Almost 7 years ago, I was hired as the janitor at a small church in Chicago. During that time I discovered Mars Hill Church in Seattle (no affiliation with Mars Hill in Grand Rapids) and Mark Driscoll. I would spend my hours of dusting, moping, and cleaning toilets listening to his sermons. His series on the cross is what initially interested me, but over time, I listened to just about everything he put online (he gives away all of his content for free). Over these years, I learned a great deal from Mark about leadership, culture, biblical sexuality, and most importantly, what it means to put the gospel at the center of my life. These insights have had a profound impact on everything from my philosophy of ministry, teaching and counseling, to how I eat my breakfast or exercise. Mark’s teaching was a great help to me when I was going through my own crisis of faith and realizing that even in the sanitary environment of academia, satan was at work in my life to keep me from the gospel. Although I have never met him, I cannot be thankful enough for Mark’s gospel-centered teaching, and I'm sure it will mark my life and ministry forever. I have my gripes with some of the new Reformed thinkers, especially with regard to their use of the Old Testament, and some of Driscoll's exegesis in particular. But I am also thankful for the good I have been given and how it has changed me.
Some of you may have seen Mark on a Youtube clip that your Egalitarian friend showed you (or read about him on crazy blogs). Please don’t judge him only by that. You don’t get to know someone by something they said one time, but by who they are all the time. There is something sick in people who are constantly trying to tear down those in leadership, and it is, unfortunately, very contagious. In listening to Mark (and others), I think it's only fair to consider his context (Seattle). He has explained this time and again, but it is often ignored by his critics. Ministries, like any Bible verse, should always be viewed in their context. When you just pull them out and examine them on their own, they may not seem to make sense or could be completely misunderstood. I think Mark would be the first one to tell you that he has taken things too far and has made plenty of mistakes-but so have you and I. Preference is one thing, but f you are someone that tends to be overly critical in general, I would urge you to examine your heart and understand that, if you're a Christian, ultimately Mark loves Jesus and is on your team. Please listen with an open mind and humble spirit-not just to be critical, but to learn something.
Here’s a video Mars Hill Church recently put together that will give some background to what ministry is like in Seattle, and some of the struggles Mark and his wife have faced in trying to plant a church there. It is well worth watching; the story of Mars Hill is pretty incredible. Just keep in mind the primary intended audience was the church (you can download it here):
In July, CT’s “her.meneutics” page (CT's blog for women) ran an article on Driscoll and came to the following helpful conclusion:
“I may not always agree with Mark Driscoll, but I believe in the Holy Spirit who works through him. If I find myself totally unable to learn from Driscoll or any other Christ-preaching teacher in the church, that probably would say less about the preacher than it would my own faith in the power of God.”
And just one more important caveat-don’t ever deify any speaker or teacher. If you’re getting all your information from one source, that’s always a bad idea (It’s also a good idea to use more than one Bible translation by the way). I have been guilty of that so many times in my life. So in sharing this, I don’t mean to imply Driscoll’s the only guy you should listen to or the only guy I listen to. But in so far as his teaching has pointed me toward Christ, I want to share it also with you.
Something like a "top 5" list is always subjective. You may not like all of them or think others should be on the list, but these have resonated with me in some way. There is also a chance I may have missed some that I either have not listened to or listened to and then forgot. So, here are my top 5 Driscoll sermons:
5. Humble Christians (I Peter 5:6-14)
This is the final sermon for a series in I Peter, and it focuses on the great virtue of the Christian life-humility. In it, MD says there is no such thing as a humble person, only people working toward humility by the grace of God. As soon as you say that you are humble, you have disqualified yourself from being humble! This is a wonderful text, and Mark does a great job of unpacking it. This sermon has been convicting for me, and I think it will be for you too. Audio and video available for d/l here. Or view it below:
4. Reverse Engineering your life
This message was given at a men’s conference, so the ladies will find it a bit cumbersome to listen through, although it will expose you to a guy's perspective. The premise is this: we should look down the road to the end of our lives, see where we want to go, and with God’s help, move our lives in that direction. So, you are engineering your life in reverse-hence the name. At the turn of the new year, this should be helpful to listen through as you plan your priorities. Whenever I feel out of whack and I take time to evaluate it, it's generally because I either do not know what my priorities are or because I am not sticking to them. To accomplish anything significant in life, this is a must. There is no video available, but the audio can be downloaded here. I also found a PDF of the notes, if you like.
3. Christ, Controversy and Cutting Words
The Bible seems to say a lot of things that are not that nice. Is it okay for us to say those things too? If so, when should we say them, and who should we say them to? In this message, Mark addresses these questions as he reads through some of the more cutting verses in the Bible. His answer is, the Bible has all kinds of things to say to all kinds of people, but we have to use wisdom and give the right kind of response to each person. This is a refreshing look at some difficult and obscure biblical passages, and some helpful thoughts for leaders/teachers. Audio/Video available for download, or view it below:
2. Good Sex, Bad Sex
This is a classic, and it’s the first sermon I refer people to who ask about Mark. This is a frank, honest, and humorous look at I Cor. 6:12-7:7. MD talks firstly about "bad sex" in all of its forms (all sex outside of marriage), before moving to "good sex" (all expressions of sex within marriage). It’s probably not one you’ll want your children to hear (!), but when I was a youth pastor, I did show it to my high school group. I think the vodcast is funnier than the audio. You can grab a bucket of popcorn and watch it on Google Videos or below (unfortunately Mars Hill removed the video for download). The audio is available for download here.
1. Death by Love: Reflections on the Cross
From the time I first listened to this (in, I think 2007) until today, this has been my favorite Driscoll sermon. This is a phenomenal explanation of the gospel that includes about a 10 minute detailed discussion of crucifixion. He explains why the cross is so important and why it must stand at the center of our faith (make sure the resurrection is there too!). I couldn’t find it online anymore, so I uploaded it to my Youtube channel. It is not downloadable, but you can view it below (or here) until Youtube probably flags and removes it:
Honorable Mentions:
*11 Things God Does for Church Leaders
Sometimes it’s easy to put it all on ourselves in ministry. Here MD talks about 11 things that we never should take responsibility for because God already said he will. It is short by hist standards (35 minutes), but refreshing for Christian leaders. There is no video available for d/l, but you can get the audio here.
*Diversion and Deception: Nehemiah 6:1-4
There were a lot of things I found frustrating and confusing about the Nehemiah series (for example, Nehemiah is not going to Jerusalem to build a church as a city within the city), but this is one sermon that has always stood out to me. In it, MD talks frankly about the opposition Nehemiah faced and how we should respond when we face opposition.
*Leadership Coaching
Another helpful resource MD offers is leadership coaching. These are short videos recorded on MD's webcam at his house, but they are insightful and challenging. If you are a parent, in business, ministry, or leadership of any kind, I think you will find this series helpful. You can see them at theresurgence.com (you have to sign up to view them).
*The Truth and the Lie Conference:
We were made with a spiritual capacity, and we long to worship; however, instead of bringing our worship to the creator God, we often worship created things, which is idolatry. At this conference, MD helpfully shows the theological foundation for idolatry (part 1), how it works itself out through celebrity culture (part 2), before bringing it to bear on counseling techniques (part 3). I think anyone working with youth would find this series particularly helpful, but it is a great listen for anyone interested in the issues of how idolatry works itself out practically in culture. I think Driscoll has fantastic cultural insight.
Part 1- The Truth and the Lie in Marriage
The title is deceiving because he changed the content of his sermon before the conference. In this section, MD argues that all worldviews can be boiled down to “the truth” and “the lie.” All people, including atheists, are very spiritual as can be shown by how they worship unceasingly. He calls this worldview “oneism,” the idea that behind idolatry is the belief that god and the universe are one. But he says the God of the Bible is a God who makes distinctions-distinctions between man and woman, man and animals, God and the universe, etc. This “twoism” is the belief that God is separate from the world and therefore has a right to be worshiped as creator. Video and audio d/l here or watch below:
Part 2- The Truth and the Lie in Worship
In this section, MD takes the theology he showed in part 1 and works it through pop culture. What he shows is the narcissism (self-obsession) that is prevalent in celebrity culture and how it affects our children. He points out a drive among youth to become famous using by doing extreme things (like celebrities) and using technology (Youtube, FB, Twitter, etc.) as a vehicle to communicate them. He does a masterful job of viewing our culture through the lens of the theology he laid out in part 1. His only mistake is calling Ben Rothlisberger Ben Rothwell, which is strange because he is such a big football fan! Video and audio available for d/l here or watch below:
Part 3- The Truth and the Lie in Counseling
And lastly, Mark works this practically into counseling. Video/Audio d/l here; vid below:
If you are interested, you can get more sermon content here or at theresurgence.com.
Mark and his wife Grace have recently published a book called Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship and Life Together.
0 comments:
Post a Comment