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Who is Rob Bell? That's what he wants you asking... maybe you've heard of the semi-recent (2011) broo-haha over his previous conglomeration of three line thoughts called Love Wins... compelling title, compelling story... it's all to sell the story... not just books but his story. Now he's back three more years after his latest misconception with a new book on an obscure Hebrew word for love made into a book and dragging his wife around popular talkshow circuit and even has his OWN show, yeah capitalized purposefully - Oprah Winfry Network boss.
I first heard of Bell about 6 years ago. We were starting a contemporary worship service at our church and I had volunteered to play bass in the band. To his credit, our worship leader felt led that the band should participate in some sort of bible study together. His solution was NOOMA videos. I still remember the first one we watched - called flame. Here's the full version of it, it's about 10m. Even if you've seen it before, watch it again. Below the video, I have some thoughts about this fella's unique style.
I remember coming home from band practice and talking with my wife about this video. I told her almost verbatim the story Bell told in the video and then shared with her some thoughts (not having a nice digital copy to just show her.)
* He's driving a 4x4 and stops on the Highway and then lugs two 5g fuel tanks a good couple of miles down through a drivable area. It seems so unnecessary, but man he is so committed to his mission, he is willing to do the unnecessary - just to make a point. {A good story has a journey.}
* He stops every now and then when he's tired of lugging his load to share a breathless message with forced angst and conviction. His story seems to be going somewhere, but it's never clear until the very end and even then his point is not really all that clear. But man he seems to be a man on a mission doesn't he. {A good story requires compulsion / purpose.}
* On one of his stops, and at the point most folks are likely getting tired of his schtick, he whips out a lighter and starts playing with it around the gas tanks - this is what keeps the audiences attention, the questions he creates, "Are those gas cans?", "Is he really playing with fire around gas cans?", "Did he fill those up himself or spill a little on the outside?" I KEEP WATCHING FOR THE NASCAR FACTOR... too afraid to look away I am stuck waiting for him to go up hard core protester style. {A good story requires tension.}
* I remember thinking as he doused the big fire - "Where'd all the wood come from?", "Why's he dousing the whole thing with so much fuel?","Does he realize he's walking on the fuel?","Why's he keep sloshing it out rather than just pour it?","WHY AM I ASKING SO MANY QUESTIONS?" --- It doesn't make sense, it's actually a little silly. Just light it already, it'll burn!!! Ah, Rob Bell genuis showman. {A good story defies logic enough to make you think and seek.}
* At the end, we are left only to thank Rob for imparting to us such wisdom and knowledge... we can go home and love our wives more OR spit out our new found knowledge of the Hebrew love language OR for the careful eye a new found tool for showmanship. But we are left to thank Rob for his hard work / effort / genius presentation. (A good story has a hero - usually a sacrificial hero.)
* The entire video is designed for a specific audience. The ADHD, I got stuff to be bored with doing, generation used to high-quality production, shallow simple messages, presented as if they are so profound you cannot fathom how you lived prior to gaining such wisdom. Give Bell his props, he can tell a story and he knows his audience. {A good story gives the receiver what they need.}
Let me take our focus off Rob Bell for a second and put it where it belongs - the best story I know...
See, a good story requires:
* a journey
- Christ came from glory to became human even while He was still God in every way
* a compulsion
- Christ came to seek and save what was lost, us - He was passionate and driven in this...
* tension
- God is Holy (Perfect in every way) and humans are not (we're sinful)
# How can these 2 so different beings ever be together? (eternal life)
# How do we as sinners, fallen in nature, ever hope to avoid what we deserve (eternal separation)?
* logic being defied to make you think and seek
- no matter how hard you try, what you do, YOU cannot solve this problem of sin / seperation
- it is the simple act of faith in Christ and reliance on this story that alone can save you
{both of these concepts defy logic and make you have to think / seek}
* a sacrificial hero
- see the bible tells us, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us
- in doing so took our sins upon Himself including the judgement we deserved
- in doing so He conquered sin and death and was resurrected and returned to eternal glory
* to give the receiver what they need
- the power / knowledge gained in this story, 'the gospel (good news)', is what we need
# for an initial relationship with God that does not involve the tension created by our sin / judgement owed
# for a continually deepening / growing relationship with Him that brings us into His glorious presence
God made and tells us this story through His Word and Spirit for His glory and our salvation by the knowledge of our situation, its impending judgement, and His provision of grace through Christ to solve this problem.
HERE'S THE BOTTOM LINE: for the story to have an affect it must be received. It must be received and made a part of us - otherwise it's just a story to be rejected and forgotten. Without the knowledge moving us to response, we are no better off than when we started except that we have witnessed a great spectacle.
I accept God's story for my life. You should consider doing the same. If you haven't ever done it, you should tell Christ you accept the story and want to live by it. If you have done that, you should keep doing it and learn more of the story - it's all written down in the Bible.
{As for Rob Bell, I reject his narrative - he's received more attention and glory than he deserves, even for a showman of his caliber. My assessment of him now is the same as 3 years ago (2011) and again 3 years later (2014), 1m of empty teaching crammed into 10m of entertainment. He should come down off the pile of wood he's been dousing with gas and carefully walk away before he burns himself and others. BUT! Is he a universalist? Does he deny eternal judgement (hell)? Is he Oprah's lil patty cake? Will he really light the fire and how bad will he get burned? Will he ever answer the questions or just keep asking them? Dude, at some point, the story's over.}
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