Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill resigned

[jerkit]

Warren Throckmorton is reporting this:

According to those familiar with Driscoll’s employment agreement, this “written notice of my voluntary termination of employment†is important because it triggers a very generous termination package of one year of base salary and benefits.

patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/10/15/mark-driscoll-resigns-from-mars-hill-church/#ixzz3GG96G4Ca

[Joan of Snarc]

:banana-linedance:

[RachelB]

Well, I'll be a three-toed tree sloth. (⊙ω⊙)

I also look forward to seeing how this plays out. I'm surprised he's leaving without being criminally charged with something.

Wishing all the best to those whose trust he abused.

[Firiel]

FOR FUCK'S SAKE. Someone on Facebook just posted a Driscoll defense where they stated they were looking forward to his next ministry.

AND 19 PEOPLE HAVE LIKED IT. 19 AND COUNTING.

[Rainytown]

The church posted an official announcement a few moments ago.

https://marshill.com/2014/10/15/pastor- ... esignation?

utm_content=buffer9edbe&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Link is broken

And my ISP picked a hell of a day to crap out on me...

I am sorry for the thousands of people this man hurt and lied to. (Dare I say "defrauded"?) Considering the fact that one of the FB pages for those who've left Mars Hill has posted information on how to fill out an Attorney General consumer complaint, Mark Driscoll may have a lot more to worry about soon than his claims that his family felt "threatened". (One of the local TV news places went to his house a month and a half ago and tried to talk with him about what was happening at Mars HIll. He pretended to be someone else.)

I look forward to seeing what happens next. I predict he's going to lie low for a few months and re-invent himself (and his church) elsewhere.

[laura oz]

I just found this out and I was all like "YES!" out loud and did the dorkiest fist pump ever. I'm just so happy that he's out of a job. I'll think about all the other ways his evil can infect the world tomorrow; right now I'm just going to savor this.

[Howl]

Warren Throckmorton is reporting this:

Ahhhhh, so he's pulling the ripcord on the the golden parachute.

Maybe now people will be able to find out what his base salary looks like.

[Bookworm]

It's been months since I've been able to read here due to lots of life changes, but upon hearing this news I had to come back here and read the reactions. As usual, y'all warm the cockles of my heart with your snark.

[Jasmar]

FOR FUCK'S SAKE. Someone on Facebook just posted a Driscoll defense where they stated they were looking forward to his next ministry.

AND 19 PEOPLE HAVE LIKED IT. 19 AND COUNTING.

Shaking my head.

I just had a post go by too - guy who is a licensed, professional counselor, talking about how he's praying for MH and for Mark Driscoll, about how sad it all is. This is the same person who no longer wants to be part of a support group for me and my kids so that he can be available for my (abusive, to-be-ex) husband. A very kind-hearted person in many ways, not a power-tripping jerk by any means. And yet he's more worried about the poor, poor abusers.

This is the reason why most of my Christian conservative friends think I'm too liberal, while my liberal friends think I'm too conservative. I don't march to the evangelical party line any more. Evangelicalism in the US is a welcoming haven for sociopaths.

(Edited for clarification)

[jerkit]

MD's salary is estimated in the $500K range. So if he's been saving, even with the high cost of living in Seattle, he should be just fine for awhile.

patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/10/16/what-now-mars-hill-what-will-the-season-of-severance-be-like/

[Black Aliss]

I look forward to seeing what happens next. I predict he's going to lie low for a few months and re-invent himself (and his church) elsewhere.

I predict a new career in MLM, perhaps HerbaLife or Xyngular.

[jerkit]

My next question is: will all of MD's content belong to him or MH? He/They have tens of thousands of hours over the course of years of his preaching available on their podcast and app. Will that remain? Is Mark going to fight for his work? Is MH going to try to erase the past and rebrand themselves?

[moodygirl86]

Yup. For these people, "morality" equals "not sticking your dick into someone who isn't your wife." Any other behavior is fair game.

Like my misogynistic ex BF (also coincidentally called Mark) who thought of himself as a "perfect gentleman" just because he didn't hit me. Apparently that made it acceptable to still be shagging his "ex" then act like I was being unreasonable when I found out about it and wouldn't believe his bullshit about how he was "going to" finish things with her. I was a "nasty bitch" for not "listening to his side of the story". In fact if Driscoll wasn't American, it wouldn't amaze me if it was the same guy trolling on the interwebz about what horrible creatures women are for not being grateful that a guy like him has bothered to enter their lives.

[Rachel333]

I maintain that he is the most dangerous type of fundie, so I am very happy about this news. I can't believe what an amazing year this has been in terms of fundie leaders being taken down.

[Firiel]

I maintain that he is the most dangerous type of fundie, so I am very happy about this news. I can't believe what an amazing year this has been in terms of fundie leaders being taken down.

I agree. People see the Duggars as quaint and PP/ZsuZsu as crazy.

People actually listen to and practically worship Mark Driscoll. The others are good for the lulz and dangerous to their families, but MD is scary because he seems "relevant."

[thoughtful]

I predict a new career in MLM, perhaps HerbaLife or Xyngular.

Or he could go truly classic:

[LaLele]

Here is an off-shoot church that is attempting to pull in the MH defectors. It's headed by 2 recently defected MH pastors. redemptionchurchseattle.com

[LaLele]

And here is a go-fund me account for the same 2 that are "seeding" the above church.

gofundme.com/eg0sdg

I can personally attest that one of these guys is a douchecanoe so I would advise against donating your hard earned dinero.

[Dark Matters]

Apparently, Driscoll and his second in command, Sutton Turner, aren't following their own rules about severance pay that they enacted on their underlings (quelle surprise!).

wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/10/if-turner-and-driscoll-get-severance.html

[Howl]

And here is a go-fund me account for the same 2 that are "seeding" the above church. gofundme.com/eg0sdg

I can personally attest that one of these guys is a douchecanoe so I would advise against donating your hard earned dinero.

From the Redemption Church Web site:

Drew Hensley

Pastor of Discipleship & Community

Drew began following Jesus as a child where he grew up in Columbia, Missouri. He earned his B.A in Pastoral Studies from Cedarville University in Ohio before moving to Atlanta and then South Carolina where he served as an associate pastor before moving to Seattle to serve as lead pastor in a larger church context.

Ryan Kearns

Pastor of Discipleship & Direction

Ryan became a follower of Jesus during college in Las Vegas. He completed his Master of Divinity in Leadership at Denver Seminary, and has since served in church plants and larger churches both in Denver and Seattle.

Distancing themselves from Mars Hill much? :o

Drew Hensley has that deeply fanatic, Papa Botkin look about him.

These guys pinged my dick-dar big time, because under all the let's join hands and sing Kumaya, it's the same old same old biblical inerrancy:

THE BIBLE.

The Bible is wholly authentic, fully trustworthy, and completely without error. There is nothing that can be added to it or taken from it. The Bible is the revealed word of God and is useful for teaching, encouraging, and correcting. (Psalm 19:7-14; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Yeah, I'm not getting my check book out.

[jerkit]

So apparently the previous announcement didn't tell the whole story. MD chose to quit rather than go through with the restoration plan his board created. He quit rather than changing.

patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/10/19/mars-hill-church-board-of-elders-mark-driscoll-resigned-instead-of-enter-restoration-plan-to-deal/

[neuroticcat]

Agree with everyone above. The narcissist's resignation letter released pre-emptively, so Mark could still be in charge of his PR (vs. waiting until the review board could say negative things about him). My guess is that they had a plan for changed behavior for him, and he walked. I can't see MD submitting to even the manliest of manly leaders.

And the slick new Redemption Church website made my head explode a bit. I mean, come on. Take some time and recoup from a toxic dysfunctional church context. Or how about visiting one of the many healthy churches in Seattle? But, no, instead, let's re-create MH without taking a single moment to wonder if there are negative things going on. And let's put misleading press up that totally distances us from the MH trainwreck. And let's make sure WE CAN STILL BE IMPORTANT CELEBRITY PASTORS.

Also: MH was caught putting a couple more properties up for sale without informing members. When Throckmorton (the blogger who has been covering much of this) e-mailed to ask about this, they issued a hasty statement to the congregation. I think the financial crisis is big - perhaps this is also why Mark jumped ship, to try and get as much of his one year's severance as he can.

I also think it's a good sign that people may be filing charges (is that the right term?) with the attorney general over the whole Global funds issue. Perhaps that will wake more people up. Either way, I have a hard time seeing how MArs Hill Church will stay afloat through all this. I think plenty of Mark's loyal fans were also upset when he abruptly resigned, abandoning his "spiritual family."