Good Music

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I'm really excited about a few new CD's.

Carlile Brandi Carlile (Brandi Carlile): Soulful & bluesy, honest, haunting, somewhat raw (she's 23!) but still riveting.  I can listen to this straight through without skipping songs.  Some of the songs often stop me in my tracks to listen, not only to the lyrics but also to the presentation of the message. 

Favorite Songs: "Follow," "Throw It All Away," "Fall Apart Again"

Best used for: rainy days, work where word-centered music won't distract, understanding chicks, late night relaxation.

What Critics Are Saying: Paste, Hit Session.

"Throw It All Away"

When you're near me I have no fear
When I'm untrue you see right through me
You know me as deep as the sea goes
Calm my head whenever the storm blows

When the stars, and the moon
And the sky, fall through

I'd throw them all away when I'm hollow
Deep as the sea goes, all I know is
I would throw it all away...away

Winterpills Winterpills (Winterpills): A sometimes more rockish version of Simon & Garfunkel, sometimes just as whispery and eclectic, wonderfully full harmonies, beautiful.  A thoroughly engaging album.  Every song is ear-catching and some are foot-tapping.  Never overpowering, yet holds subtle power that seeps in.

Favorite Songs: "A Benediction," "Cranky," "Threshing Machine"

Best used for: background during work, road trips, building an iTunes folder of "life theme songs."

What Critics Are Saying.

"Threshing Machine"

We took a walk on the dykes
And walked by the proscenium arches
Paused at the mouth of a rabbit hole
Stared down and wondered how far did it go

Something about the way we talked that day
Caught in the act of trying to look away
From the sight of our hands caught in this threshing machine
Do you feel like you’ve felt anything,
Ever, at all?

Avett The Avett Brothers (Four Theives Gone): Alternative/sorta like emo-driven (even occasionally bordering on screamo)/ rock-based bluegrass.  Honkin' sheesh, just listen to it.  Banjo-centric.  Strange but wonderful harmonizing.  As unique as possible without being too weird to like.  Completely engaging, fun, catchy, and still thoughtful.  Just as good (and maybe even better) is their previous album, Mignonette.

Favorite Songs: (Theives): "Talk on Indolence," "Left on Laura, Left on Lisa,"
                                      "Colorshow"
                        (Mignonette): "Swept Away," "The New Love Song,"
                                      "Pretty Girl From Cedar Lane"

Best Used For: driving, road trips, hanging with guys, finding your inner hillbilly, when you just feel good or need to feel good, when you feel like practicing your harmony skills.

What Critics Are Saying.

"Talk on Indolence"

now I've grown too aware of my mortality
to let go and forget 'bout dying
long enough to drop the hammer down
and let the indolence go wild and flying through

Can of Peaches

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Mark Driscoll uses a great illustration that summarizes much of the book of Ecclesiastes. 

He says that people are living life with a big can of peaches and no can-opener.  We walk around wanting peaches but can't get to them.  We are frustrated!  God comes to us in our frustration and says, "I have a canopener."  Ecclesiastes, as a book to be read with Genesis 3 and the Fall in mind, is wonderfully redemptive.

Review: Mark Driscoll's Confessions

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Driscoll_confessions_250_3Mark Driscoll (Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, founder of the church planting network Acts29 and the new missional web resource Resurgence, and author of Radical Reformission) emailed me a couple of months ago and asked if I wanted to read and blog review his new book Confessions of a Reformission Rev: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church. I was pumped, agreed, and received a pre-publication version of the book in the mail from Zondervan and read through it near the beginning of January.

I'm going to approach the review in three phases. 

I. The Boring Details: how long, when published, etc. 
II. Themes, Quotes & Content: hitting a few themes and highlights.
III. My Take & Recommendation: why you MUST read this book.

I have found this to be a difficult book to put in a one-post review.  I considered doing multiple posts, but since the book isn't out yet I would end up giving up too much of the content and you would have to take my word for it.  I would rather you read the book.  So consider this an extended trailer that should encourage you to pick up the book.  Consider this a tray of Turkish Delight.  I want you to read and be hungry for more.

So away we go.

I. The Boring Details

The book is due out on May 1st, 2006 and is Driscoll's honest look at the 9 year run of Mars Hill (planting and pastoring).  The church has gone from a few people in his living room to more than 4,000, and he has a strategic plan to take it to 10,000 and more.

Mark has already posted a brief excerpt from the book as well as the table of contents.  I won't repeat those here.  Suffice it to say the chapters are based on attendance, so he deals with issues at each stage of numerical growth. Each chapter is followed by reflection questions, and these are actually ones you won't skip.  Very helpful.

Before the "meat" of the book you get Chapter Zero, which is "Ten Curious Questions" and deals with lingo, theology, and ecclesiology to build a missional foundation before talking about their church story.  The first appendix is called "The Junk Drawer" and deals with common questions people have about Mars Hill.  The second appendix lists distinctives of larger churches.  There are endnotes as well.  All-in-all the book is about 200 pages long.

II. Themes, Quotes & Content

Emerging Church Issues

Driscoll early on points out his connection to the Emerging Church Movement, but he is careful to distance himself from Emergent.  He says, "I myself swim in the theologically conservative stream of the emerging church" (p 22), but also says, "the emergent church is the latest version of liberalism.  The only difference is that old liberalism accomodated modernity and the new liberalism accomodates postmodernity" (p 21). 

I assure you that I speak as one within the Emerging Church Movement who has great love and appreciation for Christian leaders with theological convictions much different from my own.  And because the movement has defined itself as a conversation, I would hope there would be room in the conversation for those who disagree, even poke a bit of fun, but earnestly desire to learn from and journey with those also striving to be faithful to God and fruitful in emerging churches.  Standing with my brothers and sisters in our great mission, I hope this book can in some small way help the greater church emerge in biblical faithfulness and missional fruitfulness. (p 23)

Knowing and Hearing God

In Confessions you can't miss the idea that God is not silent in the work of Driscoll and Mars Hill, and that He speaks in amazing ways.  Driscoll speaks often of "The Ghost" (his Holy Spirit term). 

He tells us why he started Mars Hill, "God had spoken to me in one of those weird charismatic moments and told me to start a church" (p 39).  Before they launched their first service Driscoll had a "prophetic dream" that told him to ditch a guy who would eventually try to take over as pastor.  Driscoll showed up to the first service and found the guy in the exact circumstances of his dream and told him to get lost before the service even began.  Not the best way to build a welcoming atmosphere, but necessary.

Driscoll later tells the story of a demon-possessed guy who came in the service and disrupted it.  God told Mark to go to the front of the church during a time of prayer just before the demon-possessed guy started acting out.  The book is sprinkled with these sorts of stories, talk of spiritual attacks and "bad angels" talking to his daughter, prophetic dreams (both from God and Satan), even "words of knowledge" (p 121).  Sure to be provocative.

Mistakes & Frustrations

Mark confesses his major mistakes in starting and leading Mars Hill.  At first they had no clear leadership structure, relationships were too connected to him, he didn't draw clear theological lines, and the church was broke. With some clearly articulated goals written out by Mark, they began to work toward a more biblical church, and it began to grow.  Driscoll is open about his mistakes throughout the book.

Driscoll talked about his frustrations being in an immature church with less than manly men.  He tells one hilarious story of a guy who called him in the middle of the night upset because he watched a porno and masturbated.  Well, that's not hilarious.  But the way Driscoll talks about it is hilarious, and his response to the guy was, "A naked lady is good to look at, so get a job, get a wife, ask her to get naked, and look at her instead" (p 60).  This is typical Driscollian bluntness, and it works for him.  He seems to use frustrations to push him toward prophetic sorts of responses.  You will laugh at his strangely courageous moments, and wonder if you are being too soft with those who frustrate you.  Will you do what Jesus wants or what the people want?

You don't get the impression from the book that getting from a few people to 4,000 has been easy.  It's been rough.  There have been problem people ("nut jobs"), pastoral mistakes, spiritual struggles, and even the near miss involving Driscoll, a massage from a hot lady, and the decision to run from rather than receive sexual favors (p 128).  Driscoll's openness to his own problems is helpful.

Theological Issues

Ecclesiology is a big issue in the book, especially dealing with church polity.  Of congregational ecclesiology he says, "As I studied the Bible, I found more warrant for a church led by unicorns than by majority vote.  Practically, it seemed obvious that a congregationally governed church would not be led but would instead make decisions by compromise to appease all of the various interests in the church" (p 103). Driscoll instead holds to elder ecclesiology and his thoughts should be challenging to those with other positions.  He should also be challenging as a complementarian who believes the biblical view is for male eldership.

Buzz

A term that comes up time and again is "buzz."  Different events in the history of Mars Hill created a "buzz" that brought in curious people, and some of those people would keep coming, get saved and join up.  My impression throughout the book is that the buzz they have at Mars Hill is usually created by either weird people doing uncontrollable things or by God's people doing bold and biblical things.  "Buzz" was a result, but I don't think ever spoken of as something to be created.

Future

Driscoll believes that comfort is an enemy at Mars Hill and so he has to keep the church ready to charge hell with their squirt guns instead of becoming complacent.  To do that Driscoll and the elders strategically blow up the settlements of MHC and push toward risky and bold goals.  They buy more property, add more services, and decided that Mark should stop being the pastor of everyone and instead transition to being more of a "missiologist-preacher."  They have now begun to move toward so many venues and services that some are video rather than Mark preaching each one.  And they are adding a bunch more elders and some staff to serve and lead the church.  They have decided not to be happy with where they are.

Their mission is much bigger than growing a megachurch of more than 10,000.  Though they have a lot to focus on internally (Driscoll says they are like a "kite in a hurricane"), they have a church planting network and are continuously planting churches and discipling new planters.

III. My Take & Recommendation

This has been one of the most important books on church and ministry I have read, and I think will hold a unique place among books about ministry.  My advice?  Get this book.  Read it.  Reread it.  Give it away.   It's most helpful for pastors and planters since it deals a lot with dealing with preaching, logistics, pastor's family issues, church growth, etc.  But I highly recommended for all church leaders and thoughtful Christians. 

Where could this book be better?  I don't know.  Some people will be offended at Driscoll's "in your face" approach.  Some will disagree with his reformed theology, his ecclesiology, his charismatic tendencies, his complementarianism, and more.  I have my concerns with some of the practicals, like video venue preaching.  I'm concerned that a lot of Driscoll's ministry is founded upon his personality.  I'm concerned that there may be better ways to go than to build a monstrous church.  These are some of the things I've wrestled with in this book and found myself wondering if there might be a better way to go.

But I don't answer to God for Driscoll and Mars Hill.  Driscoll does.  And I don't have his growth problems, unfortunately.  And one of the things he points out in the book is that he has learned to be more careful in his criticisms of others (such as Rick Warren) because it's easy to disagree with the big church guy who is seeing so many good things happen that there are few ideal options open.  Instead of considering how to disagree with Driscoll's directions, I encourage you to read the book, be thankful for what God is doing, and learn from it.

Now some positives.  Conservative evangelicals need to learn from Driscoll's willingness to identify with the "emerging" church while distancing himself from movements within it that he finds problematic (at the least).  By considering himself an insider, he has influence that many evangelicals who only scold the ECM will never have. 

I hope this book will be read by many who are practical (or theological) cessationists.  Driscoll's "Ghost" stories will be shocking to much of the frigid American Church.  I hope this book sparks discussions on the miraculous, the supernatural, the voice of God, the will of God, and more.  I hope this book will be widely read and cause many of us to say, "How is God speaking to us?"

For all I've written about, I've neglected so many good things in this book.  I've left out lists and charts and stories and systems and ideas that have already become a part of my thinking with my local church.  It's a theology book, a missiology book, and a practical book.  You will find help no matter what kind of church you are in, where you are located, or what size you are.

I think most of all Confessions is a Jesus book.  You cannot help but to read and feel that Jesus is the focus of Driscoll and Mars Hill around every corner.  Driscoll writes, "My answer to everything is pretty much the same: open the Bible and preach about the person of Jesus and his mission for our church" (p 86).  Good advice. 

I think many who read this book will be awakened from their bland Christian slumber to ask good questions of ourselves and our churches.  May we hear and respond to the voice of the Ghost, preach Jesus and be on His mission, and have our churches buzzing from the work that God is doing.

Don't Waste Your Cancer

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John Piper is always good, but rarely so good as he is when speaking of suffering.  And now he has offered this article as he deals with surgery and prostate cancer: "Don't Waste Your Cancer."  His ten fantastic points are...

  1. You will waste your cancer if you do not believe it is designed for you by God.
  2. You will waste your cancer if you believe it is a curse and not a gift.
  3. You will waste your cancer if you seek comfort from your odds rather than from God.
  4. You will waste your cancer if you refuse to think about death.
  5. You will waste your cancer if you think that “beating” cancer means staying alive rather than cherishing Christ.
  6. You will waste your cancer if you spend too much time reading about cancer and not enough time reading about God.
  7. You will waste your cancer if you let it drive you into solitude instead of deepen your relationships with manifest affection.
  8. You will waste your cancer if you grieve as those who have no hope.
  9. You will waste your cancer if you treat sin as casually as before.
  10. You will waste your cancer if you fail to use it as a means of witness to the truth and glory of Christ.

(HT:JT)

IMB Trustees Back Off Burleson

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A bit of breaking news.  TheFlorida Baptist Witness is reporting that the executive committee of the IMB's trustee board, "will recommend at the board's March 20-21 meeting in Tampa that trustees reverse a Jan. 11 motion asking the Southern Baptist Convention to remove Wade Burleson of Enid, Okla., as a trustee."

Here's more...

IMB trustee chairman Thomas Hatley of Rogers, Ark., told the Southern Baptist TEXAN the committee determined the matter of disciplining a trustee could be handled internally. Burleson has vocally--and allegedly improperly, according to the trustees--opposed the board's action to establish new missionary candidate criteria.

[...]

Misinformation disseminated through informal weblogs caused confusion in the minds of some Southern Baptists, Hatley said. He said he hopes a detailed accounting of the timeline and rationale for those standards will help separate those issues from the matter of Burleson's personal conduct as a trustee and answer questions that have arisen.

[...]

Since November, Burleson’s blog and several others have maintained frequent discussion of the issues. Many of the blogs include feedback from online readers rallying to the embattled trustee’s defense and calling for a large turnout at the annual meeting of the convention in Greensboro June 13-14 to vote against his proposed removal.

With the initial wave of e-mails and letters opposing the action against Burleson subsiding, Hatley told the TEXAN that he was beginning to receive many letters expressing appreciation for the stand taken by trustees.

The policy on private prayer language regards the habit to be outside the norm of Southern Baptist practice and states that candidates holding to the conviction or practice eliminate themselves from consideration. The guideline--not a policy--related to baptism expects candidates to have been baptized in a church that practices believer’s baptism by immersion alone, does not view it as sacramental or regenerative and embraces the doctrine of the security of the believer. In contrast to the misinformation circulated by critics, both the policy and the guideline feature an exception clause that allows for review by appeal.

Here's the BP article.  (HT: Tom Ascol)

Chuck Lawless on the Emerging Church

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Chuck Lawless is the new Dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at SBTS and a guy I really like.  When I was commissioned as a "missionary" to international students I asked him to preach at the service.  I think very highly of him. 

Dr. Lawless recently gave a breakout seminar on the Emerging Church at the collegiate conference held at SBTS.  Here's a news article giving some of his thoughts and critiques.  I like a lot of what he has to say.  And though I might say some of it differently, I think it's good to have Dr. Lawless encouraging students to learn (cautiously) from the Emerging Church.  I have the last bit for you...

"We have to build relationships to gain a hearing," he said. "I'm right there. But New Testament evangelism does not say, 'I'll just wait and listen and when you ask, I'll respond.' New Testament evangelism is initiatory and it is confrontive."

Some teachings from the emerging church movement "do not fit Christian orthodoxy," Lawless warned.

"Read very, very cautiously. Hear the positive. Then pray that God would help us to work on our own churches to take those positives and to become more relational, to become more authentic, to become more vulnerable as needed, but without ever compromising the truth of the Gospel."

About A.R.T.

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Makoto Fujimura, the founder of IAM (International Arts Movement) in NYC which is connected to the ministry of Tim Keller, is writing a series of essays on art called "A.R.T.: Awareness, Reconciliation and Transformation."  His first essay, "About A.R.T." is available on his blog, Refractions.  Other essays will only be available initially to members of IAM.  Here's a blurb...

After the success of Lord of the Rings, and now Narnia, we desire formore Lewises and Tolkiens to come out. These creative resources are not birthed out of a vacuum, but over generations of commitment to nurture and value creativity. The church has been mostly reluctant to take the lead in cultural production, fearful that those who enter Babylon will come out tainted by her, unable to speak for her values. And since there is still a vacuum in culture that the church abdicated to general culture, even if we desire more Tolkiens and Lewis, the church, in her present status, will be the first to reject them as misfits.

In order to have meaningful dialogue in this condition, we Christians must reevaluate our definition of creativity and art. On one hand, Biblical literalists and separatists (such as the “Left Behind” authors) may insist on that all of what is discussed in art must be literal interpretation of Christian stories, an approach which forbids certain art to exist at all. On the other we have secular purists who desire art to be left alone to the “good” desires of our hearts, self reliant and (in most cases) necessarily alienated from society. My approach in A.R.T. is neither of these routes. In order to lead, and teach our children to lead, Twenty First Century with creativity, we must speak in to our culture to value art and steward her with proper boundaries, and lead with a sense of responsibility. At the same time, we must realize that art is neither a mere tool to be used for ours or other ideologies. A.R.T. must ask deeper questions: what I have began to call “a five hundred year questions.” What we create matters: all art products cast their vision of what the artist consciously or unconsciously desire for the world to become. We are, and will become, what we imagine: and if we do not understand both the power and the danger of our imaginative powers, we will not begin to birth meaningful, and hopeful works of inspiration.

Stop Saying I Love You

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My five year old got in a bit of trouble this morning and said to me with tears, "I don't like being my age because I do so many things wrong."  So we talked about sin and forgiveness and Jesus.

He was running through the house a few minutes later, happy and playful.  I called him into my home office, tears over his own sin still in my mind, and gave him a big hug and said, "I love you buddy."  He responded as he always does, "Me too."  Then he said, "Dad, can you stop saying 'I love you' so much?  You say it too many times."  Precious.

Now, as I'm about to leave the house I shouted good-bye to everyone and my five year old shouted back, "I love you!  I love you so much!  I love you more than Playmobil toys!"

Having kids teaches me so much about life, love and God.  What a gift.

Fours (I've Been Tagged)

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Mike Noakes tagged me.

4 Jobs I Have Had in My Life:

Landscaper > I love shoveling thousands of pounds of decorative rock next to houses.  No, not really.

Dental Technician > I created (through my cat-like speed and reflexes) dental appliances like crowns, bridges, and orthodontic retainers.

Loading Dock Grunt > I worked for Tex-Pack, which was the worlds most evil shipping company.  I worked in the Fort Worth branch where the owner weighed over 400 lbs, the manager of the facility weighed so much that he maxed out the freight scale which I think went up to 500-600 lbs or so, and a shift manager who was a self-professed hater of seminary students, which I was at the time. 

International Student Minister (University of Louisville and University of Kentucky) > I was basically a "faith" supported missionary to international students for 3 years, and I was able to pray with a Chinese student who trusted Christ at a prayer meeting on 9/11/01.

4 Goals You Set for This Year:

Seek God more
Make out with my wife more
Read with my kids more
Mountain bike more

4 Movies I Could Watch Over and Over:

Tommy Boy > "It's called reading! Top to bottom, left to right... a group of words together is called a sentence. Take Tylenol for any headaches... Midol for any cramps."
Shaun of the Dead > "If you get cornered...[hits himself on head with cricket bat]...bash 'em in the head, that seems to work. Ow."
Training Day > "You're a long way from Starbuck's homey."
Good Will Hunting > "My boy's wicked smart."

4 Places I Have Lived:

Carbondale, IL - SIU, go Salukis!
Denver, CO - CCU
Fort Worth, TX - SWBTS
Louisville, KY - SBTS

4 TV Shows I Love To Watch:

I don't watch much TV, not even the news.  But four are required.

24 > this should be a given for anyone with a pulse, the only show I must watch
American Idol > it's fun, and my wife enjoys it and so I enjoy it with her
American Chopper > if you are a guy, you like it.  I don't like schedule watching it, but when I see it on, it's a must see.
Beauty and the Geek > man, I'm sorry.  But I have to admit there's something redemptive about this show, and it's funny.  Forgive me.

4 Places You Have Been On Vacation:

Wisconsin Dells > A great place to take my family of six for water park fun and a beautiful setting.  Wilderness is where we go, and you can watch our family video of a vacation here.

Charleston > We introduced our kids to the ocean.

Phoenix > I was able to go all expenses paid to the rainiest three days in the history of Phoenix for a golf trip.  It both rocked and sucked.

Stoughton, WI > We rented a cabin on a lake with nothing to do but enjoy our family.  It was great.

4 Websites You Visit Daily:

Bloglines
StatCounter
Sportsline
CNN

4 Of My Favorite Foods:

Orange Peel Shrimp and Lettuce Wraps from P.F. Chang's
My wife's spaghetti (homemade sauce)
Chips and salsa from Chili's
The Vito (#5, no tomato, add Dijon) from Jimmy John's

4 Places I Would Rather Be Right Now:

Somewhere alone with my wife.
Anywhere: playing with my kids.
Sipping a Grande-Skim-3 Pump-No Whip-Extra Hot-Mocha from Starbucks
Talking about Jesus with someone who doesn't know Him

 So now I'm going to tag...

  1. Joe Thorn (because he desperately needs blog topics)
  2. Kevin Cawley
  3. Richard Bailey
  4. Marty Duren (he needs a non-SBC topic)

The Da Vinci Challenge

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Sony isn't stupid.  As the worldwide bestseller and much discussed, debated and disliked (among Christians especially) The Da Vinci Code heads to theaters on May 19th, Sony has put together a truly brilliant marketing scheme.  They have started a website called The Da Vinci Challenge for Christians.  On the site Christian experts will deal with issues raised by The Da Vinci Code between now and the release date.  Currently there are articles by Darrell Bock, George Barna and Richard Mouw, and links for discussion take you to the Hollywood Jesus website.

From The Da Vinci Challenge...

The primary focus of The Da Vinci Challenge is to help Christians prepare for the inevitable question that will arise with the release of the film, “What do you think of The Da Vinci Code?”

These are the facts - currently, there over 40 million hardback copies of The Da Vinci Code in print. There have been thousands of column inches already written about The Da Vinci Code, and there will surely be more. It is now possible to take tours across Europe to visit historic sites referenced in the novel. On May 19, 2006, the highly-anticipated film version of the book, starring Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks, will open in theaters. There are literally millions and millions of devoted fans of The Da Vinci Code spanning the globe.

But there are also numerous people worldwide who question the theories espoused in The Da Vinci Code. Books refuting the claims of the best-selling novel have collectively sold millions of copies. Churches have held sermons and seminars to address the controversy and dispute assertions that many believe run counter to the foundations of their faith. These, too, are the facts.

The Da Vinci Challenge offers a thoughtful and faithful response to the questions raised by The Da Vinci Code. In the weeks leading up to the release of the film, prominent scholars and experts from across the spectrum of Christianity have volunteered to tackle specific issues raised by The Da Vinci Code – cultural, historical, theological and practical. By tapping into the collective wisdom of these respected Christian men and women, The Da Vinci Challenge hopes to present a forum where people can wrestle with the complex topics raised by the book and the film.

While Sony Pictures Entertainment has provided the means for this discussion to take place, neither the studio, the filmmakers nor Dan Brown have any editorial control over the content of this site. None of the Christian experts have been paid for their commentary or insights. This is an open forum where discussion, debate and disagreement are welcome. The Da Vinci Challenge wholeheartedly invites you to join the conversation.

Convert to the Church

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"In North America the invitation to become a Christian has become largely an invitation to convert to the church.  The assumption is that anyone serious about being a Christian will order their lives around the church schedule, channel their charitable giving through the church, and serve in some church ministry; in other words, serve the church and become a fervent marketer to bring others into the church to do the same.  In my denominational tradition I grew up with a telling euphemism used to describe when people became Christians: they 'joined the church.'  The reduction of Christianity to club membership can't be said better than that."

From The Present Future by Reggie McNeal, page 11.

Ecclesiastes

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I've started preaching through Ecclesiastes and expect to preach on it at least through Easter, maybe a few weeks more.  You can check out the commentaries and books I'm using on the left sidebar part way down.  Some are more helpful than others and I'm not "clicking" with any of them totally.  At least not yet.

Who wrote Ecclesiastes?  Ecclesiastes says it's "Qohelet" or the "assembler" probably pointing to 1 Kings 8 where Solomon gathers God's people at the Temple dedication.  It's a "Son of David" and a "King in Jerusalem" according to 1:1.  A lot of evidence points to Solomon, and most of the conservative, pastoral writers say it's Solomon.   

Many of the commentators say someone else borrowing the voice of Solomon.  I don't think we must say it's Solomonic since the writer of Ecclesiastes doesn't make that explicit claim, but I haven't read anyone who denies the fact that we are intended to have Solomon in mind.  And I wonder if Solomon would purposefully keep his name off the writing (though not his identity) because of how he lived his life as an idolater (1 Kings 11).

We need to keep our "solas" in place here and only demand what Scripture claims, but I don't see any problem with believing the writer is Solomon.  Sure there are internal reasons to wonder, like shifting from a "framers" perspective (Eccl 1:1-11, 12:8-14) to Qohelet's perspective.  But why must this mean dual authorship or the framing of someone else's writings?  As Peter Leithart writes on his blog about commentators who rejects Solomonic authorship: "The imagination of the commentator has not come near to reckoning with the imagination of the speaker."  In other words, it could very well be Solomon creatively writing for impact.  Why must we assume other authors/framers?

Solomon speaks much of life "under the sun."  To me it clearly points us to Genesis 3 where God is explaining what life is going to be like after the fall.  With Adam we hear there is going to be toil (hard work, even misery) and sweat.  Under the sun + toil = sweat.  Nice imagery in the linking of these writings. 

I think Ecclesiastes is about the best efforts of the best man with every privilege to make sense out of life under the sun (after the fall).  And last Sunday I told my people that the only hope we have "under the sun" is to know the One "beyond the sun."