MATTHEW PAUL TURNER ✪ Believing.Doubting.Writing.Parenting.Laughing.Thinking.Creating.Hoping.Living.
Blog
Jan
27
A response from Mars Hill Church…
In response to THIS, Mars Hill Church released the following statement: “In recent days, there has been some discussion surrounding Mars Hill Church and our process of church discipline. We do not wish to comment on the specific scenario in question, as this is a private matter between church leadership and members, all of whom [...]
Jan
26
Spiritual Abuse Must Stop (a blog post)
Every single time I check my email there’s one more, one more person raising their “digital” hand and saying “That’s my story, too. I was spiritually abused.” They’re responding to this story. Part 1. Part 2. Most don’t stop there. These people–men, women, some pastors, some laypeople–go on to describe in detail their stories, the [...]
Jan
25
GUEST POST: On Faith, Perfection, and Control (why Andrew’s story matters to me)
Over the last couple of days, I have followed – with something more than dispassionate interest – the conversations happening on this blog and around the blogosphere about the way Mars Hill handles church discipline and the ways that people find many of their actions indistinguishable from a cult. I’ve read story after story after [...]
Jan
24
Mark Driscoll’s ‘Gospel Shame’: The Truth About Discipline, Excommunication, and Cult-like Control at Mars Hill
This post is the continuation of Part One: Mark Driscoll’s Church Discipline Contract. After receiving a “church discipline contract” from Pastor X, Andrew offered no response for a week. This was intentional. One of Andrew’s friends was getting married and since he wanted to make sure he could attend the wedding, keeping his response under [...]
Jan
23
Mark Driscoll’s Church Discipline Contract: Looking For True Repentance at Mars Hill Church? Sign on the Dotted Line
Shortly after graduating from high school (he was homeschooled), Andrew wanted a change in scenery. The then Tennessee resident says he needed a change in scenery. He needed to get away. He needed to grow up. He needed to figure out what he was going to do with the rest of his life.
So when he turned 20, Andrew moved away from his quaint life in America’s Bible belt, and he moved to Seattle, and yes, in hopes of finding himself.
Popular...
Nov
29
Christian lies…
A few years ago I was asked to write an essay for a newsletter. The purpose of this newsletter was to inspire and encourage people to trust God with their lives…
Nov
28
Date the church
One of the church’s long-standing dirty little secrets is the weird dynamics of membership. People have debated the necessity of church membership for centuries and continue to do so today. Books like “Stop Dating the Church” scold those with commitment issues, insisting you cannot really be part of the body of Christ unless you join [...]
Nov
17
Tebow or not Tebow
An op-ed piece in one of Nashville’s local newspapers suggests that Tim Tebow might be the most polarizing American athlete since Mohammad Ali. While that might be a stretch, it does seem like a lot of people are chatting about America’s love/hate relationship with Tim Tebow. Googling “Tim Tebow polarizing” produces a multitude of features, [...]
Oct
18
Depressed? Speak up!
The following post is by my friend (and frequent reader of this blog) Alise D. Wright. If we met in real life, within just a few minutes you would realize that you will never, ever have a problem hearing me. I have what some might call a distinct voice. Most will probably just call it [...]
Sep
23
Death without God
When Matthew invited me to write a guest post for Jesus Needs New PR, I knew what I wanted to write about: my Grandmother’s death. Since then, and in light of recent posts about Matthew’s friend, Sara, I decided to write about death a bit more broadly and my response to it as a non-believer.
Aug
12
Culture shock & emotional breakdown (in the cereal aisle)
This is a guest post by Nish Weiseth They said this would happen upon reentry. The shattering. Erik and Rowan picked me up at the airport. Smiles plastered wide, I embraced fully, leaned my weight into theirs and became part of the family again. Rowan’s delight in me, my return, brought back thoughts of children [...]
Jul
27
A BLOG POST: Why I no longer want to be ‘that guy’
A friend emailed me this article yesterday. The article’s title is this: Rick Warren Tweets, Retracts False Conservative Talking Point My reply to my friend was this: Get behind me Satan. And then I added a smiley face. I was being funny. But also a little serious. I wrote that because I sometimes feel [...]
