It has been a sad story, the demise of Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill. I hope and pray the church has a godly, fruitful, evangelistic and edifying future.
I hope the attempts of those to blame the problems on Mark Driscoll's Calvinist, complemtarian theology won't stick and I hope that the witness of Christians on the West Coast of the United States it not damaged too much.
I also pray for genuine repentance, integrity and humility on behalf of Mark Driscoll and his supporters – insofar as these various accusations are accurate, and worthy of more than mere press-release-repentance.
But the story is also a warning to me. When I see scandal in the Reformed Evangelical church planting camp, I need to heed the warning that I too could make some of the same mistakes. It's easier to ignore if it's just some prosperity preacher here or some Roman Catholic priest there. But, of course, we are all sinners, and all face the same temptations.
How easy it can be for our ends to justify our means. How easy it is for us to slowly get more and more fuzzy, dancing more and more riskily on the edges of fully integrity? How easy it is to listen to people telling us 'it's the most effective way', 'all the big guys are doing it'?
Global Focus
The vision and activities connected to the Global Fund must focus on reaching the worldwide church. As a person sits in front of his computer in Qatar, London, Cape Town, or Sydney, he does not care about Mars Hill planting in Everett. As an international citizen, however, he cares greatly about global evangelism, global missions, global causes for Jesus, global church-planting, etc. Though the sentiment is rare among Americans, people abroad feel a sense belonging and kinship with the global community…Flagship Projects
Of the money that comes into the Global Fund, designate a fixed percentage internally for highly visible, marketable projects such as mission trips, orphan care, support for pastors and missionaries in the third world, etc. (ten to fifteen strategic operations in locations where Mars Hill wants to be long term). This percentage should be flexible (not a “tithe”), and not communicated to the public. Support for Mars Hill Global would be support for Mars Hill Church in general, but the difference and the draw would be that a portion of Global gifts would also benefit projects that spread the gospel and serve the needs of people around the world.The Global Fund could be beneficial in a number of ways, besides the obvious gain of increased funding:
• For a relatively low cost (e.g. $10K/month), supporting a few missionaries and benevolence projects would serve to deflect criticism, increase goodwill, and create opportunities to influence and learn from other ministries.• Many small churches who may consider joining Mars Hill hesitate because they do not believe we support “missions.” While we need to continue to challenge the assumptions underlying a claim, the Global Fund would serve as a simple, easy way to deflate such criticism and help lead change in these congregations.
• The ability to communicate and interact with supporters of Mars Hill Global provides an avenue for promoting events, recruiting leaders, and developing Mars Hill core groups in strategic cities.
By a series of steps, we can drift so far from what is transparent and in good faith. Where am I tempted to do the same?
