Many
Christians ignore the reality of unseen spiritual beings. The
Driscolls remind Christians angels and demons are real and spiritual
warfare is a reality. They explore angles, what they are like and
what they do. They also look at the existence of evil, the reality of
spiritual warfare and the Christian's authority. They give biblical
insight on a number of topics like pride, sickness and healing,
forgiveness and specific spiritual battles, such as lies and
coveting.
While
I respect most of the Driscolls' teaching, there is one area where I
feel they are entirely wrong: the critique of the trend to Reformed
theology. Driscoll writes the trend toward Reformed theology is “in
large part the world I would call the 'immature, hurt, and father
wounded.' The trend toward Reformed theology is driven in large part
by a generational father wound ...” (151) I feel this kind of
rhetoric is uncalled for. Being a Reformed charismatic, I treasure
the biblical nature of Reformed theology, as do many serious charismatic scholars, such as Sam Storms. Driscoll says this “father wound”
leads to bitterness and the idea that the son can lead better than
the father. (153) He says it may take the form of “a team member
overtaking a leader in an organization.” (154) This makes me wonder
if Driscoll's comments are from the wounds he suffered during his
final time at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, when he was asked to
resign.
Driscoll
also says this father wound leads to a “prevalence of Son theology
over Father theology... These sons with father wounds don't talk as
much about God the Father as they do Jesus the Son.” (151) Imagine
my surprise when I went to Driscolls' Scottsdale church web site and
saw the bold slogan: “IT'S ALL ABOUT JESUS!” Later in his book,
Driscoll writes, “Good doctrine stars with Jesus as your compass
and cornerstone. ...once you get Jesus right, the rest falls into
place.” (189)
I
also found it interesting Driscoll says the “father wound” causes
people to want to plant their own churches, rather than having older
mentors in their midst. (159) It's interesting because that is what
Driscoll has done, twice.
There
is a great deal of good teaching in this book, especially for new
Christians or Christians who have ignored the reality of spiritual
warfare. The Driscolls generally teach from the Bible, adding their
own experiences to illustrate the biblical principles. I advise to
just skip the chapter on the father wound.
You
can watch the book trailer here.
My
rating: 3/5 stars.
Mark
and Grace Driscoll have been married and doing ministry together for
over twenty-five years. They recently planted the Trinity Church in
Scottsdale, Arizona. He was previously the pastor at Mars Hill Church
in Seattle, Washington. He has a bachelor's degree in speech
communication from the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication at
Washington State University as well as a master's degree in
exegetical theology from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. You
can find out more at https://markdriscoll.org/
Charisma,
272 pages.
