Comments on: Why Mark Driscoll Bothers You (or Not)

By: Wordgazer

Wordgazer — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:18:01 +0000

Driscoll bothers me for none of the above reasons. Driscoll bothers me because he’s authoritarian, controlling, and believes in male entitlement and the subjegation of women.

By: What to do with Driscoll? « Chuck Mullis

What to do with Driscoll? « Chuck Mullis — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:32:51 +0000

[...] for his nutty exegesis of Song of Solomon and his less than impressive analysis of The Shack, I’ve backed up Pastor Mark before.It became painfully/strangely/humorously obvious at this week’s SBC meeting that a lot of people [...]

By: Why Mark Driscoll Shouldn’t Bug Ya | internetmonk.com

Why Mark Driscoll Shouldn’t Bug Ya | internetmonk.com — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:33:26 +0000

[...] for his nutty exegesis of Song of Solomon and his less than impressive analysis of The Shack, I’ve backed up Pastor Mark before. It became painfully/strangely/humorously obvious at this week’s SBC meeting that a lot of [...]

By: David D.

David D. — Sat, 03 May 2008 20:07:17 +0000

First of all, I am a fan of Driscoll. I like his preaching because, most of the time, he is a model preacher. He goes through the text explaining it and applying. However, as someone once said of John Calvin, I will only follow him so far as he follows Christ. I don’t think that his church model would work every where, but I can appreciate what he has done.
All of that being said, there is something that was said, and since I am new to this blog I don’t know if it is the norm, but it was said that we are in a post-evangelical age, or something like that. I whole heartedly disagree with the very notion of that. There is no doubt, that evangelicalism has, by and large, become a joke, but that does not mean that we should abandon it. Instead, I think we should focus our efforts on trying to redeem it. The term itself was coined by the reformers, if I am not mistaken, because of their insistence to rely solely on the gospel. Instead of saying that we are post-evangelical, we should be trying to be evangelicals in the truest sense.

By: More Driscoll Bashing | The Ramblings of Hughbo

More Driscoll Bashing | The Ramblings of Hughbo — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:28:36 +0000

[...] Internet Monk has some detailed thoughts about why people don’t like Mark Driscoll, worth reading if [...]

By: Tony

Tony — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 21:41:25 +0000

Driscoll used to get on my nerves. Of late, he’s gotten into my heart. It has taken time, but I’ve grown to love his preaching. What bothers me about Driscoll is that I feel he often seems to appeal to the carnal nature to get a laugh or make a point. At times, I’m surprised that Piper endorses him and D.A. Carson has been known to defend him (slightly).

But after listening to MD over a number of months, I feel that I’ve gained a greater understanding of his heart. I think if more of His critics would consistently take the time to listen to more of his sermons, they would find it far more difficult to throw grenades at him. He may say things that are inappropriate at times (by my estimation), but there is no doubt in my mind that he is a genuine, Christ-lovin’ dude who takes the Great Commission personally.

I find it easy to identify Driscoll’s sins when I hear him preach. But what really bothers me about his preaching is that he often sheds light on my own personal sins and corruption. I listen to a lot of sermons from a lot of popular evangelicals (Alistair Begg, MacArthur, Piper, etc.). I can honestly say that Driscoll’s preaching forces me to deal with my own corruption more than any of the others.

Is he prideful? Yelp. But who isn’t? Does he offend people? Definitely. But ask an evolutionist (or even a charismatic) if they find MacArthur offensive? The issue isn’t whether or not Driscoll offends people; it’s who he offends. MacArthur (and others) offends pagans with his preaching. Driscoll offends professing Christians. What gets me, however, is that when I look at the New Testament, Jesus (and Paul) was much more offensive to religious moralists than to sinners. I’m not suggesting Jesus or Paul preached just like MD (they didn’t). But I am pointing out that he seems to be ticking off the same type of people who had problems with Christ, Paul, and the rest of the Apostles. He aims to reach pagans, but unlike Osteen, actually goes at them with the message of the cross.

I don’t know if it has been mentioned here, but I believe Driscoll’s stance on beverage alcohol angers many of his naysayers and greatly influences their criticisms. They are victims of a post-prohibition culture that would have likely denounced Luther had they lived in his day instead. Driscoll has no concern for denominational identity and/or the opinions of the evangelical elite. He appears simply to strive to draw lines where the Bible draws lines.

I can’t say I like everything he says, but I can’t judge him or dismiss him. I think others need to suspend their judgment and keep listening to him and observing his ministry. The more I hear him, the more I find myself defending him.

By: Zack

Zack — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 21:59:47 +0000

Amen bro!

I listen to several sermons a day (thank You God for podcasting :0) and I have been listening to a lot of Driscoll. God is using it to give me a greater vision of Him, the cross, and it has caused me to not take myself so seriously.

It’s breathing new life into my understanding of Christ.

And his talks from the recent ‘Convergent’ conference at Southeastern Seminary are really powerful:

http://www.sebts.edu/chapel/chapelMessages.cfm

By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 31 May 2007 05:37:16 +0000

I just say BRAVO to Driscoll and to you, both of whom are man enough to say it straight. Refreshing.

And by the way, Jesus was pretty abrasive as well at times (the term “scandalon” comes to mind), and to anyone who can say they wouldn’t have liked him either I would say that implies a rather deeper problem. )

By: joelcel

joelcel — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 21:18:35 +0000

I don’t know anything about Mark Driscoll besides what I have seen written here. My guess would be that he doesn’t care too much about what we write here. Essentially I don’t think this is about him nearly as much as it is about the gospel. His heart has been set free by understanding the radical freedom of God’s forgiveness for people who know they’re screwed up. As bad as he has portrayed himself through his confessions, he is worse. What good news for someone who gets that God loves sinners and justifies the wicked. These opinions floating around about Mark seem like they are simply perceptions based on different agendas. The gospel is so much bigger than that. It seems that Mark simply wants to see the love of Christ made known in the world. Maybe we should stop blogging and join him.

By: JoshGolden

JoshGolden — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 06:14:56 +0000

revmhj,

I think I agree with you, if I understand what you mean. I am encouraged when pastors admonish their congregations and I can imagine Mark would not be one to shy away from this. Do you get the sense from what you’ve seen/heard that this is the case?