As Mars Hill Church grew from 75 - 150 people Mark and the leaders faced more roadblocks and outrageous circumstances that could have destroyed them or scared them. But they continued to grow and take deeper roots into Seattle and its culture. There were more mistakes made by Mark, but once he realized his mistake he turned immediately and would confess to all the church and make the change that was necessary. But Mark's focus during this chapter, were on a couple specific instances that were quite "supernatural" in their actions and events. He also spends some time helping church leaders define the type of people who enter their church and what kind of people they will be. As such, so will my focus.
The first story was of an "older man who had been somewhat of a mentor" to Mark (page 74). He began pushing some theological limits that stretched the gospel. Additionally, during his first sermon in the church, he brought his wife up for a team teach which focused on Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem. During which time, to "demonstrate" the old man asked Mark on stage and then asked him to get on all fours and act out the part of the ass. Mark does not admit if he followed through on the request, but he does suggest he was oh so close to punching him in the mouth.
Secondly, Mark had a "dream vision" where the old man walked through the doors while Mark was in the foyer (Mark gives a very detailed description including shoes, shirt, and pants style as well as color of each and the mans accessories that he was dressed with). The old man instructed Mark to give him complete control of the church. Mark writes that immediately after this happen, "God then spoke Acts 20:28 - 31...and 1 Peter 5:1-4." God had spoken to Mark directly that the man was a wolf in sheep's clothes whose design and desire was to destroy the church. Mark admits that since that time he has had many other similar dreams and words from God and always know they are from God because they come true and are "confirmed by God with Scripture." (page 75).
In this instance, on the opening night of their church plant in October of 1996, Mark and his wife (Grace) were just sitting down as the service was starting. Grace realized her Bible had been left in the foyer. Mark raced to the foyer to grab it before the service started when guessed who walked through the door? The creepy dude from The Poltergeist (well that is what I pictured at least). Yes, the same old guy dressed and accessorized exactly the same as Mark had dreamed and made the exact same qoutes to Mark as he had visioned. After Mark picked his jaw up off the floor he immediately asked the man to leave and never come back. Some time later, another Pastor contacted Mark and relayed to him that that man had been kicked out of churches before for undermining young pastors and taking money from church plants.
The other story Mark relays to us through his book is during the beginning of one of their church services (just as attendance was steadily reaching 150 per week) . They would begin their services in a time of prayer with various people praying for the city, church leadership, each other, etc. During this time, Mark felt compelled to standup and proceed to the front of the church and stand their at the front over looking the church. As he did so a young man from the back began praying out loud and his voice changed dramatically as he became very authoritative and commanded all to stop worshipping Jesus and trust in ourselves only. He then got up and sprinted down the aisle in a fit of rage and heavy breathing spouting "absolute heresy about Jesus (page 86)."
Mark immediately began qouting Scripture he tells us (1 John 4:1-6) and raised his hands over the man and prayed against the demon in the man and prayed forJesus to save him. The man turned right around and sprinted back up the center aisle and arms flailing ran out the double doors and into the street. Mark admits how crazy it sounds and acknowledges that some in the congregation may have thought it was orchesrated. He assures it wasn't and also tells us the result was that many people left the church and attendance dropped a bit.
Instead of wilting or ignoring the situation, Mark called upon the congregation and the church leadership to embrace this captured soul that Satan has over many in their city and to go proclaim the gospel of Christ to these captured souls and free them. They also resolved to not allow these heretics and false teachers to continually sidetrack them in their mission to bring the "simplicity" of the gospel of Jesus (page 87).
Mark tells other stories of renegade worship leaders leading people off to mystical Catholic Churches and New Age self-help cult seminars and the endless search and time it took to find an ample replacement that would fit Seattle's culture but also carry a strong conviction for Christ. This same worship leader also led a booze cruise complete with loud cursing Christians who crashed one of the church services that they were having out on the beach (something they would do throughout the summer).
And as I mentioned before, Mark spends a lot of time in this chapter explaing how important it is for church leaders to categorize their members and others who visit. This proper evaluation will allow the leaders to discern who should lead and who should help and who should work and who should be asked to leave and who should never be asked to help but expected to show up every Sunday. Also show how needy each member is (Mark also gives some time in this chapter to the "bombshell" him and Grace received when longtime friends of theirs left thet church because Grace "would not drop everything to take this woman out to tea whenever was convenient for her." (page 81)
The following is his list breakdown (page 79 - 80):
- Horses - are vibrant leaders who pull a lot of weight and run fast. Horses need to have character, sound doctrine, and agree with the vision of the church
- Colts - are emerging leaders who need training, testing, and opportunities to lead. If properly broken in, a colt can be devleoped into a horse.
- Fish - are non-Christians who are spiritually lost and often not actively looking for God. Fish need a Christian friend to lovingly introduce them to Jesus and his church.
- Eagles - are skilled leaders who are being developed within the church with the express kingdom purpose of leaving the proverbial nest and leading a ministry elsewhere, such as missions work and church planting.
- Mules - are faithful workers who dependably and continually do whatever is asked of them in the church. Mules need to be thanked and protected from burnout.
- Cows - are selfish people who wander from church to church, chewing up resources without ever giving back to the church until they kill it. A fence needs to be built around the church to keep cows out.
- Squirrels - are people who are generally liked because they are nice, but they rarely do anything meaningful. Squirrels need to be put to work in the church.
- Stray Cats - are socially peculiar loners who linger around the church. Stray cats need a friend to help bring them into the church and an opportunity to serve other people so that they can be meaningfully connected to the church.
- Rats - are people who appear to have the potential to have a fruitful ministry, but they lack dependability, humility, or maturity. Rats need to be rebuked, and if they do not repent, they must be strategically ignored until they commit to no longer being a waste of time and effort.
- Sheep - are people who have legitimate needs that require patient and loving support. Examples of sheep include widows, orphans, and those who are seriously ill or fighting addictions. Sheep need to be loved and served.
- Ducks - are disgruntled people who continually quack about whatever they are unhppy about. Ducks need to stop quacking, or the pastor(s) must go duck hunting before ducks drown out everyone and everything else in the church.
- Wolves - are false teachers whom Satan sends into the church to devour Jesus' sheep. Wolves need to be quickly identified, rebuked, and if they are unrepentant, they must be shot before their false teaching destroys people in the church.
- Snakes - are evil people sent by the Serpent on a mission to destroy the church through anything from sexual sin to starting rumors. Leaders must stomp on the heads of snakes before they bite people and infect them with deadly venom.
As one would expect, this can be a lot of work and hard to do when you have only met someone once or twice or are meeting many people everyday. Mark tells a story which is interesting and relevant to this situation:
Lyle Schaller (the Yoda of church growth) "told a story about an old umpire he had met. He asked the umpire how he felt after making the wrong call. The umpire stated that he never made a wrong call. Puzzled, Schaller asked if he truly believed that he had never called a safe man out, an out man safe, a ball a strike, or a strike a ball. The umpire said that he had never made a bad call. Schaller asked him how that could be, and the umpire simply said, 'It ain't nothing until I call it." (page 82)
Mark explains in his church he had heretics calling themselves Christians and lazy, selfish Christians calling themselves mature. Mark had some "calls" to make. So he did.
I really enjoyed this chapter as it got away from "question asking" and more into narrative, history telling, and facts.
Chapter 4 is next - "Jesus, Could You Please Rapture the Charismaniac Lady Who Brings Her Tambourine to Church?" (150 - 350 people).
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