A Response to "Love Wins"

Last month I quoted Rob Bell in a sermon. Afterwards someone told me that I was brave to quote Rob Bell.

That was last month. That was before HarperOne released a promotional video for Bell's forthcoming book Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. That was before Justin Taylor wrote a response (before actually reading the book). That was before the release of Bell's new book set off a firestorm in blogosphere and Twitterverse. That was before a live-streaming interview in New York with a Newsweek writer. That was before George Stephanopolos and Martin Bashir sat down for a few minutes with Bell on their respective television shows. That was before I actually read Love Wins myself.

I have now read Love Wins and now that I have read it, I offer a few thoughts on Rob Bell, Love Wins, heresy, universalism, Hell and the fate of every person who ever lived..

One of the main concerns with Love Wins is that in it Rob Bell places himself in the camp of universalism (the belief that all of humanity will eventually be saved). Both before and after the release of this book many in evangelical circles have labeled Bell a universalist. In his recent interviews he has been asked if he is a universalist to which he has responded, "No." Bell further clarifies that if by universalist one means that he believes a great "cosmic hand" will swoop all people into Heaven then he would not fall into that camp. As for what Bell offers in his book:

"God gives us what we want, and if that's hell, we can have it. We have that kind of freedom, that kind of choice. We are that free."

"There are all kinds of ways to resist and reject all that is good and true and beautiful and human now, in this life, and so we can only assume we can do the same in the next."

"There is hell now, and there is hell later, and Jesus teaches us to take both seriously."

Rob Bell clearly believes in Hell, both on earth and in the next life. He may not go into great deal about what Hell in the afterlife looks life (burning sulfur? guy wearing red tights holding a pitchfork?) but the truth is anyone who seeks to give a detailed account of Hell is operating from speculation. Bell asserts there is a Hell in the afterlife and doesn't give a lot of detail and that is ok. But what does Rob Bell believe about Hell? Will all people eventually be saved?

In progressing towards what I think is his view, Bell references a letter from Martin Luther to Hans Von Rechenberg in which he wrote about the possibility that people could turn to God after death asking "Who would doubt God's ability to do that?" Apparently if one were to read on in Luther's letter one would find a rather traditionally held view of salvation and using a line from a reformer's letter is hardly satisfactory as the springboard for a position on eternity but nonetheless he continues:

"At the heart of this perspective is the belief that given enough time, everybody will turn to God and find themselves in the joy and peace of God's presence. The love of God will melt every hard heart, and even the most "depraved sinners" will eventually give up their resistance and turn to God."

"At the center of the Christian tradition since the first church have been a number who insist that history is not tragic, hell is not forever, and love, in the end, wins an all will be reconciled to God."

To sum up it seems in Love Wins, Rob Bell is suggesting that God is love, out of God's love human beings have the freedom to choose whether to accept or reject God's love. The rejection of God's love leads to Hell on earth, and it is assumed in the next life as well. Those who rejected God's love will experience an "age of suffering" or Hell, but eventually God will melt all hearts and all people will be reconciled to God. He is clear to be sure, that Jesus is the only way to God and it is only in and through the cross and resurrection that "Love wins." Jesus is the only way to God, but there are many ways to Jesus.

Beyond the indictment of being a universalist, some have gone further to label Rob Bell a heretic. Historically a heretic is someone who holds an opinion at odds with the widely held orthodox belief. Interestingly the origin for heretic is the Greek hairetikos meaning "able to choose." Over the centuries men and women of God have made choices about what they believe in God that have diverged from the general consensus. Heretic certainly brings with it many negative connotations and once someone is brandished with this title he or she is then relegated to a different room in the house of Christian theology. Yet a survey of church history shows that a great debt of gratitude is owed those who "chose" differently than the majority. Arius made some claims about Jesus that caused the church to convene a council at Nicea and wrestle with and dialogue about the divinity and humanity of Christ. Martin Luther, considered a heretic by the Catholic church, only birthed the Protestant reformation with his choices, and John Wesley, who considered himself an Anglican until the day he died, was not received as warmly by his Anglican communion as his "choices" led to Methodism.

Heresy stretches us, it causes us to think critically, it challenges the all too easily accepted pat answers. It demands followers of God to dialogue and respond. Is Rob Bell a heretic? Is the person who promotes a theology of Hell being an eternal dungeon of fire superintended by a guy wearing a red cape, with horns carrying a pitchfork a heretic? Especially seeing as the Bible makes no mention of capes, horns, and pitchforks. Furthermore, who decides whether or not someone is a heretic? Who is the arbiter in the heresy court? Is it Justin Taylor, the Gospel Coalition, Mark Driscoll, Martin Pashir, Greg Boyd or myself? Who decides where the boundaries lie in the orthodoxy camp?

Rob Bell wants an orthodoxy that is wide and vast and inclusive of many different streams. Personally, I think its wider than most of us think but perhaps not as wide as Rob Bell would like. My point however is that we must be very careful when we begin to label someone as a heretic. When we do this we assume the role of judge and as I read the gospels that is not a role that is reserved for you or I. This may be a copout but I will allow to Jesus to decide whether or not Rob Bell or anyone is a heretic. I can disagree with the guy and debate him on his perspectives, but to charge him with heresy is no small matter, and the truth is that we have all walked into the realm of heresy more than we would like to admit.

I have been a fan of Rob Bell's for while. I have seen every Nooma, read all of his books, listened to countless sermons on his podcast, been to his church twice, heard him speak live several times, and even met him once. I think that he has done a lot of good in the Christian community and has been a fresh voice in the church at a time where things were pretty stale. My default mode when this controversy started was to get defensive. However in a debate such as this one, it is not simply about affirming a person because I like him.

After reading Love Wins I still like Rob Bell. He causes me to think, wrestle, study, and imagine at a deeper level. I read this book in two sittings and by the end of the first one I had on the floor in front of me Love Wins, a Bible, and Greek New Testament. My issue with Rob Bell and the book is it raises so many questions with little in the way of a clear response, leaving the reader in the land of ambiguity as to what Bell himself believes. This makes for great writing and art but Rob Bell is first and foremost a pastor, and while any good pastor would pose provocative questions that lead to critical thought and dialogue rather than providing simple pat answers, I also think that it is his pastoral responsibility to help people in their journey to arrive at some answers. A pastor in the Biblical sense of the word is a shepherd and a good shepherd doesn't just leave his/her sheep wandering aimlessly, he/she faithfully guides them home. I wish Rob Bell was a bit more clear about what he truly believes about heaven, hell, and the fate of every person who ever lived. He says its a book of responses, but I find he doesn't deliver on his promise. 224 pages of unanswered questions does a disservice to those who are honestly seeking some clarity and direction on these issues. Rob Bell is brilliant. He knows what he is doing, and that makes it all the more disconcerting that he leaves thousands of people in a haze about what he really thinks.

Some have said, well that's just his style. He asks questions, he remains vague, he allows for tension. As a pastor I realize that I have a platform and with this platform comes a responsibility to ask questions, allow tension, but also to teach sound doctrine and to offer careful and well thought out responses when asked for them. Bell's platform is vastly larger than mine. Thousands of people are following him not as a writer, or an artist, but as a pastor. In short, when someone asks Rob Bell a question I just want him to answer it clearly, not dodge it, deflect it, or cleverly tell a compelling story that makes us forget about it.

I agree with Rob Bell that too often Christians are so preoccupied with the afterlife that we fail to concern ourselves with how we are to live today, that we can participate in heaven/hell on earth now, not just later, by the choices we make, that ultimately God is a God of love and God desperately wants all people to experience his love and joy, both now and forever. Bell is very clear on these issues and I would hope few would disagree with him. Ultimately, his message is one of God's vast love for all humanity and his longing to reconcile all things to himself. I only wish that more of us Jesus followers were as passionate about this message.

Love wins, but in doing so Love also responds, shepherds, guides and leads. I simply would like Rob Bell will do the same.

Confessions of a Suburban Pastor

In 1999 there was a film that received a lot of acclaim and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The title of this film was American Beauty, and it told the story of a suburban family who outwardly seemed to have it all together: well-paying jobs, a spot in the right social circles, a large home with a well-kept lawn in a picturesque subdivision. However the story the film really tells is that in spite of outward appearances this family is one of lonely, disconnected, and miserable people who are suffocating in their suburban existence.

I've seen this film several times and every time I am both entertained and disturbed. While it was funny on screen it seemed anything but in real life. To me, the suburbs seemed like a great setting for a television show or movie, but hardly what I wanted as the backdrop of my life in reality.

I grew up in a city of approximately 600,000 people (closer to 1 million if the entire metropolitan area is taken into account). When I say that I grew up in a city I actually mean the city, not like how people from Lake Forest say they grew up in Chicago. My mother was a single-mom and ours was a middle-class family living in a very middle class blue-collar neighborhood. The houses were modest in size, looked different from one another, and there weren't many cul-de-sacs to speak of. I loved growing up in the city. I loved the diversity, energy, and noise that came with it. I loved going to a school where not everyone looked like me and where I could be exposed to different cultures. When God called me to ministry at age 15 I was always certain I would do ministry in an urban environment. I went to college in southern Illinois in a very rural area but escaped to St. Louis every chance I got and always planned to return to the city to do ministry following graduation.

While I didn't necessarily end up doing ministry in a city following graduation, I did end up in a diverse, blue-collar, and very urban-like community. I loved leading a youth ministry where not every kid looked the same. After five years at this church and in this community we believed God was calling us to plant a church, which obviously would be in a city. There was one stop we would need to make along the way. We would intern with a church plant in one of the more desired suburban communities in the midwest. I was excited about the opportunity and had no problem going to "American Beauty Land" for one year, because I knew we would then move on to pursue our heart's desire. So we found a house to rent in a subdivision where every house looked the same and kept as much stuff in boxes as we could. The suburbs were simply a brief stop on our journey.

A funny thing happened on the way to leaving the burbs. We began to develop relationships with neighbors and families in this church plant and we discovered, not sterile and passionless American Beauty-like people, but real people who are full of goodwill, generosity, and are genuinely delightful to be around. We also soon discovered that though there is a lot more abundance in the suburbs with idols all around, there are still people who love Jesus and are doing their darndest to follow them. We discovered that the suburbs are a very real mission field. It may not be an area ravaged by economic poverty but one where a spiritual poverty abounds. For many money, possessions, and status have not filled the emptiness in their soul or the loneliness in their heart, and they need to hear the good news of Jesus as much as anyone.

Many of you know our story. We now pastor this church and we absolutely love it! We're so blessed to be in this community seeking to follow Christ with these people. I realized recently that whenever I shared with someone that I pastor a church in the suburbs I would offer somewhat of a qualifier, "I pastor a church in the suburbs but...it wasn't really my plan" or "God has a sense of humor," or "I still feel out of place."

I am a suburban pastor. No more qualifiers. I have come to grips with it, and more than that I am thankful that I am. God is teaching me so much about how his kingdom is for all people in all places. I may not yet drive an SUV and I still don't get the obsession with mowing the lawn every other day but I love our community and the people that form it and I believe that God is using us and the people of our church to be a prophetic voice in a land, that in spite of its affluence, traveling baseball, and long commutes to work, desperately cries out for God.

My name is Erick and I am a suburban pastor.