Rob Bell On His Critics..

"...There are around a billion people in the world who don't have clean drinking water, and 46 million Americans don't have health care. That means if they get sick, they don't have anywhere to go. Half of the world, 3 billion people, live on less than two American dollars a day, so the world is an emergency. It's on fire. It's drowning. It's an absolute crisis, and when followers of Jesus can think of nothing better to do with their time than to pick apart and shred to pieces the work of other followers of Jesus who are trying to do something about the world, that's tragic, and I don't owe these people anything. The would is desperately in need of people who will break themselves open and pour themselves out for the reconciliation of all things. When a Christian can find nothing better to do with their time in the face of this much pain and heartbreak, you start realizing that some Christians need to be saved. How a person would have energy to take shots at other Christians is just mind-boggling. You have to be totally disconnected from the pain of the world to think that blogging is somehow redemptive use of your time. I guess I have some strong thoughts on that." Rob Bell

This quote was taken from the most recent edition of Relevant Magazine. I realize that Bell has some things that we have to say are not great theology, but I do think he makes a good point. It often seems that Christians and particularly Reformed Christians, not all but some, get caught up in books and are not aware of the pain in this world. We sometimes get so busy arguing about whether Mark Driscoll is a reverent man cause he wears a South Park T-Shirt that we miss the fact that billions tonight will not eat as they have not for the past week and we are more concerned about what a pastor wears. I do think there are things we have to keep in our closed hand and not waver on, but sometimes we throw in things that we must have charity on and then burn people at the blog stake for not agreeing. What a witness to the world that is sick of bipartisan politics to show that the Church is no different and all those wacky Christians do is debate on whether we baptize babies or not.

Thoughts???