Please, please, brothers and sisters... just what are we doing?
Perhaps it's because we live amongst a culture of popularity, where pin-ups are gods and the rich and famous are household names. Perhaps it's because we live amongst a culture of intellectualism, where those who are smart (or those who sound smart) are elevated above us, by us, onto our own shoulders. Or perhaps it's because we live in a culture of blindness, where you have to look very, very hard to see through the endlessly-propagating spin to the truth. Whatever it is, we have no excuses as Christians for living in these same ways - God alone is to be our all-in-all, and we are to be His holy people.
Why then, when we are called to be holy - separate, distinct, set apart for God - do we treat some preachers as celebrities? Why, when we know that God's word can be spoken powerfully through an ass, do we flock to gifted biblical orators as though God's word spoke more powerfully through them than through the rest? Why do we malign the good, godly, Spirit-enacted ministries of these orators by idolising them?
Seriously, if you are a fan of Mark Driscoll, ask yourself why. Is it because he is your brother in Christ and you support his ministry, or because you are in awe of him as a preacher? Or more subtly: is it because he expounds the word of God faithfully, or because he expounds the word of God faithfully and in a clearer manner than your minister at church? I want to suggest to you that the second of each of these is idolatry.
Or similarly, ask yourself this: Am I going to Burn Your Plastic Jesus and taking my friend because my friend needs to hear the gospel, or am I going because I think my friend could get a lot out of Mark Driscoll preaching the gospel and I would get a lot out of it too...? Or likewise: Do I go to Barneys for the community of believers God has placed me in, or do I go because sometimes I get to hear Ian Powell preach and he's really good? Do I go because the word of God is taught faithfully at Barneys, or do I go because the word of God is taught faithfully at Barneys by Ian Powell or Malcolm Gill or Mike Paget? Again, the second of each of these is idolatry.
I will never say a word against the faith in Christ or against the work of God in the lives of Mark Driscoll, Ian Powell or any other solidly biblical preacher you may name. The fruit borne of their ministries is enough to convince me that God works through them and in them. This word is against myself for being an idolater - for holding up Ian Powell and others as preachers par excellence and failing to give the glory to God. And this word is against you, if you too have idolised your preacher.
I'm writing this principally in response to the celebrity of Mark Driscoll, spurred on by the 20-minute sell-out of Engage with Don Carson and Mark Driscoll headlining. Again, nothing against these men - everything against treating them as stars. Brothers and sisters, they proclaim Jesus!!! Who on Earth are we to take them and lift them up as they seek to hold Him up? If they will be glorified (and they will), let them be glorified by God, and not by our hands. We are the temples of the Holy Spirit, not of Driscoll and Carson - let our hands be sanctified for the glorification of God, not dirtied by idolatry. And furthermore, Driscoll and Carson are temples of the Holy Spirit. Do not worship the temple, but the One who lives inside. Do not worship the talk, but the One the talk is about. Do not worship the image - worship the Creator.
I am angered by this. My anger isn't righteous, I know, because I have sinned here too. I am fairly certain, though, that I'm not just sprouting hot air. We have sinned, and we are sinning, and God has called us out of it. I myself have refused to go to a Mark Driscoll talk or to even listen to his talks simply because of the hype surrounding him. I would listen, because everything I have heard from him or about him has been solid, but the hype is too great. I think this hype is the most obvious example of this sin today, but that it is symptomatic, like many of our problems as evangelicals, of deeper sin - perhaps of the pride we take in our good preachers and theologians, perhaps in the shame we hold for our boring ones. May God help us out of it, and to God be the glory.
Iain, you raise some interesting points.
ReplyDelete1. ...is it because he expounds the word of God faithfully, or because he expounds the word of God faithfully and in a clearer manner than your minister at church? I want to suggest to you that the second of each of these is idolatry.
* To be honest I am not so sure you can justify this statement. It is ok to be a fan of someone who excels at their work. However when a 'fan' becomes a 'follower' there is an issue (I will get to that)
2. I myself have refused to go to a Mark Driscoll talk or to even listen to his talks simply because of the hype surrounding him.
* I must say that I was like this, I didn't listen to any of his talks despite what people said about him, but that is possibly me just being lazy as well. However I did go to burn your plastic Jesus, and it was pretty good, so I have since downloaded a sermon or two and the one I have listened to is really good. So from my relatively small view of his work, the 'hype' is generated for good reason. And lets face it, you don't build a church of 8000 people in 10 years with dodgy preaching.
3. Do not worship the image - worship the Creator.
* This is the exact heart of the issue I think. If we look at the start of 1 corinthians Paul is expounding this exact point - that people should not 'follow' Appollos, or himself, or James etc. but should realise that everyone is a follower of Christ. We should not divide into who we look to for our teaching, but should look to the Bible. We should not divide into who we consider to be most worthy of 'following', but all follow Christ. I think this is where the sin comes into the picture. When people move from being a fan of someone to being a 'follower' of someone that is sinful, and Paul warns against it.
Growing up with Dad as the preacher at my church has allowed me to not view any preacher as 'God' (you might say). I can (I think) objectively listen to them and see if they warrant being listened to. I do beleive that Mark does really well as a preacher. I can also say that Don Carson is an awesome Bible teacher (he would be the person I would want to see more at Engage). I think the quick sellout of Engage is warranted, because I think it is ok to desire to see these great preachers in action. We can learn a lot from clear bible teaching such as the stuff we get from these people. However we musn't lose sight of the fact that the Bible must be our ultimate teacher, not these people.
That is my thinking, probably really poorly put down. I think I had another point but can't remember it. Discuss with me sometime if you want.
Nick U :)
Hey Nick, thanks for your comments :o)
ReplyDelete1. I retracted this point in my comments on this post on Facebook. I acknowledged that God has gifted some people with the ability to teach, so it was wrong of me to say this.
2. I'm starting to feel like I'm on shaky ground on this point myself. I've heard he's got good things to say, and that he's a solid preacher. I personally haven't been impressed by some of the things I've heard second-hand about Wednesday night, but that was after all second-hand info. But on your last point here, about building a church of 8000 in 10 years with dodgy preaching, I disagree and I point you to Hillsong.
3. Spot on. :o)
Keen to hear your other point if you remember it! :o)
ok on point 2 let me clarify... an evangelical church worthy of the Sydney Diocese with 8000 people, in a community of liberalists and materialists (America)
ReplyDeleteI still can't remember my other point :P
Cya at church
Maybe the idol in all of this is preaching. Is it the only way (or even the best way) of faithfully teaching the Bible?
ReplyDeletePerhaps it's because we get a lot of faithful-to-the-Bible-but-nevertheless-bad preaching that we jump on someone who can actually do it well :/
Thanks for your comment Stuart :o)
ReplyDeleteIs preaching the only way to faithfully teach the Bible? Heck no. Bible studies, peer conversations and memorisation are three other methods I know that work well, and I'm sure there are others.
Is preaching the best way to faithfully teach the Bible? Well, as in all cases, that depends on who you're trying to faithfully teach the Bible to and why. Some people respond far better to conversations about the Bible, or to a group Bible study, than to preaching. If you have the "why" right (and if it's anything other than to use your God-given gift of teaching for the benefit of your fellow- or potentially-fellow-Christians, then you have the "why" wrong - 1 Cor 12-14), then you will use whatever means will most help those who you're trying to teach. And in a congregational context, I would strongly recommend the use of any, if not all, such methods. This way, you can supply the teaching needs of all. God knows each person's heart, and He'll speak to them however He wills, in whatever context He wills, and through whomever He wills. Ours is only to serve in love in the ways God has gifted each of us.
From what I have heard and read, many who are jumping on Driscoll himself are doing so because they disagree with what he says. Others are at odds with some of his methods, but these tend to dispute whether he is actually doing it well, ie. with love. I myself can't comment on how Driscoll preaches, as I haven't listened to him yet. Note my deliberate use of the word "yet". However, I heartily exhort you and all of us to examine what forms our definition of "good preaching". I have said it before, and I will say it again: Good preaching DOES NOT EQUAL controversial preaching. The Gospel is controversial, but it is a one-way relationship - not everything that's controversial is the Gospel. As someone who is blessed by regularly receiving teaching that is faithful to the Bible, engaging and relevant, it really vexes me to think that some of us may be beginning to value controversy above any fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23).
Sorry, I meant 'jump on' in the sense of 'flock to', not 'dump on'. Cursèd English and its ambiguous phrasal verbs!
ReplyDeleteI think good preaching will reduce my load as a listener: I don't think it should be up to me to expend an enormous effort to keep focused, to remind myself that I am listening to the Word of God, and that it should be interesting/important for my life, to think through all the concrete applications for myself...
Note I say 'reduce' the load, not 'remove altogether'. But I have listened to too many talks where I seem to be doing so much of the work myself, I rather wonder what the preacher is there for :(
Driscoll, by contrast, lightens the load pretty well. Of course, his occasionally 'magical' jumps from text to application create another load, but I'm happy to exercise discernment in a different direction, for a change :)
Do you know where you're going to start with Driscoll? I liked his Nehemiah series, though if you're a hyper-Goldsworthian, his Biblical theology may freak you out.