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Mark Driscoll Posts Open Letter to John MacArthur Asking for Face-to-Face Meeting

Mark Driscoll Posts Open Letter to John MacArthur Asking for Face-to-Face Meeting

Mark Driscoll wants to hash out theological differences with John MacArthur—in front of thousands of people. The latest dispute between the two pastors/authors started a few weeks back, when Mark Driscoll made an unannounced appearance at John MacArthur’s “Strange Fire” conference, where he began giving away copies of his new book. Because Driscoll didn’t have formal permission to promote his books at the event beforehand (though, he says some of the pastoral staff gave him the green light after he arrived), the impromptu signing was eventually shut down by church security. The weird run-in caused somewhat of a stir online, and now, Driscoll wants to meet with MacArthur face-to-face to patch things up and discuss church teaching. The theme of MacArthur’s conference (and his new book), take issue with the Charismatic movement and the theology of its leaders. Driscoll’s latest book (which is on the same theme of his upcoming Resurgence conference), also discusses the future of popular church movements from a somewhat different perspective. In an open letter posted on the Resurgence site (in which he describes the awkward book signing incident in detail), Driscoll has invited MacArthur to the conference to discuss their differences.

Despite taking numerous shots from you over the years (some of which I deserved, as I had erred and needed to publicly repent and grow by the Spirit’s grace), I have never responded publicly with anything negative regarding you … In our respective books, we offer very different visions for what faithful, biblical Christianity should look like in light of a culture increasingly opposed to biblical truth. I am convinced there is a more biblically faithful alternative than tribalism and cessationism [believing that some gifts of the Spirit have ceased] … At this point, I believe what would honor Jesus is for us to sit down and talk … I will pay for your travel. I will give an honorarium to you or any ministry you choose … I would also post our discussion in its entirely—without any editing—for free online …

You can read Driscoll’s entire letter here …

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