The Brand
08/03/21 • 63 min
3 Listeners
Mark Driscoll rose to prominence in the early days of the Internet. Unlike his megapastor predecessors like Robert Schuller and Bill Hybels, Driscoll harnessed technology to build his brand and bypass cultural gatekeepers who might hinder or influence his success. He formed a talented media team that would expand his reach and, inadvertently, reinforce his ego through an online presence. Quickly though, his star rose too far, keeping him at arm’s length from the collaboration and counsel of those who could lend wisdom to his youthful, combustive pastoral ministry.
In this episode of The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, host Mike Cosper breaks down how technology shaped the messaging and marketing of Mark Driscoll and how personal brand can isolate a leader even as it fuels a ministry’s growth. Cosper interviews broadly, from Mars Hill media team members to Collin Hansen of The Gospel Coalition, to investigate how narcissism grows, how theological movements birth new leaders, and why the church’s love affair with charisma and certainty demands we develop a better moral imagination. Rethink your admiration for celebrity pastors. Reevaluate your attraction to religious trends. And, reflect on your own willingness to stand “sola” when church becomes about something other than the Gospel.
“The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” is a production of Christianity Today
Executive Producer: Erik Petrik
Producer, Writer, Editor, and Host: Mike Cosper
Associate Producer: Joy Beth Smith
Music, Sound Design, and Mix Engineer: Kate Siefker
Graphic Design: Bryan Todd
Social Media: Nicole Shanks
Editorial Consultant: Andrea Palpant Dilley
Editor in Chief: Timothy Dalrymple
Theme song: “Sticks and Stones” by Kings Kaleidoscope
Closing song: “Bang” by Moda Spira
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mark Driscoll rose to prominence in the early days of the Internet. Unlike his megapastor predecessors like Robert Schuller and Bill Hybels, Driscoll harnessed technology to build his brand and bypass cultural gatekeepers who might hinder or influence his success. He formed a talented media team that would expand his reach and, inadvertently, reinforce his ego through an online presence. Quickly though, his star rose too far, keeping him at arm’s length from the collaboration and counsel of those who could lend wisdom to his youthful, combustive pastoral ministry.
In this episode of The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, host Mike Cosper breaks down how technology shaped the messaging and marketing of Mark Driscoll and how personal brand can isolate a leader even as it fuels a ministry’s growth. Cosper interviews broadly, from Mars Hill media team members to Collin Hansen of The Gospel Coalition, to investigate how narcissism grows, how theological movements birth new leaders, and why the church’s love affair with charisma and certainty demands we develop a better moral imagination. Rethink your admiration for celebrity pastors. Reevaluate your attraction to religious trends. And, reflect on your own willingness to stand “sola” when church becomes about something other than the Gospel.
“The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” is a production of Christianity Today
Executive Producer: Erik Petrik
Producer, Writer, Editor, and Host: Mike Cosper
Associate Producer: Joy Beth Smith
Music, Sound Design, and Mix Engineer: Kate Siefker
Graphic Design: Bryan Todd
Social Media: Nicole Shanks
Editorial Consultant: Andrea Palpant Dilley
Editor in Chief: Timothy Dalrymple
Theme song: “Sticks and Stones” by Kings Kaleidoscope
Closing song: “Bang” by Moda Spira
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Previous Episode
The Things We Do To Women
Sex sells. It might be hard to imagine a church harnessing this popular marketing technique for church growth, but that’s exactly what Mark Driscoll did in Seattle in the early 2000s. Whether condemning the Western erosion of manhood or elevating women as Christian pornographic ideals, preaching from the Mars Hill pulpit mixed toxic cultural messages with biblical theology in the name of forming men, women, and families for God. And, like Mark’s campaign against diminished manhood, when sex sold in church, both men and women came up short.
In this episode of The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, host Mike Cosper addresses the femininity, fear, and fantasy that fueled conversations around gender and womanhood at Mars Hill. With delicate care, he unpacks the reactionary stream of sexuality that emerged at Mars Hill and exposes the struggle for authority and power beneath Mark Driscoll’s classic sermons on womanhood and sex. Cosper explores what happens when words meant to protect women end up hurting them and how theology about headship and submission can create fear and shame when wielded by the wrong hands. If you’ve seen Mark’s famous viral videos or heard the sermon sound bytes, tune in to this episode for the fuller story.
“The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” is a production of Christianity Today
Executive Producer: Erik Petrik
Producer, Writer, Editor, and Host: Mike Cosper
Associate Producer: Joy Beth Smith
Music, Sound Design, and Mix Engineer: Kate Siefker
Graphic Design: Bryan Todd
Social Media: Nicole Shanks
Editorial Consultant: Andrea Palpant Dilley
Editor in Chief: Timothy Dalrymple
Theme song: “Sticks and Stones” by Kings Kaleidoscope
Closing song: “Woman” by Jackie Hill Perry
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Next Episode
State of Emergency
Church planting isn’t for the faint of heart. It requires a tenacity few pastors can fully anticipate when they set out. Healthy planting demands not only clarity of mission and relentless work, but practical partnership, wise counsel, and responsive governance to the changing needs that come with growth. From the church’s beginning, Mars Hill leadership committed to all of these -- a vision of Jesus as senior pastor with elders serving with “one vote each.” But somewhere along the line, the vision shifted. Absolutism and a muscular, aggressive form of governance took hold, a campaign led by Mark Driscoll in the name of church growth.
In this episode of The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, host Mike Cosper pulls back the curtain to expose the inner workings of church governance at Mars Hill. Guided by careful research and hundreds of hours of interviews, Cosper plots out a story of church growth corrupted by power. Discover a Mark Driscoll you may never have met -- a young church planter with a vision for Seattle and for the world. Watch what happens when the friction between accountability and speed causes church planting efforts to combust. And see how prioritizing “reaching people for Jesus” can mask spiritual abuse without the proper checks and balances.
“The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” is a production of Christianity Today
Executive Producer: Erik Petrik
Producer, Writer, Editor, and Host: Mike Cosper
Associate Producer: Joy Beth Smith
Music, Sound Design, and Mix Engineer: Kate Siefker
Graphic Design: Bryan Todd
Social Media: Nicole Shanks
Editorial Consultant: Andrea Palpant Dilley
Editor in Chief: Timothy Dalrymple
Theme song: “Sticks and Stones” by Kings Kaleidoscope
Closing song: "Return My Heart to My Chest" by Joe Day
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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