Jesus and the Two Mars Hills

 I was struck recently by sad news about the two Mars Hill churches, which reminded me once again of my own need for Jesus.

You know the two Mars Hill churches? 

The one in Seattle was founded by Mark Driscoll and experienced dramatic growth under his spiritually abusive leadership.  Pastor Driscoll resigned recently amidst the scandal of that abusiveness.

The other Mars Hill church is in Grand Rapids, MI.  It was founded and led by Rob Bell until he resigned to pursue his own take on a modern faith.  It was a take that left behind the historic foundations of Christian faith.  Rob and I are graduates of the same seminary.

And then there is Jesus, of whom John wrote:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. .  .  .  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. - (John 1:14, 17)

Both pastors started churches after I began ministry.  Both led those churches to a size, profile and influence far beyond anything I have ever done.  Both have had to leave those churches.  

In broad, even over-simplified terms, one left because he lacked Grace, and the other because he departed from Truth.  Jesus was the embodiment of both.

As the dust settles around the disappointment, wounded people and finger-pointing of the two Mars Hills, I am reminded once again that what I need most of all is Jesus, not some human hero.

For more detail and depth on this thought, check out A Tale of Two Mars Hills by Eric Geiger.

I also found John Ortberg’s blog post When A Pastor Resigns Abruptly to be quite helpful.