Mark Driscoll founded a Seattle-based megachurch. (Credit: Scott Cohen/Associated Press)
From Patheos:
Several sources (current Mars Hill members, current pastors) have informed me that church pastors are telling members of the congregation that Mark Driscoll plans to make a “big announcement” on Sunday, August 24. The community groups have been informed to watch for it but there is nothing specific about the announcement as yet.
The month of August has been difficult for Mars Hill and Driscoll. Among other items, two church board members resigned, Acts 29 Network removed Driscoll and the church from membership, several groups have canceled appearances by Driscoll, and 21 former pastors filed charges against him with the allegation that Driscoll has disqualified himself as a pastor.
From the New York Times
Mark Driscoll has long been an evangelical bad boy, a gifted orator and charismatic leader who built one of the nation’s most influential megachurches despite, or perhaps fueled by, a foul mouth, a sharp temper and frank talk about sex.
The church he founded, Mars Hill, enjoyed rapid growth in the Pacific Northwest — one of the most secular regions of the nation — and it claims 15,000 members worshiping at 15 campuses in five Western states, and 200,000 more people watching its services online every week. Mr. Driscoll became a celebrity in conservative Christianity, a sought-after speaker and prolific author known for a celebration of masculinity that helped Mars Hill attract young men, a demographic noted in church life mostly for its absence.
But now Mr. Driscoll’s empire appears to be imploding. He has been accused of creating a culture of fear at the church, of plagiarizing, of inappropriately using church funds and of consolidating power to such a degree that it has become difficult for anyone to challenge or even question him. A flood of former Mars Hill staff members and congregants have come forward, primarily on the Internet but also at a protest in front of the church, to share stories of what they describe as bullying or “spiritual abuse,” and 21 former pastors have filed a formal complaint in which they call for Mr. Driscoll’s removal as the church’s leader.
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