Rob Bell Leaving Mars Hill

Rob Bell has always amazed me as a communicator, even though at times his wardrobe and theology have left me a little bemused. That's fine. We need more wacky people out there, especially wacky people in high places. I have loved it that Rob Bell grew a mega-church (in Michigan of all places) while keeping his wackiness intact. 


Now he is leaving Mars Hill to launch a "smashing" tour, and he describes the content of the tour this way, "several hours of entirely new content I haven't given before, exploring all the exhilarating ways we stumble and fumble and fail and bleed and limp along and just how good and sacred and thrilling it all is."


That sounds really fun, in the way Blue Like Jazz and Anne Lamott are fun. I'll be praying for him tomorrow as he explains his departure to his mega-congregation. And I'll be praying for his congregation, which probably feels a bit shell-shocked right now. And I note one concern: it seems his tour is going to be about "I" and "we." I hope it will also be about "God" and "Christ." Too much about us and our rather obvious (if colorful) failures will not a great tour make.