Some people thought we were making a mountain out of a Mars Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When CT launched the documentary podcast series The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill<\/em>, a few resented having the story told. Some of them, to be sure, defended the kind of behavior narrated in the series\u2014of misuses of pastoral authority and power that ended with spiritual carnage all over the place. But many of those made queasy by the telling of this story didn\u2019t dispute the harm done. They just said, \u201cThings are hard enough for pastors and other leaders, and most of us are nothing like Mark Driscoll.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The millions who resonated with the series\u2014including those who had never heard of Mars Hill Church\u2014are themselves testimonies as to why the story had to be told. Many encountered similar traumas, some in other mega-churches, some in small congregations. Wishful thinking or willed ignorance will not make those realities go away and will not help rebuild the trust many need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, there are hills other than Mars. Pastors frustrated by yet another revelation of scandal and toxicity are correct that, in fact, the majority of leaders are not like the worst actors out there. A documentary series about most church leaders would be boring. That\u2019s because most are in it for all the right reasons\u2014and are facing with grit and grace the age-old problem of discipling people so they can live, and die, conformed to Christ. One of the insanities of this upside-down age is that those who misuse the authority God gave his shepherds seem to pay little cost. They pack up and find greener pastures elsewhere, with new lambs to shear. Meanwhile, leaders who do<\/em> model the way of Jesus face the consequences of a culture that doesn\u2019t trust institutions because of the awful behavior of some institutions. They often find their best efforts stymied by communities who, magnetized by the narcissists and grifters, look at the wholesome leaders and ask, \u201cWho the hell do you think you are?\u201d So how do ministry leaders actually minister in times like these? The most obvious answer is to refrain from conforming our own leadership to the bad models we have experienced. That\u2019s true and right, but we must go beyond avoiding the wrong use of authority to find the right<\/em> kind of authority\u2014the kind Jesus embodied, which was startlingly different from that of the scribes (Mark 1:22)? In a time of mistrust, how do the trustworthy gain enough trust to do all those right things to which they are called: to see lives changed, churches grow, people heal, communities form, and the gospel advance? One of the biggest crises facing the church is that many have given up on the idea of such a good and cruciform model of authority and leadership even being possible. Yet this would mean giving up on the church, on the Spirit, on the kingdom. It\u2019s counterproductive We are confident that the good leaders who make up the majority\u2014those interested not in building empires of their own but in seeking the kingdom of Christ\u2014are not helpless in the face of burnout, discouragement, or confusion that comes with cultural forces moving at a breakneck pace. We can see these challenges, but we can also see beyond them, just around the hill in front of us to a future filled with life and hope and joy and peace. Where are the leaders we need? They\u2019re everywhere. They know why<\/em> they\u2019re called to do what they do. And they know who<\/em> called them to it. What they need is the practical wisdom\u2014much of it old, some of it contextually new\u2014to know what<\/em> to do in a moment like this. We believe these leaders are primed to forge a future worthy of news as good as the gospel. That\u2019s what this first issue of the new, relaunched Leadership Journal<\/em> is about.
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and unnecessary.
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