Secondly however, we now have a better picture of what Magala actually does. His act, utilizes a pole because he is the world's first "aerialist sword swallower." This means he is in the air, suspended on the pole, as he performs the sword swallowing. That does not make him a "pole dancer" as we have seen reported. It does not make the pole an "Asherah Pole" as we have also seen reported by Driscoll himself. Because Mark has always had the same understanding and perspective on sex as a rabid 15-year-old boy, it is not surprising that the mere concept of sword swallowing must have made Magala a "gay porn sword swallower" who should never be seen be real, virile men. I mean, we have to protect Christian men, right Mark? Thank goodness for the Stronger Men's Conference that has boasted such rock-solid Christian endeavors such as professional bull riders, a Motocross BMX competition, and professional boxing. Are we sensing the level of stupidity we are at here? Between context of the sexually confused adolescent Driscoll and the inveterate liar Lindell, it might be Alex Magala who sounds the sincerest:
"Pastor Mark Driscoll's remarks about my act failed to recognize the difference between a male strip tease and a stunt performance rooted in art and sport. Only an uninformed person would draw a comparison between my act and an inappropriate performance. I feel that this danger act is perfect for the Stronger Men's Conference. It provides inspiration to the audience and permission for them to reach new heights of what's possible in their lives." - Alex Magala
"After my performance at James River Church conference a 53 year old Pastor was judging a 21 year old me. Well, to put it in a perspective I wanted to offer Pastor @markdriscoll to move into a country on another side of the planet, like China, or Russia that he never been before, that he has almost zero knowledge of the language, zero friends, zero family, and $60 in his pocket. And see how he is gonna make it. Believe me I tried. I couldn't find any job. So I spent $35 (out of $60) on the sword and was performing on streets Hollywood blvd. The rest of money I spent on milk and oatmeal. In my first performance I got a tip of $4.50. And I would've continued, but the injuries from Sword Swallowing wouldn't allow me to perform often " I just ran out of oatmeal" - Alex Magala
It is sure seeming like a man we know has no moral compass in Driscoll was trying to promote his failing book by publicly shaming a man he knew nothing about, while spitting in his friend's face. I can't judge Alex Magala because the bible tells me not to. He says he was born a Christian and I sincerely hope he either has saving faith in Christ or gets a chance to hear the real gospel. It sure seems as if Lindell knew who and what they were booking as Magala is regarded as the most dangerous act in America's Got Talent and this Stronger Men's Conference loves to play to the false testosterone-based masculinity, which is why they probably booked the disgraced pastor in Driscoll, who used to love to preach about sex. What separates out Magala from the rest of the sword swallowing world, is the aerial nature, which requires the pole. Lindell must have known that, or his church does absolutely no vetting. A two second YouTube search reveals who Magala is and what his act entails.
Then the story took off. Lindell actually had the nerve to publicly call for Mark Driscoll's repentance. Lindell claims that Driscoll, after the conference kerfuffle, called Lindell's adult son and urged him to remove his parents and brother from the leadership at their church. Lindell called this attempt to tear down the church leadership and sow family discord "demonic." Lindell actually tried to reason directly with Driscoll and then sought help of another pastor before resorting to the public call for repentance so I must admit that for once, Matthew 18 was cited correctly! It is just hysterical that the pastor that we know lied about regrowing three toes on one of his congregants is now lecturing us about Mark Driscoll's integrity. This is why we chose the "judge not" scriptures as the key verses for today. This is why Jesus taught this. Not because we should not be judging but that we forfeit our right to while being hypocritical. John Lindell and Mark Driscoll have as much moral authority at this point as Bill Clinton would have to rebuke adulterers. This is a man who bragged about running over sheep with the "Mars Hill bus" for daring to disagree with him.
The problem is that both men in this story have multiple large wooden beams sticking through their eyes while lecturing each other in front of the apostate church. Real sheep have asked me what our position should be when two large heretics like this collide, and my answer is always to speak the truth and learn what we can so we can be better served and protected in the future. I have seen people reflexively side with Driscoll boldly declaring that "I Stand With Mark Driscoll!" Do you? Is that really the man you want to stand with or be found standing with? A thief who stole $200,000 in tithes to cheat the NY Times Best Seller List? A man who bullied and threatened his staff and elders to the point that he was about to be officially disciplined by a church he founded, until he snuck away in the dead of night to avoid such punishment? A man whose theology taught sex like a frustrated teenager and arrogant Calvinism? Mark Driscoll gleefully admitted to running over his own sheep and the tales of his abuse of people became legend. That is who you want to stand with?
Over what? The fact that a man equally compromised in John Lindell hired Alex Magala for his butt-slapping men's machismo conference? Magala seems like the maligned party here. When this story broke the initial "Christian" coverage painted him as a gay, male stripping sword swallower. Turns out he is married to a woman, claims to Christian by birth, and while he admits to not everything in his past being so "Christian"; is this what we have resorted to? I think it fairly obvious what happened. Magala was hired to perform his America's Got Talent routine. Because Driscoll hates homosexuals as much as sword swallowers, he was offended that the man removed his shirt and used a pole to perform. Seeing an opportunity to take the Jezebel angle to promote his failing book, he lashed out knowing the biblically illiterate followers of his would rally around him at the expense of death threats to Magala, Lindell and even the local Assemblies of God. Perhaps the most under-reported story here is Driscoll trying to get Lindell's own son to overthrow him at his church! Are you serious! If true, it would represent a new low for a man already crawling on his belly.
Lindell is hardly in the clear here though. Either he or his son did hire Magala and maybe that was not the wisest decision. Then again, is it any more inappropriate than having Christian men taught by motocross, monster trucks and boxing? No, it is not. The entire "Stronger Men's Conference" does not produce stronger men at all. It will inevitably produce weak mean who think their value is somehow tied to big bad trucks so please do not lose sight of the falseness of John Lindell before this event. He proudly admits to standing with the disgraced Driscoll when he slinked away at midnight from Seattle. He proudly took advantage of one of his own sheep with this toe growing nonsense and still perpetrates the lie to this day.
