I read an article today that has been gnawing at my brain stem for most of the day. I found myself filled with an anger I didn’t know how to categorize. Was it righteous? What exactly am I angry at? So I have been gnawing on it with the Holy Spirit, talking to the Lord about what exactly has me so riled in spirit. I am not used to my spirit being so riled. My feelings, my pride, or my want to be right is often the source of my riling. This felt new and different. And it has taken me most of the day to figure out what has upset me. As I talked it out with H.G. (aka the Holy Ghost) I came to realize that I am upset because we—meaning us Christians—are still killing Jesus.
I know I have probably just offended you if you are Christian reading this. I offended myself when I realized I was complicit in the continued murder of my Savior. But H.G. walked me through this offense and I hope some of you will walk along with me.
So my journey started when I read an article about how multi-site churches are from Satan. I am a member of Mars Hill Church, a multi-site church, and so I was offended that someone said I basically am a member of satanic gathering. I have also been a member of a small church of maybe 150 people. Both Pastor Dan and Pastor Mark Driscoll love Jesus, preach Jesus, and have taught me a great deal. I am not biased one way or another. I think both styles of churches are needed to suit the countless styles of God’s children. I belong to a non-denominational Church, and I have belonged to a Baptist church. Again, I am not biased on denominations as long as they teach the Bible and preach the good news of Jesus Christ. This isn’t about what type of church is best, or what style of church you prefer, or the personality of the Pastor you learn the Bible the best from. That is between you and H.G.
What bothered me is that this article was written by a Christian and was posted for a Christian blog/magazine/website thing. I don’t know how to categorize it anymore, but I am sure you get the point. Now I would understand the point of this article if it said that these multi-site Pastors were not teaching the Bible, were not proclaiming the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and that the Holy Spirit was not involved in the church at all. Then yes I would understand the article. But that’s not what the article said. Instead it went on about how these Pastors are guilty of the sins of pride and idolatry. But guess what …every single person is guilty of the sins of pride and idolatry. It doesn’t matter if you Pastor a large flock or a small flock. I am guilty of the sins of pride and idolatry. So if a church is ‘from Satan’ because the Pastors sinners, then all churches must be from Satan.
“10 I appeal to you, brothers,[a] by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:10-13)
The Bible teaches against this. I don’t go to Mars Hill because I believe it will save me, or because I idolize Pastor Mark’s teaching ability. I go to Mars Hill because I learn the Bible there. Jesus is who saves me. Do some people idolize Pastor Mark? Sure. But people idolize their small church Pastor’s too. If I idolized Pastor Mark it wouldn’t be Pastor Mark’s fault. It would be my fault. It would be my sin to deal with and my heart issue. As Christians we need to stop saying ‘my way of doing church is better and more holy than your way of doing church’. If Jesus is proclaimed and the Bible is taught, PRAISE THE LORD! Be grateful and thankful that God’s work is being done. The world and potential-Christians criticizes us enough, we don’t need to give them fuel for their fire.
When I was a pagan this was a major problem I had with Christianity. Churches and professing believers tore each other apart, slandered one another up and down the internet, and generally acted like middle-school kids. And that is how I saw you treat people who were a part of the ‘family of God’. Why would I want to be a part of that family? Why would I voluntarily skip into the middle? When you, as a Christian, come out and call a style of Church satanic…why would any non-believer then go to that Church? How many people have we just cut off from the saving grace of the gospel because we disagree with how things should be done? Is it really worth that person’s soul? Is your opinion of how Church should be done so important that it is worth this cost? Are you really that prideful?
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
The article talks about how sinful multi-site church Pastors are. So I am going to let you in on a not-so-secret secret about Pastor Mark Driscoll. He is not perfect. He is a sinner. He gets things wrong. He says things wrong. He gets angry. He needs Jesus’ grace. He needs forgiveness. He is just like me. Imagine that. Pastor Mark Driscoll isn’t Jesus. He says that often. Want to know something else about Pastor Mark Driscoll that so many people tend to overlook? He repents. He repents publicly, in front of cameras, to thousands of people. He apologizes to thousands of people. He talks about his failures and his sins in front of thousands of people. Unlike me. I sometimes have a hard time talking about my failures with just my community group. I don’t have to eat humble pie every Sunday in front of everyone. I do it privately with my husband and H.G.
So yay, my Pastor isn’t perfect, but neither am I. He shows me what repentance looks like. He leads me in how to be humble, how to swallow my pride, and how to talk frankly about my sin. And guess what …your Pastor should do this too. I find it completely comforting to know that my Pastor gets it, and is willing to be humbled before the world so that I learn how to be more like Jesus. The only perfect Pastor is Jesus Christ who happens to be in heaven right now. All Pastors have sinned and all Pastors fall short of the glory of God. We, as Christians, need to let this sink in and we need to stop crucifying them for being as imperfect as we are.
“And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)
Stop throwing stones at my Pastor. Stop throwing stones at Pastors who teach the Bible and preach the saving grace of God. Just. Stop.
“One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.” (Proverbs 29:23)
The article then goes on to say that as a member of a multi-site church I cannot hold Pastor Mark Driscoll accountable. As if I should be able to be the accountability partner in my teaching Pastor’s life. That right there is a huge ego and pride check. Pastor Mark teaches me the Bible, and preaches the saving grace of God. Pastor Mark is not my accountability partner. Pastor Mark is not my friend. If I had a pressing issue in my life I wouldn’t run to Pastor Mark for the answers. And guess what ….when I belonged to a small church it was the same way. Why? Because they aren’t my personal and close friends. I don’t hang out with them. I don’t have them over for dinner. I am not against becoming friends, but I don’t demand that be a requirement for me to sit beneath their teaching. The same way I wouldn’t demand a college professor to be my friend before I take his class.
Pastor Mark Driscoll has an amazing gift for teaching the Bible, as do other multi-site church Pastors. I learn so much from Pastor Matt Chandler, Pastor James MacDonald, Pastor Rick Warren, and many others. I don’t know any of them. And I hardly think I need to nitpick my way through their lives and demand they explain everything to me. If you need that close relationship to your Pastor, then by all means go to a small church where that is possible. I don’t begrudge you that need, but please don’t call me a Satanist because I don’t share that need.
Pastor Mark Driscoll is my teaching Pastor at my church. He isn’t my personal Pastor. Pastor Dave Bruskus is a fatherly Pastor for me. He is a Pastor I would reach out to for big questions as I have seen his wisdom and love for God’s children. Pastor Sutton Turner is a warrior Pastor for me. I see him on the front lines for God’s glory, working to spread the good news of Jesus Christ far and wide. These two men are accountability partners for Pastor Mark Driscoll …and I completely trust them to do that job. I don’t feel the need to do it myself. Now my personal Pastor is actually at my Church at Mars Hill Downtown Seattle. For a while it was Pastor Joel Brown, who is completely amazing at speaking the truth in God’s love. He was the Pastor I went to when I needed a Pastor. God has called him away to Mars Hill Tacoma. So now my personal Pastor is Pastor Matthias. I am still getting to know him, but I trust him already with knowing he is a man of God’s heart and would give wise counsel.
Why am I telling you this? Because I am a member of a multi-site church, and I want people to know that I do have a Shepherd (Pastor) and I’m not just some consumer/groupie who stares at Pastor Mark on a screen. I go to watch Pastor Mark on a screen because he teaches the Bible in a way I understand. I do the same with the other Pastor’s above whom I mentioned. But if that’s not for you, I get it. We are all called to understand Scripture in different ways; just as all Pastors are called by the Holy Spirit to serve the spreading of Scripture in different ways.
31 “So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.” (Matthew 12:31-32)
The last point that really rankled me in this article was the critique against the pastors who served these Multi-site churches. A man needs to be called by the Holy Spirit to become a Pastor. The Holy Spirit then usually calls a Pastor to a certain church for a certain ministry. That calling is between that Pastor and the Holy Spirit. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus warns us very poignantly against calling the works of the Holy Spirit as something evil or from Satan. We are really not supposed to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. Which is what we are doing if we are saying what the Holy Spirit has called these men to do is from Satan. Who am I, and who are you, to judge what exactly the calling of the Holy Spirit is on anyone else? The will of the Holy Spirit cannot be held in check by anyone’s will, design, or church style. If the Holy Spirit calls a Pastor to a small church, yay Jesus! If the Holy Spirit calls a Pastor to a mega church, yay Jesus! If the Holy Spirit calls a Pastor to a multi-site church, yay Jesus! We should be rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit to still stir up the affections of men’s heart to serve the LORD rather than trying to dictate how that service should look like. We, as Christians, really need to stop trying to shame one another into worshipping God as we see fit. Otherwise we are exactly like the Pharisees.
Jesus did not teach like the Rabbis of the Pharisees. Jesus did not follow their traditions or man-made rules and laws of what worshipping God should look like. The gospels are full of this battle of wills, of these demands the Pharisees made that Jesus conform to how they thought synagogue should look, sound like, and be lived out. They were so outraged by Jesus’ nonconformity that they failed to see people drawing closer to God, repenting, and living a new life. They murdered Jesus for this. And we are still doing it today.
Church is about Jesus. As Christians we need to be about Jesus. And when we lobby accusations and insults at other Christians who are worshiping Jesus in a different way ….we become a Pharisee. We put our preferences, our traditions, and our own opinions about how serving the LORD should look before the fact that this is really supposed to be all about Jesus. When we do this we kill Jesus for the non-believer. When we do this we kill Jesus to the skeptic watching on. The world around us is killing Jesus enough on its own ….the children of God shouldn’t be helping them. Stop throwing stones. Stop giving the LORD a bad reputation by our own preferences. Enough already.
Is the Pastor teaching the Bible? Is the Church preaching the saving grace of Jesus Christ? Is the Holy Spirit moving the people toward God? If the answer is yes …then shut up about how you think things should be done. Go to a church that suits your needs and worship and praise the LORD for providing us with so many ways to glorify Him! Put your stones down.
If you don’t like a Pastor, then don’t like that Pastor. Don’t help the world tear a servant of the LORD down by adding fuel. Don’t go on various social media’s and spread contempt for the servants of the LORD. You aren’t serving Jesus by doing this. You aren’t glorifying God by doing this. We need to put our feelings and opinions (our pride) aside and seek after the glory of the LORD first ….not the glory of ourselves and our opinions. As Christians, we need to stop killing Jesus before the world who is definitely watching us crucifying our own.
“In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” (Proverbs 10:19)
“He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.” (Proverbs 13:3)
“Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.” (Proverbs 21:23) “The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.” (Proverbs 15:28) “A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. “ (Proverbs 18:7) “The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression.” (Proverbs 19:11) “A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.” (Proverbs 29:11)
My Broken Mess 