After finishing my fourth and final sermon of the day at Mars Hill Church and before heading home to kiss my children before they went to bed, I received two emails from an older pastor whom I respect very much. In love, he brought to my attention a piece of content from me online that some of my critics have picked up on. It was a message I did out of the country a few years back on the more controversial sections of the Song of Songs.

To be honest, I was unaware the content had been posted on The Resurgence. Apparently it was from 2007, and the file was posted about a month ago as part of clearing a backlog of content. Thankfully, I got to preach the entirety of the Song of Songs at the end of 2008 and did a better job with the text than I had done previously. Subsequently, I would commend that content if you are interested in in studying the Song of Songs. Allegedly, some of my critics were concerned by the older content, and I think there is wisdom in some of their concerns. So we have pulled that content. In closing, I want to say three things.

One, I am not mentioning my critics, my friend who brought this to my attention, or the content for gospel reasons. I don’t want to speak ill of my critics, I don’t want to drag my friend into something that does not directly involve him, and I don’t want to draw attention to the content because it will only cause those who have not listened to it to flock to it.

Two, I want to thank my critics for teaching me that I have multiple audiences and that in addition to the room I speak to I am often also speaking to the world and need to keep repenting, learning, and growing in this skill for the sake of the gospel. In that way, my critics are helpful, and for them I am grateful.

Three, this blog is not edited so please forgive any obvious errors. I have a great copyeditor, but she’s a mom at home asleep with her family and I did not want to trouble her this late as it’s 10:32pm.

For Jesus' Fame,

Pastor Mark Driscoll