The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind for Pastor Rob Bell of Mars Hill in Grand Rapids, Michigan. With the release of his new book Love Wins, Bell calls into question the existence of heaven and hell as we traditionally picture them. Now I haven’t read this book, so I’ll stop there in offering a description (the subtitle is Heaven, Hell, and Every Person Who Ever Lived, so my initial attempt can’t be too far off).
When orthodoxy is questioned, one can assume controversy will arise. In this instance, controversy may be a limited definition of what has taken place since the release of the book and the preview trailers that surfaced on Youtube weeks ago. Bell’s theology, motives, and even his own salvation have been challenged over the past several days. Having appeared on several nationally broadcast interviews, Bell has defended his book in typical Rob Bell style: with more questions.
Many of the questions people have brought against Bell are good. If all people who do good go to heaven regardless of whether or not they follow Jesus, what’s the reason for following Jesus? If hell is no more than the hell we experience on earth, what is the real motivation for escaping life as it exists today? If God sends someone to hell, shouldn’t we attribute that to his holiness rather than saying he is a villain? These questions are important. They have serious implications. To expect an answer from Bell is right.
However, I think many church leaders have gone way beyond simply asking such questions. Many have written him off (one famous preacher from Minnesota simply posted via Twitter. “So long, Rob Bell”), some have publicly and angrily rebuked him, and others now view his previous work as heretical. This approach – to cast Bell aside, to ostracize him, to brand him a wolf in sheep’s clothing – in my opinion, is very wrong,
Then there’s Bell. Answering his critics with long-winded, round-about answers and deferring to not being a biblical scholar couples with his definitive, repetitive statement that God’s love overrules every earthly or even orthodox Christian principle. This is a mixed bag of right, wrong, and confusion dressed in hyperbole.
So this is where we are: amidst controversy. The real question now is what do we do with it? My hope is that Bell will continue to ask questions, to engage those who don’t know Christ, and to form ideas that lead to Jesus more so than to an abstract “What if?” But I think the real lesson here is for the church to learn to answer questions with more grace and less condemnation. Our words form ideas within our faith, but they also tell those outside of us who we really are. We may disagree, we may have different approaches to and theories on scripture, but we cannot eat each other alive and expect outsiders to want to be a part of us. Even in times of disagreement, Paul relentlessly called churches back to unity in the faith, where Christ is the head.
Rob Bell is a part of our body. He loves Jesus, and I believe he is trying to be obedient to Him. His writing has consistently brought great discussions, important insights, and passion for Jesus out of people. Whatever wrong Bell might have written in Love Wins, the Spirit is perfectly capable of bringing conviction and clarity to questions and abstracts. I pray that He makes us capable of rebuking, correcting, and training each other in love rather than resentment.
