http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Driscoll[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Driscoll]Mark Driscoll
Sometimes as a christian , we tend to go for movements and such as the Purpose Driven Life Movement or say the Emergent Church but do not realize that these movements change all the time!
I have been working through all the stock at our local christian bookshop and realizing how much the emergent church movement has changed!
The reason I put up this post I suddenly realized how popular he is ! Most of the books against the Emergent Church do not deal with !
From:http://www.mbla.org/Driscoll_Quotes.htmDriscoll: Writing for the furtherance of the emerging church:
“Now that the time has come to write, I am presenting this book as a contribution toward the furtherance of the emerging church in the emerging culture.” (Radical Reformission, p.17)
“I invite you to turn the page and begin a radical journey with me as we explore what life in Christ can mean in the context of an emerging church in a changing world.” (Radical Reformission, p.23)
What kind of “gospel” does the emerging church proclaim?
“The emerging church proclaims a gospel of freedom.” (Confessions, p. 25)
Why did Driscoll start Mars Hill Church?
“So I decided to start a church, for three reasons. First, I hated going to church and wanted one I liked, so I thought I would just start my own. Second, God had spoken to me in one of those weird charismatic moments and told me to start a church. Third, I am scared of God and try to do what he says.” (Confessions, p.39)
Driscoll’s vision for his Church:
“I envisioned a large church that hosted concerts for non-Christian bands and fans on a phat sound system, embraced the arts, trained young men to be godly husbands and fathers, planted other churches, and led people to work with Jesus Christ as missionaries to our city.” (Confessions, p.40)
Just a few minor problems in the secular music ministry:
“In its first few years, the Paradox [a secular music ministry of Driscoll’s church] hosted about 650 concerts for about 65,000 kids. We have had only a few minor problems, like the Japanese punk band that got naked during their set for no apparent reason and another band that set off fireworks during their show.” (Confessions, p.127)
No position on stealing?
“Our church services started to stink a whole lot less. We scraped together enough money to buy some big honking speakers, and I stole an unused sound console from my old church along with a projection screen, which were sins that Jesus thankfully died to forgive.” (Confessions, p.62)
Stolen Electricity?
“We never paid for electricity in our office apartment because the building was illegally hooked up to the power grid and all our power was stolen.” (Confessions, p.125)
Driscoll’s R-rated sermons on sex:
“Some of the sermons on sex were R-rated, and we gave warnings to parents and sometimes saw whole visiting youth groups walk out blushing halfway through the sermon. On other occasions, people walked out during the sermon and flipped me off on their way out, a trend that has continued.” (Confessions, p.134)
Just an occasional R-rated movie at church:
“Pastor James continues to lead our monthly film and theology class, at which attendance rises to more than two hundred people depending on the film. He continues to show an occasional unedited R-rated movie to train our people to think critically about the themes preached through film, which is the new cultural form of preaching.” (Confessions, p.157)
A passion for “cool?”
“I had grown facial hair, started cussing again (I had stopped for about fifteen minutes after I got saved), and briefly considered taking up smoking but had asthma, which kept me from achieving my full cool potential.” (Confessions, p.50)
Tithing and cussing issues?
“Apparently, the Ghost only led people to give once every presidential election, and I hit rock bottom one Sunday when our offering was $137. I stood alone in the room, counting the money and cussing at the offering box for being filled with one-dollar bills and the ominous smell of imminent death.” (Confessions, p.47)
Gambling for God?
“I occasionally bought lottery tickets and promised God I would tithe if he’d let me win, but to no avail.” (Confessions, p.58)
Why does Driscoll continue to be thought of as the “cussing pastor?”
“This season [at church] was messy and I sinned and cussed a lot, but God somehow drew a straight line with my crooked Philistine stick.” (Confessions, p.130)
Teaching the men of Mars Hill the essentials of life:
“We also began a ‘boot camp’ for our young men, teaching them how to get a wife, have sex with that wife, get a job, budget money, buy a house, father a child, study the Bible, stop looking at porn, and brew decent beer.” (Confessions, p.131)
Why the confusion in Driscoll’s church?
“I also did not explain in written form that we were theologically conservative and culturally liberal, which caused great confusion because half of the church was angry that the other half was smoking, while the other half was angry that I taught from the Bible.” (Confessions, p.46)
(Driscoll also writes about being “culturally liberal yet theologically conservative” in his book, “Radical Reformission,” p.22)
Adam and Eve: “Happy, horny [and] holy?”
“The Bible could end right there [in Genesis], after only two chapters, with the man and woman naked, eating fruit, and trying to fill the earth all by their happy, horny, holy selves.” (Radical Reformission, p.28)
Abraham: “a cowardly old man?”
“As time rolls along, God also works through a cowardly old man named Abraham, who is happy to whore out his loving and beautiful antique of a wife to avoid conflict.” (Radical Reformission, p.28)
Driscoll speaks of Mary and Joseph:
“And to top it all off, God comes to earth. He has a mom whom everyone thinks is a slut, a dad whom they think has the brilliance of a five-watt bulb for believing the ‘virgin birth’ line, and brothers who likely pummel him frequently, because even God would have to get at least one wedgie from his brothers if he were to be fully human.” (Radical Reformission, p.29)
Jesus telling “knock-knock jokes?”
“To the religious leaders, Jesus is a scandal – his followers are felons – and every time they see Jesus, it agitates them that he is always surrounded by a crowd, telling knock-knock jokes to miscreants who love his sense of humor (because his perfection had to have included comedic timing).” (Radical Reformission, p.30)
Jesus kicks off His ministry as a “bartender?”
“Anyway, Jesus shows up at the wedding and begins his public ministry. God has come to earth, and he kicks things off as a bartender.” (Radical Reformission, p.30)
A steady diet of the things of this world will make us better missionaries?
“I am encouraging Christians on reformission to involve themselves in their local cultures not merely for the purpose of entertainment but primarily for the purpose of education. As a missionary, you will need to watch television shows and movies, listen to music, read books, peruse magazines, attend events, join organizations, surf websites, and befriend people that you might not like to better understand people that Jesus loves.” (Radical Reformission, p.103)
Driscoll: Repenting of his sin of abstinence from alcohol?
“After I entered the ministry as a man of legal drinking age, the drum was again repeatedly beaten for me by well-meaning older pastors. So I never drank alcohol until I was thirty years of age. About that time, I was studying the Scriptures for a sermon about Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine, as reported in John’s gospel, a miracle that Jesus performed when he was about my age. My Bible study convicted me of my sin of abstinence from alcohol. So in repentance I drank a hard cider over lunch with our worship pastor.” (Radical Reformission, p.146)
How do we deal with People like this