</aWell, because, for a while there, I thought I was. Or at least the Mark Driscoll of Vegas. See the problem was, like most young church ministry men, I thought that I had to be a driven, type-A, over the top capital D “dude.” I am not that dude.
I am a walking contradiction. Two people know this better than any others: Ryan and Vicky. One of there favorite pastimes is to start talking about how crazy and contradictory I am. To explain:
I am not driven, but… I am extremely passionate, but … not consistently. Just with a few things some of the time. As Vicky once said, “Matt, you only care about the things you care about.”
I am not type-A (meaning I am type-B), but … I am extremely entrepreneurial. I am hell bent on ruling the world, I just need an administrative assistant.
I am not focused, but … I am over the top. Finding a balance in this is terribly difficult, and I am beginning to embrace it.
I am not a captial D “dude”, but … I seem to have many men of this nature as friends who respect what I say. Which has got me wondering about my place in the church. Perhaps as a theologian and a purveyor of theological wisdom for the benefit of the body (note: thinking this is your call means your call starts later in life. So if this is in fact my “calling” then I am called to do the necessary work over the next decade or two to get there. Did I mention I lack patience yet?)
People are not captivated by my visions, but … I am a dreamer, and this is the Prime Rib Theory.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I am incredibly neurotic/anal and am very organizationally minded, but too lazy to even care about the things I am anal about half the time. Yeah, I’m no Mark Driscoll, but neither are most of you.
Anything to add Ryan?
matt
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matt and ryan's blog 
This is my favorite quote I have read in some time, “I am hell bent on ruling the world, I just need an administrative assistant.”
Yeah and this blog could have just as easily been named “The radio code theory.” Since one time Matt had a car that required you to put in the correct five digit number in order to access the radio (people that is over 10,000 possible codes! And Matt in his anal nature began trying them one possibility at a time until he actually found it. Amazing. A few other things about Matt.
1. Matt is moody. I am to, but with me it is more predictable as I am an introvert and get cranky if I do not have get to be alone every once and awhile. Matt’s moodiness is more unpredictable.
2. Matt is a great listener and a bad listener. Let me explain. Matt probably hears and retains information as well as anyone I have ever met, but if your sitting across the table from him at coffee pouring your heart out, you would never know it. He will be staring at the ceiling, biting a fingernail, and making zero eye contact. Yet if you call him on it he will verbatim be able to tell you what you said. Maybe this is why talking on the phone works for us, because Matt probably is still doing these same annoying things but I just can’t see them.
3. Matt loves Jesus and is a great evangelist. Matt is one of the best evangelists I know. And when he writes that he is passionate the one things I have always known him to be passionate about is Jesus. Anyone who know or meets Matt will walk away knowing Matt is passionate about Jesus. Matt’s zeal has been formative for me, and something I have long admired about him.
4. Matt is a learner. Most guys like Matt who are filled with passion and big world changing ideas are not as open and honest as Matt. Matt is incredibly open about his failures (just read this blog for awhile) and willing to change and grow. Because Matt loves Jesus so much I have seen him willing to repent and be humbled when he has realized the need for it. He constantly is wanting to grow and learn and does not let a silly thing like pride get in the way (this is something many can learn much from Matt in, including myself).
Last Matt is a great friend. Though we have not live in the same city for over three years now, I still feel like were just as good of friends.
So now that I have wrote this incredibly sappy comment that my wife would be proud of, let me shake off that feeling by saying that Matt is crazy.
For what it is worth related to this…I found the sermon entitled “Gospel Contextualization” from the podcast by Village Church to be a great balance with Mark Driscoll. There was something in the message that allowed me to use all the things taught by Driscoll in a manner that did not require me to try to mimic Driscoll. There are few to none out there like this man and because of this it is hard not to latch on and gain as much as possible. I hope this helps.
CT
Chris I think you are spot on with your comment. I think Matt is getting at the fact that young guys have this propensity to want to stand in the shadows of towering figures. I will speak for Matt here and say that it is actually his deep admiration and appreciation for Driscoll that has led him to this point.
Being a young guy your constantly trying to find your footing and still understand how God has wired you and for what. This more seasoned advice is to take time to grow and develop your own identity that is an influence of many rather than a copy of one.
I still think that Driscoll is an amazing role model for all us young guys, if I did not I probably would not have been so enthusiastic about getting guys like you to listen to him. But the wisdom and realization that we not Driscoll, but ourselves and that is okay is a healthy step in the growth process for all of us.
By the way. Are you in any danger with all the flooding in Iowa? I keep seeing how your neck of the woods is having this 500 year flood, stay safe.
Why does everybody want to be Mark Driscoll? Why is no one happy being themselves? If anyone did become Mark Driscoll, they wouldn’t like it anyway.
Well I have always wanted to be Adam h…
Good God, Ryan, don’t waste your life! You have too much to live for!
I’ve always wanted to be Will Pulgarin, personally. All those brains and looks, plus Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament prowess. Damn!