TRUTH: the truth : the real facts about something : the things that are true. : the quality or state of being true. : a statement or idea that is true or accepted as true (Meriram Webster definition) This is what I am addressing here.
I have been thinking about writing this post for awhile. Honestly putting it off because I didn't know what to say, didn't want to express it or feel it, didn't want to join in the discussion. I feel like a lot needs to be said, I feel like even more a lot needs to be heard, understood, listened to. Our world is running a fast pace away from God, away from truth and toward feeling and opinion. This can be seen in this situation as well. I didn't even fully realize my sin in all of this, until we left. I mean we had left a LONG time ago only to come back due to what felt like lack of options. And the whole time since our return we have had a pit in our stomachs. Let's address my sin first, my sin of holding onto a man and what he had done, instead of The God who had done it through the man. Of me thinking that since I have only experienced this growth, this beauty, this truth in one place that it will never/can never happen again. Holding fast to man and not God. This was my sin. God is OMNIPOTENT, I don't know why we are so quick to let go of that and hold onto man. This only brings uncertainty and fear, because it falls apart, God never will, man falls....which leads us to what happened here.
In September 2005 we visited Seattle, this would be our future home. We visited Mars Hill, and WOW! Mark was starting his sermon series in Revelations, I had never heard the scripture preached this way before. God and His power became so real to me. I remember praying then, "God don't let Mark fall, protect him" bc so often men do. Our time in Seattle was a huge catalyst in our spiritual growth, it was painful and beautiful all at once. They had 3 or 4 main pillars at that time, Truth, Meaning and Beauty (these are the ones I remember). I remember Mark being about Seattle, only Seattle. I remember Mars Hill being about planting churches, not just spreading Mark around. Mars Hill taught the scripture without apology, didn't dumb it down or nerd it down as so many other churches do. And the people, the people studied theology. Mars Hill did not run from the world but was focused on redeeming it, seeing talents as from God. Art was not evil, culture was not evil, alcohol was not evil-we in our depraved state, we are evil. We run from God. There was so much there, don't get me wrong, we were never Kool-aid drinkers. I never mistook anything that Mars Hill did with grace, this was not a place you would walk into with problems and be loved on, obvious issues. But GOD was doing amazing things, obviously there was some awful things going on to.
We moved away, out of state. We went to other churches. For all of this I am glad, we needed to grow in other ways apart from all of this. The first warning was in 2007 when Elder restructuring happened at Mars Hill and all memberships were cancelled. WARNING WARNING. Then the first satellite church. BIGGER WARNING. We remember thinking we know Mark has a big pull and obviously is a gifted preacher but he is not the only gifted one. God can work through other people, this was a big distaste for us.
We wanted to be in ministry, vocationally. Dave applied for an internship with Mars Hill. We talked with some of our friends who worked at Mars Hill. Both had left, one by choice the other by force. So glad we had these discussions. One of these families, even though they had truly been abandaned and have ever right to speak has never voiced their pain for all to hear. She shared their story with me, I was angry, to say the least. Disgusted. I then talked with my friend Wendy who was very close to all that was going on and had worked at Mars Hill. More disturbing information, not gossip. Hear me on this, both of these people were only speaking first hand truth. Not from things they had "heard" happened. They were relaying things that happened to them. We did not take the internship.
We did move to Seattle and found a great church to attend. We did not attend Mars Hill, we just couldn't get past the satellite thing. (full disclosure here, I did attend Mars Hill Womens Bstudy while we were in Seattle, those women were terrific and ministered to me in so many ways). Then we had to move away from Seattle, to the desert, literally Phoenix.
We had been there a few months, church shopping (not my favorite thing to do), when several of my friends (who still attended Mars Hill) let us know that Mars Hill was planting in Phoenix. We talked about this for a long time, we still did not like the idea of a satellite church (esp this far removed) and didn't love where Mars Hill had gone (they had become a typical mega church) but anyone in Phoenix will tell you Phoenix is hurting for good churches with a strong theology and leaning into The Bible (high view of God, low view of man) and we knew we could lead a Small Group in our neighborhood. Hoping for some nearby spiritual community and knowing our kids would be taught truths, we went to Phoenix Mars Hill. To say it was rough is an understatement, we had pits in our stomach, we were unsure. We somewhat kept our distance. We started a small group in our home and those people who joined us are solid and are still close friends. We enjoyed our small group community but Sundays were hard. As more and more of the truths came out regarding Mark coupled with his lackluster apology and total lack of repentance we felt we could no longer hang on. We announced to our small group we were leaving Mars Hill told them why and asked them to really embrace the truth and seek God if they should stay or go. It was hard, this is our only spiritual community here, I cried. We still haven't found a church here.
I have cried alot. I cried when Mark first gave his little announcement of his 6 week sabbatical (I was not crying bc he was leaving). I cried the whole week leading up to us telling our small group we were leaving. I felt this deep sadness in my soul. This void, emptiness. I was mourning. Mourning the loss of a spiritual movement, a spiritual renewal that I know had happened in my life, in Dave's in our marriage and in countless other people's lives who had been affected by what GOD had done through Mark and Mars Hill. I cried for what I felt like would be the loss of truth. Mark has done and continues to do AWFUL things and yes there is grace and yes there is forgiveness....for those who REPENT (I Jn 1:9). You have to turn away from the sin. I am crying now bc it still hurts, it's still a loss. This is when I realized my sin in this, I had leaned, held on too tightly to Mark and Mars Hill instead of what GOD had done through them. You see, God did it. Not Mark Driscoll. Not Mars Hill. God gifted Mark and used him in mighty ways to further GOD'S TRUTH. This does not mean all that Mark did or said was of God (please do no hear that, Mark is a man and thus is sinful and can act in sinful ways apart from God). God can do it again, He can move, He can cause growth, He can see that truth is preached.
The crying has not stopped, it has lessened but as this drama continues to play on the hurt continues with it. What was Phoenix Mars Hill location has been closed, that campus pastor has forged ahead to start a new (totally separate from Mars Hill) church. We can't go, it is too painful. I cried there too.
Here's my point, I have read a lot of posts, comments, opinions on Mars Hill, on Mark Driscoll, even heard people speaking out of their feelings...not out of truth. That's why I wanted to write on this. People, STOP, do not speak unless God is telling you and you truly have the truth. Not your opinion of the truth or of what has transpired, the actual truth. I will post the links here and you can read them or not, but do not speak to what you do not know of. The truth is what matters here, not how you feel. And more importantly The Truth will set you free, only God, not Mars Hill, not Mark Driscoll not any other church or pastor. Hold Fast to God.
Also Patheos.com, search Mars Hill if you need more information.
http://wp.production.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/files/2014/08/Concerns-and-Critical-Information-for-the-Elders-of-Mars-Hill-Church.pdf
We love Mars Hill
Acts 29 asking Mark Driscoll go
Leif Moi-one of three original founding pastors of Mars Hill
