Dear Mars Hill Church… Concerns About Pastor Mark Driscoll

July 11, 2011 By Kurt Willems 49 Comments

Many of us have been frustrated with some of the statements Mark Driscoll has been making lately.  One person who was bold enough to stand up, was my blogger friend: Rachel Held Evans.  Prompted by her post “Mark Driscoll is a Bully” and encouragement to email the church directly with our concerns about Pastor Mark’s poor use of social media, I sent the following email to the church.  You can do so as well (if you plan to write in love and not bitterness, by emailing: life@marshillchurch.org ).

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Dear Mars Hill Church,

I’ve attended your Ballard campus and was impressed in many ways.  Although I consider myself an Anabaptist Evangelical and not a Reformer, my impression of your ministry was mostly positive.  You folks care about the Bible, Jesus, and human transformation.  You have dynamic ministries caring for the “least of these” in the city and world.  And although I may have some theological “distinctives” (open-handed issues) that differ [which admittedly have some ramifications for ministry and mission], I can see that your church is making a positive impact in many lives.  Many folks have found Jesus Christ through your church and that is something to rejoice about. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Church Ministry, Community, Culture Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , 49 Comments

The Devil Repents In Venice Beach (The "What if…" of all "What ifs")

July 5, 2011 By Kurt Willems 13 Comments

What if…

What if the devil repented?  He said that his reign of rebellion was all false.  The angelic host he influenced through devilish propaganda false.  Corruption of humanity and all of God’s creation – a mistake.  Would he and the demonic forces of evil have a second chance?  This is a question I’ve often pondered, which was recently echoed by Mason Slater.

The Bible seems to indicate that one of the settled matters of reality is that God has determined that the powers of evil will remain hell-bent on rebellion until the consummation.  The difficult part of this question is that the Bible is a bit ambiguous on the idea of Angels / Demons in general.  There’s plenty we know… there’s even more that we don’t know.

This past week I was on a trip to the Los Angeles area for a Seminary class.  One evening was spent in Venice Beach.  While enjoying some pasta, an odd sight (which isn’t irregular at Venice) emerged:

Taken with my iphone at Venice Beach

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture, Foreknowledge, Hell, Powers Tagged With: , , , , , , 13 Comments

What Good Does It Do When Christians Are Offended? (Dale Best)

July 1, 2011 By Kurt Willems 17 Comments

The talk in some circles of American Christianity this week is what NBC did, or rather didn’t do, this past Sunday afternoon during their US Open broadcast. Because the golf tournament was held in Washington, DC, the network put together a short montage of patriotic clips with an audio byte that included a reading of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Only one thing: they forgot to include three little words … under God, indivisible. Two of which are words that throw all most some Christians into a tizzy if someone messes with them.

NBC has since apologized.

I’m one of those Jesus followers who happened to not be offended. Because I don’t think it does any good.

You see, I’ve never met someone who was offended by something and they haven’t told at least one person about it. When we’re offended, the emotion that’s displayed is very outward and vocal. And in this age of social media, it’s easy for our anger over a  mistake or mishap to spread quickly. (In fact, FB and Twitter talk had spread so quickly, one of the commentators apologized before the end of Sunday’s broadcast.)

When we’re offended by things, it’s obvious that we take our time and influence and energy and devote those things to tell others about how horribly we’ve been wronged. The flipside is bottling that offense inside and letting it stew and simmer into resentment. And let’s be honest … how healthy is bitterness to someone’s emotional and spiritual well-being? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture, Evangelism, Fundamentalism, Guest Contributors Tagged With: , , 17 Comments

Just Jesus and Unjust July 4th – Why I Don't Celebrate Independence Day (Annual Unpopular Post)

June 27, 2011 By Guest Contributor 42 Comments

That's for sure...photo © 2009 Alessandro Valli | more info (via: Wylio)

Guys can be stupid.  Add explosives to the equation and the idiocy quotient increases exponentially.  Such was the case every 4th of July during High school.  A group of about 20 guys would get together to BBQ and play with illegal fireworks.  At any unsuspected moment while taking a bite out of a burger, an M-80 could be lit under your seat, a sparkler thrown at your bare chest like a dart, or a mortar could be shot like a bazooka, catching bushes on fire.

Then, there was the “bottle rocket game.”  Us guys would stand in a circle with our arms locked in a tight circle.  Following this precise formation, the bottle rocket was lit and dropped in the middle of the circle.  Adrenaline pumping and terrified adolescents jumping, we’d pray like heck that the flying explosive wouldn’t impact and explode on our legs… and yes, some jeans did catch on fire.  These chaotically stupid memories simultaneously serve as some of the most fun I can recall experiencing.  So, for me, Independence Day equals fun.

However, there’s a deeper reality to which this holiday points.  Only about three years ago did I realize that in celebrating Independence Day I’m also glorifying the pagan roots on which this nation was founded: an unjust war. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture, Kingdom of God, Nationalism, Nonviolence, Politics, Theology Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , 42 Comments
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