Rob Bell, the Michigan megachurch pastor whose bestselling book on hell sparked nationwide controversy earlier this year, has left his church.
Bell’s departure was announced on a website for 3,000-member Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville.
“Feeling the call from God to pursue a growing number of strategic opportunities, our founding pastor Rob Bell has decided to leave Mars Hill in order to devote his full energy to sharing the message of God's love with a broader audience,” the statement read.
No other details about his departure were made public.
Bell’s book “Love Wins” questioned the traditional Christian view of hell. Bell argued that hell was not eternal. He wrote that people could choose to leave hell if they wanted too.
That view angered conservative evangelicals like the Rev. John Piper, an influential writer and pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis.
After seeing a video promoting "Love Wins," Piper tweeted “Farewell Rob Bell” on his Twitter account. That set off a furious online debate about the book. The controversy helped propel it to the number two spot on the New York Times bestseller list.
After Bell’s departure became public, Ed Stetzer, president of Nashville-based LifeWay Research, tweeted “Farewell Rob Bell," a tongue-in-cheek reference to the controversy.
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