I am a Driscoll fan (I know, I know, shoot me). While he may indeed be a tad overwhelming at times I think he brings something to the table that is rare within the Church today. Jenny got me Vintage Church for Xmas, a book that I have been coveting for some time now, and although I am only 63 pages in, it is quickly becoming an all-time favorite.
The book is all about the church; what it is, what it isn't, and what that means. He gives, what is in my opinion, a great working definition of the local church, something which has been kind of overlooked throughout our history. He states:
The local church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture they organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and Communion, are unified by the Spirit, are disciplined for holiness, and scatter to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission as missionaries to the world for God's glory and their joy. (Mark Driscoll, Vintage Church (Wheaton,IL: Crossway Books, 2008) 36)
I think this is a great definition of what the visible, local church is, and while it doesn't take into account the invisible, universal church it gives us an applicable foundation to combine orthopraxy (right practice) with our orthodoxy (right belief)!
The book is all about the church; what it is, what it isn't, and what that means. He gives, what is in my opinion, a great working definition of the local church, something which has been kind of overlooked throughout our history. He states:
The local church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture they organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and Communion, are unified by the Spirit, are disciplined for holiness, and scatter to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission as missionaries to the world for God's glory and their joy. (Mark Driscoll, Vintage Church (Wheaton,IL: Crossway Books, 2008) 36)
I think this is a great definition of what the visible, local church is, and while it doesn't take into account the invisible, universal church it gives us an applicable foundation to combine orthopraxy (right practice) with our orthodoxy (right belief)!
