When news broke last week that

, a 15-year-old multi-campus mega-congregation led by Pastor Mark Driscoll, had bought a church building in Portland's Sunnyside neighborhood, the reaction varied from "so what?" to a certain wariness to an all-out "let's protest when they open their doors."

The spacious sanctuary, filled with curved pews and illuminated with old-school stained glass, will hold 700 people. At its largest event so far, the new church has attracted 200.

Mars Hill's founding pastor, Driscoll, is famous, online and in some circles, for his fire and brimstone sermons on sexuality, the roles of women and the authority of the Bible. Before the Portland campus could open its doors, it was portrayed as an "anti-gay" church that had targeted a liberal neighborhood to begin a door-to-door conversion campaign.

. The

and the

, which serves the LGBQT community, were more measured in their response. Leaders of both groups said they hoped to establish working relationships with the church.

It wasn't the homecoming that Tim Smith, 36, the Portland native who is pastor of the new church, had hoped for. He'd spent the past eight months, in prayer, on the phone and in meetings, working hard, he says, to "lay the groundwork for a church" in the city he loves. In a

, he wrote that Mars Hill is a "single-issue church" that exists "for one reason, and one reason only: to make disciples of Jesus Christ."

In a lengthy interview, Smith talked about what Mars Hill Portland believes and how the congregation sees themselves and their fellow Portlanders. His answers have been edited for length and clarity.

A quick Google search reveals that Mars Hill Church is critical of pornography, homosexuality and sex outside of marriage, all based on your reading of Scripture. How do you see the Bible?

The Bible is the inspired word of God, as Paul said to Timothy (II Timothy 3), all Scripture is breathed out by God and useful for all kinds of things. It is authoritative, but it doesn't say everything there is to know about God. As it says in I Corinthians 13, someday we'll know more, when we see him face to face. The Bible is not a book of science or a political manual. It's his revelation to people who want to follow him.

We have a very conservative view of the Bible. We do read it pretty literally as our ultimate authority, but we worship Jesus, not the Bible.

Some people detect a certain arrogance in the decision to bring Mars Hill to Portland. How do you respond to that?

We don't believe we are the only Bible-believing, gospel-preaching, Jesus-loving church in Portland. We're excited to participate in the community of churches in Portland.

Why plant a new church in Portland, where there are already strong evangelical groups?

Portland is a very unique place. I felt called to lead a church, not in an ambiguous sense of "plant a church anywhere," but in Portland. I love Portland. I love how it rains less, how it's 5 to 10 degrees warmer here than in Seattle. I love the food scene, the music, the life of Portland. And I wanted to be in the midst of the city, where there is a need, a curiosity, a hunger to figure out what it looks like to live life as a follower of Jesus.



Why did you cancel the event you'd had planned for Saturday in your new building?

The growing protest and current media attention, combined with the thousands of people who will be at the

, would have created a rough situation. It's not the first impression we wanted to give, so we'll be serving the neighborhood, helping out with the street fair.

Do you expect there will be protests when you do start meeting in the church?

Sure. But we've been protested before – by

because we teach that God loves everyone, all sinners, all humanity.

Have you met with leaders of the Q Center?

We just came from a meeting with them. We had a wonderful conversation. We were very clear about what we believe, but we found common ground and room for dialogue. We listened to them talk about the hopes and fears of the LGBT community.

Any pastor needs to know what is going on in the community, needs to ask a lot of questions and listen, not assume you know everything you're walking into. It was deeply convicting. I'm not sure I'd have reached out to the Q Center if it hadn't been for the news coverage. It's very easy to be satisfied with surface-level caricatures of each other. I heard their stories and they heard mine. We are seeking the common good of the city.

Some Portlanders generally are wary of your mission. What would you say to them?

We do not preach a gospel of hate. We don't hate the people of Portland. Our example is Jesus, who consistently extended compassion, relationship and grace and then called people to repentance, a life lived following him. We don't have to agree on every single thing to seek the common good of the city.

We never endorse any political candidate, sponsor or support any ballot measure. We've never staged a protest or held a rally. We've never preached door to door. We are disciples of Jesus. Our people are left to think for themselves. We're a pretty diverse crowd. We are absolutely not a Republican church. We don't endorse the religious right. We don't believe we are better than anyone else. We are all sinners. All of Christian life is one of repentance. We're terrible people who are moved, changed and affected by a wonderful God.

Some people care less about your theological positions than your plan for parking. How will you handle the extra traffic when you hold services at the church?

We've met with the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association and will meet with the transportation subcommittee in the near future. We're working on leasing some parking lots in the neighborhood. We will encourage bikes, public transportation, car-pooling. We'll probably have a drop-off zone and then people can park farther away. Our church has been meeting in neighborhoods for over a decade. We'll work it out.

What about the idea that you picked the Sunnyside neighborhood on purpose, that you chose to be controversial from the start?

I know that thinking is out there. If we'd had enough money we might have converted a warehouse in the Northeast industrial area where there would have been plenty of room for parking. We looked at leasing the Laurelhurst Church but it's used so much for weddings we wouldn't be able to set up for services until late on Saturday nights. We liked the old Salvation Army building on Sandy (Boulevard), but we would have had to tear down walls to create space that would hold us.

We looked and looked, and this was the best building that we found. My prayer was that God would give us a church, and he gave us a castle.

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