Book Review: Michael on “Radical Reformission” by Mark Driscoll
I was fed by this book.
Driscoll covers a variety of areas on Christology and Ecclesiology. The need for the Church to exhibit Christ-centric love, and for individual communities to do relevant ministry to their cultures has never been penned so beautifully and scandalously. Driscoll breaks the bonds of legalism by addressing issues that are almost universally taboo in most fundamentalist circles, and the reciprocal of those that are likewise in most liberal circles. Driscoll does away with Pharisaical, pre-conceived notions that would condemn petty issues that aren’t addressed in scripture. He shows Biblical occasion to consume alcohol, and tells of the rich history of the Church being Europe’s official brewery. He recounts John Calvin’s annual salary package that included a plethora of wine to be enjoyed by him and his guests, and he tells of Martin Luther’s sorrow while being away from his wife’s home-brewed ale. He also tells what happens when a community becomes so wrapped up in the culture that the original mission is laid aside for the sake of “politeness.” He likewise shows scripture that proclaims drunkenness as dangerous and sinful.
This is a great read for any Christian, and a must-read for anyone doing ministry work today!
+michael
So… did Driscoll’s book say anything about life outside of alcohol?
Did you even read the first half of the review?
haha… I assumed the first half of the review was setting the context for the second half of the review and was, therefore, rhetorically subordinate to it.
So was half the book about alcohol? I would by that book. Are there any drink recipes?
Well the first half was and yet wasn’t setting the context for the second half. No, half the book wasn’t directly about alcohol. The book in it’s entirety was about “reaching out without selling out.” Thus I think you can relate “breaking the bonds of legalism” as a major theme of the book. And alcohol is, in fact, directly related to the “breaking the bonds of legalism” conversation.
So no recipes?
Sorry to disappoint. Driscoll did however title a chapter “The Sin of Light Beer.”
That alone may make me buy this book.
yeah you talk a lot about alcohol…lol…its seems like this is what that book is about, which i know its not…i know you’re just looking for a reason to get drunk, michael…now that john calvin and martin luther did it, so should i!
No, that’s just what sticks out to you. There’s only 3.5 lines that reference alcohol. Also, if “get drunk, Martin Luther and John Calvin did it, and I am too” is all you got out of this book review, you’re not reading it the way it should be read:
In his book, Driscoll talks about churches that become so Pharisaical that they are worshiping the social law that Christ did away with during His earthly ministry. The “alcohol” reference could be applied to any social law of today…and how our morality should be dictated by nothing other than the word of God which is a documented reference of the physical example given to us by Christ.
Driscoll also speaks negatively of communities that mimic the Sadducees, who compromised their doctrine for the appeasement of a crowd. As believers, we can’t compromise our beliefs to please an audience and just boost our numbers We cannot neuter the gospel to rob it of it’s scandalousness, and Driscoll beautifully writes about this problem that is very visible in the Church today. The tag line of the book “Reaching out without Selling Out” stays true to it’s promise.