If you want a glimpse into the culture of the evangelical men’s movement, read Julie Roys’s piece on what what happened between John Lindell and Mark Driscoll at the Stronger Men’s Conference last weekend. (We mentioned this in Monday’s Evangelical Roundup, but I thought it was worth a separate post).
This weekend, men at the Stronger Menâs Conference, hosted by Pastor John Lindell and James River Church in Springfield, Missouri, witnessed quite the spectacle of what evangelicalism has become.
The conference opened with an act by âbad boyâ Alex Magala, a daredevil sword-swallower who moonlights as a pole-dancing striptease artist at gay nightclubs. The next day, disgraced, bully pastor Mark Driscoll slammed the âstripâ act as exhibiting the âJezebel spiritââand then got âMatthew 18edâ and booted off the stage by Pastor Lindell.
The annual Stronger Menâs Conferences have always bordered on the ridiculous, mixing Christianity with professional bull riding, monster trucks, boxing, and other shows of masculinity. But Magalaâs performance was the worst act yet, revealing Lindellâs inexcusable lack of discernment and the depths to which heâll stoop to attract a crowd.
It was so bad, Driscoll unloaded when he took the stage.
âThe Jezebel spirit opened our event,â Driscoll said, after explaining he was hoarse because he had been up since 1 a.m. praying. â. . . Before the word of God was opened, there was a platform. It was a high place. On it was a pole, an Asherah. The same thing thatâs used in a strip club for women, who have the Jezebel spirit to seduce men.
âIn front of that was a man, who ripped his shirt off like a woman does in front of a pole at a strip club. That man then ascended. See, our God is not arrogant. He doesnât ascend. Our God is humble. He descends.â
Lindell then shouted, âYouâre out of line, Mark!â
Driscoll continued for about a half-sentence. But when Lindell shouted, âMark!â Driscoll responded, âOkay, Pastor John, Iâll receive that.â
âYouâre done!â Lindell shouted, and Mark walked off stage.
Lindell then took the stage as the crowd loudly objected and even began chanting, âBring him back! Bring him back!â
But Lindell cleverly brought the crowd under control.
âMark is out of line,â Lindell said. âIf Mark wanted to say that, he should have said it to me first. Matthew 18! Matthew 18! If your brother offends you, go to him privately.â
Lindell then said he had talked to Driscoll for a half-hour, but Driscoll hadnât said a thing about his offense.
âYou may not agree with me. You may not agree with him. But we are brothers in Christ. And thereâs a right way to handle disagreement. And Iâm just telling you, Iâm not going to sit back and watch somebody do publicly what they should have done privately. And as a pastor and a man of God, Iâll call another man of God out.â
Read the rest here.
You can’t make this stuff up.
What I want to know is why Driscoll’s voice was so hoarse from praying all night? A lot has been written and discussed about Driscoll’s theology, but I am wondering if there is some theological reason that requires him to pray ALOUD to the point of losing his voice. (I am assuming he was praying alone, but I could be wrong). đ
Watch:
Today Roys published some follow-up tweets:
In case you are not familiar with these men’s conferences, here is the kind of thing that happens:
And this:
Missouri Senator Josh Hawley spoke at this conference in 2023:
Rick Piddock has more coverage here.
I am sure a lot of folks are waiting for next year’s Stronger Men’s Conference. It will feature Louis Giglio,
In writing this post, I also learned that at some point Mark Driscoll blocked me on X.
Do I see an ongoing homoerotic theme in much of what passes for “Male!” Evangelicalism? Skinny jeans, goatees, shirts unbuttoned half way down, over-the-top bragging about the “smokin’ hot wife”, the sense they doth protest too much when crying out “Male!”? It makes one wonder. It also makes one nostalgic for the preachers who wore black suits, white shirts and were home with Wife and kids by 6pm… everything they stood for cried out “responsible, sober Male who is confident in his skin.”
Whilst trying to answer the question at the top of the page, I discovered I dunno.