Mark Driscoll

I had the opportunity to spend a little time with pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington this past week. Mark was recently featured in Christianity Today and is known for his leadership in the Acts 29 Network, as pastor of one of the fastest growing churches in America in one of the most unchurched cities in the US, and as a leader in the emerging/emergent/missional movement. Mark’s address at our Convergent Christianity Conference showed his great love for theology and commitment to orthodoxy, particularly in his compelling focus on the cross of Christ. Some who only casually observe trends in the American church tend to lump Driscoll with much more liberal emergent leaders like Doug Pagitt and Brian McLaren.

I wanted to make a few observations from my time with Mark and his contribution to the conference. First, I met someone with a great love for Christ and His Church, and for his own family. The way he structures his very demanding life to prioritize Grace and their five children is encouraging in a day of opportunism in the ministry.

Second, I met a man who is focused. He knows his calling and lives his life around that calling. As I listened to him give personal advice to JD Greear, who is one of my first students, my heroes, and one of my great encouragers, I saw his rigorous attention to follow Christ.

Third, I saw a man who loves theology, the Word of God, and those who love the Word. We have differences on secondary issues, but I have met few men in my lifetime who studies the Word as seriously as he. His discussion of how he reads biographies of great men of God like Spurgeon and Edwards while Grace reads the stories of their wives, and how they discuss those as a couple and a family, was compelling. He described how his children were welcome in his study and around his books, and his desire that they love truth.

Fourth, I saw a man committed to the exposition of Scripture. His sermons tend to be an hour or more. He is without apology concerning this.

Fifth, he gave great insight into the culture. In response to one question I thought his answers were profound. He observed how that when the church moves into the pagan culture and reaches many, those new converts always challenge the status quo. They do not assume the pat answers given by the convinced are biblical but must be shown anew. If we spend more time reaching many people in the pagan culture we might see that also. Instead we tend to criticize those who raise questions as being disrespectful. Sometimes they are. But sometimes they question our view about (pick a subject–homosexuality, marriage, war, you name it) because they come from such a radically different worldview that it is hard for them in a day or two to divorce their new life in Christ from the way they see culture. Their questions should not annoy us. They should cause us to be better thinkers and better communicators of timeless truth.

Sixth, he made a signally profound comment when he answered the question about working together across denominational and other lines. A denomination is like a family, he observed. Families have a special relationship. When at its best, a denomination or family is a safe place. But either can become a prison if overprotectiveness leads to isolation. He argued (as did Ed Stetzer, correctly in my view) that there need not be a formal relationship set up between the SBC and other entities from Acts 29 to others. But, families can let their children play with other children who are not bad influences (I am embellishing a bit on his analogy but follow me). In other words, local churches can network with other groups and still be part of the family, as children can play with other friends whose families may not be just like ours.

Finally, I found it a bit interesting and humorous that he was the one speaker who proved outspoken about bloggers. The most edgy guy to speak at a Southern Baptist event in some time most discredited the newest form of Southern Baptist infighting. He referred repeatedly to bloggers who live with their moms and blog in their pajamas. Pretty hilarious.

The conference overall was in my view a smashing success. Do we have differences with Mark Driscoll? Sure. But from all I heard him say and have read of his, not at the point of preaching the cross and standing on the Word. Interestingly, I understand his website theresurgence.com in some way took its name from the conservative resurgence in the SBC. Interesting indeed. We may not agree with Mark’s view on some social issues. I do not agree with his view on alcohol, for instance. But I found a GREAT sense of kinsmanship with his love for truth, passion for souls, weariness of theological heresy on the one hand and spiritual deadness on the other, and his love for the church.

Finally, I would say that the conference as a whole was amazing. JD Greear kicked it off with a timely message. You can hear them all at itunes, just search for Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Ed Stetzer nailed several vital points. Ed has become a very dear friend to me over the last couple of years. I use his book Breaking the Missional Code as a text. You should read it. Ed gets a lot of things I see, only better. My president Danny Akin, who is as courageous as he is filled with conviction, reminded us of practical parameters as we go into the future. I cannot say how grateful I am to God that I serve where I do with Dr. Akin as my president. I was the last plenary speaker. I have to say I felt I was not up to par with the rest. I was exhausted from the busiest week of my life and it showed. But I enjoyed the opportunity and pray it helped some. The Q and A time was profitable as well and would be worth a listen.

I am more glad than ever that we did this conference. I think it demonstrates that at SEBTS we are serious about the Word’s authority and about the need for the world to know the Jesus we proclaim.