Mars Hill

When we were in the car K-dog pointed it out. It was a strip mall, nothing to fancy, but there was an excitment in the look of it. We ended up waiting in a line of cars to turn into the parking lot and as we walked up I saw two different signs. One for the YMCA and one for Party Zone.

The mini-mall signs were still up. We approached the door and it had church name and the service times displayed. It was the first sign I had seen in my first encounter with this body of Christ. We walked in and there was an older lady shaking hands and welcoming people. There was an awe in the atmosphere. There were hundreds of people milling around.

We walked in the "sanctuary" and there was a stage in the middle of the room. K-dog grabbed a piece of paper and a bible that was on mental cabinet on the wall. We sat down and the worship band got up on stage. They started playing hymns.

After the worship set Rob Bell got up and sat down in the middle of the stage on a cool swivel chair. He did some announcements and then he told us to open our Bible's to Luke chapter 10.

And then it happened.

The flipping of at least one thousand Bibles. It was a beautiful sound.

Rob Bell, isn't anything special. He walked his community through the contextual and historical meaning behind the text. It was nothing new. Rob Bell was communicating God's truth. That's it.

I walked out of the church confused. What just happened? Was that church?

The reason I say that is not because it was bad. It wasn't bad. The music was good the "message" was good. But it wasn't anything new. Here's what happened. Rob Bell listened to God. Not only did he listen to God he decided to follow him as well. He is an ordinary man doing extrodinary things. He decided to take the idea of faith and go on a walk with God.

He understands that and so does his community. They are the most outrageously giving community in the nation, and guess what? They don't take offereing during service!

They have joy boxes at every door, so as you exit the sanctuary you just drop off what you want. They not only just give to the church, but the church gives to everyone as a whole. They don't waste money on frivilous things but make an impact in their culture by using thier money in an eternal way.

Mars Hill is a body of believers who understand what the covenant is really about and are willing to risk their lives in God's redemption.