I still dont think he understands the harms he has done. We would love for you to join us for a service. Even a brief check on MD online will turn up 67 billion pages with examples of his vulgar or obnoxious and bullying behavior, including several blogs by ex Mars Hill members. For a number of reasons Texans dont want to say bad things about a church no matter how many people are being hurt. Weve got enough local crazy around here, we dont need Mark Driscoll and his He-Man Woman-Hating Circus. Many teach that when Paul said he was chief of all sinners he was claiming to be as evil as he always was. Mars Hill Church was ending its relationship to Agathos. Totally. Only when inquiring about membership was their any discussion of W2s and the appropriate amount to tithe. Then you can better understand the depths of this deception. This is either a complete falsehood or shows their utter lack of interest in the facts, because, as HUG so aptly quotes GK Chesterton, and let me paraphrase her, celebrity pastor unto celebrity pastor is brother. vengance is where you make someone pay. Just typing this has made me a bit queasy. Treating the congregation as customers is pure evil, IMO. Because you worked with multiple megas you have a very diverse perspective that is invaluable. I do not for one minute believe they are suddenly open. This guy had his audience eating out of the palms of his hands. When and where did this start? actually getting behind the wheel of a car again will probably be the hardest thing he does, if he ever even wants to drive again. Bummer. Im a done for now but that one meeting made we wonder if I could someday find a narrow gate church like the cult expert said. Whats the worst import/export that youve seen? But forgiveness doesnt mean he should ever be in the same position in a church again. i have been ousted from 6 churches already and at first i took it as me being in error and not able to understand the bible or what the Lord had called me to be like but now i am able to see that i can trust the still small voice inside and the Holy Spirit to give me understanding of the scriptures without having to run it by a pastor somewhere. FTR Hillsong is also Assemblies of God. I am thinking that is no doubt true, but Saul/Paul was also a religious activist who had double crossed his former sponsors in Jerusalem who had given him credentials to go seek out believers for persecution. Yes, well, my sense of humor doesnt always translate well in the blogosphere . sheep are watching and wolves coming. Driscoll has used this vague parallels to himself many times, framing the sermon in the context of his own life with the lives of other noble characters, most notably Jesus. GW also exports as they seemed to pioneer or at least perfect the concept of having pastors write books for personal profit then when the books sell too slowly, they have the main church and all their friend churches purchase the books in bulk to give away to the congregation resulting in transferring thousands of tithe dollars to individual pastors. I have also heard the thoroughly abusive interpretation of Psalm 105:15 touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm. GW youth group also adopted the whole Tribes deal directly from Hillsong, complete with competing tribes wearing war paint and carrying weapons. But there is an interesting bit in Acts 9 right after Paul was doing a lot of debating/bold speaking in Jerusalem, the Hellenistic Jews want to kill him. Working at James River is never be boring because of the mission that you are pursuing and the amazing things that you get to be a part of. But here is the underlying issue: we in evangelical Christianity have become so good at eisogeting the scriptures (reading ourselves into the story) it has gotten to the point of narcissism, or as one preacher puts it, narcigesis., Dont believe me? But MD has been a jerk as far as Ive read, not a criminal or anything. shuning is not always done professionally as in TVC but so often done whisperingly in churches but the effect is the same to the person shunned. @ sam: i would rather be in fellowship with people that realise they still have sin but instead of rationalizing or blameshifting, show fruit of the Spirit in overcoming it. Guess well see. It seems like the big megas tend to adopt or embrace some of the sleazier or ungodly aspects of other churches verses the more positive programs like community services. Sure, It is very reasonable for kind folK to see something, anything, that looks like actual remorse before they think its ok for them (missive pastors) to go back to influencing the lives of the folks that they wish to shepherd. This can be anything from praying for people over the phone to working in the Online Campus studio. Its easy to be friendly, humble, attentive, polite, , to your peers and to your superiors. The kid starts expecting it. Do these Pentecostal leaders believe that there is a doppelgnger out there who tied MD up in a basement then impersonated him, swearing and saying horrible things from the pulpit? They sing and wave their arms and hug and praise other givers. I had never heard someone talk like that. They are not good for him, and he not good for the people he leads. Mr. Petry was fired and ordered to be excommunicated and shunned for his opposing Driscolls move to consolidate power in the church and not have Biblical accountability before the elders. I see inviting Driscoll anywhere in the same context as some dumb kid wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt. Lets see. I dont feel I HAVE to agree with you. He wants to release you from that burden and bondage, they havent asked for forgiveness? when the pastor first says, his humility he almost breaks out laughing (cause maybe he knows how stupid it is to say that). I probably wont be won over to the side of communism. I hope others will join in at places like this blog and help shed light on local megas in their area. He is a draw. It is anguish because i love them, and see the pain of all three of them. Did Paul hire a company to buy his books and get them on the bestseller list? They will promise to give you an authentic community to do life with. And did he threaten to punch Pastor Lindell in the nose and throw him under the bus if he wasnt given the gig? Seems odd that Robert, Tom Lane and Jimmy Evans need to be pounding their book sales so hard when they are all getting raptured in the next 3.5 years. Meanwhile, Mark Driscoll was preparing to deliver his sermon at James River Church, an Assemblies of God megachurch located in the "Show Me State" (Missouri). Ches rise and fall occurred before I was born so Id sincerely appreciate any insight and correction. They use lots of hair gel and work on their golf tans. The world has a lot higher standards and integrity than the whole xtian celebrity machine put together, and the internet helps everyone to see that. I hope you found some of the above helpful. His style appealed to the carnal nature of 21st century Christians he gave them what they wanted and they loved it so. The sad part is that members have no idea how they are viewed unless they ask uncomfortable questions. We saw a good deal of quick forgiveness/cheap grace from defenders of TVC. Is this similar to Radical Chic? Gateway is so deceptive in all their practices. Lindell reused the Robert Morris line of chiding his congregation to stop shooting the wounded. . Thats exactly what I was thinking last weekend! Thank you. i want to again put a human face on what Mark Driscoll and others in Acts 29 insist on keeping free of anything but CEO Business speak and mistakes that were made. Thanks for your help Numo! I think Christians make a huge mistake when looking at patterns of spiritual abuse, deception and tyranny as whether or not they are criminal according to our laws. But what does that mean in the larger picture? excerpts from rob smiths post :https://musingsfromunderthebus.wordpress.com/2015/02/13/mars-hill-church-true-religion-does-not-abandon-orphans-and-widows-in-their-distress/. Its all good until (insert question or issue). They just have to shamelessly scam more money in the name of Jesus. It takes at least 6 months before you start seeing things clearly. He urged Christians living in the city limits of Springfield to vote to repeal the law and to leave church with a Yes-On-Repeal yard sign. No ownership and everyone else is to blame. Sometimes life circumstances have to kind of help people do the right thing. I completely understand why you are so skeptical. Hi Nancy, I am a graduate from Sydney and I just want to say thank you so very much for making Mercy a possibility for girls like myself to be able to go to here in Australia, it has truly saved my life and given me a future. Pastor Lindell invited disgraced misogynistic megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll to speak at James River Assembly while Driscoll was in the midst of a sexual harassment and bullying scandal in his home church. He should not be making a buck off Jesus in any way, shape, or form, IMO. Youll notice the Pentecostals elevating him are in their 50s and 60s. Christian County has unfortunately seen an overwhelming rise in COVID-19 cases over the past several weeks and a subsequent increase in the number of hospitalized residents. I wish just one person would have spoken up sooner. Are we really talking about clerical influence/position/authority and money? now i am going to see if i can stand to listen to the whole mark speaks video. I understand exactly how you feel if that helps. I would hope we should higher standards than that. I know people are tired of hearing these messages and having to be acting upon them, but the virus does not care that we are tired. @ Lydia: Internet users are also shielded from much of GW reality. You dont find out about some of the really bad stuff until you are pretty deep into it. I sometimes think the man has no friends, but if he does, they should help him now. If not, why not? he seems like someone youd want as a pastor if you wanted to get big and have lots of revenue streams. But Christians are under the New Covenant and the NT calls Christians to expose false teachers, not facilitate their cover ups. There is no uncertainty in that. Youre right. Then he stated emphatically: Now let me just say this to you today cause I have no apology for Mark being there; Im glad Marks here. I respectfully dissent, Evangelical NIH director Francis Collins says 'most churches' should be remote until public is vaccinated. From my perspective, the problem with Driscolls repentance is the same as the problem with the Chandler apology. They may have been totally shocked when Mark began to spew his rude, humiliating, oppressive descriptions and warped perceptions of scripture and men and women. Bob, I loved your comment. They didnt fail. Feel sorry for him instead as a burned out shell without compassion. What I dont get is why Hillsong and Assemblies of God (James River Church), who have extremely different views on women in the church would even consider someone like Mark Driscoll as a special speaker. He screamed and swore. Even then he will need what was badly missing from Mars Hill, real accountability. The women say as part of the program they were taught to believe that they were possessed by the devil, and have since been forced to receive years of professional psychiatric treatment. The hyper romanticized cinematic version of the uber cool Che trumps the reality of his bloody terrorist tactics and the horrors and oppression that his brand of communism inflicted on others. Gus, it is very naive not to take into consideration that Driscolls constant media attention did not influence the TVC response to their own problem in any way. I read your comment and have thought about this a lot. Visitors are given special parking spaces, valets to accommodate them, some mega even have special VIP seating. His statement is factually incorrect. During this pandemic we have helped thousands of people with food, financial assistance, counsel, and spiritual encouragement. no., Thats the crux of the message, isnt it? But we dont know yet for sure. In his introductory remarks, he spoke of Marks kindness, humility. I have a young friend who was totally enamored with him. I cant see those photos without also thinking of the images weve all seen of the impossible circumstances our hospitals are battling every day, Goddard began in a series of tweets. (KY3) - James River Church responded Monday to complaints after social media images show little social distancing and few masks at its Christmas celebrations. We know that Driscoll should never have been a pastor: lack of formal qualifications, lack of maturity in the faith (too young, and never been a member of a church before he started his own), lack of maturity in general; Whats worse, total lack of good character. and it even works better when there is cheap grace and forgiveness all around. Of course he gave all kinds of excuses, Im young, brash, etc. But as he aged, and he spoke more and more, nothing changed, it got more vulgar, more illicit language, more rude, more obnoxious. Brian Houston, pastor of Hillsong Church, issued a statement over the weekend, which drew considerable media attention. signed, Still Looking, first i wasnt refering to anything lindell wrote but only his intro for mark driscoll because i have never read anything he wrote and dont want to. Did MD admit to being WWII under duress or was that more mischief from Dark Miscoll? I asked the mayor, specifically, how he will vote on the matter April 7. Join Us As we Welcome Our Speaker, Apostle Mark Driscoll, The Forgiven. well this world is full of executives that get caught in sin and crime and immorality that give wonderful speeches of how sorry they are and then they turn around and get a promotion and never give a single thought to the people they destroyed on their way to the top. Totally. http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2015/june/distraction-down-under-hillsong-mark-driscoll-conference.html. full of manly manness and praise of human strength and wisdom and all the attributes mark has himself. One of the most chilling doctrines out of Calvinism is using Paul for this purpose. He appealed that he had no say in the matter. paul was all about not having followers or being glorified. How can they do that? @ sam: where is God in all this? Did nefarious conspirators plagiarize his books, hire Result Source and use his evil twin again to go with his wife to meet with his agents to put that $210,000 manipulation in place, all behind the real MDs back? Driscoll also distanced himself from past crude and misogynistic remarks, calling the perception of what I think about womenentirely my own fault. 2.the contents of the gallbladder; bile (proverbial for its bitterness). @ LT: The worst thing in the world right now for Chandler is that Mark is in making the Christian news cycle. its a little hard to swallow that he knew nothing about Driscolls behaviour. This captures precisely what I have been sensing as well. He had simply accepted the rumors. Monday, December 15, 2008 I hope more will speak up in the future. In the wake of this and other scandals, the Mars Hill Church collapsed. If a pastor makes a statement denying allegations, it might be that his words and patterns of behavior, actions dont match. Lindell hit two main points: the Bible is clear in its condemnation of homosexuality as sin and the ordinance is an infringement on the religious rights of Christians who believe so. CCHD has been in contact with the City of Ozark, where the venue is located and where there is a current masking ordinance in place. Its all good until (insert question or issue). Our heart at James River Church has always been to minister to people in our community. He was defended and protected by his peers and they even tried to help him plant a church here and give it street cred but his family of churches franchise is over for him and he is lucky if 50 people show (mostly SGM followers and family) up for his church in a room at the Marriot not far from where I live. I dont view it as cynicism although I do joke about it that way around Christians to head off the backlash. Plus Driscoll has to be way cheaper than Judah Smith or Carl Lentz, the current kings of radical chic. I started to ask myself, If Christ is present in someones life, and therefore the Spirit, will not God, in his infinite power, begin to produce those things in that person? And I began to wonder if Mark Driscoll even possessed the Spirit of God. Popularity and attention of the masses is not the right motive for serving the Lord.