Mark Driscoll is Evil--Follow-Up

Just to be clear...Mark Driscoll is not evil. That is my conclusion. I have listened to a number of his sermons, read his blog and googled his name. There's a lot to be said about a guy that pastors a church of 6,000 plus sheep in the most "unchurched city in America." There's a lot of information out there--some of it controversial. But I don't personally know the people on either side of the wall, so I won't take time to comment on the controversies.

How did this all get started? I received a YouTube video from a friend and the title was Mark Driscoll is Evil. This was in response to an ongoing conversation about the emerging church (reserved for a later post). In that, was a short clip of Pastor Driscoll telling his congregation about how God feels about sinners--which struck a cord in me. You see...I've been chewing this same thought over. "God hates the sin, but loves the sinner" (more on that later).

This is how I was introduced to Pastor Mark Driscoll. I started from the perspective that this guy must be way off base. As I kept watching, I was really puzzled as to why anyone thought this guy was "evil." I was getting confused and needed help.

There are strong supporters in his camp...some of whom I respect dearly, and others who have a strong dislike for him, some of whom I respect dearly. Then there are some who can't decide if they like or dislike him, which is where I come in.

I can't make up my mind. I don't agree with everything that he believes. I certainly don't agree with his philosophy or style, but I agree with (mostly) his theology that I've seen and read so far. The major differences, so far, are his views on the apostolic gifts.

Recently, he publicly apologized to his congregation for the lack of humility in his life, which gave him an ungodly edge. I noticed that not many people blogged or followed up about this apology--friends or critics. The apology appeared to be about as genuine as any public apology could be from a pastor to a congregation. This was back in November of 2007, so I'm curious to see if he's changed his style or presentation tactics at all. I haven't had time to check out to see if his apology is genuine.

When I posted the "Mark Driscoll is evil" question, it was suggested that I was trying to garner interest for conversation. While it may appear that way, I truly was asking the question as I was getting confused from what I was seeing and what I was hearing. So I was truly hoping that those smarter and more knowledgeable than I, could help me filter some of this through my pea-sized brain--which some of you did, and I thank you. I was sent some great information which helped me sort through some of the brain fuzz I have.

Why in the world does this all matter?! Well, back to my original thought which was while I was watching the video, I noticed that he was touching on a topic that I have been chewing over in my mind for some time now. Psalm 5:5 says that God "hates all who do iniquity." So not only does God hate the sin, but also hates all who do iniquity.

In March of this year, I asked one of our beloved Elders at Grace (East), this question. He was kind enough to E-mail me quite a lengthy response. In it, he said that although God extends common grace to all (i.e. Matthew 5:45), His love is different for those chosen (Ephesians 1:4-5). There are those who believe that John 3:16 proves differently, but those people are mistaken. Contextually, it doesn't make sense that God was talking about every single person in the world. The very next verse in John 3:17 says that "...the world might be saved through Him." Well, we obviously know that each and every person has not been saved and in fact, (sidebar) the more I read scripture, the more I realize that fewer and fewer people are going to heaven (but I need to save that for another post.) I am realizing that the bible isn't only about God's vast love (although immeasurable) the bible is about God's glory and His mercy in reserving a remnant for Him through the redemptive plan and work of Jesus Christ. But in moral Sunday School classes around the world, God's love is taught disproportionately with God's holiness so we are filling pews with people who are misguided about the work of Jesus Christ or the true gospel.

Kim! Please get to the point. Well, here's the point. There are many who teach and know truthful, sound doctrine. Scholars, teachers, women, men, professors, theologians and the like. But none of that matters if the presentation is given with strife, arrogance, antagonism and an argumentative heart. If the package of sound doctrine is wrapped in the paper of a haughty presentation and a life that reflects only a "hearing" attitude and not a "doing" attitude...then to whom should I listen? Why should I waste vaporous time with hearing sound doctrine from someone that doesn't fully practice (and subsequently believe) the bible in its entirety (including the submissive, humble and loving parts--the life of Jesus Christ). In fact, I would go as far to say that there may be someone that knows more bible, more theology, more church history and is the most scholarly person I know, but if he or she does not practice what they teach, then I would rather learn from someone who knows less, but passionately and with the highest of conviction, practices the scripture that he or she knows. I believe that is the person to follow and listen with all of my attention. Not the scholar (or pharisee/high priest to put it in biblical terms). And as in the disciples' case, they may have come in late on the academic scene as far as the pharisees were concerned, but they more than made up for it in practicing what their Teacher told them (however imperfectly) and eventually became greater works (including penning scholarly books of the bible) than any of the intellectual types of their day ever contributed.

Craig, the beloved Grace Church (East) Elder mentioned above, is very smart. Whenever I come out of a service where he's taught, I want to ask how many seminary credits do I have now. I would imagine (I'm only assuming here now) that he knows less than Pastor Driscoll for a variety of reasons, but mainly because Craig has a full-time job that does not allow him the luxury of sitting in a study for 8 hours a day pouring over theological books. But I know his life and while, yes, he is an imperfect human being, appointed by God to oversee Christ's church, he presents the truth in such a way that does not dishonor the person of Christ. He represents the gospel that does not lower the scripture to my level, but requires me to rise to the authoritative and scholarly level of scripture.

So who would you rather listen to for this doctrine on God hating sinners?