Bashing Mark Driscoll has become a rising hobby it seems, particularly by other Christ followers. As I said in a previous post I find it ironic some of the vitriol and anger that is directed at Driscoll comes from the same “grace grace grace” people I mentioned in this post here.

This time it’s a clip on the issue of stay at home Dad’s. I saw it first over at Nicole Wick’s site where she was very critical of what Pastor Driscoll had to say. In fairness to Nicole, let me point out that her criticism focused on what Driscoll had to say and not Driscoll himself. She didn’t get personal. Those in her comments section however and on other blogs weren’t so kind.

Here’s the clip:

I can see how this would elicit a strong reaction. At first glance it appears as though Mark is basically dissing all stay at home Dad’s. That’s not the case. Listen closely to what he is saying. In addition, remember who he is talking to. While this Q&A is online and people all over the world can watch it, Pastor Driscoll is still really addressing his church. His congregation. This doesn’t mean his viewpoint would be different in front of another audience, but it is possible to believe his delivery would be different and might be willing to consider certain situations. It’s wrong to assume what he would believe about every given situation.

Take for example the following video where Pastor Driscoll goes off. You don’t have to watch the whole thing. Just check out the first two minutes:

Mark Driscoll’s church is located in one of the most unchurched cities in America. The bulk of Driscoll’s congregation are young men and women under the age of 30. I know of and personally know some of the men he’s talking about in both of those clips, but I’ll stick to the first one. Don’t you believe there are men in his congregation that do not work and allow their wives to earn the income because of their own folly? I know of a situation like that personally. The woman works and the husband stays at home. Why? Because he wants to make it as a musician and holding down a full time job would get in the way. I guess it would also take time from him playing video games.

Everybody knows of my passion for photography. But what kind of husband would I be if I told my wife to get a full time job so I could quit my job and focus on photography full time? I’d be exactly the kind of man Mark Driscoll was talking about.

I said earlier that it was important to listen closely to what Driscoll is saying. It’s obvious that some people who watched this video allowed their emotions to get the better of them because their responses accused Driscoll of saying things he did not say. For example:

In this comment the guy says Driscoll characterizes stay at home Dad’s as “overgrown boys with Peter Pan complexes” and says such words are “mean, simplistic and–more often than not–inaccurate.” That would be true, except Pastor Mark wasn’t talking about stay at home Dad’s. He was merely talking about the culture we live in. Just prior to the Peter Pan comment he said we live in a culture of “hook-up, shack-up and break-up.” Was he referring to stay at home father’s when he said that? Of course not.

In this blog entry, the author writes:

First, I think it is clear that Driscoll thinks all stay-at-home dads are deadbeats.

Using language like “I think it is clear” is merely justification for making assumptions that will strengthen ones own point of view.

This blog entry is titled, “Mark Driscoll Thinks Stay At Home Dads Are Weak.” It goes on to say the following:

I could understand them if we were talking about lazy or deadbeat dads (which is what he seems to think a stay at home dad is)

Again, note the language. “Which is what he seems to think.” Again. Such language makes it easier to justify your own point of view. We don’t actually know what Pastor Mark thinks, so we’ll just assume he thinks a particular way. Also, Pastor Mark did not say at any time that stay at home dad’s are weak.

These were two relatively calm reactions to Pastor Mark’s comments. I won’t link to others because they were nothing but personal attacks and not worthy of being linked to, but if you go to where I’ve linked already, you can find it.

So why the strong visceral reactions?

A. I think some reactions made good points (Like Nicole and some in her comments section) while again, not getting personal. Driscoll definitely does come off harsh at times and this is one of them and it’s a touchy subject so some of the response do not surprise me.

B. Some of it is projection. It’s a defense mechanism. Some are convicted by what Driscoll has said and it manifests itself in an angry response.

C. For some it is merely an opportunity to get in on some Mark Driscoll bashing.

For me, the issue of a men being stay at home dad’s comes down to motivations. Just like it is with buying a bigger home or a nicer car. There’s nothing wrong with doing it, but there could be an issue with motives. If your reason for being a stay at home dad is because your wife can make more money than you, then I don’t agree with it. Throwing out “we can give more” as a reason for your wife being the provider and not you is extremely lame. Jesus is not impressed by how much you give, but where your heart is with regard to giving. Read Mark 12:41-44 to understand that.

What do you think?