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Mark Driscoll on the same page with John MacArthur?

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Wide White: Mark Driscoll on the same page with John MacArthur?

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Mark Driscoll on the same page with John MacArthur?

Much has been made over criticism of Mark Driscoll by John MacArthur and more recently by Grace to You Executive Director Phil Johnson.

So it was interesting to see Mark Driscoll devote an entire blog post this week to honoring John MacArthur.

I'll be interested to see if MacArthur responds at all. I have a feeling he won't.

I also have a feeling that they aren't quite on the same page. But maybe - just maybe - MacArthur and/or Johnson will return the olive branch.

posted by Joey at 3/29/2009 09:59:00 PM

3 Comments:

Blogger Keithslady declared,

I know close to nothing about Mark Driscoll. I read MacArthur's criticism of him and Driscoll's piece on MacArthur. That's it.

A few observations.

One. We don't have to be like the world to preach Christ. We just met a man in Chile last week who was a 21 year old college student involved in drugs, drinking, smoking, and the modern culture when he saw a college professor with a Bible. He asked him why he had a Bible. The professor told him, and shared the gospel. That was it. Two days later the young man asked God to forgive him and save him. He quit drinking and doing drugs, that day. Within two weeks he quit smoking. We asked him who told him to do those things. He said no one told him. We asked him how he could kick a seven year smoking habit so quickly. He said that his heart was full of love for Jesus and he had no room in it for a love addiction for anything else. Seven years later the young man is growing and as thirsty for Christ as ever. God worked in that man's heart through another man faithfully presenting the gospel. No suit and tie, no bleached hair, no organ music, no rock band, just the gospel.

Two. An olive branch is extended as an offer of peace--"let bygones be bygones". I realize that this gets messy in a public forum, but if one Christian feels the need to rebuke another they should not "take it back" just because the other offered them praise. If that were possible then the reason for the rebuke would not have been valid in the first place.

3/30/2009 8:04 AM  
Blogger Joey declared,

True, we don't have to be like the world (and shouldn't). The gospel is set apart from the world and the style is irrelevant as long as the gospel is being preached. In that vein, I don't care for the fact that MacArthur didn't address the preaching of the gospel in his criticism of Driscoll, but simply his style. Having said that, Driscoll has certainly had his issues with style. He's come a long way thanks in large part to the fact that godly men like John Piper and C.J. Mahaney have counseled him privately. I think that's been far more impactful than articles and columns would have been.

I also agree that an olive branch shouldn't rescind rebuke that is still necessary. But I can't help but wonder if MacArthur's stinging words are still applicable. Since he chose to write them at one point a few years ago, it would be interesting to hear his response now and see if he still believes what he said then.

3/30/2009 9:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous declared,

"I can't help but wonder if MacArthur's stinging words are still applicable."

Why would you wonder that? I think the answer to your question was made clear earlier this month.

I can't help wondering why Driscoll didn't answer the rebuke before making a post like this, because now it looks like pure flattery. If he has a response to the charge that he often says inappropriate things from the pulpit, he ought to answer that point.

Then he can say whatever he likes about MacArthur and at least sound like he's being sincere.

3/30/2009 4:24 PM  

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