Burn Your Plastic Jesus
Well, what a great night it was! Well done to everyone involved, and I really really hope we do it again next year.
It was fantastic to see the Entertainment Centre full of 10,000 evangelical Christians, really exciting. Like a lot of you, I bumped into several old friends.
The music was really well done. I recognised AJ on keys and Richard (I think) on guitar, but I didn't know the other guys. Would be interested to know who they were. The girl leading the singing was superb.
Al did a good job as MC, kept the night flowing. Nathan Tasker did a couple of songs which were fine too.
Driscoll spoke for over an hour and a half, which was probably a shade long. But he was compelling as always. He spent about an hour critiquing various wrong views of Jesus. This section was entertaining as well as occasionally insightful.
He then spent about 15 minutes answering questions. He spent the final 20 or so minutes presenting the gospel, including a lengthy section on Hell which Gordo would have approved of. It was solid gospel stuff, though he committed a couple of exegetical sins along the way.
The night ended with a modified altar call. He invited those people who wanted to become Christians to stand up and get prayed for by those around them. That's pretty tough to do in front of 10,000 people with the house lights blazing on full. A few people stood up, not too many. More went out to the prayer counsellors later, I hope.
We finished with a few more songs. All up the night went for 3 hours, and it was such an encouragement. I hope we have more things like this. Everyone I spoke to after had a great time.
Funny, there were shades of the old style crusade about the event. Perhaps that sort of thing still has it's place - you've just gotta get the music, the venue, the format, and the speaker right…
Who can we line up for next year? I'm sure John Piper would sell the venue out…
Update: Here is the Anglican Media report
Update 2: Here is a 5 minute clip from the night
34 comments:
Actually, I'd like to hear Rob Bell. It would be good to get someone out here with some theological insight for once.
Positive, jolly, and joyful as always David. So full of encouragement and grace.
I agree it was a really good night. Bay, who organised it, and his team did an outstanding job.
Craig, it was Lara Goudie leading the singing.
Lara is studying at SMBC and is in demand all over the place as a music leader and is a good thinker as well.
I think we will be hearing much more of her!
Ladies and gentlemen -- David Castor, once again forcing two mutually contradictory sentences into the same comment!
Ladies and Gentlemen -- djp, once again showing his characteristic graciousness.
You can't win people to your point of view without loving them.
That aside, I really enjoyed the night. I got the feeling (during singing, for example) that a very large proportion of the crowd were already in evangelical churches. I think that's to be expected when the speaker is well known to Christians but not non-Christians. The sweet-spot is someone known to both... hopefully in a few years Mark will be.
But I wonder if that explains the (apparently) few who stood up. There were plenty, and I give thanks to God for them! But all the more so if there were only a couple of hundred non-Christians there.
Pray now that God would grow those who made a committment, and work in those who didn't.
Hans Kristiensen on lead guitar in the red shirt I thought was superb
david and djp - not cool.
It was a great night. The team did a fantastic job and the best part about it was Jesus took the centre stage. Loved it.
Good point, Soph. I apologise for both raining and reigning on everyone's parade. While not my particular cup of chai latte, I'm glad to hear that people enjoyed themselves last night.
thanks David.
I thought it was a great night but (slightly) disappointed by the sound quality. The band was superb but I couldn't really hear Nathan Tasker's vocals 'distinctly' or even Lara's for that matter. Perhaps it was just where I was sitting but the sound felt a bit washed out. All in all though a fantastic night being challeneged to know the 'real Jesus'. And I loved the SMS question time!!
murray bunton on guitar + vox front right.
dude from 2nd year moore college on drums.
dorny mayes from "All Mankind" on guitar (behind hans)
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i thought the night was great... but didn't think song selection was brilliant... it tight, but thought it was a tad 90s?
i reckon there were at least 100 standing up??
Er, you mean John Piper, the Reformed replacementist who holds on to supercessionist doctrine?
If that's the case, personally, I won't be in a hurry to catch him speak.
And I doubt he has the same appeal to to Gen Y/X as a Driscoll
matt chandler from the village church will be out for engage and other events... i've been listening to him a lot lately - got some gold... if Christians were introduced to him over the next 6 months... he could build enough trust that people would want to bring their friends to a similar event with him speaking.
peaceout
Was anyone else as ashamed and mortified as I and my family that there has not been a gathering of Evangelicals of similar size since the 1970's Crusade? And why would you CLAP???? I dont think Driscoll was saying it as a well done good effort. I think he was rightfully bringing it to our attention that Shame be on us. Shame be on us as the churches of Sydney for what we have failed to do. To go out and reach the city of Sydney effectively and with courage. Instead of burying our head in the sand as is our typical reaction to anything slightly 'out there' and 'difficult'. No sticking our necks out... hopefully thats on the way out... I pray it is!
Well, I agree with the thrust of your comments Keiran, but I'd hold back on the "shame, shame, shame". Bit easy to be sanctimonious, and the obvious comeback question is, "Well, what have *you* been doing about it?"
I've only been back in the country the last few years, and only just turned 20 i haven really only just started getting out there. However, I have been trying very hard to get others within the church, young people and old, to be passionate when it comes to the gospel. To step out. To live what they speak. To serve within their congregations. To not be 'a leach' of the church, just going for what we 'get out of it'.
I would also include myself in that statement however. I said shame shame shame on the churches of sydney. I am a part of that. I am equally responsible.
"dude from 2nd year Moore College" on the drums was our own Chris Spark, student minister at St Augustine's, Neutral Bay.
Yeah, good stuff Keiran. Where do you church?
The blue mountains
Ugh! I wish I was in Australia to see it. Oh well, there's always the kingdom of Heaven :)
Do you know the Richardsons at Winmalee? They are my cousins...
No sorry I dont. I know richardsons in warrimoo?
Winmalee church, I meant. Katie, Anna..?
Katie has been my best friend for years! :)
Small world! She is my 2nd cousin, once removed
Thanks for your comments, craig. They would pretty much have summed up my impressions of the night. :)
Last time I went to the Ent Cent was for Jesus Christ Superstar. It was good to see something good there at last!
"Was anyone else as ashamed and mortified as I and my family that there has not been a gathering of Evangelicals of similar size since the 1970's Crusade?"
i wonder what those who have been intimately involved with Youth Alive and Hillsong events thought of that comment.
I wonder if they would have snickered or were offended
I've been to many hillsong events and have enjoyed them. And I have friends that go to their churches. I've had good and bad expreiences. Mark Driscoll would not consider them 'evangelicals' because they are not of the evangelical stream. They are of the pentecostal charismatic movement. Which he calls himself charismatic... just with a seatbelt on... he has worries over teaching within the charismatic movement. Evangelicals tend to have very strong doctrine. Yet are weaker in recent times in their evangelism and outreach, in moving into the 21st century. The one thing that I find worrying in the penecostal movement is that there is at times alot of hype which is put in front of the actual teaching... not all the time... but it has also been that teaching is at times wishy washy... I hope that changes and that the evangelicals and the pentecostals find a very good medium. As driscol says, hold your doctrines and teaching tight in one hand and dont compromise... with how you 'do church' that is open for what is most effective for Christs message to be spread :)
yup, maybe, I just wonder how they felt.
yeah no i would agree. I dont think any of us are doing things the 'right way'... just would be good for both sides to learn a bit from each other :)
what is really interesting is that in the past year especially, the realisation that we cant keep doing 'church' the way that we have been for the past 30 years. The current 'family service' is in fact 30 yrs old and really came out of the Billy Graham crusades. SInce then we have had the modern night 'youth service' which in reality is just a slightly more up beat styled morning service.
I think that we believe we know how the average australian thinks. We associate ourselves as Australian and I believe that we have misled ourselves into beliving that we really understand the average Australian culture. When in reality, its nothing lke the cozy middle class christian culture that the majority of us have grown up in.
We need to get out there into our cities, our local neighbourhood and actually see what our community is 'really' like.
Overseas missionaries have been doing this for the past 100 years. And especially in the past 50 yrs they have been listening and learning everything about the culture they wish to reach, in order that they might find the catalyst that really speaks to their hearts.
We need to do the same. We need to find exactly what it is the the average Australian is yearning for and how they go about 'fullfilling' that desire. Once we know the illness's we can go about treating them, whilst the Holy Spirit moves through us and works on their hearts. Mark was really right on this... Sydney has ALOT of multicultural potential if we are prepared to make a stand! :)
Castor — chai latte
Hm; maybe we've found something we can agree on.
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