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Vintage Jesus: Timeless Answers to Timely Questions (Relit Theology)

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Vintage Jesus is the first book published under the banner of Resurgence Literature (Re:Lit) which is a ministry of Resurgence (which is, in turn supported by Mars Hill Church). This is also the first title in a series called "Vintage Jesus" that will build on the themes and doctrines introduced in this book. It is one of six(!) new books we'll see this year from the pen of Mark Driscoll. The book is a collaborative project between friends--Mark Driscoll and Gary Breshears. Describing how this collaboration unfolded, Driscoll writes, "In the chapters of this book you will hear my voice since I crafted the words onto pages, but many of the concepts were shaped and formed by my good friend. I sent the manuscript to him for his insights and suggestions, and he also wrote the answers to common questions found at the end of each chapter." Their hope is that "this book will be readable, practical, and biblical so that everyone from seminary professors and pastors to non-Christians would benefit from our work."

Those expecting another Radical Reformission or Confessions of a Reformission Rev will not find it here. This book, though still written by Mark Driscoll and still laced with the humor and unique writing style we've come to expect from him, is in a whole different category. The bulk of the book is simply straightforward, biblical teaching about the person and work of Jesus Christ. It also engages in some light apologetics, defending Jesus against the countless caricatures of Him that have arisen through the history of the church. The book offers "timeless answers to timely questions" and in that way is meant to speak to some of the strange and unorthodox teaching that we see in the church and outside it today. As Bruce Ware says in his endorsement, "Vintage Jesus offers a fresh, engaging, and insightful discussion of some of the oldest and most crucial truths about Jesus Christ that constitute the very core of the gospel itself."

As Mark covers this ground, you'll find some things that are funny, some that are profound, and some that are, in my opinion, in poor taste. I will provide a few brief examples of each.

There are some portions of the book that have the Driscoll flair that so many people have come to love. Some may just leave you laughing out loud.

* "Jesus was a dude. Like my drywaller dad, he was a construction worker who swung a hammer for a living. Because Jesus worked in a day when there were no power tools, he likely had calluses on his hands and muscles on his frame, and did not look like so many of the drag-queen Jesus images that portray him with long, flowing, feathered hair, perfect teeth, and soft skin, draped in a comfortable dress accessorized by matching open-toed sandals and handbag. Jesus did not have Elton John or the Spice Girls on his iPod, *The View* on his TiVo, or a lemon-yellow Volkswagen Beetle in his garage. No, Jesus was not the kind of person who, if walking by you on the street, would require you to look for an Adam's apple to determine the gender."
* "Also, the Orthodox and Catholic baby Jesus pictures are simply freakish, with him looking like a Mini-Me complete with a halo. Honestly, if I had a kid like that I would sleep with one eye open."
* "Sadly, the Catholic Church in which I was raised and served as an altar boy missed the punch line when Jesus called Peter the Rock and, rather than a good laugh, ended up with the papacy."
* Worse still, this weird Jesus seemed to really like sheep. I never saw a picture of him with a baseball glove or with other kids, but I did see him with a lot of sheep. Sometimes they even made us glue cotton balls to construction paper in an effort to make our own sheep so that we could apparently be as weird as Jesus. In short, Jesus seemed downright freakish, definitely not the kind of guy you'd want on your baseball team because he'd never have the guts to slide hard into second to break up a double play or throw inside to a batter to back him off the plate. Rather, he'd prefer to pick flowers in the outfield and daydream about fluffy sheep while praying for his enemies and keeping his emotions under control.
* "Jesus also tells some Sunday school teachers they are going to hell, which made the universalistic Emergent folks immediately engage in a conversation about the mythology of hell and fingerpaint about the emotional wounds caused by his words."

Like many who will read this book, I appreciate how Driscoll is able to communicate real truth in a way that is funny. He is able to poke fun at the way people think about Jesus and do so in a way that makes those beliefs seem so utterly ridiculous. He has his finger on the pulse of this culture and is able to speak to it.

But sometimes this humor gets a little out of hand. There are some portions of the book that I felt went beyond good humor and crossed the line into what is inappropriate. This is a common critique of what Driscoll says and writes and, I suppose, some were hoping that his transition from publishing with Zondervan to publishing with Crossway would signal the end of such statements. Somehow, while these statements may not seem so out of place in a Zondervan book, I had hoped for better from Crossway. I can't help but feel that certain words and phrases must mark a kind of low point for Crossway. Perhaps the editorial staff weeded out more and worse. But I think you'd be hard pressed to find any other Crossway title with this kind of language. I hope it is the last.

For example, when looking at the humanity of Jesus, Driscoll chooses to say that Jesus told the Pharisees "that their moms had shagged the Devil." Though what the Lord said may have such connotations, that particular phrase seems out-of-place and unnecessary. Similarly, a heading in the chapter entitled "Why did Jesus' Mom Need to Be a Virgin" reads, "Scripture does not teach that Mary knocked boots with God." While it is true that the Bible does not indicate that there was some kind of sexual relationship between Mary and God, using this particular term seems beyond good taste. The same phrase (and a passing supposedly-humorous reference to incest) appears on the book's first page:

# Roughly two thousand years ago, Jesus was born in a dumpy, rural, hick town, not unlike those today where guys change their own oil, think pro wrestling is real, find women who chew tobacco sexy, and eat a lot of Hot Pockets with their uncle-daddy. Jesus' mom was a poor, unwed teenage girl who was mocked for claiming she conceived via the Holy Spirit. Most people thought she concocted a crazy story to cover the "fact" she was knocking boots with some guy in the backseat of a car at the prom. Jesus was adopted by a simple carpenter named Joseph and spent the first thirty years of his life in obscurity, swinging a hammer with his dad.

What bothers me is not just the use of these phrases, but the utter non-necessity of doing so. They are designed to illicit laughs and perhaps show people how edgy Driscoll is. But they are, in my estimation, completely unnecessary, especially since Driscoll is perfectly capable of being humorous without being dirty. The chapter would not suffer at all without them. It is easy to gain laughs through such words and phrases, but just because we can do so, I don't think we necessarily should. Thankfully such examples are rare (though one could argue that their rarity proves how unnecessary they are).

There are also many portions of the book that gave me a lot to think about and showed some very good depth of insight. Here are just a few examples:

* "The warm, soft truth is that for those who do love Jesus, this life is as close to hell as they will ever get. Heaven awaits them."
* Sadly, it is too common for churches not to speak of Jesus, which is a tragedy akin to a wife rarely uttering the name of her own husband. In our day when there are innumerable contradictory beliefs about who God is, Christians must be clear that their God is Jesus Christ alone so as to communicate the same central truth that Scripture does. No matter how many verses are used, the Bible has not been rightly understood or proclaimed unless Jesus is the central focus and hero."
* "Sadly, some Christians and some Christian leaders, while not denying the cross, prefer to keep it out of plain view because they wrongly believe that nice, decent people hate to have their sensibilities offended by such violence and gore. Consequently, the word has gotten out that being a Christian is about avoiding the suffering, pain, and horrors of this life by living in a safe, zip-locked Christian plastic bag filled with diversionary worship songs to prom-date Jesus so we don't have to pick up any cross or shed any tears.

Statements like these, combined with the book's biblical foundation and the addition of several poignant descriptions of moments from Driscoll's ministry, make it a valuable read. Those who read it are likely to learn from each of the chapters. The teaching is powerful, biblical and weighty. This is solid food.

But would I recommend you read it? That is a tough question for me to answer. To be honest, there are some people to whom I'd hesitate to recommend it. I would certainly not be happy if Driscoll, standing face-to-face with my wife or my children, used some of the words and phrases in this book. Why then would I hand them the book and recommend that they read it? There is certainly much to gain from Vintage Jesus and I'm sure that many will read it and will benefit. But I'm sorry that Driscoll had to cross the line of good taste, even if only occasionally. It does not invalidate the book, but neither does it make it any better. It was so utterly unnecessary.

Vintage Jesus is intended to be the first in a series introducing core Christian doctrines to the postmodern crowd. If this volume is any indication, the series should be great.

The book is written with younger people in mind, especially people with little church background who are interested in the answer to the question "who is Jesus?" Each chapter asks and answers a related question, things like "Is Jesus the only god? How human was Jesus? What did Jesus accomplish on the cross? Why should we worship Jesus?" There are 12 chapters total, each of which is followed by a brief "Answers to Common Questions" section.

There are two things I especially appreciate about this book: First, it is thoroughly biblical. Not just in the sense of not containing things that contradict the Bible--I mean that the book itself is saturated with Scripture. Nearly every fact Driscoll puts forward about Jesus is backed up with a Scripture reference (although I wish this weren't just done with footnotes), and he is always appealing to the Bible as the basis for the book's arguments. The authority here is clearly with the Bible, not with Driscoll-the-author and certainly not with Driscoll-the-celebrity-Christian. Second, the book is theologically solid. Again, I don't just mean the lack of bad theology, but good, careful explanation of important truths. Driscoll explains why it's significant that Jesus calls himself the Son of Man (and it wasn't to emphasize his humanity!), what it does and doesn't mean that Jesus "emptied himself" (Phil 2:7), and why the Virgin Birth really is vital to true Christianity. This is a good book on Christology that's written in an easy style--not one that's dumbed down its content.

There's been a lot of chatter about some of the content of this book, specifically the use of humor. The first thing to say is that Driscoll is a great writer. He's engaging and entertaining without being silly. In fact, I laughed out loud several times while reading Vintage Jesus. It's also true that sometimes his humor pushes the line, and sometimes jogs nonchalantly right over it. So there were a few times I raised my eyebrows reading this book, and two or three times when I just flat-out thought something was inappropriate. It's not a question of whether Driscoll takes Jesus seriously; the book really proves that he does. It's a matter of "filthiness and crude joking" (Eph 5:4), which we are told to avoid. I'm not saying I avoid this any better than Driscoll--I'm convicted even as I write this--but I'm saying those things are most definitely out of place in a book about our Lord.

But again, this was only a very small part of my reaction to the book. All the theology and most of the humor is great. Driscoll is an equal-opportunity offender as he challenges our culture's images of Jesus. He puts Jesus in his rightful place, the place God the Father gives him, the place the Bible gives him: the very highest place, worthy of all honor and glory and worship. And he does this in a style that's not only readable, but gripping and appealing as well.

This edgy, but orthodox book presents traditional, historical Christology in today's vernacular. Driscoll hits home runs in every chapter as he discusses the divinity, humanity, virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, resurrection, and second coming of Christ (and more). But he hits a few foul balls along the way too - not theologically, but in tasteful use of language and humor. That's my only hesitation with the book. If you can handle Driscoll's sarcasm and forgive some irreverent humor, this is a great book for learning about Jesus.

This book was definitely different than Mark's previous works. This was Mark's chance to just tell it how he sees it through the Word of God. In just 233 pages Mark and Gerry do their best to give the reader a better or a more refreshing look at who Jesus truly was, is, and is to come and how this should affect our lives.

The basic set up of the book is one of my favorites that I have ever seen. Mark answers a specific question to fill up each chapter (i.e. Is Jesus the Only God?) and then after answering the question, filled with biblical quotes and references, then goes on to answer common objections (usually 3 or 4 questions) at the end of each chapter (i.e. Does the Bible clearly say that Jesus is God?). This was very well thought out and done very well, to help engage the reader to what they might be thinking as possible objections to the original question posed in each chapter.

If you are used to Mark and his preaching this book will be nothing surprising or different than how he preaches every week. If you are not used to it, you might have some initial objections if you are "churchy" or might be surprised to hear such a down to earth approach to theology if you haven't grown up in church. But, I will tell you from experience, once you listen to what Mark has to say, he will allow you to see what Christ's mission truly was and continues to be in our daily lives.

Vintage Jesus tries to tackle a lot of subjects in a smaller book (233 pages), but does a great job of giving the reader something to grasp and look into further study without overloading them with content. I personally enjoyed the book and thought it was a good reminder and add on to Mark's preaching series that bears the same title.

This is a great book to give to someone who is unfamiliar with Jesus and is also filled with great material for those that have leaned too much on traditional views or legalistic ones of Christ. Mark brings every question back to the Word and challenges the readers to do the same.

The book is filled with humor and Mark really just "brings it" and because of this, like usual, he will have some haters that will say that he is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Which would make me laugh if they weren't so serious about it. I do laugh though everytime Mark describes these kinds of guys...cause I used to be one of them...Anyways...great book and look forward to the next title in October. Highly Recommended

Vintage Jesus is written by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears. Driscoll is the reformed/emergent lightening-rod pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. Breshears is a Professor of Theology at Western Seminary in Portland, OR. Driscoll is the author of the majority of the content and Breshears comes alongside to write the conclusions of each chapter.

The book intends to answer a number of relevant questions about the person and work of Jesus Christ. To Driscoll's credit he tackles some of the most common questions asked by unbelievers and endeavors to answer them biblically and within the realm of historic protestant orthodoxy. There are some really good sections of the book where we are given clear, biblical answers to common questions.

Some of the chapter titles include:

Is Jesus the Only God?
How Human was Jesus?
Why did Jesus' Mom Need to be a Virgin?
Did Jesus Rise from Death?
Why Should We Worship Jesus?

One criticism that has accompanied Driscoll for years is his language. Ever since his days of being labeled "Mark the cussing pastor" by Donald Miller in his book Blue Like Jazz we have heard folks decry the language used by Driscoll. To his credit, we have heard what appears to be humility in the pulpit and in writing that seems to indicate that this is behind him.

For those who are interested Driscoll did not drop `F-bombs' in the book, neither did he employ any of the other socially relegated `cuss words' that he has been criticized in the past for. However, in Vintage Jesus Driscoll repeatedly dips his pen into the sewer for illustrations. For example, I do not know why he feels it necessary to draw vivid pictures in his readers' minds of groping women at frat parties (he went into some detail here). He also spoke of stumbling upon a naked woman in the frat house. (p.80-81) Is this the best illustration possible for whatever the point was that he was trying to make? As a pastor and a man I work hard at trying to keep men's minds fixed on what is pure and good. The human heart does a fine job itself birthing temptations and lust in the heart without pastor Mark priming the pump.

Driscoll states that it seems that "every generation is guilty of giving Jesus an extreme makeover." (p.42) And of course we (guys like me) tend to like much of what Driscoll says about the need for men to act like men and the fact that Jesus is not weak and effeminate but rather strong and masculine.

However, is Driscoll not guilty of doing the same thing but with a little more spiritual testosterone?

For example, Driscoll, in his run through The Gospel According to Mark, describes Jesus as a guy who,

"[tells] a leper to shut-up"
"does the equivalent of breaking into a church on a Sunday morning to make a sandwich with the communion bread.."
"needs Paxil"
"needs sensitivity training"
"has his guys take a donkey without asking like some kleptomaniac donkeylifter"
"[Is] an obvious workaholic who needed to start drinking decaf and listening to taped sounds of running water while doing aromatherapy so he could learn to relax."

We are talking about Jesus...right? The Son of God? He needed Paxil? This isn't even funny. Look, I am guilty of laughing when we hear Driscoll going after the environmentalists, the charismatics, the fundamentalists, and the pastorettes, but...come on...we are talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. And I think this is what has me up in arms. Jesus did not need medication, a vacation, or sensitivity training, he is the perfect Son of God! The only thing he `needs' is to be bowed down before and worshipped. Driscoll would do well to put away his sarcastic comedy routine and his sketchpad, for he, himself seems to be giving Jesus an extreme makeover. And the more I look at this Jesus that he is drawing the more it looks like Mark Driscoll.

Along with many people, I have been praying for Driscoll that things would get better and that he would not crash and burn. This book, in my view, goes backward rather than forward. As I read the book I found myself thinking of the NFL running back who gets up and draws attention to himself after every first down. I find myself saying, "Just go back to the huddle and run another play." In this book I find myself saying, "Just go back to the Bible and give us some more Jesus. Enough with the `extra & unnecessary stuff' it just gets in the way."

I had high expectations for this book - I'll confess that I am fond of Driscoll. For no other reason that he is a refreshing stream of absolutism in an otherwise ambiguous overly-artistic flowery world of words and images. He defines the 'X' in my generation.
However, the first chapter was a little disappointing. If you're familiar with Driscoll, then you'll have heard his sermon at the 2006 Desiring God National Conference where he argued for a rigorous combining of biblical propositionalism and practical mission.
If you've heard that talk, then don't bother with the first chapter of Vintage Jesus - it's almost word for word.
But my consumer addictions aside, Vintage Jesus is more than just a doctrinal treatise on Reformed atonement theology; there are some very intimate insights into Driscoll as a pastor. He is a man who clearly cares for those he leads, often teetering somewhere between valiant confidence and overwhelming despair. Those moments in the book were quite touching - although I wouldn't tell Mark that!
The first page summarizes the book well: "This book is dedicated to anyone who takes Jesus seriously, but not themselves."

OK, I'm a little tired so this won't be a long one. Just wanted to touch base on a book I am going through and put some thoughts out there. The book is called "Vintage Jesus" by Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill in Seattle, Washington.

I have been wanting to go a little deeper into Pastor Driscoll for awhile. I became aware of him when I was at Solomon's Porch for the Emergent Summer Institute a few years back. He was one of the founding people for Emergent (negative) but made a stand and left the group (positive) when more of the leaders of the group became more vocal about scary beliefs. I read he was conservative with his beliefs (positive) and ran a contemporary church (positive). He;s know for a foul mouth; "the cussing pastor" (negative) and being angry and spiteful towards fellow emergent leaders (negative) but later publicly apologized (positive). So as you can see, Mark has been a roller coaster ride for me.

So I picked up his new book "Vintage Jesus" on audio book. I was happy to see he was the one doing the reading itself so it would give me a better feel for him over all. So far, I have found a few redeeming qualities including the ample research and presentation that makes his knowledge on the topics impressive. However, there is a great deal of attitude represented that turns me off. Even as one who agrees with many of the beliefs being presented, I am turned off by the cockiness within the tone and words of the author. I would even more so be turned off if I was someone seeking the Lord and this is what I came across. I'm all about confidence but a majority of what is shared is over the line.

Before I got the book, I found on-line reviews of ultra conservatives who shared frustration about Mark's flippant attitude in his writing. I did not share the same concern some of them shared. He often uses shocking words and phrases to capture an effect which doesn't throw me. However, what I was concerned about was his way of taking portions of Scripture out of context just far enough to make a point that has nothing to do with the Scripture. For instance, he has a lengthy section about Jesus having a sense of humor. As Mark goes chapter by chapter through the gospel of Mark (I think it was Mark if I remember correctly), he throws out the hilarious things Jesus said or did. As he comes to Mark 9 and shares how zany Jesus is for suggesting we would cut out an eye or cut off a hand if it makes us sin. Obviously this is so out there it must be a great prank! Funny Jesus.

I'm all about Jesus having a sense of humor. I would bet my life that He did. However, Jesus had a point to make of the serious of sin and how important it is to address and not play games with temptation. I don't feel comfortable with throwing that point under the bus to twist it into it was just Jesus feeling a little zany and cracking everyone up.

That being said, a lot of times I can blow off the little things that annoy to get the wealth of information in the book. However, this is not so in this book. The pompus attitude and carefree handling of the Word take away from the study itself. I wouldn't take too much time on this one.

This is a strong book, but it has some serious weaknesses. I have listened to hundreds of hours of Driscoll sermons (including the ones that were adapted into this book), so I knew what to expect, and Driscoll does a great job of making the twelve separate sermons flow together as chapters of a single volume. He minimizes overlap without losing his characteristically thorough Biblical grounding as he explores various aspects of who Jesus is and what He accomplished. Driscoll also makes the wise choice to end each chapter with a short section by Breshears, whose theology is just as solid and presented in a way that is, if less engaging, at least less obnoxiously confrontational.

I don't know, though, that I can recommend this book to many people. Driscoll is kind of a big jerk. I love him, love his teaching, love hearing him in his podcasts, but he's kind of a big jerk. For example, in a description of how Jesus was not much like the wispy long-haired figure in the medieval paintings, he takes about two pages to essentially show what a Dude Jesus was by using examples that are needlessly offensive (Jesus wouldn't drive a yellow VW Beetle, listen to Elton John, etc.). He also describes a party at Matthew's house in terms that are probably meant to evoke a particular socio-economic cultural group but come across in print as pretty racist. If you hear Driscoll speak, you can trust him and overlook the frustrating aspects of his humor, but that does not happen in print. While Driscoll makes many convincing arguments about the nature of Jesus, well-documented with footnotes, I would never feel comfortable sharing this book with a non-Christian and then trying to initiate a conversation about God's love. For those who already agree with his theology (I include myself), this book provides some great explorations and clarifications, but I think Driscoll's style is too off-putting for me to share the book with anyone else.

Finally, I recognize that the idea of having a mostly clear plastic book cover lets the interesting patterns on the hardback show through in an intriguing way, but the plastic cover itself is flimsy, ill-fitting, and annoying. I have never been so tempted to judge a book by its cover, and I hope the publisher plans to issue a paperback version and to avoid this irritation in future hardback books.

"Roughly two thousand years ago, Jesus was born in a dumpy, rural, hick town, not unlike those today where guys change their own oil, think pro wrestling is real, find women who chew tobacco sexy, and eat a lot of Hot Pockets with their uncle-daddy."

This remark, in the first paragraphs of chapter 1, sets the stage for a book that is less than stellar. To suggest that "rural, hick town" people "think pro wrestling is real" and haven an "uncle-daddy" is downright offensive to me. I grew up in - extremely - rural West Virginia and everyone knew wrestling was fake and very few had an uncle-daddy. Additionally, changing your own oil is admirable and shows that you're not lazy rather than being a negative slant.

It's really too bad the authors couldn't see through their own arrogance to realize that this comment would - and should - be offsetting to readers. Sadly, the authors should know better since, at least one of them, had a dad who was a carpenter - a manual laborer who probably changed his own oil. Now, if the authors think that it is just the "in thing" to make fun of simple living, they have certainly missed the Jesus boat. Too bad.

Interestingly, were it not for these early comments and a few scattered comments that are less than tasteful, the book would be a recommended resource. As it is, I have to say that one should look elsewhere.

Vintage Jesus: Timeless Answers to Timely Questions by Mark Driscoll is a bit tongue-in-cheek in places, but quite appropriate and provocative. Living in the Bible Belt for the past two years, I've come to realize how much American culture has become inundated with pop Christian iconography. Where I live, everyone is a "Christian." Maybe what America needs is a fresh look at the real Jesus, not how we want him to be, but who he was and is. Driscoll's book does just that.

Vintage Jesus begins with a sobering and less-than-conventional Gospel story:

"Roughly two thousand years ago, Jesus was born in a dumpy, rural, hick town, not unlike those today where guys change their oil, think pro wrestling is real, find women who chew tobacco sexy, and eat a lot of Hot Pockets with their uncle-daddy. Jesus' mom was a poor, unwed teenage girl who was mocked for claiming she conceived via the Holy Spirit. Most people thought she concocted a crazy story to cover the "fact" that she was knocking boots with some guy in the backseat of the car at the prom. Jesus was adopted by a simple carpenter named Joseph and spent the first thirty years of his life in obscurity, swinging a hammer with his dad." (Vintage Jesus, p. 11)

Just as his book begins unconventionally, Mark Driscoll's career as a minister isn't your textbook Bible school graduate story. Raised behind a strip club, Driscoll got his start at life by getting into fights, being sexually promiscuous, and joining a social fraternity in college. As a business school undergrad, he became a Christian at age 19. When he was 20, he finally read the Bible cover-to-cover and started questioning what it meant to be part of the mission of Jesus. At age 25, without any formal seminary training, he started his own church with 12 attendees. In 11 years, church attendance has increased to over 6,000.

At Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA, which is reportedly the least-churched city in America, Driscoll tackles taboo topics that many mainline preachers are wary to approach. Having his beginnings with the likes of Brian McLaren and Doug Pagitt, he was initially an advocate for the "Emerging Church" movement in the 90s. He has since distanced himself from those who adopt more of a "progressive theology" stance on doctrine. He often criticizes liberal Christians and "their Emergent offspring," saying that he wants more than the "Jesus in a pink dress" or a God that he can beat up. (In Jesus for President, another book pointing to the cultural success of Jesus as a pop icon, authors Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw actually criticize Driscoll's treatment of Jesus as being unbiblical. Someone is always reacting to someone else, it seems.) Mark explains his reasoning for disassociating himself from McLaren, Pagitt, and others, despite their common desire to see Christianity represented in a culturally relevant and "seeker-sensible" manner:

"In the mid-1990s I was part of what is now known as the Emerging Church and spent some time traveling the country to speak on the emerging church in the emerging culture on a team put together by Leadership Network called the Young Leader Network. But, I eventually had to distance myself from the Emergent stream of the network because friends like Brian McLaren and Doug Pagitt began pushing a theological agenda that greatly troubled me. Examples include referring to God as a chick, questioning God's sovereignty over and knowledge of the future, denial of the substitutionary atonement at the cross, a low view of Scripture, and denial of hell which is one hell of a mistake." (Wikipedia)

Driscoll is open, authentic, and brutally honest. He is known to regularly shout out not-oft-mentioned sins from the pulpit (such as oral sex outside of wedlock) followed by a call to genuine repentance and to life in Christ. He does not walk on eggshells in his preaching nor in his writing, and this authenticity is what makes him so particularly appealing. With Vintage Jesus, he takes what might be considered dry theological vignettes and makes them extremely relevant by providing real-life examples and injecting pieces of pop culture into each chapter.

By quoting the likes of Hugh Heffner, Ghandi, and Bart Simpson, while juxtaposing that with biblical doctrine, Mark can make you laugh and squirm in your seat at the same time. He pulls no punches, but also preaches a message of hope and salvation based on grace alone.

In his preaching ministry, he uses technology to connect with a younger audience. Whether it's addressing his 3900 friends on Facebook or utilizing text messaging (within the walls of a church!) to answer difficult life questions about anything from making crude jokes to hating religion, he is passionate about connecting a younger generation with theological truth and a practical Christian worldview. Because of these and other non-traditional methods of incarnating Christ, Driscoll's church has quickly become the eighth most influential in America. It continues to grow exponentially.

In the spirit of openness, Driscoll encourages his congregants--and the world--to "Ask Anything" of him. He continues this practice in Vintage Jesus by pairing up with theologian Gerry Breshears to answer simple questions about Christian orthodoxy at the end of each chapter .

To say the least, Driscoll is an anomaly in the church, but one who is welcomed with a sigh of religious relief and maybe a scratch on the head. As a preacher and writer, Pastor Mark is indeed provocative, to say the least. His sermon podcast is ranked Number 1 in the "Religion and Spirituality" section on iTunes. Perhaps, no one has yet done such a fine job of combining complex theological truths with cultural relevance and technology, as he has.

Vintage Jesus will do probably what Driscoll's preaching has already done - anger many, while calling others to life-changing repentance. Most likely, that was the author's intention - to leave no gray areas, but to present readers with a clear decision to accept or deny this Jesus presented.

Although it is still too early to tell, Vintage Jesus may do for this generation of young seekers what Lewis' Mere Christianity and McDowell's More than a Carpenter did for theirs... with the addition of quotes by Marilyn Manson and the described-in-detail bodily functions of baby Jesus.