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The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill

Bonus Episode: Paint the Beauty We Split

The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill

Christianity Today

Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, True Crime

4.813K Ratings

🗓️ 6 May 2022

⏱️ 44 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mars Hill’s music grew out of the same counter-cultural ethos that defined the rest of its ministry. Most of the church’s founding members thought Christian contemporary music was too saccharine and polished for their tastes, and what evolved at Mars Hill reflected the gritty and dark sounds of the city around them. But like many other facets of the Mars Hill story, there was much behind the music. Often selected for their charisma and talent, Mars Hill bands found that few cared about the condition of their souls or the posture of their spirits. Chad Gardner became a worship leader later in the church’s history, having grown up listening to the church’s music. His eventual decision to leave would mean sacrificing community and intellectual property rights over his band’s contributions to the ministry. Some band members, damaged by various spiritual abuses, would leave the faith altogether. In this bonus episode of The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, host Mike Cosper sits down with Chad Gardner, worship leader at Mars Hill, to hear the hard and beautiful stories of the music that defined the community. Peek backstage for a glimpse of what worship leadership meant in this alternative church culture, and hear stories behind some of Kings Kaleidoscope’s albums. Finally, find out why Chad told us, “I never wanted to do a duet with Mark.” “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producer: Erik Petrik Producer, Writer, Editor, Host, and Mix Engineer: Mike Cosper Associate Producers: Joy Beth Smith and Azurae Phelps Music and Sound Design: Kate Siefker Graphic Design: Bryan Todd Social Media: Kate Lucky Editorial Consultant: Andrea Palpant Dilley Editor in Chief: Timothy Dalrymple Theme Song: “Sticks and Stones” Kings Kaleidoscope Additional Music: Brad Currah, Red Letter, Team Strike Force, The Sing Team, Citizens, and Kings Kaleidoscope Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

What the hell?

0:06.0

You're kidding me!

0:08.0

I'm a real man!

0:10.0

Look at this!

0:12.0

You're kidding me!

0:14.0

I don't need this!

0:15.0

Celebrate Italy not qualifying for the football.

0:17.0

With spicy Italian flavors,

0:19.0

the ultimate spicy sausage.

0:21.0

Topped with Enduja,

0:23.0

a sausage more fiery than a disappointed Italian fan.

0:26.0

Dominos!

0:28.0

Subject to availability.

0:30.0

One of the challenges of producing this podcast was figuring out

0:34.0

what you could and couldn't cover in the storytelling.

0:37.0

Obviously, a church's 18-year history isn't all going to fit in 12 episodes,

0:42.0

no matter how long any episode got.

0:45.0

One story we certainly could have gone deeper into is the story of Marseille music,

0:49.0

which in many ways, from the very beginning,

0:52.0

was a rejection of mainstream Christian music culture

0:55.0

and part of what made Marseille unique.

1:04.0

In case you were wondering,

...

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