James MacDonald (left), Mark Driscoll (right)
From where I sit in small town PA (usually at a fast food place with good WiFi), it appears that there are some similarities between the last couple of years at Mars Hill Church and the current situation at Harvest Bible Chapel.
Elders and Leadership Style
At MHC, trouble had been brewing for several years over treatment of elders and perceptions from departed members and elders that Mark Driscoll was domineering and unnecessarily harsh. The same perceptions and polarization have occurred at HBC involving their founding pastor James MacDonald.
This morning I became aware of something called the Statement of Record on the HBC website where former and current elders are pledging loyalty to MacDonald. Up to the very end of Mars Hill Church, a core group of elders and members remained committed to Driscoll and expressed animosity toward the elders who brought formal charges against Driscoll.
Also this morning, the Elephant’s Debt blog posted a resignation letter from a former elder and staff member. In the letter, questions are raised about the leadership of MacDonald and financial management of the church. This letter along with the texts and emails posted earlier by Julie Roys remind me of various leaked letters and formal charges written by current and former MHC elders concerning the leadership of Mark Driscoll.
Many of the concerns seem similar. Driscoll’s charges included allegations of harsh treatment of subordinates, domineering leadership style, and using the church structure to enrich himself. Similar allegations have surfaced regarding HBC and MacDonald.
Driscoll and MacDonald
It should also be noted that Driscoll and MacDonald have a relationship which dates back to the Mars Hill era. MacDonald was on MHC’s Board of Advisors and Accountability. He resigned near the end of the church’s life in 2014. Recently, Julie Roys reported that HBC gave $50,000 to Driscoll’s new church in Phoenix. And who can forget the little trip by MacDonald (on the left) and Driscoll (right) to John MacArthur’s Strange Fire conference.
My phone got confiscated at #StrangeFire by @jamesmacdonald and @PastorMark Nice meeting you guys! pic.twitter.com/alzPH5Yc77
— Austin T. Duncan (@austintduncan) October 18, 2013
We They
Another similarity I see is the adversarial relationship between critics and defenders in both situations. There were sharp differences and strong feelings in the MHC camps. The same dynamic is at work here. When MHC responded to public or media questions, they were cagey and defensive. In private, the sides were fierce in opposition. In the HBC case, a lawsuit is in play. This really ratchets up the polarization.
I can’t see it getting any better as long as HBC maintains the defamation suit. Putting aside biblical arguments for or against the action, I think it is a terrible precedent to set as a matter of public perception of how Christians do things. The tension and animosity will only escalate with each new revelation. In MHC’s case, the church was always the PR loser when differences emerged into the light of day.
Those supporting MHC’s establishment felt their situation would get better if they could just make their case in the court of public opinion. During the church’s demise, MHC had the blessing of the ECFA, touted numerical results, and portrayed a measured and positive front. However, each new disclosure had a cumulative downward impact. In HBC’s case, the existence of the lawsuit has great potential to multiply this effect.
I suspect there are more parallels but I think this is sufficient to make a point that MHC could be a learning experience for those who have ears to hear and eyes to see. Fair or not, a prolonged public war will erode the church’s effectiveness and probably do more to harm the bottom line than anything the bloggers have done up to now.
I encourage everyone who has done as I have before, which is to take certain strong leaders and put them up on pedestals to watch and consider the following video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrHTE–jMfQ People like MacDonald, Yohannan and Driscoll very much are complete narcissists. There is nothing Christlike about any of these lies or the many other celebrity leaders who have these traits. The real Jesus showed absolutely no mercy to the narcissistic religious false leaders of His day. He does not change so that is still true today with the Neo-Pharisees like these guys. He did show mercy to great sinners like prostitutes and tax collectors. Also be sure to check out the other video I posted in the last blog post on this subject. According to the professionals all of our great self-made men and women have to be narcissists in order to get famous in today’s culture. I do believe that she is right. Follow these guys at your own risk and risk to your loved ones…
I encourage everyone who has done as I have before, which is to take certain strong leaders and put them up on pedestals to watch and consider the following video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrHTE–jMfQ People like MacDonald, Yohannan and Driscoll very much are complete narcissists. There is nothing Christlike about any of these lies or the many other celebrity leaders who have these traits. The real Jesus showed absolutely no mercy to the narcissistic religious false leaders of His day. He does not change so that is still true today with the Neo-Pharisees like these guys. He did show mercy to great sinners like prostitutes and tax collectors. Also be sure to check out the other video I posted in the last blog post on this subject. According to the professionals all of our great self-made men and women have to be narcissists in order to get famous in today’s culture. I do believe that she is right. Follow these guys at your own risk and risk to your loved ones…
Scott Peck wrote an excellent book on this very subject back in the 80’s called “ People of the Lie.” As someone who spent the majority of my professional life as a psychiatric diagnostician the guy in your video is spot on. Thanks. It’s been my feeling for a long time that many many big name Christian leaders with a national platform have divorced themselves to Christ years ago. They do not point others to Jesus but with profoundly subtle manipulation to themselves for their own selfish needs to be “influential.” These are the bad shepherds.
This is nothing but Religious Nihilism. Couple that with the Political Nihilism on the national front and we’ve got the hellscape we’re all experiencing. It’s going to get worse. All the Republican Trump voters have to OWN their vote.
But they already do, which is the problem.
Thus says the Lord God, Woe, you bad shepherds who have been feeding yourselves. Should not the shepherd feed the flock? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with wool, without feeding the flock…. but with force and severity you have dominated them. And they were scattered for lack of a good shepherd…Behold I am against the bad shepherds, and I shall demand my sheep from them. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore… Because you push with side and with shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, until you have scattered them…. Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them Himself and be their shepherd.
( Ezekiel 34- written 500 yrs after King David)
Goodbye you bad shepherds and we exalt God for Jesus Christ, our good and great chief Shepherd!
It would be interesting to know how the control struggle worked, since the two pastors seem to have shared governance ideas. What was the employment contract like, the bylaws, etc?