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123-430: At the end of September 2014, an investigation by the church elders found "bullying" and "patterns of persistent sinful behavior" by Driscoll. The church elders crafted a "restoration" plan to help Driscoll and save the church. Instead, Driscoll declined the restoration plan and resigned. On October 31, 2014, lead pastor Dave Bruskas announced plans to dissolve the church's 13 remaining campuses into autonomous entities, with

246-552: A Bachelor of Arts degree in communication from Washington State University with a minor in philosophy and holds a Master of Arts degree in exegetical theology from Western Seminary . After graduation, Mark and Grace relocated to Seattle , where they attended Antioch Bible Church and worked with that church's college ministry as volunteers. Mark was hired as an intern a few months later. Through his internship, Mark met Mike Gunn, who worked for an Athletes in Action ministry at

369-553: A Facebook group called "Dear Pastor Mark & Mars Hill: We Are Not Anonymous." The following Sunday, "dozens of demonstrators" organized and picketed the Mars Hill Church Bellevue campus (where Driscoll preached live), calling for Driscoll's resignation. Demonstrators carried placards reading "We Are Not Anonymous" and "Question Mark", and accused Driscoll of bullying, misogyny, inadequate transparency in church finances, and harsh discipline of members. Driscoll

492-517: A complementarian view on women in ministry. The church installed the first team of elders and they took over much of the work teaching classes, counseling and training new leaders. Furthermore, the church started a course for new members, called the Gospel Class, to ensure that members were focused on the mission of the church and that they agreed with the central doctrinal statements of the church. The class had been running every quarter since. In

615-462: A "Satanic victory." It was a defeat for the gospel , it was a defeat for Mark [Driscoll], it was a defeat for evangelicalism , for Reformed Theology , for complementarianism ... It was a colossal Satanic victory. Driscoll's resignation is extensively discussed in the podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill . On October 31, 2014, lead pastor Dave Bruskas announced plans to dissolve the church's 13 remaining campuses into autonomous entities, with

738-507: A "celebrity pastor", that he considered his "angry young prophet" days to be over, and that he was reducing his public presence in speaking engagements and on social media. On March 28, 2015, Sutton Turner, a former elder of the church who signed the ResultSource contract, explained that he disapproved of the marketing plan to use ResultSource, but the decision to use it had already been made before he began work at Mars Hill, so he signed

861-407: A "surprise" to the church's Board of Overseers, who said in a statement that they had not asked Driscoll for his resignation. The journalist Ruth Graham wrote that "there was no single disgrace or crime that brought Driscoll down. Instead, it was a series of accusations: of plagiarism, crudeness, a bullying management style, unseemly consolidation of power, and squishy book-promotion ethics, to name

984-474: A "surprise" to the church's Board of Overseers, who said in a statement that they had not asked Driscoll for his resignation. In 2015, after the disbanding of Mars Hill, an executive elder of the church stated that "There has been much talk about the abusive and coercive culture at Mars Hill. What many people do not realize is that some of the very people who were calling for an end to this type of abuse were using abusive tactics." The executive elder stated that he

1107-620: A blog titled "Repentant Pastor" and posted online "confessions and apologies" related to their leadership roles in Mars Hill. In a joint statement, they wrote, "we recognize and confess that Mars Hill has hurt many people within the Mars Hill community, as well as those outside the community." Salon summarized the statements, writing that the former leaders emphasized their failures to "rein Driscoll in" and their complicity with Driscoll's "autocratic" management style. Firstenberg wrote that while

1230-517: A conference: "Yesterday we fired two elders for the first time in the history of Mars Hill. ... They were off mission, so now they're unemployed. This will be the defining issue as to whether or not you succeed or fail. I've read enough of the New Testament to know that occasionally Paul puts somebody in the wood chipper." In addition to the loss of their jobs, both were put on ecclesiastical trials to review their church membership. Petry

1353-446: A critic of Driscoll and Mars Hill, documenting other examples of perceived plagiarism, abuse reported by former Mars Hill members, and questionable uses of church finances. On March 29, 2014, four former Mars Hill elders (Kyle Firstenberg, Dave Kraft, Scott Mitchell, and co-founder Lief Moi) created a blog titled "Repentant Pastor" and posted online "confessions   ... and apologies" related to their leadership roles in Mars Hill. In

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1476-593: A few church branches. Weekly attendance at the start of the year for all branches was 12,000–13,000, but had dropped to 8,000–9,000. Donations also had a "steep decline." In response, the church planned to lay off "30 to 40 percent" of their 100 paid staff members, and close their downtown Seattle branch and University District branch, consolidating both congregations into the Ballard location. Two other branches outside Washington state were marked for possible closure if their finances did not improve. Mars Hill also announced

1599-559: A few miles north of Seattle. This change also marked their transition to a multi-site church , using video sermons and other multimedia improvements to the church's web site to connect the campuses. Later in 2006 Mars Hill acquired two new properties in West Seattle and Wedgwood , which became their West Seattle and Lake City campuses. Since then, new Mars Hill locations were added using a multi-campus "meta-church" structure, connecting Driscoll's sermons via high-definition video to

1722-458: A few." Theology professor Anthony Bradley remarked that while denominational churches have continuity after the departure of prominent leaders, Mars Hill Church was nondenominational and largely built on Driscoll's personal charisma. On October 20, 2014, Driscoll publicly stated that prior to his resignation, he and his family were harassed and he had received death threats. On July 27, 2015, Driscoll announced that his new ministry had purchased

1845-410: A five-member council of "executive elders" (also including Driscoll) who handled daily operations but deferred to the full council for major decisions. According to then-Mars Hill pastor Paul Petry, in summer 2007, Driscoll "replaced the [executive council] with yes-men" and began to make major decisions   —   such as purchasing a $ 4 million new building   —   without consulting

1968-466: A former fundamentalist minister and author of The Gospel of Inclusion . A commentator described the debate as "contentious", with all participants taking "uncompromising" positions. Driscoll argued that a belief in both Satan and God was an essential tenet of Christianity. Driscoll has also been featured on the program discussing other topics including the Ten Commandments and sex. After

2091-857: A good mission, but some of my tactics were born out of anger and burnout, and I did a lot of harm and damage while attracting a lot of attention." Driscoll responded to the release of the rant in a letter to his congregation, writing that "the content of my postings to that discussion board does not reflect how I feel or how I would conduct myself today." On September 8, 2014, blogger Libby Anne republished other examples of material written by "William Wallace II" in 2001, and remarked she had "rarely seen an evangelical man assert male superiority and prominence this directly." On November 21, 2013, radio host Janet Mefferd accused Driscoll of plagiarism . Mefferd claimed that 14 pages of Driscoll's book A Call to Resurgence quoted "extensively and without citation" from Peter Jones's 1999 book, Gospel Truth/Pagan Lies: Can You Tell

2214-425: A good pastor to my family first." In a recorded message shown to church members on July 27, 2014, Driscoll discussed the various controversies of 2014. He said that he could "not address some members' discontent ... because the complaints were anonymous." According to Rob Smith, former program director at the church, the anonymity assertion "really touched a nerve" with former members. In response, dissenters organized

2337-493: A heart attack. Ultimately, in 2006–2007, he began to restructure the church and claimed he was going to divest power. Within Mars Hill, he publicly stated that he resigned as "legal president", president of the elder board, and chief of staff, while retaining his roles as public face and preaching pastor. Prior to the reorganization, Mars Hill was governed by a full council of two dozen church elders (including Driscoll) who had equal voting authority and voted on major decisions, and

2460-475: A joint statement, they wrote, "we recognize and confess that Mars Hill has hurt many people within the Mars Hill community, as well as those outside the community". Salon summarized the statements, writing that the former leaders emphasized their failures to "rein Driscoll in" and their complicity with Driscoll's "autocratic" management style. Firstenberg's concerns included that while the church appeared to flourish, employees lived in constant stress, and "success

2583-528: A key component of the Driscoll brand," adding: "Driscoll's stage persona at times has included tight jeans and an extra button open on the shirt. He once greeted a crowd at the University of Washington by reporting that he had gotten his genitals caught in his zipper before the show and that he would be stopping on time because his wife was at home waiting for him with a cream pie." When the evangelical pastor Ted Haggard resigned from church leadership after

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2706-494: A letter surfaced from 41 elders who served alongside Mark in the Mars Hill years, calling for him to resign from the Trinity Church and step away from ministry completely. In the letter, they detailed concerns that the abuse and behavioral concerns had continued at the Trinity Church, and that Mark had proven himself unfit to lead in a ministry setting. According to The Seattle Times , "preaching and communicating lies at

2829-545: A list of the "Top Churches to Watch in America". The link ranked churches according to how much churches could learn from the ranked churches on particular topics. They ranked Mars Hill Church as #3 to learn from about church growth, #3 for innovation, #2 for church planting, and #4 overall. The list considered data from Outreach magazine's annual lists from 2004 to 2012 and other sources. In 2006, Mars Hill Church claimed $ 31,110,000 in assets. Acts 29 Church Planting Network

2952-457: A quick temper and harsh speech, and leading the staff and elders in a domineering manner", but was not charged with anything immoral or illegal. Driscoll maintained that he had not disqualified himself from ministry. Church leadership crafted a "restoration" plan to help Driscoll and save the church. Instead, Driscoll declined the restoration plan and resigned on October 14, 2014, citing concerns for his health and safety. His resignation came as

3075-453: A quick temper and harsh speech, and leading the staff and elders in a domineering manner", but was not charged with anything immoral or illegal. Driscoll maintained that he had not disqualified himself from ministry. Church leadership crafted a "restoration" plan to help Driscoll and save the church. Instead, Driscoll declined the restoration plan and resigned on October 14, 2014, citing concerns for his health and safety. His resignation came as

3198-478: A sermon at Saddleback Church the weekend Rick Warren grieved the loss of his son. The Mars Hill Church network officially disbanded Thursday, January 1, 2015. Eleven of the Mars Hill Churches became independent churches and the remaining churches were dissolved. Prior to the churches disbanding, Mars Hill transferred the majority of its content from its website to www .markdriscoll .org where

3321-688: A sermon series companion text, Trial: 8 Witnesses From 1&2 Peter , which were copied verbatim from passages written by David Wheaton in the New Bible Commentary . InterVarsity Press , publisher of the New Bible Commentary , stated that Driscoll failed to properly provide quotation or attribution for the material. The relevant passages were posted online. The allegations soon expanded to include claims that Driscoll used ghostwriters and researchers without giving them proper attribution. As of December 2013, neither Peter Jones, D.A. Carson, nor Janet Mefferd had made any further statements pertaining

3444-514: A sex scandal involving a male escort, Driscoll provoked an uproar by posting the following comment on his blog: "A wife who lets herself go and is not sexually available to her husband in the ways that the Song of Songs is so frank about is not responsible for her husband's sin, but she may not be helping him either." Driscoll later apologized for his statement, stating that he did not intend for his comment to reflect on Haggard's wife personally. After

3567-622: A unanimous conclusion that Petry was no longer qualified to be a church elder. Driscoll urged his congregation to shun Petry's family. Meyer was given a "gentler" ecclesiastical trial but chose to resign. Rob Smith had written an email to the elders calling for a fair trial for Petry and Meyer; Smith said that in response, Driscoll told his congregants to stop giving to Agathos, an independent economic development charity that Smith also ran, causing donations to drop by 80 percent. In 2014, Petry, Smith, and Moi all joined—and, in some cases, organized—online protests against Driscoll. Commentators linked

3690-510: Is also known for the Bible storytelling books of Ethel Barrett , Joni by quadriplegic Joni Eareckson Tada , Baptist minister and author Rick Warren 's The Purpose Driven Life , which has sold more than 35 million copies, and Sacred Marriage, by Gary Thomas . In 2004, Zondervan expanded to include Renee Altson , Shane Claiborne , Sarah Raymond Cunningham and Margaret Feinberg , authors writing for young readers . The children's arm of

3813-763: Is an interdenominational network of pastors and churches from around the world founded by David Nicholas with funding from Spanish River Church planting network but with a substantial early association with Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church. Their focus is to assess and equip qualified leaders, plant new churches, and rejuvenate declining churches. The current president of Acts 29 is Brian Howard. The offices and leadership of Acts 29 moved from Mars Hill Church in Seattle to The Village Church in Texas in March 2012. In August 2014, Acts 29 removed Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church from

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3936-570: Is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan , United States. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). It is a part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc . and has multiple imprints including Zondervan Academic, Zonderkidz, Blink, and Editorial Vida. Zondervan is the commercial rights holder for

4059-526: Is influenced by stand-up comedians like Chris Rock . Crosscut.com described his presentation style as follows: Pacing the stage at the main Ballard campus, he delivered a sermon on marriage roles as he saw them set forth in the Song of Solomon . He told stories from his own marriage, offered statistics, and dropped jokes without their feeling forced. Every few minutes he would sniff in a thoughtful, practiced sort of way. This untucked, down-to-earth demeanor

4182-667: Is the oldest of five children and the son of a union drywaller. He described a difficult family history of abuse and crime, writing: "The men on my father's side include uneducated alcoholics, mental patients, and women beaters. ... One of the main reasons my parents moved from North Dakota to Seattle was to get away from some family members when I was a very young boy." In high school, he met his future wife, Grace Martin, daughter of Gib Martin, an evangelical pastor. In 1989, he graduated from Highline High School in Burien , Washington, where he served as student body president, captain of

4305-632: Is the reality of the evangelical industrial complex. Driscoll apologized for "mistakes" related to the allegations in a statement released to The Christian Post on December 18, 2013. Mefferd eventually left Salem Radio in April 2015. In June 2014 an online petition asked Sutton Turner of Mars Hill Church and Dan Busby of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability where the money raised through Mars Hill Global Fund actually went. The church reported that "Mars Hill Church began to use

4428-553: The 2010 Haiti earthquake , Driscoll and James MacDonald founded Churches Helping Churches to help churches rebuild after catastrophic natural disasters. They helped to rebuild dozens of churches in Haiti and Japan. Driscoll first flew to Haiti shortly after the earthquake, and set up a partnership between his church and Jean F. E. St. Cyr, a Haitian pastor. Mars Hill Church donated $ 1.7 million in medical supplies. On March 29, 2012, Driscoll resigned as President of Acts 29 and from

4551-582: The American political left and liberal Christianity for many years, recent years leading up to and including 2014 saw the rise of criticism from conservative Christians , including Driscoll's former "allies and supporters." According to the Seattle Times , plagiarism accusations against Driscoll made by Janet Mefferd were a "crucial turning point" that drew outside interest into Mars Hill's internal affairs, and prompted inquiries from new critics about

4674-819: The New International Version (NIV) Bible in North America. According to the Zondervan website, it is the largest Christian publisher. Zondervan was founded in 1931 in Grandville, MI , a suburb of Grand Rapids , by brothers Peter ("P.J.", "Pat") and Bernard (Bernie) Zondervan, who were the nephews of publisher William B. Eerdmans . The company began in the Zondervans' farmhouse and originally dealt with selling remainders and publishing public domain works. The first book it published

4797-480: The New York Times Best Sellers list. Zondervan Academic publishes reference volumes, textbooks, and monographs, for both use in schools and by many pastors. It is widely known for its biblical language resources, including the bestselling textbooks Basics of Biblical Greek , Basics of Biblical Hebrew , and many others. The imprint also publishes several popular commentary series, including

4920-502: The University of Washington , and Lief Moi, a radio show host. The three men began to discuss planting an "urban, postmodern " church in Seattle. Greg Kappas, the pastor responsible for Antioch Bible Church's new church planting ministry, mentored the three and helped them develop their plans. Driscoll, Lief Moi, and Mike Gunn founded Mars Hill Church in spring 1995 and officially launched it in fall 1996. The church first met in

5043-496: The culture of fear and abuse that allegedly existed during his tenure at Mars Hill. In the summer of 2014, Driscoll faced public criticism and formal complaints from Mars Hill staff members and congregants due to alleged abusive behavior. In August 2014, the board of Acts 29 Network removed him from its membership and urged him to step down from ministry. On October 14, 2014, Driscoll resigned from Mars Hill Church. Within three months of Driscoll's resignation, Mars Hill Church

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5166-565: The postmodern world. As a result, Mars Hill Church and Driscoll were thrust into the national spotlight: he was interviewed on National Public Radio and Mother Jones magazine published a feature on the church. Mars Hill Church grew from 160 members in 1996 to 350 in 1999. In 1998, Driscoll and David Nicholas founded the Acts 29 Network ("Acts 29"), a church planting network, in response to people approaching Driscoll for advice on planting churches. The goal of this parachurch organization

5289-425: The "Advice How-to" category—by buying 11,000 copies of the book, using $ 210,000 of Mars Hill Church's money, from a variety of online sources and payment methods. The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability stated that buying a place on bestseller lists violates its ethical standards, but that because this happened before Mars Hill Church joined they were unable to take action. Christianity Today described

5412-584: The "Faith and Values" section of The Seattle Times , OnFaith , and the Fox News website. Driscoll has also authored a number of popular Christian books, including A Call to Resurgence . Driscoll has been described as "an evangelical bad boy, a gifted orator and [a] charismatic leader" who is "hip yet hard-line". A conservative evangelical, he favors "vintage" aesthetics and a "down to earth", "aggressive" preaching style. Controversy has surrounded his teachings on gender roles, his alleged plagiarism, and

5535-425: The "true cost" of the effort was less than "what has been reported." On March 17, 2014, Driscoll posted an open letter of apology in response to this controversy and others, writing that he will no longer claim to be a New York Times bestselling author, and that he now sees the ResultSource marketing campaign as "manipulating a book sales reporting system, which is wrong." He wrote that he was giving up his status as

5658-682: The BOAA. Religion correspondent Sarah Pulliam Bailey described Acts 29's decision as "unusual" since "ministries usually leave matters of church discipline up to local churches." BOAA Chairman Michael Van Skaik responded, "Men, I told the lead pastors ... that we are making real progress in addressing the serious reconciliation and unhealthy culture issues that have been part of Mars Hill Church for way too long. And we are." He further added that Acts 29 leaders did not contact Mars Hill before acting, and that Driscoll had "changed his ways", and described Acts 29's actions as "divisive". Van Skaik also addressed

5781-630: The BOAA. Religion correspondent Sarah Pulliam Bailey described Acts 29's decision as "unusual" since "ministries usually leave matters of church discipline up to local churches." BOAA Chairman Michael Van Skaik responded, "Men, I told the lead pastors ... that we are making real progress in addressing the serious reconciliation and unhealthy culture issues that have been part of Mars Hill Church for way too long. And we are. ... " He further added that Acts 29 leaders did not contact Mars Hill before acting, and that Driscoll had "changed his ways", and described Acts 29's actions as "divisive." Van Skaik also addressed

5904-549: The Council of The Gospel Coalition, turning his responsibilities over to Matt Chandler . Commenting on the transition, Chandler said, "[the Acts 29 board was] running a network of 422 churches on six continents the same way when it was 80 to 100 churches on one continent." Chandler also planned to disentangle Acts 29 from Mars Hill Church; prior to Driscoll's departure, Acts 29 was primarily funded by Mars Hill. By mid-2014, Driscoll

6027-586: The Difference? and Jones's 2010 book One or Two: Seeing a World of Difference. Driscoll's publisher Tyndale House stated that they performed a "thorough in-house review" and disagreed that this was a case of plagiarism. Neil Holdway, a plagiarism expert with the American Copy Editors Society, concluded that "Driscoll had not adequately indicated the extent to which he had borrowed Jones's work." Zondervan Zondervan

6150-498: The Difference? and Jones' 2010 book One or Two: Seeing a World of Difference. Driscoll's publisher Tyndale House stated that they performed a "thorough in-house review" and disagreed that this was a case of plagiarism. Neil Holdway, a plagiarism expert with the American Copy Editors Society, concluded that "Driscoll had not adequately indicated the extent to which he had borrowed Jones' work." More allegations of plagiarism in other Driscoll works soon surfaced, including passages from

6273-572: The Driscolls' home. By spring 1997, the church had relocated and expanded to two services. Driscoll later reflected that he was "not ready" when he planted Mars Hill at age 25. Later in 1997, he was invited to speak at a Leadership Network pastors' conference in California. The speech he made inspired many within the nascent emerging church movement and, according to Driscoll, shifted the movement's focus from reaching Generation X to reaching

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6396-474: The Mars Hill's Board of Advisors and Accountability (BOAA) to discipline Driscoll, but lost confidence in the board. The BOAA had been set up by Driscoll as his accountability board, rather than the elders of the church. (Members of the BOAA were for the most part professional clergy and businessmen who were not members of the church and hand picked by Driscoll.) The previous month, evangelical leaders and Acts 29 associates Paul Tripp and James MacDonald resigned from

6519-474: The Mars Hill's Board of Advisors and Accountability (BOAA) to discipline Driscoll, but lost confidence in the board. The BOAA had been set up by Driscoll as his accountability board, rather than the elders of the church. (Members of the BOAA were for the most part professional clergy and businessmen who were not members of the church and hand picked by Driscoll.) The previous month, evangelical leaders and Acts 29 associates Paul Tripp and James MacDonald resigned from

6642-554: The Network as co-founder and former President, but declared his recent actions "ungodly and disqualifying behavior." To Driscoll, they wrote, "our board and network have been the recipients of ... dozens of fires directly linked to you ... we are naturally associated with you and feel that this association discredits the network and is a major distraction." They further advised him to "step down from ministry for an extended time and seek help." Acts 29 had attempted to "lean on"

6765-487: The Network as co-founder and former president, but declared his recent actions "ungodly and disqualifying behavior." To Driscoll, they wrote, "our board and network have been the recipients of ... dozens of fires directly linked to you ... we are naturally associated with you and feel that this association discredits the network and is a major distraction." They further advised him to "step down from ministry for an extended time and seek help." Acts 29 had attempted to "lean on"

6888-756: The Resurgence Training Center and church planting in India." Additionally, "subsequent to June 1, 2012, in early July 2014, Mars Hill Church sent approximately 6,000 letters and 3,765 emails to individuals who had made gifts as a global donor subsequent to June 1, 2012. In these communications, Mars Hill Church offered to redirect the donor's gifts, made as a global donor during this time period, specifically for planting churches in Ethiopia or India." Michael Paulson , writing for The New York Times , wrote that while Driscoll had endured criticism from

7011-623: The Singspiration and Zondervan Victory labels in the 1960s, Singcord in the 1970s, and the Milk & Honey Records label, starting in the late 1970s. In 1980, Zondervan and Paragon Associates bought Christian record label Benson Records in a partnership to own and operate for $ 3 million. The resulting company was (measured by sales) one and a half times the size of its closest competitor, Word . Zondervan bought out Paragon in 1983, and eventually sold Benson to Zomba Label Group in 1993, now

7134-550: The Zondervan Exegetical Commentary, Story of God Bible Commentary, and Word Biblical Commentary. Noted authors include N.T. Wright, Douglas Moo, Scot McKnight, Michael Bird, John Walton, Michael Horton, Dan Wallace, Bruce Waltke, Tremper Longman, Thomas Kidd, Craig Keener, Thomas Schreiner, Nijay Gupta, Lynn Cohick, and D.A. Carson. Zondervan was in the Christian record business for many years with

7257-537: The accusations against Pastor Mark to be altogether unfair or untrue." Additionally, the report found that many of the "other charges had previously been addressed by Pastor Mark, privately and publicly. Indeed, he had publicly confessed and apologized for a number of the charges against him, some of which occurred as long as 14 years ago." However, elders did find "bullying" and "patterns of persistent sinful behavior" by Driscoll. The board also concluded that Driscoll had "been guilty of arrogance, responding to conflict with

7380-535: The accusations against Pastor Mark to be altogether unfair or untrue." Additionally, the report found that many of the "other charges had previously been addressed by Pastor Mark, privately and publicly. Indeed, he had publicly confessed and apologized for a number of the charges against him, some of which occurred as long as 14 years ago." However, elders did find "bullying" and "patterns of persistent sinful behavior" by Driscoll. The Board also concluded that Driscoll had "been guilty of arrogance, responding to conflict with

7503-582: The anonymity assertion "really touched a nerve" with former members. In response, dissenters organized a Facebook group called "Dear Pastor Mark & Mars Hill: We Are Not Anonymous." The following Sunday, "dozens of demonstrators" organized and picketed the Mars Hill Church Bellevue campus (where Driscoll preached live), calling for Driscoll's resignation. Demonstrators carried placards reading "We Are Not Anonymous" and "Question Mark", and accused Driscoll of bullying, misogyny, inadequate transparency in church finances, and harsh discipline of members. Driscoll

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7626-436: The apartment and started meeting in the youth rooms of another church. The church had its first official service October 1996, with 160 people attending; attendance quickly fell to around 60 because of discussions about the visions and mission of the church. In the spring of 1997, the church expanded to two evening services. The transition to two different congregations resulted in some anxiety and stir by members who didn't want

7749-479: The arrangement as "ethically questionable", and Carl Trueman of religion journal First Things decried the revelation, writing, "the overall picture is one of disaster" and "[it] has raised questions not simply about personal integrity but also the very culture of American Evangelicalism." Driscoll had used the apparent success of Real Marriage to negotiate a multi-book deal with Christian publisher Tyndale House. The first book under Driscoll's "Resurgence" imprint

7872-459: The audience that he counseled Mark Driscoll directly, and that media reports were largely untrue. Morris cited recent media reports of lead pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church as experiencing similar coverage. At the conference, Mark Driscoll was invited up to the stage where he told the audience that he received death threats and that his children allegedly had rocks thrown at them. Driscoll stated that "I'm just trying to figure out how to be

7995-416: The baseball team, editor of the school newspaper, and the "most likely to succeed" in his graduating class. At age 19, as a college freshman, Driscoll converted to evangelical Christianity. The same year, according to Driscoll, "God spoke to me ... He told me to marry Grace, preach the Bible, train men, and plant churches ... I began preparing to devote my life to obey [God's] call for me." He earned

8118-404: The board did initiate a "reconciliation process" to address "many offenses and hurts that are still unresolved." Dave Kraft worked at Mars Hill from 2005 to 2013 and was Driscoll's personal "coach" during that time. Michael Paulson , writing for The New York Times , wrote that while Driscoll has endured criticism from the American political left and liberal Christianity for many years, in

8241-413: The board of Acts 29 Network removed both Driscoll and Mars Hill Church from membership. Chairman Matt Chandler wrote, "it is our conviction that the nature of the accusations against Mark, most of which have been confirmed by him, make it untenable and unhelpful to keep Mark [Driscoll] and Mars Hill [Church] in our network." The board of directors of Acts 29 expressed gratitude for Driscoll's work with

8364-400: The board of Acts 29 removed both Driscoll and Mars Hill Church from membership. Chairman Matt Chandler wrote, "it is our conviction that the nature of the accusations against Mark, most of which have been confirmed by him, make it untenable and unhelpful to keep Mark [Driscoll] and Mars Hill [Church] in our network." The board of directors of Acts 29 expressed gratitude for Driscoll's work with

8487-416: The case. Syndicator Salem Radio subsequently removed both the broadcast interview with Driscoll and associated materials from Mefferd's program website and apologized for raising the matter in a broadcast interview. This attempt to shut down the story provoked the resignation of Mefferd's producer, Ingrid Schlueter. In explaining her resignation, Schlueter wrote the following regarding herself and Mefferd: I

8610-462: The changes. In response, Driscoll fired both from their jobs. A Mars Hill forum posting reported—without naming the pastors—that one was fired for "displaying an unhealthy distrust in the senior leadership" and the other for "disregarding the accepted elder protocol for the bylaw deliberation period" and "verbally attacking the lead pastor [Driscoll]." The morning after Petry and Meyer were fired, Driscoll said to his pastors and other church leaders at

8733-525: The church and how it handled its finances. After hearing of Mefferd's plagiarism accusations, evangelical Christian and Grove City College psychology professor Warren Throckmorton took interest and became a prominent critic of Driscoll and Mars Hill, documenting other examples of perceived plagiarism, abuse reported by former Mars Hill members, and questionable uses of church finances. On March 29, 2014, four former Mars Hill elders (Kyle Firstenberg, Dave Kraft, Scott Mitchell, and co-founder Lief Moi) created

8856-421: The church appeared to flourish, employees lived in constant stress, and "success was to be attained regardless of human and moral cost." Several prominent pastors publicly defended Driscoll from allegations made against him. Those pastors included mega-church pastor Rick Warren , author of The Purpose Driven Life , and Gateway Church 's founding pastor Robert Morris. At the 2014 Gateway Conference, Morris told

8979-644: The church grew, he began to train other elders and deacons, moving himself into a more executive role in setting vision and continuing to preach. By 2006, the church counted 4000–5000 weekly attendees at three campuses in the Seattle region. In that year, Driscoll claimed that he had reached a personal crisis due to his "overwhelming workload"—at this time he was the principal authority in Mars Hill, president of Acts 29, president of The Resurgence, an author, and an international traveler with speaking engagements. He was, by his own account, sleeping only two to three hours per night and began to fear that he would die early from

9102-567: The church to grow bigger, but it resulted in growing attendance. Later that same year Mark Driscoll was invited to speak at a pastors' conference in California. Driscoll's speech influenced the emerging church movement , and changed the focus from reaching Generation X to reaching the postmodern world. The speech resulted in media coverage of Mars Hill Church and Mark Driscoll, and put Driscoll in connection with Leadership Network. The church continued growing. Inspired by Alan Roxburgh, Driscoll settled on an emerging and missional ecclesiology , and

9225-752: The church's sermons remain. The Mars Hill website now contains a history of the church and a church directory of the previous Mars Hill churches locations with their new names and websites. Prior to disbanding on January 1, 2015, Mars Hill Church met at twelve locations, mostly in Seattle and Washington state, with three out of state locations in New Mexico, California, and Oregon. A few locations were closed or consolidated on October 12, 2014. After January 1, 2015, each church location dissolved into an independent congregation. The remaining members of Mars Hill Ballard reorganized as Cross and Crown Church Seattle, led by former Mars Hill Downtown pastor Matthias Haeusel; and

9348-664: The church." By September 9, eight of the nine pastors who signed the letter had resigned or been terminated, including worship director Dustin Kensrue . The last of the nine pastors was demoted from pastor to lay elder. LifeWay Christian Resources , a Christian bookseller and publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention , announced on August 10, 2014 that they suspended sales of Driscoll's books. Marty King, communications director for LifeWay, said, "[we] are not selling Mark Driscoll's books while we assess

9471-416: The church." By September 9, eight of the nine pastors who signed the letter had resigned or been terminated, including worship director Dustin Kensrue . The last of the nine pastors was demoted from pastor to lay elder. On September 7, 2014 (the second week of Driscoll's hiatus), Mars Hill officials, citing "financial pressures in the wake of recent negative media attention", announced layoffs and closures of

9594-563: The company Zonderkidz published The Jesus Storybook Bible in 2007, written by Sally Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by Jago . It has sold in excess of 2 million copies in 19 languages. The NIV Zondervan Study Bible was released in 2015 during the 50th anniversary of the New International Version (NIV) translation. The study Bible , edited by Dr. D. A. Carson, features over 60 evangelical contributors from multiple denominations. On 11 March 2019, Zondervan announced

9717-470: The congregation directing them to shun him. On March 5, 2014, evangelical magazine World published an article claiming that Mars Hill Church paid a $ 25,000 fee to marketing firm ResultSource , to manipulate sales numbers of Mark Driscoll's book Real Marriage and thereby attain a place on the New York Times bestseller list . ResultSource accomplished this objective—the book briefly reached #1 in

9840-668: The contract anyway. Turner revealed that Driscoll had not been involved in initiating nor signing the contract with ResultSource. Turner stated that the business relationship with the marketing firm was initiated by a pastor who resigned shortly thereafter, and remaining church leaders disagreed over the completion of the contract, stating that it would reflect badly on the church and Mark Driscoll. On November 21, 2013, radio host Janet Mefferd accused Driscoll of plagiarism . Mefferd claimed that 14 pages of Driscoll's book A Call to Resurgence quoted "extensively and without citation" from Peter Jones' 1999 book, Gospel Truth/Pagan Lies: Can You Tell

9963-458: The entrance of the church. Mars Hill Church Portland lead pastor Tim Smith expressed disagreement with the conduct of the protesters, but expressed defense of their right to free speech. In 2008, the church launched an online community-building network, called The city, to improve communication on all levels in the church. The city was purchased by the Christian publishing brand, Zondervan , before Christmas 2008. In 2013, The Church Guide released

10086-420: The executive pastors also served as directors. This change precipitated the firing of two pastors. Mars Hill leaders said in forum postings that one fired pastor was removed, in part, for "displaying an unhealthy distrust in the senior leadership." They said the other was removed for "disregarding the accepted elder protocol for the bylaw deliberation period" and "verbally attacking the lead pastor" — charges

10209-468: The fall of 1999 the church had grown to 350 in attendance every week and was able to pay Driscoll full-time. Prior to 1999, Driscoll operated as an unpaid pastor for three years. In 2003, Mars Hill Church moved into a renovated hardware store in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. In 2006, in an effort to reduce the overcrowding at its services, Mars Hill opened its first satellite campus in Shoreline

10332-428: The fired pastor denied, the leaders added. Church leadership instructed members of the congregation to shun the two former elders as unrepentant. Former Mars Hill Church elders and members have criticized the church for its harshness in dealing with dissent within its leadership. Additionally, members who openly questioned or dissented with Mars Hill leaders were asked to leave the church. This policy of church discipline

10455-455: The formal charges brought against Driscoll under the Mars Hill bylaws, writing "the formal charges that were filed were serious, were taken seriously, and were not dismissed by the board lightly." On August 24, 2014, Driscoll announced he would take a six-week "extended focus break" from his pastorship while charges against him were investigated. Later that week, a letter signed by nine current Mars Hill pastors which severely criticized Driscoll

10578-453: The formal charges brought against Driscoll under the Mars Hill bylaws, writing "the formal charges that were filed were serious, were taken seriously, and were not dismissed by the board lightly." On August 24, 2014, Driscoll announced he would take a six-week "extended focus break" from his pastorship while charges against him were investigated. Later that week, a letter signed by nine current Mars Hill pastors which severely criticized Driscoll

10701-700: The formation of two new imprints, Zondervan Reflective and Zondervan Academic. Although both imprints ran informally at Zondervan for several years this announcement formalized their public brand. Zondervan Reflective focuses on publishing books discussing the relationship between faith and culture, leadership, and how Christians can lead biblically faithful lives privately and in the public square. Noted authors include Andy Stanley, Clay Scroggins, J.D. Greear, Colin Hansen, Tim Challies, Michael Horton, Jared Wilson, John Lennox, Jemar Tisby, and Peter Scazzero. On 28 June 2020, Jemar Tisby's The Color of Compromise reached #13 on

10824-411: The full council. Driscoll proposed changes to the bylaws that would grant indefinite terms of office to the "executive elders". Driscoll and proponents of the changes argued that the church had outgrown its original governing structure, while opponents contended that the changes consolidated power with Driscoll and his trusted lieutenants. Paul Petry and another pastor, Bent Meyer, both dissented from

10947-423: The heart of Driscoll's draw." In another Seattle Times article, Driscoll is described as a "hipster preacher" who used "charisma and combativeness". Driscoll has been described as a "gifted orator" and "charismatic leader". People call him a very compelling speaker, "gifted" and "dynamic and funny, with a potent mix of reverence for Jesus and irreverence for everything else." His public speaking style, he says,

11070-499: The incident, the Seattle Times discontinued Driscoll as one of its religion columnists. On July 30, 2014, dissenters released a "controversial, vulgar" rant Driscoll had written under the pseudonym "William Wallace II" in 2000, dubbed the "Pussified Nation" rant. The rant contained "blunt and emotional comments critical of feminism, homosexual behavior, and 'sensitive emasculated' men", and called for "real men" to rise up in

11193-538: The mailing list and assets of The Resurgence from Mars Hill Church and that he and his family had moved to the Phoenix area. On February 1, 2016, Driscoll announced the opening of his new church: The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. As of February 2016, the staff roster included two former Mars Hill employees. Texas megachurch pastors Robert Morris and Jimmy Evans were on the church's board. In July 2021,

11316-443: The most admired—and reviled—figures among evangelicals nationwide." In 2011, Preaching magazine named him one of the 25 most influential [English-speaking] pastors of the past 25 years. Driscoll is described in a 2014 profile by Salon as being the center of a cult of personality , and of using controversy to increase his visibility. Salon has also described "[sex] talk fused with God talk, or titillation more broadly, [as]

11439-539: The network. As a result of the large growth of the church, its bylaws were rewritten more than once. The outcome of this process led to changes in leadership organization in November 2007. The new bylaws installed lead pastor Jamie Munson, preaching pastor Mark Driscoll, and pastors Scott Thomas and Tim Beltz as "executive pastors" who led the objectives of the church "under the authority of the Board of Directors," on which

11562-408: The option of continuing, merging with other congregations, or disbanding, effective January 1, 2015. On December 28, 2014, Rick Warren gave the final Sunday sermon at Mars Hill, encouraging its remaining members to "give grace" to its leaders, "You need to be grateful for all the ways that God used Mars Hill Church. Be grateful for all the ways God used Mark Driscoll." Driscoll had previously delivered

11685-413: The option of continuing, merging with other congregations, or disbanding, effective January 1, 2015. The Mars Hill network dissolved on January 1, 2015. Mars Hill Church was founded in spring 1996 by Mark Driscoll , Lief Moi and Mike Gunn. The church started at the rental house of Driscoll and his wife Grace with the blessing of Antioch Bible Church and the exodus of about 30 of its students. They outgrew

11808-485: The remaining members of the Bellevue main campus reorganized as DOXA Church, led by Eddie Williams. In February 2016, a federal racketeering lawsuit was filed by former Mars Hill members against both Mars Hill and Driscoll. That lawsuit was dismissed in November 2016 after the plaintiffs said they did not have the money to continue the suit. The plaintiffs' online fundraising campaign on GoFundMe had raised $ 34,660, which

11931-843: The remote campuses during weekly worship services. This format allowed each location to retain local leadership and ministries while under the leadership of the main campus. A fourth and fifth Mars Hill location opened in 2007, and in 2008 a sixth location was added in downtown Seattle. A seventh campus, in Olympia, Washington, opened in Fall 2008 and an eighth campus, the first outside of Washington state, opened in Albuquerque , New Mexico in Fall 2009. The church launched four new churches on January 15 in Portland (Oregon), Rainier Valley (Seattle), Sammamish (near Seattle), and Orange County (California),

12054-535: The resignation of Sutton Turner, executive elder since 2011, effective at the end of September 2014. In the fall of 2014, a group of elders released a report on an investigation into accusations of bullying and intimidating behavior by Driscoll made by 21 former church elders. The investigation involved "some 1,000 hours of research, interviewing more than 50 people and preparing 200 pages of information." The report concluded that Driscoll had never been charged with "immorality, illegality or heresy," and considered "some of

12177-572: The same day as the first sermon in the "Real Marriage" sermon series, based on Mark and Grace Driscoll's book, Real Marriage . On October 16, "black-clad demonstrators" gathered in front of the Mars Hill Church in Southeast Portland to "protest the church's stance on homosexuality." Approximately 20 protesters, "some of whom wore kerchiefs to cover their faces, shouted profanities at adults and children," and briefly blocked

12300-423: The situation regarding his ministry." King identified Acts 29's call for Driscoll to step down as "certainly a part" of their decision, along with the "cumulative effect" of other allegations against Driscoll. Driscoll was removed from the speaker roster of several planned Act Like Men conferences, which includes other Acts 29 speakers and past Driscoll associates, including James MacDonald and Matt Chandler. He

12423-429: The spirit of Scottish warrior William Wallace as depicted in the film Braveheart . Mars Hill Church had long since deleted their unmoderated "Midrash" discussion board where the forum postings occurred. Driscoll referenced the incident in his 2006 book Confessions of a Reformission Rev ; in that book, he stated that he believed his intentions were good, but regretted having written the rant. He wrote in 2006, "I had

12546-470: The summer 2014 "unrest" at Mars Hill to the structural changes of 2007, along with other developments in Driscoll's career. In March 2009, Driscoll was involved in an ABC Nightline debate entitled, "Does Satan Exist?" Driscoll and Annie Lobert , founder of the Hookers for Jesus Christian ministry, argued for the existence of the devil against the philosopher Deepak Chopra and Carlton Pearson ,

12669-608: The term 'Global Fund' to solicit gifts restricted for 'capital development and expansion'. As communicated in the Global Newsletter on July 7, 2009, the Global Fund was used to raise resources for the following purposes: 'start new Mars Hill campuses, plant new Acts 29 churches , and equip leaders at the Resurgence Training Center'. In the 2009-2011 time frame, over 80% of the funds given to the "Global Fund" went to Acts 29 church planting, with additional funds used for

12792-603: The years leading up to and including 2014 saw the rise of criticism from conservative Christians , including Driscoll's former "allies and supporters." According to The Seattle Times , accusations of plagiarism by talk radio host Janet Mefferd were a "crucial turning point" that drew outside interest into Mars Hill's internal affairs, and prompted inquiries from new critics about the church and how it handled its finances. After hearing of Mefferd's plagiarism accusations, evangelical Christian and Grove City College psychology professor Warren Throckmorton took interest and became

12915-426: Was A Call to Resurgence, with plans to publish five to seven books per year. Tyndale House defended Driscoll's alleged plagiarism in A Call to Resurgence , and affirmed their continuing relationship with Driscoll. Mars Hill Church responded with a statement, writing, "while not uncommon or illegal, this unwise strategy is not one we had used before or since, and not one we will use again." Mars Hill also claimed that

13038-620: Was Women of the Old Testament by Abraham Kuyper , in 1933. Within a few years it developed a list of its own, and began publishing Bible editions. The Berkeley Version appeared in 1959, and the Amplified Bible in 1965. The New International Version New Testament was published in partnership with the International Bible Society in 1973, and the complete NIV Bible appeared in 1978. The company

13161-408: Was a part-time, topic producer for Janet Mefferd until [December 3, 2013] when I resigned over this situation. All I can share is that there is an evangelical celebrity machine that is more powerful than anyone realizes. You may not go up against the machine. That is all. Mark Driscoll clearly plagiarized and those who could have underscored the seriousness of it and demanded accountability did not. That

13284-797: Was also removed as closing speaker at the Gateway Church Conference , an annual gathering of thousands of evangelical pastors. Mars Hill Church also cancelled their own Resurgence 2014 conference, planned for October 2014, since several planned speakers had cut ties with Driscoll. In the fall of 2014, a group of elders released a report on an investigation into accusations of bullying and intimidating behavior by Driscoll made by 21 former church elders. The investigation involved "some 1,000 hours of research, interviewing more than 50 people and preparing 200 pages of information." The report concluded that Driscoll had never been charged with "immorality, illegality or heresy," and considered "some of

13407-836: Was approximately half of its goal. Mark Driscoll (pastor) Mark A. Driscoll (born 1970) is an American evangelical pastor and author. He is the founder and primary contributor of RealFaith ministries. He is also the senior and founding pastor of Trinity Church in Scottsdale , Arizona , which was founded in 2016. In 1996, Driscoll co-founded Mars Hill Church in Seattle , Washington . In March 2014, Mars Hill Church had 14,000 members in five states and fifteen locations. He also founded The Resurgence (a theological cooperative) and co-founded other parachurch organizations , such as Acts 29 Network , Churches Helping Churches, and The Gospel Coalition . He has written for

13530-450: Was away for his annual summer vacation. A church elder, Anthony Iannicielo, responded that the criticism of Driscoll and Mars Hill "goes with the territory" of running a large church with a long history. In a pre-recorded message, Driscoll said that he had been deliberately "rather silent" during the criticism, that he found it "a little overwhelming and a bit confusing", and indicated that he had no intention of resigning. On August 8, 2014,

13653-439: Was away for his annual summer vacation. A church elder, Anthony Iannicielo, responded that the criticism of Driscoll and Mars Hill "goes with the territory" of running a large church with a long history. In a pre-recorded message, Driscoll said that he had been deliberately "rather silent" during the criticism, that he found it "a little overwhelming and a bit confusing", and that he had no intention of resigning. On August 8, 2014,

13776-424: Was blackmailed by a staff who asked for more severance pay. He also stated that "former Mars Hill elders were working to file formal charges against me also. I was told that a former lead pastor was approached to lead a group of people who hoped to force my resignation so that I 'could not help Pastor Mark Driscoll '." Pastor and theologian John Piper referred to the controversies and subsequent church closure as

13899-495: Was bought by HarperCollins , a division of News Corp , in 1988, and is the company's principal Christian book publishing division. Scott Macdonald was appointed president and CEO in May 2011. Zondervan also publishes many other books by Christian authors focusing on topics of interest to Christians. In the 1970s it published The Late, Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey , which has sold more than 30 million copies. The publisher

14022-426: Was charged by Driscoll and the other elders with "lack of trust and respect for spiritual authority" and "improper use of confidential information", the latter charge because Petry had discussed the bylaw changes with church deacon Rob Smith, who was not part of the council of elders but had been asked to join. Petry was permitted to respond to the charges, but was not allowed to attend his full trial. The elders came to

14145-420: Was discussed during a lecture given on April 20, 2009, by Mark Driscoll for The Gospel Coalition . In early 2012, the church once again became a source of controversy over shunning and disciplinary proceedings when a young man under discipline released documents from his disciplinary contract to blogger and author Mathew Paul Turner. The documents included a discipline contract and an email from church leaders to

14268-582: Was dissolved leaving each church campus to either close or become autonomous. In 2021, Mark Driscoll was the subject of a popular podcast called The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill . Driscoll was born on October 11, 1970, in Grand Forks , North Dakota . He was raised Roman Catholic in the Riverton Heights area of SeaTac , Washington , which he described as "a very rough neighborhood" where serial killer Ted Bundy had picked up victims. He

14391-437: Was leaked to the public. The letter, written days before Driscoll stepped down, urged him to step down from all aspects of ministry. It included a quote from "internationally recognized" author, pastor and former BOAA member Paul Tripp saying, "This is without a doubt, the most abusive, coercive ministry culture I've ever been involved with." One of the pastors who signed the letter was fired five days later for "rebellion against

14514-435: Was leaked to the public. The letter, written days before Driscoll stepped down, urged him to step down from all aspects of ministry. It included a quote from "internationally recognized" author, pastor and former BOAA member Paul Tripp saying, "This is without a doubt, the most abusive, coercive ministry culture I've ever been involved with." One of the pastors who signed the letter was fired five days later for "rebellion against

14637-1241: Was no longer on the board of Acts 29. Driscoll was a founding member of The Gospel Coalition, a fellowship of reformed evangelical churches. On his departure, he wrote he had no "relational conflict with anyone and no disagreement theologically"; rather, he explained that he was reorganizing his priorities and could not keep up with all of his commitments. Driscoll indicated that he intended to devote more of his efforts to Mars Hill Church, more time to his family, and less time to travel. In May 2013, former Mars Hill elder Dave Kraft filed formal charges (under Mars Hill Church bylaws) of "mistreatment" against Mark Driscoll and other leaders at Mars Hill. He specifically accused Driscoll of being "domineering, verbally violent, arrogant, and quick-tempered." Kraft further argued that this "established pattern of ... behavior" disqualified Driscoll from church leadership. Mars Hill Church's Board of Advisors and Accountability responded, saying that they sent one hundred letters to former elders and staff in an effort to substantiate Kraft's charges. They received eighteen responses, which they reviewed, and determined them to be "non-disqualifying" with respect to Driscoll's leadership position. However,

14760-476: Was the opposite of a huckster televangelist, but polished in its own way. It makes the guy easy to listen to. Rob Wall, a professor at Seattle Pacific University, links the success of Mars Hill Church to Mark Driscoll's direct answers to complicated spiritual questions: "His style of public rhetoric is very authoritative. Whether it's about the Bible, or about culture, he is very clear and definitive." In 2009, The New York Times Magazine called Driscoll "one of

14883-429: Was to be attained regardless of human and moral cost." He was quoted as saying: The reputation Driscoll got for being the cussing pastor simply because he used harsh language from the pulpit was nothing compared to the swearing and abusive language he used daily with staff. When people asked me how I liked working at Mars Hill, I would simply say, "It is a great church to attend, but I wouldn't recommend working here." It

15006-764: Was to plant 1000 new churches around the world "through recruiting, assessing, training, funding, and coaching." Acts 29 started slowly under Driscoll's tenure, with 11 churches at its inception and 17 by 2003. At that point, it began to grow rapidly, reaching 50 churches by 2006 and 410 churches by 2011. The majority are still located in the U.S., with 38 churches in 16 other countries. According to Salon , Driscoll structured Acts 29 to match his own "strict orthodoxy and views" on theology and politics, while allowing latitude in cultural specifics. Among other specifics, prospective Acts 29 church planters must be led by men. Driscoll, Mars Hill's first paid pastor, had been its main preaching pastor and public face since its inception. As

15129-403: Was well known with the staff that what was preached on Sunday was not lived out Monday morning with the staff. In a recorded message shown to church members on July 27, 2014, Driscoll discussed the various controversies of 2014. He said that he could "not address some members' discontent ... because the complaints were anonymous." According to Rob Smith, former program director at the church,

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