Driscoll - Confessions...2a

Chapter "0" is titled 'Ten Curious Questions' Mark explains that he asks these questions of himself and Mars Hill Church to ensure they are on the correct path - faithful to Jesus and his mission for your city (page 14). They are intended to "help clarify your church's identity, gospel, mission, size, and priorities."

When I first realized he was starting with 10 questions, I was worried it would be a form of a pulpit for Mark. Meaning, he would lay out 10 questions with the answers already written into them and if you fail to answer them as Mark does, then you are doing church all wrong. Thankfully and refreshingly he only does that a couple times and the other times he explains why he answers the question one way, but that does not mean it is the right way. Each culture is different and congregations have different ideas and expectations to their church, worship style, songs they will sing, etc.

There are 10 questions total and I'll just provide some highlights to them:

1. Will your Rev. require reformission? - This goes back to Marks first book, The Radical Reformission: Reaching out without selling out. In that book he explains that Jesus has called us to the gospel (loving our Lord), the culture (loving our neighbor), and the church (loving our Christian brothers and sisters). You must have all 3 of them in conjunction or you are missing the mark. Without all 3 you fail to get Reformission and you end up with either a Parachurch (Gospel+Culture-Church), Liberalism (Culture +Church-Gospel), or Fundys, oops I mean Fundamentalism (Church+Gospel-Culture). Reformission is all 3 and means you are culturally liberal yet theologically conservative.
2. Will your church be traditional and institutional, contemporary and evangelical, or emerging and missional? - This is a question where Mark explains that neither one is wrong, but if you pick wrong, your congregation and reach into the culture will fall short and success may be very slow in coming. As Mark explains, modern-thinking retirees are different from suburban baby boomers who are even different from spirtual young creative types. Mars Hill is emerging and missional.
3. Will your church be an emergent liberal church or an emerging evangelical church? - He explains at length the difference between emergent and emerging. The emergent movement has become liberal in its theology (I'll spare you the rant Mark goes on) and as such has failed to keep closed the hand that holds the unchanging truth of evangelical Christian theology (Jude 3). As you can imagine, Mark is firm in his stance that a church must be emerging and evangelical.
4. Will you proclaim a gospel of forgiveness, fulfillment, or freedom? - Mark shows the similarities bewteen the three forms of church from question 2 and the gospel that church will proclaim. Institutional churches preach a gospel of forgiveness. We've screwed up real bad and God's wrath is poured out on us until we ask for his forgiveness. Evangelical churches lean toward the preaching of the fulfillment gospel. God is there to bless us unconditionally with heaps and heaps of blessings. Its focus is on self-worth. Very dangerous path to start down Mark contends. The emerging church preaches freedom in Christ. The only way to be brought back into friendship with God is through Jesus. Additionally brought into a community of united brethern for the cause of the cross.
5. Will your church be attractional, missional, or both? - I could see right where this one was going as soon as I saw the word both in the question. Attractional churches try to draw people and culture in and provide them with programs and agendas that fit their needs. Missional churches send people out and into the culture to serve as missionaries in the culture and develop strong relationships. He goes on to explain both sides in a little more depth and explain the "dislike" each method has for the other. He then concludes that a church should take into account both elements.

I'll go through the last 5 next time.