By Mike O’Dea | Mars Hill Theology Response Team

The elders at Mars Hill are very serious about encouraging Mars Hill members and attendees to get busy in their community groups with the study and application of the “How People Change” material. What is the big deal about this stuff? After all, are we not already undergoing huge change at Mars Hill? New campuses are springing up. New elders are being added. The member’s website is different.

Not only is “our church” different from what it was a few months ago, but now they want to change ME! What’s up with that? Well, it just so happens that Mike needs to make changes too. I am so grateful that our elders recognized the value of the “How People Change” material, authored by Timothy Lane and Paul Tripp. As a Christian of close to 30 years I had become pretty set in my ways (also known as pride). So what, if things were not going so well in my marriage of 31 years. Surely it was her fault, and not mine. I was sure Jesus was on my side. After all, I have a mission to attend to and my wife better get used to it. Right? Well, wrong Mr. Mike.

“How People Change” has opened my eyes to realize that I have made a habit of sinning against my wife for years. Not only that, but I was oblivious to my sin. I had developed a pattern of sin that became habitual (automatic responses to “Heat”) and I was not even aware of my sin. Let’s look at an example: My wife might say, “Mike, you spend too much time involved in Mars Hill ministries. All you care about is making yourself look good and seeking the approval of others.” Wow! That would cause the hair (what little I have left) to raise on the back of my neck. I would respond in one of the following ways: I might argue with her and try to defend myself by selling her on how much I loved Jesus and I just wanted to serve him at Mars Hill. Or, I might get so —–d off that I would go into a retreat and just withdraw from her. Or, I just might get even more involved in Mars Hill ministries to show her how wrong she was. Or……..well, you get the idea.

The “How People Change” material, and the emphasis on bringing Jesus into the situation in order to turn a “Hot” situation into a fruitful situation, has had a tremendous impact on me and my marriage. I now look at the “Heat” from the perspective that my “Thorns” (sin) has much to do in causing my wife to react with “Thorns” (her sin) and the beat goes on. I am learning to recognize the “Heat”, “Thorns”, “Cross” and “Fruit” of daily life. Even at my age (67) I am learning how to better love my Savior and my wife. Thank you Jesus!

I want to encourage all community group coaches and leaders to become enthusiastic about the “How People Change” material, because if taken seriously and applied to each of our lives, the transformation and fruit in our lives will go a very long way in reaching Seattle for Jesus and for causing us to identify with the apostle Paul when he said, “…….I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content (Phil. 4:11).

Sweetheart! Are you ready for your back rub?

Photo courtesy of CCCF

By Mike O’Dea | Mars Hill Theology Response Team

Bonnie and I have been driving over to the Seattle Northgate Mall about 5 out of every 7 days.  The Mall is opened most days at 7:00 (8:30 on Sundays) for those who wish to walk for exercize.  It is exactly 1/2 mile in length so a round trip walk is 1 mile.  It is super to be able to walk on a flat surface without getting rained on or wind blown. 

I began to realize that, during my 20 to 30 minute walk, it would be a great time to pray. I always begin praying for each person in my community group.  We make a list of prayer requests and praises every week and we email the list the following day to all members of our group.  So, it gets easier to remember all the requests.  It dawned on me that almost every person in our group frequently asks for prayer that a friend or relative, especially parents, gets saved and become a member of God’s family (John 1:12). 

The other day as I was praying for Lacey’s mother, my mind began to wander and the thought crossed my mind, “does all this praying for people to get saved do any good?” After all, is it not up to God anyway according to Ephesians 1:5-11?  As soon as that thought crossed my mind I felt somewhat ashamed of it.  I began to think about all the people that were special to me that God has brought into His family.  In each case, they were people that I had prayed for.  In some cases it was just weeks of prayer, in some it was months, and others took several years. There are many that I am still praying for. There must be a tie-in between those that God has chosen (John 15:16) and those His Holy Spirit inspires us to pray for.  I will not dig any deeper theologically, at least in this article, on this subject. It can be a mind bender.

Like most of you, I began praying for others very soon after I became a Christian.  That was almost 30 years ago.  The first one God layed on my heart was my mother.  I presented the Gospel to her but it did not take.  Two years later she got very sick and was prepared for surgery.  I was 400 miles away.  My pastor sent a pastor friend of his to the hospital and that pastor confirmed that my mother accepted Jesus 45 minutes before she died on the operating table. A few years later I began praying for my sister, who lived over 2000 miles away.  She was a practicing Mormon.  We communicated by letter and phone (pre-email days) and eventually she got saved and joined a Southern Baptist church.  Two years later she died of diabetes complications.

Of course, I prayed for my three children.  At one time all three were walking in darkness. I remember kneeling at the foot of my bed with tears in my eyes and I pleaded with God. “Lord, at least give me one of them.”  A short time later my son James went forward at a “Promise Keepers” conference at the King Dome.  I am still praying for the other two.  Another example would be my co-worker friend Lee.  Lee is now an active member of Mars Hill Church.

Perhaps the most miraculous example would be my ex-wife Dorothy.  She and I divorced many years ago before either one of us became Christians.  Bonnie and I began praying for her and she is now a well established follower of Christ and a very good friend of my wife and I.  In fact, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving at her house.  God is so Good!   I have more examples, but I think you get the point. 
 
I just want this article to be an encouragement to anyone who reads this to keep praying for that parent, brother, sister, co-worker, friend, etc.  There is no greater joy than to see someone you have prayed for become a Christian (3rd John 1:4). Maybe that is one reason God inspires us to pray for them.  Do not give up! 

Amen?

Photo courtesy of Katie Tegtmeyer at Flickr.com.

By Mike O’Dea | Mars Hill Theology Response Team

On July 6, 2007 my wife Bonnie received a phone call from the Seattle Police Department. They told her an unidentified man had just been in a severe accident.  He was biking northbound on the West side of the Ballard Bridge when somehow he fell into the oncoming traffic.  He was in critical condition with a severed right arm and considerable head and leg injuries.  The police told Bonnie that the man had a cell phone on his person and that her business number was programmed into the phone.  (She is a hair stylist)  They were hoping she could identify the man.

Our first thought, and a scary one, was that the man could have been our oldest son, who was known to ride around Ballard on a bike.  Since we were unable to reach our son, I had to go to Harborview to try and identify the person.  I was shaking as I entered the emergency room. It turns out that it was not our son, Rob. 

About one week later Bonnie received a phone call from a lady named Lisa and she told Bonnie that her husband was in a terrible accident.  She said her husband, Terry, had been a client of Bonnie’s for several years.  Lisa remembered Terry telling her that his “barber”, Bonnie, was really a woman of God and that God heard her prayers.  Lisa said her husband really needed prayer because he was still in a coma and at that point his life was still in danger.  They believed even if he did wake up he might be a para or quadriplegic. Well, at least that explained why Bonnie’s business number was programmed into Terry’s phone.

Terry has been at Harborview, then U.W. hospital, and now a nursing home in Lynnwood ever since.  Thankfully, he has been recovering well.  At this writing his mind seems to be back to perhaps 80% of what it was (He had taken such a blow to his head that they had to sew his right ear back on).  Of course, he has lost his right arm up to the shoulder, and he has very little use or movement in his right leg.  However, he is now getting around well in a wheel chair and he has been told he can come home (in Magnolia) as soon as a ramp is built to accomodate his getting in and out.  Building that ramp is the next priority of our community group and hopefully it will be built and Terry will be home by the time this article is posted.

We interpreted this entire event as God’s divine appointment for us Mars Hillians to love our city and expecting nothing in return.  So far our CG has donated several hundred dollars, split and stacked a chord of wood, cleaned house, did gardening around the house and now we have a ramp to build.  Also, as God’s providence has been at work there is a Mars Hill attendee that lives on the same block as this family and she has volunteered to host a community group.  Pray that this becomes a reality and that this family of four can come to know our loving Savior, Jesus Christ, so that they can know their suffering had a purpose.  (See Philippians 1:12).

Amen?

By Shannon Mead

I don’t always have all the answers. 

And as the wife of a community group leader, I sometimes find myself in need of a little advice.  No matter how wise my husband is, sometimes it is inappropriate to share the details of situations involving women in our community group with him.  And turning to friends for counsel would often dance very close to the gossip line.  Not to mention, it is always good to have someone available to lovingly point out any of my, ahem, thorns.

Any one out there know the feeling?

Well, go at it alone no more.  During each month’s Sync we are now meeting together as wives to encourage, counsel and pray over the challenges that we encounter in each of our groups.  We have come together twice, and after each meeting I have felt so encouraged by all of the other women and excited about the mission behind our groups.

If you are interested in joining us, the Ballard Sync happens on the third Monday of every month at the Ballard campus.  Or, if you aren’t able to make it on Monday nights, email me at shannon.mead@gmail.com and I will get you connected with everyone else.

Mike O’Dea | Mars Hill Theology Response Team

At your next Community Group meeting, look around the room.  Consider that everyone present is there by “Divine Appointment”.  Somewhere and sometime at some location each of those  persons had some sort of divine appointment in which God in His providence caused someone to introduce them to Jesus. (Eph. 1:11)

One cannot find the term “divine appointment” in Scripture, yet we know it when we observe it.  For instance in Acts 8:27 we see how Philip was guided by the Holy Spirit to meet with the Ethiopian eunuch.  In Acts 8:35 Philip presented the Gospel and the eunuch was saved.

As I have matured in my Christian walk I have some regret that I have missed many divine appointment opportunities.  I am resolved to put an end to that.  I am beginning to realize that God is continually putting divine appointments in my path.  At this point I am aware of at least one per week.  Three weeks ago, my wife and I were enjoying dinner at Marie Calendar’s in Northgate.  We struck up a conversation with a young lady.  Her name was Pualani.  We told her about Mars Hill Church and how God has been blessing our ministry. She got so interested that she got up from her table and stood before us and took notes on where Mars Hill was located and the times of the services.  She told us she was a single mom and she wanted to get her child into some constructive activities.  I do not know if she showed up at Mars Hill, but her enthusiasm would indicate she probably did. (a divine appointment)

Two weeks ago, Bonnie and I were having dinner at Louie’s in the lounge.  While I was sneaking peeks over Bonnie’s shoulder watching the USC/Nebraska game a middle aged woman came in and sat no more than 4 feet from us.  Bonnie (a hair stylist) said to her, “My, your hair is lovely”.  That simple “ice breaker” resulted in a long conversation. USC was beating the @$#%&# out of Nebraska so I lost interest in that and I joined the conversation.  I asked Edith (we had learned her name by now) if she had heard of Mars Hill Church.  She said she certainly had and that she had seen the TV coverage of the Baptisms we had at Alki Beach the night before.  Once again, she was a single mom, and she had a 14 year old son.  We told her a lot about Mars Hill and we emphasized the Proxy teen age ministry.  She got very excited and we agreed to meet her the following day at the 5:00 PM service.  She not only showed up but she wanted to sit in the front row; and we did that.  Mark was pretty revved up but I think he only spit on us two or three times.  Anyway, she loved it and agreed to meet us again next Sunday.  (a divine appointment)

Again, a day ago, my wife had a client named Malka show up for her hair appointment. Malka is a Jewish, born in Israel, Hebrew and English speaking lady.  I often discuss Scripture with her.  I asked her if she had seen the publicity about the Mars Hill Baptism service.  She said she had.  I pulled out the photos I had taken at that service.  One of the photos was of my wife Bonnie speaking to pastor Mark.  Malka said, “Bonnie, what were you speaking to him about?”  Bonnie said, “Malka, I was asking him to pray for you.”  That happens to be the God’s honest truth and Bonnie was not going to lie about it.  Bonnie followed that up by saying, “Malka, would you like to join us at Mars Hill at the 5:00 PM service on Sunday?”  Malka said yes! (Another divine appointment)   

My point is that if you are alert to it and you pray to our Lord to put “divine appointments” in your path, it will happen.  Shall we resolve to grow our community groups with Jesus loving people by showing up and recognizing our divine appointments?  It is easier than you think because God knows who to put in your path and it may be someone you least  expect.  Maybe it is your barber, your mail man, your doctor, your grocer, your client, your neighbor, etc. Go for it in Jesus name.  (See Col. 3:17)

Do I hear an Amen?

By  Mike O’Dea 
Mars Hill Theology Response Team

Okay!  I just gave it away.  Most folks at Mars Hill have no idea and many have never heard of the Theology Response Team.  In three years I have not seen mention of the TRT in any of the Loop Notes or handouts.  Also, no mention on the pre-service overheads, etc. Pastor Mark did mention TRT briefly in one sermon when he was preaching in 1st Corinthians while discussing Spiritual Gifts.  There was also a column that appeared for two or three months in the Vox Pop (about 18 months ago) which was called, “What The ology” but it died for reasons known to God and somebody at Vox Pop.

Pastor Zack Hubert is the supervising pastor of TRT and he has recently assigned me to the position of Lead.  I think that means “pointman”.  Other Marshillians on the team are Wendy Alsup, Dwayne Forehand, and Andrew Pack.  Our job is to respond to questions that come to Mars Hill by e-mail, snail mail, telephone, etc. which have to do with theology issues. Some questions come from Mars Hill members or attendees but most come from all over the world.  We have responded to inquiries from places like England, Germany, Costa Rica and even Tulsa, Oklahoma.  You are probably aware that people by the thousands (I think now over a million per year) download Mars Hill audios and videos.  Those sermons generate questions and we respond to them.

We especially enjoy responding to inquiries from local people because we know we may be able to point them to Jesus and Mars Hill.  Sometimes the questions and the responses result in an email exchange that occasionally lead people to check out Mars Hill.  I am aware of at least three people I have communicated with that became attendees.  All three joined community groups and two have become members.  I am sure the other TRT folks have similar stories.  

Back to Tulsa; a young lady was a long time member of a church there that apparently was very legalistic.  She stated that she knew at least half the people in her church drank alcohol but that nobody talked about it.  She said she was tired of the hypocrisy and wanted to know how Mars Hill handled that issue.  I pointed her to Mark’s sermon called the “Weaker Christian” (1 Corinthians 8:1-13) in which Mark discussed alcohol, pot smoking, tattoos, etc. She was so impressed that she recently came to Seattle to peek in on us.  She became even more impressed and sent an email saying she planned to move here.

At TRT we think that we are only touching the “tip of the iceberg”.  This ministry is fun to do, and it is a tremendous joy to see fruit coming forth.  Pastor Zack has a vision of creating a tie-in between community group leaders and TRT people.  Consider this as an invitation to anyone reading this to send theology questions to theology@marshillchurch.org.  This especially applies to C.G. leaders and hosts.  I have attended community groups for almost three years and I know that sometimes issues come up that do not get adequately explained and dealt with.  We want to help you with that.  We would like to see our ministry grow so we can have others join our TRT team.  Mostly, we desire Mars Hill people to know their Bibles well and to feel comfortable sharing that knowledge with others as we team up to grow the City within the City.  Any questions (theology of course)?

Do I hear an Amen?

Proverbs 3:13  “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding.”

By Mike O’Dea, M.H. Theology Response Team 

Lee knew I was a Christian because he could see that I always had a Bible at my workstation and there was usually a Bible verse stapled to my corkboard.  When Lee began asking me questions about the Bible and Christianity I decided to buy him a “Red Letter Edition” of the NIV Bible.  To this day I do not know if I was a seed planter, a seed waterer, or a harvester.  Anyway, Lee finally asked me what church I attended.  He soon began attending Mars Hill. 

He called me one day and said, “Mike, I have never been involved in any Christian event or group but I would like to check out a community group.  Would you go with me if I pick one out because I would be so intimitated if I went alone.”  I said, “Sure Lee”.  When I hung up, I thought to myself that more than likely I would be intimitated more that Lee because I had already figured out that 64 year olds were an extreme minority at Mars Hill.

Lee and I went to Sally and Andrew’s group in the Fremont area in April of 2005.  Sure enough, there were about 15 under 25 year olds at Sally’s apartment.  I will never forget that group of folks.  I expected to be treated as an “outsider” because of the age difference.  I figured I would just stick around long enough until Lee felt comfortable and then split.  However, it soon became apparent to me that God used Lee to direct me to the young folks.  Sometimes, in a community group situation, a question comes up that seems to stump everybody.  I noticed that when that happened, about 15 pairs  of eyes would move to where I was sitting - expecting something profound from the “Old Stone”  (This was pastor Mark’s term for old folks that were still useful according to his interpretation of the book of Nehemiah).  Apparently, on occasion, I did say something profound because these young people seemed to appreciate me. Lee was baptized at Golden Gardens in August of 2005 along with Michael and Kate from the same community group.

We had grown to 26 people sitting on the floor of that tiny little apartment.  We “replicated” and 13 of us began a new group at my home in Crownhill that same August. Again we grew to 22 people and we sent another group off to Ballard of 11 folks in April of 2006.  In February of 2007 we moved the group from my house (taking a break) to Peter’s place near Gold’s Gym on Aurora.  We are hovering at about 16-18 people so a “replication” is soon to happen.

Getting involved in the lives of so many young people has been an absolute God sent blessing to me these past two years.  It has kept me younger and given me a sense of purpose that I have never experienced before.  Many of these young people do not have Christian parents.  Or, if they do, many of them are a long way from home. There is a huge need for more “old stones” to plug into the lives of these beautiful people.  I cringe when someone over 50 tells me they are looking for a community group at Mars Hill of “old timers”.  If you are 50 or over, do yourself a favor and find a group of younger people.  You will soon realize that is where God needs you to serve.  WANTED:  About 150 “old stones” - one for each community group.

Amen?

By Mark Bergin

I enjoy community. I enjoy deep belly laughs from my ample midsection and running out of dining-room-table leaves and come-from-behind bocce ball victories. Being known is helpful, too a critical piece in pushing me to do Christianity for real, i.e., exposure, humility, repentance, etc.

But as is always the case in this cursed world, even good things can lead to ill in the hands of broken people. Community is no exception a painful reality made squarely evident in my life two weekends ago. There I was, vacationing on Anderson Island with my community group for our second annual summer getaway; temporarily relieved of parenting duties; surrounded by people I love, trust and am charged to shepherd; continually aware that a pile of meat lay marinating in a nearby refrigerator; and yet in grave danger of losing the rudder on my apparently not-so-sanctified ship.

The trouble started slowly, even innocently: a couple of beers here, a course joke there. The environment just felt so comfortable, so laissez-faire, so raw. And my tongue got loose. My standards relaxed. Nothing earth-shattering here, just an abuse of Christian liberty, an occasion for the flesh you know, the kind Saul of Tarsus expressly forbids.

Somehow, I’d managed to leave the more tender elements of my conscience behind on the mainland. Of course, they eagerly rejoined me upon my return, piling on conviction and shame as I drove off the Steilacoom ferry toward home. Pastor Scott Thomas didn’t help things that evening when he preached from Titus 3 on the admonition to not only do good but be good, leaving behind a life when “we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.”

The thing is, it hadn’t felt like slavery in the moment; it had felt like freedom. And that’s the trouble with Christian liberty, especially among brothers. It’s in that rapture of mutual affection and earnest community that distinctions between the permissible and the beneficial are most easily blurred. Using up the dining-room table leaves may create space for belly laughs and marinated meat, but be on guard lest a roaring lion find room to pull up a chair.

By Pam Shavey 

You know, I love going to Starbucks for my favorite iced mocha!  I like to stroll on in and not make a scene and just get my mocha and go.

When I was pregnant with my 2nd son there was a gal Liz who worked at “my local Starbucks” (well, one of my local Starbucks) who introduced herself because she was also pregnant.  So we were both pregnant with our 2nd boys and both due within a week of each other!  Crazy, huh?  We started a friendship 3 ½ years ago and now I make a point to try to go into our local mocha shop when I know she will be working.

Conversations have not gone deep quickly but they are getting there.  I have been pondering the idea in a book, Finding Common Ground, about the lost art of sowing.  In the book, Tim Downs talks of the importance of finding common things to talk with people about - to sow into their lives.  That we need to sow before we can harvest.  That this is not a time of simple harvesting but of the hard labor of spring plowing, of backs bent from pruning, of calluses from hard work.

And so, my hard work is to go to Starbucks to get mochas :)  Yea, thanks Jesus for the treat in the midst of sowing.  The hard part is to talk with Liz in the moments we have and to keep the 3 kids occupied and to think of ways to open up possible spiritual conversations.  And, to pray she has a moment to talk.

In the last 6 months I have found out that she has been involved in Alcoholics Anonymous and that she goes to a small Lutheran church.  She has also asked for my phone number and has asked questions about Mars Hill. I feel that I am beginning to see the fruit of labor.  I pray that one day this summer we can go to a park together I have asked in the past and nothing has come to fruition.  I also pray that one day she will hear the whole gospel!

I was once told that evangelism is like a tennis game.  How?  Well, I hit the ball over to Liz with a question, idea, thought and then wait for her to hit the ball back over to me.  For instance, when I have hit the ball over to her about going to a park, she has not responded with an “oh yea, let’s go” so I have waited.  But, when she asked for my phone number I hit the ball back by giving her my number.  It causes me to check the soil, to see what God is doing in her heart and to not go out there like a hunter waiting for something to conquer.

So yesterday my husband Gary and I both had an opportunity to sow with a couple on our block.  Gary and the husband, Billy, went to the Phinney Neighborhood Summer Beer Fest; it was an opportunity to sow with Billy and to see other guys from the neighborhood.  When the guys left, Billy’s wife Jessica walked down to chat with me.  We talked for an hour on our porch!

Since then I have doubted my words, doubted most everything about our conversation but I pray the Lord would continue to build a friendship between our 2 families.  I want to ask her some more questions, begin thinking of the tennis match when I am talking with her and not just desire to talk about myself.

I pray that as I go to Starbucks and sit out on the porch that I would be able to “play tennis” in conversation with those God has put in my path.  I pray I would not give up in the hard long season of laboring in the fields.waiting for the harvest.

By Mike O’Dea, Mars Hill Theology Response Team

One of the first verses that I learned when I first became a Christian almost 30 years ago was Hebrews 10:25 which tells us not to “….forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some…..”  I always thought that meant to go to church on Sunday.  Maybe that is because I grew up as a Catholic and not going to church was a mortal sin and if I died with that sin on my soul I would go to Hell, according to the nuns.

When I became “born again” I soon realized that Jesus paid a torturous death on the cross for me and I am forgiven for all my sins, past, present, and future.  I also started going to church on Sunday because I wanted to, not because I had to.  So I did not give much more thought to the issue of assembling.

Praise God that He providentially sent me to Mars Hill in December of 2004. He also providentially sent me into a community group in a short time.  (I will share that experience of being 63 years old among 25 twenty to thirty year olds at a later date.)  Anyway, before long I saw the importance of the assembling of believers for more than just Sunday worship.  In two plus years of attending, leading and/or hosting community groups I have witnessed tremendous spiritual growth among God’s people.  No doubt conviction, confession, change and covenant can come from other than community groups, but I am convinced (another “c” word) that it is the most efficient and God directed way.

That has been confirmed recently as we have seen and heard from pastor Mark’s preaching through the book of Nehemiah.  Look how the Hebrews, when they came together in community to hear God’s Word; they proceeded to be convicted to the point of confessing, changing, and covenanting with God to (1) obey Scripture, (2) lead their families, (3) worship God and (4) to give generously.  

In those two years I have seen people draw close to Jesus and to one another.  I have seen people really buy into the mission of reaching Seattle for Jesus.  I have seen people get saved.  I have seen many changed lives.  I have even seen three of our people mature and grow to become full time employees at Mars Hill.  I have seen two pairs of godly people meet and become active members and get married.  And, I have seen almost all those community group folks become members and give of their time and money (most of them don’t have much) to the church or to the needy in our number. 

Since most of them are 1/2 my age or less, I consider them to be my kids.  Therefore my favorite verse applies:  “I have no greater joy than to know that my children are walking in the truth.”  (3 John 1:4)  Thank you Jesus for the Mars Hill Community Groups and our elders that minister to them.  Amen.