By Mark Bergin

For the past few years, several Mars Hill members namely Alex Kim, Kristian Ellefsen and me have made regular trips to Pioneer Square to fill the pulpit at the Bread of Life Mission’s nightly chapel service. We have opened the scriptures and preached the gospel to an audience of homeless and often substance-abusing men. Some of those men have since met Jesus and become members of our church and fixtures in our community.

But many others remain unchanged, some passionately resistant to repentance, others simply callous to a message they’ve heard hundreds of times before. Tragically, a third segment of this unregenerate contingent struggles to separate truth from the twisted theological perversions of misguided teachers and preachers. Frequently after delivering a sermon, I am approached with challenges to the plain reading of scripture. These alternate interpretations typically align with the prevailing evangelical heresies of our day self-esteem, health and wealth, open theism.

Where is Seattle’s most hope-starved population hearing this junk? From myriad pastors and church leaders more enamored with the man-centered cultural orthodoxy of our day than the timeless and God-centered word of life. The solution, of course, is more Bible-teaching, Jesus-exalting churches and by extension more Bible-teaching, Jesus-exalting preachers.

So I write this post as both an admonition and an invitation to any God-fearing man at Mars Hill who’s ever watched Pastor Mark on a given Sunday and secretly wondered, “Could I do that?” Here’s your chance: Both the Bread of Life Mission and the Union Gospel Mission open their pulpits daily for teams of industrious evangelical church folk to sign up and run a service. Between our 100-plus community group leaders and countless more apprentices and Bible-loving dudes, I figure we could flood those slots with gospel preachers and crowd out any pretenders.

I’m looking to coordinate a regular circuit of preachers who will learn from watching each other, read books together on preaching and ultimately see more hope-starved men redeemed by our great King. If you’re interested, shoot me an email at mjbergin52@msn.com. I’d also love to hear from any musicians willing and able to lead in song.

Who knows where this might lead, what gifts you might discover, what vision you might catch. I happen to know of a large and rapidly expanding Seattle church always on the lookout for future campus pastors and church planters. Maybe that’s you.

By Tim Zion 

I recently was at a friend’s church. As we left the parking lot there was a sign that read, “You are now entering the mission field.” My mind took that simple sign I had seen countless times and ran with it. Where is the mission field? Is it really only outside the church? If the mission field is only “out there”, what does that say about me? Well, I am the one driving by the sign so that must mean that I am not part of the mission field. It’s those other people I meet outside the church who REALLY need Jesus.

Even as I write this, I laugh at myself. Not because I am so funny, but because these thoughts are real. Somewhere in my sinful heart I actually believed this. I actually had those thoughts; poor sinners out there in the world who need Jesus. How ridiculous is that? I am sure as you are reading this blog you are thinking, man I’m glad I don’t think like that. But how often are we like that? How often do we think the sin outside of us is way worse then the sin inside of us? Most the time we are like the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14 thanking God we aren’t like everyone else.

Truth is we are. The difference is we don’t have to be. We are free in Christ. If every Sunday you hear the word, are convicted of sin, yet find yourself repeating the same sins over and over through out the week. You need help. We all need help. We need to be in a community of believers who love each other enough to call us on our sin, yet humble enough to know they are no better. That is what community groups are all about. It’s where you can give support to others and receive it yourself.

So, is the mission field only outside the church? Oh no! There is a whole different kind right here inside the body. My own heart is the biggest. I find that the hardest thing about being a Christian is actually having to care about others. I mean, really care. Phone calls late at night, uncomfortable conversations, disrupting “your” life care. That is what we are called to. That is what should be happening in our community groups. If you aren’t involved in a community group, get involved. If you are, welcome to ministry. It’s not for people who have it all together or those with all the answers. It’s for those who are willing to humbly come along side others, help them transform and be transformed. All by the grace of God, for his glory alone.

As a reminder, I think at every community group we should have a sign that says “You are now entering the mission field.” But, if no one else thinks that’s a good idea. I guess changed lives will work too.

By Pam Shavey 

A year and a half ago we moved to a house in the Ballard area.  After having lived in the U-District, I wasn’t sure what to expect and how high to hope in regards to neighbors.  I have been pleasantly surprised. 
Now anyone who knows me, knows how much I love being outside but I have come to really enjoy being outside and looking for our neighbors and seeing which ones I will be able to talk with each day.  I am enjoying seeing whom the Lord brings across our path each day. 

For example, one day recently I was in the front yard gardening and 2 of the neighborhood kids stopped by to chat for about 15 minutes.  A 10-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl.  My 3 boys were napping so there wasn’t much exciting going on but they Hunter and Jenna - just wanted to talk.

Another day, I was outside with our 3 boys Luke (4), Chase (3), and Quinn (11 months) and our neighbor Chris, 13, and some other neighborhood kids stopped by to play in our driveway.  Seemingly out of the blue Chris said, “I decided to get baptized.  I am not sure what the priest will say though because I am an atheist.”  WHAT?  What was that I just heard?

Side bar - A few years back I read a book titled, “Finding Common Ground,” by Tim Downs.  The premise of the book is, “how to communicate with those outside the Christian community while we still can.”  At different points the past few years I have chewed and wrestled with different thoughts from this book. 

Now back to all the activity going on in our yard, as I have been chewing on an idea from the book about love and justice needing to be in proper balance, Tim Downs speaks of love asking the question, “what does this person most need from me right now.”  Then about justice he asks the question, “What does God expect of me in this situation?  What ought I do or say?”  So, how can I have love and justice in proper balance as I garden and watch my boys play?

I haven’t figured it all out but I feel I got a little glimpse of things a week ago.  I have been thinking about what is different at our house than at their houses what specific things.  It seems to me that the love aspect is showing them what is different in our house; to really love them, to listen to them, to be a sort of older sister I suppose.  The justice has come more from my husband as he has seen the kids speaking in inappropriate language or the boys not treating the girls respectfully; Gary has been able to speak kindly and address the issue while he is playing catch with the boys.

And then again the other day I found myself outside around 7pm with Gary, my boys and 6 other kids (riding bicycles, scooters, and roller blades).  We usually go inside by 7:30 to get ready for bed but I knew we had to make the most of the opportunity to love our neighbors! 

Zoe (7), Adler (10) and Chris (13) were all rollerblading so I pulled out my rollerblades (that I haven’t been on in 4 years!!) and started going in circles around our driveway with them.  It was awesome!!  They wanted me to keep going and going with them and Zoe wanted me to hold her hand the whole time.  Luke and Chase rode razors around that they had borrowed from Adler and all the kids stopped by to talk with Quinn.  Gary played catch with the boys.

I struggled with what to say to them but the Lord was gracious in helping me to think of conversations and to break out of my awkward feelings! We talked about ice cream flavors, what we like best about summer and band-aids (as I also ended up cleaning 2 cuts and put band-aids on them both!)

I want to share Christ with Zoe, Jenna, Adler, Chris and all the rest of them!  I want my boys to watch us interact with our neighbors and for them to love on our neighbors.  I don’t know all the answers but I pray that God would continue to help me chew on the principles from “Finding Common Ground” and on principles from His word.

I look forward to telling you more about this journey the Lord is taking me on next month.

By Mike O’Dea

Becoming practitioners of Galatians 6:10 can become a fun and godly habit for community groups.  We can get so caught up in our routines that we forget to “…do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

In the past year our group has tried to break the routine occasionally in order to “do good”.  There are needs all around us but we found it in our own group with a lady that lives in expensive Seattle and survives on just “Disability” income.  In the past 10 months we have had a garage sale, two Texas Hold’em tournaments, and a car wash.  We raised $420.00 to help pay some bills for her, and we raised $868.00 and we bought her a brand new Dell computer with lots of bells and whistles. We also participated in the “Adopt a Family” project last December. We teamed with two other community groups to raise over $1400.00 for a needy family.

Just monitoring our Member’s website can generate ideas to find ways to help folks.  We have several Mars Hill people serving in the military and names and addresses can be found on the site.  Frequently, people ask for help in moving, or fixing a plumbing leak, or a ride to the airport. Maybe a person from your group could be assigned to scan the Members site on a regular basis.  Maybe, just meeting together on a Saturday morning to pick up trash around your church campus.  Disabled member Randy Chrisman needs a few members to step up and help him with his work out routine a couple times per month.  And on, and on.  God will bless!

By Mark Bergin

Maybe all those contemporary praise and worship songs calling for revival to rain down are onto something more than just catchy choruses. Maybe they’ve tapped into the next new rage in missional strategy. After all, sunshine is no friend to religion. Church attendance dips as summer temperatures rise and Mars Hill is not immune from that inescapable law of American ecclesiology.

Community groups feel the squeeze on a smaller scale. By June, family vacations, summer concerts and double-shot margaritas have often trumped Bible study, leaving some leaders to facilitate discussion in a group the size of a beach volleyball team though usually better dressed.

So it is that many leaders choose to cancel regular meetings for the summer, opting instead for the occasional community group barbeque or sending their people to one of Mars Hill’s weekly outdoor parties scattered throughout the city. That plan seems agreeable enough, but what about sin? People still do that when it’s warm, right? How are leaders to shepherd their mini-flocks apart from regular contact and group prayer?

Here’s a thought: Use that weeknight usually devoted to community group to invite one family or individual over for dinner. Then poke and prod into their lives until you find some junk, smack them in the face with the gospel a few times and send them home with a summer assignment all in humility and love, of course.

Just because community groups are taking the summer off doesn’t mean Christians get to. It’s grow time. And if you’re people resist, pray for rain.