Great thought leaders: Rob Bell

There are some people that when they speak they challenge you or present information to you in a way that gets you to sit up and notice. Rob Bell is one of those people. His books Velvet Elvis and Sex God were both brilliant in that they presented concepts to me that gave voice to some of the questions in my head. Or they presented information to me in a different way that allowed me to see things a little clearer.


In Velvet Elvis Rob presents the concept of spring or brick wall faith. I have come from a tradition of brick wall. That is where everything is either white or black, right or wrong. There is no gray area. And questions about things are not really appreciated. It just is the way that it is. The problem with that kind of faith is that when one brick in the wall becomes loose or gets kicked out, the entire wall collapses. Whereas with the spring faith, you allow yourself to hold on to certain things as truth but you allow yourself to bend and stretch as you question things or attempt to reach out for what is really there. This thought has brought a lot of clarity in my life.

The other concept of Velvet Elvis was the way that Rob looks at the Jewish tradition and culture at the time of Jesus to really bring out a better picture to what was going on at the time.


In Sex God, Rob dives into the concept of community and that we need it. While that is a topic that has been done and retreaded and done again, this really gives a fresh look at it. the best part of this book for me however was at the end where he looks at the Last Supper and contrasts that with the Jewish engagement ceremony. That was cool - you will have to read it yourself.

I have followed his thoughts and teachings via the Mars Hill podcast (the church where he is at). And I recently ran across these on Youtube. Check them out, they are pretty cool.