Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog are mine and mine alone. I have not run this by anyone at Mars Hill and I am not writing on behalf of Mars Hill and/or any person associated with Mars Hill. No one at Mars Hill has viewed or approved this text.
I am a member of Mars Hill and I have been for about 13 years. Over the last 13 years I have come to love my church not because it's perfect but because it's my family. It's where I know I'm loved, protected and looked out for. Sure when I first came it was shiny and pretty. Much like my marriage there was a brief point where I was enamored with my church and could find no fault. Those days are long gone in both cases and I now see the imperfections but I don't love less because of them. I see opportunity for growth and I as a Christian see a reflection of myself and my sin. I see an example of constant change and repentance being laid out before me.
I'm under no illusion that my church or any of my pastors are prefect. The truth is my Lead Pastor, Mark Driscoll is a broken sinner. I know this not only because Scripture tells me but also because I've heard him confess his sin, I've heard it regularly and increasingly over the years. I know that the charge against him is that he's a egomaniac, maybe he was at some point but I see humility in him, I see a repentant leader striving for Jesus.
As a result of the teaching I've received at Mars Hill I've learned what it meas to be a man. Not a macho man, a tough guy or a stereotype but a real man. I've listened to countless sermons about being tough and tender as a husband and father. Because of this teaching that I've received I take my daughters on weekly daddy dates and do weekly buddy time with my son. I work hard (and often fail) to speak gently to wife and surprise her with little things that let her know I love her. Having grown up without a dad I never saw any of this and I never would have learned it without my church.
I've been called to a higher standard as a Christian, husband, father, employee (never of Mars Hill), friend and church member. I've been trained, rebuked, discipled and told to disciple. I've heard the Gospel week in and week out. I've seen people, many people meet Jesus and have their lives changed. I've never seen any member of church leadership claim to be perfect. I've met many of the pastors personally including the senior leadership and in those encounters I've always found humble, loving, repentant people who showed genuine care for me. I am not a top giver, I am not a pastor, I am not anyone that would be of any benefit to them, there is no reason to show off for me or make themselves look good to me. They are just real loving men. So loving in fact that one of the Executive Elders gets up every morning at 4:00 AM to pray for the people who attend.
Many people lately seem to want to take shots at what we get wrong yet fail to see (or mention) what God is doing. Again, I'm not saying Mars Hill is perfect. It isn't! I'm not saying Pastor Mark is perfect. He isn't! I'm saying in Matthew 16:18 Jesus was telling Peter that he was the rock on which His church would be built yet by 16:23 Jesus is saying, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." No one is perfect! I don't want perfect, I want real, I want repentant, I want humble. I see all these things at Mars Hill.
My family has been loved well here, taught Scripture, taken care of in times need, spoken to softly, spoken to firmly and called to love Jesus more. I love Mars Hill because the broken sinners that comprise this church love Jesus, love people and love me.
No comments:
Post a Comment