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

212 Pages·2006·2.45 MB·English

by  Mark Driscoll

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Mark Driscoll will keep you riveted with his personal and sometimes
irreverent account of the planting and growth of Mars Hill Church in
Seattle. Be warned — this book is not for the faint of heart! Mark writes
in the honest, straightforward, street-level vocabulary of his church’s
target audience. I found it refreshingly honest, entertaining, and chal-
lenging and would highly recommend it to anyone who is serious about
trying to reach those who have grown up in a postmodern world.
— Dr. Gary B. Zustiak, Director of Youth Ministries
and Resources, Christ in Youth
Brutal, honest, attractively offensive, and long overdue! Mark Driscoll
courageously reveals the inner workings of his church and his shep-
herd’s heart. This book is a must-read for any pastor who is trying
to reach the lost and keep his biblical convictions intact. Mark is a
brother who speaks for my generation of emerging leaders. He boldly
goes where no shepherd has gone before.
— Grant Fishbook, Christ the King Community Church
For some, this book will inspire and energize you to keep going as a
church on a mission for Jesus. For others, it may rekindle the sense of
passion and mission you lost years ago. For others, it may awaken you
to the realization that you have only been going through the motions
of church and never really experienced the joy of serving Jesus as a
missional church. Whatever the case, after reading this book, you will
never go back to being an inwardly focused church without a mission.
— Dan Kimball, author of The Emerging Church
I walked with Mark as a friend through many of the stories in this
book. Reading it was a great reminder of how faithful our God is. Mark
gives the straight story on his journey in church-planting, pulling no
punches. This book is a great encouragement to anyone wanting to
plant a church or living in the trenches of ministry.
— Rick McKinley, Pastor, Imago Dei Community; author of Jesus in the Margins
Mark combines penetrating insights into effective biblical ministry in
the emerging culture with a deeply personal portrait of his struggles
to learn how to be a pastor. People with a passion to be missional will
resonate with Mars Hill Church’s story of implementing their vision
to create a healthy body of believers in the least-churched city in the
least-churched state in the country.
— Gerry Breshears, Professor of Theology, Western Seminary
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Other Books by Mark Driscoll
The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out without Selling Out
The Leadership Network Innovation Series
Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an
Emerging Missional Church, Mark Driscoll
The Multi-Site Church Revolution: Being One Church in
Many Locations, Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon, and Warren Bird
Other titles forthcoming
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ZONDERVAN
Confessions of a Reformission Rev.
Copyright © 2006 by Mark Driscoll
All rights reserved under International and Pan -American Copyright Conventions. By payment of
the required fees, you have been granted the non -exclusive, non-transferable right to access and
read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down ­
loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage
and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known
or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.
AER Edition January 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-31512-4
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Driscoll, Mark.
Confessions of a reformission rev. : hard lessons from an emerging missional
church / Mark Driscoll.
p. cm. — (The leadership network innovation series)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-27016-4
ISBN-10: 0-310-27016-2
1. Driscoll, Mark, 1970 – 2. Evangelists — United States — Biography.
3. Mars Hill Church (Seattle, Wash.) — History. I. Title. II. Series.
BV3785.D75A3 2006
280'.4 — dc22
2005032306
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible:
New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International
Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
The website addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to
you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the
part of Zondervan, nor do we vouch for their content for the life of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photo-
copy, recording, or any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without
the prior permission of the publisher.
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Contents
Acknowledgments 7
Prelude 9
0. Ten Curious Questions 13
1. Jesus, Our Offering Was $137 and I Want to Use It to Buy Bullets 37
0 – 45 P eople
2. Jesus, If Anyone Else Calls My House,
I May Be Seeing You Real Soon 57
45 – 75 P eople
3. Jesus, Satan Showed Up and I Can’t Find My Cup 73
75 – 150 P eople
4. Jesus, Could You Please Rapture the Charismaniac Lady
Who Brings Her Tambourine to Church? 91
150 – 350 P eople
5. Jesus, Why Am I Getting Fatter and Meaner? 115
350 – 1,000 P eople
6. Jesus, Today We Voted to Take a Jackhammer to Your Big Church 139
1,000 – 4,000 P eople
7. Jesus, We’re Loading Our Squirt Guns to Charge Hell Again 163
4,000 – 10,000 P eople
Appendix 1 — The Junk Drawer: Answers to Common Questions 188
Appendix 2 — Distinctives of Larger Churches 195
Notes 198
About the Publisher 209
Share Your Thoughts 210
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Acknowledgments
I want to thank the following people for their insights, which helped
to shape this book:
God the Ghost has repeatedly saved me from myself.
Bob Buford, Linda Stanley, and Dave Travis of Leadership
Network have generously invested in me since the early
days of our church.
Jon Phelps of DC – 3 Entertainment has been a mentor in ways
of which he is unaware.
Gib Martin is a wonderful encouragement as my father-in-law.
My first pastor, Doug Busby, gave me a love for Scripture,
Jesus, and the church.
Ed Stetzer has helped clarify my understanding of missiology.
Tim Keller and John Piper have been insightful theological
mentors.
Larry Osborne has graciously contributed insights into my life
and church.
The Mars Hill elders are great brothers for making sanctified
trouble.
My brothers in Acts 29 are a constant source of inspiration.
My research assistant, Crystal, spent numerous hours
preparing the endnotes for this book.
John Vaughan kindly shared his vast knowledge of
megachurches.
My wife, Grace, a.k.a. “Beauty,” and our five kids are the best
part of my life.
7
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Have fun reading my daddy’s book.
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