So, yeah, Mark Driscoll.

As I was watching a couple of his newer sermons, what I really enjoyed and admired is there are elements of theology that are very important for people to grasp, like how salvation works, that he has so systematized that he can just work it into his message at will.   I am thinking that if I hope to develop my preaching/teaching style, I need to get a lot better grasp on things than I currently have.  I fly by the seat of my pants, when I start talking theology generally.  I grasp and concepts and verses as they float into my head, but that doesn’t communicate well.  I need to lock some concepts down into concise packages, that are accessible as the situation arises.  I have already done this with some subjects I know well.  For example, I can talk this way about just about any era of church history, denominations, and cults.  That is a result of most of my training being in those areas.  However, despite having taken a number of theology courses, I have never systematized my theology to the point of ready access.  That is definitely something I need to work on.

The cool side effect of having done this is that I don’t see as much sermon preparation being necessary.  I watched him speak and he had a page, maybe two, of notes.  He almost never referred to them.  I don’t think he has a photographic memory.  I think he just notes down the stuff he wants to talk about specific to the message, and then just shorthands different places where he has “prepackaged” material already in his head.  This allows him to do less sermon prep but still have a full message.  The rest is just practicing pacing and awareness of time and organization.  Skills that can be learned.

Of note: no curse-words or vulgar language was used in either of his sermons I watched.

Also note: no expression of agreement or disagreement with his theology.  I was primarily watching to learn style.

Here’s a bunch of quick thoughts.  I realize I have been a little sporadic lately.  Here’s what’s been shaking.

• Cheryl’s 30 as of yesterday!  She’s finally old!  Yay (because now I don’t feel so old)!  Or Boo (because I know nobody really likes to grow up too much)!
• I can only say that because she is unbelievably hot and nobody would guess her age.  Heh.
• Been watching Mark Driscoll’s latest sermon series.  Interesting.  I’d like to say that I am only watching it to learn other pastor’s preaching techniques and approaches, but I was also curious how he’d tackle the material in front of thousands of parishioners.  Turns out he’s pretty deft, which would explain that whole massive-mega-multi-campus church thing.  (Watch for forthcoming post on this subject)
• Been a little discouraged lately, like things are a bit out of control.  The word “conflicted” doesn’t begin to describe how I am feeling.  On the bright side, guys can compartmentalize, so I do get to turn it off for huge parts of the day, but when I am not concentrating on anything else, the feeling comes back.  I know it is coming from having way too much on the go.  I have to knock some things out.
• Been reading Austin City Life’s “Partners” document.  That has challenged me to think about the system Phil uses at Community of Hope and think about what I would do differently.  Lots to be said there.  (Watch for forthcoming post on this subject.)
• Been down with bronchitis (viral) for almost a week now.  I don’t think I’ve ever had bronchitis before.  Today was the first day in 5 days I have been able to sing in the car to my iPod.  That was a long time without singing.

That’s it for my quick update.  More on a couple of these soon!

Lots of good articles in my RSS reader this morning.  If you don’t have an RSS feed reader (even if you’re not a big blog fan) I recommend it heartily.  It condenses hours of blog surfing down to minutes.  If you ever came across websites or blogs that you thought you’d like to read more regularly but forget their address, or don’t get around to it often, RSS is for you.

I just got on the bandwagon, even though I’d surf by their sites frequently before.  But here are two three excellent links to links with good stuff from my RSS feeds:

• Church Planting Novice found a great article at Subtext with excellent tips for conversationally bringing up the Gospel.  No “Did you know you’re going to hell?” type transitions here.
• The Pyromaniacs took a break from picking fights to link to the Jollyblogger’s cautious thoughts about the nature of marital problems in general.  He contends that it would be better for Christian spouses to treat each other as enemies! How’s that for controversial?  Read it - he makes more sense than you think!
• Mark Driscoll’s blog talks this morning about the spiritual discipline of studying.  I was shocked by the reference to 2 Peter 2:15, as it is the lead verse for Awana (stands for “approved workmen who are not ashamed”).  This will definitely be a talking point for my next team meeting.  More specifically, I have a leader who is worried about whether he is capable of studying the Bible.  I need to meet with him individually I think, encourage him and see if we can overcome this concern.

Hope you find these as interesting as I did!