I was introduced to the work of Rob Bell, the evangelical superstar and founding pastor of the Grand Rapids, Michigan megacurch Mars Hill Bible Church, a few years ago by Russ, my senior pastor at FCC Concord during my days as a student associate.
I have since read most of Rob Bell's books (though not his latest, which was just released about a week ago), and to be honest, I never quite got the huge kerkuffle that was raised over his previous book, Love Wins, in which he suggested that universal reconciliation--the idea that all people can one day be brought into right relationship with God--might be something we as Christians should wish for. The thing is, Bell himself said he is not necessarily a universalist, only that a Christian should be able to leave room for uncertainty about it. So, again, I'm not quite getting what the deal was. I think Rob Bell was right--I SHOULD want everyone to be reconciled to God. Do I think it will happen? Probably not--I think there are truly terrible, horrible people who, because of their actions and crimes against God and humanity, have demonstrated that they have no interest in a right relationship with God, and that they have elected to remain separated from God, which is what I believe Hell to be. But I should hope for them to be reconciled nonetheless.
Yet, for that book--and subsequent stepping down from Mars Hill--he was proverbially taken out back and shot by some of the very same churchwide superstars who were earlier elevating his platform and singing his praises. Many, such as Rick Warren, criticized Rob Bell for leaving a mechanism of accountability in being a church pastor. I kind of have a problem with that mentality.
Yes, a church should provide accountability, but a denomination should provide greater accountability. One of the great things that worries me about the rise of "nondenominational" megachurches is that while there may--or may not--be internal accountability mechanisms, there is seldom any external accountability mechanisms.
As the pastor of a church within a denomination, I have both. I report to my congregation's Board of Directors, but I also answer to my Regional Minister, Sandy Messick. And I need both. Only internal accountability doesn't always work--just ask megachurch pastors like Eddie Long. Only external accountability doesn't always work--just ask the Roman Catholic Church.
But I worry that simply relying on the congregation for accountability is, especially in the personality-driven world of megachurches, a farce. Trust me, there are churches out there whose boards are little more than rubber stamps for whatever the senior/lead pastor wants. And trust me, your pastor--whoever s/he is--knows that such churches exist as well.
So let's dispense with that pretense of accountability and get at what these fellas are really saying: that churches should be using wisdom of the crowds to keep their pastor's theology in line. Which definitely happened in Rob Bell's case--estimates range over how many people Mars Hill lost in the wake of Love Wins, but those estimates were generally in the thousands.
And sure, people have a right to worship where they choose. But honestly, part of me does have a real problem with that. The Word of God is not something that can always be determined by majority vote (you know, the Council of Nicea notwithstanding ;-) ). And the thing is--we see it elsewhere, in other fields. Professors might receive tenure for the sake of academic freedom. Judges might receive appointments for the sake of not being subject to elections.
In other words, we don't always ask for a show of hands. And when it comes to something like our salvation--our reconciliation with God--I am REALLY glad that we don't ask for a show of hands. Because there are still, sadly, many Christians who would argue that gays and lesbians in active relationships are condemned to hell.
So, I'm glad that they don't get to vote on that. I'm comforted knowing that God decides that, not us.
And I get that sentiment from Rob Bell as well when he very recently revealed that he was in favor of marriage equality.
For which I am gratified and grateful.
And, for which I am also reminded of a reality that Christians can be exceptionally nasty to one another over extraordinarily trivial things. I remember being told once (though I honestly can't remember by who), something along the lines of: "We accept pluralism over a wide variety of issues and still say that someone is a Christian: you can be Arminian or Calvinist, Protestant or Catholic, this or that. But as soon as you say that you are for marriage equality, well, that's a dealbreaker."
It's the folly of inventing our own orthodoxy that, surprise surprise, conforms entirely to our own politics.
If we asked for a show of hands two hundred years ago, slavery would still be divinely-approved.
If we took a vote one hundred years ago, segregation would still be ordained by God.
And I'm pretty sure that in a decade or three, people will look back on how we as Christians have treated the rights of our gay and lesbian neighbors and wished that we hadn't taken the votes we had as well.
As Rob Bell put it, that ship is sailing.
Are you ready?
Yours in Christ,
Eric
Amen.
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