The Hell Debate Continues

A few weeks ago, I commented on the current "hell debate" sparked by the evangelical Rob Bell. Around that time, a friend of mine from seminary, Chad Holtz, offered his opinion on the issue in his blog, essentially siding with Bell. At the time, he was finishing out his 4-year term as a student pastor (a seminary student who also serves a rural United Methodist congregation in a part-time capacity), when some of his parishioners read the blog and decided that his views were far too radical for their small country church. He was asked to leave just a few months before the end of his appointment. Apparently, they had been reading his blog posts for years without commenting (unbeknownst to him) until this post, when (forgive the pun) all hell broke loose. It was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Since that time, he has received a lot of media interest- locally and nationally. Check out his thoughtful take on the hell debate, the fallout from losing his pulpit, and the current state of United Methodist polity.