Confessions of a Reformission Rev.

Last September I had the privilege of meeting Mark Driscoll, lead pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. (They have a podcast–I would highly recommend it!) It was an awesome experience to meet with this guy for two reasons…#1, he is the real deal, what you see (and hear) is what you get–he’s not a “Christian all-star celebrity”…and #2, I had been listening to his messages on-line for so long–it was cool to discover that this dude really did exist.

Mark has written a couple of books–but the one I want to talk about is his latest one, “Confessions of a Reformission Rev.” I know I say this a lot–but if you are a pastor–or you love and care for one–you have GOT TO READ THIS BOOK!!! (Here is the link if you want to order it!)

If you have ever listened to Mark preach then you know he is honest and straightforward. This guys main concern is not making sure people are happy and church politics–he preaches from the Bible and all he talks about is Jesus–which is an awesome thing.

Mark is VERY transparent in this book about his struggles as a pastor. Let me say this–if you are considering going into the ministry…READ THIS BOOK! Mark tells you some things that seminary will not teach you. He speaks of the sexual temptation, burnout, struggles in his marriage, satanic attacks–I am serious folks–it is intense!!!

(Let me just say that I agree with Jonathan that one of the best parts of the book is when he talks about a time when he had “the runs” and decided to preach anyway…and then 15 minutes into his message he crapped his pants! I won’t tell you the rest–you’ve got to read it for yourself–and you will laugh out loud!!!)

I have serious ADD…and so I made the decision about a year ago that if a book did not captivate my attention in the first three chapters that I was not going to read it. Mark definitely had my attention…and he kept it throughout the book. It is an easy read–but please don’t take that as meaning it is not challenging. I have plans on reading it again and possibly taking my lead team through it together.

People always ask me when they read a book that I recommend, “Did you agree with everything in the book?” The answer is always no; however, in this book the issues that I disagree with Mark on are merely a personal preference or two…and I will not elaborate any further. One of the problems with Christians today I feel is that we claim to love Jesus…but we will get mad at people when they don’t think and act exactly like us! Mark is in love with Jesus and is reaching people in Seattle–which by defalt means that he gets to drink Starbucks coffee–which makes me very jealous!!!

Let me share two of my favorite quotes with you from the book…

#1 - In regards to what he discovered when visiting other churches…and the disappointment he faced…

“The woman pastor of this church, wearing a very nice, flowing, cutting-edge-of-the-1536 robe, talked about rainbows for twenty minutes while sixty or so very old people who were former classmates of Noah and eyewitnesses to the covenant rainbow sat scattered among one thousand seats or so and napped in Jesus’ name. Between her sermonette, the written literature I picked up told me how to bequeath my estate to the church when I die, and looking around the room at the equilevent of a Viagra before-photo of lifeless geriatrics. I truly could not discern why that church existed. The closest I came to finding someone with a mission was the children’s pastor, namely the meek husband of the senior pastor in pumps, who said his goal was to make his wife happy, which made me very sad.”

#2 - In regards to challenging men to become men!!!

“Things were starting to get out of hand with the men, so I called a meeting and demanded that all of the men in our church attend. I preached for more than two hours about manhood and basically gave the dad talk to my men for looking at porno, sleeping with young women, not serving Christ, not working hard at their jobs, and so on. I demanded that the men who were with me on our mission to change the city stay and that the rest leave the church and stop getting in the way because you can’t charge hell with your pants around your ankles, a bottle of lotion in one hand, and a Kleenex in the other.”

I could list more…but you’ve got to read it for yourself–excellent read!

Review taken from PerryNoble.com
 

Going All the Way by Craig Groeschel

Going All the Way by Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) is a relationships book that discusses how to prepare for a marriage that goes the distance. While most books in this genre are written only for married couples or only for the engaged or the dating or even just for singles, Craig does a great job presenting Biblical advice that can help people regardless of what their relationship status is.

He covers topics such as putting God first, finding your soul mate, dating tips, purity tips, godly relationships, and even how and when to break up. He explains how to be a good husband and how to be a good wife. And he discusses what it takes to keep one’s marriage passionate and one’s priorities in line. In other words, Going All the Way will give you a balanced education of everything it takes to have a successful marriage.

A few highlights:
Minor adjustments produce marginal results. To experience the kind of relationships we long for, we must, with God’s help, prepare to be genuinely different.

Loving the Lord is our first priority. Without Jesus in first place, what comes next will never quite work, including our love relationships.

If you want what few have, do what few do. Raise your standards. Pursue holiness.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). Men, when you become a husband, it’ll be an honor to give yourself up for your wife.

Everyone has seasons when an important lower priority takes a disproportionate amount of time. Those are seasons anyone can endure… if they don’t become a way of life.

Keep the good things from taking priority over the best.

What person do I need to become so I’ll be ready for a healthy, fulfilling marriage… and bless my spouse-to-be?
[Develop] both a thick skin and a soft heart.

Marriages are healthy because the couple learns to face and work through problems.

Going All the Way is a worthwhile investment.

Five “Gut Check” Questions

Taken from PerryNoble.com
Senior Pastor of New Spring Church in South Carolina

From time to time…in any arena of life there is a time for a “gut check.” We all experience it–but I think this is especially true in ministry. Here are five questions I often use to do a personal gut check…

#1 - Am I Listening To The Voice of God?

I had lunch with a pastor once who was curious about the success of New Spring Church. During the course of our time together he asked me, “How do you make the really important decisions around here?” I told him, “I just try really hard to hear the voice of God.”

He looked at me with an extremely confused look on his face and so I continued, “I think one of the most important things a person can do is spend daily time with the Lord and seek His voice.” He then gave me a “isn’t that sweet” sort of look and we moved on.

I said it this past year at Unleash–Leadership is as easy as listening to God…and my job as a leader is to listen to and obey His voice–not some committee of really frustrated men who never seek the face of the Lord but feel they are somehow qualified to lead His church.

Scripture says in Isaiah 2:22 that we are not to fear man, but the Lord. Pastor–what is it that the Lord is telling you to do that scares you to death because you know “they” will not approve? Listen to the voice of God because…He is Sovereign…they are not!

#2 - Am I Taking Risks?

The thing I never want to do here at NewSpring is begin to play it safe. Starting this church was a risk, moving to the Fine Arts Center was a risk. Moving to this facility was a risk. AND…the next steps the Lord is leading us to take is a risk.

I never want to be one of those leaders who merely say, “Well, you know, I am praying about it!” Christians often use prayer as an excuse for inactivity…but because it sounds spiritual then no one can argue.

I laugh when I read I Samuel 17, the story of David and Goliath. In reading that story it is clear in I Samuel 17:16 that the Israelites were held in bondage for 40 days by the giant. I am sure they prayed for God to remove the giant…maybe they sang songs to God about what a giant killer He was…or better yet, they began Bible studies on how to kill a giant. BUT–it wasn’t until David walked down into the valley and cut off his flippin’ head that people were set free.

David took a risk. What is the risk that God wants you to take–but you refuse?

#3 - Am I Understanding How Big God Is?

On my journey through Scripture I am understanding more and more how HUGE God is…and how much more He desires to do.

One of the problems with the modern church is that we limit God. I remember once after a service here at NewSpring where 50 people gave their lives to Christ a young lady went to have lunch with her family and told them all about the service. Her grandmother actually said, “That’s not of God–I’ve been in church all my life and have NEVER seen anything like that–those things just don’t happen!”

WHAT?

Why does the church limit God when Jesus said what He said in John 14:12? Why can’t God grow a church like He did in the book of Acts? Why can’t entire communities be transformed? Why can’t we see things happen in our time that happened in Scripture? Is He not the same God?

God is so much bigger than your greatest fear or obstacle!

#4 - Am I Surrounding Myself With The Right People?

One of the privileges I have here at NewSpring is working with an unbelievable staff. As I have said before–we are not the most “professionally trained” people on the planet; in fact, we have one person with a seminary degree on the entire staff. All we have is a bunch of common men and women who are in love with Jesus and also love seeing people meet Jesus! (Sort of like Acts 4:13)

AND–everyone here believes that God CAN DO AWESOME THINGS. When I recently shared with our staff that I feel NewSpring will one day have over 100,000 people attending every weekend through our multi-site venues–our staff nearly went through the roof!!! We believe God for awesome things!!!

Oh yeah…one more benefit of not hiring the “professionally trained” is that, because they are from the market place–they KNOW how to connect with those who are disconnected from Christ.
AND also–no one here has their own agenda…they are sold out to the vision of this church. Folks–you either have vision or division…and God works through one and not the other!!!

#5 - Am I Giving It My Best?

I was reminded the other day when reading Ecclesiastes 9:10 that I am called by God to give my 100% absolute best in all that I do.

One of the temptations of ANY pastor of a growing ministry is to slip into cruise control and “take it easy.” AND maybe that works for some people; however, I just can’t. God hasn’t called me to go at 50%…nor has He called me to pursue a ministry with a “that’s good enough” philosophy. I figure if God gave His very best for me by sending Jesus to the cross…I am called to offer my best back to Him.

(If you REALLY want to see how God feels about leftovers–check out Malachi 1:6-14!)

As a husband, father and leader I am to give it my best in all that I do. That doesn’t mean that I am perfect…heck, I am FAR from that, but…it does mean that all that God has called me to do that I should embrace and do with all my heart…knowing that He will make up the difference!