Refocus Session 1: Mark Driscoll

Mark Driscol is the pastor at Mars Hill church in Seattle. The following is a summary of the notes from the first session of the refocus event.

In Canada, Christianity is declining (about % 0.8 per year) at the same time, Hindusim, Wicca, Sikhism, Buddhism, Islam, and native spirituality are all growing.

There are two options for facing post Christian Canada: Liberalism and Fundamentalism.

Liberalism: is vaguely Christian spirituality. It is therefore demonic.... nice, middle class, respectable demonism.

Fundamentalism is an over reaction to Liberalism. it is defined by what it is against rather then what it is for. It tends to be escapist and therefore overly focused on eschatology. it is a negaitve form of 'religion' that is all about what one does and therefore either produces pride or despair.

We have four priorities which will spare us from these extremes:

1. Christology: Jesus is the primary issue not my church. He is on the throne (Is 6; Jn 12; rev.)

2. Men: The focus in the Canadian church is not on men. It takes courage for pastors to go after men. Quit worrying about their feelings. The church will succeed or fail based on how the men are trained. Pastors must gather, compel and contend with men. Churches are built for women, we need to change the architecture. Men in our society have two choives- to become Gay or to become bullies (because their not gay and this is the only other choice). The only thing most men are good at is finding free porn on the internet. We need to give them a different vision for manly manhood.

3. Ecclessiology: Men need to be the leaders of the church- its a job for the big boys! Mark recieves death threats for this stand and yet his church is the 15th fastest growing church in America and is growing among 20 to 30 year olds. Women want men to take the lead in their churches.

Men need to be told that the problem with the world is them! In all their life failures and dissapointments, they are the only consistent variant. Preach to men as a man!

4. Missiology: start missions at home. work to change the city, not just the church. Jesus and the Bible is the only way that change is possible.

Fundamentalists have a closed fist (for fighting); Liberals have an open hand. We need to decide which issues we will have a closed hand for and which we will have an open hand for.

We have a closed hand for things like inerrancy, divinity of Christ, sinfulness of sin, hell, male elders, etc. We need to go to where we will have the most influence- the city. Cities are strategic because they are linked around the world and they are the major arteries for the moral climate of our nation. Christians stay out of the cities and decry their immorality, but they have no impact. Paul went to cities. By the 4th century, %50 of the cities of Rome were Christian. Pagan meant being a farmer. The gospel will ring out from the city to the rural communities, but it rarely rings into the city from the rural communities.

Don't just preach Paul's doctrines, live like him too! don't flee the city as christianity declines in Canada and hide in the plains homeschooling, reading books on the rapture, complaining about what's coming out of the city (with a closed hand)- that's not Pauline and it's not Calvinistic!