I’ve referenced Pastor Driscoll’s sermon Men and Marriage in several recent posts. This is the sermon to watch, or better yet, read, if you wan’t to understand what I was describing in The only real man in the room. In this sermon Driscoll opens with the prayer I quoted from in Fragging Christian Headship:
Father God, I pray that our time would be pleasing to you, that it would be profitable to us, Lord God, as well. I pray for those men who are here that are cowards, they’re silent, passive, impish, worthless men, they’re making a mess of everything in their life and they’re such sweet little boys that no one ever confronts them on that. I pray for the women who enable them, who permit them to continue in falling, those who are mothers and sisters and girlfriends and wives. I pray, Lord God, for those men who are chauvinists, those who are mean, who are brash, who are rude, who are harsh, who, Lord God, think they are tough when in fact they are Satanic. God, I pray for those men that they would have the courage today to not fight with a woman, but to fight with you, to actually find their rightful place in creation, that they might receive a good rebuke so that they can become honorable rather than dishonorable sons. God, I pray for my tone, I pray for our men, and I pray for the women who are listening in. I pray, Lord God, that they would know this comes from a heart of passion, deep concern, and love. I pray, Lord God, that we would think biblically, critically, humbly, and repentantly, and that, Lord God, there would be dramatic life change by the power of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus, Amen.
If you read the sermon, you will see that Driscoll repeatedly makes it clear that when he uses terms like dishonorable, Satanic, cowards, passive, impish, worthless, jokes, losers, imbeciles, fools, etc. he isn’t just referring to a few “peter pan” men who don’t have jobs and/or aren’t married. He is talking about the husbands and fathers who sought out the church lead by Driscoll, the men who brought their wives and children to the sermon.
…most of you men don’t know what masculinity truly is
Driscoll defines the eight types of worthless men he regularly comes across. They are all either cowards or chauvinists and bullies. And again, Driscoll is addressing this not to men outside the congregation, or even a smallish subset of the men in the congregation. He means nearly all of the men in the congregation:
Were this a women’s conference, I would not call you all idiots and imbeciles and fools, that you’re a joke, okay? But you men, this is where it needs to go. You’ve been glad-handed and buddied up and positive thinking and you’re a winner and Jesus loves you and you can do better. And I’m telling you, you’re a joke. And the real men in the room know it and they see it. And maybe there’s one woman that you fooled and she doesn’t see it because like Eve, she’s deceived.
The hallmark of a real man, a real Christian man, according to Driscoll, is looking around at the other men in the room and knowing that they are pathetic compared to you. This is of course exactly what Driscoll is doing throughout the sermon.
Again, this is a sermon about men and marriage, and married men are Driscoll’s primary target. While he makes a short stop in Genesis for background, the inspiration for the sermon is one single verse, 1 Pet. 3:7
Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
The disparaging of the men in the room goes on to the very end of the hour and seven minute sermon. I’ll repeat that I highly encourage you to read the transcript (archive). There is simply too much to quote, as the stream of invective against the men in the room is non stop.
Most in the manosphere are familiar with Driscoll’s famous How dare you! tirade. What you may not know is that the famous tirade is from this very sermon. It is the sermon’s grand finale, closing out over an hour of constant belittlement and abuse of the men in the congregation. Driscoll has so much disparagement to share that he packs both the opening and closing prayers with abuse and insults of the men. Driscoll ends the closing prayer with:
And God, I pray for those women and children who suffer under men who are cowards and chauvinists. May they speak up. May they have the courage to articulate their frustration and, Lord God, may it wreck our men. In Jesus’ name.
Many of Driscoll’s sermons are disappearing from youtube in what appears to be an effort by Mars Hill to quietly distance itself from him. The video I found of this sermon wasn’t the original one uploaded by Mars Hill, but a copy uploaded by a woman with the youtube handle Miss Flowahs. She published the video with praise for Driscoll, the only real man in the room:
He gives me hope that there are still men out there like him, and I pray that God prepares me to be worthy of a man like him.
Miss Flowahs got Driscoll’s message, and no doubt so did the women in attendance.
