So here is what I am learning. Apparently to some people the biggest sin in the world is being a big “meany”. Apparently the collective panties of many a blogger are in a a bunch because they thought Mark Driscoll made a point they disagreed with in a “strong” way. Boo hoo. Moral of the story in our generation seems to be “Be nice, it is all that matters.” The question posed by the collective “WWJD” bracelet of this generation seems to be answered by “Be nice, smile a lot and pat you on the head.” Welcome a world where people are so desperate to be affirmed that the truth stated is a harsh way is now way more offensive than than teaching complete falsehood about God. Because if truth mattered at all we would be protesting this morning in Doug Pagitt’s bathroom, or greeting Rob Bell this morning over his grapefruit and cheerios with protest, outrage and placards, perhaps painted on velvet.
Oh well, preach on, be strong Mark, part of why your preaching affects people is because it flows from who you are, don’t let whiny heretics steal that from you. What you are preaching is centered in Christ and therefore has power to save people from sin and death. The Preaching of others in our generation is centered in a human desire to be God, or a human desire to define and control God and has no such power. Oh course they get offended when you speak, you continually point to Christ and the coming of his kingdom…and that never bodes well for people who are busy setting up the kingdoms of this world, and especially dangerous when those setting up these false Kingdoms are doing it in Jesus name, because when you preach Christ it inaugurates Jesus kingdom and Jesus himself into our time and culture and it is much harder for these false kingdoms to flourish when the real Jesus is standing in the room.
Poop is emergent too 
what is the difference between people being offended by Mark’s teaching and what he says and you and being offended by what Rob and Brian teach and say? I could go and say to them… “Oh course they get offended when you speak, you continually point to Christ and the coming of his kingdom…”
You could say that, you would be wrong but you could say that. So I guess it is equal opportunity protesting. I am not particularly upset by what either Bell or McClaren say, anymore than say I am a Buddhist whom I disagree with. I am however upset that many young Christ followers are being lead to abandon orthodox Christianity to follow that which is clearly not. I grant Bell and McClaren the right to say whatever they choose actually, and I am not big on protests. To say that they point to Christ is essentially no different than saying that the Jehovah’s Witnesses point to Christ. It takes more than a name. They may be pointing to the name, but they seem to have obscured the person.
Edit…Say what you like…say it without swearing…Edit
I know this is super old, but I think there’s a way to preach a point strongly while still valuing the audience’s emotional state for the sake of better communication. The fact that people are put off by brashness doesn’t reflect on their views correlating or not correlating with his views; the very fact that Mark sometimes bulldozes over people’s feelings is enough to put off even people who agree strongly with his points.
I know that it’s tempting to ignore people’s feelings – but that’s putting your convenience over them. It’s hard communicate effectively while offending people. You can read over this really quickly if you don’t agree, but it’s okay to think about it.
Brashness – not boldness – should be used as a device, rather than a habit. Compare Jesus in the Temple (or any of his Pharisee dealings) with Paul you says not to “offend the weaker brother.”