This weekend I went to a conference for men at our church that featured, among others, a rather controversial, Calvinistic, somewhat potty-mouthed, stubbly-bearded, hip, brilliant, entertaining, and quite profound, megachurch pastor from Seattle named Mark Driscoll. I liked him, though I sometimes quailed a bit at his "edginess." (From living in Canada for so long?)

Driscoll obviously has soaked himself deeply in the Puritans and Reformers and something occurred this morning that, in the old days, I would have called "a move of the Spirit." (Not that I don't think the term might not be accurate: I've just not been expressing myself as much in that way.) Forty or 50 guys went forward to "get saved." Not "rededicated," not to show solidarity, or a hundred other rationales certain preachers use to get people out of their seats, but to find Christ, to start their journeys, to be "born again." It involved no coercion or emotionalism, just the facts, ma'am. (Shades of Jonathan Edwards softly reading aloud one of his sermons?)

It is worth noting, however, that Driscoll indicated at the beginning on Friday evening he was dialing down his usual level of intensity for our benefit. To see him in another mode, back home in Seattle, check out this clip from ABC's Nightline.