The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out without Selling Out

by Mark Driscoll

Reformation is the continual reforming of the mission of the church to enhance God’s command to reach out to others in a way that acknowledges the unique times and locations of daily life. This engaging book blends the integrity of respected theoreticians with the witty and practical insights of a pastor. It calls for a movement of missionaries to seek the lost across the street as well as across the globe. This basic primer on the interface between gospel and culture highlights the contrast between presentation evangelism and participation evangelism. It helps Christians navigate between the twin pitfalls of syncretism (being so culturally irrelevant that you lose your message) and sectarianism (being so culturally irrelevant that you lose your mission). Included are interviews with those who have crossed cultural barriers, such as a television producer, exotic dancer, tattoo studio owner, and band manager. The appendix represents eight portals into the future: population, family, health/medicine, creating, learning, sexuality, and religion. Mark Driscoll was recently featured on the ABC special The Changing of Worship.

Genres: Christian, Theology, Church, Christian Living, Christianity, Nonfiction, Evangelism

208 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Mark A. Driscoll is the founder and teaching pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington, as well as the co-founder of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network where he also served as President for a short period. Driscoll continues to serve on the board of Acts 29. He has contributed to the "Faith and Values" section of the Seattle Times and the "On Faith" section of the Washington Post.

Reviews

[Seph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Driscoll uses extreme examples and edgy language to make his points. This is not a book or a review for the undescerning.

Introduction: tremendously helpful to see how Christian movements can become meaningless without the church, the Gospel, and culture working together. I completely disagreed with Driscoll in his assessment of Fundamentalism, at first.

Part 1: Addresses our addiction to the appearance of morality and encourages us to use our freedom in Christ to do mission (rightly singular as there is only one mission, not missions).

Part 2: Explains why a reformissional Gospel (not another Gospel, but an explanation of the unchanging Truth of redemption that addresses the culture from where it stands. Presuppositional evangelism) fights against both nostalgia and innovation and how looking to Jesus as an example is the best way to develop a reformissional Gospel.

Part 3: Explains why forcing people to Jesus through evangelism no longer works in our culture. Explains a better way.

Part 4: Discusses the problem with hiding our light (insulating ourselves from the world) and diluting the truth (blending in with the world). Encourages believers to be in the world and not of the world. Excellent discussion on High, Folk, Pop culture.

Part 5: Explanation of how to do evangelism after the model of Paul at Mars Hill. Great.

Part 6: A chapter that seems non-sequiter in a book about mission. Rightly frames the issue of alcohol in the context of inerrancy of Scripture rather than merely liberty (Drinking with Calvin and Luther and God Gave Wine are helpful resources Driscoll sites).

Part 7: A push towards the Cultural Mandate in Genesis 1.

This is not a book for the rank and file Fundamentalist. This is not a book for people who are already bitter or feel they are better than the legalist as it will only galvanize you in your sin. This is a book for the discerning reader who is willing to eat the fish and spit out the bones... and there is good fish here.

I have read this three times. Led it in discussion once. This is most helpful to read among friends to aid with discernment.

[Jordan Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great. I enjoyed this, besides some of his, edgy-ness. I loved the emphasis on upholding both the Gospel and culture, and wisdom on avoiding sectarianism and syncretism. Loved what he had to say about refor-mission, and how we should build Kingdom culture.

[Zachary Wilke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably a 3.5. Parts of it were great!

[Matt Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 3 for content, but 4 for enjoyability and actually making me laugh out loud a few times.

[Douglas Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the basic primer for Driscoll thinking - and what it means to be missional.

It is well written and challenging. There are plenty of things to quibble about - but its a great encouragement to allow/force ourselves to think outside of the boxes we so typically sequester ourselves in. It confronts our prejudices and preconceived notions about people (especially unbelievers) in light of Christ's example and imperatives to us about discipling the nations. It takes seriously the importance of sociological importance of cities and the need to transform cities for the Lord Jesus.

Driscoll is a great communicator and has been well used of God to proclaim a vision of Christian mission in a post-modern world.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read this book for pre-eldership. The language is dated and edgy. I used to like Driscoll a lot, so I thought I would like this book, but the writing style changed frequently. His jokes weren't that funny. He has nuggets scattered all over the book. Going after the religious right and sin excusing left. I think that masculinity in the church at the time of this book was dying or dead. The church needed this language then but now I would suggest Piper or Chandler as they discuss biblical masculinity without trying to be over the top Rambo about it.

[Dwight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Driscoll balances on the fine line between conservatism and liberalism in the church.

His methods are too liberal for the fundamentalists (good), and his doctrine is too conservative for the post-modern/emerging crowd (also good).

[Kyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suggest McLaren's evangelism book...

[Aden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book in retrospective. From the early 2000’s and discussing where Driscoll saw the church heading in the future and what needed to change about evangelism to address it. Really interesting read.

[Mark Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good emphasis on cultural relatability, but some examples show poor execution - seeking to relate when we would be more relevant by living out some of our counter-cultural oddities.

[Caden Schlechter · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who wants to do evangelism and missions work in my local area, this book is invaluable and I will be reading it again.

[Ryan Denton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Significant problems with Driscoll, but this one isn't half bad. Read for project.

[Sally Loftis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not quite sure what to think of Mark Driscoll. Before I had even read his book The Radical Reformission, another friend described Driscoll as the "cussing" pastor. My friend claims that Driscoll is known to drop questionable language in his sermons. That sounds like a classic generation X or Y-aged pastor who is pushing cultural relevance, but I don't know what is true about Mark Driscoll. Just look him up on Google sometime. He draws a heated reaction from every side of the religious debate.



While I haven't formed a strong opinion on Mark Driscoll, I have a favorable estimate of his theology around evangelism. For my non-churchy readers, evangelism is sharing the message of Christ with other people. In The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out without Selling Out, Driscoll proposes that evangelism involves three things: the gospel, the church and the culture. Without a healthy view on this trifecta, the church becomes a human institution of regulation versus a God-ordained community of healing. Driscoll spends most of the book describing how the church can hold the gospel, the church and the culture in tandem.


This is a quick read for those who fall into the younger generations and go to church. It is a challenging presentation to the rest of us. Driscoll leans on the culturally relevant side of evangelism, which scares most conservative Christians. He forces the reader to confront the hypocrisy of isolation from the world when the world is where the "lost" live. The Radical Reformission is a call to live a distinctly Christian life in a dimly lit world. Driscoll's arrogance can make for annoying writing at times, but his assessment of the church is spot on in my opinion.

Here are my personal highlights from the book:

When we lose sight of one or more key elements, then we fall into these traps:

The Church + The Culture - The Gospel = Liberalism

The Church + The Gospel - The Culture = Fundamentalism

The Gospel + The Culture - The Church = Parachurch

Driscoll also uses stories of "unconventional" Christians to reflect how we must reach out to the world in new ways. My favorite was the story of a stripper who chose to accept Christ after her boyfriend kept hosting a Bible study at their house. How many Christians do we know that would even go into a stripper's house, much less go frequently enough to attend a Bible study?

Check this book out if you want some "in your face" input from a popular pastor. It might just change your views about how you share the message of eternal life in a temporal world.

[Adam Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Driscoll definitely put together a winner with this one. The Radical Reformission is his presentation of what being the church means in our emerging world, and he writes with passion, verve, and a wit well equal to that of Douglas Wilson. In so many ways I am right here with him, nodding my head in agreement. His chapter on culture is wonderful, filled with helpful correctives in all directions, including a refreshing refutation of the "garbage in, garbage out" mentality of many Christians. That is, if you put garbage in, garbage will come out. Nonsense, says Driscoll, who lambasts this mindset for reasons including the fact that there is "no such thing as a pure culture untainted by sin and sinners," and "assumes that if Christians see and hear sin up close, they will want to participate in it," (126).

In fact, there wasn't a single chapter in which I disagreed with anything substantial - until the final one on postmodernism. Driscoll's treatment is above-par when it comes to comparisons with your average Christian writer, and he appears to have at least read the titans of postmodernism like Foucault and Rorty, but his approach is mostly hostile. Despite his claims that postmodernism is "not something we should ignore, oppose or embrace," but rather interact with, Driscoll's chapter is mostly hostile without any embrace that I can see, and he focuses mostly upon the great postmodern boogeyman of subjectivity without displaying any awareness of the growing Christian solution, put forward by thinkers like James K. A. Smith, Esther Meek, David Fitch, and others, who argue that postmodern epistemologies refute not general knowledge, but abstract certitude; certainty devoid of relationship. In other words, you cannot know what you do not love; thus, the solution is obvious; knowledge is love of another, knowledge is connection. In other words, knowledge is faith, and as we come to love God, we come to know Him and the world truly. This is an epistemology of covenant bond, and it defeats the assumptions of modernism and avoids the pitfalls of unbelieving postmodernity. It would have been nice to see Driscoll extol some of those virtues. But then, no book is entirely perfect, and this one is so close to it that it hardly does to complain.

I read a library copy, but this is one to buy, for sure. I'll be reading more Driscoll in the future.

[Gordon]

I think I would have enjoyed "Radical Reformation" by Mark Driscoll more had I not just read his "Confessions" a couple of days before. Don't get me wrong, I think "Radical Reformission" is very good. If "Confessions" is the biography of Driscoll's church, then "Radical Reformission" is their philosophy of ministry. I should have just spaced them out more, but I highly recommend this book for anyone who is trying to understand how to better engage their culture for Christ.

Driscoll offers some very helpful analysis as he talks about reaching out without selling out. For example, in the examination of the church's approach to culture, he looks at the interaction between the church, the gospel, and the culture. He offers this analysis...

Gospel + Culture - Church = Parachurch
Culture + Church - Gospel = Liberalism
Church + Gospel - Culture = Fundamentalism
(These formulas are fodder for a blog at a later day)

He offers this formula: Church + Gospel + Culture = Reformission. He defines Reformission as "gathering the best aspects of each of the above types of Christianity: living in the tension of being Christians and Churches who are culturally liberal yet theologically conservative and who are driven by the gospel of grace to love their Lord, brothers, and neighbors." He adds, "Reformission is the radical call for Christians and Christian churches to recommit to living and speaking the gospel, and to doing so regardless of the pressures to compromise the truth of the gospel or to conceal its power within the safety of the church."

The topic of exploring better ways to communicate the gospel in our culture is never-ending, and if you want to understand the philosophy of someone who is doing it well, then read Driscoll.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Driscoll's debut book contends that as believers we must be concerned about three things: the gospel, the church, and the culture. When we neglect one of these three elements, we fall into one of three errors:

The Church + The Culture - The Gospel = Liberalism

The Church + The Gospel - The Culture = Fundamentalism

The Gospel + The Culture - The Church = Parachurch

I think this is slightly reductionistic, but it still provokes reflection. Driscoll's book is a plea for the church to be faithful to the gospel within the culture - not by isolating itself from the culture. He says, of course, that faithfulness to the gospel involves some measure of separation. As Christians, we are different - called out of darkness into light - and this will affect our life-styles and ethics. But Driscoll also contends that Christian liberty must be maintained in areas where Scripture is silent - and that our liberty should be used for the sake of reaching culture.

Of course, culture looks different in Seattle than it does in the Midwest, where I minister. Driscoll's church looks different than ours, with lots of tattooed, pierced, young Christians decked out in Gothic clothing and make-up! But Driscoll rightly argues that becoming a Christian doesn't necessitate a conversion to wearing business attire (like a middle-class, white suburban American Christian), but rather a conversion to Christ and His kingdom.

Be warned: reading this book will probably provoke a variety of deep and intense emotional responses, including laughter (Driscoll is hilarious), shock (Driscoll breaks all the conventions that you would expect of a Christian author), and (hopefully) excitement, as you hear of what God has done in his life and through his life and ministry in the lives of others.

[Missions M/D]

Reformation is the continual reforming of the mission of the church to enhance God's command to reach out to others in a way that acknowledges the unique times and locations of daily life.

This engaging book blends the integrity of respected theoreticians with the witty and practical insights of a pastor. It calls for a movement of missionaries to seek the lost across the street as well as across the globe.

This basic primer on the interface between gospel and culture highlights the contrast between presentation evangelism and participation evangelism. It helps Christians navigate between the twin pitfalls of syncretism (being so culturally irrelevant that you lose your message) and sectarianism (being so culturally irrelevant that you lose your mission).

Included are interviews with those who have crossed cultural barriers, such as a television producer, exotic dancer, tattoo studio owner, and band manager. The appendix represents eight portals into the future: population, family, health/medicine, creating, learning, sexuality, and religion.

Mark Driscoll was recently featured on the ABC special The Changing of Worship

[Zach Waldis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't believe I'm giving this the same rating as an Edmund Burke book, but there is some gold amongst the excrement. Driscoll does give lip service to engaging culture, and for that he is to be commended. For example, I found his take on evangelism (it's not a "shotgun wedding") to be both humorous and apt.

However, what's clear throughout is Driscoll's massive ego lurking not so subtly beneath the surface. It's clear that his ministry is not so much about Jesus as it is about him, the great Mark. Driscoll really doesn't have a lot of negative to say about himself (besides the standard "I was bad before I knew Jesus" fare), and finds plenty to critique in everyone else.

As Paul says, "But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." I rejoice that Driscoll preaches Christ, but lament that, as a NY Times expose says, "Driscoll’s New Calvinism underscores a curious fact: the doctrine of total human depravity has always had a funny way of emboldening, rather than humbling, its adherents."

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Driscoll’s The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out without Selling Out presents a unique and important challenge to Christians living in the United States. In it, Driscoll contends that the American Church maintains the erroneous notion that missions can only be conducted in foreign lands. This view ignores that fact that the United States is filled with people who have yet to commit themselves to Christ and life in the Church. It is in light of this that Driscoll proposes a “radical reformission,” which is a term used to describe how Christians must pursue missional living within the context of their own neighborhoods. Driscoll’s “radical reformission” is a highly significant in terms of its ability to motivate the American Church to extend the Kingdom of God locally. However, the success of the “reformission” is entirely dependent on the Church’s ability to remain faithful to the gospel, culture, and itself. It is this caveat, along with its subsequent development, that makes Driscoll’s exhortation so unique and important.

[Tyler Clarensau · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting for me to read. I love Mark Driscoll. His preaching on fatherhood and the book of James has profoundly shaped me. There are parts of this book that I really enjoyed (his Biblical treatment of alcohol, most all of his talk about mission), but one thing was glaring at me the entire time...

Before I tell you what it is, let me tell you that I don't believe this is Driscoll's fault, or a knock on him. In fact, this is a very good thing, and just an observation about humanity.

This 2004 Driscoll is not the same man as the Driscoll we know a decade later. Despite much of the press surrounding him, I believe that the 2014 Driscoll has matured, grown in his sanctification, and... well, grown up from the man that wrote this book 11 years ago.

Again, this is a good thing. It would be far more disconcerting if the trend went in the opposite direction.

If you've never heard/read Driscoll, I'd start with one of his later works (maybe "Who Do You Think You Are?"), and then when you're deep in his catalog, pick this one up with those in your brain.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting and refreshing read about mission in the United States. I can understand completely why the Mars Hill church is so successful.

Driscoll has a great way with words and imagery that makes his points very clear. The introduction was the best part; a tear-down of a lot of problems with Christian culture in general and its approach to non-Christians. He identified pretty much every problem I've ever had with Christian mission, and showed the way around those problems.

The idea of being able to be a Christian without a complete change in your own life and culture is much more appealing than the idea of becoming a Christian and then instantly having to change everything about you. The rule-based, legalistic side of many churches is what, I think, drives many people away. The reformission approach to evangelism makes much more sense in terms of the current generations.

[Graham Heslop · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to believe that this book is over a decade old. While much has happened since that has made Driscoll even more of a contested figure in the celebrity Christian firmament, this book remains valuable for Christians as they think about culture and evangelism.

Driscoll does a great job not only in helping Christians think about secular culture but also in challenging the prevalent (admittedly generalised) Christian cultures at their two poles. One extreme emphasises innovation and stripping away the elements of Christianity that make it unappealing; the other is over cautious and hides safely in the church enclave, often being trapped by tradition into legalism, and ultimately failing to make meaningful gospel contact with its non-Christian neighbours.

As one would expect, Driscoll is funny, he possesses a unique expression and colour in his writing, and the book is crammed full with striking insights

[Ariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A challenge to conservative Christians who tend to "follow the rules", this book discusses how to effectively reach out to unbelievers. Rather than setting rules that are not scriptural, and then expecting new Christians to conform, we should make the gospel relevant to culture. This does not mean breaking God's law, but rather not adding to God's law but using the aspects of our culture to relate to others. For example, drinking alcohol, tattoos, and smoking are often frowned on by conservative Christians, although not prohibited by scripture. In many cases, these activities can lead us into closer relationships with unbelievers, allowing our lives to witness to them. We have freedom in Christ, including the freedom to engage in these activities in moderation, each according to his own conscience.
This is why I love Mars Hill Church!

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heh and 2 stars in 2005....

Now I would give it 3 or 3.25. It was a lot like i remember it when I read it just after becoming Christian. However, it was different. I think I see more of what Mark is aiming at within the "Reformed" and "Calvinistic" churches. Lazy people love Calvinism, or become lazy through a false understanding of Sovereignty. But the Doctrines of Grace should make the reformed churches the most active in the world of unbelief. Instead we hunker down in camps arguing about the law.

Let Christendom determine how to apply Leviticus in a civil government. Let's get out there and preach the Gospel and take up our crosses, follow Christ in service and faith and lay ourselves down for the Good News.

Mark's best point is that missions should, chiefly, aim across the street; there are plenty of lost folks all around us.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Mark Driscoll's first book, and he is challenging how we conventionally think about evangelism in America. George Barna states, "If all the unchurched people in the U.S. were to establish their own country, they would form the eleventh most populated nation in the world." Our churches are failing to spread the Gospel effectively. As Driscoll points out, "The churches in our neighborhoods may be more akin to museums memorializing a yesterday when God showed up in glory to transform people". It is time for a radical change in our approach to Jesus' mission, hence the name "reformission". You may be offended by Driscoll's frankness (let's just say he won't be filling the pulpit for Joel Osteen anytime soon), or by some of his more provocative statements. I certainly believe that you will be challenged by his vision for ministry and cultural contextualization.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Pastor Mark Driscoll's debut and it's still good in my mind, there's a lot to thinking about here for traditional and emergent churches alike. Traditional churches tend to avoid selling out, but they don't reach out and far too many emerging/emergent/contemporary churches have reached out and sold out, losing hold of the truth about sin and salvation in order to extend their reach. Christians should be concerned with evangelizing the unbelieving people around them. The tension is the same one Jesus commended to us, to be "in the world, but not of it". Driscoll's book seeks to navigate that tension in the context of post-modern urban environments, you may not agree with him everywhere, but this book will help you think through some questions about loving your neighber and loving God that you may not have thought of before. I highly recommend this book to you.

[James (JD) Dittes]

Every minister with a publishing deal seems to have a similar, condescending tone toward established religion. It's to the point where, frankly, I would expect any truly "rebellious" treatise could say "Go to a church, find a way to fit into the community there."



Driscoll is fascinating because he's so hard to pigeonhole. Just when you think he's a liberal Christian who engages culture in the bars and discusses oral sex with his members, he's a conservative Christian, calling out sin in his culture and toting a handgun. I admire that fact about him.



Overall, this was an engaging twist on emergent Christianity, and it made me think. A lot of this territory has been covered in similar books by Frank Viola, Brian McLaren and Rob Bell, but Driscoll holds his own.

[Scott Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, Mark Driscoll puts out a great book.



This deals with how to reach out to the culture without selling out the Gospel. This is mostly geared toward the American culture but the ideas and principles can be used for any culture.



Basically it is about how to walk the fine line of reaching a lost world without falling into the two traps that many Christians fall into.



He makes the point that many Christians will either fall into being a Pharasee or Essene where God but retreat from culture and thus retreat from reaching out to our neighbors or like a Sadduce or Zealot where we are soinvolved w/ culture that we become to much like the culture and for get to talk about Sin and redemption and don't show our love of God.



Exccelent book.

[Donald McKinnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Driscoll is and can be a very blunt and abrasive speaker and his writing is some of the same here. Driscoll takes you through paces as he describes doing outreach in your neighborhood without selling out as many do. You will laugh as he describes going into some places a pastor is never thought of or the world thinks he should never be.

This is a raw look at what Driscoll describes as the new reformation in the Church, a reformission, as the Church turns its eyes back outwards to the hurting and those in need, and who are the new outcasts that the Church in a Pharisee role looks down on or turns its back on. Theologically sound and to the point, this book will offend the reader to the heart and you come away black and blue and looking at yourself in a new light.

[Elizabeth Buckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Driscoll started Mars Hill Church in Seattle about 11 years ago, in one of the least churched cities in the nation, where there are more dogs than Christians. He grew his church to thousands of members over several services in a few years. This is his book about evangelism. He believes in being theologically conservative and culturally liberal in order to reach and not alienate new Christians. He ties everything to Jesus. Really good, fresh ideas and great charts and diagrams explaining different church/theological models and their evolution. Driscoll is funny, Biblically faithful, frank and incisive.