Preaching and Mission Connected

Researching Mark Driscoll’s preaching philosophy, I discovered, not surprisingly, that just as he believes preaching cannot be detached from the true church, he also believes that it cannot be disconnected from the church’s mission. How then does Pastor Mark maintain a reformissional focus in his preaching?

Why Do We Resist the Truth?

First, upon discovering the biblical author’s intent, he raises the question, “Why do we resist the truth?” His goal is to predict potential rejection points by the listener with the aim of countering any objections with God’s truth. Then, modeling what he believes to be the scriptural example, he works at understanding the cultural context of his listeners with the intent to communicate these truths in the most effective form. “The gospel,” states Driscoll, “must be contextualized in a way that is accessible to the culture and faithful to the Scriptures.” Therefore, scriptural accuracy remains a must, but so does seeking to be culturally accessible. Contextualizing the gospel in this culturally accessible way will prayerfully enable the preacher, asserts Driscoll, to bring about a “co-opting” of “their cultural hopes” and bring non-believers to see the gospel “as the only answer to their deepest longing.”

Why Does This Matter?

Second, he asks “Why does this matter?” Driscoll incorporates in his messages the biblical mandate for living out the gospel as a missionary from Mars Hill to the city of Seattle and beyond. He counters inactivity by emphasizing the significance of why it matters, both individually and corporately, to be a missional people.

Therefore, Driscoll’s reformissional preaching aim, in his own words, is to connect the message to a “missional purpose for our lives, families, church, and ultimately God’s glory.” Missiological preaching is more than a sermon point shared a few times a year; for Driscoll, missional preaching is the point.

How Is Jesus the Hero?

The final sermon-framing question used by Driscoll to maintain a reformissional focus is “How is Jesus the hero/Savior?” This places the spotlight on the hero of the church’s mission—Jesus. Jesus came as a missionary to culture preaching the gospel and the kingdom of God. Under his authority, preachers live in culture heralding this same message (Matt 28:18–20).

Driscoll asserts, “We derive our authority to preach the gospel to all peoples, times, and places from the glorious exaltation of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus claimed all authority for himself and commanded us to go in his authority to preach the gospel truth.” How serious is Driscoll at embracing this truth? Read his own words: “My answer to everything is pretty much the same: open the Bible and preach about the person of Jesus and his mission for our church.” Thus, for Driscoll, reformissional preaching means lifting up Jesus before the culture as the centerpiece of the Bible, which reveals a unified story that highlights Jesus as the undeniable hero.

What Is Reformissional Preaching?

What then is reformissional preaching? Reformissional preaching is preaching that unpacks the biblical truth, counters the culture’s objections to the truth, reveals the relevance of the truth, and heralds the gospel of the truth incarnate—JESUS—for the conversion of sinners, transformation of saints, and mission of the church.

How about you, pastor? Is your preaching connected to the mission of the church? Is it reformissional?

From Preaching and the Emerging Church, Chapter 7. Mark Driscoll: Reformissional Preaching (pgs. 177-179). Get it here.

Preaching & the Emerging Church

This ebook offers a thorough critique and evaluation of the preaching of four leaders of the emerging church movement. Get it here.