Rob Bell Announces New Tour, New Ventures After Mars Hill Church Resignation

By Allison Summers, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, October 20, 2011

Rob Bell, the founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church, has announced the launching of his new tour to start in November called "Fit to Smash Ice," one of many new ventures the best-selling author and popular Christian leader plans to take on after choosing to resign from the Michigan church after 12 years of service.

The tour, which will run through seven cities in the U.S. and Canada, is just the start of Bell's newfound attempts to spread God's message to a broader audience and reach greater masses.

"This is a very personal tour for me," Bell said in a press release issued Thursday. "It's several hours of entirely new content I haven't given before, exploring all the exhilarating ways we stumble and fumble and fail and bleed and limp along and just how good and sacred and thrilling it all is. I'm hoping to break some new ground on this tour, going places we haven't gone before. I hope people are inspired, moved, and challenged in all kinds of new ways throughout the evening, so that they leave Fit to Smash Ice."

After the tour, Bell plans to move to Los Angeles with his family, where he will take on a number of new projects, including book releases and a television project. However, he said he will not be opening a church there.

"I'm writing a book now and it's about quantum physics and the Eucharist," said Bell.

He added, "Additionally, in mid-November, we will release The Love Wins Companion: A Study Guide for Those Who Want to Go Deeper, which I put together with editor David Vanderveen, the former managing editor of the Mars Hill Review and the founding publisher of Krakoosh Magazine. The guide will offer insights and commentary by experts: theologians, Bible scholars, scientists, and pastors and a deep analysis of all relevant Bible passages on heaven, hell, and salvation. It will include my reflection on the publication of Love Wins as well as discussion questions for individuals, groups, and classes."

Bell's latest work, Love Wins, sparked controversy in the Christian community when he revealed his doubts about hell and the commonly taught belief that "only a select few" will enter heaven. Since sharing those revelations, Bell has remained elusive when specifically questioned about the topic. The controversy eventually earned Love Wins the number two spot on the New York Times bestseller list.

When asked about his latest television venture, Bell was hesitant to give too much information away about it too soon.

“I can tell you that I'm having a blast creating something with a new friend,” he said. "These kinds of projects are long shots to say the least so it's best to keep them close to the vest until they actually materialize.”