‘The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill’ shares a story of power, corruption, and spiritual abuse
The Mars Hill Church in Seattle was founded in 1996 and became one of the largest church planting movements in America. In 2015, the church was dissolved following a scandal with its founder, pastor, and movement leader Mark Driscoll, revealing abuse of power and corruption.
Start at the podcast’s very first episode to hear the complete story on “The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill,” presented by Christianity Today. So far, the series released the story over 12 episodes with bonus content and Mars Hill-adjacent stories. The average run time is an hour per episode, except for the last 2 episodes, running almost 3 hours long each.
Hosted by Mike Cosper, this podcast tells firsthand stories from people who worshipped at Mars Hill, experienced triumphs, disillusionment, and were privy to the environment leading to the shut down. Episode one brings listeners to 2014, just as pastor Mark resigned, tracing how the church’s “punk rock spirit” and “cussing pastor” went from being admired to disgraced.
By the fourth episode, listeners learn about Mark’s personal ideals on concepts like “manhood” and “dad talks” that took a toxic turn. Especially in his sermons about sex and femininity that offended women. Mike unpacked the shame and fear-based culture Mark created at Mars Hill that he touted as theology.
Episodes discuss the church planting movement in the 2000s, geared toward creating new campuses, building communities, preaching everyday, and attracting new followers. Mark ramped up his efforts to build the church, and episode seven investigated the church governance system, and how power can be abused. By episode nine, we learn that Mark was confronted by fellow Seattle pastors in 2006 who were concerned for his church’s future and the content of his sermons.
By 2012, Mark released Real Marriage, an instant New York Times bestseller, and he was in the spotlight. In the following years, people came forward with truths from inside the church’s leadership, culture, and dysfunction, as explored in this podcast.
On a recent episode of Podsauce, “Deck the Hallmark” host Bran Gray shared “The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill” as one of his podcast picks. Bran said he was raised as an Evangelical Christian in a strict household and wanted to learn more about Mars Hill’s situation.
Tune into “The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill” to hear more about this story.
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