Samantha sent me her reason for why she thought it was Ed Stetzer. AWESOME!
Here's a real picture of Ed from his newly redesigned blog. To be fair, @edstetzer is in much better shape than that Mark is about to write about. Ed Stetzer is not the man in the picture, any more guesses?
Sitting Down with J.I. Packer
Perhaps my favorite time in Orlando was spent in a small group with Dr. J. I. Packer. It is hard to overestimate Packer’s impact on evangelical Christianity. The graciousness he afforded me to sit on a couch and ask him questions for more than an hour was humbling and helpful. He is very clear minded at age eighty-two and he remains incredibly conversant, insightful, and witty. Impressively, his words are impeccably precise.
On Homosexuality
As we sat on the couch together, he explained that Anglicanism is patterned after the ancient Roman governmental system so that a bishop has jurisdiction over a geographic area. However, this long-established ecclesiological pattern has been breached because Anglicanism is suffering from “heretical bishops.” By “heretical bishops,” Packer was referring to those bishops who sanction homosexual activity. He explained that the “heretical bishops” won support for their position following much lobbying. This sadly required Bible-believing Anglican churches to come under the authority of other orthodox bishops outside of their geographic area rather than remain under “heretical bishops.”
Homosexuality: A Heretical Issue
When asked about calling those who support homosexuality and profess to be Christian “heretical,” Packer very carefully and insightfully explained what he meant. He began by saying that as Christians we are tempted to sin in many ways, including homosexuality. However, because God has saved us through Jesus and empowered us with the Holy Spirit, we are to practice ongoing repentance of sin and rejection of sinful desires. He explained in great detail that he perceives the approval of homosexuality to be “heretical” because it denies a fundamental aspect of the gospel—namely repentance. Packer explained how for six years he called his Anglican Diocese to repent of their sinful support of unrepentant homosexual activity, to no avail. Eventually, his own archbishop sought to pull his license (essentially his ordination or credentials) as a punitive measure. In the end, Packer, along with roughly thirty Anglican churches, came out from under their “heretical” leadership to form a new Anglican alliance.
Returning to the issue of denying a fundamental aspect of the gospel (repentance), he explained that 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 says,
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
Packer was clear that those who do not call Christians to repent of homosexual activity are, as Scripture says, “deceived.” He told me that the first of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses was that the whole of a Christian’s life is to be one of repentance of sin. Any Christian who does not practice and promote repentance is denying an aspect of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When I asked how the denial of repentance merited the label of “heretical,” Packer said, “ “‘Heresy’ ought to be used when an aspect of the gospel is being denied.” He further explained that because God through Paul warns the Corinthians that those who practice homosexuality unrepentantly will be damned to hell, “Souls are put at risk every time homosexuality is tolerated.”
Starting a New Religion?
In keeping with Packer’s line of reasoning, I asked him if those who are “heretical” in promoting homosexual activity while declaring themselves to be Christian are in effect promoting a new religion based upon a false gospel, like Mormonism and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. He said, “You could describe it that way and it’s what they are doing.”
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My Time on the Road
I recently spent a packed week preaching and teaching in London and Brighton, England, with Newfrontiers Network and other organizations. It was a grueling schedule, but Pastor Scott Thomas, who directs the Acts 29 Church Planting Network, and I learned a great deal and met some amazing people whom we thoroughly enjoyed.
On the way home we stopped over in Orlando, Florida, at the International Christian Retail Show. I did my first-ever book signing there, which was fun since Crossway Books was gracious enough to give away over two hundred copies of Vintage Jesus, which I penned with Dr. Gerry Breshears. We ran out of copies and I shook hands, prayed for people, and signed books for more than two hours.
I was also honored to speak on “A Passion for People” from Matthew 9:35–38 at the 70th anniversary banquet for Crossway. They also debuted the English Standard Version Study Bible due out in the fall. Jerry Bridges, Wayne Grudem, J. I. Packer, and Lane Dennis spoke at the event as well. In attendance were R. C. Sproul, Jack Graham, Roger Nicole, and others whom I had the honor of meeting. I was one of the only people in the room not in a suit, as I somehow missed the dress code, but everyone was gracious despite my black button-up shirt with skulls and crossbones and matching Affliction boots covered in serpents. The entire night was very moving, and the debut of the ESV Study Bible is incredibly exciting as it promises to be the most thorough and helpful study Bible ever produced.
Who is this guy?
Next week you can expect a three part series on the above man. Don't miss it. In the mean time send Mike @mikeyanderson a tweet if you know his name. Everyone who gets it right will get a shout out on this blog.
I was first introduced to CJ Mahaney through his book Humility. I was blown away by his obvious passion and humility. Watch some of his sermons, subscribe to his blog, and check out his sermon archives—you won't be sorry.
It's cool to see people reaching their culture for Jesus in whatever way they can. You can tell that Lacrae is passionate about seeing Jesus worshiped and lives changed. When I went to see him perform live, I felt slightly uncomfortable jumping up and down with the rest of the crowd, but, when I looked around me and saw hundreds of people praising Jesus and they were preaching the Gospel in a way the whole crowd grasped—I was amazed.
Who are the people around you that need Jesus?
What does it look like to be a comic book geek for Jesus? A Nascar Dad for Jesus? A YMCA volunteer for Jesus?
The past few days in England have been very busy. I’ve been working nearly nonstop every waking hour, preaching, teaching, and meeting with pastors at the Newfrontiers conference. Today I got a brief chance to visit famed preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s pastors’ college, which included a gracious tour of his personal archives, including handwritten letters and preaching notes. I also preached this evening at Saint James Clerkenwell Church in London. It has quite a famed history because a church has met on the grounds since the 1100s and it is where George Whitefield once preached. It is also in the same neighborhood where Karl Marx penned his works and some of the Protestant martyrs died.
Two things have really struck me thus far on the trip.
1. The Reach of the Internet Is Staggering
Tonight I preached at an event in London and the few hundred people who came were nearly all podcasters and vodcasters via the Internet. Many had listened to seemingly everything I’ve ever given away. It was amazing because they were from the U.S., U.K., Australia, Holland, Africa, Scotland, Ireland, Holland, and some other nations that escape my very tired mind at the moment.
2. Urban Church Planting Is Rising
In the past few days through the various events I have preached at, I have met significant urban church planting movement leaders from the U.S., U.K, Africa, and Dubai, as well as church planters going into major cities in Europe, Ireland, Scotland, and Australia. The vision of reformed, gospel-centered, missional churches being planted in the major cities of the world is a rising concern among many younger evangelicals. What is perhaps most interesting is that many of these networks and movement leaders are just getting to know one another and finding that our vision and hope for the major cities of the world is quite similar. It seems we’re reading the same Bible and following the same Spirit for the sake of the same Jesus, which is all incredibly encouraging.
Tomorrow we are hosting the Dwell London conference and from the sound of things it is full, with a few hundred potential church planters coming in from around the U.K. and world. Sunday morning I am preaching at Jubilee Church in London for my friend Pastor Tope. Sunday night I am preaching at Church of Christ the King for my friend Pastor Joel Virgo in Brighton, England. Then we’re flying out to Orlando, Florida, to speak at the International Christian Retail Show for my friends at Crossway Books and get some time with J. I. Packer, Tim Keller, Wayne Grudem, and Jerry Bridges.
I really need to get some sleep tonight as the trip is not done but the work and jet lag are catching up a bit. Overall, I’m very encouraged and learning a great deal that will forever change, for the better, my ministry at Mars Hill Church and in the Acts 29 Church Planting Network. When I get some time to process all that I’ve learned, I’ll likely try and write it up. For the time being, it’s off to bed and then off to preach and preach some more . . .
YouVersion is the 40th most popular download for the iPhone right now. The guys at LifeChurch have been working hard to build an online Bible with tons of interactive features. You should do yourself a favor and go sign up right now. These guys rock, I love seeing Christians giving away their hard work to help people know and love Jesus more.
update: check out the video for a full explanation update 2: "iPhone users have already spent over 1 million minutes reading the Bible...pretty amazing" ~ @bobbygwald
Pastor Mark is in London, and it sounds like an amazing set of conferences. He tells me that he's completely humbled at how many people worldwide are listening and learning from all of the video and audio teaching.
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What should Mark Driscoll blog on next? I'm helping him brainstorm his future posts, and I would love to hear what you think. Shoot me a twitter @mikeyanderson
Well, I’m sitting in the town of Brighton outside of London. The weather outside is just like Seattle’s most of the year—wet and cold, but a bit windier since we are on the waterfront. Pastor Scott Thomas (director of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network) and I have had, all things considered, a great trip thus far. We flew all night to London and I actually slept on the plane because the seat next to me was open and afforded a bit of space. I know many folks were praying and to be honest I can tell, so thank you. The jet lag has been minimal despite an eight-hour time difference, sleep has been fine, my health and energy feel good, and overall the trip thus far has not been nearly as physically taxing as I would have expected.
What I’m Doing in London
I’m spending this week serving the Newfrontiers Network led by Terry Virgo. We had dinner in his home and got to meet his family. He is a wonderfully gracious man whom God has used to plant churches around the world. There is a great deal I am learning from him and his leaders that will help our ministry at Mars Hill Church and in the Acts 29 Network. Times of connection outside of one’s network and even nation are invaluable to leaders for ongoing learning. I have met church planting movement leaders from around the United Kingdom as well as Africa and other nations and the personal interaction with them has been incredibly insightful to get a better picture of what God is doing through the church around the world. God is getting bigger, the gospel is getting stronger, and the world is getting smaller to me every day.
The Internet is Big
As an aside, I am amazed at the reach of the Internet. Nearly everyone I meet has been downloading free content in the form of podcasts and vodcasts and has been incredibly thankful for all the content that we give away for free at Acts 29, Resurgence, and Mars Hill. It is a humbling honor to see the ways in which we are able to serve so many people around the world. With recent hires at the church to improve our ability to give away more content than ever, it is reassuring to know that doing so is worthwhile for the service of the global church and makes me eager to give away more than ever, including some free small books and such posted online.
A healthy mix of Word and Spirit
The Newfrontiers folks are a very healthy mix of Word and Spirit. They love the Bible and the leading of God the Holy Spirit. Sometimes in the States those who are charismatic are negatively influenced by health and wealth teachers who say that, in essence, if you have enough faith you do not need to be like Jesus and endure pain or poverty. In contrast, somehow the folks I am meeting from around the world who are connected to Newfrontiers have a healthy biblical reformed theology complemented with an active and biblical view of the person and work of the Holy Spirit and exercise of all spiritual gifts. I have always believed in the perpetuity of all the spiritual gifts (including such things as tongues and prophecy) but have not had much experience in seeing them exercised biblically, so being in circles like this is very insightful and instructive. Yesterday, for example, a pastor from Africa shared a prophetic word about the Father’s love for Jesus his Son and it was incredibly biblically rooted and emotionally moving.
What I’m Preaching
For the rest of this work week, each day I am preaching a main session to about five thousand people and teaching a seminar to about five hundred people. The seminars are practical times of question and answer with pastors and their wives. Yesterday’s main session was on the Holy Spirit and his work in the ministry of Jesus and in the church. Pastor Scott captured the content we can share it with anyone who is interested. Later today I will be preaching on what it means to be a missional church, adapted from a chapter in the book Vintage Church coming out in January 2009, which I recently finished writing with my dear friend Dr. Gerry Breshears. We’ll also try and capture that session to give it away for free online.
Next up…
Once we’re done in Brighton we’ll head up to London for a few more days of preaching and teaching at various conferences and church services. After a week in England we’ll stop over in Orlando to speak at the international Christian booksellers convention and the anniversary of Crossway publishers, along with J. I. Packer, Jerry Bridges, and Wayne Grudem—all men I have longed to get some time with to learn from and am eager to be with.
Lastly, the people have been fantastic.
My new African friend Pastor Tope who leads a growing church in London has been our host and rarely have I met a man whom I enjoy more than him so hanging with him has been a delight. I am eager to preach to his people on Sunday and honor their pastor who has been so gracious to me. We have been loved, served, and encouraged well. I’ve also been using the Mac to iChat with my family, which is great. Although I am gone, seeing the five smiling, laughing, funny-face-making kids of mine is a boost of joy. And nothing beats seeing your wife’s smile as often as possible, especially when on the road.
You'd never expect the most pointedly missional language to come from a rap song. A few weeks ago, I was blown away watching this song live at Mars Hill Church. The guys from Reach Records are preaching with authority through music, I hope we see more of this in the future.
