Thursday, June 29, 2006

Driscoll Interviews: "Do You Lead with Your Theology or Do You Lead with Your Pragmatism?"

By now many of you have probably heard the theme of this fall's Desiring God National Conference: "Above All Earthly Powers: The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World." You may have even seen the video trailer, which seems to have been unusually intriguing for some reason, even to those who have made the rounds of similar major conferences.

Perhaps part of the reason for that intrigue is the inclusion of Mark Driscoll in the speaker lineup. I suspect that Piper has taken some significant criticism for this inclusion because of some of the unfortunate things Driscoll has said and written. On the other hand, watch the below clips from interviews with Driscoll, and you'll see some off his terrific insights that may explain why Piper has been willing to take the risk.

Seeker vs. Missional (part 1): winning market share and pleasing a constituency vs. theological faithfulness (contains this post's title quote)
Seeker vs. Missional (part 2): the seeker "bring them in" model vs. the missional "go out and tell" model; shifting the responsibility for evangelism from church programming to believers being salt and light with everyone they meet
Emergent vs. Emerging: an explanation of the facets of the movements from a guy who's seen the best and worse

3 comments:

Matthew LaPine said...

I have listened to Driscoll in the past, so I have to say I was somewhat surpised at the level of insight he offered in these brief interviews. I really appreciated the distinction between a seeker senstive church and the missional church. It should be an interesting conference. I would love to go.

Ryan Martin said...

I can't believe they have hollywood-style trailers for conferences now. Give me a break.

Anonymous said...

This conference looks stellar--one of the many perks of living in the twin cities.

If there is to be a place of significant influence (or at least exposure) for Driscoll in conservative Evangelicalism I think this conference could be his official entrance.

Ryan, please tell me you will be there. If nothing else, you'll love the music!