Rob Bell's Successor Steps Down as Pastor of Mars Hill: 'Being a Pastor Is Not Who I Am'

So sad that Dobson has seemingly turned from the evangelical faith. So much deconstruction out there — now that evangelicalism is losing its “fad” status, we might be seeing more and more tares emerging from the wheat fields.

I cannot imagine what this must do to the people at that church.

He has even stated a few times that he doesn’t know “what we mean by God anymore?”

he will be stepping down from his role in the coming months to pursue a “greater mystery.”

…of celebrity culture? We name the “big guy” as pastor without realizing that he’s got some serious issues? Agreed with Ed, too.

Kent Dobson used to teach Bible at my kids’ high school, Northpointe Christian in Grand Rapids. He was forced to resign about 7 years ago because his heretical beliefs did not line up with Northpointe’s Statement of Faith.

Here is some good commentary on this matter:

Slouched in his flannel shirt, he swivels on his chair as he muses about his restlessness, his angst, and his exploration into the unknown. I don’t know how he actually came off in the room, in the moment. But watching from a distance, he seemed like a romantic vagabond, a sensitive soul longing for a home he’s never known—perhaps like Huckleberry Finn if Huck were super into Spiced Chai Lattes and self-indulgent journaling.

In a world where pastors wait with bended knees and clenched eyes for their heads to roll down the sandy slopes of a Libyan beach, the complacent, comfortable, Western church must reset her vision of bravery as it relates to the pastorate. There was a time—even in the West—where cultural capital was gained by being a Christian. In those days, there were indeed men who risked everything to leave orthodoxy—one thinks of the great George MacDonald. However, those days are long gone, and Dobson is no MacDonald. If he wants to be known as an adventurer, Dobson is a couple decades late to the “I’m just not into religion” voyage. That land has been claimed and settled. Dobson’s predecessor is already giving surfing lessons to the tourists who want to visit.