Straining Out Gnats and Swallowing Camels

    The debate over Mark Driscoll's ministry and it's place in Southern Baptist life received a new voice this week. The Baptist Press has decided to weigh in on Driscolls ministry in a way that is not entirely helpful. This article explains, for those discerning enought, why segments of the SBC and other fundamentalist evangelicals are failing to engage this culture. Rather, they have decided to create a foxhole mentality to cultural engagement, settling for Gospel bombs rather than real life authentic engagement.  Now I have been part of this long enough to know the next statement, which goes something like this: "We cannot lose the truth of the Gospel only to become culturally relevant." I understand this point and agree with it but to apply this thinking to Driscoll's ministry simply isn't fair. Driscoll is not without his faults (hopefully we could all humbly admit this as he has specifically). Driscoll offers something genuine, vulnerable, and authentic that at least some in the SBC have recognized. I could go into the problems with the Baptist Press article but thankfully Timmy Brister has done an excellent job, laboring to point out those problems for us here. Let's hope and pray for the horizon of a new day in the SBC when edification will not be sacrificed on the alter of being right. The problem with the Baptist Press in this case, it is neither.