I experienced a truly horrible encounter this morning. It was a normal Monday for me--wake up around 10, grab some coffee and lay on the couch, excited to enter the blogosphere after a busy weekend away. This morning I was drawn into the blogs of other like-minded individuals about why Mark Driscoll of the Mars Hill Church, Seattle, is a terrible little man and how his beliefs lead Christianity into a scary, dark, self-centered little hole. I generally agree with anti-Driscoll sentiment because I don't live in a 1950's American culture where masculinity is defined as football loving, power tool carrying, or crotch scratching and femininity is submission, scrap-booking, and children's ministries. Yes, because of our beliefs my husband and I are the epitome of the downfall of the American Church. Therefore it is natural for me to feel comradiere with other culturally relevant and intelligent individuals who question this boxed up version of Christian culture.
So the truly horrible encounter happened when I stumbled upon a different kind of blog. It also expressed anti-Driscollian sentiment, but with a very different message. The author of this blog was actually concerned that Driscoll is AHEAD of American Christianity. That his views from the pulpit are too emergent, too postmodern. (Not surprisingly, he also mentioned that "apostate false preachers unite behind Rob Bell") In my opinion, this is another sad example of the irrelevant "premodern" Christian church.
So, what can I learn? This is a good opportunity for me to remember that the Bible is wildly incongruous and that is one of the reasons why such distinct beliefs emerge. Also, we all need grace to get us through the day, and some of us need more than others. Finally, as the Church, we need to focus on the centrality of what we have in common: Christ's resurrection, and continue to emerge as the post postmodern church.
