Is this guy offensive?
Ok, so I may be perseverating on this topic of offensiveness.
Check out Mark Driscoll at the recent John Piper Conference, Above All Powers:
Listen Here!
Piper says he got in more trouble for having Mark Driscoll speak at the conference than any other speaker he's ever invited to speak. Listen and you'll see why . . .
Mark says some powerful things about contending for and contextualizing the Gospel. He calls out the emergent church movement but also stuck in the mud Calvinists.
Is this guy offensive? If so, why?
3 comments:
I've listened to Mark Driscoll for now two years now, and I have to say he can be 'offensive' or 'controversial' but he's not afraid to tackle topics that normally other Christians won't.
It's also undeniable that the Lord is using him in the most 'unchurched' area of the United States.
He's also one of my favorite preachers...
---got cut off. I think Mark is controversial for talking about the 'Emperor with no clothes" subject that is relevant regarding Christianity.
Him citing examples of Jesus in pop culture is noteworthy because it's worth meditating why pop culture gives Jesus credence.
I love the fact that Driscoll says Jesus is not a dude with product in his hair and wearing a dress. It's funny, but you look at the old 1950s movies of Jesus the film-makers made Jesus to look pretty. Mel Gibson's portrayal was more gritty and more accurate. Admittingly I almost feel guilty repeating the "Jesus is not a dude with product in his hair", but it's truth. He's the King of Kings.
Mark points out it's obvious that Jesus is upon the minds of people - even in a dishonorable way, but the point is not to judge the world for rejecting Jesus - Christians shouldn't be surprised at that, but asking what can we Christians do, or read into our society that looks at Jesus that way? How can we engage our culture and society for the kingdom?
In any case Mark is a fav of mine, but so are the old books of ML JOnes, Spurgeon and the like. They all encourage me, and God bless them all!
I really like Mark Driscoll. I like that he is committed to social justice and reaching the lost in our culture, while at the same time holding fast to the Bible. I can imagine he offends both emergents and evangelical-types because of his beliefs.
(I've read some of what is coming out of the emergent movement and I have to say, some of it really resonates with me, and some of it disturbs me. But Driscoll is great.)
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