Mars Hill Church: It's All New

Mars Hill Church has a reputation of being on the cutting edge of new and emergent ministry. Perhaps that's because it's pastor, Rob Bell, has become a well known writer on the subject with the guts to engage the faith with any question (the site advertises a "Porn and Pancakes" breakfast November 10). But it's website, while very well done, doesn't allow for a lot of interaction. It's odd; the site does everything right except allow for online participation. There's a stories section with testimonies and narratives about missions, and an invitation to tell about our own stories (although I get the sense that it should have something somewhere to do with Mars Hill). The buttons all have nice intuitive names: who we are, what we believe. There's a ton of information here, great links to get or offer help, downloads about the church's theology and doctrine, but it doesn't draw me in. This is a site aimed at people who are already interested in church, and perhaps already interested in this church. I almost get the sense that people find the site, like I did, because of Rob Bell's writing and not the church's intrinsic merit, which is a shame. From what I see, there's a lot of room to connect and engage with this congregation. It's that first step that's sort of a doozy.