The Radical Reformission is going to be a “must read” at Grace Community Church. This little book grabs what all of us need to be about with regards to taking the gospel to a post-Christian American culture. We think we live in a “Christian” country, but my generation views the church as a bunch of judgmental pink haired ladies who are making sure no one is having fun. If you think this is bogus then simply check out the prickly little accountant on the TV show The Office (if she were on a deserted island she would take her Bible, The Purpose Driven Life, and The Da Vinci Code so that she could burn it).
Mark Driscoll is the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle and has founded the Acts 29 Network. Grace Community Church is a proud member of the Acts 29 Network. Acts 29 was described to us as the “right-wing conservative arm of the emerging church movement”, which really sounded good. Like GCC, Mars Hill is reformed in its doctrine (unlike many flaky emerging churches) but is also seeking to be relevant to a post-modern culture.
I am finishing my fourth year of seminary so I am a card-carrying member of church sub-culture. This book was a great reminder that my mission is not to be respected in the eyes of a largely legalistic church culture, but rather to reach the lost, hurting, and dieing world with the message of God’s grace (just like Jesus did).
The Radical Reformission is about “reaching out without selling out.” It is about being clear on the distinctions between “the gospel, the culture, and the church.” Driscoll says that Parachurch groups are the Gospel + Culture but – the Church. Liberalism is Culture + Church but – the Gospel. Fundamentalism is the Church + the Gospel but – the Culture. Being “on mission” is about being the Church, sharing the Gospel, and being culturally relevant. Much of being culturally relevant is doing away with the silliness of unbiblical church culture legalism.
The only complaint I have about the book is the constant unnecessary sarcasm. I am pretty sarcastic myself and I don’t mean to be a stick in the mud, but after a while it begins to wear you down. The shock value starts to wear off after chapter one.
One of the most helpful things I found in the book was his treatment of alcohol. He gives the most complete and honest treatment of the Biblical stance regarding drinking alcohol that I have seen. He discusses it from Biblical, historical, and practical perspectives. There are certain parts of the country where the church needs to have some serious mature conversations about its stance on alcohol and the simplistic statement of “just don’t do it” can really hinder the Gospel message. To put it plainly, in certain cultures it might be a sin NOT to drink!
My generation is in a post-modern mess, but this post-modernism (which was a knee jerk against the failures of optimistic modern thinking) is providing wonderful avenues for the Gospel to go into the culture. I am inspired by Driscoll’s heart that loves God’s gracious Gospel as well as loves those people of our generation who are turned off by church culture.
No comments:
Post a Comment