Mars Hill has a tremendous problem. They’ve seen phenominal growth in numbers… in fact they’ve grown 50% in the past year (over 5,000 people). That includes a 12% increase in attendance SINCE LAST WEEK. SINCE LAST WEEK. Church-wide… they are at 82% capacity during 36 weekend services at 14 different locations. Jesus has definitely stepped on the gas. Add to that, 551 small groups (with 60 new groups added this month). Whether you’re a fan of Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill or not… something big is happening there. And the stress and pressure from a pure administrative...

From Shane Hipp’s blog… I learned when I become a pastor that it is a unique vocation.  Becoming a leader in any profession can be a lonely experience.  This isn’t always bad, in many ways it forces you to grow up fast.  In time you learn to allow the loneliness to become a divine ingredient in cultivating depth and resilience. Over the years I learned to befriend it as a teacher.  And as I’ve said here before, there is a difference between being alone, and being lonely. When I accepted the call to become the co-teacher with a beloved friend it was a strange experience.  We were...

Rob Bell’s last Sunday at Mars Hill in Michigan at the end of last year.  According to MLive.com, the Sunday services wrapped months of transition for the church following Bell’s September resignation and subsequent move to the Los Angeles area to create an ABC television drama with ‘Lost’ producer Carlton Cuse, loosely based on Bell’s life. It was in a final sermon in December that he shared with the church what he called a confession — his last message: “I feel like I’m just getting started, like I’m a rookie, a freshman, a newb,” he told a gathering of several...

Mark and Grace Driscoll’s new book, Real Marriage, reached the top spot on the list of bestselling books for both Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com for a while on Monday despite not being available in stores until Tuesday. You can order a copy of “Real Marriage” from Amazon.com right here if you’re so inclined. My question to you is… are YOU planning on reading the book? Respond back with one of the following: 1.  Already read it.  Loved it. 2.  Already read it.  It was ok. 3.  Already read it.  Complete heresy. 4.  Gonna read it… can’t wait. 5.  I’ll...

dear  mars hill, to all the brothers and  sisters of this church to those who have  been  here from  the beginning—who remember the  old building, who braved that one ten foot wide hallway, clogged shoulder to shoulder with people leaving the  hangar to pick up their children who had  spent the  previous hour packed into oxygen  deprived classrooms to those who hiked  through the snow and  slush and  mud  that first day to sit on the floor who idled  in long traffic jams to listen to sermons from the book of Leviticus on blood and  guts and fire and  then  to those of you who...