{"id":2825,"date":"2013-12-02T00:00:32","date_gmt":"2013-12-02T06:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.twocities.org\/?p=2825"},"modified":"2020-04-29T17:23:55","modified_gmt":"2020-04-29T22:23:55","slug":"mixing-it-up-with-bill-bright-and-mark-driscoll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/?p=2825","title":{"rendered":"MIXING IT UP WITH BILL BRIGHT AND MARK DRISCOLL"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If you need some context, radio host, Janet Mefferd, charged popular preacher, Mark Driscoll, with plagiarism. \u00a0You can read more about it in the link below, the three pieces so far from Carl Trueman (see my Dec. 1 post), and several things at www.janetmefferd.com.<\/strong><\/p>\n

http:\/\/jonathanmerritt.religionnews.com\/2013\/11\/27\/mark-driscoll-silent-amid-mounting-allegations-of-plagiarism\/<\/a><\/p>\n

One troubling aspect is the widespread silence among the Reformed community.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before you read my own reflections, one editor wrote me a gracious note explaining the reason he would pass on my piece:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks for sending this along to X. \u00a0I love the point you’re making. \u00a0Let me say, as editor of X, I want more of our celebrities to absorb this message. It would save me a lot of grief.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this piece won’t work to that end. \u00a0It inadvertently makes you the hero of the story, and it will get readers to wondering why you used yourself as a chief example. \u00a0This is certainly not your intent, but it will be what is heard.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sorry this didn’t work out. \u00a0I’m glad we’ve been introduced, and I trust our paths will cross some day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is my response:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks. \u00a0I certainly understand your point. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, I do\u00a0think evangelicalism desperately needs more people who can say, albeit with an understanding of their own sin, “to follow me as I follow Christ Jesus.” \u00a0I have loads daily to repent of, but do wish in this area<\/em> more Christians would in fact follow my own example. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now on to my own reflections\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bill Bright started Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru) in 1951.\u00a0 A former businessman, Bright caught a vision for reaching college students with the gospel of Jesus Christ.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a college student, I often heard Bill Bright speak at conferences. \u00a0His messages were simple and became predictable over time.\u00a0 He seemed a bit na\u00efve and out of touch with the complexities of college ministry at a secular school, but I never doubted his sincerity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

After seminary, I joined the full-time staff of Cru. \u00a0I was placed as the campus director at Stanford University. \u00a0It was a trial by fire as my training for this role came after<\/i> being in this position for an entire year.\u00a0 I was greatly helped by many wise and patient people.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For various reasons, Bill Bright took a personal interest in the ministry at Stanford. \u00a0And trust me, it was not because we were the biggest! \u00a0He even visited us for an intimate luncheon.\u00a0 After the meal, our small group of about twenty peppered Bright with all kinds of questions. \u00a0Stanford students are not known for pulling their punches.\u00a0 One student waxed on about the name Campus Crusade<\/i> for Christ.\u00a0 The name needed to change. \u00a0There was way too much baggage from the annals of history. \u00a0Bill Bright listened attentively and then shocked all of us with his disarming response: \u201cThat makes sense. What should we rename it?\u201d\u00a0 This was the 1980s, long before the change to the abbreviated Cru.\u00a0 A stunned silence filled the room.\u00a0 No one had anything to offer by way of a change.\u00a0 Bright then invited the students and staff to write him with any ideas they might have for making Cru better. \u00a0Suffice it to say, those who were skeptical about Bill Bright\u2019s approach going into the meeting were decidedly changed upon leaving.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A few years after our luncheon, I found myself in a hotel ballroom with the full-time Cru staff who ministered throughout the state of California. \u00a0There were about one hundred of us. \u00a0Bill Bright was addressing us on various issues.\u00a0 Towards the end of the talk, Bright rather abruptly shifted to speaking about the \u201cdrinking policy\u201d of Cru. \u00a0Bright\u2019s personal convictions about drinking alcohol were well known by those in the room. \u00a0He did not want any full-time staff drinking under any circumstances whatsoever. He went on to say that if we knew of any staff who drink, we were to tell them to stop. \u00a0If they were unwilling to do so, they would be required to leave. \u00a0It was the most animated I\u2019d ever seen Bill Bright.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bill Bright closed by asking if there were any questions. \u00a0A few softball questions were initially thrown his way, but I was troubled. \u00a0I was sitting in the back of the long, rectangular room. \u00a0I raised my hand high so as to be easily spotted.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I knew, as most in the room knew, that there was in fact freedom to drink. The official policy of Cru did not prohibit drinking. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

My give and take with Bill Bright started out with voicing my respect for his reasons regarding abstinence from alcohol. \u00a0That said, I wanted him to clarify whether he was articulating the official<\/i> policy of Cru or simply conveying his own personal desire.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Bright did not address the nub of my question. He simply gave reasons why he personally did not want Cru staff to drink.\u00a0 I pressed him on the issue. \u00a0At this point I had little doubt many in the room were not happy with me for challenging Bill Bright. \u00a0After the meeting, my hunch was confirmed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

After going back and forth several times with Bright underscoring the dangers of drinking, he conceded that this was in fact not Cru\u2019s policy, but his own deeply held conviction. \u00a0As we finished, Bright graciously paid me a public compliment.\u00a0 He said I was a person he could trust to tell the truth. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over the years, other opportunities have presented themselves to speak up about \u201csacred cow\u201d issues. \u00a0Sadly, I have seen many men in positions of leadership freeze when the opportunity came their way. \u00a0My own dad modeled in more ways than I can mention here how it is always right to stand up for what is right. \u00a0By God\u2019s grace, I have not been too tempted to be silent by the consequences which many times come from saying unpopular things. \u00a0And the cost at times has been significant.\u00a0 And yes, I remind myself regularly to \u201ctake heed lest I fall\u201d for the temptation to be quiet when one should speak needs to be vigilantly monitored.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking \u201ctruth to power\u201d is never easy.\u00a0 The possibility of being tagged with jealously over someone\u2019s superior status, making a name for yourself by questionable means, or being labelled as having a martyr complex are all too real.\u00a0 The difficulty becomes more acute when the one needing the challenge is surrounded by those who benefit in various ways from that particular association.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The recent controversy over whether Mark Driscoll plagiarized is not really of much interest to me. \u00a0Plagiarism is certainly a serious matter, but I can imagine how Driscoll may have been sloppy with his citations. \u00a0I leave it for others to decide.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What I do find troubling is how silent the so-called Neo-Reformed community has been up to this point. The quick and incisive commentary of Carl Trueman is a breath of fresh air, but his is pretty much a lone voice. \u00a0Yes, there are others like the jolly gadflies at Pyromaniacs<\/i>, but they are not really insiders like Trueman.\u00a0 Like Driscoll, Trueman has written for Crossway.\u00a0 \u00a0Trueman is also friends with several of the Neo-Reformed and even speaks at some of the same conferences.\u00a0 Those relationships however, did not hinder Trueman from saying what he labels \u201cthe celebritydrome of the evangelical subculture.\u201d\u00a0 Trueman cited Driscoll as a \u201cclassic case in point.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is a sign of health not disloyalty when friends within the same institutions are willing to challenge one another.\u00a0 All of us need accountability and history demonstrates that leaders typically get the least amount.\u00a0 We are wise to remember the words of Isaiah: \u201cStop regarding man whose breath is in his nostrils, for why should he be esteemed?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have no doubt Carl Trueman would have appreciated my willingness to challenge Bill Bright, as I am deeply grateful for his willingness to challenge Mark Driscoll.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you need some context, radio host, Janet Mefferd, charged popular preacher, Mark Driscoll, with plagiarism. \u00a0You can read more about it in the link below, the three pieces so far from Carl Trueman (see my Dec. 1 post), and several things at www.janetmefferd.com. http:\/\/jonathanmerritt.religionnews.com\/2013\/11\/27\/mark-driscoll-silent-amid-mounting-allegations-of-plagiarism\/ One troubling aspect is the widespread silence among the Reformed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-writing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2825"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8692,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2825\/revisions\/8692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}