The Reason For The Fall

 

 Believe it or not, there is something called Evangelicalism and it is more than a bunch of people trying to be a big wet blanket on culture.

There's a lot to "Evangelicalism." It includes many denominations and many different types of people. It is hard to define, but it does mean more than "People Who Vote Republican."

I will give you my definition of an "Evangelical".  An Evangelical is someone who can repeat The Apostles' Creed without crossing their fingers.

The flagship publication of American Evangelicalism is Christianity Today magazine which Billy Graham founded. You may have heard of him.

Christianity Today has branched out into the podcasting business and released a series called "The Rise And Fall Of Mars Hill."

 Mars Hill was a church in Seattle, Washington and the pastor was Mark Driscoll. I wrote about Driscoll several years ago in a post called "I Dreamed A Dream".   Here it is:  https://manisville.blogspot.com/2012/01/cussing-preachers-real-marriage.html

Mars Hill was a massive church in a town not known for their large churches of any kind, much less an Evangelical one. Yet, from almost out of nowhere, Mars Hill exploded into one of the most influential evangelical churches in the country. Driscoll became a sought-after speaker at conferences and clinics.

Then one day, the church disintegrated and Driscoll left Seattle and moved to Phoenix. However, he still speaks at conferences.

The podcast seeks to discover how a church can be humongous one day and the next day non-existent.

The reason is quite simple. Mark Driscoll.

Driscoll first came to national attention in a book called "Blue Like Jazz," where he is called "The Cussing Preacher." He would sprinkle his sermons with mild swear words.  In private, he would talk like a sailor if you catch my drift.

Back in the 1990s, the Evangelical church was undergoing some big-time change.   No longer were sanctuaries well lit-they became darker. Out went the piano and organ. In came "The Praise Team," a couple of guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, and many singers.  The hymns of Christiandom fell out of favor for snappy songs that sounded like something you'd hear on the radio.

The preacher didn't wear a robe or stand behind a pulpit.  No, he dressed casually, sometimes in jeans, and never wore a tie.  

It was called being "Seeker Sensitive ."

Driscoll followed all of that, except he zigged when the other ones zagged.  Driscoll targeted men and he wasn't particularly sensitive.

Because he was different, Driscoll became a big deal.

Mike Gosper hosts the podcast, and it is very well produced.  There are many interviews with friends of Driscoll and his critics too.  I think some of the criticisms are a little esoteric.  I mean, I don't think Mars Hill became a big church due to men's insecurities at the end of The Cold War.

Like every "product", Mars Hill became large because it tapped an underserved market. There was a market for a large vibrant Evangelical church in Seattle.  

Additionally, Driscoll is an engaging speaker, even if he goes on and on with hour-long sermons.  He is witty and has a comedian's timing on telling a story.

But Driscoll didn't have anybody near him that would say, "Hey, Mark, was that a really good idea to say that?"

Here's an example.  The podcast plays of tape of  Driscoll telling a story about a woman in the church who couldn't get her husband interested in coming to church. However (I didn't quite get how this next part came up in the conversation), he was very interested in a sexual act that she did not want to do.

Driscoll, to hoots and laughs from the church crowd, tells the woman that "Jesus compels you" to do this particular act.   The next week the man is at church and tells Driscoll that he really likes the Mars Hill Church.  Haw, Haw.  You know, because......

Well now.  Besides the fundamental crassness of this story, there is some awful theology involved.  As my mother would say, Jesus did no such a thing.  It is almost a nasty quid quo pro going here.

On top of everything else, if a "preacher" was not telling the story, it sounds like something from a mid-70s issue of The National Lampoon and Christians everywhere would have called it sacrilegious.

As Driscoll became more famous, his dictatorial bullying ways got the best of him, and he left the church. As a result, the church imploded and is no longer there.

It is really a shame. Most of the time when you hear about church scandals, you hear about the preacher running off with a secretary. I know of two off the top of my head.  The problem with Mars Hill was really Mark Driscoll and his ego. 

However, the results were the same.