The Mars Hill Church elders (AKA pastors) met up recently—40 strong and growing. We studied the Bible together for 2.5 hours. It was a really fun and unifying experience, a gift I know not every church's elder team enjoys. The task at hand was to discuss updating our church doctrinal statement. The hope is to publish an updated version to coincide with the release of the Doctrine book sometime in the next year. We’re not changing our doctrine, and we’re not out to replace the Bible as the standard and source of truth. We’re taking this opportunity to more thoroughly explain in an orderly fashion what we believe and why. Work like this has been part of the pastor's job description from the very beginning. "This is why I left you in Crete," the Apostle Paul explained to Titus, "so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you" (Titus 1:5). There is always work to do, always much that needs to be put in order, and this work is vital to make way for strong growth, maturity, and perseverance in the future. To put this doctrine into practice—serving the people of our church and advancing the mission of Jesus—every Mars Hill Church elder actively serves at a campus (for me that’s Ballard). Everyone is a part of a team, and teams of teams work together in order to keep relationships strong and accomplish as much as possible. We’re praying for 500 elders someday. Pray for these men who will carry the gospel to future generations and continue to put what remains in order until Jesus returns. Find Pastor Jamie on Facebook and Twitter.