Reflections on the Week

On Tuesday, during our church-wide day of prayer and fasting, the Holy Spirit led me to pray and meditate on the book of Galatians. The convicting theme that confronted me was: It’s not about our works and what we do; it’s about Jesus and what he did, what he is doing, and what he will do.

Intellectually and theologically, I know this. But as it plays out in life, it’s easy to take credit for things we think we’re doing when in reality, apart from Jesus, they don’t happen. Galatians 6:14–16 sums this up nicely: “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them…”

In the coming days, months, and years, I’m looking forward to how our church will be able to boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, because our work and effort account for nothing apart from him.

On Monday, we also joined as a church for an All-Member Meeting across all of our campuses. If you count yourself as part of the Mars Hill community but were unable to attend, a summary of the event is available on The City (look in the “Mars Hill News” section of the Mars Hill group).

In the meantime, I’ve asked some of our pastors to share their reactions from Monday’s gathering. Here are some responses…

Adam Sinnett, West Seattle Campus Pastor
Jesus was lifted up, praised, worshiped, and glorified in West Seattle tonight. It was obvious God was at work from the beginning of the evening…People sang tonight and sang loud. There was a general air of excitement at what Jesus is doing at MHC, and what this next season holds for the church generally and this campus in particular. In all, 430 showed up, which is almost 50 percent of our Sunday attendance. Needless to say, it was an encouraging night. I’m grateful to be laboring in the gospel with you. All praise is His!

James Harleman, Wedgwood Campus Pastor
Wedgwood had 221 folks turn out, which filled the auditorium nicely…We ran out of Top Pot donuts after the service, but as many were starting their fast that was alright…We had the whole room standing as we spoke on prayer and fasting and dedicated the night to Jesus, then responded in song…People came up after and told me they were fired up and encouraged. I casually mentioned a community group had lost their host home, and immediately folks were clamoring to open their home. Everything went beautifully, and I was very encouraged by God’s provision and mission.

Tim Gaydos, Downtown Campus Pastor
We had an incredible night of focusing on the preeminence of Christ and surrendering our lives, family, church, and campus to his preeminence. I’m greatly encouraged with the response of our people and their commitment to Jesus, Mars Hill, and Downtown. The members were overall very pleased with the direction of the church, and I heard nothing but positive comments all across the board with what is going on…There is absolutely no doubt that God has his hand on our church and is prepping a major work of his hand downtown. Thank you for your prayers!

Steve Tompkins, Shoreline Campus Pastor
We met in the gym since Schirmer Auditorium [Shoreline’s normal meeting place] is unavailable for two weeks. The change of venue highlighted our need for a building, but did not seem to detract from the atmosphere. We put together a great slideshow of pictures, starting with the renovation of Schirmer almost two years ago, up to baptisms on Easter Sunday a month ago. It added a cool element of celebration. When I got up on stage at the start, the Spirit seemed to land on me as I talked about humbly seeing Jesus in all his glory, and read from Colossians 1:15-23. I kept fighting tears and found it hard to speak or even to pray. It led to a more solemn/humble/dependent/repentant tone than I expected.

Jesse Winkler, Eastside Campus Pastor
It was a powerful and solidifying night for the Eastside. We threw the service together in our new facility (which right now is just a gym)…The most powerful part was a time of testimony where we passed a mic around the audience for people to tell of the evidences of God’s grace in their lives in the few months we’ve existed. We had a guy stand up and profess his conversion of a couple months ago and how blessed he’s been to get saved, join a community group, and then reach out to unbelievers that he knew and were in need (fixing their car and helping with some finances, etc.)…A man stood up and said he feels a deep sense of indebtedness to Mars Hill as he’s been praying for his older sons for years. Through our ministry they have both gotten saved along with one son’s wife and they all come to church together now. Another guy stood up in tears saying the ministry of Mars Hill has changed his life and taught him how to be a man, a husband, and father with three kids, and he never thought he’d be like that. The stories continued. I heard countless reports from people of how powerful and encouraging that time was for them. Needless to say the worship was sweet and simple after that.

Mark Driscoll, Preaching Pastor
Honestly, the members meeting was one of the most personally encouraging events for me in the history of Mars Hill. Vision was cast, mission was clarified, leadership was demonstrated, Jesus was honored, and none of it was contingent upon me. I love leading and preaching and such, but more than that I love Jesus, Mars Hill, and the full council of elders and elder teams that we have. As a result, I feel incredibly humbled to be part of this team, excited to see what God is doing, and relieved to know that the burden I once felt–in essence to carry the weight of the church–I no longer do, as it is a shared load. Most importantly, the church is better for it; good men are doing a good job and their collective gifts make us a healthier and stronger church. Following the members meeting, at home later that night my wife Grace asked how I was feeling. I told her that I know I’m not old enough to be the father of the elders, but in my heart I felt something like a rightly proud father who is thrilled to see God’s grace at work in men I care for and trust, as God uses them to further the gospel.

For more about the member meeting, check the campus blogs and The City, where content will be posted in the Mars Hill group and the campus groups soon.

Peace and mercy, Mars Hill.