Mark Driscoll to speak at Rick Warren conference.

Well, you've just proven that you are spreading lies about someone with no support whatsoever other than quotes taken out of context. Apparently we have both of the books that are listed in your second link and, while I can't find one right now (I'll be looking again in a couple of minutes), let's take a look at the quotes from "The Radical Reformission":

I don't know what the issue is but in this section, he's addressing the dealings of Christians of the Gospel, Culture and the Church. He explains what the Gospel, the culture and the church are and how different approaches to addressing all 3 create different dynamics. He shows:

Gospel + Culture - Church = Parachurch
Culture + Church - Gospel = Liberalism
Church + Gospel - Culture = Fundamentalism

He then says "Reformission is a gathering of the best aspects of each of these types of Christianity: living in the tension of being Christians and churches who are culturally liberal yet theologically conservative and who are driven by the gospel of grace to love their Lord, brothers and neighbors."

In speaking of liberalism, he says just before the above (so it's on page 21):
"Second, some churches are so concerned with being culturally relevant that, though they are deeply involved in the culture, they neglect the gospel. They convert people to the church and to good works, but not to Jesus. This is classic liberal Christianity, and it exists largely in the dying mainline churches. The success of these ministries lies in that they are involved in the social and political fabric of their culture, loving people and doing good works. Their failure is that they bring to the culture a false gospel of accommodation, rather than confrontation, by seeking to bless people as they are rather than calling them to a repentant faith that transforms them. Often the motive for this is timidity because , as Paul says, the gospel is foolish and a stumbling block to the unrepentant. Liberal Christians are happy to speak of institutional sin but are reticent to speak of personal sin because they will find themselves at odds with sinners in the culture."

 

Yep - Driscoll is a bit shocking in what he says but there's nothing "heresy" here. Just matter of fact stuff. Stuff that we might think when we think through some of this stuff. This is in a larger narrative of Jesus' life and why it just might seem strange to some.

 

TOTALLY don't understand the issue with this. He's not saying to go sin and such. Hey - We're in a boating/marine community. We also belong to a yacht club and race our boat at times - and even go away with those who are "of the world". Why? To reach the unsaved. The finishing to that paragraph is this:

"I often read magazines intended for teenage girls, not because I need to take tests to discover if I'm compatible with my boyfriend or because I need leg-waxing tips, but because I want to see young women meet Jesus, and so I want to understand them better."

He then goes on:

" Last, reformission understands that Scripture is replete with principles that give us wisdom in our decision making. So as you consider and area of your culture that you are unsure about participating in, these principles will help you determine if that activity would be a particular sin for you. The importance of this matter became clear to me after witnessing the experience of a Christian friend. She is a gifted designer who ran a specialty wedding-invitation business. One of her prospective clients was a homosexual couple seeking to have a same-sex union, and she was torn over whether she should obey the city ordinance that recognized such relationships, or her conscience, which did not permit her to participate. After prayerfully wrestling with the issue, she turned away the prospective clients, and when they asked if it was because they were gay, she told the truth and said that though she had no will will toward them, she was not comfortable with being involved. She soon found herself maligned in the media by various gay-rights advocates and the opposition eventually forced her to shut down her business. As our culture becomes increasingly less tolerant of Christian principles, it is important that God's people operate with discernment, and I hope that the following principles will help guide your cultural decision-making:

* Is it beneficial to me personally or to the gospel in general? (1 Cor. 6:12)
* Will I lose self-control and be mastered by what I participate in? (1 Cor 6:12)
* Will I be doing this in the presence of someone wo I know will fall into sin as a result? (1 Cor. 8:9-10)
* Is it a violation of the laws of my city, state or nation? (Rom. 13:1-7)
* If I fail to do this, will I lose opportunities to share the gospel? (1 Cor. 10:27-39)
* Can I do this with a clear conscience? (Acts 24:16)
* Will this cause me to sin by feeding sinful desires? (Rmans 13:13-14)
* Am I convinced that this is what God desires for me to do? (Rom. 13:5)
* Does my participation proceed from my faith in Jesus Christ? (Rom. 14:23)
* Am I doing this to help other people or am I just being selfish? (1 Cor. 10:24)
* Can I do this in a way that's glorifying to God? ((1 Cor. 10:31-33)
* Am I following the example of Jesus Christ to help save sinners? (1 Cor. 10:33-11:1)

 

Of course this doesn't address the rest of the section that speaks on alcohol and I think the answer to this: "However, because “self control” will always be a serious problem for sinful humanity, why would any responsible Christian pastor/leader entice the people of God toward such destructive, addictive behavior as alcohol, especially with its long, devastating history? One failure at “moderation,” and any of the below Biblical examples of drunkenness (with the right circumstances) can become an unwanted personal reality. " from above is answered here on page 151:

"Martin Luther poked fun at the logical conclusions of this illogical thinking saying, "Do you suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused? Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we then prohibit and abolish women?" (footnote 19) His humorous argument makes the point well. Men sin with women, but we should not abolish women. People worship rock stars, but we should not abolish music. People worship food, but we should not abolish grocery stores."

 

So, all that to say, quotes are taken conveniently out of context, as usual.

 

Yes, the article you posted that is dated after the things I posted - it had to be since it referred to the books. But we see that things were taken out of context. You can have your opinion but know that it's not based in fact, OK?