Another day at work, so no blogging for me…
Thus, it’s all yours today.
You can also watch a recap of this years Justice Conference here.
“Make Your Own Application” went up 100,000 spots in the Amazon rankings…to #63,831. Evidently, I need more humility… 
Don’t fall asleep.
Thank you for all the support and kind words at the release of the book.
I’m way behind on email and Facebook as my work schedule and spring break, along with the normal duties, have me swamped.
I still read everything at it’s all very encouraging and I’ll get caught up this weekend.
Thank you!
It was my first “secret shopper” report and I was excited to see the score…until I opened it.
The company employs secret shoppers who report on their visit and those scores affect your rating and thus your income for the month.
Based on this visit, I may owe the company money.
A few highlights…
“He told me to wait”
“He was cold”
“He didn’t answer my questions”
“He didn’t explain anything”
“He didn’t give his full attention”
“I wouldn’t recommend him to anybody”
She did note that my “trousers” looked good, however.
That helps a bunch…
The result was the lowest score anybody could remember for my managerial debut.
She didn’t note that…
…There was a long line ahead of her and we tried to inform them of our current situation in relation to timimg.
…There was a system failure that had left the customers I was helping waiting for over an hour for resolution.
…That I had one phone in my hand and one in my ear, both on hold, trying to accomplish that resolution.
…That she was so rude that I jumped three people in front of her while doing all the above, just to answer her “fake” questions.
She took a brief look at a complex situation, reached erroneous conclusions, and reported them widely to the people who read what she writes.
She’s off to her next “report”, I’m left to clean up the mess.
The “trousers” she rightfully appreciated now have large bite marks in the seat, courtesy of my employers.
One my way home, I stopped to pick up a new shirt and waited at the counter to purchase it.
I waited, and waited, and waited…
I was going to complain loudly, but I thought better of it…I had incomplete information on what may be a complex situation.
Make your own application…
It’s here…and available now in the print version for 9.99.
Ebook for the Kindle, Nook, and iBooks soon to follow…but if it’s paper you love you can buy it now.
Now available on Amazon as well…
Anthony Bradley will moderate a discussion between John Piper and Tim Keller tonight regarding the gospel and race. This will be live-streamed.
Fred Clark, Elizabeth Rawlings and Joshua Witchger comment on the Trayvon Martin tragedy.
Matt Redmond’s first two blog posts (part 1, part 2) on why the abuse of authority at Mars Hill Church matters.
Albert Mohler recently interviewed former President Jimmy Carter.
Rachel Stone responds to Kathy Keller and argues that Christians can raise kids anywhere.
Amy Simpson on what Jason Russell’s mental breakdown tells us about ourselves.
Todd Hertz reviews the movie adaptation of The Hunger Games.
Chaplain Mike Mercer has found an oasis in the mainline church.
Four reasons why Christian Piatt came back to church.
Ian Ebright on the thing that’s higher than the creationism/evolution debate.
Randall Rauser’s dialogue on creation and evolution.
Karl Giberson on Richard Dawkins.
Due to work and time constraints I won’t have much of a response to this situation today, though my thoughts mirror those of Matthew Redmond.
The reactions from Acts 29 and Driscoll have mirrored the ones we received a few years ago when we did our stories on Calvary Chapel…for new readers, we were not well received.
The only differences so far are that the selective Bible quotes are from the ESV instead of the New King James Version and the Acts 29 guys can spell better.
These changes are cosmetic…the concerns have yet to be addressed and Driscoll still sits on the board.
If you don’t think that’s important, I suggest you read this article from Christianity Today that we also had a little something to do with…
We can and should pray that our skepticism and cynicism are sinfully wrong and that a new day is dawning in this movement…but we still must ask the hard questions.
There is a time to be born and a time to die.
And this is a time to be born.
So we turn to you, God of our life,
God of all our years,
God of our beginning.
Our times are in your hand.
Hear us as we pray:
For those of us too much into obedience, birth us to the freedom of the gospel.
For those of us too much into self-indulgence, birth us to discipleship in your ministry.
For those too much into cynicism, birth us to the innocence of the Christ child.
For those of us too much into cowardice, birth us to the courage to stand before principalities and powers.
For those of us too much into guilt, birth us into forgiveness worked in your generosity.
For those of us too much into despair, birth us into the promises you make to your people.
For those of us too much into control, birth us into the vulnerability of the cross.
For those of us too much into victimization, birth us into the power of Easter.
For those of us too much into fatigue, birth us into the energy of Pentecost.
We dare pray that you will do for us and among us and through us what is needful for newness.
Give us the power to be receptive,
to take the newness you give,
to move from womb warmth to real life.
We make this prayer not only for ourselves, but
for our [community] at the brink of birth,
for the church at the edge of life,
for our [nation] waiting for newness,
for your whole creation, with which we yearn in eager longing.
There is a time to be born, and it is now.
We sense the pangs and groans of your newness.
Come here now in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Walter Brueggemann
I spoke with an A29 pastor about 20 minutes ago and heard something that perplexed me. It seems that a move has been made to hand the reigns of A29 over to Matt Chandler. This was done for a number of reasons, which I am sure will all come out in the following days.
The A29 pastor I spoke with is greatly encouraged by this move, explaining that this is not something Mark Driscoll had to do, but for the better of the church, he steps aside, and the Costa Mesa of Mars Hill moves to Texas. He views this to be a courageous step of humility. I told him that I view it to be a PR nightmare avoidance maneuver, as the traction against Mark Driscoll ramps up considerably greater than the church world has ever gone after anyone before.
I see his point though.
Multiple sources report receiving this letter (UPDATE: Mark Driscoll’s letter was posted to the Acts 29 Network blog Wednesday morning):
From Mark Driscoll:
Note: In light of some big transitions forthcoming for Acts 29, the following letters are from the Acts 29 Board Members
From Pastor Mark Driscoll
As a young church planter I wanted a tribe to belong to. So, I started gathering a few other young church planters for mutual learning, accountability, and encouragement. Before long, Mars Hill Church was formally supporting church planters in both the U.S. and India. Then, I met Pastor David Nicholas, whose Spanish River Church had generously supported church planters for many years. Together, we founded the Acts 29 church-planting network.
For the first years, the network offices were housed in Florida, as David served as our president. Then the offices were moved to Seattle when I assumed the presidency. Since that time, David has passed on to see the Jesus he loved face to face, and Acts 29 has grown rapidly, now totaling more than 400 churches in the U.S., as well as international church planting involvement. Since then, other qualified men have taken the reins of Acts 29 and run with the vision David and I had years ago.
Recently, I sensed that not all was well in Acts 29. As my concerns grew, I recently resumed the presidency of Acts 29 to work directly with our network captains, most influential pastors, and staff. It seemed to me that some of our relationships, board size and structure, communication, systems, and such were not as effective as we needed, which is to be expected to some degree in a large, complex, fast-growing entrepreneurial network such as ours.
Seeking wise counsel, I asked Darrin Patrick and Matt Chandler to fly to Seattle in order to meet with the executive elders of Mars Hill for a full day to decide a course of action. They graciously did so, and in our time together was a rich, true brotherhood, a renewed and deepened commitment to Acts 29, and a Spirit-lead unity.
Together, we decided, in light of all the complexity we’re facing, that the best thing for Acts 29 going forward would be for Matt Chandler to assume the presidency, move the network offices to Dallas, and select his Acts 29 staff.
In light of this, I want to sincerely thank the people of Mars Hill for investing millions of dollars over the years in Acts 29 and the people of The Village for being willing to house the Acts 29 headquarters.
As for myself, I want to humbly serve Jesus and his men in Acts 29 by doing whatever is best for them. Going forward, I will gladly remain on the Acts 29 Board supporting Matt, along with Darrin and whomever else Matt believes best fits the Board.
Mars Hill gladly stays in Acts 29 as well. I’ll be spending much of my time going forward serving all of Acts 29, pastoring at Mars Hill, helping the Resurgence, writing books, organizing preaching campaigns, and doing media interviews.
Lastly, I love Pastor Matt, respect him, and appreciate him. He is a bridge-builder across many tribes, a great Bible teacher, godly man, and geographically located in an easy place to travel to and from. His church is now large enough and well established to greatly serve Acts 29. He has my support, and I pray he would have yours as well.
From Pastor Darrin Patrick
I am delighted to follow Matt Chandler as our new president. I have spoken directly with most of our network captains, and I am encouraged that there is unity in the Spirit and desire to clarify and execute the great calling and vision that is on Acts 29. Our best days are ahead of us. I am delighted to serve on the board and look forward to retreating with you in June in So Cal!
From Pastor Matt Chandler
I am greatly humbled by the opportunity to serve our great God and King, as well as our movement, in the capacity of president of Acts 29. Our meeting in Seattle couldn’t have been more Spirit-empowered and unifying than it was, and I flew home excited and invigorated by the opportunities that are before us. There are few things that excite me like planting churches and seeing people come to know, love, and mature in Christ. So, this task allows me to serve in an area of my passion. I want to update you on what’s in our immediate future.
We are in the process of transitioning Acts 29 from Seattle to Dallas. At present that involves gathering all of the information we can on Acts 29’s budget, processes, setting up Acts 29 legally in Texas, etc.
Tyler Powell is relocating to Dallas and will continue to handle assessments and his other duties. Tyler and his family are excited about the move and the direction of the network. I personally can’t wait to get him to Dallas. He is a godly, hard-working, Spirit-led man, and I’m grateful he’s coming to DFW.
Scott Thomas is taking this transition as a chance to pursue other opportunities he has before him and will not be making the move to Dallas. Scott and I are on very good terms and had dinner just this past weekend, where he informed me of his deep love for you and the network but felt like God has released him from leading Acts 29. He is excited about what God has next for him.
We are in the process of looking for a new executive director for A29 and plan on being meticulous, prayerful, and patient about getting the right guy. Once we’ve identified and hired the new director, we will finish out the national board and introduce the full team to the network.
I have asked all the network captains, as well as a few other men I love and respect in the network, to meet me in Dallas on May 14 and 15 to look closely at Acts 29 and pray about how we might get better at planting churches, coaching our pastors, communicating more effectively, etc. Please be praying for our time together.
We will report on any changes and our future hopes and plans at the pastors retreat in Newport in June. There is much to do between then and now, so I would deeply appreciate your continued prayers for not just the board and me but also for all involved.
Men, I really believe we have been positioned by God to be a part of a spectacular move of his Spirit in our day. It’s with great anticipation and holy fear that I step out to help lead us into what God would have for us. Please let me know how we can serve you.
11. I had an epiphany about 5:00 AM this morning. Actually I had two. The first was that whoever invented the electric blanket deserves some sort of national honor.
12. The second was that despite the fact that I believe in the Second Coming, but not in all the trappings of American pretribulation dispensationalism, I am labeled a mocker.
That was not the epiphany.
The epiphany was that anytime you see God doing something positive and write about it the pretribbers have to shoot it down because in their worldview God has consigned this creation to the garbage heap and nothing good is possible in these “last days”. Thus, when I said that we may be in a “theological golden age” that can’t possibly be true because it would mean that God is still engaged in this world and expects us to help answer the prayer that “His kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. That’s why “social justice” is a curse , why responsible environmentalism is loathed, and a whole host of programs and people are demonized for the ungodly audacity to believe that we can actually make things better now.
We have been baptized in pessimism and negativity and indoctrinated in defeat for all of our evangelical lives.
This morning, I reject that intentionally and completely, utterly and forever.
God is on the throne, ruling and reigning and doing wonderful things all over the world…through the hands and hearts of His people.
The truth is that again, we have a paradox…some things will get worse as we approach the consummation, but we are still responsible to steward the creation and be busy as disciples of the King doing kingdom work.
Once again, it’s both/and ,not either/or.
Jesus is coming back…and I pray He finds me busy doing the works He sets before me.
13. I was intentional yesterday about using my free time and read most of N.T. Wrights new book “How God Became King” while Trey was skateboarding. It’s really good, not because Wright plows new ground, but because He shows us ground that we didn’t know we owned. Getting a different perspective on things doesn’t destroy what you knew before, it deepens it…and you come away more in love with Jesus and His word.
14. I wish I could start my teaching ministry over again, knowing what I know now. If I could I’d probably want to start over again ,again, in ten years.
15. I’ve detected a root of bitterness growing in me again after all these years. The leaders of Mars Hill, Calvary Chapel, and Sovereign Grace Ministries seem set on avoiding any kind of responsibility or accountability to the people they serve and all the blogging in the world won’t change that. I could not in good conscience be affiliated with any of them because of that fact. I am convinced however, that the solution isn’t in constantly “exposing” them, it’s in finding (maybe creating) alternative faith communities and keeping busy doing what the Lord has called us to do in spite of them. If you have left the “church” it’s a victory for the enemy…you need to put the past behind and find your place in the Body…we need you. No matter what you’ve been told before, we don’t function as we should without you.
Finally…the final proof of “Make Your Own Application” will be arriving here in the next day or so…and should be on sale next week…if I haven’t run off all the people who might have bought it.
1. Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it…and the forgetful ones at the moment are the “new Calvinists”. Calvinism has had more than one revival in interest over the years, then faded into the background again as it’s advocates became drier, more doctrinaire, and more disconnected from personal and pastoral concerns.
It is inane and unbiblical to speak of “sovereignty”, “providence”, and “predestination” before the bodies have been buried after a tragedy. The inability to weep with those who weep will spark another Arminian revival…and the cycle continues.
2. My theory about the DNA that founders pass onto the movements they start will be proven true again with Mars Hill and Acts 29…unless things get fixed now they will be blog fodder for ten more years.
3. We celebrate empire builders in our culture and seem disinterested in the fact that Jesus tears them all down in the end…
4. I want the version of Facebook that edits out dopey rapture pictures…
5. You can now buy Mexican Coca Cola at Costco by the case…and oh, what joy does flood my soul.
6. Abusive leaders and organizations that refuse to sanction them have done far more damage to the church than the “gay agenda”.
7. Tim Tebow press conference to be held today…since when do we have press conferences for back up QB’s? Ridiculous.
8. I not only reject the silly blather about a “great apostasy” being upon us, I think we may be in a theological golden age that is reversing the overreactions of early twentieth century fundamentalism while giving us new insight into Jesus, the kingdom, and the Gospel. While we are beating the tar out of each other and building bunkers in the backyard, God is pouring out His grace and truth all over the place.
9. Remember when understanding the meaning of “this generation” (Matt 24:34) was the key to Bible prophecy? The “signs of the times” change about every twenty years…
10. The less free time you have the more intentional you must be about what you feed both your body and spirit. You will feed both, anyway.