Book Details
- Author: Mark Driscoll
- Publisher: Zondervan (2004)
- Category: Church Life
Discerning Reader Editorial Review
Reviewed 01/20/2009 by Chad Vandervalk.
Recommended. It's all been said before, but not toward its target demographic.
When I picked up Radical Reformission, I did not really know what to expect. I have heard a lot about Mark Driscoll, of course (not all of it good, not all of it bad). I have heard his podcast a few times, though he is not one of the regulars I listen to.
I did not particularly enjoy this book, not was I much moved by it or its content. However, I have a deep respect for Driscoll. I appreciate that this book comes out of a deeply pastoral heart which is desperately trying to reach those who are far from Jesus. This especially comes out at the end of the book in his prayer for the reader.
I pray that you and God’s people in your culture would clearly see the opportunities for and obstacles to the gospel where you live. I pray that you and God’s people would weep over the condition of your city. I pray that you and God’s people would envision what your kingdom culture will be. I pray that God would protect you from the world, the flesh, and the Devil, which conspire to thwart reformission. I pray that God would open to the the gospel of grace th hearts of the lost people that you meet. I pray that God would get his glory, that your city would get its kingdom culture, and that you would get your joy.
Driscoll obviously has a heart to reach out to those who have been estranged from the church with a true and uncluttered gospel of good news in Jesus. This book would be most useful to young pastors who are struggling with engaging thoughtfully in their culture without compromising the message. That being said, Driscoll often goes over board in his rhetoric; something which has been noted by many more people so I will not say to much about that here.
Driscoll organises each chapter around a topic and divides it into four sections. First he exposes and ‘remembers’ some teaching of scripture, second he exposes the ways we have moved away from this teaching by ‘repenting’, third he examines ways in which we can move back toward the teaching of scripture by ‘redeeming’ our future, fourth he provides questions for ‘reflection’ related to the other sections.
This structure provides a very consistent framework throughout, and makes it rather easy to read the book in smaller segments. Some of the time, however, the structure seems somewhat forced and arbitrary and actually gets in the way of understanding the content.
While there are things that I do not necessarily agree with, I do not think that he is promoting anything that is wrong. I simply found nothing in the book which has not been said much better elsewhere; without the hurtful and condemning rhetoric toward those he is supposedly so eager to reach out to.
