At 37, Rob Bell is hip, with it – and evangelical. After founding a megachurch at 28, writing books, such as Velvet Elvis and Sex God, and creating a video message called Nooma (phonetic Greek for “spirit” or “breath”), Bell is emerging as the YouTube generation’s version of Billy Graham. After attending Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary, and interning at Mars Hill, he determined people would come to church in droves if someone spoke to them in their language.
“Rob Bell is striding toward the sanctuary of his Grandville, Mich., church, the barely improved husk of a former shopping mall, when he runs into one of his favorite congregants. They immediately address a topic close to both their hearts. ‘Man!’ says Bell. ‘Can I hear it? Can I hear the demo?’ The congregant, an affable young part-time musician named Joel, who dresses like a long-lost Ramone, mumbles bashfully, ‘I can burn you one.’ ‘Great!’ exclaims Bell, whose geeky-hip glasses, black pants, black shirt and polyester white belt make their own statement. ‘Hey, man,’ he adds, ‘I saw the Arctic Monkeys.’ This is cool, Joel agrees. That itch scratched, Bell, whom the Chicago Sun-Times has called an heir to Billy Graham, heads off to give a sermon on parenting that starts with a soccer-dad riff and ends with a recording of Bruce Springsteen talking about the Virgin Mary.”
