Mark Driscoll Cries and Whines While He Strawmans Cessationists
We’ve written about Mark Driscoll many times. Whereas he was once standard fare for New Calvinists and the pseudo-Reformed community, Driscoll runs almost exclusively in the charismatic community.
Back in the day, Driscoll favored an edgy, aggressive style marked by prurient sermons laced with cuss words and punk-style worship- he once called women’ penis homes’ and commanded women with unsaved husbands to give their husbands oral sex to convert them. All the edgy aggressiveness boiled over in 2014 when the empire suddenly imploded due to Driscoll’s emotional and spiritual abuse of the flock, plagiarism, and accusations of financial misconduct. Rather than undergo church discipline, he claimed he audibly heard from God that he needed to leave, and he bolted. Later, nearly 40 former Mars Hill elders issued a public statement describing him as ‘unfit’ and ‘unrepentant.’
Not many years later, with the help of his crony James MacDonald, Mark Driscoll wrapped up his own discipline and re-established himself behind a pulpit in Phoenix, Arizona. Here, he set himself up as Pope of his own church, removing any of the limiting factors that previously constrained him, chiefly the presence of elders. Despite having hundreds and hundreds of people attending each week, there are no elders at The Trinity Church, which has resulted in his bullying ways continuing. Think of him as a wayward child who locked his parents in their room and now has the run of the house, terrorizing the dogs and torturing the cats.
Slowly, he rebuilt his empire, even as his theology got squishier. He mocked reformed theology and described Calvinism as “garbage.” He publicly apologized for criticizing Joel Osteen. He started selling copies of his sermon notes online and pushed seeker-sensitive services like “Swimsuit Sunday.” He even defended the Roman Catholic Church, saying they “believe in the essentials.”
Despite resigning in disgrace and possessing a penchant for theological violence, people flocked to him at his new home, and his church has grown immensely in the last few years, slowly edging towards megachurch status.
Because Driscoll is a shell of his former shell, and because post-fall cessationists were by and large the only ones who held him accountable while the continuationists welcomed him with open arms, he’s been attacking cessationists with some of the stupidest and worst misrepresentations possible, making it clear he’s so used to be being wrong that he doesn’t know how to be right anymore.
This next one is particularly stupid.
Responding to a question of whether or not people should attend a cessationist church, Driscoll breaks out his flamethrower and sets ablaze some strawmen with gusto.
Driscoll says he could never attend a cessationist church or sit under a cessationist pastor. He explains that he would never invite a cessationist to preach at his church, noting that “most of them wouldn’t want to be there anyways.’
True, because he’s unqualified to preach and disqualified from the pastorate.
Calling cessationism a “worldly teaching” and “completely alternate way of viewing the bible,” Driscoll claims that cessationists would have a hard time teaching through the story of Elijah because they “tend to dial down the work of the Holy Spirit and also the work of the demonic,” they “skip over a lot of the supernatural and paranormal” and they ignore the “unseen realm” while also having a mindset that does not want “the Holy Spirit to be in control.”
We don’t know a single cessationist pastor who would have difficulty preaching through Elijah and addressing the awe-inspiring works of the supernatural with gusto, marveling at the work of God. But because Driscoll’s conscience is seared and he has some theological PTSD from being told ‘no’ all the time by cessationists who could see through him into his dark and deranged heart a mile away, particularily after he shared his pornographic divinations, they become the obvious targets for his petulant tantrums and pointed wrath.
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Even Non cessationists see through his facade.
Well said! It is such a pathetic strawman argument on Driscoll’s part.
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Considering that most cessationists’ arguments basically boil down to “gifts like prophecy, healing, and speaking in tongues are no longer required because we have the full canon of Scripture”, it’s ironic that a person with the track record of Mark Driscoll would use 2 Timothy 3 as a proof text when:
1. It has nothing to do with any continuationist gifts.
2. It has everything to do with warning Christians to stay away from those who do not live righteous, holy lives (Mark conveniently puts a three-dot ellipsis where verse 4 says: “treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;”)
3. Later in chapter 3 as Paul is explaining how Timothy is supposed to respond to the issues raised in vv.3-5, Paul does not command Timothy to make use of “spiritual gifts” but rather:
1. Paul’s example (vv 10-11)
2. The good teaching Timothy has already learned (v 14)
3. The “sacred writings” aka “The Bible” (v 15)
never heard of Driscall, and though the passage obviously is mainly referring to dealing with ungodly and licentious teachings – 2 Tim 3 10-15 still works as a pretty good proof text against cessationism.
1. Paul himself as an example performed signs and wonders.
2. Paul’s himself taught on the gifts of the spirit, which is therefore included in that teaching he’s exhorting Timothy to hold.
3. The sacred writings at the time Paul was writing was evidently only the OT. Paul considers the Hebrew Scriptures themselves were enough to make Timothy wise to salvation. He could not have ever have been teaching Timothy that the gifts would cease once his and the others apostles writings were compiled in a book.
Cessationism does not fall in either the teaching, example of Paul or the Hebrew Scriptures, the three things Paul gives Timothy as the standard. Cessationism is therefore an invention of men.
Regardless of your convictions about certain gifts of the Holy Spirit, it is best to avoid Mark Driscoll. He has major problems with his teaching and life that have nothing to do with the cessastionist/continuationist debate.
And you would be wrong. I have never seen doctrines more abused than these doctrines. “God told me”, sure buddy.
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I have the gift of typing in tongues.
We went to a church plant where the pastor went south theologically and we had to leave. He was afraid of having elders. He kept promising to get them, but even after seven years (long after we left) he still didn’t have any. Never go to an elder-less church.
From what I’ve seen, a lot of pastors who start their own church do it out of pride rather than necessity.
Most of the time they could plug into an existing church to use their (self-perceived) gifts but then they couldn’t operate as an autocrat. To them, not having elders is a feature rather than a bug.
The sign gifts were given to the Apostles to demonstrate they were sent by Jesus.
They died, their foundational work was complete and the sign gifts were no longer required (Eph 2:20).
God is sovereign and will do what He wills so miracles do still occur. And many other gifts of the Spirit also exist today
Exactly, but then ask any neo-Montanist if they know someone who has raised the dead…or are you sure the tongues produced today are known languages or just gibberish. Tongue speaking has especially turned into the formation of 2 tiered Christianity. Tongue speakers are special you know, very spiritual. Back in the day I had a pastor who was a believer in tongues, at the church (Four Square, Amie Simple MacPherson) before I met him, he was a co-pastor in charge of weeding through the 30 or so people that wanted to give a tongue that Sunday in a church of about 800. He had to whittle it down to 2 or 3, causing great hurt feelings. Needless to say, he grew weary.