Pastoral ministry is messy. It just is. Pastors stand on the front lines of the battle on a daily basis. Often times, based on confidentiality and complexity, there are few folks to talk to about the various scenarios that they are dealing with.
Therefore my ears perk up when I hear that a fellow pastor is writing a book that is going to deal with various counseling scenarios that he has encountered over the years and how he dealt with them from the foot of the cross.
Mark Driscoll has been taken to task for some of his comments in the past (and rightfully so).
However, even his harshest critics will have little to gripe over in his book Death by Love. This is the book that I have been hoping that Driscoll would write for some time now. He shelves the comedy act and gets down to business with a gospel-centered, pride-smashing, tour through various counseling situations (see video below for some specifics).
I am not going to mention the various theological positions that Driscoll holds that may differ from some. This is due to two factors, 1) Driscoll tells us up front that the book is not intended to be a carefully worded defense of all of the various components of the atonement. Instead it is intended to be pastoral (this is not to imply that pastoral ministry is not theological but rather that the scope of the book is not to be seen as simply a scholarly work), 2) Driscoll is so intensely cross-centered in this book. I love who everything that he has to say in each chapter has its root in the cross. It is extremely helpful for people on both sides of the counseling desk.
Often times I am asked by men about pastoral ministry. Sometimes these questions come from guys who are considering full time ministry and other times it just from curious guys. In either case I am going to recommend at least portions of this book to them to read. The unvarnished, full-access peak into what the pastor deals with on a regular basis is extremely helpful.
On a personal level the book helped me as a pastor and a Christian in general. I can see myself regularly reviewing some of Driscoll’s letters to his parishoners as I prayerfully consider ways to point folks to the cross in the midst of their struggles. And as a Christian in general I have been aided by Driscoll in seeing the thoroughness of the atonement of Christ in a fresh way. I can see how it covers my own sin but then I am reminded of its power in covering a whole host of other problems that may be out of my purview.
Death by Love is Mark Driscoll’s best book yet. I truly believe it will have staying power and be helpful in promoting gospel-centered ministry for years to come.
The book is available at the following locations for a discounted price:
(prices as of the date of the post)