It's like Whack-A-Mole! Mark Driscoll is back!

[apple1]

@Howl As they used to say in church, "A good hearty Amen!"

[Evangeline]

Who is this commenter and how do we get them to join FJ? 

[Howl]

Mark Driscoll redux: 

A Family is Allegedly Driven From Mark Driscoll’s The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona

This is from a blog by Wandering Eagle, but was linked on a Warren Throckmorton post, so I'm considering it legit. 

This is the Throckmorton post: 

Mark Driscoll’s Elderless Church, Part Four – Who Are the Elders?

[neuroticcat]

Yes, I think it is legit. Throckmorton continues to post updates. I found this telling: 

“Some things do sound the same. Non-disclosure agreements are again being used. Money is again conditioned on silence. People are describing abrupt decisions about membership without due process. Friends and family who are considered disloyal to the church are being shunned. At some point, these stories may be told. For now, according to former members and staff,  the pastors who are there in addition to Driscoll are not elders in the decision making sense of the office. If elders hold you accountable in one place, eliminate them in the next place.”

 

Shockingly, Mark abruptly leaving after Mars Hill firing did not suddenly make him less toxic. He is repeating the same abuses but apparently was far thinking enough to have NO elders at his new church. Voila! Problem solved! Also no access to church finances. 

Driscolls’s Trinity Church leadership structure:

Spoiler

How daughter Ashley also is on staff ? And Throckmorton got ahold of some messed up and poorly organized staffing statements that also show things are doomed: 

Spoiler

 

Edited May 8, 2021 by neuroticcat
Spoilers for photos

[neuroticcat]

On 5/2/2021 at 7:41 PM, Howl said:

Mark Driscoll redux: 

A Family is Allegedly Driven From Mark Driscoll’s The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona

This is from a blog by Wandering Eagle, but was linked on a Warren Throckmorton post, so I'm considering it legit. 

This is the Throckmorton post: 

Mark Driscoll’s Elderless Church, Part Four – Who Are the Elders?

Wow that post about the family is something else if true. 
 

It alleges that a 15 year old boy and Mark’s 17 year old daughter kissed. Mark then pulled the kid into his office and verbally abused him before sending another pastor to let the father know they couldn’t stay for evening service because he couldn’t preach if he saw him in the pews.

Later Mark spoke for the daughter and demanded all communication end. When the dad wrote a letter asking Mark’s conduct be addressed “biblically”, the dad found himself investigated by the police. 
 

It’s hard to say if it’s true or not since it’s secondhand and the blogger obviously is against Mark, but it sounds true to form. What a mess. 
 

As a side note, Mark’s described rules for dating sound very much like fundie courtship, once again proving Mars Hill et al are basically fundies with tats.

”Mark Driscoll had strict rules about dating. Actually according to Mark you didn’t date, you became best friends and that should date with the intent to marry. All dating was with the intent to marry. That should lead to an engagement and then marriage. ” 

 

Edited May 8, 2021 by neuroticcat
Added screenshot

[Howl]

Nepotism is going strong at Trinity Church. 

• Wife Grace heads the Flourishing Women ministry
• Mark's new son-in-law Landon Chase is the "Next Generation" pastor
• As noted by @neuroticcat upthread, oldest daughter Ashley (who recently married Landon) is on staff  as "executive director" of Real Faith
• Zac Driscoll is "director of interns" 

 

Side note about authoritarians that we've learned from having one as a past president: authoritarians love having family hired in important positions because family are the only people they will trust. 

Edited May 18, 2021 by Howl

[Howl]

From the Roys Report on May 15, 2021

 Mark Driscoll Paid for Honeymoon with Church Funds; Uses Gift Cards to Pay Interns, Former Members doSay

I'll be bookmarking the Roys Report and you may want to as well. 

Quote

The Roys Report is a Christian media outlet, reporting the unvarnished truth about what’s happening in the Christian community so the church can be reformed and restored.

Julie Roys investigates the seedy underbelly of evangelical mega churches and other bad actors, like, oh, Mark Driscoll, James Macdonald, Jerry Falwell, Ravi Zacharias, Hill Song, James MacAuthor, the Evangelical Industrial Complex and on and on.

[Howl]

as @neuroticcat noted upthread 

On 5/8/2021 at 4:59 AM, neuroticcat said:

Shockingly, Mark abruptly leaving after Mars Hill firing did not suddenly make him less toxic. He is repeating the same abuses

He's hard-core authoritarian to the bone and trying to disguise it as "Pastor Mark" isn't fooling anybody on the outside.

Check out Warren Throckmorton's blog is (not surprisingly) wthrockmorton.com   Just start at the top or scroll down and pick your topic.  He's covering a lot of Mark Driscoll and it's all appalling. 

This Throckmorton post blew me away: 

The Trinity Church May Be Watching You

<snip>

Quote

In addition, Freese [ex Director of Security at The Trinity Church] told me [Throckmorton] that Driscoll authorized the boy’s family members to be surveilled in the community and monitored on social media. Church funds were expended to hire security personnel to follow them and report back concerning their activities.

Probably just a matter of time until The Trinity Church implodes like Mars Hill, because shit like this is already starting to happen:  

Quote

[Freese's] resignation comes amid the departure of several families and other staff members, some of whom are unable to speak due to non-disclosure agreements.

 

 

[G33kywife]

Luke Chase, who was on staff at Trinity, resigned. He is Landon’s brother (Landon is married to Mark’s daughter). So lots of complicated relationship overlap with his departure. 
 

https://www.wthrockmorton.com/2021/05/30/postcards-from-phoenix-when-church-divides-a-family/?fbclid=IwAR3NICjoJQpxdEc6AU4HpNe1a830GqT8IWnM6aF3A5IPek1Ga1dXc-APaL4

[Giraffe]

Nothing says “healthy church” quite like making exiting members sign NDA’s. /s

[Howl]

1 hour ago, G33kywife said:

Luke Chase, who was on staff at Trinity, resigned. He is Landon’s brother (Landon is married to Mark’s daughter). So lots of complicated relationship overlap with his departure. 

I just read Luke Chase's Postcards from Phoenix letter to Warren Throckmorton linked by @G33kywife above.  Driscoll is toxic, toxic, toxic to the absolute core of his being. 

Quote

The church leaders dictated who I was allowed to be friends with. There were some employees I was allowed to spend time with outside of work, probably because of their trust rating. 

I'm surprised that I'm surprised that The Trinity Church has gotten so big and is going so incredibly bad so fast.  It's a Mars Hill redux.  Really, Driscoll has recreated the same toxic, soul destroying dynamics of Mars Hill, only faster and meaner, because there are no pesky elders to interfere. 

Like this (another quote from Luke's letter): 

Quote

When I finally did ask them what happened I was angered to learn that Pastor Mark Driscoll yelled at and wounded my mom emotionally.* My dad had tried to restore the relationship, but Pastor Mark did not feel like he had done anything wrong. It was after this incident that they were declared toxic in an attempt to explain why the church was no longer in fellowship with them.

*It's known from incidents at Mars Hill that Driscoll can be vicious and really ugly with his anger and comments. 

Edited May 30, 2021 by Howl

[G33kywife]

Is it possible for this topic to be moved out of archives? I feel like there will be many many more stories coming out of Trinity Church in the weeks and months to come, and people need to know what is happening there! 

[clueliss]

I have a personal “rule” about churches based on experiences.  Any church that appears to be an employment agency for the pastor’s family is a no go.  A d this one falls into that category.  (I also have a rule regarding the openness of the church about its finances).  Also the mention of NDAs is also a huge signal that things are amiss.  

[nelliebelle1197]

Hey guys- make a new thread in Snark and link to the old content. It will get more traction than a thread with a start date so old. Someone could also plop in a short summary!

[G33kywife]

I started a new topic in QFoS for Driscoll discussions:

Edit:  There was already a new thread here:

 

Edited May 31, 2021 by Coconut Flan
Changed thread location.