The importance and appearance of Rob Bell

My attention is always quickened when I read that a public figure graduated from my alma mater, Wheaton College. A few days ago I received my weekly edition of Time magazine and found that another Wheaton graduate had made the front cover.

I asked, “What is this one about?”

The Rev. Rob Bell is pastor of a mega-church in Grand Rapids, Mich. Mars Hill Bible Church now claims more than 7,000 members. It is a church that Bell started from scratch. Not bad for a guy who just turned 40. My attention was further tweaked when Time mentioned him in its very next edition as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. What has my fellow alumnus done?

He wrote a book! The title is “Love Wins!” In the book, Bell questions the existence of hell. He finds a hell of eternal punishment is incompatible with a God of love. The book would have drawn little attention had it been written by a theologian with a liberal reputation. But it was written by Bell, a greatly admired leader in the evangelical world. He has the credentials. He is a graduate of Wheaton College (of Billy Graham fame) and of Fuller Theological Seminary, one of the centers of evangelical thinking. He is pastor of a mega-church. His book is like dropping a tank of ice-cold water on a crowd of evangelical worshippers while they are deep in prayer for persons headed for hell. It is getting their attention.

As I read about Bell, my reaction is that he is not a new voice that has arisen out of nowhere. He is not the creator of a product; he himself is a product. In earlier columns I have reported the appearance of the Emergent Church. The Emergent Church is not monolithic, but has a profile that identifies the movement. Some of the marks of the Emergent Church are:

• They are not Bible literalists.

• They are Jesus centered.

• They are this world centered.

• They are open to real discussions about real theological issues.

Emergents have been difficult to study. Much of the movement is under the radar of study. It is estimated that as many as 10 percent of American Christian worshipers meet in home churches. They are loaded with emergents. Worship is led by laypersons, and they love to discuss. Emergents are leaving traditional congregations in droves. They are not religious dropouts. They are devout believers who are searching for a faith that is intellectually honest and vital to modern living.

Bell is a part of the Emergent Church generation. He is distinctive because he is daring to do his thinking openly in a setting where his voice was entirely unexpected. A part of the profile of Mars Hill Bible Church is the encouragement of open discussion.

New Testament scholar William Herzog Jr. has effectively made the case for the existence of two distinct religious traditions in the Bible. He refers to one as the great tradition. He refers to the other as the small tradition. The great tradition is that of the religious institution, controlled by a religious hierarchy. The small tradition is that of reformers and critics. Herzog argues that Jesus was a part of the small tradition. In that framework of understanding, the Emergent Church and a preacher/pastor/writer like Bell are a part of a vital and cherished Bible tradition. They are the small tradition in a modern world.

Just as Emergent Churches of the 21st century have marks by which they are identified, so also the great and small traditions of the Bible have distinguishing marks.

The great tradition placed a great emphasis on the holiness of God. The small tradition centered on God’s compassion. The great tradition emphasized order. The small tradition focused on grace. The great tradition tended to be exclusive. The small tradition was more inclusive of neighbors. The great tradition emphasized correct worship. The small tradition saw purity of heart as more important. The great tradition was defensive of self and property. The small tradition was welcoming and sharing. The great tradition laid emphasis on Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The small tradition was more likely to make reference to Genesis and to the prophets.

Unless the Bible reader recognizes these conflicting opinions, the richness of the Bible material is missed. It is the discussions and the arguments that make Bible-related faith intellectually exciting and relevant to living everyday life.

Bell is an important milestone in a powerful remaking of Christian churches. He is a part of a movement that is now in its second decade. The influence of Emergent Churches and ministers like Bell is only beginning. I suspect traditional churches will continue to stagnate and shrink. In the coming decades, I fully expect American Christianity to be revitalized.

I have no crystal ball that tells me what American Christianity will look like in the future. It will not look like traditional denominational churches or like late 20th century evangelical churches. It will make the heart of the rabbi from Nazareth glad.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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