How did this small group of believers searching out God’s Word in a home turn into a “Mega Church Franchise” within a decade? What exactly is the cause behind the implosion of the meteoric rise of the new mega church? What conclusions ought a simple believer in Christ draw from this developing spiritual debacle coming out of Seattle, Wa., this weirdly named evangelical church called Mars Hill Church?

Mars Hill Church is the latest in Evangelical scandals that results in real damage to Jesus’ reputation. It not only shipwrecks the faith of those who followed Mark Driscoll and his team of ministers, but it is one more example of hypocrisy that discourages those on the fringes who might be considering giving their lives to Christ. Scripture reveals just the opposite of the way Mars Hill operatives have done things. Christ should be the one leading rather than Church officials who lead by their own vision and desires.

Mars Hill Church began as a home fellowship in the spring of 1996. Its founders, Driscoll and his wife, Grace, Leif Moi, and Mike Gunn, met in Driscoll’s rental home with a group of about 30 students from a denomination called: Antioch Bible Church, one of a typical pseudo-charismatic churches that tickled the ears of people and taught, among other false doctrines, that all sickness is from Satan and that Jesus Christ promises to bless all his believers with prosperity and perfect health in this life. Presumably that was the first glass of kool-aid sipped on by the Mars Hill Christians that led them to regions actually closer to Mars than the Earth where Christ actually came to save us from death and transport us to heaven, certainly not Mars.

The Mars Hill gang associated themselves by name to the place in ancient Athens where Paul gave his great address on Christ to the philosophers of Greece who had reckoned on the true God by placing a statue dedicated to the “Unknown God” among the pantheon of the gods of mythology and Mt. Olympus. No doubt they hoped to transport the church out of the world, but it is obvious to the Outcast Eagle publication that they were doing it without proper discernment of the Bible and its methods for doing this by the power of the resurrected Christ.

A Little Background History: Mars Hill Grew Quickly
Driscoll’s little church grew rapidly and had to borrow space from another church when their numbers grew to 160 people. Early on, controversy about the growth and direction of the young church caused a rift that left them with about 60 members. Still, within six months the numbers of attendees grew so quickly that they had to add a second service. Pastor Driscoll’s remarkable presence and the church’s rapid growth drew media attention and also the attention of a group called The Leadership Network, a ‘non-profit’ church-growth consulting firm. Their consulting services along with Driscoll’s ‘hip’ charismatic style appealed to a west coast population which helped numbers grow exponentially into a  fifteen church network in five western states. Sunday service is podcast each week, along with regular web conferences. At their peak they had more than 6000 members and an attendance exceeding 12,000, with their podcasts of sermons getting 260,000 (supposedly) hits weekly. With such numbers it seemed to the owners of the Church that they had literally reached the heights of Mars itself.

As with many of the popularly followed broadcast pastors like Oral Roberts, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Morris Cerullo, Ted Haggard, Kenneth Copeland, Marcus Lamb, and Benny Hinn (in The Outcast Eagles estimation the list of bogus ministry seems to reach to the two moons of Mars, named by the astronomer who discovered them in 1877: Fear and Dread) Driscoll has succumbed to his own celebrity to think he can do anything he thinks is correct or expedient.

Any human who has that many people following him and his teachings, will not endure sound doctrine if he is not completely submitted to the Holy Ghost. In the 40 years of the Outcast Eagles involvement with the Church at large, we have seen this kind of thing played out again and again since before the Jim Jones disaster at Jonestown more than thirty years ago. The worldly proverb that power corrupts is equally true when power of a worldly sort wheedles its way into any of the branches of the body of Christ which is called Church.

Driscoll was never submitted to the authority of God and the Gospel, he was out of touch with the pure Gospel at the moment he accepted Calvinism,when he and his congregation believed the old heresy of once saved always saved. That true Christians are predestined to a successful life by worldly standards, which incorrectly supposes that worldly success proves that we are God’s elect. Of course, this too is an established elixir of Kool-aid served up to some denominations of the ‘Protestant’ sport to the great consternation of the Head of The churches, Jesus Christ. The bible is clear, those who follow the teachings of these ‘reform’ churches of Sardis, mentioned in Revelation will also suffer the judgment declared by Jesus in that letter.

“And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
   Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
   Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
   Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
   He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
   He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Rev 3:1-6

Duplicitous and Dishonest Pastors and Ministers
The allegations are that some of the Mars Hill pastors and ministers were living double lives, posing as God’s servants all the while serving themselves and their lusts. The lusts took on all manner and manifestations from sexual improprieties to misuse of church funds.

In the case of Pastor Driscoll acts of plagiarism in writing his books, using church funds to boost his book sales, and abusing and manipulating the very people he was supposed to be shepherding in order to achieve his ambitions of building a church empire. Apparently he has used a pseudonym to assert and teach his highly questionable views on marriage and sex.

He stands accused by members of his staff of intimidation and slander and other misguided teaching, much of these allegations are bound in worldly political correctness which can not be allowed as the proper judge of the Church. Nevertheless, controversies over sex, marriage, and marital duties of woman are a big part of the fire-storm surrounding Driscoll in the church which he is co-founder and primary teacher.

The clergy of Mars Hill do not have a history of operating in the spirit of the Book of The Acts of The Apostles. This is quite apparent, no matter what the truth is about their sexual indiscretions or their skewed ideas about the faith to be taught by the Holy Scriptures. Bible believing churches which have this fundamentally spiritless conduct are left with no choice but to live by the law; no matter the words they profess theirs must end up being a carnal approach to all that has to do with Jesus Christ. It will just end up being some sort of a brand of Christianity without true spirituality. The Church that takes these base doctrines, so familiar in many protestant denominations, already surrender their possible liberty in Christ, replacing it with rules and regulations established by religious men. It gives Christ an undeserved bad name. These men and churches have a name of being alive but are dead just as Christ wrote to them and warned them. They will hear God’s word preached and may even enjoy some teaching, but everything must be filtered through the scriptures to separate the precious from the vile in this kind of a church. And in all reality, the believer will need to be baptized in the Holy Ghost to hang on.

Ministers that become accustomed enjoying earthly riches, notoriety, the power of being the leader of a very large ministry, are like any individual in Christ they easily wander away from following Christ in favor of following desire and self. It is very hard to forsake all that, even when they are exposed and humbled before their congregation. In the last three decades especially many of these disgraced pastors and their ministries leaders re-emerge after some period of reflection, often with public show of sorrow with tears, only to resume their ministry, in some newly concocted scheme. Often they don’t have the same following, sometimes they do. But they are accepted back by foolish and silly people who have no discernment that they are being swindled once again. One case in point is Jim Bakker. He was horribly disgraced and even imprisoned for his embezzlement and misuse of ministry funds. Once he was released from prison, he wrote and sold a book about his experience and used it as a springboard to launch another religious scheme. Bakker currently has a television program broadcast from his church. On his program and website he sells, “Time of Trouble food and supplies” along with a host of other snake oil products. To avoid being taxed it is all exchanged for money as a “donation”. He also has succeeded in building a new resort area on his church campus, complete with RV park and other lodging. The financiers who loaned him the money are not in it for any spiritual purpose but for the dough only. And people on the outside looking in come away thinking this is a true representation of Jesus Christ and His Church.

Will Mark Driscoll go the way of Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Creflo Dollar, and Benny Hinn, taking a brief time of reflection and then returning to the ministry? Mark Driscoll resigned his pastorship at Mars Hill Church two weeks ago on October 14, 2014. He and his family are leaving Mars Hill. Will the man find some real repentance and begin to seek the Lord in earnest, to find what place he can have in the church, in all righteousness? The leadership at Mars Hill were quoted as saying that his faults do not disqualify him from having a pastoral position because they did not believe he was guilty of any real sin, just being heavy handed with his staff. However, it is clear that Mark Driscoll was engaged in a pattern of dishonesty and deception in plagiarizing other people’s work for his own book sales. Even worse, he took church funds to inflate book sales dishonestly to get on a the Best Seller List for the New York Times. Finally, the more things came to light, the more it became clear he was fleecing the sheep of his flock to finance his own ambitions and those of his compatriots. The reason they will not call him out is that they would be exposed for their own greed and ambition, which they hope to continue. The Acts 29 organization that supported his “church planting” efforts, withdrew their support because they could see he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. They could not afford any further association with Mark Driscoll and the people at Mars Hill Church.

Based on past history, it is not real hopeful that Mark Driscoll can come to real repentance and be truly reconciled to Jesus in all humility. If he runs true to form he will re-emerge cooking up the same vulgar stew, attempting to regain his place in the ministry, serving his ambition and need for power. Should he be forgiven if he truly repents, yes, why not? Should he ever be allowed to lead and teach Christians as a shepherd of the flock, absolutely not, not ever! The Scriptures make no requirement for that.

As for Mars Hill Church their spiritual problems remain with or without Mark Driscoll. They still have erroneous unscriptural doctrines throughout their church and no close relationship with the Holy Ghost to guide them in these last epoch days of Church history. Perhaps the most merciful thing would be for Mars Hill Church to go belly up, giving everyone a chance to start over so they could get in touch with “God’s Honest Truth,”  i.e. The Go(d) spel(l) of Jesus Christ), that being the Spirit of God vs. the spirit of religion.

See: More detailed discussion of modern Sardis