Militant masculinity proved compatible with a hip, tech-savvy evangelical style.

Evidence

Raised Catholic, Driscoll converted to evangelicalism as a college student and quickly made a name for himself as a “theologically hard-line but culturally hip” pastor on the conservative periphery of the “emerging church” movement. Driscoll preached a verse-by-verse literal reading of the Bible and promoted conservative social teachings, but there was nothing stodgy about his style. Mars Hill had the feel of a nightclub, filled with predominantly white twenty-and thirty-somethings with a penchant for tattoos, piercings, beer, and the local indie music scene. Driscoll himself, sporting dark jeans and T-shirts, had the look of a wannabe rock star. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 437

Categorization

• SEED: The nightclub-church is a ready angle: how a supposedly forward-looking, culturally relevant church carried the same hard-line masculinity as homeschool homes.