“The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” podcast: Christian journalism or smear campaign? [Op-Ed]

by mcardinal

Matt Bush, FISM News

 

Christianity Today’s recent podcast, “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill,” is really the story of Mars Hill Church’s former pastor, Mark Driscoll. Driscoll co-founded the church in the 1990s, and the church became a cultural phenomenon in the world of evangelical Christianity.

The podcast is being praised by some as one of the most well-produced Christian broadcasts in any medium. Patheos describes it as “a slickly produced endeavor, with a level of quality matching anything put out by NPR, Wondery, or Serial, and it’s an undeniably compelling listen.” The Gospel Coalition states, “There has never been a narrative-style Christian podcast that matches the quality of this one… For years to come, Christian podcasts in the journalism genre will stand in the shadow of this one.”

While the quality of the podcast is high and the story is very compelling, it is the content that should be judged first. The content of this podcast is a description, using mostly interviews and old audio files, of how Driscoll’s church, Mars Hill, went from one of the fastest growing and most well-known congregations in America to nothing almost overnight.

Some within evangelicalism consider the series a smear campaign and view it as crossing a dangerous line between learning from someone else’s mistakes and rejoicing in someone’s failures. Pastor Jon Tyson tweeted:

 

Driscoll was always a polarizing figure, even from the very early stages of Mars Hill. His view on masculinity features prominently in the podcast, as well as his desire for power within the church and the reformed theology that he taught and believed. All of these things featured just as strongly in his ministry at Mars Hill. Driscoll was famously able to weave these things together into a church culture that was very unique and very sought after both in the church’s home city and for the millions who downloaded his sermons or purchased his books.

The funny thing about Mars Hill is that it did not fail from any type of corruption or moral failure within the leadership of the church, as many would assume when a church like that shuts its doors. It failed because of the leadership style of one man, Mark Driscoll. In fact, as you learn in the podcast, Driscoll was never accused of a crime and he was never asked to step down from his role as pastor of the church. In fact, it was his resignation that actually put an end to the church.

The elders of Mars Hill Church at the time called on him to walk down a path of reconciliation with those who were hurt by his leadership style, but rather than doing that Driscoll resigned. He started a new church, Trinity Church, in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2016 and continues to pastor there today.

Is the podcast journalistic integrity or a smear campaign? You can listen and decide.

One problem with the podcast is the lack of Christian thought and the absence of Bible verses to be found within it. If it were an attempt to learn from a former pastor who struggled leading a megachurch, it would seem as if Biblical lessons would be taken and used. Instead, the podcast aims to be more like the secular “true crime” stories that are in the market today, and it comes across to many as a smear campaign of the pastor of a current church.

The podcast also largely overlooks what Mark Driscoll did in his time with Mars Hill. He started the Acts 29 cooperative of church plants. He led thousands of people to Christ and helped bring reformed theology back to the hearts and minds of many in ministry.

Driscoll was a domineering leader who hurt a lot of people, and ultimately his lack of repentance destroyed the church that he built. He had many flaws, but so does everyone who is reading these words. Let’s hope a Christian podcaster never decides that they want to “learn something” from our lives like they did with Driscoll’s.

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