Nice rants. The truth is usually stranger and more appalling than fiction.

I just wanted to say that even if Driscoll's comment about pastors' wives is controversial and insensitive, he does have some other warnings that should be considered.

It's not a code for all ministers to follow, but several of his recommendations could be put into practice with a positive effect. I have to admit that he faces a heck of lot more pressure than I do and just about any other blogger out there.

Besides making some really dumb, insensitive, and (what I consider to be) un-Biblical remarks from time to time, he has not caved in while pastoring a large church. He's not an expert, but he knows a thing or too about the various kinds of temptation that hit pastors.

OK, so I should also add that I'm typically not a big Driscoll fan. I don't attend his church and am not interested in defending him. I just don't want his helpful comments to be lost.

By the way, what if you recommended watching the Daily Show to the lady who believed the forwarded message about Democrats? Just a thought. Not a good one. Just a thought.

Thanks for the response. I truly understand that Driscoll is under a lot of pressure but I dont see that as an excuse for what he says.

as for the republican lady - she was a customer at my craft fair booth... so I just smiled and didnt say anything... but oh, I wanted to...

That article is ridiculous. Driscoll seems to be comparing what Haggart did to a "typical" affair. While he might be correct in examining the system that by its very nature and design seems to put church leaders at risk, there is far more than that going on in this specific situation.

There is not one of us who isn't flawed and damaged in some way. We ALL sin, so why are we surprised when church leaders sin? And it seems that sexual sin really catches our attention over other "lesser" sins like pride and greed. So many folks out there like to say that "Sin isn't graded". Like hell it isn't!

I feel compassion for Haggart and his family. While it would be nice if church leaders were somehow "above" their flocks, it ends up that they are only strugglers on the Way like the rest of us. What would it be like if we all were able to just drop the masks, stop hiding and be authentic with one another? And love and encourage one another just as we are. Now THAT would be a church, wouldn't it?

Wow, that Driscoll article made me really angry. And I am already angry enough today to do some major ranting. Instead, I'll just go quietly back to my corner....

I understand Ed C.'s point to a certain extent, but when possibly helpful advice is surrounded by insensitive, hurtful--and in some cases downright misogynist--content, it loses its luster. I'm not likely to heed anything Driscoll has to say when he has so thoroughly offended me.

Other thoughts:

-Driscoll assumes that every pastor has an assistant who can screen his (I won't bother adding "or her," since Driscoll doesn't admit the possibility of female clergy) calls and e-mails. Hmm. Must be nice to have an assistant on staff.

-Did Driscoll consider the fact that in having the assistant (who, according to Driscoll, should be a heterosexual male) screen all communication, the pastor is exposing the man to the very temptation he himself is so carefully trying to avoid?

-I shudder to think what might have happened ten years ago if Driscoll, at the age of twenty-five, had started pastoring as an unmarried man or—-gasp-—had been married to a woman who was NOT beautiful.

-Something tells me that Haggard’s problems (whatever the full extent of them may be) have nothing to do with his wife “letting herself go” (not that a woman “letting herself go” is any sort of explanation for sexual infidelity anyway). Has the gender of Haggard’s accuser not occurred to Driscoll? (Come to think of it, maybe Driscoll is right. Maybe Haggard's wife REALLY let herself go--to the point where even men were more appealing than she was to a strictly heterosexual Haggard.)

-I’d like to see what Driscoll would have to say about a female pastor (bear with the doctrinal sinfulness of that thought) who had an affair (heterosexual or otherwise)—-or even what he’d say about a pastor’s WIFE who had an affair. It strikes me that he might not refer to her husband “letting himself go” as a contributing factor.

what I've found most sad in the whole Driscoll thing is how the guys aren't getting it. A lot of women are outraged and seriously offended (both by his comments about women and his conceptions of pastors) but I finding guys (even those who aren't fans) rushing to his defense and being really confused about what the women are so upset by. They seem to think the hierarchal power structures that place the pastor above the congregants is a good idea. And the guys seem to be jumping at the opprotunity to tell women to not let themselves go and give them oral sex all the time (and letting Driscoll take the heat)... very interesting responses.

When you read the Bible, you find that "most" positions of authority are given to men, with the exeption of a few really wonderful and corageous women that stepped up to the plate in their time. God is not a sexist. However, He is a God of order. For some reason that we don't understand, totally, he has given the headship to men. I know this statement could stir up all sorts of emotions, but it's a fact. Women are too emotional for government, they need to submit to their husbands. On the other hand, men are too proud and need to listen to their wives.
I hope nobody is offended by my thoughts. The Nony Mouse.