Fallen

In the seventeenth chapter of Acts we're told that the apostle Paul went into the public square of Athens, called both the Areopagus and Mars Hill, where he persuasively preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When I read that passage I hear someone who is respectful but fearless, willing to uphold Christ but without arrogance or dismissal of the traditions of the Athenians.

In the late twentieth century that name, Mars Hill, was appropriated -- or misappropriated --  by a brash young pastor named Mark Driscoll. Driscoll took more of a "men are from Mars" approach, a bellicose, misogynistic, homophobic, guys-lets-be-60's-guys view of life that sure doesn't seem like anything I see in Jesus' ministry, nor in the teachings of Paul.

Wouldn't you know that Driscoll has become hugely popular with thousands flocking to a number of  Mars Hill congregations after starting with a handful of followers While this ministry has grown substantially and Driscoll became a popular speaker and author it hasn't been without controversy. He burned through associate pastors so that twenty-one of them have lodged formal complaints about his domineering and abusive behavior. It was also been revealed that he had paid to push one of his books onto the bestseller list, he plagiarized, and he wrote inexcusable things online under a pseudonym. He has finally stepped away from his ministry on the insistence of his elders although he ain't gone. He has also fallen from "rock star" to pariah, with his books taken off shelves and cancellation of speaking engagements.

Part of me says "it couldn't happen to a nicer guy." Another part of me wonders how he ever get to this place of megalomaniacal power without checks and balances.  And why did so many people swoon over what seems to be the legitimization of male bullying?

Do you notice the words on Driscoll's pulpit? It does need to be about Jesus, not religious stars who head off on their own tangents. And I have to concede that Driscoll is loved and forgiven by Jesus whether I want him to be or not, even as Christ forgives me in my times of arrogance and misdirection. I do hope that Driscoll is genuinely repentant, and never returns to the influence he once had.

Ever heard of Mark Driscoll? Glad you hadn't? What about the phenomenon of spiritual superstars?