Driscoll, MacArthur, and the Jezebel Spirit

 So, back in the day, when my mind was being blown away by the fact that Mark Driscoll was Raping and Pornifying The Song of Solomon (hither to referred to as The Songs), I was looking for someone, anyone with any kind of platform to confront these crimes against Scripture.

And I did find a guy. I linked to him and his series and thanked him on this blog for confronting Driscoll. He was John MacArthur.

However, little did I  know how much MacArthur is NOT a friend to women. I knew he was Complementarian. And really, I thought that would make others take his rebuke of Driscoll more seriously.

But John MacArthur Shamed and Excommunicated a Mother for Refusing to Take Back Her Child Abuser Husband. AND shortly after this came to light A Prominent Elder Resigned from MacArthur's Church claiming that the church was failing to protect women from abusive husbands.

Even though I was disheartened by the knowledge of how awful MacArthur is to women, I left up my posts about him confronting Driscoll. My reasoning was this: I was on a journey. I learned awful things about the Evangelical movement and Neo Calvinists. And my blog is as good a record of that journey as anything else. I am imperfect, am not omniscient. and I'm bound to make mistakes. And I did in that area out of ignorance.

So, anyway, fast forward to the last few weeks. As I watched the crazy words and behaviors of Mark Driscoll and John Lindell and what a lot of people were saying about it, I was reminded of my frustration with praising MacArthur for protecting women from Driscoll when people need to protect women from MacArthur just as much.

I read one guy's tweet that said something along the lines of, "If we need Driscoll to call out sin in our conferences, we have fallen so very low."

Now, note. I don't know that Driscoll was in the right to call out the sword swallowing act. I do know that him associating it with anything Jezebel was way out of line. And I do know that he is in no way qualified to make such judgement calls.

Please see Wenatchee's Mark Driscoll is in a strange position to opine against church leaders and cultures influenced by the Jezebel spirit when he mentioned clear heels 17 times in 13 sermons preached between January 2004 and February 2008. 

Near the bottom of this blog post Wenatchee quotes from a CBMW post (a firmly complementarian site) concerning Driscoll's Real Marriage book:

"Another problem with the way the Driscolls treat pornography has to do with the reality that many people will be guided to pornography because of their book.  Make no mistake: men and women will be introduced to pornography because of this book.  For almost my entire ministry I have been talking to at least one person a week who struggles with pornography.  I do not live in some sheltered ministry context away from people with perverse struggles.  As true as that is the Driscolls taught me a lot about pornography I wish I never knew."

With this blog post, I feel Wenatchee firmly proves that Driscoll is not qualified to define or call out sexual sin.

Mark Driscoll, World Class Attention Surfer

 As I watched the train wreck over the last week, I heard people speculate that this whole thing with Mark Driscoll stirring up crap at the Stronger Man Conference was preplanned and scripted. I even heard some say that John Lindell was in on it in order to help Mark become more likeable/platform-able. 

None of that really set well with me. But I didn't feel in the position to say any different early on. I felt confident enough to call him a World Class Attention Seeker. And while this it completely true, even that term didn't feel strong enough to describe what I was watching unfold.

When these things happen with Driscoll, I have a tendency to bounce ideas off my internet friend WenatcheeTheHatchet to get his perspective since he was at Mars Hill in the early days before things started getting askew. And Wenatchee said in a comment under his Lindell/Driscoll Coverage post,    "I don't think there's any evidence the conference stunt was staged or scripted. The accounts of how and why Driscoll crashed Strange Fire from the CT podcast and Turner's accounts don't suggest to me that Driscoll has become more calculating. It seems he's becoming more impulsive and more unpredictable."

And this confirmed what I had been thinking. As I read his comment and thought about things, the idea of Driscoll being and Attention Surfer seemed to fit better in describing him.

He goes to the places that he thinks will make the biggest waves like the Stronger Man Conference Beach or the Strange Fire Cove. And he tries to catch the biggest wave he can,

At Stronger Man, he saw a good wave. Some performer using a pole in an act. He decided to try to catch that wave and ride it but was disqualified by the officials at the event so he tried to leave as fast as possible, just like he did when his Mars Hill Wave was no longer carrying him and giving him his attention seeking thrill that he lives for. 

The officials tried to patch things up with Mark and he seemed to be willing to do so on a shallow level. Just as he made shallow apologies for Mars Hill (Mistakes were made.)

But then, when he saw a bigger wave on the Evangelical World Stage where his baby-fan-boys were supporting him, he took down his picture with Lindell. And he went to catch that newer, bigger wave not caring, perhaps even hoping, that it might be a tsunami. 

It makes me think of the scene in "Don't Look Up" where the Jennifer Lawrence character was asked by a new friend about the 'conspiracy' going on behind the scenes. She told him that it was worse than conspiracy theories. She said that they didn't know what they were doing except trying to control the narrative and looking good to the public. Or something like that. It's been a minute since I've seen that one. 

It also reminds me of a house plant that I have call Mother of Millions. That plant makes babies like crazy and sends them into the void in hopes that they will reproduce. My nick name for it is Opportunistic Little Bastard because that it what is seems like. And that is what Driscoll is.

Saying that Driscoll is an attention seeker on steroids would not be wrong.

But I think a better better way to look at it is, Driscoll is a Steroid Enhanced Attention Surfer.

He is an opportunistic little bastard that is going to get that attention. It doesn't matter who he hurts and who he betrays (looking at you Lindell as his latest victim). It doesn't matter who he has to throw under the bus. He is going to ride that wave.

Dear Pastor John Lindell

 Dear Pastor John Lindell,

You sowed to the wind, which was Mark Driscoll.

Now you are reaping the whirlwind.

When Driscoll was rightfully held responsible for his sins in Seattle, you disbelieved all those elders and decided that the liar, Mark Driscoll, was telling the truth. So you helped him. You gave him a platform to speak. And now you are paying for it.

Mark Driscoll is a snake who lied about being a snake. So you picked him up. And he bit you.

I am sorry that you are bleeding. And I hope the death threats from all the little, worthless Driscoll fan boys stop soon.

But you brought it on yourself and your family and on your church and the church as a whole by supporting that lying, brawling, cowardly, controlling, abusive bully.

Signed, 

Mara Reid

P.S. For those of you who have come by here and have no idea what I'm talking about, I will leave two links to bring you up to speed.

Mark Driscoll has John Lindell Going Scorched Earth

John Lindell Urges Mark Driscoll to 'Repent' for 'Trying to Destroy' His Church

Don't know where this is going or how it will end. But I do know that this drama among Narcissistic Mega Church Pastors has nothing to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And since Driscoll is so fond of trumping up misogyny by accusing people of having the Jezebel spirit, I'm going to say something about him that is even more inflammatory. I'm going to say that Driscoll may be embodying the spirit of the Anti-Christ. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe I am going too far by saying this. But is he representing Jesus Christ? I think not. Nor is he representing the spirit of Elijah as he tries to trump up hatred for things he personally loathes and labeling them Jezebel.

Oh.

And btw. Dear Grace Driscoll. I hope you and your children are doing okay while your patriarch is raging and coming unhinged. I hope the money he is making as a false prophet and lying grifter is enough to make up for whatever hell you are living in. See ya. Wouldn't wanna be ya.

Misogynist Mark, World Class Attention Seeker

 So a thing happened this weekend.

If you are on Christian Twitter you already know.

For those who haven't gone down that time-consuming rabbit hole, here are a few links from other sources on the event.

From Baptist Global News (Egalitarian)

From Underdog Theology (Complementarian)

From The Wartburg Watch  (Not completely sure)

I shared these links with WenatcheeTheHatchet and he put in his two cents worth.

okay, fine, I'll briefly discuss a thing

Long and short, Mark Driscoll was kicked off a stage at the premier Tough Guy conference in Springfield, Missouri.

That's right, faux tough-guy Driscoll postured too big and too controversial for his friend, Pastor John Lindell of James River Church in Springfield. But it was Lindell who shut Mark down when Mark started dissing one of the circus acts presented, calling it something, something, spirit of Jezebel something.

For a video of Mark's shenanigans go to the Underdog Theology link above and start at about the 13 minute mark.

My blogging friend, Wenatchee, does not think misogyny is involved. which is I respectfully disagree with. While I often defer to Wenatchee on all things Driscoll because he actually went to and ministered at Mark's Mars Hill in Seattle, I can't agree on this one.

I tend to lean in the direction of Wendy Alsup (Complementarian) who also went to Driscoll's church and was part of the women's ministry there in Seattle back in the day. She had this to say about Mark's rant.

So Driscoll is at a testosterone infused giant grunt fest with a bunch of other guys. Somewhere that you think would be right up his alley. And he still manages to stir up controversy (because what better way to draw attention to yourself) and to blame women and their sexuality in the form of the Jezebel Spirit for some entertainment he didn't like.

Whether that entertainment was appropriate or not (probably not) I won't get into.

But rather, I want to point out that, for men like Driscoll to build power, he has to have an enemy. He has to vilify someone. And for him, the easy target is women who don't kowtow to him.

As far as the Jezebel Spirt is concerned, I've said this before, I'll say it again.

If you look as the Jezebel spirit as representing a controlling, manipulating, dominating person, Mark is the most guilty man I know of displaying the Jezebel spirit.

If, rather (or in addition to) you look at the Jezebel spirit as being about sexual immorality, again, Mark Driscoll is the most guilty man in the room, whatever room he is in. HE is the one who raped and pornified The Song of Solomon. HE is the one who was telling women that they needed to do strip teases and perhaps even pole dancing for their husbands. He is the one who instructed women that Jesus commanded them to service their husband's orally. He is the one who worked tirelessly to convince women that their primary job was to be personal porn stars for their husbands.

Yes, I have strong feelings about this. Besides anger, I have a great sorrow over how masterfully Mark manipulates and finds opportunity to promote himself and his books (yes he has a book on Elijah and Jezebel where he fancies himself as Elijah). I have friends who have been taken in by his charm and charisma. I am wary of what I will find them saying on Facebook. I am not looking forward to seeing how they have been deceived by his treachery.

But I am thankful for the voices that continue to point out who and what Driscoll is, which definitely isn't Elijah.

[Note #1: I don't get into this calling out spirits of Jezebel and Ahab business. I'm just tired of men with agendas doing it. The post above is just me lamenting Driscoll's terrible log/splinter problem. He has no basis, authority, or credibility to do so. But he's too determined to be front and center in the lime light to do anything else other than stir up controversy and betray friends at their own conferences in front of thousands of people. He can't help himself.

Note #2: I understand Wenatchee not wanting to go there concerning calling Mark a misogynist. He's never been on the receiving end of misogyny and so it's just not a priority. He also steers away from terms like narcissist for his own good reasons. I still respect and seek his insight because it is always well thought out.]

Josh Howerton: Disqualified as Pastor

 He's disqualified on so many levels.

Rather than rehash the basics I'll link a few blogs/podcast here to catch up anyone who has missed how Josh perpetuates the bad Evangelical teachings on Christian married sex. Then underneath that, I will explain why I feel Josh doesn't meet the basic requirements for being anything more than a baby Christian and has no business being a pastor.

Podcast: Why Evangelical Honeymoons Go so Badly

When Evangelical Misogyny Goes Viral

Josh Howerton's awful marriage advice (Podcast)

So, anyway, this has been going on for weeks.

Josh has been called out for giving bad marriage advice. And instead of taking correction and doing better, he's accusing people of misrepresenting him and not being able to take a joke.

Then, to add insult to injury, he goes online to instruct women on how to receive correction. You can find this bit of 'teaching' in the "Josh Howerton's awful marriage advice" podcast linked third above at the 26:40 mark in the video.

So, long and short. Josh absolutely cannot receive correction. However, he feels entitled to instruct women on how they need to receive instruction. He says that pastors must be bold in their message and not be afraid to correct women even if they get a backlash for it. He quotes Proverbs and says something about how the wise heart receives correction.

But this is for women. It's not for him.

He wants to be able to do to women something that he doesn't want done to him.

He is disqualified from the pastorate because he is a heavy weight champion at breaking The Golden Rule given by Jesus. You know that "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," part of the gospel that so many men throw away when it comes to relating to women. (Looking at you Driscoll and Emerson Eggerichs!)

He cannot obey the most basic, 101 level, Christian principle out there.

He wants women to respect him. But he cannot respect women or their voices enough to hear them and understand his sin against them.

And it's sick.

There is a sickness, a cancer in the body of Christ and Josh Howerton is part of that cancer.

He is disqualified as a pastor because he doesn't care about the hearts, minds, or bodies of Christian women.