Mark Driscoll on Nightline: Defining Idolatry
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Tue, October 06, 2009
- Viewed 279
- (9) comments so far
Not many pastors get a national prime-time audience to share their theology and their faith. Mark Driscoll was given this opportunity last night on Nightline.
From the Nightline website:
In Driscoll's theology, every person has a deep inner need to worship something. That's how people are made.
"If you worship alcohol you become an alcoholic. If you worship food, you become a glutton. If you worship pleasure you become a sex addict," Driscoll warned. "All the modern vernacular is really not dealing with the root issue of idolatry: Something or someone is preeminent other than God."
Driscoll points to the reaction millions of people had in the wake of the death of Michael Jackson.
"When his face is on your T-shirt and when you listen to his music for hours, when you give large sums of money to him personally, when his death causes you to go into a steep depression and you have a collection of memorabilia -- I think if you walked in from another culture, you would say that's a very curious god they've chosen," Driscoll said.
Driscoll also warns of the dangers misplaced worship can have on the people others idolized.
"It destroys them. Because they invariably disappoint. People can't do what God does," Driscoll said. "They aren't perfect. They aren't continually faithful. They don't' endure forever. That's why we live in a culture that when heroes fall we're devastated."
You can watch the video of Mark here.
Any thoughts?
Comments
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Samuel Sutter on Tue, October 06, 2009
His teaching is on track, his venue was amazing! - I praise God for this.
Peter Hamm on Tue, October 06, 2009
I always like how he handles himself and the truth in these situations. Go, Mark!
rbud on Tue, October 06, 2009
Driscoll is right on target about idolatry and misplaced affections. However, I wonder if he put any of this into his Ramadan prayers?
Peter Hamm on Tue, October 06, 2009
rbud,
Check your facts. Driscoll is not the one who “celebrated” Ramadan. He is, in fact, one who was quoted as calling it misguided.
Sam on Tue, October 06, 2009
I find it ironic when there is a story on the American celebrity culture and yet Driscoll is a celebrity within the Christian community and greatly benefits from it. All this created and fueled by para-church ministries such as Catalyst and even Leadership Network which creates a celebrity culture among pastors today based primarily on how large a crowd can the preacher draw in. Christians idolize Driscoll, Piper , Warren, Chandler, etc. How many christians stand in line at conferences to have books signed or even their Bibles signed by the celebrity pastors. And who ultimately pays for these conferences? Thats right, the local church. Money given to the kingdom being utilized by pastors to go from conference to conference to see their “idol”...err… i mean favorite celebrity pastor.
Driscoll is part of the celebrity culture that he speaks against. very interesting
Peter Hamm on Tue, October 06, 2009
Sam,
Several of those “celebs” and conferences have served to make me a much much better pastor. And no, I don’t stand in line for autographs, either…
And every cent that my local church has spent to send me to those events (at which I have been VERY responsible with the resources entrusted to me) is money spent on outreach ministry. Nothing to be ashamed of.
Sam on Tue, October 06, 2009
Peter,
I am glad to hear that you dont stand in line for autographs but you can not deny that you see those that do. Nor can you deny that there is not a celebrity culture in the conference “circuit”.
I dont know how pastors did without conferences for the first 1900 years or so of Christianity. Poor Edwards and Spurgeon. They had to rely on the sufficiency of scripture and the power of God to improve as ministers.
Peter Hamm on Tue, October 06, 2009
There are “celebrity cultures” and there always have been. The fact that people in the first century sometimes identified more with Paul and Apollos than Christ didn’t mean that their ministry was any less valid. And even Paul urged people to be like him (as he was like Christ).
And in the first 1900 years of Christianity we went a LOT of bad, wrong ways, that people like the ones you seem to hold in derision would have very likely made a big difference with… only their names would have been perhaps Calvin, or Augustine, or Aquinas, or Luther…
Sam, I think you are simply using this as another “excuse” to get on your high-horse and rail against organizations you don’t like. Sorry, but I think you’re really off-base here.
Josh R on Tue, October 06, 2009
It seemed obvious that there was a ton of editing done on this interview… (Driscoll didn’t say the J word nearly as much as he usually does)
I also believe that Driscoll did address his own celebrity in some of the text versions of the story— That didn’t make the TV clip.
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