It seems that people today cannot dialogue about differet philosophy of ministries and doctrines without castigating the other side into someone who is hurting the cause of either the church or of truth without even having a conversation with or reading the actual circumstancial report or quote.
Reciently, Bill Hybels has castigated Mark Driscol publicly after viewing Driscoll on video at the National New Church Conference for his complementarian view and his orthodox understanding of church planting. He basically didn’t like Driscoll’s male-centered approach to church planting and let that be known from the platform. That resulted in Acts 29 eating thousands of Driscoll’s videos because the conference decided not to hand them out as originally planned. Here is the video so you can see what made Bill Huybels so upset:
Is seems that people are satisfied with talking past each other when it comes to accurate undestanding of positions of others. Just reciently, Provocation and Paintings has illustrated some of this in that ” Micah Fries reports that the “theology committee” of the Missouri Baptist Convention has released a statement that “in effect separates the MBC from ever working in partnership with Acts 29 and their organization of church planters again.” Steve McCoy picked up on it here. As far as can tell (an I just have started to read some of the issues), this very well may end up being to the loss and detriment of MBC and is reflective of a trajectory tangential to the gospel and Great Commission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ today. You can read Timothy Bristers post on this at Acts 29 and the MBC
I believe and pray that men who make these kinds of dismissive, unthinking, invalid castigations of others are more and more being seen not only as inaccurate but offensive to Christian brothers on both sides of methodological, philosophical, and doctrinal questions. Such inflammatory rhertoric can still incite an audience, and perhaps it will continue to make people take sides without taking the time to work thourgh the issues, but it is not helpful to the cause of Christ in either fellowship or evangelism.
I agree with Dr. Tom Ascol who in one of his recient blogs over another issue says:
It is time for this generation of believers to learn how to disagree over substantive issues without falling into the sins of slander and bearing false witness. When the Word of God that we love gets trampled underfoot by those who profess to defend it in the very process of their defense, it is more than ironic. It is tragic.