The past month I have been introduced to the “new Christian leader” of America. His name is Mark Driscoll. Mark has a wonderful church in Seattle (the SEA town) called: Mars Hill. Apparently his church was the 1sts Mars Hill, but whatever.

I deeply resonate with Mark. We both come from a very similar background and personality make up. Mark and I share a commonality of: as a teenager we really were not that well churched, football player, fraternity partier, public high school, state college, communication degree, intense, passionate, driven, sarcastic, and very charismatic. When you translate our background make up into ministry you get a very on fire, in your face, and passionate pastor. We live with the ideology of: We are going big or we are going home. Everything I do I am going to hit a home run and I am going to knock it out of the park.

Currently, Mark and Mars Hill is having some huge success. Mars Hill is rapidly growing in the biggest pagan/non church city in the US and it is reaching the mid 20 something men because Mark is challenging them in a way that greatly appeals to the ethos of the “masculine”. Mark just recently spoke at Southeastern Theological Seminary. (check out the link here) His message was intense and very controversial. As I am listening to Mark I am laughing with and at Mark because of the outrageous things this man is saying. Here is why I was laughing with and at Mark:

1. Mark is a Complementarian. Yes Mark firmly and boldly holds to the male headship model. Basically, if the man’s say it, the woman does it. It is either the man’s way or the highway. The complementarianism is very patriarchal. Woman are robots doing what they are only capable of doing based off of the stereotypical gender roles, namely folding bulletins, women’s ministry, cooking, cleaning, and hosting the potluck. I can understand why Driscoll is a complementarianism do to his background and typical male ego. Driscoll is your poster boy pastor who is tough spiritually, emotionally, and physically who has a loud voice on women roles both in marriage and in the church. Driscoll is so sold on this complementarianism idea that during the Ted Haggard scandal he stated (quote on quote):

It is not uncommon to meet pastors’ wives who really let themselves go; they sometimes feel that because their husband is a pastor, he is therefore trapped into fidelity, which gives them cause for laziness. A wife who lets herself go and is not sexually available to her husband in the ways that the Song of Songs is so frank about is not responsible for her husband’s sin, but she may not be helping him either.

2 2. Mark uses effective, but manipulative rhetoric of comedy and certainty to convince his audience of his content. Mark is a great communicator. Mark has studied communication theory and knows how to greatly win an audience over. Unfortunately when you are a great communicator you can communicate any type of content and people will believe it and buy it. For example, Mark makes a lot of slams and jokes on theologians and other theologies. Through his comedian routine he slowly inserts his ideology. This tactic make the theologian and theologies look like idiots and makes him look I intelligent. It is the basic rhetoric tactic of: putting down others, so you can put yourself up. I loved how he is making fun of emergent leaders just wanting to speak and write, and 10 minutes later he throws an ad for his new book that is coming out. Mark comes off very certain, which presents this persona of superiority. Mark is a great comedian and communicator, so he has access to easily win people over so he can convince them of his “radical reformer theology.” It is not what Mark is saying, but it is how he is saying it. Again, Mark is to certain of himself and his thoughts. It goes back to his ego and pride.

3. Mark directly calls out Bell, McLaren, and Pagitt. Not only does he do this through comedy but he does it with an extreme certainty that these “emergent” men are heretics. Seriously if you are directly targeting leaders that is immature, and very meat headish. (a meat head is what you call guys who want to fight all the time)

The funny thing I really resonate with the rhetoric, tactics, and persona Mark demonstrates. Mark is essentially importing his football mentality/masculinity into his spirituality. When I listen to him I feel like I am in the football locker room hearing the “dos and do nots ” of Christianity. Mark is like a radical reformer pastor on steroids. This man brings the heat like he is on the football field. I appreciate the passion, directness, communication tactics, and barbaric nature of Mark to communicate the Word. But the problem is Driscoll’s ego is cashing checks his body cannot cash.

Driscoll is a leader who is elevated because of his ego. As we all know, especially me, when an ego is involved with a man it can be very dangerous. However, Driscoll’s ego does not like the egalitarian position. Driscoll commented that, generally men who go to church are “spiritual wusses” or pushovers who cannot own up to actually leading not only the church, but a woman. Driscoll is calling out the weak-emotional unstable- pretty boy males in the church to finally become a man and step up and to begin to initiate leadership both in the home and in the church.

Here is the deal Mark may have big muscle, but this does not mean he can “man” handle other “emergent” Christian leaders. Driscoll we get it—you are tough. You are the bully.

I hope Pagitt, McLaren, and Bell respond in a way of love. It is like we are all back in JR high out on the playground during recess and Driscoll, who is the big bully, is making fun of all the skinny kids, namely Bell and Pagitt. Someone needs to stand up against not only Driscoll’s theology but his superiority and certainty. I will admit Driscoll is effectively and directly speaking to the male generation the church has missed for a long time. But Driscoll is importing his masculinity into spirituality. Driscoll is a meat head; always looking for physical or spiritual fight and that is not right especially in the Kingdom. Driscoll likes power and his ego. He likes to call the shots. Driscoll will be remembered for his hostility and not humility.

Keep fighting the good fight. I know a meat head when I see one, because I was one. (and maybe still one)

In His STRONG Grip,
Jeremy