“The Ethos of Mark Driscoll: A Summary of an Undergraduate Thesis”

by Benjamin Sherick | Xchanges 11.2

The Artifact: “What Are the Scriptures?”

In the fall of 2013, Mark Driscoll preached a sermon titled “What Are The Scriptures?” (Driscoll, 2014). The sermon was originally delivered at MHC’s U-District campus in Seattle, near the University of Washington. It was later posted as both an audio and video podcast to the MHC iTunes podcast page on July 27th, 2014, concurrent with the emerging controversies. In the sermon, Driscoll discusses the nature and authenticity of the Bible. He attempts to convince his congregation (and his global listeners) of the veracity of the Bible’s claims, and its relevance as a guiding authority in one’s life.

I chose to analyze “What Are the Scriptures?” for a number of reasons. First, rhetorical strategies are clearly evident. Driscoll knows his audience is primarily comprised of university students, and carefully selects metaphors, anecdotes, and evidence that he believes will bridge the gap between himself and his audience. This allows for a rich analysis of his strategies as a rhetor. Second, the sermon was posted during Driscoll’s absence from the pulpit, and happened to coincide with the emerging controversy. Podcast listeners following the news out of Seattle would have heard this sermon at the same time as the controversy developed. Third, the sermon is a fair snapshot of Driscoll’s preaching — his tone throughout is neutral and moderate, and he makes use of some of his more common anecdotes, illustrations, and catchphrases. These three reasons made “What Are the Scriptures?” a worthwhile artifact to analyze.