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Pat Robertson, Mark Driscoll, And The Murder Of Gentlemen

Christian men are dying out there, and we have identified two prime suspects.

Two of the highest profile pastors in the country, Pat Roberston and Mark Driscoll, (separated in age by decades, but kindred spirits, by virtue of their astonishing ability to utter verbal manure at every opportunity), have spent the past few days, doing what they seem content to do for the remainder of their ministry careers; providing more public relations damage to men who claim Christ, than all the church scandals and holy wars of the past seven decades combined.

Robertson is sort of the American patriarch of bad theology and horrible judgement; (the First Man of Unintentional Christian Comedy, if you will). He’s always been someone you could rely on to conveniently distort Scripture; using it like a hammer against all sorts of diverse people groups, belief systems and cultures. He’s also proven himself to be somewhat of a “Spiritual Meteorologist” in recent years, providing God’s explicit disapproval of certain specific segments of humanity, as expressed through general weather systems.

This week, though, Roberston dropped another new track, destined to make his “Best Of” playlist, giving advice to a married woman, torn-up about her husband’s infidelity, saying that essentially, well, boys will be boys! He advised the woman to think about the good things her husband does do (which include providing a home, going to Little League games, and being handsome). Above all, he counseled the woman, not to focus on the affair, “cause he’s a man”, and that’s what men do.

Apparently, I’m not a man, then, Pat.

Not to be outdone, Driscoll, the relative new kid on the block, (whose bread and butter is the championing of ‘roided-up, tough guy, macho Christianity and woman degradation), asserted that guys who drive mini-vans are “mini-men”, and also proceeded to demean conservation, recycling and skinny jeans. (O.K., so we agree on one thing!). He later brazenly offered a sarcastic apology, chastising those of us who don’t get the sophisticated “humor” of his religious frat boy messages. (I’m sorry, Mark, I thought you were a preacher, bringing the message of Jesus to the masses, not a stand-up comedian on the Christian Kings of Comedy Tour).

Mark Driscoll spewing sexist, testosterone-injected, Saturday night smack down, nonsense is nothing new, but it seems that he has now become less pastor and more persona; a theological one-trick pony. His desire to create controversy, has now eclipsed his ability to present the clear Gospel, using it instead as a platform on which to erect an odd Christianity that resembles himself, (more than a humble servant-hearted Jewish carpenter-teacher, who lifted gentleness and meekness to divine aspirations for those who sought to follow him).

You get the sense from his teachings, that if Driscoll had met Jesus back then, he would have called him a “girly man”, and kicked sand in his face.

And while these two high-profile Christian men once again grab the spotlight with a barrage of sensationally odd statements, which seem to excuse men for bad behavior, or ridicule them for Christlike behavior, those of us in the crossfire; guys who genuinely want to live into what it really means for us to be “men of God”, can only roll our eyes and say to the watching world, “They don’t speak for me!”

I can’t judge these men’s hearts, I can only respond to their statements, and I can’t establish the condition of their souls; merely try to assess the damage they may be doing to others’.

I think about my seven-year old son, and the kind of man I see him becoming, and hope he continues to become. I want him to be a man after Jesus’ heart; one whose own heart overflows with compassion and kindness and humility. I want him to respect and cherish the women in his life. I want him to know that manly-ness doesn’t need to express itself through might or physical toughness, or, Heaven-forbid, through promiscuity and a roving eye.

And though I never assume that anyone but I, need to take responsibility for him seeing this kind of manhood lived-out, I also worry that as he gets older, he will look at these and other such leaders within the Christian community, and will be at best, confused, and at worst, repelled.

I don’t think Pat Robertson and Mark Driscoll are evil men, but I do think that through their words, they are accomplices to the continual murder of a manhood that truly reflects the character of Christ, and the heart of the Gospels… and I’m praying they stop, before men who seek Jesus, are extinct.

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