Tag: Mark Driscoll

Mike Anderson, Former Associate of Mark Driscoll, Apologizes for "Wrong We Did" at Mars Hill

If you are interested in a perspective on the inner workings of Mars Hill Church, you need to read this blog post by former Mars Hill Director of the Resurgence, Mike Anderson.
Titled “Hello, My Name is Mike and I’m a Recovering True Believer,” Anderson discusses his roles at Mars Hill and his regrets about them.
Speaking about his platform to speak out about Driscoll and Mars Hill, Anderson wrote:

I spent so much time with him because I was the guy who organized conferences, planned and promoted books, directed the online content, and later worked directly on all of Mark’s projects—I was at the center of all of this and I was proud of helping make it bigger.
I used to joke that my title should be “Minister of Propaganda”.

He wrote about the changes at Mars Hill that helped create what I call Mars Hill in Exile.

The entire previous executive elder board was broken up and a new executive elder board with massively different values, theology, and ecclesiology was brought in. Long-held beliefs about how a church should be run were secretly changed, fear and intimidation were constant, and power was consolidated even more than it had been. Because I was interested in “tower building,” this didn’t bother me. When I left, I was actually an advocate for many of the policies that consolidated power.

Why is he writing?

I’m writing this to clearly tell every one I ever interacted with that I was wrong to be a part of this. Religion and man-made movements are my crack. I want to burn to the ground any bridge that gives me a path back into it.

Anderson does not use the word cult to describe the culture set up by Mars Hill leaders but he does link to an article on how to identify if you are in a cult. He apologizes to women, and gays, and the residents of Seattle.
Warning to true believers: This post could be hazardous to your mindset. In other words, read it.

Facing Financial Pressures, Mars Hill Steps Up Solicitations, Lays Off Staff

In the face of financial concerns, Seattle mega church Mars Hill Church has laid off staff and stepped up efforts to collect donations as the end of the fiscal year passed yesterday. According to ex-staff and sources inside Mars Hill church, on June 20, nine staff were let go amid concern about a sudden “budget crunch” from the church’s executive elders.
Mars Hill wrote about the action yesterday in their weekly communication to members:

Last week we had to make the very tough decision to transition a number of people off of staff from our ministry support departments, as well as some staff at a few of our local churches. These are all faithful people who served and worked hard for the church, and we regret that we had to make these changes. If you know any of them, please reach out to offer your prayers and support during this transition, and please continue to pray for the church as we navigate through a tough season.
At this week’s Staff Chapel, we had the opportunity to invite these friends back so that we could honor them and pray over them. It was a meaningful time of worship and reflection as a church family. We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to show these staff members how deeply we care about them and appreciate the contribution they have made toward Jesus’ mission at Mars Hill. While they may no longer be on staff, we love them and they are still a part of our church family.

One staff who was laid off told me that the budget crunch caught the executive elders by surprise and was related to a dramatic decline in attendance and giving.
A current member told me that he received 5 solicitations within the space of three days requesting year end donations. Ex-members and those who have not attended in many years have also received multiple requests for gifts to assist the church raise giving levels. Internal documents supplied to me showed that per member giving was down at all but one of the 15 Mars Hill campus locations.
In one solicitation, executive pastor Sutton Turner said about the church’s situation, “We are ending our fiscal year at one of the most trying times for our church in recent memory.”
Meanwhile, Mars Hill leaders continue to be under pressure over their use of moneys designated the Global Fund over the last two years. A petition at change.org calling for Mars Hill to disclose how much of the Global Fund was spent on international missions has now reached 342 signatures.

My Article At The Daily Beast: Is there a future or a funeral at Mark Driscoll's Resurgence imprint? UPDATE: Apparently there is a future…

UPDATE: Before you read anything in this post, please go read this post for an update on Tyndale’s defense of Mark Driscoll and the Resurgence imprint.
………………………..
As I report at the Daily Beast this morning, Mark Driscoll’s book The Problem with Christianity no longer has a page dedicated to it at Tyndale House. Furthermore, the publisher has no plans to reprint A Call to Resurgence after less than a year in circulation.
Tyndale declined to say why any of these steps were being taken but they seem remarkable. The Problem with Christianity had multiple products associated with it (DVD, study guide, etc.) and was slated to be released in the Fall. My understanding is that the book is finished and uses social science research which was contracted out to a polling firm. As I noted in the Daily Beast article, the book has been in the planning stages since March 2013.
Before the page was removed at Tyndale, the publisher described the book as follows:

Are Christians Crazy? A seismic shift has occurred across the cultural landscape. In a world where Christian values once formed the moral bedrock of society, Christians are now considered nothing short of crazy. Today, questions about social issues and “intolerant” Christians hog the headlines, portraying people of faith as angry and irrelevant. This cultural shift has touched just about everything—from conversations in coffeehouses to interactions with coworkers. And more often than not, the conversation begins with someone saying, “My problem with Christianity is . . .” Whether it’s the way Christians treat gays and lesbians or the church’s stance against abortion and premarital sex, people these days just don’t have much use for Christianity. In The Problem with Christianity, Pastor Mark Driscoll presents the findings of two groundbreaking surveys about the way Christians are perceived in today’s world. And with his trademark candor, Driscoll offers timely advice about how to respond to critics.

For more, go on over and read the Daily Beast.

Mars Hill Church’s Demon Trials: Mental Illness Considered Sign of Demonic Involvement Along with Pedophilia and Habitual Lying

We Love Mars Hill is a website with stories of people who once loved and attended Mars Hill Church but eventually felt hurt by the church in some manner. A story yesterday by former Mars Hill Albuquerque member Darlene Lopez caught my eye. Darlene Lopez wrote about “demon trials” that a fellow Mars Hill member went through. During the trial, the friend became convinced that she and Lopez should not be friends. This bewildered Lopez, who attended the Albuquerque franchise, so she looked up the protocol for “demon trials” on the Mars Hill website. She and her husband left the church soon afterwards. Referring to her friend (“she of the blue said…”), Lopez described the demon trials:

A couple months passed and then she of the blue said, “I don’t want to be your friend. I went to a demon trial”. Apparently, the elders were doing demon trials on members or anyone who had oppression in their life. Mark Driscoll wrote this whole procedure on how to summon, and then put on trial the demons that are oppressing the believer. It all sounded strange to us. I asked her why she couldn’t be my friend and she said my name was brought up in a demon trial. I asked her what that meant, and she didn’t answer any more questions other than “talk to your elder about it, but that she would no longer ask me for prayer, talk to me about spiritual things, etc. without giving any other reasons. She said we were still welcome to attend community group, though. A flood of emotions came in, there was no sin issue as we had already dealt with her concerns of gossip/talking too much two months prior so I didn’t understand why now she didn’t want to be friends. Her defense was that she should have listened to God two months ago and not be my friend. I asked her if she saw any changes in our friendship since then. She said yes, that we were talking less on the phone and that when we did talk we were praying and keeping it Christ-centered. To this day she says she ended our friendship because of “sin.” But it wasn’t until that demon trial that things changed.

We got a copy of the formality of the demon trial that Mark Driscoll wrote, and my husband thought it was very wacky and unbiblical.

You too can read about the procedure to conduct a demon trial on the Mars Hill website (how long will this remain on the site?) (it is now on the Wayback Machine). It is also a note on Mark Driscoll’s Facebook page (now on the Wayback Machine). It is too long to reproduce here (go read it while it is still up, but if they take it down I will post a copy), but I want to put up a couple of startling excerpts.

First, Mars Hill and Driscoll apparently consider depression and mental illness to be manifestations of the demonic. Consider the following aspects of the spiritual inventory a person who might go through a demon trial should consider:

  • Please consider the following list and list each thing that has been besetting and/or habitual for you: bestiality, habitual lying, physically unhealthy, masturbation, lying, pornography, ongoing depression, suicidal thoughts, alcohol abuse, drug use, anger, blasphemy, violence, self-inflicted injury, rape, incest, eating disorders, mental illness, pedophilia, and anything else that comes to mind.
  • Please consider the following list of sins that may have been committed against you or by you: rape, incest, molestation, other forms of abuse (e.g., physical, sexual, mental, emotional), as well as anything else that comes to mind.
  • Please briefly explain any involvement you may have had with the occult, witchcraft, or anything spiritual other than orthodox biblical Christianity.
  • Please briefly list any of your ancestors and any activity they may have been involved in with the occult, witchcraft, other religions, drug use, alcohol abuse, sexual deviancy, rape, incest, mental illness, and anything else listed above or that comes to mind.

To the degree that Mars Hill pushes this teaching, they are part of the problem identified in 2013 via research by Lifeway. Ed Stetzer at Lifeway reported that 48% of evangelicals believe prayer and Bible study alone can cure serious mental illness. In the case of Mars Hill, apparently prayer, Bible study and a demon trial can work.

As depicted on the Mars Hill website, a demon trial is what it sounds like. A person who struggles with any of the issues on that list above is brought into a room with ministers and the demon assumed to be in the person is put on trial via a 12 step process. The “counselee” is expected to cooperate fully:

Step #4 – Explain the counselee’s participation.

  • Our authority is in Christ.
  • You must tell the entire truth.
  • Tell me everything the demon tells you, no matter how odd it may seem.
  • Tell me everything you see, no matter how odd it may seem.
  • Pride and fear will hinder our progress.

In my opinion, these instructions sets up the situation for the counselee to feel responsible if the “trial” fails.

Step 10 attempts to identify the root causes of the problems faced by the counselee (presumably mental illness continues to be on the list):

Step #10 – Ask the Spiritual Inventory questions.
Often it is best to begin with addressing ancestral sin and address it first because it tends to have the deepest root in someone’s life. The counselee can pray something like, “Lord Jesus, if there are any spirits who have anything to do with me, body, soul, or spirit because of my ancestral sin, I ask that you please forgive this sin and cancel any ground they have held against me.”

If there are any demons working in (name) in the area of (issue), we bind all of you together along with all of your works and effects and command that you come forward.
We now command that spirit holding highest authority of all those bound and brought forward in the area of (issue) to step forward alone. We put a hedge of thorns around you, above you, and below you. You will not be interfered with by anyone. 

With the demon now identified and speaking through the counselee, the Mars Hill exorcist can talk directly to the demon:

Then address that spirit holding highest authority of the group bound and brought forward and ask them.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ . . .

  1. What is your name?
  • Will that stand as truth before the White Throne of the Lord God Almighty?
  • You have responded to the name ______, we bind you by that name and upon command you will go to the pit bound by that name with all of your works and effects and all of your associates and their works and effects as well.
  • When did you come?
  • Will that stand as truth before the White Throne of the Lord God Almighty?

There are more questions to ask the demon but you can read the rest. This procedure should be repeated to make sure all demons are removed:

Finally, command that the highest-ranking spirit remaining other than the Holy Spirit (if there is one) step forward and identify themselves to ensure none has been overlooked. Complete the process of cleansing. Close with a general prayer to cover anything that may have been overlooked.

Over the years, I have seen the damage this approach can cause. People with mental illness, in their desperation, have sought out these experiences only to be worse off afterwards. The stigma against mental illness is a barrier to effective treatment of treatable conditions and management of chronic conditions. Procedures such as described here are certainly part of the problem.

Here is the entire post from Driscoll’s Facebook page:

Post by Mark Driscoll.

 

Want to tell Mars Hill to stop linking mental illness and demon trials? Write them here.

No Date Scheduled for Publication of Mark Driscoll's Book "The Problem with Christianity", Is Resurgence On Hold?

UPDATE (6/18): Today, in response to an email inquiry, Todd Starowitz, senior public relations manager for Tyndale House, told me

At this time we do not have a pub date for The Problem with Christianity.

I also asked if any other books were slated to be published by the Resurgence imprint. I already knew Elyse Fitzpatrick’s book was scheduled for this Fall and Starowitz confirmed that her book was coming out in September. However, he also said:

To my knowledge we do not have any additional Resurgence titles that have release dates scheduled at this time.

In early 2013, Resurgence seemed poised to publish several titles with Tyndale House. Now, the flagship author does not have a publication date and no other titles are on the schedule.
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After Mark Driscoll’s book Real Marriage shot to the top of the New York Times Bestseller list for self-help books for one week in January of 2012, he secured a publication deal with Tyndale House for his Resurgence imprint. Now we know that Real Marriage was assisted in the climb to #1 status by a contract with Result Source, a firm which pursues bestseller status by gaming system of book sales counting. Driscoll’s next book from Tyndale has the working title, The Problem with Christianity, and was once slated to be published this fall. However, according to Tyndale House, the book will not be published in the fall after all.
In late May, Tyndale sent a tweet in response to my question about the book:


Tyndale House did not reply to a follow up question asking when the book would be published. The book description is still on the Tyndale website:

Are Christians Crazy? A seismic shift has occurred across the cultural landscape. In a world where Christian values once formed the moral bedrock of society, Christians are now considered nothing short of crazy. Today, questions about social issues and “intolerant” Christians hog the headlines, portraying people of faith as angry and irrelevant. This cultural shift has touched just about everything—from conversations in coffeehouses to interactions with coworkers. And more often than not, the conversation begins with someone saying, “My problem with Christianity is . . .” Whether it’s the way Christians treat gays and lesbians or the church’s stance against abortion and premarital sex, people these days just don’t have much use for Christianity. In The Problem with Christianity, Pastor Mark Driscoll presents the findings of two groundbreaking surveys about the way Christians are perceived in today’s world. And with his trademark candor, Driscoll offers timely advice about how to respond to critics.

A companion DVD is also advertised.
Amazon has the release date as January 1, 2015.
My question to Tyndale was “When do you plan to release Mark Driscoll’s new book?” The answer “not this fall as originally scheduled” told me when it wasn’t going to be released but nothing about the planned date. Perhaps the book’s publication is on hold indefinitely.
Also of interest in the aftermath of the Result Source deal is the absence of Driscoll from his agent’s list of clients. As first reported by Wenatchee the Hatchet, Yates and Yates currently does not list Driscoll as a client. I left Yates and Yates a couple of questions on their website which have gone unanswered.