I've been listening to The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, and it's given me much food for thought. One aspect I'm particularly troubled by relates to the world of Christian publishing.
Driscoll wrote a lot of books. And other Christian leaders do likewise, authors like: Tim Keller, Jeff Lucas and Nicky Gumbel.
Until this podcast, I've never thought before about what occurs when a Christian leader becomes a successful author. Let me explain...
According to the podcast, in November 2013 Driscoll appeared on the Janet Mefferd Show to promote his new book, A Call To Resurgance. Mefferd read the book ahead of time, and made a discovery. She found out that some of the material in the book was stolen from a friend of hers, Dr Peter Jones! Understandably concerned, she challenged Driscoll:
I was reading your book in preparation for the interview. When I came across this section on the new paganism I was a little interested to know that you didn't quote him and you didn't footnote him. You have a footnote after the first sentence when you mention two-ism and one-ism....
[edited by me for length]
...but then you go on for several more pages and you never footnote him. Why?
(Taken from The Tempest - 1:05:20 onwards)
Driscoll responds:
Peter Jones is actually a friend of mine. I've had dinner with him. His wife is actually really great too, she is really smart, great gal. In my book Doctrine I talk a lot about his concepts.
In this book I took his big idea and work it out through the cultural implications, but I wasn't working specifically from his text. But I think Pete will tell you, I love him a lot. We're good friends and I've learned a lot from him. Most of what I've learned from his was actually me sitting down over meals, him talking and me listening. And I should have been taking notes, that would have been easier to footnote.
By Mike Cosper's account,
Driscoll oscillates between pleading ignorance, insisting that he credited Jones sufficiently, deflecting, and criticising Mefferd.
It turned into a scandal, and in the months that followed many other examples were found in books by Driscoll. Good journalism from Janet Mefferd, I'd say.
But this blog isn't about Driscoll. This blog is about best-selling authors and the apparatus that grows around them. You see Mefferd was attacked after the show. As she recounts in the podcast,
I was shell-shocked by the reaction, when that interview aired, because pretty much everybody turned on me. Everybody. Everybody internally, everybody externally, I felt utterly alone.
Despite providing clear evidence for he accusations via her blog, Mefferd was forced to apologise for her tone and approach, and to take down the online version of the interview. As she says:
It was the president of the network at the time, who said that "We're not going to make you apologise, but...". And there were some very pointed threats that were made at me. So, it was clear, if you want to continue to do what you're doing, you'd better darn well get out there and apologise.
I was so mad. Cause it was wrong. Why in the world should the whistle-blower have to be the one who's in trouble? [Edited f
It was very simple for me, but it became very complex for everyone else involved. Because there was money involved, there were powerful people involved, there were brands to be protected
(Taken from The Tempest - 1:09:20 onwards)
This stunned me. What an insight these events provide.
Since when do Christians attack the people who expose dishonesty and lies?
Don't believers value the truth?
It makes me wonder, we have a rare expose here. Was this a very unusual event? Or are there other occasions where profits have come before ethics in the world of Christian publishing?
Well-known authors like Adrian Plass or Rick Warren can be read by millions. Literally - millions!
(I pick these names based on the volume of their sales, not because there's any evidence of unethical action)
When this much money gets made, commercial interests may gain traction. Perhaps dressed up in phrases like "We need to protect people's jobs" or "We need to avoid blocking the gospel message here", but money-motivated underneath.
As a Christian myself, does buying a bestseller further the Kingdom of God? Or does it distort and distract a church teacher from their biblical role? Has the teaching in this situation become so distant from the biblical examples that it fundamentally changes in its nature?
