But it's OK, it was predestined to happen
Mark Driscoll, the charismatic but choleric pastor of a once-booming evangelical megachurch based in Seattle, has resigned after the completion of an internal investigation into his conduct, the church’s board announced on Wednesday.
The investigation by a group of elders at the church, Mars Hill, found that Mr. Driscoll “has, at times, been guilty of arrogance, responding to conflict with a quick temper and harsh speech, and leading the staff and elders in a domineering manner.” But the board also declared that some unspecified accusations against Mr. Driscoll were “altogether unfair or untrue” and said that “Pastor Mark has never been charged with any immorality, illegality or heresy.”
Mr. Driscoll submitted his resignation on Tuesday, the church said. He had been on leave since late August while the investigation was being conducted.
“I readily acknowledge I am an imperfect messenger of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” he wrote in his resignation letter. “There are many things I have confessed and repented of, privately and publicly, as you are well aware. Specifically, I have confessed to past pride, anger and a domineering spirit.”
Mr. Driscoll’s rise and fall are among the more dramatic in the recent annals of American evangelicalism. He built a sprawling church empire with 15 campuses in five Western states that was powered by his tough-guy persona, which proved particularly alluring to young men not often found in church. He is a strong advocate of complementarianism — the notion that men and women have different roles to play — and is a leading figure in an evangelical movement called New Calvinism, which emphasizes predestination.
But as his church grew, he was periodically criticized for language that objectified women and disparaged gay people, and for a centralized decision-making structure and imperious management style that some on his staff and in his congregation found bullying or even verbally abusive. In recent months, a number of high-level staffers resigned or were fired, while the church acknowledged a sharp drop in attendance and contributions, and began closing some campuses.
The board said on Wednesday that it was now “moving forward with planning for pastoral transition, recognizing the challenge of such a task in a church that has only known one pastor since its founding.”
Rob Smith, a deacon who quit several years ago in a falling out with Mr. Driscoll, called the news of his resignation bittersweet.
“Mark Driscoll did the right thing in resigning,” Mr. Smith said. However, he added, “There has been no attempt to reach out and make things right with the many disenfranchised people harmed by the abusive environment.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/16/us...mars-hill.html
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