Mark Driscoll's Supporters and Dissenters

I should introduce myself. I'm a student at The Master's College (MacArthur's school) in Santa Clarita, CA. I'm originally from MN, where I attend Bethlehem Baptist (Piper's church).

I'm not trying to start a controversial topic, but I'm curious how you cats feel about Mark Driscoll. Guys like Piper and Mahaney really like him, but MacArthur has been openly critical of him. I honestly don't know much about Driscoll myself, so it's hard for me to make a judgment call. I just find the contrast between Piper and MacArthur--both of whom are great men of God--pretty ironic, and I was wondering if you all had any thoughts on that.

Peace.

Hey, man. Good to see you on the board.

Driscoll has been known in the past to have a bit of a potty mouth. However, in what I've seen and heard recently, he's dramatically improved from where he was. Some of MacArthur's disdain for him may come from Driscoll originally being associated with the likes of Brian McLaren, Tony Campolo and the other leaders of the Emergent Church. Driscoll was one of the original leaders of this movement, but once they began Emergent Village, Driscoll started to distance himself from them.

I think Driscoll is pretty solid. I haven't personally heard him use bad language, but perhaps that is why Dr. MacArthur doesn't care much for him. Check out a few of these videos:

Mark Driscoll is Evil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13c1MH9Dj4w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--iC5KHqaZk

Interesting development....


Mark Dever, speaking to Acts 29 church planters in Chicago:

Our differences are enough to separate some of my friends—your brothers and sisters in Christ—from you. And perhaps to separate them from me, now that I’m publicly speaking to you. And I don’t want to minimize either the sincerity or the seriousness of some of their concerns (things like: humor, worldliness, pragmatism, authority).

But I perceive some things in common which outweigh our differences—which the Lord Jesus shall soon enough compose between us, either by our maturing, or by His bringing us home. I long to work with those, and count it a privilege to work with those whom My Savior has purchased with His blood, and with whom I share the gospel of Jesus Christ. I perceive that we have in common the knowledge that God is glorified in sinners being reconciled to Him through Christ. This is not taught by other religions, nor clearly by the ancient Christian churches of the East, or by Rome, by liberal Protestant churches, by Mormons, the churches of Christ, or by groups of self-righteous, legalistic, moralistic Christians. And not only do we together affirm the exclusivity of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone—we agree on the sovereignty of God in life and salvation, the regenerate nature of church members, the importance of church membership and discipline, the baptism of believers alone, the priorities of expositional preaching, and evangelism, the importance of authority and a growing appreciation for the significance of complementarianism. These are not slight matters. And they only fire my desire to encourage you and cheer you on, until you cross that finish line that the Lord lays down for us.

"And not only do we together affirm the exclusivity of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone—we agree on the sovereignty of God in life and salvation, the regenerate nature of church members, the importance of church membership and discipline, the baptism of believers alone, the priorities of expositional preaching, and evangelism, the importance of authority and a growing appreciation for the significance of complementarianism. These are not slight matters. And they only fire my desire to encourage you and cheer you on, until you cross that finish line that the Lord lays down for us."

I love Mark Dever.

Here is the entire article with comments from others:

http://www.acts29network.org/acts-29-blog/mark-dever-is-cool/

I've also posted the Doctrinal Statement of Acts 29 Network in the Theology section.

Something i encourage EVERYONE to do... is not to lean so heavy on the opinions of theologians you look up to.. You may find that as you grow.. you'll begin to dissagree with some of the things they hold to. nonessential stuff of course. I love me some Sproul.. but he holds to infant baptism... i believe scripture teaches believer baptism. i'm still lookin it up.. but that's just ONE of the areas where me and sproul misalign.

As it applies to you.. i would encourage you to check out driscol on your own, and see where YOU stand using God's WORD as the plumline... vs the thoughts of your favorite theologian.

Thanks, guys. Good stuff... Keep it coming.

btate0121 wrote:

Something i encourage EVERYONE to do... is not to lean so heavy on the opinions of theologians you look up to.. You may find that as you grow.. you'll begin to dissagree with some of the things they hold to. nonessential stuff of course. I love me some Sproul.. but he holds to infant baptism... i believe scripture teaches believer baptism. i'm still lookin it up.. but that's just ONE of the areas where me and sproul misalign.

As it applies to you.. i would encourage you to check out driscol on your own, and see where YOU stand using God's WORD as the plumline... vs the thoughts of your favorite theologian.

Agreed. This is what makes him a Presbyterian. That's just about the biggest divide between them and Baptists (from my knowledge).

The question isn't "Why my Favorite theologian doesnt agree". Garren attends Bethleham Baptist. I attend Grace community (Both our bodies are legitimately affected by this), it is an important question to ask. Besides that, these are two of the most prominent preachers. The general public needs to be aware of their diffrent views concerning Driscoll and how to balance that.

I understand your concern about following the wisdom and men, it is well taken and a very good point to discuss. However, this situation is quite diffrent, it teaches us a lesson in Christian charity and fellowship.


Plus, if you have ever read Confessions of Ref. by Driscoll, you'll understand the side that states Driscolls ill-mannered and worldly actions i.e laughter at sin, mockery of genuine confession of sin.

Can someone post the criticisms of Driscoll? I have not read them. I didn't know there were any open criticisms by Dr. MacArthur.

Edit: I found this just now....http://www.sfpulpit.com/2006/12/11/grunge-christianity/

Macarthur has also stated in his sermons ..."A well-known pastor who is vulgar in his messages...." --If you have read (the emergent leaven) Blue Like Jazz, the author, mentions Mark Driscoll--with the alias "The cussing pastor"-- Please note, in approval of his vulgarity.l

So, what are your particular views, Garen and Marco? It seems as if your pastors are divided on the issue. Do you have any personal feeling?

Expo, I really don't know enough about the situation to make an informed decision one way or the other. Driscoll has evidently done some immature things (e.g., swearing in the pulpit), which I find problematic. On the other hand, the fact that men like Dever, Piper, and Mahaney collaborate with Driscoll is significant. I don't believe they would be so naive as to throw their support behind a man who wasn't legit. However, MacArthur's dissention is also noteworthy.

All I'm wondering is, why? Why the contrast? No one really seems to have the answer. Surely MacArthur has discussed the situation with Mahaney, Dever, and Piper, yet they can't harmonize their views. I'm not criticizing any of them; I'm just trying to better understand what's going on.

I personally don't have a personal opinion on this issue either. I know Dever, Mahanney, Piper do not merely create association's with other evangelicals unless there is a common bond of doctrine/philosophy.


On another note: My great friend David has joined the forum. David is a solid brother and is a soon to be elder at Sovereign Grace Church of Shafter (Bakersfield, CA).

sgcshafter.com (which I created by the way


In fact, me David, Garren, Junior(soon to be member), and myself discussed this issue just a few hours ago.

We all agreed that we do not take lightly the stances that Dever, Mahanney, and Piper have made.


I do know from Masters Seminary students, that Macarthur wrote a personal letter (Macarthur does not know how to use a computer and never has used one) to Driscoll who never responded to his letter.


So there has been an attempt on Macarthurs part to contact Driscoll

This is an intriguing situation.

Even beyond Driscoll, Piper, Mahaney, Dever, and MacArthur, we should really consider our associations very seriously.