Ben Witherington on Rob Bell
February 20, 2008 1 Comment
Somehow I missed these from nearly a year ago. I just read through them recently and found them incredibly helpful.
I would have to agree with BWIII that his freshness and authenticity are refreshing but how much better it would be if he did a few more fact checks, checked his time lines better, and made better use of some of the better commentaries out there.
About mattdabbs
Kingdom Living 
As someone who is getting a bit long in the tooth, having been on this journey more than several decades, I found the book to be refreshing and insightful. While all that is traditional is not wrong or bad, I believe that we must be willing to adapt our methodology and our practices so as not to make them ends in themselves. In essentials unity, (salvation through Christ alone is probably all that matters), in non essentials charity, but in all things to glorify Christ. Our cultural context matters and changes from place to place and from time to time. If our expressions of faith requires rituals, fine. If our expression of faith requires less structure, fine. However, what ever the expression of worship and however we organize ourselves, it is all hollow if it doesn’t motivate us to be like Jesus in meeting the needs of our society and “preaching” the good news of Jesus Christ. Our structures and organization should not be the end. They ought to be vehicles which enable us to fulfill the desire of our heavenly Father and His beloved Son, Jesus. Feeding His sheep, Caring for His lambs, extending mercy to the marginalized in our society ought to be our ultimate expressions of our worship to him. All other activities are of no eternal consequences and will not glorify Christ. Thank you Rob Bell for bringing that back into focus.