Aj Schwanz

So I did it:¬† I read Confessions of a Reformission Rev.:¬† Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church.¬† Those of you in EC circles probably will think, “Why?¬† He’s a punk!”¬† And those of you in Quaker circles will probably think, “Who?”

See, Mark Driscoll pastors a rather hearty-sized church called Mars Hill up in Seattle:  this story chronicles his journey creating a gathering aimed at 18-35 year olds in one of the least churched areas of the nation.  Dan Kimball says it best:

“After reading a book like this, you can never go back to being an inward focued church without a missions.¬† Even if you disagree with Mark about some of the things he says, you cannot help but be convinced to your core about what it means to have a heart for those who don’t know Jesus.”

Because there certainly is an amount of his actions that I question.¬† And yet after reading this book, I can honestly say it is the confessions of a man seeking after God’s heart and call for a specific culture.¬† It’s also spurred me into a mini-crisis of faith . . . but that’s for further blog posts, if at all.

While this book is autobiographical, it’s also a great practical resource for thinking about how, why, and what to do when starting a church.¬† It would be easy for folks to write it off saying, “Well, Mark did it this way, and I don’t agree with that, so I don’t think it applies.”¬† I believe the truths he speaks of are that - truths:¬† the distinctives, or ways they manifest themselves in specific places and cultures, will look different.¬† His church tracks the tithes of members:¬† if your pledge is short, they call you up - moreso out of concern (usually it’s because of a lost job or failing health, and they want to be a support), but also to make sure you are doing your part as a member.¬† That kind of “parental” accountiblity kinda makes my skin crawl . . . but then again, my church just went through somewhat of a budget crisis, and Mars Hill is doing *just* fine.¬† His sermons can be loud, over-the-top, and sometimes bordering on X-rated as he tackles the subjects of marriage, sex, and sexual purity.¬† He doesn’t hold anything back, which has turned many people off.¬† But I found it to be strangely refreshing (though don’t get any ideas, Gregg; you wouldn’t want my mother shaking her head at you).¬† And I can imagine why young adults in Seattle would be attracted to his potentially-vulgar talk:¬† he’s telling it like it is, no bars held, which doesn’t happen very often in Christianity.¬† Folks are looking for answers; if we don’t give answers, they’ll go someplace else.
Not only is this book a “confessional,” but it’s also a practical guide in what is involved in building a church, at least in his case.¬† Again, I believe the distinctives will look different each time, but many of the truths are universal, such as how to set up a governing/elders board or raise funds or balance the roles of family member and pastor at the same time.¬† He read some “noted authors” regarding structure, the culture he was ministering to, pastoring, but the majority of his leadings came directly from Scripture.¬†¬† He found that God provided an amazing amount of guidence in the ways the churches were established in the New Testament as well as providing a foundation for right living.¬† I found that incredibly refreshing:¬† to be honest, I’m getting a little tired of people’s opinions and arguments - I’d rather hear it straight from the source.¬† And I’d say that’s something that’s lacking in a lot of our churches today:¬† we preach our own mission and try to work Christ’s mission into it - pretty sad.
I did struggle with some of his fundamentalist stands.¬† For instance, his church does not allow women to be elders or pastors.¬† Coming from my Quaker background, that certainly does not resonate with me:¬† I know a number of women who I believe had a call placed on their hearts to serve in that capacity, and I believe people were blessed and God’s kingdom furthered because of it.¬† But maybe it’s something that’s a call for his specific mission area . . . I struggle because I’ve heard the pain of Seattle women who feel their ministry has been hurt because of Mars Hills’ influence in the area, but not being directly in Washington and experiencing it, it’s heresay on both sides.¬† But the least I can say is Driscoll lays it flat out on the table:

“Eventually I’ll write some books on these subjects, but for the sake of brevity, I will now simply come out of the closet and reveal that I am an intense biblical literalist who believes that the man is the head of the home, that the man should provide for his family, that children are a blessing, and that we would not have so many deceived feminists running around if men were better husbands and fathers because the natural reaction of godly women to godly men is trust and respect.¬† For some, this theological instruction was as popular as a fart in an elevator, and they left our church.¬† But the more than one hundred couples we trained in the first few years of the class remain happily married today and serve Jesus as missionaries, knowing that their marriage is for the gospel as much as the gospel is for their marriage.”¬† (67)¬† Hmmm. . .

So yeah:¬† it’s mouthy.¬† It’s more on the fundamental side.¬† It’s honest.¬† It seems to be a way that God’s moving in parts of the Seattle area.¬† Have you ever found truth in things you didn’t quite agree with?¬† What did you do with it?