{"id":217,"date":"2011-12-06T12:21:00","date_gmt":"2011-12-06T12:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2011\/12\/rob-bell-is-stronger\/"},"modified":"2011-12-06T12:21:00","modified_gmt":"2011-12-06T12:21:00","slug":"rob-bell-is-stronger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2011\/12\/rob-bell-is-stronger.html","title":{"rendered":"Rob Bell is Stronger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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The announcement of Rob Bell\u2019s recent decision to leave Mars Hill<\/a> came as no big surprise to most of us. I\u2019ve gotten used to watching pastor\u2019s writing\/speaking careers eclipse their life as a pastor. The demands of speaking engagements, travelling, and writing are not that compatible with the demands of leading a local church. It\u2019s hard to find someone who actually writes really well who stays in their parish (so to speak). Most choose to hit the speaking circuit full time. I always hate it when it happens, although I understand. Still it seems like it somehow injures the church. So many of us assumed Rob Bell \u2013 and let\u2019s face it, the guy\u2019s had a target on his back for the past 9 months if not longer \u2013 seemed to be the latest to make that move. He\u2019ll go speak & tour & be a big star.<\/p>\n

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Within moments of the announcement, megachurch pastor Rick Warren tweeted, \u201cSpeaking tours feed the ego All applause & no responsibility. It\u2019s an unreal world. A church gives accountability & validity,\u201d<\/span><\/i> a comment which I agree with wholeheartedly by the way. I remember reading the tweet at the time & thinking Bell had bailed on his church. It speaks to a deeper cynicism that Warren would just make that assumption, and I made it, too. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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As word came out later that Rob Bell had walked through this very responsibly with his church and is following something that seems much more like a calling and a phenomenal opportunity to move culture, I was really ashamed at my cynicism. I have benefitted from Bell\u2019s vision and generosity many times. I should have known better.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Anyway \u2013 here\u2019s a quick article <\/a>about what Rob Bell is up to. He\u2019s partnering with Carlton Cuse (Lost), to write a new television series called \u201cStronger.\u201d. Here\u2019s the text from an article at Deadline.com. You can\u2019t make a TV show from Grand Rapids \u2013 he had to make the move. You can\u2019t move culture at Mars Hill the way you can on ABC prime-time. So, here\u2019s hoping that Bell will keep chasing his creative passions & using them to benefit the world. Here\u2019s hoping that I\u2019ll be a little less cynical next time. Here\u2019s hoping Stronger is good \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The announcement of Rob Bell\u2019s recent decision to leave Mars Hill came as no big surprise to most of us. I\u2019ve gotten used to watching pastor\u2019s writing\/speaking careers eclipse their life as a pastor. The demands of speaking engagements, travelling, and writing are not that compatible with the demands of leading a local church. It\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nRob Bell is Stronger<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The announcement of Rob Bell\u2019s recent decision to leave Mars Hill came as no big surprise to most of us. 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