Embracing the Good, While Rejecting the Bad

January 30, 2007

Lar,

Alright, so let’s get this conversation started a little bit regarding the article you posted yesterday. It was an interesting one, no doubt, and one that didn’t surprise me. John MacArthur is a man I highly respect. As I expected, I walked away unsurprised by his convictions. And as usual, his expresses himself very clearly and persuasively. Here are a few thoughts.

First, as Erin pointed out to me before I read the article (there’s your shout out love!), MacArthur didn’t affirm anything about Driscoll. The few things mentioned were that his soteriology (’study of salvation’) and systematic theology were right on. But the context was one in which he was clearly not commending Driscoll. The whole of those paragraphs were in fact, quite critical.

This bothers me not because MacArthur was wrong about what he said, but because it seems quite difficult to me to point out what someone is doing wrong without affirming and embracing what they are doing right. The question I would have to ask would be: is there anything in Driscoll’s thought that is worth embracing? Or to even an esteemed man like John MacArthur, is there anything in your thought that might be lacking in this area of cultural engagement? Frankly, the tone of the article would lead me to believe that I would receive a ‘no’ answer–and I don’t think that is good.

And the reason I don’t think it is good is again not because Driscoll doesn’t do things that aren’t good. I agree that Driscoll says things from the pulpit that shouldn’t be said in the pulpit. And maybe he focuses too much on cultural engagement. However, is it possible that most Reformed folks today focus too little on cultural engagement? Is it possible that we, in large part, are ministering to a culture that was 40 years ago?

I think it needs to be said that everyone is ministering to a particular cultural context whether they realize it or not. Driscoll might overdue it, but I have to wonder if it is possible also to ‘underdo’ it. Also, I think it needs to be pointed out that when we have discussions like this, we need to carefully define what we mean by ‘culture.’ I would suspect that Driscoll would disagree with how MacArthur said he would define. So that could lead to us having to go back to square one.

Anyhow, that is point number one (sort of). I could ramble on, but that is enough to get the ball rolling for now. In summary, I would have liked to have heard something that sounded humble by Dr. MacArthur. You know I respect him a great deal, but he speaks in that article as if he had all the answers, as if his church had everything figured out. And though I respect their church a great deal, I’m not willing to go there. And I doubt he would go there either. For I believe Driscoll does have an emphasis that we need to hear. Now, it is quite possible that he goes too far in that emphasis. But I think we need to be careful about going too far in the other direction. And the tendency to do so will be quite strong when we run into a brother like Mark Driscoll.

Alright, give me your thoughts brother. I look forward to them (and to giving you some more!).

Seeking to grow in wisdom and honor the Lord in all things,

Joe

Posted by Joe | Filed Under Random Musings 

Comments

2 Responses to “Embracing the Good, While Rejecting the Bad”

  1. on April 23rd, 2007 6:43 pm

    I just stumbled across your site and wanted to thank you for your thoughtful analysis of Johnny Mac’s article re: Mark Driscoll. I read the same article a little over a month ago and was deeply bothered by the tone as well. It saddened me because JMac’s ministry has impacted me greatly over the years and I was hurt by the way in which Driscoll’s integrity was called into question. Overall, he seemed very accusatory and sweeping in his statements and while I understand the concerns, it was presented in a very unloving and arrogant fashion.

    By way of background, I was introduced to Driscoll and his ministry at last year’s Desiring God national conference and was quite convicted by his talk and have been motivated since then to consider, as he suggested, what in the culture we are called to “reject, receive and redeem”. Since the DG conference, I have listened to alot of Driscoll’s sermons and read his blog and keep up with what the LORD is doing in Seattle and have never really heard the ‘vulgarity’ that JMac is referring to. I realize that JMac and others may not appreciate his informal style, I would add that I have never heard him cuss or say anything that I would consider crude from the pulpit. Driscoll talks about repenting he has done and continues to do for things he has done, attitudes he has had, etc — a rare thing to find among men with such a high profile!!

    All I can think is maybe JMac should have listened to more (to gain a context) for himself instead of relying on 2nd hand accounts (Johnson, etc) of Driscoll and maybe talked to or met with him before he laid into his ‘Reformed’ brother. I hope some brothers go to JMac and encourage him to talk directly with Driscoll and to reconsider his public attack on his brother. I am all for warning the body of dangers, but there is a call to do so with love ya know?!! I grow tired of the ‘war’ terminology!!

    The church has been for too long a culture all its own and us Reformed folks have been guilty of hiding a very bright light under a bushel. Keller says most of us make the mistake of thinking it is Christ AGAINST culture OR Christ IN culture - but that isn’t OR it is BOTH!!

    So for me, I am seeking the LORD to show me when and how to ‘engage’ the culture to do ALL I can to make sure that as MANY people as possible HEARS the Gospel, so that SOME might be saved!!

    Grace to you

  2. on April 24th, 2007 7:51 am

    Leanne,

    Glad you found our site, and we hope it ministers to you. While I didn’t write this post, I have weighed in before about some of my thoughts regarding Driscoll. If you do a search above for Mark Driscoll you’ll find some of our other posts regarding his ministry.

    While I agree wholeheartedly with you and Joe that MacArthur’s article was uncharitable and overly negative, I would say that maybe what is crude to me is different than what is crude to you. I have listened to 5-10 of Driscoll’s sermons (including the one from the DG conference), and I would say that I have heard what I regard as crude humor in most of the messages.

    Though I am not crazy about how Driscoll says things, I do agree wholeheartedly that he has something very important to share, and I have a lot to learn from him with regard to his commitment to engage the culture. But I think it’s a tough line to draw between engaging the culture and conforming to the culture. I am not accusing Driscoll of crossing the line, but I would say that when I have heard him speak, I often wonder if and when our engagement with the culture can become unhealthy and dangerous to the soul.

    Thanks again for stopping by, and for your eagerness to engage our culture for the sake of the Gospel.

    Larry

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