GREAT book by Mark Driscoll! I heard him speak live at a conference a few years ago and liked him then as well. He has an honesty that is really rare among pastors. He shares the story of Mars Hill (Seattle, Washington) from the ground up...he shares his personal struggles and church struggles very clearly. I really appreciated the book.
Some key things that jump out to me:
-"As a church grows it changes." OF COURSE...the point here is that the change can be hard for people who liked things "the way they were." But if we are going to continue to make an impact as a church, we HAVE TO change.
-"Adolescence (for a church) is achieved after the long and painful season of doing the hard work it takes to get a church functioning with healthy systems, competent leaders and clear expectations of people." This is hard and worth it...this is the season we are working on right now at Grace.
-I was impressed with how important THE Word is to Mark...he has a deep passion for the Word of God and for Truth...there is a misconception about a lot of large church leaders and that they compromise truth...it seems from listening to him and reading that is not the case here!
-"I knew that unless everyone gave (money) we would never make ends meet because we did not have a sugar daddy to bail us out." WOW do I relate to that now!!
-One of the main themes was what he did to himself and his family...how he really neglected them both and came to realize how important it was to protect his home first. He was VERY open about struggles that he had and how God grabbed a hold of his life!
-He spoke of a pastor from Cali who asked him more about his personal life than his ministry and how this grabbed his attention. I AM SO THANKFUL for the atmosphere Jim has built on our team. From my 1st month at Grace I believed that he cared more about me than what he got out of me. It's one of the things that I deeply miss about staff meetings. (I miss our regular staff meetings because of teaching...Jim and I talk weekly, but I'm not there with the whole staff.) It is not rare for Jim to take the whole meeting asking us how we are doing...personally...marriage...kids...just life stuff. It isn't rare for the guys to share how they are struggling either...I believe what we have is rare...but oh is it good.
-Mark's church has 3 FULL TIME staff members devoted to church planting...both for their church and for the nation! THAT is mission...THAT is a lasting impact! Not just about Mars Hill, but about THE church...very cool...
Good book...gave me a lot of things to think through to process while I'm off...I pray that Mark stays faithful to his call...to his family...to THE Truth! The church needs leaders like him...
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