Mars Hill Church

So I visited the ever famous Mars Hill Church last week. (The Seattle one, not the Grand Rapids one) I have been a mild fan of Mark Driscoll. Not agreeing with all he says, but respecting a lot of his stances on some issues. I have listened to a few of his talks and browsed some of his books. I could very much see why he is growing in popularity. So, before I left Seattle, I wanted to see with my own eyes what made Mars Hill so great.


Honestly, after attending a service there, I didn't know what the big deal was. In fact I didn't like much of the service.


Now, before I continue, I have to preface this with what has been going on in my life. I just finished the book, "Jim and Casper go to Church", where a Christian and an atheist visit and critique various churches across the country. I was also asked by one of the pastors of the church that was hosting me in Seattle to critique their church, which I found a very hard thing to do. But after getting in that mode, I have found it hard to get out of the mode of viewing the church service with a critical eye. Couple this critical nature with weeks of people telling me how I don't want to go to Driscoll's church; that he is nothing more than a fundamentalist bully and I am sure I was completely slanted before I even stepped off the bus into Ballard.


Nonetheless, I wanted to see it for myself. I wanted to come to my own opinion on the phenomenon of Driscoll and Mars Hill Church. So, I stepped off the bus in the Seattle neighborhood of Ballard and made my way to Mars Hill Church.


First impressions? The building didn't look to be much of a church. I wasn't sure I was even in the right place. But I soon saw a sign and realized that I was in the right place. It looked like an old warehouse. Two men, the bouncer type stood by what appeared to be a garage door. It was too dark to see what was inside, and the men kind of scared me, so I quickly followed a crowd into a smaller door. There was a small visitor booth and what appeared to be a bookstore tucked into one of the corners. Opposite the little corner bookstore, was what appeared to be the entrance to the auditorium. I headed in as I was already late and was greeted by a young girl that gave me a bulletin. It kind of surprised me that she would be the only person to "voluntarily" say hello to me. I don't know how organic the greeting was however, as it was obvious she was the assigned greeter. I made my way into a much smaller auditorium than I pictured for such a news worthy church.


Like I said, I was a few minutes late, so I will give the benefit of the doubt to not being greeted before the service, though after the service I will get to later. I will also stay away from the critiquing the opening music as I walked in during the last song. After the music, however, we were greeted by a overly excited announcer. He gave a few announcements and welcomed us. He gave the usual request for us to stand and greet our neighbors. Which after reading "Jim and Casper", I look at in a different light. Casper posses the question of why should people have to be asked to say hello to someone. Shouldn't it happen organically. Well, even in the church we are people that don't like to say "hi".


There was some more music, which I really can't remember, but I do remember that I didn't recognize. That isn't a bad thing. I love music that I don't know. This is just to say that I really don't have many comments about the music.


Then the moment of anticipation, Mark Driscoll came to give his awaited message. I thought he was a wonderful teacher, but I didn't think he was a wonderful preacher. I didn't feel like he provided a space for the congregation to meet with God. He was also extremely confident and sure of what he knew. The isn't necessarily bad, but it is curious. In a city that prides itself in uncertainty, how is a man that knows it all and makes sure everyone else knows he knows it all so successful?

I loved the content. He spoke on Jesus, how could you not love the content. However, I thought it was too academic. The passages he used (Isaiah 6, John 1, Phil 2:5 and following) are passages of poetry that I have long loved. I found them beautiful passages to use in a culture full of artisans. However, he took such a ridged and firm stand on them as he "unpacked" them (a phrase that he used over and over again) that I felt they lost the beauty that I so loved.

It's getting late, so I will quickly sum up the rest. Communion was chaotic. No instruction for visitors. If I, a seasoned church goer, was confused about what was going on, I can only imagine what a new comer thought. We went forward and took bread and wine or juice from two other bouncer types that stared us down. Nothing was said. These two men merely intimidated me as I was breaking bread with fellow believers in the most uncomfortable communion time I ever had. Music was playing at this time. Though instead of adding to the mood and experience of reflecting on the message or the communion time, I felt the music was distracting. It was loud and the constant pulsation of the bass was irritating.

After the service I hung around as they were having serving out ice cream. I walked around and noticed that the entrance I used was the side or the back entrance. The dark hallway was a cafe style room where they dished out the ice cream and where people gathered and socialized. Again no one said a word to me.

Overall I felt disappointed. I have heard and somewhat believed all the hype of Driscoll. He was a great teacher, expounding wonderfully on scripture. However, I didn't feel like he ushered us in the presence of God. It felt more like one of my Bible classes than a church.