So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. - 1Peter 5: 1-3 (ESV)
"At the end of the day, we are all on the same side." These were the words of Hillsong lead pastor and worldwide heretic, Brian Houston. He spoke these words to disgraced ex-pastor Mark Driscoll at the recent Hillsong Conference. If you are wondering how that is possible since Houston had disinvited Driscoll after public outcry, it is because Brian Houston is also a liar. After swearing to remove Driscoll, Houston snuck him in the back door via a satellite interview. This Kumbaya unity moment between Driscoll and Houston was what followed a public statement of confession, repentance and apology from Driscoll to Joel Osteen. It seems that many years ago, before it all went to Mark's head, he had correctly rebuked the Osteen false gospel in a sermon. Now that he needs back in the good graces of the mega church elite in order to resurrect his imploded career, Driscoll must first pay homage at the altar of Lakewood Church. Houston, Driscoll, and Osteen. At the end of the day they are all indeed on the same side. Well said Brian.
The problem of course is that it is not the same side God is on. Osteen of course is legendary in his cartoonish false preaching. His messages are devoid of the actual Gospel of Jesus Christ and his faux altar calls will end up consigning untold numbers of people to hell. He is on record as saying that doctrine isn't his gift. As if preaching correctly is a gift only some pastors actually have. He is on record as saying that people already know what they do wrong so he tries to provide them "hope." Of course that hope is ultimately in themselves, not in God for the forgiveness of their sins. You know, the Gospel? A major word-faith heretic, Osteen routinely butchers the Bible in nearly every sermon he brings. Granted, he does not use the Bible all that much but when he does you can bet it was misused.
Then there is Brian Houston. The king of the Hillsong empire. This smoke machine driven Christ-less gospel is firmly rooted in the false prosperity doctrine. One of the books by "Pastor" Houston is entitled, "You Need More Money"; so he isn't exactly shy about his false teaching either. Hillsong has become a global enterprise which has grown increasingly squishy when it comes to standing for correct doctrine. Like Osteen, they employ a seeker-friendly model designed to attract goats and swear to them that they are saved. They do this however by compromising the true Gospel. It was just this year that Hillsong London mixed in the club song, "I Like to Move It, Move It" during the worship set. During a sermon this year the "pastor" of Hillsong NYC preached a message where he thanked God during prayer for the hotness of his wife. You just can't make this stuff up.
And so we come to the third musketeer, Mark Driscoll. Once known as the bad boy of reformed theology, Driscoll now finds himself on the outside looking in and he desperately wants back in. He wants to line up at the trough again and make merchandise of the sheep of the Lord. So he is forced to align himself with those he once scoffed at. He must come to the gatekeepers because they have the power to make him over again. That is why Driscoll spoke at Robert Morris' church a few months back. It is why he set up the interview at the Hillsong Conference. The problem is that he still was publicly on record as having disparaged the ultimate kingmaker in Osteen. I am sure Morris and Houston advised him to suddenly feel led of the Lord to "repent" for his previous indiscretions against the mega church darling. When asked about Joel during the interview by Houston, Driscoll responded:
"I think in the providence of God I can honestly say it was a couple of weeks ago that the Lord convicted me of that sin against pastor Joel. And so, through a mutual friend, I have contact with his team and have asked permission to send him a private apology. But in addition to that, I appreciate this opportunity to publicly apologize to him,"
Yeah Mark, that was not the Lord convicting you. How can we be so sure? Because the words from Driscoll about Osteen were not sinful. They were in fact pretty fair and measured. He correctly pointed out that this puppies and pancakes theology Osteen preaches was false. There was no need to repent. At least not for that. What Driscoll still needs to repent of is the fact that he stole over $200,000 of tithes monies. He needs to repent that he cheated the NY Times Best Seller list by falsifying his book sales. He needs to repent of plagiarizing every book he has written. He needs to repent of the brashness and overly sexual nature of his preaching for many years. He needs to repent of his bullying of employees and elders. He needs to repent of bragging about the "pile of dead bodies" he was leaving in the wake of the Mars Hill bus he was driving. But instead, he thinks God is convicting him to repent to one of the fiercest wolves mangling the sheep of God today in Joel Osteen. Wow.
The key verses today remind us of the requirements to be an under-shepherd of Jesus Christ. Mark Driscoll has failed on every front. He was domineering over those in his charge. His own board was about to rebuke him for it when he stepped down to avoid the public reproach, once again claiming God audibly told him to do so. He did not shepherd the flock. He ran them over with his Mars Hill bus. He mocked those he hurt the most. Shameful gain? We still do not know how much ancillary monies he made by cheating the NY Times. He still has not paid back the $200,000 in tithe monies. There most certainly was and still is enough for Mark Driscoll to repent of but correctly calling Joel Osteen false is not one of them. The fact that this is what he claims God convicted him of reveals how false Driscoll truly is today.
So thank you to Hillsong for lying about having Mark Driscoll at your conference. Without it, we would not have seen this pitiful display. We would have never heard the most honest sound bite to ever come out of the Australian Mega Church. Brian Houston, Joel Osteen and Mark Driscoll. At the end of the day, they are all on the same side. Thanks Brian. Nailed it.
Rev. Anthony.
