Pastor Mark warned the church 10 years ago that the Church was in a new paradigm. The theme of resurgence was given to his conference, R13, where he described the antagonism that we will face. I whispered to a man I was mentoring that “if churches catch on to what Mark is saying, we’ll do well. If not, we will be in a world of hurt wondering what happened. Don’t be surprised if satan takes him out because satan doesn’t want the church to catch on.” Controversies arose about the book. Months later Mars Hill imploded, to the silent and not so silent thrills of many. Frankly, the church did not heed the warning he gave. We should revisit it, because the last decade has not been a shining example of a church on fire.

Yeah, but…

This post is not a defense of Mark Driscoll. It is a reflection of the last 10 years based on a critical word that Mark gave that I sense we blew off. An observation a friend made, not as an apologist for Mark, but in the same spirit as this post: “Many of those who criticized Mark went woke while Mark didn’t.” Pondering that observation for the last few months, then finding my R13 notes from ten years ago recently, I decided to write this post.

We are at war, and too many pastors don’t realize that

A pastor friend called and wanted to talk about this phrase I often used. We discussed how ministry is described as spiritual warfare in Ephesians. Perhaps we miss this doctrinal point because we divide the book in half between doctrine and application. We focus on the armor of God, yet we ignore the reality of why the armor is needed. We intellectually acknowledge the battle, but we don’t live like it is a reality. Frankly, often as churches we are not desperate for God. When the covid battle hit, we failed.

Tribalism

A point Mark emphasized in his book is what he learned about tribalism. Yes, this was one of the controversies about the book, but the point still needs hearing. There is no longer a dominate narrative or world view, but we now face numerous views. Even within the church. Add to this the rise of Critical theory over the last decade, and the tribalism because polarized. Even within the church. We were warned. We largely ignored it.

Three recommendations to repent

First, we need to man up. A key aspect to being a shepherd of Christ’s church is to guard the sheep. Wanting to be winsome and nice (liked), we failed to develop in our people steadfastness, biblical theology of politics, reality of spiritual warfare, and biblical peacemaking. When God tested us, we failed. A political figure or virus wasn’t the problem. Second, we need to wake up to the reality we are in a spiritual fight. A fight which we win, but it is still a fight. Our orders are not to fall back in trying times, but to stand firm. It’s a new and dark day to shine as light. Third, we need to unlock the power of humility. God gives grace to the humble but He opposes the proud. Our quest for being liked, I mean winsome, caused a blind spot. In our over reactions to legalism and the imbalance of fundamentalism, we failed to read our times. Ironically a polarizing figure like Mark warned us that we need each other. That is still true today.

Saddle up, lock and load!

Pastoral ministry is hard because people are hurting and sin is affluent. If you as a pastor are tired, that likely means your church and community is hurting too. The reality of being a shepherd is we give our life for the sheep. Jesus exemplified this for us. It’s our duty for His church to do the same. This requires wisdom, keeping to God’s Word, and total surrendered to the Spirit. Let us commit to focus on our mission of making disciples, instead of hiding. Let us commit to being tenacious to the basics of prayer, the Word, and the Ordinances, rather than retreating. Let us commit to equipping our fellow soldiers well so we may lock shields, and stand firm together.

We win

Paul teaches us that we are more than conquerors. After, he lays out God’s plan for showing mercy to all, which ends in worship. Then he calls people to offer themselves as living sacrifices, and to get to work. In mercy and worship we operate from a platform of victory and not defeat. May the return of Christ find us faithful.

We got issues too

Mark warned us and we largely blew it off. But the rallying cry hasn’t changed. Like Mark, I am sure you and I have issues. We need to humble ourselves before the cross. We will make mistakes. We will sin. But the Gospel reminds us that Jesus died once for all sin. Let us repent, suit up, and do our duty well. Many of our sheep have been living on meager diets, feed them well. Many lost souls are desperate for us to do so.

May our tribes unite as the holy nation God chose us to be. Pastors, may we man the gap and equip others to follow that lead.