Reflections from The Mars Hill Podcast
A few weeks into the series, I wrote a few reminders for those who were listening to “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill.”
Some have written extensively on the benefits of such a series. Some have wondered if we’re just soaking in the failure of others. But wherever you stand on the validity of such story-telling, we can all agree that there is much to reflect on and learn from the Mars Hill story itself.
Here are a few reflections of mine from this podcast series:
1. Good storytelling matters.
One of the reasons why I believe this podcast was so popular was due to the artistic manner in which Mike Cosper and his team told the story. They unfolded a dramatic story in a beautiful way. You didn’t have to agree with Cosper’s conclusions or his angles, but you could appreciate it.
Furthermore, I was grateful for the marginalized voices and stories we would’ve never heard otherwise. Devastating stories are often reduced down to a few set of characters but the reality is hardly so simple. I’m glad many got to share their point of view to widen the perspective of the Mars Hill story.
2. Humans beings are paradoxically powerless and powerful.
People are fragile, weak, and in need of God’s power. Yet, humans also exercise dominion and influence evidenced in the cultural mandate to create, cultivate, and multiply. Both are realities. And the Mars Hill story demonstrates this dynamic at work. Mars Hill was just one church in the Pacific Northwest. Yet it impacted hundreds of thousands of people and influenced churches across the nation. Mark Driscoll was just one individual limited by space, time, and energy. Yet, he was a force to be reckoned with as a thought leader and culture setter.
This is one of the paradoxical undercurrents of church leadership (and all of life): We’re both dispensible and dangerously capable. These are both true at the same time. So unless we take our steps cognizant of both realities, we walk in foolishness regarding how the world (as we know it) works.
3. We all struggle with a “Mark Driscoll syndrome.”
The reason why we know the Driscoll name is because he had the unicorn blend of unreal gifting, explosive “ministry success” coupled with the timely rise of online broadcast platforms. But there are countless ambitious, little-to-no accountability, “my way or the highway” leaders. There’s a Mark Driscoll tendency in everyone’s soul, including my own.
The difference (thankfully) is most of us are not nearly as gifted or have had the success or opportunities he did. If it were us, we may have done far worse. We’re invited to crucify the fallen desires (or what the Bible calls “the flesh”) every day. For example, I need the reminder in this season that “more” will never be enough for my soul. More numeric growth, more opportunities, the bigger stage, will not do for me what Jesus can do. I have to proactively fight against it because it’s fighting against me.
4. The ends don’t justify the means
To give an example, I’ve always felt a little uncomfortable whenever I’d hear a leader say something along the lines of, “It’s all about the mission. Nothing else matters.” This is because “the mission” can so easily be narrowed to that of an organization’s mission (which is still important) rather than supporting the overall mission of the Kingdom of God which chases the great commission in the spirit of the great commandment. The unspoken message, therefore becomes, “Everything else, including how we treat people is inconsequential since the mission is so important.”
Yes, the advance of the gospel is of utmost importance. But isn’t it actually to be off-mission if that becomes the justification of poor treatment of God-imaged human beings? Isn’t the method of the message, the first line of proof? The proof of the pudding is not just in the content, but in its contextualization into every space and sphere. This doesn’t mean difficult decisions are never made. Godly leadership requires difficult decisions. But the posture, spirit, and tone should always have an undercurrent of the gospel reflecting our beautiful Jesus.
5. Dysfunction happens at every church size and at every church tribe.
If your takeaway is to point suspicious fingers at the megachurch, you weren’t paying attention to what Cosper was getting at. Personally, the most dysfunctional cultures I’ve witnessed were smaller, not bigger contexts. This is perhaps because relational influence operates more powerfully than positional influence in smaller contexts. I even had a pastor of 50 people once look me dead in the eye and tell me what a big deal he was in certain church circles.
Dysfunction may be amplified and newsworthy at a big church, but these cultures exist in large, small, multi-ethnic, ethic-based, Reformed, Charismatic, you-name-it churches. And this is why we have to prayerfully resist the idols of our own tribes and churches so that we can be true shepherds at our ministry posts.
6. Most ministry “heroes” are unknown to most of us.
My favorite episode was the one that centered on David Nicholas, the true founder and creator of Acts29. As a long-time fan of Acts29, I had never heard of his name. But I felt ministered to listening to that episode knowing that he was receiving his reward from Jesus, and not from man. He was hearing “Well done” from His master and king, and not from a company brand.
A lot of the true heroes at our churches aren’t the people who take the stage. They’re the committed members who were there for decades. It’s the person who willingly gives up his or her long-held volunteer leadership spot to create more opportunities for emerging leaders. It’s the prayer warrior who prays for his or her church week in and week out with hardly anyone knowing. I am grateful for the widely unrecognized in our churches. To be sure, they’re recognized by Jesus, and make no mistake about it - they will have their reward.
7. We should give careful consideration to the stories we’re writing.
There is something hauntingly poetic about the whole Mars Hill story. Driscoll built his branding on men taking responsibility and yet left it all behind in the end. He accused his former executive assistant of “heresy” but she later would give a “prophetic word” of warning before the church closed its doors. He threatened one staff that if he left and built his own church that he would tear it down “brick by brick” and yet Mars Hill the organization would eventually own no buildings. Part of the church’s ethos was a spirit of controversy, and controversy was precisely what brought it down.
We’re all writing a personal and collective story with our lives and churches. These stories are being written one small decision at a time. We’re invited to give careful thought and consideration to the decisions we’re making and the stories we’re choosing to write because we’re writing one at the moment, whether we know it or not.
8. Culture is both intended and unintended.
This is somewhat related to the previous point, but one of the values of the Mars Hill culture was for men to rise up and take responsibility. That’s a good message even still today. But as this culture was championed, an unintended culture arose which de-powered women in the home, church, and workforce. [Some will say this was intended] The reality is, we’re all creating unintended cultures in our efforts to create a good one.
This is happening not just in our churches, but in our homes, relationships, and through our social media presence. You can be about Biblical fidelity and promote self-righteousness. You can be about healthy marriages and marginalize singles and divorcees. You can be about excellence and champion unsustainable work environments. We have to take stock of the back-end of culture. Desire is a good starting point, but the steps to ask the right questions, listen, and pivot will help mitigate the unintended ones. But it’s easier said than done.
9. The equations of God are mysterious.
Was God unaware of this podcast when Mars Hill was first planted in ‘96? Didn’t God know so many would be hurt by the church? He did. And yet despite what I think he could’ve or should’ve done, the Scriptures testify that he is big enough, secure enough, and wise enough to let it happen anyways. I admit it’s perplexing. I’m also perplexed when I think about the fruit from Mars Hill over the years. How could God use such a dysfunctional context to do the work he did? Why didn’t he choose a different leader to spearhead the movement? I don’t know.
But what I do know is the center of the Christian faith is more mysterious than anything. A God-man who took a cross and bore my sins? His righteousness covering me completely? He has chosen to use sinful people like you and me to share the news of Jesus? His “foolishness” is greater than man’s wisdom. He doesn’t always make sense to me, but I know I’ll see the fuller picture one day.
10. I long for reconciliation and for things to be made right.
Maybe I’m naive and hoping for a pipe dream, but I found myself longing for reconciliation between Driscoll and the many who were on the podcast. I felt this longing when the former executive pastor, Sutton Turner shared about how he was reaching out to former staff to apologize in the last episode. I can’t help but think it would be such a beautiful testimony to the watching world. A testimony that says, “Yes, we’re broken but we really believe his body was broken for us.”
I found myself thinking about the many people I know presently who have been hurt and burned by a local church. My heart aches for them. I pray for a day that things will be made right, or at the very least that forgiveness will win the day.
Conclusion
As tragic as the Mars Hill story may be, I know there are countless unknown pastors and churches who are faithfully and beautifully carrying out the duties of the church. Most of these pastors will never have a podcast series dedicated to their success. Most of these churches will never have a book written to commemorate their legacies. But they also won’t have a podcast series or book dedicated to their fall either.
And more importantly, Jesus sees, knows, and will reward them.
He is more present and knowledgeable about the inner workings of our churches than we could ever imagine. At least this is the scene we’re given in Revelation 2-3.
May this lead us to a healthy fear of the Lord and a simultaneous comfort to know that he is the one who builds (and uproots) his church.
