Dear Friends,

It’s been a busy week in the blogosphere.  Lots of talk about a number of recent events that relate to people you may know.  So hang on – this will be a bit longer than normal.

First, Pastor CJ Mahaney is returning to his leadership role at Sovereign Grace Ministries after having stepped aside last summer so that charges made against him by another pastor could be examined and evaluated.  The SGM leadership team has done its work and has endorsed CJ’s fitness for ongoing ministry.

Mahaney says he will not remain the President of SGM for long, however.  His intention is to return to pastoral ministry, serving (perhaps planting) a local church.

SGM and CJ have their critics – many of them are very active online.  And over the last nine months, there have been Sovereign Grace affiliated churches that believe there are changes that need to be made in how Sovereign Grace churches are governed and run.

I am glad that CJ is returning to a pastoral role because I have benefitted greatly from his preaching.  I look forward to being able to hear him teach the Bible more regularly.

And like all of us, he is a man in process, growing in grace and in sanctification.  One of the challenges of public ministry is that our lives – and our flaws and shortcomings – are on display for everyone to see and to scrutinize.  My hope and prayer is that CJ will continue to grow in grace and that this past year will be used by God to strengthen and to correct the SGM movement for greater fruitfulness in the days ahead.

Second, there is an account being widely circulated about a young man who was (according to his side of the story) harshly and wrongly treated by the leadership at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, where he was a member until he was removed from membership through church discipline.  Critics of Mark Driscoll are pointing to this man’s account as further proof that Mark is evil and that Mars Hill is a cult.  Supporters of Driscoll aren’t saying much, mostly because they don’t know how to defend the allegations hearing just one side of the story.

My son sent me a link to the allegations and asked if I had any thoughts or comments.  Here’s what I sent back to him:

1.  I’ve met Mark and Grace Driscoll.  I didn't see any hint of arrogance.  He was warm, kind, tender and humble.  And his wife adores him, which is a good sign.  I know he was on his best behavior, but still, stuff often leaks through.  Didn't see it.

2.  People I know and trust who are close to him say he's teachable and humble.

3.  The easiest thing for a church to do is to ignore Matt. 18.  It's hard to try to hold people accountable and get it right.  Most churches do nothing.  At the same time, churches can and do abuse Matt. 18.  I’ve seen that too.

4.  There are two sides to every story.  Looks to me we’re getting one side from the guy who was disciplined.  His side sounds like this obviously wasn't handled well.  And that happens.  No excusing it.  But I'd like to hear the other side of the story first.  I know Mars Hill has a low tolerance level for guys who are predators with single women in the church.  Is there more to this guy’s story than he's telling us?

5.  Some churches are involved in what's called hyper-shepherding.  I've seen it.  And I've seen leaders get messed up trying to follow the scriptures and losing perspective.  If that was a pattern at Mars Hill, there would be plenty of people telling their stories.  Maybe we just haven't heard them yet.

6.  A LOT of people really hate Mark.  People to the right of him and people to the left of him.  The internet and twitter are full of some of the most hateful stuff I've ever seen.  And when I see hateful blog posts and tweets, I wonder about the heart of the hater more than the character of the person they're hating on.

7.  Most of the haters seem to be strongly opposed to something Mark is standing for - usually his view on roles in marriage and in the church (lots of egalitarians), or his views on drinking (the Missouri Baptists) or his views on God speaking through dreams or his candid talk about sex (John MacArthur's people)....  Rather than addressing the issues, they attack him.

8.  I'm glad I'm not as popular as he is or you'd be hearing all kinds of things about me.

9.  I don't think the person promoting the account is an objective source for information about what's going on at Mars Hill or about Driscoll.  I think he has an agenda.

With all of that said, it's possible that this guys story is true and that the leaders are out of control there and Mark is at the lead on all of it.  But I doubt it.

And I think calling Mars Hill a cult is wrong.  It's doctrinally orthodox.  And it doesn't look to me like the Scientologists at all.

My nine cents worth.

Finally, Pastor James MacDonald hosted an event yesterday called The Elephant Room.  This is the second event of its kind, where seven pastors who don’t agree on everything come together for candid and respectful dialogue about their areas of disagreement.  The seven pastors who were part of yesterday’s event were Mark Driscoll, Crawford Loritts, Steven Furtick, TD Jakes, Jack Graham, Wayne Cordeiro and James MacDonald.

The men talked about subjects from pastoral burnout to unity between churches that don’t have doctrinal agreement.  You can read a helpful synopsis of each session here.

The big elephant in the room was TD Jakes presence with the others.  Jakes grew up in a church that denies the historic understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity.  He has himself been unclear in how he has presented his own understanding of the doctrine over the years, leading many (including me) to express our concern about him as a heretic.

Yesterday, he spoke directly to the issue, and declared himself a Trinitarian, although he hedged a bit (you can find what he said in the link).  The pastors who were present at the event rejoiced in what they saw as his declaration of orthodoxy, while many observers didn’t think he was clear enough, thinking he needed to clearly condemn the modalism of his past.

How big an issue is this?

Big.

It is not necessary for someone to understand and fully embrace the doctrine of the Trinity in order for that person to be saved. I certainly didn’t understand it or embrace it when I was converted.

At the same time, for someone to knowingly reject the biblical understanding of the Trinity, or to hold to and teach a view that scripture doesn’t line up with scripture makes that person a false teacher and is evidence that the Spirit of God is not in that person.

Doctrine matters.  Truth matters.  Discernment matters.

So does grace. And kindness.  And love.  And believing the best about another person.

The blogosphere is ablaze today with those who are rejoicing in TD Jakes’ clear articulation of his orthodox Trinitarian view and with those who are blasting the panel for not pressing Jakes with harder questions and giving him a pass on an essential issue.

My own view is that I’m very encouraged by what I heard Jakes say yesterday.  I would think that his views will put him at odds with the Oneness churches in which he grew up.  And he ought to be at odds with them.

At the same time, I’m concerned about Jakes and his teaching on prosperity – a view that distorts the central message of the gospel.  I wish that elephant in the room had been identified and addressed yesterday.

I think what was modeled in the Elephant Room yesterday was healthy – candid dialogue that seeks understanding and builds bridges.  I think it needed to be a tougher conversation than it was.  And in my view, there should have been a lot of private conversations about these issues by these pastors before any of us ever saw the public conversation.  That might have happened, although MacDonald indicated that he met Jakes for the first time the night before the event took place.

I am also grateful for and troubled by what the internet gives us – an opportunity for communication and interaction on these issues that we would otherwise not know anything about, and a lot of opportunity for us to sin with our tongues (or our fingers).  Much of what I’ve read this week is not edifying speech.  Not kind.  Not irenic.  Not helpful.

Sunday night, I’ll be speaking to the students about how the gospel relates to Facebook and Twitter and social media.  And one of the things we’ll be talking about is how the impersonal connection the internet offers us is a seedbed for sin.

As we seek to live for Jesus in a high tech, wired world, let’s make sure that our hearts and minds are in Christ while we’re online.

Don’t forget.  Your chance to say goodbye to John and Janel Breitensteintakes place from 2-4 PM this Saturday, January 28 at FamilyLife.  John and Janel are asking people to bring a family photo with a verse or note which you will pray for their family.

If you’d to sign up for e-mail updates from the Breitensteins, send an e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Their blog address, where they can subscribe for blog posts, is http://johnandjanel.blogspot.com.  And if you’d like to learn more about the work John will be doing, here’s a video that will fill you in.

And plan to sign up this Sunday to be part of our spring small groups.  Groups will begin meeting the first full week in February.  Information and sign up sheets are in the lobby of the church.

Please pray for the elders and our wives as we spend the next two days away from work focusing on our church and our priorities for the coming year.  Pray that God will inspire, refresh and direct us.

Here’s a schedule for reading through Joshua next week.

Monday:  Joshua 1 – 5

Tuesday: Joshua 6 – 8

Wednesday: Joshua 9 - 12

Thursday: Deuteronomy 13 – 19 (you can skim most of these chapters)

Friday: Deuteronomy 20 - 21

Saturday: Deuteronomy 22 – 24

I received a nice note from one of you this week, in which you said “I am so enjoying the series (66 books in 52 weeks) despite having reservations when I heard about it.  I have been able to read the books before you preach it and that makes all the difference. I hope you will encourage everyone to do that. You know, even if they are behind in their bible reading, I think they should try to read the book before it is preached!”

So, there’s your challenge!  This would be a great week to jump in and read the whole book of Joshua.

This Sunday, Joe Neff will take us through Deuteronomy.  Hope to see you at church.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Bob Lepine