One thing I absolutely love about summertime is all of the travels – whether to HS Camp last week, JH Camp coming soon, or either of our mission trips, the travel is always a great time for me. Over the years, I have found that if I drive (which I prefer to do) listening to audio books or podcasts keep me awake and my mind engaged better than music or even conversation. If I am not driving (as was the case this week at HS Camp), I am often not part of the conversation and therefore, read.
This week, I read Vintage Jesus by Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears. Anyone who follows the blog knows that I have already reviewed two other Driscoll books (Radical Reformission and Confessions of a Reformission Rev). The full story is that I was excited to read Vintage Jesus when it was released, but felt that in order to fully appreciate it I would need to read Driscoll’s previous works. Ultimately, while I thoroughly enjoyed all of the books, Radical Reformission explained some of Confessions, but neither were really connected to Vintage Jesus.
I thought the book dealt with Christology incredibly. I hope to see this book used in theological training (be it in seminary or undergraduate level). It is that good and that complete. My appreciation of Driscoll centers around the fact that he is a preacher (and a dang good one at that) with the mind of a scholar (something that some preachers would chastise). In Vintage Jesus, he uses his incredibly sharp mind to connect the reality of Gospel of Christ with the relevance of today.
It would be an overstatement to claim that I had incredible breakthroughs in my understanding of the person of Jesus Christ through the reading of this book, but that’s the point. My beliefs and understandings were upheld, strengthened, and perhaps deepened merely by reading this discussion of all that Christ is, and the impact that has on us individually, corporately, and globally.
Pick it up. You won’t regret it.
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