't get me wrong. i like him.
very fair.
in contrast to steve - i am not a fan - at all - in no way shape or form. He should have stepped down a year ago after making those comments about ted haggards wife.
Plus he's...ya know... piper's bulldog.
arrrr
Loving the dialogue...
Ok a bigger existential question what is the nature of conflict? And its role in Christianity? What and where is the fine line between truth and grace? And the delivery of both of the aforementioned elements as a leader in a church?
while driscoll's comments may be harsh, and may not resonate well with some people... he's well intentioned, and he speaks truth. while infidelity by either spouse should never happen within a marriage, it can and it does.
first, driscoll was right when he said say "[pastors should] have satisfying, free, sexual conversations
and liberties with their wives." someone like haggard who was looking outside of his marriage for that, was obviously not satisfied with his current situation. if he was open and honest with his wife, this stuff may not have happened.
second, driscoll's comment about "pastor's wives letting themselves go because they don't fear infidelity" is not necessarily a direct shot at mrs. haggard, (although one may have been made that i'm not aware of), but an interpretation of the fact that in a marriage, women have a huge role to play in protecting their husbands from infidelity in its many forms. they can be their husband's biggest defense. that seems more in line with the creation story and the language used to define eve (and women). they're strong.
should he have stepped down? i don't think so. plenty of our church forefathers did and said some pretty radical things. plenty of our prophets did and said some radical things. i understand our need to be "relevant" and "seeker friendly." to be and love like jesus. but jesus did and said some pretty radical things. i think he was asked to resign more than a few times... much more violently than people are now.
now onto the second comment...
hopefully, within the course of my life, more about these questions will be revealed to me. but for now, i will strive for brevity.
i will define the "nature of conflict" to be: a causal agent creating and controlling conflict. it is necessary to define conflict as having a cause, as conflicts do not arise without reason, albeit, we cannot always define what that reason is. now, many people may jump straight to the fall as the source of conflict, but i would say that conflict existed before that. especially since the serpent tempted eve before she fell into sin. there was something already in place, fighting against shalom in eden. spiritual forces of darkness. there was conflict before the fall, but not yet conflict having to do with humans. (at least that i know of from the biblical account)
now, it appears to me that the original cause for conflict was when someone else (satan) thought that he could do a better job than the current ruler. (God) someone wanted to disrupt God's shalom. of course, this could not work with God, because God is in perfect relationship, and his shalom could not be tarnished, but the shalom in the world he created could be. so we have the fall.
now, in our broken relationships... we live in a world that cannot help but to have conflict. since we know that the nature of conflict ultimately stems from a disruption of God's shalom and perfect relationship, we must strive to keep relationships strong.
in christianity, something like conflict - which can be dangerous - is redeemed for good. conflicts arise when agents are fighting for something not of God. if a christian agent confronts someone who is disrupting shalom, they are participating in conflict, but it's necessary... because it's not against a person: "for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." we as christians need to fight the causal agents of conflict, along with the conflict. and we must make sure that we do it with wisdom.
the fine line between truth and grace is different in every situation. as a leader in a church, one must be especially careful in how they address a situation of conflict. joseph ran from sexual temptation, he did the right thing, and he was jailed for a good portion of his life. job refused to curse God and die. moses confronted pharoah and said, "let my people go." john called the religious leaders of his day a "brood of vipers", nathan told a story to david about a man who did several terrible things and showed that david was the man in the story.
when God's authority is challenged, conflict arises. we must be incredibly careful, use wisdom, and ultimately trust in the spirit to restore God's shalom. but at the end of the day, we must realize that while the world we live in and work together to heal is still broken, Jesus has promised to restore it.
Beginning August 24, 2009, Pastor Mark Driscoll will be leading a ten-day trip to Greece and Israel. Mars Hill members and attenders are welcome to participate, although the trip is open to anyone who is interested. Activities include walking where Jesus walked, where Paul ministered, where the temple stood, and where the Scriptures were penned.
-mars hill church website
taylor, you should go. :P
Maybe while he's there, he'll reenact 'The Champion' by Carmen in Jerusalem wearing boxing gloves printed with WWJD? on them and beating some limp-wristed hippie to a bloody pulp for the glory of god.
I've always thought that what was missing from today's theological milieu was the 'Tyler Durdin' as Jesus paradigm.
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