I can’t imagine anybody saying things much better than Jared Wilson did today over on The Gospel Coalition. Bits and pieces:

There are lots of people who want Mark Driscoll to fail and fall. I am not one of them. I love and respect Pastor Mark… I want to repeat: I do not want Pastor Mark to fail and fall. I just want him to walk in step with the truth of the gospel. … I would “confront” him to his face if I could. Even though this is not a Matthew 18 situation, and Pastor Mark has not sinned against me personally, last week I tried to contact him privately through the two avenues available to me, but I received no response. I did not demand or even expect one. … But I have an obligation to Pastor Mark… I feel as though I owe it to him to speak thusly to him. Or about him, as the case may be, since I do not want to presume he would read this. … And I feel I have an obligation to the young men coming up into ministry, exploring the gospel-centered paradigm, learning and studying and practicing missional ministry wherever God has called them. I don’t want them to think the way to lead is to insulate from critique, ignore challenges, and adapt to some echo chamber of mutual admiration. I don’t want young men looking up to men like Mark or listening to lesser voices like my own to think gospel-centered ministry means passivity and silence in the face of obvious needs or, worse, aggression in the area of reputation, dominance and swagger in leadership.

I really appreciate Jared’s point here. I know several men who have come up admiring and imitating Mark Driscoll, and while their gospel proclamation is great, they need to have other voices telling them that “aggression in the area of reputation, dominance and swagger” is not something desirable to imitate.

This is not merely about lazing writing… It’s about what this one latest incident in the accumulating evidence of Pastor Mark’s empire-building says to us, his brothers and his customers… This latest episode is just the latest example indicating an evident lack of accountability and personal responsibility. All along, I’ve trusted that Pastor Mark had the right people around him, speaking the hard truths to him. I assumed those voices were there and authorized by him to keep him honest. I no longer believe this.

Pastor Mark, if you’re reading this — you are losing us. Forget about the “haters.” We ain’t them. We are the ones who love you, who want to see you succeed and prevail. And we won’t stop, no matter what tribe you’re in or which conference stage you take. But we want you to take responsibility for your actions and your attitude. It does not commend grace. We want you to walk in repentance. We want you to seek the way of Christ in more humility, to drop the image and the posturing, and remind us of what drew us to you in the first place: the fame of Christ’s name, not the protection of your own. What would the truth of the gospel have you do? What would adorn the gospel? What would make Jesus look big? I believe it would a reversal of the trajectory of pride you have been on. I’m asking you to turn around and show us why we were so drawn to you in the beginning. I’m asking you to show us Jesus. He has become lost in your shadow.

Jared provides a great example and challenge to me and others who appreciate the gospel-centered history of Mark Driscoll’s preaching but who are concerned by his recent direction. It’s worth reading the whole thing.