Robert Holmes Bell Jr. (born August 23, 1970) is an American author, speaker and former pastor. Bell founded
Mars Hill Bible Church
Mars Hill Bible Church is an American non-denominational Christian megachurch located in Grandville, Michigan near Grand Rapids. The teaching pastor was Rob Bell until December, 2011 when Bell transitioned into another ministry and was succeeded ...
in
Grandville, Michigan, and pastored it until 2012. Under his leadership, Mars Hill was one of the fastest-growing churches in America. Bell is also the author of the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' bestseller ''Love Wins'' and the writer and narrator of a series of spiritual
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
s called
NOOMA
NOOMA is a series of 24 short films (less than 14 minutes each) produced by Flannel that "blend vents ofeveryday with discussion about God". The name NOOMA comes from a phonetic spelling of the Greek word ( pneuma), meaning "wind or spirit". Th ...
. In 2011, ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
'' named Bell on its list of the
100 Most Influential People in the World
''Time'' 100 (often stylized as ''TIME'' 100) is an annual listicle of the 100 most influential people in the world, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, po ...
. He has since become a freelance writer and speaker appearing on various talk shows and national speaking tours on topics related to spirituality and leadership. He also hosts a popular podcast called ''The Robcast.'' In 2018, a documentary about Bell called ''The Heretic'' was released.
Biography
Early life and education
Bell is the son of U.S. District Judge
Robert Holmes Bell, who was appointed to the
federal bench
The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government. The U.S. federal judiciary consists primaril ...
by
Ronald Reagan.
After graduating from high school, Bell attended
Wheaton College Wheaton College may refer to:
* Wheaton College (Illinois), a private Christian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois
* Wheaton College (Massachusetts)
Wheaton College is a private liberal arts college in Norton, Massachus ...
in Illinois. While at Wheaton, he formed an alternative rock band and taught water skiing at a Christian camp. At camp, he was asked to fill in as a replacement preacher. Bell received his bachelor's degree from Wheaton and also earned a degree from
Fuller Theological Seminary in
Pasadena, California.
Mars Hill Bible Church
Bell and his wife moved from California to Grand Rapids to be close to family and on invitation to study under pastor
Ed Dobson
Edward G. Dobson (December 30, 1949 – December 26, 2015) was a Northern Irish-American pastor, at one time an executive for the Moral Majority. He became the pastor of a megachurch in Grand Rapids, Michigan and a nationally known author and spea ...
. He handled many of the preaching duties for the Saturday Night service at Calvary Church. Bell announced that he would be branching out on his own to start a new kind of community and would name it "Mars Hill" after the Greek site where the apostle Paul said: "For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you."
In February 1999, Bell founded
Mars Hill Bible Church
Mars Hill Bible Church is an American non-denominational Christian megachurch located in Grandville, Michigan near Grand Rapids. The teaching pastor was Rob Bell until December, 2011 when Bell transitioned into another ministry and was succeeded ...
, with the church originally meeting in a school gym in
Wyoming, Michigan. Within a year the church was given a shopping mall in
Grandville, Michigan, and purchased the surrounding land. In July 2000 the 3,500 "grey chair" facility opened its doors. As of 2005, an estimated 11,000 people attended the two "gatherings" on Sundays at 9 and 11 AM. As of March 2011, Sunday attendance numbered between 8,000 and 10,000. His teachings at Mars Hill inspired the popular "Love Wins" bumper sticker, and the congregation freely distributed these stickers after services.
In order to maintain balance in his life, Bell maintained his Fridays as a personal sabbath, where he did not allow contact by electronic means, and had all pastoral duties transferred to other Mars Hill pastors.
In the January 2007 issue of the magazine ''TheChurchReport.com'', Bell was named No. 10 in its list of "The 50 Most Influential Christians in America" as chosen by their readers and online visitors.
On September 22, 2011, Bell announced his resignation from Mars Hill Church to start "a spiritual talk show in Los Angeles". Bell's 2011 book, ''Love Wins'', had caused controversy within evangelical circles because of its teachings about hell; that controversy caused thousands to leave Mars Hill and also led to Bell's departure.
In July 2012, Bell held his first major event since leaving Mars Hill, speaking at the
Viper Room
The Viper Room is a nightclub and live music venue located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States. It was established as The Viper Room in 1993 and was partly owned by actor Johnny Depp. The other part owner was Sal ...
night club in Los Angeles. Bell has hosted conferences and workshops in Laguna Beach for "leaders, teachers, preachers, entrepreneurs, artists, pastors—anyone whose work involves creating something and then turning it loose in the world."
Other projects
Pre-Mars Hill departure
Bell was the featured speaker in
NOOMA
NOOMA is a series of 24 short films (less than 14 minutes each) produced by Flannel that "blend vents ofeveryday with discussion about God". The name NOOMA comes from a phonetic spelling of the Greek word ( pneuma), meaning "wind or spirit". Th ...
, a series of short films. The title of the video series, "NOOMA", is an English representation of the Greek word ''pneuma'', which means breath or spirit. All the videos feature the teachings of Bell accompanied by music written and sung by local independent artists (with the exception of ''
The Album Leaf
The Album Leaf is an American musical project founded in San Diego, California, in 1998 by Jimmy LaValle. He is known for his use of electronics, synthesizer, and Rhodes piano. His performances often feature projected visual art.
History Inc ...
''s music, which was licensed for the NOOMA DVD ''Lump'').
In August 2005,
Zondervan Publishing published Bell's first book, ''Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith'', which is, according to the official online summary, "for the millions of people who are fascinated by Jesus, but can't do the standard Christian package. In his debut book, Bell explores a new understanding of the Christian faith."
Bell's ''Everything is Spiritual'' national speaking tour launched on June 30, 2006, in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
. The proceeds from ticket sales were used to support
WaterAid, an international non-profit organization dedicated to helping people escape the
poverty
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse < ...
and
disease
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
caused by living without
safe water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ...
and
sanitation
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...
.
Bell's second book, titled ''Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections between Sexuality and Spirituality'', was released in 2007. In June 2007, Bell toured the United Kingdom and Ireland with a series called ''Calling All Peacemakers''. Bell launched another speaking tour in 2007, —"The Gods Aren't Angry", which provided a narrative defense of
justification
Justification may refer to:
* Justification (epistemology), a property of beliefs that a person has good reasons for holding
* Justification (jurisprudence), defence in a prosecution for a criminal offenses
* Justification (theology), God's act of ...
through faith and not works.
The tour drew sold-out crowds in cities across North America. Proceeds from this tour were used to support the Turame
Microfinance program supporting the poor in Burundi, a mission supported by Bell's church.
Bell's 2009 project, ''Drops Like Stars,'' explores the links between creativity and suffering. ''Drops Like Stars'' was an international tour and a book, initially handwritten by Bell, with photographs. The title of the project comes from a young child's view of raindrops on a window at night. Rather than focusing on the conundrum of why an all-powerful God would allow suffering, Bell instead looks at the creativity, empathy, new connections, and growth that can spring from suffering. When asked in an interview how he had become interested in suffering, Bell replied that as a pastor he had been given a front row seat in the most poignant moments of people's lives. At the same time he was doing lectures on creativity and realized, "There was a connection between these two halves of my life – all these connections between suffering and art-making."
Post-Mars Hill departure
In September 2013 Bell was interviewed by
Oprah for her ''
Super Soul Sunday'' television show. Bell's book, ''What We Talk About When We Talk About God'', was also listed as the first recommended book that month in Oprah's "Book of the Month" club.
Television
Beginning in 2011,
ABC television announced production of a new television drama, ''Stronger'', co-written by Bell and
Carlton Cuse, the executive producer of the television series ''
Lost''. The show, based loosely on Bell's life and his unpublished novel-turned-pilot-script, would follow the life of Tom Stronger, a musician on a spiritual journey. Ultimately, Bell and Cuse were unable to get approval to shoot a pilot for ''Stronger''.
Bell and Cuse have moved on to another project described as a "faith-inflected talk show" presented by Bell. Two tapings of the proposed show were filmed in September 2012 in a warehouse in Los Angeles' art district in order to put together a reel for network executives. At the time, they were referenced as either ''That One Show Rob Bell and Carlton Cuse Have Been Working On'', or ''The September Shows'' for short.
Podcast
Bell hosts a podcast called ''The Robcast''. He is the only host, but is regularly joined by guests. Bell believes that "churches and denominations are waning" and that the medium of podcasting provides freedom to learn and grow spiritually without the hindrances of institutions. It was called the best religion and spirituality podcast of 2015 on iTunes. Juliana Chan Erikson of the ''World Magazine'', questioned the direction that podcasts like the Robcast steers their audiences.
Beliefs
In his writings, Bell says, "I affirm the truth anywhere in any religious system, in any worldview. If it's true, it belongs to God."
Bell's 2011 book, ''Love Wins'', caused a major controversy within the
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exp ...
community. The controversy was the subject of a
''Time'' magazine cover story and a featured article in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. In the book, Bell states that "It's been clearly communicated to many that this belief (in hell as eternal, conscious torment) is a central truth of the Christian faith and to reject it is, in essence, to reject Jesus. This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus' message of love, peace, forgiveness and joy that our world desperately needs to hear." In this book, Bell outlines a number of views of hell, including
universal reconciliation
In Christian theology, universal reconciliation (also called universal salvation, Christian universalism, or in context simply universalism) is the doctrine that all sinful and alienated human souls—because of divine love and mercy—will u ...
. Though he does not choose any one view as his own, he states "Whatever objections a person may have of
he universalist view and there are many, one has to admit that it is fitting, proper, and Christian to long for it." –
The book was criticized by numerous conservative evangelical figures (in particular, some
reformed church
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
leaders), such as
Albert Mohler
Richard Albert Mohler Jr. (born October 19, 1959) is an American evangelical theologian, the ninth president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and host of the podcast ''The Briefing'', where he daily analyzes ...
,
John Piper, and
David Platt, with Mohler saying that the book was "theologically disastrous" for not rejecting universalism. Other evangelicals, such as
Brian McLaren,
Greg Boyd and
Eugene Peterson defended Bell's views. Bell denies that he is a universalist and says that he does not embrace any particular view but argues that Christians should leave room for uncertainty on the matter. As
Jon Meacham
Jon Ellis Meacham (; born May 20, 1969) is an American writer, reviewer, historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical ...
stated, ''Love Wins'' presents
ell's"case for living with mystery rather than demanding certitude." Some evangelicals argued that this "uncertainty" is incompatible with Scripture, while others say that the book is simply promoting overdue conversation about some traditional interpretations of Scripture. In the book, Bell also questions "evacuation theology" which has Christians focused on getting to heaven, instead of focusing on God's renewal and transformation of this world. Bell argues that Jesus (and the wider Jewish tradition of which he was a part) focused on God's ongoing restoration of this world, not getting individuals to heaven.
At his
Viper Room
The Viper Room is a nightclub and live music venue located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States. It was established as The Viper Room in 1993 and was partly owned by actor Johnny Depp. The other part owner was Sal ...
appearance in July 2012, Bell took a question from an audience member concerned about the church's acceptance of gay members. Said Bell, "Some people are gay, and you're our brothers and you're our sisters, and we love you. We love you...
ay peopleare passionate disciples of Jesus just like I'm trying to be, so let's all get together and try to do something about the truly big problems in our world." On March 17, 2013, in an interview at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, Bell said, "I am for marriage. I am for fidelity. I am for love, whether it's a man and a woman, a woman and a woman, a man and a man...And I think the ship has sailed. This is the world we are living in and we need to affirm people wherever they are."
In March 2013, Bell expressed frustration with the state of conservative evangelicalism, calling it "a very narrow, politically intertwined, culturally ghettoized Evangelical subculture." He says that Evangelicals have "turned away lots of people" from the church by talking about God in ways that "don't actually shape people into more loving, compassionate people," adding that Evangelicals "have supported policies and ways of viewing the world that are actually destructive, and we've done it in the name of God and we need to repent."
In 2018, a documentary about Bell called ''The Heretic'' was released.
Awards and recognition
In June 2011, Bell was named by ''
Time Magazine
''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on M ...
'' as one of the "2011
Time 100
''Time'' 100 (often stylized as ''TIME'' 100) is an annual listicle of the 100 most influential people in the world, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, ...
", the magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Publications
*''Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith'' (Zondervan, 2005)
*''Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections between Sexuality and Spirituality'' (Zondervan, 2007)
*''Everything is Spiritual (DVD)'' (Zondervan, 2007)
*''The Gods Aren't Angry (DVD)'' (Flannel, 2008)
*''Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile'' (Zondervan, 2008)
*''Drops Like Stars: A Few Thoughts on Creativity and Suffering'' (Zondervan, 2009)
*''Love Wins'' (Harper One, 2011)
*''What We Talk About When We Talk About God'' (HarperOne 2013)
*''The Zimzum of Love: A New Way of Understanding Marriage'' co-written with Kristen Bell (HarperOne 2014)
*''How to be Here'' (Harper Collins 2016)
*''
NOOMA Videos''
*''What Is the Bible?'' (HarperOne 2017)
*''Everything is Spiritual:'' ''Finding Your Way in a Broken World'' (St. Martin's Essentials, 2020)
See also
*
Religion and spirituality podcast
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Rob
1970 births
Living people
American evangelicals
Christian writers
Missional Christianity
Writers from Grand Rapids, Michigan
Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni
American clergy
Fuller Theological Seminary alumni
Clergy from Grand Rapids, Michigan