Chris Rosebrough, host of the Fighting For The Faith radio show, recently ran a program in which he has documented the spiritual abuse being done at the hands of well-known megachurch pastors, including:
■ Creflo Dollar (pastor of World Changers Church International)
■ Eric Dykstra (pastor of The Crossing Church, Elk River, MN)
■ Steven Furtick (pastor of Elevation Church, Charlotte, NC)
■ Dan Southerland (pastor and author of Transitioning)
■ Mark Driscoll (author and pastor of Mars Hill Church)Here's Mark Driscoll, addressing a group of Acts 29 church planting leaders, talking about what he does when somebody in the church is not in step with his "vision" for the church:
"Here's what I've learned. You cast vision for your mission, and if people don't sign up, you move on. You move on. There are people that are gonna die in the wilderness, and there are people that are gonna take the hill. That's just how it is. Too many guys waste too much time trying to move stiff necked, stubborn, obstinate people. I am all about blessed subtraction. There is a pile of dead bodies behind the Mars Hill bus (chuckle), and by God's grace, it'll be a mountain by the time we're done.... You either get on the bus, or you get run over by the bus. Those are the options. But the bus ain't gonna stop." (audio here)
I just finished listening to this program yesterday, and I can't even express how thankful I am that this important program about spiritual abuse was done. I even got a little emotional during the segment in which talk show host Chris Rosebrough talks about the need for the Christian men of today to rise up and say "Enough!" and take a stand against false teaching. As a very new Christian, I remember sitting in my pastor's office and pleading with him about false teaching, specifically "Christian" yoga and Roman Catholic mysticism. You have to remember, I came OUT of eastern style mantra meditation and mysticism....this was precisely what God had saved me out of. And yet, here it was coming into my church! And so I pleaded about this with my pastor, saying to him very plainly, "Listen, I want to be protected, I'm looking to you for that. I'm just a new Christian. But I know that stuff is wrong, from my own personal experience. I need a pastor who will stand at the door and say, you will not bring that false teaching into my church!" Well sadly, this pastor continued down that path for a season, and my husband and I eventually left the church. (That pastor has since come back to solid, expository preaching, and for that I am thankful, as I still have friends at that church.)I cannot recommend enough this important program which exposes the cult-like, domineering, and controlling techniques that many (not all) megachurch pastors, including Mark Driscoll, employ to keep their flocks in line. And lest we lose sight of how a church should be pastored, let's look to what an undershepherd's responsibilities are, according to God's word:
"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." (1 Peter 5:1-4, my emphasis)
"An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it." (Titus 1:6-9, my emphasis)It's time for leaders in Evangelicalism to figure out the problems with Mark Driscoll (and other pastors who use cult-like techniques to keep their flock in line), and as Chris Rosebrough exhorted, stand up and say, "Enough!"
You can listen to the program in its entirety here.
Additional Resources
Mark Driscoll: A Timeline of His Downfall (Sola Sisters)
Paul Petry, Former Mars Hill Elder, Speaks Out (Sola Sisters)
An Elder's Wife Gives Her Testimony About Mars Hill Church (Sola Sisters)
Documenting the Problems with Mars Hill Pastor Mark Driscoll [UPDATED]
Mark Driscoll's Church Discipline Contract: Looking For True Repentance At Mars Hill Church? Sign On The Dotted Line (Matthew Paul Turner)
Another Fired Mars Hill Elder (Bent Meyer) Breaks His Silence (The Wartburg Watch)
Freedom For Captives Blog (Blog of Former Mars Hill Elder Bent Meyer)
Mark Driscoll: "What do you do with someone who is rebellious, hard-hearted, stiff necked and stupid? You break their nose." (The Wartburg Watch)
Mark Driscoll: The Face of Contemplative Calvinism (Sola Sisters)
Mark Driscoll: "Look, I had this vision. Let me tell you about it." (Sola Sisters)
Mark Driscoll speaking to demons: "I want to know who all is involved here and what we're dealing with." (Sola Sisters)
The Cult-Like Hostile Takeover Tactics of the Purpose-Driven Church Transitioning Seminar (Fighting For The Faith)
Resistance Is Futile: You Will Be Assimilated Into The Community (Fighting For The Faith)
What Does Spiritual Abuse Look Like? Former Staff Member Jeremy Rogahn of Crossing Church (Pastored by Eric Dykstra) in Elk River, MN Gives His Testimony (Fighting For The Faith)
Eric Dykstra and The Crossing Church (Apprising Ministries)
