If you’re familiar with the uncomfortable situation between Mark Driscoll and John Lindell and you’re wondering if that’s what Christianity is, please as much as you have the power to do, forget everything about that situation (after you read this post, of course 🤪)! It’s embarrassing what’s going on between those two men. If you haven’t heard of their conflict, I’ll sum it up this way: At a men’s conference, a former stripper guy came up on stage to perform acrobatic stunts, including swallowing a sword and climbing a pole. That’s the gist of it. I’m assuming most normal men in attendance were asking, as the guy climbed the pole, “What is happening right now?”
Driscoll was a guest speaker at this men’s event and called out the act as evil and likened it to women performing at a strip club, in light of the acrobat guy being a former male stripper. Lindell, the pastor of the church that sponsored this men’s conference, took offense and then the two men were at odds. Gosh, nothing’s going to attract more people to faith in Jesus like two middle-aged men bickering about who’s right or wrong, right? And side note: whoever decided scheduling a former male stripper to do strippy-type things at a men’s conference… Excuse me guy, yes you… YOU’RE FIRED.
What this sword-swallowing performance has to do with Christianity or the ministry of Jesus is still a little foggy. But one thing is for sure: Two men on a holy power trip is just ugly. If this whole situation is what Christianity is, who would ever want to be be part of it?
Thank God for making a way to Heaven because if it were left up to humans, we’d screw it all up. I don’t know which of these guys has altruistic motives, if either do, but I’m pretty sure whatever they’re doing is not really the best way to present Jesus to people.
In a Bible study I’m part of during the week, the question was posed of how we’d present Christianity to someone who isn’t a Christian. Lots of good ideas, people coming from a place of honesty and humility. All I could think of in the moment (and I didn’t mention this in the group) was an old cologne commercial, one of my favorites of all time. I had no idea I could put Christianity and Bleu de Chanel in the same sentence, but here we are. My favorite line of the ad is this: “I’m not going to be the person I’m expected to be anymore.”
That’s part of what Christianity is to me. To society, culture, the world… we’re expected to want money, power, respect, a good paying job, wealth, influence, comfort, self-love, just to name a few. Jesus teaches the exact opposite so Christianity offers freedom from those pursuits (or at least freedom from the selfish ambition that compels those pursuits) and says we don’t have to be who the world/culture/society expects us to be anymore.
OK, now it’s time to forget all the silly stuff going on between Mark Driscoll and John Lindell.
-Out of the Wilderness
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