This summer God has graciously opened up some amazing opportunities for me to preach and learn around the nation and world. In July I am in and around London, England, and in August I am around Sydney, Australia. In addition, in 2008 I also will be preaching in multiple cities around the United States and most Sundays at Mars Hill Church.

www.MarsHillChurch.org/MarkDriscoll

The trips and related events have gotten quite complicated and so to help folks know where I will be we have put together all my speaking events at www.MarsHillChurch.org/markdriscoll. There you will be able to find out exactly where and when I am preaching. If you are able to join us, we’d love to have you. And, if you could help get the word out, it would be appreciated. Any new events will be promptly added there and the schedule will be constantly updated. Anyone wanting to have me preach at an event will find a speaking request form there that a team of elders and deacons from Mars Hill considers in light of my other responsibilities.

Traveling

On a related note, growing up in a working class home, with a construction worker dad, I did not even board an airplane for the first time until I was a teenager playing in a baseball tournament. I love seeing the world and learning a great deal from those I have the privilege of being hosted by. For me, this is all a humbling honor and if I’m honest at times a bit overwhelming. With stadiums upwards of 10,000 seats needing to be filled only weeks after guys like Chris Rock have headlined there—the pressure to preach the gospel faithfully is more intense than ever along with the spiritual warfare and physical/emotional toll.

Sinus Surgery

To make matters worse, my doctor has said that I need sinus surgery and can’t fit in the required weeks off until around Christmas. After some CT scans it has been determined that I have a deviated septum in my nose which is simply a genetic glitch that runs in my family. As a boy I also had some pretty severe allergies that included a lot of bloody noses, asthma, and the like. Today thanks to some dietary and environmental changes along with lots of vitamins things are better. But, the air circulation in my sinuses from the deviated septum and scar tissue build up from my boyhood mean my air flow is very poor. And, when I get any kind of sinus infection or cold it immediately becomes quite severe and I am unable to breathe. This makes preaching on the pace that my ministry requires quite difficult, and puts a very intense strain on my voice when I am sick. Some weeks my throat is subsequently in rough shape as it is now after pushing through an audio book, preaching at Mars Hill, and a day packed with television and radio interviews in Atlanta all in the course of a week with clogged sinuses.

Please Pray for Me

And, the trips for me are bittersweet. I love preaching the gospel, I love seeing the world, I love seeing people get saved, I love meeting people who tune in online, I love meeting young guys going into ministry, and I love meeting movement leaders who teach me so much in our times together over meals on the road. But, I also get pretty bummed being away from my wife Grace and our 5 children on the longer trips as I really enjoy being with my family. The thought of not seeing two year old Gideon and his ridiculous white boy dance moves, reading Bible stories to four year old Alexie, playing catch with six year old Calvin and eight year old Zac, or snuggling up to chat with ten year old Ashley—not to mention my wife is rough. So, if anyone thinks about it praying I keep connected to my family and get through the international trips without getting sick so I can preach the gospel at full strength it would be appreciated.