Mark Driscoll. Perry Noble.
What do they have in common? They encourage each other. What’s wrong with that? Nothing. Unless one, or both of you, is seriously askew.
Mark Driscoll tweeted today how encouraged he was by emergent faux-pas Perry Noble. Seriously? Are you kidding me? Says Driscoll:
Got to chat with a pastor friend named Perry Noble this morning which was a great encouragement. Seattle is darker…
Driscoll has long been hailed as one who has ‘left’ the emergent church. Hold your horses there, Lucinda. Has he really? If he’s left the emergent church, why does he find a man like Perry Noble, embedded in the emergence morph, and obviously unstable as a ‘pastor’, an encouragement?
Since when did Christians receive encouragement from apostates?
answer? Birds of a feather flock together?
and why is Piper such a close bud with Driscoll?
Birds with Noble…definitely. I’m not sure about Piper. I think Piper is trying to do the right thing. He may not be doing it correctly but I am willing to wait about 15 more minutes for Piper to come around.
Noble is a nut IMHO. I admit that I have seen little of his ‘stuff ‘ but the little I have seen is off base by about a mile and a half. I rate Driscoll as possibly being emergent but hiding behind good, sound doctrine. I fear he may not really believe it (sound docrtrine) but he holds to it so as to placate critics. He may be more dangerous than the outright lunies like McLaren, Pagitt, Noble et. al.
Piper needs to scold Driscoll or join him. The time has come. MacArthur wasted no time placing his line in the Biblical sand about Driscoll.
Seems there is a circle of connections now with Driscoll. His Acts’s 29 network-> “contemplative spirituality” unscriptural prayer practices-> Ed Stetzer (SBC-note the convention here-Lifeway)- involved–> Piper (uh, why?)–> and new “schools” they are opening– who are teaching?— B. Ware, Whitney (“spiritual disciplines’- again extra-Biblical teachings here)- teachers in the school.
I see a merge of these “neo-Calvinists” who “contextualize” scripture and the SBC.
In viewing this I see:
1. lack of trust in scripture as it is.. sufficient
2. incorporation of spiritual disciplines- unscriptural (note: Whitney also refers to Foster and Willard approx. 7x in his book)
Well, this is enough to review. I pray these men would forsake this but sadly, this is another satanic disguise; men believing they need to alter scripture to suit culture, and partake of “special” prayer methods to enable their effectiveness (?) OR “experience” some “spirituality”.
I’ve tired of Mark Driscoll in that He is supposed to believe and teach sound doctrine but somehow he keeps getting mixed up in doctrinal error. The truth of God’s word will never fail even in the mist of heresy and God’s word is sufficient.
Good post Denise!
I have the Whitney book and I was disturbed by the same references that you noted. His chapter on Silence and Solitude used the words solitude and silence interchangeably, as though they were the same. Unless he buys into Foster and Willard’s philosophy why would he give them so much air time in his book? If I were a new believer reading this book and saw this many references to these two characters, I would be buy the books that he mentioned thinking that they were perfectly legitimate. He has given them credibility that I don’t think they deserve. Interesting.
As far as the relationship between Driscoll and Noble, I was not surprised by this in the least. Driscoll’s past history shows that he is all about building his church (apparently graphic talks do that right?). Noble preaches on self-centered affirmations and twists scripture to sell his notion that sex, money and power will fill the empty seats in his church. Birds of a feather indeed.
What if Governor Crist said, “I had a chat with a dictator friend of mine, Hugo Chavez” or something of this nature? What is the difference between this and what Driscoll said?
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I’m trying to find something wrong w/ Perry? I have so many very solid Christian friends that listen faithfully to Perry – this is the very first time I’ve ever heard anyone compare him to “Emergent”? What’s the deal?
Shannon. First, thanks for your comment. Secondly, I would recommend taking a look at a series of articles by Ken Silva on Perry Noble and the emergent church. There are a few you can find at this link
Be sure and check this one here.
Why do we have to try and find something wrong with ANYONE/EVERYONE? Jesus is our great advocate and we’re to follow his example. He has declared us not guilty and removed our transgressions from us, how is it we are so good at looking up people’s faults?
Shannon,
Please do as Joel Taylor suggested and also consider this. There are a great number of people in America who are ‘pastors’ of large ‘churches’ that are catering to man’s ego and sense of self-worth. These places are very open, welcoming, tolerant, ‘loving’, and hip. They appeal mainly to younger people and people who are less mature in scripture (this is not criticism it is just observation).
These pastors portray a Bible and a Jesus who are hip and tolerant compared to our culture today. These people also overlook much of the Bible in order to be so tolerant. The end result of their cultural contextualiztion is that they teach a message different than the Bible. This is called heresy. It may be wrapped in a pretty package but it is still dung.
It is not love when you mislead people by witholding truth. It is also not love when you give false assurance based upon man-created dogma.
Unfortunately, Perry and many others fall into this category. Their intentions may be very good but intentions are not what we are called to comform to. We are challenged to comform to the image of Christ by His power.
Please consider the emergent philosophy and compare it to the Bible. Peace.
T. http://www.truthinator.wordpress.com
Have you seen the message that Perry recently addressed to Rob Bell criticizing his “overly contextualized” gospel, which Perry said ended up being no gospel at all because it wasn’t the one based on the Scriptures? I have a sneaky suspicion that – even though I am a “reformed” believer – you wouldn’t much like the church I work at, and attend. The reason I say that is that, those outside our church – usually from smaller, more traditional churches – often say the same things about us, which is why I immediately cringe when I read those sorts of comments. I’ve research Perry almost all day, and can’t find ANYTHING heretical in his blogs or teachings – maybe some minor things I disagree with, but nothing significant. In the Scriptures there was really only one people group Jesus wasn’t so kind to – the “religious”. Though he offered words on correction, and even rebuke to the sinner, it was always in love – he was renown for hanging the the sort of folk that the religious of his day wouldn’t step foot near. If that’s the sort of stuff that gets Perry labeled a heretic here, then man, let me on the boat – I’d like to sit next to Jesus, if the seats open! Since I’m friends with a few of the folks on Driscoll’s senior staff, I’ll let them know to pass along my recommendation of Mr. Noble – he seems to be a great pastor and Bible teacher, has a good grasp of the Scriptures, and a love for his flock. That’s good enough for me.
O wow – I just figured it out. Do any of you folks responding NOT pastor (or WISH you pastored) small Baptist churches somewhere in the South? I think I’m catching a vibe here… just trying to see if I’m right.
You just outed yourself as a bigot. I live in one of the largest cities in the US and I am a business person. You let your emotions get the better of you.
Look, read the Bible sometime. Perry is noble in the sense that he says he is afraid for the souls of people. He is probably sincere in that. And, at least he believes in hell (as opposed to McLaren, Pagitt, and others in the EC).
Where Perry and his homeboy Driscoll go astray is they apparently believe in a features/benefits presentation of something they call the gospel. They practice decisionism. They lay out a “here is how this rockin’ dude named JC or Jesus can improve your life if you say these magic words” presentation. Then if anyone bites, they proclaim them eternally secure.
This is popular but it is not Biblical. Read the New Testament for references. See, the Bible is not a few hand-picked verses taken out of context. It was written by God and given to men. We should ALL read it throughly. I suggest beginning with Genesis and stopping after the maps… This is the only way to get the whole picture.
Peace and goodwill,
T.
http://www.truthinator.wordpress.com
I’m assuming you did not address that note to me.
No, to Shannon Lewis. I thought I was replying to her post…