Rev. Provocateur. That is what the current Christianity Today calls Mark Driscoll, the latest hot celebrity in the ecclesiastical world. A few months ago it was Ted Haggard and before that was Rick Warren. And then there was Dallas Willard. Even we Christians love our celebrities (Mr. Driscoll shares this issue of CT with Tony Dungy, whose name is in larger type on the cover.) Mr. Driscoll, who is 36, started a church, Mars Hill, in Seattle some 11 years ago, it now has 6000 in attendance and his goal is 20,000.
According to men I respect, Mr. Driscoll is a Calvinist in his Doctrine of Salvation (Soteriology) and apparently is saved, a brother in Christ. But his methods are over the top Emergent church- very, very contemporary. The large photo of him in the CT story shows him preaching in what is his standard garb: well worn (sloppy) blue jeans, untucked sports shirt, open at the top, with old comfortable shoes. According to the article, his language and illustrations are unapologetically crude and his demeanor is “in your face” and sarcastic. Knowing this about him, I would not attend any Service where he was preaching. If what this article says is true, I would find him very offensive. Interestingly, the largest segment of the mostly young, hip crowd that does gather to hear him are young single women. Trying to sort out my reaction to him, I don’t want to be just a reactionary old fogey, stuck in my traditional ways. What objective reasons could I have for my disapproval of Mr. Driscoll's methods and others who also use them?
