7 Significant Lessons Churches Can Learn From the Mars Hill/Mark Driscoll Implosion
3. Satellite churches need their own pastor/preacher.
The satellite model structure usually simulcasts the lead pastor’s message to all the other campuses. Thus, while the church is expanding in numbers, it is not always developing leaders commensurate to their expansion. This is dissimilar to church planting in which every congregation has their own lead pastor, preacher and leadership team. Consequently, every campus is being built around the preaching, leadership and vision casting of one man who leaves them vulnerable to the kind of implosion we have seen at Mars Hill.
4. The “one man brand” of the church leaves the church vulnerable.
Most of the time, their charismatic leader knows evangelical churches more than their congregation or vision. At Mars Hill, Mark Driscoll was their “brand.” Not only that, but evangelical churches too often perpetuate a personality cult in which folks say something like “I am going to Joe Mattera’s church” rather than “Resurrection Church.” You get the picture.
Many people can’t even remember the name of the church they visited—they just know the church by the name of the lead pastor! This is nothing new—it’s the same thing that Paul the apostle had to address with the Corinthian church (1 Cor. 3:4). Although this is common with evangelical churches, it doesn’t mean it is healthy, and something in our present global church culture has to change. One of the things we have done in our church for the past decade is to have a team of leaders who rotate and share the responsibility of delivering the Word on Sunday mornings so the people don’t just hear the Word from one person. Also, for the past few years we have gone from topical to exegetical teaching on Sundays so that the focus is on understanding the Scriptures rather than the skilled presentation of the lead pastor.
