I arrived back from “Engage 08” this arvo. It is a weekend put on by Katoomba Christian Convention, and I was invited to go with some friends of mine at the Eastwood Uniting Church Musical Society (EUCMS). The website for “Engage 09” is here.
In general, the weekend was awesome. I have come away with a fresh sense of God’s love for me, and the grace and forgiveness he gives me.
We heard from two speakers, Mark Driscoll and Don Carson.
As I look him up on Wikipedia (that source of all knowledge!), I can see Driscoll has caused some controversy in the past. He certainly has some interesting ideas, and I thought some things he said were great ... other things he said didn’t gel with me at all. Over the weekend he put particular emphasis on God’s regenerating work in us, through Jesus’ death and the Holy Spirit. Really, it was a fantastic reminder of some fundamental theology I really cling to. I have been tapped on the shoulder and led to recall that “[God’s] grace is sufficient for [me]”.
Driscoll has been holidaying in Australia for the past month. He has obviously been doing his research, and talked about aspects of Australian society and culture such as abortion rates, birth rates, divorce rates, and so on. He is opposed to homosexuality, and spoke very strongly against churches preaching “prosperity doctrine”. He did make some other interesting remarks though. He made reference to the number of men in their mid- to late-20s still staying at home, and exhorted all single men to move out and live independently for some time before they marry. “A girl doesn’t want to marry a guy whose mum has a nice house,” he said. Unfortunately, I think this shows a lack of understanding about the current cost-of-living, the housing market, and so on — at least in Sydney, if not the whole country. A (female) friend of mine commented, “It’s nice to see that a guy can actually get on well enough with his parents to want to stay at home.” When somebody asked him to tell us a Bible verse to back up his idea, he quoted this verse:
In general, the weekend was awesome. I have come away with a fresh sense of God’s love for me, and the grace and forgiveness he gives me.
We heard from two speakers, Mark Driscoll and Don Carson.
As I look him up on Wikipedia (that source of all knowledge!), I can see Driscoll has caused some controversy in the past. He certainly has some interesting ideas, and I thought some things he said were great ... other things he said didn’t gel with me at all. Over the weekend he put particular emphasis on God’s regenerating work in us, through Jesus’ death and the Holy Spirit. Really, it was a fantastic reminder of some fundamental theology I really cling to. I have been tapped on the shoulder and led to recall that “[God’s] grace is sufficient for [me]”.
Driscoll has been holidaying in Australia for the past month. He has obviously been doing his research, and talked about aspects of Australian society and culture such as abortion rates, birth rates, divorce rates, and so on. He is opposed to homosexuality, and spoke very strongly against churches preaching “prosperity doctrine”. He did make some other interesting remarks though. He made reference to the number of men in their mid- to late-20s still staying at home, and exhorted all single men to move out and live independently for some time before they marry. “A girl doesn’t want to marry a guy whose mum has a nice house,” he said. Unfortunately, I think this shows a lack of understanding about the current cost-of-living, the housing market, and so on — at least in Sydney, if not the whole country. A (female) friend of mine commented, “It’s nice to see that a guy can actually get on well enough with his parents to want to stay at home.” When somebody asked him to tell us a Bible verse to back up his idea, he quoted this verse:
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
— Genesis 2:24
This certainly relates to moving out of home to get married, but I believe his encouragement for young men to move out of home years before that is a distortion or misunderstanding of that verse.
He also told us that the average Australian woman only has 1·7 children, but to keep the country going, she needs to be having two-point-something babies (on average). Someone asked him about a married couple who chooses not to have children. My understanding of his response was that such a couple is selfish. “Be fruitful and increase in number,” he said, quoting from Genesis 9:7. He told us we’ve got enough land for it: there’s a big patch in the middle of the Australia we’re just not using.
In response to that, I would say we’re not using it, because it’s desert, and you can’t live there.
He also told us that the average Australian woman only has 1·7 children, but to keep the country going, she needs to be having two-point-something babies (on average). Someone asked him about a married couple who chooses not to have children. My understanding of his response was that such a couple is selfish. “Be fruitful and increase in number,” he said, quoting from Genesis 9:7. He told us we’ve got enough land for it: there’s a big patch in the middle of the Australia we’re just not using.
In response to that, I would say we’re not using it, because it’s desert, and you can’t live there.
While I think he was very insightful, his fundamental theology is fantastic, and I took away a lot from his speaking, I don’t think a month in the country gives him enough understanding of our society or culture to make judgements or generalisations such as those.
Anyway. I thank God that He sent Mark Driscoll to challenge me, make me think, and encourage me to renew my relationship with Christ.
Don Carson was fantastic. An older man, he was slightly more academic, but just as engaging, and with sermons which were just as stimulating, and I would happily listen to him preach any time. Again, I was challenged and encouraged. Again, I turn to God and thank Him for the work he has done for me and in me through Jesus Christ.
I really enjoyed the music and worship, too ... A nice mix of older hymns and new choruses just suited to a musicphile with eclectic tastes like me.
Andy
