Bill Hybels Talks About Popeye (Much) More Than Jesus
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In his sermon entitled "Unwavering: A Story of Obedience" Bill Hybels mentions the cartoon character Popeye dozens of times-he specifically quotes him fifteen times! He does this because God gave him a direct revelation: God told Bill Hybels to write and preach about our "Holy Discontent," which is a term he invented and repeats dozens of times throughout this sermon (which just happens to be the title of his book). Instead of using exegesis to draw the meaning out of the Bible, Hybels crams his concept of Holy Discontent into the story of Nehemiah and then uses Popeye to back up this theory. He doesn't mention Jesus at all until the end of the sermon (when he wants to inflict guilt upon his listeners). But don't worry, even though this is all conjured up in Hybels mind, he says God gave it to him.
Listen to Todd Wilken give an amazing sermon review on this episode of Issues Etc.
"Holy Discontent" is a variation on the Purpose Driven Life; it's the idea that God didn't just die on the cross to just pay for your sins (because that isn't enough in seeker-friendly theology); God really wants you to take whatever you're most angry about and act on it. Basically, the Gospel is all about how God wants you to do stuff-lot's and lot's of stuff. According to Bill Hybels, God will look at your hands to see if they're all scarred and bloodied (like His) when we get to heaven. If you haven't done enough stuff (and your hands are nice and pretty), then God will be very disappointed with you. Get to work, Christian! Don't you wanna be like Popeye, Bono, Martin Luther-King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Bill Hybels?!
“For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”
For those of you who think it's mean and un-loving to criticize Bill Hybels (or any other popular teacher) here's a list of Bible verses to consider: Shocking Stuff You're Not Supposed to Know.
Finally, here's an important article that will help you be more discerning and a lot less gullible: Defusing Demonic Dirty Bombs.