The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill

Having been part of a church and a company that were both deeply, positively impactful and deeply hurtful, I have hesitated listening to this in a raw emotional and spiritual state. But now that I have been able to have healing from and am removed enough from those places, this has not only furthered my healing from those deep wounds but also furthered and helped me reconcile with my own wrestlings and regrets coming out of those experiences. I greatly appreciated the juxtapositions of magnificent things God did in and through people, including Mark Driscoll, and the gray to disturbing things that were done. The parallels in the examples used in other parts of culture, i.e. Josh’s book and journey through its impact and Bob Knight’s coaching impact, enhance the average person’s understanding of the internal situations greatly. I also deeply resonated with the hope and desire expressed throughout for people to be both reconciled and healed in Christ as well as the caution about the celebrity status, or kingly status, our human sinful nature can give to people. Very, very well done.

I have never listened to a pod cast where tears streamed down my face. My heart is so sad for the people who suffered and were abused by this terrible excuse of a man who twisted Jesus’s ministry for his own gain. I have been questioning my own experiences in the evangelical church very closely related to Mark Driscoll. I see you now, and thank you to Christianity Today for this very important body of work.

I have to admit that I was reluctant to listen to this podcast because I wasn’t very familiar with the back story. What a pleasant surprise! A story all Christians should listen to and be aware of. What started out as “God’s work” quickly turned into something other than. Even so, God has still been at work in the background … Excellent journalism on so many levels … Balanced approach. Well worth the time investment.

I heard of this project, interestingly enough, on The Areopagus podcast from Ancient Faith. Mike does a great job presenting the history of this church. I especially appreciated his highlighting of the deep trauma and progress of on-going healing process of as many people he could interview. I haven’t started the bonus episodes yet, but I’m sure the footnotes and appendices to the story are equally engaging.

Be prepared for frequent claims of egregious acts and an overabundance of dramatic storytelling used to describe what is often fairly undramatic content. This podcast leans heavily on traditional religious Christians smearing non-traditional Christians. While Mark Driscoll clearly had his share of flaws, it’s only through a distinctly woke and liberal lens that one could justify such an exaggerated and almost villainous portrayal of him. After hearing the testimonies and sermon excerpts included in the podcast, I actually came away with a newfound appreciation for Driscoll’s passion, conviction, and teaching. In the end, the series says as much about the biases of modern Christian media as it does about the fall of Mars Hill itself.

Mark Driscoll first came to my attention when his videos on family relations and boundaries started to come up on my social media. My initial impression of him was that I thought he was biblical, honest, and direct. I found his teachings to be extremely refreshing and relevant to the challenges my husband and I are currently facing but have been struggling to find biblical and reputable resources on. When I went to go see if Mark had a podcast I could listen to, I instead found THIS podcast. Much to my surprise, I had no idea that Mark was actually a fairly well known pastor who had helped in leading a large church. I was even more surprised to find that there was so much controversy behind Mark and his teachings. I immediately became skeptical, considering the fact that he was just some random guy who came up on my Facebook feed and I really had no idea who he was. We all know how easy it is to portray oneself as something we’re not on social media. I decided I wanted to learn more about Mark and this controversy that supposedly was “bad” enough to motivate a group of people to create a 22+ part series on the events that unfolded during the time of Marsh Hill. After listening to the podcast, I have confidently come to the conclusion that Mark Driscoll is a man of God who loves the Lord, loves the word of God, and desires to lead others to know, and love the Lord as well. Does he preach biblically founded messages? Yes and he references the Bible and passages that he’s pulling from in all of his messages. Is he direct? Absolutely. Mark’s intention is not to tell you what you want to hear or tell you things that make you “feel good.” His purpose is to share the word of God, as it is written without being tainted by the worlds notions or his own. He is exactly what we need in a pastor where most churches and leaders water down biblical truth to make everyone in a room feel more comfortable. That is not what we are called to do as believers. If you are skeptical of Mark Driscoll like I was prior to hearing this garbage podcast, I would encourage you to listen through an unbiased lens and come to your own conclusions. Listen to the audio clips of Marks teachings and ask yourself if what he is sharing is Biblically sound - regardless of how it makes you feel or whether you like it or not.