Brian McLaren’s new book

Kevin DeYoung thoroughly (pdf 12 pages long) reviews all ten premises of Brian McClaren’s new book A New Kind of Christianity here. Kevin’s describes his approach at the outset:

I want to be fair with McLaren. I want to understand his ideas and evaluate them based on their merits. If I misunderstand a point or misconstrue what McLaren teaches I want to be corrected. Further, I have no desire to engage in ad hominem attacks. I want to discuss McLaren’s theology without vitriol or sophomoric putdowns. I will not assume the worst about Brian McLaren. I will try not to say anything in the cozy confines of the blogosphere that I would not say sitting across from McLaren over a beverage of his choice.

It’s not wrong to ask a reviewer to be charitable, so long as the love does not have to be devoid of the truth.

So what I will not do is pretend that the issues McLaren raises are non-essential issues or that his mistakes are little mistakes. I will not refrain from serious critique because this is only a “quest” or merely an attempt to raise questions. Moreover, I will not attempt to find a middle ground with teaching that I believe to be heterodox. I will not look for a third way when I see Christianity going down one path and McLarenism going down another. I will state my disagreements with this book strongly and warn other Christians strenuously. I am not ashamed for having convictions, and I am not afraid to write as if I understand (truly though not exhaustively) what the Bible teaches and understand that what it teaches is incompatible with A New Kind of Christianity.

No one deserves to reviled. But some books deserve to pilloried.

and then he promptly and calmly proceeds to pillory what needs to be pilloried.

Tim Challies also reviewed the book. His review is shorter and more brutal.

It wasn’t too long ago that I wrote about Brian McLaren and got in trouble. Reflecting on seeing him speak at a nearby church, I suggested that he appears to love Jesus but hate God. Based on immediate and furious reaction, I quickly retracted that statement. I should not have done so. I believed it then and I believe it now. And if it was true then, how much more true is it upon the release of his latest tome A New Kind of Christianity. In this book we finally see where McLaren’s journey has taken him; it has taken him into outright, rank, unapologetic apostasy. He hates God. Period.

Both of these men have done us a service. Books such as McClaren’s need to be deconstructed and called out for the heresy that they are. As Mark Driscoll says, we have a duty to shoot the wolves.

doctrine

Big new book from Mark Driscoll is coming soon.

Doctrine, What Christians Should Believe

Looks good. here is the table of contents:

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 – Trinity: God Is

Chapter 2 – Revelation: God Speaks

Chapter 3 – Creation: God Makes

Chapter 4 – Image: God Loves

Chapter 5 – Fall: God Judges

Chapter 6 – Covenant: God Pursues

Chapter 7 – Incarnation: God Comes

Chapter 8 – Cross: God Dies

Chapter 9 – Resurrection: God Saves

Chapter 10 – Church: God Sends

Chapter 11 – Worship: God Transforms

Chapter 12 – Stewardship: God Gives

Chapter 13 – Kingdom: God Reigns

atheism’s despair

Mark Driscoll with an excellent rundown of the hopelessness of an atheistic worldview:

Here is a related example from via challies:

Indifference to the Disappearance as the Months Pass

Not every atheist was horror-stricken at the O’Hairs’ disappearance. Frankly, some — those who disapproved of Madalyn O’Hair’s combative and vulgar style — were relieved that she was no longer atheism’s most visible and vocal spokesperson. A Texan atheist wrote:

The disappearance of the O’Hairs in September 1995 gave hope that more positive atheist initiatives might develop…That’s why atheists should worry about the revival of Madalyn’s American Atheists, Inc. under the leadership of Ellen Johnson, who assumed the office of President in a questionable Board of Directors meeting. Ellen Johnson is also a die-hard Madalyn fan who continues to present Madalyn as an atheist heroine. What atheism doesn’t need is a continuation of Madalyn’s negativity.

By the time Bill Murray learned that his mother, estranged daughter and half-brother had vanished, board member Tyson was living in the O’Hairs’ home. Instead of sharing their concerns and assisting each other in the search, Madalyn’s son and the American Atheists traded insults in the media. Each accused the other of caring nothing for the O’Hairs, and seeking only to make hay out of the disappearance for the publicity it would bring. “One of my mother’s employees moved into her house…and began to sleep in her bed. Her close “confidant,” Ellen Johnson, immediately flew to Texas from New Jersey and set up a new board of directors to take over the property and bank accounts of the family’s atheist organizations. Not a single “friend” reported any of the three missing to the police,” said Murray.

Go read the rest of this interesting story.

Driscoll in Austin

Mark Driscoll started the Austin Song of Solomon conference yesterday evening. It was an excellent way to spend a Friday evening with my lovely wife of 20 years.

Tim Hawks the pastor of Hill Country Bible Church kicked off the festivities by welcoming everyone to the church.

Mark spoke for the next couple of hours.

and then Mark and his wife Gracie answered audience questions.

Another perspective on Calvinism

Here is Dolan Cummings on Calvinism here in Calvin’s 500th year. Its effect on Scotland and modern manifestations. It doesn’t appear that Mr. Cummings is a Christ follower which makes his bit on Mark Driscoll especially interesting.

One of the most successful and dynamic emerging churches in the US today is Mars Hill in Seattle, founded by pastor Mark Driscoll, who stands firmly in the reformed tradition. As he explains in his book Confessions of a Reformission Rev, ‘If you don’t know what that means, the gist is that people suck and God saves us from ourselves’ (5). Driscoll is a twenty-first century Calvinist. Seattle is far from being a traditional bastion of the Christian right, however, so the success of Mars Hill is significant. Driscoll started the church in his own home in 1996, but has since built it up into a multi-campus megachurch with a congregation of thousands, drawn in large part from Seattle’s grungy art and music scene, and now including many young and not-so-young families. Driscoll describes the church as culturally liberal and theologically conservative, and there seems to be an appetite for that.

Driscoll has written a series of books branded ‘A book you’ll actually read’, each designed to be read in an hour, but he could not be accused of dumbing down or softening the message. He begins his book on church leadership by warning the reader, ‘You will not read a bunch of cute stories about bunny rabbits giving their lives to Jesus and such, because I do not want to waste any of my words or any of your time’ (6). That book is an attempt to explain the idea of religious authority to a generation more used to thinking of Jesus as a hippy than an authority figure, and likely to be uncomfortable with the idea. Meanwhile his book on ‘Who is God?’ explains, ‘Because there is both a Lawgiver and Law, we are able to rise above the incessant postmodern pluralism that says there is no Law but only cultural perspective on morality’ (7).

Driscoll offers a sense of moral surety in a society more often characterised by prevarication and obfuscation. More than that, his church offers moral leadership to a generation used to being flattered by authority figures. While schools and even other churches seek to boost self-esteem by telling kids they can achieve whatever they want (or conversely that they should be happy not to achieve anything), Driscoll’s Calvinism tells them what they already know: deep down they’re not so great, and that’s not good enough. In fact it’s a message that appeals to all ages, because whatever you achieve, it never stops being true.

from Joe Carter at First Things blog who adds:

For the past twenty years the seeker-sensitive model—making church more appealing to the un-churched—has been the dominant approach to church growth in evangelicalism. But as Mars Hill and other Calvinistic churches are proving, the old “You’re a sinner and need Jesus” can be quite effective too.

Driscoll coming to Austin

The Resurgence Blog is and has been in the blogroll. I encourage you to check it regularly. Lots of good articles and series by Acts 29 church planters all over the country.

Recently, Mark Driscoll announced that he and his lovely wife were coming to Hill Country Bible Church here in Austin to talk at a two day conference about dating marriage and sex.

here is the announcement:

On October 2–3, my high school sweetheart and I will be teaching in Austin, Texas, for the Song of Solomon Bible Conference at Hill Country Bible Church. Our topics will be dating, marriage, and sex, in that order.

I have had the pleasure of speaking at a few of the Song of Solomon Conferences around the country, but this will be the first one where Grace joins me. I will be preaching Friday night and Saturday morning. Everyone in attendance will be welcome to send in anonymous questions via text message, and Grace will join me on stage to help answer them. The price is super cheap, ranging from $25 for students and soldiers, to $35 for those who register by 9/21, and $45 for those who decide to join us at the last minute. Additional discounts for groups of 10 or more can be arranged by calling 800-729-0815. Complete information can be found here.

We truly are looking forward to coming out, meeting lots of folks, and seeing the Holy Spirit do a gracious work in the lives of many people. So, I’ve polished my boots and will see you in one of the world’s greatest nations, Texas.

and here is the conference page with more information and registration information.

and here is a video from Mark making the announcement

Hour of Power

you have got to check out Mark Driscoll wearing a tie and preaching the Gospel to the crowd in the Crystal Cathedral on the Hour of Power.

Resurgence blog post about it here.

Direct link to video here.

transcript here.

Think about the message that Mark is bringing in the forum managed by Dr. Robert Schuller. Maybe spend some time with Michael Horton’s 1992 interview with Dr. Schuller here or here to get a feel for how amazing it is that Mark Driscoll got the chance to bring this message in this forum.

small sample of the interview but please go read the whole thing. (MH=Michael Horton, RS=Robert Schuller)

MH: But isn’t it because faith is the instrument through which we’re justified before a God who otherwise would take account of us for our sins, not just our “not trusting…”

RS: We are not justified by faith.
MH: No, it is by grace through faith.

RS: By grace through faith, that’s right.
MH: But what I’m asking is this. Justified from what? The wrath of God?

RS: Oh! I’ll never use that language
MH: But the Bible does.

RS: Yes, the Bible does, but the Bible is God’s book to believers primarily. Listen, and then call me a heretic if you want to, but I’m interested in attracting people, and not driving them farther away. There is language I can and will use and there are times, if we are wise, there is language we will not use….If God is a God of love, how do we handle this concept of wrath? At the outset, on the surface, it appears to be a contradiction; maybe it is. I tell you this, I have come to the conclusion that I haven’t stepped into the center of truth until I’ve dared to step into contradiction. The Bible is a contradiction: Old Testament–Law, New Testament–Grace. Jesus is a contradiction; totally human and totally God.

MH: Of course we would say that that the dual nature of Christ is a mystery but not a contradiction.
RS: It is a contradiction, but you know what? Contradictions are ultimate points of creativity…

coming attractions

courtesy of Jonathan Dodson, I ran across this post by Mark Driscoll and his recent encounter with ABC’s Terry Moran and the Nightline crew.

Sounds interesting. I wonder what the finished product will look like.

I sat down for about 30 minutes with Terry Moran and we talked about how idolatry underlies all sin, how it is rooted on the false promise of happiness, how it ultimately destroys, how it is often the result of turning a good thing into an ultimate thing, and how it shows itself in our culture in how we idolize celebrities, athletes, food, family, sex, money, relationships, and achievement – or rather, what we call American culture.

Leadership

continuing his spiritual gift series, Mark Driscoll has posted on the gift of leadership.

Spiritual Gift of Leadership Defined

The spiritual gift of leadership is found in people who have a clear, significant vision from God and are able to communicate it publicly or privately in such a way that they influence others to pursue that vision.

People with the Gift of Leadership

These people tend to gravitate toward the “point position” in a ministry. Others tend to have trust and confidence in their abilities. They best serve others by leading them. They tend to operate with a strong sense of destiny.

…..

Do You Have This Gift?

• Do others have confidence in your ability to lead?
• Do you enjoy being the “final voice” or the one with the overall responsibility for the direction and success of a group or organization?
• When a difficult situation arises, do others look to you for input and leadership?
• Do you usually take leadership in a group where none exists?
• Do you find leadership enjoyable rather than frustrating and difficult?
• Do others look to you to make the major decisions for a group or organization?

calvinism and holiness today

courtesy of Iain campbell here is a different take than one would expect on the state of calvinism and holiness these days.

here is how it starts:

When I was a youngster and newly saved, it seemed as if the chief goal of all zealous Christians, whether Calvinistic or Arminian, was consecration. Sermons, books and conferences stressed this in the spirit of Romans 12.1-2, where the beseeching apostle calls believers to present their bodies a living sacrifice, and not to be conformed to this world. The heart was challenged and stirred. Christ was to be Lord of one’s life, and self must be surrendered on the altar of service for him.

But now, it appears, there is a new Calvinism, with new Calvinists, which has swept the old objectives aside. A recent book, Young, Restless, Reformed, by Collin Hansen tells the story of how a so-called Calvinistic resurgence has captured the imaginations of thousands of young people in the USA, and this book has been reviewed with great enthusiasm in well-known magazines in the UK, such as Banner of Truth, Evangelical Times, and Reformation Today.

This writer, however, was very deeply saddened to read it, because it describes a seriously distorted Calvinism falling far, far short of an authentic life of obedience to a sovereign God. If this kind of Calvinism prospers, then genuine biblical piety will be under attack as never before.

The author of the book is a young man (around 26 when he wrote it) who grew up in a Christian family and trained in secular journalism. We are indebted to him for the readable and wide-reaching survey he gives of this new phenomenon, but the scene is certainly not a happy one.

The author begins by describing the Passion, conference at Atlanta in 2007, where 21,000 young people revelled in contemporary music, and listened to speakers such as John Piper proclaiming Calvinistic sentiments. And this picture is repeated many times through the book – large conferences being described at which the syncretism of worldly, sensation-stirring, high-decibel, rhythmic music, is mixed with Calvinistic doctrine.

then he goes after John MacArthur and the Resolved conferences, C.J. Mahaney, Josh Harris, Curtis Allen and Mark Driscoll. you should go read it to see what he says.

then he gets to the meat of his coconut:

Most of the well-known preachers who promote and encourage this ‘revival’ of Calvinism have in common the following positions that contradict a genuine Calvinistic (or Puritan) outlook:

1. They have no problem with contemporary charismatic-ethos worship, including extreme, heavy-metal forms.

2. They are soft on separation from worldliness [see endnote 2].

3. They reject the concern for the personal guidance of God in the major decisions of Christians (true sovereignty), thereby striking a death-blow to wholehearted consecration.

4. They hold anti-fourth-commandment views, taking a low view of the Lord’s Day, and so inflicting another blow at a consecrated lifestyle.

Whatever their strengths and achievements (and some of them are brilliant men by any human standard), or whatever their theoretical Calvinism, the poor stand of these preachers on these crucial issues will only encourage a fatally flawed version of Calvinism that will lead people to be increasingly wedded to the world, and to a self-seeking lifestyle.

Truly proclaimed, the sovereignty of God must include consecration, reverence, sincere obedience to his will, and separation from the world.

You cannot have Puritan soteriology without Puritan sanctification. You should not entice people to Calvinistic (or any) preaching by using worldly bait. We hope that young people in this movement will grasp the implications of the doctrines better than their teachers, and come away from the compromises. But there is a looming disaster in promoting this new form of Calvinism.

and then he gets to this:

A final sad spectacle reported with enthusiasm in the book is the Together for the Gospel conference, running from 2006. A more adult affair convened by respected Calvinists, this nevertheless brings together cessationists and non-cessationists, traditional and contemporary worship exponents, and while maintaining sound preaching, it conditions all who attend to relax on these controversial matters, and learn to accept every point of view. In other words, the ministry of warning is killed off, so that every -error of the new scene may race ahead unchecked. These are tragic days for authentic spiritual faithfulness, worship and piety.

True Calvinism and worldliness are opposites. Preparation of heart is needed if we would search the wonders and plumb the depths of sovereign grace.

This fellow Masters is very hard to please.

Teaching

Mark Driscoll has a post on the spiritual gift of teaching.

The Spiritual Gift of Teaching Defined

The gift of teaching is the God-given ability to understand and communicate biblical truth in a clear and relevant manner so that there is understanding and application.

People with the Gift of Teaching

Learning, researching, communicating, and illustrating truth are qualities that an individual will manifest when exercising the gift of teaching. These people enjoy studying and learning new information, and find great joy in sharing it with others. The format of teaching varies from one-on-one discipleship to formal classes, informal Bible studies, large groups, and preaching, which is a form of teaching.

…..
Do You Have This Gift?

Do you enjoy studying and researching?
Do you enjoy imparting biblical truth to others?
Do others come to you for insight into Scripture?
When you teach, do people “get it”?
When you see someone confused in their understanding of the Bible do you feel a responsibility to speak to them about it?
Do you enjoy speaking to various sizes of groups about biblical issues you have strong convictions about?

so what do you think? is this your gift?

piper on driscoll

Here is a blog post containing six minutes of audio of John Piper discussing the controversy between John MacArthur and Mark Driscoll. Very interesting indeed.

If you want a more complete narrative of the fuss, Jonathan Christman has a nine part run down focusing on Phil Johnson and Mark Driscoll including Phil Johnson’s letter to Mark and Mark’s video response. Again, very interesting indeed.

Here is a page with all of the links to Jonathan’s posts about the matter. I found parts VII, VIII and IX to be the most interesting.

Zach is thankful for Mark Driscoll

Zach of Vitamin Z is thankful for Mark Driscoll.

Most people know that Mark is known for his strong push for men to act like Biblical men. Sometimes I feel that this crosses the line and could give people the impression that he believes a real man has to be a fist pounding, beer drinking, UFC loving, likes to fight kind of guy. I know this is not Mark’s intention, (which he explicitly stated last night) but I fear that it could be heard that way by some.

But… I know why Mark stresses these things with such intensity and I completely agree that it is a huge need in our Christian culture. As he says, “You get the men, you win the war”. I know this is true and I am thankful for Mark leading so many broken men in Seattle and beyond into loving their wives well, loving and teaching their kids well, and stepping up to lead in the church well.

Go check out the rest at the link above.

In other words, Mark Driscoll is the opposite (masculine) influence to the dominant Christian culture as reflected in The Shack (completely feminine).

I am thankful for Mark Driscoll as well.

Wisdom

Driscoll is doing a series of articles on spiritual gifts. Since he is charismatic, his series would be different than mine, but it is quite good nonetheless.

His latest post is on the spiritual gift of wisdom.

defined:

The gift of wisdom is the ability to have insight into people and situations that is not obvious to the average person, combined with an understanding of what to do and how to do it. It is the ability to not only see, but also apply the principles of God’s Word to the practical matters of life by the “Spirit of wisdom” (Eph. 1:17).

how to know if you have it:

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

When studying God’s Word, do you find that you discover the meaning and its implications before others do?
Do you seem to understand things about God’s Word that other believers with the same background and experience don’t seem to know?
Are you able to apply biblical truth in a practical way to help counsel others to make good life choices?
Do you get frustrated when people make foolish decisions that damage their quality of life, because you know what they should have done instead?
Do you find that when people have important decisions to make, they come to you for prayer and biblical counsel?
Do you find that when you counsel people, God the Spirit gives you wisdom to share with them from Scripture, which they accept as God’s truth to them through you?

more wolf shooting

Some of you may recall Mark Driscoll’s talk at last year’s Desiring God national conference. I reviewed it briefly here and linked to it. In the talk, Mark made the point that wolves are false teachers who prey upon the flock of God. Wolves do not need to be loved and understood. They must be dealt with quickly and harshly before they hurt the sheep.

Later in the year, Adrian Warnock provided an excellent example of wolf shooting by calling out a false teacher who denies penal substitutionary atonement.

More recently, James MacDonald has done some wolf shooting in a more light hearted vein. He compared emerging church leader Brian McLaren to Palm Pilots. it was funny and it stung because it was true.

Now James MacDonald is taking on the topic of wolf shooting more directly.

I do not view Brian as an ‘erring weaker brother,’ worthy of sympathy or olive branches, but rather as a dangerous false teacher who repackages mainline liberal theology. (Have the past 50 years not been adequate to see how liberal theology empties churches and damns souls?)

More dangerous still is that McLaren packages his false teaching and denials of Scripture as solutions to some of the excesses currently plaguing evangelicalism—the danger being his winning over of young people who have legitimate complaints about the current church, but who lack the discernment to see that his solutions are often unbiblical even when his critiques are fair.

Bottom line: my article was making the point that all denials of orthodox Christianity end up in a theological dumpster, not bearing fruit or winning souls to Christ. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

What was amazing about some of the comments I received was that they were not put off by the critique, but by the naming of the specific person who promulgates these deceptions. Several comments stated in the strongest of terms that it is unbiblical and unwise, even unloving, to name the names of false teachers and opponents of the biblical gospel. Is that true? Is it wrong to publicly call out those who attack the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ? Even when their denials are much more public? Let’s see what Jesus, Paul, Peter, and John have to say about how to deal with false teachers. Do they confront it? Do they, in many instances, actually name the people involved?

go check out the quotes that follow. An excellent reminder that the need to shoot the wolves and protect the sheep is scriptural.

wise as serpents, harmless as doves

Jesus sent his twelve disciples out by two’s in Matthew 10 to proclaim the imminence of the Kingdom of Heaven. As part of his charge to them, Jesus told them in verse 16 that he was sending them out like sheep in the middle of wolves “so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

That phrase has haunted me since I first remember seeing it in a coach’s devotion after football practice in high school. (yes, I went to a christian school.)

Look at it again: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

“I am sending you out” Jesus commissioned the disciples and he has commissioned us.

“as sheep in the midst of wolves” Jesus sent them out to a world that hated him and would therefore hate his followers. (cf 10:24-25) But his disciples were to remain “as sheep.”

“so be wise as serpents” this is the part that just continues to rotate in my mind. Why say it like this? Specifically, why “serpent”? was Jesus saying that we are to know the schemes of that old serpent, Satan as well as the snake himself does? I think maybe that is it. I think perhaps this is Jesus teaching his disciples to be very aware of the particular worldly culture into which they were ministering.

“and innocent as doves” at the same time that his disciples were to be in the world and wise regarding Satan’s schemes therein, they were to remain innocent as doves. They were to keep their character as sheep following their Chief Shepherd. In the world but not of the world. familiar with the culture, but not polluted thereby.

Study it for yourselves and tell me if I am off base. Just meditate on chapter 10 of Matthew for a while.

Anyway, I bring that up because I really like Mark Driscoll.

To me, he exemplifies a man of God sent by Jesus as a sheep in the middle of Seattle Washington’s wolves. He endeavors to be as wise as a serpent, and as innocent as a dove. Obviously, like all of us, he fails in one or both sides of this equation from time to time. But he is trying to thread that needle rather than staying safely on the side of remaining innocent as a dove, because he knows that his obligation is to people in Seattle that desperately need to hear the voice of the Shepherd and will not do so unless the man God uses to call them is wise to the worldly culture in which the people live.

Whenever Mark was taking a beating recently, it seemed to me like his critics were missing the main thing. That is why I wrote this post. And it is why I wrote this post as well.

the main thing is that Mark is trying to thread the needle of being as wise as a serpent while remaining as harmless as a dove so that he can fully obey Jesus command to preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

One of the more vociferous critics of Mark Driscoll has been Steve Camp. I love Steve Camp, but couldn’t understand the unbalanced nature of his attacks on Mark.

I have learned via Timmy Brister that Steve has now apologized.

That is where I had failed in addressing these things concerning Mark and his ministry; this is where the Lord convicted me as I reviewed some of my past articles I had written about him. I was not godly in how I used words to speak of those concerns on this blog. IOW, I came to see that in a very real way we have the same problem… just a different manifestation. I find myself identifying with Isaiah in the temple as “a man of unclean lips” that needed to repent of his sin. Unclean lips doesn’t necessarily mean here a tongue that uses seedy speech, but rather one that represents a heart that is not right before the Lord – unworthy deserving judgment. That was me; and apart from God’s sanctifying grace each day – that is still me. IOW beloved, my heart was not right towards my brother in Christ. I should have been more gracious, charitable and balanced in my words when commenting about his ministry in the Lord. In my zeal to champion reformed biblical theology which I deeply believe, I was blinded to the prideful log in my own eye while blogging about the speck in my brother’s eye. For this, I sincerely ask the readers of this blog and those associated with Mark and Mars Hill Church to please forgive me. I have already asked this of Mark privately and he has been most kind to extend to me a heart of mercy. It is my desire to always speak the truth in love and to not carelessly amputate another in that process.

Steve makes public his apology in the context of a review of Mark Driscoll’s recent debate with Deepak Chopra regarding the existence of Satan.

Steve realizes in watching Mark’s performance during this debate the nature of Mark’s gifting by God.

4. Mark has a rare ability to take complex spiritual truth and say them in a simple and pedestrian way that communicates the core meaning (while staying true to Scripture) to those who don’t speak Christianeeze or have never darkened the door of a church before. This is a gift; and one I wish more pastors had.

Go read the whole post by Steve regarding his apology to Mark and his review of the nightline debate. Very useful and edifying stuff indeed.

pitfalls in planting

over at the Resurgence Blog (where Mark Driscoll has just posted about complementarianism) Barry Keldie is doing a series about pitfalls to be careful of when planting a church. The first two of the series have been posted.

the first one is finances.

When you or your elders have developed and written out a plan (budget, priority spending, etc.), then you should hand it off to someone else to manage. As a lead pastor/church planter you should not give yourself the power to write checks, make changes to the budget, or affect financial records in any way. This is not because church planters are thieves and have a history of spending offerings on Cheetos and new cars, but because it will go a long way in protecting your integrity. Setting up layers of accountability from day one is essential. You have enough to worry about without dealing with accusations that come from poor planning and weak financial structures.

the second one is part 1 on leadership:

Every planter is frantically looking for teammates and help as he plants the church, but don’t install elders too quickly. This usually leads to hiring people who are not qualified or ready to lead, or giving authority to people who are not completely in sync with your mission and values. I know a church planter in North Carolina who hastily installed a group of elders who proceeded to fire him in their first elders’ meeting. Your first elders should be picked with almost as much care as your wife (unless you got married in Vegas)!

emphasis in original

go read the rest at the two links above. I am ready to see part 3.

DVR alert

A debate between Mark Driscoll and Annie Lobert against Deepak Chopra and Carlton Pearson on Satan will be on ABC’s Nightline at 11:30 p.m. ET tonight. Preview at the link.

Here are 8 things that Jamie Munson of Mars Hill Church says we should know about the debate.

1. The debate was more about Jesus than Satan.
Both are important, but Jesus is the main character. He got the first word, thanks to Pastor Mark’s courageous, compassionate, and clear presentation of the gospel.
2. The hospitality of the Mars Hill volunteers.
They were everywhere, creating a warm and welcoming environment for all the guests and ready to help out in anyway necessary. The crew from ABC was floored by the warmth and competence of our volunteers. Thanks to those who served.
3. There were lots of laughs.
Moderator Dan Harris did a good job and made the potentially awkward “tape breaks” not so awkward. The whole experience offered a fun and educational peak into the world of TV production.
4. Mars Hill folks engaging non-Christians in conversation.
I saw and heard many conversations about Jesus between those on both sides of the issue. It was really cool to see Christians sharing Jesus in word and deed, and to hear so much open discussion. In fact, the whole experience was a lot like what used to occur at the original Mars Hill.
5. Annie Lobert demonstrated a heartfelt love for Jesus.
Her story was effective and moving; she has clearly been changed by Jesus and is using her life to help others experience the same grace and redemption.
6. Deepak Chopra admitted he cannot trust his own mind.
Unfortunately, he does trust his own spirit and not The Holy Spirit. I was grieved by the amount of faith that he puts in himself and the ambiguous way in which he spoke.
7. Bishop Carlton Pearson quoted a lot of verses, but…
Though he knows a lot about the Bible, Pearson picks and chooses which parts he likes and wants to believe. In doing so, he ultimately places himself in authority over Scripture as the one who gets to decide which parts are true and which are not.
8. God’s Word was the closing argument.
As his final statement, Pastor Mark read from 1 John 5:19–20, giving Jesus the last word. Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal life. I hope and pray that some who were in attendance and others who will tune in on TV or watch online will come to know Jesus in this way.

Hat tip to Vitamin Z

Time Magazine noticed us

everybody is buzzing about number 3 on Time Magazine’s Top Ten Ideas Changing the World Right Now.

here, let them explain:

Calvinism is back, and not just musically. John Calvin’s 16th century reply to medieval Catholicism’s buy-your-way-out-of-purgatory excesses is Evangelicalism’s latest success story, complete with an utterly sovereign and micromanaging deity, sinful and puny humanity, and the combination’s logical consequence, predestination: the belief that before time’s dawn, God decided whom he would save (or not), unaffected by any subsequent human action or decision.
….
No more. Neo-Calvinist ministers and authors don’t operate quite on a Rick Warren scale. But, notes Ted Olsen, a managing editor at Christianity Today, “everyone knows where the energy and the passion are in the Evangelical world” — with the pioneering new-Calvinist John Piper of Minneapolis, Seattle’s pugnacious Mark Driscoll and Albert Mohler, head of the Southern Seminary of the huge Southern Baptist Convention. The Calvinist-flavored ESV Study Bible sold out its first printing, and Reformed blogs like Between Two Worlds are among cyber-Christendom’s hottest links.

fascinating. nice to be noticed, but with a raised profile comes increased responsibility. Jesus’ admonition to His disciples in Matthew 10:16 applies to us as well: “16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

The world is watching. Again, Time Magazine:

Calvin’s 500th birthday will be this July. It will be interesting to see whether Calvin’s latest legacy will be classic Protestant backbiting or whether, during these hard times, more Christians searching for security will submit their wills to the austerely demanding God of their country’s infancy.

church planting

As some of you know, Julie and I are in the very beginning stages of working with Bryan and Lindsey Payne to plant a Harvest Bible Chapel here in Austin, Texas. Our Facebook group is here if you want to read more about this new church plant. I have been tasked with doing the legal papers to take the new church from dream into its very beginning embryonic stage.

I began this journey back in January 2003 when God used some events at the church where we were to lead me to intensely examine what the Bible says about the local church. During that year, and thereafter, I came to the conclusion that in some important ways, the way we were “doing church” contained some extra-biblical and unbiblical elements.

I eventually decided that God was calling me to do something about what I had learned and start a church. I proceeded to break with our church and start something on my own, but I was given the opportunity instead to try out my ideas in a stand alone new ungraded Sunday school department. The Harbor was the result and it proved to be a valuable learning experience. I am so grateful to the beautiful people who decided to experiment with us in trying something new inside of a very established traditional church structure.

At the Harbor, we did some foolish things, we learned some valuable lessons and God blessed the effort. It was amazing. Most importantly, I learned why God and Paul consistently use the ‘body’ metaphor for a church. It takes all of the members using their particular gifts to make the whole unit function most effectively. we all have blind spots and weaknesses to go with our strong points. We all need to mesh together our strengths and weaknesses in order to be more effective together than any of us could be separately.

Events intervened and we went to Arkansas for a year. Since returning, Julie and I have felt out of sync in our church membership. just a bit out of phase with everything around us.

God has continued to impress upon me the need for me to be involved in starting a church, but not by myself. I learned in the Harbor experience and in research since then that I am not the personality type nor do I have the gift set or training to start a church on my own.

some of you may have noticed that a recurring theme on this blog is church planting:

see here
here
here
here
and here for instance.

Here is Mark Driscoll talking about the attributes needed for a church planter.

with God’s help and in His grace, Bryan will be the man that God can use in this endeavor of bringing Harvest Bible Chapel to Austin for God’s glory and for the furtherance of His Kingdom, and I will be able to help.

missing the moment

The third of the reactions posted by Timmy Brister that I found particularly interesting is a longer read that gets to the heart of why I think this fight matters and why it is even occurring.

An article at Baptist Twenty One is titled “The Generation Gap in the SBC: Interactions with Nathan Finn and The Baptist Press Article on Mark Driscoll (Pt. 1)”

First, take a look at the authors of Baptist Twenty One and their brief biographical blurbs. Who do you see? Do you see twenty something bachelors living in their parents’ house blogging all day or do you see productive young men in service to God with a presumably bright future ahead of them?

Now read the article by Nathan Akin and Ronnie Parrot. Here is a longish excerpt, but go read the whole thing in context.

Nevertheless, there seems to be a rift developing between these two sides, and we are now seeing young pastors who look at their ministries and say “I don’t have to deal with the pettiness, political ambitions, and traditionalism that is not gospel-centered to change the world for Christ.” Why should they waste their time in a denomination that in some circles reject them because of the way they do ministry, the clothes they wear, the music they listen to, and the people that influence them?

The recent article by Baptist Press on Pastor Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church in Seattle is an ironically timely illustration of this trend. Mark Driscoll’s track record over the last 10 years is staggering: 8,000 attend his church, 7 campuses, hundreds of churches planted through Acts 29 (with a 100% success rate), etc. Driscoll’s heart to reach as many people as possible for the glory of King Jesus is clear. What is also clear is the influence he has on millions of believers and especially young seminarians.

Some in our denomination believe that God is doing great things through Driscoll and that connecting with such a leader is beneficial for those training for ministry, young pastors, and even for current leaders in the denomination. Others have distanced themselves from him because of past occurrences of sin that, for some reason in their minds, can never be forgiven and still stain his current biblical, theological views. Not only have they distanced themselves from Driscoll, some have attacked his Acts29 network (like Missouri), and others have been critical of those who have allowed him to be involved in our SBC entities.

The article in the Baptist Press criticized Driscoll in an inaccurate and unfair way, and it gives an illustration of why some in the younger generations disengage. These kinds of things only aid their decisions to leave. Bombing raids on Gospel-centered brothers (who are not the enemy) turn many of them off. Baptist Press and others continue to castigate a man who has repented of past sins, and we as redeemed sinners must believe that the Cross takes care of sin. We should value repentance, not ignore it. We also continue to berate a man who preaches more gospel-centered sermons in a week than most pastors (including much of the SBC) preach in a year. We acknowledge that Driscoll is by no means perfect, nor is he always accurate. Some of what he does and says is edgy, radical, and stirs up controversy, but most of the time his approaches are not unbiblical. We in no way intend for this to be an endorsement of all things Driscoll, but we do believe he is doing valuable gospel work and he is not the one we need to launch our grenades on.

emphasis added.

The authors then begin addressing the Baptist Press article in a very specific way. you really ought to take a look.

my point when I even referenced the presence of this fight yesterday morning is precisely this. The SBC leadership seems to be missing completely the moment we are in historically, culturally, theologically. They are losing the next generation of leadership in their own convention and they don’t seem to care at all.

It is an interesting phenomenon, but it is also sad to see.

friends ride in

Timmy Brister has posted a round up of reactions to the Baptist Press article on Mark Driscoll.

I found three of them to be particularly interesting.

First, Ed Stetzer writes that Friday is for Friends and he says, in part:

So, some don’t like Mark, and they point to his past as justification. But we need to realize that Mark has repented for the “cussin’ pastor” reference and continues to grow (and I hope this is true of all of us). And I can tell you that first hand.

You see, I personally confronted Mark about his language, and Mark responded clearly. God was and is working in Mark’s life. He has mentioned his growth and his repentance frequently.

Mark explained our discussion in a blog post a few months ago:

A godly friend once asked me an important question: “What do you want to be known for?” I responded that solid theology and effective church planting were the things that I cared most about and wanted to be known for. He kindly said that my reputation was growing as a guy with good theology, a bad temper, and a foul mouth. This is not what I want to be known for.

Now, I am not saying that everything Mark Driscoll does is right. And, I am not really interested in having that discussion on my blog.

He reaches a lot of people, teaches the scriptures, and has a passion for planting. I like that. But, there are also areas where we disagree (and, I sat on his front porch and told him so).

But, let’s remember that to bring up someone’s old sin flies in the face of Scripture and contradicts grace. And let me also say, I am so thankful I am not continually evaluated on the basis of my past mistakes.

emphasis added.

JD Greear chimes in as well:

Mark and I are friends, and in many ways he has been a huge help to me in ministry. He has spoken truth into my life personally, as well as really challenged me to keep the focus of our church on the Gospel and the Scriptures. Mark and I disagree on some things, and sometimes strongly (we both are often wrong but never in doubt)… but at the end of the day he is a Bible-believing, theologically ultra-orthodox, Gospel-loving brother and God’s hand is all over him. That doesn’t excuse his (or my) errors, just that we see that God honors the preaching of His Word and Gospel above all other things. Mark believes in salvation by faith alone, that Jesus died as a penal substitution for sinners, the inerrancy of the Bible, that you should reach people with an offensive Gospel and baptize them after they make a decision, that men and women are distinct with different roles, that God’s primary instrument in the world today is the local church, and that preaching ought to be central in the church. He has influenced a whole generation of Christian leaders away from uber-trendy emergent liberalism back into the fundamentals of the Gospel. Baptists, in our book, he should be a GOOD GUY.

The third reaction deserves its own blog post which will come next.

NY Times on Mark Driscoll

the New York Times Magazine has written a long article on Mark Driscoll. Who he is, where he came from, his ministry, his doctrine, Mars Hill Church, calvinism….the whole shootin’ match. here are four brief excerpts from a four page article. go read it all. very interesting stuff.

Mark Driscoll is American evangelicalism’s bête noire. In little more than a decade, his ministry has grown from a living-room Bible study to a megachurch that draws about 7,600 visitors to seven campuses around Seattle each Sunday, and his books, blogs and podcasts have made him one of the most admired — and reviled — figures among evangelicals nationwide. Conservatives call Driscoll “the cussing pastor” and wish that he’d trade in his fashionably distressed jeans and taste for indie rock for a suit and tie and placid choral arrangements. Liberals wince at his hellfire theology and insistence that women submit to their husbands. But what is new about Driscoll is that he has resurrected a particular strain of fire and brimstone, one that most Americans assume died out with the Puritans: Calvinism, a theology that makes Pat Robertson seem warm and fuzzy.
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On that Sunday, Driscoll preached for an hour and 10 minutes — nearly three times longer than most pastors. As hip as he looks, his message brooks no compromise with Seattle’s permissive culture. New members can keep their taste in music, their retro T-shirts and their intimidating facial hair, but they had better abandon their feminism, premarital sex and any “modern” interpretations of the Bible. Driscoll is adamantly not the “weepy worship dude” he associates with liberal and mainstream evangelical churches, “singing prom songs to a Jesus who is presented as a wuss who took a beating and spent a lot of time putting product in his long hair.”
……..
New Calvinists are still relatively few in number, but that doesn’t bother them: being a persecuted minority proves you are among the elect. They are not “the next big thing” but a protest movement, defying an evangelical mainstream that, they believe, has gone soft on sin and has watered down the Gospel into a glorified self-help program. In part, Calvinism appeals because — like Mars Hill’s music and Driscoll’s frank sermons — the message is raw and disconcerting: seeker insensitive.
……
Yet while some initially come for mundane reasons — their friends attend; they like the music — the Calvinist theology is often the glue that keeps them in their seats. They call the preaching “authentic” and “true to life.” Traditional evangelical theology falls apart in the face of real tragedy, says the 20-year-old Brett Harris, who runs an evangelical teen blog with his twin brother, Alex. Reducing God to a projection of our own wishes trivializes divine sovereignty and fails to explain how both good and evil have a place in the divine plan. “There are plenty of comfortable people who can say, ‘God’s on my side,’ ” Harris says. “But they couldn’t turn around and say, ‘God gave me cancer.’ ”

hat tip to Jonathan Dodson at the Creation Project.

christians and culture

Carl Trueman is raising a contrary voice to the current fashion of cultural engagement in evangelical churches and doing it with style. This article holds together tightly and is not very amenable to slicing out a piece for a tease, but here is the introductory paragraph anyway. you really should go read the whole thing. It is a hoot. And I mean that as a compliment. Any time somebody takes this strong of a position and does it with this kind of style, then I like it.

One of the modern shibboleths of the evangelical church, particularly the evangelical church in the West, is that of culture. One must be interested in culture, or one is simply irrelevant. Books and organizations abound on Christian approaches to various aspects of modern culture; there are magazines and e-zines dedicated to the topic; and numerous conferences are held, some local, some national, some international, which address cultural issues in terms of the categories and so-called world-and-life-view of Christianity. Now, I don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater: sure, we need to understand the language and idioms of our culture to the extent that we need to communicate the gospel in such a context in a meaningful, comprehensible way; but I do believe that fascination with culture is now way out of hand in Christian circles and has come to eclipse more important, more central things. Indeed, even as I say that it is important to understand context to communicate the gospel effectively, I am conscious that this seemingly obvious statement needs to be tempered by the fact that some of the greatest preaching ever known was designed precisely not to communicate to the contemporary culture. Just check Isaiah’s commission in Is. 6, and the use of that text in Jesus’ ministry to see how not communicating in comprehensible categories as determined by the immediate culture is a critical sign of judgment on an idolatrous people.

I don’t think that Carl is saying anything substantively different than I did in this post yesterday.

Nor do I think that Carl is saying anything substantively different than Mark Driscoll is saying in this video:

or in this message.

I believe that we have to know enough about the culture we live in so that we can engage it with truth, but that we have to engage it with the truth of the gospel. That is what Mark Driscoll is saying as well. I think that Carl’s caveat that I bolded in the introductory paragraph above is saying the same thing.

What do you think? how far should the church go to engage the culture?

road trip listening

I just downloaded all nine of the messages in Mark Driscoll’s Peasant Princess series. I figured we are going to be spending some time in the car over the next week or so and might as well have something useful to listen to with our teenagers.

If you don’t know what this Driscoll series is about then check out Dangitbill’s review with links to the downloads.

the Mars Hill church source page for video and audio is here. I think this is going to be a valuable teaching tool for all five of us as we travel.