When Mars Hill Bible Church pastor Rob Bell released Love Wins in March of this year, many leaders in the evangelical community criticized his work as heretical and universalist, and some even predicted, such as John Piper, that Bell’s church career would be adversely affected.

When a promotional video emerged in February for Bell’s Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, respected evangelical leader John Piper tweeted on Feb. 26, “Farewell Rob Bell.”

As news emerged late Thursday that Bell would be leaving Mars Hill, the church he founded in 1999 in Grandville, Michigan, Piper took to his Twitter account to comment.

On his Twitter account, Piper wrote Thursday: “Seriously, as before, may you fare well, Rob Bell.” The head of Desiring God Ministries’ tweet was re-posted at least 100 times by other Twitter users.

In addition to Piper, Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren appeared to offer his own comment regarding Bell on his Twitter account.

First posting “Bell resigns” with a link to a report on Bell’s resignation, Warren then went on to respond to a follower’s question on whether “well-known pastors who leave their churches have more or less impact.”

To this, Warren replied, “Always less. No base 4credibility…”

In a series of other posts apparently inspired by Bell’s resignation from Mars Hill Bible Church, Warren noted: “Speaking tours feed the ego=All applause&no responsibility. It’s an unreal world. A church gives accountability& validity.”

Bell, who will explain his resignation in greater detail during Mars Hill’s Sept. 25 Sunday service, will be traveling across the U.S. and Canada in November for his “The Fit to Smash Ice Tour.”

On his official website, Bell says “Fit to Smash” will involve “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.”