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This December we'll be reviewing all of the ways that God has been working in and around the Resurgence, and also talking about some new things we're hoping to start—a sort of state of the union address. As a heads up for planning we'll be asking all of the Resurgence folks to join in to help over the next year.

Resurgence Literature

Re:Lit is a ministry of Resurgence. There you will find a growing line of books to help guide the resurgence of the new reformed. Find out more.

Jesus sends his disciples ahead of him

Jesus is comfortable leading passively from a distance at times, and lets his disciples go out before him on their own. We don't have a clear description of what they are doing when they go out before him, but you can infer that they are living the life that Jesus is teaching them about outside of the structure of Jesus physically being present with them.

When they are on the boat after the miraculous feast of 5,000, they were most certainly processing what just occurred. Jesus wasn't there to tell them explicitly, but he gave them a framework to understand the sovereignty of the Father over something as simple as the conservation of mass—yeah there were two pounds of bread, but God can make it into two tons and feed an army.

We can see Jesus' intentionality in giving his disciples time to synthesize what they are learning. The lessons are becoming more than head knowledge, and becoming part of who they are.

Jesus prays for his disciples

Jesus cares deeply about his disciples. He speaks of them as his sheep and of himself as the shepherd who will gladly die for their safety, cries when his friend dies, and spends his last minutes praying for them in his high priestly prayer.

Jesus doesn't just trust that they will be okay, but pleads with the Father that he would continue the work that has begun.

This is a series of reflections on how Jesus made disciples, based on the book of John.

Advance 09 Media

Video, audio, and images from the Advance 09 conference in Raleigh-Durham, NC, June 2009. Find out more.

Jesus brought the disciples out of their comfort zone

When Jesus walks on water his disciples are horrified. They've seen Jesus break the laws of nature several times over, but this miracle pushes them outside of their level of comfort. Jesus reassures them, and they take comfort in God's sovereignty by seeing that his power has no bounds—he can do literally anything, even walk on water.

Jesus also puts the disciples in situations where danger is imminent. The Jews wanted to stone Jesus because he kept saying that he was God, and the disciples thought it prudent to hunker down and let the mob's anger pass. When Jesus hears of Lazarus' death, the disciples protest going back to Judea in hopes to save their own tails. Jesus responds by telling them that if they are doing good before God, why hide before men? They are putting their safety before the saving of Lazarus' life, and Jesus pushes them through their fear gently—not in a rebuking manner, but in a clear, focused, and resolved manner.

This is a series of reflections on how Jesus made disciples, based on the book of John.

Pastor Dad

Every dad is a pastor. The important thing is that he cares for his flock well. Pastor Mark Driscoll's new eBook offers spiritual insights on fatherhood. Get it here.

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of sitting down with Michael Horton and shooting a series of videos that will be put on the Resurgence soon. He is a very thoughtful and gracious man; you'll enjoy his focus on the centrality of the grace of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life. This audio is from the Spring Theology Conference of the Reformation Society of Oregon (May 2009):

1. The Front Page God
2. The Promise-Driven Life
3. Feasting in a Fast-Food World
4. Q & A

Note: Links are fixed now.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

Religion Saves

Check out Pastor Mark Driscoll's newest book: Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions. Find out more.

Jesus used practical object lessons

Jesus didn't pick the smartest, the coolest, or the most likely to succeed to be his disciples--he went straight to the bottom of the barrel and picked the fisherman, and he taught them in very practical ways. He brought them almost everywhere he went and taught them along the way.

Jesus would pick up a loaf of bread and use it as an example of our dependance on God. He would use his signs and miracles as a way of showing that he has power over death and the effects of sin by raising Lazarus and giving sight to the blind man. He uses his own service of washing their feet as a way to show that they must serve, and even feeds five thousand people to show that even though he is one man, his work can feed the many.

We can't use the same type of object lessons that Jesus did because we aren't the Messiah, but we can follow Jesus' example by using metaphor, speaking in plain English, and creating circumstances that allow us to teach our disciples.

This is a series of reflections on how Jesus made disciples, based on the book of John.

Resurgence On Facebook

Become a fan of the Resurgence on Facebook, get connected with other fans, and stay current on all the latest updates. Find out more.

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I'm impressed by the massive humility of Matt Chandler. The first time I ever met him, I was not yet working at Mars Hill; he walked into the Text and Context conference with a giant smile on his face and personally greeted and thanked every single volunteer.

Solitude and Study and Prayer and Affection

In this video he talks about prayer and solitude, which coincidentally is a huge push here at Mars Hill as well. I'd encourage you to watch and consider the wisdom he offers in this video.

Advance 09 Media

Video, audio, and images from the Advance 09 conference in Raleigh-Durham, NC, June 2009. Find out more.

Jesus tested his disciples

It's simply amazing to see the wisdom that Jesus uses when talking to Philip before he multiplies the fish and loaves. Jesus and Philip know that they don't have enough money to buy food for the ocean of people sitting before them, so Jesus puts the ball in Philip's court and asks him what they should do. Philip says "We could give each person a crumb."

Philip's worldview says, "We can buy this much bread and divide it by the number of people, and the quotient will be a crumb for each person." His math is poor in God's arithmetic--Jesus is infinite in his power, and infinity divided by any number is still infinity. Jesus can provide enough bread for everyone, and still have enough left over for lunch the next day. He tested the disciples, and they learned through their failure to believe.

This is a series of reflections on how Jesus made disciples, based on the book of John.

Porn Again Christian

Pastor Mark Driscoll's frank discussion on pornography and masturbation is now available from Amazon. Find out more.

We're looking for a world-class front-end programmer who is passionate about using their coding skills to glorify Jesus. If you or someone you know would fit the profile, please check out the job description: http://www.marshillchurch.org/about/media-and-communications.

Death By Love

Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears tackle some of the most serious redemptive aspects of Jesus' work in these twelve letters of counsel to individuals. Find out more.

This week, I'm heading to Atlanta for the Catalyst event–12,000 folks, the most diverse set of speakers around, and enough zany antics to keep even the most ADD youth group entertained.

I'm not accustomed to this kind of Christendom. I'm from Seattle where we put all of our effort into Good Friday, and enjoy bad weather, so we don't have to get too enthused.

Why I'm Going

That being said, I'm going there because it's our goal at the Resurgence to equip missional leaders. There are thousands of young leaders who are going to show up and I'd like to shake each of their hands and get them connected with all of the resources that we're bringing together. We like being generous with as much free content as possible so that leaders are well equipped to do gospel work.

Please Say Hi

If you'll be at Catalyst, make sure to come by the booth and introduce yourself—hearing stories of redemption from leaders/future leaders like you is what makes the long hours worth it. We'll be giving away a ton of books, a new Vintage Church Team Study Pack, and Matt Chandler told me that he's planning to greet a bunch of folks as well.

A Day With Dr. Don

Get all the audio and video content from D.A. Carson's lectures at Mars Hill Church in December 2008. Read More.

The first 50 beta testers have signed up for the super secret (online) beta project. More details will be coming soon, but if you want to help the Resurgence, get in at the very beginning, and get added to our list of future beta testers, here's what you can do.

How to get in line

• Commit to getting a team of 2-6 folks together (they will thank you for getting this started).
• Get copies of Vintage Church for each person, or we recommend the team study pack.
• Fill out the form below so that we can send you the details.
• Get ready to be a part of a new way to work through books as a team (you'll REALLY like the surprise at the end).

Click through to the Resurgence if you don't see the form.

Resurgence Podcasts

Get all the latest audio sermons, interviews, and lectures delivered straight to you as soon as they are released. Find out more.