Driscoll @ Moore, the entertainment centre
Enjoyed the chance to hear Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church speak on two occasions last week…
1. A talk/Q+A at Moore College
Mark spoke about the importance of preaching, focussing on its content (the gospel) and it’s form. The dig for us at Moore, he thinks, is in the form – he urged us with Paul (1 Cor 9:15-23) to be all things to all men in order to win some for Christ… or more plainly…to be less boring ‘Bible guys’
It largely seemed to be an exercise in throwing a few hand grenades out there to have us rise to the challenge of most effectively being ambassadors for Christ. Something which I certainly hope I and my fellow brothers and sisters here will do!!
most memorable quote: “it takes about 2-300 hours to get good at preaching…so…in the mean time…someone’s got to suffer!”
see dave@DMDC, sam@thefountainside, ben for more comment. (i’ve kept my post short because they’ve said much of what i would have…!)
2. Burn your plastic Jesus
First time i’ve been in a crowd of 10k (ish) and first time at the Sydney ent. centre. So the experience was novell. Also enjoyed wandering around Chiantown and munging down on laksa with Simon and Adele beforehand.
The talk was good, hit the misconceptions and presented the gospel fairly. was odd that the passage that was read out (rev 19) was not preached on. I keep hearing stories of people who became Christians that night which makes me really excited and thankful to God.
see some video content from DMDC
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My personal reflections on the two events are that it is tricky for a 25yo to hold fast to the truth that God gifts people as HE sees fit for the building up of HIS church (1 cor 12). It has been disarming to find myself thinking lately ‘if only god had gifted ME in this way or that way…then I’d really be able to minister well’ and so on. Anyone else? any ideas?
Sounds pretty interesting. Kind of interesting how he was found at Moore, what’s the association there? I actually searched around a bit and I’ve seen that he’s on a bit of a tour around the place. Is Carson coming too? That wasn’t sarcastic, he’s performing at a rival college.
I’ve often wondered about the gifts thing, I wonder the importance of it to my own life. It’s always been a “future” thing, like in the future you’ll work it all out and things will fall into place. That may be true, but I don’t think it will necessary come that way. I also think people are less willing to be pinned down to one gift, just like they are pinned down to one career. I wonder what importance clarity in spiritual gifts is.
Reply to martyMy personal reflections on the two events are that it is tricky for a 25yo to hold fast to the truth that God gifts people as HE sees fit for the building up of HIS church (1 cor 12). It has been disarming to find myself thinking lately ‘if only god had gifted ME in this way or that way…then I’d really be able to minister well’ and so on. Anyone else? any ideas?
i think a 1 cor 12 type passage is one to keep going back to. i’m a foot, you’re a hand, he’s a bottom, she’s an elbow, he’s a spleen and Jesus is the head.
Reply to Dave Miers@Marty i think Driscoll was doing a tour of bible colleges in Sydney. I hear he was also speaking at Moorling and SMBC. Carson was here for a week giving lectures on church and culture earlier in the year.
Come to think of it, you would have really loved the stuff that the don was talking about then (and may have actually understood it!)
I think the point you raise about ‘clarity in spiritual gifts’ is a hard one and maybe not resolvable (satisfactorily) for the reason that since god gives as he chooses he may also take away or give for only a time or a particular purpose. I’ve heard people talk about a gift-mix which makes some sense of the the reality that most people have a range of ways they can serve the body. in the end that’s what matters, i guess? serving the body…
Reply to reubenLet me know if you figure this out any better though. would love to hear it!
It makes me wonder if the understanding of Spiritual gifts in the church today is a major, minor or no problem. I know our church has run courses, I’ve filled out a questionnaire and have been S.H.A.P.E’d (I have no idea what that stands for anymore) to a spiritual gift. My bible study leader last year said that your spiritual gift was probably the ministry at church you felt most opposed to (I don’t think he said ‘opposed to’, it’s in the use of a better word). The point being that the thing you feel most passionate about is the thing you’ll have a gifting to. Not always true, but I think it’ll put on the right track. Like, if you don’t care for people, then you probably should be not be doing pastoral care and you should be teaching.
I think what I learnt from doing the Rick Warren 40 days of community (sorry to name drop), is that community and fellowship is not built out of trying to build those things, but it’s built out of mission. I think gifts is the same, it’s not made clear until you actually have a mission. I think the passage on gifts is pretty lame, but I’ll give it some credit. I wonder if God really wants us sitting around talking about what gifts he has given or not given us. The passage is good in the way it discerns what are gifts and I suppose what aren’t (notice how it doesn’t mention music? In 1500 words discuss how the spiritual gift of music is a myth). Also that we’re not expected to do everything, we don’t have one or two super-christians running each church doing everything. That’s so often the case and in that way it’s a major problem, however the problem shouldn’t probably fixed with a questionnaire quizzing you whether you like baking other people cakes.
For those with identifiable spiritual giftness, I wonder in the quietness of a day it’s a matter of them considering the humility of not being able to do things we can’t and the confidence for the things we can.
I looked at the Morling college site, apparently the don’s speaking there on Thursday. Sounds pretty similar to what he did at the knowledge college earlier in the year.
Reply to marty