A Journey to Mars

Dear everyone.

In my reflection recently on the year we have ahead of us, and as I have started full time with MHC, several things have come to my attention. I would like to discuss these things with you, as arduous and awkward as it may be. (read previous blogs if you are out of the loop, some of you have received letters, some have not.)

First, asking for money is hard. I hate to even bring it up because, to be completely honest, it make me feel kinda lame. In deeper reflection on this emotion of lameness, I have come to the conclusion that this weight has both righteous and unrighteous antagonists. The first being my God-given drive and instinct to provide for my family, to be the bread winner. That is a righteous thing, to want to be the provider, and to do a good job at it too. Although at the same time, my mind cant help but wrestle with what I believe to be an unrighteous provocateur of lameness... the weight put on all people by the systematic sin of society: materialism. There is a lot of pressure for a young guy like me to be done with college already, on to my post grad, and if not, to be in a successful corporate job with a bright future and room for advancement, as well as to have a sweet plasma tv on my wall. Both of these pressures have weighed on me. The problem is, my tendency to rebel against the cultural and social perception of 'school=18 years, work=50 yrs, retirement=20 yrs, then die' may encourage me to also rebel against my calling as a husband to make sure my family is provided for.

So this what I have come to and I believe is important to share. First, I absolutely have to be humble in all ways, every step I take towards Jesus and His call must be taken in total humility. Secondly, I desire for you to know, in humility without any pretension, that I have not and will not regress my duties as a husband as I fulfill God's call on my life. This tangibly means a couple things. As I will be working full time for Mars Hill Church, I'm currently pursuing a part time evening job to supplement our income. This will provide another income on top of Sarah's part time job. This is to make sure that the pressure of providing for our family does not fall on her. I believe that this will be hard, and I will be tired, but Sarah and I have agreed that this is the best. We believe and hope that God will honor our obedience and hard work and, with your partnership through support and prayer, will continue to provide for us. Secondly, I have created a budget for this next year of living expenses. We need exactly $2240 a month to pay all of our bills, buy gas and food. Sarah currently brings in around $500 a month, and hopefully I will be able to do the same. This means that we will need approximately $1200 a month in support. This would go towards our rent and utilities. I have also contacted a financial adviser through our church and we are currently setting up a meeting time in which he will be able to coach us in how we use our limited resources. All of this to say I really desire to be wise with the provision that God gives us. I want to be transparent with what we are doing with our support and open to questions at all times.

Now, you may be asking, 'What does our support get? What will be the return on our investment?' I would like to lay out a so called 5 year plan to give you the best answer I can to these questions. First, the reason I am spending one year working at MH for free is because that is the only way to be hired as a pastor. MHC does not hire from the outside and all pastors who are considered for hire first go through a year of volunteer service. Currently 30 pastors have done this very thing before me. This opportunity is beyond words. To pastor at MHC is more than a good pastoral position, it is to be part of a movement. God is doing amazing things at MHC, our attendance has grown by over 1000 people in just the last year. We went from 4 services at 3 campuses on Sunday to 11 services at 5 campuses, and our downtown campus will be launching at the end of February. And its not just an increase in attendance, hundreds are coming to know Jesus as their savior. All of this is happening in the least churched city in America. The Spirit truly is doing something, and we have the opportunity to be a part of it. The learning and serving opportunities are endless. This opportunity will shape me as a pastor and will form the foundation for the rest of my service in the Kingdom of God. I plan on being at MHC until God calls us elsewhere, only He knows when that will be. So in one year I hope to be on paid staff. For the following 4 years I hope to continue to learn as a staff pastor, finish my degree, hopefully attend seminary, and have kids! MHC doesn't believe in the 'starving pastor' and they pay based on your needs (not your wants). This means that hopefully MHC will provide the opportunity to buy a house, allowing room for kids and making our parents proud. I know that my purpose in life is to pastor and disciple others, I can think of no better place in which to learn this than MHC.

Next, I would like to list not a statement of beliefs but rather a statement of action. These are things that Sarah and I have agreed to commit to during this next year. By sharing these it will allow you to hold us accountable and will give you the main things in which you pray for.

1. Love God. This means spending daily time with Him.
2. Love each other. This means spending time together and being creative in our date nights. This also means making our marriage a priority before serving and knowing when to say no.
3. Live simply. (*see note at bottom) We will not live in excess, any support that comes that we don't need will in turn be given away. We will not indulge in expensive meals and outfits.
4. We will love people and follow God's calling. Simplicity is meaningful only inasmuch as it grounded in love, authentic relationships, and interdependence.

This list may grow, but these are the things we are committing to as we serve this year at MHC.

Finally, I want to thank you. I know it sounds cliche, but honestly and truly, your support and prayer exemplifies Jesus in our life. You have no idea what it means to us to see the Body of Christ at work on a personal and intimate level. We have made it easy to support us financially with the 'donate' link on the right. This will take you to our pay pal account where you can use most debit and credit cards. We love you all and are looking forward to sharing what God does in and with our life. Please feel free to call or email us at any time.

Blessings and peace be with you.
Joel and Sarah


*When we talk of simplicity and materialism, we must always begin with love for God and our neighbors, otherwise we're operating out of little more than legalistic, guilt ridden self righteousness. Our simplicity is not an ascetic denunciation of material things to achieve personal piety, for if we sell all that we have and give it to the poor, but have not love, it is meaningless (1 Cor. 13:3). As I said above, simplicity is meaningful only inasmuch as it grounded in love, authentic relationships, and interdependence. We believe this will allow us to grow in our faith and fall deeper in love with Jesus as we see His body at work. This has brought me to understand a new theology; theology of enough. This is an understanding of God's economy that comes from Proverbs 30:8-9: 'Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'who is the Lord?'"
Read Shane Claiborne's book Irresistible Revolution for more on this topic.