Blog
Sermon audio: it’s not about you Mon, Aug 24th
I preached for the final time at Mars Hill Church last week, filling the second week of a six-week sermon series we're calling It's All About Jesus. I was charged to preach on identity -- how we wrongly build our identities on the small stories of our lives and how the gospel invites us to build identity instead on the massive story of God's redemption.
You can find the audio here.
we got The City Mon, Aug 17th
A couple years back, Pastor Zack Hubert of Mars Hill Church left his stud job at amazon.com to devote all his time to building a social networking website specifically designed for the rhythms of Christian community. He built The City and deployed it at Mars Hill with great success. Rather than spurring mere virtual community, as other social networking sites are wont to do, The City reinforces actual community, structuring itself around physical groups of people as they live together on mission.
Zondervan caught wind of what Mars Hill was up to and swooped in to buy the website for $4 million, hire Zack to continue developing it, and set him up with a penthouse office suite in downtown Seattle and a team to distribute the product to congregations around the globe. In negotiations with Zondervan, Pastor Zack secured a lifetime discount for Acts 29 churches. Enter The Painted Door. I spent two days in admin training last week and presto, thepainteddoor.onthecity.org is now officially up and running. You'll need an invitation to join the site and set up a password, and I'll be sending those out soon after we land in Chicago next month.
For now, here's a screen shot of this beautiful piece of software that will help us organize as a church and be more effective in reaching our city. I'm stoked!
it’s all about Jesus Mon, Aug 10th
Pastor Mark Driscoll kicked off a new sermon series at Mars Hill Church yesterday with biblical reflections on the humility of Jesus -- that God would become a man. This coming Sunday, I'll build on that staggering reality as we explore how God's descent into history enables our ascent into eternity. Jesus not only came to redeem but also to invite us to participate in the story of redemption, leaving behind the mundane story of self. We are now characters in his grand narrative, actors in a cosmic production that is all about Jesus. Join us Sunday.
Services: 9am, 11:15am, 5pm
Location: Mars Hill Shoreline
dessert was good Tue, Aug 4th
Many thanks to all who came out to eat chocolate and send us off last night. We had a great time, very encouraged with all the pledge cards we collected. What an amazingly generous community!
dessert is good Mon, Jul 20th
The Shoreline campus of Mars Hill Church is shipping us out this fall to plant The Painted Door in the heart of Chicago. It's a big deal. Let's eat chocolate.
Here are details:
Join us for dessert and a presentation on the plan to reshape a great American city
Aug. 3, Monday, 7pm - 8:30pm
Mars Hill Shoreline (click here for a map)
RSVP here
Anyone and everyone interested in hearing more about The Painted Door is welcome. Childcare will not be provided, but the environmment will be casual and family friendly.
Obama’s sick hood Fri, Jul 10th
I spent some time in Chicago and Springfield last month, researching the culture of corruption in the state and trying to figure out if Christians are stepping up to do anything about it. Illinois politics is a pretty sick game, with governors taking bribes, Chicago aldermen making backdoor deals, and scores of elected officials leaving office for federal prison. I spent some time in Obama's old hood (see pic of his house) trying to figure out how the President escaped this place with a clean nose -- a pretty artful accomplishment.
My time in Springfield led me to Capitol Ministries, a group that's out to change the way the church wields influence in politics. Rather than lobby and get muddled in the special interest culture wars, Capitol Ministries just tells politicians about Jesus. Beautiful! It's a long term strategy aimed at effecting long term change. I wrote about all in the latest issue of WORLD.
giving goes live Tue, Jul 7th
God is kind. We haven't really even started asking yet and have already received pledges for about 40 percent of the external funding we need over the next three years to plant The Painted Door. It's a great place to be as we move into a season of full-fledged support-raising.
Of course, the other way to look at it is that we still need 60 percent, and my salary as a journalist is set to stop rolling in two months from now. That's where you all come in. I'll be sending out support letters and hosting some fund-raising events over the coming weeks. For now, I wanted to make you all aware that the give button on this site has been updated with instructions for making tax-deductible contributions online via credit card or automatic bank withdrawal. We can handle checks in the mail, too.
Thanks to all those who have already given or pledged to give. This nutty venture called church-plating would be impossible without you.
The Painted Door, an introduction Mon, Jun 29th
Grab some popcorn and enjoy. But eat fast; this flick only runs about 7 minutes.
The Painted Door, an introduction from Mark Bergin on Vimeo.
looking good Tue, Jun 16th
Many thanks to Patrick Mahoney for his design of the vision-casting and fund-raising brochure pictured below. It looks great and captures the heart of what The Painted Door is all about. Now to print, fold, and distribute these by the wheelbarrow-full.
Joining Dr. Piper Thu, Jun 11th
I've made the decision to pursue affiliation with Converge MidAmerica, John Piper's crew. If I can get through their assessment, it will help The Painted Door tremendously. Converge offers great support for church planters, including full-service book-keeping and matching grants for fundraising. We'll also come under their non-profit tax-exempt umbrella, sparing us the headache of having to pursue that status independently.
What's more, it is apparent that God has been using Converge to reach Chicago for some years now. Church-planting director Gary Rohrmayer has overseen the launch of many churches throughout the area. We want to join what God is already doing. Adding this affiliation to our existing connection with Acts 29 will provide The Painted Door great opportunities for networking and partnership while also enhancing our credibility in the region. It's a no-brainer, really.
