Mars Hill Church – Real Marriage Series

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mclaren777

mclaren777

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You can download audio and video versions of each sermon at the links below.






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Back in 2010, my wife and I left our old church after roughly four decades of combined attendance. It was hard to leave a community that we both loved, but we felt that God was calling us to a new church. We've been faithfully serving there ever since and it has changed our lives in meaningful ways. Mars Hill, our new church home, is getting ready to kick off a new sermon series called Real Marriage this coming Sunday and I think some of you might really enjoy it. Mark and his wife, Grace, will be talking about many of the challenges that every marriage faces including financial struggles and problems in the bedroom.

Whereas many churches fail to appeal to younger demographics, MHC attracts the 18-35 age bracket like a magnet. The pastor is refreshingly honest and the sense of community is unrivaled in my 25+ years of church experience.

Given that Mars Hill is probably unlike any church you've ever attended, I've put together a video that tells you more about Mark, the origin of the church, the Orange County campus, and the upcoming Real Marriage series. I know it's fairly long but I think it's well worth watching.

And even if you don't live near a Mars Hill campus (locations), many churches in the Acts 29 network (locations) will be participating in the same series.



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Can't say I have any respect for anyone/any group that openly welcomes the people of Westboro Baptist with anything nicer than a fist to the face. Can't think of a scummier group of humanity that hasn't been involved in either rape or murder.
 
Serious question: while his effort on this stuff is the 1 thing I admire about Driscoll, I'd think the Bible's interpretation of sexuality is that it, more than other things, is an expression of one's worldview. That is, beliefs come before action. Do you think non-religions-that-teach-sexual-modesty people would react positively to sexual instruction before lifestyle instruction? I don't.

Obsessed said:
If your marriage is struggling because of porn I don't think porn is really the issue.
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That assumes that pornography or financial clashes or lying or whatever stem from dissatisfaction. Maybe it does, situationally, but obviously that's not always the case. Sometimes those things are attractions, not disguises for hidden resentments.
 
Every believer on GAF should make a thread promoting his/her particular church/mosque/synagogue/whatever-other-faiths-call-them.
 
Okay, I'll look this thing up and see if I'm interested.

When the Episcopal Church elected a woman as its bishop, Driscoll wrote on his blog, "If Christian males do not man up soon, the Episcopalians may vote a fluffy baby bunny rabbit as their next bishop to lead God's men."
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Nope, not for me.
 
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that he will teach some good things and some bad things, and that in both cases he will not give enough information or take enough things into consideration.
 
The first two weeks have been fantastic and my marriage has already benefited from this series. Our local campus is seeing a huge influx of new families so people must be telling their friends about it.

• Week 1 focused on the impact of old baggage on our marriages and the need for men to lead their families well.
• Week 2 focused on the joy that can be found in a healthy marriage and some helpful steps to get there.

You can download audio and video versions of both sermons at the links below.



 
This series is one of the best I've ever seen and it's been amazing to see the growth in my own marriage and many others.

• Week 3 focused on husbands and their need to lead their families well. Excerpt
• Week 4 focused on wives and the command to respect their husbands. Excerpt

You can download audio and video versions of both sermons at the links below.



 
So how disrespectful do you have to be to get handed a repentance contract?
 
mclaren777 said:
This series is one of the best I've ever seen and it's been amazing to see the growth in my own marriage and many others.

• Week 3 focused on husbands and their need to lead their families well. Excerpt
• Week 4 focused on wives and the command to respect their husbands. Excerpt

You can download audio and video versions of both sermons at the links below.



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Are you complimentarian or egalitarian?
 
Is he allowed to disagree? I wonder if his community group leader knows about this thread.
 
You're a pretty smart guy, mclaren. Why don't you apply some of that intelligence, in a critical way, to this aspect of your life?

Because this is sad, dumb, hokey stuff, and it's not giving you or your family any answers at all.
 
Dice said:
Is he allowed to disagree? I wonder if his community leader knows about this thread.
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I use to be more complimentarian but my time at Fuller Seminary changed that. One of my favorite professors was David Scholer who led the nations first course on women in the Bible in a seminary. He also helped change the Fuller requirements that professors at Fuller have to be egalitarian instead of complimentarian.

Here is a great article by him

mclaren777 said:
My wife and I are both complimentarian.
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How do you feel about the passages in the NT in which women are given the same titles and responsibilities by Paul as male preachers and leaders? How do you feel about Paul's comment that there is neither Jew nor Greek, Male nor Female, slave nor free, for all are one in Jesus Christ? Do you believe that there is a hierarchy in the church depending on if you're Jewish or Gentile? If you're an employer or employee? If not, then why do you support a hierarchy if based one ones gender?
 
Shouldn't it be "complementarian"? Unless the secret to a successful Jesus marriage is for each spouse to constantly tell the other how smart, beautiful, and witty s/he is.
 
Isn't Fuller pretty famous for being quite theologically liberal? I think I remember them backing open theism.
 
Dice said:
Isn't Fuller pretty famous for being quite theologically liberal? I think I remember them backing open theism.
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They're liberal according to conservatives and conservative according to many liberals. I came from a very conservative background (Church of Christ) and at first had issues with Fuller but my time there was amazing. One thing that I applaud Fuller for is realizing that Christian's should politicize Jesus nor attempt to force their interpretation of the Bible on the rest of the nation through politics.

Dude Abides said:
Shouldn't it be "complementarian"? Unless the secret to a successful Jesus marriage is for each spouse to constantly tell the other how smart, beautiful, and witty s/he is.
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Durr, yes. Thanks Dude.
 
I like the perspectives of Frank Viola on the subject. I disagree with him on many of the practices of the modern church being exclusively of pagan origin (the Jews did have a temple and a structured order of worship) or the inherent badmouthing of any such thing (if God told the Jews to do that, you should probably not rail on it too hard) however he is generally correct about those influences playing a huge role in how church is done, very insightful about the sorts of problems the practices cause, and has a solid interpretation of how the early church functioned (moving on from the old ways into the new ways due to the gospel) and was encouraged to function whether under persecution or not. He also demonstrates good character and genuine concern rather than judgment of other Christians.
 
slidewinder said:
You're a pretty smart guy, mclaren. Why don't you apply some of that intelligence, in a critical way, to this aspect of your life?

Because this is sad, dumb, hokey stuff, and it's not giving you or your family any answers at all.
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Thanks for the compliment, but marriage is rather challenging. It's hard to be a good leader and not let laziness or pride get in the way. This sermon series has given us a framework to ask some really difficult questions and we're already enjoying the fruit of those conversations. Plus, it's great to go through this series with close friends because the added perspective and advice is really valuable.
 
Dice said:
I like the perspectives of Frank Viola on the subject. I disagree with him on many of the practices of the modern church being exclusively of pagan origin (the Jews did have a temple and a structured order of worship) or the inherent badmouthing of any such thing (if God told the Jews to do that, you should probably not rail on it too hard) however he is generally correct about those influences playing a huge role in how church is done, very insightful about the sorts of problems the practices cause, and has a solid interpretation of how the early church functioned (moving on from the old ways into the new ways due to the gospel) and was encouraged to function whether under persecution or not. He also demonstrates good character and genuine concern rather than judgment of other Christians.
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Agreed. If you have an opportunity, try to get ahold of Anchors Commentary on 1st Peter by John Elliot. It's masterfully done. He focuses on the response of the early church in Rome and how they worked very hard to make sure they weren't seen as a threat. That they honored the emperor and tried to have their good behavior be their witness. It's something that I wish the modern evangelical church in the U.S. would seek to copy. Just because you're the majority doesn't mean you have to behave that way.
 
Oh, I saw the sign for Mars Hill Church a week ago, they took over a building that used to be a Gold's Gym. I thought it'd be like some pseudo-science Hubbard-esque shit.
 
Here's a gem from Pastor Mark Driscoll himself:

Mark "Masturbation is Gay" Driscoll said:
Masturbation can be a form of homosexuality because it is a sexual act that does not involve a woman. If a man were to masturbate while engaged in other forms of sexual intimacy with his wife then he would not be doing so in a homosexual way. However, any man who does so without his wife in the room is bordering on homosexuality activity, particularly if he's watching himself in a mirror and being turned on by his own male body.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/21/mark-driscoll-masturbation_n_1023743.html

He also has some choice words about modern interpretations of Jesus:

The New York Times said:
The mainstream church, Driscoll has written, has transformed Jesus into “a Richard Simmons, hippie, queer Christ,” a “neutered and limp-wristed popular Sky Fairy of pop culture that . . . would never talk about sin or send anyone to hell.”
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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/magazine/11punk-t.html?pagewanted=all

mclaren777, hope the church has helped you overcome your "homosexuality"!
 
Dresden said:
Oh, I saw the sign for Mars Hill Church a week ago, they took over a building that used to be a Gold's Gym. I thought it'd be like some pseudo-science Hubbard-esque shit.
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I used to live near Queen Anne and for years I thought Mars Hill was some kind of new-age hippy cult. You're in good company. ;)
 
mclaren777 said:
Thanks for the compliment, but marriage is rather challenging. It's hard to be a good leader and not let laziness or pride get in the way.
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You don't need to be a good leader. You aren't actually a leader at all in your marriage, and it would not be a worthwhile one if you were.
 
slidewinder said:
You aren't actually a leader at all in your marriage, and it would not be a worthwhile one if you were.
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If my wife was here, she would tell you that both of those claims are incorrect.

Whether you think I'm leader or not is irrelevant, but I personally believe that families do better when the husband/father takes the initiative to lead well.
 
Mercury Fred said:
On the contrary, I think it's important that people know more detail about charismatic and dangerous leaders. I honestly wonder if mclaren777 takes Driscoll's views on masturbation to heart and acts accordingly and if so how that affects his marriage.
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Oh, I wasn't talking about the comments by Mark but you inferred that Mclarren masturbates. Again, I have issues with Mclarren's beliefs too but it just wasn't needed IMO.

mclaren777 said:
If my wife was here, she would tell you that both of those claims are incorrect.

Whether you think I'm leader or not is irrelevant, but I personally believe that families do better when the husband/father takes the initiative to lead well.
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I see what you're saying but I'd argue that both spouses have a responsibility to be leaders of each other.
 
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