The Fall of Preacher-Heroes

Today I am starting to write short blog posts -so that I can put a milestone when I come across something significant . And today I am commenting regarding Pastors Mark Driscoll and C.J. Mahaney -both Calvinists and both disciplined or no longer as esteemed by the church or organization they started.

I have downloaded a lot of time Mahaney’s guide books on Small Group discipleship and Driscoll’s series messages and I still have it my portable hard disk. Though not accessed as often as it used to.

They were expository and very narrative in their presentations of Scripture. And very relevant and cultural-specific. Their churches were also elder-led too.Though not under the Westminster Standards or the Three Forms of Unity- they are confessional and very orthodox in their Confessions of Faith/Statement of Beliefs. Both are members of the Gospel Coalition and is under its Foundational Statements. So where did they go wrong? i propose the following -where others have already mentioned (I am not original on these):

1. Authoritarian style of leadership -leading to arrogant behavior and style.
2. No functional or organizational accountability to other  body of ministers -other than their local elders.
3. Blurring of ethics -in the use of lewd language, sinful cultural media, plagiarism and use of church funds to self-promote oneself (more of Driscoll )
4. Unrestricted continuationist world-view -without the proper reining of the Scriptures and other fellow believers/leaders -leading to prophesies and visions and searching of both inward sins and others as well. I do believe in a Holy Spirit-led ministry -but I am more now cautious in these aspect because the movement is not self-critical of its excesses and weirdness. Nobody can criticize it from wihtin without being branded as as cessasionist.
5. Calvinist worldview (which is large and deep and exhilarating) -without  a healthy self-doubt and humility. We should have been confident of the Word and the Gospel -but we should be  monitoring and assess ourselves regularly of the tendency to take ourselves as infallible.

And that is why that Driscoll and Mahaney -did not only fall from heir leadership -they also dragged the name of the Lord, His word and the Reformed and Sovereign Baptist or Evangelical churches in dishonor.