Mars Hill Church Says "God Wants" Them to Have Sound Transit Property

Comments

Mega-churches need mega-parking lots. How is that not transit-friendly?!

rob! on October 23, 2013 at 4:21 PM

I wrote a letter to the same ST board e-mail address provided on that site, reminding them of the "silent majority" that don't give a shit about what Mars Hill does, but very much want ST to make its O&M location decision (and all other decisions!) based on what's best for the rail system :-)

mtn335 on October 23, 2013 at 4:23 PM

Oh, Brendan, I just love this sentence so much: "Sometimes Mars Hill seems like a character in a Tennessee Williams play."

As for Mars Hill, what they're trying to pull reminds me of what the ancient Israelites did when they discovered that someone else was living in "their" Promised Land.

NotYourStrawMan on October 23, 2013 at 4:24 PM

Are they actually going to try to fight eminent domain on religious grounds?

Joe Szilagyi on October 23, 2013 at 4:24 PM

Good reporting. Christ, what assholes.

TomJohnsonJr on October 23, 2013 at 4:30 PM

Anyone else think "He has given us fruit that has outgrown our facility" is a really weird way to put it?

Christopher Frizzelle on October 23, 2013 at 4:31 PM Stranger Staff

Reminds me of Reverend Larry from Repo Man. "I DO want your money! Because GOD wants your money!"

Matt from Denver on October 23, 2013 at 4:31 PM

King County recorder shows that sound transit was granted title of the property Sept 3, 2013... so it does appear that Mars Hill is doing a lot of bitching and moaning for exactly no reason since the property has already been transferred... very weird

ryanayr on October 23, 2013 at 4:32 PM

"we are a small church"

Compared to the Church of Scientology, I suppose.

levide on October 23, 2013 at 4:34 PM

If God really wanted them to have it, wouldn't he have acted a little sooner, and/or scuppered the ST/IP deal so MH could pick it up on the cheap? Sounds like maybe Mars Hill wasn't praying hard enough to get God's attention before it was too late. Slackers.

psbirch on October 23, 2013 at 4:34 PM

The thing that motivates them is definitely a word that begins with G and ends with D, but it ain't a deity.

Baconcat on October 23, 2013 at 4:37 PM

Same thing happening in the Central district with a coalition group trying to take a Seattle School building. It is a puzzling thing when an actual school needs a building and yet this group believes they are more entitled to it and have done everything they can to stand in the way.

westello on October 23, 2013 at 4:41 PM

They're tearing down the John Danz? Pity. But I suppose it lost all of its charm several renovations ago.

Catalina Vel-DuRay on October 23, 2013 at 4:43 PM

@1 Transit: (Noun) A system that provides shared mass transportation for the public, typically consisting of buses, trolleys, light rail, or trains, which conveys people to, from, and within an urban center.
Antonym: Private motor cars.

Brooklyn Reader on October 23, 2013 at 4:43 PM

I'm no expert -- nor do I play one on TV -- but doesn't lying about the whole eminent domain thing qualify as bearing false witness? And here I thought you weren't supposed to do that sort of thing.

dicon on October 23, 2013 at 4:45 PM

Oh, Mars Hill, my favorite place to piss in public when I'm drunk in Ballard.

jnmend on October 23, 2013 at 4:46 PM

As Mars Hill skips merrily along in its mission from god - and who knows how many secret trysts in pastorly offices - it's time to tax these bizarre biblical bozos!

blackhook on October 23, 2013 at 4:51 PM

Their coming for you, Overlake Christian! Time to turn those ploughshares back into swords!

I've never known a church to gloss over an "emergency", no matter how non-existent, and miss the chance to fill the coffers. While you're all at it, pick a denomination ferchrissake. Fucking wimps.

Dougsf on October 23, 2013 at 4:53 PM

Dear Sound Transit board members,

I am writing to ask you to not allow Mars Hill Church to purchase the former International Paper building located in the Bel Red Corridor at 120th Street.

Mars Hill Church says they intend to move their headquarters to this facility as soon as possible, and I as a local resident do not want this. Even though Mars Hill Church had made a generous purchase offer, I believe Sound Transit should be given ownership, While the church will argue that their plans for growth hinge on completing this transaction, I believe this statement grossly exaggerated. Sound Transit, unlike Mars Hill Church, will bring jobs to the surrounding area and revitalization to the Bel Red corridor.

I am hoping that Mars Hill will choose one of the several other sites they are considering for a location of their new headquarters so that Sound Transit can use the property at 120th.

I appreciate your work, your consideration and your support.

Thank you!

on October 23, 2013 at 4:55 PM

@4 - As the post notes, eminent domain doesn't even enter into it. They're trying to fight nonsense with bullshit.

MacCrocodile on October 23, 2013 at 4:57 PM

"a sense of divine entitlement, or a shaky grip on reality"

Isn't that redundant?

Geocrackr on October 23, 2013 at 5:01 PM

@11- Gnard?

dwightmoodyforgetsthings on October 23, 2013 at 5:02 PM

Yeah, I wrote Sound Transit as they requested. Just added in a new paragraph in the beginning of the letter:

Dear Sound Transit board members,

The letter below is utter bullshit. These guys aren’t even worthy of me saying they are so far out there that they are from Mars. That would insult people who might be from Mars. Not that I’ve ever met anyone who would admit to it. Anyway, stand your ground and don’t be bullied by these idiots. They don’t know who God is.

I am writing to ask you to allow Mars Hill Church's purchase of the former International Paper building located in the Bel Red Corridor at 120th Street.
Mars Hill Church intends to move their headquarters to this facility as soon as possible. However, Sound Transit has taken ownership, even though Mars Hill Church had made a generous purchase offer. The church's plans for growth hinge on completing this transaction, as it is the only viable option for them in the area. The church will bring jobs, conference space, visitors, family oriented activities, East Link riders and revitalization to the Bel Red corridor.
I am hoping that you will choose one of the several other sites you're considering for the location of your maintenance facility so that Mars Hill Church can use the property at 120th.
I appreciate your work, your consideration and your support.
Thank you!

Peter5029 on October 23, 2013 at 5:08 PM

@22 - It's Gourd. Cast aside the shoe and follow the gourd!

MacCrocodile on October 23, 2013 at 5:09 PM

#3, really? This is about Israel and the Jews too? Get. a. life.

soggydan on October 23, 2013 at 5:16 PM

Here's the official docs for y'all.
http://info.kingcounty.gov/Assessor/eRea…

sound on October 23, 2013 at 5:22 PM

@9

“The only difference between a cult and a religion is the amount of real estate they own” ~ Frank Zappa

TheBadSeed131313 on October 23, 2013 at 5:25 PM

@26 here's a shorter URL for the official docs:
http://goo.gl/uAhCtR

sound on October 23, 2013 at 5:43 PM

(Sorry, @14, forgot the /snark toggle. Would concede it isn't funny even with. Sincerely hope Mars Hill's every venture fails spectacularly until they mend their ways.)

rob! on October 23, 2013 at 5:55 PM

God doesn't want that ottoman to have wheels. He wants it to have apolstered balls. And He didn't want beige, either. His color pattern clearly stipulated mushroom.

Dr. Z on October 23, 2013 at 6:19 PM

@24- It is not a shoe but a sandal!

dwightmoodyforgetsthings on October 23, 2013 at 6:39 PM

God wants me to have every cent on Mars Hill money.

Hear that, Drisoll? Fork it over.

Rujax! on October 23, 2013 at 7:24 PM

"...we are a small church..."

You say you're a small church, right after bragging about your tremendous growth, and how you're God's favorite, then pitching a tantrum over a $23million dollar property you tried (and failed) to buy?

Oh, go piss up a rope, Mars Hill. Seriously.

on October 23, 2013 at 7:30 PM

Its simple. If Jesus wanted Mars Hill to have that property he would have made it happen. Just another example of a peace and love church thinking an imaginary guy in the sky is looking out for them.
BTW peace and love = Piece of the action and love of money.

morespl on October 23, 2013 at 7:42 PM

LMFAO

gawd on October 23, 2013 at 7:46 PM

G-R-E-E-D

kerala on October 23, 2013 at 8:06 PM

@Mars Hill

Only by leaving Puget Sound forever, finding a new leader who will lead you from this place and wandering in the wilderness of Eastern WA, Idaho or Montana for 40 years can you ever hope to merit your promise land.

This offer is available for a limited time. Some restrictions may apply. See Me for additional details.

on October 23, 2013 at 8:18 PM

..."only one building in Bellevue is available that meets the needs of the church that God is building on the Eastside."

Funny. I thought Jesus was the carpenter in family.

Dod on October 23, 2013 at 8:23 PM

Seriously, do we have to acknowledge Fundies as Christians? Real followers of Christ (and there are some, and they can be rather nice people) kind of actually try to follow Christ's examples and teachings. You know, stuff like charity, love, the Golden Rule, kindness, simplicity, turn the other cheek, equality, leave judgment to the Lord, and most of all, Peace. No casting of stones or aspersions.

Fundies abandon all that and use their "Good Book" in an entirely different way, as a blunt instrument of intimidation, literally and hair-splittingly interpreting phrases and passages with great moral dudgeon and complete ignorance of their original language, completely out of context and with no regard for the underlying message that their effing prophet and martyr supposedly DIED FOR.

If Christ were alive today, and wasn't such a nice guy, he would give them a thorough beat-down to end all beat-downs.

Fundies by and large, are horrible, ignorant, judgmental, elitist, xenophobic people and are, in the words of Ghandi, nothing like their Christ. So, other than their patently unproveable claim, what makes them Christian?

Brooklyn Reader on October 23, 2013 at 8:47 PM

God loves mass transit, hates Driscoll.

J.R. on October 23, 2013 at 9:05 PM

If MHC had acquired the property before Sound Transit and then it was determined that this is the most appropriate location for the OMSF, Sound Transit would have the authority to purchase the property via Eminent Domain. Therefore, MHC would have been required to sell the property to Sound Transit and find a new location anyway.

averagegirl on October 23, 2013 at 9:34 PM

#37 FTW

on October 23, 2013 at 10:32 PM

That's weird. God told me He wants nothing to do with Mars Hill Church.

PCM on October 23, 2013 at 10:57 PM

I like to think they're referring to former NBA player God Shammgod, the man who taught Kobe the crossover.

Angry Sam on October 24, 2013 at 4:28 AM

I'm just glad they're leaving the neighborhood where I work. I'd rather have Tabella back, to be honest. At least it was a known hive of scum and villainy.

dagard on October 24, 2013 at 6:21 AM

What always amazes me about groups like Mars Hill is how terribly weak they think their god is. Sure, god wants them to have the property but he can't actually do anything about it even though he "bends the world to his will" yet he can't even stop ST from buying some property or even tell Mars Hill to buy it first. What a weak useless god they have. Not only can't he make anything happen he can't even call Hutcherson a little earlier. Shit, my mom has more power and foresight than their god.

Root on October 24, 2013 at 7:04 AM

Sounds like this is just the buttering up phase before asking the members to reach deep into their hearts and pocketbooks and put god's plan into motion.

cliche on October 24, 2013 at 7:18 AM

Maybe there's a Christian Zillow: Find God's real estate match for you.

Rob in Baltimore on October 24, 2013 at 7:47 AM

Why is anyone surprised by this? MHC and the rest of the domionist "christian" set is a huge scam, as is religion itself. People are so terrified of Jezuz going broke that they'll starve their kids before they go without tithing. There are dozens of megachurches that are nothing more than fronts for the GOP to guarantee continued funding for the party. Religion is the best way to launder money, just ask Mitt Romney.

Willy Vomit on October 24, 2013 at 9:01 AM

Dear Mars Hill: God wants you to fuck off. Now get to it.

Fnarf on October 24, 2013 at 10:14 AM

The only thing Sound Transit should do is to make sure every staff person who interacts with or makes public representations concerning that misogynist cult is a woman.

Lea on October 24, 2013 at 10:36 AM

@25, I was trying to point out that there are instances in the Bible where a group said that God wanted them to have something that already belonged to someone else and that justified their trying to take it. Do you really not see the parallel? Go read the Old Testament that lists slaughter after slaughter committed in God's name in order to wrest the Promised Land from its inhabitants.

This is what happens when people use religion and God to justify their desires.

NotYourStrawMan on October 24, 2013 at 11:20 AM

Seattle did seize 1101 Western Ave under eminent domain for transit purposes, though. http://clerk.seattle.gov/public/meetingr…

Perhaps whoever at Mars Hill wrote the release was simply exceedingly careless and confused one lot with another.

Cad in Decadent on October 24, 2013 at 1:44 PM

Driscoll needs a new Ferrari, baby!

rocketgeek on October 24, 2013 at 2:41 PM

According to public records, Mark Driscoll also has a million-dollar home in Woodway that Mars Hill is working to keep secret:
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/…

stephaniedrury on October 24, 2013 at 6:06 PM

A core part of Pastor Mark's ministry is his claim that God audibly spoke to him and told him 1) Marry Grace, 2) Preach the Bible, 3) Plant churches, 4) Train men.

By his own words from an interview, this happened when he was 19 years old at a men's retreat at Camp Wooten. Camp Wooten is one of Washington’s state parks.

Now, if God spoke to you or me, you might remember where you were, right? But Pastor Mark seems to have trouble keeping his story straight.

In another interview later published by Mars Hill, titled, “God’s Work, Our Witness”, Pastor Mark very matter-of-factly states that God spoke to him (with the same four-step formula) not at Camp Wooten, but in Idaho. Not in Camp Wooten, Idaho - that doesn’t exist. But “in the middle of nowhere.”

Getting a personal order from God is a cornerstone of Pastor Mark's ministry, but he can't keep his story straight about what state is happened in. Keep this in mind when Mars Hill starts talking about how they know God's will.

References:
First video where he claims it was in Camp Wooten, WA, at around the 8 minute mark. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vEiqqfvs…)

Second video where he changes his story to Idaho, at the 5 minute mark. (http://marshill.com/media/gods-work-our-…)

on October 25, 2013 at 10:29 AM

WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT LET CHURCHES GET THEIR GRUBBY MITTS ON PRIME PROPERTY! Unfortunately, urban blight/white flight allowed that to happen over here in the other Washington, and it's a massive pain in the ass. None of them have adequate parking, and they take it out on the surrounding neighborhoods. Wednesday nights and Sunday morning and afternoon (and sometimes Saturday for weddings and many other times for funerals - ugh,funerals are the worst) are HELL anywhere in proximity to a church, no matter how you're traveling. I've had old church ladies intentionally try to run me over when crossing the street; they block crosswalks, intersections, and travel lanes, which backs traffic up and makes traffic more dangerous as people bob and weave to get around it; and we recently had a church successfully block part of a sorely-needed cycletrack (though hopefully only temporarily - the city said they'd switch that block to a bike lane instead and then "study" it in a few months, and at least our city is pretty good about fixing bike infrastructure that doesn't work). In this case, it looks to at least be revenue-neutral (the transit authority wouldn't be paying taxes, either), but BIG churches are a huge bust in cities.

Ms. D on October 25, 2013 at 5:23 PM

pic.twitter.com/UVsFYogxmB

monkeybutt83 on November 7, 2013 at 4:13 PM

pic.twitter.com/UVsFYogxmB

monkeybutt83 on November 7, 2013 at 4:14 PM

@57 you do realize that you allow mosks to take prime realestate but not christian churches? I thought that this country was based on freedome of religion. If you dont like it move to another country. if you dont like the fact that Christians are allowed to have prime realestate move to another country. And why insult the religion? Its immature and rude.

on March 5, 2014 at 12:24 PM

Mars Hill Church Says "God Wants" Them to Have Sound Transit Property

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