The penultimate episode of The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill is a frustrating investigatory experience. The show presents to the listener the evidence of an abusive pastor in a permissive church system, building the case that this was an ongoing problem within the organization that eventually collapsed under the weight of the trauma dealt within. What I believe the episode fails to do and has continued to do throughout the series is to follow that evidence to its obvious conclusion, despite the pretense of seeking answers for how it all happened.

In this episode, host Mike Cosper presents the possibility that celebrity culture is causing people to become blind to the long-term abuse that some pastors like Mark Driscoll can bring down on church staff and members. Cosper’s view is that only the widely popular pastors (or those with large enough audiences that grow beyond the borders of their own church) can distort the view of their importance amongst their followers, leading to greater freedom to abuse people without reprimand. This is an interesting theory and could explain some occurrences, but I would contend that this is definitely not the primary issue driving the abuse. A dictatorial level of control can be exerted on members from a pastor whose town is barely more than an intersection of two small roads. The size of the church does not matter nor does the popularity of the pastor determine the effect he has on his followers.

I think that the answer lies in the power structure built within the Christian church. The ability to teach others about the Bible is seen as an ability gifted by God. Church members often believe that these teaching skills, as being from God, extend into areas not in the scope of Biblical teaching. The level of power a pastor can have over his church members can grow into incredibly sensitive areas of church members’ lives. I don’t think that this exertion of power is a corruption of once-proper teaching; I think that this is a flaw built into the original interpretation of Biblical church structure within Evangelical Christianity.

This flaw is evident in how Mark Driscoll’s abuse was handled. The kind of abuse Mark Driscoll committed should have been seen immediately as non-Christian in its behavior. But Mark Driscoll is still a pastor. There should be no equivocation among anyone that abusers like these are committing acts that go against the stated moralities of Christianity. I know Christians are dismayed and appalled when abusers are caught, but then nothing seems to be learned from these events to prevent them from happening again. Christians across the country should be in crisis, seeking to uncover these problems and stop them before they can ever happen again. This is a disaster for Christianity, but people are not reacting at the level necessary to make change or even seem deeply troubled. What should one deduce from the limited reactions from Christians about pastoral abuse, if not that these traumatic events are just the standard costs of operating a religious non-profit within the Evangelical Christian community?

Think about the way that Evangelical Christians view other religions, denominations, or communities that have morals, cultures, or rites that differ from their own. Is holistic grace applied to all followers of that alternative worldview when one or two within that community commit some immoral act? Do Christians respond with such muted reactions when someone outside of their own community does something that goes against what they proclaim to be the morality found in the Bible? How can it not be seen as anything but hypocrisy to judge harshly those outside the Christian community for their faults but regulatorily ignore the faults within? How can one judge the moral standards set by Evangelical Christianity as being true and good if those proclaiming those standards don‘t respect them?

What this podcast is missing and I think Evangelical Christianity lacks in these moments of abuse allegations is self-reflection, self-blame, and a willingness to change in any dramatic or permanent fashion. Too much energy is spent attempting to convert the world at large to the Christian mindset when more should be focused on on ensuring that people are not abused by immoral acts within the Christian churches. I think a blasé response to pastoral abuse does much to harm the reputation of Christianity and fosters disillusionment and resentment within. Fundamental problems with Evangelical Christian culture might not be the source of pastoral abuse, but I wish I would hear it considered by people in authority within the culture.

🧵 Update: I listened to the final episode.