I know, I know. Mark Driscoll again?! I thought as I highlighted some of the authorship background on him in my review of his first book The Radical Reformission in my first review that I could maybe capitalise on that by focusing on the material the book contains; rather than getting tied up in the usual furore over Driscoll.
But as is tradition, I shall give you a couple of quick details. Mark Driscoll is the founding pastor of Mars Hill in Seattle; 'the least-churched city in the United States' as he is constantly reminding us. He's seen the Church grow massively from the humble beginnings as a Bible study he organised. It's actually this Church and her story that Driscoll casts in the female lead role of Confessions; giving ultimate Glory to her Groom, Jesus.
Driscoll attempts to record Mars Hill's growth, and give good Godly advice on each stage of growth. His humerous deployment of Biblical truth is refreshing, and I would suspect offends less people than his first publication. I don't mean the good 'offense' that the Gospel causes; I mean the bad offense that our lack of Grace can cause. Pride is an issue that all male leaders deal with and, like alcoholism, is a continuing struggle that only Glory will cure us of. Driscoll openly admits to this, and has a habit of humbly coming before his congregation (and readership) admitting his failings. I respect this, and in the areas where I'm tempted to get all puffed up about his lack of humility I remind myself I'm just as guilty of it as he is. That's one of the things I do love about Mark Driscoll, his very public struggle with 'the mother of all sins' and his ability to repent publically. Such an aversion to pride (and sin in general) is smattered throughout the text.
Confessions contains a far better structure than The Radical Reformission; which was, in all honesty, diabolical. 'Chapter Zero' contains the facts we need to know before he goes on to lead us through subsequent chapters. These chapters are cleverly structured around the number in the congregation; and are attatched to witty and amusing chapter titles. The title for the chapter focusing on an early plant of 0-45 people is a comedic reflection of many of Driscoll's characteristics; 'Jesus, our offering was $137 and I want to use it to buy bullets'. At first you might want to laugh and agree (it's nice to know pastors are reading this) or maybe just frown (God loves you too, even although you're not a pastor, it's alright friend).
As with The Radical Reformission the first word is therefore... 'Jesus'. Everything Driscoll preaches and writes starts, begins and ends with a desire to Glorify Jesus Christ. If it's not for Jesus' Glory, we may as well all go home and stop playing Church.
The above chapter title also lets us know that he's not scared to speak about money. It's recorded pretty early on in the book that the subject of money used to be avoided in Mars Hill, with the idea that money was 'dirty'. I would agree with Driscoll that this simply cannot be the case. His methods of members pledging and phonecalls may appear brutal, but applied with the Grace the team of elders show it is actually often the beginning of prayer and support. Money is essential for Church. Now, I'm just as sick as you are of 'prosperity gospel' churches, that 'gospel' is a false one and is straight from the pit of Hell, this is not remotely similar. There is no money grabbing techniques going on here either. We simply have to recognise that the Church requires money to continue reaching the lost and equipping the saved to do so.
As for 'buying bullets', well... Driscoll's refering to arms is something I've grown to overlook as a 'cultural' difference. The idea of a pastor with a gun to me is absurd, but then I live in Scotland, where we're not as stupid as to allow such free access to guns. The idea revolves (ok, no more gun puns, I promise) around 'shooting your dogs'. These 'dogs' are the people in your plant that simply have to go. As grusome as it sounds, I agree that there are people that need to be removed from congregations because they are hindering the growth of God's Kingdom among the community of those people. Of course sensitivity and Grace are required, and removal from a congregation is a last resort.
Anyways, he moves on to go through 45-75 people ('Jesus, if anyone else calls my house, I may be seeing you real soon'); 75-150 people ('Jesus, Satan showed up and I can't find my cup'); 150-350 people ('Jesus, could you please rapture the charismatic lady who brings her tambourine to Church?'; 350-1000 people ('Jesus, why am I getting fatter and meaner?'; 1000-4000 people ('Jesus, today we voted to take a jackhammer to your big Church'); and 4000-10,000 people ('Jesus, we're loading our squirt guns to charge Hell again').
It should be made clear that this book recounts the story of a church growing in Seattle, to Seattelites. We are on mission to our own people, some issues will be different. But there are issues covered in here that can be expected at all churches, and in all church plants.
The humble tone of the book is reflected in the title 'confessions', with Driscoll once again hinting at his respect for Augustine. It would be hard to attribute Glory to anyone but Jesus for the growth of Mars Hill. Driscoll himself would readily confess his mistakes, as many around have been only too happy to do for him.
The fact is, this book is incredibly useful for any pastor or planter. Infact, I would recommend it to anyone interested in Church. The Church needs to be made more aware of what a pastor does. It's not just a 'Sunday job' and the wider body of Christ needs to understand that. Weekly we hear stories of pastors who fall into the precise traps outlaid in this book; with more congregational support and volunteering I believe pastors would be better equipped to fulfil their callings. As you'll see below, I really was quite impressed by this book!
Enjoyability: 4/5
Theology: 5/5
Structure: 5/5
Relevance: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
I thought I'd share Driscoll's final page; as it left me weeping tears of agony for him and in realisation that, God Willing, I have the same destination. It serves as a good conclusion to this review.
"I wish I did not have to suffer demonic attacks that include seeing raw and real footage of the times my people were raped and molested that plays in my mind like a film even though I was not present. I wish I did not have to sometimes struggle so mightily to be intimate with my wife. I wish I did not feel so completely alone, especially when I am in a crowd. I wish I was not a target for critics who seem to put me on a pedestal only to get a better aim. I wish I did not have the responsibility of standing before God to give an account for the church that I lead. I wish I did not have to continually weep while watching people I dearly love shipwreck their faith and lives through folly, rebellion, sin, hard-heartedness, and deception. I wish I never had to climb on another airplane to go preach the gospel, because the picture of my children crying as I drive away haunts me while I am away from them. I wish I knew the future and how Jesus will prune me next so that I would wince to lessen the sting before the blow lands. But Jesus has called me to trust him by faith and to endure more pruning so that more fruit can be harvested for his kingdom. And for this reason, it is my deepest wish that Jesus keep pruning me, because Ilove him, want to be with him, want to be like him, and enjoy being on mission with him more than anything.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
Amen."
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