Disqus - Latest Comments for bryanzug

Re: Calling Former Members of Mars Hill Church to Tell Your Stories

Bryan Zug — Thu, 19 Nov 2015 11:52:41 -0000

Bettger shared the following on facebook yesterday and I did the same. We all feel like documenting the stories in ways where people feel comfortable participating in can help with healing and closure – no matter what the perspective is.

>>
I'm working on this project with some friends. We would love to gather more stories about the experiences people had at MHC. This is for anyone who attended regularly at any time. Currently we need more stories from Driscoll supporters or sympathizers, people who stayed and transitioned to other churches that where MHC and more stories from female attenders and participants. Please share with your friends and consider telling your story. We also want more stories from anyone else who would find it useful and helpful to write down their answers to our questions. Check it out and if you think it is worth while please share

Re: Sutton Turner: Big Churches Like Mars Hill Church Need Big Decision Makers

Bryan Zug — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 14:48:32 -0000

^^^ and that is what it look like for a person of humility and integrity to drop the mic – thank you @Dalton Roraback for putting my sentiment to words – sometimes love says, "I love you and this is not OK" and sometimes it bluntly says "STOP. For the love of Christ Almighty, STOP"

Re: Mark Driscoll Resignation from Mars Hill

Bryan Zug — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 10:08:14 -0000

Great post Matt – One of the best I've read. Thanks for your honesty.

Re: Nine Former Mars Hill Church Elders Took a Bold Stand and Now Eight Are Gone

Bryan Zug — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 02:00:44 -0000

EM - Slowly, but surely, the Spirit is trustworthy. Many of us are slowly rebuilding. Warren's work is only part of the story. Thank God that no act to #inviteTheLight is the last chapter - Jesus is faithful to bring the restoration that completes all story arcs into some that adds up to so much more

Re: GoFundMe Account Set Up For Resigning Mars Hill Pastors

Bryan Zug — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 02:02:30 -0000

We're a part of the same Gospel community as the Gaydos's – It's called 'A Seattle Church' – Details at –

http://www.aseattlechurch.com/

Re: At Home and Away: The Bates' Family Story / Redemption Church San Francisco

Bryan Zug — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 09:52:14 -0000

Nancy — Thank you so much for this. Having seen the same patterns at Mars Hill in Seattle for years, you captured a genuine love of Gospel community that carries the forthrightness of a redemptive love — something many of us wish we'd been quicker to do with Mars Hill / Acts 29 in days past. And the Faulkner quote — "the human heart in conflict with itself" indeed indeed.

Re: The Non-Compete-Driven Church (i.e., Empire Business)

Bryan Zug — Thu, 29 May 2014 20:27:33 -0000

I went to find the "I am the one who knocks" quote and a chill went up my spine when I read the whole thing. crazy.

Re: The Non-Compete-Driven Church (i.e., Empire Business)

Bryan Zug — Thu, 29 May 2014 10:09:58 -0000

"Who are you talking to right now? Who is it you think you see? Do you know how much I make a year? I mean, even if I told you, you wouldn't believe it. Do you know what would happen if I suddenly decided to stop going into work? A business big enough that it could be listed on the NASDAQ goes belly up. Disappears! It ceases to exist without me. No, you clearly don't know who you're talking to, so let me clue you in. I am not in danger, Skyler. I am the danger. A guy opens his door and gets shot and you think that of me? No. I am the one who knocks!"

– Walter White

http://www.imdb.com/title/t...

Re: Former Mars Hill Pastors Speak Out About Elder Firings and Changes in Mars Hill Bylaws

Bryan Zug — Sun, 30 Mar 2014 19:49:27 -0000

>>
If you don't like how Driscoll does the Lord's business, go build your own church, don't destroy his.

And there's the rub… the mythology is that it is Mark's church – that his personality and gift built it ex-nihlo – that the origin stories he's told about it are the single narrative… not so – Jesus, if there be such a Grace from heaven, drew a body together, gathered under a mere-Christianity and values of meaning, beauty, truth, and community (with a reformed bent, that, though try as I might, I was never convicted of… "What, you mean you praise Lewis and Chesterton, but they could never be leaders here, oh Quixote?!?") – If Mark Driscoll is the head of the body of Mars Hill, then, you are correct, it will never survive this bursting aneurism, but if Christ be the head (which, feet on the ground, it is), it will, and has survived this cancer of the tongue – who ever said chemo was pretty – or that it was 100% fatal?

Re: More Mars Hill Church Grievances: Former Member Calls For Evacuation

Bryan Zug — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 06:39:19 -0000

Also, Warren – "complain"? Really? That is such a consumeristic word and does not seem to be in parity with the phrase "raise hell about" (which obviously has justice overtones to it). Just wanted give a little feedback on that minor point.

Re: More Mars Hill Church Grievances: Former Member Calls For Evacuation

Bryan Zug — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 06:36:21 -0000

I must say, I am fascinated by the comparison to Scientology here. I had never thought of that. Wow. Must think about that some more.

BTW, weren't Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, and Amy Adams amazing in The Master? I saw it in 70mm here at the Cinerama in Seattle.

Re: More Mars Hill Church Grievances: Former Member Calls For Evacuation

Bryan Zug — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 06:24:57 -0000

Also - I meant to say I may not be understanding you correctly about whether you count yourself among those who find the rescue story of Jesus to be compelling.

Re: More Mars Hill Church Grievances: Former Member Calls For Evacuation

Bryan Zug — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 06:22:43 -0000

That is a good point. One of the ideas Leslie Newbigin makes in his book "Gospel in a Pluralist Society" is that while folks like you may remain unpersuaded about the rescue story of Jesus, walking out the idea of reconciliation in an, "I love you brother, and that ain't right" kind of way – well, when you do that out in the public square, it becomes oddly persuasive. I have found that to be very true with my dear non-believing friends in Seattle.

Re: More Mars Hill Church Grievances: Former Member Calls For Evacuation

Bryan Zug — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 06:18:13 -0000

Along with another person at Mars Hill, I put the 1st mp3 of Mark's sermons on the internet in 2000, and changed the home page to have new content on it every week (what today is known as content marketing). Seeing what has happened over the last 3-5 years, I've been haunted about how I helped build the machine (which is limited language, Mark is a person, with fatal flaws, just like me). I had a long conversation with a dear old friend of mine about that the day before I made my post. My conscience would not allow me to stay silent any longer.

Re: More Mars Hill Church Grievances: Former Member Calls For Evacuation

Bryan Zug — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 06:13:09 -0000

>>
…who's to say that their flock doesn't find Jesus through them anyway, despite their fatal flaws?

What are you doing [or I] to bring people to Jesus?

Those are great questions that I've thought long and hard about. What fatal flaws do I have? Am I skeptical of myself first as a general rule and a way of living? And curious about other folks' point of view?

Skepticurious is a very interesting concept to me.

Re: More Mars Hill Church Grievances: Former Member Calls For Evacuation

Bryan Zug — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 06:08:18 -0000

Wow – I had not considered Mark 9:38-39 – But that sure seems applicable

Re: Don’t Throw Rocks – Mark Driscoll’s Humble Plea?

Bryan Zug — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 00:56:45 -0000

One of the reasons you are seeing so much come out is that there have been several MH leaders who've brought things up over the years and there seems to be incidents/rumors of repentance, only to have alarming things occur again and again and again.

For example, I've included two excerpts from 2007 of Mark’s public statements repenting of pride and arrogance that seem very believable.

And yet, many more alarming things continued to happen.

Things that have been looked into and confirmed by many. Things that have been private but, becasue they have not been dealth with in a way that seems sincere to many faithful former leaders, are now coming into the light.

At some point, it is a loving thing to call your brother (and other folks in senior leadership) on what seems to be a clear pattern of pseudo repentance.

To many of us, it is unloving to not do so.

-- bz

-- Excerpts from the November 11, 2007 Sermon: The Rebel’s Guide to Joy in Humility --

-- Link to full transcript

- http://lks.gd/1noATVN

-- Excerpt 1 --

“I believe that humility is the great omission and failure in my 11 years of preaching. I believe that this is my greatest oversight, both in my example and in my instruction.”

“I therefore do not claim to be humble. I do not claim to have been humble. I’m convicted of my pride and I am a man who is by God’s grace pursuing humility.”

“And so in many ways, this is a sermon that I’m preaching at myself. This is a sermon that you’re welcome to listen in on as I preach to myself. But I truly believe that were there one thing I could do over in the history of Mars Hill, it would be in my attitude and in my actions and in my words, to not only emphasize sound doctrine and courage and strength and commitment and conviction, but to add in addition to that, humility as a virtue.”

“And so I’ll start by [asking] your forgiveness and sincerely acknowledging that this has been a great failure.”

“And I believe that it is showing up in our church in the lives of men and women who have sound doctrine, but not sound attitude – that they may contend for good things, but their motives are bad, and their methods are bad, and their tone is bad, and their tactics are bad, and their actions are bad because their attitude is bad, even though their objectives sometimes is good.”

“I see this in particular with the men.”

“I see this with men young and old – men who have known Jesus for a long time and should know better, and men who are new to Jesus and are learning sometimes the hard way.”

“I will take some responsibility for this.”

“Luke 6:40 says that when fully trained, disciples are like their teacher. And I am primary teaching pastor of this church, and I can’t simply look at the pride in some of our people and say that I am in no way responsible or complaisant.”

“So I’m a guy who’s pretty busted up over this personally, and it really came to my attention last December, just in time for Christmas.”

“The critics really brought me a lot of kind gifts of opposition and hatred and animosity. Merry Christmas. And some of those most vocal and nasty critics were Christian – some of them prominent Christians – and so I was getting ready to fire back my usual tactics.”

“They hit you. You hit them twice and then blog about your victory, which I don’t have any verses for.”

“I’m not saying it was a good idea, but it had been a pattern in my life until a man named C.J. Mahaney called.”

”He wrote a book called ‘Humility’. Much of my sermon today will be simply taken from his book. I would commend it to you all for reading. It’s a good, simple book. He’s a very humble, gracious and good man. Not humble. He’s a man pursuing humility. That’s what he would say. I need to get that right; otherwise he’ll call me this week.”

“C.J. is a guy who pastored Covenant Life Church and handed it over. Runs the Sovereign Grace network. He called me up during these periods of criticism in December and said, ‘Mark, I know we don’t know one another. We have many mutual friends. How do you respond to these critics? What is your plan?’”

“I said, ‘I don’t have a plan.’”

“And he said, ‘Might I suggest that this is an opportunity for you to practice humility, grow in humility, learn humility – that perhaps God and his providential care for you has this season appointed to you for humility.’”

“My first thought was, ‘Well I sure hope not. That sounds convicting.’”

“And so as he talked, I really came to understand humility in a way that I had not prior.”

“I had always considered humility to be a cowardice and a compromise.”

“In the name of humility, you give up biblical conviction and passion and the willingness to contend for the faith, as Jude 3 says, and to fight false teaching in the name of humility.”

“And what he was describing was orthodoxy and belief and humility and attitude, and that those two together are really what God desires. And so it got me thinking and studying and praying through pride and humility and repenting and learning and growing.”

“And so I would start by saying that I thank my dear friend, C.J. Mahaney, for his ongoing friendship and the kindness he’s extended to me and the things I’ve been able to learn through his instruction.”

“Furthermore, I apologize and repent publically to you, the church, for whom I am responsible for much pride in the history of my ministry that some of you have poorly imitated. And for that, I’m deeply sorry. And thirdly, to say that I am not a humble man. But as result of study, I’m a man who is acknowledging his pride and pursuing humility by God’s grace.

-- Excerpt 2 --

“So in closing, I’ll give you ten recommendations that I have taken from my friend, C.J. Mahaney, and I share them with you as various ways to clothe yourself in humility so that God might give you grace.”

“First, follow the truth wherever it leads.”

“If it means it leads to ‘you’re wrong’, then follow it. If it leads to ‘you’re fired’, then follow it. If it leads to ‘that’s not what’s best for you, but it’s best for all’, then follow it. If it leads to ‘you need to apologize’, then follow it.”

“Don’t defend yourself. Don’t always do what is in your best interest. Follow the truth wherever it leads.”

“Secondly, invite and pursue correction and council.”

“Tell the people in your life, ‘I’m blind to my own blindness. I’m foolish to my own folly. I need you to confront me. I need you to rebuke me.”

“I need you to speak the truth to me. When I’m acting like a jerk, I need you to say it. I need you to give me counsel because sometimes I don’t know what to do. I need correction because sometimes I say and do the wrong thing.”

“And receive it, don’t argue, don’t blame shift, don’t change the topic. Receive it.”

Re: Greg – Congrats on the New Blog. Here’s Some Posts I’d Love to Read.

Bryan Zug — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 06:57:56 -0000

Happy to help. So important to the future of the city, Let us know where to show up and shoot the video.

Also - Let's get you both out to Ignite Seattle on these topics, Mark Feb 20th on your calendars and let me know a title.

It's time to spin this thing up.

Re: HBO's Newsroom: Sloan Sabbith as an Explanation Specialist

Bryan Zug — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 15:50:23 -0000

I also think that NPR has done this particularly well with Planet Money. Lots of good explanations of fiscal and economic topics.

Re: The Unofficial Official Launch of Scrappy Face

Bryan Zug — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 07:07:56 -0000

Love it.

Re: Mars Hill Church, now with its own music label

Bryan Zug — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 14:30:56 -0000

Pro-Tip: Wouldn't believe everything you read in the Stranger or the comments section of a post.

Speaking for our family (@bryanzug + @jenzug)…

We have called the imperfect gathering that is MH our spiritual community for a long time.

The reality is that folks from MH support all sorts of things in the city (Go Geekwire! Go Belltown Green and Clean!) and are not drones or clones.

Christianity is a belief system that is at odds with a ton of things (consumerism, individualism that trumps community, etc) and it's much easier to throw zingers around than taking the time to get to know your neighbor.

Working through really understanding where people are coming from takes longer than 60 seconds -- and who has time for that these days, really?

Honestly, the sorts of fear inducing zingers that have already been posted -- "homophobic!" "cult!" "jonestown!" "bigoted!" brainwashed!" "Yada!" "Forever!" "Amen!" --

…well, they get tired quickly -- especially when, in our experience, we never have that type of interaction with anyone in the tech/biz/arts community we collaborate with in person.

I'd rather built cool things and spend my time blessing the city around me.

But before I get back to doing that, one other thing…

Saying "X" is the Christian version of "Y", is the easiest way to get mocked in our circle of friends from our spiritual community.

If Christianity turns out to be true, I am sure Jesus has an awesome sense of humor and that he takes us all less seriously than we take ourselves.

Re: Taylor-Made: Why You’re Missing Out If You Don’t Go See Blue Like Jazz

Bryan Zug — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:53:53 -0000

You are a brother from another mother. If I weren't such and old father of two entrepreneurial insomniac, this is the exact review I"d write for a friends film. Well done. thoughtful. thank you.

Re: Seattle animation startup launches with first project, a Startup Foundation animation

Bryan Zug — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:37:11 -0000

Red --

Thanks for the compliment and great question on pricing. Wish we had easy answers.

We've got a huge heart for startups and have worked with a ton. The business reality is that many, if not most, don't have the budget to cover the amount of work that goes into creating a well crafted explanation -- and we're not talking about the bigger explanation studio pricing.

Big bummer, but honestly that's what we see.

So we do our best to keep our process lean, prices affordable, quality great, and team sustainable (sane work load, healthcare as a reality and not an aspiration, right gear for the job, etc.).

At the end of the day, since teams like ours can't resell an hour of their work over and over again, there's only so much give among those variables before the quality goes south fast.

What I find really intriguing is the bigger question that all startups (and businesses in general) are wrestling with -- What is a reasonable price for great design/creative/story?

We definitely see a lot less of the "my cousin with photoshop/flash/after effects could do that" attitude that proliferated before iP.E. (the iPhone Era), but most ideas about what it costs often still cannot account for designers and story crafters making a sustainable living.

We should host a forum to talk about creative pricing and expectations.

The discussion around that at Hive11 a few weeks ago was pretty great, but would love to see it proliferate to a wider audience.

-- bz

Re: The Startup Marriage

Bryan Zug — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:31:09 -0000

Great stuff Brad. Look forward to reading more. Jen and I have been riffing on this for a while. Not enough good writing in the community around this stuff. Few links...

- jen's ignite talk on the Sanity Hacks of a Stay at Home Mom
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

- jen's posts around this
http://www.thispile.com/arc...

- Fun mindcamp session I facilitated from a few years ago (that pivoted Calicanis's riff at the time as the foil ;) Scroll down on this one for the fun session graphic...
http://zug.flathatter.com/s...

Re: A Good Conundrum to Have

Bryan Zug — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:19:35 -0000

Make more money doing other things so you have margins enough to do this. That or get a sugar daddy ;)