This is the story of the birth and growth of Seattle's innovative Mars Hill Church one of America's fastest growing churches located in one of America's toughest mission fields. It's also the story of the growth of a pastor the mistakes he's made along the way and God's grace and work in spite of those mistakes.<br><br> <br><br>Mark Driscoll's emerging missional church took a rocky road from its start in a hot upstairs youth room with gold shag carpet to its current weekly attendance of thousands. With engaging humor humility and candor Driscoll shares the failures frustrations and just plain messiness of trying to build a church that is faithful to the gospel of Christ in a highly post-Christian culture. In the telling he's not afraid to skewer some sacred cows of traditional contemporary and emerging churches.<br><br> <br><br>Each chapter discusses not only the hard lessons learned but also the principles and practices that worked and that can inform your church's ministry no matter its present size. The book includes discussion questions and appendix resources.<br><br> <br><br>'After reading a book like this you can never go back to being an inwardly focused church without a mission. Even if you disagree with Mark about some of the things he says you cannot help but be convicted to the inner core about what it means to have a heart for those who don't know Jesus.'---Dan Kimball authorThe Emerging Church<br><br> <br><br>'... will make you laugh cry and get mad ... school you shape you and mold you into the right kind of priorities to lead the church in today's messy world.'---Robert Webber Northern Seminary