The true character of a man shows when you see how he treats those with less power who depend on him for his income. Im really glad that you are reaching out to GW and other exiles. How can a reasonable person look past that? He can darn well get used to a lower standard of living. I dont equate it with forgiveness at all. Forgiveness does not address that issue at all. This pastor was humble! 16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. We know that Driscoll should never have been a pastor: lack of formal qualifications, lack of maturity in the faith (too young, and never been a member of a church before he started his own), lack of maturity in general; Whats worse, total lack of good character. I am always eager and willing to learn, so no argument here. Hasnt it been around long enough that either people (especially younger guys) are sick of it, or they have finally realized its harmful or obnoxious. king does not stand up for you. So many use Ches image as some sort of inspirational symbol. your comments are great. See here: As you all know, my family and I have been facing difficult trials and persecution. I have a young friend who was totally enamored with him. I am someone special, like Jesus and Paul. Sam, I sincerely hope that nothing Ive written ever makes you rethink your relationship with God. I think MDs desire to be on a stage, at this point, is a sure sign he should not be there. In the wake of this and other scandals, the Mars Hill Church collapsed. It really bothers me that he seems to profane things still. #driscollreturns paul most influential christian wrote most books this explains marks love of also writing books. They were perceived as mediators between the person and Christ. Barnabus is described as a good man and full of the Holy Spirit. At his height of fame Driscoll was the bad boy of the Christian world. To tell, perhaps? James River Church | Christian Church - Springfield, MO Mark pretty much mandated participation in weekly Life Groups plus you had to use their social media platform The City to stay connected. The worst thing in the world right now for Chandler is that Mark is in making the Christian news cycle. The best thing about it is one young woman had incredible courage. Is this similar to Radical Chic? Reverend Mark Driscoll has sinned before many witness, this had been profusely and laboriously documented, and is to be rebuked before all. I think it underestimates those believers in the pews who are, themselves, filled with the Spirit and do exhibit the fruit of Galations 5. He needs to clean up the mess that he made. This guy had his audience eating out of the palms of his hands. 15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. Others appear to draw some type of inspiration from Driscoll. )(mark is apparently not impressed with peter baptizing 3,000 followers in one day cause peter isnt able to be made into a complementarian I guess), interestingly mark points out how stephen handled it but not how mark handled slight persecution which was actually not persecution but truth leveled against him) appeciate your posts and the others on this blog, i remember that, thanks Van, for the reminder. The guests are members and attendees (because many regulars never joined). I arrived a little late here, and this has likely already been mentioned (I havent read all comments). By the way, what do you call a person who tells lies? There was another couple along with us who knew a bit more about him and we absolutely amazed that this man, who could have been an elder, could not see through the act which you described so perfectly. So, if he became a member of a church, attended that for a while, accepting to do all kinds of unglamorous jobs that church members often do for their church, apprenticed with a pastor in a mainline church, where the position of pastor has a lot less power, tried to reconcile with the people he treated the worst well, maybe. Imagine that. I still dont think he understands the harms he has done. Yes he was forgiven, but be spent years away from his former life, maybe to relearn what Christ Jesus was about. Week of Power with Bill Johnson & Randy Clark Sunday, March 12 - Thursday March 16. Would you hire back the embezzler to count your cash drawer after he served a short sentence because you forgave him? if mark is truly repentant than this sermon is him explaining how he persecuted and publicly stoned stephen to death which was actually mark stoning Jesus to death publicly and with no remorse. Im a done for now but that one meeting made we wonder if I could someday find a narrow gate church like the cult expert said. A grunge rock Lord Byron mad, bad and dangerous to know. stephen is suffering for doing right. © 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 - The Wartburg Watch. Ive recently read Wayne Jacobsen Finding Church, Frank Viola Finding Organic Church, Terry Stanley The way Church Was Meant To Be and found what they think the church should be an interesting concept but so far Im not convinced. Come on Lindell, Morris, Kellogg and Johnston. The only two ways that I can think of for having said benchmarks, assuming by leadership you mean pastor(s) and not just chairman of some committee, is either having a system with central authority with established criteria which must be met prior to ordination and some written policies which are grounds for dismissal in certain conditions, That would be a denominational hierarchical system with designated people with authority and with something in writing, like an official book of how we do it. Or else to have a savvy and informed and mature congregation who would agree with and co-operate with each other on what was necessary and what needed done and which would have the actual power (backing of the people) to get it done. What am I saying? They noted that since the pandemic began, they have taken very stringent precautions at each service, including: take temperatures at the door, fog-sanitize their auditorium, sanitize the childrens areas and common areas multiple times daily and provide masks to everyone who attends. I have always found this aspect of Pauls story very interesting. Additionally, Jonna Petry (who started the blog Joyful Exiles) was shunned along with the Petry children. Not that I dont admire Saul/Paul. So Brian Houston lied and succeeded in ending the protests and the media scrutiny temporarily. It so important, huh, that we share that Jesus came to save us from sin, and to give us His life. Assemblies of God (USA) Official Web Site | Church He did it from one of the most powerful places in Southwest Missouri the pulpit of James River Church, where he leads an Assemblies of God congregation that often tops 9,000 worshipers on. @ Bob M: Years ago, he spoke from the pulpit against the expansion of casino gambling in Missouri. Most people have more sunk into that cult than they do their homes. Its really big in Charismatic/Pentecostal circles I think mainly because they are more predisposed to bad behavior (think TBN and Daystar whackos). mode. I couldnt get through Marks sermon.so what was coming up for me during Pastor Lindells introduction was the idea of the Karpman Drama Triangle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karpman_drama_triangle (Persecutor/Rescuer/Victim roles that people bounce around in during unhealthy interactions.) All the celebrity has to do is play the victim/repented card and teach cheap grace. All rights reserved. Adultery, stealing, cheating, being abusive, being a drunkard can also keep you out of heaven.". I would hope we should higher standards than that. It came swiftly and with great effect. And every Wednesay at 7pm! Or is it just a GW thing? Jesus Church or 501(c)3 Religious business? My Comment was Deleted Returning so soon to the limelight reinforces the idea that it really is all about Mark. If a pastor says anything positive about another pastor, and that other pastor has a history of patterns of behavior and teachings that are destructive it is wise to ask pastor 1 if he has checked him out before he promotes him. So many damaged lives. The James River Church Joplin Campus, located at 1850 S Maiden Ln, Joplin, MO 64801 now has a permanent location! GW also exports as they seemed to pioneer or at least perfect the concept of having pastors write books for personal profit then when the books sell too slowly, they have the main church and all their friend churches purchase the books in bulk to give away to the congregation resulting in transferring thousands of tithe dollars to individual pastors. (figuratively)) Later he show us all how it was done. people have said to stay involved in churches to keep them encouraged to follow the Lord and speak up if they are going away towards money and corruption, that is no longer even possible, you can get shunned slandered and prob threats to your life for speaking up anymore. I had been a pastor and fell horribly due to pride, arrogance, self centeredness, fear of man, desire for fame, etc. Because 12 years ago Walter Salles made an awesome movie about him called The Motorcycle Diaries starring the gentle heartthrob Gael Garcia Bernal as Che. My old church Gateway has atmosphere teams in services to emotionally manipulate members and visitors. James River Church, a multi-campus, 17,000-member megachurch in Missouri, is now fending off strong criticism from the public and health officials after pictures posted on social media showed what appear to be hundreds of unmasked people, practicing very little social distancing packed inside their Springfield location to participate in Christmas services. Great observation! My heart aches for all those whom Mark Driscoll hurt from the Petrys and Meyers to the young and impressionable. If you become used to a certain standard of living, that does not mean you are entitled to that standard of living. The church has spawned countless church plants, charities and conferences. Driscoll, IMHO, is completely unsuited for any position of authority. CCHD is extremely concerned about the health and well-being of all our community members and particularly those who attended the high-capacity event over the weekend. Of course BHouston can know about MDs statements in the past 5 minutes of Googling will turn up Wenatchee The Hatchets meticulous documentation, screenshots and all, and Warren Throckmortons extensive documentation, the mp3 of the infamous sermon in Scotland, etc pp.