Driscoll on Harsh Language

by Joe Thorn on August 15, 2008

About Joe Thorn

I am the Lead Pastor of Redeemer Fellowship in Saint Charles, IL, and author of Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself. Jen is my wife, and Katherine, Elias, Madeline and Kilian are my kids.

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  • http://wmson.wordpress.com Pete Williamson

    any thoughts on what he had to say?

  • http://bkingr.wordpress.com Keith Ingram

    Pete,

    I kind of cringed when he said “If that’s how God speaks, then that’s how we should speak.” But then I wondered how much of my cringing comes from living in a namby pamby feminized church culture.

    One of the things I love about reading the gospels is how much Jesus was in the face of the pharisees. He had zero tolerance or patience for them. He called them names (see all of Matthew 23) and he ridiculed their ignorance (Matthew 16:2-4). I like the way Mark clarified his remarks to say that God’s use of that kind of rough language was mostly reserved for the self righteous who needed their balloons punctured.

    I think that we have to be careful, and I think Mark would agree as well. (I am really looking forward to the full conference to hear the expanded version of this talk. This topic is near and dear to my heart). But I also think that in some situations we need to be bolder, and yes, harsher than we usually are.

    Keith

    (this is a slightly modified version of my response comment to Michael on my blog entry with this same video)

  • http://www.joethorn.net Joe Thorn

    I like what Mark says here, though much more needs to be said. Things need to be further clarified, and that’s the point of the conference. I wish I could go. Are you going Pete?

  • http://wmson.wordpress.com Pete Williamson

    wish I could, but T4G was my big splurge…one of these years maybe.

  • http://www.passionforpreaching.net Craig

    Joe, Thanks for making this known. It is definitely worthwhile for all pastors to think through this sticky discussion.

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  • http://www.saintxris.org chris

    Just make a list of great preachers throughout the centuries. Did any one of them have to resort to the kind of thing that this guy is? No. Were they namby-pamby? No.

    In my mind what is happening is a display of raw authority, not a language issue. It is an authoritarian approach that exceeds the limits of what is given to a minister, or any man over another man. We are all made in the image of God, and are not to have dominion over one another.

  • http://www.saintxris.org chris

    PS- God can speak in that way because He alone has absolute Being. We are all subject to His dominion, but not to a dominion of man. This guy is mislead and misleading.

  • http://www.joethorn.net Joe Thorn

    actually chris, I can think of “great preachers” who were accused of being proud, arrogant, or of preaching in inappropriate ways. Spurgeon is an easy example to site. Check out any bio on the man. In the case of Mark and this video, I agree with his principles regarding language. As for his words regarding the “cowardice” of others I can only assume he knows who he is referring to. That may or may not be true and I wouldn’t be able to pass judgment. Though certainly it is true of many. Either way, I think the conference wil be beneficial and I am eager to hear the speakers (come on free MP3s!).

  • http://saintxris.org chris

    “And [Nehemiah] beat some of them! Now, he’s an older guy, and he’s beating up certain members of his church. What do we do with that? I’ll tell you what I’d like to do with that. I’d like to follow in his example. There’s a few guys right now, that if I wasn’t going to end up on CNN, I would go old testament on them, even in leadership in this church.”
    – Mark Driscoll

    Nehemiah was a statesman. Mark Driscoll is a priest/pastor. The state has power over men’s bodies when they transgress. The church does not. But these little subtle details are lost on men like Mark Driscoll. Yes, it may have been a fit of anger he experienced, but philosophically he is misleading and mixes up the spheres of sovereignty. If I was unclear as to my meaning, I hope this clarifies things. Besides, he needs to keep his personal frustrations out of the pulpit.

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