A great post here by Greg Gilbert on Rob Bell's NOOMA videos.
In addition to being the official reviewer extraordinaire at
9Marks, Greg Gilbert is the director of research for the president of
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and an elder at Third Avenue
Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Scoop'a on NOOMA
Below is a link to an excellent post by Phil Johnson of the Pyromaniacs blog. Phil really hits the nail on the head with his assessment of "Emerging" ministry, especially that of Rob Bell.
Here's a quote that I agree with 100% and it's something I've believed about Bell and his "church" for some time:
"Bell's syncretized amateur yoga exercise is not Christianity by any stretch of the definition. I'll go further: if this is what Bell really believes, he himself is no Christian."
In my Letter to Rob Bell of Mars Hill I stated the following, and I think I am referring here to the same "sermon" Phil critiqued in his piece:
"I've rambled on a bit so I won't go into any detailed analysis of the two sermons I listened to. The first was the one on breathing and the second was a long, drawn-out dramatization about laying down our spears. Neither of these messages were Christian in their nature. I believe in both sermons combined I heard the word Jesus four times. They would work great for Oprah or Zig Ziglar or Robert Schuller, but no clear presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was made in either of them. 10,000 people got ripped off on two separate Sundays. They thought they were going to church. Instead, they went to Mars Hill. I believe there is a huge difference."
The garbage Bell and others like him are putting forth is a powerful deception from the very pit of Hell. As Phil Johnson says in his piece, this stuff is not only unbiblical, it is anti-Christian.
I've respected Phil for many years, first learning of him through his work in developing The Spurgeon Archive . His comments about Bell, Mark Driscoll and the "Emerging" movement should be read by everyone who cares about dangerous teachings that are diametrically opposed to the teachings of Christ and of Scripture.
Below the link to Phil's column are a few links to pieces I've done on Rob Bell.
R.J.
Rob Bell Preaches from Marx Gospel
With Rob Bell, You Will Thirst Again
Governor Wannabe Likes Rob Bell
Stupid Church Tricks in Grandville, Michigan
In the Saturday, September 9th edition of The Grand Rapids Press, Rev. Rob Bell of Mars Hill Bible Church stated the following, in an article entitled, Religious Leaders Reflect on Impact of Attacks:
"9/11 woke us up to the fact that we live in a global village. People are waking up to how many people in the world have a problem with America (and) that some of those feelings are legitimate. We're 6 percent of the world's population and consume 40 to 50 percent of its resources. The central voice of the prophets all the way through Jesus is that it's not right for some to have so much, horde and build up a surplus at a time when others have so little.
"The strongest spiritual current I have seen is an awareness that our consumerism is causing our souls to shrivel. We have too much stuff and we know it.
"If we're really serious about ending terrorsim, we would start with working to end poverty, because that's where it starts. It's hard to drop a bomb on somebody who just fed you. If we want to end terrorism we have to ask, 'Who hates us most, and how do we bless them?'
-------------------------------------
Mr. Bell's comments are very interesting considering the fact that Mars Hill Bible Church has been on the receiving end of some really nice blessings from a certain candidate for Governor in the state of Michigan, the son of Amway founder and billionaire Rich DeVos.
The Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation gave Mars Hill $431,000 between January 2002 and December 2004. One wonders where Mr. Bell would be today without such gifts from such capitalist pigs. :-)
And perhaps Rob has forgotten or never knew what an incredible blessing the United States has been to this world since its founding. Perhaps he's never read of how American soldiers sacrificed, bled and died in places like Omaha Beach, Normandy and Iwo Jima to save the world from German National Socialism (Nazism) and Japanese Imperialism. And when the fighting was over, it was America who led the effort to rebuild Europe via the Marshall Plan.
We might consume a very good chunk of the world's resources, but perhaps Rob has forgotten or never knew that most of the innovation in technology, medicine, economics, etc. has come from the incredible American system. We generate so much that we not only have enough for ourselves, but provide more assistance to the nations of the world than any other nation. According to USAID, the United States taxpayer has given almost $6 billion in the international fight against HIV/AIDS since 1986, more than any other public or private organization. Yes, Rob, we might have an awful lot here in the United States, but nobody gives more. Who does the world turn to in times of crisis? France? Saudi Arabia? Canada? No, the world turns to America.
For Rob Bell to state that "People are waking up to how many people in the world have a problem with America (and) that some of those feelings are legitimate." is an absolute outrage and it betrays Rob's ignorance of American history.
And as for this comment: "The central voice of the prophets all the way through Jesus is that it's not right for some to have so much, horde and build up a surplus at a time when others have so little." This one betrays his lack of theological understanding. The central theme of the prophets was their pointing to the coming Messiah who would save men from their sins, not some social gospel that focused primarily on the redistribution of wealth. Sure, it might be easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for some rich American to inherit the Kingdom of God, but it still happens. If we had the same standard of living as the Islamic-controlled nations of the world, this world would be a much darker place indeed.
Karl Marx would love Mars Hill and the warped philosophy of Mr. Bell, for it was Marx who stated: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." On the other hand, from the Apostle Paul - one who actually had something meaningful to say at Mars Hill - we have this: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." 2 Thessalonians 3:10
The American church is crumbling. Right behind its collapse will be our civil institutions and our standard of living. We might actually get to see how dark a place this world can be without capitalist pigs like Joe Taxpayer who have been given much, but realize that much is required of them in their giving.
I'll close with some more from Paul:
"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." 2 Timothy 4:1-3
I never know what outrage I will find in my Saturday Grand Rapids Press. Every week in their Religion section they have some column that manages to make me want to cancel my subscription, but it's kinda like a train wreck - you just can't look away. All that smoke and twisted metal is mesmerizing! Two or three weeks ago it was "Christian Yoga". Last week it was the issue of women in the Christian Reformed Church.
Today's REALLY IMPORTANT, REALLY RELEVANT article provides the kickoff for Rob Bell's SAVE THE DRINKING WATER TOUR 2006, brought to you by Zondervan.
It seems Rob is going on a cross-country tour to rub the word "spiritual" out of as many vocabularies as possible. It all sounds very worthwhile to me and something that should have been done decades ago!
"Also on Bell's list are lifeless, staid sermons that are all Bible passages and no action. He calls sermons the 'original guerilla art form,' and said they ought to address every single life aspect."
It couldn't be any plainer than the above quote. Guys like Rob and Rick Warren are what are known as Arminians. Here's a quote from Charles Spurgeon to clarify:
"What the Arminian wants to do is to arouse man's activity: what we want to do is to kill it once for all - to show him that he is lost and ruined, and that his activities are not now at all equal to the work of conversion; that he must look upward. They seek to make the man stand up: we seek to bring him down, and make him feel that there he lies in the hand of God, and that his business is to submit himself to God, and cry aloud, 'Lord, save, or we perish.' We hold that man is never so near grace as when he begins to feel he can do nothing at all. When he says, 'I can pray, I can believe, I can do this, and I can do the other,' marks of self-sufficiency and arrogance are on his brow."
I would think that Satan would also refer to Bible-based sermons full of the Word of God as a guerilla art form.
"The tour, sponsored by Zondervan Publishing House, will visit non-church venues in more than 20 cities. All proceeds will go to WaterAid, an international charity dedicated to improving lives by providing clean water and sanitation."
You see, Rob will give people clean drinking water, but this minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ seems to have a problem with giving them what the Master said we really need - living water!
Unlike this tour which will cost you $10.oo, or Rob's book Velvet Elvis which you will waste $12.99 on at Amazon, Jesus offers you the forgiveness of sins and eternal life without cost! He paid EVERYTHING. You can feast on the bounties of heaven at Jesus' table, or you can pay for the crumbs offered by snake oil vendors like Zondervan - the choice is yours.
Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 4:13-14
I'm gonna have to pass on this one. I'll drink the good stuff, thanks. With Christ, you won't get ROBbed.
R.J.
Rob Bell "Everything is Spiritual" Tour
"We want this to be a place where you guys can come and worship the way that you want to worship," J. Berends told the crowd of about 100 teenagers and 20-somethings during a break in his 35-minute concert-like opening to The Five One. "We are culturally different than people in their 30s or 40s or whatever. They have no clue, really."
"It's not like your normal church service, where you just sit and someone talks all the time," said Bethany Gill, a 19-year-old Michigan State University student from Grandville. "You can go up and kneel and not feel ashamed. It's an intimate thing because it's just like you and God. You actually interact with God yourself."
from
I Feel Really Spiritual Here
The Grand Rapids Press
Saturday, March 4, 2006
Like totally, dude! Hey, the last thing I wish to do is interact with God myself. If these young skulls full of mush could get the rock concert out of their heads for a few minutes and remember what they learned in the churches they no doubt left for this party, they would probably recall that Christ is our mediator. He is the only One so uniquely qualified in the entire universe to bridge the chasm between God and man. To attempt to "interact with God yourself" would be similar to interacting with a 220-volt power line while standing in a pool of water - it would be instant death! God is holy, we are not. The only one who ever satisfied God was his perfect, spotless, blameless, sinless Son, Jesus Christ. And because Christ has done this, the only way we are told that we can be accepted of the Father is by trusting on Christ fully by faith alone.
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12 NIV
And that someone who "...talks all the time" - that's a pastor. The term is not synonymous with Rock Band Leader or Really Cool Guy with Really Cool Glasses.
Christ is the head of His Church and as such, it is His place and ONLY His place to appoint or call certain men to the public ministry of His Word. This is what we call orderly worship - worshipping God according to His ways.
"He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers." Ephesians 4:10-11 NIV
It is entirely possible for a young man to attend bible school or seminary, buy a Stratocaster and STILL not be called by Christ into ministry, even though his guitar work be kickin'. It is not for us to re-imagine Christianity or to "repaint" it or otherwise water it down to make it acceptable to our "crooked and depraved generation".
And finally, as one of those clueless 40-somethings, remember that God is older than any of us. If age is the determinant of cluelessness, then I cannot imagine how the Ancient of Days could possibly feel welcome at the Five One.
Peace!
R.J.
UPDATE!!
If you've taken the time to read this blog post, you'll appreciate what Michael Horton has to say in his article, How the Kingdom Comes. In it he states, among other things, how "The church becomes countercultural by sinking its roots ever deeper into God's heavenly gifts."
Several weeks ago I listened to a 2-part lecture by Dr. David F. Wells at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary on Emergent Spirituality. What an absolutely fantastic lecture this was. Dr. Wells is the Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Dr. Wells explains very clearly how postmodernism and the so-called Emergent church are not something new, but rather are the culmination of years of Enlightenment thinking. It took the entire 20th century to get us where we are today.
"...it is not a spiritual renewal like that of the First and Second Great Awakenings earlier in our church life in America. Those spiritual renewals established Christian truth and Biblical orthodoxy, and this new spirituality at best is indifferent to Biblical truth and very often hostile to it." Dr. David Wells
And just yesterday I finished listening to an interview of Dr. Wells by Todd Wilken of Issues, Etc. on Christianity and Postmodern Culture. That interview was excellent as well.
NOTE ON PODCASTING: I work for a bank in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan and every day I walk approximately one-quarter mile each way from my parking spot to the office. Last summer I bought an iPod Mini and has that thing been a blessing! I can download MP3 files like some of those linked below and redeem time that would have normally been wasted. And you needn't spend that much on an MP3 player. The way I use it, I put 3 or 4 messages on the thing, listen to them, delete and repeat! No need for a full 4 or 20 gigabytes of storage. Just a tip in case you're in the market for one.
Back to Dr. Wells. This morning I noticed that Reformation 21, the blog site of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals has as their January Feature, a roundtable discussion of Dr. Wells and his work by Ligon Duncan, Philip Ryken and Carl Trueman.
I bought Wells' No Place for Truth about a year ago and it was an excellent book. His latest book, Above All Earthly Pow'rs looks to be excellent as well.
Below are links to all the stuff I've managed to ramble on about! :-)))
Grace and peace,
R.J.
Lecture on Emergent Spirituality at SBTS
Look for 2 downloads, one on Nov. 9 and one on Nov. 10
Issues, Etc. Interview of Dr. Wells
Look for 2 separate files on December 12th.
Reformation 21 January Feature
David Wells: An Appreciation from the Land of Braveheart
Paul Proctor hits the nail on the head here. Good stuff.
R.J.
"And remember also that it's not just the megachurches that are closed for Christmas this year; it is the hearts of all those who have hypocritically claimed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior; and only by hearing His Voice and answering His knock, will they again be opened."
"Unfortunately, at many of our churches this year, no one will be around to open the door and receive Him or anyone else."
Francis Schaeffer in his book The God Who Is There proposed what is called the "line of despair." He suggests that cultural paradigms shift in an orderly manner. They begin with philosophy, continue with art and music, saturate the culture, and then gradually seep into theology. It is a repetitious cycle. A philosopher comes up with a new spin on reality, an artist then puts his interpretation down on canvas, the culture soaks it up like a dry sponge in water, and then culture infects the church. This cycle repeats itself over and over again.
I wish that we were on the verge of a cultural shift - that we were at a crossroads and if we turned the wheel hard enough we could circumvent what lies before us as a Church. However, this shift is upon us. It has been going on for centuries - since the beginning of the second millennium. This repetitive cycle where one period's philosophy becomes the next period's theology, was not born out of the modern period, but more rightly the medieval period.
Let us look at this line of despair, which begins with philosophy and ends with theology.
Continue reading...
Postmodernism: The Death of God and the Rise of the Community
by Michael D. Makidon
Director of Publications
Grace Evangelical Society
Irving, Texas
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