Dec 28, 2017
Baked and Awake
Episode 22
Discussion of Mars Hill Church
Part Two
Guests: Douglas Moreland, Adam
Schaeffer
Today is a continuation of the
conversations with Douglas and Adam, with the addition of a sample
of a Mark Driscoll sermon, and some commentary to further set
things up. I encourage everyone who finds this story to be of any
interest at all to look into it further- there is an absolute
wealth of information out there about the rise and fall of Mars
Hill, and the lessons that can be learned from it.
Listeners who would like to
reach out to Douglas or Adam can contact me in order to connect
with them directly.
Thank you for taking the time to
listen to this episode! Please review us on iTunes if you enjoy the
content at all.
Smoke Indica, Do shit anyway
Mark Driscoll Sermon,
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkaeAkJO0w8
Chriatianity Today Article
Read:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2014/december-online-only/painful-lessons-of-mars-hill.html
Mars Hill Church Membership
Covenant:
https://joyfulexiles.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/mars-hill-membership-covenant.pdf
Covenant Text in
full:
Mars Hill Membership Covenant
"When you make a vow to the Lord, do not delay in fulfilling it. He
has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow
than to make a vow and not fulfill it." (Ecclesiasties 5:4-5)
Purpose When anyone enters into relationship with God by grace
from, and faith in, the person and work of Jesus Christ they are
entering into two covenants. The first is to journey with God for
the rest of their lives and love Him fully. The second is to
journey with His other children in the community of the local
church. Your membership in a church is an official recognition of
this, and the purposes of the Mars Hill Membership Covenant
is:
- To join the Spirit in forming
an authentic church community that reflects the relationship
between the Father, Son & Spirit
- To clarify the on-going
blessings & responsibilities of each member.
- To encourage consistency,
accountability and loving unity within the church
family.
- To accomplish God's call for
the MH church family. This agreement does not imply that you will
never fall short of the goals, but that the desire of your heart is
to fulfill each of the responsibilities stated to the best of your
ability. We trust that your commitment will be a personal blessing
to your own journey in Christ, as well a blessing to those around
you. The Facts of Membership • A numerical record was kept (Acts
2:37-47) • Records were kept of widows (I Tim. 5:3-16) • Elections
were conducted (Acts 6:1-6) • Discipline was carried out (Matt.
18:15-20; I Cor. 5; Gal. 6:1) • Elders will be held accountable for
members (Heb. 13:17) • There was an awareness of who was a church
member (Rom. 16:1-16) With the help of the Holy Spirit, the church
leadership covenants the following: 1. We commit ourselves to
lovingly caring for you and seeking your growth in Christ (Heb.
13:17; I Thes. 5:12). 2. We covenant to provide teaching, preaching
and counsel from the Scriptures (Gal. 6:6; I Tim. 5:17-18). 3. We
commit that this teaching will span the whole counsel of God's Word
(Acts 20:27-28). 4. We commit to helping you in times of need (Acts
2:42-47, 4:32-35, Jm. 2:14- 17).
- We covenant that your elders
and deacons will meet the criteria assigned to them in the
Scriptures (I Tim. 3:1-13 & 5:17-22, Titus 1:5-9, I Pt.
5:1-4).
- We covenant to pray for you
regularly, particularly when you are sick (Jm. 5:14).
- We covenant to be on guard
against false teachers (Acts 20:28-31).
- We covenant to exercise church
discipline when necessary (Matt. 18:15-20; I Cor. 5; Gal.
6:1).
- We covenant to help you become
equipped to serve Christ (Eph. 4:11-13).
- We covenant to seek God's will
for our church community to the best of our ability as we study the
Scriptures and follow the Spirit (Acts 20:28, I Peter
5:1-5).
- We covenant to set an example
and join you in fulfilling the duties of church members (1 Co.
11.1, Philip. 3:17, I Tim. 4:12 ). With the guiding help of the
Holy Spirit, I, the undersigned, covenant the following: 1. I am a
Christian who has been saved from my sins by the grace of Jesus
Christ. I have been baptized to give testimony of my identification
with the body of Christ & obedience to the Scriptures. 2. I have
read and understood MH doctrinal statement and agree to not be
divisive to its teaching. I also understand the importance of
submission to church leadership and will be diligent to preserve
unity and peace (Hebrews 13:7, 17; Ephesians 4:1-3) 3. I will
endeavor to maintain a close relationship with the Lord through
regular personal Bible reading, prayer, fellowship and practice of
the other spiritual disciplines. My journey in Christ will be
evident through my regular participation in the corporate worship
services, and involvement in a small group or class (Ps. 119:97,
105l; Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:23-25). 4. I will strive to properly
manage the resources God has given me, including my time, body,
gifts and talents, attitudes, finances and possessions
(Eph.5:15-18; Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:1-16; Gal 5:22-26;
Proverbs 3:9-10). This includes regular giving to MH that is
sacrificial and cheerful (2 Corinthians 8&9). 5. I commit
myself to the MH church family and agree to aid in fulfilling its
missional purpose to both be and bring the gospel to Seattle. I
recognize that his will be accomplished by pursuing Mars Hill's
core values of meaning, beauty, truth, and community. 6. I commit
to using the spiritual gift(s) God has given me for the building up
of the church, both at MH and universally (I Pt. 4:10-11; Romans
12:1-8, 1Corinthians 12:7-31). 7. I covenant to practice the
humility and sacrificial attitude of Christ by considering the
needs of others (Philippians 2:1-11), not gossiping (Pr. 16:28,
Matt.18: 15-17), and seeking spiritual friendships (Pr. 17:17). 8.
I covenant to have friendly Christian relationships with brothers
and sisters in Christ from other churches, but I will not function
in leadership or as a member in another church family (Hebrews
13:17). 9. I covenant to follow the biblical procedures of church
discipline, and submit myself to discipline if the need should ever
arise (Matt. 18:15-17,Gal. 6:1-5). 10. I covenant to submit to the
authority of the Scriptures as the final arbiter on all issues
(Psalm 119, 2 Tim. 3:16-17). God enabling me, I will strive to
consider my commitment to this Membership Covenant on a yearly
basis. I understand that it is an evaluative tool, as well as an
affirmation of my continuing conviction and purpose. My
responsibility will be to notify the MH leadership if at any time I
can no longer commit to this covenant, or if I have any questions,
comments, or concerns regarding MH. Signature
_________________________________________ Date ____________ Printed
Name _______________________________ Phone __________________
E-mail ____________________ Address
_________________________________ Names and Birthdays of Family
______