Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church (Leadership Network Innovation Series)

This book has helped revive my commitment to church planting in the UK. The divide between those committed to cultural engagement, and those afraid of culture seems to grow, but Driscoll cuts right through it.

I can appreciate that some may find his style offensive, but I am fed up with bland Christian books, and this is certainly not Bland. Driscoll retells the story of Mars Hill Church, Seattle from beginning to today, warts and all. He is honest about his own failures and weaknesses, and those who find his humour too coarse, or are offended by it are missing the point.

This is not a "how to" book on church planting, or church growth. It is a testimony to Gods faithfulness. IT underlines with clarity the fact that we can hold firm to the Gospel, and be culturally relevant - this is not an option, it is a must. Read this book.

Biff Bang Wallop (0/0 people found this helpful)

Straight talking, hard hitting, biblical and funny - the remarkable journey of Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church. This book is not for the faint-hearted but is a timely challenge to engage with the culture with clear biblical churchmanship and oodles of faith. A book that demands not just to be read but acted upon.

Almost brutal, but good fun (0/0 people found this helpful)

This is a great book to have a look see how a Pastor with a biblically based theology works to reach out to a group of people who haven't grown up with a traditional Christian childhood. Refreshing, and I think many churches will have to go through his pain and change in order to reach people currently in their 20s and 30s. He takes a singular focus on building the church and shows tremendous drive in building a sound church. I'm not sure about the importance he places on being within a large church, but othewise this has enthused me about working to build a missional church at our place.

An honest and frank account from one of the most infuential pastors of this generation (1/1 people found this helpful)

First read this book over a year ago now and couldn't put it down. In fact I stayed up most of the night until I finished it. So many books out there written by megachurch pastors are not always honest about the struggles to get where they are. But as the pastor of a small/medium size church I found this book so inspiring because it tell the story of a small and strugging church in Seattle, and how God has blessed them with growth. Also, the other thing that is so refreshing about this book is that it comes from a missional/emerging church pastor who has remained true to God's Word and has not compromised the gospel. One other thing, I don't think I have laughed reading a Christian book in a long time.

Conservative and Emerging (9/9 people found this helpful)

In the US, though not so much in the UK, a distinction is sometimes made between emerging church and emergent church. Mark Driscoll places himself in the emerging camp (as opposed to, say, Brian MacLaren who is emergent).

Mark is the pastor of Mars Hill in Seattle (www.marshillchurch.org). This book tells the story of the development of Mars Hill from its tiny beginnings to its current 4000+ megachurch status. It raises all sorts of questions for me since some of Driscoll's assumptions--that size matters, that real men are macho, that women cannot lead, that Biblical truth requires one particular way of reading the Bible, and so on--are ones which I cannot share. Yet it is always good to read books which challenge one's assumptions and `Confessions' certainly does that.

Where the book is really strong is in its detailed account of the trials and triumphs of leading a church into growth. Mark is especially brave in laying bare his own weaknesses and prejudices. Although he clearly has a strong sense of his own importance to the church he is not afraid to expose himself as someone who is often tempted and needs a lot of support. If only more church leaders were able to do this!

If you are into apophatic theology (God cannot be known through the mind but only encountered as a person); if you are a fan of postmodern Bible reading; if you are convinced that Jesus came to preach kingdom rather than personal salvation; then do read this book. It offers an important witness to the fact that it is possible to build a missional church with an `old-fashioned' conservative reformed theology--at least in the US.

I can't say that I enjoyed the book, it often seemed too dogmatic and intolerant for me, but I was certainly stimulated by it and some of Mark Driscoll's principles are worth pondering in any context.

Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church (Leadership Network Innovation Series)

Mark Driscoll

Reader Reviews:

Relevant, honest and Biblical (0/0 people found this helpful)

Biff Bang Wallop (0/0 people found this helpful)

Almost brutal, but good fun (0/0 people found this helpful)

An honest and frank account from one of the most infuential pastors of this generation (1/1 people found this helpful)

Conservative and Emerging (9/9 people found this helpful)

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