When Relevance Becomes Irreverence – The Curious Case of Mark Driscoll
January 17, 2009 by David Wheaton
Filed under Radio Program Hour 1, Radio Show
Podcast: Download (12.3MB)
Guest: Cathy Mickels
Being “relevant” to your audience is the big buzzword in Evangelical and Emergent churches today. Whether it’s dressing down to look like “one of them” or playing “edgy” music or using Hollywood movies as sermon examples or preaching “30 days of sex with your spouse”, being relevant and “contextualizing” your message is seen to be as important as sound doctine (if that’s important anymore).
One of the more curious examples of this rush towards relevance is Mark Driscoll, popular author and preaching pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle that attracts 7500 attendees to seven church locations each week and who also has an enormous following world-wide. Why Driscoll is a “curious case” is that he describes himself as “Emerging Reformed” which I would define as sort of merging Reformation theology with urban culturalism. So what’s the big deal?
Well, you can read for yourself what author Cathy Mickels from Seattle reports in a memo this week highlighting concerns about Driscoll’s so-called relevant ministry and the association well-known church leaders like John Piper, Erwin Lutzer, Alistair Begg, and others have with him as part of “The Gospel Coalition“. You can also click on the links below to YouTube videos of Mark Driscoll (viewer warning advised).
When is “the line” crossed between relevance and irreverence? How are the younger generation and the unchurched to be reached without someone and some message they can relate to? You won’t want to miss Hour 1 of The Christian Worldview this Saturday.
Follow-up radio program on March 28, 2009: The Pornification of the Pulpit. Guest: Phil Johnson
MEMO BY CATHY MICKELS:
Mark Driscoll: Is He Qualified To Lead?
- Mark Driscoll on “Biblical Oral Sex” (YouTube)
- Driscoll on “Masturbation as Birth Control” (YouTube)
- Who Would Jesus Smack Down? (NYT)
- Driscoll with D.L. Hughley on CNN (CNN video)
- Ed Young Sex Challenge (AP Video)
“Sound Doctrine, Sound Words” by Phil Johnson, Shepherds’ Conference 2009
Mark Driscoll: Is He Qualified To Lead?
January 16, 2009 by Guest Blogger
Filed under The Latest from Our Blog
Guest Blogger: Cathy Mickels lives in Seattle and is the co-author of Spiritual Junk Food: The Dumbing Down of Christian Youth
Summary and Introduction
This memo is written to Christian leaders detailing my concerns regarding the ministry of Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. His church has grown to 6,000 members in 11 years and is also described as one of the fastest growing, innovative churches in America.
Because this ministry is characterized by so many examples of the trivialization of Scripture, crudeness, foolish talk and vulgarity it will be a challenge to keep my correspondence as brief as possible.
Research leads me to concur with Pastor John MacArthur, who has also said, “I have a great concern about him. [Mark Driscoll.]”
Note: The Christian Worldview radio programs on this topic
- When Relevance Becomes Irreverence: The Curious Case of Mark Driscoll. Guest: Cathy Mickels
- The Pornification of the Pulpit. Guest: Phil Johnson, Grace to You
In fact, in a radio interview with Todd Friel on the April 7, 2008, edition of Way of the Master, referring to Mark Driscoll’s book, Confessions of a Reformission Rev, Pastor MacArthur said, “…there are statements in that book that are so sexually explicit and unnecessary and purely gratuitous humor at the basest kind of level; I saw a video from a service in the church in January in which comments were made from his pulpit, which were then put…. on the website, which again, were sexually explicit and gratuitous and unnecessary Read more
