Pastor Mark Driscoll’s Ex-Right-Hand Man Predicts the End of the Resurgence

A new post on the We Love Mars Hill blog (covered before here) is making waves in the Christian community as Pastor Mark Driscoll‘s former right-hand man, Mike Anderson, explains why he, too, withdrew his membership from the controversial Seattle megachurch.

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Mike writes that his change of perspective happened slowly, but the watershed moment for him that made him decide once and for all to leave the Mars Hill cult[ure] was when his dad gave him a philosophy book on mass movements (one I personally recommend — it’s a good, quick read),,,

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Anderson stops just shy of calling Mars Hill a cult, but the connection in his mind is clear from everything else he says. As I observed before, this is the beginning of the end of the New Calvinism movement, and as more and more folks tell their stories (like Anderson), the “survivors” groups will hit a point of critical mass and Driscoll and his ilk will not be able to retain their power.

Pastor Mark Driscoll’s Ex-Right-Hand Man Predicts the End of the Resurgence

A Guide to the Sovereign Grace Ministries Scandal and the End of New Calvinism

As usual I am behind in my reading, but this article as Ettinger says is a SparksNotes version of some recent events within the evangelical movement formerly known as the Shepherding Movement; it is now under the umbrella of New Calvinism.


First point that caught my interest,

"The New Calvinists are a pretty tangled network of mostly middle-class white dudes who tend to function as an old boys’ club. Total power corrupts and these guys have charm, bald heads, melodramatic preaching tics, and Calvinist guilt on their side. There’s a lot of money to be had in this pastoring business, and there are a lot of questions to be answered about the financial ethics,,,."

Second point that caught my interest,

Even the big leaders in the Christian homeschooling movement and the Reconstructionist theology circles shared a lot in common with the New Calvinists, especially their shared background in the Shepherding Movement. Names like Bill Gothard (patron saint of the Duggars), Douglas Wilson (betrothal expert and Reconstructionist theologian), Doug Phillips (Vision Forum founder and political conniver), and Michael Farris all overlap with these circles in many ways. These men have been linked to racists, are openly anti-gay, and are just plain extremist in their thinking.

This year, I’ve watched Bill Gothard resign after Recovering Grace documented stories of his sexual predation. I’ve watched Doug Phillips lose his ministry and his dignity as his alleged sexual abuse of the family nanny came to light. I’ve watched Michael Farris’ Patrick Henry College scramble to deal with their mishandling of sexual assault cases on the campus of what they claim is “God’s Harvard,” the alma mater of Josh Harris’ brothers (who wrote the book below) and many young adults from SGM churches.

Lots of very BIG names and big money.

A Guide to the Sovereign Grace Ministries Scandal and the End of New Calvinism