A Breath of Humid Air

"Buzz"
"Hello?"
"Mark, it's Ken Barbic."
"Yeah, come on up."
"Click"
We opened the door and headed up the stairway and back in time into the world of Mark Dever.

I have to admit I thought it a little odd that we were going to visit the pastor of a church at 11:53 on a Saturday night...even more, we were going to visit the pastor of a church at 11:53 on a Saturday night unannounced. I didn't really know anything about Mark Dever but I was excited to meet him as several people had told me how lucky I was to be able to visit his church.

As we walked up the back stairway I didn't know that Mark had received his Doctorate of Philosophy from Cambridge University. I didn't know that I was marching up the stairs that John Piper had recently trodden up to sit and debate theology with Mark. I didn't know that Mark was the founder of ministry called 9Marks Ministries and the author of several books.

We reached the top of the stairs and entered Mark's study...A 15 by 30 crow's nest with computers, couches, and four walls lined with books (which I came to find out was only 1/3 of his library). Mark, with a weekend beard and messed up hair sat pecking away at his computer. In the study were 4 other guys, probably between the ages of 25-30. Paul, a recent graduate of Duke, sat on the couch with long southern-boy hair and a Brooks Brothers striped tie half loosed (it was 11:53 on a Saturday night, after all) reading John Owen. Justin, a paralegal for the General Counsel greeted us kindly and began firing all kinds of questions about our jobs, our home church, and what we were doing in the area. Two other fellas sat on the couch reading other theology books they had pulled off the shelves.

Ken, our tour guide as it were was used to this. He himself had spent countless hours in this study reading, talking, and even had the good fortune to be in the study with his jaw on the floor as Mark and John Piper stormed into the study to discuss and debate a recent book. Jeff and myself felt as though we had gone back in time. It was as if we were at some elite Ivy League fraternity. In a sense, we were. But in lieu of girls and alcohol, this fraternity had Owen and Jonathan Edwards.

"Alright" Mark stood up and piped. "It's 12:15 and I have to say goodnight, unless you want to stay and critique tomorrow's sermon." Justin and Paul volunteered to stay and listen to Mark as he preached through the next morning's sermon. We said our goodbyes and filed down the stairs, feeling that we had just experienced something surreal.

The next morning was much the same. A very formal church service filled with ancient hymns, dark suits, and a fella in the choir who (I kid you not) looked exactly like Ferris Bueller. As the old pews creaked, Mark stoically preached for over an hour in the ancient and beautiful old church building, just blocks from the White House. After the service, the congregation of 500 mingled in the sanctuary for 45 minutes - and showed no signs of leaving as we fled to stuff our faces with giant burritos from Chipotle. It was certainly a memorable experience and I would recommend anyone who is in the DC area to visit Capitol Hill Baptist Church.

That was a piece of my recent trip to DC. We also played golf at Augustine Golf Club (pictured above), ate a ridiculous amount of beef at a Brazilian BBQ in the District, drank a fine Pinot Noir from a Santa Barbara winery called Steele (I would highly recommend this Pinot) and smoked tobacco products until 2AM while debating girls, golf, and things pertaining to life and godliness.

I found the people in Northern Virginia to be very kind, outgoing, and somewhat Southern. Although a bit humid, compared to the suffocating materialism of the OC, it was certainly a breath of fresh air.