My highly anticipated event at the Sydney Entertainment Centre has come and gone.  Mark Driscoll’s “Burn Your Plastic Jesus” event was a sellout with 10,000 people treated to typical “Driscollonian” brilliance.

To say that he was funny is the understatement of the year.  He had the crowd in tears on several occasions with his take on Australian, and particularly Sydney, culture.  Curiously I did see some people walk out early in the piece – most probably thinking that Driscoll was all comedy and no substance.  Their loss!

And as you can see from the photo, I did get to shake the man’s hand after the event as he stayed back and had a chat and prayer with anyone keen to meet up with him.  I’m the tall guy on the left and my mate and Pastor is on the right.  When we told him we drove up from Melbourne, he was blown away by how far we’d driven – he has done his homework on Australia!

Not since Billy Graham back in 1975 have 10,000 people packed the arena to talk about Jesus!  Driscoll has been likened by some to be the modern day Spurgeon and now he seems to be on par on what Billy G was able to achieve!

But instead of elevating him to superstar status and worship him as an idol (and heaven knows how hard some can fall – check out this story on Mike Guglielmuci), I simply take my hat off to a guy sold out on the message of Jesus and the advancement of His Kingdom.

I’ve been listening to Driscoll for 2 years to the day of the event and have seen him grow in maturity,  influence and impact as he follows his calling as founding Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle.  Additionally his work in the church planting movement Acts29 and ministry in The Resurgence and various high profile connections with some of the leading theologians of our time, has elevated Driscoll to monumental “influential” status in Christianity and indeed the world – being recently included in Seattle’s Top 25 most influential people (and this in the city of Microsoft, Starbucks and Kurt Cobain!)

But push all that stuff aside and you have a guy sold out to his hero – Jesus Christ.  The “Burn Your Plastic Jesus” event was designed to destroy the false views of Jesus held by Sydneysiders (a bunch of Australians inferior to Melbournians) and to replace it with a biblically accurate rendition of what Jesus said and did.

Thanks to Dave Miers, here are the 7 plastic Jesus perceptions Driscoll addressed:

1. Religious Jesus
2. Bling Jesus
3. Moral Jesus
4. Aussie Jesus
5. Country Jesus
6. Spiritual Jesus
7. Pensioner Card Jesus

It’s my personal opinion that Driscoll held back on his assessment on many of these areas – in particular the Bling Jesus – which stands for “prosperity gospel.” He did mention that Sydney has a likening to “Bling Jesus” in particular referring to a 11% increase in “Bling Jesus” denominations.  Anyone who knows Driscoll knows that he can’t stand the “prosperity gospel” and undoubtedly he was referring to Hillsong and like minded denominations.  But as a guest to our shores – he held back.  Which was kind of strange for him.

But his pictures of the various “jesus” stereotypes and his explanations had everyone laughing – except for those who held onto these views.  I was blown away at how much he understood our culture as he went through these stereotypes.

He then took a few mobile phone Q & A’s before nailing what Jesus said and did.  In particular, he addressed the following areas:

1. Jesus said he came down from heaven (John 6)
2. Jesus performed miracles
3. Jesus said he was God (Mark 14:61-64 + John 10:30-35)
4. Jesus said he was without sin (John 8:46)
5. Jesus forgave sin (Mark 2)
6. Jesus is the way, truth and life and no-one comes to the Father but through him (John 14:6)

These are taken out of his book Vintage Jesus and in his explanations, he trashed the plastic views.  Personally I felt as if he rushed this area a little and would have loved to see him rip into the Revelation 19 rendition on the reality of our Glorified King – as was printed on our booklets. His teaching in this area is some of the best bible teaching I have ever heard!

But by this stage, he had been talking for a good 1.5 hours and to an unaccustomed crowd to long teaching, this may have been a little tiring.  Additionally like a good guest, I think Driscoll didn’t want to come across too strong in his views as this was his first visit here.

Having a chat with him after the event, he mentioned that he plans to hold an Acts29 bootcamp in 16-18 months time and is meeting up with John Piper and Matt Chandler next month to convince them to come down for the event.  Now that would be cool indeed!

Overall an awesome night!  Jesus was glorified, Driscoll was funny and the venue was packed!  Check out the five minute clip below of some of his teaching including a dig on the Bryon Bay dopers!  Like I said, in his 3 weeks here, he nailed our culture to the bone!  Truly a missional mindset!

Behind all the smiles and masks of many peoples lives lie deep and dark secrets of pain and hurt. Inside of us are truly sobering cries for help amongst some of the cruel blows life can dish out.

Way too often we are unaware of our need for redemption and for a fresh start in life. Is it possible? Is there a way to delve into the deepest and darkest secrets of our soul?

Is there a way to face our reality in a truly honest way – acknowledge our condition – and find deliverance?

Welcome to the heart of Jesus.

Instead of being a victim 2000 years ago, Jesus stands for redemption. He pays the price for all our mistakes, hurts and pain. He is in the business of restoring a broken mankind to what it can truly be – forgiven and redeemed.

But to understand the power of Jesus’ transforming nature, we need to understand what He is. Not just a “nice guy” or a “good teacher.” In Him, the will of God is revealed to mankind. And what’s His will?

“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:40

You may be going through really tough times right now. Deliverance is assured in Jesus. If not right away, certainly on the “last day” – if you believe in Him.

But I believe that this process can be sped up if we have a proper understanding of Jesus’ redemptive nature. And that’s why I invite you to check out this short video on the latest book by Mark Driscoll:

Is this resonating with you? Are you in one of those dark areas? Are you at that point where you just need deliverance and a helping hand? I know at times I am. I can’t wait to get my hands on this book to get to know my King’s heart for me.
In the mean time, here is chapter one. Hope you find hope in the story of Kate’s tragedy. And to my King, I say thank You for your passion towards those who believe in You.

Purchase the book @ amazon.com: Death by Love: Letters from the Cross (RE: Lit: Vintage Jesus)

I’m all for missional churches where the timeless message of Jesus is shared in a way relevant to modern culture.  But, and it’s a huge BUT, a line needs to be drawn when church is done in a missional way to cater for the downright fallen nature of mankind.

A good example of this is found in the following video where a church is held in, of all places, an abandoned drive in theater.  Check out the video below: (just get passed the 30 second ad at the beginning)

“Since I’ve been retired, I’ve decided to take the easy way and sit in the car.”

This was one of the comments of an attendee at this so called church.  Really?  The easy way?  What ever happened to counting the cost and “taking up your cross” and all that?  As Jesus sweated drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, did He do this so people can “take the easy way?”

I know the “emergent type” people would embrace this kind of church as it embraces modern culture. But even the reporter asked the question:

“What about community and fellowship?”

To which a glib reply was that people get together before and after church for coffee and catch up session. Nope sorry.  this type of “church” sucks in a major way.  This church is catering for a mindset of:

“Let’s go to church this week to make us feel good.  We get our message and feel all holy and sanctified – and we can do it in our cars while we pat our dog.  We then can go home and feel justified that we got our fill of the word and we can do it all the easy way.”

Check out the article here to see some of the comments.  An unbelieving world hates this kind of crap and the witness they leave behind is almost as putrid as as their so called church.  I guess it’s all summarised with the comments from the “pastor” when the reporter asked:

“Isn’t there a risk, when all is said and done, that it’s so convenient – God won’t count it?”

Where the pastor replies:

“I know she does”

Give me something to punch right now!  Why is the “Church” in such a spastic condition?  I guess my King knew of this when His Spirit uttered to Paul to write down the following words:

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.” 1 Tim 4:3

These old farts put their own comfort above the Body of Christ.  In doing so they make the Head look like an idiot.

I love my Bible but I also love my science.  Many think they are mutually exclusive events – they cannot be in harmony.  But I believe that when science is pursued without any bias, it will always merge with the story of scripture.

I also believe that the average “christian” needs to get off his/her bandwagon and stop clinging to cliches about our reality.  A classic example is the literal “6 days of creation” – do yourself a favour and check out what “morning and evening” means in the original Hebrew text.  You will never be the same – trust me.

One guy who fascinates me is Louie Giglio.  This guy is sold out to God and uses modern science to back up his story telling.  I remember first hearing Louie speak at the Hillsong 2007 Conference.

He stood out amongst many of the preachers simply because of the fact that he was sold out to God.  And he is a powerful communicator in regards to the story of Jesus’ reality.  And the thing I like about him most is his passion for science.  Like I said before, “when science is pursued without any bias, it will always merge with the story of scripture.”

Having said that, I don’t believe that the Bible is a science textbook.  It’s far more than that.  But I do believe that there are no theories that stack up against the Bible that are scientifically valid.  Any that do seriously lack insight.

And no, I’m not one of those “dumb christians” who turn a blind eye to valid reasoning in the name of “protecting the faith” – Galileo proved us all wrong there.

A great example of modern science is the clip below.  Please take the time check it out:

Interesting indeed. In case you didn’t get that verse, here it is again:

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Col 1:16-17

Laminin – a cell adhesion molecule – vital for us to literally “hold together” just happens to look like a cross.  Don’t you just love the creative genious and the humour of our Father in heaven?

Thanks Giglio!

For some reason, I really felt God tugging on my heart tonight to open His Word as He had something to share with me.  As an experiment, I did one of those cliche things Christians do and just opened up the Bible randomly to see where it would lead me.

And my finger landed on the following parable from Jesus:

“And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” Mark 4:26-29

Being a member of a small church plant and seeing new people walk in every week, this parable struck a chord within me.  Being a church plant in a poor neighbourhood of a major Australian city is tough work.  I take my hat off to my Pastor who planted this church 7 years ago for his unending perseverance in what he does for our little church.

But this passage gives me a glimpse into how God works in the lives of our immediate and extended community and provides me an awesome motivation to keep doing what we do at Church.

At first, the farmer scatters the seeds.  it’s his job to do what he needs to do.  This represents our need to be faithful servants in the matters of the Kingdom. Do our job, fulfill our duties – share the Gospel.  As the seed needs to dig into the soil, so our message needs to be relevant to our community – or else it simply won’t stick.

But the reference to “sleeping and rising” indicates a long passing of time.  Sometimes we want immediate results from our efforts.  However imagine how bizarre it would be to a farmer if, the second he threw his seed and BANG, he had a mature crop.  It’s absurd indeed.

The reference to “he knows not how the seed grows” is an awesome reference to how the Spirit of God does His work.  We need to get the message out there and learn to relax and rely on the Spirit of God to do His thing.  Those destined to love God will grow and will thrive – often without us even being aware of it or even understanding it.

But that’s cool.  Just like the farmer scratching his head day and night as he sees the seed he’s thrown sprout into “blades and ears and full grain” I think we should allow God to do His mysterious work in the lives of people.  And we should do this in the absence of anxiety.  Imagine a farmer peering out his window at the end of the day looking for sprouting blades and ears – he would go nuts!

But the stickler in all this is the farmers knowledge of when the crop is ripe – it’s harvest time! In his experience, he whips out the sickle and, once again, does what he needs to do.  And this is where I believe, we as Christians, should ask for wisdom.

I think it’s prudent to ask God when the harvest is ripe and when to step in and do our thing when it comes to the spiritual development of people.  May we have the insight to whip out our “spiritual sickles” and lead people to Jesus.

God’s in partnership with us.  We do our thing, He does His and then allows us the delight to “close the deal” in the salvation of human souls.  What an honour! And how terrifying it is to do so if we haven’t a clue as to how to “swing that sickle!”

My prayer for me and all those at our church plant is to have our eyes opened to this reality.  God is bringing people into our church.  The harvest seems to be on our doorstep.  May we know how to lead people to Jesus.  Afterall, all the mystery of salvation is in his hands – we just need to be available and do our thing.  But may we do our thing in the best way possible! And be expert “sickle swingers!”

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