Text and Context Conference: Bonus Acts 29/Final Session, Darrin Patrick

Darrin Patrick, lead pastor of The Journey and vice president of Acts 29, delivered the final session of the Text & Context conference with his message, Leading the Mission, from Genesis 25/the life of Jacob. Other than scribbling down a few quotes, I didn’t take notes on Darrin’s message because I wanted to sit back and enjoy what he had to say. Of all the messages given at this conference, Darrin and C.J.’s messages were the most significant for me. What Darrin had to say about God’s character, God’s dealings with Jacob, idols of control and personal glory, identity, the father wound, and his own story as a Christian, drove me to on-the-spot prayer and repentance.

Again, pastors, this is must-listen-to audio.

I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Darrin yesterday. Today, after his message, we talked at more length. I really like this guy. We’ll be keeping in touch. I took this picture with Darrin not because I have a silly “man-crush” on the guy, but because I have a new couple in my church who attended The Journey during their years in St. Louis, who display unmistakable evidence of having been well taught/discipled under Darrin’s ministry, and who will be delighted at seeing proof that I spent some time with their former pastor. I figured I might as well post the picture here as well.

Here’s the few quotes I recorded from Darrin’s message. The first four quotes are ones that I will be digesting for a bit.

• “You don’t trust God with your future because you aren’t experiencing God in the present.”

• “It’s easy to get distracted from God because of ministry.”

• “God has to wrestle some things out of you.”

• “How much of your ministry is related to your dad issues?”

• “What’s going to keep you from leading the mission isn’t your staff problems, or other problems, but your idol problems.”

• “If you have a control idol, your greatest fear is uncertainty.”

• “It’s so easy to lead your church as if God doesn’t really exist.”

• “Because God has come to us, we can come to him.”

• Church planting is “plugging your life into an amplifier.”