In my early days of blogging I was a fan of Mark Driscoll. I devoured his books, bookmarked his articles, and always defended him from his detractors. I didn’t agree with everything but I was convinced that his trajectory was positive. I thought his critics were mostly ignorant curmudgeons.
Then I became one of those critics.
It started when I reviewed Real Marriage. I compared it to drinking from a toilet. And with that comment I was now on the side of critic. I still loved Driscoll and hoped that he’d hear the criticism of many of his brothers and soften some of the language in the book. But something was happening as I listened to how he dealt with the critics of Real Marriage (myself now being one of them). I was no longer on his team laughing at his caricatures of dumb critics. I was now the one he was mocking.
And suddenly I realized how immature and dismissive he could be. I started reading things like Frank Turk’s Open Letter and nodding my head in agreement. That’s when I started my drift. By the time that Jared Wilson gave his RE: Mark Driscoll I found myself in full agreement. I love Mark Driscoll and I wish him the best. By that I mean that his trajectory of pride would turn the other way (to use Jared’s words).
Why I’m Writing This
I’m convinced that his trajectory is only getting worse. Reading through some of Invest and reading Driscoll’s foreword has convinced me that “Pastor Mark” has become similar to the Blob. He’s a persona more than he is a man and he’s getting bigger and bigger and bigger. And apparently he’s got people on his staff that help that persona to grow.
I’ve hesitated to write this and to hit publish. I don’t want to dog on a brother in Christ. And I believe that Mark Driscoll is a brother in Christ. I’m not sure that this character named Pastor Mark represents Christ, but I believe that behind the façade is a brother that knows Jesus and wants to see him glorified. But I believe he has lost sight of Jesus. (Perhaps he’s obscured by Pastor Mark’s shadow, to use Jared Wilson’s phrasing). And so I hesitate to add fuel to a fire of controversy.
But at the same time I am convinced that we can learn from Pastor Mark. This post is less about Pastor Mark and more about what happens whenever we don’t heed criticism. That’s where I think we can learn and not repeat the same mistakes.
Criticism and The Proverbs
The Proverbs are very clear about how we ought to receive criticism.
Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. (Proverbs 15:32, ESV)
When we ignore instruction we are harming ourselves. Refusing instruction puts us in a place where we will stop growing. But it’s not as if we will stay put. This Proverb shows us that ignoring instruction will actually cause us to go backwards. We’ll be harmed. If we listen to reproof, though, we will grow in intelligence. We’ll become more like Christ.
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. (Proverbs 9:8, ESV)
I cannot help but think of Pastor Mark when I read this Proverb. He mocks his critics. Hatred seems to spew from his mouth. Consider the mocking way that he addresses those that might have concerns with Invest.
“Dear Bible Guy, please don’t be yet another nerd who proof texts verses on lovers of money, lording it over like the Gentiles with curse words like ‘pragmatism’ and ‘it’s all about the numbers’ criticisms. Stop using God’s word as a defense to keep working the upper body and ignoring the legs. Your church body needs some legs just like ours.”
That is not the way that a wise man accepts reproof. That is not a loving way to respond to Bible Guy. It reeks of hatred and mocking. He’s not even giving him a seat at the table. It just sounds like he’s fed up with any sort of criticism and so he’s not even going to listen to an opposing viewpoint.
And it is here that I hope to learn from Pastor Mark. I believe that his downward trajectory has happened because of a refusal to actually listen to critics outside his inner circle. A wise pastor and writer will be certain to keep critics in his life. The Proverbs are true and the downward spiral of Mark Driscoll displays that.
Application
Here are a few bullet points of application that I think we can learn about accepting criticism.
- If I’m never told “no” then I need to find someone that will tell me “no”.
- Try to learn from even inappropriate criticism
- Always assume that I could be wrong.
- Refuse to lump all “critics” into the same category
- Mocking my critics, no matter how good it might feel, is childish and is the way of the fool
- Make little of my perceived rights and make much of our suffering Savior
- Thank God for his grace of correction
Great bullet points, Mike.
I’m in the same spot Mike. I used to really like Driscoll and would defend him often. I agree that there is a pattern of pride that is evident in his ministry. Funny enough, however, I’m about to defend him here. While the heart of your post is right on, I believe you quoted him out of context. The last sentence of the quote should say: “Your church body needs some legs, just like ours does.” The word “does” gives the sentence a whole different meaning. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe he responds foolishly to most criticism (real marriage debacle comes to mind), but I read the article from where you pulled your quote and I don’t think it’s a good example of this.
I would also take exception to your 5th bullet point. Generally, this is true. But that’s the point. Proverbs is general truth. It’s the way life usually works. But there are examples of Godly men mocking their critics. 1 Kings 18:27 comes to mind. Having been a pastor at a church with A LOT of critics I can tell you that there is absolutely some criticism that you should ignore.
Having said all that, I really appreciated this post and I am thankful for your candor. Keep up the good blogging!
Good article, Mike. I also fall into that “used to be a super huge fanboy, not so much now” demographic. And a lot of it has to do with his handling of criticism, as well as reorganizing his church to avoid criticism and elder oversight. Shame. He really saved my faith in many ways, and I’d love to meet him and thank him for all he’s done for me…but I imagine I’d first need to slap some sense into him and then share that beer with him.