For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. - Titus 1: 7a (ESV)
Mark Driscoll still does not get it. Back in March he put out a video feigning an apology but only muddying the Mars Hill waters further. It seemed an exercise in vague spin control designed to push aside legitimate criticisms by painting himself as both apologist and victim. Fast forward to today and we see the pastor of Mars Hill has not learned anything from that failed attempt at damage control. In the five months since that video release, Driscoll has watched as his empire has crumbled around him. The Acts 29 Network of churches, which Driscoll founded, has disassociated themselves from him and recommended that he step down. The second largest Christian book retailer has pulled all of his titles. The Mars Hill Resurgence Conference has been cancelled as speakers started pulling out. Outside conferences Driscoll was scheduled to speak at have cancelled him as well. Finally this week a group of former Mars Hill leaders filed official charges against Driscoll, outlining in specific detail the horrific abuses people suffered at his hands. While the compromised board of accountability tried to dismiss it they came to the conclusion today that they could no longer hope this would all blow over.
So today, Mark Driscoll read yet another statement to the people of Mars Hill. It seemed carefully parsed to side step any specific relevant admission of guilt and peppered with vague apologies so he can claim he has done something he has yet to do - come clean and own up to what he has done. These specific problems remain unaddressed:
1) Stealing 200,000 dollars in tithe monies to pay a company to cheat the NY Times Bestseller list. This has never been owned or apologized for. In fact, the only time it was addressed at all was for the board to claim there was nothing wrong with it.
2) Rampant plagiarism alleged throughout his writings. This issue has also been sidestepped as being accidental in nature.
3) Gleefully preaching that he drives the Mars Hill bus leaving a pile of dead bodies in its wake. The bodies being those who would dare oppose him. Driscoll has never addressed this specifically.
4) The firing of former elders and pastors as well as directing the church to shun them.
5) The recently released charges, which detail specific abuses.
6) The horror stories of abuse suffered by former sheep as detailed on welovemarshill.com
There were more problems including his arrogant brashness when defending his profanity and sexual preaching but these six items seem to represent the bulk of what remains unaddressed. It appears that to Driscoll, making a video saying he is sorry for unspecified actions in his past should suffice as a catch all for these very specific offenses. It does not. Neither does mixing that alleged apology with language designed to make yourself look like the victim. My sincere hope was that he would have learned how miserably that failed him back in March but today he doubled down. Today's faux mea culpa included the following:
1) "I have already confessed my sins and missteps." Really? To who? If you had then there would be less people detailing what happened to them, not more.
2) "Others have chosen to air their grievances in a more public forum." This cuts to the heart of what Driscoll keeps trying to do. He keeps trying to delegitimize people who he hurt because they chose to publicly detail what happened. Keep in mind we are dealing with people who were badly abused and/or shunned. Why in the world does Driscoll think they should come back to the hand that beat them to chat? These are people who already tried the reconciliation process of Matthew 18 and were not greeted with any semblance of biblical behavior - from their former pastor mind you.
3) "Some accusations are completely true, some are partially true, and some are completely untrue." Another tell-tale tactic of Driscoll is to be as vague as humanly possible when alleging he is apologizing. If he was sincere about being sorry, then he should share what he is sorry for. Not muddy the waters by again playing the victim of having untrue accusations leveled against him.
4) "Some have brought up issues addressed and resolved long ago." Again, without specifics we simply cannot tell what he is talking about. Driscoll then spent a few minutes reviewing the offensive blog posts he made 15 years ago, when he was a new 29 year old pastor. I agree with him that these are really not too relevant today. The sad thing is it seems he brought them up just to curry sympathy. He was in effect saying this is what they are complaining about when in reality no one is complaining about his silly posts from the year 2000.
5) "I am deserving of some of these criticisms for past actions for which I am genuinely sorry." Again - what are you sorry for? This is not an apology because no one knows to what you are referring. Also, by saying you deserve some of the criticisms you keep inferring that some are unwarranted. Which ones Mark?
6) "The same media that can carry a sermon around the globe can be used by anyone around the globe to criticize, attack or slander. However, part of it is simply my fault and I own it, confess it, and move on from it."
No Mark, you are not moving on from it because you have yet to define what it is. You now have inferred that you have been attacked and slandered. By whom? You have indicated that some things said about you are partially untrue and others completely untrue? Which ones are which? Take a good long look at the six items that remain unanswered. Coming out and vaguely apologizing why playing the victim card does not mean anything. It does not remove the storm clouds you finally notice hovering around you. It only continues to reveal your arrogance in not being able to man up to what you have done.
Driscoll went on to say he was going to take some steps at this point including stepping down for at least six weeks while the new charges are reviewed by the elders. I am not sure who specifically gets to review them but if it is the compromised accountability board that seems pointless considering the have already cleared him. Saying you will not speak publicly during this time when everyone in Christendom is cutting you as a speaker seems a tad self serving as well. Today's press release was as poorly contrived as the previous ones Driscoll has done. They seemed to be vehicles to claim an apology has been offered when all that was really done was to portray himself as the victim.
I repeat that I genuinely pray that Mark Driscoll repent for the litany of disqualifying behaviors he has admitted to already. That repentance does not mean an automatic return to the pulpit either. I am continually astounded at the lengths his apologists are willing to go to. None of these outstanding issues is in contention. The stealing of the tithes is admitted to and in his mind justified. The plagiarism has been exposed. The pile of dead bodies sermon is public record. The horror stories are documented. Driscoll keeps trying to say that this discussion occurring in the public sphere is somehow not healthy for the church. That is utter unbiblical nonsense. When Demas abandoned Paul he called him out publicly for it. When Hymenaeus and Philetus left the path of truth, Paul called them out publicly. Matthew 18 is dealing with private sins between equal believers not public matters of pastoral abuse. Trying to hide the resolution to these problems is not in the best interest in the body of Christ. What we need to see is a public reconciliation. That would have to consist of Mark Driscoll stepping down to make amends and seek the Lord for forgiveness. We will not do what he has done to others and shun him. We will pray for him to eventually be restored to the body. None of this can happen however as long as he thinks he can sweep this all under the rug with apologies directed at nothing specifically while complaining that he has been unfairly attacked. The key verse today makes it abundantly clear. Mark Driscoll is no longer qualified to be a pastor.
