Is Mark Driscoll Now On-board with us? and What About John H. Armstrong?

Q & A

with Pastor Gilley

Thank you for the work you’ve done in recent months regarding
the “Emergent Church.” ...I keep up on your book reviews and to
a lesser extent your newsletter but have wondered about your
thoughts on two men as of late going in what appears to be two
different directions: 1. Mark Driscoll (Mars Hill, Seattle): moving
from the EC to a strong, sounder theological base. 2. John H.
Armstrong (Anglican, Coming Evangelical Crisis): moving from
a foundationalist theological outlook to the looser, nonfoundationalist
EC perspective. SN

Concerning 1) Driscoll takes a strong Reformed theological position
which makes him distinct from the emergent camp. But he
calls himself emerging and his methods and philosophy of ministry
are questionable in some areas. He has not distanced himself
from a number of mystical issues (Roman Catholic mystics
and their practices) and this is troubling. He also is known as the
“cussing pastor” thanks to Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz. He is
known to curse in private and from the pulpit and he is often very
crude with his sexual remarks.

2) Armstrong seems to have embraced the New Perspective on
Paul and other troubling fads. He has moved away from his
Reformed base and now attacks, as you know, what he calls
Foundationalism. So he is taking a postmodern approach to
Christianity which at least borders on emergent.
Some believe that Driscoll has changed to the point that he is
now one of us (conservative evangelicals), I am not so sure of
this. Some also believe that Armstrong has not yet left the camp
(I think he has).

At least these are my thoughts.