There's been a lot in the news about the resignation of Mark Driscoll, the head pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Driscoll, well-known for his abrasive, masculine, in-your-face style of Evangelical Christianity, built the mega-church of Mars Hill by the power of his media-savvy personality. At its peak, Mars Hill claimed 14,000 people in attendance on Sundays at 15 locations in five states.
Driscoll resigned as pastor after the elders of his church asked him to take a six-week sabbatical following charges of bullying, manipulation, plagiarism, and false representation were made public by some of his former staff and parishioners.
It's hard for me to feel sympathetic to Driscoll. He created his own problems because of his inflated ego and authoritarian leadership style, on top of his misogynistic, either/or, burn-in-hell theology.
But, in a way, he's just a very public example of what any pastor could become. The temptation to grandiosity is a temptation all pastors face. After all, haven't we been given the authority in God's church? Haven't we been appointed and anointed as the leaders of the church? We're all tempted to take more and more power, and make more and more excuses for ourselves.
The Mark Driscoll debacle simply reinforces what we already know -- that pastoral leadership requires collaboration, courage, and compassion. Arrogance and lone-ranger leadership styles have no place in ministry. All you have to do is read the Gospel and listen to the words of Jesus to see how far Mark Driscoll went astray.
It's a good lesson for all of us to remember -- that leadership with humility and compassion will always trump swagger, bluster, and charisma.
