Comments on: I’ve had it with Mark Driscoll and his mouth. Now it’s personal!

By: Ky gal

Ky gal — Sun, 27 May 2012 22:32:12 +0000

Well, that’s interesting. This is in Scotland, correct?

By: Jon Gleason

Jon Gleason — Sun, 27 May 2012 18:45:56 +0000

Hi, Rick. This isn’t just a matter of taste or comfort. Mark Driscoll says sinful things, he does it publicly, and claims it is from God. I preach the Gospel of Christ, too. I wouldn’t expect anyone to give me a pass on sinful actions or words because of that, nor would I expect people to just ignore the problems.

What Mark does should be shunned. His antics sully the name of Christ.

I’m not going to tell you he’s unsaved. I don’t have a clue. I’m not going to tell you that he preaches a false gospel — in general, I don’t think he does. I’m sure God is using him. I’m glad of that. That doesn’t mean he gets my endorsement or approval, or that I would have anything to do with him.

There comes a point when a man has to be rejected even if he gets the Gospel right, because he is doing other things that undermine it. I Timothy 5:20 does not apply only to those who are wrong on the Gospel. Neither does Titus 3:10. And Mark Driscoll is divisive.

And by the way, I serve in a far more godless place than Seattle, and where porn has an even greater hold.

By: Rick Glover

Rick Glover — Sun, 27 May 2012 13:07:38 +0000

Thanks for the good wishes. The same too you. If I may, before we part ways, add that we should always be diligent to seperate the good from the bad. Satan works in mysterious ways to mislead and misguide humans. What we need to be careful of is not assigning demonic quality to those we disagree with. The parts of scripture that deal with wolves in sheeps clothing are quite clear. Mark isn’t suggesting that he is the only voice on the matter. He simply states his ideas based on his study of scripture. Each pastor is going to see things a bit differently, and at times allow their preferences to interperet the bible. Mark preaches Christ. If his talk and candid nature make you uncomfortable, don’t listen, but don’t assume that he has an ulterior motive and that he should be shunned from the Chrsitian community. I too wish you well and maybe one day, we’ll meet in heaven. Blessings!

By: Iz

Iz — Sun, 27 May 2012 11:57:04 +0000

I don’t think you are hearing, but God bless you anyway!

By: Rick Glover

Rick Glover — Sun, 27 May 2012 11:32:43 +0000

Iz,
I chose to begin responding becuase I felt that although people were not in agreement with Driscoll that some of the comments went too far. Judgements were made and conclusions were drawn based on his candid nature about sex. I am not a fan of his per say, but I don’t think you can ignore the number of people that have heard the gospel from his mouth. His church is ministering to thousands of people weekly and remaining steadfast on the gosepl. The gospel is Christ paying our penalty for sin and offering it to us freely. Salvation by faith, through grace, plus nothing. We don’t need to embrace or endorse his choices about how to deal with sex from the pulpit, but condemning him and his entire ministry becuase we disagree on his method of teaching sex, is wrong. Don’t support him, don’t download his material, but at least acknowledge that he is dead on when it comes to Jesus Christ and that he handles the gospel in a steadfast manner.

By: Rick Glover

Rick Glover — Sun, 27 May 2012 11:26:19 +0000

Having not heard all of his sermons on sex, I would say that yes, he probably should give more consideration to the crowd that he preaches too. In none of my comments have I suggested that He is my preacher and that he is right on. He is a man like us, and makes mistakes like us. According to scripture, Mark, as a pastor, will answer for his life and how he lead his flock. Do I think that God may have something to say about some of his methods, yes. What I would like to address initially is the last part of unworthy1′s comment in which you said one day God may truly save him and he is no minister of the gospel. I must disagree. I am again, not Mark’s fan and not here to hold up his reputation, but He does preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is salvation by grace through fatih alone, plus nothing. That qualifies him to hold the title, minister of the gospel. Second, none of us can pronounce judgement on wether or not a person is saved. That is for God to decide. There are certain fruits that can give us clues, but none of us can really know. I began replying to this post becuase it seems as thought there is some very ungly feelings towards Mark. I am not trying to convince you to like him or download his sermons, but inadvertantly accusing him of sinsiter motives and saying he isn’t a minister of the gospel is profoundly wrong. Truth be told, we should be more willing to discuss sex openly in the church. I would say that in the right setting with adults only is the right answer, but maybe we should be more open about what a Godly sexual relationship looks like. If we married folks new more about what God considers holy in the bedroom, it might reduce the number of affairs and the draw of pornography. The sexual drive is immensely powerful and when it isn’t controlled and or satisfied, it finds a way and leads to other avenues. If men treated their wives like they should, and women in return, maybe the sex would be more exciting, last longer, and occur more frequently. Again, Mark has chosen a very candid and maybe at times inappropriate method to share his views, but it doesn’t make them sinful and we absolotuely cannot judge his salvation on that. I would say that the movie thing is wrong, and I don’t condone it, but you cannot judge the entire ministry on that. When I was a teenager, there was group of ladies that met weekly. They were the “womens minsitry commitee”, but if you were to listen as a fly on the wall, you would have been disgusted by the gossip and outright wrong conversation that went on in these meetings. For a person to say the entire ministry was sinful and corrupt wouldn’t be fair because the pastor handled the word accurately. The same can be said for Mars Hill. I urge the readers, again, be careful how you judge becuase the scruiptures tell us that we will be judged my the same measure with which he judges.

By: Iz

Iz — Sun, 27 May 2012 02:44:22 +0000

II don’t think we are merely talking about ‘style’ here. Words are powerful. they reflect character and substance There is something deeper going on here that people are rightly disturbed about. And it’s not just about Mark Driscoll. At the end of the day God will deal with Driscoll and He has
the power to change him, as He does with all of us. Let’s not forget the position he holds. As someone put it-’I salute the uniform, not the man’. Christians today think its okay to go and watch a film that has people fornicating just to ‘be educated’, so of course, they are not going to blink when a preacher comes along cussing and making light of what is Holy. At the end of the day he is making converts-right? really? Isn’t there something in scripture about crossing land and sea to make one disciple and making him twice the son of hell? does the end justify the means?
Judgement is closing the door on someone, which is God’s domain. Discernment is saying something is right or wrong, good or bad. Which is what people are doing.

By: unworthy1

unworthy1 — Sun, 27 May 2012 01:44:16 +0000

I would not go so far as to say Mark Driscoll is a minister of the Gospel; he appears to be so on the surface. BUT, he is unmasked when you dig deeper. This man is too sensual in his deliverance of certain subjects that do not need to be expounded in the gathering of believers where young children are present. If you go to the right of this page under ‘blogs-discernment’ you will find a link ‘driscoll controversy’ which reveals some of his sensual ways. For example,
from this blog you will find—
“In Confessions of a Reformission Rev: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church (2006) Mark Driscoll wrote, ‘Our church was still nearly all college students and singles, with a few young married couples and families with small children mixed in. I assumed the students and singles were all pretty horny, so I went out on a limb and preached through the Song of Solomon in the fall. I printed up a nice lengthy introduction to the book, with a lot of information about sex and marriage… Each week, I extolled the virtues of marriage, foreplay, oral sex, sacred stripping and sex outdoors, just as the book teaches, because all Scripture is indeed profitable. I was frank but not crass and did not back away from any of the tough issues regarding sex and pleasure. This helped us a lot because apparently a pastor using words like “penis” and “oral sex” is unusual; and before you could say “aluminum pole in the bedroom”, attendance began to climb steadily to more than two hundred people a week.’ (pp94, 96) Driscoll’s fame has been achieved largely through his explicit sexual messages from the pulpit, based on his interpretation of the Song of Solomon, which he handles as a sex manual for married couples.

Driscoll writes about the occasional R-rated movie at church: ‘Pastor James continues to lead our monthly film and theology class, at which attendance rises to more than two hundred people depending on the film. He continues to show an occasional unedited R-rated movie to train our people to think critically about the themes preached through film, which is the new cultural form of preaching.’ (Confessions, p.157) – from http://www.driscollcontroversy.com/?page_id=42

A ‘new cultural form of preaching’? Hmmmmm. Now does that sound like a spirit-filled man of God who trembles at His word? Driscoll’s attempt at being ‘cool and relevant’ is sickening, he is no preacher of the word of God but is instead a sinner in need of grace and mercy, may God truly save him.

By: Rick Glover

Rick Glover — Sun, 27 May 2012 01:13:27 +0000

Clearly, my intentions here and my entire thought were not fully understood. I do not condone the mixing of church with culture just to bring folks in. The emergent movement is wrong in that respect. It cannot be about getting folks in. With that idea running the playbook, millions of dollars are wasted on culture mimicking schemes such as starbucks, comfy seats, and secular bands. What I am suggesting is that as Christians, its easy to come to church, do our good Christian duty, leave, and live life like we had when we walked in. Occasionally we run into a good sermon and it moves us to action for awhile, but complacency usually wins. I know this is true in my life and true for many Christians in the church today. Our fatih doesn’t cost us enough. Sometimes, a sermon that is uncomfortable and confrontational helps to light the fire under our seats. I do believe that Mark Driscoll goes to far and as I said, I am not trying to defend him. I am simply suggesting that in the midst of all of our holy disdain for him, we stop and consider that he is unsahamedly a minister of Christ, and that he is reaching souls for the kingdom. While we don’t choose his sermons, or download his mp3′s, we can remember what the ultimate goal is: reaching others and discipling them in the name of Chirst so they can in turn reach others. If Mark has chosen a wrong approach to preaching, he alone will stand before God one day to answer for it. Each of us, will also answer for our lives. Lets us take heed and remember that we aren’t any better. Christ is the core. Not pulpits, buildings, seats, or sanctuary’s. I would tell you that according to what i have heard, there is a deep and reverent fear/respect for God in his preaching. He may be considered more relevant, but he doesn’t wimp out when it comes to stating the gospel and our need of Christ. If my research was done well, i belive there was a time when Mark admitedly had a problem with too much culture in his sermons. He has since repented and I belive has made genuine change. His sermons still vary compared to the ones I have heard my whole life, but they don’t waver on the gospel. As we consider the Bible and how it bears on Marks preaching, we should also consider that Christ promised his word wouldn’t return void. That means that no translational error or possible mis-guided preacher will stand in the way of the word. It will accomplish that which it was sent to do. Lastly, lets us also consider our own attitude. Do we disagree with Marks style? Yes, in many cases very much. Does Mark defend the gosepel? Most certainly. What we should do rather than blast him for his style, is one, recognize the core of his message, two, agree to disagree with his style, and three, pray for and love him as we should, knowing that Christ uses all types of men and women to reach the lost. If Mark showed disdain for the scripture, or didn’t preach the gosepl accurately, we would have an eniterly differnt conversation. At the end of the day, Christ will deal with Mark. Lets be sure we aren’t ignoring some potentially misplaced anger in our hearts towards a minister of the gospel.

By: unworthy1

unworthy1 — Sat, 26 May 2012 23:45:28 +0000

Iz,
You say

“The gospel does not succumb to the culture of the day and flirt with its impurity. It rises above the culture and sets the standard. It asserts the values of a Holy God.”

Well said! it seems man’s wisdom is the ‘theme of the day’ as we reach the culture in new and relevant ways by tweaking the word of God so as to tickle the ear; such a preacher cares nothing for the souls of men. You can do this and fill your church pews, but woe to the man who desires to please man rather than fall on his face before a Holy God and tremble at His word.

By: Iz

Iz — Sat, 26 May 2012 23:39:57 +0000

With all respect, this is rather a pathetic response to the criticism. So are we to drop the standard of the pulpit reflecting a high standard of purity and holiness? I don’t think so! And I don’t think Paul would have advocated it. And guess what ? Many people operate in the ‘old fashioned’ way of no compromise, and it works-yes even today. The gospel does not succumb to the culture of the day and flirt with its impurity. It rises above the culture and sets the standard. It asserts the values of a Holy God. ‘Woe is me, for I am a sinful man, and I dwell among a people of unclean hearts and lips’ says the prophet Isaiah. At the end of the day Driscolls church is just a reflection of how far we have fallen as the church. we need true revival!

By: Rick

Rick — Sat, 26 May 2012 19:18:36 +0000

If I may, I would like to add a comment that initially may be considered support of Driscoll but is neither intended to support or trash Mark Driscoll. I read quite a few of the comments and I was rather surprised. It is clear to the reader that many folks take issue with the way he chooses to preach. It is VERY candid and yes, at times inappropriate. I would though urge all the readers to think carefully and consider all view points. I am not a driscollite and I do not wish to lavish my praise and support on him via this blog, but I would ask that I be given a spot to a make a couple points that I believe help center us on the issue. Mark is vulgar at times, no question. One thing to consider is his church and where its located. Many of us don’t fully comprehend what its like to live in a state that is predominately occupied by non-Christians. Moral folks and believers make up the majority of our population in many parts of the U.S. For him and his church, porn is a huge thing. It would be shocking if we knew how many people in churches today watch porn at home. Those of us who have avoided it don’t really understand the power it holds over the mind when it has been given in to time and time again. For many people, traditional sermons don’t move us to action. In a culture that is dominated by sex, drugs, and the free expression of oneself, I believe that an in-your-face-approach to sin is sometimes necessary to wake people up to the seriousness of sin. At no time in our culture has the church been more caught up in the world, and more willing to flirt with sin.The second thing that I think balanced thinkers should consider is that even Paul recognized when someone spoke truth. A pagan made statements that were truthful and related to what Paul was teaching and he acknowledged it. Truth is truth and there are not multiple versions of it. We don’t condone or endorse the pagan lifestyle but when someone from that walk of life states truth as we know it according to scripture, we are to acknowledge it, because it brings glory to God. He allowed someone to speak His truth even though they were known as pagan. In conclusion, I hope the moderator will allow this comment because I want to help us think a little deeper not go on and on about Mark Driscoll like a candidate for president. Am I suggesting that you listen to him all the time? No. What I am suggesting is that Mark stands wholeheartedly on the gospel and preaches it without shame and without excuse. Rather than vehemently disregard him and trash his name, allow that our sovereign God may be using Driscoll to reach folks that those of us in a more traditional church setting could not. The beauty of radio and TV is that we have the power to turn it off. I understand that some folks would not benefit from Driscoll but I imagine there are thousands of folks in his churches every week that otherwise wouldn’t be if his church was like ours. I don’t suggest that anything and everything should go within the church, but I do say that each church needs to blend carefully with the area its in if it is to be effective. Thanks for reading, and to the moderator, please see this as an alternative thought to the issue rather than a sweeping endorsement and allow my comment to remain posted. Thanks.

By: Don Meyer

Don Meyer — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:54:26 +0000

Submitted by DHM on Feb 1, 2012. *new
I am a former Pastor, son of a Pastor, and Grandson of a Pastor in the Church of Christ, a church which subscribes to many of the Misogynistic practices enjoyed by the “men” of Mars Hill.They also practiced the art of destroying people in their congregations who don’t submit to the absolute authority of the church Elders and perform the public rituals of humiliation which serve to enhance the power the elders have over the lives of other people. The “works” based religiosity practiced by Mark Driscoll and his followers is not original and follows a trend started by weak men centuries ago who need control…control over women, and control over the people around them. I take a personal interest in watching Mr. Driscoll’s progression in his personal dynasty because I have seen the damage his cult has done to one family very close to me. His message to one young woman in my family was to drop out of nursing school and care for her home and have children. Though she completed school at the urging of her mother, she has chosen to pursue the Mars Hill ideal of having lots of children, not working and forcing her husband to be a “leader” and go make enough money to support the brood without her income. We dont live in that culture anymore where one income can support large families. Mr. Driscoll has yet to explain how this part is supposed to work. He will certainly have an answer to all this and the other critiques of his cult. He always does. Mr. Driscoll also has a group of cult followers who are assigned to go on-line and respond to posts about his cult in very scripted answers. The extent of his organizational response is frightening. As a former theologian, and still a follower of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I see the Driscoll cult for what is is…”The People of the Lie”.. The majority of the members are certainly, well-intentioned Christians, but the leadership are representatives of a power we are to fear. Dont’ underestimate his power to harm and destroy families. Jim Jones, David Koresh and many others before them were dismissed as freaks and not addressed until it was too late for their cult followers. Mark Driscoll is not a man of God and does not represent Christianity.

By: Katy

Katy — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:46:16 +0000

I had never heard of Mark Driscoll until yesterday when I saw his book “Real Marriage” listed on Amazon.com. Since he claims to be giving Christian advice on marriage, I did some online research and came across this post and many others shedding light on MD’s strange theology. I am shocked at the things he’s preached from the pulpit. But I am more shocked that people make excuses for him. I can’t imagine listening to a “preacher” who swears and says disrespectful things about the sacred and demeans women. I will not be listening to his “sermons” or reading his books. Thank you Pilgrim for your honest review!

By: Meragorn

Meragorn — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:20:15 +0000

I am a young adult and have struggled myself in sexual sin and unholiness. I would agree with the writer, I have listened to Driscoll on a couple of occasions and I don’t find him very impressive and also offensive. I had him as my facebook friend and I had to delete him because his statuses caused a lot of controversy among christians in their comments. It’s sad for me to see that, because yes the Bible is offensive and controversial but when the community itself is divided and the pastor is the one causing it by bringing up statements and refusing to work through them, that’s not right.

In regard to this blog post, Ephesians 5 came to my mind as I have been studying it due to my own sin.

Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Continue to read that whole chapter asking the Spirit to speak truth no matter what any other man says outside of Paul.

I don’t mind pastors and teachers, but when the christian community starts to idolize them and stops using their own brain which God gave them, then I have a problem. Pastors and teachers are good, but we have misused their gifts and the church itself will decay because of it.

By: Iz

Iz — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:54:49 +0000

He has not long ago come to Sydney, Australia, where he was running some seminar on how to do evangelism. I was absolutely shocked to find out who he was. And all these straight down the line, conservative evangelicals were lapping up every word of his. I thought,what is going on!
We should pray for Driscoll. That he would fall on his knees and repent and understand that God is holy. That His word is not to be mocked! God help him. I would hate to be in his position on the day of judgment. ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t I help all these people come into the kingdom, have and international ministry, etc. etc.’

By: Iz

Iz — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:48:29 +0000

The bible says ‘whatever is good noble, pure, etc…think on these things’ Surely that applies to the kind of language you use and what you dwell on in sermons. Mark Driscoll misses the mark for a godly preacher.

By: DavidW

DavidW — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:37:15 +0000

Dennis Fischer,

With all due respect, your assessment is pragmatic (looking at what one perceives to be successful results) rather than that which is Biblically sound. I have firsthand knowledge as well. One of my sisters was once a wonderful Christian lady, teaching the truths of God’s Word to many and lived in submission to it. Since attending Driscoll’s church for several years, she now uses God’s name blasphemously, is a drunkard, enjoys and tells foul jokes, enjoys the most degenerate movies, has married an unsaved man (who she got quick “saved” at Driscoll’s church to “legitimize” her marriage, yet who shows absolutely no fruit of true repentance), and is antagonistic to what she once held dear regarding God’s truth and righteousness. Yet continues to faithfully attend her Mars Hill Church, and weekly “community group”. And I’ve personally known several people who became “better” people (more moral, more “loving” and giving, more “religious”) after converting to Catholicism than they were before.

Thus fruit, real fruit, is manifested not in mere “changed behavior” but in true regeneration. True fruit of regeneration includes behavior AND belief which is in harmony and accord with the whole of the Word of God.

That Driscoll does not preach the Biblical Jesus has been documented from his own words profusely on this site. That he is a blasphemer and a teacher of false doctrine has also been documented. His own testimony in his own words reveal his faulty foundation, which he replicates to his followers.

The fruit of the genuine born again believer is to be repelled by false teachers, and to be attracted to true, undefiled Biblical doctrine.

As a side note: I’ve also lived in the Seattle area for many years. The idea that it is one of the “least Christian” areas in the country is nothing but misinformation, (which, not coincidently, is highly touted by Driscoll to bolster his “ministry” to the area). I’ve also lived in several metropolitan areas of southern and central California. And between Seattle and California, I’d have to say there is little to no difference in the amount of Christians I have found.

I encourage you to test men like Driscoll according to the Scriptures, rather than be superficial observation.

By: Dennis Fischer

Dennis Fischer — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:31:24 +0000

While Mark Driscoll’s approach may not always appeal to me personally, I have first-hand knowledge of people who lived in the gutter of sin who have, by God’s grace, transitioned into godly people. It is important to note that the Seattle area is considered the least Christian in the entire nation. Furthermore, the Northwest has the highest concentration of young people due to technological growth. Those rescued from such a background are forever grateful for Driscoll’s outreach to them. Moreover, ironically, these same people who were rescued from a profane life are now active adherents of John MacArthur’s theology and attend one of his approved community churches in another State.

By: Dorothy

Dorothy — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 01:11:13 +0000

THANK YOU for posting the truth about Mark Driscoll. I was invited to a church here in Palm City, Florida, by the Pastor’s wife, so I went to their web-site to check their church out. I saw a list of ministers that they highly recommend. A.W. Tozer was one, along with Mark Driscoll, and many, many more. I had a check in my Spirit to do some homework on the many Preachers and authors, that they endorsed. I was especially checking to see if any of these men were involved in the Apostolic Reformation Movement, as I just left a church that was very much involved in this mess. I was SHOCKED at what some of these preachers stood for and preach/preached behind the pulpit, but even more shocked that this Pastor’s wife told me that her church “preaches the true gospel of Christ.” Oh yes, lest I forget…. I read on the site about their night for LINE DANCING, etc, also. I want NO PART of this so-called church. It is DEFINITELY a CULT!!! Thank you for enlightening me as to Mark Driscoll.

By: abidingthroughgrace

abidingthroughgrace — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:21:02 +0000

Heather,

There are so many wonder Pastors in this country that tell it like it is and preach it straight. Regardless of your husbands background or comfort levels (or any of ours for that matter) the Gospel is what saves and the Gospel is what changes people. Love for Christ, which is found by being saturated with the Word of God, prayer, and good teaching will surpass any blue collar/white collar/college/no college backgrounds. Amazing men in the history of the Christian faith (Hudson Taylor, William Carey, CT Studd and hundreds of others) have gone into non-english speaking tribal and 3rd world countries preach the Word of God straight. These men didn’t have to speak in a certain way to reach the culture. They simply had to make the Gospel clear in their language and God does the work. The same is true in America today. We don’t need to contextualize to a rough crowd or a bunch of bikers or athletes or bankers or physicists. We need to give them the Gospel straight…which means we also need to attend churches that teach in this manner and not attend churches if they are afraid to preach truth.

I am very interested to know what kind of church you do attend and maybe we can help you find a solid Christ exalting preacher in your town. We only have 2 churches in my metropolitan area of 500,000+ people, but we found them and we help others find them. Then take time listening to the good ones online for sure. We can recommend tons of great pastors such as:

Look on http://www.sermonaudio.com, Itunes podcasts, and church websites for these as a sampling
1. John Macarthur
2. Brian Borgman – minden, NV
3. Albert Mohler of Southern Seminary
4. Russel Moore
5. Voddie Baucham
6. Paul Washer
7. Jeff Noblit of Alabama
8. Phil Johnson – grace to you
9. John Piper (some on this blog would disagree with me here, but Piper’s sermons are a great resource)
10. Robert Briggs – Sacramento
11. Sam Waldron – Kentucky
12. Richard Barcellos – Southern California – Mojave, I think
13. Albert Martin & David Chanski – new jersey
14. Mark Chanski – Holland, Michigan
15. Joel Beeke – Grand Rapids (I think)
16. Ligon Duncan – Jackson, MS
17. Sinclair Ferguson – south carolina

And the list goes on and on and on and on. We might not agree with every doctrinal position, but the preach the Gospel straight and direct and in a Christ Exalting way.

I hope that this is of some help and I would love to help you find someone in your town if you are willing to name the city where you live. I can hopefully provide a couple worth trying. There is no time like to present to get the best teaching.

Faithfully,
-atg

By: Manfred

Manfred — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:13:26 +0000

Heather,

It might be beneficial to you and your husband to ponder the use of rough language in light of what is taught in this post: http://defendingcontending.com/2011/10/01/little-sins/

May the Lord be your refuge and strength is all things.

By: Katy

Katy — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:12:46 +0000

Hello Heather! I am a busy, homeschooling mama, like you! I first heard of Mark Driscoll here, too! If you want no nonsense, biblical preaching…listen to sermons by Voddie Baucham: http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?SpeakerOnly=true&currSection=sermonsspeaker&Keyword=Voddie^Baucham

and Paul Washer: http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?SpeakerOnly=true&currSection=sermonsspeaker&Keyword=Paul^Washer

Just fantastic! :o)
Kindly,
Katy

By: DavidW

DavidW — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:04:22 +0000

Heather,

It would be well worth your while to call up all the other Driscoll posts on this site and take a serious look at the profuse documentation given here regarding Mark Driscoll. His language is the mere tip of the iceberg. He is a repeated and unrepentant Blasphemer and false teacher, and is VERY adept at mixing orthodox truth with the most demonic of errors. No matter how well he may “relate” to the Blue Collar worker, the Christian is commanded to avoid those such as Driscoll. If you are unsatisfied with your current pastor, there are other god-fearing men “who tell it like it is” featured on this site (check out the side bar on the right).

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:30:50 +0000

I have just heard about MD. (like your wife, I am lost in my world of kids, housework, and wifing “) I found MD on accident and listened to a few Youtube videos…. While I see the controversy, it was refreshing to hear a pastor say things I have often thought. At times I feel like strangling my own pastor for lack of conviction, and straightforwardness from the pulpit.

I have not listened to a full MD sermon. Just snippets. I do agree however that I would NOT want my 11yod to hear some of these things but maybe my highschoolers.

My husband on the other hand is very BLUE Collar and comes from a very rough BLUE Collar background with only “surface church teachings”. He is not “college educated”. (Perhaps most people on the blog are white collar and college educated. I don’t know why this makes a difference, but it does.) I know my husband can definitley relate to this sort of preaching. Maybe these are the people MD is trying to reach?

Many Christians are afraid to speak their minds with the fear of “being judged”. And also I find many Parents DO NOT teach their children truths as they should. They leave that “stuff” to public schools. Isn’t this better learned at church if the parents won’t “step up”?

My husband and I actually have an ongoing conversation about certain words we consider “foul”. He does not find some words to be “foul”.

My thoughts seem disjointed and just thrown together, but Please don’t think I’m defending MD and not post this. I’m curious to hear if others with a similar background as my husband’s understand where I’m coming from.
———————————-
As a side note. I did go back and read some more of the posts. All are very eye-opening. Guess I’ll just have to suffer with my boring, no-imagination, scared-to-stand-up-for-what-I-believe-in pastor. I was hoping I found a god-fearing man who “tells-it-like-it-is”.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:49:07 +0000

Never heard of him befoe until tonight.
Why does it seem that sooner or later pastors who rant, rave and rail against this or that with enormous intensity seem to be fighting against their own internal struggles? Is it really neccessay to name names?
Men yelling and screaming about porn, prostitue, and sissy men, usually have some issue with these themselves. It seems he is trying to prove what he is not.

Methinks the man protests too much….I’m just saying.

By: DavidW

DavidW — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:33:45 +0000

Francho:

Excellent point. Just because someone may be opposed to Rob Bell doesn’t necessarily make him one of “the good guys”. Emergent Bell has his target audience, and Emergent Driscoll has his. But the goal is the same: to destroy the Faith once delivered unto the saints. The enemy has been doing this sort of manipulation from the beginning.

By: Francho

Francho — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 05:11:22 +0000

The scary thing is the influence he’s had…He’s written for CRI (Hank Hanegraaff) before. And he was supposed to be the good guy because he’s “emergent” yet opposed to Rob Bell and his fellow army of liberals.

By: Nachliel

Nachliel — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 03:09:18 +0000

I respect True Faith,as an Orthodox Believing Jew the very things you have stated are of course written in Torah. Yes there are words in Torah for people who practice certain trade professions.
As we see about Yehudah & Tamar, Yehudah thought Tamar was a Kahdesha, and she was even veiled. “Kahdesha” means “Devoted to” from the word “Kadosh” which means “Holy”.
What do we learn here from the Lord’s choice of words? That even when we might use a not-nice word,we should strive to use clean language.
Chasidut teaches that “Where our thoughts are,there we dwell”. When a person wants to bring another fellow human closer to G-D he can remember this : “Words from the heart in truth spoken in truth will find their way into the person’s heart & have a G-Dly effect for good”.
If we hear not- positive language speaking of the Lord we will only recieve the shell of the speech while the fruitful truth will not be recieved in our hearts nor mind.
G-D Bless You all from the Holy Land
Nachliel

By: Coram Deo

Coram Deo — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:36:17 +0000

Excellent, excellent reply, DavidW.

The only thing I would hasten to add is: take a close look at Driscoll’s ACTUAL fruit instead of the spin doctoring!

“How dare you suggest pastor Mark is bearing bad fruit! Why, 9 gazillion people were baptized by him personally last week alone, and he’s built 400,000 churches with his own two hands out of 100% recycled, environmentally friendly, renewable and biodegradable materials that reduce the carbon footprint of the Christian church as a whole by 45% and he personally feeds the entire homeless population west of the Mississippi in his own home each week! How dare you! As if! Hater!”

See, Driscoll’s rabid fanboys and erstwhile defenders are their own worst enemies. They’re his fruit!

Driscoll makes converts to Driscoll instead of making coverts to Christ.

Driscoll makes disciples of Driscoll instead of disciples of Christ.

Driscoll multiplies Driscoll.

He’s a cult of personality.

I challenge anyone to honestly ask themselves what would become of Mars Hill Church and its big screen satellite clone “church plants” if Driscoll dropped dead tomorrow, or simply came out and said, “Ya know what, I don’t believe this stuff anymore and I’m moving on, so long suckers!”

It would last about two seconds before it collapsed under its own dead, bloated weight, that’s what.

In Christ,
CD