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Photo by Mars Hill Church
By Nate Keeler, @MBCArlington Campus Pastor
When I first heard the news last week that Mark Driscoll, Senior Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, had resigned under multiple allegations and criticism for his leadership and character, I had three immediate responses: 1) I grieved the fall of a church leader and the pain he and his family must be experiencing; 2) I was unfortunately not surprised given some troubling signs over the past decade; and 3) I prayed for him, his family and all those who are wounded because of the trust they placed in Pastor Driscoll to lead them spiritually.
Because we don’t have the full story I want to avoid speculation or…
By Joe Kelty, MBC Tysons Director of Men’s Discipleship
In today’s morally relativistic culture, can we really be expected to share our faith in the “real world”? Let me give you a couple real world examples of a “rookie” Christian sharing his faith.
When I was a younger man, my wife and I had only been married for two years when we were blessed with our first child, a precious little girl. I was working in downtown DC at a firm with several young men in the 20-30 age group. One of the VPs had established a tradition of taking men out to lunch for their birthday. Somehow that tradition devolved into a group of rowdy men going to a gentlemen’s club in DC to…
By Julie Stoll, MBC Tysons Attendee
Remember Jonah the reluctant prophet? God shared His heart of compassion for the people of Nineveh, and told Jonah to go make a difference there. But Jonah went in the opposite direction, intentionally refusing to join God’s plan. Why? What prompted Jonah’s reluctance and emboldened him into rebellion?
Perhaps Jonah had bought into the cultural perspective of his nation. The Jews at that time had a nasty history with the Ninevites and viewed them as despicable. Why be involved with anything good directed toward a “bad” group who chose to be that way? I can relate to that in my prayer life. I am reluctant to pray for people I don’t understand…
By Nate Keeler, Campus Pastor @MBCArlington
The Pharisees, most of us know. They were the politically conservative, religious elite who opposed the Roman occupation of Israel and sought a return to strict observance of the Mosaic Law and their own regulations they heaped on top of the Law. They believed that religious observance and morality were the way of self-salvation. The Herodians we may be less familiar with. The Herodians, as the name implies, were a Jewish political party that favored the Roman control led by Herod. The Herodians were the politically progressive, moral relativists of the day. They wanted to bring the full Roman influence into the Jewish community of the day. They believed that self-discovery and the…
By Jaclyn Hoffman, Operations Manager for Biblical Training @MBCTysons
Growing up, Catie went to church on and off with my friend Stephanie and her family, but when Catie reached high school, she stopped attending. About two months ago, Stephanie’s mom asked if I would meet Catie for coffee because she was interested in going back to church. We met and immediately became friends. We started hanging out and playing basketball, and I invited her to start coming to my small group. She also came to church with me.
One night, before small group, she came over because she had questions about her life and the Lord. She’d been dealing with anxiety and depression, so we talked about…
By Kalina Kwok, MBC Bethesda Attendee
Our MBC Bethesda missions team hosted a free dinner and “Toy Story” movie night recently. It was the first project we had to do together, and by God’s grace, the event was a success. We received lots of notes of encouragement and prayers from supporters as we prepared for our trip to the Philippines.
Once the movie was over, a little girl named Sienna asked us if she could donate money to the missions trip. Of course, we welcomed the thought. She opened a handmade zebra print piggy bank decorated with smiley face stickers and poured out all of its contents into the…
By Angel Turbeville, Director of Small Groups @MBCBethesda
As I look around at the world we live in, some days it feels like it is totally falling apart. One of the most devastating losses is death due to suicide. Can there be enough hope to break through to those souls struggling to hold onto life itself? I believe there is. I think the church needs to understand a little more, and I hope taking my mask off might help. Depression and the overwhelming darkness and despair that it brings strikes those who claim their salvation in God, just as hard, maybe even harder, as those who do not profess faith in Christ. I know that many in the church…