Mars Hill Church, Seattle - Annual Report

Its weird. I don't go to Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Never been there, in fact. I occasionally check in on their podcasts, occasionally listen to their in-house worship music, and occasionally read their blogs.

But I don't belong to their fellowship, don't invest in their fellowship, and really don't have any plans to do either.

But for some strange reason, I feel a connection and a tie to their endeavors.

Obviously, I like Mark Driscoll as a preacher and an author.

But there is something about the transparency and purposefulness of their church that I find compelling.

Each year, I print out and read through the Mars Hill Church Annual Report. I love it. It gives so much information and inspiration. I don't know why exactly - I think maybe its because it makes me feel like a part of the mission - even when I'm not and have no intention of becoming a part of it.

I've read stories about people moving across the country in order to go to Mars Hill and be a part of its ministry. I appreciate these stories, but I am not wired this way.

I've also read stories about groups of people starting "unofficial" Mars Hill campuses in their own homes in far away parts of the country and the world - once again, I appreciate these stories, but I am not wired that way either.

No. I am happy to sit down with a cup of coffee and read through the Annual Report.

The cover page of the report says, "It's all about Jesus." The report is about 20 pages long. They give some stories of Changed Lives - stories that they run regularly on their website each week about people whose lives have been changed by Jesus.

The report talks about their regional growth, their local growth, and their global growth - missionary training, church planting, campus launches, etc. There are three whole pages on their financial endeavors, both incoming and outgoing. It is really quite detailed.

They talk about their micro missions projects. They also discuss their ministries which reach thousands - websites, technology, etc. They also focus on their discipleship ministries - home groups, bible studies, etc. They have 353 community groups with 3933 participants. They have 39 elders and pastors with 17 more in training. They are very purposeful in both discipleship of leaders as well as the church body as a whole.

They go into great detail about their church planting network. It is with chagrin that I note that they still do not have a church plant south of Orlando - I'd just like to check one out - is that too much to ask. They have planted 173 churches so far - 53 in the past year.

As I said - the report is inspiring. I like that, at this point in the game, Driscoll doesn't have his name plastered all over the report. If you didn't know any better, you'd forget that he was involved at all while reading through the report.

But this one disturbs me most......

In Gary Lamb's recent post about his downfall/recovery, there was only one sentence that I found disturbing and upsetting:

I believe with everything that is in me that God is not through with me in a full-time ministry role but I do believe He has me on the sidelines right now to get some things right in my life.

I just don't get it.

There are plenty of men out there who are faithful to their wives. Let's say that 50% of all marriages end in divorce. Let's also hypothesize that 20% of those 50% that stay married cheat on their wives, but still stay married. That would leave us with 30% of men who are able to stay married and faithful. Let's further hypothesize that that 30% is just too generous of a number - let's say, that realistically, only 20% of men could be trusted to remain faithful to their wives.

Now. Shouldn't that 20% be expected to be our leadership? Why are we relying on the other 80% at all?

Of course, naysayers will throw out central themes of the Bible like Fall and Redemption as an excuse for reinstating someone like Gary. But the Bible also has plenty of stories about God calling out those few who show true signs of inward character, rather than those outward signs of exuberance or talent.

I just don't get it.

Is there no such thing as disqualification? Does character matter? Are we that desperate for someone who has talent?

I sometimes wonder how many "true leaders" / aka shepards are being hidden in some of our churches. Or if they are even in church at all?

How often are we trading image and talent for character and obedience?

I've got nothing against Gary for what he's done. I still think he is quite an entertaining character. I agree with Perry Noble, who stated that each of us are only a few missteps from a similar fate.

But I believe that Gary needs to get a real jobby job, like the rest of us. And forget about being a shepard.

He needs to go to church and just enjoy it, like the rest of us.

Response to Gary Lamb's downfall

Here are a couple quick excerpts from Gary Lamb's site concerning his downfall:

• I’ve received over 3,000 emails and I haven’t responded to any of them due to the fact that I need to process some things and take some time to get my head clear. As many e-mails as I have gotten, there seems to be basically the same questions asked over and over.

• I have received over 30 emails from pastors (all anonymous) confessing to be involved currently in sexual affairs.

Well. That is encouraging.

It builds character.....

I like it when my A/C technician tells us that our 13 yr old central air system is on its last leg in the middle of a record breaking heat wave and that it needs to be replaced.... it builds character.

I like it when I have a non-decorative waterfall in the living room due to a roof leak.... it builds character.

I like it when my home is financially underwater..... it builds character.

I like it when business is so bad that all of my bosses leave and I get all new ones.... it builds character.

I like it when the home equity line is frozen because of the economic climate, despite our personal history..... it builds character.

I like it when the credit card company drops the limit to the balance and/or arbitrarily raises the interest rate with no cause..... it builds character.

I like it when the new credit application is denied because of the actions of the other creditors rather than my own.... it builds character.

I like it when the city tells me that I need to replace the crooked sidewalk in front of my house.... it builds character.

I like it when I have to apply for a permit requesting permission (despite the fact that they ordered me to do it)..... it builds character.

I like it when the city also asks me to remove a 40' tree that caused the crooked sidewalk..... it builds character. (don't forget about the permit for that one too)

I like it when the health insurance company tells me to wait until after my son is born to discuss his coverage, then deny said coverage because I went to a non-participating hospital..... it builds character.

I've built a lot of character since January of 2008, hope it does me some good in the future.

Trials and Tribulations might be a good thing......

My wife and I met exactly 16 years ago. We've practically grown up together. We've gone through a couple life stages together. We've grown closer and closer over the years together. Our relationship is now stronger and better than ever.

Interestingly, it seems that when circumstances are the roughest - that's when our relationship thrives and flourishes.

I get annoyed by those husbands who constantly refer to their "hot" wives - always commenting on how "lucky" they are to be with such a multi-faceted women who is so obviously "out of their league". Sometimes I wonder who they are trying to convince - the world, or themselves.

Of course, this is exactly how I feel about my wife, but I don't feel the need to broadcast it to the world on a regular basis - to the point of annoyance of others. I just broadcast it to her personally on a daily basis because she never gets tired of it.

There's no real purpose to this post. I'm just feeling lucky, or rather, blessed. Hopefully our relationship is strong enough and God will see fit to make the next 16 years a little easier on us.

Either way, I am thankful.

Pastoral Failure #1,673: Gary Lamb

My mom told me recently of her recent church experience. A few weeks ago, she went to church only to have the two elders of the church get up and read a letter stating that the Senior Pastor of ten years had been removed for indiscretions unbecoming of a pastor.

I think I've become jaded. In fact, I'm sure I've become jaded. In the back of my mind, I've come to expect this of pastors. It has no bearing on them personally, it is just a fact of life. People fail, men especially. Men with egos even more so. Men held up on a pedestal even more so. So I leave that possibility open in my mind, so that, when it happens, it doesn't shake my faith in Jesus, just my faith in men.

My two favorite preachers to listen to, unarguably (Sorry, Dave.) would have to be Mark Driscoll and Gary Lamb. As Driscoll has gotten more and more popular - a world traveller of late - and more successful, I've left that place in my mind open to the possibility of his failure. "When Mark Driscoll falls, I won't be shocked or hurt by it, I'll simply move on, " I tell myself.

So with my eye on Driscoll, it came out of left field for me to read on Gary Lamb's blog this week of his relational/sexual failure which has removed him from his ministry.

Oh well. I'll move on. Of course, I'll pray for those involved, but as I said - I'm jaded.

Episcopal Minister Lives Double Life as Muslim/Christian

Ann Holmes Redding has been removed from her position as an Episcopal minister because she converted to Islam a couple years ago.

But Redding said she felt her new Muslim faith did not pose a contradiction to her staying a Christian and minister. "Both religions say there's only one God," Redding said, "and that God is the same God. It's very clear we are talking about the same God! So I haven't shifted my allegiance."

"The church interprets my being a Muslim as 'abandoning the church,' " she said. "And that [there] comes an understanding that you have to be one or the other, and most people would say that. It simply hasn't been my experience that I have to make a choice between the two."

"It's all there. I am not saying you have to go somewhere else to be complete. Some people don't need glasses, some people need single lenses. I need bifocals."

I have a son.

Yesterday, my son was born. He was 6 lbs 1 oz, the exact weight that I was, according to my mother.



We decided there were too few Lewis's in the world, since my grandad and my father both passed away in the last few years - I was the third Lewis. My son will now fill that void and be the fourth.

Church Hopping Score Card

The Church Hopping Score Card


1. If you leave without even getting out of your car because you can’t find a good parking spot = +1 point

2. While visiting a new church you park in the pastor's assigned parking space = +1 point

3. You get a free first time visitor's gift = +2 points for each gift

4. You only visit once but still have the boldness to say, "I just didn’t feel like I connected with the people at that church" = +1 point

5. You refuse to come back to a church if not enough people said hello to you = +1 point

6. You refuse to come back to a church if too many people said hello to you = +1 point

7. Like the closely guarded secret formula of Coca Cola, you’re the only one that knows the correct number of people that should say hello to you = + 2 points

8. You visit on the Sunday the church is having a first time visitor's lunch = +1 point

9. You take leftovers home from the first time visitors lunch = +2 points

10. You bring your own cooler to first time visitors lunches in anticipation of the leftovers = +3 points

11. You sit in a seat someone has sat in for 14 years running and they do the awkward stand and pause move right next to you before shuffling away in complete bafflement at who this person is = +3 points

12. You come long enough to benefit from everything the church offers but never actually volunteer for anything = +10 points

13. You have a pre planned little speech you give in case the church asks first time visitors to stand up and introduce themselves = +1 point

14. You have a "Hello My Name” is _______ sticker ball at home that is bigger than a soccer ball. = +2 points

15. You can easily name the three churches in town that have the best coffee = +1 point

16. During the "meet and greet" you use a fake name because you're not sure if this is where God wants you to go to church yet = +1 point

17. You have a secret list of "if this happens at this church I'm outta here" = +1 point

18. You're more than happy to tell the people around you why you didn't like your last church = +1 point

19. The amount of traffic in a church parking lot weighs heavily on your decision to attend = +1 point

20. You have a scrapbook made entirely of bulletins to chronicle your travels = +1 point


ht:Stuff Christians Like

Detroit: Home of the coney dog and the slider.

Entering the Detroit area is like going into another country. We have our own way of talking, eating, and dealing with problems. If you do not familiarize yourself with this, you may find out how we deal with problems.

While driving around the Metro Detroit area you will not help but to notice at least forty Coney Islands. Coney Islands are very special to many people around Detroit. Granted, Detroiters are asked all the time by guests about what Coney Island is, and we are annoyed by it every time.

National Coney Island is a series of restaurants that are known for serving Coney Dogs. The other Coney Islands are not part of the chain, but still serve the same kind of food. A Coney Dog is a hotdog that is served with chilly, onions, and mustard. A Coney Special is a Coney Dog that is served with ground beef on top.

Coney Dogs are a major part of the culture of Detroit. Another staple of our culture is also served at all Coney Islands. That would be chilly-cheese fries. I do not think that I have to explain what this consists of.

White Castles have spread over the country. There is a difference between the White Castle burgers that are served here than elsewhere. The burgers at our White Castles are a lot greasier. We call them, "sliders," around here. Also, we do not say that we are going to, "White Castle." We say that we are going to, "White Castle's." Don't ask why we add an apostrophe s on the end of so many company names. It is just a cultural thing. Like "Meijers" and "Fords".

ht:Vincent Poupard



This week, I found a new place down the street from us that advertised their "coney dogs" and "castle sliders" - near Oakland Park Blvd. and University Dr. If the owners of this place aren't from Detroit, I'll be surprised.