Top Tier . . .

This is day three of my “scientifically subjective” evaluation of ministry related blogs. Today I look at the ubiquitous Mark Driscoll and his blog Resurgence. Driscoll is, as Nightline called him, the “punk, rock star” Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.

My point here is to evaluate the blogs, not necessarily the related churches or ministries, or even the blogger. But in this case, you really have to be familiar with Driscoll and his church to “get” his blog.

Mars Hill Church, in its early days, was comely associated with the emerging church movement. As that movement went in some different (questionable) theological directions, Driscoll became quite critical of the emergent movement, and slowly but surely distanced himself from it. And during this move away, he himself was becoming a more convinced (and bold) Calvinist in his theological perspective. His church, and blog, clearly reflect that conviction.

But what Driscoll didn’t reject from the early days of the emerging church phenomenon was what could be called an “emergent church methodology.” By that I mean, a progressive, even raw, cutting edge, and strong incarnational ministry emphasis, that says “we’ll meet—and accept—people where they’re at,” but “we’re not going to leave them there,” perspective (method) of how to do church. Because of where it is located in an urban, highly-unchurched, and a radical culturally diverse youthful population center in Seattle, Washington, it all works remarkably well; for Driscoll and for Mars Hill. And not only does it work in Seattle, Driscoll’s style and message resonates around the world to so many younger-generation evangelical believers. The Nightline piece captures him well, you can view it here >>.

Resurgence is Driscoll’s regular contribution and connection of his writing, speaking, and Mars Hill Pastoral ministry, to the rest of us on the internet. And it clearly reflects his ministry bent at Mars Hill; at times it is edgy, dealing with subjects few dare to publicly talk about, let alone put out there on the internet for all the world to see (e.g., check out the table of contents for the free e-book you can read at his site called: Porn Again Christianity). A very strong feature of the site are the boatload of free resources provided there, such as: sermons on mp3s, mp3s of the many seminars and special speakers Mars Hill hosts, videos, e-books, and links to all kinds of other useful resources.

Here is my rating based on my own subjective criteria and my 3 Star rating system. . .

Content – Usually in what I would call “spiritual formation” things, but all kinds of theological resources as well. Rating: 3 Stars - Excellent, always good stuff.

Informative – Normally, and understandably so, it deals with whatever Driscoll is currently involved in, but as said above, he is usually on the front line of the hot issues of the day. He never bores. Rating: 3 Stars - Excellent, always good stuff.

Current – New post several times a week, but not necessarily daily. Sometimes a bit inconsistent. Rating: 2 Stars - Pretty Good, most of the time.

Interesting – You may not agree with everything, but he will always have your attention. Also, the site will often have guess contributions (I’m confident Driscoll probably has a staff member or administrator manage the site). Rating: 3 Stars -
Excellent, always good stuff.

Creative – Yeah, hard to fit this category with this site, but it is certainly not dull. Rating: Rating: 2 Stars - Pretty Good, most of the time.

Relevant – Always, some say too much so. Rating: 3 Stars - Excellent, always good stuff.

Appeal – Surprisingly, it has a very “business casual dress” look to it. Nothing bad, it is certainly professionally designed, but one would think it would have a more postmodern, indie rock, type feel to it. This is not so much a criticism as an observation, it probably says more about my expectation than anything; nonetheless, it works. Rating: 2 Stars - Pretty Good.

The score: 18 out of 21. Though you may not agree with everything he says, or even how he says it sometimes (I don’t always) it is well worth the time and effort to read him. Pastor Mark Driscoll makes a valuable contribution to the greater body of Christ by sharing his gifts, wit, resources, and keen sense of cultural awareness with us through the Resurgence blog site.

Blessings
3 John 8
Bill H.