| Revision as of 18:10, 8 December 2007 edit72.86.14.75 (talk) Undid revision 176595765 by Lyonscc (talk) -- You are censoring quality content, I'm simply putting it back.← Previous edit | Revision as of 18:29, 8 December 2007 edit undoLyonscc (talk | contribs)1,867 edits Removing unsourced trivia (Nelson Mandela) and book reviews per Misplaced Pages policy and the used of blog linking. This is about a living person so the 3RR does not apply - please discuss in Talk.Next edit → | ||
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| ===Education and History=== | ===Education and History=== | ||
| Rob Bell grew up in a traditional Christian environment. He is the son of Judge ] who was nominated by ] to the federal judiciary and publicly confirmed by the ]. | Rob Bell grew up in a traditional Christian environment. He is the son of Judge ] who was nominated by ] to the federal judiciary and publicly confirmed by the ]. | ||
| Rob decided to attend ] without knowing what he wanted to study. While at Wheaton, Bell, along with friends Dave Houk, Brian Erickson, Steve Huber, and Chris Fall formed the indie rock band, _ton bundle, which was reminiscent of bands like ] and ]. Wheaton College was also where Bell met his wife, Kristen, whom he married a few years later. The band _ton bundle started to gain some local fame and was even asked to perform at some large events, however when Rob was struck with a head injury, these plans fell through. He tells this story in an interview with a member of the band ]'s ]. <ref>Jimmy Eat World's Blog </ref> | |||
| Later he formed the band ] and put out 2 CDs from 1995 to 1997; the first was a self-titled disk and the second was titled ''Via De La Shekel''. When asked what style of music they played, Rob would respond with | |||
| "Northern Gospel!" which later became a name of a song on the second album. Even after Big Fil stopped performing, Rob continued with 2 more projects by the name of ''Uno Dos Tres Communications volume 1 and 2'' which both had a similar sound as Big Fil musically. | |||
| Bell received his bachelor's degree in 1992 from Wheaton and worked a job teaching water skiing in the summers at Wheaton College's Honey Rock Camp making only thirty dollars a week. During this time, Bell offered to teach a message to the camp counselors after no preacher could be found. Rob says the Spirit impelled him to accept the responsibility and taught a message about "rest". He believes that God led him to teaching at this moment. In preparation for his message, Rob nervously walked through the woods of the camp, he says he felt the presence of God and heard his words(not in an audible voice but inner words) saying, "teach this book, and I will take care of the rest". Bell was approached by several people each of them telling him that he needed to pursue teaching as a career. | Bell received his bachelor's degree in 1992 from Wheaton and worked a job teaching water skiing in the summers at Wheaton College's Honey Rock Camp making only thirty dollars a week. During this time, Bell offered to teach a message to the camp counselors after no preacher could be found. Rob says the Spirit impelled him to accept the responsibility and taught a message about "rest". He believes that God led him to teaching at this moment. In preparation for his message, Rob nervously walked through the woods of the camp, he says he felt the presence of God and heard his words(not in an audible voice but inner words) saying, "teach this book, and I will take care of the rest". Bell was approached by several people each of them telling him that he needed to pursue teaching as a career. | ||
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| == Criticisms == | == Criticisms == | ||
| Rob Bell has never formally claimed an association with the ] movement, making a point in at least one interview that he is not Emergent. <ref> Premier.tv Interview </ref> Bell's critics often point out that Bell teaches that the church should embrace mystery rather than insisting on certainty where it may not exist. He has stated, "this is not just the same old message with new methods. We're rediscovering Christianity as an Eastern religion, as a way of life. Legal metaphors for faith don't deliver a way of life. We grew up in churches where people knew the nine verses why we don't speak in tongues, but had never experienced the overwhelming presence of God."<ref>Christianity Today </ref> Bell's comments about Christianity as an "Eastern" religion come from his association with ]<ref> </ref>, who compares and contrasts Greek ("Western") thinking with Hebrew ("Eastern") thinking. <ref>Ray Vander Laan </ref> | |||
| Immediately following the release of his book ''Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith'', some evangelicals criticized some comments made in the book, especially those focused on the virgin birth of Jesus and the concept of the Trinity: | Immediately following the release of his book ''Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith'', some evangelicals criticized some comments made in the book, especially those focused on the virgin birth of Jesus and the concept of the Trinity: | ||
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| However residing on only the next page (p. 27) Rob comments on how, "I affirm the historic Christian faith, which includes the virgin birth and the trinity". Many claim that the outrage over these words only further the point that Rob was trying to make. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} That if we question our faith, for some people it can crumble. (p. 26) Commenting on the outrage on stage at ] a very candid Bell informed the congregation on how "reporters can use little sections of anything to twist what I say" and how those who haven't read the book have no basis of argument. | However residing on only the next page (p. 27) Rob comments on how, "I affirm the historic Christian faith, which includes the virgin birth and the trinity". Many claim that the outrage over these words only further the point that Rob was trying to make. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} That if we question our faith, for some people it can crumble. (p. 26) Commenting on the outrage on stage at ] a very candid Bell informed the congregation on how "reporters can use little sections of anything to twist what I say" and how those who haven't read the book have no basis of argument. | ||
| Some evangelicals see these words as heretical and neo-liberal. Rev. Casey Freswick, in an article entitled ''Postmodern Liberalism: Repainting a Non-Christian Faith'', commented: | |||
| "Rob Bell's position is the repainting of historic liberal theology." <ref>Rev. Casey Freswick </ref> | |||
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| * His church grew from 2,000 people, in two years to 10,000 regular attending people. Estimates now clock the traffic at over 11,000 per week.<ref>The Charleston Post and Courier </ref> | * His church grew from 2,000 people, in two years to 10,000 regular attending people. Estimates now clock the traffic at over 11,000 per week.<ref>The Charleston Post and Courier </ref> | ||
| * While at Wheaton College, Rob roomed with ] of ]. | * While at Wheaton College, Rob roomed with ] of ]. | ||
| * Bell is an avid fan of former South African president ]. He frequently sports Nelson Mandela shirts on-stage at Mars Hill. In an interview, Bell stated, "the people who really move us, like Nelson Mandela ... at the end of the day have this innocence." | |||
| == External links == | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| ===Articles and Resources=== | ===Articles and Resources=== | ||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | * | ||
| * | * | ||
Revision as of 18:29, 8 December 2007
- For the baseball player, see Rob Bell (baseball player).
Robert "Rob" Bell (born August 23 1970) is an author, storyteller, and the founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church located in Grandville, Michigan. He is also the featured speaker in the first series of spiritual perspective short films called NOOMA. Bell and his wife, Kristen, have two boys and live in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Bibliography
- Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith (Zondervan, 2005) ISBN 0-310-26345-X
- Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections between Sexuality and Spirituality (Zondervan, 2007) ISBN 0-310-26346-8
Education and History
Rob Bell grew up in a traditional Christian environment. He is the son of Judge Robert Holmes Bell who was nominated by Ronald Reagan to the federal judiciary and publicly confirmed by the United States Senate.
Bell received his bachelor's degree in 1992 from Wheaton and worked a job teaching water skiing in the summers at Wheaton College's Honey Rock Camp making only thirty dollars a week. During this time, Bell offered to teach a message to the camp counselors after no preacher could be found. Rob says the Spirit impelled him to accept the responsibility and taught a message about "rest". He believes that God led him to teaching at this moment. In preparation for his message, Rob nervously walked through the woods of the camp, he says he felt the presence of God and heard his words(not in an audible voice but inner words) saying, "teach this book, and I will take care of the rest". Bell was approached by several people each of them telling him that he needed to pursue teaching as a career.
In Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith, Rob Bell explains his vision of the Christian life. "The challenge," he says "is to live with great passion and conviction, remaining open and flexible, aware that this life is not the last painting."
Bell moved to Pasadena, California to pursue this calling and received an M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary. Bell claims that he never really got good grades in preaching class because he always tried new and innovative ways to communicate his ideas. During his time at Fuller he was a youth intern at Lake Avenue Church where he attended. He did, however, occasionally attend Christian Assembly in Eagle Rock, California which led to he and his wife asking questions in the direction of what a new kind of church could look like.
In the January 2007 issue of the magazine TheChurchReport.com, Bell was named #10 in their list of "The 50 Most Influential Christians in America" as chosen by their readers and online visitors.
Founder of MHBC
Bell and his wife moved from California to Grand Rapids to be close to family and also based on an invitation to study under acclaimed pastor Ed Dobson. He handled many of the preaching duties for the Saturday Night service at Calvary Church. Bell announced to Calvary that he would be branching out on his own to start a new kind of community and he would call it "Mars Hill Bible Church" after the Greek site where the apostle Paul told a group "For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you."
In February 1999, Bell founded Mars Hill Bible Church, with the church originally meeting in a school gym in Wyoming, Michigan. Within a year the church was given a shopping mall in Grandville, Michigan and purchased the surrounding land. In July 2000 the 3,500 "grey chair" facility opened its doors. As of 2007, over 10,000 people attend the three "gatherings" on Sundays.
Other Projects
Rob Bell is the featured speaker in the first series of NOOMAs - a series of short films that explore questions that might arise as a person explores the Christian faith. The title of the videos, "NOOMA", is an English variation of the Greek word "pneuma" which means wind or spirit.
In February and March of 2007 Bell hosted a SEX GOD tour on six university campuses (UofM, UK, UW, CAL, UCLA, Northern) to promote his book. The tour functioned more as a time for engaging questions and conversation. Questions ranged from Old Testament codes to homosexuality to what should we do with the word "evangelical". Each night ended with the showing of NOOMA number 15 entitled "YOU".
In August 2005, Zondervan Publishing published Bell's first book, Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith. Velvet Elvis is for people who are, in Bell's words, "fascinated with Jesus, but can't do the standard Christian package". His second book, titled Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections between Sexuality and Spirituality, was released in March 2007.
His Everything is Spiritual national speaking tour launched on June 30 2006 in Chicago drawing sold-out crowds in cities across North America. The proceeds from ticket sales were used to support WaterAid, an international non-profit organization dedicated to helping people escape the poverty and disease caused by living without safe water and sanitation. A tour of the United Kingdom is planned for the summer of 2007. Everything is Spiritual is available on DVD from , which includes a preview clip.
Criticisms
Rob Bell has never formally claimed an association with the Emerging Church movement, making a point in at least one interview that he is not Emergent. Bell's critics often point out that Bell teaches that the church should embrace mystery rather than insisting on certainty where it may not exist. He has stated, "this is not just the same old message with new methods. We're rediscovering Christianity as an Eastern religion, as a way of life. Legal metaphors for faith don't deliver a way of life. We grew up in churches where people knew the nine verses why we don't speak in tongues, but had never experienced the overwhelming presence of God." Bell's comments about Christianity as an "Eastern" religion come from his association with Ray Vander Laan, who compares and contrasts Greek ("Western") thinking with Hebrew ("Eastern") thinking.
Immediately following the release of his book Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith, some evangelicals criticized some comments made in the book, especially those focused on the virgin birth of Jesus and the concept of the Trinity:
"What if tomorrow someone digs up definitive proof that Jesus had a real, earthly, biological father named Larry, and archaeologists find Larry's tomb and do DNA samples and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the virgin birth was really just a bit of mythologizing the Gospel writers threw in to appeal to the followers of the Mithra and Dionysian religious cults that were hugely popular at the time of Jesus, whose gods had virgin births? But what if as you study the origin of the word virgin, you discover that the word virgin in the gospel of Matthew actually comes from the book of Isaiah, and then you find out that in the Hebrew language at that time, the word virgin could mean several things. And what if you discover that in the first century being "born of a virgin" also referred to a child whose mother became pregnant the first time she had intercourse?"
However residing on only the next page (p. 27) Rob comments on how, "I affirm the historic Christian faith, which includes the virgin birth and the trinity". Many claim that the outrage over these words only further the point that Rob was trying to make. That if we question our faith, for some people it can crumble. (p. 26) Commenting on the outrage on stage at Mars Hill Bible Church a very candid Bell informed the congregation on how "reporters can use little sections of anything to twist what I say" and how those who haven't read the book have no basis of argument.
Partial response to criticism
In a Chicago Sun Times article, Bell says of his critics:
"When people say that the authority of Scripture or the centrality of Jesus is in question, actually it's their social, economic and political system that has been built in the name of Jesus that's being threatened," Bell says. "Generally lurking below some of the more venomous, vitriolic criticism is somebody who's created a facade that's not working... But I love everybody and you're next!" he says, giggling. "That's how I respond to criticism"
Trivia
- Bell's college band _ton bundle wrote a song titled "Velvet Elvis", based upon the same velvet Elvis painting that he used in his first book Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith. (see Velvet Elvis)
- He has (as of October 2007) been the teacher in 18 Noomas.
- Rob Bell is a fan of the Icelandic band Sigur Rós; he used their song Takk in his Everything is Spiritual tour. The band The Album Leaf's music was licensed for the Nooma called Lump. The music used in the Nooma's is written and sung by independent artists. There is a soundtrack album featuring the music of the first 10 Noomas available on the Nooma stuff page at nooma.com. m
- He affectionately calls the city in which he lives (Grand Rapids, Michigan) "G-Rap".
- Despite their theological differences, Rob says that he has utmost respect for Billy Graham. Rob has been tagged by some in the press as "the next Billy Graham."
- His teachings inspired the popular Love Wins bumper sticker, Mars Hill Bible Church even gives these stickers away after services.
- His church grew from 2,000 people, in two years to 10,000 regular attending people. Estimates now clock the traffic at over 11,000 per week.
- While at Wheaton College, Rob roomed with Ian Eskelin of All Star United.
Articles and Resources
- Premier.tv UK Interview with Rob Bell
- Mars Hill Bible Church
- NOOMA
- beliefnet.com interview with Rob Bell
References
- The Insider, Jan 07: The 50 Most Influential Christians in America
- New International Version Acts 17:23
- Premier.tv Interview Interview
- Christianity Today The Emergent Mystique
- Dust of the Rabbi Part I
- Ray Vander Laan Think Hebrew
- Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith, Zondervan, 2005 ISBN 0-310-26345-X, p. 26
- Findarticles.com Maverick minister taps new generation: Wheaton grad reaches out in
- Findarticles.com Maverick minister taps new generation: Wheaton grad reaches out in
- Findarticles.com Maverick minister taps new generation: Wheaton grad reaches out in
- Christianity Today The Emergent Mystique
- The Charleston Post and Courier Michigan pastor takes message to new places