Here’s a great church planting video by pastor Mark Driscoll, of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. It was censured by a church planting conference in Florida, at the leading of Bill Hybels, who apparently was one of the main speakers. Oh, yeah, and Mark, I’ll go ahead and say it: Bill Hybels is a pansy!
Click here for the video.
May 4, 2007 at 5:34 am
You obviously weren’t there at the church planting conference. This video WAS NOT banned. They showed it in its entirety and handed out caseloads as people were leaving. It just so happened that they had plenty left over because PEOPLE DIDN’T WANT THEM. Don’t comment on things that you don’t know for sure to be true.
May 4, 2007 at 7:06 am
Kelly,
You need to do your homework. Mark himself said that the video was banned after being shown because Bill did not like the lack of women mentioned for church planting. The Acts29 group said they were stopped from handing them out. So take it up with Mark not us.
May 4, 2007 at 5:54 pm
Kelly, here’s who you need to talk to . . . just email the Acts29 guys at
info@acts29network.org
May 5, 2007 at 11:53 am
It might be worth looking into TallSkinnyKiwi’s blog in which we quotes
Leadership Network’s Todd Rhoades (one of the organizers):
“Let me set the record straight about this once and for all. I was a volunteer at the conference and worked with Scott from Acts 29 all week on the logistics of handling the video out. We also had 1800 Acts 29 brochures that did not arrive in time to be put in the bags at the beginning of the conference. As the conference was winding down we made a decision to hand the videos and brochures out via tables and volunteers at the 3 main doors and not each door to the sanctuary. We just did not have the people to do this nor was it feasible due to exit strategy. In no way, and I know first hand as I was in on the conversation, was their EVER any discussion by anyone associated with the conference that I know of NOT to hand out the video due to Bill Hybels remarks. What was quoted above IS THE QUOTE he said. You will be able to see for yourself when the main session videos are available on the conference website.”
These rumors about the video being pulled from being given out are just NOT true. I know first hand what happened and now the record should be straight.”
I think Kelly might be referring to this info.
http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/tallskinnykiwi/2007/05/mark_driscoll_a.html
May 5, 2007 at 11:55 am
Sorry,
“we quotes” should be “he quotes”
May 5, 2007 at 6:43 pm
It is interesting how a story gets blown up out of proportion when it is passed along in the blogosphere. The video WAS shown as planned but after Bill said what he did, the organizers decided NOT to hand it out. They were left in a suitcase in an inconspicuous location and not handed out as determined before Bill’s underhanded comment.
I was informed of the decision while Bill was talking. I respect the decision and I love the organizers as brothers. I refuse to further damage the unity of the body of Christ by “setting the record straight” because that is the job of God.
This is how I and the director of the conference perceive it:
This year’s Exponential Conference generated much more controversial buzz during the closing session than was necessary or intended. The truth is that we don’t have to agree on every point to cooperate together for the advancement of the gospel. We were impressed with the wide span of quality people pulled together for the largest gathering of church planters in America. The purpose of the conference is to inspire and unify, not to divide or create theological debate. With over 60 hours of incredible teaching from over 35 national leaders, let’s not be polarized on just a few minutes. The other speakers and the conference coordinators are friends and we are honored to be a part of the National New Church Conference and look forward to next year’s focus, The DNA of Reproducing Churches. Let’s get back on the mission to which Jesus called us.
May 5, 2007 at 6:56 pm
Scott,
Thank you for your comments. By “set the record straight,” I was simply using the language that had been associated with the “controversy” on other blogs. I did not mean to suggest that Mark, or other Acts29 leaders should do anything drastic. I was simply trying get the facts straight. I in no way doubted the truthfulness of what Mark posted, nor the integrity of those who posted against him and his video. Thank you for your humility regarding this issue, and I hope that this post will help to settle the issue in the blogosphere. Thanks again, and God bless.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Chris Gates.
May 5, 2007 at 7:22 pm
[...] It’s difficult to argue with that. This comment can also be seen in its original context here. [...]
May 6, 2007 at 7:10 pm
I think this whole controversy is a sad statement about christianity and indicative of the reason many will think twice before entering a church. We can’t even get along with each other. To battle this out on the internet – which Mark Driscoll started – is just sad and not in any way uplifting to the body of Christ. I have to say that the quote from this very website “Bill Hybels is a pansy” is absurd. Whether it’s true or not is not even the issue. To say it within your own community is one thing, but to trash another brother publicly, for the whole unbelieving world to see has to break God’s heart. Don’t we have better things to fight about? By the way – I witnessed many DVDs being handed out at the conference. If they were in fact banned some volunteers sure didn’t listen.
May 6, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Sandy,
The facts of what happened at the conference have now been clearly established. Both the Acts29 leadership and the conference leadership say the same thing, and they are respectfully okay with one another, and they are still friends. The “controversy” is over, and one of the leaders from Acts29 (Scott) has called for peace in the blogosphere.
As for my comment about Hybels, I have publicly apologized for that. I may have been caught up in a mere moment of zeal toward one of my own. Forgive me.
As for whether or not this kind of thing is beneficial, I think you are looking at it the wrong way. It is merely a way of getting the facts out there for discussion. It also gets information out so that those of us who are interested in such things no a little about each other. I respect Bill Hybels for what he has done (although I don’t agree with all of his methods), and I consider him a brother in Christ. It’s the same with Driscoll. These blogs are merely for the intellectual and theological exercise of those of us who are participants in a conversation that is much larger than this one controversy.
That brings up one more thing. The lost world is not reading these blogs, they don’t watch Christian TV, they don’t listen to Christian radio, and they really don’t care what we are doing. I know for certain that the unbelieving world is not reading our blog, unless you consider yourself an unbeliever.
Thank you for your comment, and we hope you will find something edifying or encouraging on our site in the future. Try our [25] Theses (front page, red Jesus pic). God bless.
A Christo Regnante . . .
June 30, 2008 at 8:22 am
Why all the feigned humility about not talking about this for the sake of “unity”? That is why believers are leaving the institutional church in droves. The guys at top don’t want this stuff discussed in public – it might jeopardize their salaries and fat 401k’s. Just keep it all quiet sheeple. And use your debit cards to pay your tithes.