Wrestling with your position of influence

“The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” is a podcast produced by Christianity Today and it has gone viral in popularity. What can we, as church planters and pastors, learn from listening to this story of a popular Seattle church exploding in growth, only to have it all fall apart to leave so many devastated? You don’t have to listen to that podcast first, before gleaning some wisdom from this episode of Unfiltered. It’s not uncommon for church planters to wrestle with their influence. Let’s talk about it. 

0:22 Lee introduces the conversation about the podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill that has grown in popularity in the past year.

1:17 Lee says the podcast has been a big conversation topic within the church and would like to process it from a listener’s side.

1:57 Lee asks Danny what stood out to him as he listened to The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill.

2:15 Danny states that Mark Driscoll, the pastor at the center of the Mars Hill story, was influential from afar in his own life. 

2:36 Danny talks about how his perspective of the story changed from the beginning to the middle. He found the story both disheartening and convicting. 

3:25 Lee asks Danny to unpack that statement.

3:26 Danny explains that it was disheartening to hear what was happening behind the scenes at Mars Hill Church. 

3:56 The convicting part of the story for Danny was seeing some tendencies of pride in himself and other leaders.

4:30 As Danny works with church planters, the very things he’s looking for are what made Mark Driscoll a successful church planter. But those characteristics can also be destructive, when left unchecked.

4:55 Danny asks Lee what he thought of the podcast.

5:09 Lee thinks it’s sobering that there’s always a dark side to church planters’ leadership styles.

5:30 Lee appreciated Christianity Today’s level of in-depth journalism when it came to hearing past employees’ side of the story.

5:54 Lee gives the reminder that as people in authority in church leadership, there’s a responsibility to steward the influence God has given.

6:56 Another reaction Lee had to the podcast were moments when he cringed over some of the behind-the-scenes behavior and wondered how much “dirty laundry” should be aired when taking a deep dive into a church’s story.

7:38 Danny finds it interesting that this podcast struck a chord not only with church leaders, but with church attenders. He has some concerns that people will have a fear of church leadership and will want to get rid of it entirely. 

8:42 Acts 29 is a ministry that is discussed at length in The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. Danny talks about how the ministry has changed since Mark Driscoll left Mars Hill Church and it is not the same ministry it was in years past.

9:29 Danny concludes that after listening to the podcast, he walked away realizing everyone is messed up and it’s only through God that the church continues to grow and thrive.

9:50 For Lee, listening to the podcast brought his understanding of the dangers of celebrity for pastors to another level.

10:50 Lee encourages church planters to think about why they’re doing ministry in the first place. Remembering the importance of helping people follow Jesus can keep pride at bay.

11:17 Danny talks about the role culture and social media has in the fall of celebrity pastors.

12:07 Lee appreciates how the podcast attempted to point out the flaws of some of the wrong things church planters pursue when going into m