A New Skill Set is Required
(14 minutes)
Mark Driscoll, Pastor Mars Hills, Seattle
http://www.marshillchurch.org/
Interviewer, Kurt Oheim, Pastor of Pinnacle Church in Amarillo, TX
To be Used in Conjunction with Video
The key to this session is to experience Mark and his passion for the Gospel
According to Mark Driscoll, pastor of Marshill Church in Seattle, WA today’s leader must have a new skill set. The new skill set requires us to discern the times and trust our instincts. This means you have to be able to move faster than in the past and be an expert on multi fronts. For example: books are out of date when they are printed.
What is the alternative form of learning?
What do you think Mark means by “We are living in a multi-lane highway?”
What makes it even harder is that the universal principles on leadership are not longer helpful. (for more on this see Leadership on the OtherSide, by Bill Easum from Abingdon.
What then are we to do? What is our role?
How do you feel when Mark says that we are not to be leaders?
Authority structure has changed today. In today’s world authority is not given to anyone. The Internet is moving the world toward a new form of anarchy where information is available to all and leaders will no longer be looked toward as sources of information. They wont turn to us for information We must become missionary who give the Gospel. We need to be specialists in contextualizing the Gospel instead of developing programs. It’s a Gospel issue, not program or style, but the belief that the Gospel has the power to change lives and cities that bring people from death to life. The gospel is the only thing people can’t get anywhere else. They can get programs and counseling, but not the Gospel. We must be missionaries of the Gospel, not leaders or managers of programs or counselors.
What would your ministry look like if the Gospel were your primary function?
The new skills set- not be ashamed of the Gospel.
Lesson: Leaders need to be able to intuitively read the signs of the times and discern what to do and where to turn.
Lesson: there isn’t one model for leadership today. It is changing to fast and too often for one model to work everywhere
What Are Some of the Potential Weaknesses of Missionary leadership?
1. Marks main fear is that deconstructing may leave us with new demons to replace the old demons of modernity. We might become so enamoured by the new tools and technology that we forget the Gospel.
How have you been guilty of baptizing the tools that you use? Contemporary worship, choir directors
2. Marks second fear is the loss of preaching will be the churches demise
3. Marks third fear is the loss of desire for studying the Bible.
4. The basic fear is upgrading ministry skills without focusing on our own spiritual life.
How much time do you spend preparing to preach, studying the Bible, and caring for you soul?